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LETTERS, tROM AN AMERICAN LOYALIST /] <>t r_Je.. .>::::^ ^ '\ ■^S •tv [1 • »••" /■ .;^ .'. -ft' UPPER-CANADA, T O » ,-;■.'«< » * '. HIS- FRIEND IM ENGLAND; ".%,.. . . .. ,. ON A PAMPHLET PUBLISHED BY . JOHN MILLS JACKSON, Esquire: :i' /" i\ T t , •■*■ •\r 'iti'i « V ■. ;.> ./' £NTlTLEO| • '- A VIEW .■ '■ ' - • OF' ■ ' ' i tHE PROVINCE i » . \ ^} '* s'- '. j*r ' -5 ■','-" '■'•^'^^i ■ ;;.«'• '♦ »: "^'"'•■. *. '■' tip PER CANADA. Fnct U,6d. Halifax. ^•H^/- ^" •HS-t ^^ ::f.^i^,-^- .«'; I, ^1 1 * I*-, ■«.- .''"/■ \ ■-;.*-. ^ . '^i!k' *,..» W- ,, , LETTERS,. ROM AN AMERICAN LOYALIST i 1 N UPPER-CANADA, .m T O '. * HIS FRIEND IN ENGLAND: ON A PAMPHLET PUBLISHED BV JOHN MfLLS JACKSON, Esquire t t C N T I T L ZOf A VIEW I OF A.- THE PROVINCE OF UPPER CANADA. • PriV* af . 6 his purpose, not to give cor- rect information, but to work mischief ; and in pur- suance of this charitable Design, he has obtruded upon the Public, calumnies as gross as ever sprung frfjfn the malice of a disappointed Faftion. His statements can deceive nobody who knows the Country. So conscious are he and his Associates of this, that, though they are known to correspond rcoularly, and frequently, with some of their for- mer Coadjuiors here ; ihey have not thought it ad- viseable to transmit a single copy of this notable Pi'rformince, even to their Bosom Friend, the Au- thor of the Guardian. The very few which have reached us, have come through quite a different channel. Their objeft is to make an Impression on your side of the Atlantic, where the Subject can be but imperfeftly understood ; and where the Au- thor's faftious machinations being unknown, it will not be readily suspefted, that a man decently con- netted, would have the effrontery to set his name to a Publication in which Candour and Veracity are outraged in every page. It is impossible how- ever, that His Majesty's Ministers can be imposed upon / \ upon by the Publication in question, fo say no- thing of the official Details regularly laid before them, the Legislative Proceedings of the Province, which are annually transmitted for their inspedion, are sufficient to prevent any impression from it, in thai quarter. Our Statute Book contains evident marks of a cordial co-operation between the Go- vernor and the People, through their Representa- tives. And he has as little influence in the choice, or upon the conduct of these Representatives, as the most thorough paced Democrat could wish. But, as it may be of some advantage to the Colony, that the good People of the United Kingdom at large, should be disabused with regard to it, I shall in a series of letters which I shall address to you from time to time, discuss the several subjects ad- verted to by Mr. Jackson ; and should you think them calculated to answer this purpose, you mAy give them to the Public. In the mean while, per- mit me to give you a correft summary of the situa. tion of this Colony, extraded from an address deli- vered by a Friend of mine, on a late Public occasi- on. Could you have witnessed the expressions of loyalty and gratitude, which burst from his nume- rous hearers, while their Hearts glowed assent to the truth of this animated Sketch, you would have required no other confutation of Mr. Jackson's View. '*(You Gentlemen, will I am confident, feel " on the occasion as honest men and loyal subjefts ^ ought to feel ; indignant at the enemies of your *' Country, Ul •'k 'ih' I; I I-', • ■I .:• 1:' !: I, « ?■ « i 1 I! I! li «' Country, and resolutely determined to support « her Cau e.) *' Independent of the common " though powerful ties that bind every man to his " Country ; independent of the generous pride " that must glow in the Breast of every man to ** be numbered among a Nation so renowned as <* Britain ; She has peculiar claims to the gratitude " and attachment of the Inhabitants of this Pro- " vince. We possess from her Bounty a Soil of no " common fertility, which furnishes in abundance •' every necessary of life. We live in the most un- '* bounded security of our persons and property, " without being at any charge for our Judicial Es- •* tablishment. We enjoy every benefit of the best *' regulated Government, without being called on " to defray any part of its expence. Every advan- «' tagc which men can derive from Civil Society, •« hath been lavished upon us, while we have been " exempt from all its burdens : — These, are Bene- <' fits conferred on us alone, and cold and worth- " less must be the Heart on which, they fail lo mako ** an impression !" mpport ommon 1 to his s pride man to yyrned as ratitude lis Pro- Mi of no iindance most an* roperiy, icial Es- the best ailed on ^ advan- Society, ve been e Bene- worth- lomako SECOND LETIER. Bi BEFORE I proceed to analize Mr. Jackson's Pamphlet, as I proposed in iry first letter, it will be proper to give some account ol the Faction of which, A'i r I ackson has condescended to become the Tool ! The Founder of this Faftion,wasMr. Wm. Weekes, an Irish Attorney. The manner of his coming to America, and his motives for emigrating, are not known. After stopping for two years at New York, to glean Law, and improve his Political Principles, under the celebrated Aaron Burr, he came into ihis Province a needy Adventurer, and was incautious- ly admitted to the Bar. He began his career by ta- king an atlive part in the eledion of Mr. Justice Allcock, in 1801. Under pretence of a Riot, which was a mere sham of his own, he procured the Poll to be closed just at the critical moment when the judge had a small majority ; and Mr. Allcock was in consequence, returned a Member of the House of Assembly : Mr. Weekes took it into his head to suppose that this was a Government-Job, and that, he should be handsomely rewarded for this piece of Eletlioneering Dexterity. In this he was mistaken. Mr Allcock was proposed as a Candidate, because his educatioti and professional knowledge, might make him an useful member in the House of As. fembly ; t\ vm -J' • ^^V^w^s— • 1 1 i ^ 1 f. I 1 > V I : scmbly ; but the Government had not, nor could have, any particular interest in bis having a Seat there. Frustrated of the reward with which he had flattered him.self for his officious interference ; and which he had the effrontery to claim in the most in- decent manner ; and finding that the Government had no dirty Jobs for him to do, he determined that his talents for this kind of business, should not be unempioyed. The violent and gratuitous Instru- ment in violating the rights of suffrage was immedi- ately transformed into a zealous Demagogue ; and by praftising in the usual way, upon the ignorance and credulity of the People, he became in about two years the Representative of those very Electors whose frcinchises he had so glaringly violated. Such are the fascinating effeds of the mask of Patriotism, however clumsily put on. In the interval, a most extraordinary circumstance took place: Mr. Weekes one night suddenly disappeared ; a man and woman who kept his House, were taken up, and imprison- ed on suspicion of having murdered him. In about a fortnight, however, he emerged from the woods, half naked, and almost starved : and this mysterious Wandering, can be accounted for only from mental Derangement. Such was the man, whom the majo- rity of the Electors of the Counties of York, Dur- ham, and Simcoe, delighted to honour! While he was thus in his glory as a Representa- tive of the People, exerting himself to the utmost to excite in the other members of the Housei Distrust and i )r could a Seat ti he had ce ; and most in- ernment ned that 1 not be Instru- mmedi- le ; and norance lOUttWO rs whose jch are riotism, , a most tVeekes woman prison- n about woods, terious mental e majo- k, Uur- esenta- mosi to )istrust and i and Jealousy of the Government, and using every means to disseminate the snne Senti nen s Hmong the People at large. Vlr. Juvtice Thorpe c-jm*- to the Province to fill a vacr:nc y which, the unti'iely death of the amiible and respetl *tile Mr. [usii( e Cochran had made, in the Court of King s EfDi h. Had his vocation been to revolutionize the Pro- vince, a fitter Instrument could not have been found. How he came to be seleHed as one of us Judges, is matter of astonishment ! From his first entrance into the Province, he shewed a dispositi- on to interfere with, and dictate to every Depart- ment ; and stated himself, as the only Person to he looked up to by the People for obtaining their just Rights Minds socongenialashis and 'ir. Wee k( s s, were not long it* forming the most intimate uni v>n. Under the casual and feeble Administration of ir. President Grant, upon whom, as senior Councellor, it had devolved on the demise of Gen. Hunter, ne urged his friend to pu^h the -louse of \ssen)bly to the most unwarrantable Proceedings. In contempt of Public Decorum, he was within the Bar of .he House openly prompting Mr. Weekes and hi Par- tisans, when they appeared at a loss in heir violent proceedings ; and when the Clerk of the Executive Council excu ed himself on accourit of his O .rh from answering some questions tnat werepu; to hiin, N'r Thorpe fose» and unasked, declarea lo the House th It he could be compelled to answer ; and had the wickedness and effrontery to cite i ord B btattord's .'V ti- ll I ; 1 ' ' ■ •,, .1 ■ i'r i' 4 m <;; i; ' f I j/'i Id / Stifford's case. Even in tlie fexercise of his ^unclions as a Judge, he encouraged Mr. Weekes in tlie most indecent aspersions against the Govern- ment, however irrelevant to the Cause before him : engaged him to compose Addresses for Grand Ju- ries reflecting on the Conduct of the Government, that he might himself have an opportunity in reply, to revile from the Bench, that Authority which, it was his duty to support : on account of conduft re- sembling rather that of a public Incendiary, than a Judge, it was thought prudent by the Governor, to prevent him from going on the Circuit a second timf^ ; and he was in 1807, recalled by His Majesty's Ministers. , Mr VVyatt, sent out in 1805, as Surveyor Ge- neral of the Province, united himself most intimate- ly to this worthy pair. While they were under Mr. Gr.int's Administration attempting to urge the House of Assembly to make the most extravagant pretensions, he prated about the Omnipotence o? ihat Body, and to aid the seditious Purposes of his As- fiociitcs, obtruded upon the House the Official Transactions of his Department. He permitted Mr. Weekes to make garbled extracts from Docu- ments in his Ofhce, for the purpose of throwing obh^quy on the Government ; and after the Acces- sion of Lieut. Governor Gore, he allowed him.elf to be so wrought upon by his friend Mr. Thorpe, as to set him at open Defiance, and refuse obedi^ cnce to his orders. He was in consequence sus- penaed / 11 ial ted cu- "g es- sclf pendefil by the Lieut. Governor from tlie exercise of his official functions ; and returned to Engldiid denouncing vengeance against him and his i oun- cil.* About the time of his departure, it was disco- vered that he had surreptitiously obtained a grant of a lot of Lands, which, a man with a large family had been settled upon for twenty years, and on which he had made large improvements. — His Title, tho' not striftly legal in point of Form, was perfetlly e- quitable ; and the Lot was held by him under As- signment from the Person it had been originally lo- cated to, by competent Authority. Solicited in be- half ot this man, whose- property was thus at stake, he promised to leave the Grant behind him, and re- fer the matter to the equitable decision of Friends. But such promise was not performed ; and he has since taken steps to get possession of the Land, by ejectment. In company with Mr. Wyatt, departed John M }a' kson Esq who had resided about a Year and a half in the Province. This Gentlem-.n had, I be* lieve, previous to his departure from England, pur- chased some Lands near the Seat of Government, on part of which, he expended a considerable sum of money in the prosecution of some injudicious projeft which, the want of Funds, or convitli- on of its futility, made him fain to abandon. From hi^ first arrival in the Province, he was on all occa- sions declaiming on the oppression suffered by the • Mr. Wyatt has since been dismissed Ilis Majefty's Service. 152 i«> t ' ;i ill Vf f1 1 ■ill §3 12 People of Engl.ind; and laboured to persuade the ptojle around hiu, ih -t subordirntion was .sldvery* Such ri man, would naturally assimilate with McNsrs. Wfekes, rhorpe & Wyatt — ie accordingly soon bec-^me one of their most intimate and aftive Asso- ciates ; and though he had not like some of his friends, the publicity of the House of Assembly, or the ('ourtsof (u^tice. for his acrimonious Strictures uplony. It is true that, he has bv the House of Assembly been committed to Prison, for a Libel on them. B\it, this summary Justice, exercised over one of their I ;4 w ii own If' • ■i I *4 own Members, is no exception to my general asser- tion. He still keeps up a correspondence with his departed Friends, and I see his respeBable Paper, the Guardian, is quoted, and honourably mentioned by his fellow-labourer, Mr. Jackson. *Till we had the misfortune to be visited by these Gentlemen, the Voice of Fa6lion was not heard a- mongst us. The Sketch, which I have here given you of them, is necessary for elucidating the Work now under Review ; and as I shall necessarily be led to speak of them frequently, as I proceed with it ; I shall lake leave of them for the present. w facing tions c itself s ty. 7 spared, my pn Jackso Public let us in deta ItW( of the son, t though and N( for the riment. The fa Upper merica origina but ac try to ^& >;,)!!! THIRD LETTER. i ■ ■ ~ W HEN Narratorsofthemarvellous begin by pre- facing ihcir wonderful Stories, with solemn assevera. tions of their own veracity, that circumstance is in itself sufficient to induce suspicion of their credibili- ty. This incidental remark might hence have beea spared, for with the clue which I have given you in my preceding letter, you will be able to trace Mr. Jackson's motives to a Source less pure than that Public Spirit, of which, he so loudly boasts. But let us proceed to examine his Statements, somewhat in detail. It would be supposed by those who knew nothing of the subjeft but what they learnt from Mr. Jack- son, that the settling of Upper Canada was not thought of, till trial had been made of the Bahamas, and Nova-Scotia ; and that it had been appropriated for the accommodation of those who had, on expe- riment, found those Countries unfit for cultivation. The fad is, that the settlement of the Country now Upper Canada, was begun immediately after the A* merican War ; that not only the Loyalists who had originally taken refuge in the Province of Quebec, but a considerable number, who preferring this coun- try to Nova Scotia, or the Bahamas, came hither on ^^^ evacuation of New-York; in 1783 3 as well as ,.,i ■ h '1 i i »( ( '}3 iii^ '1 f i6 i ' f the 2d Battalion of the 84th Regiment, and some British and German Soldiers who were discharged, and desirous oftemaining in the Country, had lands assigned them here ; and the whole country from the head of the Bay ofQuinty, to the Pointof Boudet,aii extent of >wo hundred miles, was occupied by Set- tlers of this description. The Loyalists composing Butler's Rangers, and those attached to the Indian Department, were at the same time settled in the neighborhood of Niagara, and on the East side of the Detroit River. The flourishrng state of these Set- tlements, which spread over so large a tra6l of Coun- try, had prospered beyond the expettaiion of ihe most sanguine, induced the Government of England in J 791, to form it into a separate Province, and give them a distind Government, as best calculated still further to promote their prosperity. But, this Ar- rangement, had certainly no reference to the Loyal- ists who had preferred Nova Scotia, or the Bahamas, for whose comfortable establishment, in those old British Colonies, every provision had been made. Se- veral Families have indeed of late years, emigrated hither, from Nova Scotia, but their number is not ve- ry considerable ; and very few, if any, have come from the Bahamas. In the Beating-orders of the 84th Regiment, which was to be raised in America, and to serve during the American War, a promise was made, that those who would enlist in that Regiment, should have Lards granted them on their being disbanded, in the same proportion ^7 ^ooortion as th^y had been granted to Officers and Soldiers disbanded at the Peace of 1763. But this is the only instance in which, Lands were pro* tnised to any body of Men who served in the Ame. .rican War ; and as it had important consequences on the general distribution of lands in this Province, I shall have occasion to refer to it hereafter. To say as Mr. Jackson does, that, " in the American Con- test the object to animate, compensate, and reward all such as came within the British Lines, was Land," is to expose his own Ignorance, and degrade the Ame- rican Loyalists into a set of needy Adventurers, in quest only of Pay and Plunder. The truth is, that the generality of these gallant men, so little known, and so much undervalued by their pretended Advo^ cate, were men of Property ; and some of them ihc greatest Landholders in America. They were ani- mated by no mercenary views. They contended for the constitutional Rights of the Crown, and the su- premacy of Parliament, which they had been taught to revere, and which they considered as co-extensive with the British Dominions; and hesitated not to ha- zard their lives and fortunes in the attempt to put down Rebellion, and pre^ierve the Unity of the Em- pire. — The result was unfortunate ; and a generous Sovereign and Nation, thought themselves obliged to provide them nm only an Asylum, and grant them a portion of the Waste Lands of the Crown^ but to make them pecuniary compensation for the Foirtunes which they had sacrificed in their Cause. V C ' The I • '■■: I Mr. '■I m ..I f?