I 
 
 
 Koo^i to ^il 
 
 'fDat'hh' 
 
 yGrimsby 
 
 Stain 
 
 Beechi 
 
 '(hlfNcrton 
 
 Nellis £sq . 
 
 rtfrteH-i 
 
 Oiippw^ 
 
 Marsh k| 
 
 V. \ j. 
 
 Wainfl e ^ t 
 
 PtHm-ipul Hooti^ 
 (Ythta' RtuuU . — 
 
 Scale 
 
 (Sktrl)) .i 
 
 C’/M-/rf-J/r- ^fri/rr 
 
 — t‘i'/t ^ ^ 
 
 MLie 
 
 LAUK S ElUE ASJ» ONTAlUO , 
 hr tt.O. . 
 
 jitr 
 
 renauMiou'n 
 
 FfSchhMtser 
 
 ^■emment r J v ^jfgJSf 
 Stare T~ - — 
 
 ^ (.^cctto^ 
 
 G U AKW X lAG AK A C AN Al^ , 
 
 ✓<•>>/ • ^rht'ern — — 
 
 Strficur In-el cF i'Kfwfc 
 
 Staibce ^fei of j Ni 
 
 Ntrer j 
 
 lairs 
 
 Mjeies 
 
 SMOcf 
 
EXPLANATION 
 
 i . 
 
 OF 
 
 THE MAP. 
 
 Tub Map fronting the titJe-page of this volume was 
 engraved in October, 1820, as a mere sketch, illustrative 
 of wliat I was then writing on the subject of the Grand 
 Canals of Canada. My political friends in the Upper 
 Province had then been reported by newspapers, as making 
 the great majority of members returned to the new parlia- 
 ment; and I was sanguine, that they would insist bn having 
 a commission sent home, to invite the supreme government 
 to inquire into the state of public affairs. I hoped that a 
 new order of things might be introduced:— management 
 for mis-rule, activity for sloth, and prosperity for wretched- 
 ness. I was disappointed :— mis-rule, sloth, and wretched- 
 ness continue their reign over the loveliest country upon 
 earth ; and, with utmost reluctance, I have laid aside, for 
 the present, my schemes for its improvement. 
 
 To make the sketch still useful to this work, I have 
 now had engraved upon it the roads, names of principal 
 places, &c. 
 
 Sooner or later. Lakes Erie and Ontario will be con- 
 nected by a canal, and I may take this opportunity to 
 throw out a few leading hints, to engage conversation on 
 the subject. No plan, on a small scale, should be thought 
 of. The canal should be such as to admit schooners of 
 
vi EXPLANATTOX OP THE MAP. 
 
 100 tons burden, and steam-boats of 500; — vessels suffi- 
 cient to carry on the whole traffic, without unloading, from 
 Quebec to the remotest shores of Lakes Michigan and 
 Superior. If eternal peace shall reign between the United 
 States and Canada (and such is my hope), the course of 
 the grand Niagara Canal should be nearly that by A, B, 
 C, D, E. The mouth of Niagara River is, and probably 
 ever will be, the best harbour on the south side of Lake 
 Ontario; and considerable advantage is to be gained' by 
 conducting the canal to some distance westward on Lake 
 Erie shore. Vessels taking departure from Fort Erie and 
 Buffalo, not only have insufficient room for tacking, but 
 must labour to avoid the current which draws into Niagara 
 River ; and are often wind-bound for many weeks together. 
 The advantage of gaining a good point of departure, con- 
 joins with otliers to decide that the junction of the lake 
 navigation must proceed through Canada at all events. 
 Should any apprehension of war continue, that course 
 marked by dotted lines would be the best. Other courses 
 are laid down, chiefly to shew that many are practicable; 
 and that nature calls loudly for the assistance of art. 
 
 Let not the eye be withdrawn from the spot now in 
 view, without serious reflection. If there is one on earth 
 intended for a paradise more than another, it is this. In 
 point of climate, soil, variety, beauty, grandeur, and every 
 convenience, I do believe it is unrivalled ; yet we are told 
 by a late writer (Howison), that the depravity'^ of the 
 inhabitants of this earthly paradise ** has been confirmed 
 and increased by the circumstances in which they are now 
 placed.” — What circumstances? On the face of this map 
 we may observe, that tlie sword has been drawn for bloody 
 strife in no less than eight places. What circumstances 
 caused this? Whence came these fightings? — from the 
 depravity of the inhabitants? I think not. Gentle 
 reader! say rather, from the depravity of government. 
 
 5 
 
JOSEPH HUME, ESy. M. P. 
 
 London^ 26 fh Jamumi, 1822 . 
 
 You Jiuve had good opportunities, 
 and used them well. Better opportunities 
 await you; and, having now gained public 
 confidence, much is in your power. You 
 may indeed immortalize your name, simply 
 by continuing that calm, correct, and busi- 
 ness-like course, which happily you have 
 chosen. Retrenchment has hitherto been 
 your principal aim; but should your attention 
 be directed to the state of our North Ameri- 
 can Colonies, you may discover a double 
 object: you may perceive, that while a vast 
 expenditure could immediately be saved in 
 that quarter, a considerable revenue may be 
 acquired merely by good management. 
 
VIII 
 
 TO JOSEPH HUME, ESQ. M. P. 
 
 Should you find time to peruse these 
 volumes, I would not at first desire your 
 . consideration to the greater and more com- 
 plicated schemes which are proposed in them. 
 Adverse circumstances have conspired to 
 crush me in every way ; and the completion, 
 even of necessary explanation, is not accom- 
 ' plished. A third volume was required, to 
 elucidate my plans; and that, for the present, 
 is withheld. 
 
 In these volumes, to which I now earnestly 
 solicit your notice, you will find, I think, 
 sufficient matter for a beginning; and, were 
 inquiry fairly begun by you; — were Parliament 
 ^ once awakened to a serious consideration of 
 
 — the profit and loss of North American Colonics, 
 
 — I should not despair of an advance to greater 
 
 and greater good. . ^ ^ * 
 
 
 I have the honor to be. 
 Sir, ! 
 
 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
ERRORS, OMISSIONS, &c. 
 
 
 f 
 
 Note omittedy page cix. — Wages are novf reduced to 7s. per 
 week.” 
 
 Page clxxxiii, for this volume,” read vol. 1, page 270. 
 
 Page cc, note, for “ this first volume,” read the first volume. 
 
 Page c, note. Reading over this note to an American gentleman, 
 he seemed to take alarm, lest the word ramshackle should be 
 'palmed on his country. I take it home willingly, as a Scot- 
 ticism, and one well applied, as may be afterwards shown. 
 
 Omitted, bottom of page ccv. — In war. Captain Brant was noted 
 for humanity. 
 
 Note omitted, page 108, vol. 1. 
 
 The British fleet consists of one ship of 110 guns, one do. 
 64, one frigate 50, one do. 48, one sloop of war 26, one do. 
 24, one brig 18, one do. 16, one schooner 12; amounting in 
 the whole to 368 guns, with two ships of the ine on the 
 stocks. 
 
 The American fleet consists of one ship of 64 guns, one 
 frigate 50, one do. 32, one do. 28, three brigs of 26 each, one 
 do. 18, and one schooner 6; amounting to 276 guns, with 
 two large ships on the stocks, each of them to carry 120 
 guns. 
 
 In vol. 2d, page 339, “ selling of wives in a halter,” is spoken , 
 of as expressly authorized by law. This is not the case; 
 but should not law forbid such a barbarous custom? In 
 page clxxii of this General Introduction, I have also written 
 carelessly as to the establishing of freeholds on waste : some 
 ytari of undisputed possession Was, I understand, required 
 
 B 
 
i 
 
 X ERRORS, OMISSIONS, &C. 
 
 by law; nevertheless, the poor had formerly much freedom 
 in this way, 
 
 'I’hese instances of carelessness have been pointed out by intelli- 
 gent friends, and are noticed, to give opportunity of apol^ 
 gizing for a style of writing which is apt to overleap rigid 
 inquiry, where it has not occurred as being of importance. 
 
 2 he Index having been printed off before it was intended 
 that the General Introduction should extend so 
 far as it does, the following additions are tiecessar^, to 
 make it complete. 
 
 Assembly of Upper Canada, its reply to the speech of the Lieut.- 
 Governor, declaring his intention of withholding tlie royal 
 grant of land from the members of the Convention, ccccxxii. 
 To his first speech on opening parliament, ccccxxxviii. Its 
 resolutions on certain parts of that speech, ccccxxxix. 
 
 Bill for preventing certain meetings in Upper Canada, brought in 
 by Mr. Jones, ccccxl. Read a third time, and passed, 
 ccccxli. Its enactments, ibid. 
 
 Canada, remarks on the impolicy of abandoning or selling it to 
 the United States, cccxlv. and note, 
 
 , Upper, proposal for the improvement of its revenue, 
 
 ccclxxxi. All duties on importation from the United States 
 should be abolished, ccclxxxvi. And all taxes but one, on 
 land, ibid. Supposed value of the province, ibid. Forma- 
 tion of good roads, the first step towards its improvement, 
 ccclxxxvii. Navigation of the St. Lawrence, a great national 
 object, ccclxxxviii. Plan for its improvement, and estimated 
 expense of this, ccclxxxix. Effects of its adoption, ccccviii. 
 Extent to which it should be carried, ccccxix. Its infinite 
 advantages, ccccxx. Causes of the poverty and degradation 
 of the province, cccclxxvi. cccclxxviii. 
 
 Coke, Mr. his speech on presenting a petition from the agricul- 
 turists of Norfolk, to the House of Commons, ccccxxiii. note. 
 Remarks on it, ccccxxiv. note. 
 
 3 
 
ERRORS, OMISSIONS, &C. 
 
 XI 
 
 Constitution of Upper Canada, opinions in the English parlia- 
 ment on granting one, cccclxxiii. Absurdity of comparing 
 it with the British constitution, cccclxxiv. Not the cause 
 of the degradation of the province, cccclxxvi, cccelxxvii. 
 
 Gourlay, Mr. his proposal for the collection of the revenue of 
 Upper Canada, by a single tax, on land, ccclxxxi. Remarks 
 on the errors in the present system, ccclxxxiii. Conjecture 
 as to their cause, ccclxxxiv. Observations on the funding 
 system of England, cccciv. On the Corn Bill, ccccv. On 
 the new settlement of Perth, ccccx. On the taxation of wild 
 land, ccccx V. Address to the people of Upper Canada, on 
 the agricultural distresses of England, ccccxxiii. Extract 
 from his “ Letter to the Earl of Kellie,’^ ccccxxxi. note. 
 Address to the Canadians, on the proceedings in the last 
 session of their parliament, ccccxxxiii. Letter to one of his 
 jurymen, ibid, note. Reflections on the conduct of the 
 House of Assembly and the Lieut.-Govemor, in 1818 , 
 ccccxliii. His petition to the House of Commons, ccccxlv — 
 ccoclx. and notes. Remarks on the character of the people 
 of the United States, ccccxlvii. note. On an absurd statute 
 of the Canadian parliament, relative to tithes, ccccli. Tiote, 
 On the contraband trade between the United States and 
 Upper Canada, cccclvi. note. Explanation of an expression 
 in his petition to the House of Commons, cccclx. On moral 
 restraint, cccclxii. Further remarks on the benefits which 
 would arise from the settlement of the province, cccclxiii. 
 On the mission of the provincial attorney-general to England, 
 cccclxiv. Benefits which may arise from this, notwithstand- 
 ing the littleness of its object, ibid. His letter to the editor 
 of the Niagara Spectator, cccclxv. His fourth address to 
 the resident land-owners of Upper Canada, cccclxvii. Sketch 
 
 , of the events which led to the American revolutionary war, 
 cccclxx. Extent of his views of reform in the province, 
 cccclxxvi. His answer to Captain Stuai^’s reply to his 
 fourth address, cccclxxxviii. Remarks on kingly government, 
 ccccxciv. Note to Sir Peregrine Maitland, dii. and diii. note: 
 and to the Duke of Richmond, diii. Summary account of 
 the cruel treatment which he has experienced, div. 
 
xii ERRORS, OMISSIONS, &C. 
 
 Great Biitaiio, increase of its population during the last twenty 
 years, ccccliv. 7Wte. 
 
 Jones, Mr. extract from his speech in the House of Assembly, 
 ccccxxxvi. ' Remarks on it, ccccxxxvii. His motion relative 
 to the Lieut.-Goyernor’s speech, ccccxxxviii. Obtains 
 leave to bring in a bill to prevent public meetings, ccccxl. 
 Which is read a third time and passed, ccccxli. Remarks 
 on bis character, ccccxliii. 
 
 Ireland, means by which that country might be easily redeemed 
 from distress, ccccxxix. 
 
 Legislative Council of Upper Canada, its reply to Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland’s announcement of his intention to withhold the 
 royal grant of land from members of the Canadian Con- 
 vention, ccccxxi. To his first speech on opening the pro- 
 vincial parliament, ccccxxxviii. 
 
 Maitland, Sir Peregrine, Lieut.-Govemor of Upper Canada, ex- 
 tract of his first speech to the provincial parliament, 
 ccccxxxvii. His speech at the close of the session, ccccxli. 
 Sketch of his history, ccccxciii. 
 
 Newfoundland, wretched state of that island, cccxli. and not^ 
 
 Simeoe, General, remarks on his character and measures for the 
 improvement of Upper Canada, cfccclxxvii. 
 
 Stuart, Captain, his reply to Mr* Gourlay’s fourth address to the 
 land-owners of Upper Canada, cccclxxix. Answer by Mr. 
 Oourlay, cccclxxxviii. 
 
 United States of America, statement of their finances, ccccxlix. 
 note. Increase of population, in the last thirty years, ccccliv. 
 7U)te, Not owing to emigration, cccclv. note. 
 
 Wild land, the chief bane of Upper Canada, ccccxiv. Estimated 
 quantity in the province, ccccxv. Plan for its taxation, ibid. 
 Benefits which would arise from this, ccccxvi. ccccxli. 
 Supposed Case in illustration, ibid. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CIRCULAR 
 
 To MEMBERS of the IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. 
 
 London, June 10 , 1830 . 
 
 SIR, 
 
 The following Statement, with Do-- 
 cuments, was offered for publication, last January, 
 to several Newspaper Editors, both in Edinburgh 
 and London. Immediately afterwards, the King’s 
 death, and consequent dissolution of Parliament, 
 delaying the principal intention, the publication was 
 not pressed.^, 
 
 On reviewing this Statement, after it has been 
 written five months, I see nothing material in it to 
 correct, and think it the best brief introduction to 
 the business to which I now most earnestly solicit 
 your attention. 
 
 * The importance which I myself attach to this 
 business may be estimated by the solemn assurance 
 that I crossed the Atlantic for the express purpose 
 of submitting it to the Prince and Parliament of 
 Britain, and that I am now come up to town from 
 Scotland solely rvith this view. It is not my indi- 
 vidual interest which has urged me thus far. I, no 
 
11 
 
 GENERA!/ INTRODUCTION. 
 
 doubt, shall he (/ratified if this can he advanced, or 
 if I can have an opportunity of wiping off the stain 
 so cruelly cast upon my reputation; hut, before God, 
 I declare that these are comparatively small objects 
 when placed beside that which aims at maintaining, 
 in my person, the abstract right and honour of a 
 native-born British Subject. On this account. Sir, 
 I am free in addressing you, and sanguine of having 
 your assistance. 
 
 The Documents here produced will, I conceive, 
 sufficiently put you in possession of the case; but I 
 shgll, with gladness, wait upon you any where, in 
 town, to converse on the subject, or receive commu- 
 nications thereon, addressed to me at Cooper's Hotel, 
 Bouverie-street. 
 
 The Sketch of a Petition to the Commons House 
 of Parliament is not that which 1 may ultimately 
 adopt. It is here e,xhibited partly for the purpose of 
 explaining my views and arguments — partly to give 
 a lead to those who may be so friendly as to correct 
 my errors or assist my endeavours. For like pur- 
 poses I have also annexed a Sketch of a Petition to, 
 the King in Council. 
 
 You will observe in the Statement some bold asser- 
 tions made by me cis to the capabilities of Upper 
 Canada ; and, although I am desirous, in the fvsh 
 place, to have my particular case discussed, I wish, 
 it, tg be clearly understood that up to this moment i 
 flinch not from any thing I have said, and' shall be 
 willing, if c(fihd on, to. give explanation a& to tha 
 
GEKEftAt INTRODUCTION. ii} 
 
 practicable fulfilment of my assertions at the bar of 
 yonr Home. 
 
 From the Morning Chronicle of '29th April lastf 
 I copy the following conversation held in the House 
 of Commons, the day preceding. 
 
 “ Lord A. Hamilton would suggest an emigration 
 to our colonies in North America, as the most effect 
 tual means of mitigating distress. 
 
 “ The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, His 
 Majesty's Ministers were disposed to adopt every 
 measure which could really contribute to the relief 
 of the distresses of the labouring classes. Above 
 5000 persons had embraced the offers of Go^ 
 vemment, and sailed for the Cape of Good 
 Hope. With respect to the proposal of emu 
 greeting to North America, the Noble Lord was, 
 perhaps, not fully aware of the present condition of 
 persons who had actually gone there. So far from 
 finding increased means of subsistence, the last ac~ 
 counts proved, that they had expei-ienced a want of 
 employment fully equal to that which existed in 
 the most distressed manufacturing districts of this 
 country. -. Government were disposed to give every 
 facility to any practicable scheme for mitigating the 
 distresses of the people ; but, before they consigned 
 them to a foreign shore, it would be prudent to ascer- 
 tain how far their condition was likely to be im- 
 proved. The North American provinces of Great 
 Britain had been so overloaded with emigrants, that 
 the government cf Canada had made the strongest 
 
 a 2 
 
iv general introduction. 
 
 remonstrances to this Government on the subject. 
 He wae not prepared to submit any plan to the 
 House, and he repeated that before the proposition 
 of the Noble Lord were entertained, it would, be wise 
 to wait for some account of the progress of .the 
 colony at the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 “ Mr. Finlay said, that he, as well as the Noble 
 Lord, had received applications from persons who 
 were extremely anxious to emigrate, but who were 
 wholly destitute of the means.'' 
 
 Now, Sir, I do assert, that BY PROPER 
 MANAGEMENT, THE MISERIES EX- 
 PERIENCED BY EMIGRANTS GOING 
 OUT TO CANADA MIGHT BE AVERT- 
 ED ; AND THAT EVEN PEOPLE « DES- 
 TITUTE OF MEANS" COULD BE 
 COMFORTABLY SETTLED THERE: IN 
 SHORT, THAT PLANS COULD BE 
 ADOPTED TO REALIZE EVERY BE- 
 NEFIT TO CANADA AND BRITAIN 
 WHICH YOU WILL FIND MENTIONED 
 BELOW. Having said thus mucky it remains 
 for me only to subscribe myself y 
 
 Your fellow subject and client y^^ • 
 
 * * i A 
 
 ROBERT^ GOURLAY. 
 
■GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 STATEMENT. 
 
 TO THE EDITORS OF BRITISH NEWS- 
 PAPERS. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 iJraigrothie, Fifeshire, Jan, 3, 1820. 
 
 I LANDED at Liverpool, from Quebec, the 2d 
 December, and have since learned, that, during the 
 last two years, my name has frequently appeared 
 in your columns, connected with certain political 
 movements in Upper Canada. By consulting the 
 files of various newspapers, I have discovered that 
 very great mistakes have prevailed as to Canadian 
 affairs, and that calumnies, both false and malig- 
 nant, have been propagated with regard to me. 
 
 As a specimen of these, it has been published 
 that I was “ One of the w’orthies who escaped 
 from Spa-fields and attempts have been made to 
 impress a belief on the public mind, that my ope- 
 rations in Canada were connected with the schemes 
 of Messrs. Cobbett and Hunt in England. The 
 very contrary of all this is true. 
 
 In consequence of unavoidable change of fortune, 
 
 I went out to Upper Canada, where I had many 
 friends, in the summer of 1817, solely with a view 
 to ascertain whether it would be prudent to re- 
 
eEV)5BAi< INTRODUCTION. 
 
 move my family thither. My intention of going 
 there was announced more than a year before I set 
 out, and my wish was not to be more than six 
 months from home. 
 
 Though a sincere friend to parliamentary reform 
 in this country, I had repeatedly published, before 
 going abroad, tny opinion of the impropriety of 
 holding large irregular meetings for that purpose, 
 and particularly reprobated those of Spa-fields. 
 No man can shew that I was ever connected in 
 politics with a single individual in Britain ; and it 
 must be well remembered in Wiltshire, that 1 stood 
 forward in opposition to Messrs. Cobbett and 
 Hunt, at the county meeting held there in 1816, 
 when their object was to run down the property- 
 tax. So very decided and serious was I on that 
 occasion, that I caused to be stuck up in every 
 corner of the county a placard, declaring, that, 
 
 hy a well modified property-tax, and by that 
 alone, could the country he preserved in peace.’* 
 
 In Upper Canada my efforts had no view what- 
 ever to a reform of parliament. The people there 
 have a perfect representation, and before long they 
 will make a better use of it than they have hitherto 
 done. Soon after my arrival in that country, I 
 viewed it as the most desirable place of refuge for 
 the redundant population of Britain, and I con- 
 ceived schemes for promoting a grand system of 
 emigration. Nothing could be more palpably 
 innocent than my first proposals, yet they were 
 opposed, and from reflections springing out of the 
 nature of this opposition, I became convinced, that 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION,-' Vii 
 
 without parliamentary inquiry into the state of the 
 Province, every effort towards liberal improvement 
 would be futile and vain. I prolonged my stay till 
 the meeting of the Provincial parliament, that I 
 might press a reference of certain matters to the 
 Prince and Parliament at home. A vote of inquiry 
 was carried in the Commons House of Assembly ; 
 but immediately afterwards a dispute having arisen 
 between that body and the Legislative Council, 
 the parliament was suddenly prorogued, its business 
 tinfinished. 
 
 At this juncture, and without the slightest idea 
 of evil, I advised the people to raise a subscription, 
 and send home Commissioners to intreat attention 
 , from the Throne to the affairs of the Province. It 
 was necessary to hold a meeting of Deputies for 
 the purpose in view, and to this meeting I iuad* 
 vertently gave the name of Convention, a name in 
 every-day use over America, and applied to all 
 sorts of meetirigs, both civil and sacred. On this 
 occasion, it proved to be — 
 
 ■■■ “ A word of fear. 
 
 Unpleasant to the guilty ear.” 
 
 The Executive of Upper Canada took alarm. 
 In some districts, where the people had little in- 
 formation from newspapers, the most outrageous 
 opposition was set on foot by creatures in office; 
 and, to cause a general panic, I was twice arrested, 
 and held to bail for appearance to answer charges 
 of seditious libel. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this, respectable Deputies 
 
viii ’general introduction. 
 
 were chosen throughout the greater part of the 
 Province, and they met openly in Conv^tion 
 York, the capital. By this time, the Du e o 
 Richmond and his son-in-law had been announced 
 as Governor and Lieutenant-Governor ot the Ca- 
 nadas. I conceived favourable impressions ot 
 their liberality, and judging that the agitation 
 excited, could not fail to impress serious notions of 
 the importance of inquiry, advised the Convention 
 to refer its cause to the Lieutenant-Governor and 
 General Assembly, After this, I stood two trials, 
 and was twice honourably acquitted. The people 
 were now sanguine that all would go well, when, 
 to their astonishment, the Lieutenant-Governor 
 having met the parliament, hinted that sedition 
 existed, and procured a law to prevent, in future, 
 meetings by deputy. The discontent created by 
 these measures, libelling the most loyal men, and 
 without any proof of necessity circumscribing ge- 
 neral liberty, was universal ; yet, nothing more was 
 resolved on by the people, but to clear the House 
 of Assembly, at next election, of members who had 
 balked their expectations. Tome, who indulged 
 the anxious hope of being allowed to develop my 
 views, and point out a practicable plan, by which 
 many thousands of the idle poor of England could 
 be annually transported into Canada, with profit 
 to the nation, and comfort to themselves, the dis- 
 appointment was cruelly provoking ; but it was 
 far from rendering me hopeless of ultimate success. 
 I had resolved to establish myself in the Frovincd 
 as a land-agent, &c. and was now treating for a 
 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION* 
 
 IX 
 
 house in which to commence business, when, lo! 
 
 I was arrested by the Sheriff, carried before a party 
 of my most virulent political enemies, and served 
 with an order to quit the Province, merely because 
 a wretch was found base enough to swear that I 
 was a seditious person. 
 
 To have obeyed this order would have proved 
 ruinous to the business, for which, at great ex- 
 pense, and with much trouble, 1 had qualified 
 myself : it would have been a tacit acknowledg- 
 ment of guilt, whereof I was unconscious ; it would 
 have been a surrender of the noblest British right : 
 it would have been holding light my natural alle- 
 giance: it would have been a declaration that he 
 Bill of Rights was a Bill of Wrongs. I resolved 
 to endure any hardship rather than to submit vo- 
 luntarily* Although I had written home that I 
 meant to leave Canada for England in a few weeks, 
 I now acquainted my family of the cruel delay, 
 and stood my ground, till I was a second time ar- 
 rested, and forthwith committed to remain in jail 
 for eight months, without bail or mainprize. 
 
 The impressions made on the public by this 
 strange proceeding were such, that it was intimated 
 from various quarters, that if I chose, the jail 
 should be pulled down for my relief, a step which, 
 of course, I opposed. 
 
 My enemies, now feeling that they had gone 
 too far, laboured, by artful addresses to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, to impress an opinion upon the 
 public mind that some of my writings were sedi- 
 tious; but this conduct only exposed to fuller 
 
X GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 view the malevolence by which they were actu* 
 ated. All hope of convicting me of crime seemed 
 to die away, and after three months confinement, it 
 was whispered that I should not be tried for sedi- 
 tion, but, simply, for not having obeyed the order 
 to quit the Province. This I could not believe 
 possible. In the mean time, I instituted a suit for 
 false imprisonment, and wrote off to various quar- 
 ters for legal advice. From Montreal — From Edin- 
 burgh — from London, the replies of most respecta- 
 ble lawyers were uniform, that my imprisonment 
 was illegal ; and the late Sir Arthur Piggott declared, 
 that not only should the Chief Justice of Upper 
 Canada have granted my liberty, applied for by 
 writ of Habeas Corpus, but that a good action lay 
 against the magistrates who had imprisoned me. 
 
 Among the matters which the Convention had 
 in view was one, to call the Royal attention to a 
 promise held out to the Militia during war, that 
 grants of land should be made to them in recom- 
 pense for their extraordinary exertions. It had 
 been the policy of the United States to hold out 
 offers of land to their troops who invaded Canada, 
 —offers, without which they could not have raised 
 an army for that purpose, and these offers had been 
 punctually and liberally fulfilled, the moment that 
 peace was restored. On the British side, three 
 years had passed away without attention to a 
 promise which the Canadian militia kept in mind, 
 not only as it concerned their interest, but their 
 honour. While the Convention trusted the con- 
 sideration of inquiry to the Lieutenant-Governor 
 
OEKERAL INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 end Assembly, they ordered an address to be sent 
 home to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, 
 as a matter of courtesy and respect, having annexed 
 to it the rough sketch of an address originally in- 
 tended to be borne home by a commission, in which 
 sketch the neglect of giving land to the Militia was, 
 among other matters, pointed out. This sketch, 
 too, having been printed in America, found its way 
 into British newspapers. 
 
 In June, 1819, the Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Upper Canada, summoned the Assembly to meet 
 a second time, and in his speech, notified that he 
 had received an order from his Royal Highness 
 the Prince Regent, to grant land to the Militia, but 
 that he himself should think it proper to withhold 
 such grant from those persons who had been mem- 
 bers of Convention. The injustice of this measure 
 was instantly in the mouth of every one, and the 
 very Sheriff who held me in charge scrupled not 
 to signify how it would go, should the province 
 again be invaded, while at that very moment it 
 was thought by many that a war with the United 
 States would grow out of the aflfair of Ambristier. 
 
 The members of Convention had met at York, 
 prior to any law to prevent the meeting of dele- 
 gates : they had met in compliance with the de- 
 sire of many thousands of their fellow-subjectSj 
 and were wholly unconscious of evil: they were 
 men of tried loyalty: they had held- militia com- 
 missions during the war : some had been wounded, 
 some had'been taken prisoners, and all had- behaved 
 well. Most of them owned* more land than they 
 
 3 
 
xii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 could dispose of, and any gift of land could be to 
 them, a mere pledge of approbation for duty per- 
 formed to their sovereign and^ country. Several 
 weeks passed away, while it was anxiously hoped 
 that the Assembly would mark its disapprobation 
 of the opening speech ; but approval was at last 
 carried by the speaker’s vote, i and the Legislative 
 Council concurred in language the most direct and 
 submissive. 
 
 To me, such conduct seemed subversive of 
 every hope that Upper Canada could be retained 
 to Britain in the event of war, and to startle those 
 who so thoughtlessly put it in jeopardy into a 
 consideration of consequences, I seized my pen, 
 and called on God to assist my endeavours. My 
 writing, when published, was voted by the As- 
 sembly to be libel, and the Lieutenant-Governor 
 was solicited to order prosecutions. The editor 
 of the newspaper, who had had the assurance of 
 a magistrate, that he should not be molested while 
 he had the manuscripts of authors to produce, and 
 who was on this occasion wholly ignorant of what 
 was printed in his office, being 130 miles from 
 home, was seized in his bed during the middle of 
 the night, hurried to Niagara jail, and thence, next 
 morning, to that of York, where he was detained 
 many days out of the reach of friends to bail him. 
 After this he was led round the country nearly a 
 hundred miles, exposed to view as a malefactor of 
 the worst kind, all clearly for the purpose of work- 
 ing unfavourable impressions against him ; and, to 
 be sure, he was finally convicted on a charge, 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 which, from its nature, the author alone was com- 
 petent to repel*. 
 
 My treatment was still more wantonly cruel. 
 After two months close confinement in one of the 
 cells of the jail, my health had begun to suffer, 
 and, on complaint of this, the liberty of walking 
 through the passages and sitting at the door was 
 granted. This liberty prevented my getting worse 
 the four succeeding months, although 1 never en- 
 joyed a day’s health, but by the power of medi- 
 cine. At the end of this period, I was again 
 locked up in the cell, cut off from all conversation 
 
 * Since the above was first published, I have observed it stated 
 in the newspapers, that the editor has been liberated from prison, 
 and is now again carrying on his business. Before his trial, I in- 
 treated him again and again to traverse, and let me have an oppor- 
 tunity of defending my own writing ; but it was in vain. I then 
 begged of his lawyer, to defend his client on the argument used by 
 Mr. Erskine, in the case of CuthelJ ; but all was to no purpose. 
 They were sanguine of success, and perhaps ambitious of appear- 
 ing champions of the press ; but a weak jury headed by a petty 
 magistrate, gave that away, which the people in the United States, 
 who have, for twenty years past, disclaimed the very notion of 
 political libel, would sooner have lost their right arms than have 
 parted with. No one would punish slander on private character 
 more severely than I would: men in power should always be 
 entitled, as well as others, to redress in a civil suit ; but, to make 
 due reprobation of mal-administration in public affairs criminal, is 
 what I shall protest against while I have breath; and my first wish, 
 on returning to Upper Canada, shall be to obtain a trial, and give 
 the people of that country, by dispassionate argument, a clear 
 view of the truth. I have in my possession a speech which was 
 written in expectation of being fairly tried, and that speech shall 
 be preserved for the purpose. 
 
XlV GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with my friends, but through a hole in the door, 
 while the jailor or under sheriff watched what was 
 said, and for some time both my attorney and ma- 
 gistrates of my acquaintance were denied admis- 
 sion to me. The quarter sessions were held soon 
 after this severe and unconstitutional treatment 
 commenced, and, on these occasions, it was the 
 custom and duty of the grand jury to perambulate 
 the jail, and see that all was right with the pri- 
 soners. I prepared a memorial for their consi- 
 deration, but, on this occasion, was not visited. I 
 complained to a magistrate through the door, who 
 promised to mention my case to the chairman of 
 the session ; but the chairman happened to be 
 brother of one of those who had signed my com- 
 mitment, and the court broke up without my ob- 
 taining the smallest relief. 
 
 Exasperation of mind now joined to the heat of 
 the weather, which was excessive, rapidly wasted 
 my health and impaired my faculties. I felt my 
 memory sensibly affected, and could not connect 
 my ideas through any length of reasoning, but by 
 writing, which many days I was wholly unfitted 
 for by the violence of continual head-ache. Im- 
 mediately before the sitting of the assizes, the 
 weather became cool, so that I was able to apply 
 constantly for three days, and finish a written de- 
 fence, on every point likely to be questioned on 
 the score of seditious libel. I also prepared a for- 
 mal protest against any verdict which might pass 
 against me, as subject to the statute, under cofour 
 of which I was confined. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xT 
 
 It was again reported, that I should be tried 
 only as to the fact of refusing to leave the province. 
 A state of nervous irritability, of which 1 was not 
 then sufficiently aware, deprived my mind of the 
 power of reflection on the subject : 1 was seized 
 with a fit of convulsive laughter, resolved not to 
 defend such a suit, and was perhaps rejoiced that 
 I might be even thus set at liberty from my hor- 
 rible situation. On being called up for trial, the 
 action of the fresh air, after six weeks close coq- 
 fineraent, produced the effect of intoxication, J[ 
 had no control over my conduct, no sense of con- 
 sequence, nor little other feeling but of ridicule 
 and disgust for the court which countenanced such 
 a trial. At one moment I had a desire to protest 
 against the whole proceedipg; but, forgetting that 
 I had a written protest in my pocket, I struggled 
 in vain to call to mind the word protest^ and in 
 another moment the whole train of ideas which 
 led to the wish had vanished from my mind. 
 When the verdict was returned, that I wa 3 guilty 
 of having refused to leave the province, I had for^ 
 got for what I was tried, and affronted a j.m?yman 
 by asking if it was for sedition*. 
 
 Gentlemen, these are melancholy particulars, and 
 
 * The jury, in this case, was notoriously packed. To guard 
 against the effects of this as much as possible, I had, in the ex- 
 pectation of trial for libel, obtained lists of inimical jurymen, and 
 had people willing to appear in court to swear that many of them 
 had prejudged me openly in the ran<^our of party dispute. These 
 HsU were handed to me through the door, before and during the 
 

 xvi general introduction. 
 
 so far as they concern niyselt only, I ^rtanily 
 should be inclined to conceal them. As they 
 concern the legislation and spirit of governing, in 
 a British province, I have thought it my duty to 
 offer the consideration of them to the public, 
 prior to submitting the same to the Prince and 
 
 assizes; but all caution and care fouiok me in the time of need. 
 My fate, I believe, was determined by a misconstruction of the 
 judge of the word “ Inkabilanir To the best of my recollection, 
 this was defined to mean a person who had paid taxes, or per- 
 formed statute labour on the roads ! Will it be believed that an 
 Englishman started the question as to this simple word of his 
 mother tongue, which, in law, has no peculiar meaning, and 
 which, in.common sense, as well as by derivation, means simply 
 a dweller in ? The reader will find it applied in this book to wild 
 beasts of Canada. The Englishman spoken of had dined with me 
 at the same table for weeks together, had lived with me in the same 
 village for months together, and knew perfectly well that I had 
 dwelt in the province more than a year before my arrest; 
 but every thing is sacrificed when prejudice, pique, or self-inte- 
 rest take the sway. This man’s name stands in my lists for having 
 prejudged me ; yet, Judas-like, he came to the door of my cell, 
 and shook hands through the small aperture, a few days before 
 my condemnation. As to the sheriff of Niagara, he has been a 
 half- pay officer ever since the American war ; and though his 
 half-pay could be received only on oath, that he enjoyed no 
 office under government, he has for a long series of years drawn 
 a handsome salary as his majesty’s sheriff. The chief-justice 
 Powell enjoys posts and pay out of my count, and at the will 
 of the king, (i. e. the governor) may, on the shortest notice, 
 be turned off the bench, and deprived of his pay. 
 
 These truths will throw light upon my shocking treatment, and 
 the state of Upper Canada, 
 
 1 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xvii 
 
 Parliament of this country, for which purpose I 
 more especially came home. It is my wish to 
 return to Upper Canada, and to stand any fair 
 trial for alleged crime: it is my wish to promote 
 the settlement of that province with British sub- 
 jects; but what British subject of spirit would 
 settle in a country, where, in a moment, he may 
 have to bow to arbitrary power, or be turned 
 adrift into a foreign land, the sport of calumny, 
 injured in health, and ruined in the fair expectation 
 of doing well for his family ? 
 
 1 annex a copy of the statute, under colour of 
 which I was imprisoned and banished, together 
 with the order served upon me to quit the pro- 
 vince, after having resided there more than a year. 
 
 When these documents are examined, in con- 
 nexion with the above statement, I shall ask the 
 public to consider whether there is not reason for 
 
 INSTANT PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY, 
 and if such inquiry is instituted, I PLEDGE 
 MYSELF TO SHEW THAT UPPER CA- 
 NADA, INSTEAD OF COSTING THIS 
 COUNTRY A LARGE SUM OF MONEY 
 TO MAINTAIN IT, COULD YIELD AN- 
 NUALLY A HANDSOME REVENUE TO 
 THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT: THATIN- 
 STEAD OF REMAINING THE POOREST, 
 
Xviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT MAY SPEEDILY BECOME THE RICH- 
 EST PART OF NORTH AMERICA : THAT 
 IT MAY THIS VERY YEAR GIVE EM- 
 PLOYMENT AND BREAD TO 50,000 OF 
 THE POOR INHABITANTS OF BRITAIN ; 
 AND, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, 
 AFFORD annually A SIMILAR DRAIN 
 FOR REDUNDANT POPULATION : LAST- 
 LY, THAT IT MAY BE MADE A PERMA- 
 NENT AND SECURE BULWARK TO THE 
 BRITISH EMPIRE, INSTEAD OF BEING 
 A LURE TO ITS INVASION AND DOWN- 
 FALL. 
 
 These, Gentlemen, are bold assertions : but they 
 are not only bold, they are rational and sincere ; 
 and they proceed from a mind which has been 
 devoted for two years to reflections on the subject 
 — a mind which has sustained itself under every 
 reasonable trial, and which has not yet entirely 
 sunk beneath the most odious persecution. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XIX 
 
 An Act for the better securing this Province against 
 f all seditious Attempts or Designs to disturb the 
 ^ Tranquillity thereof. (Passed 9/A March, 1804.j 
 
 Whereas it is necessary to protect his Ma- P*'®ainbie. 
 esty s subjects of this Province from the insidious 
 I; ittempts or designs of evil-minded and seditious 
 lersons ; and, whereas much danger may arise to 
 j, he public tranquillity thereof, from the unre- 
 ^ trained resort and residence of such persons 
 iierein: Be it therefore enacted, by the King’s 
 lost excellent Majesty, by and with the advice 
 E ad consent of the Legislative Council and As- 
 Q :mbly of the Province of Upper Canada, con- 
 ituted and assembled by virtue of, and under the 
 ithority of an act passed in the Parliament of 
 reat Britain, intituled “ Au Act to repeal certain 
 irts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of his 
 ajesty s reign, entituled, ‘ an Act for making more 
 fectual Provision for the Government of the Pro- 
 ,jy nee of Quebec, in North America, and to make 
 >ly rther Provision for the Government of the said 
 
 •ovince,’ ” and by the authority of the same. That, norJ^Tc! 
 and after the passing of this Act^ it shall and ed to au- 
 
 11 p 1 I* thorize 
 
 'ty be lawful for the Governor , Lieut enanUGo^ certain 
 
 persons to 
 
 rwor, or person administerinq the government of 
 
 fenders 
 
 IS Province, for the Alembers of the Legislative 
 d Executive Councils, the Judges of his Alajesty’s 
 b 2 
 
xviu 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT MAY SPEEDILY BECOME THE RICH- 
 EST PART OF NORTH AMERICA : THAT 
 IT MAY THIS VERY YEAR GIVE EM- 
 PLOYMENT AND BREAD TO 50,000 OF 
 THE POOR INHABITANTS OF BRITAIN ; 
 AND, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME, 
 AFFORD ANNUALLY A SIMILAR DRAIN 
 FOR REDUNDANT POPULATION : LAST- 
 LY, THAT IT MAY BE MADE A PERMA- 
 KENT AND SECURE BULWARK TO THE 
 BRITISH EMPIRE, INSTEAD OF BEING 
 A LURE TO ITS INVASION AND DOWN- 
 FALL. 
 
 These, Gentlemen, are bold assertions : but they 
 are not only bold, they are rational and sincere ; 
 and they proceed from a mind which has been 
 devoted for two years to reflections on the subject 
 — a mind which has sustained itself under every 
 reasonable trial, and which has not yet entirely 
 sunk beneath the most odious persecution. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xix 
 
 \n Act for the better securing this Province against 
 j all seditious Attempts or Designs to disturb the 
 Tranquillity thereof. (Passed Qth March, 1804.j 
 Whereas it is necessary to protect his Ma- Preamble, 
 sty s subjects of this Province from the insidious 
 N; tempts or designs of evil-minded and seditious 
 j[_-rsons; and, whereas much danger may arise to 
 IjjC public tranquillity thereof, from the unre- 
 ained resort and residence of such persons 
 erein: Be it therefore enacted, by the King’s 
 ^^)st excellent Majesty, by and with the advice 
 lEd consent of the Legislative Council and As- 
 ^'(jnbly of the Province of Upper Canada, coii- 
 tuted and assembled by virtue of, and under the 
 thority of an act passed in the Parliament of 
 eat Britain, intituled “ An Act to repeal certain 
 l''y ts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of his 
 ^’ijesty’s reign, entituled, ‘ an Act for making more 
 l^jctual Provision for the Government of the Pro- 
 ,j^ce of Quebec, in North America, and to make 
 eljther Provision for the Government of the said 
 wince, and by the authority of the same. That, norf°&L 
 . 91 and after the passing of this Act, it shall and «<! to au* 
 
 * 1 1 p 1 j* 1 . thorize 
 
 / oe larvjul for the Governor j Lieut enant-Go~ certain 
 
 persons to 
 
 ^or, or person administering the government of 
 f Province, for the Members of the Legislative 
 I Executive Councils, the Judges of his Majesty’s 
 b 2 
 
XX 
 
 general introduction. 
 
 Court of King’s Bench, for the time being, respec- 
 lively, or for any person or persons authorized w 
 that behalf, by an instrument under the hand and 
 seal of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or per- ^ 
 son administering the governmen t for the time beins, , 
 or any one or more of them, jointly or separate^, , 
 by ivarrant or warrants, under his or their hand j 
 and seal, or hands and seals, to arrest any persoi ^ 
 or persons riot having been an inhabitant or mh- c 
 bitants of this Province for the space of six month , 
 next preceding the date of such warrant or warrants c 
 or not having taken the oath oj allegiance to <m ( 
 Sovereign Lord the King, who by words, actions, « 
 other behaviour or conduct, hath or have endai 
 voured, or hath or have given just cause to snsiM 
 that he, she, or they, is or are about to endeavour^ \ 
 alienate the minds of his Majesty s subjects of th c 
 Province from his person or government, or in a t 
 wise with a seditious intent to disturb the tranquiB } 
 thereof, to the end that such pterson or persons sk « 
 forthwith he brought before the said person or p 
 sons so granting such 'ivarrant or warrants agok j 
 him^ her,, or them, or any other person or 
 duly authorized to (/rant such warrant or warm 
 
 Offondei'S 
 
 to depart j)y ijirtue of this act ; and if such person or perstti 
 
 the Pro- ^ ^ . . /* 
 
 Tince, or being suck inhabitant or inhabitants as ajat 
 
 give secu- 
 
 rity, &c. or not having taken such oath of alUgkK 
 
GENERAL INTRODITCTION. X3 
 
 shall not (fice to the person or persons so grant in cf 
 such warrant or warrants^ or so authorized as 
 aforesaid, before whom he, she, or they shall he 
 %roayhf., full and complete satif action tJuU his, her, 
 or their words, actions, conduct, or behaviour had 
 *^'10 such tendency, or were not intended to promote 
 hr encouraye disaffection to his Majesty's person or 
 government, it shall and may be lawful for each or 
 my of the said persons so yrantiny such warrant 
 warrants, or so authorized as ajoresaid, and he 
 nnd they is and are hereby required to deliver an 
 mder or orders, in writiny, to such person or per~ 
 mns not beimj such inhabitant or inhabitants as 
 aforesaid, or not haviny taken such oath oj' alle^ 
 l( iance, requiriny of him, her, or them, to depart this 
 iiProvince within a time to be limited by such order 
 dir orders, or if it shall be deemed expedient that he, 
 jie, or they, should be permitted to remain in this 
 jijrovince, to require from hini, her, or them, yood 
 ^nd sufficient security, to the satisfaction of the 
 person or persons acting under the authority hereby 
 jeen, for his, her, or their good behaviour, duriny 
 ifiis, her, or their continuance therein. 
 
 I II. And be it further enacted, by the authority 
 aforesaid. That if any person or persons not being Ih^ pfo. 
 juch inhabitant or inhabitants as aforesaid, or not brenlarff^ 
 paving taken such oath of allegiance, who by any ***’ 
 
xxii 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 order or orders so delivered to him, her, or them, 
 is or are required to depart this province within a 
 time limited by that order, should, by sickness or 
 other impediment, be prevented from paying due 
 obedience to the same, it shall and may be lawful 
 
 If after 
 security 
 given, per- 
 sons give 
 cause to 
 suspect, 
 &c. 
 
 for the person or persons who hath or have issued 
 such order or orders as aforesaid, or for any other 
 person or persons as aforesaid authorized by thisB 
 act so to do (the person or persons acting! 
 under the authority hereby given, being first sal 
 tisfied that such impediment by sickness, or otherl 
 wise, ought to be admitted as a reason for sucli: 
 order as aforesaid not having been obeyed), by an 
 indorsement in writing upon the said order o; 
 orders, or otherwise in writing,' to enlarge the timei 
 specified in the said order, or orders, from timetol 
 time, as occasion may require ; and if any persoif 
 or persons so having been required or ordered ti 
 quit this Province as aforesaid, and not having ob 
 tained an enlargement of such time, in manna 
 herein before specified, shall be found at largi 
 therein, or return thereunto, after the time limito 
 by any or either of such orders, without licenc( 
 from the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or per- 
 son administering the government for the tim« 
 being in that behalf, or in case any person or per- 
 sons who shall have been served with any or either 
 
GENERAL INTHODUCTION. 
 
 xxni 
 
 of such order or orders as aforesaid, or who shall 
 have been permitted to remain in this Province, 
 upon such security as aforesaid, shall by words, 
 actions, or otherwise, endeavour, or give just 
 cause to suspect, that he, she, or they, is or are 
 about to endeavour to alienate the minds of his 
 Majesty’s subjects of this Province from his person 
 or government, or in anywise with a seditious 
 intent to disturb the tranquillity thereof, it shall 
 and may be lawful for any one or more of the said 
 person or persons so authorized by this act as 
 aforesaid ; and he and they is and are hereby re- 
 quired by warrant or warrants under his or their 
 hand and seal, or hands and seals, to commit such 
 person or persons so remaining at large or returning 
 into this Province without such licence as afore- 
 said, or so endeavouring or giving cause to suspect 
 that he, she, or they, is or are about to endeavour 
 so to alienate the minds of his Majesty’s subjects 
 of this Province, or in anywise with a seditious 
 intent to disturb the tranquillity thereof, to the com- 
 mon jail, or to the custody of the Sheriff of the 
 district, in such districts in which there shall be 
 no jail at that time, there to remain, without bail 
 or mainprize, unless delivered therefrom by special 
 order from the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or 
 person administering the government for the time 
 
 
Xxit 
 
 Punish- 
 ment if 
 convicted. 
 
 
 general introduction. 
 being, until he, she, or they can be prosecuted for 
 such offence in his- Majesty’s Court of King’s 
 Bench, or of Oyer and Terminer and general jail 
 delivery in this province, or under any special 
 commission of Oyer and Terminer to be issued by 
 the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person ad- 
 ministering the government of this Province for the 
 time being ; and if such person or persons, not 
 being such inhabitant or inhabitants as aforesaid, 
 or not having taken such oath of allegiance, shall 
 be duly convicted of any of the offences herein- 
 before described, in either of the said courts respec- 
 tively, he, she, or they shall be adjudged by such 
 court forthwith to depart this Province, or to be 
 imprisoned in the common jail, or be delivered 
 over to the custody of the sheriff in such districts 
 in which there shall be no jail at that time, for a 
 time to be limited by such judgment, and at the 
 expiration of that time, to depart this Province; 
 and if such person or persons so convicted as 
 aforesaid, shall remain in this Province, or return 
 thereinto, after the expiration of the time to be 
 limited by the said judgment, without licence 
 from the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person 
 administering the government for the time being, 
 in that behalf first had and obtained, such person 
 or persons, on being duly convicted of so remain- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XTV 
 
 I itig or returning, before either of the said courts, 
 
 ' shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer 
 death as a felon, without benefit of clergy. Pro- 
 vided always, that if, in the execution of the 
 powers hereby given, any question shall arise, 
 f touching or concerning the space of time during 
 i which any person or persons shall have been an 
 If inhabitant or inhabitants of this Province, previous 
 i to any warrant or warrants having been issued 
 hi against him, her, or them, or touching or concern- 
 
 i ing the fact of any person or persons having taken 
 K such oath of allegiance, the proof shall, in all 
 ( such cases, lay on the party or parties against 
 ) whom any such warrant or warrants shall, in virtue 
 jt of the powers hereby given, have been granted or 
 lit issued. 
 
 ii in. And he if further enacted, hy the authority 
 ti aforesaid, That if any person or persons, at any 
 f time shall be sued or prosecuted for any thing by 
 ji him or them done in pursuance, or by colour of 
 f this act, or of any matter or thing therein contained, 
 jl such action or prosecution shall be commenced 
 g within three calendar months next after the offence 
 ^ shall have been committed, and such person or 
 g persons may plead the general issue, and give the 
 j, special matter in evidence for his, her, or their de- 
 t fence, and if, upon trial, a verdict shall pass for the 
 
 Proof to 
 lay on the 
 person 
 charg’ed* 
 
 If any 
 person su- 
 iii" under 
 colour of 
 this act 
 become 
 non-suit- 
 ed, ^c. 
 
XXV! 
 
 GENERAL INTRODrCTlON. 
 
 defendant or defendants, or the plaintiff or plain- 
 tiffs shall become non-suited, or shall discontinue 
 his, her, or their suit, or prosecution, or if judgment 
 be given for the defendant or defendants, upon de- 
 murrer or otherwise, such defendant or defendants 
 Treble shall have treble costs to him or them awarded, 
 against the plaintiff or plaintiffs. ^ 
 
 I 
 
 ORDER OF COMMITMENT. 
 
 Georye the Thirds by the Grace of God of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 King, Defender of the Faith, ^c. To our She- 
 riff of the District of Niagara, Keeper of the 
 Jail therein, or to the Jailor thereof, greeting. 
 
 ■.S- 
 
 WnEREAS.by anact of the Provincial Parliament 
 
 of Upper Canada, passed in the forty-fourth year 
 of our reign, intituled, “ An Act for the better se- 
 curing this Province against all seditious Attempts 
 or Designs to disturb the tranquillity thereof,” 
 it is enacted that — [here that part of the act recited 
 which is printed above in italics.'] 
 
 And, w'hereas, we, William Claus and William 
 Dickson, each a member of our Legislative Coun- 
 cil, of the said province of Upper Canada, duly 
 authorized in and by virtue of the said act, did, on 
 the information and complaint of Isaac Swayze, 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXVii 
 
 one of the members of the House of Assembly, 
 on oath made before the said William Dickson, 
 that one Robert Gourlay, now in the town of 
 Niagara, in the County of Lincoln, in said Pro- 
 vince, who, the said Isaac Swayze believes to have 
 no particular or fixed place of residence, is an evil- 
 minded and seditious person, and that the public 
 tranquillity of said Province may be endangered by 
 the unrestrained residence of such a person, and 
 that the said Robert Gourlay, by w'ords, actions, 
 writings, and other behaviour, hath endeavoured, 
 and is endeavouring to alienate the minds of our 
 subjects in this Province from our person and 
 government, and that the said Robert Gourlay, if 
 in his power, from his language, words, and writ- 
 ings, is endeavouring to raise a rebellion against 
 our government in this Province, and that Isaac 
 Swayze verily believes that the said Robert Gour- 
 lay has not been an inhabitant for six months pre- 
 ceding the date of said information, and had not, 
 at the time of said information, taken the oath of 
 allegiance to us : and, whereas, a warrant was grant- 
 ed and tested in the name of the said William Dick- 
 son and William Claus, dated the 19th day of 
 December, now last past, and directed to the She- 
 riff of our district of Niagara, requiring him to 
 arrest the said Robert Gourlay, to the end, that he 
 might be brought before the said William Dickson 
 and M illiam Claus, or either of them ; and, whereas, 
 the said Robert Gourlay was accordingly brought 
 up before the said William Dickson and William 
 
XXViii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Claus, on the 21st day of December, now last 
 past, and being examined, touching the said infor- 
 mation, and of and concerning his words, actions, 
 conduct, and behaviour ; he did not give tuU 
 and complete satisfaction to the said William 
 Dickson and the said William Claus, that his 
 words, actions, conduct, and behaviour had no 
 such tendency ; on the contrary, that these were 
 intended to promote disaffection to our person and 
 government ; and having given no satisfactory 
 proof that he has been an inhabitant of the said 
 Province for the space of six months preceding the 
 date of such warrant, nor did he prove that he had 
 taken the oath of allegiance to us, as by the said 
 act is mentioned ; and, whereas, the said William 
 Dickson and William Claus did thereupon deem 
 it inexpedient, under the provisions of the said act, 
 that the said Robert Gourlay should be permitted 
 to remain in this Province; and did adjudge that 
 the said Robert Gourlay should depart this Pro- 
 vince of Upper Canada, on or before the first day of 
 January next ensuing thereof, and he was required 
 so to depart this Province, by an order in writing 
 to that effect, and personally delivered to him, at 
 the Court House for said district, on the said 21st 
 day of December, now last past. 
 
 And, whereas, information hath been given, 
 that the said Robert Gourlay hath not departed 
 this Province on or before the 1st day of January 
 instant, the time limited in the said order in writ- 
 ing, but still abides and is at large therein. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Xxlx 
 
 Tfjese are, therefore, in pursuance of the said 
 before recited act, to authorize and require you, if 
 the said Robert Gourlay shall be found at large in 
 your district, to commit him to the common jail 
 thereof, there to remain without bail or main* 
 prize, unless delivered therefrom, as the said act 
 directs. 
 
 Witness, William Claus and William Dickson, 
 Legislative Councillors as aforesaid, under the 
 hand and seal of each, this fourth day of January, 
 in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hun- 
 dred and nineteen, and of our reign, the fifty- 
 ninth. 
 
 (Signed) WILLIAM DICKSON, 
 WILLIAM CLAUS. 
 
 SKETCH OF A PETITION 
 
 To the Honourable the Commons of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in 
 PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED*. 
 
 THE PETITION OF ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 HUMBLY SHEWETU, 
 
 That your Petitioner is a native of the parish of 
 Ceres, (and) in the county of Fife (North Britain), 
 IN SCOTLAND, and thence conceives himself en- 
 
 • The words printed in capitals were added, those in small 
 type, and enclosed in a circumflex, were omitted in the real peti- 
 tion. 
 
XXX general introduction. 
 
 titled to all the constitutional privileges of a Bri- 
 tish subject. 
 
 That your Petitioner was born to the inheritance 
 of considerable landed estates, and did entertain, 
 till the year 1815, fair hopes of independent for- 
 I — that then, in the 38th yearot his age, being 
 married, and having five children, he found him- 
 self, by causes which he could neither foresee nor 
 prevent, sunk into a state of precarious depend- 
 ence: — that, after more than a year’s reflection, he 
 resolved to visit Upper Canada, where he had some 
 landed property and many friends, to ascertain 
 whether he might not, with propriety, remove his 
 family thither: — that, after a few months residence 
 in that country, he (became enamoured of) W AS PLEAS- 
 ED WITH the natural excellence of its soil and 
 climate, — saw prospects of providing comfortably 
 for his family, and cherished schemes for render- 
 ing Upper Canada a comfortable refuge for the 
 redundant population of England : — that, to qualify 
 himself the better to represent at home the true 
 state of the province, he resolved to prolong his 
 stay, and by extended inquiry did greatly increase 
 his knowledge of the actual state of its affairs. 
 
 That he then discovered political restraints on 
 the prosperity of Upper Canada, which rendered 
 it altogether inferior to the United States as a place 
 of settlement, and such mismanagement on the 
 part of the executive government with regard 
 to emigrants from Britain, as blasted every hope, 
 unless (great) considerable changes could be 
 effected. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXxi 
 
 That his first intention, after being fully ap- 
 prized of these restraints and this mismanagement, 
 M'as to proceed home and state the truth to the 
 ministers of this country ; but, doubtful of his in. 
 dividual representation being listened to, he recom- 
 mended the inhabitants to petition their parliament 
 for inquiry into the state of the province, and for a 
 commission to go home with the result to the 
 Prince and Parliament of Britain : — that this mea- 
 sure was actually moved and carried in the As- 
 sembly, but a quarrel presently afterwards arising 
 between the different branches of the legislature, 
 parliament was hastily prorogued. 
 
 That, on this juncture, your Petitioner being 
 more and more convinced of the great necessity of 
 examination, addressed the inhabitants of the pro- 
 vince, and recommended them to raise a fund by 
 subscription, for the purpose of sending home a 
 petition to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, 
 to solicit the appointment of a commission from 
 England for that purpose. 
 
 That this proposal giving great offence to certain 
 persons in office, called down their resentment 
 upon your Petitioner, whom they caused to be 
 twice arrested, and tried upon charges of seditious 
 libel. 
 
 That your Petitioner, being twice honourably 
 acquitted, had then the fullest hope of succeeding 
 in his purpose, by offering to lay before the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, just arrived from England, his 
 view of what was essential to the prosperity of the 
 province, when, to his astonishment, a party in 
 
^CXXii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 power not only succeeded in exciting prejudices 
 in the mind of the Lieutenant-Governor against 
 your Petitioner, but wantonly libelled a great 
 portion of the inhabitants, and had a law enacted, 
 abridging public liberty, equally uncalled for, and 
 odious to the great body of the people. 
 
 That your Petitioner was after this on the point 
 of setting oflf for England when a conspiracy was 
 formed between three of his most notorious poli- 
 tical enemies to ruin his character, and pievent 
 his ever returning to Upper Canada, hor this 
 purpose they pretended that your Petitioner was 
 subject to a provincial statute, \a copy of which is 
 hereunto annexed^ which can only apply to aliens 
 and outlaws, and one of them scrupling not to 
 perjure himself to afford grounds for procedure, 
 they presented him with an order to quit the pro- 
 vince, upon his disobeying which they had him 
 arrested and committed to jail, \_lhe order being 
 hereunto amiexedJ\ 
 
 That your Petitioner, being thus situated, ap- 
 plied for liberation by writ of Habeas Corpus [the 
 whole process being hereunto annexed^ ; but, being 
 remanded to jail by the Chief Justice of the pro- 
 vince, was detained there for nearly eight months. 
 
 That your Petitioner in this melancholy [)redi- 
 cament, had still the hope of clearing his character 
 from the base imputations of his enemies by a fair 
 submission of their charges to the sense and feeling 
 of a jury ; and in the mean time having taken the 
 advice of Sir Arthur Piggott, and other lawyers of 
 eminence, as to the legality of his imprisonment. 
 
OENERAJL INTRODUCTIOX. 
 
 xxxiii 
 
 had their decided opinions that it was not legal— 
 that the Chief Justice of Upper Canada was wrong 
 in not having granted liberation, and that those 
 who had caused the arrest, were subject to an 
 action of damages for false imprisonment. 
 
 That, nevertheless, the hopes of your Petitioner 
 were completely blasted. Before the day of trial, 
 his body and mind were so weakened by confine- 
 ment and exasperation from cruel, unnecessary, 
 and unconstitutional treatment in jail, that, on 
 being brought into the fresh air of the court, his 
 whole ideas ran into confusion, and he lost all 
 control over his conduct. A trial was brought 
 on, not for any crime, but merely to determine the 
 fact, that your Petitioner had refused to leave the 
 province. To such a trial, under ordinary circum- 
 stances, your Petitioner would, undoubtedly, have 
 demurred. As it happened, he, altogether insen- 
 sible of consequences, suffered the trial to proceed 
 till a sentence of banishment was pronounced 
 against him by the same judge who detained him 
 in prison. 
 
 (Your Petitioner desires to make no appeal to feeling on this 
 occasion : neither is there any need for investigation into conduct. 
 He desires that no consideration may rest on the palpable and 
 vile pretence that your Petitioner had not been an inhabitant of 
 Upper Canada for six months, ^vhen it was notorious, that he had 
 resided there for more than double that period ; or, that he had 
 not taken the oath of allegiance, while at any moment of time he 
 would willingly have gone through that ceremony, had he consi- 
 dered it essential to constitutional protection. Your Petitioner 
 appeals to your Honourable House solely on the abstract question 
 of right, inherent in a native born Briton, to that protection with- 
 in his Majesty’s dominions, which the British people bargained 
 
 c 
 
I 
 
 general introduction. 
 
 sxxiv 
 
 i. .to cUta of Risk.., prior .0 .to .c«»ion of .to pro.oo. 
 
 family to the throne. , branches 
 
 v.„ „ooo.,.k,. 
 
 of the Legislature, passed an Act, Council and 
 
 his Majesty by and with the consent of Leg. 
 
 A,.™b„.o„.to I... P..itooerto. 
 
 .O .^.r P«o. Hoooor.k.. HOO. » 
 
 J;;.!. .to cJdi.o P.,to.non., 
 
 was imprisoned and banished. Your Honourable House by 
 perusal of this Act. will see that its application to an unta.Med 
 Ltish subject is by mere implication, 
 nourable House will determine. I' 
 
 be overturned by such a breath.-Your HonouraWe I^ou^e w 
 see that to make this Act applicable to an untainted B itish sub 
 iect not only must the sacred bond of natural alleg.ance, with 
 its mutual oLgations between the sovereign and subject, be con- 
 sled null and void, in Upper Canada, but that a mere - 
 ence must determine as to the ceremony of taking the oath of 
 allegiance within the province. Your Honourable House will s^ 
 
 Hnared«ctio ad «6sardu«i flies in the face of such con- 
 struction, for, were this act really applicable to British subjects, 
 no individual could, with safety, proceed from the mother ^oun- 
 try to the colony: that even a newly appointed governo g 
 be arrested and disgraced the moment he set his f^ m pp 
 Canada, or a whole army of British soldiers, destined for m de- 
 fence, be legally captured and imprisoned by a few pei^ure 
 unblushing villains. 
 
 Your Petitioner trusts that your Honourable House will not 
 only mark such monstrous absurdity, and set aside all question as 
 to ridiculous inference trenching on the boast and birthright o 
 Britons, but loudly declare, that, though, by express terms, an 
 untainted British subject had been made liable to this Act, yet 
 that no such Act could be held as constitutional and valid any more 
 
XXXV 
 
 general introduction. 
 
 than a Provincial Act. to make sale of Upper Canada to a foreign 
 power. Your Petitioner, therefore, intreats that your Honourable 
 
 House will take this subject into serious consideration: and shall 
 ever pray.)* 
 
 Your Petitioner has recounted these facts and 
 circumstances, not from any desire that your 
 Honourable House should interfere in matters of 
 judicial process, or correct the rigour of executive 
 tyranny towards an individual. ' Your Petitioner 
 IS now in the course of applying to his Majesty in 
 council, to take into consideration his particular 
 case,— to consult the law officers of the crown 
 thereupon, — to make inquiry into the cruel treat- 
 ment he received, and into the fact of his being 
 in that state which rendered him unfit to stand 
 up in a court of justice as his own advocate, so 
 that he may again be suffered to return to Upper 
 Canada, there to support, fairly and manfully, his 
 character, his principles, and opinions Your 
 Petitioner comes before your Honourable House 
 on public grounds alone, and pleads that the mere 
 abstract consideration of the annexed provincial 
 statute, taking it as intended to apply to unattainted 
 British subjects, and as it has in your Petitioner’s 
 case been applied, affords sufficient cause for in- 
 quiry on the part of your Honourable House into 
 the state of Upper Canada. 
 
 * The above, printed in small type, stood in the original cir- 
 cular as the continuation and conclusion of the first sketch 
 Petition. A second draught was made out with additions; 
 and what was struck out of that draught, is printed in small type, 
 
 *0 that the real Petition presented by Sir James Mackintosh to 
 the House of Commons 12th July, 1820, reads from beginning to 
 cod in large type. 
 
O' 
 
 general introduction. 
 
 and assembly, to make I 
 of Upper Canada, during 
 Act; but your Petition 
 tKo ;nt<:>ntion of this 
 
 constitution, n w»s 
 
 Act; out you* — 
 
 ;nt^.ntion of this temporary act, to confer 
 
 Hie clear intention of that 
 
 act to convey to the people of Upper Canada, as 
 near as circumstances would permit, the constitu- 
 tion of Britain both in form and spirit. The re- 
 corded debates of Parliament, on passing the 
 Quebec Bill, bear ample testimony of this; 
 and General Simcoe, when he opened the first 
 Parliament of Upper Canada, in his capacity of 
 Lieutenant-Governor of that province, expressly 
 declared, that ‘ the constitution then granted, was 
 the very image and transcript of the British con- 
 
 stiiution^ 
 
 (Let it be supposed for a moment that a Bill was brought into 
 your Honourable House, to enact a law by which on mere alle 
 gation any subject of his Majesty might be deprived of his right 
 of habeas corpus, imprisoned, and ultimately banished from his 
 native country, without a tinge of crime, what would be said? 
 or, were it really enacted, what might not be done? Surely there 
 would be an end to the constitution, and the social compact might 
 be broken up. But if the Imperial Parliament could not go so 
 far -if by such an attempt the mass of the people would be 
 entitled to interfere, and reorganize the constitution, there can be 
 
GENERAL, INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xxxvii 
 
 no doubt that a subordinate legislature could not do so ; or, if 
 doing so, ought immediately to be checked by the superior 
 power. 
 
 Your Petitioner is aware that in some parts of his Majesty’s 
 dominions very arbitrary measures are resorted to by the execu- 
 tive, in thrusting out even British subjects without even alleged or 
 convicted crime ; but these dominions have no free and settled 
 constitution, and they are held for very different purposes than 
 the Canadian provinces. They have been dedicated to special 
 purposes to the u.se and benefit of trading companies, and to 
 the ensuring of monopolies deemed necessary for increasing the 
 store of national wealth. In these dominions the power per- 
 mitted and used may be compared to that which individuals 
 possess of excluding others from their dwelling-houses and work- 
 shops; but in his Majesty’s Canadian dominions, neither neces- 
 sity nor policy demand such licence; nay, it is the very reverse: 
 there, population is the stable of the land : the settlement of 
 British subjects, there, constitutes the strength and value of do- 
 minion, and their free ingress and egress must alone insure to 
 his Majesty the sovereignty of that quarter of the world.) 
 
 At the present moment, when emigration from 
 this country is at all hands allowed to be essential 
 to relieve distress, how mischievous must be even 
 the report that a native born British subject may 
 be arrested, detained long in prison, and banished 
 from Upper Canada without the shadow of crime, 
 the moment he sets foot on its soil ; surely your 
 Honourable House will see the propriety of coun- 
 teracting the effect of such report, to which the 
 undue triumph of erring power, over an individual, 
 has given credit and strength. 
 
 (Surely, for the public good, your Honourable House may de- 
 clare by resolution and address, that British emigrants are not 
 subject to the provincial statute in question ; — that it can affect 
 only aliens and outlaws ; and, in its tenor regards local, not na- 
 
XXXViii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tural allegiance. Such declared construction of the statute 
 would free the provincial legislature from the reproach of having 
 encroached on constitutional principle, and give confidence to 
 people of this country, who are contemplating a removal to the 
 province of Upper Canada, of all His Majesty’s foreign posses- 
 sions the most capable of receiving an increase of inhabitants with 
 comfort to the individuals, and advantage to the nation. Your 
 Petitioner further pleads that there is urgent cause for inquiry into 
 the state of Upper Canada, on other grounds than those above set 
 forth.) 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this ses- 
 sion told your Honourable House, that, “ the 
 North American Provinces of Great Britain had 
 been so overloaded with emigrants, that the go- 
 vernment of Canada had made the strongest re- 
 monstrances to this government on the subject. 
 Your Petitioner, residing and travelling in Upper 
 Canada for two years, had sufficient opportunities 
 of observing how the country came to be over- 
 loaded with emigrants, and how many of the 
 emigrants suffered misery. It arose from misma- 
 nagement, want of contrivance, and, perhaps, want 
 of knowledge on the part of those who had the 
 direction of affairs. Your Petitioner states this 
 freely and firmly, as he feels it his duty to do ; 
 and he is willing, at the bar of your Honourable 
 House, or elsewhere, to set forth practicable plans, 
 by which ten times the number of people who 
 have ever, in one year, emigrated to Canada, may 
 be annually transported thither, and comfortably 
 settled. 
 
 Your Petitioner therefore humbly entreats that 
 the state of Upper Canada, as it concerns emigra- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXXix 
 
 tion, may be taken into the serious consideration 
 of your Honourable House. 
 
 And, as in duty bound, will ever pray, 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 NOTE.— The following extracts from Sir Michael Forster^ a 
 Crown Law, are to the point, while investigating the legal and 
 constitutional construction of the above provincial statute. Tney 
 will shew that the act refers to local not natural allegiance, and 
 therefore cannot affect a natural born subject. Page 60 , 3d edi- 
 tion— “ It is not in the power of any private subject to shake off 
 his allegiance and to transfer it to a foreign Prince. Nor is it in 
 the power of any foreign Prince, by naturalizing or employing a 
 subject of Great BHtain, to dissolve the bond of allegiance be- 
 tween that subject and the crown.” 
 
 Page 183 . “ With regard to natural-born subjects there can 
 
 be no doubt. They owe allegiance to the Crown at all times and 
 in all places. This is what we call natural allegiance in contra- 
 distinction to that which is local. The duty of allegiance, whe- 
 ther natural or local, is founded in the relation the person standeth 
 in to the Crown, and in the privileges he deriveth from that rela- 
 tion. Local allegiance is founded in the protection a foreigner 
 enjoyeth for his person, his family, or effects, during his residence 
 here; and it ceaseth whenever he withdraweth with his family 
 and effects. Natural allegiance is founded in the relation every 
 man standeth in to the Crown, considered as the head of that 
 society whereof he is bom a member ; and on the peculiar privi- 
 leges he deriveth from that relation, which are, with great pro- 
 priety, .called his birthright. This birthright nothing but his own 
 demerit can deprive him of : it is indefeasible and perpetual ; and, 
 consequently, the duty of allegiance, which ariseth out of it, and 
 13 inseparably connected with it, is, in consideration of law, 
 likewise unalienable and perpetual.” 
 
 Page 188. “ Protection and allegiance are reciprocal obliga* 
 
 lions.” 
 

 xl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PROCESS TO PROCURE ENLARGE- 
 MENT. 
 
 To the Honourable William Dummer P owell, Chief 
 Justice of the Court of Kinfs Bench of Upper 
 Canada, and the rest of the Justices of the said 
 Court, or any one of them. 
 
 THE PETITION OF ROBERT GOURLAY, Esq. 
 
 Humbly Sheweth, 
 
 That your Petitioner is now a prisoner in the 
 Jail of Niagara District, by virtue of a warrant of 
 Commitment, whereof a copy is annexed. 
 
 That your Petitioner, humbly apprehending he 
 is not a person of that description against whom 
 such warrant can legally be issued, as he believes 
 will fully appear from the affidavits annexed, and, 
 inasmuch as he has not heretofore been called upon, 
 or had an opportunity of shewing the fact, prays 
 for a writ of Habeas Corpus, and, as bound in duty, 
 will pray. 
 
 Dated at the Jail of Niagara, the 13 th day of 
 January, 1819. 
 
 (Signed) Robert Gourlay. 
 
 Witness, Wm. Kerr, 
 
 John Moffat. 3 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 xli 
 
 AFFIDAVITS. 
 
 Districtof\ Peter Hamilton, of the township 
 A^i«9«m,> of Niagara, in the province of Upper 
 viz. Canada, maketh Oath and saith, that 
 he hath seen Robert Gourlay, Esq, lately in 
 the Jail of this district, and that he knew the same 
 person and his connexions and friends heretofore 
 in Britain ; and that he was there respected, es- 
 teemed, and taken to be a Britis'i subject ; and 
 that he is so this Deponent verily believes is no- 
 toriously true in this district. 
 
 (Signed) P. H. Hamilton. 
 Sworn before me, the 9th 
 day of Jan. 1819. 
 
 Alex. Hamilton, J. P. 
 
 Ntfigm'a\ Robert Gourlay maketh Oath and 
 District^ saith, that he is, by birth, a British sub- 
 ^ ject, that he hath taken the Oath of 
 Allegiance to our Lord the present King of Great 
 Britain, and that he has been an inhabitant of the 
 province of Upper Canada now more than a year 
 preceding the date of the wtirrant first issued 
 against him by the Hon. William Dickson and 
 William Claus, Esq. and referred to in that, 
 whereof a copy is annexed. 
 
 (Signed) Robi’.rt Gourlay. 
 Sworn before me, this ISth 
 day of Jan. 1819. 
 
 (Signed) Wm.J.Kerr,J.P. 
 
u 
 
 xiii 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 District of^ Robert Hamilton, of Queenstou 
 Niagara, > in said district, Esq. maketh Oath 
 viz. / and saith, that Robert Gourlay, Esq. 
 who is now confined in the Jail of this dis- 
 trict, has been domiciliated at Queenston, in 
 the province of Upper Canada, more than nine 
 months next preceding the date of this deposition ; 
 and this Deponent further maketh Oath and saith, 
 that he hath always understood and verily believes 
 the said Robert Gourlay to be a natural born sub- 
 ject of Great Britain. 
 
 (Signed) Robert Hamilton. 
 
 Sworn before me, this 12th day 
 of Jan. 1819. 
 
 (Signed) James Kerby, J. P. 
 
 WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS. 
 
 George the Third, by the 
 
 Upper Canada, I Grace of God, of the United 
 Home District, > Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 
 Ireland, King, Defender of the 
 Faith, &c. 
 
 to wit. 
 
 To the keeper of our Jail of Niagara greeting. — 
 We command you that you have the body of 
 Robert Gourlay, Esq. detained in prison under your 
 custody as it is said under safe and secure conduct, 
 together with the day and cause of his being taken 
 and detained by w hatsoever name he may be called 
 in the same, be;fore the Hon. Wm. Dummer 
 Powell, our Chief Justice of our Province aforesaid. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xliii 
 
 at his Chambers, in York, in the Home District 
 of our said Province immediately after the receipt 
 of this Writ, to do, submit, and receive all and 
 singular those things which our Chief Justice shall 
 then and there consider of him in this behalf, and 
 have then there this Writ. — Witness, the Hon. 
 Dummer . Powell, our Chief Justice aforesaid, 
 at York, the twentieth day of January, in the filty- 
 ninth year of our reign. 
 
 Per statutiim tricesimo primo Caroli Secundi regis. 
 (Signed) Wm. Dummer Powell, C. J. 
 
 REMAND. 
 
 (^Indorsed on the back of the above Writ.) 
 
 The within-named Robert Gourlay being brought 
 before me, at my chambers, at York, required to 
 be admitted to bail*, as not being a person subject 
 to the provisions of the Act of his Majesty, chap. 
 I.; and the warrant of commitment appearing to 
 be regular, according to the provisions of the Act 
 which does not authorize bail or mainprize, the 
 said Robert Gourlay is hereby remanded to the 
 custody of the sheriff of the district of Niagara, 
 and the keeper of the Jail therein, conformable to 
 the said warrant of commitment. 
 
 (Signed) Wm. Dummer Powell, C. J. 
 
 Yorky 8lh February, 1819. 
 
 * This is not correct. The process was managed by an at- 
 torney, and was, verbatim, as above. I made no request to be 
 admitted to bail. 
 
To His Most Excellent Majesty GEORGE the 
 Fourth, Sovereign of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, Sfc. SfC. ^c. in 
 Council. 
 
 THE PETITION OF ROBERT GOURLAY, Esq. 
 
 Humbly Sheweth, 
 
 That your Petitioner is a native-born British 
 subject ; and did, more than twenty years ago, 
 receive from his late Majesty a commission to 
 act as captain of volunteers, the confidence in- 
 dicated by which he never betrayed ; neither has 
 he ever been tainted by conviction of crime. 
 
 That, nevertheless, your Petitioner being in 
 Upper Canada, in the month of December, 1818, 
 was served with an Order to depart that Province, 
 upon refusing to obey which, he was committed 
 to jail by a second Order, issued by the same per- 
 sons, under colour of a statute of the Provincial 
 Parliament ( a copy of which, with the Order, 
 being hereunto annexed ). 
 
 That your Petitioner applied to the Chief Jus- 
 tice of Upper Canada, by Writ of Habeas Corpus, 
 for enlargement, but was remanded to jail, and 
 detained there for nearly eight months (the Process 
 being hereunto annexed) : That, at the end of this 
 period, he was so weakened by confinement, and 
 
 3 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xlv 
 
 SO exasperated by cruel treatment, being, for some 
 time denied free conversation not only with friends, 
 but magistrates of his acquaintance, and attorneys 
 employed to transact his law business, that he 
 suffered a trial to be brought on merely as to the 
 fact of his having refused to leave the Province, 
 which fact being established, he was banished by 
 the same judge who had detained him in prison, 
 and was obliged to take refuge in the United 
 States of America, twenty-four hours after the 
 sentence was pronounced. 
 
 That your Petitioner has now come home for the 
 express purpose of submitting his case to your 
 Majesty and the Imperial Parliament, trusting that 
 due inquiry will be instituted, and that the con- 
 stitutional rights of a British subject will be main- 
 tained. 
 
 Your Petitioner believes, that, upon inquiiy, 
 your Majesty will find that the Provincial Statute, 
 under colour of which your Petitioner was im- 
 prisoned and banished, never was meant to apply 
 to untainted British subjects ; but, in fact, was 
 framed with a view to exclude from Upper Ca- 
 nada certain outlawed and expatriated persons, 
 who fled, or were allowed to depart from Ireland, 
 after the rebellions of 1798 and 1803. 
 
 Your Petitioner is assured that, on the first 
 blush, your Majesty must be impressed with hor- 
 ror at the idea that an untainted British subject, 
 confiding in innocence, and proud of his constitu- 
 tional privileges, should be immured in jail upon 
 the mere oath of an individual, and at last be 
 
xlvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 thrust out of your Majesty’s dominions into a fo- 
 reign land, without even the shadow of crime being 
 proved against him. 
 
 But your Petitioner is still more assured that, 
 setting aside all regard to natural justice — all re- 
 gard to expediency, or any construction which 
 can be put on the Provincial Statute, that, that 
 Statute cannot possibly be applied to an untainted 
 British subject, without encroaching on those 
 sacred principles established at the revolution, 
 which placed your Majesty’s family on the Bri- 
 tish throne, without weakening the sacred bond 
 of natural allegiance, and exposing to ridicule the 
 rallying words of American loyalists — “ The Unity 
 of the Empire.^' 
 
 Your Petitioner cannot avoid taking opportu- 
 nity, on this occasion, to protest against attempts 
 which have been made to make your Majesty be- 
 lieve that a disloyal and seditious spirit prevails 
 among the people of Upper Canada. Your Peti- 
 tioner, during a residence of nearly two years in 
 that Province, had better opportunities of ascer- 
 taining facts upon this subject, than any other 
 person, and most solemnly declares that he never 
 could perceive the slightest symptom of such a 
 spirit. With regard to your Petitioner, individu- 
 ally, who has been branded by a party in power 
 with the epithet of “ factious,” he can declare, 
 before God, and he does so declare, that his whole 
 conduct in Upper Canada was guided by senti- 
 ments and impulses of a nature the very reverse 
 from sedition. He beheld, in that Province, 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xlvii 
 
 public mismanagement stalking abroad, — rendering 
 abortive the most abundant offerings of nature, 
 and trampling down the best blessings of a liberal 
 and free constitution. He found weakness going 
 out in aid of mismanagement, and giving birth to 
 events which, accumulating, cannot fail to en- 
 danger the dominion of your Majesty in that quar- 
 ter of the world. He deplored this tendency. He 
 saw simple means by which Britain and Canada 
 could be indissolubly bound together for mutual 
 benefit. He was zealous, — he was enthusiastic in 
 the cause ; and, though now suffering most bit- 
 terly from the effects of injustice and persecution, 
 would exert his last breath in calling attention to 
 this subject. 
 
 He, now, therefore, most earnestly solicits that 
 your Majesty may be graciously pleased to order 
 the law officers of the crown to consult, and report 
 as to the liability of British subjects to be impri- 
 soned in and banished from Upper Canada, as your 
 Petitioner has been; and that your Majesty, in 
 council, will take into consideration the whole 
 state of that province. 
 
 And your Petitioner, as in duty bound, 
 shall ever pray. 
 
 1 do not know that my book could be introduced 
 better than by the above circular. It comes 
 briskly upon the ground ; and, here, we find one 
 member of parliament proclaiming “ the distress 
 
Xlviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of the country;' and suggesting as a remedy, “ an 
 emigration to our colonies in North America; 
 while another states how “ extremely anxious the 
 people were to emigrate;" but that “ they were 
 destitute of means." The Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer declares, that “ his majesty's ministers 
 were disposed to adopt every measure which could 
 really contribute to the relief of the distresses of the 
 labouring classes;" but states, that “ the North 
 American colonies had been so overloaded with emi- 
 grants, that the government of Canada had made 
 the strongest remonstrances on the subject. He was 
 not prepared to submit a plan, but said it would be 
 wise to wait for some account of the progress of the 
 colony at the Cape of Good Hope. I then step 
 in, and assert, that, “ by proper management, even 
 people destitute of means could be comfortably settled 
 in Upper Canada ;" and, by a formal and solemn 
 declaration, in a petition presented to the House of 
 Commons, undertake to “ set forth practicable 
 plans, by which ten times the number of people who 
 have ever, in one year, emigrated to Canada, may 
 be annually transported thither, and comfortably 
 settled.'* 
 
 This is my position, and it is this which the 
 present work contemplates to maintain. 
 
 More than three years of my life have been 
 devoted to this subject. My fortune, my character, 
 my health, have suffered in the cause ; and all that 
 I now want is a patient hearing from the British 
 public. My book is not one of amusement. Bu- 
 siness is its aim ; and that business surely of the 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xlix 
 
 most pressing import. All parties allow that emi* 
 gration is one way by which distress may be miti- 
 gated ; but a specific plan is wanted for rendering 
 it practicable on a great scale, which will not put 
 the country to expence. My plan affects to ac- 
 complish this even with a profit to the country. 
 
 As the CIRCULAR was not intended for its pre- 
 sent use, — as it narrates some of my proceedings, 
 and so far discloses my situation, but does not 
 complete what is now necessary,— as the lapse of 
 time has given rise to remarks and reflections, — as 
 various occurrences have happened, but, above all, 
 that extraordinary one which has arrested the at- 
 tention of the whole Avorld, and deafened the ear 
 of this country to every other subject, — I trust the 
 reader will be indulgent while I bring up iny nar- 
 rative, illustrate and explain what may be doubt- 
 ful, or is imperfect, and add what may be necessary 
 to a full and clear understanding of the nature and 
 object of this work. 
 
 I left Edinburgh the 2d June, trusting that my 
 petitions to Parliament and to the King in coun- 
 cil, being presented, and this volume published, I 
 might return to Scotland in a month at farthest. 
 On the 6th, being put down at my accustomed 
 lodging-house, in Bouverie-street, the first words of 
 my landlord were “ the Queen, sir, has landed at 
 Dover, and is expected in town this evening.” 
 A few days were wasted in anxious expectation 
 that the royal quarrel would be prudentially settled ; 
 but every day lessening the hope of this, I resolved 
 to economize, by taking a private room in the 
 
 d 
 
u 
 
 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 suburbs, and sit down with patience, till the issue 
 of the mighty contest. Four months having gone 
 by, I still sit in patience ; for why should any one 
 fret, when the whole nation is subjected to the same 
 calamity? Calamity! No: let us think better ot the 
 ways of Providence, under which, if we resolutely 
 strive to do our parts well, good will invariably 
 follow. My persecutions — my trials — my most 
 grievous fate, never would have called attention to 
 the cruel, the filthy, the unrelenting conduct of 
 wicked ministry, — to the horrid system of combi- 
 nation, falsehood, treachery, whicn old established 
 power has generated, — to the sickening, heart-rend- 
 ing, humiliating degradation of humanity, had not 
 common sense, prudence, decency, feeling, Justice, 
 honour, religion, been all sacrificed for vengeance 
 against the queen of England! Oh my country! 
 Oh my countrymen ! how blessed will be the 
 event, if cautious, peaceful, manly conduct takes 
 advantage of present experience — of present union 
 — of present superiority over power, and influence 
 more potent than power ! — if the respectable 
 people of this country hold together, and with one 
 voice call for inquiry, not merely into the mis- 
 management of a province, but into that of the 
 empire*. 
 
 * These two pages have, by accident, stood a month in type, 
 and were written immediately after the witnesses, who had sworn 
 to the most filthy slanders against the Queen, were proved wholly 
 unworthy of credit, when one important witness for her excul- 
 pation was let slip from Cotton-Garden, and others, still more es- 
 
GGNERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 li 
 
 During the last week of June, a copy of 
 the CIRCULAR was sent to every member of the 
 House of Commons, to a few newspaper editors, 
 and some friends. Not a single soul took notice 
 of it; not even Sir James Mackintosh, to whom I 
 had written a note, requesting to know if he would 
 present my petition to the house. On writing to 
 Sir James a second time, whose good offices I was 
 anxious to secure, from having long considered him 
 ourgreatest constitutional lawyer, and, from his being 
 
 sential, were prevented, by the influences of a foreign court, from 
 making their appearance. He who could be unmoved by such 
 foul play, or he who could vote against the Queen, thus clearly 
 the victim of audacious conspiracy, is surely not to be envied; and 
 that there were upwards of a hundred British peers who did so, 
 is a fact which will stand on the page of history, a striking proof 
 of human weakness, and of the power of an overgrown crown in- 
 fluence. Where shall we find better men than Lords Liverpool 
 and Eldon ? Probably no where. It is not the men, but the sys- 
 tem the blinding, infatuating system, which we should think of, 
 and strive to amend. But what are our politicians and reformers 
 going about? — their long accustomed drivelling for a cAnwge of 
 ministers, and getting up petitions for parliament to .reform itself! ! ! 
 all, too, without order, without method, without understanding! 
 
 I hope the reader will excuse these bursts of feeling. It is 
 nearly six months since I left Scotland, for a serious hearing on 
 a serious business ; but this day parliament is prorogued for two 
 months; and ministers seem determined to persevere in the per- 
 secution of a poor, woman, to whom nothing but persecution 
 would have gained notice, and whose frailties, though they had 
 been as flagrant as her enemies would have them, never could 
 have affected a single one of us. With opportunity, I could not 
 resist the desire to make a register of passing reflections on the 
 boding events of the day-— the awful signs of the time?. 
 
 d 2 
 
lit 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 well versed in colonial affairs, peculiarly qualified 
 for the business in question. He informed me 
 that my first letter had not reached him*, and 
 readily complied with my desire. On a personal 
 interview, I told Sir James that it was only for 
 form’s sake that I then wished the petition pre. 
 sented ; and, that this done, the business might be 
 seriously taken up at a future day. 1 further men- 
 tioned that the inquiry sought for into the state of 
 Upper Canada did not so much regard any change 
 in the provincial constitution of government, as 
 into the state of property, and system of managing 
 it. The petition was presented to the Commons 
 
 * Not knowing that letters to members of parliament were 
 equally free of postage at 5 miles distance as 500, I put mine 
 into the General Post-office. About 50 of them were returned, 
 marked “ refused to pay the postage.^^ These I immediately re- 
 dispatched under cover, paid, through the Twopenny Post-office, 
 with an apology for my error. Fifteen were returned with a me- 
 morandum that the members could not be found. These I put 
 under a fresh cover, and carried to the office in the House of Com- 
 mons appointed to receive the letters of members. The keeper 
 made a charge of 15s. ; but on my refusal to pay, said he would 
 take 12s.: this, of course, I also refused, and then dispatched 
 them, paid, as the before-mentioned parcel through the Twopenny 
 Post-office, directed to the House of Commons. I presume this 
 discloses a practice which should not be, and may lead us to 
 guess how it happened that Sir James Mackintosh did not receive 
 my first letter. If office-keepers can make a shilling by ensuring 
 the delivery of a letter, no doubt they have an interest in inter- 
 cepting such as come into their hands without a bribe. Perhaps 
 even the letters which I post-paid, and directed, for Members, to 
 the House of Commons, may have been intercepted, for the pur- 
 pose of confirming the importance of underhand agency. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. liii 
 
 on the 11th July. As I observed, in the news- 
 paper reports of its presentation, expressions, 
 which, coming from such high authority as Sir 
 James Mackintosh, might not only give a wrong 
 impression to the public, but injure both my cause 
 in another quarter, and that of the public in this 
 question, I resolved to write to Sir James, and 
 know the truth, which happily proved very differ- 
 ent from the newspaper reports. That of St. 
 James's Chronicle, 12th July, appearing as correct 
 as any other, I chose it to lay before Sir James. 
 It run as follows : 
 
 Sir James Macintosh said, he held in his hand the 
 petition of R. Gourlay, a Scotch gentleman, who had gone 
 to Canada with a view of establishing himself there. The 
 substance of the petition was twofold : it contained a com- 
 plaint which was personal, and it described a public griev- 
 ance. It appeared that there was a provincial statute in 
 Upper Canada, which went somewhat further than the 
 Alien Bill, now in its progress through that House, and 
 upon the merits of which he certainly did not then mean to 
 enter. By this statute, every person, not already settled, 
 whether natural born or foreigner, was liable to be sent 
 out of the province, and was subject to penalties. The 
 petitioner stated, that from some injurious and calumnious 
 misrepresentations of his character, he had been brought 
 before the high court, and had sustained very serious 
 oppression. He (Sir J. Macintosh) did not think the 
 House competent, under such circumstances, to interfere 
 on the petitioner’s behalf; and the only question was, whe- 
 ther the law itself did not deserve the attention of parlia- 
 ment. The petition likewise stated that there were 
 various laws in the colony, especially with regard to 
 landed property, which operated very disadvantageously, 
 
liv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and rendered the colony very unfit to be what it was con- 
 sidered it ought to be— an asylum for emigrants from the 
 mother country. He would not pledge himself to the task, 
 but he thought it highly probable that he should call the 
 attention of the House to this subject in next session of 
 parliament. 
 
 The petition was then brought up, read, and ordered to 
 lie on the table. 
 
 Sir J, Macintosh then rose to move, that the petition 
 of Sir Henry Dorrington, presented by an honourable 
 friend of Lis on the lOth May last, be printed.” 
 
 Sir, 14^ a August 1820. 
 
 Ever since the report of your presenting my 
 petition to parliament appeared in the newspapers, 1 have 
 intended to write to you; but have waited till this moment, 
 when I hope your leisure can best spare attention to the 
 subject. 
 
 I have enclosed a newspaper report, which I conceive 
 to be correct. Some newspapers reported that ray petition 
 was ordered to be printed, but this, I presume, was a 
 mistake, from confcmnding my petition with that of Sir 
 Henry Dorrington, spoken of immediately after. 
 
 What I am anxious to be informed of is, whether tlie 
 words, “ By this statute every person not already settled, 
 whether natural born subject or foreigner, was liable to be 
 sent out of the province,’^ expressed your serious opinion 
 that the provincial statute was competent so to act against 
 a native born British suliject, or only that the decision 
 against me had given it that aspect. 
 
 Should you favour me with a reply, have the goodness to 
 return the slip of newspaper. 
 
 With much respect, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Robt. Gourlay. 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh. 
 
general introduction. 
 
 w 
 
 Iv 
 
 Mardocks, near Ware, Merit, 
 * ISth Aug. 1820. 
 
 Sir J. Mackintosh’s compliments to Mr. Goarlay ; has 
 received Mr. Gourlay’s letter of tlie 14th, at this place, 
 tills morning. 
 
 Sir J. did procure the petition to be printed. He gave 
 no opinion about the construction of the Canadian statute; 
 but merely stated the case as it stood on the allegations of 
 the government of Upper Canada, 
 
 This is perfectly satisfactory, and should do away 
 the impression which may have been made by the 
 20. newspaper reports. As stated above, the petition 
 ra was presented only for form’s sake ; and, as I trust, 
 
 (lafi the subject will, at a proper season, be seriously 
 
 agitated, it is gratifying to know that the step of 
 printing the petition was taken, and that, as yet, 
 the question rests wholly clear of prejudice. 
 
 ^ Besides this petition to the Commons, which 
 ^ was neatly engrossed on a sheet of vellum, by a 
 Ilf 5 law-stationer, and to which a copy of the Canadian 
 
 Sedition Act was attached by a binding of silk, 
 handsomely printed on a similar sheet; another, 
 etils only diflTering in its address, was prepared for the 
 !l»l House of Lords ; and I corresponded with Lord 
 P® Holland, as the peer most likely, in my opinion, 
 S’* to do it justice on presentation. 
 
 Lord Holland obligingly offered to present the 
 petition ; but informed me that it must be pasted, 
 and not stitched together, to be received by the 
 House of Lords ; and expressed his doubts w'hether 
 printed papers annexed are admitted, 
 iji The delay thus occasioned, the announced ad- 
 
u 
 
 Ivi 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 journment of the House, and some hints trom his 
 lordship, made me defer my purpose, which, how- 
 ever, when the'Queen’s business is settled, shall 
 
 be followed out. 
 
 Lord Holland has informed me that “ any inter- 
 ference, real or supposed, with the rights of a 
 British subject, by the laws of Upper Canada, is 
 certainly a fair subject of petition to parliament ; 
 as is also any act you can conceive to be oppressive 
 and unjust, and against which you have no other 
 means of redress. But the House will not enter- 
 tain any complaint from an individual, for which, 
 in the common course of law, he may seek re- 
 dress.” 
 
 The reader will observe, that, in my petition, 
 though I describe my treatment, &c. I waive all 
 consideration on my own account ; and merely 
 pray “ that the state of Upper Canada, as it con- 
 cerns emigration, may he taken into serious con- 
 sider ation.'' 
 
 With regard to my personal grievance, I have 
 employed a respectable solicitor to lay a memorial 
 before the King in council, and shall follow out 
 “ the common course of law" before I trouble par- 
 liament on that head. My solicitor gives me hope 
 that I may obtain a new trial, or otherwise be 
 relieved ; but still there is doubt, and should I, 
 after seeking redress, in the common course of law, 
 not find it, I hope my case will be “ a fair subject 
 of petition to parliament,’^ and that Lord Holland 
 will support me in the House of Lords. 
 
 On comihg up to town, I consulted a friend of 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ivu 
 
 high respectability at the bar, as to my proceeding. 
 He said I would have no chance of being heard, 
 unless a member of parliament could be found to 
 take a personal interest in the cause ; but I hope 
 that both Lord Holland and Sir James Mackintosh 
 may, after the present dread question about the 
 Queen is over, be disposed seriously to enter on 
 the subject upon pure abstract principles of duty, 
 whether it is for me as an individual, or the public. 
 In conversation, I quoted the trite maxim, that, 
 constitutionally, every wrong had its remedy}'' 
 but, said my learned friend, “ if there is no remedy, 
 there is no wrong." Now, holding, as I do, a just 
 respect for my friend’s judgment, I must boldly 
 set my face against such dogma, and shall think 
 my case peculiarly well calculated, should matters 
 come to an extreme, to lay the foundation for a 
 stout argument between the imperfection of law 
 process, and the invincible fortress of abstract truth 
 and justice. The nation does not contain other 
 two men equally pledged to stand by this fortress 
 as Lord Holland and Sir James Mackintosh — the 
 successor of Fox, and the author of Vindicite 
 Gallicee. 
 
 It has been too much our misfortune in times 
 past, that Parliament has shrunk from abstract and 
 constitutional questions ; but it is to be hoped that 
 times approach when the most rugged and deep 
 may be investigated ; nor can there be presented one 
 more inviting, more serious, and at the same time, 
 more simple, than that which springs from the 
 application of the Canadian Sedition Act to a 
 
iviil GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 British subject. In speculation it is interesting : 
 in practice it calls loudly for discussion and de- 
 cision. 
 
 Respecting the great public question to which 
 I have solicited the notice ot‘ parliament — the 
 question of inquiry into the state of Upper Canada, 
 as it concerns emigration, — that which should come 
 horaeto thebusiness and bosom of every benevolent 
 member of society who desires to contribute to the 
 relief of present distress ; — respecting this, the lapse 
 of time has afforded me no small encouragement to 
 persevere; and I hope that others will, from de- 
 termined events, be inclined to attach to my endea- 
 vours an increasing portion of importance. 
 
 Though 1 should have petitioned parliament 
 to take the state of Upper Canada into considera- 
 tion, merely to satisty my own mind, that no duty 
 on my part, was neglected to so grand a cause, and 
 in conformit}' with a declaration made to the people 
 of the province, that 1 would so act on my return 
 home, I certainly would not have been sanguine 
 of success, but from my hope that these endea- 
 vours would be backed by a commission from 
 Canada. Last April 1 sent out copies of my 
 STATEMENT, to be published in that country; and 
 I also sent out copies of my circular for the 
 same end, with a short address to the people, in- 
 forming them that I was steady to their cause; but 
 that little could be expected till their representa- 
 tives made a point ot sending home a commission 
 for inquiry. On my leaving the province I had 
 full hope that by the ensuing parliamentary elec- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. lix 
 
 tion, the wretched creatures who constituted last 
 assembly would be sent adrift; and since this 
 volume was put to press, London newspapers 
 (Statesman and Englishman) of the 6th and lOth 
 September, have published an extract from Quebec 
 and American prints, which will best satisfy my 
 readers, as to the true position of political strength 
 and opinion in Upper Canada, which will best con- 
 tradict a gross falsehood, which, among many others, 
 has been published in this country, as I have l>een 
 credil)ly informed, under the authority of the Lieu- 
 tenant (iovernor and Attorney General of the 
 province, tli>.t “ the number of his (my) followers 
 are reduced to a very few persons .’* 
 
 “ Canadian Affairs: — We learn that the 
 “ late election for Memhers of Parliament for 
 “ Upjyer Caneida, has terminated in the almost una- 
 “ nimous choice of persons who are the political 
 friends of Mr. Gonrlay. It would appear from 
 “ this, that the popular voice is against the admi- 
 “ nistration." 
 
 I his document should add some weight to the 
 importance of my present endeavours, — give addi- 
 tional interest to my book,— and satisfy Lord Hol- 
 land, and Sir James Mackintosh, that 1 have not 
 been trifling with their valuable time. 
 
 Although I am very confident that my friends, 
 now constituting the great majority in the Cana- 
 dian parliament, will not neglect mv advice, yet 
 with their best efforts they may not be able im- 
 mediately to send home the much desired commis- 
 sion. They have the power of withholding sup- 
 
Y 
 
 plies for public service, but they cannot raise any 
 without the concurrence of the Lieutenant Gover- 
 nor and Legislative Council; and their predecessors, 
 monstrous brutes! took from the people their 
 natural right of meeting, to raise a subscription 
 for sending home a petition to the throne. 
 
 By private correspondence, I have been inform- 
 ed of the desperate struggle made by the executive, 
 to prevail over my friends at the late election, 
 and they succeeded in some of the more benighted 
 districts, so as to get seven lawyers returned*; 
 who no doubt will confound reason, and retard 
 the progress of common sense with all their might : 
 still, sooner or later, the imperial parliament must 
 be consulted ; and I am sure it will serve no good 
 purpose whatever, for our home ministry either 
 to aid procrastination, or to oppose a full and fair 
 investigation. This book, I trust, will clear the 
 way, and sufficiently demonstrate not only the 
 need for investigation, but give a view of the 
 blessed consequences which may result from it. 
 
 Grossly and falsely as my proceedings in Upper 
 Canada have been misrepresented, no candid reader 
 will, I am sure, attribute bad motives to me, if he 
 patiently peruses the following pages. As to the 
 people of Upper Canada, they are loyal in the 
 extreme, and their desire to continue in connexion 
 with Britain, was verified by the free offering of 
 their properties and lives. If they choose, they 
 
w 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ixi 
 
 ly cannot be held for a moment in trammels. They 
 
 J- are not circumstanced as we are at home. Why 
 
 then should any thing like wanton contradiction 
 ej be opposed to their wishes ? — why should minis- 
 oj ters provoke to passion, when reason dictates for- 
 bearance, when necessity pleads for mild and libe- 
 ra. ral measures, and when the right hand of fellow- 
 
 ve, ship is held forth, — when nothing more is wanted 
 
 )ii, but inquiry, and nothing but the good of both 
 
 eJ countries could result from it? 
 
 *; Sir James Mackintosh has not pledged himself 
 
 ird to call the attention of parliament to the affairs of 
 
 It; Upper Canada, but he has said that it is highly pro- 
 
 ist hable he will, and he may depend upon it, that 
 
 d my local experience, and whatever else opportunity 
 
 ha has furnished me with, shall be at his service for 
 
 fas occasion. He may depend upon it that the 
 
 tlif subject has treasured within it a rich reward for 
 
 (h that man, whose love of doing good shall equal 
 
 llu a sufficiency ot talent to unfold and advance it to 
 
 t, notice. Fifty years ago, when the first misunder- 
 
 ^ standing between Britain and her American co- 
 
 ^ lonies began to grow serious, what a world of 
 
 'Ik mischief might have been prevented by timelv 
 
 ill notice, and by thorough investigation ! — seven years 
 
 ill war ! the loss of our fairest possession in the 
 
 .jdii west ! the disgrace of our arms ! — the engendering 
 
 rd of an age of rancour! Surely, if the conqueror in 
 
 1^1 war merits a triumph, benediction is due to the 
 
 peace-maker, — to him who prevents animosity, and 
 establishes a basis for harmony and Christian love. 
 *^his volume proceeds, the reader, I am con- 
 
Ixii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fident, will be more and more satisfied, that no wan- 
 ton or mischievous political interference, no little, 
 selfish interest has had any concern with my pro- 
 ceedings in Upper Canada, fie will find that I had 
 before me a vast scheme of practicable benevolence, 
 and that I have substantial grounds for my zeal,— 
 that my scheme, with the countenance of govern- 
 ment, may easily, effectually, and speedily be put 
 in execution, — that it would make good all that 
 I have said above,— that it would for ever bind 
 together Britain and her colonies. 
 
 My popular influence in Upper Canada could, 
 were I willing, be so directed as to give even un- 
 necessary trouble ; but every principle which 
 guides my conduct — every feeling which flows 
 from my heart, would be in arms against anything 
 of the kind. I care not a farthing for popular in- 
 fluence ; nay, by itself, I despise it, but as it may 
 invigorate the progress of virtue and civilization. 
 Saving a desire of having opportunity to maintain 
 my honour, which a vile conspiracy unfairly 
 deprived me of, and saving a wish to^force on, by 
 every honest endeavour, my scheme of benevolence, 
 I have little care about Canada. Indeed 1 repeat- 
 edly signified to the people there, that my chief 
 efforts were made, neither for them nor myself, 
 but for the poor of England ; and should govern- 
 ment adopt my plans, or what part of them the 
 liberal public shall approve, I am ready to stay 
 at home, or go abroad, as they may choose— to be 
 active or passive, just as may be required for the 
 general good. 
 
y 
 
 i^aa. 
 
 tik 
 
 pifr 
 
 k 
 
 DCt 
 
 Jr 
 
 eiii- 
 
 !|igi 
 
 tlm 
 
 biw! 
 
 uid 
 
 UD' 
 
 lid 
 
 OW! 
 
 [lii^ 
 
 rifr 
 
 ma; 
 
 tioi. 
 
 itaii 
 
 airlt 
 
 1)1? 
 
 tDce. 
 
 :bi« 
 
 sta' 
 
 jin 
 
 Ik 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ixiii 
 
 It grieves me exceedingly, that the strange and 
 luckless situation in which I have been placed, 
 has made it necessary to interlard my accounts 
 of Upper Canada, and strictures on its political 
 state, with any thing personal, as to myself or 
 others, but there is no help for it. A mass of 
 filth has been flmig in my way, and I must, in 
 duty, tread it down. However forced to digress, 
 however irregular my progress may appear, the 
 reader will still be able to perceive that my main 
 object is never left behind. 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh has questioned whether 
 the Canadian sedition act was not of itself an ob- 
 ject of parliamentary attention; and, I suggested 
 this to Sir James. I said, that the mere view of 
 that act, — of its monstrous features, afforded suffi- 
 cient ground for inquiry into the state of the pro- 
 vince. Its mere existence speaks volumes, as to 
 the spirit which has hitherto been at the bottom 
 of Canadian policy, and though it may now be 
 repealed, as I have heard it is, the very shade of 
 its departed villany is worthy of study, that the 
 future destinies of Upper Canada may be directed 
 for good. 
 
 It is worth while to inquire into the circum- 
 stances which produced such an act ; — what spirit 
 could so long sustain it in existence, and what 
 more vile spirit could apply it, contrary to every 
 constitutional principle, to a British subject ? 
 
 Can it be supposed that when such an act was 
 passed, there was a single Canadian representative 
 alive to his duty, or fitted for his post ? No : not 
 
 g 
 
Ixiv general introduction. 
 
 one. Had there been a single man among them 
 with eyes, or brains, or heart, at liberty, he would 
 have proclaimed to the country its hazard of 
 coming to disgrace by such enactment, even as 
 applicable to aliens. Though we know that pub- 
 lic spirit never would have permitted such filthy 
 legislation to be recorded at home, we have suffi- 
 cient evidence at the present time, of the dire 
 spirit of our ministry ; and there can be no doubt 
 but the provincial statute before us was framed m 
 the cabinet of London, and sent abioad to be 
 palmed on the poor sycophantish witlings of the 
 province, by some pawkie, well paid-politician, per- 
 haps trebly installed in power, with a seat in the 
 executive council, a seat in the legislative coun- 
 cil, and on the bench. Yes, yes, a provincial 
 judge pang-full of ministerial influence, and know- 
 ing in the secrets of his calling, was equal to such 
 a task ; and another, when occasion required, 
 could, easily, with the instrument of tyranny pre- 
 pared for him, with the aid of an unprincipled, 
 callous-hearted sheriff, and having the advantage of 
 pack’t, ignorant and spiritless juries, consummate 
 any degree of wickedness, — could ruin, by it, any 
 liege subject of the King, and put in disarray the 
 proudest boast of our constitution. 
 
 Had the Canadian representatives been simply 
 fools, — simply blind and heartless, they would not 
 have enacted such a law; but they were stupid, 
 and blind, and unfeeling, from their whole thoughts 
 being, under the system which controlled them, 
 intent only on self; and what else is it which, at 
 this very time, is moving on our ablest statesmen. 
 
ID 
 
 i 
 
 » 
 
 li 
 
 lb 
 
 il 
 
 lilt 
 
 i 
 
 lit 
 
 Ik 
 
 tbe 
 
 » 
 
 tk 
 
 lUD' 
 
 ici^ 
 
 tOK 
 
 iUfl 
 
 itei 
 
 f 
 
 ple^ 
 
 jed 
 
 c 
 
 0 l 
 
 ftk 
 
 dB 
 
 iifi 
 
 4 
 
 M 
 
 iijfi 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Jxv 
 
 oUr brightest orators, our noble peers, our grave 
 judges, and our right reverend bishops, in a course 
 of infatuation and madness, which no age ever 
 before witnessed ? Thank God, the prevailing sj)irit 
 of Englishmen, has revolted at the experience of 
 such awful proceedings, and ministerial power haSj 
 at the climax of its fury, broken down in weak- 
 ness! may we hope, in despair? Oh! let me again 
 exclaim, how blessed will be the event, if cau- 
 tious, peaceful, manly conduct takes advan- 
 tage of present experience,— if the most generous 
 hearted people upon earth hold together,— if they, 
 by concert, moderation, and charity towards each 
 other, ensure a thorough change of system in the 
 government of our country. What do we want 
 with government but utility? Why should we 
 be vexed with non-essentials ? Why should we 
 doubt that the desideratum for perfect govern- 
 ment is CHEAPNESS and simplicity ? 
 
 We know that human nature is, in every age 
 and country, the same, ruled and diversified only 
 by circumstances. We have no proof of its being 
 above temptation ; and all experience demonstrates 
 that nothing but general interest, aided by know- 
 ledge, can hold down individual selfishness. 
 
 For two hundred years advances to freedom 
 and civilization have been sure, though slow. We 
 gained something at the reformation : we gained 
 something at the revolution: and we have some- 
 thing yet to gain. The progress of British liberty 
 gave motion to liberty all over the world. It has 
 advanced throughout Europe : it has prevailed in 
 
 e 
 
u 
 
 Ixvi GENERAL INTRODX CTION. 
 
 America; but here we may confidently hope foi 
 its finest display ; for here superior knowledge and 
 refinement cao give lustre to meridian light. 1 he 
 country, which is the subject of this work, has af- 
 forded striking proof of the weakness of mere in- 
 stitution. Embosomed in the United States in 
 the very arms of independence, it has become 
 degraded and enslaved;— it has become contempt- 
 ible by the contemptible conduct of the people’s 
 representatives. 
 
 The boon which Britain gave to Canada, in her 
 constitutional act, was pure and efficient ; but the 
 influence of undue patronage and power in the ex- 
 ecutive government were forgotten, or winked at, 
 in the midst of poverty and ignorance. The people 
 of Upper Canada, with a perfect representation, 
 had all that could be desired, had their represents, 
 tives been wise men, and proof against temptation. 
 They were neither. They not only allowed the 
 act before us to be recorded on their statute book, 
 but several others of the most nauseous character; 
 and, latterly, while I was among them — when the 
 utmost servility to the governor was aided by 
 personal pique towards me, were guilty of mean- 
 ness and treachery altogether beyond example. 
 They not only sanctioned a permanent law for pre- 
 venting the most peaceable description of meetings, 
 without even a green bag apology ; but justified 
 the governor in sending home, to the foot of the 
 throne, documents libelling the great mass of 
 their constituents, and impressing a belief that they 
 only “ waited for the moment of their strength as 
 
general introduction. Ixvii 
 ^ the moment of revolt.” I repeat, with all due 
 
 ^ ^^'’se ot delicacy and decorum— what brutes ! nay, 
 
 , they are even more vile than the beasts of the field, 
 
 'vho make barter of public liberty. 
 
 ^ flefore goings out to Canada, no one was more 
 
 heartily sick of boroughmongers than I ; but since 
 experience ot crown influence among a be- 
 “P nighted people, I feel inclined, with a sort of 
 
 " instinctive yearning, like that of the dog to his 
 
 ^ vomit, to throw myself, not only with hope, but 
 transport, into the arms of our dear boroughmon- 
 gers. Knavery itself has charms, when bedecked 
 ^ with talent, and graced with gentlemanly manners ; 
 but when low-bred storekeepers, pettyfogging 
 lawyers, and stupid clodhoppers, enter into con- 
 tw spiracy against truth, common sense, and modesty, 
 
 ® no man should boast of temper and patience, for 
 
 “ that species of oppression is generated, which, 
 
 Sciipture tells us, “ makes a wise man mad.” 
 
 I he more to attract attention to the Canadian 
 Sedition Act, I have caused it to be printed con- 
 i' spicuously, and 1 would have the reader again to 
 
 i peruse and study it, that he may have a just 
 
 lii sense of the narrow-minded, weak, and abominable 
 
 If policy which jias hitherto guided our provincial 
 
 tf government. 
 
 lit The act commences with setting forth its object, 
 lii viz.: the protection of his Majesty’s subjects from 
 
 [ the insidious attempts and designs of evil-minded 
 
 5 and seditious persons : giving, by-the-bye, in the 
 
 i very distinction of terms, no small proof that it was 
 
 d never meant to make his Majesty’s subjects liable 
 
 e 2 
 
 % 
 
Ixviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to its controul. The local situation of Upper 
 Canada exposes it to the inroad of aliens of a 
 nations, who, having no tie ot allegiance or a ec- 
 tion to Britaiu. may thence be suspected ot evil 
 designs ; and for that reason terrors may be held 
 out to keep them at a distance; but for British 
 subjects to be suspected, and made liable to peira - 
 ties on mere suspicion, is contrary at once to nature, 
 and the spirit of our constitution. It is more es- 
 pecially absurd, when we consider that the law 
 was expressly made for their protection ; and that 
 for their benefit, generally, the province received 
 its constitution.^ 
 
 But, how shocking is it that any man, even an 
 alien, should be exposed to slander and arrest, at 
 the mere capricious will of others ? “ Just cause 
 
 of suspicion is, indeed, alluded to; but no rule is 
 laid down by which the justness of the cause can 
 be ascertained. An individual is scandalized, he 
 is arrested, and a process goes on which, in spite of 
 the utmost purity and innocence, consigns him to 
 ruin. Think, for instance, of my aggravated case. 
 It clearly appeared at my trial, that William Dick- 
 son had a consultation with Swayze the day prior 
 to that wretch making oath that I was a seditious 
 person ; and Dickson’s spite towards me was noto- 
 rious. Swayze is so thoroughly ignorant (he can 
 scarcely write his name) that, of his own accord, 
 he never would have thought that the law in ques- 
 tion could, by help of his swearing, be made an 
 instrument to my hurt ; and I hold in my posses- 
 sion a printed paper, which was manifestly publish- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ixix 
 
 ed as a lead to the perjury. Now, only think of 
 the farce; after all this studied contrivance to 
 entrap me, of my bein^ brought before Wm. Dick- 
 son, my inveterate personal enemy, who had been 
 accessary to accusation, and who had not only told 
 a large company present, that “ in his opinion, I 
 was a man of desperate fortune, and would stick at 
 nothing to raise insurrection;^’ but had some of his 
 particular friends ready to declare similar senti- 
 ments, upon his formally putting the question. 
 Only think of the monstrous insult to reason and 
 decency, that I, after having resided in Upper 
 Canada for more than a year, — after being twice 
 honourably acquitted from most wanton charges 
 of publishing seditious libel, the first of which I 
 had good reason to believe originated in Dickson 
 himself,— that I, well known to be a native-born 
 subject of Britain, should be brought before this 
 man, and be obliged to give him “ full and com- 
 plete satisfaction that my words, actions, conduct, 
 and behaviour were not intended to promote or en- 
 courage disaffection.” Before I can open my 
 mouth, the stomach of this my judge is overflow- 
 ing with gall and bitterness. He holds in his 
 hand the affidavit of his own insidious intrigue, 
 and then bids me prove a negative, when he knows 
 that ten thousand negatives would go for nothing ! 
 
 But mark how this odious statute proceeds to 
 add insult to injury. After its victim has suffered 
 condemnation under it, he may be “ permitted'’ if 
 thought expedient by the tyrant executor, to re- 
 main in the province, good apd sufficient security 
 
u 
 
 Ixx general introduction. 
 
 being required to the satisfaction of the said tyrant 
 for the good behaviour of the condemned; but 
 after this security is given, should the envy, the 
 jealousy, or the caprice of the tyrant revive, all se- 
 curity to the condemned goes for nothing, tie is 
 still subject to be scandalized, arrested, sent out of 
 the province, or imprisoned, without benefitot bail, 
 only for the purpose of being subjected to a mock 
 trial. 
 
