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NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK, 
 
 AND THE OTHER 
 
 BRITISH PROVINCES IN NORTH AMERICA, 
 
 WITH A PLAN OF 
 
 NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 BY JAMES S. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 FISHER, SON, & CO. 
 
 NEWGATE STREET, LONDON; RUE ST. HONORIS, PARIS. 
 
DEDICATION, 
 
 TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR CHARLES T. METCALFE, BART., 
 Governor- General of Canada^ 
 
 as a 
 
 SINCERE TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM FOR HIS MANY PRIVATE VIRTUES, 
 and of admiration for the 
 
 LIBERALITY OF SENTIMENT — INFLEXIBLE INTEGRITY— 
 
 AND HIGH MORAL COURAGE, 
 
 Which has marked his successive Administrations in the 
 
 EASTERN AND WESTERN WORLDS, 
 
 THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 {with his kind permission^) 
 
 BY ONE, WHO, HAVING ENJOYED THE ADVANTAGE 
 OF HIS EARLY FRIENDSHIP IN HINDOOSTAN, A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO, 
 
 Has seen with unalloyed satisfaction 
 
 HIS HIGH AND HONOURABLE APPOINTMENTS AS A GOVERNOR 
 IN BENGAL, JAMAICA, AND CANADA ; 
 
 And who gladly avails himself of this opportunity 
 
 TO GIVE EXPRESSION TO THOSE SENTIMENTS OF PRIVATE REGARD AND 
 ESTEEM, AND PUBLIC RESPECT AND HOMAGE, 
 which a uniform career of 
 
 FIRMNESS OF PURPOSE, UNITED WITH MILDNESS OF MANNERS, 
 JUSTNESS OF OBJECT, PURSUED WITH MODERATION OF MEANS, 
 
 AND TRUE DIGNITY OF OFFICE, BLENDED WITH 
 ACCESSIBILITY, FRANKNESS, AND COURTESY TO ALL, 
 
 Are SO well calculated to inspire. 
 
 MAY HIS ADMINISTRATION BE AS HONOURABLE 
 TO HIS WELL-EARNED RENOWN, 
 
 AS ACCEPTABLE TO HIS BELOVED SOVEREIGN ; 
 and, above all, 
 
 AS FAVOURABLE TO THE PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS 
 OF THE COLONISTS UNDER HIS RULE, 
 
 AS THE MOST FERVENT PATRIOT OR PHILANTHROPIST 
 COUI.D DESIRE ! 
 
 J. S. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 London, May 1, 1843. 
 
SIR CHARLES METCALFE TO MR. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 Liverpool, 3d of March, 1843, 2 a.m. 
 
 My Dear Sir, 
 
 I write a hurried line, at this unusual hour, to 
 acknowledge the receipt of your obliging letter of the 28 tli 
 u timo, to say that I rejoice to see that you propose to publish 
 on Canada, and that I accept, with pride and pleasure, the honour 
 of the Dedication of your forthcoming Work. 
 
 I could not rely on any opportunity of writing during the 
 present day, and early to-morrow I shall be on the sea, away 
 irom the means of communication with you. 
 
 With many thanks for the kind sentiments expressed in your 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, your’s very truly. 
 
 To J. S. Buckingham, Esq. 
 
 C. T. METCALFE. 
 
PHEFACE. 
 
 In committing to the press the last volume of my 
 1 ravels on the Continent of America, I have only 
 
 0 ask for It the same careful and patient examina- 
 tion, and the same candid and impartial criticism, 
 by which those who may read its pages would like 
 any work of their own to be judged, were they 
 about to appear before the tribunal of the public. 
 
 Of the narrative and descriptive portions, there 
 mil not probably be much ditference of opinion, as 
 the pictures possess at least fidelity and truth, from 
 their being drawn on the spot. On the historical 
 and statistic sections, all practicable care has been 
 bestowed, and the best accessible authorities, ancient 
 and modern, diligently consulted and compared 
 And of the illustrations, it is sufficient perhaps to 
 say that they are from the pencil of Mr. Bartlett to 
 ensure for them that confidence in their accuracv! to 
 which, all who have seen the cities and scenes deli- 
 neated, will bear their willing testimony. 
 
 The portion of this work that will no doubt excite 
 some opinions in accordance, and others at variance 
 with the Author’s views, is that which embraces the 
 Chapter on National Colonization. But, as it is the 
 fate of all new projects or propositions — from the 
 Expedition of Columbus, down to the introduction of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Gas Lights, Steam Navigation, a Civic Police, Slave- 
 Emancipation, Cheap Postage, or Free Trade — to 
 meet with opposition, from the classes who are most 
 slow to perceive the advantages of improvement, and 
 from those who are interested in maintaining things 
 as they are ; so it would be vain to expect that a 
 proposition so bold and comprehensive as that of 
 introducing an entire new system of planting Colonies 
 abroad, should be received even with general favour. 
 It must pass through its ordeal of abuse, ridicule, 
 scorn, and contempt, like all other projects ; and 
 Time alone will decide whether it has within it the 
 elements of truth, justice, and practicability, to sus- 
 tain it through the conflict. 
 
