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I 1, ="/•" ■» u *V^ •^jSrir- ,^ i'«"^ ti » *■ I Sylrwter Brown, lumberman, Rocbestor, >*. T.— Frontiepie'^. AN APPEAL TO THX INHABITANTS OF HER MAJESTY'S CANADIAN PROVINCES ^ AOAINST THB LAW AUTHOBIUKO IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT IN CANADA WEST; IN wmoH 18 imbodud A HISTORY OF THB SUFFERINGS AND WRONGS OF MR. SYLVESTER BROWN, A PRISONER rOR EIOBTBEN MONTHS IN THE JAIL AT CHATHAM ; TOORHIR WITH A TVVL IS?08inON OF IHB BASOALITY PBAGTISED BY SOULLESS CBEDITOBS, CBAITT LAWYBBSt PLUNBEBINQ SHfiBIFFS, HBABTLESS BAILIFFS, BBUTAL JAILOBS AND lUBNKEYS, AND GOUTY JUDGES; TO WmOB ARl ADDED FULL AND COMPLETE DETAILS OP OTHER CASES IN wmoH POOR, BUT HONEST AND INDUSTRIOUS PEOPLE, HATE BEEN STRIPPED OF THEIR ALL BY THB OPERATION OF AN INIQUITOUS LAW; ^ AND ALSO COPIOUS QUOTATIONS FBOM THE ACT FALSELY ENTITLED, "THE AOT FOB THE ABOLITION OF IMPBISONMENT FOB DEBT.'* rt) BY SYLVESTER BROWN, BOCHESTEB, N. Y., A LVMBEBMAN rOB THIBTT-TBSSI TIARS. ILLUSTRATED WITH TWEi«TY-FIVE BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 1859. . I, \ Xntond, aooording to A«t of OongNM, In fht jux 1860, hy BTLYX8TBB BBOWN, te th« Olwk'f OflO0 of the IMstrlot Court of the UnltoA BtatM Ibr the Northmn DIf trM of Now York. ■5^ 'V PREFACE. MTU Blftrkl >i% Ibifbisonmimt for debt has been aboliabed in nearly every State of the Union; and where the law still remains upon the statute-books of any, it is praotically a dead letter — public opi- nion having decided that it was ever a measure of questionable utility, and susceptible, in the majority of oases, of being per- verted into a most atrocious tyranny, totally at variance with the spirit and intention of free, liberal, and enlightened institutions. In the Ganadas, however, a people almost identical in habits, manners, language, and lineage with the population of the United States, still remain burdened with a system which has no affinity with the progressive spirit of the present century—- a system alike degrading to humanity and revolting to the feelings of every high-minded and upright individual in the community — a system which, unjust, illiberal, and inhuman in its very incep- tion, cannot furnish a single plea to be urged for its longer con- tinuance. The object of the author of this pamphlet (Mr. Sylvester Brown, a native of Blandford, Massachusetts, and late of Bo- •51 -^OG ' (8) PBIFAOK. Chester, New York) b to fhrnish the citisens of the United States, and of Canada West, with a brief account of his unjust and malicious imprisonment for debt in a Canada jail ; and, like- wise, to warn the business public against the dangers which sur- round them while transacting business in Canada West, where deception and intrigue are practised continually, not only upon non-residents, but also by tho residents upon each other. Having been extensiyely engaged for many years in the United States, and during the last ten years principally in Canada West, in the sale of lumber and goods, and as it has become generally known that I was confined for nearly eighteen months in a noisome Ca- nadian prison, I purpose to relate all the facts of the case for the information of my numerous friends and acquaintance — more especially of those with whom I formerly dealt. In so doing, I shall expose and refute many slanderous tales which have been circulated concerning me, much to the detriment of my character and the annoyance of my friends. Urged to make this exposition by my business friends, and by many citizens of Canada West, who have suffered under the ope- ration of this brutal system, I will endeavor, to the best of my ability, to exhibit the injustice of the law ; the way in which it is used by selfish men as a 8coui;ge to torture all who are so un- fortunate as to fall under its ban ; the manner in which the law- yers prey upon those in confinement ; and, in general, the charac- ter, customs, and practices of the people of Canada. Where words fail to express my purpose, life-like illustrations will por- tray the true state of affairs in these loyal provinces of her most gracious Majesty, " Victoria, Queen of Great Britain.'' PRBFAOI. The hopo is oherished that, when the facte here let fbrth he- come generally known, by the liberal circulation of thia pamphletf the eyes of the people may be opened, and they may be incited to require from candidates for election to the Lower House of Parliament a pledge to procure the repeal of this law, which now operates so much to their oppression. Mere promises should not be considered-sufficient — a pledge of the most binding character should be required ; and even then, only those should receive the popular su£frage whose previous lives are guaranties that they will faithfully perform every part of their engagement. By this course, peace, comfort, and a feeling of security will again be restored to many a homestead, and enterprising citisens of the Union, whom the Canadians are desirous of having among them, will feel that, in crossing the boundary, they do not risk their liberty— -mayhap their lives. At present, no man is assured of safety for his person, while dealing with a people whose laws hold out every inducement for a vicious, intolerant, and grasping creditor to persecute those who, by the chances of trade, may become his debtors in the sum of a few dollars, which they re- quire only time and liberty to enable them to repay. Has one individual an antipathy against another, for any cause whatever— this infamous law furnishes him with the means of gratifying his malice, and of pui^ishing his real or supposed enemy ; for, ad- mitting that he owes him nothing in a pecuniary way, yet he may be the debtor of others, from whom the debt may be pur- chased, and the means of exercising a tyrannical power thus se- cured. 1* 6 PRErAOE. Embodied in this pamphlet will be found acoonnts of long im- prisonments for debt; and the causes thereof; statements of the sufferings of women and children athome while the husbands and fathers lay in prison ; of the incarceration of mothers who had young children, which they were compelled to take with them into their confinement; or leave without protection outside the walls; and of the sharp practice upon the colored popula- tion (called by the Canadians the Queen's pets). In addition^ there will be found many interesting and humorous illustrations of the '' codfish '' aristocracy of the provinces. ■H) ,ai> vji'i ^J-J-yi r*-*^ -► ■' •,A J.-I,! / ■ ¥ '&u^y rj, rvv':5:t^ft ": .7.tvjkw i^-m^: /lii .,;:vi ^i&m v^n ^ -?. .i¥niA;!i:^i>^i 1- le is 10 bh de la. «; ins m ^•«.»V..rK* :7«f. €ntnU* Introduction m Paob 11 Short Autobiography 12 Operation of the Law »... 18 Usual mode of arresting Debtors » 14 Courts of Judicature — Practices of Creditors 14 The Law an Incentive to the commission of Crime 16 Why Canada does not tlirive 16 Blackguard Lawyers and craf<7 Merchants 17 Conduct of Canadians toward Citizens of the States 17 Advice to Citizens of the States 18 Representatives of the right stamp 19 The Canadas a Fertile Region 19 Non-intercourse with Canada until the Laws are changed 20 The imprisonment of the Author. 20 Robert J. M'lntyre 21 D. R. Van Allen 23 Henry M. Marsh 24 M'Eeller and Dolson 25 jgypocritical Professions 25 Other Creditors 26 The Commercial Bank of Canada 26 The manner of my Arrest 27 A Canadian Jail 29 A Canadian Jailor 80 Canadian Truthfulness and Honor 81 Perjury most foul 84 A paradox — an Honorable who is dishonorable, as is also his Partner. 85 Mr. M'Lean 40 Mr. George Raymond 40 Further about Henry M. Marsh 41 Offers made to my Creditors — how received 42 M'lntyre's Folly 46 M'Intyre's Consultation with a Gipsy 46 (7) 8 CONTENTS. Falsity of the reported abolition of Imprisonment for Debt.... 47 The new Law compared with the old 48 Thomas Welch, a room-mate in Jail 66 Board of imprisoned Debtors — how paid 66 John Hildreth — a case of legalized starvation 67 More about Canadian Jails 61 Tantalizing actions of the Jailor 66 Sheriff Mercer's ungentlemanly Conduct 66 <* Grampus" and his Turnkey 66 Nuisances connected with the Chatham Jail, and consequent Sickness of the Prisoners, etc 72 First Impressions of Prison Fare 76 Official Imposition 77 English Brutes and French Gentlemen 78 What constitutes Dishonesty 79 General Character of Imprisoned Debtors 80 Dishonesty versus Honesty ^ 80 Boors always repay Kindness with Abuse 82 Brutal treatment of an Insane Woman 83 The Diyision Court :. 86 Mendacity of the Lawyers 88 << Grampus " robs a Letter belonging to John Findlay, a Prisoner in the Jail 89 Another attempt to Bob a Widow's Son 90 A Sheriff seizing a Lady's Bed 92 A Sheriff seizing the Dishes and Victuals on the Family Table 94 Another case of official Vandalism 96 Official Sacrifice of Property 96 Beverence of Canadian officials for the Bible * 96 A Debtor prevented from seeing the Body of his own Daughter, who was Burned to Death 98 A Lady and her three Children imprisoned for Debt — characteristic ^ Inhumanity of an Englishman 99 The Proprietor of the Royal Exchange Hotel, Chatham 101 Different Classes of English in Canada 104 Mean and contemptible action of a member of the English '< Codfish Aristocracy " 106 The " Stocks " 109 Division Court Cases — No. 1 110 Division Court Cases — Nos. 2 and 8 Ill Novel mode of seizing a stove 113 How Agriculture is encouraged in Canada 114 Swindling operation 116 Out of Jail and in JaU 116 Female Paul Prys 1 V i CONTENTS. 9 'r An importanate Lady Collector of Debts 117 A case in which the Canadian Laws proved an Incentiye to the com- mission of Crime 118 Shameful Conspiracy to deprive a man of his Wife and Property 120 Judicial Ii\justice 122 Effect of Canadian Whiskey on a Canadian Judge 128 A Negro, Seventy Years of age, Bobbed of his Property 124 How the Negroes are treated in Chatham 126 Female Inebriety in Canada 1 126 Persecution of a Methodist Minister 127 Chancery Costs 127 Base Deception practised by Lawyers 128 Medical Inhumanity 128 The '< Honorable M'Eeller" proposes selling the Chatham Negroes.. 129 Occupations and general Character of the Negroes of Chatham, Ca- nada West 181 Cruelty of <* Grampus" to a poor Frenchman • 182 English Gratitude 188 Division Court Cases — No. 10 184 Property Exempt from Execution in Wisconsin 185 Conclusion — How I obtained my Discharge — Very interesting DetaUs > 186 ffi 98 99 LOl i04 06 09 10 11 13 14 15 16 |U»sttati0ns* Sylvester Brown, as he appeared in Prison 1st paoi or Covxs. Inside Ground-plan of the Jail in Chatham.. 8d paoi or Covbb. Eastern View of Court-house and Jail, Chatham .... 4th paqk or Coyer. Sylvester Brown in Citizen's Dress «. Frontisfieoe. Walter M'Crea, a pettifogging Lawyer of Chatham Page 28 The Chatham Jailor, Payne, alias <* Qrampus " 80 « Grampus" threatening to Shoot John Hildreth, an imprisoned Debtor..... 58 Sylvester Brown on a Couch, in his Prison-cell, sick with Fever and Ague, turns with loathing from the unwholesome " Sheep- meat" offered him as Food .„ 64 Payne examining the Bars 70 Mr. Brown conversing with a Visitor through the Iron Door 72 Hillman, the Turnkey, striking an Insane Woman 85 A Sheriff driving a poor Laborer, Sixty Years of age, to Toronto Jail, a distance of Thirty-five Miles 87 Sheriff robbing a Lady of her Bed 93 Sheriff taking the Dishes and Victuals from a Family while at their Dinner 95 Bailiff seizing Dodge's Bible 97 House on Fire, and Family perishing in the Flames 98 Joseph Pritchard, Proprietor of the Royal Exchange Hotel, Chatham. 102 An Englishman, after pulling off the Shoes of a borrowed Horse, driving him back to his Owner 108 Englishman in the Stocks* 109 A Sheriff throwing Water on a Stove, which he is about to seize for Debt ., 113 A Farmer arrested, and his Horses seized for Debt 114 Moses Stewart coming home with the stolen Sheep 119 Johnson arrested on his way home with a Lamb 121 Honorable M'Eeller selling the Chatham Negroes 130 Brother Jonathan sending across the river for Sylvester Brown, after his Discharge • •« # 143 (10) V^ 1 c I I a g Vi ^ AN APPEAL AQAINST THH LAV AUTHOBIZIHO IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT IN CANADA WEST. 64 70 72 85 87 93 95 97 98 102 108 109 113 114 119 121 180 143 Imprisonment for debt is an institution belonging to a past agO; and a less civilized period, when whipping-posts, stocks, pil- lories, and thumb-screws were deemed humane modes of punish- ment, and the burning of men at the stake for opinion's sake, the most approved method of evincing love, veneration, and re- spect for the Christian religion. Before the advance of know- ledge, however, most of these barbarous practices have fallen into disuse, with the single ezceptipn of imprisonment for debt; which still lingers, like a smouldering ember — the lurid and fitful flame of which is indicative of an ability to work injury, lacking only the opportunity for development. While this odious law remains upon the statute-books of the Oanadas, no person is safe from its operation who is either a resident or a sojourner within the bounds of these provinces ; and it is with the view of procuring its repeal that the author of this little pamphlet presents himself before the public, with an exposition of his wrongs and sufferings, and those of many other individuals, who have been so unfortunate as to become subject to its penalties, and to fall into the hands of its merciless administrators. As graphic details of the working of the law are the very best evi- (11) ]2 IMPIUSONMENT FOR DEBT denoe which can bo presented against the criminality of its per- petuation, the author will commence with his own case, prefacing it with a SHORT AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Born May 20, 1805, in the town of Blandford, Hampshire Qounty, Massachusetts, when only five years of age, I removed with my parents to Albany, Now York, where my father pursued his trade as an employing house-joinor, until the close of the war of 1812-15. In October, 1815, my father having deter- mined to remove to Ashtabula County, Ohio, took up his line of march thitherward, with a wagon and a pair of horses, and ar- rived at his destination the following spring, having stopped in Batavia, Genesee County, New York, from the beginning of De- cember until the following February. I remained with my pa- rents until I was nearly twenty-one years of age, when I left them, and journeying eastward, entered Rochester, April 5, 1826, where I found employment in the business of lumbering, which I have since continued to follow in that place. As timber began to diminish in quantity in the vicinity of Rochester, wo were compelled to iSi^idk a supply on Chippewa Creek, in Canada, above the Falls of Niagara; and when the supply there also failed, I moved to Vienna, Elgin County, Canada West, 150 miles from the Falls, and northward of Lake Erie, where I com- menced selling goods, ai^d buying pine lumber, which I shipped to Eastern merchants. I also conducted a manufactory of various descriptions of pine lumber. After laboring for four or five years at Vienna, I committed my business to the care of agents, and proceeded to Chatham, Kent County, 150 miles farther west, where there was an inexhaustible supply of black walnut, white wood, white ash, and other valuable descriptions of timber, much in demand among Eastern lumber dealers, for conversion into household furniture. In Feb. 1857, 1 commenced business in the latter place, which is situated on the river Thames, is the county- IN THE 0ANADA8. It Beat of Kent County, and has a population of 6000 souls, of whom somewhat over 2000 are colored emigrants from the South- ern States of the Union — Chatham being the terminus of the great underground railroad from the South to Canada West. te- ih r ' ie OPERATION OF THE LAW. My narrative has now brought me to the place where I was unjustly and maliciously imprisoned about eighteen months in one of those filthy and loathsome Canadian jails, which have for some years past been so justly the subject of animadversion among the natives of Canada as well as those of the United states. In this jail I was placed by the false oath of a scoun- drel, who was instigated to this course by others, whose names I will give in the subsequent pages. By the laws of Canada, the debtor is, in every case, entirely in the power and at the mercy of his creditor; and any person who owes another (with the exception of privileged parties, such as members of Parlia- menTduring their term of office, civil and military officers, etc.) is liable to have a capias sworn out against him or her, by his or her creditor, or the creditor's agent, and to be oast into prison, whether the claim is just, or only fabricated for the occasion. The creditor goes to a lawyer, hands him a fee of $10, states the amount of his claim, which is inserted in the capias, and then, armed with this writ, presents himself before a magistrate, who, for twenty-five cents, administers the oath — which recites that A. B. owes his creditor, C. D., $40, and that C. D. has reason to believe that said A. B. is about to leave the province of Canada West with intent to defraud his creditors generally, and C. D. in particular. The creditor, having taken this oath, hands the ca- pias to the sheriff, together with a fee of $10, and the poor debtor is seized as soon as possible thereafter, whether in bed or out of it, sick or well, at night or in broad daylight, and cast into pri- son ; where, according to my experience, he may lay eighteen months. , i 14 IMPRISON MINT fOR DEBT r I USUAL MODE OF ARRESTINO DEBTORS. ■•:. h: The great moss of debtors ore brought into the prisons at night; for the sheriff or his deputy generally lurks about the tavern nearest to the residenee of the debtor, until the poor man is seen wending his way homeward after the toil of the day is over, when he is seised and hurried off to a cell. In this way a large majority of the debtors are taken, after the perjured cre- ditor swears against them — the former rarely having even the most remote idea of flying the country, and being peaceably en- gaged in their ordinary avocations when arrested. Although the lawyers themselves say that seven-eighths of all those im- prisoned for debt are falsely sworn against, yet they will, in every case, make out the papers for the $10, and say nothing ; even if they know the man about to be arrested to be perfectly respon- sible, and to harbor no intention of crossing into the United States. This is what the Canadian terms a short way of collect- ing, by playing off a Canada drive on his debtor. Onoe in jail, the debtor must pay all the costs, together with the amount the creditor has sworn he owes him, whether rightftil or otherwise, or else lay in prison from one session of court to another, before he will be permitted to produce testimony in diminution of the amount of the claim, provided he is not satisfied with it. The Courts of Quarter Sessions are held every three months, and the Court of Queen's Bench sits twice each year, in November and April. ' ..'V COURTS OF JUDICATURE — PRACTICES OF CREDITORS. A debt of $200 and upward can be sued out in the Court of Queen's Bench; and if the party be incarcerated immediately after the adjournment of the November session, he must either pay all that is claimed of him, or remain in his seven-by-nine cell until the following April, unless bail can be procured in \ « IN THE OANADAS. 16 double tho amount of the dobt and oostfl. But when ono man prooures a capias against a debtor, all his other creditors, if any, will do the same thing ; for the several creditors are entitled to the payment of their olaims in the order in which they arrest their debtor. There is no alternative lefl for the man who owes others, if one of his creditors commence proceedings against him ; ho must inevitably be ruined by the costs, and the opprobrium of being imprisoned ; which latter is a verdict of condemnation against any man in Canada — he can no longer prosecute busi- ness there after receiving that badge, notwithstanding he may honestly pay every dollar he owes. The only way for a debtor to procure his release is to make an assignment of his property after all his creditors have obtained capiases against him, and then make application to the court for his discharge. Even then, if a creditor chooses to object, and aver that ho thinks his debtor still holds property, and that he wishes to examine him further in relation thereto, the judges will refuse the application. By these false pretences the creditor will hold his debtor for twelve or eighteen months, torturing both himself and his family, with the hope that some friend or relative will voluntarily pay that portion of the debt and costs which tho assigned property has foiled to cover. In most cafi{!S, one-half of the debtor's property is swallowed up by costs and expenses, and e£fects nothing toward diminishing his debt. Thus are men robbed and ruined, their families agonized and famished, and their domestic happiness forever destroyed, by the operation of an unjust and iniquitous law, which o£fers a premium upon perjury, places virtue at a discount, and is administered by scoundrels, who necessarily are made such by the law which they are called upon to see executed. Could the people of Canada see in one view the wretchedness and crime which are the results of this law ; the tyranny and oppression practised by those who use it to serve their own base ends } and the ichumunity of its M-, 16 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT soulless administrators ; they would rise up in the majesty of their might, expunge it from their statutes, and consign to ob- liyion ai! who have hitherto upheld and sanctioned it. &1 ai THE LAW AN INOSNTIVE TO THE COMMISSION OF GRIME. The law incites a creditor to the imprisonment of his debtor, because, if the latter is worth the amount, the former will be sure of his money, whether the debtor does or does not make an assignment. Lawyers will generally advise a creditor to take out a capias, in order that they may pocket their fee of 310 ; and frequently, when one neighbor owes another, the creditor will instigate some person to originate a report that the delitor is about to run away, when the former will have a good plea for taking out a capias against him. In this manner a man's time is lost, his money frittered away, his farm or business ruined by forced neglect, and in many instances, himself and his cherished wife and innocent children reduced to absolute and grinding po- verty, followed by degradation, starvation, and untimely death. '■ SI t( WHY CANADA DOES NOT THRIVE. ;«.