sir. ^^rt ^ ^.^<^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ ^ ^^ fff. .^V^ 1.0 SfKi U£ itt ISii 12.2 ■f HA *■ Sf 1^ 12.0 I.I ■lUU 6" ^/ ^ y I%0togFa{to Sciences Corporalion M o 4^ >k"V '^r\\ 23 WIST MAIN STRHT WltSTIR,N.Y. U5M (71«)«72-4S03 ■( CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHJVJ/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas taehniquaa at bibiiographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat originai copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographicalhf uniqua, which may aKar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may aignif icantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara ehaekad balow. D D n n D D D D D D D Coiourad covara/ Couvartura da coulaur Covara damagad/ Couvartura andommagAa Covara raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raatauria at/ou paliiculta Covar titia miaaing/ La titra da couvartura manqua Coiourad mapa/ Cartaa gAographiquaa an coulaur Coiourad inic (i.a. othar than blua or black)/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) Coiourad piataa and/or iiluatrationa/ Planchaa at/ou iiluatrationa an coulaur Bound with othar matarial/ RailA avac d'autraa documanta Tight binding may cauaa ahadowa or diatortlon along intarior margin/ Lareliura sarrAa paut cauaar da I'ombra ou da la diatortlon la long da la marga IntAriaura Blank laavaa addad during raatoration may appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar poaaibia, thaaa hava baan omittad from filming/ 11 aa paut qua cartainaa pagaa blanchaa ajouttaa lorn d'una raatauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta, mala, loraqua cala Atalt poaaibia, caa pagaa n'ont paa «t* f ilmtea. Additional commanta:/ Commantairaa aupplAmantairaa: L'Inatltut a microfilm^ la maillaur axampiaira qu'il lui a itA poaaibia da aa procurar. Laa d4taila da cat axampiaira qui aont paut-Atra unlquaa du poim da vua bibliographlqua, qui pauvant modlfiar una imaga raproduita, ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dana la mAthoda normala da f llmaga aont indiquAa ci-daaaoua. I I Coiourad pagaa/ Pagaa da coulaur Pagaa damagad/ Pagaa andommagAaa Pagaa raatorad and/oi Pagaa raataurAaa at/ou palliculAaa Pagaa diacolourad, atainad or foxad/ Pagaa dAcolorAaa, tachatAaa ou piquAaa I — I Pagaa damagad/ I — I Pagaa raatorad and/or laminatad/ D Tha to til Tha poaa ofti filmi Origi bagli tha alon, otha firat alon. or III □ Pagaa datachad/ Pagaa dAtachAaa HShowthrough/ Tranaparanca Tranaparanca Quality of priii QualltA InAgala da I'impraaaion Includaa aupplamantary matarii Comprand du material aupplAmantaira Only aditlon availabia/ Saula Mition diaponibia r~~| Quality of print variaa/ r~n Includaa aupplamantary matarial/ n~| Only aditlon availabia/ Thai ahall TINli whic Map) diffai antlr bagir right raqui math Pagaa wholly or partially obacurad by arrata alipa, tiaauaa. ate hava baan rafilmad to anaura tha baat poaaibia imaga/ Laa pagaa totalamant ou partlallamant obacurciaa par un fauillat d'arrata, una palura, ate ont MA filmAaa A nouvaau da fapon A obtanir la mailiaura imaga poaaibia. ( rhia itam la fllmad at tha raductlon ratio chackad balow/ Ca documant aat filmA au taux da rAductlon indiquA ci-daaaoua 10X 14X 18X 22X 2SX aox J 12X 18X aox a4x 28X 32X '0 Mails wdu nodifiar irun* ilmaga as Tha copy fllmad hara haa baan raprodiicad thanka to tha ganaroaity of: Library of tlia Public Archivaa of Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha bast quality poaaibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and In kaaping with tha filming contract apaciflcations. Original coplaa in printad papar covara ara fllmad baglnning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad impros- slon, or tha back covar whan approprlata. All othar original coplaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha first paga with a printad or illuatratad impras- sion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraasion. Tha last racordad frama on aach microflcha shall contain tlta symbol ^^> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appllaa. L'axampiaira film4 fut raproduit grica A la gAnAroaitA da: La bibliothiqua das Archives publiquas du Canada Laa imagas suh/antas ont 4t« raproduitaa avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da l'axampiaira film*, at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Las auampiairaa originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat imprimia sont filmto an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnAAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraasion ou d'iliustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras axamplairss originaux sont fiimte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraasion ou d'illustration at an tarminant par la darniAra paga qui comporta una talla ampraii.ta. Un das symbolas suivants apparattra sur la darnlAra imaga da chaqua microflcha. salon la cas: la symboia — ► signifia "A SUiVRE", la symbols V signifia "FIN". Maps, platas, charts, ate, may ba fllmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to ba antlraly included in ona axposura ara fllmad beginning in tha uppar laft hand cornar. iaft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Las cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux da rAductlon diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre raproduit en un seul cllchA, 11 est filmA A partir da i'angle supArieur gauche, do gauche A drolte, et de haut en bas, an pranant le nombre d'Imagas nAcessaire. Lea diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. errata to ) pelure, on A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 I ^ w ,i^y^ $t. <,-,^. POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNT or LOWER CANADAj WITH REMARKS ON THK PRESENT SITUATION OF THE PEOPLE, AS ReOARDS THEIR MANNERS, CHARACTER, RELIGION, ^C, ^c. By A CANADIAN ,Aa. LONDON : WILLIAM MARSH AND ALFRED MILLER, OXFORD STREET} CONSTABLE & Co., EDINBURGH. IMO. A f. pc t""* ■'>, # i» LONDON: IKINTED BY T. BRETTBLL, RUPERT STREET, HAYMARKET. ^-'"» •-„*' ■/) \ :S/977 mt ■ ■ PREFACE. »i' -:■>«■ # Some years since I left Lower Canada, the country of my birth, and have, from that period, resided chiefly in England. Here I have had both time and opportunity to reflect upon the state of the various colonies which belong to the British Empire, and of that which to me is most interesting — my native country. Her present political situation has occupied a large portion of my thoughts; the want of correct information among the people of England, respecting that situation, has been long to me a subject of deep regret and solicitude ; and, at length, in the absence of others more competent to the task, I have sum- moned resolution to hazard an explanation of the affairs of my country, persuading myself, that the candid statements of a Canadian by extraction may diminish, if they cannot destroy, the many unfavour- VI PREFACE. able and incorrect im^iressions which have been created by the relations of various English travellers and resident Anglo-Canadians, respecting the feelings and situation of my countrymen. The matter is laid before the public, as one in which they themselves are interested; and an appeal is made to the good sense of the English people, in hopes that they will listen to both sides of the question. Few persons are ignorant that, for some years past, there has existed in Canada a misunderstanding between the Local Government and the House of Assembly, which is the popular branch of the Legis- lature ; that this misunderstanding became more than ever decided during the late administration of Lord Dalhousie ; and that it was at last deemed advisable by the colony to have recourse to the Imperial Go- vernment, in order to settle the differences existing. To enable the British Legislature justly to adjudge between these contending parties, much information is required-— part of this information the present Work is intended to afford* Many pamphlets have been published in Quebec and Montreal on the same subject, and some of these are in the hands of per- sons in this coimtry, directly interested in the affairs of the colony. The tone of these works shows to PREFACE. VII what height party feelings have arrived, and the strong desire that exists on all sides to justify their conduct in the eyes of the public ; but none of them has been written for the English people — none of them, however deserving, has had an opportunity of being circulated here. Being, for the most part, written by persons ignorant of the state of the in- formation of Englishmen respecting Canada, they seldom contain such matter, or are put into such a form, as to gratify or excite the curiosity of the English public. These circumstances have induced me to take upon myself the character of an Author ; to endeavour, as far as lay in my power, to expose the complicated causes of our complaints; and to seek fcom the hands of the British nation, what th^ are ever ready to grant — justice to an injured people. In this undertaking, I hope ^or little success as an Author ; still less do I expecb viy approbation from the contending political parties themselves, since I have attached myself strictly to the truth, without reference either to persons or parties. The task of blaming the proceedings of the various individuals composing or connected with the Local Grovemment, is to me too painful to have been undertaken lightly, or without a deep feeling of the necessity of its being VIU PREFACE. i impartially and completely performed: no personal feelings have interfered ; and I therefore request all those who have been, and are members of the local administration, to believe that I have no desire to attack them as individuals, and that my reflections regard solely their public functions ; my sole aim is to afford the people of this country a knowledge of our situation, so that they may be able to rescue the province from its present difficult situation. In giving my feeble talents to the common cause, I aspire to no literary reputation ; I submit to an im- partial public, with the greatest possible humility, my opinion respecting the political affairs of Xiower Canada; and should I succeed in creating an im- pression favourable to the cause of my country and my compatriots, I shall consider myself amply re- warded for my trouble. The greatest part of the Canadians, of whom it is my lot to form one, unfortunately know by expe-^ rience, that advances in literature have, amongst us, of necessity been far from rapid : the cause of this is evident. In a new country, every man is neces- sarily more employed in the business of procuring the mere necessaries and conveniences of life, than attaining a cultivated undei*standing. No class exists "MHki PREFACE. IX there, suAciently rich and extensive to maintain a body of literary men, by purchasing their labour. Every man is engaged in seeking after the more immediate necessaries for his livelihood ; few or none depending on the proceeds of accumulated wealth. In spite of this absence of motives to literary excel- lence, however, some few remarkable exceptions are to be found ; men who, in any country, would be re- spectable for their litt^rary attainments, but who, when their means of instruction are considered, must be esteemed men of wonderful acquirements. .t - If I have undertaken to write a book (a strange kind of amusement for a man of my habits), it is not that I have the vanity to place myself amongst* this class of rare exceptions; but because, in a time so critical as the present, I think it the duty of every man, interested in the welfare of the Canadian people, to expose before the British public, by all means in his power, the true cause of our evils, and the manner in which they ought to be remedied. .;,.. "%' This work is not hastened by immediate circum- stances, but is the produce of long reflection and observation, reduced into a small form, to suit the present purpose. Had there been need, it might easily t ii m PREFACE. have been made to assume a more bulky shape, and imposing appearance ; it was believed, however, that the pbject of the undertaking would be best attained, by confining the work to its present moderate di- mensions. m %.^ .^.^ I . ^. .^ i In the Appendix (No. III.) will be found a list of such works as might be read with advantage, by those who are desirous of procuring information re- specting the colony. One of these I cannot help noticing en passant. This work was printed at Montreal, and designed exclusively for the colonial office, and a few private friends of the Author in England, and is styled, " Political Annals of Lower Canada, being a Review of the Political and Legislative History of that Pro- vince, &c. &c. ; by a British Settler." \r^ The honourable Author, who, with his politics, is perfectly well known, has, for the last twenty or twenty-five years, abused and cried out against every thing connected with the Canadian inhabitants of French extraction — " French Canadians," as he calls them. This is not surprising to persons in the cdony, who are acquainted with the politics of the country ; rRErACE. xi but in England, where the lecrets of the local cabinet are little known, such a work as the above produces some effect. It is to be regretted, that the talents of its Author have not been used to destroy, rather than to foment the animosity of the different parties. As a member of the Extcutive and Legislative Councils, he has had it greatly in his power, during his long residence in Canada, to render himself useful to the Province ; had not a desire of domination, and the extraordinary power which he and a few indi- viduals obtained gradually in the administration of the local government, as well, perhaps, as some feelings of private interests (at no time a matter to be passed over as of little consideration), induced him to neglect the public good, and the welfare of its ancidit in- habitants, under pretext of favouring a single class, i the British settlen, which class, according to him, has not, and never can have interests the same as those of the ancient people of the Province. It would have been easy for me to prove, to what an amazing extent he has been in error, and how much his pre- judices have got the better of his reason ; such an explanatory digression, however, would be endowed with little interest in the eyes of the public ; and they who possess the work will be able, if they please, to judge by the exposition which I am about to lay grii PREFACE. before the reader, respecting the policy of the line of conduct which '.he honourable Author proposes. In Appendix No. I. will be found a description of the Saguenay territory, an immense tract of country, yet imperfectly known, with some obser^tions re- specting the advantages it possesses for new Settle- ments; and in No. II. a short description of the most useful minerals, and other natural produce of the country. . , , . »* ' I have only to add, that the present Work was originally nearly all written in Frenci , and that I have had it translated, in hopes that t ereby it may be more generally read. *i , • -J-'* t-^^t/- wr*4* -? m^-^0^''^ ^^^^^mm^^fm^ *' THE J UTHOR. IHJ iU.-ii-i-t*,* »vM** -•'"''**>*' «;4-M •''vff' t^"^'ft\^'^'^ ' I'l Ui^i). ; CONTENTS. it.' m CHAP. I. Discovery of the Country, and Origin of its Name—' Passes into the Hands of the Engiis?i — Boundaries— Obfect of the present Work ^ Page. CHAP. II. Act ofnQliJbr dividifigthe Province into Upper and Lower Canada — Legislative and Administrative Bodies — The Governor — Executive Council — House of Assembly — Judiciary 11 CHAP. III. A List of the Governors, from 1 791 to the present time — Observations on the State of Canada under Sir James Craig — Sir George Prevost — General Drummond — Sir John Sherbtooke — Tlu Duke qf Richmond — Lord Dalhousie — Sir James Kempt US ! I i ' i li I ii ' iii' XVI CONTENTS. CHAP. IV. Of the Character^ Manners^ Customs, Industry, and Religion of the Canadians — French Population — State of the People — Agriculture — Food-— Clothing — Habitations— 'Amusements of the People — Their Character Ill A-;,i ..-«■•' ;/,^^ CHAP. V. . -.vH State of Education 151 CHAP. VI. Of the Waste Lands of the Crown, and the Lands reserved fir the Protestant Clergij 168 I CHAP. VII. Remedies proposed .....V....'.'....'......... 192 APPENDIX. " , No. '■ "' ^ "" I. The Saguenay Territory 207 II. Minerals and other Productions of Canada... SI 2 III. Historical and Descriptive Works relating to Canada «14i CONTENTS. XY N«. Page. IV. JrUdes of CapUukUion agreed on between ^ General Townthend and M. de Ramsay ^ vv». Commander of Qfuhec^ onthieX^k of Sep^ tember, 1769 216 V. Articles of CapitukUion between General Jm- herstf Commander-in-X^hief of His Britannic , Majesty's Troops and Forces in North Ame- rica^ and the Marquess de VaudreuU^ Lieute- nant-Gene^al Jbr the King of France, in ' T^ .., Canada, on the 8th of September, 1760 216 'VI. An Act Jbr making more effectual Provision JbrtheGovemmentof the Province of Quebec, in North America, passed in the Fourteenth Year of the Reign of George III. 226 VII. An Act to repeal certain Parts of the preced- . iiig (No. VI.), and to mdkejurther Provision i;^- for the Govern ment of the Province, passed in the Thirty-first Year of the Reign of Geo. III. 231 VIII. An Address to the Electors of Lower Canada... 247 IX. Extract from a Bill for uniting the Legisla- tures of Lower and Upper Canada ; printed ^^ ^ Order of the House of Commons, on the Slst of July, 1822 249 X. A Poetical Composition inserted in the Quebec Gazette on New Year's Day, 182 9 261 XI. Statement of the different Establishments for Education in Lower Canada, from the Re- turns made to the House of Assembly, in 1829 262 XII. Extract from the First Report of the Committee of the House of Assembly, respecting the Settlement of Crown Lands; printed on the l^thqfFebru4try,l821 268 XIII. Extract from the Resolves of the Council, re- specting the Introduction of Tenure in Free 1 ^■\ ! . . ii 1! iH XVI CONTENTS. '. ■«#'*. Page. V and Common Soccage, in lieu of the Ancient Tenure of the Country 261 XIV. Observations on the Report of the Committee of the whole Council, respecting a Change in the Tenures of the Province of Lower Canada 266 XV. List of the Counties and Members ^for each, according to the Representation BiUf as a~ mended by the Legislative Council, and v'x agreed to by the House of Assembly, oti the nth of March, iS2d 273 XVI. Provisions of a Bill to encourage Emigration... 275 \\ ■ » i Ii t f I :'.lf ( ■ , V: r *^ t\^ ,^ "^ .-"••;: n'juv? .■••\. :n \ i .-J— 1 ■' .;^ v^---^4^"^<'.;:"-\ vvfS"-^ ^:M l^S <> € -■'17 .IZ .1. *,.«■/- fft' r ACCOUNT _ _ OF wtrai LOWER CANADA. ?>?>«*!« »{>. , .... ■J i l-•\^• ^r^io '^ ^u:i >■■ 'H^rl^ .jsi.n-'-'"5 *^ CHAPTER I. Discovery of the Country^ and Origin of Us NamC'-^Pcuses into the Hands of the English — Boundaries — Object qf the present Work* .^ In the year 1497, Sebastian Cabot, holding a commisaion from Henry VII. of England, discovered the countries situated on the south-west of the river St. Lawrence. The appellation of Canada was given to these territories, as well as to those afterwards discovered by Jacques CarUer, a sub- ject of France. Of the ori^n of the word Canada there are various accounts. It is by some asserted to be a word of the Iroquois language, agnifying a collection of huts; others, however, give it a fanciful derivation from the Spanish. It is said that the Spaniards, long before Verazani was dispatched by Francis I. on a voyage of discovery, had disembarked in the bay now called Chaleurs, and, in their 2 ORIGIN OF ITS NAME. ««l»ii m»|MH «|I HM search after mines, pronounced constantly before the savages of the country the two words, oca nada — here nothing; which words the Indians afterwards repeated to the French. Others, agfun, assert, that the term is a corruption of capo de nador—cape of nothing; which appellation the Spaniards are supposed to have conferred on the country, believing it utterly barren and desolate. The territory now known by the name of Canada was, until the year 1759, in possession of France; and, together with the remmnder of her pos- sessions in that part of America, was distinguished by the appellation of La Nouvelle France. ~WM: In 1629, Canada was taken by the English, but was then held in so little estimation as to be returned to its former owners, the French, in three years afterwards*. In 1769, however, General Wolfe was dispatched for the purpose of conquering the country ; and on the plains of Abraham, under the walls of Quebec (the capital), he defeated the French troops, who had been induced to leave their almost impregnable fortress. Wolfe lost his life in the action ; but the victory he had gained decided the fate of Canada, which then passed for ever from under the dominion of France. ^ A capitulation was entered into by the inhabitants of Quebec and Montreal, and raufied by the regular authorities. To this capitulation I shall hereafter have to reverfj*. ^ * For some time the country was under the direction of one government, and was generally designated the Province of Quebec. In 1791 > the province of Quebec was divided into the two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. To Lower Canada alone, as then marked out, are the succeeding obser- vations intended to apply. i^fi\d: . ■ ff^^m m^ t«f\\ M¥' iJi«*« n'r'iJI- .' ^tSt,' * Le conseil de Louis XIII. tenait aussi si peu k cct (Stablissement, qu'il opinait k ne pas en demander la restitution ; mais Richelieu, qui avait fond£ la derniere compagnie, fit changer d'avis. On arma six vaisseaux pour sou- tenir cette demande, et la cour d'Angleterre, d'apres le conseil du Lord Montague, rendit le Canada aux Fran^ais en 1631. — Beautis de tHistoire du Canada, p. 84. f See Appendix, Nos. IV. and V. * w-w-f --^;/" -jdj ku l-'-Titi^m'Mii* *i '#% BOUNDARIES. For the purpose of preventing confusion, it may be ad- visable to give a specific detail of the boundaries ef the province. ..-„..-.. -^.,. -f-^^^.A The country lies between 45** and 5^ of north latitude, and 63° and SV of west longitude from Greenwich. The territory of the Hudson^s Bay Company, or East Maine, is its northern boundary: the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the river St. John, and part of the Labrador coast, bound it on the east. Its southern limit is formed partly by New Brunswick, and partly by a portion of the territory of the United States ; viz. the district oi Maine, the province of New Hampshire, the state of Vermont, and of New York. The western boundary was settled by the Act of the Im. perial Parliament, passed in 1791, dividing the province of Quebec. The line running between the two provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, is, by that Act, directed to commence " at a stone boundary, on the north bank of the lake St Francis, at the cove of Pointe au Baudette, in the limit between the township of Lancaster and the seigneury of New Longeuil ; then along the northern boundary of thp seigneury of Vaudreuil, running north ; twenty-five degrees east, until it strikes the Ottawa river; to ascend the said river, into the lake Temiscaming; and, from the head of th(e said lake, by a line drawn due north, until it strikes th^ boundary line of Hudson''s Bay, including all the territory to the westward and southward of the said line, to the utmost extent of the coantry, commonly called or known by the name of Canada*.^ Differences having arisen between Great Britain and the United States, respecting the boundaries of their respective territories, commissioners were appointed to arrange the difficulties. The line between the province of U|^r Canada and the United States was accordingly s^tUed by them ; but finding that they could not agree respecting 9jF*K.tit -•./» ' r? -1" "% :- * See Bouciiette's 7'«)po(»»'flp/iiJ{> ■0^ (9 OBJECT OF I ,! ! H ihe divinon betweeil Lower Canada and the district of Maine, the matter was referred to thie emperor of Russia; from whose decision it was eventually transferred to that of the king of the Netherlands, to the great discontent, it is asserted, of the United States. The matter, in a military point of view, is considered of importance, and is still undecided. •■■.am The object of the present work is to give a succinct detail of the government of the country thus described, from the epoch of its passing under the dominion of the English, down to the period of the termination of Lord Dalhousie^s administration, in the year 1828. Into a very minute dis- cussion of the proceedings of the colonial government, during the first years of the English rule, however, it is not my intention to enter ; and with a cursory view of the more im- })ortant legislative proceedings of the Imperial Parliament I jshail dismiss this early portion of our history : but as I come hearer to the present time, a more particular detail will be required. I flatter myself that an exposition of the cmi- diict of this specimen of Colonial administration will not be oitirely destitute of interest, even to the English reader : it will give him an insight into the Workings of a vast, and, in my mind, an ill-constructed machine of government: it will prove to him the pernicious consequences of having irresponsible rulers, and the utter impossibility of a well- organized administration being composed of persons drawn from a distant country, ignorant of the manners and situation of the people they are destined to rule, and careless of those interests with which they are but temporarily connected : it will exhibit to him a scene of complicated and vexatious oppression, on the one nde; of unsuspecting confidence and willing obedience, changed by ill-usage into distrust and typposition, on the other: it will prove how the best in- 'tehtions on the part of the English people have been con- stantly defeated, by the avarice and despotism of petty officers: it will teach him, in short, how a whole people THE PRESENT WOKK. have been checked in the progress of improvement, eii» thralled, ill-treated, abused, and then misrepresented, by the evil influence of a handful of grasping functionaries. Having exposed the evils, it is then my intention to pro- pose the remedies; to lay bare the injuries which my country has suffered ; to point out the means of redress. These are the sole objects of the present undertaking. 'r By the treaty of Paris, signed on the 10th of February, 1763, the Canadas were ceded to His Britannic Majesty, under certain provisions, which provisions, in some measure, were the objects of various articles in the capitulation entered into by the inhabitants of Quebec and Montreal with General Amherst*. On the 7th of October, the same year, His Majesty issued a proclamation, the objects of which were as follow. Both by the capitulation above mentioned, and the treaty of Paris, the inhabitants of Canada were contemplated under the character of British subjects-|' ; in conformity with the understanding which led to such contemplation, the pro- clamation of the King was issued. No distinction was made between the old and newly-acquired subjects of His Majesty, in this document; so that we may safely conclude that no distinction was intended. The whole of the inhabitants were considered as an out-lying portion of the English people, inhabiting a territory for which the King was, by the nation at large, allowed to legislate. After certain regulations respecting the administrative portion of the Grovemment, came certain articles, providing^ 1. That the English criminal and civil code of law, with the laws of the Admiralty, should have full force within the provinc. 2. That the trial by jury, both in civil and criminal cases, should always be employed. We may here observe, that two important consequences flowed from the establishment of this law : First, no duzen * See Appendix, No. V. t See Article 41 of the Capitulation of Montreal, Appendix, No. V. I •t«« !i' III i ii 'in Mil! I ill.; il !*-. 31 ill! I »Jill<) OBJECT OF ^t Maltf be totidemned to punishment, but on account of some infringement of the law ; which infringement must previously have been decided 6n by the legal tribunals. Second^ the liberty of the press, as it existed in England, became ipto JUcto a part of the law of the land. ' *^' ^ To g^ve effect to this proclamation, the provincial au- thorities erected tribunals, to administer justice according to the letter and the spirit of the law thus established. *! I may here be permitted to remark, that a violent and unnecessary revolution was, by this measure, brought about. The inhabitants of Canada had hitherto been accustomed to the law according to the customs of Paris ; their expectations were framed in accordance with this law; and much of the property of one portion of the people depended entirely upon its existence. To break in upon the old habits of the people, without the expectation of one earthly benefit, Was a piece of injustice, which, had it sprung from any thing but ignorance, would deserve severe reprobation. I have no doubt but that the English ministry had a nncere derire to benefit the Canadian people ; and, with the bold presumption usually attendant on ignorance, they altered the whole law of a people, without the slightest antidilution of mischief. One other determination deserves also to be recorded: no language but English was permitted in the law proceedings of a people who could not understand a syllable of that language. <'N The mischievous consequences of some of the above regulations, passed in defiance of treaties, of justice, and humanity, were immediately felt. Surprised, angered, and, in many cases, ruined by their influence, our ancestors, after a few years of silent suffering, at length raised their voices, and transmitted a statement of their complaints to the King. The Ministry pud attention to their remonstrances, and partially removed the cause of them, by passing, in 1774, an Act, commonly called the Quebec Act*. By recalling into * See Appendix, No. VI." '5? THE PRESENT WORK. force the ancient laws of the country, this Act provided, ■» far at wai in the power of the Ministry, for the safety of our private rights, but, at the same time, served to rob the people of expectations which they fondly entertained, upon their coming under the dominion of England, t^. that a representative government would be conferred on them, as soon as circumstances permitted. In the place of such a system, a local legislature was created, in which the people had no part; laws might now be enacted without their consent, and thus they were disappointed of one great privilege, which they had been taught to believe was the inalienable right of a British subject This Act, moreover, by establishing, without reserve, the ancient laws of the country, did away, at once, with the trial by jury in civil cases ; with the writ of habeas corpus ; and also with the liberty of the press. However, the Act was received with gratitude for the good that it brought. In time, neverthe- less, the evils it occasioned were loudly complained of, till, at length, the present constitution was, by the Imperial Parliament, conferred upon the country. Before this hap- pened, indeed, several amelioradons had taken place in the situation of the people — ameliorations brought about by the express commands of the Ministry in England. The Council had, in accordance with these commands, issued two ordinances — one in 1784, calling into power the writ of habeas corpus ; the other in 1785, establishing the trial by jury in ciril cases. The joy created by the first ordinance, among all classes of people, was extreme; their perscmal security seemed thereby established, as was their political existence, by the Act of the Imperial Parliament in the year 1791» which conferred on them their present con- stitution. The exertions of the Ministry to benefit the people of Canada, were not undertaken for persons wholly undeserving of the favour of the English nation. In the disastrous war of American independence, the Canadians steadily adhered to the fortunes of the English, and bravely repelled an !!'■' H i t ,'J OBJECT OF altack of the Americans, almoet wholly without ainstanoe from the soldiers of the mother country. In 1T75, the people of the United States contemplated the conquest of Canada, and, in pursuance of that object, commenced opera- tions on the 10th of May, by taking possession of the fort of Tioonderoga, upon Lake Champlain, which fort contained one hundred pieces of cannon. Crown Point, with the only vessel of war which belonged to the English, on Lake Champlain, also fell into their hands. These actions were performed by the division of the American army, under the command of General Montgomery, who determined to enter Canada by Lake Champlain. The second division, under the command of General Arnold, traversing the woods in the district of Maine, and suffering extraordinary fatigues during their march, arrived at Satigan on the 4th of No- vember; and, on the 8th, reached Point Levi, which lies exactly opposite Quebec, on the south shore of the St Lawrence ; and would probably have rendered themselves roasters of that town, had they been able immediately to procure the means of traverang the river, as Quebec was at this moment defenceless. General Carleton, the English governor, being then occupied with his troops near Montreal, in endeavouring to repulse the attacks of Montgomery. Arnold succeeded, nevertheless, in pasmng the river on the 9th, at Wolfe''s Cove, a short distance above the town, and took possession of the environs. Having received intel- ligence of the taking of Montreal by Montgomery, he established himself at Pointe aux Trembles, twenty-one miles above Quebec, and awaited the arrival of Montgomery before he attempted to attack the town. Montgomery, however, was unable, from various obstacles, and from the reustance he every where experienced, to join him before the 1st of December. General Carleton, in thie mean time, perceiving that the safety of the province depended entirely upon Quebec, which could alone offer any resistance to tlie American army, proceeded thither without delay, and, for-< tunately escaping interception, arrived there, on the 19th of rAMl THE PRESENT WOUK. n November. His arrival produced an extraordinary joy among the people; and he prepared, with his garrison, consisting v^ eighteen hundred men, for an obstinate defence. Of this garrison, three hundred and fifty men were regulars; about three hundreo aii'I fifty more consisted of seamen ; the remaind&r of th§ (urce being composed entirely of militia, whose firmii«iM and good conduct, during the siege, wrung, even from the mmt Anti-Canadian, the flattering tribute of unwilling applause*. Montgomery having, at length, taken the command of the American army, called a council of war, in which it was determined to attempt, immediately, to carry the town by assault. The 31st of December was the day on which this determination was to be carried into efiect — a day fatal alike to Montgomery and to the success of the American arms in Canada. The besieging army had, from dme to time, during the winter, been reinforced by succours from the United States ; but were unable, even with their augmented forces, to overcome the obstinate courage of the besieged, or to renst the terrible climate of the country. Montgomery, during the night, led his forces to the attack ; a furious snow storm was raging, and served, in some measure, to prevent the enemy from discovering his motions. As he approached Prescott Gate, by the road which leads from the upper to the lower town (which road winds round the face of the rock upon which the upper town is built), his army was crowded into the long narrow pass which led to the gate. The confused noise, necessarily arising from a multitude of persons struggling up the path, struck the ear of the sentinel in spite of the roar of the storm ; the sentinel immediately challenged the persons whom he supposed to be approaching : to this challenge, no answer being returned, he aroused the guard. During tlus awful interval, Montgomery formed his men, and advanced hastily to the gate. At this moment the garrison opened a fire with the guns which commanded * Mr. Smith, in his Hutory t^ Camada, pp. 7, 8, Vol. II, even ac- knowledges, " that there were Canadian gentlemen whose conduct, during the siege, was highly meritorious." — What condescension ! % hA t.i- i-iji [i I iiii 'It' i i 10 OBJECT OF THE PRESENT WORK. the path ; the groans which immediately succeeded plainly revealed the enemy ; and not till every sound in answer to the fire had died away did the garrison cease from their cannonade. Morning came, and revealed nothing; the snow falling thickly after the enemy had been destroyed, covered every trace of the tremendous efficiency of the garrison^s fire. It was quickly discovered, however, that Montgomery, with the whole of the attacking party, had perished. This was a fatal blow to the hopes of the enemy, who, after several further unsuccessful attacks, raised the siege on the 6th of May, and retreated towards their own country. Their army, at that time consisting of about three thousand men, attacked on all sides, was quickly dispersed, and by far the greater portion captured. During the whole of this painful siege, as well as the remainder of the campaign, disastrous in every point to the English, the Canadians e^eited themselves with indefatigable ardour and perseverance — maintained throughout an unflinching ad-> herence to the English party, and proved themselves (if faithful conduct can create desert) deserving of the most hearty goodwill, assistance, and respect from the mother country. ^j^'fe^iM tMt*.-5-j.tfc»^sf3c 'i*U.A i r< i}M v y^.v. 'g -IS "J Kri: i -A.i'! . "?,i, , ; Aj •wiJwit'- i^.*?1.' \i*i'^i^l'-H'''^ % vj*4#?|||»- ■ V*^' 't ''V't ' tVi fc»'>fii fVkLf t>|JLlt J> 4^ r ■-■;-, I CHAPTER II. -•i-'t' Jet qf'il91*,Jbr dividinff the Province into Upper and ^: Lower Canada — Legislative and Administrative Bodies r.. — The Governor— ^Executive Council — House of As- ^ setnbhf-^Judiciar^. >? i. We have now arrived at the most important epoch of the History of Canada, viz. that at which her present Repre- sentative Government was conferred upon her by the Impe- rial Parliament. For the purpose of giving an insight into the intention of the then Ministry, I will lay before the reader the proceedings of the House of Commons : — HOUSE OF COMMONS. b ■¥ * Friday^ March 4, 1791. Mr. Chancellor Pitt moved, « That His Majesty^s Message concerning the New Constitution for Quebec might be read.^ It was read accordingly. ■'<■'-■ George R, His Majesty thinks proper to acquaint th^ House of Com- mons, that it appears to His Majesty, that it would be for the benefit of His Majesty^s subjects in the province of Quebec that the same should be divided into two separate provinces, to be called the Province of Upper, and the Province of i:.s;. ;:;;■■ ♦ See Appendix, No. VII. -■-i^-^,r=<"»» *«-tr ■*Mw)i' m 12 THE PROVINCE DIVIDED INTO Lower Canada ; and that it is His Majesty^s intention so to divide the same, whenever His Majesty shall be enabled, by Act of Parliament, to establish the necessary regulations for the government of the said provinces. His Majesty there- fore recommends this object to the consideration of the House. Mr. Chancellor Pitt then moved, " That the Act of the 14th of His Majesty, respecting the said province, be read ;" — and he observed, that the purport of his motion was to repeal part of the above Act, and to introduce new regulations for the future government of the said province. Feeling the importance of the subject, he should have been desirous of stating fully to the House the grounds and the principles on which he meant to proceed, in forming a constitution for a valuable appendage to the British dominions ; which, he trusted, would contribute to its future prosperity. But as it was not likely that a7ii/ opposition would arise against bringing in a Billfor this purpose, and as explanations would come with more propriety when the Bill was before the House, he should state in a few words only the outlines of the plan ; unless questions were asked, and explanations demanded, in the first instance. The Bill which he meant to propose was founded, in the first place, on the recommendation contained in His Majesty^s Message, to divide the province into two governments. This division, it was hoped, would put an end to the competition between the old French inhabitants and the new settlers from Britain, or British colonies, which had occasioned the disputes and uncertainties respecting law, and other disputes of less importance, by which the province had been so long distracted: this division, it was hoped, could be made in such a manner as to ^ve each a great ma- jority in their own particular part, although it could not be expected to draw a line of complete separation ; any incon- venience to be apprehended from ancient Canadians being included into one, or British settlers in the other, would be cured by the establishment of a local le^slature in each* It was for this purpose he should first propose, in imitation of the constitution of the mother country, a Council and UPPER AND LOWER CANADA. %$ House of Assembly for each : the Assembly to be constituted in the usual manner, and the members of the Council to be members for life, reserving power to His Majesty to annex to certain honours an hereditary right of sitting in the Cou^icil. All laws and ordinances of the province were to remain in force till altered by the new legislature : they would, conse- quently, retain as much of the laws of England as they chose to keep, and they would possess the means of introducing as much more as they might think convenient. The Habeas Corpus Act was already law, by an ordinance of the province, and this invaluable right was to be continued, as a funda- mental principle of the constitution — ^these were the most important points. rB ' Mr. Fox then declared it impossible to express an entire approbation or disapprobation of a Bill which the House had not yet seen ; but he did not hesitate to say, that, if a local legislature was liberally formed, that circumstance would incline him much to overlook defects in the other regu- lations ; because he was convinced, that the only means of retaining distant colonies with advantage, was to enable them to govern themselves. * Ordered, — *' That leave be given to bring in a Bill to re- peal certain provisions of the Act of the 14th of His Majesty, respecting the government of Canada, and to make other provisions, &c.'' i From the observations of Mr. Pitt, it is evident that it was the intention of His Majesty^s Government to give to the ma- jority of the inhabitants of each province, and, by consequence, to the French Canadians in Lower Canada, the regulation of their own public affairs. This measure, which then, by the greatest statesmen of England, was considered not only serviceable but absolutely necessary, is now represented, by certain classes of persons aspiring to exclusive domination among us, " as the prolific source of the present grievances of the subjects of British origin ;^^ and these disappointed rulers suggest, << as the only remedy compatible with the in- *tere8ts of British colonization, that the constitutional powers 11 .All A LEGISLATIVE AND jh ; H A ■^i ■I . of the House of Assembly should either be greatly diminished, and strictly confined to legislating for the French Canadians^ and those of the other branches of the legislature increased^ for the protection of British settlers, or inhabitants of BriUsh origin, or the compoution of the House of Assembly should be modified, to suit the purposes of British oolonizaticm.^ When, in tracing down our history, we arrive at the period when regulations were projected, in pursuance of these sug- gestions, I shall have to recall to the reader^s mind the opinion of Mr. Pitt, as well as to beg of him to bear in his recollection the statements upon which that opinion was grounded. I now proceed to describe the constitution, as then framed by the Parliament of England. . The Legislative body was composed of — 1. The Go- vernor : % The Legislative Council ; and, 3. The House of Assembly. The Administration was composed of the Grovemor, and a Council styled the Executive Council. To a complete understanding of the remainder of this history, a minute ex- pontion must be given of the composition of these various branches of the government. ^ tw •si^'i . u Of the composition of the Judicial body, it will also be requisite to enter into explanation. ^^ ? ^;^' ;., '.m^^ i § 1. Legislative and Administrative Bodies. [ :\IA kit »: ' itjTfl , " -. I. The Governor, — If the reader bear in mind, throughout the following description, that the constitution of Canada is supposed to be an imitation, nearly perfect, of that of England, his conception of what I shall lay before him will be mate- rially assisted. By this also he will learn how the people of Canada have been imposed upon by certain words and analogies ; and, perhaps, he will obtmn an insight into the real structure of the English constitution itself. The first officer in the government is the Governor, who is supposed to be anaio^us to the King in the British g|o- vemment. The difiereoces between his real situation, with :» ADMINISTRATITE BODIES. 15 reference to the government of which he forms a part, mid that of the King of England, are however manifold and important. ^a > Such, for the most part, are his powers, considered as a constituent element of the legislative body ; the remainder must be viewed as forming part of his adminUtrcUive functions. / 1. He has the office of appointing all the various func- tionaries of the internal government, for example : — Judges, Revenue Collectors, Justices of the Peace, Militia and Police Officers, &c. 2. He posseses a power similar to that of the King of England, as regards the punishment of convicted criminals ; he remits, or carries into execution, the sentence of death ; he may remit fines, commute other punishments, &c. '. 3. He is entrusted with the office of providing for defence agtunst exterior attacks, having a ccmtrol over the King^s troops in the country, and the militia. 4. He also exercises certain portions of the King^s poorer in the government of the Church, in presenting Protestant incumbents to parsonages and rectories, &c. "^ He also fills a judicial capacity, being ex officio a member of the Court of Appeals : of this power we shall speak here- after. it I . iijii , .WW ,?'tTLEGISLATIVE AND A '^heseare his powers in name; in reality, however, they suffer material modificaUons, which modifications arise in con- sequence of the peculiar influence of the Executive Council. Of this council we shall speak before we attempt to describe the two remaining branches of the legislative body. > II. Executive Council. — This council ought to be com- posed of twelve members, and is supposed to bear a strict resemblance to the Privy Council in England : how correctly, will be immediately seen. Mr. Nelson, Member of the Pro- vincial Parliament, in his evidence before the committee of the House of Commons, gives the following account of its present composition. It consists of— 1. Jonathan Sewell, Speaker of the Legislative Council, Chief Justice of the province and of the district of Quebec, and President of the Court of Appeals. 2. The Rev. C. J. Stewart, Lord Bishop of Quebec. - , 3. John Richardson, Merchant. > 4. James Kerr, Judge K. B., Quebec, and of the Court of Vice Admiralty. 5. M. H. Percival, Collector of the Customs. 6. William Smith, Clerk of the Legislative Council. ^' ^ ^ 7. John Hale, Acting Receiver General. 8. C. G. Delery, Assistant Clerk to the Le^slative Council. 9. John Stewart, Sole Commissioner of the Jesuits^ Estates. 10. A. W. Cochran, Govemor''s Secretary, Law Clerk of the Legislative Council, Clerk of the Prerogative Court, and Auditor of Land Patents. 11. James Stuart, Attorney General. '*'*""- «'"' Out of these, seven are le^slative councillors, three are clerks of the Legislative Council, and one is Attorney General : of the whole number, there is one that is a native of Lower Canada, the rest are from different parts of the King^s dominions, the greatest portion of tb^m are natives of other colonies and the late colonies. This is the sole body in the country which has any check over the expenditure ; they are delegated by the Treasury to exercise the powers of ADMINISTRATIVE BODIES. 17 the Treasury ; and they report to the Treasury ; and upon their reports the Governors are finally discharged : they in fact audit accounts.^ The Committee naturally asked Mr. Nelson, *< If he con- sidered this a sufficient check ? His answer was — No ; it is no check at ail*."" We beseech our readers to pay attention to the compoution of this Council, and then inquire whether it be possible for the Governor to avoid being completely under its influence. This Council was established immediately after the con- quest, in imitation, it is said, of the King^s Privy Council. They who compose it may be dismissed at the pleasure of the King ; but that which is most extraordinary, as regards them, is, that they are completely irresponsible for their own conduct ; or for whatever conduct they induce the Governor to pursue. There is no law in the colony which regulates the exercise of their functions; they receive their instruc- tions from the King, and are considered as merely the agents of the Treasury. They have, it is true, no more than jP.100 per annum as salary, in their character of Executive Councillors ; but they nevertheless are well pro- vided for out of the public purse, as may be seen by the list above given of the several offices they hold : and all the warrants, for the payment of money, are countersigned by their clerk. An intelligent Canadian writer says of them : — *' But it is not only the duties of the more immediate servants, advisers, and officers of the Crown, the Privy Council, and the Judiciary, that the members of His Majesty^s Executive Council, in this province, are called upon to perform, they have also undertaken to discharge the duties of the House of Lords ; that august body, the individuals of which recall to memory all the great, virtuous, and patriotic deeds of a long line of noble ancestors ; who themselves still are the natural aristocracy of the country, who possess a greater ■ M * See Commons' Report, July 22, 1828. C .:i ' '^' Vl i'v-X. m t LEGISLATIVE AND f. portion of the soil of the kingdom, and whose interests and prosperity are inseparably connected with those of the nation; thus, equally independent of the Crown and the people, they form the strongest possible barrier against the abuse of power, which is necessarily vested in the Crown and its servants, and the violence of popular feelings ; and they afford the best security for the permanency of the constitution and the inviolability of property, which is the main object of every good government, and the fundamental principle of British freedom*." Let us, however, proceed a little further, and point out the cause which throws uncontrollable powei into the hands of the Executive Council. The Governors, when appointed, know, or quickly learn, that they are about to stand between two powerful and opporite political parties. We may easily suppose that, having, in the outset, no particular bias, they would be reserved in their conduct, and appear free from partiality. When they arrive, however, they are possessed of little knowledge respecting the country and the people; and, from the shortness of their stay, they are enabled, before they depart, to acquire very little more. They are, never- theless, persdnally responsible for their conduct. It is natural, therefore, that they should have recourse to such persons as can most completely defend them from all those evils which their ignorance might probably entail on them. They quickly discover the most useful to them, and, from many circumstances, the most powerful persons are the members of the Executive Council. In these, then, they eventually confide; and experience has shown that, whenever a contrary course has been pursued, the Governor has uniformly paid dearly for his temerity. The Council, when contradicted, seldom have failed to transmit to the Treasury representations disadvantageous to him contradicting them ; and as a Governor can easily be found, and an Executive * Financial Difficulties, &c., p. 18. '^ : -,,*^ •• Certain petty courts, which it is not necessary here to describe, being omitted, the judiciary of Lower Cfpia<^a is composed in the following manner : — At both Quebec and Montreal, there is a separate inde- pendent court— the one styled the Court of King^s Bench, for the district of Quebec ; the other, the Court of Eing*^^ Bench, for the district of Montreal. The first conasts of the Chief Justice of the province, and three other judges, all members of the executive or legisla- tive councils ; the second, of the Chief Justice of Montreal, and four junior judges. -^ . ;. ; . x . m; n ..)» JUDICIARY. ^ 25 Thiese courts have a civil and criminal side, and dispatch all the business not included in the jurisdiction of the^tty courts above alluded to, or in that of the Admiralty Court, in which a single judge presides, he being idso one of the judges of the Court of King's Bench. " - ^^"' At Three Rivers, there is a court, termed the Provincial Court, over which a angle judge presides*. Gasp^, and St. Francis, possess each a court of the same description. From these courts, except, I believe, from the Admiralty Court*!*, there is an appeal, in civil cases, to a court, styled the Court of Appeals, at Quebec, which is composed of the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, the members of the Executive Council, the Chief Justice of the province, the Chief Justice of Montreal—any five of these form a court ; but the judge from whom appeal is made is unable to sit on the trial of the appeal. All the judges of these courts are appointed by the Governor, which, in other words, is by the Executive Council ; and are, it would seem, from circumstances which I shall hereafter state, responsible to no one. There is moreover, a graduated scale of appointments, by which the younger judges are mtuntained in a state of expectancy of 'ni am'- '*: -V^ * The late Pierre Bedard, Esq. is now succeeded by R. Valliei'et dfe St Real, Esq., a nomination which is highly creditable to the judgment and impartiality of the present Governor. The name of the late Judge and Cana- dian patriot, however, will never be mentioned by impartial writers of Canadian history without terms of admiration, for his firm and disinterested conduct during his political career. He was one of those honest Canadians who suffered the most during the administration of Sir James Craig. f Abuses of a serious nature, and deserving the attention of Government, are said to have crept into the Court of Admiralty. Several complaints have been made against Judge Kerr (the present judge), and accusations carried before the Provincial Legislature during the last session, but we are not acquainted with the result We know that iS.200 per annum have been granted to the judge by the province, in lieu of fees ; but it is positively asserted, that, under different denominations, these fees are still exacted, and have even been considerably increased. This, if correct, must seriously affect the interest of the ship owners and merchants in England. . ,. ., ..; ^au , mm^. 26 JUDICIARY. ■# m fwm Im I ^S'iJ. more important and lucrative situations. The higher judges themselves, form the most influential portion of the Execu- tive Council, and thus the power of the Coundl extends through the whole body of the judicature. ■ '' -^rr|/« This power stops not here; besides the control which is thus preserved over the judges, there is a direct influence possessed over every part of the administration of justice, even where juries are employed. w*,^^t#?,,«>Tds??i4t.*'5 In Canada, the sheriff is not, as in England, the chief man in his county, nor his oflice one without emolument. He, with us, is an oflicer of the court, is removable at the will of the Governor, has a salary, and is thus under the power of the Executive. */i^^ "Wi i; i? e.^^ I(^ 'tmmm^^ I may cite, as an examyJe of the mode in which influence is maintained, the present state of the judicature at Quebec : — The Chief Justice is Mr. Sewell, he is an execu- tive councillor, so are his colleagues ; so much then of the administration of justice as depends wholly upon them may thus be said to be governed by the wishes of the Executive Council. The sheriff is Mr. W. S. Sewell, son of the chief justice. It is the duty of the sheriff to prick the juries when they are needed. If, at any time, causes should come on, in which the interests of those in power are involved, what security exists, that no improper advantage may be taken of the power of the Executive in the selection of jurymen? I do not assert, nor do I mean to insinuate, that the sheriff is not a man of probity ; but I do assert, and that openly, that the administration of justice ought not to be dependent on the voluntary good conduct of any man: The conduct of the sheriff ought to be subjected to such influence as would compel him to be upright. The sheriff ought not to be one immediately under the dominion of the Executive, and closely allied to the ruling judge of the court. A jury is thought requisite, in order to guard against any improper influence of the Executive over the judge; such is the express constitutional theory respecting jury trials : but if it be requisite to choose a jury for this JUDICIABY. 27 end, it is absolutely requiute, that he who chooses the jury should also be free from such improper influence. In Canada, moreover, there is no relief for the subject against the Crown, as will be seen by the following extract : — *' The King cannot be sued in his courts. It is under- stood that, by decisions of our own courts, public officers cannot be sued for engagements entered into by them in their public capacity, so that really the subject may suffer without a remedy. In England, there is the petition of right, which is decided upon in legal form. The Bill, introduced in 1824, by a distinguished advocate, was in- tended to ^ve a similar relief to the subject here. It, however,Jhiled in the Legislative Council*."" The oflicers of the crown always are careful to confound their own rights with those of the King himself; they studiously guard themselves from attack and control, under shelter of the constitutional maxim, that the King is not answerable fot his conduct ; and exclaim that His Majesty Y dignity is insulted, when their own evil deeds are censured* Attempts to make these various judicial oflicers amenable to justice ill hereafter be described; the causes and conse- quences of the fulure of these well-directed endeavours will also be laid before the reader, whom I request then to bear in mind the hasty sketch which I have here given of our irresponsible judicature, and then to decide upon the feel- ings and intentions of those persons who successfully opposed such salutary, such absolutely necessary reforms. . * ^ , ^ ; • Sketch qf Business, p. 22. •.'•s "f ;»,, .^.-VH-v "^'-n^p^ ^ 'I!] M m: 'r 111.'""; »' Oil.," ,:■•' Jilt -'!'■' '.f.-*ii: ;,*^'.yi:'i t'i'i'^'j Vffr'sl .-.'■ T ..: '^nrhi^l U- ■>ih vf I.llii.;^: V, •f >»7 ■>»• ^i '. 1 ^t ^t^H.i'j'-^ l^n-:- ■ii' ;;» - • 'i ■•J '.r^ ■iilH^ ••r' CHAPTER III. A List of the Governors, frofin 1791 to the present time — ^i' Observations on the State of Canada, under Sir James S' Craig — Sir George Prevost — General Drummond — Sir John Sherhrooke — The Duke of Richmond — L(n-d h Dalhousie. > rn '\'v: *' . ►VV - After the exposition I have thus ^ven of the Govern- ment, and the people to be governed, I shall be more easily understood in the narration which I am now about to commence, of the actual workings of this Government, and of the situation of the people under it. '- ^^' • - : It is not my intention to ^ve a complete detail of its history, from the period at which our constitution was es- tablished down to the present time, but to single out such parts as will enable the reader fully to understand the workings of the system, to obtain a clear idea of the evils we labour under, as well as the remedies which ought to be applied to them. The following is a list of the various Governors who have ruled over Canada, since it was possessed of a free government. Of these reigns, if I may be per- mitted to use such a phrase, it is my intention to dwell particularly upon that of Sir James Craig, Sir George Prevost, Sir John C. Sherbrooke, and Lord Dalhousie, in order that the reader may perceive the difference of the effect produced by tyrannical and coercive measues, even upon the most tranquil and submissive people, and that resulting from equitable and conciliatory proceedings. SIR JAMES CRAIG. 29 Alured Clarke, Lieut-Governor and Com. -in-Chief -" Lord Dorchester S«P*' 24, Robert Prescott ------------ Sir Robert J. Milnes, Bart, Lieut-Governor - - - July 31, Hon. Thomas Dunn (President) July 31, Sir J. H. Craig, K.B., Governor-General - - - - Oct. 24, Hon. Thomas Dunn (President) - June 19, Sir George Prevost, Bart Governor-General - - - Sept. 14-, Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B., Admin.-in-Chief - April 4, Sir Peregrine Maitland --------- John Wilson (Administrator) May 22, Sir J. C. Sherbrooke, G.C.B., Governor-General - - July 12, Duke of Richmond, K.C.B. Governor-General - - July 30, Hon. James Monk (President) Sept. 20, Earl of Dalhousie, G.C.B., Governor-General - - - June 18, 1791. J 1793. i 1796. 1799. 1805. 1807. ISU. 18n. 1S15. 1815. >J 1816. !} 1816. 1818. 1819. 1S20. =.t ' When the Government I have described was conferred upon Canada, the people generally were not in a situation to appreciate its worth, nor to act up to its principles. They had been brought up under a government which allowed them no will of their own in political matters, and they had long learned to submit in silence. The violent conduct of Sir James Craig aroused them from their lethargy. The pro- ceedings of the then government led a body of courageous and instructed individuals to discuss the propriety of its measures. This patriotism — this desire to understand the government of the country, spread far and wide over the reminder of the people, and the whole Canadian nation was almost at one instant changed in their character and their desires. m . The Anti-Canadian party was at this period openly supported by the Governor ; and an English editor of a newspaper, entitled the Quebec Mercury^ under the same patronage, indulged in every species of sarcasm against the manners, the habits, the religion, the political feelings, and, above all, the loyalty of the Canadians. This hostility on the part of the Governor— this abuse on the part of his satellite, induced a number of respectable and talented individuals to procure a printing press, for the purpose of so SIR JAMES CRAIG. I ! ■* \' 'ft' m counteracting the effects that might be produced by the false accusations then indulged in. They quickly succeeded in establishing a weekly paper, published in French, and styled Le Canadien. The paper war which immediately followed did not fail to inflame the minds of both parties ; and Sir James Craig, instead of endeavouring to calm these animosities, and remove the original cause of them, stre- nuously countenanced the English side, and thus increased the ill-will, on both sides, to a degree absolutely menacing to the interests of the province. He at length committed an act of injustice that no excuse can possibly palliate : he maltreated, degraded, and, in the end, without form or legal process, imprisoned a number of persons, whom he believed, or had been told, were suspected. These persons, to his great mortification, he was eventually compelled to release, by an order (it is said) from the Ministers in England. This was done without the slightest attempt having been made to inculpate them, and without the least compensation having been afforded to them for the ill-treatment they had received. It may be well to lay before the reader the circumstances which led to this extraordinary proceeding. At this period, a misunderstanding beginning to arise between England and America, the Governor deeiAed it necessary to organize a militia. Unfortunately, however, he was made to believe, that arms could not be confided to the Canadians without imminent danger ; and some ill-disposed persons succeeded in inflaming his mind to such a degree, that he at length seriously believed the province to be in a state of revolt. The war carried on by the newspapers confirmed this belief. It was reported, and, strange to say, the Governor believed the report, that the French Minister in the United States fostered the rising sedition of the Canadian people; that large sums of money had been transmitted by the French Government, for the support of the insurgents^ This idea, although ingenious, was absurd, as future events will suf- ficiently testify; but nothing appeared strange to the Go- SIB JAMES CRAIG. 9t vernor, who, in the present excited state of his imagination, was ready to give implicit confidence to whatever told to the disadvantage of the Canadian people. At length there appeared a placard, or hand-bill, signed VAmi Sincere!*. This determined the Governor to seize the press of the Canadien, and, on the 17th of March, 1810, a party of military seized both the prinUng materials and the printer, who, in spite of the immense sums of French money, and, we suppose, to the great astonishment of Sir James Craig, was conducted to prison without opposition— without the slightest tumult. At the same time, and with the same ease and quietness, many other respectable Cana> dians, among whom were some members of the House of Assembly, were also sent to prison : and thus ended this dreadful revolution. Some time after, they were politely requested to leave the gaol in which they had been confined ; — ^no explanations being given — no compensation offered—* no justification being required. One of them, however, more obstinate than the rest, refused to depart, unless some process, or trial, should take place ; and remmned one year longer incarcerated. Perceiving that he gained nothing by thus holding out, he then took his leave of the gaoler. It perhaps may be satisfactory to learn, that, in the succeeding administration, all these injured persons were recompensed by lucrative places ; that the printing press was restored to the original proprietors ; and that the most obstinate among them, being an advocate, was advanced to the post of a judge. We may here be permitted to remark, that the recom- pense thus bestowed was no retribution : it came not from the hand that had worked the evil — it came not from the law, acting as the redresser of wrongs — ^but was solely the result of the good feeling and good sense of the next governor, using his private judgment; and, though the • From this placard, the reader will find some extracts in the Appendix, Na VIII. 32 SIR JAMES CRAIG. 