IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.25 m m US. 2.2 2.0 U 11.6 Photographic Sdeooes Corporation ^ S\ ^% ^^^1 \ a3Wi0TMUiM»Tlllif (71*)v«7a-4S03 v\ '>#^ 4^^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian inatituta for Hiatorical Microraproductiona / Inatitut Canadian da microraproductiona hiatoriquaa Tachnical and Bibliographic Notas/Notaa taehniquas at bibliographiquas Th to Tha Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thit copy which may ba bilMiographicaliy uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. D D D D n D D □ D Colourod covers/ Couvartura da coulaur Covers damaged/ Couvarture andommagia Covers restorr»d and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurAe et/ou pellicula Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ * Cartes gAographiques en couleur Coloured inli (i.e. other than blue or biaclc)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured pletes and/or iiiustrations/ Planches et/ou iiiustrations en couleur Bound with othe*: material/ ReM avec d'autrea documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Laraliure serine peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion la long de la marge intMeure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que rertaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans la taxte, male, iorsque cela 4tait possible, ces pagaa n'ont pea «t4 filmies. Additional comments:/ Commantaires supplAmantaires: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilkiur exemplaire qu'il lui a At* possible de i procurer. Les details do cat aKemplaira qui aont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode normale de f ilmage sent indiquAs ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurAas et/ou pelliculAes Pages discoloured, stained or foxei Pages dAcolorAes, tachetAes ou piquAes Pages detached/ Pages dAtachAes 8howthrough> Transpaience Quality of prir QualitA inAgala de I'impression includes supplementary matarii Comprand du matAriel supplAmentaire Only edition availabki/ Seuia Adition disponible I — I Pages damaged/ r~n Pages restored and/or laminated/ r^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ FT] Showthrough/ r~n Quality of print varies/ rn includes supplementary material/ I — I Only edition availabki/ TiT po oi fill Or ba th< ski oti fir) sic or Th shi Til Ml dif em bet rigl re signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole y signifie "FIN". Meps, pistes, charta, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Thoaa too large to be entirely included in one expoaure are filmed beginning in tlie upper left hand corner, left to right end top to bottom, aa many framee aa required. The following diagrama iiluatrata the method: Les certes. planchaa. tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fllmte A dea taux de rMuction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seui ciich*, 11 est film* A partir de I'engie aupAriaur gauche, de geuche A droita, et de heut en baa. en prenent le nombre d'Imegee nAceaaaire. Les diagrammas suivants iliustrent la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 !/«■ CO»ARATIVE ADVANTAGES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, m M: FOR BRITISH SETTLERS, CONSIDERED IN A LETTER, JLDDRE8SED TO P f CAPTAIN ALLARDYCE BARCLAY, OP URY. BY -Kj-f >;^ THOMAS ROLPH, Esq., Canada, AOTHOR or A "TOUK THROUGH TBI WBBT INDIBS, VNITBD STATR8 AND JCAWADA, IN 1832," LCTTBR TO THORNTON LCIOK HVNT, KSft., CANADA V, AUSTRALIA, &0. ftC. i LONDON: SMITH, ELDBR AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. <. V 1842. - ^ Ptio9 6n$^hiUhl9, ■' ■ ''^ ^''"^F'^^^t ^ . • .-■::..rii-;^- mmmm-if-^mM ^ TO CAPTAIN ALLARDYCE BARCLAY, OF URY. * '* Although I have described with faithfulness what fell under my own observation, or was derived from the most authentic information I eov.ld obtain, yet my opportunities of examining into the Agricultural affairs of Upper Canada were very limited" Extract from Captain Barclay's Agricultural Tour in the United States, 8fc. . Sir, I offer no apology for directing the attention of the public to the many deficiencies and errors in your recent hastily-compiled publication, entitled " Agricul- tural Tour in the United States and Upper Canada, with Miscellaneous Notices." This work contains comparisons between the United States and Canada, exceedingly detrimental to the latter country, and not founded either on correct or impartial observation : and my reply to these statements must plead my apology to my fellow-countrymen, for writing of the United States in a manner I would willingly have avoided, but which is rendered imperative when individuals like yourself, having considerable influence with the com- munity, tender advice on " very limited" observation, but which, if followed, becomes a matter of paramount importance to those who pay attention to it. Your name it too well known, to render a statement 6 emanating from you a matter of indifference ; and when advice like yours is freely tendered to that por- tion of the people of this country who purpose trans- ferring their homes to the Western Hemisphere, it becomes too serious a matter to permit them to remain under the influence pf delusion or mistake. That your observations will be hailed with rapture by a certain faction, who have long revelled in instituting these unjust and odious comparisons, I have no doubt ; but, Sir, I fully acquit you of any participation in the anti- national motives which have obviously actuated and impelled them. My first acquaintance with the inhabitants of North Britain occurred in the autumn of 1839 ; — when, tra- velling from Inverness to Glasgow, a member of the Imperial