^ ' 1 iB iF I ii The large Sums of Money granted by Parliament, and the arrangements made for carrying into e(Fe6l this pecuniary remuneration, will be remembered to the Honour of Britain, while national Liberality shall excite Applause among mankind. But, as these make no part of the present discussion, I must be content to follow Mr. Jackson to the distribution of Lands under the Authority of the Crown. By the King's Instru6tions to Sir Guy Carleton, and Admiral Digby, every person of the Rank of Field Officer, was »o have looo Acres; Captains 700; Subalterns 500 ; Privates too, with a further allow- ance of 50 Acres for every Woman, and Child ; and Provisions were direded to be issued to the Settlers, for the first three years. — That part of the 84th Re- giment, which was disbanded in this Country, not content to be included in this general distribution, claimed a much larger proportion in virtue of their Beating-Orders. As Sir Frederick Haldimand, who was then Governor, hesitated ; they applied to the King's Ministers, who thought themselves bound to confirm a promise however incautiously made,, that had the sanction of the Minister of the day ; and that Regiment in consequence, became entitled to 5000 Acres for Field Officers, 3000 for Captains, and aooo for Subalterns. Lord Dorchester, who sue. ceeded Sir Frederick Haldimand in the Government, upon application made to him by the different Pro- vincial Corps, direded the Loyalists and other Troops tp be put upon the same footiag as the 84'^h Regiment^ u nent, «ffea id to shall make ntent ^ands leton, nk of 700; illow- ; and ttlers, hRe- y, not ution, f their i, who to the ind to c,. that id that 5000 s, and suc- iment, t Pro- other le 84'^h amenta 19 Regiment, by an Order in Council dated in 1788; Under a previous Order of his Lordship in Council^ a further Allotment of 200 Acres was direded to be made to every Settler who had improved his original location ; and it was further ordered under the same respettable Authority, that, the Children of such Loy- alists as were then settled in the Country, should on their coming of age, be entitled to 200 Acres. The Patents for all these were to be given free of expence, and the Government took upon themselves to remu- nerate the Officers concerned in passing the Grants ; and they were paid from the public Coffers one half of the usual Fees on such Grants. About the Year 1788, it was represented to Lord Dorchester, that, there were still many persons in the American States, attached to His Majesty's Person and Government, yfho would gladly remove to Canada if they could there obtain Lands, to settle upon : Arrangements vrere in consequence made, for admitting Applicants of this description. But these, standing on very dif- ferent ground from those who had joined the Royal Standard, were required to pay the usual Fees for passing the Patent, to the amount of about 13 Dol- lars, or 58/6 Sterling, and their Grants were limited to 200 Acres. In the year 1791, the Province of Quebec was divided into the Provinces of Upper, and Lower Canada ; and in the year 1792, General Simcoe came to this Province as Lieui. Governor. After he had been some time in the Country, he thought it expedient to enlarge still further the scale Ca of I : t '•i'il ii i'il I 1 .j t. t )^' 11, f 20 i ii ■ V i I 1 of distribution of the Crown Lands, by extending to 12:)0 Veres the allowance lo every Magisiraie ; the same quantity to every Member o I the House ol x\s- sembiy, and the Chiidren of Counsellors and Field- Oiiicers ; 6oo lo the Children of Captains, and 400 to those of Subalterns, including herein however all former Grams. The Allowance to Members of thq Executive Council, wa> by authority from His Ma- jesty's Ministers, made 6000 Acres including former Grants ; nor can such allowance to them be conside- red as extravagant, when every man in the Country who had borne a Commission higher than that of Cap- tain, had 5000 Acres. This Scale of distribution was adhered to during the succeeding Administration of xMr. President Russell. But in all this, there was no partiality ; for it is ridiculous to talk of Injustice in what at worst, could be considered as matter of Favour merely. Thedistribution was not made to favo- rite Individuals, but to extensive Classes ; and no instance can be produced, within this period, of any Person being refused this additional quantity of lands, who could clearly establish a claim to be comprehend ded in any of these Classes. And, let me ask, for what purpose was ir necessary to have reserved these lands? The reservation of 2-7ths,in distinfci Locations for the Crown and Clergy, will surely suffice for eve- ry useful Establishment that Government may have in view. No useful Emigrant has been kept out of the Province in consequence of these Gt'ants. Large quantities of Lands are still unappropriated : and at this this di rable in !;( Wuh als, it part ( South are so the lo Amcri Sterlir 1798 J Minist grants of 20c cease, the Ki allowa the usi of the future to the and th tent, tl counte about constri Coloni exatlec in Cou 21 this day, those who obtain locations in the least favot rable situaiions, are betier off ihan ihc Sctiltis were in 1784, when the Country was a pertect Wilderness, Wuh rcspett to the price of lands between IndivKJu-. als, it is notorious that it is not more than a fourth part of what lands in the American States, on thq South side of the St. Lawrence, and Lake Ontario, are sold for in Situaiions equally as remote ; and the lowest terms on which ihey can be had from the American Government is 2 dollars, or 9 shillings Sterling per acre,— —When Gen. Hunter was in 1798 sent out as Lieut. Governor, His Majesiv's Ministers thought proper to order that all further grants of Land free of expence, except the allo^vance of 200 acres to the Children of Loyalists, should cease. That for what had been granted more than the King's Instructions, (construed agreeably to the allowance made to the 84th Regt.) would warrant, the usual Fees should be paid : — That the authority of the Provincial Government should be limited in future Grants to from 200, to 1200 acres, according to the character and circumstances of the Applicant, and that besides the usual Fees for passing the Pa- tent, there should be required a further sum to be ac. counted for to the Government, amounting in a!!, to about 36^ dollars, for 200 Acres. The most libciaii construClion was put upon these Instructions by the Colonial Government : the additional charge was not exacted on Patents for any lands for which an Order in Council had been obtained previous to the date of i fl 1 .n I. ^i > 1 I. "I ■■(■ iff ^-1 r 22 c: v '■ ill ^4 €>f these InstruQions ; and every Loyalist who could make it appear that he was resident in the Province previous to the year 1798, was allowed the quantity of Lands dire6\ed in the King's original Instructions, free ot expence. Fourteen years might surely suf- fice for thofe who were disposed to benefit by Kis Majesty's gracious promises, to come and claim them. li may be proper here to observe, that the extended , allowance of land made by Lord Dorchester m con- sequence of a similar allowance to the 84 fh Regi- ment, as well as the allowance of 200 acres lo origi- nal Settlers and the Children of Loyalists, was ex- pressly confined to those who had improved their fit St Locations. For this, an obvious reason may be assigned. They who had encountered the diffi- culties and hardships necessarily attendant on the forming a new settlement, might well be considered as entitled to encouragement and favour, to which those certainly could have no claim who shrunk from these difficulties and hardships ; and kept aloof till the labours of the more industrious and enterprising had smoothed the way for them : yet even this con- dition, so reasonable in itself, has never been insisted on by the Government of this Colony, which Mr. Jackson is so ready to accuse as arbitrary and tyian- nical. If those who have been the objeds o) such favour and attention, can find in all this anv cause of dissatisfaction, they must have no common propensi- ty to cavil ; and feelings very little allied to gratitude. There is as little to objecl to, in the principles upon which «3 which, the various Claimants have been accommoda-' ted with locations. These were distributed by lot to the first Settlers Afterwards, when there was little or no competition, the first application was preferred, and every man would naturally selecl the best situation which he found vacant. Where there was a competition, a connexion with the Go- vernment was surely an allowable motive of prefe- rence ; nor would an unprejudiced man find any thing very censurable in with-holding from a casu- al Settler, admitted on grounds of favour, an ad- vantageous location, which might afterwards be granted to a person of superior pretensions : 1 pre- tend not however,to say that thishas in every instance, been acquiesced in with the most perfed content^ ment ; but whatever dissatisfaction may have hence arisen, can be ascribed only to that overweening self importance too prevalent in mankind, which generally leads us to overrate our own merits, and pretensions, and to undervalue those of others. «• A man's true merit 'tis not hard to find ; ** But each man's secret ftandard is his mind, " That cafting weight Pride adds to Emptiness, *' This who can gratify ; for who can guess ?" (pope ) The cruelty exercised towards the Emigrants from Nova Scotia, in refusing them Lands free of expence, has been a favourite theme for declamati- on with Mr. Thorpe and his associates. But, it must appear from what 1 have said above, that su^h as have come to this Province since the year 179B, cannot be exempt from the payment of Fees with- out I : i • ' 1 III '61 III: \ i ] » f^ ■ V J .1 ll «4 out express dire6lic»ns from His Maje.=5ty*s Mini- sters. They either have had, or might have had, if they have not negleBed to apply for them, the same donations of Land and Provisions, in the place of their original settlement, as were given to other Loyalists at the close of the American War ; and they now stand precisely on the same footing as E- migrants from any other part of His Majesty's Do- minions : and it is truly a notable Grievance to lay before the King and the Parliament of the United- Kingdom, that His Majesty's Subjefts cannot now obtain Lands in Upper Canada without paying a- bout £ 9 Sterling, for a Lot of 200 acres ; a Sum which any industrious man may earn by ordinary labour, in about iorty days. This may suffice for an explanation, and vindica- tion of the Principles and pratlice of granting the waste Lands of the Crown generally. In the dis- tri bution of Town Lots, there will be found as little to reprehend. No person could have a Grant for more than one Lot : but what would Mr. Jackson have S'id, if the Grantee hadbeen denied the right of alienation. It must of course happen that this, as well as other Property, would change hands. Some would find it convenient to sell, and others would be ready to buy, to increase their accommo- ditions. The Lands round the Towns, where the Towns are themselves inhabited, are every where cultivated. i here arc no Reserves, in their imme- diate vicinity. It is true that when the Town of York, ft5 York, the Capital of the Colony, was first laid out ; the country around it, as well as the scite of the Town u&elfj was a perfe6l Wilderness. During some years, the Inhabitants who, at first, were principally the Officers of Government, were obliged tosub* mit to many inconveniencies and privations, and locations were given them in the vicinity of the Town, that they might have within themselves, the power to lessen these privations by cultivating their own grounds. The temporary inconveniencies of the situation, were disregarded by General Simcoe on account of its natural advantages. The settle- ments in its neighborhood, are now among the most flourishing in the Province, and the Town has for several years past, been abundantly supplied with Provisions of every kind* If some of the proposed Towns have not been *' eliabliJJied^^ (I suppose Mr. Jackson means inhabited,) it is owing to a very dif- ferent cause from the one he assigns. I know but two so circumftanced ; namely, one to be called New Castle, on a Peninsula near to the place where a Canal will at some future period be opened from the head of the Bay of Quinty into Lake Ontario; another on the River La Tranche or Thames ; near to where it discharges itself into Lake Sinclair, to be called London. These situations have been judici- ously selefted, and if they are yet uninhabited, it is wholly owing to the present want of population in their neighbourhood, not to a monopoly of the Ground; for no Town Lot is, or has been granted D in hi < ,.'1 1 i' i 4' • 1 \n !i % ,1 d! r.e 4. \n in them or otlier Towns, but upon condition of ac« tUdl occupation. I have already stated, that the Fees to be paid on grants of the Crown Lands in this Province, as well as the distribution of these Fees, had been settled under the direction of riiis Majesty's Ministers. A'r. Jackson very plainly insinuates, that this sanc- tion could not make them legal. Upon common principles however, it would seem, that His Majes*- ty's Ministers, by permission of their Sovereign, might regulate the pecuniary conditions on which the Lands of the Crown were to be disposed of. But the politics of Mr. Jackson and Mr. Thorpe are of no common cast : and as thev used their most stre- nuous endeavours to pcrsuadethe House of Assem- bly, though not called upon to provide a Salary or other Allowance, to question the appointment of an Inspeftor General of Public Accounts, as illegal, without their previous sandion. They contended upon the same principle, that the sandion of that Body was necessary to legalize the Fees on Grant* ofthe Crown Lands. These principles, openly pro- fessed, and strenuously urged by these Genilemi n, while they were in the Province, appear not yet to be abandoned. They are now, however, more mo- destly couched under the form of an insinuation, and 'brown into a parenthesis, that ihey may nit too glaringly strike the view of that Parliament, with whom it is a rule, never to interfere with the Pro* pprfy of 'he Crywn, unless required so to do by the Crown itself. Beiorc ■'I ^7 Before I dismiss the subje6l of Lands and Fees, I must take notice of the solitary instance quoted under Mr, Russel's Administration, where Survey Money was received from a reduced Oilicer, who ought to have been wholly exempted from expcnce. I pretend not in this, to vindicate the conduft of Mr. Russel ; it is true, he aBed neither from ava- rice or rapaciousness. It added nothing to his emolument, nor to that of the other Officers em- ployed in passing the Grant. The Money was sa- ved to the Crown, and placed to the credit of the Surveying Account. But it was a very injudicious piece of CEconomy. The interests of the Crown are not promoted by such paltry savings ; and tliough the acquiescence of the Party concerned may pal- liate, it certainly cannot excuse the transriBion. Be this however, as it may, wha^xcuse can it fur- nish in behalf of Mr. Surveyor-General Wyatt, for allowing the official correspondence of his Office to be ransacked, and made public, for jhe purpose of traducing the dead ? And what is the natural inference to be drawn froin all this ? Is it not that where such a disposition exists to betray a public Trust for the gratification of private malignity, that Government must have been remarkablv cor- red where, in its most busy Department, and one declaimed against as the source of so much injus- tice and corruption, but a sing'c instance of aberra- tion is produced in the course of five successive Administrations ? Cs Fourth letter. 1! M li 11 'I •It hi ;m l\i 28 •J ' I FOURTH LETTER. F ROM the details which I have given you in my last Letter, you wRl be able to judge of the weight due to Mr. Jacksons*s conclusion, that " by this " means, the original intention has been defeated, •* the Royal promise broken, the Faith of Govern- ** ment disgraced, the settlement of the Colony re- *' larded, and partiality, prejudice and avaricious- ** ness so apparent in the distribution of Land, that ** discontent and disgust were diffused throughout *' the whole body of the People." All this may, without any breach of candour, be resolved into one short sentence, " I, Mr. Jackson, am dissatis- " fied, and of course every body else must be so." — Mr. Jack>on's acquaintance with the People of the Province, did not extend beyond his immediate neighborhood ; and, as his propensities led him to associate with the dijicontented, he may possibly have supposed them to be numerous ; but whatever discontent may have been diffused among the Peo- ple, it must be attributed not to the cause he assigns, but to the insidious Arts of him and his fellow la. bourers in the cause of Fa6lion, and is much less extensive than the confidence they have in their abilities for this sort ot work, may perhaps allow them to suppose. Next of justice, and ** support of the Civil Government within the Pro- ** vince of Quebec,'* certain duties are laid on Brandies, Rum, Molasses and Syrups, and on Li- cences for retailing Spirits ; and the mode of their Application to the purposes of the A61, as recited in the Title, pointed out. The clause of the Ad of the i8th of the King, referred to by our Author, having only a prospective, not a retrospedive ope- ration, leaves the monies raised under the aforesaid A61 of the 14th of the King, and other former Ads ; and the appropriation of such monies unaltered. It is sufficiently evident that the Clause of the likh of the King, quoted in the 31st of the Kin^, as it there stands, relates merely 10 what will be done in future s "I' i^:- Hi !;,'! '!