« I ! The Canadians themselves allege that the provinces arei fifty years behind the United States in agriculture, manufactures, and the arts and sciences; and this is mainly occasioned by the laws of the country allowing one or more evil-disposed persons to tyrannize over another, by unjust persecutions, until the debtor, and in some cases the creditor also, succumbs under the accu- mulated burden of costs. Can it be wondered that a country is poor, when it is literally swarming with legalized banditti, who plunder the producer of his all, and leave him no capital upon which to operate? — when its laws are apparently framed with a view to the oppression of the people, and not to the maintenance of their rights and liberties ? and when we learn that the costs -r. m THE CAN ADAS. 17 annually paid to, and oolleoted by lawyers, wlio produce nothing, and, like vampyres, suck the life-blood from the body politic, would pay for the education of all the children in Canada under sixteen years of age ? BLAOKOUARD LAWTERS AND CRAFTY MERCHANTS. Although the lawyers charge and collect the most extravagant sums from the people for whom they do business, which were bet- ter undone, yet the money does but few of them any good ; for they generally eat, drink, and carouse, until a premature death, caused by gout or delirium tremens, makes an end of their drunken or- gies and villanous oppression of worthy and deserving men. The farmers and mechanic s of the country are harassed and k^t in a continual state of alarm by law, whenever a hold can be got upon them, either justly or unjustly; and too many of the mer- chants and shopkeepers get them into their debt by false pre- tences; when, between the law and the jail, they become pos- sessed of all their debtors own in the world. Under such oireumstances, no sympathy, no mercy, can be obtained by either sex from their remorseless creditors; and « diamond cut dia- mond " is the character of too many of the inhabitants of the cities and villages of Canada West. < CONDUCT OF CANADIANS TOWARD CITIZENS OF THE STATES. These people are very courteous and affable toward citizens of the States (Yankees, as they are called by the Canadians) when they come into Canada with plenty of money ; but there are very few of them who ever think they get compensating remuneration for their labor, or a sufficient price for any articles they have for sale. A Canadian will watch very closely any citizen of the United States with whom he does business ; and if he is not likely to make much of a speculation out of him, he will, if there is a balance due him, throw the unwary debtor into jail, and 2* B I I M I 18 IMPRIBONMINT FOR DEBT there keep him until all his ends are answered, let them be what they may. Many business men from the United Htatcs visited me in prison, and, after luarning the facts of my case, promptly said they would novor vouturu one dollar in Canada in any trade, nor sloop a night on its soil if thoy owed a cent. No opportu- nity is a£forded for the exhibition of enterprise in business pur- suits, wherein a necessity exists for the u^o of credit to any ox- tent. If a contract is made with a Canadian, and money advanced to him, he docs not caro whether he fulfils his part of the agreement or not ; as long as ho can procure money, ho will be lavish with promises ; but when the other party seeks redress for the faithlessness of the Canadian, by some mode or other, the latter manages to elude the grasp of the law, and the baffled foreign creditor has the mortification of defeat to add to his pe- cuniary losses. A citizen of the United States has no chance in a legal controversy with a Canadian. The very best secu- rity is required for the costs, which are enormous } and then the counsel of his opponent denounces him as ad d Yankee, while the judge, as well as the jury, are, to a man, prepossessed against him. n SMOi,; ADVICE TO CITIZENS OF THE STATES. I would advise the citizens of the Union not to transact any business in the Canadas, or with Canadians, which they can avoid, until such time as the laws are so altered or amended as to enable them to do so with safety, and when they can be cer- tain of their ability to return to their families after they have accomplished the purpose which called them from their homes. The laws of Canada should be so framed as to induce immigra- tion from the United States, instead of, as at present, actually forcing emigration thitherward. Population is necessary to the prosperity of every country ; but population will not tend toward a land in which unjust laws and corrupt officials work together in rearing an insurmountable barrier to material, social, and in- Til: Iff xHi; CANADAB. f-^ 10 telleotual adTftnoomont. Hundredi of good mon, whose seryioei arc aotually noodod in tho conutry, arc rinnually driven from it by tho rigid and tyrannioal law uuthoriEing imprisonment for debt i— which it ia impossible for men tu avoid oontractiug in times of monetary and oommeroial depression. REPRISENTATIVIB OF THE RIOnT STAMP. There are many warm-hearted and sound-thinking people in the Canados, who would, if they had the power, so modify the law that a flood of immigrants would pour into the country, pur- chase lands, become farmers, and engage in many other useful productive occupations, the walks of which are now compara- tively deserted. Every new settler is of use, either direothr or indirectly, to those already established in any country ; for, while he sells his own labor, he also purchases that of others, and thus contributes his share to the general stock of wealth and comfort. The business men of both the Ganadas and the Union are greatly indebted to two talented and noble members of the Provincial Parliament, who have labored assiduously during the last two years to procure the repeal of all laws sanctioning the imprison- ment of debtors by their creditors. These gentlemen, the Hon. George Brown, of Toronto, and the Hon. George McMicken, of Olifton, have not only given their time, but have also spent much money, in furtherance of their efforts to have the laws of Canada modelled after those of the States, as far as it is possible so to do. Although natives of Scotland, they are generally called ^' Native Americans " by the Yankees doing business in Canada — probably because of their predilection for the customs and usages of the people of tho Union. :t%- THE OANADAS A FERTILE REGION. in- Canada West is a beautiful country ; the land is remarkably fertile, and produces large crops of all kinds of grain, as well as 20 IMt'UlBONMlNT FOR UKHT grjws of cxoollont quality in groat abundanco. Where attention has boon given to breeding, every description of stock is of a fair character, and is susceptible of still greater ituprovenient, with proper management. i*or quality or variety, the timber cannot bo exceeded by any grown in the United States j and comprises white oak, black walnut, white wood, white ash, white pine, cherry, and many other kinds of less value. The white oak, of which there is a groat abundance, is generally used for stjvvcs and ship-timber, and much of it is squared up rouglily and shipped to Liverpool, Kngland. The other woods mentioned above are also much sought for shipment to the United States ntid to Europe, where they are largely used in the manufacture of furniture. In fact, nothing is lacking in Canada but now laws, so drawn up as to allow the producer to retain and enjoy tho legitimate fruits of his own industry, economy, and prudence. NON-INTKROOURSE WITH CANADA UNTIL TUB LAWS ARE ''". CIIANOEl). ' It is my settled purpose never again to transact any business in Canada until all tho obnoxious laws are repealed, and a com- plete change has been inaugurated, looking to the protection of both property and person. Furthermore, I will, as far as within my power, warn others of the danger they incur by doing busi- ness in that country, and deter them from making settlement there. In this resolve I am not by any nicans alone. THE IMPRISONMENT OP THE AUTHOR. llcturning to the subject of my imprisonment in tho jail of Chatham, Canada West, I will endeavor to give a faithful narra- tive of tho facts as they occurred ; and I trust that, wherever I am known and have transacted business, it may meet the approval of my numerous friends and acquaintances, who have long do- wred such a statement. After tho perusal of these pages, I will IN TUB 0ANADA8. 21 loavc it to tliom to dotonnino whotlior or not I. doHorvod tho punish niont l rocoivcd at tho hands of tho nioroiloHS ivdniinistra- tors of tho tymnnioal and unjust laws of (lannda WoHt. Tho first man with whom I entered into a contract for lumber was hr ;i.i PT-a. IIOUERT J. Rl'lNTYUB, . an illiterate Nova Sootian, whoso narrow mind mirrored itself in his acts, and whose selfish heart never beat responsive to a plea- surable or a charitable emotion — like Shylock, he yearned only for his " pound of fiesh." As is usual in that locality, ho wanted advances in cash on account of lumber to bo delivered at future stated periods, and represented himself to be worth $20,000, tho owner of a fine farm, saw-mill, etc., etc. I advanced him the cash agreed upon, and in due time he commenced operations j but during that season he got out somewhat less than one-fourth of the quantity he had contracted to deliver — pleading as an ex- cuse that ho could not well deliver it because of a rise in tho prices of freight j but that he would get out tho balance during tho next season. Mark tho selfish character of the man. If ho fulfilled his contract, ho might sufi'er a small pecuniary loss, and therefore ho failed to dc so ; but no consideration was given to the injury ho was inflicting upon me, by preventing me from sending the lumber to market as I had promised — for which I was responsible in damages to tho parties with whom I had con- tracted. ■■'■'"''' '*'^ '■ : ' f I - / - ',. .r »r- ■ ■■^' Finding that I was so situated that I could not well help my- self, I concluded to make tho best of it, and to take his lumber during tho following season — that of 1 857 ; and during tho win- ter and spring of tho latter year, I continued to make him ad- vances of money, with which to purchase his stock — in all, amounting to about $2(500. Our contract called for my accept- anoo of drafts on mo at two and four months, payable in Albany, for the value of each cargo of lumber, minus the cash already 22 IMPRISONMENT FOB DEBT i 'i'l advanced thereon ; bnt Mr. M'Intyre did not furnish sufficient lumber to cover the money advanced him until after the 5th of August, 1857. It was not my intention to let him, or any other person, hold my paper; and, although the contract was so worded as to require the transferrence of my acceptances to my creditor, yet this clause was only introduced to provide against the con- tingency of the commission merchants in Albany, to whom my consignments were made, not being able to realize from sales, and remit by draft, in time to suit my purposes. On receipt of such drafts, I converted them into cash, and paid the money to those parties with whom I had contracts. My usual practice was to ascertain the value of a cargo by measurement and in- spection, draw for the amount upon my consignees in Albany, and accompany the draft with a duplicate bill of lading, signed by the captain of the vessel. The proceeds were generally re- ceived in from eight to twelve days, and the claims of my cre- ditors immediately satisfied. I found that Mr. Robert J. M^Intyre was hunted and dunned by almost every person in the town of Chatham ; and he gave me no peace until I consented to accept his drafts, on which he could procure money at the Commercial Bank, in Chatham -~- frequently not being willing to wait until the value of the load was ascertained. In the autumn of that year, I learned that he had slandered me in many instances, by telling his creditors that I was indebted to him, and that as soon as he could procure his money from me he would pay them. M'Intyre's drafts, which I accepted in August, September, and October, of 1857, were made at ninety days each, and, consequently, matured late in the autumn and winter ; at which time, owing to the great monetary convulsion, sales of every kind of products were made with ex- treme difficulty, if effected at all. My consignees in Albany were not willing to accept any more drafts against the lumber they still had on hand unsold, as prices of all kinds of produce were rapidly falling, and it was even difficult to make sales at IN THE OANADAS. 28 any price. Commission merchants who held lumber, or any other description of property, valued, at the time of making advances upon it, at double the amount of those advances, were in dread of not being able to realize their own— so rapid was the depre- ciation of property, and so utterly prostrate was the entire busi- ness world. As a matter of course, when I could get no returns for my shipments, I was compelled to cease making payments also ; but, for anything that I know to the contrary, Bobert J. M^Intyre had offered my acceptances for discount at the bank, and at this very time had the money in his pocket, amounting to something like ^600. I would not have been his debtor to this amount, had he have given me a few days time after his car- goes were shipped ; when he would have received his money in the same manner as when I was making him advances. ;3«-j mt\t *!iijv>'>t>^a ixi^rQ9M-'ir D. R. VAN ALLEN. -■>-^ A part of this paper matured before the first day of Decem- ber, 1857 'f and in addition to this, there were a few small claims against me in the hands of other parties, for balances due on lumber furnished by contract. No one of these individuals, however, fulfilled the letter of his contract any better than Mr. M'Intyre. A Mr. J). R. Van Allen contracted to deliver me a large lot of lumber, on which I advanced him $1500 ; but before I received from him the amount of my advance, he pressed me for more money, or paper upon which he could realize. I loaned him my acceptance for $500, a short time thereafter, a second acceptance, for $400, and still later, another, for $300 — in all, $1200. This paper he promised faithfully to redeem at maturity; but as all the drafts fell due at a time when the panic was at its height, he could not meet them ; nor could I, although he had by th! (. time delivered sufficient lumber to cover the advances m'/' s also this amount of $1200. K I haci not given my ■ 5 I 24 IMPRISONMENT TOR DEBT acceptances until such time as the contract specified, they would not have matured before I was able to take them up. The second delivery which Mr. Van Allen made under his con- tract fell greatly short of his estimate, and was a cause of deten- tion to a large vessel lying in the port of Chatham. Instead of a full cargo, what he had furnished made but about half a load, and he could not haul any more from his mill to the river on ac- count of the condition of the roads. To complete his cargo, I was obliged to pick up what I could at other points in Chatham ] for which detention he charged a demurrage amounting to $300. This was really due from, and should have been paid by, Mr. Van Allen ; but he objected to doing so, on some miserable plea. As the captain of the vessel had my lumber in his possession, and could hold it,, or sell enough to cancel his claim, I paid the money ; but after I was thrown into prison, Mr. Van Allen came to the magnanimous determination to allow me $100 on account. ! ! I') t HENRY M. MARSH. . r The next gentleman with whom I contracted was Mr. Henry M. Marsh, a native-born Canadian, who had built the frame of a mill, and got ready the wooden part of the machinery. The steam machinery was completed in Detroit, about the 1st of April, 1857 ; but as the makers would not deliver it until a cer- tain sum in cash was paid, he came to me, and offered to contract to deliver on board vessels, during the summer of 1857, 500,000 feet of lumber, provided I would advance him $1500. I acceded to his terms, and this money started him in business in a satis- factory manner ; but he still required advances, which I conti- nued to make, to help him along, until he had received $1982 ; at which time he had not delivered to me one foot of lumber on account of his contract — beside which, he eventually failed to supply one half the number of feet he had contracted to furnish. The se- '1 r . A CANADIAN JAIL. .,♦,.. .1,... m..i ' 1 will leave the reader to imagine my feelings, and whether or not I slept during the latter part of that night. On a white oak floor, well lined with iron, was placed a straw bed, six feet long by two feet wide, and about six inches thick, covered with two Indian blankets; and at one end of it was a pillow, composed of hen's feathers (or rather quills; for everything in the shape of feathers had long since effected their escape between the gap- ing seams of the tick). The miserable pallet, had it been clean, presented but a slim prospect of a good night's rest; but even this poor comfort waa denied me; for, on examining my couch, in order to ascertain the chance of being marched off belbro morning into another corner of the cell by a more numerous es- cort than had brought me to the jail, I discovered that the bag of ticking which held the quills had apparently been, at various times, a pillow of ease for the heads of a hundred or more dirty, drunken, spewing vagrants. By the feeble light of my candle, it fairly glistened with the filth which had been deposited upon it, and rubbed down to a fine polish by the friction of successive uneasy and liquor-loaded craniums. A hasty glance at the blan- kets led me to suppose they were made of the old down-east, or Massachusetts pepper-and-salt cloth — such as, fifty years ago, my mother used to manufacture into pantaloons for myself and brothers ; but, after going to bed, I found that the peppery ap- pearance of the blankets was a living reality ; and well peppered was I before morning. In all my previous life, I never expe- rienced such misery and torture as were inflicted upon me by the crawling and nimble-footed vermin during that long and dreary night — rendered more tedious and annoying because my cell was not unlocked until between 8 and 9 o'clock in the mornin-r{ ^t^^'''6 1 mv A CANADA JAILOR. . Payne, the man who had charge of the Canada jail in which I was incarcerated, was well fitted for his occupation by Nature ; which, apparently by accident, made him a biped instead of a quadruped ; for, with the body of a man he united the characteristics of a brute. He had such a devouring look, IN THE OANADAS. i/t lUi nion; for days they lus night, jr but my but thrco rashstand, or a tuble, ! occupant )ught into ) his own tin tank, he cleans- it was an prisoners ivhen they d into a er savory lent har- ,s literally etables, a [jompleted trashed in bly dirty, ►f a lager- in which Nature j istead of ited the ng look, and his actions were so indicative of a ravenous disposition, that the prisoners named him '' Grampus ;" and when, in years past, ho was a deputy sheriflf, so wide-spread was his reputation as a cruel and bestial man, that his approach in any locality was suf- ficient to thrill with terror the hearts of meil, women, and chil- dren resident there. He was an uncultivated and untaught Englishman ; and, carrying with him into his family circle the animal nature which governed all his actions in public life, he maltreated his wife and abused his children. When Kent County was formed out of part of Essex, and the jail built, he secured the appointment of jailor — which, as ho is now old, ho will pro- bably retain during life. ,15 #^u t:uH iiHn Avoii v}i^m7 (His :{Svn f&im.m ,:-A , .t^l> ^,1 CANADIAN TRUTHFULNESS AND HONOR. Thus was I rewarded for the many favors I had conferred upon my arresting creditors ; and I now propose to give the reader a more full conception of their outrageous deception and inhumanity. After I had been in prison a long time, and my creditors had become pretty well satisfied that they could not ob- tain from me in cash the excessive amounts they had sworn to, Mr. M'lntyre informed me that he would not have acted as he had doue, were it not for Mr. Harper ; who, when he went to London to see him, threatened that, if M'lntyre did not have me arrested, he (Harper) would immediately sue M'lntyre on the paper which he had endorsed, and which was then past due. M'lntyre further said that Walter M'Crea, the lawyer who drew up nearly all the capiases issued in that county, also advised him to capias the Yankee j or told him that he (M'Crea) would, if he was in his place ; thus indirectly urging one man to imprison his fellow. Other gentlemen, of undoubted veracity, informed me that M'Crea had advised them to the same course. Thus, for the petty fee of $10, this rascal incited former friends to engage in litigation, which he full well knew would end, as all such I- I: I 1 i 11 111 Vv .1 :i P, I ! ! i'l M I : I 'I' 111! iHi: Pi IMl'RISONMENT FOR DKllT eases usually do in Canada, by the lawyers, officers, and courts absorbing every penny of the debtor's property, and much of the creditor's means; to say nothing of the time lost by both parties to such a contest, and which can never be reimbursed. Kevorting back to the assurances given mo by Mr. John G. Harper, on the J 2th or 14th of November, the reader will see that, according to the statement of llobert J. M'Intyro, the word of a high official connected with the Commercial Bank of Ca- nada was not of as much value as that of a common pickpocket, burgler, or gambler ; for it has grown into a proverb that " there is honor among thieves;" but this man and his fellow-perse- cutors scorned the possession of any moral qualification in com- mon with the vulgar herd, and flouted at the ideaof any restraint when on his fu- son mo, or s abortion thrust his h, he has by an in- in a hinjli ng of the has been ents, cdu- llobert J. foreswore klf to the pi puis ion prea, who in your le, which they were far from being, such a plea would not be admitted by any rational being; for no man has a right to attribute to others the moral turpitude of his own actions ; as God has endowed each of his creatures with a free will, for the exercise of which he holds him accountable, and man cannot establish a law con- flicting with that set up by the Deity. But let us see how his deeds square with his assertions. It is usually the practice, in Canada and elsewhere, under the operation of laws authorizing imprisonment for debt, for the creditor to swear to all his con- science (if he has one) will allow him ; because, in most cases, the debtor will endeavor to procure the amount, no matter how large, in order to escape from the horrible cells of a prison ; and if ho pays before the next session of the court, the creditor's conduct escapes scrutiny, as he will not then be required to prove the amount of his claim. In order to make a good opera- tion, and obtain a pocketful, M'Intyre swore that I owed him the round sum of ^GOOO, though, in the following April, he got judgment for but $4187. Being in his own mind fully assured that I would pay the amount claimed in preference to remaining in prison, he made up a very plausible statement, by including together past due drafts, endorsed by himself, drafts not yet due, also endorsed with his name, and book accounts : althoush ho had no means of knowing whether I was or was not able to meet at maturity the paper not yet due. He discovered, however, be- fore he got through with me, that honesty would have been the better policy, and that it takes two parties to make a contract, as well as two parties to adjust mutual differences. At the time that M'Intyre represented himself to me as being worth 320,000, he was actually a bankrupt, as I have since ascertained, and did not even own the farm which he claimed to possess. After- events proved that all my creditors were in the like predicament, as every one of them failed in 1858, when their assets wore found to fall far short of their liabilities. Ai.j'\ t^ity? ii ni i • >i i'Ji'. .V^fioiff ^l uiiiti > ill ii! :H| ) 11 1 1 ! liiii lii:^ ' Mil llj Ci; »^ l-j ill 1'::ii 84 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT •■(U .>K»v'UMU,';i yd ,Hj'« ,-vJk. Ji* i-\ m i s <•? H PERJURY MOST FOUL. ilUXii i':v Daniel R. Van Allen, of Cha ;ham, Canada West, and most probably a native, is under the medium height, with a dark com- plexion, black, straight, and rather coarse hair, and a face which is the index of a low and grovelling mind. For a long period he was engaged in the business of selling goods, but lately he has abandoned it; or, rather, his business forsook him. For a year previous to his withdrawal from active business life he con- nected the lumber business with his store; and through this my intercourse with him commenced. On the whole, he is a pretty smart man, and, as the sequel will show, the keenest of my per- secuting creditors ; who, tliough all possessed of very accomo- dating consciences, cannot compare with this gentleman in the elastic qualities of a faculty which some folks are wont to think should be so governed as to suit every emergency. After I was securely caged between impenetrable stone walls, ribbed with iron, and with no power left me to pursue the bent of my own inclinations, this Mr. Van Allen went before a magistrate, and swore, by the name of the Almighty Father of all, that he had good and sufficient reasons for believing that I was about to run away, and quit the Province of Canada West, with the intention of defrauding my creditors in general, and himself in particular. Furthermore, he swore that I owed him the sum of $400 in ex- cess of a true statement of my indebtedness to him. When con- venient to the honorable sheriff of the county, he came to the jail, unlocked my cell door, and arrested me — that is, he handed me the writ which commanded him to do so ; after which, he walked out and locked the door securely, leaving me as free to fly the country as I was before his visit. All this was done for a fee of $10 ; the law, as has been previously stated, prompting an arrest of the debtor, even under circumstances when flight must be clearly impracticable. The creditor who first issues a capias against his debtor is the first to get his money, and the IN THE OANADAS. {/ 35 others follow in the order in which the capiases are taken out; while he who would resort to the honest method of a suit at law, after obtaining judgment, could not touch a dollar's worth of his debtor's property until the claims of those who had consciences sufficiently elastic to swear through everything were fully satis- fied. In Canada, creditors are more concerned about procuring the money than they are about the mode adopted for the pur- pose ; and they Scruple not to swear false oaths, provided they can thereby secure the coveted prize. They are good and cre- ditable pupils of lago ; whose instruction, " Put money in thy purse — honestly if thou canst — but, put money in thy purse," they follow out with commendable fidelity. ■i: ,\*',fi '^-' ■■"- i'^i "j.'i' a' A PARADOX — AN HONOttABLE WHO IS DISHONORABLE, AS IS ALSO HIS PARTNER. The Hon. A. M'Keller, of the firm of M'Keller & Dolson, Chatham, Canada West, was, at the time of his election to Par- liament, in December, 1857, proprietor of a saw-mill in Kent County, and owed his success in the canvass to liberal promises, made to electors of all classes and shades of color, that, in the event of his election, he would use every endeavor to procure the repeal of the law authorizing imprisonment for debt. As, during that fall and winter, none could pay their debts, and the people of the county generally (with the exception of those who were at large under bail) feared that imprisonment might be their lot, Mr. M'Keller was elected by a very large vote. He is tall, stout, has a long and sharp nose, and a fine set of teeth, which he loves to display, especially when r^-iving a tight bar- gain. Of Scotch descent, it is probable he was born in Canada, as he so well understands the system of sharp practice pursued there. He considers himself very smart; but he is not quite as shrewd as Van Allen, who received from me $500 for withdraw- ing his capias ; though he makes speeches in the Lower House m ■n i /iiP # 1 ' I; h H I ■■, (i li!' :' li'.