^ >^^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 1.1 125 lit w 140 2.0 11.25 m 1.4 U4 PholDgraphic Sciences Corporation ^ L1>^ <^ 33 WIST MAIN STMIT WIUTIR.N.Y. USM (7U)l7a-4S03 i\ .^ ^. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian fmtitut* for Hittorical MIcroraproductlon* / Inttltut Canadian da microraproductiona hiatoriquaa :\ Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notsa tachniquaa at bibliograpliiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha boat originai copy availabia for ftiming. 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Whanavar poaaibia, thaaa hava baan omittad from filming/ II aa paut qua oartainaa pagaa blanchaa ajoutiaa lora d'una raatauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta, mala, loraqua cala 4tait poaaibia. eaa pagaa n'ont paa 4t4 filmAaa. Additional eommanta:/ Commantairaa lupplAmantairaa: L'Inatitut a microfiimi la maiilaur axamplaira qu'il lui a ttt poaaibia da aa procurar. Las details da cat axamplaira qui aont paut-Atra uniquas du point da vua bibliographiqua. qui pauvent modif iar una imaga raproduita. ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dana la mAthoda normaia da fiimaga aont indiquAa ci-daaaoua. |~n Colourad pagaa/ D Pagaa da couiaur Pagaa damagad/ Pagaa andommagtes Pagaa raatorad and/oi Pagaa raataurAaa at/ou pailiculias Pagaa diacolourad. atainad or foxai Pagaa dicolorAaa. tachatAas ou piquias Pagaa datachad/ Pagaa dAtachiaa Showthrough/ Tranaparanca Quality of prir Qualiti inAgala da I'impraaaion Includaa aupplamantary matarii Comprand du material aupplAmantaira Only adition availabia/ Saula Mition diaponibia r~n Pagaa damagad/ r~~l Pagaa raatorad and/or laminatad/ r^ Pagaa diacolourad. atainad or foxad/ r~1 Pagaa datachad/ rri Showthrough/ rn Quality of print variaa/ rn Includaa aupplamantary matarial/ I — I Only adition availabia/ Pagaa wholly or partially obscurad by arrata aiipa, tiaauaa. ate. hava baan rafilmad to anaura tha baat poaaibia imaga/ Laa pagaa totaiamant ou partiallamant obacurciaa par un fauillat d'arrata. una palura, ate, ont M fiim^aa i nouvaau da fa^ on A obtanir la maillaura imaga poaaibia. Thia itam is filmad at tha raduction ratio chackad balow/ Ca documant aat fiimA au taux da rMuction indiquA ci-daaaoua. 10X 14X itx 22X 26X »X y 12X 1IX 20X aw 28X 32X Th« copy film«d h«r« hm b««n raproducad thanks to th« ganarotity of: L'axamplaira filmi f ut raproduit griea i la O^^rositA da: New Brunswick Museum Saint John Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poasibia eonsldaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apacifications. Original copiaa in printad papar eovars ara flimad baginning with tha front eovar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- •ton, or tha back cover whan appropriate. All othar original copies ara filmad beginning on tha first paga with a printad or illuatratad imprae- slon, and anding on the laat page with a printad or illuatratad impreaaton. Tha laat recorded frame on eech microfiche sheU contain tha symbol -^(maening "CON- TiNUEO"). or the aymbol y (meaning "END"), whichever appHaa. Ntw Bninswick MusMim Saint John Lea imagae suhrantea ont 4tA reprodultes avac la plua grand aoin. compta tenu de le condition et de la nettet* de I'exemplaire film*, at an conformitA avac lea condMona du contrat da filmage. Lea aKempleiree originaux dont la couverture en papier cet imprimte aont filmte an commen^ant par to pramtor plot et en termlnant soit par to damlAre paga qui comporta una ampreinte dimiiraeaion ou dlMuatratlon. soit par to second plat, salon to cas. Tous las autrea axemptolree origineux sont filmto en commen^ant par to pramlAre pege qui comporte une empreinte dimpreeaion ou d'iHuatration at en termlnant par to damlAre page qui comporte une telto empreinte. Un dee symboles suhrants apparattra sur to damtore image de cheque microfiche, seion le caa: to aymbola -^ signlfle "A SUIVRE", to symbc to ▼ signifto "HN". Maps, ptotea, charts, etc., mey be filmed et different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one expoaura ara flimad baginning in the upper left hand comer, toft to right and top to bottom, aa many framae aa required. The following dlagrama llluatrate the method: Lea cartea, pianchae. tabiaeux, etc., peuvent Atre film4e i dee taux de rAduetion diffirents. Lorsque to document est trop grand pour atre reproduK en un seul ciichA, 11 ant flimd A partir de I'angto aupAriaur gauche, de gauche A drolte, et de haut it bea, an prenam to nombra d'imagae nAceaaaira. Lea dtogrammea suivants illuatrant to mAthode. 1 2 3 12 3 4 6 6 \ ^* .**v ^*\-; € L6! •-# X-.tit tw \- ^>ll* .V •"^i-' -mT- -h. N K'- '^^• -.;> . M Z^'- \X L65I LETTERS r»OM NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK, lIXVSTIUTiyB OF THBIR MORAL, RELIGIOUS, ANU PHYSICAL CIRCUMSTANCES, BIJMMe THE YEARS I«M, 1887, AND IBSt. mmB» EDINBURGH: VAUGH AND INNES; EDINBURGH; M. OeLK, OLA800W ; AND WHITTAKBII, TRBACHSII, AND ARNOT, LONDON. AtUCCCXXIX. /.'• SHMTTavl^ Y '^ ' ' is.i»ti:f H'^r/mwtpf vm.. u/:a ^aTOM i^mm .*• xmii- ^Kk.. i.a ■3t. ■.4. ^ci - j^i^ismim /'^•.•J!,'*T-- .IK*'. 1, * ii' jjw»i,* *~' ;aT. f B. « ! ",->' 4 no. ^■. -■*:■-: >K'^r. fDlDlVROIl : PUKTKD BY A. lALFOinh AKS C«. HIGH tXttCt l^i* PREFACE. -*>' 1 „:,' , ,„i5?f • 1 J '^t-^h^ • i -•';■ V-'- ' " " ' 1 ipf^.'^^ i The chief object of the author of these Letters is to excite the attention of the public to the moral, religious, and physical circumstances of Nova Sco- tia and New Brunswick, two of our North Ameri* can colonies, which have never previously been de- cribed. The author apprehends, the statement that all the characters and conversations which he intro^ duces, are imaginary, is altogether superfluous* EfiiMBuaoH, 10 July, 18S9. 'y9i' 9' / f ■ ■-■^** ■'^ -r-C™ * ^ * "v.. ...... ,*•»' j'-.: ,.f.'' «*jk >...' < - ?"iaijtijK-"""* ,A :4ib if*^ vi^fKjiT^iq -m^ ^^^51! ibiilvr Mi^>^-m0 .^^i ^^ik^^-^i '^iixmm*^',^ji. ,-t' .1 r-i-.-.'.a f; ♦'■» "A %'. .ft'H.ttSr?):> ^ ■ '^ti^t . ' • - i:/" ,: "t^'s htl . • * • . ■ .VXX -11^1*1 i wii: .. , ,. ■ • ' - « '* tlKX tumJi l'-^' ' mi :■ - _. ■■ J lt7.X'sm%l ''■'f ■■ CONTENTS. k Letter I. • • • • X <*,-!-* , "»» Letter IL ' ^ ,„.*..;. . « « . 8 v'iSrTu -iiii '. Letter III. • . 16 Letter IV. ■ . Sft ■•:-}■! Letter V. • . St « »_0Mi}k^t Letter VL • . 40 * i" Letter VII. . ■ . 48 s* Letter VIIL . • . 55 oifv:> ^i# Letter IX. ■ . 68 -bs^rn 1 Letter X. « . 70 ' Letter XI. • . 7T ;iM 'rjiilt^ .. Letter XIL . • . 84 %' '3^* Letter XIIL . • . 98 , i ■ h * Letter XFV. . • . 99 . -M^' f?9nth Letter XV. . • . 105 i V'-: Letter XVI. . r . lit i i ; Letter XVII. • . 190 " ' t « Letter XVIIL ^VL*i . 188 SlJf«t'l„i ,* Letter XIX. . • . ISS Lettf^r XX. • . 140 'i Letter XXI. • . 148 > Letter XXII. • . 153v Letter XXIII. • . 159,' I --— ^ ^ Letter XXIV. - ♦.-^--, - # t: . 168 V \ ! -:iaa • Fife . 178 . 18S . 180 . 198 / »f;f I \ '• 8 > « , n ^.. -, , >. -■ •- m . • « «» V , » ♦ «»:.- .- •■ ■ > 8* . II * , 4?. . • . • m .. • > e? . « , tt , • . #»-. .. • '.-- . m. . -, * * f» , , , mr . , g'ii . , ««^':. ♦ * • -' M^V.v . * '* i rh . .♦ t, . Oi>I . . » Ui , » • ui . .- ,/;--;'- '* ■Wmk .*..?-■ '■ .* ■ '<^ *«t . ^.^ - » V > ■ ;■ . .% . J .II »J4*il . . .fly i«5*sh.i *4^v (\ ./■. } X V v<*.i >*♦<*■" ,'V i.» Page . 173 . 182 . 189 . 198 ,- _rro:n .4 »i#sivi ; .11 t95***i . -' «j4iaJl .1^/ m^ffd .ny i2?j9*l' Ul-^tasift.! -'? t ... ,;.M .iJt ^■GJHa .nX'ismJ ri,ixv>sf5»j 'nZi9*i*j ■rv .. , . T . • V ' i' /\ ■;,r;i'-ii^ .■ -■ X tMJira •■ ' '^ mi^a ^-Z ^n^JJ-xi ■XZ taiJcJ, ZZ T'^JJXI X>J-t^J^J ^■K -fj^n.! LETTERS FROK ..,v i'^'i NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK. LETTER I. ' ■ ^ i • „ ,v fir St. John'Sf New Brunswickf My Deae Sib, ^? i*^?^ Y-o-n,:mii^y ^^:^. -' ♦ ♦ ♦ * * I WAS glad to find myself at sea. The breezes were playing briskly and favourably upon us, and the master and crew were congratulating themselves ujpotk the prospect of a pleasant and speedy voyage. Though the beginning of October, and, therefore, likely to be cold and westerly, yet we did not allow ourselves to speculate upon these contingent cies. We had not been out at sea twenty-four hours, however, till there was a dead calm, and then there sprung up a wind, but it was from the i ■; i M \ :^.-'' I ( ' i/y I . \ (i 8 LETTERS FROM KOVA SCOTIA [lET. I. worst quarter of the heavens for us. Mark the con- sequences. These men, a few hours ago, so buoy- ant with spirits, and so elate with hopes, were cast down with melancholy, itnd intent only on the dangers of a long and difliciiit narigation. Man, my friend, I have always found, has the same grand elementary feelings, wherever he in- habits. All my experiences have satisfied me of the truth of this obsMrvstioiii ; and that the peculi- arities, distinctive of the natives of all the countries of the world, are the result ^ local and accidental circumstances. I found the grand elements of our nature, as strong and efiective in the ship, as I have noticed them in the ^sert, and in the street 9f populous cities. t ' Use conphwitts of tke jnilors with respect to other nuKtters were not causeless. The provisions were bad, and the vessel had enljr ihe half of her complement «f men. Often have I pitied the poor feU«WB working anufng the sails, vliik l^ sea 'was xoUitig ovsr the decfc, nanrymg idl obBtrootions ^cng wrdh it, and dM ««id minds were howfing 'ftightft^. Often hccve I jseen tlnm, weeding 4» thdr Inmi- knocks, 4dMtiiQiied wiili wvteir) widM«t a morMi ef biead «r « ^s of grog, mA coming out agam in « <&w vnnsMSB to %t9i«r iStasat exeietknBn, wfaicii « sudden tbange of the wind iiad ceiNkaed as necea- isaiy 4W evei^ ■ ^-i t'f^^^^-' • y'-x^*: . u .Though %e|«)ttd the inflweooes «f the idndi Mid [let. I. rk the con- », so buoy- were cast ly on the u d, has the rer he in- led me of he peculi- } countries accidental nts of our , as I haye ! streets of respect to Iprovisions alf (Of her 1 the poor le sea ^as ons -along 3ghlft%. mr Inhii^ moFMlof iigauiin whidi « necofr- dadsaad X.KT. I.] AMU NEW BRUNSWICK. WATeS) while the vessel kept afloat I was not at home. I had sjnnpathy neither of soKtiment nor of feelmg with those around me. I was wsk, and idi iras gloomy, the closeness of the cabin disgusted me; and the savour and ooUness of the dedc I loathed ; the cookery I nbominated. Why ? I caik- AottelL Ten times at least durmg our voyage across the Atlantic I believed myself on the li^ink of eternity. I will not attempt any analysis of my feelings on these occasions. I remember, however, that I never fdt so buoyant in my spirits, or so lofty in my conceptions, as while the brig was leaping from mountain to valley of waves, cradling twelve or fourteen solitary beings on the expamnve mass of fonning water, without any living object in sight but flocks of sea-gulls, uttering their wild and dis- cordant crie% as they followed in ike wake of the verael. Oh ! oa. these occasions, I realised in all its truth the beautiful passage in the book of Psalms, << They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters ; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he conmandeth and laiseth the stormy wind, ii^h jiftelh up tlie waves thereof; diey mount up to the lieaveB, they go down again to the depths; ihehr soul is melted ^l>ecaiuse of trouble ; they reel to and jfiro, mid Bt&Qget like a drunken man, and aio at 4bdr^t*s end.'' The words « at their wit'« end,"" % L£Tt£B8 F&OM IJOVA SCOTIA [lET. 1. are graphically expressive ; but to feel the fiiU fonS of them, to be out in a storm at sea is necessary. The additional verses are also excellent : "Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they are quiet.*" The Roman bard also suggested himself, but not with half the strength of the Jewish one : "■■> ■ ** Talia jaotanti itridens, aquiloas prooella :\i Velum adversa ferit, f ictuaque mi udsra tollit, j| franguntur rami ; turn prora arertit et undis - Dat latus, lAiequitar eumulo pneruptui a^uaB mons T Hi aummo in fluotu pandent } hii unda dehitoeni ^ Terram iuter fluotus aparit." , -:q^ m^0i^ Hkii- ti m {Hi: <' Thus while the piouB prince his fate bewtilst Fierce Boreas drove against his flying sails. And rant the sheets, the raging billows rise And mount the tossing vessel to the skies ; Nor can the shivering oars sustain the blow, The galley gives her side, and turns her prow, While those astern, descending down the steep, Through gsj^ng waves behold the boiling deep.** I On the night of the 20th of October, after a • tolerably pleasant day, we had the worst of our storms. It began while the captain^ the mate, and myself were taking a cup of coffee in the cabin about 8 o^dock, p. m., by sweeping the deck of molt of ita furniture, carrying away the water- 4 >» ,.(;i LET. '•] AND NEW BEUMWICK. f i f closet, and a part of the stem, casting down two of the men, breaking the main-boom into pieces, and cleaving the foremast. The captain was at his post, and the seamen among the sails in a moment. Perhaps I might meet death on a battle-field with something like intrepidity, but to go to the bottom of the ocean, without any object whatsoever, is not at all to my taste. . ■.- if You will readily believe, however, that we had no time for indulging in retrospections or antici[ia- tions. The present absorbed our whole attention, and put even death and eternity in the back ground ; yet there were strong evidences of melancholy so- briety in the few words which were uttered. . ii While the hurricane was at its height, I noticed a man, whom I had observed frequently in devout meditation upon the pages of the Holy Scriptures, employed with the greatest coolness in his appro, priate labours. On the countenances of all the others sat the marks of inward agony and dis. may, but the customary look of benevolent affec- tionateness was still on this man'*8 features. I confess that, on this account, I expected, to have the best tidings from him, and, in the moment of feverish excitement, doubt, and uncertainty, good news, though you know them to be delusive, afford something almost as agreeable as water to the thirsty. I asked him, therefore, if he had ever been i f^ r» I I ' ■ t LSTTIE8 FKOM VOYA SCOtIA [lIT. X. at left in hk present ciircumstances, because I ap- prehended that as long as we did not exceed the high water mark of his dangers, all was right. The old man shook his head, and toLd me, that he was ready to obey his Maker^s mandate whenever he should be pleased to give it ; that he would ding to the shq» to the last, and then — — the rest of his words died amidst the crash of the tempest. " At the moment this man^s reply made no jm- pression upon me, but that of its apartness from the object of my question ; but upon the abate- ment of the storm, in looking back over the events which had marked its progress, his demeanour imd deportment struck me forcibly. That man, Uiought I, is poor and ignorant, yet I question if the most philosophic of his fellow men could have evinced hit codness. I had been told of the effect of Christiaii* ity in nerving the mind against the ills of mortality^ but here I had a practical exhibition of it. My friend, that peace of the Redeemer must indeed pass aU understanding, which converts ignorance into philo- sophy, and antidotes the mind against the hoirott of death. In the storm the first mate was invalided by several heavy bruir'^s ; and one of the apprentices or cabin-boys had his leg broken. ^ The master, who was famous for his deep and eccentric oaths, was calm as a lamb the whote £ET. I.] AHD WW BMrVtWICK. time, and though not in the habit of it, devoured tobacco by handfulls, as if he had been determined to carry it all in his bowels to the coral caves at the bottom of the deep. I recollect of his coming down about midnight to the cabin, and clenching his hands upon the table, laying down his head upon them, and then in a few moments liffciog himself up with a sort of convulsive shudder, asking me to help him to drink a bottle of porter, his favourite beverage. The next morning was calm and serene. Not a cloud was to be seen in the firmament, and, but for the swell of the sea and the damage in the vessel, we might have believed the whole to have been a dream. But our dangers were not altogether from the winds and waves, but also from the ignorance of the master of the vessel of the use of the quadrant I admit that we had a good deal of foggy weather, yet we had an observation daily, with a few excep- tions. On the breaking up of a fog one morning, however, we found ourselves almost amongst the sand-banks off Sable island, well known to mariners for iti dangerous coast. We were within a mile of it, when the master''s calculations made us sixty or eighty miles to the south of it. Ought not government to order that all vessels have a sufficient complement of men, and that all masters have sufficient qualifications ? 'LM- .\ %-J,,-it-t.-^ *'»'i-? %.'.-'t*H "■?*'-■'■■*;■ '■■'■"' LETTEB8 FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XI. LETTER II, I V« ■ . . - ii^ Jan. 16, 1826. '" My Dear Sir, I HAVE been in the forest. Last new yearns day I took a solitary travel into the woods that I might make observations on the tenants of the desert. About one o''clock, p. m. I came to a hut, which pleased me with its aspect of neatness and comfort. The door was shut, but, on opening it, a splendid dinner presented itself to my eyes, together with six or eight persons standing around it. A man cloth- ed in decent home-spun attire was asking a blessr ing upon the feast, and, but for his prayer for the stranger within his gates, I should have concluded myself wholly unnoticed. I attempted to stammer out an apology for my intrusion, but was interrupted by the declaration of the farmer that he was exceedingly glad to see me, and that he would be happy if I would take a chair, and partake of his new yearns day dinner. Though I was cold and hungry, and, therefore, sufficiently LBT. II.1 . . . A^D NEW BRUNSWICK. 9 disposed to comply with his request, yet I was de- sirous that the mistress of the mansion diovd se- cond the motion of her husband, and, ther^^ore, I began to bow myself Out of the door. The lady, however, was polite enough to ask me to stay, and, with many thanks, I set myself down at the repast on the right of my hostess, " cheek by jowl" with a capital Nova Scotian fire. /In a few minutes I discovered that all the guests were of one family, except myself. After dinner we had plenty of rum and brandy, together with apples and raisins, by way of desert. We talked of various matters. Ireland was mentioned. ** You have been in Ireland,*" said the farmer, addressing himself to me; I replied in the affirmative. ** Well,'" said he, wiping away a tear which strayed over his manly and weather-beaten cheek, ** Ireland, after all, is a beautiful country, and I could wish to see its green hills again before I die, though all my re- lations are in their graves except my cousins at -— ; — y Then he told me the history of his life from the time of his departure from his native land. " I left Ireland,"" said he, " in the spring of 18—, and, in four weeks landed at St. John"s, New Bruns- wick. I had paid my passage before my embarka- tion, and had still fifteen shillings in my pocket, when I set my feet upon the shores of North Ame- rica. I could not affi^rd to idle away my time in 10 LETtXRd FBOM KOVA SCOTIA '[lBT. tl. 14 lodgings, and, therefore, I determined to go into the country, «nd look for work. Where to journey I knew not. A vessdi lying at one of the wharves fiw Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, attracted my obser* yatiOn. I made inquiries about the probability of getting work in that direction, and though the an* swers I obtained were sufficiently vague, yet as I had no better prospect elsewhere, I took my pasa- age, and reduced my whole fortune to three shil- lings and sixpence. On board were two or three Nova Scotian farmers, who had been over at 8t. John^s to sell their produce. They saw that I was a stranger from the Emerald Isle, and discovered that I was in quest of employment, r ** Most providentially one of these gentlemen had a friend, who was in want of a turn servant, and to him he mentioned the subject. I was employed, and lived happily with my master, fbr the Ameri* cans are kind and indulgent to their servants. I could dig, but with the axe I was a child. My mas- ter commended my industry and sobriety, fbr I #as always sober and industrious, laughed at my awkwardness with the aze^ and told me that I was a Ukeiy fellow, and would improve. I did improve. Sir, as my form testifies, fbr I cut down all the trees which have been removed fiwm it. «< But though I was well cbthed and well M, I was not happy, for I had « wifb and child in Ire- V. 1 ? ' 1 L£T. II.] AMD XBV BBVKSWICX. x^ n land, and I wished to make them sharen of my prosperity. The only method to elRsct this olject, for I was ignorant of all trailer was to get a grant of forest land, huild a hut, and begin the operations of a settler. I told my master my wishes. He is dead, Sir. He was a kind man. Fill your glass^ and we shall drink to his memory, if you have no objections. My master told me that he approved of my plan, and that he would assist me. He ap- plied for me to the local government, and I got a grant of a hundred acres of land. « On the first tidings of my success, I barguned with the master of a vessel at St John'^s to bring out my wife and child. They landed in the fall, and as I could not build my log hut till the spring, my master got me a small house for them. My wife died shortly after her arrival, and left me with this boy to fight my way through the difficulties which beset me." He pointed to a fine robust young man of seventeen or eightem years of age. « I could nottffibrdto hiro aperscm to nurse him, and, thereforo, myself was obliged to undertake the business. I dressed and undressed him, put him to bed, washed our dothes, and cooked our victuals. I had to chop on my farm, and many a time, with him upon my back, have I walked knee-deep in snow for five or sis bug miles to my day^s work. I wrapped him up, and laid him beneath the shelter .\ 12 LETTERS FROM NOTA SCOTIA [htT. Ifil I Iji \ \ \. H of the trees, and many many nights have both of us slept there. Do you see that tree at the comer of the garden? That was the spot; that tree shall stand in its integrity, while I have life to protect it. I sit for two or three hours beneath it all the fine summer Sabbath afternoons. ^ " I have succeeded. Sir. God has been kind to me.'" "^ .u . - " Then,** said I, " your present wife is a natiwr of Nova Scotia.'' « Oh no, Sir,'' he replied, « she is from Ireland. I met with her first at Annapolis Royal. She was on a visit to her aunt. I asked her, and she agreed to marry me. I could not afford to have a Noya Scotian wife. They cannot work out of doors, and then they dress so extravagantly, and all the winter must be at parties two or three times a-week. Now Mary helps me to mow, and dig, &c. My neighbour, John , poor man, who is at present in prison for debt, might have been richer than I am, for he is a sob^r, industrious man, if be had not been unfortunate in his marriage."' Mrs. ^— - entered the apartment, and I took up another subject of ti^k. " Two or three of my ac- quaintances," said I, " have gone out to-day in quest of the mouse-deer. They were desirous I should ac- company them, but I think I have more enjoyment where I am." He bowed, and told me that, a few years ago, he had gone into the woods on one of t LET. 11.1 AND NEW BRUNSWICK, tl .|8 these mouse-deer expeditions, but was sd liueartily nek of it, that he had vowed not to repeat it. *< There was a party of six of us,*" said he. « We equipped ourselves with ammunitioti, provision, &c. for two or three days. All of us wore snow shoes to prevent us from sinking amongst the snow, and, as I was wholly unaccustomed to them, they fatigued me exceedingly. Night overtook us, and glad I was to have that apology for finishing the day^s toik. We lighted a fire of faggots, ate our cold beef and bread, drank bur brandy, and then laid ouiselves down to sleep with the heaven for our canopy, and the snow for our bed." ; « I should think," said I, «« that this sport te- quires a strong constitution." << Oh yes !" he re- plied, ** most of those who have been engaged in it frequently betray the marks of premature de- cay." ;; ,'. ■ ■:— . ' :. •■•! ;? ' At this moment two or three large circular pieces of brown sugar, lying on a plate upon the table be- fore us, attracted my observation. " Where^ my friend, did you buy this sugar," said I ? «*.0h! that is our own manufacture from the raw produce of our oWn forests," he replied. " lAde^ 1 db you make sugar from^^ the beet ?" " Oh no ! we« eat all our beets in their raw state. That sugar is from the maple tree. I make a sufficient quantity of it for the supply of my family throughout the year. I 14 LETnSS VROK WOVA lOOTIA [LtT. fi; I' keep s pound or two of West IndUsugtr alira3Fiiii my bouse Ibr tlie use of any friend like younelf, ftom the old country, who may honour me with • tisit, (I bowed most profoundly) ; but mysdf, my wife and finmly prefer the maple sugar. The end of March or beginning of April is the time for making it. Then the juices are ascending from the rootsL We make an aperture towards the bottom of the tree, and put a thin board of cedar into the hole to convey the sap into a trough ready to receiTe it. After its extraction we boil it on a fire, and, as It loses by evaporation, we fill it up from anoUier ves- selfrd on another fire, tiU this last boiler is empty. Then wf^ boil the whole together for a few hours, till the sap mounts up to the top. Then we put a small ^piantity of fet pork into the boiler. We repeat this operation three times, and successively the podt rises up to the top.. Then we strain the syrup into a pail, and allow it to remain in this state till the next day, when we put it on a slow fire, and bol it for an hovat, and then pour it into eartiien vessdbi to cod.** <« Can you take sap firom these trees yearly r^ -i^* Oh no. We cork up the holes, wluch we make for the extraction of the juices, the moment we have got what we deem a sufficient quantity, to jnevait the trees from exhausting themselves. We have such an abundant supply of maples in our forests, thtt we 49 not frequentiy repeat the operation 9f LIT. II.] AKD KKW BRVKtWICX. u tapping, but I should think that it might be per- formed every seventh or eighth year without any material iiyuiy to thetree.^ I tasted the sugar, and found it to have a strong taste. Nobody can tell what aright method of pre- paration might have upon it. I have not the small- est doubt that any sum which might be expended in the necessary experiments, would be amply re- paid by the profit of the manufacture. -^r: •■JV «? ■ ■ f. *- '■ '/"^ . " -^.