 I beg the favour, therefore, of those to whom this 
 proposition seems at first uninviting, to remember 
 well, that it is the common trick of those who will 
 not give themselves the trouble to examine what is 
 new, to excuse their indolence, and flatter their self- 
 love at the same time, by affecting a degree of wisdom 
 so superior to that of ordinary mortals, as to be able to 
 pronounce judgment without weighing the evidence, 
 and oracularly to condemn everything which they 
 will not give themselves the pains to understand, as 
 “ visionary and impracticable.” This has been the 
 sentence of shallow-minded men, in every age, on 
 every subject that was in advance of their own 
 understanding or their own industry to make them- 
 selves thoroughly acquainted with ; and this is the 
 cuckoo-note of shallow-minded persons still. 
 
 If the “ army of martyrs” who have been thought 
 “ visionaries ” in their day and generation, — from 
 Anaxagoras, who was condemned for impiety towards 
 
PllEi'ACK. 
 
 the gods, because he taught some new astronomical 
 truths, and contended that there was only one 
 Supreme Intelligence ruling the Universe, down 
 to Galileo, who was imprisoned by the Inquisition 
 for broaching new “ impieties ” of the same des- 
 cription ; and so onward to Columbus, who was 
 treated as a “visionary” by the Courts and Col- 
 leges of Europe; or Fulton, who was an object of 
 scorn and ridicule to the multitude when he made 
 his first attempt to propel a vessel by steam on the 
 Hudson river ; or, in moral changes, to Wilberforce 
 and Clarkson, who were regarded as “ monomaniacs ” 
 — or Father Mathew, who was at first considered a 
 mei’e “dreamer” — and the advocates of substituting 
 a Congress of Nations to maintain Universal Peace, 
 and settle all national disputes by arbitration instead 
 of having recourse to war, all of whom are regarded 
 by the great majority of mankind as “ imbeciles ” or 
 “ fanatics if such an “ army of martyrs ” could be 
 raised from the dead some fifty years hence, when 
 their “ visionary and impracticable schemes ” have 
 all received the stamp of Time to mark them as 
 the works of men who had effected the greatest and 
 most beneficial revolutions in human affairs ; — and 
 if such a “host of visionaries” could at the same 
 time be confronted with the weak and shallow men 
 who derided their efforts, scoffed at their projects, 
 and either persecuted or denounced them as mad- 
 men or fools — how would the glory of the one and 
 the shame of the other stand out in bold relief, and 
 eaeh make the other more conspicuous ! 
 
 But, let the planners and projectors of the world, 
 visionai’y though they may be deemed, console them- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 selves with this reflection, that it is to the very 
 enthusiasts who are so contemptuously scorned, that 
 the world owes all the pioneering efforts which have 
 resulted in the discovery and promulgation of almost 
 every great physical, moral, or political change that 
 has yet improved the condition of mankind ; — that 
 their zeal, which is so much ridiculed, furnishes the 
 only power which could sustain them in their frowned- 
 upon and discouraged career; — and that their indif- 
 ference and superiority to the scoffs of the ignorant, 
 their single-mindedness of purpose, and their uncon- 
 querable perseverance in what they believe to be just 
 and true, can alone achieve the triumphs they so 
 ardently desire. 
 
 J. S. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 8 , Regent's Villas, 
 
 Ave^iue Road, 
 
 Regent's Park, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Departure from the United States for Canada — Embark at Queenstown in 
 an English steamer — Pass between Fort Niagara and Fort George — 
 Historical Incidents connected with these Forts — Voyage across Lake 
 Ontario — Agreeable contrast of an English steamer with an American — 
 Arrival at Toronto 1 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Sketch of the history of York or Toronto — Position of the town — Size, 
 plan, streets — Wooden side- walks— Long plank turnpike road — Supe- 
 riority in pleasure and economy to macadamized roads — Public edifices — 
 Parliament House and ofiices — Hall of Representatives — Legislative 
 council-chamber — College buildings and grounds — Funds for endowment 
 — Course and cost of education — Government House — Churches — Epis- 
 copal service Differences in English and American Churches — News- 
 
 papers — Judicial establishment — Professions of law and medicine — Hos- 
 pital and asylum— Emigrant office— Banks and currency— Municipal 
 government 9 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Resemblances and differences between Canada and the United States — 
 State of Society in Toronto — Strong dislike of the Americans — American 
 enterprise with Irish labour and English capital— Progress made by 
 Toronto in twenty-five years— Advance in population and public works — 
 Yearly increase of population — General loyalty and attachment to the 
 British rule— Superaddition of hatred and contempt for America— Great 
 meeting of Upper Canadians on Queenstown Heights— Proposed resto- 
 ration of the monument to General Brock— Meeting of Free Negroes to 
 celebrate _ British emancipation— Regatta of sailing and rowing boats in 
 the Bay 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Facts connected with the recent Rebellion in Upper Canada— Visit from 
 an Indian Missionary— Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee— Indian Settlement at 
 “ The river where credit is given ” — State and condition of the Canadian 
 Indians generally— Difficulty of converting the pagan tribes of India- 
 Remarkable speech and dream of an Indian Chief— Proposal to remove 
 the Indians to the Manitoulin Island— Indian preference of Ftench and 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 or Ohio— Recent decline in the price of land— Climate of Toronto— Intem- 
 perate Magistrates — Causes of this, the reward of political partisans — 
 News of the Union of the Canadas — Parting visits to friends 42 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Departure from Toronto — English steamboats — Passage along the coast — 
 