■'!' ■j it' ..I P if iji. •! 'I ■' !. 1^ ( BO future ; hut it is remarkable that the Words ** froux and after the passing of this Aft," which in the ori- ginal Aft make part of this Clause, and remove eve- ry shadow of doubt respefting its meaning, are o- mitted in the quotation. — As far as relates to the duties levied in this Province under the before men- tioned Ads; they were, by an Aft of the Provinci- al Legislaiure passed in the 41st year of His Maje- sty's Reign, made to attach upon Articles imported into this Province, by land, or inland navigation, together with orher duties imposed by the Provin- cial Legi^luure of Lower ( anada, upon certain Articles imported into that Province ; that there miglit be one uniform Taritf of duties for both Pro- vinces ; and in this Aft, the respeftive Auihorities tinder which such duties were levied, are distinftly jiaincd for the purpo e of guarding ag;^inst misap- prehension on the ubjpfct But had not such pre- caution been taken, would it be correft to say, that becauNC the Afts of the Parliament of (Jreat Britain before-mentioned, had in consequence of provision made by the Provincial Legislature, been made to attach on the Articles enujnerated in those Afts which should enter the Province bv other channels than the Port of Quebec ; the appropriation of the money raised under and by virtue of these Afts, was therefore altered, or done away ? The claim of subjrding the duties levied under these Afts of Parliament, to the disposal of the Provincial Legis- lature, was never heard of till urged by Mr. Thorpe, and m and a« he failed in pcr>uading any Member of ouf House of Assembly to support him in this claim, which it is impossible to believe that he could him- self ihink well founded ; it is not likely that he wilt through the medium of Mr. Jackson's Pamphlet, r '1 ma ke m any converts with you. Our Consti* tution is in operation as it came from the Legisla- ture of Great Britain. The charge therefore in this case, is not against the Colonial Government, hut against the Government of the United Kingdom, who are openly accused of Tyranny, and breach of* Faith ; and have the example of the American- States, held out to them in Terrorem. Those who will not take the trouble of referring to the Act itself, might think that Mr. Jackson, when he says 'She Ciau^^e of the i8th of the King, directing " all Monies raised in the Colony to be accounted " for before the House of Assembly^ and to be ap-^ ** propriated by the said House," was quoting the clause, instead of giving Mr. Thorpe's wilful mis- construction of it. The plain language, however, of this clause of the iS.h of the King, repeated and re-« cognized in the Afct of our Conilnution is, " We have laid Duties on certain articles, and appropriated the proceeds of these Duties ior your Benefit, by ap- plying them towards defraying the charges of the ad- ministration of justice, and the support of the Civil Governmeni of your Colony. These must remain as they are; but we will hereafter abstain from levy- ing any duty, tax, or assessment whatever, except for the ..» m \\\ M 4 ill /; ■H lU H k ?■ i 1 L. .1 32 ihe regulation of commerce. Such regulation being material to the interests of the Empire at large, we reserve to ourselves. But when, for this purpose, we shall think it expedient to lay any duties, to be le- vied in your Province, the monies arising therefrom, shall be at the disposal of the Provincial Legislature. This promise will doubtless be held sacred. But what are we to think of the Man who thus palpably mis states the language and meaningof an important part of the Act of Parliament, which es?ablishes our Constitution ; and then from such misrepresentation, takes occasion to exclaim that the public Faith is vi- olated, and **the very reverse of a free Government established,*' and raves about Revolutions for the purpose of inflaming the Minds of the ignorant and unwary. The Accounts of the duties levied under the Afts of the British Parliament, though subject to the dis- position of the Commissioners of His Majesty's Trea- sury, for the purpose of defraying in part the expence of the Civil Government of the Colony, are annual- \y submitted to the inspection of the Colonial Le- gislature. It is not so with the monies arising from Grams of the Crown Lands. How these are applied, I pretend not to knov/, nor does it concern me, or even the House of Assembly to enquire. They be- long to the King, to dispose of as he may think pro- per; and as it rests with his Majesty's Ministers to see that the Provincial Government render a proper account of this money, it is to be presumed that they do 38 do not negle£l their duty. This however, * ?f pre- sent no affair of ours. When His Majesty she ihi# % proper to devolve upon the Legislature of the ok>« ny, the care of auditing such account, and dired hi& servants here to lay before them a statement of the receipts and expenditure of the sums arising from the disposal of his property, it his began to be acted upon. These reserv- ed Lands could not be sold, and ihe Governmenf at hotne were to be consulted respetUng the terms on which iliey were to be leased. The correspondence anj deliberations on this subjed,nece>sarily consum- ed some time. The terms being at length adjusted, they were in 1801 notified in the Gazette, and per- sons desirous of obtaining leasee-, were directed to lod^e their applications at the Council Office. But where lands are so easily to be oblained in Fee, it is not to be expected that people would be eager to take Leases, however moderate the terms might be. A number have, however, been applied for, and grained fiom time to time ; but the sum they have hitherto yielded must be inconsiderable, the lessee paying on a lot of 200 acres only los, per annum tor the first seven years, 20n. per annum for the next se- ven years, and 30s. per annum lor the last seven years of the twenty-one years for which thev are granted. That they will in time furnish ample means to answer the end proposed, is not to be doubted, and it was wise to provide a Fund of this substantial nature. But immediate aid was not, and could not rca onablv he expected fro.n it. No one regrets more thun 1 do, that the number of Clergymen of the h" 35 the Established Church in rhe Province, which is but one more than Mi. Jackson siaJcs it, is not gr a- ter than It IS. Six are far too few for such an exicnt of country. But the great difhcuity is, that respect- able Clergymen are not to be prevailed upon to emi- grate from England to this Province. For though the Clergy Reservations, yet furnish htile to offer them, and the Provincial Legislature hath shewn no disposition to provide either salary or Churches for the Clergy ; the Government at home as well as ^' the Society for propogating the Gospel in Foreign Parts," (not the Missionary Sociefy, as Mr. Jackson calls it) are well disposed to give them every encou- ragement. Indeed this must be peculiarly the work of Government, for the number of Members of the Church of England is compaiatively small, and therefore no very a6Uve co-operation is to be expect- ed on the part of the people. As correctness was not Mr. Jackson's objecf, these circumstances enter not into his consideration. He would persuade us that obstacles arising from natural or moral causes, are interposed by the Agents of the Government ; or if the means devised for their removal, which can only be slowly and gradually accomplished, do not ope- rate like magic, and contrary to possibility, produce immediately the desired effect, that the Government must be charged with delinquency. Our Author is not quite correCl in the assertion, that " there are fewer Churches than Ministers of the Established Religion." — There are nine EpiscQpal Churches 4 1 4 k M f. !'l !' I* ,!ll 'i;i f ]i m\ ! 1 'I )/] '.' p si lifl i e 1 ;| m Churches in different parts of the Province, too few I admit ; but it shews little regard to truth to diminish thissmall number more than one half. A laudable attempt, says Mr. Jackson, <' was lately *' made to encourage the propagation of the Gos- *' pel." If by this he means, as it would appear he does, the establishment of Schools, this establishment is not more connected with the Church, than with any other liberal profession. It is, indeed, highly honorable to the Provincial Legislature; and among other advantages that will result from it, it is to be expected that it will in time furnish us with proper Candidates for Holy Otders, and thus promote the cause of Religion. Mr. Jackson has forgot, or was perhaps ignorant of a very material part of this es» tablishment, namely, a compleat Philosophical Ap- paratus, provided also by the Provincial Legislature, and actually in the hands of a person well qualified to apply it to the illustration of the various branches of Natural Philosophy ; so that we now possess the means of giving cur young men a liberal education in all its parts, without sending them abroad.* *' The House of Assembly," says our Author, " voted eight hundred a year for eight Schools," as if the House of Assembly were alone concerned, and could do every thing. The Billol course originated wiih them, and docs them honor ; but it could have had no effed without the concurrence of the other branches of the Legiflature, notwithstanding Mr. Thorpe — - ' ■■ --- — — - I . - . I • I'wo Towusliips of Land have bfen set apart for the Estabubiimciit gt »n University 80 soon as circumstances Ihall require such an Establishment. Thorp lumbc that th tal, an compc Assem Let so rep future job of " con^ The named appoin than fi examii sons wl Cover duly ( withou and R School his ha Mastei devise and gi be dee Mr. T tional House Legisii i \ w 37 Thorpe affeacd on all occasions to call them mer^ lumber. From this circumsiance, 1 am persuaaed, that the phrase used by our Author, was not acciden- tal, and indeed it is remarkable that throughout this compound of sedition and falsehood, the House of Assembly is always put for the Provincial Legislature. Let us now see how far this School Establifhment so reputable to the Province, and so replete with future advantages, has been, or is liable to be made a job of ; or as our Author expresses it, " a reward for " convenient persons." The places at which these Schools are fixed, are named in the Afcl. The Lieutenant Governor is to appoint Trustees, of whom there are not to be less than five for every School. These Trustees are to examine into the character and capacity of the per- sons who may offer as Masters, and nominate for the Governor's approval, such person as they shall deem duly qualified. They have the power of removal without consulting the Governor, and to make Rules and Regulations for the good Government of the Schools; and it is only on a Certificate from them of his having faithfully discharged his duty, (hat the Master can receive his Salary. It seems not easy to devise a better plan for procuring proper Teachers, and guarding against abuses ; and it will probably be deemed fully equal to the notable expedient of Mr. Thorpe, urged with an eloquence and constitu- tional zeal peculiar to himself, which was, that the House of Assembly should appoint three, and the Legislative Council two of the five Trustees. But let ■ll! 0^ 11^ •i<\: lid Hi- ll if 1! ,. H / • 38 J- s % ■a ' 'ft . ' ''! V »l ■f .M lei us proceed to the practical result. — Six of these eii^bt Schools have, from the beginning, had Masters v^ho have received a regular Academical education. The other two have not been so fortunate ; for tho* the Masters are well qualified to teach every branch of a common education, they are not acquainted with the Learned Languages ; and will doubtless yield their places to others of superior attainments, as soon as such shall offer. In the mean time they are the , best that could be met with, and certainly do not owe their situations to the paironage of the Gover- nor. One of these two situations was, for a while, filled by a Gentleman on Half Pay, whom the Trus- tees prevailed upon to accept the appointment ; but he refigned it at the expiration of the year. Such is the real state of the case, and such the grounds for our Author's candid conclusion "that " in defiance of the British Parliament ani the Pro- <« vincial Asiembly^ every attempt to infuse religion, " morality or instruction, has been defeated." T„ the sysi Law, thing ( involvi sioti, d( will ha tinct vi there li censuK The well a; by one ture. had in Ads c Rcgiili and Pi of the to whi Couitj subjec volvcc cided, is onl) V ,< •; 1! ' 39 FIFTH LETTER. I ' T HE next objeBof our Author's vague abuse, is the system and administration of our Laws. The Law, the Courts, the Judges, the Officers, every thing conneded with this important department, is involved in one indiscriminate accusation of oppres- sion, dependance, and corruption. If however you will have the patience to follow me, and take a di.s* tinct view of the subjecl, you will be satisfied that there is little m all these for an impartial man to censure. The Law of England as the rule of decision, as well as the rule of evidence, was indeed introduced bv one of the first Ads of the Provincial Le^isla- ture. But they did not hereby intend, or, if they had intended, they had not the power to repeal the Ads of the Parliament of Great Britain containing Rtgiilations which particularly respect the Colonies and Plantations. These are placed beyond the reach of the Colonial Legislatures, and must, in the cases to which they apply, govern the decisions of our Couits. Doubts were however entertained on the subject by some of the Judges ; and a case which in- volved this question, remained for a long time unde- cided, as the Bench were divided in opinic^n ; and it is only within this last year, that it has been set at rest f \'-A ' i',f 'I 'M. 1 A i il IT ■ '' J!! r, M ;.^:'i^ «! 46 rest by the decision of the Kin^ in Council, on an appeal. One of these Atls, the 5th of Geo. ad, chap. 7, provides, " that in any suit in any Cou^t in ** the Plantations for any Debt or Account, wherein •* any person residing in England shall be a uarty, it * shall be lawful for the Plaintiff or Defendant, and '* for any Witness to be examined, to prove any ^' matter by affidavit or folemn affirmation before any " Mayor, or Chief Magistrate of the City or Town " in Great Britain, where, or near which the person " shall reside, and certified under the Common Seal •' of such City or Town, or the Seal of the Office of *' such Mayor or Chief Magistrate ; and every affi- '' davit or affirmation so made and certified, shall be " of the same force as if the persons had appeared " and sworn vIve voce in open Court, or upon Com- '' mission." This I presume, is what our Author alludes to, as *' vitiating the first principles of evi- *' deuce." Whether this departure from a generai rule, may not however be fullv jusiified by the rela* tive situation of the Colonies, which dbtained upon credit, all their supplies from the merchants o( Eng- . land ; for whom it would be impossible to enforce their claims of payment, were they required on cvtfy occasion, to cross the Atlantic with their documents and witnesses, I will not at present stop to enquire; but it does noi appear necessary to ascribe it to •" the *' viciousncss or fraudulcnce pursued in the Colo* ** nies in their orimiiive d-'pravity." And as no case has yd occurred in this ProvincCj in which such testimony \ \ 41 testimony has been offered, there has been at least n« lictual deviation from established rules, to warrant our Author's vehcraence. Another clause in this A61, makes houses, lands, and other real estates, within the Plantations, liable to the payment of debts generally ; and this is the part which our Author probably had in view when he talks of oppression. The whole of his incoherent rant on theoccason, is so like xMr. justice Thorpe's passionate invcdive from the Bench, when the ques- tion was undera judicial review, that it is evidently of his dictating. But the law has been determined by the highest authority to be so ; and it remains to be seen whether Mr. Thorpe's eloquence will induce the Imperial Parliament to alter it. Wich regard to ihc justice of the matter, it will not, I presume, be disputed, that a man's property of every description ought to be liable for the payment of his debts. The mode generally adopted in England with respect to real estates, of levying one third part of the yearly value, 'till the debt is satisBed, cannot apply here^ where lands are yet but in the Brst stage of cuhiva'' tion; and where all being proprietors, it would not^ at all event^, be easy to find lessees. Yet even \tk England, when the nature of the case admits not of delay, real property may be sold by proces of law for the benefit of Creditors ; as in cases of bankiupt- cy, and to satisfy debts due to the Crown. 1 The Lower Canada Ordinances are dragged in^ ^ithparUGUUr opprobrium, as compleacing the cli- F max r 5il ft' f W i m !