*,*:i-^vS LETTERS FROM NOTA SCOTIA [lET. III. \ '.,^a 3 'I' ' :t'{hx':i- n ^■■:^'i Tkfl/t LETTER III. ^ :• I ■ Feb. 7, 1821. f« My Dsab Sir, The weather for the last three or four weeks has been excessively cold. It is difficult to keep the atmosphere within doors temperate, though we have large stoves in the halls, and lordly fires in all the apartments. The night of the first of the pre- sent month the mercury in Fahrenhcit'*s thermome- ter was 16° below zero, and at thif ^noment I con scarcely keep the ink from freeing, though the sun is blazing in a cloudless firmament, and a mass of fire logs are in flames before me in my apartment. From my window nought but heaps upon heaps of snow present themselves, except occasionally a sleigh moving w'th wonderful rapidity on its icy path. . Two o: three days ago I went out for a few mi- nutes in one of these vehicles, but though I endea- voured to put myself beyond the influences of the weather, by an enormous quantity of clothes, yet I was almost lifeless with cold before I LET. III.] AND HEW BHUKSWICK. tX #' ■ « , ;^. got ouK of it. I will tell you the whole of my dress. Do not laugh. I was garbed in two pairs of stockmgs, a pair of shoes and a pair of over- shoes, three shirts, flannel, leather, and linen ; a pair of draw whea ^e party by ^oo chain uid about a »tion in Ta- >fterthem. tables pre- hist-playew 'adies, with ently from seemed to noticed a f from the • " You ' Seldom, -njoyment »fe of our 1 snowy/' inter thia ^M been J I have in Scot, otia one, ^ I have than in not cur LBT. III.] AND NSW BBVKSWICr. 19 severity of weather m the old country, you are strangers to our beautiful sky and brilliant sun.^ I admitted the fact ; << but then,"" said I, *< these can scarcdy be considered advantages in the winter months. To sit in one^s apartment, weary with con- finement, and to look out from its windows upon a clear and lovely heaven, lighted up with all the splendour of a glorious sun, appears to me to spi- rit up something like the feeling of the captive, who peeps out through the gratings of his dungeon upon scenes which he is not allowed to enjoy ."^ ** I grant the truth of your observation to a certain ex- tent. I have been shut up within doors for weeks together, when the colours of the firmament vied in beauty with those of the sky of Italy, where twenty years ago I lived for a few months with my husband ; but then, generally, we can go out in our sleighs.^ " Oh, do not talk of these machicea to me. I am sick of them.^ With this observe, tion I left her, that I might accept the invitation of a gentleman who asked me to drink a glass of something with him. << May I ask, Sir,^ said I, '< what sort of beverage that decanter, out of which I have filled my glass, contains ?^ "What,^' said he, "have you not 'spruce beer in Scotland ?"* " Yes,"" said I, "but it does not taste like this liquid.*" " Oh ! the reason is obvious. We do not make it as in the old coun- \ •«.. f • ^,,,, »(f'' li • • barrel. ,„<, p.„ the h,aw " '"^ "•" »"> benches of the tree Td u ' "" '"'' » ^'^ fo whole co»po„Ld * K •> ; "'"'' «»" "J'"" M.ny„^U,„ Pj^jo bol f» . short time. "runk. however, haVha^' J**' "^ ""■'"• ^"^ J-'ve "*« heat. I prid'"^, *?! " «^^ %« in a tempe- EngUsh spruce beer il «d«im. we Americans are savL^'t " """' ^""^ *« " our trees are of W^l^.Th "' "'. ^''^^ would not class me amnnJT '^««^ *»« he *«d abundant pr^frfT I'T. """»"»' «« ^ I"^ ..tions. .< I doZt l! "'"""' *"■ »"«'> "een- '-'•."idrnr.ri^r.^-jpHedwi.h '""' out I mean the [let. III. LET. III.] ANl) MEW BftUNSWICJt. Si it. We boil r, say sixteen half cold into iponit; then 5s with a few ether, till we 58 have been >d and allow short time, ch you have f a quantity in a tempe- preparation 'arm, I will to the best >t- , of t as he had across the ner's state- h triumph d exdaim- ancy that cookery i that he as I had ich accu- ied with nean the I generality of your countrymen, who do Us the hon- our of a visit in our forests. They treat us as if we knew nothing, and our hospitality, as if it was not worth the having. A poor Scotchman came to me a few months ago in want of work. I hired him. But all my farm orders he seemed to treat with contempt. His object appeared to be to teach me, not to work. He could not plough with bullocks. I told him that in this cotuyry horses were useless for agricultural purposes. He seemed to pity me. I bought horses for him. He found that he could not work with them — "; but just as he uttered these words, the supper was announced, and the company moved off in pairs to an adjacent apartment, where a splendid feast was ready for them. At table I found a parson on my right, and the elderly lady, whom I have mentioned previously, on my left. " You do not play at cards, Mr. ,'* said I. . " Oh no ! it is a misapplication of precious time, and, I testify against it, as all clergymen ought. I am glad that you have not acquired this pernicious habit. I have been some times almost tempted to preach against it, but then the sectarian preachers harrangue their hearers frequently upon this subject, and, therefore, I have always deter- mined to postpone it.^ " But, Sir, I should appre- hend that a lecture from you might be of benefit, especially to your own flock.'^ " Oh no. Sir, do not 4 » . LETTEBS F&DM NOVA SCOTIA [iJET. IH. l^^k upon the subject ; I, a tninister of the C^nurcfa 'of England, of l^e only true apostcdical churdb, to follow in die wake of the outtwsts from ovr Zion."" " Oh no ! Never, Sir."" « i amit ncanbcr in proposing her health, there was a kindness in his aspect and manner which pleased and asto- nished, me. I I ; ) . -.^mh&d ■ ■ ' ,fefc£K>i*a4iik.> h *ni^-T^i^ |jm.,,**flga, ,mm^..4i^^^^ « T'A, [let. III. I LET. IT.] AKs mnr-ssvytwicK*^! r r Ui t r' 4 ' ^ ' LEWER IV. /*«&. 25, 1826» ^ My Deaii Sill, Ybstbkday I met with Dr. — »^— of—, who in- Vited me politely to visit his banack-hole, as he caU« ed it« Dr. . is a tall, lean, pale-fatced Irishman, who has been over the whole of the Peninsula with the immortal Wellington. His bodily framewoirk, naturally slight, displays evidences of the desthic* tive effects of his ciunpaigns, for he wears the aspect of a shadow, and not of a man of flesh and blood. Like several of his brother officers, whom I hare had the honour to know, he has not wasted all the strength of his mind upon battles, &c. o» even up- on the arcana of the materia medica, but has de^ voted the leisure hours which a soldier^s Itfe affords to books and meditation. Like the generality of his countrymen, he is naturally sagacious, and, in the exposition of his dear and luminous observa- tions, his small dark eyes glow with all theenthusi- \ XETTIBS YBOK NOVA SCOTIA [UCT. ITit astic fenrour which is characteristic of his country* men. The Doctor, howerer, is one of the most eccentric of men. His dress is totally different from all around him and about him ; and, though he has obviously borrowed largely in this respect from the Indians, yet he is too origjhsal to all Ms speculations to be ^ slavish imitator of them. Indeed, to see the slight ghost-like man in his own peculiar costume, one woidd fancy that he was a stray pilgrim from some of the planets of our system. On Ms head he woars a hat^ and sometimes a cap of his own mannK &cture. The rest of his dress i» all of the sldBi cf the beakts of the forest altogether beyond my de^ scriplive powers. He opened the doot of his i^partment, and ashed me to Walk into his cfefi. What a sight presentecl itsdf ! Moose skins and horiis for ornaments to die walls; pill-boxes, &c. &c. &c. to the tables; the bones of animals^ half-stript of their flesh, and ooz- ing taatter from their pores, to the chairs> heaps of books of ill language^ and on all subjects, surgical instrumenti, di^s« wine bottles, &c. &e. to the floors* He muttered something about the stupidi* ty of servants, &c. ** But^ Mud he, ** put diat moose^s jaw-bone upon the table, and take a seat. That fellow John has forgot to mend the fire."" '* John^ John^"^ he bawled out, and a stout short LKT. IV?! AND R£W BlUirSWZCK. yottng man, with more knavery than folly in his look, entered wi^ an armful of logs. *< Oh 1 yoa know what I want, you rascal. Why did not yoq, attend to the fire? But set the taUe, and let us have a bottle of the port I got from Halifax last wcflk.^ The man obeyed his orders with the utmost eoohless, but did not lift his eyes from the ground the whole time he was in the room. « That fellow,^ said he, after he had left the apartment, << has many ftoUs, but he has mMiy virtues also. But to me the best of aU Ins qualities is his quietness. He ck»es not disturb me wi',* a»"- R.l I 5 ii LCTXBia VBOH HOTA ICOTIA [lST. XV. iary to locate cadi many woman, atid diiU of the emigrant caigoea ; but what aignify all hia eako^ latiofis ? The aea, Sir, is equally capadoiia «a our eoloniea, and the expense of submenion ia not htU ao great as that of exportation; and, therefore, aa ^e last plm is more effieient, and greatbjr more eooo nomical than the first, I should advise the Com- inons house of Pariiament to adopt it. And) ^ Mdes, the Sjdoptiojn of tl|is last proposal would Jutve the e£r«!ct c^ saving the poor cxeaturesfirom years of misery, and the colonies from the influences of their .Imnefol and immoiud conduct. .^ , *< But, my dear ^, you forget diat thme ia a surplus , population which cannot be fed, Moi which, therefore^ must be exported in quest of £pqd and^ raiment in . ptfaar lands.** <* I *^i9^ it, S&t. But what is the cause of it? It ia the papal chwdi. Sir. I say, it is ihe p^pal church. You laugh, but I will prove the truth of my statement.*" ** My dear Sir, I beg ten thou- ^9and pardons. I have read Malthus, but I do not recollect that he mentions the papacy aa one of Uie causes of the over-growth of population.^ ** Away with Malthus, Sir. The popedom encourages spi. .ritual and intellectual darkness. Do you think that if I had the wages of my servant only, I would marry and attempt to rear up a fiimily of sons and daughters. No, Sir. And why ? Just because I \ MET. iv.] Avo viw mwavamicK. SI would be in misery ; becauie I would not have the means of obtaining the comforts and luxuries which my education has made necessary to my happiness. Now by the emancipation of the Iridi peasantry from the delusions of the lUmiitn church, and by educatmg them, you will generate tastes and wants whidi they have not at present, and then till they have obtained the means of supplying these, they will not man^. The Irish peasant marries young, and why ? Just because his waits are fbw.' He goes in rags, dwells in- a cabin with his pig, andnuBL ^sts upon potatoes. Educate Mm. Givehimnew wants, and he wili be a dilB»ent person. The po- piiUtion will diminish immediately.^ Just at this moment, as I was about to reply, my finend, Captun — — of the — — > walked into the apartment, and other subjects ot comrersatkm were introduced. 7 "'(: -, ^J- «r- -«■■"??- 7- = ?r 'v?^*^ *r *- . 'ai t:* '1 mumm \ ^l^i LETTEKS FEOM KOVA SCOTIA " [lET. Y* '( I " H f* LETTER V. ^^'f-i^.'^i^i iM- ■ ■ o*^ JfarcAiy, 1826. • Mv I>EAU SlE, '-^'*i In my last letter I wrote you of my visit ta Dr. ->— — of the ■ ftnd of our conversation till Captain ■ of the — entered the room. Per- mit me to introduce you to my friend the captain^ He is a stout muscular tall man, and though he has not seen fifty summers and winters, yet his head has many gray hairs, ai\d his hody hends consi* derahly, the effect of twenty years of miUtary la* hour. His aspect is stem, and his manners alto- gether are rough, but when he opens his lips to speak in a private company, his features seem to relax, and there is a kindness in his eyes, and a softness in his tones, which win and delight. Though fond of argument, though, like Goldsmith^a schoolmaster, even when vanquished he can argue still,— though he debates just as I should believe he fights, with his whole might, and yields as reluc- tantly to the moral puwer of demonstration as \e 'r ... ■•■''f 11 bravest soldier to the physical strength of his aH- ▼ersary, yet he can be " pleased with a rattle and tickled with a straw." He delights in politics. Hi$f prmciples are ultra-tory, and I am positive that he would prefer, like Peter the Hermit, to marshal! the nations to war against the political infidels of his times, as he designates the whigs and radicals, to the noblest honours of the British army. We differ on almost all subjects, and therefore we have had many stormy disputes ; but still I have whiled away many pleasant hours in his company, and { respect him. ■ ***^ ^^ .3<*??5»3 ^^h) ^nmm , x^i^ W-" When saw you — — ," he exclaimed as he en- tered the room. " Oh, Mr. , I beg your par- don, how are you. Were you at the launch to-day.**. I replied in the negative. ** Oh !*^ said he, ** the timber trade is the ruin of this coimtry. The soil, I say the soil is the basis of ii nation^s wealth,' and just as its capabilities are developed and im- proved, does it rise in importance." " The trees,*^ md I, <* are a mine of wealth. They fetch riches intd the country." " The trees," he re^^ed, " may. put a few pounds into the farmer^s pockets, but they, do not at all better the circumstances of thesie pro-' vinces." (The Doctor begged to interrupt him for a moment to ask him to fill a glass which the ser-^ vant bad juat set down before him. " Oh, no. Not' ihat cold stuff, Doctor. Have you got any warm' il i i "\^- i 34 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. V. water ? I shall take a tumbler of rum toddy v) ** If the farmer produce a sufficiency for his own yearly consumption, and then cut down trees and mnxh &cture them for the foreign market, that he may have the means of obtaining foreign articles, he does not benefit his property. He may, in this way, have plenty of luxuries. He may make himself rich, not because his grounds are a farthing moie valuable than they were previously, but because he has got a liberal remuneration for his labour; be- cause he has been a fortunate workman. In this way, indeed, (the doctor fell asleep,) he may be en- abled to uphold a vast establishment, to furnish his premises with plenty of foreign furniture, and hia table with plenty of foreign luxuries, yet his som, but for the money he has in his pockets, is as poor as his fkther was at the commencement of hie, I mean to say^ that his exertions have not contributed to the ben^t of hit country, and that his landed property at his death is just what it was at his suo* cession to it.^ ** But you must aUow,"" said I, « that the cutting down of the trees is a necessary pr«- Umioiry to the cultivation of the soil"" « I adviit it. Sir. But then the labour employed in napij^^ turing t\vm into boards, and in conve3ring them to the wharves, is not necessary, and from this labour, not ftom the trees, for in themselves they are almost valueless, the profit arises."* r S"Ji—rf^".*. |- '■.»¥■*-»• tlKirr^- T("»' I.*ET. v.] AND NEW BRVNSWICKi tv« And how do they employ the Teady cash, which ^ey obtain from tfadr labour ^ *utit on.^ " No, Sir. In thor opinion die flour from thie United States makes more excellent bread,' than the wheat, or rye, or maize of Nora Scotia, and, ilMcefinre, they seU thdr own produce, and buy it. The poorest of the poor looks with contempt Upon any bread, which is not wheaten, anV*^ -. •- , "■• • ......... ........ I ^ f « LPT. V.J AND NEW BJIDK8WICX. i»^|£4 3(9 the Gaptain, "so lightly of the aDies of Gxeat Britain." I was afraid. of a long and stormy discussion up. on this subject, which the Doctor had inadvertently introduced ; and, therefore^ made a movement in* dicative of my departure. The Captain rose also, and took up his hat ; but just as he had groped his way nearly to the door, his foot came in contact with a heap of books, &c. &c. and he fell prostrate upon the floor. He rose immediatjely ; but his look, when the Doctor asked him if he Imd received any injur]^, I cannot picture. i^m. i^V" -i;-^!'"* :;i t wm ,t- '.1, t^^t^ # ^ ^^ ' «• " . f , :.> '■*? iT April 3, 1^6. /'* ■ ■ ■ .\ c - . •.. ■ rf ".*> o£ M ,siB .5» <■ c«i ^My IXbar Sir, ■ '■"'^y |c Va Nova Scctia summer succeeds >vmteir without the intervention of spring. A few days ago the * whole country was overspread with snow to the depth of several feet. Last night the thaw conw meneed. To-day the trees with their green foliage are peeping out from the superincumbent mass of snow. The feelings of all animals in this country at the breaking up of winter, undergo changes which are totally unknown to those of more temperate dimates. The mind, disburdened of the frigorific effects of seven months of frost, feels a degree of en. joyment which no changes of the weather effect in Britain. The only drawback upon our happiness is the ' badness of the roads, which are so deep as to keep most persons within doors. They are not overlaid with metal like those of Great Britain, and, there- I- I ^4 *«> -^, IXT. TI.] AND NEW: BRITNSWICK. t2 If: > fore, as the soil is generally sandy, the tiiaw of the mass of snow which has been in accumulation the whole winter, makes them totally impassable with any sort of comfort. If you walk you are bemired up to the knees, and if you ride you are complete* ly besprinkled with mud. Last week I had a short excursion in a sleigb along with my friend Mr. . Mr. is one of the most intelligent men I have met with in any country, and though he does not boast of an um« versity education, is yet a person of a stucdous and comprehensive mind. He has been all his life in Nova Scotia, and, therefore, has had abundant opportunities of observation with rei^ect to its local circumstances. ^^^ "^ ' *' *' These provinces,'" said I, " seem to have vast' capabilities of improvement." " Yes. Yet th«r^ ' development is exceedingly slow. The whole of this flat where we are at present, has been occupied for centuries^ and yet its aspect is something like what I should apprehend it to have been a^s ago."^ <* I have felt the truth of your statement fre<]^uent- iy in my excursions. What can be the causes of it ? Do you think the want of capital is one of them ?'^ " No, Sir. Though my observation may seem like a paradox, yet I am ftiUy satisfied that exemption from taxes is a most important oneJ** " Yes. The government is supported chiefly by fr/ v' .1 'il/ 't^ •V i^,' i // I: ■ \ ■■»■■ ' LETiSltS FSDM IfOVA SCStlA [lET. V).' Great Britain, and the church is upheld partly fay die Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and partly by die British goveroment The only direct tax in these provinces is the quit-rent, which ia 3s. fiir every hundred acres of landed proper^ r hut small though this sum be, it has never been eoUeet- fd. And I tell you, Sir, that if the government should make attempts to levy it, probably a rebels Uon would be the effect. We pay poor's-ratea, in. deed, but you know our ifriend Mr. •— — is one of the greatest land-holders in Nova Scotia, and has one of its lar^st and finest establishments, and yet the whole an^ount of his taxes is not a pound ster- Mng yearly. We fiirmers have no rents to pay, be- cause we work our own property. We pocket the whole product of our labours. We have no suflfi- fdNBKt stimulus to exertion beyond the obtainment of a competent provision for ourselves and £unilies. Taxes, therefore, would compel us to do more work in the ratb of the demand upon us, and, conse- quently, the resources of the country would be gradually developed.*" " You say, my dear Sur, tl^tt you have no sufficient inducement to exertion beyond the obtainment of a competent provision for yourselves and family. But what is a competent provision ? << Oh, we wish to subsist just as our Withers before us, A small quantity of labour in the summer months gives us all the necessaries of "/ 1' LET. VI.] AKS NEW BRUNSWICK. I J IS K^ and, with respect to luxuries, we «re whdly ig* BOtaiit of them.*^ '>' Another of the causes, wluch, in my opinion, cheoks the improvement of these provinces, is the monopoly of all the money, — I mean the ready caidi, by ft few individuals. It is a curious sulject of philosophical investigaticm, my dear Sir, — ^Why, m those countries which are blessed with- the purest sky and the most beneficent soil, where the com- forts of life are obtained with the least labour, Ul6 * mass of the inhabitants are poor. In illustration of this truth, I might refer to many of the European nations. To say that the government is a bad one^ removes the difficulty only a ^^tep back ; for that^ - Sir, I maintain, is always in the ratio of a peojde^t deserts. Besides, this argument, if it wete a good (me, does not apply to the North Americaii ftovia* oes, where the government is decidedly British, md its administration beyond impeachment. The feet of die matter is, however, that the mass of our po- pulation is in a state of vassalage to a monied aris- tocracy, who govern them, not by feudal claims on liidr services, or by the respect which attaches to Inrth and lineage, as in the old monarchies of Eu- rope, but by means of theur rich^ and offices. The last of these is always the consequent of the other. By means of their patronage our governors rule the wealthy ;. and these, by their riches, keep the pee- • I S u !) f M r "I ; w i J 44 LETTERS FBOM NOVA SCOTIA. [lET. Tli -Hf \l pie in bondage. These gentlemen, thoitgh not bankers or brokers, according to the common lm-4 port of these words, yet do a most lucrative busi- ness in lending money, taking mortgages, bargaining for farms, &c. &c. Our common rate of interest is six per cent. ; but I have known many of them ex- act a premium of 10 p^r cent.^ " Indeed ! you astonish me.^ ^"f .« Most persons have mortgages upon their estates, liable to be foreclosed whenever the bolder of them pleases. The money-holder buys a farm at a small price, because cash must be had for it^ and ^ere are few who have it. Perhaps he sells it tho next day for ten or twenty, sometimes thirty times the sum which he gave for it, gets a certain ^art of the purchase-money in cash, takes a bond for the payment of the remainder by yearly instaU mcKits, with the interest upon it, and a mortgage upon the property, as a security for the full execu- tion of the bargain. Whenever, then, the farmer fails to pay his ipstalments, or the interest upon his debt, the holder of the mortgage forecloses it, sells the property by public auction, buys it generally back for one twentibeth or one thirtieth of the value, and olPers it for sale again, just like an arithmetician with a repeating decimal. «^ c^f* Whilst, then, my dear Sir, this state of mat^ ters^^ost, whilst there are farms to buy with «U ttr, VI.^I ANb NEW ImuNswtcx. 4» ^:Miy- iai»b Ikdvahtages, mon^ cannot b^ ei^cted to tbe invested in any less lucrative speculations. Whilst money is to be lent at 6 per cent^, with a premium v£ 10 per cent. ; whilst farms are to be bought Bnd sold at the enormous profit which I have men- tioned; whilst, by' these transactions, the monied men keep the fnass of the population in subjection; and, in this way, make the local government sub- aervient to their purposes, no improvement can be effected for years in the circumstances of the peo^ pie. ?i *4* <* Another of the causes which check the improve-^ ment of the country, is^ the exorbitant price of mitnual labour, which operates not only as a draws^ back upon agrictiltural operations, but also upon the development of our mineral resources. YoU may scarcely believe me^ but I certify you of the fact, that the coafe, which are imported fro* Great Britain, are not so expensive a fuel as wood."*^ ** Why, then, do you not burn coals ?'' *' Oh ! I have two reasons why I do not bum coals. The one is because I think wood makes a more cleanly fire ; and the other is because I have a quantity of forest land, and no other employment for my men^ servants in the winter months. But if I had to go to the town and buy fuel at 15s. or 20s. a cord, I should certainly prefer coals, as far the cheapest. Now, Sir, though there is plenty of coals in our }\ i r (i! .«t. .w,Vi. •e, 4S -f »£.i7r r_r j^. I lETTEBS FEOBC HOVA SCOTIA. {lET^ V|. liills and yaUeys, we have no coal work% ejccept j» the neighl&oiirhood of Hctou. We have plenty of ivon ore, but we have made no attempts to manii* faetme it. They talk, indeed, of erecting wojpks ton. that last object in the neighbonirhood, but'^n their establishment will be the result, to a certain extent at least> of foreign capital. Our own is toe profitably invested already to be employed in this •peculation; And> my dear Sir> I am told that citizenS'Of the American Republic are the projectors of it. I lament it^ Their peculiar notions will be introduced amongst xut and manifest their {vactical effects upon the sentiments of our peasantry.^ <* I perceive the value of your statement. But surely the government will not grant them a charter.** « Perhaps not.** " We shall hear of the result in a few months. But I doubt if the speculation will be a lucrative one. I doubt if they will be aUe, even in Nova Scotia, to undersell the British ma- nufacture. Consider 4ie enormous price of manual labour, the workmen*s wages are three or four times those of Great Britain. Besides, the chief hands must be brought from Kngland or the United States.** f * Let them employ machinery.** " Indeed, the draw* back which I have mentioned, will be diminished in the ratio of the machinery, which they employ. I doubt, however^ I doubt the result of the specu^ lation.** ! ^H^- iV' *0 ; -n. . ''-.'4 ' k-^tSLji ptb lanii!* kBfor then ertain is too 1 tbif I ih«t lecton iriUbe actical » **! surdj karter." MUltiB on vill able, Bh ma- manual timei handi EtatM."" edraw* inished mploy. specUF* LXT. VI.] AKD MEW BSUK8WICK. 47 Another of the causes of the slow improvement of the country is the ignorance and consequent defi- ciency of energy m the people.^ Just as he had finished this observation we entered the court-yard, and our conversation was abruptly closed. ' '."TT. ''"T:tfTt l •J'^ liXi./f tf^.,;^ ;iv •J" y ;>>•;; ''■*'- V .•■^: w; f*; ».. -^ I * i f >>N(K 48 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [LET. VII. 'J SH' LETTER VIl. » < -•'■!♦'►. !'•' My Dear Sir, t HAVE had the honour of attenditig one of the Annapolis assemblies. These are held in the mess- room in th^ barracks. The apartment is exceed- ingly low in the roof, but large, and admirably adapted for country dances. The whole arrange- ments are made by three gentlemen, *of whom my friend the Doctor is one, who have been chosen to conduct them for the seeson by the subscribers. They do credit to their taste and assiduity. The company consisted of twenty or thirty ladies and twelve or fourteen gentlemen, and as scarcely the half of these last condescended " to trip it on the light fantastic toe,^^ most of the first seemed to be without the pale of the night^s amusements, and ■at shivering on their seats along the wall. Six of the males were employed at card-tables, and one or two sat wholly aloof firom all engagements what- soever. , Til. ■' 'A :1ii V )36,i of the i mess- ixceed- Qirably rrange- »m my tsen to Bribers. ladies carcely it on med to t8,and Six of one or what- LET. VII.