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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6. il est film6 A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. by errata led to ant jne pelure, aqon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 I REMARKS ON EMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM; HV JOHN STKACHAN, D.D. ARCHDEACON OF YORK, UPPER CANADA ; ADDRKSSED TO ROBERT WILMOT HORTON, Esa., M.P. Chairman of the Select Committee of Emigration in the last Parliament. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. MDCCCXXVII. mi LONDON: Printod ]>y WILLIAM CLOWES. Staralord-strpet. * \"^ REMARKS, Sfc. Sir, The Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons, upon the subject of Emigration, of which you were Chairman, con- tains so much important and various information, that every means should be adopted for promot- ing its circulation. But as the copies printed are limited in number, and its appearance not of the most attractive form, it is within the reach of very few readers, and still fewer are disposed to wade through the mass of evidence which it contains. Indeed, a voluminous statement, con- sisting of nearly four hundred folio pages, is too formidable for most readers ; and, however valu- able the information to be obtained, or deserving of immediate consideration, it can never be expected to be even partially read. A summary, therefore, of the Report, condens- ing the more important parts of the evidence, and shewing the principal facts which it clearly proves, may not be a barren service, as it may win the public attention to a subject which in- volves the most momentous interests, and on which the peace and happiness of society par- ticularly depend. The following facts appear completely esta- blished : — 1. That there is a redundant population in the United Kingdom. 2. That the colonies to which this redundant population may be sent, are well adapted to their reception^ offering good neighbourljood, health, independence, and even opulence. 3. That the experiments made, both by Go- vernment and individuals, have been eminently successful. 4. That pauper emigrants will, after seven years, be able to repay, with ease, the expense of their emigration and settlement. I. — It is necessary to bear in mind the sense in which the Committee understand the phrase, ** redundancy of population," in order to co. > prehend distinctly the object of their incuiry. They do not mean that there is absolutely an excess of population in the United Kingdom, for in no part is it so great as not, under more fa- vourable circumstances, to contain three tines the number of the present inhabitants ; but the redundancy here meant is, that the demand is ich in- md on ty par- r esta- in the undant •ted to uijood, Dy Go- inently seven xpense ^:ense )lirase, ) CO. > icuiry. ely an m, for )re fa- tines Lit the ind is \ net equal to tlie supply of labour ; or, in other \vords, that in many districts there are thousands able and willing to labour, who can find no em- ployment. In as far as respects the manufacturing districts in Scotland, especially in Glasgow and its vici- nity, the redundancy of the population is notorious, for the most recent accounts state, that those who can find no employment must be sent out of the country by some means, or they must perish in it, or become a ruinous dead weight upon the rest of society ! But in the more remote districts, which may be considered strictly agricultural, it may not appear tjuite so evident. Nevertheless the Committee has evidence before them *=, that even ill the Hebrides the redundancy of population is considerable ; and that the proprietors, so far from receiving rent, are often obliged to assist their tenants, when provisions are clear. The practice of subdivision, which prevails in some islands to a great extent, has doubtless been the principal cause of this redundancy ; and the landlords, at length aware of its evil tendency, are taking measures to prevent its continuance. Ireland, except in the more immediate neigh- bourhood of Belfast, where some extensive ma- nufactories have been recently erected, may be * Walter Frederick (.'unipbcll, Escj., M. P. — Rqiurt, ]). 73. I considered an agricultural country, and the popu- lation generally of that description, for almost every man has a small patch of land annexed to his cottage, on which he raises potatoes. The cultivation of this patch occupies only a trifling portion of his time : he continues, therefore, the greater part of the year looking for employment, and as the larger portion of the produce which he raises on his land must go for his rent, he sinks into the most wretched poverty. In Lime- rick *, the redundancy of population is so great, and the hope of amelioration so hopeless, that every person who can amass a few pounds emi- grates to some other part of the country. Nor do the misery and destitution in which the peasantry are involved produce prudence or fore- thought ; for no sooner does a young man come to a state of manhood, than his first thoughts are to get married ; and he puts up a miserable hovel, without having the least idea how he is to provide for a family. This improvident thought- lessness may be justly accounted a very prolific cause of the redundancy of population so general in Ireland ; but a still greater is found in the prevalent custom of sub-letting, by which farms are indefinitely divided. When the lessee mar- ries his daughter or son, he gives each a portion 5 P o ♦ William Gabbett, Esq.,— /^c/w/, p. 125, &c. I le popu- • almost exed to I?. The trifling ore, the Dyment^ 3 which rent, he a Lime- 3 great, ss, that ds emi- lich the or fore- n come hts are serable he is to lought- prolific general in the 1 farms je mar- 3ortion 9 of his land, which increases the po[)ulation to such an extent, that the farm is barely sutlicicnt to support its cultivators^ without leaving anything to the landlord : when, therefore, part of the produce is sold to raise the rent, there is a want of subsistence. Indeed, to such extent has the power of labour exceeded the demand, that Mr. Gabbett tells the Committee (p. 131) that there are two persons who can find no labour, for one that is employed in the country. Dreadful as the situation of this population must be, since there are no poor rates to relieve them, it is greatly aggravated by the growing practice (in itself most beneficial to the ultimate interests of Ireland) among the landholders of preventing in future all sub-letting, and of conso- lidating their lands into large farms as leases fall in. Thousands are thus thrown upon the com- munity without a home, or any means of subsist- ence ; and this (in the opinion of the witnesses,) with the general increase of population, is the principal cause of the distressed state of Ireland. " The existing state of things * is truly frightful : " when tenantry (the under-tenants of under- *' tenants) are dispossessed after a season ofpa- *' tient suffering, they go into some other district. * The Lord Bishop of Limerick. — Ri-jxnl, p. 1 il. [0 " perhaps a peaceable one ; there they fail not to " find friends, clansmen, and fellow-factionaries, '• whom thev bring back with them by night to •• avenge their cause ; it is avenged in blood, and " when occasion oilers, the service is repaid in •* kind. Thus the whole country is set in ilames. *' This will be quite intelligible to those who know *' the system of mutual understanding that per- " vades the districts— I may say, of each pro- " vince. I will mention one instance that rame ** within my own knowledge. It was a case of *' dispossessed tenantry of an estate. They were •' certainly surreptitious ; they had also not paid '• their rent. They were at length suddenly and ** simultaneously dispossessed : tlicy were in a " most deplorable state ; without house, without " food, without money, starving, and almost •' dying, in the ditches. I saw an affecting " memorial in their behalf, praying that the pro- •* prietor, on whose estate they had been, would ** procure for them the privilege and means of emigration. They had, to my knowledge, been exemplary in peaceableness amidst surrounding *' disturbance ; but from want, perhaps, of power *• rather than will, their petition was not granted. " I ventured to predict that if they were not in '* some way relieved, the consequences in the "winter would be dreadful; and so they were. " They brought their friends just in the way I (( (( I f it (< (< (( (( (( »( a i 11 fail not to :tiunario8, \j night to )lood, and repaid in in tlamcs. who know that pcr- cach pro- thai came a case of riiey were J not paid (icnly and A^crc in a ), without id ahnost affecting it the pro- L:n, would means of gc, been rrounding of power t granted, ere not in IS in the ley were, he way 1 i I "have been describing from other (hstricts. " Blood followed! afterwards prosecutions, con- *• victions, executions." Mr. Nimmo (p. 189) informs the Committee, ** That the disturbances which have taken place '* in Ireland, may always be traced to the dis- •' tressed condition of the people ; and in general *' it has been most violent in those districts which, ** being totally agricultural, were subject to the ** severe oppressions of distress for rent, and the *' depreciation of agricultural produce, diminish- •* ing the value of all their commodities ; whereas, " in the manufacturing and the thickly peopled ** districts, so much oppression has not been felt." Nor can tranquillity be looked for, so long as there is no means of drawing off the surplus population ; for as there are no manufactures, they depend entirely on the soil for employment and support. The proprietors being aware that their own distress arises from their land being over-stocked with tenants, are obliged, in self-de- fence, to eject from their farms when their leases expire. In such circumstances the poor people, not getting employment*, *' either erect tcmpo- " rary habitations, like sheds on the highway, or '* they come into towns and crowd themselves " into small apartments, pediaps four or live fa- * Rev. Mr. Collins. — AVy^c//, p. '.yzi. 12 *' milies together, without clothes, or bedding, or " food, living upon the chance of employment in " the towns as labourers, which they are hardly " ever able to procure." It is quite evident that such of these persons as remain in the country, after being thus thrown, as destitute vagrants, on the world, become de- predators; and as this plan of consolidating farms becomes more general, the disturbances must increase till the whole island becomes a scene of anarchy, rapine, and misery. What then is to be done with such a dangerous population, when so ejected I they can neither get land nor employment at home; and they have not the means of going abroad. Surely the most obvious and effectual remedy is emigration ; which, to use the language of the Bishop of Limerick, " though " it could not at once take away all that may be *' burthensome to the country, nor even finally " do so, it would give relief to many, and hope to all : at present they are in a state of hope- " less, despairing recklessness ; therefore they " scruple not the worst. Give them hope, and •' they will endure, particularly if it is known *' that good character will be a recommei lation." In England the population is increasing in the country, as well as in London* ; and it appearsf (( * Mr. C'liainbfi's, \). b!i. t Mr. Hodges, p. 133. 13 bedding, or loyment in are hardly se persons lus thrown, ecome de- nsolidating sturbances becomes a What then copulation, it land nor ^e not the )st obvious lich, to use ' though at may be en finally and hope ; of hope- jfore they lope, and s known 1 lation." ng in the appears t I that in a large portion of the county of Kent there is in almost every parish, and has been for several years past, a larger number of people than the agricultural demands require. The con- sequence is, that the parishes are in considerable distress, and the poor-rates enormously high. The people themselves, destitute of all other means of support, are obliged to work on the roads ; and the only possible way by which the parishes can relieve themselves from the burthen of wholly or partially supporting them, is by promoting emigration. In this they have already made some progress, and the tide of emigration is now setting to New York. The same witness, in another part of his evi- dence, attributes much of the increase of popu- lation to the facility of procuring cottages, and the general dependence for assistance upon the poor-rater-> : so that young people mar v fre- quently under age, quite regardless of the conse- quences, and totally destitute of those feelings of independence cherished by their fathers, who were in the habit of remaining in service till they had saved money enc 'gh to start off in life, and never dreamt of resorting to the parish for assistance. In former times working people usually re- mained unmarried till they were twenty-five or thirty, and even sometimes thirty- five years of 14 i age but now they frequently marry at eighteen and nineteen. These causes, producing a redun- dant population, the competition for labour re- duces wages to the smallest pittance ; and as they are insufficient for the maintenance of the labourer and his family, the parish is forced to make up the deficiency. This can only be done in the most frugal manner, and in a way that deprives the pauper of the last spark of inde- pendence ; and henceforth he becomes reckless and indifferent. For it will commonly be found that labourers, when they feel that their utmost efforts are