^l ili. t<" i ji;' •! ! ii iii'i i 36 IMPRISONMENT FOE DKBT which by some are considered passable. He will tell his hearers all about the Chatham llivor, from its mouth to the highest point to which it is navigable ; relate to them how the money was ex- pended which the Government appropriated to clearing snags out of the river; detail the experience of Jonah, whose net caught on the snags, but failed to catch any of the money; be- side many other interesting matters connected with that highly important river, which space will not allow of being introduced here, Mr. John L. Dolsou is a very fair-looking specimen of human manufacture, and by birth a full-blooded Canadian; but from whom his pedigree is derived I cannot say, though I am inclined to suppose he was sired by his Satanic majesty, as deception is a leading feature in his character. Notwithstanding the sulphu- rous nature of his supposed connexions, he is a strong pillar of the church, though slightly inclined to be avaricious; and if there be any truth in the revelations of phrenology, there is no doubt of his inclination to covetousness — the round face and heavy bull-dog features being indicative of a propensity to de- vour. It is related of him that, wlien he sells half-inch boards, he measures them on both sides, whereby he gets paid for double the number of feet; but in buying he counts two half-inch as one one-inch board, and thus pays for but one-half the amount he really buys. He is a Christian — he twice visited me in pri- son, and both times reprimanded me for not summoning a meet- ing of my arresting creditors in my cell, and surrendering to them everything I owned. ' ^ -' ='-^^ "- • • Now, these two men, who were themselves bankrupt, and had signed a cognovit for $40,000, put their heads together to con- coct a scheme by which they could secure the trifling amount that I owed them, and intimated that I was devoid of any honorable principles ; though, in all my dealings with them during three seasons previous, I had never failed to pay cash, as I agreed. As the man who claimed the title of Honorable (a misnomer) I IN THE CANADAS. u \ m ■' ■■! was considered the most shrewd, because he had sueceed in se- curing a seat as a member of the Provincial Parliament, ho was deputed by his partner to work out the plot; and after I had Iain in jail about one month, the Hon. ( ! ) gentleman visited me in prison, " merely out of pity." He gazed around my room, glanced at the hog's nest, called a bed, which occupied the floor, and took a mental inventory of the few other articles which went to make up the furniture ; after which, i»e remarked that it was a hard-looking place in which to confine a business man like my- self, who had always been used to good accomodations, and the comforts of a home, with liberty to go when and where I pleased. He expressed great sorrow for ray existing condition, but declared that he could do nothing for me, u the law was very harsh as well as unjust; though he promised its abolition during the ap- proaching session of Parliament, as he was then a member, and had much influence. In the same breath, however, he consoled me with the assurance that I would probably be kept in jail until I paid ofl^ my arresting creditors, but disclaimed any intention of doing what he said he had never yet stooped to, — viz.: capias a debtor, — because he considered it a poor way to col " t a debt. Alluding to the condition of my cell, he said it was very dirty, and that, if the county must have laws for the im- prisonment of debtors, the authorities should furnish better rooms for the parties so confined. From this subject he passed to that of food, and propounded various questions relative to my daily bill of fare, and other matters, which I surmised were all in- tended to sound me as to the time when I would pay the cre- ditors who then had me under arrest — thus deliberately calcu- lating the period when he would have the supreme pleasure of again placing me in the delightful accommodations I then en- joyed. To satisfy his inquiring mind, and furnish him with fresh arguments against the law of imprisonment for debt when a second time a candidate for the suffrages of the dear people, I told this Honorable that my dinner generally consisted of a piece m i ' ^l ! ,'t !' M II iiii- :;: ii: ^ii m \ ' i ,! i I ml' I ;■ :ii a r'", iilML 3» IMPRISONMENT FOB DEBT of the leg of an old ox, cut off just above the gambril joint, and which had been whipped, or pounded with the butt end of a gad, until it was as hard and tough as a sinner (sinew). This piece of leg was usually heated cleverly through in a stove-oven, and then served up with a few potatoes, a little gutta-percha bread, and occasionally a trifle of good butter, though more frequently bad supplied its place. The bread was made by contract, and the meat, vegetables, etc., furi^||ied in the same way; but, as the lowest bidder always secures the job, it is very evident that the fare must necessarily be of a miserable character; for no ono will give more than an equivalent for the money he receives. In order to make a large-looking loaf, the bread was made so light and porous that it really had not substance enough in it to cast a shadow in the noon-day sun, and dried up like a cinder in half a day's time. When it was fresh, I could put my foot on one end of the loaf, and with my hand stretch it out like an India-rubber belt. The meat, beef especially, was so tough that I could put it through the same process — that is, for the first few months after I was in prison — subsequently, I became so weak for lack of proper food that I could stretch neither meat nor bread. For supper, we had a compound which was digni- *- fied by the name of tea, sweetened with wet, black sugar, gutta- percha bread, and butter. Breakfast was a counterpart of the supper — butter and gutta percha — no vegetables, not even a cold potato. Our steak was a little of the meat left from the previ- # ous day's dinner, served up with a saw with which to cut it. Oc- casionally we had a piece of sheep meat for dinner, and the fol- lowing morning some of it cold for breakfast. We sometimes thought that if we could only get a piece of the beef just after it had been pounded with the gad, and have it broiled nicely and served up with butter over it, if it were poor, it would be some- thing of a rarity, and an agreeable change. But, although com- pelled to pay ^3 in cash per week for our board, yet we were obliged to take just what was given us, or go unfed, as we could i:\A IN THE OANADAS. y.l 89 not very easily change our place of boarding. All this I told the Honorable gentleman ; and^ although it may sound impro- bable to those who have had no experience of prison fare in Ca- nada, yet it is every word true. After he had learned all he pos- sibly could, he left my cell. « Some time in February, 1858, before he went to Toronto to take his seat in the Parliament, himself and his partner resolved to capias me, in order to makemre of receiving their money. I am told that M'Keller done the swearing for the firm, aa Dolson was a member of church ; and after all his loudly-vaunted sym- pathy with suflFering debtors, and his wordy arguments against imprisonment for debt, this hypocritical honorable (?) had the audacity to make oath to a statement which had no foundation in truth, in order to avail himself of the preference given under the law to all who took out a capias. Armed with this docu- ment, the sheriflF was again sent to arrest me, although I was then, and for a long time thereafter, securely locked up in jail; but in Canada this is considered a matter of little consequence, and the administrators of the law shut their eyes to a manifest violation of its spirit and intention, while, at the same time, they extend their itching palms to receive the coveted ill-gotten fee. The reader may readily see how much security there" is in Ca- nada for the personal liberty of any man who is, by the chance of trade or other causes, rendered the debtor of a soulless Cana- » dian trader. ' . ^^..^ ..,...,>.,.» j j .., The Hon. (dishonorable) M' Keller swore I owed him about $320 ; and when the case came before the court, at its session in April, 1858, as I made no defence (how could I, when under bodily constraint ?), he obtained a judgment for over $400, in- cluding costs. Herein consists the peculiar merit of this law, concocted by lawyers for their own advantage — when a man is in jail, and cannot look after his business, they take just what they please ; and if he has any property which they can get at, the creditors and lawyers will legally steal it from the helpless m m w ii|; '! 1 i!!i ■i II;: 'li 'i" I i;:» Hi::, i^,l P n-i 40 ^\ IMl'lUSONMENT FOil DEBT debtor, and then kick him out of the country. Any attempt to obtain redress by an action against the principals, for perjury oi false imprisonment, would only result in a combination of all the the parties to swear the debtor into jail again. ^'^ ^^ ^*'i .4*i5^' 4 't t»yr i^i A [ . / 1 A MR. M'LEAN, ■■'■^Ai ill .1iiti;,i>^yid jiLii.T * * od'u U^, UlyKtd :>A: IliiyJft ■jSj ..J I . rjl MR. GEORGE RAYMOND, ■ • \i Who held a claim against me fjox about $160, acting under the advice of two men in whose power he was, and who absolutely ruled him, swore out a capias for a sum exceeding $200. Hav- ing no opposition, he readily obtained a judgment for the amount he swore to. In a case like this, nothing can be saved by mak- ing a defence ; for, if the sum in suit does not exceed $200, the costs of trial will be more than $100. Mvu i ih^uijdiiii ^'JMl Another zealous, "Praise-God Barebones" style of Christian^ procured me to endorse the note of a third party, drawn to Ray- mond's order, and by him endorsed j after which he had it dis- counted. This note, for which I received nothing, was not paid at maturity, and the holder sued it out, and collected the amount from Raymond. I have been informed that Raymond sent the money, some $1600 or $1700, with an attorney, to the holder of the execution (though distant over one hundred miles), for the purpose of obtaining an assignment of the execution when the latter was satisfied — intending to use it in collecting the amount from me. It BO happened that the document was not assigned, but cancelled, and thus rendered useless. Now, observe a sharp piece of financiering on the part of a devoted Canadian Chris- tian, whose guide is the Bible, and who is supposed to have at least heard of the precept given to mankind by the meek and lowly Saviour : to " do unto others as we would that others should do unto us." This very Raymond, in the month of February, ^K I., i:;^- IN THE CANADAS. 41 1858, swore out a capias againat me for the amoun of this note, and the costs of suit and execi*' n; but, as he could not pro- duce any account in his books as evidence of my indebtedness to him, when his case came before the court, in the spring of 1858, he suffered a nonsuit. I was, however, imprisoned undor his capias for months, without even the shadow of a cause, be- fore I was discharged from the tenure of his claim. I 'X' a-fy' Ctrrf; rURTHER ABOUT MR. HENRY M. MARSH, .... Who has been alluded to before, but whom I now purpose to speak of in a more particular manner, as he is the man to whom I advanced $1982 to help him out of his difficulties. He called to see me every few weeks in prison, simulated a great deal of sorrow for one who had aided him so effectually, and fre- quently said that no other man had ever done so much for him as myself He remarked that it was very wrong to imprison men who brought so much money into the country, and who ex- tended so much assistance to the people of Canada, and that he would never be guilty of doing such a thing; while, sometimes, he would say, "Anything that I can do for you I will perform with the greatest pleasure." As the amount I owed him was small, I really thought he was sincere in his professions and of- fers; and this deception he continued until May, 1858; at which time I had been in jail nearly six months. About this time he called on me, and said that if I would give him a due-bill for $500 to square our account, he would go to Mr. Evans, who held some notes received by me from Mr. S. Boushey (and which he had been directed to apply to the pay- ment of such parties as I designated), obtain $200 of those notes, and credit that amount on the due-bill ; but on the balance he assured me that I might have two years' time. In order to close my account with him, I did as he desired ; when, instead of go- ing to Mr. Evans, he proceeded directly to the office of a lawyer, 4* 12 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT I, |l> ^h M 11 had a capias drawn up for the full amount of the due-bill, took the necessary oath, and the following day the sheriff served the writ on me in prison. I put in no defcnee, and, as a matter of course, Marsh procured a judgment for 8050 — the face of the due-bill, with costs. This is another speoimen of Canadian honor and Canadian reliability. What safety or security is there for either person or property in Canada, when matters are conducted in this infamous manner ? — when sneaking, hypocritical scoundrels, like the scamp just mentioned, are allowed to imprison honest men from one session of court to another, unless they pay what these extor- tioners choose to demand, and when yillanous lawyers, like M'Crea and many others, can be found, to aid and abet a set of swindling vagabonds in their operations? -* -■• '- ^— - - After Mr. Marsh procured his judgment, as his capias was no longer a detainer upon me, he obtained a writ of capias ad satis- faciendum, which empowered him to keep me in jail for three months longer ', and in order to do this, the creditor is obliged to swear that his debtor is about to secrete his property, with the view of defrauding his creditors generally, and himself in particular — which I had not the power to do if I wished ; for I was locked up in so secure a manner that any such act on my part would have been an impossibility. Twice did this villain perjure himself in furtherance of his effort^ to persecute his for- mer benefactor, besides expending his money for that purpose — for a ca. sa. costs five per cent, on the face of the debt, with the costs of previous suit added. The ca. sa. which B. J. M'Id- tyre served on me cost him a trifle over $200. OFFERS MADE TO MY CREDITORS — HOW RECEIVED. 'iHil When first cast into prison by MMntyre, Harper, M'Crea, & Co., — for the latter were accessories both before and after the fact, — I was content to sit in my cell, and gaze out of my one win- IN THE OANADAS. 48 dow, covered with irou bars, at a high stono wall, which dark- ened my room very much, except when the sun shone brightly. After a couple of weeks had elapsed, my persecutor came to see me, supposing that ho would then have no difficulty in procuring his $0000 ; and he brought with him a witness, as did all tho others, to watch for and cutch any words that might give them u chance of still further torturing mc. M'Intyro inquired what I hud made up my mind to do. I replied that 1 would carry out my agreement with tlio holder of the notes — John G. Har- per, agent of a Canada bank. Ho answered that neither the bank nor its agents would receive Mr. Boushey's notes as secu- rity for the value of a York shilling on the dollar; but that I must pay him $0000 in cash. I denied owing him the amount named, and said that I would not pay it to him if I had tho money then 11- hand ; whereupon, by way of retort, he threatened mo with being compelled to remain in jail until I did pay, and took his leave of mo with that comforting assurance. -' - It was supposed that, when Mr. Van Allen served his capias on me, I would become so much alarmed that I would make stre- nuous efforts to raise the means necessary to liquidate the claims against rae which they had respectively sworn to. I have been informed that some of my creditors, who were anxiously waiting until I had settled with the two who had first issued capiases against me, met nightly at a certain drinking-saloon, together with M'Intyre (though he lived four miles out from Chatham) and Walter M'Crea (the scheming lawyer), and, over their cups, exulted at their success in cooping up the Yankee, as well as the pro'^pect of soon fingering a large amount of cash. This mutual congratulation society kept up its meetings for about two weeks ; when, the individual and collective credit of the members be- coming exhausted, the association was dissolved, in accordance with the suggestion of the landlord. At this time they supposed, and ventured to assert, that the Yankee (myself) could not hold out another night, and that the battle would be speedily termi- f i I 44 IMI'IIISONMKNT FOR DKlll n h' ' r^y I ) h I|,IH' !r ii '! natcil as to the largest amounts in controversy. Tlioir plan of operations was, to serve a capias every second or third week, to frighten inc, and lead me to suppose it was their intention to hold mo in jail for years ; though they were careful to keep a reserve in readiness to arrest and re-imprison me, in easel settled with thoso who had capiased me previously. Had the lawyer, M'Crea, been as shrewd as ho claimed to be, he would have ad- vised his clients to commence with small amounts, which were within the scope of my ability to pay, and reserve tho heavy sums for a final attack; when they could have held me until 1, or my friends, were compelled to buy them off. ' ■ Finding that the money wo^ not forthcoming, they held a grand pow-wow, which resulted in sending a deputation to tho jail to sound me as to my intentions ; but 1 told these people very plainly that I had not the money with which to settle tho amounts I owed them, and that I had determined not to procure it. " If you have not the cash," said they, '• and cannot procure it, you have got friends in Albany, who can assist you to raise the requisite amount." To which I replied, that, if I had friends able and willing to help me, I would reserve thorn for a better cause than that of procuring money for men whoso conduct to me had been marked by the most shameless duplicity and heart- less villany. They then accused me of a design not to pay them their just due ; but I promptly met this charge by telling them that I had in my store at Vienna, Elgin County, $8000 worth of saleable goods, which, with §2000 of good debts, and the notes received from Stephen Boushey, in amount $3462, 1 would make over to them as collateral security for the suras for which they should obtain judgment against me on trial in the proper court, provided they did not settle with me, and ascertain the true state of our accounts; and that they might, under this ar- rangement, put a receiver in my store, to take charge of the daily receipts from sales, as well as the collections on notes and book accounts. At the same time, I gave them to understand IN TIIK CAN ADAS. that sucli of my creditors ns would bo likely to make costs and impriHon mo must become pnrtioH to the nrrutijijcment, when I should be Hct ut liberty, und allowed to attend to my business n.s usual. This proposition was canvassed by my creditors and the ccle- hrated lawyer of Chatham, Walter M'Crca; who, being ns rough in speech as ho was beared in conscience, advised them not to trouble themselves with either debts, notes, or goods, and conti- nued, "Damn liim, hold on; ho is a man of too much business to lay in jail for 80000 or $8000. You hold on to the Yankee, und the money will come from friends of his, if lie has not got it." '*! . } f . .. ,.. For more than ono month I did all I could to persuade them to take a course which would have been to their advantage ; but, finding that all my eiforts to get them to take security, and re- store to me that Liberty which is the right of every true and just " Xative American j" and finding, also, that I could not procure frt)m any of them a statement of my existing account, by which I could ascertain what I really did owe them on the summer's work, I made up my mind that, IVoni the comnjeneeiuent, it had been, and still was, their intention to make mc the victim of a foul Canadian plot. With this view of the case in my mind, I wrote to my creditors in the United States, and those of them in Canada who had used me fairly, stated to them candidly my real situation, and presented an exhibit of my available means, at the same time informing them that I could sell property and take notes as long as my creditors held my body without having taken out an execution against the former — there being no law to pre- vent my so doing. I offered to divide my property among them, and to take my chanco of life or death in a Canada jail j but many of my creditors in the States wrote me to transfer my pro- perty to my creditors in Canada, if I could thereby secure my liberty; saying that they would wait for their money until such time as T would be able to cancel their claims. My Canadian 1 y\ ( ? ii m % I I! li .^1 I' 'I I 1' ■ nii ,'11! } ■'■■ ! iiiliiih !i i ii ii |;:: " 4A IMPRISONMENT FOB DEBT creditors had, however, in addition to arresting and swearing falsely against me, conducted themselves in such a very con- temptible manner, that I would not again renew my offer, so fre- quently refused, but decided in my own mind that they were not entitled to, and should not receive, one dollar of what they claimed. So I sold my property through agents, and paid the proceeds over to my fair-dealing and merciful creditors. > «•< m'intyre's folly *^' Daniel R. Van Allen received $500 on account of his claim, while my other arresting creditors preferred to keep me in jail, and torture me, as if I were a felon, rather than accept a pro rata per centage in common with others, after they had i^efused full security for the indebtedness they could establish by proper testimony in a court of justice. Of my creditors in Canada, Gardiner & Gibb, Sicklested, Martin, and others, who kept quiet, received the larger part of their due, though for nearly eight months I kept $1900 for M'Intyre; but, as he refused to accept it on account of his claim, I divided the amount among those of my creditors who would receive it, and thus closed out all my available means. M'Intyre had friends (not lawyers) who ad- vised him to take the money, and told him that he could do no better ; but he averred that he would either have all or nothing, and protested that he would keep me in jail from July until the end of time. * mriM% i tiif^s i r^ M INTYRE S CONSULTATION WITH A GIPSY. In Canada, as in many other countries of the world, may be found, during the summer, a wandering class of people, called gipsies, who travel from place to place ; each family generally comprising a man, a woman, and a number of children. Their conveyance is generally an old wagon, drawn by a very ancient IN THE 0ANADA8. -Hi m horse; and this wagon not only serves as an eating-rooiu during the day, but at night it is the dormitory for the entire party, who stow themselves promiscuously away, either in or under it. The men are mostly tinkers, who mend old and make some new tin-ware, which the children sell in the neig borhoods where they stop ; while the women tell fortunes, procure the fuel, cook the victuals, etc. M'Intyre travelled six miles to consult one of these wise women as to the probability of obtaining the amount of his claim from me. It is alleged that she told him to take what I was willing to give him, or he would never obtain any- thing; but he rejected her counsel, though it cost him one dol- lar, which I suppose he charged to the debtor side of the profit and loss account. After this statement, the reader will not won- der at the description I gave of Mr. M'Intyre in the introductory notice of that highly intelligent and honorable (?) individual. FALSITY or THE REI'ORTED ABOLITION OF IMPRISONMENT FOR TEST, ii Before the adjournment of Parliament, in the spring or sum- mer of 1858, two or three amendments were made to the law authorizing imprisonment for debt, with the view of quieting the public clamor against it at home, and removing an impres- sion which had gained ground in the States — and with good reason — that the laws of the Canadas were directed solely to the oppression and persecution of those who produced the wealth of the country. These amendments went into effect on the 1st of September, 1858, and the lawyers, traders, etc., immediately in- terested, published false statements through the newspapers, to the effect that imprisonment for debt had been abolished ; which were believed throughout the United States, and are still credited by many persons in the Canadas. In this report there was not a shadow of truth, as I know from my own observation ; having seen men brought into jail at midnight, who were arrested under IMHUSONMENT I'Oll DEBT ' !/!< t:.. y W- that law, eight months after it was said to have been abolished. One of these men was pheed in the same cell with myself, in April or May of 1859, in^bbedienco to an order of Judge Wells, the judicial oflSccr for the county of Kent. The manner in which it was effected I will explain in another place. r-U*. ¥i' .'