 Character of the country— Touch at Port Hope, and at Coburg Arrival 
 
 at Kingston, and stay there — History of the rise and progress of that town 
 —Beautiful and advantageous situation of Kings ton— Visit to the Fort 
 on the opposite Peninsula — Description of its interior and subterranean 
 passage— Plan of the town— Materials and style of building— Public 
 Edifices Court House — Churches — Country around Kingston — Bay of 
 Quinte Kr 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Visit to the Kingston Penitentiary — Chaplain’s and Inspector’s Reports 
 
 Difiiculty of providing for prisoners when released— Intemperance the 
 principal cause of crime— Defective education—Religion of the convicts 
 —Registry of facts connected with the prisoners— Cost of the Peniten- 
 tiary Salaries— Expenses — Proceeds of labour — Objections of honest 
 
 labourers Visit to the Ridcau Canal — Fine works — Line of the canal 
 
 Progress, cost, and value — Great fire at Kingston — Rebuilding of the 
 town— Newspapers— Mechanics’ Institute— Temperance Society— Old 
 Indian Regiments met with at Kingston and Toronto— General state of 
 society here— Sultry weather— Visit of the Governor- General of Canada 
 on his tour— Reception at Kingston— Causes for its coldness 65 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Departye from Kingston for Montreal- Passage through The Thousand 
 
 Islands-Brockville-Prescott— Osnaburgh-Tube Ferry- Route by land 
 and water towards Montreal-Pks.sage through Lake St. Francis- Rapids 
 ot the St. La^vrence- Boats and rafts- French Canadians— Dwellings- 
 I arms— Neatness, cleanliness, love of fiowers, and of dress— Fort— 
 Highlanders of Glengarry- Village of the Cedars- Village population- 
 Irench Parish Church- Junction of the Ottewa River with the St. Law- 
 rence— Embarkation on the Ottawa at the Cascades— Visit to Mr Ellice’s 
 Seigneury of Beauhamois - Indian village of Caughnawagha-Joumey 
 from Lachine to Montreal-Stay at this city, and occupations there... 83 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Early history of Montreal- Indian village of Hochelaga- Tribe of the 
 Hurons-Cession of Montreal to the Jesuit Missionaries-Consecration 
 of the spot selected for the town-Transfer of the Island to the St. Sul- 
 picians-First intercourse and traffic with the Indians- Foundation of 
 the Seminary of St. Sul pice— Horrible massacre of the whites by the 
 Indians-Surrender of Montreal to the British-Terrible fire-Deprecia- 
 F 1 Money— Capture of Montreal by Americans— Recapture- 
 
 «g IS o mericans— Soil of Upper Canada, equal to that of New York 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Visit of Prince William Henry, late King of England — Awful and alarm- 
 ing atmospherical phenomenon — Destructive ravages of the Asiatic cho- 
 lera — First overt act of rebellion in Montreal — Probable future seat of 
 the United Government 94 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Situation of Montreal — Junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Siege 
 
 of the Island — Height of Mount Royal — Plan and subdivisions of the 
 city — Streets, houses, style, and materials of building — Public edifices — 
 Great Catholic Cathedral — Description of its architecture and interior 
 — Roman Catholic and Protestant churches — Number and proportions of 
 religious sects — Visit to the ancient nunnery of the Hotel Dieu — Habits 
 and appearance of the cloistered nuns — Visit to the Black Nunnery, or 
 Convent of Notre Dame — Seminary for female education attached to 
 this — Dress and appearance of the Black Nuns — Number of pupils — 
 Style and cost of education — Visit to the Grey Nunnery — History of its 
 foundation — Dress and appearance of the Grey Nuns — Discipline and 
 mode of life within the walls — Sources of revenue and its appropriation 
 — Seminary of the St. Sulpicians — Property of this body — Seigiieury of 
 Montreal — British and Canadian School — Protestant National School — 
 McGill’s College for the higher branches of education 105 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Municipal government— Municipal edifices — Court House — Barracks — 
 Government House — Custom House — Commerce of Montreal — Tonnage 
 of Shipping — Imports and Exports of the City — Increase of population 
 Hotels — Theatre — Newspapers of Montreal — Instance of illiberality 
 towards Catholics — Injustice towards America and the Americans — 
 Example of unjustifiable imputations — Books — American reprints of 
 English works — Ship-building and rope-making establishments 129 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Monument to Lord Nelson — The Champ de Mars Hospital — Orphan Asy- 
 lum — Ladies* Benevolent Society — Sunday Schools — Bible and Tract 
 Associations — Home Missionaries for converting the Canadian habitans 
 — Natural History Society — Museum and Library — Gas Works and 
 Water Works — City Police Force — Indian females in the streets— Gene- 
 ral Society of Montreal — Licentiousness of the Military — Temperance 
 Excursion on the river St. Lawrence — Visit to Canadian villages — Force 
 of the current in the Pass of St. Mary — Landing of the Temperance 
 party at the wharf — Contrast between this and pleasure excursions in 
 general — Visit to the summit of Mount Royal — Splendour and beauty of 
 the View 144 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Departure from Montreal for Quebec — Passage do\\Ti the river St. Lawrence 
 — Villages — Boats — Rafts — Canadian boat-songs — Splendid sunset — 
 Improving scenery of the river’s banks— First view of Quebec — Magnifi- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 cent picture Wolfe’s Cove— Plains of Abraham — Land at Quebec 
 
 Hotel on the ramparts jgj 
 
 CHAP. XIH. 
 