 Having thus far commented on the Canadian 
 statute, I shall present to the reader the British 
 Alien Act, which Sir James Mackintosh is reported 
 to have brought into comparison with it, saying 
 that the Canadian statute “ Kent somewhat fur- 
 ther'^ The British act became law 10th June, 
 1818, with continuance till 25th March, 1819. 
 It was thence continued, by bill, till 25th June, 
 1820, and then again renewed until 25th March, 
 1822. It stands thus among the statutes at large: 
 
 58 Geo. III. Cap. 97. 
 
 An Act to prevent Aliens, until the 25th Day of March, 
 1819, frotn becoming naturalized, or being made or be- 
 , coming ttaturalized, or being made or becoming denizens, 
 except in certain cases. lOlh June, 1818. 
 
 Whereas it is expedient that for a time to be limited, 
 Aliens should not be, or become naturalized, or be made 
 or become denizens, except as hereinafter is provided : 
 Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most excellent 
 Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the 
 Lords spiritual and temporal, and Commons in this pre- 
 sent parliament assembled, and by the authority of the 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 Ixxi 
 
 same, that from and after the passing of this Act, until 
 the 25th day of Alarcli, 1819, no Alien shall become a na- 
 turalized subject, or be made or become denizens, or be- 
 come entitled to the privileges of a naturalized subject or 
 denizen, in any other manner, or by any other authority 
 than by any act which may hereafter be passed by the 
 parliament of the united kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, or by letters of denization, hereafter to be granted 
 by his Majesty, his heirs and successors, any law, custom, 
 or usage to the contrary notwithstanding : provided always 
 that nothing herein contained shall extend or be construed 
 to extend to affect in any manner such right to uaturalizar 
 tion or to denization as any person, in case this act had not 
 passed, might acquire or would have acquired, by virtue of 
 any act or acts of parliament, made Cor encouraging sea- 
 men to enter into his Majesty’s service, or for naturalizing 
 such foreign Protestants as shall settle in any of his Ma- 
 jesty’s colonies in America, or for naturalizing such foreign 
 Protestants as shall have served, or shall serve in his Ma- 
 jesty’s forces, and for the encouragement of the fisheries. 
 
 As Sir James Mackintosh presented my peti- 
 tion merely for form’s sake, there could <be little 
 harm in his comparing the above Alien Act with 
 the one in question; and 1 shall make advantage 
 of it to infer that his doing so proceeded from 
 a conviction that both acts were alien acts, I 
 hope that Sir James, by another day, will not only 
 be convinced of this, but maintain the fact before 
 parliament, with his admirable powers of reason- 
 ing, and all the patriotism displayed in 1791- 
 Saving this ground for comparison, that both the 
 British and Canadian acts were applicable only to 
 aliens, there is as much for comparing an angel of 
 
Ixxii 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 heaven to Belzebub. The British statute contains 
 not a word, far less a sentiment, that is improper or 
 offensive; but we can scarcely read a line of the 
 other without contempt, disgust, or indignation. 
 To distinguish the mighty difference, let us take 
 the words of Sir James Mackintosh, and improve 
 upon them, — let us somewhat farther stretch com- 
 parison. The British act civilly informs aliens, 
 that, for a few months, it is expedient to forego 
 our accustomed liberality of admitting them to na- 
 turalization. It does nothing more ; and the dis- 
 like of doing this is manifested by the short periods 
 to which, from time to time, the act is limited. 
 Our legislators seem ashamed of being ungenerous 
 to strangers for any length of time ; but provincial 
 legislators bar the door of good will and hospitality 
 for ever ; nor can the Canadian people re-open it, 
 but at the pleasure of a lieutenant-governor, and 
 legislative councillors of his appointment. 
 
 An unsuspecting stranger may find his way to 
 Upper Canada: he may roam delighted on the 
 banks of the St. Lawrence : he may recline at ease 
 on the shores of Ontario, and have every care 
 lulled to rest, while his eye is intent on the charm- 
 ing expanse of its still and pellucid element: he 
 may be w’rapt in extacy of bliss, gazing on the 
 most sublime and beautiful of nature’s scenes — the 
 rapids and falls of Niagara : he may be saying, 
 “ hither shall I bring my wife and family — to this 
 paradise shall I invite all my friends — in this fine 
 and abundant country shall we take up our abode’’ 
 — When, lo ! snakes spring from the grass— rattle- 
 

 I 
 
 4 
 
 tli 
 
 ft 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxiii 
 
 snakes and adders. Dickson, Claus, and Swayze, 
 have eyed his gestures — have envied the raptures 
 of his soul — have resolved to blast his too sanguine 
 expectations. The fiends seize upon the happy 
 man— the stranger: they slander his character; 
 they mock, they imprison, and banish him: his 
 good name is gone for ever, and the remainder of 
 his life must pass heavily away in sadness and 
 sorrow. This is somewhat further,'* with a ven- 
 geance. 
 
 Should Sir James Mackintosh honour these 
 pages with perusal, I think he will smile with 
 reflection on the comparison unwittingly made by 
 him, and that he will most heartily endeavour, 
 next session, to assist me somewhat further. 
 
 It is my solemn belief, that in him and Lord 
 Holland, I have chosen the very fittest men of 
 their respective Houses, to bring on investigation 
 concerning our colonial policy. Every body knows 
 that it is horrible, not in Upper Canada only, but 
 over the whole globe ; while there is not the 
 slightest necessity for its being so. Mankind do 
 not require cruel and tyrannical laws to govern 
 them. Let but their interests be studied, and they 
 may safely be held in subjection with a thread. 
 Of all places in the world. Upper Canada should 
 be the last for the exercise of illiberal and severe 
 policy. That country can never be guarded by 
 penal laws, nor rendered secure by oppression. 
 Freedom, and finally independence, must be its 
 lot ; and, with liberal institutions, the devil may 
 
 Q 
 
Ixxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be allowed to walk to and fro in it, with perfect 
 safety to government. 
 
 There are too many who content themselves 
 with the belief that religion is the sole hope of 
 man’s improvement, and so it is, rightly under- 
 stood ; but we find those to whom I allude using 
 the word religion, for the indulgence of indolence, 
 or, still w'orse, for inculcating through its perver- 
 sion, passive submission to established wrong. It 
 is my opinion that activity is essential to religion, 
 and that those who are its real friends w'ill exert 
 themselves to render law conformable to its max- 
 ims, especially to that which inculcates charity. 
 If law carries in its front a glaring contradiction 
 of this: — if it fosters malignant passions, coun- 
 tenances wickedness, and affords protection to the 
 perpetrators of crime, how vain to preach up mo- 
 rality as duty, and faith as our only hope! Were 
 law the pure offspring of religion the simple 
 corrective of natural infirmity, how admirably 
 would it consort with religion, and establish good 
 will among men ! How soon would obedience to 
 duty become our first principle of action, and faith 
 the guiding star of every movement! Charity 
 and love are the genuine supports of religion ; but 
 in all its declarations, in all its sentiments, in 
 all its provisions, and in all its consequences, how 
 grievously does the Canadian statute counteract 
 and destroy these Christian virtues! No true 
 Christian could have had a hand in framing such 
 a law, — no spirit but malevolence could have 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. IxXV 
 
 subjected me to its operation ; and, subjected to 
 its operation, it is scarcely possible to keep down 
 the risings of malevolence. 
 
 When 1 look upon this law, and think of the 
 villany which must have concocted it, the evil 
 it contemplates, and has realized, I must confess 
 my struggles to suppress unchristian feelings are 
 ineffectual: my animal spirits boil within me, 
 and my nerves become relaxed with excess of 
 exertion, I am no longer myself : 1 am at once 
 indignant and impotent ; and perhaps these pages 
 give proof of it. The reader can have no adequate 
 perception of such feelings : he knows not the 
 sacrifices I have made: he has not had my ex- 
 perience : he has not shared my afflictions : he 
 does not know, and cannot conceive, the perfect 
 purity which has ever actuated my public conduct, 
 nor the extent of benevolent design which stimu- 
 lated my exertions in Upper Canada. One only 
 cheering hope sustains me, that, in the end, my 
 misfortunes may assist in calling attention to that 
 luckless country, and to the plans I have formed 
 for rendering it at once an asylum for distress, and 
 the abode of peace and prosperity. 
 
 The most execrable feature of the execrable 
 statute before us, is deceit. It openly brandishes 
 one weapon, but hides another to suit convenience 
 in the attack of an unsuspecting victim. When 
 I was arrested and ordered to depart the province 
 of Upper Canada, I never for a moment suspected 
 that the offence charged, was not that for which 
 I was to be tried at the assizes, after enduring 
 
u 
 
 IxXVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 imprisonment. Having long before made up my 
 mind, and heard it acknowledged, that a British 
 subject could not lawfully be affected by the act*, 
 
 I never thought of critically examining its letter, 
 far less of searching in it for qui'bble. I had been 
 accustomed to regard with reverence all written 
 law, so far as good intention was concerned, and 
 never for a moment doubted it. I suffered myself 
 to be imprisoned, in the full hope that I was to 
 have opportunity of pleading against some speci- 
 fic charge, constituting the ground of Swayze s 
 oath ; and an alien might, from a similar impres- 
 sion, have resisted an order to depart. Under 
 all circumstances, and with such impressions, it 
 was not only prudent, but incumbent on me to 
 
 * Sir James Mackintosh enquired of me if the act had ever 
 before been put in force against a British subject, and certainly 
 it never was, though often resorted to for the purpose of frighten- 
 ing alien Americans out of the province. The distinction of 
 right, between aliens and British subjects, in Canada, is strongly 
 marked. An alien, for instance, cannot open a shop without 
 first having the oath of allegiance to the king administered to 
 him, and many have left the province, because of this being re- 
 fused. A British subject, on the contrary, may not only commence 
 business, but be elected as a member of the Canadian parliament, 
 by right of birth, and natural allegiance, provided he holds landed 
 property in the province, to the extent of 400 acres. He must 
 take an oath, prior to taking his seat, as members of the Imperial 
 Parliament do ; but this in no way affects his general claims. In 
 the same way, a British subject must go through the ceremony of 
 taking the oath of allegiance, prior to receiving a grant of land. 
 A British soldier takes the oath of allegiance; but is equally 
 before and after entitled to all constitutional protection. 
 
GBXEKAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxvil 
 
 submit, rather than to leave the province in dis- 
 grace ; and I still thought so, even after being 
 refused liberty on my suit of habeas corpus. I 
 was not indeed sanguine of success in this way, 
 believing that the conspiracy against me had been 
 formed with the connivance and will of the higher 
 powers of the province, and with a view of mak- 
 ing me stoop to the governor. However false, 
 however infamous the charges against me were, 
 still they were official: they were made before the 
 public, with all the parade of form, after I had 
 been arrested by the sheriff', and forcibly carried 
 before my enemies. There was no alternative for 
 me but to suffer imprisonment, in the sure hope 
 of a third honourable acquittal ; or to give up all 
 my fond hopes of settling in the province. The 
 nature of the business which I was to follow (land 
 agency), was such, that the mere acknowledg- 
 ment that I had obeyed the order to go away, 
 would have been a bar to its practice : for under 
 such acknowledgment, I could not invite a single 
 individual to emigrate from Britain to Canada. 
 My hope of a trial, for alleged crime, was so 
 thoroughly riveted, that I declare before God, 
 when the course which was ultimately adopted, 
 was first spoken of, some months after I had been 
 imprisoned, my mind so revolted at the idea, that 
 I never was able to reflect on the subject ; nor 
 did I know the verbal quibble upon which my 
 indictment was founded, till six weeks after trial, 
 it was pointed out to me by a gentleman of Mon- 
 treal, on my way home. It was then, for the first 
 
Ixxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 time, that I learned that the word “ offence,’' used 
 in the statute, could, at will, be applied either to 
 an act of sedition, or to tlie mere refusal to obey 
 an order. 
 
 As 1 do, and shall continue to protest against 
 the whole proceeding, so do I maintain that some- 
 where I ought to have redress. As a British sub- 
 ject I never was fairly liable to the operation of 
 the Canadian statute. Every step taken against 
 me was illegal and unconstitutional— my arrest— my 
 imprisonment — my trial. It is absurd to suppose 
 that 1 should quietly sufler myself to be imprison- 
 ed, with any view but that of having my cha- 
 racter cleared from aspersion ; and as to consenting 
 to trial, it is what I never should have done in 
 health, and with my mind untroubled. 
 
 Such a case as mine can never be subject to 
 ordinary rules. The common course of law pro- 
 cess can never in justice be regarded, it that 
 course has in the first place been grossly misused, 
 if my right of freedom, on application by habeas 
 corpus, has been denied, if all was illegal' and un- 
 constitutional, and if undue rigour was used, so 
 as to cut off the hope even of a formal protest 
 being taken against the proceedings of the court. 
 And, here again, is a difficulty attached to a strict 
 adherence to the course of law, for 1 know not it 
 the most regular protest could have availed. What 
 would it avail for a murderer to protest against his 
 trial ? When an indictment is found, the trial must 
 proceed, and the jury has only to declare as to the 
 fact alleged. It is impossible, I think, that Lord 
 
 1 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxix 
 
 Holland, should he take my case into serious con- 
 sideration, will still give me no hope, but in “ the 
 common course of law.” He must consider it as 
 one every Avay entitled to parliamentary interfer- 
 ence ; and this interference 1 shall petition for, if 
 1 am denied redress by the King in Council. The • 
 redress which I want, is to bring me no sure bene- 
 fit : it is to give me the liberty of returning to 
 Upper Canada, with a declaration of the law offi- 
 cers of the crown, or parliament, that I was not 
 subject to the Canadian sedition act : it is only 
 to give me what is fair, an opportunity of challeng- 
 ing trial, and of prosecuting those who have mal- 
 treated me. This I shall have, or consider myself 
 no longer bound by allegiance, or in any way 
 pledged to perform public duties, otherwise in- 
 cumbent upon me. The Hritish parliament can 
 undoubtedly control the errors of the Canadian 
 parliament. They made the law under which it 
 is held: they can amend or repeal it: they can 
 declare the principles of that law where there is 
 doubt, or undo what is done contrary to such 
 principles. 
 
 Having set forth the extreme wickedness and 
 deceit of the precious morsel of legislation before 
 us, towards the objects of its wrath, it is worth 
 while to note how carefully it has guarded its 
 executors from harm. In British statutes w’e find 
 a similar clause to that which, in the Canadian 
 statute, awards treble costs to be paid by a plain- 
 tiff, suing against an executor of law ; but in these 
 there is no difficulty thrown in the rvay of prose- 
 
Ixxx GENERAL INTRODUCTION/ 
 
 cution, nor any perplexity as to the point of law ; 
 while it is very right to punish severely, wanton 
 opposition to the clearly expressed duties of exe- 
 cutive authority. By the Canadian statute, a 
 person must hasten out of the province, or be im- 
 prisoned before he can complain of injury: he 
 must commence his suit in prison, or banishment ; 
 and he cannot commence it with certainty, that it 
 is commenced within the limited period of three 
 months ; for the offence charged, may, at the will 
 of the defendant, be either that of refusal to leave 
 the province, or some other offence committed, 
 more than three months prior to laying the charge: 
 it may be an offence too, such as libel, merely 
 depending upon opinion. If the plaintiff has 
 commenced prosecution for false imprisonment 
 within the limited time, and the opinion of the 
 jury on the libel process goes against .him, then to 
 banishment, he must add the payment of treble 
 costs: or his trial may not come on to acquit him 
 from a groundless charge, till after the time limited 
 for his prosecuting for damages is expired, during 
 which, uncertainty may have rendered it prudent 
 to abstain from commencement. 
 
 Knowing, as we dU, the violence of human 
 passion, we often find excuse for crimes of the 
 most flagrant nature ; but when we survey the 
 act of parliament in question, and consider that 
 passion had no concern in its fabrication : that it 
 was the result of cool and slow determination: 
 that it should have emanated from a pure mind, 
 and have breathed the true spirit of our religion 
 
general introduction. Ixxxi 
 
 and constitution, with what horror do we mark, 
 almost in every line, something unchristian, un- 
 constitutional, wicked, deceitful, atrocious! 
 
 If it is necessary to guard any country against 
 seditious attempts, if it is necessary to give extra- . 
 ordinary powers to executive authority, why have 
 recourse to false swearing? why have any form of 
 trial, as to undenied fact ? why suffer even an alien 
 or outlaw to be wantonly assailed with unproved 
 charges of crime ? why not have a simple Jaw, em- 
 powering magistrates to take suspected persons at 
 once into custody, and fling them, like so much 
 dirt, out of the country ? Such a law, clearly pro- 
 claimed, would be honest; and they who came- 
 within its reach would have themselves to blame; 
 but here is a law which muffles itself up in ambi- 
 guity, and which has dived into hell for snares to 
 entrap the innocent and unwary ; which has arrayed 
 its hypocrisy in pretensive forms— provisions for 
 the safety of its executors, and mock provisions for 
 redress to its victims. I say that the mere view 
 of such a law, even though it may now be repealed, 
 is quite sufficient to induce inquiry into the causes 
 which produced it, and kept it staring from the 
 statute book of Upper Canada for fourteen years. 
 Its mere remembrance is sufficient to prove the 
 vicious policy by which the province has been 
 ruled, and was ruled up to the period of my 
 quitting it. 
 
 Weakness is the almost uniform concomitant of 
 vice ; and most glaringly does this appear in the 
 Canadian statute, whether we consider what it con- 
 
 f 
 

 Ixxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ' $ 
 
 templates, or has effected. How easily could thou, 
 sands of aliens, or others, having sedi tious designs, 
 steal into the province, and, by renting tenements 
 for six months, unknown to government, yet be- 
 yond the action of this law, and free of the bond 
 of allegiance, remain to design and attempt what 
 they choose. ‘ As to removing me, what has been 
 gained by it ? Even without licence from govern- 
 ment, I can yet take my stand at Montreal or Que- 
 bec, and cautiously conduct more deadly machi- 
 nations against colonial administration than I have 
 yet done : nay, were I an enemy to British rule, 
 circumstanced as I now am, and robbed of that 
 protection to which natural allegiance entitled me, 
 
 I might, without the guilt of treason, place myself 
 on any part of America, opposite the Canadian 
 frontier, wage a war of words, in time of peace, 
 against British interests; or advance, in the event 
 of war with the United States, into the provinces, 
 and have the indisputable right of assailing them 
 with fire and sword. What good has the zeal of 
 Messrs. Dickson and Co. done to Upper Canada? 
 Has it increased the value, or strengthened the se- 
 curity of property ? has it rendered the people 
 more contented or happy ? has it tended to attract 
 to the province wealthy and respectalble emigrants? 
 Quite the reverse ; nay, even to themselves it has 
 laid up no enviable store of consolation. One ad- 
 vantage to the public has been gained by it; and it 
 is this, that we are now assured that no law can be so 
 villanous as not to find villains for its execution. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ixxxiii 
 
 C The printing of this General Introduction was 
 suddenly broken the beyinning of December, 
 1820, by a melancholy occurrence, of which an ac- 
 count will be given below. It is recommenced 
 this Day, the 22d of September, 1821.^ 
 
 Having discussed a subject of the most odious 
 kind, but which could not be passed over either in 
 duty to myself or the public, I shall now proceed 
 to develop the principal design of this work, and 
 must entreat the reader’s indulgence, while I re- 
 count some circumstances of my own history, 
 which led to the conception of it. 
 
 Through life, I have been enthusiastic in my 
 pursuits ; and for the last twenty years my mind 
 has had a leading regard to the greatest evil which 
 overshadows the fate of England — the system of 
 the poor laws. When a young man, having time 
 and money at command, 1 travelled over England 
 for fifteen months together as an agriculturist, and 
 during that time became acquainted with the late 
 secretary to the Board of Agriculture, Mr. Arthur 
 Young. One day, in conversation with him, we 
 hit upon a subject to which each of us had devoted 
 peculiar attention. My father, and indeed ray 
 grandfather, had been in the habit of letting out 
 small portions of land on a kind of perpetual lease, 
 called in .Scotland a feu, to labouring people, 
 whereon each man might build a dwelling-house, 
 and enjoy the convenience of a garden. I had 
 marked the wonderful influence which the pos- 
 session of such a little property had upon the 
 
 f 2 
 
IxXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 characters of the people, giving them a superior 
 degree of consideration among their neighbours, 
 more steady habits, and more persevering industry. 
 
 I had noticed with what serene delight a labourer, 
 especially of the sedentary class, would occupy 
 himself in his garden at hours not devoted to his 
 trade, and I had calculated what an addition, as 
 well to individual as to national wealth and hap- 
 piness, such economical arrangements, generally 
 adopted, might produce. Speaking of this to Mr. 
 Young, he mentioned to me a scheme he had in 
 view, to provide the people at large with a little 
 l^nd, and descanted on the great advantages which 
 the poor in some parts of England derived from the 
 occupation of such a portion as enabled them to 
 keep cows. A general inclosure bill was then in 
 contemplation, and Mr. Young was anxious to 
 have his views so far realized, by introducing into 
 the bill a clause by which a portion of land suffi- 
 cient to keep a cow should be secured to each man 
 in lieu of his ancient common right of pasturage, 
 &c. To establish the fact that labourers really 
 derived benefit from keeping cows, and that those 
 who had the benefit, required little or no assistance 
 from parish funds, he asked me to make a journey 
 into the counties of Rutland and Lincoln, where 
 the practice prevailed of letting the poor have land 
 and cows. I went, but after a little inquiry and 
 reflection, being ashamed of plodding about merely 
 to prove a truism, retraced my steps, and expressed 
 a desire to relinquish the undertaking. Mr. Young, 
 however, was now mote keen than ever that I 
 
general introduction. Ixxxv 
 
 should complete his design. Nothing else, he said, 
 was wanted to make good his point but the au- 
 thority of names, and certain simple facts well 
 authenticated. I complied, and spent two months 
 much to my own satisfaction, having access, by a 
 general introduction, to all, from the pauper to the 
 peer ; but obtained nothing for the Board of Agri- 
 culture which could do me credit, or strengthen 
 any hope of success for the grand and benevolent 
 purpose of the secretary. 
 
 As to the claim of poor people to a suitable por- 
 tion of land, or other equivalent on the inclosure of 
 a common, whereon they or their fathers had en- 
 joyed rights of pasturage, &c. time out of mind, it 
 was positive and clear, independent of any special 
 benefit which they derived from these; and to 
 have passed a general inclosure bill without a pro- 
 vision in lieu of such ancient rights, would have 
 been a dangerous experiment. 
 
 With respect to the introduction generally through 
 the kingdom of Mr. Young’s scheme, there were 
 obstacles which I was assured would never be 
 overcome by the nerveless faculties of the Board 
 of Agriculture, even though the scheme were of 
 itself unobjectionable, which it was not. 
 
 Although I collected for Mr. Young abundant 
 evidence to substantiate his simple position, and 
 so arranged it, as, at one glance, to exhibit satis- 
 factory results, my anticipations of what would be 
 done were too truly verified. The general inclo- 
 sure bill was indeed brought before parliament by 
 Lord Carrington, the president, but this bill speed- 
 
IxXXVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ily went down to rise no more ; and perhaps the 
 dread of bringing into public discussion any ques- 
 tion as to the common rights of the poor had no 
 small weight in sinking it. Since that period the 
 process of inclosure has gone on by bills for indi- 
 vidual parishes and commons. Year after year, 
 multitudes of these have been inclosed, without 
 regard to the claims and complaints of the poor, 
 who have been robbed of their rights, and who, 
 from various causes, have been sinking gradually 
 into a state of abject dependence on parish aid, 
 deprived of property, and finally careless of its 
 enjoyment. Year after year, and at this place 
 and that, the poor, seeing themselves unjustly de- 
 prived of advantages which they had inherited 
 from time immemorial, grumbled, rioted, and were 
 put down. The process stealing gradually on, the 
 strength of the mass was subdued piece-meal; 
 and, finally, a change was effected, in the condition 
 of English labourers, through a variety and suc- 
 cession of causes, but little reflected on or noticed 
 by political economists and writers on the poor 
 laws. 
 
 While I despaired of seeing any thing effectual 
 accomplished by the Board of Agriculture, and 
 was justified in my opinion by results, impressions 
 as to the necessity of changing somehow the sys- 
 tem of the poor laws became more and more ri- 
 veted in my mind. My experience in Lincoln- 
 shire and Rutland — my conversations with the 
 poor themselves — with the farmers and land-owners 
 ev^y where throughout England : my inspection 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. IXXXTli 
 
 of parish records ; and observations made on the 
 habits and manners of the people, altogether con- 
 sidered and put in contrast with what I knew of 
 these in Scotland, induced reflections, which though 
 they could then reach no satisfactory conclusionj 
 determined me to follow out a study of such infi- 
 nite importance; and I actually resolved to shape 
 the course of my life for this express end. I re- 
 solved, after a few years^ residence as a practi- 
 cal farmer in Scotland, to remove into England for 
 a term of years, deliberately to study the causes of 
 difference so very great and manifest between the 
 lower orders in the one, and the other country. 
 In the one, labourers were independent and im- 
 proving their condition, even in the face of growing 
 taxation: in the other they were verging to ex- 
 treme poverty and degradation, while all was flou- 
 rishing around them. In Scotland it was more 
 generally the custom to accommodate farm la- 
 bourers with cows than in England, but this was 
 very far from constituting the difference which ex- 
 isted between the people of the sister kingdoms. 
 It had, in fact, little to do with the matter, and was 
 rather a consequence than a cause. 
 
 Untoward circumstances disturbed the order and 
 harmony of my plans, but still I followed them 
 out. I settled in Scotland for six years, occupy- 
 ing one of my father’s farms, then removed into 
 England, and never lost sight of the great object 
 on which I had fixed my eye. 
 
 The year after I returned from my tour in the 
 South (1802), and after the general inclosurp bill 
 
IxXXviU GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 was laid aside, Mr. Young, still musing on his 
 scheme of providing land for the poor, published, 
 in his Annals of Agriculture, some undigested 
 notes, which I had furnished him with : intro- 
 duced them with a narrative, and attached my 
 name, as if the whole had been written and pre- 
 pared by me for publication. After doing this, he 
 despatched to me, in Scotland, a manuscript sent 
 him by a third party, controverting the validity of 
 my proofs ; and I, resenting alike the sophistry of 
 my opponent and the unfair liberty which Mr. 
 Young had taken with my name, made reply, 
 sparing neither him, his correspondent, nor the 
 Board of Agriculture ; and, to make the matter 
 worse, this was also published in the Annals, with 
 words altered, and sentences withheld. It was 
 every way provoking to me, and much as I ad- 
 mired Mr. Young in many respects, obliged me 
 to drop his acquaintance. 
 
 I had hoped that the awkward display in the 
 Annals would be little noticed ; but here again I 
 was disappointed. Mr. Malthus soon after pub- 
 lished that edition of his Essay on Population, 
 which attracted such general notice, and in this he 
 referred to the publication in the Annals of Agri- 
 culture, to which Mr. Young had set my name ; 
 and which, as it stood, made me appear as an 
 advpcate of his system of providing for the poor, 
 which I never was *, 
 
 * In Mr. Wakefield’s Statistical Account of Ireland, Vol. 2. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Ixxxix 
 
 Mr. Malthus has very properly pointed out the 
 insufficiency of Mr. Young’s proposal as a gene- 
 ral remedy for the evil of poor laws ; and, besides 
 this, it is palpably impracticable, as a scheme that 
 could be legally enforced throughout. The quan- 
 tity of land requisite to keep a cow varies, accord- 
 ing to soil and situation, from two to twenty acres, 
 or more. In some parts of the country adapted to 
 pasturage, the practice could easily be adopted ; 
 and so it is in Lincolnshire and Rutland. In 
 other parts it is very different. To afford every 
 individual land sufficient to keep a cow is indeed 
 out of the question. It would neither be econo- 
 mical for the nation, nor beneficial to individuals, 
 in proportion to the waste. Milk is but one of 
 many articles in housekeeping; and several others 
 are equally necessary, and more essential. Were 
 law to provide for each man an independence, as 
 to the supply of milk, why not ensure the same 
 of bread — of flesh — of raiment — of fuel? Why 
 
 p. 812, there is the following note, manifesting the wrong im- 
 pressions which had been made by Mr. Young’s publication. 
 
 Note. This was written after I had read Mr. Gourlay’s 
 account of the cow system in some parishes in Lincolnshire, see 
 Annals of Agriculture, Vol. 37, p. 154. From my personal 
 knowledge of that gentleman, I am inclined to pay very great 
 attention to his opinion, for few have seen so much of England in 
 a practical way as this intelligent North Briton ; but 1 am not 
 convinced of the benefit of the system, and did the nature of my 
 work allow me, I should readily give ray reasons for dissenting 
 from hia opinion.” 
 

 XC OENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 not introduce agrarian law, the most Inghtful of 
 all political expedients? — But it is more than law 
 can accomplish ; and if law cannot prevail, it is 
 needless to preach up advice to land-owners, to 
 make gratuitous offerings of land and cows, when 
 circumstances admit of it. 
 
 Clear as this may appear, it is a curious fact 
 that Mr. Young, a man who at one time gave 
 evidence of the soundest faculties, should have 
 got lost in confused reverie. Till the day of his 
 death, he seems to have brooded over the scheme 
 of making public provision of land and cows for 
 the poor, as practised in Lincolnshire and Rut- 
 land. In the book entitled, “ Agricultural 
 State of the Kingdom,” printed by the 
 Board of Agriculture in 1816, suppressed, and 
 then brought before the public by a surreptitious 
 edition, of which, no doubt, Mr. Young was the 
 compiler, a chapter is dedicated to the subject 
 of land and cows, and the result of my inquiries 
 in 1801 are brought forward by way of proof. In 
 the Farmer’s Journal, too, of l6th September, 
 1816, there appeared an article written by Mr. 
 Young, calling attention to the same subject. 
 These publications are curious, as marking the 
 continued bent of Mr. Young’s mind — a mind 
 which at one time was powerful, lively, and com- 
 prehensive; which saw that something was want- 
 ing for the comfort of the poor; but never could 
 strike with decision upon any scheme, at once 
 practicable and efficient, which could be gene- 
 rally introduced under the authority of law. It is 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XCl 
 
 worth while to keep on record the sentiments and 
 wishes of such a man as Mr. Young, for their own 
 sake; and as they may impress on the minds of 
 my readers a stronger disposition to attend to my 
 own schemes for the relief of the poor, I shall copy 
 out, below, the articles 1 have alluded to*. 
 
 * “ In the year 1800 the Secretary of the Board was 
 directed to employ the summer in examining the eflect of 
 a great number of parliamentary enclosures, as well in 
 respect to the interest of cottagers, as to those general 
 beneficial results well known to flow from the measure of 
 enclosing; and as it appeared upon that inquiry that many 
 cottagers were deprived of the benefit of cows without any 
 necessity for such deprivation ; the Board, in order the 
 better to understand the question, despatched a person in 
 1801 for the express purpose of fully ascertaining it in the 
 two counties of Rutland and Lincoln : the report of that 
 journey was one of the most interesting memoirs ever laid 
 before the public, and proved unquestionably the immense 
 advantages resulting from the system, to the landlord, the 
 farmer, the cottager, and the public.^^ 
 
 See page 8th of Agricultural State of the 
 Kingdom,” published by Sherwiood, Neely, and Jones; 
 1816 : and again in page 12tli. 
 
 “ The person employed by the Board, and who ex- 
 amined above forty parishes minutely, gives the following 
 general result : 
 
 ‘‘ Seven hundred and fifty-three cottagers have among 
 them 1194 cows, or, on an average, and ^ cow each. 
 Not one of them receives any thing from the 
 PARISH ! even in the present scarcity. The system is as 
 much approved of by the farmers as it is by the poor 
 people themselves. They are declared to be the most 
 
Xcii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Mr. Malthus, who so ably refutes all the silly 
 objections to his theory of the principle of popu- 
 lation, and shews the inconsistency of Mr. Young’s 
 writings on the question of giving land and cows to 
 the poor, says, I have indeed myself ventured 
 
 hard-working, diligent, sober, and industrious labourers 
 who have had land and cows, and a numerous meeting of 
 farmers signed their entire approbation of the system. In 
 the abovementioned parishes, rates are, on an average, 
 17:|d. per pound ; and but for exceptions of some families 
 who have not land, and of certain cases and expences 
 foreign to the inquiry, they would not be one penny in tlie 
 pound. 
 
 In nine parishes, where the proportion of the poor 
 having cows amounts to rather more than half the whole, 
 poor-rates are 3|d. in the pound. 
 
 In twelve parishes, where the proportion is less than 
 half, but notone-third, poor-rates are 9|d. in the pound. 
 
 In ten parishes, where the proportion is somcthiug 
 under a fourth, poor-rates are Is. 6d. in the pound. 
 
 “ In seven parishes, where the proportion is but neaily 
 one-sixth, poor-rates are 4s. l|d. in the pound. 
 
 “ And in thirteen parishes, where few or none have 
 cows, poor-rates are 5s. lid. in the pound. 
 
 “ The poor in this considerable district being able to 
 maintain themselves without parish assistance, by means of 
 land and live stock, and to do it at the same time so much 
 by their industry and sobriety, and consistently with an 
 honest conduct, clearly marked hy the entire apjrrobation 
 of the system hy the farmers^ Sjc. their neiyhhouf s, is a 
 circumstance which, well considered, does away a multi- 
 tude of those objections and prejudices which we so often 
 hear in conversation.’' 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XcHi 
 
 to recommend a general improvement of cottages, 
 and even the cow system on a limited scale ; and 
 
 Farmer’s Journal, 16th September, 1816. 
 
 On the State of the labouring Poor. 
 
 Bradfield Hall, Sept. 2d, 1816. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 There never was a period in which the condition of 
 the labouring poor in agriculture demanded more particu- 
 lar attention than the present. The difficulty of finding 
 employment with farmers who can scarce pay their rents, 
 and among whom there are many who cannot pay it at all, 
 is such, that the distress is not only great, but general: 
 much has been spoken and written upon this subject; 
 many ideas suggested and plans proposed for relief, which 
 are either impracticable in themselves, or too difficult to 
 be adopted : probably the truth is, that no plan whatever is 
 well calculated to meet the evil under all its aspects: every 
 variety of situation may demand a variety in the means 
 of relief, and therefore the more numerous the proposals 
 the greater the probability of their being applicable in 
 specific cases. It is astonishing to me that in the various 
 publications which have issued from the press on the sub- 
 ject of agricultural distress, none of their authors appear 
 to have searched for cases exempt from the common cala- 
 mity:— are any such to be found? Now, Sir, it is with 
 great pleasure I have to inform you that such cases do 
 exist at present, have existed for many years past, and 
 stood the test of the two scarcities. A most minute de- 
 scription of them was published in the Annals of Agricul- 
 ture (vol. 37, page 514), by a gentleman employed by the 
 Board of Agriculture, expressly for the purpose of ex- 
 amining minutely into every circumstance attending such 
 
Xqiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 perhaps with proper precautions a certain portion 
 of land might be given to a considerable body of 
 
 cases, and who travelled through an extent of nearly one 
 hundred miles of country, abounding with a great number 
 of instances, upon the whole sufficient fully to ascertain the 
 effects of the plan pursued. In the counties of Rutland 
 and Lincoln the practice is to attach land to cottages, suffi- 
 cient to support that number of cows which the cottager is 
 able to purchase. They are tenants to the chief landlords 
 and not sub-tenants to farmers ; yet these latter are very 
 generally friends to the system : well they may be so, for 
 the poor-rates are next to nothing when compared with 
 such as are found ya parishes wherein this admirable sys- 
 tem is not established. 
 
 In the late minute inquiries made by the Board of Agri- 
 culture into the state of the labouring poor throughout 
 the kingdbm, many persons were written to who reside in 
 the districts where this system is common, and it was found 
 by their replies that the practice stands the test of the 
 present distress as well as it supported the opposite diffi- 
 culties of extreme scarcity. It is much to be regretted 
 that so admirable an example is not copied in every part 
 of the kingdom ; and should a committee of the House of 
 Commons meet in the next session, pursuant to the notice 
 given by Mr. Curwen, it will be strange indeed if they do 
 not call before them tlie persons residing in those districts, 
 who are most able to give them full information relative to 
 a system which has stood the test of such long experience, 
 and encountered the diflSculties of the most opposite teu- 
 dencies. In those counties where no such practice is met 
 with, it is very rare indeed to meet with a labourer who 
 has saved any money: their reliance is entirely on the 
 parish; and their present earnings dissipated in the ale- 
 house: not so in Lincolnshire. The man who wishes to 
 1 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XCV 
 
 the labouring classes. If the law which entitles 
 the poor to support were repealed, I should most 
 
 marry saves his money to buy cows ; and girls who design 
 to have husbands take the same means to procure them : 
 sobriety, industry, and economy, are thus secured; and 
 children are trained from their infancy to the culture of a 
 garden, and attending cattle, instead of starving with un- 
 employed spinning wheels. 
 
 No object can better deserve the attention of men of con- 
 siderable landed property : if some change of management, 
 decisive in its nature, does not take place, poor-rates will 
 continue to increase till they will absorb the whole landed 
 revenue of the kingdom. At the present moment they are 
 rising in a manner that ought to alarm every proprietor of 
 land : and this not to assist or support such objects as were 
 described in the 43d of Elizabeth, but hearty, strong men, 
 in the full vigour of life, which must be considered as so 
 absolute an abuse of the system, that not one session of 
 Parliament ought to pass without some effective remedy 
 being applied, It is a question whether Mr. Curwen’s 
 proposed parochial committees can answer the great end 
 which every one ought to have in view: to transfer those 
 debates upon questions really political, from the House of 
 Commons, to parish Committees, composed of men, on the one 
 side, solictious only to pay as little as possible, and on the 
 other, to receive as much as possible, may be productive of 
 continued discord ; but does not promise any beneficial set- 
 tlement of that variety of questions which must necessarily 
 come before them. I cannot but be much inclined to think 
 that an act of Parliament for limiting the demmids for 
 parish assistance might be framed, which would be far 
 more effective. It might, for instance, be proper to cut off 
 at one stroke every possible demand arising from bastardy, 
 
XCVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 highly approve of any plan which would tend to 
 render such repeal more palatable on its first pro- 
 mulgation ; and in this way some kind of compact 
 with the poor might be desirable.^* See Appendix, 
 vol. iii. p.365, of the last ( 5 th) Edition of the Essay 
 on Population. To have thus much granted by 
 Mr. Malthus, is no small matter, and should not be 
 lost sight of. It opens a door of reconciliation 
 with the man who too unguardedly asserted that 
 there was no cure for the evil of the poor laws but 
 to declare, and act upon the declaration, that the 
 poor had no right to public relief in the mainten- 
 ance of their children. 
 
 which has been so fertile a source of parochial burdens. 
 Might not all assistance be denied to men and women in 
 the possession of health and strength, and who have only a 
 limited number of young children? Might not the same 
 refusal be given in cases of distress ensuing after a certain 
 number of years of health and strength in which no saving 
 had been invested in saving banks ? These, and a variety 
 of other cases which might be named for limiting the ap- 
 plication of poor-rates, would cause very considerable re- 
 duction in this increasing burthen. But it must be ad- 
 mitted that a proper opportunity should be taken for any 
 decisive regulations, and such an opportunity can be found 
 only in a period not abounding with general distress ; and 
 the misfortune is that when the time of diflSculty is past, it 
 would not be an easy business to fix the attention of Parlia- 
 ment to questions not immediately pressing for notice. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Tour’s, &c. 
 
 (Signed) ARTHUR YOUNG. 
 
 1 
 
, w 
 
 GENERAL INTRODtCTION. XCVii 
 
 Nothing can be more clear than the abstract rea- 
 soning of Mr. Malthus, on the principle of popu- 
 
 Before turning the leaf over the name of Arthur Yotmg, 
 I must make a few brief remarks on his character, and 
 most willingly would offer a tribute of respect to. his 
 memory. He was an enthusiast, and of course honest; 
 he was well educated, suid a gentleman. In all his volut 
 ininous writings a mean sentiment is not to be found*.' 
 His habit of making free witli people’s names, and taking 
 liberties with their writings, arose from an uncontrollable 
 .ardour in the cause of improvement. I felt sore with 
 what he did in this way towards myself, and others did so ; 
 but he meant not to injure. After he got entangled with 
 the Board of Agriculture, he, did no good to the world. 
 His inclination to accumulate crude and undigested infor-; 
 mation, sufficiently evinced in some of his tours, had then 
 full scope : he then lost himself, and bewildered others, in 
 the confusion of detail. I question if he ever had the 
 power of correct abstract reasoning. His imagination 
 was too busy for it: his eye was too ravenous, devouring 
 all within its reach. Had he become blind when in the 
 vigour of youth, and never associated with the old women 
 of tlie Board of Agriculture, Arthur Young might have 
 proved a benefactor to .the human race. 
 
 Writing of him, in 1809, I said, “ the gold of govern- 
 ment fell like a mildew on the genius of Young.” I was 
 wrong. From tliese words, it may be inferred, that he was 
 corrupted by the gold of government, which I am con- 
 vinced he was not. There are influences which affect 
 people, situated as he was, which have nothing to do with 
 pecuniary considerations. The spirit of Young is one which 
 1 desire to meet with in Elysium ; and I make this little ac- 
 knowledgment, to clear the way. His Tour in Franc* 
 
 g 
 
181 
 
 
 f ' 
 
 lation ; and of all his disciples, no one, I believe, 
 ever enjoyed greater satisfaction than 1 did on the 
 first perusal of his book. I had for years been era- 
 barrassed in my studies, on the subject of perfecti- 
 bility, and could not reconcile results in nature 
 with the attribute of perfect goodness in the Divi- 
 nity. The theory of Mr. Malthus dissipated all my 
 doubts ; and though a few pages made clear what 
 had puzzled me, such is the nature of truth, that 
 I can, again and again, read over the illustrations 
 of the important one, established by the Essay on 
 Population, with renewed pleasure. 1 can go back 
 with Mr. Malthus into ancient times : 1 can ac- 
 
 company him over the globe, from Britain to China, 
 or from the frozen north to the torrid zone, de- 
 lighted to find that the law of nature is just and 
 invariable ; requiring of man only virtue to reach 
 the highest degree of sublunary bliss, and making 
 misery as surely the concomitant of vice. Balmy, 
 indeed, are such truths ; but how strangely have 
 some been led astray into reflections of the most 
 opposite kind, from the perusal of the Essay on 
 Population ! How strange, that the man who has 
 earned the immortal honour of having happily illus- 
 trated a principle so essential to individual peace, 
 and so admirably fitted to be a corner-stone for the 
 erection of a sound and liberal system of political 
 
 1 1 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 xcix 
 
 economy, should have become the butt of acri- 
 " inonious censure — should have been accused of 
 
 designs utterly at variance with the whole scope 
 and tendency of his reasoning ! Can we suppose 
 ® that Mr. Young, Mr. Godwin, and a swarm of 
 
 ^ inferior note, who have been the virulent and hljnd 
 
 ^ opposers of Mr. Malthus, were urged on by mere 
 
 petulance or spite, — were wanting in liberality ? 
 Certainly not. Both Young and Godwin were be* 
 ^ nevolent men ; but they caught up a wrong scent, 
 i. and gave tongue to an erring pursuit 
 oi 
 
 ^ ♦ The above was written in September, 1820, and shortly 
 
 Q afterwards Mr. Godwin’s last work appeared on the subject of 
 
 ^ Population. I immediately perused it, and could not help 
 
 m exclaiming, Alas ! poor Godwin. Such a compound of weakness 
 
 was certainly never presented to the public ; but strange to say, the 
 public entertained for it respect. I had prepared an expose. The 
 ^ Edinburgh Review has saved me the trouble of producing it. 
 
 ^ One of Mr. Godwin’s animadversions on Mr, Malthus is correct j 
 Ij that which regards the rapid increase of people in the western 
 states of America. Mr. M. has not adverted sufficiently to the 
 ^ increase in that quarter from emigration, as Mr. Godwin observes. 
 I'he western states have a constant stream of settlers flowing ipto 
 them from the old settlements. The supply afforded in this way 
 by New England is beyond belief ; and yet New England 
 jU somewhat increases in population, notwithstanding the drain. I 
 made inquiries as to this, when travelling through that country. 
 
 ^ Mr. Malthus had no need of pointing to the western states, to 
 prove that population increases rapidly in America. His position 
 was tenable, without any overstretch. Mankind, I have no doubt, 
 xuigbt double their number every fifteen years, under favourable 
 ^ circumgtances. Gireumstances are favourable in America, and the 
 
 j consequence is obvious. In 1 800 the Genstts of the State Of New 
 
 York, pire 687,064. That of 1810 gave 960,054, and that of 
 
 g 2 
 
Q general, introduction. 
 
 Looking dispassionately to the controversy which 
 the doctrine of Mr. Maltbus started, I think we 
 
 1 820 about 1 ,400,000 inhabitants. I refer to this State, because ooe 
 half o’f it consists of old, and one half of new country. New York, 
 Albany, and Schenectady, are among the oldest towns in 
 America; and, so far, the country was settled at a very early 
 
 period. Before tlie revolution, agricultural settlement had advanced 
 
 only partially to Utica and Rome, then called Forts Schuyler 
 and Stanwix. In 1792 there was nothing like a road— nothing 
 but Indian paths west of Whitestown, a village situated between 
 Utica and Rome. The Genessee country contained in 1790 only 
 
 960 souls, including travellers, and surveyors, with their attendants. 
 
 Seventeen countie.s are now formed out of the western part of New 
 York state, which in 1790 was a wilderness. In 1800, these 
 counties contained 69,209, in 1810, 229,148, and in 1820, 
 inhabitants^ n 
 
 The mas& of Americans are farmers, depending chiefly on their 
 own manual labour for subsistence, which subsistence can be pro- 
 cured for two or tliree hours labour per day. The moment that the 
 son of an American farmer is free from his father’s controul, which 
 he is at 21 years of age, he can have a farm of his ow n. A wife ia 
 part of the necessary stock ; and it is needless to waste lime with 
 saying more. It must be self-evident to all, that the increase is great. 
 Population, I convinced, however, increases faster in New 
 England than it does in Indiana and Illinois. The art of 
 settlement has never yet been understood, and the wasteful w^ay in 
 which wild lands have been disposed of, has contributed greatly to 
 check that degree of comfort, and ease, which is favourable to 
 breeding and nursing. In the woods of America, young wives are 
 often injured in their health by the hardships incident to the first 
 years of settlement. A young fellow, of New Eng’and, takes to 
 himself a wife, and having a span (pair) of horses, furniture for a log 
 house, and a few barrels of flour, pork, &c. packs his all in a 
 ramshackle w^aggon, and sets out on a journey of five hundred mi 
 to make a pitch in the wood^. The poor woman is scarcely 
 
lull 
 
 .GENERAI, INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Cl 
 
 eci'i 
 
 ton 
 
 !«Ti 
 
 tsSci 
 
 id-n 
 
 te^b 
 
 im' 
 
 ratii 
 
 pani 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 idyi 
 
 eoE^ 
 
 may discern whence has arisen the phlegm of op- 
 position. Mr, Malthus pushes-home his abstract 
 reasoning too stoically. He dwells too much on 
 gloomy results: he attributes these results too 
 much to the innate weakness of humanity : he re- 
 gards too little the consequences of vicious insti- 
 tutions : he almost seems to doat on the idea that 
 the condition of man is hopeless : he cheers us too 
 little with the view of improvement ; and he is too 
 rash, in asserting that the poor should be deprived 
 of their right of maintenance for children, — a right 
 which circumstances have created and time con- 
 firmed, — without diiepreparation and fairequivalent. 
 When Mr. Malthus speaks of denying to the poor 
 their right to public support, he reflects not a mo- 
 jnent on rights, both natural and acquired, which 
 have been gradually filched from them, and in lieu 
 
 meal* "of which the right which they now enjoy is the 
 
 Dir(^ wretched substitute. If Mr. Maltlius will make a 
 
 » fair bargain with the poor, not only for what has 
 
 ^ been stolen from them, but which the progress of 
 
 [3«f« 
 
 iDjli'! 
 
 I to it 
 
 home when she is ^onlined— not in the straw ; for till the second 
 year nothing so comfortable as straw can be procured : — she is 
 confined on a miserable stump bed, most scantily furnislted, while 
 an ill-made earthen floor is damp from morn to night ; while 
 muskitoes are buzzing in every direction ; and all the neighbour- 
 hood is infected with an aguish effluvia, f drawn forth by the sun’s 
 heat, acting for. ^he first time on the crude vegetable matter of the 
 new cleared land. Such situations are not the best nurseries. It 
 is the old settlements which produce and rear most children, and 
 Old England, if all was right, could fulfil God’s commands — could 
 multiply and replenish the earth as fast as New England does. 
 
cii genkral introduction. 
 
 civilization has shewn to be necessary and proper 
 for them to possess, I, for one, shall admit the 
 Sternest adoption of his proposal. I would cut off 
 thfeir claim of right to public support, both root 
 and branch': I would not only do this, but enact 
 a law, by which charitable foundations should be 
 erased, and erring benevolence kept in check : I 
 would suffer no societies to be formed for relieving 
 distress ; nay, were the streets strewed with the 
 victims of vice and misery, I would say, “ let the 
 dead bury the dead*.” 
 
 * At once to shew that I have been long a steady disciple of 
 Mr. Mai thus, and that my eye has not been suddenly bent, either 
 on a narrow, or too rigid reform of the podr laws, I shall here 
 quote two passages out of a book, published by me in 1809- 
 Last winter I was delighted with the perusal of Malthus on 
 Population. That work has settled all my doubts, after eight years’ 
 search for the boundary of human hope ; and if, under the grand 
 law of virtuom restraint^ I can say that I am perfectly contented to 
 live if, under this law, I feel my dignity as a' man more 
 complete if, from its most thorough elucidation, I find myself 
 quite at ease, both in my political and religious principles, I trust 
 that Mr. Malthus will consider it no flattery in me to declare my 
 opinion, that he is worthy of the highest honour of his country. 
 Page 20. Again, “ If the people of England are not educated, 
 misery and the poor-rates must continue to increase among them , 
 and Mr. Malthus’s recipe for bringing back the people to industry, 
 vYili be vain ; for the people of England, I am certain, would not 
 allow Parliament to declare the right of relief void. That right is 
 one, not founded by law only, but by nature. Every society is 
 bound, in honor, to take care of certain unfortunates : it is the 
 business of society to reduce these in number as much as possible 
 by fair m^ana : whatever happens in the w'orld, the abstract virtue 
 
n 
 
 il 
 cm 
 All I 
 Ills 
 lOOll 
 
 y 
 
 kIp 
 
 ifiil 
 
 “k 
 
 jk 
 
 te' 
 
 li 
 
 nil 
 
 U 
 
 teifi: 
 
 ifiili 
 
 00 
 
 |gjl 
 
 ^yt 
 
 00 
 
 «•!' 
 
 toil# 
 
 f 58# 
 II i" 
 
 tf 
 
 iJtt' 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ciii 
 
 There are two grand principles which rouse men 
 to action, necessity and ambition-; and in a truly 
 civilized age, when all men shall have fair advan- 
 tages, these will be found sufficient of themselves 
 to admit of all public charities, and of every thing 
 like poor-laws, being set aside. The public chari- 
 ties and poordaws of England have, indeed, been 
 its greatest curse. They have w^eakened the eflforts 
 of nature: they have blunted the spur of neces- 
 sity, and tajken from ambition its lure. 
 
 It is impossible for any man fully to conceive 
 the mischief which has arisen from the poor-laws 
 of England, without having put in comparison the 
 condition of the labourers in that country with 
 that of those in the sister kingdom. It was from 
 ample practical experience in both countries that 
 I mademp my mind as to the causes of difference, 
 — -the causes which have brought on England a 
 worse than useless expenditure of eight millions a 
 year; — causes which must be removed before any 
 great advance can be made in the improvement, 
 mor^l or physical, of this country. The expendi- 
 ture of eight millions annually by no means indi- 
 cates the amount of evil generated by the system 
 of the poor-laws. While that sum is squandered. 
 
 of this law muet remain the same.” Pages 123 .and 124. This 
 last quotation will take the edge from the stelrn declaration in the 
 text : nor does it contradict so rtnich as it may at first seem to do, 
 the principle on which that declaration rests. Mankind have 
 claims upon each other, of duly as well as right; and this may give 
 a text for discussion upon another occasion. 
 
 I 
 
V 
 
 cirj G£X£RaIj introduction. 
 
 double that is lost by its degrading the people, and 
 lessening their exertions. Having travelled far 
 and wide, both in England and Scotland, since my 
 return from America, I have had occasion to notice 
 a striking difference in the respective countries 
 under the present agricultural distress. In Eng- 
 land this is felt far beyond w'hat it is in Scotland. 
 Petitions for relief pour into Parliament from all 
 parts of England, while few or none have appeared 
 from Scotland. This greater urgency in a great 
 measure springs from the growing evil of the poor- 
 ly ws'. Markets are equally bad every where; but 
 in Scotland the exertions of labourers increase 
 with the pressure. There, the labourers share with 
 the farmer his distress. They become more obe- 
 dient to his w'ill: they enable him to do more 
 with smaller means ; and their wages fall*. In 
 England it is all the reverse. Here there is no 
 spring for industry. In hard times the poor have 
 no increased stimulus to toil; but fall heavier and 
 heavier as a load on their employers, while their 
 eihployers hecome less and less able to support 
 hem. 
 
 Farming in England, from 1809 till 1817, I 
 could hire an English ploughman for ^6 12 and his 
 victuals, while the current rate in Scotland was 
 from 18 to ,^20; and such was the superiority of 
 the Scotch in point of sobriety, steadiness, and 
 fidelity, that I could afford to bring them from the 
 
 * Ploughmen’s wages have fallen in Scotland, from ^1? 1 8 and 
 £i0 per annum to £9 and £\0 since the peace. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. * CT 
 
 P^y ®ven upwards of- .£20 per 
 
 annum ; nor would I have limited my number of im- 
 ported labourers, but for the necessity of employing 
 parish poor, who, whether employed or not, I was 
 bound tomaintain*.Thisdifferenceclearlyarosefrom 
 the different circumstances in which the labourers 
 of the respective countries had been trained up. 
 In the one country they received education, were 
 'P® inspired with feelings of independence, and cne- 
 a S« rished hope of getting on in the world. In theother, 
 lap without education or laudable ambition, they 
 re;» had no iriclination to exert themselves either for 
 m character or gain. To better their condition, one 
 ten only shift was left them— to marry, and procreate 
 irei children,|in proportion to the number of whom their 
 
 loi proportion of parish-pay was increased. While I 
 
 II* marked the real difference in point of economy* 
 es which sprung from the mere trainings of labourers: 
 oili vvhile I observed the effects of this better training 
 ,j(,i in .improving the moral qualities, the enjoyment, 
 IjI and respectability of the Scotch, I had the fullest 
 conviction from experience, that the natural dispo- 
 sitions of the English were superior to those of my 
 countrymen; and I more and more deprecated the 
 mfernal system of perversion and debasement. 
 What, such a damning system would ultimately 
 come, to, has been , long evident; but only now 
 begins to 'be impressive, from its consequences; 
 
 $i ~ ^ ^ : — -r- — - 
 
 , * I have heard it stated as a fact, that four out, of fiye non^m- 
 missioned officers in the army are Scotch. It can readily be 
 ascertained 5 and is truly worthy of reflection. 
 
<m GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ! 
 
 and well will it be, if present consequences force 
 on a remedy, while worse have not ensued. 
 
 The grand question is, How can the system of 
 the poor-laws be changed? Mr. Malthus having i 
 made good his abstract position,— having allowed i 
 that “ the system of the poor-lmos is an evil, in com- 
 parison (f which the national debt, with all its 
 terrors, is of little moment,'' and being alarmed 
 with “ the prospect of a monstrous deformity in 
 society," proposes a law, by which the children of j 
 the poor should cease to be relieved ; and that to 
 render this law palatable, a sermon should be 
 preached on the subject at the solemnization of 
 marriages. How strange, that a man should have [ 
 a head so clear for abstract reasoning, and eyes so 
 dim to the consequences which would certainly 
 ensue upon the very 'first attempt to put such a i 
 law in execution! As well might Mr. Malthus, 
 after a train of abstract deductions, propose to do 
 aWay, by mere law and ceremony, with kings, 
 whom the madness of the people, superstition, ty- 
 ranny, habits, and prejudices, have confirmed on their 
 thrones. Most certainly, civil war and bloodshed 
 would be the consequence of any such attempt, as 
 well in the one case as in the other. The poor of 
 England might not have had an inherent right to 
 maintenance for children ; and if a dear under- 
 standing had been held in bar of such right, un- 
 doubtedly it would have been well to have main- 
 tained it ; but now, that both law and practice 
 have made good this right ; — tiow, that circum- 
 stances have rendered it necessary, the case is en- 
 
INTKODVCTION, CvU 
 
 tirely changed. The right of the poor for main- 
 tenance can no longer be done away with by mere 
 words. SubstantiaU have been taken from the 
 poor, and substantials must be returned, if further 
 sacrifices are to be required of them; nor can even 
 this change be effected without cautious prepara- 
 tion and liberal treatment. 
 
 Though my main pursuit in removing from Scot- 
 land to England, was to examine into the causes, 
 and contrive remedies for the evils of the poor-law 
 system, it was several years before I could make 
 up my mind on any point. For two years I inter- 
 fered little in parochial management ; keeping, 
 however, a watchful eye over those who did in- 
 terfere. The third year I became one of the over- 
 seers, and gave minute attention to every particular. 
 In Wiltshire, I and some counties round, a system 
 of regulating the wages of labour, was completely 
 matured and acted upon. Nine shillings per week 
 was declared to be the pay ofa labourer in Wilt- 
 shire, though in Fifeshire, from whence I had come, 
 twelve shillings per week, and often more, was the 
 customary rate. As nine shillings per week could 
 not maintain a man with a family, the rule was to 
 allow him to apply to the overseer, when *he had 
 inore than ^two children, for additional pay, which 
 was thus regulated. Tirst, the man’s wages were ' 
 set down, viz. : . ' '1 . 9s. Od. 
 
 Then a value was put on the labour 
 
 of his wife, say . . . .30 
 
 , Ib h. 
 
 Carried over 12s. Od. 
 
^cviii general INTRODUCTION. 
 
 im Brought over 12s. Orf. 
 
 Then an inquiry was made, as to bow ' 
 
 'much each child, above seven years 
 of age, earned, and that was set 
 dovvn ; say 3s. for one, 9s. for another, 
 and Is. per week, for a third — in all 6 0 
 
 .ii ^ 13 0 
 
 Then the whole family vv^as nnibbcrcd ; , 
 say man, wife, three children above 
 seven years old, and three Under 
 that age, — in all eight persons; for 
 each of whom the selliftg price of a 
 gallon loaf, with 3d. in addition, was 
 allowed. If the gallon loaf was 3s.* 
 then there was to be reckoned ‘2 4's. 
 for loaves, ^nd the ' 3d. to each of 
 eight persons, 2s.’'m'aking - ‘‘ in all 26 0 
 
 From which sum the earnings of the 
 family were deducted, leaving a ba- 
 lance to be paid by the Overseer, 8 0 
 
 The glaring error in this part of the system was 
 setting the wages of the labourer too low. In 
 England the habits of labourers were not so eco- 
 nomical as in Scotland: in England, labourers 
 really required more money to maintain them; 
 but here in England they had greatly less: here a 
 nominal price was set upon labour, 3s, per week 
 below what it was naturally worth in Scotland. 
 
 * With the above example, the rule will be sufficiently under- 
 stood. The gallon lodf falling to 2s. 6d. or 2s,, lowered parish 
 pay in proportion. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CIX 
 
 There was no difficulty in correcting this error. 
 As soon as I got to be overseer of the poor, I 
 reckoned the labour of 'every able-bodied man at 
 ISs.; and thus, at a single stroke, not only lessen- 
 ed parish pay. and poor-rates, but did infinite good 
 otherwise. The poor themselves were quite pleas- 
 ed with this change: not so the farmers; who 
 as soon as I was out of office reduced wages to i}s. 
 per week. The farmers had a reason for thisj 
 but it was founded on ignorance; ^ and to ignorance 
 and bad reasoning we may safely ascribe a full half 
 of all this world’s misery. By. holding down the 
 nominal wages of married men with more- than 
 two children, the farmers had chiefly in view to 
 hold down the real wages of single men, and those 
 who had less than three children; and they really 
 made good their point, to the great injury both of 
 themselves and_ labourers. TIhis, while statute- 
 laws have been framed to prevent manufacturing 
 labourers from combining to raise their pay, a most’ 
 powerful combination, ratified by the magistracy of 
 England, was at work to keep down husbandry 
 labour below its proper level ; and thus it was that 
 I could hire an English ploughraani for £12 per 
 annum, while 1 could not hire a Scotch ploughman 
 of the same appearance at less than £I8. It will 
 naturally be asked, why should an unincumbered 
 English ploughman submit to this? And the 
 <}uestion must be solved by looking to a variety of 
 points; and gathering causes from all of them. 
 The whole of the south of England was subjected to 
 the cursed, artificial system of which a part now 
 
 ^ // c 
 
CX OENBRAl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 appears. A spirited young man might travel a 
 hundred miles before he could get beyond the limit 
 of the agricultural combination; and there were 
 few spirited young men in a country where the 
 mass of the people could not read and write. The 
 want of mental energy, consequent on the want of 
 education, aided by attachment to the place of 
 birth, relations, friends, and still more to habits of 
 indolence, caught from what they saw around 
 them, all conspired to enslave labourers, and to 
 enable farmers to triumph over them in a most 
 pernicious victory. With a few sensible people 
 I could prevail by reasoning, and obtain confession, 
 that keeping down wages by artifice, was wrong 
 and unthrifty; but there was no getting any body 
 of farmers to act in the face of established practice. 
 
 While in Scotland, I was in the habit of adverti- 
 sing for labourers when pushed by extraordinary 
 need. By the simple means of a dozen or two 
 printed notices, stuck up at public places, 1 have 
 Ijad a hundred reapers come immediately to my 
 aid; and, by such timely aid, I have repeatedly 
 saved my crop from destruction, and harvested it 
 at the very best moment of time. In England, 
 being in want of an extraordinary number of hay- 
 makers, after a tract of wet weather, I wrote out a 
 few advertisements, and had them stuck up in the 
 neighbouring villages ; but what ensued? — My 
 advertisements were pulled down by the farmerst 
 they were exhibited next market-day, in order to 
 disgrace me ; and some men, whose ignorance w'as 
 backed by bad temper, were actually sulky. Here 
 
 2 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CXi 
 
 is scope for useful reflection. English labourers, 
 ' I have said, have, naturally, better dispositions 
 than my countrymen. I found the same of English 
 farmers, where not immured in the mud of bad 
 practices, or accustomed to lord it over the poor. 
 Just in proportion, indeed, as men of all sorts are 
 independent of each other, so much more will they 
 be well disposed and kindly to each other. In 
 Wiltshire, the farmers, in many respects, were ex- 
 cellent men. I remember them with the warmest 
 regard, and have the felicity to know, that I am 
 not forgotten as a friend in that county; but I must 
 say that, to the poor, some, even of the best of 
 them, were totally without feeling. How diffe- 
 rent did I find it in Lincolnshire twenty years ago. 
 There, farmers were, for their labourers, the warm- 
 est advocates. I shall never forget the occasion 
 alluded to page xcii, where it is said, “a numerous 
 meeting of formers signed their entire approbation 
 of the system.” 
 
 While dining, with a large party at Brigg, I made 
 known my errand into Lincolnshire. I said that 
 Government had in view to make arrangements 
 throughout England, for providing every poor man 
 with the means of keeping a cow, and that I had 
 been sent to inquire whether the practice in Lin- 
 colnshire and Rutland had been attended with good 
 eflPects. I shall never forget the burst of approba- 
 tion which instantly proceeded from all present, 
 and think I yet see the kindly flashes which were 
 darted from eye to eye. Being loth to lose so good 
 an opportunity of givirfg satisfaction to my ein- 
 
CXii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ployers of the Board of Agriculture, I called for 
 pen, ink, and paper, and wrote out a certificate, 
 which was instantly signed by ev^ry man present; 
 and which I shall here produce. 
 
 Lincolnshire ^ \Qth Feh. 1801. 
 
 We, the undersigned, farmers in the neighbourhood of 
 this place, where it is very common to allow Cottagers land 
 for the keep of a cow, &c. give it as our opinion that, 
 enabling such people to keep one cow, &c. is a measure 
 fraught with excellent effects. To the families of the 
 
 cottagers it adds 
 people ; and to 
 labourers. 
 
 Rob. Holgate 
 T. Goulfon 
 Wm. Sergeant 
 Rob. Smith 
 John Nicholson 
 John Firth 
 John Brown 
 «r. Lawrence 
 Thos. Marres 
 Wm, Bennard 
 
 much comfort : to t 
 ourselves, better 
 
 Theo. Kirk 
 Jos. Dudding * 
 Geo. Sowderby 
 Wm. Butter 
 Geo. Maw 
 Wm. Richardson 
 Wm, Botterill 
 Thos, Brooks 
 Jos. Atkinson 
 J, Parkinson 
 
 :he country, contented 
 and more contented 
 
 Thomson Carticright 
 Math. Maw 
 John Marshall 
 Rich. Roadley 
 John Uppleby 
 Wm, Hargrave 
 Wm. Brown 
 Thos. West 
 Martin Frankish 
 
 I hope the greater part of these worthy men are 
 still alive, and I doubt not, would be still, and 
 equally, willing to speak in favour of the poor. 
 
 Looking back to the parish reckoning for the 
 pay of labour, it may be observed, that while 9s. 
 per week was the nominal pay’^, labour was in fact 
 high. A Scotch labourer got 12s. and was left to 
 his shifts, whatever was the number of his children. 
 Supposing his^wife and children only earned to 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cxiii 
 
 him as much as did those of the English pauper, 
 he would have 6s. less to live upon, or 6s. would 
 be saved to the public directly ; but this visible 
 and direct saving to the public of 6s. was very far 
 from being the actual saving. While the Scotch 
 labourer was paid a fair price for his labour, being 
 a freeman, he did more for that 12«. than the Eng- 
 lish labourer did for 9s. in proportion; and every 
 member of his family,_ left to themselves, were 
 more profitably employed than those of the Eng- 
 lish pauper, who had not the slightest interest in 
 the quantity or quality of the work they performed. 
 The wife and children of the Scotch labourers 
 would fully make up, by their greater labour, the 
 amount of 8^., paid out of poor-rates ; and 
 thus it may be seen, that by a pitiful/e/cA, to make 
 wages appear low in England, for the base purpose 
 of diminishing the wages of those not entitled to 
 parish aid, the price of labour was actually increas- 
 ed, and every farthing of the parish pay — the 8s. was 
 merely wasted, while the Scotch labourer had 12s. 
 per w^k, the English labourer would have required 
 14s. owing to his less thrifty modes of living; and 
 I know, that if they had been allowed to draw in 
 this much, they would not only have made no 
 complaint to the parish ; but every man, woman 
 and child, left free to earn subsistence in proportion 
 to exertion, would have been not only contented, 
 but have done more for themselves, and more for 
 others.' In the parish of Wily, under the factitious 
 system there established, it was truly disgusting to 
 see consequences. One family, with a weak and 
 
 h 
 
cxiv 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 good-for-nothing creature at the head of it, not worth 
 4s. per week, yet valued at 9s. and rendered as 
 comfortable in his living as the strongest and best 
 man, whose labour was worth 14s. The diffeience 
 between the natural and factitious system was best 
 proved in cases where piece-work could be agreed 
 for. In doing piece-work I had English labourers, 
 who surpassed any Scotchmen I ever employed in 
 the same way. In this piece-work the labourer 
 was paid according to his exertion, and then, in- 
 deed, he did exert himself. My English mowers 
 did their work better and cheaper than Scotchmen 
 could do, and they earned more for themselves at 
 the same time. An industrious Englishman, left 
 to himself, will work harder than a Scotchman, for 
 this reason, that he desires to live better ; but as a 
 pauper, all that stimulates to toil is set aside ; and 
 the heads of families impoverished and dispirited, 
 communicate to all below them a greater and a 
 greater degree of hopelessness, indifference, and las- 
 situde. Besides raising the rate of men’s wages, 
 I had recourse to methods for making the most of 
 the women and children, for whom the parish had 
 to provide. For the first two months, much oppo- 
 sition was made to all my measures ; but, as they 
 were sanctioned by magisterial authority, all was 
 established ; and there was not another word of 
 dispute, either with the poor, or their masters, 
 during the remainder of my term of public service. 
 To have thoroughly rooted out the evil in a single 
 insulated parish, was out of the question ; but 
 there were, clearly, modes of procedure, which, ge- 
 
 -s;3B 
 
genrhal introduction. cxv 
 
 „ 
 
 neraily adopted and enforced, would have got quit 
 of much mischief. ^ 
 
 ^ I have said, that as soon as I was out of office, 
 
 substituted for 12,. in reckoning the earn- 
 mgs of labour; and not only was this miserable 
 w effected, but every regulation, which I had 
 
 veil arbitrary power, was set 
 
 asi e y my successor; while the same magis- 
 ^ trates who had sanctioned my acts, confirmed 
 what was done by him!!! 
 
 “ It thus became vain to look for permanent im- 
 ' “= provement, unless the magistrates themselves were 
 ves overruled; and to be sure, a case soon occurred, ’ 
 M to shew how much need there was for this, and 
 
 an, I how far oppression could proceed under the pre- 
 
 ut« vailing system. Merely because a certain poor 
 e;i woman preferred my service to that of my neigh- 
 pint hours, she was neglected, deprived of her fair 
 rai allowance of parish pay, and nearly famished. As 
 d- soon as I heard of what was going on, I espoused 
 M the woman’s cause: I afforded her opportunity of 
 uoK laying her case before the magistrates; but here 
 riski she found no redress. There was but one course 
 bil left, and that was to extort, by shame, what could 
 asi not be obtained by reason and law. I had the poor 
 j||i woman examined before the clergyman of the 
 fon' parish, and printed the following simple statement 
 jjsf of her case. 
 
 safi 
 
CXVl 
 
 GENERAI- 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tyranny of poor laws, 
 
 exemplified. 
 
 ENGLISHMEN! ’TIS YOUU LITTLE ALL 
 
 A WILTSHIRE Justice of some fame has written as 
 if he knew nothing off 
 
 GRINDING THE FACE OF THE POOR, 
 
 and perhaps they who have been born in darkness may be 
 
 excused for not knowing it from light; but such obscunt, 
 who would not wish to disperse ?-Behold a present proof 
 
 in the case of poor Set Bennam* 
 
 She is well known in the parish of WiLY, as being a 
 sober-minded, inoffensive, and industrious woman. Jiet 
 was lately seen crying by herself, which excited attention; 
 for she had never, in all her troubles, been known to cry 
 before, being remarkable for patient endurance. She 
 crying from mere weakness. The report of this, rew 
 her some little attentions, and afforded her an opportuni y 
 of disclosing her situation. She had been afflicte wi » 
 disease incident to women, which she had conceale 
 the last oitch of endurance. 
 
 * These words were meant to attract notice, and their 
 sition was simply this, — that, the poor of England after beii^ 
 reduced to a gallon loaf and three-pence per week, had nee J 
 look sharp even after that. I know that there are people w o 
 desire to see the poor fed solely on potatoes. 
 
 + See Mr. Benett’s Letter in the Salisbury Journal, ^3^® 
 January, 1815. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CXVil 
 
 Her case will be best known, and more readily be- 
 lieved, from the following declaration, made and written 
 down before the Clergyman of the parish. 
 
 Bet Bennam, examined before the Rev. Mr. Ball, de- 
 clares, that she was taken ill before harvest, and has not 
 been altogether well since. That, when unwell, having no 
 bed clothes, she applied to tlie overseer for a blanket, but 
 he refused to give her any. She then threatened to go 
 to Salisbury and make a complaint, and he said he would 
 go too, and soon tire her of going. He came, however, 
 next day, and promised he would give her one. About 
 a month after, she was told it was come by the carrier, 
 and that she might go and fetch it. After she had the 
 blanket about an hour, she was sent to bring it back, and 
 it was then tom in two, and she had tlie half given to her. 
 
 She declares that she did not in ordinary make two 
 shillings per week, which was not the ordinary parish 
 allowance; but that she did not like to apply, for they 
 always made so many words. About Christmas, however, 
 during the snow, she and Mary Bacon applied together, 
 on pay Sunday. The Overseer then told them, they 
 should rather pay him some money, for he was entitled to 
 all they made above two shillings per week. 
 
 Bet Bennam declared she had made but one shilling 
 for the last fortnight, and after pressing him, he gave her 
 one shilling, and the other woman the same. That after 
 this, she did not apply at church fw a month, finding it so 
 disagreeable, although she did not make the parish allow- 
 ance. She happened to have a few potatoes, which 
 helped her to live. She grew worse and worse in her 
 health, and found herself necessitated to apply on the 
 29th of January. Nanny Smith was then with her, and 
 each of them had earned two shillings during the last fort- 
 night. Nanny Smith was much more able to work than 
 she, yet the Overseer gave her two shillings, and Bet 
 Bennam only one shilling: she then held the shilling out 
 

 CXViii GENEHAL IN^TRODUCTION. 
 
 in her hand^ and complained that she had not her 
 allowance; but he refused to give her any more. The 
 week after this, she was entirely unable to do any 
 thing, and she got one shilling and six-pence from 
 the parish. On the 12th of February, she had two 
 shillings and six-pence, and on the 26th four shillings. 
 When she had the above one shilling and six-pence, 
 viz. on Monday, the 6th of February, she asked the 
 Overseer to let her have the Parish Doctor; but he 
 told her to wait till Sunday next. She then applied 
 again, but he would not allow the Doctor to see her, 
 saying that she would do better when the warm weather 
 came. On Thursday, the 16th, she called on Mr. Gour- 
 lay, and had a letter from him to the Overseer, re- 
 questing him to give her a certificate to appear on 
 Saturday at Salisbury Hospital, to get in there, where 
 she might be taken care of. She went immediately 
 with this letter to the Overseer, and had his promise 
 that he would give her a paper next day, and of this 
 she returned to inform Mr. G. In the afternoon of Friday, 
 she went for the certificate, but was then told that the 
 parish subscription was not paid, and besides that she 
 could not get to the hospital, till she had been examined 
 by the parish-surgeon. 
 
 About a week after this, she was sent for by Mr, 
 G. who after examining her as to all this treatment, 
 desired her to get a summons for the Overseer, and said 
 that he would give her a cart to carry her to Salisbury. 
 This was accordingly done : but after going there she had 
 to return without any relief — the Magistrate refusing to 
 hear any statement of the case, further than what be 
 obtained by asking her what she had on the two last 
 occasions of application. 
 
 This declaration made before me by the said Bet 
 Bennam. 
 
 (Signed) JOHN BALL, 
 
 Curate of Wily^ 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CXIX 
 
 I have seen the blanket weighed which Bet Bennam 
 received from the Overseer of Wily: it weighed neat, 
 twenty ounces: she had no other bed-clothes besides it; 
 and is lodged in a most miserable hovel with three other 
 females. 
 
 •(Signed) JOHN BALL, 
 
 Curate of the Parish of Wily, 
 
 Mrs. G, was first acquainted with her situation the 11th of 
 February, and advised her to apply for medical aid; but it 
 was the shuffling conduct of tlie Overseer, as above-recited, 
 which first excited our most lively feelings : yet what was 
 to be done to prevent such recurrence ? 
 
 I had endeavoured to establish clear law as to the 
 poor, before the Salisbury Bench. I had endeavoured 
 amendment ; but it was of no avail. What was said to- 
 day was denied to-morrow; and soured with arbitrary 
 proceedings, I had despaired of ever getting substantial 
 justice there. It so happened, however, that by perfect 
 accident, I heard Lord Folkstone now sat on the bench ; 
 and in the hope of change, I resolved, after examining the 
 poor woman as to her general treatment in the parish, to 
 fetch a summons for the Overseer. — Let the gay licen- 
 tious crowd” consider that this poor woman had lived 
 upwards of four months on the sum of one pound, eight 
 shillings and eight pence — and ssty, if it should be so in 
 a country, which once boasted the wealthiest, happiest 
 peasantry of the world. 
 
 Her account, when every farthing was scrupu- 
 
 lously reckoned, stood thus: 
 
 £ 5. d. 
 
 Earned in my service 0 12 8 
 
 otherwise at sundries 0 6 0 
 
 Had from the parish 0 10 0 
 
cxx 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 considerably under the bare allowance which the district 
 regulation has appointed for the minimum of misery viz. 
 a gallon loaf, and three-pence per week. 
 
 Mr. Dyke, a truly worthy Magistrate, was alone on 
 the bench at Salisbury, when Bet Bennam appeared. 
 He patiently heard her case, and was on the point of or- 
 dering her relief, when two reverend Justices arrived. 
 The first asked at once of Mr. D. if there was any thing 
 due, which he answered in the affirmative. The other, 
 however, Mr. Marsh, immediately assumed the whole au- 
 thority. I assured him it was a peculiar case, and required 
 explanation: that I had explained matters to Mr. Dyke; 
 and if he would permit me, I should again give him the 
 particulars. The Rev. Mr. Marsh was much too dictato- 
 rial for this : he would settle it himself by interrogatories. 
 How much did you get last occasion from the Overseer? 
 and how much the time before when you applied ? and you 
 made no complaint of what you got? then, if you did not, 
 there is no relief for you. Sir, said I, will you but allow 
 me to speak for the poor woman : will you let me state her 
 case? No. Will you not allow me to state her peculiar 
 case? No. Then, Sir, we are at issue. — And thus poor 
 Bet Bennam had her coming for her going to Salisbury. 
 
 Englishmen! You are making a mighty bustle about 
 bread, but there is more than bread wanted : we live not 
 for bread alone. If the loaf were at six-pence, it would 
 make no difference to the labourers of England, while 
 the poor laws remain as now, and are thus administered. 
 You do not know the iniquity which has reduced the king- 
 dom to pauperism; — which has stolen upon you, like a 
 thief in the night. It is not your magistrates that are to 
 blame so much as yourselves, who have tacitly confirmed 
 the acts of your magistrates. It is not the laws so much 
 as arbitrary power, which you have permitted to grow up 
 and overshadow the views of benevolence, and the sub- 
 stantial ends of justice. 
 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cXIci 
 
 Perhaps you would be displeased were you roused from 
 your slumbers. Perhaps you would disdain to hear of the 
 conspiracy, which has risen up against independence, 
 under your LANDED OLIGARCHY. 
 
 Perhaps you would be jealous of a witness bom on the 
 opposite side of the river from yourselves. But, English- 
 men ! you must either learn, or be taught by dire expe- 
 rience ; for out of your present system of parochial juris- 
 diction can come nothing but ruin. 
 
 I will be bold to say tliis, if you will give me your con- 
 fidence, that peaceable arrangements might be formed, 
 by which this system might be entirely done away : by 
 which in ten years your poor-rates would not be even 
 a tenth of their present reduced amount : by which pau- 
 perism would be annulled ; and by which England would 
 return to its ancient prosperity — return to prosperity, and 
 outmatch the world in the greatness of its virtues. 
 
 If you deign to bestow on me this confidence, these 
 arrangements shall be submitted to your judgment. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 Deptford Farm, Wily, Wilts, 
 
 March 6, 1815, 
 
 The above little expos6 was only but printed, 
 when a thought struck me, that it should have a 
 wider range, that it should be published beyond the 
 limits of Wiltshire j and I resolved to send a copy 
 to every English peer and member of the Commons 
 House of Parliament. This requiring a second edi- 
 tion, I flung together some thoughts with regard to 
 the education of the poor, a subject which had all 
 along engaged much of my attention. Among the 
 regulations which I wished to have established, was 
 

 CXxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 this, that during winter months, all children under 
 twelve years of age, should be excused from la- 
 bour, provided they were sent to school. It will 
 scarcely be credited, yet, nevertheless, is true, that 
 this regulation was not only abandoned, but all 
 children, above seven years of age, were sent out 
 to labour, for no purpose whatever but to pre- 
 vent their getting to school*. To attract notice to 
 a practice so very abominable, and to excite addi- 
 tional interest to the subject ot poor laws, I accom- 
 panied the above sad story of oppression with the 
 following address. 
 
 TO 
 
 THE LABOURING POOR OF WILY PARISH. 
 
 My poor Neighbours, 
 
 I HAVE now lived among you upwards of five years; 
 and my heart has often bled for the wretchedness of your 
 situation : but, alas ! what can a single individual do to 
 alleviate general calamity ? The purse even of the wealth- 
 iest could comparatively do nothing for the poor people of 
 England. They however are most welcome to what my 
 pen may effect. 
 
 Fourteen years ago, I was employed for some months by 
 a branch of government, to inquire into the state, of the 
 
 * The poor people of Wily were always anxious to have 
 their children educated ; and with great pleasure I record a striking 
 proof of it. Last April (IS^il), while on a visit to Wiltshire, I 
 had scarcely saluted one of ray old servants (Stephen While) when 
 he hastened to tell me that he and Thomas Wickham, another of 
 my old servants, had established a school for the poor children, in 
 spite of opposition from the farmers. Good God ! should such 
 people not be aided by Govera®ent ? 
 
general introduction. cxxiii 
 
 poor; and a celebrated character, (Mr. Young), who had 
 suggested the inquiry, in order to stimulate me then to ex- 
 tend my ideas on the subject, flattered me by saying, that 
 
 I had more knowledge of the poor of England than any 
 man in it. ^ 
 
 Had the scheme proposed been practicable, or even 
 hopeful, I should have required no flattery to have lent 
 it my best aid. As it was, certain ideas were then fixed 
 in my breast, which I have cherished ever since. They 
 concern the greatest subject which can engage the atten- 
 tion of Englishmen, — the reform of their parochial 
 economy. 
 
 After travelling, chiefly on foot, for many months over 
 England, and having the best opportunities of knowing 
 tlie real situation of the labouring poor, I returned to 
 Scotland, and was eight years there without losing sight 
 of my object: often brooding on the mighty contrast 
 which the two kingdoms afforded,— the contrast of gene- 
 ral happiness and general misery : and all too the result 
 of a few simple regulations ; for the poor laws of Scot- 
 land and England are fundamentally tlie same. 
 
 It was always my intention to settle some .time in Eng- 
 land, to mature my knowledge and forward my views on 
 this great subject. At the time I did come among you, 
 my health also had rendered a change of climate neces- 
 sary; and I promised myself much from the patronage 
 which might result from connexion with a great man, 
 seemingly so patriotic as the noble duke, who desired to 
 improve English husbandry. 
 
 My mistake and consequent sufierings are known to you 
 all. Though they have, in some respects, interrupted and 
 retarded my prospects, they have taught me, more and 
 more, to feel for others, who labour under tyranny ; and 
 tny case may shew you that this is an evil to be expected 
 by all those who are under the power of others. The de- 
 sire to tyrannize indeed is the master pafsion of the human 
 
CXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 breast, and it is that which good laws should labour most 
 to restrain. Riches will always bestow power and foster 
 tyranny, but there is a degree of independence in this 
 
 country, which wealth cannot elfect. 
 
 Yon poor labourers of England, have lost much of this 
 degree’of independence, and of course you are subject to 
 
 tyranny, and to miseries greatly multiplied. To recover 
 for you independence, shall be my object ; but this can 
 only be effected gradually. 
 
 Even with every aid, it might take ten years, as above 
 to rescue vou entirely from your present de- 
 
 plorable situation. 
 
 Instead of being confined to particular parishes, as you 
 now are : instead of having your wages kept down by 
 rule, and having to apply at church for part of that pay, 
 as if it were charity, and not the hard earning of your in- 
 dustry : instead of poor infirm women, like Bet Bennam, 
 having to put up with misery itself, rather than bear Ae 
 scowl of an overseer; or having to travel twenty-two miles 
 for but a slender chance of redress : instead of old men 
 who have wasted their days in hard labour, having to crawl 
 at last into some cold, damp and dreary habitation, with 
 scarcely a blanket to protect them from the piercing wind 
 of winter, and with only a gallon loaf and three-pence per 
 week for clothing, food, and fire: instead of all this, 
 would it not be better that you could choose your work and 
 your masters over the whole country : that you could oh 
 tain the highest price for your labour, and never be put to 
 the necessity of begging it from any one : that you had 
 comfortable homes which you could call your own, and 
 such plenty in store, that neither age nor infirmity could 
 reduce you to beggary? Would not all this be desir- 
 able? But you may think, and you may be told, that it 
 is impossible. I tell you the contrary. It is so in Scotland, 
 and may be so here; for human nature is every where the 
 same. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CXMV 
 
 But how is it to be done, or who will do it?. It must be 
 done by yourselves, using lawful and peaceable means : not 
 expecting too much at first; but patiently following up 
 your desires and purposes. You hear, at this time, much 
 about petitioning Parliament. Perhaps nobody has told 
 you that you may do this as well as oth^s, and that you 
 have as good a right. 
 
 When the parish gave you a dinner last summer, be- 
 cause of peace, as it was thought, I could not join, as I 
 saw fresh causes for war in the very public acts of the mo- 
 ment. I sent an offer of what I could spare, to be em- 
 ployed in another way ; and I requested the parish to join 
 me in petitioning against the slave trade, the continuance 
 of which was a strong symptom tliat the causes of war were 
 not laid aside. At the very moment, however, that all 
 indulged in the idea of peace and plenty for themselves, 
 they would not even take the trouble to write down their 
 names, for the happiness of thousands of their fellow 
 creatures. 
 
 Reflect on this, my poor neighbours, not with a view to 
 censure, but to guard yourselves against selfishness, and 
 against too much dependence on others. Petitioning for 
 the poor ’Africans could have hurt nobody, and would have 
 been a benevolent exercise of your most valuable right; 
 a right, which, if you would join in exercising discreetly, 
 would certainly obtain for you, every rational demand. 
 
 But many above you, will discourage your first attempt, 
 from the invidious, tyrannical spirit, which is continually 
 on the watch against the advancement of independence. 
 This you must disregard, if you would do good to your- 
 selves and your children. You must say, that by doing 
 so, you hurt, nor wish to hurt nobody ; that you wish to 
 do only what is right. 
 
 Whence is it, do you think, that not one in ten of you 
 has been taught to read or write ; and that while hundreds 
 of millions are thrown away on bloody war by Government, 
 
 2 
 

 CXltVl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a single million would be grudged, which would give your 
 children so great a blessing? Yes, a single million would 
 educate all England. Whence ? but because men in power 
 wish not good for others so much as greatness for them- 
 selves: and because they think, by your ignorance they 
 can more easily maintain their command over you. 
 
 They pretend, very falsely, that you would be worse sub- 
 jects with education. While I have lived among you, have 
 you seen that the ability to read and write has made my 
 Scotch servants worse members of society ; idle, drunken, 
 or deceitful? Far from it. Their education, and their edu- 
 cation alone, has made them both better subjects and in- 
 dependent men. They may go all over the island, and 
 need not thank any individual for the money they earn, or 
 the happiness they enjoy. This is generally the case with 
 all Scotchmen. Why should it not be so with Englishmen ? 
 Why, but because they are not educated ; and ignorance 
 has subjected them to parish laws. 
 
 Why is it that the labouring people in Scotland are not 
 called the poor y as they are in England ? Why is it that they 
 are better fed, better housed, and better clothed than in 
 England ? Why are wages higher in Scotland than here ? * 
 The same answer is sufficient for all these questions. The 
 Scotch are educated, and can take care of themselves, 
 while the poor English know nothing, and must submit to 
 the care of others, which is generally no care at all : no, 
 not so much as tlie care of the reverend Mr. Marsh ; but 
 the care, perhaps, of a selfish, hard-hearted overseer, who 
 has a direct interest in making them his slaves ; — slaves, 
 worse conditioned than those of the West India planter, 
 for they are absolute property, and men will take good care 
 of their property. Men are seldom wanting in the care of 
 
 * For the last seven years, the average yearly wages of a 
 ploughman in Scotland has been £<iQ and his victuals ; in this 
 country, not exceeding and his victuals. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, CXXvii 
 
 tlieir horses and sheep ; but the care of an overseer may be 
 only to get his own labour cheaply performed, and as much 
 as possible at the expence of others. When his labour is 
 done, all that he can save from the poor enriches him ; 
 and the sooner that the infirm die, by so much is his profit 
 increased. 
 
 To get above all this, your first attempt must be to have 
 your children educated ; and I think the means of doing 
 this would be granted you were you only to ask it. I have 
 very simple means in view, which would cost the country 
 nothing; and were this boon, which would cost nothing, 
 granted by the Government, then it might be proper for 
 me to communicate with you further. 
 
 At present I confine myself to the subject of education ; 
 and the proceeding on this point, will serve not only as a 
 test for your good conduct, but for the liberality of Govern- 
 ment towards you. 
 
 The more simple that any scheme is, so much the better. 
 Having thought much about Parish Schools for England, 
 
 I find it necessary, from many considerations, that sim- 
 plicity should be mainly studied ; and the scheme that I 
 have held chiefly in view, for some years past, is almost ^ 
 as simple as possible. 
 
 You know that by the regulation of the Justices your 
 children are liable to be called to work by the overseer, at 
 seven years old and upwards ; and you know that many of 
 the poor children, while yet only eight or nine years of age, 
 are dragged out through all the winter months, for no pur- 
 pose on earth but for the exercise of authority. Now I 
 have long thought this not only cruel, but altogether pro- 
 fitless ; and in order to prove it, I put a challenge in the 
 Salisbury Journal some months ago, offering twenty guineas 
 to do as much work without the children as with them*. 
 Nobody would take me up ; and the farmers publicly ac- 
 
 * See p. vii of ‘‘ Ejlplanation of tub Map,” vol. II. 
 

 CXXViii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 knowledged at Salisbury Market Cross, that the children 
 were of no use whatever during the winter months. 
 
 I did all this to ripen my present purpose, and I wrote 
 a letter to Mr. Whitbread, one of the ablest members of 
 Parliament, who formerly endeavoured to get the people 
 of England educated, apprizing him, that I should trouble 
 him this Session of Parliament with the care of my pro- 
 posal*. It would be simply this, to obtain an Act of Par- 
 liament, to prevent the overseers from having the power to 
 call out the children under twelve years of age to, work, 
 during the winter half year, while the parents put them to 
 school during that time, and agreed that they should attend 
 Sunday Schools all the year round. 
 
 I have asked several of you, if you would be willing to 
 agree to this ; and, without exception, you have assured me 
 that you would thankfully. It is my serious opinion that 
 this simple regulation, would do all that is wanted for you 
 in the way of education. In Scotland, though every parish 
 has an established school, as regularly as an established 
 church, with an endowment out of the tithes'!-, yet these 
 schools are not free schools, as is generally imagined in 
 England. Every scholar has to pay fees to the teacher, 
 and these fees are as high as in England. Nor indeed do 
 the schools of the establishment educate all the children. 
 Perhaps the full half are educated at the schools of 
 dissenters and others. 
 
 * I wrote three letters to Mr. Whitbread, dated 25th Nov. 
 1814, 28th March, 1815, and 30lh May, 1815; but bad not 
 in return even an acknowledgment. He left us soon after. He 
 flung aside the cchool-bill, and built a play-house ! 
 
 + This was not literally correct. Parish schools in Scotland 
 are supported by an assessment on land, raised by act of par- 
 liament. The landed interest, however, had previously ihade 
 spoil of tithes. They stole /ve, and returned one. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cxxix 
 
 bs. 
 
 dU 
 
 enife 
 
 llep 
 
 oldtii 
 
 ofll! 
 
 kii\ 
 
 lepcn 
 
 ^toi 
 
 rattk 
 
 loie 
 
 levb 
 
 im 
 
 opisk 
 
 ntedii 
 
 effljf 
 
 lestib 
 
 t-F" 
 
 ia^ 
 
 Hell 
 
 'otii 
 
 tlieili 
 
 sii* 
 
 ini' 
 
 cetli' 
 
 Isiii' 
 
 yld^ 
 
 -ion'I' 
 
 It IS, therefore, 'not so much from the want of parish 
 schools, as from the oppression, and the unnecessary 
 oppression of the poor laVs, that the people of England are 
 withheld from t^ most essential blessing of education. 
 
 What I have here said will be sufficient for your 
 understanding at present. In a few weeks hence I shall 
 draw out a petition for you to Parliament, and, I trust, by 
 that time, that you will have so weighed the matter in ques- 
 tion, that you will sign the petition, in the good hope of 
 obtaining a great, though cheap, gift for your children and 
 children’s children. 
 
 I am, sincerely, your friend, 
 
 March 13, 1815. ROBERT GOURLAY- 
 
 In return for 700 copies of the above, despatch- 
 ed to members of parliament, I received thanks 
 only from two, — Lord King and the late most 
 amiable statesman, Francis Horner, Esq. ; with 
 both of whom I exchanged a few letters on the 
 subject of the poor-laws. 
 
 The petition spoken of was soon after drawn 
 out, signed by upwards of a hundred inhabitants 
 of Wily parish, and presented to both houses:- to 
 the Commons, by Mr. Methuen, member for Wilts, 
 the 31st day of May, 1815, and to the Peers by 
 Lord King, a few days later. It run as follows : 
 
 Tp THE Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual 
 AND Temporal of Great Britain in Parlia- 
 ment ASSEMBLED. 
 
 The humble Petition of the undersigned Inhabitants of the 
 Parish of Wily, County of Wilts; 
 
 That it is notorious that the labouring people 
 
 l 
 
cxxx genehai. introduction. 
 
 of England are not so well, generally, in point of worldly 
 circumstances, as they were in former times. 
 
 That, in the remembrance of many of your Petitioners, 
 those who required relief from the parish were few, 
 consisting only of such persons as were old, or otherwise 
 impotent. 
 
 That now it is impossible for the best spirited and ablest 
 bodied man to bring up a family from the earnings of bis 
 labour ; and that, of late, to remedy this, it has become a 
 standing regulation with magistrates to allow to all 
 labourers having a certain number of children, the right of 
 demanding assistance from parish oflBcers, to such an ex- 
 tent as shall, with actual earnings, amount to a certain sum 
 for each individual member of their families respectively; 
 and consequent to the action of this regulation, other 
 regulations have been formed and acted upon. 
 
 That your petitioners, however much they deplore that 
 this factitious system should have grown up, (a system 
 which has not only lessened the comforts but cramped the 
 liberty and independence of a vast portion of British 
 subjects) would not wish to attribute its origin or its 
 progress to design ; but would rather look to it as a result of 
 chance, and mistaken notions of policy. 
 
 That, thus impressed, they have ever viewed this 
 unhappy system with dispositions peaceable and resigned ; 
 but trust, that as far as it can be ameliorated, or virtuous 
 means pointed out, whereby its grievances may be lessened 
 or removed, that the legislature will be ever ready and 
 willing to afford its countenance and aid. 
 
 That, in the opinion of your petitioners, it would 
 contribute much to the amelioration of the system, were all 
 regulations regarding it absolutely fixed, and publicly 
 declared by Aot of Parliament, so as to leave as little as 
 possible depending on the will and discretion of individuals. 
 
 That your petitioners are assured, that the regulations 
 do admit, in practice, of such settlement ; and that this 
 
cxxxi 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 would tend generally to the comfort of all parties-of 
 magistrates— of parish officers— of contributors to parish 
 funds, as well as of persons who draw the whole, or part, 
 of their maintenance from the same. 
 
 That it can only be the just practical end of such 
 regulations, as they aifect people claiming parochial 
 aid, to guard against idleness, or the neglect of means 
 whereby such persons may support themselves. That it 
 never should be the spirit of these to act tyrannically, or to 
 
 operate as a check upon the liberty or improvement of the 
 people. 
 
 That, nevertheless, as matters now stand, many regu- 
 lations are so formed, or so arbitrary, as to subject 
 the people receiving parish assistance to unnecessary 
 grievances, and to place them, more than needful, under 
 the caprice of magistrates and overseers. 
 
 That one regulation, in particular, has this tendency, in 
 a very flagrant degree, must be obvious, on the mere 
 statement of the same : it is that, authorized by magist^^ates, 
 which permits the overseer to call out the children of those 
 having parish assistance, to labour, from the period of their 
 arriving at seven years of age. It must be manifest, that, 
 at no season of the year, can the labour of children of this 
 tender age, be of any material consequence; and that, 
 even the labour of those five years older, viz. those of 
 twelve years of age, can be little, during* the winter season; 
 and certainly not in proportion to the waste of health and 
 strength, incurred by exposure to premature toil and 
 inclement weather. 
 
 That your petitioners conceive, that, with a view^^ merely 
 to the ultimate economy of labour, such a regulation is 
 greatly too severe. That overstraining the tender years of 
 youth, only serves to contract the frame, to weaken the 
 constitution, and to entail such a degree of imbecility upon 
 after-life, as greatly to outweigh in the end, even to the 
 public, the paltry savings of childish dnidgerv. But there 
 
 i 2 
 
V 
 
 cxxxii general introduction. 
 
 is a higher consideration, which your petitioners beg leave 
 to submit to your honourable House.-a consideration, 
 equally important for the community, as for individuals, 
 VIZ. that which regards this regulation as a complete bar to 
 the mental improvement of the children of those who receive 
 parochial aid. Although the period of life, from seven to 
 twelve years of age, may be litUe valuable for labour, it is 
 that in which the mind is most susceptible of improvement, 
 
 ' and when it is adequate to receive, with best effect, the 
 impressions of education. 
 
 That, however men may differ, as to the policy of esta- 
 blishing a national institution, for the education of youth, 
 or be aware of the difficulty of doing this to general satis- 
 faction, in a country where religious liberty has created 
 such variety of opinions, as to fundamenttll principles; 
 yet still, no reasonable or liberal-minded person will say, 
 that parish laws, or any other, should wantonly oppose the 
 inclination of parents or guardians to have their children 
 instructed in the rudiments of education, and to be made 
 capable of searching the Scriptures of religion, or the writ- 
 ten laws of their country. 
 
 Your petitioners, upon these grounds, humbly pray, that 
 your honourable House will take these matters generally 
 into your serious consideration ; but more immediately and 
 particularly, that you will enact that, from Michaelmas to 
 Ijady-day, no overseer^ or any other person, shall have 
 power to call out children, under twelve years of age, to 
 labour,, or to withdraw any stated allowance from the pa- 
 rents or guardians of such children, because of their not 
 labouring ; at least, if such parents or guardians do put such 
 children to school during the said period of each year. 
 
 And your petitioners shall ever pray. 
 
 (Signed by John Ball, Curate^ Robert Gourlay, and 
 upwards of a hundred more of the inhabitants of the 
 parish of Wily») 
 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cxxxni 
 
 To gain attention to this petition, when pre- 
 sented, I sent copies to several members of parlia- 
 ment; and the following letter, which I received 
 from Mr. Horner, may, I hope, still assist in fixing 
 attention to it ; for, still, it may be looked to as of 
 importance, and as setting forth one simple mean 
 of granting relief to the poor of England. 
 
 LincolrCs Inriy May 27, 1815. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am very much obliged to you for sending me a copy 
 of the Petition, which is intended lo be presented to the 
 House of Commons, on the part of the inhabitants of your 
 parish. The paper is drawn with much ability and propriety, 
 and makes a very forcible and faithful exposure of what I 
 have long thought the greatest practical evil in the system 
 of English institutions, though one of very recent introduction. 
 To remove it altogether, or, even, to check its progress (for 
 it is the very nature of the evil, if not stopped, to go on 
 increasing), will be found an undertaking of vast difficulty ; 
 not merely because many prejudices, and some corrupt 
 interests, stand in the way ; for these may be surmounted 
 by persevering discussion ; but because the correction of this 
 fatal error, must, I am afraid, be attended with some tempo- 
 rary injury to the immediate comforts and enjoyments of the 
 very people whose happiness and moral improvement it is 
 our object to secure. This consideration, at least, has 
 always deterred me when I thought of calling the attention 
 of Parliament to tlie subject : for in all our late discussions 
 about the artificial state of our money, as well as about the 
 regulation of the corn trade, I have insisted, that one of the 
 worst consequences of this factitious condition of things was 
 the modern practice among our English farmers, of 
 paying part of the wages of labour out of the poor s rates ; 
 and if I could have satisfied myself, that a practical 
 
CXXxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION- 
 
 corrective might be devised, that would not impair, for a 
 moment, the livelihood of the labourer, I should, long since, 
 have proposed it to the House as a subject of special 
 inquiry. It [is with very great satisfaction I see it cast 
 upon the attention of parliament, by a call from tlie 
 country : the interest that belongs to such an inquiry will 
 insure it a very patient and fair attention ; and it is to be 
 hoped, that by bringing the minds of many different persons 
 to the examination, and giving them the aid of others who 
 are practically informed, some plan may be struck out, 
 which the legislature might adopt with a reasonable chance 
 of success. If you happen to know, therefore, when the 
 Petition is likely to be presented in our House, I will thank 
 you to give me notice of it ; for though nothing more can be 
 done this session than to announce it as a proper object of 
 investigation for the next, it may be of great advantage to 
 direct the previous attention of men, both in and out of 
 Parliament, to the subject.’^ 
 
 ♦ # # * ^ Continued on another subject j, ^ ^ * 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your obedient humble servant, 
 
 F. HORNER.” 
 
 Mr, Whitbread proposed to have the poor of 
 England educated, but he failed. Mr. Brougham 
 has now espoused the cause : will he succeed ?— 
 I say he will succeed for good, only by making his 
 plan part of one for the abolition of poor laws. 
 He has corresponded with 15,000 parsons on the 
 subject : will 500 of them lend honest assistance, 
 and admit of liberal measures ? 
 
 Mr. Brougham has eyed “ the Lion of the Ex- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CXXXV 
 
 Exchequer, (his speech on the Education 
 as if he would growl at the cost ; but I am afraid 
 we have much more to dread than mere niggard- 
 liness of expenditure. Parish schools were esta- 
 blished in Scotland durinsr the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, when the poverty of the nation was extreme; 
 and the reader will see in this volume how liberal 
 Canadian legislators have been to this first essen- 
 tial for the improvement of society, the strength- 
 ening of moral restraint, and the bracing of every 
 virtuous energy: he will see that £25 per annum 
 is allowed for a school-master’s salary, wherever 
 twenty scholars can be collected togetherf. Were 
 
 * It must be observed that the above was written in September, 
 1820. Since then Mr. Brougham’s Bills for educating the poor, &c. 
 have been brought into the House of Commons ; and I have 
 given the heads of one of them in vol, II. page 378. It was 
 said that Mr. Brougham had relinquished his undertaking. I am 
 now most happy to hear that he has not He will be the greatest 
 of benefactors to England if he succeeds ; and simplicity only is 
 wanted in the plan. For simplicity, see vol. II. page 277. , 
 
 + While travelling in the United States, I conversed with a la^y 
 on the subject of education, and told her that it was at so low an 
 ebb in England, that in the adjoining parish to where I resided, 
 there were only three persons who could read and write; the 
 ’Squire, the parish clerk, and another (there was no resident 
 parson). Her astonishment I shall never forget. She said she 
 would begin a subscription among American ladies, for educating 
 the English poor. Since this note was first written, the lady alluded 
 to has been named in Miss Wright’.s Tour through the United States 
 and Canada ; and I may therefore take the liberty of naming her, 
 whichJI do with the highest respect; Mrs, Wadsworth of Geneseo. 
 Every child in America is educated — < 3 |in read and write. 
 
CXXXVl 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the cost of education the sole difficulty in the way, 
 such liberal provision from the taxation of the 
 poorest people in America, should shame into libe- 
 rality our wealthy borough-mongers ; but I repeat, 
 we have much greater obstacles to contend with 
 than niggardliness, and the thraldom of poor laws 
 is among them. I am convinced, indeed, that the 
 abolition of the poor laws, and the education of 
 the poor, should be jointly considered. They 
 should make part of a vast scheme of national re- 
 generation, in which the more simultaneous every 
 operation proceeds, so much the better. We are 
 arrived at that crisis, when the gravest members of 
 society seriously anticipate revolution, and when 
 public attention has been fluttering over specifics, 
 for the prevention of such an aw'ful catastrophe, 
 till it has become almost careless of its object— 
 almost distracted and hopeless. I have been called 
 a reformer, a radical, and a radical reformer ; and, 
 provided my notions of reform are rightly under- 
 stood, have no objection to any one of these ap- 
 pellations. From those who would bring about 
 any change by violence, 1 certainly stand as dis- 
 tant as possible; and for this reason, more espe- 
 cially, that I believe simple and peaceable mea- 
 sures may be made effectual for procuring any 
 rational change. Twelve years have gone by since 
 my mind was made up as to the mode, by which 
 the people should proceed to obtain any great na- 
 tional end. It was, and is, by systematic petition- 
 ingt—by every parish petitioning the king or par- 
 liament for a specific and well-defined object : by 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cxxxvii 
 
 keeping registers of parishes and names : by caus- 
 ing respect through consistency of purpose and 
 perseverance. The presentation of the above peti- 
 tion, which records the strange predicament, in 
 which the poor of England have been placed, and 
 whereby the hope of their receiving the benefit of 
 education rests entirely on the caprice of others 
 ^ who have dominion over them, was meant not 
 only to record so strange a fact, but to lead on the 
 poor to speak for themselves on my plan of sys- 
 tematic petitioning. It is with great pleasure I can 
 produce such testimony in behalf of my petition, 
 as that of Mr. Horner, whom every Member of 
 ’*'1 Parliament must remember with esteem and admi- 
 
 ecii ration; but 1 was not so sanguine of gaining at- 
 
 tef tention to the cause as he. I complied with his 
 
 hjft wish, and sent him notice of the day on which the 
 
 18 petition was to be presented ; but nothing was 
 
 r:i done. The vis inerticE, the selfishness, the per- 
 ils versity of mankind are all against simple and truly 
 
 les virtuous proposals. I wrote no less than three 
 
 letters to Mr. Whitbread before this petition was 
 ^ presented to Parliament on the subject of edu- 
 
 jj cation, and enclosed him a copy of my petition, 
 
 le) witliout even being honoured with the slightest 
 
 j, notice. These things I take quite coolly. Poor 
 
 ijj Whitbread had, by this time, laid aside thoughts 
 
 III of educating the poor, which might have embalmed 
 
 ^ his memory for ever in the affections of mankind : 
 
 ^ he had laid aside such virtuous thoughts, and 
 
 devoted his greatest efforts to the erection of a 
 play-house. Alas! within three months of the date 
 
 
CXXXviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of mv last letter to him, he left us ! — It has amused 
 me to observe, that Mr. Malthus, in the fifth edi- 
 tion of his Essay on Population, has complimented 
 Mr. Owen for petitioning Parliament in favour of 
 poor manufacturing children, as I did for all poor 
 children, Mr. Owen’s petition was got up, after 
 
 1 had served seven hundred members of Parliament 
 with a copy of my little tract on the Tyranny of 
 Poor-Laws, wherein the intention of presenting 
 my petition was announced ; and, to the best of 
 my recollection, Mr. Malthus had a copy of that 
 tract sent to him. Perhaps, from that tract it 
 was known that “ the poor laws of Scotland are 
 not materially different from those of England*." 
 
 Shortly before my departure for Canada, 1 had 
 a second petition presented to the House of Com- 
 mons, to record what was farther required for the 
 relief of the poor from oppression ; and to give 
 them practice in the only peaceable mode of pro- 
 ceeding for that end. The following is a copy of 
 the second Petition. 
 
 To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, 
 The humble Petition of the undersigned Inhabitants of 
 the Parish of Wily, in the County of Wilts, (the bth 
 of February, 1817.) 
 
 , Sheweth, 
 
 THAT on the 31st of May, 1815, a Petition from this 
 parish to your hononrahle House, was presented by Paul 
 
 * See page cxxiii of this Introduction, and page 120, Vol. H- 
 of Malihus’s 5th Sdition of the . Eissay on Population ^ uls® 
 page 274 of the same volume. 
 
 2 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cxxxix 
 
 Bl 
 
 'til 
 
 58 
 
 f08 
 
 V 
 
 h 
 
 IBP 
 
 ess 
 
 l)S 
 
 ^i\ 
 
 tUB! 
 
 jml 
 
 ad^. 
 
 .1 
 
 )fC 
 
 lii 
 
 it< 
 
 ■fl* 
 
 UD 
 
 lilt 
 
 (» 
 
 If 
 
 Methuen, Esq. member for this county, on tlie subject of 
 the poor laws, to which your Petitioners beg leave again to 
 call the attention of your honourable House. 
 
 That your Petitioners understood, that, at the close of 
 the last Session of Parliament, your honourable House had 
 appointed a committee, to take into consideration this most 
 important subject, and your Petitioners would have looked 
 with confidence towards the result of such consideration, 
 had not a proposal been set forth, by the mover of this 
 measure, not only subversive of hope, but indicative of an 
 intention and spirit absolutely abhorrent to the minds of 
 your Petitioners. 
 
 It was proposed in your honourable House, — not to 
 better the condition of the poor, — not to lighten the 
 overburthened wheels of industry, — not to rekindle the 
 spirit of independence, nor to recruit the wasted strength of 
 the labourers of England : — it was proposed to oblige them 
 to pay four-pence out of every ten shillings of their 
 earnings, that they who have hitherto paid poor rates, may 
 be eased of their burden ! When such a proposal has been 
 made, and patiently listened to in the British Senate, 
 under such circumstances as the present, it must be high 
 time for every one, even the lowest, to think for himself, — 
 to doubt if selfishness has left, in the human breast, one 
 spark of benevolence, or, if any thing like reason is to 
 dictate in the arrangements of civil society. 
 
 Your Petitioners were taught to believe, that after the 
 struggle of war was at an end, plenty would come hand in 
 hand with peace, to refresh the people, who had, with un- 
 paralleled fortitude and submission, for upwards of twenty 
 years of war, supported the measures of their Government : 
 your Petitioners have been disappointed, — most grievously 
 
 I* 
 
 ^ * These words, in italics, were erased before the Petition was 
 
 presented. The “ proposal ” was made by Mr* Curwen. 
 
 
cxl 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 disappointed. War had its horrors, but the present peace 
 is more horrible than war : — the people in thousands stand 
 every where idle, famished, dejected, and desperate. 
 
 At such a period of disappointment and gloom, yonr 
 Petitioners would bridle in every inclination to reproach 
 those who have been the more immediate instruments of 
 bringing down upon the country its load of calamity. 
 Looking backward they recognise the people at every step, 
 identifying their will with that of the Government ; fostering 
 its ambition ; cheering its victories ; sharing its plunder. 
 Your Petitioners wish to bury in oblivion the follies and 
 the crimes that are passed : they wish, now, that most 
 urgent necessity proclaims that something must be done, 
 that that may be done, which may not only be safe and 
 honourable for the British Government, but eflBcient to the 
 comfort and prosperity of the people. 
 
 Your Petitioners conceive that there exists no mystery, 
 as to the grand cause of the present distress. Excessive 
 taxation, for a long period of years, has not only wasted 
 the productions of industry, but the funding system has 
 registered the price of these wasted productions, as a debt 
 to be discharged by industry, while industry, deprived of the 
 excitements which extraordinary circumstances afforded, 
 has ceased to be able for such a discharge. Under these 
 changed circumstances, your Petitioners have marked, for 
 the last three years, a fatal blindness to consequences, and 
 have beheld with sorrow, principles assumed and acted 
 upon, with a design to remedy impending evils, not only of 
 a narrow and selfish character, but palpably inadequate to 
 the end in view. Your Petitioners conceive that the first 
 step which should have been taken, after peace deprived 
 this country of its monopoly of trade, and the peculiar 
 incitements to industry, created by war and extraordinary 
 circumstances, was, to have withdrawn those taxes which 
 most directly bear upon the necessaries and comforts of life, 
 and to have substituted in their place, taxes upon idle 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Cxll 
 
 property and great incomes accruing from the same. Such 
 measures would not only have been politic and just among 
 individuals, but their adoption would at once have enabled 
 our industry to cope with that of other nations, and would 
 have upheld that due degree of confidence in substantial 
 stock, which was clearly wanted to maintain a balance 
 against the dangerous infiuence of funded property, whose 
 immediate security does not rest on the success of trade 
 and industry, but in the power of taxation, and whose 
 pressure increases as the strength to bear it is diminished. 
 
 Your Petitioners hoped that time and approaching ruin 
 would not only have opened the eyes of all to the real 
 situation of affairs, but have made it the first duty of 
 ministers, to have declared the truth, and to have quieted 
 the public mind, by an assurance of instantly altering the 
 scheme of taxation. With utmost dread, however, have 
 they now heard the Royal speech proclaiming, that the 
 evils, which assail the country, spring from temporary 
 causes, and from the transition from war to peace. Your 
 Petitioners deem it their most sacred duty to oppose such 
 sentiments, to deprecate such advice to Royalty, and to 
 declare it to be the very extreme of infatuation to rest 
 under such impressions for a moment. Your Petitioners, 
 being mostly labourers and poor men, have comparatively 
 little interest in the fate of property ; but as sincere friends 
 to peace and good order, they wish to see that which 
 regulates all the commercial transactions of men, and which 
 is necessary to give excitement to industry, kept in its pro- 
 per place : — they wish no longer to see real property swal- 
 lowed up and endangered by a bubble, whose increase, 
 under existing circumstances, must rapidly tend to explo- 
 sion, and whose explosion can leave nothing behind, but 
 wretchedness and woe. With a change in the scheme of 
 taxation, your Petitioners have persuaded themselves, that 
 certain proposals, if adopted, would co-operate imme- 
 diately to revive the industry of the country, and, in a short 
 
I 
 
 f.' 1' 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 » 1 
 
 time, do away all necessity, both for poor laws and poor 
 rates. 
 
 These proposals are : 
 
 1st. That in every parish not comprehended in^ nor 
 containing a town of more than one thousand inhabitanU^ 
 Government shall take possession of one hundred acres of 
 land, being the nearest clear land to the respective parish 
 churches^ and otherwise best suiting the purposes in view. 
 
 That Gdvernment shall pay to the owners of such 
 land its fair estimated value^ raising one half of the whole 
 means for this purpose, by a rate similar to a poor rate, only 
 that owners of property shall be assessed instead of tenants^ 
 these latter being obliged to pay legal interest to the former^ 
 during the currency of existing leases, upon the amount of 
 assessment raised from their respective holdings : the other 
 half of the whole means to be obtained by loan, so calculated, 
 as to be liquidated by rents and purchase-money, mentioned 
 below. 
 
 Sd. That each hundred acres shall be divided into two 
 equal parts, as to extent, and in such a manner, as shall best 
 suit purposes in view 
 
 Ath. That one of these parts, in each parish, shall be en- 
 closed, and otherwise in the best manner improved, for the 
 purpose of a common pasture, to remain so for ever. 
 
 5th. That the other half shall be divided into half acre 
 allotments, making one hundred allotments in each parish. 
 
 &th. That the present inhabitants, male parishioners, 
 of such parishes, shall be allowed immediately to occupy the 
 allotments, one each; the choice of allotments to proceed by 
 seniority. 
 
 7th. That where the present inhabitants of parishes are 
 not sufficiently numerous to occupy all the allotments of their 
 respective parishes, other persons shall have a choice, seniority 
 and proximity giving a preference, while any allotment re- 
 mains unoccupied. 
 
 Sth, That each person, wheti he takes possession of an 
 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CXliii 
 
 allotment, Ml thereby bind himself to pay forty shillings 
 a year, as rent for the same ; and at all times to keep it in 
 good garden culture. A person, thus paying rent, shall be 
 styled a parishAiolder . * 
 
 Qth. 2 hat as long as these conditions are fuyUled, no 
 « parish-holder shall be disturbed in, nor turned out of his 
 allotment; and at his death, his son may occupy in his stead, 
 ^ if twenty -one years of age : an elder son having a priority 
 
 i|(i of choice to a younger son ; and failing sons, the choice of 
 
 fei occupancy shall proceed to the nearest male relation, before 
 life, it falls to the public. 
 
 'la 10/A. That as soon as any parish-holder shall have paid 
 /of into a savings bank, to be for that purpose established by 
 lOi Government, the sum of one hundred pounds, he shall have 
 iki a cottage built on his allotment to that value ; he having the 
 Jai choice of a variety of plans for the construction of the said 
 Ml cottage. 
 