■/,fi. THE NEW LAW COMPARED WITH THE OLD. Having before spoken of the manner in which proceedings were conducted under the old law, I will not again go over the same ground, but proceed at once to quote from the Act passed and approved August IG, 1858, the 24th Section of which says, " In citing this Act in any instrument, document, or proceeding, it shall be sufficient tp use the expression, *The Act for the abo- lition of imprisonment for debt.' " A few extracts from the law, as published by authority of Parliament, and printed by the public printer, will exhibit it in its true light. The 2d Section is thus worded : "If any party or plaintiff, being a creditor of or having a cause of action against any person now liable to arrest, whether upon the order of a judge or without such order, shall, by the affidavit of himself or of some other individual, show to the sa- tisfaction of a judge of either of the Superior Courts of Com- mon Law at Toronto, that such party or plaintiff has a cause of* action against such person to the amount of twenty-five pounds or upwards, or has sustained damage to that amount, and shall also by affidavit show such facts and circumstances as shall satisfy the said judge that there is good and probable cause for believ- ing that such person, unless he be forthwith apprehended, is about to quit Canada with intent to defraud his creditors gene- rally, or the said party or plaintiff in particular, it shall be law- ful for any such judge, by a special order, to direct that the per- son against whom such application shall be made, so about to quit Canada with intent as aforesaid, shall bo held to bail for IN THE OANADAS. t," I m gene- such sum as such judge shall think fit, aud thereupon it shall be lawful for such party or plaintiff, within the time which shall be expressed in such order, but not afterwards, to sue out a writ of capias and one or more concurrent writs of capias, in either of the said Superior Courts, against the person so directed to be held to bail." ."-v 2^^j ■:ft;*ir.:. From this, it will seem that, in order to imprison a man under this double-headed law, it is only necessary to make oath before a judge of any County Court, or either of the Superior Courts at Toronto. This can be done by either the principal or his agent, or he may make a sham sale of the debt to some worth- less individual, who, for a consideration, will make the required oath, an;. ^hr7S screen the principal from an action for damages. If the J !a ':«'■ is satisfied with the oath of the party who applies for the capias, he will issue the document upon the payment of $10 ; but if the fee is laid down by the party on entering the office of the judge, he will meet with but little difficulty in pro- curing what he desires. In Canada, a fee of $10 will convince any lawyer or judge that the debtor is about to abscond. , v ,,, Under the old law, after a debtor had lain in jail until the cre- ditor obtained a judgment, and an execution was issued, the debtor was then released if any goods were found to seize ; but if no goods were obtainable, the creditor then procured a ca. sa., by swearing that his debtor was secreting his property with a view to defraud. Armed with this writ, the sheriff" arrested the debtor while yet in custody, and, as a punishment for the alleged attempt to defraud his creditors, placed him in close confinement for a period of three months. This course stopped the debtor from making an assignment, and taking the preliminary steps necessary to procure his discharge ; which could then only be obtained by paying the creditor the full amount of his claim, or alleged claim, in cash, with all the costs of suit, etc. . ' - Under the amended Act of 1858, a debtor may, after he is arrested under a ca. sa., make an assignment at once, and apply I) ■ 1 m a li i.i 5 m Si' I tf' 50 IMnUSONMENT FOR DKItT for his discharge J which will bo given reluctantly, even after the necessary examination has been instituted, and judges as well ' as creditors thoroughly satisfied that the poor debtor has been stripped of everything, besides being nearly starved to death by his jailor. This process usually consumes from two to six months' tiu>e, varying with the amount of the debt, and the willingness of the judge to allow the creditor to hold his debtor for further and more searching examination. Another amendment places the sum for which arrest can be made at $100, while under the old law it was $40 ; but in this case there is very little chance loft for the debtor, as, if a creditor wishes to vent his Rj)leen on his debtor, he can readily purchase the claims of other parties, or have them transferred by a sham bill of sale, and thus acquire the power of gratifying his malignity. Referring to the so-called "Act for abolishing arrest in civil actions in certain cases," I will quote extracts from diflferent sec- tions of the law, by which the reader will see that itnprisonment for debt is still in full force in the Canadas, notwithstanding any- thing lawyers or journals may say to the contrary. Section 4th recites that - , t • . : ; ; "It shall bo lawful for the plaintiflf, after the commencement of any action by writ of summons, but hr/ore judgment^ vpon ohtaininy a Jinhje's order for that purpose in the manner pro- vided for in the 2d Section of this Act, to sue out of the office whence such summons issued a writ of capias, and one or more coucwrent icrits, in manner directed by " the Common Law Pro- cedure Act, 1856," which writ of capias, in every such case, shall be in the form contained in Schedule (A) to the said Act, annexed and marked No. G, and may be directed to the sheriff of any county or union of counties in Upper Canada, and so many copies of such writ, with every memorandum or notice subscribed thereto, and all endorsements thereon, as there may he persons intended to he arrcatid thereon, shall be delivered with such writ to the sheriff or otber officer who may have the execu- [4 IxV THE CANADAS. i Uk 61 tion or return thereof, and wlio shall, immediately upon or after the execution thereof, cause one such copy to be delivered to every person upon whom such process shall be executed by him, and shall endorse upon such writ the true day of the execution thereof, within three days at farthest after such execution ; and the proceedings in any such action may be carried on to judg- ment without regard to the issuing of such capias, or to any pro- ceedings in any way arising from or dependent thereon ; and on entering judgment, the plainti£f shall be entitled to tax the costs of such writ or writs of capias, and the proceedings thereon, in like manner as if the suit had been originally commenced by ca- pias, together with the other costs incurred and taxable in the cause. )} i .i\i a ■'. Section 5 directs that the sheriff must arrest the defendant within two months from the date of writ. Section 6 directs how a ca. sa. may be obtained. It reads thus : v>t,.., " In cases in which the defendant has been held to special bail upon a writ of capias issued on a judge's order made une.or this Act, it shall not he necessm'i/, be/ore suiny out a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum, to obtain a Judge's order for the issuing thererf or to make or fie any other or further affidavit than that upon which the order authorizing the defendant's arrest was obtained in the first instance; but where the defendant has not been so held to special bail, if the plaintiff in the action shall, by the affidavit of himself or some other party, show to the sa- tisfaction of a judge of either of the said Superior Courts of Common Law, that he has recovered judgment against the de- fendant for the sum of twenty-five pounds or upwards, exclusive of costs, and shall also by affidavit show such facts and circuui- eumstances as shall satisfy the said judge that there is good and probable cause for believing either that the defendant, unless he be forthwith apprehended, is about to quit Canada with intent to defraud his creditors generally or the said plaintiff in particular, i 5* 52 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT II i'i ,1 or that the defendant hath parted with his property, or raade some secret or fraudulent conveyance thereof, in order to prevent its being taken in execution, it shall be lawful for any such judge, by a special order, to direct that a capias ad mtisfacievdum may be issued, and a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum may thereupon be issued upon such judgment according to the prac- tice now in force in the said Superior Courts." Section 8 states the manner of procuring a discharge from custody by application to the proper court, which may, in its dis- cretion, discharge or hold the defendant; "but," continues an appended proviso, " any such order made by a judge may be dis- charyed or varied by the court, on application made thereto by cither party dissatisfied with such order." It will readily be in- ferred that this proviso has been made with a view of bene- fitting the creditor, and to aid him in detaining his debtor in prison as long as he wishes, as will be seen in Section 9, which reads, " Every prisoner who, at the time appointed for the commence- went of this Act, shall be in custody, or on hail upon mesne process, for any debt or demand, shall be entitled to be discharged upon entering a common appearance to the action ; provided, neverthe- less, that every such prisoner shall be liable to be detained, or after such discharge to be again arrested, by virtue of any such special order, as aforesaid, at the suit of the plaintiff at whose suit he was previously arrested, or by any other plaintifi^." '> All the modes above detailed of obtaining process being some- what tedious, a more expeditious method is marked out by Sec- tion 10, in the following words: '' "■^^ ** ' -'"^ ' *' - « f ' "In order to provide a7i expeditious mode of obtain in f/ pro- cess for the arrest of persons, and for their discharge if unduly ttrrested, in cases where process is intended to be sued out, or Jin action has been commenced in either of the Superior Courts, it shall be lawful for the judge or the acting judge of any county court to make such order as is mentioned in the 2d and 4th Sec- IN THE CANADAS. 53 tions of thia Act, on the application of any party, or on tlio ap- plication of any plaintiff in any cause in cither of Her Majesty's Superior Courts of Common Law at Toronto, upon the Bamc grounds and in the same manner as a judge of the said Superior Courts might: and such county judge or acting judge as afore- said shall have all tho powo^^ given by this Act to a judge of the said Superior Court la x^ ■■ot to the makir/ .ch orders as aforesaid." ■ ■ '^ - In case of application by the defendant for a discharge from custody. Section 11 provides that " It shall be lawful for the plaintiff, at his option, to cause such debtor to be examined vivd voce, upon oath, before the judge of the County Court in the county in which such debtor is confined, or before some one to be appointed in that behalf by such county judge, upon and touching all or any of the matters aforesaid; and such county judge may issue an order to the she- riff or jailor having the custody of such debtor, to bring such debtor before him, or before some person to be named in such order, for the purpose of being so examined ; and it shall be law- ful for such sheriff or jailor to take such debtor before such judge or person as aforesaid, for examination under the authority of this Act, in the same manner as if such sheriff or jailor were acting in obedience to a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum" Section 13 directs how a judgment creditor may make appli- cation to have his debtor examined as to his property, and thus continues: ^;'! j^k— >-'Mi-9 ;r»i-''Ms;ni'?.f «h c h-u ,!'••> 'xu ■'■■• " If it shall appear from such examination that such debtor hag concealed or made away with his property in order to defeat or to defraud his creditors, or any of them, such court or judge may order such debtor to he committed to the common jail of the count y in which he resides, for any time not exceeding twelve months, or it shall be lawful for any such court or judge, by rule or order, to direct that a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum may be issued against such debtor, and a writ of capias ad satisfaciendum may 5* I li'-i; IT 54 IMPRISONMENT POR DEBT ' I •■■i I 111 I thereupon bo i.saucd upon such judgment, according to the prac- tice now in force in the said Superior Courts ; or in case such debtor enjoys the benefit of the jail limits, such court or judge may make a rule or order for such debtor's being committed to dose custodi/y under the 307th Section of the Common Law Pro- cedure Act, 185G." I think I have hero given a sufficient number of extracts from the law, to show conclusively that the so-called "Act for abolish- ing arrest in civil actions " is a monstrous fraud, designed to de- ceive, and, by its title, impress citizens of the United States (and even the people of the Canadas) with the idea that all laws for the imprisonment of debtors have been repealed. That such an impression has gained ground, I am fully satisfied from ob- servation, and by conversation with persons on both sides of tho line ; and to combat this erroneous view, as well as to place the law before the public in all its deformity, so that they may clearly understand that its title is a fraud, and its framcrs scoundrels of the blackest dye, is my fixed purpose, which I shall spare no cfibrt to accomplish. The several changes which have been made in the wording of the law, and in its caption, by successive Parliaments, with the view of rendering it less odious, are the best evidence which can be adduced of its unpopularity with the masses. But no one of these changes has reached the point at issue between the people and their rulers — all have been directed to a nominal pal- liation of the evil, not to its permanent cure — all have been ori- ginated with the purpose of hoodwinking honest but ignorant constituents, who, deceived by the publication of a high-sound- ing title, never examine the text, and, with the alteration in the name of a writ, innocently suppose that it differs also in its ap- plication. In the winter of 1859, Parliament again amended the law, so as to allow a debtor who had been bailed the range of the entire province of the Canadas, instead of, as formerly, confining him to the county in which he had first been impri- IN THE CANADAS. 6ft fioncJ. At the sanio session, tho title of the writ upon wliich debtors are arrested and imprisoned was changed from ^' capiaa" to "writ of attachment" — a mere "tub to tlic whale;" tho dear people, whose votes would be necessary to re-elect some of tho members, having evinced symptoms of rebellion against the ty- ranny of their legislators. Debtors are now attached^ and sent to prison j but, as improvement is the order of tho day, it is more than probable that, at the coming session, Parliament will enact that in future prisons shall be styled " withdrawing rooms," and that the title of the "Act for the imprisonment of debtors " shall be so altered as to read, " An Act for the withdrawal of per- sons, under certain circumstances, from the dangers by which they are surrounded in civilized society, and for the improvement of their physical, moral, and intellectual condition, by solitary life." -. ■,;^^o.'::r'-s ., ',<■■■ . ^ "■''', - ■• - ; • -I' 't THOMAS WELCH, A ROOM-MATE IN JAIL. In May, 1859, another debtor was placed in my cell. He was a native of Scotland, from which country he had emigrated but about two years previously, and, after arriving in the Canadas, had formed a partnership with another man, for the purpose of establishing an iron foundry. The business not realizing the ex- pectations formed, the firm became involved in difficulties, when the other partner, taking advantage of the verdancy of our Scotch friend, collected all the debts he could which were owing to the firm, and absconded — well knowing that they could not meet all their liabilities, and dreading imprisonment. Thomas Welch, however, relying too much upon his native honesty of purpose, remained, and worked at his trade — that of a black- smith — whenever he could obtain employment, until, on one oc- casion, being thrown out of a situation, he unfortunately re- marked, in the presence of others, that he was going to look for a job. The wife of one of his creditors, being present, told her husband, who immediately proceeded with her to the residence IP 6« IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT w . of the nearest judge, distant some twenty miles, where the hus- band made oath as required by law, and the wife swore to what she had overheard, as corroborative proof. A ten-dollar bill sa- tisfied the judge that the parties before him testified to a state- ment of facts which warranted the arrest of the debtor ; where- upon he issued a capias, and for the first time in his life, this poor, but really honest man, was arrested, about 11 o'clock the same night, and lodged in jail. The judge did not deem it ne- cessary, under the amended law, that the creditor should swear that his debtor was about to quit the province, but thought it sufl&cient justification of his course that he had upon record the testimony of a woman, who had heard the man say he ** was go- ing to look for a job." Taking this case as a precedent, it is dangerous in the extreme for a man who is in debt to say that he is about to go to a neighbor's to do a day's work, as, upon the oath of a bystander, he may be committed to prison by order of one of the Dogberry judges who hammer out the law for the aid and comfort of brutes and tyrants. I was discharged from custody on the 27th of May, 1859 j at which time the poor Scotchman was still in prison, under " the law for the abolishing of imprisonment for debt in the Canadas." i (.i •M 1 Mf.^'iij' ;'i i>.;; which e a true ler, and eth was of food, se half inp;-iron ith, and lie said, you the 'he very ■f of the nuty of ed, half- way of ot have r kills a position ths of a d starve the jail, ould be eat two r kinds water, anuary, ierested irly un- t I I I s t S! m !!i m »■ ,j' {lOV i t ' i: jli: 11 'ill 1 • tlic gn on! nia t the j^ii t .-i- \ ; .: IN THE CANADAS. t)9 able to pay the debt for which he was imprisoned. The notori- ous Walter M'Crea, who drew up most of the capiases which were issued in Canada West, was the attorney of the creditor who had imprisoned Hildreth. After the lapse of two months, when, by the usual course of proceedings in such cases, a consi- derable bill of costs had been made, M'Lean informed Hildreth that he would do nothing more in the matter unless he could in- duce some of his friends to guarantee the costs. This the poor fellow could not do, as the few friends he had in the world were with difl&culty able to meet their own accruing obligations ; and his wife was reduced to such extremity as to be compelled to abandon her own home, take lodgings with a neighbor, and labor for the support of herself and family. After the 18th day of January, 1858, the sheriff ordered Hildreth to be supplied daily with a pint of the ordinary soup — which was made of the meanest description of lean meat which the contractor for supplying the prison can procure. Sometimes this soup was made from the shanks of beef cattle, at other times from such " ancient " mut- ton as he could find no market for among the poorest class of the townspeople, and which was black with long exposure on the shambles. Potatoes and saltwe* *he only additional ingredients used to make the meagre compound dignified with the name of soup, and which we were compelled to subsist upon, month after month. In the spring, I have seen potatoes served out to the prisoners, which, when brought out of the cellar, were so closely matted together by sprouts twelve to eighteen inches long, that the full of a bushel-basket could readily be raised from the ground with one hand by grasping the sprouts. The roots hav- ing also commenced to push forward, these potatoes consisted only of a watery insipid mass, not fit for the stomach of either man or beast. The daily ration of each prisoner was a pint of the soup (gravy-water, as it was called by an Irishman in the jail), in which there was a small piece of meat and one largo ■ Bf Ul W S, U.\ u f W I'..: I 60 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT potato, or two small ones. This allowance was all poor Hildreth got beside his gutta-percha loaf, — the same that was given to the prisoners who were committed for larceny and other crimes, — and for months this meagre faro was his sole sustenance. As the Canadian lawyers generally combine together to make the most they can out of the prisoners in the jails, I have been told that M'Crea and M'Lean agreed to hold Hildreth (as they do all who fall into their clutches) until his relatives came for- ward to pay the debt and costs of suit, but more especially the latter. There appearing, however, to be no prospect of any one interesting himself in behalf of the poor oppressed man, M'Lean became ashamed of his complicity in this indirect attempt at robbery, and wrote to the judge at Toronto, detailing the situa- tion of the prisoner, and his sufferings ; whereupon that func- tionary sent down an order for his immediate release, unless the retaining creditor paid two dollars per week for his board. Of course the creditor would not comply, as he saw but little pros- pect of ever recovering a single farthing. iis ' ^ .. i The reader can, from the narrative of this case, form some idea of the motive which prompts a grasping creditor to falsely swear his debtor into jail. If the debtor has no means of his own, it is expected that his friends or relatives will aid in pro- curing his release J and therefore it is necessary that the poor unfortunate should suflFer, in order to arouse the sympathy of others, and incite them to assist him in his distress. The misery thus heaped upon families — helpless wives and innocent children, aged fathers and decrepit mothers, dependent sisters and loving friends — is incalculable, beside what is suffered by the people of the entire country j for the honest, thrifty, and industrious farm- ers and mechanics, who produce all the wealth, are compelled to contribute in taxes toward the support of those imprisoned debt- ors who have nothing to live on, as well as toward the mainte- nance of the prisoners who are committed for theft, etc. h ' iiii IN THE CANADAS. (31 ; -ll ii"-. MORE ABOUT CANADIAN JAILS. '■•arr .JO'tmi^yf It is impossible for any man immersed in business, who enjoys the comibrts of a lionie, and full political and religious liberty, to imagine the wretchedness and misery of the poor devils who are confined for months, sometimes years, between the walls of a Canadian jail. The suspense and anxiety which constantly tor- ture the mind of the incarcerated debtor, who knows not how long his imprisonment may last, are aggravated by the imposi- tions practised upon him by the jailor and his understrappers, and by the false reports concerning him, set afloat by malignant creditors, who stop at no lie which will serve their purpose. In my case, M'Intyre reported that I was in full flight, when he for- tunately seized me by the coat-tail, and thus secured my person. A single month of this kind of life is sufiicient to disease the mental as well as physical organization of any man — much more will eighteen months' confinement, such as I suflFered, break down the strongest mind and stoutest frame ever joined together in one being. However, I kept as quiet, and controlled my tem- per and feelings as much as possible ; though my sudden with- drawal from active business life, and the repetition to me of the false reports which were circulated through thfi streets concern- ing me, together with the libellous charges against ray character disseminated through the medium of the public press, were suf- ficient to have weighed down to earth the spirit of any man. I purchased a large tin pan and some coarse towels, and, by means of frequent bathing, cooled my fevered system, averted much sickness, and kept the vermin from my person. By con- tinually sprinkling and sweeping the floor, and frequently chang- ing the straw in the beds, after the old rubbish was cleared out of the room, I succeeded in ridding my bed and covering of the fleas, which previously gave it a peppery appearance. There were a few wood-lice and earwigs, which occasionally annoyed us; but no care would banish them, as they harbored in the decaying I H 6 62 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT m r IM I J' '' '■ii. i wainscot, where they were beyond reach. A young Englishman, who roomed with me about four months, used to say, when he arose in the morning, " See here, what bedfellows !" But my answer was, " I have enough on my own bed, without looking at those on yours." With warm weather came the bedbugs; but we succeeded in keeping the vermin from increasing. I dreaded the lice which infested the persons of many of the vagrants who were brought into the prison, and which were sometimes carried into my cell on the clothes of John Hillman, the turnkey, who was constantly ranging through all parts of the jail. Instead of first cleansing a dirty man. and changing his clothes, they would thrust him in among others, and thus louse them, as well as the bedding, blankets, etc. The cells and fur- niture were cleansed only when they became so filthy as to ex- ceed human endurance, and to jxcite loud and angry complaints. One individual was quartered in the criminal's apartment who was literally swarming with lice ; so thickly did they cover him, that, when stripped and put into a tub of water, a negro in the same quarter, who acted as bather-general, was obliged to take a stiff, half-worn corn-broom, and scrub the lice from the back and other parts of the prisoner. The water was actually filled with the vermin. All kinds of filth must be brought into a Ca- nadian jail, in order to annoy those who would keep clean if pos- sible. • ,•; ,.