insufficient to maintain their families, and that their wives and children are suffering all the miseries of cold and hunger, notwith- standing their exertions, will, after perhaps a long struggle, give up the contest, and throw themselves upon the parish. Having fallen from independence, they soon become accustomed to their new station, and gradually lose the pride which used to support them. How can it be otherwise, when the com- petition for employment is so great, that fifty candidates often appear, when thirty only can be employed ? Will not the station of all be low- ered, their spirits depressed, and a growing anxiety take possession of their minds ? Hard labour is not natural to any man, and can only be undertaken by free-men from absolute ne- r at eighteen ling a redun- r labour re- ice ; and as lance of the is forced to inly be done a way that irk of inde- xes reckless ily be found heir utmost eir families, re suffering ?r, notwith- i perhaps a and throw they soon ation, and support n the com- that fifty nly can be 11 be low- i growing is? Hard 1 can only jolute ne- 15 cepsity, or the hope of bettering the condition of themselves and families. So long as sucli hope continues, ii produces industry, — a desire to excel in the manner of doing their work, that they may become agreeable to their employers : at the same time, in order to realize this hope, they are careful in their expenses, and frugal in their habits : comfort at home produces domestic peace, sobriety, cheerfulness, and affection ; and under such circumstances the labouring classes of the community are placed in their proper sta- tion, content and happy without being envious or jealous of those above them. But when there is no hope of being comfortable even by the greatest exertions, family difficulties produce fa- mily dissensions, envy and discontent creep into the bosom, self-respect gradually diminishes ; the pride of independence, which struggled hard to preserve appearances, at length gives way, and poverty, with all its train of evils, surrounds the wretched labourer. His mind and feelings accommodate themselves by degrees to his new situation ; when he works, he thinks his wages far too small for the labour, and considering his employer oppressive and hard-hearted, he be- comes inattentive, slothful, and imprudent. Ac- cordingly it appears in evidence that several of these broken-down labourers, as they may be termed, do not perform as much work IG in a day as one industrious man at task -work or good wages. In this way the redundancy of population first deteriorates the character of the lower orders, and then forces parishes to give them relief. And as little distinction is observed in the dis- tribution of this relief, and a bare subsistence is given to the idle as well as to those who are still industriously inclined, to the profligate as well as the sober, and as no road to emancipation offers, the good are corrupted, and all inducement to labour being taken away, they become regard- less of their characters, and indifferent to their families. The children again becoming depraved by the wretched example set before them, do not think it necessary to contribute to the support of their parents : the domestic relations are thus broken up, and indifference, or perhaps hatred, takes place of affection. It is melancholy to trace the process of deterioration, by which an increasing sedentary population sinks into profli- gate paupers. First, as their numbers multiply, wages are inevitably lowered, from which circum- stance they are forced to alter their domestic eco- nomy, and descend in their style of living. As the labourers continue to increase, the price of labour is still further reduced ; and at length to the smallest possible allowance. They are now unable to purchase nourishing food, scarcely ever I it ask -work ition first r orders, m relief. I the dis- istence is ) are still LS well as DM offers, ement to 3 regard- to their depraved n, do not ipport of are thus s hatred, choly to vhich an to profli- nultiply, circum- itic eco- g. As Iprice of ngth to re now ly ever :3vi 17 tasting meat, or beer, but living chiefly on bread and potatoes. At length, depressed and ex- hausted, they have recourse to the parish, and receive with discontent what is allowed them. Some descend so far as to feign sickness, and get into the workhouse, where, finding them- selves so well supported, they refuse to come out upon any terms, and sometimes only on the condition of having a cottage provided for them. Then they generally become a nuisance to the vvrhole parish, from their dissolute and vicious lives ; and associating others in their profligacy, crime advances, and the jails are filled. As the population still continues to increase, it is quite evident, that in many parishes the whole rental will be swallowed up by the poor-rates. Mr. Hodges, p. 139, shows that, in sixteen pa- rishes, containing a population of 21,719, — 8,263 were paupers, and are still so ; and in addition to that number, there were 682 labourers, for whom no employment could be found, and who are therefore permanently a charge on their respective parishes. He further states that, when any of these are sent for woLk to other parishes, they are underbid by emigrants from Ireland. In these sixteen parishes, the rental amounts to 61,847/. and the poor-rate to 39,664/., or two- ihirds. Now as the land is considered at a maximum in this district, and the rents cannot IT 1 18 be raised, it is manifest that if the present re- dundancy of population goes on increasing, the rental will be wholly absorbed ; but such a state of things cannot exist without producing general ruin. Such is an abstract of the conclusive evi- dence which justifies the Committee in reporting, " That there are extensive districts in Ireland, " and districts in England and Scotland, where '* the population is at the present moment redun- " dant: in other words, where there exists acon- " siderabie proportion of able-bodied and active " labourers, beyond that number to which any * existing demand for labour can afford employ- " ment. That the effect of this redundancy is ** not only to reduce a part of this population to *' a great degree of destitution and misery, but *' also to deteriorate the general condition of the ** labouring classes. That by its producing a supply of labour in excess, as compared with the demand, the wages of labour are neces- '• sarily reduced to a minimum which is utterly " insufficient to supply that population with those means of support and subsistence, which are necessary to secure a healthy and satisfactory '' condition of the community. " That in England this redundant population '^ has been in part supported by a parochial rate, " which, according to the reports and evidence (( (( {( iC 1 I * 1 esent re- ising, the :h a state ig general isive evi- reporting, n Ireland, id, where jnt redun- sts a con- ind active rhich any d employ- adancy is ulation to sery, but on of the )ducing a red with re neces- Ls utterly fith those hich are [isfactory |)pulation lial rate, jvidence (( a a (I a tc (( a a 19 of former Committees especially appointed to consider the subject, threatens, in its extreme tendency, to absorb the whole rental of the country. And that in Ireland, where no such parochial rate exists in law, and where the re- dundancy is found in a still greater degree, a considerable part of the population is depen- dent for the means of support on the precarious source of charity, or is compelled to resort to habits of plunder and spoliation for the actual means of subsistence." II. — That the colonies to which the redundant population may be sent, are well adapted to their reception, offering good neighbourhood, health, independence, and even opulence. As a remedy for this perilous state of things, the Committee recommend emigration, combined with other measures, to the British Colonies in North America, (including the Canadas, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward's Island,) the Cape of Good Hope, New South Wales, and Van Diemen's land — countries which contain tracts of unappropriated land of the most fertile quality, and capable of receiving and sub- sisting any portion of the redundant population of the United Kingdom; for whose conveyance means could be found at any time present or future. c2 20 In regard to the Cape of Good Hope, an emi- gration of labourers only is contemplated in the evidence, and this upon a very confined scale. For an extensive influx of settlers, the Colony does not seem prepared, and the number of labourers which it can yearly absorb appears rather doubtful New South Wales and Van Diemcn's Land, though differing very considerably in their cha- racter and productions, are so near each other, when compared with their distance from Eng- land, that in speaking of them they may, with much propriety, be taken together. The clim.ate of both is said to be delightful, and it is even affirmed that manv of the diseases incident to children are totally unknown. T)ie soil is ex- tremely fruitful, and the surface of the country immense ; one division is mentioned as contain- ing sixty thousand square miles, well watered with streajns and rivers, a space sufficiently ample to furnish a large farm for every family of the redundant population in the United Kingdom. ill as far, then, as climate, soil, and abundance of good land, are advantages. New South Wales and Van Piemen's Land offer an excellent field for emigration. But Mr. Eager, who is well acquainted with the country, says, p. 98, that unless the emigrants went out with capital, they would not do at all ; and, indeed, it is evident ^ i i 1 21 an cmi- id in the 3d scale. I Colony mber of appears 's Land, heir cha- ch other, ora Eng- lay, with [6 climate t is even icident to )il is ex- country contain- watered afficiently family of (kingdom, bundance ith Wales Uent field is well 98, that )ital, they s evident I ■4 that the expense of passage adds so much to the general expense of transporting and localising an emigrant, that it is not probable that these colonies will be in request, as a receptacle for our surplus population, till those nearer home are fully inhabited. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward's Island, are the nearest of the British North American colonies, and very similar in their soil, climate, and poUtical insti- tutions. Situated on the sea-coast, and enjoying many excellent harbours, they possess in this respect a great advantage over the Canadas. Their climate, though severe in winter, is found exceedingly healthy; and many large tracks of excellent land in each are still at the disposal of the crown, for the reception of emigrants. From the testimony of the Attorney-general of Nova Scotia, more than four millions of acres of fertile soil, or enough to furnish farms for forty thousand families, remain in these colonies for settlers ; and when to these are added the vast numbers that might be employed in the fisheries, they present a large opening for the redundant popu- lation. Moreover the advantage of possessing coal-mines will allow the existence of a denser population than could have lived in such cold countries, if depending for fuel entirely on wood. Indeed, the Attorney-general considers them I 22 capable of providing for four or live millions of inhabitants. The expense of sending out emi- grants will be somewhat less than to the Canadas, unless indeed the difference in the price of the provisions necessary for their first year's supply should be found an equivalent. The evidence is silent as to the state of reli- gion and education ; but it is fair to presume that, in such an old colony as Nova Scotia, they are on a respectable footing. The country denominated Upper Canada, in its most limited extent, to which many circum- stances give the lead in this inquiry, is about five hundred and sixty miles long, and one hun- dred miles broad, presenting a surface which, allowing for water and rocky land, may be taken at thirty-two millions of acres. Of this quantity about sixteen millions are already granted, leaving the other half at the disposition of Government. Now, when it is recollected that England and Wales contain only 34,631,680 acres, of which 7,889,037 are waste, leaving 26,742,643 fit for cultivation; and that Scotland, containing 16,384,000, has scarcely 2,166,000 capable of tillage, we shall find that Upper Canada em- braces as much good land as the whole island of Great Britain, without going to the north banks of Lakes Huron and Superior. The whole of this extensive and beautiful ;|- 1 23 llions of out cmi- :e of the s supply 3 of reli- ime that, they are inada, in ^ circum- is about one hun- ;e which, be taken quantity i, leaving rnment. land and of which 2,643 fit ontaining ipable of lada eo"- island of *th banks beautiful I f country is a continuation of the most fertile soil. The climate is fins the conveniences of its local communications astonishing, and its capacity of containing many millions of inhabitants unques- tionable. The general character of its surface affords very little variety in appearance, as it is for the most part flat, rising only in gentle undu- lations, and exhibiting few or no hills or moun- tains. The soil, indeed, admits of variety ; but that which is most prevalent consists of a mixture of blue clay with a friable earth, which in all countries rewards most abundantly the labours of the husbandman. Nature has, indeed, done more for Upper Canada than for most other countries of equal extent ; yet such is the delusion which man^ still labour under with respect to its character, that they compare it to the deserts of Siberia. But its real advantages begin now to be known, and its fine climate to be understood. Instead of being disagreeable, its winter cold is found to be exhilarating: for, being clear and pure, persons even of feeble constitutions can, if well clothed, take exercise in the open air, un- interrupted by fogs or rain ; and though, for some days in the summer, the heat may be found inconvenient, it is seldom oppressive. Till 1784 Upper Canada was one continued forest. In that year the first settlers arrived, and have gradually extended their improvements along 84 thu groat rivers and lakes ; but the country lius still very much the appearance of a forest. The population scarcely amounts to 200,000, and yet the settlements are so judiciously scattered, and the water communications so convenient, that emigrants going to any part of the colony will suffer nothing like the privations of the first settlers. Indeed, those that now go will expe- rience Httle or no privation. A few years' labour will place them in easy circumstances, and afford them an opportunity of educating and providing for their children. The present state of education consists of parish schools* throughout the province, of which there are already established about three hundred and forty : at these, many thousand children are daily instructed in reading, writing, and arith- metic. Prayers are offered morning and evening ; the scriptures are read, and religious instruction given at proper and convenient seasons : but, at such times, the children of Roman Catholics have leave to retire, or remain in their seats ; and the parents, finding that their children are not mo- lested about their religion, are as ready to send them to school as their Protestant neighbours. The province is divided into eleven districts, in each of which there is an excellent grammar- school, under the direction of a respectable * Report, p. 161. 