1 ''1* world well understood the reason of the favours then be^- stowed upon these injured persons, no public avowal of misconduct on the part of the former Governor was ever made — no public and formal acknowledgment of the inno- cence of those he had imprisoned was ever attempted : the illegal act passed off without censure, and might be com- mitted anew, for aught then or since done respecting it. . From this moment, the conduct of Sir James Craig, as well as of those who advised him, became utterly inexplicable. Hitherto he had enjoyed a fair share of popularity : he seemed determined now, however, to omit nothing which might render him obnoxious to the people. He constantly dissolved the Parliament, without the shadow of a pretext ; he used insulting language towards the representatives of the people, and acted in every way, and to the highest degree his situation permitted, the imperious and reckless despot. The consequence was, that he inflamed the public mind, brought on discussion, and taught the Canadians to study the constitution which the Imperial Parliament had bestowed on them. They determined to resist, step by step, every encroachment on their rights; and thus the attempts to establish a despotic sway, and to beat down the spirit of the people, served to establish a free government, and create a sturdy independence. From this moment the influence of the popular party, among the Canadians, became paramount; the Canadian and Anti-Canadian parties became permanently and inveterately opposed : all the natives, whether of English or French extraction, now feel the necessity of acting in concert — they feel no longer any shame in acknowledging themselves Canadians. The spirit of nationality is augmenting, and must continue to increase. It has unfortunately, but unavoidably, caused an insur- mountable jealousy against the power and dominion of persons sent from England ;— persons possessing themselves of all the most important posts in the government ; — persons unacquainted widi the true interests of the people, i^d desirous of showing their superiority by continually calum- I': SIR JAMES CRAIG. : own ^fl aised; H anized M erality ^ )unger 1 t spirit y| politic 9 iC Go- jd recent H on the wjl ittach- 1 , their 1 le true 1 id im- 1 rtions, 1 by the ^ ircesf, '" aflsisted gj fence of ||| Things, M red. '1 for repelling every hostile attempt that might be made upon the colony*." Certainly, a remarkable change this, in the language of the Government ! Again, on the 29th of December, 1812, he thus addressed the House :— - ♦* I have received His Royal Highness the Prince Regent's express commands, to thank you, in his name, for the assurances of support and attachment which the address of the House contiuns; and to acquaint you, that His Royal Highness places that confidence in the courage and loyalty of His Majesty's Canadian subjects, which makes him equally fearless of the result of an attack upon them, and of any insidious attempts to alienate their affection from hit government*' To show the reader that this confidence was not unde- served, I quote the following extract from the Governor's speech of the 13th of January, 1814 : — ' '* In reviewing the events of the late war, I cannot b'lt contemplate, with pride and satisfaction, the zealous dis- charge of duty which I have witnessed, as well in the militia as in all classes of His Majesty's subjects in this province ; which I consider the surest indication of their loyalty to their sovereign, and of their determination to defend, to the last extremity, this valuable porUon of his dominions." The Governor, perceiving that extraordinary expenses must be undergone, with great delicacy and tact prepared the House of Assembly for a message which he eventually sent down on the subject. The object of the message was, that as there was no money in the coffers of the government, to issue army bills, payable either in cash or in government bills of exchange in London. This measure was approved by the House of Assembly, and a Bill to facilitate the cir- culation of army bills was introduced ; and the liberality of the House of Assembly surpassed the hopes of the Executive. ^.15,000 were granted to pay the interest that might become Memoir*, by Robert Christie, Esq., p. 46. 38 sill GEORGE PREVOST. i ■ il ! due upon army bilk, of which j^.250,000 were authorised to be put in circulation (large bills, of twenty-five dollars and upwards, bearing interest at the rate of four-pence per day for every .^.100.); they were made current in the revenue, were to have the effect of a legal tender, and were redeemable at the Army Bill Office, either in cash or go- vernment bills of exchange on London, at the option of the oHnmander of the forces. Small bills of four dollars were at all times payable, in cash, at the Army Bill Office. All contracts, in which any distinction should be made between army bills and cash, were to be void ; and at the expiraiion of five years, all those who might be holders of such army bills were entitled to receive the amount of the same, with the interest due upon them, out of the Provincial Treasury. To defray the expenses of the Army Bill Office, in issuing, circulating, and cancelling the army bills, the Legislature also granted the further sum of ^.2,500 per annum. On the 1st day of August, 1812, this Bill received the royal sanction ; and the Governor prorogued the Parliament, with acknowledgments for the liberal aid they had granted him to meet the exigencies of the public service. This seasonable furovision of the Legislature at once enabled the Government to meet the demands of the public service, and revive the public spirit. A want of means, at so urgent a crisis, must have paralysed the energies of Government ; and this circumstance alone might have created a doubt in the minds of the Canadians of the indifference of the mother country towards the colony, that would have induced a despondency fatal to the provinces*. ^^r:^ jt Greneral Prevost was, without contradiction, the first Go- vernor who properly appreciated the feelings of the Canadian people ; and we may see that, in as far as the people^s repre- sentatives were able, he was fully recompensed for his good feeling. The critical situation in which he foun^ himself, and that which, in all cases, weighs more than feelings of " Christie's Memoirs, p. '43. SIR GEOBGE PREVOST. Go- ladian pepre- jgood Rselfy Igs of immediate intejrcst with a high-minded gentleman, sentiments o£ honour and honesty, induced him to pursue this path ; by which conduct, indeed, he saved an important colony, but in- jured his own personal interests. The reproaches that have been heaped upon him, are pretended to be grounded on his ill success in his military ey .^editions : this ill success is but a pre^ tence, the real cause of displeasure being his impartial beha- viour towards the whole people whom he governed. To those who will take the p^ns fully to investigate his military conduct, it will appear throughout, to have been directed by prudence and forethought ; he will be found to have sacrificed nothing to his personal vanity, but to have been guided, rather by the cool calculation of a general, than the blind and headlong fury of a soldier. True it is, that he was unsuccessful in his expe* dition at Flattsburg; true it is, that our whole fleet li^as captured; and true it is, that the General determined to retreat : the loss was not the consequence of the General^s want of forethought or skill, but his want of fortune : the retreat was not the consequence of want of courage, but the dictate of sound sense and humanity. Had he persisted in his enterprise, a large number of men must have been lost, without the possibility of maintaining the post for an instant ; and thus, for the mere purpose of performing a brilliant action, he would have uselessly sacrificed a large portion of his army. This, however, as I have already observed, was but the pretence ; the real cause of hatred to hun originated in a far different source. From the moment that Sir George Prevost took the reins of government, he endeavoured, as much as his power per- mitted, to recompense, by honourable and lucrative situations, those persons who bad been ill-treated by his predecessor. He assembled around him every person who possessed the esteem of the Canadian public, and thus formed a powerful Canadian party; re-established confidence in the minds of the inhabitants, and softened, by acts of clemency, the rigour of the measures pursued in former administrations. By this means he made implacable enemies in the opposite party, 40 sill GEORGE FREVOST. i! i ■ 'I. "I'il who did not fail to attempt his ruin. He, nevertheless^ steadily pursued the same conduct, contemned thar en- deavours, and forced them, eventuallj, to feel an unwilling respect for him. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by per- sons of whom he was necessarily suspicious ; he was ill sup- ported by his staff, and believed it absolutely necessary for him to be in the field, when he ought to have been employed in the cabinet. Two expeditions, in which he commanded in person, were unsuccessful ; and no more was required for h7s enemies to attempt his ruin. Different representations were made against htm in England, which induced him, un- fortunately, to undertake a painful and dangerous voyage to Europe, on purpose to justify his conduct. Four heads of accusation were brought against him, by Sir James L. Yeo ; and to these he was endeavouring to answer. Lest he should lose time, he left Quebec on the 3rd of April, wi^ the in- tention of proceeding to Halifax, or St. JohnX New Bruns- wick, traversing three-fourths of the time, on foot, woods buried in snow ; he arrived at Halifax, and embarked for England. On the 25th of March, 1815, previous to his departure, be prorogued the Provincial Parliament ; informed them that he was commanded by the Prince Regent to return to England ; that it was his intention to depart immediately, in order to de- fend his character, which had been assuled by the naval com- mander who had acted in conjunction with him on the lakes. " However intent (said he) on the subject that thus sum- mons^my attention, be assured I shall bear with me a lively recollection of the firm support I have derived from you ; and I shall be gratified, at an early period, in representing, personally, to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, the zeal and loyalty evinced by every class of His Majesty^s subjects in British North America, during my administration, their attachment to his august person and government, and, most particularly, the spirit and devotion manifested by the people of the Canadas, in the late contest with the United States of America." ^ .i-^iMm .j^m ««xt> SIR GEORGE FREVOST. 41 The fatigues pf his painful voyage, combined with a deli- cate constitution, and the inquietude of mind caused by the accusations brought against him, caused his death, before opportunity was afforded of justifying his conduct. It is satisfactory to learn, however, that justice was done to his memory ; that his great services have been properly appre- ciated, and the calumnies against his character have met the contempt and refutation they have so richly deserved. By this stroke of political intrigue, the Canadians found themselves suddenly deprived of a Governor who appreciated their merits ; the House of Assembly showed its attachment to his person and his measures, by voting the sum of «£.5000 sterling, for the purpose of buying a service of plate, to be presented to him, in remembrance of their gratitude for the services he had rendered ; the Legislative Council, however, opposed the grant, thus showing where the real enemies of Sir George Prevost were to be found ; and directing the at- tention of every man of common sense to the causes which rendered him unpopular with the class to which they belonged. It is to be regretted, that the Canadians have not yet erected a monument to his memory, in acknowledgment of his me- ritorious services, as the founder of their constitutional rights. Let all those who have blamed, and who yet blame, the military conduct of Sir George Prevost (his civil government has, by every one, been acknowledged to be beyond all praise) ; let them, I say, recollect, that he was chosen Govemor-in- Chief at the commencement of a war with America ; that in the whole country there were only 4000 regular troops to defend an immense frontier ; that there was no organized militia ; and that the Canadian population were far from well disposed under the preceding administration ; and then let them remember the promptitude with which the battalions of militia and other provincial forces were collected and es- tablished ; with what judgment the exposed points of the country were fortified ; with what ent!. asiasm the unoccupied militia, when needed, offered their assistance ; let them, I say, recollect all these things, and then state, to what else than the 42 SIR GEORGE PREYOST. 1 -L talents of the Governor they ought to be ascribed ? Let the public remember, that to Sir George Prevost it is alone owing, that Canada is now a part of the British dominions ; and then let them ask, if he deserved the treatment he received ? Peuples, dont la douleur aux larmes obstin^e, ,< .f fl.^'^ii'lt^i^ft' '* De ce Prince cWri deplore le tr^pas, ^^ /-^ ^^^i^^ . , ^,i .,.^, Approchez, et voyez, quelle est la destinee Des grandeurs d'ici bas*." I should not so long have dwelt upon the administration of Sir George Prevost, had it not been intimately connected with the cause of the Canadian people ; and had it not been an admirable illustration of the effects of the present system of our Government. I will here close my remarks on his conduct by the following extract: — . , ™ . ** The administration of the civil government of Lower Canada, under Sir George Prevost, was mild, equitable, and unquestionably popular, among the entire mass of the Ca- nadian population ; in whose loyalty, from the commencement, he placed the most implicit confidence. To their fidelity, and to the prudent and conciliating policy of the Governor, Great Britain is indebted for the preservation of the Canadas, unavoidably left destitute of money and troops, at the outset of hostilities with America, by reason of the urgent demands of the war in Spain. The provincial Legislature, by giving a currency to army bills, and guaranteeing their redemption, effectually removed all apprehensions of a deficiency in the financial resources of the colonial government. The organi- zation of a respectable force of embodied milida, and the power delegated to the Governor of turning out the whole of the effective male population of the province, in cases of emer- gency, enabled him to withstand the efforts of the United States during two successive campaigns, with scarcely any other resources than those derived from the colony. They who had been partial to the preceding administration, and who, probably, may have been instrumental in the arbitrary measures with which it is reproached, were, as might be •.-4- I. B. RoussEAt', Ode sur le Prince de Conti. S l}'jf^if:iyf^( GENERAL DIIUMMOND. 4S expected, adverse to the policy of the present Governor, and spared no pains to represent in England the affairs of the colony in the falsest colours. The disappointments expe*- rienced at Sackett^s Harbour and Plattsburg, gave occasion to his enemies to discredit his military character ; but, what- ever may have been his capacity as a general (which we leave to the judgment of military men), it must be admitted, that, as a civil Grovernor, at the head of a people irritated by arbitrary measures under the preceding administration, he judiciously explored his way, through a period of unpre- cedented embarrassments and danger, without a recurrence to martial law, or the least exertion of arbitrary power. His manners are represented, by those who were familiarly ac- quainted with him, as unassuming and social; his public speeches, or addresses, partook of even a classic elegance ; his smooth and easy temper placed him beyond the ordinary passions of men in power ; and, though aware of the intrigues of unprincipled and implacable enemies, labouring at his destruction, and loaded with the obloquy of the press, he is known to have harboured no resentment against the former, and to have reasoned with that coolness and unconcern with respect to the latter, which can only spring from a virtuous and ingenuous mind*.^^ Immediately upon the departure of Sir George Frevost, the government of the country was assumed by General Drumn^ond, who had greatly distinguished himself during the campaign in Upper Canada. The intimacy which had existed between him and Sir James Craig, was, in the opinion of the Canadians, no favourable augury as to the conduct he would pursue. His administration, though short, gave evidence that the people had judged correctly. A dispute at this time arose between the Government and the House of Assembly, the histwy of which it is of importance to relate. During the administration of Sir George Prevost, seventeen heads of accusation were carried, in the House of Assembly, Christie's Memoirs, Postscript. 44 GENERAL DRUMMOND. ■s* h iii.ai i '.i- *.}■ 11 tifi# 4 (ii ,^•1 ,^» agunst the two Chief Justices of the province : the matter of these accusations was, that they, the judges, had given illegal advice to Sir James Craig in 1810, and unconstitutionally aided his arbitrary proceedings; and that they had gone beyond their legal powers, in introducing certain rules of practice into their respective courts. The Governor was requested to transmit the accusations to England : he did so, but no favourable answer having been returned, and the matter having laid at rest in England a year before it was noticed, the House considered it requisite to choose an agent for the purpose of supporting and furthering their complaints. The House also voted the impeachment of the judges, and presented a request to Governor Sir George Prevost, to suspend them from the exercise of their judicial functions, and at the same time to transmit to the Prince Regent the accusations drawn up. The Legislative Council refused to join in this proceeding, and resolved, that the Lower House possessed no right of impeachment. The Governor, in consequence, refused to comply with the request of the House of Assembly, stating to the deputation of the House, that, without the concurrence of theLe^slativeCoun- cil, he deemed the measure unconstitutional. The House was exceedingly dissatisfied by the answer of the Governor, and finished by resolving, — <* That His Excellency the Go- vernor in Chief, by his answer to the address of the House, had violated the constitutional rights and privileges thereof." The Legislative Council having refused their assent to the Bill, reusing money for the support of an agent, that project of the Lower House necessarily failed. Their complaints, however, were, in spite of the Governor's former opinion, transmitted to England ; but, as no agent was there to explain their grievances, and as the Chief Justice was allowed to depart to England, in order to defend himself, it is nothing wonderful, that the accusations of the people's representatives failed of producing their proper effect. '^ As the political influence of the Chief Justice of the province, the Honourable Jonathan Sewell (certainly a man GENERAL DRUMMOND. 45 overnor. of superior abilities), has been, in the opinion of many persons, most injurious to the interests of the country, I shall be somewhat minute in the detail I shall give of the fate of the accusations brought against him by the House of Assembly. When Mr. Sewell reached England, he found Lord Bathurst disposed to listen to his statements, and believe his insinuations against the characters of his accusers. Interest, on the part of one of the chief leaders of the Canadian party, was by him stated to have given rise to the present storm. Mr. James Stuart, now Attorney-General of Lower Canada, in 1810, abruptly dismissed from the situation of was. Solicitor-General, and that important office was conferred upon a person of the name of Sewell. The anger felt by Mr. Stuart, on account of this proceeding, was asserted to be the real cause of the persecution, as it was termed, of t!ie Chief Justice ; and the statements of the Assembly to be mere figments used to colour, and lend a sanction to private malice. Lord Bathurst, and consequently the Privy Council, were, for many reasons, willing to give ear to such an explanation, and fancied that the originating cause of an accusation being found, or supposed to be found, nought but private malice, the truth of the accusation of itself was a matter of no mo- ment, inasmuch as private malice might be believed to have given birth to the accusations ; insomuch was it requisite to investigate with care and suspicion the evidence by which they were to be supported. The accusation, however, ought to have been tried by its own merits ; and, suppoung it to have been discovered to be founded in truth, no matter what called it into existence, the culprits ought to have been pu- nished. The Privy Council reasoned not in this manner, but unceremoniously dismissed the complunts of the House. General Drummond, now the Governor, communicated this intelligence to the House, saying, that the Privy Council of His Majesty, to whom their complaints and impeachments had been submitted, had decided that they were ill founded, and consequently they had been dumissed^ and that this 46 SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. m decision had been approved of by the Prince Regent. The llouse was justly indignant at this cavalier treatment, having, without doubt, a right to complain and to be heard. To this right, however, the Privy Council had paid no regard. The House, therefore, ordered a general call of the members, to take this affair into their most serious considera- tion, and selected a special committee, to inquire into the most efficacious means of giving effect to their complaints. This committee, trusting to the justice of His Majesty^s Government, was of opinion, that the Commons of Lower Canada should present a petition to the Prince Regent, praying him to give them an opportunity of exposing their grievances, in accordance with the right which justly belonged to them. The public was now in a state of great excitement, and all other business in the House was sus- pended, when, on a sudden, and quite unexpectedly, the Parliament was dissolved. This conduct on the part of the Governor, General Drummond, as might be expected, created great dissatisfaction, and gave an opportunity to Sir John Sherbrooke (who succeeded General Drummond on the 12th of July, 1816) of exercising the remarkable talent he pos- sessed in conciliating all parties, and of inducing the popular leaders to abandon a measure that, for two sessions, had occupied the whole attention of the Assembly. Before I proceed to explain the cause of this latter con- duct in the House, I am desirous of laying before my reader an extract of the accusations brought by them against the Chief Justice of the province, Jonathan Sewell, Esq., and the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, for the di»- trict of Montreal, James Monk, Esq.* ^ " HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. ,^f r ^^ Saturdai/y February 96^ 181^, v Mr.. Stuart, from the committee appointed to prepare « * See the Proceeding* in the Assembly of Lower Canada on the Rules qf Prac- tice of the Courts of Justice, and the Impeachments qf Jonathan Sewell find James Monk,Esqrs. — Printed by order of the House, 1814.*' " ' * v-, ,* .- .«. SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. 47 heads of impeachment against Jonathan Sewell, Esq., Chief Justice of the province, and James Monk, Esq. Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench,* for the district of Montreal, acquainted the House, that the committee had prepared heads of impeachment accordingly, and also a humble representation to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, which they had directed him to report to the House ; and he read the report in his place, and afterwards delivered it in at the table, where the same was read, and the said heads of impeachment and humble representation, so reported, are as follow : — " Heads of impeachment of Jonathan Sewell, Esq., Chief Justice of the province of Lower Canada, by the Commons of Lower Canada, in this present Provincial Parliament assembled, in their own name, and in the name of all the Commons of the said province. '^ " FirAty — That the said Jonathan Sewell, Chief Justice of the province of Lower Canada, hath traitorously and wickedly endeavoured to subvert the constitution and es- tablished government of the said province, and instead thereof, to introduce an arbitrary tyrannical government, against law, which he hath declared by traitorous and wicked opinions, counsel, conduct, judgments, practices, and actions. *< Secondly^ — That, in pursuance of those traitorous and wicked purposes, the said Jonathan Sewell hath disregarded the authority of the Legislature of this province, and in the courts of justice wherein he hath presided and sat, hath usurped powers and authority which belong to the Legis- lature alone, and made regulations subversive of the consti- tution and laws of this province. « 7%«r%,— That the said Jonathan Sewell, being Chief Justice of this province, and President of the Provincial Court of Appeals, in pursuance of the traitorous and wicked purposes aforesaid, did, on the I9th day of January^ in the year of our Lord 1809, make and publish, and cause to be made and published, by the Court of Appeals, various regu- lations, under the name of < Rules and Orders of Practice/ 48 SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. repugnant and contrary to the laws of this province, whereby the said Jonathan Sewell, wickedly and traitorously, in so far as in him lay, endeavoured and laboured to change, alter, and modify, and to cause to be changed, altered, and modi- fied, by the sud Court of Appeals, the laws of this province, which he was sworn to administer; and assumed legislative authority, and by the said regulations imposed illegal burthens and restraints upon His Majesty'*s subjects in the exercise of their legal rights, and attributed to the said Court unconsti- tutional and illegal powers and authority, altogether incon- sistent with the duties of the said Court, and subversive of the liberty and just and legal rights of His M ajesty^s subjects in this province. ** Fourthly^ — That the said Jonathan Sewell, being Chief Justice of this province, and as such presiding in His Ma- je8ty''s Court of Eing'^s Bench for the district of Quebec, in pursuance of the traitorous and wicked purposes aforesaid, did, in the term of October, in the year of our Lord 1809, make and publish, and cause to be made and published, by the said last-mentioned Court, various regulations, under the name of * Rules and Orders of Practice,^ repugnant and contrary to the law, &c., &c. ** Fifthly, — That the said Jonathan Sewell, being such Chief Justice and President of the Provincial Court of Appeals, as aforesaid, and as well by the duties as the oaths of his offices, bound to maintain, support, and administer, the laws of this province, and award justice to His Majesty ^s subjects according to the said laws, hath, nevertheless, in contempt of the said laws, and in violation of his said duty and oaths, set aside the said laws, and substituted his will and pleasure instead thereof, by divers unconstitutional, illegal, unjust, and oppressive rules, orders, and judgments, which he hath made and rendered, to the manifest injury and oppression of His Majesty^s subjects in this province, and in subversion of their most important political and civil rights. >< Sixthly,^^That the said Jonathan Sewell, being Chief SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. 49 Justice, as aforesud, and also Speaker of the L^Ulative Council of this province, and Churman of His Majesty^H Executive Council therein, did, by false and malicious slan- ders against His Majest/s Canadian subjects, and the Assembly of this province, poison and incense the mind of Sir James Craig, being Govemor-in-Chief of this province, against them, and mislead and deceive him in the ^scharge of his duties as such Governor ; and did, on the 15th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1809» advise, counsel, and induce the siud Sir James Craig, being Govemor-in-Chief, as aforesaid, and being under the influence of the false and pernicious suggestions of the said Jonathan Sewell, as afore- said, to dissolve the Provincial Parliament, without any cause whatever to palliate or excuse that measure ; and did also counsel, advise, and induce the sud Sir James Craig to make and deliver, on that occasion, a speech, wherein the constitutional rights and privileges of the Assembly of Lower Canada were grossly violated, the Members of that body insulted, and their conduct misrepresented. " Seventhly^^-Th&t the said Jonathan Sewell, being such Chief Justice, Speaker of the Le^lative Council, and Chairman of the Executive Council, as aforesaid, in pur- suance of his tndtorous and wicked purposes aforesaid, and intending to oppress His Majesty^s subjects and prevent all oppoution to his tyrannical views, did counsel and advise the said Sir James Craig, being Govemor-in-Chief, as afore- said, to remove and dismiss divers loyal and deserving sub- jects of His Majesty from offices of profit and honour, who were accordingly so removed and dismissed, without the sem- blance of reason to justify it, but merely because they were inimical, or supposed to be inimical, to the measures and policy promoted by the said Jonathan Sewell, and in order, in one instance, to procure the advancement of his brother*." * "Among the arbitrary measures which characterize the times (1810), the dismissal of Ae SoIicitor>Genenl, James Stuart, Esq., from hii office, without 50 SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. << EightMifj'-ThAi the said Jonathan Sewell, &c., &c., induced Sir James Craig to dismiss Jean Antoine Panet, Esq. who had been during fifteen years, and was still, Speaker of the House of Assembly, from His Majesty^s service as Lieutenant-Colonel of a battalion of militia, without any reason, &c., &c. :>>><( . . ' « Ninthh^, — That the said Jonathan Sewell, regardless of the dignity and duties of his high offices, persuaded and induced Pierre Edward D^sbarats, printer of the laws of the province, to establish a newspaper, under the name of the Vrai CanadieUi to promote his factious views, and for the purpose of calumniating and vilifying part of His Majesty^s subjects, and certain Members of the Assembly, who were obnoxious to the said Jonathan Sewell, &c., &c. ' " Tenthhfi — That the said Jonathan Sewell, in pur- suance of his traitorous and wicked purposes aforesaid, and intending to extinguish all reasonable freedom of the press, destroy the rights, liberties, and security of His Majesty^s subjects in this province, and suppress all complaints of tyranny and oppression, did, in the month of March, in the year of our Lord 1810, counsel, advise, promote, and approve the sending of an armed military force to break open the dwelling house and printing office of one Charles Lefrangois, being one of His Majesty^s peaceable subjects in the city of Quebec ; and there arrest and imprison the said Charles Lefrangois, and seize and bring away forcibly a printing press, with various private papers ; which mea- sure of lawless violence was accordingly executed, and the sud press and papers have since remained deposited in the court-house in the city of Quebec, with the knowledge and approbation, and under the eye of the said Jonathan Sewell. << Eltvenihhfy — That the said Jonathan Sewell, &c, &e., with the intention of oppressing individuals supposed to be any other ostensible reason than his independent conduct as a Member of the House of Assembly, is not the least remarkable. He was succeeded by Stephen Sewell, Esq., an advocate at Monti-eal." — Christie's Memoirt. SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. 51 ., &c., tyEsq. ftker of nee as at any iless of !d and 3 of the of the ind for of His sembly, ;., &c. in pur- aid, and e press, lajesty's aints of 1, in the te, and break Charles subjects ison the forcibly ch mea- and the d in the dge and 1 Sewell. Sec., &C.> ed tobe aber of the iceeded by mir$. suspicious of his character ftnd views and inimical to his policy, &c., &c., did counsel, advise, promote, and approve the arrest of Pierre Bedard, Francois Blanchet, and JraQ Thomas Tachereau, Esquires, upon the false and unfounded pretext of their having been guilty of treasonable practices, whereby they might be deprived of the benefit of bul, and, by means of the influence derived from his high offices undet the Government, caused them to be imprisoned on the said charge, in the common gaol of the district of Quebec, for a long space of time, and at length to be discharged without having been brought to a trial. j *< Txoelflhly^ — That the said Jonathan Sewell, &c., Sec.^^ instigated and promoted various acts of tyranny and oppres- sion similar to those last mentioned, in other parts of the province, whereby divers individuals, upon the false pretext of having been guilty of treasonable practices^ were exposed to unjust prosecutions, imprisoned, and oppressed* imd one of them, Frangois CorbeU, being old and infirm, was by the rigour of his imprisonment deprived of life, and whereby general alarm and apprehension were excited in His Majesty's subjects. ^j *< ThirteentMy^^ThdXHtie said Jonathan Sewell, &c., &c.» on the i21st day of March, 1810, being a time when pro- found tranquillity prevailed in the province, &c., &c., cUd wickedly infuse into the mind of the said Sir James Craig, being Goverhor-in-Chief, as aforesaid, the most false and unfounded suspicions of alarm respecting the dispositions and intentions of His Majesty's Canadian subjects, and did counsel, advise, and induce the said Sir James Craig to issue a proclamation*, extraordinary and unprecedented, as well in style as in matter, &c., &c.; wherein sudi statements were made as implied that the province was in a state approaching open insurrection and rebellion, whereby the character of His Majesty's Canadian subjects was most * This proclamation will be found in the Appendix (Letter B.) to Christie's 5^ SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. falsely calumniated) and foreign states may have been drawn, and there is the greatest reason to believe, from subsequent events, were drawn, into a belief of such dis- loyalty in His Majesty^s Canadian subjects as would render the province an easy conquest*. '^^**^ f **Fourteenthh/, — That the said Jonathan Sewell, &c., &c., did labour and endeavour, by means of his official influence, to extend and confirm the unfounded imputations made, and alarm excited by the said proclamation ; and in the term of the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, held in the said month of March 1810, read the said proclamation in open court, for the purpose of influencing the minds of the grand and petit juries in the exercise of their respective duties, ■^•■■^^^'■i' ^■' " Fifteenthly^ — That the said Jonathan Sewell, &c., &c., hath laboured and endeavoured to produce, in His Majesty^s Government, an ill opinion of His Majesty^s Canadian sub- jects, with a view to oppress them, and favour the progress of American influence in this province, and promote the advantageous establishment of Americans, &c., &c., to the great {Srejudice and injury of His Majesty^s Canadian sub- jects, and with a view to the subversion of His Majesty^s Government. << Sixteenthly^ — That the said Jonathan Sewell, &c., &c.; influenced by a desire to accelerate a political connection of this province with part of the United States of America, and to deprive His Majesty^s Canadian subjects of their present constitution and laws, did, in or about the month of January, in the year of our Lord 1809» enter into a base and wicked confederacy with one John Henry, an adven- turer of suspicious character, for the purpose of sowing and exasperating dissension among the subjects of the government of the said United States, and producing among them insurrection and rebellion, and a consequent dismemberment of the Unioh ; and, in furtherance of the * The reader will easily comprehend, after the perusal of these accusations, what we have previously stated respecting the judicious conduct of Sir George Prevost SIB JOHN SUEBBROOKE. m objects of the said confederacy, did, by artful and false representations, counsel, advise, and induce Sir James Craig, being Govemor-in-Chief of this province, to send the said John Henry on a mission to the said United States, whereby the attainment of the views of the said Jonathan Sewell was to be promoted, and the said Jonathan Sewell became and was a channel for the correspondence of the said John Henry respecting his mission aforesaid ; by which conduct the said Jonathan Sewell hath exposed His Majesty'*s Govern- ment to imputations reflecting on its honour, and hath rendered himself unworthy of any place of trust under His Majesty^s Government*. rij.- x ..*s*^. ., ;.t.;*^,« " Seventeenihly^ — That the said Jonathan Sewell, &c.,&c., hath laboured and still doth labour to promote disunion and animosity between the Legislative Council and Assembly of this province, and hath exerted his influence as Speaker as aforesaid, to prevent the passing, in the said Council, of salutary laws, which had been passed in the said Assembly ; and hath, during the present war with the United States of America, fomented dissension among His Majesty^s subjects in this province, and endeavoured, by various acts and practices, to prevent a reliance on the loyalty and bravery of His Majesty^s Canadian subjects, and produce a want of confidence in the administration of His Majesty^s Govern- ment, and thereby weaken its exertions. " For all which crimes and misdemeanours, &c., &c., above mentioned, the said Commons do impeach the said Jonathan Sewell, hereby reserving to themselves the liberty of ex- hibiting, at any time hereafter, any other accusation or impeachment against the said Jonathan Sewell, and adopting such conclusions and prayer upon the premises, as law and Justus may require.^ i * I have heard some American gentlemen say, that this business of Henry, and our useless expedition to New Orleans, contributed more than any thing else to raise the spirit of the nation, and to destroy the unpopularity of the late war in the United States. ^ ., . 54 SIR JOHN SHERBHOOKE. ns '^A Heads of impeachment of Jieunes Monk, Esq. &c., &c. :-^ 'Ti'«« Firsty^Thai the said James Monk, Chief Justice of His Majest^^s Court of King^s Bench for the district of Montreal, in the province of Lower Canada, hath traitorously and wickedly endeavoured to subvert the constitution and established government of the said province, and instead thereof to introduce an arbitrary tyrannical government, agidnst law, which he hath declared by traitorous and wicked Opinions, counsels, conduct, judgments, practices, and actions. ^' '< SecmicUi/i — That, in pursuance of those traitorous and wickied purposes, the said James Monk hath disregarded the authority of the Legislature of this province, and in the courts of justice wherein he hath presided and sat, hath usurped powers and authority which belong to the Legislature alone, and made regulations subversive of the constitution and laws of this province. ^-^^^^ dwt.i i mr m.i.;. m ' << Thirdh/i — That the said James Monk, &c.. Sec, did, on the nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord 1809) make, consent to, concur in, approve, and publish, and caused to be made and published, by the Court of Appeals, various regulations, under the name of ' Rules and Orders of Practice,^ in the Provincial Court of Appeals, repugnant and contrary to the laws of this province, &c., &c. ; and, by the said regulations, imposed illegal burthens and restraints upon His Majesty^s subjects in the exercise of their legal rights, and attributed to the stud Court un- constitutional and illegal powers and authority, altogether inconsistent with the duties of the said Court, and subversive of the liberty and just and legal rights of His Majesty^s subjects in this province. '"**Fottr^ V 4. ,^ , (Signed) « Jas. Buller. \_ Z Zii.. i . .4 ^ u (SifftiedJ « G. D." \:, ^'J^:4t] . iiJ^k ■ «. t . L., .^.. . Whether these complaints were just or unjust, the House of Assembly, in our opinion, had a right to be heard ; and they, very properly, felt indignant at the manner in which their complaints had been disposed of, and on the 14th of February, 1816, after a call of the House, referred this important subject to the consideration of a special committee, m SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. with directions to report their opinion on the most expedient manner of proceeding on the same. Resolutions of the Committee, reported to the House withe Q2rd ofFebruan/, 1816. .a, h^ ** Resolved, as the opinion of this Committee, that the resistance and opposition of the Legislative Council, of which the said Jonathan Sewell and James Monk were and are members, to the rights of the Commons of Lower Canada, to exhibit the said charges, and the obstructions subse- quently interposed to the prosecution of them, prevented this House from being represented by an agent to maintain «nd support the charges. *'-■" " Resolved, as the opinion of this Committee, that this House has ^ways been, and is desirous of an opportunity of being heard on the sidd charges, and of supporting them by evidence, and hath reason to lament that no such oppor- tunity hath hitherto been offered to them. "*^ - *' Resolved, as the opinion of this Committee, that a humble representation and petition, on the behalf of the Commons of this province, to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, be prepared, appealing; to the justice of His Majesty^s Government, and praying that an opportunity may be afforded to His Majesty^s dutiful Commons of this province to be heard upon and maintain the sud charges.^^ '*^This determination of the House, apparently, caused the dissolution of Parliament, for Sir Gordon Dummond, in his speech, expressed his regret that they should have al- lowed any consideration to overbear the respect due to the decision of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent; and an- nounced his determination to prorogue the present Parlia^ ment, and recur to the sense of the people, by an immediate dissolution*. If these accusations were true and important in 1815, it may easily be supposeti Jiat they were equally true and i«ri-ji:«! r. * Christie's Mtmoirs. >*'■■ Jn^.!K"rim / SIR JOHN SH£RBEOOK£. al lat a 'the the equally important in the year 1617. In the eyes of the Assembly, however, such appears not to have been the fact. On a sudden, in a manner totally inexplicable, they aban- doned the subject, and gave rise to suspicions in the minds of the people, which their conduct indeed seemed but too much to justify. This conduct has compromised the dignity of the Members, both in the eyes of the people and the Government, and being one of the most extraordinary, as well as important events in the history of the House, de- serves to be minutely recorded. It has been attributed, though I hope incorrectly, to interested views on the part of the Speaker of the Lower House, who, in sustaining the accusations of the Commons against the Speaker of the Le^slative Council, risked the loss of a salary of ^.1000 per annum, which the House had voted to him, and which the Grovernor agreed to sanction, provided Ihe same sum was voted to the Speaker of the Legislative Council. This the House could not refuse, unless the Speaker of the Lower House had been determined to sacrifice his private interest, and had requested the House to be firm in their determina- tion on a subject in which their own honour and the welfare of the country were concerned. Unfortunately the Speaker, Mr. Papineau, took an entirely difierent view of the subject, giving the House to understand that, after the decision of the Privy Council in England, and the approbation of this decision by the Prince Regent, it was dangerous to push matters further ; that any further proceedings would cause a dissolution ; and that, in the critical situation in which the House stood, with respect to the Legislative Council, it Would be wise to remit the question to another session. This eventually proved to be no other than a subterfuge, by which the House escaped entirely all further discussion of the matter. It is just to remark, howev^*, that, with this exception, th6 whole conduct of the Speaker, in his long political life, has been above re[Mfoach, and such as to merit the approbation and entire confidence of his countrymen ---this apprbbation and confidence h6 -has not only merited, 60 SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. i but obtained, and he still fills the important office of Speaker of the House of Assembly. That he yielded on this occasdon, we, not being acquainted with his political views, must lament as one of the weaknesses of human nature. He was not alone, however, if reports are correct, in succumbing to temptation. The abandonment of the question was also partly attributed to promises made to some of the principal Members, on the part of the Governor, of certain important and lucrative places, such as judgeships, colonelships, and what not. These promises, as it happened, he could not fulfil, inasmuch as he soon after fell ill, and was obliged to leave the province abruptly. The independent and honour, able conduct of one member, of British oriffitif namely, of Mr. James Stuart, a man of genius and superior talents, deserves to be mentioned. He supported till the last mo- ment the right of the House to carry its complfunts to the foot of the throne, and declared that they ought to pass a resolution, that they were determined to be heard before they would submit. This remarkable steadiness and deter- mination on his part have been attributed to his hatred of the Chief Justice ; we hope, however (as we cannot judge of his private feelings), that far more honourable motives were acting upon him ; and it is to be regretted, for the honour of those who had promised to support him, that they should, in so critical a moment, have suddenly aban- doned his cause, and thus exposed themselves to severe and disagreeable reflections, and induced their former friend and colleague to take a resolution never agfun to act in conjunction with them ; to which resolution he has steadfastly adhered. To me, it has always appeared highly improper to confound and mix together the private quarrel of Mr. Stuart and the Chief Justice with the public conduct of the former in the political affair of which we are now speaking; and I must frankly avow, that the manner in which the oppoate party gained their majority, after the energetic speech which Mr. Stuart pronounced on the occasion, and the irresistible arguments he adduced, hast been to me, from that time to SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. lews. He ibing also icipal rtant and not ed to the present, an inexplicable mystery. I myself was present at the debate, and I speak according to my own feelings at the moment, and I believe of all those who have taken the trouble to reflect carefully on the matter, when I say, that the decision of the House was as extraordinary as ill. advised, and that this same decision has contributed, ever since that epoch, materially to diminish the influence of the popular branch of the constitution with the Imperial Government. Although the accusations against the Chief Justice were abandoned, another judge of the King'*s Bench was, seme time after, impeached for " divers crimes and misdemeanours committed in his official capacity.^ This impeachment was, at the desire of the Assembly, transmitted to the Prince Regent by the Governor, and the judge was suspended from the exercise of his judicial functions. Let it be remarked that the same judge was permitted to resume his duties during the administration of the Duke of Richmond, no trial having taken place — no method having been adopted to prove the accusations of the Assembly ill founded. Re- turning to the order of time, which we have hitherto pur- sUed, it may here be proper to state some further circum- stances connected with this important question. The disputes, respecting the power of the House of Assembly to lay their complaints against various officers before His Majesty without the concurrence of the Legisla- tive Council, having been communicated to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, his Royal Highness decided that every case of impeachment by the Commons should be left to the discretion of the Le^slative Council, and should be judged by them. It is to be regretted that the instructions received by His Excellency Sir John Sherbrooke, upon this subject, have never been sufficient to induce the Legislative Council to act upon them ; they, the Council, declaring that no sufficient explanation was given respecting the mode to be pursued, inasmuch as it was not determined whether the Council was to take the impeachments into 68 SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. consideration, in virtue of a special commission named for the purpose ; or whether it was to exercise this privilege as belonging to the Upper House, in accordance with its analogy to the House of Lords. The idea of so great a privilege as the latter course implied quickly produced a change of opinion in the Legislative Council upon the nature of im. peachments, and the rights qftfie Commons, and, in spite of the opposition hitherto maintained, they now determined to support the opinion they had formerly decried. A misun* derstanding now arose between the Governor and the Goun. cil, the latter declaring that the conduct of His Excellency, in not immediately coinciding with their views, was a direct attack upon the privileges of the Legislative Council. The other party, however, in the measure as decided by the Council, seeing only the establishment of an aristocracy, supported the Governor, and asserted that an Act of the Imperial Le^slature was required to confer such a privilege upon the Le^slative Council. The Governor, in the mean time, wrote to England for instructions as to the mode he was to pursue. Unfortunately, however, illness oUiged him to leave the country before any answer could be returned, and the matter remained in the same unsettled state as '^O'*®' Jim)''- <• mi'mt^'- ;Rl^: During the administration of the Duke of Richmond, the Le^slative Coundl passed a resolution to the effect, that the House of Assembly possessed not the right to impeach without the concurrence of them, the Legislative Council. The Assembly immediately came to the following reso* iution:— ^7'A \m^<\kimA-i^.iS ' /v "^t^wa-iellf) *^ That the claims of the Legislative Council, touching the compkunts brought by the Assembly, were not founded on the constitutional law, or any analogy thereto; that they tended to prevent offenders out of the reach of the ordinary tribunals of the country from being brought to justice ; and to maintain, perpetuate, and encourage, an arbitrary, illegal, tyrannical, and oppressive power over the SIR JOHN SHEaBROOKE. <8 If the reader will recall to his recollection the etatetnentt we have made respecdng the formation c^ the Executive and L^slative Councils, he will perceive the ca^se of the deter* mination, on the one hand, of the L<^slative Council to deem all accusations illegal in which they were permitted to bear no part ; and of the determinations of the Commons, on the other, to insist upon the right of being the accusers of great offenders without need of any concurrence whatsoever. The great offenders must, elmost of necessity, be either members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, or inti- mately allied to them. They have, among themselves, a brotherly love*; an affection begotten by a similarity of interests. One councillor, therefore, naturally stands by and supports another; need we hope that they will expose a brother^s failings, more especially when the secret whisper of conscience tells them that their brother^s failings are com* mon to themselves ? The Commons wisely determined to insist upon calling these offending councillors to justice, without the assistance of their fellow offenders. Seeing the justice of this determination, it is the more to be lamented that the House ever wavered in its course-^-ever permitted a suspicion of interested views to lower them in the estimation of their countrymen. Succeeding parliaments have partly effaced this stain ; they have strenuously re-insisted on their right ; and have consequently called forth the never-failing opposition of the Legislative Council. The misunder- standing between the two branches of the Legislature has gone on increasing, in exact proportion with the increasing determination of the House of Assembly to investigate the conduct of the public officers, the Council thus showing that private pecuniary interest is the cause of their anger ; that their patriotism is but a screen, under which they shelter their selfish schemes of individual aggrandizement Under the administration of Sir John Sherbrooke, another • " La force de Tamitie, dit Helvetius, est toujours proportions au besoin que les homines ont les uns des autres." — De PEsprit, Dis. III., chap, xiv., p. 327. 64 SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. vl equally important question, as regarded the government of of the country, was finally adjusted. The House of Assembly had ofiered, for many years, to defray the expenses of their own government, but their offers had, hitherto, been dis- dainfully rejected ; and, in truth, during the administration of Sir James Craig, in the year 1810, the offers of the House had been deemed almost high treason, and were followed by an immediate dissolution of Parliament. The reason of this apparently extraordinary feeling on the part of the Govern- ment, is, upon reflection, sufliciently obvious : so long as the Executive was responsible to the a:*Jthorities in England for the public expenditure, their responsibility was a shadow ; but the moment that a body of men were on the spot, ap- pointed to superintend the public expenses, and naturally jealous respecting the method in which their money and that of the people was used, the responsibility of those entrusted with its immediate management became real, and exceed- ingly distressing to men who had long indulged in un- licensed extravagance : strenuous, consequently, were the endeavours of the Executive Council to reject the dangerous advances of the Assembly ; at length, however, they were obliged to yield, and submit themselves to the pun of inspec- tion. The Governor, Sir John Sherbrooke, accepted the offers of the House, and the civil expenditure was thus brought under the control of the country. The joy of the people can easily be conceived, when they learned, that the Grovernor had yielded to the wishes of .heir representatives, and that now an efficient check was at last established over the ulers of the country. The people were aware, that what- ever difiiculties this defraying of their own expenses might en- tail upon them — whatever immediate troubles it might create; yet that, in the course of time, it must necessarily enforce complete obedience from the most refractory of their servants. The piice was not deemed by them too high for so valuable a privilege. The reader is left to judge, respecting the intentions of those who had so long and so strenuously opposed themselves to its salutary exercise. -tf^^^ SIR JOHN SHERBROOKE. 65 Sir John Sherbrooke had hitherto, by the alTability of his manners, and his upright conduct, preserved his popularity among the people ; and, from the authority which his situa- tion conferred, was enabled to maintain some influence over the Executive Council. The time, however, was fast ap- proaching when this neutrality of the Governor could no longer exist : one party or the other would, of necessity, deem him their friend or their foe, as, day by day, new questions were arising, in which it was requisite for him to take a decided part. In this critical moment the Governor fell alarmuigly ill, and was obliged, eventually, to leave the pro- vince; he thus, till the end of his administration, was in favour with both parties ; no governor, before or since his time, has been equally fortunate*. ' '] ** That he assumed the government of Lower Canada (says an author I have already quoted), when the nicest management was required to heal the divisions which recent * For the purpose of conveying a conception of the opinion which Sir John Sherbrooke had formed of those by whom he was daily surrounded, and whose duty it was, by their advice, to direct his conduct, I will relate an anecdote, which will serve instead of volumes. This opinion was communicated to me, in a con- versation which I had the honour to hold with him at the Chfiteau St Louis, at one of the balls given there by the Governor. After the ordinary salutations, we entered into conversation ; tiiese salutations were by no means expected, inasmuch as he only knew me indirectiy ; and as I was neither lieutenant-colonel, nor com- missary-general, nor chief justice, nor attorney-general, nor even member of the Provincial Parliament, but one of that plain and honest class of citizens who are to be seen at public parties only, congregated in an obscure corner of the ball-room, or who may be found at one end of the supper table, endeavouring to drown their mortifications in wine, sometimes good, but oftentimes indif- ferent In spite of my insignificance, however, the Governor addressed me, and asked me various questions, upon various subjects ; but more particularly respecting the Carutdien, a newspaper, of which I was incorrectly believed to be one of the proprietors. I gave such information as I thought, at that time, correct to these different questionings, when, all at once, the Governor said, a propos of what I cannot recollect at this moment: — " Why, sir, if I believed: all that is said to me, I should not believe that there is an honest man in Quebec." This observation struck me so forcibly, that I am glad to be able to adduce it as a fact, to show to what lengths tilings had been pushed under his administration, and to mark how difficult it must be for an honest man to maintain a good understanding with parties in such a state of hostility. F THE DUKE OF RICHMOND. events were on the point of producing, will be as readily admitted, as that the prudence of his measures conciliated those differences which m;ght have involved his adminis- tration, from the beginning, in the most unpleasant alter- cations. Prompted by the best of principles, and superior to the local prejudices which too frequently predominate in colonial politics, he gave a free scope to the legislature of the province, and imparted to it a new and moie liberal cha- racter than it had hitherto possessed. Those pretensions, which a few years before had embroiled the Executive with the Assembly, were now gratuitously yielded to the latter ; and the constitution of the colony made more progress in the acquisition of solid advantages during this administration than it had previously gciined since its establishment. That trifling errors may have been occasionally committed, it is but pntural to suppose ; but there are none which, upon a proper remonstrance, he would not readily have repaired, and which are not compensated by a multitude of virtuous actions*." He quitted the province, according to some, really ill; others, however, have asserted his malady to have been feigned : upon this subject we can give no opinion. He was re^Tetted by all parties; and before his embarkation for England, which took place on the 12th of August, 1818, he received the most flattering addresses from the citizens of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Hivers, and from all the members of the Executive and Legislative Councils. The Duke of Richmond succeeded ; and it is not remark- able, considering the circumstances under which he arrived, that he was far from being so popular as his predecessor, who would, as we have already stated, have had great dif- ficulty in maintaining, for another session, the favour of both parties. Nothing, however, very particular happened in the session of 1819) except the discussion respecting the appro- priation of the public money to the expenses of the civil government. The Executive required that the money for .I'M- in- to Sir; ♦ Christie's Memoirs, p. 181. ( rw ' fii^jlf.' ■ .xf f>ri (iP|*d^ ' vn : '.;- 5 :5/i tH^if THE DUKE OP RICHMOND. 67 this purpose should be voted en bloCf that is, in one sum ; and that the division of that sum, among the various officers of the government, should be left entirely at its own (i. e. the Executive's) disposal. The House objected to this method, and claimed the right of voting the sums required by items, that is, giving, according to the discretion of the House, the remuneration which each individual officer was to receive. Although this may not be done in England to the same ex- tent to which they were desirous of proceeding, still (they said) the diffisrence existing between their situation with respect to the Government, and that of the House of Commons with respect to the Ministers, rendered such a deviation from the English practice absolutely necessary. The ministers in Eng- land were responsible to the House of Commons ; the persons entrusted with the management of the Canadian Government were, in reality, responsible to no one, and not even in name responsible to the House of Assembly ; the only means, there- fore, in the power of the House, of controlling these irrespon- sible officers, was, to preserve an immediate control over their salaries. They, consequently, decided upon voting ihe public money by items. This conduct was judged uncor "ional by the Legislative Council, and a most liberal Bill, passed in the Lower House, was thrown out in the Upper ; the pretext being, that theAssembly was endeavouring, by this proceeding, to in- fringe upon the prerogatives of the crown. No great acumen is required fully to appreciate their lively interest in the Royal prerogatives. The Governor was now obliged to pay the civil officers of Government, without assistance from the Assembly ; and thus began the troubles, respecting the public expenditure, which have existed unto the present moment. The House of Assembly has stoutly adhered to its first determination ; the Legislative Council, goaded on by private interest, has hitherto as stoutly resisted the attempts of the Assembly to attain an efficient control over the appropriation of the public money. The spcsch of the Governor, at the proroga- tion of the Parliament, was not of a description to reconcile f^ii. 68 THE DUKE OF RICHMOND. 1%' fi'i,. the contending parties : the high idea that had been formed respecting the Duke of Richmond ; the experience that he was supposed to have acquired in his government of Ireland, would certainly have led one to expect a very different production at his hands. The evil effects of the measure were quickly seen : the favourable disposition of the House towards the Governor was at once destroyed, and jealousy and suspicion took possession of the minds of the popular party. I insert the speech, for the purpose of allowing the reader to judge for himself. *' I came to this province to take the government of His Majesty's dominions in North America, with a sincere desire of carrying into practice the intentions and liberal views of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent ; to promote, by every practical measure, their general prosperity ; to improve their natural resources, and the individual happiness of His Majesty's people. - ' " - ' .>. " A reasonable hope and expectation was entertained by me, in accepting this command, that I should meet, in those pursuits, with the cheerful support of every well-informed person, who could appreciate in his own mind my motives in undertaking the charge. " With these impressions on my mind, and with full con- fidence in your zeal, your loyalty, and your local knowledge of the public and private interests of the country, I met you in your legislative duties, and have most patiently attended to your proceedings during a long session, which I am now to close by prorogation. Vou, Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, have not disappointed my hopes ; and I beg to return you my thanks for the zeal and alacrity you have shown in all that more immediately belongs to your body. " It is with much concern I feel myself compelled to say, that I cannot express to you, Gentlemen of the Assembly, the same satisfaction, nor my approbation at the general result of your labours, at the expense of so much valuable time, and of the public principles upon which they rest, as recorded in your journals. THE DUKE OF RICHMOND. 69 " You proceeded, upon the documents which I laid before you, to vote a part of the sum required for the expenses of the year 1819 ; but the Bill of Appropriation which you passed was founded on such principles, that it appears from the jour- nals of the Upper House to have been most constitutionally/ rejected. His Majesty's Government has been thus left without the necessary supplies for supporting the civil admini- stration of the province for the ensuing year, notwithstanding the voluntary pledge given to His Majesty by the resolve of the House of the 13th of February, 1810." In another part of the same address he says : — " I recommend particularly to your attention, as indi- viduals, the value of your constitution of government, which afFords]the most complete and ample protection and freedom of person and property thi?t can possibly be desired, and is superior to every system of government enjoyed by any colony that has heretofore existed, your sister colony of Upper Canada excepted ; and, as branches of the Legis- lature, it is of the first importance that you should fully understand your constitutional rights*." Considered in its true point of view, the House of Assembly had every right to be discontented with this address, inasmuch, as the House had taken what they deemed constitutional meanb for providing liberally for the public expenditure. It must be recollected that the two branches of the Legis- lature, known by the names of Legislative Council and * This precisely was what the more instructed members of the Provincial Parliament had for many years been attempting ; and it is to this strong desire to understand their constitutional rights that we owe their honest and deter- mined opposition to the pretensions of the Legislative Council. They deem, from the evidence which their studies have afforded them, that those pretensions are unconstitutional ; and that, certainly, they are prejudicial. The courage jmd perseverance which this small number of well-intentioned and instructed men have manifested, in their struggle against every tliitig powerful in the shape of opinion in the province, deserves rather the unmingled admiration of the Imperial Government, than scorn or displeasure ; and the persons who represent thi; English Government ought to judge for themselves, and not be hoodw'uked by the interested partisans of a petty local despotism. hi 70 THE DUKE OF RICHMOND. •m my House of Assembly are theoretically equals ,- the opinion of one body is equal in worth to the opinion of the other, in matters in which they have equal concern ; but, in others, there is a very different weight given to their authority. The matter peculiar to the Lower House is invariably allowed to be, the granting of money ; and assuredly, if the opinion of the Lower House be of weight in ^y matter, it is in this. But in thio it had declared its opinion, which opinion the Legislative Council deemed unconstitutional. If we consider the point equally concerning both branches, the declaration of the Lower House was equal in worth to the declaration of the Upper; if we consider the point peculiarly within the province of the Lower House, the declaration of that House ought to have had greater weight with the Executive than that of the Council. Why then, let me ask, did the Duke of Richmond believe, merely upon the dictum of the Council, that the conduct of the Lower House had been unconstitutional } If we look to the point in a practical light, let v.& ask who were most qualified, in point of intelligence, to give an opinion. Here I boldly appeal to any candid man respecting the matter. The leaders of the Commons are well known to be the most intelligent men in the country ; and, when compared with the members of the Legislative Council, although men of great information are there to be found, no one, for an instant, can doubt of the superiority of the popular leaders. If, again, we look to the Interests of both parties, who will hesitate a moment in determining on which a sinister influence was acting ? In what view should we look upon a servant in private life, who aimed at placing his wages at his own disposal, and freeing himself entirely from the control of his master? The servant who did this, we should call a knave; the master who permitted it, a fool. The Duke, as we have already stated, lost, by this im- prudent act, the whole of his former popularity, in spite of his hospitable conduct and high rank ; which rank had pre- viously induced the people to believe, that he would be X.OBD DALHOUSIE. 