-!.' .-,, Except when I was allowed to go into the privy, which was but five feet distant from my cell, the heavy wooden door on the inside was kept locked for seven and a half months ; and when allowed to obey the calls of nature, the prisoners were closely^ watched by Hillman. All the air I breathed was what I could get by lowering the upper casement of the window a distance of six inches, and that which passed between the crevices of the door which led toward the privy, from which a very noisome smell was constantly exhaling. In April, 1858, a merchant numed John Winter, who could not pay his debts, was placed in ^^ IN THE CAN ADAS. '« 68 my cell, though he had been a resident of the village of Chat- ham for twenty years. When very warm weather set in, during the months of June and July, wo procured a person to inform the sheriff of our sufferings, and several individuals who had visited us made public representations of our pitiable condition. About the middle of July, fifteen days after notice was given him, the sheriff ordered the upper casement of our window to be lowered eighteen inches, and there fastened. The lower sash was always screwed down on the outside, though there was a double set of iron bars let into the walls, and crossing the win- dows. The wooden door of my cell being also left unlocked by order of the sheriff, we could take the air in the little hall by the " chapel of ease," and also pass into the cell of another debtor j or, we might walk about ten feet, to a door made of iron bars, between which could be seen (through the vista of a long hall, having a plank and iron door at the terminus, which was left open in fine weather) a high stone wall. The family of the jailor lived in that portion of the building. For want of my usual exercise and fresh air, my health com- menced failing about the first of June, 1858, and I became so poor, thin, and weak, that in the mornings I could scarcely rise from my couch of straw. I was so sore all over my body, that I could neither sit nor lie down without experiencing great pain. T had frequently asked " Grampus " to let me have a rough bunk made, twelve or eighteen inches high, with a slat bottom, on which to lay liiy straw; but he invariably refused, alleging that it would be an infringement of the jail regulations; and, not- withstanding I offered to pay for it myself, yet the answer was always a surly " No." The rule of a jailor is to torment a debtor as much as possible ; and the larger his debts, the greater annoy- ance will he be subjected to, in order to compel him to call upon his friends to aid him in his necessity. I have always thought, and still continue to think, that creditors fee the jailor for ill- using the debtors, with a view of compelling the latter to a set- C4 IMi'UiyONMENT FOll DEBT V I !'■ '-i: v.- w fii^' y- u ' tlcnient as speedily as possible. After I had been ailing some time, I got the fever and ague, which so enfeebled me that I could with difficulty rise from the floor. The deputy sheriff coming in one day, and seeing my condition, said, " It is a d d shame to abuse any human being that way. I have gone through the mill myself." He immediately went to the sheriff, and got from him an order, directing " Grampus " to let me have a bunk if I paid for it; whereupon Mr. Hoag, a carpenter in Chatham, measured ray bed ( ? ), and made one which cost me six shillings. I was able to get up some time in August, 1858 ; and thereafter I was more comfortable, but still very sick. Calomel, castor oil, and Osgood's Calagogue broke the fever; after which I com- menced to recover, and would have convalesced rapidly, if I had received proper nourishment, and been allowed access to fresh air. I had so little appetite that I could scarcely eat anything; and, notwithstanding I paid $3 per week, cash, for my board, I was furnished with nothing better than sheep-meat, and the other food, mentioned before — none of which was fit for the sto- mach of a person in my weak and delicate condition. I was even refused permission to go into the jail yard, which was surrounded with high stone walls, and where I could get a mouthful of fresh air, although I offered to let them attach a chain to my leg, to which was fastened a thirty-two pound ball. This would have been too great a privilege to allow a sick debtor, and likely, by the improvement of his health, to postpone the time of payment, by himself or his friends, of the debt which an infamous creditor had perjured himself in swearing that he was about to flee the country in order to avoid the payment of. A horse-thief or a high- way robber is provided with food by the county, and with medi- cal attendance when sick ; but the man who, by the occurrence of events beyond his control, such as losses in business, sickness, or monetary convulsions, becomes unable to meet his liabilities, is not deemed worthy of any consideration, and no provision is made for his maintenance. Let it bo known to all the world If ^ 5 ^ I? O ID I -* 04 B \ i t 1 !'f r |; k 1'; f 1 ' p N H f-' ■ !?■•; • L — 14 IN THE CANADAS. 65 that, in Canada, a horse-thief, a burglar, a highwayman, or a mur- derer is considered a more valuable member of society, and is better cared for, than an honest, industrious man, who has striven resolutely, but ineffectually, to discharge his obligations to indi- viduals as well as to society. Spread abroad this intelligence, and who that values his liberty or his character will set foot in a land where vice is pampered and virtue discredited — where tho la\»'s promote the increase of crime instead of repressing it? ' ' \{ I'; v-f) r ^ * TANTALIZING ACTIONS OP THE JAILOR. I recovered from my sickness as rapidly as could be expected, considering that I was without medical assistance, or food proper for a convalescent person j though, by purchase, arid by express from my home, I was supplied with some articles which were palatable and nourishing. Before anything was allowed to be carried into my cell, however, it was examined by " Grampus," who emptied the baskets of their contents, and handled each ar- ticle separately, lest it should conceal some instrument which would aid me in effecting my escape. The wax was melted off and the corks taken out of glass preserve-jars, the contents of which were stirred up with a stick, although so transparent they could be seen through. This was done to aggravate me ; and it was commonly reported outside the jail that "Grampus" broke my eggs before they were sent in to me. My creditors made constant inquiries about the old Yankee's health, as they hoped my sickness would influence some of my friends to pay the amount of their claims. ... 1 SHERIFF mercer's UNGENTLEMANLY CONDUCT. In January, 1858, seeing that I could not procure a settlement with my creditors, and a release; from bondage, I sent to tho Royal Exchange Hotel, J. Pritchard proprietor, for ray trunk, 6* E a." ^ 66 IMPRISONMENT FOll DEDT that I might take out of it such clothing 08 1 needed through tlio winter, and roplaco theui witli my summer a; ' fall stock. When my trunk arrived, "Grampus" would not permit it to bo carried into my cell, but had it placed in the outer hall; though I told him that he was at perfect liberty to cxan)ino it before- hand. Feeling that this man's conduct was intended as an in- sult, I wrote to Sheriff Mercer, detailing the circumstances, and re(iue8tod his intorlcrcnoe in my behalf; but he was so ungen- tlciMJinly as not to answer my letter. Had ho sent mo a refusal couched in the fewest possible words, I should not have been so much annoyed as I was at his breach of courtesy and the usages of polite society. But I consoled myself with the reflection that nothing else could be expected from one of the English codfish aristocracy, holding a petty oflSco, who is wont to play the bully when an unfortunate man's hands are tied, and he cannot re- taliate. It was currently reported that Payne was Mercer's se- curity; and hence, as Mercer was in the power of the brutal jailor, the latter could do as he saw fit. Payne was one of the old school of jailors — a very savage; inhuman, vindictive, and bloodthirsty, he vented his malicious disposition on every one who fell into his clutches, and even his own family did not es- cape. ;..•:-;.' i., j:.. --r--: - - . . ■ ■ ■ ■■■■> -. -., . , ■- l^ T: '! ^^ "grampus" and his turnkey. The oldest settlers in Kent County were not exempt from the malice of the English bull-dog jailor, if by chance they got into the prison under his charge; as he would then impose upon them in different ways which no one but an unprincipled rascal like himself would ever think of. Many Canadians, whose names it is not necessary to mention here, will attest the reliability of this statement. Twenty years ago, or thereabouts, " Grampus " was appointed a bailiff for the county of Essex — since divided. At that time the law permitted the creditor to take all the furniture, etc., in the house of his debtor; and frequently did this Saxon I i Mi % IN THK ^^NAnAfl. 67 U hound of tlio law strip families of their little all, Icaviiifj? weep- id friirhtcncd cliildi itli iioth id thci mir women but the bare walls. If a lady was sittin)^ or lyin;^ on her bed, the law did not permit the uho of harsh mcunH to remove her from it; but f^omo cunnin;^ trick would be resorted to for tho ])urpose, and, if successlul, tho bed would be immediately seized. "Grampus" aceumulated money in this p'sition, as the costs then, as now, absorbed half the funds realized from the sale of a debtor's property. So well did he serve his country in the oflico of bailiff, that, when tho county was divided, and a jail built at (vhatham, his Excellency, tho Governor of the (Panadas, was pleased to appoint him governor of that exceedingly comfortable building. He was deemed the best fitted for the office, as he knew the speediest methods of extracting tho cash from a debtor by vexing and torturing him beyond human endurance j and, therefore, in tho eyes of an administrator of tho laws, he was u most valuable assistant. ^. : ,. s The turnkey (llillman) imposed upon and annoyed mo very much. All imprisoned debtors are called cash articles in Canada, particularly by tho sherifl* and tho jailor; for if either of these functionaries allows a debtor to slip away, the creditor has a legal "i ,ht to collect the debt from the negligent official. Therefore, debtors, when in prison, are suspected and watched both night and day, lest they may effect their escape, and those who have charge of them be compelled to pay their debtf* I have fre- quently thought that these officers abused and starved the pri- soners in order to make them pay as soon as possible, that they might get rid of them, for fear they should escape, and thus make them liable for the debt. Three-fourths of the time I was in the prison, the turnkey slept in my cell at night, to watch the slippery Yankee, as I was called, and prevent him from making hie escape. To preserve my health, I was in the habit of strip- ping oflF all my clothes in the mornings, bathing myself all over with cold water, and n obing my skin dry with coarse towels. Id G8 IMl'lUSONMKNT FOIl DKllT To prevent intrusion vhiln so doin^, I usually put n door-fhstonor in the spncr l)ctwceQ the door nnd the jnmb; yet, if thiH impu- dent Kn' I r I ^'-^'--^ The Chatham Jailor, Payne, alias "Grampus."— r. 80. -> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ >i // >.' Hillman, the Turnkey, striking an Insane Woman in the Jail. Once, when this poor woman had been let out into the long hall to wash her clothes, she refused to return to her cell at the order of the imperious English turnkey, and resisted his efforts to force her in, claiming that she was entitled to exercise in the long room. A scuffle ensued between them; and the young English gentleman could not readily force Mrs. Cobbet into her 8 86 IMPRISONMENT FOll DKBT i It I t. • \i •mall oell, aa she graspod tightly tho iron door-frumo. This monster in human Bomblance, finding that he oould not master her in any other way, beat her on the head in a most brutal man- ner, as her husband had done fourteen years previously. Tho law being on his side, ho pounded the skull of an insane woman, who was fifty-five or sixty years of age, and not a soul ventured to inquire why he did so. Can this be a Christian land, where such deeds are committed I can this be a Christian people, who permit them to be done in their midst 1 Savages abuse women, but civilized beings gene- rally repudiate the idea of striking a defenceless female. What, then, shall be said of tho brute who, setting at defiance public opinion, tho usages of civilized society, the dictates of humanity, and the teachings of Christianity, wantonly and maliciously mal- treats the mother of generations — insulting in her person the author of his own existence ? No honest man will grasp that hand which dealt a blow on a female form ; no approving nod will greet the appearance of a cowardly woman-whipper ; no word of pleasant encouragement will cheer the heart of him who steeled it to pity for the su£Perings of an imbecile of the weaker sex — the finger of scorn will be pointed at him on the high-roads and in the by-ways; he will be jeered by the youth and insulted by their seniors ; he will feel in his own breast the gnawing of that canker-worm remorse, which, like a phosphorescent fire, ever burning, but never consihning, makes a man's life such a tor- ment to himself, that, cursing the past, and despairing of the future, he rushes unbidden and unheralded into the presence of his Maker. THE DIVISION COURT. In Canada there is a court called the Division Court, which is held in each county as often as the county judge thinks proper, or when there is a sufficient number of cases on the docket to pay the expenses. Among the recent amendments to the Act e. This ot master utal man- ily. The e woman, veiiturod minitted ! e done in ngs gcne- . What, oe public lunianity, usly mal- 9rson the ;rasp that ving nod no word him who e weaker igh-roads insulted iwing of fire, ever a tor- of the sence of ^hich is proper, >cket to the Act 1 «;^ I 9 •*« a H e i i I I IN THE CANADAS. 87 creating the court, is one directing that all debts under $100 shall bo sued out in it. From February 18, 1859, until March 18, 1859, eleven cases were tried in Toronto before this court; the sums in controversy being within the prescribed limits. A reference to the facts will exhibit the operation of the law under the supervision of those who were instrumental in making it, and who, doubtless, were careful to see that it was properly ad- ministered at the headquarters of the Government. I will select case No. 6, on the docket, as my first illustration, leaving the others to be discussed on subsequent pages; but premising it by stating that the judge of a Division Court has power to punish a debtor by imprisonment for a definite number of days, propor- tioned to the more or less aggravating circumstances of the case, as affecting the creditor. A laborer, sixty years of age, who had a wife and thirteen children, purchased a stove, at the price of $20*60, for which he gave his note. Not being able to meet the note at maturity, he was sued by his creditor, and the costs, $12*81, added to the ori- ginal debt, increased the sum to 32*91. This man was sentenced by the judge to penal servitude for thirty days in Toronto jail, as a punishment for not paying the claim. He resided at a distance of thirty-five miles from the prison, and himself and four of his children were sick, when the sheriff made his appearance on horseback, dragged the poor old fellow from his home, and drove him before him on foot; his wife, and as many of the children as could walk, following after for some distance, making the hills resound with their pitiable cries and lamentations. The dis- tressed family, seeing the utter uselessness of accompanying their head to Toronto, returned to their miserable log hut, there to suffer mental as well as physical torture. Starvation they could not avoid, as the poor man had not been employed for some time previously, and, consequently, no store of provision was on hand for an emergency. m 88 I) I IMPRISONMENT rOR DEBT MENDACITY OF THE LAWYERS. Whon a man doing busincMs in Canada goes to a laiiycr for information and advico respecting the law fur the ^ir.prisonmcnt of debtors, ho will be told, as I was, "They canr.ot capias you, although you bo seen to pack up your valise and proceed toward the cars. It is indispensable to your business that you travel through the States and di£ferent parts of Canada. A creditor dare not swear against you ; for by doing so he risks imprison- ment in the penitentiary for perjury, in addition to the payment of heavy damages for stopping you in the prosecution of your lawful business. Oh, no I they cannot capias ^014." But the reader has already learned how my creditors did imprison me on my return from a business tour, and how they did swear that I was about to fly the country. Indeed, I was told by the Hon. (?) M'Keller that ho had the sanction of the judge in saying that he could swear to such a state of facts against a man who was already in jail. I will never again believe any lawyer, or take his advice regarding any transaction which may be productive of future business for him. Had I not given credence to the words of a lawyer, I would have bound up the parties with whom I dealt, by written agreements, properly attested, not to issue a capias against me under any circumstances. Such a course I could readily have adopted in the outset, and it would have saved me from persecution and ruin, while my creditors would have received their money ', for a Canadian will sign any agreement in order to obtain advances in cash. As the word of most of the Canadian business men is utterly worthless, and they are not re- liable in any case, being devoid of integrity except where inte- rest rules them in the« adoption of an opposite course, I would advise all persons about to transact any business with them, not to neglect securing their pitorsonal safety by the execution of such bonds as I have alluded to in the preceding remarks. IN THE CAN ADAS. "URAMPUS" ROBS A LETTKR BELONGING TO JOHN FIMDLAY, A PRISONER IN THE JAIL. The details of this transaction will provo to the reader how little confidence can be placed in the integrity of a Canadian. John Findlay was the son of a widow woman who emigrated from Pennsylvania at an early day, and settled in Lampton County, adjoining that of Kent, which was separated from it by the river Sydenham. When old Mr. Findlay died, he left behind him a family of young children, for their mother to bring up in a new and sickly country. When John, the eldest son, became of age, being in debt to one or two persons, he sold some pro- perty, intending to pay his debts with the proceeds of the notes he received therefor. In the mean time, one of his creditors sued him, and got judgment against him; which, as usual, car- ried with it an enormous bill of costs. As the suit was brought in Kent County, the sheriff, armed with the writ of ca. sa, falsely sworn to by the creditor, proceeded up the river SQme twenty miles, and procured a man to cross into Lampton County, and decoy Findlay over the river into Kent, where he could be arrested. The matter was easily managed, as the young man, having no intention of running away, harbored not a single sus- picion of foul play ; and, as soon as he set foot on the soil of Kent County, he was arrested and conveyed to Chatham jail. At the time of his seizure, Findlay had in his pocket the notes re- ceived from the purchaser of his property ; and, deciding to send them home to his mother, he enclosed them in a letter, which ho handed to '< Grampus'' for conveyance to the post-office, as was the usual practice. That worthy, however, finding the letter to be more than usually bulky, broke it open, and examined the contents ; after which, calling Findlay into the room where he was, he showed him what he had done, handed the notes back to him, and at the same time counselled him to turn them over to his creditor, if he wished to regain his liberty. This was ex- 8* m '*, 1 11' i I i ' i j; ' i.i Hi! m-: > ' 'M: 00 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT actly what the creditor desired. By taking a false oath, he pro- cured the youth's imprisonment; thinking thereby to compel him to make an assignment of the promissory notes which he held, when the amount would be fully half covered by the costs. "Grampus," however, anticipated the assignment by breaking open the letter ; and he so managed his cards as to obtain from Findlay one of the notes, in payment for four months' board, at $3 per week, which time he was an inmate of the jail. The creditor endeavored to induce the youth to use his influence with his mother in the procurement of a lien on the homestead, as a condition precedent to his discharge ; but the noble lad averred that he would rather die than do any such act, as he was not sure his creditor might not, before he had done with her, rob her of the little she owned. Here the reader has a beautiful specimen of the mode of administering justice in Canada West— first, the creditor obtains a process of arrest by means of a false oath j secondly, the sheriiBf executes the process by the aid of false re- presentations; thirdly, the jailor robs his prisoner; and fourthly, the creditor seeks, by cunning arts, to place himself in such a position that he can rob the widowed mother of a poor, but honest youth. ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO ROB A WIDOW's SON. ^ '•'^ The name of this young man has escaped my memory ; but he lived with and supported his mother and sister by farming land on shares. Having labored very assiduously, he had the promise of reaping his reward in an abundant crop, when the landlord, envying the youth his prospective good fortune, con- cocted a plan for driving him away, and thereby obtaining pos- session of part, if not all, of his crop. To accomplish his pur- pose, he commenced by indirectly quarrelling with the youth; but, as the latter took no notice of this, the brutish landlord commenced direct operations by turning the youth's horse out of the stable in which he had a right to keep him. This procedure IN THE CANADAS. m "wf BO irritated the young man that he used strong language toward his oppressor; whereupon the latter nearly killed him by beating him with a stake thre^ feet long, taken from a sleigh. The brutal and cowardly act excited, as it naturally would, the people of the entire neighborhood, who advised a suit for damages. After a protracted trial in the Court of Queen's Bench, the youth obtained a verdict for damages to the amount of 3200, to- gether with the costs of suit, which were about as much more. The doctor who attended him after he was so cruelly beaten and bruised, brought in a bill for services rendered amounting to 340, together with another for witness' fees, for three or four days' attendance at court, at $4 per day, the prescribed legal charge. The youth settled the last bill, and paid about $20 on account of the first. M'Crea was the attorney of the plaintiflF, and after the suit was decided he tried to induce the youth to assign the judg- ment to him, in order that he might collect it, and secure his costs and fee. The young man, however, had learned something of M'Crea's disposition to rob every one who gave him the. op- portunity, and refused compliance, desiring M'Crea to furnish him a bill, when he would pay him his fee; but the cunning lawyer, for reasons best known to himself, declined doing as re- quested. Failing in this manoeuvre, M'Crea induced the doctor, u drunken, worthless scamp, to swear out a capias against the youth, and put him in jail, as a means not only of forcing the judgment from him, but also of absorbing the entire amount in costs. The young man was locked up in a Canada jail, which is supposed to be a never-failing method of bringing people to terms; but, as he exhibited indisputable evidence that he had paid the doctor one-half the amount of his bill, and only desired an opportunity of proving that the amount sworn to was in excess of the real debt, in a few weeks he procured bail to stand his trial, under which he was confined within the jail limits. The result of the suit I did not learn ; but enough has been stated to exhibit the manner in which the law is used by rascally law- if I: 02 IMPllISONMENT FOR DKIJT yers to wring from their clients and others the last cent they have in the world j and for this purpose they scruple not to beg- gar families, and reduce them to the very verge of starvation In extremely warm weather, the poor old widowed mother of this persecuted youth frequently walked six or eight miles to bring her son something to eat, although she had barely ragj enough on her person to hide her nakedness. Overheated, tired and covered with dust, when she arrived at the jail this pooi lady was an object of commiseration to every charitable beholder, and would havt excited pity in any breast less steeled to the finer feelings of humanity than are those of Canadian jailors and Ca- nadian lawyers. Another debtor aided me in feeding and ad- vising the youth how to manage his affairs, so as to prevent the robbery planned by the legal bandit who had been his counsel. V':*^* I »'i|'^--J- '%;»* 3-^ '^*^ A SHERIFF SEIZING A LADY'S BED. fvV'ii'u ■'.