^ AMD '^SW BRUKSWICK. 40 Few of the ladieB were taught dancers, but still they appeared to me to trip it gracefully. ** What a beautiful sight,^ said I to a Scotch officer who happened at the moment to walk unto ^e room. '* It is indeed. I did not think that tiiere had been so many bonny lasses in Nova Scotia. But, my dear Sir, Scotland after all is the land of beauty. These girls may all be called pretty ; but then they have not the red cheeks or the light step of < the luid of cakes.^ That girl, (he pointed without ob. servation except by myiM^^t' to a young lady amongst the dancers,) might be ctk ' xceedingly handsome, if she had not such a ma ^o o. flesh upon her bones.*" '* I see,^ said I, ** you are a true Scotchman ; but do you not think they dance beauti^ly ?"* " Oh, if you make abatement for their heaviness, and their ignorance of the scientific part of the matter, I grant you that they perform admirably. But, after all, in strict propriety of language, there are only two dan- cers amongst the ladies, and one amongst the gen- tlemen, and these are noi; natives of Nova Scotia."^ ** I bow, Shr, with all humility to your judgment in these matters, for I myself am profoundly ignorant of them. The generality of the ladies, indeed, ap- pear to be pale and corpulent. What can be the cause of it ?^ *< Oh, it is obvious. They do not walk a tithe of our British ladies. Beauty, Sir, I admit, depends greatly upon the natural conformation of* I 50 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [let. VII. the features and the lir hs. Ait has ita virtues Also in this respect But e: j^dsing the body in the open fields, and breathing wholesone air, are far the mof^t effident methods of improving the shape or the as- pect. What makes our Scottish peasant iprk so pretty but their active habits, and the < caller healthy breezec of Caledonia.^ But, Sir, the men of Nova Scotia have these defects still more conspicuously than the females. The militia, where is to be seen the strength of the nation, all from sixteen to forty- five, is a proof it. They are excellent, marksmen; but then they have not the symmetry or agility of the British yeomen. The reason is just because they do not half the work of the farmers and far- mers^ sons in England and Scotland. The whole winter they while away in idleness, and a small quantity of labour in the summer months is suffi- cient to afford them the necessaries of lifb. In this cov.ntry, where there are no direct taxes, all have their gigs or chairs, as they call them. If they have half a mile to travel, they must ride on horse- back, or journey in carriages. But who is that young lady at the fire ? She seems cold. She looks like a Scottbh lassie, and, therefore, though in the yellow leaf, though I have seen sixty summers and winters, yet, on that eicvountf I must do myself the honour of asking her for the next set, if she be not engaged.'^ M^ith this observation he lef% me. I i !' LET. VII.J AND NEW BRUNSWICK. -it V « You do not cbtnee, Mft^am,^ said I, to an old lady-y who could scarcely walk for the burden of a load of years. ** No, Sir. Vm too old. Forty or fifty years ago, however, I was exceedingly fond of it. I recoUect of a ball at <— -— before the Ameri- can rebellion, where I was present, and danced with General — , who told me that I astonished him, as be had not previously believed that there had been so graceful a dancer in America. Indeed, General ■'■ ' , Sir, was a perfect gentleman, of the finest accomplishments, and of the nicest taste. He was of the old school. The manners of the times are totally different from those of my youth. There are not many such men as General — '— at pre- sent. The American rebellion banished them all from this side of the Atlantic, and the French one, I am told, has driven them out of Europe. In- deed, Sir, I can believe it. I have abundant proofs of it. The only polite men amongst us are the English officers, and even these are not what they were. The old ones, those who have been in the army twenty or thirty years, remind one of the days of General , but the young ones are perfect boors, who have not the manners of genteel persons. Oh, Sir, the American rebellion was an awful event. It set the father against the son, and the son against the father."" " Civil wars, Ma'am,'' said I, ** are always attended with that result." << You vt"^ S9 h^:-' LETTEES FROM NOTA SCOTIA [|.ET. VII. have never .felt the ills of civil war. But I, Sir, I have been the victim of them. They deprived toe of my father, and banished me from my country; Before the commencement of hostilities I had » happy home. I was my father''s only child. My* mother was iii her grave. I was the heir of a large proper^ in ■ . I was betrothed to a young gen- tleman, to whom I had given all nly yoimg affiec^ tions, and in whose society I expected to have whitedi away years of happiness. But, Sir, the war broke out with all its fury, and my father, a violent \&j- alist,.fell at . My lover. Sir, was in the army with my father, and survived the carnage of that disastrous day. The moment he ascertained the death of my par^it, he left the camp. He present- ed himself in my father''s parlour next morning. £agerly I asked him for news from the army. I saw the tear in his eyes. He spoke not a word. I began to suspect that he was the messenger of bad tidings. I was impatient to know the whole truth. * My father,^ said I, * how left you my father? Is he wounded ? Is he dead ?"" " Your father, my dear ■ , is, I have the fondest hope, with the spirits of the just. I fainted.'* ^w^f s ' "^"I was an orphan. Sir, a friendless orphan. I had not time to lament over my father's death. We were married, by special licence, that after- noon. I attended my husband throughout the LET. Til.] AND HEW BBUN8WICX. 53 whole wAr. My fatlier-in-Iaw was a violent reyo^ lutionist, and disinherited his son. Therefore we accepted of the offer of ths British govemiQent, and emigrated to Noya Scotia.^ ** Your life, Ma'am,^ said I, "has been a most eyentfiil one. Is your, husband dead ?"" ^* Yes. He died a few years ago. He could not bear to see, or hear of a Yankee till the day of his death."" " But, Ma'am, that sentiment was not a Ghristiftn one."" " A Ghrist- ian one, Sir! — My husband was as meek a man as any who lives. But, withal, he had strong feelings, and he expressed them in all their strength. . Think of his sufferings ; of his loss of property ; of his banish- ment from his country, only )>ecause he was loyal to his king and to his lawful government, and then say if you believe that flesh and blood could have brooked such treatment patiently. I confess that I did sometimes think that he felt too keenly; but then if I mentioned this thought to him, he would stamp upon the floor, and mutter his curses deeply Mid fervently against all rebels, from the days of Cain, (whom he maintained always to have been the first of them, who had appeared on earth,) to those of General Washington."" ** But, Ma"am,"" said I, ** now that the Ameri- can revolution or rebellion, or by whatsoever name you designate it, is a matter of history, I trust that you have kindly feelings towards the Yankees, ^"^ 54) LETTEK8 FROM MOVA SCOTIA [lST. VII. «8 towards all the other members of the family of * mankind.^ < »•■,*'- ' ■■''■ ••* ^'-* ' ■ ^/'J^ I, ;.'.^ '•:> "'Sf "^'' ' '-'■'■''■■ ''■**■ •- ■* -->-•_■ tjJ^W.'s.-'ijf. jK'Wte./'' i \ Hi, L^T. VIII.J AND NEW B&UNSWICX« u 65 j^«:-;.v. .IT'- . ••4. • „xiD LETTER VIIL *v t "i^ ir^ Jfay24, 1826. ^ MyD£aeSir, The houses of Nova Scotia are of all sizes and styles of architecture. I have he«rd of a traveller who walked always into the church-yard, immedi- a:tdy af^ his arrival 3.t any town, that from the ejntaphs on the grave-stones, he might ascertain the state of its literature. I do not deny the efficiency of this test; but I apprehend that the style of a people^s architecture is a more certain index of their taste. If this opinion he corred;, then the inhabitants of this country are exceedingly defec- tive in this respect. *— = . ' These suggestions have oeeurred to me at the present moment, as I am about to feast you with the particulars of a visit, which, in company with my friend the Captain, and by special invitation, I made yesterday to the gentleman, who gave me the account of ifae spruce beer manufacture. As we moved up towards his mansion in the Captain^'s 56 U^V ^XitlM: .tWi^m LETTERS FEOM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. till. crazy gig, drawn by a white horse, blind of one of its eyes,— which equipage he dechured to be suf- ficiently good for the roads of Nova Scotia, I xe- marked to him, that the mansion of Mr. ■ ■ bore the aspect of the quarter of an English hay- stack. <* Do not make observations like these be- fore Mr. — , if you do not wish to be on the back ground of his favour. His house, his wife, hia fkmily, all objects, to which he places the prefix My, are perfect. Do not provoke him. Avoid all discussions upon Church matters, fo r ^ Just as the Captain had articukited the last word,^ Mr. — — presented himself, and welcomed us heartily to his house. ' ^< Bad roads, Grentlemen, bad roads,^ he exclaimed, <'but what can we expect at this time of the year. They tell me that they are worse in Great Britain in the spring months, and in France, — ^in France, Gentlemen, they have no roads at all, except those which Napoleon made.^ The Captain assured him that there were worse roads than these, aikl I nodded assent. << Right, Gentle- men, right. You are free from all paltry preju- dices. But walk into my farm cottage, for the air is chill, in spite of that glorious sun. You have no such sun nor heavens in England at this season of the year." I admitted the truth of this state- ment. " Now, Gentlemen,'^ said he, after we had been seated in his parlour, « what will you have to , LET. VIII.] AND N£W BlUNSWICK. 57 - » ■* drink ? Brandy, or gin, or port, or a sip of the mountain dew ?^ I told him that I was inpatient to taste his spruce beer. < "svif BBtmswici. 'mx m men of the generaiity of tlie Nora Sooliftii youthg. His person was short, and corpulent; his features regnhur and handsome ; his hair long and dirk ; his month somewhat wide, and his eyes small, black, and intelligent <* Have yon shot many wild ducks tiiis season, Simeon?^ said our host, Mr. i. ... . *< No, not many. I think about half a dosen."^ ^ Have you got. me these two bear skins, which I mentioned to you, from the Indians yet."^ " No, I could have got them, but then they asked L.5 ftw the two. They were not worth it, / did not think. But do not toorry yourself about them. I shaH supply you more reasonably befiMre the com- mencement of n«tt winter.^ "Do. You will ~-~«i»i; /,,''< *t'»'l5:!?ii«J W9 oblige me greatly." 's* . ;« Gentlemen,'' said our host, ** allow me to show you into the drawing-room to the ladies.'' We marched after him, and he introduced us to his wife, Mrs. ' , to the young gentleman's mother, whom I have mentioned, Mrs. , and whom I re- membered to be the lady who provoked the parson at ■■ , and Miss ■ , his daughter. The first of these ladies had advanced considerably into the vale of life, but still retained evident proof, that Sorty years ago, she had been a handsome woman. The second of these, Mrs. , was tall, shght, and lady4ike, with sometMng indicative of a con- test between gaie^ and severity in her aspect. .# LRTTBR8 FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. VIII. Miss , was in her teens apparency, laughed per- petually, and seemingly a stranger to all cares whai-^ erer, was "pleased with a rattle, and tickled with a straw.^ Her teeth were like ivory; her mouth small; her hairfair; her eyes blue and glowing; her facepale; and, therefore, I saw a slight crimson streak, which showed itself for a moment, when young Mr. •— — enteried the room, more distinctly. Her stature was short, and her body had a slight tendency to corpulency. We had been scarcely twenty mnmCcs in the drawing-room, till a servant announced the dinner. *^ Captain -,^ said our host, " the dinner is ready .^ Up got the Captain, and with Mrs. , the wife of our host, led the way. The dinner was excdDent. ** Might I trouble you, Mr. ,"" said Mrs. to Captain — «— ** for the right wing of that wild-duck before you. I am exceedingly fond of these birds at this time of the year.^ ** What a predicament ! my dear Sir,^ said the Captain to me on our way home, " you know that I am one of the worst of carvers. If I had been asked for a piece of a sirloin of beef, or of a leg of mutton, I might have been able to com- ply with the request without any material loss of cr^t, but to cut up a fowl ! What a demand up- on my small scientific powers.'" He was too proud, however, to confess his inability. He began the 1 S > } [ i LET. VIII.] AMD NEW B11UN8WICK. t^J^^ 'M work with ill his might, but his efforts to find the joint were fruitless. . The lady was wonderfully pa- tient for a few minutes, and then told him not to mind, that she believed she would apply to her son, as the fowl before Aim appeared to have been fired more thoroughly. <^ I must eenfess,^ iHuid'she, << that I am altogether French in my taste with re- spect to cookery.^ *^ I saw,^ said the Captain, ** that Miss -~— exchanged significant glances with young Mr. , which said as plainly as looks co.uld say, what a booby ! Oh ! how keenly I felt.*" But his mind was diverted to another subject by our host, Mr. , who asked him if he did not think the beef worth the eating. He told him that he was a poor judge cf these matters, but that, if his taste were any test, it was excellent. *< These are capital potatoes,^^ said the Captain to Mr. . " These,^ replied our host, ** are from what Lord Sel- kirk calls the virgin soil. Potatoes from our low lands thrive admirably, but on deep old soils, they have a watery and unpleasant taste.^ ** What excellent cheese and butter,^^ said I. ** I am positive that England can scarcely compete with you in these respects.** " These are the growth of my farm, and the manufacture of my wife. Sir." " Your cows, Sir, are small.** ** They are, and not what you are likely to call beautiful, but I keep them for profit, not for show. Our horses are small also, and almost ^ \ LETTEXS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. YlXt. all, as you w31 hare observed, of a dark bay colour, but they fit our country.^ « The grasses in whkh Nora Scotia abounds,^ said the €aptaiB, *' adapt it admirably for feeding, I shodd think.'" « They do, indeed,— but we have not sufficient encourage- ment,— we have not a sufficieirt nmrket The de- mand £or em jpffoduoe is smidl. We are a nation (tf fanners. Ten, or perhaps twei^ty thousand persons in towns, ike army and navy, togeth^ with the shi^ ping, are our only customers. Labour is so expen- sive, that we cannot compete in any foreign market. Indeed, but for the duty, the Americans could UU" dersdl us in our own country. This state of mat- ters furnishes atrong inducements for smuggling, and, therefore, in this way, great quantities of flour from the United Stata* are yearly introduced into Nova Scotia. But, Gendemen, your glasses seem to be empty. Let us just have a last one, and then we shall take a short walk, if you please, before we rejoin the ladies in the drawing-room.*" .jflEi Vih? k. *lv <;#r|rfj.>* ij. i ■,;:»'' LST< IX.] AND MEW BEUUfWICK^ if? 63 i^'' ^.. ^. LETTER IX. May 27, 1826. My Deae Sib, *< Me. ,^ said the Csptam to our host, << why are the values of articles in Nova Scoda and ^ew Brunswick different ? At Halifax I was asked ten dollars for a hat, wluch in St. Johns's, I could have 1)ought for 40 or 458.'" << Though the worth of many articles is not precisely the same in these two provinces, Captain ; yet the difference is more apparent than real. I will tell you why. The legislature of Nova Scotia some years ago made all doubloons a legal tender for four pounds, which has had no effect at all, except the derangement of the simplicity of money transactions betwixt it and New Brunswick. It is needless to attempt to prove to you that no enactment whatsoever can either augment or diminish the worth of pieces of money; but this fact, though a plain one, does not seem to be acknowledged by our colonial finan- ciers. The provincial notes of Nova Scotia, which :^:' >' 64 LETTERS FROM KOVA SCOTIA [lET. IX. are worth 20s. nominally, are worth only the fourth part of a doubloon really. If the South American doubloon be worth L.3, 15s. which is per- haps its average value, then our provincial one pound notes are just worth 18s. 9d. But, my dear Sir, as doubloons fetch the market price only in New Brunswick, the prices of all articles are ap- parently different, because the farmers and mer- chants take this discrepancy into their calculations in their bargains.'" " I perceive the truth of your statements,? said the Captain. " All attempts to put a fictitious, instead of a real value, upon pieces of sQver and gold, are grossly unjupt. If I con- tract debts, when the pound note is worth 18s. 9d. is it right to make me pay them to the fuQ in notes worth 20s. ? If, on the other hand, I sell a parcel of goods for L.IO or 200 shillings, and afterwards I am compelled to take payment in notes wortli 187s- 6d. only, have I not sufficient grounds to complain that I have h^ien dsfi-auded to the amount of 12i. 6d ?" " True, Sir, true ; but our legislative interference to determine the value of doubloons has been productive of other bad conse- quences. Though the value of the doubloon is different in the two provinces ; yet that of the dol- lar- '" he same. What is the effect ? If I ex- ebac r_{f a doubloon for doUars in Nova Scotia, and carry them into New Brunswick, I gain a dollar.^* LET. IX.] AND NEW BEVNSWICX. 65 " Your legislators are ignortuit of political economy, my dear Sir,'' said the Captain. " No, Sir, but " ^ just at this moment, our host overheatd Mrs. ^— - the mother of the young man whom I have mentioned, lecturing his wife upon the defects of the church establishment, and exclfdmed, " Mrs. , talk uot to my wife upon these matters. She is half fan«tic already.'' t" •• ^ ' -- .? • " Fanatic, Mr. , you ought to apply that epithet to those who merit it. I despise the insinua* tion. Sir. It is not worthy of a gentlemitn." " My dear Mrs. , I did not mean to oifend you. I in- tended only to say that my dear Mary begins to fan(^ that I, her lord and master, whom she engaged at the altar to obey, am net fit to govern her, and that she is obliged to emancipate herself from my lawful au- thority on pain of damnation. If, then, you attempt to confirm her in these notions, and to perplex her with your chimeras — I beg }'our pardon — I mean to say your opinions, I have a right to consider you as fomenting rebellion, a^il to treat you according- ly/' *^ Sir, you talk mysteries. But if you mean to say that Mrs. , by marrying y« j bargained to follow you to hell, then you will forgive me, if I tell you, ihat you are wrong ; you ma^' just m weU maintttvn th«t, if you order her to throw herself ki'^3 the sea, she ought to obey you. No, Sir. When the took upon herself the duties >f your wift, the ■>t-j:?''V:w7'.''VV^'r"/"*l->"'-^ ' 1 i } 1 f i '' 1 « ..» r ( 5 fe 1 ! 1 I 1 1 1* ]\ \ t 66 LETTERS FHOM NOTA SCOTIA. [lET. IX. did not free herself from those which all creatures whatsoever owe to their God." " What folly I Do I tell her to be a heathen. Do I not allow her to go to Church— to the true Church — ^not your coe venti- cles— twice a^ay, if she choose ? Doee not a clergy- man of the only Apostolical Church baptise aU our children F These indulgences • are not sufficient She has begun lately to testify a strong antipathy againsb tka docfc^ret? of our clergyman, one of the best of men. IVcb sl*e think that her con- structions of the import of the gospel are to be set ag^dnst thos..^ of a mm\. v/hose days and nights have becii employed m the study of them ?" " Oh! Sir, you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. Yow are yet in your sins. Your eyes are blind that they cannot see, and your ears are hea\} that they cannot hear. But God is merciful. I have been in your state. My spirit, in its aliena- tion from the Author of all good and perfect gifts, was wholly n stranger to die spirituality of the gos- pel of Chrisn:. I knew aot the length aitid breadth cf the !aw of God, which regards the inmost motives as weU as the outward actions. Oh I I kept not the Sabbaths holy. I devoted them not to those purposes which are demaudtid o£ us, and which are not duties, but the most delightfid of privileges to those, who are pure as Gt>d is pure, and holy as he k hoJy. If I presented myself in his counts, I did i)S« r| LET. XX,] AND MEW BSITNSWXCK. 67 not (;>jtcr tliem with those sentiments with which a Christian, d /^ht. He knows that I had my eyes fieqiiii^iitly <./^x»n the heavens, whilst my desires and aiFections were all upon the earth. I ate sin like bread, and drank iniquity like water. I sought not the glory of Qod. I delighted not in his services, which, iristead of sweet privileges, were to me irk- uov -' duties. Thoughmoral in my conduct,anddecent in my Christian observances, the ways of the eternal were hateful to me. But God saw meet in the ful- ness of time to call me out of darkness into ius mar. vellous light. < Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.' Mr. — —^ a minister of the Church of England, addressed us upon this subject in the seventh verse of the eighth chapter of the Romans, * to be carnally minded is death.* The effect of his sermon will be exhibited in me throughout eternity. Oh ! what awful responsibi- Iky attaches to the Christian preaches. I felt con- victions of my undone estate immediately. I saw my deprainty in all its deformity. Oh ! Sir, all right receptions of t! e truth of thf gospel begin with lAie knowledge and feeling that w£ are apostate and uiu^one sinners. Oh ! what difficulty I felt in my abandonment of the notion whidi I l)(td been taught, and which I loved to cherish, that amidst the moral ruins whicli tbo hou»« of men exhibit, there sre good ffPsctio' hich demand only excit- H 68 LETTEUt FSOIC NOVA SCOTIA. [lBT. IX. 1 ; \i V i I n ^ 1) ment and improvement ; there are happy disposiw tionS) which, if not altogether, yet partly may fight their way to heaven. Poor, and weak, and blind, and naked, and. corrupt, knowing the spirituality of the law of God, and fully conscious of my sins And imp^ect services, still I shuddered to consider my- self wholly dead to r^hteousness, wholly leperous. The sermons of Mr. , our pastor, however, appeared to me now empty and meaningless d^rla- mations. What could I do ? I crJled upon him, told him my circumstances, and asked his instruc- tions. He smiled, and said that he was alraid that I had been in some of the conventicles, or that I had read some of the foolish tracts, which a zeal, not ac- cording to knowledge, had circulated over the coun- try. I assured him that 1 was guiltless with respect to these sins. Oh then, said he, you are melancho- ly, ought to take plenty of amusement, and apply to a physician. I felt that he was ignorant of my com- plaint, and, therefore, I allowed the subject to rest. But my mind was the victim of the most fearful horrors. I applied for counsel to a religious friend by letter, and asked her concerning the propriety of going tu the meeting-house. The reply was exceed- ingly aflPj^ctionate. She said that my demand upon her was a most delicate one, — that she herself bad the benefit of heariipg the gospel, in all its purity, from an evangelical minister of the Church of England, an th( '1 LET. IX.] AND NEW fiHUNSWICft. :' :{ 6d upon from and, and, therefore, had not had any occasion to consider the question which I had put to her, — that the aban- donment of one's Church and separation from the communion of one''s friends was a matter Worthy of the most serious deliberation. She concluded by congratulating me upon my spiritual prospects, and recommended me to apply for counsel to him, who delivers from the power of Satan. I did go to the meeting-house, and there, though without the words of men''s wisdom, I heard the truth in all its purity and simplicity. Then, for the first time, i was convinced of the mighty difference be- twixt the elaborate harangues of the mere orator, and the clear expositions of the regenerate preacher.'*' Though our host had made many attempts in the pro- gress of the Lady's speech to stop her, yet he always acceded to the wish of the company, that she should be allowed to proceed, but her last declaration made him completely impatient. " Regenerate preacher !" he exclaimed, *< are not all pastors regenerate. I mean, are not all faithful members of the Church of Eng- land regenerate ?" I was afraid of a stormy discus- sion, and, therefore, was glad that the Captain pro- posed our departure. Mrs. invited us kindly to pay her a visit, and as we intend to accept of it, I shall perhaps favour you hereafter with an i^ccoiint of it. ''li iU it V) h 1: « I !•' i 70 LETTEBS FROM IIOVA SCOTIA [lET. X. :.. . - ^■^, r ; '. '■ •■■A ' > >. ■ , - ^.' •*^"t;r LKT'J PER X. '. • . ^ - ^1 '1 - ■ «-*.''. w^ '^ ;v,^ ■/''' i i , ^ LETTE118 ^BOM NOVA SCOTIA (tit. X. these remarks upon the character of the Doctor, that his companies are all select, and that an invi- tation to one of his parties is a matter of some moment. He is particularly fond of the society of foreigners of all nations the moment of their com- ing within his sphere, chiefly, I believe, that he may ascertain the changes of manners, and the fluctuations of fashions in the beau monde, « Mr. *- — ^^ said he, " how do you vegetate in our poor country ? We have some fine scenes, but they have not the beautiful polish of the European ones. They tell me that Edinburgh stands now in a gar- den. I studied physic there. Sir, under the im- mortal Gregory. Oh! Edinburgh is- indeed the Modem Athens." « Edinburgh," said I, " has un- dergone vast changes within the last twenty-years." ** Oh ! I believe it fully. What a destiny for a gentleman, like me, who, though I myself say it, might have been an ornament to the best society in Europe, and one of the most .iccomplished medical men of my time, to waste my < sweetness on the deseift air,^ to shine in this remote and wild |>to- vince of the Britidi dokninions, amongst persons who are !not judges of my merits." " You entertain. Doctor, I apprehend, too poor an opinion of- the sagacity of your neighbourhood." " Oh no ! you know it not. I think frequently on the banishment of Ovid to . I forget where :— Such is 4 LET. X.] AND VE\M ! ', r' . >Y.'f ,.