 Earliest intercourse with Canada-Cabot, Cortereal, and Verazzano- First 
 iiUercourse with Indians— Voyages of Jacques Cartier— Roberval, Viceroy 
 ot Canada- Champlain’s voyage— Founding of Quebec— First capture of 
 the City by the English in 1629-Other attacks at different periods— 
 Expedition of General Wolfe— Plan of operations -Wolfe’s recital of 
 Greys Elegy, the night before the battle— Scaling the Heights of the 
 Plains of Abraham— Battle on the Plains— Death of General Wolfe— 
 Amlrkan"^^ General, Montcalm-Siege of Quebec by the 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Description of the City in its present state-Situation of the town- 
 xcellence of its harbour— Commanding position of the Citadel- Plan 
 TLriTu “<1 alleys-Lovver Town and Up er 
 
 plr ^ ra . Streets- Private Dwellings-Shopsl 
 
 fealt^h M ®‘- Lewis-Ceremony of swearing 
 
 Bea ftiftd ‘'l® ?“«"®";;®-I>estruction of the ancient Castle by fire-! 
 Beautiful Platform and Promenade on its site— Parliament House— 
 
 — *Val*° hi° * n building- Hall of the Legislative Assembly— Library 
 Bishir,^ p collection of old books-Legislative Council Chamber-! 
 Bishops Palace— Lower Town— Custom House— Exchange- Trinity 
 House-Sault-aux-Matelot-Origin of the name-Upper Zvn-S 
 House and Jail-Government Offiees— Museum of^Ltural History 
 Literary Society-Mechanics’ Institute T» 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Catholics-First Convent of the 
 u ^ ^ Jesiiits-Dissolution of their Order-Founda 
 i: N Lieu- Description of the building— Convent of Ursu 
 
 Conr^e"T the^diication of bo^I!: 
 
 C^\ '"struction-Numbers and classes-Bishop’s residence- 
 r^!i Library— General Hospital of the Congregational Nuns 
 
 <5 r 1 O 1 Protestant Cathedral and Chapels- 
 
 cnre M 1 L-titution-Seandalous"sine. 
 
 Hospital ' school-Benevolent Institutions— Marine 
 
 : 203 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 engineer- General description of the 
 ortihcations Lines and Ramparts enclosing the City of Onehon v • 
 to the Plains of Abraham— Death of Q"ebec— Visit 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Quebec by the bank of the river-Scenes of poverty, filth, and intem- 
 ^lance, by the way— Visit to the Joint Monument to Wolfe and 
 Montcalm— Earlier French Tribute to the memory of Montcalm— Corre- 
 
 * 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Commerce of Quebec-Ships, Tonnage, and Cargoes— Large proportion 
 oi Wines and Spirits imported— Articles of Export, nature and qiian- 
 Immigration during the present year— Muni- 
 cipal Government- Population-French and English society in Quebec- 
 Newspapers— Political parties— Public amusements— Picture Gallery— 
 of Hurons— Castes and names— Spread of 
 the Catholic religion in America- Recent arrival of several companies 
 of Nuns— Crowded Temperance Meeting in the Parliament House- 
 Statistics of Intemperance in the City of Quebec— Expenses of Jails, 
 Hospitals, Asylums, and Paupers- Coroner’s Inquests- Proportion of 
 criminals from drinking-Execution of a British seaman for murderinff 
 a marine— Efforts of the Catholic Bishop and Clergy in favour of Tem- 
 perance-Climate of Quebec— Health of the Canadian peasantry... 238 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Visit to the Falls of Montmorenci— Contrast between the French Cana- 
 dians and the Americans-Description of the Falls at Montmorenci— 
 Beautiful view of Quebec from the road— Ride on the Cape Rouge road 
 — Spencer Wood— St. Foix road— Drive from Point Levi to the river 
 Chaudiere Canadian peasantry, character, and condition — Visit to the 
 Falls of the Chaudiere— Catholic crosses— Militia stations— Fine views 
 of Quebec from the Heights of Point Levi- Excursion to Lake St. 
 Charles and Lorette— History and Description of the Huron Indians— 
 
 Amalgamation with the French traders — Visit to the Indian Church 
 
 “ Our Lady of Loretta Visit to the dwelling of the Indian chief 265 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 General Sketch of the History of Canada— First voyage of John and Sebas- 
 tian Cabot— Enterprises of the French navigators, Aubert, Cartier, and 
 Robervalle— First "capture of Quebec by the EngUsh— Religious Estab- 
 lishments of the Jesuits— Expedition of General Wolfe— Settlement of 
 Canada under the British — Distinctions between Upper and Lower 
 Canada— English and French races— Rebellion of 1837— Visit of Lord 
 Durham— Union effected under Lord Sydenham— Area, climate, produc- 
 tions, and present condition of the Province "... 292 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Departure from Quebec— Fine view of the City and surrounding objects— 
 Falls of Montmorenci— Isle of Orleans— Isle of Filberts— River Saguenay 
 — Scenery of its clilfy banks — Grandeur of the St. Lawrence at its 
 entrance -Antico.sti- Gasp4 — Bay of Chaleurs-Magdalen Islands— 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Prince Edward Island — History, description, statistics, and commerce of 
 the Colony — Government, population, and religious sects of the Island — 
 Entrance to Pictou — Town of Scotch settlers — Coal beds and railroad — 
 Passage through the Gut of Canseau — Shores of Nova Scotia and of 
 Cape Breton — Geological theory of the formation of their Bays En- 
 