 11 /A. That neither the money deposited in the bank for 
 the above purpose, nor the 'property of the cottage when 
 jy built, shall be attachable for debt ; nor shall they affect any 
 claim of parochial relief, due by existing laws. A person 
 when possessed of a cottage in this mariner, shall be styled a 
 ^ji cottage-holder. At his death, his cottage-hold shall go to 
 the nearest heir-male, as in the case of the parish-hold, with 
 y, this difference, that the heir who takes possession shall pay to 
 ^ relations, equally near of kin with himself to the deceased, 
 
 ^ male and female, or to the nearest of kin female relation or 
 relations, if such there he, nearer than himself, to the exclu- 
 ^ sion of others, a certain value for the cottage; and in case 
 no heir takes possession to fulfil these terms, then they 
 ^ may be fulfilled by other persons who may desire possession, 
 and whose claim to possess, shall be regulated by proximity 
 ^ and seniority : but if neither relations nor others shall claim 
 possession, then the cottage hold shall revert to Government, 
 from whom heirs shall receive the value of the cottage, and 
 the cottage-hold shall be open to public purchase or exchange. 
 
cxlir 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 That as soon as a cottage- holder shall have had no 
 relief from the parish^ for the space of two years^ he shall 
 be entitled to a vote in the parish^ and have a right to pas- 
 ture a cow on the common. He shall be styled a freeman. 
 
 ISth. That if a freeman shall throw himself for relief on 
 the parish., he shall lose that designation, his right to vote, and 
 pasture; nor shall he recover these, till he has lived fve years 
 without parochial aid, 
 
 14^A. That as soon as a freeman has paid into the bank 
 the sum of sixty pounds, the same shall be received by 
 Government as purchase-money for his allotment, shall free 
 him from the yearly payment of rent, and make him eligible 
 into parish offices. He shall be styled a parish freelwlder. 
 Succession to be regulated as above. 
 
 \bth. That all sales and exchanges shall be made through 
 public medium; and at once to facilitate and regulate these, 
 there shall be corresponding registries ; parochial, district, 
 county, and national, 
 
 l6th. That no person whatever shall possess either in 
 one or more parishes, more than one holding, and no person 
 shall have a choice, nor be allowed to purchase, under tzceniy- 
 one years of age; but an heir male shall be allowed, while a 
 minor, to hold possession, although he shall have no vote, nor 
 be eligible to offices, till he come of age : provided always, 
 that none of the relations, entitled as above to a share of the 
 valued property, become chargeable to the parish, while thdr 
 share is unpaid^ nor the heir himself, for in such cases the 
 holding shall revert to public possession, and the residue only, 
 if any, of the value of the cottage and freehold, be paid to 
 the heir or heirs, after the parish charges for maintenance 
 have been deducted. 
 
 Although your Petitioners frankly submit these Proposals to 
 the consideration of your honourable House, they do not press 
 their adoption in the letter. Your honourable House may 
 see fit to modify the scheme. The common pasture may 
 be dispensed with, and the number of allotments may ^ 
 
general introduction. CxIv 
 
 increased, diminished, or regulated, as circumstances may 
 H require. 1 our Petitioners chiefly insist that it is essential 
 to the abolition of Pauperism in England, that an opportu- 
 ^ nity be afforded, for the labouring people to acquire pro- 
 
 1, perty and personal freedom; both which they have lost 
 
 ^ through the operation of the poor laws, and which they can 
 never regain under existing circumstances. To afford 
 U half an acre of land to all who would require it, would not 
 
 ^ occupy a hundredth part of the national territory j and 
 ^ when It IS considered that the poor once possessed many 
 houses and gardens in every parish, and enjoyed over all 
 ^ England extensive common rights, of which, in many cases, 
 they have been unjustly deprived, such restitution must 
 seem far from extravagant or unreasonable* 
 
 ^ Your Petitioners would desire your honourable House 
 to consider, what universal contentment would instantly 
 tnsue from the adoption of these proposals, or even of a 
 ®n>dificatioh of them: what a fund of employment would 
 be created: how universally this would be diffused; and 
 how long it would Continue. Even the early production of 
 ' , provisions to eke out the supply, before next harvest, would 
 
 be no small advantage, in the present year of scarcity, and 
 would certainly be obtained by affording to the poor, gar- 
 ^ den allotments of land, for individual cultivation and conve- 
 
 ^ nieiice. Your Petitioners deny what has been asserted by 
 
 some, that such arrangements in rural economy, would stir 
 • up in the minds of the people a desire for any thing like a 
 
 » pneral Agrarian law, or that their obtaining votes, would 
 
 in any way endanger property. Your Petitioners refer to 
 America, where, in many parts, the right of vote is equally 
 shared among the rich and the poor, without having caused 
 If the least encroachment on property. 
 
 Petitioners, though they most earnestly desire 
 f to see a wise reform of Parliament, do not wish the parish 
 
 9 vote to qualify directly Tor parliamentary election, and 
 
 |l they positively disclaim and renouhce bbat is commonly 
 
 k 
 
CXlvi GENERAL, TNTUODrCTION. 
 
 undei-stood by universal suffrage. They feel that the n^ass 
 of the people never could be competent, sufficiently 
 to estimate the comparative merits of persons aspiring 
 to a seat in parliament; although they could well judge 
 which of their fellow parishioners were most worthy of 
 offices and trust within tlieir respective parishes, and which 
 of them might be best qualified to act as parish deputies. 
 
 at district or county meetings, whetlier assembled for 
 
 parliamentary election or other business. 
 
 Your Petitioners therefore most earnestly entreat that 
 your honourable House will immediately withdraw all taxes 
 on malt, salt, soap, candles, leather, bricks, and tiles; 
 contr act no more debt ; pay all national charges unprovided 
 for, by an assessment on rents and interest of monej, 
 increasing the ratio of assessment upon great incomes 
 derived from the same:— That, halving done this, your 
 honourable House will take into most serious consideration 
 the above proposals ; and particularly that you will so 
 enact, that every British subject, grown to man’s estat^ 
 shall have an opportunity pf occupying half an acre of 
 land for its value, whereon he may establish his free- 
 hold: and your petitioners shall ever pray. 
 
 (Subscribed by Robert Gourlay, and ninety-seven others, 
 
 of Wily parish.) 
 
 This Petition had so much to struggle with, be- 
 fore it was presented to the House of Commons, 
 that I published an account of its struggles. (Po®'' 
 Laws, No. 4.) Seven weeks before it was pre- 
 sented, I sent to every Member of Parliament a 
 circular containing that part printed in italics; stat- 
 ing, at the same time, that such was to make tie 
 ground of a petition to the House of Commons as 
 
cxlvii 
 
 general introduction. 
 
 soon as it assembled. Application was made to 
 both the county members of Wilts, to present the 
 petition ; but neither of them going to town im- 
 njediately on the sitting of Parliament, it was 
 offered to three popular men : Sir Francis Burdett, 
 Lord Cochrane, and Lord Folkstone. Sir Francis 
 carried it to the House, read it there, seemingly 
 with great care, and then returned it to me by the 
 hands of his brother, saying, “ he had not time to 
 read it.” Lord Cochrane objected to the language, 
 as “ too strong,” and Lord Folkstone spurned it as 
 being “an act of legislation.” After this, it was 
 put into the hands of Mr. Methuen, member for 
 Wiltshire, presented, read, and ordered to be laid 
 on the table of the House of Commons, the 28th 
 February, 1817. 
 
 Now, that nearly four years have gone by since 
 tins Petition was presented to Parliament, I hope 
 the reader will grant me indulgence in giving a 
 httle explanation as to it. 
 
 I'rom the moment that our courtiers took for 
 granted, that public distress arose out of a mere 
 “ transition from war to peace,” and that our 
 landed interest relied on a Corn Bill to uphold 
 their rents : — from that moment it seemed well for., 
 every one to enter his protest against such mad-* 
 ness, were it only to enable him, by a future day, 
 to exclaim, “ Thou canst not say that I did it.”— 
 From that moment, it was clear as day, that we 
 were doomed to distress, if not to destruction. The 
 crisis has not yet arrived ; but what thinking man 
 is tree from the impression, that we are now every 
 
 k 2 
 
cxtviii GENERAL, INTRODUCTION. 
 
 moment in jeopardy ? Schemes multiply for deli- 
 verance. One would debase the coin . another 
 would at once sweep off national debt, by a ge- 
 neral levy of 15 per cent, on every species of pro- 
 perty : a third would lower the rate of interest; 
 and a fourth has no hope but in the sponge. 
 
 I maintain, that a well-regulated tax on Rents znd 
 Interest, would be preferable to every other scheme. 
 Whigs object to a property-tax, in the dread of 
 its enabling ministers to go on in profusion ; but 
 let those who enjoy rents and interest, see to that, 
 The main point is to unburden capital in the hands 
 of its employers, to give excitement to industry, 
 and spiritto adventure. The cravings of my Petition 
 admit of compromise. Disband 50,000 soldiers, 
 and the tax on salt might continue: put to the 
 hammer the reversion of useless public property, 
 which would bring upwards of one hundred mil- 
 • lions, and the tax on malt might rest where it is: 
 abolish sinecures, and economize in all the depart- 
 ments of state, and the tax on hops would not be 
 complained of. To go still further beyond the 
 record, make a law, by which farmers may pay the 
 rents of existing leases, on a scale of reduction, 
 calculated from the market-price of wheat : com- 
 mute tithes ; get quit of all corn laws ; and gra- 
 dually throw open our ports to free commerce. 
 These are sweeping proposals ; but they are mode- 
 rate, when looked to as guards against the horrors 
 of revolution. They are more fair than debasing 
 the coin ; more safe than making a great seizure 
 of property : more creditable than lowering of in- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CXlix 
 
 terest ; and every way to be preferred to the 
 sponge. 
 
 Some people begin to regard revolution with 
 complacency, since armies have, of late, accom- 
 plished this with ease and safety ; but these people 
 little reflect upon circumstances, which render our 
 situation different from that of every other nation. 
 No country has such a multitude of degraded pau- 
 pers as England ; men, who remember better times, 
 and have experienced the most odious reverse: no 
 country has such a swarm of idlers existing on 
 fictitious wealth: the people of no country have 
 stronger feelings ; nor is there any where so much 
 talent to inflame passion. This, in short, is my 
 conviction, that revolution in England would cer- 
 tainly have a bloody beginning and a doubtful end. 
 
 Those who expect good from revolution, rest 
 expectation chiefly on relief from taxation and na- 
 tional debt. I, by no means, think that such re- 
 lief, even were it obtained without violence, would 
 secure to us the greatest good. So far as taxation 
 stimulates to industry, and so far as national debt 
 affords a place of safe deposit for its surplus gains, 
 both are desirable. The desideratum' is to make 
 secure the place of deposit, by keeping taxation 
 within bounds, while industry is stimulated to, the 
 utmost. Our national debt is national capital; and 
 could its interest be fairly paid out of the surplus 
 earnings of skill and industry, it should not be re- 
 duced a farthing : nay, instead of being eight hun- 
 dred millions, 1 should be glad to see it double 
 that, treble, or ten times that. As our debt in- 
 

 frl- 
 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 creases, without diminishing the fair profits of in- 
 dustry and skill, it indicates increasing powers of 
 production, and affords greater facilities to the ac- 
 complishment of grand national projects. With 
 proper management, national debt need never be 
 ruinous. It is all among ourselves, and the grand 
 point is to watch its bearings upon production. If 
 taxes overburden the wheels of industry, then it 
 is time to reduce them, or make rents and interest 
 bear a greater share of the burden. Rents and in- 
 terest are the overflowings of production ; and with 
 power to regulate these overflowings, national debt 
 cannot be extravagant in amount. With good ar- 
 rangement, rents and interest may be flung into 
 the sea, and induslry go on producing ; but the 
 enjoyment of rents and interest — of affluence and 
 ease, is enviable. It excites desires in those who 
 produce, rendering them more and more productive. 
 Rents and interest are thus remotely beneficial; 
 but they are not of the first consequence: they are 
 not absolutely necessary ; and, when the neces- 
 sities of society require it, they should be first sa- 
 crificed. 
 
 The misfortune is, that the receivers of rents 
 and interest are our legislators ; and, till hard pres- 
 sed themselves, remain heedless of consequences, 
 — even of impending ruin. Our great landlords 
 are, at a push, our directors-in-chief. They could 
 carry the Corn Bill against the will of nine-tenths 
 of the people: they could behold it powerless, and 
 for five years look with small concern on the 
 pining away of their tenantry: they could see the 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cli 
 
 monied interest rising on their ruin; and while 
 they can still purchase ease by mortgage, or by 
 devouring the farmer’s capital, they will remain in 
 apathy; or, worse than apathy, go about amending 
 their Corn Bill : when every succeeding tent-day 
 gives stronger and stronger proof that economy 
 should be studied, they will go on voting away 
 millions for the support of soldiers in time of 
 peace!! Well! if the last cord of feudal power 
 is to be snapped by its own straining, it may be 
 all for the best. 
 
 But let us indulge a moment longer in theoretic 
 discussion, and I shall say, that were the hand of 
 wisdom itself to regulate and determine a scheme 
 of taxation, rents and interest would be the true 
 sources of supply in a country like this. They 
 are most easily come at. Their amount precisely 
 determines national capability, and by pressing 
 upon them, every moral good, which may be con- 
 sequent on the direct taxation of luxuries, may be 
 obtained. How monstrous to tax soap, candle, 
 leather, bricks and tiles! How 'monstrously un- 
 principled was the war property-tax ! at once 
 thriftless and oppressive; exacting from farmers 
 often in tlie inverse ratio of their means to pay ; 
 t searching the books of merchants; and making the 
 income tax begin at £50 a year, and reach its acme 
 of increase at ^^liO! Oppose to all this a well 
 regulated property-tax on rents and interest ; and 
 ■duly consider, not only the difference in point of 
 justice, but economy. Lay a tax of ten per cent, 
 -on all rents and interest whatever, and a quarter 
 
 4 
 
 
ciii 
 
 GBNEBAL INTRQPUCTION. 
 
 per cent, additional on every £l,(X)0 a year above 
 one thousand pounds of income, out of rents and 
 interest; and the budget would bloom delight- 
 fully. Who would suffer by such a tax ? Would 
 the man of j2Q,a00 a year be stinted in luxury 
 by giving up 15 per cent. ? the man of <£40,000 
 a year, 20 per cent. ; or the man of .£100,000 a 
 year, 35 percent.? Certainly not? They would 
 only have to dispense with a few pleasure horses 
 and lap-dogs, footmen, and fiddlers. But there is 
 no hope of getting this effected peaceably, but by 
 systematic petitioning. 
 
 Having so far touched on the out-works of ray 
 Petition,,! would now draw attention to its middle 
 part — that printed in italics ; and to this I would 
 particularly call the attention of Mr. Malthus, as- 
 serting that it will be impossible to get quit of the 
 “ evil in comparison of which the national debt, 
 with all its terrors, is of little moment, '' without 
 some such plan as here set forth. I assert that 
 there is more than education and relief from taxa- 
 tion required to shut out “ the prospect of a mon- 
 strous deformity in society^ I assert that objects 
 of ambition should be set before the poor of Eng- 
 land, to stimulate exertion, and draw them forth 
 from the abyss of misery and degradation in which 
 they are now plunged; that opportunity should 
 be now given them, not only to acquire property, 
 but civil rights, by the sweat of the face ; and 1 
 assert that, by liberal measures, they may be made 
 in ten years not only to unburthen the country of 
 poor-rates, but to add greatly to its effective 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cliii 
 
 strength : that a weak and proBtless population 
 may be got quit of, while a strong and healthy 
 one would be substituted: finally, tl^at moral 
 restraint may be so strengthened, that we should 
 never stand in need of war, pestilence, or famine, 
 to carry off redundant population. 
 
 Mr. Malthus has ventured to recommend “ a 
 fjeneral improvement of cottages " and even the cotv 
 system on a limited scalef thinking that “ with 
 proper precautions, a certain portion of land might 
 be given to a considerable body of the labouring 
 classes:' My mind was made up as to all these 
 points, when I drew up the foregoing Petition, 
 and after sixteen years reflection on the subject, 
 with better opportunities of judging than any 
 other individual whatever. I have since crossed 
 the Atlantic, never losing sight of my plan for the 
 deliverance of the English poor from oppression: 
 I have become more and more convinced of the 
 necessity of something being done ; and am more 
 and more assured that no half measure — no pid- 
 dling plan can avail. The time is now at hand 
 when something must be done, and the soonejr the 
 better; for now we may have salvation, by and 
 by despair. The execution of my plan would ex- 
 hibit a scene unlike to any thing which the world 
 has yet witnessed ; perfectly safe, and every way 
 effective. It disclaims all connexion with Spen- 
 cean doctrines, and still more with the monstrous 
 absurdity of spade husbandry. It proposes no de- 
 rangement in the frame of society, nor any dan- 
 gerous interference with private property. A hmi- 
 
 2 
 
cUy ' GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dredth part of the island would answer its fullest 
 demands ; and that would be paid for most hbe- 
 rally*. It will be observed, from the Petition, that 
 I was not rigid as to the quantity of land, and that 
 I admitted of modification as circumstances should 
 require. I wished to set forth the greatest quan- 
 tum required, to shew that even that was nothing 
 ' before the migKIy object aimed at ; the rooting out 
 of poor-laws, and improving the character and 
 condition of the people. The half acre of land is 
 condescended upon as being such a quantity as any 
 poor man could make the most of at his spare hours, 
 and from which he could raise sufficient food for 
 a cow, along with his liberty of pasturage on the 
 common ; but there are reasons which would make 
 it politic and right to diminish both the extent of 
 the common and the garden plot. A quarter of 
 an acre is the proper size for a garden, and 25 
 instead of 60 acres of common would be quite 
 sufficient. 
 
 A rood of land, under good garden culture, will 
 yield great abundance of every kind of vegetable for 
 a family, besides a little for a cow and pig. If there is 
 aground on which a cow can range for part of a day, 
 she can be kept in high condition for milk, upon 
 articles of food, which can alw’ays be purchased ; 
 straw, hay, grains, &c.; and, on introducing a general 
 system, the less bounds in which that can be 
 
 * There are in Great Britain 54,603,360 acres. 
 
 Then, 50 acres set aside in each of 10,000^ 
 parishes, gives 
 
 The quotient is not a hundredth part • • 
 
 109 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clv 
 
 I 
 
 ^ accomplished, so much the better. It is not the 
 intention to make labourers professional gardeners or 
 J farmers ! it is intended to confine them to bare 
 ^ convenience. The bad effects of giving too much 
 land to labourers was discovered more than thirty 
 ? years ago, in the lowlands of Scotland. What 
 were called the Cotter riys (Cottager’s ridges) are 
 ^ now every where done away with, and to the 
 
 » benefit of both masters and servants. The bad 
 
 effects of the little potatoe farms in Ireland, are 
 well known ; and nothing but dirt and misery is 
 t'i witnessed among the Crofters of the highlands of 
 
 6* Scotland*. A tidy garden, with the right of 
 
 i« turning out a cow in a small well-improved and 
 
 lUi welUenced field, would produce effects of a very 
 
 JM 
 
 Mil 
 
 j * Formerly, in Scotland, every large farm, or barony, had its cot- 
 ^ ter tom (cottager’s town), that was, a hamlet, or small village, round 
 which a portion of land was laid out in ridges ; and each cotter 
 had one, two, or more of these ridges, on which he grew a little 
 lilt oats for meal, a little flax for domestic manufacture, a sufficiency 
 jjii of potatoes (after that root was introduced), a little grass for his 
 cow, &c. The farmer or laird (landlord) under whom the 
 cotters rented their houses and land, lent aid to plough the ridges, 
 carry in the crop, &c. ; and the cotters were bound to work to 
 lt!l him, when required. The system was wretched. The land was 
 ^ but half cultivated : its stinted produce increased the cares and 
 avarice of the occupier; but added little to his comfort. To 
 ^ better the condition of the cow, and to add to the small 
 ^ in-gatherings of harvest, the cotter was led to help himself by little 
 
 and little out of his master’s fields and bams; and habits of 
 pilfering grew up with the cow-herd and spinster. I am just old 
 enough to have remembrance of the expiring system, and the im- 
 ^ pressions left on my mind, make me rejoice that it is now no more. 
 
 ( 
 
4;lvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 different kind indeed : would, at once, insure con- 
 tentinent, comfort, and a world of convenience*. 
 Independent of the advantage which would accrue 
 to the inhabitants of a village, in the way of 
 cow-keeping, from a small common or park, there 
 is need of such a spot for various other purposes: 
 the bleaching of linen; the gambols of the young; 
 and the sober sauntering of the old ; exercise and 
 air; the feeling of independence and social union. 
 
 Objection has been started to the scheme, that 
 its benefits could not be extended to people in 
 towns; but it may as properly be said, that, 
 
 Many years ago I have explored the interior of the highlands of 
 Scotland; but till the spring of 1820 was not so far north as Glengary 
 and Lochaber. There I witnessed the wretchedness of the crofters ; 
 and wished, most heartily, that government might allow me, or 
 some one else, to remove every one of them to Upper Canada, that 
 their room in the highlands might be occupied entirely by 
 shepherds, and they themselves rescued from filth. I cannot yet 
 call to mind the turf hovels, with smoke spewing out from every 
 pore, without feeling itchy all over. These people would, most of 
 them, willingly emigrate. At least a fell half of those I ulked 
 with, were keen for it ; but, for want of union and arrangement, 
 few can move. 
 
 ♦ While composing this General Introduction, Septemb^, 
 1820, and studying the above subject, I began to considet^M 
 would be th^ consequence if there was no restraint put upon the 
 partitioning of cottage allotments: and I wrote to Fifeshire, to 
 ascertain how it had actually turned out with the fei^ upon my 
 father’s estates in the parish of Cer^. I sent inform under which 
 to range the information required; and have now to present a 
 table, from which the political economist may draw more than one 
 conclusion. The 4ble w^as filled up by Mr. Martin, landsurveypi 
 in Craigroihie, a man qf grqat accuracy. 
 
GEVRRAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 civil 
 
 because we cannot reach the North pole, we 
 should not venture so far as Greenland. Were 
 
 STATE of the FEUS on the Lands of BaUiUy, Seotstarvet, and 
 Craigrothie, in the Parish of Ceres, County of Fife. 
 
 NAMES OF ORIGINAL 
 
 FEUERS. 
 
 Extent 
 
 of 
 
 Oronnd 
 
 feued. 
 
 Date ol 
 
 Posst't- 
 
 nion. 
 
 CaoFT Dvkp, Baltiixt. 
 
 A. R.F. 
 
 
 Alex. MXacblan 
 
 1 a 0 
 
 1756 
 
 James Donaldson . . . . 
 
 0 a 0 
 
 1755 
 
 Wm. Mitchell 
 
 1 0 0 
 
 1765' 
 
 Andrew Densire 
 
 0 1 32 
 
 1756 
 
 CaANCB Inn, Scotstaro 
 
 
 
 VET. 
 
 
 
 John Lonie 
 
 0 3 0 
 
 1780 
 
 James Lonie 
 
 9 a 0 
 
 1790 
 
 Alex. McKenzie 
 
 5 a 34 
 
 1794 
 
 John Lonie 
 
 0 } 0 
 
 1790 
 
 Wm. Strachan 
 
 4 0 0 
 
 1792 
 
 John Lonie 
 
 0 1 90 
 
 1794 
 
 James Dingwall 
 
 1 a 0 
 
 1797 
 
 Craigrothie. 
 
 
 
 Jas. Balfour 
 
 0 0 29 
 
 Old 
 
 
 is * as 
 
 
 HEAD OCCUPIERS OF 
 DWELLINC'IIOUSES. 
 
 
 111 
 
 ssa 
 
 Wm. Adamson 
 
 Margt. Rodger 
 
 Christian R^ger 
 
 Mrs. Gold 
 
 Wm. Simson 
 
 Wfm. Mason 
 
 Robt. Wallace ... 
 
 JaStTarpie 
 
 Wm. Thaw 
 
 David Black 
 
 Helen Thaw 
 
 James Donaldson .... 
 
 Jas. Ferguson 
 
 David Donaldson .. 
 
 Wm. Mitchell 
 
 John Mitchell 
 
 Mary Braid 
 
 Wro, Donaldson.... 
 Wm. Watson 
 
 Eli 2 . Pitcairn 
 
 Eben. Turpie ...i., 
 
 John Lawson 
 
 Euph. Sandeman 
 
 Wm. Peat 
 
 Agnis Wilkie 
 
 Jas. Hardie 
 
 Jas. Allan 
 
 Alex. Canningham 
 
 Kath. Lonie 
 
 Wm. Henderson ., 
 
 John Hodge 
 
 John Scott .... 
 
 John McKenzie ... 
 Jobn Forrester ..., 
 
 Thos. Mitchell 
 
 Wm. Brnnton 
 
 Alex. M*Kenzie .... 
 
 Andrew Scott 
 
 David Nairnc 
 
 Geo. Brown 
 
 Andrew Scott 
 
 Wm. Strachan .... 
 
 Chas. Birrel 
 
 Jas. Hean 
 
 Andrew Dingwall . 
 
 Ann Dewar 
 
 Isabel M‘Gregor . 
 James B-ilfour ... 
 
 John Blyth 
 
 May Clark 
 
 Jas. Reekie 
 
 A. R.F. 
 0 a 16 
 
 0 0 13 
 
 0 a 16 
 
 0 0 19 
 0 0 5 
 0 0 19 
 
 0 0 19 
 
 I 9 
 
 0 9 
 
 1 9 
 1 17 
 I 17 
 9 9 
 1 4 
 9 19 
 
 0 9 19 
 0 9 19 
 0 0 19 
 0 0 4 
 
 0 0 19 
 0 0 10 
 
 1 9 
 1 90 
 
 0 99 
 
 a 0 
 0 1» 
 
 0 9 
 4 
 9 
 4 
 
 0 0 5 
 0 9 14 
 
 1 19 
 1 9 
 0 0 
 
 0 90 
 
 1 O 
 
 2 0 
 
 0 6 
 o a 
 
 44 
 
 
 13 f 95 
 
clviii 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ten thousand country parishes accommodated with 
 fifty acres each^ no inhabitant of a town need be in 
 
 NAMES OF ORIGINAL 
 FEUERS. 
 
 Brought forward. 
 John Marshall 
 
 David Rae 
 
 Wm. Marshall 
 
 David Seth 
 
 Andrew Spears 
 
 John Gourlay 
 
 John Gourlay . 
 James Watson. 
 
 Wm. Watson .... 
 Walter Adamson 
 
 Thos. Adamson. 
 JobuYuol 
 
 Wm. Adamson. 
 
 David Martin 
 
 Wm. Cunningham 
 
 John Drybroogh 
 David Wallace 
 
 Wm. Martin ... 
 Wm. Adamson. 
 
 John Adamson . 
 Alex. Hodge ... 
 Alex. Oliphant 
 Win. Matthew. 
 John Yooi 
 
 Extent 
 
 of 
 
 Groond 
 
 feued. 
 
 A. R. F. 
 
 18 
 
 2 28 
 
 0 
 
 3 2 
 
 0 
 
 1 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 15 
 
 0 
 
 0 10 
 
 0 
 
 1 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 16 
 
 0 
 
 1 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 18 
 
 0 
 
 0 16 
 
 0 
 
 0 24 
 
 0 
 
 0 21 
 
 0 
 
 0 14 
 
 0 
 
 1 35 
 
 1 
 
 1 19 
 
 0 
 
 0 39 
 
 0 
 
 1 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 0 
 
 1 
 
 9 14 
 
 0 
 
 1 21 
 
 0 
 
 0 94 
 
 0 
 
 0 99 
 
 0 
 
 1 16 
 
 0 
 
 0 20 
 
 0 
 
 0 26 
 
 26 
 
 2 0 
 
 36 
 
 0 2 S7i 
 
 Date of 
 Posses- 
 sioo. 
 
 Old 
 
 1750 
 
 1760 
 
 1770 
 
 1750 
 
 1730 
 
 1795 
 
 1795 
 
 1795 
 
 1795 
 
 1795 
 
 1810 
 
 1798 
 
 1798 
 
 1798 
 
 180.7 
 
 1819 
 
 1812 
 
 1819 
 
 1812 
 
 HEAD OCCUPIERS OF 
 DWELLING-HOUSES. 
 
 Wm. Marshall 
 
 David Marshall .... 
 Robt. Marshall .... 
 Duncan Adamson .. 
 
 Jas. Morison 
 
 Helen Corbet 
 
 John Adamson .... 
 
 John Monro 
 
 Jas. Seth 
 
 Betty Brabener 
 
 Jas. Allan 
 
 Janet Tjavrson...... 
 
 Wm. Louden ...... 
 
 Jas. Blyth ........ 
 
 Jas. Webster 
 
 Ann M‘Culloch .... 
 Euphan Ireland .... 
 
 Peter Mason 
 
 Ann Airmet 
 
 Elspeth Cnrsewell.. 
 
 John Marshall 
 
 David Wallace .... 
 
 John Gourlay 
 
 Elspeth Dali 
 
 John Blyth 
 
 John Mason ^ 
 
 David Sinclair .... 
 Geo. Adamson .... 
 Walter Adamson 
 Thos. Adamson .... 
 
 Mary Simson 
 
 John Colvill 
 
 Oliver Matthewson 
 
 David Clark 
 
 David Brown 
 
 Jas. Dalryinplc .... 
 David Webster .... 
 
 Wm. Sime 
 
 Rachel M‘NRb .... 
 
 David Martin 
 
 Barbara Swan 
 
 Wm. Cunningham.... 
 
 Wm. Muirie 
 
 John Drybrough .... 
 
 Thos. Melvill 
 
 David Wallace 
 
 Thos. Wallace ..... 
 
 Wm. Martin 
 
 Geo. Pettrle 
 
 Elspeth M‘Culloch... 
 
 John Adamson 
 
 Robt* Honey man ... 
 
 Alex. Oliphant 
 
 Wm. Matthew 
 
 John Yool 
 
 A.R.r. 
 
 18 2 2S 
 
 PJ 
 
 ::a 
 
 O 
 
 I 10 
 0 10 
 OSO 
 
 0 i 
 
 1 0 
 
 0 1 IS 
 0 0 10 
 
 0 6 
 0 9 
 039 
 0 
 
 I 0 
 0 0 19 
 0 0 0 
 0 0 16 
 0 0 0 
 0 0 19 
 0 19 
 0 9l 
 0 7 
 
 0 7 
 0 0 
 0 0 
 18S 
 0 0 
 0 0 
 120 
 
 1 20 
 9 19 
 
 0 099 
 0 0 10 
 0 1 0 
 
 090 
 0 90 
 9U 
 191 
 
 09* 
 099 
 116 
 090 
 0 96 
 
 9 0 
 
 106 
 
 0 1 0 
 
V 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clix 
 
 want : and if inhabitants of towns were tempted 
 out of them, to have the enjoyment of a garden and 
 common right in the country, so much the better. 
 
 It must be observed that the land measure in the above table 
 is Scotch, which is one-fifth part larger than English measure. 
 F stands for fall, equivalent to pole; 40 of these making a 
 rood. Feus, not built upon, have been omitted. 
 
 Thirty-six original feuers appear to have among them 26 acres, 
 2 roods; or about 2 roods, 37^ falls each: and 106 sub-feuers 
 and tenants have exactly 1 rood each. Some families have no 
 garden ground, and in some houses are two families. Had the 
 land been equally divided, the gardens would have been of a pro- 
 per size : the greater part of them are much too small. Families 
 do not average 4 each; but there are 14 persons living single, 
 which should not count as families. A considerable number of 
 these people keep cows and pigs ; and almost every head of a 
 family would have one cow, with the privilege of grazing one on 
 a common. One common, well improved, and divided into four 
 well fenced fields, so as to be grazed in succession, each field one 
 week at a time, would be quite sufficient for such a number of 
 people as appear in the table. Ancient commons were rendered' 
 of little service to the public for want of fencing, improvement, 
 and regulation, as to the quantity of grazing stock, shifting and 
 proportioning this, &c. A few simple regulations would not 
 only make the common yield the utmost profit and convenience, 
 but make the business of cow-keeping altogether simple. A 
 little hay, straw, grains, turnips, and the like, all of which could 
 be readily purchased in every part of the kingdom, would be all 
 the want; and the manure produced by the consumption of these 
 articles would be just sufficient to supply the gardens. There 
 would be no confusion, little care, great economy, and a world of 
 comfort and convenience. Beavers, and bees, and ants, have the 
 best possible arrangements determined for them ; but man is left 
 to his own contrivance. How simple is that now proposed ; but, 
 alas! the perversity of our nature!! 
 
X clx GENEllAIi INTRGDUCTrOX. 
 
 Great towns, in many respects, are bad. They are 
 unfavourable to morals, to health, to national eco- 
 nomy. In villages of from fifty to one hundred fami- 
 lies every good of combination can be obtained. In 
 such villages every species of manufactory could 
 find sufficient hands for supplying labour in all its 
 divisions. 
 
 1 am at a loss to understand what Mr. Malthus 
 means, by the “ improvement of cottages.” If he 
 means the improvement of dwelling-houses, thereis 
 a rule to be attended to, and it is this; that, 
 every house, to contain a family with decency and 
 comfort, should have a kitchen, parlour, and three 
 sleeping apartments : one for the parent pair: 
 one for male ; and one for female children. The 
 ^plan and elevation of a log cottage, introduced 
 page—*, has this much accommodation ; and is one, 
 in the contrivance of which, I have bestowed 
 considerable thought. Such a one, finished plainly, 
 and furnished with every wooden convenience, 
 could be afforded in the wilds of Canada for £S0. 
 In England, a cottage, built of brick or stone, and 
 finished as I would wish to see it, substantially 
 and elegantly, would cost £80 now; and four years 
 ago would have cost £l00. Requiring such a 
 cottage to be erected by an individual, before he 
 could claim the rights of a cottage-holder, is 
 proper, on various accounts. The difficulty of 
 
 * The tefefeilce is to a plate alrttbdy engraved j ®nd whid> 
 will appear in vol. iii. 
 

 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clxi 
 
 is acquiring privileges would make these privileges 
 
 uji be more esteemed, and would bring into the 
 
 jjj possession of them, superior merit; while the 
 
 ^ after-enjoyment of a handsome place of residence 
 
 would, in no small degree, assist in upholding 
 - laudable pride and selt-respect. It may be thought, 
 that a common labourer could never accumulate, 
 I out of his wages, the sum requisite for the erection 
 of such cottage ; but he certainly could, if the rate 
 of wages was fair. It has already been stated, that 
 I before the peace, a Scotch ploughman had J02O and 
 ^ his victuals: the half of this could, with eco- 
 ^ nomy, keep him in clothes, and the other half, 
 regularly deposited in a savings bank, might 
 amount to ^ 1 00 by his 23th year. 
 
 Although I have an absolute abhorrence of the 
 “ spade husbandry, as proposed by the benevolent 
 ^ Mr. Owen, I perfectly agree with him, that moral 
 training may greatly improve the human character, 
 f Before Mr. Owen canrte before the public. as an au- 
 thor, I had published my opinion, that“aVcM»i- 
 >1* stances and situation," could mould this; and in 
 s'* America I have seen it so far verified. Man, in- 
 ti® deed, is a ductile animal, and a good one, when 
 
 li< not crossed with tyranny, or ruined from bad ex- 
 ample. He is more hopeful than Mr. Mai thus 
 would have us believe ; but his training must 
 Idlt commence before the wedding-day, — it must com- 
 mence from the cradle. u- 
 
 ^ As to the “ Cow system" there is no possibility 
 of introducing it, generally ; but so far as a com- 
 mon adjoining every village would admit ; and I 
 
 1 
 
 * 
 
dxii disNERAt. intropuction. 
 
 trust that my plan is at once economical, safe, and 
 practicable. I am perfectly aware of the difficult}^ 
 of getting our rulers, and, indeed, the great body 
 of the wealthy classes, to give a liberal hearing to 
 such a proposal. They have a dread that any ad- 
 mission of the people to the enjoyment of civil 
 rights would lead to unreasonable demands: but 
 rt is groundless and unchristian As to the land 
 required, the poor have a positive right to it, 
 looking back to these last 30 years of spoil, under 
 acts of enclosure. The land, unjustly taken from 
 them, under these acts, has amounted to more 
 than would be required to establish the Village 
 system all over the island. Yes ! much more than 
 500,000 acres have been thus unfairly taken from 
 the poor; and, in another way, they have also 
 been gradually and ruinously deprived of their 
 property. By prevailing regulations, no person is 
 entitled to parish-relief while he has any real 
 property. If he is put to it, he must swear that 
 he is poor ; — that he has neither cottage nor gar- 
 den, cow nor calf } that he has nothing but house- 
 hold furniture and wearing apparel. What has 
 ensued from this law ? Why, that not one in a 
 hundred of English labourers has now a sheltering 
 place which he can call his own. Almost univer- 
 sally the poor have been obliged to part with their 
 cottages and gardens. The infernal poor-law sys- 
 tem forced them to make this sacrifice. The stout- 
 est, most active, and most willing labourer, could 
 not maintain his family, after the combination to 
 keep down wages was formed. There was a po*i- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clxiii 
 
 live necessity for his applying to the parish for 
 ^ relief, and this relief he could not have till cot- 
 tage, garden, and all was surrendered. For many 
 ® years sore struggles were made to maintain inde- 
 pendence, and keep possession of the little spots 
 tj which, since England was, had descended by in- 
 iti heritance from father to son ; but it would not do : 
 4 indeed, it was foolishness to hold out ; and it be- 
 rkii 'came a common saying, that “ a collage and gar- 
 kJ,' den was Ihe worst thing a poor man could have.’* 
 ^ Let the reader pause, and reflect upon this: let 
 jt, him think of consequences, — heart-sickening, 
 lei appalling, ruinous consequences. What is pro- 
 n perty good for? for what has God created it? 
 Ijjj what, but a desire to possess property, can spur on 
 the mass of mankind to exertion? what wouUl 
 we be but for this desire ? yet here are millions 
 o|( English people in whom that desire has 
 
 ^ ^ become extinct, —who must pass through life, and 
 ^ never enjoy the delight of having a home which 
 ^ they can call their own. 
 
 ^ AFhat does Mr. Malthus say to this ? Is there a 
 ^ single word on the subject in his whole book on 
 population? When we look to the index of that 
 ^ book, and run over the many heads, under which 
 ’ poor and poor-laws are spoken of, do we find 
 a single word regarding this? Do we find any 
 thing of this in the chapter which treats of “ the 
 ^ only effectual mode of improving the condition (f 
 the poor?” No : not a. word— not a syllable : yet, 
 in this, is the grand secret ; in this is the germ of 
 ^ hope; in this is. .the one thing needful. Let but 
 
 1 2 
 
clxtv 
 
 GENERAI- TNTRODITCTION. 
 
 the poor have a little property to begin with-a 
 little stock in trade ; let them have a home, which 
 they can call their own, with the hope of independ- 
 ence, and all will go well. God instituted property, 
 and clearly tells us that, by the proper use of it, 
 we can rise to excellence ; but without property or, 
 the chance of acquiring it, no good can be expect- 
 ed of us. 
 
 1 have rapturously expressed my joy m accom- 
 panying Mr. Malthus from earlier to later times: 
 from north to south, and from west to east; anon, 
 musing on the abstract truth, that, in proportion as 
 men are virtuous, so are they happy: but am I 
 to dream only of this abstract truth ? When I 
 have obtained full information as to “ the checks 
 to population, in the lowest stage of society, — 
 “ among American Indians,” — “ in the islands of 
 the South Sea,” — “ among the ancient inhabi- 
 tants of the North of Europe,” — “ among modern 
 pastoral nations,” — “ in different parts of Africa, 
 — “ in Siberia, north and south,” — “ in the Turk- 
 ish dominions and Persia,” — “ in Indostan and 
 Tibet,” — “ in China and Japan,” — “ among the 
 Greeks,” — “among the Romans,” — “in Norway,’ 
 — “ in Sweden,” — “ in Russia,” — “ in the middle 
 parts of Europe,” — “ in Switzerland,’’^ — "'® 
 France,” — “ in England,” — “ in Scotland and Ire- 
 land,” — when I have obtained full information as 
 to the checks to population, in all these countries, 
 ancient and modern, and in every stage of societVi 
 am I to fall asleep, and give up all inquiry as 
 the means by which moral restraint may be braced? 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 clxv 
 
 * Am I to make a jumble of crude ideas, and satis- 
 fy myself only of this bare abstract proposition, 
 ^ that all checks to population are “ resolvable into 
 
 ** moral restraint, vice, and misery?” Am I to rest 
 
 ** satisfied with the belief, that the paupers of Eng- 
 ip land may be exalted in character and conduct by a 
 M mere sermon ; and that, too, on their wedding 
 day? What! lecture a young couple on that day, 
 ill against intemperance during the honey-moon ! ! 
 to; Really, Mr. Malthus, there is no wonder that you 
 Bi; have stirred up indignation. Nature should not 
 )]!(( be so provoked — so wantonly outraged. With 
 Ini all my admiration of the theory of population, 
 J I must hold your practice in derision. You 
 
 Ij, make me think of an astronomer fixing his eye so 
 
 jjj intently on the milky-way, to discover its specks, 
 that he forgets that there are stars of the first mag- 
 nitude in the firmament. 
 
 That “ population must always be kept down to 
 thelevel of subsistence,” — that “when unchecked,” 
 it may “ increase in a geometrical ratio,” that “ po- 
 ^ pulation, could it be supplied with food, would go 
 on with unexhausted vigour;” and that “ the in- 
 crease of one period would furnish a greater increase 
 to the next, and this without any limit,” &c. are 
 , all truisms, which any child may understand. I 
 am convinced, with Mr. Malthus, that a nation s 
 strength does not consist in the mere multitude ot 
 its people ; but in the moral and physical strength 
 of the individuals who compose the multitude; and, 
 most assuredly, there is great room for improve- 
 ^ ment in this way. Bred to farming, I clearly com* 
 
dxvi OEKEttAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 \ 
 
 prehencl Mr. Malthus, when he speaks of having 
 sood stock, instead of bad stock, on a farm; but 
 the example which I have given, from experience, 
 of the difference between Scotch and English la- 
 bourers, one earning <£20, while another earned 
 but £12, renders all resort to figurative comparison 
 unnecessary : it is direct to the point. And when 
 it clearly appears by what means an English pauper 
 may be made as good a man as any Scotchman 
 whatever, why should he hesitate in resorting to 
 the means for delivering one-half of the nation from 
 misery, and another from the burden of poor- 
 rates ? The simple means is to give the English 
 poor a chance of acqiriring property, a hope of in- 
 dependence ; and see the effects. Do but this : edu- 
 cate the young, and free the old from vassalage. 
 Only 150 years ago the Scotch were very brutes— 
 the basest rabble on earth; but the institution of 
 parisTi schools wrought a miracle : I may, indeed, 
 quote my own words on this subject, written, in 
 1815: “The Scotch, in one century, were the 
 most unprincipled and desperate marauders ; in the 
 next, they were examples of sobriety and peace*.’ 
 As soon as the poor rascally Scotcii got the rudi- 
 ments of education, they began to work their way 
 to independence ; and they sought for it all the 
 world over. Let the English have the same ad- 
 
 * Right to Church Property secured, page 21. Who- 
 ever wishes to see a true picture of the Scotch, prior to the Refor- 
 ination, should look into I.indsay op Pittscottib’s Histobt of 
 that time. Thu change of character since is truly striking. 
 
GENCUAL INTRODUCTION. clxvii 
 
 vantage, and they, in like manner, will profit by 
 it. But I have said, that “ substantials have been 
 taken from the poor (of Englapd), and that sub- 
 i^tantials must be returned.” Even with education, 
 the poor of England cannot have such a chance as 
 the Scotch had ; and that, because of the existing 
 state of property. I do not know if there is a single 
 parish in Scotland, where the labouring classes do 
 not possess considerable property in houses and 
 land ; or, where they cannot find plenty of cottages 
 and gardens to purchase, or take on lease. In Eng» 
 land, it is all otherwise. I question if the poor of 
 Wiltshire, were they emancipated to-morrow from 
 parish bondage, and in the way of making money, 
 could, in one parish out of ten, get land to pur- 
 chase in small lots, or even have cottages for rent j 
 and that ready accommodation, in this way, should 
 be furnished them, is of the first importance. I 
 have said that at least 5QP,000 acres have been 
 unjustly taken from the poor within the last thirty 
 years ; and that in this time, too, they have been 
 obliged to surrender their cottages and gardens- 
 ilowever unjustly and impolitically all this has 
 come about, no restitution can be made, of the very 
 commons, — -the very cottages and gardens, that 
 have been taken from the poor ; nor is it desirald(i 
 that this should be attempted. Assuredly, how- 
 ever, the general right — the abstract right, to resti- 
 tution, is good. Will Mr. Malthus deriy it ? Will 
 he deny the propriety, justice, and good policy ot 
 restitution ? or can he find fiuilt with ipy m^de pt 
 restitution — my plan fpr execution? Landed pro- 
 
 1 
 
u 
 
 clxviii OENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 perty is often seized upon, paid for, and applied 
 to public purposes, under acts of parliament ; and, 
 if a hundredth part of each parish was so taken for 
 the accommodation of the poor, it would be no 
 great encroachment on the rights of private pro- 
 perty. Some seven or eight years ago, the Bath 
 Society gave a gold medal to the writer of an essay 
 for proposing to purchase up land all over the king- 
 dom, to be given to the clergy in lieu of tithes. 
 This proposal was monstrous in a variety of views, 
 but still it shows that people can bear with such a 
 proposal. On the enclosure of commons, it has 
 been customary to set aside one-seventh for the 
 tithe-claimant, and, if we suppose tithe-claimants, 
 throughout, to be entitled to half as much, here 
 would be a fourteenth of the whole kingdom to be 
 purchased up, and appropriated, for the mainte- 
 nance of 15,000 parsons; not more than a thou- 
 sand of whom are effective in the vineyard : — if we 
 can listen to such a proposal with patience, how 
 readily may my proposal be entertained of purchas- 
 ing up a hundredth part of the kingdom, for the 
 accommodation of a million of families ; and for the 
 removal of “ an evil, in comparison of which, thena- 
 tional debt, with all its terrors, is of little moment.” 
 It is of no avail for Mr. Malthus to be sending into 
 the world edition after edition of his Essay on the 
 Principle of Population, and gradually entrenching 
 himself for more than twenty years within fast- 
 nesses of logic, if he does not come to some point: 
 it is of no avail to be arguing nice points in poli- 
 tical economy, or registering truisms, if no prac- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 clxix 
 
 ^ tical issue is reached: it is of no avail to be wera- 
 turing “ to recommend a general improvement of 
 ^ cottages, and even the cow-system, on a limited 
 
 ^ scale,” if nothing is done. Mr. Malthus has said, 
 
 that he “ should most highly approve of any plan 
 which would tend to render such repeal (the repeal 
 of the law for public maintenance to the poor) 
 
 ' more palatable on its first promulgation.” Well 
 then, I submit my plan, and challenge Mr. Mal- 
 thus to find fault with it. My plan was laid on 
 the table of the House of Commons, before Mr. 
 M Malthus published the 5th edition of his Essay on 
 Population ; and I do not suppose he was igno- 
 rant of it ; yet not a word is said of it. Now it 
 ni will be better known ; and now I challenge not 
 only Mr. Malthus, but the whole world, to say in 
 el what it is wrong ; or to state what difficulty lies in 
 m the way of its adoption. Mr. Malthus hints at 
 J:- building cottages and letting them to the poor; 
 [te but this would be a mighty expensive and com- 
 f|( plicated matter, while it would produce no grand 
 
 I j effect. He also speaks of Mr. Estcourt’s plan of 
 
 gijl providing for the poor, — of letting land to the 
 j|, poor, at Long Newton, in Gloucestershire, (North 
 ^ Wiltshire) ; but this is all trifling. I have repeat- 
 edly been at Long Newton, seen Mr. Estcourt’s 
 j, provision for the poor, and inquired into his plan, 
 jjj It is nothing more than a second edition of the 
 cotter-rigs of old Scotland; and its continuance 
 rests with Mr. Estcourt’s will and pleasure. Mr. 
 Estcourt can deprive his poor tenants of the ridges 
 now let to them; on which they grow a little 
 
dxx GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 grain, beans, potatoes, and so forth. The poor 
 must be made independent of all caprice; they 
 must have something which they can call their 
 own. They must have the power of loco-motion : 
 they* must have a chance of acquiring a freehold, 
 —an opportunity of rising from out the mud in 
 which they are now stuck. The poor of Lincoln- 
 shire arc placed beyond the caprice of their imme- 
 diate masters, the farmers. They rent their cot- 
 tages and cow pastures from the chief landlords, 
 (see page xciv) and as they never disturb them in 
 possession, it is so far well ; but it would be so 
 much better if these cottagers could call their cot- 
 tages their castles, as all Englishmen should be 
 enabled to do. The little feuers of Ceres parish 
 can do this. There, after they have obtained a 
 feu, they are as independent as he that has granted 
 it. The feuer can build to any extent on his laud 
 with safety: he can keep, sell, or divide at plea- 
 sure ; and the foregoing Table shews how things 
 go. The practice of thus accommodating the la- 
 bouring class Avith land is infinite. There is no 
 want of homes in Scotland; whether for sale, tak- 
 ing by lease, or exchange. In the parish of Ceres 
 there are, perhaps, four times as many small pro- 
 perties as those exhibited in the table ; and all 
 over Scotland there are abundance. How was it 
 in Wily parish and the country round? There, 
 nothing of the kind was to be seen. In every 
 parish there were a few cottages, generally in most 
 ruinous condition, which h-ad, formerly, had their 
 little independent occupiers, but now vvcje heW 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 clxxi 
 
 k 
 
 by parish officers as public property. There were 
 
 ^ a few also attached to the farms ; but not a place 
 
 of refuge remained for the poor man who had 
 • . * 
 
 ^ spirit to wish for a home of his OAvn; and what 
 
 said a parish-officer of Wily, when he wanted to 
 SI • 
 
 get quit of some of the poor. He said, “/*e would 
 put them so close that they mould he ohliyed to 
 sivarm;*' meaning, that he would drive them from 
 the parish, where they had a legal right of mainte- 
 ^ nance, by discomfort. 
 
 Whoever bestows serious reflection on this 
 nH speech, cannot be longer insensible to the necessity 
 
 ill which exists for a thorough change being made in 
 111 favour of the poor of England, — the necessity of 
 0 restoring to them some landed property in every 
 
 ob parish, to ensure independence and the power of 
 
 kai locomotion. 
 
 oii The ancient commons, though in many respects 
 nuisances, were, in this way, of vast importance. 
 Ikii Almost every parish in England used to have its 
 [ii^i common or cow-down; and every highway was 
 Ijf skirted with waste land, on which the people could 
 at will erect freeholds. There was not then in 
 England a man to whom such a speech as the 
 above could be appalling. Till within the last 
 |j,| thirty years, that commons and wastes have been 
 |ji generally enclosed, without regard to the rights 
 j. of the poor, and till all the cottages and gardens 
 jj were taken out of their hands, they could not be 
 1(1 to ‘•‘swarm” from over-crowding in alms- 
 
 houses, or parish hovels. The moment that a 
 ' poor man was oppressed, by farmer, priest, or 
 
 I 
 
clxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^squire, under whom he lived, he could find for 
 himself a place of refuge. He had only to ask the 
 assistance of a few friends. In a single night they 
 could, erect a hut, on the common or waste, and 
 before day-light the boiling pot proclaimed him a 
 freeholder; nor could the king himself drive out 
 the poorest of his subjects from such a tenement. 
 This, I say, was a mighty affair for the poor a 
 mighty stay for independence. 
 
 By the enclosure of commons, England has be- 
 come greatly more productive ! many millions a 
 year have been added to rent-rolls^; but by the 
 regardless manner in which the change has been 
 effected, millions of the poor have been deprived 
 of their most valuable rights— have been enslaved. 
 
 Surely, I have said enough ; nor must I forget 
 that I am not writing a book, but an introduction 
 to a book. To the theory of Mr. Malthus I shall 
 most faithfully adhere; and most happy should I be 
 to see so able a writer seconding my plans. If Mr. 
 Young flattered me twenty years ago, by saying, 
 that I “ knew more of the poor of England than 
 any man in it,’’ it may not be taken amiss if I 
 merely state what has happened since. At no 
 moment, since then, have I lost sight of the cause 
 for which, twenty years ago, I shaped the course ot 
 my life; — neither in Scotland, nor England, nor 
 Canada, — neither by land nor by sea, — neither m 
 prosperity nor in adversity, — neither free nor m 
 jail, — neither supported by friends nor deserted by 
 all : — surely, then, I must be a fool indeed, if tbis 
 cause is worthless, or my schemes to advance ib 
 are good for nothing. 
 
il 
 
 i ■ 
 
 i£ 
 
 'I* 
 
 idi 
 
 Dili 
 
 IDl! 
 
 lb 
 
 ih 
 
 08 
 
 iKllt 
 
 :bl 
 
 sk 
 
 0$. 
 
 bl 
 
 t 
 
 old 
 0 
 *. ■ 
 '* 
 
 [S' 
 
 IS*" 
 
 Hi' 
 
 dtf 
 
 GENERAI. tNTRODUCTIOrf. olxxiii 
 
 Sooner or later we must have reform of parlia- 
 ment; and a peaceable reform we cannot have too 
 soon. Looking to my plan for reforming and abo- 
 lishing the poor-laws as a step towards this, I ask 
 the whole world if any thing so safe, so rational, so 
 fraught with every good, has by any one else been 
 proposed. Thirteen years ago I was even too zeal- 
 ous for reform of parliament. I was not wrong 
 in principle, but I was not then aware of that 
 degree of degradation to which poor-laws had 
 reduced the great mass of the English poor. My 
 residence in England gave me opportunities of 
 seeing how deeply evil had been rooted, and 
 made me think of means by which the poor could 
 gradually be fitted for the enjoyment of civil rights, 
 which every human being must enjoy before we 
 can see society improved as it may be — as it ought 
 to be in this advanced age of the world. Edu- 
 cation, the power of locomotion, the possession 
 of houses and land, may all be enjoyed by a people 
 wifhout civil rights, but without them there can 
 be no security : and, more than that, without civil 
 rights, the character — the dignity of man, never 
 can be truly elevated. 
 
 Here again is a most important point to which 
 Mr. Malthus has never turned his eye. He has 
 ridiculed the notion that taxation is the sole cause 
 of distress, and exclaims, “ O monstrous absur- 
 dity, that the poor should be taught that the only 
 reason why the American labourer earns a dollar a 
 day, and the English labourer earns two shillings, 
 is that the English labourer pays a greater part of 
 
olxxiv general INTRODUCTION. 
 
 these two shillings in taxes;” and I too will 
 exclaim, O nsonstrous absurdity, if we are to con- 
 fine the question within certain narrow limits. I 
 will even allow that though “ parliaments were 
 elective, suffrage universal, wars, taxes, and ex- 
 penses unknown, and the civil list ^15,000 a year, 
 the great body of the community might still be a 
 collection of paupers.” I will allow it, because 
 nothing is impossible, but for no other reason 
 which I can see at present. Were w^e once in 
 these happy circumstances, we should, among 
 other good things, have free trade. Wheat would 
 not only be five shillings per bushel, but foreign 
 wheat paid for by the manufactured goods of this 
 country, would go on increasing the demand for 
 such goods for centuries. Some of our land 
 might be thrown out of tillage : that is to say, 
 we would give up an unprofitable struggle, and 
 have more land in grass, which would rise in 
 its comparative value from rents of convenienct, 
 at same time that the stock of food in the coun- 
 try would always be greater, and of a kind less 
 subject to vacillation in quantity or price*. 
 Till Mr. Malthus became the advocate of the Corn 
 Bill, I never questioned his logic. I was so charmed 
 with his theory of population — with what was right 
 in his book, that I never thought of scrutinizing 
 other matters. I did not discover what was wrong- 
 
 * This was a point never properl j looked to by the Com Com* 
 mittecs and writers oo the corn laws. A country full of live 
 i.s less sulyect to famine than one depending on crops of corn. 
 
GBNGRAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 clxxv 
 
 His writings on the Corn Laws, and still more, 
 his Essay on Political Economy, has awakened me 
 from delusion, and convinced me that all along 
 Mr. Malthus has been deluding himself! I acquit 
 him of all bad intention. I am convinced that he 
 wishes well to mankind; though he is miserably 
 narrow in his notions as to the means of accom- 
 plishing good. In the very first page of his book 
 on Population, — in the preface to the second 
 edition, we may note a grand error, under which he 
 sets out, and under which he labours to the end. 
 He speaks of “ the reiterated failures in the efforts 
 of the higher class, to relieve them” (the lower 
 classes). He takes it for granted, that the rich 
 have made efforts to relieve the poor. I deny that 
 the rich ever did a single act of this nature 
 gratuitously. T,beir constant and uniform efforts 
 have been to oppress. What said Sir James 
 Mackintosh, 30 years ago, in his ViNDiciiK 
 GalliCjE? “ Property alone can stimulate to 
 labour; and labour, if it were not necessary to the 
 existence, would be indispensable to the happiness 
 of man. But though it be necessary, yet, in its 
 excess, it is the great malady of civil society. The 
 accumulation of that power, which is confirmed bp 
 wealth in the hands of the few, is the perpetual 
 source of oppression and neglect to the mass of 
 mankind. The power of the wealthy is further 
 concentrated by their tendency to combination, 
 from which numbers, dispersion, indigence, and 
 ignorance, equally preclude the poor:” and again, 
 he says, “ There never was, or will be, in civi- 
 
 
^XXVi GENERAI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 lized society, but two grand interests, that of the 
 Rich, and that of the Poor.” If Mr. Malthus is 
 “ a Christian indeed:” if he is an impartial philaii- 
 thropist, he will start from such premises as these, 
 on his pursuit after truth and happiness ; and not 
 suffer himself to be biassed in his career, beggared 
 in his conceptions, and confined in his schemes of 
 improvement. He will admit of balancing the in- 
 terests of the rich and the poor ; he will allow the 
 poor to have civil rights, and then go on^to argue; 
 then go on to mark consequences. In tracing, with 
 Mr. Malthus, the checks to population from the 
 lowest stage of society, and upwards, I am conti- 
 nually kept in rapture, with a clear view of the 
 causes, which operate in making the earth a wil- 
 derness, and the practicability of removing these 
 causes increases, as I go on perusing chapter after 
 chapter, till I come to study the causes which 
 operate in my own dear native country of Scotland, 
 when I am most of all convinced of the one thing 
 needful, viz. the possession of civil rights by the 
 people. Up to the year 1816, the condition of la- 
 bourers, in Scotland, improved with increasing 
 taxation, while the condition of English labourers 
 was, year after year, sinking to its low'est ebb. 
 The cause of this was obvious. The Scotch 
 were educated, could move about the world, 
 make a good bargainiwith their employers, or be 
 off. Their dress, their dwellings, their language, 
 their manners, their morals, all improved, up 
 to this time. Good living did make population 
 increase rapidly, notwithstanding the waste of war 
 
GnNKKAT. INTRODUCTION*. clxxvii 
 
 and constant emigration ; but it did not make the 
 people foolish in contracting early marriages. I 
 know it had a contrary effect. I know that it 
 made them more prudent in tjiis way. It made 
 them lay in store for the provision of children, 
 before they were begotten. I never knew a 
 Scotch ploughman do an unbecoming act in this 
 way ; but it is well known that in England, pauper 
 lads have been known to marry, and then make 
 application to the parish for a bed to lie down 
 upon. Well, but what has happened to the labourers 
 of Scotland since the year 1816? In that year I 
 visited Scotland, and found the people still living 
 well, though employment had become scarce, and 
 wages were falling. In 1820, when I next visited 
 Scotland, the change was complete. With all the 
 good morals, good habits, education and all, I 
 ' then found misery throughout, from Ayr to Inver- 
 ness. I found thousands of manufacturers in every 
 quarter, who had been accustomed to earn 20s. per 
 week, earning only 4s. 6d. : I found ploughmen’s 
 wages fallen to half, while nothing which they 
 consumed had materially sunk in price, but provi- 
 sion ; and that made no difference to them, to 
 whom this was allowed, whether dear or cheap, in 
 equal quantity, as part wages. Under these circum- 
 stances, I found Scotch labotirers belfind in the 
 payment of house rent: many had pawned furni- 
 ture, for food : many were in rags. I found these 
 very people, who, five years before, were the most 
 exemplary, most cheerful, and contented, now 
 become gloomy, dissatisfied, and desponding. I 
 
Clxxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 found thousands ready for revolt*. Would it have 
 been so, had they enjoyed civil rights ? Would it 
 ever be so again under this enjoyment cautiously 
 conferred ? I can sec no reason that it should ; 
 and have none to distrust providence, for “ Wis- 
 dom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her 
 paths are peace.” Seven years have gone by since 
 Mr. Malthus wTOte on the corn laws ; and two 
 most miserable years, since he published the 3th 
 Edition of his Essay on Population. Can he say, 
 that wisdom has guided our councils during these 
 years ?— dan he fail to discover what has checked 
 population? — ;can he be blind to the causes of 
 vice and misery ? I do not say, that taxation is 
 the “ sole cause 6f distress :” on the contrary, I 
 know that taxation may be made the means of 
 raising us, as a nation, from adversity to prospe- 
 rity. The sole cause of distress rests in the misap» 
 plication of our immense treasures; in taxation, 
 imposed without the people’s consent — imposed 
 by an oligarchy, which can fill four seats out of 
 five in our House of Commons, at pleasure; men, 
 who have no feeling for the poor, or even for those 
 
 * In 1808 I visited the coast of Kent, and found Martello towers 
 erected 'along every part, accessible from the s6a, to defend us 
 against French invasion. These towers were of no use in war; 
 but now, they are absolutely required to defend us against 
 smugglers. In October last, I travelled round that coast, and 
 found the Martello towers manned with 'prevention men ; nor could 
 I walk out on the cliffs, but I found people armed with swords, 
 and pistols, and spyglasses; gloomy, taciturn p‘cople, who would 
 not answer civil questions, lest I should be a smuggler. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clvxix 
 
 in middle rank ; men who are heedless lof every 
 thing like virtue ; who tax us, only to squander 
 away the immense resources' of the empire, to 
 support themselves and their friends in luxury and 
 idleness. Yes, Sir James Mackintosh was per- 
 fectly correct in saying, “ the accumulation oftJutt 
 power which is confirmed by wealthy in the hands 
 the few, is the perpetual source of oppression and 
 neglect to the mass of mankind Can Mr. Malthus 
 deny it ? No, no, no. It is a law of nature ; and 
 we should contrive means to correct its evil tenr 
 dencies. The poor require every assistance : the 
 rich should ever be eyed with suspicion; and hap- 
 pily their own excesses are likely soon to undo 
 them. Freedom of itrade will become absolutely 
 necessary; and our landed oligarchy will be un- 
 done. If the com of America could be exchanged 
 for the 'manufactures of iBritain, the consequences 
 would be glorious. Every hand in this country 
 would find employment; every rational desire 
 would be satisfied; every murmur would ibestilleri. 
 Population would go pn anon increasing. All those 
 checks, registered by Mr. Malthus ;-r-the checks of 
 savage life, tyranny, ignorance, degradation, -war, 
 pestilence, and famine, would all disappear. > Civi- 
 lized man would rapidly spread over the earth, and 
 replenish it. ’Mr. Malthus, strange to say, after 
 years of study to discover checks to population, is 
 blind to the great'Ones existing atihorae. 'He 'tells 
 us, that emigration should be alhtved, but cannot 
 finddn his heart to etieouraye it. Tie talks ofedu- 
 cating 'the poor, djut nothing' is done. He justifies 
 
 m 2 
 
clxxx GENERAIv INTRODUCTION’. 
 
 / 
 
 the Com Bill, and writes a book on Political Eco- 
 nomy, which, even with a summary, only adds 
 confusion'to confusion ; while our iSlinisters laugh 
 in their sleeves at the very name of economy. EuH 
 of protestations in the cause of benevolence, in all 
 his practical views Mr. Malthus is at fault — incon- 
 sistent and narrow-minded. Jealous of nature, he 
 binds her hand and foot with a too fastidious phi- 
 losophy : he proves to demonstration that, with 
 abundance of food, we can double our numbers 
 in every twenty-five years, yet he will not let us 
 have food at the lowest price.; and though God’s 
 first command was to increase and multiply, and 
 replenish the earth, he, a divine, is not willing to 
 allow that emigration should be encouraged and 
 assisted by Government; he is not willing to for- 
 ward the express mandate of heaven ! ! 
 
 Suppose reform of pafliament was to proceed 
 upon the principle of every holder of a village lot 
 having a vote in the choice of deputies (and after 
 travelling in the United States, and studying their 
 various constitutions, I still prefer deputed elec- 
 tion) after his house was built, and his land paid 
 for, what excellent efliects would attend the pro- 
 gress of Reform ! Every man with a spare hun- 
 dred pounds would immediately set aboyt build- 
 ding a cottage to qualify him to vote at the next 
 general election ; and for many years to come there 
 would not be an idle hand in the country. Full 
 employment to the poor would raise the price of 
 labour: good wages would cause consumption: 
 consumption would raise the price of corn : far- 
 
general introduction. clxxxi 
 
 noers would again have money; and money would 
 again briskly circulate. The rich would first build 
 their cottages; and by the profits of building for 
 the rich, labourers would in course go on to build 
 for themselves. The desideratum at present is to 
 find employment for the people; and here it is. 
 With full employment, who doubts but taxes could 
 be paid, oppressive as they seem to be at present, 
 when all is stagnation ? 
 
 How easily could Government cause fifty acres 
 of land (or even ttvenly-Jive acres would do), to be 
 pitched out within a mile of every parish church 
 in the kingdom; and say to the people : here you 
 may go to work: here you, who have means, 
 may instantly give employment to the poor: here 
 evdry man may rear for himself a castle of inde- 
 fiendence: here, it may be said to the poor, is 
 part of the price for which all future claims for 
 parish aid are to be given up.. What would fol- 
 low from such a noble proclamation? Most assu- 
 redly all would be delighted. There would be an 
 instant cheer among the rich to expend : there 
 would be an instant rush, on the part of the poor, 
 to exertion and toil : all would be life and acti- 
 vity : two hours would be added to the dav ; 
 and the very dunghill cocks would crow earlier 
 in the morning. To increase the bustle, it would 
 be well to see Mr. Brougham erecting a school- 
 house in the centre of each village, while the 
 “ Lion of the Exchequer” was kept at bay by a 
 iermon from Mr. Malth us. ^ 
 
 Mankind have never vet witnessed the wonders 
 
 «/ 
 
clxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ’squire, under whom he lived, he could find for 
 himself a place of refuge. He had only to ask the 
 assistance of a few friends. In a single night they 
 could erect a hut, on the common or waste, and 
 before da 5 Might the boiling pot proclaimed him a 
 freeholder; nor could the king himself drive out 
 the poorest of his subjects from such a tenement. 
 This, I say, was a mighty affair for the poor— a 
 mighty stay for independence. 
 
 By the enclosure of commons, England has be- 
 come greatly more productive: many millions a 
 year have been added to rent-rolls ; but by the 
 regardless manner in which the change has been 
 effected, millions of the poor have been deprived 
 of their most valuable rights— have been enslaved. 
 
 Surely, I have said enough ; nor must I forget 
 that I am not writing a book, but an introduction 
 to a book. To the theory of Mr. Malthus I shall 
 most faithfully adhere; and most happy should I be 
 to see so able a writer seconding my plans. If Mr. 
 Young flattered me twenty years ago, by saying, 
 that I “ knew more of the poor of England than 
 any man in it,” it may not be taken amiss if I 
 merely state what has happened since. At no 
 moment, since then, have 1 lost sight of the cause 
 for which, twenty years ago, I shaped the course of 
 my life; — neither in Scotland, nor England, nor 
 Canada, — neither by land nor by sea, — neither in 
 prosperity nor in adversity, — neither free nor in 
 jail, — neither supported by friends nor deserted by 
 all : — surely, then, I must be a fool indeed, if this 
 cause is worthless, or my schemes to advance it, 
 are good for nothing. 
 
GENERAti INTRODUCTIOW. clxxiii 
 
 
 Sooner or later we must have reform of parlia- 
 ment; and a peaceable reform we cannot have too 
 soon. Looking to my plan for reforming and abo- 
 lishing the poor-laws as a step towards this, I ask 
 the whole world if any thing so safe, so rational, so 
 fraught with every good, has by any one else been 
 proposed. Thirteen years ago I was even too zeal- 
 ous for reform of parliament. I was not wrong 
 in principle, but I was not then aware of that 
 degree of degradation to which poor-laws had 
 reduced the great mass of the English poor. My 
 residence in England gave me opportunities of 
 seeing how deeply evil had been rooted, and 
 made me think of means by which the poor could 
 gradually be fitted for the enjoyment of civil rights, 
 which every human being must enjoy before we 
 can see society improved as it may be — as it ought 
 to be in this advanced age of the world. Edu- 
 cation, the power of locomotion, the possession 
 of houses and land, may all be enjoyed by a people 
 without civil rights, but without them there can 
 be no security : and, more than that, without civil 
 rights, the character — the dignity of man, never 
 can be truly elevated. 
 
 Here again is a most important point to which 
 Mr. Malthus has never turned his eye. He has 
 ridiculed the notion that taxation is the sole cause 
 of distress, and exclaims, “ O monstrous absur- 
 dity, that the poor should be taught that the only 
 reason why the American labourer earns a dollar a 
 day, and the English labourer earns two shillings, 
 is that the English labourer pays a greater part of 
 
clxxxiv GENERAL INTRODl CTION; 
 
 lor transaction, — for exchange, — for the accumula- 
 tion of wealth or the extinction of debt, by 
 whatever name it may be called. All that we 
 want is activity. Our credit is unbounded: our 
 means, well employed, unexhaustible. Let then 
 the poor have work, and a hope of independence and 
 enjoyment. Let our transports, now rotting in the 
 harbours, be refitted : let them carry out emigrants 
 to Canada — to the Cape — to Van Diemens land: 
 only let proper plans be laid down, and all will 
 pay. Breeding itself will pay : I say it in full 
 consideration of all the reasoning of Mr. Malthus. 
 Let us no longer, then, be backward in obeying 
 the first great command, “ increase and multiply, 
 and replenish the earth.” Is it not a shame that 
 three-fourths of the globe should yet be unpeopled, 
 after 6000 years have fled, and that mankind should 
 be led on to butcher each other at the nod of a 
 holy alliance? Away with the idea that breeding 
 is the cause of vice and misery. Kings and priests 
 caused thesp, themselves in the first place being 
 caused by the ignorance of mankind. Let us 
 liberally interpret the laws of nature: let us duly 
 appreciate the qualities of the human mind as sus- 
 ceptible of infinite improvement: let us not con- 
 found causes with effects; but patiently trace out 
 the windings of the “ mighty m’aze.^’ Now that 
 we are in possession of the art of printing, let us 
 persevere in putting down ignorance, and all its 
 brood. Let us be assured that vice and misery 
 may be eradicated from the earth : that it may be 
 thickly and quickly peopled ; and that moral re- 
 
 r 
 
GENKRAl. INTRODUCTION. cIxXXV 
 
 siraint alone is sufficient to give consistency to the 
 law divine. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 SKETCHES AND TOWNSHIP REPORTS 
 
 OF 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 The Sketches were prepared for publication in 
 1811, but laid aside in consequence of the war 
 which broke out in 1812. 
 
 On the re-establishment of peace, the writer 
 revised his Sketches, and inserted accounts of 
 battles, &c. of which he had the best opportuni- 
 ties of being correctly informed, again intending to 
 publish, but, for reasons not communicated to me, 
 that intention was relinquished. In 1818 the 
 manuscript was offered to me, as a fund of ma- 
 terials for my Statistical Account, and I had a writ- 
 ten order to receive it from a printer in the United 
 States on my way to England. 
 
 When shut up in Niagara jail, it occurred to me, 
 that I might beguile some dreary hours by pub- 
 lishing in Upper Canada the Township Reports, 
 with a general Account of the Province, from my 
 own knowledge, so as to have the whole improved 
 on the spot, by additions and observations of 
 Jhe inhabitants, for rendcrujg the publication in 
 4 
 
 
clxxxvi 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 England more complete. 1 took steps towards 
 this, and had the Sketches sent to me; but they 
 did not arrive till after I had found it impossible to 
 accomplish my purpose, and I did not give them 
 an attentive reading till my return home. Here I 
 found the work so perfect, the style so good, and 
 the statements so candid and injpart;ial, that 1 
 judged it wrong to pull it to pieces. I conceived 
 that as a whole, it was better than any general ac- 
 count I could draw up, and would be more pecu- 
 liarly interesting, as coming from the pen of a na- 
 tive American, and one who had been long resi- 
 dent in the province of Upper Canada. 
 
 To assist the writer’s description of the falls of 
 Niagara, I have introduced aground sketch, which, 
 together with the vignettes in the title-pages, will, 
 
 I hope, be serviceable; but no description, however 
 assisted, can convey . an adequate idea of nature’s 
 most splendid scene. / 
 
 The Township Reports need no other intro- 
 duction than the following Address, which called 
 them forth. 
 
 - ’ - 
 
 TO 
 
 ^Ihe Resident Land-Owners of Upper Canada. 
 
 Queenston, October, 1817, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I am a British farmer, and have visited this province to 
 ascertain what advantages it possesses in an agricultural 
 point of view. After three months residence I am con- 
 vinced that these are great,— -for superior indeed to wbal 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clxxxvii 
 
 the mother country has ever held out, either as they coxkr 
 cem speculative purchase, or the profits of present occur 
 pation. n 
 
 Under such impressions, it is my purpose, as soon as 
 circumstances will permit, to become a settler ; and in the 
 meantime, would willingly do what liesi in my power to 
 benefit the country of my choice^ 
 
 When I speak in this sanguine manner of the capabilities 
 of Canada, I take it for gianted that certain political 
 restraints to improvement will be, speedily removed. Grow- 
 ing necessity, and the opinion of every sensible man with 
 whom I have conversed on the subject, gives assurance ot 
 this. My present Address, therefore, waves all regard to 
 political arrangements : it has in view, simply to open a 
 correspondence between you and your fellow-subjects at 
 home, where the utmost ignorance prevails with respect to 
 the natural resources of this fine country. 
 
 Travellers have published passing remarks, — they have 
 told wonderful stories, and amused the idle of England 
 with descriptions of the beautiful and grand scenery which 
 nature has here displayed ; but no authentic account has 
 yet been afforded to men of capital, to men of enterprise 
 and skill, of those important facts which are essential to 
 be known, before such men will launch into foreign sp^cii- 
 lation, or venture with their families, in quest ot better 
 fortune across the Atlantic. 
 
 Ill this state of ignorance, you have ‘hitherto had for 
 settlers chiefly poor men driven from home by despair. 
 These men, ill-informed and lost in the novelties which 
 surround them, make at first but a feeble commencement, 
 and ultimately, form a society, crude, unambitious, and 
 weak. In your newspapers I have frequently observed 
 hints towards bettering the condition of those poor set- 
 tlers, and for ensuring their residence in the provinces. 
 Such hints evidently spring from benevolent fedmgs : they 
 are well meaut, and may tend to alleviate individual dis- 
 
 3 
 
elxxxviii general introduction. 
 
 tress, but can produce no important good to the country. 
 Canada is worthy of something better than a mere guidance 
 to it of the blind and the lame : it has attractions to stimu- 
 late desire and place its colonization above the aids of ne- 
 cessity. 
 
 Hands no doubt are necessary, but, next to good laws, 
 the grand requisite for the improvement of any country is 
 capital. Could a flow of capital be once directed into this 
 quarter, hands would not be wanting, nor would these 
 hands be so chilled with poverty as to need the patronage 
 of charitable institutions. 
 
 At this moment British capital is overflowing; trade is 
 yielding it up: the funds cannot profitably absorb it: land 
 mortgages are gorged ; and it is streaming to waste in the 
 six per cents, of America. Why should not this stream be 
 diverted into the woods of Canada, where it would find 
 a still higher rate of interest, with the most substantial se- 
 curity? 
 
 Gentlemen ! The moment is most auspicious to your 
 interests, and yon should take advantage of it. You 
 should make known the state of this country; you should 
 advertise the excellence of the raw material which Nature 
 has lavishly spread before yon ; you should inspire confi- 
 dence, and tempt able adventurers from home. At this 
 time there are thousands of British fanners sickened with 
 disappointed hopes, who would readily come to Canada, 
 did they but know the truth: many of these could still 
 command a few thousand pounds to begin with here; while 
 others, less' able in means, have yet preserved their cha- 
 racter for skill and probity, to entitle them to the confi- 
 dence of capitalists at home, for whom they could act as 
 agents in adventure. Under the wing of such men, the 
 redundant population of Britain would emigrate with 
 cheerfulness, and be planted here with hearts unbroken. 
 
 We hear of four or five thousand settlers arrived from 
 home this season: and it is talked of as a great accession 
 

 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. clxxxix 
 
 to the population of the provinces. It is a mere drop from 
 the bucket. England alone could spare fifty thousand 
 people annually, while she would be refreshed and strength- 
 ened by the discharge. In war, England sent abroad an- 
 nually more than twenty thousand of her youthful sons to 
 be slain, and more than twenty thousand of her daughters 
 shot after them the last hope of honourable love. In these 
 twenty-five years of war the population of England rapidly 
 increased: what is it to do now, when war is at'an end, 
 when love and opportunity are no longer to be foiled, and 
 the poor-laws have provided sustenance for children inde- 
 pendent of the parent’s care? 
 
 Under existing circumstances, it is absolutely necessary 
 even for the domestic comfort of England, that a vent 
 should be immediately opened for her increasing popula- 
 tion, and the colonization of Canada, if once begun, upon 
 a liberal footing, would afford this vent. 
 
 The present emigration from England affords no relief 
 whatever to the calamity occasioned by the poor-laws. 
 Thousands and tens ot thousands of paupers could be 
 spared, who cannot possibly now get off for want of means, 
 but who would be brought over by men of capital, were con- 
 fidence for adventure here once established. 
 
 The extent of calamity already occasioned bv the system 
 of the poor-laws, cannot be even imagined by strangers. 
 They may form some idea, however, when I tell them, that 
 last winter I saw in one parish (Blackwall, within five miles 
 of London), several hundreds of able-bodied men, har- 
 nessed and yoked, fourteen together, in carts, hauling 
 gravel for the repair of the highways; each fourteen men 
 performing just about as much work as an old horse led by 
 a boy could accomplish*. We have heard since that 
 
 * The above mdancholy picture need not stand alone as illus- •• 
 trative of the condition of the labouring classes in England ; nor 
 
cxc OBNRRAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 £1,500,000 has been voted to keep the poor at work; and 
 peAaps the most melancholy consideration of the whole is, 
 that there are people who trust to such means as a cure for 
 
 While all this is true; when the money and labour of 
 England is thus wasted; when thousands of our fellow- 
 subjects are emigrating into the States of America; when 
 we even 'hear of them being led off to mix with the boors 
 of Poland, in the cultivation of a country where the na- 
 ture of the government must counteract ffie utmost efforts 
 towards improvement, — is it not provoking that alt this 
 should go on merely from a reigning ignorance of thesn- 
 perior advantages which Canada has in store, and a 
 thoughtlessness as to the grand policy which might be 
 adopted for the general aggrandizement of the British 
 nation? * * 
 
 Some have thought tlie exclusion of American citiaens 
 a 'great bar to the speedy settlement of Canada; but a 
 liberal system tof colonization frosn Europe, woul4 render 
 this of small* importance. 'Before coming to a 'decided 
 opinion on this important subject, I took much pains to in- 
 form myself of facts. A minute inqui^ on the spot where 
 
 was it only in the year 1817 that misery was extreme. I copy the 
 following piece of intelligence from the'Salisbury 'Journal of 9th 
 April, 1821. 
 
 “ Many of the poor frame-workers of Nottingham are ont o 
 employ, and teams of men, and e?ven women, are dragging coals, 
 &c.,^ in waggons and carts, about the streets, to excite the cowp®^ 
 sion of the inhabitants.’* 
 
 * Mr. Horne, the Editor of the Upper Canada Gazette, 
 he was first setting up the types of this Address, wished me to 
 substitute the word no for sinallf which I would not consent to. 
 Mr.iHorue, I dare say, will recollect this; and, I hav® reason^ 
 for keeping itin'inind. 
 
V 
 
 GENKUALr INTRODUCTION. CXCi 
 
 government has endeavoured to force a settlement, satis- 
 ^ fied me as to the catis^s of the too notorions failure there. 
 
 It convinced me that the fault by no means rested with the 
 ^ incapacity of the settlers, but resulted from the system pur- 
 ^ sued. I have since spent a month perambulating the Genesee 
 country for the express purpose of forming a compari- 
 son between British and American management. That 
 country lies parallel to this : it possesses no superior ad- 
 * vantages: its settlement began ten years later; yet I am 
 » ashamed to say, it is already ten years before Canada, in 
 i improvement. This has been asoribed to the superior dex- 
 il terity of the American people, bat most erroneously. The 
 1 art of clearing land is as well understood here as in the 
 
 I States: men direct from Britain are as enei^tic, and after 
 
 i a little practice, sufficiently expert with the^axe, while they 
 are more regular in their habits and -more persevering in 
 
 ii their plans tlian the Americans. 
 
 ^ No improvement has taken place in the Genesee coun- 
 I try, which could'not be far exceeded here, under a proper 
 system. It Was 'indeed British capital and "enterprise 
 g which gave the first grand impetus to the improvement of 
 ^ that country: much of its improvement is still proceeding 
 under British agency; and one of its most flourishing 
 townships is wholly occupied by men, who came, witli 
 slender means, from the Highlands of Scotland. In the 
 ^ Genesee country, the government pocketed > much, but 
 forced nothing, and charity, there, has been left ^without 
 an object. 
 
 * The Genesee country, contaming near five millions of acres, 
 extends eastward from Niagara river about 100 miles: is bound- 
 ed, on the north, by>Lake Ontario, and on the south, by Pennsyl- 
 vania. The river Genesee runs through the middle of it ; and 
 that word, which is Indian, means in English, pkcmnl valiey. 
 
CXCll 
 
 trENKRAl. INTRODUCTION 
 
 Gentlemen,— Tlie inquiries and observations wliitli I 
 kave recently made on the subject of settlement, assure me, 
 that neither in these Provinces nor in the United States, 
 has a proper system been pursued. The mere filling of the 
 world with men, should not be the sole object of political 
 wisdom. This should regard the filling of it with beings of 
 superior intellect and feeling, without which the desert 
 had better remain occupied by the beaver and the bear. 
 That society of a superior kind may be nursed up in Ca- 
 nada, by an enlarged and liberal connexion with the mother 
 country, I am very confident; and its being realized is the 
 fond hope which induces me to come forward with my pre- 
 sent proposals, and which, if these proposals meet with sup- 
 port, will continue the spur of my exertions to complete the 
 work which I have now in view. 
 
 Many of you. Gentlemen, have been bred up at home, 
 and well know how superior, in many respects, are tlie 
 arrangements and habits of society there, to what they are 
 on this side the Atlantic. Sucl% never can be hoped for 
 here under the present system of ^Ionization, whicli brings 
 out only a paid, and that the weakest part of society- 
 which places poor and* destitute individuals in remote 
 situations, with no object before them but groveling selfish- 
 ness — no aid — no example — no fear either of God or man. 
 Is it not possible to create such a tide "of commerce as 
 would not only bring with it part of society, but society 
 complete, with all the strength and order and refinement 
 which it has now attained in Britain, beyond all precedent. 
 Surely government would afford every facility to a com- 
 merce which would not only enrich, but eternally bind to- 
 gether Britain and her Provinces, by the most powerfd 
 sympatliies of manners and taste and affection. 
 
 Government never can too much encourage the growth 
 of this colony, by a liberal system of emigration. ^ 
 we come from home, we are not expatriated : our feelings 
 as British subjects grow more warm with distance, and out 
 
GKNERAL INTRODUCTION. CXcill 
 
 greater experierfee teaches us the more to venerate the* 
 principles of our native laud — the country wherein the' 
 scTeneeS*have made the greatest progress, and where aloncr 
 are cultivated to perfection tlie arts of social life. 
 home, wo have experienced evils: we know that influenfces* 
 are there, which war against the principles of the constitu- 
 tion, and counteract its most benevolent designs, ffere, 
 we are free of such influences, we are perfectly contented, 
 and a fine field lies open to us for cultivating the best fruits 
 of civil and religious liberty. 
 
 An enlarged and liberal connexion between Canada and 
 Britain, appears to me to promise the happiest results to^ 
 the cause of civilization. It promises a new eera in the 
 history of our species : it promises the growth of manners 
 with manly spirit, modesty with acquirements, and a love^ 
 of truth superior to the boasting of despicable vanity* 
 
 The late war furnished the strongest proof of the rising 
 spirit of this colony’ even under every drsad vantage*; 
 pity it would be, were so noble a spirit ever again exposed' 
 to risk. The late waiv showed at once the affection which 
 Britain bears to Canada, and the desire which Canada has 
 to continue under the wing of Bntain. When aconhexi^ 
 is established between the two countries worthy of such 
 nifesfations, all risk ^viR cease. Britain will no longer haVh 
 to expend her jiiiliions here. This country will not only -be 
 equal to its* own defence; but the last hope* of invasldit ^ill 
 wither before its sttengtli. While Canada ' remains ,p 60 f 
 and neglected she can only He a burthen, to Bintaiii : whdn 
 improved and wealthy she Will amply liepay every debt, and 
 become the powerful friend of the parent state. 
 
 What I conceive to be the first requisite for opening a 
 suitable communication with the mother country, is th^ 
 drawing out and publishing a weH-authen treated statistical 
 account of Upper Canada. This cannot be etiected by a 
 single hand: it must be the work, and have the authority of 
 
CXciv GENERAL INTRODL CTION* 
 
 \ 
 
 many. To give it commencement, I submit for your con- 
 sideration the annexed queries ; and could these be replied 
 to,, from every township in the Province, the work would 
 be far advanced. These queries have been shewn to 
 many of the most respectable individuals in the province, 
 and the scheme of collecting materials in this way, for a 
 statistical account, has, by every one, been approved. 
 Some have doubted whether there exists sufficient energy 
 aiid public spirit in the remote townships to reply to them. 
 I hope there is; and certainly no organized township is 
 destitute of individuals qualified for the task, if they will 
 but take so much trouble. 
 
 Some gentlemen have met my ideas so cordially as to 
 offer to collect information, not only for their ow n, but, for 
 other townships. Correct information, however, is not the 
 only requisite: authority is also wanted of that species 
 which will not only carry weight with it to a distance, but 
 remain answerable on the spot for what is advanced. The 
 desirable point, therefore, is to obtain replies separatdy 
 from each township^ and to have these attested by the sig- 
 nature of as many of the respectable inhabitants as possi- 
 ble. To accomplish this in the speediest and most effectual 
 manner, a meeting might be held in each township, and 
 in the space of an hour or two the business might be 
 perfected. 
 
 The Queries have been drawn out as simply as possible, 
 with a view to the practicability of having them answered 
 in this general way. They embrace only such matters as 
 it must be in the power of every intelligent farmer to 
 speak to, and the information to be obtained by them 
 be sufficient to assure farmers and others at home who have 
 money to engage in adventure, that adventure here, 
 not only be rational and safe, but that they themselves may 
 sit down in Canada with comfort and independence. 
 
 Although, to prevent confusion in the general fulfilment 
 
cxrv 
 
 GENERA!^ INTUOmiCTlON. 
 
 of the scheme, I have confined tlie range of QuerieSj it 
 would still be very desirable if intelligent individuals would 
 communicate their sentiments with regard to any measure 
 of improvement which occurs to them, or any remarkable 
 fact or observation they may have made concerning the cli- 
 mate, soil, or cultivation of the province. 
 
 Shonld any correspondent dislike my using his name 
 publicly, he need only give a caution, and it shall be ob- 
 served 
 
 If the Queries obtain notice, and sufficient documents 
 are forwarded to me, I shall arrange and publish them in 
 l^ugland, whither I am soon to return. Had this task re- 
 quired superior ability, such an offer would be presump* 
 tion. I think it requires industry alone, and that I shall 
 contribute most willingly. 
 
 Whoever thinks well of the scheme, and feels a desire to 
 promote it, l^t him not hesitate or delay: prompt assist- 
 ance will be every thing; and, as to trouble, let individuals 
 compare their’s to mine. 
 
 Though I gratuitously make offer of my time, I must be 
 relieved of expense as much as possible, and shall expect 
 all communications to be post paid. No person, I think, 
 who interests himself at all in the matter, will grudge his 
 item in this way. Divided amongst many^ such charges 
 will be trifling, but accumulated upon (ine, they would be 
 serious. 
 
 * These lines were thrown in at the suggestion of the printer 
 at York, who thought few people would choose to give their 
 names, as authority. So very different w^as the issue, that f 
 have received only one communication out of nearly a hundred, 
 with a feigned signature. I mention this to the honour of the 
 people of Upper Canada, while I express my regret for admitting 
 of a supposition that any one would hesitate or withhold his name 
 in support of the information required. 
 
 n2 
 
CXCVl 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION* 
 
 Should tlie work succeed to tny wish, I would propose 
 not only publishing it in the English, but German language. 
 It is well knoy^n that the people rtf that nation are most 
 desirable settlers, and it is a fact that many of them have 
 not the means of communicating to their friends the very 
 superior advantages of this country.;- One of them, who 
 has been in Canada 13 years, lately told me, that “ tou- 
 “ sands and tousands would come over, did they but know 
 “ how good a country it is for poor peoples.” 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY, 
 
 N. B. Address all communications for me, to the Post 
 Office, Qveenston. 
 
 [See Querie.s, page 270.] 
 
 The iJpper Canada Gazette, in which the above 
 was first published, having a very limited circula- 
 tion, and the President, Colonel Smith, having 
 approved of the Address, TOO copies were thrown 
 oflT as a Circular,' and sent by post to the public 
 officers of ea’ch township, with the following note: 
 
 ir .. . 
 
 ,,.C n ' . 
 
 The within Address^ S^c. appeared in the Upper 
 Canada Gazette of the 30th October ; hut lest that paper 
 should not fall into your hands^ this is sent to you; and it 
 is earnestly j'equested that you will endeavour to procure a 
 meeting of your respectable neighbours^ as soon as possible^ 
 and otherwise forward the object in view^ which would be 
 of the greatest service to the Province. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cxcvii 
 
 
 (It luts been said^ par/e Ixxxiii, that the printing of 
 this General Introduction was broken off*, De- 
 cmAer, 1820. It was then thus far prepared 
 for the press ; and the causes of a year s delay 
 in publishing^ Sj-c. shall now he staled in the 
 following Address.) 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF UPPER CANADA, 
 
 {^Ammg whom are my fuiious Foes and feeble Friends,) 
 
 Canadians, 
 
 Had this book appeared twelve months ago, as 
 it might, but for accidents, my intention was to 
 have dedicated it to you, in the hope that your 
 representatives would do nothing in parliament till 
 a commission of inquiry was sent home. Your 
 representatives have played the fool ; but, of this, 
 elsewhere. 
 
 As I have all along considered myself pledged 
 to publish in England the information concerning 
 Upper Canada, which you communicated to me 
 for that purpose, I shall have recouise.to narrative 
 to set forth by what causes I have been so late in 
 redeeming my pledge, and at the same time shall 
 recount what has occurred to me in connexion 
 with the subject of this publication. 
 
 In my statement of 3d January, 1820, (page v) 
 I have noted my landing at Liverpool, the 2d De- 
 
CXCvlii CiENKRAIv INTUODUCTION. 
 
 ceinber, 1819. Arriving at Edinburgh the 6th of the 
 same month, I heard, for the first time, that my 
 father had breathed his last, and proceeding to 
 Eifeshire, devoted a month to sympathy and con- 
 dolence with my afflicted mother. Towards the 
 middle of January 1 returned to Edinburgh, and im- 
 mediately w'aited on an eminent booksellef, to offer 
 him for publication, “ A Statistical Account 
 OF Upper Canada, written by the Inha- 
 bitants.’’ He informed me that he had had 
 lying by him for some weeks a Statistical Account 
 of Upper Canada written by Dr. Strachan of that 
 province, which had been sent home recommended 
 for publication by Sir Peregrine Maitland and the 
 Attorney General : that he had, within the last 
 two days, returned this to Aberdeen, refusing to 
 be its publisher; and, having refused Dr. Strachan’s 
 work, he could not, hesaid, in propriety publish any 
 thing of the same kind for me. I then entered into 
 treaty with another bookseller, and flattered my- 
 self that I might not only get the Statistical Ac- 
 count published, but have petitions presented to 
 the Prince and Parliament respecting my treatment 
 at Niagara, so as to sail for Quebec by the spring 
 ships. At this moment, the King’s death, and 
 consequent dissolution of Parliament, dissipated 
 these sanguine expectations, and made me think of 
 dedicating some time, now of less consequence, to 
 the restoration of my health, which was indeed 
 wretched; to the pleasure of visiting my friends; 
 and the enjoyment of viewing, once again, the 
 varied and charming scenery of my native laudi 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CXc'lX 
 
 On such errand^ I made a pedestrian excursion ; first 
 westward, through Lanark, Renfrew, and Ayrshire ; 
 and then to the north so far as Peterhead, Inver- 
 ness, and Fort William ; having the additional ob- 
 jects, in these quarters, of inquiring into the situa- 
 tion of the Highlanders, and of their inclination to 
 emigrate; as well as of inspecting the Caledonian 
 Canal, that I might the better make up my mind 
 as to that of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 It was the beginning of May before I got back 
 to Edinburgh from this second tour ; and here I 
 found Dr. Strachan’s book advertised under the 
 title of “ A Visit JO Upper Canada, by James 
 Slrachan,” a brother of the said Doctor ; the adver- 
 tisement setting forth that the book contained 
 “ A brief account of Mr, Gourlay s proceedings as 
 a reformer in Upper Canada : the whole being care- 
 fully drawn up from materials furnished by the 
 author's brother, who has been twenty years in the 
 country, and a member of the Government." 
 
 Although I never heard of Strachan till I was in 
 Upper Canada, I had no difficulty in getting a 
 correct history of him. 
 
 About the year 179"5 this, now, Honourable and 
 Reverend personage strolled south from Aberdeen, 
 where he had received a little college learning, and 
 was for a while preceptor to the children of a 
 farmer in Angusshire. After this he got to be 
 schoolmaster, first in Duninno, and then in Kettle, 
 parishes in Fifeshire, attending St. Andrew’s Col- 
 lege at the same time, as an irregular student. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Hamilton, of Gladsmuir, in East 
 
 3 
 
CG 
 
 GKNEnAL INTRODUCTION 
 
 LotliifiJi, Hiy wifc’^ uncle, having a commission 
 froni a friend in Upper Canada to send out to him 
 a.|)er8on qualified for a family tutor, offered £o0 
 U'year to procure one; and Strachan agreed to go 
 put» He went; and after teaching privately for 
 !SQme time, became again a schoolmaster. In this 
 situation lie married a widow with some money 
 and good connexions: got orders to officiate as a 
 minister of the church of England ; was appointed 
 to the rectory of York, the capital of Upper Ca- 
 pad^i ; and, finally, became, in addition, honorary 
 member of the executive council of the province*. 
 All this was certainly creditable; but our Dominie 
 yyoplcj not rest with thq performapce of his many 
 jjqties of schoolmastpr, parson, and councillor. 
 Jllq \yas not contented, wifh whipping children; 
 but attacked au ex-presidept of the United States, 
 in a virulent newspaper article, to which he set his 
 name as “Rector of York,” and published a 
 pamphlet abusing the late Lord Selkirk for his at- 
 
 ^ Since the above was written, I have seen it announced in a 
 newspaper, that the Ploriourabte, and Reverend, and Doctor 
 Strachan is appointed Member of Uie Legislative Council,” and I 
 doubt not we may, by and by, hear of his being Bishop of Upper 
 Canada : so my hero is not a little man in every respect. 'I'he 
 reader will find in this first volume repeated allusions to him, made 
 t^hile I yet intended to withhold his name. My changecj plan of 
 publishing has brought it forth in this place : has iritrbdiiced it in 
 the Appendix-; and most conspicuously in the Ex^planatiOn or 
 the Maj> prefixed to volume II. which the reader would do well 
 f9 perusjp before he goes further. 
 
GENEUAI. INTUODUCTIOX. 
 
 CCl 
 
 tempt to establish a colony in the Hudson’s Bay 
 territory ! I was the next object of his wrath ; 
 and for what ? — for publishing my first Address to 
 the Resident Land-Owners of Upper Canada, 
 which has appeared above. 
 
 Upon getting hold of the “ Visit to Upper Ca- 
 N A DA,” I readily perceived why the Edinburgh book- 
 seller had refused to be its publisher. F rom beginning 
 to end it exhibited one continued tissue of weak- 
 ness and abomination, with a whole chapter de- 
 voted to personal abuse of me : indeed, I have no 
 doubt, that, but for this magnanimous object, James 
 Strachan would have made no Visit to Upper 
 Canada. Its general merits may be well conceived, 
 from the following article, which appeared in the 
 .Scotsman ne\yspaper of May, 1820 . 
 
 LITERATURE. 
 
 A 
 
 VISIT TO THE PROVINCE OP UPPER CANADA. 
 
 IN 1810, 
 
 BY JAMES STRACBAN. 
 
 This is one of the most miserable attempts at travel- 
 writing; we have ever seen. A book written for the use of 
 emigrants may dispense with profound thinking, and 
 ' splendid description, and seems to require nothing more 
 than the power of collecting and relating facts and circum-r 
 stances of a very obvious kind. But simple as the task ap- 
 pears, this work may convince any one that there are individu- 
 als as incapable of executing it, as of deciphering the hiero- 
 glyphics of Dendcru. Though we must suppose that Mr. 
 
wli GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Strachan had the benefit of his brother’s information, who 
 has been above twenty years in the country, and though 
 there can be little doubt that the two have clubbed their 
 talents for the enterprise, we must say that the book con- 
 tains nothing to repay the trouble of reading three pages. 
 Any facts to be found in it worth notice, have been 
 borrowed at second or third hand from books already 
 known; and in the borrowing, we fear, they have lost the 
 accuracy which renders them of any value. When the 
 author attempts any remarks in his own person, he is 
 miserably out, from the want of the most common species 
 of information ; and what is still worse, the handful of ideas 
 he has, are buried under a mountain load of prejudices. 
 Indeed, the only thing new in the book is the superlative 
 ignorance that runs through it — an ignorance which charity 
 might have ov erlooked, had it not been accompanied by 
 no small share of presumption, Mr. Strachan has been 
 moved to publish by a motive no less noble than a zeal to 
 demolish a host of errors which have been suffered to 
 reign till this champion of truth and knowledge took tlie 
 field. He announces, confidently, that his book will be 
 found to contain every thing essential for an emigrant to 
 know; and he anticipates that it will entirely divert the 
 stream of emigration from tlie United States to Canada. 
 
 We have no doubt that our author really meant to ac- 
 complish this, if he had known how to set about it. But 
 whatever advantages Canada possesses have been much 
 better told already by every person who has pretended to 
 describe them ; and as for the comparative disadvantages 
 of the United States, we fear his accounts will have but 
 little authority with those who know that he was never in 
 the country ; and that, as he has proved himself incapable 
 of describing what fell under his own observation, his tes- 
 timony cannot be of much value as to objects a thousand 
 miles off. 
 
 Though the reader will not learn (unless by inference) 
 
GENEKAL, INTROBCJCTION. 
 
 cciii 
 
 that the rigoUr of the climate suspends the operations of 
 husbandry, nearly five months of the year, in Upper, and 
 six months, in Lower Canada ; or, that the whole country 
 is rendered inaccessible for about one half of the year, by 
 sea, from the ice : and tliough he will look in vain for other 
 facts of as much importance, we are far from saying that 
 he will find nothing in it which he has seen before. On the 
 contrary, he will find from a meteorological table, what no- 
 body suspected, that the extreme cold of Upper Canada, 
 in January, is plus 27 of Fahrenheit; He will find tliat the 
 Canadas have a more fertile soil, and a greater extent of 
 sea-coast than the Baltic ; that as we advance from Lower 
 to Upper Canada, the soil and climate perceptibly improve ; 
 but this improvement fortunately stops at the boundary- 
 line ; and if we advance a little farther in the same direc- 
 tion into the United States, nature kindly reverses the 
 course of things, and heaven frowns upon democrats and 
 levellers, in a sterile soil and pestilential atmosphere. Hi- 
 therto it has been supposed, that Canada had its share of 
 marsh fevers, because it has its share of the hot summers 
 and stagnant waters that produce them ; but this, our 
 author says, is a mistake, and these causes of disease 
 operate only in the United States, and suspend their in- 
 iluence in favour of the loyal Canadians. So perversely ig- 
 norant, however, are emigrants, that they encounter all 
 these evils, and pay a high price for worse lands in the 
 United States, than they could get in Canada for nothing. 
 It had been often stated, that a poor man might better his 
 circumstiinces by going to this colony ; but it was reserved 
 for Mr. Strachan to discover, that there is no place in the 
 world equal to Canada for men of large capitals: and 
 among other advantages, by which he allures them to leave 
 Britain, he says, they will be able to educate their chil- 
 dren : though he did not find the colony in a state of insur- 
 rection, as he expected, he found it had been disturbed 
 by democrats and levellei*S ; and there, as at home, the 
 
CCIV 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 
 
 f* 
 
 > 
 
 jM'iacipal members of oppositiou were unworthy in private 
 life. But we have said more than enough of so poor a pub- 
 lication, whose absurdities will be a suflicient correction to 
 its errors. 
 
 The reader must not forget, that the book here 
 spoken of, was “ written hy Dr. Strachan, and sent 
 home, recommended for publication by Sir Pere- 
 grine Maitland and the Attorney General.^' This 
 makes it of consequence : this stamps it as a docu- 
 merit — an expos6 of church and state; and because 
 of this, I have considered it worthy of notice. 
 
 After perusing the twelve pages of scandal, in- 
 tended to injure me, 1 had the curiosity to read 
 over these pages a second time, to note with ray 
 pencil the falsehoods, untruths, and misrepresent- 
 ations, therein contained: and how many does the 
 record make of them ? “ Thirty-two falsehoods, 
 thirty-eight untrtcths, besides misrepresentations 
 throughout.'* So much, at present, for the work 
 of the Honourable, and Reverend, and Doctor 
 Strachan*. 
 
 * Although twelve pages pf the Visit to Upper Canada are 
 devoted to Q\\\ise of me, I am not the sole object of its. scandal. 
 “ A Montreal auctioneer” is attacked in the management of his 
 private affairs ; a man who had sinned publicly, by manly con- 
 duct in the Lower Canada Parliament. He is known to me dhly 
 by some of his speeches, published in newspapers, w'hich ap- 
 peared very good indeed. Then, again, the feelings of the 
 family of Capt. Brant, the celebrated Indian Chief, are wantonly 
 and cruelly injured. Capt. Brant is spoken of as a “ miserable 
 man,” of “ savage ferocity,” — “ puffed up with his own im- 
 portance,” as having “ frequently discovered a-want of gratitude 
 to the British governmeut,” and so forth. 1 never heard Capt. 
 
 > 
 
GKNERAt. tXTROD UCTIOX. 
 
 CCV 
 
 The first parliament of the new reign being 
 now met, I was anxious to get to London to pre- 
 
 Brant spoken of in Upper Canada but in terms of respect; and on 
 visiting his son and daughter, resident at Wellington Square, in 
 the district of Gore, had the satisfaction of finding them in man- 
 ners, conversation, and conduct, equal to the best bred people of 
 our own nation, I record the fact with peculiar pleasure, as a 
 proof that North American Indians require only education and 
 good habits, to elevate them from the savage state; and Hiat there 
 is nothing in the breed (though we inay be partial to our own) 
 to prevent their being civilized. In the sequel it wilj be found, 
 that I distinguish these people by different appellations. Some 
 distinction was necessary. Those residing within surveyed bounds 
 I call Indians; those still ranging the wilderness, savages. I do 
 not wish the word savage^ however, to be taken* in the bad sense* 
 The poet, who says 
 
 “ When wild in woods the noble savage ran,” 
 did any thing but mean, that this being was brutal, cruel, and 
 remorseless; and, nn fact, the North Americaii aborigines were 
 noted as being brave and generous. I deprecate every attempt 
 to alter the condition of the Indian, as long as he is a hwiter. In 
 that state he should be left alone: in that statedie is happy and 
 useful iq his vocation. The middle state — that of half-hqnter, 
 half-cultivatdr, is the worst; and I have recommended that Go* 
 vernment should instantly make an effort to advance' those Indians, 
 who are surrourided by settlements of white peb^l^ by education 
 and training to industry. The half^hunter, half-cultivator, fe nni- 
 forinly lazy, ^nean, dirty, and altogether a worthless member of 
 society^. 
 
 But to return to Capt. Brant: it is worthy of record, that he 
 was not even present at the destruction of Wyoming, aa fancied 
 by^'Mr. Campbell, in his beautiful poem of Gertrude of 
 Wyoming. Several respectable persons are still alive; in Upper 
 Canada, who can testify as to this; and it would be well if Mr. 
 Campbell, in bis next edition, would note this, to correct wrong 
 impressions, which his pqetical licence, in speaking * of ^‘ the 
 monster Brandt,” may create. The name is Jirant, not Brandt. 
 
ccvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sent to it a petition, with regard to the .state of 
 Upper Canada ; and also to proceed with my pub- 
 lication. I was unexpectedly detained in Scot- 
 land a few weeks, owing to the death of a family 
 connexion, and only got to town by the 6th June, 
 as mentioned above, page xlix. 
 
 On the 26th July this volume was put to press; 
 and soon afterwards was advertised for publica- 
 tion. I told the publishers that it would be ready 
 for delivery in a few weeks ; but was little aware 
 of the delay which might be occasioned by the 
 preparation of plates. Three, then in the hands of 
 the engravers were not readv till the 1st of Novein- 
 her ; and three more, found necessary for illus- 
 tration, were still unfinished the 2d of December. 
 On that day I received a letter from my wife, in- 
 forming me that she was taken ill ; and her con- 
 cluding page too clearly indicated the progress of 
 decay. For three days I remained in London 
 powerless with solicitude : a letter from ray daugh- 
 ter inspired hope and resolution: I departed for 
 Edinburgh ; but arrived there only in time to bear 
 the mortal part of my dearest friend to the grave. 
 
 Ever since my horrible treatment at Niagara, I 
 have been the victim of nervous malady. I had 
 so far conquered this before coming to London, 
 by extraordinary eflforts; but my great and unex- 
 pected affliction now thrust me down, and sub- 
 jected me to the most deplorable weakness. 
 During three months’ stay in Scotland I was 
 wholly unable to go on with the work of publica- 
 tion. I invited a gentleman, well qualified, to 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. OCvli 
 
 assist in finishing this first volume, then nearly 
 completed, that part of the edition might be sent 
 out forthwith to Canada; but after sitting with 
 him for some hours, I found myself wholly unable 
 to direct his endeavours. I could not then, in- 
 deed, sum up four figures together. Trusting that 
 change of scene might lighten my spirits and re- 
 store to me some degree of energy, I sailed for 
 London the 2d of March ; but, after a miserable 
 voyage of twelve days, was landed still more re- 
 duced in strength ; and every day became w'orse 
 and worse. Afraid of sinking into absolute imbe- 
 cility, I conferred with a friend as to some object 
 which might rouse my dormant faculties, and dis- 
 pel the cloud of surrounding gloom. 
 
 He suggested that I should offer to accompany 
 Sir R. Wilson to Naples, in the cause of independ- 
 ence. I was a sincere friend to the cause ; but 
 Sir R. Wilson had disgusted me with his book on 
 Egypt ; and thence I had believed a story (which 
 I now discredit), of his having played the eaves- 
 dropper, by attending a conference between the 
 Emperor Alexander and Buonaparte, disguised as 
 a livery servant. What I said of him, under this 
 belief, required explanation. I spoke of it to my 
 friend, and it was resolved that I should communi- 
 cate my intention, and explain afterwards. Upon 
 this, I addressed two lines to Sir Robert the 
 24th March ; but in two days more it was an- 
 nounced that the Neapolitan people had shrunk 
 from their enterprise. They were, indeed, betray- 
 
i 
 
 CCviii GENERATE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ed by their leaders. I was now again in the misery 
 of indecision ; but determined to march into the 
 west of England, and visit my old friends there. 
 As no reply was received from Sir R. Wilson to 
 my note of the 24th March, I asked my friend, on 
 leaving town, to find him out (in which he was 
 unsuccessful), and explain under what circum- 
 stances I had taken the liberty of addressing him. 
 The fact is, I had acted contrary to my own prin- 
 ciples, and was somewhat ashamed of it. Though 
 any thing is better than imbecility and sloth, 
 mv ambition inclines least of all to that of a sol- 
 dier; and giving in to l>e one, at a time of absolute 
 feebleness, has led me to confirm the declaration of 
 Gibbon, the historian, that “ the courage of a sol- 
 dier is the cheapest commodity in nature.” 
 
 I started off, westward, the .'iJd of April ; but on 
 
 the second day’s march was knocked up ; and had 
 
 to reach Devizes by coach. Here a worthy old 
 
 friend readily accoifimodated me with a pony. I 
 
 visited Bath, Warminster, Salisbury, and returned 
 
 to Devizes ; shaking hahds, as I journeyed on, with 
 
 dozens of mv brother farmers and other friends; 
 •/ 
 
 not forgetting the poor ones of Wily parish. Not 
 only the people, but the very soil of Wiltshire, re- 
 mains dear to my remembrancej^ — its bournes and 
 its dow’ns. Seven years of ray life were spent in 
 Wiltshire ;-^most interesting years of sunshine 
 and cloud’. Wiltshire gave birth to five of my 
 chi Idreu to one of them a grave, — -a grave over 
 which the n'iggafd church refused to perform its 
 
 2 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCIX 
 
 rites, — rites which 1 iiold at nought but for ap- 
 pearances of decency ; and these are set aside 
 where superstition has controul * ! ! 
 
 Cheltenham waters restored me to healtli six 
 years £^o. I rode to Cheltenham, and tried the wa- 
 ters a second time.Svithout avail. I then returned 
 to Devizes, delivered up the pony to my triend ; and 
 marched to London, now somewhat strengthened 
 in body, but still unfit for any continued mental 
 effort : 1 had, in fact, lost the power of combining 
 my thoughts, and had to rest under such grievous 
 affliction. 
 
 On the 7th of May an article appeared in the 
 Morning Chronicle, seemingly prepared to draw 
 attention to the true principle of reforming the 
 poor-laws, for which Mr. Scarlett had given notice 
 that he intended to bring a Bill into parliament. 
 In this article authority was quoted from my little 
 publication on the subject, The Tyranny of 
 Poor-Laws, in opposition to the sentiments of 
 Mr. Cobbett, and, on the 8th, Mr. Scarlett’s Poor 
 Relief Bill was brought into the House. This 
 could not fail to be highly interesting to me; and 
 it proved electric ; it had considerable effect in 
 rousing my still feeble mind to action. It was in- 
 
 • I had a poor baby which died suddenly, during her third 
 night, while unchristened; and, because of the ceremony being 
 thus accidentally neglected, the parson had to obey the Rubnc, 
 and deny his presence and prayers at the funeral. I would 
 write black over such Rubric. 
 
 o 
 
ccx 
 
 GENKUAL INTRODfCTIOX. 
 
 deed curious that my little tract, which, six years ^ 
 before, had been presented to 700 Peers and Com- 
 moners of Parliament, and obtained for me thanks 
 only from two, should, at so eventful a moment, 
 be thrust forward by an unknown hand to my aid. 
 This little incident, together with a hope that a 
 commission would, before the end of the session, 
 arrive from Upper Canada, to call for inquiry into 
 the state of the province, made me every day more 
 and more anxious to recommence my work of pub- 
 lishing the statistical account; and after the second 
 notice of Mr. Scarlett’s Bill, on the 24th May, I at 
 last resolved to be up and doing. I had doubted, from 
 the begituiing, if one volume could contain the mat- 
 ter prepared for it. My hope of gaining increased 
 public attention, because of Mr. Scarlett’s motion, 
 added to the expectation that a commission for in- 
 quiry might immediately be expected home from 
 Canada, gave me courage to put a second volume to 
 press, and to lay the foundation for a complete deve- 
 lopment ot colonial affairs. The parliamentary de- 
 bate on the Constitution of Canada, in 179 1 , seemed 
 peculiarly worthy of being brought into view, upon 
 the occasion j and the printing pf it requiring no 
 effort from me, I, thereby, made a beginning. Be- 
 fore that and Rochefoucault’s account of Simcoe’s 
 government were printed off, I became afraid of 
 being unable to make necessary comments ; but was 
 fortunate in getting a friend to carry me to Brightotij 
 where, for a week, in the begiuningof July, being 
 refreshed with air and exercise, I made out to 
 write, as it is, the Review which follows these 
 
 » 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCXi 
 
 transcripts, in Vol. II. and which, I trust, may 
 assist my endeavours, however imperfect the per- 
 formance, got up by feeble, feverish, and dis- 
 tracted cogitations. During August and Sep- 
 tember, my health was such, that I became wholly 
 unfit for the work on hand, which was now inter- 
 rupted for weeks together. Towards October I 
 found it necessary, a third time, to fly from town 
 for relief. I spent a week at Margate for the be- 
 nefit of sea-bathing : made an excursion round the 
 coast of Kent ; and but that I was now assailed in 
 London and Edinburgh, with infernal torments 
 in the courts of law, should have been vigorous. 
 Thank God, I have, at this moment, been able to 
 set at rest every care ; and, at this moment, am 
 better in health than I have been since the day on 
 which I was illegally arrested, and confined within 
 Niagara jail. 
 
 This narrative must not be taken amiss. It is 
 necessary for ray protection against calumny to re- 
 gister all my movements — where I have been, and 
 how employed. You will remember that when in 
 Upper Canada, 1 was accused, in consequence of 
 an infamous slander, published by the London 
 Courier, of having been engaged in the riotous 
 meetings of England, and of being a promoter of 
 insurrection : you will remember of a poor mad- 
 man declaring before a public company, in Little 
 York, that I and Hunt had been accessary to the 
 death of Cashman ; and, very probably, you would 
 learn from the Albany and New York newspapers, 
 that, after leaving you, I visited Mr. Cobbett. 
 
 o 9 
 
CCXii GKNEUAT. IXTR-ODUCTION*. 
 
 Perhaps stories are now circulated among you, that 
 T was at the bottom of the Cato Street conspiracy : 
 headed the rebels at Bony Muir ; or am now plotting 
 insurrection with the radicals of London. My good 
 friends, England does not contain a more resolutefbe 
 to riot than myself; or a person so completely alone 
 in political concerns. Betore I had connection with 
 you, I had, in many publications at home, deprecated 
 such meetings as those countenanced by Messrs. 
 Cohbett and Hunt ; and there is not, of the thou- 
 sands in this country who have been acquainted 
 with me, a single one, who would not laugh at the 
 very sound of my being a participator in confusion 
 and murder. I frankly confessed to you in Canada, 
 that I was acquainted with Messrs. Cobbett and 
 Hunt: that in many things 1 admfred the former; 
 and that I had seen the latter most shamefully mal- 
 treated at a public meeting (at Devizes), only a 
 few weeks before I left home for America. All this 
 was quite true ; but my acquaintance was slight 
 and accidental; and still I was opposed to their 
 public measures for obtaining reform : indeed, at 
 this day, I think they have greatly injured the 
 cause. It w'as quite true, that I visited Mr. 
 Cobbett at New' York. I went from Albany to 
 New York, because of a report that my brother 
 W’as there, and I remained there five days in search 
 of him. During that time I read Cobbett’s 
 Year’s Residence, in which Mr. Morris Birk- 
 beck is so severely dealt with. Mr. Birkbeck 
 was, for several years before he emigrated to Ame- 
 rica, my most intimate friend: he was “ a friend 
 indeed.” When misfortune came upon me in 
 
 
GKNKUAL INTRODUCTION. CCxiii 
 
 Eilgland, and my all was in jeopardy, Mr. Birk- 
 beck (who, by the by, is called by the villain 
 Strachan, “ a bad man”) offered to carry me and 
 my family to America: offered to give me a farm 
 there: to stock it; and supply money, till I 
 could find it convenient to repay him. Was this 
 the act of “ a bad man ?” It was such an act as 
 I shall feel grateful for while I have existence*. 
 