71 above, and would despise, all petty local intrigues. They now believed him to be the defender of arbitrary power— -one who would, either through inclination or ignorance, favour the evil designs of interested counsellors. The Duke, how- ever, might eventually have changed his opinions and his conduct, had he not, by an unexpected accident, been suddenly hurried to the grave. He died in consequence of an attack of hydrophobia, produced by the bite of a fox, with which he had been playing on board one of the steam boats. The province was grieved at his unhappy and painful end, but lamented not the loss of his services. From the death of the Duke of Richmond to the arrival of Lord Dalhousie, in June 1820, little happened that was interesting, or that had a tendency to heal existing differences ; on the contrary, the conduct of the Executive served rather to augment the evil. Mr. Justice Monk, being the cMest member of the Council, at the death of the Duke of Richmond, assumed the chief place in the Government, and immed-itely determined, without giving any reason for his conduct, and probably not having any, to dissolve the Parliament ; Sir Peregrine Maitland did the same upon the death of our venerable King, George III., which happened opportunely enough for the purposes of the Executive : the House having closed its doors to c.ery communication, declared itself incomplete, and con- sequently incompetent, inasmuch as no Member had been returned for the district of Gaspe ; the following resolution passed the House : — " That the representation of the province being incomplete, no Member as yet having been returned for Gaspe, the House was incompetent, and could not proceed to the dispatch of business."" And thus Lord Dalhousie, on his arrival in the country, found the minds of the people in a state of high excitation, and little prepared to agree with the plan that he proposed, upon meeting the Parliament, of making a permanent appro- priation of money for the expenses of the civil Government. -> ;()*" 72 LORD DALHOUSIE. in f It The Legislative Council, however, passed the following resolution: — " That the Legislative Council will not pro- ceed upon any Bill of Appropriation for the civil list which shall contmn specitications therein by chapters or items; nor unless the same shall be granted during the life of His Majesty the King/* ■ «** ^'^ *'^*« -fi n.^fii .^.k*;;.*'*-^". Upon the refusal of a permanent appropriation by the House, the Govemo;* had given them to understand that he would accept the required sums annually, passed by chapters*, in place of items, as had been proposed. The resolution just mentioned, however, passed by the Council, put an end to all hopes of this amicable mode of adjustment. It was now perfectly evident that the end in view was to obtain money without being subject to the control of the Commons. The Governor, not having succeeded, during the session of 18S2, in obtaining a grant during the King^s life, bethought himself of a new and ingenious expedient to answer the same end. He said, that he had hitherto advanced the sums of money required to carry on the government, on his own responsibility, from the military chest ; but that he could continue to do so no longer ; he therefore requested the House to advance about d^.85,000 " for local establishments and objects of public charge, which form no part of His Majesty's civil government, and are not connected with the administration of justice/** Ordinarily, requests for money, to be applied to local purposes, had been accompanied by specific details and descriptions, respecting the end in view ; but, accompanying this extraordinary demand of the Governor, there was no explanation whatsoever. The House therefore suspecting (and with reason) that this sum of money was to be applied to other than the alleged purposes, refused to accede to the Governor's request. All these tortuous methods of proceeding tended not to create a good understanding • By chapters, was meant classes of Expenditure, e. g. Administration of Justice, Collection of the Revenue, &c., &c. LORD DALHOUSIE. 73 between the Governor and the House ; and the suspicions of the latter were materially increased by the open and un- disguised conduct of the Executive Council, who soon gave the people to understand, that they possessed the entire confidence of His Excellency, and led him according to their own desires: of this iuci convincing evidence was soon afforded. -: .. In His Excellency's first address to the House, in the year 1820, he stated, *' that it should be his constant study to administer the government according to the laws/' He now declared to the Parliament, that he intended to use every means he was able, and all the powers His Majesty had confided to him, to establish the well-being of His Majesty's subjects*; insinuating thereby, that he intended to dispense, as much as possible, with all co-operation from the Housp He reproached the Assembly " with having withheld the necessary supplies;" accused them of evil intentions ; and complimented the Legislative Council " on their maintaining the true principles of the constitution." The disputes which had arisen between Upper and Lower Canada, respecting the divisions of the revenue proceeding from the Customs, came, happily for the Governor, in sup- port of the representations he transmitted to Ministers in England respecting the affairs of the province. The con- fusion existing was represented to be so great, and, by ordi- nary methods, so completely irremediable, that nothing less than a change in the constitution was deemed sufficient to check the increasing evil ; and, consequently, a Bill was at this time (viz. the SOth of June, 1822) introduced into the House of Commons in England, for the purpose of uniting, under one Legislature, the provinces of Upper and Lower m 1.3 i • It is difficult to discover what was the precise meaning of these terms, as used by His Excellency ; if, to express unbounded contempt for a people, to endeavour to degrade and oppress them, be to provide for their well-being, His Excellency was marvellously successful. 74 XiOBD JDAI«HOUSI£, Canada*. Of this Bill no notice had been given to the people of the province; their opinions were therefore, we suppose, considered as of no importance in a matter, never- theless, intimately connected with their own welfare. In the month of July following, positive information on the matter was received in Canada ; and, by the fortunate op|)osition of Sir James Mackintosh, Mr. Labouchere, and Mr. Hume, time was given to the people to inform the Imperial Parliament of their exceeding repugnance to the measure. Sir James Mackintosh and Mr. Hume took oc- casion to express their decided opposition to passing an Act of so much importance to the colony, without information as to the opinions of the people at large respecting it, and they happily succeeded in persuading the Ministry to defer the passing of the Bill till the next session of Parliament. The whole colony almost, en mcMse, petitioned against the mea- sure, and the Bill was eventually abandoned. ^ No measure has yet been contemplated which has created the same degree of interest among the Canadian people, as was produced by that of the intended union of the two provinces, under one Administration and one Parliament. For the first time were seen in the province, public meetings of the people in every part of the country, as practised in England upon matters interesting the various portions of the population. In Upper Canada the same meetings took place ; and the result was, that an immense majority in both provinces, but more particularly in Lower Canada, declared against the proposed union. It was by them repre- sented to His Majesty, that the project was diametrically opposed to the wishes of his subjects, the interests of the country, and to the mtuntenance of the good understanding which had hitherto existed between the inhabitants of the two provinces, which last representation, doubtless, appeared • This measure was supported here by Mr. Ellice, acting for the Unionists in Canada, and Mr. Wilmot Ilorton, who introduced the Bill. LORD DALHOUSIE. f* the we iver- extraordinary, seeing that the projected union was founded upon tlie complaints which Upper Canada had made respect, ing the division of the revenue. It is probable, that the persons who were desirous of carrying this project of the union into effect would have succeeded, had not the Attorney-General of Upper Canada, and the person whom that province had deputed to support their complaints respecting the revenue, believed it their duty to explain openly to the Ministers the real consequences of this impolitic measure. These gentlemen well knew that the complaints of Upper Canada, respecting the particular object of a part of their revenue, was not the real reason for the proposed union ; they knew, and so did every man in Canada, that the object of those who gave birth to the pro> ject was, to destroy the political influence of the French Canadians ; to overturn their laws, their religion, and their language ; and to make the people quickly forget, by a lapse of years, that they ever had been French Canadians. If any one will take the trouble to inspect, and reflect upon the different clauses of the Bill of Union*, these observations will be found perfectly correct ; and it will also be seen that it was impossible for a people, attached to their various usages, laws, language, and religion, to contemplate with indifference or patience so vital a change. When this project was first communicated to me, I was, upon the whole, rather its ad- vocate, and I remember having signed an address in accord- ance with that opinion ; but the moment we heard the warm partisans of a union far different from that originally pro- posed, and which I had favoured, cry loudly and steadily, that it was requisite to strike at the root ; that English in- terests (meaning, not the interests of England, but certun persons in the colony who usually speak English) must be made dominant ; that there was but one way of destroying the power of the French Canadians, which was, for the English party to return an equal proportion of representa- H-S See Appendix, No. IX. 76 LORD DALHOUSIE. tives to the Assembly ; to augment the qualifications of a member ; to make the representatives come to a great dis- tance from their homes, and thus neglect their private affairs; so that the rich only could possibly afford to be representa- tives: when I heard uiese assertions, and others equally just, I repented of my former opinion, and opposed the union with the same openness that I had formerly supported it : and I did this, not on account of hatred or jealousy of England, but from a sincere desire to forward the interests of my country, which interests are not incompatible with those of the mother country, but which, unfortunately, are too often stated to be so ; and thus that hatred of every thing English, which, in words, is deprecated by the self-styled English party, is, in fact, generated solely by their selfish and ill-advised proceedings. It is constantly objected to the Canadians, as a crime, that they are attached to every thing which is French ; that they have preserved, under an English government, all their ancient prejudices, their customs, and their language ; that in fact they are, at the present moment, as much a French people as at the time of the conquest. This, say some idle talkers, is unpardonable, after the protection and encou- ragement which England has afforded you. We suppose it will be universally allowed, that the object of England, in affording this protection and encouragement, was to increase the happiness of the Canadian people; we suppose, also, that no one will deny, that a people is always unhappy when Jbrced to leave one set of manners and to follow another* ; that the only mode compatible with the happiness of the people, is to instruct them in the benefits of one class of manners and the evils of another ; to show that virtue, and general and individual welfare and ease, are forwarded by one, and retarded and destroyed by the other. It will also • " C'est la folie des conqu6rans de vouloir donner & tous les peuples leurs lois et leurs coutumes : cela n'est bon i rien ; car, dans toute sorte de gou- vernement, on est capable d'obeir." — Montesquieu, Grandeur et Decadence des Romaitts, cap. vi., p. 83. LORD DAI.HOUSIE. 77 be allowed, we believe, that any body of teachers, or ad- vocates of a certain class of manners and usages, if they wish to obtain an influence over those to be taught, must, in their own proper persons, place before their pupils an example of the virtues which they pretend to teach. These things being allowed, we ask why the Canadian people should be blamed for adhering to old feelings and old opinions, whtn no pains have been taken to teach them better? When the persons professing to be conversant with a higher degree of cultivation, and a higher standard of morality, are coarse and haughty in their behaviour, unscru- pulous and grovelling in their plans of individual aggrandize- ment? When, in place of mild persuaders of the truth, they are but loud and infatuated partisans of early habits, who, instead of weighing an observance by its intrinsic worth, try it only by its resemblance to their own observances ; who them- selves being incapable of self-governance, yet set themselves up as the teachers of others ? Surely we are not to be blamed for not following the blind — for not endeavouring to imitate those whom we should blush to resemble. One word as to the feelings of the Canadian people re- specting Government. Under the French dominion, they were political ciphers ; the officers of the King ruled, the people obeyed. When England took possession of the country, a new set of feelings was introduced. In England, it was said, the great body of the people are represented ; they pay the expenses of their own government, determining what shall be disbursed, and how it shall be disbursed. By the control over the public purse, the people have possessed themselves of the real government of their country* — have beaten down the old feudal tyranny, and erected a liberal government in its stead. The Canadian people listened to these discourses, and sighed after a similar power; that power was given: a constitution like that of England * This is the language of every English constitutional writer. Blackstone, Hume, Hallam, &c. See IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.25 ■>< litt 12.2 £ l» 110 U 116 ^j^ ^j>* Sdenoes Carparatton 23 WBT MAM STRHT WnSTII,N.Y. U5M (7l*}t7«^S03 A*% K^ ^4^ ^ « 78 LORD DAIxHOUSIE. was donfemd on them, and in a few yetan (so thoroughly had EngHsh feelings been engrafted upon their former habits) the people claimed, and h&ve at length obtfuned, a complete control over the public purse. Here we see a wise method of teaching — here we see its beneficial effects. English feelings are not here scouted: we are all English on this point. The truth, however, is, that we have been taught by English books, and not by the representatives of England, sent to us in the shape of rulers. If we were to judge of the satisfaction likely to be felt by those who now style themselves English, par exceUencty in our future progress towards English habits, by that which they feel by our complete change in this one particular, we should be apt to believe that no sincere desire exists of creating any alteration. Our English proceedings on the subject of money have ^ven no pleasure to these gentlemen : and if we must state our honest opinion, we will frankly own, that we believe they had rather that our English tendencies had been effectually checked ; and that, with all their affected hatred to French feelings, they sincerely desire that we should possess all the yielding pliability which formerly characterized the subjects of the grand monarque. t We return, however, to our hiiibry, from which the sub- ject of the Union has induced us somewhat to depart. His Excellency the Governor-in-Chief, being supported by the Treasury in England, continued to defray the ex- penses of the civil government, upon his own authority, without the concurrence of the Assembly. J <* During the whole of the difficulties, since 1819, up to the 1st of November, 1828, inclusive, the entire expenses of the civil administration of the government were paid under the authority of the Govemor^s warrants, with the con. currcnce of the Executive Council, with very little (if any) regard to the votes of the Assembly ; generally, according to the estimates sent down (excepting, perhaps, that of 1819), and, in some instances, with the addition of new salaries and increased expenses* Notwithstanding the G»> LOED DALH0U8I1. vernor^s express declaration, in his message of the 6di of February, 18S3, and his speech from the throne at the close of that sesfflCHi, new salaries and expenses are stated to have been allowed and paid, while appropriations, expressly made by an Act of the Provincial Parliament, remained unpaid. Since the half-year due on the 1st of May last, the gentl&> men who hold commisncms under the crown in this province, but * form no part of His Majesty^s civil government, or of the administration of justice therein,^ as weU as other neces- sary expenses of His Majesty^s civil government in the colony, have remained unpaid; while the money appro> priated by law generally, for the support of the civil govern- ment and the administration of justice, has been divided among such of the public officers as the Grovemor and Council have thought fit, in payment of their entire salaries : the Governor and Council, and their connexions, partaking of a large proportion of the whole amount ; the Lieutenant- Governor exclusive, which was granted by Act of the Legis- lature in 18SS, during his residence in the province*.^ i But affairs could not ranaia in this ntuaUon; and, iu 18^4, the Governor communicated officially to the House, the fact (of which he had long been cognizant), that there was no more money in the coffers of the Receiver-General ; and that this officer was a defaulter, in the sum of ^.100,000 sterlingj* ; and, for the first time since the estaUishment of t * Fkumeial D^kultiea, &c,t f. 15. ; ^ f " According to the Report of the Committe, to whom were referred th^ public accounts for the year 1827, on the message of the present Governor, Sir James Kempt, the 24di of December, 1828, the defalcation of the Receiver- General was known to the Governor, Lord Dalhousie, in the year 182S, iii Mttch or April, to be £.96,117. 1S«. OiQN«Aee Crtuette, LOBD DALHOITSIE. the ebnsdtutbn, the Receiver-Genenil wss compelled to lay his accounts before the Asbembly. *< It is understood*, that Sir J. Sherbrooke, shortly after his assuming the government of the province, represented to His Majesty^s principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, that the provincial accounts were in an unsatisfactory sta\\\ The Governors of Canada have always^been particularly ch«&rged, by their commisaons and instructions, to watch over the re- ceipts and expenditure of the province, and transmit regular accounts thereof. The practice had been, to have the ac- counts examined, checked, and reported on, by the Executive Council; they were then sent home, for the final itudit at the Treasury. So long as only the monies received under Imperial Acts, and from the military chest, were to be ac- counted for, the business was simple ; but when money came in also from duties under Colonial Acts, and payments were made under the authority of colonial laws, it became more complicated. A scale of civil expenditure was formerly es- tablished by the Treasury, but it was increased in the colony, sometimes upon the authority of letters from the Colonial Department ; sometimes by colonial Acts ; sometimes with- out colonial Acts: so that the auditors of the Treasury could hardly know how to check the accounts transmitted by the Governors, as reported on by the Executive Council.^ << The Receiver-General kept only one account with the Treasury, viz. of receipts and of expenditures, under the Gk)V8rnor^s warrants ; this he transmitted through the Go- vernor and Council, with copies of the warrants ; but it must have been difficult to judge of the legality of the pay- ments ; the 31st of George III., cap. 31, section 47, positively enjmning that certain monies should be applied for the public uses of the colony, in such manner ottlt/ as directed by the colonial Legislature. As deficiencies of revenue were long made up from the military chest, the Colonial Assembly appears to have been remiss in the exercise of its duty of closely attending to the revenue and expenditure. The last * Sketch t^Btuineu, &c.,p. 26. iff* LORD DALHOUSIE. 81 quietus given by the Treasury, to the late Receiver-Geoeral, is to the 10th of October, 1814 ; when, it is to be supposed, that the accounts of the receipts and expenditure were finally audited. Lord Bathurst, in answer to Sir John C> Sherbrooke^s representation, signified His Majesty^s com- mands, that the expenditure should be voted by the Asjiembly, and the accounts settled annually. But, as the objections taken in the Le^slative Council (first to the mode of appro- priation, and afterwards, to the duratwii of the grant) were followed by the rejection of the Bills sent up by the As- sembly, excepting those of 1828 and 18^, the accounts, subsequently to the year 1818, still remain in an unsettled state. How the Receiver-General can be legaUy quieted at the Treasury, in such a state of things, seems to be a matter of difficulty. Several attempts to facilitate the settle- ment of accounts of advances made under executive au- thority, and for a general settlement of the past accounts, have been made : a Bill for the first purpose was passed by the Assembly in 18^4, but failed in the Council ; at the last and previous session, the appointment of commissioners for stating the public accounts was proposed, and fmled in the Assembly. Bills of indemnity passed the Assembly in 1828, for the years 1819, 1820, 1821, and 1822 ; but they failed in the Council. The mode pointed out by Lord Bathurst, would certunly keep the accounts of the revenue and ex- penditure in a state satisfactory to all concerned in the colony, and render the business, at the final audit of these accounts, and quietus of the Receiver-General at the Treasury, as their officer, and according to law, a matter of ease and certainty. <* The defalcation of the late Receiver-General was a conse- quence always to be apprehended, when public accountants are not brought to regular and strict settlement at short periods, under the check of those who furnish the money. In the accounts transmitted to the Assembly last year (1823), by the Executive,' the whole of this defalcation (^.96,117. 13«. 0\d, sterling) stands against the part of the revenue allowed to be at the disposal of the Legislature. It is well • 82 LORD DALHOUSIE. ! known, however, that the late Receiver-General did not keep separate chests or accounts of his receipts a d ex- penditures. The defalcation, of course, was on the whole of his receipts. As the province had no hand in the appointment ef the Receiver-General, and, in fact, was prevented from ex- ercicdng any control over him, it addressed His Majesty, to the end that the Imperial Government should make good the amount deficient If the colonists were to lose this amount, by an officer over whom they had no control, it ought not, at least, to fall on any particular portion of the receipts ; it ought to be borne equally by the whole. Upper Canada as well as Lower Canada. If the latter were to bear the whole of it, it would, indeed, be in a singular Mtuation. The Treasury would appoint such person as it thought proper, to receive and pay over the revenue in Lower Canada; he would also perform the business of Upper Canada ; and Lower Canada, besides paying and advancing the money, would run all the risk, and bear all the losses which might occur ; even any deficiency of money put into his hands from the military chest.^ At the last session the Assembly addressed the Lieutenant. Governor, to know if any answer had been received to its address to His Majesty on this subject; when it was in- formed, that orders had been recdved, '* to proceed at law against the late Recdver-General.^ We may terminate this subject by observing that, for many years, more than the half of the public revenues have been employed by the different Governors, and more parti- cularly by Lord Dalhousie, without the consent of the Legis- lature ; that the salaries of different civil officers have been augmented, in spite of an er.traordinf ry diminution in the profits of commerce ; and that the danger which was appre- hended, of being called upon to support the extravagancies of the Grovemment, accompanied by anger, resulting from a multitude of petty vexations, and mal-administration, were the sole causes of the people rising up, en massej against die proceedings of the Executive. Petitions and addresses have LOWEE CANADA PETITIONS. 88 been forwarded from all parts of the colony, mtnifegting tb£ utmost respect and loyalty towards the King; but, at the same time, complaining bitterly of the conduct of his repre- sentative, and praying for a change in toto, in the whole proceedings in the government of the colony. These ad- dresses were accompanied by a deputation of three Members of the Provincial Parliament, who were fortunately heard be- fore a special committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire into the state of Canada. The determination of the committee was in accordance with the wishes of the people, and the orders transmitted to Sir James Kempt, the present Governor, and his conduct during the last sesnon of the Provincial Parliament, augur favourably as to the future. We will close our account of the administration of Lord Dalhousie, by inserting the petitions presented to the King, on the subject of his government : the reader will thus learn the general feeling of the people. « LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. Petition of the Counties in the District ofQttebec, and qf ^^ the County of Warwick ^ District of Montreal: « TO THE KINg''s MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. << May it pleasey our Majesty, — We, your Majesty^s faith- ful and loyal subjects, inhabitants of your province of Lower Canada, most humbly supplicate your Majesty to receive graciously this our humble Petition, which we now lay at the foot of your Imperial Throne, with hearts full of gratitude and inviolable attachment to your august person and your Majesty^s paternal Government ** Amongst the numerous benefits for which the in- habitants of Lower Canada are indebted to your Majesty^s Government, there is none that they more highly prize than the invaluable constitution granted to this province by the Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, passed in the thirty- LOWEU CANADA PETITIONS. first year of the reign of our beloved Sovereign, your august father, of ever-revered memorv. *< Called by that Act to the full enjoyment of British constitutional liberty, and become the depositaries of our own rights, under the protection of the mother country, we contracted the solemn obligation of preserving inviolate this sacred deposit, and of transmitting it to our descendants, . , such as it was confided to us, by the great men who then presided over the destinies of your powerful and glorious empire. *< Deeply impressed with a sense of this obligation, W alarmed by the abuses which have crept into the admini- stration of the government of this province, and suffering under the evils which weigh on its inhabitants, we entertained an anxious hope that the House of Assembly, in the session of the Provincial Parliament, called for the dispatch of business on the 20th of November last, would take into con- sideration the state of the province, and adopt efficacious measures to obtain the remedy and removal of these abuses and evils. We had a sure reliance on the well-tried loyalty and disinterested zeal of our representatives ; but we have had the mortification of seeing our hopes frustrated by the refusal, on tl^e part of His Excellency the 6overnor-in-Chief, to approve the Speaker elected by the Assembly, and by the proclamation of the 22nd of the same month of November, proroguing the Provincial Parliament In these circumstances, deprived of the services of our representadvcs, suffering under great evils, and threatened with others sull greater, we humbly implore the protection of your Majesty, the source of all grace and of all justice. " The enhghtened and patriotic statesmen who devised our Constitutional Act, and the British Parliament by which \ it was granted, intended to bestow on us a mixed govern- ment, modelled on the constitution of the parent state ; the opinions publicly expressed at the time in Parliament, and the Act itself, record the beneficent views of the Imperial Legislature; a Governor, a Legislative Council, and an LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 85 Assembly, were to form three distinct and independent branches, representing the King, the Lords, and the Com- mons ; but the true spirit of that fundamental law has not been observed in the comporition of the Legislative Council; for the majority of its members, consisting of persons whose principal resources for the support of themselves and their families are the salaries, emoluments, and fees derived from offices which they hold during pleasure, they are interested in maintiuning and increasing the salaries, emoluments, and fees of public officers paid by the people, and also in supporting divers abuses favourable to persons holding offices. The Legislative Council, by these means, is, in effect, the Executive Power, under a different name, and the Provindal Legislature is, in truth, reduced to two branches, a Governor and an Assembly ; leaving the province without the benefit of the intermediate branch, as intended by the aforesaid Act, and from this first and capital abuse have resulted, and still continue to result, a multitude of abuses, and the impossibility of procuring a remedy. << We acknowledge that the Le^slative Council ought to be independent; and, if it were, we should not be entitled to complain to your Majesty of the repeated refusals of that branch to proceed upon various Bills sent up by the Assembly, howsoever useful and even indispensab^ they might be; but considering these refusals as tht -Plural result of the composition of that body, and of the Siate of dependence in which the majcnity of its members are placed, we are compdled to consider its Acts as the Acts of the Executive Government ; and we most humbly represent to your Majesty, that the Le^slative Coundl of this province, the majority of which is composed of executive councillors, judges, and other persons dependent on the Executive, have, year after year, rejected several Bills, refused and neglected to proceed on several other Bills seAt up by the Assembly, for the remedy of abuses, for oicouraging education, promoting the general convenience of the sub- ject, the improvement of the country, for increasing the 86 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. KCiirity of peraons and property, and furthering the common welfare and prosperity of the province: par- ticularly — to i << Various annual Bills, granting the necessary sums for all the expenses of the Civil Government of the province, but regulating and setting limits to the expenditure ; « For affording a legal recourse to the subject having i claims against the Provincial Government ; < ** For regulating certain fees and offices ; *' For enabling the inhabitants of the towns to have a %i vcuce in the management of their local concerns, and a check on the expenditure of monies levied upon them by assessment. <' For facilitating the administration of justice through- out the province, for qualifying and regulating the formation of juries, and introducing jury trials in the country parts, and diminishing the expenses occasioned by the distance of suitors from < ' the present seats of justice ; <* For providing a new and sufficient gaol for the district of Montreal ; '< For qualifying persons to serve in the office of justice of the peace ; ** For continuing the Acts regulating the militia of the province; << For increasing and apportioning the representation in the House of Assembly equally among the t qualified dectors throughout the province, par- r ticularly in the new settlements and townships ; « For the security of the public monies in the hands of His Majesty^s Receiver-General in this province; For the independence of the judges, by securing to them their present salaries, upon their being com- missioned during good behaviour, and for pro- viding a tribunal far the trial of impeachments by the Assembly, so as to ensure a just responsibility in high public officers within the province ; cc LOWEE CANADA PETITIONS, 87 y ** For appointing and providing for an authorised K Agent fyt the province, to reside in England, and j: attend to its interests there; -ff *^ ** It is with the most profound grief that we find ourselves compelled to represent to your Majesty, that, during several years past, the incomes derived from real estate in this province, the profits of trade and industry, and the wages of labour therein, have greatly diminished, and still continue to diminish ; that, under these circumstances, it would not be equitable to impose taxes or new duties on its inhabitants for the public uses ; and that there exists no other resource which can reasonably be depended upon, to aid in the diffiinon of knowledge, and facilitate the exertions of individual industry, than the proceeds of the existing revraues levied within the province. '* Nevertheless, more than one-half of the gross amount of all its public revenues has been applied, for several years past, in payment of salaries, emoluments, and expenses of the officers of the civil government, excluave of the usual and indispensable special appropriations ; and our anxiety is the greater, as these salaries, and emoluments, and expenses have been greatly increased, without the consent of the Le^slatnre; and have, in some instances, been paid to persons who do not reside in the province, or have rendered no service therefore; and in other cases the said salaries, and emoluments, and expenses are excessive, when compared with the incomes derived from real estate in this pro- vince, and the usual recompense obtained therein by in- dividuals of talent, character, and industry, equal to those possessed by the persons to whom the sud salaries and emoluments are pud out of the puUic revenue of this province ; and, Hstly, in addition to those unnecessary and excessive salaries and expenses, your Majesty^s subjects of this province are also burdened with various and increasing, fees paid to the officers of the civil government, which are grievous to the subject, diminishing the protectioQ: of the: laws, the benefits of government, and the resources of the country for its necessary wants. i •»» LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. « We tare cunTincecI that, besides the most perfect security of person and property, romoting the public prosperity, and preventing its decline, is to aid in the diffuaon of useful knowledge, and the free exercise of individual industry and enterprise ; and we have witnessed, with satisfaction and gratitude, that our Provincial Legislature has appropriated very large sums of money for these oBfects, since the close of the last war with the United States of America ; but we have to perform the painful duty of humbly representing to your Majesty, that the monies thus appropriated and applied, under the direction of the Provincial Executive, have not produced the beneficial re- sults that were to be expected from a legal and judidous application of them, and have been tardily or insufficiently accounted for. *< It is with the utmost pain that we are compelled to re- present to your Majesty, that in this province of the British Empre, large sums of public money of the revenue levied within this province have been applied, year after year, by warrant of the Executive Goyemment, without any appro- priation by the Le^slature of the province (at a time when the necessary appropriations were rejected in the said Legis- lative Council) in payment of alleged expenses of the civil government, and other expenses for which no services were rendered to the province, or for new and increased salaries and aUowances never recognised by the L^islature. Were we to refrain from complaining of such an enormous abuse, we should co-operate in consolidating our slavery, and we humbly implore your Majesty^s justice. *< Alike negligent in the preservation of the public monies and prodigal in their expenditure, the Executive Govern- ment of this province has not only suffered the dissipation of large sums oi money in the hands of the Receiver-General, and other depoutaries thereof, then and still under its super- intendence and control, but has appointed other officers in the stead of these faulty depositaries, without taking any> sufficient security for the future ; and having advanced, to : y LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 89 difTerent periont, lai|^ rams of money appropriated by the Legislature, the neglect of the £xecutive Government, in this respect, has been sudi, that several of those persons have not accounted at the time when they ought to have ac- counted ; some have insufficiently accounted, or not rendered any account; and, notwithstanding their negligence and default, some of these persons have been appointed by the Executive Government to offices of trust, honour, and profit ; and we most humbly represent to your Majesty, that the Executive Government of the province, by its negligent conduct in these respects, has exposed your Majesty^s sub- jects in this province to heavy and grievous losses, dissipated and endangered the resources of the province, and subjected its inhabitants to unnecessary burdens. <* Your Majesty^s faithful subjects, in this province, have already forwarded humble representations to your Majesty^s Government, on the subject of the college and estates here^ tofore in the possession of the late Order of Jesuits in this province ; and while we deplore the unfavourable result of our past endeavours, we, nevertheless, continue to entertain the most perfect confidence, that, so soon as the truth shall be fully known to your Majesty, justice will be rendered unto us ; and we humbly represent that, as the said Order was never the proprietor of the said college and estates, but merely the deposdtary thereof, for the education of the youth of Canada, the extinction of that Order could not confer on the Sovereign any other rights on that property than were ' possessed by the sud Order ; and that your Majesty suc- ceeded to the possesnon of those estates, subject to their being applied to the education of the youth of this province, conformably to thor primitive destination; and it is with the most profound grief that we find ourselves still deprived of the benefits which were formerly derived from the actual application of that property to these obj«icts under the direc- ^ tion <^ the Jesuits, while education b languishing amcmgst us for want of those resources. "The setdement of the waste lands in this province, the 901; LOWIE CANADA PETITIONS.: importance of which has already, at various times, occupied the atteotion of your Majesty^s Imperial Government, has been neglected in the most unaccountable m.^rter by the Executive Government of the province, so that large por- tions of the said lands, granted or reserved by the crown, have been long held, and conUnue to be held in the midst of^ or in the immediate vicinity of actual settlements, without the owners or possessors thereof having been compelled to per-^ form the duty of settlement upon which said lands were granted by the Crown, or any other duty in relation to the said lands, to thi grievous burden of the actual inhabitants, the discouragement of new settlers, and the obstruction ol the general increase and prosperity of the province. <* But of all the abuses of which the inhabitants of this province have to complain, the most afflicting to your peti- tioners is, that, during the prevalence of the afore-mentioned and various other abuses and grievances, false representations and repeated attempts have been made by divers officers of the Provincial Executive, possessing the confidence of your Majesty^s Government, to obtain from your Majesty's Go- vernment in England and the Parliament of the United Kingdom, various alterations in the constitution of the government of this province as established by law, without the knowledge of your Majesty^s faithful subjects in this province, in contempt of their most sacred rights and dearest interests ; and this at a time when a majority of executive councillors, judges, and other officers in the Legislative Council, prevented the inhaUtants of the province from having an authorised agent in England to watch over and support their interests, and enable them to be heard by the government of the mother country ; and it is under these circumstances that the Act of the Parliament of the United. Kingdom, 4)th Geo. IV., cap. 6, reviving or continuing cer- tain temporary Acts of the Provincial Legislature levying duties within this province, and the Acts affecting the tenure of lands therein, were passed, without the knowledge of itd inhabitants, to the subversion of their rights and dearest LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 91 interests, and particularly without the knowledge or consent of the proprietors more immediately interested in the last- mentioned Acts. It is with the most afflicting sensations that we have witnessed the intrigues which have been in operation to despoil your Majesty^s futhful subjects in this province of the rights and benefits which were granted and guaranteed to us by the supreme authority of a powerful and generous nation, under the auspices of its most illus- trious citizens. *< We most humbly implore your Majesty to take this our petition into your most gracious consideration, to exercise your royal prerogative, so that your Majesty^s faithful sub- jects in this province be relieved from the aforesaid abuses and grievances, and justice be done in the premises, that your petitioners may be maintmned and secured in the full enjoyment of the constitution of government, as established by the Act passed in the thirty-first year of the reign of our late Sovereign, your royal father, without any alteration thereof whatsoever. ** And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. « Decetnber, 1827. << [N.B. — The petitions to the Lords and Commons are the same as the above, with only the necessary change of style.]** ___ " Recapitulation of Signatures to the above Petition : — .«• County of Cornwallk --_ 3,583) ^^^ Devon ------- 2,139 Hertford 2,394 Dorchester ----------- 4,157 Part of Buckinghamahire ------- 1,532 Ditto Hampshire --------- 1,346 Quebec - 5,870 Orleans ----- 1,018 — — — Northumberland ---- 2,445 '< Total district of Quebec 24,484 '* Total county of Warwick ------ 4,904 *' Grand Total 29,388 92 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. /' f: r ■ ■ ■ ■ ' :ai <* Retoiutions on which the foregoing PeHHon wasjbunded. If. ' . ' . ■.'»x ^ *' A^ a Meeting of Electors of the city and suburbs of Quebec, who approve of the conduct of the House of Assembly, called for the purpose of oonndering the expe- diency of submitting, by humble petition to His Majesty and both Houses of Parliament, the present state of the province, and the abuses and grievances which prevail therein, and praying for relief and justice; held at Malhiofs Hotel, the ISth of December, 1827 ; ' ^ Si' *' Louis Abbaham Lagueux, Esq. in the Chair. f << It was Resolved:- ^ ** 1st. That there was reason to hope, that in the session of the Provincial Parliament, assembled on the ^th of November last for the dispatch of public business, the state of the province would have been improved, and the evils which weigh on its inhabitants remedied, or put in a course to be removed, and its peace, welfare, and good government promoted. ^ <* 2nd, That the smd sesaion has been interrupted by the refusal, on the part of His Excellency the Govemor>in-Chief, to approve, according to parliamentary usage, the Speaker chosen and presented by the Assembly in the usual manner, and by the proclamation of the 2^d of November proroguing the Provincial Parliament *' Srd. That it is expedient, under the foregoing cir- cumstances, to submit, by humble petition to His Majesty and the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the present state of the province, and the evils to which its inhabitants are exposed, in the hope that, in the exercise of the Royal Prerogative and the justice of Parliament, a remedy may be applied, whereby the constitution of this province, as now established by Act of the Parliament of Great Britian, may be preserved and maintained unimpaired. LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 98 t " 4/A. That, for several years past, the income of real estate in this province, tlie profits of trade and industry, and the wages of labour therein, have greatly diminished, and are still diminishing^ with new and alarming features. P, " 5th. That, besides the ensuring to the subject the most perfect security of his person and property, the aiding and facilitating the diffunon ci useful knowledge, and ^e free exercise of industry and enterprise, are amongst the most efficient means of promoting the general prosperity, and preventing its decline. t '* 6th. That, although large sums of public money have been appropriated by the Legislature of this province, since the conclusion of the late war, in md of education, and for facilitating industry, by opening and improving internal communications, and that these appropriations have been applied under the direction of the Provisional Executive, they have produced no adequate advantages, while many of the persons entrusted by the said Executive with the expen^ diture of the said monies have tardily or insufficiently accounted for the same. ** 7th. That, under the present circumstances of the province, no taxes or new duties for the public uses thereof can, equitably, be imposed, and no dependence can be placed on any funds for aiding in the difFuaon of education, and facilitating the exertions of individual industry and enterprise, other than such funds as may be derived from the existing public revenue of the province. > *' Sth. That more than one-half of the gross amount of the said public revenue has been applied for several years past to the payment of the salaries, emoluments, and ex. penses of the officers of the Civil Government of the province, exclufflve of the usual special appropriations. *' dth. That the uud salaries, emoluments, and expenses, have been greatly increased, without the ccmcurrence or consent of the Legislature, for many years past, and are in several instances paid to absentees and persons who have rendered no service therefore to this province ; and, in other 94 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. instances, the said salaries, emoluments, and expenses are excessive, compared with the services rendered, and with the incomes derived from real estate, and the usual recompense obtained by individuals of talent, character, and industry, equal to those of the persons who hold the said salaries and emoluments. ^ ** 10th. That, besides the unnecessary and excessive salaries, emoluments, and expenses, fees, increaidng to a heavy and grievous amount, are paid by the subjects to divers officers of Government, whereby individuals are bur- dened, the protection of the law and the benefit of government are lessened, and the resources of the country for its necessary wants diminished. ; " lltk. That a majority of persons, chiefly dependent, for the support of themselves and their families, on the salaries and emoluments of public offices held during pleasure, have been placed in the Executive and Legislative Councils of this province, several of whom have a direct individual interest in maintaining and increasing the said excessive salaries, fees, emoluments, and expenses, and perpetuating other abuses profitable to persons in office. ' *' l^tk. That a majority in the said Legislative Council, chiefly consisting of executive coundllors, judges, and other officers, so holding during pleasure, have, year after year, rejected, refused, or neglected to proceed upon various ne- cessary Bills sent up by the Representative Assembly of the province, for the remedy of abuses grievous to the subject, for aiding in the diffusion of education, for furthering the general convenience and improvement of the country, for in- crea^ng the security of persons and property, and promoting the common welfare and prosperity ; particularly, enume- rating the Bills already mentioned in the foregoing petition. 4 " 13M. That the repeated rejection, the refusal or neglect to proceed upon these and other necessary Bills sent up by the Assembly to the Legislative Council, by a majority of the said Coundl, formed of executive oounoillors, judges^ and officers holding their commissions during pleasure, must LOWEB CANADA PETITIONS. 95 be held to be the act of the Executive Government of the province, and, as such, constitutes a public grievance, destructive of the ends of the constitution of Government as by law established in this province. . '* 14ith. That large sums of money, of the proceeds of the public revenue levied in this province, have been applied, by warrant of the Executive Government, year after year, without any appropriation by the Le^slative Body therein (while the necessary appropriations were rejected in the said Legislative Council), for the payment of alleged expenses of the Civil Government, and other expenses, for which no services were rendered to the province, or for new and increased salaries and allowances, never recognised by the Legislature. " 15th. That large sums of money, of the proceeds of the public revenue raised within this province, in the hands of the late Receiver-General, and other depositaries of public monies, then and sdll under the control and superintendence of the Provincial Executive, have been dis^pated, and other officers appointed in their stead, without any adequate secu* riues being taken for the future ; thereby occasioning and exposing the public to grievous losses, wasting or endangering the resources of the province, and subjecting its inhabitants to unnecessary burdens. " 16/A. That various other sums of money, appropriated by the Legislature, have been advanced to divers persons appointed by the Executive, many of whom have not ac- counted for such advances in due time, have insufficiently accounted, or not accounted in any shape whatsoever, as appears by the statement laid before the Assembly, on address, in the session of 1826 ; and that persons, then in default on the said statement, have been appointed to other situations of honour, trust, and profit. " llth. That the college and revenues of the estates of the late Order of Jesuits, in this province, originally erected and formerly applied for the civil and religious education of the youth d this province, have not been so applied for 96 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. many years past, and are in no way accounted for to the Legislature, or the inhabitants of this province. . « 18th. That large portions of the waste lands, granted or reserved by the crown, in this province, have been long held, and continue to be held, in the midst of, or in the im- mediate vicinity of actual settlements, without the owners or possessors thereof having been compelled to perform the duty of settlement, upon which such lands were granted by the crown, or any other duty in relation to the said lands, to the grievous burden of the actual settlers, the hindrance of new settlers, and the obstruction of the general increase and prosperity of the province. " 19/^. That, during the prevalence of these and other abuses and grievances, false representations and attempts have been repeatedly made, by divers officers of the Fro- vindal Executive, to obtain from His Majesty^s Government in England, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom, various alterations in the constitution of the Government of this province, as established by an Act cf the British Par- liament, prejudicial to the rights and interests of this pro- vince, without their knowledge, and at a Ume when the said inhabitants were prevented, by the said majority of executive councillors, judges, and other officers in the Legislative Council, from having an authorised agent in England, to attend to their interests, and enable them to be heard by the Government of the mother country. " SOth. That the revival, or continuation, by the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (4 Geo. IV., cap. 6), of temporary duties imposed by provincial Acts, were so obtained, as well as the Acts affecting the tenures of land in this province, the whole prejudicial to the dearest rights and essential interests of the inhabitants of this province, and without the knowledge or consent of the persons chiefly affected by the sud Acts. '< 2I3L That the afore-mentioned '* Application of monies levied in this province, with- out appropriations by the Legislature thereof; r LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 97 h WKK CANAI>A PBTITIONS. 99 *< At a meeting of the committee, on Friday, the 14th of December, 1827, the following offioen were appointed :•— " /. R. Vallibrcb db St. Rbal, Eaqjti&te, PrtMdtni. ;| Hbney GBO.OB FOE.TTH, Bjquire. | y.^_^^„^ q " Louis Abeabam Laoueux, Esqmre, j " Messrs. H. S. Huot and J. B. E. Bacquet, Seeretariei. '^ •• H. S. HUOT, Secretary." i •■ « «* PROVINCE OF LOWER CANADA. Petition of the Counties in the Districts of Montreal, and Three Riverti*. •• A LA TRES EXCBLLENTB MAJESTK DU ROI, *< La petition des sous^gnisjidkles et loyaux sujets de votre ^ MqfestS risidens dans le Bos-Canada, ** QuHlplaised votre Mcifestif — ^Dans une partie ^oign^ des immenses domaines de votre Majestd, il existe un peuple peu nombreux, il est vrai, mais fiddle et loyal : il jouit avec orgueil et reconnussance, sous la domination de votre Ma- jest^, du noble titre de sujets Britanniques, qui lui a 4t4 conf^r^ sous le r^gne de votre p^re de glorieuse mdmoire, avec tous les droits qui font de ce titre un objet d^envie. Plus ce bienfait ^tait grand, plus votre bon peuple du Bas-Canada a cru devoir montrer de reconniussance : This- toire est la pour d^poser en notre faveur : laissons lui le soin de prouver que nous avons deux fois empechd ce pays de passer sous une domination ^trang^re. " Reconnaissans de Tinestimable present que nous a fait la m^re-patrie en nous accordant notre constitution, con- vaincus qu^elle pent faire le bonheur de vos fiddles sujets eH Canada, le premier de nos voeux est de la conserver intactc? et de jouir librement des droits pr^ieux qu^eUe nous assut^i ■ '. " ■■ ' ■ - ■ ■ •■'■ ■ - ■ . f'*^ * " The original of this Petition having been in French, it is given in preference to the English. The Petitions to the Lords and Conimons are th« same as the Petition to the King, with the necessary changes in the style." *■' 100 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. ': " Parmi lea droits inh^renU au litre de sujets Britan- niques, oelui de petition est un des plus importans et des plus sacr^ : il assure au plus pauvre individu le droit d^etre entendu et Tespoir de la justice lors meme qu^il se plaint des personnes les plus ^ev^s en dignity. La voix de tout un peuple sera sans doute encore plus puissant, lorsqu^elle parviendra aux pieds de votre trone, et qu'*elle r^velera h votre Majeste que Toppression peut exister sous son Gou- yemement paternel. *' LVloignement oil nous sommes du n^ge de Tempire, et Tespoir d^un changement pour le mieux, nous ont engages jusqu*^ ce jour k un pdnible silence; mais Texc^s du mal nous force enfin k le rompre. II ne convient pas au caract^re de sujet Britannique de souffrir servilement Toppression : la patience dans ce cas nVst une vertue que pour des esclaves. ' " Nous venons d^poscr k vos pieds nos justed plaintes contre Son Excellence George Comte de Dalhousie. Charge par vous-meme de vous repr^senter dans votre colonic, et de nous faire ^prouver les bienfiuts du gouvemement de votre Majest^, il s^en faut de beaucoup, malheureusement pour nous, qu'^il ait rempli la haute mission dont vous Taviez gracieusement chargd pour le bonheur de vos fiddles sujets Canadiens. '' *' II a, pendant son administration, commis diff^rents actes arbitraires, tendant a aligner Taffection des fiddles sujets de votre Majestd, et subversifs du gouvemement tel qu^^ta- bli par la loi dans cette province. ! <* II a, par warrant ou autrement, tir^ des mains du receveur-g^n^ral .de cette province des sommes considerables, sans y Stre autoris6 par la loi. ' ** II a, volontairementetm^hamment, tronque, supprime, garde par-devers lui, et soustrut k la connaissance du Parle- ment Provincial, divers documens et papiers publics n^ces- sures k la d^peche des affaires et au bon gouvemement de cette province, et ce au grand detriment du service public et au grand prejudice des sujets de votre Majesty en la dite province. " II a volontairement et en violation de son devoir envers LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 101 •'*» son souverain et ses fiddles sujets en cette province, conserve dans Texercice de ses fonctions, John Caldwell, Ecuyer, ci-devant receveur-g^n^ral, entre lea mains duquel le revenu public de cette province dtait vers^, en vertu de la loi et des instructions royales, longtemps apr^s que ce fonctionmure public avait avou^ sa malversation et d^lar^ Son incapacity de satisfure aux demandes faites contre lui pour le service public: et ce au grand detriment des habitans de cette province, et au grand prejudice du service, et de la fc» publique. ** II a, en opposition k la pratique constante du gouveme- ment de votre Majest^, et en violation de son devoir comme administrateur du gouvernement de cette province, nommd John Hale, Ecuyer, pour remplacer le dit John Caldwell, comme receveur-g^n^ral, sans exiger ni requ^rir de lui les siiret^ ordinaires requises pour assurer la due ex^ution des devoirs de cette place. ; ** II s^est en difF(^rents temps servi de son autorit^ comme Commandant-en-Chef, pour influencer et intimider les habi- tans de cette province dans Texercice de leurs droits civils et politiques. - '* II a comme Commandant-en-Chef renvoye et dii^^ci^ un grand nombre d^officiers de milice dans la province, sans cause juste, ou raison sufiisante. ' *' II a sans cause, ou raison suffisante, arbitrairement et despotiquement, renvoy^ et priv^ plusieurs officiers civils des places de confiance et de responsabilit^ quails occupaient, et ce au prejudice de ces officiers et du service public. ' ** II a maintenu et conserve, conserve et maintient en place, pluineurs fonctionnaires publics, apres qu^il a 4t6 prouvd que leur nomination a telles places, ou que leur conduite dans Texercice de leurs fonctions ^taient pr^judicia- bles au service de votre Majesty et aux int^r^ts de ses sujets dans cette province. " II a multipli^ dans des temps de tranquillity, et sans aucune n^essite, des Cours Sp^ciales d'Oyer et Terminer, outre les termes r^uliers et ordinaires des cours criminelles Stabiles par la loi, imposant par \h un fardeau considerable 108 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. aux sujets de voire Majesty, et une depenae enorme a la province. *M1 a, par des prorogations et dissolution subitet et vidlentes du Parlement Provincial^ nui aux int^r^ts publics de cette province, retards ses progris, empeche la paasation d^actes utiles : il a dans ses disoours lors de telles proroga- tions, fauafement accus^ les representants du peuple, afin de les d^rier dans Topinion de leurs constituants et dans la vue de cr^r aupr^s du Gouvemement de votre Majest^ des prdjugds d^favorables a la loyaute et au caractdre des sujets Canadiens de votre Majesty : il a tol^r^ et permis que les Gazettes du Gouvemement publics sous son autorite ou sous son controle, portassant journellement les accusations les plus fausses et les plus calomnieuses contre la Chambre d^Assemblee, ainsi que contre tout le peuple de cette province. ** II a par le m6me moyen menac^ le pays d^exercer la Prerogative Royale d^une maniere vidente, despotique et d^sastreuse, cW-sl-dire, de dissoudre contbuellenient, ou selon Texpression insultante de ces menaces, de chasser le corps repr^sentatif jusqu^^ ce que les francs-tenanciers et les propri^taires se vissent obliges de choisir pour reprdsentants, non plus ceux qui auraient leur coniiance, mais ceux qui aeraie^t .disposes h tout accorder k TEx^iitif et k lui sacrifier le droit qu^a le peuple de cette province, agissant par ses representants, de determiner quelle somme des deniers publics Tadministration aura le droit de ddpenser, et d^aqsuret Temploi fiddle de ces deniers; ou bien quHl punirait la province en rejetant les Bills passes par les representants du peuple pour Tavantage general, jusqu^lL ce quails abandon- nassent le droit de fixer et de oontrdler la depense ; et que les magutrats et les juges du pays seraient, aussi Uen que lesbasofficiers, destituds des hautes et ijnportai^tes placet quails occupent, et qui, dans rintdr^t pubHc comme dans rintdret des particuliers, exigent Tindependance et rimpar- tialite la plus absolue, s^ils n^etaient pas agrdables k la presente administration. n, f. ** II a, conformement k la politique vindicative ainn avouee par ces ecrivains par lui employes, puni en effet le LOWER CANADA PBTITIOKf. 108 pays, en ne donnant point k Mnetion rajale k cinq Bills (Tappropriation pour aider k ' progr^ et Tani^ionition du pays en 18S6, auxquels Totre M«pst^ a bien roulu depuis donner sa sanction, et en perniettant k fos conseillers ex4- eutifs et autres personnes sons son eimtr61e et poss^dant dec places durant plaisir, de se serYtr de leur preponderance dans le Conseil Ldgislatif dont ils sont aussi membres, pour sup- porter oette politique vindicative, et rejeter, en 18S7, tous les Bills d^appropriation pour Tavancement de la province et pour des objets de charity qui avaient 4t4 passes annuellement depuis un grand nombre d^ann^es. " II a vioie les franchises eiectives des haUtans de cette province, en essayant directement et indirectement d*influer sur rdection des Membres de la Chambre d^Assembl^e de cette province. *< II a enfln, par tous ces divers actes d*oppression, cr44 dans tout le pays un sentiment d^alarme et de m^contentement, ddpr^cie Tautorite du pouvoir judiciaire dans Topinion pub- lique, affaibli la confianoe du peuple dans Tadministration de la justice, et inspire dans toute la province un sentiment in- surmontable de mefiance, de soup^on et de d^gdut contre son administration. '* Nous osons done supplier votre Majeste de vouloir bien prendre en sa royale consideration les vexations qu^ont eprouvees vos fideles sujets dans cette partie eioignee de vos domaines. Presses sous les poids de tant dVtes d^oppression nous avons cm devoir supplier votre Majeste de vouloir bien, pour Hnteret de son service dans cette colonic, et Tavantage de ses fideles sujets y residens, rappeler pour toujours son Excellence le Gouverneur-en-Chef, comme ne pouvant plus jouir de la confiance publique dans cette province, ni en ad- ministrer le gouvemement avec honneur pour la oouronne ou avec avantage pour le peuple. <^ QWU plaite d voire MqfestSt'^^Fnv^B comme nous le sommes maintenant, par la prorogation du Parlement Pro- vincial, des services publics de nos representants, des services que nous avions droit d^attendre de leur z^le oonnu pour les 104 LOWEK CANADA PETITIONS, int^rets de la province, et de leor patriotisme ^prouv^, nous sommes dans la necessity de eoumettre nous-memes k la bien- Teillante consideration de votre Majesty, quelques objets que nous estimons de la plvta haute importance pour le bien etre du pays, objets qui tendent ^galeinent k assurer le bonheur du peuple, et k rendre cette colonie plus utile a TEmpire Britannique, ce qui ne peut qu^interesser le coeur royal de votre Majest6, sous le double rapport de pere dc son peuple et de chef supreme d'un puissant empire. ^..?k .,M2it '^^ L^education est le premier des biens qu^un pere puisse donner a son fils, le premier des biens qu^une legislation ^lairee puisse assurer aux peuples. £n rendant justice aux efforts qui ont 4t6 faits dans ce pays vers cet objet important, par plusieurs corps et par un grand nombre de particuliers, on ne peut cependant disconvenir que Teducation publique n^est pas encouragee dans ce pays en nroportion de ses be- soins. Et pourtant la province n^etait pas depourvue de Dioyens : la munificence des Rois de France et les bienfaits de quelques particuliers n''avaient rien laisse a desirer Jk ce sujet. Des fondations vraiment royales, tant par leur objet que par leur etendue, assuraient k ce pays des ressources suffisantes pour les temps, et croissantes avec les besoins de la population. Depuis Pextinction de TOrdre des Jesuites en ce pays, ses biens sont passes aux mains du gouvernement de votre Majesty. Votre Majeste peut seule les rendre ci leur premiere, k leur bienfsusante destination. Nous Ten supplions tr^s-humblement. Qu''il ne puisse pas etre dit que cette province a ^te privee sous le gouvernement du Roi constitu- tionnel de la Grande Bretagne, des bienfaits que le Roi absolu de la France lui avait conferes pour Teducation de ces habitants. " Un des droits naturels, fondamentaux, inali^nables des sujets Britanniques, un des titres de leur gloire et de leur siiret^, cVst le droit d.? se taxer eux-memes et de contribuer librement aux charges publiques selon leurs moyens. A ce titre naturel nous joignons encore les droits resultants de la loi ecrite, des Actes du Parlement Imperial, qui d^larent LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. 105 que TAngleterre renonce a imposer des taxes dans les colonies, et qui donnent a cette province le droit de faire des lois pour sa tranquillity, son bonheur, et son bon gouvernement. "m""^" "^ ** Nous supplions humblement votre Majestd d^excuser notre t^mdrit^, ou bien plutot d^approu ver la confiance en votre justice et en celle du Parlement Imperial, qui nous engage a nous plaindre de ce que ces droits ont et^ k^zes d^une ma- nicure grave par des Actes du Parliament Imperial. Nous faisons allusion surtout a TActe de Commerce du Canada, passd dans la troisieme annee du r^gne de votre Majeste, ch. 119* et ^ celui des Tenures des Terres, passe dans la sixieme ann^e du r^gne de votre Majesty, ch. 59, contre lequel nous avons dejk adress^ par la voie de nos repre- sentants a votre Majeste nos humbles reclamations: Tun etablit directement des impots dans cette colonic, et les rend perpetuels sans la participation du Parlement Provincial ; Tautre touche k des objets de legislation interieure sur les- quels nous croyons humblement que la Legislature Coloniale avait pleine jurisdiction. ' f ..