^ ■/' ,, . .( ,_^ 7 '.Jf>*7 , 'f iP.--' /■.'j'j ' IVi i '*r> 7 '• f ' i .'■^»' ''■]'> ; ., - •: •-'M> ■v:. ■ • /j r iU"'". ♦ T'- • r-i^ 1 « t ■■•■ Z**:* ■V ki'. si » • ■J "'•'4. •■• ^ ■U:f •h .v.. i ■!.^ h 'i-- . .a '.*-*:■ .•.' ,t: ''';•.-•'" ;i5 ,.• ' UT- • ■ •) \ Al^ ^.- LET. XI.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 77 LETTER XI. .fi ,v* ■^ ^ ;> \']th October, 1826. . My Dear Sir, September and October are the most beautiful months of the American year. The weather is at present remarkably pleasant. The roads are excel- lent beneath the feet, and the heaven is beautiful over the head. The year is in its yellow leaf, and, as my friend Dr. — of — remarked to me, just like a good man's evening of life, sinking gra- dually and serenely into night. Oh ! my friend, how delightful is a walk in the Nova Scotian forest in a pleasant evening in Au- tumn. Th-: hues of the trees are remarkably pretty and various. The colours of the sky are delicately lovely. Scarcely the smallest br^-^th of wind ruffles the waters of the pretty lakes, which we meet with in all parts of the forest. Birds c T the finest plum- age are to be seen in flocks, und though they are mute , though the blackbird forgets his song, and the linnet her notes in the woods of \merica ; yet 78 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XI. I know not if the want of music be a subject for re- gret. The spirit, in the depth of the forest is buoy- ed up with the grandeur around it. Apart from all traces of the handiwork of man, the Author of the scenery before you and behind you is the Ancient of Days, and v dy, I apprehend, would only dis- tract your ' agats, and diminish the sublimity of your c.-.nf .j^/tions, and appear in the vast solitudes of the ibrest like a burlesque up >>n the magn^ificent scenes around you. These reflections have been suggested by a stroll which I took into the forest last nighc, with my friend Dr. of the . ** Who can picture such scenery,"*' said he, as he gazed upon a beautiful and expansive valley beneath us with its hundreds of happy homes. " It would demand the pencil of the first of your Italian artists. I think that I see the look of breathless ecstacy, with which Salvator Rosa would have contemplated its glories on a night like this. Oh ! I think that I see that painter, who wrought indeed for immortality, beneath a different heaven, and amongst different scenes, rioting in the full enjoyment of his soul. Italy, my dear Sir, with its cloudless firmament and brilliant sun, dis- plays landscapes not more akin to the feelings of a mind, like that of Salvator Rosa, than the magni- ficent mixture of beauty and grandeur which lies be- neath us. But though I should envy the con- '- ^,-.- -- :.-a;:;T|^ry™^ri.v^-«. LET. XI.] • AKD XEW BRUNSWICK* reptions of that favourite of nature, and sport of for- tune, and though I should prefer, for a moment, the mighty dashes of his terrific pencil, yet I confess that, to hang up in my library, I should wither have the whole of the scenery from the hand of Rembrandt. Oh ! what a field for his masterly grouping and death- less colours." " Have you been in the Netherlands," said he. I replied in the negative. " Oh then,—- Let us go into this mansion and get a glass of milk. I feel exceedingly thirsty." " We were shown into the parlour, where, upon one of the tables, was a newspaper." " Do you know," said T, " how many newspapers are pub- lished in Halifax ?" " Seven or eight I believe. Oh ! my dear Sir, these newspapers, which have a large circulation, carry tidings of the events which happen daily and hourly in the busy world, into the mansions of the desert. Besides European, Asiatic, African, and American news, they furnish their readers with local details, with the births, marriages, and deaths, which have marked the passage of the foregoing week, and with the state of the home and foreign markets." " Oh what a delight," said he, whilst his small black eyes seemed to glow with unearthly splendour, to the man who has escaped from the miseries of an overgrown population, to consider what he was, and what he is. Starved out of his native land, he came a beggar pilgrim into mmm. 80 LETTERS FROM WOVA SCOTIA [lET. XI» I i j the forest, and victorious over many hardships and privations, he is now master of a liberal provision for his lifetime, and has the means of settling his fiimily comfortably, and committing thcra to the God of their fathers, and their own good conduct for the I'Appiness of their earthly pilgrimage. And Oh ! && he looks over these magazines of the events arouTid Irm, the only tie which seems to bind him to out world of chaises and vicissitudes, murders and. jobberies, bankruptcies and villanies, what a fl^aiific^tion to feel that he is out of the influences of the ^to&ins which afflict the political, the moral, or the mercantile atmosphere of ^^ nations of the earth; that he is obliged to bow his knee to no mortal like himself for bread; that his spirit has no induce- ment to stoop, except to the Author of all good and perfect gifts." " You are poetic, my dear Doctor. Life has its petty miseries, which must be borne by the occupant of the forest, as well as by the inhabi- tant of a populous city.*' " Oh ! I admit it ; but then these spring generally from transient and evan- escent causes, and leave no permanent impressions behind 'hem " i ^ .; . u. >,=. * ,; Just at this moment the master of the mansion^ ivith one of his sons, entered the apartment. After a short conversation upon various topics, the Doctor asked him the number of his family. He replied that he had five sons and six daughters. " Indeed T *^T1 *;■ H I i n ■'„;.■■' ' '■'■ -^^^f , '■'*.'; •-*ifS5 -'i^^-vf ?? %fv? \' • / .'f^hiT ■ iflEft *!J>'«^'».j''Vi- ■1- rc ,/"^' •'■ -. -'.^^. - -.-v' December 9, 1826.^j: My Dear Sir,, -'^^^f^;- :w The Indians, who are now few in number, are the aboiigines of these provinces. Their manners and habits generally are familiar to you, and therefore I shall limit my observations to the race as they pre- sent themselves in Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick. ; ■ The men are tall, wItK all :he peculiarity of fea- tures which distinguishes them from the other classes of the family of mankind. Their heads are cloth- ed, without any exception, with strong coarse black hair, cropped quite short ; their foreheads are low, but frequently broad; their eyes are exceedingly small, black, deeply-set, and dull, except on occa- sions of excitement, when there is a brilliancy in them which I never saw in any other human eyes ; their mouths are large and their ears short. On their heads they wear sometimes hats and sometimes bonnets, tapering upright to a point in XET. XII.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. the form of a top ; their shirts are clasped at the breast with a circular piece of tin or silver, about the size of the half o£ a common, quoit ; on their legs and feet they wear mocassins, and over theii whole body they put something like a surtoui com- ing down nearly to their ancles, and fastened aroiind them with a belt On extraordinary occasions they put on a few other rude ornaments, in which they betray all the predilection of barbarians for the gau> diest colours and the most extravagant finery. The women dress almost in the same way as the men, except that their head-dress is always of cloth and of a conical shape. The features of their faces are exactly those of the men, except that they are perhaps more soft. Their general aspect is, how- ever, far inferior to that of the other sex. They are almost all of them ugly and clumsy. . •^y,, , .. I have no doubt that the state of servitude in which they are kept from their infancy contributes to make them what they are. . -7 . , ., ., . . - . . Though there are a few instances where matters are different, yet generally they are not allowed to eat at the same time as their fathers, or husbands, or sons, but stand behind them till they have finish- ed their rough repast, and obsequiously wait upon them. Their business is to attend to the papooses, (the children,) to clean out the tents, to cook the victuals, &c. Sec. and their leisure moments are em^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A 1.0 1.1 11.25 lii|21 |2S £[ U£ 12.0 u V' '^# '/ Hiotograpliic Sdaices Corporation ^ L1>^ V s> 39 WIST MAIN STMIT WIUTIR.N.Y. I4SM (71*) •79-4903 ? 4^ 86 LETTSE8 FROM 170VA SOOTIA [lET. XII. ./ 'a ployed in making baskets of bark which display A vast deal of ingenuity, &c. ; In all their journeys the women cany their pa- pooses in a small box-like manufacture upon their backs. This singular structure has three sides and a bottom, and is open at the top and in the ftont. Its length yaries from two and a half to three or four feet, and its breadth from twelve to eighteen inches. On entering their tents, or com- ing to a spot where they are to rest, they throw down the box (I forget the Indian name for it,) without any attention to the comfort of its occu- pant, but as the child is bound into it with a series of thongs, it suffers no injury whatsoever. ' * The toils and sufferings of these women are in- deed pitiable. Frequently, I am tuld, they destroy their female children, that they may deliver them from a life of slavery and oppression. But though these remarks are descriptive of the lives which the women are doomed to pass, yet their hardships are sometimes increased and sometimes diminished according to the temper and disposition of him who has the mastery over them. I myself have drunk tea in an Indian camp, where the squaw, (the wife,) did the honours of the table, or rather of the floor, for they have no tables. We had a cup of excellent tea, plenty of biscuit, &c. It was in the tent of the judge of one of the tribes of the LET. Xll.] ADD NEW BICNtWICI. '•m Mlcmacs. His birother and squaw weve invited up. on the occasion. The tent is generally circular, with a diameter of six or eight feet, and tapering up in a conical form, apparently the favourite one of all the Indians. It has an aperture at the top, for the emission of smoke, and the fire-place is always in the centre of the lodgement. They have neither chairs, tables, beds, nor chests. The ground serves the two first of these, and with a few rushes strewn upon it the third of them also. Sometimes you see a few rough- made boxes in which they keep their various arti- cles, and sometimes they pile them up in a comer of their tenement. ; # The tent is built of poles stuck obliquely into the ground, .^otic in many re- spects. Besides the great chi here are various minor ones in different parts of tnese provinces, who have the authority over certain families, but the same respect is not paid to them as to their father. Besides these they have judges, but from their de- termination there is liberty of appeal to the subor- dinate chiefs, and from them to the father, whose decision is final. r. The chief of the families in the western district 2 LET. XII.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. . 5;^^ 8d of Nova Scotia has been in EIngland, and has en- grafted a few of the peculiarities of the ftnuly of John BuU upon hia Indian ones. This was a sul}. ject of scandal to his people. A fama clamoaa went out against him ; whispers about an apostacy horn the habits of their fathers, and of an attempt to barbarise the Indian manners by adopting those of the white men were heard, and the high dignity of the offender did not save him from a sound cudgeU ling even from his own brother. ,f. Although they are members of the Roman Ca- tholic church, and admit the control of the Roman Catholic priesthood, to the extent of wearing crosses, telling beads, saying paternosters, and confessing their sins, yet they have a sort of priests among their own people, who call them together occasion- ally, (nd lecture them upon the advantages of act- ing i^^htly, and of complying with the commands of the Church. Those counsels of war and peace where the In- dian was wont to make hia speeches, fiunous for their bold independent spirit and lofty figures, are unknown to the race in its present degraded cir- cumstances in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. With the boundless forest around him and the firmament for the canopy of his council-room, man breathes a spirit, free and independent, and seems to scorn the trammels of artificial arrange- t ^ 90 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA. [lBT. XII. / 1/ ments. The Micmac Indian, in these circumstan- ces, but then these circumstances existed in the times of his ancestors, before the track of the white man had appeared within the compass of his hunt- ing-grounds, appears to have been a lofty and a high- spirited being, whose sentiments breathed in his speeches and actions. But the white man, the fol- lower of the meek and lowly Jesus, has been in the forest, md the Indian is now a poor, mean spirited, contemptible creature, the cringing sycophant of his oppressors, the slave of drunkenness and bru- tality. As illustrative of this aw^ apostacy I shall make a few extracts from a speech which is said to have been addressed to Lord Dalhousie, the Go- vernor-General of Canada in 1814, at Quebec, by Newash, an Indian chief. . . '' *< Father, listen ! — You will hear from me truth. It is the same as what the chiefs and warriors here have to say. " Father, listen!— Open your ears to your child- ren, to your red children that arc in the west, — they are all of one mind ; although they are so far off and scattered over different lands, they hear what I am now saying. « Father, listen !— You have told us by the talk of your warriors twice, that we were to fight in the rear of your warriors, but we have always gone in . [let. xti. « circumstan- xisted in the k of the wbitc 8 of his hunt- ftyandahigh- eathed in his J man, the fbl- Las been in the mean spirited, sycophant of inesB and bru- lostacy I shall irhich is sidd to ousie, the Go- at Quebec, by LET. XII.] ANB WEW BRUKSWlCi:. t%S 91 !>Ji «. tJiit^' f- Tom me truth, d warriors here to your child- the west, — they are so far nds, they hear 8 by the talk of to fight in the always gone in front, Father ; and it is in this way, we have lost so many of our young warriors, squaws, and pa> pooses. ** Father, listen f — The Americans have said that they will kill you first, Father, and then destroy your red children. You sent us the hatchet, and we took hold of it, Father, and made use of it, as you know. " Father, listen I — Your red children wish to have back their old boundary lines, that they may have the lands which belonged to them. And this. Father, when the war began, you promised to get for them. << Father, listen f^-'Your red children have suf- fered a great deal. They are sad— indeed—- they are pitiful — they wish your assistance. Father ! they wish to have arms for their warriors, and clothes for their squaws and papooses. You do not know the number of your red children. Father. There are many of them who have never yet re- ceived either arms or clothing. It it necessary to send more Uian you have yet done.^ . ■ ,.4 t t i . h I i; i'- I I \/^ A ! J ': m f, .) LETT£KS FROM MOTA SCOTIA [lET. XIII. *.-. ■•*^- tt^Slt ••■■f*^ ^•- LETTER XIII. ,li i|i>^'"''<^Si«f ^'-€'^;*frf • -fc^ii /'eft. 2, 1827. My Dear Sib, The causes of the debasement of the Indians witlun the sphere of the white men^s influences, are suffi- ciently obvious. Spirituous liquors have had powerful attractions for barbarians in all ages. To the Indians they have been productive of the most baneful consequences. Their minds may be likened to a wilderness. They are devoid of culture and of moral principles. They can scarcely be said to have any religious impressions. Like the bears and the moose-deer around them, they enjoy the pre- sent and make no calculations with respect to fii- turity. They subsist on the simplest food ; their only luxury seems to be ardent spirits; and for these most of them will sell their dothes or pawn their children. The Indians are not ignorant of the bad effects of their inordinate lust for spirituous liquors. The chief of the Micmacs in Nova Scotia appeared in the House of Assembly one session, LST. XIII.] AHO M£tr BRVHtWiClC. K.T d8 and petitioned the legislature to pierent the sale of ardent spirits to his people, as he called them. But what could the Assemhly do? No enactment whatsoever would be efficient. Oil and skins are as strong temptations to the merchant as rum to the Indian. The consequences of this state of matters are, that the Indian allows himself to be robbed of his lands and his gains, and driven like a buffalo before the tide of population towards the Pacific ocean, or treated like a beggar outcast in the territories of his fiithers. What a prospect to see the Indians, the original lords of the country, something like gypsies amongst us, but in intellectual develop- ment greatly bene&th them ! But if the red men are a poor degraded race, yet something like the spirit of man flashes occasion- ally from their bosoms. " Brother,^ said Sagu-Yu- Whatta, to one of the Imd-agents of the United States, " in the treaties held for the purchase of our lands, the white men with sweet wncee am! smiling faces, told us that they loved us and that they would not cheat us, but that the king^s child- ren on the other side of the lake, (the British,) would cheat us. When we go to the other side of the lake the king^s people tell us that your people will cheat us, but with sweet voices and smiling faces affirm that they love us, and that they will not I : \ • ,( •■. S^— -.-;.^-.-< m LETTEA8 FBOM KQy4k 6QQT1A [l^f^ X^H; cheat us. These things pucsle our heads ; and re believe that the Indians must take care of them- selves, and not trust either to your people or the king^s children.^ !tf«^ << Brother,^ said tbe same Indian to a missionary from tlie United States, " we listened to the talk you delivered to us from the council of black coats, (clergymen) at Nev York. We have considered your talk fully, and the offers you have made us. We understand them perfectly, and we return an answer which we wish you to understand. In mak- ing up our minds we have looked back and remem- bered what has been done in our days, and what our Others have told us. ** Brother, vast numbers of black coats have been amongst the Indians, and with sweet voices and smiling faces have off^ed to teach them the reli- gion of the white men. Our brethren in the east listened to the black coats, and turned from the re- ligion of their fistthers, and took up that of the white people. What good has it done diem ? Are they more happy and more friendly one with another than wilt;: No, but they are a divided people ; we are united; tliey quarrel about religion, whilst we live in love and ^iendship ; they drink strong water, have learned how to cheat and to practise all the vices of the white men, without imitating their virtuesi i^^yhm '^t a night in a house at Halilaz, but that he hoped the Great Spirit would not again de. \.t- LET. XIII.] AKD NEW BBUK8WICK. "■|. 97 mand it of him. Aavther difficulty to surmount is their avenioii to labour. The operatioas of the agricubuiitt are to them tiresome and insipid. We cannot wonder, then, that the schemes for theur set- tlement on farms have failed.^ '^^^ <* Are they doomed, then,^ said I, ^* to remain for ever in their present circumstances, or gradu- ally to diminish with respect to numbers, century after century, till the genus have ceased to exist on the earth.*" "I state facts,^ said he, ** Make your own conclusions. But if their settlement on farms, which I believe essentially necessary to their civili- zation should ever be accomplished, it must be by the extirpation of their present manners and habits by means of the gradual introduction of new ones. And I can think of no other method, likely to at- tain this object, except their inducement to part with a few of their sons for the purpose of educa- tion, that eventually they may become teachers amongst them, and give them a taste for the modes of civilised life.'" ** But, my dear Sir,"" said I, ** do you think that they could be induced to part with their sons for a few years ?"" ** I have not the smallest doubt of it,'' he replied, « for I have talked with Indians who Fould have had no objections to the instruction of their sons by the government, though averse to it by private individuals. This feeling is an excellent F tm^rr / in LETTERS FBOM NOVA ICOTIA [lET. Xllf. one, and I respect them £>r it I wish that aU their sentiments were akin to it.^ ** The method which you point out,"" said I, << does not appear to me likely to succeed ; yet as there seems to be no other one, perhaps it is worth the trial. Are we to allow the poor Indians to re- main in their present state of hopeless and helpless wretchedness ? Ought we not, as men and as Christians, to make an effort to rescue them from their spiritual and intellectual bondage ? Did not he who died for us submit to the death of the cross for the Indian also ; and can we believe that we are objects of the SaviouT'*s mercy, if we shut our eyes to the circumstances of our red brethren of the west, who are perishing for lack of knowledge. Oh ! are we christians, i^ in the accomplishment of this benevolent object^ we doubt the approbation and aid of him who loved us, even to the death 7" • i> -^ . >?■'> " ■ • ■ • ■ lj^'i^.r.'-t-.:. '_*•■■■ ■I ' ' • J, » TP^'i j*M ,*1 LETTER XIV. •.' • ' ' '.r A . My Dear Sir, May 9, 18^. ithf Nova Scotia, as you know, was at one ti pertjT of our neighbours across the Channel. On its occupation by Great Britain, many of its inhabitants remained, and became the subjects of our Sovereign. They set themselves down together in a settlement in the county of Annapolis, where they are to be found at present. Their manners, habits, and customs, appear to have undergone small alteration ; and, as they marry amongst themselves, and do not associ- ate greatly with those around them, they may be supposed to be almost what their fathers were in the days of Queen Anne. Many of them, indeed, can speak English, so as to be understood, but not a few are totally ignorant of any language, except the French ; not that of modem times, but of die 17th century. As illustrative of this last fact, I may mention that I have heard a girl examined in a court by meana of an interpreter. ■' I f ,"-. *^ \ 100 tETTERS FBOM NOVA SCOTIA. [lET. XIV. 1 Their priest, who is a native of the land of the lilies, is their governor here, as well as their guide to the land of happiness beyond the grave. This good man, for the simplicity of his manners; the fervour of his piety, and his patriarchal affectionateness to- wards all the members of his -flock, are a sufficient apology for the designation, has only been at Halifax once or twice during the long period of twenty or thirty years. The Abb^ has all the characteristics of the scholar and the gentleman ; but his choicest affections seem to be fixed upon the glory of his God, and the present, as well as eternal welfare of his flock. Think not, my friend, that I am a Roman Catho- lic. I pity and detest the delusions of the Papal Church ) but I cannot shut my eyes upon the virtues of any of my fellow-creatures, even when they dis- play themselves in the followers of Mahomet or Confucius. The Abba's flock are, indeed, grossly ignorant, and their religion is not only a matter of forms ard ceremonies, but also immoral in its ten- dency ; but still there is something about them which pleases a stranger. is 's'T^* i-^t.«^ T -Jsi *• What happiness,'" said I, one day to Mr. — , *< do these French settlers appear to enjoy. They are certainly innocent persons.*" " The felicity which they enjoy ,^ said he, "is just that of the dog or the moose. They are so ignorant as to believe that their 5 !\l LET. XIV.] AND NEW BSUNSWICK^ 101 priests have the keys of heaven, and, therefore, whilst they retain their favour, they have no fears upon the subject of futurity. With respect to the matters of earth, they have all that their fathers had, — they have sufHcient to satisfy all their de- sires. But, Sir, in spite of appearances, they are knavish and treacherous. Their priests make them fraudulent. I will tell you a fact. I objected to hire a girl unless she would attend family prayers night and morning. She advised with the priest, and then told me, that she was disposed to hire on jkhe. condition which I had mentioned. She at- tended regulariy for two or three weeks. At last, however, a clergyman happened to be on a visit at my house, and, consequently, was asked to conduct our devotions. Next morning the girl did not ap- pear at the time of prayer amongst the other ser- vants. I asked her why she absented herself. She was candid t^nough to tell me. " The priest,"" she said, " told her that, if she could count her beads without attending to the subject of the prayer, there would be no sin in kneeling along with the rest of the family ; but, if she could not do thhi, then she would be guilty of iniquity, if she should be present at the domestic devotions of schismatics from the See of Rome. Now,"* said she, " when you pray I can count my beads without hearing what you say ; but when Mr. — prays I cannot count my beads I VJIu*^, rntinm M 102 LETTESS FXOM KOTA SCOTIA [lET. XIV. SO closely, as not to understand some part of the prayer ; and, therefore, I dare not hear him.'" " Do not you think, my girl,"^ said he, " that you have de- ceiyed me, and ^at your priest is a rascal for teach- ing you to cheat and to act the hypocrite ?" The girl was astonished. She did not seem to believe that the priest could give her any wrong advices. The Germans and the Putch have settlements in diflbrent parts of Nova Scotia. They retain the fhlegmatie dispositions and rough deportment of their Withers* ■■>'.'»,\j'^i'. .-ii^.:.;. .^iitii..*^^-:^^-.**!^.**'-****.; The Irish are also to be found in various parts of Neva Scotia. Some of them are sober and indus- triotts ; but most of them are the opposite. The hewers of wood and the drawers of water, they en- joy to-day, heedless of to-morrow. Pat is just the same, ignorant, careless, good-natured being in the forests of America, as in the fens of Ireland. ^^^ •• Of all the counties in Nova Scotia, I deem Shel- bum to be the poorest and most barren. Its inha- bilante subnst chiefly on the product of tLte fisheries which the coasts afford. They are poor, Ill-housed md ill-fed'; yet, like the natives of Ireland and of China, they are remarkably prolific. A boat or a cabin put a young man into a fit condition for mar- riage. He can always have fish to eat, and pota- toes to relish them, and for clothing he trusts to events. '1 [let. XIV. I part of the r him.'' " Do ( you have de- ical for teach- erite ?" The m to believe ng advices, lettlements in )y retain the eportinent oi nous parts of er andindus- posite. The Iter, they en- tt is just the being in the eland. I deem SheU I. Its inha- ' the fisheries nr, i]l.hou8ed eland and of A boat or a don for mar- tf and pota- he trusts to LET. XIV.] AND HEW BEVNSWICX. 