 * Few men have been more scandalously misrepresented and 
 abused than Mr. Birkbeck. When he crossed the Atlantic to 
 America, he performed what he had contemplated for years; and 
 what he conceived to be a duty to his family — his most amiable 
 family. He was sanguine in his expectations, and he wrote as he 
 felt. Ft was natural for him to wish many emigrants to follow 
 him, altogether independent of pecuniary gain. The idea, that 
 he was chiefly actuated by this, in giving favourable accounts of 
 Illinois, is absurd. The very first flight of emigrants, who fol^ 
 lowed him, could soon expose delusion, or state to others their 
 disappointment; and nobody, who got there with money, could 
 be under any necessity to purchase land from him, while millions 
 of acres were for sale at the public land offices. Other people, 
 who have gone to Illinois, besides Mr. Birkbeck, have been high- 
 ly pleased with the choice they made ; although, for my own 
 part, I should wish to settle further to the north. I have con- 
 versed, since I came home, with an Englishman, who had settled 
 in Illinois, and found him quite delighted with that country; and 
 I have heard the same from the correspondence of others; besides 
 having a series of letters, all in unvaried strain, from my friend. 
 
 Mr. Birkbeck was bred a quaker ; but, by and by„ rose above 
 the rigid discipline, which requires attention to non-essentials of 
 religion, and left the Society; though certainly not its good 
 moral habits. I never, indeed, knew a man more correct as to 
 these,— rinore pure in conduct and conversation ; and of this, the 
 Society, I believe, is sensible. One of the most rigid of the bio- 
 
ccxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Although, by the failure of my father, I was de* 
 prived of my stock in business, 1 had still annuities 
 and provisions for my wife and children. I was 
 not altogether deprived of the means of living. 
 My wife was delicate: my children were young;, 
 and upon the whole, it was advisable not to accept 
 of the kind offer of my friend. When I read Mr. 
 Cobbett’s attack upon Mr. Birkbeck, it was impos- 
 sible for me not to feel pain ; and a passage con- 
 cerning Ellenborougb and Gibbs filled me with 
 horror. I called upon Mr. Cobbett, to remonstrate 
 against such writings; but Mr. Cobbett, by this 
 time, despised every thing which stood in the way 
 of destroying the boroughmongeriug system of Eng- 
 land. Emigration to America had, I conceive, 
 appeared to him a lessening of that pressure w'hicb, 
 at home, might tend to his favourite object; and 
 therefore nothing which could check emigration 
 seemed to him sin. On this subject there was no 
 reasoning; and we talked of other matters. The 
 
 ciETY OF Friends, speaking to me of Mr. Birkbeck, used these 
 words, “ We are sorry for him, but love him still.” 
 
 One bad habit Mr. Birkbeck got into, which was, using the 
 word religion, when he spoke of and meant hypocri^; and m 
 his Letters from Illinois, he has stirred up prejudices, owing 
 to the too careless use of this word. In one of my letters to hint, 
 I expressed my regret for this, and he thus wrote to me, in reply, 
 under date the 11th March, 1819 : “ I have been ready to wish I 
 had not written just as I did ; or, rather', that I had expressed 
 my reverence (that reverence which I cherish in my heart), for 
 Religion itself, when I spoke lightly of sham religion.” 
 
GENERAL, INTRODUCTION. CCXV 
 
 Manchester massacre had recently been heard of. 
 Nobody reprobates that transaction of our magis- 
 tracy more than I. Mr. Cobbett felt as I did: he 
 extolled the bravery of his friend Hunt : he talked 
 most warmly in favour of England and its comforts; 
 the beauty of its bills and dales; the excellence 
 of its people. I told him how I had been treated 
 in Canada. He magnified to himself, a dozen 
 times over, all that I said of provincial villany. 
 He got into an agony of wrath against despotism ; 
 and finally, though I had gone to rebuke, I shook 
 hands with Mr. Cobbett at departure. He asked 
 me to sail with him to England; and, but that I 
 had made previous arrangements for coming home 
 by Montreal and Quebec, I should certainly have 
 availed myself of so good an opportunity of getting 
 better acquainted with an extraordinary man — a 
 man with whom I never in all things agreed, and 
 to whose principles I would now, less than ever, 
 subscribe; but whom I, as assuredly, “admire in 
 many things*.” 
 
 * The reader will excuse this digression about Mr. Cobbett, 
 when I have stated, that, my frankly acknowledging that I knew him 
 constituted the leading charge for which Mr. Wm. Dickson had 
 me arrested, ordered out of the province, and committed to jail. 
 His questions and my answers, when brought under arrest into 
 his presence, were these : “ Do you know Mr. Cobbett?" — 
 “Yes.” — “Do you know Mr. Hunt?” — “Yes.” — “ Were you 
 at Spa Fields meeting?”— “ Yes.”— “ Were you ever in Ire- 
 land?”— “ Yes.”— “ AVere you lately in the Lower Province? 
 — “ Yes.”— “ Were you lately in the United Slates ? “ Yes. 
 
u 
 
 C(’Xvi GKNKRAJL INTRODUCTION* * 
 
 1 never had a conversation in my life with Mr. 
 Cobbett but one, before 1 saw him at New York. 
 
 Was it you that wrote the article in the Spectator, headed, 
 
 • Gagged, gagged, by jingo?’” — “ Oh, to be sure it was! 
 
 “ Gentlemen,” said Dickson, looking very great, (“ his mighty 
 peers were ranged around — ”) “ it is my opinion that Mr. Gour- 
 lay is a man of desperate fortune, and would stick at nothing to 
 raise insurrection in this province:” then, having got Mr. Tho- 
 mas Clark, and Mr. William Claus, Legislative Councillors ; Mr. 
 Alexander M‘Donell, brother-in-law to the late President Smith; 
 and a Doctor Muirhead, to back him in his false, infamous, and 
 most groundless opinion, he ordered me first into close confinement, 
 in one of the cells of Niagara jail, and, after about an hour, had 
 me brought back to receive his written order to depart the province. 
 The affair began with the base report of the London Courier of 
 the 8th July, 1818, that I had “ escaped after the disgraceful pro- 
 ceedings of Spa Fields was marked, in its progress, by the mad- 
 man’s declaration above spoken of; and this was the issue; a sor- 
 rowful one, indeed, for me, as it, at last, turned out. That I was 
 at Spa Fields meeting, the Courier could know from a pamphlet 
 of mine, published in England, before I went out to Canada. Be- 
 ing in London, waiting on law business, while the Spa Fields 
 meetings were held, I attended, to mark the character of these 
 meetings. In my pamphlet I pronounced upon this character, and 
 stated my disapprobation of such meetings. This the villanous 
 Courier totally reversed the meaning of, insinuating that I was an 
 actor in and approver of such meetings, and said that I “ es^ 
 caped! !!'^ Let the Courier know that it is notjfear that restrains 
 me from burning his house about his ears. The mischief that 
 that infernal tool of the Ministry has produced by lies and base 
 insinuations is beyond all reckoning. It was, no doubt, the Cou- 
 rier’s false report which worked up the frenzy of the poor mad- 
 man at York ; and such was the silliness of many other people, 
 that they also gave credit to it. To outstare the audacious false- 
 hood, 1 published in the Niagara Spectator the fact that 1 had 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCXVU 
 
 111 the years 181 4 and 1815, Cobbett’s Register, 
 which 1 always read, and still read, seemed to be 
 
 been at Spa Fields meeting — that I knew Mr. Cobbett, and “ ad- 
 mired him in many things,” — that I also knew Mr. Hunt; and 
 had seen him very ill used at a Wiltshire county meeting, a few 
 weeks before I left England for Canada. Good God! for these 
 frank acknowledgments was I cast into jail; detained there till 
 both my body and mind were a wreck; cast out into a foreign 
 land, 4000 miles from home; to come home, and find the sad 
 consequences to be, that my whole affairs had got into confusion, 
 from my detention in Canada, and that I was too late to have a 
 parting conversation with my aged parent, which of all things 
 I desired. I was a couple of days in Ireland, during the 
 rebellion of 1798 . Mr. David Melville, now writer to the 
 signet in Edinburgh, then a boy, was my companion. We 
 were travelling together through Wigtonshire, when, urged by 
 curiosity, I proposed crossing to Ireland, and we had passports 
 from the commander of the forces to proceed to Blaris camp, and 
 view the ground where a battle had just before been fought the 
 battle of Antrim : so much for ray being in Ireland. After I 
 was honourably acquitted a second time, on a trial in Upper 
 Canada for false charges of sedition, I hurried off through Lower 
 Canada to New York, to dispatch intelligence of my deliverance 
 to my wife, and to make arrangements for a longer stay in 
 Canada, having written polite and confiding letters to the 
 Duke of Richmond and Sir Peregrine Maitland, thinking my- 
 self sure of civil treatment from them on my return to 
 Canada. I dispatched my business at New York, and forth- 
 with returned to his majesty’s dominions ; but, instead of ci- 
 vility from the Lieutenant Governor, I found myself and friends 
 libelled in his opening speech to Parliament, and the Parliament 
 ready to justify and support him in every act, however absurd. 
 The Parliament did, indeed, pass a law to prevent, in all time 
 coining, meetings by deputy ; and every weak creature of govern- 
 ment was in arms against me. On first reading the Bill for the 
 
 I 
 
u 
 
 0 
 
 CCXViii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 felling very low, and, indeed, had become unplea- 
 sant from interferences with religious feeling. Re- 
 ligious feeling, I conceive, should never be med- 
 dled with. Religion is a matter between every 
 individual and his God : a matter quite distinct 
 from politics, and with which politics should 
 never clash. Paine had just credit for writing his 
 Rights of Man: he received just condemnation 
 for his Age of Reason; wherein he makes 
 mockery of what was sacred to the feelings of the 
 million. The publications of Hone and Carlile 
 are objectionable in the same way, and they are 
 injurious to the great cause of reform. They dis- 
 gust many of its well wishers : they involve weak 
 men in vain disputatious: they generate rancorous 
 feelings: they stir up animosities. They ought ne- 
 vertheless to be left to free circulation. In the United 
 States, where there is perfect freedom in this way, 
 I never saw any thing like those rank publications, 
 which it is the object of the despicable and 
 
 suppression of meetings by deputy, I exclaimed, “ Gagged, gag- 
 ged, by jingo,” and wrote down some doggrel, jingling to these 
 words, to sustain good humour on so melancholy an occasion. 
 A magistrate, to whom I read the doggrel lines, laughed heartily; 
 and, as a French comic author (Moliere) used to let his wit go to 
 the public, provided it made his old housekeeper smile on the first 
 rehearsal, so in making some remarks on the gagging act of Upper 
 Canada, I headed these remarks with my doggrel rhyme of 
 gagged, by jingo;” vulgar enough, I acknowledge; 
 but, really aud truly intended to keep the Canadians somewhat in 
 humour with chains clenched by their own representatives in par- 
 liament: so much for being in the “ Lower Province,” and ” the 
 United States;” and so much for, « gagged, gagged, by jingo ! !” 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCxix 
 
 senseless Bridge Street Gang to hunt down. Left 
 to themselves, they speedily disappear. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett occasionally attended the Wiltshire 
 county meetings. In 1815, I called upon him, in 
 Salisbury, while attending one of these meetings, 
 to remonstrate against the admission of articles in 
 his Political Register, which were offensive to 
 religious feeling; and, I hope, he felt the propriety 
 of my remarks. Towards parting, I expiessed, 
 vehemently, my abhorrence of the cruel treatment 
 he had received (fine and imprisonment) because of 
 a mere exclamation of feeling for British soldiers, 
 lashed under the guard of German hirelings. Mr. 
 Cobbett felt the sincerity of my declared abhorrence, 
 and most warmly did he advance to shake me by the 
 hand. It is well known, that men of the first 
 rank once coveted the company of Mr. Cobbett ; 
 and men of the first-rate respectability, intimately 
 acquainted with him, have told me that they never 
 knew a more pleasant man, nor a better father of a 
 family. A strong sense of the corruption of go- 
 vernment, great knowledge of the selfishness and 
 sycophancy of mankind, and dear-bought expe- 
 rience, from persecution, have tended, perhaps, to 
 harden his feelings, to render him regardless of 
 ordinary rules of conduct, and to make him vain 
 of himself nor is his right to be vain small. He 
 is a remarkable character; and his name will be as 
 lasting as English history: if not as a great man, 
 at least, as a curiosity. 
 
 Since coming from America, I have never seen 
 Mr. CobbetU On the 7th of October last, I passed 
 
ccxx 
 
 u 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 through Kensington, and having just before read 
 Cobbett’s Cottage Economy, No. 3, in 
 which he announced his intention to write upon the 
 “ keeping of cows,” I called upon Mr. Cobbett to 
 converse on this subject ; but, being unwell, he 
 could not see me; and I left a note, saving that I 
 should call again, which I shall do, to present to 
 him my plan of cow-keeping, for comparison with 
 his, which 1 have not yet seen. On my note, left 
 at Mr. Cobbett’s, I wrote the word, private” 
 this reason, that my merely calling on him, if 
 publicly known before explanation was given, 
 would tend to my hurt ; and ten days ago I had a 
 striking proof of the need for such caution. A 
 person wishing to have cause of quarrel, thus 
 accosted me: “ You are a friend of Cobbett and 
 Benbow : I was told about a week ago that you 
 wore in the habit of frequenting Benbow’s shop, 
 and sitting down there to read Cobbett’s writings.” 
 Now it was a truth, that in the mouth of June, 
 1820, on coming up to London, I did call at Ben- 
 bow’s shop, where Cobbett’s Register was sold, 
 and asked for the file that I might glance over the 
 heads of subjects treated of, to ascertain whether 
 ^Ir. Cobbett had taken notice of my statement of 
 the 3d of January, a copy of which had been de- 
 livered to him,_ as well as to the editors of the 
 Courier, Times, and Morning Chronicle, the files 
 of all of which I examined with the same view. 
 As to Benbow I should not know him if now be- 
 fore me. The curious fact is, that I had been dogged 
 by some busy-body or spy, and that this very vvor- 
 
GENERAL IXTUODUCTION. ccxvi 
 
 thy character had, after sixteen months possession 
 of his secret, taken advantage of it for a malicious 
 purpose. He quite succeeded: the person to whom 
 the information was conveyed, worked himself into 
 a passion with the thought of my associating 
 with Benbow ; and he may call upon the busy- 
 body to assist him out of his passion before I take 
 further trouble about the matter. 
 
 About a month after I landed in England, from 
 Quebec, a Glasgow ministerial newspaper, (the 
 Herald) which was regularly received by my mo- 
 ther at Craigrothie, contained an article copied 
 from a New York paper, which had been copied 
 from one of Albany, published by Messrs. Web- 
 ster and Skinner, stating that I had called on Mr. 
 Cobbett, and that I had found him so and so ; 
 which was not correct. Having occasion last year 
 to write to Messrs. Webster and Skinner, in Al- 
 bany, I mentioned the circumstance; and, in a 
 letter from these gentlemen, dated 3th February, 
 1821, they say, “ It never entered our thoughts 
 that a little gossip article in the Albany Gazette, 
 should have been seen across the water, or in the 
 least affected our worthy friend Mr. G. now it 
 did affect me. Messrs. W. and S. meant me no in- 
 jury ; but, probably, the Glasgo v newsmonger did. 
 Just about the same time, the Edinburgh Courant, 
 which my mother also received regularly, gave 
 publication to an article still more evidently in- 
 tended to injure my reputation ; and you, Cana- 
 dians, will be best able to judge of it. The Edin- 
 burgh Courant stated, that by a letter from their 
 
u 
 
 CCXXii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 private correspondent, they had learned that “ the 
 radicals of Upper Canada had been all quiet since 
 Gourlay had left that country.” Now, my Cana- 
 dian friends, you will remember that when I left 
 you, the term “ radical” was not even known in 
 Canada as an appellative ; and till I landed at 
 Liverpool from Quebec, I never knew of its being 
 used to distinguish a political partisan. I am 
 quite a radical: but I am one of my own sort; 
 and up to this day, am not connected with a single 
 individual in Great Britain in any political party. 
 I am known both in England and Scotland, be- 
 cause of my peculiar opinions, and these opinions 
 are by many misunderstood. In the foregoing 
 pages you have had an opportunity of observing 
 some of them ; and you may there see that my 
 efforts to maintain these opinions have been sin- 
 gular — have been such as I am proud of. No in- 
 dividual can produce more creditable testimonials 
 of consistency and perseverance, in so good a cause, 
 as that to which I have been devoted nearly for 
 twenty-one years ; and if I live twenty-one years 
 more, I shall not desert it. In the year 1808, 
 
 I was first driven — most cruelly driven, to defend 
 my principles in politics. I then declared in print 
 that I “ would he happy to make it appear, that 
 an individual may act independent of party* f 
 and most assuredly up to this time I have stuck to 
 my text. Since 1808 I have written and pub- 
 
 • Letter to the Earl of Kellie, page 10. 
 
GENERAI. INTRODUCTION. CCXXiii 
 
 lished more than a dozen of pamphlets ; and many 
 dozens of newspaper articles, all dated and signed 
 with my name, making together a complete and 
 authentic history of my opinions and conduct 
 since ; and on these I shall rejoice to be fairly 
 tried, either east or west of the Atlantic. With 
 regard to the radicals of Upper Canada being “ all 
 quiet," it is with special satisfaction that I bid you 
 call to mind, how very quiet and orderly I was, 
 from first to last. You will remember that brutish 
 magistrates, madmen, and creatures in the pay of 
 government, endeavoured, by insult and otherwise, 
 to lead me into brawls : you will remember that 
 I was twice actually attacked by armed ruffians 
 countenanced by magistrates; and while I had not 
 the least means of defending myself : you will 
 remember that I kept my temper in every case, 
 and that at all your meetings I enjoined order and 
 peace. And, a-propos of your convention; how 
 did I behave there ? The young man who forgot 
 himself on that occasion has repeatedly met me 
 since then ; and the instant that it w'as told to me 
 that he was sorry for wffiat had happened, and 
 wished to be friendly with me ; — that moment I de- 
 clared myself willing to take him by the hand ; 
 and we did shake hands. The greatest enemy I 
 ever had on earth, I would shake hands with and 
 forgive in the same way ; even William Dickson, 
 whose conduct to me was diabolical. I never yet 
 met with a perfect man : I am any thing but per- 
 fect myself ; and shall never be backward in 
 making allowances for human frailty. As to the 
 3 
 
CCXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 young man alluded to, I never was so much a* 
 angry with him. I believed that he was blinded 
 and set on by the villains of Little York ^ and 1 
 was only vexed with the convention for suffering 
 the annoyance. The very first day of meeting, the 
 convention should have taken the young man to 
 task, and the second, should have proceeded to the 
 extremity. When they neglected this and suffered 
 one annoyance to succeed another, where all should 
 have been submission and solemnity, I gave up hope 
 of my intended measures, and was glad to windup 
 matters in the best way 1 could. I saw that your 
 representatives in convention, though as good as 
 the country could afford and perfectly loyal, were 
 fit for nothing. I saw that 1 “ could not make a 
 silk purse out of a sow’s ear.’’ But for being 
 bound to appear at your assizes, under a penalty ot 
 ^1,500, in case of absence, and but for clearing 
 my honour from false and infamous charges, laid 
 against me by that poor creature your Attorney 
 General, I should. have turned my back on your 
 convention the very second day of its sitting, 
 and left it to get out of the mud of Little York by 
 its own shifts. I, to the last, kept my humour 
 among you ; never was severe from any low per- 
 sonal feeling ; and, even when driven to defirium 
 w'ith disgust and cruel treatment, laughed at the 
 miserable scoundrels, who, alike ignorant of the 
 laws of their country and hard-hearted, threw me 
 into jail, ybr not having the province !! ! 
 
 The influence which 1 gained in Upper Canada, 
 by two months writing in your newspaper, is aho* 
 
GENERAL INTRODGGTJON. 
 
 «GX»V 
 
 gether unparallelled. The organization which ,1 
 formed was perfect. The meetings and conven- 
 tion were not only legal, but praise-worthy.; apd 
 when all is looked back upon some years hencfCi, 
 the poor creatures who lent aid to your Governor 
 to scandalize and suppress such meetings, will .be 
 glad to crawl into the earth, out of the view 0|t 
 contempt. Meetings by Deputy get quit of mob- 
 bing. They characterize human from brute action. 
 They are the genuine means, by which knowled|;c 
 can l>e concentrated, union obtained, an^ 
 peace established. They are the means which must 
 naturally occur to every well-ordered mind. In 
 the .wi.n.ter of 1814 — 15, 1 circulated a paper all over 
 Great jBritain, to lead on the far^mers to choose 
 Deputies, and hold conventions, in Jjondpn .an*^ 
 Edinburgh, with a view of getting something abb-f 
 stituted in the place of the Gorn Bill, then pro- 
 posed, as a palliative against approaching distress. 
 The (arm,^^ were heedless of my call ; but it is no 
 small boast for me to have my paper still to pro- 
 duce, as evidence of my good endeavours ^for iheir 
 salvation. Had tliey met in Convention, I should 
 have proposed to have petitioned Parliament for a 
 law to make rents payable according to the tsverage 
 price of wheat, to remove from industry the load 
 of taxation, and fix it , on rents and interest, and, 
 also, that an ad valorem duty should be imposed on 
 imported corn, gradually to be withdrawn, to in- 
 troduce, at last, free trade. This would have kept 
 every thing in its proper place ; and for ruin, we 
 should, iat .this moment, have had prosperity. This 
 
 P 
 
u 
 
 CCXXvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 would have saved to the farming interest of Britain 
 least one hundred millions of pounds sterling. 
 The farmers were regardless, and they are ruined, or 
 nearly so. With good conduct on the part of your 
 Convention, I could have carried my points also for 
 you ; and, at this moment, not only should your 
 losses, sustained in war, have been reimbursed^, but 
 
 * On the 26th of June, 1821, Mr. Ellice rose in the House of 
 Commons, when I was present, and made certain statements, with 
 regard to Canadian claims; but nothing decisive was done. Mr. 
 Ellice said, that 2884 claims had been put in, amounting, in the 
 aggregate, to £400,000, of which 600 had been rejected', whose 
 amount was £171,000, and that there were allowed £229,000. 
 In page 406 of vol. II. I have still set down Canadian claims 
 at nearly £400,000, and protest against the above deduction. 
 Mr. Ellice observed, that “supplies furnished to the troops, should 
 be considered as a valid debt.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 said, “ that such claims as were authenticated, should be satisfied. 
 Now, I wish to apprise Mr. Ellice, or any other Member of Par- 
 liament, who may take part in the consideration of Canadian af- 
 fairs, the ensuing Session, that, fundamentally, there was irr^ 
 gularity in ascertaining the validity of claims for losses sustained 
 by the people of Upper Canada during the war. If Mr. Ellice had 
 a claim against Government, or any other party, he would not, I 
 presume, relinquish that claim upon the ipse diadt of a person or 
 persons appointed, without his consent, to examine into the vali- 
 dity of his claim. He would have a right to appeal to an open 
 court of justice ; and the validity of the Canadian claims should 
 have been ascertained by jury trials, immediately after the war. 
 i say this on behalf of the poor people of Canada, who have been 
 gulled and trifled with now for six years. On the part of the peo- 
 ple of England I say, that not one penny should be paid out of 
 their taxes, to make good losses sustained by Canadians in war, 
 while it i^ afacty that, with management, these losses can be paid 
 out of the sale of wild lands in Upper Canada. Let Mr. Elhce, 
 *»d others, mark this. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCXXvii 
 
 Upper Canada might have been (as I said the9d of 
 April, 1818, vol. II. page 587) '■'■the most flou- 
 rishing and secure spot on the habitable globe." 
 
 Below I shall copy in my scheme for organizing 
 British farmers ; and you will find that it proceeds 
 on the same? principle as that which I resorted to in 
 Upper Canada, for your organization, which was 
 at once legal and effectual, had it been duly fol- 
 lowed up*. 
 
 * INSTITUTION 
 
 For the Benefit and Protection of the Farming Interest. 
 
 Thb progress of society, and the peculiar emergency of the times, 
 conspire to render proper and necessary, union and effort among 
 the cultivators of Britain, for their important common interests. 
 
 With this view it is proposed, that they arrange themselves 
 throughout, with such order and regularity as may create respect, 
 and secure permanent co-operation. 
 
 It is proposed, that every market town, where ten individuals 
 shall embody themselves and remain steadily to conform to the 
 general arrangement, shall be considered a district, within which 
 certain transactions may be matured, and others have commence- 
 ment. 
 
 It is proposed, that the following towns shall^ be the heads of 
 respective provincial divisions, where representatives from districts, 
 viz, one for every ten members, shall meet quarterly for dispatch 
 of business: q furii 
 
 Exeter, Gloucester, Newark on Trent, Kelso, 
 
 Salisbui'y, Carnarvon, York, Dumfiies, 
 
 GvUdford, Shrewsbury, Manchestei', Perth, 
 
 Bury St, Edmunds, Northampton, Appleby, Renfrew, 
 
 Inverness- ,, 
 
 It is proposed, that these provincial meetings shall choose re 
 presontatives, one for every ten of their numbers, to meet once a 
 year at London and Edinburgh. Those from the first eleven, at 
 
 P ^ 
 
u 
 
 ccxxvni t3^E'NfiItAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Canadians! the Christian religion enjoins ‘‘ cha- 
 rity above all things;'’ and says, that “ with faith 
 
 the former, and those from the six others, at the latter place,— -to 
 communicate with each other when necessary ; and upon extra- 
 ordinary occasions to coalesce, by means of cormnissi oners for- 
 mally appointed and qualified. 
 
 It is deemed needless to dilate on the vast consequence of such 
 an association ; benevolence, patriotism, property, right, indepen- 
 dence — all are in view. 
 
 No class of men has been, or ever can be, more loyal or useful 
 than the cultivators of this island. No class employs such a 
 weight of capital, or such a multitude of productive labourers. 
 No class of men can boast a higher character for integrity, or 
 c]aim a stronger right to independence; yet no class enjoys so 
 little political privilege, or has so weak a voice among the public 
 interests of the empire. 
 
 The causes are obvious ; — their scattered residence, and a re- 
 liance on' great landlords. Systematic arrangement may overcome 
 the first: experience should dissipate the second. 
 
 The interest of the great landlord has ever been too remote for 
 delicate feeling; hence he suffered the Work Horse Tax, the Sugar 
 Distillation, and the Farmers’ Income Tax, of all impositions the 
 most unfair and degrading. The great landlord, having his family 
 portioned from the spoils of war and taxation, could sport with 
 the immediate interests of his tenants, the fee of his estate, and 
 the real welfare of the nation. 'Blessed, indeed, shall be oar pre- 
 sent necessities, if they rout from its strong hold the last cohort of 
 feudal power. 
 
 Till cultivators have combined their genuine strength, it is re- 
 commended not to commit themselves by signing petitions. In 
 the present dilemma, which involves and threatens their dearest 
 interests, and with these, the prosperity of Britain, the utmost 
 caution is requisite. Partial efforts will produce nothing but 
 discrepancy, weakness, and defeat. Wisdom must first gather 
 from the multitude of counsellors, and then go forth in the 
 strength of unity. 
 
GENKRAL INTRODUCTION. CCXxix 
 
 we may remove mountains," I could have done all 
 1 promised among you, had your faith and charity 
 been sufficient ; but there was lack of both : there 
 was neither faith nor charity to be depended upon 
 in Upper Canada. 
 
 December Wth, 1821. 
 
 Since the above was written and set in type, 1 
 have had the curiosity to purchase and peruse 
 Corbett’s Cottage QEconomy, Nos. 4 and 
 5 ; and the subjects there spoken of are so inti- 
 mately connected with what is my chief aim, that 
 I cannot forbear enlarging on the character, con- 
 duct, and sentiments of the writer. Although, 
 
 It is proposed, that a meeting be held as soon as possible, at the 
 Crown anb Anchor, Strand, London, to give the first form and 
 impetus to this scheme ; to consist of those whose principal busi- 
 ness is farming ; who do not occupy less than to the value of 
 £lOO per annum; and who do not let off more than one-third 
 in proportion to what they occupy. 
 
 This limitation will ensure respectability and freedom. It will 
 distinguish the Farming from the Landed Interest, The former 
 will aim at immediate advantage; the latter can have no just ground 
 of jealousy ; fpr every gain will be its inheritance, and the nation’s 
 aggrandizement. 
 
 Individuals desirous to promote this Association, may enter 
 their names in a book, now lying at the bar of the above tavern, 
 personally, or by means of their friends in town. And it is 
 hoped, that a respectable number, sufficiently zealous to take the 
 lead in trouble, will get together immediately, so as to fix and 
 advertise the first day of General Meeting. 
 
 RGFDWFOPF. 
 
 f^Vhiohy being interpreted, means Robert Gourlapf Farmer, DepU 
 ford, yVUts, fornierhj of Fraiis, Fifeshire, 
 
ccxxx 
 
 'J 
 
 GENEnAI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 “ T admire Mr. Cobbett in many things,’’ 1, as 
 assuredly, in many things condemn him. Many 
 people dislike Mr. Cobbett, because of his coarse 
 and cutting language, and because of his person- 
 alities ; but in these respects, as long as he con- 
 fines himself to public men and public affairs, he 
 has acquittal from me. No language can be too 
 severe, coarse, or even vulgar, which presents to 
 us a true picture of vice: no language can excite 
 too much disgust in our minds of wicked minis- 
 ters: no language can be too cutting, when used 
 against tyranny. Tyranny makes use of bayonets; 
 why then should its enemies be restricted in the 
 use of words? What words could sufficiently 
 characterize the late transactions against the Queen? 
 The dictionary does not afford any commen- 
 surate with the deserts of the mean, filthy, 
 persecuting, and remorseless conduct of ministers 
 on that occasion. In the former part of this Gene- 
 ral Introduction, printed more than a year ago, I 
 have given way to feelings excited by this horrible 
 conduct, and you will find me throughout my work 
 repeatedly giving vent to such feelings. What 
 were they on the last occasion, when the poor per- 
 secuted Queen, who arrived in London to claim a 
 fair trial, the same day that I did, bent on a similar 
 errand ! — what were my feelings, when this poor 
 persecuted woman became heart-broken, and ex- 
 pired, worn out with never-ending insult ! Good 
 Heavens! and when wrath was not satisfied even 
 then ; but would go on to insult her earthly re- 
 mains; — when the supplications of the people of 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CtXXXi 
 
 this proud metropolis, to have the funeral proceed 
 by the best and nearest road, were disregarded, that 
 the body might be dragged through narrow, dirty, 
 and round-about ways!! 
 
 It is peculiarly essential for you, Canadians, to 
 reflect upon these things, and to mark the iniqui- 
 ties of arbitrary power. It was the fell spirit of 
 arbitrary power which for seven years of war denied 
 to America the most palpable of rights — the right 
 of the people to tax themselves : — it w’as this fell 
 spirit which split off a noble limb from the British 
 empire, while some of you, silly Canadians, lent 
 aid to despotism ; and it is the same obstinate, un- 
 blushing, and demoniac spirit which, till this day, 
 holds Canada in a state of corruption, weakness, 
 and woe. The conduct of the English ministry, 
 towards the Queen, has placed in the strongest light 
 the ruthless madness of men in power; and I trust 
 it will in times to come steel us, in the formation 
 of governments, against putting the slightest trust 
 in any one. For long I was anxious to believe 
 that one at least among our ministers would, in the 
 end, give in to a charitable course. While it was 
 possible, I hoped that Lord Liverpool would 
 escape from among the band of assassins; but I 
 was sadly mistaken. It fell to the lot of this very 
 man to consummate iniquity — to evince the most 
 hardened, most wanton, and most unchristian con- 
 duct of all. 
 
 No, my good Canadians, words cannot be too 
 keen, or coarse, or vulgar, or vile, to mark the ac- 
 tions of men holding arbitrary sway. And pity it 
 
u 
 
 Qe?)txii GENEUAX INTKODLCTION. 
 
 that impressionsTraade by them are but too yola- 
 
 ;T 
 
 ^yjCJJ^^bbett’s defence of the . Q,ueen was excellent. 
 His expressions of disgust with her treatment^ his 
 stj’ictures on the conduct of her advisers, and the 
 speeches of her lawyers ; his contempt for the co- 
 ronation scenes which succeeded j his singular 
 mode of public mourning; and his minute descrip- 
 tion of the last scene of all, the funeral procession 
 to Hanover, are valuable records; and mark the 
 man of keen feeling, just observation, lively de- 
 scription, and strong reasoning powers; It is im- 
 possible to deny all this to Cobbett: and our chief 
 look-out should be to guard against him as a man 
 of power; for power he has over a multitude in 
 this country — a multitude too apt to be led astray; 
 and which it is possible may yet have the guidance 
 of our destinies. 
 
 In this book I have used harsh words, and some* 
 titnes contemptuous ones; but I have uniformly 
 been ruled by principle in the choice of these. 
 You would observe above, that I spoke of the men 
 who could fabricate your sedition law, and en- 
 slave you as a nation, by depriving you of the 
 power of meeting by deputy, as brutes. You 
 would observe that I guarded the second applica- 
 tion of that word (page xvii), by saying that I re- 
 peafed it, “with all due sense of delicacy and de- 
 corum; I did so : I looked not to the men with 
 .Mhchristian rancour; I looked to their deeds which 
 it was duty strongly to pourtray, for the sake of 
 good; and I had Scripture authority for my Ian- 
 
GENEKALi INTUODUCTIOX. CCXXxiii 
 
 guage. Nebuchadnezzar, who spent his time in 
 feasting, while the children of Israel, under his cruel 
 bondage, dfopt their unavailing tears in Babel’s 
 stream, was not only mentally a brute, but by the 
 figurative language of the sacred historian, he is 
 actually represented to us as one bodily, that a due 
 sense of his wicked deeds may be more strongly 
 impressed on our imagination and memory : and in 
 the same way, Jesus Christ called Herod, the pro- 
 vincial Governor, a Fox. You will remember 
 when that poor weak man. Captain Stuart of 
 Amherstburgh, attacked me in jail, for speaking of 
 your Lieutenant-Governor as a “6a6e,” (meaning 
 thereby an innocent w'eakling), how I referred 
 to this Scripture authority; and my reasoning upon 
 that occasion, may here be fitly extracted from the 
 Niagara Spectator of July 8, 1819. 
 
 “ When Mr. Stuart would blind us with making it ap- 
 pear, that a provincial Governor has the special counte- 
 nance of God, and would abash the freedom of speech to- 
 wards him, he forgets what language was used by Jesus 
 Christ towards Herod, a more powerful Governor than 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland. When told to depart out of the 
 country, lest Herod should kill him, “ Go yte,” said he, 
 “ and tell that foX, behold, I cast but devils, and I do 
 cures to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be 
 perfected.” (Luke, Chap. 13.) In this speech Herod is 
 likened to a brute, noted for being cruel, cutming, and 
 thievish: — a brute, which prowls about, under the doud of 
 night, to break into sheep-folds, and commit depredations 
 on the property of man, even to his very threshold. How 
 admirably does the similitude apply to the general disposi- 
 tions and habits of provincial Governors, who, in all ages, 
 have proved the most deceitful, cruel, and rapacious ty- 
 
u 
 
 CCXXxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rants ! This speech could not be the ebullition of passion; 
 neither will Mr. Stuart dare to pronounce it as proceeding 
 from “ the tongue of insolence.” It is a speech made and 
 handed down to us for edification and example ; and when 
 provincial Governors give way to wicked imaginations ; 
 when they cunningly darken counsel, and bind on more 
 firm the mask of iniquity ; — when they threaten the inno- 
 cent, and abuse discretion ; such example should be fol- 
 lowed as a Christian duty, and nothing should daunt us in 
 the performance : neither imprisonment, nor death.” 
 
 Not only the bitterest words, but the most di- 
 rect and pointed personalities, are justifiable in the 
 exposure of public crime. I once said, that “re- 
 form should be the people’s watch-word, and per- 
 sonality, their creed and I was perfectly correct. 
 Meddling with the private affairs of our fellow- 
 men, and wantonly injuring feeling, is detestable: 
 pointing to public delinquency, and exposing its 
 aiders and abettors, is quite the reverse, — is the 
 most sacred duty ; and while we only do this, and 
 adhere to good principle, we shall never be weighed 
 and found wanting. Mr. Cobbett, I conceive, has 
 sinned in both these respects. In his attack upon 
 my friend, Mr. Birkbeck, he departs from matters 
 of public interest, and throws out insinuations 
 on a subject, with which the public had no con- 
 cern ; nay, while he could not give proof that his 
 insinuations rested on truth, he resorted to italics 
 to inflame scandal. Can Mr. Cobbett answer this? 
 — I call him to answer it in behalf of my friend, 
 5000 miles removed. Some one, last summer, sent 
 to the Morning Chronicle, an extract from a letter 
 of Mr. Birkbeck, saying “ that Mr. Cobbett is 
 
GEUEKAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCXXXV 
 
 knorvii to be wholly indifferent to truth.’' Mr. Cob- 
 bett was offended with this, and in his Register of 
 July 7, 1B21, addressed a letter to Mr. Birkbeck, 
 and asked, “ by what rule known among men, are 
 you justified in imputing to me an attack upon 
 you ? What do you call an attack ?” I answer for 
 my friend, if ever there was an attack, Mr. Cob- 
 bett’s letters to Mr. Birkbeck, dated the 10th and 
 15th of December, 1818, are of that character; 
 and Mr. Cobbett himself will not say, that if such 
 letters had been' addressed to him in Mr. Birk- 
 beck’s situation, he would not have felt sore. No 
 man could be addressed “ Dear Sir,” and “ My 
 Dear Sir,” as Mr. Birkbeck is addressed in these 
 letters, and not feel that insult was added to in- 
 jury. It is of no use to dwell upon contradictory as- 
 sertions, as to the produce and profit of land, build- 
 ing expences, and the like, while a distance of 
 5000 miles lies between the disp;Utants, and years 
 must be wasted to come at precise facts ; but I 
 would throw down Mr. Cobbett’s letters to Mr. 
 Birkbeck, before any dozen honest men, and call - 
 upon them to say, if, upon the face of these, there 
 is not proof of their being unfriendly and unfair, 
 while, for myself, I would maintain that they were 
 scandalous. I say this, writing within six miles of 
 Mr. Cobbett, from calm conviction ; and I say it 
 in behalf of my much injured friend. Mr. Cobbett 
 has been often accused of inconsistency, and never 
 did he afford better proof of it, than in his letters 
 to Mr. Birkbeck. These letters not only con- 
 tain contradictions, but clearly show that 
 
<J 
 
 CCXXXvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 writer is unfriendly and unfair to him to whom 
 they are addressed. In the letter, dated the 4th of 
 July, 1821, it is said, “ the attack was not written 
 to be circulated in Europe, so that you might have 
 no chance of answering, till it had produced its 
 effects. It was written in America.” It was almost 
 instantly published at.New York, and I remained in 
 Long Island for nearly a twelvemonth afterwards.” 
 Now, what is this to the purpose in the way of 
 apology; or, rather, how completely does it militate 
 against Mr. Cobbett ? The “ attack” at least the 
 first letter to Mr. Birkbeck,was dispatched as soon 
 as written to England, as we find from the second 
 letter, which commences with these words, “ being, 
 when I wrote my first letter to you, in great haste to 
 conclude, in order that my son William might take 
 it to England.’^ Now that letter, which in a preface 
 Mr. Cobbett says, was “ intended principally for 
 the perusal of Englishmen,” could not be replied to 
 in England, by Mr. Birkbeck, for many months 
 after its publication here. His reply was not, in- 
 deed, published in Loudon, till the latter end of 
 1819, and about a year after the date of Mr. Cob- 
 bett s attack, by which time much injury was 
 done to the reputation of Mr. Birkbeck in England, 
 where, chiefly, it was important for him, that his 
 reputation should be sustained. How, then, after 
 setting forth, that the letter was intended princi- 
 pally for the perusal of Englishmen ; and that be 
 was “ in great haste to conclude, in order that his 
 son William might take it to England,” could Mt. 
 Cobbett tell us, that “ it was not written for circu- 
 
GENEHAli INTRODUCTION. CCXXXvii 
 
 latioa in Europe,” or pretend, that Mr. Birkbeck 
 had a fair chance of answering it. O, fie ! Mr. 
 Cobbett; you never, in so little a space, and for 
 so liuleiin object, betrayed yourself so palpably. But 
 of all things, how very ridiculous is your saying to 
 Mr. Birkbeck, in your letter to him of the 4th of 
 July, 1891, “ I never w'ould have given such an 
 ''iffront. io general opinion.* Mercy on us! who 
 ever affronted general opinion so much as Mr. 
 Cobbett! Go, Cobbett, and sin no more; go, and 
 be true to the great cause of reform, by rigidly ad- 
 hering to truth: go, and be charitable; and I shall 
 still “ admire you in many things.” Having said 
 this, I shall leave my excellent friend Mr. Birk- 
 beck to be honourably acquitted, at least, by every 
 reader of this book. 
 
 Mr, Cobbett’s letters to Mr. Birkbeck were not 
 only injurious to him, but to thousands. These 
 letters, and “ Fearon’s falsehoods,” to use the 
 words of Mr. Cobbett, were instrumental in stem- 
 ming the tide of emigration, which was beginning 
 to flow from Britain to America, and which would 
 have been highly beneficial, at onqe to the emi- 
 grants and the world at large. There is a prevail- 
 ing vulgar and narrow-minded notion, that -emigra- 
 tion from this country is hurtful to it: but there 
 cannot be a greater mistake. Emigration never 
 can take place but from pressure, and the sooner 
 that such pressure operates in throwing oflT redun- 
 dant population, or in relieving distress, so much 
 
 * See Cobbctl’s Register, July 7tl», 1821, Vol» 3^, 989. 
 
u 
 
 ccxl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 without any “ long arm,” I could blow up the 
 system merely with the aid of nineteen trusty 
 tailors. I meant to shew that 1 could do this by 
 dispatching my trusty tailors, provided with a 
 dozen phosphoric matches each, to nineteen of the 
 largest towns in the United Kingdom, while I re- 
 mained in London, w ith a sufficiency of amniuni- 
 tion; and, that, by all hands using due diligence 
 in and out of the metropolis, half the real property 
 of the nation could be consumed in a single night, 
 w'hile paper-money would fall to no price: nor do I 
 see, barring principle, and emdd nineteen trusty 
 tailors be got, w'hat difficulty there would be in 
 executing such a scheme — ^a scheme sufficiently 
 modest to be set beside that of Mr. Cobbett ; sim- 
 pler in execution, and much more certain of prov- 
 ing effectual. Such schemes, so long as they can 
 be laughed at, or are fabricated only to outmatch 
 extravagance, do very well; but when we find 
 that the world contains wretches sufficientlv weak 
 to be urged on to such plots as that of Cato 
 Street, others so wicked as to lead such wretches 
 on, with the knowledge of ministers of state, and 
 Mr. Cobbett, asking his son, if Ings, the assassin, 
 was “ an immoral and impious man,^’,(Cobbett’s Re- 
 gister, May 6, 1820), there is enough to make us 
 be cautious with sporting even unprincipled pro- 
 posals. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett, in his second letter to Mr. Birk- 
 beck, says, “ I am happy to tell you that £//?«• 
 borough and {xibbs have retired! Ill health is the 
 pretence. I never yet knew ill health induce 
 
GRNBRAL INTRODUCTION. CO^I 
 
 such fellows to loosen their grasp of the public 
 purse. But be it so: then I felt pleasure on that 
 account. To all the other pangs of body and 
 mind, let them add that of knowing that William 
 Cobbett, whom they thought they had put down 
 for ever, if not killed, lives to rejoice at their 
 pains and their death, to trample on their graves, 
 and hand down their names for the just judgment 
 of posterity. What! Are these feelings rvrong? 
 Are they sinful? What defence have we, then, 
 against tyranny? 
 
 “ If the oppressor be not to experience the re- 
 sentment of the oppressed, let us, at once, ac- 
 knowledge the divine right of tyranny; for what 
 has tyranny else to fear? Who has it to fear but 
 those whom it has injured? It is the aggregate 
 of individual injury that makes up national injury: 
 it is the aggregate of individual resentment that 
 makes up national resentment. National resent- 
 ment is absolutely necessary to the producing of 
 redress for oppression ; and therefore, to say that 
 individual resentment is wrong, is to say, that 
 there ought to be no redress for oppression : it is, 
 in short, to pass a sentence of never-ending slavery 
 on all mankind*.” 
 
 Mr. Cobbett is here serious. He thinks that 
 “ these feelings” are neither wrong nor sinful, 6c- 
 cause they defend us from tyranny. I think them 
 wrong and sinful, independent of every considera- 
 
 \ 
 
 • See Cobbett’s Year’s Residence in America. 
 
 q 
 
u 
 
 0«xlii CENERiiX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tion j and I think we have defence against 
 tyranny, independent of “ these feelings.’^ The 
 best defence against tyranny is a strict adherence 
 to Christian morality; and when that becomes 
 general, tyranny must fall without a stroke ora 
 struggle. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett looks back to what has been and 
 what is. I would look forward, and put trust in 
 peaceful change, to be expected from increasing 
 knowledge. 
 
 I would not only appeal to acknowledged prin- 
 ciples of morality, but would point to practice, as 
 it has been successful, on several occasions, with 
 various religious sects. The Quakers, it is well 
 known, made good points of high importance by 
 non-resistance. They endured, till government it- 
 self had to give up persecution — had to set aside 
 some of its sternest laws for their accommodation; 
 and it is a fact, that this same sect never had their 
 early settlements in Pennsylvania disturbed by the 
 Indians, merely from their adherence to peaceful 
 maxims. Here, then, we discover that Mr. Cob- 
 bett’s premises are groundless; we discover that 
 we have defence against tyranny, without giving 
 way to feelings which make us shudder, even be- 
 fore they are tested by argument. Yes, to rqoice 
 in the pains and the death of fellow creatures, and 
 to trample with pleasure on their graves, is abhor- 
 rent to all that is good — is, most assuredly, sinful. 
 Although “ it is the aggregate of individual injury 
 that makes up national injury,^’ and although “ it 
 is the aggregate of individual resentment that 
 
GENKnAt tNTRrtDtJe^tloN. Cdicliii 
 
 makes up national I'esentment,” it does nnt feHovr, 
 that an irtdi\ridual may indulge in fesentnteiit tvith^i 
 out sin. Resentment is sinful of itself, whether 
 nurtured in the heart of one or of a thousand 
 whether indulged by an individual or a nation. 
 If individuals would dease to foster resentment, 
 national resentment would of course cease j but 
 when we think of (he variety of tempers, 
 and the innumerarfjle causes Which aflPedt these 
 tempersj we cannot expect that this will be the 
 order Of improvement. National teSfeWtntedtS 
 must first be subrlued, and many generations 
 will not pass away before this Is* accOrtiplrshed. 
 Scotchmen and Englishmen Were tratiofraliy inve- 
 terate foes within these last two hund'fed years. 
 They are now friends. Within the last hundred 
 years, every Highland clan kept alive resentmeiltS 
 against other clans, and loSt'rtO Opp'Ortiinity of 
 gratifying malice and revenge. NoW, family* re* 
 sentmenfs have ceased, and, so far, ‘there is dinii* 
 nirtion of vice and misery. Reasoning, from ana* 
 logy, it is fair to suppose that national resentthefitS 
 may, by and by, cease within a wider and wider 
 circuit. Tl»e spread of knowledge must effect 
 this. Knowledge has rapidly increased and spread 
 since the invention of printing; and there is nOf 
 the slightest doubt that it will go on to increase 
 and spread, So that we may safely infer that, at nO 
 distant day,, national resentments will be extinct, 
 and that universal benevolence will be substituted 
 for the narrower principle of patriotism. Were 
 national resentments extinct, inrtumemWe' causes 
 
 fj 2 
 
CCXliv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of individual resentment would die away ; while 
 peace and happiness would proceed with less and 
 less interruption and alloy. I should be glad if 
 Mr. Cobbett would peruse this simple train of 
 reasoning with a serious mind: acknowledge his 
 error, and publicly make atonement for an outrage 
 on truth and decency : — that he would cease to 
 disgust those who might otherwise be inclined to 
 “ admire him in many things.’* 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh has said, in his Fin- 
 dici(B GalliceB, “ No important political im- 
 provement was ever obtained in a period of 
 tranquillity. The corrupt interest of the Gover- 
 nors is so strong, and the cry of the people so 
 feeble, that it were vain to expect it. If the effer- 
 vescence of the popular mind is suffered to pass 
 away without effect, it would be absurd to expect 
 from languor what enthusiasm has not obtained. 
 If radical reform is not at such a moment procured, 
 all partial changes are evaded and defeated in the 
 tranquillity which succeeds;” and again, “What- 
 ever excellence, whatever freedom is discoverable 
 in governments, has been infused into them by 
 the shock of a revolution, and their subsequent 
 progress has only been the progress of abuse. It 
 is hence that the most enlightened politicians 
 have recognised the necessity of frequently recall- 
 ing governments to their first principles.’' 
 
 He afterwards says, that “ all the governments 
 that now exist in tjbe world, except the United 
 States of America, have been fortuitously formed.’* 
 Here are undeniable truths and sentiments very 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCxlV 
 
 r 
 
 clearly expressed; but, nevertheless, let us pause 
 and reflect. The moment that any one admits 
 that nothing but force can bring about revolution, and 
 that nothing but the shock of a revolution can pro- 
 cure excellence or freedom in government, that 
 moment he resigns the hope which our religion in- 
 spires ; and that moment, the man who can sto- 
 mach the principles of a professional soldier, has 
 free range. Did I give up that hope, and could 1 
 sell my free will, and my chiefest honour — could 
 I submit to go forth and AiZ/, I shall forbear to say 
 murder^ at the nod of a superior, I would at once 
 subscribe to Mr. Cobbett’s record of his wrath 
 against Ellenborough and Gibbs. I would scruple 
 not to sow forged notes, nay, my highest arhbition 
 should be to give command, and set example, to 
 my troop of trusty tailors. Rather would 1 be an 
 active devil than a passive agent of death. I 
 shall not, with Sir James ^Mackintosh, yet think 
 it vain'' to expect- ‘‘ important political im- 
 provement in a period of tranquillity.** If there 
 is'!‘‘ Ictnguor'' on the part of Sir James, there 
 shall yet be enthusiasni' on mine; and even 
 next session, I shall hope for the ‘‘ radical 
 form' of Upper Canada. Sir James did not 
 pledge himself* to move for it last session ; but 
 the third session is at hand, since I left myself 
 pledged to do my utmost in the cause ; and I shall 
 not yet despair, even with my feeble cry, that 
 the most enlightened of politicians will recognise 
 the necessity of recalling our colonial governments 
 to their first principles.^’ By and by I shall have 
 
eCX'lvi OK|ilf]RAX< INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ocqasiott to remark on the practice as well as 
 theory of Sir Jamea; but let me now proceed with 
 Mr, Cobbett. 
 
 Jn the spring of 1815, Mr. Cobbett published 
 iu hi§ Register that, though he and 581 indivi- 
 duals, had required of the Sheriff of Hampshire, 
 to call a county meeting, the requisition was not 
 ■ complied with ; for which reason Mr. Cobbett an- 
 nounced, that a meeting should be held for public 
 business, at Botley, where he resided, on the 25th 
 March, 1815. Curious to know what would be 
 done at Mr, Cobbett’s meeting, and willing to ad- 
 vise as to the effectual course for the people to 
 pursue, I wrote to Mr. Cobbett, and dispatched a 
 servant with my letter to Botley, forty miles dis- 
 tant. I wrote to Mr. Cobbett that, « I believed, 
 without sysf^matie petitioning, all expectation of 
 good would be.nugatory j but, with which, 1 sin- 
 cerely believed, all good might be obtained. I 
 said that I should have every parish registered, with 
 the number of its inhabitants— each parish ranged 
 in its proper hundred, and each hundred in its pro- 
 per county 5 and when petitioning was on foot, 
 every name should appear in its proper place, 
 alphabetically arranged ; and that in this form very 
 httle e?tpence would exhibit the whole in print," 
 &Q — My servant, on his return, told me, that be 
 saw nothing like a public meeting at Botley ; but 
 he brought me a very polite and even flattering 
 letter from Mr, Cobbett, from which, as it con- 
 cerns pubbc business, I may here give an extract: 
 
 After tormenting myself for many yearn, in vain, 
 
OENBRAL INTRODUCTION. CCxlvK 
 
 I find it the wisest course to leave reformation to 
 the force of events. We are unable to urge along 
 the public mind. It must have its time; and if 
 the people do, in the end, and for ever, really 
 choose the present system, as ^ the French people 
 chose that of Napoleon, why, we must acquiesce, 
 and let them have what they choose. — It is with 
 this sort of feeling that I look on your proposition 
 for petitioning : very good ; very simple ; very 
 fair ; but demanding, toset it on foot, more time and 
 trouble than an individual like me can bestow. I 
 really think, while I honour your zeal, your ta- 
 lents, and your motives, that you are taking more 
 trouble than you are, by any means, bound to 
 take under circumstances. — ^^I wish most sincerely 
 for the good of the country, and the stability of 
 the King’s throne ; but I have grown less warm, 
 and less disposed to make sacrifices than I formerly 
 was.” Now, let me call to mind what Mr. Cob- 
 bett has done since writing the above. In these 
 lastwsix years he has, certainly, not grown less 
 warm, and less disposed to make sacrifices Hum for- 
 metly :■ he has- not left reformation to the force 
 of events. In these last six years Mr. Cobbett has 
 boasted of doing more for reform than any other 
 mad,* and he has certainly been truly active. Un- 
 fortunately he has not acted wisely. He and Lord 
 Cochrane got up a great mob meeting, on Ports- 
 down hill, and got some thousands of the people 
 to sign their names to a petition in the course of 
 an hour or two, by means of tables set out in order, 
 with paper, pen,’ and ink, all regularly disposed. 
 
ccxlviii 
 
 u 
 
 eKNERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I was in the House of Commons when the peti- 
 tion was presented by Lord Cochrane, and wit- 
 nessed the contempt with which it was received ; 
 nor did it deserve any thing but contempt — a peti- 
 tion signed by thousands, without any reference to 
 fheir places of abode, by which their identity could 
 be proved. — How pitiful ! ! ! The meeting at 
 Portsdown was to send up cheers to answer cheers 
 from the meeting at Spa-fields ! ! Could Mr. Cob- 
 bett countenance such proceedings withoutablush !! 
 —Mr. Cobbett also attended a convention of de- 
 puties, in London, for purposes of reform. These 
 deputies were chosen by irregular rabbles, in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, without order, or even 
 the appearance of it j and only Mr. Cobbett, Mr. 
 Hunt, and a few more, were privy to the organ- 
 ization of this general convention!! I never heard 
 of It till it was over; and, surely, Mr. Cobbett 
 will not deny, that it was an absolute “ affront to 
 general opinion Mr. Cobbett has now announced 
 that he will meet two persons from each county, 
 next January, in London, and expects that this 
 will be called “ Cobbett’s Parliament” ! ! \— 
 Let Mr. Cobbett only read the above extract from 
 his letter to me ; think upon his doings since, his 
 boastings, and his 'present project, and blush. 
 For my part, the thought of all of it makes me 
 melancholy ; and now, despairing of any good 
 from Mr. Cobbett, I shall give up my intention 
 of calling upon him at Kensington. If I had 
 hope, I would call upon him with pleasure; but 
 Cobbett’^s Parliament extinguishes efery 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCXlix 
 
 spark. In the 4th and 5th Numbers of Cobbett’s 
 Cottage (Economy, I have read some sensible re- 
 marks. I seldom peruse any thing of Mr. Cob- 
 bett’s without reaping some pleasure, if not profit. 
 In one of these numbers I have reaped pain. Mr. 
 Cobbett, like Franklin, grudges that Sunday 
 should be set apart from labour. He would, at 
 least, have cottagers employ that day in dressing 
 their gardens. I am no bigot. Though I was, for 
 many years of my youth, brought up under the 
 eye of a Presbyterian clergyman, and taught 
 strictly to keep the Sabbath-day holy, I am not 
 rigid in this respect. I can see it employed as a 
 day of recreation under the Church of England, 
 or as a day of solemn devotion under the Kirk, 
 with equal regard. I am equally averse to connect 
 religion with levity and austerity : I would wish 
 to see men cheerfully religious every day of the 
 week : I would wish to see every day employed 
 for the glory of God ; but Sunday, 1 would hold 
 especially sacred to the poor labourer. 1 would, 
 on no account, allorv him to dig his garden on that 
 day. An enemy to too much legislation, I would, 
 in this, be a pertinacious law-giver. If the poor 
 once habituate themselves to cultivate their gar- 
 dens on Sunday, most assuredly the rich will, in 
 course of time, have them labouring in the fields 
 on that day also ; and Sabbath and Saturday may 
 become alike devoted to toil. 
 
 It has been noted, page cxcvii, that the General 
 Introduction was so fer prepared for the press, 
 December 1820. Two amendments, however. 
 
'J 
 
 ccl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 were made after the printing was resumed in Sep- 
 tember last. The reference made to my little tract, 
 of the Tyranny of Poor Laws, in the Morni 
 ing Chronicle, induced me to produce it, and from 
 reading Corbett’s Cottage CEconomy, No. 3, 
 I came to be more decided as to limiting the ex- 
 tent of a cottage hold, to a quarter instead of 
 half an acre, about which 1 was in suspense. I 
 make this acknowledgment, to induce Mr. Cobbett 
 to come out with all he thinks on the subject. 
 He evidently thinks that every man would be the 
 better of a garden; but he says nothing of the 
 means by Avhich this good is to be obtained. I 
 would ask him if there is any chance of its being 
 obtained by any other peaceable means but that of 
 systematic petitioning ? In locating ground for 
 cottage holds, I would not be pertinacious as to 
 having them all in a cluster to make a village; 
 though that, with a common adjoining, would be 
 most desirable. I would insist only on the neces- 
 sity of having a liberty granted, that claims for 
 cottage allotments should be good to a certain ex- 
 tent and proportion in every parish throughout the 
 kingdom ; and I am certain poor-laws cannot be 
 abolished without this. Dividing the kingdom into 
 10,000 parishes, the average extent of each would 
 be 5464 acres. Parishes of this extent would then 
 have to furnish neat 25 acres, or 50, if a common 
 was allowed, and so, less or more, as the parish was 
 of greater or less extent. In Scotland, where 
 there are abundance of cottages and gardens, I 
 should not expect that many allotments would 
 
 
GENJBRAL INTRODUCTION. ccH 
 
 be demanded out of the public provision at the 
 high rate I have set upon the land: viz. per 
 acre rent, and £ 120 purchase-money. The grand 
 point is to secure a sufficiency of free possessions, 
 that labourers may have the power of locomotion — 
 and the chance of independence from their in- 
 dustry. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett gave out that if he was elected 
 raepber for Coventry, he would do every thirty 
 for the country that was required ; but why not 
 publish his scheme? let him be frank, and make 
 specific proposals, and I shall, if I like them, 
 endeavour to get a seat even in “ CobheWs parlia- 
 ment,^' to support him. 
 
 Having said this, I shall take leave of Mr. 
 Cobbett ; to whom, indeed, too much of my 
 paper has been devoted. If, however, I have 
 cleared a friend from scandal ; if I have proved to 
 you, Canadians, that though I have “ admired 
 Mr. Cobbett in many things,** I am hot his humble 
 admirer in all things j and if I have, at the same 
 time, brought my readers to reflect on the monstrous 
 iniquity of ray being imprisoned and ruined, merely 
 because of a frank acknowledgment that I knew 
 Mr. Cobbett, &c. the paper may not be misusedi To 
 prevent further rambling in a limited field, I shall 
 now lay out the remaining work of this General In- 
 troduction, under distinct heads, and confine’myself 
 to as brief narration as possible. I shall speak of the 
 Poor-laws ; Correspondence with the Colonial De- 
 partment ; Publications on Canada ; my Appeal ; 
 my Pause ; my Scheme of Colonial Government : 
 make a few observations, and be done. 
 
u 
 
 CClii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 POOR-LAWS. 
 
 The reform of the Poor-laws being a principal 
 object of this work, I shall here transcribe from 
 the Morning Chronicle, the debates on that sub- 
 ject, during last Session, and shall follow these 
 with a few remarks of my own. A more impor- 
 tant question never was before Parliament. 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 8, 1821. 
 
 Mr, Scarlett said, he should state the grounds of the 
 bill which he intended to introduce to amend the poor-laws, 
 as shortly as possible. He was aware of the great magni- 
 tude of the subject. No subject, indeed, could call for 
 more deliberate consideration. Any measure, on a subject 
 so important, was certainly deserving the support of a libe- 
 ral and enlightened Government, and he was not with- 
 out apprehension in bringing forward the present bill, 
 without previous sanction or countenance of Ministers. If 
 he had thought that the measure, or any thing like it, would 
 have been brought forward under the sanction of Govern- 
 ment, he would not have obtruded it on the House. The evil 
 was one of the most alarming kind ; an evil which Parlia- 
 ment would be anxious to remove, unless in removing it 
 the country should be exposed to still greater danger. 
 The evil consisted in an unlimited provision for the poor : 
 the obvious remedy was to limit that provision. The first 
 measure, therefore, which he would wish to submit to the 
 House, was to declare a maximum : the rates of the last 
 year, though not the highest, were nearly so ; and it was, 
 perhaps, the best period to select, because the nominal 
 
\ 
 
 1 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Ccliil 
 
 value of money had more nearly approached its real value 
 than in the preceding years. He would therefore pro- 
 pose to fix as a maximum the rates of the year ending the 
 25th March, 1821, and accordingly to declare it to be un- 
 lawful to pay any larger sum for poor’s-rate than was as- 
 sessed off the land for the year ending the 25th March, 
 1821. The next question was, the propriety of en- 
 forcing a different system in administering relief. It 
 never was the intention of the Parliament, that passed the 
 statute of Elizabeth, to relieve persons who were able to 
 work, and who pVeferred a life of idleness. The object 
 of the statute was to relieve those who by age and in- 
 firmities were unable to labour. That wise and hu- 
 mane principle was departed from in modern times, and 
 incalculable mischief was the consequence. At the pre- 
 sent moment, persons who were married, and had large fa- 
 milies depending in some degree on parish relief, could not 
 be fairly deprived of that relief. Time should be allowed to 
 enable those persons to recover themselves; but the evil 
 had been carried to so great an extent, that persons marry- 
 ing, looked forward, as a matter of course, to have their 
 second child supported by the parish. He would be glad 
 to know, why such persons ought not to practise those in- 
 dustrious and economical habits which all other persons in 
 society were compelled to practise. It was for the pur- 
 pose of stopping the progress of this evil, that he proposed, 
 as the second part of the bill, that, after passing of the 
 bill, no parish ofiBcer or justice of the peace should be au- 
 thorized to give relief to any person who, at the time 
 of passing of the act, should be unmarried, either for him- 
 self or for any member of his family, unless such person 
 should be afilicted with infirmity of body, or old age. The 
 poor and industrious man was now obliged to provide for the 
 idle, and the natural effect was*, that he was inclined also 
 to become one of the idle class, whom he saw often better 
 provided for than himself. His third measure was one. 
 
GENERAL INTRODtJCTTON- 
 
 ccliv 
 
 respecting which there was likely to be a great differetiee 
 of opinion, though he had given it so much consideration, 
 that he did not think his own mind could be shaken 
 respecting it. It was to repeal the laws, authorizing 
 the removal of persons chargeable or likely to become 
 chargeable to a parish. (Hear!) The present system ori- 
 ginated with the 13th and 14th Charles II. the effect of 
 which was to restrict the free circulation of labour, and 
 subjected the labourer, if he could not, from any tempo- 
 rary cause, find bread in the parish where he resided, to 
 be removed to the parish where he wasiborn, or where his 
 father or grandfather was bom, though, perhaps, there 
 was a certainty that he could not find employment there, 
 and that he must remain a pauper all the days of his life. 
 A more oppressive law was not to be found in any code in 
 Europe. (Hear ! hear ! ) It, in fact, made poverty a crime. 
 If a law was now proposed, specifically and avowedly 
 subjecting a man to be banished from one place, to another, 
 because he could not get enough to feed his family, from 
 the dearness of prov ision, the man would be deemed not 
 only mad, but inhuman. (Hear!) Yes, this, in reality, was 
 the Jaw, as it existed under another name. (Hear!) This 
 law had been found so oppressive, that many attempts 
 had been made to modify it by exceptions— as, for instaihJe, 
 when a man bad been hired for a year in a parish, or rented 
 a tenement of ^10., or paid parish rates, or served parish 
 offices. It was said by Dr. Burn, that there were more 
 decisions on this Act, than on any law in the Statute Book. 
 The Doctor might have said — more litigation. (Hear!) 
 ITiere was, probably, more litigation created by this law, 
 than by all the laws, from Magna Charta downwm^s. An 
 artificial, absurd, and oppressive system bad been created, 
 and it became half the business of society to execute it. 
 He (Mr. S.), therefore, proposed to make a provision, 
 that it should not be lawful to remove any man from the 
 parish in which he resided, on the ground of his being 
 1 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cclv 
 
 chargeable, or likely to become chargeable. He expected 
 that the manufacturing towns would object to this, as they 
 had done to the provision for making two years’ residence 
 a settlement. Under the present system, when there was 
 any cessation of employment in a manufacturing town, 
 the labourers were scattered all over Enaland. Frdm 
 Manchester, for instance, he had seen loads sent to Lon- 
 don by the coach, and some even to the west of England. 
 The effect on that town was that the rates were less in 
 Manchester than in any agricultural parish in England, 
 &c. &c. > 
 
 Lord Londonderry gave his thanks to the honourable 
 and learned gentleman, for bringing the subject before 
 Parliament; and hoped that, because he (Lord L.) now ab- 
 stained from giving a decided opinion, it would not be 
 thought that he wanted zeal on the subject. The House 
 would be better able to form a judgment, when the mea- 
 sures were before them in the shape of a Bill, which, he 
 hoped, tlie honourable and learned gentleman would bring in. 
 
 Sir R. Wilson said, that though he must acknowledge 
 the good intention of his honourable and learned friend, 
 he most deprecate any proposition to take from the unem- 
 ployed industrious poor a subsistence, to which they had 
 just the same right as every gentleman had to his estate. 
 If they wished to reduce pauj^erism, they should reduce 
 taxation. 
 
 Mr. Calcraft thanked his honourable and learned friend 
 for having brought the subject forward, though he did not 
 agree with his views in all respects. The first proposition 
 of his honourable and learned friend was to fix a maximum 
 of rates. This had been tried in local bills, and failed, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Mr. Bourne congratulated the House, that the subject 
 had been taken up by hands so able as tliose of the honour- 
 able and learned gentleman. As to the proposition of a 
 mum, h had been tried in the Isle of Wight; yet they had 
 
u 
 
 CClri GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 been obliged to apply to Parliament, to remove or alter the 
 liiaocimumj &c. &c. 
 
 Mr. MoncJc said, the poor-laws, if they went on as they 
 had of late, would, in fact, establish an agrarian or Spen- 
 cean system, making the landholders merely nominal pro- 
 prietors; but, previous to any restriction on the right of 
 demanding relief, the taxes which pressed upon the poor, 
 as the malt and salt taxes, should be repealed, as well as 
 the corn law, &c. &c, 
 
 Mr. Mansfield disapproved (as we understood him) the 
 proposal for a maximum. 
 
 Mr. Phillips observed that, although there were some 
 parts of his learned friend’s bill to which he should object, 
 if taken separately, yet to the whole united, he had no ob- 
 jection whatever. On the contrary, he augured great good 
 from its adoption, and thought it right to take this occasion 
 of bearing testimony to the salutary effects of the Act 
 passed upon the proposition of the Right Honourable 
 Member for Christchurch, some years ago, especially in 
 those districts of Lancashire, with which he was more im- 
 mediately acquainted. 
 
 Mr. Ricardo expressed his surprise that any apprehen- 
 sion should be entertained of the tendency of his learned 
 friend’s bill, to create any embarrassment in the law of set- 
 tlement, as the great object of that bill was to remove all 
 difficulty and litigation with respect to this law. It bad 
 been observed that labour, instead of being paid in wages 
 by employers, had been paid out of the poor’s-rates ; and if 
 so, why then should not the amount of such payment be de- 
 ducted in fairness from those rates ? This was one of the 
 objects of his learned friend’s bill, because that bill pro- 
 posed to have the labour paid in just wages by his employ- 
 er, instead of having him transferred to the poor’s-rate. 
 The effect, indeed, ot his learned friend’s measure would be 
 to regulate the price of labour by the demand, and that was 
 the end peculiarly desired. With respect to the pressure 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Cclvil 
 
 of the taxes and the national debt upon the poor, that pres- 
 sure could not be disputed, especially as it took away from 
 the rich the means of employing the poor ; but he had no 
 doubt that if the supply of labour were reduced below the 
 demand, which was the purpose of his learned friend’s 
 measure, the public debt and taxes would bear exclusively 
 upon the rich, and the poor would be most materially bene- 
 fited. 
 
 Mr, M. A. Taylor highly eulogized the principle and 
 tendency of his learned friend’s proposition, which he had 
 no doubt would be productive of great good. 
 
 Leave was given to bring in the bill, which Mr. S. ac- 
 cordingly brought in. Read a first time, and ordered to be 
 read a second time on the 24th, and to be printed. 
 
 May 24. 
 
 Mr. Birch presented a petition from the churchwardens 
 and inhabitants of the parish of St. Mary’s, Birmingham, 
 against the Poor-Relief Bill. 
 
 On the petition being brought up, 
 
 Mr. Scarlett (in reply to a question of Mr. Bernal) said 
 he had no hesitation in stating, that if he found the general 
 disposition of Parliament in his favour, he would press the 
 enactment of the bill. At the same time, he had no inten- 
 tion of hurrying it through the House. He confessed that 
 the approval of the measure was much more general than 
 he at first had reason to expect. Perhaps it would he sa- 
 tisfactory to those honourable members who concurred with 
 • , * 
 
 him on this measure to know that of the multitude of com- 
 munications which he had received from different places, 
 the greater mass of them were decidedly in its favour. 
 (Hear! hear!) This undoubtedly encouraged him to pro- 
 ceed : he would not, therefore, delay the bill, though he by 
 no means meant to push it forward. He would take that 
 opportunity of stating, for the information of many gentle- 
 men then present, that as the second reading stood for that 
 
Cclviii GKNERAI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 night, he would, if the other brusiness allowed him to do so, 
 bring on the discussion in a short time 5 if not, he would 
 move, that the bill be read a second time pro forvia, post- 
 poning the discussion to a future period. 
 
 Mr. Jenkinson observed that the thanks of the House and 
 the country were due to the honourable and learned Mem- 
 ber (Mr. Scarlett) for having introduced this bill. The 
 poor-rates had got to such a pitch at present, that it was 
 impossible to go on much longer with tlie present system. 
 The bill had his decided support, and he should be glad to 
 contribute all in his power to support it. 
 
 Mr. Calcraft said, that the honourable and learned 
 Member (Mr. Scarlett) deceived himself, if he thought 
 the bill met w ith general concurrence out of doors. It 
 was expected, in several great towns with which he was 
 acquainted, that the bill would not be pressed this session, 
 and, therefore it was, that the inhabitants of those places 
 did not express their sentiments with respect to the mea- 
 sure. If his honourable and learned friend should press 
 the bill, he (Mr. Calcraft) would certainly feel it his duty 
 to state the objections, which appeared to him to be 
 against it. He would suggest to his honourable friend to 
 let the clauses of the bill be printed and circulated through 
 die country. The country would then express their opi- 
 nions, and his honourable and learned friend would have 
 an opportunity of making those amendments, without which 
 he did not think the measure could be carried. 
 
 Mr. Lawley said, that in the^county (Warwick) which he 
 represented, great disapprobation existed against several 
 clauses of the bill. 
 
 Mr. Lockhart said, that he wished to know whether it 
 was the intention of the honourable Member to press the 
 bill during the present session. He contended, that un- 
 der die present system, the poor’s-rates could not be effec- 
 lually corrected, 
 
 Mr» Dm Broime said, drat the amount of the poorV-rates 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cclix 
 
 was truly alarming. They amounted to a sum as great as 
 was necessary for carrying on the purposes of the British 
 Government on the accession of the late King, He 
 feared, that unless something was done to stop the evii, 
 that the entire property of the country would ultimately be 
 taken out of the hands of tlie ancient proprietors. 
 
 Mr. F, Palmer contended that in several inst^uaees 
 the poor’s-rate, during the present year, had been lowered 
 in some places four shillings, in other places five shillings 
 in tlie pound When he had been lately in the country, 
 he did not meet with a single person who was not dis- 
 posed to support the principle of the bill, though they did 
 not wish that it should be pressed during the present 
 'session. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett said, that if the subject had not frequently 
 been brought under the consideration of Parliament and 
 the public, he would, no doubt, have been more ready to 
 accede to tlie wish of some of his friends, to postpone 
 tlie bill. But as the principle of the bill had frequently 
 been discussed in that House, if he found the House 
 disposed to accelerate the measure, he could see no rea- 
 son for postponing it. With respect to the objections 
 from great towns, he was prepared to hear objections, 
 though he thought they were founded in error: it was, 
 however, his intention to introduce a clause in the bill, 
 for the purpose of providing a remedy against the pos- 
 sible and prospective inconvenience apprehended by great 
 towns. As to the counti y, and the agricultural classes, 
 his object certainly was not so much to lower the rates 
 as to improve the moral condition of the poor: that, 
 above all others, was his great object. If the bill should 
 
 * This ifi a delusion. Rates have fallen nominally, because the 
 gallon Voaf has fallen;! but the evil has increased, and is in- 
 areaaing. 
 
 r 2 
 
 
/ 
 
 J 
 
 cclx GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be postponed to the next session, he had no doubt but 
 that those who had an interest in keeping up existing 
 abuses, would attempt to raise an opposition to the bill. 
 He did not fear that opposition ; but he certainly did not 
 wish to covet it. When it was considered that the sura of 
 £500,000 a year, was, on account of the poor-rates, ex- 
 pended in litigation alone, the House would not be at a 
 loss to see, that a multitude of persons had a personal 
 interest in opposing the bill. 
 
 The petition was then brought up, and ordered to be 
 printed, 
 
 Mr. Scarlett rose to move the second reading of the 
 Poor-Relief Bill. He said he did not intend to accom- 
 pany the measure in that stage with any matter of detail; 
 but he had, in presenting the bill in its simpler state, re- 
 served to himself the opportunity of offering certain 
 clauses, to obviate objections some Honourable Members 
 entertained towards it, leaving it to the House to insert 
 the clauses in the bill, or form them into a separate one. 
 There were great evils and various calamities, attendant on 
 the consideration of the poor-laws, and he found them to 
 consist in three principles. The first was the compulsory 
 and unlimited provision for tlie poor : the second, the dis- 
 tributipu of that provision was not reserved as a reward for 
 good conduct, and an alleviation of the miseries of sick- 
 ness, old age, and infirmitj , but by administering to those 
 who preferred to live by the charity^ of others, although 
 capable of obtaining subsistence by their own exertions. 
 The third, was the principal source of the evils of which 
 he complained, and that was the restraint which now ex- 
 isted on the free circulation of labour. (Hear !) The far- 
 mer, finding that he was called on to pay heavy poor-rates, 
 resorted to the practice of diminishing the wages of la- 
 bour. They thought it best to pay only to men who had 
 families which must receive a certain sum from the parish; 
 and allowed them such wages as would barely allow them 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cclxi 
 
 to exist. The farmer said, if the parish pay 5.9.^ and be 
 could get his work done for 9s., why should he give more 
 than 9s. ? The unmarried man was consequently reduced 
 to this condition, that he must enter into competition with 
 the other, and must go without employment unless he 
 worked for the same wages. Thus the poor man who was 
 working almost his blood out, had only before him the me- 
 lancholy prospect of tenuinating his life in a workhouse— 
 he had no refuge. How different was such a man, in point 
 of moral existence and affinity to the state, from him who 
 was enabled to make some acquisitions of property by his 
 own labour, and to lay up for his old age an independent 
 provision. In every point of view, moral, political, and 
 religious, tlie man who hoped to lay by something from his 
 own earnings, was more valuable to society, and to him- 
 self, tliau he who was doomed to present labour, and pro- 
 spective wretchedness, without any hope whatever, &c. &c. 
 
 Sir R. Wilson said, he felt it an'anxious and painful 
 duty to oppose his honourable and learned friend. He be- 
 lieved that, like himself, he consulted the interests and 
 rights of the poor; but though they both had a common 
 object, they differed as to the means. He then said, that 
 he could not agree to abrogate the statute of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth. He considered that statute the Magna Charta of 
 « the poor. (Hear! hear!) Justice Blackstone had declared 
 that it was founded on the first principles of society. He 
 deprecated strongly the notion of discountenancing mar- 
 riages among the poor, as likely to be productive of vice 
 and immorality ; and he declared, in conclusion, that he 
 would not vote for the reduction of the funds for the poor, 
 until every unnecessary charge in the public expenditure 
 was removed. 
 
 Mr. F. Lewis could not refrain from saying a few words 
 on that part of the gallant GeneraFs speech, in which ho 
 seemed to consider the Statute of 43d Elizabeth as the 
 Magna Charta of the poor, and the palladium of their 
 
J 
 
 cclxil C^KNKRAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rights. That he utterly denied. He denied that the 
 House ought to consider that or any other law on the subject, 
 as one which they were not perfecly justified in amending, 
 according to the demand of the time, or their altered view 
 of the cfrcurastances of the case. — The basis of the con- 
 stitution was the security which it gave to all persons, in 
 the enjoyment of whatever property they had acquired, or 
 honestly come by. It was utterly in vain to set up any 
 other principle as one of right* If it could be shewn that 
 the principle of the poor-laws was subversive of that by 
 which property was protected, then it would be evident 
 that such an antagonist principle ought not to be allowed to 
 prevail. The meaning of the Statute 43d Elizabeth, was 
 to inflict compulsory labour, by way of punishment, not to 
 afford labour for the mere purpose of maintenance. It was 
 any thing but in the nature of giving the poor personal 
 property. 
 
 Mr, Bennelt observed, that the greatest evil of the poor- 
 laws was, that it rendered the poor man dependent on his 
 superior, and made him an abject wretch, that had no 
 object in acquiring property, or maintaining a character in 
 society. But although that was a great evil, yet, by its 
 removal, there would be danger of inflicting a still greater 
 cruelty on the poor. There could be little doubt, that if 
 the existing poor-laws were suddenly repealed, the effect 
 would be general starvation, &c. &c. 
 
 Mr, Courtenay thought it desirable, that the bill should 
 go to a committee, and receive the modifications which 
 the honourable and learned Gentleman proposed to intro- 
 duce into it, with an understanding, that wheu it should 
 come out of the committee, it should be discussed by the 
 House, &c. 
 
 Lord Milton entertained, to the bill generally, the most 
 friendly feeling. The most important part of it*— that 
 which went to repeal the law of ^setUement, had his warm- 
 est support. At same time, he could by no means agree 
 
general introduction. cclxiii 
 
 with the position of the Honourable Member, that tlie 
 basis of the Constitution was the protection of the enjoy- 
 ment of property. The basis of the Constitution was the 
 protection of rights, and the rights of the poor ought to 
 be protected as well as those of the rich, &c. 
 
 The Marquis of Londonderry repeated his gratitude to 
 the honourable and learned Gentleman, for having be- 
 stowed so much of his time and attention, in bringing this 
 important subject under the consideration of Parliament. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett said, he should have no objection to go 
 into the Committee insfanter; but as he was not prepared 
 with all the clauses, he hoped the House would consent to 
 read the bill a second time that night ; and to enter into 
 the Committee on Monday. With respect to the influence 
 of tlie present system upon marriages, he would mention 
 the case of a young person under twenty, who paid for a 
 licence to be married in one of the counties, and went the 
 next day and demanded relief and residence from the ma- 
 gistrate. 
 
 The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be 
 committed on Monday. 
 
 May 28. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett moved for tlie committal of the Poor- Relief 
 Amendment Bill, with a view to propose the clauses which 
 he had mentioned upon the last consideration of this 
 measure. 
 
 Mr. Mansfield expressed a hope that the learned Gentle- 
 man would not press the adoption of this bill within tlie 
 present session. 
 
 The clauses proposed by Mr. Scarlett were adopted- 
 
 June 6 . 
 
 Mr. Seofiett presented petitions in favour of the Poor- 
 Relief Amendment Bill, from the parishes of St. Pancras, 
 Middlesex, and Northiam, in Sussex. 
 
 ‘7 
 
cclxiv GENKRAL. INTHODL CTIOX. 
 
 The furtJier consideration of tlie Report of tlie Poor- 
 ReliefAmendment Bill, was fixed for Thursday, 13th Jane. 
 
 J line 7. 
 
 Ml'. Curteis presented a Petition from the parish of 
 Robertsbridge, Sussex, in favour of the Poor-Relief Amend- 
 ment Bill. 
 
 Mr. Hohhouse presented a Petition, from some indivi- 
 duals in Liverpool, against the Poor-Relief Amendment 
 Bill. The petitioners, he stated, objected to all the 
 clauses, except that regulating the law of settlement.. Mr. 
 Hobhouse said he feared he should be obliged to vote 
 against the bill, his opposition to which, should rest on 
 the ground that forms the present state of the laws against 
 the poor, against emigration,^ against combination, and 
 against begging : a compulsory provision for the poor was 
 rendered necessary. 
 
 Mr . Brougham concurred in opinion with the Honour- 
 able Member for Westminster, to a certain extent, and 
 he was willing to say, tliat if such a measure as the bill 
 before the House, or any thing like it, was passed, a great 
 alteration would be necessary in all the laws concerning 
 the poor. The subject was attended with great, though 
 not with insurmountable difficulty. The system could not 
 begin and end with the bill introduced by his honourable 
 and learned friend ; but there must be a corresponding 
 change in all the laws affecting the poor. There was an- 
 other difficulty with which the bill was attended, which 
 was, that it would create two classes of poor; for, if the 
 principle of Mr. Malthus was carried into effect, the chil- 
 dren of marriages contracted at one time would be entitled 
 to relief, while the children of marriages contracted at 
 anotlier time would not be entitled to it. If the principle 
 of the bill was admitted, it would be most tyrannical to 
 retain the laws against emigration, combination, and beg- 
 ging, T.he piesent sjstein of the poor-la w^s was especially 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Cclxv 
 
 built on the prohibition to beg. He threw out these ob- 
 servations, to show how many difficulties the subject was 
 attended with. There ought, too, if the bill was passed, 
 to be measures of precaution taken, to make the execution 
 of the bill safe, as well for the police as the poor. It 
 was needless for him further to enter into this topic ; but 
 be particularly referred to the questions of emigration and 
 colonization. On the latter subject, he referred to a pam- 
 phlet of Mr. Herbert Saunders, which contained much 
 valuable practical information on experiments that had 
 been made in Holland and Ireland. 
 
 Mr. S. Bourne concurred in the observations of the 
 honourable and learned Gentleman. He deemed it a 
 great oversight, that by a clause at the end of the Poor- 
 Relief Bill, the vagrancy laws were left untouched. 
 When the funds were limited, as they would be by the 
 bill, it would be impossible to leave them subject to the 
 unlimited demands of magistrates. 
 
 Mr. Haj^bord observed, that the doctrine on which the 
 alteration of the poor-laws was proposed, was chiefly that 
 of Mr. Malthus, according to which, a certain quantity of 
 vice and misery was necessary as a check upon population. 
 This doctrine had been, in the opinion of many people 
 well qualified to form an opinion on the subject, shaken 
 by the elaborate work lately published by Mr. Godwin. 
 Mr. Malthus’s theory was founded on the supposition of 
 rapid ratio of increase of population, which Mr. Godwin 
 had, in the opinion of many, disproved*. 
 
 After a few words from Mr. Brougham, 
 
 Mr. Majcivell observed, that in every part of Scotland, 
 where machinery was introduced, a compulsory provision 
 had been found necessary, and he believed such a provi- 
 sion would be found necessary, till machinery was taxed 
 
 * The tlahm^atc toork lately published by Mr. Godwin ! ? ! 
 t Machinery taxed! ! ! 
 
Cclxvi OENERAIi INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Petition was ordered to be printed. 
 
 June 8 . 
 
 Sir R. Wilson presented a petition from the freeholders 
 and leypayers of the township of Hagget, (we believe) in 
 Lancashire, against the Poor-Relief Bill. Sir R. Wilson 
 strongly commended the language and arguments of the 
 petition, which he recapitulated ; and concluded by observe 
 ing, tliat as there waa so much alarm at over-population, he 
 should recommend to the notice of members an elaborate 
 treatise of a very learned, though he could not say, grave, 
 divine, he meant the ** modest proposaf’ of Dean Swift. 
 (Hear!) 
 
 The petition was read. 
 
 Mr^ Broughtmi said, he had hoped that Members would 
 have abstained from the introduction of topics, which could 
 do no possible good to the poor. (Hear !) The objections to 
 the bill, contained in the petition, proceeded upon a 
 mistake very fatal to a disputant, the total misapprehension 
 of the argument to which they were opposed. No one had 
 ever said, tliat the poor-laws operated as an incentive to mar- 
 riages, but that they removed the check to improvident mar- 
 riages, which would be otherwise supplied by the fear of abso- 
 lute want. (Hear !) He thought it unwise too, for the sake of 
 the poor themselves, to be continually holding out to them 
 the doctrine, that they were mortgagees upon the land, nay 
 preferable mortgagees ; for though, as the law stood, this was 
 perhaps true, it necessarily had an operation injurious to the 
 poor themselves. The operation of such a system, ft 
 needed no speculatist, as Mr. Malthus was represented to 
 be, though, on these objects, no one was more plain and 
 practical (hear!) to shew. The doctrine of Mr. Malthus 
 was, that nothing was more prejudicial to the community, 
 and to the individuals themselves, than that persons, without 
 knowledge how to maintain a family, should put themselves 
 in a situation, in which they were sure to produce a fitmily* 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Cclxvii 
 
 (Hear!) There was, surely, nothing abstruse or speculative 
 in this ; when, out of such a fund as the poor’s-rates, they 
 were sure of being supplied with support, without reference 
 to the state of the country, to the times, and almost, he 
 might say, according to the present administration of the 
 poor-laws, without any reference to the disposition of the 
 individual to work. (Hear ! hear !) The proper restraint on 
 marriage was taken away, at the moment when it should 
 operate. The poor were prevented from thinking twice, 
 when they had to decide on the question, whether they 
 should marry or not. It should be impressed upon them, 
 that to put themselves in the situation to get a family, 
 without the means of maintaining it, was as bad as to go 
 into a shop and buy goods without having means of paying 
 for them. (Hear ! hear !) Mr. Malthus had very properly 
 said, that it should be impressed on the people, that to rush 
 into marriage under sucli circumstances, was neither 
 honest nor politic. 
 
 Colonel Wood said, that the honourable and learned 
 Members bill had not had fair play; for, though he (Col. 
 Wood) agreed in what had fallen from the Honourable 
 Gentleman who had spoken last (Mr. Brougham),he thought 
 that the great good proposed by the bill of the Honourable 
 Member for Peterborough, was to free the poor from the 
 present degraded state of vassalage, in which they were 
 kept by the settlement laws. 
 
 Sir J. Graham stated, that he had received communi- 
 cations from the country, which satisfied him that ninety -nine 
 out of a hundred of the people were decidedly in favour of 
 the bill referred to. 
 
 Mr, Mamjield said, that from the communications made 
 to him from that quarter of the country, with which he was 
 connected, he could undertake to say ninety-nine out oi one 
 hundred of the people were decidedly against this bill. 
 (Hear! hear! hear!) 
 
 Mr, Birch corroborated the statement of the last speaker. 
 
cclxviii GENERAI- INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as to that part of the country which he had the honour to 
 represent. 
 
 Mr, Scarlett declared his unwillingness to enter into any 
 premature discussion on this measure, &c. &c. 
 
 The petition was ordered to lie on the table. 
 
 Sir Robert Wilson deprecated any degree of haste in the 
 progress of this measure, whatever might be, as he knew, 
 the expeditionary powers of the House, for it was a mea- 
 sure requiring the most deliberate consideration. As to 
 the remark of his learned friend (Mr. Brougham), that no 
 poor man should marry, unless he were able to support a 
 family, he agreed in the principle of that remark ; but it 
 was I to be considered, that a poor man might be able to 
 support a family at the time he married, while in the very 
 next year he might be deprived of that ability, through a 
 new Corn Bill, or some furtlier taxation, enhancing the 
 materials of subsistence. (Hear! hear! hear!) The gallant 
 officer forcibly commented upon the exceptionable cha- 
 racter of the bill in various points of view, and especially 
 in compelling a poor man to travel about in search of em- 
 ployment, while, if he failed in his search, he was liable to 
 punishment under the Vagrant Act. 
 
 Mr, Gurney thought it his particular duty to oppose this 
 measure, and that the passing of it would be a flagrant act 
 of insanity"*. 
 
 Mr, Scarlett agreed, that if a measure were unfit for 
 discussion, it was unfit to be brought forward. But he 
 objected to unfounded observations or prejudiced state- 
 ments. He would not have the principle or provisions 
 of the bill misrepresented to the country. His gallant 
 friend was quite in error with respect to the character of 
 this measure ; but he would not condescend to correct 
 that error further than to say, that the bill touched not at 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CClxix 
 
 all on the Vagrant Act, in the manner which his learned 
 friend appeared to think. He must add also, that before a 
 gentleman undertook to animadvert upon any measure, he 
 should endeavour to understand its principles. 
 
 Mr, Monck expressed his disapprobation of this mea- 
 sure, which be thought a mere temporizing expedient. If 
 the Corn Bill were repealed, together with the duties upon 
 beer, salt, malt, leather, and other articles in common use, 
 the poor could afford to pay for their own support without 
 resorting to the poor-rates, and the poor-laws would die 
 almost of themselves. But while the poor were to be bur- 
 dened and distressed as they were at present, he could not 
 endure the idea of subjecting them to any harsh or re- 
 strictive regulations. 
 
 Mr. F. Palmer said, that when this measure should 
 be brought into discussion, he would be prepared to shew 
 that the agricultural labourers had never received sufficient 
 wages to maintain themselves without resorting to the 
 poor’s rates. 
 
 Sir S. Seabright observed, that the poor’s-rate formed 
 the cause of the low wages allowed to agricultural la- 
 bourers. 
 
 Lord Londonderry declared, that he could not see the 
 necessity or the utility of prosecuting this discussion. 
 
 The petition was ordered to be printed. 
 
 June 13. 
 
 A petition against the Poor Laws Amendment Bill, was 
 presented from Stockport, which was ordered to lie on the 
 table; as were petitions to the same eflect from Leeds, 
 Huddersfield, and St. George the Martyr, Southwark. 
 The last petition contained a statement, that persons being 
 induced to come to that parish, as well as to other parishes 
 in the vicinity of tlie metropolis, under the idea of getting 
 employment with advanced wages, these parishes would 
 be subjected to considerable incumbrances, should tlie pro- 
 posed bill be allowed to pass into a law. 
 
CclX3i; GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 This petitiou was ordered to be printed- 
 
 itfr. Curteis presented a petition in favour of this bill, 
 from the select vestry of the parish of Burwash, in Sussex. 
 The petitioners, with whom the Honourable Member said 
 that he fully concurred; further prayed that personal pro- 
 perty might be subjected to the payment of poor’s-rates 
 as well as property in land or houses. 
 
 Ordered to be printed. 
 
 June 20. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett moved the further consideration of the Poor- 
 Relief Bill. 
 
 Mr. Calcraft thought it would be desirable that the de- 
 bate on this important subject should not be gone into 
 without a chance of concluding it. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett did not wish to press on the debate against 
 the pleasure of the House. 
 
 Lord Londonderry said a few words in favour of tlie con- 
 tinuance of the discussion. 
 
 Mr. Calcraft saw the necessity of some measure for the 
 amendment of the poor-laws ; but he did not therefore think 
 himself bound to support one, which, he was convinced, 
 would not be salutary and useful. He should attempt here- 
 after to show, that the evils, and even the burdens of the 
 poor-laws had been considerably exaggerated *; though he 
 owned they were evils, and though he felt the weight of the 
 burdens . as to the remedy now proposed, he was a friend 
 to the principle of the poor-laws, which was that of unre- 
 stricted compulsorj’ provision for the relief of the indigent. 
 His learned friend would cut up this principle. He fixed 
 a maximum^ which, under no circumstances, should h© 
 exceeded. This, at least, was the original enactment of 
 this Bill , he had now modified it by exceptions, which 
 would entirely take away its effect. This would show the 
 
 They never wer© exaggerated : they are incalculable. 
 
GDNERAL INTRODUCTION, Cclxxi 
 
 House how cautiously they should proceed, when a gen- 
 tleman of so much knowledge as his learned friend, after 
 only a few days’ experience of a measure he had proposed, 
 tliought it necessary entirely to chimge it, &c. &c.* 
 
 Sir R, Wilson mowed that the House do now adjourn. 
 Mr. !Nolan seconded the motion fdr acljournnient. Mr. 
 Scarlett had no objection to the proposition of his honour- 
 able and gallant triend, for it was his interest as well as 
 his anxious wish, that the question should receive all pos- 
 sible discussion. 
 
 July 2. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett rose, not, he said, at the close of the ses- 
 sion, to press any discussion on the bill: indeed, from the 
 outset, he did not express a hope that the bill would be 
 carried through tlie House that session. He would not 
 enter at present into any discussion whatever, but would 
 reserve himself for a further opportunity to answer the ar- 
 guments that had been urged against the bill. It would, 
 in particular, be necessary for him to brush up his law, in 
 order to meet the opposition of his honourable and gallant 
 friend (Sir II. Wilson). Whether they would meet in 
 private contest, or otherwise, he hoped his honourable 
 and gallant friend would not prove more fortunate than he 
 ought to be. He (Mr. Scarlett) was aware that much had 
 been written in order to inflame the public mind on this 
 subject: for himself, be would say, that his attention had 
 been directed to the state of the poor-laws for the last 
 thirty years, and he always was of opinion that they were 
 aws most iiyurious to the community, and most oppres- 
 sive to the poor. He thought they were laws which went 
 to degrade the lower classes. He withdrew the bill for 
 the present ; bat he proposed next session to renew the 
 measure. He would not pledge himself to words, but in 
 
 * Very just, indeed! 
 
J 
 
 OClxxii GENRRAT. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 principle it would be substantial!}^ the same. If he should 
 meet the same sort of support which he had received, he 
 would propose another bill for greater discrimination be- 
 tween the moral claims of persons seeking for relief, and 
 for the purpose of checking the expenditure, which was 
 now a subject of general complaint. He should also pro- 
 pose, that the fathers of families should be no longer bal- 
 loted for the militia, but tliat single men should be com- 
 pelled to seiwe. 
 
 Sir R. Wilson said, that when the measure should be 
 brought forward, he would oppose it every inch. In order 
 to qualify himself to meet the threatened contest with his 
 honourable and learned friend, he would sit down to study 
 black letter during the summer. (A. laugh.) 
 
 Mr. H. Gur?iey said, he hoped the honourable and 
 learned gentleman would duly consider the state of the 
 poor-laws before he attempted to interfere with them. He 
 could not help thinking that the principle of the bill was 
 absurd and injurious. The object of the bill was to pre- 
 vent marriages : it went on the vicious }>rinciple laid down 
 by Mr. Malthus — a principle which was against the laws of 
 nature, and which, if acted on, would not leave an Eng- 
 lishman to till the ground which maintained his forefathers*. 
 He hoped that the House would not be insulted by any of 
 Mr. Malthus’s friends attempting to force upon them tlie 
 adoption of his system. A violent attempt to subvert the 
 poor-laws, was more worthy of a raving madman than a 
 legislator. 
 
 Dr. Lushington said, that if he thought the bill went to 
 interfere with the real comforts of the poor, he would not 
 give it his support; but he looked upon the bill as a mea- 
 sure likely to remove the causes of their degradation, and 
 
 * HearMiear! again. How melancholy is it to think of a 
 Member of Parliament speaking thus ! 
 
GENEUAT- INTROEUCTIOX. cclxxill 
 
 to promote their real independence. The honourable 
 Member liad said that the bill was a measure to prevent 
 marriages : it was no such thing ; it was a bill to take away 
 undue encouragement to improvident marriages. 
 
 Mr. F. Fahner rose, when 
 
 Mr. Scarlett said, that he had avoided all argument on 
 the measure, and he thought it unfair, after he had waved 
 his right, for honourable gentlemen to open a debate, 
 and to misrepresent the principles and objects of the bdl. 
 He might be assimilated to a madman, but the honour- 
 able Gentleman himself was an abhorrer, and an abhorrer 
 could not reason. 
 
 Mr. Gurney assured the honourable and learned Gentle- 
 man that he did not mean to betray, even in appearance, 
 a want of courtesy to him. 
 
 Mr. F. Palmer considered the poor-laws as the char- 
 tered rights of the poor, and hoped the House would 
 pause before it consented to touch them, and inquire sen- 
 ously into the condition of the labouring classes. 
 
 Here we have before us the collective wisdom 
 of Parliament, upon the most important question 
 whicli Parliament can discuss and decide; and this 
 wisdom, now collected together, does not amount 
 to much. The record, nevertheless, is valuable. 
 It might furnish matter for a volume of reflection ; 
 but in making remarks, I shall be brief, and my 
 desire for brevity has already induced me to dis- 
 pose of part of file wisdom by means of foot- 
 notes. 
 
 May 1 ask if any one of the above speakers ever 
 served the office of overseer of the poor, or evei 
 regularly attended vestry meetings for the 
 justment of i)arish business? 1 suspect. 
 
 s 
 
cclxxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is a want of practical knowledge in this way. 
 Most of them, no doubt, have sat on the bench, 
 and attended circuit courts, so as to have abun- 
 dant knowledge of poor-law litigation ; and of this 
 Mr. Scarlett has produced an edifying estimate. 
 He has, in this way, it would seem, studied the 
 poor-laws for 30 years ; but a tenth part of that 
 time, farming in Wiltshire (where the system is 
 most complete, and the poor most enslaved), and 
 being obliged to do parish duties, would have pro- 
 bably given him still more valuable experience — 
 much more insight into the nature of the system, 
 and better lessons for improving or abolishing it. 
 
 But let us adhere to what is before us ; and let 
 me ask if there was ever any thing so monstrous 
 of its kind'as Mr. Scarlett’s leading proposal to fix 
 a maximum of rates. It is an insult to common 
 sense, and all that concerns principle. Had Mr. 
 Gurney alluded solely to this, there would have 
 been no great impropriety in his language. It is 
 more than monstrous ; it is indeed akin to raving 
 madness, in as much as it was totally uncalled for. 
 The Bill is termed the Poor-Relief Bill ; and if 
 there is relief, it must flow out of the poor being 
 freed from that necessity which creates enormous 
 poor-rates. Nobody, I think, but a lawyer could 
 have had the face to make such a proposal. When 
 I spoke of the “ minimum of misery,^’ — the gallon 
 loaf, and threepence a week ; — and wished Eng- 
 lish labourers to look sharp, lest that should be 
 frittered down, I little thought that the minimum 
 might he sunk by means of a maximum : but we 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CclxXV 
 
 iTiay now let the proposal drop, as it met instant 
 and successive reprobation. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett’s second proposal is rational enough, 
 haling all consideration of the one thijig need- 
 ful — the education of the poor, and an opportuniljf 
 for their acquirintj properly and civil rights, Mr. 
 Scarlett would take from the poor their premium 
 for idleness, and give them nothing in return. 
 The poor are now tpiit of all care : war or peace; 
 — plenty or scarcity, are the same to them; and 
 in this changeful world, it is no small blessing to 
 be free from cares dependent upon these. The poor 
 are now independent thus far; and the land is un- 
 questionably mortgaged for their support — for the 
 continuance of their blessings. I, of all men, 
 reprobate the system : nobody has more steadily 
 kept it in view as a national curse; but the landed 
 interest is bound to pay its charges, and they 
 should be glad indeed to get rid of the obligation 
 on liberal terms. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett would have the landed interest 
 reap advantage gratis ; and this too is the wish of 
 Mr. Malthus. No, say I : six millions a year, 
 which you are bound to pay out for the support of 
 idleness, may be purchased, out and out, for mere 
 liberality ; and, without liberality, you shall not get 
 clear. Two millions a year, the remaining part of 
 the whole amount of poor-rates, might be made 
 (piite sufficient, before the end of five years, to 
 defray all costs in supporting the impotent and 
 old, besides educating the children of the poor. 
 He liberal, only, and this charm shall be wrought. 
 
 s 9 
 
cclxxvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 My plan of furnishing land to the poor, either 
 to the full extent with commons, or to half the 
 extent with gardens only, would pay its way : it 
 would cost nothing but the expenses of the act of 
 parliament which gave it being, and authority to 
 proceed. With this plan adopted, all minor mat- 
 ters would be easily settled: the word maximum 
 would then be forgotten, even as a reproach to 
 Mr. Scarlett; and the mightiest evil which he 
 complains of, the law of settlement, would, of 
 itself, disappear. 
 
 Mr. Brougham seems to eye Mr. Scarlett’s Bill 
 with contempt; and any child is entitled to do 
 so; but Mr. Brougham, I suspect, would blink 
 the one thing needful: he does indeed raise a reek 
 about matters of no importance comparatively. 
 He speaks of the subject being “ attended with 
 ffreat difficulty f and points to “ the laws against 
 emigration, combination, and begging ;” but 
 what would all these be, were the people edu- 
 cated, and had they a chance of gaining property 
 and civil rights ! Every difficulty would dis- 
 appear before these benefits granted to the poor; 
 and if these are not granted. Parliament may 
 debate till doomsday without removing the great- 
 est national evil, — the wretched system of Eng- 
 lish poor-laws. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett speaks of the “ intention” of the 
 43d of Elizabeth ; and Sir Robert Wilson calls that 
 statute the Magna Charta of the poor ! ! The 
 43d of Elizabeth laid the foundation for all the 
 present mischief, equally the curse of poor and 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cclxxvii 
 
 rich. The 4d(l of Elizabeth was framed in an un- 
 lucky hour, and from false notions of policy. 
 After the suppression of ntonasteries, and the 
 seizure of church property, which had for ages fed 
 multitudes of poor, and was, indeed, by law, in 
 great part expressly intended for that purpose, 
 swarms of indigent and idle persons spread them- 
 selves over the country, and induced legislators to 
 provide for them by this statute. Great as the 
 necessities of the poor were under circumstances, 
 at that time, much better would it have been to 
 have left nature to cure the evil. The act of Eli- 
 zabeth provided work for the industrious, and pri- 
 sons for the idle; but all should have been left to 
 their shifts, save the old and impotent ; there is no 
 cure so good as hunger for idleness. 
 
 Similar causes, soon after, introduced poor-laws 
 into Scotland. By an act of James VI. indigent 
 children were bound to work for masters till past 
 thirty years of age, and afterwards this law was ra- 
 tified with additions by the Scotch Parliament in 
 the reign of Charles II. empowering masters of 
 manufactories, with the advice of magistrates, to 
 seize vagabonds and idle poor persons, to employ 
 them in their works, and exact of parishes sums 
 of money to assist in their training and mainte- 
 nance for three years, and after that to retain them 
 seven years in service for meat and clothes. 
 
 It was also enacted, by the Scotch Parliament, 
 that overseers of the poor should be appointed by 
 justices of the peace ; and that poor children, and 
 vagabonds, and idlers, should be taken hold of, and 
 
I Q. Q. 
 
 r 
 
 u 
 
 cclxxviii GENERAL INTIIODUC TIOX, 
 
 instructed to fine and iniX wool, spin worsted, and 
 knit stockings. In Scotland all this officious le- 
 gislation did little harm, for education was intro- 
 duced, and completely did away the necessity for 
 its operation. In the year 1610, an Act of Council 
 first established schools, and this was afterwards rati- 
 fied and improved by the first Scotch Parliament of 
 Charles I. It is truly worthy to mark this. 
 The Scotch became enlightened, and got out of 
 the bondage of their poor-laws. The English were 
 kept in ignorance, and at last fell victims to un- 
 thrifty benevolence and mistaken notions of policy. 
 
 For any thing I can see in the debates before us, 
 there seems a strange confusion of ideas with re- 
 gard to the rights of the poor ; and I question if 
 Sir Robert Wilson, who has set himself forward as 
 the champion of these rights, has very clear no- 
 tions of the prize for which he is to contend. His 
 calling of the 43d of Elizabeth the Magna Charta 
 of the poor, justifies suspicion. The effect of tax- 
 ation too, is, I suspect, but indifferently under- 
 stood by some of the orators, particularly as it af- 
 fects the poor of England. Were taxation reduced 
 to-morrow, I know of no change for the better that 
 it would make in the condition of the poor labourers 
 of England, subjected to slavery by the system 
 of the poor-laws. That taxation is now out ot 
 bounds, and that the evil is greatly aggravated by 
 the wretched policy pursued by our present minis- 
 ters, is too obvious. The distress of the labouring 
 classes of Scotland is too good proof of that, though 
 we had no other; but to the poor of England it 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. Cclxxix 
 
 makes no difference whatever. Mr. Cobbett, who 
 launched forth into very free remarks on these de- 
 bates on the poor-laws, and sees through the whole 
 system as clear as any body, has continually bawled 
 out against taxes and paper-money being the sole 
 cause of misery. I entirely differ with him in this. 
 I, am not only a friend to paper-money, as a refine- 
 ment of commerce, and as it is the grand bond for 
 confidence in adventure, — indeed, the only means, 
 of extensive dealings among men ; but the holding 
 it on at the present time, I do consider a matter of 
 sacred importance to the interests of the poor of 
 England, in procuring for them a gradual, genuine, 
 and valuable deliverance from their present state 
 of degradation. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett somewhere asks, “ what rational 
 man expects reform without a blowing-up of 
 paper-money ? ” 1 am certain that Mr. Cobbett is 
 
 not more keen for reform than myself. I have 
 rationally weighed the question of paper-money, 
 and these are my opinions. If the blowing-up 
 of paper-money would blow up borough-mongering 
 alone, much should 1 rejoice to see the explosion ; 
 but if such blowing-up would set loose the poor 
 of England from all restraint before their present 
 habits were improved, and before the rancour 
 which has been generated between them and 
 their masters was allayed and forgotten, God pre- 
 vent every thing like such blowing-up. It has 
 for many years been my decided opinion, that a 
 well-modified property-tax would at once secure 
 to us all the advantage of paper-money, and rid us 
 
cclxxx GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of every disquietude as to its proving our ruin. 
 Without recurrence to this, our risks are great 
 indeed. 
 
 Mr. Scarlett has declared it to be his wish “ to im- 
 prove the moral condition of the poor.” This is the 
 grand point for the poor and for the nation. He is 
 to resume his endeavours next session; and'I have 
 to hope that, by that time, he will give attention to 
 .the means of attaining his object. His “attention,” 
 he says, “ has been directed to the state of the poor- 
 laws for the last thirty years, and he akvays was of 
 opinion that they were laws most injurious to the 
 community and most oppressive to the poor.” I 
 have devoted unceasing attention to the poor-laws 
 for twenty-one years. 1 have not only said, but 
 done ; and I am as sure as that I am in existence, 
 from much experience and practical knowledge, 
 that if Mr. Scarlett does not greatly improve upon 
 his principle of last session — greatly enlarge his 
 views of the subject he has on hand, we can 
 expect nothing but failure. With liberal and en- 
 larged view's, and by attending to the one thing 
 needful, he may immortalize his name. 
 
 My hope of a Commission of Enquiry arriving 
 from Upper Canada becoming less and less every 
 day after the beginning of June; and anxious, as 
 well to keep alive some notice to that subject, as to 
 continue the train of my representations to Parlia- 
 ment with regard to the poor-laws, I wrote out the 
 following Petition, and had it presented to the 
 Ifouse of Commons by Sir James Mackintosh the 
 
GKNEKAL INTUODUCTION. cclxxxi 
 
 27th June; {\nd as Sir Robert Wilson had spoken 
 up for the rights of the poor, I sent him a copy, 
 that he might understand my notions of what was 
 required to establish their rights*. 
 
 * 35, Abchurch Lancy 21st June, 1821. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In March last, while expectation was high regarding Naples, 
 
 I addressed to you a few lines + on the suggestion of a friend, 
 and afterwards thinking that I had made too free, my friend 
 sought you to give explanation, but you had changed your place 
 of residence: f had gone to the country, and, before my return, 
 the game was up. 
 
 You have asserted, on the question of the poor-laws, that the 
 poor have Hghts which others deny, and in the abstract there may 
 be doubt. I handed to Sir James Mackintosh, t’other day, a Pe- 
 tition, wherein I assert, that real and substantial rights have been 
 taken from the poor, and that they ought to have compensation. 
 As the subject is now in discussion, and as I observe you continue 
 to keep it in lyiind, I take the liberty to accompany this with a copy 
 of my Petition, which I hope Sir James Mackintosh will this day 
 present. Should you honour it with perusal, I flatter myself you 
 may find matter for serious and important consideration. 1 rust- 
 ing that you will excuse this liberty. I have the honour to be, 
 
 Your’s, &c. 
 
 Sir Robert Wilson, 
 
 f London, 24th March, 1821. 
 
 ol 
 
 Having heard that you are to proceed to Italy, in aid of Neapolitan 
 independence, and having some inclination to go thither, on the same 
 ernuul, X should be happy to have the honourof conversing with you on 
 the subject. Should you admit of this, you will have the goodness to say, 
 when and where 1 may sec you. 
 
 I am, your’s, &c. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 35, Abchurch Lane, 
 
 Sir Robert Wilson, 
 
cclxxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 To the Honourable the Commons of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in 
 Parliament assembled. 
 
 * 
 
 THE PETITION OF ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 SHEWETH, 
 
 That your Petitioner had presented to your Honoura- 
 ble House on the 11th day of J uly, 1820, a Petition pro 
 forina, the object of which was to call attention to the 
 state of Upper Canada, as it concerned emigration. 
 
 That your Petitioner would again and seriously have 
 moved in this business at an earlier period of the present 
 session, but for an expectation that a Commission might 
 come home from the Province to strengthen his suit. 
 
 That this expectation having now vanished, your Peti- 
 tioner begs leave to state to your Honourable House, more 
 particularly what was his prime object in soliciting 
 attention to the subject of emigration. 
 
 That with this view your Petitioner has 'to say that 
 for more than twenty years he has made the subject of 
 the English poor-laws a peculiar study. 
 
 That his attention was first riveted to this study, from 
 being employed by the Board of Agriculture in the years 
 1800 and 1801, to make inquiry in certain parts of England, 
 as to the condition of the labouring poor, and into a prac- 
 tice which prevailed of giving them land for the keep of 
 cows, by which they could live without parish aid. 
 
 That the inquiries of your Petitioner completely esta- 
 blished the fact in question, according to the shewing of 
 the Board of Agriculture itself, published in 1816, under 
 the title of ‘‘ Agricultural State of the King- 
 dom.” 
 
 That the object of the Honourable Board, in iiscertain- 
 ing this fact, was to have introduced into a bill, for the 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cclxxxiii 
 
 general enclosure of commons and waste lands, a clause, by 
 which all poor people, who had rights of pasture, &c. upon 
 such commons and wastes, should each have secured to 
 him a portion of land, whereon he might keep a cow, and 
 thereby be enabled to subsist without public relief. 
 
 That this general Enclosure Bill was laid aside ; and 
 that since then many hundreds of commons have been en- 
 closed by local bills, without any attention to the claims of 
 the poor; many thousands of whom have been unjustly 
 deprived of their ancient rights of pasturage, &c. ; and 
 that this, among other causes, has contributed to the pre- 
 sent dependence of English labourers on parish aid. 
 
 That your Petitioner, though he did not coincide in 
 opinion with his employers, in 1800 and 1801, as to the 
 particular mode of proceeding then proposed, for the bene- 
 fit of labourers and the keeping down of poor-rates, was 
 so much struck with the necessity of making great changes, 
 to avert the evils springing out of the English system ot 
 poor-laws, that he resolved to shape the course ot his life, 
 so as to have opportunity fully to investigate the subject; 
 and, in order to gain practical experience, did remove 
 from Scotland, his native country, into England, chiefly 
 with that view, and in the hope ot being able to devise 
 some remedy for the greatest of national evils. Ihis he 
 did in 1809, and for upwards of seven years devoted much 
 attention to the subject. 
 
 That after due consideration, your Petitioner became 
 assured that the first essential for a radical reform of the 
 poor-laws w^as the education of the rising generation. 
 
 That however necessary this was, your Petitioner found 
 that the system of the poor-laws had already completely 
 formed a bar against tlie possibility of its being accom- 
 plished without the special interference of the legislature. 
 
 That your Petitioner, to gain attention to this subject, 
 had a petition presented to the Honourable the House of 
 Commons the 30th May, 1815. 
 
cclxxxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 That your Petitioner further discovered, tliat through 
 the action of poor-laws, labourers had been deprived of 
 all property in houses and land ; and being thereby render- 
 ed incapable of locomotion, were completely subjected 
 to the will and caprice of farmers, overseers, and others. 
 
 That your Petitioner, in order to attract notice to this 
 part of the business, and to other matters essential for the 
 cure of the greatest of national maladies, had a Petition 
 presented to the Honourable House of Commons the 
 28th February, 1817. 
 
 That your Petitioner still saw, that though all his pro- 
 posals were adopted, that something more might be required, 
 safely and effectually to accomplish the grand object of 
 abolishing the system of the poor-laws, and that an artifi- 
 cial vent would be required for redundant population, 
 during a series of years, while the process of reform was 
 proceeding. 
 
 That at this very time an unexpected and extraordinary 
 change of fortune drove your Petitioner abroad to Upper 
 Canada, to look out for a place of refuge for himself 
 and family. 
 
 That your Petitioner, being in Upper Canada, disco- 
 vered that that country could afford the vent required 
 for the redundant population of England, and upwards 
 of three years ago he did send home a communication, 
 to be laid before Lord Bathurst, intimating what he had 
 then in contemplation. 
 
 That a singularly unfortunate train of events detained 
 your Petitioner in Upper Canada, involved him in political 
 discussions, exposed him to the most groundless scandal, 
 subjected him to the most cruel persecutions, finally ending 
 in imprisonment and banishment from the province ; not 
 only unmerited, but palpably illegal and unconstitutional. 
 
 That your Petitioner, notwithstanding that his healtli 
 has suffered beyond all hope of repair, from ungracious 
 treatment abroad, and that his spirits have been sunk with 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cclxxxv 
 
 the most mournful calamities at home, has devoted all the 
 efforts of a weakened mind, up to the present time, to ad- 
 vance the vast object at which he has been so long* aiming, 
 and still aims. 
 
 That your Petitioner has become more and more solici- 
 tous for attention to his proposal and schemes for the 
 reform of English poor-laws, and the giving vent to redun- 
 dant population, since he has seen a bill introduced into 
 your Honourable House, clearly drawn up without prac- 
 tical knowledge of the system of the poor-laws, or a due 
 consideration of circumstances. 
 
 That your Petitioner has long considered the principle 
 of population, as laid down by Mr. Malthus, and on which 
 Mr. Scarlett’s Bill seems to be founded, to be sound in the 
 abstract: that he has long wished to see all need for 
 poor-laws done away; and believes it perfectly possible 
 tliat they may be entirely done away, with advantage as 
 well to the poor as to the rich. Yet, as circumstances 
 stand, he is still more assured that substantial benefits 
 must be granted to the poor; — that they must have oppor- 
 tunity given them to acquire property and civil rights, be- 
 fore their present rights of applying for public relief, are 
 encroached upon, or taken away: — he is assured, that 
 Mr. Scarlett’s Bill, as it now stands, would at once be 
 ineflScient and dangerous in execution: that it would 
 certainly, if made into law, engender discontent, and lead 
 on to general insurrection. 
 