> .. -; . ** Nous croirions, Sire, m^riter bien peu les inestimables bienfaits que nous procure la consdtution qui nous r^git, si nous ne faisions tous nos efforts pour la conserver intacte. C^est prouver combien nous en sentons tout Ic prix. " La cumulation dans une seule et meme personne de plusieurs places importantes dans ces colonies, et qui nous semblent incompatibles, est un obstacle vivement senti, un obstacle considerable au bon gouvernement de cette province. Nous voyons dans ce pays les places de juges du Banc du Roi, de conseillers executifs et legislatifs, possedees par la meme personne. Nous croyons humblement que ces hautes fonctions devraient ^tre exerc^s isolement au lieu d^etre cumulees : que les juges, homes aux importantes fonctions de leur etat, ne devraient pas sieger dans les con- seils: que les conseillers legislatifs ne devraient pas etre admis au Conseil Executif, et vice versa: qu^il serait con- venable que les juges fussent plus ind^pendans, sujets seule- mcnt avec les autres grands fonctionnaires publics, a un 106 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. tribunal 6tabli dans la province pour juger des impeachmenta. Nous avons dej^ fait des representations et des d-marches concemant ces difPerents objets par le moyen de nos repre^ sentants dans la Chambre d^Assembl^. Les mesures par eux propose ont ^houe dans les autres branches de la Legislature. Nous supplions humblement votre Majeste de vouloir Inen prendre en sa consideration royale les maux nombreux qui doivent inevitablement resulter de cette dis- tribution impditique et peu sage de tous les pouvoirs du gouvemement, afin qu^^tant tres-justement condamnes par votre Majeste, il vous plaise ordonner k vos Ministres de donner des instructions au Gouvernement Colonial k ce sujet, de mani^e k autoriser la passation d''Actes par le Parlement Provincial, qui tendraient k corriger ces abus. I. <' L^accroissement rapide de la population depuis la premiere demarcation des comt^, rendant necessaire un changement correspondant dans la representation provinciale, notre Parlement jugea prudent, comme mesure preliminaire, de constater Tetat actuel de la population, par un recense- ment qui devait servir de base aux changemens k faire dans la repr^ntation. La Chambre d''Assemblee passa ensuite a plusieurs reprises un Bill pour augmenter le nombre des comt^s et des representants. Ces Bills ont egalement ^choue dans les autres branches de la Legislature. i- '' II est encore un objet qui int^resse vivement le peuple de cette province ; c*est la nomination d*un agent provincial accredite, aupr^ du Gouvemement de votre Majesty, qui pourrait faire parvenir aux fneds du trone Texpression de nos besoins, foumir aux Ministres de votre Majeste des renseignemens utiles, et veiller k nos int^rSts particuliers. Cette province a dejit plus d^une fois ^prouv^ le besoin d^un semblable agent : ses repr^ntants n^ont pas encore pu reussir k obtenir pasiation d^un Acte k cet effet. Les accusations mal fonddes portees par le Gouvemeur-en-Chef contre la Chambre d*AMembl^, dans son disoours de prorogation du dernier Parlement, auxquelles la Chambre n^a pas encore eu oocasioode r^pondre, ddsaontrent la n^ceaut^ d^un agent; LOWEB CANADA PETITIONS. 107 le Gouverneur qui accuse la Chambre ne pouvant gukre ^tre le cannl de communication dont les accus^ puissent se servir avec confiance pour d^fendre leur cause. Nous sup- plions humblement votre Majesty, de vouloir bien ordonner k vos Ministres de donner des instructions au Gouvemement Colonial, en vertu desquelles un Bill pour Taugmentation de la repr^ntation puisse £tre sanctionn^, ainsi qu^un Bill pour accorder h cette province Tavantage dont jouissent la plupart des autre colonies de votre Majesty, celui d^avoir un agent colonial, nomm^ et depute par le peuple de la colonie, pour veiUer h ses interets en Angleterre. *' Le tout tr^s-humblement soumis h la bienveillance et k la sagesse de votre Majestd, par les fiddles et loyaux sujets de votre Majesty dans le Bas-Canada, les P^titionnaires sous- sign^ qui comme il est de leur devoir ne cesseront de prier. « Bas-Canada, Janvier ISSS.*" << Recapitulation of Signatures to February 6th, 18^ : " County of Montreal --- -- 7,763 Kent ,-j^ 2,163 Huntinirdon - - - •- • -,- r , - ' • 5,327 Leinster - - - - - -- - -.-- 6,192 Surrey - -.-. 8,080 Bedford 1,342 York - 4,199 rdchelieu - - - ----- - . - - 8,175 Effingham- - - - Li'':. . . W li 2,664 . ' " Toical district of Montreal -.---- 40,885 *'*•*' " Total district of Three Rivers - - - -10,665 " Distnct of Quebec - - - -'*i*\ . . - . . -29,328 '- '" ■<*.■.■; ,, " Total to both Petitions , - 80,878 " Forwarded iince, to 17th February, 1828:-^ "^t 5y " District of Montreal and Three Rivers, and district of Quebec 6,212 f — — — — „ " Grand Total ... - - - 87,090'» •til 108 LOWER CANADA PETITIONS. ** Chairmen of the several County Committees, who have V certified the appointment of the agents to the petitioners ; viz, — Messrs. Neilson, Vigbb, Cuvillier, Members of t' the Assembly of Lower Canada, ^ ^Chairman of the Petitioners Fran. Desrivieres -----^ .^r^ * r** * t i tn the County of Montreal. Fran. Ant. La Rocque - - - Montreal. RbnA de la Bruere - . - - County of Kent. Lnt. Le Roux ------ County of Leinster. ■ Pierre Amiot - - County of Surrey. Chas. St. Ours --.-.-"i ,. P. D. Debartzch ^County of Rtcheheu. Hertel De Rouville - - - - County of Bedford. j - Francois Xavier Malhiot - - County of Surrey. '^ Iqnace Raizenne ----- County of York. '^n* ' .^ * Louis Roy Portelance - - - Montreal. ** District of Montreal, February 1S2S." Lord Dalhousie has, since the presentation of these pe- titions, been recalled ; and is now on his way to India, for the purpose of assuming a military command : a post far more fitted to his character than a civil situation. Under the present Governor, Sir James Kempt, affairs have taken a more favourable turn ; and I will close this shorth sketch of Canadian history, by stating the result of the labours of the last session of the Provincial Parliament, so far as we have been enabled yet to learn them. Seventy-two Bills, of the greatest importance, have been passed, having received the Governor's assent. Among these Bills are, first, one providing for the payment of the arrears of the year 1826 ; and, secondly, another providing for the expenses of the current year : this last having been passed upon the same principle as that of the year 1825 ; viz. the money is voted in chapters, as we have formerly explained, upon condition that fifteen days after the next meeting of the Legislature, accounts of the monies disbursed i'* SIR JAMES KEMPT. 109 shall be rendered to the House. This is, undoubtedly, a wise provision : but we cannot avoid expressing our surprise at the fact, that the Legislative Council, composed of the very same members during the whole time, should, in 1825, indignantly reject this Bill ; in 18^ assent to it ; in 18S7 reject it ; and, in 1828, again accept it. This single state- ment proves the influence of the Executive Council over the Legislative. n*-.^- ' Six other Bills also passed the House of Assembly and the Council, but have been referred to His Majesty, for his approbation. It is to be regretted that two important Bills, connected with the administration of justice, failed in the Lower House ; one of which was introduced by Mr. Viger, and entitled a Bill of Judicature ; the other, introduced by Mr. Vallieres de St. Real*, respecting the qualifications of justices of the peace. ' The House, during this session, has exhibited a great degree of liberality in all its grants of money, having voted ^.200,000 for general improvements. .(^ A . '. ^tmhiti?Mm-i „1 .-£... ,^. >,. .^r^v. Hia EaceUency Sir James Kempfs Speech, in proroguing the Provincial Parliament of Lower Canada, on the \4tth of March, IS9,9. « « « Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, ^, After so long and so laborious a session, it affords me great pleasure to be enabled to release you from any further attendance in the Provincial Parliament, and to convey to you my best thanks for the great diligence with which you have discharged your le^slative duties. " Your labours have been productive of a variety of useful and important Acts, which you have presented to me for His Majesty^s assent ; and I notice, with peculiar sati»- u,.-v.^^:?r,^t; ;,• Now judge finr the district of Three Riven. -^ ^j^y f«K* Ip iio SIR JAMES KEMPT. faction, the liberality of the appropriations for many objects of great public interest, calculated to promote the general welfare and prosperity of the province. It will be my earnest endeavour to see that monies so liberally granted are faithfully and judiciously applied to the several objects they are intended to promote. '^ f ,.« . . « GenUemen of the House of AsaemUy^ ** I thank you, in His Majesty^s name, for the supplies which you have granted in aid of the revenue, already un- appropriated by law, for defraying the expenses of the civil government, and the administration of justice. ^^ Gentlemen of the Legislative CouncUy 'ii«i« s»3 " Gentlemen of the House of Assemhlyy -^^ ^^^ '* Several measures of public importance have come under your consideration, in the course of the present session, which the pressure of other business, and the want of time, have prevented your maturing ; but I feel persuaded that they will engage your early attention in the next meeting of the Provincial Parliament. *^.^irJiJ .wi x,^r^.^>Kt^^:^ " I had entertained a hope, that the inhabitants of the province would have been relieved from any inconvenience to which they may be subjected, under the ordinances now in force, by the passing of the Militia Bill ; and I cannot but express my regret that it has not taken place." ,?ilTJ%|>. It is to be hoped that the same good understanding will continue to exist between the Governor and the people, and that he will be able to remain equally independent of the ^ Executive Council, and act according to the dictates of oommoir sense and common honesty, rather than in ccmipH-* ance with the interested views of that, hitherto, all-powerful body. This, however, must of necessity be only a temporary remedy : that which we shall hereafter propose will be of a much more permanent nature ; depending, not upon cir^ cumstances of the moment, nor upon individual character, but grounded upon the principles of human nature, which are the same eternally. 3*?s(*i' /6'i^.h.lU m m *w ''i#t*/ 4 * a ©^Mfe^iisii CHAPTER IV. 4» Qf tlie Character^ Manners^ Customs, Industry, and 3 Religion qf the Canadians — French Population — Staie h qf the People — Agriculture — Food — Clothing-^Habita- ii tions — Amtisements qfthe People — Their Character. v»^ ^ Having given what I believe to be a correct, though, I fear, somewhat general, account of the political affairs of Lower Canada, I proceed to lay before the reader a descrip- tion of the manners and customs of my countrymen. This task I have not undertaken from any feelings of partiality or vanity ; nor, in fact, with an expectation of gaining the good will of my reader by attempting to please him : the subject indeed will, I suspect, hardly be found one of mere amusement, the end in view being not so much to give a lively picture of a state of society differing from our own here in England, as to convey a correct conception of the country and its inhabitants; and endeavouring, by that means, to make the English public completely understand, both the observations already advanced, and those which I intend to hazard respecting the remedies for the evils which so long have beset the government of the country. On a matter wherein many have already exposed themselves to criticism, it may be thought presumptuous in me to speak ; and, indeed, I frankly own, that it is with great reluctance that I have undertaken to do so : I know full well, that, to describe either an individual or a people, without wounding 112 CHAUACTER OF THE CANADIANS. some self-love, is utterly imposable: the necessity of the thing, however, has induced me to brave this danger, and to attempt to paint in his true colours the so often calumniated and caricatured Jean Baptiste*; to show that the Canadians are, although of French extraction, not French, nor even Iroquois, nor Germans, nor English, nor Scotch, nor Yankees, but that they are, assuredly, Canadians, " Qu^est.ce que les Canadiens ? L'*histoire dira, sans doute, que ce sont des sujets Britanniques devoues et fideles, qui dans un temps ou toutes les colonies voisines se separaient de Tempire d'ou elles tiraient leur origine, sont seuls demeures attaches a cet empire, quoiqu^ils n'*en fussent membres que depuis quelques annees et par adoption ; que depuis ils ont invaiiablement soutenu leur gouvemement, et quails ont montr^ le plus grand courage a le defendre. L^histoire dira de plus que le plan constant des ennemis du pays, a ^te d'en reduire les habitants k la nuUit^ politique la plus complete, et de les faire passer pour des ignorantsf in- capables d''avoir part aux affaires, et de tacher, par tons les moyens possibles, de les aneantir. La mere patric est.elle coupable de ces attentats contre le plus ptusible des peuples ? II est luse de dire que non, parceque nous savons que tous les plans, tous les projets dont on nous a menaces, ont prit leur origine au milieu de nous ; et que quand on est parvenu a suspendre la justice de Tempire Britannique, ce n^a ete qu^en le trompant, et en lui faisant voir notre avantage dans 'fiif^fn- i^mf^' &' "H^fs^.^ 'm t -! «> Wtf^ * I have here, not having the dread of criticism before my eyes, hazarded the use of a provincial epithet Jean Baptiste is used, with reference to the Canadian people, as is John Bull with reference to the English. f In visiting Scotland last summer, I met, on board one of the steam boats, Captain Basil Hall, on his return from America. As he had visited Lower Canada, I did not fail to ask his opinion of that country. " Oh ! " said he, « it is a very fine country, but the people are very ignorant ; I am positively assured, that the grreatest part of the representatives in the House of Assembly cannot even sign their names." Such is Captain Hall's information respect- ing Lower Canada ; I only hope, for his own sake, that what he has just now laid before the public, respecting the United States and other parts of North America, is more substantially correct '^^^h'^^^TiI] MANNERS OF THE CANADIANS. 113 des projets destin^ a transporter nos droits et nos propri^tds aux auteurs memes de ces projets*.*" The climate, the wild country which they have inhabited, and, at first, their continual communications with the aborigines, have had powerful effects upon the character and habitudes of the great body of the Canadian people ; and in those portions of the country which are situated at a distance from the cities, the manners of the inhabitants resemble moi'e particulariy those of the children of nature who were originally lords of the country: But in a country long possessed by the French, it is not surprising that the usages now in vogue should bear a strong similarity to those of France ; in the building of their houses, in the distribution of the apartments, the same taste, the same elegance (if I may use such expressions in such a mattci) are observed, as still are to be found in the various provinces of France, in spite of the great changes effected by the revolution-^ The furniture, even, is almost precisely the same. During my residence in France, I failed not to visit a large num. ber of the peasants^ houses, and to investigate, somewhat narrowly, into their various customs and peculiarities. The resemblance between the interior of a peasant^s dwelling in Normandy, and on the banks of the St Lawrence, was, to a practised eye, close and remarkable : with the exception of the flooring, which in Canada is always of wood, in France of bricks or flat stones, every thing is nearly precisely the same; the chimney always in the centre of the building; the partition between the kitchen and the large room in which the inhabitants dwell, at each end of which are the small sleeping apartments. *' Le lit principal, entourre de serge verte qui est suspendue au plancher du haut de la grande salle, par une targette en fer, le benitier et petit crucifix k la tete ; la grande table k manger, la couchette des enfans sur des roulettes en bois au-dessous du grand lit, les diffi^rents coffres pour y deposer Thabillement du * La Minerve, 23 Avril, 1827. t ' 114 FRENCH POPULATION. dimanche ; Tornement des poutres, la longue pipe, le tulle Fran^ais ou fusil k long calibre, la come k poudre, le sac ^ plomb, etc. etc., m^ont fait penser plus d^une fois k la resi- dence de mon ami Jean Gilbeau de St. Joachim*.^ The ordinary distinctions of rank, as known in the several countries in Europe, exist not in Canada. We have not, in the strict sense of the word, either a noblesse, or an aristocracy of any kind, though many and important are the distinctions which are really to be found among the people. These divisions or classes, and the habits and manners of each, it is the object of the present chapter to explain. The most important and marked distinction existing in the country, is of French and English; meaning, by French, all such as were originally, or have, by long dwelling in the country or otherwise, become attached to the French Canadian habits and language ; meaning, by English, such as are really English, or have, in spite of their continuance in the country, retained a decided predilection for what they believe to be English manners, language, tastes, &c. The evil effects of this division among the people will imniviliately be seen, when I come to explain the characteristics of the English portion of the population. The French population, included in the description I have just ^ven, have, by the lapse of years, changed greatly, as regards the various divisions existing among them. The early settlers of these, then wild and desert regions, may easily be conceived not to have been either wealthy, or nobly bom ; indeed, we have positive evidence that they were of what are usually termed the lov/est — I should say, the most unfortunate classes of society. The soldiers of the French army were oftentimes rewarded by grants of lands in Canada ; the adventurous, idle, and desperate went out in search of golden fortunes there ; and to these, for the purpose c^ * A parish thirty miles below Quebec, where the Quebec Seminary have a fine establishment for the reception of their scholars, boarders, during six weeks' vacation in the summer. FRENCH POPULATION. 115 providing them worthy partners, the government diipatched a cargo of women. When, by the combined endeavours of these various persons, the country became somewhat popu- lous and thriving, various famiHes connected with the noblesse of France were induced to become settlers in these new territories, by large grants of land, and the donatives of various important privileges. Thus nobk families were mingled with the Canadian population. *> So long as the country was under the dominion of France, the nobiesse formed the leading people of the country ; they constituted the fashionable society in Quebec, and imitated, in the Chateau St. Louis*, as far as their means permitted, the splendour and ceremony of the Court of Versailles. When the country was taken by the English, the greater part of the nobles departed : some, however, remfuned ; and being well received by the English governors, and treated with distinction on account of thdr rank, they still shcme, though with diminished splendour, imiid the circles of Quebec. The forms of the age of Louis XIV. were in some degree preserved in this distant land, after they had disappeared from the country which gave them birth ; and, under the fostering care of the government, protracted for a short period the date of their existence. Causes, however, were in operation, which eventually destroyed this lingering influence of the nobility. The English introduced among the population a spirit of traffic ; they taught them to appreciate the advantages of individual wealth, and to feel that a man might be of im- portance, even though not descended from a noble race. The English traders spread themselves over the country, bartered and trafficked with the inhabitants, introdudng new articles of luxury, and creating a demand for the various productions of the country. The bourgeoiae, or ignoble inhabitants of the towns, caught the spirit, — ^laboured, and laboured successfully, to accumulate wealth for themsel/vet ;. * So the Chateau, or Governor's house, at Quebec, is called. 116 FRENCH POPULATION. and, being a frugal and a prudent race, thej quickly found themselves possessed of fortunes more than sufficient to enable them to cope with the broken down noblesse around them. They, therefore, immediately began to compete with this fading generation, both in political and social life. The nobles themselves, preserving, in undiminished vigour, the absurd and baneful feelings universally engendered where aristocratic distinctions exist, looked with disdain upon the occupation of a merchant. To obtain their own livelihood, they considered a degradation : To live upon the labour of others, they deemed an honourable prerogative. In the present state of affairs, however, they possessed no power to wring from other men the means of splendour or subsis- tence ; being idle, they consequently became wretchedly poor. The old noblesse^ unfortunately for themselves, neglected the education of their children ; France was no longer before them as a model to be imitated, or a seminary for instruction. Their children could not well be sent to England, inasmuch as there no connections existed to forward them in life ; and, moreover, the manners of that country bore little resemblance to their own. To the Canadian seminaries of instruction they paid little attention, supposing them incapable of con- veying that species of knowledge which they desired ; and they unwisely neglected to render them efficient. The children of these noble families were consequently brought up in idleness and ignorance. ' The bourgeoisie, in the mean time, having themselves acquired riches, sought out for the means of imparting instruction to their children. Thar own seminaries were alone within their power ; and, not being diverted by higher aspirations, they contented themselves with improving that which they possessed. The rising generation received a fair and useful education, by the aid of the priesthood ; and were thus enabled to surpass their noble competitors in knowledge*, as their fathers had before surpassed them in wealth. * I shall hereafter speak of the education of the Canadians, and of the labours of the priesthood in that useful vocation. FRENCH POPULATION. 117 The effects of this combination of circumstances became strikingly evident, the moment that political struggles had to be maintained. When the people thought it of im- portance to have efficient members in their House of Repre- sentatives, the men of action and education, viz. the bour- geoisie, were immediately selected ; and the nobles passed from the stage at once, and for ever. Their titles are no longer known ; and the whole people may now be conudered as on one ran' or level, in as far as regards titular dis- tinctions. The descendants of the nobility are to be found confounded with the poorer classes of the inhabitants ; and, their former ideas of grandeur having long since departed, they oftentimes may be seen serving in their little shops in the country, and gaining an honest livelihood in this humble avocation. The spirit which took possession of the inhabitants of the towns soon spread into the most distant parts of the country. Different individuals, as they acquired wealth by commerce, purchased large landed property, and introduced among their countrymen ideas of greater luxury and enjoy- ment than they had originally entertained. The chief commerce, moreover, carried on by the Canadian people, was the commerce of the interior (that with England being chiefly in the hands of British people) ; hey thus formed a link of immediate communication with the various portions of the country. The English merchants and others introduced new habits and new ideas from Europe ; these were quickly acquired by that part of the Canadian population inhabiting the towns, and, trafficking with the English, were again transmitted, through this medium, to the country people. Added to this, was another powerful cause of the increased enlightenment of the whole country : the government, by calling the people politically into action, gave individuals an interest in persuading the people of the various districts of the truth or falsehood of certain propositions, respecting the different topics of political importance; this induced dis- 118 FRENCH POPULATION. ciMsioD, and discusaon knowledge; and thus the general intelligence of the population was consideraMy advanced. Still, as must necessarily be the case where dif/erent degrees of wealth exist, different degrees of intelligence are to be found in the various classes of the people, though not to the same extent as in European countries. By the laws of the country, the tenure of the land is of that sort termed en fief or seigneurie ; that is, a lord, or angneur, possesses a right to certain returns over a specific portion of territory, each portion, thus possessed, being termed a sngneurie. The returns consist, partly in personal service, partly in certain taxes upon production and inter- change at the hands of the vassal ; on the other »de, the lord, or seigneur, is bound to perform certain acts for the convenience of his vassal*: he must build mills, make roads, &c. The returns, on the part of the vassal, are usually moderate; and thus, at present, no very great distinction exists between the class of seigneurs, and that of vassals. Still, however, this is a distinction, destined in process of time to become more marked and important. Already there is a partial political influence exercised by the seigneurs — ex- arcised it yet has indeed been entirely for the interests of the whole people : the time may ccHue when they will prove a landed aristocracy, exercising an overbearing and pernicious influence ov«* the fortunes of their countrymen. In the present stage oi sodety, nevertheless, all the highest d^ree of intelligence possessed by the people is to be found either am(Hig this class, or those sprung from the mercantile com- munity, who, in fact, from their wealth, have been enabled, by purchase, to form the chief part of the seigneurs of the country. This divinon of the people into seigneurs, and nc^ seigneurs, is« as far as regards future consequences, by far the * This, for another purpose, will be more fully explained hereafter. I am now considering the matter merely with reference to the divisions of the people. ... ....... STATE OF THE PEOPLE. 119 most important division now existing among them. That division, however, which at present is most marked, is that of the people of the towns, and the people of the country ; which last have a distinctive name, and are now universally termed, par excellence, les habitants. The manners <^ these two classes, though in the main and essential par- ticulars greatly similar, still exhibit many and striking differences. The people of the towns, from their constant communications with the English and Americans, have lost many of the peculiarities still retained by the more simple people of the country : wealth has introduced into the cities European refinements and luxuries which, to our forefathers, were completely unknown; so that, if we are desirous of obtaining a .true picture of Canadian manners and cus- toms, we must penetrate into the country, and mingle with the artless and unsophisticated inhabitants still to be found there. Of the various circumstances connected with the habits and manners of a people, the most important are, Jirat, the degree of difficulty experienced by them in obtaining the means of subsistence; secondh/, the proportions in which these means of subsistence are spread over the whole mass of the population; and, thirdly, the quantum of the means of comfort which the people at large deem requi- site to their happiness. Where the obtaining of subsistence is not a matter of overwhelming or exceeding difficulty, — where the wealth of the country is spread in nearly even portions over the whole of the inhabitants, and where the standard of enjoyment is a high one, happiness must of necessity be the lot of that people. Such is the situation of my countrymen ; and, from the experience which my travels in various parts of the globe have ^ven me, I well know that their comfort and happiness, excepting, perhaps, in the United States of America, can find no equal ; and that the unfortunate peasant of Europe, apparently degraded in mind and worn out in body, exhibits a picture of wretchedness, which, to the poorest lidbHant on the banks of the St. 12a STATE OF THE PEOPLE. Lawrence, would appear almost utterly inconceivable, and upon which his imagination could not dwell without surprise and disgust*. i.-ks^sir^^A-ii^ mk .. ^u,.i*^ The people, with hardly an exception, are proprietors of land, and live by the produce of their own labour from their own property. By the law of the country, the property is equally divided among all the children, and from the small quantity of capital yet accumulated in individual hands, the divisions of land have become somewhat minute. Among the people of the United States there exists a roving disposi- tion, that leads them, in multitudes, to make new settlements in the wild lands, and thus rapidly to spread civilization over the immense unreclaimed territories which they possess. This feding exists not in Canada: the inhabitants, gene- rally, )ire far from adventurous ; they cling with pertinacity to thespbt which gave them birth, and cultivate, with con> tentedness, the little piece of land which, in the division of the fatdily property, has fallen to thdr share. One great reason for this sedentary disposition is thdur peculiar situation as regards reli^on. In Canada, as in all catholic countries, many of the people^s ehjo3nnents are connected with their re- ligious ceremonies; the Sunday is to them thdr day of guety ; there is then an assemblage of friends and relations; the parish church collects together all whom they know, with whom they have relations of business or pleasure; the «ik «»+'-' ;jt4j' »♦.•„ * The settlers from Great Britain and Ireland, however, are fast teaching the Canadian people the degree of misery existing in other lands ; the squalid appearance, the filth, and destitution of the shoals of miserable beings annually imported from the mother country, are beginning to be familiar in Canada. The constant exhibition of the disgusting spectacle has put the existence of this misery in other places out of doubt, though, thanks to our good fortune, it is still, and I hope will long be, unexperienced by my countrymen. A very ingenious, though somewhat wicked appellation, has been given by the Canadians to the poorest part of the emigrants ; they call them Bas de Soie, from their not having, or never choosing to wear, any stockings. It is quite usual to hear : Tiens, voili une cargaison de Bas de Soie qui arrive, when a great number of emigrants are seen on board of a ship coming into port. STATE OF THE PEOPLE. 121 young and old, men and women, clad in their best garments, riding their best horses, driving in their gayest calecheSy meet there for purposes of business, love, and pleasure. The young habitant, decked out in his most splendid finery, makes his couit to the maiden whom he has singled out as the object of his affections ; the mfuden, exhibiting in her adorn- ment every colour of the rainbow, there hopes to meet sofi chevalier: the bold rider descants upon, and ^ves evidence of, the merits of his unrivalled pacer* ; and in winter the powers of the various horses are tried in sleigh or cariole racing ; in short, Sunday is the grand fete, it forms the most pleasurable part of the habitanfs life ; rob them of their Sunday, you rob them of what, in their eyes, renders life most worthy of pos- session. Moreover, the people are a pious people, and set an extraordinary value upon the rites of their religion. Take them where they may be unable to participate in these observances, and you render them fearful and unhappy. The consequence of all these circumstances is, that the Canadian will never go out nngly to settle in a wild terri- tory ; neither will he go where his own religious brethren are not. A wise Government under such drcumstances, if they were desirous of having the country cleared and settled^ would have been careful to provide means by- which a church might have been within his reach, where a catholic congregation might have been immediately formed ; lands would have been appropriated to his church, and a means of subsistence found for his pastor. Our Government has done no such thing; the English established church is alone provided for ; its territories may be seen marked out in every map ; it has, in contemplation, appropriated one- tenth of the whole land of the country ; but that form of worship which would alone induce the Canadian popula- tion to emigrate is passed over and forgotten ; the conse- quence has been, that few or no new settlements have been The Canadians are peculiarly fond of ambling or pacing horses. 122 AGRICULTURE. made by the French Canadians : the population, neverthe- less, has gone on increasing; and, as no employment of capital is so productive as agriculture, the people, of necessity, have subdivided the lands already cleared. This subdivi- »on has, hitherto, had no pernicious consequences, as regards the enjoyments of the inhabitants, they having as much land as their capital permits them to cultivate ; and thus, for the most part, inferior soils have not been brought into high cultivation ; the time, however, must come, if the popula- tion go on increasing, when, provided emigration does not take place, the means of subsistence will be obtained with great difficulty, and the situation of the people must gra- dually deteriorate. It is to be hoped that the Government will endeavour to keep off this evil day, by so regulating the distribution of the church lands, that the catholic settlers may have their reli^ous wants easily satisfied. '-' The soils now in cultivation are, for the most part, highly fertile ; and the Canadian farmer, with a few months^ labour, and little skill, obtains all he finds necessary to his enjoy- ments. The winter breaks up about the 1st of May ; the harvest is finished usually by the middle of October ; and the ground is again, by the frost, rendered impenetrable by the beginning or middle of November. The winter thus extends from November to May, during which time, few agricultural employments can possibly continue, the snow usually covering the ground during the whole period. The farmer in the winter threshes his com ; if he is careful, cuts and carries his yearns fire-wood, and his fences*. The females of his family, during the same period, card and spin their wool, weave their cloth, knit their stockings, and make the mocasins, or shoes, for themselves, their husbands, and children: little labour, nevertheless, is carried on during the winter ; the most part of the time being spent in the amusements of the country, which we shall hereafter describe. * The fences are almost universally made of split wood, arranged in various methods ; dry stone walls are, nevertheless, sometimes to be found. AORICULTURE. 123 When the spring comes, there is a general rush of business : a few days, nay, often a few hours, changes the whole face of the country. The river, which was a white and even sheet of ice, covered with snow, suddenly breaks up, and assumes life and motion ; the snow, under which the whole earth lay buried, disappears as if by magic ; the tepid airs of summer succeed at once to the biting gales of their almost polar winter ; vegetation bursts abroad ; the summer birds at once make their appea/ance ; and the country is suddenly transformed from a polar to almost a tropical scene. To the farmer of England, accustomed to the garden-like cultivation of his native country, Canadian farming appears slovenly and unskilful ; but this species of rough agriculture is founded, in some measure, upon correct principles. Up to a certiun point, an increased outlay of labour, on a ^ven portion of land, is repaid by a more than proportionate in- crease of production: beyond that point, however, the increase is proportionately less ; and, therefore, beyond that point it ought not to be ouUayed, unless from any circumstances (such as an exceeding increase of population, for example) it is requisite to go to inferiw soils. European farmers are apt to judge of agricultural profits by the number of bushels derived from the acre; this, howevor, is an exceedingly fallacious criterion : the correct method is, to estimate the labour expended, and then estimate the produce of that labour ; and it will be found, as by experience I have learned, and could have discovered by reasoning, that a partial or less complete cultivation of a large number of acres, returns a much greater produce to the same labour than could be returned if the labour had been confined to a small number of acres. In the latter case, the farm would present a more thriving and striking appearance, and the crops of the farmer would seem more abundant ; his labour, however, would not be so well repaid. In Canada, the large quantity of land, in propwtion to the number of the in- habitants, renders it unnecessary for the people to have 124 AGRICULTURE, recourse, except in peculiar cases, to inferior soils ; and in no cases is it necessary in the same degree as in England. The consequence then is, that the high cultivation which in England we are compelled to pursue, is in Canada not only unnecessary, but would actually prove injurious to the farmer. While saying this, let it not be thought that I am an enemy to agricultural improvements; to superior skill in applying such portions of labour as are requisite to call into action the first and most productive powers of the soil ; I am desirous merely of combating an erroneous principle, and of pointing out the right criterion by which to judge of relative agricultural excellence. That English neatness should be further introduced into the habits of the Canadians is highly desirable ; and that a higher degree of cultivation than at present exists should also be attempted, cannot be lenied. '^ The agricultural implements are, for the most part, rude and ill-contrived ; a good plough, or a good harrow, is a thing hardly to be found; the scientific rotation of crops is utterly unknown, and might be introduced, to the great benefit of the country. Unfortunately, the English who have endeavoured hitherto to instruct the people, have been, for the most part, a narrow-minded race. Introduced into a state of completely new circumstances, they have been unable to adapt their knowledge so as to suit those circum- stances : they farmed in their own country merely after a habit or custom, and not according to a principle ; to this habit or custom, they inflexibly adhere, without reference to the modifications rendered requisite by the difierence of climate and social state, and the consequence has hitherto been an almost complete failure in all their endeavours. At first they have been all English — ^it was their custom ; findmg this not to answer, they (after the established manner of people of mere routine) have gone as far on the other side, and become all Canadian. Had they modified their former by their latter experience, using their own greater skill in the application of the power they had at AORICULTUBE. 125 command, but determining the quantity of the labour to be employed, as well as the time of its application, by the circumstances of the country, they might have conferred immeasurable benefits upon the people. Let me take an example. The English and Scotch methods of ploughing are greatly superior to that of Canada; superior in this way — with the same physical power, and in the same time, a man, by the English method, will more completely turn over a larger portion of soil. It is unnecessary for me to point out how this is : the fact is indisputable. Now, were the English farmers to retain their own method of ploughing, with all its collateral adjuncts, but plough at the time and to the extent best suited to Canada, without reference to the English time and extent^ they would of necessity have a great advantage over the Canadian farmer. So with all that portion of greater agricultural knowledge, dependent on their superior knowledge of physics and chemistry. Let them trace the observances or methods founded on such science, back to the principles, or science itself; they will then learn how those observances must be modified, on account of the altered state of physical circumstances ; they will also lenm Aow they can be modified ; and may thus avoid following blindly, and to their own cost, the routine to which they have been accustomed; and may turn their superior intelligence to their own and the country^s ad- vantage. In spite, however, of the unfavourable state of mind I have here mentioned, as existing among the greater portion of the British settlers*, great improvements are daily taking place ; and Mr. Gray (who seems by no means free from the prejudices of his class) says, *' I remarked some farms on the Riviere Quelle and du Sud, (hat would not dis- * It may be well to mention that, of the settlers that come from the mother country, and more partidilarly of diosc from Ireland, the greater portion are in far greater ignorance of every thing than the inhabitants of Canada. The class of persons spoken of in the text, as possessing superior intelligence, must not be confounded with the common herd of settlers. 126 AOUICULTUBE. grace Norfolk or Northumberland*.^ And thus, to the fer-' tility of their soil they are gradually adding the skill of Europe ; and by this means rendering the business of ob- taining the means of subsistence even more light and easy than before. The first occupation of the spring, or rather the end of the winter, with the Canadian farmer, is, the making of his sugar. The sap of the maple tree is possessed of a large quantity of saccharine matter ; and when, by long boiling, it is reduced into a solid form, yields a sugar by no means unpalatable, even to an European taste. In the month of April the sun acquires great power during the day, though the nights are still excessively cold : the sap, which is kept down during the cold night, suddenly mounts, when the warm sun breaks out ; an incision is then made in the tree, and a species of spigot inserted, fer the purpose of con- ducting the sap, as it runs out, into troughs placed to receive it. This sap, thus obtuned, is then bcnled until the water is all evaporated, and nothing remains but the sugar: this sugar is famous throughout North America, and fmms one of the peculiarities of the various countries included under that name. In an economical point of view, it is exceed- ingly doubtful, whether the people be wise in taking the trouble to procure it ; the same labour might, I think, in the greater number of cases, be more profitably employed ; and the means of purchasang West India sugar more easily obtained than can this famous maple sugar itself^ The people of the country are pas^onatdy fond oi it, however, and look upon it with the same sort of national feeling, as an Englishman does his beer, a Scotchman his scones, or a Mexican his pulque. The remaining operations of the farmer are nearly the same as in England ; inasmuch as, with the exception of maize, or Indian corn, the produce of the country is the same. The chief peculiarity of the situation of the Canadian is, that what * Letters on Canada, FOOD. 187 he grows is rather for his own consumption than for the purposes of sale. Hitherto, for example, he has grown flax, for the purpose of making the greater portion of his linen ; his corn is for himself; his cattle are fatted to be, for the most part, eaten in his own family ; in short, he nearly produces, at one time perhaps entirely produced, whatever he consumed. The introduction of English luxuries, however, has, in some degree, altered this ; tea, English broad cloths and calicoes, cutlery, &c., now form part of the Canadian's necessaries ; though the degree in which he is dependent solely on him-* self is far greater than that of an English farmer. In bis own household are made the soap and candles he consumes ; bis shoes, or mocasins, are chiefly of his own or his wife's manufacture ; so also with the greater portion of his clothing. This peculiarity, by multiplying the variety of his employ- ments, serves in some measure to increase his sagacity ; though the benefit is more than overbalanced by the loss of time necessarily attendant on this want of division of labour. Upon the whole, however, it may be safely asserted, that the means of subastence are, by the Canadian, easily obtained ; his labour extends but through a part of the year; and, during that period, it is neither painful nor excessive. - The comforts of the people, if compared with any other nati(m, are wonderfully great ; their food, from their French habits, consists, not of animal food to the same extent as that of the richer English, but is, nevertheless, nourishing and abundant. No griping penury here stints the meal of the labourer ; no wan and haggard countenances bear testimony to the want and wretchedness of the people. I may say, I believe, without exaggeration, that, throughout the whole Canadian population, no instance can be found of a family unprovided with the complete and comfortable means of subsistence; the food, indeed, is oftentimes coarse, but always wholesome. From the length of the winter, it is found necessary to kill in the autumn such stock as is intended fw the winter's food ; a great portion is immediately salted,— some part is frozen ; and thus, though during the early part 128 FOOD. of the winter and the latter part of the summer, the popu- lation live on fresh food ; still, for a great portion of the year, their chief animal food is salted. With a little care, however, this might in a great measure be obviated. The other portions of the food of the people might, with little trouble, be greatly improved ; cheese is almost unknown, though finer milk could not possibly be found; the butter, with the exception of that of Kamouraska, is generally indifferent ; and the bread is far from being perfect. The absence of cheese, and the general indifference of the butter, arise chiefly from a want of knowledge ; the badness of the bread is, by a number of persons, attributed to the bad state of the mills, and that for want of competition. In my opinion it is not correct, for I believe that our mills, generally speaking, are in excel- lent condition ; and every one knows that, by the law of the country, the habitant has the power to oblige the seigneur to keep his mill in the best possible condition ; and if he, the seigneur, neglects to do so, the habitant is then at full liberty to go to the neighbouring mills, which circumstance establishes at once the competition necessarily required. It is a remarkable fact, however, that while the American (that is United States) flour is fine and white, that of Canada is rather coarse and dark, although, it is asserted, more nou- rishing. Some persons, as I said before, attribute this to the absence of competition in the business of grinding their com ; but when I tell them, that the American wheat, ground in our mills, makes as fine flour as when ground in American mills, what will they say ? The seigneurs, it is true, appa- rently possess a monopoly in this matter : the vassal is obliged to have his corn ground at the mill of his seigneur; the seigneur consequently (say some), is not particularly careful as to the quality of the flour he produces: they must be aware, however, that the vassal is alive to all his rights, as well as the seigneur, and that the least neglect on the part of the seigneur would be a sufficient pretext for him, the vassal, to leave his mill. However this may be, it is to be wished, that all the means of improving the staple of the people^s food should be devised. ,:> FOOD. 129 The priests could hardly find a more worthy and useful avo- cation, than instructing their congregations in a more skilful and wholesome method than that now practised, of fermenting, or, as it is technically called, raising their bread*. Leaven is now generally used for this purpose ; and the consequence is, that the bread, throughout the country, is universally sour. A more wholesome mode might easily be devised, which, while it required no more trouble and expense, would mate- rially, and, in a most important degree, improve the comforts of the people. These apparently trifling particulars, when investigated, will be found to have no mean influence on a people^s hap- piness. Though these evil efi^ects be not great in each par- ticular case, yet they are constantly recurring ; and thus, by their multitude, they more than compensate for their indi- vidual insignificance. Notwithstanding these circumstances (which I mention in hopes of contributing to a reformation), the situation of the Canadians, as regards their food, is one of great comparative comfort. The gardens, which are almost entirely cultivated by the women, supply, in pulse and vegetables, a large portion of their aliment. Fish is easily procured, from the numerous rivers, in an abundance and size which, to an European sportsman, would appear so extravagant, that I shall attempt no description thereof. Spirits, unfortunately, form a large proportion of the drink of the people ; and here, again, the salutary instruc- tions of a benevolent priesthood might be eminently useful. I do not mean that the priest should indulge in constant anathemas against rum, and whiskey, and gin : anathemas frighten people, and diminish even the poor pleasure derived ' * No country is better suited to the growing of hops than Canada ; and the most wholesome and best-flavoured leavening matter can be made with ease from hops. Beer is made only in Quebec and Montreal ; yeast, therefore, can- not be obtained by the population generally, but could be made, nevertheless, if hops were grown for the purpose. 130 CLOTHING, from debauchery; but they do not cure the evil. In a climate of such intense heat and cold as that of Canada, there is, of i^ticessity, a constant craving for some stimulant to be applied to the stomach : the stimulant within the reach of the people is spirits ;— they therefore drink spirits. If some other kind, less pernicious, were ^ven to them, they might, with a little persuasion, be made to adopt it; if malt liquor, for example, were introduced, the whole popu- lation might easily be induced to substitute it for spirits. In a country where corn is so cheap and hops might so easily be grown, beer might be made at an exceedingly low rate ; and its cheapness would quickly lead the inhabitants to use it universally. More might be done, in a few years, to improve the morality and happiness of a people, by specific directions and advice of this description, than can be effected in centuries by vague declamations against vice, or rhe- torical laudations of virtue. To lead any people, we must address ourselves intelli^bly to their understandings ; but a rude people aui only understand particular precepts — precepts pointing out specific evils, and explaining the modes of obtaining specific benefits. The benefits also must be such as they can appreciate ; they ought, for that reason, to be immediate. Now, the evil effects of ardent spirits are manifest to every man ; more particularly are they so to any who has travelled in North America. The inhabitants know all the mischiefs derived from their use, but still they feel the necessity of a stimulant ; and, however painful may be the consequence, they must use the only one generally afforded them : give them another, less powerful, but quite as effecdve, they will perceive and understand the benefits to be derived from it ; and, understanding and agreeing with their instructor, they will quickly follow his precepts. While the Canadians are thus universally well supplied with food, they are equally fortunate as to their clothing and their habitations. Till lately, the chief clothing of the population was wholly of their own manu^Eicture ; but the HABITATIONS. 131 cheapness of English goods has, in some degree, induced a partial use thereof. Canadian cloth is, however, still almost universally used ; and the gray capot of the habitant is the characteristic costume of the country. This capot is a large coat reaching to the knee; and is bound round the waist by a sash ; which sash is usually the gayest part of the Canadian's dress, exhibiting, usually, every possible bright colour within the power of the dyer. This, with a straw hat in summer, a bonnet rouge or a fur cap in winter, and a pair of mocasins made out of sole leather, complete the dress of the peasant. The women are clothed nearly after the fashion of a French peasant ; a cap, in place of a bonnet, with a dark cloth or stuff petticoat, a jacket (mantelet) sometimes of a different colour, and mocasins, the same as those ai the men, form their every*day dress. On the Sunday, they are gaily attired, chiefly after the English fashion, with only this difference : where the English wears one, the Canadian girl wears half a dozen colours. Here, as in the case of their food, no penury is manifest; an exceeding neatness in their persons, and cleanliness, that first requisite to comfbft, mark the people to be above the influence of want; and to be in that state of ease which permits them to pay due attention to decency of External appearance. Of the habitations of the people I hfive already spoken. It is impossible — perhaps it would alsd be ilnnteessary, to give a minute description of the sort of houses which the farming populatidn geherttUy inhabit ; suffice it to sdy, that they are generally constructed of #ood; though, as the farmer becomes nch, he almost invariably changes his woodeh for A stone boUse. For the niitoiber of the inhabitants, they are usually large and coraiiAodious. In th^ sumttier, from being low, they are generally uncoAnfortably warm; and in winter, by the aid of a stove, they are rendered GonHpletely liriiAhabitable hf an Eai-opeto. The excessive heat in which the Canadian Hve^, within doors, is Sufficient to kill any one, not ttam his infat^ey accustomed to that 132 HABITATIONS. temperature. Without doors, however, the Juibitant bears with ease the piercing cold of the winter blasts, — " Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes ; " when any one, not a Canadian, would be compelled to take every possible precaution against its painful influence ; and he passes, with impunity and without pain, from his house, in which the temperature is above ninety degrees of Fahren- heit, into the open air, oftentimes twenty-five or thirty degrees below zero. , The houses are seldom of more than the ground floor; they are constructed sometimes of planks, sometimes of solid trees, and are universally white-washed. They are generally surrounded by a scrambling sort of garden, in which there are quantities of fruit, vegetables, and flowers ; but in which the beautiful neatness of an English garden will be sought for in vain. The fence is formed of coarse pieces of split wood; the walks are but tracks traced of necessity, and without much reference to order; and the whole, though it yields abundance and comfort, yet adds little to the beauty of the scene. It is almost entirely under the management of the women, who using, in place of a spade, a species of heavy hoe, called a pioche, may be seen labouring with laudable industry during the parching days of summer, each in the little plot of ground she designates her garden, careless of the burning influence of the sun, and ignorant that, in other countries, the toil she undergoes is deemed beyond the reach of female strength. In the United States of America, at least in the Northern and Eastern States, such a sight is never seen : there the women take little or no part in the out-door work of the farm ; and seldom appear abroad without a sun bonnet, to shade their beauty from the scorch- ing rays of the sun. Although neatness, at least English neatness, is not to be found in the habitations of the Canadian peasantry, perfect cleanhness is every where apparent; and, added t) thb comfortable quality, an unstinted sufficiency of the AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. 133 to various articles of furniture required for a comfortable' minage. Beds in abundance; linen, and all the requisite culinary utensils: all that are really wanted are there. Again, here, as in the circumstance of food, a high degree of comfort and enjoyment exists; and though the means may, to a delicate European, appear son :what rude, the grand end of happiness is completely obtuned. I mention the amusements of the people, not with any intention of venturing to give a description of them, but with a desire to point out the state of comparative comfort which those amusements evince. Few of these are peculiarly characteristic, except those of the winter. I have already stud that the winter is chiefly spent in pleasure; and that the greater part of the population, at that period, cease from serious labour. The chief pleasures of the inhabitants consist at this time of carkiling and visiting each other. As the people live, for the most part, each on his own farm, the distance between neighbours becomes oftentimes too great for a pedestrian to go over with comfort ; the snow lying on the ground for at least five months in the year, would also render walk- ing unpleasant : a cariole, or light sleigh, is therefore universally used. Church-going, visiting, purchasing, in short every journey, whether of pleasure or business, is performed in the cariole. Every farmer possesses one, sometimes two or three ; and the farm-horses, being exceed- ingly active and light, draw his winter carriage. The whole of this is evidence of great plenty and comfort : — the horses must be fed for many months, at no small cost ; and might, if their masters desired, be profitably employed. The cessation from labour also, during the greater part of the period, is another proof of the easy circumstances of the people : not only is there a cessation from labour, but a constant round of parties, and dancing, of which the whole people are passionately fond. At these parties, abundance of good things is always manifest. The people assemble not merely to see one another, but with a serious intention of 134 AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. enjoying themselves; and to this enjoyment they wisely deem eating to be an absolutely necessary adjunct. Healthy and robust as they are, it may easily be presumed, that the quantity of the viands is an essential particular. Their eating, like their dancing, is no mock proceeding; they dance with spirit, and they eat with vigour. Again, this is evidence of plenty. At their weddings the same custom is prevalent ; a dance and a feasting always succeed this happy event ; and not only one dance and one feasting, but, most probably, a dozen. The whole bridal cortege in a long string of caliches if in summer, of carioles in winter, passing from house to house; and each night, for, perhaps, a fortnight, renewing, with unabated vigour, both the eating and the dancing. Thus passes the winter; and with the summer labour returns. The out-door sports of the English have no paral-> lei in Canada ; cricket, foot-ball, and the various gymnastic sports, are there unknown ; and the summer is almost entirely passed in labour. There is one exception, however, I am unwilling to pass over — this amusement has indeed immediate reference to gain, as it consists mjishmg. The methods practised in the various parts of the country being somewhat peculiar, may, perhaps, be worth describing. In the spring, the fish usually run up into the thousand small creeks (in England they would be called rivers), which fall into the St. Lawrence ; these being oftentimes shallow, perpiit a man to wade across and along them ; one carries a bundle of dry pine or cedar bark splinters lighted, and used as a torch ; another follows with a barbed spear, having a handle eight or ten feet long, and, by aid of the toroh-lightj he is enabled to see the fish as they lie along the bottom of the stream; which fish he cautiously approaches, and transfixes with his spear : when the water is too deep for him to wade, a canoe is procured; a light iron grate is placed in the bow, and filled with dry pitchy pine splinters, which blaze vehemently, and cast a bright apd ruddy glow through the water, to many yards distance. The fish, as AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. 135 before, are by this means discovered lying at the bottom of the stream, and are caught in the same manner. Great dexterity is often evinced in the management of the spear ; and I have often seen fish of four or five feet in length caught in this manner. In the calm evenings of summer, as the night comes gradually on, canoe after canoe, with its bright and waving light, may be seen putting silently from shore, and gliding rapidly and noiselessly along the still and glossy river; with one touch of the paddle the canoe is impelled to the spot pointed out by the gesture of the spears- man, who, waiting till the fish be within his range, darts his weapon with admirable precision upon the devoted prey, lifts it as quietly as possible into the canoe, and proceeds onward in search of further sport. The water of the St. Lawrence, clear beyond that of almost all the rivers I have seen, is admirably fitted for this purpose; and will allow a dexterous sportsman to seize his prey, if it be tolerably large, even when the water is ten or twelve feet in depth. There are few scenes in Canada more peculiar and striking than this night fishing. Often have I stood upon the banks of the broad and beautiful St. Lawrence, and con- templated with rapture the almost fairy picture it afforded. The still and mighty expanse of waters, spread out in glassy calmness before me, with its edges fringed by a dark mass of huge forests sweeping to the very brink of the river ; and the deep purple shade of night closing over all, have, together, conjured up a scene that has held me for hours in contem- plation. The song of the voyageur floating over the smooth and silent water, and mellowed by distance, has, in my imag^natbn, equalled the long-lost strains of the Venetian gondolier; the glancing multitudes of waving lights, be- lying the homely purpose to which they were applied, have seemed a nocturnal festival; and, by the aid of a little romance in my own feelings, have not seldom cheated me into half poetical musings. The " garish eye of day,'' luckily, invariably dispelled the hallucination by robbing the scene of its enchanting but temporary beau^. I would. 136 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. however, recommend the traveller, in those distant regions, to view the scene in a calm night of June; and, I doubt not, but that in a short time he will discover himself more romantic than he deemed. . t^ ^ From what I have already stated, it is almost needless for me to say, that the situation of the people, such as I have described it, is not merely the situation of a part but of the whole. Wealth and comfort are not confined to a few individuals, but the whole mass of the population have almost an equal share in the good things of this world. The division of property, by law, has, of itself, rendered this almost necessary ; the ease with which the means of subsistence are obtained, has also contributed to the same desirable state. Whatever may be believed to be the cause, the fact of the great approximation to equality in property is indisputable*. ' -i ■^' From the various circumstances I have mentioned, it will not be difficult to form something like a correct conception of the character of the people"!*. v ?, : .,w ^ • i>i Free from the pressure of want, and unexposed to the temptations created by surrounding affluence, they are free from the vices which poverty and temptation engender; property is perfectly safe, both from petty pilfering and open attacks. In the country, the doors of the houses are never fastened, and all sorts of property are openly and carelessly exposed. In the social relations, also, the same circumstance of ease induces, to a great degree, honesty in dealing. It is to be remarked, however, that, in a country like England, where great transactions are daily carried on, great faith is often absolutely required ; this faith becomes extended to less important dealings, and a general feeling of honesty is introduced into the intercourse of the people. This species of reliance upon faith and honesty, thus gene- ?M ♦ " Ce fut le partage 6gal des terres qui rendit Rome capable de sortir d'abord de son abaissetnent ; et cela se sentit bien, quand elle fut corrompue." -^Montesquieu, Grandeur et Dicadance des Romains, ^^ t See Appendix, No. X. >|«^*^l^ CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. i 137 rated, is not prevalent among the inhabitants of Canada; the circumstances which gave birth to it not having yet arisen : on the other hand, they are completely free from the vice of over-reaching in mercantile transactions, so common among the people of the United States. In that country, unfortunately, they have only just reached that . point of knowledge which tells them the necessity of care, circumspection, and constant watchfulness, in all transactions. They have learned, that, to save themselves from being over- reached, such care and doubt are requisite ; but they have not learned that, not to over-reach others, when we are able, is also a great (perliaps the greatest) assurance against being over-reached ourselves; that general habits of honesty among a people are better safeguards than the most wakeful circumspection. The mercantile roguery of the Americans has, luckily, not hitherto been introduced among the Ca- nadian population : they feel doubtful when trusting others, but they do not practise treachery when trusted. In as far as regards their dealings among one another, they are de- cidedly honest ; but, from the circumstances in which they have been placed, they have not hitherto become generous, confiding, and disinterested. In the kindlier affections, they, like all happy people, are eminently conspicuous ; though, from being less rich, they are, perhaps, less remarkable in this particular than the people of the United States. Except in those portions over- run by the Irish and Scotch settlers, the traveller never meets with a refusal to give him assistance ; and, in all parts, the distress of a neighbour is promptly, and, I may say, generously relieved. No party feelings, no feelings of religion, no religious or political watch-words or signs, here break in upon the gentle tendencies of the people*. The same intolerance of opposite sects is not to be found here as in Europe ; I have, myself, known the most perfect cor- • I speak here only of the country people : it will be seen hereafter, that, in the towns, such absence of bad feelings cannot be made a matter of gratulation. 