108 ' Thus, my (Hend, the same combination of cir- cumstances effects the '4tme results in the east and the west, the north a* 1 the south ; and in this, as in all his other operations, we mark the beautifUl designs of the first of causes. Population increases and diminishes in the exact ratio of food and doth- ing. To read the writings of Malthus and his follow, ers, we would apprehend that the Almighty had committed the reins of government into th^ hands, and employed them to discover curbs upon the growth of population, which was beyond his con- trol. How learnedly may men talk nonsense ? The poorest and most ignorant feel checks which philosophy knows not of, and act upon instincts which poUticid economy cannot teach. Did ever you see an election for a member of Parliament in Ireland ? Then a Nova Scotian one will not be a treat to you, as it was to me. The court-house was full to the door. The sheriff was on the bench, and the candidates on the right and left of him. The first, who was nominated, was a lawyer, who addressed the voters in a speech of an hour's length, in which he attempted to explain the general policy of the country. The greatest objec- tion to this speech was, that his auditory had not sufficient education to understand it They gaped with amazement, and many of them guessed that he was a clever fellow. The next, who presented him- :\ 304 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XIV. r«w ( I self was a merchant. His speech was short, but admirably adapted to the apprehension of his hear- ers. He told them that he would not waste their time with any eulogium on his own merits,— that the proof of a pudding was in the eating, that though he could not address them with all the elo- cution of the gentleman who preceded him, for he was a plain honest man, who had earned his bread by the sweat of his brow, and not by the labour of his tongue ; yet, if they should do him the honour to return him, he would satisfy them that he was worthy of their votes. If grammar were necessary for a legislator, then this candidate had no preten- sions to it. The next who appeared, declared that his friend, who solicited their support, was absent, but would show himself before the close of the poll. The next was a farmer, who told them that he no- minated himself, that he was an independent gen- tleman, and had no doubt of their votes. The candidates kept tables for all comers during the whole time the poll was open, and the roads were nightly covered with persons, the descendants of the inhabitants of almost all countries of the earth, lying in a state of drunken insensibility. Most of them were wholly ignorant of the merits of the re- spective candidates, and were conducted to the poll like sheep to the shambles. LET. XT.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 105 •Y •%;5 t>-,^:. V:.:: !t>..-..1 • T' > • ♦ ■,...< s.:.-vtv, . /,- LETTER XV. -■fr-.--'ri ■-• •: -'.^•'- 3rfj«4,, 1827. ■ My Dear Sir, ^'^ - Yesterday Captain , of the , and my- self, did ourselves the honour to accept of Mrs. — 's polite invitation to visit her at — . On our way we passed the iron works of . The buildings are really splendid. Unfortunately, how- ever, they seem to have been erected without any respect to the fitness of the spot, except for the supply of water. The ore is distant from the works, and therefore, the expense of the establish- ment is augmented proportionably. Besides, they are obliged to employ charcoal for fuel, which is brought a long way, and yearly, as the trees are gradually destroyed, this item of its expenses will take a more serious aspect. " What think you of this concern. Captain ?" said I. " I do not believe that the speculation will be a successM one.'' " Why ?" " For several reasons. The price of labour in this country is \ 106 LETTERS FROM KOVA SCOTIA [lBT. XV. 80 enormous, that works of this kmd cannot be wrought with profit. The iron, which is imported from Great Britain is less expensive, than any company can afford to manufacture it in Nova Scotia. They ought to hsve considered this fact, and endeavoiured to diminish its practical effects to the utmost extent of their ability. But, instead of acting in this way, they seem to have wished to make their i^culation a total fulure. They have set down their premises many mites distant from the ore ; whilst their only prospect of success 19M in the employment of the least quanti^ <^ manual lalxmr, and the greatest quantity of ma- chinery. The establislmient at Pictou will triumph over itffut'j£ Maty adventure of this sort succeed in the country, it is likely to thrive. It is chiefly dspendent on machinery, and has a vast supply of eoals in its neighbourhood. Therefore—- but before I forget, let me caution you not to b^;in upon the subject of religion to-day. The lady we «re about to visit is a violent Methodist.^ . ^' You do not believe, my dear Sir, that I shall make any i^tempt to undermine the lady^s orthodoxy, or that I have any objections to her Methodism.^ ^ Oh ! but I am afraid that the subject will be mentioned, and, therefore, I wish you to know the disposition of the enemy. The Methodists are a nu- merous sect in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.'^ LET. XY.] AMD MEW BEUN8WICK. 107 *« Are dot they the followers of Wesley ?" «* Yes; All of them.^ ** Why then do they keep apart from the Arminians of the established church? Cannot the Arminians agree among themselves ?^ « No, Sir. Men^s opinions are as different as their faces. They agree in <»ie or two points, which give them a daim to the title Wesleyan Metho- dists, but then they have a hundred differences on other subjects, sufficient to generate hatreds and animosities, too likely to root out of their spiiits the charity of the gospel. The reasons of their separation from the English Church are, I appre- hend, to be found in the differences of their no- tions with respect to experimental rel^;ion, and the conduct of life. I have heard them object, indeed, to one or two of the thirty-nine articles, which savour of Calvinism, but as the clergy in this co* lony explain them, so as to free them from this defect, I do not think that they have any objections « to the doctrines of our English parsons.^^ << Do the people support their preachers ?^ **To a certain extent 1 believe, though they are chiefly main- tained by the Methodist Society in Great Britain. Their salaries, like those of the Episcopal Mission- aries, are sufficiently moderate ; but they are zealous and energetic in the execution of their duty. Gene- rally, though not always, they are destitute of the advantages of a liberal education.'" " But, my dear ■*'% ■MN MM loa LETTERS JTBOM XOVA SCOTIA [lET. XV.' ;-'• !*■- ^»," said I, " the want, which you iB«ition» is not likely in Nova Scotia to be a draw-back upon their utility. On a level with their hearers with respect ' to intellectual development, and dependent alto- gether upon the word of God for effect, they bear down upon them with more power than men of a different class. I am clearly of opinion, that he who can sympathize most fully with the prejudices, and adapts his discourses most closely to the appre- hensions of his auditory, is the most successful orator. I admit that the most ignorant and stupid of mortals, will be impressed with the powerful oratory of the eloquent speaker ; will be pleased with the muisic of his sentences, and astonished with the splendour and tb^ power of his observa- tions ; but then, if he would work any practical effect upon his auditory, he must descend from the lofby vantage-ground of his brilliant mental powers; make himself one of his hearers ; think as they think, and speak as they speak, and then he may exert the most fearful influences upon them for good or for evil.'* " The truth of your statement ijs illustrated by the events which have happened among the Methodists. The zeal of their preach- ers has frequently exceeded their judgment, and the warmth of their language has often thrown many of their hearers into trances and convulsions. The wild delusions of an over-heated imagination • lennium. But I am certain, that a mighty revolu- tion will be effected in the drcumstances of man- kind before the second coming of the Messiah.*** ' I confess, Mr. •*— 'j^ laid the Captain, " that I ( '.rnot argue with you upon these matters. My kle has been passed in camps, which afford small op- portunity for these lofty speculations.*' " But I trust,** said Mr. , << that you have not been forgetful of the establishment of the Itedeemer*8 kingdom in your own soul.** ^* I do not know what you mean. My character as an officer and a gentlemanis beyond impeachment. I have been fitith- ftil to my country and my king.** " But, my dear Sir, perhaps amidst the pleasures and employments of a military life, you have been forgetful of the duties which you owe to the Alm^hty.** " Per- haps. Sir, I may not have had so many opportu- nities of saying my prayers as I could have wished. Perhaps ' . But, Sir, you must excuse me. I am obliged to be at home at two o'clock.** ^^ ^^mt^ • . r , - - ^^\ *4i ^ '-„• '■' J i ,', ,i\:.t', ,'!ifi ■ ■,,.. '.-'/'My. 'J'.-'' 1 'M i %. 112 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XVI. LETTER XVI. -f/' ..,?;,,,;r.ir, -,.-. •Tt^- f¥ Augusts, I827. My Dear Sir, The heat of the weather is at present excessive. The mercury in Fahrenheit'^s thermometer stood to- day at two o^cIock, p. M. at 95° above zero ; yet, on account of the dryness of the atmosphere, the heat was not so oppressive to me, as I have felt it in Scotland at 75° above zero. '*' ' *•* ' '^ f?>> , » , Tlie snows disappeared three or four months ago, and left us the worst of roads. I cannot say that they have improved greatly with the progress of summer, for, if the feet do not sink into the mud, the mouth, ears, and nostrils, are filled with the dust. His garden seems to be the first object of the farmer''s labour in this country. All houses what- soever have small kitchen-gardens attached to them, and generally orchards of one or two acres. The only hawthorn hedges which I have seen are around the gardens of Mr. , and Mr. . The forests are peopled at present with black 11 LET. XVI.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 113 t with black flies, and the dearances with musquitoes. The first may be avoided by keeping away firom their territories, for they are not in the habit of making excursions from the woods, but the others dog men and beasts, and occasion the most dreadful tortures. Houses do not protect from their attacks, as the doors ismd windows are kept open for the free admission of air. Locusts also are plenty at present. The whole of the marsh on the sea-shore about half a mile from my residence seems instinct with life. Frogs too are plenty, and serenade me nightly. They are an excellent index, I am told, of the progress of the year. I know a gentleman, who is always ex- ceedingly anxious to ascertain the night of the com- mencement of their croakings, as by it he governs his agricultural operations. Snakes also of differ- ent sixes, colours, and species, are to be seen " trail- ing their slow length along^ in the gardens, the orchards, the fields and the woods, but they are harmless. . - . . * -v The aspect of the negro is familiar to you. His wooUy black hair, large mouth and thick lips, yel- low dull eyes, and beautiful teeth, have been de- scribed frequently. In these colonies, the men are strong, well-built, and capable of vast labour and fatigue. The females, however, are generally short and clumsy. To see persons like these, natives of I i Fl)^ • :;:. i-Tf J LETTEBS FEOM MOtA SCOTIA [ttt, XVI. ilbto woodf fiom their infimcy, outdoing our beAux «nd bdks in mil the accomplishments, on which they pride themselves^ is matter of astonishment. The negro appears to me equal to the Frenchman in obsequious politoMss. Yo'i recdlect my sentiments with respect to the advices of Chesterfield. Yes ! my friend, they ap- ply only to the subject of a despot, and just as the mind attains the dbbasement, which adapt% it for ^ tyranny, does it become fit for their practical Implication. My opinions upon this sulgect Imve robtained strength from my late visit to the Black -Settlement at ' ■ ■ . The whole of their houses ai^ log-huts. The walls ate made of r akraaght logs, from six to ten inches in diameter, rough, aa they are cut, except that the brandies are lopped ofi^, put in a horiiontal position, and crossing at the comers of the hovel, where they are grooved, that they may allow each log to touch the one immediately below it. The chinks are filled up with clay and wedges of wood. The roof is of bark, peeled o£P the trees in masrive pieces, which are held down by various expedients, or of shin^bi, according to the circumstances of the proprietor. Their houses are generally from 16 to 80 f^t long, and from 10 to 20 broad. Their interior if fqll of smoke and dirt. Their children, in a state ef aU most totail nakedness, vegetate in these eabinSf till i' i.tt. XYI.] AMD VEW »Eir)l8WICK. Il5 they grow up to be men and women, and tiben iwue oat upon *8odet]r> equally destitute of intdleetaal education or moral principles. I visited one of these huts, and found that the proprietor had got a sore finger. Ho seemed anxious to make a complaint against one of the overseers of die poor. Over these gentlemen I' have no control whatsoever. Still he i^^peared to obtain reUef from telling me of his bad treatment. ** For many years,^ sud he, *< I maintained mysitf independendy, but now I have got a sore finger and cannot work. The overseer, when he heard of my misfortune, came to see me, and told me diat he would sup^y me with necessaries, if I would send any person for them. My old woman, (his wife) went to him next day. What did he give her think you ? Meat, tea, sugar, mofaunei^ and rye-flour; but neither wheat-flour nor but* ter ! ! ! Now, Massa, rye-flour does not make bread fbr a christian, and nobody can drink tea without butter oh his bread.*" I did not reply. I knew that notlung would satisfy him of the un^ reasonableness of his complaints. But I thought of the multitudes in Scotland, England, or Ireland) who, at that moment, would have deemed their labour from day>break tiU night, am|rfy repaid by a tithe of the rations which diis man despised. On my way, I met my friend the Captain, to U' ■,( LEX. xyi.J^ AND MEW BHwawxeK. H9 leMty tn^v«Uenlike ourselves to the same judgment :f eeit? Their earthly comforts ought certainly to be ^ atten^fed to, but if we consider them with respect to : their eternity, the matter assumes a fearful impor- tance.'" ** I am not desirous to follow you into these dis> ^ cussions. But I do think, that as they have the ■, privileges of freemen, they ought to be made fit to -^ exercise them,** ,^, Mifi -fi^'i^e? :m'^mi^' Yjki' ^'.i:i- *4: 1 M 1S(0 LETTERS FROM KOVA SCOTIA [lIT. Xttl. ..r LETTER XVII. .!,?'> ^■■. % t i* Octofcer 2, I827. /* My Dear Sir, -^'- y A VAST majority of the inhalntants of Nova Scotia "'■ and New Brunswick are natives, or the descend- ants of natives, of the Land of Cakes. Man, though 1 he adapts himself to all climates and circumstances, and insmsibly gives and receives changes from ^ those around him, yet has certwi peculiarities which mark him out, even after ages of separation '■% from the land of his fathers, as the descendant of a particular tribe of the family of mankind. The Scotchman, in spite of his enthusiastic attadunent to that country, which he never ceases to call his home,— in «pite of his profound veneration for the ' customs, the manners, and the habits of his fore- fathers, — ^in the forests of America, with other lo- calities and other comforts, melts down into some- thing different in many respects from him who has never lef^ his native soil. ^ Th^afiection, indeed, which the Scotchman beaf s LET. XVII.] AND MEW BRDNSWICX. - ^^■ lai to his home, as Jhe c»Us it, he parts not with, but with his life. He will not admit that any nation is' like his own, that any people are half so moral, de- vout, and industrious. In his opinion no climate is so healthy, and no women so fair as in Scotland. The effect is obvious. They clan together and . look down with something like contempt upon those : who have not the honour of any affinity with their nation. Th( kirk of Scotland is, in their opinion, the only court of God, — the only spot where they feel the de^ devotional solemnity for which Scotchmen are so famous at home. Prelacy and popery are their utter abomination, and before many of them will profane themselves by entering, what they be- lieve its unholy precincts, which their forefathers abominated and warred against even to the death,* they will submit to the want of religious (Hrdinances, and allow their children to become infidels. %«^ It would be wonderful, indeed, if persons, agree-, ing in so many respects, and differing in so many respects from all around them, did not form a kind of exclusive society, a kind of imperium in imperio, a kind of offensive and defensive alliance, guaran- teed by the ties of kindred feelings and congenial sentiments. jw uj^g^ii^ «i 'But, in spite of all these circumstances, though they may for ages retain the high cheek-bones, red- Ikair, and athletic form of Scotland, if something be G )93 LETTEBS rmOM NOVA SCOTIA [lBT. XVIU « ■ not done to afford them the moral and religious ad« vantages which their fathers enjoyed, they will be fxtrpora sine animoy inheritors of the bodies, but not of the minds of Scotsmen. Those feelings which bind them indissolubly to their country, bind them also to its constitutlcm and its king ; and if a rebellion should ever spring up in our colomes, I venture to predict that they will be found in the ranks of loyalty, standing shoulder to shoulder, like their fathers, on many i7ell fought fields, for the honour and the glory of old Soot- land. What means of religious education have we at« tempted to afford them ? The Church of Scotland is a mere sect in Nova Scotia. The number of our clergy in Nova Scotia and ?'^?w Brunswick, for the impsrtment of religious instructions, and the ad« ministration of religious ordinances to a Scottish population of about 100,000 persons, dues not ex- ceed eight or ten ! ! J A society has sprung up at Glasgow a few years ago, whose object is to assist in the establishm^it of the Church of Scotland in our North American c»> hmies. But its small resources have not yet been productive of any important benefit. A drawback, I am sorry to say, upon this society, is its tendency to stir up the ashes of religious discord, to carry all the- fruits of our Scottish dissensions into the colo- ,BT. XVII. tgious ad- »y will be Ns, but not solubly to tution and ring up in ey wHl be lioulder to 'ell fought old Scot- ave we at« >f Scotland aber of our ick, for the id the ad« a Scottish les not ex- few years lishm^it of aerican c»> yet been drawback, 8 tendency ;o carry all the colo- I.ET. XVII.] AND MEW MUKSWIClf^ 123 ran. I am glid to befiete tlult ati dasees of pet- sons in our country are in «i slate of j^rogriss^ to- wards unanimity, and that as we are all agreed with reject to the fundamental fmneiples of our church govemmedt, the time is not cBstant, when, to adopt the Indian phfaseology, we shall bury the hatchet, and strhre for sti|)ieriority in all the charities of the diristian life. The march of intellectnal improve- ment is stead^y progressive, and before it all the paltry differeiices of sects and parlies (fisappear, whilst the whole attention of mankind fixes gradual- ly upon the l|iirituality of the announcements of Jesus Christ. The Ne# Testament supplies no particular fotm of church government, but leaves this matter to be determined by a people^s taste and circumstan- ces, which manifests the Redeemer's wisdom. The experiences of ages prove that an universal political constuution is a mere chimera, like the universal philosophical language of which sages were wont to dream, and wisdom dictates that we ought to profit from the errors of those who have gone before us. " BellOf beUay horida hdla^ have long marked the relif^aus diiFerences of the nations of the eairth, de- monstrative that the spirit of charity which the gos- pel breathes, was wholly a stranger to the bosoms of those who engaged themselves in so unholy a warfiure. ' <* "a.-.^ j.jf^"ji,^ii.,pfi- ' The problem, which perplexed our fathers has :.M- Pf"* ! y n ■<■>!■ »Fi ,i 'W .'^v 124 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XTU. been determined by the most satisfactory esqperi- ments, that men may be excellent members of a political society, and yet differ with respect to the utility and efficiency of any particular church esta- blishment. The result is obvious, that as reli^ous liberty does not interfere with the order of sodety, it is to its fullest extent the birth-right of all the members of the family of mankind, and that non- conformity to an established church, however ex- cellent, ought not to deprive a man of his civil pri- vileges.* / ^ I do not say that the Glasgow Socifty has not a clear right to dispose of their money, as they deem fit ; but I have no doubt that, if they knew the circumstances of our colonie8,^if they knew the bitter feuds and animosities which their policy occa- sions, the christian phUanthropy which established the Society, would widen the limits of its opera- tions, so as to admit the poor Presbyterian emigrant, even though he should cling pertinaciously to the designation of Burgher. I do not know that there breathes a more devoted adherent to the kirk of Scotland than myself, — not because I be- * These opinions hare been' testified by our legislators in their emancipation of our Catholic fellow*subject8, and we trust Chit the benevolent intentions of our gracious Sovereign will not be thwarted by the conduct of those who are to reap their bene- fit. 'yvn^-,1 T- ■ t n'.?i. i t •'•" , i'jj-ji» if> c* ; tm * LET. xru. iMfl XVil.J AKD NEW BSUN8WICK. ^£Xn. 12K lieve it to be the only true apostolical church, but because it is connected with all my earliest and fond- est associations, because it is the churdi of my own native land, because within its pale my fathers have died in hopes of a glorious hereafter, and because ages have proved it to be one of the most efficient engines of moralizing a nation, which we meet with in ancient or modem times. But I admit, without the slightest hesitation, that, for these important re- sults, it is, next to the blessing of God, indebted to its adaptation to the taste and circumstances of the people of Scotland. Therefore, though one of its sincerest friends, I do not wi^ to see it imposed upon others, unless they vriah it, and just in that shape which they prefer. Scotchmen, in spite of all the disadvantages which we have mentioned, are in the full monopoly of wealth and honours in our colonies. Those lessons of self-denial which the poverty of our country teaches ; the knowledge which our schools impart to all, from the sons of our nobles to those of our beggars, the habitual piety which the efficiency of our church establishment, and the exemplary liyes of her clergy excite and cherish, the honesty and sobriety which all these circumstances tend to effect, give Scotchmen important advantages wherever they iUt^- ■■: 'if ^- ** 126 LETTEK8 FBOM NOVA SCOTIA. [lBT. XVIII. rfc^fh lj:tter XVIII. 4^-. i ii tit 1828. ih. ipon tim- tuations, I ngrlcul- ;he same tilixe its est trees expedi- erto the »e found ■es. ■''' IS,** said smen at I not be> eptfW)m iousands ktsoever. 8, then, Dyments LET. XTIII.] AlfD NEW BRUNSWICK. 127 more exquisite. If the work be heavy, and the hardships many, yet, by one of heaven^s beautiful provisions, the pleasures are precisely in the same ratio. The man, who has been struggling for his life for hours, drenched with the waves, and terrified with the prospect of immediate death, has satisfac- tions, if he get to land, which he owes wholly to his sufferings and dangers. This, Sir, is the key-stone of the sailor^s attachment to the ocean, and of all those peculiarities which make up his character, so different from that of the woodsman. The sea- man's sympathies for those who have been in pe- ril on the deep, are infinitely more strong than those of persons, who have lived uU their days up- on shore. I have seen a sailor, a rough weather^ beaten sailor. Sir, weep like an infant over a story of miseries on the ocean, which women heard without a sigh. The life of the woodsman, like that of the mariner, is precarious and uncertain; and, there- fore, like him, he is heedless of to-morrow, and en- joys the present. You cannot wonder, then, that the lumberers have a strong similarity to the sailors, and are wholly different fh>m all around them in the forest. v ** From the beginning to the end of winter they may be said to have their feet perpetually wet, for generally they work knee-deep in snow. Their camp keeps out the rain with difficulty ; their bed is of 128 LETTEUS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lKT. XVIII. the boughs of the trees in the neighbourhood. In drifting the logs down the stream the woodsman is sometimes carried off on one of them. Sometimes he stands on a rock while the waters are sweeping by, washing the half of his body ; and sometimes he is carried headlong by the fary of the torrent, and his ories, mixing with the loud roar of the cur- rent, proclaim his doom to his companions.**^ ** What a life, my dear Sir,^ said I. "Oh ! but then, to countervail these evils, if he master them, — and if he sink under them, all is peaceful in the grave, whether it be dug by the hands of men, or by the attrition of the waters, — he goes into his tent at night, lights his fire of faggots, cooks his provision, drinks his grog, sings himself to sleep, enjoys a profoundness of slumber, which is wholly a stranger to the less adventurous, and rises to his next day^s labour in the full buoyancy of health and spirits."*^ -r « All thesfe farms along our path belong to lum- berers. The soil is ercellent, but how bleak they look. What small comfort about their houses ! These persons are all in debt. Perhaps a third of them are in prison, or fugitives from the sheriff.^ " Your sheriff, Sir,^' said I, " does not seem to have the same employment as in Scotland. ** Oh ! out sheriffs are not lawyers, their chief employ- ment, is the capture and imprisonment of debtors. Generally they have one or two deputies. But .KT. XVIII. LET. XVXII.] AKD NEW BRUNSWICK. 