 trance to the harbour of Halifax— Embarkation of the late Governor for 
 England — Specimen of Colonial nationality 308 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 First seftlement of Nova Scotia by the French— Town of Halifax founded 
 by the Earl of Halifax — Cruel treatment of the Acadians by the British 
 —First House of Assembly formed in Halifax— Visits of the Duke of 
 Clarence and Duke of Kent— Situation of the town— Fine harbour and 
 
 basin— Town of Dartmouth— Shubenecadie Canal— Plan of Halifax 
 
 Dockyard and Ordnance Depot — Province Building — Government 
 House— Catholic Seminary— Protestant College— Museum and Mecha- 
 nics’ Institute Churches of Halifax — Numbers and sects — Newspapers 
 
 Commerce of the Port— Population — British, Negroes, and Indians 
 
 General Society— Loyalty of feeling— Ladies of Halifax— Hospitality- 
 Parties— Country Residences— Agriculture— Roads 325 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 General Description of the Province of Nova Scotia— Area, extent, and 
 position— History of its discovery and first settlement— Repeated captures 
 and transfers between England and France— Shameful expulsion of the 
 Acadians— Topography— Climate and produetions— Value of Exports and 
 Imports— Estimated^value of moveable and immoveable property— Towns 
 of the Coast— Interior Administration of Justice 34c 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Cape Breton— Position— Area— Originally part of the French Colony of 
 Acadia -Subsequent history - Religious wars - Lax morality of the 
 Puritans— Destruction of Louisbourgh— Value of its mines of iron and 
 coal- Singular phenomenon of gas and boiling water - Population- 
 Classes— Occupations— Shipping and trade— Prince Edward Island- 
 Attempt (o restore feudal government— Lands disposed of by State 
 Lottery— Area, produce, and population of the Island— Chief town— 
 legislature— Commerce— Present condition 357 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Island of Newfoundland- Size- Position-Features of resemblance to 
 Ireland History— Voyages of the Scandinavians and Welsh— Visit of 
 English and French navigators-British Admirals and Naval Captains 
 appointed as Govcmors-First Constitution and Legislature given to the 
 island- Area— Climate and productions— Rivers— Lakes— Soil— Bays- 
 
 fisheries— Perilous enterprises- Exports of fish and oil— Popiilution— 
 Religious bodies — Future prospects qgcj 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Leave Halifax for journey to Windsor-Stage-coach-Intemperate passe,.- 
 gers-Road-Scenery-Lakes-Autumnal foliage-Town of Windsor- 
 River Avon--College--FertUe land— Neat fields— Excellent farming- 
 mbark in the Maid of the Mist steamer— Scenery of the river— Ba/of 
 M„.es--Gathering storm-Anchor under Cape Blow-me-down-Narrow 
 Split-Bay of Fundy-Highest and strongest tides in the 
 
 th^ r 7 “fT "a Scotia-Heavy sea in crossing 
 
 the Bay of Fundy-Toivn of Cuaco on the New Brunswick shore- 
 Teignmouth-Shipbuilding and farming-Highland rocky coasts-Capes 
 and headlands- Arrival at the City of St. John-Greetings by old Indian 
 and Egyptian friends gg^ 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 History of New Brunswick and St John— Situation of the City and its 
 suburbs— River St. John—Entrance and Rapids — Public Buildings— 
 Court House— Custom House — Market House — Square — Banks— 
 Churches— Hotels— Mechanics’ Institute — Schools— Benevolent and 
 Patnotic , Societies — Municipal Government— Destructive fires— Ship- 
 Imilding-Number and cost of vessels-Commerce- Exports and Imports 
 1 ayv-mills American speculators — Projected suspension 
 
 bridge— Population of St. John— Characteristics— Newspapers— Literary 
 productions ^ 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Departure for Fredericton— Indian-Town- Mouth of the River St John- 
 Great chasm in the rocks-Rapids and Cataract— Beautiful scenery of 
 the river Expanding Lake or Bay — Auxiliary streams of the Kennebeca- 
 cis and Oromocto— Settlements along the banks— Arrival at Fredericton 
 Description of the town — Its plan, public buildings, and population 412 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 General view of the Province of New Brunswick— History of its first sepa- 
 ration from Nova Scotia— Progressive Settlement— Area— Coasts bays— 
 Rivers, mountains, and lakes— The Boundary line— Extensive forests— 
 