138 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. > diality to exist between the priest of the parish and his Jewish neighbour ; and have heard a sentimental deist openly avow his unbelief before the same clergyman, discuss the propriety of his opinion, and be on the most perfect terms of intimacy and good feeling. This tc^rance has hitherto led to no evil results, the people being one of the most pious and decorous to be found on the face of the globe ; their piety at the same time being free from austerity and bigotry, and their decorum from hypocrisy. •jmjftaii*^ 7^ *i^* «; "^ A bold spirit of independence, moreover, reigns throughout the conduct of the whole population ; happily, they are yet undebased by the dominion of a rich oligarchy ; they live not in fear of any man^s power or influence ; upon them- selves only — on their own industry, do they depend for sub- sistence ; and thus they have not, hitherto, learned to make distinctions between the welfare of the poor and the rich ; to bow down with abject servility before the powerful, and in their turn to exact a wretched prostration from those still weaker than themselves : courteous in their manners, polite in their address, they oCend not by rude and rough fami- liarity, or indifference to the comfort of others ; neither do they forget their own dignity, even though they be poor ; they cringe not, they fawn not, ncH* are they, like slaves, cruel and oppressive ; they preserve an even simplicity and honest straightforwardness of manner ; alike free from ser- vility on the one hand and bluntness on the other. In this circumstance again they differ widely from the people of the United States. The Americans, from a dedire to mark their independence, their freedom fn)m.all the pernicious restraints of European despotisms, too often forget the common cour- tesies of life. To insult a man they sometimes consider an effective method of informing him that they are free from his control ; just as by cheating him, they believe that they save themselves from being over-reached. The Canadian, on the contrary, while acting with independence, is polite; while guarding himself from becoming a dupe, is honest. > It may be said, and perhaps with truth, that the Canadian CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. IS9 population are, for the most part, superstitious; but this is a failing common to all uneducated persons ; and we can hardly consider it a vice, unless it lead to cruel conduct to- wards one another. We, however, have no ducking of poor old women ; no desire to bum witches, &c. ; superstition, with us, merely multiplies the prayers of the fearful peasant, and occasions a somewhat lavish use of holy water and candles. It may, in I^ngland, be asked, how, in a catholic country, wherein a perfect freedom is allowed to the catholic priesthood to iujculcate every doctrine which they are able to inculcate, a complete subjection of the people has not taken place, and a grovelling superstition and furious bigotry introduced ? The answer is easy : the catholic religion is not a state religion ; its priesthood are armed with no temporal power; they use only the influence of the understanding; are merely the advisers, not the rulers of their flocks. The existence of many rehgions, moreover, all equally under the protection of the law ; the multiplication of doctrines conse- quent on this state of things, and the mutual watchfulness over each other's conduct also resulting from it ; all intro- duce a general toleration and mildness among the various priesthoods of the various religions. The catholic religion is, in Canada, no more the instrument of the people's degra- dation, than is thequaker religion in Pennsylvania: but change the situation of each, erect them into state religions, and both would be equaUy noxious. In the present situation of the nation, however, the catholic priesthood of Canada exhibit a spectacle that others would do well to imitate ; they are laborious in their duties ; frugal in their living ; decorous in their manners; possessed of much intelligence, and some learning, they are gentle, modest, and benevolent. Of their endeavours in the cause of education I shall speak hereafter ; here I only allude to their influence over the people's welfare in their immediate vocation ; in which, I have no doubt, they do as much good as any other priesthood. I suppose, when speaking of the manners and morals of the people, it is necesssary to say something on the subject 140 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. of continence. In this respect, however, the Canadian popu- lation, though perfectly free from any liability to imputation, are yet deserving of no very great praise ; the reason being, they are unexposed to temptation. Happily for themselves they have not yet arrived at that state, in which, for a poor man to bring a family into the world is highly improper, and ought to be considered as a crime. They marry young ; are subjected to no restraint ; and can therefore exercise no virtue. Let them be contented with their happy lot, and envy not the fame derived from martyrdom in flames, which, though they burn not, nor lacerate the outward form, yet too fearfully torture the spirit, and inwardly consume and weigh , down the body. 'i? Crimes of the more atrocious description are almost un- known among us ; murder, arson, as well as attacks gene- rally on the person, are seldom heard of. The people are, for the most part, of a mild disposition ; a broil or fight at their meetings of pleasure seldom occurs : and the more fierce and deadly passions of our nature are never roused by the pressure of famine. The habit of settling differences by personal collision does not exist among them : the law affords the only remedy which the) willingly adopt ; and they con- sequently seem, and are, in fact, litigious*. The petty mis- chiefs arising from this spirit, however, are more than compen- sated by the absence of all those dreadful scenes which are exhibited in countries where the law is a luxury only for the rich ; and where the poor man, if he wishes redress for an in- or insult, must seek it by an attack upon the person of * The Canadians, being principally of Nonnan origin, what William the Conqueror said of the Normans may, perhaps, be applicable to them. . ; " Foler et plaisier lors convient" ,; ■ lis aiment k faire des folies et h plaider. , ' , ^ , . , ^ But it appears to me that the modem description of the Norman character is still more applicable to the Canadians : — " II y a dans toute cette race Nor- mande, un grand aplomb, une faculte de comprehension trds-6tendu, et ce qui est fort remarquable, i la fois beaucoup de chaleur dans la discussion des int£r€t8 priv^s, et de calme dans celle des int^r^ts publics." CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 141 the offender. In France, since the revolution, the practice of duelling seems to have spread through the whole population. The military spirit generated by the wars attendant on that mighty regeneration, however, was never breathed into the French Canadians ; and the English practice of hoacing has not, hitherto, become a favourite diversion. The comparative cheapness of law, moreover, gives an immediate outlet to the angry passions : the slow and deadly revenge of the Indian was therefore never adopted ; and thus, in spite of being de- rived from the French, governed by the English, and living with the Indians, the people are free from the private pug- nacity of all of them : this, added to the absence of want, accounts for the almost perfect absence of all the more dread- ful crimes known in other lands. When speaking of the education of the people, I shall have to estimate the degree of knowledge possessed by them ; I may here, nevertheless, allude to their intellectual character generally. To those persons who know the English cha- racter, who understand the spirit of fun which reigns throughout the whole land, the sedateness, and almost mock gravity of the American native must be a matter of surprise. The American has not a particle oijun in his whole compo- sition ; if he jokes, it is the saddest thing in nature ; if he attempts to be witty, it is by the aid of Joe Miller: he labours in a vocation to which he is unaccustomed, and for which he is by no means fitted. There is something of this sort of discrepancy between the character of the French and the Canadians*. A more good-humoured people than the latter can hardly be found ; but the sparkling vivacity, the vehemence of temper, the tiger-like passion, and brilliant fiery wit of a Frenchman, are not to be found among them. They are sedate, nay, almost grave ; have their temper under * I speak here merely of the people : the educated classes of all nations, of necessity approximate to each other. There is a greater difference between an English peasant and an English gentleman, than between the latter and an educated Parisian. 142 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. control ; and still, without the gay vivacity of the French, are free also from the fierceness of their passions. They are, by this means, a happier people, though, perhaps, less attractive. Though shrewd, perhaps I might say cunning, they exhibit not the same quickness of intellect which the French peasant is possessed of; they seize not with rapidity a new idea ; have little tact in the management of men to their purposes, not perceiving the means of winning their way by the aid of other men^s weaknesses, and moulding to their will the peculiar character and temper of each. Few nations possess this sort of power in the same extent as the Irish, and in this point the Irish And French assimilate ; but the Canadian is as incapable in this particular as an Englishman or a Scotchman. It would be a curious point of investigation, to search after the circumstances which, in the cases of both English and French colonists, have led to these diiFerences of character. ivi i ?. « I shall here close my observations on the French popula- tion, and take up the less pleasant part of my task, viz. the description of that portion of the people I have spoken of under the denomination of English. ■v?m,i\.w.i i Of such English as are scattered over the country, it is unnecessary to speak, they being few in number and unim- portant in their influence. That portion of Lower Canada called the Townships, is settled indeed by persons of British extraction, but hitherto these persons have tak^n little part in the politics of the country, and have formed no specific class which would require any description ; their interests, moreover, are identical with those of the French Canadians, and when they are called into political existence, they will be found, I have no doubt, much more stubborn and unu tractable than the Canadians. In the towns, however, the matter is widely different ; there the persons who call them- selves English form a distinct and powerful class; they hold the chief offices of the state ; possess what arc there considered large incomes ; make, consequently, a great dis- CHARACTEE OF THE PEOPLE. 143 play; and set the fashion, and give the reigning tone to society ; these are the people of whom I am now to speak :•— They consist of two divisions, civil and military; the civil invariably directing the feelings and the conduct of the whole. When the military first come among us, they find certiun persons high in office, to whom they deem it wise to pay their court ; these persons are either members of the Executive Council, or some immediately under their control or influence; these, then, have the lean- ings and affections of the Executive Council. Whatever these leanings and affections may be, they are immediately assumed and caricatured by the officers of the army, who, desiring to please the men in power, seek their favour by treating with contempt, and sometimes with rude- ness, all who have incurred their displeasure. It becomes necessary for us, therefore, to learn the feelings of this ruling class. If the reader will call to recollection the political conduct of the Executive Council, he will find little difficulty in discovering the persons against whom their ill-feelings are directed. The whole Canaan population constitute the objects of their hatred, and that portion whom chance brings into the towns are subjected to their special contempt and ill-treatment. A perfect oligarchical spirit has thus taken possession of the English inhabitants ; they unite and form a separate society ; deride and scoff at every thing without their own mysterious circle ; set at defiance every rule of common courtesy with all not within its hallowed boundary ; serve, by their ill-timed insolence, to weaken the English influence in the country ; and will, finally, if they persist in the same plan, for ever, alienate the affections of the people. To enable the reader to judge of their proceedings, it will be requisite to look more minutely into the compo^tion of this exclusive circle. t It consisteth, for the most part, of dependents on aristo- cratic families in England; these dependents are either actually members of the families, or persons who have made 144 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. themselves serviceable in some of the various methods which society offers to that end. Unfortunately, I think I may venture to say, it never has been a quality of the English aristocracy to treat with becoming courtesy those classes of society who are immediately under them in rank. To the abjectly poor and insignificant they are condescendingly kind; but to the rich and industrious citizen, who rivals them in wealth and splendour, and power, and to all who are of his class, though inferior, they are, as far as I have been able to judge, insufferably supercilious. Some, al- though very few, young scions of this stock are imported to Canada, with the feelings of their race, fresh and unchecked by worldly experience; they find there a class who are political rivals — a class unadorned by rank or title — plain, homely, industrious citizens; intelligent indeed, but un- tutored in the ways of fashionable life, without the manners or polish of English aristocratic society. Upon these men they are studious to pour the vials of their supreme con- tempt. Aping these gentle offshots of a gentle race, comes the vulgar dependant — vulgar in spirit, in manners, and in intellect ; suddenly mounted into importance, blessed with unexpected power, he longs for outward and flattering proof of his new dignity : what proof so strong, so flattering*, as unpunished insolence to those around him ? But wise is he in his generation. The higher powers he dares not to trench upon ; for the stripling of some aristocratic house he has a species of ingrained veneration ; from the poor, the weak, and the distressed, he shrinks, as from contamination ; upon these, therefore, he visits the first exercise of his dignity, His aristocratic co-partnei^ in power is equally contemptuous, perhaps equally heartless, equally alive to sinister interests ; but, nevertheless, he is somewhat less coarse and brutal in his behaviour. He has, during some part of his life, associated with gentlemen; a dash of courteousness will, at times, pervade his behaviour ; sometimes he will feel that respect is due, even where wealth and power exist not ; but, with the low menial, raised suddenly to distinction, all is equally CHARACTEE OF THE PEOPLE. 145 vile; he never, even by accident, betrays one generous emotion ; constantly alive to his original insignificance, he strives to banish the recollection, by continually calling to his mind his present altered situation ; he finds no readier, no more pleasing mode than by continual insult of others. Though many individuals sit for this portrait, I cannot, for reasons evident to every one, venture upon a specification : they who know the society vill, from experience, perceive the truth of the picture ; they who know it not may, by a little reflection, learn that, of necessity, it must be correct. Let them consider who are the persons dispatched to govern in the various departments of our colonies — let them consider the state of Canadian politics which I have described, and which every one allows — and then let them ask themselves if this social war is any other than a necessary consequence of such an unfortunate assemblage of circumstances. As this state of affairs continues, the spirit which I am here depicting is hourly increasing ; not only are the Cana- dian population the objects of this contempt, but so also is every one, even though English, if not immediately con- nected with the powers that be. The members of the Government, the officers of the army, and two or three fortunate merchants, are now almost the only inhabitants of this empyrean re^on. The feelings that originated in political disputes are now supported and extended by mere aristocratic jealousy ; and as this regards not so much political as social distinctions — distinctions in wealth, employment, and connection — the system of exclusion is extended to the honest and industrious English as well as French. If the consequences of such divisions in society were merely sepa- rations in their private relations, little serious mischief would arise therefrom ; but the evil stops not here : the business of Government is carried on in the same spirit ; the most insignificant Government official practises the same airs, and is as insolent and overbearing as his superior. All the transactions, therefore, which of necessity are carried be- tween the Government and the different members of the 146 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. % community at large, are a constant source of vexation ; the people are offended; their representatives resent the ill- treatment, and look with no spirit of goodwill upon those entrusted with command. Jealousies, heart-burnings, and vexatious contradictions result on all sides, and the two classes of the city population bitterly hate and abuse each other*. .' <.; ji ji C j^i wP»'-~r»i'*'- ^ ♦ y^w=«-;jtiirf-«»B « ---iii^i'"^ ^'('"i iMrjft^^-l^r * For the purpose of exhibiting a specimen of the conduct of certain portions of the English society in Quebec, I will relate a few anecdotes; and describe the serious consequences of one of them, as regarded the society at large : — A young Canadian surgeon, on his return from New York, where he had taken his degree of M. D., had occasion to make application to one of the government offices. He was received very cavalierly, as is nearly always the custom ; and, having remarked upon this conduct, he was grievously insulted. The young gentleman, not perceiving in his own conduct any thing that deserved such treatment, determined to take the only reparation in his power. At a public auction, where a large number of persons were assembled, he met the individual who had ^insulted him; without further ceremony, he admi- nistered a sufficient dose of chastisement, with the assistance of a small cane bought for that purpose. The person thus flogged was in a paroxysm of rage, and attempted to defend himself: before he had time, however, the bystanders interfered, and separated the combatants ; and the scene terminated, as is usual in such cases, by the spectators having a hearty laugh at the ex- pense of the poor devil who received the chastisement The affiiir made considerable noise, and our young Esculapius expected a message from the gentleman thus publicly whipped. No such result, however, was the conse- quence ; and still the person who had been so unceremoniously assaulted ei^joyed the consideration of his society; every effort was taken to redouble all the usual attentions, and every possible means adopted to mark that, in the opinion of his class, his honour had received no injury ; ^e continued, and still continues, I believe, to hold several important situations under Govern- ment, being even created a Member of the Executive Council ; and the young surgeon received no injury but the loss of his cane, broken over the shoulders of his honourable opponent. He was, however, exposed, in appearance, to the contempt of the haut ton! This is one side of the picture ; now I beg the reader to contemplate another. A respectable Canadian, a married man, having a family, was insulted, without the slightest provocation, by a young ensign, who had just reeled out of his mess-room, in a state of intoxication. This insult raising the Canadian's ire, subjected the officer to certain expressions, richly deserved by his insolence. The next morning brought a challenge from the hot-headed youth, which challenge the gentleman, after the advice of his CHABACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 147 *(; The English socrety thus forming a public opinion of their own, it may easily be supposed, that the sanction of that public is not always directed against conduct which, though highly immoral, affects not their own peculiar friends, very properly refused. The consequence was, that all the fashionable persons looked upon him with an unfavourable eye, and would eventually have considerably injured his reputation, even among his compatriots, had he not called together a public assembly, where he explained the whole circum- stances, and fully justified himself in the eyes of every one. It was well known, besides, that, in former cases, he had conducted himself as a man of courage and correct principle. With his compatriots, therefore, he was com- pletely justified. In the opinion of the English society, however, matters wore a different aspect ; and, although the Governor, Sir John C. Sherbrooke, was marked in his attentions to the Canadian gentleman who had been insulted, a complete division took place. This disagreeable quarrel took place a little before the meeting of the Quebec dancing assemblies, of which the Canadian had been previously named (and, after his general call of the citizens, renamed) a manager; the consequence was, that the assemblies were broken up, and the English separated from the French society; and each lived, and I under- stand are still living, so completely divided from the other, as almost to give the appearance rather of two hostile nations, than of two portions of the same people. As a specimen of manners, I quote the following anecdote, from a private journal lying before me : — " Ayant eu occasion de faire quelque application au Govemeur-en-Chef, en 1826, par la voie de son secretaire militaire {military secretary), et ayant cru que je pouvais m'expliquer plus particulidrement avec le dit secretaire si je lui etais introduit, je demandai k un de mes amis (un des premiers officiers civils, dans la colonie) de vouloir bien avoir cette bont6, ce h quoi il consentit avec sa politesse ordinaire ; mais quelle fut ma surprise en paraissant devant ce grand personnage (c'^tait un homme de plus de six pieds de haut) d'etre re9u, comme on dit en Canada, ' comme un chien dans un jeu de quille !' Comme il s'agissait simplement de faire parvenir certains papiars et documents k son Excellence, la visite ne fut pas bien longue, lui donnant & entendre que je n'6tais pas venu pour demander aucune faveur, ni pour me soumettre k sa mercuriale, mais seulement pour le prier de transmettre au Govemeur, qui etait alors k Halifax, certains documents sur lesquels je d^sirais avoir sa r^ponse. II se chargea d'une maniire brusque et r^Iuctante de mes papiers, et promit, malgr6 cela, de les lui faire parvenir. Je quittai I'office de ce nouveau Cerbdre, en remerciant mon ami pour le trouble qu'il s'etait donne, et qui ne fnt pas moins surpris que moi de la reception gracieuse que nous avions eu, et je retoumai k mon hdtel, bien convaincu qu'une telle conduite de la part du secretaire militaire, ou de tout autre officier public, devait affecter le caractire et la popularite du Gouvemeur-en-Chef, dans bien des cas le privenir contre -if' m^' 148 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. interests. Want of courtesy is not looked upon as improper when the object of insult is a Canadian ; and even in trans- actions depending on the common principles of honesty, their example and influence are pernicious in their effects. To be in debt, and refuse to pay the money owed, is highly fashionable. Men in the most respectable and lucrative offices are deeply involved, and allow actions to be brought against themselves without shame or scruple ; and that too for the most trifling sums, putting off the actions from term to term by every pos^ble evasion the law allows ; and never satisfying the creditor till judgment and execution absolutely compels them. Men who have salaries of d^.lOOO, or dP.1200 a year (which, in fact, is more than d^.2000 in England), will laugh at, and amuse themselves with the idea of having an execution in their houses for the paltry sum of ten or twelve pounds ; and yet, should you doubt of their respectability, it is high treason against the State. Amongst a multitude of cases which might be cited, I remember one which sets off to great advantage the existing morality respecting money transactions. Capt. A. and Mr. B., consi- dered among the most fashionable and distinguished per- sonages in Quebec, lived together, and were both deeply in debt. When an execution came against Capt. A.''s goods, Mr. B. was always ready to claim the property in the house as his; and when an execution came against Mr. B., Capt. A. was equally ready to lay claim to the same identical furni- ture : and, yet during the whole of this dishonest proceeding, they were received, and received with distinction^ by every great person in the town. Judges, the high functionaries of les gfens qui ne sont pas toujours d'humeur h se faire traiter de la sorte sans quelque cause, et lui faire commettre de grandes injustices, ce qui fut claire- ment d^montr^ par le r^sultat de mon application." Here we have the feelings of the individual expressed without much care; as they rose in his mind, so they are put down ; and the cause of his dis- content is unequivocally stated to be the manner of this public functionary. This manner is not described ; in fact it could not be so. The look, the tone, the gesture of insult and contempt, cannot be expressed in words, although* iin^ fact, they are bitterly eflGective. V; > ,^ ••!ii^-' i^i^f,- ,4 -* 5' CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 149 the Church and of the Government associated ^ith them, expressing, and probably feeling, no scruples at so doing. I'he following colloquy at length occurred, and the results effectually put an end to this extraordinary proceeding. Sheriff's Officeh. — Captain A., I have an execution against you, and come for the purpose of levying upon it. Capt. A. (callhig up the stairs.) — I say, B., here is a fellow come to seize my goods ; just come down and tell him these goods are not mine. Mr. B. (having descended the stairs, and addressing the Officer.) — Fellow, these goods are mine; and I order you out of my house immediately. Sheriff's Officer. — ^Well then. Sir, if they are your goods, I'll just take them on account of an execution I hav> against you. — The consequences may be imagined. These things, though they assume a ludicrous appearance, are, in reality, serious matters ; they mark a state of feeling in the highest degree injurious to the people, both as regards their property and their morality. Habits are created amongst the licher classes, by the force of example, destructive of every virtuous principle. Idleness, carelessness respecting the sanctity of engagements, contempt of honest and laborious avocations, desire of show and of expense, and recklessness as to the means of gratifying that desire ; in short, all the mass of evil which overgrown power and wealth have created in England, are transplanted into our poor and hitherto fru- gal community ; and we thus possess all the foul deformity of the mischief, without those elegancies which here, in some degree, prove a species of mitigation for it. What, it may be asked, can be done to remedy the mis- chief ? Is it not inherent in every state of society, and by no means confined to that comer of the earth called Canada ? My answer is, that the evils I have stated are not inherent in the nature of things, and that the remedy is easy. Whether it be so, or not, however, is not here the question ; my inten- tion was, to describe the state of society ; and that intention, I hope, I have honestly carried into execution : what I saw, tsi^-- 150 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. I have described ; and the description I have ^ven, few will be found to contradict. Some may consider the facts stated, not to be mischievous ; and thus may deem, that no reforma- tion is required : with these I have no concern. To those, indeed, who believe that a divided people must be an un- happy people ; who conader that internal discord is a fruitful source of misery and crime, the subject of the remedy must be an interesting topic. The evil, I think, has been shown to grow out of political causes ; to arise from imperfections in the frame of the government : That which remedies the government, therefore, will affect these results. But the alterations of the government which I intend to propose, will be explained in a separate chapter. To this chapter I refer the reader who feels an interest on the subject ; merely ob- serving, that one of the great benefits I hoped to be derived ftotfi the proposed reform, is the important change that will necessarily follow in the manners and frame of the whole society. il ■ i".-*= ;.t: 'W ■•i* .?'■;■**.'■' ^'ir: ■,. tmm'PJJSMi^^-^o.vj^^m ^^ !*a4i^«Sfomft«i'^'^si>'i^ CHAPTER V "^ ifej^.e^.r^*^.&#.ij: State of Education, „, Education, among the people of Lower Canada, and particularly in the country, having made but little progress, as compared with that of the people of the United States, the Roman Catholic clergy have been considered the cause of this want of advance, and accused of a desire to keep the people in ignorance, inasmuch as they hope thereby to main- tain a cppiir nd over their opinions and their conduct. No- thing, however, can be more false, either as regards the cause of the little progress of education among us, or as regards the feelings of the priesthood ; it being indubitable, that had it not been for the arduous endeavours of the Roman Catholic clergy, the people would, of necessity, have been far more ignorant than at present. To their active personal exertions, to the seminaries which they have built and superintended, is owing whatever knowledge is spread among the various ranks of Canadian society. The Jesuits, careful to possess themselves of property in every quarter of the globe, obtained considerable estates in Lower Canada ; (at the time of the conquest, their landed domains consisted of about one million of acres ;) and built in Quebecan immense college, or seminary of instruction for the Canadian youth. But as, in 1764, the Order was sup- pressed, the seminary of Quebec, originally destined merely ■I3*f 152 STATE OF EDUCATION. to the education of the young priesthood in theology, wa» directed by the clergy to the general education of the people, vfhOi by the extinction of the Jesuits, were utterly deprived of all means of instruction. By virtue of the conquest, and also of a cession made by the King of France to the King of England, in the definitive treaty concluded at Paris, the 20th of February, 1763, all the property, movable and immovable, situated in Canada, and belonging to the Order of the Jesuits, devolved to the crown of England. It pleased the King, however, to permit the surviving members of that Order, resident in Canada, to oc- cupy certain portions of their former property, and to receive certain rents and profits resulting from it, for the term of their own lives. The last of this order, the Rev. Joseph Cazot, priest, dying in the year 1800, the Sheriff of Quebec, in virtue of a writ directed to him, seized, on the part of Hie Majesty, all the property, &c., lielonging to the deceased Rev. Joseph Cazot, as the representative of the late Order of the Jesuits ; and since that period, the revenues, which, ac- cording to Governor Milnes, amounted, in the year 1801, without estimating the property situate in the cities of Que- bec and Montreal, to the sum of <£?1245. 5s. 4id. per annum, have been at the disposal of the Government. The reader ought to recollect that these revenues were originally destined to the purposes of education ; and that it has been proved, in- contestibly, that the colleges and seminaries belonging to the Jesuits in France, continued, after their suppression, to be employed to the same end ; and the property belonging to those colleges T7as also directed to the tame important pur- poses*. In Canada, however, and under the British govern- ment, such has not been the destination of their property. Their immense college, which, as an English writer *|* acknow- ledges, ** in its dimensions would bear a comparison with * See Rapport du Comiti Special de la Chambre d'Assetnblie dit Bas-Canador , nommi pour s'cnquirir de Vitat actuel de V Education dans la Prov.nce du Bas" Canada. 1824. t Westminster Review, page 15, July 1827. ■^■^'^^^A>i*p^-^l^- ^9m\--W. STATE OF EDUCATION. 153 almost any edifice in England, dedicated to the purposes of instruction/^ has been turned into a barrack. Anri of their revenues, which have doubtless been wisely employed, though their particular destination has never yet been discovered, not one farthing has been directed to the education of the people. With this mode of proceeding the people, however, were not well satisfied ; and, according to the Report quoted above, a petition was presented to the King, in April 1793, respecting the application of the Jesuits^ property ; and the propriety of again employing it in the education of youth. To this petition an answer was not returned till the year 1800. On the 12th of March, 1800, a motion was made in the House of Assembly, <' That the House do form itself into a Committee, to take into consideration the means of inquiring into the rights and pretensions of the Provinces over the College of Quebec, and the property thereto belonging.** On the 15th of the same month, an address was voted to His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor of the province, praying him to command the prdper officers to transmit to the House copies of certain titles and documents, and official reports, relative to the property lately possessed in this pro- vince, by the religious Order of Jesuits. To this address the Governor returned the following answer: — ■:<^'.^- . . ,.,,. ._^,,,-.^« ■y • <« G-E14TLEMEN, i^iiH^- - <* I find it necessary to inform you, on the subject of the present address, that all the proceedings in virtue of the commission issued on the ^th of December, 1787, with all the demands and pretensions touching the property possessed by the late religious Order of Jesuits in this province, as well as the humble address of the House of Assembly, of the 11th of April, 1793, have been respectively transmitted to the King. That His Most Gracious Majesty has been pleased to submit all these proceedings to his Privy Council ; the result of whose determinations, and the order of His Majesty thereupon, have been transmitted to this Govern- ■V|;J.4N^»^ >«%*■*>• K'"* 154 STATE OF EDUCATION. i\ nient in last April ; and, in consequence of this order, com- missions have been issued to take into possession the whole of this property, on the part of the Crown. ,yn^ ** If, after having reflected on these circumstances, the House of Assembly thinks proper to persist in the search which it has proposed to itself, I will assent to its demands, by permitting to its members free access to all the papers :nrhich have already been published ; and, in this case, I will give orders that all persons duly authorised by the Assembly, may be admitted to take copies of all titles, documents, re- ports, papers, and of all proceedings which have taken place in consequence of the commission above mentioned, and which were deposited in the registry of the Coundl, on or before the 26th of August, 1790. - -.-' i— ^ ^...„^,.vi„^ ,,,.? * " But, after the information I have just given, the House will certainly believe it according to its duty to consider if it can, compatibly with the respect it has invariably manifested towards its Sovereign, renew any demands on this sul^ect*.^ . t^ ._-.^» - The House has certainly been warUirig in respect on va- rious occasions since that period, if renewing its demands in the most submissive and respectful terms deserves so to be considered. These applications have hitherto been with- out success, though the House has always acknowledged the right on the part of the crown, to take possession of the pro- perty ; the only question being, whether it were in accordance with the perfect wisdom and justice of the Imperial Govern- ment, to divert the proceeds of that property from its original purpose—- a purpose, beyond all others, the most important and pressing. Th6 reader has now before him a description of the con- duct both of the Executive and the Roman Catholic clergy, as regards the education of the people, up to this period : the one party suppressed an immense and well-organized institution, dedicated to the business of instruction, and Stl*^^ <)»:') . • Report of the abwe-mentioned Committee, p. 29. ', ; - *?^|", ; / STATE OF EDUCATION. 155 appropriated to itself the revenues set apart for the main- tenance of that institution : the other party, seeing the people thus deprived of the means of education, immediately stepped forward ; converted their own seminary into an establishment for general education; founded, and have maintained, in spite of all opposition, many other seminaries throughout the province, for the same useful purpose. Up to this pcnnt of time, which of these two parties^ I now ask, has been the most efficient instrument in keeping the people in ignorance? Whether are we to account for the superior intelligence of the people of the United States, by the difference in the conduct of their religious instructors, or by the difference in the conduct of their government ? The reader must answer this question for himself. A proposition was made, by the House of Assembly, to establish elementary schools, in every parish throughout the province. These schools were to be under the management of the people of the separate parishes, and the cures ; much after the manner now practised in Scotland and the United States. The following benefits were supposed likely to accrue from this instituticm : — 1. The people would have, at their very doors, a cheap education. % The schools being under the control of the parents of the children to be educated, the education given would be such as the parents desired, and the children needed. 3. Inasmuch as the schoolmasters would have been under the command of the united parents, they would, of necessity, have been industrious and circumspect in their conduct generally. 4. Inasmuch as they were to be chosen by the parents, there was every probability that they would have possessed the requisite qualities for teaching Canadian children. 5. The same control of the parents would have ^ven the parents confidence to trust their children to the care of the teachers. To this plan the Roman Catholic clergy were warm 156 STATE OF EDUCATION. W iiii friends: the Government, however, opposed the plan; and in place of it, established a Royal Institution ; the leading features of which were, that the teachers should be chosen by the Government, and should be under the control of the Government. The institution was formed in 1816, and a number of persons appointed to direct the formation of the elementary schools. The list which I ^ve below will show in how much the feelings of the catholic population were a matter of consideration*. From a paper which I give in the Appendix*|*, the following account of the schools of the Royal Institution is extracted, which, compared with an account, taken from the same paper, of the other schools in the country, will show the effect, in numbers, produced by the Government plan :— The grand Total of Persons educated in the Province - - 11,679 ' Of these the Government Schools educate - - . . - 2,298 Not educated by Goverment Schools 9,381 * List of the Syndics of the Royal Institution : — The Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, for the time being. Sir T. M. Barton, Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada. Bishop of Quebec (Principal). >■,. >; ^ Chief Justice of Lower Canada. Chief Justice of Montreal. Chief Justice of Upper Canada. Speaker of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. Speaker of the House of Assembly. The Rev. G. J. Mountain, Archdeacon of Quebec. The Hon. and Rev. J. Strachan, D. T. The Hon. and Rev. Charles Stewart, D. T. The Hon. J. Caldwell. The Hon. H. W. Ryland. .,./ The Hon. L. de Salaberry. The Hon. A. L. J. Duchesnay. J.Stewart, Esq. ' " ' - J. T. Tachereau, Esq. A. W. Cochrane, Esq. Of these eighteen Members, four are Catholics ; and, besides, the Speaker- of the House may also be a Protestant. t See No. XI. 'i a T STATE OF EDUCATION. 157 making about one-fifth of the whole educated by the Go- vernment Schools. il The reasons for the failure are as follows : — a 1. The masters, being chosen by the Executive, are usually exceedingly inefHcient ; the causes of their inefficiency are manifest. In the first place, as the persons choosing them have no very great interest in the matter, the qualifications of the teachers are seldom minutely inquired into ; inquiry is trouble, and trouble is a thing people will not take, unless some immediate motive be brought to bear upon them. What immediate motive can be supposed to bear upon the persons mentioned in the note, equal to the desire for rest and relaxation which must necessarily possess them, seeing the extent and variety of duties they have otherwise to perform. Besides, without any wish to find fault, I must be permitted to say, that the situation of schoolmaster, being a desirable one for persons of a certain condition in life, is often sought as a matter of favour, and is too often granted as such. The consequence is, that the teachers seldom pos- sess the qualities absolutely requisite ; for example, many of them cannot speak French, though they have to teach a French population : most of them are rude and illiterate, prejudiced and bigoted : are these the persons to teach a people difiering from themselves in habits, manners, religion, and language ? Few tasks can be found more difiicult than that of instructing a rude people, distrustful of their teacher. The following observations, from the Westminster Review, speak the feelings of an Englishman on this point ; of one who had seen, and could appreciate the difficulties of the task, as well as the attempts of the Royal Institution to ac- complish it: — *' For the most part also, these places have been conferred upon persons ignorant of the French language, and utter strangers to the people; usually upon boorish and ignorant emigrants, just imported from the mother country, whose stupid prejudices unfitted them for the task of edu- cating any body ; and, above all, for performing the delicate / ' ;< III I' •-•' i'l I 158 STATE OF EDUCATION. part of instructing a people differing from themselves in religion, in language, and in manners.*^ S. Supposing the difficulties of a proper choice completely conquered, and a fitting person be found, it must be evident that the teacher would not be particularly careful to suit himself to the wishes of the parents. Under the control of a set of persons at a distance, of persons not very desirous of being troubled with complaints, the master would pursue the conduct most likely to please himself, fieing, usually, an European, his habits are entirely different fram those of the persons to be taught ; and he generally endeavours to bend the manners of his scholars to his own, rather than suit himself to theirs ; he does little to conciliate the parents, still less to conciliate the religious instructor of the parents, viz. the priest. He thus is soon at open war with his neigh- bourhood: as was to be expected, he is far from being industrious ; far from being obliging : he possesses little knowledge needed by the people ; and that little, he knows not how to communicate. •« n>n tu 3. The teacher, also^ is usually of a religion different from that of the persons to be taught ; he is therefore an object of distrust to the parents. Moreover, as he is possessed of little of that liberality of feeling which makes us look upon dif- fering creeds without rancour or hostility, he is seldom careful to restrain his opinions, or to guard his expressions ; he soon gives offence, and awakens suspicion. Is it to be expected that, under these circumstances, the Royal Insti- tution could prove an efficient instrument of instruction ? Can any one believe that this institution possesses the ad- vantages of the plan proposed by the House of Assembly^ and supported by the clergy ? And, again, I would ask, are the clergy or the Government, in this case, to be blamed for having, by the aid of an inefficient institution, kept the people in ignorance ? •'>?^ * ^'tS.* I have said thus much in exculpation of the clergy of Canada, from a feeling of gratitude towards that respectable STATE OF EDUCATION. 159 body. Whatever degree of enlightenment exists among the upper classes of the Canadian people, is owing entirely to the exertions of the priesthood : so far have they been from keep- ing the people in ignorance, that to them alone can the merit be ascribed of saving us from absolute barbarism. The per- sons whose duty it was to instruct the people, criminally neglected that duty ; and with indifference permitted it to be assumed by any one who would voluntarily assume the office. The business of government is usually considered to consist in levying taxes, and punishing breaches of the law ; the much more important branch, of preventing breaches of the law, is generally left to the people themselves. The Govern- ment of Canada, like its more powerful compeers, followed the same ill-advised method of proceeding. Education, that most powerful of all means of preventing breaches of the law, was left to the mercy of chance; when, at length, roused from their pernicious lethargy, the members of the Govern- ment sought to render education, like every thing else with which they had any concern, a matter of party, of favour, and of jobbing ; and the country who resisted this proceed- ing, and the priesdiood who would not support it, were accused of bigotry and prejudice. The former efforts of the priesthood in that cause, which the Government had neglected, were decried ; the Government, forgetting that they them- selves had done nothing, abused those who had not done every thing, which they, the people of government, thought might have been effected. Assuredly the conduct of the clergy, who voluntarily came forward and lent some assist- ance (I say great assistance) to the cause of education, is far more laudable than that of the Government, who passed it over entirely. Assuredly the clergy deserve praise rather than blame, even supposing their exertions to have been less than perfect; even supposing, that to educate persons for the office of the priesthood has still been their chief con- sideration. Oxford and Cambridge are supposed to do the same thing : and yet those two seminaries would feel indig- nant, were they accused of not aiding in the general educa- ■ ■?• 160 STATE OF EDUCATION. tion of the higher classes of the community. In short, it is but too evident, that the aspersions cast upon the Roman Catholic clergy have originated in ill feeling and prejudice, rather than in anydesiretopromotethebusiness of instruction*. Having said thus much in defence of the priesthood, I proceed to point out what ought to be done for the future improvement of the people. §f, I % * I beg my readers to believe, that in thus doing justice to the Canadian clergy, I am impelled by no feeling of religious prejudice ; I am by no means desirous either of exaggerating their merits, or extenuating their faults. Tlie observations I have made, have been suggested solely by the reproaches which have been directed against the Catholic clergy, as favouring chiefly those students who manifest the greatest predilection for the ecclesiastical vocation. On this head, I am myself the better able to speak, from having never been in odour of sanctity, in the opinion of the priesthood, from whom I received part of my education : I might, therefore, be deemed to know something with respect to their conduct. Still, on reflection, I am inclined to believe that this conduct, on their part, is the natural result of their situation ; and that every other priesthood would have acted in the same manner, as will, I doubt not, be soon exemplified by the college lately erected at Montreal, under the auspices of the Protestant clergy. There will be found no greater liberality than in the halls of their Romish brethren; and for this simple reason — all religious sects are like so many military bodies, and, like them, are necessarily obliged, for the purpose of continuing their power and exist- ence, to hold out rewa) Is for new recrujts. A strict discipline and subordi- nation must also exist in a religious corporation, as in a regiment, and every one who opposes himself to the esprit de corps, which necessarily arises therein, or to the subordination required, must naturally be looked upon /ith an evil eye by those who rule, since such resistance to authority must diminish the efficiency and dominion of the body : and it follows, that every effort will be taken to repress, rather than encourage, these refractory spirits. This has taken place in every establishment in which religion has been the principal object of education ; I except no sect whatever, all have the same tendency ; and if a Government give one sect the preference above all others, ^nd endow them with exclusive rights and privileges, arbitrary acts and continual discord will be the infallible result. I cannot here avoid remarking how the spirit of the present age has already changed, which change is undoubtedly due to the advance of education. The emancipation of the Roman Catholics is a marked epoch in the advance of the human mind, and will confer more honour upon the Duke of Wellington than all his victories : while the erection of an university, without any religious prejudices, in the centre of the largest city of Europe, is the most noble proof which its founders could give of their generous deV':i.ion to the cause of humanity. STATE OF EDUCATION. 161 Scholastic education may be divided into two distinct por- tions : the first comprehending such degree of instruction as is needed by every member of the community ; the second, such additional degree as is required by persons dedicated to particular branches of science. , If we were to suppose a country possessing a perfect organization for the business of education, we might believe that such organization would consist, first of elementary schools spread over the whole surface of the country ; and, secondly, of such a number of schools of higher instruction as would, at the least possible inconvenience, educate that small portion, which of necessity would alone require a higher degree of mental cultivation than could be afforded at the elementary schools. Supposing the knowledge con- veyed in these superior schools to be complete, the degree of mental cultivation, and, we may safely say, the degree of happiness enjoyed by the people at large, would be indicated by the difference between the knowledge imparted in the superior, and that imparted in the elementary schools. The nearer the latter approached to the former, the more im- proved woi'.ld be the condition of the people. The grand end then should be, to convey the greatest possible quantity of knowledge in the elementary schools. To this end the following circumstances should be taken into consideration : — 1. First the amount of money which the people generally can afford to pay for instruction. % The amount of time that can be spared to the education of the children. As there are few things so important as education, so there are few things which ought not to yield to it in precedence. The administering justice excepted, every expense ought to be spared, rather than curtail the outlay for instruction. If taxes are to be raised from the people, they ought to be most beneficially employed ; what employment so beneficial as that of improving the people? Let the Government, if it be found that the country can afford little additional money in the way of supply, curtail every expenditure, and appro- M 'it' ji; 162 STATE OF EDUCATION. l4 II i I fl 11 It U:.-,t h: priate the savings thus obtained to the lilsral provision of the elementary schools ; let them not affix Euch salaries to the office of teacher, as must induce the necessity of accept- ing rude and illiterate hinds to perform that important task ; every thing should be done to raise the teacher in the scale of importance in society. The duty of the judge is not more — ^is not so important ; why, then, should the judge be paid in thousands, and the poor teacher be endowed with the bare means of subsistence ? The teacher of a school ought, in acquirements, to be the first man of his community. And even though he have to convey merely elementary know- ledge, he cannot perform his duty well, unless he be a man of high intellectual powers. To convey knowledge to an intelligent man is an easy task, as compared with the con- veying knowledge to the weak and tottering intellect of a child. The teacher of the child ought therefore to possess, in a higher degree, the qualities of a teacher; and these qualities he can seldom attain, without also a high degree of knowledge. The time which can be appropriated to the education of the child, must gready regulate the quantity and sort of instruction that can be imparted to him. If a long time can be afforded, a wide foundation may be laid; a wide extent gone over ; if only a short period can be given, the fum or scope must of necessity be less. The quantity of instruction then will depend both on the money and the time that can be afforded ; and in determining the sort of instruc- tion, the different branches that should be attempted, a per- fect knowledge of the present situation of the people is necessarily required ; added to which, a very high degree of familiarity with the task of teaching would also be needed. The present situation of the Canadians permits, in my opinion, of a very high degree of instruction. Though the people are poor, as compared with certain individuals of this and other European kingdoms, still the means of sub- sistence are easily maintained, and the whole mass of the population are in flourishing circumstances. Each village STATE OF EDUCATION. 163 could afford sufHcient to maintain a teacher in a state quite as respectable as the most wealthy inhabitants of the village ; a motive would thus be held out to the most instructed per- sons in their community, to undertake the task of teachers. Moreover, lands might easily be appropriated to the same purpose ; and would thus, eventually, most amply provide for the complete instruction of the whole population, and the burden of taxation for the purpose might, in a short time, be entirely dispensed with. Against this, it cannot be urged that a very small portion of the population has hitherto afforded to educate their chil- dren. To send their children to distant seminaries, to mmn- tain them at great expense, and to pay the teacher, is a far more expensive matter than to pay a teacher for each sepa- rate village. The children, in the latter case, can be main- tained in the family of the parents, and may dedicate certain portions of their time to productive labour ; and thus mate- rially lighten the burden of the parents. The absence of elementary schools has been the cause of the little education of the people hitherto ; but that absence is not attributable to the want of means on the part of the people, but to the circumstances which I have above described. The time, moreover, which the Canadian peasant can dedi- cate to instruction, is far greater than could be afforded by a population whose means of subsistence are not so easily obtained. The time must be computed first, with reference to the number of years that could possibly be allowed ; and secondly, with reference to the time in each year. I have already mentioned, that one half the year, viz., the winter, is usually unemployed in productive labour ; this portion of the year, therefore, might bv> allowed for instruction, to an indefinite period; not only might the child be then instructed, but also the youth ; and not only the youth, but the man : in short, the peasant, for his whole life, might spend nearly one-half the year in being instructed. It is true, however, that, inasmuch as every person lives on his own farm, the dis- tance from the school must in some cases become great, and ■»ii ■. If 164 STATE OF EDUCATION. thus time be lost in going and coming; ths cases, however, compared with the whole population, are few ; the evil is not, upon the whole, very material, and must necessarily diminish with the increasing number of the people. As the parents can obtain their subsistence easily, they can dispense, for a long series of years, with the assistance of their children, except in particular cases, viz. the hay and harvest time ; the time of the children can therefore be almost wholly dedicated to being instructed. With a little care they might be as well, perhaps better instructed, than any people on the earth. What, it may be asked, could be the plan upon which these schools should be constructed ? I answer: — As to their government and maintenance, that the people should be compelled to pay a given sum, in the shape of an education tax; that of this sum, part should be used as salary for the teacher, part to maintaining the schools, providing books, &c. . That every teacher should have a specific sum ; if the village were unable to furnish that sum, the country generally should make it up. That the teacher should be chosen by the people of the village, and he should be removable by them. And that a standing committee of the House of Assembly should be appointed, for the purpose of inspecting the business of education, as carried on by these elementary schools. , As to the instruction to be conveyed, little could be advanced by me, in the present state of our knowledge, as to the exact means of the people. It may however be remarked , that after these necessary means of acquiring knowledge, viz. reading, writing, and the elements of numbers, have been learned, much useful instruction might be conveyed to the people respecting the business of agriculture. So much of the sciences of chemistry, natural philosophy, and mecha- nics as is immediately connected with agriculture might easily be obtained, as well as a competent knowledge of the political rights and obligations of the people at large. The STATE OF EDUCATION. 165 following sensible observations pretty nearly express my opinion on the present subject: — rt v'^o ~ -H ^yn^rvyi " Afin d'epargner sur le temps dans Teducation du peuple nous voudrions qu'a travers la lecture, Tecriture, et un peu d'arithmetique, les maitres glissassent dans Tesprit des el^ves des leqons de justice et de morale. lis devraient aussi, suivant les circonstances, leur donner une idee abregee de la constitu- tion du pays, et des principales parties des arts et des sciences qui se rapportent a Tagriculture. Le reste de leurs devoirs doit se borner a leur faire aimer leur etat, et leur apprendre k le faire respecter en le respectant eux-memes*." « » >l 1 As the situation of the people improved, and it would of necessity rapidly improve, the knowledge imparted would gradually increase, and the whole population would tend towards that state of perfection in moral and intellectual acquirements which is above described. *' - .,if<'j? I pass now to the consideration of the superior schools. At present the Government has in its own hands the means of at once establishing schools of 'lis description to the entire extent needed by the situation of the country. In the city of Quebec, they have a building erected for this very purpose, though now a barrack they have a large revenue derived from the Jesuits'* property, formerly em- ployed in this useful manner • they want only the inchnation at once to create a complete university. A school of this description, in two of the principal towns of the country, would abundantly suffice (at least for the present) to educate the whole of that portion of the population needing more instruction than can be conveyed in the elementary schools. These superior seminaries might be erected without any increase of expense to the people ; and might contribute more to the general improvement of the whole country than any institution hitherto established. From this institution would, eventually, be derived the teachers of the elementary schools : m iu * La Minervr, 5 Juillft, 1827. ^^1 1; 'I!': 1.1 ill m 4 166 STATE OF EDUCATION. the men of the law, the church, and of medicine, would here receive their education, and the whole of those persons des- tined eventually to carry on the government, would mingle together, and devote their attention and their time to a thorough understanding of the physical and political situa- tion of their country. A mass of intelligence would thus be collected together ; collision and communication, without which few improvements ever take place, would necessarily be actively existing, and all the evil influence of ignorance would rapidly be for ever destroyed. ' ; ' Here again it may be asked — What plan of organizaUon, 80 as to suit the various interests and feelings now existing, could possibly be proposed? * . i -; Considering the feelings of the country to be fairly re- presented by the House of Assembly, in its hands I would place the ultimate control; this would be attained by giving the House the election of a Council, to carry on the business of the University. In the case of the elementary schools, each village was supposed to govern its own school. These superior schools are the schools of the nation ; and, upon the same principle, should be under the government of the nation: but this can only be by placing them under the control of the nation^s represen- tatives. This control would be fully obtained by the election of the ruling council of the body ; the further regulations it is not necessary to notice. Should the plan I suggest ever be acted upon, I feel little anxiety respecting the measures that would be adopted. The country possesses sufficient knowledge and talent to give full effect to this salutary institution. - ' ' One thing, perhaps, I may be permitted to suggest, viz. that greater liberality of feeling should be attained by the clergy of the various sects now existing in Canada ; that they should learn to forego the petty rivalry which they have hitheto kept up that they should look upim one another as persons tending to the same great end — :"ellow STATE OF EDUCATION. 167 labourers in the same great cause; that they be less narrow minded — less bigoted, more benevolent than here- tofore. Let them aid the business of education by dissemi- nating principles of good-will and kindly feeling among the people, rather than check the progress of improve- ment, by attempting to create religious animosities, and making bitter enemies of men who ought to be brothers. i r- , ■ -#.;->i-*t;/<-t,n "^ ■' 'iH ff.'v i ..'-.-» '* I-,.,,'" iivru f,.» •>■■• n . ,r J , ? ^,'1^%i!'i ,\1 ■. t . ,1 'i ,-'^^ ^ ^1 ,^ ;,...,■' vn .. ^ » • ■_-.' ' .■■' . i ' .■ -'.. * i«* |t-'' -i i Si , ...r ■ ,,. .„ ,.;; .- , . ' , '__•': =^-*^ 1 -;^f;v, .^^ : .-.>' .•...,-. 4 ..,.,;-.'■■ .;.,in; ;:;i m . '• tif .' -JJ t >'*' 1 •>■''' • -'-t - 1/ . ■ - ,.■'■' 4 if;', tit., il ,-,*l'.j,h,t'., -U . >, V, . .- -•• ,,>•*- f.-. '- . :jl .? i'ii' >n \jif* .- ^' !*■ ■' ">-• ■ " - 5- ■ •,•' - ■''- » ''i-1 . ;.jyffl ,.■'. \4 -,lii , ' . • ' . \ ■■ r ■ < *■'-''',«• 'ffl i,- .; 't ^' > . - . ■ ' ■--.■ "^H ...-,. ♦^i ■ 11 \', .if; ■ >..) ',: . - .. . T.- ' • ■ I •• 1 \ 1™ ' m ...|, ■ ,« '. 4 '. '■•■- ','..«. ^ /■ , 1, ^ , * , • ' ...:'^r\'' •.*'•.,*' m r m .i. , ; :> < . , .... It.. - ' H m' i'' i'l'. " ii! I { ^: S'l -' vl ) •1".- CHAPTER VI. Of the Waste Lands of the Crown, and the Lands reserved for the Protestant Clergy. I AM about to treat of a subject of the highest im- portance, viz. the distribution of lands since the conquest of the country ; to establish, by extracts which I propose to make from the different reports of a committee appointed by the Assembly, at the desire of the Governor-General in 1824, that it would have been more advantageous to con- tinue the lands en jief et seigneurie, as hitherto, than to adopt the tenure in free and common soccage. And besides, I hope to establish, that, in the proceedings relative to this matter, the local government has been actuated rather by a wish to favour private interests than to p omote the public welfare. A thing which surprises every body, and more particu- larly such strangers as come into the country, is, that the Canadian population is not more extended, and that the land hitherto settled in the townships has been occupied solely by emigrants from different parts of Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States. What has hindered the Canadians from settling in the townships ? The land, ac- cording to the reports of various surveyors, is excellent; and the climate, in many parts, is more temperate and henlthy than many places long settled. And yet, in spite of this, the Canadians remain upon the lands conceded en Jief ei se^neurk, being apparently not in the least desirous Bit WASTE LANDS. 169 of establishing themselves in the townships. The opinion, that the population was not sufficiently considerable to force them to adopt the measure; and that such circumstances would immediately occur, prevailed a long time. In spite of this, however, the facts have been diametrically opposed to such a result : the inhabitants have preferred, and do still prefer, to take lands conceded to them in the most remote parts of the seigneuries, in places almost impossi- ble to be cultivated ; on the top of steep and desert moun- tains, rather than upon the fertile lands of the townships. At length the local government thought it requisite to consider the subject; and the Governor-General recom- mended the investigation of this important matter to the House of Assembly, for the purpose of discovering the circumstances which had retarded, to the present time, the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown. The House of Assembly, being as well convinced as the Governor of the importance of the subject, and the absolute necessity of obtaining all possible information upon it, immediately appointed a committee. At the head of this committee was Andrew Stuart, Esq. advocate, a man of superior judg- ment and knowledge, acquainted with every thing connected with the interests of the country, and thoroughly conversant with the means of obtiuning all the information requisite in the matter. .■ :- ;ij ; • < jv.^:' -^ The object of this work will not permit to extract more from the above-mentioned reports than is absolutely neces- sary for my present purpose; but I recommend to those who take an interest in the aifairs of the country, and who are desirous of obtaining valuable information respecting it, to procure these reports ; and I am convinced they will not regret the money thus expended. v - * .'^ ■. According to the first report of the committee, it appeared evident, that Lower Canada possessed a surplus of agricul- tural population sufficient to settle a large part of the waste lands of the Crown ; and our iurprise is at the utmost, yvhnk I Mi:>t f. ll:'' I! 170 WASTE LANDS. I we learn, that this population never attempts to extend itself over these waste lands by which they are surrounded. Ml' " First Report of the Committee of the House of Assembly, on that part of the Speech of ^is Excellency the Cover- nor-in-Chief which relates to the Settlement of the Crown Lands. Printed in Quebec^ and dated the 12th (f February^ 1821. " Your Committee, deeply sensible of the importance of the matter referred to them, have lost no time, and spared no labour, in investigating the causes which have hitherto retarded the settlement of this province, and more particu- larly of the waste lands of the Crown, and yet unconceded seigneurial lands. i :- ' t *< Their attention was, in the first instance, directed to the ascertaining of the amount of the surplus agricultural popu- lation of this province, for whom it was expedient and just to provide habitations. '. --« *,.'(.. • " From the declarations of several witnesses, which your Committee examined, it was manifest that Lower Canada possesses in itself an abundant population to settle these wastelands.^ " '"~"' ""^^ ^ . " To determine as exactly as might be the precise amount of this s^iglus population, your Committee proposed a series of questions,'and transmitted the same to the curates of the different parishes in this province, and to some of the more distinguished seigneurs resident in the country, with a request to communicate their answers with all convenient speed. Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to entitle your Committee to answers to these queries. They anticipate, however, with confidence, much valuable information from these respectable sources ; and, when received, will feel it their duty to lay the same before this Hou^e with the least possible delay. " Your Committee next directed their attention to the determining of the quantity, and ascertaining of the quality of the waste and ungranted lands of the Crown, with their WASTE LANDS. 