4 4 J 20 itry liuH I. The «iiid yet eel, and It, that )ny will he first I expe- ' labour d afford oviding sists of if which lundred Ten arc i arith- vening; Lruction but, at :s have ind the lot mo- o send lurs. istricts, immar- ectable teacher, with a salary from the province of ninety jKJunds steiling per annum. At these schools there are upwards of three hundred young men acquiring classical and mathematical knowledge. Ten scholars of the greatest merit, selected under certain conditions from the parish schools, have a right to be edu- cated at the grammar-schools gratis ; so that ten of the most promising children from among the common people, thus instructed free of expense, may open their way to professional rank and distinction. The same rule, with regard to reli- gion, applies to the grammar as to the common schools ; consequently the children of all denomi- nations attend them ; so that, in this respect, the greatest harmony prevails. It is rumoured that His Majesty's Government has it in contemplation to establish a university in Upper Canada, at which the youth may have an opportunity of finishing their education. Such an establishment only is wanting to com- plete a regular system of education, and enable this flourishing colony to boast a connected plan of public instruction, rarely equalled and not surpassed by any in the world. In regard to religion, all denominations are free ; and there is no political distinction, nor is there any particular power conferred upon the Established Church. Presbyterians, 20 Calvinists, Lutherans, and Roman Catholics, are allowed to marry, and perform the rites of their several persuasions, without let or molestation ; and though the Methodists are not permitted to marry, because their preachers are not station- ary, they are very active, and have made con- siderable progress. In fine, no man need hesitate in coming to Upper Canada on account of his religious opi- nions : if of the Established Church, he has the same privileges as at home ; and if of a different denomination, he has the same liberty. Lower Canada extends from east to west, upwards of 700 miles, and from north to south nearly 500; but this includes a large quantity of land totally unfit for cultivation. Indeed, the interior of the province below Quebec, on the north side, and perhaps through its whole extent, is too little known to enable any correct estimate to be made*. However, the whole colony may be taken to contain forty millions of acres, which may be brought into cultivation, but interspersed with rocks, lakes, and mountains. The lands granted in seigneury are said to exceed twelve millions of acres, and those granted in free or common soccage, three millions ; and the portion within the known boundaries still to be granted in free and common soccage, four * Mr. Fclton. ii I 27 millions. It is not easy to ascertain the lands fit for cultivation in the rear of these, but they will doubtless be found to amount to as much as the whole of the present inhabited parts of the province put together. Heat and cold are found in the extremes — the thermometer in summer often ascending to 98, and in the winter freezing. The climate is notwithstanding healthy, and few countries in the world can produce so many aged people. The face of the country round Quebec is mountainous and romantic; but, as you pro- ceed to Montreal, it becomes more level. The settlements are, as in Upper Canada, confined chiefly to the banks of the river^ the inhabitants not being yet sufficiently numerous to extend themselves into the interior. This colony offers much excellent land to the emigrant on very easy terms, and has the advan- tage of being near the sea ; yet, perhaps, there are objections which, until softened or removed, will prevent its having a preference with persons emigrating from the United Kingdom. The country is governed in all civil matters by the French law*, by which, in most cases, the British subject is deprived of the trial by jury. It is, indeed, contended t^at this law ought to be confined to the lands granted by the French King previous to the conquest, which arc still * W. B. Felton, Esq. - I 28 held by feudal tenure ; but, in practice, it is applied to the whole province. This is the more to be lamented, because the land which has been granted since the province became an appendage to the British Crown in free and common soccage, is separated by a well-defined line from the French lordships, or seigneur ies. The preva- lence of the French law, by rendering property insecure, prevents the investment of capital in the purchase and cultivation of the soil; and therefore British settlers, possessing capital and agricultural knowledge, are not inclined to locate themselves in the province. In all criminal cases the law of England pre- vails. The difference of language and religion present other obstacles in the way of English settlers, and give them a distaste to Lower Canada. Of these and other difficulties, some may be lessened, or entirely removed, so that they will operate less strongly in future ; and when the British language and population gain the ascendency, they will be entirely done away. The produce of Lower Canada is much the same with that of the Upper Province. The grain is indeed not quite so good ; but that is in a great measure the fault of the cultivators. Some parts of the evidence apply equally to both provinces. The majority of testimony, f. r example, is much against the existence of crown 29 and clergy reserves, as throwing a great obstacle in the way of settlements. But whatever weight this might have had, and it seems to have been greatly exaggerated, it is now almost entirely done away. The crown reserves are disposed of to the Canada Land Company, and a portion of the clergy reserves will, in all probability, be sold at no very distant period. Much of the evidence respected the commerce of the Canadas, in their connexion with the West Indies ; and certainly a ready and safe market for their produce would render them a much more eligible asylum for the redundant population. Previous to 1822, all agricultural productions of the countries bordering upon the St. Lawrence were permitted to be shipped from Quebec, and exported to the British Colonies, as Canadian produce. The consequence of this liberty was, that American flour was brought to Quebec, and shipped as Canadian flour to Halifax, Newfound- land, New Brunswick, and the West Indies. The Act of 1822 imposed a duty on American flour coming into the province, which destroyed almost entirely the trade between the Canadas and the West Indies. A modification, indeed, of the law took place in 1825 ; but nothing can restore things to their former footing, except a total repeal. The whole of the evidence appears to point i i 30 out the propriety of uniting more closely together the British North American possessions which we have been describing. In a commercial point of view, this can be done with great facility. We have only to cut a canal between the St. Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy — a distance of a few miles ; by which the city of St. John, in New Brunswick, would become as much a sea- port for Canada as Quebec. And if another canal were cut from the Bay of Fundy to Halifax for coasting- vessels, it might likewise become an entrepot between the Canadas and the West Indies. These harbours are accessible at all times of the year ; and as small craft can pass through the canal till very late in the season, the disadvantage of the Canadian winter, in freezing the St. Lawrence, would be in a great measure removed. Mr. Felton said, that for a long time little or no surplus produce would be exported, should emigration continue on a great scale; but he thought it would be good policy to render the St. Lawrence the channel of export for the pro- ductions of all the extensive territories, of which that river is the natural outlet. This observa- tion, taken in connexion with what another wit- ness testified of the Welland Canal, now in progress, and of which he furnished the first Report of the Directors, though it does not appear 31 le or hould ut he Br the jerva- r wit- w in first )pear in the Appendix, induced an inspection of the map of North America, to ascertain what extent of territory depended, or might depend, upon the St. Lawrence. This magnificent river affords a ready communication from the sea to Montreal, 200 miles above Quebec, for merchant-ships of 500 tons burthen. From Montreal to Prescott, a distance of 160 miles, it is navigated by boats of from three to twenty tons ; but so large is the stream, and so few the impediments, that it might, at no great expense, be mi io navigable for steam-boats. From Prescott to the head of Lake Ontario, two hundred miles, the navigation is fine for the largest ships in the Britisii Navy ; and steam-boats pass and re-pass along this distance with ease and regularity. Between Lake? Ontario and Erie we have the falls of the Niagara, occasioning a portage of ten miles ; an obstruction which will soon be removed by the Welland Canal. The navigation, after entering Lake Erie, con- tinues uninterrupted through Lakes Erie, St. Clair, Michigan, and Huron, embracing nearly 3,000 miles of coast. Between Lakes Huron and Superior, the navigation is interrupted by a short rapid, which may be locked at a very tri- fling expense; and thus 1,500 miles of coast may be obtained. In short, the navigation will, be opened between Lake Superior and the Ocean, ( 32 as soon as the Welland Canal is finished ; and the regions which will then depend upon the St. Lawrence, extend far beyond what the most vigorous imagination could have previously con- ceived. " In touching upon the mighty results which " must attend or soon follow the completion of " the Welland canal, the truth will assume the " appearance of the most extravagant exagge- " ration to those who do not make themselves " acquainted with the singular geography of *' North America. It is therefore desirable that *' all those who are astonished at the following " remarks, and feel inclined to pronounce them erroneous, should take the preliminary step of placing a map before them, and then they will *' be able to estimate the wonderful water-capa- " bilities which present themselves, and the im- mense countries which can approach the sea only by the St. Lawrence. Moreover, to judge " correctly, those conversant with the largest and '^ most productive of the European canals must " divest themselves of all prejudices in their fa- " vour, and only take into account the facilities " of communication which they offer, when com- " pared with those which will be opened by this " canal. " Darby, the American geographer, estimates " the valley of the St. Lawrence above the falls (( (C a ({ 33 jom- this lates 1 falls a a (C (f (C a (C fi a iC it a a (( a (f te a a i( a (C tc of Niagara, exclusive of the lakes, at 186,700 square miles : to which we may add the valley of the Ohio, containing 226,000 square miles, when the canal now cutting between that river and Lake Erie shall be finished. Thus the commercial intercourse between the sea and upwards of 400,000 square miles of fertile land, must pass through the Welland canal, or the smaller one belonging to the state of New York. When this fact is considered, the first idea that strikes us is, the impossibility that the produce of countries so vastly exten- sive can pass throi^'^h these two canals, and the necessity that soon must arise for opening other communications to meet the increase of commerce ; but as no other can be made with any prospect of success, except by the straits of Niagara, the Welland canal need