 Vanety of trees— Minerals— Animals— Fisheries— Capacity for settlement 
 of Emigrants- New Brunswick Land Company— Custom of Gavelkind- 
 Government— Judiciary— Revenue— Shipping— Commerce— Great fire 
 
 on the river Miramichi ^20 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 Capacityof our Colonies to relieve the mother-country of her surplus popu- 
 lation Practicability of making them also assist to extend our commerce 
 —Questions of Free Trade and Emigration-Want of employment among 
 the labouring classes— Colonial Emigration ofltrs a speedy and effective 
 relief— Decline of great empires from neglect of Colonization, Commerce, 
 and Education— Four great elements of national wealth— Superabundance 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 of all these in England — Plan for transferring these to our North Ameri- 
 can Colonies, by free gifts of land, and free conveyance of Emigrants, at 
 the national cost — Certainty of benefits, far more than equivalent to the 
 outlay, which would amply reward the mother-country, as well as enrich 
 the Colonies 
 
 CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Departure from Fredericton— Arrival at Woodstock— Crossing the Boun- 
 dary Line— Mars Hill— American Fort at Houlton— Note on Lord Ash- 
 burton s Treaty Tariff — Corn Laws — Reform Bill — Arrival at Bangor 
 in Maine— Voyage to Portland— Beautiful view of Boston— Journey to 
 Worcester, Norwich, and New London — Arrival at New York 465 
 
 CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 Intended Journey through Mexico, and Voyage by the Pacific to China- 
 Reasons for the abandonment of this part of our Expedition— Liberal 
 remuneration of literary labours in America— Unfortunate investments 
 in American Stock-Bankruptcy of them all, and consequent total loss 
 —Return to England in the steamship President-Considerations as to 
 the probable cause of her subsequent wreck— Conclusion 479 
 
 Supplementary chapter 
 Postscript 
 
 489 
 
 514 
 
 LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Map of Canada and the other British Possessions in North America. 
 Fish Market, Toronto 
 
 Kingston— Lake Ontario 
 
 Montreal from the Mountain 
 
 Quebec from the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence-Frontispiece ., 
 Halifax from Dartmouth 
 
 St. John and Portland, New Brunswick 
 
 Fredericton, New Brunswick 
 
 page 
 
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 12 
 
 60 
 
 160 
 
 279 
 
 332 
 
 409 
 
 417 
 
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CANADA. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 leoarture from the United States for Canada— Embark at 
 Queenstown in an English steamer— Pass between Fort Niapra 
 and Fort George— Historical Incidents connected with these 
 Forts— Voyage across Lake Ontario— Agreeable contrast of 
 an English^steamer with an American— Arrival at Toronto. 
 
 Iaving now concluded our Survey of the United 
 Itates of America, after a tour of three years, 
 luring which we had visited nearly every part ot 
 hat extensive country, we were anxious to follow it 
 m by as careful and impartial an examination ot the 
 British Possessions on the same Continent, induing 
 Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Ihe 
 liversity of opinion as to the value of these Pos- 
 sessions and the condition of their inhabitants, 
 tvhich prevailed in England, as well as the opposite 
 views taken by different parties as to the “erits or 
 demerits of the recent rebellion, rendered it highly 
 
2 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 desirable that a calm and unbiassed investig'ation 
 should be made by some one who had neither pre- 
 possessions nor prejudices to sustain, and who would 
 therefore examine with patience, and record with 
 fidelity, all that passed within his observation dur- 
 ing his travels through these Provinces. In this 
 spirit, I can truly say, that I entered on the task ; and 
 I had the fullest confidence that, in the same spirit, I 
 should continue to pursue it to the end. The follow- 
 ing narrative of our journey, and the reflections to 
 which the incidents of it gave rise, will best deter- 
 mine how far that resolution has been strictly 
 adhered to. 
 
 On Monday, the 24th of August, 1839, we left 
 the United States of America for Canada-embark- 
 ing at Queenstown, in the Straits of Niagara, on 
 board the English steamer Transit, Capt. Richard- 
 son. We left the wharf at Queenstown at 2 p. m 
 and running down the five or six miles of the narrow 
 stream which divides the British from the American 
 territory, we entered the Lake Ontario. On the 
 right hand of our track we had Fort Niagara, with 
 ^e American flag flying—and on the left hand, Fort 
 George, and Fort Missassauga, or the Rattlesnake, 
 m the British town of Niagara. On these last, no 
 colours were displayed, though there were two flacr. 
 staffs— one on each Fort— and a number of English 
 troops in garrison: the British flag was nowhere 
 seen, though a British vessel was passing, while the 
 
 c4rit’ r. ‘ "I'w- 
 
 may of right be honourably displaved, is 
 
FORT NIAGARA. 
 
 3 
 
 always welcome to the eye, and cheering to the 
 heart, of those who regard it as their own. 
 
 The two British Forts were the scene of a deadly 
 struggle for supremacy between the Americans and 
 the English, in May, 1813 ; the former making the 
 attack, from their opposite Fort, and from batteries 
 along the river ; while Commotlore Chauncey, with 
 a fleet of American vessels, and 200 boats laden with 
 men, opened a bombardment from the ships, ami 
 landed their men. They were seconded in their 
 eflbrts by a discharge, from the cross-fire of the bat- 
 teries, of red-hot shot and shells, and succeeded in 
 driving the British from their entrenchments, and 
 setting fire to their forts. But the English rallied 
 after their retreat — re-organized — returned to the 
 charge — and, in a desperate struggle, succeeded in 
 driving their enemies back into the Lake, and 
 obtaining and keeping safe possession of their origi- 
 nal posts ; such are the vicissitudes of war ! 
 