Parliament, then in one of the steam-boats plying on Loch Ness, gave free utterance to sentiments similar to those promulgated by Mr. Hume in Canada in 1834, in his celebrated letter to Mackenzie. Happily, they were met by a spirit of as prompt indignation by the Highland chiefe and heritors, as by the noble, loyal, and faithful population of Canada, when that letter first appeared in the province. [n 1840, Mr. Thornton Leigh Hunt published a pamphlet, filled with similar sentiments. His oppor- tunities were "very limited," more so, indeed, than your own ; for, without seeing the country of which he treated, he recommended emigrants to proceed, not to the United States, or Canada, but to Australia. I replied to his theory by an appeal to a military gentleman, of distinguished character, and the contro^ versy closed. In the spring of last year, a meeting of several land companies took place, composed of gentlemen of the highest character, influence, and intbrmation. They had resolved on addressing the Colonial Minister on the subject of the North American Colonies generally, and had prepared a memorial embodying their views. Having just arrived from Canada, they did me the honor of inviting me to take part in their deliberations; and, taking for their text-book the following unfortunate portion of the late Lord Durham's report, they had drawn up a memorial, founded on these offensive and these erroneous comparisons : — " There is one in particular which has occurred to every observant traveller in these regions, which is a constant theme of boast in the states bordering upon our colonies, and a subject of loud complaint within the colonies. — I allude to the striking contrast which is pre- sented between the American and the British sides of the frontier line in respect to every sign of productive industry, increasing wealth, and progressive civilization. *' By describing one side, and reversing the picture, the other would also be described. On the American side all is activity and bustle. The forest has been widely cleared; every year numerous settlements are formed, and thousands of farms are created out of the waste ; the country is intersected by common roads ; canals and rail- roads are finished, or in the course of formation ; the ways of com- munication and transport are crowded with people, and enlivened by numerous carriages and large steam-boats. The observer is surprised at the number of harbours on the lakes, and the number of vessels they contain ; while bridges, artificial landing-places, and commodious wharfs are formed in all directions as soon as required. Good houses, warehouses, mills, inns, villages, towns, and even great cities^ are almost seen to spring up out of the desert. Every village has its school-house and place of public worship. Every town has many of both, with its township buildings, its book-stores, and probably one or two banks and newspapers ; and the cities, with their fine churches, their great hotels, their exchanges, court-houses, and municipal halls, of stone or marble, so new and fresh as to mark the recent existence of the forest where they now stand, would be admired in any part of tlie Old World. On the British aide of the line, with the exception of ft few favoivcd spots, where some approach to American prosperity is B 2 1^ I u B apparent, all leemi waste and desolate. There it but one railroad in all British America, and that, running between the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain, is only fifteen miles long." Fortunately, a reconsideration of the matter induced the companies to modify their memorial ; and they omitted those disparaging observations on the colonies, which, generally speaking, the enemies of the colonies only indulge in. I cannot, Sir, here resist the gratifi- cation of introducing some admirable observations from the narrative of Sir Francis Bond Head on this subject. ** From the very little I have seen in twice passing through the United States, I should say that the above picture is that which an American rather than an £nglish writer would be expected to delineate; but, admitting it to be perfectly correct, I submit to the judgment of the reader that the difference has hitherto been attributed by travellers altogether to a wrong cause. " The rapid growth of a young colony must almost be witnessed to be believed ; and accordingly, in the United States, the age of the settlement, and not iis fertility, is the general criterion of its wealth. '* There was, of course, a time when the United States formed but a portion of the dense forest of America ; but, animated by British blood, these co- lonies grew so rapidly that, in the year 1776, they had attained a strength sufficient not only to take leave of their parent state, but sucessfully to contend with it. "However while thei/ had attained this degree of strength, the province of Upper Canada, which^is as large as England and Wales, was a cheerless wilderness — without a single white inhabitant, ex- cepting a few soldiers in the fort at Kingston, and about twenty French Families who had crossed over the Detroit river to settle on the British shore : there existed consequently, then, a much greater contrast between the United States and Upper Canada than there exists now, "But let us consider for a moment what is the progress which Upper Canada has made : " In the year 1784 its settlement began. 