fear no competition. A more distinct conception will be formed of the magnitude of the intercourse that must soon be carried on through these two canals, by supposing Great Britain, Spain, France and Germany, to be so situated, that all their intercourse with other nations must come through one narrow valley, admitting only two or three convenient roads or canals. Such a supposition gives a vivid image ^f what must be the case at the straits which divide Lake Erie from Lake Ontario, and will enable I D :n it i( (I a i( il a i( ii u a <( i( i( (C (( i( i( a (I (( (( i( a cc (( (( US to form some estimate of the ships and boats that must pass through these canals, bearing the riches of tlic Western world to the Atlantic ocean. Nor are these regions in a state of nature, and without inhabitants : they are, indeed, thinly peopled in proportion to their extent, but nearly three millions are scat- tered over them ; and from the known rapidity of the increase of the population in new coun- tries, the period is not distant when the quan- tities of produce will be so great as to compel an enlargement of the present dimensions of the canal, great and magnificent as they are. *^ It has been found from experience, that when agricultural produce had to be carted one hundred and thirty miles, it ceased to be worth raising, as the expense of bringing it (a barrel of flour, for example) so far, added to the cost of production^ equals or exceeds the market price ; hence, at this distance, a check is put upon the agriculture and improvement of any country. It has been also found that water- carriage, such as that which the Welland canal opens, is to land-carriage as one to twenty-five ; consequently commodities can be conveyed by canal and lake navigation, three thousand two- hundred and fifty miles, as cheaply as one hundred and thirty by cartage. But as one hundred and thirty miles of land-carriage ceases Hj of (( {( (C (S a i( t( te ce (( tt it a (C it (S (( (( a a a (( ti (C (( to be profitable,, let us take one hundred miles as the limit at which a positive advantage ac- crues ; and then a ton of goods will be carried by water 2,500 miles at the same rate that they can be transported one hundred miles by land. In applying these facts, deduced by ex- perience, to North America, we see the cer- tainty of improving countries, which but for this must for ever have remained in a state of nature, totally inaccessible to civilized man, and discover grounds for believing that all the productions of the Upper Valley of the Missis- sippi, the settlement of which is now commen- cing, will be conveyed to the ocean by the Welland canal ; thus open-'ng a farther extent of country of 225,000 square miles. Indeed, the communication between the Canadian seas and the river Mississippi is now practicable at high water. In the spring, loaded boats of a considerable size pass from Lake Michigan into the Illinois river, which falls into the Mississippi, and by the Miami river into the Wabash, another tributary stream of the Mis- sissippi ; but it would engage us too much in detail, to point out the extraordinary facilities which a bountiful Creator has afforded for opening water- communications between the different parts of this vast continent. Enough has been stated to show the great quantities of d2 n t '-■ I ■ :iO (( it (C ii it (( (( *i (( <( 5 accustomed to receive, think themselves very well off already, and, instead of going upon land, as they had intended, remain in the towns. The total stagnation of business durirg the winter-months, and the severity of the v/eather, reduce them to great distress ; and though their wages during summer had been great, they had been thoughtlessly expended, and they become a burthen on the community. Taught by bitter experience the folly of their conduct, they com- monly proceed in the spring to Upper Canada, in order to go upon land, as the only means of protecting them from a return to misery and want. Leaving the few who still remain, in wretched poverty in the towns, let us follow those who make their way to the Upper Pro- vince. It is evident that, arriving under circum- stances so deplorable, their chance of success would, in the opinion of a stranger, be altogether hopeless, and that no concatenation of events could ever occur sufficiently favourable to trans- form such miserable wretches into wealthy and independent yeomen. Yet such changes daily take place, and we put the case in the worst possible aspect ; because, if such emigrants com- monly succeed, how certain will the success of those be who come out with a little property, or under the protection of Government. Now, great as their distress is, the blessing of health 49 is alone necessary to enable them soon to remove it all, and to look forward, not merely to the possession of a competency, but even to the accumulation of property. Measures have been taken by the Colonial Government of Upper Canada, to give emigrants locations of land in any district which they may prefer. After fixing upon their lots, they begin to consider how they shall improve them ; and, though it may appear somewhat incongruous in a country like this, where the cry of * capital ' is in every mouth, and where all our riches are attributed to its imme- diate operation, to talk of poor emigrants' clear- ing and cultivating land without a shilling in their pocket, yet the thing is of daily occurrence in all the provinces of North America; and, although they are some years longer in becoming independent than those who have been assisted by Government, their ultimate success is equally certain. After getting their land, we shall sup- pose that an emigrant has no means whatever (the case of thousands) to enable him to proceed in its immediate cultivation : he goes therefore in quest of labour, hires himself to some farmer, or to Some family in one of the towns or villages, for all-work ; if single, his wages may average eight dollars per month, with board and lodging; if he has a family, he receives from half a dollar to three shillings and sixpence per day. In I' 50 cither case he saves some money, and has nothing to fear but sickness. This sometimes throws him back ; but in general the country is healthy. After labouring for some months in this way, he removes to his land, builds a small hut with the assistance of his neighbours ; for, if there be no previous settlement in the township, three or four enter it together. He now brings his provisions and his family to his hut, and begins to clear his land. The best time for this class of persons to go upon land is in the autumn. The provisions last till the spring crop is put in, consisting of Indian corn and potatoes, and perhaps an acre of barley or spring wheat. When this is done, the emigrant leaves his family to take care of his farm, and goes into the settlement to labour, or, if he can find no work near him, he pro- ceeds to the Welland canal, or to some of the public works in the United States, and returns not, perhaps, again till winter. His family have in the mean time secured his crop ; and having now plenty of provisions for the whole year, his wages are expended in purchasing such necessaries as are indispensable, wearing apparel and bed- clothes ; or, if a small stock of those articles still remain, a cow is bought. During the winter he advances with his clearing, and by the second spring he may, if industrious, have cleared eight or ten acres, part of which he lays down in grass. 51 and the remainder is planted with potatoes, Indian corn, oats, or barley, and wheat. He continues for several years, perhaps, the same process, with this difference, that he returns earlier in the autumn to sow fall wheat; and when he is able to purchase a good yoke of oxen, he finds it no longer profitable to work for others, but employs himself entirely on his own farm. These observations are founded on facts ten thousand times repeated. It is a process which, in Upper Canada, is continually going forward ; but the evidence furnishes details which present it in still more vivid colours. In 1816, Mr. Buchanan, on assuming the office of British Consul at New York, was applied to by a great number of British subjects, chiefly from the North of Ireland, whose situation was so bad, that he made a representation to Govern- ment in their behalf. Lord Castlereagh autho- rised him to expend the amount of ten dollars upon each ; and having ascertained that they would be received in Upper Canada, and obtain a grant of lands, the Consul made arrangements to send them to that colony. By judicious ma- nagement, these persons were transported from New York to York, Upper Canada, for about five dollars each, and were soon after settled in the township of Cavan. One of the witnesses says, that he happened e2 '1' 11 5-2 to be building a house when these emigrants landed at York, and employed a great number of them in the brick-yard, and that they had no other money, so far as he could see, but what they earned. That afterwards they went to the American canal to work during the summer, and came back with their wages ; and this they con- tinued to do till they had made great improve- ments ; after which they remained on their farms, it being then more profitable to work for them- selves than for wages. These people began their settlement in 1817, and, from the last official return, it appears that the population of the township amounts to nine hundred and seventy- six; that there is a great quantity of surplus produce, a good stock of cattle, and a consi- derable number of horses. The Attorney -general of Nova Scotia says, ^' There is now a settlement " going on, which Lord Dalhousie put under my *' management ; and. for that purpose, he allotted " to me a tract of country, on which I placed a *' great number of emigrants from Cork and the " neighbourhood of Waterford. The first five " families that I settled in Irish Town had not, I •' am sure, five shillings among them ; they sub- •' sisted upon the potatoes and herrings, and " other things which I gave them. About forty " or fifty bushels of potatoes, and half a barrel ' of herrings, will be a sufficient provision for 53 " one of these families for a year ; and next year *' they arc able to provide for themselves. Those ** settlers had to go into a wilderness about six *' miles from the road ; but tlic neighbouring •* inhabitants, whom I begged to go and assist *' them, helped to cut them out a path, chopped " the wood, and raised their houses. In the ** spring they got some potatoes and seed ; and " these families amount now to at least twcnty- ** five, in the course of five years ; for the people *' who come out write home to their friends, " telling how comfortably they are settled, and " their friends raise heaven and earth to come. " This colony, or settlement, lies between the great " Subinacade lake and the Windsor road. Every '* year brings out a little addition ; for the old " settlers can now receive their countrymen and relations without any trouble, as they have abundance of provisions. In this way the set- " tlement is increasin^^ in the ratio of about seven or eight families every year. They have given me, I believe, between seventy and eighty pounds, which they have saved out of their earnings, and which I am to apply in ** sending out their relations and friends. The " last time I visited them, I asked how they *• were situated ? and they said, tell our masters ^' at home, that we would not exchange situations ** with them. The way they become possessed it ti it it it 54 *' of stock is this : in the spring they hire from ** a farmer the use of a cow in calf, for twenty " shilhngs, and they keep the cow till the fol- " lowing spring, on account of her calf, and then ** they return her in calf to the farmer, as they " had received her ; the calf, which they have *• thus acquired, soon becomes a cow, and has ** calves, which they rear, and thus acquire cat- *' tie ; and in the same manner they get a stock ** of sheep. The people of Irish Town have now *• sheep, cows, oxen, and horses ; and are living *' in a great degree of comfort." This statement shows from what an extreme degree of poverty these people can, in a little time, get into a tolerable degree of affluence. The same intelli- gent witness states, that he has received more than two hundred pounds from about twenty-five families. The head of one of them had been in the country about twelve years, and had laboured two or three years in the colony before he was able to settle ; and has now been settled about nine years. Three families have been able, within three or four years after their first settle- ment, to send funds to bring some of their friends out, and he had from one sixteen pounds, and from two others seven or eight pounds each. Thus, it appears that thousands of emigrants go to the colonies of their own accord, and not only draw others after them, but send to them assistance, 65 that they may come out with greater comfort. It is true they have, at first, many more difficulties to encounter and privations to endure, than emi- grants sent out by Government ; but still ihey are able to bear up against and to overcome them all. We have represented the case of these voluntary emigrants in the worst form possible, yet their sufferings are nothing in comparison to what they endure in this country. First ; they have abun- dance of food for themselves and families. Se- cond ; they have the hope, amounting almost to a certainty, of becoming one day independent, while at home there is no hope, — no prospect of amelioration. There cannot, therefore, be a more cruel deception, than an attempt to prevent such men from emigrating, by eloquent descriptions of the dangers, difficulties, and hardships which attend the settlement of new countries ; for they do not now apply to any of the British colonies. The privations and impediments of the first set- tlement have long since passed away — no appre- hension need be entertained of wild beasts — of climate — of famine — or ultimate failure of suc- cess. In turning from the voluntary emigration of the poor, to the experiments made by govern- ment, we shall be able to place the subject in a I H 56 still more pleasing and happy point of view. The first experiment, in point of time, was that of the Lanark settlement, which was formed in the year 1820, under the following circumstances. The distress arising from the want of work, and the very low wages given to such as were employed, induced a great number of mechanics, manufacturers, and labourers, in Glasgow, La- nark, and other places in the West of Scotland, to petition government to grant them lands in Canada, a free passage, and assistance to main- tain their families till they could raise a crop Government acceded to their prayer, allowing about 11/. 