| ii ii H-i ' (li f^- 4d S- r njax of oppression ; a reproach which they will be litile thought to deserve, when it is considered, that we have borrowed from ihem that provision of our Law, which allows no person to be imprisoned for debi on mesne proces, be the amount what it may^ unless an aHidavii is made and filed by the Creditor thai he is apprehensive thai his Debtor will leave the Province without paying his debt ; and another which extends petty larceny to the value of twenty shiiUdgs. It would excite furprize to find in any other publication a doubt, whether these Ord'iances were " legally established." But we meet with so many extraordinary things in the one before us, that nothing there could surprize us but truth and can- dour. We were for eight years a part of the late Province of Quebec, by the Legislature of which these Ordinances were enaded. They were continu- ed 111 force by the 33d clause oF the 31st of the King, 'all they should be repealed by the Legislatures es- tablished by that Aft; and in the 4th clause of the A:t of our Legislature, which introduces the Eng- lish Law as ihe rule of decision and evidence, 11 is expressly provided, that these Ordinances were not rcjjtaied or varied," otherwise than as they were ne- *• ces.sarily varied by the Provisions of that Act," Several ol ihein have since, from time to time, been xepaled ; bui such as have not been repealed, most C-tiainiy compose a part of our Law; and our Courts must b^' glided by them as fai as they go. Whether one or oiliei pan ot the ii)'Sicin| may suit this or ihat panicuiax partii they their Th not t< my t Butg alway point( is imp dy ; w other where mischi and re Had a and ne could himsel of the lie reg cupiec fusion The to give Sterlin for th( tablish among 43 particular fancy, or interest, is no concern of th6 Judges. They are bound to administer the Law as they find it; and in their construction of it, to follow their own understanding and conscience. That the permanence of a judge's fituation ought not to depend on the Executive Government, has my unqualiBed approbation as a general principle. But general principles, in their full extent, cannot always be adopted in pra6lice. Where Judges are ap- pointed to a distant Colony, in which impeachment is impracticable, and would be an inadequate reme- dy ; where they may be tempted to intermeddle with other matters than their Judicial FunBions; and where by fa6tious intrigues, they might do infinite mischief; it is expedient that a power of suspension and removal should remain with the Government. Had an example been wanting to shew the prudence and necessity of such a power, a more striking one could not have offered than that of Mr. Thorpe himself; the real, though not the ostensible Author of the precious Publication under Review ; who lit- tle regarding his duty as a Judge, was principally oc-^ cupied in attempting to throw the Province into con- fusion. The salary of the Judge§, is rather a delicate point to give an opinion upon. Yet in this country, £^750 Sterling per annum for the Puisne Judges,and;f on him, (and he must sometimes necessarily preside at the Assizes) degraded into a Theatre for fa6tious harangues, and personal Inve6tive. Since }^h removal, it has recovered its resped ability. That some Gentlemen engaged in mercantile con<-^ cerns, are Justices of the Peace, is very true ; and in a country like this, the Commission of the Peace would be badly filled without them. How they pos- sess " the means of exiortiov^'' is not explained; and to say that they are ^' first the Criminals and then th« w Judges,'* may bethought by Mr. Thorpe or Mr. Jackson a fine rhcthorical flourish, but has certainly BO connedion with truth. All that the Justices of the Peace have to do with the Settlement of Accounts, is as Judges of the Courts of Request, the jurisditH-* onof which is limited to thirty.six shillings Sterling, and are held at stated periods ; at which there must be at least two Magistrates presiding. These Courts are constituted on the principle of your Courts of Conscience, and here, no more than in any other Court, can a man be both Judge and Party. *« The Court of Appeals,'* says our Author, " is ** so constituted, or, to use his own word, construH^ ^' .ed^ as to prevent an honest verdi6t from passing in- '^ to efFe6l." Whoever knows any thing of the sub- jed, knows that questions of Law alone, and not the verdi£is of Juries, are subjeQ to revision in the Court of Appeals. By the 3 ist of the King, the Governor and the Executive Council, constitute this Court. The i B; (:t. i 'M j'i I?! f V ll f$: n h *llf^ 46 The Chief Justice will alwavs be a Member of if, and the assistance of the other Judges may be had, and will naturally be called for. It has no cogni- zance of causes under £'100, except where future rights would be bound ; and in cases exceeding £'500, Or where future rights would be bound, there lies an Appeal from its decisions to the King in Council. The Author has not suggested how this Court could be better composed. It is natural to suppose that the Executive Council, will always be filled by the most respectable characters ; and it is so in fa8, not- withstanding our Author's illiberal suggestions to the contrary. The practice of the Court he says, is, *• unjust, oppressive and influenced.*' If he speaks of the Court of Appeals, there has yet been but one cause brought before it, namely, that one which in- volved the question whether, the Act of the 5th Geo. 2d before mentioned, was in force in the Province, an i Lands in consequence liable to be sold under Execution ? and that was merely for form's sake, that it might be put in tra'n for the decision of the King in Council. If he speaks of the Court of K!n;'s Bench, its ura6\ice is modelled upon that of Westminster Hall, except that, in ordinary cases, the procei. is bv Writ of Summons, to which the De- claration must be annexed, and not by Capias; a deviation certainly not on the side of injustice and oppression. That it can be" influenced" by anything but the Rules of L.aw. would require malignity equal to thai of our Author to suppose. The 3 i ^* 47 The Clerks of the Peace, or their Deputies, should they have any, have no concern with the isi>uing of Proces in Civil Cases. The Author I iiuppose, means Deputy Clerks of the Crown, of which there must be one in each Distri6l. rhe Clerk of the Crown has the appointment of these Deputies ; yet the Judges would doubtless interfere, were they in any instance, selefted improperly. The charge, ** that Proces might be entered, and Writs obtain- " ed most partially** in the Offices of these Deputies has no existence, but in the corrupt imagi- nation of our Author. — If it be true that we ge- nerally judge of others by ourselves, what a monster of iniquity must he be, thus to suppose every man in Office, from the highest to the lowest, to be com*- bined for the purposes of fraud and oppression ! What the Sum is which is allowed in this Pro- vince, or elsewhere, on Criminal Prosecutions, I have been in no situation to know ; but I believe it is not usual any where, for the Crown Lawyers to conduct them gratis ; and that the allowance is the same as it was under the late Province of Que- bec. Complaints are not usually made to the Crown Lawyers in the first instance, in Cases where In- ditlments are to be preferred. Presentments by Grand Juries, and Commitments by Magistrates, are the u -ual foundations or their proceedings ; yet, to believe our Author, it is their avarice alone, that sets every thin^ in motion. Trifling complaints arc judicially ■ I- m !if n ■fi i r> /ii^ ; r- W- judicially as litde attended to here as clsfcwh^fd $ but the junsdt6iion of the Quarter Sessions is very limited, and the Sheriff's Calendar must necessHrU ly be disposed of It is peculiarly the duty of the Crown I.awyer to take an aftive part in preserving Pubhc order, and bringing offenders to puni^hlnent, Tkai " indefiendence* which sets the resir^iints of Law at defiance, will doubtless feel '* harrassed'* by such proceedings : but (u tice and Right, as well Ai •' Power^' will be gratified by them. The '* infla« •* ted contingent Account*' I must refer to its pro- per Audit, where it will be more particularly and impartially scrutinized, than by our Author. That Execution should be stayed 'till a motion for a new Trial, or in Arrest of Judgement was disposed of, is a matter of course. But when once Judgement is entered up, it is impo«;sible that Exe- cution can be refused, unless the decision of the Judges be appealed from. The Clerk of the Ciown^ would be liable to an action for such refusal. The Secretary of the Province had originally the issuing of Licences for retailing Spirituous Li- quors. He became a defaulter in the payment fof these, from year to year, 'till the deficiency amount^ cd to a very considerable Sum. An Extent wa» issued to recover the money, and removed as soon a.v it was paid. A certain Sum was appropriated for Printing the Journals of the 'Ouse of Assembly. The Printer'* i^ccuunt fell short of that bum. He was paid the lull 49 full value of his work, and the I nspeftor General of Public Accounts, would have been guilty of a breach of Trust had he allowed more. The sur- plus remained in the hands of the Receiver Genci^ ral, for the future disposal of the Legislature. The Accounts of Surveyors, as well as other persons in Public employment, must of course be made out in proper form, and regularly vouched, and their Expenditure warranted by their instruc-. lions, before they can be pa>7sed. Wherever these requisites have been complied with, I will venture to assert, that they have met with no difhculry in ob* taining their money. Where they have not been complied with, it was impossible to pass their Ac- counts. Such are the foundations for our Author's asser- tion that *• there was neither substance nor shadow ** of Law or Justice ; but the will of Power was the " rule of decision.*' " The eareme agitation of the " Public mind, and the universal gloom pervading «* the Province,** is one of those fancy PiBures of our Author, by which he so frequently attempts to heighten the pathos of his declamation. The Public Mind had much to cheer it ; certainly nothing to agitate or overspread it with gloom. But our Au- thor's own mind appears to have been agitated and gloomy enough : for his production is more like the ravings of a mischievous Maniac, than the statement of a rational man, drawn up for the in* formation oi the Legislature and the Public. G Sixth Letter. ¥ \\) 'It n 1! i '.ii: ii '\ r i; • 11 ' I •iVjj) 5<^ 5/X/// LETTER. w E are now brought to the aera of Mr. Thorpe'wS arrival in the Province, an incident which all the preceding parts oi the Fable seem to have been calculated to introduce with proper Stage cfFe6i^ The universal gloom is immediately dissipated j the agitation of the pubic mind subsides in a moment ; and this chivalrous and errant champion, bv the fas" cination of his -raiiscc^tident qualities, with which ho m :S' liave been visibly canopi i, seizes at once up" on ihc conhdcnce of th; public, and is looked up t6 by " all descriptions of people," as their deliverer from the thraldom of recreant magicians ! — The se«» dateness proverbially chavadensric of the demeanor of a [udge, is however Imle calculated to attratt ih« crow i ; and this part of the Pamphlet affords abun" dant internal evidence how improper a choice was made, when Mr. Thorpe was selettcd for that respec- table situation. "A popular Judge" says Lord Mansfield very truly, "is an odious charader" What then are we to think of one who sms oat with openly offering himself as a popular Leader. " Through his ** »epresen»ations their grievances would be redress* *' ed ; and bv his exertions, every bcncfi' adminisrer- *' ed. * So savs his profcst pane^^yrist, unconscious that he wa& uuinpeung fox th his di^^race. He a I . I ii ' He was abottt a year in the Province pr^vi^^us ib the arrival of Lieutenant Governor Gore. Of his condud during that interval, I have given you some account in my second Letter. This will naturally enough, account for the Governor's not being much prejudiced in his favour, without resorting to " envy" as the cause. That " he could not endure they should " move in the same orbit^' or in other words, would not yield the Government of the Province to Mr. Thorpe, is not much to be wondered at. Such an arrogant pretension, we could indeed hardly expeft to sec avowed, by a profest Advocate! The Home and other Diftrids, says our Author^ " represented their grievances." He should have said, a part of the Home Distri6l, and the Grand Jury of the Disiritt of London, were so obsequious to our wishes, as to sign Addresses fabricated for them, by Mr Thorpe and Mr. Weekes. In these two Uis- trids alone, were found people silly enough to sanc- tion by their names, the indiscriminate abuse which these Gentlemen, from motives already explained, afFeded on every occasion, to cast upon the Colo- nial Government. These two Distrids, are the least populous, and most recently settled of any in the Province, and none of the others have afforded the slightest grounds for our Author's assertion general, as with his usual regard to veracity, he has made it. It is not difficult for artful and designing men in such situations as Mr, Thorpe's, and Mr. Weekes's» to impose on the unwary, as proper, a paper of which Ga th<> I \ lifl? ;^ .k- m m. , I 1 'i- '> i li Mr 59 tlie exceptionable parts are couched in general terms, and these Gentlemen, though they did not sign it themselves, were indefatigable in procuring signa- tures to the Address of the Home District to the Go- vernor. Mo public Meeting was held on the occa- sion, and tearful of being counteracted by the more respvQable part of the community, the impertinent officiousness of Mr. Wcekes, anticipated their inten- tions, and took the Governor by surprize. The Ad- dress was delivered before his Excellency landed, and the Capital of the Province, had virtually, the pe- culiar distinction of insulting His Majesty's Repre- sentative, by inserting in their complimental congra- tulations on his arrival, unmerited and general cen- sure on his predecessors. The Address of the Grand Jury of the District of London to Mr. Thorpe, was composed as a suitable counterpart to his ChargCjWhich be!;^an wiihthis extraordinary sentence. *' The fifteen " years disgraceful Administration of this Govern- *« ment, calls loudly for your interference." And in his answer to their Address, he says, " Where there " was neither lalcnt, education, information, or e- " ven manner in the Administration, little could be *' expected, and nothing was produced." The Ad- dress from the Home District, the Address from ihe Grand [ury of the District of London, and the Jud- ge *s Answer, are so much alike, both in matter and style, that with those who will take the trouble to pe- ruse them aitentivelv, ihere can be no doubt of their being composed by the same person. The two last of ofthcs insert i pcrusa It w « ons' Tliorp *' ings at, that Londo have c " (hat this ex! import turn to Englar or uther Cvlonia been " his 1 '* such Of <* Hoi not su there fo always Weekc mo»t n respect fice in before I 5$ of these pieces our Author has not though.^^bper to insert in his Appendix ; but I inclose ihem tor your perusal. — [See Appendix, No. I.] • > . It was evident enough that these '' representatt* ** ons" (more properly declamations) arose from Mr. Tliorpe's instigation, not " Irom the actual suffVr» *' ings of the people," and it is not to be wondered at, that a respettable Gentleman of the District of London, who had witnessed these proceedings, should have observed, '' that such condud was more like " that of an United Irhhman than a Judge." For this expression, Mr. Thorpe, always suthciently self- important, directed an Action of Scandalum Magna^ turn to be brought ; as if an A6iion now obseleic in England, and expressly confined to a Peer, a Juuge, oruiher great officer of the realm., could apply to any Cv/onia/ \[i6gc or Ofhcer. And it would not have been v. creditable to the Legal discrimiiiaiion of *' his B. • f ien of the Bench," to have deciued " that *' such an Atiion could be brought by him.'* Of " the vacancy that soon after occurred in the *' House of Assembly for the Home District,'* udid Dot suit our Author's purpose to say much. 1 will therefore relate how it happened. Mr. Thorpe had always countenanced and even encouraged Mr. Weekes in his pleadings at the Bar, to insult by the most reviling and contemptuous language, the most respectable characters who had been, or were in of- fice in the Colony, however irrelevant to the matter betore the Court, On the return ut this worth) pair from r 1! V' iii i ■ 'I •i ii I 54 l!?