 Your Petitioner most seriously entertaining this belief, 
 filled with anxiety and alarm from the aspect of public 
 affairs, and conscious that wise and liberal measures may 
 not only retrieve the country from jeopardy, but lay a 
 foundation for its glorious security, in the improved morals 
 and better worldly circumstances of tlie lower orders of 
 society, does humbly and earnestly entreat your Honour- 
 able House to pause, and reflect well on the subject of the 
 poor-laws. 
 
 Your Petitioner is willing to be called to the bar of 
 
cclxxxvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 your Honourable House, or before any Committee, to sub- 
 stantiate what he has set forth, and to enter into anv 
 required explanation of his pretensions, principles, and 
 proposals. 
 
 He would more particularly entreat, that the state of 
 Upper Canada may be iinmediately taken into consider- 
 ation, that preparations may, this year, be made to admit 
 of a grand system of emigration being commenced by the 
 following spring, in unison with a plan for reforming the 
 poor-laws. 
 
 And your Petitioner will ever pray, 
 
 June 16, 1821. ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 It will be observed, that I conclude my Petition 
 with entreating, that preparations may ^ this year j 
 he made to admit of a grand system of Emigration^ 
 being commenced hy the following springs in unison 
 with a plan for reforming the Poor-Laws.'^ In 
 summer, 1820, when communicating with Sir 
 James Mackintosh, as to the objects I had in view, 
 for strengthening the connexion between this 
 country and Upper Canada, I informed him of my 
 wish to prove what might be done, by a practical 
 experiment, in settlement. When I put this last 
 Petition into his hands, I again called attention to 
 this subject ; and, for some days, J am afraid, must 
 have teased him with my written notes on the 
 subject. ]\Iy anxiety to have the matter spoken of 
 before the House, when Sir James presented the 
 Petition, was excessive ; but not a word, I believe, 
 was said. My anxiety could not rest; and, how- 
 ever little chance there was for a liberal hearing, 
 from the Colonial Department, I, at last, resolved 
 to address myself to Lord Bathurst; and the 
 following corresf^ondence ensued. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cclxxxvii 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 WITH THE COLONIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 I^ndoTiy September Sd, 1821. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Having a purpose to collect together a 
 number of people willing to emigrate to Canada, and to 
 proceed to that colony for settlement, under the best cir- 
 cumstances for the comfort of all, it becomes desirable to 
 know, upon what terms government will giant land in aid 
 of such purpose. 
 
 It would therefore be obliging, were your Lordship to 
 order information to be communicated to me on the 
 subject. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Your Lordship’s obedient servant, 
 
 Robert Gourlay. 
 
 Earl Batliurst. 
 
 Letters find me, addressed to the care of 
 35^ Abchurch Lane. 
 
 Downing Street j Colonial Department^ 
 ^th September^ 1821. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In reply to your letter, dated the third in- 
 stant, I am directed by Lord Bathurst to acquaint you that 
 his Majesty’s government no longer give encouragement to 
 persons proceeding as settlers to his Majesty’s possessions 
 in North America, beyond a grant of land which they will 
 receive on applying to the governor of the province, propor- 
 tioned to the means of cultivation, which they may possess, 
 on their arrival in the colony. 
 
 Passages are not granted by Government. 
 
 I am. Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 Henry Goulburn. 
 
 Mr. Rol>ert Gourlay. 
 
 2 
 
suance of your direction, by letter, dated 5th September, 
 1821, that ‘‘ his Majesty’s goveruinent no longer give 
 encouragement to persons proceeding as settlers to his 
 Majesty’s possessions in North America, beyond a 
 grant of land, which they will receive on applying to the 
 governor of the province, proportioned to the means of 
 cultivation, which they may possess, oh their arrival in 
 the colony.” 
 
 The important point for persons intending to emigrate 
 is, to be certain as to the quantity of land which they 
 will receive for certain means; and that, before they 
 leave home. Crossing the Atlantic is a serious matter, 
 and disappointment, after having crossed it, is still more 
 so. My brother went out to Upper Canada in 1817, 
 applied regularly by petition for land: took the oath of 
 allegiance, and paid fees ; but had nothing save insolence 
 in return. He remained in the province eleven months, 
 and then left it for want of employment and object. 
 
 The terms upon which land is granted are changed 
 from time to time, and the fees, which in 1816 were 
 very trifling, are now raised, for large grants, to a serious 
 sum, nearly equal to the price at which the best wild 
 land in the United States can be purchased*. Were 
 
 * The feesy originally, were dollars per each lot of 200 
 acres. In 1817, they were raised to 41y dollars ; and the highest 
 grant, viz. of 1200 acres, cost a little more than ^052. 
 
 In the Upper Canada Gazette of January 7th, 1819, the 
 following official order was published. 
 
 Executive Council Office^ York, 5th Jan. 1819. 
 
 It is this day ordered by his Excellency the Lieutenant- 
 Governor in Council, that, in consideration of the increased value 
 
GENERAL INTRODLCTION* Cclxxxix 
 
 SiJltlers to sail uext spring in expectation that on their 
 arrival in the colony, “ they would receive, on applying 
 
 of land, {land had been falling in pricey for three years^ and 
 continues to fall, up to the present time, 1821,) the fee on the 
 patent on all orders for grants of land, pronounced after this date, 
 shall be according to the following table. 
 
 sterling* 
 
 £ «• d. 
 
 One hundred acres ....... 5 14 1 
 
 Two hundred acres 16 17 6 
 
 Three hundred acres 24 1 1 7 
 
 Four hundred acres 32 5 8 
 
 Five hundred acres . 39 19 9 
 
 Six hundred acres 47 13 10 
 
 Seven hundred acres . * 55 7 11 
 
 Eight hundred acres 63 2 0 
 
 Nine hundred acres 7016 1 
 
 One thousand acres 78102 
 
 Eleven hundred acres 86 4 3 
 
 Twelve hundred acres 93 18 4 
 
 J. SMALL, 
 
 Clk, Ex, Coun. 
 
 In the Upper Canada Gazette of Jan. 6, 1820, the following 
 official order appeared : 
 
 Executive Council Office, York, I4th Dec, 1819. 
 
 Whereas it is desirable to alleviate the situation of the poorer 
 classes of settlers, by an exemption from any charge on the 
 patent-deed, and also to remove all obstacles from the more free 
 accommodation of others, with larger grants than have been 
 usually made, his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor in Council 
 has been pleased to order, that the first-mentioned class of settlers 
 may receive a gratuitous grant of fifty acres, under exclusion, be it 
 understood, from any further graut from the Crown, but with 
 liberty to lease the reserves. 
 
 t 
 
\ 
 
 ccxc 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to tlie governor, a grant of land in proportion to tlit? 
 means of cultivation upon the same rule that was fol- 
 lowed tliis year, their expectations might be blasted l»y 
 
 To meet the above gratuity and increased burdens, attending 
 the purchase and distribution of lands, &c. it is ordered, that the 
 scale of demands on the grant of one hundred acres, and upwards, 
 shall be regulated according to the annexed table, to take effect 
 from the 1st Jan. 1820. 
 
 It is further ordered, that the restriction from sale for three 
 years be abolished; and that deeds may issue, on proper 
 certificates of the performance of settling duties being produced. 
 The grantee will be required to clear one half of the road in front 
 of each lot, and the depth of two and one half chains, from the 
 road, the whole length of every lot, and erect a dwelling house. 
 
 FPES. 
 
 Upon all grants of land, issuing under orders in Council, bcarii^ 
 date subsequent to 1st January, 1820, the following sums will be 
 
 paid by the patentee: 
 
 sterling. 
 
 
 me imro, on receipt ot the fiat for the patent. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCXCI 
 
 a change of rule. It may be, by next year, determined to 
 grant no more land, or to grant it on such terms as to 
 render it not worth the fees, or price put upon it. 
 
 By correspondence with various parts of the country, 
 I am assured that I could get a large body of people 
 to go with me by next spring, and it is now time to be 
 making arrangements for an undertaking so arduous and 
 decisive of fate and fortune. Your Lordship, no doubt, 
 has controul over all rules for granting land in Canada, 
 and can therefore assure me upon the subject of my 
 inquiries. 
 
 May I therefore beg the favour that your Lordship 
 will take matters into serious consideration, and in an- 
 other communication give me those assurances which are 
 requisite for my plans being carried into execution, with- 
 out risk of such disappointment as I have above sup- 
 posed possible. 
 
 I have in view to settle towards the higher part of 
 Lower Canada, and should wish a grant of land out of 
 that still in possession of the Crown, which lies nearest 
 to Montreal. It may be in your Lordship’s power to 
 determine as to the location in this country, and the 
 comfort which settlers would have, from such determina- 
 tion, would be very great indeed. It would enable them 
 to have preparations made on the granted land before they 
 got out to take possession of it, very essential both for 
 comfort and economy. 
 
 I am, your Lordship’s obedient servant, 
 Robert Gourlay. 
 
 Earl Bathurst. 
 
 Address as before mentioned. 
 
 No Petition can be entertained, unless accompanied by a 
 written character, or a satisfactory reason shewn for such not 
 being produced. 
 
 JOHN SMALL, 
 
 Clk. £s, Coun. 
 
CCXcii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Downing Street, September 15//«, 1821. 
 
 Sir,, 
 
 In reply to your letter of the 7th instant, 
 addressed to Lord Bathurst, I ain directed by his Lord- 
 ship to acquaint you, that it is impossible to give you any 
 more definite answer than what you have already received, 
 respecting grants of land to individuals proceeding to the 
 North American Colonies, the local government being the 
 only fit judges of the means which a party may possess for 
 cultivating lands in the province, and of the extent which 
 it may be proper to assign to them. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 Henry Goulburn. 
 
 Mr. Robert Gourlay. 
 
 Margate, 2d October, 1821. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Mr. Goulburn’s letter of 15th ultimo, in 
 reply to mine of the 7th, addressed to your Lordship, reach- 
 ed me in course; but ill health, which has induced me to 
 come to this place for recovery, has caused me to delay 
 again troubling your Lordship on the subject of emigration. 
 I have, indeed, hesitated a little, whether I should continue 
 this correspondence, being very unwilling to make unavail- 
 ing trouble. On mature reflection, however, I feel that I 
 should not be satisfied with myself, without more particu- 
 larly communicating my views ; and your Lordship will, I 
 trust, listen to explanation, whatever 1ie the result. 
 
 Mr. Goulburn says, in his last letter to me, “ It is im- 
 possible to give you any more definite answer, than what 
 you have already received, respecting grants of land to in- 
 dividuals, proceeding to North American colonies.”^ Now, 
 what I wish to treat about, does not concern me as an in- 
 dividual only. As an individual, I could readily procure, 
 on going either to Canada, or to the United States of 
 
 
GKNEUAL IxVTKODUCTlON. CCXciii 
 
 America, more land than I could myself cultivate. It is 
 now four years since I first proposed to conduct to Canada 
 a large party of settlers, and, indeed, to make a continued 
 business of promoting emigration. I studied the subject in 
 Canada, found that my scheme could be put in practice, at 
 once to my own and the public benefit, and took every 
 means to qualify myself for the undertaking. I sent home 
 three letters, to be presented to your Lordship, all with one 
 uniform and settled determination ; and, as I have more 
 and more reflected on what I had, and still have in view, 
 the more am I inclined to proceed. The letters alluded to, 
 were dated 3d November, 1817; February 7tli, 1818; and 
 24th March, 1818; and, no doubt, were shown to your 
 Lordship, through the medium of Sir Henry Torrens *. 
 In these letters, I spoke of a contract, which I was desirous 
 to make with Government, for the settlement of Canada 
 with British subjects ; and it is this contract which I would 
 still willingly engage with. Under this contract, I could 
 pay to Government a considerable sum of money for the 
 land, and greatly promote tlie comfort and prosperity of 
 settlers. Although the value of land has, of late years, 
 greatly fallen in America, I could afford to pay Govern- 
 ment one dollar per acre ; say, for one million of acres to 
 begin with, by three instalments, at the end of five, six, 
 and seven years, and so on for an indefinite term, re- 
 ceiving more and more land from Government, to settle as 
 the process went on, and payments were made good. 
 Could your Lordship come to a resolution to promote a 
 liberal scheme of this sort, within the present month of 
 October, I could go out to Canada, have arrangements 
 made for settlement, and be back before April next, to 
 conduct settlers to their destination. Nothing more would 
 be required than your Lordship^s countenance, to enable 
 every thing to be managed to the best advantage. This 
 
 ♦ Sec these Letters, page 459, vol. II. 
 
I 
 
 u 
 
 rCXciv GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 country could spare 50,000 people annually, to be thus 
 conducted abroad; and I should have no difficulty to pro- 
 cure 10,000 to go out in one body by April next. When 
 your Lordship has entered into a thorough investigation of 
 the subject, these numbers will not appear at all extra- 
 vagant to reckon upon, nor will there seem any difficulty 
 in managing the concern. The distress throughout the 
 country, for want of work, is general; and, after the en- 
 suing term of Michaelmas, will be greatly increased. No 
 rise in the price of corn will enable farmers to employ la- 
 bourers so liberally this winter ensuing as they did last 
 winter, and curtailing employment in Government works, 
 as is now done by throwing labourers idle one day out of 
 six, will, I am afraid, greatly aggravate misfortune. Emi- 
 gration to the fullest extent would not much abate this dis- 
 tress, as it proceeds from extraordinary causes, which re- 
 quire special remedies; but a timely disposition on the 
 part of Government to promote any species or degree of 
 relief, would assist in lessening discontent. My hope of 
 establishing a liberal system of emigration, does not rest on 
 the present emergency, nor any temporary distress. , Emi- 
 gration could be carried to greatest extent, and with best 
 effect, were the country flourishing. In the mean time, 
 public calamity ought certainly to plead for its encourage- 
 ment, and I hope your Lordship may still take serious 
 tliought of the subject. Your Lordship most, no doubt, 
 have the fullest information from every quarter, as to the 
 state of the country, and can need none from me. Hav- 
 ing viewed both England and Scotland, however, all over 
 from north to south, and from east to west, with my own 
 eyes, within the last two years, and, having from lime to 
 time, information from intelligent correspondents in va- 
 rious quarters, I cannot resist expressing anxiety and 
 dread of consequences. On the subject of emigration, I 
 shall here beg leave to transcribe part of a letter from one 
 of my friends, dated 23d Augm, 1821. - You may get 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCXCV 
 
 as many people iis you please, to go from ■ — 
 
 «■ with you to Canada. More than half of the farmers 
 
 have been thrown out in the late bad times, and will not 
 require much persuasion to emigrate. There is one family 
 tliat I have spoke to, (I mean one of the sons) that will 
 gladly go, and, as he was bred to the dairy system, he 
 might make a figure in that capacity. He would soon get 
 a dairy-woman with him for a wife. They rented a farm 
 
 within a mile of ■ ■ at £517 of rent, on 
 
 which tliey had thirty-eight as fine cows as were in the 
 country. They failed, and were turned out with great 
 severity. Their stock sold at less than half-price^ and the 
 farm is now let at £200. They paid rent five years, (I set 
 them the land myself) and lost at least £1000 by the con- 
 cern : of this £500 by the harsh roup {sale by auction) of 
 tlieir stock.” 
 
 “ Every season great ship-loads of people emigrate from 
 Greenock to Canada. There is a cargo of GOO or 800 mak- 
 ing up just now by a Greenock vessel, but loading at Fort 
 William. But from Greenock itself every ship carries out 
 emigrants, chiefly country people from the counties of 
 Benfrew and Ayr. Were I twenty years younger, I would 
 go myself.” 
 
 How noble and generous would it be, my Lord, to set 
 about arranging plans, by which such poor distressed 
 people as those above spoken of, could have something like 
 certainty and comfort to look forward to in the colonics, 
 whither they are desirous to proceed. Emigrants now go 
 out to Canada, only upon a chance of getting land worth 
 acceptance. A thousand doubts torment them : a thousand 
 difficulties and disappointments wait upon their movements. 
 From their native country, and the society of friends, tliey 
 have to enter into gloomy solitude : they have to cut out 
 the road before them into the wilderness : they have there 
 to take np their abode, while yet unskilled in tlie art of 
 settlement, and unprepared by experience, to guard against 
 
CCXCVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 numerous and frightful accidents : they have often to strive, 
 at once, against poverty and sickness. ISTot one in ten of 
 those who go out to Canada, have, within themselves, 
 the means of making comfortable commencement; and 
 not the half of these can put even sufficient means 
 to speedy and economical account, for want of plan 
 and arrangement. Public arrangements for emigrants 
 were miserable, when I was abroad. They are yet alto- 
 gether defective, and every account sent home gives proof 
 of consequent misery. All this can be prevented by 
 your Lordship’s endeavours, if seriously and strenuously 
 applied. It was reported to me, on coming home, that 
 your liordship bad said, on hearing some representation 
 which I had made, as to the distress of emigrants, that “I 
 should take care of myself,” and, no doubt, it would be well, 
 could I do so. Could I do this, and benefit tens of 
 thousands of my fellow creatures, surely it would still be 
 better. I have suffered more disappointment than, perhaps, 
 any man alive, and hold no enviable situation at present; 
 yet, my Lord, such is the consolation from good intention, 
 that the balance of enjoyment may not, after all, be greatly 
 against me. It is in your Lordship’s power to set on foot a 
 scheme of benevolence, beyond any thing yet witnessed by 
 the world : it is my delight to reflect even upon the 
 possibility of such being realized. There is not a man who 
 is desirous of quitting the country, that it is not politic for 
 government to aid in his getting out of it ; at least if he is 
 willing to settle in a British Colony. There he can be so 
 placed as to reimburse every charge incuiTed by his 
 removal trom home. It would be wrong in me to attempt 
 going into any detail for your Lordship’s information, as to 
 plans of settlement, on this occasion ; but, I shall, at all 
 times, be ready to wait upon your Lordship witli every 
 particular, if required. Last year the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer said, that » His Majesty’s Ministers were 
 disposed to adopt every measure which could really 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCXCvii 
 
 contribute to the relief of tlie labouring classes,” and that 
 “ Government were disposed to give every facility to any 
 practical scheme, for mitigating the distresses of the labour- 
 ing classes*.” Now, my Lord, I declare myself ready to lay 
 before you a practical scheme for mitigating distress, by 
 emigration, with reflection on the above quotation. 1 l our 
 Lordship must be sensible, that more than the labouring 
 classes want relief, “ more than half the farmers have been 
 thrown out in the late bad times, and will not require much 
 persuasion to emigrate.” These are the words of my 
 friend, a man of the first-rate intelligence upon such a 
 subject. These words should seriously be considered by 
 your Lordship, and they may be submitted to the Chancellor 
 of the Excheqtier, with my offer of a scheme for mitigating 
 distress. His Majesty’s Ministers can determine imme- 
 diately as to granting land in Canada ; and all that would 
 be required at present, would be an assurance that, as 
 many people as were willing, by April next, should be 
 allowed to settle down so compactly together as best to 
 promote the general good. A our Lordship must know, 
 that one-seventh of all the wild land in Canada, when it 
 comes to be surveyed for settlement, must be set aside, and 
 appropriated for the maintenance of a protestant clergy ; 
 and, this being settled by law, cannot be altered but by the 
 interference of the Imperial Parliament : my plan could 
 proceed without any alteration in this law; but were it 
 shewn that it would be for general good that the law should 
 be changed, this, I doubt not, could readily be accomplished 
 during next session of Parliament, in time to let settlement 
 in Canada proceed free of all obstruction. I have not 
 supposed, that your Lordship is ignorant of my peculiar 
 situation, connected wdtli Upper Canada. Did your Lord- 
 Ship labour under any prejudice, or misapprehension as 
 to this, it would still be wrong to allow any thing of tlie 
 
 * See page iii. 
 
CCXCVlll 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 kind to intercept schemes of public beneficence. If my 
 schemes can be shewn to be angelic, your Lordship is 
 welcome to believe me diabolical. My schemes can be 
 executed very well, even without my personal engagement 
 in the performance of them. I have spoken of going out to 
 Canada forthwith, to prepare the way for emigrants ; but 
 any other person might go in my place. I have spoken of 
 it, rather to shew my zeal for public good, than with any 
 pai'ticular relish for winter voyages ; and more than a year 
 ago, I told Sir James Mackintosh, that I should submit to 
 go out in chains, rather than that the cause of well- 
 conducted emigration should fail. If a million of acres 
 seem too many at once to contract for, or to talk about, a 
 township of 64,000 acres would give room sufficient to 
 make an experiment in. To arrange for the settlement of 
 a single township, I should go out to Canada, if required 
 by government, without a farthing of emolument, and merely 
 upon payment of my expenses. The important point is to 
 have matters determined on within the present mouth of 
 October. I shall be again in town by the end of this week, 
 and shall be happy to have a definite reply to my suggestions 
 by Monday or Tuesday next, addressed tome as before. 
 
 I am, your Lordship’s obedient servant, 
 
 Earl Bathurst. 
 
 ROBT. GOURLAY. 
 
 Downing Street, Wilt Ocf. 1821. 
 
 K, 
 
 I am directed by Lord Batliurst to acknowledge tlic 
 receipt of your letter ol the 2d instant, stating, in reply to 
 my former communication, that it is not your object to 
 settle individually in Canada, but that you are anxious to 
 enter into some contract with Government, for conducting 
 emigrants to that colony, on a very large scale; and to 
 acquaint you, in reply, that from what is stated in your 
 letter, Lord Bathurst cannot encourage any expectation of 
 
 1 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCXcix 
 
 his giving his sanction to the measure which you have in 
 contemplation. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 HENRY GOULBURN. 
 
 Mr. Robt. Gourlay. 
 
 Although the above correspondence has proved 
 of no avail either to me or the public, it is never- 
 theless valuable for record. It shews how com- 
 pletely indifferent Lord Bathurst is to the duties 
 of his office — how callous to distress at home — how 
 regardless of the interests of Upper Canada. I 
 asked him for no favour : 1 made a proposal advan- 
 tageous for the public : I offered to effect what 
 Ministers have pretended that they wished to be 
 effected. While for many years, under his admi- 
 nistration, the land of Upper Canada has been 
 thrown away for nothing, and worse than nothing, 
 to beget misery to the actual settler, and no good 
 to the favoured drone — to reward sloth and iniquity, 
 I offered him for it a dollar an acre, and this to be 
 put into the British treasury ; nor should I require 
 any thing but the patronage of Government to make 
 good the contract proposed to any extent. I 
 offered to contract, or merely to assist in doing 
 good ; but the Minister disdains every proposal, 
 lie will neither do nor let do. Like the dog in the 
 manger, his sole object is to prevent enjoyment. 
 What does such a man get enormous salaries for, 
 out of the taxation of England? But every body 
 knows ; and it were pity to lose time with useless 
 inquiry. 
 
ccc 
 
 GENliKAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Since the end of the war. Ministers have prated 
 over and over again about relieving distress, by 
 promoting emigration. They have squandered 
 considerable sums of public money, to make show 
 of their good will to emigration ; but their words 
 have been deceitful, and their schemes and efforts 
 alike delusive — mere pretences of hypocrisy, in the 
 garb of charity and benevolence. 
 
 In April, 1820, » Lord Archibald Hamilton sug- 
 gested emigration to our colonies in North America, 
 as the most effectual means of mitigating distress,” 
 (see page iii) and he had a private conference with 
 Ministers on the subject. The result was, that 
 money was privately allowed to assist emigration 
 from the west of Scotland. Nothing like a plan 
 was laid down for the economical application of 
 this money : no clear idea was formed regarding 
 the art of settlement in the wilderness, which is the 
 grand desideratum, and which should be understood 
 before a penny more of public money is wasted. 
 It IS by my knowledge of that art, or shall I call it 
 a science, after studying it in all its bearings, its 
 practical process, and its results, for more than four 
 years, that I could, with the mere patronage of Go- 
 vernment, fulfil a contract like that above proposed ; 
 and it is by that knowledge I speak with confi- 
 ence. I suspected that the trifling suggestions of 
 or Archibald Hamilton, privately listened to by 
 Ministers, and carried into effect in an underhand 
 and partial way, would come to nothing. I in- 
 quired into its progress, and could hear no good of 
 >t, either here or in Canada ; nay, in Canada, I 
 Know that It was productive of misery; and now 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCl 
 
 we sec the scheme is abandoned, from an article 
 which has just appeared in most of the London 
 newspapers, extracted from an Edinburgh paper: — 
 
 ‘‘ EMIGRATION TO CANADA.” 
 
 ‘‘ We learn, that notwithstanding the earnest and reiter- 
 ated entreaties of the gentlemen of Renfrew and Lanark- 
 shire, who promoted the recent emigration to Canada, that 
 Government have decidedly refused giving future emigrants 
 the pecuniary bounty of £10 to each, which has been en- 
 joyed by those who went out during this and the preceding 
 year. Grants of land will be given to settlers as before ; 
 and they w ill be gratuitously furnished with husbandry im- 
 plements, but nothing further.” 
 
 Here we see the policy of Government up to 
 the last moment of time, and two months after I 
 offered to give my advice and assistance, by which 
 any number of people might be settled in the North 
 American colonies, not at a loss even of “ hus- 
 bandry implements,^’ but to a very profit for 
 the country ; not with misery ^ but comfort to the 
 emigrants ; not on a small scale, which can effect 
 no good, but on a large one, which would be every 
 way advantageous to individuals and the nation* 
 
 PUBLICATIONS ON CANADA. 
 
 Since I first proposed in Canada to publish a 
 Statistical Account of the Province, and had that 
 proposal made known to Lord Bathurst, through 
 direct communication, and to the British public, 
 tlfrough newspapers here, no less than seven pro- 
 ductions have issued from the press, regarding Up- 
 per Canada, and chiefly with a view to promote 
 
cccu 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 emigration thither. Not one of these has given 
 any thing approaching to a true statement of what 
 they affect to discuss; and upon the whole, they 
 have done any thing but good to the province, or 
 the nation at large. Several of these abound in 
 such misrepresentations, as no child could fail to 
 detect ; extolling the government of Canada, ut- 
 tering execrations against that of the United States, 
 and slandering all who have connexion with, or 
 regard for, that country ! ! Nay, making a river 
 the boundary between a healthy and pestilent at- 
 mosphere— a rich and a sterile soil ! Had such 
 stuff been published only by the Honourable, and 
 Reverend, and Doctor Strachan, whose weakness 
 IS so well exposed in the above extract from the 
 Scotsman, it would have been less worthy of no- 
 tice ; but we have a serifes of these trashy per- 
 formances, obviously cherished with the counte- 
 nance of governmait ; and for this reason it will be 
 of consequence to glance at the whole of them in 
 order of their dates. 
 
 The first was the production of « Charles 
 E. Grece, Member of the Montreal and Quebec 
 Agricultural Societies, and Author of Essays on 
 Husbandry, addressed to the Canadian Farmers.” 
 This person seems to have come home from the 
 vicinity of Montreal (where he appears to have a 
 farm), a few months after the arrival of the Duke of 
 Richmond in Canada as Governor-in-Chief ; and 
 one might suspect that he had received a com- 
 mission to eulogize a man who never, to my know- 
 ledge, cither did good in the province, or knew 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCciii 
 
 how to do it. lie dedicates his book to the Go- 
 vcrnor-in-Chief, with these, among other fulsome 
 compliments : “ The justice and humanity of your 
 administration, and the fostering care and zeal for 
 the welfare of these provinces, which you have ever 
 manifested since you were first appointed to the 
 high office which you now hold, are the strongest 
 characteristics of true greatness.” The “ triie 
 (jreatness" had by this time shewn itself no where, 
 that I ever heard of, but in the tennis-court, on the 
 turf, or elsewhere. And “ the justice and huma- 
 nity'' was then suffering me, a native-born British 
 subject, to remain in prison, contrary to that con- 
 stitution, which it was the special business of the 
 Governor-in-Chief to have understood and main- 
 tained: but, all this, a sycophant can pass over, 
 and try to shut his eyes against, by such words as 
 these, “ My confidence is increased by the per- 
 suasion that your liberal and comprehensive mind 
 will duly appreciate the motives that have led to 
 its publication,” and “ indeed the chief honour to 
 which he aspires, as the author of this work, is, 
 that he may secure your Grace’s approbation, and 
 have the privilege of subscribing himself. 
 
 Your Grace’s most obedient. 
 
 And most devoted humble Servant, 
 
 Charles E. Grece. 
 
 London, March 25 , 1819 .” 
 
 The main part of Mr. 'Grece’s book, seems to 
 have little else in view, but to scandalize Mr. Birk- 
 beck and the Illinois territory; and I would almost 
 
ccciv 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 suspect, was written for him in London. It greatly 
 resembles the virulent stuff which ap{)eared in the 
 Quarterly Review, intended at once to throw a 
 damp on the spirit of emigration, and to scandalize 
 Mr. Rirkbeck. Mr. Grece is ashamed of Mr. Cob- 
 bett ; but cannot resist to borrow his darts for 
 the destruction of my friend. Mr. Grece says, 
 “ venemous reptiles are found in the States, though 
 not in Canada ! ! ! — nor are the Canadians disturbed 
 by that worst kind of venemous reptile, so com- 
 mon in the States of the Union, a rancorous spirit 
 of party. It is true, a feeble attempt has recently 
 been made to introduce among us the spirit of 
 reform, which is only another phrase for a spirit of 
 anarchy and misery.’’ 
 
 The chief part of the book being thus employed, 
 an Appendix is added, to give it more the air of 
 being a farmer’s book, made up of various disjoint- 
 ed materials; among which Mr. Grece seems to 
 pride himself for having, under the patronage of 
 societies, attempted to grow hemp in Canada ! ! He 
 says, “ unfortunately political events obstructed 
 that effort.” Now, what obstructed that effort 
 was simply this, that hemp can be raised in Russia 
 at a fifth part of the expense that it can in Canada, 
 from the difference in the price of labour: but I 
 am impatient to have done with a stupid man. 
 
 “ The Emigrant’s Guide to the British Set- 
 tlements in Upper Canada,” followed the work of 
 Mr. Grece. The editor (for this was a compilation) 
 speaks of “ the excellent letter of Mr. Gourlay to 
 the Gentlemen of Canada,” meaning my first ad- 
 

 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCV 
 
 dress to the resident land-owners ; and then intro- 
 duces it, shorn of its most excellent part, which 
 affirms, that England alone could spare 50,000 
 people annually, while she would be refreshed and 
 strengthened by the discharge, &c.*’ The com- 
 piler leaves out this passage in the address, and 
 fritters down my assertion in his title-page, where 
 I am made to say, that “ England could spare 
 5000 people annually,'' and there, too, the com- 
 piler thinks proper to quote from another author, 
 and makes his sentiment appear to be mine; viz. 
 that the only ties which ought to bind men to 
 their country, are the benefits they receive from it, 
 and this is the only genuine and rational patriotism." 
 This book was printed for T. Keys, Coleman- 
 street, Bank, (London), 1820, and edited by a farm- 
 er, settled in the London District of Upper Canada, 
 or his friend. 
 
 After this Guide, came forth “The Emi- 
 grant's Guide to Upper Canada, by C. 
 Stuart, Captain of the Honourable East India 
 Company's service, and one of his Majesty^s Jus- 
 tices of the Peace for the Western District of Up- 
 per Canada." The Captain is one of the evange- 
 lical, and, many a time over has recourse to the 
 words grace, mercy, and providence, to get him out 
 of difficulties. He cannot decide whether Dur- 
 ham or Canadian boats are best; but, “under 
 mercy," determines that the one kind is as safe for 
 the navigation of the St. Lawrence rapids as the 
 other. The Captain inveighs heartily against 
 clergy reserves, and is for “throwing open tosettle-* 
 
 u 
 
CCCVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ment the deeded lands,” without having the 
 slightest conception of what he would be at. The 
 Captain says of these lands, that “ like rocks in the 
 ocean they glare in the forest unproductive them- 
 selves, and a beacon of evil to those who approach 
 them.” As the Captain^s motto is “ deliberate, 
 decide, and dare,'l perhaps by this time he has 
 made an assault on “ the deeded lands,” and, in 
 that case, we may expect to hear that his success 
 has been somewhat similar to that of Don Quixote 
 when he assailed the windmills. The poor 
 Captain, in fact, does not know the drift of his 
 own ravings. He wrote the first part of his book 
 on the voyage home, and at landing, hearing for 
 the first time of the term “ Radical,” gets into 
 agony, and proceeds : 
 
 “ Thus far had I written before I reached England. 
 On my journey to the sea from the Upper Province. I 
 heard, with alarm and afliiction, of the disorders at home, 
 and my steps were hastened, and my heart throbbed for 
 my country, and my ahn (little as it was) longed to be 
 raised in defence of her august autliorities. But the 
 term “ radical” had not yet reached my eai’, and a happy 
 veil was spread over my eyes.” 
 
 The Captain, still, in agony, goes through six 
 pages, and by and by, doubting if the term “radi- 
 cal” may not be a very good one, says, “ I hail the 
 teimas a badge of the brightest honor, and blush 
 only that I s^ little merit it.” This poor creature, 
 after getting, as it was said, a slice of the “ deeded 
 land,” on which his “ little arm” will never let in 
 
OrXKRAL INTRODUCTIOX. CCCTU 
 
 a ray of light, was suffered to attack me when shut 
 up ill Niagara jail, cut off from all communication 
 with the press, by the most virulent articles in the 
 newspapers; and this too, he did, after having 
 corresponded with the Convention, and having re- 
 ceived a letter of thanks from it, dictated by me. 
 
 “ May Uie shame fa’ the gear and'the blatlirie o’ it.”* 
 
 In the midst of his wildest ravings, the Captain 
 never forgot to flatter the governor abroad ; and in 
 his book speaks of the late Governpr-in-Chief being 
 “of an enlarged and liberal mind, active, public 
 spirited, and benevolent also, of the “ bene- 
 ficent administration of the present Lieutenant- 
 Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland.” 
 
 The work of the Hon. and Rev. and Doctor 
 Strachaii made its appearance soon after the Emi- 
 grant’s Guide, by C. Stuart, Captain, 3 fld Justice 
 of the Peace; and the most important point is, 
 that these three publications, Grace’s, Sfuart’s, 
 and Strachan’s, which for spleen, capt, and silliness, 
 have no match, were treated with seeming respect 
 by the Quarterly Review of October, 1^20. The 
 Reviewer is not pleased with Captain Stuart s ap- 
 probation of the Yankee Methodists; but it is, 
 nevertheless, a fact, that Yankees and Methoejists 
 are the most exemplary and well behaved people 
 in the province. One errand of the Captain to 
 England was to collect money for religious pur- 
 poses. I dare say he did not get much ; and I 
 
 * Quototion from the Captain’s quotation. 
 U 2 
 
CCCVHl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 may take this opportunity of apprizing those who 
 are inclined to forward religion in Canada, that the 
 less money they give in a random way the better. 
 The mere idea of advancing religion in this way, 
 draws off attention from the grand causes which 
 obstruct its advancement — the maladministration 
 of public affairs, and the wretched state of pro- 
 perty. If the money expended in Upper Canada by. 
 the Society for propagating Christian Knowledge, 
 the Bible Society, &c. w’as applied to procure in- 
 quiry into the state of the provinces, they would 
 soon be able to provide for themselves bibles and 
 preachers. I am a sincere well wisher to religion ; 
 and having seen into the deplorable condition of our 
 North American colonies, in respect to it, would 
 earnestly intreat the Quarterly Review, and every 
 other into whose hand this work may come, to 
 impress what I say on the public mind. 
 
 The next publication after Strachan’s Visit to 
 Upper Canada, was “A few plain Direc- 
 tions to persons intending to proceed as Settlers 
 to his Majesty’s Province of Upper Canada, by 
 AN English Farmer.^’ This was better than 
 the preceding, in as much as it was accompanied 
 with a map of the settlements. It speaks, how- 
 ever, of the “ blessings and privileges of the excellent 
 constitution" of the Provinces, as giving advantage 
 over the United States, and its “ Elysian prairies" 
 for settlement — of the valuable work of Mr. C. 
 
 Grece!! &c. : otherwise the directions are not 
 amiss. 
 
 “ Sketches of Upper Canada, by John 
 3 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. cccix 
 
 Howison, Esq. were next offered to the public. 
 You, Canadians, will remember that Doctor 
 Howison, assuming the name of “ the Traveller," 
 while he was advertising for employment among 
 you as a practitioner of physic, assisted me for 
 some time with his “ rebounds" in rousing your 
 attention to the iniquities of the government, and 
 the pollutions of Little York. You will remember 
 that he was thought friendly to inquiry, and at- 
 tended one of the first meetings; that he after- 
 wards, when all was going on in the most orderly 
 and peaceable manner, deserted the cause, and 
 distracted attention from the one thing needful, 
 by keeping up a silly correspondence with the 
 major, who is now made sheriff of Niagara dis- 
 trict, no doubt, as a reward for his zeal against the 
 cause of inquiry. You will remember that Dr. 
 Howison said that I had “ disgraced” myself, and 
 that your chief failing was “ false pride.” Let us 
 see what he says now, speaking of the farmers 
 between Queenston and the head of Lake Ontario. 
 
 " They are still the same untutored, incorrigible beings 
 that they probably were, when, the ruflSan remnant of a 
 disbanded regiment, or the outlawed refuse of some Eu- 
 ropean nation, they sought refuge in the wilds of Upper 
 Canada, aware that tliey would neither find means of sub- 
 sistence, nor be countenanced in any civilized country. 
 Their original depravity has been confirmed and increased 
 by the circumstances in which they are now placed.” 
 
 After hearing that Dr. Howison had come home, 
 and was to publish Sketches of Upper Canada, I 
 sent him my compliments, through a merchant of 
 
CCCX GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Niagara district, now here on business, wishing 
 to forget the disappointments which he had pro- 
 duced in Canada; but since the Sketches have 
 appeared, I am glad that my compliments were not 
 delivered. The above quotation is too bad. It is 
 not true : it is not fair : it is not discreet. The 
 first settlers of Upper Canada, in my own opinion, 
 were wrong-headed men as to politics; but they 
 were far from being bad-hearted men, and any 
 thing but “ the ruffian remnant of a disbanded 
 regiment.” Thev were soldiers who had done 
 their duty: who had regarded with reverence their 
 oath of allegiance: who had risked their lives a 
 hundred times over in support of their principles: 
 who had sacrificed all which the world in general 
 holds dear, to maintain their loyalty and honour. 
 They were any thing but “ the outlawed refuse 
 of some European nation :” they adhered to the 
 laws of Britain ; and for the laws of Britain they 
 bled. I’hey did not “ seek refuge in the wilds of 
 Upper Canada, aware that they would neither find 
 means of subsistence, nor be countenanced in any 
 civilized country.” It is a libel on the British 
 government to say that they sought refuge ; and a 
 libel on common sense to say that men,, who re- 
 solved to earn their bread by labour, under the 
 w’orst circumstances in the wilds, could not find 
 means of subsistence any where else. The w'hole 
 passage is untrue — is shameful ; and Dr. Howison 
 should apologize for it in the public prints of this 
 country. These very farmers whom he scandalizes 
 so cruelly, stood up for British government most 
 
GKN'ERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCXi 
 
 nobly during the late war. Many of them lost 
 their all at that time; and to many of them the 
 British government is now deeply indebted. Their 
 claims, well authenticated, were laid before the 
 home goveruraent, at least five years ago; and not 
 a penny has been paid to them. What now have 
 these men to say to Dr. flowison, who has slan- 
 dered their character, and injured their credit at 
 home? What have the farmers of Niagara dis- 
 trict to support their loyalty, should another in- 
 vasion of the province ensue? Their treatment is 
 indeed a reproach to British government. The 
 mass of first settlers in Upper Canada were “ true 
 men,” and to this day there is a peculiar cast of 
 goodness in their natures, which distinguishes ‘ 
 them from their neighbours in the United States. 
 There were among them ruffians of the very worst 
 description ; and Isaac Swayze stands forth as a 
 specimen. His Majesty’s ministers needed spies, 
 and horse stealers, and liars, and perjured villains; 
 and America furnished such characters, just as 
 England can furnish an Oliver and an Edwards. 
 
 hy should a whole people be slandered, because 
 of a few ? The Canadians have indeed degenerated 
 from the. date of their first settlement. They have 
 been debased by provincial government : they 
 have been polluted by a mixture of bad fellows 
 from all quarters, taking refuge among them ; and 
 to use the words of Dr. Howison, “ depravity has * 
 been confirmed hy the cirmmstances in which they 
 are now placed.’’ Still the great mass of them are 
 well meaning, honest, sober, and industrious men ; 
 
cecxii 
 
 GENEllAL INTUODUCTION. 
 
 and it will be the fault of the British governtnent 
 if they are lost to this country as loyal subjects. 
 Simplicity is the prevailing characteristic of Ca- 
 nadian farmers ; and this springs from ignorance. 
 It is not the farmers who are the depraved of 
 Canada. It is the councillors, the priests, the 
 magistrates, and ail who depend on government; 
 and among these men there is depravity of the 
 most odious kind. It was to root out this de- 
 pravity that made me enthusiastic, when writing 
 in Canada, on public afbiirs. Before I began to 
 rouse public attention to the causes of abomination 
 in that country, I had privately communicated to 
 Dr. Howison tbe speech of a magistrate, which 
 should have sunk deep into his reflection— a 
 speech so horrible, that it cannot be repeated. 
 From this, and other speeches, and conduct of 
 the higher classes (if I may, for distinction sake, 
 make use of the term) there was no hope of mo- 
 rality gaining ground in the province among the 
 lower classes. Some of those who set themselves up 
 for the respectables— the gentlemen of the countrj^ 
 were, ill fact, the most ignorant, mean, disgusting, 
 and infamous characters that ever came under 
 my observation. I saw into the seat of disease; 
 and as a surgeon thinks it no disgrace to foul his 
 fingers with cutting out a cancer, so I thought it 
 duty to expose the gentlemen of Upper Canada, 
 while Dr. Howison was trifling with a creature 
 who had not sense to be a gentleman even in 
 appearance. Dr. Howison wrote in Canada only 
 to trifle; and now we see the consummation. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCXlll 
 
 We see a book very well written ; very readable as 
 a romance — the tale of a sentimental weak man ; 
 but, as it affects men and their serious affairs, 
 worse than trifling — scandalous. To say all the 
 ill he could of Canada, and no good of it, is unfair, 
 — is deceitful. To speak as he has done of the 
 people of Niagara district, who were favourably 
 disposed towards him, and from whom he expe- 
 rienced many civilities, is indiscreet, is ungenerous, 
 is ungrateful. 
 
 Dr. Howison accompanies his Sketches with 
 “ practical details for the information of Emigrants 
 of every class;” but, after reading his book, who, 
 would be inclined to emigrate to Upper Canada? 
 who would choose to associate with a “ ruffian rem- 
 nant^* and “ outlaws.,'* whose “ depravity* has 
 been “ confirmed tend increased" ? Who would not 
 laugh at his parting exclamation about the “ happy 
 shores of Upper Canada’’ ? 
 
 Scandalous as Dr. Howison’s book is, I have yet 
 hope that it may do some good. It is well written, 
 and will be read with some degree of relish, which 
 none of the other works spoken of have been, or 
 can be. If it does not make the people at home 
 in love with you, Canadians, it may yet excite 
 a desire in their bosoms to better your condition. 
 
 The seventh, and latest publication, is a very 
 slender affair of twenty-five pages, intitled, 
 “ Sketches op a plan for settling in Up- 
 per Canada, by a Settler.” It takes up my 
 notion of connecting emigration with the reduction 
 of poor rates ; but it is manifest that “the Set- 
 
CCCxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tlek” has not very deeply studied the subject 
 of settling “ an almost unlimited number of the 
 unemployed labourers of England.” He must 
 study hard, and a great deal more to be ready to 
 start with advantage by “ the 1st of February, 
 1822.” Let it be the 2d of April, (for I would 
 have none go off for Canada till after fool’s day) 
 and perhaps 1 may go with him and assist. But 
 1 forget; Lord Bathurst would not patronize me. 
 Perhaps he is going to make a shew of doing some- 
 thing for “ the settler,” and we must only watch 
 that it may be no humbug; — nothing like that of 
 the Perth Settlement in Upper Canada, or the 
 more expensive experiment at the Cape of Good 
 Hope! The subject of settlement is one of vast 
 importance. It never has been understood ; and 
 it is pity that it should be trifled with. It is now 
 upwards of four years since I was convinced that 
 the Americans themselves, who have been the 
 greatest settlers in the world, did not understand 
 the art. It will be obsen-ed, that I said so in my 
 first Address to the Resident Land-owners of Upper 
 Canada (page cxcii) ; I have, since the date of that 
 Address, devoted to the subject my days and nights ; 
 and if I shall be so fortunate as to gain public at- 
 tention, it shall be my greatest joy to make known 
 my plans. Hitherto the settlement of the wilder- 
 ness has uniformly been accompanied with a low- 
 , ering of human character. I contemplate, at once, 
 the improvement of man and the land, which the 
 Creator of all meant that he should occupy and 
 improve. 
 
GENKUAL INTROnUCTlON. 
 
 CCCXV 
 
 I have now, under this head, to say a little of 
 my own work. My first proposal to publish a 
 Statistical Account of Upper Canada, was con- 
 nected with my immediate private interest. It 
 would have assisted greatly my project of establish- 
 ing a land agency. Canada" offered peculiar 
 advantages in this project. I could recruit for 
 emigrants to Canada all over the United Kingdom, 
 which I could not do to the United States, 
 because of our emigration laws* ; and the 
 publication of a Statistical Account, well au- 
 thenticated, was the best and simplest mode of 
 making Canada known. The opposition of a priest, 
 to this simple proposal, should never be forgotten ; 
 but it was not his opposition which had any thing 
 to do with my change of measures. The discovery 
 that your Governors neither understood nor paid 
 respect to the laws, whereby property had value, 
 induced me to pause ; and greater experience gave 
 assurance that it was right to do so. I could not 
 honestly invite settlers to a country, while gross 
 mismanagement subsisted in the Government; and 
 now, I believe, you are all sensible of the mischief 
 which has ensued. We should never repine at the 
 events of life; we should improve upon them; and 
 this I shall say, that after the gayest visions, which 
 
 • Some years ago, a person was arrested for enticing away 
 people from the Highlands of Scotland to America, and impri- 
 soned for months. Orders have, of late years, been issued to 
 suspend the rigour of law; but still there is no certainty of free- 
 dom to emigrants. Emigration laws should be abolished. 
 
CCCXVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 first presented themselves to my mind, of settling 
 in Canada, fled : after ill succeeded ill ; and, up to 
 this hour, misfortune seems to have no end; still I 
 am hopeful that all is for the best. 
 
 My political warfare in Canada brought out se- 
 crets, and displayed characters which it was of 
 utmost consequence to have exposed: indeed, what 
 could mark the iniquity of your Government so 
 well, as the suflerings to which I was subjected. 
 The whole, I hope, has laid the ground-work of 
 thorough reform. If health and strength fail not, 
 1 shall not fail ; and, circumstances every day 
 unite to aid my endeavours. My work is now no 
 longer a call to emigrants to go out to Canada : it 
 is a call for inquiry into corruption, mismanage- 
 ment, and mis-rule. The book has swelled on 
 my hands; but it is full of valuable documents. 
 It exhibits both things and men : it traces pro- 
 vincial policy from its root upwards to its can- 
 kered branch and its fading leaf. It is now di- 
 vested of all little selfish considerations : it now 
 contemplates only great and benevolent objects. 
 If these are made good, emigration will indeed be- 
 come a glorious theme, and Canada will flourish. 
 If these objects are not carried, all Guides to 
 Upper Canada must be guides to wretchedness, as 
 they have hitherto been ; and all comparisons 
 which go to make the British provinces appear su- 
 perior to the United States for settlement, must 
 be false, and deulsive, and treacherous. No man 
 ever regarded Upper Canada with fonder eyes than 
 myself: no man ever devoted so much of his life 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCXVli 
 
 to do it lasting good : no man wishes better to it, 
 even up to this hour, than mej but I must not, 
 and shall not, prefer Canada to truth. 
 
 APPEAL. 
 
 In the outset of this General Introduction, I 
 have exhibited my case as a banished British sub- 
 ject : produced documents : stated what course I 
 was pursuing, and about to pursue for redress. In 
 the body of my work, I have completed my reason- 
 ing on your monstrous sedition law, and proved to 
 demonstration, that that law never could, and 
 never was meant, to apply to a British subject; 
 and never should have been applied, as it was, to 
 me. While in Scotland last winter, I wrote to the 
 gentleman in town, who has charge of my appeal 
 business, to procure, if necessary, the assistance 
 of counsel, to draw up my petition to the King in 
 council. He laid my printed Circular before Mr. 
 Adam, an eminent counsellor ; but Mr. Adam 
 entirely mistook the object which I had in view. 
 Looking back to the first part of this Introduction, 
 printed more than a year ago, you will observe 
 that I never trusted to redress by the ordinary 
 course of law. My complaint is not only that I 
 was illegally imprisoned in Canada; but, that by 
 cruel treatment, I was deprived of my natural 
 powers of defence ;— that I was incapable of it ; 
 and, indeed, had the court which tried me put me 
 to death, instead of mocking me with a trial, cir- 
 
cccxviii CENERAI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cumstanced as I was, its conduct would not have 
 been a more fit subject for parliamentary inquiry. 
 My appeal is, and always has been, against vio- 
 lence ; and violence of such a nature as cannot be 
 taken cognizance of by the usual forms of law. I 
 have been willing to follow out every course of 
 law, and to leave no stone unturned within the 
 precincts of ceremony and form ; but, from the 
 beginning, I had no hope, save in extrajudicial in- 
 quiry. It was conviction of this which induced 
 me to write to Sir James Mackintosh, as to the 
 newspaper report of his speech, (page liii), to pro- 
 cure from him a contradiction of that report ; and 
 the opinion of Mr. Adam makes it still more ne- 
 cessary for me to guard myself from error. I shall 
 here produce that opinion, with its sentences 
 numbered for clearer reference. 
 
 1st. I have read Mr. Gourlay’s statements, and the act 
 of the Legislature of Upper Canada, with the greatest 
 attention, and the only remedy tliat is open to him, if tlie 
 conduct he complains of is illegal, is, in my opinion, to 
 bring an action in the courts of Upper Canada, or in this 
 country, (if any of the persons who acted in or contributed 
 to his imprisonment, are to be found in the country), to 
 recover damages for the imprisonment he underwent, and 
 his forcible removal from the Province, supposing he has 
 sustained any injury, and that the conduct of those who 
 have so injured him, was not justifiable by tlie local law. 
 2d. Mr. Gourlay has a clear and distinct remedy by ac- 
 tion ; but the King in Council can afford him no relief for 
 the personal wrongs he has sustained; nor can he hope for 
 any compensation by petitioning the House of Commons. 
 3d. It is, undoubtedly, open to Mr. Gourlay to petition 
 2 • 
 
CENERAt, INTRODUCTION. CCCXIX 
 
 the King and the Parliament, either on the score of his 
 individual grievances, or the general ill government of the 
 Province ; but, it is quite hopeless to expect any personal 
 remedy, except by pursuing the only course the law points 
 out, an action in a court of law. 4tli. With respect to the 
 legality of the proceeding against Mr. Gourlay, in Upper 
 Canada, it must not be overlooked, tliat the statute con- 
 tains a clause, (now become not uncommon), by which the 
 burthen ot proving that a person accused is not in the situ- 
 ation pointed out by the statute, is thrown upon him a 
 
 severe provision, and in direct opposition to the general 
 rule of law, which imposes the necessity of proving the 
 whole case upon those who allege the fact. 5tli. It seems 
 clear Mr. Gourlay did not do so, nor does it appear that 
 he offered to do so, either before the magistrate, or on his 
 trial. Gth. Indeed I had collected from page 6, (Petition to 
 the House of Commons), that he had not taken the oath of 
 allegiance before his commitment. 7th. It is true that it 
 appears from his allidavit, 13th January, 1819, that he had 
 taken the oath on or before that day. 8th. But it does not 
 state when ; nor does it appear that that affidavit was ever 
 used judicially. 9th. I apprehend, therefore, that it must 
 be taken, that Mr. G. was amenable to the act. 
 
 W. G. ADAM, 
 
 Lincolns Inn, 24f/t Feh. 1821 . 
 
 Before making remark on the above opinion, let 
 me again state, that 1 only wanted the assistance 
 of counsel to drcno up my petition. Writing to 
 my solicitor, from Fifeshire, 7th February, 1821, 
 
 I said, “ Lest assistance ot counsel should be re- 
 tjuired to draw up the petition, I beg leave to in- 
 close a bill on London, per £l0, to account.” I 
 had not only got the opinion of Sir Arthur Piggott 
 
cccxx 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 specially, and that of other lawyers, generally, 
 that my confinement was illegal; but I had made 
 myself thoroughly acquainted with the subject ; 
 and I defy all contradiction to the facts and rea- 
 sonings thereon, which I have in this work pro- 
 duced, to shew that the Canadian sedition law is 
 not applicable to a British, subject. I wanted no 
 opinion as to this ; but behold here is an opinion, 
 and one which decides that I was “ amenable to 
 the act” ! ! ! Such an opinion having come into 
 my hands, it is necessary to expose and criticise 
 it; and, without wishing to be personally disre- 
 spectful to Mr. Adam, merely for my own salva- 
 tion, and to maintain my great and valuable right 
 as a British subject, I shall not scruple to be free. 
 The opinion before us is an excellent specimen of 
 the misconception, shallowness, confusion of ideas, 
 and bad reasoning, w'hich constitutes “ the glo- 
 rious uncertainty of the law',” and by which law- 
 yers “ take aw'ay the key of knowledge.” I shall 
 examine it in regular order. Mr. Adam sets out 
 with saying that he has read my statement and the 
 act “ with the greatest attention and yet he 
 passes over the chief thing complained of — the se- 
 verity of my treatment, which rendered me unfit 
 for trial, and which ought to annul the whole pro- 
 ceeding, whether I was subject to the act or not. 
 The act itself does not justify undue harshness, 
 even to an alien ; and had even an alien been 
 treated as I was, it might have been becoming in 
 the British Parliament to have taken his part, and 
 to have addressed the King on the subject, not 
 

 GENERAL INTRODUCTfON. CCCXXl 
 
 only to make amends to the suffering individual, 
 but to maintain national honour. Harsh treatment 
 to any one in a jail is criminal ; and upon proof of 
 it, most assuredly, the sheriff’, or whoever else has 
 been criminally concerned, may be punished: but 
 to proceed. The whole of the three first sentences 
 only lead to confusion and mistake. I never could 
 have doubted, for a moment, as to my remedy by 
 action, against those who imprisoned and mal- 
 treated mein prison. If all had been regular; if 
 I had been able to protest against the trial, or keep 
 up to the forms of law, and have appealed to a 
 higher court under an arrest of J’udgment, or bill 
 ot e.xceptions, all might have been managed suc- 
 cessfully. In the course of law my sentence 
 might have been reversed, and then in the course 
 of law I could have prosecuted for damages ; but 
 under severity of treatment I lost these advantages,- 
 and till this severity of treatment is inquired into, 
 and the unjust consequences removed, all hope of 
 my obtaining redress must be small. It is, indeed* 
 perfectly astonishing to me how Mr. Adam could 
 think for a moment on the subject, and suppose 
 any doubt existed as to this. I mean yet to peti- 
 tion both Houses of Parliament, besides the King 
 in Council, but expect no “ personal relief,’^ as 
 Mr. Adam expresses it, directly from them. I 
 expect them to determine that the act was not ap- 
 plicable to British subjects, and they can easily do 
 so; and I expect them further to listen to evi- 
 dence that I was, by severity of treatment, ren- 
 dered unfit for fair trial. This done, I expect that 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
CCCXXii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 they will address the King to interfere and restore 
 me to my just rights — to have the sentence of the 
 court annulled, and a liberty granted me to com- 
 mence and carry on prosecution against the par- 
 ties by whom I was imprisoned and maUtreated 
 in jail. I may not succeed : my expectations may 
 be blasted. The Queen of England was wronged : 
 her enemies failed in their persecution ; but still 
 she was denied her rights ; and mine will have 
 much less strength to support them : nevertheless, 
 
 I think it duty to persevere ; and, while I have life, 
 
 1 shall do so. 
 
 In his fourth sentence, Mr. Adam comes to con- 
 sider the legality of my imprisonment, and instantly 
 gets within the body of the statute, to make out 
 omens from its entrails. How perfectly absurd ! 
 The statute either is or is not applicable to British 
 subjects, altogether independent of its garbage. 
 Blind to this great truth, Mr. Adam, in his fifth, 
 sixth, and seventh sentences, runs on to question 
 matters of no importance whatever; and from 
 these comes to a conclusion ! Mr. Adam rests im- 
 portance on my not having taken the oath of alle- 
 giance as prescribed by the Act, when it was not 
 necessary for me to take the oath of allegiance at 
 all. My natural allegiance was protection enough. 
 I never thought any thing more was required for 
 procuring my enlargement, but the fact that I was 
 a native-born British subject; and only allowed 
 the attorney, who conducted the process, to take 
 what other steps he chose, as they could not injure 
 my plea, and seemed to give less excuse for my 
 
gexrral introduction. cocxxiii 
 
 detention in jail. The fact that I was a native-born 
 British subject was notorious ; Dickson knew this 
 well ; Chief Justice Powell never pretended igno- 
 ranee of it ; and upon the knowledge of this alone 
 he was bound to set me free. 
 
 Canadians ! I wish you to understand that any 
 delay of my return to the province, after all the 
 forms of appeal are gone through, will not proceed 
 from want of success. When it suits my conve- 
 nience, I shall tread again on the soil of Upper 
 Canada, even in the face of imprisonment and 
 death. I put this whole affair on record, not as it 
 concerns myself as a private individual, but as it 
 concerns the most sacred right of a British subject. 
 
 PAUSE. 
 
 It has been stated (page ccx) that I put a second 
 volume to press, in the hope that a commission 
 would come home from Canada last summer. I 
 was not only disappointed in this ; but in much 
 more than this. On the 10th September a packet 
 reached me, containing the Report of a Pari iamentary 
 Committee, and a Gazette of Upper Canada. I 
 had been previously prepared to hear that my 
 friends in your Assembly were foiled in attempts 
 to procure inquiry-^that they were out-voted ; or 
 that the measure had been thwarted by the Legis- 
 lative Council or the Governor ; but what was my 
 astonishment to find that not one of them had 
 moved in the matter, and that a Parliamentary 
 
 X 2 
 
CCCXXIV GENEftAT. lNTR0DUCTr01S% 
 
 Committee had been sitting only to excite con- 
 tempt, with a pensioner of Government in the 
 chair, prating about things which should be left tO’ 
 themselves, reflecting on the corn laws of England, 
 yet fostering corn laws in the province, and desiring 
 the adoption of them by Lower Canada I ! Holding 
 talk about a grand navigation, and appointing Com- 
 missioners, without thinking for a moment as to 
 the means of execution ; in short, trifling with 
 every thing, and wholly neglecting what was most 
 needful — a submission of your whole public affairs 
 to the consideration of the Imperial Parliament. 
 The moment that I read the Gazette and Committee 
 report, every sanguine hope vanished. I felt dis- 
 gusted: expressed my disgust; and soon after 
 resolved to make a complete pause in my operations 
 here, which I had trusted would be profitably 
 brought to a close, by at least some encouragement 
 and countenance from Canada. Finding that not 
 one of your representatives had done you service, 
 and that from the gross ignorance which prevailed 
 in your Parliament, that any thing but good could 
 be expected from its endeavours, 1 flung aside my 
 plans for settlement in the wilderness: 1 relinquish- 
 ed my sanguine hope of seeing the grand canals of 
 the St. Lawrence and Niagara executed through 
 provincial wisdom : I resolved to narrow my views, 
 at least for a time, and rest my remaining hope with 
 the people of England, who have so long been put 
 to enormous expense in nursing up a colony, 
 only for disgrace and degradation. About tw'O 
 months after this resolution was taken, the people 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCXXV 
 
 England had a sample of what soured me with 
 your parliamentary representatives served up to 
 them. 
 
 Morning Post, November 15, 1821. 
 
 On the 28th September last, a meeting was held by the 
 inhabitants of Uie county of Halton, in the Gore district of 
 Upper Canada. The chair was filled by James Crooks^ 
 Esq. M, P., and tlie following resolutions were adopted : — 
 
 1. That it is the opinion of tliis meeting, that the re- 
 strictions and regulations at present existing in Great 
 Britain, with respect to the importation of grain and flour 
 from these provinces, are such as amount almost to a pro- 
 hibition ; and that to their operation is to be attributed, in 
 a great measure, the present distress of our agriculture and 
 commerce ; and unless means be devised for our speedy 
 and effectual relief, the certain ruin and bankruptcy of the 
 entire farming and commercial interests must ensue. 
 
 2. That though a nominal market for grain and flauG 
 the produce of tliese colonies, is supposed to exist in the 
 soutliem parts of Europe, yet such are the systems pursued 
 in those countries, and so great the disadvantages under 
 which we labour, from the competition and rivalship of other 
 countries more favourably situated, and who, from prox- 
 imity of situation, are in possession of greater facilities, that 
 our eflbris to obtain relief therefrom must be totally unar 
 vailing. So evident indeed are these advantages, that it is 
 not known that a single shipment has been made to 'any of 
 them the past or present years^ 
 
 3. That notwithstanding the apparent advantages of a 
 trade with the West Indies, it has been found, on close 
 inspection, and indeed from actual experience, that they 
 are but few in number, and doubtful in effect. The indi- 
 rect trade encouraged between them and the United States, 
 under the authority of tlie Free Port Act, and the in- 
 
CCcXXyi GENERAL IN TROl^UCTION. 
 
 cFeased expense of bringing our produce to market, in con- 
 sequence of our remote situation and the difficulties occa- 
 sioned by the obstruction of our navigation in winter, ren- 
 dering it impossible for us to enter these markets with any 
 thing like a fair competition, or reasonable chance of 
 success. 
 
 4. That the interests of the two provinces of Upper 
 and Lower Canada are so mutually interwoven, that it were 
 to be wished some measure could be devised (in concert) to 
 remove existing obstacles, and facilitate new arrangements, 
 more likely to contribute to the general welfare. 
 
 5. That the existing regulations in Lower Canada, which 
 admit the importation of American produce, to be there 
 consumed, without any duty being imposed upon it, are 
 directly in the face of that reciprocity which ought to exist 
 between the two provinces in their commercial inter- 
 course with each other, as it not only tends to depress the 
 price of Upper Canada produce, but renders nugatory the 
 laws thereon existing for its protection. 
 
 6. That the want of an outlet for our grain, and the con- 
 sequent depression of prices, has an immediate tendency 
 to encourage its conversion into spirits, the increasing c(m- 
 sumption of which is destructive alike to the morals and 
 industry of the inhabitants. 
 
 7. That a great proportion of the wants of the inhabit- 
 ants of this country has been hitherto supplied from Great 
 Britain, by way of barter ; that such trade must entirely 
 cease, from the impossibility of making payments, unless 
 our grain and flour be admitted there for consumption. 
 
 8. That although our distresses have been progressive, 
 yet their approach has been so steady and unremitted, as to 
 have overwhelmed the inhabitants with consequences the 
 most ruinous, and with a rapidity which no caution or fore- 
 sight could guard against. In these appalling circum- 
 stances, we see but little prospect of relief, unless by a 
 direct application, by petition, to the justice and generosity 
 
 3 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCXXvii 
 
 ©f his Majesty’s Government, and the Imperial Par- 
 liament. 
 
 9. That with this view a Committee, consisting of twelve 
 persons, be appointed to prepare and forward such petitions 
 as may be deemed necessary to promote the objects recom- 
 mended in the foregoing* resolutions. 
 
 10. That the Committee consist of J. Crooks, Esq. M.P., 
 Manuel Ovenfield, William Chisholm, Daniel C. Redy, 
 Walter Nichol, Titus G. Simmons, Absalom Shade, John 
 Erb, Alexander Brown, Robert Murray, James McBride, 
 and James Biggar, Esquires. 
 
 11. That this Meeting recommend it as a measure of 
 vital import to the Canadas, that similar meetings be held 
 in the several counties throughout the provinces. 
 
 The opinions entertained of the above, you will 
 be able to judge of from the following extracts : — 
 
 Morning Chronicle, November 17, 1821. 
 
 ** That these poor people (remarking upon the above) are 
 grievously distressed, and have long been so, is a matter of 
 notoriety ; but they are rather unfortunate in the selection 
 of remedies, which appear in these resolutions. They wish 
 tlie repeal of the Corn Bill. They wish the monopoly of 
 the supply of the West Indies. They wish a Corn Bill for 
 Lower Canada. Why do they wish us to repeal the Corn 
 Bill, and to grant them the monopoly of the West India 
 market? We gain nothing by Upper Canada : the inha- 
 bitants pay no taxes ; an immediate sum of money is raised 
 by taxation from the people of this country, and spent in 
 that province. Why should we levy a tax on the West 
 Indies, in the shape of the additional price occasioned by 
 a monopoly, for their relief ?” 
 
 “ Traveller, November 17, 1821. 
 
 ** Upper Canada is the most fertile part of the N orth Ame- 
 

 CCCXXviii GENERAL IxNTRODUCTlON. 
 
 ricau continent, blessed with a most delightful climate, with 
 unexampled means of internal navigation, with the privilege 
 of importing its wheat into Great Britain when our market 
 price is 67s. (instead of being excluded, like other coun- 
 tries, till the price is 80s.); the charge of its army is paid 
 by Great Britain ; yet, with all these advantages, the inha- 
 bitants are languishing, not in absolute want (for in such a 
 situation no man can want food), but in the lowest condition 
 to which well-fed animals can be reduced. On tlie oppo- 
 site side of the rivers and lakes, in the territory of the 
 United States (much of which has been settled more re^ . 
 cently than Canada), there is the most striking difference. 
 The country is full of the most flourishing villages ; and it 
 is remarkable, that while in the United States there is now 
 not the smallest village without a steeple (while scarcely 
 such a thing is to be seen in Canada), or at least a place of 
 worship. This fact, among others, a tour recently publish- 
 ed by Mr. llowison, evidently without any political par^ 
 tiality, bears testimony to. It is to be remarked, in addi- 
 tion, that our Government always gives away its land {fees 
 of course excepted), while the lowest price obtained by the 
 American Government for their’s is two dollars per acre’*', 
 ^fliat there is mismanagement the mere results shew ; but 
 the details of the jobbing which produces them, and the 
 policy which has sent so many wretched settlers to the 
 coast of Africa, while almost a boundless quantity of the 
 best land might have been obtained for them so much nearer 
 
 * My last letter from the United States (dated 18th September, 
 1821) gives me the following as the current prices of land in that 
 country : Credit sales in the Genesee country, near Lake Ontario, 
 five dollars per acre ; and south towards Pennsylvania, two to five 
 dollars. Cash sales, few or rather none. United States land in 
 Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, one and a quarter dollar, 
 caak all down. 
 
ctcxxix 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION^ 
 
 koine, will be well worthy of the attention of those who wish 
 to see how tlie least ^ood can be done at the greatest ex- 
 pense.” 
 
 “ Times, November 23, 1821. 
 
 ** Quebec Grazettes of the 19th October arrived yester- 
 day. They present a deplorable picture of agricultural 
 distress in both the Canadas. The absence of all demand 
 for wheat had compelled several farmers in the district of 
 Montreal to send hay, oats, and vegetables, in boats, down 
 the river for the chance of a market at Quebec. In some 
 o| the parishes of Montreal, which formerly sold gveat 
 quantities of wheat for exportation, farms pai*tly cleared, 
 with a log-house and barn, had been sold at Sheriffs’ sales 
 for less than tlie usual law expences incurred to effect the 
 sale. One immediate consequence of this distress was ex- 
 pected to be the compelling the farmers to resort to family 
 manufactures for their supply of clothing, as they must soon 
 otherwise be without tlie means of protecting their bodies 
 against the inclemency of the seasons.” 
 
 Scotsman, November 24, 1821. 
 
 The same distress in which the British farmers are in- 
 volved seems to have extended to the farmers of Upper 
 Canada, who are holding meetings, and voting resolutions, 
 condemnatory of that clause in the late corn law, which pre- 
 vents the importation of Canadian wheat into this countrv, 
 until the home price reaches G7s. a quarter. But while 
 they are loud in their cry against the monopoly established 
 in favour of the British farmers, they are themselves stre- 
 nuously denouncing the impolicy of those regulations 
 ** which permit the importation of American produce into 
 Lower Canada, without any duty being imposed upon it ” / 
 Full liberty to export their produce to England would not 
 satisfy these gentlemen. They must besides have a mono-» 
 
CCCXXX GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 poly erected in their favour, and be invested with the ex- 
 clusive command of the market of their neighbours ! A 
 modest demand, truly ; but quite in the taste of the practi- 
 cal Statesman of the Board of Trade.” 
 
 Here you see, Canadians, what the people of 
 England think of your Township Resolutions, 
 countenanced by James Crooks, Esq. M. P. The 
 extracts, here produced, are from newspapers of the 
 very first respectability, and all of them noted for 
 their hostility to the Corn Laws of England. They 
 are the very newspapers which most heartily would 
 have taken you by the hand, had you come home 
 with liberal demands; but you see how they pity 
 and despise you, when on the same paper you 
 exhibit impertinent comments on English legis- 
 lation, and the most grasping selfishness. It was 
 this, and more than this, which turned my sto- 
 mach the tenth of September, one thousand, eight 
 hundred, and twenty-one years ; (see vol. II. page 
 o60) and I am, indeed, happy to shew you that 
 similar causes have produced a similar effect upon 
 the minds of men of the first-rate talents and 
 respectability, in this country. Of all men, you 
 had least reason or right, to complain of the Eng- 
 lish Corn Act. To you it is most liberal. Al- 
 lowing your wheat to be sold in England, when 
 prices rise here to 67 s., was a mighty favour; and 
 of that you complain!! No man was more op- 
 posed to the Corn Bill of England than myself. 
 I posted the Bath Society, in 1815, as infamous, 
 for proposing that bill to parliament; declaring 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 OCCXXXI 
 
 the measure to be “ seljish, futile, and impolitic 
 but in your place I should have said nothing 
 against it. Your present distresses may be traced 
 to other causes than the Corn Laws of England. 
 This is not the place to enlarge upon these, but 
 a glance at one of them will be sufficient for my 
 purpose. 
 
 The Halton petition speaks of the “ certain ruin 
 and hankruptcy of the entire farming and com- 
 mercial interests;’^ but the “justice and generosity 
 of his Majesty's government” cannot now help that, 
 and be otherwise consistent and fair. Your debts, 
 contracted when wheat sold readily among you at 
 8s. per bushel, cannot be soon paid when the 
 price is two shillings ; far less when there is no 
 price at all. But why did you contract debts? 
 It did not follow, because money was made plenty 
 and cheap by the immense issues of government 
 during the war, that you were to be more and 
 more extravagant. Let any one of you look back 
 for ten years, and say if be might not at this mo- 
 ment have been clear of debt, had he taken ad- 
 vantage, of the precious opportunities which have 
 now fled. You were extravagant: you went on 
 contracting debts when you might have paid them 
 oflf; and now you are unable to pay. Your plan, 
 now, is to become bankrupt at once, and bid adieu 
 to ruin. There is no dishonour, under certain 
 circumstances, in becoming bankrupt; and justice, 
 as well as prudence, often plead for it. A Cana- 
 dian farmer has not much to fear in bankruptcy. 
 He can support himself and family with four hours 
 

 CCOKXXii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 labour a day ; and with eight hours labour he may 
 have luxuries and fine clothes, all from the growth 
 of his own farm, and by domestic industry. With 
 so fine a country as you possess, and the right of tax- 
 ing yourselves, it is even impious to be sending home 
 petitions like that before us. You may be happy 
 and contented without foreign trade, and though the 
 mouth of the St. Lawrence Avere frozen up for ever. 
 What, think you, became of Adam and Eve after be- 
 ing turned out of Paradise, without a soul to trade 
 with!! You are slothful, and, of course, poor. 
 You are grossly ignorant: and Mr. James Crooks 
 does not blush to subscribe to it! Dr. Howison 
 tells us in his Sketches that nobody can prevail 
 with you without Jlatteriny your vanity.^* I 
 never did and never shall flatter your vanity; for 
 out of vanity nothing can be expected but vexation 
 of spirit. It was for very different objects that 
 I wished your parliamentary representatives to send 
 home a commission from those which appear on the 
 face of the Halton petition. I wished to see 
 glaring obstructions to improvement removed : 
 
 I wished to see your just claims on government 
 satisfied out of means w’ell used in the province : 
 
 I wished to see a liberal system of government 
 introduced, the pride of power humbled, and 
 business attended to : I wished to see Canada 
 become profitable to England, instead of hanging 
 upon her as a burthen : I Avished to see you throw 
 aside all taxes, but one, upon land, by which you 
 might in time correct the wretched state of pro- 
 perty now existing, which smothers you up 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTIOX. CCCXXxiil 
 
 among reserves, and unoccupied grants of drones 
 and absentees. I wished to see you obtain a loan 
 from England for the execution of great public 
 works, on the security of such a tax. I wished 
 to see dOjOOO emigrants annually settled on the 
 waste lands of the crown. My ideas were great, 
 and good, and practicable ; but ignorance and 
 vanity have, for the present, blasted them. 
 
 There is not a single clause of the Halton Resolu- 
 tions that does not contain something foolish or 
 oflensive. The second and third expose the natural 
 disadvantages of Upper Canada, while her manifold 
 natural advantages are forgotten, — advantages 
 which, if improved by good government, would 
 quite outbalance the disadvantages so peevishly 
 dwelt on by the inhabitants of Halton. Upper 
 Canada cannot meet the United States of America 
 in West India markets, not because of her “ remote 
 situation, and the difficulties occasioned by the 
 obstruction of navigation in winter,^’ hut because of 
 the inferiority of government ; and because of the 
 bad state of property above spoken of, which renders 
 it impossible for the Canadian farmer to cultivate 
 with economy and profit ; which indeed retards all 
 
 ♦ People from the United States even supply vegetables to 
 Kingston market; and newspapers are half the price in the States 
 that they are in Canada — all from the bad state of property. 
 Upper Canada contains about seven people to the square mile: 
 the Slate of New York thirty people. Here is a simple cause; 
 and in the course of this work I have again and again pointed 
 
CCCXXxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 improvement, and makes every thing dear*, — 
 w'hich beastifies society, and insults us at home 
 with the publication of the Halton Resolutions! 
 The expense of sending produce to Quebec, and 
 thence to the West Indies, is a mere bagatelle, to 
 the expense and waste sustained by bad manage- 
 . ment within the province of Upper Canada. 
 
 The 6th clause of the resolutions cants about 
 injury to the “ morals and industry of the inhabit- 
 ants,’' from distillation in the province ; while it is 
 a fact, that the province has all along stunk from 
 end to end, with West India rum ! ! 
 
 In the 8th clause, little prospect of relief is seen, 
 “ unless by a direct application, by petition, to the 
 Justice and generosity of his Majesty’s Government 
 and the Imperial Parliament and this application, 
 forsooth, must be made through such a medium as 
 a County Meeting, with a Member of Parliament 
 in the chair, who had neither the ingenuousness to 
 countenance the Convention of friends to inquiry, 
 nor manly resolution to stand up in his place in 
 Parliament last session, and insist on a commission 
 being sent home!!' It is quite sickening : my pa- 
 tience is exhausted with such a display of ignorance 
 and vanity. I had reflections to make on the 
 general perversity of mankind: I had designed to 
 cast my eye back on the foregoing pages, and make 
 some remarks on the conduct of my Lord Holland, 
 Sir James Mackintosh, Sir Robert Wilson, &c.: 
 besides having once more at Mr. Cobbett, the 
 cleverest fellow of them all; but really, my good 
 Canadians, the resolutions of James Crooks, Esq. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCXXXV 
 
 M. P, and his neighbours of Halton, have quite 
 cloyed my desire for criticism and censure upon 
 the conduct of any man, woman, or thing on this 
 side the Atlantic. — Adieu. 
 
 COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 On this subject I shall address myself 
 To the People of England. 
 
 Since the United States made good their inde- 
 pendence by the sword, North American Colonies 
 must have cost us little less than fifty millions of 
 pounds sterling; and I question if they have 
 returned so many farthings for our governmental 
 care, lill of late the annual charge could not be 
 much less than half a million ; and this fact I shall 
 maintain, that instead of throwing away money on 
 these colonies, we may draw from them a con- 
 siderable revenue, merely by the economical dis- 
 posal of waste lands. At the present time, when 
 the bonds of society are ready to burst with over- 
 strained taxation, surely, such a consideration 
 ought not to be thought a trifling one. 
 
 Our North American colonies are not yet ripe 
 for independence, or that should be granted them ; — 
 not independence of the crown, but of ministers. 
 The colonies stand in need of kind nursing for ten 
 years to come ; at the end of which period they 
 might be allowed to meet in Convention, and 
 
CCCXXXvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 choose a government for themselves. It is their 
 interest to remain for ever connected with this 
 country, and there is not the slightest reason to 
 suppose that they would ever harbour a wish to 
 throw off its sovereignty, or deny us the right of 
 disposing of waste lauds to the best advantage. 
 Set free from the wretched controul of haughty, 
 ignorant, and capricious governors, they would 
 most assuredly cherish a pride in their affinity to 
 the parent state : they would remain for ever our 
 friends, and fellow-subjects. Were a liberal sys- 
 tem of government established in the Colonies, li- 
 beral minded men would spring up there; and, 
 thither, liberal-minded men would emigrate from 
 Britain. It is from liberality alone, that Britain 
 can retain and derive benefit from her colonies. 
 Let us then at once have liberality. 
 
 Looking back to the history of America, how 
 simple do the means appear by which we might 
 have retained the United States. Good heavens! 
 Avhat madness was it to drive free-born Americans 
 to rebellion, by denying them the rights of men ! 
 What folly to imagine that we, islanders, could 
 coerce the people of a continent, 3,000 miles re- 
 moved ! Had Americans been permitted, in due 
 time, to govern themselves, they never would 
 have denied to this country the right of disposing 
 of waste land ; and by the judicious disposal of 
 that we could not only have drawn home a consi- 
 derable revenue, but have planted the new world 
 with a superior race of men. Surely we may now 
 be taught by experience; — surely, in this more 
 
GEN£KAli INTRODUCTION, CCCXXXVii 
 
 enlightened age, we may learn how to turn to pro- 
 fit the immense territory which we yet possess on 
 the continent of America. Let the eye only 
 glance over the map, from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
 cific, and from the St. Lawrence to the Pole; and, 
 then let rne ask, if it may not be for the ho- 
 nour of England, holding profit apart, to consider 
 by what means so vast a region may be tenanted 
 with civilized men — with happy souls and loyal 
 subjects. Four years ago the charming possibility 
 of this being realized dawned upon my mind ; and 
 I said that “ England could spare 30,000 people 
 annually, and be refreshed with the discharge.’* 
 The truth has grown more and more obvious, and 
 I now repeat it with perfect confidence. The 
 vision of quickly and thickly peopling the earth 
 with our species, brightens in my imagination day 
 after day ; and most earnestly would I intreat every 
 benevolent mind to give serious attention to the 
 subject. The idea may be easily realized. It re- 
 quires but systematic arrangement, and the judi- 
 cious application of capital which we have in abund- 
 ance. It will pay : it may be resorted to, not only 
 for the performance of the first great command to 
 multiply and replenish ; but for our individual ad- 
 vantage and our national aggrandizement: it may 
 be looked forward to as the peaceful means of 
 establishing a new and a better order of things in 
 the world. Hitherto men’s chief employment has 
 been to butcher their kind. They have gone on 
 from age to age, destroying and depopulating : they 
 have striven to give aid to vice and misery. Why 
 
 y 
 
CCCXXXViii GBNGRAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 should it be so ? Merciful God ! What cause 
 have we to quarrel with the people of the United 
 States; or these people with their neighbours in Ca- 
 nada? Is there not room for us all, and should we not 
 first consider how that room may be filled up ? One 
 and all of us may, for centuries to come, have po- 
 sitive and great advantage in settling the wastes of 
 nature to their remotest verge. England alone 
 could, in prosperity, easily supply 50,000 recruits 
 annually, for emigration and settlement ; and the 
 United Kingdom 100,000. Yes! by the simplest 
 arithmetic it can be proved, if proof is called for. 
 
 Our North American Provinces should be con- 
 federated. They should hold congress in the month 
 of June, at Quebec. Lower Canada: Upper Ca- 
 nada: New Brunswick, having Gasp6 and Prince 
 Edward’s Island laid to it : Nova Scotia, having 
 Cape Breton laid to it; and Newfoundland, 
 might constitute five independent, but confede- 
 rated provinces. Labrador: East, South, West, 
 and North Hudson, might fall into the confederacy 
 as they became civilized and sufficiently populous ; 
 and, in the course of time, those parts of the 
 United States, whose waters issue by Quebec, 
 (never to be gained over by conquest), would, 1 
 doubt not, join the Northern Confederacy, and 
 swell the Government of the St. Lawrence to its 
 natural size. 
 
 The best Constitution for a North American 
 Province, while at nurse, would, in my opinion, 
 be this : to consist of an Assembly chosen by the 
 people, as in Canada; a Governor and Council. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTrON. CCCXXXIX 
 
 The Governor might be a military man, and have 
 the commissioning of militia officers, while he and 
 the Council appointed judges, magistrates, &c., 
 who should be subject to removal on the applica- 
 tion of a certain large portion, say four-fifths of 
 the people, among whom they were aj>pointed to 
 act. The Council might consist of ten members 
 or more ; one half to be chosen by the people eli- 
 gible to sit in Assembly ; the other half to be real 
 men of business, sent from England on salaries for 
 service. These men, besides doing duty in the 
 Council, as advisers and legislators, might form 
 a land-board, altogether independent of the Pro- 
 vincial Governors or Government, and be subser- 
 vient, in that capacity, to a grand land-board at 
 home. The grand national land-board, with its 
 branches in the several Provinces, might dispose 
 of waste lands on strict business principles ; and 
 by system, every way defined and adjusted, ma- 
 nage in the best possible manner for public good. 
 Accurate surveys and maps might be made, and ex- 
 hibited both at home and abroad, for the expediting 
 of business, either in purchase or exchange ; and 
 under the auspices of the land-board and its 
 branches, a grand system of emigration might be 
 organized and maintained in constant operation. 
 There is nothing in mere magnitude which should 
 frighten us. Magnitude in general may be made 
 to contribute to success; and with systematic ar- 
 rangement, and adequate means, may be turned to 
 its utmost account, without difficulty, confusion, 
 or failure. I avoid particulars. The subject of 
 
 y 
 
profitable emigration and settlement, is one to 
 which I have devoted part of my third volume, 
 and should the public happily conceive favourable 
 opinions of schemes now hinted at, it shall be my 
 utmost ambition to go on to practical illustration 
 and detail. A few words on the fundamental 
 principle may not be thrown away : they may 
 assist in arresting attention. Land is valuable, ac- 
 cording to the degree of convenience attached to 
 it ; and other things being equal, increases in value 
 as the density of population increases. A single 
 family planted down on a square mile, as is the 
 case in Upper Canada, can have no convenience- 
 no sufficient strength to make head against obsta- 
 cles to improvement ; and while the settler is held 
 in misery, little value is added to the land he oc- 
 cupies. Plant down two families, twelve, twenty, 
 or more, on the same extent of ground, and each 
 additicm, up to a certain proportion, insures 
 greater and greater comfort and convenience to the 
 whole, while an instant and great value is given 
 to the soil. One solitary family, settled on a 
 square mile, must pine for years, become poor, 
 dispirited, beggarly, and brutal, while twenty fa- 
 milies will not only retain their strength, their 
 spirit, and their manners, but instantly flourish, 
 feel contented, feel happy, and be more and 
 more ambitious to excel in activity and skill. 
 England has thousands of people to spare ; and for 
 her thousands of people she has millions of acres 
 to settle and improve. She is the greatest land- 
 owner on the globe, and she has the greatest conr- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCxfi 
 
 inand ot capital. That capital is now running to 
 waste j or worse than waste, it is running on to 
 increase pauperism and idleness ; idleness both 
 among the rich and the poor. While this capital 
 is yet at command, England may do wonders, by 
 setting in motion a vast machinery at home and 
 abroad ; but let this capital waste itself, as it is 
 now doing, and a little time only will see its end, 
 — a woful end ! 
 
 Newfoundland now contains 70,000 permanent 
 inhabitants. They are sending home petitions, to 
 obtain a tree and regular constitution of govern- 
 ment. Let experiment be made there. Before 
 the chartered constitutions of Nova Scotia and 
 New Brunswick, or those of Canada, framed by 
 Act of Parliament, are pulled to pieces, let New- 
 foundland have one framed without delay; and 
 when that is found perfect, the older constitutions 
 may be new-modelled, to correspond with it. 
 An immediate experiment may also be made in 
 rightly laying out and disposing of land in New- 
 foundland. In general, that country is unfavour- 
 able to cultivation ; but still it contains Immense 
 tracts, which, under good management, may be 
 brought to value, and be occupied at once to the 
 advantage of individuals, and the nation. At pre- 
 sent, the people of Newfoundland are not allowed 
 sufficient land, even for potatoe gardens. How 
 monstrous * ! And this too, because of an absurd. 
 
 * "While the above was printing, the following article appeared 
 in The Times newspaper, 28th January, 1822. It will shew the 
 
 3 
 
CCCXlii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 antiquated notion, that the cultivation of the soil 
 there, would injure the fisheries. It would assist 
 the fisheries: it would enable us to cope with the 
 people of the United States, in that trade, along 
 the North American shores, where they are striv- 
 ing to rival, and, by all accounts, only require 
 time to go beyond us, notwithstanding that our 
 natural advantages are superior. But colonial po- 
 licy is every where at war with nature. The peo- 
 ple of Newfoundland would, no doubt, be willing 
 to give a fair price for land, to suit their conveni- 
 ence ; and a judicious mode of laying out, and 
 disposing of land, as it came to be wanted, is of 
 the utmost consequence to insure that convenience, 
 and make it valuable. The North American Pro- 
 vinces might choose three or more members each, 
 to attend congress at Quebec ; and one of these 
 for each Province, might be allowed to come home. 
 
 result of preventing the inhabitants of a country from cuhivatrng 
 ita soil. 
 
 “We are sorry to learn that advices are in town from New- 
 foundland^ which describe that colony to be in a state of extreme 
 distress. Among the lower orders, it is said, there are few able to 
 support themselves; and the members of the opulent part of the 
 community are so small, that relief was impracticable. Many, it 
 was feared, must perish from want. Meetings of the inhabitants 
 had been held, for the purpose of raising subscriptions, and the 
 Governor had intimated to them, that a sum eqyual to the wliole 
 raised by the colonists would be contributed by the government. 
 Memorials have been sent to England, to claim the interposition 
 oi- the legislature. The advices are to the (5th instant, the vessel 
 which brought them to Liverpool having performed the voyage 
 the short space of seventeen days.’’ 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCXliii 
 
 and have a seat in the British Parliament, with 
 liberty to speak, but not to rote. These members 
 might, from the Congress being held in June, an- 
 nually visit England, and return to perform their 
 duties at Quebec ; and thus a direct, social, lively, 
 and watchful intelligence might be maintained be- 
 tween the home and the colonial governments : all 
 would be simple and efficacious ; friendly and in- 
 dependent; active and harmonious. If desired 
 by the provincials, one of our Princes might reside 
 at Quebec, as Viceroy, to be directed by ministers, 
 subject to impeachment ; and to the Viceroy might 
 be given a power, much wanted abroad, to par- 
 don oflfences of every kind : indeed, saving ac- 
 knowledgment to the Sovereign of England, the 
 Viceroy might be clothed with every royal prero^ 
 gative. At Quebec, too, a supreme judicial tri- 
 bunal might be established, to supersede the ne- 
 cessity of appealing to the King in Council at 
 home; — a palpable bar to justice. The mere 
 skeleton of provincial government is sufficient now 
 to have exhibited. It is now only meant to attract 
 notice to the subject, and to lay the foundation for 
 mature discussion. Never did necessity call more 
 loudly for investigation into colonial policy, than 
 now. We cannot, indeed, afford longer to trifle 
 with this most important subject. Our colonial 
 policy over the whole world is abominable ; but in 
 North America it ought most speedily to be seen 
 to; for there it cannot be much longer endured, 
 even though our Ministers had still means to riot 
 in folly and extravagance, in holding colonies cmly 
 
COOxllT UKNKKAL INTIIODUCTION. 
 
 for the portioning of their friends and relations. 
 Bickerings between provincial assemblies and their 
 governors are now continually heard of ; and even 
 the little island of Bermuda has for years been in a 
 state of distraction and discontent, from arbitrary 
 proceedings*. The cause is obvious. Colonial Go- 
 vernors are all of them armed with too much power, 
 which, almost to a man, they abuse. They are 
 blinded by the sycophants who surround them ; 
 and invariably become either stupid or mad. Our 
 North American colonies afford, in their history, not 
 a single trace of common sense, discretion, or eco- 
 nomy. Mismanagement and misrule have prevail- 
 ed, and are prevailing. Not only do they yield no 
 revenue, but, as consumers of British manufactures, 
 the inhabitants are not half so advantageous to us 
 as any like number of people in the United States ; 
 for this clear reason, that colonial policy has kept 
 them spiritless and poverty-stricken. By the sim- 
 plest and safest measures, all may be changed for 
 the better. We may speedily lessen our expendi- 
 ture, and, from improved management alone, we 
 may at once have a direct revenue and flourishing 
 people to deal with in trade. 
 
 My pen must not be laid down without noticing 
 the opposite sentiments of politicians in and out of 
 power. Ministers seem to have J)0 idea of holding 
 
 * “ The little island of Bermuda is now involved in the very 
 tempest, torrent, and whirlwind of contention, between the Gover- 
 nor and the governed; between the Legislature and the inhabit- 
 ants of the colony .” — Englishman Neicspaper, \i(h Ocl. 1821 . 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. fCCXiv 
 
 Canada, but by enfeebling the people; ruling over ' 
 them by a wretched system of patronage and fa- 
 vouritism ; and guarding certain points by ships, and 
 fortifications. Most expensive works have, within 
 the last two years, been commenced at Quebec and 
 Isle-au-Noix, for military defence, while neither the 
 one nor the other post could have a thousandth 
 share in maintaining the provinces to Britain, in the 
 event of invasion. In fact, all that is wanted for 
 this, is the good will of the people to defend them- 
 selves, and with liberal treatment, that would never 
 be wanting. 
 
 Our Opposition men run to another extreme. 
 They are for abandoning Canada, or selling 
 it to the United States. This is worse and 
 worse. 1 can answer for the loyalty of the Cana- 
 dians : it abounds; and their desire to be inde- 
 pendent of the United States is strong, from one 
 end of the country to the other*. All that they 
 
 * Perhaps I cannot do better than quote, upon this sub- 
 ject, an article which appeared in a Canada Newspaper, 
 when I was residing in the Upper Province. 
 
 Quebec Gazette y Feh, 1818, 
 
 The following extract from Beirs Weekly Messenger, a pa- 
 per of very extensive circulation, published in London, appeared 
 in several papers in this province. I subjoin an extract from the 
 Edinburgh Review of August last, a Literary Journal of the 
 greatest merit and most extensive circulation in Great Britain, as 
 a suitable accompaniment. 
 
 Extract from BeWs London Messenger, 
 
 “ Our relations with America have become so important, or, 
 
CCCxWi OENBRAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Avant to continue and ensure this forever is, the pro- 
 mise of independence now, and the reality after a 
 
 «t least ia a progress of becoming so, that we shall defer our consi- 
 deration of them to an opportunity when we can discuss them by 
 themselves.— Mr. Monroe is a man of great talent and activity, 
 and his movements are not without an object. We think the 
 point of difference will be, the affairs of Spanish independence. 
 We conceive that we feel as strongly as any one, for the true 
 glory of this country ; but it always has been our opinion, and 
 we know it personally to be that of one of the greatest statesmen 
 this country ever produced, that Halifax, Canada, &c. are not 
 worth what they would eventually cost England; and the true 
 point of wisdom would be to make the best bargain we could for 
 them to the United States. Go they must; and it is better to let 
 them go, before another debt of eight hundred millions bo added 
 to this country.'* 
 
 From the Edinburgh Review of August, 1817. 
 
 “ When discoursing, in 1778, of the terms on which England 
 should make peace with the Colonies, he [Franklin] recommends 
 at once giving up Canada, not merely as a measure of concilia- 
 tion, but as the best means of removing a bone of contention, and 
 a fertile cause of future wars. Unpopular as the suggestion may 
 now appear, we suspect many years will not elapse before we see 
 reason to wish that this course' had been pursued. Already we 
 have sacrificed largely to Canadian interesU, by commercial losses 
 in other quarters; we shall, in all likelihood, sustain a long con- 
 ^t for that unprofitable colony, and end by losing it, after add- 
 ing many a million to our debt, in attempting to keep it The 
 experience of the American war will prove to have been thrown 
 away upon us; and we shall lose the opportunity of honourably 
 terminating the political connexion between the colony and the 
 mother country, and substituting for it one of mutual commercial 
 advantage, until our pride gets up; and being attacked, we feel 
 rtimpoeable, with honor, to yield, bofbre we are beaten." 
 
0£N£ltAL INTRODUCTION. CCCxItu 
 
 ^ivcn period of yccirs. To 8ttr3Ct notice to this most 
 essential point, I have twice repeated the word in my 
 
 “ The politics of the Messenger are sometimeB one thing, some- 
 times another, but, generally leaning to the side of power. The 
 Edinburgh Review is decidedly in the opposition. In its political 
 articles, a party bias is frequently discernible. With respect to 
 America, it often shews a want of information which could 
 hardly be expected in a work of such acknowledged meriu Its 
 articles relating to this country have been unpardonably incor- 
 rect. 
 
 “ That two British publications like the Messenger and Re- 
 view, should agree in the doctrine, that the British possessions in 
 North America should be given up to the United States, is unac- 
 countable. Is the state of the public mind in Great Britain, pre- 
 pared to receive such a proposition ! Are the high-minded people 
 of England prepared to retrograde in the path of power and em- 
 pire? Then “ farewell^ l^^S farewell to all their greatness. 
 
 In the language of their favourite bard, they may ** doff the 
 Lion’s hide, and hang a Calf’s skin on their recreant limbs. 
 Their wealth will not long survive their power. It will only aug- 
 ment, for their subjugation. 
 
 « England has many brave and loyal subjects in her American 
 provinces, who pride themselves in being British subjects, and 
 glory in their connexion with the country of their forefathers; men, 
 who envy neither the boasted liberties of the American Union, nor 
 the frothy honors of its rising reputation. — To be handed over to 
 the United States, like so many Russian serfs or German boors, 
 is an insult for which they were not prepared, so soon after la- 
 vishing their property, and exposing their persons in the cause of 
 Britain against these very U. S. Was it to heighten the price at 
 which they were to be sold, that they were called upon to meet 
 the enendes of England in battle? Na; the proposition of the 
 Messenger and the Edinburgh Review cau. have few partisans 
 among the people of England. They have their origin in the 
 brain of some miserable 3tockholder,i trembling fet the Igbb of his 
 
cccxlviii general introduction. 
 
 engraved title-pages ; and, by accident, the sun has 
 been made to shine from the north, to emblazon it. 
 The moment that the promise of independence is 
 granted, that moment all chance of discord and war 
 between the United States and British America 
 will cease, and England may forthwith begin to 
 reduce her military and naval establishments in 
 that quarter of the world. At Kingston and 
 Sackett’s harbour immense ships of war are upheld, 
 reproaching at once humanity and common sense. 
 In a very few years these ships will be rotten, and 
 why should not each nation, while the materials 
 are yet fresh, have them disposed of for useful pur- 
 poses?- These and the Government stores, at 
 
 
 iiauonai aeot; or they 
 are the offspring of a mind adulterated by a factious opposition to 
 overnment, to the extent of losing sight of the honour of the 
 fairest and most powerful empire in the world. 
 
 “ But, leaving every other topic out of the question, let us see 
 what would be the political consequences to Great Britain of 
 ^nding over the North American colonies to the United States. 
 Wounded feelings are never healed. A loyal population, basely 
 delivered up to those they had so recently met in the field, would 
 ever after be the bitterest enemies of Britain. She boasts, and 
 justly boasts, of a navy ; but could she think of protecting with 
 er navy her Newfoundland fisheries, if the St. Lawrence and the 
 ^asU of Nova Scotia were the safe resorU of American privateers ? 
 With the mam land she must abandon the islands ; with the islands, 
 the coasts and the banks. She must abandon one of the best nur- 
 series for her seamen, an extensive employment for her shipping; 
 she must abandon the essential supply offish for the West India 
 Islands. With the whole coast of America, from Davis’s 
 Straus, (I beg pardon, the Messenger and Review, perhaps, in- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCXHx 
 
 Kingston and elsewhere, would go far to make good 
 the navigation of the St. Lawrence; and nothing 
 more can be required to have these safely disposed 
 of, but a plain agreement with the United States, 
 that the breaking up shall be mutual and simul- 
 taneous. 
 
 The late invasion of Canada by the people of the 
 United States, was a burst of madness, of which 
 these people are now ashamed, and which never 
 would be repeated, were Canada independent of 
 British Ministry. All of us rejoice in the inde- 
 pendence of South America, now secured by years 
 of civil war ; and with that country there is now 
 every reason to believe we shall cultivate & most 
 friendly and profitable intercourse. How glorious 
 would it be for Britain, while opportunity yet re- 
 
 lend to keep possession of Hudson’s Bay), — with the whole coast 
 then from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico, in the possession of 
 an enemy, she might as well abandon at once the West India 
 Islands and the whole trade to Terra Finna, north of Cape Roque. 
 Perhaps the eloquent writers of the Edinburgh Review will be 
 able to persuade Russia to suffer her to trade to the Baltic. 
 France and Holland will not annoy her coasts; and Spain, Italy, 
 and Turkey, particularly after Russia gets a free passage through 
 the Dardanelles, may allow her to go to the Mediterranean. As 
 to the trade to India, America will be able to look to that, once 
 that she has possession of the West India Islands. 
 
 “ But go they must,” says the magnanimous writer of the Messen- 
 ger : “let us make the best bargain.” Go it must then, your national 
 honour, your national security. Make the best bargain with your 
 conquerors, with a world that envies and hates you, and take good 
 securities.” “ A. B.” 
 
cccl 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mains, to grant independence to North American 
 colonies ! how glorious for her to enjoy the immor- 
 tal honour of being the first nation upon earth to do 
 justice to her progeny, — the first truly entitled to 
 the endearing appellation oi parent State! 
 
POSTSCRIPT, 
 
 { Chiejly for after Reference and Discussion.) 
 
 There is something in the foggy atmosphere, 
 the monotony, or, I know not what, of London, 
 uncongenial to one who has been accustomed to 
 a country life — to air and exercise in the fields. 
 Since the day on which I was made prisoner at 
 Niagara, my health has not been so good as in 
 November last. In December it declined, and by 
 the middle of that month, beset with vexations, 
 such as I hope no other individual has experience 
 of, 1 became totally unfit for business, and could 
 have no relief but in a fourth flight to the country. 
 My plan was to devote a week to this, and Wilt- 
 shire presented objects of attraction. I have still 
 ar farm there, which, in duty to others, I must look 
 after: there my acquaintance is extensive ; and 
 there, the interests of the poor recur to my recol- 
 lection, as connected with the chief destiny of 
 my life. At Salisbury, Devizes, and Warminster, 
 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I calculated 
 on conversing with the farmers, and seeing how it 
 went with them. I could inform myself as to the 
 situation of the poor of Wily on Sunday; and re- 
 turn to London within the week j leaving behind 
 
 9 
 
CCclii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 me an Address to the people of Wiltshire for pub- 
 lication in the Salisbury Journal, respecting my 
 character and conduct, during a residence of seven 
 years among them, that notoriety might aid me in 
 petitioning for inquiry, as to my treatment abroad, 
 and for my return to Upper Canada. Thus I had 
 contrived ; and all seemed well contrived for di- 
 verting the mind from unprofitable cares. After 
 a week’s delay, from incessant rains, I set off on 
 Christinas eve. An accident arrested my course: 
 laid me up by the way ; stiffened me with rheu- 
 matism: deranged all my plans; and detained me 
 three weeks, instead of one, in the country. Thus, 
 to use the words of our Scottish bard : 
 
 “ The best laid schemes o’ mice and men 
 Gang aft a-gly,” 
 
 The prolonged time was not, however, entirely 
 lost. Perhaps it was all for the best ; and that is 
 a maxim which unfortunate man should continually 
 recur to. With more time I saw more, and con- 
 versed more ; and thought more of what I saw and 
 conversed about. Alas, the farmers ! How many 
 of them, even in Wiltshire, where they are most 
 substantial ; with great farms, and great flocks, 
 and great ricks, and great barns ; even in Wiltshire, 
 how many of them pant with the dread of losing 
 their all : how many, indeed, have already lost 
 every thing ; and now only hang on the mercy of 
 landlords, themselves hanging by a thread — a mort- 
 gage foreclosing ! ! Rents behind : trade’sman’s 
 bills unpaid : a bad sample to go to market with; 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCclfu 
 
 and even with the best, the market bad. These 
 are now subjects of reflection for the English far- 
 mer, while he lays himself down to rest, and can 
 find none. How infinitely more to be pitied is he, 
 than the Canadian farmer! He cannot rise from 
 ruin by mere manual labour: down once, and 
 down for ever: this day lording it over the poor ; 
 to-morrow a pauper, IJiit who were so regardless 
 in times of prosperity, as English farmers? who 
 had so little public spirit, or feeling? and even now 
 the mass of them only despond ; or worse than de- 
 spondency, at the suggestion ofstupid landlords, sign 
 irregular petitions for increased duties on imported 
 corn ! I saw this actually going on at Warminster. 
 I saw a good sort of a man running about among 
 the market tables with a great parchment, soliciting 
 signatures. Imported corn has not affected our 
 markets for years: but no matter for that, Corn 
 Bills must be amended!! While part of our far- 
 mers sign petitions for duties, others are for no 
 taxation whatever!! One Lord (Chichester), bids 
 farmers trust io individual exertion on their farms 1 ! 
 Another (Fitzwilliam), lets down his rents 35 per 
 cent.*! ! While Mr. Cobbett enjoys the madnessand 
 
 * On the subject of renis^ the following letter, which 1 
 had published in March, 1815, will speak for me: 
 
 To the Editor of the Salisbury JournaL 
 
 SlK, 
 
 In your last Journal, an article under the head Com Bill 
 
CCcliv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 confusion : in Sussex to-day : in Norfolk to-mor- 
 row; and next day in Huntingdon. To be sure, 
 
 appears, as setting forth your own opinions and arguments ; 
 and in the same paper Mr. Bleek favours us with his. 
 
 Both of you, I conceive, are fundamentally wrong. Both, 
 however, have written in that serious and argumentative style, 
 which, while it eiltitles you to respect, demands investigation 
 and exposure the more. 
 
 You do not want the Corn Bill amended: neither do I: 
 but the reasoning is very diiferent upon which we rest our 
 opinions. Both of you treat the question as if it lay between 
 individuals. The mere sinking of rent, you think competent 
 to relieve the country. This is a very dangerous error; and 
 the more so, as it inveigles the passions of a numerous body 
 of men. Those in possession of money naturally think this 
 money will be greatly increased in value with the lowering 
 of bread ; and this will certainly be the case, so far, wdth 
 money secured on land mortgage. Not so that capital which 
 is invested in the funds ; and which is out of sight the greater 
 proportion. The security of this vast capital must rest on 
 the present factitious state of things; and rent is part of 
 the material which maintains this state. The partial fall of 
 rent would weaken this security: and a great fall would 
 occasion a convulsion, which might blow up the very foun- 
 dation of funded property. Rent is a substantial property; 
 not optional, or relying on credit. Remove all the machi- 
 nery which draws from land so much wealth to the public: 
 remove the tenant, his stock and labourers, still a handsome 
 rent or increase may remain to the landlord. In many cases, 
 even while markets were high, landlords found more profit 
 from their lands in grass than they could obtain by the inter- 
 ference of a tenant’s skill, capital, and industry. 
 
 The public, therefore, may be greatly mistaken if they take 
 
GENEUAL INTRODUCrroy. 
 
 ccclr 
 
 tlie ensuing session must afford us a lively scene 
 of conflicting interests. The landed interest at 
 
 it for granted that rent is subject ta such lowering, as to 
 relieve the general pressure; or, that landlords may be 
 driven to beat under, for the aggrandizement of others. 
 They may for a time not realize their accustomed incomes ; 
 but landed property will ever remain valuable, even amidst 
 the wreck of every other; and would bound, perhaps, above 
 its present pitch, if any convulsion should throw off the 
 national debt. 
 
 The grand practical question, I conceive, for all who 
 would not look with an envious eye on the property of others, 
 nor desire to see the bonds of society broken up, nor public 
 faith violated, is to consider how the causes may be removed 
 which have accumulated our burdens, and repressed our 
 industry. In my opinion, we have here such scope, that Uie 
 people want but virtuous resolution to put all to rights. 
 Down with all taxes which affect industry, and let them rest 
 on rents and idle capital: commute tithes; and devise 
 measures, which may be veiy^ simple, for the abolition of 
 pauperism. 
 
 These would be virtuous and efficient efforts ; and I shall 
 ever be ready to assist you and Mr. B. in bringing them to 
 bear. So far from our national debt disheartening us, we 
 should look to it as the pledge of what our national industry 
 can effect; for not one farthing of it was created but tlirough 
 the means of industry; and the same industry, continued 
 and husbanded, may discharge it honourably at no distant 
 day. 
 
 Why then run foul of each other? Why talk of levels, while 
 an ingulfing surge unfairly beats us down? Why look back 
 to form odious comparisons between landed and funded 
 property ? 
 
 Had not every one a constant choice in the investment 
 z 9 
 
CCelvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 death’s door, coming alive, and getting furious. 
 The monied men still confident; and ministers at 
 
 of his property ? The question is for the future time, and 
 prompt decision is the very soul of our delivery. A manu- 
 facturer turns the water from his mill wheel, and in one in- 
 stant his motion is rest : he discharges his hands^ and each 
 has a parish to turn to: he balances his books; puts his 
 capital to interest, and retires to politics, and otium cum 
 dignitate. Different, indeed, is the farmer. His capital is 
 sunk in the soil, and upon stock which must remain for years 
 to reproduce it ; and if he fails at a single term, his landlord 
 may take advantage of embarrassment, and reap the harvest 
 which he did not sow. He cannot profitably withdraw. He 
 cannot safely proceed, and half a tillage stints the smiling 
 plain.” 
 
 For God’s sake, let no one think that agriculture can be 
 sported with. A year’s ruin among farmers may derange the 
 economy of many after it; and lay the foundation of a 
 thousand troubles. If all the wealth, which it has afforded the 
 nation of late years, has been extorted by taxation, and flung 
 to waste, that should not beget prejudice against agricul- 
 turists. The devouring fiend should be slain, but the indus- 
 trious producer protected and cherished. 
 
 The blow up of the nefarious Warminster meeting, gave, 
 I believe, general satisfaction even among farmers; and as 
 1 was absent from the county, at that time, I seized the 
 earliest opportunity, after my return, to thank Mr. B. for his 
 well-timed aid in the public cause. I also enjoyed his first 
 letter. His second does not coincide with my ideas. Had 
 I the farm he instances, which by fallen prices may not] now 
 be worth half the rent I had agreed to pay for it, I should 
 contract my cultivation, or, perhaps lay the farm entirely 
 down to grass, so that if I did lose upon the rent, my loss 
 should not be increased by voluntary labour, which could 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCclvii 
 
 Vi non-plus, or only putting off the evil day with 
 hollow expedients. How like to the time spoken 
 
 not be balanced by additional produce. This is very dif- 
 ferent from ‘‘ letting it lay waste, producing only docks and 
 thistles,” I am sorry he should have said any thing about 
 artificial scarcity having arisen out of increased capital, and 
 thrashing machines. My opinion is quite the reverse. Had 
 it not been for the increased capital of late years applied 
 to agriculture, and the facility of meeting, by thrashing ma- 
 chines, the sudden demands of a war time, prices would have 
 been higher than they were. Notwithstanding the increase 
 of capital, it never yet has been sufficient to do the general 
 business of the country, as it ought to be done; and the 
 dispatch which machines gave to farmers in bringing their 
 corn to market immediately after harvest, had the double 
 effect of lowering prices, and encouraging farmers to advance 
 into speculation with too slender capitals. Farmers, ge- 
 nerally, never can be monopolists, and it must always be for 
 the country’s good when they are enabled to keep on a full 
 stock. The misfortune both for farmers and the country, 
 of late years, has been the small stock on hand. While the 
 taxes of late years, have kept down the farmers’ profits, 
 even in the midst of monstrous prices, the vast idle popu- 
 lation maintained by these taxes, has devoured the plenty 
 which his increased skill and industry were continually en- 
 deavouring to create. It is our taxes which impoverish all ; 
 which devour all. Why then should we turn our eyes from 
 the taxes, and have them wander among delusive arguments f 
 Let us leave off arguing, where all is notoriety. Let us 
 leave off envyings in this land of freedom. Let us leave off 
 strife, where there is but one cause. Let us all go up as 
 friends to Salisbury next Wednesday, and with peaceable 
 
 3 
 
CCclviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of by Mr. Hume, in his Essay on Public Credit, 
 when “ Necessity calls, fear urges, reason exhorts, 
 compassion alone exclaims and yet how easily 
 could all be held in peace and security, were reason 
 alone consulted. We want employment for the 
 idle: we want consumption: we want money and 
 enterprise; and we may have them all. We want 
 retrenchment in wasteful expenditure; but expen- 
 diture increased to the utmost on profitable objects : 
 we want “ better soils to cultivate*:” we want 
 rents reduced by the market price of wheat : we 
 want industry relieved by withdrawing taxes from 
 necessaries : we want our national credit sustained 
 by upholding a due balance between substantial 
 and fictitious stock, by taxing rents and interest: 
 we v/ant the way prepared for unbounded freedom 
 of trade: we want tithes commuted; and a reform of 
 
 dispositions, but determined voice, proclaim — no taxes on 
 industry — no corn bill. 
 
 This, Sir, is my language before the public ; but let not 
 the public misconstrue it. Let them mark its order; for 
 there rests the safety of all. If the public oppose the coni 
 bill, and do nothing more, they bring ruin on the country: — 
 they 
 
 Rob us of tliat which not enriches them, 
 
 “ And makes us poor indeed.” 
 
 Robert Goorlav. 
 
 Deptford Farm, March 3, 1815. 
 
 * This, I think, is said by Col. Torrens, the most impartial, 
 ingenuous, and argumentative of the halfdiundred writers on Corn 
 Laws. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCclix 
 
 the poor-laws, connected with a grand system of 
 emigration. 
 
 What I said above as to English farmers holding 
 out in these trying times worse than Scotch far- 
 mers, I find confirmed. What has been reported 
 in newspapers about poor-rates diminishing, I can 
 again say, with greater confidence, is a wretched 
 delusion. The burden is every day increasing. 
 It cannot be otherwise. The paupers are breeding 
 amain, and so it must be while the premium is 
 continued for the breeding of paupers. Salisbury, 
 containing less than 9,000 people, has 2,000 poor 
 maintained by^ a rate of 12s. in the pound. The 
 whole of the flannel weavers once kept busy by sup- 
 plying the Spanish market, are now entirely out of 
 work : to be sure, because Spaniards are now 
 shaking off incumbrances, which repressed their 
 own industry ; — priests and a world of abomination. 
 With Lord Bathurst’s good will, I could relieve 
 Salisbury of its burden, and make independent men 
 of the flannel weavers. I could remove them to 
 Upper Canada, and make them flourish there ; but 
 what will rouse Lord Bathurst to any thought of 
 benevolence ! how shall we get the camel through 
 the needle’s eye ! 
 
 I attended a vestry meeting at Wily, and saw 
 the poor have their fortnight’s dole. Mercy on 
 us ! what a group of poor creatures ! It is greatly 
 worse with them now than five years ago, when I 
 resided in Wiltshire. Before going out to Canada, 
 
 I spoke to my friend Wilkie about making “ Pay- 
 ing THE Poor of Wily,” a subject for his 
 
ccclx GENERAL INTRODLCTlOiV. 
 
 pencil. I thought of thus getting attention to the 
 effect of the poor-laws, in degrading our species, 
 in diminishing the stature, and worsting the ap- 
 pearance of God’s image. Were the system of 
 poor-laws to continue thirty years longer, the la- 
 bourers of Wiltshire would scarcely have the ap- 
 pearance of men : they would be shrunk to no- 
 thing: they would not only grow up, as now, 
 without calves to their legs, but they would be dis- 
 torted — diseased — downcast. Perhaps they would 
 . prove Lord Monboddo’s hypothesis to be sound *. 
 If the writer on poor laps in last Edinburgh Re- 
 view, did but see the progress of the evil as I do, 
 he would not coolly admit of a poor relief bill 
 being put off for years. An effort must be made 
 for deliverance from this frightful evil, and the 
 sooner the better. 
 
 1 have found Mr. Scarlett’s proposal for a max- 
 imum every where scouted; and the assertion of 
 my petition (page cclxxxv), that refusing relief 
 for children without making up to the poor some 
 substantial advantage in lieu of it, would certainly 
 lead on to insurrection. I have found, what I am 
 glad of, that there are, even Wiltshire farmers, who 
 now approve of my plan of granting a little land 
 to the poor. They are yet, how'ever, opposed to 
 education. In Wily, there is a school with twenty 
 
 ♦ Lord Monboddo, a Scotch judge, maintained that men had 
 improved from monkeys: that they had once tails; and said that 
 one of his own domestics still had a stump remaining. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ccclxt 
 
 children ; but though the farmers were willing to 
 let poor children attend, many of the parents are 
 unable to pay the charge of 6d. a week. The in- 
 formation which I received in April last (see note, 
 page cxxii), as to the school established in Wily 
 by labourers, I have now got corrected. Stephen 
 White, Joseph White, Philip Bennet, labourers; 
 with the assistance of Mr. Brandis, schoolmaster, 
 and a person from another parish, have the merit 
 of upholding this school, in spite of opposition. 
 It is a Sunday’s school. Nearly 100 children 
 attend regularly, and receive great benefit. I again 
 ask, “ Should such people not be assisted by go- 
 vernment ?’’ 
 
 Select vestries have been established in a good 
 many parishes in Wilts, under the act of 59 Geo. 
 
 1 11. chap. 11, 12. There is one at Wily. The farmers 
 find them convenient. To be sure they are now 
 made judges in their own cause ; and there is no 
 summoning of overseers. Convenient, indeed ! 
 The tyranny of the poor-laws has been strengthened 
 by it; but better is the absolute power of the 
 farmer over the poor than the wretched vacillating 
 will of magistrates, especially reverend ones, which 
 used to decide in petty sessions. 
 
 A improvement on xheyi'eal bad system, has 
 been made since I was resident in Wily parish, by 
 paying the poor by what is called “ the scale.” In- 
 stead of each member of a family getting a gallon 
 loaf and threepence: a man is allowed the loaf and 
 sixpence: a woman, and children above twelve 
 years of age, the loaf and fourpence : children from 
 
CCClxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 eight to twelve years of age, the loaf and twopence j 
 and children under eight years of age, the loaf 
 alone. This certainly is an improvement on the 
 artificial system ; but the desideratum is to get quit 
 of artifice. This scale suggests a gradual raising of 
 men’s wages and diminution of the children’s al- 
 lowance, and it would be well thus gradually to 
 proceed till the artificial practice was extinct. 
 Let Mr. Scarlett notice this, and I shall tell him 
 more when willing to listen. 
 