3,9. 6|f/. for each man, woman, and child, and a grant of land to every man, of twenty- one years of age, and upwards. About nine hundred were thus assisted, who soon after sailed for Quebec : one hundred and seventy-six were afterwards enabled to follow, by means of sub- scriptions, raised in their behalf in London and Glasgow. It was an unfortunate circumstance, that the season v^as so far advanced when they set sail, for the summer was over before they could get upon their lands. Had they been two months earlier, they would have been able to have erected log houses, and cleared two or three acres, and made themselves comfortable before the rainy and cold weather commenced. But the frost came on before they were prepared, 57 hey hey wo to or ible and occasioned not only a great deal of discom- fort, but much discouragement. Nevertheless the greater number overcame every difficulty, and having made themselves warm and comfort- able, assisted their less able or enterprising neighbours. The accounts which these settlers transmitted to Scotland were so favourable, th. ' thousands were anxious to emigrate, and in the following spring made preparations for that purpose. But government would not agree to furnish the same terms to more than eighteen hundred. Such was the desire to em.igrate, that much difficulty was found in selecting this number out of the many thousands that were pressing forward to be included. This division, consisting of about nineteen hundred, sailed early in the spring, and were forwarded from Quebec to Lanark without loss of time, so that they reached their lands early in the summer. This gave them a great advantage, as the industrious were able to build houses, and make improvements upon their lands before the winter commenced ; and had not the uncommon wetness of the season caused the dy- sentery to make its appearance among them, by which a few were carried off, they might have been said to have been exposed to no difficulties or privations. These two emigrations, though trifling in number, compared to the population 58 of the district from whence they came, produced the most beneficial results. The distresses of the lower orders had engendered a spirit of dis- content, which was at one time rather alarming ; and yet, notwithstanding the very few that emi- grated bore no proportion to the labouring and manufacturing classes left behind, still their de- parture produced readier employment and better wages. Few of *hese settlers knew any thing of farming, the most of them had been always accustomed to live in towns, and to be employed in weaving, and other occupations of a seden- tary nature within doors : yet it was surprising how soon their habits were changed, and how rapidly they learned to handle the axe, and the saw, and to perform the laborious task of clearing land. But animated by the certainty of inde- pendence, they have made astonishing progress. Large fields are now cleared around every house, the quantity of grain raised is very considerable, and a grist and saw mill have been erected for the convenience of the settlement. In fine, the Scotch settlers, with a very few exceptions, are all living in abundance, comfort, and happiness : different, indeed, is their situation, from those of the same class who are still in Glasgow and its neighbourhood. Living on their own land in ease and affluence, they cannot but feel grateful to government for rescuing them from want and 59 misery. But Lanark is only a part of the great military settlement which commenced in 1816, under the superintendence of the Quarter-master- general, and which extends over a large and fer- tile tract of country between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa rivers. Here the discharged officers and soldiers were placed, and were al- lowed one year's provisions, implements of hus- bandry, articles to assist them in building their houses, and grants of land from one hundred to twelve hundred acres, according to their rank. This settlement, which was an impenetrable forest in 1816, now contains nearly ten thousand inha- bitants: some of the first settlers have gone away ; but their places have been speedily sup- plied by persons of more industry. The woods are gradually disappearing, and luxuriant crops rising in their stead. The roads are improving, and the means of communication between the different parts of the country are becoming daily more easy. The huts first erected by the settlers are giving place by degrees to more substantial and comfortable dwellings. In December, 1822, the military superintendance terminated its la- bours with great credit^, having found a wilder- ness, and left a most flourishing Colony ; but as the population was so large, and the country so well settled, it was deemed necessary to drop the military establishment, and to leave things in 60 future to the. direction of the provincial govern- ment. The capital of the district is called Perth, con- sisting of nearly two hundred houses. In this town the courts of justice are held. The houses are all built of wood, except the court-house, the goal, and a merchant's shop, which are of brick. Besides Perth, there are within the district two thriving villages, Richmond and Lanark; but none of the three will become for a long time either large or populous : for in this country all live by agriculture, and there are no manufac- tures to ii !rease the size of the towns. A canal is just now commencing between the Ottawa or Grand River, and Kingston, which will run through the military settlement,— ra work which, when finished, will greatly improve the country, give occupation to a great number of labourers, and bring a market to the farmer's door. Though the population of this settlement be already great, yet thei^ is much land still unoc- cupied, and room for many hundred families, who might be placed on farms, at a very small distance from neighbours, well v^atered, pos- sessing a fertile soil, and many local advantages. On the whole, when it is recollected that it is only nine years since the first tree was cut down, the progress must appear astonishing even to 61 those who have been in the habit of viewing rising settlements. In the year 1823 it was considered desirable, with reference to the state of the south of Ireland at that time, to encourage a partial emigration, more as an experiment than with any view that an emigration on so small a scale could produce any very beneficial results. Mr. Robinson was appointed superintendant of this emigration ; and immediately proceeded to the neighbourhood of Cork, to collect such as were disposed to go to Canada. He endeavoured to get small farmers, who had been dispossessed of their land, and particularly such persons as had been brought up in habits of agriculture. When he first made the terms public, upon which the Government had agreed to send out settlers to Canada, they were received with jealousy by the people, who seemed to consider it a plan of the Government to get rid of them, rather than relieve them ; and this opinion they were not slow in expressing to the superintendant. However, upon meeting with some o^ their friends, who had been in Canada, discharged soldiers and others, who were able to explain to them the situation of the country, and the certainty that all would get employment, their suspicion vanished. And finding that the information which they got in this way corresponded with what Government 62 had told them, they began to think more seriously of the proposals offered them ; and, after some little time, many came forward to accept them. The feeling to emigrate now spread rapidly, and the superintendant found no difficulty in getting the number he wished for. He was directed in his selection by the principal noblemen and gentlemen of the country, and was confined to such as were absolute paupers, or such as they wished to get rid of The voyage to Quebec was prosperous, and attended with very few casualties ; and prompt arrangements having been made, the emigrants were soon transported to Upper Canada. When they arrived at the place of their destination, every thing seemed to turn out favourably. Fortunately, the autumn was extremely pleasant, and free from rain ; and they suffered much less from exposure to the weather than could have been expected, or than they could have done earlier in the season, as there were neither flies nor musquitoes in the woods to annoy them. They were encamped in the immediate neigh- bourhood of persons who had been placed on their lands three years before — many of whom were their countrymen; and they had thus an opportunity of seeing how far they had advanced in their improvements, and how comfortably they lived after three or four years' residence in the 63 country. This encouraged them exceedingly. The superintendant informed the committee, that during the three months that he was with these poor people in the forest, it was but doing them justice to state, that there was neither constable nor magistrate within twenty miles, and that they were at all times obedient to his orders, and never were persons more grateful for any little acts of kindness. The testimony in favour of the prosperous state of this emigration is most ample. Mr. Boulton says, that they are all perfectly contented, with a very few exceptions, and doing well ; and that he has seen forty or fifty letters from them to their friends in Ireland, expressing the highest satisfaction at their change of circum- stances, and recommending their correspondents to leave no stone unturned to join them: and another witness informs the committee, that having occasion to go to the eastern part of the province last February, he saw two or three of the Irish emigrants of 1823, in the village of Brockville, who were extremely pleased with their situation, and had come to sell part of their produce. He likewise understood from several gentlemen residing in Brockville, that many of the settlers had a considerable surplus that year to sell ; that one family had so much as twenty- three barrels of flour to dispose of ; and almost H 64 all had some ; that they were peaceable, and well-behaved, and had gained upon the good opinion of their neighbours, who looked upon them at first with suspicion. And Mr. Markland says, that, according to his information, the set- tlers of 1823 were managing very well, and that they were very comfortable and happy. Mr. Boulton further states, that he actually saw the emigrants of 1823 in good health, and well clothed, and like the other inhabitants of the province ; that although he did not see their houses, he yet knows perfectly well how they are built, as similar ones are to be seen in every part of the country. They are square log build- ings, made of the trunks of trees, the vacancies of which are filled up with plaster. They are dry and warm, being impervious to the weather, and far superior to the cabins which these people had occupied in Ireland. The emigration of 1825 was on a more exten- sive scale than that of 1823, the former consisting of 2,024, and the latter of only 568 ; and up to this date it has been equally successful. The transports conveying the emigrants from Cork to Quebec had remarkably short passages. A proper person had been appointed to receive them on landing. They were forwarded from Qu^ebec to Kingston without delay, where they were encamped for a short space, till the super- /^ 65 ten- [ing to ^he )rk A live lom ley ler- intendant had explored the land on which they were to be settled. This was found in every respect eligible ; the soil fertile, the water- com- munications favourable, and such as allowed the provisions and stores to proceed more than half way towards the intended settlement. Having examined the capabilities of the country, the superintendant returned to Kingston, and made arrangements for transporting the emigrants to Cobourg, the landing-place on the lake nearest the lands allotted for their reception. The sum- mer being very warm, the fever and ague made its appearance among the emigrants at Kingston, and afterwards at Cobourg : it was not, however, worse among them than among the old settlers ; but had they not been encamped in the open country during the heat, the fever would have been more general, and they would have been tormented with the flies which swarm in the woods during the summer months. The casual- ties have not been greater, nor indeed equal to what might have been expected ; and now they are all settled in comfortable log-houses on their respective lots, and are in a fair way of realizing every expectation that could have been formed of them. They have been uniformly obedient, and well conducted ; and were busily employed, during the last winter, clearing the land for a spring-crop. "I am here living in the very p ()(•) ** midst of them," says Mr. Stcwurt, in u letter to the Rev. Mr. Crowlev, " and at all times take *' an opportunity ofconversinj^ with them on their " affairs ; and I have always found them satisfied '* and happy : some of them have told me, with '* tears in their eyes, that they never knew what " happiness was until now. In general, they are *' making great exertions in clearing land, such '' indeed as astonish many of the old settlers. I *' conceive that this is in general owing to the " great care that Mr. Robinson the superintend- " ant has shown in regard to their complaints, " and studying their wants. Not one complaint " has there been made against them by any of *• the old settlers ; and it is the general opinion, " that where so large a body of people are ''brought together, none can conduct themselves " better*."