-? '|i %^ 'r from th^-f)istri6l of London, the Assizes were held by Mr. Thorpe at Niagara. There the same out* rageous and wanton ahuse was heard from the Bar, and passed uncensured by the Bench. One of the Gentlemen of the Bar however,thought himself bound to remonstrate against the indecency of making the Pleadings in a Court of Justice, vehicles of party spleen, or private rancour. This took place on Monday, and the animadversions of his brother Ad- vocate, were at the time, little noticed by Mr, Weckes. The next day he made an excursion into the country, and passed ^he evening with the Judge and «ome other confidential friends at a Tavern. On Wednesday, he sent a Challenge to the Gentleman who had so properly vindicated the decorum of Le- gal Proceedings. It was supposed that this measure, from the time that had elapsed, was not the sponta- neous effect of resentment, but advised by the party, with a view to over-awe others from similar interfe- rence, and insure a tree scope in future to their li- cencious abuse. Reasonable explanation was of- fered, and refused; but when they found that they had mistaken their man, and that no degrading con- cessions would be made, they had information of the intended meeting conveyed to his Wife, in the ex- p tlation that her pravers, and tears, would shake his firmness ; and extort some disgraceful apology. Hut even this artifice did not succeed. The meeting t()« k place in the adjacent Territory of the American States, and Mr. Wcekcs fell, the vi6tim of his own turbulence, m 55 turbulence, or rather, as is generally supposed, of the indiscreet suggestions of his Friends. . The Career which was tlius opened foi the further display of his talents as a Demagogue, Mr Thorpe was eager to enter. If as our Author asserts, " it c- *' V er had been the custom, and Constitution of the Co- *' lonies, for Judges to be Members of Houses of As- <^ sembly;*' what passed on this occasion, is decisive of the impropriety of such a custom. A Judge upon the Hustings, engaged in altercation with a lival Candidate an > his £le£lors, and assailed occasional- ly with the severest and most humiliating sarcasms on his private charader, as well as public condutl ; must lose forever, that respect which his situation on the liench is calculated to insnire. Besides, it is im- possible to suppose under such circumstances, that he could in the exercise of his judicial functions, be indifferent between his Partizans, and his Oppo- nenis ; that he would forget the hostility of the one, or ihe support of the oiher. That any entreaty of friends was necessary to in- duce Mr. Thorpe to this step, is an idle tale. — The Governor's representations to him on the improprie- ty of it, were disregarded ; and instead of manifest- ing any relutlance, he was proud to become a " Par- tizan." — Houses were opened for the entertainment of his friends, on the credit of Mr. Jackson, and Mr. Wyatt. His partizans paraded the Streets with that appropriate emblem of United Irishmen, the Harp without the Crown ; while Mr. Thorpe, haranguing from III ■a' iii. ip ?'! I'; III II 1" /^' isi! flf? from the Hustings, sought to inflame his Hearers by ivarm and frequent allusions to the American Revo- lution ; and apostrophized his departed Friend, as looking down from Heaven, with pleasure on their exertions in the cause of liberty. ' That the friends of good-order should exert ihem- selves to prevent the success of such a Man, is not surprizing. But that any of the means mentioned by our Author were resorted to, or sanctioned by the Government, is, like most of his other assertions, wholly without foundation : — Mr. Thorpe however, triumphed ; and we will follow him, now legally in- ducted into the House of Assembly, where we have before seen something of him as an Intruder. His condud there, cannot be better described than it is in a letter transmitted by a friend of mine, who was on the spot, and wrote immediately after the proro- gation. I therefore transcribe it for your informati- •li and amusement. " March the 14th, 1807." " Our Session hath terminated in a manner the most desirable to the friends of good order, and ' the most mortifying to Mr. Thorpe, who hath ' been C(^mj)leatly foiled in all his attempts to do ' mischief. Ke began by endeavoring to per- ' suade the House of Assembly, that the Ditties le- • vied under Ads of rhe British Parliament, were * at the disposal of the Provincial Legislature, and ' thai this Province was entitled 10 a proporiit^nal ' pan of such of those duiics as were c<.|ledea at ^ the X*ort of puebcc, in the same manner as 11 was « to (( Vlh 11 to ** to a proportion of the duties colle6led under the ♦' authority of the Legislature of Lower-Canada ; ^^ and they were sufficiently disposed to listen to a *^ do6lrine which would place a large additional *^ sum of Money at their disposal. But after atten- ^' tively considering the 31st ot the King, they to a *^ man, saw the absurdity of such a pretension, and «6 gave up the point. — Driven from this broad *^ ground, he then insisted that the duties imposed " by the 14th of the King, on Licences for retailing *^ Spirits, were certainly at their disposal ; and had *^ attually been app'opriated by a Provincial Statute " pawssed in the 33d year of His Majesty's Reign ; but •' it was contended that the Words of this Statute^ •' would not bear the construction, which the learn- *^ ed Judge laboured to give it; and that constant «c usage ever since, shewed that in passing that Law, *' the Legislature had no such objeti in contempla- *' tion : or, granting him both these points, it was «' shewn that by the 3 1st of the King, the Provinci- *^ ai Legislature had not the power to do so, if they *' had intended it ; and he was here again left alont, *' notwithstanding his pathetic exclamation that, if ** tAev gave u/t this^ they gave up their freedom^'* " and <* his almost treasonable allusions to (he American " Revolution,as originating from the principles sup- " ported by the House. He afterwards moved an ** Address respefting the U. E. Loyalists and Miliia- *' «y Claimants, couched in insidious and inflamma* *' lory language, in which he met with better sup- H port 3 5! :i it,, !ii!' ill I il'i 'i »; ; I 9« 'MS k If! ' p6'^ ; but th^ more sensible part of the Houses ' wen* aware of the impropriety of their attempuug K) presGiibe rules to the Crown, for the distribuii* * <»n of Its Buuniy, and his motion was negatived* ' On a question respeding the appointment of ' Friisiees to Schools, he declaimed most vehtf- ' meutiv against iheir being made Government JobSj ' (0 prt vent which, he proposed that, as five was the ' ninnber intended, the House should appoint threei ' and the Legislative Council two; but the absur« ' dity of this innovation was so apparent, that be ' found but two to support him. A sum of money ' had, under some misapprehension, been charged in the Public Accounts, wiihou' a previous appro- priation by the Legislauire; a circumstance that ' had been eagerly laid hold of by Mr. Weekes, ast ' }>rctext for some very indecent proceedings in ihd ' timeot Mr. President Grant. This the Governor * ordered to be replaced, and mentioned it in hil^ * Speech. The House of Assembly to shew that it ' was not the money, but the principle, they were ' tenacious of, came to a resolution to admit the ^ appropriation as it had been charged, and prcscn* fed a handsome \ddress to the Governor, express- nii* themselves satishcd that the money had been exocnded for the benefit ol the Province. Oft this occasion, Mr. Thorpe was almost furious He accused them of sacnrtcing their freedom ; giving uu their conMUjiion, Sec. But in vain he de- claimed and raved ; evc^r/ bpd^ but himielf decIa• 'J 1^; 69 ^ red in favour of the rcsolutioii. During tliedcA ♦* bates on these subjefts, his ignorance ofsoiDe im* ^ portant points of law, as well as his fa6iious prin« (< ciples, were deteded and exposed with much abi- ♦♦ lity, and held up to derision by Mr, Sherwoodf *^ and Mr. Boulton; andhis Parliamentary exertions (' were concluded by a scene most inimitably ridi^ <' culous. After all his factious attempts had .been *' frustrated, he exerted himself to compose an ela- " borate harangue on the violence which, according " to him, had been offered to the Constitution, by " the proceedings of the House ; and gave it to one " of his friends to deliver as his own. This Gen- " tleman very deliberately took out his paper ; but " not being a very fluent reader, or not having suf- '' ficiently studied his task, he so mangled the Judg- •' c*s florid language, that after diverting the House '* and the Gallery for a few minuies, at the expence " of himselfand his principal, he was obliged to break " off abruptly, and sit down, to the no small confu* " sion of Mr. Thorpe.'* — Thus far my Friend. Such was the condud of the man, " whose " only objed, according to our Author, appeared " to be the strid and upright discharge of his duty." A duty that ought to have led him to a distance from the Walks of Faction ; and that called upon him most imperiously, to inculcate and enforce subordi- nation and resped to the Government ■ and to sup^ port It by his authority and example. I hfivc eiilarged the rather upon this man's public H 2 conduct m ill ;t' i l! ■■ . V m ii m t 'I t t >■« - :.v,-,i 60 condua, in the hope that His Majesty's Ministers if these Letters should ever come under the eye of any of them, may from this example, become a little more circumspea in their choice of men to fill official Si- tuations in the Colony ; and not throw away high Salaries and important Trusts upon Wretches, whom vanity, or malice, may excite 10 throw it into confa- eion* F m m m 1! m 15i ^E' ■h \§l I k ilir "s II:. 6t SEFENTH LETTER. :l; T HE success of Mr. Thorpe's exertions to ob- tain a seat in the House of Assembly, and his con- duel there. I have related in my preceding Letter. I am now again to follow Mr. Jackson in his desul- tory course. He, with his usual candour, would persuade the Public, that some violent and unwar- rantable means had been resorted to, to restrain the liberty of the Press. But at the time of which he is speaking, there was but one Printing-Press in the Province ; and that w^^s the property of the Govern- ment ; which also allowed the Printer a salary for publishing in a weekly Gazette, Proclamation , and other official Papers. It would certainly have been carrying complaisance a little too far, to have per- mitted this to be made an instrument for promoting the faftious purposes of Mr. Thorpe and his asso- ciates : yet, it cannot be supposed that it was under very striQ controul, when through it, the Public were put in possession of the Address of the Grand- Jury of the District of London to that Gentleman, and his answer. The circumstances under which, what our Au- thor calls an independent Press, was established 5 the person who direfts it, and the m;inner in which it has been condutted, have been already noticed. It /■-Ji! m li'l ',. I i > ti ! iill U ! ill #a ^W: m. t}> It har-indccd ^ produced a great «c|)ostire**^-or the Views of the FaBion of which our Author is so dis- tinguished a Member ; one of which evidently is, by circulating with the aid of this Press, thiough a wi- der range, the vilest calumnies to weaken the ««* ihority of the Goverfiment, and spread dissatisfa^Hon among the people. It is indeed " to be lamented, ** thai such transaftions' as the Meeting at York on the 24ih July, 1807, ^* which Mr. Joseph Stiephar^ pp sided, '' should ever have occurred." Th^ A^^ dress of ihis Meeting to Mr. Thorpe, and hU Ajv» pwe-r, [see 4l>pendix No, IL] as *• exhibited" by thi$ Pres>, I now inclose for your perusal ; and you wiU I dare &ay, admit that they are curiosities of their kind. Such a« I am confident were never before addresscci io, or received from a Judge of His Majesty's Cout^ pi King's Bench, Mr. Jackson has not thought pro* per to give these a place in his Appendix, well awar^ ihat in the opinion of the People of England, they would reflect little honor on the charactei of his lh> xo. — Mr. Thorpe and Mr. VVillcocks seem to have thought so meanlv of the intellects of the good Peo- ple of this Province, as to suppose that they would regard them rather as creditable, ihau disgraceful tp the parties concerned. We have already seen how *^ upright" Mr. Sur- veyor General's conduct was, "and how well calcu- " lated to gain the resped and esteem of all descnp- *« tions of peofile." But it is proper to nonce the circumstance ttf jti^ Mcj^isg^gU.c JPu.r<;hii5^. In the Spring Spring from 1 1 which c LakeC then ta! lines sh of an a Boundi accordi made, 1 more la sketch. Mr. W onal CO additioi an erro the rar 90,000 Conspi( sented vernmc «he add on its was err Of! office, ter. ** high atcs, I ^suio .t'l 6a spring of 1805^ ic WAS deemed expedient co parcf^asf from the Me»dissague Indians, the Tract of Country which extends irom the River Etobicoke to thcHcavl of Lake Ontario. No attual Survey of this Tract had then taken place ; but it was necessary that the out» lines should be sketched, to serve as the foundarioa of an agreement, in which it was requisite that the Boundaries should be designated. Such a sketch was accordingly drav/n; but when the Survey came to be made, it was found that there was nearly 17,000 acres more land than appeared lO be comprehenaed in this sketch. The merit of this discovery is not due to Mr. Wyait, and as soon as it was made, a proporti- onal compensation was given to the Indians for this additional quantity. Ir is nothing extraordinary that an error, even of thiS magnitude, should arise from the random estimate of a Tratt containing nearlj^ 90,000 acres ; but Mr. Jackson, with the malice so conspicuous in every part of his Work, has repre* sented it as a deliberate fraud on the part of the Go* vernment; and has suppressed the circumstance of the additional compensation allowed to the Indians on its becoming apparent, that the original estimate was erroneous. Of iMr Sheriff Willcocks, and his dismissal from office, I have had occasion to speak in a former Let- ter. That *« his conduct merited and received the ** highest commendation" from his factious associ- ates, I can readily believe. Yet ingratitude, and op. iposiiion to benefactors, arc noi usual subjects of commendation P ii 41!' m ■Ml : i ii {'' 'i H ■ I W r \ i /f I* ■^\i 4: .■;i t • .J 1 . I' i\ ,1 m :ii H p. 64 commendation. £very reasonable man must admk that che Government, ought not to brook (he hostility of Its own officers; and, that it has an undoubted right to *' command the support of this, and every ** other office." Mr. Wilfcocks,as we have before stated^ was com- miiied to Prison by the House of Assembly for a li- bel upon that Body, of which he was himself a Mem- ber. This our Author calls an unparalleled perse- cution, and for proof, refers to Mr. Willcocks'sown scurrilous paper, anH gives an extrad from it, in the Appendix. But except the circumstance of the commitment itself, the tale there told, is without any foundation in truth, and like the rest of the tales in this organ of sedition, invented for the purpose of blackening every person, and transattion, likely to check the progress of the fadion. From the narrative which I have already given you of Mr, Thorpe's condud,you will readily believe that It was unnecessary to have recourse to ^' misrepre* •' sfntation*' in order to induce the Secretary of State, to recal that Gentleman. We have clearly seen the *' important and beneficial services, which he and *' his associates were rendering to the Colony, and to '* Great Britain.*' If abusing the influence of their official situations to the purpose of exciting a spirit of jealousy and insubordination among the people; if (.'udeavouring in a manner the most indecent and disorderly, to impel the House of Assembly to the xpusi unconsiiiuiional assumptions of authority ; if representing \\u 65 representing the constitution as tyrannical, and the laws as oppressive, the Government as ignorant and corrupt : if the most unremitted exertions to de- grade and weaken that Government which they were bound by every tie to support j be rendering *' im- *^ portaiit and beneBcial services to the Colony and " to Great Britain,*' then indeed has the conduct of these Gentlemen been eminently meritorious. These indeed are '* not slight imputations." And such con- duct in Surveyors General, Judges and Sheriffs, seems to call for a higher reward, than mere suspensi* on, or removal from office. With respect to the Provincial Ruler, he would have ill deserved the confidence reposed in him, if he had not exerted his authority to check such im- proper and dangerous conduct. And had not the. measures which he adopted for this purpose, received the " sanction" of His Majesty's Ministers, they would have shewn themselves little attentive to the welfare of the Colony. But is it hence to be infer- led, that " the stability of every civil officer's siiuati- *' on rests on the caprice of the person administer- " ing the Colonial Government " — Certainly not. Here, as elsewhere, it depends on their own conduct. He is indeed invested, and as we have seen very pro- perly invested, with power to suspend them from the exercise of their official funtlions, when their misbe> haviour renders such a step necessarv ; but he must immediately state his reasons to His Majesty's Mi- nisters I and take the responsibility upon himself, i whicb 'Ai " \ \ 1 .' ft 1: .f* li SW 66 ■I I r 5 I; 1:11 ill ''H in 1.1' which is too serious a thing lo be encountered fronsi mere caprice*. It is impossible to devise a better checK. U) tht^ abuse of an authority which is absolute- ly necessary ior the support of every Government. Ii would under any iorm, soon sink into insi^nifi«^ cai ce and contempt, if it might be thwarted, braved, and insulted wiiti impunuy by its subordinate of«> ficcrs. The next assertion of our Author " seems indeed to surpass all the former*' in falsehood and shameless cfir.jntery. 