 The American Fort, Niagara, is of much older 
 date than the British Fort, St. George. As early as 
 I 7 II 9 , the spot on which Fort Niagara now stands, 
 was enclosed by a stockade, and used as a fortress 
 against the native Indians, by the celebrated French 
 commander. La Salle. The present fort was built 
 as early as 1725, by the French: but in 1759, it 
 was taken by Sir William Johnson, on the part of 
 the British, by whom it was, in 1796, ceded to the 
 Americans. In 1813 it was again taken by the 
 English; and, in 1815, again yielded to the United 
 States, with whom it has ever since continued, being 
 on the territory of the State of New York, the north- 
 west angle of which is the point of junction between 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 the Straits of Niagara and Lake Ontario, the spot 
 on which this fortress stands. 
 
 In a sketch of the history of this Fort, it is said, 
 that, during its early occupation by the French, 
 there were close and impregnable dungeons after- 
 wards discovered, with instruments of torture in 
 them for inflicting pain or death upon the victims 
 incarcerated there. It is added, that during the 
 American revolution, all kinds of atrocities were 
 perpetrated here, by an abandoned set of miscreants, 
 who lived by plunder and murder on this then 
 remote frontier. Here, it is said by an American 
 writer, » civilized Europe revelled with savage 
 America ; and ladies of education and refinement 
 mingled in the society of those, whose only distinc- 
 tion was to wield the bloody tomahawk and scalping 
 knife. There the squaws of the forest were raised 
 to eminence, and the most unholy unions between 
 them and officers of the highest rank, were smiled 
 upon and countenanced. There, in their strongholds 
 like a nest of vultures, they dwelt securely for seven 
 years, sallying forth from time to time, and preying 
 upon the distant settlements of the Mohawks and 
 busquehannahs. It was the depot of their plunder 
 and the place in which they planned all their forays’ 
 and to which they returned to feast and riot, till the 
 our of plunder and murder returned again. The 
 dungeon of the mess-house, called the Black-Hole 
 was a strong, dark, and dismal place; and in one 
 coiner of the room was fixed the apparatus for 
 strangling the unhappy wretches who fell under the 
 displeasure of the despots that held rule here in 
 eaily days. A merchant residing at this Fort, in 
 
FOKT NIAGARA. 
 
 5 
 
 1812, when an attack upon it was every hour 
 expected from the British, deposited some of his 
 most valuable articles in one of these dungeons for 
 security ; and having to go down into it with a light, 
 he found to his surprise, that the walls from top to 
 bottom were covered with the names of French per- 
 sons who had been there confined — some of them 
 accompanied by sentences in their native language — 
 but of which he was then too hurried to take notes. 
 Amonsr the countless mementoes thus left in this 
 dark abode of misery, he found to his great astonish- 
 ment the name of one of his own family, perhaps 
 an ancestor, distinctly engraved in large letters, well 
 preserved ! In 1805, when some excavations were 
 made to clean out an old drain, the skeleton of a 
 female, supposed to have been murdered here, was 
 found concealed. It was in this same Fort, whose 
 past history, perhaps, suggested the choice of such a 
 spot for such a deed, that a few years since, a person 
 named William Morgan, who had disclosed all he 
 knew of the secrets of Free-Masonry, was kidnapped 
 from the jail of Canandaigua, where he was confined 
 for debt, by some over-zealous Masons ; carried away 
 by them in a private carriage for upwards of a hun- 
 dred miles — locked by them in the powder magazine 
 at this place — kept there for three or four days with- 
 out discovery or detection, and never heard of more ! 
 Such is the black and fearful history of this crime- 
 stained fortress, which at one time was of immense 
 strength, and covered an area of eight acres in space ; 
 a spot worthy to be called by the expressive name 
 originally bestowed on Kentucky — “ the dark and 
 bloody ground.” 
 
6 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Our passage across Lake Ontario was most agree- 
 able. The weather was very fine, the water smooth, 
 the society intelligent ; and everything connected 
 with the management of the steamboat admirably 
 conducted. We dined at three o’clock, and never 
 since we left England, had we been seated at a 
 table more perfectly English in all its service, arrange- 
 ments, fare, and attendance. Instead of the long and 
 narrow table of American steamboats and hotels, 
 with a multiplicity of dishes so crowded as often to 
 lap over each other, we had a table of ample width, 
 and comparatively few dishes ; but these were all 
 excellent. Instead of the common white earthen- 
 ware, without covers, coarse glass, and still coarser 
 cutlery and metal spoons, so constantly seen at the 
 public tables of America, we had here a service of 
 richly coloured and gilded china, with plated covers 
 for the dishes, fine crystal cut glass, cutlery of the 
 best quality, and massive silver spoons and forks. 
 The quiet case and gentlemanly leisure in which the 
 meal was served and partaken was the very opposite 
 of the hurry and bustle of an American dinner ; and 
 the dishes themselves were without exception all of 
 the best kind ; while on an American steamboat table 
 half of those placed there contain mere scraps, 
 which few persons touch, and which indeed do not 
 seem to be intended for any other purpose than to 
 fill up the space, and crowd the table with an 
 appearance of excessive abundance. The servants 
 too had been trained in a good school, and were all 
 remarkably clean, well dressed, and attentive, with- 
 out the running and scrambling which is character- 
 istic of American attendants. For this, however- 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 7 
 