1791 its population was 10,000 1809 „ 60,000 1812 ,f 70,000 1822 „ 126.000 1828 „ 240,000 1837 „ 396,000 1839 „ 4^0,000 »i tt *> f > >i )* i» Total age, 65 years. '* In no one of the United States has a public work equal to the Welland Canal been carried through by a country so young and so thinly inhabited. " The same may be said of the St. Lawrence Canal, which, in execution and grandeur of design, is per- haps superior to any in the United States. (These two works were strenuously opposed by the reform party, as the journals of the Legislature will show.) Besides these, the Rideau Canal, which, though constructed by the parent government, is not on that account the less useful to the province, forms an arti* ficial navigation of 120 miles, connecting, in fact, the Atlantic with Lake Ontario. This canal is un- deniably the best executed work on the continent of North America. ." Besides these undertakings, there have been ere- i *' 10 ated the Niagara Dock, the Burlingtor^ Bay Canal, and Desjardin's Canal ; also the Harbour of Coburg, Port Hope, Oakville, Port Credit, Toronto, Grand River, Port Dalhousie, Port Stanley, &c. Now, instead of upbraiding a healthy young British colony merely on account of its youth and poverty, if our travellers would but take the trouble to observe how hard the backwoodsman is toiling, and what affec- tionate exertions the little community is everywhere making to copy the picture of its beloved mother- country, instead of trying to poison its contentment by unfairly comparing it with a portion of America that has attained the strength of manhood, they would, I think, be as much astonished as I have been, were they attentively to observe how much has been done in so short a time, and how, under the blessing of God, this land has prospered! " But although it is true that the inhabitants of Upper Canada are poorer in purse than ' the people* of the United States, yet if the moral picture be con- sidered, it is beyond all description in our favour. "Assassination is unknown — the bowie knife is not to be purchased — the laws are respected —reli- gion is revered — public treaties are preserved ; and nothing can be more true than that even (borrowing Lord Durham's words) if this picture ' were to be reversed,' and the British institutions of Upper Canada to be destroyed, the gloomy forests would still remain to be cleared — ^the sweat of the British settler would still drop from his brow." The first observation which I proceed to make 9a the matter of your pamphlet, is founded on your own ad- mission, that your "opportunities of exaraiiuDg into the affaus of Upper Canada were very limited." In 11 good troth, they were, Sir ; foir in a Province extending from Quebec, its principal harbour, although east and south of Quebec there are some hundreds of miles of valuable settlement, yet stating the length of the pro- vince from Quebec in the east, to Sandwich or Am- herstburgh at its western extremity, it is nine hundred and fifty miles in length ; it is in many parts cultivated to an extent of from 80 to 100 miles in depth, the two majestic rivers of the St. Lawience and the Ottawa traverse it, and it would appear that your visit was simply confined to a trip from Niagara to Toronto in a steam boat, thirty miles across the lake, an admirable opportunity forsooth of judging of a country^from Toronto to Hamilton, at the head of Burlington Bay on Lake Ontario, again in a steamer forty-five miles across another portion of the Lake, and then a few miles ride round the town of Hamilton. Your limited visit to Upper Canada did not exceed a fourth portion of the time occupying your great pedestrian tour, hav- ing, it appears, arrived in Canada on the 28th of May, and leaving it on the 8th of June, the two days inclu- sive, making twelve days, and your great tour con- suming nearly forty-two. That your visit was hasty, and " opportunities of examining very limited," ap- pears to me, beyond all doubt, when, on your visit to the town of Niagara, you neglected to examine the splendid works of the Niagara Dock and Harbour Com- pany, that has furnished so many noble British steam- ers for the Lakes, and where you might also have be- held the gratifying spectacle of many hundreds of your hardy and industrious countrymen fully and profitably employed. But, Sir, assuming that it was only the agricultural capabilities of Western Canada that yofu were desirous of examining, is it fair to pronounce so J^ decided an opinion of a country of which you saw so little, when I inform you, that that portion called, now, "Western Canada, has between two and threo mil- lions of acres of land in cultivation, and your visit was circumscribed to a small tour round the town of Hamil- ton, and then scarcely beyond the precincts of the common road? Had you taken your journey frora^ Niagara to Hamilton by land, you might have seen ia the neighbourhood of St. David's, St. Catherine's, Beamsville, and other parts, hundreds and hundreds of acres of land, continuously cleared, well cultivated, and that would not shrink from a comparison with any of those portions of the States described by you in such glowing colours. Your account of Canada, I conclude, must have been drawn from your visit to Brantford. You say that the farms consist " of no more than a patch here and there, on which the huge pines that for ages had been tenants of the soil have by the application of fire and axe, been reduced to stumps four feet in height, so thick set, as in many places to bid defiance to the plough, and to preclude any mode of cultivation except sowing and handraking the seed." You state, in your letter, — " I have described with faithfulness what fell under my own observation, or was derived from the most authentic information I could obtain." From whom. Sir, may I be permitted to ask, did you derive this information ? After the first burning of the felled timber on the land, when the seed is harrowed in, it is