1^ their official situation is not a sinecure. I do not envy them their business.^ Just as he had uttered these words, up came Mr. , e^eriff of the county of . He is a short, fitout, muscular man, about the prime of life. He wa^ in a sleigh with a prisoner. " How do you do, Mr. — — " said my companion. And " how do you do, Mr. , I am glad, I mean to say, I am sorry to see you in your present company/^ The prisoner was a stout, tall, care-worn person, somewhat down the hill of life. They were out of sight in a few mo- ments. " That man,^ said he, " is a lumberer. I will tell you his history. His father and mother were emigrants from Ireland. They got a grant of land, twenty or thirty years ago, from the government of New Brunswick. He embarked in timber speculations, and, instead of cultivating his farm and improving its resources, became a lum- berer. He acquired habits of drunkenness from his mode of life, for previously he appeared to be a sober and industrious man, and was obliged be- fore his death to mortgage his property. He died about two years ago, and, as was generally believed, in solvent circumstances. He left a large family, and the man in the custody of the sheriff, is his eldest son. He had been engaged in the timber business for many years along with his father, and three or four of his brothers, and, though a few 190 LKTT|[BS FEOM NOVA 800TIA [l£T. IVIII, mQnth^ ago he told me that it had been ruinpua to him, and that the only prospect of lelief was in its abandonment, and in becoming a fiinner, yet he could not possibly emancipate himself from its fascinations. There is his farm. See how poor and desolate' it ift." « What foUy,'' said I. «*Yott are right. They act foolishly. Yet we ought not to sit in judgment upon others. We are curioua creatures'—the slaves of habit— 4Uid the creatures of circumstances. Consider the drunkard. I am sorry to say, that drunkenness, the mother of all vices, has augmented its votaries immensely among us, within the last few years. The cheapness of all sorts of spirituous liquors, operates, indeed, as a sort of bounty upon their consumption, and, con- «equently, upon the demoraliaation of the people^s habits ; the destruction of their constitutions, and the waste of their money. My neighbour, Mr. «»>-w, was for many years t^e most sober and in^ dustrious of men, apd, by management and frugd- ity, was worth, at one time, several thousand pounds. But at last he sunk down by degrees into a veteran drunkard ; became wholly unfit for all business whatsoever, and only his death saved him from the horrors of a jail. He has left his family in poverty without education or religious principles. Now, Sir, let us think of this man, intelligent, sober and iadustiious, and^ trembling LET. XVni.] AVD NEW BRUNSWICK. F: 131 for ounelyee, recollect the reply of Haiad to the prophet, * ig thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing ?^ Consider that, while the bulk of the population of New Brunswick devote themselves to the lumber business, most of them will readily admit that as farmers exclusively, they would have more wealth and comfort, and that, by becoming woodsmen, they abandon a certainty to grasp at an imaginary benefit. Oh ! We see faults in others which we perceive not in ourselves. Those persons who exhibit the absurd conduct which I have men- tioned, are the first to blame the Indian for his pertinacious attachment to the habits and the man- ners of his fathers ; for dingmg so strongly to his vagrant and predatory life. Wherever the inha- bitants are lumberers, the country wants all the evidences of agricultural development. Camping for four month among snows, and felling or drift- ing the whole time, day after day, wholly unfit them for farm operations. They may work stoutly indeed, for two or three weeks, till they have ploughed and sown what is sufficient for the sup- ply of their respective families ; but then they ap- prehend that their toils are ended. They journey to the city that they may have a settlement of their accomptswith their wood-merchants, and enjoy them- selves or haveafrolic, as they call it, before the coming on of the hay harvest. These visits are fearful draw- Ids LETTEKS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XVIII. backs upon their fann operations. Who can doubt,"" said he, <^that the timber business unfits a popula- tion, not only for agricultural operations, and, in this way, checks the gradual development of the physical resources of the country, but also gener- ates habits exceedingly prejudicial to their morality •UU UCk|r|ltItVBO i. ':W nmm^ ."**»■".;* tjj- '■mM ''im^^^'-Hi- -fel>fei.i;-H&WJ:- S*--«'-r<.rf.:- "•'i X t ■ ■ " y .^*.# " ■ * f -■* - ; i?ti'.f4w*.-M;ii '■ •r '5' 1, * ■fl '■:\' * ■ % M -\i ■^ 4t f ^m' 4i¥^>^>.^-iti-ijf, LET. XIX.] AND FEW BRVK8WXCK. TMt 133 >.u if ■% . w ^';; »!iia*. LETTEH XIX, iki>. ;^. ^ .«?*-'^ <• -'-_«^.' 1 J^6.8,182g. My Deak 6hKr *< Do you think,"* said I to Mr. , « that the North American colonies are likely to be long the provinces of Britaiii?'' **That;' said he, «*wiU depend materially upon the policy of the mother country, which will take its complexion, I appre- hend, from the estimate of their importance at the Colonial office. If the British goyernment shall deem them of such vast moment as to relieve us of ail direct taxes, and allow our assemblies to aj^ro^ priate the indirect ones, as we shall think proper &om time to time, I have not the smallest doubt ' that they may remain for a long series of yeanr the dependants of Great Britain.** " But,*^ said I, " dc you not think that you aife able to pay taxes, or rather do you not perceive that moderate ones would be a mighty benefit to your country." " No, Sir,** said he, " I do not exactly comprehend your meaning ; but I know that the I . I 134 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lCT. XIX. first attempts at direct taxation will be resisted, even to the death, except our assemblies have the appropriation of them. In our present circum- stances, whilst we are governed according to our own views, free from all charges, we will submit to a foreign governor, &c. &c. &c. ; but alter the as- pect of affairs, demand money of us to defray the expenses of our government, and then the secret which makes us the loyal and faithful subjects of the British crown will soon make itself manifest.*" '< I perceive the whole matter clearly,'" said I, " the population of the provinces are under the govern- ment of a moneyed aristocracy, who control, not only the people, but the king^s representative. These men look upon foreigners with jealousy. They deem themselves fit for all, even the highest offices of the state, and only ftom the cheapness of the government to themselves, and the benefit of the British army and navy to the colonies, do they submit that any of the offices in their respective states be filled by fi)reigners. The question then is not, whether these provinces be useftil in them- selves, but whether they be worth the price which we pay for them ?" ** But, if these colonies should revolt from Great Britain, do you think that they would establish an independent government, or become departments of the United States ?" « That,'' said he, «* wiU i^io I.ST. XXX.] AND V^.W BKVHtWICK. M^- 13^ ■' dq^d considerably upon the policy of Great Bn> tain. The people*! opinions at present Kre decid- edly hostile to the American government, and only necessity wonld compel them to throw themselves into therms of the United States. To prevent thdr junction with the American Repnbhc is cer> tainly a most important object, whether the extent dTterntory or the command of sea-coast, one of the finesf, nurseries for a navy in the world, which they will give it, be considered.^ *< I see not,^said I, ** the whole power of your statement, but how is this calamity to be averted?^ ^Only,** said he, ^< I am aftaid, by the estabUshment of an inde. pendent government. The disputes in the Canada* show that events are hastening to a crisis, and wisdom dictates that we oiiight to attempt to lead where we cannot drive. These provinces, Sir, cm- not remun long in their present circumstances; they must either be swallowed up by the territories of a foreign state, or form an independent govern- ment, guaranteed by Great Britain.'^ •< But,"" said I, my dear Sir, ^«the British go^ vemraent will never agree to this proposal."* <* Per- haps not. Then the historian of the mneteenth century will have the glory of eulogising another Washington, and descrilnng another revolution on the American contment.'^ <* God forbid,** said ly " We have had enough of wars." ** You may say —•:><•...■ 136 LETTERS FROM KOVA SCOTIA [lET. XIX. that we have had enough of tempests and earth- quakes, which are in the material, just what wars are in the moral atmosphere. Whilst men allow their passions and their prejudices to blind their judgments, we shall hear of battles. What can be more absurd, more unworthy of statesmen, than the cstablishAient of the church of England in these proTinces ? I am a memiber of that communion, — I admire its beautiful liturgy, and venerate the me- mories of the many great and good men who have lived and died within its pale. But I cannot diut my eyes to the fact, that episcopacy is wholly op- posed to the sentiments and feelings of nine-tenths of our population in Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick. If, then, the British government should or- der us to uphold an episcopal establishment, what would be the result P Just a war.^ " I wonder how the British Parliament can make grants of money so utterly useless as those they de- vote to the church establishment in North America. Numberless churches have been built, but then there is nobody to attend them, and clergymen have frequently been appointed to districts where they have small opportunity of exercising their sa- cred functions. I am glad to know that there are ehurches in the desert, and I venerate the philan- thropy which establishes them there, but I do not like good intentions to waste their sweetness on the LI LET. XIX.] AND MEW BRUNRWICK. 137 desert air. I admit that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick afford a large field for the labours of the christian missionary, but then he must preach the doctrines of Jesus Christ, and not himself or his church.'* ** I do not know. Sir, whether to laugh or to weep, when I see the lofty vantage ground which our clergy have assumed, and the aspect of contempt which they, put on towards all other seets. I am sorry to say that this feeling accompanies them fre- quently to the pulpit, and, instead of breathing the spirit of charity, so conspicuous in the character &*\d the gospel of their meek and lowly Saviour ; instead of endeavouring to expound the nature of that spiritual process from death to life which the ' New Testament discloses, they fulminate anathemas against all who dissent from the communion of what they call their pure and only apostolical church.'" << Which do you think the most numerous de- nomination of Christians in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ?"" " Oh, the Presbyterians. Then the Roman Catholics. Then the Baptists. Then the Methodists. Then the Episcopalians.'" << Is the Baptist a numerous sect ?^ <^Yes. It is the most prosperous of all denominations. A few yeata ago the Baptists were a small and compara- tively uninfluential body of men. Their teachers were ignorant of all knowledge except what their 1 !j "•V^l 138 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lBT. XIX4 n I \ I Bibles afForded, and their hearers were the poorest of our peasantry. But, by recent events, they have received a most important accession not only of numbers but also of wealth, talent, and education ; and I will stake my sagacity upon the prophecy that, in a few years, the Baptist church will' be pre. dominant in Nova Scotia.^ < « I am glad,"" said I, " that the church of Christ is likely to be benefited."" << Oh, doubtless the spirit of inquiry has gone forth from Halifax into the remotest parts of the forest; and, casting off our spiritual slumbers, we are beginning to apply our-t selves t» the study of the gospel of Jesus Christ, apart from the opinions and interpretations of those who have gone before us. The benign effects of this excitement are already manifeiBt in the eon* duct and conversations of multitudesy-n-in the im-> petus given to all schemes of improvement,— in the organization of Sabbath schools throughout the country, kc."^ << I am glad,"" said I, ^ to hear of these omens of more happy times ; and though I should have preferred to have seen them within the pale of the Church of England or of Scotland, yet, as a christian, I rejoice in all extensions of the Redeemer's kingdom, whoever may be the instruif ments.'" '< I have not the smf^est doubt,"" said he, " that this state of matters .ight have been pre. vented, if the government ..ad acted upon states^ T. XlXi LIT* XIX.] AMD VEW BKHrKsWICX. 139 pooiest I, they only of Lcation ; rophecy be pre- r Christ less the fax into ^o£Pour ply our-» I Christ, of those IPectsof Jie eon- theim- — in the >ut the hear of ough I thin the id, yet, of the instru-« said he, len pre* states^ men-like principles,— if twenty years ago the Scottish church had been offered to the people. The boon then would have been an important one. Now, in my opinion, the tide of events, though it may be checked for a time, cannot be long controlled. The Church of England may be established nominally, but the Baptist one wiU be predominant.^ £sM -Ai. i i^C*'J--"Ui*.->it,' ■'WJ% :»V*|.J. _ iUiUM*} f . i.mln :.:^.^x'^ iwSCli; I.^U.-.£^"<1©V^ « :aiij likm^ " !iSm. ^i;>ri ■ ^ -^■-'' ?£ ^.^., .. ";.: ■A: '^j^' . .-M t r\ 140 LETTEBS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lKT. XX. LETTER XX..;aaiifKa^-^%K^ii»|; ■ » y - T 1 T*SJ«W Slf ^-"llB V ^: I •'• St. John\ March 2, 1828. My Dear Sir, * -- Like most of the other towns of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, St. John''s stands on the two sides of a hill. My first sight of it was from the sea, about sunset one evening in November. The last rays of the sun were falling upon its wooden houses of many different colours, and gave it a pretty and romantic aspect. But the moment my feet were in the streets the delusion vanished. To- wards the wharves the filth is excessive. St. John^s is perhaps one of the most unhealthy places in our North American provinces ; and the intense heats of the summer working upon these masses of dirt and mud, appear to me to be one of the most power- ful of the causes of it. The fogs are more common here than in Halifax. ■"*: ^^^ f-. In St. John^s there are two Episcopal churches, a kirk, a Roman Catholic chapel, besides Baptist and Methodist meeting-houses, &c. &c. The Court- \ 1, I X' .i \ ' " LET. XX.] AMD NEW BRUNSWICK. 141 ^ \ 2, 1828. ;otia and the two from the er. The ;8 wooden ;ave it a ment my led. To- H. John^s es in our nse heats >8 of dirt gt power- common churches, Baptist e Court- house, which is not finished, is one of its handsom- est structures. > In St. John^s there are five or six weekly news- papers published. These have improved greatly within the last few years. :i . St. John^s differs from Halifax in this respect, that it is governed by its own magistrates, viz. by a mayor and court of aldermen. The mayor and recorder are chosen by his excellency the governor ; the others, I believe, by the freemen. The mayor or recorder, with three aldermen, form a common council, which has power to make laws, ordinances, &c. only for one year, unless they obtain the ap- probation of the governor. It is also a court of re- cord and common pleas for the city of St. John's. The terms are quarterly. It tries all causes which do not involve sums above L.50 or less than L.5. To try causes below L.5 a city court is held once a week, where one of the aldermen presides. To afford you some sort of notion of the quantity of business at St. John''s, I shall furnish you with a list of its imports and exports for 1827* The value of the goods which were imported from Great Britain was L.194,857 ; from the .West In- dies, L.47,398; from North America, L.138,914; from the United States, L. 101 ,182; and from other foreign states, L. 1,546. From Oreat Britain ther^ were 883 veisela ; from the Brilish colonies I k Sijiiiw tmm. I I (• I . 142 LETTSIIS FAOM KOVA SCOtlA. [lKT. XX. there were 1156 vessels ; from the iJaited States there were 115 vessels, and from the foreign states there were 5 vessels. The whole afiiount of ton- nage in the import trade was 195,1()9 tons, the number of seamen was 9886. K. The value of the exports to Oreat Britain was L.186,919 ; to the British North American colo- nies, L.71,642 ; to the W<^ '. Indies, L.73,785 ; to the Uniterl Jtates, L.5600 i to other foreign states, L.3,986. To Great Britain there were 391 vessels ; to the British colonies there were 1096 vessels ; to the United States, 100 vessels; to other foreign states, 3 vessels. The whole amount of tonnage in the export trade was 203,546 tons. The number of seamen was 11,311. I was greatly amused a few nights i^o at a din- ner party, with a conversation betwixt one of the clergymen here, and two or three of his flock. << My dear Mr. — ," said Mr. , " your prayers are too long. I think this part of public worship ought to be short. It is certainly a most awfully import- ant matter for poor worms of the dust like us to address our Maker. All prayers ought to be stu- died before they are presented at the throne of the Eternal. I envy not the feelings of him who can talk to the King of kings, just as he speaks to one of his fellows. My dear Sir, many of us apprehend that you are blame-worthy in this natter. Your -,/ 1 \ ^^^ [ L£T. XX. id States Ipi states I of ton- bons, the itain was can colo- J,785 ; to gpi States, L vessels ; «sel8 ; to nr foreign onnage in le number at a din- ne of the ck. "My rayers are thip ought y import- ike us to be stu- ne of the who can iks to one apprehend Your LEt. XX.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 143 prayers exceed half an hour in length frequently, and all of them are obviously the efiusions of the moment.'^ "The Almighty,'" replied Mr. — -, " does not regard rhetorical ornaments or gramma- tical propriety. My prayers are just expressions of my feelings at the time.^ " So they ought always to be,^ said Mr. — — ; " but then, poor, and weak, and blind, and naked creatures, like us, are not al- ways in right frames of spirit for going before our Creator, tmd the spiritual sacrifices of two thousand persons may be made lifeless and meaningless by the present unfitness of one individual to conduct . r devotions. That, Sir, can never happsn in ciie English Church. I am perfectly satisfied that there are strong objections to the expediency of a constant repetition of the sime forms of prayer, how- ever excellent they may be in themselves ; but I would prefer a liturgy with all its disadvantages to the meaningless extemporaneous effusions of a worldly or unregenerate mind. My dear Sir, we are confident of your piety ; we respect and vener- ate you. But we are desirous that you would cur- tail your prayers, and, beyond all, that you would meditate upon them before you enter the pulpit.^^ St. Andrew's, a small town upon the British and American lines, contains about 1400 inhabitants. The soil around it is bleak and barren. The Presby- terian Church is worthy of special observation. The t ff-^ l\ $ l\ !! K* 4r u U f£W BfttJKSWlC)[: :t..5 145 thod of discoyering the extent of navigation, which this river opens up, ia to take your map, and trace its flow down from the head of the Penobscot river to St. John^s. The wild beasts of Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick are the moose, elk, bear, fox, wolf, caraboo, sable, racoon, mink, ground and red squirrel, wea- sel, musk-rat, wild-cat, hare, &c. The fish are salmon, shad, bass, suckers, herring, trout, perch, smelt, eels, cod, pollock, mackarel, haddock, &c. ^^ The fruits are apples, plums, cherries, currants, gooseberries, cranberries, blue and blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, butter-nuts, beech- nuts, hasel nuts, &c. 'i«'f*w lu^iiuki -.mmtt tii^.j r -■•'• "■' rjt-:M 'ii'iiml ,.'3ij^' i!^' tjv-'iii h; II •ji-d » tulljf«j*f vi^m:;.-^- e-^Aiu jsi^ y <4-.; ^ «Slki»aJi' 14$ LETTJ&Jlg FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lKT. X3H. ^# ;!)^rdvr mnT^m^■(^■^'i^^'^iti^i'^■■i z^fi rm-rrra^-^th •*•- LETTER XXL i^fY . My I>EAK Sin, '#^>-.feM- - .:tzffv^fi Halifax has a most Tomantic aspect firom the (»«» To a person, weary with the monotony of a voyage, ^d of tjtie confinement of a cabin, nought can be more dfslightful than the sight of the small greens islands, and throng wharves of this, metropcdis of a land of pilgrims. The first objects which fix his attention are the natives, with all their pecaliarities. He is astonished and almost angry to discover that they are not savages, that their dresses are as couth, and their manners as polite, as those of the^ea^ na- tiorif the land of beauty, of music, of valour, and of song. These are the first observations which a stranger is likely to make, but, if he remain amongst them for a time, his impressions in their favour will deepen gradually. The smooth polish of our fa- shionables he may not discover, — meaningless speeches he may not hear,— empty compliments he LBT. XXI.] ANS VEW BftUKSWXCK. I 147 iil«> mxy^ not have ; but, if he be poor^ he will meet witli friends, and if he be sober and honest, he will meet ^ith work. ^^ The society of Halifax, like that of the whole of North America, seems to be divided into diree classes. The first of these comprehends the officers of the mny, the.clergyy the judges, the lawyers, the prin- cipal merchants, and all men of liberal education. The second comprehends the merchants, not of die first class, the principal tradesmen. Sec. ; and the third embraces all the other members of the com- munity. Though these may be said to be the three divisions of Society in Halifax, yet the lines of de- marcation betwixt them are not kept up with the strictness which distinguishes many places on die North American continent. The liberality and manliness of intercourse amongst all descriptions of persons in Halifax are worthy of admiration, and do credit to the inhabitants. The houses in Halifax, like those in the country, are of various colours and styles of architecture. The Province-building, as they call it, where are the apartments of the houses of Assembly, &c. is, 1 believe, the nearest approximation in North America to a rival of the capitol at Washing* ton. The government hou8e> where his Mq'es- ty^s representative resides, is also a splendid, though gloomy edifice. St. Paurs, the only apology for a "•*«* if 148 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXI. diocesan chiiirch in Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick, is a goodly structure. Private houses are generally stately, but betray a totd want of taste with respect to architecture. ' The fish-market in Halifax is excellent. The supply of meat and vegetables is also abundant. ^ Clothes are 50 or 60 per cent, above the British prices. A pt?'r of dress boots costs 45s. ; and a de- cent stuff-hat 40s. Linen is sold at prices which vary from 2s. 6d. to 6s. a-yard, according to the quality. Superfine flour averages from 35s. to 40s. the barrel of 196 libs. Potatoes are from Is. Sd. to 2s. a Winchester bushel. Beef sells from 4d. to 6d. a Ub. Fresh cod of the weight of 8 or 10 lib. sells from 3d. to 6d. Herrings sell from 6d. to Is. a dozen. Salt cod is bought at 12s. a 6wt. Sugar sells from 4d. to 6d. a lib. Tea (congou) fetches from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a lib. Tea (souchong) sells from 4s. to 5s. a lib. Coffee averages Is. a lib. Spirits (rum) sell from 2s. 6d. to 4s. a gallon. Brandy fetches from Ss. toYs- a gallon. :^5?:^;? . i v- To prevent the importation of contrii(ban3 leas from the United States, which was exceedingly cc!nmon for some years, and which is yet practised to a certain extent, the India Company send a ship- load yearly, direct to Halifax from China, which is disposed of, by auction, to the highest bidder. But these are not deemed by the people equal to 2 UBT. XXI.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 149 •■l.f'i. vi.jtin tJiose through the United States, and, therefore,' though smuggling is certainly diminished, it is not altogether destroyed. The average value of prime pork may be esti- mated at 908. a barrel ; of prime beef at 65s. a barrel ; of butter, at 9d. a pound ; of cheese, at 6d. a pound ; of ham, at 9d. a pound ; of oats, at Is. 9d. a Winchester bushel; of hay, at 50s. a ton ; of ash staves, at 80s. a thousand ; of oak staves at 908. a thousand; of pine boards, at 45s. a thousand ; of spruce boards at 32s. a thousand ; of alewives, at 18s. a barrel ; of Indian com, at 48. a bushel ; of American flour, at 45s. a barrel ; of rye meal, at 24s. a barrel ; of Indian meal, at 23s. a barrel ; of oat meal, at 15s. a cwt. ; of American apples at 15s. a cwt. ; of Holland gin, at 56. a gallon ; of domestic gin, at 2s. 6d. a gallon ; of mo-r lasses, at Is. 8d. a gallon ; of Liverpool coals, at 27s. A chaldron ; of Scotch coals, at 23s. a chal- dron, -^i it* I cannot omit to mentibn the banacks. The library attached to them is an excellent one. The books are numerous and select, and do credit to the oflicers, who have chosen them from time to time. The neatness and comfort of the whole apartment, with the various periodicals lying upon the tables, afforded me abundant satisfaction. The hospital and poor-house, for these seem to 'a, I li))»'!'«aMH ■ tSO LETT£B8 TIOM KOVA SCOTIA [lGT. XXI. br^ m Ila1if8x,iK till I it|K»t, plMssRt and appnr- 6ntly healthy. But its mterior did not eidiibit tlie cleanliness and comfort, vhicli I have observed in hospitals rn England, and especially in the United Staites. My visit to it was early in the day, which may perhaps apologise for the state in which I found it. The wages of tradesmen, are these:: carpenters, 58. ; ship carpenters, 58. to St. 6dL ; blacksmiths, 6s. ; masons 6s. to 7s* ; joiners 5s. ; tailors 6s. 6d. t3 10s. ; shoemakers 4e. i» 5s. ; day labousears 2t. 6d. to 3s. with ptovinoas^ house servant, men, L.18 to L.24, and a woman house servant, L.l^ to L.l:5 yearly. .■ '«fii- i- - Bnm ■■ ^Onse rent is more expensive in Halifiix than in Qeteat Britain. A single room costs f^m 2b. to Ss. a week, and a small house in die suburbs from Xi.l\) to Li.15 a year. '--- -'^^ .■"i":'^i.r^j-.>, a !.,«!