 The Lord of the Manor of Wily, who used never 
 to concern himself about the parish poor, has now 
 taken a little thought on the subject. He has re- 
 peatedly visited the parish ; and tried to collect 
 pennies from the poor labourers to put into a 
 savings bank for clothing them ! Notwithstanding 
 this great effort, it is very palpable to my observa- 
 tion, that the poor of Wily are now even more 
 ragged than they used to be. When the poor re- 
 ceive the fair and natural price of their labour, di- 
 rectly from their employers, savings-banks may be 
 rendered of infinite consequence: till then, and 
 while parish regulations equalize the pay of weak 
 and strong ; — when nothing but the minimum of 
 misery is allowed, relief by savings-banks is but 
 mockery. 
 
 My prolonged stay in Wiltshire afforded me op- 
 portunity of conversing with Mr. John Combes of 
 Fovant, who with a party visited Mr. Birkbeck, in 
 Illinois, September, 1818. I had seen an account 
 of this visit, published in American newspapers, 
 from the Observer London paper, of 17th January, 
 
G£N£RA.L INTRODUCTION. CCClxiii 
 
 1819, wherein it was insinuated that Mr. Birkbeek 
 had been inattentive to his visitors. I was very 
 sure that the account was incorrect, and so I found 
 it to be from my conversation with Mr. Combes ; 
 who said that it was “ harsh.” Mr. B. had no 
 means of accommodating visitors. Mr. C. ad- 
 mired the country; but found it unhealthy, which 
 all new countries are at first clearing, south of la- 
 titude 43". north, getting more and more so, as we 
 proceed southward. Mr. C. does not doubt of Mr. 
 B. succeeding, and told me he would make a for- 
 tune if a certain public road was conducted through 
 ' his estate. Mr. C. decidedly prefers the western to 
 the eastern states for settlement. 
 
 I had the following Address inserted in the 
 Salisbury Journal of January 14th, 1822. 
 
 To the People of Wiltshire. 
 
 Having visited tliis County, partly on business and partly 
 on tlic recovery of health, I have taken occasion to post 
 hand-bills in the several towns of Warminster, Salisbury, 
 and Devizes, printed for me in March, 1816, by Messrs. 
 Brodie and Dowding, and setting forth, that, " a property 
 tax on KENTS and interest is that, and that alone, by 
 which the country can be preserved in peace.” 
 
 This act, taken by itself, may be considered frivolous : 
 taken in connexion witli circumstances, I hope it may be 
 viewed quite otherwise. Permit me to explain. In the 
 spring of 1816, having a company dining with me at the 
 Antelope, in Salisbury, a person introduced himself, and 
 asked us to subscribe a requisition for a county meeting to 
 petition against the continuance of the property tax. The 
 requisition was already signed by Wm. Cobbett and Henry 
 
CCClxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Hunt; and it was indeed Mr. Hunt who had employed the 
 person to solicit our names. I said, that if a county meet- 
 ing was called, I should oppose the Requisitiouists, and vote 
 for a well modified property tax. The meeting was held: 
 Messrs. Cobbett and Hunt carried all before them; and 
 thousands of poor men, who never were affected by any 
 kind of property tax, and to whom a rousing tax on rents and 
 interest would have been the greatest blessing, cheered, 
 with their utmost breath, the resolutions of the day ! ! I was 
 quite aware how it would go; but having very deeply con- 
 sidered the subject, was desirous to register my opinion for 
 after reference. A natural defect disqualifies me for public 
 speaking, and for that reason 1 had tlie bill in question 
 printed off while the people were assembling, to give it 
 into their hands from the hustings. The resolutions of the 
 county meeting were most irregularly and unbecomingly 
 opposed by a counter petition to parliament, and, in con- 
 sequence of this, I wrote an article, which w as published in 
 the Salisbury Journal of 1st April, 1816. 
 
 Being in Upper Canada in 1818, I found that country, by 
 nature the finest in America, completely ruined, in ray 
 opinion, by mal-administration, and advised the people to 
 send home a commission to entreat the government to cor- 
 rect existing evils. This proposal brought upon me the 
 wrath of men in power, and on false allegations they had 
 me arrested in two different districts. I w^as twice tried, 
 twice pleaded for myself, and twice honourably acquitted. 
 Soon after this, the London Courier of the 8th July, 1818, 
 arrived in the province, setting forth that I was one of 
 the worthies who escaped after the disgraceful proceedings 
 of Spa-fields.’* This most infamous falsehood w'as instantly 
 seized upon by my enemies as the ground-work of fresh per- 
 secution. The most atrocious calumnies were fabricated 
 to injure my character, and it was publicly declared that 
 I and Hunt had the death of Cashnian to answer for.^^ 
 1 was now again arrested, under colour of a statute, applica- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ccclxv 
 
 ble only to aliens; and, the leading charges being, that I 
 knew Messrs. Cobbett and Hunt, and had been at Spa- 
 fields meeting, I was ordered to leave the province. In my 
 right as a British subject, I refused to obey, and was then 
 committed to jail, where I remained without benefit of bail, 
 for nearly eight months. During the last six weeks of this 
 period, being closely shut up in a cell, while the weather was 
 intolerably hot, cut off from all communication with the 
 press, and for some time denied free conversation with law^ 
 counsel, and even magistrates of my acquaintance, my health 
 declined, and my mental energies became altogether weak. 
 At the assizes I was brought up for trial, but the fresh air 
 proved too much for me. I forgot that I had a protest in 
 my pocket against trial, under the alien law, consented to 
 trial in a state approaching to delirium, and was banished, 
 not for any crime, but merely because of my refusal to leave 
 the province. 
 
 While yet in expectation of a fair trial on some specific 
 charge for crime, I sent to England for a copy of the Salis- 
 bury Journal of the 1st of April, 1816, to prove how 
 very opposite I was in political opinion to Messrs. Cobbett 
 and Hunt; but though this arrived in time, and I had with 
 me a pamphlet published in England, wherein I deprecated 
 such great irregular meetings as those of Spa-fields, all 
 went for nothing. Before my trial I was desirous to an- 
 nounce to tlie public my receipt of the Salisbury Journal 
 of 1st April, 1816, together with the opinion of Sir Arthur 
 Piggott, that I was illegally imprisoned; but though appli- 
 cation was made to the SheriflF for this liberty, it was refused, 
 and on my trial a feeble effort to produce the newspaper 
 was immediately resisted by the Attorney-General : such 
 was the dread of my enemies at once to prevent my reputa* 
 tion from being maintained, and their own mchedness, in 
 holding me in jail for a mock trial, being made known. 
 
 I wish not to be invidiously distinguished from any 
 man or set of men in politics : not even from Messrs. Cob- 
 
m '''W !'?* If 
 
 S if ip' f 
 
 W 1 1*111 1 
 
 I 
 
 r i 
 
 
 j m 
 
 ■ 
 
 'rv 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 bett and Hunt. I am as zealous for parliamentary reform 
 as they, and have long been so ; but it so happens tliat 
 there is not in England an individual more hostile to their 
 means of bringing about reform than myself. I wish it ac- 
 complished without the intervention of passion or force; — by 
 peaceful, orderly, and manly measures on the part of those 
 who desire it. 
 
 Having by no means given up hopes of getting inquiry 
 instituted into the state of Upper Canada : having views of 
 still holding connexion with that country; and being bound 
 in duty to myself and family to uphold my character both 
 at home and abroad, the object of this Address, to which the 
 posting of the bills was merely intended as an introduction, 
 is to challenge scrutiny and exposure in this county, where 
 I resided for upwards of seven years, regarding my conduct 
 or connexions — my private and my public life ; and I do 
 challenge my bitterest enemy to say aught to my discredit. 
 
 I came to Wiltshire, not as a common farmer in search 
 of a livelihood, for I was then independent of all professional 
 exertion, and my ultimate failure arose from no fault of 
 mine. I came to reside in Wiltshire in the year 1809, 
 chiefly with a view practically to study the system of the 
 Poor Laws, a subject to which I became devoted in 1801, 
 in consequence of being then employed by the Board of 
 Agriculture to inquire into means for bettering the condi- 
 tion of the poor ; and it is also a fact, that my efforts in 
 Upper Canada were stimulated by a desire to have that 
 delightful country thrown open to a grand system of emi- 
 gration, in connexion with a plan for the reform of the 
 Poor Laws. 
 
 It is two years since I returned from America, and during 
 these two years I have struggled under miserable health and 
 accumulating distress of every kind, to reach a great and 
 a good end, altogether distinct from that of any other po- 
 litical projector: my opinions are altogether peculiar to 
 myself; nor had I ever in Britain a single associate in 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCclxvil 
 
 politics. 1 liave now in tlie press, and nearly ready for pub- 
 lication, three volumes regarding Upper Canada and the 
 Poor Laws of Lngland, which will go some length to 
 speak, not only for the purity, but consistency and magni- 
 tude, of my views. Sorry I am, that worn out with sicken- 
 ing cares and adversity, my powers of execution have fallen 
 short of their object, and have become too feeble for the 
 mighty cause which I desire to plead, — the cause of the 
 English Poor, and of a benighted province of the British 
 Empire. 
 
 Since my return home I have twice petitioned Parliament 
 on these joint subjects, and during the ensuing Session 
 shall resume my suit, besides making appeal as to my in- 
 dividual sufferings in Upper Canada, which has been delayed 
 for want of witnesses, now happily within reach. In such 
 cases, before a British Parliament, an individual can have 
 little chance of hearing without the aid of public notoriety 
 and fervor in his behalf, and I shall not hide my anxious 
 desire to be thus assisted. In Wiltshire I am sure there 
 are many who wish me well. A suitor at once in a great 
 public cause, and for my birth-right, as a native Briton, 
 perhaps I may even take advantage of an incident, which 
 otherwise, so far as I was concerned, might have rested in 
 silence,— an incident which will testify tliat I can feel for 
 another as well as for myself— that I am not destitute oi 
 sincerity. Coming hither from London on the night of the 
 24th ult. in the Old Salisbury Coach, a poor man was found 
 drowning in the flood near Staines. I hastened to his relief, 
 and plunging thrice to the neck, rescued him from a watery 
 grave*. May I hope, from this incident, to strengthen belief, 
 
 The accident alluded to, page ccclii.— About two miles 
 from Staines, a gravel pit runs for some distance alongside of 
 the high way, unguarded with post and rail. This was filled 
 with water, and overflowed to some distance round by the flood 
 
CCClKviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 when I declare, that for twenty-one years I have been de- 
 voted to the cause of the poor of England; and that in 
 
 then rising, which in a few days afterwards inundated the whole 
 country in that quarter, to a degree unprecedented. A London 
 postboy, lost in the dark, had drove his carriage off the road, and 
 overturned it in the gravel pit. Part of two wheels only were visi- 
 ble above the water’s surface, and the poor man, upheld by t epo e 
 or horses, beneath him, stood immersed to the lips, and had so 
 stood for about half an hour, roaring out most piteously. Our 
 coach drawing up, I hastened out of it to get to the man ; but 
 sinking into the pit beyond my depth, and being no swimmer, 
 I escaped with difficulty, then secured from fatal consequences 
 by the coach traces tied together, and round my body, I suc- 
 ceeded in dragging the man ashore. Hearing that the Road 
 Commissioners had often been unavailingly complained of for their 
 neglect in leaving so dangerous a place unguarded, I wrote to 
 a friend in town an account of the affair, calculated to attract 
 notice to this neglect, bidding him give it for insertion in the 
 Newspaper, but withholding names. The account appeared in 
 the Morning Chronicle of 29th December, and being imme- 
 diately copied into other papers, had the desired effect. On r^ 
 turning to town, I found the following letter published in the 
 Statesman of 3d January, 1822. 
 
 To the Editor of the Statesman. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Having observed in your paper of last night, an account 
 of an accident to a carriage and horses, and the driver, which hap 
 pened near Staines on Christmas eve ; I beg leave, as proprietor 
 of that equipage, to return, through your means, my most grateful 
 acknowledgments to your correspondent, the gentleman passen- 
 ger by the Salisbury coach, to whose humane, prompt, and per- 
 severing endeavours, I am indebted for the recovery of the car- 
 riage and one of the horses; and my servant, the driver, for his 
 rescue from the perilous situation into which he was thrown, by 
 the shameful neglect of the Commissioners of Roads, of that 
 
ornkral INTRODUCTIOX. cccixix 
 
 Upper Canada I never entertained a desire either disloyal 
 or Ml any way impure— that my every effort there was bent 
 on making that country a profitable and honourable appen- 
 dage to the parent State, instead of a burden and reproach, 
 which, hitherto, most assuredly it has been. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 fVily, Wilts, 9th January, 1822. 
 
 The article above spoken of, as published in the 
 Salisbury Journal of 1st April, 18 If), was this. 
 
 To the Editor of the Salisbury and Winchester Journal. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your last Journal contains the Resolutions of a 
 meeting of this county, regularly called together by the 
 sherifl; and countenanced by his presence. It also contains 
 a petition of individuals affecting to be noblemen, clergymen 
 gentlemen, and freeholders of Wilts. ’ 
 
 district. I think it proper to add, that my sense of the duty I 
 owe to the public at large, has induced me to direct my Solicitor 
 to make application, in the proper quarter, for redress, and hope 
 
 It may be the means of preventing the recurrence of similar ac 
 cidents in future. 
 
 I am, very respectfully. 
 
 Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 CHARLES GATES. 
 
 Adam Street, JV td, Bryamtone Square. 
 
 Sunday, December 30 , 1821 . 
 
 Though I have not yet quite recovered from the effects of my 
 cold bath, the satisfaction of having saved the life of a fellow 
 creature, is quite equivalent to my damage ; and at a gloomy mo- 
 ment of existence, such satisfaction I prize the more. But for 
 the coincidence, that I was on a journey to Wiltshire, to appeal 
 * ff ^ ** *** uprightness of principle and conduct, the 
 
 air should certainly not have been repeated with my signature. 
 
 a a 
 
ccclxx GEIKERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The resolutions of the meeting, set forth certain opinions, 
 in language pointed and strong. The petition disavows the 
 principles of these resolutions, and stigmatizes the supporters 
 of them as factious men. 
 
 Having, at the county meeting, openly expressed my dis- 
 approbation of part of its resolutions, I conceive that my 
 right of animadverting on this petition, to which they have 
 given rise, is so much the better; and I do not hesitate to 
 say, in the face of all who may have signed it, noblemen, 
 clergymen, gentlemen, and freeholders, that if the county 
 resolutions were in any thing wrong, this petition is infinitely 
 more censurable. 
 
 I am not one who have either much relish for county 
 meetings, or much hope of good from them ; yet, as they 
 are constitutional, and have for ages afforded the chief op- 
 portunity for the expression of public opinion, I must say 
 it omens ill, to see individuals, whoever they may be, running 
 from these meetings to arrogate to themselves superior 
 virtues, and presuming not only to throw discredit and ob- 
 loquy on the combined sentiments of their fellow subjects, 
 but loading deserving characters with insidious and reproach- 
 ful language. 
 
 Who, I would ask, is entitled to fix the standard of sen- 
 timent ? Or rather, who are factious men ? They who attend 
 to the call of the sheriff, and express, under his auspices, 
 their opinions f Or they who fly to all the corners of the 
 county to find strength for scandalizing, in parliament, the 
 result of regular proceedings f 
 
 The universal excuse is, that Hupt and Cobbett should 
 not be countenanced; and a ipore w’retched plea cannot 
 possibly be set up. 
 
 Almost in every quarter of the kingdom meetings were 
 held to oppose the property tax. In Wiltshire there w as no 
 movement towards this, till Mr. Hunt came forward, and 
 procured a meeting. If it was right elsewhere to hold 
 meetings, it was right here. If it was virtuous in other 
 
CKxVERAL introduction. Ccclxxi 
 
 individuals to call for the expression of public opinion, it 
 was so in Mr. Hunt. If the public duties of a county are 
 neglected by those who should be foremost to perform them, 
 surely such persons should be the last to complain when 
 these duties are performed by others. 
 
 What is it that makes Mr. Hunt popular in Wiltshire, but 
 the advantage he finds in neglected duty ? He and Mr. Cob- 
 bett do not deny this. The latter declared at the meeting, 
 that he would not trouble himself in this quarter if tlic 
 gentlemen would do their duty. Have they done their 
 duty ? Are they now doing it by vamping up this counter 
 petition ? Quite the reverse. If they had auy public opinion, 
 the county meeting afforded the genuine opportunity for the 
 expression of such opinion; and, after neglecting the fair 
 opportunity, ali opposition is clearly unbecoming and fac- 
 tious. 
 
 The county meeting was open to all : whoever set it on 
 foot, whoever attended it, made no difference,— it was still 
 the county meeting; and when past, its determination re- 
 main that of the county, and as such should be respected. 
 
 If the gentlemen of Wilts wish to oppose the opinions of 
 Mr. Cobbett or Mr. Hunt, why should they be afraid to 
 come forward? If they had done so upon this occasion, 
 most assuredly the present resolutions would have been 
 negatived, or at least greatly modified, and a check would 
 have been given to the sway of Mr. Cobbett and Mr. Hunt. 
 How has it been in Hampshire ? There they have repeatedly 
 made their appearance, but they have been opposed— con- 
 stitutionally and successfully opposed. In W'iltshire they 
 carry all before them ; and for their opponents in political 
 opinion, there seems no consolation but in the prostrations 
 of a passive spjrit to one party, and the disgorging of sp^en 
 towards another. 
 
 These frank declarations may give offence ; but I speak 
 for myself only, and wish to command no conviction but 
 what reason and reflection can approve. 
 
CCclxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I do not hesitate to say, that in many things I cordia% 
 agree with Mr. Cobbett: in some I w ould oppose him with 
 all my might. He cannot wish more than I do for par- 
 liamentary reform ; he cannot express too strongly for my 
 taste an abhorrence for military despotism; but when he 
 comes forward with a scheme for relieving the pecuniary 
 embarrassments of the nation, which is to take a retiospec- 
 tive view of transactions, and call for the lefunding of pro- 
 perty out of the peculation and waste of times that are gone, 
 not only my faith in his sincerity is lessened, but my blood 
 runs cold with the imagination of such dangerous fallacy. 
 While his scheme would be inefficient for the end in view, 
 it would subject thousands of the innocent to misery: it 
 would introduce a reign of terror. 
 
 Mr. Cobbett has, for months past, in his Political Re- 
 gister, engaged the attention of his readers with the subject 
 of national remedies; and here he has displayed his usual 
 acuteness and penetration in exposing the errors of others. 
 When it comes to this his own wit’s-encl on the subject, with 
 what melancholy sensations of every kind must we be in»- 
 pressed ? 
 
 Mr. Cobbett’s idea of refunding is not of recent date, 
 though only now formally declared. He has hinted at it for 
 years ; and it is truly astonishing, that a mind so superior 
 could have so long harboured a thought so delusive. No 
 man knows better than he does the vast resources of this 
 country; and how easily the burdens of the people could 
 be lightened without any retrospective law, merely by just 
 and economical arrangement. He knows that the very ex- 
 istence of our enormous debt is the best pledge that we have 
 resources for paying it off ; and he cannot be ignorant that, 
 with stable credit, price w’ould rise to equalize so far the 
 present ruinous disproportion between real and ticUtious 
 property. 
 
 My notions as to the remedy for national distress have 
 been long stationary. Last year, in a printed letter, I con- 
 
CtENKKAI, INTRODIK^TION, CCclxxiii 
 
 densed iheni within this short sentence: Down with ail 
 taxes which affect industry, and let them rest on rents and 
 idle capital; commute tithes; and devise measures, which 
 may be very simple, for the abolition of pauperism.’' This 
 year, I read at the late meeting, from a printed hand-bill, the 
 following scheme, which, as something very extraordinary 
 must soon be done, is as practicable as any other equally 
 efficients — 
 
 A property and income tax is that and that alone by 
 which the country can be preserved in peace. While it is 
 withdrawn from the fields of industry, let it remain on the 
 wastes of idleness, — let it affect only rents and interest, and 
 let incomes proceeding from tliese be further taxed, in the 
 ratio of their Increase. Let such incomes at 1,000/. per 
 annum be charged with one per cent ; at 2,000/. with two 
 per cent.; and so upwards to 100,000/. per annum, where 
 the ratio of increase may safely terminate. This scheme 
 would admit of all taxes on malt, salt, soap, candles, leather, 
 bricks, tiles, &c. &c. being withdrawn. It would sustain 
 the national credit, check immorality, give spirit to industry, 
 and make the poor man’s face beam with joy.” 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 Deptford Farm, March 28, 1816. 
 
 One reason for .my here inserting these news- 
 paper extracts is, that my Canadian friends (for 
 such I boast of having, notwithstanding my seve- 
 rities to them as politicians) may read the simple 
 document which an illiberal, up-setting Attor- 
 ney-General would not suffer to be read in 
 court; and see that I can challenge scrutiny here 
 at home; but my chief object is to draw attention 
 to these words, price would rise.” To point 
 to these words now that price has fallen, and 
 
Ixxiy GENERAL IJ^TRODUCTION. 
 
 Mr. Cobbelt, with Lord Fitzwilliam and others, 
 have made up their minds that it will fall still 
 lower, may seem wanton folly ; but I shall stick to my 
 text, and if no malignant star, to borrow a proviso 
 from Mr. Francis Moore, comes in the way, shall 
 prophesy that they will even rise. There was no 
 person more thoroughly convinced than I was for 
 many years before the peace, that price would not 
 keep up so high as it had been ; but I am as 
 thoroughly convinced that at this moment it might 
 have been kept up much higher than it now is ; 
 and the question is vitally important. Price de- 
 pends much upon demand, and demand upon con- 
 sumption. The price of an article too, is often re- 
 gulated by the strength to hold. A needy man 
 can never obtain so high a price for hi# goods as a 
 man at ease in his circumstances. Well do I know 
 it. What has made the price of a farm in Canada 
 with a log-house, as spoken of above, in the extract 
 from the Times newspaper, “ less than the usual 
 law expenses incurred to aflrect the sale That is 
 not the natural price, and cannot continue as it is. 
 The absolute poverty of the holder has gone so far 
 to produce the effect ; and want of demand, from 
 stagnation of trade and general poverty, has summed 
 up the poor account. Ever since the funding sys- 
 tem and paper money had existence, there has, I 
 presume, been stagnation, and the price of land 
 and its produce has fallen at the termination of 
 Wtir. This happened to a great extent after the 
 American revolutionary war, and now to a greater 
 degree, clearly from a too sudden stop being put to 
 
 1 
 
CENEnAli INTRODUCTION. CCclxXT 
 
 activity. I would have the reader pause, and fix 
 this very word, activity, in his mind, as important. 
 The activity of war has destruction for its main 
 object: yet in spite of this destruction, — this waste, 
 such is the virtue of activity that a surplus of gain 
 may be secured by it. At the end of wars, ac- 
 tivity, stimulated by the violent passions which 
 make and maintain them, is too hastily checked. 
 It is checked from the subsiding of passion, when 
 it should be excited more and more, only having 
 its direction changed from destruction and waste to 
 profitable production. The fall of price was great- 
 ly owing to the lessening of Government transac- 
 tions with peace, and the consequent diminished 
 issue of Government paper. Suppose Government 
 had continued transactions and expenditure to the 
 full extent in peace as in war; only with this dif- 
 ference, that those to whom they paid out money, 
 had been employed profitably instead of wastefully 
 — had been industrious farmers and mechanics, in- 
 stead of soldiers, and officers of soldiers, what now 
 would have been the issue? Certainly, among 
 other effects, price would have been kept high, and 
 all would have been prosperous. Every thing, on 
 the contrary, has been done to lower price : trans- 
 action and excitement have been lessened ; con- 
 sumption has decreased ; industry has pined : 
 
 Itis idlesse all; 
 
 “ Knight, and Page, and household Squire,” 
 
 Loiter I” loiter I loiter I 
 
 We may keep up an immense army in peace ; we 
 may pay away forty millions of interest of debt, to 
 
ceclxXTl GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 maintain idlers; but we cannot do it by idleness; 
 and now more than half the people of England are 
 idle ! Price has increased in modern times, not ' 
 merely from the issue of Government paper, but 
 from the trade of banking. That trade will im- 
 prove ; and as confidence gets established, will more 
 and more furnish means for rational and well-digest- 
 ed adventure. Though taxation and Government 
 were put down together, and for ever, paper money 
 would circulate and circulate more and more freely, 
 as men became more and more worthy of confi- 
 dence, by greater intelligence, and more steady 
 habits. Paper money has not caused the present 
 distress ; but the cessation of that activity which 
 kept it afloat. This is truly worthy of attention, 
 and yet it has been entirely kept out of view, or 
 never thought of. Let profitable employment be 
 found for all that are willing to work : let Govern- 
 ment again issue its paper in every direction, where 
 it can yield a certain return, and, undoubtedly, 
 mankind may flourish in peace, as well as in war : 
 undoubtedly we may keep faith, and fulfil our 
 engagements with public creditors. 
 
 When confined in Niagara jail, I addressed the 
 Representatives of the people of Upper Canada, 
 about to meet in Parliament, with a view to attract 
 notice to the principle which I here but poorly do 
 justice, to. I shall, now that the British Parliament 
 is about to meet, copy in my Address, as it was 
 printed in the Niagara Spectator newspaper, and let 
 it beexjwsed to scrutiny, in a country w here there 
 is no want of mental discernment, and at a time 
 
GKNKUAL INTRODUCTION. CCcIxxvii 
 
 when Ihe spirit of should be roused, even 
 
 for the salvation of the empire. 1 purposely let my 
 ideas go loosely before the public. I have full con- 
 fidence in my fundamental principles, and when I 
 am attacked, I shall be ready to defend. I have 
 written below the title postscript, “ chiefly for 
 after reference and discussion and I have done so, 
 inviting challenge. 
 
 NIAGARA SPECTATOR, JUNE 10,1819. 
 
 TO THE PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
 PEOPLE OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 Niagara Jail, 7th June, 1819. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 It is a lamentable fact, tliat men will sometimes continue 
 to bate those whom they have injured, for no other reason, 
 but because they themselves have already done so much 
 wrong. Having made this remark, I shall not apply it to any 
 particular case, but wish that all of us, for the future, may be 
 guarded against a propensity so very detestable, and ruinous 
 to human felicity. 
 
 You are this day meeting together, to legislate for your 
 country; and I, driving from my memory all past occur- 
 rences, looking anxiously to the eventful moment, and keep- 
 ing only one object in view, viz. the general good, have con- 
 sidered by what means, and to what eiid, your labours may 
 be most beneficially directed. With a mind thus abstracted 
 and serious, knowing that you are not prepared to go so far as 
 could be wished, it seems prudent to confine myself to that 
 which is most likely of being accomplished. 
 
 In my earliest reflections upon the political condition of 
 this province, I saw restraints which greatly retarded its im- 
 provement, and which seemed so obvious, tliat 1 could not 
 doubt they would be speedily removed. The greatest im- 
 
CCClxXviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mediate restraint seemed to arise out of the state of property, 
 to which there appeared a simple and effectual remedy in the 
 adoption of a new system of taxation. To this subject my 
 attention has been very often directed ; and to this I would 
 MOW beg leave to call particular notice. 
 
 It is not vanity to say that I have, for many years, devoted 
 much reflection to the subject of taxation, generally. It is 
 merely stating a fact ; and liberal minds will admit of my 
 frankly communicating some of the results, without being 
 moved by this or any other passion. 
 
 My reflections have led me to believe, that the chief per- 
 fection of Government is to be looked for in the adoption of 
 a correct and just system of taxation. This, I am convinced, 
 may be so regulated, as not only to contribute sufficiently to 
 every public enterprise, but to command the destinies of 
 power and property, every way to good. 
 
 Mankind have looked with astonishment to the mighty 
 achievements of England. They have seen her, single- 
 handed, t^ontending with Europe, — nay, almost with the world 
 besides ; and they have seen her rising in strength as effort 
 was required; — they have seen her unexpectedly prevail over 
 innumerable difficulties. Whence has she derived her 
 strength ? From her system of taxation. 
 
 In former ages, the energies of our species have been called 
 forth to war, as furiously as we in our day have witnessed. 
 In former ages, we have seen those energies sometimes elicited 
 by superior genius, and sometimes impelled by the influence 
 of accumulated treasure ; but, till this age, never did the 
 evanescent skill of the financier fully display its powers ; 
 never did human policy so completely excite and control 
 human exertion ; never did w^aste, to such a degree, induce 
 excitement; nor excitement so completely supply the de- 
 vouring jaws of waste. 
 
 Often have I wandered in my fields at home, ruminating 
 on the principle whiclr upheld our national greatness : often 
 have I indulged the blissful reverie, that it was possible to 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ccclxxix 
 
 make the same principle operate in time of peace, to the in- 
 crease and enjoyment of our kind, as, in war, it had been bent 
 on destruction and misery. But where — where, I would say, 
 is there room for action ? This little island already overflows 
 with people : every spot is cultivated — every art driven to 
 perfection. Arrived in Canada, surveying its boundless fo- 
 rests and its noble river, there were at once before me scenes 
 of action, objects of employment, and incitements to exer- 
 tion. What more is wanted here, but to give the first 
 impetus to motion? And what may not motion effect — 
 what may not be its wonderful increase i — But before coming 
 to the point of action for Canada, let me glance at some of 
 those circumstances which have enabled England to display 
 such mighty power. Her system of taxation is not one which 
 could primarily have been brought into full play ; neither 
 could it at all have been practicable in every country. Eng- 
 land, happy in her local situation, contains within herself 
 more natural advantages than any other spot of equal extent ; 
 and her population, sufficiently great and dense, is. pent up 
 and secure by the surrounding ocean. In England, honour 
 and shame are made to toil together. There ambition has 
 the highest range, and necessity the direst spur : — there, from 
 poverty to extreme wealth, we behold a highway, but it is 
 crowded, and only he who labours hard can get on. He 
 looks behind, and is terrified with w^ant: he casts his eye 
 before him, and longs for the glittering prize. Competitors 
 pant by his side : there is health, there is vigour, there is joy 
 in the race. Where, in the wide world, do we see mankind 
 so busy, by night and by day, as in England f In England, 
 at all events, there must be action, and in action there is gain. 
 It was from the extraordinary increase of this action, arising 
 from a variety of causes, that the means were created which 
 sustained the late war. The Government sent abroad its 
 armies, and tens of thousands were annually slain ; yet the 
 waste of life was inferior to the supply, and population conti- 
 nued to increase. The Government squandered its hundreds 
 
cod XXX 
 
 GKNERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of millions, but the monied means became more and more 
 ready at command. In all this, there was no miracle. A full 
 inspection of the materials and machinery, is sufficient to ac- 
 count for the wonderful results. 
 
 Mere population, however great, will do nothing without 
 excitement ; nor will wealth alone continually sustain exer- 
 tion. China swarms with human beings ; but they are things 
 without passion, — feeble, and tame — loiterers in the paths of 
 improvement. Spain had her treasury long replenished from 
 Mexico and Peru; but her wealth served, ultimately, only to 
 enervate ; and her body politic, as well as her people, be- 
 came plethoric and dull. England has wealth, directly pour- 
 ed into her from the West and East Indies, besides the gene- 
 ral profits of trade ; but this wealth flows not immediately 
 into the Treasury. Its course is better directed. It first 
 spreads out among the people ; gives pleasure to tlie rich, an 
 aim to the ambitious, and employment to the poor. An in- 
 ward flow of wealth so very great, would be ruinous to so- 
 ciety, had it no vent : it would tend to repletion, and reple- 
 tion w’ould induce disease. The war afforded vent to the 
 vast surplus of English wealth, as well as for her spare po- 
 pulation. In one sense, it created health and vigour. The 
 cessation of war has, in some respects, already produced lan- 
 guor and disease : it has diminished consumption, and 
 stopped up the ducts of beneficial w^aste. War and waste 
 were, of tliemselves, to be deplored ; but so tar their effects 
 were good. The desideratum now' is, seeing that such agents 
 have promoted beneficial action and production, to draw 
 forth activity, and thence have production by peaceful means, 
 and for peaceful ends. 
 
 I have not lauded, and shall not laud, the English system of 
 taxation, as one w hich I approve, or should wish to see imi- 
 tated. It has rested on oppression, and has begotten oppressors. 
 
 I have spoken of it only as it has displayed the wonderful 
 efforts which mankind can make, with sufficient excitement. 
 The English system of taxation w ould never have been made 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ccclxxxt 
 
 SO productive, but by a corrupt representation of the people. 
 
 With the people, Boroiighmongers have no common feeling : 
 nay, their interests run counter ; and, as tools of the Minister, 
 they are altogether perfect. They are the handspikes which 
 squeeze from the grape the wine which itself would not yield. 
 
 No system of this kind can be established here. The people, 
 fairly represented, will not endure that degree of pressure 
 which is required, to put industry to its full stretch ; and 
 M'hile there is not sufficient necessity to goad, there is a 
 want of ambition to lead on. Still, however, nature presents 
 here most inviting objects for exertion, and when the course 
 is fairly opened, the race may not be slack. 4^^ 
 
 In contriving the system of taxation which now has place 
 in this province, no thought, I am convinced, was bestowed 
 on the effects which might be produced from one system more 
 than another. It was only considered how the required 
 means, for Government purposes, could be most directly pro- 
 cured. At first, money was only seen in shops and taverns ; 
 and a licence upon these was adequate, for a time, to afford 
 the little wanted. By and by, the farmers’ stock increased, 
 and the principle of taxing property, according to its value, 
 was adopted. As a burden, taxes are here trifling ; and it is 
 a saying, that without challenge, all is well. The wild lands 
 of absentees being untaxed, first gave rise to complaint. To 
 tax the lands of absentees, has been the object of repeated 
 motions in Parliament ; and a Bill, for this purpose, got so 
 far as to be printed. The order of the day now is, that they 
 must, at least, be made to contribute to the improvement of 
 roads. I am to propose that they shall do more. In fact, 1 
 mean to strike at the root of the present system of taxation, 
 and exhibit an entire new one for adoption. I shall first 
 briefly sketch out my scheme, then pull down the old one; 
 and, lastly, set forth what effects may be produced by the 
 other, when substituted in its place. 
 
 My proposal then is to have but one tax for the collec- 
 tion of revenue in this province — a general land tax, making 
 
occlxxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 no distinction whatever between w'ild and cultivated land, 
 public or private property, that of residents or absentees; 
 the rule of estimating value to be governed by one consi- 
 deration, the rate of population of tlie township in which the 
 land is situated, taken in conjunction with that of the neigh- 
 bourhood. A few examples will best illustrate what I mean. 
 
 Let us take it for granted that the average value of land 
 throughout the province is 20s. per acre, and the average 
 rate of population, 1,000 souls to a township of 60,000 acres. 
 Say that township A has this precise population and extent, 
 is bounded nine miles by the lake or river, of wliich no ac- 
 count shall be taken, nine miles by Township B, containing 
 3,500 souls, nine miles by Township C, containing 1,500 
 souls, and nine miles by Towmship D, uninhabited, or, by 
 uosurveyed land. Township A being within itself at par, 
 and, thus bounded, remains at par, viz. 20s. per acre. 
 
 Say again, that Township E, of equal extent as Town- 
 ship A, contains 1,500 souls, is bpunded nine najles by F, 
 containing 1,000 souls, nine miles by G, coi^taining SOO souls, 
 nine miles by H, containing 1,800 souls, and nine miles by 
 I, containing 2,000 souls. Thus situated, the land of E 
 shall be reckoned worth 28f. 
 
 Again, say that Township R, of equal extent as the above, 
 contains no inhabitants, and is bounded by Townships S, 
 
 W, and X, containing, respectively, 500, 400, SOO, and 
 200 souls. This will make the land of R worth 5s. 7{d. 
 
 Again, say that Township W contains 500 souls ; and is 
 bounded by Y for nine miles, containing 1,000 souls, and 
 on the other three sides by uninhabited land. This will 
 make the land of W worth 6^. per acre. 
 
 These examples sufficiently shew the principle upon 
 which I would have the value of land estimated. A Town- 
 ship may contain more or less than 60,000 acres, or it may 
 be bounded by more than four towmships, and perhaps 
 irregularly. In such cases a littl^ more calculation only is 
 wanted to give an equally fair result. The idea of raising all 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCclxXXlii 
 
 taxofi from land, is not new. It has often been the subject 
 of political discussion; and often have 1 mused upon it 
 before my acquaintance with this country. In an old coun- 
 try, many objections start up against its adoption; here I 
 know of none. Throughout the whole province nature has 
 wonderfully equalized the value of laud. What is belter in 
 point of quality, is generally worse iu point of local si- 
 tuation ; and, at this early stage of settlement, minute dif* 
 ferences in this respect are of very little consequence. The 
 simplicity of such a scheme — the economy and ease of 
 management are highly to be prized. If the owner of land 
 is out of the country, or tardy in paying his assessment, an 
 entry of debt can forthwith be made against him, his account 
 to become chargeable with compound interest, a half per 
 cent, above the ordinary rate; the law declaring this debt 
 inseparable from the land, and preferable to every other, 
 while it gave a power of sale for recovery, at the termina- 
 tion of a given number of years, say 10, 15, ot 20. The 
 perfection of a land tax, in a new country, is obvious, so far 
 as speculators must either settle, sell, or pay for their profits. 
 
 Having said thus much of what I propose for adoption, 
 let me briefly state wherein the present system of taxation is 
 erroneous and impolitic. 
 
 In the first place, rating all wild land at the same value of 
 45. per acre, is glaringly wrong. Some wild land in remote 
 situations being worth less than even 45., while other wild 
 land is worth ten times as much. In the second place, it 
 is very unfair to rate a lot of wild land one farthing less than 
 a Itof cultivated land, to which it is immediately adjoin- 
 ing. The wild land rises iu value merely from the labour 
 bestowed on that w'hich is cultivated, and, in strict justice, 
 ought rather to be rated higher, from the consideration of its 
 being a nuisance. The revenue from Town lots is a baga- 
 telle, which should be left to the controul of the inhabitants 
 of the towns respectively, for their immediate comfort and 
 convenience. Taxing houses, and their fire-places, in a new 
 
ccclxxxiv CrENKRAT. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 country, is a sin against nature : good houses should rather 
 have a premium. Taxing mills is damnable : taxing shops 
 and storehouses is nearly as bad ; but, when we get among 
 the taxed horses, the taxed milch cows, and the taxed horned 
 cattle, what can we do but laugh at the monstrous absurdity, 
 and think that the whole scheme was contrived by an ass ? 
 Suppose a mechanic, whose daily bread is earned by his ten 
 fingers, has a certain w'eight continually to bear about with 
 him, I should think tliat, if he could not distribute the burden 
 equally over his body, that somewhere between the shoulders 
 might be an appropriate situation for the mass of it ; but 
 certainly, not a single grain should be allowed to entangle 
 the fingers, or even the parts adjoining. Husbandry stock, 
 shops, and mills, are the very fingers of industry, and ought, 
 at all events, to go clear of incumbrance. (See the Table of 
 Assessment, vol. 11. page 355.) 
 
 Wlien we see any thing very far wrong, and but feeble 
 efforts employed for amendment, we may with some reason 
 suspect that there is a snake in the grass. To excuse the 
 ass above-mentioned, I have occasionally thought that the 
 present system of taxation had been introduced by some 
 law-beleagured judge from England, partly perhaps under , 
 instructions from the landed oligarchy, or partly besotted 
 with the notion that Mr. Pitt’s practice was correct, of run- 
 ning into every corner to tax the middling and poorer classes 
 of society, while his friends of the higher order went com- 
 paratively free ; but then looking across Niagara river, and 
 finding that a system somewhat of the same kind obtains 
 among our neighbours, my investigation into the cause is 
 still restless — I am still disposed to make further conjecture. 
 The majority of those who legislate in all countries, rank 
 with the wealthier class of society, and selfishness will in- 
 variably have its bias. Let us first consider the private 
 circumstances of our legislative councillors of Upper Ca- 
 nada. Say that one holds 100,000 acres of land; another 
 80,000; a third 60,000; a fourth 40,000; and the remain- 
 ing five so much as to bring the average of each councillor's 
 
GtINERAL TNtRODUCriON. CCcIxXtV 
 
 landed estate to 20,000 acres. This being the case, we 
 cannot wonder much that these gentlemen have hitherto 
 stood in the way of fairly taxing wild lands. Now, further, 
 among yourselves, most honourable representatives of the 
 people of Upper Canada, we shall say that there is one 
 who possesses 50,000 acres of land ; another 25,000; a 
 third 15,000; and the rest of you such extent, as to make 
 out, on the whole, an average possession of 5,000 acres of 
 land, which possession, though it will not operate so power- 
 fully as a selfish bias against the due taxation of wild land, 
 as the greater average possession of legislative councillors, 
 will still make you tardy, as you really have been ; it will 
 still make you in some degree not so frank as in duty you 
 ought to be, for promoting the interests of your constituents, 
 who on an average do not possess above 400 acres of land, 
 of which a fifth part is under tillage; while out of your 
 5,000 acres, not more than a 25th is cultivated, nor, out of 
 the average possession of legislative councillors, not a 50tb. 
 Being myself a holder of little more than 400 acres of land, 
 I, of course, sympathize most purely with my brother far- 
 mers ; but, Gentlemen, were I a holder of 40,000 acres of 
 land, such is my assurance that the principle of taxation now 
 proposed by me, would be infinitely for the advantage of all, 
 that I would push the adoption of it with so much the 
 greater zeal. Land in America is the very lubber-fiend 
 which checks its owm improvement. Could nine-tenths of it be 
 sunk in the sea, and afterwards emerge by tenths, gradually, 
 as it became absolutely necessary for the wants of mankind, 
 there would be infinite gain in every way. The people of 
 the States are wasting their strength by spreading too rapidly 
 over their wide domains : nor is the dropsical condition of 
 that country likely to have a speedy cure. Here, in Canada, 
 circumscribed by narrow’er bounds, the disease may be easier 
 checked, and the fullest advantage obtained from compact 
 settlement. 
 
 Before proceeding to consider the use and effect to be 
 b b 
 
CCClXXXVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 made and produced by condensing all taxes into one upon 
 land, let me sweep down the remaining lumber of the old 
 system. There are all the trashy duties upon importations 
 from the United States, which should fall by the lump, not 
 excepting that upon salt, imposed by the wisdom of 
 your very last session. To go to the cheapest market, 
 wherever it may be, is economy : to punish ourselves, that 
 others may suffer, is wretched policy : to give scope to free 
 trade is noble: to beggar custom-houses is delightful ; and, 
 looking to moral improvement, there is more hope in the 
 end of smuggling than in the beginning of preaching. The 
 tax upon whiskey stills is merely a premium upop rum, a les§ 
 wholesome beverage, and a drawback from the profits of the 
 Canadian farmer, in favour of the West India planter. To 
 tax billiard tables, which might give exercise in bad weather 
 to idle gentlemen, and perhaps draw them off from drinking 
 One bottle more,” is a foolish conceit, especially when 
 dice may be rattled at w ill, and a dirty pack of cards makes 
 part of the furniture of every cobbler’s stool. Lastly, and 
 here I shall have opposition from pvery bench of worshipful 
 magistrates, there should not even be a tax upon taverns. 
 All — all should be free of taxation but land. To tax taverns 
 as a palliative against debauchery is delusive : to tax them in 
 order to make advantage of travellers is ungenerous and un- 
 wise : to tax them at the discretion of magistrates, is giving 
 an inlet to favouritism and arbitrary power: to tax them 
 merely as a source’ of revenue, is altogether unnecessary. 
 Off — off, with all taxes but one upon land ; and then, the 
 heavier that is made by large and judicious expenditure on 
 public worts, so much the better : — then, indeed, Canada 
 shall flourish. 
 
 Let us take it for granted that the province contains one 
 hundred townships of 60,000 acres each, on an average, va- 
 lued at 20s. per acre, thus giving a total value of £6,000,000 : 
 one per cent, on which, viz. £60,000, we shall assume as 
 the first r^uired annual revenue. How simple and fair 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. OCclxXXVli 
 
 becomes the business of voting the yearly supply in future* 
 An estimate is made out of what is required ; and whatever 
 it is, double, treble, a half, a fourth, or a sixteenth, more or 
 less, becomes the sole consideration. Out of this supply I 
 should propose to defray every public charge whatever : the 
 charges of the civil list — of making and repairing roads, 
 canals, &c. As to roads, they should rank under three 
 descriptions. Provincial, being those great leading roads 
 which connect together the remotest points, and which 
 should draw from the public fund an absolute sufficiency 
 for their being made and kept perfect. Secondly, district roads, 
 being those connecting less distant points, and which should 
 have support proportionate to the assessed value of the 
 districts through which they pass ; and lastly, township roads, 
 which should have their proportion afforded on the same 
 principle. 
 
 It ought to be allowed, at all hands, that good roads are 
 of the first consequence in the improvement of any coun- 
 try ; and it is clear that if a fair principle is once fixed upon 
 for the making and support of these, the hand to extort 
 means to such ends may be at once relentless and just ; for, 
 the greater the expenditure, the greater, certainly, will be 
 the gain. But, Gentlemen, I now proceed to the grand 
 purposes which taxation, on the proposed plan, when once 
 adopted, and put in spirited action, may accomplish I 
 mean its application to the improvement of the St. Law- 
 rence navigation ; and its being made a bond of connexion 
 between Canada and England — a bond by which both 
 countries may reap infinite advantage. Let me first, how- 
 ever, rid myself of a little latent contempt, by laughing 
 outright at the grave resolutions of your last session, to 
 apply to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent for o 
 hundred thousand acres of landy to be intrusted to a com- 
 mittee for executing this great work out of the sales thereof. 
 God help us! what will the sale of such a quantity of land 
 fetch, as things are now managed? Truly, perhaps as much 
 
 bb S 
 
ccclxxxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as, added to the pittance (£2,000) voted out of the taxes of 
 the province for defraying the expenses of a survey, might 
 complete that object respectably with plans and estimates. 
 Very truly, my clodhopping brothers — most august legislators, 
 
 I am ashamed of you : so do be so good as wipe off this 
 nonsensical concern along with the gagging act, that we 
 may all be friends again ; and, in the issue, recover some 
 little claim to the possession of common sense. You can- 
 not think how anxious I am to get home to England, and 
 report you all in a sane state of mind, after the damnable 
 alarm you have given to John Bull. — Well, hoping the best, 
 let us proceed. 
 
 Gentlemen, the St. Lawrence navigation should be looked 
 to as a great national object; this province affording security 
 for the repayment of all charges, and Britain promoting 
 the work with a loan of money, and the supply of hands. 
 Was the affair properly represented to the imperial par- 
 liament, there would neither be difficulty nor delay in the 
 accomplishment. Permit me to give you a slight sketch 
 of ways and means, for the sake of illustration. Now 
 that there is peace, Britain could spare out of her popu- 
 lation, annually, 100, OCX) souls with advantage ; but they 
 who would willingly emigrate, have not the means of trans- 
 port. My very first fancy towards Upper Canada, burned 
 forth from a desire to effect the vast object of finding a vent 
 for these poor people, with whose circumstances I have 
 been peculiarly well acquainted for near twenty years ; but, 
 here I am, for my zeal in the cause. Under the wdng of 
 wealthy farmers, many thousands of them might before now 
 have been comfortably lodged in the province, had all gone 
 well; and by next summer many thousands may still be 
 at work on the St. Lawrence navigation. I have taken the 
 present value of the settled part of the provmce to be 
 6,000,(XX)/. Suppose a navigation for vessels of 2CX) tons 
 could be opened from Montreal to Lake Ontario, in the 
 course of five years from the present time, and that during 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ccclxxxix 
 
 llie same time there was an influx of 20,000 souls annually 
 into the province, pray, may we not fairly calculate that 
 from 6,000,000/. value, the territory settled by the end of 
 that period, would be fully worth three times as much; 
 and that an expenditure of 2,000,000/, might very easily be 
 repaid out of the taxation of the province before the end of 
 ten years ? 
 
 Let us exhibit a jotting of how things might go on; 
 5,000 able*bodied men could be transported from Britain, 
 at the rate of 10/. each*, and be at work on the canal by 
 the 1st of June, 1820 - . . . ^ 50,000 
 
 Transport of 10,000 women and children, sup^ 
 
 posed to accompany the men ... 50,000 
 
 Pay of 5,000 men at work, from 1st June, till 
 
 1st December, 1820 — six months - - 100,000 
 
 Ditto, till 1st April, 1821, four months - - 80,000 
 
 Ditto, till Ist December, 1821, eight months - 130,000 
 Transport of 5,000 men, with 10,000 women and 
 
 children, 1821 100,000 
 
 Pay of these second year’s men, from 1st June, till 
 
 1st December, 1821 ----- 100,000 
 
 interest and contingencies - - - - 40,000 
 
 600,000 
 
 At this period discharge the first year’s men, who 
 refund their transport, and have in pocket 10/. 
 per man 100,000 
 
 Total expenditure up to 1st December, 1821 - 500,000 
 
 * By personal inquiries made at the ports of Glasgow, Leith, 
 and Aberdeen, spring, 1820, I found was the common charge 
 for a man. On contract, and after a grand system of emigration 
 was set on foot, the charge would be greatly lowered. 
 
 2 
 
V 
 
 cccxc 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Brought forward , . - - - 
 
 Pay of second year’s men, from 1st December, 
 
 1821, till Ist April, 1822 . - - - 
 
 Ditto, till 1st December, 1822, eight months 
 Transport of third year’s men, with women and 
 
 children ------ 
 
 Pay of these men from 1st June, till 1st December, 
 
 1822, six months . - . - - 
 
 Interest and contingencies - - - - 
 
 500.000 
 
 30.000 
 
 130.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 40,000 
 
 900,000 
 
 Deduct, refunded by 
 discharged 
 
 the second year’s men^ now 
 
 100,000 
 
 Total expenditure up to Ist December, 1822 - 800,000 
 
 It would serve no purpose to go farther with such a 
 sketch. My meaning is already clear; and the practicabi- 
 lity of the proceeding is obvious. I suppose the med to 
 contract at home only for the labour of two seasons; and 
 they are above represented as entirely quit of the work at 
 the end of the second season. One half however may be 
 supposed to return, and make engagements for labour, the 
 tbird^ or even fourth summer, so as to give any required 
 acceleration to the business. To employ the hands during 
 the four months of their first winter, would require a little 
 arrangement ; but with this, jobs sufficient could be found 
 while so great an undertaking was on foot. It will be ob- 
 served; that there are never more than 5>000 men to be 
 thus provided for; and being free by the commencement 
 of the second winter, with a sufficiency of cash for present 
 wants, they might either spread themselves over the country, 
 in the service of others, or they might make a beginning 
 in clearing land for themselves. By this time, not only 
 reconciled to die novelty of their situation, but pretty well 
 informed as to the various modes of management, and taught 
 
I t 
 
 I 
 
 G£NERAX INTRODUCTION. CCCXCi 
 
 to handle the axe, they would be free of all that gloom 
 and awkwardness, which is so heart-breaking to old country 
 people, when they have to go directly into the woods after 
 tlieir first arrival in this country. 
 
 Gentlemen, could I be assured that there was to be a 
 speedy end to all illiberal and trifling proceedings, how joy- 
 fully should I continue to write on this glorious theme. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 In the same Newspaper, there appeared a report 
 of proceedings in the British Parliament, re- 
 specting distresses in Ireland. I shall here copy in 
 part of this alluded to in my next week's commu- 
 nication. 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS, 
 
 Tuesday y April 6, 1819- 
 
 Sir John Newport rose, to call the attention of the House 
 to the state of disease in Ireland, and to move for the revival 
 of the Committee of last Session, with a view to make further 
 inquiries upon this subject. It would be recollected, that in 
 consequence of the Report of the Committee of last Session, 
 a legislative measure was adopted; and one of the objects of 
 the proposed Committee would be, to inquire into the effect 
 and operation of that measure, whether it had served, and in 
 what degree, to mitigate the disease which had so long afflicted 
 Ireland. That the measure alluded to had done good, he was 
 ready and happy to admit; but, unfortunately, the ravages of 
 disease still continued. Its rage was indeed such, in the district 
 wdth which he was more particularly connected, that, within the 
 last twelve months, no less than 3,500 patients were admitted 
 into the fever hospitals of that district. But the want and 
 misery which prevailed among the poor, and which promoted 
 the violence of the fever, was really sucli, that the unfortunate 
 
CCCXcii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sufferers were better oft, even in the hospitals, than else- 
 where ; for out of doors they were condemned to endure the 
 aggravated distress which too often drove them back again, to 
 seek relief, in the hospitals, from that disease which distress main- 
 jy engendered. Of the spread and violence of that disease, the 
 House might judge from this fact, that in the counties of 
 Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford, no less than 43,000 
 patients had been admitted into the fever hospitals, within a 
 period of fifteen months. After stating this melancholy fact, 
 he hoped the House would not think he asked too much, in 
 calling for the appointment of a Committee, to consider the 
 means of providing some remedy or mitigation for such an 
 alarming evil. If the House should agree with him, in think- 
 ing that this Committee should be appointed, it was his inten- 
 tion to move an instruction for that Committee to inquire, not 
 only as to the state of disease in Ireland, and the means best 
 calculated for its removal or mitigation, but as to the state of 
 the labouring poor, and the means of enabling individuals to 
 provide employment for them. Upon this last point, he 
 hoped the Committee would exercise the most diligent inves- 
 tigation. It was not his object to propose that the people 
 should look for the means of employment from the public 
 purse, but that private individuals, or associations of indivi- 
 duals, should not have any obstacles in their way, towards 
 providing employment for the labouring class. He trusted 
 the House would feel that, where such obstacles existed, they 
 should be immediately removed, and that whatever could be 
 effected by general regulation, towards facilitating the em- 
 ployment of the poor, ought to be promptly adopted. It was 
 known that, according to the opinion of the Commissioners 
 for surveying bogs and marshes of Ireland, there were no less 
 than 2,083,000 acres, which might be converted to purposes 
 of agriculture. One million of these acres had indeed been 
 already surveyed, levelled, and reported upon by the Com- 
 missioners. What scope, then, did such an extent of land 
 afford for the employment of the labouring poor ! But the 
 
GENEUA1L. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCXClll 
 
 fact was, that this property was so intermixed, and belonging 
 to such a number of persons, that it was found impracticable 
 to render it so available as could be wished. To provide a 
 remedy, then, for this deficiency, and to enable individuals, or 
 associations of individuals, to furnish employment to the 
 poor, was one of the great objects to which it was proposed 
 to direct the attention of the Committee, who would naturally 
 be led, in the progress of their inquiry, into a consideration of 
 the means by which the labour of the Commissioners, to 
 whom he had alluded, might be rendered most productive to 
 the country. As far as the census now in progress had pro- 
 ceeded, it was found that out of a population of 3,840,000, 
 in certain districts in Ireland, the proportion employed in 
 agriculture, compared to that engaged in manufactures and 
 mechanical professions, w^as as 488,000 to 164,000. Such 
 a comparison, then, clearly demonstrated the necessity of 
 providing every possible employment for the labourers in 
 agriculture, especially as it was found, that without such em- 
 ployment, the labouring poor must be destitute of the com- 
 mon means of support. Without additional employ- 
 ment, indeed, a great mass of the labouring poor must be 
 reduced to absolute beggary. There was no district in 
 Ireland in which the population, employed in agriculture, 
 w ere not considerably more than those engaged as manufac- 
 turers and handicraftsmen. This was the case even in the 
 principal manufacturing counties of Antrim, Down, Armagh, 
 and Derry, where the proportion of agriculturists to manu- 
 facturers and handicraftsmen, was as 288 to 83. Hence, 
 then, it was obvious that nothing should be left undone which 
 promised, in any degree, to augment the means of employ- 
 ment for the labourers in agriculture ; and hence he was in- 
 duced to think the point to which he had adverted, as of vital 
 importance to the interests of Ireland. Therefore he hoped 
 and trusted it would engage the most serious consideration of 
 the proposed Committee. 
 
 The Motion being read by the Speaker, 
 
cccxciv 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Mr. C. Grant rose to second the motion, which he did, he 
 declared, with peculiar satisfaction. He lamented that, upon 
 the discussion of such an important subject, the House should 
 happen to be so thin, because he wished that the people of Ire- 
 land should be impressed with a high opinion of the interest 
 which Parliament felt in their concerns, and also that the peo- 
 ple of England should be fully apprized of the sufferings which 
 their Irish fellow-subjects had undergone for some years back ; 
 (confirms what had been said by Sir J. New'port, as to the 
 severity of sufferings, though they were diminishing, &c. but 
 still an advocate for the motion, &c.) In the melancholy 
 prevalence of disease, in the years 1816 and 1817, notoriously 
 owing to the scarcity which afflicted Ireland within that pe- 
 riod, the poor suffered especially from want of food and fuel : 
 they were indeed so much distressed for food, that numbers 
 were absolutely obliged to feed upon such esculent plants as 
 they could find, such as potatoe tops, turnip tops, and cab- 
 bages. The depression of spirits and debility of body which 
 must be the consequence, naturally extended the ravages of 
 the fever; but numbers of the poor were the victims of those 
 very amiable qualities which so particularly characterized 
 their country — that hospitality which always opened their 
 doors to distress, and that affection for the dead, which dis- 
 tinguishes them in a peculiar degree, served to spread the 
 contagion, by exposing the poor to its influence. But it was 
 to be hoped that some advantages would be found to result 
 hereafter, from the experience which the lower Irish had, 
 during this melancholy period — that they would be again more 
 prepared to guard against the extension of such calamity — 
 that they would take the precaution of being more cleanly in 
 their domestic habits- — of fumigating their houses, of sepa- 
 rating the healthy from the sick, of changing their bedding 
 and their clothes. In these respects they had been heretofore 
 lamentably negligent, and hence the general suffering had 
 been more severe. The sufferings of the poor had, indeed, 
 been most severe, and nothing could, perhaps, be more ad- 
 
OENERAli INTRODUCTION, 
 
 cccxcv 
 
 ntirable than the patience with wliich they suffered — (Hear, 
 hear, hear !) — for, although placed in such a state of despe> 
 rate distress, as, according to a great historian in his comments 
 upon similar misery in ancient Athens, might be supposed to 
 relax the morals of men, or render them indignant to the 
 obligations of law, or to the distinctions of right and wrong, 
 the Irish poor were peaceable and orderly- This meritorious 
 people were, indeed, most religiously resigned to that fate, 
 which, however, all that were rich and benevolent sought to 
 mitigate by all the means in their power. Nothing was, in 
 fact, left undone that could serve to relieve distress, or mitigate 
 disease ; and the afflicted were unbounded in the cordial ex- 
 pression of gratitude to their kind benefactors. Those bene- 
 factors comprehended every class of persons in the country. 
 One impulse directed all. The Clergy, of all persuasions, 
 took the lead in that work of charity, which they so diligently 
 preached — (instances of benevolence noticed.) As to the 
 plans of relief for the poor, proposed by the Right Hon. 
 Raronet, he was glad to find nothing to countenance the idea, 
 that any legislative measure was contemplated in that House 
 for extending to Ireland that system of Poor Laws, the pres- 
 sure of which was so generally, so loudly, and so justly com- 
 plained of in this country— (Hear!)— He spoke thus empha- 
 tically, because such an idea was held forth by some indivi- 
 duals, who had, of course, but imperfectly considered Uie 
 subject. As to any legislative interposition, for providing 
 employment for the labouring poor, he could only be favour- 
 able to such measures as served to remove any obstacles to 
 that employment. If the Hon. Baronet had that removal only 
 in view — if it were his object merely to facilitate the appli- 
 cation of capital through the operation, he should^ of course, 
 be ready to co-operate with him. The Right Hon. Gentle- 
 man, after apologizing for having so long occupied the at- 
 tention of the House, sat down amidst loud and universal 
 cheering. 
 
 The Hon. Mr. Hutchinson said, there was a subject to 
 
CCCXCVi GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 which he begged to call particular attention, as one upon 
 which much real good might be done for Ireland: he meant 
 that of absentees. If some measures were adopted by which, 
 at least, some part of the sums which absentee landlords drew 
 from their tenants were spent upon their estates, it would 
 afford employment and food to a great majority of poor. 
 
 Sir John Stuart rejoiced that the interests of Ireland were 
 committed to an individual at once so able and so well 
 informed. He was of opinion, that the fever originated in 
 general impoverishment, from the want of food, raiment, and 
 fuel, in the hard winters. The great evil was, in his view, a 
 superabundant population. 
 
 Mr. JBlakc observed, that the disease was produced by dis- 
 tress, and the distress arose from the want of work. Govern- 
 ment w'ould, therefore, do well to afford every encouragement 
 to the improvenieut of estates in Ireland, by extending the 
 grant from the consolidated fund, applicable to that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Mr. Alderman Wood said he found, in his visits to Ireland, 
 that the great cause of its distress consisted in want of capital. 
 He had himself, in the course of last session, introduced a 
 Bill, the object of which was to encourage the introduction 
 of English capital into that country. 
 
 Sir John N ewport replied briefly, and expressed a hope that 
 the stamp duties on advertisements for charitable purposes 
 might be taken off, as they operated materially to reduce the 
 amount of collections. In his own city (Waterford) the charges 
 for printing and stationary amounted to £S4, out of which £60 
 went for advertisements alone. He concluded with a com- 
 pliment to the Society of Friends, for their charitable ex- 
 ertions in the cause. 
 
 The Motion was then agreed to, and a Committee appoint- 
 ed accordingly. 
 
 By a gentleman who left York yesterday morn- 
 ing, we (the Editor of the Niagara Spectator) have 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, CCCXCVii 
 
 been politely favoured with a manuscript copy of 
 his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor’s speech, 
 at the opening of the Provincial Parliament, which 
 met on Monday, the 7th instant. 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council^ and 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assembly ^ 
 
 Many considerations having determined me to call you to- 
 gether before the close of the year, I decided on the present 
 season as probably more convenient to you than a later 
 period. 
 
 Since you were last assembled in this place, little alteration 
 appears to have taken place in the state of his Majesty’s in- 
 disposition. 
 
 In that interval, his august consort, the Queen of the 
 United Kingdom, has closed a long life, illustrious for the 
 exemplary discharge of every public and private duty. 
 
 His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in behalf of his 
 Majesty, has authorized the Governors of both Canadas to 
 bestow lands on certain of the provincial navy and the militia, 
 which served during the late war. Recent purchases from 
 the natives have been so far effected, as will enable me to set 
 apart adequate tracts in the several districts, to accommodate 
 such of their respective inhabitants, as are within the limits of 
 the Royal instruction. 
 
 I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF JUSTIFIED IN EXTEND- 
 ING THIS MARK OF APPROBATION TO ANY OF THE 
 
 Individuals who composed the late Convention 
 OF Delegates, the proceedings of which were 
 
 PROPERLY THE SUBJECT OF YOUR VERY SEVERE ANI- 
 MADVERSION. 
 
 The Royal Assent has been given to the Bill for the esta- 
 blishment of a provincial Bank, but, from some delay, it did 
 not arrive in time for promulgation, within the period limited 
 
CCCXCViii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by law > form of an enactment will, therefore, be neces- 
 sary, to render it available. 
 
 At the termination of the last session, it was recommended 
 you to* bestow your attention on an amendment of the Road 
 Law ; at present, after a nearer acquaintance with the state 
 of the country, I am more deeply impressed with the import- 
 smce of that subject. It is painful to observe, how serious 
 an evil the neglected grants, of an early date, are presenting 
 to the actual inhabitants of the province. The exemption 
 of any land, belonging to individuals, from the operation pf 
 the Assessment Law', is found to be detrimental : a new 
 Bill, so modified as to protect the land from sale by distrws, 
 until due notice can be given to the proprietors, will receive 
 his Majesty’s Assent. 
 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assemblj/, 
 
 I shall direct the proper officers to lay before you the pub- 
 lic account of Receipt and Expenditure, with Estimates of 
 the service of the ensuing year. 
 
 Honovrahle Gentlemen, and Gentlemen, 
 
 The growth of the province in population and wealth, jus- 
 tifies a reasonable expectation, that the measures adopted to 
 encourage it will receive your fullest support ; and I must 
 suw<^est, for your consideration, the expediency of affording 
 the new settlers, unavoidably situated more remote from the 
 great lakes and rivers, an easy approach to market. 
 
 Your attention will, doubtless, be given to such laws as are 
 about to expire, as may require to be continued. 
 
 Some parts of the province, not accessible by land, it is 
 my purpose to visit, during the present season for navigation, 
 that I may become personally acquainted with every part of 
 the population committed to my care. 
 
 Y(yrky 1th Junty 1819. 
 
 I here beg of the reader to pause for a little, and 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, CCCXcix 
 
 reflect on the words printed above in capitals. It 
 was these words which were alluded to in this Gene* 
 ral Introduction, page xi. ; and I ask, had Sir Pere- 
 grine Maitland the right to use them? Had he the 
 right to interpose his will between that of the 
 Prince and some of his most loyal subjects ? Was 
 it expedient? Was it prudent? Many of thesp 
 individuals, Avhowere members of the Convention, 
 are now Members of the Commons House of Par- 
 liament. By and by, I shall lay before the reader 
 the whole record of the Convention, which brought 
 down upon them the malediction of their fellow- 
 subjects, representing them in Parliament, and cut 
 them out of the token of their Sovereign’s favour, 
 for three years’ faithful service in war. At present, 
 let the question be judged of from what is here dis- 
 played. Hoping that the Parliament then in 
 session would not give countenance to the Gover- 
 nor’s purpose, I again addressed myself 
 
 SPECTATOR, JUNE I7, I819. 
 
 TO TUB PARtlAMENTABV REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
 PEOPLE OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 Niagara Jaily 14th June, I819. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 It was a remarkable coincidence that my communication of 
 last week, setting forth how easy it would be for the redun- 
 dant population of Britain to be transported into this coun- 
 try with profit to themselves and the nation, should be ac- 
 companied with a report, in the same newspaper, of proceed- 
 ings in the Imperial Parliament, exhibiting the dreadful con- 
 dition of the Irish poor since the termination of the war, — 
 
cccc 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 diseased and dying by thousands, and staling that without 
 additional employment a great mass of the labouring poor 
 must be reduced to absolute beggary* 
 
 Gentlemen, I have again and again informed the public of 
 this country, that my opportunities of knowing the history 
 and condition of the poor at home had been very peculiar ; 
 that I had not only been employed by government to make 
 inquiries on this subject ; but for many years had made it 
 my favourite study. I have over and again given assurance 
 that my first zeal to make Canada known in England, arose 
 from a conviction that it could be made a place of refuge 
 for millions in distress ; but, alas ! the more 1 have urged to 
 great and rational measures, the more I have been persecuted 
 and abused by ignorant and narrow-minded men ; the more 
 1 have been held back from getting accomplished the 
 grandest scheme of benevolence that can possibly be con- 
 ceived. 
 
 I ask if Britain and Ireland can spare 100,000 souls an- 
 nually, and be better of the discharge ? — if such a multitude 
 can be transported annually into British America, not only 
 with comfort to the individuals but advantage to the nation, 
 if the scheme for accomplishing this is not w’orthy a thought ? 
 1 ask you if by such a scheme the value of this province 
 could be increased ten times in as many years, and be made 
 the envy of the world, if you, as representatives of the 
 people of U pper Canada, are not bound to take steps for its 
 accomplishment ^ and, I shall stake my existence that if you 
 shake yourselves clear of delusions, and send home a com- 
 mission to gain due attention. to the business, that it shall be 
 put in execution. Many of you put on at least the outward 
 garb of religion ; and the Lieutenant-Governor has gone forth 
 in the streets, sounding the trumpet of faith before him; but let 
 us have liberal proceedings for a testimony, and faith shown to 
 us by works that are charitable : let us be done with indig- 
 nation,’’ and severe animadversions,” which never can be 
 proper” without cause. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCCl 
 
 I have already given you a sketch of what may be done 
 M’ith less than a million of money; the commencement of a 
 great public work, which would certainly pay well for the 
 charge of execution, and the introduction of 45,000 settlers 
 Into the province in the course of three years. I was pur- 
 posely moderate in this first expose, not to startle reflection 
 too much at first ; but on the same principle, twice this num- 
 ber of people could be brought over in a single year, and 
 twice the advantage gained. 
 
 So much am I an enemy to war, that I would wish even 
 its name blotted out from memory, were it not to illus- 
 trate what may be performed in times of peace by the skill 
 and activity of mankind; and never did the conduct of any 
 war afford such excellent data for reasoning as that lately 
 carried on by England. I have already glanced at the pe- 
 culiar circumstances of England, the influx of foreign wealth, 
 as well as the direction and effect of this on domestic indus- 
 try. I have shewn that it was necessary to draw oflf the spare 
 produce of aclion so highly stimulated, under these circum- 
 stances, and that the power of taxation beiug absolute, en- 
 abled the minister to do this, and waste such produce on war. 
 What was wasted on the late wars from the commencement 
 in was perhaps double the amount of the existing na- 
 
 tional debt ; but let us say that it was only eight hundred mil- 
 lions, and stand amazed at the power of production ! After 
 our wonder has had sufficient rest, let us ask what would 
 have been the amount of production if, instead of throwing 
 av\ ay this vast sum on war ; if, instead of maintaining mil- 
 lions of men, for the sole purpose of murdering other men, it 
 had been employed in cherishing the arts of peace, in clearing 
 away the woods of America, and gaining more and more 
 food, to sustain more and more artisans and cultivators; what, 
 in that case, might not now have been w itnessed ? Why, 
 nothing more than may still be witnessed by the end of the 
 next twenty-five years, by adopting rational plans, and 
 creating excitement to industry, England is as powei- 
 
 c c 
 
CCCcii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ful now as ever, was her vast machinery again put in mo- 
 tion ; and were it put in motion for peaceful and productive 
 purposes instead of war and waste, how delightful it would 
 be ! There is nothing in war itself inviting to the mass of in- 
 dividuals employed in it. A few monsters, perhaps, find a 
 pleasure in bloodshed and carnage, but these are few indeed : 
 not one, it is to be hoped, out of a thousand. The sailors of 
 a man-of-war would almost invariably prefer the merchant ser- 
 vice : the soldiers of an army would be more happy at the loom 
 or the plough, than loitering about in tedious idleness ; while 
 all employed in furnishing these men wdth ammunition, 
 clothing, and food, would be equally willing to supply their 
 wants, were they engaged in peaceful professions. They all 
 look to the immediate means of living, and the profits of their 
 calling ; not to the remote object. 
 
 Good heavens ! how the mind sinks down in sorrow with 
 reflection on the past, and how it might bound aloft, could 
 the hope of futurity be brought to rest on the decisions of 
 wisdom. To the millions who look back over twenty 
 years of war, and have still to mourn the bloody deaths of 
 their nearest friends, what poor consolation is it that a Bour- 
 bon is re-established on the throne of France, and that the be- 
 loved Ferdinand holds dominion in Spain ! for this is the 
 amount — this is the gain to Europeans: — a gain, which the 
 accident of a moment may wdpe out, and perhaps, happily, 
 for ever. 
 
 But if there is such a thing as necessary war, and such 
 there was to the loyal inhabitants of Upper Canada, what a 
 glorious aim is it to endeavour to remove, for the future, 
 every chance of such necessity. This blessed end. Gentle- 
 men, could be accomplished by a little exertion on your 
 parts ; for who w ould dare to invade Canada, were it com- 
 pactly settled ? Look back to the efforts made by England 
 for the protection of this province from conquest : reflect on 
 the lavish expenditure on your little war, not less than fifteen 
 or twenty millions of money, and say why England should 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, CCCciil 
 
 Mot be willing to afford what is wanted now, to be speedily 
 repaid, in order that all future war and waste may cease in 
 this quarter of the world — w hy you should not, at least, send 
 home a commission, to ask sucli assistance, and have every 
 obstacle removed. 
 
 It w'as desirable that France should repay the cliarges of 
 the Allied Sovereigns for placing Louis the XVIIIth on the 
 throne. A London banker attended, and immediately ad- 
 vanced the required sum. The banker considered only the 
 goodness of the security ; and if you w ill pass an act, during 
 the present session, and get it confirmed by the royal assent, 
 giving security on a land-tax of the province, twenty London 
 bankers will be ready with cash for your purposes. Do, nry 
 good friends, get over prejudices, and try the experiment. 
 Your constituents will thank you, when returned home, for 
 voting five thousand pounds of their money to defray the 
 charges of a commission to England. You know I pro- 
 posed ten thousand dollars for the Convention Commission ; 
 but double the sum would do better. Surely you need not 
 be envious of a little credit accruing to me, from the success 
 of the experiment. It w ill require not a little credit to make 
 up for what I have lost by your holding me up to the world 
 as the One factious individual,” and by these months of igno- 
 minious imprisonment : indeed, I think you will make me a 
 present of the ‘‘ hundred thousand acres of landf with 
 consent of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, when you 
 have got ^2,000,000 lent you, for improving the navigation. 
 At all events, do, I beseech you, send home the Commission- 
 
 You will observe, from the debate in the Imperial Parlia- 
 ment, that Sir John Newport, Mr. Grant, and others, pro- 
 posed to relieve the poor of Ireland, by finding work for them 
 in the bogs, and by taking oil the duties on advertisements 
 for charitable purposes. Alas ! alas ! bow cold is charity, 
 and how blind are they who will not see. The landed gentle- 
 men of England and Ireland have been going into commit- 
 tees, and making most feeling speeches, for years, on the 
 
 c c 2 
 
CCCeiV GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 question of relieving the poor ; but the things needful they will 
 not do, though both they and the poor should together be 
 brought to starvation. 
 
 I have yet said nothing of the funding system of England, 
 an ally to that of taxation ; but these parliamentary speeches 
 lead me to notice it. The system of borrowing money for 
 government purposes and funding was first introduced, I 
 think, by King William the Illd. and the practice gradually 
 increased till it reached perfection under the administration 
 of Mr. Pitt. Long before his time some of the wisest of men, 
 and among them Hume, the historian, predicted that this 
 system would ultimately tend toconfusion and ruin. I hope 
 that no such consequence will ensue ; and certainly it need 
 
 not. . . . . 
 
 The funding system, by generating a fictitious capital, 
 
 strongly secured, yields advantages not only to government, 
 but to individuals. It economises every process of lending, 
 and exchange: it gives latitude and ease to adventure: it 
 moderates the swing of political violence; and affords 
 strength and security to executive power. So far it is well; 
 and when a nation is fairly represented, 1 cannot conceive 
 how danger should result from it. In England, where this 
 fictitious capital has swollen up till it exceeds in amount, 
 the value of the land, and the substantial stock of the in- 
 dustrious is seized at will, to make good the dividends of ar. 
 over proportion of idlers; then, indeed, there may be risk. 
 At the end of the late war, two things required attention, 
 the employment of the multitudes, whom war had kept in a 
 state of action, and some alteration in the system of taxation. 
 Had government looked out over the wide range of 
 British dominion, for great objects upon which industry 
 could be bestowed to profit, such as improving the St. 
 Lawrence navigation, and the like, not a man might have 
 pined at home in idleness, and continued action might greatly 
 have assisted in keeping at once distended and secure, the 
 bubble of fictitious wealth; but with every such precaution, 
 
GKNERAL INTRODUCTION, CCCCV 
 
 this, of itself, required trinuiiing for a peace establishment. 
 Years before the war, it had swollen to undue bulk, and was 
 stiHing that industry to which it owed its existence. PVom 
 the year 1813, the most valuable stock of the country — the 
 agricultural stock, began to suffer diminution, and to be- 
 come unequal to the enormous burdens imposed upon it. 
 But the farmers of Britain have no voice in political con- 
 cerns, and the evil, not immediately felt by their landlords, 
 was allowed to go on for two years, without even an attempt 
 towards a remedy. The termination of war shewed, at last, 
 that something should be done : but what did the landlords 
 do ? They trusted to keep up their rents by a Corn Bill, and 
 by their political influence they carried that into a law, 
 against tlie will of nine-tenths of the nation. Never was 
 selfishness more blind; and miserable, indeed, have been 
 the consequences. To this hour land and farming stock 
 have continued to fall, while the funds are kept up by a 
 system of taxation, absolute and relentless. On this subject 
 I can speak at once feelingly and correctly. Only a few 
 weeks ago I had accounts of the final sales of my father’s 
 estate. Five years ago this would have readily brought, at 
 the hammer, upwards of £130,000, and now it has netted 
 only £95, 500, while in the same period of years, funded pro- 
 perty has risen more than 10 per cent. Let the difference 
 between the fall of substantial stock, and the rise of fictitious 
 capital be taken only at 40 per cent. ; and think what a dread- 
 ful convulsion such change must have effected in society, 
 simply considered ! but if it is taken into account, that the loss 
 has been deducted out of that which held the machinery of 
 production in motion, and the gain added to that which is idle 
 and unproductive, what then must w^e conceive to be the sum 
 of accumulated mischief! The national expenditure is, no 
 doubt, greatly lessened since the cessation of war : say 40 
 or 30 millions a year ; but the interest of the national debt 
 is still 40 millions, while the substantial stock, out of which 
 it is taken, is sunk more than a third ; and that part of this 
 
ccccvi 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 stock really engaged in production, more than a half; and 
 what is worse, the profits of the same stock are greatly 
 lessened, merely from the circumstance of its diminution: 
 for, who does not know the difference in trade, which results 
 from a powerful capital, and a capital feeble and insufficient? 
 Besides providing employment for the hands whom the 
 cessation of war threw out of employment, had a few taxes 
 which bore immediately on the agriculturists, been taken off, 
 and the property-tax continued on land rents, and the interest 
 of money in the funds, and otherwise, England might have 
 stood the change from war to peace with the greatest ease : 
 real and fictitious property w ould have retained a fair relative 
 proportion to each other, and the nation would have started 
 before all the w’orld in renewed and enlarged efforts of in- 
 dustry and commerce. What do we experience now but 
 the very reverse? What do we hear of but another proposal 
 in England, to raise the price of corn by legislative enact- 
 ment; and what do we see in these fine speeches of the 
 Imperial Parliament, but strained measures to improve the 
 bogs of Ireland, after farming capital is extinguished ; and 
 a magnanimous resolution to relieve distress, by taking off 
 the stamp duties on advertisements for charitable purposes! ! ! 
 
 Gentlemen, the miserable policy pursued by England since 
 the peace, has created evils beyond all conception; — evils not 
 only to the people at home, but to all. It is this, mainly, 
 which has clogged the wheels of industry, and deranged all 
 the transactions of commerce ; — which has shaken the credit 
 of the world, and with universal peace introduced universal 
 poverty. At the bottom of all this calamity was the landed 
 interest of England. The Duke of Devilry, my Lord 
 Lubber, and Sir John Sinecure, at the end of the w ar called 
 a council of their land stewards, and found that existing rents 
 could not be paid under existing circumstances, except the 
 price of wheat w as kept up to 10^. per bushel. Rents must 
 be kept up,” said the Trio; ^^thatN flat; and nothing but a 
 Corn Bill can do for us.” With all the aid of raised duties. 
 
GENKRAl. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 c«ccvn 
 
 on imported grain, rents were not sustained ; but the great 
 landlords felt little personal inconvenience. The duke had 
 only to reduce his establishment from £ 80,000 of expendi- 
 ture to £ 50 , 000 . The lord, from £ 30,000 to £^ 0 , 000 - 
 And the knight mortgaged, for a present supply, part of his 
 estate to his brother, a banker and fundholder in the city. 
 By this class of men no great immediate inconvenience has 
 yet been felt ; but it has been different indeed with all be- 
 low. The further down, the greater is the misery ; but the 
 further down, the less is that political influence, which can 
 guard against approaching ruin, and the more removed are 
 individuals from the sympathy of those who have it to wield. 
 The first question in political economy should be, can the 
 mass of the people live comfortably under this or that ar- 
 rangement? but this most necessary question was forgotten, 
 and many of the people have perished. In the commercial 
 world the consequence of raising, by forced means, the price 
 of grain in England, is obvious. America cannot pay for 
 the manufactures of England but in produce; and when 
 England lays duties on the importation of grain, the 
 natural consequence is, that trade must be diminished, even 
 though America did not lay countervailing duties on Eng- 
 lish goods ; and we now see two nations, which ought to be 
 reciprocal customers and friends, become mutual destroyers 
 of each other’s gain. America retires within herself, and calls 
 hands to the anvil and the loom, who, otherw^ise, would be 
 better employed witli the axe and the plough. England 
 yokes her weavers in gravel-cart harness, and Ireland con- 
 trives work for her ruined farmers in the bogs, when wheat 
 is 105 . per bushel — the bogs! which did not tempt cultivation ^ 
 when the average price w'as 15 s. 
 
 For generations, nay, for centuries yet to come, the 
 crowded population of the old world must naturally make 
 labour cheaper there than in America ; and there goods will 
 be manufactured upon easier terms than on this side of the 
 Atlantic. Here, again, from the cheapness of land, food will 
 
GCCCviii GENERAL INTRO DUCTION. 
 
 be more readily obtained. Intercourse among men is de- 
 sirable, of itself; but how strongly does nature thus encou- 
 rage it ; and what pity is it that the slightest obstacle should 
 be thrown in the way. In furnishing goods to America 
 during the late wars, England had advantages which she is 
 not likely again to possess. The people of the European 
 continent, who can alFord labour even cheaper than the peo- 
 ple of England, were then held back from competition. 
 They will noNV quickly engage in the arts, have the same 
 advantages from machinery as the people of England; and, 
 rid of many of their old feudal restraints, may soon be up- 
 sides with our fellow' subjects in the production of every ar- 
 ticle now required by America. 
 
 When the landed interest of England were selfishly de- 
 voted to their favourite policy, to raise artificially the price of 
 grain, they overlooked one beautiful principle, which, with a 
 little forbearance at first, would soon have come to their 
 relief. Had they allowed provisions to be cheap, the popu- 
 lation of the island would rapidly have increased, and the 
 value of land being always greatly ruled by local situation, 
 they w'ould have gained from convenience more than they will 
 obtain, in the end, by checking the natural growth of popu- 
 lation. 
 
 Gentlemen, my last communication was abruptly termi- 
 nated ; but it had sufficiently displayed the ease and rationality 
 of the scheme for introducing settlers, and improving the 
 navigation of the St. Lawrence. Let me now call your at- 
 tention to the effects upon industry and improvement, gene- 
 rally, which would ensue from the adoption of such a scheme. 
 The farmers of Upper Canada have, for the two last years, 
 had but a sorry market for produce; and when that con- 
 tinues bad, their efforts get, of course relaxed* Were they as- 
 sured by your conduct this session, that the St. Lawrence 
 navigation was to be set about next summer, and that 15,000 
 consumers were to be imported, besides the usual influx of set- 
 tlers, what a spur would be given to exertion! This very autumn 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCCIX 
 
 thousands of additional acres would be sown with wheat, in 
 the certainty of a rising market, and the hope of better times 
 would inspire every one with conhdence. Confidence would 
 beget credit, credit would beget money ; and money would 
 beget more. The discharge of 15,000 souls annually, or 
 100,000, if you will, out of the hospitals of Ireland, and out 
 of the poor houses and gravel-cart harness of England, 
 would alFord no small ease to these countries. The poor 
 emigrants would soon be able to replace their rags with good 
 raiment; and increasing orders from Montreal would re- 
 double the advantage to England. Does it not warm your 
 hearts to think of such a glorious scheme of charity ? Does 
 it not extinguish every groveling idea when you know that 
 you can bring it to bear ? Does it not awaken you to duty 
 and to honour? If it does not, then bow still lower to your 
 idol, give praise to him whose first breath in the province was 
 tainted with indignation,” and whose revenge, at the end 
 of eight months, cannot rest in his bosom without acts of 
 injustice, without extolling the rash and unwarranted ex- 
 pressions, which, you well know, gave offence to nine-tenths 
 of your constituents. Be assured that the landed oligarchy 
 of England have but little care for the farmers of Canada, 
 when they suffer their own tenants to be ruined, and their 
 poor labourers to be starved. Be assured that while gover- 
 nors are sent out from among this class of men, and more 
 particularly if their stomachs have been charged with mili- 
 tary hauteur, it is your duty, as representatives of the people 
 of Upper Canada, to be steeled against slavish dread — to be 
 guarded against puling language, and, as British subjects, to 
 cause to be loudly proclaimed in Britain, what befits the 
 interests of this province, instead of trusting to the court 
 whisperings of a governor and his imps. I tell you once for 
 all, that the landed interest of England is hostile to Canada, 
 not the sovereign and the people ; and I tell you that there 
 are evils wliich nothing but the open and dignified front of a 
 commission will get removed at home. It is not mere vice 
 
ccccx 
 
 GBNEKAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 that you have to contend with: it is not the selfishness of 
 English landlords, taking them individually. The world 
 scarcely contains such a body of generous and noble hearted 
 individuals; but in their public cares, and collectively, all is 
 ignorance, trifling, and indifference. The prosperity of 
 England never was indebted to them a farthing. It has 
 forced its way in spite of them, through the wonderful activi- 
 ty of the people — through the enterprise and spirit of mer- 
 chants — the dexterous skill of manufacturers, and the plod- 
 ding perseverance of farmers. The activity of the people 
 will, even yet, overcome every difficulty : half may be ruined 
 or starved, but the other half will hold on, and finally, the 
 country will prosper. After all, even the national debt may 
 be speedily paid oflF, were it desirable. To those who cherish 
 hope, this debt may be looked to only as an evidence of past 
 exertion, and an index of what may again be performed. 
 
 Gentlemen, you have never sufficiently appreciated the vast 
 advantages which might accrue to this province, were the 
 connexion with the mother country duly cultivated. You 
 have a relation stored with every thing you want for pros- 
 perity ; but, by a sheepish bashfulness,* you hold back from 
 a frank and open communication : you trifle away your time 
 with governors, while you should be shaking hands with the 
 sovereign and people of England. 
 
 It is now precisely two years since I set my first foot on 
 the soil of this province. Two years before that, British 
 newspapers had been filled with proclamations for the en- 
 couragement of those who should incline to come out here as 
 settlers, upon very liberal terms. Anxious to know what 
 had been the issue of this scheme, I made it my first business 
 to repair to the new settlement of Perth, in the Johnstown 
 District, where 1 staid several days. Of the Scotch settle- 
 ment I took a most particular account, visiting the house 
 of every individual, and getting from each a narrative of all 
 that had occurred since his leaving home, &c. I further 
 entered in a table, prepared for the purpose, the following 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION* CCCCxi 
 
 particulars: 1st. Settler’s original profession; 2d. sister or 
 wife; Sd. sons; 4th. daughters; 5th. from what county; 
 6th. from what parish; 7th. date of leaving home; 8th. date 
 of embarkation; 9th. date of disembarkation; 10th. date of 
 taking possession; 1 1th. buildings erected ; 12th. number of 
 acres chopped; 13th. number of acres cleared; 14th. num- 
 ber of acres in wheat; 15th. number of acres in oats; l6th. 
 number of acres in potatoes, garden, &c.; 17th. number of 
 pounds of maple sugar made; 18lh. number of cows and 
 horses. When each man had furnished me with these par- 
 ticulars, he signed his name, attesting the correctness of the 
 statement, and declaring that he was well satisfied meanin<r 
 with the country and his farm. Tliis table, together with an 
 explanatory letter, I sent home to be published in the news- 
 papers. The letter I shall here transcribe; and extract out 
 of the table as much of those columns, relating to the depar- 
 ture from home, embarkation, disembarkation, and getting 
 possession of the land in Canada, as will demonstrate the 
 strange mismanagement of this concern* I have, in my for- 
 mer communication, stated, that men could be transported 
 from home, and placed at their labour on the St. Lawrence 
 navigation, by the 1st of June each year, for ^20 per man, 
 with wife and child, which charge could be refunded from 
 the profits of labour, at the end of the second season. The 
 Perth settlers were kept idle a whole year, at an enormous 
 cost to government ; to say nothing of the vexation and 
 anxiety to the people themselves. Only mark the difference : 
 mark the wide difference between management and misma- 
 nagement. 
 
 (Here was inserted the letter and table which appear in 
 vol. i. page 522, and onward.) 
 
 There are about fifty settlers thus entered in the table, but 
 the above extract is sufficient for the present purpose. About 
 six months after I sent home my account of the Perth Set- 
 tlement for publication, I read liere an extract from the 
 English newspapers, stating, that the Government plan of 
 
CCCCxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 promotiug the settlement of Canada having tailed, no more 
 encouragement was to be given to emigration. Now, I ask 
 if any means could have been contrived more effectual, for 
 throwing cold water on the spirit of emigration, than this 
 clumsy and expensive plan, es-pecially when followed up with 
 a provincial act, to restrain public liberty. Truly those nar- 
 row’-minded oligarchs, who would rather see the poor reduced 
 to beggary at home, than permit them to have a safe conduct 
 to America, find in such plans and acts most charming assist- 
 ants. 
 
 Let me make this concluding remark, that at the end of 
 the war, there were some people at home who had good 
 wishes to the Settlement of Canada, and that the Prince was 
 quite propitious to the scheme, however ill digested ; but 
 that there are other people altogether adverse, and who turn a 
 deaf ear to every correction of error, and every rational pro- 
 posal of encouraging emigration on great and liberal princi- 
 ples. Those whom I propose as settlers, are farmers with 
 capital, and the real labouring poor of England ; but I know 
 not if a single individual, of these classes, has yet seen the 
 province. The farmers will not come to be gagged or impri- 
 soned ; and much will their landlords rejoice in their being 
 held back. The real labourers again cannot move for want 
 of means. Those who were brought over in 1815 had to de- 
 posit jgl 6. per man at home, for their passage, See. to be 
 repaid at the end of two years ; and all who have yet arrived, 
 are people of the same description — people who have been 
 little accustomed to hard w'ork, but w'ho have carried them- 
 selves from home with the poor remains of a reduced capital 
 in trade. 
 
 I trust that by this time some of you have bestowed a little 
 reflection on the proposal of substituting an equalized land 
 tax, in the room of every other. Permit me to say a little 
 more on that subject. 
 
 Mankind, besides being creatures of imitation and habit, 
 in external acts, arc so even in their mental prejudices. Under 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, CCCCXiii 
 
 tlie despotic Governments of the old world, taxation has been 
 mainly imposed to support the ambition of rulers, and to add 
 to the trappings of state : it has hitherto only been considered 
 as an engine of oppression ; and thence the very name has 
 become odious. To conduct only the necessary affairs of a 
 Government, really virtuous, very little indeed is required ; 
 but there is, beyond this, a use to be made of taxation, which 
 might redound greatly to the advantage of all. This province 
 is peculiarly adapted to illustrate what I mean, and to receive 
 benefit from a liberal system of taxation. Its internal navi- 
 gation is the most inviting object for speculative improvement 
 which nature presents. Take up the map of the world, and 
 you will not find upon its whole surface any thing to com- 
 pare, in point of interest and grandeur, to the waters of the 
 St. Lawrence, whether you consider the millions whom the 
 genial sun and fertile soil of their borders must speedily rear 
 up, to hold communication with each other, or the more ex- 
 tended idea of these waters being united to those of the west, 
 and forming a highway for commerce between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific Oceans. Other rivers, subject to the mutiny of 
 inundation, rushing through the valleys of a mountainous 
 country, or discharging themselves into the unhealthy regions 
 of the torrid zone, frighten, or mock, or enfeeble every desire 
 to improve them, for the purposes of man ; but in the regular 
 majesty of their flow through plains stretching between a 
 bappy temperature, the waters of the St. Lawrence speak 
 confidence to adventure, and give security to the figures of 
 the most sanguine calculation. 
 
 NIAGARA SPECTATOR, 24tii June, 1819. 
 
 [Continued from our last,'] 
 
 Had I capital sufticieiit to improve the St. Lawrence navi- 
 gation, and competent authorities would say ^^Take it into 
 your own hands, and from henceforth have the benefit of a 
 toll from those who choose to prefer your canal to the present 
 
CCCCXlV 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 course of navigation/* certainly I should think it a fine chance 
 of laying out niy money to advantage, and not sparingly should 
 I lay it out. The more completely the work was done, so 
 much the better should I expect to be repaid. But were I 
 made proprietor, not only of this navigation right, but of the 
 province, with how much greater confidence should I proceed ! 
 Estimating my landed estate at ^6,000,000, should I stickle 
 at borrowing two millions, to improve its value three times 
 over in five years, which most certainly would be done with 
 proper management. On the same principle, and with equal 
 confidence, as an individual would proceed, so may a com- 
 munity, and the individuals of a w hole nation may yield as 
 cheerfully to taxation, for promoting the general interest, as 
 any company of traders contribute shares to the common 
 stock. The chief consideration, as to taxation, rests w ith the 
 principle upon which the means are to be exacted, and I 
 maintain, that what has been chalked out by me is perfectly 
 fair; nay, not only fair, but sucli as holds out the highest in- 
 ducements for its being liberally and resolutely put in action. 
 
 Such is the peculiar situation of landed property in this pro- 
 vince, that I am fully convinced, were £200,000 or £300,000 
 raised annually, by taxation, on the principle proposed by 
 me, and throw'ii into Lake Ontario, it would tend to good. 
 Though at first it would be pinching, by and by it would be 
 less felt, the effect being to force on settlement and cultiva- 
 tion, by rendering w ild land less, comparatively, profitable to 
 hold than cultivated land ; and, through this effect, the tax, in 
 the end, would be draw n out of such an increased value in the 
 aggregate, as scarcely to incommode individuals in the least 
 degree. It never should be forgotten, that wild land is the 
 chief bane of this country, and no fair means should be left 
 unemployed to lessen it. In my former communication, I 
 stated at random that farmers, your constituents, possessed, 
 on an average, 400 acres of land, and that a fifth part of that, 
 80 acres, might be in cultivation. I have since had the cu- 
 riosity to examine an Assessment roll, and find that farmers, 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXV 
 
 on an average, possess only 237 acres, out of which only 38 
 acres are cultivated. 
 
 Their average assessment stands thus : — 
 
 \yild land . . . . 
 
 Cultivated land - - - 3 2 
 
 Assessments on sundries - 4 S'. 
 
 10 8-1 
 
 I formerly supposed, at random, that the province contain- 
 ed one hundred townships, averaging in extent 60,000 acres, 
 and containing 1,000 souls each. The province contains 
 probably, within the surveyed limits, double this number of 
 acres, and a greater number of inhabitants ; but, for simpli- 
 city of calculation, let us adhere to the first assumed extent 
 and population, viz. 6,000,000 of acres, and 100,000 souls. 
 Further, let it be supposed that every tenth person is a 
 farmer, and possesses, at an average, the same extent of wild 
 and cultivated land, as those farmers actually do in the 
 Assessment roll above quoted from, with the same propor- 
 tion of other taxable property, then 10,000 farmers possess 
 
 ■^C7’es. £. s. d. 
 
 Of wild land - 1,990,000, taxed at 1,658 6 8 
 
 cultivated land - 380,000 - - 1,583 6 8 
 
 other property 2,156 5 O 
 
 Then if farmers possess 2,370,000, and pay 5,397 18 4 
 
 The possessions and") 
 
 payments of others, 1-3,630,000, and 8,264 7 5 } 
 should be - -J 
 
 Totals - 6,000,000 acres, £13,662 
 
 An equalized land-tax, at 11s. per acre,? 
 
 would bring . - . ^3,750 
 
 Oi;, bringing it up to 20f. per acre, and 
 
 Id. per pound, as cultivated land is C 25,000 
 now rated - - - - - ) 
 
 And at Is. per pound, or 5 per cent.? 300,000 
 on the fee-simple - . -j 
 
 5 9J 
 0 0 
 
 0 O 
 
 0 0 
 
ccccxvi 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Here we are at the utmost sum which 1 have proposed to be 
 thrown into Lake Ontario ; and pray, who would be greatly 
 hurt by it? It would only be £11. 17.v. to each farmer; and 
 I am very sure that Canadian farmers do now, on the average, 
 throw away more in idle time and drinking, without increas- 
 ing the value of their property. Nay, don’t contradict me; 
 
 I am very sure of k ; but rather keep your eye steadily on the 
 holders of wild land, and see how they can bear it. Mark, 
 for instance, old Mr. Landlubber, of Little York, who does 
 nothing all day but sit in his elbow chair. He has 10,000 
 acres of wild land ; but enters on the Assessment roll only 
 5,000, well knowing that nobody will take the trouble to de- 
 tect the cheat, and so he now gets clear for the yearly pay- 
 ment of £4. 35. Ad. But, under my system, there shall be 
 a Land Register, open to the inspection of the public, shew- 
 ing who arc the holders of land ; and from which Assessment 
 rolls shall be correctly drawn out, and through which means 
 neither Landlubber, of York, nor Mortgager, of Montreal; 
 no, nor the King (meaning thereby the King’s servants), nor 
 even the Clergy, who are most likely, shall be allowed to 
 cheat the revenue a single farthing. By this means, and at 
 the rate of five per cent.. Landlubber must pay £500 per 
 annum of tax. Now, at first sight, we may be disposed to 
 pity Landlubber ; but, in fact, he requires none. He may 
 still sit easy in his chair, and become richer and richer, even 
 while he sees his money cast into the Lake. It will be re- 
 membered, that if individuals are not ready with the payment 
 of their tax, down it goes to account ; but Landlubber has a 
 clear income of £800. per annum, independent of his wdld 
 land ; being knowing, he lets no debts of this kind go to book ; 
 and being thrifty, he resolves to reduce his expense of living 
 to £300. 
 
 All this, however, is only brought in, for the sake of illustra- 
 tion ; and, with the same view, let us advance a step further. 
 Suppose the same sum of J03OO,OOO, raised by taxation, was, 
 instead of being thrown into Lake Ontario, employed in 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ("CCCXvij 
 
 bringing poor people out of England, where there are 
 5,000,000, who have not one shilling in the world to rub oil 
 another. Suppose that these people were kept two years 
 employed in mere idleness, say heaping up stones one day> 
 and casting them abroad the next ; by this policy, much more 
 would be gained to the province, than by throwing the cash 
 into the Lake, It would create a market for produce, give 
 circulation to money, and stimulate the industry of farmers and 
 others ; besides all which, it would add greatly to the strength 
 and value of the province by the increase of settlers. But 
 if by the raising, and thus foolishly squandering away so much 
 money, so many advantages are to be produced, what would be 
 the mighty triumph of economy, when the money and labour 
 was expended on useful public works ; above all, on improv- 
 ing the St. LawTence navigation, which I have already said 
 presents the noblest object for speculation within the wide 
 compass of nature. Oh ! it is delightful to muse upon the conse- 
 quences of such a scheme being put in execution : to think of 
 the profit ! — the utility ! — the sum of relief to the poor 
 of England! — the security to Canada! — the glory to 
 the nation! — 15,000 souls annually rescued from distress, 
 and fairly established in the high way of vigour and 
 enjoyment ! ! ! But when it has been a few years in action, 
 let me visit Little York: — let me inquire for our old friend 
 Lnnd-lubber. He was for the first year of the tax, really 
 disagreeable ; sulky to a degree, and from time to time would 
 bellow out, Damn that wretch Gourlay*, who first proposed 
 this cursed coercion act.” By the second year. Land-lubber 
 could not help, in the course of nature, being better tem- 
 pered, as the thrifty scheme of living had considerably less- 
 ened the dropsical swelling in his ancles, and he had not 
 half so many twitches of the gout. The third year Land- 
 
 * Language of an assembly-man in parliament, 
 dd 
 
ccccxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 lubber walked out daily, and inquired as to the price of land, 
 which had now risen from two to four dollars an acre. 
 The fourth year it was really pleasant to see him: clean in 
 the shank ; and with a face full of glee, it was hard to say 
 whether he or his cane would win the race, as he bustled 
 about asking the news— the progress of the navigation— the 
 arrival of emigrants— the price of land, the price of land! 
 
 One day, as I stood at Forest’s hotel door, he could not 
 help, in the joy of his heart, bursting the fetters of an old 
 grudge, and made up to me. Well, Sir, the weather is 
 very fine indeed : have you heard any news to-day ? It is 
 Just reported, Mr, Land-lubber, that the Grand Canal \^ill 
 be finished next month, and that the good ship Britannia, of 
 300 tons, is fitting out in style at Quebec, to bring up his 
 Excellency the Governor-in-Chief to make the first debut 
 on Lake Ontario, by the canal : land has risen another dollar 
 an acre this last month ; and 10,000 emigrants of respectability 
 are now on their way from Europe, to make purchases here, 
 and become settlers.” Mr. G. that is really excellent news 
 —glorious news ! Will you dine wdth me to-day f I hope we 
 shall all be good friends again.” Indeed, Mr. Land-lubber, 
 I never was your enemy : only a plain-speaking counsellor, 
 and a little impatient, at times, with those who would not 
 look forward to the rising grandeur of the province ; who 
 soured every hope with unfounded suspicions, and low 
 jealousies.” Well, well, it is all over now : all’s well that 
 ends well: you must certainly dine with me, and give me 
 some more news about lands and emigrants. Oh, charming 
 weather! Oh, fine times I Our rising grandeur ! Our rising gran- 
 deur 1 ! 1” 1 shall dine with you most willingly, Mr. L., but you 
 
 must now promise to assist me in blowing up Little York.” 
 
 Oh 1 certainly, my friend : I sw^car I shall have a torch ready 
 for you at command. These narrow streets, and miserable, 
 dirty, unpainted clap-boarded huts, will never suit our rising 
 grandeur: even that great gawky-looking brick house must 
 come down : aye, garrison and all must be blown up. Well, 
 1 
 
C^ENERAL INTBai>UCTIONr. 
 
 ccccxix 
 
 “We shall talk more of it after dinner; so good bye*— good bye. 
 Ha! ha! ha! Land up! Houra! Our rising grandeur! 
 Our rising grandeur ! ! T* 
 
 The execution of such a work as the St. Lawrence navi- 
 gation, by the scheme proposed, settles the question of ex- 
 pense as one of no consequence. I spoke of a scale to 
 admit vessels of 200 tons burden ; and in doing so I con- 
 sidered both as to what wojild brave the ocean, and what 
 would not be inconveniently large for internal navigation. 
 Should it be deemed advisable to have larger vessels in the 
 trade, any additional expense should never for a moment be 
 thought of, as an objection. The La Chine canal is to 
 admit only of boats. Tliis may suit the merchant of Mont- 
 real, but will not do for Upper Canada. Indeed I am 
 doubtful if our great navigation should at ail touch Montreal ; 
 and rather think it should be carried to the northward. 
 Here, however, I am without personal knowledge. As to 
 the line within the province, my mind is made up, not only 
 from inquiries commenced on my first arrival here, but from 
 considerable personal inspection of the ground, as well be- 
 tween Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, as below. My opinion 
 is, that the navigation ought to be taken out of the river St. 
 Lawrence, near the village of Johnstown, in Edwardsburgh, 
 and let into the Ottaw^a, somewhere below the Hawkesbury 
 rapids : probably in that part of the river called the Lake of 
 the two Mountains. By a bold cut of a few miles at the 
 first-mentioned place, the waters of the St. Lawrence might 
 be conducted to a command of level, which would make the 
 rest of the way practicable, with very ordinary exertion; 
 The idea which has been started by some, of raising the 
 navigation by two stages, first into Lake St. Francis, and 
 thence to the higher level, may do for boat navigation ; but 
 for vessels of a larger scale, it is greatly objectionable. Any 
 benefit to be gained from the lake, considered as part of the 
 canal already formed, w’ould be quite overbalanced by the 
 want of a good towing path. A boat navigation may, I think, 
 
 d d 2 
 
ccccxx 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with benefit to the parts adjoining, be brought u^p so far as 
 MilVrush, through Lake St. Francis, and thence be taken 
 into the line of the grand canal. The advantages to Upper 
 Canada from a navigation on a large scale, would be infinite. 
 Only think of the diflference of having goods brought here 
 from England, in the same bottoms to which they were first 
 committed, instead of being unshipped at Quebec, unboated 
 and warehoused at Montreal, carted to the ditch canal, and 
 there parcelled out among petty craft for forwarding to 
 Kingston. Then again at Kingston tumbled about for 
 transport across Lake Ontario ; and again, if Amherstburgh 
 is the destination, a third time boated, unboated, and re- 
 shipped. Think of the difference in point of comfort and 
 convenience to the merchants here. Think of the greater 
 dispatch* Think of the saving of trouble and risk ! Think of 
 being unburdened of intermediate commissions and profits t 
 Think of the closer connexion which it would form between 
 this province and England ! Think of the greater comfort it 
 would afibrd to emigrants, and how much it would facilitate 
 and encourage emigration! With navigation on a large 
 scale, ship building would become an object of great im- 
 portance here, and new vessels might be ready loaded with 
 produce to depart with the first opening in the spring. 
 There are but a few vessels trading from England to Que- 
 bec, which mak« two voyages in a season, and then it is 
 with increase of risk that the second voyage is performed. 
 Every vessel could leave England, proceed to the extremities 
 of Lakes Michigan or Superior, and get back with ease in 
 a season ; or every vessel could leave Lakes Erie or On- 
 tario in the spring, proceed to England, get back here, and 
 again take home a second cargo of produce. 
 
 In time of war wbat security would such a scale of navi- 
 gation yield I In fact it would put all competition on the 
 lakes out of question. Upper Canada would then possess a 
 vast body of thorough-bred seamen and ship-carpenters, w'ith 
 abundance of vessels fit to mount guns, not only for their 
 

 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXXi 
 
 own individual defence, but to constitute a navy at a mo- 
 ment’s notice. In commercial competition, too, the great 
 western canal of the States would be quite oiitrivalled by 
 such a superior navigation. The line of the States’ canal 
 must be for ever subject to nearly 400 miles of towing, 
 besides having many counteracting locks : here from Lake 
 Lrle dovvnw'ards, there would not be more than 100 miles 
 of towing, and not a single counteracting lock. Upw^ards, 
 except at the falls of St, Mary’s, where a very short canal 
 would give a free passage, navigation is clear for more than a 
 thousand miles ; and when population thickens on the wide ex- 
 tended shores of the Upper Lakes, only think how the import- 
 ance increases of having the transport of goods and produce un- 
 interrupted by handling and shifting from one class of vesseb 
 to another, eight or ten times over. Oh ! it is quite ele- 
 vating to look forward to such a noble work ; so let us have 
 nothing to do wdth piddling concerns. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 In the same newspaper of June 24th, 1819, ap- 
 peared the replies of the Legislative Council and 
 Assembly to the Lieutenant-governor’s speech, 
 given above. Two clauses extracted from each, I 
 shall here copy in, to mark the spirit of these 
 august bodies. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 ** We, his Majesty’s dutiful and loyal suL^ects, the Legisla- 
 tive Council of the province of Upper Canada, in parliament 
 assembled, beg leave to return our thanks for your Ex- 
 cellency’s speech at the opening of this session. 
 
 We are gratified to learn that his Royal Highness the 
 Prince Regent, on behalf of his Majesty, has authorized 
 grants of land to certain of the provincial navy and the 
 militia who served during the late w'ar, and we feel the pro- 
 
w 
 
 COCCXXii GEKKRAIi’iNTRODUCTIOM. 
 
 priety of withholdiug this mark of approbation from the 
 individuals who composed the late convention of delegates. 
 
 “ Wm. Dummer Powell, Speaker/^ 
 Legislative Council Chamber, 
 
 10/A June, 1819» 
 
 “ May it please your Excellency, 
 
 “ We, his Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Com- 
 mons of Upper Canada, in provincial parliament assembled, 
 beg leave to offer to your Excellency our most humble and 
 hearty thanks for your gracious speech from the throne, at 
 the opening of the present session. 
 
 ** We are gratefully impressed with the gracious inten- 
 tions of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in autho- 
 rizing the Governors of both Canadas to bestow land on 
 certain of the provincial navy and militia, who served during 
 the late war ; and with your Excellency's considerate atten- 
 tion in setting apart adequate tracts in the several districts, 
 for the accommodation of such of their respective inhabi- 
 tants as are within the limit of the Royal instructions ; and 
 we lament that any portion of his Majesty’s subjects should 
 have forfeited their claims upon the bounty of their govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Allan McLean, Speaker.^ 
 Commons House of Assembly, 
 
 9th June, 1819. 
 
 Underneath the word Postscript, which heads 
 this part of the work, is written, chiefly for after 
 reference and discussion and here it is only ne- 
 cessary to state, that the fate of Upper Canada, as 
 a British province, never was affected more than by 
 these fulsome and shameless replies to the Lieute^^ 
 nant-governor's opening speech. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 February 11, 1822. 
 
 Canadians, 
 
 It is this day two months since the date of my 
 last Address to you. I was then feeble; and had 
 shortly after to abandon part of my plan ; to throw 
 aside my pen, and fly to the country. That move- 
 ment set afloat new ideas ; and my Address to the 
 People of Wiltshire led me first to produce some 
 extracts from Salisbury newspapers, and then to 
 exhibit others out of the Niagara Spectator, which 
 you will find link well together, and manifest 
 at least consistency in opinion and principle. 
 
 During these two months most eventful occur- 
 rences have taken place ; and up to this hour the 
 landed and farming interests have been getting into 
 greater and greater trepidation* : have been holding 
 meetings in every direction; and coming forth with 
 
 * House of Commons, Feb. 1822. 
 
 Mr. Coke rose to present a petition from the owners and occu- 
 piers of land in the county of Norfolk. The petition prayed for 
 economy and reform : it prayed for the reduction of taxes, and 
 particularly of those which were imposed upon malt, salt, leather, 
 candles, and other necessary articles of consumption, which would 
 afford the country relief to the amount of five millions, without 
 any real injury to the revenue. How astonished must the country 
 be to hear the declaration of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 that the removal of any tax would be an aggravation of the ex- 
 isting distress. Gracious God ! at a time when the j>eople, from 
 one end of the country to the other, were complaining of distress, 
 with the proofs of which the table of that House would soon be 
 groaning — at such a time were they to be told, by a hard-hearted 
 and callous government, on the first day of the session too, that 
 
CCCCXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 
 
 f^peeclies altogether radical, led on by noble Lords. 
 Parliament is now met ; and we are all upon tip-toe 
 
 they were to meet no relief, and that their complaints would be 
 disregarded i He did not suppose that the petitions of the people 
 would bo attended to by that House, but he certainly did not 
 expect to hear that doctrine so openly avowed. There had been 
 persons who looked up to that House as aland of hope, corrupt as 
 k was, profligate as it was (loud cries of “ Order”). It was 
 known to be so (cries of “ Order,” and “ Chair”). 
 
 The Speaker rose, and observed that he should be the last 
 person to interfere with the expression of the sentiments of a 
 member of that House, did he not feel himself called upon to do 
 so by an imperious duty. He was convinced that a moment’s 
 reflection would shew the honourable member that he had trans- 
 gressed the limits of fair debate. 
 
 Mr. Coke apologized fbr having said what was considered im- 
 proper. He knew that he was warm, and it was natural that he 
 should be so. It was understood, however, that the petitioners 
 were not likely to obtain redress from that House X^iear, hear). 
 The petition would perhaps better explain the view which ho 
 entertained with regard to the constitution of that House than be 
 could himself. It stated that retrenchment would do much to- 
 wards the relief of all classes of the community ; and he must 
 remind them, that although an hon. member of that House (Mr. 
 Hume) had shewn last session that there was no branch of the 
 expenditure, either foreign or doipestic, in which reduction might 
 not be made, yet large majorities had always been found to reject 
 bis propositions. “ Therefore,” said the petitioners, “ it is our 
 decided conviction, that the corrupt and defective state of the 
 representation, is the true source of the prevailing distress, and 
 that until the people shall be fairly represented in parliament, no 
 relief is to be expected.^’ The Times, Sth Feb. 1822. 
 
 Mr, Coke. W as the country to be told by a hard-hearted and callous 
 government that no relief would be granted? Not that he had 
 deceived his constituents by saying that he hoped their petition 
 would be attended to. He had not told them any such thing ; for, 
 constituted ns the House was — corrupt as it was — profligate as it 
 was — (order, order). 
 
 The Speaker said that the hon. member must be sensible that 
 these expressions were highly disorderly and improper (hear, 
 liear). 
 
 Mr. Coh. It is known to be so (order, order). 
 
 The Couiier, Febt'uai'y 8, 1822. 
 
 Canadians ! Tell it not in Gath You must be all very 
 sensible how improper was the above language of Mr. Coke ; but 
 J wguld draw your attention to the extreme folly of petitioning 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCCXXV 
 
 to learn what is to be done. Ministers, it is said, 
 are about to borrow five millions to lend to land- 
 lords and farmers, to keep peaee in this island; 
 while penal laws and military force is applied for to 
 cure disturbances in Ireland!!! Mr. Cobbett 
 having raised a cry about Peel’s bill, ^a most ex- 
 cellent bill) thinks, I presume, that he may trust 
 to that for a while with more hope than to “ Cob- 
 bett’s parliament,” which is put off, sine die: 
 so, after all, our fate is left “ to the force of events,” 
 and we know not what a day may bring forth. 
 
 Newspapers have informed us that your provin- 
 cial parliament met on the 30th of November ; that 
 it was expected that the session would be short 
 and tranquil ; also, that the question of your far- 
 famed sedition law was agitated. I am sorry for 
 this. It has lessened my expectation of a com- 
 mission coming home immediately; but I shall 
 not yet despair. The sole duty of your represen- 
 tatives should rest in refusing supplies till a com- 
 
 inted: but the silliness of last 
 e suspect that silliness may still 
 sported that the Governor- in-Chief 
 
 mission is appoin 
 session makes me 
 prevail. It is repe 
 
 has asked the parliament of Lower Canada tc 
 grant the civil list during the life of the sovereign 
 Surely they will not be fools enough to comply. 
 
 2 
 
CCCCXXvi OfNERAJL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Though I am a friend to free trade with all the 
 world, and wish to see that brought about as 
 speedily as possible, had your representatives sent 
 home a commission last year, instead of trifling 
 away time, by appointing a select committee (see 
 page 666, Vol. II.) only to exhibit ignorance and 
 vanity, I should have been happy to have seen the 
 timber trade continued for a few years in favour of 
 Canada, with notice that the favour should be 
 gradually withdrawn. This would have given 
 opportunity to people in the trade to have wound 
 up their business economically, and to have dis- 
 posed of or worn out their machinery (saw-mills, 
 &c.) to some profit. Should a commission come 
 home this session, I should on the same principle 
 be happy to see our North American provinces 
 favoured for a few years in the corn trade. I 
 should wish to see your corn and flour admitted 
 for sale here at all times on a certain duty, to be 
 diminished year after year, till the trade was free 
 to you ; and, after being free to you, for some time, 
 to be made free to all the world. An ad valorem 
 duty would be the thing; but for illustration, say 
 that your wheat should this year be admitted to 
 sale, on paying a duty of 3^. per bushel, next year 
 2s. 6d., and so on, diminishing 6d. every year 
 till the duty was extinct. The Halton petition, 
 and your parliamentary proceedings of last year, 
 plainly manifest your wish to bar out your neigh- 
 bours in the United States from trading through 
 Quebec with England on equal terms with your- 
 selves. This is a selfish and narrow-minded no- 
 
tion, on your part, and it would not suit England, 
 even though you were to be gainers. It is besides 
 impracticable. Whenever provincial duties are 
 imposed to any great amount on produce of the 
 United States, and vent is found for it at Quebec, 
 the extent of unguarded boundary line between 
 the Canadas and the States will afford such op- 
 portunities to smuggling, as effectually to blast 
 your illiberal policy, and I rejoice in this truth. 
 In the event of the St. Lawrence navigation being 
 effected on my plan, I had a scheme to propose 
 for making American produce pay towards that; 
 but at present there is no occasion for enlarging on 
 the subject. It is the interest of Britain to trade 
 with Americans through the port of Quebec, as 
 freely as with you, Canadians, though her shipping 
 interest only was taken into consideration ; and 
 were an act immediately passed, admitting corn 
 and flour to be imported from our North Ameri- 
 can colonies, and sold here at all times on a duty, 
 as above proposed, the benefit would be instant 
 and great both to England and the colonies. If 
 your commission would come home, and propose 
 this simple measure, without any invidious, grasp- 
 ing, and illiberal view towards your neighbours, I 
 doubt not but it would be admitted; and perhaps 
 you might yet get to rights without becoming 
 bankrupt. Half the farmers of Halton probably 
 have their names standing on the books of James 
 Crooks, Esq. M. P. for goods furnished to them 
 when prices were high. He again is perhaps in- 
 debted to merchants in Montreal; and they to 
 
 i| 
 
 
 

 ccccxxviii general introduction. 
 
 merchants in Loudon. In the course of time, 
 trade might assist in adjusting these accounts. 
 I spoke lightly of a general bankruptcy among you, 
 keeping my eye bent on the infinitely greater dis- 
 tress which general bankruptcy among British 
 farmers would produce. Your distress would be 
 comparatively nothing to their’s ; and their’s would 
 not only be to themselves ruinous, but it would 
 spread death and destruction around to millions: 
 yes, were the public credit of England once vitally 
 touched, and a general breaking down among the 
 farmers would certainly so touch it, not less than 
 two millions of human beings would be swept from 
 existence paupers, annuitants, and fundholders; 
 young, old, and infirm! I have said above, and 
 I say again, that no nation on earth was ever 
 situated as we are, from the factitious state into 
 which we have been brought by the Pitt system of 
 finance, as it is called, in conjunction with the 
 greatest of all evils — the evil of the poor-laws. 
 