generally seeded down, also, with timothy and clover, and remains undisturbed for seven years ; then the land is ploughed, the stugips, except, certainly the pines, begin to loosen and rot out, and there is no hand-raking the seed. Perhaps in Canada there are few places where so many de:^d 13 pines are to be seen, as on the small extent of road on which you travelled. Gloomy, as they certainly appear, I have witnessed a vast diminution of them, during the last ten years ; but had you really been de- sirous of extending your visit beyond the confines of a public road, the depth of a single concession, one mile and a quarter on either side of that very road, par- ticularly on that of the Jersey settlement, would have taken you into an agricultural country, that would not dishonour the agriculturists of the Lothians. Imme- diately adjacent to the last-mentioned settlement is the township of Dumfries, first settled by the Hon. Mr. Dickson, who, nearly at the close of a long and well- spent life, has no reason to lament the advice which he gave to many hundred Scotch families, to settle in that beautiful and flourishing township, then a dense wilderness ; nor have they had reason to repent their choice, many of them having acquired wealth, all of them comfortable independence ; and who, in testi- mony of their gratitude to Mr. Dickson, and their high esteem for him, entertained him at a public dinner, in one of the pretty villages in the centre of this thriv- ing settlement, the result of his persevering, praise- worthy, and successful exertions. Beyond, and next to Dumfries, is the fine township of Waterloo, exten- sively settled, having numerous noble farms, without those hideous black stumps which seem to have met your eye. The rich township of Wilmot, bounded by the extensive and fertile domain belonging to the Canada Company, stretches to the majestic Lake Hu- ron ; and I will venture to affirm, that you cannot point out so eligible an extent of country, for agricul- tural purposes, in the whole portion of tbo United States which you visited. Indeed, Sir, that part I lately surrendered by the Indians, and now offered to British settlement, proved, on its first clearing, of such surpassing fertility, that it raised on its virgin- soil so superior a description of wheat, that the farmers in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, who saw it at the market-tables I visited, soon deprived me of it, re- questing that I would give a certificate that it was raised in Canada, assuring me that they had never seen a finer sample in England. When I read your disparaging statements as to the agricultural capa- bilities of Canada, although qualified by your admis- sion, that *' your opportunities for examining them were very limited," I certainly regretted that you had not been at the agricultural exhibition of the home district, held in the city of Toronto last October, or of that of the Gore district, held in the town of Hamil- ton, in the month of February in the present year. The specimens of wheat, rye, barley, oats, Indian corn, potatoes, turnips, carrots, mangel-wurzel, cheese, butter, &c. &c., that were then exhibited, gave ample and demonstrative proofs of the character of the Cana- dian soil. The improved condition of agriculture, and the complete introduction of British husbandry and culture, may be witnessed in the extensive cultivation of hops in the townships of Esquesing, Erin, and Eramosa, townships of which, from ** your limited observation," you scarcely know any thing, perhaps not even the names. From the City of Toronto, direct north to Lake Simcoe, up Yonge^street, on an excel- lent macadamized road, for miles and miles continu- ously, nought but the richest cultivation is to be seen ; excellent homesteads, fine stock, well-tilled fields, extensive orchards, and all the appurtenances of the most improved husbandry. It is almost invidious to 16 single out individuals, where all is good, but I think, had you visited the beautiful farms of the Gappers, upon Yonge-street, your sweeping condemnation of Canada would have been somewhat mitigated. The township of Markham is almost a continued farm, and the home district alone contains between 80 and 90,000 inhabitants. During the present year I had occasion to proceed twice from Toronto to Kingston by ^land, and I was really much gratified, not amazed, in be- holding the: number of fine farm-houses, extensive farms, superior stock along the whole route, from Toronto to Whitby. Again, in the neighbourhood of Port Hope and Cobourg, and towards BelleviUe, it exhibited all the appearance of a long-settled and most flourishing country. Amongst the specimens of fine farms to be seen in this fertile and flourishing district, I may mention that of Mr. Burn ham, near Cobourg, whose house and grounds are thoroughly English in their appearance, and present a cultivation, neatness, and finish, that should satisfy the most fastidious taste. Here, again, instead of *' a small patch,'* is a fine farm of 600 acres of v/ell-cleared land. In the township of Wool- wich, I think, you would also have met with nume- rous farms, of a very different character from what you have described. As a specimen, also, of one amongst many farms in the same vicinity, particularly the adjoining one of Mr. Curtis, I shall stand excused for mentioning that of Mr. Coleman, near Paris, on the Grand River, consisting of 600 acres of land. On this farm, to my knowledge, was grown in one year 5,600 bushels of wheat ; 300 acres are now in clover, and entirely free from stumps. The House, is an extensive and substantial farm- / fS^tfrn'Ve, as to the capa- bilities and resources of Canada^ I will refer you, also, to the evidence of Mr. Ouseley, who long resided in the United States, and whose authority few will venture to dispute. 