— Colonel Fitz Gibbon says, I am a native of that part of Ireland whence these set- tlers came. I speak their own language, and have conversed with many of them ; and I do assure those^ who feel an interest in the welfare of these poor people, that they make a very just estimate of the circumstances in which Govern- ment has placed them, and are grateful, in the highest degree, for all that has been done for them. They are almost all settled in their lots, (Dec. 26, 1825,) and are making great exertions ; some of them to an extent almost incredible. * Report, pages 2SG and 2ii7. 67 inion, are elves am a set- and I do elfare just vern- the e for lots, ions ; ible. Other testimonies provin*^ the hopeful state of th(^ emigration of 1S25 nu;j;ht be added ; but what has been given, with Colonel Talbot's statement, quoted in the Report, who visited the settlement with Sir Peregrine Maitland, the Lieutenant - Governor, in February, lS:2(), are (juite suftieient. IV. — That paupers will after seven years hi) able to repay, with ease, the expense of their emigration and settlement. — This account of tlui casual emigrations, and the experiments made by his Majesty's Government, leaves no room to doubt the certainty of the success that must at- tend any number that may be transported to the North American Colonies. These Colonies want population, and the want of it prevents their resources from coming into play ; and, if their interest be considered, as it ought to be, the interest of the empire, any expense incurred, in removing the redundant population, cannot be considered but in a national point of view ; for you not only remove a starving popula- tion, who are troublesome, and may be dan- gerous, but change them into good settlers, and by increasing the wealth of the Provinces to which they are removed, reproduce much more than the sum spent in sending them out. Emi- gration, on a large scale, to the Colonies, has a twofold operation : it not only renders the situation of the labourers left behind more comfortable, f2 08 but it increases the demand for labour, by the supplies which the emigrants soon require, and for which their industry enables them to pay. On every ground, therefore, the Committee are justified in recommending, to the serious deliber- ation of the house, the subject of emigration, as an obvious and immediate measure for correct- ing, in some degree, the redundancy of popula- tion, and for removing, or at least mitigating, the evils, which appear to result from its existence. But although it is evident, that this excess of population may not only be made comfortable, and, instead of continuing wretched themselves, and spreading misery around them, contribute to the wealth and strength of the empire, and that the benefits accruing to the mother-country, and the Colonies, would more than remunerate the expense incurred ; so that even in a financial point of view, there would be gain, and not loss ; yet all these advantages, great and obvious as they are, because they seem distant, and rather indirect than positive, are in danger of being lost, from the present state of the revenue : or rather perhaps from the commercial and calculating spirit of the age, which reduces every measure to arithmetical account, and values it by pounds, shillings and pence. Accordingly the expense of adopting an extended system of emigration is held up by many, as an insurmountable objec- 69 tion. The committee has the. jfore done wisely in seeking to remove its force. Recurring to the emigration of 1823, it ap- pears that the expense of settHng a family, con- sisting of a man and woman, and two children, amounted to 22/. Is. 6rf. per head ; but as, in the first operations, difficulties occur, which experi- ence, by introducing better arrangements, may remove, the estimate of 20/. per head, on which the vote was taken, may be safely assumed as the true value for Upper Canada ; and if suffi- cient for this Colony, it would be rather more than sufficient for the nearer Colonies of Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Consequently the whole expense of settling a family of four in any of these provinces, would cost 80/. ; or if it be thought that five is nearer the average of families, the expense of taking them out, placing them on their lands, building a log-house, giving them provisions for a year, and implements of husbandry, would be 100/. It may indeed be fairly pronounced, that this sum may, by good management, be in time lessened even one-fourth; but it is better to place the ob- jection in its strongest attitude, by striking a liberal average, and therefore the first estimate is retained. In what way is this money to be raised ? Is the danger of the redundant popula- tion so great and immediate as to justify the Im- 70 > i perial Parliament in meeting it boldly, and by a magnanimou'^^ sacrifice to destroy it for ever? Of this danger there can be no doubt ; and yet the Committee touch this part of the subject with timidity, are afraid of boldly calling upon the nation to advance the necessary capital, and de- spair of being able to induce Parishes in Eng- land and Scotland, or the proprietors of land in Ireland, to contribute for this purpose, unless it can be demonstrabb/ shown, that their interest, both general and pecuniary, ivill be benefited by such con- tribution. Yet nothing is so unbecoming a great people, as to starve, by an ill-timed parsimony, a measure of such undoubted importance as that of removing the redundant population. But happily for this measure, the evidence affords ample ma- terials for the demonstration required, and shows that the capital expended will be returned in full. The Colonial witnesses agree in stating that, at the expiration of seven years, every indus- trious settler will have a i=ufficient surplus of pro- duce beyond his necessary expenses, to pay with perfect ease 3/. \0s, annually, if the expense of placing him comfortably on his lands has been 80/., or 4/. 7*. 6^/. if it has cost 100/. To the unanimity of this opinion there is one exception. Lieutenant- Colonel Cockburn says, " Generally " speaking, I think a settler would not fulfil any " engagement he might enter into for the repay- 71 a (( a a a (( " ment, at the end of seven years, of the money " received;" and .vhen the question was put more directly, he answers, " I think that, at the end of " that time (viz. seven years), you cannot reckon " upon receiving back by way of rent any part " of the expense you were put to in establishing " these settlers : for in more than half of the in- " stances you would not succeed at all, and in many others you would not succeed without legal process : the only thing would be by with- holding the deed ; but if that were done, the ^^ consequence would be, that the settler would consider it such a grievance that he would cease to take any interest in his location, and would " leave it." As Colonel Cockburn had the superintendence of the military settlement for several years, and left it, on his resignation, in the most flourishing condition, his experience in locating settlers on their lands, and observing their progress, has been very great; and therefore his opinion is deserving of much consideration. Now it so happens, that it is the very opinion which might have been expected from a gentleman of honour and integrity, who strictly and impartially ob- served the improvements of the peculiar kind of settlers, who were placed more immediately under his superintendence. They consisted chiefly of disbanded soldiers, who, for many I 72 reasons, are not the best adapted to make rapid improvements in a new country : many are of dissipated habits, they have not been accustomed to provide any thing for themselves, have lived in comparative idleness, and are totally unac- customed to hard labour : they seldom have any familieo when they commence farmers, and are little disposed to remain closely on their lands : they are not in general discharged, till they have arrived at that period of life, when new habits are with difficulty formed, and too generally want that sobriety, steadiness, and perseverance, which are essential to success in clearing land : yet, with all these drawbacks, if the ability of such settlers to pay the required annuity at the end of seven years be only doubtful, and attri- buted^ even by Colonel Cockburn, rather to the want of inclination, or market, than ability, it establishes the certainty, that other settlers, who have been brought up to daily labour, of frugal and sparing habits, and who have been taught forethought by severe experience, will be quite ?ble to pay the stipulated annuity at the expi- ration of seven years. Another opinion given by Colonel Cockburn is accounted for in the same way ; namely, that provisions for eighteen, instead of twelve months, are required for the settlers : this he may have often found to be the case with the soldiers, or it 78 urn Ihat Lhs, Lve Ir it may have become necessary, from the period of the year at which the emigrant was placed on his lapd. If located in June or July, he requires more than twelve months' provision, because he cannot gather his corn till August or September in the next year ; but if located in September, October or November, one year's provision is ample to enable every industrious emigrant to raise more food for himself and family than they can consume. Mr. Robinson, in speaking of the settlers whom he took out in 1823, says, that, after the expiration of the first year, they will be able to provide IncUan corn and potatoes suf- ficient, and the latter supplies the place of oat- meal, and those who have an opportunity of working out during harvest, may supply them- selves with wheaten bread. The pt^culiar description of his settlers ac- counts also for the small improvements which Colonel Cockburn states they would make at the end of one year, namely, three acres ; which would not give more than twelve or fifteen acres at the expiration of seven years, when the time for cultivating the land cleared is taken into con- sideration. Now it appears, from Mr. Robinson's return, that many of his settlors, who were located late in 1823, had in 182c5 clebred much more than this. And Mr. Boulton considers ten acres a year not too much to expect ; but taking the 74 average at six acres, and making allowance for the greater portion of time required every year to cultivate the land already cleared, it is not a high average to fix the clear land on every farm at the expiration of seven years at thirty acres. Indeed, persons accustomed to improve land, would think little of having in the same period fifty acres under cultivation. But the ability of the settler to pay annually at the end of seven years the interest of the money expended in re- moving him from Europe, and placing him upon his lands, is not confined to matter of opinion, but is more than proved by Mr. Robinson's re- turn of the state of his settlers of 1823. The number of families included in this return is 120, and after reaping two crops, they had of cleared land 778 acres, cattle 302, hogs 201, grain of difierent sorts, 4826 bushels, 21,469 bushels of potatoes, 11,145 bushels of turnips: allowing a sufficient portion of this produce to be retained for the subsistence of the settlement till the gathering in of the next harvest, the value of the surplus which they might dispose of at the very lowest price, amounts to 1244/. 6s. 6d*=; and the value of their property, consisting of cleared land, cattle, and surplus grain, may be shown, from accurate calculation, to amount to 7,662/. 6.V. 6d. currency, or 6,896/. sterling. * Vide Appendix, No, I. i l) \d.