■*.. ii>. -; -^Bi»..»t^j The government is admhdstered by a governor, who represents our gracious 4sovereign, and has his head-quarters at Halifax. His eiccelleucy is not in town at present. The Council, which shadows out a house of peers, consists of ten or twelve members, and of these, the bishop and chief-justice are always two. The House of Assembly, which discfaa;i^es the fanctions of the Commons^ House of t9ie British Parliament, consists of forty or fifity dele- gates from the people. The speaker of this assem- bly has a handsome salary. He is chosen by his Vlj ': 1 L«T. XXI. j AND NEW BRI7N8WICK. ' i* 151 feUow-members, but the governor has a v^to upoa liis appointment. All the representativea of the people in this legislative council of the colony are allowed a liberal remuneration for their patriotic services. ^ Besides the courts, where the governor sits as chancellor, and the Court of AdmiriUty, where the chief-justice presides, thwe are two judicial tribu- nals, vif . the Supreme Court, and the Court of Common Pleas. The first of these, has its head 4[uarters in the metropolis, but tours in detachments twice a year to try delinquents in the various towns and villages of die coantty. '»■ The Court of Common Pleas consists of three judges. Each of these has his own division of the country. He sits twice a year at various conveni- ent places. The appointment of these judges is only recent. Though the whole country was violent against it, yet, I am told, that it has been of the most important benefit to the colony. I doubt not that the Justices of the Peace are excellent men, but then they are not fit for judicial situations. Formerly the courts were without order, and the judges without respect; but the appcHntment of gentlemen, who must always be lawyers, and men of education to sit in these judicatories, has im- parted a totally different complexion to them. j,. The bar of Nova Scotia embodies many men of 'jfi' -»4- .M. . ,^^. 152 LETTERS FROM NOVA flCOTIA [lET. XXI. talents and accomplishments. All of them act m the two capacities of attorney and barrister. Some years ago their employment was a lucrative one, but, at present, it scarcely affords the necessaries of life. 5f r The prison is generally on the ground floor of the court-house, and seems to afford comfortable quarters.. There is a practice, however, with re-> .spect to prisons, which ought to be abolished. The jailor is generally the landlord of an inn. I have not the smallest doubt that his lodgers are good customers ; that the debtor is anxious to soothe his sorrows, and the culprit to banish the recollection of his mmes, by partaking largely of the spirituous liquors of his host ; but I question if the one or the other of them be at all benefited with retpect to their morals by these potations, t »i^'if. j ii f | i-n^ .^iM;^^4ii3;af i|>V^^4,_^|ik>;^: ;st-y;^^i^.4^!%^ ^..,5^, i(^mf' ^;^y^l,0^,^,yM i,.ifi;^l'.J%,^ «fii-'t*X ■^'«' «5-4^vfe^*l^. if«>* ■m: ■•.«f/i . i'*> ,\ ^M^t X !,* ^■*wv;:it:: r T-; 4. JCj?''^ »«»"•> LET^ XXII.] AND Mew BBUVreiVICK. 12 J 153 ■ 'I* }i^- . . - . ... il«*ji«*^'.>'y.;^;-^ LETTER XXII. .-.aa^ .U -.4*i•"V^• ?¥' .y .-^^ a-' -lMiNb.#,^-.i--#*iysi ai#^.f??:j '^i • Halifax, June 9, 18£8. -^ My Dear Sir, ' 'M- Wholesale and retail merchants, ii sober^ active and industrious, seem to succeed admirably in No- va Scotia. The first of these demands an educi^- tion, which is not necessary for the last >f ^hem. Good natural talents are also requisite to iit a man for large mercantile speculations. •Mediocrity of intellect may make an excellent drill ofBcer, to adopt the phraseology of my friend the Captain, but not a successful commander in chief; just as it may qualify a man to retail articles profitably, but not to make right calculations with respect to profits, which depend upon a complexity of circumstances. You cannot wonder then that ""^re fortunes have been made in this colony by Uu retail than the wholesale business. Last night I met with a young man in the boarding-house where I am at present lodged, who, I found, wai a native of Scotland and a merchant in the country. He told me that he had come out to Nova Scotia six or seven years ago without a farthing, that, by means of a relative,- 154 LSTTEftt ¥BOH yOTA MQOTIA [lST. XlkU* 4'li he obtained credit to the amount of L.100, and be- gan business at — — as a store-keeper ; that he had paid the whole of the advances to him, and was worth several hundred pounds. ** You astonish me,^ said I. '* Oh, but I am not singular in my success. My neighbour, Mr. , who began life as a watch-mender, by eight or ten years of indus- try and sobriety, is at present a prosperous mer> chant, widi one of the finest stores in .'" ** To what do you attribute your success ?^ " Next to the blessing of God upon my exerti- briety. Oh ! I have seen many instances of the baneful consequences of drunkenness. I know men, moving in the. first circles of society, doing a large and profitable business, and filling important offi« ces in the colony, with the respect and approbation of their constituents, whilst I was poor, who have sunk down step by step from their lofly vantage ground of personal respectability, into veteran drunk- ards, and stand at tim Busneat OA the brink of bankruptcy.^** -^'^ - -'^ ^..x.^i.^ .^u Just as Mr. — — had finished his observation, Mr. , a merchant in &t. John^s entered the apart- ment. " How do matters look in New Brunswick ?^^ said Mr. to him. ** Miserably.'" " Why are we not subject to your fluctuations in trade ?" ** Oh 1 the reason is obvious ; your prosperity is more ex- tennvely laid upon an agricultural basis- Our po- LST. XXII.] ASD ^-EW BRUNSWICK. '"^ ^'^\ US piilation is afflicted with a malady, which inay he CiXied the timbermani(Lr «*Oh! hut if you have lumberers, we have miners and fishers." " But> my dear Sir, do you not perceive that, whilst mines and fisheries employ a part of the population, which is not Concerned in the agriculture of the province, and furnish a market for farm produce, and, there- Ibre', offer a premium to stimulate the exertions of the farmer, the other occupies the landholders, the proper cultivators of the soil, and checks the im« provement of the country. The one is of the ut- most benefit to the agriculturist, while the other unnerves his arm, and makes him dependent upon foreign supplies. The truth of this observation if completely illustrated by the different states of these two provinces. Whilst New Brunswick remains almost stationary, except with respect to the growth of the population, and the size of one or two of its cities, Nova Scotia not only presents a vast improvement in these, but also a wonderfi)l aug- mentation of its farm products. Whilst the one at this moment is scarcely in a capacity to furnish a more abundant supply of the necessaries ot life than it was 50 years after the disembarkation of the first of the emigrant cargoes upon its shores, the other shows all the evidences of a rapidly growing agricultural country^ New Brunswick has indeed a population of 80,000 persons, but these depend ' 156 "r.CTTERS FIIOM NOVA SCOTIA. [lET. XXII. for food and clothing upon the timber trade, and, therefore, suffer all the miseries from any failure of demand for their exportations, which those of a vast manufacturing city feel from any failure of the fo- reign market.*" «But,Sir,''saidI, "why— '^ "Oh! ask not the why or the wherefore. I deal not in mere imaginary calculations. I am a man of facts. For many years there was an extensive demand for our timber ; but in 1823, 1824 and 1825, the tint, ber trade had attained a climax of prosperity un- known to any previous time. What was the result, Sir ? Thousands of fresh hands were employed in the business. Money flowed abundantly into this channel, which seemed to have the property of the famous river that I have heard my brother, the parson of , mention a hundred times at least, which metamorphosed aj i^^jtals into gold. Credit was boundless. All from tne barber to the alder- man entered into the speculation with their whole souls. Men, who, in reality were not worth a dol- lar, had a dozen or score of vessels upon the stocks at the same time. Young merchants, just beginning business, laid down their six or eight keels, and be- gan to build their vast superincumbent erections. But the old and the prudent, as well as the young and the raw, were led away by this combination of delusions. The banks were open for all comers, and the lottery was full. i. LET. XXII.] AND NEW BBUNSMTICK. 157 I Wages also were enormous. Apprentices couTd easily obtain two or three dollars a day for their ser- vices, and master workmen, who were skilful and so- ber, almost whatever their consciences allowed them to demand. << But, Sir, coming events, indeed, cast their sha- dows before. Rumours, low and indistinct at first, began gradually to swell into something like truth, though the Chancellor of the Exchequer had just declared in the Commons house of the British Par- liament, that the prosperity of England was unpre- cedented and assured, and though this announce- ment seemed to be completely substantiated by the state of matters in England. Gold and silver ap- peared to be abundant for investment in all the wild schemes which speculators could invent. The manu- factories were all stocked with artisans, almost to suffocation. But a storm was gathering in the commercial horizon, and the same causes which covered Great Britain with gloom and sadness, pro- duced their baneful effects in New Brunswick. *' I wish. Sir, that you had seen the horror and vexation which sat upon the countenances of all at St. John's, when the melancholy tidings of the dis- astrous events in Great Britain were ascertained to be correct. The tale of their vessels lying in the docks of London or Liverpool, without a bidder; of their cargoes of timber scarcely worth the haying ; /i: I «Ml (0 I, 158 LETTERS PROM KOVA SCOTIA JlET. XXIT. tlie baek-cotning of cdshonoured bills, which had been drawn on houses of the greatest respectability, opened their eyes to the full extent of their cala- mities, and showed them that they were indeed un- done ; not only that all their golden visions had ranii^ed, but iliat the earnings also of many years of industry and frugality had been dissipated. St. John*** presented a picture of almost total bankrupt- cy. I myself just escaped insolvency ; but I had some thousands of pounds. Where are they ?^ i^- << I am sorry. Sir, for your losses ; but I trust that the lesson which that diastrous era was so com- petent to teach will not be forgotten, and that the soil, the only permanent basis of riches, will be more closely attended to by its proprietors." " Oh, I wish that it may be productive of that happy ef- fect ! Our colony contains vast tracts cf excellent land, and those splendid rivers which proved so use- ful U* a lumbering population, will be equally valu- able to an agricultural one. Wherever there is an extensive inland navigation the soil is generally prolific. In proof of this fact I might point to many of the finest tracts both in Europe and America. But the banks of the rivers in New Brunswick are known to be fertile.'* " But, Sir,'" said I, ♦' your climate i^^ cold and your winters long.'* " I admit it," he replied, " but still the experiences of years have proved the country to be productive. V/heat i 1.1it cro £n oati ho| up< ha\i tas fiel If" "Sl, M lt» i'-4S^*i- crops may not be so abundant or so certain as in England, or even m Scotland, but then potatoes, oats, and grass, thrive admirably.^ '* I would fondly hope,^ said I, " that when you are thrown wholly upon your own resources, and when fictitious riches have ceased to find their way amongst you, your taste will lead you to prefer the growth of your own fields to the raw commodities of foreign nations.^ -I., .K.n^|to.^j^^^t;*..-|^ „^;.r,' : :. f^^r'' :Z*" f^'li '*■' - '^'^iff*^!/^? 1 ^ff. 'rfsfm ■"K'X^jf^'^-^P^ ' ■ vAwmfe ■' /.^*" ■s wMw •1 . i >* \L 160 LETTERS FROM NOV^ SCOTIA [lET. XXIII. ^kcw-. .-.y.Ji) ' LETTER XXIII. - # '!--*^ it^&itei'-v ^•>i^-'^.'.4-^'^<-! ••■ ''^^^. *^- ^^•^^•. '^'-^ & ^^^^ ' • I6th July 18^, ,^ My Dear Sir, I HAVE returned to Annapolis Royal from Halifax. I journeyed in a stage-coach which is just establish- ed betwixt these two places, and found it easy and pleasant. It is the property of a company, who have a grant of L.600 yearly for three years from the Provincial Assembly. Its establishment marks a new era in Nova Scotia, and is, I trust, the com- mencement of a more brilliant career of improve- ment. It was curious to a citizen of the old world to perceive the crowds which collected to witness its debuts in the villages and towns on the road. Many of them had never previously seen a coach. There were four passengers, exclusive of myself, Tvhcn we started from Halifax, at five o'clock a. m. One of them was a thin gentlemanly personage, who, as I was told afterwards, was the editor of a news- paper in the United State? Another was a short, stout, old man, clergymar ^ ?he Baptist congregii- i ■rr-V" ^.■^« . T. xxm. 1828. ; Halifax, stablish- easy and ny, who ars from It marks the com- mprove- Id world itness its . Many ' myself, jje, who, a news- a short, ngregii- i LET. XXIII^] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 161 tion in — . Another was a tall, robust, pale-faced person, a merchant in , and the other was a short, thin, melancholy man, a farmer in the county of . "-« '"*f'? •■•■ The whole of us were silent till Mr. — , the merchant, addressed the clergyman. " What beau- tiiul scenery, Mr. — *- T " What a glorious being its Author ! These landscapes shadow out, indeed, the attributes of the Ancient of Days. But though day unto day utters speech, and night unto night teaches knowledge concerning our Maker, we are a^t to forget him. We are all of us born the subjects of a malady which blinds our understandings and perverts our desires and affections. We look over valleys, waving with fruits, and mountains luxu> riant with herbage, — we view the most abundant harvests, — ^we grow rich in our mercantile or agri- cultural speculations, — we are gladdened with the prosperity of our families of sons and daughters, and yet show small evidences of our knowledge, that the Author of all these benefits presides at the helm of universal worlds, and makes all events sub- servient to his purposes. The causes of this state of matters are to be found in our spiritual apostacy.'" Just as Mr. — ^— had finished this observation, the coach stopped to change horses at . The merchant stepped out for a moment ; and, when he resumed, we smelted evidences that he had J S \ ■ ftiau /"' I il^ LETTERS l^ROif NOVA SCORIA [lET. XXIIT. been taking his morning draught in the inn. " You are perfectly right,^ said the merchant, addressing himself again to the clergyman, in your ohser- vations with respect to our natural apostacy. The •in of Adam has been most injurious to all of us.'^ " It has, indeed, Sir. It has created a most awl^l revolution in our hopes and circumstances. But how bouncfless the goodness of God .' He allowed Jesus Chrisi; to abandon the cHmes of Ms native hea- ve:as, ay, to strip himself of all his inherent glories, and to travel to this apostate department of his dominions, that he might present himself, the incarnation of the Godhead, the victim of his peo> ple^s sins, on the cross of Calvary. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.'" " You say, Sir, that he died for his people's sins. Did he not expiate those of all miuikind ?^ *» Certainly, Sir, he laid down his life for all of us ; but only those who lay hold of him, as the way, the truth, and the life, will reap the br nefit of his dying ; and these had their names in the book of life before the creation of the sun, moon, and stars.'*' " He died, then, you mean to say, only for the elect.'" " It is sufficient, Sir, for you to know, and for me to state, that he died for al) mankind, but that those only who are true believers in the efficiency of his expia- tion, and who are washed from their sins in his blood, shall inherit with the saints in light.'*' ^^ Can IT. XXIIT. . "You Idi^ssiiig IT obser- :y. The 11 of us." 08t awful es. But ; allowed tive hea- t glories, it of his self, the his peo- he Lord, ' "You Did he /ertainly, but only le truth, ng; and efore the He died, "It is ) to state, ose only lis expia- Ds in his '' "Can ; , I LilT. XXIII.] AND liEW BBUDIWICK. TT^ 1«3 I believe then, in JesuiChiiitP''' "No, Sir, fkithis the gift of God."" " Shall I be punished, then, for not bdieying in him.^ " Most certainly. He that be- lieveth not shall be damned. Light hath come inta the world, and if you love darkness rather than light, it is because your deeds are evil.^ " These doctrines are mysterious indeed.^ " But what vt not mysterious. Sir? Every act of intellectual agency, and every mass of material organization,— the least and the dullest of Nature^s Uving works, as well as her loftiest and grandest productions,-— every stone upon the surface of our earth, as well as the mightiest exhibitions of the Etemal^s handi- work, are practical proofs of existent mysteries.*" " True, Sir, true. What are we to do '("" " You must be bom again. Th t which is bom oi he flesh is flesh, and that which is bom of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you, that ye uiust be bom again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and ye hear the u&und thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh, or whither it goeth, so is every one who is bora of the Spirit.^ " But how, Sir, am I to know that I am one of the objects of the Sa> viours meiwjy ?** " The Scriptures point out the method of detersiining this matter. Amongst t)i ;^> ? a most excellent test of a person^s spiritual circum- stances is his conduct. A person, who is regener- ate, will not cheat, or steal, or drink spirituous U^^ n ■■'! 1-' ¥1 i f ■ Hi > 1 •164 LETTERS FKOM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXIll Set. ore before breakfast.'*— This observation excited s general fit of laughter at the expense of the mer- chant, and made him dumb for the rest of the jour- jiey. ?sf*f'**> ■':■ ■ •■' * We got to—— about eight o'clock, where we expected to ^nd bresiiifast i?eady ; but we discover- ed that our expectation was delusive. The lanA< lady told us that she was not in the habit of prepar- ing meals, except they were ordered ; but that, if we were desirous to have breakfast, she would order the kettle to be put on the fire. We waited an hour at least, before we could obtain ought to allay our hunger ; but at last we had a most substantial break- fast, which cost us 2s. a-head. On our way to Windsor, Mr. , the merAr»unt, opened net his mouth, but sat apparently in moody ruminatioi ap- on the remark of* Mr. •— — the clergyman, and the laughter of his fellow-travellers. We got to Windsor about 12 o'clock. The coach stops here two hours ; and, therefore, I walked up and down the town to look about me. The college stands about a mUe distant £rom the city, on the top of something like a hiU. It has an old and decay- ed-like aspect. The houses generally appeared to me substantial fabrics, and the streets are broad and airy. It is about forty-five miles distant from the metr' oolis. The marshes around the town, though I bri e not advantageous to the health of the po« T. XX III exciteds the mer- the jour- ^here we discover- he land, f prepar- t that, if iild order 1 an hour allay our ial break- r way to I net hig latioi ap- and the ^he coach alked up le college n the top d decay- >eared to »road and from the 1, though ? the po» LET. XXIII.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 165 pulation, are yet beautiful to the sight, and remark- ably productive. Mr. , the clergyman, and I, dined together at the inn. Our hostess, Mrs. , was a tall, m slender, smart personage, with something of the manners of an English landlady. We had a most excellent dinner, with a thousand apologies for de- ficiencies, which we were not able to discover, and which the worthy lady did not condescend particu- larly to mention. When we had finished our repast, Mr. . , a resident in Windsor, called upon Mr. — — , the clergyman. I found that he was desirous to con- sult him upon the subject of his religious experien- ces; and, therefore, left the apartment. ■.yM-^^jijm'm j:*|i>#fe^{|ft«|;»Mj^?- A {- J.yi %r¥f>:'' i|t^ mt tit- il'^fti^'Wkt:'-^ ' i -fe^'-T-^" kimi:^'W: u^^^^W^ ,'••;•., ?n:,„ .,. "^iv-rl. _-:. ^ ', ^»)rt. / f*^ V? .V*i ■n (•'■; iffjii *i.V*-' ^t.f ';f!' i I 166 LETTERS FBOM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXIT. i/v ? ', 1^ .((i^ //' I LETTER XXIV. '^"^'^M^^^^^ ■ tbf'»4;'^ s^i,v*k«p i»^l^4*i^3<4*'W 4:}^.-' to the image of Him who created us originally in a state of holiness. If any person showed him kindness, he referred it immor. diately to his Father in heaven. If any injured him, he bowed beneath the rod of his Creator. .iHiju- Mr. ■ told me many passages of bis long li£8» as we journeyed together. He seemed to feel happy that, though he had always been poor, he had never been tempted to make any applications for aid, either to private individuals or to the local government. " I have always acted upon the be-, lief,^ said he, '< that if a person seek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness chiefly, the food and raiment which are necessary for him in that state, of life which is best for his spiritual welfare, will be abundantly supplied. I am now an old man, Sir, and, in looking back over the years behind me,, though my eyes rest upon many hardships and' privations, yet I can say that I have had suffideat /' \ ./ il ■4r ■' 168 LETTERS FEOM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXIV. I'\ I i food, clothing and comforts to justify the principles upon which I have uniformly endeavoured to act. But though I have constantly avoided to solicit favours for myself, I applied once to Governor — — , many years ago, in hehalf of a poor unfortunate wretch, who was doomed to be executed. Sir John — — was 60 kind as to grant my request; and neither he nor I have had any reason to repent our conduct on that occasion. Sir John, was in many respects an excellent person ; but he was fearless of God, and regardless of man. His actions did not flow from religious principles, and yet he was a warm friend to Bible Societies, &c. He was a man of the world, a scholar, and a gentleman. But, though his whole spirit was engrossed by the cares and the pleasures of this life, he would not allow the slightest expression of disrespect towards the religious to be uttered in his company. Such was Sir John , as excellent a governor as evar existed. « " Whilst the poor victim was in prison, without th' mallest expectation of mercy, as is my custom on these occasions, I visited him, and endeavoured to fix his mind upon death, judgment and eternity. I was remarkably successful. ' Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.^ His whole understanding, will and affections seemed in a few days, to have undergone such important changes, as li ^- T. XXIV. rinciples 1 to act. ;o solicit tor , foitunate Sir John est; and ;pent our I in many B fearless itions did et he was He was a entleman. ed by the xrould not t towards ly. Such or as evar '--•;■"*« I, without )y custom leavoured I eternity. Lord, O lis whole I in a few langes, as LET. XXIV.] ANB NEW BBUNSWICX. 169 to make him a totally different person. Formerly he had been one of the most profligate and aban- doned of men. Therefore all were astonished at the temper of mind which he exhibited. A petition for mercy toward him was presented to the governor by a vast number of those who were acquainted with all the circumstances, but his excellency refused to grant its prayer. I myself felt deeply for the poor culprit, and was exceedingly anxious that he should have a few additional years to glorify God, and to present to his brethren a testimony of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what could I do ? I was a poor nameless preacher of the Gospel! My flock was small, and of the poorest classes of society. I could not expect that his excellency had ever heard of me, or would be at all disposed to attend to any request which I should make to him. 1 could not, however, sleep upon my pillow, till I had wait* ed upon Sir John , who received me with the utmost politeness. ** I have a favour to ask of your excellency," said I. " Yoii shall have it, Mr. . You are a worthy man. I have heard of you fre- quently. What is it ?" " The commutation of the sentence of death against John — ~ into banish- ment." ** O, that rascal. I'alk not to me on that subject. He must — ^he shall be hung." ^* Your excellency wiU forgive me, if I say that I have not the smallest concern with the man whatever, and I 1 1 i' I ) il 3i; \U 170 LETTXEt FEOlf NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXIT. that I ask his life of you merely because the king- dom of Christ appears to me to demand it." " The kingdom of Christ appears to you to demand the life of a villain ! Oh no, Mr. -< — , ask something for yourself, and if within the compass of my power you shall have it; but speak not again of John J" " Your excellency knows that I have never asked a favour from you for myself or for any other person previously. I assure you that most reliic- tantly do I present myself before you now. Your excellency appears to be astonished that I should ask the life of a villain. Have you not heard of his conversion ?"" " I have been told that he has been greatly benefited by your advices and instruc- tions ; but, if he were out of prison to-morrow, he would forget them all. Sir.'' " Pardon me, your excellency. I believe he has been called out of darkness into light, — that he has been turned from the power of Satan unto God. All I ask is, that he may be allowed to sojourn for a few additinniJ years on this earth, — and oh ! your excellency ought to remember that Christ has mercy on the chief of sinners, and that, if he. holy and blameless, h^ visited him graciously, and forgiven him abundant- ly, your excellency, sinful and frail, may safely grant my request." Sir John burst into tears. »* I trust, Mr. he is what you say. I trust that he is called out of darkness iuto Ught, as you ^f.- '. XXIV. le king- "The ind the nethmg ^ power )f John re never ay other t reliic- Your [ should leard of t he has instruc- rrow, he je, your I out of led from iS) that dditiniuJ cy ought he chief less, has )und9nt- ty safely ito tears, rust that you ex- LET. XXIV.] AND VEW BRUVSVICK. 171 press it. I will venture to commute Ins sentence, as you request.**^ " But your excellency,"^ said I, ** I trust that, with his present sentiments and htA- ings, you do not mean to allow him to remaiii £pr the present amongst the other malefactors." " What can I do with him ? Will you be surety &f bim, and allow him to be imfHriscmed in your houi^e ?*" **I will be surety, your exie^ncy, that he shall ||0 «n board any ship whatsoever, whenever you sh^l oidtr.