2] " The North American Colonies furnish England ivith similar, and almost, equivalent, advantages to those which the Americans possess in the superabundance of fertile territory and consequent provision for its population generally, but particularly for the poorer and lower classes of society. From my own observations in Canada and Nova Scotia, I have no hesitation in affirming, that to a moral certainty, — as well ascertained as any circumstance can be by human experience, —the moderately industrious and sober, however poor, are sure of obtaining not only a plentiful subsistence, but many comforts to which, in the present state of the commercial, manufacturing, and agricul- tural interests, they must, in all probability, long be strangers in the Mother Country. There is but one circumstance that might prevent the emigrant from realizing these fair prospects, — the loss of health. But in a climate so very salubrious au that of British North America, the probability of this is more remote, than that to which, under cir- cumstances of privation, he would be exposed in England. He will also find, I THINK, THAT THE PHYSICAL AND POSITIVE ADVANTAGES ARE MORE ENCOURAGING TO THE SET- TLER IN UPPER CANADA, THAN IN THE UNITED STATES, — independently of the reluctance that every right-minded Englishman must feel to abandon the Colony of his Country. He may be said to be nearly at home in the North American Colonies : " ' Coelum non animum mutiat, %oi trans man enmint.' " By facilitating the means of emigration to the poorer classes of Englishmen, the British Government would, perhaps, contribute as efficaciously to their welfare as by the extension of their political rights ; and would probably find, in the vast resources of the North American Colonies, a means of practically awarding * the greatest share of happiness to the greatest number' of our countrymen." It remains for me only to ask. Sir, in what respect do you think the United States so preferable to Canada for the settlement of a British population ? Is religious liberty more secure in the former country than the latter ? Behold, Sir, the magnificent Catholic cathedral in Montreal, capable of containing upwards of ten thou- sand people ! — Go there on any Sunday, and see nearly that number issuing in peace from its majestic portals, not only unmolested, but respected by their Protestant c 22 brethren. Cross over to the capital of the state of Vermont, and see the mouldering ashes of the Catholic church in that city — the effects of unbridled violence, and unrestrained bigotry ! In the city of New York, a misguided zealot invents a tale against one of the convents in Montreal — an excitement is produced ; the Protestants of the latter city assemble together, — declare their conviction of the falsehood and imposture, and bear willing testimony to the worth and virtue of their Catholic neighbours. Travel to the state of Massachusetts, and in the immediate vicinity of the refined city of Boston, view the mouldering fragments and the ashes of the convent burnt by a frantic populace, who, forsooth, merely heard that an inmate was within its walls without her consent, and proceeding in numbers, drove, in midnight darkness, into the woods, the affrighted and terrified females who there sought shelter to save themselves from the fury of the assassin, and the torch of the incendiary ! Is the treatment of the Aborigines in the United States more kind, more generous, more just than in Canada ? Look at the Red men of the latter country ; their sachems, war chiefs, and warriors, assembling spontaneously in its defence, and manifesting in that display, valor, humanity, obedience, and loyalty which will ever command the admiration of those who witness- ed their matchless demeanor in Eastern and Western Ca- nada, in the trying and eventful period of 1837 and 1838. Behold them, in fond attachment to the person and authority of their beloved monarch, seizing the oppor- tunity of the visit to the United Kingdom of the gallant leader, Sir Allan Macnab, under whose authority they assembled in 1837, entrusting to his custody a congra- 23 tulatory address to her Majesty, on the birth of an heir apparent to the British crown ; and insensible to every sentiment of loyalty must that person be, who could read their eloquent and touching address without feel- ings of the deepest emotion. Look on the other side of the picture, and contem- plate the scenes which have occurred amongst the Seminoles in Florida, and the Gherokees in Georgia. You may learn the affecting history of the Seminoles, in that of the brave and gallant Osceola, who was inveigled into captivity under the sacred emblem of the flag of truce, a security which the Arab of the Desert, or the Esquimaux, who live on kraal and blubber at the Pole, would have acknowledged and respected. And in Georgia, Sir, the poor Cherokee was driven, at the point of the bayonet, from his little hut and corn-patch, which he loved, over the Rocky Mountains, far from the spot of his childhood, and the forests where bis forefathers roamed, under the stipu- lations of a treaty far less binding either in right or justice, than the broken obligations of some of the State banks. Do you find anything to admire in the condition of the coloured population in the States ? It would seem you did : — ** Every servant, man, woman, and child, is a slave; but to my great and agreeable surprise, I found slavery here possesses none of the horrors I had at home been accustomed to hear connected with it ; for the