171 local advantages or disadvantagefi, viewed with reference to actual settlements. The result of these inquiries was in the highest degree satisfactory, and evinces that land advanta- geously situated may be provided for the entire surplus population of Lower Canada*. •«-^- •«- " It could not but excite surprise in the minds of your Committee, that the large surplus agricultural population of the province had not been long since located upon the vast tracts of ungranted lands oi th^ Crown ; and it became a matter of anxious inquiry to them, whether the causes which had produced the strange anomaly of a superabundant agri- cultural population, environed by a wilderness of lands, were permanent in their nature, or otherwise. ' ' ' ' ''"• " It is with no ordinary satisfaction, that your Committee have it in their power to declare, as their opinion, that these causes are not of a permanent nature ; and to add, that a hope that their removal may be considered as neither of diffi- culty or distant attainment, may reasonably be indulged. " In the opinion of your Committee, one of the principal causes which have retarded the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown in Lower Canada, has been the abandonment of the ancient mode of granting lands in fief or seigneurie, and the introduction of the tenure of free and common soccage — a tenure novel and unknown to the people of this country. " The first subject of inquiry of your Committee has been, into the causes which led to the adoption of a measure which did not appear to manifest that regard for the ancient laws and institutions of this province which so evidently characterized His Majesty's Government generally ; and here abundant proof was afforded to your Committee, that a policy so adverse in its spirit to the general policy of His Majesty's Government towards this colony arose, not from any inter- mission of that regard, but from extrinsic circumstances, o' • " The examinations upon this matter, taken before your Committw^ will be found in th» Appendix to this R*|)ort, undifr the lettw ft;** — For an extraet of these examination^ s«e Appendi]% ^o. XII., «ji thtl present Work. I i IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 i^l^ li£ ■tt fM 122 S lift 120 I.I ■IWto llllss^^s llln^^dB RnHB # ^^ Op, Sciences Carporation is 33 WKT MAIN STMIT WnSTn,N.Y. MSM (71*)t72-4S03 ^$\^ ^^^ 4P> ^ « 172 WASTE LANDS. which it was not in the power of yam Committee to more than partially explore. ^ *^ So early as the year 1775, His Majesty was graciously pleased, by his instructions to Guy Carleton, Esq., Captain- General and Govemor-in-Chief in and over the province of Quebec, in America,, and of all the territories dependent thereupon, dated St. Jameses, the Srd of February, 1775, with other matters relating to the good government of this province, to order, as follows : — 38. " * By our Commission to you, under our Great Seal < of Great Britain, you are authorized and empowered, with < the advice and consent of our council, to settle and agree < with the inhabitants of our said province of Quebec, for * such lands, tenements, and hereditaments, as now are, or ' shall hereafter be in our power to dispose of. It is there- * fore our will and pleasure, that all lands which now are, or * hereafter may be subject to our disposal, be granted in fief * or seigneurie, in like manner as was practised antecedent to * the conquest of the said province, omitting, however, in * any. grant that shall be passed of such lands, the reservation ' of any judicial powers or privileges whatever : and it is our * further will and pleasure, that all grants in fief or seigneurie, < so to be passed by you as aforesaid, be made subject to our * royal ratification or disallowance, and a due registry thereof * within a limited time, in like manner as was practised in < regard to grants and concesiuons held in fief and seigneurie < under the French Government.* *' That, in the year 1786, His Majesty was graciously pleased, by such articles in the instructions to Lord Dor- chester as are not contained in the instructions to Guy: Carleton, Esq. in 1775, also a copy of such articles, or parts thereof, in the same instructions to Guy Carleton, Esq. in 1775, to order as follow : — 40. '* ' Whereas, many of our loyal subjects, inhabitants * of ih^ colonies and provinces, now the United States of ' Amerite, are denrous of retaining their allegiance to us, ' and of living in our dominions, and for this purpose are WASTE LANDS. 173 * disposed to take up^ndJQipn>y£jlind& in our province of * Quebec; andwe, being desirous to encourage our sud loyal * subjects in such their intentions, and to testify our appro- ' bation of their loyalty to us, and obedience to our govem- * ment, by alloting lands for them in our said province ; and * whereas, we are also desirous of testifying our approbation * of the bravery and loyalty of our forces serving in our said * province, and who may have been reduced there, by allow- * ing a certain quantity of land to such of the non-commis- * sioned officers and private men of our said forces who are * inclined to become settlers therein ; it is our will and plea- ' sure, that immediately after you receive these our instruc- ' tions, you do direct our Surveyor-General of lands for our * said province of Quebec, to admeasure and lay out such * quantity of land as you, with the advice of our council, < shall deem necessary and convenient for the settlement of * our said loyal subjects, and the non-commissioned officers * and private men of our forces, which may have been re- ' duced in our sud province, who shall be desirous of becom- * ing settlers therein ; such lands to be divided into disUnct ' seigneuries or fiefs, to extend from two to four leagues in * front, and from three to five leagues in depth, if situated ' upon a navigable river, otherwise to be run square, or in ' such shape, and in such quantities, as shall be convenient ' and practicable, and in each seigneurie a glebe to be reserved * and laid out in the most convenient spot, to contain no less * than three hundreed acres, nor more than five hundred ' acres ; the property of which seigneuries or fiefs shall be * and remun vested in us, our heirs and successors ; and you * shall allot such parts of the same as shall be applied for by ' any of our said loyal subjects, non-commissioned officers, * and private men of our forces reduced as aforesaid, in the * following proportions, that is to say,* &c. ** < The said lands to be held under us, our heirs, and ' successors, seigneurs of the seigneurie or fief, in which the * same shall be situated, upon the same terms, acknow- ' ledgments and services, as lands are held in our said pro- 174 WASTE LANDS. < vince, under the respective seigneiirs, holding and pos- * sessing seigneuries or fiefs therein ; and reserving to us, < our heirs, and successors, from and after the expiration of * ten years from the admission of the respective tenants, a ' quit rent of one hall^nny per acre.* *< That after the declaration of America.! independence, in the year 1776, the powers of His Majesty *s government in this colony came to be exercised by persons who had resided and held offices in the old British colonies, who suc- ceeded to the principal offices in this province ; that, from the manner in which the influence of those gentlemen and their friends had been exercised in the old colonies, and from the ill success which had attended the policy adopted by thor advice, Canada could augur but unfavourably of the administration which was destined to rule it. *' The alarms of the people of Canada were greatly in- creased by a large influx of loyalists, who were naturalhy anxious to retain the laws, institutions, and tenures to which they were accustomed ; notwithstanding that Great Britain had, by an Act of the Imperial Parliament, commonly caUed the Quebec Act (14th Greoige III., cap. 88)*, gua- ranteed to His Majesty^s Canadian subjects ' within the ' province of Quebec, that they, the religious orders and < communities only excepted, might hold and enjoy thdr ' property and possessions, together with all customs and * usages relative thereto, and all other their civil rights, in ' 88 large, ample, and beneficial a manner as if the said * proclamation, commissions, ordinances, and other acts and ' instruments had not been made ; and as may consist with ' their alle^ance to His Majesty, and subjection to the Crown ' and Parliament of Great Britain ; and that in aU matters of * controversy, relative to property and dvil rights, resort * shall be had to the laws of Canada, as the rule for the de- ' dsion of the same ; and all causes that shall hereafter be * instituted in any of the Courts of Justice to be appointed c ( ( < 4 c c c * See Appendix, No. VI. WASTE LANDS. 175 of a * within and for the said province, by His Miyeoty, his * heirs and successors, shall, with respect to such property < and rights, be determined agreeably to the said laws and * customs of Canada, until they shall be varied or altered by * any ordinances that shall, from Ume to time, be passed in * the said province by the Governor, Lieutt^nantoGrovemor, * or Commander-in*Chief for the time being, by and with the * advice and consent of the JL^slative Council of the same, * to be appointed in the manner hereinafter mentioned/*- Still several petitions, which are to be met with in a volume entitled Quebec State Papers, were transmitted to His Majesty^s Government, by His Majesty^s Canadian subjects, praying that they might be maintained in their ancient laws and institutions. ^< That these apprehennons were by no means so viwaiary as might at first sight appear; for the repudiated public men of the old British colonies had, by their acts, attuned that dominion in Canada which their more wise and honest countrymen had not been able to achieve by their arm& " Accordingly, in the year 1790> His Excelleney the Right Honourable Guy Lord Dorchester was pleased to refer to a committee of the whole of the Honourable the Legislative Council, * to investigate and report a statement * of the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the * tenure in free and common soccage, and the present tenurea < of the province of a di£^rent description, with a view to thc^ * public interest, as well as that of the individuals holcfing * under such tenures. That they deliberate^ and in case a < conversion of the present tenures in fief or otjberwise into soc^ * cage tenure shall appear to be advisable, that they report upon < the most eligible mode of effecting the 8ame» without pre- ^ judice to the rights of individuals* and the general interest^ < of the country. In doing this, the committee are tp attend * to the nature and operation of the different clauses in the * statute of 12th Car. II., cap. ^ by which soccage holding * was made general in England, givmg Mr. Lanaudiere, at ' the same time, an opportuivty to be heard on his petition 176 ^ WASTE LANDS. < for a oonveraon of the tenure of his estates into that of free ' and common soccage, which was referred to a committee of * the Council on the 14th of February, 1788 ; and the com- * mittee may call on Mr. Attorney and Solicitor-General for * their opinion on the subject matter of the reference, if < they shall conceive the same to be necessary, and take all < such other means as they may think proper for acquiring ' the necessary information. And further, if the Legislative < interposition shall appear to be necessary, the committee ' are to report such draft of a Bill as the case may require.^ The resolves of the Council, and the resolutions and motion of the Chief Justice, adopted by the committee, were calcu- lated to introduce the tenure in free and common soccage, in lieu of the ancient tenure of the country, in all new grants; and to undermine, and ultimately overturn those tenures in the old grants. These resolves, with the reasons of dissent therefrom, by Mr. Mabane, are subjoined to this report under the letter C*. j « It is consoling to reflect that His Majesty'*s Government did not participate in this scheme. ' << The debates upon the Constitutional Act of these pro- vinces (31st George III., cap. 31) exhibit the two great statesmen in the British House of Commons, who in almost every other object of public policy were opposed to each other, concurring in the justice and expediency of main- tuning his Majesty^s Canadian subjects who had been reared under, and were attached to the laws and institutions of England, in the possession of those laws and institutions, and conferring upon both the inestimable advantages of the British constitution. << It was, in con:}equence, provided by the Constitutional Act, ^ that there should be, in the provinces of Upper and < Lower Canada respectively, a Leg^aUve Council and < Assembly, to be severally composed in the manner, de- * scribed in the said Act, to make laws for the peace, welfare. * See Appendix, Na XIII. WASTE LANDS. 177 *and good government of those provinces;* and in a subsequent clause, * that all lands, which shall be hereafter * granted within the said province of Upper Canada, shall be * granted in free and common soccage, in like manner as lands * are now holden in free and common, in that part of Great * Britain called England ; and that in every case where lands * shall be hereafter granted within the said province of Lower ' Canada, and when the grantee thereof shall desire the same * to be granted in free and common soccage, the same shall ' be so granted ; but subject, nevertheless, to such alterations, < with respect to the nature and consequences of such tenure * of free and common soccage, as may be established by any * law or laws, which may be made by His Majesty, his heirs * and successors, by and with the advice and consent of the * Legislative Council and Assembly of the province f and a free and representative Government was thus assured to these colonies. " Your Committee, in proceeding upon the inquiry upon the comparative advantages and disadvantages of the ancient tenures of this country, and of the free and common soccage tenure, come to a conclusion, that the former possesses de- cided advantages over the latter, in the settlement of a new country. % ** Your Committee did not deem it necessary to institute any inquiry respecting the comparative advantages of these tenures in a more advanced state of society, leaving it to the wisdom of their remote posterity to provide remedies for these inconveniences, when they shall arise. It could not fail to strike the attention of your Committee, that great preju- dices existed in the minds of the British descendants upon this continent against the tenure en fief. The statute, 12th Car. II., cap. 24, operated a salutary revolution in the con- stitution of Great Britiun, and it is said by high authority to have been * a greater acquisition to the civil property of * the kingdom than Magna Charta ;* yet although by means of it < the oppressive or nulitary part of the feodal constitu- ' tion was happily done away, we are not to imagine that the K 178 WASTE LANDS. * constitution itself was utterly laid ^de, and a new one ' introduced in its room since, by the statute of ISth Car. < II., the tenures of soccage and frankalmoing, the honorary ' services of grand sergeanty, and the tenure by copy of ' court roll were reserved ; nay, all tenures in general, except * frankalmoing, grand sergeanty, and copyhold, were re- < duced to one general species of tenure, then well known < and subsisting, called free and common soccage, and this * sprung from the same feodal origin as the rest.* ** The reasons which induced your Committee to come to the above conclusion are as follows :— <' The two great obstacles to settlements in all new coun- tries are, — ^the want of capital, and the consequent want of a market for labour in those comparatively remote situations. In a city composed of artisans, having all for sale the same commodity, whatever be its excellence, they will all starve ; in a new settlement, composed entirely of labourers, to be fur- nished with meat and clothing from the sale of their labour they also starve from the same cause— the want of customers. << The things possessed by each, though valuable in them- selves, possess no exchangeable value. The minimum of capital required to be employed for any productive labour, will be regulated by the quickness or slowness of the return Unfortunately, in the clearing of land, even upon the smallest scale, the return to the actual settler is slow — gene^ rally from nine to twelve months. *< Where actual settlements are now found upon the conti- nent of North America, the above obstacles have been sur- mounted, either : — *' Ist, Fortuitously, by the accidental coming together of persons having capital, and persons having labour, at the formation of the new settlements, as in the case of Mas- sachussets ;~-or, « 2nd. By the Grovemment making a donation to the new setUer of capital suffident to support him until his labour became productive ; as was done in Upper Canada, at the commencement of its settlements in 1783-4, and has. WASTE LAND9. 179 it is believed, since been done in some of the late military settlements in that country ;— or, . .% r *' Srd, By the Government granting the lands in a man- ner to secure the laying out of a suffident capital by indivi* duals for this purpose, with a view to their own profit. " In the first there is danger that there be not a due pro* portion of capital ; and then the first settlers are subjected to great hardships, as happened to the first settlers of Mas^ sachusseia. ** The second is exceedingly expenuve and onerous to Go- vernment ; indeed so much so, that it cannot be earned on upon a very extensive scale, nor permanently. * ^ ** The third appears obviously to be the best system. It may be carried on, not only to the extent of capital which the capitalists of the colony itself may turn into this direction, but is calculated to draw capital from abroad into this channel, and thus enrich the colony, as well by the introduction of new capital, as by the advantageous employment of it when introduced. K . <« The object of the capitalist is, to get from the Govern- ment the highest premium he can for employing his ca{utal in the clearing of wild lands: on the other hand, that of the Government, on the behalf of itself, the owner of the lands to be granted, and on behalf of the needy individuals who are thus to obtain a settlement, and ou' f whom, in one shape or another, a large portion of the pz v/C of the capi- talist is to be extracted, is to give the capitalist as small a premium as he will accept for this use of his capital. '-■ ** In the proprietary governments of the old British colonies, Maryland, &c. &c., the premium given to Lord Baltimore and the other great proprietors, to induce them to effect settlements in those countries, was much too high, and became so burdensome to the actual settler, that Govern- ment actually resumed the charters. ^"The system least onerous to the actual settler is, un- questionably, the French system of. seigneuries. "^ 180 WASTE LAMDB. ' ** The only inoonvenience of the system, and that was certainly a very great one, arose out of the civil, and some- times criminal jurisdiction attached to the seigneurie. This, however, on the conquest, was removed. '< Under this tenure the actual settler had several advan- tages. He was not obliged to disburse any money for his land ; whatever little stock he possessed might be entirely laid out upon the improvement of his farm. *' The seigneur, in certain cases, but not universally, was bound, by the conditions of the ori^nal grant, to open a road to communicate from the most remote settlement in his seigneurie to the next concesaon of ungranted lands therein. He was expected to build a mill, and the rate of mouhire was fixed at a lower rate (one-fourteenth) than it now stands at in the United States. Where the greatest competition obtains (one-twelfth), the new settler had the countenance, support, and asastance of the sagneur, who was interested in effecting a settlement to save his seigneurie from forfeiture. And all this was obtained for a moderate annual rent*. <* The system of seigneuries is calculated to produce, and has produced in this country, an equal division of the lands — a thing favourable to human happiness, to good morals and industrious habits, to the stability of laws and government, and to the military strength of a country. ^ ** The tenure in sdgneurie is one which the people of this country understand, and to which they are ac- customed. « The religious and social habits of the Canadian agricul- turist prevent him from emigrating to the townships. He u there deprived of all the substantial comforts of his reli- gion. His child cannot be baptized, nor receive instruction in the principles of his religion ; on the verge of the tomb. * I bqr the reader to pay particular attention to thia pamge, aa it eatablishea, in ny opinion, without poaaibility of contradiction, the advantage of one tenure over the odier, fat the aetdenient of wild landa. •% WASTE LANDS. 181 * he cannot reoeire reugious consolation. He has no means of attending divine service. 1^ ** From these causes, your Committee are persuaded that no Canadian settlements could be effected, unless the per- manent residence or occasional attendance of a priest could be had at a chapel to be erected therein ; and unless a colony of twenty or fifty men, in the habits of previous social intercourse, could be settled together. And your Committee see nothing so likely to produce this, as the erection of a sufficient num- ber of sdgneuries*, to provide habitations and farms for the surplus population of the country. ^ For further and valuable information upon this subject, your Committee refer to a paper written and published in the year 1791, which will be found subjoined to this Report under the letter £f. « Upon the whole, your Committee are of opinion, that the first and prindpal obstacle which has existed to the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown, has been the neglect ci the Colonial Administration to obey the above- mentioned wise and gracious instructions of His Majesty. « ANDREW STUART, Esq. Chairman. « Quebec, Februaty 12, 1821."* By this Report and the extracts, which will be^foundjin the Appendix, from the evidence of the most respectable proprietors of the country, also from the dissent in Council of Mr. Mabane, and more particularly from the very just observations of Mons. Bedard, a most respectable and well- informed priest, it will clearly be demonstrated, that, for the * The Committee muned by the House of Commons in 1828, to investigate our Canadian aflBiin, was precisely of the same opinion, as will be seen here- after. See Report, July 22. t See Appendix, No^ XIV. isft WASTE LANDS. lettlement of a new country, the concession of lands en fief et seigneuriea is more advantageous than the tenure of Jree and common eoccage; and that the Local Administration, in recommending to the Imperial Government a change of tenure, must have erred in judgment, or entertained views of private intereat. Many other persons appeared before the Committee, and all agreed in saying, that the reserves made by the Crown , and the clergy, which amount to two-sevenths of the I whole waste lands ; the too great extent of land accorded to [ certain individuals, many of them absent from the province, \ and taking no means to settle their estates ; the fees lately ' established in the Executive Council ; the bad state of the ; roads, and the want of high roads*, have been the chief ( causes of so small a number of settlements having been ^^ formed by settlers from Great Britain, in the townships of the province of Lower CanadA. They also asserted, that the emigrants, being subjected to considerable unexpected ex- penses upon their arrival, as well as to delay, sometimes amounting to three months before they can obtain the deeds of their land, and thereby being kept back a whole season, nearly all prefer pasinng on to the United States, where they eventually setUe. And I have also been myself assured, that the few who remain, almost invariably prefer establishing themselves in the seigneuries, to proceeding to the townships. On the other hand, Canadians refuse to settle in these territories, for causes already explained ; but chiefly, in my opinion, from their belief in the superior ad- Vantages of the tenure en fief over that oifree and common eoccage^ for persons having little or no capital. We ought then to conclude, after what has been explained, that the Local Administration, in recommending this change of tenure, and persisting in that recommendation, in spite of experience, of effects, the most injurious to the intei^ests of * The Law of Lower Canada respecting roads extends not to the townships. WASTE LAKD8. 185 the country, has, as I said before, either been wanting in judgment or necessary information, or been influenced by views of private interest; which last supposition appears the most reasonable. I hope, therefore, that the Imperial Government will take into its most serious consideration the recommendation of the Select Committee appointed by the House of Commons, which recommendation is con- tained in that portion of its Report which relates to the old Canadians. * "The Committee cannot too strongly express their opinion, that the Canadians of French extraction should in no degree be disturbed in the peaceful enjoyment of their religious laws and pnvileges, as secured to them by the British Acts of Parliament ; and so far from requiring them to hold lands on the British tenure, they think that, when the lands in the seigneuries are fully occupied, if the descendants of the original settlers shall still retain their preference to the tenure enjiefet seigneurie, they see no objection to other portions of unoccupied lands in that province being granted to them on that tenure, provided that such lands are apart from, and not intermixed with the townships.^ The wish of ultimately overthrowing the Catholic religion may, perhaps, also be given as one of the causes of the pro- posed alteration iji the tenure in the lands in Lower Canada. This object has been a phantom followed, if not so openly, with as much zeal, and I may add, as much success, as the reformation in Ireland. Protestant influence near the seat of Government brought forward the idea of making con- verts, and every support, though till lately not very osten- uble, has been given to the Protestant clergy, to put in action their secret determination ; but the usual deference was so completely laid aude in the formation of the Royal Institution before mentioned for the establishment of schods, and in the stipulation for furnishing the means to the teachers, that the Canadian population and tl ir worthy pastors became alarmed, and not without cause.^ It is pleanng 184 WASTE LANDS. \ however, to observe, that several highly respectable and well-informed Members of the Imperial Parliament appear to coincide with the unprej udiced and well-disposed part of the Canadian population. On the motion of Mr. Wilroot Horton, on the SlOth of February, 1827, to introduce a Bill authoris- , ing the sale of lands, called Clergy Reserves, which we think I were unwisely appropriated to he Protestant clergy by the i Act of 1791, Mr. Baring said, "that he was enurely op* ; posed to the appropriation of lands to the Protestant clergy , in this manner, and that it would cause, finally, in Canada, I the sane troubles which were now existing in Ireland.^ Mr. ^ Warburton also observed, very justly, ** that instead of ap- plying the produce of these lands to the benefit of the clergy, it ought to be employed in spreading education. The Act of 1791 , in his opinion, aspired to nothing less than the establi^ ment of a credence by force, in spite of the people''s ofunion.^ Mr. Dawson observed, " that there were two great blui lers in the Act of 1791. One was the appropriation of a )ro- vinon for a clergy before they had sought to provide ny kind of congregation ; and the other was, the fixing of lai Is in ecclesiastical hands to the injury of the land itself.^ In the disposal of the waste lands, the Crown could lOt follow a better rule, than always to adopt that methot by which they could obtain the greatest return ; and if that c ^M be done by conceding the lands en seigneurie, rather than in townships, I see no reasonable objection to the adoption of such a system ; more especially as such a proceeding would give great satisfaction to the people of the province, and would furnish the means of extending the agricultural popu- \ lation, already too much compressed. Bendes the advan- ^ tages which would result in the shape of an increased \ revenue, there would also be greater stimulus given to emigration. Many proofs of this proposition can be j^ven in the opinions formed on the matter by the settlers them- selves. Tkc following are among many which might be adduced : — WASTE LANDS. 185 M>t'. 4( « ^' ** Richard Coughtrie,yeoniaii of Valcartier, in the seigiiiary of St Gabriel, appeared before the Committee* : — '< Q, When was the settlement of Valcartier commenced ? A. In the month of August, 1816. Q. What distance were the first clearings of Valcartier from the last Canadian settlement ? ** A, Six miles. '' Q. What was the state of the roads previous to the commencement of that settlement, between the last Canadian settlements and this new establishment ? ** A. There was no road passable for a cart, or even for a single horse, these six miles, during the summer season, by reason of the morasses and small streams which intersected this road; these being frozen in the winter, the Canadian settlers were enabled to go a distance of a league and a half this Hoad, which they did for the purpose of getting wood. << Q. What extent of road was made by the grantees of thisti^ct? '* ul. Two-thirds of a league. ** Q. Did you at any time, and when, make a statistical table of this seitlement ? " A, Yes, I asasted in the making out one in the autumn of 18120, and at the request of the grantees I made out another in the month of January, 18^1, both of which I have in my possesion. ** Mr. Coughtrie then produced to the Committee the said statistical statements, which are as foUoweth : — ; i'- ■> * See Fiirat Report of the Committed of the Houie of Assembly, page 31. 186 WASTE LANDS. STATISTICAL TABLE OF THE SETTLEMENT OF VALCARTIER. Names of Householders. 1 a} 1 . cleared earing. \ 1 i 1 1 i 1 i 1 |73 i'2 • » o s t^ oS S (£ w o a ^s Ist Concession. Richard Newman, 6 Wm. O'Hara, 6 , Barnard O'Hara, 6 *• Patrick O'Hara, 4 Wm. M'Quillan, 8 John Carney, 7 . Lieutenant Harvey, 16 James Carle, 6 Goff, 2 6 S 2 1 6 Watt, 2 7 2 5 1 1 10 ' 4 12 5 7 1 1 1 75 2nd Concession. James Ireland, Ord, David Johnson, James Johnson, 8rd Concession. Francis Barnard, Clement, Edward Hunt, John Johnson, Pierre Renaud, W. & B. O'Hara, Wm. Brown, M. CampbeU, ^ Occupied by J. O'Hara, \ 4 Emi^prant J Families. A. Buchanan, Henry Patten, John Mather, Andrew Kerr, Robert GoodfeUow, Mr. Neilson, River side, Wm. White, Wm. White, Joseph Pierce, John O'Hara, Peter Dawsey,. 2 8 1 2 1 1 2 12 1 4 1 4 1 3 6 S 1 2 1 1 2 23 2 2 2 1 2 4 2 2 1 5 8 1 2 2 1 1 2 4 8 6 80 1 7 8 4 1 4 3 2 62 2 4 8 1 2 2 2 1 8 5 50 7 4 4 40 10 3 8 2 1 2 2 1 4 8 30 2 8 8 2 1 20 2 2 2 1 8 1 1 1 2 7 2 35 2 2 2 1 2 4 5 20 4 4 4 4 87 80 11 19 8 7 1 8 18 81 26 870 WASTE LANDS. 187 Name* of Hooseholden. J. «! 1 j! . "^ § X 1 1 b 1 CO 1 b, a 1 i 1 Lands andcl 4th Concession. Paschal Mercier, 2 2 1 1 1 5 Mr. Pozer's Man, 2 6 2 2 2 1 6 50 Heney, 2 6 3 1 1 1 4 3 4 36 Wm. Corrigan, John O'Neil, I 2 8 2 3 3 1 4 6 4 9 30 Wm. Brown, 24 Richard Ward, 2 3 2 1 1 1 2 4 14 John Mather, 20 John Imrie, 2 2 2 5 5 1 3 9 6 40 Richard Coughtrie, 1 2 2 12 Edward Sweeney, 2 7 3 1 1 2 4 20 James Sweeney, 2 2 1 2 2 2 9 "■ 4d(I>; .%^ 18 30 H 16 13 13 8 15 28 27 260 5th Concession. ^ Seijeant M^jor Wolff, Captain Barrington, John Lavery, Richard Coughtrie, John Sinclair, John Imrie, John M'Cartney, J. B. Noreau, James Sweeney, Edward Sweeney, Richard Ward, John O'Neil, Several Gentlemen, names unknown, 1 3 3 50 1 1 6 4 5 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 25 20 2 4 1 3 1 3 8 2 2 1 1 1 6 4 6 4 20 40 8 8 8 6 5 5 2 5 2 198 6th Concession, 40 CONCESSIONS. 1st Concession, 2nd Ditto, 8rd Ditto, 4th DiUo, 5th Ditto, 6th Ditto, o » 4 5 87 18 8 I 12 3 80 30 8 72 -a 5 1 11 14 8 8» 84 7 2 19 16 5 I 09 8 13 5 49 27 •a 7 18 5 26 9> o 1 19 18 15 1 81 28 5 28 65 1 2 26 27 58 Lands cleared in the 5th Concession, adjoining 6th Concession, Total Number of Souls, 182. Arpents, "S « g 1-3 ^ 9 75 28 870 260 190 40 958 20 978 188 WASTE LANDS. *' Q. H&8 there been any, and what increase, within the period alluded to ? << A. There has been an increase of sixty souls ; there are twenty houses and upwards. The increase of stock is not ▼ery considerable. There has been four hundred acres of land cleared and clearing. <* Q. Did you act as agent for any individuals who con- tracted for the clearing of land there with emigrants ? *'J, Yes; I did. ** Q. What is the number of emigrants, and the number of their families ; and when did they arrive, and from what country came they ? *' J, Four men, three women, and four children of the age of seven years ; they* arrived in the month of November, from Ireland ; they were three Protestants, and one Catholic. The gentleman who employed me had, as I understood from him, been requested by the Emigrant Society of Quebec to give each of these four heads of families a job of ten acres, upon four several lots, to clear and fence, for four gentlemen in Quebec, who had undertaken to employ these individuals for this purpose, in consideration of the Committee of the Emigrant Society obtaining from the Commisaoners of the Jesuits^ estates a grant of these lots. My duty was, to see that these individuals worked faithfully, and to take care that they should be as little in advance as posable ; to communi- cate from time to time with the principal respecting their wants; obtain supplies from time to time from Quebec or within the settlement, distribute them amongst them, and keep just and true account. *' Q. How were the purchases made ? *' A. The pork, which is the most expenave article, was purchased by the barrel at the wholesale price ; the flour was bought in the market; and the fish from the wholesale dealers. The pork cost Sd, per pound ; fish, 14^. a quintal ; flour, lOf. 6d, a quintal ; pease, 4a, 6i. per bushel. The costs con- stituted the whole amount of the advances, except bedding and blankets, which were also purchased at the lowest prices. WASTE LANDS. 189 at ,*■ ** Q. What was the amount to be paid to these emigrants, upon the fulfilment of each of their jobs ? '< A, Thirty pounds, of which one half could be earned during the winter season. " Q. Does this afford a fair prospect of maintaining them by their labour ? ^ << A, Yes ; and upon an average they receive about seven pounds in advance up to this season. .m << Q. Do you think that an honest and industrious emi- grant, obtaining a job of this nature, and a lease upon share of the land cleared by him for a term of three years or more, would have a fair prospect of supporting his family, and becoming himself ultimately a landholder ? " A, Yes. " Q. I believe you are yourself an emigrant ; and what country? " A. Yes ; I am from Scotland. i^ *< Q. How long hajre you been in this country ; and how long have you been employed since your arrival here ? i ** J. I have been three years in this country in May last I came out as a hired farm servant to John Neilson, Esq. of this city, and resided with him in that capacity from the time of my arrival to the month of September, 1819* Mr. Neil- son, to oblige me, had previously sold to me, at a moderate rate, a farm at Valcartier (upon which there was no clearing), of three arpents in front, upon thirty In depth, where I now reside. I subsequently obtained from the Commissioners of the Jesuits* estates, in the month of November, 1819, in common with nine others, a lot of ground of three acres in front, by somewhat more than thirty acres in depth, in the fifth concession. • '< Q. Is this the same fifth concession which is mentioned in the statistical table which you laid before this Committee ? *' A* Yes ; and all the settlers, except one Canadian, are emigrants from Scotland and Ireland; five of them are Irishmen, four of them Scotchmen : they arrived here chiefly in the year 1818, and they have a fair prospect, by industry 190 WASTE LANDS. and honesty, to become landholders, and to support their families with the produce of their farms*. *' Q. In what length of time does an able-bodied emigrant usually learn to chop wood and clear land, and build log houses and bams ? " A. In about three months.^ Ferdinand Murphy was also examined by the Committee, and said, '* that he belonged to the south of Ireland, and came to Canada in the year 18S1. He arrived in Quebec with his sister, and had only twenty-one shillings in money. He went to Yalcartier, and chopped and cleared five acres of land, at the rate of three pounds per acre ; he had received an advance of provisions, clothes, and other necessaries, amounting to about half the fifteen pounds he was to receive on having completed the job. In the spring he received the balance. Afterwards he took a farm of ninety acres on the Jesuits^ estate^ cleared fifty-six acres, and in 1827 his crop was 94f6 bushels of potatoes, the produce of forty-seven bushels planted, 100 bushels of oats, 700 bundles-f* of hay, &C. &c. He now has the means of buying cattle, and living comfortably,^ &c. &c. This evidence will, I hope, suffice to convince my readers that an industrious emigrant, without any other assistance than his own activity, is able to settle upon a seigneurie ; and in which, possessing a lot of land of about two acres in breadth and forty or fifty in depth, and for which he pays an exceedingly, small rent, say twelve or fifteen shillings, he can ^ovide abundantly for his family at the end of three or four years. On the contrary, to obtain the same quantity of land in the townships, he must of necessity have a large sum of ready money, which, unfortunately, in the greater number of cases, is impossible. Two other objects, of the greatest im- portance in a new settlement, are also attained in a seigneurie, * The new settlements on Lake Beauport, in Stoneham, St Patrick, and Port Neuf, are all in a flourishing state, and come in support of the statement made by Coughtrie. t A bundle weighs eighteen pounds. WASTE LANDS. 191 viz. a flour null and a saw-mill ; for not only is the seigneur obliged in, most cases, by law, but it is also for his own in- terest, to provide the inhabitants with the means of grinding their corn and constructing their houses ; which cannot be done in a township till the population is sufficiently dense to pay the proprietor of the mill. I must, however, allow that each tenure has advantages and disadvantages not possessed by the other ; and that when a country is once settled, the tenure of /ree and common soccage is probably more advantageous ; but that to form, with rapidity, new settlements, the tenure en firf gives to a poor man decided advantages. This, in Lower Canada, has been proved by experience. A Bill for the encouragement of emigration passed in both Houses of the Provincial Parliament during the last sesfflon, and is one of those reserved for the approbation of His Majesty*. .^,. .'4: * See Appendix, No. XV. ^.. m 4S »J: .%■■■<■ . . 1? \,ra t: d CHAPTER VII. Remedies Proposed. A CONVERSATION which occurred during the last meeting of the Imperial Parliament gives us reason to believe that, in the approaching session, some legislative measures will be proposed as a remedy for the evils which now, by all, are allowed to exist in the Canac^bn Government. For the pur- pose of contributing, as far as my humble abilities permit, to the desirable end of improvement, I will endeavour to point put the circumstances which, in my opinion, can alone bring ^ about any beneficial result. In every thing I shall here advance, one assumption will, throughout, be kept in view : I shall take it as incontroverti- bliB, that the interests of England and Canada are identical ; that, to promote the welfare of Canada, will never be to oppose that of the mother country ; that what injures the former injures the latter; that inasmuch as the welfare of Canada must be in jeopardy while the government is a bad one, it is for the interest of England that such government should not exist ; that existing, it should be reformed. If, therefore, by any observation, I hereafter prove an institu- tion to.be advantageous to the colony, as respects its govern- ment, I shall consider it useless to prove it useful, or not injurious, to England. It is the intention of England to pro- vide for the good government of her colonies ; her aid to them is afforded partly for that purpose; never for one opposed to it. A more bitter libel upon the justice of the mother REMEDIES PROPOSED. 193 country dould hardly be imagined, than to suppose the as- sumption here mentioned, unwarranted. If the reader have carefully gone through the statements I have already made, and if he believe those statements to be true, he cannot have failed to perceive that there are two evils in the Canadian Government, both springing from the same source : the one being the hindrance to improve- ment, created by the discord existing among the various portions of the Legislature; the other, pontive mischief that has been created by the conduct of one section of the Grovemment. The discord and the positive mischief have had their immediate origin in the interests of the Executive Council; which interests have been rendered powerful to bad purposes, by the faulty composition of the Legislative Council. I From circumstances already explained, the Legislative Council has hitherto been ahoost entirely composed of persons holding the office of Executive Councillor. The Executive and Legislative Councils have, in fact, been i^own to be two bodies differing in name, but identical as to the persons composing them. The immediate consequenoe of this arrangement has been, to ^ve the Executive Council a power both over the conduct of the Grovemor and the deliberations of the Le^slature ; no desire of the Govemolry however beneficial, could be carried into execution, when opposed to their wishes; no proposed enactment could receive the sanction of the Legislature, if contrary to their interests. For years this has continued ; while the oountiy was passive or powerless, misconduct in the acting members of the Government was the invariable result: when the country began to exercise the power in the Legislature, wisely conferred by the mother country, confunon, discord, and at length a complete stoppage of the whole working of the Government ensued. These are the evils complained of-— the circumstance here mentioned is the cause of those evils. Now, for the remedies. : ^It has been proposed to alter the compontion of the I 194 REMEDIES PROPOSED. Legislative Council; to make it (like the House of Peers in England) the representation of the landed aristocracy. There is one fatal objection to this proposal : there is no landed aris- tocracy in Canada. The sdgneurs are not entitled to that appellation ; the rights they possess, hitherto, has conferred on them no political, no monied predominance; they are not richer-^they are not more enlightened than some of the other portions of the community ; their rights over the land are not so important as the rights of the tenants ; they have not so great an interest in what concerns the land as the tenants who hold under them. If these be the material out of which to form this landed aristocracy, the greatest number of the sdgneurs afford it not ; we should rather take the vassals as the more eligible, but the vassals are too numerous. There is no reason for chooang one rather than another. The vassals, therefore, cannot properly be used for the purpose of erecting this nobility. mi. Suppose, however, that, in spite of these considerations, the seigneurs were constituted the Legislative Council, what would be the result? They either agree with the House of Assembly, or they do not ; if they agree, what need is there fat this cumbersome and expenave machinery ? They possess no great wealth ; they cannot, therefore, exercise that sort of influence over sodety and the government which wealth allows Let not the world here believe that this body would be what its prototype is supposed to be — ^the encouragers of science ; the creators of polished and elegant society ; the supporters of the pleasure-creating arts : they, of necessity, woidd either be hard-working dtizens, or be poorer than the rest of the educated community. Moreover, they would have precisely the same feelings, the same (pinions as the House of Assembly ; th6y would introduce no new element into the composition ci the government ; it would still be of the same materials, with this difference, it would be more clumsy and expensive. If we suppose this new Legislative Council opposed to the House of Assembly, what then would be the result ? Precisely the same discord as at present ; REMEDIES PROPOSED. 195 the same hindrance of business ; the same ill feeling and jealousy which now exist. The House of Assembly must for years, as at present constituted, represent the community. If the Legislative Council opposed the House, it would oppose the wishes of the community ; it could not posnbly exercise any influence upon the elections; in spite of all endeavours, the community would return whom they pleased, and thus discord would be insured under this supposition between two members of the Legislature. • m .dn As by this arrangement the council would be composed of hereditary members, the Government of England would And that they had added another difficulty to those now existing in ruling the colony ; — they would find that to all good purposes the council would be an untractable body. If the council differed from the House, it would be on ac- count of its own interests, as opposed to that of the colony generally; with this class the English Grovemment wovdd have nothing in common. The Government would therefore meet the council in constant opposition ; and meeting it thus, they would quickly learn, to their own cost, how unyielding an assembly they had unluckily created. The interest!! of England would, in the eyes of such an hereditary council, be a constant source of jealousy : the council would desire to be dominant — dominant for its own ends ; in this supre- macy of rule they would fear and hate so powerful a partav cipant as England ; their constant endeavour therefore would be, to rid themselves of this disagreieable compeer ; a constant scene of vexation, trouble, and retardirient of busmess can easily be conceived as resulting from this proposed alteration. If, however, it be proposed to render the council an assem- blage of persons chosen for life at th6 will of the King ; aiki to render it imperative oH the Executive to choose the mem^^ b^rsfrom the class of seignetirs, some persons may believe ail the evils above mentioned to be completely obviatcid : such would not be the case: One of two sets of ciMimstaiices would occur: either thi^ councillors would be kejit in the government interest by obtaining the lucrative posts of the 196 REMEDIES PROPOSED. country ; or being not so retained and being eleeted for life, they would be completely independent of the government of England. Under the first supposition, the state of things would differ nothing from the present ; the government would, in fact, be in the hands, not of the English Ministry, but of a few grasping councillors. England would derive no benefit from the colony, more than at present ; she would be hated as the abettor of bad government, and stand in great danger of losing the colony for ever. Under the second suppontion, the council, being inde- pendent of the English ministry, would fall under one of the two states I had before supposed ; either being friends and coinciding with the House of Assembly — and then all the uselessness of the council, as then explained, would be mani- fest : or it would oppose the House, and then the mischiev- ousness before pointed out would result from its establishment ; so that a Legislative Council, even under this last arrange- ment, is shown either to be useless or mischievous. The alteration which I propose is, to abolish the Le- gislative CouHciL, and to place the legislative powers in he House of Assembly and the Governor. - Let us discuss the objections to this proposal. It is first objected, that it would be injurious to the inte- rests of England. To this it may be answered— 1«^. That if it be beneficial to the colony, it is but decent to consider it beneficial to England ; for if it be of use to the colony, but mischievous to England, the consequence that England is mischievous to the colony is but too manifest. This, however, is a suppo- ntion which I cannot for a moment entotain ; nor would those, I believe, who put this objection forward : they would not muntain it in so many words, but they constantly sup- port the opinion by such statements as the present. England, however, cannot desire such advocacy, or ground her objec- tions to the arrangement proposed upon such a plea. How- ever, let us for an instant entertain the objection. . ^^ , REMEDIES PROPOSED. 197 i^2nd. The interests of England, as connected with tlie colony^ are usually supposed to consist— ^r«^, in the trade carried on with the c )lony ; second^, in the employment or salaries found in the colony for portions of the English people. How are either of uun* interests to be injured by the present arrangement f As the trade can only be injured, as far as this alteration b concerned, by a supposed alteration in the laws regulating trade, we must believe that the Governor, who possesses a veto upon all laws, would coincide with the House in making these bad laws ; that is, laws bad for England. But this is a monstrous supposition. The Governor is an Englishman invariably ; he would possess the power, as at present, to delay or refuse his assent to any law ; and we must believe him to have sufficient sense to perceive that a law does influ- ence trade ; and if he knows not what influence it may have, that he would be sufficiently prudent to send to England for instructions how to act If he have not this prudence, he is a bad Grovemor ; and the evil is not in the frame of the go- vernment, but the ill-advised conduct of the Ministry in sending out an incapable set "ont. In proposing laws, how- ever — ^laws necessary from circumstances newly arisen — ^it may be said the Grovemor will be powerless ; or if not powerless in proposing, he will be utterly incapable of getting them passed. Powerless, as to proposing laws, he would not be : by mes- sage, as at present, he might propose any measure ; and as to pasnng laws, he and the Legislative Council are now equally weak. What asnstance does he or the English Ministry derive, to this end, from a Le^slative Council ? They do not — they cannot forward a law through the House of Assembly at present. How then can any one believe that the government would, on this head be weaker than at present, suppoang the coundl abolished ? These observations apply to every law, whether regarding trade or any other matter ; I will therefore now pass to the second consideradon. It may be said that the House of Assembly would abolish a large portion of the present offices in the colony, and thus m »£|f£piES FRpPO$E:p. deprive the English people of the means of deriving support from their Canadian colony. It is somewhat remarkable how all the arguments of the pretended favourers of EngUsh in- terests invariably insinuate that the dominion of England is a mischievous dominion. In answer to this objection I ask, are the offices now existing necessary or not ? If necessary, what reason has any one to believe that they would not be continued. The House of Assembly has hitherto preserved these offices, having always had the same power to abolish them as would be given to them by the proposed alteration. The House moreover is not entirely destitute of sense, and is as likely to perceive whether an office is or is not neces- sary without the as»stance of a Legislative Council as with it. If, indeed, the offices are not necessary (and by the manner of those who make this objection, we are led to be- lieve such to be their opinion), then they are continued by an evil influence, and fox an evil end. The end being, ac- cording to these persons, to forward English interests ; the consequence, that English interests are mischievous to the colony, is again thrust upon us. But, as before, I will not entertain iSuch an insinuation ; I will assume the offices to be necessary offices, and taking the past conduct of the As- sembly as an example of its future behaviour, we may fairly assert that the offices being necessary will be continued. So ipuch for the injury to be done to English interests. -^^-^ Let us now see the benefits to be derived to the ' 1. The first benefit will be, the ridding the colony of all the load of expense entailed by the mere existence of a double Legislative Assembly. '^ r . ^. - S. The second would be, the exclusion of all persons in the government, not really interested therein. 3. The third, the exclusion of such as are improperly interested. 4. The fourth, the prevention of discord between the different members of the government and the different classes of society. EEMJBDIES PROPOSED. 199 ,8 Of the first benefit I need say nothing ; the matter is too obyious.to need comment The remainder need some ex- planation. ^ The excluaon of persons not really interested in the busi- ness of government is an important matter; though not usually esteemed as highly as it deserves. A man not in- terested in any proceeding is generally, as regards that proceeding, an idle man; he, by his idleness, delays its execution; moreover, not having much interest in the consideration of questions arising, he takes not the due care to form opinions repecting them. He is also not de- sirous of having his opinion opposed or discussed, because trouble is thereby created. He thus usually fonus wrong judgments, and is staunch in maintaining them, using, as his means of supporting his own doctrines, the strengdi of idleness — a dull, silent, dogged oppoation. In the present Legislative Council there are some few members placed in this situation. They have little interest in the designs of the major part ; they are, therefore, not very acdvely mis- chievous, but generally, from mere habit, and sometimes from a species of sympathy, go with the prevailing party. On such questions as are really open questions, the/ act as I have described idle men usually to act; not very solicitous whether they come to a right determination, but peculiarly stiff in that which they have first determined to hold. These are excrescences which it would be well to lop ofil .^w<.? sij v'fiii-: mu Si ■im\:y^'4^iu i^ The excluding from the Legislature persons who have a mischievous interest, is a benefit upon which I need not enlarge; neither need I spend much time in endeavouring to show that such persons have existed, and do exist in the present Council. The whole preceding observations of this work have almost all tended to support this proposition : I can add nothing to what has already been advanced ; so that if I should now attempt a proof of the matter, I should merely repeat what has already been Itud before the reader. It may, however, be well to observe, that this influence of mischievous interest over the determinations of the Legisla- 200 R£M£DI£S FROPqSED. m i; tiye Councils has been the great source of the evils which have hitherto existed in the Canadian Government ; that to destroy the influence of such mischievous interest, is to destroy, in fact, the evils resulting from it ; that, in truth, the question at present is, not whether the measure I propose will destroy this evil, but whether, in so doing, other and greater evils may not necessarily arise. This question, I believe, I have already settled, by the answers given to ob- jections raised upon the matter. One objection, however, remains, which deserves consideration, and which is usually advanced with no small degree of confidence by those who seek to maintain the present mischievous order of things. How, it is asked, are you to prevent discord from arising between the Governor and the House of Assembly, and creating all the mischiefs which now exist in consequence of hindrance to the buidness of government ? The answer is easy. . .-^^i. ^ The present hindrance arises from an opposition existing among the members of the Legislature ; which opposition is created by a difference of interests in these two branches. . It is the interest of one branch to permit the Executive Council to act without control ; to derive whatever wealth it posubly can from the country, without being subject to inspection or hindrance : it is the interest of the House of Assembly to prevent this. This difference of interests would not exist between the Governor and the House. The Governor is the representative of England, but England has interests identical with those of the colony ; and the interests of the colony are fairly represented by the House of Assembly*. How then can discord arise between the Governor and the House. They may indeed take a different view of the same subject, merely from circumstances uncon- nected with interest ; but such differences seldom last long, and are not likely to create discord. Discussion must in the * If any person assert that the present representation is not a &ir one, I answer, make any alteration therein which more nearly approximates to the perfect representation of the interests of every individual in the commimity. Of the composition of the HouM of Assembly 1 shall immediately speak. hemedies proposed. 201 b o o e end put an end to opposition in concliiinons, where such opposition is the result solely of the understanding. 1 mth will eventually prevail over error, when error is not backed by interest. m^p^m'v''? 4,r»*?«^*'?^/^r;* It may be said, however, that the Governor will have precisely the same interest to derive wealth from the com- munity as have the Legislative and Executive Councils ; and that by this means discord will arise. This, again, is paying a bad compliment to English dominion. How does the Governor possess this interest more than other servants of the public ? And how does it happen that, possessing such an evil interest, he has power to turn it to so bad a purpose as creating discord, and hindering the operations of the Grovemment. In the case of the President of the United States, the same interest must exist ; but he does not promote it. Why ? Because he would thereby lose the good-will of the country, and would inevitably lose his situation : so with the Governor of Canada ; he might possess the same interest, but he would not dare to forward it, because the wisdom and justice of the English Govern- ment would produce precisely the same effect as the self- interest of the people of the United States. The English Government would recall an officer who used his power to so bad a purpose. To assert that they would not do so^ would be to assert, that the control of the English Ministry over their servant is inferior to the control of the United States people over their servant ; it is, in fact, asserting, and that pretty broadly, that the Government of England is not so good a Grovemment as the colony could institute if left to its own guidance; which is again a proposition I can by no means consent to entertain. Having di&\!ussed the difficulties connected with this part of the subject, I will pass to the consideration of the compo- sation of the House of Assembly. Among the persons who call themselves Liberals, in. Canada, there are two parties; one is composed of a few commercial men of wealth, who have had sufficient penetnu «#- 202 REMEDIES FBOPOSED. tion to detect the evils of the present Government, to see that they themselves derive no benefit therefrom ; they are therefore opposed to the present Government, and from this oppoation are conndered persons of liberal feelings. Existing evib pres^g upon ourselves, though they make us join with true philanthropists, by no means make us philan- thropists ourselves. The desire to benefit the country by op- position, and the desire to benefit our own individual interests, may lead to conduct in some cases similar, while opposition is alone concerned ; but when remedies are to be proposed, when, after having pulled down, we are called upon to build up, the plans and behaviour of the merely selfish opposer, and his truly liberal compeer becomes widely difierent. Among his first class of opposers are to be numbered the party in Canada I have just mentioned; among the second class come the second party above alluded to, viz. such persons who are opposed to the Government, because they deem it inju- rious to the general welfare. Two parUes thus existing — two parties having such different ends in view, though the means adopted by them have hitherto been the same, it is not to be wondered at, that their plans of reform should be widely dis- similar. The first party propose so to regulate the repre- sentation of the country, that a large portion of the members should be returned by persons connected with themselves in feelings and interests ; the second party propose, that the representation of the country should, in fact, represent the whole people ; and, as a means to this end, they propose, that of the population the greater number should have the greatest weight, that regulating the representation by the population, the French Canadians must of necesnty be, from their numbers, the persons having the greatest sway in the House of AssemUy. Nine-tenths of the people are French Canadians; and it is mcmstrous, say this second party, to give the last tenth an equal, or more than equal, share in the Government of the country. English interests, meaning thereby the interest of persons speaking English in the colony, ought not, say they, to be dominant ; the first REMEDIES PROPOSED. 203 BNTC party exclaim agunst this asseruon, and when called upon to explain why they oppose so reasonable an opinion, they are obliged to confess, that they believe the English, that is, their own interests, to be of more worth than those of the re- maining population ; in other words, one-tenth of the popu- lation, possessing one-tenth of the whole property of the community, is to be set over and considered of more import- ance than the other nine-tenths. To state this monstruous proportion is to refute it. n. ot u-ip son mniM a What then, I may be asked, is the reform most desirable ? My answer is, to make the representation of the people an hourly increasing representation ; increasing with the increase of the population, and in precise proportion to that increase. Let this be done without reference to any party, to any sect, to any language. If ever it should happen that the ma- jority of the people should be of English extmction, the same principles which now render it just for the French Canadians, being the majority, to be the dominant section, would then render it just that the English Canadians should possess the chief sway. Principles do not change, though our circumstances may ; but men are too apt to use a just principle so long as it accords with their interests, and dis- card it so soon as it becomes inconvenient : and it is to be feared that many who now insist on the propriety of the major part of the interests of a country being the subject of major consideration, would, under different circumstances, turn round and desert dieir principle. I beseech my country- men to let no man lead them into this error. That which is just for them to-day, will, under the same circumstances, be just for their neighbour to-morrow. The same principle which ought to govern the representation of the country now, ou^t to govern it a century hence: the greater number of interests ought to be the subject of greater con*- aideration. They, however, who would induce the people to believe that the population, because differently descended, have different interests — are enemies to the people — are blind or dishonest guides. My countryman, who dwells in the \\ 'Ik' 204 REMEDIES PROPOSED. township of Godmanchester, has the same interest in good government that I have, who dwell upon the seigneurie of ' He, like myself, wants justice cheap ; wants per- fect protection for his person and his property. He, like me, wants good schools and good roads ; wise and frugal repre- sentatives. In short, he wants a good government — so do I. In what then do we differ ? He, being an honest man, does not desire to plunder my house : I have no desire to plunder his. He does not wish to disturb me while worshipping according to my reli^on ; I have no wish to interrupt his prayers. He, if honest, has no desire to make me his slave, to rule over me : I want not to rule over him. All I want, all he wants is, to be peaceful and undisturbed in our honest vocation^. Let him not believe that deceitful, treacherous, pretended friend who would teach him any other doctrine. Let him live in good fellowship with his neighbour ; and whether that neighbour be a French or Anglo-Canadian, so long as he is one of the people, let him be assured they both have precisely the same interests in common ; that they are. in truth, members of the same community. The House of Assembly last year acted upon this prin- ciple; and the reader, by turning to the Appendix (No. XV.), will there learn, that a fair representation was by them pro- posed, and the Bill, with few amendments from the Legis- lative Council, has passed through both Houses, and is one of those left for the approbation of Hi» Majesty.* To the House I would say, persevere in this honest course, and eventually you murt succeed. A perfect representation is essential to the happiness of the great majority of the natimi ; and, as that nation^s representatives, it is your duty to strive stedfastly for its attainment To the government of England I say, — Abolish the Le^slaUve Council, and you will have done all that is needed of you towards providing fi>i Jie welfare of Canada. * It has since received the sanction of His M^yesty. f-..;-^ ,;• .•-y.V J* rt.:- t :ri^i >;;,/•, n;^;;* .,, APPENDIX. » . ~ '■'r.'.t "Mil :'4> r/|jd ;?^»».t m JJSCT >iV.»iK--M'.t>Tt- tWM- .-'JJ^IJ^W «f *««5-f: ■i*Xi:. b«kiA^;fiiwi. .to .5 ^Mmi^' APPENDIX. u .