^' " John »-. I.. J , was sent to my house that evening, and continued with me till his departure (qv the land of his banishment. I was delighted with ihe exhibition of his spiritual attainments. J myself conducted him on board of the .1 1 .. , And commit- ted him to the custody of €aptjun ■ u ■ , who told me, after his return, that Jiohn m i u was the moett extraordinary convict whom he had ever seen, ^ he seemed to be the most mora) and piuus man in his ship." We arrived at Horton aboit 6 o'clock, p. m. where the coach remainG for the night. Horton is a beautiful small village. The soil around it has all the evidences of fertility and long culture. The urn is neat and commodious. It is kept by a widow who seems to study the comfort of her guests. We recommenced our journey next morning at 5 o'clock, A. M. and breakfasted at an inn about 20 miles from our night's quarters. We were obliged .^ ■ 17^ LETTEES FBOM NOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXXT* to halt an hour and a half before we could get ought to eat. At, last, however, we had a capital breakfast, and then continued our journey towards Annapolis Royal, where we arrived at 4 o^clock, Though many of my letters have been written in this village, yet I have never givoi you any de- scription of it. Perhaps you may have guessed the reason, as Jonathan would say. Certamly as a town it presents nothing worthy of observation. But the scenery around it is beautiful and romanticc On this spot I have whiled away many happy months, and wherever I may wander in after life, I shall al- ways reflect with the most grateful recollections upon the kindness and hospitality of its inhabi- tants, and with the intensest dehght upon its beau« tiful landscapes. • * I • ,L , . LIT. XXV.] AND VZW BSUNSWICK. 173 -i / J. W * I •? LETTER XXVv f'^ -fi^.fi -iaitr-'Ji^ , -i^^' '•jF'^I' J: |,r J ^M^fw^ 9, 1828. J My Dear Sib, In your last letter you complain of my omission with respect to the weather. I thought that m se- veral of my epistles I had given all the information upon that subject which you could have wished ; but as I have been mistaken, I know of no more effectual method of remedying the defect than the inclosure of the abstract of a diary kept in I827. Months. Average Temper* ature. Highest Heat. Lowest Cold. Prevalent Winds. Cloudy. Jan. 24 42 10 N. E. 9 Feb. 28 41 2 below N. W. 10 March 38 41 96 N. W. 14 April May 49 70 38 Easterly 11 56 82 41 Eaaterly Westerly 12 June 65 81 63 13 July 77 84 61 m Aug. 72 80 58 Westerly 11 Sept. 68 81 64 Easterly Westerly 13 Oct. 58 69 39 13 Nov. 36 55 28 Northerly 17 Dec. 29 50 3 below N W. 20 *•»., 174 LETTERS TBOM NOVA SCOTIA [LBT. XXT. In the summer months the smoke of the woods on fire is frequently so «>nse that we cannot deter- mine whether the days be cloudy or desr. These fires emitting volumes of smoke £^n(i vomiting flames, in a dark night especially, present one of the finest of spectacles. They are sometimes, though not frequently, productive of mischief, as they are always kindled when the wind blows from the houses towards the woods. The fires do not bum the trees, but only the brushwood. Therefore they travel with wonderful celerity, and woe to the poor wanderer who meets them in their progresb. After the passage of fire t»:'.ough them, the trees present a bleak and burnt- like aspect, and rot away gradually, if not cut down. They fire, as they call it, as many acres of trees in the summer or autumn as they think that they will be able to cut down in the winter. If upon the land there be any good wood, they remove it before the application of fire. The trees are cut down about three feet from the ground. By the stroke of the axe the experienced woodman can determine its fall, but those raw in the business are apt to get many bruises. After the trees are felled they apply fire a second time to the branches, and after these have been consumed, cut the large logs into pieces with an axe, and bum them also upon the ground. The ashes are an excellent manure. The stumps fsm. LET. XXV.J AWD NXW BBimSWICK. 175 cMUnot be removed fat six or seven years, and if the trees have been pines, a longer period of decay i» nc»ees8ary. The settlers determine the quality of the soil by the largeness of the trees, which fatten, as they express it, only on good lauds. Till the stumps have been removed, the plough cannot be employed, and the generality of soils are so fall of stones as to prevent its use till they be also uplifW ed. . ■- '^ ' ■■ '■ ';' ■'' s'.? r'-\!" The new soils produce the best potatoes. The average produce of these lands may be said to be, oats from 20 to 25 bushels an acre; wheat, 15 bushels an acre ; barley, 22 bushels an acre ; po- tatoes, 150 to 200 bushels an acre, and hay, 20 cwt. an acre. After the soil has been completely clear- ed, the produce may be doubled with right manage- ment. . * > ^j^' During the summer months the settlers* cows, &c. are allowed, with bells around their necks, to feed in the forest, but all of them must be supplied with provisions in the house for six or seven months of the year. The quantity of land which may be cleared in a season depends upon a variety of cir- cumstances. The man who is perfectly master of his axe may clear half a dozen acres without inter- fering with his other farm-work, but the beginner will find much difficulty in clearing the third of the quantity. 17^ LETTERS FBOM KOVA SCOTIA [lET.XXV. ■* ■< The dry and salt marshes, which abound on the cdast of the sea, and at the mouths of the large rivers, are of important benefit to the farmer, as they supply him with abundant provision for his steclv. Marsh lands, which are embanked against the influx of the sea, sell from L.20 to L.30 and L.40 an acre. Good forest land fetches from 2s. to a pound an acre, and good cleared land from 10s. to L.5 and L.IO an acre. .], . Emigrants, therefore, who go out from this coun- try with a small capital, wholly strangers to the labour of chopping and burning, would find the pur- chase of a small cleared farm to be the cheapest method of locating themselves. Such a property may be bought in almost all parts of the North American provinces from L.80 to L.200. Emi- grants of this description ought also to carry out with them a stock of clothes, as well as of domestic and farming utensils. The farmer who goes out into the forest, and commences operations upon those principles which he has acquired in his native land, will ruin himself immediately. In Great Britain farming is one of the sciences, and so it is in North America ; but the one is as different from the other as their cli- mates, soik, and circumstances. No person ought to buy foTMt land for the purpose of clearing and LIT. XXV.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 177 A % tumm it, unless he have served an apprenticeship to the business. Franklin, my dear Sir, has observed, that *^ America is the land of labour,^ and his observation is correct. Industry is the only passport to wealth and honours. The r ebo- arces are boundless, and fur- •nish a sufficient market for any quantity of exer- tion. Sobriety •'; consequently necesdary. This climate, so cold in winter, and so warm in sum- mer, is remarkably hurtful to the constitutions of drunkards. Plain, though this fact be, I am sorry to my that drunkenness is becoming yearly more common amongst all classes of persons.. The temp- tations to it are strong. The length of the win- ters and the cheapness of all sorts of spirituous liquors are certainly powerful inducements ; but the emigrant must resist them all, if he do not mah to repent of his abandonment of the shores of his native land. \; ^ But not only must ^he emigrant be sober, but he ^ must also be firm in hb resolves and purposes. The welcomes of sociality and fiiendship which greet a stranger in North America, will, in other circum- stances, insensibly widermine his determinations, till he become the gayest of the gay, and find himself the victim of habits which he cannot resist. His circum- stances get into embarrassment. Work is plenty, but spirituous liquorF Cvrc also plenty, and he cannot h > VJS LETTEB9: FftOlC NOVA ICOTIA [tlT- XZY. work. Hift eieditani fotcmvt Ua itete* and immb^ diately he becomes the occupant of a jaSA, He^ncb hk day 9) » poor degraded outcast in die Un&ed States, on the sea, or m mmea toad canals. t^' But not only must the emignmt be sober and fitrm, but he must also be industrious. He, who abandons his country^ with the design of escaping* &om the fatigues and toils of life, wffl find himself miserably mistaken. The curse of the Almighty is in all its efficiency in the foresta of America as is Europe. By the sweat of his brow the emigrant: must earn his daily bread. ^J? « 't1 ^ Te persons like those whom I have mentioned* emigration to America promises many, advantages; The climate is healthy, the soil is prolific, the air and water wholesome, the provisions c^eap and i^undant, and labour is plenty and productive. I had almost forgot to answer your queries with respect to the Bay of Fundy. I am told that it ebbs and flows 80 feet in some places. I have heard of no satisfactory explanation of this pheno* menon, which is still more curious from the fact, that it varies considerably in a series of years. The oldest inhabitants of the province of Nova Sootia have never seen the tides so high as this year, and they have been increasing gradually season after sea* jion for some time. With respect to the agricultural state of NOYd LXT. IKY.] AKD V8W BlUMtWICX. 190 Scotia, the statement, which I send you along with this letter, will fVumish you with abundant informa- tion. It is the result of a census which was made by the sheriffs of tl v ^ous counties, by command d his excellency S sorry that I cannr with respect to th wick ; but I fancy, s Kempt, last year. I am your curiosity so easily il state of New Bruns- remarks which I have made upon it in my previous letters, you will have small diiiiculty in forming a tolerably correct estimate of it. The timber trade appears to have command- ed the most of the labour of its inhabitants from the time of its settlement, and, therefore, it can scarcely at present be galled an agricultural country. On the banks of the St. John^s there are many beautiful farms, but there are hundreds of thousands of acres which have yet been utterly useless except as pro- ductive of timber. Let us trust that the folly of this state of matters is now apparent, and that be- fore the flux of many summers and winters, the hills and th^ vaUeys which are ^y inhabited at present by the Garaboo and the Indian, will manifest all the evidences of a happy and ijadusl^pusipopu- lation. . ; 1 .*» ,■■% IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I lit lU g2.2 2.0 iM IL25 M 1.4 I 1.6 ^V Hiotographic Sciences Corporalion 23 WIST MAIN STMBT WnSTM.N.Y. MSM (7t*)a7a-4S03 41^^ ^'V^ > .J ) 180 LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA [tSf, XXT. ■ * I O i I § a 3 i i: •s. & » m £ & ll li'^o « M u> t* t» • i-i • ^ « to 0> 0» Oi eo to 04 iQ oa 0« •• Oi a en 9 tn ^ a* eo o< >-4 o< to t> FN i-H '?« 0* ?P t* !* t* t^ »M OD »0 O Q C- ^ lO Q 9) 00 t* O b* CD ^ 1-4 |>H t« ^ ^ OP t* O fh 0» Oi O S S ^ O CO O ^ «o 1-4 (N ^^ •-• 5 9-3 < Jo fH (N CO O t> CO ^ S 3 S ^ ^ S§ :S fh o CO ^ o> a s; ^ « f-H i-H M 9t S 3 CO 00 OD s ^ »o 55 IT) M OD rH 00 O O) 1-4 t* (D m o o » n S ^- "^ '^•^ - --f gf ^ $ JS S S S i I I I I I ^^ of gf 2 gj u, ^ O »fi I— < fH Q 4^ i I 2 2 Si 2 ^^ - 2 S 5 So Sf 2f illlllllll f^^w xxr. LET. XXV.J AND NEW BKOVSWICK, m4 18V I. "i i *t I 1^ J9 '2 I o® OD (>4 11 oS S S) 3 (N e* op «o o> S S ^ S5 eS 8" •f i-H i-H ^ § « I $ $ 00 of uf o» en ei ^ 3 o 00 •-< ^. ^ ^ 0« QO O 00 t- Q 6=; CO t^ »A I-H « A 01 QO fH S> i.-" j«r -J* .— ?* QO (N ^ 0» o u) 00 « 00 00 o« CO' oT ofT w*^ :f 00 CO 2 i CO 9l I ©I l> (N 50 •-• »o 00 fi ^H Oi I-H 04 I to kO 00 A eo hfM}i 5 00* 00 of 01 C4 «L 00 of 0» I 'h\ f ' I •»'' . ''■ 1 -^ 4#, -U ■ .it -El TO t J4. C 18i LZTTBB4I WmOM KOTA SOOTIA [llVb XXTI. ■^4 -■■A \. ?IJ 1 LETTER XXVI. 1-i.-^'-' .,i:«»:. LET. 17/A Oolo&er, 1826. ^ ^ My Dear Sir, The inbabitaiits of Nova Scotia and New Bnins- wick are almost totally destitute of the means of education. A demand for literary and science knowledge does not exist Those, who are desirous that th»r sons should have the advantages of a po- lite education, are obliged to import tutors fimm foreign countries. These instructors, however, are only tranuent. They remain for a few years, till they have accomplished their object, and then go back to their native land. Consequently, though they may fit a certain class of persons for the fulfil- ment of the duties of the chief offices in these colo- nies, and, in the process of years, q>irit up an At- mosphere of refinement in the uppermost walks of society, yet they do not make educatbn indigenous, or generate those ardent wishes of improvement, which glow in the bosoms of the Scottish peasantry, and which h«v# Novated Ui«m> in spite of their bar- b xxn. LBTi ZXVI.] AV» VBW BEVm-Wiei. t^Jt 183 tiU im liilb aad ptomAul fiiga, to t ftaaSL aMaan amongst the natives of the earth. . ,h In. many ci ^ duef cities of Nova Seotia and New Brunswidcy there are academies oi graBunaar sdbools, and, generally I believe, the teachers are miHi c^ decent talents and acquirements. These seminaries, however, are only useful to those in their neighbourhood. Few can afford to board their children, and even those who have the means, are fearful of the effects which may result from allow- ing their sona to go from home, and, without the iofiuoices of a fatber^s advices or restraints, to mix with boys of all dispositiona and characters. Thia conduct has been ruinous in our own country fre- quently, but in large cities in a cdony, Uke Nova Scotia, wh^e the tone of morality is not so strongs asd the examples of probacy and liceL.tiousness moBtti frequ^t^ the consequences are sometimes fi»aiw ful. ' ^^t-* . Besides the description ofseminaries which I have mentioned, there are what they call colleges at Windsor, Hctou, and Hali&x in Nova Scotia, and also at Frederiokton in New Brunswick. At the first of these places, there are generally betwixt twenty and thirty students, chiefly for the Gfaurch of England. There are, I believe, two professors, who teach the whole of the arts and sciences, I S * 5- \ \'W*' ••»«j»«»«"-»».^i "<•*■ •*il«(J»«i'^ ' *i<**""V^s< 184 LETTBB8 FftOM KOVA SCOTIA [lST. XX?I* besides theology, church history, &c. and bestow d^^rees. .;'ii«,?'-»wiyB>"»^^rr:'5i'T^.*f^-^«'-_'^''' ment of a teacher, and that is not always to be had. If the inhabitants of any district make up a certain sum which is specified, then the Assembly allows a certain additional one ; but where this condition is III t ^^ V 188 LETTERS FROM KOVA SCOTIA [lET. XXYI. m^ ' . ■ '-'■":■' -^■- ^^T'. not or cannot be complied with, there is no grant. I have been told that, to evade the condition, which the legislature demands before the gift of its bounty, the inhabitants hire a schoolmaster frequently at the wages, which establish a claim to it ; but then he is not understood to take more than a half, or a third of it, and this trifle he receives generally in produce. What, my friend, has been the result? That ig- norant and immoral persons, old soldiers, idlers of all descriptions, notorious for habits of drunkenness, &c. have been engaged, and, instead of benefiting their pupils, have only demoralized them by their noxious and disgustful conduct. Ought this state of matters to be tolerated in any department of our king''s dominions ? Is the youih to be left to the baneful influences of a set of men who are unfit for any employment whatever ? Do we talk of missionaries to our colonies, and, for this object, make vast subscriptions, and yet sit quietly and allow all our efforts to be defeated by the de- moralization of their populations, even in their child* hood? f '■ v:Ji -H^ :*''"'' •'•'"■ jPtvTi' LET. ?" -' ■ ■■ ■■ V™ -■;■ i '-■■ •-'*'-,« ■--5 f It '.■1' q. f,^^ ii . :i imt nvU ai^ iS- T. XXVI. 10 grant. D, which bounty, ly at the then he Jf, or a erally in rhat ig. idlers of kenness, ;nefiting jy their din any e youth of men r? Do for this quietly the de- ir child- LET. XJtVlX.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 180 o^t' LETTER XXVII. .^1- ,'ii ( ' ((.,1 ' • >^ •- » - K»«» , ? . ;. 3e;Oc^.l828. My Dear Sir, Can you wonder, after the exposition of facts in my previous letter, that the Almighty does not bless our missionary labours, and that our exer- tions have been painfully unproductive ? Only, I apprehend, my friend, by exciting a thirst for knowledge, by developing the people^s intellectual faculties, and, consequently, elevating them in the rank of being, by means of district Schools, can we expect our philanthropic schemes to succeed in our colonies. If by these means we prepare the way for our missionaries, then, I doubt not, that the blessing of God will accompany our efforts mi, an abundant harvest of spiritual profit rewardi our toils. In a country like Nova Scotia, the peasant has not the anxiety to educate his children which is displayed in Scotland. The poorest of Scotsmen who lives from day to day on the product of his i I r^-:-. 1 /l ii. 1) >■ IM . I 190 LETT1B8 VEOM NOVA aCOTIA [•L'ET»%ini. toils, who rises early and works till night, will sub- sist upon the coarsest and cheapest fare, that he may be enabled to obtain instruction for his family of sons and daughters. It is precisely this feeling which glows in the bosom of thelScottish peasantry, which makes its population so proverbially moral ' and industrious. Where this is not felt, the climate may be the most delightful, the soil the most pro- duetiye« and the resources the most boundless, but man, the lord of the creation, is a puisne and wretched creature, a living burlesque upon all MTound him. This feeting, then, so important in its conse- quences, is wholly a stranger to the mass of the iidiabitants of our North American colonies, but so also it was to the population of Scotland in llie days of 1;he Reformers. The immortal Knos, the fitdier of his eountry^s civU and religious liberty — a name, which, in spite of all the reproaches and wiathemasDf our times, will go down with glory to ihe latest ages, and be cherished in the breasts of Scotsmen, while they are worthy of the epithet, found the bulk of his countrymen in his days, suf- ficiently anxious, indeed, to insult the priesthood «id to pull down churches, but exceedingly indifferent with respect to a school-establishment. With that feresight and comprehensiveness of mind, however, for which the master-spirits of all ages have been ■v 5 I. r. xxvii. tnll sub- that he ,s family 3 feeling ^asantiy, [y moral e climate lost pro- less, but Isne and upon all ts conse- 88 of the ales, but id in the n^, the libevty — ches and glory to »reast8 of epithet, ays, suf- hooduid idifferent (^ith that however, i¥e been I.IBT* XXVII.] ASTD yJBW BRUNSWICK, i 191 fapioufi, he knew th«t his glorious work was an uae- leas one, unless he could erect a barrier to prevent the recoil of popular sentiment. What signified his victcmes over spiritual and intellectual darkness, unless he could root up the causes which generated them. He applied himself, therefore, with all his energetic eeal ; with all the " fervidum in^enium Scotorum^ to obtain permanent means of edu- cation for all classes of persons, and to put teachers of youth under a superintendency which centuries have proved sufficient for his purposes, in spite of all the difficulties which the apathy of the people, and the selfishness of many of the nobles opposed to his undertaking. The object which he laboured to e£Pect was at last accomplbhed, and Scotland reaps the incalculably important benefit. The spirit, which I have mentioned, requires only to be excited in the North American provinces, thj^t the same results, as in Scotland, may be re^l- ise4* The government of Nova Scotia, then, errs most miser^ly in my opinion, when they leave dis- tricts whpUy at liberty either to have or not to have tciachers. Ignorant, as many of the inhabitants are, fuid with abundant work for the labour of children, it is not wondeHul* either that they should not be 4t the expense of a schoolmaster, or t^t they diould employ the cheapest. I do not I4iwie the exeputive govfrnm^nt for this iiUMtter, h\ \ w J I i fi i *i i.BT. XXVII.] AND NEW BRUNSWICK. 193 wick want, and which are so difficult to be found ; because L.60 or L.70 to these persons is 01% ilnall. They can earn a larger sum in any of the fieldr of exertion which the colonies afford. There is yet another subject, viz. the appoint- ment and control of these schoolmasters, which ought to be considered, and which has many diffi- culties. If the country were divided into parishes, as in Scotland, these drawbacks upon improventAut might be removed immediately, but in Nova SSco- tia and New Brunswick, where the clergy «)(e, few and &r apart, it assumes a more serious aspect. It appears to me that all the ministers, who. are licensed by the government to preach, and who have congregations within the district, ought to have the determination of a person^s qualifications, and the overseership of the schooL It is obvious that this f\«n would unite all parties in the object of dllacation, because idl would be represented, and prevent jealousies and murmurs, which might crush the infant establishment at its birth. The school- master, then, in my opinion, should be amtoable to the court which I have mentioned, not only for his attention to his official duties, but also for his good conduct ; and if^ at any time afbr his induction,'he should be declared unworthy of it by his oveirseers, then the government, on a regular notification to that ' I Wi LETTBMivBOM «oTA tocyriA liMmanfw «p|ioiiitiiitet of another teadier. M'iMtheF these ideas have vespect to the - frsmek work of a school estahlishiiieiit^ whkh can lie ereeted$> I wiB liot undertake dogmatically to detetmine ; buft'f may safeljr assert, that the moral ^dncatieHi of the i^abitants of Ndva 6o6tia and New BntMh indk can only InI eflected by the leidous co-opem^ tion of all sects and parties. AiWr the accompHslM' ment of this preUminary oliject the oidy diiBcttl^ ties which present themselTes, are the obtainiaeKl of jpro^ persons for teachers, and the defidenc^K of -means' to pay them. At> piwent, irfaentsthe people ate scattered over a naat extent of ooualijr^ and when, in many places, like haUlatiaiS' are leit and far apart, somdliiBg. from the,:beneTotent, in other iMids, or from the gcif emmenti would.be esscm tidly uesessary ; hot the ciiCMmstanae% iplufih n^dni aMuMinir.requiiita^/ dmaol.pQiisibfy. J^ The Tabks m}Mklmi$^ysm,4f«Hi with thu| lettei^ aitt kf 1887» And hav« been poVIi^«d.by the local fuTcmment The last one i is illnstiaiiT^ of.t|ict strong •ttaohttftn ^ si^ptiioii* Jiqa^Bi .among ^ iK 1. «,ST. X ,»*\] A»» »BW BEWJWWI^9l <9 >Q (*> «o «e 91 eo 00* ©" -^ (N^ -^ oT «o of ^tOtOOi«tOO»0D0) 00 l>4 |> O 9 ud *0 m t* w t» »-* <-• -f'^««tf«#'^e-"«»^ ^■♦G««0 ^ s I fe^p^wfc^^. < w iiiiJHmiiiii« j. «—^' " ^;^ 196 LETTBMS FktOU ICOITA SCiOtiA [ttt.xxvn. M 'V i , ^'S, I 1 s M ^ v^ M K ^ G4 00 to 04 9) 9f oi 1-4 1-4 «oeQ eo 01 ph of fH S 5 I i I j^ " i I ■i *" .mix. XXTII.] - AVO MEW MBxmnwscK. m7 ^ "8 '0i9^^(^ 04^ I-* «Q(M^ I •« £ ;!i; M ll i ^Kfh 04 00 O) ^ U9 $) «0 ;0 C« 00 sss 04 04 I fOO SISSS2 o ^ t> (0^;o XX VJU. T»i - 1 :? f LETTER XXVIII. I ¥ October 27, IQS^. My Dear Sir, This most incorrect of the tables, which I sent you, along with my last letter, is that which has re- speck to the numbers of the various rdiigious sects. It is uniTersally admitted, that the episcopalians are greasy o^er esdroated, and that the baptists are un- der-rated. The inhabitants of Scotch descent in Nova Scotia may be reckoned seventy thousand petrsons ; and of these, nearly forty thousand are yet Attached to the Church of their father's land. Of the thirty thousand, who have abandoned our comSMUiioii, die Uu^st part of those, who profess to belong to any society of. christians, attend the bap- tist ministrations. As illustrative of the difficulty of obtaining cor-^ rect information on this subject, I may mention a conversation, which I had sometime ago, with Mr. — , sheriff of the county of . " Whilst I was engaged in my examinations,^ said he, ** by order of the local government, I was astonished to meet >4^ 4^-*'- LST. XXVIIl.] AWDmBW BKUKSWIGK. 1^ with multitudes, who admowledged candidly that they did not know to what Church they heloiq^ ; and, in these circumstances, I marked them mem- bers of that one which they had last attended. Some declared that they had not been in any house of God for years ; others, that they were friends to all religions, and others, that they were infidels. I met with one man, a magistrate, who, after a few moments^ hesitation, told me, that he had not been in a Church for thirty years ; but that the last he attended was — — .** <* Then," said I, « I wifi mark you an episcopalian."^ « No !" he replied, " stop a moment, my father was a member of the kirk of Scotland. I am, I believe, a presbyteriaai.^ At least twenty- five thousand of the forty thousand of Scotch descent, who areiiuthful to the religious principles of thdr ancestors, are na^ tives of the Highlands of Scotland, and se«n t» have OLperienced few changes from the time of their abandonment of their native shores. Only a snuiH part of them are able to profit, even from verbal communications, except in the Gselic language ; and with respect to the simplest rudiments of education, most of them are grossly ignorant. " The whole population of New Brunswick does not greatly exceed eighty thousand persons, and of these, forty or fifty thousand are natives or descend- ants of natives of Scotland. With respec^^ the i {tteoMdy on ft leyel ivith theit IroethiieflL bf N peal to the inhabitants cl£ Scotland, — ^let us have collections of money in all the churches of our land, —and then let us go to the government and ask fia a subsidy. Let us show the circumstances of our brethren in the North American colonies, their destitution of the means of moral and religious edu- cation, tiieir growing incapacity to enjoy the bene- fits of the British constitution, — ^their growing un- fitness to dt as jurors, to exercise the elective fran- chise, or to act as magistrates, and the likelihood of the gradual alienation of tiieir minds from British feelings and principles. Let us demand to know why the Idrk of Scotland is to be deemed a sect in a Scottish colony,— why the clergy reserves are to be appropriated exclusively to the upholdment of a church, which, h BALTOUa AND CO. HIGH 8TBEET. H ,>-• -A>^%cW« ■ ? I .f ' ■«■•«; ,'■. wx m:^t ■^/i 1 \%.% ^"p '; .^^1 i *:;«$' •;i»4» taijb&n k '"n a*fi ET. *' » ^"-t^Ui iiJ.i Ti'^ ^l^ ^ -s- t' -« Ji iijitl^' i