slaves in Virginia are well clothed, and well fed, and kindly treated, and, to all appearance, contented and happy ; indeed, I should say, their condition phy- sically is one of great comfort and enjoyment, in com- parison with that of our own manufacturing population, by thousands of whom, I cannot doubt, it would, in c 2 B^an 24 relation to the necessaries of life, be looked upon with envy." An earnest desire to avoid even the semblance of anger and discourtesy, restrains me from giving full vent to the natural indignation I felf, Sir, on reading this passage ; but a belief that your information of this State, like that of Upper Canada, and your opportuni- ties of examining it were ** very limited," induces me rather to supply this deficiency than vehemently con- demn it. You are not perhaps aware. Sir, that the slaves in Virginia are thus well fed, and their condition physically so well cared for, is, that it is a slave-breed- ing State ; and that Mr. Stanton, an American gentle- man, laid before the people of this country a document last year, from Virginia, demonstrating that in the year 1836, twenty millions of dollars were realized in Vir- ginia by the sale of slaves, bred in that State for the express purpose of supplying other States. I am not disposed to expatiate on this subject unnecessarily, nor, indeed, further than for the purpose of contrast- ing the condition of the coloured population in Canada and the United States. Mr. Bradburn, a member of the senate in Massachu- setts, says : — " The kidnapping statutes of the slave States in general, atrocious as they are, are exceeded in atrocity by one enacted, a little more than a year since, by the legislature of the State of Alabama, From the first moment of this enactment, any scoun- drel within the limits of Alabama might seize upon a free person of colour found there, and reduce him to irremedial and perpetual slavery. They will not allow him the wretched privilege of proving his freedom, paying the charges, and taking his own body away. When the fact of the passing of this law was commu- 25 nicated to me, I chanced to be addressing the legisla- ture of my own native State. I did not hesitate to say, in my place, that if all the demons of perdition had been let loose upon the earth, and formed into a legis lature, it would have been impossible for them to have perpetrated so great an outrage upon the inalienable rights of humanity ; for, according to the doctrines of demonology, demons even are not permitted to lay vio- lent hands upon innocent men." A religious meeting held in South Carolina, com- posed of clergymen, of all denominations, passed the following resolution unanimously in 1836 : — First, *' That slavery as it exists in the South, is tio evil; that all opposition to it arises from a misguided and fiendish fanaticism, which we are bound to resist in the very threshold." The South Carolina conference of the Methodist Church, concluded, a long; vindication of slavery, by the following remarkable paragraph : — '* So far from being a moral evil, it is a merciful visitation ; it is the Lord's doing, and is marvellous in our eyes." I confess it is somewhat marvellous in mine ; but, Sir, it is from having heard in plain lan- guage the simple narrative of many of the fugitives in Canada, who, after enduring horrors and hardships, almost beyond human endurance to sustain, have be- come in the province of Upper Canada, a thriving, contented, free, and loyal population. In the city of Toronto, a great number are to be met with, occupied in various pursuits, and carrying on different trades ; and, although I have no correct data, on which to form an estimate of their property, there are many wealthy, most of them in very comfortable and inde- pendent circumstances. I doubt, Sir, whether you 1 1 I I 26 could convince any one of these men, that the State of Missouri, where a negro was slowly roasted alive, was preferable to Upper Canada, where, the moment he treads the soil, his manacles drop off, the ^ .w protects him, and the Government confers the rights of man upon him. Is the credit of the States preferable to that of Canada ? Alas ! for the thousands of our countrymen, who embarked their fortunes in their securities : they are not likely to receive back as many cents as they advanced pounds. Whilst the province of Upper Canada, at a moment of great pressure, and most trying circumstances, generously aided by her sister- province, mainlined her full faith and the prompt payment of her notes, when the neighbouring States suspended payment in specie, **the principle of mon- archy,"was "Honour," as the Lieut. -Governor declared ; whilst the principle of republicanism, by the recent declaration in many states, seems to be *' Repudiation." Is the geographical position of Canada inferior to that of the States ? — a river and a lake separate them. Butread, Sir, the respective testimonies of the Governor General of British North America, the late Lord Sydenham, and of the present Governor of the State of New York, Mr. Seward. The former, in a letter to Lord John Russell, says : **I should do injustice to my own feelings if I were not to state to your Lordship the impression which has been left on my mind by the insfffection which I have made of the Upper Province. It is really impossible to say too much of the advantages which nature has be- stowed upon it, especially that part of the country which lies between the three lakes. Ontariv>, Erie, and Huron. If these great advantages be properly used, I 27 foresee, that in the course of a very few years, that province must become one of the most valuable posses- sions of the British empire. Its population