^; of be It to Now, supposing them *o continue equally in- dustrious during the next five years, and surely they would improve rather than fall back, the capital of the settlement, or value of the property, will be more than 30,000/., and their surplus pro- duce for sale, above 5000/. Here then we have sufficient ability to pay ; but will there be an in- clination? It is hardly credible that this will be wanting, if proper pains be taken to explain to the settlers the whole transaction. Indeed, a full explanation should take place before any candi- date for emigration is chosen, and the most clear understanding established, that govrr ment makes the advance expressly on the condition that it is to be repaid. Surely persons removed from a state of want and misery to one of comfort and comparative happiness, who have had every necessary supplied them till they were able to provide for themselves and families, and who have been allowed, for the space of seven years, to accumulate property before they were called upon to repay any part of the sum laid out for settling them, would gratefully fulfil their en- gagements: and, indeed, so much would their ideas enlarge with their ability, that they would consider it a small return for the advantages which they enjoy. Perhaps it would be more pleasing, and consequently politic, to admit of redeeming the annuity, instead of holding iu perpetual. This 76 way of settling land, though at an expense to the farmer far greater, is almost universal in these colonies, and throughout the United States : consequently, the emigrant, coming out under the protection of Government, sees, on all sides, persons paying high interest on the price stipu- lated for their respective lots ; that this interest is rigidly exacted, and that, if the purchasers fail, he may be turned out of his farm, and lose all his improvements. They would soon, there- fore, become familiar to this mode of settling, and would look forward to commence their payments at the end of the seven years, without apprehen- sion or dissatisfaction ; but, if any should turn out perverse and refractory, and resist payment, they ought, without delay, to be compelled. An example or two would be quite sufficient to induce all the rest to be punctual ; and the debt, being so just, might be as righteously demanded and received by Government as by an individual. It would nevertheless be prudent, as suggested in the evidence, to be regular and exact in the collection, as any laxity in this particular would produce much trouble and vexation. As to any of the settlers throwing up their farms, it is a thing out of the question, and altogether incredi- ble. No man will leave a comfortable house, thirty acres of good land under improvement, and a good stock, because he has to pay 4/. 7^. Od. 77 per annum. If, indeed, an^ should be found so foolish as to leave their far.:M, Government could sell them at a considerable profit beyond the original expense laid out in establishing the settler and his family ; so that no loss would be sustained, and the surplus might be given to the original proprietor. It bei 3 thus clearly shown that the emigrants, at the ex]: 'ation of seven years, are able to assume ihe payment of the interest of the sum spent in locating them, the Committee directed their vttention to the most expedient method of paying it during that period. From the evidence of Messrs. Hodres and Curtis, it appears that, in England, the poor- rates offer an immediate fund for the repayment of any expense incurred for emigration, and that in some instances they have been already thus applied. But Mr. Hodges very justly observes that, if emigrants can be sent cheaper to the United States than to Canada, the parishes will of course prefer to send them to the former. At the same time he very readily admits that, if the expense of transporting them to the North American colonies was nearly equal, a preference would be given to them. Now a family, consisting of a man and his wife and three children, cost, ac- cording to Mr. Hodges' account, 43/. ; but the annuity of 4/. 76'. Qd. for seven years, amounts 78 1 1 only to SOL llv. Vul.; and, nf4 it is paid by instalments, spread through a period of seven years, it hardly auioimts to '20/. in ready money, so that by sending pauper-families to the colonies, instead of the United States, a saving is made of about 17/. on each. In either way, the saving to the parish would be immense, if compared to the expense incurred by retaining such fami- lies on the poor-rates. Mr. Hodges states* that a family, consisting of a man and his wife and two children, costs the parish lOv. per week; consequently, thirty such families, for one year, cost 780/. ; and for seven years, 5,460/. : but by sending them to Canada, the whole expense to the parish w6uld amount only to 780/., or one year's rate ; a saving, therefore, in thirty fami- lies, would accrue of 4,680/., or, allowing the discount, as the payments are made by way of annuity, 4,576/. 6-?. Such an advantage would very soon call the attention of different parishes, and induce them to embrace it with grateful alacrity. In Scotland the redundancy is not so pressing, except in a few places; and though there be legally a poor-rate, it is seldom levied ; and there may be more difficulty than in England in finding the means of paying the interest of the money expended in settHng emigrants during the first seven years ; yet it would certainly be * Report, page IS 3. 7U ping, be and Id in the ing be more profitable for the wealthy inhabitants of those districts in which the labour exceeds the demand, whether the proprietors of lands or houses, or persons engaged in trade, to contribute a certain sum for so short a period as seven years, than to be harassed with daily applications, repeated subscriptions, and yet have the grief of beholding so great wretchedness everywhere around them. Perhaps a temporary parochial or county rate might be so modified as to make it reasonable and efFectual. In Ireland, the effects of redundant population are so dreadful, that it is matter of astonishment to see the doubts expressed in the evidence, whether the proprietors and others could be per- suaded to contribute towards the expense of emi- gration. Can any reasonable contribution be at all equal to what they are already losing ? Does not a large portion of this population live upon lands for which they pay no rent, and from which the proprietors dare not remove them ? Would not, therefore, a small annual payment become a profit, by enabUng them to get quit of these paupers, and to enlarge their farms without exciting outrage and murder? The Bishop of Limerick advises a small assessment upon land, and thinks if it were left voluntary to adopt it or not, that parishes would very soon perceive their advantage in assuming it, that they might have the 80 privilege of sending out their paupers. ** The *\farmcrs would he i/d more dcsiroits,'* says his Lordship, '* bcccmse the mhchicf comes home to ** than ; their houses are imhie to attac/r, their '* cattle are destroj/ed, their lices freqaenl/j/ Income " a sacrifice.'" With such facts daily increasing in number and atrocity, it is impossible to believe that the landed proprietors in Irt^land can long stand out against giving their assistance to remedy so great evils. But as these evils are extending beyond Ireland, and the paupers of that division of the empire nn) spreading them- selves over England and Scotland, and depress- ing, wherever they go, the character of the labouring class, it becomes necessary for the Legislature to take the question of emigration up, on public grounds ; and, as Ireland will profit more by any extended plan of emigration which may be adopted than any other portion of the empire, she ought to be compelled to give her full share of the contribution. It is evident that emigration, to be useful, must be on a great scale ; and yet, perhu )s, not so great as many may be disposed to imagine. At all events, it would not be necessary for Go- vernment to give assistance to such a numbor as would be sufficient to produce all the benefit wished for ; because the voluntary emigration would greatly increase : nor is it too much to say, 81 that as many, and perhaps more, would go of their own accord, depending upon their own little stock, and the aid of their friends at lionie, or already in the colony, as would bo sent out at the public expense. On this ground, I think that 750,000 persons, including men, women, and children, or 150,000 families thus apportioned — From Ireland, 100,000 England, 40,000 Scotland, 10,000 150,000 would be a sufficient emigration at the public charge. This number might be sent out in ten years, 15,000 families each year, or 75,000 persons. These would draw nearly as many after them every season. Contracts might be made for the supply of the provisions necessary during the whole period, in order to prevent difficulty from the temporary rise of markets. But, indeed, what the provinces might not be able to furnish during the first years, would be very easily sup- plied by the neighbouring states. The settling of these 15,000 families would cost annually one million and a half, of wl '^h one million would be charged on Ireland fo 'en thousand families, and half a million on England and Scotland; u 8:^ and assuming that money might be borrowed at 4i per cent., the charge to be rated on Ireland the first year would be 43,750/., to be increased by a like sum every year for seven years, when it would amount to 306,250/., at which sum it would remain stationary for three years, as we suppose the emigration to continue ten years ; but at the end of the ten years it would diminish by a like amount, and entirely vanish at the end of the seventeenth year. Half these respective sums would be the rate charged on England and Scotland. The emigration might be closed in seven years, and thus avoid any intricacy in accounts ; but the number of emigrants each year would be so much increased, as to augment very much the danger from sickness, and a rise in the price of the articles required for their sustenance and comfort. ft TABLE. Years. * Families. "I —.— Capital. Interest paic by Great Britain and Ireland. Interest as- sumed by theColonists or Settlers. 1st yea f 15,000 £. 1,500,000 £. 65,625 2nd 30,000 3,000,000 131,250 Srd 45,000 4,500,000 196,875 4th 60,000 6,000,000 262,500 5th 75,000 7,500,000 32 ,125 6th 90,000 9,000,000 391,750 7th 105,000 10,500,000 457,375 8th 120,000 12,500,000 457,375 65,625/. 9th 135,000 13,500,000 457,375 131,250 10th 150,000 15,000,000 457,375 196,875 Ilth . . * • • • 391,750 262,500 12th * • • • ' • • • 328,125 328,125 13th . . • * • • 262,500 391,750 14th • • • • • • 196,875 457,375 1 5th • • • ■ • • ■ • 130,250 523,000 16th • • • ■ * * ■ • 65,652 388,625 17th • . -^— J_ • • .. ( 554,350 Each family, supposed to consist of a G 2 man, woman, and three children. 84 n I From this table it appears, that the whole transaction requires seventeen years for its com- pletion ; but the business of actual emigration and settlement is finished in ten years. To give each family one hundred acres of land would require a tract of fifteen millions of acres. Now it would be wise to spread this population over the different colonies, allotting, perhaps, a larger number to Upper Canada, on account of the superior advantages which it possesses, and the propriety of making it strong as an outpost ; for, as it stretches behind many of the provinces of the United States, it ought to be especially protected. The sum to be raised in Ireland annually would in the first year be 43,750/., and increase by that sum till the seventh year, when it would amount to 306,250/. : after which it would remain stationary at this sum for three years — the colonists, or settlers, after the seventh year, assuming the annual interest paid on the first year's emigration, and so on, year by year, till the whole charge is taken up. Now, 2h per cent, on the rental of all lands, or 2 per cent, on the rent of lands and houses, excluding small tenements of 10/. rent per annum, or below, would pay the whole. At first a small per cent- age would be sufficient, increasing gradually for the period of seven years. The rate might be 85 so graduated as to increase and diminish accord- ing to the sunas required. The annual payments to be made by England and Scotland will be trifling indeed, compared with the benefit. Go- vernment should admit persons having a small property, such as 100/., or even 50/., on certain conditions. Emigrants of this description would sooner become comfortable, from being able more easily to acquire stock, and thus proceed more rapidly with their improvements. As a great number of persons have emigrated to the United States, many might desire to follow them. Such might be permitted by their parishes, if sati^'^r-d with receiving from 26/. to 30/., the amount of the interest paid on account of those who go to the British colonies. With these modifications, and the repeal of the impolitic laws now in force respecting pas- sengers, it is not too much to say, that voluntary emigration, without aid from Government, would equal that sent out at the public expense. More- over, it would continue, and even increase, after the ten years had expired, and the 150,000 families had been comforteibly settled in the diflferent colonies. Emigration on a great scale is, indeed, the great step. It is suggested by Nature as the most obvious remedy, but it is not suflicient of itself. It may suspend, but cannot be considered m' ' ■ ^ ^.fi* vjn^y.?-,,. :6 ill a permanent or radicrj cure, without the assist- ance of subsidiary measures : such as regulating the building of cottages, simplifying the poor- laws, but, above all, establishing parochial schools through the wifole country, in connexion with the established churcli, and under the super- intendence of the clergy, as they are in Scotland, m which the poor may receive a religious and moral education. This measure, by inspiring the rising generation with good principles, and forming habits sober, frugal, and industrious, would prevent crime, and entirely dry up the sources which produce that frightful stream of infant profligacy and vice, which Mr. Chambers, in his evidence, so strongly describes. It might easily be proved that emigration, on the plan here recommended, would be attended with positive and immediate advantage to the nation. Were, indeed, the capital of fifteeii millions, which it requires to be raised, for the purpose of commencing some new speculation, objections, in the present state of the finance, might be urged against it, even if the grounds of success amounted nearly to a certainty ; but, in truth, many times this capital has been already irretrievably absorbed, and every million paid for transporting paupcr-cmigranls to the colonies M Mtk^r-T.,. 