(■AW'> A poor man, being unable to pay a debt when required so to do, was sued by his creditor, who obtained a judgment, upon which an execution was issued, and placed in the hands of a sheriff, with directions to distrain the household goods of the debtor, unless the amount of the judgment and costs was paid in cash. The gallant officer made a descent upon the premises at a time when he knew the man was away from home, attending to his daily avocations ; and, notwithstanding he saw, immedi- ately upon entering the house, that the wife of the tenant was likely soon to be taken sick, for which event all necessary prepa- ration had been made, yet he did not hesitate a moment in tell- ing her that he held an execution, and intended to seize all the goods in the house. To this vandalism the lady strongly ob- jected; but the sheriff flew into a passion, as all loyal officers do when interference is attempted with their duty to the laws of her Majesty's provinces, and, making a rush toward the lady's bed, he seized it, with the intention of carrying it out of the house. IN TVr 'ANAT>AS. ■v.-f.u -y >..*... J ■ '■.■r,n>> Ui . ( • ^ ;■' i^-i^'ytrti'iCii Sheriff robbing a Lady of Inn- Bed. The lady, whose temper was roused by the brutality of such an act, at a period when even the brute creation seem to respect the comfort of femininity, grasped one end of the bed, and endea- vored to wrest it from the possession of the oflGicer. The struggle can bettor be imagined than described, and resulted, as all such contests usually do, in a complete sacking of the house ; every dollar's worth of furniture, etc., being removed from the pre- mises. As might be supposed, the excitement of the wife brought on a premature accouchement, and she was delivered of a child the same night. Her neighbors, with commendable charity, provided for her necessities, by the supply of bed, bed- clothes, and such furniture as was indispensable to her comfort, beside waiting upon her with untiring devotion until she regained her former health and strength. This narrative I have from the lips of a lady who was present at the accouchement, and whose veracity may be relied' upon. The daughters of Brother Jona- than had better settle in the land where negro slavery is an in- stitution, than trust themselves within the boundaries of a pro- ■■:■ I" ^li . I' 94 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT vince where laws are made for the benefit of rogues ; where law- yers are knaves, and judges their abettors; where creditors are Shylocks in miniature, and sheriflFs their brutal tools; where jails are counterparts of the regions of Pluto, and jailors delight in inflicting torture upon unfortunate humanity. A SHERIFF SEIZING THE DISHES AND VICTUALS ON THE FAMILY TABLE. The details of the case here presented to the reader will ex- hibit in proper colors the heartlessness of executive officers in Canada, and their valiant conduct when backed by legal autho- rity. An execution having been sued out against a poor man who barely maintained his family by incessant toil, at pitiful wages, was put into the hands of a sheriflF, with instruction to distrain on his goods and chattels. This officer, who with the cunning of a fox united the cowardice of a cat, watched until the coast was clear, and the male head of the family away from home. Entering when the mother and her little ones were eat- ing their scanty dinner, he seized and carried out the few things not in immediate use ; at the same time commanding the woman and her children to hurry and get out of the way, as he wanted the table at which they were seated, with what it contained. Naturally enough, the poor woman spoke her mind to him very freely; whereupon, to vent his spleen, he threw the children hither and thither, scraped together the dishes and their con- tents, and putting the whole into the cupboard, carried it away. At the sale of the goods, the cupboard and its contents were auctioned oflF in one lot; but the purchaser returned the whole to the former owner, with the exception of a tin bowl, which contained a very small quantity of sugar, and which was subse- quently shown to me. In Canada West, no poor-houses are built for the shelter of the indigent; but they are robbed of furniture and food, turned into the street or the road, and left to die like IN THE CANADA8. . 1- c; Sheriff taking tlie Dishes and Victuals from the Family irhile at thoir Dinner. dogs; when it is a source of congratulation that the country is rid of such poor devils. Emigrants from Europe, let me advise you to set not your feet in this inhospitable region, where the current of human kindness seems tp have frozen in the hearts of the English officials : better brave the Indian hatchet on the slopes of the Kocky Mountains, or the burning rays of a tropical sun, than expose yourselves to the tender mercies of a race which, like that of Ishmael, plunders the defenceless and crouches to the powerful. iil }-\ :*W V ,,;»J .-'t;.: j? ^ IV-C^:: \ ;.' ■11! ri '^iJ'l Bailiff Mising Dodge's Bible. ' a Decessary aid to the salvation of man, took from Mr. Dodge the only Bible in his possession, and which he was desirous to keep, and sold it for a pittance to some Gentile, or probably to a Jew dealer in old clothes, etc. '< Oh, consistency, thou art a jewel!" A few years subsequently, Mr. Bodge having in the mean time worked diligently, and accumulated some little of this world's goods, another soissure of his effects was made. This occurred in March, 1859. Furniture valued at $300 was sold for $104, from which, the costs of suit being deducted, only $79 75 were left to pay the original debt. Desirable goods will sometimes yield fifty cents on the dollar, when the costs and expenses absorb twenty-five cents j leaving to the creditor but twenty-five cents on the dollar as applicable to the payment of his claim. The property disappears ^ the minions of the law swallow the oyster, 9 Q 98 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT and the creditor is presented with the shell; while the poor debtor is nearly, if not quite, as much in debt as he was before the seizure A DEBTOR PREVENTED PROM SEEING THE BODY OF HIS OWN DAUGHTER, WHO WAS BURNED TO DEATH. Mr. Mason, a resident of Westmeath, Canada West, was ar- rested, and confined in jail by his creditors, but subsequently bailed out within the jail limits, which did not permit his rejoin- ing his family, who resided beyond the prescribed boundary. While thus separated from them, the dwelling in which they re- sided took fire in the night, during the month of February, 1858, and Mr. Mason's daughter, nine years of age, together with his sister-in-law, perished — the latter in the burning building, the HouM on Fire, and family perishing in the Flames. former in a few hours after she was removed from it. Mrs. Mason and her son, a young lad, with difficulty effected their es- cape, though both were very severely burned. The Gfobcy Ca- IN THE CANADA8 99 nada West, in its issue of February 22, 1858, while detailing this sad oocurrenoe, makes the subjoined comment on the inhu- manity of Mr. Mason's creditors : <' What makes this case appear harder still, Mr. Mason him- self, owing to the barbarous nature of the law of arrest, has been kept within the jail limits for these two years past; and, although his daughter's corpse and that of his sister-in-law lay in a neigh- bor's house, awaiting burial, and his wife was depending on the hospitality of a cold world for shelter from the winter frost, and was hardly expected to survive many days, Mr. Mason dare not leave ihe limits prescribed hy a tyrannical law, to console or sympathize with the partner of his bosom in her sore bereave- ment." I have been informed that, when he desired permission from his creditors to go to the place where lay the bodies of two of his family, and attend to their burial, they told him to first as- semble his friends, and get from them the means to pay his debts ; the cancellation of which must be a condition precedent to the grant of full liberty to go where he pleased. How bare- facedly do these wretchet violate the precept of the Saviour : " Do unto others as you would" that others should do unto you." Ik A LADY AND HER THREE CHILDREN IMPRISONED FOR DEBT — CHARACTERISTIC INHUMANITY OP AN ENGLISHMAN. , A Mr. Hart, a prime specimen of Anglo-Saxon character, mar- ried a widow lady residing in the city of Hamilton, Canada West^ who was established in the business of selling English manufac> tured goods on commission. The first husband of the lady had commenced the business, and after his death it was continued by his wife ; who, like many others of her countrywomen, was well qualified to do so. As soon after his marriage as a favorable op- portunity ofi^ered, Hart gathered together all the cash then on hand in the store and in bank, collected every dollar he could on 100 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT book accounts and past due notes, and, with a very large purse, took his departure, no one knew whither, leaving his wife with one child, the offspring of her last marriage, and two girls, her children by the first husband. Despoiled of all her available resources, when the bills for goods purchased fell due, she could not meet them, and, consequently, some of her creditors procured a writ of capias to be served on her, under which she was impri< Bonod in the jail at Hamilton, while all the goods she had in her store were seized. This affair occurred in August, 1850 ; and, as mi^ht be expected of a mother, she took with her into the prison her three children, the youngest, a boy, being then at the breast. In January, 1858, she was discharged from jail, having been confined nearly seven years and five months because she was prevented from paying her debts by the inhumanity and ras- cality of an Englishman whom she was so foolish as' to marry. The loss of most of her means by the act of the scoundrel whom she had loved "not wisely, but too well," was not deemed a suf- ficient punishment for a frail woman, but rascally lawyers, stony- hearted judges, and Shylock creditors must needs combine toge- ther for the purpose of torturing her ttill more ; and — will it be credited ! — the refinement of thdir cruelty far exceeded that of the brute who had sworn to love, cherish, and protect her. She might, by industry, economy, and steady perseverance, have re- covered from the blow which he had aimed at her prosperity ; but no act of hers, no effort of the will, no continuity of exer- tion, could save her from the ruin in which she was steeped by the savages to whom she owed a few atoms of metallic dross,, for the possession of which avaricious men sell their souls into eter- nal bondage to the Prince of Hell. During her imprisonment, this unfortunate lady earned her maintenance by the use of her needle, being patronised by many of the ladies of Hamilton, who also gave her some little presents. Her daughters went to school ; for which purpose they were liberated in the morning, returning? to the jail regularly at night to lodge with their mo- V IN THE 0ANADA8. fcher; and when the boy was old enough, he accompanied his sisters. When at length the mother was discharged, the girls whom she had taken with her into the prison were young ladies ; having grown up and expanded into women while immured within the walls of a jail. The lady herself, during the entire period of her incarceration, never once breathed the air of liberty, how- much soever her soul yearned thereafter. Her principal creditor became wealthy, retired from business, and went to Europe, to spend the evening of his life in luxury; leaving the woman whom he had so foully wronged to rot in jail. I visited the pri- son in June, 1859, but could prooare no information from the churlish John Bull who presides over the destinies of its in- mates ; he would not even t?ll me how she obtained her libera- tion. A gentleman Qonversant with all the details has since as- sured me that she was. discharged under an Act of Parliament, specially passed for the purpose; as the county, sheriff, and jailor would be held liable to pay the debt were she otherwise liberated. THE PROPRIETOR OF THE ROYAL EXCHANQE HOTEL, CHATHAM. Joseph Pritchacd, Esq., prdprietor of the Eoyal Exchange Hotel, Chatham, Canada West, is a native of England, where he filled the position of butler to two different gentlemen during the terms of their natural lives, and was about consummating an agreement with a third, to fill the same high position in his household, when the gentleman, remarking the ex-butler's ex- treme corpulency, was impressed with the idea that it had been acquired at the expense of former employers, and, therefore, pointedly refused to entrust him with the keys of his wine-cellar and pantry. This trivial circumstance so much affected the spi- rits of Mr. P., that he resolved to shake off the dust of England from his shoes, and emigrate to a land where every man is his own butler ; and on landing, he really looked as if he had, stowed in the immense receptacle which hung beneath his breast-bone, 9* : 102 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT '/ r •^^ •Hfi-f'^^^ Josetih I'ritcbard. the contents of one-half the pantries and wine-oellars of Eng- land. As the high-toned Britisher could find nothing in the United States to equal what he had been used to in glorious Eng- land, he turned his back on the people, and settled in Chatham, Canada West ; where he became one of the codfish aristocracy, and opened the Royal Exchange Hotel — an establishment which does a very meagre amount of business, of a very ordinary cha- racter, and the host of which charges exorbitant prices for ex- tremely poor accommodations. When I first went to Chatham, I put up with him, and therefore feel competent to speak con- cerning himself and his house, from an experience of six months previous to my incarceration. I furnished my own room, an apartment six feet by eight, and paid him 38 per week board. In the pursuit of my business, I brought him numerous cus- tomers, always treated him with marked respect, never laid a IN TIIK OANADA»<. 108 s cus- laid a straw in his way, and never once disagrcH with him, m that was not my way of doing business. Aftnr I was rnst into prison, I summoned him to my cell, and paid him his bill, whioh amounted to 928. In order to repay mo in his English way for all tho good I had done him during the previous three years, whenever any of my fViends, in passing through Canada on the G. W. K. U., stopped at Chatham to see me, and put up at his house, whioh was in the way of travellers, and the landlord of whieh could be seen as readily as the house, he would, in answer to inquiries re- specting me, say everything possible to detract from my reputa- tion — of which they invariably told me when they visited my cell. On one occasion, having some fifteen or twenty persons at dinner on each side of his table, he being seated on a high arm- chair at the head of the board, as was his usual practice, an East- ern gentleman, with whom I was intimate, but who was in no way acquainted with Pritchard, asked him how I (Mr. Brown) was getting along. He made answer, before the entire company, that I was nearly rotten, and that he hoped I would be kept in jail until the flesh fell from my bones ; as should any man who did not pay his honest debts. Of course, my friend made no reply. This fellow (Pritchard), and, in fact, almost any person in Canada, will condemn a man who is imprisoned by his credit- ^ ors, without knowing anything relating to the case, or whether the impression they are conveying to a stranger is true or false ; and in this case my slanderer was nut cognizant of the fact that I had o£fered to settle with my creditors. Reader, you have here a fair specimen of the treatment whioh an Englishman of Pritchard's description will give the character of any person after their departure from his house, and he has ceased to realiz;e anything from them. The slander, ir only ox- pressed before acquaintances, would not work much harm ; but this does not satisfy the disseminator of evil reports and lies j he must needs poison the minds of strangers, and prepossess 104 IMriUSONMENT FOU l)£liT w ijlii' li''ll n them against a man whom thoy have never seen, but whom they may know by reputation ; thus disposing them to shun any con- tact in the future. r . jmti'.Tjr This ancient butler, now sixty-five years of age, has about him many of the traits of character so ably delineated by Shakspearo in the person of Falstaff, the valiant knight. One of his innocent peculiarities is, to request a customer to purchase a bottle of his London Porter at four shillings, suggesting that it will make a nice drink for both ; and when a customer calls a friend up to the bar, if he lays down a quarter of a dollar to pay for two drinks, the bec^-eating butler will say, "I will take a drink my- self;" when, wishing the individual good health, long life, and a safe journey over Jordan, he will scrape the quarter into his till, with the remark, " This is just the change." This practice is well known among the travelling public who are in the habit of passing that way, and they, of course, will avoid the place j but those who are not acquainted with the locality are informed that Thomas Larke, of Chatham, and Thomas Mason, at the Station, keep very excellent houses, are extremely reasonable in their charges, and may always be found at home. :i'l •■[■&' ./hi-y. DIFFERENT CLASSES OF ENGLISH IN CANADA. Among the English people of . Canada there are different grades. The first comprises what are called gentlemen, and they are such in every sense of the word ; being straightforward, re- liable people, who are approachable in business relations or in the social circle, put on no assumed dignity, and treat with equal courtesy all with whom they come in contact, be they rich or be they poor. In a word, they are just such a people, gifted by nature with education, talents, enterprise, skill, and energy, as would, if exerting a preponderating influence, build up the poli- tical and social condition of any nation. .s u v = The second grade is composed of those who have been de- IN THE CANADAS. ' ?U 105 graded from the ranks of the first class, or, mushroom- like, have, with a fungous growth, risen from the obscurity of — perhaps a Newgate ancestry, or the nobility of Botany Bay. These crea- tures will take advantage of their fellow-man whenever they find an opportunity of so doing, and in no case are they ever reliable. Their word, like the written contracts they execute, is not worth a straw; and so practised are they in all sorts of contemptible and base tricks, that those who deal with them must needs keep a strict watch over their movements if they wish to escape being plundered. This class is better known by the name of " codfish aristocracy;" and its members may generally be distinguished in any mixed society by the angle at which their nasal organs are elevated — as though they loathed the smell of the common beings with whom they were compelled by natural and irreversi- ble laws to associate. Devoid of honor, ungifted with talents, either natural or acquired, proverbially mendacious, greedy, grasping, avaricious, cruel, and vindictive to the last degree, measuring everything and every one by the filthy standard of lucre, this class, though possessing an ample sufficiency of worldly substance, are yet poor indeed ; because unendowed with a single share in that mine of wealth, whose treasures are lavished only on those true men who act justly, live uprightly, and practise all the cardinal virtues, among which charity shines a*s a conspicu- ous star. Instead of being rated as the second, the "codfish aristocracy should be considered — what in reality they are — the very lowest class. '^ •'^'^ ' ' ' Those composing the third class are the honest farmers, me- chanics, and manufacturers; who, though mainly uneducated, are well deserving of, and really should have, a place in the first class. In Canada, it is this class that creates the wealth which the others spend, and none could be so illy spared from the com- munity. Herein may be found centred all the virtue of the land, in many cases combined with natural talents of such a high order that, did but an opportunity offer, they would blaze forth with 106 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT i'lH l:if such power as entirely to obscure the farthing rushlights of the second class, who arrogate to themselves the titles of orators and statesmen. These men are ever the pioneers of civilization, un- dergoing privation, facing danger, and incurring risks, before which those calling themselves their superiors would quail; and yet no other class is so much oppressed and degraded by the ope- ration of infamous laws. v , There is yet another subdivision, not properly a class, com- posed of pure English stock, but who marry females and convert them into slaves. Not regarding them as partners for life, en- titled equally with themselves to a share of the comforts and pleasures of this world, they keep their poor unfortunate wives constantly immured between four walls, performing the most menial offices and the most wearying drudgery. I have heard a young Englishman ask if a marriageable lady was a good worker, just as if about to buy a horse or an ass; but not a word was said about her education, talents, refinement, virtues, etc., which, in the estimation of civilized men, are matters of great moment. \\' MEAN AND CONTEMPTIBLE ACTION OF A MEMBER OF THE ENGLISH "CODFISH ARISTOCRACY." In the town of Orford, Canada West, were settled two or three families who had emigrated thither from Ireland, where \hey had been intimates and associates from early childhood. Being practical farmers, and in good circumstances when they ar- rived, they selected and settled on a large tract of land, located on a back road, in a new and uncleared part of the town, where they soon made a large opening into the woods, built fences, houses, and barns, and, in fact, laid out very comfortable farms. There is one trait in the Irish character, well known to all the world ; and that is, they are generous to a fault : if one has but two potatoes, he will share them with a hungry traveller. A broken-down Englishman came into the neighborhood where IN THE OANADAS. 107 )f the rs and \ m, un- before I; and le ope- 1, com- jonvert ife, en- ts and e wives e most beard a worker, ord was I which, loment. F THE two or where Idhood. they ar- located , where fences, 1 farms. all the has but ler. A where cney were located, and set himself up as one of the codfish aris- tocracy, taking up a lot 100 acres in extent, although he wan comparatively poor. It is the custom in new countries for neigh- bors to assist each other, and for this purpose many persons will assemble on a farm, and participate in what is called a " bee :" viz., chopping logs, building fences, etc. Under this system, our aristocrat got more than half of his farm cleared and under fence in a few years, though he was very seldom an assistant at the " bees " got up for the benefit of others. The neighboring farm- ers joined in the purchase of a threshing machine ; and, as it required the attention of several persons to work it, it was agreed that all should assist, going from the barn of one farmer to that of another, until the threshing was entirely completed. This Englishman, by pleading that he had a payment to make on his land, and needed his wheat threshed first, in order that he might by its sale procure the necessary funds, on several occasions suc- ceeded in having his wants satisfied before those of any of his neighbors ; when he would manage to evade assisting those who had helped him, by pleading sickness, a sore heel or shin, or some other equally trifiing excuse. All this niggardly conduct was, however, overlooked by his kind-hearted Irish neighbors, whose charity was as enduring as their industry was untiring. One of the Englishman's horses died in the spring, just before the com- mencement of the usual busy season (most probably owing to bad food or an insufficient supply) ; whereupon one of the Irish- men, who had a spare horse, immediately placed it at his dis- posal for the spring, provided he would get the beast shod, as the Englishman had a journey of forty miles to perform, which he could not eflFect with an unshod animal. The latter promised to do as required, and even thought of returning thanks to the Irishman for his kindness, but concluded not to do so, as it would be too polite. He put the borrowed horse alongside of his own, and with the pair finished all his field-work ; after which he got the beast shod, and drove him forty miles and back with a load. 108 niPIllSONMENT FOR DEKT Having then no urthor use for the animal, he got up early the morning following his return, and pulled the shoes oflF the feet of the horse; when, leading him into the road, by shouting and whirling his hat, he so frightened him that ho ran toward his owner's home. f; "'■Ji'-', i: !