may be trebled, and its products increased in an immense ratio." The Governor of the State of New York, seeing that these results will follow from the sustaining and protec- ting influence of the British Government, in his address to the legislature of New York, calls upon that legisla- ture to aid him in completing many public improvements necessary " to retain the trade of Lake Ontail/, and to counteract the efforts of the Canadian Government to guide the travel and trade of these countries, and of the fa* West, down the valley of the St. Lawrence. The delay of the undertaking exhibits a presumptuous confidence in our ability to retain, without effort, ad- vantages which it should be remembered are altogether acquired. We compete with Canadian effort, not only under the disadvantage of an increased distance from Lake Erie, by the way of our Canal, to European markets, but also under the effect of discriminating privileges in English ports to Colonial shipments, ex- ceeding what we could offer by even a free navigation of that channel. The Canadian authorities having al- ready made a ship canal around the Falls of Niagara, and thus overcome the chief obstacle of the northern outlet of western trade, are pressing onward with energies deri>^ed from a re- organization of their political institutions, and sustained by the Imperial Govern- ment." Anticipating a much more rapid advance in the pro- sperity of Canada, than you appear to have done, and acting on that conviction, he urges the necessity for prompt and vigorous exertions, and says, in a spirit ; ■t'/tt-ti'ffm,,,. somewhat different to the cheerfulness you witnessed, ** the country is falling from a carter of high enterprize ; and the energies not of one, or of several, but of the States, must be aroused again to regain the course." I lament these observations should have been pro- voked ; but. Sir, when the matter in discussion with one desiring to emigrate, is, whether he shall con- tinue a subject of the British Crown, or transfer his allegiance to another State ; whether he should live under the British Government, or that of the United States ; whether, in fine, he should feel the pride and satisfaction, that the Government under which he has lived, ** like its own enduring oak, is a time-tried monarchy ;" or whether he should transfer his affection to another, with its numberless imperfections, which, ** like its perishable pine, is a consumptive Republic,'' — ^it seemed to me most fitting, that if he read your observations, he should also have the opportunity of reading a counter statement. I leave, without hesi- tation, the decision with the impartial and candid en- quirer, whether Canada or the United States is the best adapted for a British settler. Your impressions of Canada, Sir, not only differ from those of Lord Prudhoe, but from the generality of the visitors who have travelled through it during the last few years. " On entering Canada, I had been imj^ressed with a marked diflfer- ence between it and the United States. In the latter, the people were everywhere distinguished by that cheerfulness and appearance of contentment which attend act" 'ity atid exertion in peaceful pursuits. In Canada there prevailed an almost universal gloom, the consequence of recent internal commotion, of the still exisiing conflict and rancour of political feeling, or of the withered hopes of many, who, having speculated largely in land, have received little or no return for their money. This was my early impression, and any thing I have since 29 observed, or by inquiry ascertained, has served to confirm it, and to satisfy me that of the two countries, the States hold out for agricul- tural pursuits, by far the greater advantages to persons possessed of any capital." Both the '' cheerfulness and appearance of content- ment" of which you speak, are novelties, I confess, to me. Restlessness and perpetual excitement seem to me the distinguishing characteristics everywhere. It is somewhat remarkable that in 1 832 I travelled through Canada, and was everywhere most grati- fied. The accommodations at the public taverns were not as comfortable as I could have desired, nor the roads so good as I could have wished ; notwithstand- ing, ho^ . «;ver, I saw the existence of many present ad- vantages, and the certainty of great future prosperity. That same year, Mr. Sheriff, of Mungoswell, Scotland, travelled through the same country, and lamented he could "^ot obtain a mutton chop ! The state of New York did not furnish the same attractions to Mr. Sheriff as to yourself; he preferred the state of Illi- nois ; and the public were not astonished at his ob- jections to Canada when they discovered he was so large a proprietor in the State of HHnois. But, Sir, to prove how differently Canada has been viewed by an Irish gentleman of distinguished talent, who visited it last year, I give you the following short extract from his memoranda. " On entering Quebec, the traveller from the ' old country' is agree- ably si'-prised by the air of ' home' which surrounds everything that he beholds. There is a business-like stir — a finish in the exterior of the population — a solidity in the very appearance of the ancient streets, that reminds him forcibly of scenes, with which he may have once been familiar. The country about Quebec, too— particularly the summer scenes on either side of the Saint Lawrence^ the waving and orderly fenced corn fields — the well made roads — the beautiful cottages 30 m m and country mansions — the villages stretched along upon the plain, as far as the eye can reach — the churches with their two-fold spires glancing in the rays of a summer sun — and, if the