1 have already said enough to satisfy you or any candid man, that personal liberiy is as well protected here, as it is m En;>lancl i and arbitrary im- prisonment equallv as impossible. What then are W'c ;o th.nk of the following sentence. •-" On th« *' ocople's declaring their intention lo petition the «•> K riiT for redress of their many grievances, it wai '- publicly declared that anv man should be scni to *' prison who signed any petition or address whaic- " vcr " I would ask Mr Jackson who he means by ///<• PeojiU ? and on what occasion such intenuoty Was dcclareo ? If he speaks of any considerable number of persons assembled for the purpose here stated, I have no hesitation to say that no such as« semblaae ever took place. He possibly might think the people virtually represented by himself, and ex* pressing the pre ominant sentiment of every dema- gogue, would say, I the People. He has not even con(icsccnded to inform u., bv whom this threat of imprisonment was denounced, Yci had such an in- cident Cpl! con I Mr me ofti^ kin; tionl ' arel oui pcrs vol ♦ bee % k 'i / M cident occurred, he would certainly not have lost so fair an occasion of holding up to public derision the simpleton who could be guilty oFsuch impotent bius* tering. But it is not the least extraordinary part of this extraordinary case, that our Author should refer for his proof, to a Letter of his own, «vritien lo Lord Castlereagh, and inserted as a voucher in his Appen- dix, in which he has introduced this aosurd story wirh the qualifying terms " I am given to understand." He has not thought propertoadd by whom, and I am persuaded that the public are indebted for the story to his own imagination. In this famous Letter, the removal of the Lieutenant Governor is insisted on as the gieat remedy for all the dreadful evils under which the Province is represented to groan, and the only thing that can save it from absolute ruin Al- low me to give you my construction of this modest epistle, as it occurred to me on the first perusal, ' I trust your Lordship will place the most implicit ' confidence in the representations of Mr. Thorpe, * Mr. Wyatt& mvself. Though the Governor refused * me a grant of land, suspended Mr. Wyatt from his ' official lundions, and stop'^jed Mr. Thorpe from ma- ' king a further diffusion of his philanthropic insiruc- * tions*.' " I beg you, my Lord, to consider that we " are actuated by no other motive but the good of " our Countrv," * wiihout the slightest tincture of * personal resentment. But really this Governor of ' yours has adopted a very ruinous system, to treat la * it> ♦ bee the Address oJ the Meeting, at which Mr. ShephwA f reiiHe^. ill! I; . \ 1 i'l ,1 I . ii h ,1 )f 'I I: ili i /'' v9 i n • J' in this manner Gentlemen who, in order to give a wide r spread to these benevolent and equalizing principles which have for the last twenty years done so much good in Europe, thought it incumbent on them to oppose his authority both by precept and example, to teach the people under his govern, ment that the Constitution was tyrannical, the Laws oppressive, the Courts of" Justice servile and corrupt ;t that they were suffering hardships while every beneBt was lavished upon them ; that the persons in Administration were without talent, e- ducation, information, or manners, wholly unfit for the improved system introduced by the new School ; that the Government was at its ultimate point of depression,^ and that things would never go weirtill, like their neighbours in the American States.} hey took the entire management of them into their own hands. Ir you do not displace him, the people will imagine that you did not ap. prove these our philanthropic labours ; and our ex. ertions will probably have been thrown away ; which would be an irreparable misfortune to the cause we were so industriously promoting. But if you remove him for presuming to interrupt us in such a laudable course, u will be a warning to all future Governors, and teach them to shew a little more complaisance to the Di iple: and + See the Pamphlet, from page 8 to iz i See Mr Thorpe's Answer to the Address trom the Grand Jury ot ihe Disiriit oi London. i) See the Pamphlet, page 8| and the Letter Ot Mr« jaCKson, in ihe A^f imp the as th sary how< qu Cf t P ot hi %i «9 and Paine, when they come dressed in fhe garb of office. It will besides, shew the Colo:ji>is iliat they, and not he, are to be looked up to wuh defe- rence and resped. Asforoiiicial documenis, pa/ no attention to them ; they are wholly unwoiihy ' of credit, Evt-ry body, except ourselves, is btnt to deceive you. If the Governor telb you that the people are peaceable and loyal, do not believe him ; for notwithstanding the foolish sentiments of t^raiitude, and old habits, which incline them so to be ; It IS impossible that the pains we have taken lo give ihem a contrary bias, can have been thrown away !' So far my paraphrase ; which is more appropriate to the sentiments of the Author, than ihe language which he has thought proper to adopt. But to return from the Appendix to the body of the Work, After the bouncing Story of the petitioning and impri^oniTient, our Au' nor proceeds to recd;juu!.ite the points which he professes to have proved ; but as the^e have been already di^u.sed, it i> u^nece^- sary to go over them again. The following passage however, contain^ a new charge, and therefore re- quires to be noticed " Provi;.ions, Lloathing, far- '* ming>;iiensil.s, andevery Article that the country *' did not produce, necessary for erediiig Hou es " and Mill , was sent to establih the comfort of the " poor Refugee ; but used for ihe accommodation • oi the rich Favorite ; or from neglect, rendered **. Useless,*' — Let It be remembered that ih 'poor «' KciUjjces,*' ii ' I, I!' I: •:^ /■hi 1: • - ^0 *■ Refugees," as our Author is pleased! to call them^ were settled in this Province in the year 784, at which time such articles as are here enumerated, were distributed among them ; and they neither required, nor expected Further aid of this kind. In 1792, a quantity of cloathing, farming utensils, and materials for building, were sent out from England, in the Myrtle, and Ann, for the use of sundry per- sons who came passengers on board the^e Ships, under the name of American Loyalists, with orders for them to be distributed to them upon their set- tling the Lands wiiich were to be assigned them. This was complied with in every instance where the Party occupied the Lands assigned him. And this is the only case in which there has been any order for the distribution of Articles of this description, since U})per-Cfmada became a separate Province. T e i'ubl'c Sores winch were seni iroin England by the Scipio, and Herkimer, in the same year, ivcc t)[ uc I in igii;iude thai Lieut GoV(;rnor SirU- coe did not think proper to take upon himself the responsihilitv of their diirihution, otherwise ihan by ordering tlie issue of uch a were required for the Public Service. Tht* further di tributioii of t ^*sc Store-, consequently waited the orders of lis Majesty's Ministers, and no such orders iiaving been received, succeeding Governors have thought proper to adopt the same conduct with regard to tlicm which was held by Geneval Simcoe ; anci m ccnsc^uence, many of these Ariicics umjmi m. *iie Government ii 3F* Government Store- House at York. Mill-Stones, Miu-lron^, and several other valuable articles have been is:>ued from time ro time, under the orders of the Persons administering the Government, to sun- dry persons upon ih^ir entering into an obligation to return articles of equal quality, or to pay the a- mount when demanded. — These I presume, are the " Rich Favourites" alluded to by our Author : but of such articles, the " Poor4cendai]ts, was onceinhdbited by the Jndini Tribes and theirpro- genitors ; that fhey have been dispossessed of it, by means not always justifiable, and th,it m>»nv of (he settlements in this Province, are in contatl wirh these fierce Children of Nature; weseembounahotli in honour and interest, to culuvate a friendly in- tercourse with them, and in so ne measure, to contri- bute to their support. Agents, Interpreters, and Store-Keepers, are necessary for this purpose ; and they compose what iscalled the Indian department; a i^eparlmeni co-eval with our establishments in North America, and necessarily arising out of the siiuition of these est iblislunents — How this Oe- partmenr. through which the bounty of the Govern- ment lb conveyed to the Jndian Nations, siiould " become •« cc ^ become an instrument to injure and disaffeft «« them,*' is not ea$y to imagine ; as it is obviously the interest of the persons employed therein, to re- commend themselves to their favour. To assert that, « the Articles sent as Presents to the Indians, •< are of such inferior quality, that they are almost « worthless," is, in the phraseology of the Indians^ •o say the thing that is not. They are generally as good as articles of the same denomination imports cd for the purposes of trade ; but were it otherwise, no blame is, on this account, to be imputed to the Colonial Government, or the Indian Department, who have only to distribute such articles as are sent them from England for this purpose. In making this distribution, it would create considerable ex^ pence to send the articles to the Indians at a dis* tance ; but to them it is no inconvenience to be an* Dually convened, at the principal Posts, to receive these Presents which they have long been accustom- ed to consider as pledges of friendship. The parade with which it is attended in such places, is also im- posing ; and the opportunity is usually improved to fevive and strengthen among these various Tribes^ by appropriate Addresses, sentiments of respeQ and friendship for the British Government. The pub* licity of this distribution, v^ould also check partia>» litv in the Agents, if any should exist ; but neither their interest nor their comfort, could be promoted by keeping any of the Indians unnecessarily about Ihem, Mr. Jackson however^ would make us be« K licvc^ ini ;l 11 V> f' III*' •fi 11 lieve, that they kept all *' the youwg inda£live** coni stanily about them. Foguard agi^Mt the abuse of im« providently bartering away their Presents, there is a Law which subjefts to fine and imprisonment " any ** person who shall purchaj»e or receive in pledge ** or barter, any Clothes, Blankets, Department must also be considered as in part connected with the defence of the Country, and as such, used formerly to be wholly under the di- reclion of the Commander in Chief. During the Administration of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe, His Majesty's Ministers thought proper to subjeft it to the management of the Lieut. Governor of the Province, and so it has continued since, subject ne- vertheless to the "special controul of the Governor Cenernl. The incorreft and narrow view which our Au* tbor has taken of the subjeft. as a question of Poli- cy, has been suggested by the peculiar circumstan^ ces of the remnant of the Six Nation Indians whd are settled in the DistriQ of Niagara ; which, were it just as far as it relates to them, would be very er- roneous with respe6l to the Western Indians, whose situation is widely different. The first are inconsi- derable in point of number, and reside on a narrow TvA^ of Country, infer" ixed with and encompassed dn all sides by white Inhabitants, with whose man^ Her they ire familiarized ; the others composed of numerous Tribes, roving through their native and extensive 5qui acki out the 41 -^.^y 75 exten^ve Forests, and little acquainted v/hh arijjF white men, except the Traders who advcmuro 2« mong them, and the Agents and Interpreters through "whom f he Government holds intercourse vvith then' The Speeches which our Author has thought pro- per to publish in his Appendix, concern merely the abovementioned remnant of the Six-Nations, and originate wholly from petty cabals among them* selves, in which however, as in every thing ehe that afforded them a prospeft of doing mischief, Mr. Thorpe and Mr Wyatt thought proper to inter- meddle. To enter into a minute detail of these^ would be tedious and uninteresting. But a sketch of the prominent circumstances, will probably be not unacceptable to you. In the year 17849 General Haldimand then Go» vernor and Commander in Chief, assigned to the Mohawks and other Indians of the Six-Nations, who bad been obliged to abandon their native Seats in consequence of the American War, a Tra6t of Land which he had purchased from the Messissague Indi- ans, as a place of residence to them and their poste- rity ; which he afterwards confirmed to them by a for- mal Grant. — This Trad, is situated on both sides of a River called the Grand-River, which discharges it- self into Lake Erie, and comprehends about 10 2^* squaremiles. This they accepted with the most graceful acknowledgement, & occupied for several years with- out any idea of disposing of any part of it. From the wide range which was afterwards opened lor «he K a 60itiemenf III 7« iii.i HI ) ■ V settlement of tlic Country by Lieut. Gov. Simcoe^ Establishments came to be formed beyond this grant of Gen. Haldimand's to the Indians. Speculations in Land were at this time engaged in with great avi« diiy by monied men in the United States, and the in- fection spread to this Province. The Indian Tra61, being fertile and pleasantly situated, soon attracted the notice, and excited the cupidity of Speculators. They contrived to interest Captain Brant, by allow* ing him to participate in their profits. Through their suggestions. Councils were called ; and, by the in« lluence of Captain Brant, the Indians were induced to make formal applications to Government to sanc- tion the sale of a considerable portion of this Tra6L That the Government should hesitate at so novel a request, and pause upon the expediency of allowing this Land to be applied to a purpose so foreign to its original destination, will not be matter of surprize* Oui author says it was ^' because it would stop pa- tronage and plunder.*' But he has not condescend- ed to explain, and I have not ingenuity enough to discover, how these are at all conne6led with the question. IF at all conneded, the permission to ' sell would seem to be rather more favorable to pa- tronage, than a refusal. Be that however, as such wise heads as Mr. Jackson's may determine. The Government finally complied on condition that the money arising from the sale, should be vested in Trustees, to form a permanent Fund, of which the Indians were annually to receive the interest. It was ft wfts obviously the wisest course for'tlie Trustees t#' vest thi$ money in the £nglish Funds. Bu some time must necessarily elapse in remitting Home the money, and purchasing Stock ; and the Indians liuie acquainted with business of this nature, and nor un- derstanding the superior Security of the Funds, would see in this measure only a delay, and a dimi- nution of Interest not favorable to their present ad^ vantage. Another circumstance which occasioned no small stir among these Indians, was the rank and infljence that a Mr. Norton, was to have among them. This man, a native of Scotland, had been a private soldier ' in one of the Regiments in Canada, from which ha* ving obtained his discharge, he went to seek distin6H-> on among the Indians. He adopted in every parti* < cuiar their dress, and manners, and having some edu- cation and great industry, he in a few years became master of their language, and was known among ihem by the name of Teyorinhokarawen. After beco* ming perfetily accomplished as an Indian, this man was prompted to pay a visit to London, where he passed for a native Indian ; was regarded as a piodi- gy ; and overwhelmed by the Nobility and Gentry with caresses, and presents.-^On his return, he thought himself entitled to assume the charatter of an Indian Chief. — His pretensions were supported by Capt. Brant, and some others ; but opposed by a great part of the Indians, and not admitted by the A* gent« Mr, Thorpci and Mr. Wyatt, thought proper to ) m i \1' ;8 "■■it H It (Ml 111 ■ 1 tb countenance tTie opposition to the Superinfendartt, and Mr. Jackson has heen at the pains to publish Mr. Bran»*s Oration.v* on the occasion, to support his genera! assertion, that " the Indian Department ^' was become an instrument to injure and disafFe£l *' the Indians.** Thf Indian Tribes, even those who live in the mid&t of our setilemenrs, have always been treated hy the British Government, as independent Nations; and not considered as subject to our municipal Laws, except in the case of a Murder committed upon a v^hite man. No race of men are more impatient of contruul, or more tenacious of personal and national independence. Any interference with these, they would consider as the highest " injury'* ; and such interference would indeed tend to " disafFed them" cfFfdually. Yet both must be greatly abridged be- fore much good can be expeded from any attempts to civilize ihem. While they continue free from the res'rainis of civil life, any endeavor to confer its advantages upon them will be vain. It may corrupt, but will not reclaim them The Indian, free from the controul of our Laws, becomes depraved rather than civilized, by an acquaintance with our arts and manners. He loses what was estimable in the Sa- vage, and has no check to the coriupiions of the civilized man. And it is abundantly confirmed by experience, that those are not the most estimable a- mong the Indians, who have had most intercourse with the Whites,even where some degrceofeducai ion * The originili have been seen in the Hand Writiiig of Mr. Weekcsj io Mr. Norton's pos^cs&ion. 79^ has been superadded. To have the property which they now hold in common, divided, and distributed among them individually with a right of alienation ^ would be, in efFed, to oiFer such Lands as a premi- um to low and interested people, to encourage and minister to their intemperance and other degrading vices. The idea of subjeding them to military re- straint and subordination, is too extravagant to claint a moment's attention, except from these visionaries who think that the habits and feelings of men can be moulded to their views, like wax under the plastic hand of the artist. If this idea be confined to those Indians only, who are comprehended within our set* tiements ; their numbers thus arrayed, would make no very formidable addition to our military force* Yet even they would spurn at any such attempt. As for the other much more numerous and formidable class, I would advise any man who would undertake to make them such a proposal, to keep well out of the reach of their Spears and Tomahawks. Were it pra61icable to civilize the Indians, as some men of wiser heads and better hearts than our Au* thor have supposed, the ' Fur Trade would, I alloW| be comparatively a matter of very inferior regard. It is obvious however, that the avocations of civil life are incompatible with the Hunter state ; and that the latter must decline in proportion to the progress of the former. Yet Mr. Jackson holds out the con- tinuance, and increase of ihi.1 trade, as a motive for ^' ilizing the Indians. But his specuUiions are 'J.c-^ loerally of a peculiar cast, Ouc Hi 8» Ilij I if Our Author's spleen isnext vented against the Ma« fine Departmen*, '^ whicn he says, was established m " the infam state of the Province, because there were *' no roads of commurjicaiion. Mow to uphold and *^ '4ive a semblance for this expence, scarcely a pass* " able road has been made. The system is to *( prevent great and general roads, for that would '* render the Marine unnecessary.