('i, 111 'if, ;m A" f 5i* , ,, •..■<-•■'• ^ .V' -. /v ■ • ■ ' 1mi . » t -. - '.rj r 1 • U ■. I ' % ^, ■ > An Englishmnn, nfter pulling the Slioes off the feet of a borrowed Horse, sends him book to his Owner. This is a very fair specimen of the general character of the codfish English aristocracy of Canada, who will not hesitate to stoop to any dirty action by which they can realize a penny. Our Englishman wanted the shoes for his remaining horse, or for one he intended to purchase with the profits arising from the next " bee " held on his farm 3 and with this view he worked the poor beast barefoot the entire spring, and never had it shod until the last moment. Such a fellow as this should be treated to a prolonged experience of that instrument of torture which is pe- culiarly English, and known by the name of the . ^, ;, IN THE 0ANADA8. 100 ■(., i:' " STOCKS." *•' it* ■'-- The practice of putting men and women in the stocks foi petty offences has been, in a great measure, abandoned, as many of the law-makers themselves were made practically acquainted with its odious features, during the periods of punishment al- lotted them for drunkenness, disorderly conduct, etc. oim:. Knglishman in tho Stocks. A smart but not overwise Englishman went to town one day where he heard a crowd of gentlemen discussing the pricus of stocks, and speaking about investing their money in them. On his return home, he met another Englishman, named " Bill," a codfish aristocrat, whom he thus addressed : -vf , iM* i.w; ^' Ha, Bill ! had you ever any money in stocks ?" .:;i ■'■ 'n ^f: " No," replied Bill ; " but I have had my legs in them, very often." :, .-,;* --^ -^'-^.i^; -r .: iv;, _:0_,ii n'^ihlA:: -"/ii a -i Stocks are usually set up in some public place, as the open space in front of a county court-house, or church, or in some other place where there is frequently a large gathering of people, 10 ■I 110 IMPRISONMENT FOU DEBT »' ^ $ i m ' 1 W [ . II ^ ' iHI ^' ■H so as to make the exposure of the culprit as public as possible. The lower plank of the stocks is twelve inches high ; and, the culprit being seated on the ground, his feet are laid upon this plank, when another one, containing notches to fit the ankles, is fastened down over it. Whoever is thus punished, man or wo- man, is compelled to support the body in an upright position by placing the hands upon the ground in the rear ; thus preventing the use of those important members in driving o£f annoying flies, or inquisitive dogs, which are prompted by natural instinct to smell every stationary object they pass. The force of public opinion, and the advance of humanitarian principles, have influenced the Governmuuu &o abolish the use of stocks ; and in lieu thereof, men, women, and children are locked up in jails for all crimes, among which is included that of debt; for indebtedness is regarded as crime, and punished with greater severity than o£fences against the laws of God and the institu- tions of civilized society. Beverting back to the cases tried before the Division Court, I will here detail a few more of them, merely to show the falsity of the report, so industriously disseminated by interested par- ties, that imprisonment for debt has been abolished in Canada West. DIVISION COURT, CASE NO. 1 1859. A shoemaker, forty-nine years of age, having a wife and seven children, was prosecuted by a grocer, to whom he owed $28*20. The bill of costs amounted to $12*86, making an aggregate of $4106; for the non-payment of which he was sentenced to an imprisonment of twenty days, although he had been unable to labor for some time previous. He was conveyed from his home to a jail eighteen miles distant. The sentence of the court was tempered with mercy, because it was not thought that the cul- prit could survive much longer than was necessary for the exe- cution of the punishment assigned to his enormous offence. '-;> ^^fp' IN THE 0ANADA8. Ill DIVISION COURT, CASE NO. 2. — 1859. (1 •".■a.'r iWi' n A journeyman cooper, aged fifty-five years, was prosecuted for a grocery bill amounting to 320, which was increased by the ad- dition of costs, $20-12, to the sum of $40-12. This man has a wife and five children, was dragged eighteen miles to the jail, in which he was imprisoned, and has been twice confined for the same debt. His wife recently presented him with an ad- dition to his family, and at the time of his last seizure he had neither fuel nor provisions in his house, while his wife was un- able to rise from her bed. He was sentenced to forty days' im- prisonment, under the law which has for its caption, ''The Act to abolish imprisonment for debt,'' etc. tf 4:h ■■,- DIVISION COURT, CASE NO. 3. — 1859 ' ' The individual prosecuted in this case is a carpenter, thirty years of age, and a man of family, having a wife and three chil- dren. He was sued on an accommodation note for $40, which sum the costs increased to $65-32 ; and, if my information is correct, the note was loaned to one of the codfish aristocracy. At the time of his arrest, he was six miles from his residence, consulting a physician, and was hurried away to a jail twenty-six miles distant; permission to go home and apprise his family, or to procure a clean shirt, having been refused him. He was sen- tenced to an imprisonment of ten days for failing to pay the note, although he had not done a day's work in six months. An- other instance of the heartlessness of all connected with the ad- ministration of the laws in Canada West. ■.. i. 1, ^,v- 1^'iOl? hM: NOVEL MODE OF SEIZING A STOVE. A poor man in Canada West, being in debt, and unable to pay, a lav:yer advised the creditor to collect it by law, as delay mignt prove dangerous. Suit was commenced, and an execution issued. 112 IMPRISONMENT FOR UEBT t which was put into the sheriff's hands for collection sonic time during the month of February. Knowing that the man was poor, and had but little in his house, the sheriff determined to sell all his goods, stove included, so as to make sure of having sufficient to cover the execution — the sale of household furniture usually yielding only about twenty-five per cent, of its value ap- plicable to the payment of the debt. He waited until 11 o'clock at night, in order to give the family time to retire, and the stove an opportunity to cool ; but, on entering the premises, he found the family all astir, and the stove red-hot — the poor people hav- ing been apprised of the intended official visit. The baffled of- ficer was so enraged at his disappointment in not finding the stove in proper order for removal, that he picked up a pail of water, and threw the entire contents of it on the stove, which, as might have been expected, was broken into many pieces. When the fragments had cooled, he threw the whole of them outside of the house, at the same time saying, " There, God damn you, sit up and keep the stove hot, will you, so as to prevent my taking it to pay your debts with ?" A sheriff has been heard to say, " Give me a quart of brandy, and if a family gives me any insults, I will strip hell out of the house ; but if they treat me decently, I will leave them some- thing." According to this, if a man is in debt, it would be po- licy for him to keep in the house a quart of Otard ; he may then have the straw left in his bed-ticks, for his family to eep on j though some amendments to the law require the seizing officer to leave to each family a stove and its utensils, a bed and bedding, necessary clothing for the person, and, if the head of the family is a mechanic, tools to the value of $60. The law, however, does not allow a debtor either a potato or a codfish to cook in his stove, or a stick of firewood to generate heat in the coldest of weather; but if, with the tools left him, a mechanic earns suffi- cient to procure a cord of wood, or a bushel of potatoes, the she- riff may seize both, and then confine the poor man himself in IN TH£ OANADAS. 113 N^- ^ The Sheriff throwing water on a Stove which he \b about to selie for Debt. jail because he is not able to cancel the balance of the debt. A bedstead is not allowed a debtor ; neither is he permitted to have knife or fork, plate or spoon, table or chair. Canada lawyers tell those who know not the contrary, that imprisonment for debt has been abolished, and that a sheriff cannot distress a family, but must leave them the goods necessary for housekeeping. They tell falsehoods. The sheriff may or may not leave any property in the hands of the debtor, as suits his own inclination ; but, as he receives a per centage on all he sells, it is not likely he will leave much. These men sometimes favor the codfish aristocracy, but the poor man, never. One sheriff told me that when he had an execution on a stock of goods in store he could make money — and, in fact, on any other description of personal property — by having parties present to buy the goods for him at nominal prices. Thus, it will be seen, the oflficial robs the creditor as well as the debtor; and, while the creditor does not obtain his 10* H ';':> js T» in w j • f .( n ni 114 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT due, the debtor is not in any way relieved of his obligation, though deprived of his goods. Such is the operation of the laws for the collection of debts in Canada West. HOW AGRICULTURE IS ENCOURAGED IN CANADA. ^ ^;'/'';r^, A Farmer arrested, and bis Ilorsua seized for Debt. ^ A farmer, owing to the failure of his crops the previous sea- son, had become indebted to certain parties, one of whom sued him, and obtained a judgment, on which an execution was issued and put into the sheriff's hands for levy. This fact becoming known, another creditor immediately swore out a capias, and put it also into the hands of the sheriff, who, being well armed, went into the field where the farmer was ploughing (the best evidence of his intention to remain in the country), and first seized the horses to satisfy the execution, after which he arrested the farmer by authority of the capias, and marched him off to jail, to undergo purgation by means of a six months* course of law ; for when lawyers get hold of a case of this kind, they pay no attention to IN THE OANADAS. 115 ligation, the laws the misery and distress they oause in a family, but use every pos- sible exertion to prolong the imprisonment of a man, in order thereby to increase their fees. r* ■t "■*•?* L. ous sea- Dm sued IS issued ecoming and put ed, went Qvidence ized the e farmer undergo Qr when mtion to >/ SWINDLING OPERATION. Mr. Campbell, a Scotchman, wishing to sell his farm and leave the country, was induced to mako deeds of it to Richard Marsh, conveying also his wife's right of dower, in consideration of Marsh paying certain debts which Campbell owed, and giving his notes at short dates for the balance. The deeds were executed in Marsh's store, and were signed by Campbell without reading; he having been previously well plied with liquor by Marsh. When the notes fell due, Campbell demanded payment ; but what was his surprise to learn that they were, by their wording, pay- able in goods, and not in cash; he, through ignorance or care- lessness, never having examined them. Campbell, indignant at the trick which had been practised upon him, refused to surren- der the farm ; but Marsh went to the county-seat, sued out a writ of ejectment, and put it into the hands of the sheri£f, who very soon dispossessed poor Campbell. The costs amounted to $25, and Campbell being unable to pay them, the sheri£f seized his span of horses and sold them for the amount of the bill of costs. Thus this much injured man, through his own impru- dence, and the knavery of Marsh, lost a fine farm, and in lieu thereof got a valueless stock of store goods ; beside which, the law robbed him of his horses. . -r . .. ^ v,.. OUT OP JAIL AND IN JAIL. .*!' i< ■■■it In the summer of 1856, being in St. Thomas, Canada West, a young lawyer to whom I was introduced solicited me to put such business in that place (that being the capital of Elgin County) as I might have to transact in his hands. I replied that 110 IMPIUBONMBNT FOR DEHT , ( i: I '; V, II I would boar him in mind, and so wo parted. After being con- fined in jttil Homo sixteen monthn, I wrote to him to oxuinino the court recordu in the clerk's office, and to inform me whether a certain party hud entered a judgment aguiiiMt me; rcqueNtiiig him to send his bill at the same time, which I would settle. L gave him to understand how T was situated, and paid the postage on the letter, though not required so to do by the postage law. The young lawyer, who had, only two years previously, been very anxious to attend to my business, now promptly replied, without prepaying his letter, that, to secure his services, I must first send him one pound ($4). Another lawyer, in the same county, bought goods on credit from me for two or three years, always selecting the best goods, us they were for the use of his family, and ho had not to pay the money down. About four months after I was imprisoned, I wrote him, desiring him to call and see mo, as I had some business for him to transact. A polite written request for mo first to send him ten pounds ($40) was the answer I received ; to which I replied that I would pay him as soon as ray business was finished; and that, even if I was in jail, I was just as responsible as when I was at liberty. Ho came, however, and done what I required ; but, to my infinite surprise, he then presented me with a bill for $100, as a retaining fee, and other charges in like proportion ; which not only absorbed my entire claim, in amount $200, but actually brought me in his debt $125, including the ten pounds. This is the way Canada lawyers deal with their clients ; and any citizen of the United States who has business with one of the tribe may make up his mind that he will bo thoroughly swindled. I once saw a prisoner enclose $10 in a letter to a lawyer, with a request that ho would answer a question propounded therein. The lawyer referred the man to his partner, who resided near the jail ; but, the latter being unable to give the required answer, the querist again referred the matter to the attention of the first IN THK CANADA8. 117 lawyer, who had pocketed the $10. The rascal, however, would not reply, bocauNo the letter did not contain another fee, not with* fltandin^ ho had rendered no Norvioe for the one ho had reoeiverk can be s. A beg- can pound 3rs"P.B" kick them WIFE ANJi son, bought nada West, louse, barn, snug stock ady, then a offspring of )eauty, and, lars of age. n life, toge- it upon the ls accepted ; vo children noticed that was largely es were fre- associations d that both Johnson, as IN THE CANADAS. 121 then they would have no one to control them in their evil pro- pensities. Most probably by the advice of the magistrates, the old lady feigned illness for some time, and at length intimated that some lamb's-tail soup or broth would, she did not doubt, greatly strengthen her, and lead to her recovery. Johnson pro- posed to kill a sheep, of which he had many ; his wife and mo- ther, however, both told him these were too lean ; but that a neighbor had a few of the right kind, one of which he could readily appropriate without the knowledge of the owner, as he had no money to purchase one. Johnson loved his wife and mo- ther-in-law so much, they being both white, and very pretty, that he would, if necessary, have laid down his life for their comfort ; so, without further parley, he one night did as he was required, and wended his way homeward with a lamb on his back j but, when near his own fence, two white men who had been frequent Johnson coming home ^ith the Lamb on his Back. ^^3 - visitors at his house, sprang out from their place of concealment, and arrested him, when he at once confessed the theft. After lying in jail for some time, he was finally tried, convicted, and 11 122 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the Kingston peniten- tiary. The judge who presided said ho clearly saw that the wholo matter had been pre-arranged, with the view of depriving the poor fellow of his home and family ; and, inasmuch as he had lain a considerable time in prison, ho proposed to discharge him at once. This, however, the associate justices would not agree to; and they told the judge that, as stealing a sheep was a peni- tentiary offence, Johnson must bo dealt with as the law pre- scribed. As the case was tried before the County Court, in which two or three of the local magistrates act as associate justices, the presiding judge was compelled to acquiesce, much against his will. Two of the associate judges in the trial of Johnson were constant visitors at his house, and thus assisted in the consum- mation of the nefarious plot which, there is not a doubt, they were instrumental in originating. There is abundance of law, but little justice, to be obtained in Canada West. » HJ ' JUDICIAL INJUSTICE. The colored people of Canada are very much oppressed by many of their white neighbors, who prefer against them various charges, in order to drive them out of the country. In this way, two colored men were arraigned before a court, and charged with stealing, which they denied. There being no very positive proof against them, they were advised to confess their guilt, and throw themselves on the mercy of the court; which one of them did, while the other persisted in asserting his innocence. It was generally believed that neither of them was guilty ; but never- theless, they were convicted on insufficient evidence, and the judge sentenced the one who plead guilty to an imprisonment of two years, while to the other he assigned four years j thus, practically rewarding the man who told a falsehood. f- IN THE 0ANADA8. 123 .iK. nfion were EFFECT OF CANADIAN WHISKEY ON A CANADIAN JUDGE. Before the sessions of the Court of Queen's Bench, it is the usual practice, in at least one of the counties in Canada, for the judge and lawyers to meet together at one of the hotels, and there discuss, not only the cases on the trial list, but also a goodly supply of fine old Otard, champagne, whiskey, coffee, crackers and cheese, etc. Meeting, on one of these occasions, at the Royal Exchange (a very popular name in Canada, where every- thing, from a palace to a pig-sty, is dubbed " Royal "), the imbibi- tion of material spirits raised their mental spirits to such a height, that, invading the small cavity in the cranium where each one usually kept his meagre allotment ;f brains, the latter were speedily displaced, and folly reigned triumphant. In fact, they were all most gloriously drunk ; and, among other fantastic tricks played oflF by these legal mountebanks, they put into the judge's pocket half a dozen silver spoons, which he carried with him when he went to his residence in the village, between 1 and 2 o'clock A. M. Sobered by his night's sleep, the judge arose the following morning, shaved, washed, breakfasted, and, assum- ing the proper judicial frown, was about to don his coat prepara- tory to setting forth, when, hearing a jingling sound in one of the pockets, a search revealed to his astonished vision the land- lord's silver spoons. Having no knowledge of the manner in which they got there, he asked his wife if he was much in liquor when he came home the previous night ; to which she answered that he was decidedly drunk. Thinking that he had picked up the spoons while intoxicated, he wended his way back to the hotel, where they had already been missed, and, returning them to the owner, he asked pardon for his trespass, and was freely forgiven. Proceeding thence to the court-house, he took his seat upon the bench, and, as none of the civil cases on the calen- dar were ready for trial, his lordship ordered an Irishman to be II i 124 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT armigncd who had stolen a liorso, when tho following colloquy took pinco between tho judgo and tho prisoner : Judge. Well) sir ; it appears you are charged with stealing a horse. J*a(. Yes, my lord. Jud(/«\ How came you to do so ? Don't you know it is a 80 von years' penitentiary offence ? Pat. Yes, my lord ; but, pleaso your lordship, I was drunk. Jmhje. Ah I drunk. Where did you get the liquor that mado you drunk'/ ,i;.^ Pat. At tho Royal Exchange, sir. Judge. Indeed I Well, sir, I will discharge you at once ; for I know, of a truth, that man's liquor will make any one steal. Poor Pat humbly thanked his lordship, covered his crown with a something which he called a hat, and went on his way rejoicing. ; : ;; .*.v\\ A NEGRO, SEVENTY YEARS OP AGE, ROBBED OP HIS PROPERTY. This poor fellow resided upon some land west of the village of Chatham, which he had taken possession of twenty-five years before, and, by great labor, cleared, fenced, stocked, and supplied with the necessary buildings. In the progress of time the land had become valuable, when suddenly General Williamson, as the negro was called, was notified that tho farm upon which he had expended so much labor was the property of another. The claimant, finding that Williamson had been in possession over twenty years, and therefore had a good title, went to Chatham, and employed a lawyer to dispossess the General. This worthy offered to give the old man a farm near Chatham in exchange for the one he then held ; to which the latter agreed, as the ma- jority of the colored people in the county resided there, beside which, he would be near his church. Instead of a deed, how- ever, the lawyer only gave him a lease of tho new farm, which IN THE OANADAS. 126 called for tlio annual payment of a cortuiri sum as ront; and tho poor old croaturo, not knowing any difforonco, gavo up his old homo and moved to his now location ; where, much to his aston- ishment, when tho ycmr rolled around, a demand was made upon him for rent, which he refused to pay. Proceedings wore imme- diately commenced against him, his crops, cattle, etc., seized and sold for rent, and, in a short time, ho was stripped of ^3000 — tho amount ho was worth when he moved to tho vicinity of Chatham. Several times did ho attempt to take possession of the farm which ho formerly owned j but ho was invariably prosecuted for tres- pass, and driven oif; and, at last, being unable to pay a fine of $15 for ono of those trespasses, ho was, in default of payment, sentenced to three months' imprisonment in Chatham jail. Di- recting his friends to sell his suit of Sunday clothes in order to pay tho fine, tho coat, which had east him 820, brought but $7, while his pants were sold for 38, and his vest for $2. Not being ablo to raise the required sum, ho was compelled to serve out his term, lost his Sui.day clothes, and some extra expenses absorbed ho $12 received therefor; after which ho was called, as are many others who are robbed in a similar way, "a poor old nigger." ^hi-'f'- ■■*■■"":>»*•> HOW THE NEGROES ARE TREATED IN OHATHAM. For legalized robbery, this town exceeds any other in Canada West J and the people do all in their power to worry the colored population out, and get rid of them, as they are opposed to hav- ing them in tho place. There are 4000 whites and 2000 blacks in Chatham ; and I really think there are far more honesty and honor among the latter than can be claimed for tho former. If a poor negro is seen in liquor, he is at. once thrown into prison ; where, if there is any disagreeable work to be done, such as cleaning out tho sewers, etc., he is compelled to do it ; and I have been informed that, when such matters require attention, and there is not one negro in the prison, a constable or some 11* 126 IMPRISONMENT FOB DEBT •!1 1;: other rasoal is employed to intoxicate a colored person, so that ho may be brought into the jail, and made use of for the per- formance of the dirty job. White men are never so treated; although, during the past twenty years, th| statistics of deaths in Chatham show that no less than sixteen landlords of " lloyal '* and other hotels have died from excessive indulgence in spiritu- ous liquors. From this data, it may readily be inferred that tho number of drunken whites is by no means small, notwithstand- ing their names rarely appear on the prison docket for this o£fenco. FEMALE INEBRIETY IN CANADA. .^.■■V(.' In Canada, it is not an unusual occurrence for a pair of la- dies to walk into the sitting-room of a hotel and order a couple of glasses of grog, which they will sit and sip, while discussing some damsel's love-sick twaddle, or the infirmities of an old gray goose. I have seen, at a hotel, a lady with her child, six or eight years of age, on one side, and on the other a glass of brandy and water, of which both would partake j and frequently the child demanded more before the mother handed it the tumbler. This was considered a sign of smartness in the child, and always caused a laugh among the other parties seated around the table. On the roadside, half a mile from a Canadian village, I saw an old lady, about fifty years of age, lying on the ground in a state of intoxication. Occasionally she would make an e£fort to get up, but unsuccessfully j eacl^ attempt only resulting in farther damage to a bonnet already greatly dilapidated. It was a sight shocking to the feelings of an American, though the natives think it a matter of no moment. Looking back toward the vil- lage, I could see neither church nor steeple j whereupon my ima- gination pictured to me — what is by no means uncommon — a drunken parson, and a people who know of no moral restraint whatever. -, ;* £t;a^ frmU'-i vt -Mpy^jihs ^: /a.