traveller, like our- selves, happen to be an Irishman, the occasional groups of his country- men, who discover by the harmonious sounds of their language, their origin * far, far, away,' will render the illusion almost perfect — and bring him back to the loveliest scenes of his native land. Nor will he be disappointed when he enters the places of public devotion or in- struction. The magnificent churches — the gorgeous vestments — the sublime and well-ordered routine of the ecclesiastical offices — the crowded aisles — the deep and hushed spirit of holy and fervid union with God, will remind him of the many times in which he witnessed the same touching ceremonies, and joined his orisons with congrega- tions as disciplined and devotional in the ' Island of Saints.' " With regard, Sir, to agricultural pursuits, I hope I have shown that your " limited observations" were as imperfect as they were limited. I have one more authority to adduce, — that of Mr. Treadwell, the re- spectable sheriff of the Ottawa District, in opposition to them ; and with that interesting and valuable com- munication I shall be satisfied. TO THE EDITOR OF THE BYTOWN GAZETTE. L' Original, 1st Sept. 1841. Sir, — As this part of the Province on the Ottawa and its tributaries, appears to be little thought of by the Emigrants now arriving in the country, and I am persuaded, is far undervalued as to productiveness, compared with other parts of the Province, on which account very few will stop to examine it, having conceived a very un^vourable opinion of it, or having made up their minds to go further west ; with the view of removing such prejudices, I herewith send you a statemenl of the crops produced, &c., on Lots number 29 and 30, in the 1st con- cession of the Ottawa, in the Township of Nepean, during the present year. The above property is situated about three miles and a half above Bytown — is owned by Messrs. W. and J. Thomson, and in point of quality would only be considered a second or perhaps a third i^ate farm, the ground being covered with small stones. It may not be deemed improper to premise, that Messrs. W. and J. 31 Thomson emigrated from Roxburghshire, in Scotland, in 1817, with their family, consisting of their father and mother with seven other chil- dren and possessing barely means sufficient to enable them to reach one of the Lots in question, which was located to them by the Govern- ment. In 1837 they had 28 acres of Fall Wheat, which averaged upwards of 40 bushels per acre. In 1840 they reaped 10 acres of Oats, which averaged 60 bushels per acre — and in 1841, the present year, the fol- lowing is the state of their Crop and Stock. It is proper to remark that in the present season they commenced cutting their Winter Wheat on the 12th of August, two weeks later than last year, and concluded on the 30th ; and on two pieces of Oats they had at the rate of 70 bushels per acre. The whole produce of the Farm may be stated as follows; — of Hay, 120 tons — of Wheat, 12 acres, averaging 30 bush- els per acre, (about fths of this crop having been winter killed,) makes only 360 bushels — Of Oats, 85 acres, averaging 50 bushels per acre — in all 4,250 bushels — of Peas, 8 acres, average 30 bushels per acre ; 240 bushels — Yellow Swedish Turnips, one field, 4;^ acres, supposed to yield 3,000 bushels->a field of Yellow Turnips, 12,000 bushels- Potatoes, one field, 4^ acres, expected to yield 2,000 bushels — one do. 3 acres, 1,200 bushels — 5 acres of Barley, producing 45 bushels per acre, 225 bushels. — ^The Barley of the previous year weighed 55 lbs. per Winchester bushel. The following Stock is kept on the farm through the year, with the exception of pasturage, for which they occupy Lot No. 30, in the same concession, viz. : — 8 pairs of large Horses, generally employed in the Lumber Trade during the winter — 2 yokes large Oxen — 1 two years' old Bull between the Ayrshire and Teeswater breeds, weighs about 10 cwt. — 14 Cows — 6 iwo year old Steers — 7 Heifers — 20 young Cattle — 10 Calves — 114 old Sheep — 4 Rams, and 45 Iambs of this year. The Sheep are half Leicester and half Merino. The breed is thrice crossed, and from 118 of them 600 lbs. of wool was shorn this season. One 3 years old Colt and 64 Hogs. Lot, No. 29, is laid out into suitable sized fields, divided by substantial stone fences, a hand- some garden surrounded with a stone and lime wall. The dwelling- house is a capacious and substantial stone building, covered with tin-— the barns^ stables, and out-buildings, of wood, finished in the best style, and laid out on the most convenient plan. In short, were the Emigrant, instead of barely passing this section of the country, to examine Messrs. Thomson's property, he would be convinced that here the Agriculturist would find situations which, in point of productive- i|uyyppi I _.ii«i«iM.i 3t «r ibil, jla^ of cultivatidb; and hmmsf'^ siM, ifoMj^ fH b aiiy pttft of Canada. The MM^ilAwtemeiit having iMwi (llttaiDad^ from the moit authentic ■ourcesy^ayiibe reliad upon •• oor^ feci.-' ■■' -o .., I am, Sir, Your very Obedient, C. F. Treadwxll, Sheriff, Oiu## District. 1 trast, that, in these ^observations, I hiite mid nothing indecorous or disrespectful. A desire to cdto- fine myself within the bounds of legitimate controveVsy, has restrained me from saying more; a feeling of affbbtion, duty, and justice towards Canada, (Prevents me saying less. . I have the honour to be. Sir, . Your most obedient humble Seirvantt 'FfiOMAS ROLPH; ¥ ' ■).m .. i §»>, ^^ ''^^'^'t'' ' . Mandl^tftlMrAWr «ii mu^tiWimf. tJ^. ^Jltl 4»: ^^imm wnsieoN District. L^ SMd to Cdll- roverty, eiing of prevents koL] OLPH. iV----' 1 ' ■.f •,;.(■ -:.-t £i:y M,^"'