*' That the cheap and expeditious mode of conveyance by water should be abandoned for the tedious and expensive transport by land, is a scheme that would do honor to the Sa- ges of Gulliver's flying Ifland. A barrel of flour is conveyed by water from Niagara to Kingston, for two shillings; and from Kingston ro Montreal for a« bout 3s. 3d. To convey the same article over the Niagara Carrying Place, a distance often miles, costs eleven pence ; and from La Chine to Montreal, which is not quite eight miles over a turnpike road, ihe price is a shilling. The distance from Niagara to Montreal bv land, exceeds four hundred miles, and in the same proportion the transport by land Would exceed forty two shillings, which isconsidcrably inore than a barrel ot flour is usually worth in the Market. And besides, all the cattle and carriages in the country would not suffice to transport the quan- tity oi flour, pork, and pot afhes, which is annually sent out of the Province, supposing it possible that they could be wholly orcupted in 'his business. This inav suffice for our Author's theory ^ let us now con^ fiidcr his facts, ! Thp Thp The Marine Department on the Lakes was eslab* lished at the commencement of ihe American War^ long before the settlement of this Province, and is one of the principal military defences of the coun- try. For this purpose it is supported. The neces- sary transport of stores for the different Posts could certainly be done much cheaper by employing pri- vate vessels, which are now numerous. But as the Government must have armed vessels, they are of course employed in this business. As to the viduaU ling of the troops, that has always been done from the Settlements contiguous to the respeBive Posts, as far as these settlements could furnish the necessary supplies ; with the double view of encouraging the a* griculture of the Province, and saving expence to the United Kingdom. The Provincial Government derive no patronage whatever from the Marine De- partment, which is wholly under the direction of the Commander in Chief. To the Author's story respe6ling the Townships of Dearham and Norwich, I can give the most posi- tive contradidion. They were indeed sold in ihe Council-Room ; for there sealed offers from those who wished to purchase, were to be lodged ; and there the lands were assigned to the highest bidder, agree- ably to the tenor of the advertisement previously published in the Gazette for several months. The principal purchasers were, the Hon. Robert Hamil- to'i. the Rev. Mr. Addison, and^ William Willcocka £'>q. Geiulcmea wholly unconneded with the Go-^ L vernmeni^ ; II' ts \ iK I f f: vernment. The sale took place eleven years ago, Whe.i frotn the great scarcity of money, and great plenty of land, the price offered would naturally be low for such a quantity held up for immediate sale. A pan of these lands has been sold within a few months, at private sale, for half a dollar per acre ; a certain proof that their value could not have been estimated very highly at the time of the sale made of them by the Government. They produced however ^.3r62 5^. which wa^ applied principally in opening a road from the town of York to the Head of the Bay of Q.iiniy, a distance of about loo miles, A copy of the Conirad [See Ap/tendix No. III.] for making this Road, I inclose for your perusal, toge- ther with some correspondence [See Appendix ISfo, jr.] with the Governinenr in 1803, respetting thi« Road ; and yon will from thence jndge of the reli- ance to be placed on the iniormation and veracitv of a man, who does not scruple to assert, that '• the mo- " ney arivsing from the sale of these Townships has '* not been heard of, nor any Road established from *' its expenditure." Bv the Laws of the Province, every Householder or Freeholder, is liable to work from 6 fo 12,- days on t)v. Public Roads, and the Legislature have, at difr ff ). ni iimes, granted the sum of eight thousand three h iil'^t' 1 nonnis* for opening and reuatring High ♦ iti iS:)4 1S06 £ 1600 - "^ .5' 18.8 16^0 1809 1810 1600 23-0 for a Bridge over the Gitni Rkwv, 2<^o tur the same. • • 2000 £.%ioo 83 Ways and building Bridges, to sav nothing of the sums which have been occasionally applied to liiis obje£i frontj the Funds of several of the Districts. If therefore the Roads are not good in some pans of the Province, it must be ascribed to the situation of the country where, what our Author calls, the great and general Roads are, in several parts, interrupted by Indian Reserves, or tracts too thinly peopled td furnish the necessary labour for removing the ob- structions occasioned by the winds and luxuriant ve" getaiion, and repairing the damages done by the rams and floods ; and not to the want of attention or zeal ei her in the Executive Government or the Legifla* ture, who have done every thing that was practicable towards imi-^roving the Roads. *^ A most valuable and praQicable scheme for " makmg Roads througliout the Province, was «' (says our Author) proposed last year to ihe House " of Assembly, bat was defeated." This I presume allules to a Bill of Mr. Thorpe's on the subject of Roads, which was " defeated" by its own absurdity. Tniu^h he bestowed much labour upon it, he could never reduce it to any " practicable'* form. A man may declaim in high sounding phrases wiihout bCing much burthcned with judgement, or pra6lical know- ledge. ArnorMi the other random charges it is stated, ** that there is not a Fair or a Market established," Now so early as the administration of Lieutenant (lOvernur Simcoe^ an annual Fair was esiablishe .VI VG thus discussed with Mr. Jackson the state of the Colony, under the various heads of its Constitution and Law^s, the Administration of ]us-* ticc, and the other Establishments and Departments connedled with the Government of it ; and also such Public Transactions as he has (hought proper to no- tice ; and I trust satisBed you, that he has been guilty of the grossest misrepresentations, both of persons and things. Let us look a little at its Commercial situation and prospects, without giving the rein to fancy quite so much as our Author has done. This Colony owes its origin to nobler motives than views of commercial advantage ; namely, to Nation- al Justice and Gratitude, exeited in providing for a meritorious and unfortunate class of sut)jects. I mean not however, hence to infer, that its commerce is not an object of importance both to its own pros* perity and its value to the United Kingdom. Whatever mineral treasures it may be supposed to poi^sess, few or no discoveries of this kind of any con- sequence, have yet been made; and from the want of capital, and the high price of labour, could be of no present advantage if they had. There is but one in- considerable Iron-work in the Province, for even Iron can be imported cheaper than it can be manufac* lured. ' ! ill- If I id ' tured. Leaving therefore to posterity to exploie'hese hidden sources of wealth, our presenr commercial speculations must be confine'd to ouf provisions pot- ashes, and timber. I do not mention the fur trale, bfcau>.e it existed long before the settlement of this Province, a«id has been diminished rather .than prOi- moied by such settlement, and is still principally car- ried on from Lower Canada. The Lakes and River St. Lawrence, furnish the means of transporting with great facility these bulky aricles to the sea ports of Lo\ver Canada, and some improvements have bec|^ made in the rapid and shallow parts of this noble ri- ver, lo render its navigation more easv. In the first years after the settlement of the colony, every atten- tion was paid by the Government to encourage the exertions of the Colonists, by purchasing for the use of liic Troops, at a price much above what they could have obtained m the markets of Lower Canada, all the flour, pork and peas they had to spare, as far as the consumption of their military establishments ex- tended. Wien this was provided for, and there was a surplus for exportation, thev were accommodated with transport in the King's vessels and boats, ai lit* tie ornoexpence, until after other means of convey- ance were sufficiently multiplied. Our exports of provisions will of course increase with the increasing population of the country ; and our Forests afford a supply of timber for ship building and o her necessa- ry purposes, that will not soon be exhausted. This article, valuable in itself, is sometimes made a vehi- cle C\t U «7 <{le for tbe transport of others* and w« not unfre^ quently see wheat, Aour, and poi aihes convey ei to M chased and sent over, which was however always spoiled before it reached this country ; and persons supposed to be skilled in the culture and preparation of it, have been sent out to make essays, the results of which have not becxi very flattering. The subject haa been strongly urged upon the Government of this Colony, and the Legislature has cordially co-opera- ted in protnoiing their views. In 1801 £'2^0 was granted for the purchase of seed, and.. a person dis- patched to the American States to procure it, and 4^-^00 appropriated xo he paid in preouum^ tp the growers :l 88 |f w .11 ; growers of hemp, leaving (hem to get besides, the best price torihe article in the market. In 1803 and 1^04 some parcels, the growh ol the Western Distiict, were shipped to London by some of the Mercan ile Gentlemen of Sandwich in that Di../> {./ /. < - IM == 156 111 r.r. I.I 1.25 IM |||||Z2 1^ Hi 2.0 lU iiiiim 1.4 1.6 V] /J /: y /A Photographic Sdences Corporation •NJ \ iV :\ \ y 4^\ € 0^ 23 WEST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIR.N.Y. 14S80 (716) 673-4503 90 J:. mi m m Oiral Society, is not obvious ; and at all events, the couiury IS yet too young for such Societies. That class of men who have time and money to devote to sucli public spirited instituiions, is not yei sufficienily nameroQs ; and there could be liitle scope for the improvemencs which such a SjCtCty might suggest, in a country where ihc best cultivated grounds are hard* ly yet cleared of their timber ; where labour is more requieiie than skill ; and where the cultivator having no rents to pay, is not urged by necessity to change his accustomed modes of tillage, for others held out to hi.n as more produttive. A Society under this name, was formed many years ago in the Distrid of Niagara, and exists ihere still, tor convivial purpo. ses ; but has always been compleatly inethcient as to the professed object of its initituiion. An Agricul- tural Society was also formed many years ago in Lower Canada, under the patronage of Lord Dor- C!K i>t.r ; but alter a year or two, their meetings were discominued, and the Society was heard of no more. It is not surprising therefore, that the one formed un- der the auspices of Mr Fhorpe should fail. And it is unjust to ascribe its failure to the interference of Covernnit-nt. Ii certainly met with no opposition ; for though some jealousy may have been entertained re- specting^ the views ol its founder; many of the most respectable names in the Province were enrolled as its members. How it was to be concerned in the sto- rage of (lour, it is not easy to comprehend, unless it became a Trading Company. .Id- '^*^.^.,,yy/' 91 ts, the That vote to ciently For the gest, in e hard- s more having change eld out der ihis striti of purpo. ;nt as to ^gricul- s ago in d Dor- igs were o more, med un- And it rence of ion ; tor lined re- he most oiled as the sto- jnless it I do not mean to say that the Colony is not sus- ceptihle of grea^ improvements; but these can oaly be the work of time, and must result from an increase of population and Capital. There is certainly no- thing m the construdion or administration of us Go* vernmcnt to retard, but much lo promote this pro- gress; and when it is considered, that twenty-six years ago, the whole country was a wilderness, it will be matter of surprize, that so much has been already done, rather than that we are not yet in possession of all the facilities of communication, and other advan- tages of an old and populous Country. I have been a resident in this country before there was a human habitation within the limits of what is now the Province of Upper Canada, except the moveable hut of the wandering Savage, or the solita- ry establishment of the Trader in Furs, I have seen this wilderness in the course of a few years, convert- ed into fruitful Belds, and covered with comfortable habitations. I see around me thousands, who with- out any other funds than their personal labour, began to denude the soil of its primaeval forests, in posses- sion of extensive and well cultivated farms, and a- bounding in all the substantial comforts of life. I .see this property unincumbered with feudal burdens, undiminished by quit-rents or taxes, guarded by the wisest laws, equally and impartially administered. I see the proprietor himself protected from vexatious arrfst or arbi'rary imprisonment. I have seen the benevolent intentions of the British Government to- M a wards 1 ! ^% . /I;"<;^ H it u'i !!■• 1^^ Ifif'i I » ( 9^ wards the Colony, exemplified in every measure that could tend to promote its prosperity ;and crowned, by imparling to it, its own unrivalled constitution, as far as it was practicable to impart it to a dependant Province. I have seen the foundations laid of in- stitutions and establifhments for the promoting of knowledge, and diffusing religious instruction, which however weak and humble in their present state, will *' grow" " with our growth, and strengthen with our ** strength." This is a scene on which the benevolent mind must dwell with peculiar complacency ; and a- midst the cares and toils of his eventful Reign, it must gladden the heart of our venerable Sovereign to know, that his paternal care of his loyal Americati subjects, settled in this remote corner of his Empire, has been crowned with such compleat success. It is indeed proper that inquiry should be occasionally instituted by the Imperial Government into the state of us distant dependencies. But if their importance were estimated by the relative portion of happiness they afforded to their respective inhabitants, they would find none among them of greater value than Upoer Canada. If fadion, like jealousy, did not " make the food " it feeds on," this country would afford little scope for the seditious exertions of a Weekcs, a Thorpe, a Jacksoi*, or a Willcocks. Let it not be supposed hoyvevcr, that the inflaence of these worthies is very eximsivc. In every society there will unfortunately be some discontented spirits, who are not to be satis- lied n re that )wned9 tutioii) ehdant of in- ing of which te, will ith our :volent and a- it must ign to lericati Impirc, It is ionally le state )rtance ppiness s, they ic than le food : scope orpe, a pposed IS very jnately e satis- lied fied with any possible state of things. But the ^oi sense and loyalty of the people ar large, are not to be imposed upon, or fhaken by their false assertions, or malicious misrepresentations. You may pretty well appreciate the value of Mr. Jackson's investigations from these Letters. The in- closed transcript from the proceedings of the House of Assembly, [See Appendix No. r.] will shew you the estimation in which his Pamphlet is held here. Even Mr. Willcocks himself, stood aghast at its im- pudent falsehoods, and however reluctantly, added his voice to that of the other Representaiives of the People, to stigmatize it as a false, scandalous, and seditious libel. Could it indeed be true that, after all the Benefits conferred upon them, the people of this Colony " viewed with delight the prospect of '' hostilities with America, in the hope of being freed " from the Government of Great Britain,*' they must be Monsters of ingratitude, the veriest Out- casts of human nature. APPENDIX. I! i-- 1^ Mi 95 APPENDIX. No. I. The following Address and Answer^ are copied from the U/i/ier Canada Gazette oj the 2^th October^ 1806. To THE Honorable Mr. Justice THORPE* w. E the Grand Jury of the Distrit'l of London, request your acceptance of our warmest thanks for your excellent Charge to us at this Assizes. We re- tain Its impressions as a lesson of advantage to our« selves and of benefit to the Public, and we flatter ourselves that in adhering to its import, party animo- sity will, throughout this Disiritt, yield to a general desire of social order and public tranquillity. It has afforded us infinite pleasure to observe, in the exer- cise o\ your high and important authority, that the charader of the Judge suffers no abasement trom an amenity of manners ; and that the soothing monition of the Court produces a more sudden effett in recon-* citing the differences of the Community, than a ri> gorous application of the Law, or crude and ill di- gested efforts, to inflid an exemplary puniflimenr. We learn with much gratification that our Sovereiga has been pleased to appoint a Civil Governor to this Province, an(i we hope under his Administration^ such change of measures will take place, as may tend to bury in oblivion the remembrance of proceedings, heretofore san6tioned by authority, and yet no less derogatory to the prerogative of the Crown than in- vasive of the privileges of the Subjcd. We entreat yon VU'.