*« No. I. 7^ Saguenay Territory, f OR several reasons, which will appear in the sequel, I think it advantageous to lay before the public information respecting this important part of Lower Canada. To the Government at home, and to settlers, the subject may be properly regarded as one of considerable interest In latitude 48« 2V north, and 72o 3(K west longitude, in the middle of the course of the river St Lawrence, a little above the isle of Bic, where all vessels coming from Europe, or other parts of the world, can arrive without much danger, even without the aid of pilots, is situated an immense and deep river, called the Saguenay, which takes its principal source in the lake St Jean, which much resembles the lakes so well known in Upper Canada. The mouth of the river Saguenay forms the harbour of Tadousac, wherein ships of the greatest burden can ride with perfect safety in the most tempestuous weather, owing to the high lands by which the harbour is surrounded, and which rise immediately from the water. As I am desirous of giving my readers a particular description of this portion of the country, hitherto most shamefully neglected, but which must, eventually, become of the highest po-. litical importance*, I shall reserve whatever observations it may be requisite to make for the end of this article, and at present lay before them extracts of the evidence given by different persons before the Committee of the House of Assembly. Lieutenant-Colonel Bouchette, Surveyor-General of the province, appeared before the Committee, and said:— * Diffisrent tm,'tj% have taken place tbii year whieb I have no donbt, when pabliihed, will tboroiigbly corroborate vaj statement. SOS APPENDIX. ^ " Lower Canada comprehends an extent of territory of 150,000 superficial miles ; of that great superficies, not more than about 25,000 to]30,000 may be said to have been explored and tolerably known, and about one-half thereof actually surveyed; therefore, it appears that about four-fifths of Lower Canada remain unexplored and but little known, and even that is obtained from sketches and descriptions through travellers, traders, and aborigines of the soil — the Indians." On referring to the most recent maps of Canada, it will be perceived, how- ever, that numerous large rivers flowing towards the St Lawrence, and taking their rise in the mountains which divide these waters from those which dis- charge themselves into Hudson's Bay, traverse an immense tract of country, the most considerable of which are the Saguenay, the St Maurice, and the Grand, or Ottawa river. The Saguenay, which is navigable for large vessels to Chicoutimy, a distance of about ninety miles, and thence, for boats, to lake St John, fertilizes in its course a wide expanse of country, by innumerable tributary streams and branches on either side, which should form a compara- tive view of the extent of territory fit for culture lying along the borders of the St Lawrence; ahd its branches possess equal advantages in a proportional degree. The same may be said of the Ottawa, whose principal source rues in lake Temiskaming, traversing (to its confluence into the St Lawrence) a ^^ace of country of about 300 miles. The river St Maurice, although nul sa wide as either of the former, winds through as great a space of country as the Saguenay. Can it be doubted that, possessing such natural advantages, such exhaustless treasures, that any encouragement held out with a view of colo- nizii^ that valuable tract of country, would fail in its object ? Francois Verrault appeared before the Committee, and said : — ' " That he was sixty-five years old, and that, from the age of fifteen to last fall, he had remained in the Saguenay country; that the river Saguenay is twenty leagues from its mouth to Chicoutimy, as far as which place the tide extends ; the general breadth of the river is three quarters of a league ; that it is extremely deep until within three leagues of Chicoutimy." ' On being asked what streams flowed into the Saguenay or into lake St John, their length, breadth, depth, and course respectively, how far navigable, and what kind of fish were found in the Saguenay or in lake St John, or in the streams which empty themselves into either, his answer was : — ^ " There are many : the river St Marguerite, navigable for canoes through an extent of forty leagues, empties itself into the Saguenay, seven leagues from its mouth on the north side ; the river L'Ance St Jean, navigable for canoes fifteen leagues, empties itself into the Saguenay, on the south side, two leagues above the river St Marguerite, L'Ance de la Trinity, the Bale des Ha, Ha, the river &VaIin, all navigable to canoes, from twelve to fifty leagues, fall into the Saguenay ; and many streams in which there is excellent salmon fishery. The river Chicoutimy, where the port is situated, flows from the south, is eight arpents wide, and navigable for thirty leagues in canoes. Above the fort of Chicwdtimy, the distance, as far as lake St John, is thirty leagues, by APPENDIX. S09 tbcSaguena]r,wluchfi>miitlieotttbtof UwtlalM. TherifmrChiootttimyufonMd by the lake Tthagtmi (long lake), Mven league* long; four riTen, navigable for canoes, empty themselves into this lake, and another into the Saguenay. At the distance of three-quarters of a league another lake is reached, jmned by a smaller one and other rivers. Lake St John is fourteen leagues long and fourteen wide ; two leagues from a small river which empties itself into that lake, is a considerable river, navigable for canoes, thirty leagues, and is seven arpents wide; it is called Metabit»houaHf where there is a port " On the north side of lake St John is the river PMbanea (the curious river) ; this name is given to that river because its water is clear, and game and fish abound there. It is navigable for canoes, and is situated twelve leagues from the outlet of lake St John. Two leagues higher up is the river MuUuaM (the large rock), navigable for forty leagues, at least; by this river, at least forty small lakes and carrying places are passed to reach lake Mistassini, which empties itself into Hudson's Bay : this lake is at least ninety leagues long, by sixty in breadth, and foil of islands ; some of these islands are large. Another lake, called Temiikaming (very deep lake), leads towards the ports in the rear of Montreal, but where he had never travelled. In all the lakes and rivers fish aboimd, that is to say, pike, white fish (three feet long), salmon trout ; he had taken some weighing forty-two pounds ; another kind of trout, only found in lakes where the water is clear, the Indians called it Maingimeht (which means the long fish), it is extremely fat of excellent flavour, some- times two or three feet long and eight inches thick ; there is a great deal of poiston dori, perehaudet, carp of two kinds, white and red; he had seen red c?rp two feet and a half long, &c. &c. " He had only been seventy leagues from Mistasrini ; the most common timber along the outlet is red spruce : there is also poplar, birch, and a great deal of swamp spruce. " He had gone round twice to Three Rivers, by the Saguenay." The description of his travelling would not be interesting to the generality of my readers, and therefore I will proceed at once to matters of more general importance. I must observe, however, that the number of lakes and rivers, apparently communicating or at very small distances from each other, men- tioned by this witness and many others, is perfectly astonishing, and shows the necessity of exploring and settling, as soon as possible, a coundy wher^ there seems to be so many natural and local advantages. On being asked what was the nature of the soil, and when spring and winter began in the various parts through which he had travelled, his answer was : "That the soil about Tadoussac was mere sand, and only fit for the culture of potatoes ; on ascending the Saguenay, all the bays and the in- terior on both sides consisted of good soil, fit for cultivation ; there waa little difierence between the climate of that place and that of Quebec ; all sorts of pulse, and mdons and cucumbers ripened there; towards Chicoutimy, the gen- tlemen of that part had gardens which produced cucumbers, melons, onions, and, in a word, every thing that was produced in Quebec; towards lake ^ John, and all around it the lands were excellent ; the Jesuits fdnrmerly bad p i * 810 APPENDIX* * • convent and • fiurm there i some plum, epple, and cherry trees, end i vinet planted hf them, ttill exist, and the ftirrowi made by the plough were to be diicemed i the settlement is at the entrance of the river Mtttabitakouam ; he had gone fifteen leagues up that river, and found the soil fine and very fit tar cultivation, and the climate fitvourable; for twenty-five leagues, in ascending the rivers Mistassini and Assuapmousoin, which flow into lake St John, the soil and climate were equally good, &o. &c. It was to be re- marked that, although very often the margin of rivers of a certain magnitude did not admit of cultivation, upon removing a little firom the shore, or upon passing the mountaina which skirt those rivers, there was always found a level country, where the soil was fertile to a very great distance, and the soil along the small rivers, which empty themselves into the larger ones, was invariably good and fiertile for a very great distance. " From Tadoussac to the foot of the rapids Pemonka, for a tract of seventy-five lesgues, there was a great quantity of lofty trees, consisting of white pine, red pine, ash, spruce of every kind, elm, black birch and maple, besides several other kinds of timber, as white birch, poplar, aspin, gray and red spruce, &c. &c." On being asked, if these various timber could be brought, by the several streams he had mentioned, to some place where they might be shipped for exportation by the river St Lawrence, his answer was : — , wifi/^- " That timber might be felled on the borders of several rivers which flow into lake St John and lake Tsinogomi, which, if drifted along the shore of each of those rivers, would of themselves float to Chicoutimy, where vessels may come, and they might be shipped there." ii -isiili c-,^ w^ i According to this testimony, as well as that of many other persons, which testimony need not now be adduced, but can be found upon a reference to the Report, my readers will perceive, that the House of Assembly has omitted no pains to obtain every information possible respecting this part of the country, which, a short time after the discovery of Canada, seriously occupied the attention of the French government, and upon which the Jesuits formed establishments, the remains whereof are yet to be perceived. It is to be regretted, that fw the trifling sum of from jSl.OOO to i6 1,200 per annum, all the north side of the river St Lawrence, to the seigneurie Mount Mtqrray, the property of Mr. Fraser, many leagues above the river Saguenay, has, under the title of the King's posts, together with a large part of the territory called Saguenay territory, been let for so long a period to some Scotch merchants, known under the name of the North- West Company ; and it is also a matter of surprise, as well as of Uame, that the Government until Lord Dalhousie's visit to this section of the country, have voluntarily neglected to make inquiries as to this interesting district Without wishing to enter into the causes of the dispute between Lord Selkirk and the North- West Company, we believe it right to say, thft his Lordship's extraordinary enterprise to the Red River has had die effi^t of bring^ to light circumstances, and destroying prejudices and interest, which have retarded the settiement of lands, the most eligible in the country for the reception of the surplus population of the mother country, APPENDIX. 811 •nd of awakrainf Uw attention of the British Ooremiiitnt upon • natter of the higbett importance. That his plane were at first represented b^ certain interested persons as chimerical, need surprise no one : in spite of all oppo* sition, however, he surmounted erery obstacle, and, bjr his plan of colonisa- tion, destroyed the monopoly of the North- West Company* { which monopoly exercised a pernicious influence orer the welfare of the country, tending botli to retard its advancement, and demoralize, if we believe the statement of hit Lordship, its population. Lord Selkirk, by this hasardous enterprise, united his own and the public interest, and identified himself so much with die welfiirr) of the Canadians, that his death was to them a subject of unfeigned regret We have thought it requisite to mention this circumstance (t» pamnt), m order to make the English public acquainted with the most dis- tant causes which have retarded the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown ; to give them also a more correct idea of the difficulties to be sur- mounted, the prejudices to be combated, and the private interests which are constantly found in opposition to the public welfare. This opposition hss unfortunately been the lot of all the colonies ; but it is to be hoped that, in time, the evils will become less, that the troubles will cease and antrosities be appeased, and that a happy change will be efiiected by the judicious repre- sentations of enlightened persons. We now return to the advantages possessed by the harbour of Tadoussac in a political point of view. I pass by the consideration of the advantages pos- sessed by various other bays, ev<;n up to the river Chiooutimy, for the establish- ment of an agricultural population, which might quickly extend to lake St. Jonn, and many other lakes in the same direction, and by this means facilitate the communication of the interior, and at length reach to Montreal and Upper Canada. From the facility of its entrance, the river Saguenay ought to be considered as the key of Canada, for it cannot be doubted that a port which is situated thirty-six leagues below Quebec, and which can receive, with perfect ease and safety, vessels of the largest burden — to which vessels may sail without the assistance of a pilot, and which has the advantage over Quebec of being open one month earlier for navigation, must, in time, become a place of the highest consequence, not only in a commercial point, but also of the greatest political importance. In case of a sudden declaration of war by the United States, at a time when supplies could be sent from England by no other route, not even by New Brunswick, this port would be open, and all the necessary succours might be dispatched to any part of the country. All that is needed for this desirable otject, is to form settlements at the mouth of the river Saguenay, an4 the inhabitants would quickly find the means of communicating whh th* ciqpfital, aa well as with any other part of the country, in every season of the 'year. It is known that Quebec is not more than three days' journey distant fnm the setileinent formerly established by the Jesuits on lake St John, and * Since tliat period, the Korth.Weit Compsny have been oblifcd to conte to with the rifsl conpaajr of the nndioB
  • m the trade in peltries. The attetidon of the Government might well be directed to these matters ; and probably would be so, if the disputes which have so long irritated the public, and checked improvement, were happily settled. The time, indeed, appears to have at length arrived when such a fortunate consummation may fairly be expected ; and it will not be among the smallest of the benefits derived firom this union, that our trade will be a matter of consideration to the Legislature. t * At Three Riferi, a Urge iron founderjr hai been for jreui in «.^iitence. 214 APPENDIX. No. III. Historical and Descriptive Works, The best hutoiy of Canada extant is that by Father Charlevoix, a Jesuit, bom at St Quentin, in 1684, entitled " Histoire G£n£rale de la Nouvelle France," in 8 vols. 4to. ; or 6 vols. 12mo. Parw, 1744. " A Topographical Description of the Province of Lower Canada; with Remarks upon Upper Canada, and on the relative Connection of both Provinces with the United States of America. By Joseph Bouchette, Esq., Surveyor General of Lower Canada," published in London, in 1 815, is an excellent work, already well known in England and all parts of America. With the assistance of his maps, which are upon an extended scale, a person in this country, willing to go and settle in the colony, may find in that work the necessary information to guide him in the choice of a site*. i, <,..>. " History of Canada, from its first Discovery to the Peace of 1768. By William Smith, Esq., Clerk of the Parliament, and Master in Chancery of the Province of Lower Canada." This work was printed in Quebec, in 181d, but did not appear till a few years afterwards. It has its merit, being well com- piled, and I can easily believe, as he says himself, that his materials have been collected from the most authentic documents, — the colony records, the Jesuits' journals, and Charlevoix's history ; but not so easily that he has shown no partiality or prejudice. *< Memoirs of the Administration of the Colonial Government of Lower Canada, hova the Year 1807 to 1820, giving an Account of the late American War, and the Difficulties under which the late unfortunate Sir George Prevost was placed during his Administration. By Robert Christie, Esq., Law Clerk of the House of Assembly." These Memoirs were published in Quebec ; they are very interesting, and, althpugh intended to please the ruling power, im- partially written. v?f)irr.Vi t '.■ ** Les premiers Rudiments de la Constitution Britannique, traduits de 1' An- glais de Mons. Brooke, prte^te d'un Precis historique, et suivis d'Observa- tions Bur la Constitution du Bas-Canada," is an excellent littie work, published in French by Jaques Labrie, Esq., M.P.P. — Montreal, 1827. -z In 1828 appeared, " The Political Annals of Lower Canada, being a Review of the Political and Legislative History of that Province;" a work as full of information as it is of prejudice against the French Canadians. Several English travellers have given an account of the Canadas ; but " Gray's Letters" ■re certainly the most correct I have seen, although not divested of pr^udice. »■■< - .... * A mm TopofnphieU Oeacrlptloa of the province of Lower Canada, with an improved Map, npoB a laice icale, will ibortljr be published in London, bjr the Mue Author, mmitt the nnctloa of the Provineial Ctovenuaent ; and, ae fu at we have bees able to judfe, hlgblj deMrvInf the sttratlon and the encouragement of the public. APPENDIX. 215 ,'.. < mi i.-»t'>yib^( 'J No. IV. Articles of Capitulaiion agreed on between cr^.TowMSHEND anci M. BE Ramsay, Commander qf Quebec ^^^^ . ^ .■iA**,-' ' Article 1. M. De Ramsay demands the honoun of war for his garrison, and that it shall be conducted back to the army in safety, by the shortest road, with their arms, baggage, six pieces of brass cann -,. -x '^:5f* if '■"•*'> •■ Granted, Art. 4. That the effects belonging to the absent officers, or inhabitants, shall not be touched. -■•- v. as.>!.vu.vi>,' ,..i; ?/. w.,.,«4f '*- •>• Qranted. Art. 6. That tk. said inhabitants shall not be removed, nor obliged to quit their houses, until their condition shall be settled by a definitive treaty between their Most Christian and Britannic Majesties. ■^ Qranted. ' -' -• *#,*^<^ ■,-.->• ;> .;,■«: Art. 6. That the exercise of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion shall be preserved, and that safeguards shall be granted to the houses of the clergy, and to the monasteries, particularly to die bishop of Quebec, who, animated with zeal for religion and charity for the people of his diocese, desires to reside constantly in it, to exercise freely and with that decency which his character and the sacred mysteries of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion require, his episcopal authority in the town of Quebec, whenever he shaU think it proper, until the possession of Canada shall have been decided by a treaty between their Most Christian and Britannic Mi^esties. The free exercise of the R(mian religion ; saft^ards granted to all religious persons, as well as to the bishop, who shall be at liberty to come and exercise freely, and with decency, the functions of his office, whenever he shall think proper, until the possession of Canada shaU have been decided between their Britannic and Most Christiaa Mi^jesties. 216 APP£NDIX. Art. 7. That the artillery and warlike stores shall be delivered up boni Jliie, and an inventory taken thereofl ,vv, • ^ v;\ ., v •,. dranted. Art. 8. That the sick, wounded, commissaries, chaplains, physicians, sur- geons, apothecaries, and other persons employed in the hospitals, shall be treated agreeable to the cartel settled between their Most Christian and Britannic Mi^estiea, on the 6th of February, 1759. Ortmted. im^ Art. 9. That before delivering up the gate and the entrance of the towns to the En^^h forces, their General will be pleased to send some soldiers, to be placed as safeguards at the churches, convents, and chief habitations. , Granted. ■■■tm" Art. 10. That the commandor of the dty of Quebec shall be permitted to ■end advice to the Marquess de Vaudreuil, Governor-General, of the reduction of the town; as also thiv General shall be allowed to write to tiie French ministry, to inform them thereof Art. 11. That the present capitulation shall be executed accordi.ng to its form and tenor, vrithout being liable to more execution, under pretence of reprisals, or the non-execution of any preceding capitulation. Onmted, m^..:^r^»k:n V The present treaty has been made and settied between us, and duplicates signed at the camp before Quebec, tiie 18th day of September, 1759. - >• ''> G. TOWNSHEND. DE RAMSAY. I^^^IGl^i'- 73 ' a«e ;,-H>>»«' tmrtfTf" Dl£ UAMSAX. No. V. Ariicles qf CapitidcUion between his Excellency General Amherst, Commander'inXJhief of His Britannic Ilia- jesty'^s Troops and Forces in North America, and his Excellency the Marquess de Vaudbeuil, Grand Cross of the Royal and Military Order qf St, Louisy Governor . and Lieuienant-Generaljbr the King in Canada, Article 1. Twenty-four hours after the signing of the present capitulation, the English General shall cause the troops of His Britannic Majesty to take possession of the gates of the town of Montreal ; and the English garrison shall not come into the pkwe till after the French troops shall have evacuated it v APPENDIX. 217 i-^r The whoie garriten tf Memtreal must laif down their arwu, and ihatt net serve during the present war. Immediately afttr tjke ^;ning ef the present capitulation, the King's troops shall take possession ef the gates, and shaU post the guards neeeuary to preserve good order in the town. kvt. 2. The troops and the militia^ who are in garrison in the town of Montreal, shall go out by the gate of , with all the honours of war, six pieces of cannon, and one mortar, which shaU be put on board the vessel where the Marquess de Vaudreuil shall embark, with ten rounds for each piece : the same shall be granted to the garrison of Trois Riviires, as t« the honours of war. Art. 8. The troops and militia who are in garrison in the fort of Jacques Carder, and in the island of St. Helen, and other forts, shall be treated in the same manner, and shall have the same honours ; and these troops shall go to Montreal, or Trois Rividres, or Quebec, to be there embarked for the first sea-port in France, by the shortest way. The troops who are in our posts situated on our frontiers, on the side of Acadia, at Detroit, Michili- makinac, and otiier posts, shall ei^oy the same honours, and be treated in the same manner. AU these troops are not to serve during the present imar, and shaU Ukewise ■:■ ^. 't^^ lay down their arms. The rest is granted, /".tsmturs-! «ms >»st'3ti» . 'i Granted. , ' Art. 18. The officers, soldiers, and all the followers of the troops who shall have their baggage in the fields, may send fior it before they depart without hindrance or molestation. .;,, ^ Granted. Art. 19. An hospital ship shall be provided by the English General, for such of the wounded and sick officers, soldiers, and seamen, as shall be in a condition to be carried to France, and shall likewise be victualled at the ex- pense of his Britannic Majesty. .iv:,i4;i.;«ji^ It shall be the same with teipad to the other wounded and sick officers, soldiers and sailors» as toon as they shall be recovered. They shall be at liberty to carry with diem their wives, children, servants, and baggage, and the sud soldiers and sailots shall not be sdicited ncNr forced to enter into the ser- vice of His Britannic M igesty. _ ... w|.it; u atf* ; • . Granted. 220 APPENDIX. Art. 20. A commissary and one of the King's writers shall be left to take care of the hospitals, and of whatever may relate to the service of His Most Christian Migesty. Ctranted. Art. 21. The English General shall also provide ships for carrying to France the officers of the Supreme Council of Justice, Police, Admiralty, and all other officers having commissions or brevets from His Most Christian Ma* jesty, for them, their families, servants, and equipages, as well as for the other officers ; and they shall likewise be victualled at the expense of His Britannic Migesty. They shall, however, be at liberty to stay in the colony, if they think proper, to settle their affairs, or to withdraw to France whenever they think fit. Granted : but tf they have papers relating to the government of the country they are to be delivered to us. Art. 22. If there are any military officers whose affairs should require their presence in the colony till next year, they shall have liberty to stay in it, after having obtained the permission of the Marquess de Vaudreuil for that purpose, and without being reputed prisoners of war. All those whose private affairs shall require their stay in the country, and who shall have the Marquess de VaudreuiFs leave for so doing, shall be allowed to renudn till their affairs are settled. Art. 23. The conunissary for the King's provisions shall be at liberty to stay in Canada till next year, in order to be enabled to answer the debts he has contracted in the colony, on account of what he has furnished ; but if he should prefer to go to France this year, he shall be obliged to leave, till next year, a person to transact his business. This private person shall preserve and have liberty to carry off all his papers without being inspected ; his clerks shaH have leave to stay in the colony or to go to France ; and, in this last case, a passage and subsistence shall be allowed them on board the ships of His Britannic Migesty, for them, their fiunilies, and their baggage. Granted. Art. 24. The provisions, and other kind of stores, which shall be found in the magazines of the commissary, as well in the town of Montreal and of Trois Rivieres as in the country, shall be preserved to him, the said pro- visions belonging to him and not to the King, and he shall be at liberty to sell them to ihe French or to the English. Every thing that is actually in the nuigazines, destined for the use of the troops, is to be delivered to the English commissary for the King^s forces. Art. 25. A passage to France shall likewise he granted on board of His Britannic Migesty's ships, as well as victuals, to such officers of the India company as shall be willing to go thither, and they shall take with them th?ir fiunilies, servants, and baggage. The chief agent of the said company, in case he should choose to go to France, shall be allowed to leave such person as he shall think prdper till next year, to settle the affidrs of the said company, and to recover such sums as are due to them. The said chief agent shall keep possession of all the papers belonging to the said company, and they shall not be liable to inspection. Granted. ^>■f^w^r':) APPENDIX. 221 Art. 26. The said company shall be maintained in the property of the ecarlatines and castors which they may have in the town of Montreal ; they shall not be touched under any pretence whatever, and the necessary fincilities shall be given to the chief agent to send, this year, his castors to France, on board his Britannic Miyesty's ships, paying the freight on the same footing as the English would pay it. Granted, with regard to what may belong to the company or to private pertont ; but tf His Moat Christian Majesty has any share in U, that must become the property of the King. , Art. 27. The free exercise of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion, shall subsist entire, in such manner, that all the states, and the people of the towns and countries, places and distant posts, shall continue to assemble in the churches, and to frequent the sacraments as heretofore, without being molested in any manner, directly or indirectly. These people shall be obliged, by the English Government, to pay to the priests, the tithes and all the taxes they were used to pay under the govern- ment of His Most Christian Majesty. Granted, as to the free exercise of their religion, — the obligation of paying the tithes to the priests, will depend on the King's pleasure*. Art. 28. The chapter, priests, curates, and missionaries, shall continue, with an entire liberty, the exercise and functions of their cures, in the parishes of the towns and countries. Granted. Art. 29. The grand vicars, named by the chapter to administer to the diocese during the vacancy of the episcopal see, shall have liberty to dwell in the towns or country parishes, as they shall think proper ; they shall, at all times, be free to visit the different parishes of the diocese with the ordinary ceremonies, and exercisi? all the jurisdiction which they exercised under the French dominion ; they shall ei^oy the same rights in case of death of the future bishop, of which mention will be made in the following article. Granted, except what regards the following article. Art. 30. If by the treaty of peace Canada should remain in the power of His Britannic Migesty, His Most Christian M^jes^ shall continue to name the bishop of the colony, who shall always be of the Roman communion, and under whose authority the people shall exercise the Roman religion. Refused. Art. 31. The bishop shall, in case of naed, establish new parishes, and provide for the rebuilding of his cathedral and his episcopal palace ; and, in the mean time, he shall have the liberty to dwell in the towns or parishes, as -.ii t*':, w * There Is ao compuUion retorted to by the priests ia the pajftnent of tithes at present in Canada, althouRfa we are not certain that they eonld not put in foree the Edit du Consetl SuperUur de Quebec in 17fl«, sanctioned by the King in 1707, wherein they an entitled to the twentyaiith buhel of all kind of grain. It cannot be expected, however, that they can or will perform their varions duties without some remuneration, and those who refuse to comply to certain established regulations in tlie diffBrent paridiea are, of course, excluded from the pale of the church. like all other priesthood, th«y are exceed- *PR'y jealous of their rights« i^fy i^n :f^nfi.: .-• ">i« ,»Tu«ift«» i^ :t'^%%i ufu*. ,»w. ,»^.'if-. . £28 APPENDIX. he ihall Judge proper—he shall be at liberty to visit his diocese with the ordinary ceremonies, and exercise all the jurisdiction which his predecessor exercised under the French dominion, save that an oath of fidelity, or a promisi to do nothing contrary to His Britannic Majesty's service, may be required of him. This Article it comprited under the foregoing. Art. 32. The communities of nuns shall be preserved in their constitutions and privileges; they shall continue to observe their rules; they shall be exempted from lodging any military; and it shall be forbid to trouble them in their religious exercises, or to enter their monasteries. Safeguards shall even be given them, if they desire them. Granted. Art. 38. The preceding article shall likewise be executed with regard to the communities of Jesuits and Recolets, and of the house of priests of St Sulpice, at MontreaL These last, and the Jesuits, shall preserve their right to nominate to certain ciu'acies and missions as heretofore. Refuted, till the King't pleasure be knoum. Art. 34. All the communities and all the priests shall preserve their movables, the property and revenues of the seignories, and other estates which they possess in the colony, of what nature soever they be, and the same estates shall be preserved in their privileges, rights, honours, and exemp> tions. J, (: ■ii,;i.. Granted. Art. 35. If the canons, priests, missionaries, the priests of the seminary of the foreig^n missions, and of St Sulpice, as well as the Jesuits and the Recolets, choose to go to France, a passage shall be granted them in His Britannic Majesty's ships; and they shall all have leave to sell in whole or in part the estates and movables which they possess in the colonies, either to the French or to the English, without the least hindrance or obstacle from the British Government They may take with them, or send to France, the produce of what nature soever it be, of the said .goods sold, paying the freight, as mentioned in Ae twenty-sixth article ; and such of the said priests who choose to go this year shall be victualled, during the passage, at the expense of His Britannic M^esty, and shall take with them their baggage. They shall be masters to dispose of their estates, and to send the produc* thereof, as well as their persons and all that belongs to them, to Franc^ Art. 36. If by the treaty of peace Canada remains to His Britanbic Migesty, all the French, Canadians, Acadians, merchants, and other persons, who choose to retire to France, shaU have leave to do so from the Eo^lish, General, who shall procure them a passage. And, nevertheless, if from this time to that decision, any French or Canadian merchants, or other persons, shall desfre to go to France, they shall likewise have leave from the Englbh General. Both the one and the other shall take with them their families, servants, and baggage. GroMted. Art. 37. The lords of manors, the military and civil officers, the Canadians, APPENDIX. 888 ai well in the towni u In the country, the French, settled or trading in the whole extent of the colony of Canada, and all other persona whataovrer, shall preserve the entire peaceable property and posseuion of their goods, noble and ignoble, movable and immovable merchandizes, furs, and other eflbcts, even their ships ; they shall not be touched, nor the least damage done to them, on any pretence whatsoever. They shall have liberty to keep, let, or sell them, as well to the French aa to the English, to take away the produce of them in bills of exchange, ftirs, specie, or other returns, whenever they shall judge proper to go to France, paying their fireight, as in the twenty- sixth article. They shall also have the ftirs which are in the posts above, and which belong to them, and may be on the way to MontreaL And for this purpose they shall have leave '.o send this year, or the next, canoes, fitted out, to fetch such of the said fan as shall have remained in those posts. Granted, as in ihe twtnty-tuth Article. Art. 88. All the people who have left Acadia, and who shall be found in Canada, including the frontiers of Canada, on the side of Acadia, shall have the same treatment as the Canadians, and shall ei^oy the same privileges. The King it to diipote t^ hie ancient tubfects ; in the mean time thep thall etyoy the tame privUegei at the Canadiant. Art. 39. None of the Canadians, Acadians, or French, who are now in Canada, and on the frontiers of the colony, on the side of Acadia, Detroit, Michilimakinac, and other places and ports of the countries above, the married and unmarried soldiers remaining in Canada, shall be carried or transported into the English colonies, or to old England, and they shall not be troubled for having carried arms. Granted; except toith regard to the Aeadiant. Art. 40. The savages, or Indian allies of His Most Christian Mig«!sty, shall be maintained in the lands they inhabit, if they choose to renuun there ; they shall not be molested on any pretence whatsoever, for having carried arms, and served His Most Christian Miyesty ; they shall have, as well aa the French, liberty of religion, and shall keep their missionaries ; the actvud vicars-general and the bishop, when the episcopal see shall be filled, shall have leave to send them new missionaries, when they shall judge it necessary. Granted, except the kut Article, which hat been already refuted. Art. 41. The French, Canadians, and Acadbuns, of what state and con- dition soever, who shall remain in the colony, shall not be forced to take arms against His Most Christian Miyesty or his allies, dwectly or indirectly, on any ooaasion whatsoever : the British Government shall only require of them an exact neutrality. Thej/ become tubjectt Granted. Art. 49. The inhabitants and other persons, who shall have suffered any damage in their goods, movable or immovable, which remained at Quebec, under the iaith of the capitulation of that city, may make their representations to the British Government, who shall render them due justice against the person to whom it shall belong. •'" "^^ ^*-" Granted. APPENDIX. 225 Art. iSO and lost The pretent capitulation ihail be inviolably executed in all iti articles, and boni fid« on both udea, notwithstanding any infraction and any other pretence with regard to the preceding capitidations, and without making use of reprisals. ^ Oranted. * P. S. Art. 51. The English General t,-hall engage, in case any Indiana remain after the surrender of this town, to prevent their coming into the towns ; and that they do not in any manner insult the subjects of His Most Christian M^esty. Care tlioll be taken, that the Indiani do not intuit any J|-=i'.ti /, A. B., do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to His Mt^esty King George, as lawful Sovereign of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and of these Provinces dependant on and belonging to the said Kingdom ; and that I will defend him to the utmost qf my power against all traiterous conspiracies and attempts whatever, which shall be made against his person, crown, and dignity ; and that I will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to His Majesty, his heirs or successors, all treasons and trai- terous conspiracies and attempts which I shall know to be against him, or any cf them : and all this I do swear without any equivocationf mental evasion, or secret reservation, and renouncing all pardons and dispensations from any person or power whatever to the contrary. So help me God. 30. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that whenever any Bill which has been passed by the Legislative Council, and by the House of Assembly, in either of the said provinces respectively, shall be presented, APPENDIX. SS9 for Hit Migetty't assent, to the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor of such province, or to the person administering His Mi^esty's government therein, such Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the govern- ment, shall, and he is hereby authorized and required to declare, according to his discretion, but subject nevertheless to the provbions contained in this Act, and to such instructions as may from time to time be given in that behalf by His Mi^esty, his heirs or successors, that he assents to such Bill in His Majesty's name, or that hf withholds His Mi\}e8ty's assent from such Bill, or that he reserves such Bill for the signification of His Migesty's pleasure thereon. 31. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that whenever any Bill, which shall have been so presented for His Majesty's assent to such Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government, shall, by such Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person admi- nistering the government, have been assented to in His Majesty's name, such Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person as aforesaid, shall, and he is hereby required, by the first convenient opportunity, to transmit to one of His Majesty's principal Secretaries of State an authentic copy of such Bill so assented to ; and that it shall and may be lawful, at any time within two years after such Bill shall have been so received by such Secretary of State, for His Majesty, his heirs or successors, by his or their order in Council, to declare his or their disallowance of such Bill ; and that such disallowance, together with a certificate, under the hand and seal of such Secretary of State, testifying the day on which such Bill was received as aforesaid, being signified by such Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the govern- ment, to the Legislative Council and Assembly of such province, or by proclamation, shall make void and annul the same, from and after the date of such signification. . 32. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no such Bill, which shall be so reserved for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure thereon, shall have any force or authority within either of the said provinces respectively, until the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, or person adminis- tering the government, shall signify, either by speech or message, to the Legislative Council and Assembly of such province, or by proclamation, that such Bill has been laid before His Majesty in Council, and that His Miyesty has been pleased to assent to the same ; and that an entry shall be made, in the journals of the said Legislative Council, of every such speech, message, or proclamation ; and a duplicate thereof^ duly attested, shall be delivered to die proper officer, to be kept amongst the public records of the province : and that no such Bill, which shall be so reserved as aforesaid, shall have any force or authority within either of the said provinces respectively, unless His M^esty's assent thereto shall have been so signified as aforesaid, within the space of two years from the day on which such Bill shall have been presented for His Majesty's assent to the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government of such province. 33. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all laws. i .*- 240 APPENDIX. statutes, and ordinances, which shall be in force on the day to be fixed in the manner hereinafter directed for the conunencement of this Act, within the said provinces, or either of them, or in any part thereof respectively, shall remain and continue to be of the same force, authority, and effect, in each of the said provinces respectively, as if this Act had not been made, and as if the said province of Quebec had not been divided ; except in so far as the same are expressly repealed or varied by this Act, or in so far as the same shall or may hereafter, by virtue of and under the authority of this Act, be repealed or varied by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Councils and Assemblies of the said provinces respectively, or in so far as the same may be repealed or varied by such temporary laws or ordinances as may be made in the manner herein- after specified. V'j 34. And whereas by an ordinance passed in the province of Quebec, the Governor and Council of the said province were constituted a court of civil jurisdiction, for hearing and determining appeals in certain cases therein specified, be it futther enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government of each of the said provinces respectively, together with such executive Council as shall be appointed by His Majesty for the affairs of such province, shall be a court of civil jurisdiction, within each of the said provinces respectively, for hearing and determining appeals within the same, in the like cases, and in the like manner and form, and subject to such appeal therefrom, as such appeals might before the passing of this Act have been heard and determined by the Governor and Council of the province of Quebec ; but subject nevertheless to such further or other provisions as may be made in this behalf, by any Act of the Legislative Council and Assembly of either of the said provinces respec- tively, assented to by His Majesty, his heirs or successors. '^v? - 35. And whereas, by the above-mentioned Act, passed in the fourteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty, it was declared, that the clergy of the Church of Rome, in the province of Quebec, might hold, receive, and enjoy their accustomed dues and rights, with respect to such persons only as should profess the said religion ; provided nevertheless, that it should be lawful for His Majesty, his heirs or successors, to make such provision out of the rest of the said accustomed dues and rights, for ^che encouragement of the Protes- tant religion, and for the maintenance and support of a Protestant clergy within the said province, as he or they should firom time to time think neces- sary and expedient : and whereas by His Majesty's royal instructions, given under His Majesty's royal sign manual on the third day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, to Guy Carleton, esquire, now Lord Dorchester, at that time His Miyesty's Captain- General and Governor-in-Chief in and ovar His Mjgesty's province of Quebec, His Majesty was pleased, amongst other things, to direct, " that no incum- bent professing the religion of the church of Rome, appointed to any parish in the said province, should be entitled to receive any tithes for lands or pos- sessions occupied by a Protestant, but that such tithes should be received by APPENDIX. 241 such persons as the sud Guy Carleton, esquire, His Majesty's Captain- General and Governor-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's said province of Quebec, should appoint, and should be reserved in the hands of His Majesty's Receiver-General of the said province, for the support of a Protestant clergy in His Majesty's said province, to be actually resident within the same, and not otherwise, according to such directions as the said Guy Carleton, esquire. His Majesty's Captain-General and Govemor-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's said province, should receive from His Majesty in that behalf; and that in like manner all growing rents and prof.ts of a vacant benefice should, during such vacancy, be reserved for and applied to the like uses:" and whereas His Majesty's pleasure has likewise been signified to the same efiect in His Majesty's royal instructions, given in like manner to Sir Frederick Haldimand, knight of the most honourable Order of the Bath, late His Majesty's Captain-General and Govemor-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's said province of Quebec ; and also in His Majesty's royal instructions, g^iven in like manner to the said Right Honourable Guy Lord Dorchester, now His Majesty's Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's said province of Quebec; be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said declaration and provision contained in the said above-mentioned Act, and also the said pro\'ision so made by His 'Majesty in consequence thereof, by his instructions ahpve recited, shall remain and continue to be of full force and efiect in each of the said two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada respectively, except in so far as the said declaration or provisions respectively, or any part thereof, shall be expressly varied or repealed by any Act or Acts which may be passed by the Legislative Council and Assembly of the said provinces respectively, and assented to by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, under the restriction hereinafter provided. 36. And whereas His Majesty has been graciously pleased, by message to both Houses of Parliament, to express his royal desire to be enabled to make a permanent appropriation of lands in the said provinces, for the support and maintenance of a Protestant clergy within the same, in proportion to such lands as have been already granted within the same by His Majesty : and whereas His Majesty has been graciously pleased, by his said message, further to signify his royal desire, that such provision may be made, with respect to all future grants of land within the said provinces respectively, as may best conduce to the due and sufficient support and maintenance of a Protestant clergry within the said provinces, in proportion to such increase as may happen in the population and cultivation thereof: therefore, for the purpose of more effectually fidfiUing His Majesty's gracious intentions as aforesaid, and of providing for the due execution of the same in all time to come, be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, thnt it shall and may be lawful for His Majesty, his heirs or successors, to authorize the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor of each of the said provinces respectively, or the person administering the government therein, to make, from and out of the lands of the Crown within such provinces, such allotment and appropriation of lands, for the support and maintenance of a Protestant clergy within the same, as may bear a du« mi 242 APPENDIX. proportion to the amount of such lands within the same as have at any time been granted by ur under the authority of His Majesty : and that whenever any g^rant of lands within either of the said provinces shall hereafter be made, by or under the authority of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, there shall at the same time be made, in respect of the same, a proportionable allotment and appropriation of lands for the above-mentioned purpose, within the township or parish to which such lands so to be granted shall appertain or be annexed, or as nearly a4jacent thereto as circumstances will admit ; and that no such grrant shall be valid or effectual unless the same shall contain a specifi- cation of the lands so allotted and appropriated, in respect of the lands to be thereby granted ; and that such lands, so allotted and appropriated, shall be, as nearly as the circumstances and native of the case will admit, of the like quality as the lands in respect of which the same are so allotted and appro- priated, and shall be, as nearly as the same can be estimated at the time of making such grant, equal in value to the seventh part of the lands so granted. 37. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all and every the rents, profits, or emoluments, which may at any time arise from such lands so allotted and appropriated as aforesaid, shall be applicable solely to the maintenance and support of a Protestant clergy within the province in which the same shall be situated, and to no other use or purpose whatever. 38. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful for His Majesty, his heirs or successors, to authorize the Go- vernor or Lieutenant-Governor of each of the said provinces respectively, or the person administering the government therein, from time to .time, with the advice of such Executive Council as shall have been appointed by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, within such province, for the affairs thereof, to constitute and erect, within every township or parish which now is or here- after may be formed, constituted, or erected within such province, one or more parsonage or rectory, or parsonages or rectories, according to the establish- ment of the church of England; and from time to time, by an instrument under the great seal of such province, to endow every such parsonage or rectory with so much or such part of the lands so allotted and appropriated as aforesaid, in respect of any lands within such township or parish, which shall have been granted subsequent to the commencement of this Act, or of such lands as may have been allotted and appropriated for the same purpose, by or in virtue of any instruction which may be given by His M^esty, in respect of any lands granted by His Majesty before the commencement of this Act, as such Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government shall, with the advice of the said Executive Council, judge to be expedient under the then existing circumstances of such township or parish. 39. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful for His Miyesty, his heirs or successors, to authorize the Go- ▼emor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government of each of the said provinces respectively, to present to every such parsonage or rectory an incumbent or minister of the church of England, who shall have been duly ordained according to the rites of the said church, and to supply APPENDIX. 243 from time to time such vacancies as may happen therein ; and that every person so presented to any such parsonage or rectory, shall hold and enjoy the same, and all rights, profits, and emoluments thereunto belonging or granted, as fully and ample, and in the same manner, and on the same terms and con- ditions, and liable to the performance of the same duties, as the incumbent of a parsonage or rectory in England. , 40. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that every such presentation of an incumbent or minister to any such parsonage or rectory, and also the enjoyment of any such parsonage or rectory, and of the rights, profits, and emoluments thereof, by any such incumbent or minister, shall be subject and liable to all rights of institution, and all other spiritual and ecclesiastical jurisdiction and authority, which have been lawfully granted by His Majesty's royal letters patent to the Bishop of Nova Scotia, or which may hereafter, by His Majesty's royal authority, be lawfiilly granted or ap- pointed to be administered and executed within the said provinces, or either of them respectively, by the said Bishop of Nova Scotia, or by any other person or persons, according to the laws and canons of the church of England, which are lawfully made and received in England. ' 41. Provided always, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the several provisions hereinbefore contained, respecting the allotment and appropriation of lands for the support of a Protestant clergy within the said 'provinces, and also respecting the constituting, erecting, and endowing parsonages or rectories within the said provinces, and also respecting the presentation of incumbents or ministers to the same, and also respecting the manner in which such incumbents or ministers shall hold and enjoy the same, shall be subject to be varied or repealed by any express provisions for that purpose, contained in any Act or Acts which may be passed by the Legislative Council and Assembly of the said provinces respectively, and assented to by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, under the restriction hereinafter provided. 42. Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that .vhenever any Act or Acts shall be passed by the Legislative Council and Assembly of either of the said provinces, containing any provisions to vary or repeal the above-recited declaration and provision contained in the said Act, passed in the fourteenth year of the reign of his present Majeaty ; or to vary or repeal the above-recited provision contained in His Majesty's royal instructions, given on the third day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, to the said Guy Carleton, esquire, now Lord Dorchester ; or to vary or repeal the provisions hereinbefore contained for continuing the force and effect of the said declaration and provisions ; or to vary or repeal any of the several pro- visions hereinbefbi- < ontained respecting the allotment and appropriation of lands for the support of a Protestant clergy within the said provinces ; or respecting the constituting, erecting, or endowing parsonages or rectories within the said pronnces ; or respecting the presentation of incumbents or ministers to the same ; or respecting the manner in which such incumbents or ministers shall hold and enjoy the same : and also that whenever any Act or m w U If, r ^;;^" M- 244 APPENDIX. Acts shall be so passed, containing any provisions which shall in any manner relate to or affecf the enjoyment or exercise of any religious form or mode of worship ; or shall impose or create any penalties, burdens, disabilities, or disqualifications in respect of the same ; or shall in any manner relate to or afiect the payment, recovery, or enjoyment of any of the accustomed dues or rights hereinbefore mentioned ; or shall in any manner relate to the granting, imposing, or recovering any other dues, or stipends, or emoluments whatever, to be paid to or for the use of any minister, priest, ecclesiastic, or teacher, according to any religious form or mode of worship, in respect of his said office or function ; or shall in any manner relate to or affect the establishment or discipline of the church of England, amongst the ministers and members thereof within the said provinces ; or shall in any manner relate to or affect the King's prerogative touching the granting the waste lands of the Crown within the said provinces ; every such Act or Acts shall, previous to any declaration or signification of the King's assent thereto, be laid before both Houses of Parliament in Great Britain ; and that it shall not be lawful for His M^esty, his heirs or successors, to signify his or their assent to any such Act or Acts, until thirty days after the same shall have been leid before the said Houses, or to assent to any such Act or Acts, in case either House of Parliament shall, within the said thirty days, address His M {gesty, his heirs or successors, to withhold his or their assent from such Act or Acts ; and that no such Act shall be valid or effectual to any of the said purposes, within either of the said provinces, unless the Legislative Council and Assembly of such province shall, in the session in which the same shall have been passed by them, have presented to the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government of such province, '%n address or addresses, specifying that such Act contains provisions for some of the said purposes hereinbefore specially described, and desiring that, in order to give effect to the same, such Act should be transmitted to England without delay, for the purpose of being laid before Parliament previous to the signi- fication of His Migesty's assent thereto. 43. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all lands which shall be hereafter granted within the said province of Upper Canada shall be granted in free and common soccage, in like manner as lands are now holden in free and common soccage, in that part of Great Britian called England; and that in every case where lands shall be hereafter granted within the said province of Lower Canada, and where the grantee thereof shall desire the same to be granted in free and common soccage, the same shall be so granted; but subject nevertheless to such alterations, with respect to the nature and consequences of such tenure of free and common soccage, 81 may be established by any law or laws which may be made by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the province. 44. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any person or persons holding any lands in the said province of Upper Canada, by virtue of any certificate of occupation derived under the autJiority of the Governor APPENDIX. 245 and Council of the province of Quebec, and having power and authority to alienate the same, shall at any time, from and after the commencement of this Act, surrender the same into the hands of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, by petition to the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government of the said province, setting forth that he, she, or they, is or are desirous of holding the same in free and common fioccage, such Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government, shall thereupon cause a fresh grant to be made to such person or persons of such lands, to be holden in free and common soccage. 45. Provided nevertheless, and be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that such surrender and grant shall not avoid or bar any right or title to any such lands so surrendered, or any interest in the same, to which any person or persons, other than the person or persons surrendering the same, shall have been entitled, either in possession, remainder, or re- version, or otlierwise, at the time of such surrender; but that every such surrender and grant shall be made subject to every such right, title, and interest, and that every such right, title, or interest shall be as valid and effectual as if such surrender and grant had never been made. 46. And whereas by an Act passed in tlie eighteenth year of the reign of His present Majesty, intituled, an Act for removing all doubts and appre- hensions concerning taxation by tlie Parliament of Great Britian, in any of the colonies, provinces, and plantations in North America, and the West Indies ; and for tepealing so much of an Act, made in the seventh year of the reign of His present Mtgesty, as imposes a duty on tea imported from Great Eritain into any colony or plantation in America, or relates thereto, it har ?en declared, " that the King and Parliament of Great Britian will not impose any duty, tax, or assessment whatever, payable in any of His Majesty's colonies, provinces, and plantations in North America or the West Indies, except only such duties as it may be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce, the nett produce of such duties to be always paid and applied to and for the use of the colony, province, or plantation in which the same shall be respectively levied, in such manner as other duties col- lected by the authority of the respective general courts or general assemblies of such colonies, provinces, or plantations, are ordinarily paid and applied :" and whereas it is necessary, for the general benefit of the British Empire, that such power of regulation of commerce should continue to be exercised by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, and the Parliament of Great Britian, subject nevertheless to the condition hereinbefore recited, with respect to the application of any duties which may be imposed for that purpose: be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid, that nothing in this Act con- tained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to prevent or affect the execution of any law which hath been or shall at any time be made by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, and the Parliament of Great Britain, for establishing regulations or prohibitions, or for imposing, levying, or col- lecting duties for the regulation of navigation, or for the regulation of the commerce to be carried on between the said two provinces, or between either ^ im m I a* m 4 246 APPENDIX. of the said provinces and any other part of His Majesty's dominions, or between either of the said provinces and any foreign country or state, or for appointing and directing the payment of drawbacks of such duties so imposed, or to give to His Majesty, his heirs or successors, any power or authority, by and with the advice and consent of such Legislative Councils and Assemblies respectively, to vary or repeal any such law or laws, or any part thereof, or in any manner to prevent or obstruct the execution thereo£ 47. Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the nett produce of all duties which shall be so imposed shall at all times hereafter be applied to and for the use of each of the said provinces res- pectively, and in such manner only as shall be directed by any law or laws which may be made by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, by and with the advice and consent of tlie Legislative Council and Assembly of such province.- '• r ' 48. And whereas, by reason of the distance of the said provinces from this country, and of the change to be made by this Act in the government thereof, it may be necessary that there should be some interval of time between the notification of this Act to the said provinces respectively, and the day of its commencement within the said provinces respectively : be it therefore enacted ;by the authority aforesaid, that it shall and may be lawful for His Mtgesty, with the advice of his Privy Council, to fix and declare, or to authorize die Governor or Lieutenant-Governor of the province of Quebec, or the person administering the government there, to fix and declare the day of the com- mencement of this Act within the said provinces respectively, provided that such day shall not be later than the thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. 49. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the time to be fixed by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, or under his or their au- thority, by the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the government in each of the said provinces respectively, for issuing the writs of summons and election, and calling together the Legislative Councils and Assemblies of each of the said provinces respectively, shall not be later than the thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two. jO. Provided always, and be it .urther enacted by the authority aforesaid, that during such interval ott may happen between the commencement of this Act, within the said provinces respectively, and the first meeting of the Legislative Council and Assembly of each of the said provinces respectively, it shall and may be lawful for the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor of such province, or for the person administering the government therein, with the consent of the major part of such Executive Council as shall be appointed by His Miyesty for the afiairs of such province, to make temporary laws and ordinances for the good government, peace, and welfare of such province, in the same manner, and under the same ^ cstriuiions, as such laws or ordinances might have been made by the Council for the afiairs of the province of APPENDIX. S47 Quebec, constituted hy virtue of the above-mentioned ict of the fourteenth year of the reign of his present Majesty; and that s'lch temporary laws or ordinances shall be valid and binding within such province, until the expi^ ration of six months after the Legislative Council and Assembly of such pro- vince shall have been first assembled by virtue of and under the authority of this Act ; subject nevertheless to be sooner repealed or varied by any law or laws which may be made by His Majesty, his heirs or successors, by and with the advice and consent of the said Legislative Council and Assembly. 1 . V,;, ,,,<.'^-,( j^'itj a i, 15. ,. '\-i if t i, y ,„^.: No. VIII. ','.< 'i , A Urns Us Electeurs du Bos-Canada. Mes Compatriotes, Les efforts que vous avez faits k la demidre Section n'ont pas itt ihutiles. La Chambre d'Assemblee a eu plus de force qu'elle n'en avait jamais eu. Le paiement de la liste civile y a £t6 propose avec succi>s. Mais I'effect en a €t& terrible ; car le Parlement a £t6 cass6*, et vous allez voir des efforts incroyables It la prochaine Section pour faire abandonner les repr^sentants en qui vous aviez confiance. Tout va etre mis en oeuvre ; toutes les gazettes, jusqu'& celle de Quebec, sont employees ; et on en a encore mis une nouvelle sur pied en Fran^ais. Tous les gens en place et tous ceux qui veulent en avoir sont en mouvement Le coup a €t& terrible pour eux ; ils I'ont senti jusques dans la moelle des os; mais quelque chose qu'ils fassent, quelque chose que vous voyez, tenez ferme et soutenez vos repr^sentants. On croit le moment favorable. On esp6re nous ^pouvanter par la liste civile, et que la promptitude avec laquelle vont se faire les Elections, ne vous laisse'^a pas le temps de la reflexion. Vous n'avez point de temps h perdre ; allez vous informer au plus vite k ceux en qui vous avez confiance, et faites vous expliquer I'affaire. On va vous precher le management de votre bourse ; on va crier aux taxes. Remarquez bien qui sont ceux qui prichent et qui crient ainsi ; si ce sont ceux qui ont coutume de parler de management et de crier centre les taxes. Ces personnes ne se sont pas r^cri^es de voir augnienter les d^penses civiles tous les ans ; elles ne se sont pas r£cri£es lorsqu'on a propose de mettre des taxes sur les terres, il y a quelques ann^es. Elles se sont toi^ours gard£es jusqu'ici de vous parler de ces choses ; elles jetaient les hauts cris ces der- niftres ann^es, lorsqu'on publia un compte pour vous donner connaissance des d6penses de la province. * It will MtOBish the Englteh reader when he reflects, that the generous oflfer of the Houie of Auembly, of pajriog the civil expenditure of the country, was considered then nearly equal to high treason, and produced an immediate dissolution of Parliaaoent. He will, however, easily discover the cause, on reading the present addren. m' i 248 APPENDIX. Croyez que ce n'est pas le d£sir de manager votre bourse qui les agite si fort, mais que c'est bien plutdt le d^sir d'en avoir le management eux-memes, et d'etre les maitres d'augmenter la d^pense tant qu'ils voudront £n 1795, la premiere fois que les comptes ont 6te envoys k la Chambre, la d^pense de la province ne montait qu'jt £.19,000; en 1800, elle montait h i£.32,000; et en 1807, qui est la demiire ann^e dont on ait les comptes pub- lics, elle montait k ie.43,000. lis vous diront : Que vous importe que la d^pense aug^mente, ce n'est pas vous qui la payez toute. II est vrai qu'il y a vaae petite partie que nous ne payons pas, et qu'on se garde bien de nous faire payer, afin de pouvoir dire que nous n'avons pas le droit de se mSler de la d^pense. Mais quand la d6pense sera une fois augment^e autant qu'il aura plu aax gens en place, il faudra que quelqu'un soit charge de la payer. Qu'est-ce tjui doit en 6tre chargr6 & la fin ? La m6re patrie n'a point 6tabli de fond pour la payer ; on tire ce qu'elle en paye actuellement de la caisse militaire : cela pourra continuer tant qu'il ne s'agira que de bagatelles ; mais quand les sommey seront devenues considerables, on nous dira : II est raisonnable qu'une province florissante comme celle-ci paye ses propres dipenses ; la m6re patrie est assez charg£e de frais de guerres qu'elle a eu & soutenir pour la protection e I'empire ; et cela sera raisonnable. II sera temps alors, disent les gens en place, de rlgler la d£pense, et on aura le meme droit qu'& present Mais quand la d^pense sera trois ou quatre fois plus grande, il y aura trois ou quatre fois autant de gens en place, qui auront trois ou quatre fois autant d'influence et de, puissance, et qui crieront trois ou quatre fois autant; et si actuellement on a A^jh tant de peine h s'en d^fendre, comment pourra-t-on le faire alors 1 Faut-il attendre qu'ils se soient entidre- ment empar6 de la place, et qu'il soit impossible de r^sister. lis vont vous exag^rer les sommes qu'il faudra payer, afin de vous 6pouvan- ter ; les uns disent, il faut augmenter de £.25,000, d'autres de £.40,000. On disait avant-hier au greffe que c'^tait £25,000 ; aujowd'hui on dit que c'est £.40,000. S'il fallait se r£gler sur leur app^tit, la somme serait effectivement considerable; mais ce n'est pas U-dessus que la Chambre d' Assemble se r^glera, h moins que le nombre de gens en place qui y seront, ne I'emporte. ha. somme & payer, suivant les derniers comptes qui ont 6t6 publics, serait de £.16,000. De ces £.16,000, £.11,000 seraient pay^s par I'Acte des Pri- sons, en le continuant ; et il ne resterait qve 5,000 louis. Un couple de che- lins sur le vin de Maddre et le vin de Porto, et quelques sous sur le sucre blanc, produiraient £.8,000, ce qui seraient une somme plus que suffisante. &c. &c. The remainder of it, being directed against individuals, is suppressed. / APPENDIX. 249 it Jjt wj «■ L-»,i>. .J 'v\» >■' tv 'n »-. :im'fh ,1^1 ■/ .^/ jVn'i 4:Ji .