 I have already said, and this too I repeat, that 
 were reason to regulate our affairs, all danger could 
 be avoided: even the Pitt system could with dis- 
 cretion be followed up in time of peace to infinite 
 advantage; and taxation itself could be turned to 
 profit. Reason, however, I am afraid, will never 
 be consulted while we are ruled by boroughmon- 
 gers : while ministers study only their own interest, 
 and are totally regardless of public good. How 
 mad are all their measures ! Let us look for an 
 example of it to Ireland, at the present moment. 
 That unhappy country could be cheaply redeemed 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXxix 
 
 from distress. Emancipate the catholics: let not 
 one-fifth of the nation lord it over four-fifths. If 
 clergy are to be paid by government, let catholic 
 clergy be paid as well as protestant clergy, on con- 
 dition of their allowing the people to be educated: 
 let tithes be commuted ; and letemigrationbe assisted. 
 All this would be reasonable ; but ministers are 
 equipping an army to make war against the poor, 
 ignorant, distracted, starving Irish ; and Lord 
 Roden has just told us in parliament, that the great 
 evil is to be traced to “ the non-residence of gentry 
 and landowners” ! ! ! 
 
 In England we have much to gain by mere legis- 
 lation. Tithes could be commuted by an act of 
 the simplest kind, merely to make them payable at 
 a fixed rate, depending on the price of grain. This 
 would instantly ensure peace and harmony between 
 tithe-holders and farmers : it would instantly give 
 the rein to the spirit of improvement ; and it would 
 free the clergy from a world of reproach. But the 
 clergy, who, of all others, would be most benefited, 
 who would indeed secure to themselves, as a body, 
 a chance of lengthened possession of church pro- 
 perty ; — the clergy set their faces against this ! ! ! 
 
 In five years, five millions of annual expendi- 
 ture on the poor could be saved to England by re- 
 forming the poor-laws; and at least five millions 
 more would be added to national wealth by greater 
 industry and better conduct on the par| of the poor 
 themselves ; but, will the poor-laws be reformed ? 
 This session they could be reformed, as well as in 
 any other session ; but the last Edinburgh Review 
 
CCCCXXX GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is for delaying that most necessary of all reforms 
 for several years ! ! ! 
 
 Since autumn, 1813, farming has been unpro- 
 fitable (since then I calculate that 200 millions of 
 money have been lost to the farming interest) ; and 
 though the present low prices could have been 
 guarded against, it was clear that war prices could 
 not be kept up : it was clear that something should 
 have been done to give farmers relief from contracts 
 formed when prices were high, which could not 
 possibly be fulfilled when prices were low ; 
 it was clear that an act of parliament, to allow them 
 to pay rents according to the price of grain, would 
 have protected them from ruin better than a corn- 
 bill ; but their landlords could not think in time of 
 lowering rents; and they now do it partially, only 
 to increase mischief! I ! 
 
 Had landlords, who rule this nation, — the landed 
 oligarchy, seen, and they might have seen, had they 
 opened their eyes ; — had they seen that rents could 
 not be paid in peace which were contracted for in 
 war; — had they seen that even the Pitt system, 
 diciously acted upon in time of peace, could not 
 uphold war prices, after our monopoly of trade was 
 at an end, after other nations enjoyed domestic 
 peace, and could supply themselves ; after they 
 were freed from ancient encumbrances; and, with 
 “ cheap labour and removed absurdity, could afford 
 the productions of the soil at one-third of our 
 price* bad our oligarchy seen all this. 
 
 * I have quoted these words from my Letter to the Earl of 
 Kellie, published in 1808, to give opportunity of further proving 
 
general introduction. ccccxxxi 
 
 and it was quite visible;— had they seen this, and 
 liberally proposed lowering their rents according 
 to the fall of corn prices; — had they thus lowered 
 rents, and insisted at the same time, which in the 
 omnipotence of their power they could have done, 
 that fundholders should be paid in the same pro- 
 
 my long-established opinion as to what would happen after the 
 war. The Letter was written, to expose the indifference of 
 landlords at that time to the interests of their tenants, and to show 
 how unprincipled was the farmers’ property-tax : I shall here give 
 an extended quotation : “ In the property-tax bill, what class of 
 men is so strangely, so unfairly used ? (alluding to the farmers.) 
 One paying a moderate rent, fairly settled in his possession, and 
 able to spare from his profits, assessed in a moderate proportion : 
 another, who has just got sufficient stock, adventures (perhaps he 
 had closed his bargain immediately before the act was passed) 
 with a farm at a very high rent, which for several years, if he be 
 a spirited cultivator, positively will not pay the expence; and by 
 the end of which period peace and cheap markets ensue : this 
 man, at a time when all is outgoing, from the price of everything 
 being raised by the war, is greater than ordinary ; this man has to 
 pay at the rate of 30 or 40 per cent, of the interest of his capital, 
 sunk for years, and which may rise in times when reduced prices 
 will only give it breath to see its end with the termination of his 
 
 lease This is no fancy : it may yet be practically evinced. 
 
 The farmers, good souls 1 have of late years found they could 
 not go wrong in taking land ; and if their purses were able to pay, 
 it did not matter to them what injustice reigned above, or how 
 their dignity as a body was affected. If the experience of several 
 years has settled them into a purring contentment and confidence, 
 it would be a pity that they should open their eyes and disturb 
 their quiet by looking to the markets on the continent, where, not- 
 withstanding the ravages of war and unsettled credit, cheap labour 
 and removed absurdity can afford the productions of the soil at 
 one-third of our price.” — Letter to the Earl of Kellie, p. 58. 
 

 CCCCXXXii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 portion ; that all government officers should be 
 paid in the same proportion, See. &c. ; — then, indeed, 
 with peace we should have had plenty and pros- 
 perity. What is to prevent this to be done now i* 
 What is to prevent a general arrangement through- 
 out his Majesty’s dominions, that all contracts may 
 be paid on a certain scale of reduction ? Suppose 
 your august parliament, Canadians, was to enact 
 that all contracts were to be compounded for at a 
 certain low rate, which would save you from uni- 
 versal bankruptcy among yourselves ; which would 
 enable the inhabitants of Halton to get out of the 
 books of James Crooks, Esq. M. P. ^our pro- 
 vincial law could not let him out of the books of 
 the merchant in Montreal ; nor could an enactment 
 of the Lower Province let the Montreal merchant 
 out of the books of the London merchant; but if 
 the British Parliament were to set about the work;— 
 if the supreme government were to admit of debts 
 being extinguished at 30, or 40, or 50 per cent, dis* 
 count at home, and our governments abroad were 
 to act in unison, we should be all able to start 
 afresh, hale, sound, and unincumbered ; and with 
 the dire experience of what has happened, avoid 
 in future such scrapes as those in which we are in- 
 volved. All this could be easily effected, had 
 reason the controul ; but I must confess, that my 
 hope of reason guiding our destinies is not very 
 sanguine. Again, adieu. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXXXlii 
 
 26//i February y 1822. 
 
 Canadians! 
 
 TL HE above was post-dated four days, to make up 
 the month, from the date of my former Address 
 to you, and it was just written when the Ob- 
 server Newspaper, published at York, in Up- 
 per Canada, the 24th December, 1821, was put 
 into my hands. This paper was brought over by 
 a merchant * of Niagara, who crossed the river at 
 
 ^ This merchant is the “ Englishman,^* spoken of, page xvi. 
 On hearing of his arrival in town, I congratulated myself on the 
 opportunity which now occurred, of letting him know what had 
 been said before this book went abroad. I spoke of my inten- 
 tion to mutual friends, and soon after another joined us, who ac- 
 quainted me with the purpose of Mr. H., the Englishman, to 
 call upon me ; and, from what was said, my mind was instantly 
 set at rest from all suspicion of his having, as a juryman, acted 
 from any prejudice towards me — any bad intention. Next morn- 
 ing I called upon my informant, with a copy of this book, and the 
 following letter, which ho was so good as to deliver to Mr. H. 
 
 13, Clifton-Strcet, Finsbury, Feb, 10, 1822. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 A few days ago, I was informed of your arrival from Canada ; and 
 although I had an uiqileasant affair, upon which to communicate 
 with you, I was glad that an opportunity occurred. You were on 
 my jury at Niagara. It was, I believe, owing to you, that I was 
 banished ; and this banishment has ruined me in family, fortune, and 
 reputation. This being the case, you may readily imagine, that if 
 any circumstances led to a belief that you had acted under unjust 
 bias against me, my feelings might be wounded not a little. Before 
 my trial, lists were handed me of persons nominated as jurymen, 
 who were unfriendly to me ; and your name was in one of tliese lists. 
 Had I been collected and sound in mind, when brought up for trial, 
 I should certainly never have admitted of such a trial as I was sub- 
 jected to ; but, on a fair trial, most assuredly should have cast you 
 off the list, having a person ready to swear that you had prejudged 
 
CCCCXXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Queenston, on the ice, the 2cl January, sailed from 
 New York on the lOth, and was landed at Liver- 
 pool, the 1st of this month : The Observer has 
 
 me, and declared openly, before my trial, that I “ should he punished'' 
 This, it would appear, was your opinion, before 1 had opportunity 
 of defending my conduct It was an opinion which I could not 
 have expected from you : still you had a right to that opinion ; and I, 
 as assuredly, could have cast you for the expression of it. Some days 
 before my trial you came and shook hands with me at the door of my 
 cell, wliich was scarcely consistent with your declaration, that I was a 
 culprit. Even had I been in good health, this might have deceived me, 
 and led me to forego the advantage of casting you out of the list of 
 jurymen. Now, with certain impressions springing from these facts 
 and occurrences, 1 have in my book, about to be published, spoken of 
 the affair without mentioning your name, yet in such a way as will 
 probably make you feel sore. The moment I heard of your arrival, 
 i resolved to let you know what I had written, and offer you satisfac- 
 tion in any way you chose, if you felt yourself injured. Last night 
 Mr. S accidentally met me, told me that you had proposed to 
 
 call upon me, and thence my mind has been made up on tlie dis- 
 agreeable affair. I have banished every thought of your having been 
 Massed on trial against me, and shall be happy to see you, and shake 
 hands. The book I shall leave with Mr. S for your in- 
 
 spection beforehand, and shall yet have opportunity to soften the 
 words used in it. 1 am, (&c. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY.” 
 
 “ J H , Esq.*» 
 
 Since the above was written, I have met Mr. H , shook 
 
 hands with him, and am perfectly convinced that there was nothing 
 on his part unfair to me. Tlie whole, however, calls more and 
 more for reflection on the infamous statute of Upper Canada, 
 which was still more infamously resorted to, for my destruction; 
 a statute which, after being heard of with execration by all the 
 world, is still retained on the Canadian code by the Legislative 
 Council I ! ! 
 
 I am far from saying that bad government is the only cause of 
 misery to mankind. We see much springing out of causes with 
 which government has nothing to do ; but, in the amendment of 
 government, we have reason to expect great amelioration of our 
 condition. 
 
OENERAl. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 CCCCXXXV 
 
 ten columns stuffed with dehates of your Parlia- 
 ment, on the 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 1 1th of 
 December,^— debates very considerably worse than 
 nothing, in which the lawyers have nine shares 
 out of ten. 1 was very sure, when I first learned 
 that seven lawyers were returned to Parliament, 
 that they would delay inquiry, and increase con- 
 fusion ; and so it appears, from the shewing of the 
 Observer. 
 
 The Observer contains this curious paragraph: 
 
 '‘We fear our Parliament will continue longer than we 
 expected. A Bill came down from the Upper House, 
 which goes to vest a power in the judges, to tax litigious 
 characters.” 
 
 Judge Powell will have it all his owrt way, by- 
 and-by. A bill to tax litigious characters '. ! ! 
 
 The good people of Pittsfield, in Massachu- 
 setts, whose attentions to me I shall never forget, 
 have, we are just now informed by American 
 newspapers, agreed among themselves, to settle 
 all disputes by arbitration, without troubling either 
 lawyers 'on the bench or at the bar. This is excel- 
 lent. It anticipates a project of my own, which, 
 as soon as I obtain a seat in the Canadian Parlia- 
 ment, I mean to bring forward : its object being to 
 dispense both with lawyers and priests. Under 
 good government this is quite practicable; and, 
 established in practice, how happy should we all 
 be, even in this sublunary world!! The Ob- 
 server proceeds : 
 
 “ During the discussion of the Coiitirmation Marriage 
 Bill, on Saturday, a clause was introduced by Col. Nichol, 
 and, to our astonishment, carried. It legalizes the children 
 
CCCCXXXTi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of certain marriages ; but makes their mothers what we do 
 not wish to name/’ 
 
 It will be amusing to the English reader, to have a 
 specimen of Canadian oratory, and the Observer 
 furnishes a good one. 
 
 He {Mr. Jones) would tell that Gentleman that he was as 
 much devoted to the cause of Royalty * as any man in the 
 country; but that devotion to support his Sovereign, should 
 he on honourable grounds, and then he should support him 
 with his life — with his property ; but not by slavish obsequious- 
 ness (the applause that burst forth shook the buildmg to Us 
 base). Mr. Jones said that he wanted that sum restored to 
 the people, which was iniprovidently given by a former Parlia- 
 ment. The granting or withholding of money w as the con- 
 stitutional check of the democratic upon the other branches 
 of the legislature, and it was for the purpose of preserving 
 inviolable that check, that this bill was introduced. Where, 
 he would ask, was the use of their coming to that House, 
 if they were tamely to surrender this great privilege ? This 
 House has only within these few years been called upon to 
 vote money, for the support of the administration of the 
 civil Government; and in proportion to their utility, thus to 
 vote monies, was their consequence and importance in- 
 creased. It was not the opinion of their constituents: it 
 was not the opinion of the country: it was not the wish of 
 their Sovereign, that they should comply with the arbitrary 
 suggestions of the honourable member from Kingston. (Hear, 
 hear, hear, and bravo, in the gallery.) 
 
 And bravo ! say I, in London. Bravo! Jonas 
 
 * On my passage from Leith to London, last spring, I had 
 for a fellow royager, an officer who had recently come home, 
 from being some years in Upper Canada. He was stationed near 
 to where Jones resides, and it would be edifying to tell his opi- 
 nion of the royalty of the Member of Parliament, was there 
 room for it. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXXXVii 
 
 Jones, of Brock ville, lawyer, M.P. and Esquire. 
 You’ve “ screwed,” at last, “ your courage to 
 the sticking-place.” I hope you won’t vote a far- 
 thing for the existing civil Government, and, I 
 hope, not one farthing will be voted this year*, to- 
 wards it, in the British Parliament. Then, of 
 necessity, the governors, themselves, will cry out 
 for inquiry. 
 
 This fellow, Jones, (I am intitled to speak plain; 
 this fellow was reported, by word, to have used 
 the language noted in pageccccxvii, and I have writ- 
 ten evidence of part of it, see Vol. ii. page 665), 
 you will remember, had the chief hand in gagging 
 you, and I shall give the following extracts from 
 the Upper Canada Gazette, to refresh your me- 
 mory, respecting the pretty proceedings of your As- 
 sembly, and the spirit with which your present 
 Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, be- 
 gan his reign. The following clause made part of 
 his speech, on the 12th October, 1818 — h\?,maiden 
 speech when opening Parliament. 
 
 “ In the course of your investigation, you will, I doubt 
 not, feel a just indignation at the attempts which have been 
 made to excite discontent, and to organize sedition. Should 
 it appear to you, that a convention of delegates cannot exist 
 without danger to the constitution, in framing a law of pre- 
 vention, your dispassionate wisdom will be careful that it 
 shall not unwarily trespass on that sacred right of the sub- 
 ject, to seek a redress of his grievances by petition.” 
 
 To this the Legislative Council replied on the 
 14th October, in these words : 
 
 * Upwards of £7,000 was voted last session of the British 
 Parliament to the civil list of Upper Canada, and upwards of 
 £10,000 the session before— altogether absurd. 
 
ccccxxxviii general introductioiV. 
 
 We shall, at all times, feel a just indignation at every 
 attempt which may excite discontent, or organize sedi- 
 tion ; and if it shall appear to us, that a convention of dele^ 
 gates cannot exist without danger to the constitution, in 
 framing a law of prevention, we will be careful that it shall 
 not unwarily trespass on the sacred right of the subject, to 
 •eek by petition a redress of grievances/’ 
 
 On Monday, the 19th October, a Committee 
 of the House of Assembly presented an Address 
 with the following clause : 
 
 We feel a just indignation at the systematic attempts 
 that have been made to excite discontent, and organize sedi-» 
 tion, in this happy colony, while the usual and constitutional 
 appeal, for real or supposed grievances, has ever been open 
 to the people of this Province, never refused or even ap- 
 pealed to ; and deeply lament, that the designs of one fac- 
 tious individual (me) should have succeeded in drawing into the 
 support of his vile machinations, so many honest men, and 
 loyal subjects to his Majesty. We remember that this fa- 
 voured land was assigned to our fathers, as a retreat for suf- 
 fering loyalty, and not a sanctuary for sedition. In the 
 course of our investigation, should it appear to this House, 
 that a convention of delegates cannot exist without danger 
 to the constitution, in framing a law of prevention, we will 
 carefully distinguish between such conventions and the lawful 
 act of the subject, in petitioning for a redress of real or ima- 
 ginary grievances; — that sacked right of every British subject, 
 which we will ever hold inviolable,” 
 
 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER ^IsC, 
 
 Mr. Jones moved that the House do now resolve itself 
 into a Committee of the whole, to take into consideration 
 that part of his Excellency’s speech, at the opening of the 
 present session, which relates to the meeting of Delegates in 
 Convention. — Carried. 
 
GENE UAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXXxix 
 
 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22d. 
 
 Tl>e House went into Committee, to take into consider- 
 ation that part of his Excellency’s speech, at the opening of 
 the present session, which relates to the meeting of Dele- 
 gates in Convention. 
 
 Mr. Burnham reported, that the Committee had agreed to 
 some resolutions, which he w'as directed to submit for tlve 
 adoption of the House, which were received and adopted, 
 neni. con. as follows : — 
 
 1st. Resolved. — That the rights of the people of this 
 province, individually or collectively, to petition our gracious 
 sovereign for a redress of any public or private grievance, is 
 their birthright, as British subjects, preserved to them by 
 that free constitution which they have received, and which, 
 by the generous exertions of our mother country, has, through 
 an arduous contest, been unimpaired. 
 
 3d. Resolved. — ^That the Commons House of As- 
 sembly are the only representatives of the people of this 
 , province. 
 
 3d. Resolved. — That the electing, assembling, sitting, 
 and proceedings of certain persons, calling themselves Re- 
 presentatives or Delegates from the different districts of this 
 province, and met in General Convention at York, for the 
 purpose of delibeiating upon matters of public concern, is 
 highly derogatory and repugnant to the spirit of the consti- 
 tution of this province, and tends greatly to disturb the 
 public tranquillity. 
 
 4lli. Resolved.— That while this Committee regret that 
 some subjects of His Majesty, whose allegiance and fidelity 
 are above suspicion, have been deluded by the unwearied 
 and persevering attempts of the factious, to lend their counte- 
 nance to measures so disgraceful, they cannot admit that 
 their example should give a sanction to proceedings mani- 
 festly dangerous to the peace and security of the province, 
 proceedings, which it is painful and humiliating to observe, 
 have drawn upon this loyal province the attention of other 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ccccxl 
 
 countries, and of our sister-province, and even of our parent 
 state, as to a colony impatient of its allegiance, and ungrate- 
 ful for the fostering care that has cherished its infancy; 
 looking anxiously to the period of its strength as the moment 
 of its revolt. 
 
 5th. Resolved. — That to repel at once so foul an 
 imputation, to undeceive the misguided, to stifle the hopes 
 of the disturbers of public peace, and to give to our parent 
 state and to the world the best grounded assurance that the 
 inhabitants of this province know how to prize their happiness 
 in belonging to the most exalted nation upon earth, and desire 
 no more than the secure possession of that just liberty which 
 her own more immediate children enjoy, it is the opinion of 
 this Committee, that some such legislative provision should 
 be enacted as the wisdom of the Imperial Parliament has 
 found it proper to provide to meet similar occasions, which 
 may hereafter put it out of the power of any designing 
 persons to organize discontent, and degrade the character of 
 the province. 
 
 6th. Resolved. — That these Resolutions be communi- 
 cated to the Honourable the Legislative Council. 
 
 Present. — Messrs. Burwell, Me. Martin, Van Koiighnett, 
 Cameron, Durand, Chrysler, Nelles, Howard, Hatt, Jones, 
 Cotter, Swayze, Burnham. — 13. 
 
 Wednesdat/f October 28/A. 
 
 Mr. Jones obtained leave to bring in a bill to prevent cer- 
 tain meetings in this province, which was read the first time. 
 » 
 
 Saturday/ y October 3\st. 
 
 The Bill to prevent certain meetings in this province being 
 read the third time,— 
 
 Mr. Van Koughnett moved, that it do now pass, and 
 that it be entitled, An Act to prevent certain Meetings within 
 this Province.’^ Upon which the House divided, and the Yeas 
 and Nays were taken as follows : — Yeas^ Messrs. Swayze, 
 Fraser, Cotter, Clench, Hatt, Van Koughnett, Durand, 
 Burnham, Cameron, Robinson, Howard, Jones, Nelles — 13. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ccccxU 
 
 Naj/s, Mr, Casey. Carried in the affirmative, by a majority 
 of twelve, and the Bill signed. 
 
 An Act for preventing certain Meetings within this Province. 
 
 Whereas the election or appointment of assemblies, 
 purporting to represent the people, or any description of the 
 people, under pretence of deliberating on matters of public 
 concern, or, of preparing or presenting petitions, com- 
 plaints, remonstrances, and declarations, and other addresses 
 to the King, or to both or either Houses of Parliament, for 
 alteration of matters established by law, or redress of alleged 
 grievances, in church or state, may be made use of to serve 
 the end of factious and seditious persons, to the violation of 
 the public peace, and manifest encouragement of riot, tumult, 
 and disorder. 
 
 Jt is herebt/ enacted^ Tliat all such Assemblies, Com- 
 mittees, or other bodies of persons elected or otherwise con- 
 stituted, or appointed, shall be held and taken to be 
 unlawful Assemblies ; and that all persons giving or pub- 
 lishing notice of the election to be made of such persons or 
 Delegates, or attending, voting, or acting therein by any 
 means, are guilty of a high misdemeanor. 
 
 Provided always, That nothing in this Act contained, 
 shall impede the just exercise of the undoubted right of His 
 Majesty’s subjects to petition the King or Parliament for re- 
 dress of any public or private grievances.” 
 
 York, Nov. 27, 1818. 
 
 At three o’clock this day, his Excellency, the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, proceeded in state to the Legislative Council 
 Chamber, where, the House of Assembly having been 
 summoned to attend, his Excellency gave the royal assent 
 to the Bills mentioned below, and closed the session with 
 the following speech ; — 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen of the Liegislative Council, and 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, 
 
 It does not appear that any alteration has occurred in the 
 state of His Majesty’s indisposition. 
 
CCCCXlii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 You have afforded seasonable aid to the constitution by 
 your Bill, entitled, An Act for prevetiting certain Meet- 
 ings within this Province'' It is a subject for deep regret, 
 that the constitution should have stood in need of such aid ; 
 but let us hope that the good disposition of His Majesty’s 
 subjects will put an early period to this unhappy necessity. 
 
 If any portion of the people of this province be indeed .a' 
 aggrieved, they are well aware that a dutiful petition, pro- 
 ceeding from themselves, would find easy access to the foot 
 of His Majesty’s throne. 
 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assembly ^ 
 
 I thank you, in the name of His Majesty, for the supplies 
 you have granted for the service of the current and the en- 
 suing year. 
 
 In future, I hope to relieve you from the annual demand for 
 the support of the Surveyor-General’s department. 
 
 You have added to the character of the province, by the 
 unanimous expression of sentiments, which are highly worthy 
 of the enlightened representatives of a free and generous 
 people. I could not refuse myself the pleasure of trans- 
 mitting your Resolutions to His Majesty’s government, well 
 convinced that they would prove grateful to the royal per- 
 sonage who presides over it ; and confident that they will be 
 received with affectionate approbation by every description of 
 your fellow-subjects in the mother-country. 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen and Gentlemen, 
 
 There are a few objects of general importance, which, had 
 the public mind been tranquil, I should have brought before 
 you early in the session. Of these I shall mention one, 
 which appears to me to require, in a peculiar degree, your 
 calm and deliberate consideration : I mean the providing a 
 remedy for the unequal pressure of the Road Laws. By of- 
 fering at present this subject to your notice, I hope to benefit 
 by the attention you will be pleased to bestow upon it during 
 the recess. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXliii 
 
 After wliich the Honourable the Speaker of the Legisla- 
 tive Council, announced that the Parliament was prorogued 
 to the 2d of January next. 
 
 Canadians! Reflection on the above extracts 
 may still be of use to you. The convention which 
 I had assembled, not only was lawful, but did any 
 thing but what was seditious. It referred its cause 
 to the Lieutenant-Governor and Assembly, and thus 
 was it treated I ! Your liberty of meeting by deputy 
 was no sooner taken away by your own represen- 
 tatives, than I was committed to jail, and deprived 
 of liberation, on application by writ of habeas cor^ 
 pm! ! Thus tyranny goes on from worse to worse ; 
 but tyranny could not exist in any country were 
 the people virtuous: and you may think of that till 
 we meet. The foregoing pages will tell you not only 
 what I have been doitig since my arrival fromQue- 
 bec, butyou will be able to judge of my sentiments 
 and pursuits for more than 20 years back, from the 
 various extracts I have produced of publications at 
 different times ; and I do challenge the w'orld to 
 present proofs of any one being more constant to 
 principle, more peaceable, or more consistent; yet 
 I am the man whom your parliament denounced as 
 the “ one factious individual.” The poor creature, 
 who is above reported as the huilditig shake 
 
 to its vei'if base with applause, never had, and has 
 not, a conception of the good which you might have 
 experienced, had a commission come home four 
 years ago, when I first recommended that measure. 
 Your civil list, your claims upon government, could 
 all have been paid before now, by good management, 
 out of the rich stores which nature has provided in 
 
CCCCXliv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the province; but these must lay hid till common 
 sense and manly conduct take the place of ignorance 
 and vanity. 1 am told, that since your parliament 
 met, Sir Peregrine Maitland hassent homea message 
 respecting the dispute with the lower province, no 
 doubt, to be laid at the foot of the throne*, where 
 such messages, and many of the trashy addresses 
 of your parliament have been laid again and again, 
 without ever having been heard of in this country. 
 I am told that your Assembly has resolved not to 
 grant supplies this year till the alien act is repealed, 
 it is all wretched trifling. The province will con- 
 tinue a sink of corruption, sycophancy, and mean- 
 ness, till the Imperial Parliament takes its state 
 into consideration; and I have now drawn up, to 
 be presented to the House of Commons, by iVIr. 
 Hume, the following petition, written since I read 
 of the building being shaken to its base with the 
 oratory of Jonas Jones, of Brockville, lawyer, 
 M. P. and Esq. 
 
 • Since the above was written, a New York paper, of the 8th 
 of February, has arrived, containing the following article : 
 
 « Upper and Lower Canada. 
 
 “ Difficulties have for some time existed between the two Pro- 
 vinces, on the subject of duties received at the port of Quebec. 
 Last year, Committees from both Provinces met at Montreal, in 
 order to settle this business, but adjourned without effecting any 
 thing. We now find, by the York (U. C.) Observer, that the 
 Attorney General of the Province is to proceed forthwith to 
 England, as a Commissioner to present the Addresses of both 
 Houses of the Provincial Parliament, upon the subject, to the 
 King. The sum of 3000 dollars has been appropriated for his 
 services.’* 
 
GCNGRAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXiy 
 
 To THE Honourable the Commons of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 
 Parliament assembled. 
 
 THE 
 
 PETITION OF ROBERT GOURLAY, 
 
 Humbly sheweth, 
 
 That, your petitioner has had presented to your honour- 
 able House two petitions, calling attention to the state of 
 Upper Canada as it concerns emigration. That these pe- 
 titions were received and ordered to be printed : one, on the 
 11th July, 1820; the other on the 27th June, 1821 ; and to 
 these your petitioner would still refer*. 
 
 That, your petitioner now presents himself before your 
 
 * On first scrawling out the above petition, I allowed myself 
 to enlarge on several points beyond what the nature and limits of 
 a petition could properly admit : several passages were accord- 
 ingly thrown out; but it may be well to quote some of these 
 now, for the sake of illustration. They shall be numbered, to dis- 
 tinguish them from other notes. 
 
 No. 1. “ That by perusal of the former of these petitions, your 
 honourable House will tinil that your petitioner was most cruelly 
 treated, in Upper Canada, under colour of a provincial statute, ap- 
 plicable only to aliens and outlaws : — that he was cast into jail, and 
 deprived of his right of liberation, on application, by writ of habeas 
 corpus, although it was expressly declared, by Mr. Pitt, in his Ma- 
 jesty’s name, on the 4th March, 1791, when the Royal Message was 
 read to the House of Commons, desiring a constitution to* be given 
 to Canada, that ‘ the habeas corpus act was already law, by an ordi- 
 nance of the Province, and this invaluable right was to be continued 
 as a fundamental principle of the Constitution.’ (See vol. ii. p. 4.) 
 
 “ That your petitioner conceives this single violation of consti- 
 tutional right — this flagrant disregard of law and principle, is suffi- 
 cient to cause inquiry to be made by your honourable House, into 
 the state of Upper Canada ; but he asserts that not only this act of 
 violation has lieen committed in the Province, but others, by which 
 both person and property have been rendered insecure.” 
 
CCCCXlvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 honourable House on broader grounds. He would now call 
 attention not only to the state of Upper Canada, but to th^ 
 
 ofour North American colonies in general; colonies, whic , 
 
 since the revolutionary war of America, have been main- 
 tained at an enormous expense to this country, wuhout yield- 
 ing it a farthing of profit. „ , 
 
 That, at the present crisis, when it is allowed by all that 
 economy and retrenchment are essential to the salvation of 
 the empire, the mere saving of expense must be deemed 
 matter of importance; but, your petitioner asserts that, not 
 only may all expense in governing North American colonies 
 be saved, but that these colonies may, if properly governed, 
 yield a considerable revenue to Britain. 
 
 That, your petitioner's opinions on the subject have been 
 formed,* not only from personal observation during a resi- 
 dence in Upper Canada, but from a continued correspon- 
 dence, since then, with that part of the world; a constant 
 attention to occurrences connected with the colonies ; an 
 much reflection on the constitution thereof; the state of 
 
 property, and state of society therein. 
 
 That, your petitioner assumes it as an almost self-eviden 
 proposition, that North American colonies cannot be retained 
 to Britain for many years, on principles less free and inde- 
 pendent than those which govern the adjoining country. He 
 is assured, that before many years go by, these colonies must 
 either be declared independent, and be held in connexion 
 with Britain by liberal treatment and the interchange of fa- 
 vours ; or, thev must fall into the arms of the United States, 
 and become part of that already too extensive and aspiring 
 
 republic^ 
 
 That, your petitioner is most positively assured, that t e 
 latter alternative would not be agreeable to the wishes of the 
 colonists : that the former, on every account, would be pre- 
 ferred, and is therefore worthy of countenance from the Im- 
 perial Parliament; as the result equally concerns the honour 
 and the interest of the nation. 
 
 That your petitioner is aware that the colonies are not yet 
 
general introduction. ccc cxlri 
 
 ripe foi independence, — that they are yet deficient both in 
 physical strength and mental ability ; but, were the mere 
 promise of independence, at the end of ten years, granted to 
 them, he is assured, that all chance of war would cease in that 
 quarter of the world ; and were certain arrangements made 
 with the government of the United Stales, an immediate and 
 great reduction of our military and naval establishments 
 might take place, 'while a vast q^uanlity of warlike stores 
 might be spared for other useful purposes 
 
 * 2. “ That in a moral point of view, it is greatly to be de- 
 sired, that our North American colonies should be reared up into 
 a nation apart from, and independent of, the United States. The 
 people of these States have not evinced that pure and manly spirit 
 which might have been expected from them, enjoying so many 
 blessings. Their shallowness has betrayed itself : their vanity has 
 become proverbial : they have idolized military glory : they have 
 sanctioned the deeds of a murderer : they have blighted the hopes 
 of liberty : they have sullied the fair page on which she had 
 written her name, sanguine of an asylum in the west. The his- 
 tory of the world has told us, and the system of nature seems to 
 require, that mankind must be truly virtuous before all come into 
 union ; — that nations must remain apart, while the finger of scorn 
 can point with effect to each other’s crimes, — till the adoption of 
 sound principles is complete, and uniform good conduct has left 
 no occasion for a blush.” 
 
 This will not please Americans, but I cannot help that. No 
 man ever crossed the Atlantic with better feelings towards them 
 than I. After travelling in the United States, I saw reason to 
 check some of my fondest hopes, and, till the approval of Am- 
 brister’s murder (it should go by no other name) is erased from 
 the Journals of the American Congress, I shall be sorry, indeed, 
 to see the slightest addition made to the power of the great 
 western republic. America will, probably, divide into several 
 governments : that of the Sea Board, the St. Lawrence, the 
 Mississippi, &c., as common interests require. The most doubt- 
 ful point, for speculative opinion, respects the slave states. The 
 Convention which has lately sat, for altering the constitution of 
 
CCCCxlviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 That, there are two great objects which demand attention, 
 objects quite sufficient to form the cement o4 a lasting con- 
 nexion between Britain and her North American colonies, 
 without interference on the part of British Ministers with 
 their internal government. The first regards the disposal of 
 public and unappropriated land ; the second the regulation 
 of commerce. 
 
 That, the first of these objects, viz. the disposal of land, is, 
 of all things, perhaps, most worthy of attention from your 
 honourable House. It is an object which never before has 
 been brought fairly into public view; but which, when duly 
 considered, must appear of great importance, not only as it 
 may tend to national aggrandizement, but also be instru- 
 mental in advancing the limits of civilization, and in improving 
 the condition of man. 
 
 That, hitherto, public land has been disposed of in a way 
 which has at once sunk its value, and prevented its improve- 
 ment. No consideration has yet been bestowed on a most 
 important principle, w hich not only rules the value of landed 
 properly, but which may be studied to advantage, for the 
 comfort and prosperity of those who are to occupy and cul- 
 tivate. In Canada large portions of land are set aside for the 
 future purposes of government : large portions arc set aside 
 for the maintenance of a dominant church, which has not 
 even a chance of being established ; and large portions are 
 given away in favour and for fees of office, to individuals who 
 never think of cultivating, but who depend on sales at a re- 
 
 the state of New York, has allowed of Blacks participating in 
 civil rights. This will not soon be conceded in the slave states : 
 nor would it be proper, without previous preparation. T. hat, it is 
 to be hoped, will speedily be set about. The approval of Atn- 
 brister’s murder must not be ascribed to the nature of the Go- 
 vernment of America, but to the low character of the people. 
 It was their representatives in Congress who approved. The 
 Senate, composed of better educated individuals, disapproved : this 
 is matter for important reflection : it is cheering. 
 
 2 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXlix 
 
 mote period of time, while actual settlers are, in con- 
 sequence, removed so far apart, that it is impossible for 
 them to cultivate with economy and profit. The bad effects 
 of thus disposing of land is clearly evinced by contrasting 
 Canada with the contiguous parts of the United States. 
 These have been settled many years later than Canada, but 
 already they are three times more populous, and land there 
 is four times more valuable. These results have mainly 
 sprung from the different modes of disposing of public 
 lands. In the States it is exposed to free sale, at the rate of 
 one dollar and a quarter per acre ; and, by the official returns 
 of last year, produced a revenue of one million and six 
 hundred thousand dollars In Canada, the very process of 
 disposing of land by Government, is attended with loss to 
 the public. 
 
 * The above is quoted from an article in the Traveller, of 
 January, 1822 , which is altogether well worthy of a place here. 
 
 “ The Report of the Secretary of the United States Treasury 
 to the House of Representatives, has reached this country. The 
 following is the account of American finances, under the heads of 
 receipt and expenditure. 
 
 receipt. 
 
 DOLLARS. 
 
 EXPENDITURE. 
 
 DOLLARS. 
 
 Customs — 
 
 14,000,000 
 
 Debt — 
 
 5,722,857 
 
 Sales of land — 
 
 1,600,000 
 
 Army — 
 
 5,108,097 
 
 Other receipts — 
 
 510,000 
 
 Navy — 
 
 2,452,410 
 
 
 
 Civil expenses 
 
 1,664,297 
 
 
 16,110,000 
 
 
 14,947,661 
 
 Balance 1,162,339 
 
 16,110,000 
 
 Converted into sterling money, the United States income amounts 
 to jg3,624,750, and its expenditure to £3,363,221. The ex- 
 penditure of the United States, including the interest of the debt, 
 
 f f 
 
ccccl general introduction. 
 
 Tliat, Um 5 most melancholy effect of the unthrifty dis- 
 posal of land in Upper Canada, is that of degrading the peo- 
 ple. Scattered over the province at the rate of seven to the 
 square mile, they have not only been unable to co-operate 
 in rural economy, but have retrograded in civilization and 
 moral worth. The British Parliament liberally conferred 
 on the people of Upper Canada a free constitution liberty 
 to make laws for themselves, and to uphold the purest prin- 
 ciples of freedom ; but in ignorance * * and degradation they 
 
 is thus about one-third of the charge in Great Britain for the army 
 including the military part of the ordnance) alone. Exclusive 
 of the charges of the debt, the whole civil and military expense of 
 the United States is about £2,075,579, nearly the sum which is 
 frittered away in this country in what are called Miscellantaus ser- 
 vices, that is to say, expenses exclusive of the charge for the army, 
 navy, and ordnance, the allowance to the royal family, and the 
 expenses of the administration of justice. The civil expenses of 
 the United States are £370,000: those of England, which come 
 under the head of Miscellaneous Services, and charges on the 
 consolidated fund, generally amount to four millions. 
 
 • Since the above petition was prc-sented to the House of 
 Commons, a notable proof of the ignorance of the legislators of 
 Upper Canada has been laid before the House of Peers. Let it 
 first be read as extracted from the Times Newspaper of March 
 1st, 1822 ; and then I shall make remarks. 
 
 “ House or Lords, February 28th. 
 
 Upper CiCn.\da. 
 
 Earl Pailuirst laid on the table, an Act of the Legilative Assem- 
 bly of Upper Canada. VVe understood the Noble Earl, who spoke 
 in a very low tone of Toice, to state that this was done in conse- 
 quence of an Act of Parliament, according to which, when a Bill, 
 under certain circumstances, passed the Assembly of Upper Canada, 
 il was necessary, before it received the royal assent, to lay a copy 
 on the table of both Houses of Parliament. After lying on the 
 table thirty days, without any objection being made by either House, 
 
GBNEUAIi INTRODUCTION. ccccli 
 
 liave abused Uiese inestimable privileges: they have suffered 
 
 t re best of laws to be counteracted by the arbitrary power of 
 
 u yi'y, of » '0% unless he 
 
 should ihrnk fit to withhold his assent. The present legislative mea- 
 
 LTof th ‘o * former 
 
 act of Aat Assembly, by which one-seventh of the lands, in everv 
 township, was appropriated to the use of the Protestant Church. 
 Phis portion of land was intended for the maintenance of the church • 
 but notwithstanding this appropriation, doubts had since arisen as to’ 
 whether the remaining six-sevenths of the land, were not liable to the 
 payment of tithes. The object of the Bill, which he now laid on the 
 table, was to remove these doubts, by declaring that the six-sevenths 
 were not liable.** 
 
 In a letter dated February 19, 1818, addressed to me by a 
 member of the Upper Canada parliament, then in London, it is 
 written, “ I am sorry to say, that a bill, which was passed two years 
 ago, for doing away the right of tithes in Upper Canada, has 
 never, in conformity to the constitutional act, been submitted to 
 the Imperial Parliament and, in consequence of this neglect 
 thetmse legislators of Upper Canada, still dreading tithes, passed 
 a second Bill (see voL 2, p. 682.) which is that now laid on the 
 Uble of our House of Lords. Lord preserve us from foolish le- 
 gislators! In my second volume, the reader will find a curious 
 criltgue on the Upper Canada Statutes at large; and I hope it may 
 prove generally useful in making people consider the absurdity of 
 too much law. In the course of thirty years the poor bodies of 
 Upper Canada have absolutely bog’d themselves in their own 
 folly and filth of legislation. — But to the instance before us. The 
 dread of tithes in Upper Canada sprung out of the first statute 
 which was enacted there, adopting the whole law of England, 
 save that which regarded bankrupts and the poor (see vol. 2, 
 p. 113). It was argued, after this statute was passed, that, as 
 tithes were lawfully drawn in England, ergo, they might be 
 drawn in Upper Canada. The fallacy was, and is, that the law 
 of England subjected land generally to tithes, instead of only 
 protecting the property in tithes upon certain lands: and, 
 
 f f 2 
 
cccclii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 their governors; and they have fabricated a code absolutely 
 disgraceful to modern times. Neither person nor property, 
 indeed, can now beheld secure in the province. 
 
 That, Upper Canada, by nature the finest part of Arne- 
 rica, is chiefly valuable to Britain, as it may be made an 
 asylum for her redundant population; but this greatest good 
 cannot be realized from the wretched state of property, an 
 still more wretched jurisprudence which there exists. Igno- 
 rant and poor emigrants only, settle in Upper Canada, while 
 all who have wealth and intelligence betake themselves to 
 the United States. 
 
 Tliat, were public institutions equally good and equal y 
 well observed in the province as in the States of America, not 
 a man would emigrate from the United Kingdom to the lat- 
 ter country unless attracted by some peculiar object: that 
 the commercial advantages which Britain can and does con- 
 fer on her colonies; the comfort of adhering to natural al- 
 legiance; the love of country and kindred; the numerous 
 
 it would have been equally rational to have supposed, that, by 
 adopting the laws of England, all land in Upper Canada was sub- 
 ject to pay the land tax of England, and what not. Here, how- 
 ever, we have a twice-passed Bill of Upper Canada, lying on the 
 table of the House of Lords!! waiting for the royal assent!!! 
 Will the king give his assent to this silly concern, and quiet the 
 groundless fears of his liege subjects of Upper Canada ; or con- 
 suit his own dignity in refusing ? 
 
 If this Bill receives the royal assent, it is possible that the 
 moon-rakers of Upper Canada may take alarm, and send home 
 another Bill, to get it solemnly declared, that the moon is not 
 made of green cheese, and never can be devoured by church-mice. 
 
 But, before the Bill has been thirty days before Parliament, for 
 approval of Lords and Commons, would it not be well for 
 them to interfere, and prevent trouble to his Majesty ? nay, may 
 we not hope that this very display of provincial silliness may 
 assist in obtaining inquiry into the state of Upper Canada ? 
 
GRNERAL I?^TR0DUCTI3N, CCCcliu 
 
 benefits which British subjects are entitled to at home and 
 abroad; the pride, the glory, the honour of remaining in 
 connexion witli the greatest nation upon earth,— all con- 
 spire to make the British emigrant prefer the colonies to an 
 alien land ; but with heavy heart, he who thinks at all, must 
 relinquish these for advantages still more valuable and 
 substantial. 
 
 That, your petitioner observed with regret the monstrous 
 mismanagement in Upper Canada, and sent home coramuni* 
 cations to be laid before Lord Bathurst on the subject, but 
 without avail:— that he has, within the last six months, cor- 
 responded with the colonial department: has offered to 
 submit improved plans of settlement; has tendered his ser. 
 vices at home or abroad without emolument; has offered to 
 contract for the settlement of land in Canada, and pay for it 
 at the rate of one dollar per acre, which, with government 
 patronage, he could easily do ; but all to no purpose : and 
 he now states these facts to your honourable House, as 
 matter worthy of public notice and investigation. Thou- 
 sands of poor emigrants are annually shipped off to the 
 colonies : thousands are engulfed in misery when they get 
 there, and all for the want of arrangement, which might at 
 once secure comfort to individuals, and admit of profit to 
 the nation. 
 
 That, giving independence to the colonies, and withdraw- 
 ing from all interference in their domestic government, is 
 quite compatible with our retaining the right of disposing of 
 unappropriated land, and drawing a revenue from thence ; 
 quite compatible with the colonists remaining under Bri- 
 tish sovereignty. This country has the power of directing 
 the current of emigration to any of her colonies ; and all 
 property must improve in value as population becomes more 
 dense, and where judicious settlement is made. Hence there 
 is scope for mutual benefits. Colonies may grow strong 
 from an increase of people; and the mother country may go 
 
CCCcliv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 on for ages reaping profit from the land she settles out of 
 her redundant population. 
 
 That, it would be vain for your petitioner to enter at pre- 
 sent into any detail as to his plans of emigration and settle- 
 ment, a subject to which he has devoted his attention for 
 several years. lie refers to the fact now more and more the 
 subject of conversation ; the great increase of population 
 consequent on good living and peaceful pursuits*. He points 
 
 * The increase of population in Great Britain will appear from 
 the following table : ^ 
 
 
 1801. 
 
 1811. 
 
 1821. 
 
 England 
 
 8,331,434 
 
 9,688,827 
 
 11,260,555 
 
 ales •••••• 
 
 541. S46 
 
 611,788 
 
 717,108 
 
 Scotland •••••• 
 
 1,599,068 
 
 1,805,688 
 
 2,092,014 
 
 
 10,472,048 
 
 11,956,303 
 
 14,069,677 
 
 Army, Navy, &c. 
 
 470,598 
 
 640,500 
 
 310,000 
 
 Totals 
 
 10,942,646 
 
 12,596,803 
 
 14,379,677 
 
 Increase of population in the United States. 
 
 1790. 
 
 1800. 
 
 1810. 
 
 1820, 
 
 3,929,326 
 
 5,309,758 
 
 7,239,903 
 
 9,625,734 
 
 In my last letter from the United States, dated November 10th, 
 18^1, replying to queries concerning population, &c. it is said, 
 “ The four years immediately after the late war w'ith Great Bri- 
 tain, brought us about 100,000 from Europe, or 26,000 persons 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cccciv 
 
 to the vast expanse of unoccupied land over which it has 
 pleased Providence that the British sceptre should sway. 
 He points to Ireland overflowing with a wretched popula- 
 tion: to England getting more and more crowded with 
 paupers ; and to Scotland w hose moral energies have sent 
 forth her millions of industrious and respectable people to 
 replenish the earth : he asserts, Uiat our whole redun- 
 dant population may be disposed of to individual as well as 
 to public advantage : — that Britain may combine the efforts 
 of her children, and direct a mighty and constant stream of 
 emigration into her colonies: that she may set on foot a 
 scheme of benevolence heretofore unparalleled : that a new 
 source of wealth and happiness may be laid open — a souice 
 at once pure and abundant. 
 
 That, the second great object soliciting attention from 
 your honourable House, viz. the regulation of commerce, 
 would go hand in hand w ith a grand system of emigration ; 
 and might be established on principles equally simple, natu- 
 ral, and permanent. 
 
 That, your petitioner holds in his possession ofHcial docu- 
 ments sent home from Upper Canada, by which it appears, 
 that legislators of that country aim at imposing provincial 
 duties throughout both the Cauadas, on grain, SwC. produced 
 in the United States ; and a similar desire has been evinced 
 in resolutions of a county meeting of U pper Canada. That 
 this disposition of the legislators of Upper Canada betray s 
 equal ignorance of the policy which should be pursued, and 
 of the impracticability of executing their wishes, seeing that 
 
 annually. Some years since, the emigration would probably fall 
 short of 10,000.” 
 
 During the last thirty years America has not probably received 
 from Europe 8,000 emigrants annually. How absurd, then, are 
 Godwin s assertions about America owing its rapid increase of 
 population to emigration. 
 
 3 
 

 I f V . ! 
 
 m. 
 
 along a boundary of upwards of a thousand miles^ which 
 separates the inhabited parts of the United States from Bii- 
 tish America, there is no possibility of guarding against contra^ 
 band trade : nay, from this very impossibility, Britain possesses 
 the power of supplying the people of the United States with 
 her manufactures free of those heavy duties which are now 
 levied on them in the ports of the Republic 
 
 ♦ On this subject the following article appeared in the Tra^ 
 VELLER, 24th. January, 1822. 
 
 “ A regular file of American papers have been received this morn- 
 ing, to tlie 31st December, from which we copy the following : 
 
 Kingston, Dec, 2, 1821. 
 
 “ Our readers will recollect, that in the abstract we lately made of 
 the evidence taken before the British Parliament last winter, relative 
 to the timber trade, it was stated that certificates of origin would be 
 required on shipments from the colonies, and that all timber thus 
 shipped, if not proved to be the growth of his Majesty’s colonies, 
 would be subject to the duties exacted on timber imported directly 
 from a foreign state. 
 
 “ Though this regulation has been in force only during the pre- 
 sent season, we understand that schemes have been already devised 
 to inti'oduce timber from the United States into the lower province, 
 and to export H from thence to England, with certificates declaring it 
 to be the growth of Canada. To check this species of fraud, which, 
 if unmolested, would rapidly increase, it is in contemplation to form 
 an association for the purpose of employing several trusty individuals 
 along the frontier and elsewhere, whose business it will be to watch 
 the introduction of American timber into the province, and to detect 
 and punish every person who may endeavour, by peijury, to procure 
 certificates that it is of Canadian origin. This association is, we un- 
 derstand, already numerous ; and it will, doubtless, prove beneficial 
 in guarding the British revenue.” 
 
 The association will have full and worse than idle employment 
 in my opinion. There is one place where the timber, coming 
 from the United States, can be guarded out or taxed ; that is, 
 where the boundary line crosses Lake Champlain ; and, from that 
 
« GENERAL INTRODUCTION, 
 
 cccclvii 
 
 That, the best policy of Britain, is to receive land produce, 
 at Quebec and other British American ports, in exchange for 
 our manufactures, without question as to origin. The grand 
 benefit to be derived from possession of these ports, rests 
 in securing a monopoly of trade, and, with liberal legislation, 
 this may be carried to an extent, hitherto neither experienced 
 nor contemplated. By liberal measures, the port of Quebec 
 may speedily become the greatest in America, if not in the 
 world — a port where we may give and receive to an unlimited 
 extent — a port holding out to us the power of reaping the 
 utmost advantage from American trade, without any officious 
 meddling with the domestic politics of that country, — a port 
 through which the parent state would be for ever able to 
 nourish her progeny and supply her customers, — where the 
 people of Britain and America would meet in the enjoyment 
 of reciprocal accommodation. 
 
 That, the late change in the law, which regulates the tim- 
 ber trade, renders it more immediately necessary to attend 
 to our colonial and shipping interests. Were liberal prin- 
 ciples admitted ; were the corn law amended, and free sale 
 of grain and flour coming from our colonies, allowed in this 
 country, on payment of a fixed duty, an instant revival of 
 trade would be experienced ; and by and by we should wit- 
 
 lake there used to be very large quantities of timber sent to Que- 
 bec. At a thousand other places it can be hauled across the line, 
 or floated down the water boundaries, without the possibility of 
 detection, when people on each side of the boundaries have an in- 
 terest in playing into each other’s hands. While the attempt to 
 restrain importation of this bulkiest article will be in great mea- 
 sure nugatory, the attempt to restrain importation of grain into Ca- 
 nada will be quite so. The importation of tea, &c. from the 
 United States,’ is forbidden, but it is altogether farcical. I have 
 been told by respectable merchants of Upper Canada, that nine- 
 tenths of such goods consumed in Canada, come from the United 
 States, leaving the fair trader no chance. Why then keep up a 
 restrictive system only to beget roguery ? 
 
cocci viii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ness most beneficial consequences ; — increased consumption 
 and demand : rise of price both at home and abroad : we 
 should see confidence restored, and plenty going hand-in- 
 hand with peace. 
 
 That, however necessary it was, under circumstances, to 
 secure British farmers from ruin, at the termination of war, 
 it is now too certain, that the existing corn law must be 
 modified or repealed. Looking forward to change, and 
 supposing it necessary, tliat a factitious state of things must 
 be adhered to, your petitioner humbly begs leave to submit 
 his opinion, that no change could carry w ith it such bene- 
 ficial results, as the permission of free trade with our colo- 
 nies, on the payment of fixed duties. It would at once give 
 a monopoly to our shipping ; yield us a direct revenue ; and 
 secure and increase the value of our foreign possessions. 
 
 That, your petitioner has in his hands, documents, signed 
 by many hundreds of the resident land-owners of Upper 
 Canada, from which it may be proved, that wheat can now 
 be grown in that country for 3s. per bushel ; and he could 
 shew, that with certain changes in the state of property, in 
 the power of the Imperial Parliament to make, wheat could 
 be grown for 2s, per bushel. 
 
 That, now, and for three years back, the cost of bringing 
 wheat from Upper Canada to England, has not exceeded 
 2s. per bushel ; and that thus it may be affbrcled in Bri- 
 tish ports for 4s. per bushel. That a duty of Is., 2s., 3s., or 
 whatever sum may be found necessary to equalize the price 
 witli that which wheat grown at home must sell for, to ad- 
 mit of present taxes being paid, would be fair and reason- 
 able ; and in proportion as the amount of duties increased. 
 Government might free the British farmer of part of his load 
 of taxation. The American farmer w'ould, from the sale of 
 his produce at home, be enabled to purchase British manu- 
 factures. British manufactures would thence multiply, and, 
 by increased coiwumption, would render the foreign supply 
 of food not only safe, but necessary. Nor could llie supply 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ‘ CCCclix 
 
 coming from British colonies be ever withheld. In war, as 
 in peace, its flow towards us would be constant and secure 
 What, indeed, has Britain to fear from famine, if she is 
 liberal to her colonies, — if she suffers com to be imported 
 from British America, from the Cape of Good Hope, from 
 New Holland, and from Van Diemen’s Land, subject to 
 equalizing duties f It is a well known fact, that, hitherto, 
 the supply of grain and flour, from America, has never been 
 great, in proportion to the amount of home growth ; and, 
 at no time, has importation from thence, been disadvan- 
 tageous to this country, but the reverse. Indeed, all well- 
 regulated trade wdth America, must leave us a profit, 
 inasmuch as it gives opportunity for our cheaper labour, 
 and our superior industry and skill, to exert itself, and earn 
 its fair and natural reward. 
 
 3. “ Your petitioner, bred to farming, would in this place re- 
 mark, that parliamentary Committees have been too fastidious on 
 the question of this island growing its own bread-corn. It would 
 be better, in the bumble opinion of your petitioner, if less land 
 was cultivated, and more was set apart for the keep of live stock. 
 An abundance of live stock would not only be a better guard 
 against famine than the precarious supplies of harvest ; but would 
 insure a better average return from a limited tillage. British far- 
 mers have generally erred in ploughing too much ; and, at the pre- 
 sent time, they are ploughing to excess, from necessity. They are 
 exhausting their lands, while their live stock is unprofitably dimi- 
 nished. It is not by driving the plough to hill-tops, by toiling 
 upon barren muirs, or wasting health and strength in unprofitable 
 bogs, that the farmer increases national wealth. It is by bestow- 
 ing his best attention on the best soils, and leaving the worst to 
 chance and futurity. If the British nation possesses, in every 
 quarter of the globe, abundance of fertile land, why should her 
 legislators confine exertion to a mere speck of the empire ? Why 
 should the extremities be chilled, if, by free circulation, the heart 
 can be strengthened ? ” 
 
ccwlx GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 That, there are now, in England, some of the most re* 
 spectable land-owners of Upper Canada, both of the Bri- 
 tish and Indian nations, who may be called to the bar of 
 your honourable House, or before any committee, along 
 with your petitioner, who will substantiate the truth of what 
 has been said above, and confirm the opinions of your pe- 
 titioner. 
 
 lie therefore earnestly intreats, that your honourable 
 House will take the whole into consideration, and institute 
 inquiry into the state of Upper Canada, and other colonies 
 of Britain, 
 
 And he shall ever pray. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 February 1822. 
 
 March Sth. 
 
 This petition was presented, and ordered to be 
 printed, the 27th February. It was previously 
 shewn to all my Canadian friends in town, and 
 highly approved of by them. Mr. Hume, him- 
 self, went over it twice before it was ingrossed, 
 and obliged me by correcting it as often with his 
 own hand. He spoke to Mr. Brougham on the 
 subject, who advised delay till the home business 
 was further advanced ; but 1 pressed the presenta- 
 tion, by way of laying the ground-work for an after- 
 motion, as well as that the printed petition might 
 be perused by the committee appointed to revise 
 the corn law ; and I have no doubt, that it will 
 be taken into serious consideration by that com- 
 mittee. 
 
 There are but these words which require expla- 
 nation) “ supposing it necessary that a factitious 
 state of things must be adhered to I wish it 
 clearly understood, that I do not think it neces- 
 
GENEUAI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cccclxi 
 
 sary, that a factitious state of things should be 
 kept up for any great length of time. Free trade 
 with all the world is my darling wish. With 
 free trade, mankind would speedily come to know, 
 and agree with each other, in political opinion. 
 They would discover that very little of govern- 
 ment interference was required, for the protection 
 of person and property : that these could be pro- 
 tected at small expense ; and that the mass of an- 
 tiquated law might be flung aside, with all its 
 trumpery expounders and executors. The plan 
 suggested of receiving all land produce at Quebec, 
 without question as to its origin, would most as- 
 suredly give us a vast monopoly of trade, and 
 tend much to confound the restrictive system of 
 the United States ; but would British subjects ul- 
 timately, and in general, benefit by this? I say, 
 no: the Americans are willing to take off their 
 duties on British goods, as soon as Britain chooses 
 to admit of free trade. Free trade,— free importa- 
 tion of corn into this country would not only give 
 us abundance of cheap food, at all times, but en- 
 rich us with the vast demand for manufactures. 
 Population would then increase faster, in Britain, 
 than it has yet done in America; but it would 
 create no misery ; for the connexion with America 
 would become so great and harmonious, that na- 
 tural emigration would increase beyond all prece- 
 dent. The moment a man found himself not fully 
 employed in manufacturing goods for exportation 
 to America, he would be off to that country, to 
 cultivate land, to continue the abundance of bread 
 at home, and give better employment to those lett 
 
CCCcIxii G£N'£RAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 behind him. In the mean time, people, on both 
 sides of the Atlantic, would be getting better and 
 better educated — more and more liberal in their ideas 
 — more and more correct in their conduct and man- 
 ners; and hope might be indulged, that before the 
 continent of America was thickly peopled to the 
 shores of the Pacific, virtuous restraint would be 
 quite sufficient to keep the increase of population 
 within due bounds : that no physical means would 
 be required to check it, as proposed by Mr. Place*; 
 and that it would no longer be a cause of vice and 
 misery, as insisted on by Mr. Malthus. The sen- 
 sual passion can be governed. Example, habit, 
 sentiment, refraining from gross conversation, keep- 
 ing in check the imagination, giving both mind 
 and body proper exercise : — these are sufficient to 
 raise us superior to beastly desire ; and the point 
 should not be given up. What is it that maintains 
 purity between brothers and sisters, but correct sen- 
 timents, never suffered fora moment to stray ? What 
 is so delightful as chaste converse with the sex ! 
 Unluckily, it is the fashion of the world to laugh 
 at beastly indulgence, — to excuse it in others, that 
 we may find excuse for ourselves; but, is there, 
 upon earth, a rake, who does not inw'ardly rebuke 
 himself for his folly — who has not cause, sooner or 
 later, to repent of every departure from rigid virtue } 
 For myself, with sufficient experience, 1 say, no. 
 
 “ I wave the quantum o’ the sin, 
 
 The hazard of concealing ; 
 
 But, och ! it hardens a’ within, 
 
 And petrifies the feeling.” 
 
 ^ In a well written, sensible book, just published. 
 
I 
 
 GKNEIIAJL INTRODUCTION. CCCclxiii 
 
 Poor Burns ! with thy genius and fine natural 
 dispositions, how long, how respectably, how hap- 
 pily might you have lived, but for giving way to 
 vicious indulgences ! ! 
 
 Canadians ! My only wish to see a factitious 
 state of things kept up, would be to admit of our 
 getting out of the miseries in which a factitious 
 state has involved us. In ten years this could be 
 accomplished. After ten years we could safely open 
 our ports to all the world. In these ten years, 
 were my scheme of abolishing poor laws (see page 
 cxlii) put in execution, together with a grand svs- 
 tem of emigration, every difficulty might be got 
 over, every danger avoided, every evil corrected. 
 For such a period only would emigration require 
 assistance. You will see on my large map, lines 
 of canals, roads, &c. These were meant to illus- 
 trate my plans of settlement, had 1 finished this 
 work, or obtained the countenance of Government. 
 They run over about ten millions of acres, and 
 there is there room to settle a million of people, 
 who might be profitably removed from England 
 and Ireland, while poor laws were in the course of 
 being abolished, and the mass of the people pre- 
 pared by education to take care of themselves in 
 future. Were Government to charter a company 
 for the settlement of these ten millions of acres, a 
 dollar an acre could be paid for the land, and, at 
 least, double that sum made by the company in 
 less than twenty years. I may here observe, that 
 the principle on which these improvements and 
 settlements would proceed, has nothing to do with 
 that on which the St. Lawrence navigation could 
 
ccccixiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be executed, as proposed in my addresses from 
 Niagara jail, page ccclxxvii. The St. Lawrence 
 navigation can only be executed on a grand scale, 
 by the imposition of a land-tax, which would, at 
 same time, speedily amend the bad state of pro- 
 perty now existing: but that must rest with your 
 Parliament; and your Parliament does not seem 
 to have brains for the comprehension of the sim- 
 plest rules of political economy. We have just 
 heard that it was prorogued on the 17th January, 
 after 3,000 dollars were allowed to pay the ex- 
 penses of the Attorney General, on a mission to 
 this country, to get settled, your quarrel with the 
 lower Province, about duties ! ! ! There ought to be 
 no duties to quarrel about ; but I have no patience 
 with this consummation of trifling. With these 
 3,000 dollars, three of your Members of Assem- 
 bly might have been here before now, to back my 
 petition, — to have insured instant attention to the 
 one thing needful — inquiry into the state 
 OF THE Province. 
 
 However puny is the object for which the At- 
 torney General is coming home, it is well that he 
 is coming. The King will now really be spoken 
 to about Canadian affairs : he must consult Parlia- 
 ment ; and Parliament thus formally consulted, 
 Mr. Hume, and others, will have opportunity to 
 advance the more important questions : this book 
 will be more generally read ; and, in this book, 
 with all its faults and imperfections, the great prin- 
 ciples upon which Canada should be governed, 
 will be found. 
 
u 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 While in Upper Canada I published four Ad- 
 dresses to the Resident Landholders. My first 
 has appeared above, page clxxxvi, my second and 
 third will be found in vol. II, pages 471j and ^81. 
 To complete the set, I shall here produce the fourth 
 and last, and add a reply and duply as a specimen 
 of the political warfare which I had to wage in the 
 Province. These extracts may give rise to some 
 useful ideas now, and shall be afterwards referred 
 to. 
 
 NIAGARA SPECTATOR, May 27, I8I9. 
 
 ... . ^ 
 
 TO THE EDITOR OF THE NIAGARA SPECTATOR. 
 
 Niagara Jail, May 22, 1819v 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In your paper of 17th December last, I announced wjy 
 intention of being at St. Catherine’s on the 26lh of that 
 month, there to consult with those who should honour me 
 with a meeting on the subject of Instructions to be put 
 into the hands of Parliamentary Representatives, prior to the 
 sitting of their next session, intending to take my departure 
 forthwith, for England. In the mean time, being arrested 
 and served with an order to quit the province, it became 
 necessary, in defence of my honour, to delay departure; 
 and I informed the people who met at St. Catherine’s^ 
 
 gg 
 
CCCclxvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that it might be better, under changed circumstances, to delay 
 entering on the subject of Instructions, and that I should 
 first deliver my sentiments through the medium of the news- 
 papers, in a series of communications on the constitution 
 and political circumstances of Upper Canada. Shortly 
 after this, being arrested and committed to jail, I judged it 
 proper to allow some time for the public mind to reflect on 
 that extraordinary occurrence. Only a few weeks had 
 elapsed when the whole magistracy of the district appeared 
 in arms against me ; and in the number, many of t^iose who 
 had shewn the greatest zeal in the cause of inquiry, prior to 
 the arrival of Sir Peregrine Maitland in the province. It was 
 impossible not to feel damped with such experience; and 
 I must confess, that for some time a degree of melancholy 
 rested on my spirits. Truly, it may be said, If the salt 
 hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted 
 
 Seeing that parliament is now summoned to meet on a 
 very early day, my pledge to the people of St. Catherine’s 
 has been called to mind, and I have set about an attempt to 
 redeem it. I have addressed a communication to the Resident 
 Landowners of Upper Canada (herewith sent you for pub- 
 lication) and would fain continue it ; but, in resuming my 
 pen, I find my health so much impaired with confinement, 
 that there is a want of energy to do justice to the subject, 
 and I am doubtful of being able to complete my wish. 
 
 The whole drift of my endeavours, first and last, has been 
 to induce inquiry into the state of the province^ and to have 
 a commission sent home^ that the whole may he openly and 
 fairly submitted to discussion in the British Parliament. 
 What I would now ask of those, who ever were sincere in 
 support of my measures, is this, that they should immediately 
 meet in their several townships, and address a letter to their 
 respective representatives in parliament, expressing a wish 
 that the subject of inquiry should be the first consideration 
 of the ensuing session of parliament, after the infamous 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. * CCCclxvii 
 
 resolutions sent home to the foot of the throne^ are erased 
 from the journals^ and the gagging act repealed. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 TO THE RESIDENT LANDOWNERS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 ISiiagara Jail, May 20, 1819* 
 
 Gentlemen^ 
 
 I have thrice before now addressed you : always in sin- 
 cerity, and never without considerable effect. My first 
 Address was so simple, and in its purpose, so palpably 
 beneficial to the province, that it must remain to excite sur- 
 prise, how a single voice could be raised in opposition. My 
 second Address was urged by imperious duty, on becoming 
 better acquainted with the political state of affairs. The 
 object of that Address was to advise parliamentary in- 
 quiry into the state of the province, and the appointment of 
 a commission to carry home the result. My third Address, 
 holding the same object in view, sprung from a momentary 
 impulse, occasioned by the sudden and extraordinary break- 
 ing up of parliament. Wherever the light of information 
 reached, this Address was electric, and thousands of the 
 most loyal hastened to conform to its dicta. Horrible to 
 relate, there were found among your own representatives, 
 men, who, belying every preconceived notion of character 
 and conduct, shewed themselves, in brutal opposition to the 
 quiet and peaceable exercise of constitutional right, and 
 who have finally, in their public capacity, made parly 
 against the cause of truth and liberty; who, losing sight of 
 that dignity which should ennoble them as statesmen, have 
 stooped to the abuse of individual character, soiled the par- 
 liamentary journals with the record of untruths, and bereaved 
 their constituents of the most valuable privilege— that of 
 employing rational means for carrying a petition to the foot 
 of the imperial throne. 
 
 gg* 
 
cccclxviii 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Gentlemen ! by the acts of your own representatives, you 
 can no longer boast of freedom ; you are, in fact, this mo- 
 ment slaves. Alas ! am not I myself a striking witness of 
 this truth ? - a prisoner, without trial, after two honourable 
 acquittals ! — a prisoner, locked up at the capricious mandate 
 of my personal enemies ; as which of you may not be i And 
 is there now an honest and independent man among you who 
 would raise his voice against inquiry, who would prefer dark- 
 ness to light, who would sit in ignominious silence while such 
 things are? Was it to be enslaved that you came from the 
 States of America, from Britain, and from Germany f Was 
 it to be enslaved, that you here supplanted the native Indians, 
 noble and free? Was it to sow' the seeds of despotism, that 
 you lifted the axe to clear away these woods? Was it for 
 the growth of tyranny and oppression, that you let in the 
 solar rays to warm and fertilize the teeming earth ? Forbid 
 it, Heaven! Deny it, grateful man! Why was America 
 reserved to modern days for settlement? Why were thou-* 
 sands of years suffered to elapse, and yet half the world un- 
 known — unoccupied ? O ! it was most consistent with the 
 designs of a Providence, ever benignant and kind — a Provi- 
 dence, who wills to give a second chance to virtuous liberty. 
 These thousands of years w'ere clearly meant to prove 
 how vain are the struggles of man against the power of 
 despotism, when once confirmed. Look to the old world : 
 look back on the pages of history, and say what has there 
 been exhibited — what is there recorded, but one continued 
 tissue of misery from priests and kings, and superstition and 
 tyranny? What! are w’e in this reserved and unpolluted 
 land, to make no advantage of lessons so costly, and of 
 experience so dear? Are we to shut our eyes to the so 
 glorious designs of Providence? Are we to give way to 
 natural w'eakness, and make no effort, while yet it may so 
 easily be made to brace up the cause of reason and of truth — 
 to smite in the bud the earliest germ of despotism? Are we 
 to sufifer our own children to grow up in rebellion, and our 
 
V 
 
 general introduction. cccclxix 
 
 own servants to bind us about, unresisting, with chains ? 
 No, even I, a prisoner, will protest against it : a prisoner, 
 deserted, betrayed, and trodden down ; still will I call, though 
 with a feeble voice, against acts disgraceful to British rule, 
 killing to this infant colony, and sickening to every true 
 feeling of generous loyalty. Gentlemeny though it is im- 
 possible to speak on this subject without giving some vent 
 to passion, I shall endeavour to moderate my language, and, 
 with what calmness I can, enter into a discussion concerning 
 the political state of circumstances of this province; which 
 I trust may open the eyes of some, and correct the vision of 
 others. Narrow, selfish interests have, no doubt, taken the 
 lead against my measures ; but in their train they have borne 
 along much perversity of mere temper — much prejudice — 
 much ignorance. I have not been publicly accused of folly. 
 The charges of my enemies are all of a criminal cast. They 
 fancy some deep conspiracy, some horrid wickedness : they 
 conjure up treason, bloodshed, and death. Were it not for 
 a feeling of real sorrow that there are imaginations so foul 
 as to conceive such thoughts, I should laugh outright at 
 every criminal charge. It is now eighteen months since I 
 became the subject of public animadversion, and from 
 nothing that could breed suspicion, and blacken character, 
 have I escaped. Has any evil been proved ? No : neither 
 will it, though I should remain here as many years, and 
 slander should cross and recross the Atlantic with every tide. 
 In prosperity, in adversity, I have through life been uniformly 
 the same : enthusiastic and sincere in every public under- 
 taking: often imprudent: sometimes foolish; but never 
 for a moment have I harboured criminal design. 
 
 Gentlemen, your parliament is again about to meet, and 
 the intelligence has roused me that parliament is about to 
 meet, which thrice before assembled, only to sink the country 
 in disgrace, deeper, and deeper, and deeper. Let every eye 
 be turned towards the sitting of this parliament, that shame 
 and compunction may at least work a miracle, and good be 
 
 
 
cccclxx 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 forthcoming of evil. I am, myself, in hope, and again seize 
 the quill, to call for INQUIRY, AND A COMMISSION 
 TO GO HOME. I despair not of the old broom. The 
 proverb says, that New brooms sweep clean but when 
 a parliament is worn to the stumps, it will do you most ser- 
 vice. The mass of dirt too, which at present needs removal, 
 calls rather for stumps than spray. Let the hardened and 
 dirty stumps grub up the thick of it, and a new parliament 
 will come in appropriately for the more thorough cleansing 
 of your apartments’*. 
 
 There is but one thing concerning myself, which I wish 
 seriously to be considered by your honourable Representatives 
 — their conduct towards me last session. It was shameful, 
 and wholly without excuse. If any little stomach is again 
 charged with bile, let it not be forgotten, that with all the 
 boast of privilege, the most honourable course is, to let com- 
 plaint have a regular hearing in a court of justice. I am 
 now paying dear for a fair chance of defending my conduct ; 
 and if a fair chance is allowed, I dread not being able to 
 satisfy the country, that so far from being blameable, my 
 conduct has all along been founded on principles of duty 
 and honor, never was, and never could be productive of harm. 
 But let us proceed : let me give light to the operations of 
 the old broom. 
 
 To have a right conception of the true policy which should 
 be followed, to secure a lasting connexion between Britain 
 and her colonies, it is necessary to glance back to that period 
 of history, which details the rise and progress of the revolu- 
 tion which separated the United States from the mother 
 
 • Wlien I was first shut up in jail, a man confined there was 
 employed making Indian brooms. I asked him to teach me to 
 make these, and said I should advertise my brooms for sweeping 
 Hie provinoe. The joke went round, and then I gave it a turn by 
 saying, I must first provide sl^vek. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCOclxXl 
 
 country. It may first be remarked, that the inhabitants of 
 America, before the revolution, were, both by the intercourse 
 of trade and blood relationship, more closely connected with 
 the English people, than you of this province ; and many 
 documents prove how very anxious they were to maintain 
 the connexion. It was broken by the infatuation and obsti- 
 nacy of the British ministry. That ministry would persist 
 in a principle which the constitution did not warrant, and 
 which the American people nobly and successfully resisted. 
 The cause of the Americans was espoused at home, not 
 only by the majority of the people, but by the most eminent 
 statesmen ; — by Chatham, and Burke, and Fox ; and that it 
 was a good cause, the very men who opposed it, many of 
 whom are still alive in this province, would not now for a 
 moment deny. They themselves would now rebel against 
 Britain, should any attempt be made, by the ministers of that 
 country, to tax them without their own consent. 
 
 But though the right of taxing themselves was the great 
 and immediate object which induced the American people 
 to resist the nefarious designs of the British ministry, there 
 had been for many years before that crisis, causes which 
 tended to retard the prosperity of the provinces, and alienate 
 the affections of colonists from the mother country. How- 
 ever pure may be the principles of any government, — how- 
 ever flattering may be the language of state, there are invaria- 
 bly at work, underhand and beguiling interests, counteracting 
 these interests and belying this language. The proclamations 
 of Britain may breathe the kindest endearment towards her 
 provinces, and, in the heart of the sovereign every subject 
 may have an equal share of royal affection; but beneath the 
 sovereign care, a thousand petty interests are continually at 
 work, and a thousand passions seek to be gratified. Charity 
 begins at home, and unless the people of a colony look out 
 sharply for their own interests, they will undoubtedly be sa- 
 crificed to the pride and profit of the parent state. As the 
 population of America increased,— as her natural resources 
 
CCCclxxii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 came to be developed, and the genius of the people found 
 scope for enterprise, a competition in commerce and manufac- 
 tures excited the jealousy of merchants and manufacturers at 
 home. These left no effort untried to check the increase of 
 American shipping, or to palsy the arm of the colonial 
 craftsman : ‘‘We must not” (said a British minister, taking 
 the part of these narrow-minded interests), “suffer the Ameri- 
 cans to make so much as a hob-nail.” How ridiculous I — 
 how vain ! — how impolitic and profitless ! Was it to be sup- 
 posed, that the enlightened people of a continent could long 
 be governed, and thus be held down by the sway of islanders 
 three thousand miles apart? No: and while independent 
 America, with her commerce free, and tradesmen unshackled, 
 has flourished beyond example, has she not, at the same time, 
 yielded tenfold more wealth to England than she could ever 
 have done as a colony damned with counteracting influences ? 
 IIow' easily could England have retained the sovereignty of 
 America ! How glorious would it have been, had she surren- 
 dered in time all that w'as reasonable and proper to her off- 
 spring ! How happy w ould it have been for the human race ! 
 How much bloodshed would have been saved ! What rancor- 
 ous feelings would have been stifled ! Good God ! for what 
 reason should we and the people across N iagara river, even at 
 this day, be held in enmity? How comes it that these people 
 go so far beyond us in every undertaking ? How is it that 
 Americans are free, and Canadians slaves? Aye, the most 
 abject of slaves, subject, by their owm enactments, to arbitrary 
 imprisonment. Why do people here shrink from inquiry? 
 —Why so jealous of the liberty of the press? — Why do they 
 love darkness rather than light ? — W hy ? because their deeds 
 are evil : because there are yet in this part of America secret 
 and vicious influences at work : because the interests and 
 passions of men in office are yet at variance with justice and 
 truth. 
 
 When the question of giving a constitution to Canada was 
 before the British Parliament, not only had experience proved 
 
c;eneral inthoductiov. cccclxxiii 
 
 how vain it would be to withhold from people in this quarter of 
 the world the right of taxing themselves, but there was a clear 
 necessity for being liberal in every respect, both from view- 
 ing the local situation of this country and the spirit of the 
 times. The independence of America was already manifest- 
 ing its glorious consequences, and the French nation was 
 then in the very act of bursting the bonds of feudal oppres- 
 sion. Mr. Burke, who already foresaw the horrors likely to 
 arise from the French revolution, did not hesitate to say, that 
 the people of Canada should be presented with such a con- 
 stitution as w'ould leave them nothing to envy, when they 
 surveyed those in the states of America. One noble Lord 
 (Sheffield) objected to the policy of at all cherishing the set- 
 tlement of Upper Canada. Why,” said he, should we 
 rear up a nation of farmers in the heart of America who will 
 only become rivals to our tenants at home — who w ill only pro- 
 duce what it is our interest to have produced on our own 
 fields ?” His idea, though miserably selfish, deserved, never- 
 theless, credit for open avowal ; and, should be treasured up by 
 you, the resident landowners of Upper Canada. Lord Sheffield 
 said he would only encourage settlements along the sea coasts, 
 where the people might be raised to man the British navy, 
 and yield wealth to England from their industry in fishing ; 
 as in the case of Newfoundland, where this villanous princi- 
 ple is carried so far as to delay the culture of the earth : 
 the earth given by God for tillage, is there kept altogether 
 unproductive, that the landed oligarchy of England may 
 better afford to sustain their riot and their rank with enor- 
 mous land rents ! 
 
 One proposal made in the British Parliament was, that the 
 people of Upper Canada should choose a constitution for 
 themselves ; but it was very properly suggested, that they 
 were then too few and too unskilled in such matters to be able 
 rightly to estimate what was best for their advantage; and fi- 
 nally, it was agreed, that nothing could exceed, as a boon, the 
 offer of the British model. How to form a House of Peers was 
 
COCclxxiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the difficulty; and honest Charles Fox could not help laugh* 
 iiig, when he thought of the brood of nobility which was to 
 be hatched in the wilderness. His opinion was, that the 
 Upper House should be elective, as are the senates of Ame* 
 rica; but Mr. Pitt had it settled, that the nomination of legis- 
 lative councillors should be in the crown, while the propriety 
 of breeding nobility might rest as a matter of discretion in 
 tlie same power. 
 
 The fact is, that all comparison between the British Con- 
 stitution and that of this Province, is absurd ; or, at best, it 
 is a comparison analogous to what may be made between a 
 man and a lump of clay, having two legs and a head : your 
 lump of clay being, in some respects, the preferable commo- 
 dity ; for, if it should be found to stand more erect upon one 
 leg than two, the spare leg may be cut off without danger or 
 bloodshed. 
 
 What comparison is there between a king, or prince, living 
 at home in the midst of his people-*-born there, and to die 
 there: — what comparison is there between a person who 
 can do no wrong, and who has no object in life but the pure 
 enjoyment of seeing himself elevated by the virtues of his 
 people — a person who is responsible for no act of goveni- 
 inent, but whose ministers are most strictly watched, and 
 must answer with their heads for executive crime,— a person 
 whose very conscience is in the keeping of another : — what 
 comparison is there between this pure and exalted personage, 
 and a provincial governor f — a man appointed through court 
 intrigue, and who goes abroad for the express purpose of 
 bettering his fortune; here to-day and gone to-morrow; 
 certainly without local experience or knowledge ; probably 
 without talents, and most probably without principle ; placed 
 in the very threshold of temptation, and surrounded with 
 sycophants; yes, with sycophants, who at his slightest nod 
 will debase themselves and enslave their country; yes, were 
 an ass, a real corporeal ass, sent out to govern I province, 
 
 I do believe he would find worshippers; and it would be 
 
r 
 
 I I 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCOclxXT 
 
 called libel to publish the most notorious truth, that his ears 
 werejong. What did I say was the opinion of Mr. Burke ? 
 
 Burke ! the luminary of his age, and whose oracular truths 
 
 still rise and brighten from the tomb. Was it his opinion 
 
 that we in Canada should see nothing to envy in the United 
 States ? And must we shut our eyes to the splendour of 
 Clinton and Monroe? Must we throw aside their speeches, 
 charged with the balmy and invigorating light of truth and 
 
 civilization, breathing patriotism, and blazing with eloquence, 
 to bedim our eyes with staring on the blank and heart-sick- 
 ening records of provincial weakness ? O God i compari- 
 sons are odious. 
 
 All things must be judged of in connexion with circum- 
 stances. The British constitution is to be admired as a 
 happy compromise for the general good between great 
 contending parties, which through many ages had struggled 
 in violent opposition : the King, the Nobles, the Priests, 
 and the People. When we read the history of the world, and 
 trace the fate of nations, callous indeed must be the heart 
 which swells not with gratitude, when the revolution of 1 688 * 
 bursts upon view when we behold, for the first time, monar* 
 chical power rendered innocuous, the pride of aristocracy 
 humbled, priestly arrogance laid low, and the people free. 
 Well indeed may the British nation triumph in having first 
 established such a compromise : justly are they entitled to 
 boast of the glorious revolution ; and, cautious ought they 
 to be, at home, in venturing on further change. 
 
 Here in Canada, the case is altogether different ; here re-r 
 Btraints are few, and the jeopardy of change is comparatively 
 nothing : here no tyrant ever swayed a sceptre : here no 
 feudal lord ever looked down contemptuous on humble serf? 
 here no priest has yet bent the human mind beneath super- 
 stitious fear : here the people want but discretion and firm* 
 ness to establish the happiest freedom for themselves and pos^ 
 terity : here indeed they had it in virgin purity, but it is already 
 gone ; yes, even already have the people’s own representatives 
 
CCCClxxvi GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 deiluwered the darling image, and bartered it away ! A Bri- 
 tish subject in Upper Canada no longer treads beneath the 
 protecting privilege of habeas corpus, nor dare the people 
 choose a commission to carry home a petition to the Throne ! ! 
 
 The degradation of this colony does not originate in the 
 frame of its constitution. In the democratic branch of their 
 constitution, the Canadian people are favoured beyond the 
 lot of their fellow subjects at home. These have but a sha- 
 dow of representation in parliament, those a reality. In 
 Canada, the purse-strings are truly in the hands of the people : 
 in England they are held by a wretched knot of Borough- 
 mongers ; but two causes have operated in Canada to render 
 of 110 avail the omnipotent power of the people — simplicity 
 and ignorance on one side, and the enormous patronage pos- 
 sessed by the executive on the other. Thus circumstanced. 
 Upper Canada had better to the present day have never had 
 an Assembly. No mere Governor and Council would have 
 had the effrontery to issue edicts so disgraceful to civilized 
 times, as are many of the acts of the Provincial Parliament. 
 
 Gentlemen, 1 saw into the horrible state of your public 
 affairs at an early period : I saw many of the causes which 
 held this Province in poverty, and have been steady to my 
 purpose of effecting a change. At first I had no view what- 
 ever to any change in the frame of your government ; I 
 thought only of correcting abuses in its internal management ; 
 but hesitate not to say, now my experience is enlarged, that it 
 would be well if change, in every respect, was accomplished. 
 My eye was, at an early period, caught with the monstrous 
 influence in the hands of the executive ; greater than is to be 
 found m any other colony, and infinitely greater than any 
 thing of the kind at home. I saw that the Governor had not 
 only the disposal of every civil office, of every civil and mili- 
 tary commission, but of land to boundless extent ; 1 knew 
 this influence had been misapplied, and witnessed the lament- 
 able effects : I saw public duty neglected, and the whole face 
 
 of the country pining with disease: I saw nature everv 
 4 
 
general introduction, cccclxxvii 
 
 where smuggling with misrule; and beheld with sorrow civi- 
 lization itself on the decline. 
 
 I lie constitutional statute exhibits no cause for the exist* 
 euce of these evils ; nor was any apprehended by the virtuous 
 members of the British Parliament when this was under 
 consideration. Po give to Canada the British Constitution^ 
 — the glorious British Constitution, seemed all in all ; and 
 ‘‘ here it is,” exclaimed the generous spirit of Simcoe, to the 
 first Canadian Assembly : here it is, the very image and 
 transcript.*^ General Simcoe was, I believe, a truly single- 
 hearted man, and had but one view, that of peopling the 
 country. He lined out great roads, and began to open them 
 by actual settlement along the tracts : he issued proclama- 
 tions, inviting settlers to come in: he offered whole town- 
 ships on liberal terms to enterprising men ; and enterprising 
 men were instantly at hand with axes and ox chains, ploughs 
 and harrows, to fulfil his design. But w hat then ? Why, 
 the landed oligarchy of England conceived that the nation 
 of farmers’^ was likely to prosper too w ell in the heart of 
 America, that they were likely to produce such abundance of 
 grain as to cheapen that article in the home market, that their 
 own tenants, in that case, would find it hard to pay their rents ; 
 and hearing perhaps how w'ell their brother farmers in Cana- 
 da got on, might take a longing to emigrate, and so more and 
 more reduce the land rents of England. Such consequences 
 were appalling to little selfish minds; and the landlords of Eng- 
 land took the alarm. They had not sufficiently studied the doc- 
 trine of Lord Sheffield when the Canadian Bill was digested; 
 but they had abundant interest in the cabinet, and could yet 
 so order matters as to rnar all the fine effects of the boasted 
 constitution. Simcoe must be recalled: his plan of road 
 making must be given up : his offer of tow nships must be 
 quashed : no more encouragement must be held out to en- 
 terprising men : only lots of two hundred acres must be 
 allowed to poor settlers, and these men must be kept down 
 in poverty, by blocking them up and holding them apart with 
 
eccclxxviii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 large grants to non-residents, half-pay officers, and the like. 
 
 I Then it will be easy to form a Legislative Council which 
 shall be altogether subservient, and a majority of the people’s 
 representatives being constantly held in check by donations 
 of land, places, or pensions, the beauty of the constitution 
 can quickly be transformed, its bulwarks levelled to the 
 ground, and the prosperity of the province completely 
 blasted. 
 
 Gentlemen, I sincerely believe that such influences have 
 been in operation, and such trains laid, to produce the effects 
 so visible in every quarter of Upper Canada. Up to the 
 present time they have completely shut you out from tne 
 substantial benefits of the constitution, and from having 
 wealthy emigrants from home j nor will such ever be in- 
 duced to come into the province, while things rest as they 
 are. Those who emigrate from England will, in preference, 
 go to the States ; but thousands would start from home for 
 Canada, were things as they should be, who will not, at all, 
 move to reside under an alien government. 
 
 The scheme which I set on foot by my first Address, was 
 the best possible for making this country known to the far- 
 mers of England. That Address was sent home by me, alto- 
 gether without suspicion, to be presented to Lord Bathurst, 
 and published in the newspapers. So early as February 28, 
 1818, it w'as stated in the Montreal Herald, that “ from 
 recent intelligence, Mr. Gourlay’s plan will not be counte- 
 nanced by his Majesty’s ministers, although it would, in our 
 opinion, be difficult to assign just motives for such conduct. 
 As soon as this article appeared, I began to guess at the 
 motives. His Majesty’s ministers did not, 1 was convinced, 
 choose that farmers, with capital, should be withdrawn from 
 home ; and besides, I believe, there is a jealousy, that if an 
 independent and enterprising class of men should get into 
 Canada, the province would be less easily kept in subjec- 
 tion to the mother country. Now, I am assured, that the 
 selfish dread of ministers, as it concerns the emigration of 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTiON. CCCclxXlX 
 
 wealthy farmers, would never go to such extent as to lower 
 the land rents of England, although it would mightily assist 
 Canada in a variety of ways ; and I am still more assured 
 that Canada would be longer retained in connexion with 
 Britain by a liberal than narrow-minded policy. ‘ 
 
 Gentlemen, should health permit, I shall resume this sub- 
 ject. I wish, for my own credit, to throw upon it the great- 
 est possible light ; but nothing can be expected of conse- 
 quence to the welfare of this country, till the people bestir 
 themselves; and urge on their representatives to serious 
 exertion. This Parliament will do as well as another, if 
 pressed from all sides to the great measure of inquiry, and 
 to submit the whole affairs of the province to the inspection 
 and review of the Parliament at home. 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 NIAGARA SPECTATOR, July 1, 1819. 
 
 To the Editor of the Niagara Spectator. 
 
 SiK, 
 
 In your paper of the 27th ultimo, I find an Address from 
 Mr. Robert Gourlay to the Resident Landowners of Upper 
 Canada, dated Niagara Jail, 20th May, 1819^ and as a 
 resident landowner, I wish to offer some observations in 
 reply. 
 
 In doing so, I do not address myself to Mr. Robert Gour- 
 lay. I know him not personally, and I mean nothing per- 
 sonal to him. I grieve for his present situation, and would 
 rejoice could I alleviate it. Placed at a distance from the 
 immediate factsgwhich have led to his confinement, 1 have 
 lamented it, because, on such information as I have, it ap- 
 pears to me that the’common course of the laws was abun- 
 dantly sufficient for the public good, and that the extreme 
 resort, therefore, to which recourse has been had against 
 him, was equally harsh and injudicious ; but with all these 
 
cccclxxx GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 undisguised sentiments of regret on public grounds, and of 
 unfeigned commiseration for the personal sufferings of the 
 individual, 1 most unequivocally assent to the lawful power 
 legally and essentially vested in the united branches of the 
 Government for establishing such a resort (wofully liable as 
 it is, from the universal guilt of our nature, to abuse) when- 
 ever requisite. 1 assert, that without such a resort, no 
 well-constituted society could exist; and regarding Mr. 
 Gourlay as in the hands of the laws, and as secure in their 
 progress of as fair a result as the general experience of hu- 
 man nature in any state would vyarrant him to expect, I com- 
 mit him to them ; as, in such circumstances, 1 would myself 
 wish to be committed. 
 
 But it appears essential to me, that the false and perni- 
 cious impressions which 1 think his Address calculated to ex- 
 cite, should be controverted. Into his motives I desire not 
 to penetrate : to them, in wliat I propose saying, I have no 
 allusion. 1 know, for the history of human nature supplies 
 the proof, and 1 myself have most mournfully witnessed it, 
 how egregiously the conscience of man can deceive itself. 
 I know^, for the disgusting fact has been forced upon my 
 knowledge, that a self-applauding idea of rectitude may 
 exist, even where, with all the bitterness of malice and 
 ungoverned passion, the most dear and sacred duties and 
 affections are sacrificed and spurned. 1 know that this 
 question, as it relates to Mr. Gourlay, is one between God 
 and his own soul ; and that all human interpretation of it, 
 must be at the risk of that censoriousness and arrogance 
 under which our nature is so willing to screen its own 
 wrathful tempers, and the direct tendency of which is 
 (except in extreme cases) to scatter bitterness and discord. 
 
 The diffuse style (according to my judgment) of Mr. 
 Gourlay’s compositions, as far as I have witnessed them, com- 
 prising a straggling meaning under a mass of declamatory 
 words, renders it difficult to meet him at all points with 
 effect. This course must be abandoned; in which case 
 
I 
 
 GENBilAL INTRODUCTION. CCCclxTXi 
 
 some of his matter may appear unanswered, or, a similar 
 progress must be followed, and a similar indistinctness may 
 probably be the result. This is an evil more or less expe- 
 rienced in every argument ; and I subject myself, no doubt, 
 to a share of the same defect. I offer this remark, to ac- 
 count for the degree in which I may fail. I shall, however, 
 proceed with the same freedom which he uses, with an 
 mtentioii, which I profess to be as honest and disinterested 
 as he asserts his to be ; w ith a direct denial of the remotest 
 degree of any thing like personality, and, I trust, in more tem- 
 perate language (and as far as may be judged by language, 
 with more temperate dispositions), to offer to my brethren, 
 the resident landowners of Upper Canada, the free opinions 
 of another of their members. 
 
 Mr. Gourlay tells us, we are at this moment slaves ! I abhor 
 the idea, probably as much as he does. I have an arm and 
 a heart to resist tyranny as deliberately, as actively, as firmly, 
 and as constantly, probably, as he. I am not willing to sup- 
 pose myself a sycophant more than he ; and I do not be- 
 lieve a selfish or private interest would warp me more from 
 the strictest path of duty than it would him ; but I can per- 
 ceive no grounds for such an assertion, except tempers, w hich 
 probably deceive themselves, as much as their tendency is to 
 exasperate and betray others. 
 
 He thinks we are slaves, because he is in prison, or 
 at least that this is an evidence of our slavery. 1 think not 
 (though I lament his being in prison), because he is there 
 in the regular and legal (though extraordinary) course of the 
 laws ; and because he musi thence be relieved in the due 
 course of law, unless lawful cause, on open inquiry, prevent 
 it. To the inconvenience which he at present suffers, every 
 member of society, in extreme cases, must be liable; This 
 is one of the penalties which we must pay, in return for the 
 security and conveniences of society; and that security 
 and those conveniences, are well worth every such liability 
 which they may require. In every well-regulated state, I 
 
 h h 
 
 I 
 
ccccl3^xxu GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 repeat, a final constitutional resort must be established, (and, I 
 believe, no happier resort could be established, than that 
 which exists in our Government) for the extraordinary de- 
 mands of the public welfare ; and to call the constitutional 
 exercise of this indispensable prerogative, despotism, is to 
 belie language, and to breathe sedition *» 
 
 In one sense, all rulers are servants of the state: it is the 
 light in which they ought to regard themselves : it is tlie light 
 in which the voice of familiar affection ought to address them. 
 But the tongue of insolence betrays itself, when in the vein 
 of its abuse, it presumes to call those so whom God has 
 placed over it. That unhappy tongue requires to learn that 
 its rulers are those to whom God expressly commands it 
 to use deference, respect, and obedience: — that they are 
 those, to whom the sword has been committed, both for 
 protection and correction; and that such language, turned 
 towards an upright, enlightened, and pious Governor, though 
 it may breed confusion, or obscure for a time the truth, is 
 but infamy and evil to him who uses it. 
 
 Mr. Gourlay goes on to say, (oh, it is a disgusting con- 
 trast!) “ How is it that Americans are free, and Canadians 
 slaves ?” And is this a voice to be sounded in Canadian 
 ears ? I wish not to do the Americans wrong : in the little 
 scale of human nature they are a great and a growing people. 
 In many things 1 admire them ; and in the people of Ca- 
 nada many things may be found to condemn; but compare 
 their state witli our’s, (except in its wealth and power) and 
 Canadians may well blush at the comparison. Would he 
 make us subjects of that Government, which has so recently 
 
 ♦ One reason for exhibiting this letter is, that I think it a cu- 
 riosity. It is a singular example, not only of weak reasoning, 
 but how far such reasoning can go in hood-winking, confusing, 
 and misleading the weak mind from which it emanates. Let the 
 reader think of this before he goes further, or reads my reply. 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION, cccclxxxiij 
 
 sanctioned the murder of two of our fellow-citizens ? Would 
 he make us the soldiers of a Jackson; a military despot, 
 whose hairs are whitening for the grave, but whose eye ex- 
 ults in blood? Would he introduce us into a state of so- 
 ciety, abhorrent to those manners, on which many of the 
 proprieties and decencies of social life depend? Would he 
 have us blinded by the odious comparison which has ranked 
 Monroe and Clinton above the pure and elevated mind with 
 which the gracious providence of God has blessed us? -a 
 mind grieved, no doubt, by insult; harassed, perhaps, by 
 clamour ; but still pursuing an active and beneficent course of 
 policy, and controlling, with dignity and composure, the 
 factious tendency of such writings as those to which I now 
 reply. If these be his views, he acts consistently; — his 
 means are in some measure adapted to their end ; but this I 
 will not suppose; and I mourn over the delusion, which 
 thus hurries an active and apparently dauntless, and profess- 
 edly honest mind, into declamations, as unsound and as per- 
 nicious as the spirit of anarchy and discord, abusing and 
 falsifying the truth on which they rest, (but deriving a dan- 
 gerous colouring from that trutli, though falsified) can, with 
 such materials, and such talents, make them, 
 
 A British subject, in Upper Canada, Mr. Gourlay says, 
 no longer treads firm beneath the protecting privilege of 
 habeas corpus ! What does he mean? Did he not apply 
 for and obtain a writ of habeas corpus ? Was he not taken to 
 York, and, upon lawful inquiry and decision, remanded to pri- 
 son, to take his trial at the first subsequent court of competent 
 authority ? And, if so, what more does he want? Would he 
 have the term gifted with • some charm, by which a person 
 accused, in the eye of the law, may evade the regular course 
 of law, and erect himself into a licentious member, of scat- 
 tering, without controul, around him, the ebullitions of in- 
 temperance, abuse, and confusion ? If so, an assembly of 
 delegates, exulting over the ruins of the constitution, miglit 
 
 h h 2 
 
©CCclxXXiv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 suit him; but we, at present, arc mercifully preserved from 
 such. 
 
 The people, he says, dare not choose a commission to 
 carry home a petition to the foot of the throne : that is, they 
 cannot choose it in his way and in his words. But other- 
 wise, why dare they not do so ? I know of no impediment t 
 On the contrary, the very Act which put down Conventions^ 
 (that most dreadful and dangerous implement of anarchy 
 an act which must be hailed by every lover of order, as a 
 new buhvark to our liberties and happiness) that very act 
 unequivocally asserts the undoubted right of free petition. 
 There is no impediment to our acting, in this respect, as we 
 please, as long as our conduct is consistent with the public 
 safety and happiness ; and whoever, beyond this sacred boun- 
 dary, would advocate, or encourage, any pretence to such a 
 right, can be but an enemy to those solemn interests which 
 he may suppose it is his wish to advance. 
 
 As one of those landowners, whom Mr, Gourlay ad- 
 dresses, I thus publicly declare, that I see no ground for 
 any such commission or petition. I know that abuses and 
 evils exist every where, and that it is lunacy, not wisdom, 
 which expects to escape them. I know that the existing evils 
 of a state cannot be rectified at once, and that it is anarchy, 
 not order, which calls for the knife, instead of the balm, to 
 remove them. I know that a beneficent spirit of improve- 
 ment exists, for I witness its operations ; and, I am per- 
 suaded that this system has been as little produced, or aided 
 by the light, which, in some respects, Mr. Gourlay’s pro- 
 ceedings have thrown on those evils, as it has been impeded 
 by the insulting, anarchical, and delusive nature of his pub- 
 lications. Under these convictions, with respect to the evils 
 which do exist, I am silent : their correction is in the hands 
 of the organized and lawful authorities of the state. If the 
 voice of the people speak not loud enough, through their 
 present representatives, the period is fast approaching, when. 
 
€^eneral introduction. ccccImxt 
 
 hy a new choice, they may speak more openly. Meanwhile, 
 casting my eyes over the world, and viewing the states which 
 I have seen, I hesitate not to declare that I know of no 
 people, w’ho, in every temporal concern, have such abundant 
 causes for gratitude, and such lively sources of hope, as the 
 inhabitants of Upper Canada; and that to this, no effort, 
 no view, no voice, no change, no improvement whatever, is 
 necessary, beyond the established resorts of tlie existing 
 Constitution of the ProvincCjin subordination to the parent 
 state. The disinterested and cultivated mind which presides 
 over us, is a guarantee beyond all general experience and 
 hope ; and I can think of no other dispensation of Provi- 
 dence, in the common course of things, by which our hap- 
 piness, and all our wise and lawful desires could so well 
 have been consulted, as by the invaluable gift to us, of such 
 a mind. 
 
 la one point of his information, I can positively correct 
 / Mr. Gourlay. He says, the offer of townships is quashed, 
 and no more encouragement held out to enterprising men. 
 Though totally devoid of interest with Government, and un- 
 known to public life on this side of the w^orld, when I was 
 in London, a little more than two years ago, I w^as credibly 
 informed, that I could have obtained a township, had it 
 been in my power to have brought out an adequate number 
 of settlers. I have every reason to believe that this power 
 still exists in the Secretary of State’s office. Priest McDo- 
 nald, of Glengary, was my authority. Mr. Gourlay adds, 
 only two hundred acres must be allowed to poor settlers. 
 If he means by this, that poor men, who have not means, 
 perhaps, to improve fifty acres, cannot obtain more than 
 two hundred, every candid mind must allow the Govern- 
 ment credit for its wisdom, instead of reviling its folly ; but, 
 if he mean that settlers cannot, in this Province, obtain 
 more than two hundred acres, he errs ; for a power exists^ 
 and is in operation in the local Government, for granting to 
 tlie amount of twelve hundred acres, according to the means 
 
cccclxxxvi general introduction. 
 
 of cultivation ; and the gift to that amount is only restrained, 
 either by the want of those means, or by other lawful and 
 reasonable disabilities. 
 
 But admit all this stir of discontent and reviling, shall we 
 forget that there are such things as candour, patriotism, and 
 loyalty? or shall we be blinded to believe that they exist in 
 the power of convening lawless assemblies, and of turning 
 liberty into licentiousness ? 
 
 Mr. Gourlay seems to wish on this subject, above all 
 things, to constitute a commission to carry a petition from 
 this to the foot of the throne. Does he forget that 
 
 majesty commonly acts through ministers ; and that he has 
 been reviling those ministers f imputing to them (whether 
 truly or unjustly) principles of selfishness and baseness, 
 which is by no means calculated to propitiate their good- 
 will? And could his wish be effected, what, couched in 
 such language as we have seen him almost invariably using, 
 would be the result;— what but the indignant rejection 
 which an importunate and insulting intrusion would merit? 
 And then, whither in consequence would he lead us ? to 
 brood with shame and contrition over our rash and dis- 
 contented efforts f Or to plunge into the ocean of such 
 a patriotism, as his writings seem to advocate ; and on a 
 treacherous and destructive principle of political justice, to 
 set all early associations of gratitude and tenderness and ge- 
 nuine truth at defiance, and revive the principle which 
 created ruin in France, and sent the myriads of her madmen 
 over Europe. 
 
 But no : patriotism is a widely different principle. Its 
 law is founded upon gratitude and disinterested affection ; 
 not upon the proud and disorganizing principle of licentious 
 independence! Its fruit is liberty, not anarchy: its guide is 
 law, not passion : the Holy Scriptures are its ground-work 
 and its rule ; and it thence learns the beauteous and humble 
 and constant spirit of faithful but of dauntless loyalty ; a 
 principle which remembers and watches over, and is hum- 
 
u 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCclxXXvii 
 
 Med under a sense of its own evils : a principle which knows 
 and acknowledges the abundant evils ©f the happiest state on 
 earthy and is ikot blinded by the lunatic presumption of 
 escaping them through intemperate and insulting measures ; 
 a principle which ardently desires improvement, and to 
 which happiness is as dear as to any other, but which blend- 
 ing the meekness with the steadiness of wisdom, pursues them 
 in a lawful, peaceful, and persevering course, without dis- 
 content and without bitterness ; a principle, which flowing 
 from the same source as its sister principle of Christian love^ 
 suffers long, and is kind, and can be extinguished only by 
 such an established and ruinous system of falsehood, guilt, 
 and tyranny, as seldom indeed exists; such as led to the 
 revolution under the second James, but such as bears no 
 more relation to our present condition than the railings of 
 a demagogue to the sweet and balmy voice of Hope, and 
 Truth, and Peace. 
 
 If in these lines Mr. Gourlay, or any other man, should 
 find aught to offend him, I again distinctly and solemnly 
 declare, that every such idea is abhorrent to my feelings. I 
 write as a fellow-subject, kindly; as a member of a free 
 state, openly ; as a lover of order, most [seriously ; as a 
 subscriber to the press, on those generalizing principles 
 which disclaim every thing personal; and profess to have 
 no object in view but the public good. On these grounds, 
 I am ever ready to meet him, or any other man ; and from 
 these grounds 1 am aware of no power which could force 
 me, but that personal violence and insult which would 
 compel me, in self-preservation, and in a lawful manner, to 
 confute and resist the malice or falsehood which might madly 
 struggle to brand me. 
 
 a STUART. 
 
 Near Amherstburgk, 
 
 Western District, V. C. XOthJwie, 1819. 
 
cccclixxTiii general introduction. 
 NIAGARA SPECTATOR, July 8, 1819. 
 
 TO THB EDITOR OF THE NIAGARA SPECTATOR. 
 
 Niagara Jail, July 5, 1819. 
 
 I have read in your last newspaper the letter signed C. 
 Stuart; and thinking that an exposure of its delusions and 
 errors may tend to confirm and fortify the public mind, shall 
 now bestow upon it part of my idle time. 
 
 This Mr. Stuart, I have been told, was in the East India 
 service, and has of late been studying divinity. He was in 
 the lower part of the province when the Lieutenant- Go- 
 Ternor first arrived ; and, I conceive, at that time he might 
 be making interest for a church living : but in these matters. 
 Mr. Stuart can correct me, if mistaken or misinformed. • 
 
 Last summer he wrote a letter on the subject of ad- 
 dressing the Prince Regent, for the consideration of the 
 Convention. It was very well written ; and impressed me 
 with an opinion that he was a man df amiable dispositions. 
 We could make no use of Mr. Stuart's assistance for im- 
 proving the published Address to the Prince Regent, as our 
 plans had, by that time, been changed, on account of my 
 prosecution, and the violent opposition set on foot by peUed 
 members of Assembly i but I moved a yote of thanks to Mi. 
 Stuart, for the kindly good will he had shewn to the cause 
 of Inquiry. 
 
 Mr. Stuart says, I do not address myself to Mr. Robert 
 Gourlay." This, as a declaration of the fact, was totally 
 unnecessary, for the letter is unequivocally and substantially 
 addressed to you: but this declaration served to introduce 
 another, viz. that Mr. S. was not acquainted with me, per- 
 sonally,” which was not essential to his meaning nothing 
 personal.” It occurs that he was induced to make the two 
 first declarations, lest Sir P. Maitland (the grand object of 
 his adoration) should suspect, from seeing iu the printed 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCclxxxix 
 
 transactions of the Convention, that I had moved him thanks, 
 that we were personally intimate, a circumstance which 
 might tend to injure his views of favour. No doubt there 
 was some reason; and if Mr. Stuart can otherwise explain 
 why he threw in a declaration, of itself altogether useless, he 
 may do so. It is a case which justifies a surmise as to 
 motives, which should never be questioned w^ithout good 
 cause. Mr. S. desires not to penetrate into my motives;” 
 but I challenge the whole world to give even so much evidence 
 of my motives being mean, as the above, which leads me to 
 suspect those of Mr. Stuart. My motives have often been 
 so clearly stated, and as so chaste and great, that no honest 
 mind can pretend ignorance of them for an instant. 
 
 Mr. Stuart makes many liberal professions, but as con- 
 stantly renders them of no avail. He three or four times 
 protests against personality, and as often slides into reflections 
 and expressions as obviously directed against me, as if he 
 had made the charge direct. This is much worse than any 
 kind of personality. Summon me to trial by name, and let 
 facts be the ground work. If any thing about my person, 
 or connected with my history and writings, can substantiate 
 these facts, let all be told out. Set me up at once, and eye 
 me all over. If I am accused of theft or murder, look me hard 
 in the face to see if my countenance betokens guilt. Or 
 search my pockets for stolen goods and the bloody knife; 
 but be not so rude as to take the slightest liberty till there 
 is some fact to proceed upon, or palpable ground of sus- 
 picion. 
 
 In the midst of Mr. Stuart’s palaver (he will excuse me 
 for tlirowing myself within a circumflex, as he so often does to 
 apologize for a vulgar word) he admits that my conduct must 
 be tried between God and his (my) owm conscience ;’ yet 
 he surrounds the question with such hideous pictures, that it 
 is clearly his intention that these should seem reflected from 
 my image, so that men may think that my conscience 
 agregiously deceives me” — that with an applauding idea 
 
ccccxc 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of rectitude,” I am choke full of << malice and ungoverned 
 passion that I sacrifice and spurn the most dear and 
 sacred duties and affections.” Then again, ‘‘ all human 
 interpretations of it must be at the risk of that censorious- 
 ness and arrogance, under which our nature is so willing to 
 screen its own wrathful tempers, and scatter bitterness and 
 discord.” 
 
 Pray, what did Mr. S. undertake? Was it not to offer 
 some observations in reply to my Address of 20th May ? 
 Then what is all this preaching at me for ? The matter of 
 my address warrants no such preamble ; and when we come 
 to Mr. Stuart’s actual charges and criticism, we find them 
 altogether pithless and absurd. One would think that he 
 raises a mighty smoke to frighten me, before coming to the 
 real attack, conscious of his own weakness: but, Mr. 
 Editor, your readers are pretty well assured that mere powder 
 will not put me to the rout: so let us advance to the 
 charge. 
 
 Mr. Stuart first disputes my assertion, that we are this 
 moment slaves and he thinks my imprisonment no proof 
 of it; because I am in prison by regular course of law. I 
 won’t be driven in this way from my position. There is no 
 person whatever in this province who may not be imprisoned 
 as I have been, whenever two or three persons choose to 
 sacrifice truth and decency to malice and party spleen ; and 
 it is quite correct to call people slaves who are subject to 
 such treatment, whether in the course of law or not. The 
 Inquisition in Spain has the authority of law, but the people 
 subject to it may well be called slaves : nay, the slavery of 
 the poor negros in the West Indies, and Southern States 
 of America is countenanced by law. The shameful con- 
 sideration attending my imprisonment is, that it is notoriously 
 false and illegal ; for the law never was intended to be 
 applied as it now has been. In my case the law has been 
 most scandalously abused ; and this, in due time, I trust to 
 be able to shew, to the smart of those who have imprisoned 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ccccxci 
 
 me. So much being said, look back to Mr. Stuart’s second 
 paragraph. There, he first commiserates my situation, and 
 then pleads for the law as one without which no well con- 
 stituted society could exist,” This laWy like to which there 
 is nothing to be compared in any other country ! so being 
 satisfied that all is well, he coolly commits me ; as in such 
 circumstances he would wish to be committed” ! ! 
 
 My opinion has all along been made up, that the atrocity 
 of the proceedings against me, would in the abstract justify 
 any degree of violent opposition; and so strong was the 
 feeling among the country people, that I was called upon 
 by several, from various quarters, soon after my confinement, 
 who told me that if I inclined, the prison should be pulled 
 down to let me out, I said in reply, that I should shake 
 hands with those who entertained such generous sentiments ; 
 but on no account would wish to see them acted upon. 1 
 resigned myself to a most cruel fate, in defence of my own 
 honour, and with a hope that my case would be the best 
 proof of the necessity of what had so constantly been urged 
 by me, viz. of inquiry into the state of the province; and all 
 the language I have used, has been to keep the people steady 
 to that object. I hare called them slates, not to affront 
 them, but to urge them to the recovery of their freedom ; and 
 not merely for their own sakes, but that the province may 
 not continue to be scandalized with laws and measures which 
 must withhold from it respectable settlers. 
 
 Mr. Stuart is disgusted with my question, how is it that 
 Americans are free and Canadians slates and asks if this 
 is a voice to be sounded in Canadian ears ? To be sure it is. 
 Canadian ears should ring with it constantly, till the dis- 
 gusting truth is removed by the people here being made as 
 free as Americans ; — not restrained as to holding meetings, 
 and not subject to arbitrary imprisonment. Mr. Stuart 
 seems to think Canadians not yet ripe for freedom. I think 
 their loyalty so firmly fixed, that they may safely enjoy the 
 utmost measure of liberty. I think nothing can shake their 
 
 
ccccxcii general introduction. 
 
 loyalty, if not grossly insulted and abused by the ministers 
 of government. 
 
 Mr. Stuart asks if I would make the people here soldiers 
 of a Jackson— a military despot; but he will see from the 
 same paper which contains his letter, that before it was pe- 
 rused by me, I had declared myself as strongly as he had 
 against Jackson’s conduct; and I have steadily done so ever 
 since that unhappy affair was heard of, both here and in the 
 
 IStsitcs* 
 
 The question as to being “ introduced into a state of 
 society abhorrent to those manners on which many of the 
 proprieties and decencies of social life depend,” must be 
 further explained by Mr. S. before an answer can be given, 
 for, at present, it is incomprehensible. 
 
 As to ranking Monroe and Clinton above “ the pure and 
 elevated mind with which the gracious providence of God 
 has blessed us I did nothing of the kind. I compared the 
 speeches which we read in the newspapers of Monroe and 
 Clinton, with those of provincial governors ; and it is but too 
 notorious how infinitely superior the former are to the latter. 
 I drew the comparison, to rouse our Governors to think of 
 the difference, aud to make better speeches, both for their 
 own credit, and that of the people they govern. I have 
 since compared the conduct of Sir Peregrine Maitland and 
 General Jackson in the same way, without having any view 
 to contrast, or expose the individuals, but to shew how a 
 departure from first principles, which should never be lost 
 sight of, leads to error and to evil. 
 
 If Mr. Stuart would make believe that Providence has 
 more to do in the appointment of our Governors than those 
 of the United States, he sports an idea which deserves the 
 most severe reprobation. If there is a scene upon earth on 
 which the eye of Providence beams with peculiar love and 
 ‘ approbation, it must be that where a free people are as- 
 sembled together for the purpose of raising to honour him 
 whose individual merit has won their regard and confidence. 
 
GENEKAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXciil 
 
 If, again, there is a scene wherein the devil makes himself 
 particularly busy, 1 should think it lay within the purlieus of 
 a court when every selfish and filthy desire could be insti* 
 gated to the utmost, in making interest for the appointment 
 of a provincial governor. 
 
 Mr. Stuart would raise our ideas of Sir P. Maitland’s in- 
 dividual excellencies. He speaks of him as the pure and 
 elevated mind.” Pray, upon what does he rest this extrava- 
 gant compliment to a mere man? I myself entertained hope 
 of Sir P. Maitland being of a noble and generous disposition, 
 when I first heard of his being one of Wellington’s generals ; 
 and w’hen I understood he was son-in-law to the Duke of 
 Richmond, I most unhappily conceived that this duke was 
 the great man who once stood at the head of reform in 
 England. Under this impression, I recommended the Con- 
 vention to place confidence in Sir P. Maitland, which led 
 to all our misfortunes. About three weeks afterwards it was 
 reported, that the present Duke of Richmond was not the 
 man we had taken him to be ; but it was nearly two months 
 before I was assured of this, and knew all the truth. I heard 
 that this duke had never signalized himself as a lover of 
 freedom: — that he was very poor; and thence needed a 
 provincial Government to improve his fortune; — that Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland had run away with the Duke’s daughter 
 in France, and thus got himself elevated; that the Duke 
 of Wellington had interceded for him with his father-in-law, 
 so as to reconcile him to the clandestine marriage, and thus 
 Sir Peregrine was made pure. Let Mr. Stuart contradict 
 these facts if he can, and then establish our confidence in 
 
 the pure and elevated mind” upon proofs, not upon ful- 
 some compliments. When Sir Peregrine Maitland passed 
 through Kingston, I was abiding my trial at the assizes there, 
 and addressed a respectful note to him. I again wrote him 
 from New York, in the fullest confidence that after two 
 t honourable acquittals from charges of sedition, that he would 
 then consider me pure, and, at least, worthy of a civil reply. 
 