^rvh': -jllf u'l J 1, IN THE 0ANADA8. 127 30 that le per- reated ; deaths Lloyal" spiritu- hat the hstand- o£fenco. »'»."(,■ I,,... PERSECUTION OF A METUODIS'^ MINISTER. ir of la- 0, couple scussing old gray , six or f brandy ntly the tumbler, d always he table. I saw an in a state rt to get 1 further ,s a sight e natives d the vil- i my ima- imon — a restraint A Methodist minbter was once confined on the jail limits for twenty-two years, and was eventually discharged by the Almighty, who sent death to his relief. He had endorsed for friends to the amount of $14,000, and his creditors so managed matters that he could not make an assignment, or in any other way extricate himself than by payment of the full amount in cash, interest added. The Methodist Oonferenco once offered to pay the $14,000, without interest ; but the creditors would not accept the proposal, and it was never again repeated. In 1858, there was a man still confined on the jail limits who had passed sixteen years of his life in a state "f bondage. ' ' r CHANCERY COSTS. ' f.i': Imprisonment for life, or until paid, is the usual penalty awarded for non-payment of the costs of suit in courts of chan- cery jurisdiction — the neglect being construed into a contempt of court. In England, very poor persons have languished in jail for twenty-eight years, with an allowance of but 2$ Qd per week for their support; and in many instances, parties thus im- prisoned have died before the expiration of their term. In Ca- nada West, a young man with whom I was acquainted, neglect- ing to pay the costs of a suit in chancery, was imprisoned for four mouths ; his lawyers, meanwhile, telling him that he could swear himself out, as he was not a man of property. Interroga- tories were propounded and answered by co^-respoudence over a route 200 miles long, and the matter thus delayed by the lawyers, in order to increase their costs, as they knew the prisoner had some friends who would pay to get him clear. It was finally ascertained that the-prisoner's counsel, " Walter M'Crea," had been practising a game of deception for four monthS; and had , i •» L'i?/ 128 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEIIT 1' i ' i novor evon mado applioation for his disolmrgo. Tho cnRo was taken out of his hands, and tho young man soon reguinud his liberty. BASE DECEPTION PRACTISED BY LAWYERS. A coso whioh oamo under my oognizanoo, was that of a man who had been in prison about five months, when ho was served with a writ of capias, and again arrested (theoretically). His trial was set for the month of November — two months and a half after the service of tho writ ; but, as tho man wished to regain his liberty as speedily as possible, he sent for his attorney, M'Lean, of Chatham, and signed a cognovity acknowledging the debt, preparatory to making an assignment, whioh would havo secured his liberation. The lawyer, however, instead of deliver- ing the cognovit to his client's creditors, kept it in his pocket, and entered an appearance against tho counsel of tho creditors, 80 as to keep his own client in custody until the court sat, and thus increase his own fees. At tho same time, he was continu- ally telling the poor man's wife that ho was doing all he could for her husband's release, and sympathizing with her in condem- nation of tho brutality of the jailors, the cruelty of the laws, and the obduracy of creditors. This same M'Lean, by a course of deception, camo very near persuading a widow, with six or eight children to support, to sign away her right of dower j but the advice of others who were in the jail with her caused her to see matters in a different light ; and, declining to do as she was re- quired by the crafty lawyer, she has still a house over her head. ., .'V?''f MEDICAL INHUMANITY. A good, industrious woman, who had around her a large family of children, was unfortunately cursed with a drunken husband, who at length was attacked with delirium tremens^ Tho wife, alarmed; sent for a doctor, who resided eight miles distant. The IN TIIK CANADAS. 120 disoiple of Galon oamo, and seeing at a glanoo what the disoaflo was, directed the patient to be kept quiet, and to bo deprived of liquor; when, re-mounting his horse, ho rodo homeward. In a few days, he sent in a bill of 810 for servioos rendered; which not being paid, ho entered suit against the husband, and this in- creased the burthen for the poor man. The latter owned threo oows; two of which having been sold without satisfying the ex- ecution, tho bailiflf sold the remaining and only oow the poor people possessed. This ono was, however, purchased by somo of the spootators, and returned to tho original owners ; it being their only moans of support. Tho doctor then rodo homo with a satisfied air. THE HON. M'KEL SB PROPOSES BELLINQ THE OUATHAM NEGROES. During the first canvass of the Hon. M' Keller for election as representative of Kent County in Parliament, he proposed to get rid of the colored population of Canada West in a very novel manner. Public opinion throughout her Majesty's provinces was, at that time, very much opposed to tho influx of runaway slaves from the Southern States of tho Union ; and the people of Kent County were particularly antagonistic to the further set- tlement of negroes in that locality, inasmuch as they had already more than they thought it beneficial to the interests of the county to have resident within its boundaries. The Honorable aspirunt said to his future constituents that tho Government officials had plundered the treasury to such an extent as to render necessary the imposition of additional taxes, to meet incidental expenses and pay off the national debt; and that, as the people were al- ready groaning under an excessive burden, he thought it advisa- ble to sell all the negroes in the county into bondage, as a mea- sure of relief to the treasury and the pockets of the tax-payers. Ho further said that, as he was an old resident of Chatham, had V t L ii i .■ li^ 180 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT run a saw-mill there for many years, and had occupied an honor- able place in the town council, etc., he had become a very influ- ential person — in fact, so much so, that, in case of a failure to cfifect this object in the Provincial Parliament, he would arrange the matter with her Majesty, notwithstanding the possibly ad- verso decision of the legislative body. In order to prove to the multitude that it was perfectly right to sell negroes, he quoted a •'.!(' < . ,1 :;,■'■:'.» ;. ;; a;.;.' i r1 Honorable M'Keller selling the Chatham Negroes, but her Mtjesty interferes, and stops his operations. passage from the Bible, which I infer he discovered, as he did the stories about Jonah and the net, etc., which he embodied in his speeches delivered before the Lower House, by an indefati- gable use of the midnight lamp, and great wear and tear of his valuable brains. The quotation was taken from Genesis, 25th chapter and 9th verse, and reads in this wise : "And he said. Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." The good people were vastly astonished at the re- search of the learned oflSce-hunter, which had succeeded in un- earthing this unanswerable sentence from among the hidden IN THE OANADAS. 181 treasures of biblical literature, but one old gentleman arose and bogged permission to make a few remarks. This being granted, he commonccd by saying that, in his opinion, if the prohibition against catching fish on the shores of the lakes on the northern border of Canada West were repealed, and the people allowed full liberty to reap the bountiful harvest there prepared for theiu by a beneficent Providence, the national indebtedness would bo speedily cancelled. With respect to the negroes, however, he thought they might make themselves perfectly easy on that score, as they would, judging from the rapidity with which the black color was being changed to a pretty yellow, and thence to a dusky white, very soon disappear in a natural way, without the people committing the sin of trafficking in the flesh and blood of fellow-creatures, whom, for aught he knew to the contrary, might have in their veins a very large admixture of white pa- trician as well as plebeian blood. This very sensible and irrefu- table speech settled the matter, and nothing more was said about selling the negroes. The honorable gentleman then changed his tactics, and be- came an advocate of the aboli^'on of imprisonment for debt; but, for fear my readers may be mistaken in the individual, I will state that he is the same man who swore that I was about to run away from Canada for the purpose of defrauding my creditors "generally," and himself ''in particular," although I was then, and had been for two months previously, securely lo >ked up in jail. _ OCCUPATIONS AND GENERAL CHARACTER OP THE NEGROES IN CHATHAM, CANADA WEST. These people, by the laws of Great Britain, are free as soon as they step on British soil. They are very industrious, and, in Chatham, publish and support a very handsome abolition news- paper, own two or three churches, have good schools for the edu- 'f 132 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT cation of their children^ and also very efficient Sunday-schoola. They have among them goldsmiths, gunsmiths, blacksmiths, ma- sons, carpenters, joiners, dealers itl goods of various kinds, and also a goodly number of very thriving farmers. They have also several hotels, kept by colored men, a representative in the vil- lage council, who acquits himself fully as well as did the Honor- able M'Keller, and one village constable, or detective. The crimes of which they are guilty are very few, and seldom amount to more than the larceny of a chicken, when compelled to do so by the imperative cravings of hunger. One poor colored woman, who had half a dozen children, was arrested and imprisoned at the instance of a white farmer, because, having raised corn on his farm on shares, she took a few ears to feed her children with before the crop had ripened. She lay in jail nearly all winter, and was discharged by Judge Wells at ihd next session of the court — there being no larceny in the case, and proof being pro- duced that she had been falsely sworn against. The reader may judge what became of her children during a cold winter in Ca- nada. One little boy came to see his mother in jail, but '^ Gram- pus " would not admit him ; and he had to be satisfied with look- ing through two sets of iron bars and a glass sash, which was supposed to be screwed down, but the screws had been cut out. This was all the poor boy could see of his mother, although he had walked ten miles for the purpose, in the depth of winter. I am satisfied that the colored people of Chatham and its vicinity would be very happy if they were but let alone. CRUELTY OF " GRAMPUS " TO A POOR FRENCHMAN. , , , A poor Frenchman, subject to fits, being sentenced for some offence to three months' imprisonment at hard labor in Chatham jail, was compelled to saw wood every day in the yard of the jail, and while performing his allotted task frequently fell on the ground in a fit. When about to be discharged, he requested per- IN THE OANADAS. 133 mission to ask me for fifty cents, to pay his passage on the boat to Detroit, where he had friends and countrymen (I having fre- quently aided persons in extreme distress), but was harshly re- fused. The jailor also refused to give the poor fellow a single cent, although he had labored assiduously for the county when sick and half starved ; but finally, he was given half a loaf of the ^'gutta-percha'' bread, and turned out of the prison, to walk along the railroad track to his friends in Detroit. He had not proceeded far, when, overcome by weakness and the change of air, he fell down on the track in a fit, and there lay until an ex- press train relieved him of his misery in this world by givinjg him a passport to Mj^er, ta^^f 1 hope, a much better one. mi- GRATITUDE. A young Englialiman, thirty years of age, was for seven or eight months an inmate of Chatham jail — a part of the time for a crime which had been falsely charged on him, and during four months for debt, because he lacked the possession of $5, without which he could procure no application to be made to the judge for his discharge. When I learned that he had been so long in prison, and that his brother Englishmen would not lend him the money until such time as he could repay it from his earnings as a machinist, I at once handed him the $5, mentally resolving to reduce my allowance from 16§ cents per day down to 12^ cents, rather than allow this poor man, who was a widower, with two or three children, one of them totally blind, to remain any longer in prison. In fourteen days after he received the money, he was set at liberty ; whereupon he thanked me a thousand times for my kindness, said that he had heard much talk of Yankee cha- rity, but had not experienced it before, as he had never been in the States, and told me that he would at once proceed to Detroit, get employment, and remit to me the first $5 he earned. As yet I have not seen the money, although he wrote to me, describing 12 134 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT ■ !{il } i.P w h l!':< I i< the joy evinced by his children on his restoration to them, more especially that of the blind one, and informing me that he had obtained a situation which paid him a salary of fourteen shillings per day. He has probably put out iike $5 at interest, and in- tends it to be of service to me when I grow old. It occurred to me that want of faith in the integrity of their countryman was the reason why his English friends did not assist him. I would, however, do the same thing again for another poor suffering wretch. DIVISION COURT, CASE NO. 10. — 1859. This is the last case I will here ttdtioe ill |^ exposition of the iniquities of this tribunal; postponing ^ others to a future edition, which will probably be issued i3^^i|i# adjournment of Parliament this coming winter. WsniWfijp^, precludes the publication of a large amount of matter which I had hoped to include in this work ; but, as it has already greatly exceeded the limits first assigned it, the excluded matter must necessarily lie over to the next edition, in which full and complete details will be given of cases of imprisonment for debt, of the inhumanity of officials, the rascality of lawyers, and malpractices of judges, copiously illustrated with handsome engravings on wood. I shall be thankful to my numerous friends throughout Canada for all information necessary to further my purpose. No. 10 was the case of a farmer who was prosecuted for a tavern bill amounting to £1 17s Qd, on which costs accrued to the enormous sum of £11 4s 4<^ — total, £13 Is 10fZ = $52-36. The debtor had a wife and children, and was conveyed to a jail thirty-three miles distant from his home. The bill of costs was accumulated by repeated prosecutions, and finally, in this court, the poor man was sentenced to an imprisonment of ten days. As farmers rarely make a bill at a tavern, I think it more than probable that it was accumulated by the practice prevalent among landlords — viz., treating themselves at the customer's ox- IN THE 0ANADA8. | 135 pense, not only before his face, but also behind his back; as did Joseph Pritchard, the proprietor of the Royal Exchange Hotel, Chatham. -.^.^ PROPERTY EXEMPT FROM EXECUTION IN WISCONSIN. According to promise, I here append a schedule of property exempt from 63^outii|n in the State of Wisconsin. The lawyer to whom I wro#for it did not first require £10, but immediately forwarded it tatny i4*fe8S, |||th oie plo^b) one drag, and other farming utnnniln^mnl^BB^tfM^'^'^^^T^i ^^^ ^"t ceeding fifty dollars in value. ?i^^fe/ $# 1 *' Sth. The provisions for the 0Ml^^^mF0i^^f0bQeasviTy for one year's support, eithq||||^^|i^P^p|p|^/i^^ and fuel necessary for one year. ^ ;^ ^ * IpF i " 9th. The tools and implements, 0^1(^11 in trade, of any mechanic, miner, or other person, used^'idi' kept for the purpose of carrying on his trade or business, not exceeding two hundred dollars in value ; the library and implements of any professional man, not exceeding two hundred dollars in value ; all of which articles hereinbefore intended to be exempt shall be chosen by the debtor, his agent, servant, clerk, or legal representatives, as the case may be. " 10th. All moneys arising from insurance of any property exempted from sale on execution, when such property has been destroyed by fire." ten ' ^-f Vii CONCLUSION — HOW I OBTAINED MY DISCHARGE. .i In September, 1858, when the amendments to the law for im- prisoning debtors went into effect, I gave my persecutors the re- quired ten days* notice of my intended application for a dis- charge. They decided upon verbal interrogatories (the law IN THE OANADAS. 187 leaving it optional with the creditors to interrogate the debtor verbally or by writing), and my examination lasted four days •— > the entire evidence being committed to paper, and forming a bulky volume, of somewhat biblical proportions. With the aid of a few memoranda, I clearly accounted for all the cash which passed through my ha^di during the summer of 1857 (some $35,000 in an^^an^ %ioepjkiigl|lio, which I fell short; explain- ing from wM^M|i|pdi the Various sums, and the manner in fTMs |#i leather a disappointment, hidden a large amount of which th|^ OS if ms money, wM their haliiil obf^ valii6 tJk'^m of i^ I resideioe, ness; but iii^iij ors weito not dation with^ me. very anxious to lay iis to my property, its ithe disposition I had made e :|>artie8y and their places of |t in discharge of indebted- of my arresting credit- g iKOUsed to make any accomo- of iay opposing creditors, on hearing my answe^Bl to tlrile interrogatories, cast upon me one of his malicious and revengeful scowls, indicative of disappointment in being beaten at his own game, and of chagrin at his own ob- tuseness, which led him to counsel his clients not to accept my offers of security at a time when a settlement could readily have been arranged. M'Crea, being unwilling to give up the matter until he had discovered the hoard of money which his folly led him to suppose I possessed, plied me with innumerable questions, totally irrelevant to the case, and frequently repeated the same inquiry several different times ; his anxiety being some- what heightened by a desire to increase his own profits. After this pettifogging attorney had exhausted his limited knowledge and talent without effecting the object at which he aimed, sup- posing that I was likely to procure my discharge, he resorted to the lowest and most degrading means to defeat me : viz., swear- ing his own case through, as the lawyers term it; which no man 12* i 1 ili H ill |i hi , [j r I; i-i !; ta IS!'. ■X\ II 188 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT of any character, or who has the slightest respect for himself, will stoop to do. Hid evidence was, however, rebutted by that of the clerk of the court, the deputy sheriff, and the turnkey of the jail, who had been present at m-j examination, and heard all that passed ; thus indirectly informing the public that M'Crea had sworn falsely — t^hich I here do (|{||My|y, and challenge con- tradiction from any quarter. j||ikOig^ l^i^^ed in his ob- ject, I was still detained in iiiimiii i»n1 ilillg i i ij i ih i i iliiiiiii were made to my liberation. , Xlr|Jtiilj(e vfm^^.hmd nq^case at Toronto was called elgewh by a stranger, before wli^H representing me as a dill^ilndpl a high-handed attempt ftl tobbei durance until he leiteiied aB ronto was about 200 miles gined that information wasjmi as the attention of the oowt was a press of other business of the son^ e^paoter. I have been informed that on one Qocasioilly the judge in To- ronto, and M' Creaks agents there, gave M'Crea a severe repri- mand for refusing to receive good security for the claims in his hands; saying that more could not be expected of a business man during such a season of depression as that which occurred in 1857-8. However, as I was an American, the judge delayed my discharge, with the expectation that some of my business connections would settle the dishonest claims against me, and the enormous bill of costs which had accrued thereon. But they did not succeed ; as, acting upon the old maxim, that '^ Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is a better one," I determined to die in prison rather than ask friends to aid me in paying unjust claims at this stage of the proceedings. ;..... .^ Early in February, 1859, my case came up before Judge Richards, who was then on the Western Spring Circuit, and he intimated that I might possibly obtain my discharge by assign- iM£ s\j|>piied Its was laid, r^igaged in infill i«i,a«To- a^b^ima- piiore especially at all times by IN THE OANADAS. 189 ing certain old debts, and other yaluelesu trash, which the attor- ney of my opponents thought might possibly bo realized at some future period ; but I was required to furnish names, amounts, and the probable residence of all the parties ; my persecutors knowing full well that ^Aoiith's time would be consumed in writing to othttEf |||!iiiiliil||^l^ for me. On a pre- jpV %uilar statement .pled o£kw result than to keep me .|pigment cannot be ^lifiilld delay granting a set of unprinci- pMered them. By ^%a|ijlfras required of ipy'Kcharge until he ^drpoit, and where he cif April. I was com- *8t«^^, and so weak from ^ered as I walked, to await hU^pkil£i(d^ l^ioli 1 did'V^dut complaining, or allow- ing my troubles to be known. At the appointed time the judge opened his court, and on the second week of the session a hear- ing of my case was had — Charles R. Atkinson, my attorney, be- ing opposed by the notorious M'Crea. Even at this late stage of the proceedings, false affidavits were oflFered, to defeat me, by the Marshes and others; but the judge decided that it was too late to notice any more affidavits, and intimated that he thought my imprisonment had become a persecution. Notwithstanding his expressed opinion, he refused to assume the responsibility of my discharge ; remarking that, as mine was a case of some mag- nitude, which had given rise to considerable feeling, and as I had been so long in prison, he would, although he could see no reason for longer detaining me, defer a decision until the com- pletion of his circuit, and his return to Toronto ; when he would, with the assistance of an associate judge, give my case a calm consideration, and make a final decision 140 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT l.ffin 4 ' i!! The want of proper feeling for human suffering which this announcement evinced, the coolness with which this man con* signed me back to my tormentors for another term, did not merely surprise, but really astounded me — I was totally unpre- pared for an act so heartless, ema]||AliOj| from a man occupying such a high position. Meek 9u)i||i^l^^i^^ alternative, and I yielded to my fate ^^i#i|p^|j^^ After the judge left Chatham, ■ h» 'heWMJI^i ^ll^^^^ icourt in different places, eacli;'. 9iS(i00j^0l^^tSj§^ ho arrived in Toronto, .l(i^|||^f|Hm|^^ of my case for two irt|jpf^l|ij^^ he granted my ^i^oW^S^'^lfft^lftSK^^ ^7> 1 irould to between tbtonbi^ilibllfriiBMU^: The bill 1859, seven weeli ffmil Toward the cUb^M that he would ace^pt^;^ claim, at a discount iof pay all the costs, ^o bill of costs on all the^ $2500 and $3000, and 1 1 of my own attorney also amounted to 9864. I did not consider myself in any way bound to do anything for M'Intyre, because, by his refusal to take security he had driven me into paying the claims of those creditors who had not persecuted me, which ab- sorbed all my property, and left nothing- for the use of the par- ties who had been the originators of my ruin. While in durance, my postage bill amounted to $114-01. I wrote 1128 letters, and received answers to more than three-fourths of that number. Many persons paid the postage of their letters to me ; but in the majority of cases, the burden of the postage both ways fell on myself ■ • !■ i After my liberation from tbe filthy prison, on emerging into the open air, 1 reeled like a drunken man, and surrounding ob- jects appeared to be completely changed. I determined not to do like the Frenchman, and travel on the railroad track, though IN THE OANADAS. 141 1 had but little more money to bear my expenses — ^my funds, all told, amounting to but ten cents. A very worthy and kind man conveyed mo four mU||i ^4 ©^ «Boirx]>.nair or oI^waii jaw.. ^ T. Prig&i Utehra, when th« "mty- _ water" wu pNpnrad. 0. Wtj, ftdog B.Brown's room. H. Paatiy bdooging to the JaB^g iionMhoUL 1. Boct-raiinaQfjaUor'aflunlly. . K. PariOToTjaUort ^jt Uy. * Z*. Jail windows. M. Soon of •ntnrnea to tknlldinc. «. Dooif of entrance to halle. ^£/^"*°* *°** diflteent roona, Iha itairwajranning ftom to SI tfa. cenda to tbe eonrt«ioai •to««, jMif aUSSWasw ^ :«l ■'^ O ./I ♦•''1 , ^f'l ■ ■•KB' ^■^■' r^ #. f^y I i[ ■ .,( {^ Mk It ; J . • 1 mm \ $ -M«* > - V,» •%S 'fl^*- .f»^** ;f -m^^ m * t-i'i •*(((%. m ^%^i -' '«• " ';:2.jSiw.i/3Wi*«« V^'f- , ,<( W: ;./4 ^ *'^"^*-' -- ■uSf , 'i* *»«■