~;^5i. bfig','^-'**! No. IX. • Extract of the Bill, as amended by the Committee, Jbr uniting the Legislatures of the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, the Slst of July, 1822. ,♦">■/ ^■^i'tsfj-xn .vilhii-itnl- i- 1. The preamble is, that in the present situation of the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, a joint Legislature for both the said provinces would be more likely to promote their general security and prosperity, than a separate Legislature for each of the said provinces, as at present by law established. 2. That so much of Slst Gea IIL, c. 31, as provides a Legislature for each of the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, be repealed. 3. Provided also, that the Act 14th Geo. IIL, intituled, " an Act for making more effectual Provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec, in North America," should remain repealed. 4. and 5. That from and after the passing of this Act, there shall be one joint Legislati''e Council, and one joint Assembly for both provinces, and which shall be called " the Legrislative Council and Assembly of the Canadas." 6. That the present members of the Legislative Councib of Lower and Upper Canada shall constitute together the Legislative Council of the Canadas, and that other persons may be summoned. 7. That such persons only shall be summoned as directed by the Act 31st Geo. IIL 8. That the Governor shall have the power to appoint and remove the Speaker of the Legislative Council. 9. That the joint Assembly shall consist of the present members of both, and shall continue until the 1st of July, 1825, unless sooner dissolved. 10. That the Act of Upper Canada, 60th Geo. IIL, intituled, " An Act for increasing the Representation of the Commons of this Province in the House of Assembly," shall continue in force. 11. That the Governor of Lower Canada may erect new counties out of the townships to be represented in the Assembly. 12. That no Act shall alter the number of representatives to be passed, unless by two-thirds of both Houses. yi 13. That the provisions of 31st Geo. IIL, respecting elections, to remain in force, except as the same are hereby in anywise altered, until otherwise pro- vided for by the joint Legislature. 14. That the Governor, so often as it may be necessary, may summon a new Assembly. 15. That he shall issue writs for the election of members as directed by the Act Slst Geo. III. 950 APPENDIX. 16. That in future no person shall be capable of being elected who shall not possess real property to the value of £.600 sterling, and take his oath to that effect 17. That persons swearing fidsely shall be guilty of peijury. 18. That the trials of contested elections shall be according to the mode of proceeding now established by law in that province in which the disputed election or return shall have been made ; and that at any time he shall deem it expedient, the Governor may summon two members of the Executive Council of each province to the Assembly. 19. That the joint Legislature shall be summoned, not later than the 1st of September, 1824, and once every twelve months afterwards. 20. That every ftiture Assembly shall continue five years. That the majo- rity of votes shall decide, and that the Speakers of the Council and Assembly shall have a casting voice. ' 21. That no member, either of the Legislative Council or Assembly, shall be permitted to sit until he shall have tidcen the oath prescribed by the Act 31st Geo. III. 22. That the royal assent shall be declared or withheld, as prescribed by the Act 3 1st Geo. III. ; and that all laws now in force shall continue, except as hereby repealed or altered. ^ 28. That the privileges of members shall continue. 24. That from and after the passing of this Act, all written proceedings, of what nature soever, of the said Legislative Council and Assembly, or either of them, shall be in the English language and none other ; and that, at the end of the space of fifteen years fix>m and after the passing of this Act, all debates in the said Legislative Council, or in the Assembly, shall be carried on in the English language and none other*. 25. That persons professing the religion of the church of Rome shall not be affected. 26. That certain provisions of the Act 31st Geo. III. shall extend to Acts to be passed by the joint Legblature. i' ^s . .r 27. That all accounts, returns, papers, 8cc. &c., shall be laid before the Legislature, and that salaries of officers of the Legislature shall continue till otherwise provided for. * I have abstained from making any observations on anjr of the preceding clansei; bat mj readers, no doubt, will easily perceive the interested motives of the tnmen of this anion, eapecting bj It to have annihilated for ever the inflnence of the French Canadians. The present clanse, however, appears to me so impolitic, that I cannot help placing before them the following questions :— What good can England derive in abolishing the French langaage in Canada ) What possible political advantages can she expect fhnn our being more aisimltoted to our ndghbonrs (the Americans) by language, character, and habits I 'V)«3 . li ■«»? ■i'fj^tii'iihl ?0 >7» 11 ^y^i-u., i ' AfPKNPIX. 951 ''tr* .i(! •'.^»,'l'ni5 No. X. TAt« Composition, which appeared in the Q"ebec Gazette on New Year's Day, 18^, n^ assist in giving a tolerable idea qf the present Jeelings and character of the Canadians, Sol Canadien ! terre ch^rie ! Par des braves tu fus peupl6 ; lis cherchaient loin de leur patrie Une terre de liberty. No8 pdres, sortis de la France, Etaient T^lite des guerriera ; Et leurs enfants de leur vaillance N'ont jamais fl£tri les lauriers. <^i H f>t Qu'elles sont belles, nos campagnes ; En Canada qu'on vit content 1 Salut, d sublimes montagn<», Bords du superbe Saint Lauren ! Habitant de cette contr6e, Que nature veut embellir, Tu peux marcher tete lev^e, Ton pays doit t'enorgueillir. Respecte la main protectrice ' D' Albion, ton dig^ne soutien; Mais fait £chouer la malice D'ennemis nourris dans ton sein. Ne fl^chis jamais dans I'orage ; Tu n'as pour mattre que tes lois ; Tu n'est pas fait pour I'esclavag^ : Albion veille sur tes droits. 5f|' Si d' Albion la main ch£rie Cesse un jour de te prot^ger, Soutiens-toi seule, 6 ma patrie 1 M£prise un secours Stranger. Nob pires, sortis de la France, Etaient I'^lite des guerriers; Et leurs enfants de leur vaillance Ne fl£tiront pas les lauriers. ^52 APPENDIX. No. XI. Statement qf the different Establishments for Education in Lower Canada^ taken Jrom the Returns made to the Committee qf the House qf Assembly^ on Education^ during the Session ^1828-9. Dweriptioa of tb« EitabliikiDmU. In the Cities op Quebec and Mont- real, AND District of Three Rivers. Schools established in virtue of the 41st^ Geo. III., cap. 17, commonly called > Schools of the Royal Institution - ) Colleges ---------- Convents --------- Gratuitous Schools ...---- Schools of all other descriptions, con-\ taining 20 Scholars and above - - ) ' under 20 Scholars - - - - Total - - - Country Parts. Schools of the Royal Institution, in-\ eluding Oasp4 ------ / Colleges ---------- Convents (Missions of the Soeurs de la\ Congregation) -.----/ EstabUshed in virtue of 4th GeO. IV., \ cap. 41, and 7th Geo. IV., cap. 20 / Schools of all other descriptions, con- \ taining 20 Scholars and above - - J ; under 20 Scholars - - - - Total in the Country parts - Ditto in Cities and Towns - Grand Total - - Number of places where no Schools are\ established -------/ Ditto Ditto from whence no Returns) were received ------ j" I* Si 2 6 11 42 8 72 450 434 938 1,214 1,764 109 4,909 III 70 4 14 10 94 61 253 72 325 29 34 1,848 257 672 426 2,702 865 6,770 4,909 11,679 2 3 15 I 15 1 10 ih £. t, d. 2 10 1 7 6 10 ( from 'l U2 0) £. 86 19 15 40 30 19 8 10 APPENDIX. 25$ No return wai received from OMp^, except for the ichoolg of the Royal Institution. These establishments are mainly supported as follows :-t- ; The schools of the Royal Institution, by an annual gnait from the Legislature of about iS. 1,900, on an average, since 1818. The colleges in the towns, by the revenues of the landed property apper- taining to each of those establishments, and by the amount of the boarding and tuition of scholars. The colleges in the country have all been founded by gentlemen of the clergy, and are mainly supported by them. The amount of boarding and tuition forms the remainder of their income. Convents, by the revenues of landed property granted to them, and by the amount of boarding and tuition. Gratuitous schools have all been established by voluntary subscription; seven of them receive, this year, aid from the Legislature. Schools established in virtue of 4th Geo. IV., cap. 41, by one-fourth of the revenues of the fabriquet, in virtue of the said Act; most of them by a further aid from the ciurates ; the remainder by the price of tuition. Of the schools of other descriptions, a large proportion of those in the country parts, and not a few in the towns, were established by the clergy ; were, and are still, mainly supported by them, the price of tuition being in- sufficient for the support of the masters. — Old Quebec Oazette. m m I ,| No. XII. Extract from the First Report of the Committee of the House of Assembly respecting the Settlement of Crown Lands ; printed on the \9.th of February, 1821. The Honourable James Cuthbert appeared before your Committee, and answered as follows to the questions put to him : — Q. Have you had any, and what means, of becoming acquainted with the nature and advantages of seigniorial tenure in this country, compared with the tenure of free and common soccage ? A. Being proprietor of the seigniory of Berthier, in the district of Montreal, and having resided upon it for twenty-four years, I have had occasion to bestow much consideration upon this subject, and acquire much experience respecting it Q. What, in your estimation, are the relative advantages or disadvantages of these two modes of tenure ? A. I hold a very great difference between the two modes of granting land. That under the feudal system, as it is, in my opinion, not accurately called, iAkn an easy, expeditious, certain, and economical mode of obtaining lands, 4 (1^ f^ 254 m APPENDIX. in the ntanner mo&t congenial to the means, habits, wants, and usages of the nineteen-twentieths of the population of this province, and carries in its nature and consequences the only reasonable hope of a long and lasting connection with, and submission to the mother country. Whereas the grants in free and common soccage, after surmounting all difficulties and expense of procuring them, break in upon the habits, customs, manners, and prejudices of the Canadian grantees ; the conditions of those grants not only deprive them of the ordinary resources they possess under the system en fief, but also bind them to the ob- ligation of employing, in the first instance, at a time they are totally incompe- tent, an immense unproductive labour, which, if applied to a land en fief, would alone enable them to subsist their families, &c. &c. Q. What are the causes which prevent the Canadians to settle upon lands in free and common soccr.ge ? A. Grants in free and common soccage strike the great body of the people as a dereliction of all they hold dear ; they view the system, and perhaps not without reason, as tending to subvert their institutions, civil and religious, by a slow but unerring progress ; then the difficulty of obtaining the grant, the distance from their friends, their removal from the ordinary support and assist- ance they were accustomed to ; and, above all, the immense tax of labour they incur, n' tonly for their own lot, but also for the clergy and crown reserves, which are to be raised in value by the sweat of their brow : these, and many other objections, deter His Majesty's Canadian subjects from settling on free and com- mon soccage grants. It has been said that American and European emigrants have a total aversion to settle upon lands en fief, &c. &c. ; this is substantially and practically contradicted in the seigniories of Dautrai, Lanorai, Ramesay, d'Aillebout, and Terrebonne, under my own personal knowledge, and in many other seigniories throughout the province. It is principally on account of the language, not of the tenure, that any difficulty has arisen. With regard to settling the waste lands of the Crown en fief, it is within my conviction that, were I in possession of ungranted cultivable land, I could con- cede some hundred farms en roture, in the short space of twelve months, &c. &c* The Honourable Roderick M'Kenzie, seignior of Terrebonne, appeared before your Committee. Q. Are there any, and what causes which, in your estimation, have retarded and continue to retard the settlement of the land in the old manors or lord- ships of this country ? A. No augmentations to seigniories having been made since 1759, and of course not expected to be made hereafter, may be a principal cause for the delays observed in the settlement of rome seigniorial lands. Proprietors expecting no increase as formerly, wait favourable opportunities to make the most of what they have. Q. Is there any emigration from the said seigniory ; and if so, is the same annual and regular, and whither is the same directed 1 A. No emigration from the seigniory of Terrebonne. Q. Do any of the inhabitants emigrate to the townships, granted in free and common soccage ; and if not, to what causes do you attribute this circumstance? APPENDIX. 255 A. The inhabitants of this country prefer seigniorial grants to any other. I conceive that system to be the best, since the people who live under it never complain, and seem the happiest in the world. If a settler, who can be recom- mended, apply to a seignior for a grant, he instantly becomes a proprietor at the trifling expense of five or six dollars to the surveyor or notary, for deeds of survey and concession. The censitaires, in the seigniories of Terrebonne, pay annually at the rate of half a bushel of wheat and twenty pence for every twenty acres. Some indeed pay less, but no one pays more. As wheat sells at present, this rent may amount to about two pence halfpenny per acre, &c. &c. The Rev. Mr. Demers, Superior of the Seminary of Quebec, answered as follows : — Q. Are the two modes of granting lands in this province, that is to say> that under the feudal system and that in free |and common soccage, equally beneficial ; and will you please to communicate to the Committee the reasons which induce you to give a preference to either 7 ^. I am fully persuaded the feudal system, confined within proper limits with regard to seigniorial and permanent rents, is the most advantageous mode of inducing His Majesty's Canadian subjects to become proprietors of the lands they clear, without being compelled to purchase them. These new proprietors are indeed charged with a permanent rent, but if the original grantees of the Crown enter fully into the spirit of the feudal system, all they can impose is very moderate seigniorial and permanent rents, and such as the new grantees will always be able easily to pay. If the Government adopted the feudal system in granting the Crown lands, their grants might regulate the rates of seigniorial rents for every square acre of ground. In thi"! vvay, the rent in all these new concessions would be uniform, and nothing would remain discretionary. As to the proprietors of these new fiefs, the lods et ventes*, and other feudal dues, would afibrd them a compensation for the lowness of their rent, and even for the expenses they might incur the more speedily to bring their land into cultivation. If the lands are conceded in free and common soccage, it will be quite otherwise. It may be presumed, that the greater part of these lands would shortly become the property of a few rich individuals, who would not fail to retain the best lots, in order to bring them into cultivation themselves, and who would then sell or lease them to the rest. How then shall the young Cana- dian farmers, whose only wealth is that love of labour of which the habit was formed under the paternal roof, settle upon those lands ? Finding it impossi- ble to acquire land sufficient for their future decent support, they will be compelled to take some of those lands on lease, or bail emphytioHque. But in that mode of settling, it is easily seen that they will not experience equal advantages as if the lands were granted them in the feudal manner. To be convinced of this, it suflices to know on what conditions the lots reserved in the several townships for the Crown and for support of the Protestant clergy are leased ; every lot is of 200 acres, or 235^ arpents, or thereabouts, French measure. So early as 1812, three hundred and sixty-three of these lot? were ' * MuUtioQ flne paid to tbe leignior. Wm (iiif ■ My t' II If 256 APPENDIX. leased for twenty-one years, on the following terms, thp.t is to say, " for the first seven years, twenty-five shillings, or eight bushels of wheat, per annum ; the second seven years, fifty shillings, or sixteen bushels of wheat ; and for the remainder of the period, seventy-five shillings, or twenty-four bushels of wheat, per lot ; the lessors having the option of requiring payment to be made in either of the modes stipulated." — Topographical Description of the Province of Lower Canada, p. 14, On an average, every lot of 235| arpents is charged with an annual rent of fifty shillings, or sixteen bushels of wheat, at the option of the lessor. Esti- mating the bushel of wheat at four shillings only, these 235| arpents will there- fore be charged on an average with a yearly rent of sixty- four shillings. This rent is certainly higher than it ought to be, if an equal lot of ground were granted in feudal tenure. Let us suppose this rent to be precisely the same, and that two young Canadian farmers each take one of these lots of land ; that one of them take his on lease, the other under a feudal grant : at the close of the twenty-one years, will the situation of both these farmers be alike ? One of them will have become the actual proprietor of the land he has cleared, while the other, with equal care, anxiety, and toil, unattended by any superior advantage during the twenty-one years, will only retain the uncheering recol- lection of having, under the sweat of his brow, cleared a land not belonging to himself. But it will be said, will not the lods et ventes due to the seignior on every mutation prevent the young farmer from taking lands by feudal grant ? By no means ; because the young farmer well knows he will have no lods et ventes to pay while he remains in possession of his lands, and that such of his descendants as hold it after him will be equally exempt as long as they acquire by descent. Though the due of lods et ventes may appear onerous to the purchaser, I am not the less persuaded that this due has an excellent effect on domestic society ; for it is generally a powerful motive for retaining hereditary lands. This is not one of those vague assertions which are inconsiderately hazarded, but a matter of fact, readily confirmed by numerous instances afforded by such parts of our country as have been longest settled, such as the Cute de BeauprS. It is no rare thing to find in that place families who, at this day, possess the same lands which were granted to their ancestors almost imme- diately after the earliest settlements effected in this country. Such are the reasons which induce me to think the feudal system more beneficial, relatively to the cultivation of the ungranted lands of the Crown, than the mode hitherto followed in g^ranting the lands. Q. What are the causes which have prevented His Majesty's Canadian subjects from settling on the lands in free and common soccage ? A. One of the principal causes is the want of pecuniary means of purchas- ing lands, and afterwards clearing them. I do not think there is now to be procured in the townships a tract, adequate to the support of a family, for less than £.\0Q. Very few young Canadian farmers have such a sum, and those who have, will ever prefer purchasing land already in part cultivated, or applying their money to the clearing of lands taken imder a feudal grant, APPENDIX. 257 and costing them nothing. As to Uiose who have no pecuniary means, or scarcely any, they will never be reconciled to taking on lease, or bail einphi/- thiotique, a tract of wood land, remote from the place of their nativity, nor will they more readily take such land on rente constitute, from apprehension of ultimate inability to pay that rent, and thereby becoming liable to ejection from lands which they have in part cleared ; unless they can settle in some other way, they will prefer remaining labourers all their lives. I think I know the inhabitants of the country parts sufficiently to feel assured that, in this opinion, I am under no error. - • ' v'; To this cause, which is inherent in the system itself, which has been invariably pursued in granting the Crown lands since 1795, others may be added : us the want of ready means of intercourse between the settlements in the townships and the Canadian settlements ; ignorance of the language of those among whom tlie youn^- farmers of our parts would be placed ; and, above all, the remoteness of religious aid. This alone, I am persuaded, would have prevented the sounder poition of our Canadian youth from availing themselves of the advantages which new settlements might offer in all other respects ; nor would the substantial fanners of our country, sincerely attached as they are to their religious principles, ever consent to the departure of their children, to settle in places where they might suspect their faith or salvation to be in danger. It is easy, with a little attention, to see that these various causes would cease almost instantaneously, if our young farmers had the same facility of settling on the Crown lands as on the unconceded lands in the old seigniories ; because they might, by agreement among themselves, depart in sufFcicnt numbers, and take lands at the same place, indulginsr « most reasonable hope that other young farmers would not fail shortly to join them, &c. &c. J. T. Tachereau, esq., a Member of the House of Assembly, appeared before your Committee : — Q. What causes do you think have prevented the settling of lands in your part of the country ? A. The causes which have prevented the settling of lands beyond the seigniories of La NouvcUe Beauce, arc a want of roads ; a want of grants by the Crown in the ungranled townships, and in those which are conceded a want of roads ; the lots for the Crown and those for the clergy, and also the very considerable expenses which tlic grantees arc ol)]iged to incur for opening roads, expenses of survey and other expenses, with respect to which they are unable to obtain reimLirsement of a portion of the interest, whereby tiiey are put under the necessity of selling their lands at a very high price, and thu interest of the consideration for the sale is equivalent to a renic which the farmer could not pay ; which would not be the case, if, in conrcdiiig those lands at a moderate aimual rent, the granti es of the Crowti could hope liere- after to be indemnified in some other way. Mr. Dumont, one of the Members of the House of Assembly, appeared before your (Committee, and stated as follows : — It is ini})ossiblc that lands, as they ar^; now granted, con suit the native 8 I f': r 258 APPENDIX. French Canadians, for they cannot ever succeed in opening and cultivating their lands. For instance, a Canadian who is a proprietor of a lot in a given township settles there ; he makes a clearing ; he wants a cleared interval du dicouvert ; he wants fences of separation ; he wants water-qpurses across several lots belonging to Government, the Protestant clergy, or rich pro- prietors : is there a moral possibility of his procuring what is required of neighbourhood? This is one of the chief obstacles to the settling of the townships. Mr. Philemon Wright, of the township of Hull, in the province of Lower Canada, appeared before your Committee; und gave the following informa- tion : — I have resided in this country twenty-three years; previous to residing in this country, I resided in the province of Massachussets ; I was induced to come to this country by the proclamation of General Clarke, which held forth the prospect of obtaining lands, to persons desirous of investing capital in land, and under their form of government. Q. Did you obtain a grant of any, and what waste lands of the Crown, and at what time ? A. I was leader for a quarter of a township ; ten of us obtained a patent for twelve hundred acres each. I surveyed the whole of the township of Hull, wherein the lands were situated, being a township of 82,429 acres. I got the Order in Council, on the 22nd of March, 1800; the patent was issued in 1806. Q. At what expense was the survey :nade ? A. I cannot speak to the exact amoiuit of the expense; it could not be less than £. 700. Q. What portion of the land given to your associates remained in their hands? A. The agreement between me and my associates was, that I should pay out of my cwn pocket all the expenses of survey, of patent fees, and travelling expenses, in consideration whereof they were to assign to me 1,000 acres each out of the 1,200 assigned to them, which was accordingly done. Q. In what state have been, and are now, the roads and highways in the township of Hull ; how and in what manner have they been made, kept up, and repaired ? A, When I first settled in the township of Hidl, there was not a single tree cut down ; J have opened all the roads, with sone assistance, to make it possible for my people to pass and repass. One stone causeway, in particular, cost me above £. 1,000. The total of the amount of money spent by me and some of my neighbours upon these roads, for the twenty years past, amounts to £.2,211 17*. 6d., besides £.955 expended by the commissioners of the county of York, making a total of £.3,166 17*. Gd., and the roads in the front of the township are now very good. Q. What is the extent of the roads made in the said township with this money ? A. i^bout thirty miles. APPENDIX. 259 Q. Are there any, and what obstacles, to , making roads in the new townships ? A. The crown and clergy reserves constitute one great obstacle to the improvement of the internal communications of the townships. The large tracts of land, in the possession of proprietors absent from the province, constitute another great obstacle. O. Are the lands through which the road from Hull to Long Sault passes, in the hands of small or large proprietors ? A. Generally in the hands of large proprietors, absentees from the province. Q. What is the expense of clearing and fencing an acre of wild land ; and what is the usual produce of an acre of wild land ; and in what consists the process of clearing ? A. The expense of clearing an acre of land is £. 3 ; the produce is from two hundred to four hundred bushels of potatoes per acre, or twenty- five bushels of oats, or twenty-five bushels of wheat, or thirty bushels of Indian corn, or two hundred bushels of turnips. The process of clearing consists of three things ; first, cutting down the under-brush, which is worth 7s. 6rf. ; second, chopping down the wood in rows, two rods wide, worth £,. 1 5s. ; third, firing, burning, and branding, fit for the harrow, worth £,. 1 7s. 6atent, and paying the fees thereof 7 A. They were called leaders of townships. Q. Upon the face of the patent did they, or any other patentees, receive any more than 1,200 acres ? A. As far as my knowledge goes, not more. Q. What was the average value of lands in those townships, as they were purchased up by speculators, from the year 1796 to 1803 and 1804 ? A. The lands were then considered of little value, as they were sold, as far as my knowledge extends, from 6d. to l.^. 3d. per acre. Q. How was the leader of a township indemnified for the expense of survey, patent, &c. A. It was generally understood that they were indemnified by receiving from the other patentees a portion of the lands granted to these patentees. Q. Did you ever understand or hear what that portion was ? A. I have generally understood that some conveyed 1,000 acres, and others less. Q. Have there been any new seigniories erected in this country since its conquest by the British ? A. None that I know of but Murray Bay and Mount Murray, and Shool- bred, in the district of Gaspe. Q. What is the number of seigniories in the districts of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers ? A. As far as I can recollect, 218 in the whole province. Q. Is the surplus agricultural population of the province of Lower Canada at all considerable 7 A. I think it is. Q. Is the distriuution of lands in the cultivated parts of the seigniories of Lower Canada, amongst their settlers, tolerably equal 7 , A. I think it is. Q. What is the usual size of the farms in Lower Canada, in the seigniories 7 A. They are gener>lly of three arpents in front by thirty in depth, or of • The reader will see by tliis, that the Executive Council h?J some private Interest io recommending the charge of tenure; for.bj Mr. Bouchftte'a topographical work we sea, as leaden of townships, si i members of the Kxecutive Council . nd five of the Legislative, ard we know that six members, and even less usually, constitul; a majority of the Execu- tive Council. APPENDIX. 261 three arpents in front by forty-two in depth, except in a few singular instances, in some of the first original gprants, which have not a greater front but a far greater depth. Q. Are they not now, in many instances, subdivided to a degree which renders them insufficient to afford convenience to the farmer and his family ? A. Yes ; I believe it to be the case in many parts of this province. Q. What were the rents and services with which the farmers were charged anterior to the conquest ? A. They vary ; some at forty sols, others one 4cu tournois ; but I believe never exceeding. Q. Are these cliarges deemed onerous by the people of tlie country ? A. I never understood they were. Q. Would they prefer to settle in the seigniories with these charges, in preference to settling on lant Is in free and common soccage ? A. I presume they would. Q. Have any number of Canadian settlers established themselves on the land' panted in free and common soccage ? ■ A. I believe very few. Q. To what cause do you attribute this ? ' A. The reasons are obvious : they do not like the teimre, as they do not know it ; they do not like to leave their relations and friends ; and they like to be within reach of their churches. Q. What are the fees taken in the land-granting business ? A. My patent fees are 15s. per 1,000 acres; and, as far as I recollect, those of the secretary of the province 10s.; and the clerk of the council, I believe, 10s.; governor, 15s.; auditor, Qs. 8rf. ; registrar, 5s. ; attorney«general, 10s. Lands at present granted under military condition produce the following fe«s in my office: 7s. M. per location ticket; certificates of vacancy, 2s. 6rf. ill I 1^ i\ No. XIII. Extract from the Resolves of the Council respecting the Introduction of Tenure in Free and Common Soccage, in lieu of the ancient Tenure of the Country. That the progress of population and settlement in this province, under the government of France, whatever the cause or causes of it, was slow ; the cul- tivated parts, even in the central districts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Mont- real, being, to this day, confined to the banks of the St Lawrence, and the mouths of navigable streams that fall into it. That the royal patents, grants on concession of the lands, were either in \ I 262 APPENDIX. •eigniory or in roture ; the latter consisting of town lots, farms or small tracts and seigniories ; larger tracts of various dimensions, many of which are in the rear, or a few leagues from the convenience of water-carriage, still in forest That the French king's territorial revenue arose from quints or alienation fines, of one-fifth of the consideration money payable by the purchaser of the lands held in seigniories ; and of lods et ventes, of one-twelfth on the sale of lands held in roture ; the lands in roture ordinarily pa^'ing also cent et rentes ; the cens being one sol, or an English half-penny for a front of one acre or 1 80 French feet ; and the rente, another sol for every acre of the concession, with a bushel of wheat for every forty acres, or two fat capons of the value of twenty sols. That the French Crown did not exact its whole dues, but remitted a third, both of the quint and lods et ventes. That the seigniories were parcelled out into farms, and these conveyed by the seigniors under like charges of cens et rentes, and subject to lods et ventes, except where a large parcel had been granted in arrilrefief; on the subsequent transfers whereof a quint became due to the seignior without cens et rentes. That all the grantees, as well of the Crown as of the seigniors, had perma- nent estates, under an habendum to them, their heirs and assigns. That, according to the Receiver-General's accounts, the territorial revenue for the thirteen years, from the 1st of May, 1775, to the 1st of May, 1788, (comprehending arrears) was, in actual receipt at the treasury, not equal to ^.10,000 sterling; £. s. d. The lods et venteshemg hut 1,351 9 5\ The quints 3,148 1 4i The balance of royal rents from all the King's own seigniories, Sorel excepted 4,554 7 5} £.9,053 18 3^ From Sorel ... 216 19 11 £.9,270 18 2i which, together with certain duties of customs fixed by Act of Parliament, is by the royal grace given to the province towards the support of its government That, in explaining the causes of the tardy progression of the population of the colony under the government of France, there seems to be little or no ground for ascribing it to the non-compliance of the seigniors with the con- ditions for cultivation expressed in their patents or grants ; the instances of prosecutions for taking an advantage of these conditions, and returning their seigniories to the royal domain, being rare, and the seigniorial censi- taires so much more numerous than the King's, that the farmer, or the in- habitants of the seigniories, at all times did, and do now, constitute the main body of the landholders of the country. - That the feudal system, if that was amongst the causes of ilie non-settle- APPENDIX. 263 ment aiid proportionable debility of the French colony, operating to a dis- couragement of the royal grants, as well as the grants of the subject, there can be no ground for holding the grantees to a rigorous performance of the conditions of their gprants. -^'^-i.. That it was among the main causes of that low condition in which Canada was found at the British conquest, is deduciblc from the probability that many thousands of families had found their accounr in emigratng from the exu- berant population of the kingdom of France, if the Government had given their lands here upon easy terms, and especially in the fertile regions and moderate climates on the banks of the rivers and lakes in the south and south-west That the discouragement of that system, to the settlement of the old French grants, must, in future, greatly increase ; the population depending now upon the introduction of British subjects, who are known to be all averse to any but English tenures* ; and the Canadian seigniors, of course, be left without a hope of multiplying their censUaires, except from the predilection of the descendants of the French planters to usages no longer prompted by interest nor recommended by example. That the grant of the waste lands of the Crown in free and common soccage is essential to the growth, strength, defence, and safety of the province. That unless the old French seigniories can be settled upon terms as advan- tageous to the husbandman as the lands of the Crown, their land- market must be at a stand, to the detriment of the proprietors, until the cultivation of the waste lands of the Crown is damped, by their remoteness from all water- carriage and the conveniences and benefits of commerce. That, with the advantage of a vicinity to the navigable waters, and a con- version of the tenures, the seigniories will probably be the first to be fully cultivated ; and with an increase of profit to the proprietors, under that ample dominion which they will then enjoy over their lands, for settling them upon such terms as themselves may concert, to form a populous tenantry, and lay a foundation in property for that perpetuity of their names and families which a wise and well -balanced government will be inclined to en- courage and support. That the King's roturier tenants cannot fail to wish for a conversion and discharge from the cens et rentes and lods et ventes, and all the other feudal burdens connected with the tenure under which they now hold. That motives of interest will naturally make it the desire also of every seigniorial censitaire, to stand upon the same foundation of exemption with the other landholders of the colony ; but as this commutation for a discharge of the rents and dues to the landlords must necessarily depend upon private con- ventions between them and their tenants, and involving considerations out of the contemplation of any but the parties reciprocally interested, their cases cannot be the objects of special and particular legislative provision ; perhaps the surest means of securing to the tenant a fair compact, will be to hold the III I- ♦ ThU aversinn, caused by national ptejudices, goon ceases when the nature of the French tenure is well understood. 264 APPENDIX. lord to his dues to the Crown, until he bus discharged his tenants from the feudal incumbrances in his own favour. That the prerogative is competent to put the waste lands of the Crown under a soccage tenure ; but the legislative interposition is necessary to make that tenure universal. That if this is to be the work, n of Pariiament but of the Colonial Legis- lature, the Royal instructions given for the greater security of the property of the subject will require an Act with a probationary or suspending clause, until His Majesty's approbation can be obtained. That an absolute and universal commutation of the ancient tenures, though for the better, would be a measure of doubtful policy ; but that no substantial objection occurs against giving such individuals that benefit as desire it, and especially to such of the seigniories whose tenants or cmsitaires shall conceive it to be for their own, as well as for the interest and benefit of their landlords, and may therefore signify their consent to the change. i That the ends may be accomplished by a law, with clauses to the following tenor or import : — Be it enacted, &c. &c.* DISSENT. Mr. Mabane's reasons of dissent from the resolution and motion of the Chief Justice, adopted by the Committee. Because the resolutions moved for do not appear to apply to the object of the reference. Because it appears that the slow progress of population and settlement, under the government of France, cannot be ascribed to any inherent vice in the several tenures under which lands are held in the colony ; that it arose from the difficulties which the first settlers found in contending with fierce and savage nations which surrounded them ; from their frequent wars with the British colonies; and, above all, from their repeated expeditions in the upper countries, and towards the Ohio, in which the ambitious policy of France had forced them to engage. Because it appears evident, from the rapid and almost unexampled progress of population in the province (irom its own resources), being from 65,000 souls in the year 1766, to about 120,000 in 1784, and who are now chiefly employed in agriculture, that the present tenures are not inimical to popula- tion and settlement of the colonyf . Because the King's rights in the ancient tenures of the country being * No change of this kind has yet taken place. I undentand that the Honourable Mr. Hale, seignior of St. Anne, bas lateljr renewed an application for a change of tenure in that part of big seigniory not yet conceded, which application was formerly made by Mr. De Lianaudiere, seignior of the same place; but I am not yet acquainted with the result. f The Honourable Mr. Cuthbert, in his examination before the Committee, said ; " That in no country where he had travelled, had he met with such a deniie agricultural population ats in Canuda, I'xrept in Fruncb Flanders mid Brabant. APPENDIX. 265 expressly reserved in the Act 14th of the King, and by His Mi^esty's gracious bounty appropriated to defray the expenses of civil government, ought not to be relinquished or sacrificed without an equivalent compensation. Because, however unproductive the territorial revenue may have hitherto been, from the indulgence or supineness of government, no judgment can be formed, from the sums actually collected, of the revenue that may hereafter arise therefrom, which nmst increase in proportion to the population and commerce of the province. Because the predilection of the native inhabitants of the province to their ancient tenures ami lav ought not to be interfen-d with, unless by their own consent, and on the strongf i and clearest grounds nf public utility. ' Because the alterations proposed by the ri'solutions, or any other con- version of tenure, tending to give the seignior a more absolute and uncon- ditional posses ion of the fief, would not only be a sacrifice of the King's rif^hts, but would defeat the wise intentions and beneficial effects of the arrits of 1711 and 1732, and the declaration of 1743, by which the seignior is obliged to grant, to such persons as will apply for them, for the purpose of improvement, lands in concession, subject only to the accustomed and sti- pulated rents and dues ; and upon his non-compliance the Governor is authorized, on the part of the Crown, and for the benefit thereof, to the exclusion of the seignior for ever, to concede or grant the lands so applied for. By the same law the seigniors are forbid, under pain of nullity and a reunion to the Crown of the land attempted to be sold, to sell any part of their improved lands, or en hois debout; dispositions of law highly favourable to the improvement of the colony, and which secure to the children of the censitaires, or others, the means of settlement, and of employing their industry in cultivation, on fixed and moderate terms ; whereas, if the conversion of the seigniories into free and common soccage should take place, the children of the present inhabitants of the country, and all others desirous to settle thereon, should be left entirely subject to the arbitrary exactions of the seigniors, to their infinite prejudice, and the manifest detriment of the country's improvement. Because it appears that the services, or burdens, to which the censitaires, under concessions from seigniors, are subject, are few, clearly understood and ascertained, and are by no means onerous or oppressive. J.WILLIAMS, C.L.C. I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 E 25 £i2A m » m 12.2 S QiS 12.0 U 116 6" w FhologFaiJiic ScMioes CorpQratiQn 4^ ^,\ 2S VWIIT MIAM STRUT «M»STRR,N.Y. 14SM (7U)t72*4S03 ^^'^Ji^.^C^ ■^ ^66 APPENDIX. No. XIV. Observations on the Report of the Committee of tite whole Council, respecting a Change in the Tenures qf the Province qf Lower Canada*. Of all the legislators who have preceded the present age, those have bean the wisest who have come nearest to an establishment of equality among the auligects. The wisest of all, because he had the Spirit of God, whom we adore, was Moses ; he divided the lands amongst the Hebrews with so much justice and equality, that the smallest complaint was never heard. But it would have been little to have established this equality, had he not used the means of maintaining it To succeed, he rendered these lands by their nature inalienable, and with so much wisdom, that the inalienalnlity con- atantly supported itself against the efforts of avarice, which generally overturns all thingrn. In such manner, that if any one had alienated his estate in a time of calamity, he, or his heirs, if he had any, recovered his property the year of the jubilee. Thus, every fifty years, the ancient distri- bution was re-established, in full right He did more : he provided in such manner for tiie liberty of individuals, that, if any one had trafficked away a part of his property, he recovered it at that epoch. Thus lost members were Testtnred to thdr country, who, in re-entering into the possession of their lands, recovered the title of citizens, and found themselves in a condition to fulfil the functions of a citizen. Hence, among them were never known those seditious demands of new registers, or new partitions, so common in Greece, any mmre than those Agrarian laws so <^n asked by the Romans. If it was at present a question of a new establishment, of giving a form to a new people, a more excellent model could not be proposed. But the present question is only of procuring advantages to a people already esta- blished ; of correcting faults in the culture ot a delicate plant, and not of rooting it up : it is a tree, of which the trunk may be preserved, and provision made for extending its roots. It is a tree that may be pruned ; but care must be taken not to destroy it, under a pretext of giving more vigour to the roots already formed, by de- priving them of the means of spreading and dividing themselves into new branches, by removing the surrounding earth. This is what must necessarily happen, if the present tenures be abolished, and the soccage substituted in * Oa the SSth of Augvit, 1700, a reference wu made by Hit Eicellency the Right HoBoarable Gay, Lord Oorchater, to the IIoBonrahle the LeKiilatlve Conncll of the province, apoa the «xpediencj of obangini; the tenarei of the country into the tenure by free aad eonaioa ■occage ; and it it upon their report that the above obtervation* were made. Fttr farther infbmiation, we firit and leveath Reporti of the CommHtee of the House of AMemhIy. -^.■n,y APPENDIX. 267 their place, without obriatiiig two principal inconveniences — the future oppression of the husbandmen, and the ruin of the present seigniors. In fiust, if the rights of lods et vente$ and of bannolUi* be retrenched, without a compensation weighed in the balance of justice, it will be lopping off the head of this tree to give more vigour to the roots. The seigniors must perish, whilst the present race of husbandmen would reap the advantage. But, on the other hand, if the future seigniors be permitted to sell their lands uncleared, and to grant leases on such conditions and charged with such services as they pleasu, it will be taking away from individuals the means of procuring lamb for their children ; whence the future husbandmen would be exposed to oppression. Thus, the head of the tree being lopped 0% the root would be seen sensibly to wither, and the tree would perish. Thus, to a happy and truly free people would succeed a people of slaves and wretches — a people without hope of procuring themselves a decent support, and, conse- quently, without any certain means of educating their children ; by consequence, without morality, and void of probity. This has not escaped the vigilant attention of the Right Honourable Lord Dorchester, in die order of reference. His views are, to establish in the province the kind of tenures best calculated to insure the progress of agri- culture, to render the people happy, to attract new settlers, and procure a numerous population. Views truly wise, and worthy the representative of a great King. To attain this end, His Excellency wishes the soccag^e to be considered conformable to the clauses inserted in the statute 12th Car. II., cap. 24 ; that the advantages and disadvantages of this tenure may be compared with the advantages and disadvantages of the present tenures: and in case a change should appear to be advantageous, the mode to be chosen of doing it without prejudice to the rights of individuals and the general interest of the country is shown. Such is the certain route marked out by His Excellency, in following vdiich we cannot run any risk of error. The statute 12th Car. II., cap. 24, retained the tenures in soccage, frwUe almoigne, petit seijeanty, the honorary services of grand seijeanty, and the cqpyhold, or tenures by copy of court-roll. This may be seen in Blackstone (Chap. I. of the modem Tenures). The soccage, in its most ample signification (says this respectable author), seems to denote a tenure by any certain and determinate service. It is of two species : the free soccage, of which the services are honourable ; and die villain soccage, of which the services, though certain, are of a base nature. Such as hold by honourable services are called Uberi toke m tm m , free sokemen; fireeholders, according to Glanvil, &c. &c. The grand criterion, the touchstone by ttduch to distinguish this kind «f t * The inpprenioB of baaBsl mtib, it it to be feared, miglit be prvjudlcial to IsdlrldMlt ; for If a toll be sot Aied for crisdioc. he whoie nill night be aoit wivsnUseoarijr sUaatod, woald have it in hii power to arail himielf of thii advantage, to vex tboie who might be obliged to have recoune to him, in the too-freq«ent anhappy case of a oaifemlly dry 268 APPENDIX. tenure, is by its services being certain and determinate ; such, in particular, are the petit seijeanty, tenure in burgage, or the manner in which boroughs and towns hold of their lords, and gavel-kind. This is confirmed by what he says a little higiiier, that the military services (as escuage itself), while they remained uncertain, were equivalent to knight service ; and that the instant they were rendered certain, they changed both their nature and name, and were called soccage: from whence he concludes, it is the determini-tion of the services that gives the name to this tenure. Nothing, adds he, better proves a great liberality, a great privilege, than the certainty of the nature of the services which frees the tenant from the obligation of obeying, without delay, the caprice of a seignior, who called on him when he pleased, as in the knight service ; for which reason Britton, who describes the tenure in soccage, under the name of Jramtke ferme, says, that they consist in lands, of which the nature of the services, being of chivalry, has been changed by feoffment, for certain and determined annual services, among which were reckoned neither homage, ward, marriage, or relie£ Blackstone afterwards proves, that the tenure in soccage is not less of feudal origin than the chivalry tenure ; and that by the ten instances of com- parison, which are too long to insert here, it suffices to say a few words, en passant, on two of these instances. At the fourth, he says, that the tenure in soccage was of common right, subject to aids to the lord, when his son was knighted, when he married his eldest daughter, &c. &c., which aids were fixed by the statute of Westminster 1, chap. 36, at 20«. for every £.7.0 per annum ; these aids which were ori^- nally mere benevolences, were afterwards enacted as matter of right The statute 12th Car. II., abolished them, for what reason is easily seen. These aids, in the first instance, were only benevolences ; they were raised by vexation into absolute rights ; the seigniors became oppressors. ' But it was not so with respect to the relief, which was paid by the heir at the death of his ancestor, and which was a year's revenue of the estate held in soccage, whether considerable or not This relief which Bracton does not look upon as a real relief, but simply as quadam prastatio loco relevii in reeog- nitionem domini, was retrenched by the statute of Edw I., chap. 1., which declares that the free sokeman shall pay no relief, but after the death of his ancestor shall pay double the usual rent The statute 12th Car. II., reserves this relief; and on lands in fee simple, holden by a rent, the relief is still due on the death uf the tenant It would be too long to recite the tenures in villainage simple and privi- leged; the different modes of possessing them and their different services; what they have in common with free soccage, and in what they differ; it suffices to remark, that the statute 12th Car. II., chap. 24, sec. 7, has reserved the tenure by copy of court-rolls, with all the services dependent thereon ; apd, consequently, arbitrary rights, at the will of the lord, are yet acknow- ledged in England. It is true that the courts of justice have confined these rights within moderate bounds, to prevent their absorbing the inhe- ritance, insomuch that, except under particular circumstances, never more APPENDIX. 2$9 than two yean' revenue of an estate are allowed in case of succession or alienation*. Such are the tenures that have prevailed in England since the statute 12th Car. II. It is dearly seen that the free soccage, if it does not properly admit a relief, admits, at least, of a compensation. The villain soccage admits the rights of heriot, in lieu of the relief, to be paid after the death of the tenant, by his heir ; it admits the rights of alien- ation, even arbitrarily (at least by fiction), and according to the will of the lord ; though, in one sense, they become certain, because the courts, in their judgments, will not suffer them to exceed two years' revenue on the lands they thus held. Our roturier tenures, according to the custom of Paris, do not admit of relief in any case ; and the alienation fines, called lods et ventet, can never extend to two years' revenupf . These are the tenures I am about to show, according to the custom of Paris, with the tenure in fief in capite, or imme- diately from the King, and the tenure in arrierefief. All the tenures of Canada are conformable to the custom of Paris, and are divided into noble and roturier. The noble tenures are all subject to the rights oifrana fiefs and nouveaux acquits, when they fall into hands of roturiers or in main-morte ; that is, a fine which these roturiers or holders in main-morte, becoming possessors of noble estates, are obliged to pay to the King, when he shall be pleased to order a declaration of itj. Those noble tenures are either /raHC« aleux, or fiefs subject to services or redevances ; or fiefs in frank almoigne. The only object, at present, being to obviate the odium meant to be thrown on our tenures, it suffices to mention the fiefs held by services and redevances. The fiefs are held either immediately or mediately of the King. The im- mediate vassal of the King, owes him, — 1st. Fealty and homage, with the aveu et dinombrement. 2nd. In case of sale or other act equivalent to a sale, the new possessor owes the quiut §. 3rd. In case of succession, in the collateral line only, the heir owes the relief||. ^th. In those according to the Fexin le Fratifois, which are but few, the relief is due on every mutation, but never any quint. i'l * Notwithttanding the modiAcationi m wl«eljr eatablithed afaintt •ppressiou, can anjr one db«emble that these lervices are very oneront I lu our preient tenures, are there auy that cao be put In compariion with these } t They aic but a twelfth part of the amount of the purchase^monej. i The King orders this declaration nearly every forty years, according to Ferriire, merbo Jranc fi'f i this change may be looked upon as uncertain; its rate being accordhig to the prudt-Dce of the officers appointed for this purpose, from a state of the rerennes arising from the possessions. ( The fifth part of the purchase^money. I It Is a year's revenue of the said fief, or a ram fixed by award, or by oflTer of the heir, at the option of the seignior. This right can be paid but once in a year, however numo- row such mutations may be In that period* 270 APPENDIX. 6th. The military service in virtue of the ban, if the tenant be not privi* leged*. The mediate vassal of the King owes to the seignior of whom he imme- diately holds, all the above dues, except the military service, which is never due but to the King. Such are the burdens of common right ; there are some others very reason- able and of great advantage to the public good, imposed by clauses in the concessions cited in the report of the Solicitor-General, as well as in the replies of the Honourable Charles de Lanaudidref . I say nothing of La Justice, — ist. Because it is fallen into disuse, or useless since the conquest, par*^ ticularly by the Quebec Act 2nd. Becaiue it would create confusion in the present administration of justice. 3rd. Because it is not inherent in the feudal tenure,Jlefetjtutiee n'ant Hen de communX, If from all these rights be excepted the right of frone fief, and of luntveau* acquets, it may be said, that the noble tenures have no dues repugnant to th« soccage, because, in this case, they have none but what are certain. I may venture to say, they are neither onerous to the tenants nor uneasy to the government And as the statute 12th Car. II., by the sect 6, of cap. 24^ reserves all these rights, except for estates held immediately of the King in capite, I may add, that they have nothing contrary to this statute, except what may regard the rights owing to the King. What will be said of the rotures will show that these first tenures are not oppressive for the censitaires. A juster idea cannot be given of the roturier tenures, considered with respect to their nature, than by using the proper terms of Ferridre, in his IHctiotmaire de Droit. His words are, verba roture : — " Roture is an inheritance held en censive, different from fiefs, which are inheritances held nobly. Fealty and homage, the dhumbrement, relief, quintt tnain-mise, retrait fiodal, forfeiture, have no place in rotures. " Inheritances held in rotwe owe but two principal rights; the annual een$, and the lads et ventes, which are due from the new proprietor to the seignior censier, in virtue of sale, or other conveyance equivalent to a sale. " To these two rights must be added the fines for non-payment of the eens, or for failure of notifying the sale ; the first is of five sols Parisisi, the second of three Ihres, fifteen sols." To form any other idea of the rotures under the custom of Paris, is to • This doty ats never bpen reqvirvd f n Canada. t They ara to give notice of what minet may be fonnd In the nid flefi; to reserve oak trees proper for building vrasels ; and to famish the necenary gronnd for erecting forts on. —See Ariit Report of the Committee of the Honse of Assembly, page 69. X FerrMre, tilre premier desfl^s en general, paragraphe premier No. Sft, page 54, to tbe end. ^ Sets Parisis are tliree*pence and 0B»4hird, and three Uwu Ifleen sols make thirty^ seven peace halfpenny. ''*'*- APPENDIX. 271 abandon the best law authorities. It remains to show, that every man has a right to oblige the seignior to grant him lands, at a very moderate and certain return. The right and facility that every individual in the province has of having lands under the present tenures, is manifestly proved by the ordinances cited by the Solicitor-General and the Honourable Charles de Lanaudidre, as well as by the clauses of the concessions of seigniories, as these gentlemen have also well remarked. 1. By these ordinances, and by these clauses, it is expressly forbid to the seigniors to sell lands uncleared, on pain of re-union to the domain of the crown. 2. It is expressly ordained, that the seigniors shall grant lands to all who ask for them. 3. If the seigniors refuse to grant them, after being required so to do, the persons asking the said lands shall make complaint to the Governors, &c., which Governors are authorized to grant them to them, under the name and for the profit of the King, at the same rate as the other concessions of the said seigniory. To show that the charges and redevancet of the roturei are certain and moderate, it suffices to expose the highest rentei that are known to have been stipulated prior to the conquest, without examining if any seignior, under the silence of the government since that epoch, may have stipulated for higher, or put in practice any vexation. 1. The greatest rentes before the conquest, when they were stipulated to be in cash, were two sols toumois per superficial acre*. 2. Those which were stipulated in money and wheat, were cf one so/ toumois per superficial acre, and a bushel of wheat for forty superficial acres. As to the cens, it consisted, generally speaking, of a sol, or a sol and a half toumois, for every acre in front, by the whole depth of the concessionsf. This cens is subject to — 1. The right of lods et ventes. 2. La saisine ; that is to say, twelve deniers Parisis, for being seized of it : but the eighty-second article of the ciistom says, ^e prend saisine qui ne veut. There is no obligation to take «awtfi«{. 3. The fine when the case happens §. By the ordinances already cited, and by the clauses inserted in the con- tracts, the eensitaires are obliged, — * Two sols toumois we eqml to a pensy and oae-nintk; a sol toumois boing flfc ainthi of a peanjr. f Asol and a bslf toumots ii flfteen-pighteeBtbi of a penny of eons, for an arpont ia f^ont, by twenty, tbirty, forty arpenti in deptb. Some aro known to be one bandied and twenty-iix arpents in depth, wbich are rabject bat to this cens. I Twelve deniers Barists are equal to two-thirdt of a penny. S Thii fine i* of two aorta : one ia incurred by tlie refuaal of pftyinff the eeii« «t reiUeSt and ii of Ave sols Purtsis ; the other ariaea from the default of notice beinf givea of the sale, and conaiata of three limres and dfteea sols. But a aeatence of the Jadge is necessary to oblige the proprietor to the payneat of these loet. S78 APPENDIX. 1. To let their grain be ground at the seignior's mill, and to pay the fourteenth part for grinding. 2. To nuke, or permit to be made, all roads and bridges necessary for the public. 8. To clear their lands and occupy them, within a year and a day firom the date of the contract [A clause extremely favourable to agriculture, to the advancement of the province, and to population.] ^ 4. They are subject to the reserve of mines, ores and minerals, and oak trees*. Thus every man has a right to insist on a grant of land, without its costing him ai sol to become a perpetual proprietor of itf ; and if the rentes are all stipulated to be in money, he will pay annually for an estate, for example, of four acres by forty, a rent of sixteen Uvres toumois, and a cens of six solsX. If, on the contrary, the rent is in money and wheat, he will pay eight Uvres toumois o( rentes and six sols ofcens, with four bushels of wheat §. If afterwards this land is sold, the purchaser, on entering into all the rights of the settler, becomes also subject to the charges, and will owe the lods et ventes\\. .3 Is it then without reason that, under the present system of tenures, the people of this province are said to be happy ? Is the censitaire exposed on his death to have the fruits of his labour torn from him, after flattering him- self with having, by the labour of a whole life, acquired for the children of his bosom the sacred right of an inheritance ? Can these tenures be compared to the leases of ten, twenty years, for life, &c., known in England, of one or of several acres of land for annual rents of two, four, six, ten guineas per acre, which the unfortunate husbandman can- not pay without being reduced to live on a fourth part of what is necessary to aatisty his appetite, and that in potatoes, oats, Sec. 7 Yet, still happy if he be not obliged, after having cleared a great part of his land, to abandon his sacred and natural right to the fruits of his labours, gained by the sweat of his brow, from his incapacity to pay an oppressive rent Is this a kind of tenure, which draws the blood of the labourer to nourish, and satiate the rich lord, as voluptuous as indolent and useless ? Is this a tenure where the earth devours its inhabitants, and must fall, by a natural tendencyr into the hands of these great proprietors, ihe eternal scourge of population ? * At to oftk treM, this reserve doe* not take from them the liberty of cnttinK them down on the land thej clear, nor evea on their other lands ; custom having ever considered this reserve in this sense : that the King has a right of taking those trees wherever he fimla them, M also the seigniors for their mills, Ac, without having it in their power to charge their censitairts with cnlpabilitjr for cutting them down. There is even a jmlicment of M. Begon, of the 90th of July, 1799, which forbids the seigniora to trouble their tMnsttatres in the employment and sale of the oak trees they cut down on their lands. f It will cost him but the notary's fee for passing the deed. X Making \hs, \d. annual rent for one hundred and sixty arpents of land. S Making 7«. 8if., with four bushels of wheat, for the same quantity of land. I The lods et «en(e«, as has been already said, are the twelfth part of the amount of tbe puTchase-moaey ; the seigniors generally remit a fourth of this right, without any preseriptioa being established against them by custom. APPENDIX. S78 As • proof, none are known to leave the province to leek elaewhere a more advantageoiw kind of tenure ; while we »ee arrive here fiuniliet in twarmt, to enjoy the benefits that its tenures' offer them, and breathe the free air of its husbandmen. Such are the observations I have made, after reading with attention and reflectii^ on the extract of the proceedings of a Committee of the whole Council of His Majesty, printed by order of his Excellency, dated the 20th of October last As a citizen and native of the province, of course as much inte- rested in its wel&re as any can be, I think no one can blame me for them. I submit diem, with the moat humble respect, to the examination and wisdom of the Right Honourable Lord Dorchester. THOMAS BEDARD, Priest. Qiubee, February 16, 1791. No. XV. lAat cf Counties and Members Jbr each, according to the Representation BiU, as amended hy the LegidaHve Coun- cil and agreed to hy the House of Assembly, Wth of March, \S9Q, taking the Population according to the last Census of IS^, Countiet. Members. 1. Gasp£ 1 2. Bonaventure I 3. Rimouski 2 4. Kamouraska ...........2 5. L'lalet 2 6. BeDe-Chasse 2 7. Dotdiester 2 8. Beauce 2 9. Mqpmtic (doubtful) 1 10. Lothbiniire 2 11. Nicolet 2 12. Yamaaka 2 18. Dnimmond .--- ...i 14. fiherbrooke 2 15. Standatead 2 16. Mini«iuoui 2 17. Sheflbid 1 18. Rkhelieu - ^ 2 t 874 APPENDIX. CcmUita. Mewtbtn. 19. St Hyacintfae 3 20. Rouville 2 21. Verch«m 2 22. Chunbly 2 28. La Prairie 2 24. Beauhamab ...........2 25. L'Acadie 2 26. Vaudreuil 2 27. Ottawa 1 28. Deux Montagnes ...2 29. Terrabonne 2 80. Lachenaye -----.----..2 81. L'Anomption ...--------2 82. Montreal 2 88. Berthier 2 84. St Maurice 2 85. Champlain 2 Z6. Fortneuf 2 87. Quebec 2 88. Montmorenci ......-----1 9ld. Saguenay ------------2 40. Orleans 2 41. City of Quebec 4 42. City of Montreal 4 43. Three Rivers 2 44. William Henry 1 Total - - - 84 1 1 C el at re bfl wi re ye CM In the Bill sent up by the Assembly the number was eighty-nine. The counties of Kamouraska, Belle-Chasse, Richelieu, St HyacinUie, Rouville, Chambly, La Prairie, L'Acadie, Deux Montagues, Terrebrnme, Montreal, Berthier, and St Maurice, each have one Member by the Bill as amendfd by the Council (say thirteen) ; the Bill, as it came from the Council, adds to Rimouski, Beauce, M£gantic (doubtful), Lothbinidre, Sherbrooke, Missisqnoni, Lachenaye, and Orleans, one each (say eight); which leaves the righty-fiiur Members. ' The Bill goes into opperation at the next general election, only excqiting with regard to the townships, which are to elect representatives next sum- mer, to be present at the next session of the Assembly. The township Mem- bers in all are nine ; and, including Beauhamais, which is psrdy of land in free and common soccage and partly en Jl^, eleven ; eight only of these, being for the eastern townships, can, however, be returned before the general dection. The principle by which the representation is regulated by the i APPENDIX. S75 of the Council, ii two Mcmben kr 4^000 inhalritMits and upwardi ; abovo 1,000 and under 4,000, one; under 1,000, to vote in the nearest county. The Bill lent to the Council gave one Member for about every 0,000 aoub.— Quefee aauttt, Mwrtk 12, 18S9. iThe De, tal, by to Na XVI. Encouragement to Emigration. A Bill to encourage emigration from fiiweign parts into this province has been sent from the L^fislatiTe Council, and concurred in by the House of As- sembly. Its provisions, we believe, are briefy these : — Foreigners may pur- chase and hold lands in this province, and convey the same in fee simple ; and, at dm eipiration of five years, having complied with certain conditions of regialiy, &c. &c., and taking the oadi of allegiance, shsll be c