CCCCXciv GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I had uot returned to Upper Canada three days when the 
 Gazette announced the existence of sedition, and blasted the 
 purest hopes of good. At no moment could passion have 
 80 operated upon me, yet I resisted passion, and followed 
 the resolute and calm course of my duty. Both at Kingston 
 and onward to York, while I was pressing the people to 
 protest against the existence of sedition, I uniformly ad- 
 vised them to look to the Lieutenant-Governor only as an 
 ill-advised man, and still to treat him with respect. I 
 spoke publicly to many thousands, and not one can say they 
 heard a disrespectful word flow from my mouth towards the 
 Lieutenant-Governor. At York I found he had wilfully 
 offended against constitutional right — against “ enlightened 
 manners, and the beneficent influence of religion.” I found 
 that he was worshipped as an idol, and from that moment 
 considered it my duty to lessen such mischievous adoration. 
 
 No one but Mr. Stuart has explicitly avowed the principle 
 on which adoration should be paid to Sir P . Maitland. He 
 sets him up as a person especially placed over us by God. 
 He speaks of our llulers as those “ to whom God expressly 
 commands tlie tongue to use deference, respect, and 
 obedience.” Now, 1 do most earnestly intreat attention to 
 thb subject, for it is one upon which the clearest light 
 should be thrown: it is a subject which should be thoroughly 
 understood by every well wisher to good government. 
 
 God, no doubt, directs every event; but I deny tliat 
 Rulers have more his favour than the least creature in ex- 
 istence. As long as Rulers virtuously discharge their duties 
 to those whom they rule over, they deserve deference, respect, 
 and obedience ; but no longer. It was for many ages 
 insisted on by the kings of the earth, that they reigned over 
 the people by a divine right, and under this plea the world 
 was subjected to the grossest tyrannies. Soon after the 
 Bible became known to the people, by the art of printing, 
 they read in it that the first king was granted to the Israelites 
 on their own request, proceeding from their own filthy lusts, 
 which tempted them to prefer a king, as a ruler, instead of 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION* CCCCXCV 
 
 God himself, who had hitherto directed their affairs, through 
 the medium of judges; and who now granted th^ir 
 request, that therein they miglit be punished, ordering a 
 protest, however, to be first made to them, against their folly 
 and wickedness, in desiring a king. (1 Samuel, Chap, iii.) 
 
 The world groaned for thousands of years under the reign 
 of kings, who pretended, in direct contradiction of truth, that 
 they had the peculiar countenance of God, and were ap- 
 pointed for a blessing, not for a curse, as the Scripture most 
 explicitly declares. The truth at last being known, tlie 
 British nation first prevailed over this wicked assumption, 
 and they drove the Stuart family from the throne, because of 
 their continuing to act upon a right, which they, in their 
 pride and bigotry, would still insist was derived from God. 
 At the glorious Revolution many of the people of Britain 
 thought they could do without a king ; but as many others 
 W’ere prejudiced in favour of having one, they agreed to 
 elect a foreigner, viz. King William ; but they so bound him 
 down, as to possess no arbitrary power. They gave him 
 the right of declaring war, but they kept the purse in their 
 own hands, without which, the King could not procure a 
 sword, either to destroy his own subjects or others. Furtlier, 
 that he might, at all events, be blameless, they declared that 
 he could do no wrong; and that his servants were to be 
 liable to punishment for every error committed in his name. 
 By this contrivance it is, that we can render to the king the 
 most constant and perfect love : but as we respect him, it is 
 our duty to be watchful over his servants; and by the custom 
 of England, the people do take greater liberties in censuring 
 the conduct of the king’s ministers than they do, or would 
 be allowed to do, towards other men. A laxity of' this 
 practice in provinces has been one cause how Governors 
 have become so very licentious and overbearing ; and it is 
 only filtliy idolatry which would check an exercise so con- 
 stitutional and necessary. As to myself, I declare before 
 God, that I have never wantonly made light of Sir Peregrine 
 
CCCCXCVi GENEllAI. INTRODUCTION". 
 
 Maitland. 1 have done so on the strict ’’principle of duty> 
 and for the sole purpose of lessening the abominable 
 idolatry which is observed towards him, and which bereaves 
 men of all sense of propriety, shame, feeling, and honour. 
 
 1 do it at an expense of comfort to myself; for politeness 
 and courtesy are, for their own sakes, truly dear to me. 
 
 When Mr. Stuart would blind us (see page ccxxxiii) 
 * * * * Jesus Christ was under the law, and the lawyers laid 
 snares to inveigle him within its penalties ; but though he 
 would not deny the right of Caesar, they could take no hold 
 of his language towards the Governor of Caesar’s province. 
 After there was no fault found in him, Herod only mock- 
 ed him, and set him at nought;” Herod I who afterwards was 
 struck dead on his throne >hile the people extolled him as 
 a God! (Acts, chapter 12.) 
 
 When Paul preached at Ephesus, no doubt he made free 
 in putting to scorn the image of Diana, which the people 
 worshipped instead of the God of Truth. The people seem 
 to have been willing to hear him ; but the craftsmen who 
 prohted by upholding the image, drowned bis voice with in- 
 cessant clamour, and by hallooing out Great is Diana of the' 
 Ephesians ! great is Diana of the Ephesians 1” 
 
 Mr. Stuart does not know what I mean by saying that 
 ** a British subject no longer treads firm beneath the pro- 
 tecting privilege of habeas corpus"* O ! Idolatry ! Idolatry ! 
 to what wilful blindness canst thou reduce mankind ! 
 
 He knows of no impediment to prevent the people from 
 choosing a commission to carry home a petition to the foot of 
 the throne. Let him give us the plan, and we shall be satis- 
 fied. Would it do to assume the beautiful, the orderly, and 
 peaceable mode which I shall ever boast of having organized, 
 merely changing the w'ord Convention into Congress, and 
 Friends to Inquiry into Holy Alliance ? So soon as his 
 plan is shewm to be safe and efficient, I shall propose the re- 
 call of Sir Peregrine Maitland as the subject of our first 
 petition. 1 
 
GENKUAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXCVli 
 
 Mr. Stuart rants against conventions this summer, though 
 last summer he aided the convention; and though he then 
 gave a sketch for improving the petition to the Prince Re- 
 gent, he now says, “ I thus publicly declare that 1 see no 
 ground for any such Commission or Petition!” What ! Sir 
 Peregrine, have you really made him sure of a Church, or 
 
 anted him a well situated Reserve? 
 
 The only other controverted point, concerns my having said 
 that Simeoe’s offer of Townships was quashed Mr. Stuart 
 says ** on this point 1 can positively correct Mr. Gourlay.*’ 
 Now^ there is here such unblushing ignorance and presumption 
 as passes all comprehension. In many parts of the Province 
 there are people now alive who came as settlers upon Sim- 
 coe’s offer of Townships, but who had to put up with 1200 
 acres in lieu thereof, upon the offer being quashed. These 
 people, to this day, complain of the breach of faith, and others 
 who came well prepared to take advantage of the offer, re- 
 turned to the States in disgust. Mr. Stuart says, I could 
 have obtained a township, had it been in my power to have 
 brought out an adequate number of settlers. I have every 
 reason to believe this power still exists in the Secretary of 
 State’s office.” He means, no doubt, that the pow'er of 
 granting townships exists in the Secretary of State’s office ; 
 and I am quite willing to think so, on the authority of Priest 
 McDonald. What 1 w^ant is to see the powder taken^ out of 
 these offices at London and York ; to have it placed in pro- 
 per hands, and the land under proper regulations disposed of 
 for the national advantage, after the whole colonial policy 
 has been fully discussed by the Prince and Imperial Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 ' Did any body ever know of a Township being granted on 
 fair business principles ; or is any body so weak as to believe 
 that if the ministry w'ould hold out liberal terms at home for 
 the settlement of Canada,, that there are not capitalists in Eng- 
 land who would come out here and engage for whole Town- 
 ships? Pray^ why should British farmers be now purdias- 
 

 ccccxcviii genebai. introduction. 
 
 mg large tracts in the States, and be proceeding even so far inland 
 as'thelllinoia territory, with large bodies of people and abund- 
 ant capital, if their own government would deal liberally with 
 them ? Seventeen months ago, I offered, if government would 
 give me the management of the public lands of Upper Canada 
 for 30 years, that 1 would maintain, during that time, two regi- 
 ments for his Majesty, repair, and keep in repair, all the forts, and 
 for the last twenty years of the term, pay an annual rent to Bri- 
 tain of a hundred thousand pounds sterling. This offer I pub- 
 lished, to attract notice to the value of Canada, and, bating an 
 adequate sum for the mischief done by Sir Peregrine Mait- 
 laud, I should really still engage with it. This was called 
 “ my GKEAT OFFER,” and was reported all over the States 
 and Britain. I shall now gratify Mr. Stuart with an exhi- 
 bition of a lillle offer, which I actually made as an emigrating 
 British farmer soon after my arrival in the Province (see 
 letter to Sir John Sherbroke and reply, page 557, vol. 2d.) 
 
 Observe here the miserable decrepid system of proceeding 
 laid down in this letter of Col. Myers. What farmer of 
 capital would engage with separate lots of 100 acres, or be 
 dependent for an increase of bounds to the caprice of in- 
 specting officers “ from time to time ?” After this, I peti- 
 tioned at York, to know what quantity of land I should have, 
 in the event of my actually coming to settle in Canada. The 
 answer was, that “ a location would be made, in proportion 
 to the opinion then formed, of my means to become a useful 
 settler.” All this is childish in the extreme, or worse than 
 childish ; it shows a determination to avoid all liberal and re- 
 gular commercial proceeding. 
 
 The fact is simply this, the Executive neither wishes to 
 encourage farmers to come from home with capital, nor to 
 see enterprising men in this Province. They wish to see it 
 settled with poor ignorant people, who may quietly submit to 
 be domineered over by the arbitrary will of governors, priests, 
 and legislative councillors. Nor will the resident landown- 
 ers of Upper Canada ever break up the illiberal, narrow- 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. CCCCXcix 
 
 .minded and base system, which has so long held down the 
 value of their property, till they get the whole subject of 
 Canadian policy fairly and openly brought before the Impe* 
 rial parliament. How often, good God, how often should I 
 have to repeat this truth, and press this measure, so consti- 
 tutional, so safe, and effective ? Is it not the truest loyalty to , 
 put confidence in the Prince and Parliament at liome ? 
 
 Mr. Stuart asks, if I forget that Majesty commonly acts 
 through its ministers ; and seems to think it odd, that I should 
 revile those ministers who will thence indignantly reject us. 
 To be sure the ministers will : but my proposal, all along, 
 has been to get beyond the ministers ; to get into the royal 
 presence, and on the floor of the British parliament to prove 
 that the blame and reviling was just and necessary. The minis- 
 ters are great landholders in England, who have a direct selfish 
 interest against that of the landholders of Canada; but the 
 Prince has no such interest against this country. He would 
 glory, and have increased glory, in seeing it flourish. In the 
 British parliament too there are some noble independent 
 spirits, men who would have sense to see that the prosperity 
 of Canada is not incompatible with that of the parent state ; 
 that the selfishness of English landlords ought not to stand 
 in the way of national good ; and by their manly and liberal 
 discussions, they would interest the great mass of the people 
 in their favour. Reviling of ministers is a constitutional nglit 
 of Englishmen. It is a practice which all parties at home 
 allow to be essentially necessary to keep down the tyrannical 
 disposition which all men in power are prone to, and to keep 
 alive the watchfulness of the people. The late Mr. PiU 
 was, I believe, in private life, a most amiable man, and no- 
 body would have spoken harshly of him in that capacity ; but 
 as a minister he was reviled, grossly reviled, by as amiable 
 men as ever stepped. This kind of reviling does not proceed 
 in wrath from the heart, but from the understanding, as a 
 constitutional duty. 
 
 Mr. S. proceeds to lecture on patriotism, and says many 
 
 i i 2 
 
d 
 
 GENERAL. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 things whicli would sound well from a pulpit; but he for- 
 gets that neither the words patriotism nor loyalty are to bo 
 found in the sacred Scriptures, (at least so far as I can re- 
 iTiember) and that at present he has thrust himself forward 
 into political controversy. 
 
 His doctrine is passive obedience; and towards God, I 
 shall be as meek as himself. In politics I hold myself as 
 having to do with men ; and to guard against their tyrannical 
 dispositions, consider it to be my sacred duty, continually to 
 M^atch and resist, if required. The Scriptures inculcate cha- 
 rity, and tell us that it thinketh no evil but the Scrip- 
 tures also tell us, to ‘‘ be wise as serpents, and innocent as 
 doves.’’ This expression clearly indicates that mere inno- 
 cence is not enough, at least, here on earth. We must not 
 be uncharitable or suspicious ; but neither must we forget 
 that we are here surrounded with evil. To angels in hea- 
 ven, at least now that the devil is driven out of it, I think 
 * no caution would be necessary to be as wise as serpents. 
 Mr. Stuart works up his definition of patriotism, to suit his 
 doctrine of passive obedience, and gives it for a ground- work, 
 the Holy Scriptures, wherein it has neither root nor branch. 
 Tlie Holy Scriptures inculcate universal benevolence, which 
 is at variance with patriotism. Patriotism was a feeling as 
 strong before the Christian era as since ; perhaps stronger : 
 for I know not if any event in modern times, has given 
 proof of it equal to the conduct of the Spartans, who died 
 for their country, at Thermopylae ; but the drift of Mr. 
 Stuart, is to cement patriotism with loyalty, through the me- 
 dium of the Scriptures, and he thus deludes himself more 
 and more : I say, himself, for 1 cannot think his wretched 
 sophistry will impose upon any reflecting mind. Patriotism 
 has always been strongest in republics. Tlie Romans gave 
 strong proofs of patriotism before they became subject to 
 the emperors. After that, their patriotism dwindled down 
 into loyalty and passive obedience. 
 
GENERAL, INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cli 
 
 True British loyalty is far above passive obedience. It is 
 founded upon reason, and is not humbled under a sense of 
 its own evilSf* as Mr. Stuart would have the principle of 
 loyalty to be. To God it is humble; but not to man. Bri- 
 tish loyalty entertains unfeigned love to the King ; but it 
 does not regard the King only. It regards the whole body 
 and soul of the constitution ; and it acts most firmly when 
 it best understands the spirit of the constitution. The se- 
 cond James was so bigoted that he could not comprehend 
 this spirit. He would dictate, in defiance of Parliament, 
 from an idea that he had a divine right to the throne, and 
 that his subjects owed him passive obedience ; but his sub- 
 jects taught him a lesson which kings should never forget. 
 They taught him that they could drive him from the throne, 
 and place in it another, who should be passively obedient to 
 reason and the law's. 
 
 Mr. C. Stuart resembles, so strongly, the second James, 
 that I cannot help thinking him a lineal descendant* 
 
 It is truly worthy of remark, as characteristic of human 
 weakness, how this man, while he is preaching up what he 
 thinks Christian doctrine, is evidently frying with passions to 
 which the spirit of Christianity is most expressly opposed. 
 I ask the readers of the Spectator to study his letter over 
 and over again. They wdll more and more perceive, that 
 while he is bowing to, and flattering Sir P. Maitland, his 
 soul is bursting w'ith wTath and unchantableness tow'ards me 
 and my opinions. I say, bursting, because the passion 
 seems to be beyond his controul. He makes shew of the 
 cup of charity. He says, that he grieves for my situation, 
 and commiserates my sufferings : he pretends not to pene- 
 trate into my motives : he protests against personality ; while 
 unkindness, cold-hearted indifference, and accusations most 
 pointed, accusations distorted with misrepresentation, and 
 blackened w'ith the tints of a distempered imagination, burst 
 forth at every pore. I hope he will yet be conscious of the 
 evil spirit which moves within him; and, in the mean time, bid 
 3 
 
general introduction. 
 
 dil 
 
 him take back, in his concluding words, “ the malice and 
 falsehood which madly struggles to brand me.” 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 N. B. On looking over my papers, I have found copies 
 of two notes, addressed to Sir Peregrine Maitland, and the 
 Duke of Richmond, on their first arrival in the Province, 
 which may not be altogether unworthy of notice, to shew 
 how very little suspicious I was, at that time, of being re- 
 garded as a seditious person. 
 
 To Sir P. Maitland, SfC. SfC. Sfc. 
 
 Kingston^ Aug. 10th, 1818. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Laying, as I do at present, under a charge of libelling 
 the Government of this country, it would be unbecoming in 
 me, at present, to present myself before your Excellency ; 
 and, at any rate, it is little my disposition to be obtruding. 
 
 As, however, circumstances have brought my name into 
 notoriety, in connexion with the political concerns of the 
 province, I beg leave to say, that should your Excellency 
 have any desire to have an interview with me at a future 
 period, I shall be happy to have that honour, and shall be 
 most w illing to reply to any question which, after more than 
 a year’s research in the province, you may suppose me ca- 
 pable of answering to satisfaction. 
 
 Most anxiously desiring the welfare of Upper Canada, 
 and that a liberal policy may yet bind it more and more 
 close to the parent state, I shall sincerely rejoice if these 
 great objects can be effected, under the auspices of your 
 Excellency. And, with all due respect, I am. Sir, 
 
 Your Excellency’s most obedient Servant, 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 / 
 
general introduction. diii 
 
 To His Grace the Duke of Richmond, S^c. S^c. S^c. 
 
 Cornwall^ September ^dy 1818. 
 
 Mr. Gourlay passing through Cornwall, has heard that his 
 Excellency, the Governor in Chief, is to be here to-day: 
 Mr. G. embraces the opportunity of offering his sincere 
 congratulations, on the arrival in Upper Canada, of a per- 
 sonage who has before him the finest field in the world, of 
 improving human happiness, and extending in reality the 
 bounds of the British empire. 
 
 Mr. G. takes the liberty of presenting the Duke of Rich- 
 mond with four pamphlets, connected >vith the present poli- 
 tical state of the province, which his Grace may, on his 
 journey, perhaps, have time to peruse. 
 
 Note. — Four days after the above was published, I was shut 
 up a close prisoner, and not allowed to communicate with the 
 press. My friends, even magistrates, and counsel, were for some 
 time denied access to me, and, till the 20th August, when called 
 up for trial, I was not allowed to step across the threshold of my 
 cell. I was tried, and honourably acquitted, at Kingston, on the 
 15th August, five days after the date of the above letter to Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland. I was tried, and honourably acquitted, at 
 Brockville, on the 30th August ; and two days afterwards wrote 
 the above to the Duke of Richmond, on my way to New York, 
 where I was to determine, by letters wailing me there from Eng- 
 land, whether I could remain longer in America. My letters en- 
 couraged me to remain, and I addressed the following, 
 
 TO SIR PEREGRINE MAITLAND, K. C. B., &C. &C. 
 
 New York, September 18, 1818. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 You would receive from me, on your way through Kingston, a 
 note, intimating, that, laying, as I then did, under a criminal charge, 
 I could not with propriety present myself before your Excellency. 
 From that charge I was acquitted, as well as from another of the 
 same kind, at the Johnstown Assizes. 
 
 My detention in Canada, in consequence of these prosecutions, had 
 deranged all my plans, and I had to hurry off to this place to receive 
 
GENERAL. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 <liv 
 
 letters which had long lain for me ; to^ hare the latest intelligence 
 from my friends at home ; and to quiet their anxieties, by communi- 
 cating the issue of the unpleasant occurrences, which had broken 
 the chain of correspondence, and delayed my return to England. 
 
 Haring set at rest these prirate concerns, 1 return forthwith to 
 Canada, to support the public measures which I have there advised ; 
 and I hope that your Excellency will, in many things, see good 
 reason to countenance a full and fair inquiry on the subject: should 
 this be the case, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to renew 
 the Statistical inquiries which I began nearly a year ago ; and with 
 liberal patronage from your Excellency, such a work might, I trusty 
 be made generally useful. In completing it I should require no in- 
 formation which ought to be concealed ; and all that has come, or may 
 come, to me from the people of the province, should be open to your 
 perusal. No one ever started a project with better intentions, or had to 
 change his plan w ith greater chagrin. 
 
 As to the political controversy which has taken place, I have no wish 
 here to inBuence your Excellency in my favour. It is difficult to 
 contend with abominations without being defiled. Recent publica- 
 tions in the newspapers must have met your eye; and they are the 
 most loathsome. That your Excellency may have opportunity to 
 trace matters from the beginning, I shall take the liberty of order- 
 ing a collection of extracts from the Niagara Spectator, to be for- 
 warded to your Excellency. 
 
 Should the general impressions made upon your mind, generate 
 suspicions that I am unw'orthy of confidence, the mere acknowledg- 
 ment of the receipt of this letter, by one addressed to me, at Queens- 
 ton, will be sufficient. If otherwise, and you should incline to have 
 a conference on the subject, I shall willingly proceed to York, and 
 wait upon your Excellency. I am, with due respect. 
 
 Your Excellency’s obedient Servant, 
 
 ROBERT GOURLAY. 
 
 I arrived at Kingston, from the United States, on the 17th Oc- 
 tober, and on the 20th, the Upper Canada Gazette of the 15th 
 reached that place, containing the Lieutenant-Governor’s speech 
 at the opening of Parliament, on the 12th of October, with the 
 replies, from which extracts have been given above, page ccccvii. 
 
 Here then is the summing up; after two honourable acquittals^ 
 and after addressing myself to the Governor and Lieutenant-Go- 
 vernor, in the fullest confidence of at least being civilly treated, 
 my conduct called forth “ indignation” in the opening speech : 
 I was designated “ a factious individual” by the Assembly ; and 
 finally, without the slightest proof of guilt, imprisoned and ba- 
 nished ! ! ! 
 
INDEX. 
 
 
 A. 
 
 Abolition of slavery, provincial statute for gradually effect- 
 ing this, i. 240. 
 
 Acts of the British Parliament, relative to the naturalization 
 of foreign settlers in the American Colonies, ii. 429, 434. 
 
 Adam, Mr. his opinion on Mr, Gourlay’s case, Gen. Int. cccxix. 
 Remarks on it, ceexx. 
 
 Address, draught of a proposed, to the Prince Regent, sub- 
 mitted to the people of Upper Canada by Mr. Gourlay, i. 
 571. Of the inhabitants of York to Governor Gore, on his 
 departure for England, ii. 440. Of the Legislative Council 
 and Assembly to the Prince Regent, 442. 
 
 Advantages which the Scotch labourer possesses over the English, 
 and causes of this, Gen, Int, civ. cv. 
 
 Adolphus Town, i. 131. Township report of, 485. 
 
 Affidavits as to Mr. Gourlay being a British subject, Gen, Int. 
 xli. xlii. 
 
 Agriculture and commerce inseparably connected, i. 224. 
 
 Agricultural distress, the present, more severely felt in England 
 than in Scotland, Gen, Int. civ. Reason of this, ibid. 
 
 Aldborough, township report of, i. 349. 
 
 Allegiance, distinction between natural and heal, ii. 528. This 
 point ought to be settled by an express law, 538. 
 
 Ameliasburgh, township of, i. 131. 
 
 America, circumstances favourable to the increase of population 
 in, Gen, Int, xeix. note, 
 
 / American prisoners massacred by the Indians, i. 49. 
 
 Americans who adhered to the royal cause in the revolution- 
 
 A2 
 
4 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ary war, emigrate to Canada, i. 10. Lands granted to them 
 by the British government, 11. Distinguished as U. E, 
 loyalists, and lands bestowed on their children, on attaining 
 the age of 21 years, 13. 
 
 Americans from the United States, impolicy of preventing their 
 emigration to Canada, ii. 416. Further remarks on this sub- 
 ject, 421—482. 
 
 Amherstburgh, the safest and most commodious harbour in that 
 part of the province, i. 46. The rallying point for the 
 British forces in the early part of tlie war, 47. Abandoned 
 by General Proctor, ibid. Restored to the English govern- 
 ment at the peace, and re-established as a military post, ibid. 
 
 Amherst island, township of, i. 130. Township report of, 482. 
 
 Ancaster, township report of, i. 388. 
 
 Animals of the forest, i. 157. 
 
 Anstruther, Mr. ii. 26, 28. 
 
 Antelope, i. 164. 
 
 Appendix to Sketches of Upper Canada, i. 257. 
 
 I ■ ■ to the second volume. No. I. British statutes regarding 
 
 Canada, iii. No. II. Resolutions, Addresses, &c. of the 
 Assembly and Legislative Council, and the Minutes of a 
 By-stander during the last session of Parliament, (1818), 
 with the Civil List and Church of Upper Canada, 1. No. III. 
 Extracts from the Niagara Spectator, on various subjects, ci. 
 
 Apples, the principal fruit of Upper Canada, i. 153. 
 
 Apprenticeship, the British statute on this subject not in force in 
 Upper Canada, i. 236, 237, and note. 
 
 Ardent spirits, free, use of, formerly, in the province, i. 251. Less 
 ^ frequent now, 262. 
 
 Argenteuil, seigniory of, i. 602. 
 
 Army bills, as a medium of circulation, adopted during the war, 
 i. 228. 
 
 Assembly of Upper Canada, vote for inquiry into the state of the 
 province, Gen, Int, vii. Prorogued in consequence of a 
 dispute with the Legislative Council, ibid. Again summoned 
 to meet, xi. Carry an approval of the Lieut.-Governor’s de- 
 claration of his intention to withhold the royal grant of land 
 from those persons who had been members '?f the convention, 
 

 5 
 
 by a single vote, xii. Declare IVIr. Gourlay‘s address libel- 
 lous, and solicit the Lieut.-Governor to order prosecutions^ 
 ibid. Character of its members, Ixiv, Ixvi. Resolve that 
 General de Rotteuburgh’s proclamation of martial law was 
 unconstitutional, i. 16. Constituted by the act of 31 Geo. 
 III. 190. Number of its members, 192, Their qualifica- 
 tions, 196. Its duration, 200. Speaker elected by the 
 members, and approved by the Governor, 201. Its rights 
 and powers, in general, analogous to those of the British 
 House of Commons, ibid. Debate and resolutions on the 
 claim of the Legislative Council to alter money bills, ii. 
 570. 
 
 Assessment, form of, ii. 355. 
 
 Attorney-General, the, ii. 74. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baker, Mr. ii. 21. 
 
 Bank, one established at Kingston, and two at Montreal, i. 227, 
 note. 
 
 Bankrupt law, none in the province, i. 239. 
 
 Barclay, Commodore, defeated and taken prisoner by Commodore 
 Perry, i. 53. His gratitude for the kindness with which he 
 was treated, 54. 
 
 Barnard, Mr. ii. 104. 
 
 Barristers in Upper Canada allowed to have four apprentices or 
 clerks each, i. 235. 
 
 Barton, township report of, i. 394. 
 
 Bass, a lake fish, three species of it, i. 179^ 
 
 Bastard, township report of, i. 518. 
 
 Battle near the Moravian towns, i. 42* 
 
 - - in the Long Woods, i. 44. 
 
 at Maguaga, i. 46. 
 
 — of Chippawa, i. 62. 
 
 of Lundy’s lane, i. 73* 
 
 of Chrysler’s field, i. 125# 
 
 Bayham, township report of, i. 338. 
 
6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bear, the Canadian, larger than the European, i. 161. 
 
 Beasts, ordinary time of turning them out to pasture, and of 
 taking them home, i. 278, 282, 287, 292, 308, 310, 359, 
 366, 408, 410, 413, 418, 445, 468, 474, 499, 505, 519, 
 561,621. 
 
 Beaver, the, caught in great numbers in the wilderness, i. 165. 
 
 Bees, both wild and domestic, found in Upper Canada, i. 188. 
 
 Bennam, Bet, a poor woman of Wily, Wiltshire, statement of her 
 case, exemplifying the tyranny of the poor laws, Gen. Int, 
 cxvi. 
 
 Bennet, Mr. Gen. Int, cclxii, 
 
 Bertie, township report of, i. 409. 
 
 Beverly, township report of, i. 371. 
 
 Bill fish, the tyrant of the lakes, i. 181. 
 
 Bills, on certain subjects, passed in the Provincial Parliament, re- 
 quired to be reserved, and laid before the British Parliament, 
 previously to receiving the royal assent, i. 202. 
 
 Bills of the Bank of England seldom seen in the province, i. 
 228. Those of the United States not in common circula- 
 tion, ibid. 
 
 Birch, Mr. Gen, Int, cclvii. cclxvii. 
 
 Birds, a general list of the Canadian, i. 171, Most of them resort 
 to warmer climates in the autumn, and return in the spring, 
 
 175. 
 
 Birkbeck, Mr. defended against the abuse and misrepresentations 
 of various persons, Gen, Int, ccxiii. note, ccclxii. 
 
 Bison, a very large animal of the cow kind, i. 157; 
 
 Black lead found on the shores of the Gananoqui lake, and in other 
 places, i. 150. 
 
 Black Rock, an American military station, taken and burnt by 
 General Riall, i. 60. Ferry at, sublime prospect from, 61. 
 
 Blake, Mr. Gen, Int, cccxcvi. 
 
 Blenheim, and first concession of Burford, township report of, i. 
 
 310. 
 
 Board of examiners appointed by a provincial statute, for licens- 
 ing medical practitioners, i. 235. Act repealed from a want 
 of competent examiners, 236. A new licensing board since 
 established, ibid. 
 
INBEX, 7 
 
 Boeraler, Col. surrenders to an inferior British and Indian force, 
 under a false impression of their numbers, i. 84. 
 
 Boundaries of Upper Canada, i, 17, 
 
 Bourne, Mr. Gen. Int, cclv. cclxv, 
 
 Boyd, Gen. defeated by the British under Colonel Morrison, i. 1^5. 
 
 Brant, Capt. the Indian Chief, wantonly attacked in Dr, Strachan*s 
 Visit to Upper Canada, Gen. Int, cciv, note. Injustice done 
 to him by Mr. Campbell in his poem of Gertrude of Wyom- 
 ing, ccv. note. 
 
 Bricks smaller in Canada than in England, i. 271. 
 
 Bricks, price of, i. 277, 281, 286, 292, 333, 467, 504, 512, 560. 
 
 Bridgewater Mills burnt by the American troops, i. 65. A burn- 
 ing spring on the site of one of them, ibid. 
 
 British Alien Act, Gen. Int, Ixx. Difference between it and the 
 Canadian Sedition Act, Ixxii. 
 
 British impost duties, collected at Quebec, i. 218. Appropriated 
 to his Majesty’s use, ibid. 
 
 British naval force on Lake Erie captured by the American squa- 
 dron under Commodore Perry, i. 53. 
 
 Brock, Major-Gen. Sir Isaac, president of Upper Canada, i. 15. 
 Pursues Gen. Hull to Detroit, and forces him to surrender 
 that place and the whole of the Michigan territory, 45. Killed 
 ' at the battle of Queenston, 78. Statutes passed during his 
 administration, ii. 251 — 254. 
 
 Brockville, i. 126. Account of, 509. 
 
 Brougham, Mr. Gen. Int. cclxiv. cclxvi. 
 
 Brown, Gen. takes Fort Erie, i. 56. Makes a sortie at the head 
 of 2000 men, and destroys the British batteries and entrench- 
 ments, 58. Dismantles the fortifications after the retreat of 
 Gen. Drummond, ib. Wounded at the battle of Lundy s 
 Lane, 74. Commands the American troops at Sacket s Har- 
 bour, 105. Defeats the attempt of the British on Ogdens- 
 burgh, 112. 
 
 Browne, Mr. D. Gen. Int. cclviii. 
 
 Brownstown, a detachment of American militia defeated ther ) 
 a party of Indians in the British service, i. 48. 
 
 Buckingham, township of, i. 606. 
 
8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Buffalo, village of, state of New York, taken and burnt by Gen. 
 
 • Riall, i. 59. Speedily rebuilt, ibid. 
 
 , an animal more common than the bison, i. 168. 
 
 Building, style of, less elegant in Upper Canada than in the United 
 States, i. 251. 
 
 Building stones, quality and cost of, i. 276, 281, 286, 303, 312, 
 315, 320, 322, 326, 333, 341, 358, 366, 368, 370, 372, 
 382, 389, 394, 398, 407, 410, 418, 422, 427, 442, 449, 
 473, 483, 486, 498, 504, 512, 518, 560. 
 
 Burdett, Sir F. refuses to present the petition of the inhabitants of 
 Wily on the subject of the Poor-laws, Gen. Int. cxlvii. 
 
 Burford, township report of, i. 311. 
 
 Burlington Bay and the surrounding country, a very romantic 
 situation, i. 88. 
 
 Heights fortified during the war, i. 88. 
 
 Burke, Mr. his speeches during the debate on the Constituting Act 
 of Upper Canada, ii. 16, 22, 23,24, 25, 27, 31,32, 39, 56, 
 67, 73, 88, 100. Remarks on his character, 293, mte, Ob- 
 ' eervations on his speeches on the Quebec Bill, 306—309. 
 
 Butter and Cheese, price of, i. 279, 282, 287, 293, 328, 334, 
 348, 398, 468, 506, 512, 519, 562. 
 
 c. 
 
 Caistor, township report of, i, 452. 
 
 Calcraft, Mr. Gen. Ini. cclv. cclviii. cclxx. 
 
 Camden, township of, i. 130. Township report of, 291. 
 
 Canada discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1534, i. 2. Colonized 
 
 by Champlain in 1608, 3. Surrendered to England in 1629, 
 arid restored in 1632, ibid. Conquered by the English, 8. 
 Limits and form of government prescribed by a royal pro- 
 clamation, ibid. Limits extended, 9. Divided into Upper 
 and Lower, 14. 
 
 , Upper, settled by American loyalists, and a few British . 
 and German soldiers, i. 10, 11, 12. Divided into four dis- 
 ^ tncts, 116. Their names altered, ibid. Again divided into 
 eight, and subsequently into ten districts, ibid, and 121, note. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 9 
 
 Sketch of the progress and present state of the settlements, 
 124. Population, 139. Climate, &c. 140. Water, 345. 
 Soil, stones, minerals^ &c. 147. Productions, nalurll and 
 cultivated, 150. One continued forest previously to 1784, 
 ibid. Fruit-trees, 153. Medicinal roots, ibid. Grasses, 154, 
 Various kinds of grain, ibid. Vegetables and roots, 156. 
 Noxious weeds, ibid. Animals of the forest, 157. Domes- 
 tic animals, 169. Birds, 171. Fishes, 175. Amphibious 
 animals, reptiles, and insects, 183. Constitution, 189. Pro- 
 vincial Parliament, 190. Executive Government, 204. Ju- 
 diciary, 205. Money, 215. Revenue and taxes, 217. Com- 
 merce, 224. Militia, 229. Religion and ecclesiastic institu- 
 tions, 231. Profession and practice of law, 234. Physic 
 and surgery, 235. Trades and apprenticeships, 236. Im- 
 prisonment for debt, &c. 238. Gradual abolition of slavery, 
 240. Price of land, and encouragement to settlers, 241. 
 State of learning, 244. Character, manners, and customs of 
 the inhabitants, 247. Township reports of, 269. Its in- 
 finite advantages over every other British colony, as to emi- 
 gration, 548. 
 
 Canada, Lower, account of, i.584. How divided, ibid. Seignio- 
 ries, ibid. Townships, 604. 
 
 Canadians, when enlightened, will be free, ii. 301. 
 
 Canadian School Act, i. 245: ii. 277—283. Its excellence, 376, 
 385. 
 
 Sedition Act, Gen, Int, xix. Analysis of its provi- 
 sions, Ixvii. Remarks on its wickedness and deceit, Ixxiv. 
 Ixxv. Ixxx. Care with which it protects its executors, Ixxix. 
 Ease with which it might be eluded, Ixxxii. ii. 452, 453. 
 
 —porcupine, i. 166. 
 
 ———hare, i. 168. 
 
 hogs, of good size and quality, i. 171. 
 
 — robin, i. 173. 
 
 cuckoo, i. 174. 
 
 dog-fish, i. 180. 
 
 Canal, intended, between Kingston and Montreal, i. 257. The 
 idea abandoned, 551. 
 
 Canborough, township report of, i. 452. 
 
10 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cape of- Good Hope, emigration to, unfortunate results of it, i. 
 543. Two letters on this subject, 544, 545. Contrast in the 
 sentiments of the writers, and those of the settlers in Upper 
 Canada, 546. 
 
 Cape Vincent, or Gravelly Point, stores and buildings at, burnt 
 during the war, i. 106. 
 
 Carlton Island evacuated by the British, in consequence of the 
 treaty of 1794, i. 
 
 Carp, two species of, in Lake Superior, i. 180, 
 
 Carriages, very few in Upper Canada, i. 250. 
 
 Cartier, Jacques, discovers Canada, i. 2. Explores a part of the 
 River St. Lawrence, 3. 
 
 Cat-fish, i. 179. 
 
 Catamount, or tiger cat, i. 162. 
 
 Catholic religion legalized in Canada, !• 9. 
 
 Champlain forms the first French settlement at Quebec, i. 3. 
 
 Chancery, court of, not yet established in Upper Canada, i. 206. 
 
 Charlottenburg, i. 125. Township report of, 559. 
 
 Charlotteville, township report of, i. 323. 
 
 Chatham, (L. C.) township of, i. 604. 
 
 , (U. C.) township report of, i. 291. 
 
 Chauncey, Commodore, makes a successful attack, in conjunction 
 with Gen. Dearborn, on Fort George, i. 81. And on York, 
 89. Takes York a second time, and bums the barracks and 
 public storehouses, 93. Chases the Royal George into King- 
 ston Harbour, 98. 
 
 Cheapness and simplicity the desideratum for perfect government, 
 Gen. Int, Ixv. 
 
 Chereverreeing, a singular custom in Upper Canada, i. 254. A 
 similar custom in some parts of England, 256, note. 
 
 Chrysler’s Field, battle of, i. 125. 
 
 Church of Upper and Lower Canada, ii. xcvii. 
 
 Churches or meeting-houses, and professional preachers, number 
 of,i. 275,281,285,294, 303, 314, 328,332, 338, 366, 37U 
 382, 385, 389, 397, 409, 412, 417, 422, 467, 471, 482, 486,. 
 488, 490, 494, 498, 503, 510, 559. 
 
 Circulating specie of Upper Canada mostly gold, i* 228. 
 
 Civil list of Upper Canada (1818), ii. Ixxxix. 
 
 3 
 
index. 
 
 11 
 
 Claus, Hon. William, legislative councillor, Gen. Ini. xxvi. kxiii, 
 and ii. 487. 
 
 Clay of various kinds found in the province, i. 149. 
 
 Clark, Hon. Thomas, legislative councillor, ii. 468, 470, 504, 
 508, 574. His address to the public against Mr. Gourlay, 588! 
 
 Clearing and fencing wood land, cost of, i. 277, 282, 287, 292, 
 310, 319, 326, 326, 359, 386, 413, 418, 423, 447, 453, 
 467, 474, 486, 499, 504, 518, 561. 
 
 Clergy of Upper Canada, of the Church of England, one-seventh 
 of all lands reserved for their support, i. 232. Six in Upper 
 Canada, ibid. Their salaries, 233. 
 
 Clergy Reserves, i. 231. Leased by government, 232. Impo- 
 licy of them, 555—558, &c. 
 
 Climate, &c. of Upper Canada, i, 140. Favourable to health and 
 longevity, 144, and rvote. 
 
 Cobbett, Mr. visited by Mr. Gourlay at New York, Gen, Int. 
 ccxii. Occasion of this visit, ccxiv. Remarks on his charac- 
 ter and writings, ccxviii. ccxxix— ccxxxii. Censure of his 
 attack on Mr. Birkbeck, ccxxxiv— ccxxxviii. His proposal 
 for “ blowing up,” the paper-money system ridiculed, ccxxxix. 
 Further remarks on his writings, ccxl. His “ Parliament,” 
 ccxlviii. 
 
 Cochrane, Lord, declines presenting the petition from the parish 
 of Wily, Gen, Int, cxlvii. 
 
 Coins, current in the province, their value, i. 215. 
 
 Cold, less severe in Upper Canada than in corresponding districts 
 of the United States, i. 143. 
 
 College, none in the province, i. 244. Any effort to found one at 
 present would be abortive, ii. 388. 
 
 Commerce of the Province, i. 224. 
 
 Commissions of Assize and Nisi Prius annually issued, i. 206. 
 
 Common Schools, an act passed for the establishment and en- 
 couragement of, i. 258. Its provisions, ibid. 
 
 Commons, the ancient, in England, of great importance in pro- 
 moting the independence of the poor, Gen, Int. clxxi. 
 
 Concessions and lots, how formed, i. 122. 
 
 Conditions of settlement, i. 241. 
 
 Constituting Act, a legislative charter, i. 189. 
 
Constitution of Upper Canada derived from acts of the British’ 
 Parliament, i. 189. Debated and settled in the House of 
 Commons, ii. 1 — 109. 
 
 Contracts for personal service limited to a period of nine years, 
 i. 240. 
 
 Convention of Upper Canada, its numbers, ii. 576. Its pro- 
 ceedings, 579. 
 
 Corn, this vrord in Upper Canada always means Indian corn or 
 maize, i. 295, note. 
 
 Corn Bill, observations on, Gen. Ini. cxlvii. cl. cli. 
 
 Cornwall, a flourishing town, i. 124. 
 
 Cotter rigs, a kind of tenure in Scotland formerly, explained, Gen^ 
 Int. civ. 
 
 Counties, Upper Canada divided into nineteen, and subsequently 
 into twenty-three, i. 116. Their importance almost annihi- 
 lated by the formation of districts, 121. 
 
 Court of Appeals, its powers, i. 206. 
 
 of Probate, i. 208. 
 
 Couits of Requests, i. 207. Their jurisdiction extended, 267. 
 
 Courtenay, Mr, Gen. Int. cclxii. 
 
 Cow, price of a good one, i. 277, 282, 287, 292, 468, 499, 505, 
 561. 
 
 - system cannot be generally introduced, Gen. Int. clxi. 
 
 Cradling, meaning of the word, i. 273. 
 
 Cramahe, township of, i. 132. 
 
 Croghan, Major, successfully defends Fort Sandusky against the 
 British army under General Proctor, i. 50. 
 
 Cropping, ordinary course of, on new lands, and afterwards, i. 
 279, 282, 287, 303, 309, 310, 312, 316, 319, 321, 323, 326, 
 328, 330, 334, 339, 341, 343, 345, 348, 350, 359, 366, 370,. 
 372, 386, 390, 395, 398, 408, 410,414, 419, 423, 427, 442, 
 449, 453, 474, 483, 485, 487, 488, 491, 506, 562. 
 
 Crosby, South, township report of, i. 518. 
 
 Crowland, township report of, i. 446. 
 
 Currency of Halifax and the two Canadas, the same, i. 216. 
 
 of the state of New York in general use through tha 
 
 southern and western parts of the province, i. 217. 
 
 Curtcis, Mr. Gen, Int, cclxiv. cclxx. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 13 
 
 D. 
 
 Dace, the, larger in the lakes than in the brooks, i. 180. 
 
 Dames, large, not frequent in the province, i. 170. 
 
 Dairy produce, quantity and quality of, i. 278, 308, 310, 312, 
 321, 323, 334, 339, 343, 345, 348, 349, 366, 368, 398, 410, 
 413, 419, 423, 427,474, 478, 483, 505, 562. 
 
 Damages sustained by the Canadians during the war, ii. 405. 
 Shameful neglect of compensation for these, ibid. Address 
 to the Legislative Council and Assembly on the subject, 407. 
 The Lieut.-Governor’s answer, 408. Remarks, 409. 
 
 Dancing, a favourite amusement, i. 250. 
 
 Date of the first settlement of each township, i. 275, 281, 285, 291, 
 332, 347, 349, 375, 385, 412, 417, 455, 467, 471, 490, 494, 
 498, 503, 509, 512, 513, 516, 520, 559, 580. 
 
 Dearborn, General, assisted by Commodore Chauncey, takes Fort 
 George, i. 81. And York, 89. His kind treatment of the 
 inhabitants acknowledged by Chief Justice Scott, 92. 
 
 Debtor’s land liable to execution, if his personal estate be insuffi- 
 cient, i. 239. 
 
 Declaration of several farmers of Brigg, in Lincolnshire, on the 
 advantage of allowing land to the poor for the keep of a cow, 
 Gen. Int cxii. 
 
 Deer, the forests of Upper Canada abound with them, i. 163. 
 
 Delaware, township report of, i. 302. 
 
 Deputies chosen by the people of Upper Canada, meet in Conven- 
 tion at York, Gen. Int, viii. Advised by Mr. Gourlay to 
 refer their cause to the Lieutenant-Governor and Assembly, 
 ibid. Order an address to be sent home to the Prince Regent, 
 xi. The royal grant of land withheld from them by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, ibid. 
 
 De Roltenburg, Major-General Francis, president of Upper Ca- 
 nada, i. 15. Issues a proclamation, declaring the province 
 under martial law, ibid. 
 
 Detroit, evacuated by the EngUsh after the treaty of 1794, i. 24. 
 
14 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Surrendered to General Brock, 46. Retaken by the Ameri- 
 cans, ibid. 
 
 Dickson, Hon. W« legislative councillor, Gen. InL xxvi. Ixviii. 
 Ixxii. ccxv. note. The first prompter to Mr. Gourlay’s pro- 
 secution, 577. His character, ii. 297, 492. Anecdotes of 
 him, 317, 467, 468, 470, 484, 487, 494, 573, 574, cv. 
 note. 
 
 “ Directions (a few plain) to Settlers in Upper Canada,” account 
 of, Gen. Ini. cccviii. 
 
 Dispute between the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, 
 on altering money bills, ii. 567. Resolutions proposed by 
 Mr. Dickson on the subject, ibid. 
 
 Dissenters of all denominations tolerated and protected by law, 
 i. 233. Those called Calvinists exercise the power of mar- 
 riage, ibid. The most numerous are the Methodists, ibid. 
 Distresses in Ireland, debate on, Gen. Int. cccxci. 
 
 Districts, how many Upper Canada is divided into, i. 116, and 
 121, note. Have almost annihilated the importance of coun- 
 ties, 121. 
 
 District, the Eastern, i. 116. 
 
 of Johnstown, i. 117. Meeting of representatives, ii. 
 
 626. 
 
 , the Midland, i. 118. 
 
 of Newcastle, i. 118. 
 
 , the Home, i. 119. 
 
 •■■■*> of Niagara, i. 119. How first settled, 135, Meeting 
 of representatives, ii. 609. 
 
 of London, i. 120. How first settled, 135. 
 
 — — ,the Western, i. 120. Meeting of representatives, ii. 
 621. 
 
 of Gore, i. 121, note. Formed from the Niagara and 
 
 Home Districts, 257. Meeting of representatives, ii. 623. 
 
 of Ottawa, i. 121. note. Composed of the northern part 
 
 of the Eastern District, 257. 
 
 — — ' courts, L 207. 
 
 judges, their powers, i. 207. 
 
 taxes, i. 222. 
 
lNDJi;x, 
 
 15 
 
 D,..ri.. „b««b i. If 
 
 good, n. 387. Plan for their improvement, ibid. 
 Dorchester, township report of, i. 302 . 
 
 Dover, village of, burnt by a party of American militia, without 
 orders from their government, i. 52 . 
 
 Last and West, township report of, i, 291, 
 
 Drummond, Lieutenant-General Sir G. president* of Upper Ca- 
 nada, I. IS. Revokes General De Rottenburg’s proclama- 
 tion of martial law, ibid. Appointed administrator of the 
 two provinces, 16. Besieges Fort Erie, 56. Attempts, un- 
 successfully, to carry it by assault, ibid. Relinquishes the 
 siege, 58. Wounded at the battle of Lundy’s Lane, 74 
 Burns the barracks at Fort Oswego, 102. Sututes passed* 
 during his administration, ii. 259 266. 
 
 Dudley, Colonel, defeated and killed in an attempt to relieve Ge- 
 neral Harrison, i. 50. 
 
 Dumfries, township report of, i. 383. 
 
 Duncombe, Mr, ii. 106. 
 
 Dundas, Mr. ii. 104, 106. 
 
 Dunwich, township report of, i. 346. 
 
 Durand, Mr. ii. 631. Ordered by the House of Assembly to be 
 committed to York gaol, for a libel, 644. Extract from his 
 publication, 647. Expelled from the House, 657. Re- 
 elected by his constituents, 658. His subsequent history 
 061, 662. 
 
 Duties, British import, collected at Quebec, i. 218. 
 
 , collected by Lower Canada on goods consumed in Upner 
 Canada, i. 218. * ^ 
 
 - collected in Upper Canada on goods imported from the 
 United States, i. 219. 
 
 Dwelling-houses, plan for, and cost of erecting suitable ones for 
 ^ poor families, Gen, Int. clx. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eardley, township of, i, 608. 
 Eastern District, i, lie. 
 
10 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Education formerly neglected in Upper Canada, and why, i. 245. 
 Indications of a favourable change, 246. Plan for an 
 improvement in the present system, ii. 317. 
 
 of the poor, Gen. Int. cxxi. Petition to the Lords on 
 
 this subject, from the parish of Wily, cxxix. Observations 
 on Mr. Brougham’s bill, cxxxiv. &c. Striking efifecU of edu- 
 cation on the character of the Scotch, clxvi. 
 
 Eel pout, a singularly shaped fish, i. 179. 
 
 Elections, mode of proceeding at, i. 199. 
 
 contested, how decided, i. 199. 
 
 Electors of members of the House of Assembly, their qualifica- 
 lions, and disqualifications, i. 192. 
 
 Elizabeth Town, i. 126. Township Report of, 507. 
 
 Elk, the largest animal of the deer kind, i. 158. 
 
 Emigrant’s Guide to the British SetUements in Upper Canada, 
 account of, ccciv. 
 
 Emigrants from Great Britain, the neglect which they experience 
 'from the land-granting department at York, ii. 418. Instance 
 of this in the treatment of Mr. Gourlay’s brother, 419. 
 
 Encouragement to settlers, i. 241. By Government, 528. 
 
 Episcopal church supported by Government, i. 231. One-seventh 
 of all lands granted, reserved for its maintenance, ibid. 
 
 Equipages, no splendid ones in Upper Canada, i. 250. 
 
 Ermine, or white weasel, i. 168. 
 
 Ernest Town, harbour of, i. 96. Township of, 129. Academy 
 there, 246. Destroyed during the war, and not since 
 . revived, ibid. note. Township report of, i. 482. 
 
 Executive Council, appointed by the crown, to advise the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, i. 205. 
 
 Executive government of Upper Canada, i. 204* 
 
 Exhorters, or teachers, although laymen, not admitted to a seat tn 
 the House of Assembly, i. 197. 
 
 Exports from the province, i. 225. 
 
 Extracts from Forster’s Crown Law, on the subject of allegiance, 
 Gen. InL xxxix, 
 
 from Wakefield’s Statistical Account of Ireland, Gen. InL 
 
 Ixxxix. note. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 17 
 
 Extracts from the “ Agricultural State of the Kingdom." 
 int. xcia ffote. 
 
 — f«,m the Upper Canada Gazette, detailing the close of 
 the sesston. I82i, mcluding act, of the Prov.nc.al Parlia- 
 ment, regulating the commercial intercourse between the 
 province and the United States, making provision for the 
 improvement of internal navigation, and constituting several 
 new townships ; regulations of the Assembly as to the duties 
 on imports ; addresses to Uie Lieutenant-governor, &c. ii. 681 
 — 704, 
 
 F. 
 
 Falls of Niagara, description of, i, 64 — 73. 
 
 Farmers in Upper Canada keep too many horses in proportion to 
 their oxen, i. 170. 
 
 Farmers of England, dreadful situation of, at the present period. 
 Gen, Int. ccclii. 
 
 Farm-house, melancholy picture of one, on the road from York 
 to Kingston, i. 462. 
 
 Fees of office, on granting lots to settlers, i. 241. Gen. Int. 
 cclxxxviii. 
 
 First Report of the Select Cormmlttee of the House of Assembly, 
 on the internal resources of the province, ii. 666— &80. 
 
 Fisher, or black Fox, i* 165. 
 
 Fishes, the Canadian, i. 175. 
 
 Fishing, a common amusement, i. 251. 
 
 Fitz-Gibbon, Lieut, commanding a small party of regulars and 
 Indians, captures a superior force of Americans, by deceiv- 
 ing them as to his numbers, i. 84. 
 
 Flamborough, East, township report of, i. 369. 
 
 > West, township report of, i. 371. 
 
 Flax, the soil of the province adapted to the cultivation of it, i. 
 155. 
 
 Folkstone, Lord, refuses to present a petition from the inhabitants 
 of Wily, Geiu Int. cxlvii. 
 
 Forest trees and shrubs of Upper Canada, i. 150. 
 
 Forgery of bills on banks in the United States, not punishable iii 
 Canada before 1810, i. 228. 
 
 B 
 
INDEX. 
 
 18 
 
 Fort Frontonac built by the French colonists to secure themselves 
 against the Iroquois Indians, i. 4. 
 
 Meigs besieged by General Proctor, i. 49- The siege raised, 
 
 50. 
 
 Niagara, evacuated by the British, conformably to the treaty 
 
 of 1794, i. 24. Taken by storm, and retained by the 
 English till the conclusion of the war, 83. 
 
 Sandusky besieged by General Proctor, without success, 
 
 i. 50. 
 
 Erie, abandoned by the British, and occupied by the Ame- 
 ricans, i. 55. Reoccupied by the British, 56. Surrenders 
 to General Brown, ibid. Besieged>y General Drummond, 
 ibid. Dismantled by General Brown, after the retreat of the 
 British, 58. 
 
 Erie, village of, nearly destroyed during the war, i. 59. 
 
 — — Schlosser surprised by a party of the Canadian militia, i. 62. 
 
 George, attacked and taken by tbe American military and 
 
 naval forces, i. 81. Invested by the British troops under 
 General de Rottenburgh, 82. Abandoned by the Ameri- 
 cans, ibid* 
 
 Fox, three species found in the province, i. 164. 
 
 Fox, Mr. his speeches in the debate on the bill for granting a 
 Constitution to Upper Canada, ii. 5, 6, 22, 28, 32, 33, 48, 
 63, 65, 70, 73, 77, 79, 96, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 
 107, 108. 
 
 Francis, Mr. ii. 76. 
 
 Fredericksburg, township of, i. 130. 
 
 Free schools, none in the province, i. 244. 
 
 Freedom of trade, absolutely necessary to the prosperity of Eng- 
 land, Gen. Int, clxxix. Benefits which would result from 
 it, ibid. 
 
 Freestone, a quarry of, on the bank of the Thames, i. 148. 
 
 French colonists of Canada, in 1622 consist of only fifty per- 
 sons, i. 3. Imprudently engage in ihe wars of the Indians, 
 4. Build Forts Frontenac, Niagara, &c. ibid. Obliged to 
 retire down the river by the Iroquois, ibid. Character of 
 the Canadian settlers, contrasted, with that of the Americans, 
 by Volney, 5. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 19 
 
 French town, defeat of General Winchester there,!. 49. 
 Frog, the Canadian, i. 187. 
 
 Fruit trees of various kinds, i. 153 . 
 
 G, 
 
 Gananoqui river and town, i. 1 1 0. Its barracks and public stores 
 burnt early in the war. 111. The river might easily be 
 rendered useful as a water communication, 550. 
 
 General summary of population, &c. i. 612. 
 
 Godwin, Mr. remarks on his work on Population, Gen. Int. xcix. 
 note. 
 
 Gore, Hon. Francis, Lieut. -Governor of Upper Canada, i. 15. 
 
 Statutes passed during his government, ii. 234-— 250, 267 
 
 286. Prorogues the parliament suddenly, 287. His speech 
 on that occasion, 288. Address to him from the inhabitants 
 of York, on his departure for England, 440. 
 
 Goulbiirn, Mr. letters from him to Mr. Gourlay, on the subject 
 of emigration, Gen. Int. cclxxvii. ccxcii. ccxcviii. 
 
 Gourlay, Mr. his Circular to Members of the Imperial Parliament, 
 Gen. Int. i. Statement of his case, v. Goes to Upper Canada, 
 ibid. Conceives a scheme for a grand system of emigration 
 to that country, vi. Recommends a subscription for sending 
 home commissioners to intreat inquiry into the state of the 
 province, vii. Is twice arrested on charges of sedition, ibid. 
 Advises the Convention to refer its cause to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor and general Assembly, viii. Is twice honourably 
 acquitted, ibid. Is arrested, and ordered to quit the pro- 
 vince, ix. Is again arrested, and committed to jail for eight 
 months, ibid. Institutes an action for false imprisonment, x. 
 Is cruelly treated in prison, xiii. When brought up for 
 trial, is wholly incapable of defending himself, from w'eak- 
 ness occasioned by his close confinement, xv. Found guilty 
 of having refused to leave the province, ibid. Pledges him- 
 self to show that Upper Canada, instead of costing England 
 a large sum of money, could yield annually a handsome re- 
 venue, xvii# Order for his commitment to jail, xxvi. His 
 B2 
 
INDEX. 
 
 petition to tho House ofCoinmons, xxix. To Chief Justice 
 Powell, for a writ of habeas cor})U8, xl. Affidavits of his 
 being a British subject, xli. His petition to the king, xliv. 
 Reflections on the cruelty and illegality of his treatment, 
 Ixviii. Ixxv — Ixxviii. and ii. 393. His design in the pre- 
 sent work, Ixxxiii. Recounts some circumstances of his 
 own history, ibid. Makes a journey into the counties 
 of Rutland and Lincoln, to ascertain the advantages of 
 granting a portion of land to the poor, Ixxxiv. Con- 
 vinced of the necessity of changing the system of poor-laws, 
 Ixxxvi. Resolves to devote his life to this end, Ixxxvii. A 
 steady disciple of Mr. Malthus, with certain modifications of 
 his system, cii. note. Becomes overseer of the parish of 
 Wily, in Wiltshire, and employs himself in correcting errors 
 respecting the wages of the poor, cvii. cix. Account of his 
 reception by a party of farmers, at Brigg, in Lincolnshire, 
 CX4. His pamphlet, entitled. Tyranny of Poor Laws ex- 
 emplified, cxvi. His address to the labouring poor of Wily 
 parish, cxxii. Petition to the Houses of Lords and Com- 
 mons, on the poor laws, education of children. See. cxxix. 
 Second petition on the same subject, including proposals for 
 supplying the poor with land, and thus obviating the ne- 
 cessity for poor rates, cxxxviii. Explanation of its object, 
 cxlvii. Ease with which this might be accomplished, and 
 benefits which would arise from it, cliv. Remarks on Mr. 
 Malthus’s Essay on Population, clxiii. Mr. Gourlay’s con- 
 stancy in the course which he has adopted, clxxii. Con- 
 nexion of his plan for abolishing poor-laws, wdth emigration 
 to Canada, clxxxii. His first address to the resident land- 
 owners of Upper Canada, clxxxvi. His address to the 
 people of Upper Canada, stating the reasons for delay in the 
 publication of the work, cxcvii. Makes a pedestrian ex- 
 cursion through the Highlands of Scotland, exeix. Returns 
 to London, but prevented, by unfortunate occurrences, from 
 proceeding with the publication, cevi. Sinks into a state of 
 despondency and gloom, to arouse himself from which he 
 offers to accompany Sir R. Wilson to Naples, in the cause of 
 independence, cevii. Prevented by the submission of the 
 Neapolitans, ibid. Makes an excursion to the west of Eng- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 21 
 
 land, ecviii. Resolves t6 commence a second volume, ccx. 
 Apology for narrating bis proceedings, ccxi. Refutation of 
 the infamous slanders propagated against him by the Courier, 
 ccxii. Account of his examination by the Hon. W. Dickson, 
 ccxv. note. Defence of his political conduct and opinions, 
 ccxxii. Circulates proposals for a jneeting of deputies from 
 the farmers in every part of the United Kingdom, ccxxv. 
 Benefits which would have arisen from the adoption of this 
 proposition, ibid. Extract from his letter in the Niagara 
 Spectator, ccxxxiii. His remarks on the debate on Mr. 
 Scarletfs Poor Relief Bill, cclxxiii— cclxxx. His letters to 
 Sir Robert Wilson, cclxxxi. note. His petition to the House 
 of Commons relative to the poor laws, cclxxxii. His cor- 
 respondence with Earl Batbiirst, on the subject of emigration 
 to Upper Canada, cclxxxvii. Object and nature of his 
 “ Statistical Account of Upper Canada,” ceexv. His ap- 
 peals, cccxvii. His remarks on Mr. Adame’s opinion on his 
 case, ceexx. His disappointment as to a commission of Ca* 
 nadians to solicit inquiry into the state of the province, 
 cccxxiii. Observations on the resolutions of a meeting of 
 the inhabitants of the county of Halton, cccxxx. On colo- 
 nial government, cccxxxiii — ceexlii. On the policy of grant- 
 ing independence to Canada, ceexlii — cccl. His journey to 
 Wiltshire, ccclxii. Address to the people of Wiltshire, 
 ccclxiii. Letter to the Editor of the Salisbury Jour- 
 nal, ccclxix. Reason for reprinting these documents, 
 ccclxxiii. Address to the parliamentary representatives of 
 the people of Upper Canada, ccclxxvii. Second address, 
 cccxcix. His queries to the inhabitants of Upper Canada, i. 
 270. Explanatory notes, 271. Remarks on the stale of the 
 Home District, 458. His letter to the editors of British 
 newspapers respecting the settlement at Perth, 522. His 
 remarks on the encouragement held out by government to 
 emigrants in 1815, 539. Arts of his enemies to prejudice 
 ihe people against him, 553. Draught of a proposed address 
 to the Prince Regent, 571. His review of the contents of 
 this work, ii. 2^2. Observations on the character of Mr. 
 Burke, 293, note; and on the absurdity of giving to 
 Canada the British constitution, 294, 299. Remarks on the 
 
22 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 debasement of the people of Upper Canada, 303. Various 
 modes in which their representatives are corrupted by the 
 governor, 305. Observations on the statutes of Upper 
 Canada, 336. His treatment in Niagara gaol, 393. Letter 
 on the situation of the felons confined there, 397. Letters to 
 Sir Henry and Lady Torrens, 459 — 466, note* Address to 
 the resident land-owners of Upper Canada, 471. Reflections 
 on the cruelty and injustice of his treatment, 491. Addi- 
 tion to his address to the resident land-owners, 554. His 
 letter to Governor Sherbrooke, 557. Causes which delayed 
 his departure from Canada, 565. His third address to the 
 resident land-owners, 581 . Extract of his letter relative to 
 the proceedings of the Canadian convention, 598. His pro- 
 posal to publish a newspaper in Upper Canada, 613. Letter 
 to the editor of the Niagara Spectator, cii. Second letter to 
 the same, exxvi. 
 
 Graham, Sir J. Gen. Int, cclxvii. 
 
 Grant, the Hon. A, president of Upper Canada, i. 15. Statutes 
 passed during his administration, ii. 231 — 233. 
 
 , Mr. C. Gen. InL cccxciv, 
 
 , Mr. W. ii. 72. 
 
 Grantham, township report of, i. 421. 
 
 Grasses of Upper Canada, i. 154. 
 
 Great Britain, reflections on its present situation, Gen. Int, cxlvii. 
 Variety of schemes proposed for its deliverance, cxlviii. Me- 
 thods by which this object may be effected, cxlviii. No 
 benefit to be expected from a revoluion, cxlix. 
 
 Grece, Mr. account of his work on Upper Canada, Gen. InL cccii. 
 
 Grenville, township of, i. 605. 
 
 Grey, Mr. ii. 29, 30, 32, 45. 
 
 Grimsby, township report of, i. 429. Second Report, 430. 
 
 Grinding, rate of, i. 271. 
 
 Gurney, Mr. Gen. Int. cclxviii. cclxxii. cclxxiii. 
 
 Guthrie’s Geographical Grammar, extraordinary mis-statement in 
 that work, as to the wolves of Upper Canada, noticed and 
 refuted, i. 160. 
 
 Gypsum obtained in large quantities in the township of Dumfries, 
 i. 149. 
 
INDBX. 
 
 23 
 
 H. 
 
 Halditnand, township of, Newcastle district, i. 132. Township 
 report of, 467. 
 
 , Gore district, township report of, i. 384. 
 
 Hallowell, township of, i. 131. Township report of, 487. 
 Hamilton, township of, i. 132. 
 
 , Mr. ii. 580, 689, 597. 
 
 Harbord, Mr. Gen. Int. cclxv. 
 
 Harrison, General, takes possession of Sandwich, i. 46. Lands 
 at Amherstburgh without opposition, 47. Besieged by Gen. 
 Proctor in Fort Meigs, 49. 
 
 Harwich, and the adjoining townships, report of, i. 291. Sup- 
 plement to the report, 294. Additional information by Mr. 
 
 Dencke, 296. 
 
 Hemp, the cultivation of, encouraged by the legislature, i. 165. 
 Heron, the, bears a great affinity to the crane, i. 174. 
 
 Hobhouse, Mr. Gen. Ini. cclxiv. 
 
 Holidays and festivals observed in the province, i. 255. 
 
 Holland. Lord, offers to present Mr. Gourlay’s petition to the 
 House of Lords, Gen. Int, Iv. 
 
 Home District, i. 119. Not a single report received from thence, 
 458. Causes of this, ibid. 
 
 Hope, township of, i. 132. 
 
 Horner, Mr. his letter to Mr. Gourlay. Gen. Ld. cxxxni. 
 
 Horse, three kinds in Upper Canada, 169. rico o , ,, 
 
 287, 292, 468, 499, 505, 519, 561. 
 
 Howard, township report of, i. 291. r. j *• 
 
 Howison, Dr. acLnt of his » Sketches of Upper Canada 
 Gen. Ini. cceyvi. Misrepresentations and unfair character 
 
 Of thatpublicauon, cccxl. 
 
 Hudson’s Bay Company, when incorporated, i. • 
 
 the country granted to them, ib.d. ^ prodama- 
 
 Hull, General, invades Upper ,ovince, ibid, 
 
 tion, and is joined by many inhab.tanU ol 1 1 p 
 Returns to Detroit, followed by General Brock, 46. 
 
2i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hull, township of, i. 607. 
 
 Humberslon, township report of, i. 407, 
 
 Hunter, General, appointed Lieut.-Governor of Upper Canada, i. 
 
 15. Statutes passed during his government, ii. 215—230, 
 Hussey, Mr. ii. 5, 65, 77. 
 
 Hutchinson, Hon. Mr. Gen* Int, cccxcv. 
 
 I. J. 
 
 Jackson, Mr. his pamphlet on the political state of Upper Ca- 
 nada, declared libellous by the House of Assembly, ii. 317. 
 Extracts from it, 318 — 327. Address of the Assembly to 
 Governor Gore on the subject, 329. Remarks, 330 — 335. 
 
 Jenkinson, Mr. Gen. InL cclviii. 
 
 Imports to the province, i, 224. 
 
 Imprisonment for debt, not allowed for a less sum than forty 
 shillings, and where there is an apparent intention to avoid 
 payment, i. 238. Oath of the creditor previously required, 
 ibid. 
 
 Improvement, opinions as to what retards or would promote it, i. 
 280, 283,289, 293, 304, 309, 311, 313, 317, 319, 321, 
 323, 327, 329, 332, 334, 340, 341, 343, 346, 348, 350, 
 
 351, 361, 367, 369, 370, 373, 378, 382, 383, 387, 391, 
 
 395, 409, 411, 415, 420, 424, 428, 430, 448, 451, 454, 
 
 476, 478, 485, 489, 492, 500, 502, 506, 563, 623. Re- 
 
 marks on these, ii. 402. 
 
 I nclosure bill, a general one, brought before parliament by Lord 
 Carrington, without success, Gen. Int. Ixxxv. 
 
 Incumbents presented to livings by the Lieutenant-governor, sub- 
 ject to the Bishop’s right of institution, i. 232. 
 
 Indians in the Moravian villages, account of, i. 296. 
 
 " — longer be looked to by Canada, as allies in war, 
 
 ii. 390. The object of government ought to be their im- 
 provement in morals and education, ibid. How this might 
 be accomplished, 391. 
 
 Inquiry into the present state of Upper Canada, imperatively 
 called for, ii. 499 
 
INDEX. 
 
 25 
 
 Industry th« general characteristic of the people, i. 260. 
 
 Inhabitant, singular definition of the meaning of this word by 
 Chief Justice Powell, Gen. Int, xvi. note. 
 
 Insolvent debtor entitled to be discharged or maintained in prison 
 by the creditor, i. 238. Other provisions in his favour, 239. 
 
 Instances of national civility between Upper Canada and the 
 United States, i. 266. 
 
 Interest, the lawful rate of, in Upper Canada, i, 227. 
 
 Introduction to Sketches and Township Reports, Gen. Int. 
 clxxxv. 
 
 Johnstown District, i, 117. Meeting of representatives, ii. 626. 
 
 , calculated for a mercantile depot, but has experienced 
 
 a comparative decline, i. 126. 
 
 Jones, Mr, his character, ii. 663. 
 
 Iron ore found in some parts of the province, i. 150. Letter on 
 this subject, 324, note. 
 
 Iroquois, or Five Nations, formidable enemies of the first French 
 colonists of Canada, i. 4. Oblige them to retire down the 
 river, ibid. 
 
 Isle Perrot, seigniory of, i. 592. 
 
 Isle Jesus, seigniory of, i. 598. 
 
 Judiciary government of Upper Canada, i. 205. No Court of 
 Chancery yet established, 206. Superior court styled the 
 King’s Bench, ibid. 
 
 Justices of the peace, their powers, i, 207. 
 
 K. 
 
 the, a constituent branch of the legislature of the province, 
 i. 204. Solely vested with the supreme executive power, 
 ibid. 
 
 King’s Bench, court of, the superior court of the province, i. 
 206. Has powers similar to those of the King’s Bench, 
 Common Pleas, and in matters of revenue, the Exchequer 
 of England, ibid. An appeal lies from its decisions to the 
 Governor and Executive Council, ibid. 
 
 Kingston, great road from, to York, i. 97. Town and harbour, 
 
 3 
 
INDEX. 
 
 26 
 
 ibid. Fortifications, barracks, &c. 98. Its advantages as a 
 harbour, compared with those of other places on both sides 
 of lake Ontario, 99. Description of the town, 127. Bank 
 established at, 227, mte. Provision made for regulating its 
 police, &c. 267. Township report of, 470. Second re- 
 port, 477. 
 
 Kitley, township report of, i. 517. 
 
 L. 
 
 Labourers, in all cases, have their board and lodging allowed, in 
 addition to their wages, i. 271. 
 
 Lac des deux Montagues, seigniory of, i. 600. 
 
 Lake Superior, its magnitude, i. 39. Contains many large islands, 
 ibid. Its waters freeze in some places to the distance of se- 
 venty miles from its shores, 87. 
 
 Huron, its size, i. 41. This, apd Lake Michigan, frozen 
 more than Lake Erie, during winter, 87. 
 
 Michigan, i. 41. 
 
 Sinclair, i. 42. 
 
 Erie, i. 48. Very little frozen during the winter, 87. 
 
 Situation of its islands, ibid. 
 
 Ontario, i. 85. Depth of its waters, ibid. Scum covering 
 
 its surface, near the shores, in June, ibid. Its water un- 
 pleasantly warm during the summer, 86. Never closed 
 with ice, except in certain parts, 87. Situation of its 
 islands, ibid. Its navigation more important than that of 
 any of the other lakes, 107. Balance of naval force on it, 
 in favour of the British, 108. 
 
 Salmon, resemble the salmon of the sea, i. 176. 
 
 • Chub, superior to the dace, i. 180. 
 
 Herring, different from the European, i. 182. 
 
 Lakes, a general decrease in their waters, i. 114. Something 
 
 • like irregular tides perceptible in them, ibid. Fish found in 
 them, 175. Various modes of taking the fish, 182. 
 
 Lamprey, too insipid for food, i. 181. 
 
 Land let on shares, extent of, and terms on which lei, i. 279, 
 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 27 
 
 283, 288, 293, 304, 309, 310, 312, 316, 319, 321, 323, 
 
 327, 328, 330, 334, 339, 341, 343, 360, 366, 372, 382, 
 
 386, 390, 395, 399, 408, 411, 414, 419, 423, 427,429, 
 
 443, 447, 468, 475, 484, 485, 488, 491, 500, 506, 519, 
 
 562, 622. 
 
 Land, wild, price of at the first settlement, and at present, i. 
 279, 283, 288, 293, 304, 310, 316, 327, 334, 373, 377, 
 
 387, 390, 395, 399, 408, 440, 443, 468, 475, 478, 484, 
 
 485, 487, 494, 500, 506, 512, 514, 662. 
 
 partly cleared, with buildings erected, price of, i. 279, 283, 
 
 293, 309, 310, 316, 319, 327, 330, 334, 339, 360, 367, 
 
 370, 373, 390, 395, 400, 414, 419, 423, 427, 429, 445, 
 
 447, 453, 468, 475, 484, 489, 491, 513, 562, 622. 
 
 — , quantity for sale, i. 279, 288, 293, 304, 309, 311, 313, 
 
 316, 319, 321, 323, 327, 328, 334, 339, 341, 343, 345, 
 
 348, 350, 360, 367, 370, 373, 387, 390, 400, 408, 411, 
 
 414, 419, 424, 427, 429, 440, 443, 447, 450, 453, 476, 
 
 478, 484, 491, 506, 563. 
 
 board, i. 208. 
 
 crab, i. 185. 
 
 La petite Nation, seigniory of, i. 603. 
 
 Landsdown, township report of, i. 502, 513. 
 
 Law society of Upper Canada established, i. 234. Its rules as 
 to the admission of practitioners, 235. 
 
 Lawley, Mr. Gen. ItU, cclviii. 
 
 Learning, state of, in the province, i. 244. 
 
 Leeds, township report of, i. 516. 
 
 Legislative Council of Upper Canada concur in the Lieutenant- 
 Governor’s intention of withholding the royal grant of land 
 from those persons who had been members of the Conven- 
 tion, Gen. ItU. xii. Constituted by the Act of 31 George 
 III., i. 190. Qualifications of its members, ibid. Ap- 
 pointed by the King, ibid. Tenure of their appointment, 
 191. The Speaker appointable and removeable by the Go- 
 vernor, ibid. Not vested with judicial authority, ibid. Its 
 
 present character, ii. 296, 299. Its resolutions on the sub* 
 ject of its claim to alter money bills, 571* 
 
 Lewis, Mr. F. Gen. Znt. ceixi. 
 
28 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Licensed retailers and pedlars, number of them in the province, 
 in 1810, i. 226. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor, the person administering the government of 
 Upper Canada, usually so called, i. 202. His powers, ibid. 
 Receives his appointment from the crown, 205. Has a 
 council to advise him in the executive department of the go- 
 vernment, ibid* Empowered to erect and endow parsonages 
 or rectories in the several townships, 232. 
 
 Lime, price of, i. 277, 281, 333, 467, 512, 518, 560. 
 
 Lizards not numerous in the province, i. 185. 
 
 Jx)chaber, township of, i. 605. 
 
 lx)ckhart, Mr. Gen, Int, cclviii. 
 
 London District, i. 120. 
 
 , town of, intended by General Simcoe for the future 
 capital of the province, i. 138. 
 
 Londonderry, Marquis of, Gen. Int. cclv. cclxiii. cclix. cclxx. 
 
 Longue Sault, a difficult rapid in the St. Lawrence, i. 113. 
 
 Longueil, New, seigniory of, i. 584. 
 
 Loon, the, a water fowl, i. 173. 
 
 Loughborough, township of, i. 128. 
 
 Louisiana purchased by the United States, i. 20. 
 
 Louth, township report of, i. 425. 
 
 Lushington, Dr. Gen, Lit. cclxxii. 
 
 Luxury, small progress of, in Up]>er Canada, i. 250. 
 
 M. 
 
 Macdonell, Mr. ii. 569. 
 
 Mackenzie, Mr. manner in which he performed his tours of dis- 
 covery, i. 33. 
 
 Mackintosh, Sir James, presents Mr. Gourlay’s petition to the 
 House of Commons, Gen. Int. lii. Newspaper report of 
 bis speech on the occasion, liii. Letter from Mr. Gourlay to 
 him, livr. His answer, Iv. Quotation from his Vindicim 
 Gallicae, clxxv. 
 
 Magistrat«i of Upper Canada, ranked under four denominations, 
 n. 609 . Evil consequences of placing the whole power of 
 
INDEX. 
 
 29 
 
 making and unmaking them in the hands of the Governor, 
 513. 
 
 Maguaga, British and Indian force defeated at, i. 146. 
 
 Maitland, Sir Peregrine, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, 
 in his speech on opening the session of 1819, declares his 
 intention of withholding the royal grant of land from those 
 persons who had been members of the Convention, Gen, InL 
 
 ^ xl. His speech at length, cccxcvii. Remarks on it, 
 cccxcviii. 
 
 Malahide, towmship report of, i. 340. 
 
 Malden, township report of, i. 281. 
 
 Malthas, Mr. points out the insufficiency of Mr. Young’s plan of 
 providing for the poor, Gen, Int. Ixxxix. Recommends a 
 general improvement of cottages, and the cow system on a 
 limited scale, xciii. Eulogium on his Essay on Population, 
 xcv. Too stoical in his reasoning, ci. Oversights and 
 errors in his work pointed out, clxiii. clxxiii. clxxix. 
 
 Manchester burnt by the British troops, i. 62. 
 
 Manitou or Manitoulin Islands, in Lake Huron, considered by 
 the Indians as the residence of spirits, i. 41. 
 
 Mansfield, Mr. Gen. Int. cclvi. cclxiii. cclxvii. 
 
 Manure, for what crops applied, and when, i. 279, 288, 293, 
 312, 316, 319, 331, 323, 326, 328, 360, 366, 372, 390, 
 395, 399, 408, 411, 419, 423, 447, 453, 475, 483,485, 
 487, 489, 491, 500, 506, 562. 
 
 Marl, abundant in every district of the province, i. 149. 
 
 Martin, an animal highly valued for its fur, i. 165. 
 
 , Mr. ii. 24, 101, 104. 
 
 Marysburg, township of,^ i. 131. 
 
 Maxwell, Mr. Gen. Int. cclxv. 
 
 Medicinal springs, two in the township of Scarborough, i. 145. 
 
 — roots, i. 153. 
 
 Meetings by deputy the genuine means by which great] public be- 
 nefits ,may be obtained, Gen. Int. ccxxv. 
 
 Medical practitioners, number of, i. 276, 281, 285, 291, 314, 
 332, 397, 435, 498, 569. 
 
 Methodists, the most numerous class of dissenters in the province, 
 i. 233. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 :I0 
 
 Menonists, conditionally exempted frotn serving in the militia, i. 
 234, 619, note. 
 
 Michigan, territory of, surrendered to the British by General 
 Hull, i. 45. 
 
 Michilimackinac, given up by England to the United States, i. 
 24. Captured by the British troops, 25. Unsuccessfully 
 attacked by the Americans, 26. 
 
 Middleton, township report of, i. 329. 
 
 Midland District, i. 118. General report, 492. Meetings of 
 representatives, ii. 617, 618. 
 
 Military settlements rarely succeed, i. 550. 
 
 Militia of Upper Canada, grants of land promised to them during 
 
 the war, but neglected on the restoration of peace, Gen. Int. 
 
 X. Composed of the male inhabitants between certain ao-es 
 • & ^ 
 1 . 229. Formed into regiments and battalions, ibid. Their 
 
 officers, ibid. Annually reviewed, and trained, ibid. Nu- 
 merous in proportion to the inhabitants, 230. Pensions 
 allowed to those disabled during the war, and to the widows 
 and orphans of those killed, ibid. 
 
 Mille Isles, seigniory of, i. 600. 
 
 Mills of various descriptions, and charge for grinding, sawing, 
 carding wool, &c. i. 276, 281, 286, 291, 295, 312, 315, 
 322, 333, 342, 347, 371, 382, 385, 389, 407, 409, 417, 
 422, 426, 429, 441, 445, 452, 467, 472, 482, 486, 488, 
 
 490, 493, 498, 503, 511, 513, 517, 518, 559, 580, 622. 
 
 Milton, Lord, Gen. Int. cclxii. 
 
 Minerals and mineral springs discovered or indicated, i. 276, 286, 
 295, 303, 308, 310, 312, 315, 318, 320, 322, 324, 330, 
 
 333, 338, 341, 342, 347, 349, 358, 372, 382, 383, 386, 
 
 389, 394, 397, 407, 410, 413, 418, 422, 426, 435, 442, 
 
 447, 449, 453, 473, 483, 488, 490, 493, 498, 509, 511, 
 
 513, 516, 518, 560. 
 
 Mink, a small amphibious animal, i. 165. 
 
 Mistake, a curious one, as to the boundary between the United 
 States and Lower Canada, i. 23. 
 
 Mocking bird, or brown thrasher, i. 174. 
 
 Mohawk land, i. 132. 
 
 Money of the province, i, 215. Value of current coins, ibid. 
 
 4 
 
INDEX. 
 
 31 
 
 Monck, Mr. Gen. Int, cclvi. cclxix. 
 
 Montreal, first settlement of, by the French, i. 3. Taken by 
 General Amherst, 8. Two banks established at, 227, vote. 
 
 , seigniory of, i. 592. 
 
 Moose deer, i. 159. 
 
 Moravian towns, battle fought there, i. 42. 
 
 Mosquenonge, a rare lake fish, i. 176. 
 
 Mouse, i. 169. Field mice more numerous in Upper Canada 
 than in the United States, ibid. 
 
 Mowing, reaping, and cradling, price of, i. 277, 282, 286, 292, 
 319, 320, 368, 370, 398, 413, 418, 427, 429, 438,442, 
 447, 449, 453, 499, 504, 561, 622. 
 
 Mullet, the, not plentiful in the lakes, i. 180. 
 
 Murray, Lieutenant-General Sir G., Provincial Lieutenant-Go- 
 vernor, i. 16. 
 
 Musk rat, or musquash, i. 165. 
 
 N. 
 
 National character, principally Anglo-American, i. 247. 
 
 National debt, means proposed for its extinction, Gen. Int, cxlviii. 
 
 Not an evil in certain circumstances, cxlix. 
 
 Nelson, township of, i. 134. Township report of, 365. 
 
 Newcastle District, i. 118. 
 
 Newport, Sir John, Gen. Int. cccxci. cccxcvi. 
 
 Newton, township of, i. 609. 
 
 New York, state of, furnishes a fair example for Upper Canada, 
 of the advantages of emigration and settlement, i, 243* 
 Niagara river, account of, i. 60. 
 
 , falls of, described, i. 64 — 73. 
 
 ^ town of, taken by the Americans, i. 81. Burnt by Gen. 
 
 M’Clure, of the New Y ork militia, 82. ^ ' 
 
 District, i. 119. Completely organized under Mr. 
 
 Gourlay’s plan, ii. 575. Meetings of the representatives of 
 its several townships, 609. 
 
 Nichol, township report of, i# 375. 
 
32 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Nichol, Mr. proposes certain resolutions in the House of Assem- 
 bly, ii. 287. Comes to England to submit documents on 
 the state of the province to ministers, 485. Sketch of his 
 proceedings, 628. Procures the committal of Mr. Durand 
 to prison, for a libel, 644. Remarks on his conduct on 
 that occasion, 046. His history, 662. 
 
 North-west Company, account of the, i. 31. Produce of their 
 trade for one year, 33. Manner in which their business is 
 conducted, ibid. 
 
 Norwich, township report of, i. 331. 
 
 Notes, explanatory of Mr. Gourlay’s queries, i. 271, 3CX). 
 
 O. 
 
 Ogdensburgh unsuccessfully attacked by the British, i. 111. 
 Again attacked, and taken, 112. 
 
 Onslow, township of, i. 609. 
 
 Order in Council relative to the commercial intercourse with the 
 United States, i. 259. Schedule of duties to be received 
 under it, 261. 
 
 ' lessen the tonnage duty imposed by a for- 
 
 mer order, i. 265. 
 
 Orford, township report of, i. 291. 
 
 Oswego, its situation, i. 101. Taken by the French in 1756, ibid. 
 Retaken by General Amherst in 1760, ibid. Given up to 
 the United States after the treaty of 1794, 102. Cannon- 
 aded without much effect by a British squadron, ibid. The 
 barracks burnt by General Drummond, ibid. 
 
 Ottawa, or Grand River, i. 114. An inland navigation might 
 easily be effected between this river and the St. Lawrence, 
 by locks and canals, 127. 
 
 Otter, not properly an amphibious animal, i. 164. 
 
 Owen, Mr. Gen, Inl. cxxxviii. clxi. 
 
 Ox, price of a good one, i 277, 282, 287, 292, 468, 499, 505. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 33 
 
 Oxen and cowf4, of a good stock, i. 170. 
 
 Oxford, township of, i. 136. Townsliip report of, 308. 
 
 P. 
 
 Palmer, Mr. F. Gen. Int. cclix. cclxix. cclxxiii. 
 
 Parliament House at York, burnt by a party of American sailors, 
 i. 90. 
 
 Parliament and the People, ii. 539—704. 
 
 Partridge, the, called in Pennsylvania, the pheasant, i. 173. 
 
 Pasture, quality of^ and what an ox of four years old will gain by 
 a summer’s run, i. 178, 282, 287, 293, 303, 308, 310, 312, 
 319, 321, 323, 326, 328, 334, 339, 343, 345, 348, 349, 
 359, 372, 394, 398, 408, 410, 413, 418, 423, 449, 453, 
 478, 483, 486, 490, 500, 505, *562. 
 
 Pelham, township report of, i. 441. 
 
 People and inhabited houses, number of, in each township, i. 275, 
 281, 285, 291, 385,467, 471,482,493, 498, 503, 510, 559, 
 580. 
 
 Perch, a fish common and easily caught, i. 179. 
 
 Perry, Commodore, captures the British naval force on Lake 
 Erie, i. 53. Treats his unfortunate rival with the most deli- 
 cate attention, 54. 
 
 Phillips, Mr. Gen. Int. cclvi. 
 
 Phipps, Colonel, ii. 26,28, 31. 
 
 Pickerel, a species of pike, i. 178. 
 
 Pike, the Canadian, i. 178. 
 
 Pitt, Right Hon. W. Chancellor of the Exchequer, introduces the 
 act granting a constitution to Upper Canada, in 1791, ii. 1. 
 His speeches on that subject, 2, 13, 30, 31, 33, 59, 65, 66, 
 69, 76, 77, 78, 84, 102, 103, 105, 108, 109. 
 
 Places of worship generally plain, i. 256. Indecorous practice in 
 some, ibid and note. Not so numerous as might be wished, 
 but increasing, 256. 
 
 Plain, signification of this word in Upper Canada, i. 273. 
 
 Ploughing, usual time of commencing, i.278, 282, 287, 308, 310, 
 359, 366, 408, 410, 468, 474, 499, 505, 561, 621. 
 
 C 
 
34 INDEX. 
 
 Politics very little attended to in the province, i. 249. Not pro- 
 ductive of so much private animosity as in the United States, 
 ii. 316. 
 
 Poor laws, the present system of, the greatest evil which over- 
 shadows the fate of England, Gen. InL Ixxxiii. Incon- 
 ceivable mischief which has arisen from this source, ciii — cv. 
 cxiii. cxv. Petitions on this subject from the inhabitants of 
 Wily, cxxix. cxxxviii. Debate on Mr. Scarlett’s bill for the 
 amendment of them, cclii — cclxxiii. Remarks on the de- 
 bate, cclxxiii. Rise and progress of the poor laws, cclxxvi. 
 Introduced in England by the 43d of Elizabeth, ibid ; and 
 in Scotland by an act of James VI. cclxxvii. Their mis- 
 chievous effects prevented in the latter country by the estab- 
 lishment of schools, cclxxviii. 
 
 Poor of England, dreadful situation to which they have been re- 
 duced by poor-laws and enclosure bills, Gen. Int, clxii. 
 ccclix. 
 
 Popular diversions, i. 250. 
 
 Population of Upper Canada, i. 139, 612. 
 
 Portland, township of, i. 128. 
 
 Ports of entry and clearance, i. 225. 
 
 Postscript, Gen. InL cccli. 
 
 Poultry, i. 171. 
 
 Powell, Chief Justice, his misconstruction of the word Inhabit- 
 ant,” Gen, InL xvi. note. Mr. Gourlay’s petition to him for 
 a writ of habeas corpus, xl. Remands him to prison, xliii. 
 His character, ii. 516 — 522. 
 
 Powis, Mr. ii. 65, 67, 78, 104, 107. 
 
 Presbyterians appear to be increasing in numbers and respecta- 
 bility in the province, i. 234. 
 
 Presque Isle, or Newcastle, harbour, i. 94. 
 
 Prescott, a rising settlement on the St. Lawrence, i. 112, 126. 
 
 Prevost, Sir George, makes an unsuccessful attack on Sackef’s 
 harbour, i. 104. 
 
 Price of land, i. 241. 
 
 Principal officers of provincial government paid by the crown, i. 
 219. Amount voted for that purpose by the British Par- 
 liament, in 1820, 220, note. 
 
index. 
 
 35 
 
 Principles and proceedings of il,e inhabitants of Nia-^ara District 
 ii. 519. 
 
 Proctor, General, abandons Amherstburgh, i. 47. ' Besieges Ocn. 
 Harrison in Fort Meigs, 49. Raises the siege, and with- 
 draws his army towards Detroit, 50. Attempts to take Fort 
 Sandusky, but is repulsed, ibid. 
 
 Profession and practice of law, i. 234. 
 
 Progress of political discontent in Upper Canada, ii. 313. 
 
 Provincial Parliament, how constituted, i. 90. See Legislative 
 Council and Assembly, 
 
 Provincial revenue, amount and sources of, i. 220. 
 
 Publications on Canada, account of, Gen. Int, ccci. 
 
 Pugilism once considerably prevalent in the province, but now 
 declining, i. 252. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quail, the, named in Pennsylvania, the partridge, i. 173. 
 
 Quakers not admitted to a seat in the House of Assembly, i. 198. 
 Conditionally exempted from militia duties, 234. 
 
 Qualifications of Members of the Legislative Council, i. 190. 
 
 ► House of Assembly, i. 1 96. 
 
 electors for members of the House of Assembly, 
 
 i. 192. 
 
 Quebec, first French settlement in Canada formed at, i. 3. Taken 
 by the English under General Wolfe, 8. 
 
 — act, inserted by the American Congress in their list of 
 
 parliamentary grievances, i. 9. 
 
 Queenston heights, beautiful prospect from, i. 76. Attacked by 
 the Americans without success, 78. 
 
 , village of, in a flourishing state, i. 79. 
 
 Queries addressed to the inhabitants of Upper Canada, by Mr. 
 Gourlay, i. 270. 
 
 Quinte, bay of, its situation and extent, i. 94. Rt^ccives the 
 waters of the Uice lake, 95. 
 
 C2 
 
 
3<5 
 
 INURX. 
 
 R. 
 
 Racoon, an animal resembling the beaver, but smaller, i. 166. 
 
 Radical, the term not known in Upper Canada as a party dis- 
 tinction, Gen. Ini. ccxxii. 
 
 Rainham, township report of, i. 320. 
 
 Raleigh, township report of, i. 284. 
 
 Rat, not found in Upper Canada till the late war, i. 169. 
 
 Rattle-snake, two species of, in the province, i. 1 85, 
 
 Reform of parliament must take place sooner or later, Gen. Int. 
 clxxiii. Excellent effects which would attend its progress, 
 clxxx. 
 
 Rensselair, General, attacks the Queenston heights, but is defeated 
 by General Sheaffe, i. 78, 79. 
 
 Rents and interest, the true sources of supply for taxation, Gen. Int. 
 cl. cli. clii. Mr. Gourlay’s letter on, cccliii. note. 
 
 Reports of judiciary decisions much wanted in the province, i. 
 208. Advantages derivable from them, 210. 
 
 Resolutions of a meeting of the inhabitants of the county of Hal- 
 ton, on the agricultural distresses of the province, Gen. Int. 
 cccxxv. Remarks on them in several British newspapers, 
 cccxxvii — cccxxx. Observations by Mr. Gourlay, cccxxx — 
 cccxxii. 
 
 — of the House of Assembly on the admission of emi- 
 grants from the United States, ii. 289. 
 
 Revenue, amount of the provincial, in 1810, i. 220. Much in- 
 creased since that period, 266. 
 
 Review of the contents of this work, ii. 292 — 538. 
 
 Riall, General, takes and burns the village of Buffalo, i. 59. And 
 of Black Rock, 60. Wounded and taken prisoner in the 
 battle of Lundy’s Lane, 74* 
 
 Ricardo, Mr. Gen. Int. cclvi. 
 
 Rice growing wild in marshes, and on the borders of lakes, i. 155. 
 Indian method of gathering it, ibid. 
 
 Roads are advancing to a more perfect state, i. 251. Liberal 
 grants made by the Legislature for their improvement, 266. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ■ t 
 
 . I 
 
 •n j 
 
 37 
 
 Present stale of, 279, 283, 288, 293, 304, 309, 311, 313, I 
 
 316, 319, 321, 327, 328, 331, 334, 339, 341, 343, 346, ; I 
 
 348, 360, 360, 367, 369, 370, 373, 377, 382, 387, 391, ; ^ 
 
 395, 400, 408, 411, 414, 419, 424, 42r, 430, 443, 447, 
 
 450, 453, 476, 478, 484, 485, 487, 489, 491, 600, 506, 
 
 511, 514, 618, 563. > » 
 
 Rochcfoucault Liancourt, Duke de la, extract from his Travels, ^ 
 
 describing the state of Upper Canada under the government of ^ 
 
 General Simcoe, ii. 127 — 202. His statements correct, and I 
 
 his observations good, 389. » 
 
 Roman Catholics, comparatively few in Upper Canada, i. ^34. ' V 
 
 Russell, the Hoti. Peter, president of Upper Canada, i. 15. / 
 
 Statutes passed dhring his administration, ii. 203 — ^214. 
 
 Ryder, Mr. ii. 106. 
 
 S. 
 
 
 Sabbath, observance of the, i. 256. 
 
 Sachet’s harbour blockaded by Commodore Yeo, i. 103. Unsuc- 
 cessfully attacked by Sir G. Provost, 104. 
 
 St. David’s, village of, the head-quarters of the British army in 
 1813, and of the American army in 1814, i. 79. Many 
 buildings burnt there by order of an American officer, who is 
 dismissed from the service by General Brown, ibid. 
 
 St. John, Mr. ii. 24, 32. 
 
 St. Joseph, island of, the most western post maintained by Great 
 Britain, before the commencement of the late war, i. 25. 
 Taken by the Americans, 26. 
 
 St. Lawrence, Bay of, discovered and so named by Jacques Car- 
 tier, i. 2. River of, not at first called so, higher than the 
 island of Montreal, ibid. Now commonly known by that 
 name in its whole extent, from the gulf to the outlet of On- 
 tario, ibid. Afterwards receives various appellations, 3. 
 Generally frozen over in winter, 87. Its width, aW extent 
 of navigation, 109. 
 
 Sklihoti trout, i. 177. 
 
 / 
 
38 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Salt, the upper districts of the province principally supplied with 
 this article from the United Stales, i. 146. 
 
 Salt springs, i. 146. 
 
 Saltfleet, township report of, i. 396. 
 
 Sandwich, taken by General Hull, and evacuated after a 
 month’s possession, i. 45. Again entered, and retained 
 during the war by the Americans, 46. Township report 
 of, 275. 
 
 Sawyer, or whetsaw', i. 174. 
 
 Scalp found in the Parliament House at York, employed by some 
 American sailors as a pretext for burning that edifice, i. 90, 
 and 72o^e. Explanation of the circumstance, 91. 
 
 Scarlett, Mr. his Poor Relief Bill brought into the House of Com- 
 mons, Gen, Int, ccix. His speech on that occasion, cclii. On 
 the second reading, cclvii. cclix. cclx. cclxiii. cclxviii. cclxx. 
 cclxxi, cclxxiii. 
 
 Schools, number of, and the fees por quarter, i. 276, 281 285 
 291, 314, 324, 332, 407, 434,467, 471, 482, 594, 498, 503, 
 559. 
 
 School Act, not popular, and why, i. 245. 
 
 Scotch labourers, their superiority over the English, in various re- 
 spects, Gen, Int, civ. clxxvii. clxxvii. 
 
 Seabright, Sir S. Gen, hit, cclxix. 
 
 Selkirk, Lord, commenced a settlement on Lake Sinclair, which 
 suffered during the war, i. 137. 
 
 Serpent, one of unusual magnitude said to have been seen in Lake 
 Ontario, i. 186. 
 
 Settlers, actual, lots of 200 acres of land, granted to them on 
 
 payment of office fees, and performance of settling duties i 
 241. ® ’ • 
 
 Sheaffe, Major-General Sir R. H. president of Upper Canada, i. 
 15. Defeats the Americans dt Queenston, 79. Statutes passed 
 during his presidency, ii. 255 — 258. 
 
 Sheep, price of, i. 277, 282, 287, 292, 339, 368, 468, 499, 505 
 561. 
 
 Sheffield, Lord, ii. 32, 69, 108. 
 
 Sherbrooke, Sir J. govcrnor-in-chief of the Canadas, extract of his 
 
INDEX. 
 
 39 
 
 speech to the Parliament of the lower province, ii. 556. Re- 
 marks on it, 558. 
 
 Sheridan, Mr. ii. 30, 31, 78, 108. 
 
 Short hills, i. 77, andwoie. 
 
 Silver eel, a delicious fish, i. 181. 
 
 Siincoe, General, appointed the first Lieutenant-governor of Upper 
 Canada, i. 14. His favourite object to promote the settle- 
 ment of the province, ibid. Supposed to have contemplated 
 London as the future capital of the province, 138. His 
 speeches on the Quebec Bill, in the British House of Com- 
 mons, ii. 104, 107. His speech to the Legislative Council 
 and HQu§§_o£Assembly of Upper Canada, on the opening of 
 the first session of the Provincial Parliament, 110. And on 
 closing the session, 111. Statutes passed during his admini- 
 stration, 113 — 126. Interesting account of his government, 
 manners, &c. by the Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt, 
 127 — 202. Remarks on his character, 309, His schemes aban- 
 doned, and his engagements violated, on his vecal, 310. His 
 proclamation inviting settlers to Upper Canada, 445, note, 
 
 Sinclair, Sir John, ii. 78. 
 
 Six Nations, Indians, a valuable tract of land assigned to them in 
 compensation of their services during the revolutionary war, 
 i. 135. Their mode of letting their land, 136. 
 
 Sketches of Upper Canada, i. 1. Sketch I. History, 1. Sketch 
 II. Boundaries, 16. Sketch III. Natural divisions of the 
 country, 27. Sketch IV. Lakes, rivers, cataracts, bays and 
 harbours, 37. Sketch V.. Civil divisions, 116. Sketch VI. 
 Settlements, 124. Sketch VIL Population, 139. Sketch 
 VIII. Climate, winds, &c. 140. Sketch IX. Water, 145. 
 Sketch X. Soil, stones, minerals, &c. 147. Sketch XI. 
 Productions, natural and cultivated, 150. Sketch XII. Ani- 
 mals of the forest, 157. Sketch XIII. Domestic animals, 
 169. Sketch XIV. Birds, 171. Sketch XV. Fishes, 175. 
 Sketch XVI. Amphibious animals, reptiles and insects, 183. 
 Sketch XVII. Constitution, 189. Sketch XVIIL Provin- 
 cial Parliament, 190. Sketch XIX. Executive Government, 
 204. Sketch XX. Judiciary, 205. Sketch XXL Money, 
 215. Sketch XXII. Revenue and taxes, 217. Sketch 
 
40 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 XXIII. Commerce, 224. Sketch XXIV. Militia, 229. 
 Sketch XXV. Religion and ecclesiastic institutions, 231. 
 Sketch XXVI. Profession and practice of law, .234. Sketch 
 XXVII. Physic and surgery, 235. Sketch XXVIII. Trades 
 and apprenticeships, 236. Sketch XXIX. Imprisonment 
 for debt, insolvent laws, and liability of land for debt, 238, 
 Sketch XXX. Gradual abolition of slavery, 240. Sketch 
 XXXI. Price of land, and encouragement to settlers, 241. 
 Sketch XXXII. State of learning, 244. Sketch XXXIII. 
 Character, manners and customs of the inhabitants, 247. 
 Appendix to the Sketches, 257. Introduction, Gen, Int, 
 clxxxv. 
 
 Sketches of a plan for settling in Upper Canada, account of, Gen, 
 Int, cccxiii. 
 
 Skunk, a species of pole-cat, i. 167. 
 
 Skylark, not found in Upper Canada, i. 174. 
 
 Slaves, the number of them in the province very small, i. 241. 
 
 Sleighing parties, i. 250. 
 
 Sleighing season, i. 273. Its ordinary endurance, 278,282, 287, 
 292, 308, 310, 359, 366,408,410, 468, 474, 499, 505,519, 
 561, 621. 
 
 Smart, Mr. a missionary, his letter to Mr. Gourlay, containing ac- 
 counts of various townships, i. 507. His excellent character, 
 658. Mr. Gourlay’s visit to him, ibid. 
 
 Smith, Colonel, president of Upper Canada, ii. 540. Lionely 
 situation of hi.s house, 541. His speech on closing the ses- 
 sion of parliament, 545. Remarks on it, 546. 
 
 Smoking, a very common habit among all classes in the province, 
 i. 251. 
 
 Snakes, not numerous in the province, i. 186. A double-headed 
 one, 187. 
 
 Sodus, village of, burnt by the British under Sir J. Yeo, i. 100. 
 
 Soil of the province, component parts of, i. 147. Not so favour- 
 able to grass as to grain, 154, Adapted to flax and hemp, 
 155. 
 
 Soil, general character of the, i. 276, 281, 286, 291, 303, 308, 
 310, 312, 315, 318, 320, 322, 324, 328, 330, 333, 338, 341, 
 
index. 
 
 41 
 
 !!!’ !!!’ !r’ 429, 441, 
 
 , 46, 449, 452, 467, 472, 482, 485, 486, 487, 490 493 
 
 «, 503, 50., 5.3, ibid. 5.6,5.7,5,8,ibil5(.0. 
 
 &ophia.sburg, township of, i. 131. Township report of, 486. 
 aoulange, seigniory of, i. 586. 
 
 Southwold, township report of, i. 344. 
 
 Speaker of the Legislative Council, appointed, and may be re. 
 
 moved, by the governor, i. 191. 
 
 Squirrel, four species found in the province, i. 168. 
 
 “ ■ , the flying, a rare species, i, 168. 
 
 Stamford, township report of, i. 416. ^ 
 
 Statistical taWe^ 306, 336, 352, 354, 402, 
 610. 
 
 404, 456, 524, 526, 
 
 Statute labour on the highways, i. 223. Extended in the session 
 of 1816, 266. 
 
 Statutes passed in the first session of the first Provincial Parlia- 
 ment of Upper Canada, ii. 113. In the Second session, 117. 
 In the third session, 120. In the fourth session, 122. In 
 the first session of the second parliament, 125. In the 
 second session, 203. In the third session, 211. In the 
 fourth session, 213. In the first session of the third parlia- 
 ment, 215. In the second session, 216. In the third ses- 
 sion, 220. In the fourth session, 221, 224. In the first ses- 
 sion of the fourth parliament, 228. In the second session, 
 231. In the third session, 234. In the fourth session, 237. 
 In the first session of the fifth parliament, 241. In the second 
 session, 244. In the third session, 247. In the fourth ses- 
 sion, 251. In the second session of the sixth parliament, 
 255. In the third session, 259. In the fourth session, 262. 
 In the fifth session, 267. In the first session of the seventh 
 parliament, 284. Review of the statutes, 336. A new 
 and improved edition of them proposed, 337. 
 
 Steam-boats on the lakes, i. 108. .. * . 
 
 Stones, a scarcity of them for common uses, in several parts of the 
 province, i. 148. 
 
 Store, synonymous with shop in Upper Canada, i. 271. 
 
 Stores, number of, i. 276^, 281, 286, 291, 314, 333, 409, 467, 
 472, 493, 498, 503, 610, 617, 618, 559. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 42 
 
 Strachan, Rev. Dr. account of his life, Gen. Ini. cxcix. Author 
 of a “ Visit to Upper Canada,” published by his brother, cciv. 
 
 ^ Mr. publishes a “ Visit to Upper Canada,” Gen. Int. 
 
 cxcix. Infamous character of that work, cci. cciv. Cri- 
 tique on it, from the Scotsman, cci. 
 
 Street, Mr. ii. 504, 606, 607. 
 
 Stuart, Captain C. account of his “ Emigrant’s Guide to Upper 
 Canada,” Gen. Int. cccv. 
 
 , Sir John, Gen. Int. cccxcvi. 
 
 Sturgeon, the largest fish of the lakes, i. 175. 
 
 Sucker, two species of this fish found in the lakes, i. 180. 
 
 Sugar, maple, common in every district, i. 151. 
 
 Summary of population, &c. in the Western district, i. 298. 
 London District, 356. Gore District, 405. Niagara Dis- 
 trict, 454. Newcastle District, 468. Midland District, 495. 
 Johnstown District, 620. Eastern District, 565. 
 
 Summer heat, sometimes intolerable in Canada, ii. 393. The 
 evenings in summer delightful, 401. 
 
 Sun-fish, i. 182. 
 
 Surrogate Court, i. 208. 
 
 Swan, the, a rare bird in Upper Canada, i. 174. 
 
 Swayze, Is^c, member of assembly, Gen. Int. xxvi. Ixviii. Ixxiii. 
 
 His character and employments, ii. 297, 498. 
 
 Systematic petitioning, the mode by which any great national end 
 may be obtained, Gen. Int. cxxxvi. 
 
 T. 
 
 Taverns, number of, i. 276, 281, 286, 291, 315, 333,467, 472, 
 498, 503, 559. 
 
 Taxation, all power of as to Upper Canada, solemnly and ex- 
 pressly renounced by the British Parliament, i. 203. A 
 general spirit of contentment and satisfaction on this subject 
 in the province, 204. 
 
 ^ not an evil, so far as it stimulates to industry, Gen. Int. 
 
 cxlix. 
 
 Taxes, no direct provincial, . except the district tax, i. 222. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 43 
 
 Amount of this for one year, ibid. No where less burden- 
 some, 223. 
 
 Taylor, Mr. M. A. his speech on Mr. Scarlett’s Poor Relief Bill, 
 Gen. Int. cclvii. On the Quebec Bill, ii. 23, 87. 
 
 Tecumseh, the Indian chief, slain in the battle near the Moravian 
 towns, I. 43. Hts body treated with indignity by the Arne- 
 ricau soldiers, 44. 
 
 Templeton, township of, i. 606. 
 
 1 errebonne, seigniory of, i. 598. 
 
 1 hi.stle, two kinds of, known in the province, i. 156. 
 
 Thorold, township report of, i. 445. 
 
 Thurlow, township of, i. 1 32. Township report of, 489. 
 
 Thorpe, Mr. Justice, persecuted by Governor Gore, ii. 322. Ilis 
 subsequent treatment, 335. 
 
 Timber, kinds produced, i. 276, 281, 286, 291, 303, 308, 310, 
 315, 318, 320, 322, 324, 328, 330, 333, 338, 341, 342, 344, 
 347, 349, 358, 366, 368, 370, 371, 377, 38^383, 386, 389, 
 394, 397, 407, 409, 412, 417, 422, 426, 429, 442, 445, 446, 
 449, 452, 467, 472, 482, 485, 486, 488, 490, 493, 498, 504,' 
 509, 514, 517, 518, 560, 620. 
 
 Toronto, township of, i. 134. 
 
 I'ortoise, fresh water, or turtle, three species of, i. 183. 
 
 Townsend, township report of, i. 318. 
 
 Townships, Upper Canada originally divided into 158, i. 116. 
 1 heir number since increased, 121 . Their extent, and the 
 manner in which they were laid out, 122. 
 
 Township meetings, ii. 587, 591, 594, 595, 596, 602, 603, 604, 
 605, 606, 608, 615, 616, 620, 622, 623, 624, 625. 
 
 reports, i. 269. Some withheld and others withdrawn 
 
 by interested persons, 567. 
 
 Trade of the province, much of it a species of indirect barter, i, 226. 
 
 — ~ and apprenticeships, i. 236. * 
 
 Trafalgar, township of, i; 134. Township report of, 358." 
 
 Travelling accommodations, very indifferent, i. 250. 
 
 Tree toad, or frog, i. 187. 
 
 Trees, the Canadian do not exactly resemble the same species in 
 Britain, i. 465. « 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 

 i 
 
 
 m 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Trolling, a favourite manner of fishing in the lakes, i. 182. 
 
 Trout, the common brook, i. 177.. 
 
 Tunkers, enjoy a conditional exemption from militia duties, i. 
 234, 619, note. 
 
 Tyranny ofPoor Laws exemplified, a pamphlet by Mr. Gourlay, 
 Gen. Ini. cxvi. 
 
 U. V. 
 
 ’ il. E. loyalists, persons adhering to the royal cause in the Ame- 
 rican war, rewarded with land to themselves, and to their 
 children on attaining the age of twenty-one years, i. 13. 
 Their rights violated by the government of the province, ii. 
 456, mte* 
 
 Vaudreuil, sefghiory of, h 589. 
 
 Vincent, General, attempts to prevent the landing of the Ame- 
 ,--flcan troops at Fort George, i. 81. Is compelled to retreat, 
 82. Retires to Burlington on the arrival of a part of Ge- 
 neral Harrison’s army, ibid. Surprises the American army 
 in their camp during the night, and takes Generals Winder 
 and Chandler prisoners, 84. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wages of blacksmiths, masons, and carpenters, i. 277, 281, 
 
 286, 292, 312, 318, 326, 330, 333, 338, 341, 343, 345, 
 
 358, 366, 370, 376, 398, 410, 423, 442, 447, 453, 467, 
 
 473, 483, 490, l09, 504, 514, 560, 622. 
 
 of common labourers, and of women servants, i. 277, 282, 
 
 286, 292, 368, 370, 372, 390, 413, 439, 447, 449, 453, 
 467, 493, 499, 504, 518, 560. 
 
 Wainfleet, township report of, i. 449. 
 
 Wakefield, Mr. Extract from his Statistical Account of Ireland, 
 Gen, Ini. Ixxxix. note. 
 
 Walpole, township report of, i. 320. 
 
 Walsingham, township report of, i. 327. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Water of the province generally impregnated in a slight degree 
 with limestone, i. 145. 
 
 Water conveyance, i. 280, 283, 288, 293, 304, 309, 311, 321, 
 
 328, 334, 339, 345, 348, 330, 360, 367, 373r 377, 382, 
 
 387, 401, 408, 411, 414, 419, 424, 427, 435, 448,450, 
 
 454, 476, 484, 485, 487, 489, 492, 500, 601, 563, 581. 
 
 Waterloo, township report of, i. 382. 
 
 Watson, Mr. Alderman, ii. 73, 109. 
 
 Weasel, i. 168. 
 
 Wellington Square, part of the township of Nelson, report of, i. 
 368. 
 
 Wentworthy^aoiynship of, i. 605. 
 
 Western District, i. 120, Meeting of representatives, ii. 621. 
 
 Westminster, township report of, i. 302. Statistical table, shew- 
 ing the commencement of improvement in this settlement, 
 306. 
 
 Wheat, the staple of the province, i. 154, Should be sown 
 early, ibid. 
 
 ordinary season of sowing and reaping, i. 278, 282, 
 
 287, 292, 308, 310, 359, 366, 408, 410, 468, 474, 493, 
 499, 505, 519, 561, 621. 
 
 — , quantity required to sow an acre, and the average crop, 
 
 i. 278, 282, 287, 292, 315, 372, 390, 394, 413, 429, 
 468, 493, 499, 505, 561, 622. 
 
 Whipper-Will, or Whip-poor-Will, i. 174. 
 
 Whitbread, Mr. proposes to have the poor of England educated, 
 but fails, Gen, Ini, cxxxiv. * 
 
 White fish, i. 177. 
 
 Wilberforce, Mr. ii. 101. 
 
 Wild cat, or Canadian lynx, i. 162. 
 
 turkeys, i. 172. 
 
 geese, i. 172. 
 
 ducks, i. 172. 
 
 Wilkes, Jolm, sketch of his history, ii. 652, exxx. 
 
 Willcocks, Mr. persecuted because of his political principles, ii. 
 315. Account of his case, 655—662, noie. 
 
 Williamsburgh, beautifully situated, i. 125. Battle of, or (’hrys^ 
 ler's Field, ibid. 
 
46 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Willoughby, township report of, i. 412. 
 
 Wilson, Sir R. Gen, Int. cclv. cclxi. cclxvi. cclxviii. cclxxi. 
 cclxxii. Letters to him from Mr. Gourlay, cclxxxi. note. 
 
 Wiltshire, method of regulating the wages of labour in this and 
 the adjoining counties, Gen. Int. cvii. Great error of this 
 system, cviii. 
 
 Wily parish, in Wiltshire, method of regulating the w'ages of 
 labour there, Gen. Int. cvii. Petition from thence to the 
 Houses of Lords and Commons, cxxix. Second petition, 
 cxxxviii. Difficulties with which it had to strufjijle before 
 being presented to the House of Commons, cxlvi. cxlvii. 
 Explanation of its object, cxlvii, Sunday sehool established 
 there by the labourers, ccclxi. 
 
 Windham, township report of, i. 314. 
 
 Winds, the most prevalent^ of Upper Canada, i. 141. 
 
 Wolf, a very common animal in the province, i. 160. An extra- 
 ordinary mis-statement on this subject in Guthrie’s Geogra- 
 phical Grammar, refuted, ibid. 
 
 Wolford, township report of, i. 498. Additional Report, 501. 
 
 Wolverene, or carcajou, i. 162. 
 
 Wood, Colonel, Gen. Int. cclxvii. 
 
 , Mr. Alderman, Gen. Int. cccxcvi. 
 
 Woodchuck, or ground hog, i. 166, 
 
 Woodhouse, township report of, i. 322. 
 
 Wool, average quantity yielded by a sheep, and its price per 
 pound, i. 278, 282, 287, 292, 382, 468, 499, 505, 561. 
 
 Worsley, Lieut, captures two American schooners, by stratagem, 
 i. 26. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yarmouth, township report of, i. 342. 
 
 Yellow ochre, i. 150. 
 
 Yeo, Sir J, L. burns the village of Sodus, i. 102. Raises the 
 blockade of Sacket’s harbour, after the defeat of an expedi- 
 tion up Sandy Creek, 103. 
 
 \onge Street, a military way, laid ont by General Simcoe, 
 i. 93. Its great advantages in facilitating the communication 
 
INDEX. 
 
 47 
 
 with the north-west, ibid. Diffcronce of opinion as to its 
 superiority over the route by the Straits of Niagara and I)e- 
 troit, 94. Township report of, 512. 
 
 \ork, the seat of the provincial government, i. 88. Its situation, 
 ibid. Garrison and harbour, 89. Taken by the Americans’, 
 ibid. The parliament house, &c. burnt by a party of Ame- 
 rican sailors, 90. Again taken by Commodore Chauncey 
 and Colonel Scott, 93. Description of the town, 133. Mi- 
 serable state of the surrounding country, 459. Supposed po- 
 pulation of the town, 463. 
 
 Young, Mr. Arthur, his scheme for providing the poor with a 
 portioirof land, Gen. Int. Ixxxiv. Publishes some undigested 
 notes of Mr. Gourlay’s, without his consent, Ixxxviii. Firm- 
 ly attached to his scheme of giving land to the poor, xc. His 
 letter on that subject, from the Farmer’s Journal, xciii. iiote. 
 His character, xcvii. 
 
 J. G. BAKNAKD, 
 
 07. SkiniHtr Street, Len<ion. 
 

I 
 
 ■V-;- '.S 
 
 \\ziom 
 
 ■