87 will relieve the country of nn annual charge of several millions. For let ■' b-j leiTiembered, that those who are to be c Tit out are at this moment a burthen on the community, and are supported either by the poor-rates, subscriptions, or private charity, without any prospect of better- ing their situation, or of obtaining effectual relief. Now, this scheme not only repays the money laid out, and prevents future demand, but actually compounds a perpetual annual charge for the simple interest of that charge during a short period. A pauper-family, Mr. Hodges says, will cost a parish at least 20/. per annum ; but by this arrangement, instead of 20/. for ever, you have only to pay 4/. 7,v. Qd. for seven years. Add to this, that the wealth and commerce of the colonies will be treb'od, an I a corresponding increase take place in • 1 e nr vigation apcl manu- factures of the mothcx 'xiuntry. It may also be shov*^/; from the Report, that the Legislatire, by passing the law against sub- letting, has identified itself with the measures adopted by the landholders in Ireland, for clear- ing their estates from the surplus population. Now it is evident that this population has a claim for subsistence somewiiere, either from their former landlords, or the Government, unless it be contended, in a Christian country, that they 88 i:. It ought to be classed with vermin, and either put to death, or allowed to perish. If the interest of the landholders and the State (as appears to be the case from their joining in the same measure) requires the removal of this redundant population, justice demands that an integral part of the measure should be the regular supply of their wants, and not an increase of their wretchedness. Were, indeed, the Irish landholders to provide for the tenants they dis- miss, as the Marq .iS of Stafford, Mr. Campbell, and others have done, their misery would be greatly alleviated, and legislative interference might be the less necessary. But to thrust them out of house and home, without provision or shelter, resource or hope, is to plunge them in despair, and to invite to insurrection and re- bellion. If it be asked why there is such a clamour against emigration as a national measure, I an- swer, that it is a question which has never yet been carefully examined ; its philosophy has not even been touched, nor its consequences, as a measure of State-policy, unfolded. It, neverthe- less, offers an untrodden field for the political economist who will take common sense along with him well deserving his most serious atten- tion ; but, omitting the consideration of these H9 yet not 3 a lio- tical ong ten- lese interesting topics, lor the present, I hasten to a conclusion. Allow me then, Sir, to hope that these remarks may induce those, who have the means, to assist you in giving effect to the wise and practicsable scheme of emigration, to the consideration of which you have for so many years directed your zealous and unremitted attention. It is a scheme founded on principles incontrovertible, combining the relief of the misery which the redundant population are at present suffering, with the permanent benefit of the empire. It is a noble measure of State-policy, which must succeed, and repay those who promote it for all the labour which may have been incurred in its establishment. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient, humble servant, J. S. APPENDIX. No. I. ANALYSIS OF Mr. ROBINSON'S RETURN OF THE EMIGRATION OF 1823. The Irish Emigrants were placed on their lands by Mr. Robinson, the Superintendant, in the autumn of 1823. The country one continued forest. In the winter of 1826, when they had only reaped two harvests, an account was taken of their improvements and produce, which gives the results exhibited in the following table from one hundred and twenty settlers, who were found on their respective lots or farms of one hundred acres each. 1. Acres cleared, 778, value 4/. 10^. per acre, being a low price for clearing and fencing . . . 2. Bushels of grain raised, 4826, at 2^. Gt/. 603 3. Potatoes, bushels, 21,469, at l.v. 4. Turnips, bushels, 11,145, at Gel. 5. Cattle, 302, at 31. each 6. Hogs, 201, at 1/. each 7. Horses, 2, at 51. each ^£3501 d. 603 5 1073 9 . 278 12 6 906 201 10 £6573 Thus it appears, that the value of the property acquired by the Emigrants, in two yca^ons, amounts to six thou>>and, 91 6 five hundred, f»nd aeveiity-tliree pounds, six shillings, and sixpence, provincial currency, or five thousand, nine hun- dred, and sixteen pounds sterling. During the first year, the settlers were supplied with provisions by government, after which they had to support themselves. But the Report is imperfect, in not stating the quantity of provisions raised each year respectively, and the surplus, if any, that could be sold, after leaving a suf- ficient supply for the settlers till the gathering in of the next harvest. The rations or provisions furnished by government ceased on the 1st oi November, 1824; and the settlers lived on provisions which they had raised, from that time to the 1st of February, 1826, or fifteen months, and yet they possessed the property detailed in the foregoing table. But they required a further supply of six months' subsist- ence, or twenty-one months in all, to bring them to harvest. Of this property, only items 2, 3, 4, amounting to 1955/. 6s. 6d. can be considered as disposable, and even these cannot be taken in whole, but must be diminished by the quantity of provisions necessary to support a mixed population of one hundred and twenty families, or four hundred and seventy-seven persons, from the 1st of No- vember, 1824, when their rations ceased, to the 1st of August, 182G, when wheat-harvest begins. In order to find the amount of tliis deduction, it becomes necessary to classify the settlers. Of the 477 individuals given in the return, There are, Single men ... 4.3 Married men . . .77 Married women . . 77 Children . . . . 2so 477 92 Now the provision necessary tor the support of an able- hodied man, when reduced to wheat, has been estimated at sixteen bushels a year, a woman twelve, and a child eight bushels. Tlierefore for tweuty-oue months 120 men require 3300 77 women . 10 17 260 children 3920 Provisions reduced to wheat for 477 individuals, during twenty-one months As each family has a cow, one-third of this quantity may be reasonably deducted, on account of milk, and the vast profusion of garden roots and vege- tables, which grow every where in Canada . For another third, we substitute potatoes, at the rate of four bushels of potatoes for every bushel of wheat . . 8897 2932 2932 5838 Actual quantity of grain, either wheat or Indian corn, which is equally nutritious, necessary for the settlers for twenty-one months, till harvest 2933 From 482G bushels, the gross quantity of grain raised, deduct 2933 bushels reserved for provision, and we have a surplus for sale of 1893 bushels. The quantity of potatoes to be substituted for wheat is 2932 multiplied by 4, or 11,728 bushels, which, deducted from the gross quantity raised, 21,409, leaves for sale 9741 bushels. In estimating the value of the saleable surplus, we reject the turnips altogether, and suppose them to be consumed as vegetables, or food for cattle. There are some things not mentioned in the return, which, in estimating the value of the property of the settlers, 93 IS be •h, rs, ♦23 H 12 *-1.87 1 906 201 10 ought to be noticed 1 : The value of the buildings, i. The viilue of the implements of liusbandry. 3. The field- ashes. Giving due considpiation to these things, we have the following Table. 1. Acres cleared 778, at 4/. 105. per acre i?3o0l 2. Bushels of surplus grain, 1S93, at 2^. Cid. ... 3. Bushel} of surplus potatoes, 9741, at 1^. . . . . 4. Cattle, 302, at 3/. each .'>. Hogs, 201, at I/, each (). Horses, 2, at o/. each 7. Log-houses and barns, on 120 farms, at 10/. .... 8. Ashes, taking 40 bushels only for each acre of 778, the quantity cleared not more than half the usual quantity, and valuing them at 4rf. instead of 8f/., because the manu- facturer is obliged to send for them, the settler having, as yet, no means of conveyance 9. Implements of husbandry on 120 farms, axes, ploughs, harrows, hoes, spades, &c. at 5/. . 600 1200 ^jlS 13 £7602 6 From this table, it appears that the total capital, after leaving a sufficiency of provisions, and without putting any value on the land not cleared, but which, owing to the improvements, has increased very considerably, is 7062/. 6s. Gd. currency, or GS96/. 1^. lie/, sterling, that is more than half the sum 12,539/. 3s. experded in the emigration of 1823. In this table, the three items marked * are dis- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I m 1 '°^^ m m VI ^ /} c*l > '^' ^ '^ > 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTEK, NY. 145(0 (716) 873-4S03 iV \\ ^ :/. ^Ks ^ <> o\ 94 posaljle, and amount to 1244/. Os. Gd., or almost 10 per cent, on the capital expended. Instead, therefore, of requiring seven years to enable him to pay the interest of the money expended on his settlement, the emigrant could pay it, as this table proves, in two or three years. At the expiration of seven years, the capital in the settlement will be, at least, four times as much, or upwards of 30,000/. sterling. Mr. Robinson's return furnishes several curious particu- lars. It shows, that the number of acres cleared is com- monly in proportion to the number of the family. Table. Name. Number of far nily. Acres cleared Michael Cockery . 8 . . 30 Martin Ryan 9 • 25 Thomas Madden . 6 . . 20 Richard Forest 6 26 These are the four families who have made the greatc'st clearing; but there are twenty-six, who have ten acres and upwards in a state of improvement. Table. Name. Number of family. Acres cleared John Coghlin 3 5 Patrick Nilligan 2 4 Patrick Rourke . 3 . 3 Thomas Collins 2 . 4 It appears, that single men have cleared fewer acres and consequently raised a smaller quantity of produce than married men. They are not so steady, and stay less at home, or they go to service. Married men form the best settlers ; and childreti, which are so great an incumbrance tjr> to poor people in the United Kingdom, beconu" a treasure in Canada. Table. Single Men- John Gubbins Patrick Cookery John Regain John Gabrin Acres cleared. 1 8 2 cleared. acres than iss at best irance . No. 11. « In regard to the preparations necessary for the reception of such a number of Emigrants, there appears lo be great misapprehension ; many supposing that a long time is re- quired to make the lands fit for location, open convenient roads, and provide dej ots of provisions. Now all these things, in as far as they are required, can be done in a very few months. One surveyor can in two months lay out a township of 66,000 acres, in lots of one and two hundred acres. In regard to roads, they cannot become good, ac- cording to the meaning of the epithet as applied to roads in this country, till the population becomes dense ; but the climate of the North American British Provinces steps in to make them excellent. The inland roads through the new settlements are covered with ice and snow in winter, or the very season when the settler more particularly needs them, and the rivers during the same period become the most easy and extensive avenues of communication. In summer, the roads are in most places tolerable ; and it is only during a few weeks in the spring and autumn that these, through new-settled townships, are in some places impracticable. But the difficulty, or if you will, the impossibility of com- 96 munication during these short periods, is not felt, because it is anticipated and provided for. Let it, however, be observed, that in all the Provinces the great post roads are passable at all times of the year, and that water-commu- nication is almost universal. In fine, the inhabitants even of the most remote settlements, feel little inconvenience from the difficulty of communication in comparison to what those persons accustomed to the fine ». ads and facilities of travelling in this improved country are apt to imagine. Provisions may be procured .in abundance, at easy rater.. Fifteen thousand families may require 60,000 barrels of flour, and 48,000 barrels of pork or beef for the first year, and, to give each one hundred acres of land, 1.000,000 acres. If we divide the families as follow, the matter will be simplified. Table. Families. Flour. Pork. Acres of Land. For Upper Canada . 7,500 30,000 24,000 750,000 Lower Canada . 2,000 8,000 6,400 200,000 Nova Scotia . . 2,000 New Brunswick . 2,000 8,000 8,000 6,400 6,400 200,000 200,000 Cape Breton . . 1,800 Prince Edward's Island 500 4,000 2,000 3,200 1,600 100,000 50,000 15,000 60,000 48,000 1,500,000 Arrangements may be made, according to this table, (as to the Canadas 1 speak positively,) to receive their re- spective divisions even next summer. • f I.niiiloir Printed by W.('r.ou'R« Stamfori\ Street, f c r \ because ver, be tads are jommu- its even enience to what ilities of magine. y rater., rrels of rst year, 000,000 will be Acres of Land. 750,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 100,000 50,000 ,500,000 ;able, (as their re- :rc r