-V*!-^ ••*) /( ■n t , ( ■ l ... » §6 you to lay before his Excellency such of those AQ» as have come within your knowledge, wiih our earn- est expectations that on his Excellency s considerati- on of them, [uscice will extend its influence pure and unmixed even to this remote part of his Majesty's dominions, and that all descriptions of his People will impartially enjoy the vigor and perfedion ot a happy Constitution. We beg you «vill also accept of o'lr warmest wishes for your health, and safe rc- lurn to voiir family. We have the honor to bCj your Honor's most; obedient and verv humble Servants, In behalr of the Grand Jury, (Signed) JONATHAN WILLIAMS^ Grand |uiv Room, 17th > Foreman. September, 1806 To the GRAND JURY of the LONDON DIS^ IRICT. Gentlemen, T X O be the humble instrument of restoring harnio-- Hy and happiness to your Disirid, is an excess of graufication. The art of governing is a difficult science, know- ledge 13 not intuitive, and the days of inspiration have pa sed awav ; therefore, when there was neither ta- lent, education, informaiion, or even manner in the administration, little could be expetted, and nothing Ivas produced ; but there is an ultimate poin- of de- pression as well as of exaltation, from whence all hu- man affairs naturally advance, or recede, therefore proportionate to your depression, we may expetl your progress in prosperity will advance with acce* lerated velocity. ' I shall lay before the Governor every thin<» you i desire^ ft 1 1 i" . , .i \ If osc A 61a lii t^arn- sideraii- >urc and laj est y's People on o\ a ) accept safe re« lAMSg / DIS^ harmo*' icess of know- on have iher la- r in (he nothing . of de- all hu- lerefore expetl b acce* I n ^ too No. III. * 1 if . !l" ' I T HIS Agreement made at York, in the Home District of the Province of Upper Canada, ihis thir- teenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand feven hundred and ninety-nine, and in the thirty ninth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, King of Great Britain, &c. be- tween John Small of the said Town of York, Esqr, ClerK of His Majesty's Executive Council, for that purpose authorized and appointed by and on the pan and behalf of the Government of the said Pro- vmce, and Asa Danforth, of the Township of Hal- dimand, in the Home Distri6l of the said Province, WITNESSETH, That the said Asa Danforth for himself, his Executors, Administrators and AfTigns, for the consideration hereinafter mentioned, to be paid by the said John Small, his Executors, Admi- nistrators, or Aftigns, hath covenanted, promised and agreed, and doth hereby covenant, promise and agree to and with the^aid John Small, his Executors, Ad- ministrators and Afligns, that he the said Asa Dan- forth, his Executors, Administrators, or Afligns, shall and will lay open and clear of obstruction or impe- diment, a road or common highway in manner and form herein aFter described, as the same shall be sur. veyed, traced, and marked by and at the expence of the Government of the said Province, from the said Town of York, in the said Distri6l, to the mouth of the Rivei Trent, in or near the Bay of Qumty, in the County of Northumberland, and Midland Dis- trid of the^aid Province: And that the said Asa Danforth, his Executors, Administrators, or Afligns, fhall and will make, construd, build, and completely finish, after the msinner herein alter mentioned) brid- ges ( i6i le Home ihis ihir- ^ord one nd in the gn Lord &c. be- k, Esqr. • for that d on the aid Pro- of HaU rovince, forth for Afligns, I, to be s, Admi- lised and nd agree )rs, Ad- .sa Dan- rns, shall >r impe- iner and I be sur- 3ence of the said louth of uiuy, in nd Dis- iid Asa Adigns, nplciely :d) brid- ges gcs over all and every the creeks and water courses" Crf>ssini; the same, or wheresoever it may be (lecessa- ry for perfecting and compleating the said road or common high way ; so that the same shall be free for the passing and re?»assing of all and every His Ma- jesty's liege subjects, with their cattle and carriages^ to aari from the saidTov/n of York, to the said River Trent, goinj^ and coming, on or before the first day of July, which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred. And the said Asa Danforth doth for himself, his Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, further co- venant, promise and agree to and with the said John Small, his Executors, Administrators and Assigfjs, that the said road or comvnon high way shall be open- ed and cleared, throughout, thirty-three feet wide, and (hat sixteen feet and an half of the said thirty- three feet, shall be cut smooth and even with tne ground, and as nearly equidistant from the sides of the said road as circumstances and the nature ot the ground will allow : And that the bridges to be built over all and every the creeks and water courses cros- sing the said road, or wheresoever the perfecting and compleafing the said road may require them, and the causeways where necessary, shall be sound and sub- stantial, with their abutments and string-pieces high enough to prevent the water taking off the covering : And that the said bridges and causeways shall be sixteen feet and an half wide : And thai all precipi- ces, steeps, and sudden descents, at or leading to creeks, water courses, ravines, or hollow places, shall be made safe, gradual and easy ; and of sufficient breadth for a sleigh or carriage to pass. And the said Asa Danforth doth for himself, his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, covenant^ pr(jmise and agree to and with the said John Small, his Executorsj Administrators and assigns, that the «aid Il- loa ii ,' '■■.rr }'■'■' * ■up ' ■ f ■( ■' ,i i : ) "i ' lil , s»\^ road, bridges, and causeways, lying and being be^ tw en rhe said Town of York and Smith's Creek, in the Township of Hope, shall be compleated in man- ner and torni as above mentioned, so that all His Majesty's liege subjetts shall and may pass and re- pass with their cattle and carriages, on or before the first day of January next, which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred. And the said John Small for himself, his Execu- tors, Administrators, and Assigns, doih hereby un- dertake, promise, anH agree to pay 'o the said Asa Danforth, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, for cutting and clearing the said road, and making bridges and causeways in manner aforesaid, the sum pf twenty twadollars and an half (being equal to five pounds twf^lve shillings and six pence, lawful money of this Province) for every twenty chains of road; (being after the rate or proportion of twenty-two dollars and an half for an acre) and that when the said Asa Danforth hath cleared and compleated with bridges and causeways, in manner aforesaid, a dis- tance of ten miles, and the same shall be inspected and approved by a person nominated and paid by and on the part of the Executive Government of ihe said Province, the said John SmaU, his Executors, Ad- ministrators, or Assigns, shall and will pay to the said Asa Danfonh, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, for five miles of the said road, at and alter the said rate and proportion ol iweniy-iwo dollars and an half for twcniy chains. And ihat when iwcn- ty miles shall have been coniwleaied with brid^^es and catibeways as aforesaid, and inspected atwi approved as aforesaid, he the said John Small, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, shall and will pay the said Asa Danforth, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, for ten miles of the said road, at and after the rate and proportion afore&^id : And ihat when the said (i v^ "■fr / 103 ing be-* eek, in 1 man- all His md re- ore the he year Execu- :by un- lid Asa VssignS) making he sum I to five money if road ; nty-two hen the led with a dis- ced and and on ne said rs, Ad- to the uors, or id alter dollars n iwt;!i- _^es and ) proved xmors, pay the tors, or [id atter hen the said said road with bridges and causeways as aforesaicfy shall be opened and compleattd from the said Town of York to Smith's Creek, as aforesaid, he the said John Small, his Executors, Administrators, or As- si>^ns, shall and will pay to the said Asa Danforth, his Executors, Administrators, or Assigns, such a sum of money as one half of the said distance shall amount to, at and after the rate or proportion of twenty-two dollars and an half for twenty chains as aforesaid. And for the true and faithful performance of this Agreement, respectively, the said John Small, and Asa Danforth do hereby bind themselves, their Exe- cutors, Administrators, and Assigns, each to the other, in the penal sum of five thousand poundsg Provincial Currency, firmly by these presents. (Signed) ASA DANFORTH, ( L. S.) (Signed) JOHN SMALL, (L. S.J In Witness whereof, the said Parties have hereunto fet their Hands and Seals the day and year above written, and deli- vered the same in the presence of (Signed) ALEXr. Mc. NABB. (A true Copy.) JOHN SMALL, Clerk ol the Executive CounciL. No. IV. The following observations on the Road, opened by Dan* forth, were addressed to Lieut, Governor Hunter^ In answer to some Inquiries made by him respecting It, F ROM York to the River Rouge, 18 miles, the Road is very good. The Bridge over ibis River is id4 It in verv baKf order, and there is a hill on each side> that it is difficult to get up and down with a C^r- ri^ge. From hence to the settlemenis in the Town- «hij3 of Hope is 40 miles. In this space there is ^ considerable quantity of fallen Ti )iber, which has been acrumulaiing since the Road was first opened, and in two or three places the l^oad is entirely fil- led up with Trees, which the Settlers have cut down without deigning to clear a passage through tiiem, in some places 100, the small Brush and Brambles fjave grown up so much, as almost to make it im- pas^able. One or two Bridges have been carried away, and in so ne places, Causeways will be want- ed. When you come to the Township of Hope, the Inhabitants are sufficiently numerous to keep the Roads in good repair, and you have a • good travel- ling from thence to Kingston, as you generally meet with in other parts of the Province. My experience leads me to believe that an active and intelligerrt Overseer,' would make all the ncce^-sary repairs, and remove the obstrutlion^ for a Sum not exceeding fifty Pounds, except the Bridge over the River Rouge, which would alone require that sum or more. March, 1803. To the above, the following answer was given by f ieut. Col. Green, the Governor's Secretary. (« I H ^ VE the pleasure to inform you, that the Lt. ** Governor having, had under consideration, your *' remarks on the Road to Kingston, has given di- •* region for making the comm inication in ques- •* tion, passable. S ;iiih the Carprnier is employ- ** ed t« build a Bridge over the River Kouge.'* [A ,►'. .,4 VI. * It * -''"V, to5 a Chf- ' Fown- ere is ^ ich has opened, rely fiU Lit down b them, rambles ; it im- carried e want- ope, the eep the travel* 11 y meet )erience elligeiH iirs, and ceeding Kiver sum or 1803. iven by etary. L the Lt. )n, your iven di- n ques- leniploy- f#BMl»i^y.«r^-. No. V. ExtraB from the minutes of the proceedings in the House of Assembly^ loth March^ 1810. T HE House went into the order of the day Tor taking into conideration a motion made yesterd ly by Mr. C Willson, seconded bv Mr M'Nabb. t'lt the House do resolve, that the Pamphlet entitled, •' A view of the Province of Upper Canada'' signed John Mills Jackson, contains a false, scandalous and seditious LIBEL ; comprising expre sions of the most unexampled insolence, and contumely to- wards His Majesty's (Tovernment of this Province, the grossest aspersions upon the House of Assem- bly, the Courts of Justice therein, and the Officers of the Civil Establishment of the said Government, and most manifestly tending to alienate the affedi- ons of the People from His Majesty's Ciovernment of this Province ; to withdr^iw them from their obe- dience to the Laws of the Country, and to excite them to insurrettion. The House unanimously resolved the same. Mr. Gough moved, seconded by Mr M'.Vabb, that the House do present an Addrevs to His Kx- cellency the Lieutenant Governor, expressive of its abhorrence and dete>tation of an infamous and se- ditious Libel, signtd John Mills Jackson, and (hat K'C-rs C Willson, M'Lean, and M'Grcgor, be a seled Committee to draft the same. Which was ordered accordingly. Mr. C V^'lllson, seconded by .\'r Cough, moved, that the Painpakt entitled, *• A View oi the Pro- O vince k *< •< • i ; «'i^ I; *■ I. H tG& vmce of Upper Canada*' signed Jolin Mills Jack« son,be preserved amongft the Records of this House, The House unanimou.sly ordered the same. Mr Gough then moved, seconded by Mr. C. Willson, that the names of the Members present be taken down. The names of the Members present were accor^ dingly taken down, and are as follow : The Speaker, Janes M'Nabb, Stephen Burrett, Henry Marcle, J. B. Caby, Allan M*Lean, Phillip Sovereign, T. B. Gough, Peter Howard, John WilUon, Joseph Willcocks, D. M. G. Rogers, Thomas Frazer, Matthew Klliott, David Secord, Levi Lewis, John M'Gregofj and Crowell Willson, Esqrs, York, Upper Canada, nth March, i8iO. And grounded on these Resolutions, the follow- ing \ddr'?>s was presented on the 12th instant, to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor. Jo Hts Excellency FRANCIS GORE, Esquire, Lieii^ tenant Governor of the Province oj Upper Canada^ isc, ^c. ^c. May it Please Your £xc£LL£NCY| w E His Majesty's dutiful and Loyal Suhje6ls, the Commons of Upper Canada in Parliament As- sembled ; beg leave to assure your Excellency of our approbation of your Excellency's Administra- tion of the Government ofihi^ Province, which since your arrival among us, has incre.»sed in Wealth, Froiiperuyi and Coniinerce, far exceeding our most sanguine lis Jack* IS House* ne. Mr. C. esent be ; accor* rs, , Esqrs. follow- ^tant, to re, Liett" Canada^ 5ubje6ls, lent As- lency of hninistra- ich .since Wealth, our most sanguine I07 sanjruine expcftations, aided by your wise and libe- ral exertions to promote the same We should not intrude on your Excellency at this time, to exprej^s the general sentiment of the People of this Province, did we not feel ourselves called upon and impelled by'a sense of that duty which we owe to our Constituents, His Majesty's Loyal Subjefts of this Province ; to you. Sir, as ad- ministering the 'Overnment thereof ;and tothat Au- gust Sovereign, whom we revere as the Father of His People ; only to express our abhorrence and in- dignation at a Pamphlet now before us, addressed to the King, Lords, and ( ommons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, containing in almost every page, the most gross and false asper- sions on your Excellency, and His Majesty's Exe- cutive Government, the House of Assembly, and the Loval Inhabitants of this Province: under the signature of John Mills Jackson, tending to mis- represent a brave and loyal portion of His Majes- ty's Subje£is. The Commons of Upper Canada, as the Organ of the People, consider the Author and the Pub- lisher of such false and libellous Pamphlet, as a Cha- racter endeavoring to alienate the minds of the un- wary, from His Majesty's Government; and 10 di- minish the Parental affeQion of His Majesty to his Liege SubjeBs in this Province ; which with graii?* tude, we proudly acknowledge to have experienced an ample and abundant share of In addressing your Excellency, we feel a satisfac- tion in repeatin^ our approbation of your Excellen- cy's Administration of this Government, without entering into details which would exceed the bounds of an Address. We humbly request your Excellency will be pleased to represent us to His Majesty, in our true Character^ V lotr /■' ft fi<^-* Chaf aftter, as Loyal Subjeds, to remove any inpres- sion which such Libel may have made, or migbli in ike under vUch imputation, (Signed) S.^ML. SrRii£Tp Speaker, f ■w Commons C'usc of Assembly, } ' fzth March, iSiO. | ■si&»^~ • M '^. !' '. ■| f i W\' ■'I \ ft % i-.- »A :k-.' .\ ■ '^Jl^' '''r,if-^ n fc^-^'ffe^ f ■"*! lit" ' '■''* »f 'i f • it / t>- ''M 1 t-vir'j'fr'^ oo 4. 1 .-^ . 1 ( ■. n 3-r SV. J ■I t ( '1 t ^ ' ■ f i'O . !, i i '-■ ^'iJ i f ,^' if/' "■ ^,^ s w **««•. » or"*^'t;-:i;5if ■ *v ^inpres- ;-^*f..l , ' , s» -_.^^ "lil v)rV'.» if*'}' :^^^^i^ i..r/. .; at ^ C{> w-^oi^ .. ^> i5.V«Ji/>. ( .0. l^^l ^ , '. 'i ' -^ ' •4 V ^ » r -l.»t h '• . .1 rf t •^ . vi — - h n .rln ^\i- .mi^M- ff-^ erf:)?..! r -■•*». 8" ■■ ! "*