 they can scarcely be blamed, because where the 
 guests are all eager to finish their meals in ten or 
 fifteen minutes of time, and are each too busy on 
 their own account to spare any time to help their 
 neighbours, the dishes that require carving must he 
 taken from the table to the sideboard, and as each 
 servant has to go there for whatever is wanted in a 
 room of 100 or a cabin of 50 feet in length, it is only 
 by running at the swiftest speed that they can get 
 through their labours within the specified time. A 
 relief from all this noise and bustle was peculiarly 
 agreeable to us j and as we sat for half an hour after 
 dinner at the table, in light and cheerful conversation 
 according to the English fashion, the whole scene 
 furnished a stronger contrast to what we had 
 recently witnessed, in everything except language, 
 than is experienced in crossing the channel from 
 France to England. 
 
 After a most agreeable voyage across the Lake, 
 we reached Toronto at 6 p. m. and procured apart- 
 ments at the North American hotel. 
 
 We remained at Toronto for three weeks ; and 
 found our stay so agreeable that we should willingly 
 have prolonged it to three months, had the season 
 not been too far advanced to admit of our doing this. 
 We had the good fortune to possess letters of intro- 
 duction to some of the principal families of the 
 city, and these obtained for us the most hospitable 
 attentions on their parts, and favourable intro- 
 ductions to others. Added to this, I met an unusual 
 number of old friends and acquaintances assembled 
 here from difierent parts of the world, one from 
 Bombay, one from Madras, two from Calcutta, one 
 
8 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 from Malta, one from Trinidad in the West Indies, 
 and a great number from different parts of England 
 and the United States. All this brought around 
 us a most delightful circle of friends, so that we felt 
 ourselves more at home here than we had done since 
 leaving London. 
 
 During our stay at Toronto, we took several 
 pleasant drives through the country surrounding the 
 town ; and had all our inquiries respecting the past 
 history and present condition of the province freely 
 answered. We mingled too with all ranks of society, 
 from that of the Lieut.-Governor, the Judges, and 
 the heads of departments, to the farmers from the 
 neighbouring districts, and persons engaged in trade, 
 whom we met on various occasions. The means of 
 acquiring correct information were therefore placed 
 within our reach ; and from these, added to personal 
 investigation, the following sketch of Toronto was 
 compiled. 
 
CHAP. IL 
 
 Sketch of the history of York or Toronto—Position of the 
 (own — Size, plan, streets — Wooden side-walks — Long plank 
 turnpike road — Superiority in pleasure and economy to 
 macadamized roads — Public edifices-— Parliament House and 
 offices— Hall of Representatives— Legislative council-chamber 
 
 College buildings and grounds— Funds for endowment — 
 
 Course and cost of education — Government House — Churches, 
 
 Episcopal service — Differences in English and American 
 
 Churches — Newspapers — Judicial establishment — Professions 
 of law and medicine — Hospital and asylum — Emigrant office 
 — Banks and currency — Municipal government. 
 
 It is now about thirty years since the town of York 
 was first founded here. For many years it continued 
 to be a mere village of wooden houses, the settlement 
 being so insignificant that it was generally called 
 “ Little York and as the streets were unpaved, and 
 often impassable in the rainy season, it was occasion- 
 ally called “ Dirty Little York.” As this was an 
 undignified combination of epithets for the metro- 
 polis of Upper Canada, an act of the Legislature 
 was passed about eight years since, by which its 
 name was changed to Toronto. It is now, indeed, 
 neither “little” nor “ dirty;” but, both in size and 
 cleanliness, may rank with many of the provincial 
 capitals of the United States. It is about six jears 
 since, that it took its first start towards a more rapid 
 
10 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 increase in size and numbers. At that period the 
 population was estimated at 4,000; and there were 
 hut two brick edifices in the town. At present it 
 numbers about 13,000 inhabitants, and it has more 
 than two hundred brick buildings. Besides these, 
 there are a great number of pretty villas, and genteel 
 cottage residences, with gardens and lawns, within the 
 distance of a mile from the city, which add greatly to 
 Its beauty, and give proof of the taste, comfort, and 
 even opulence, of the higher classes of the com- 
 munity, by whom these detached dwellings are chiefly 
 occupied. ^ 
 
 The position of Toronto is highly advantageous. 
 It lies on the northern shore of a bay, formed by a 
 ong low strip of sand and alluvium, cast up bv the 
 river Don, a little to the eastward of the town,' and 
 stretching itself along westerly, in a line almost 
 parallel to the inner shore. This forms a bay of 
 about SIX miles in depth, and ten in breadth. It is 
 sufficiently protected from the winds and seas of the 
 ake Ontario, by the strip of low land described ; 
 
 entrance of an enemy’s 
 bv whil ® narrowness of the only channel 
 
 onP^l a ’ constructing to supersede an older 
 one placed nearer to the town. 
 
 ‘It approaching 
 
 ose to tlm water’s edge, stands the City of 
 
 borXr\ har/^%"'^*^?®''”’ eastern, and western 
 count; Lr ^®"tly undulated tracts of 
 
 It >1 ^ cleared and cultivated. On the south 
 
 with a nlrmV hcttofT ® 
 
 belt of trees rising apparently almost 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 11 
 
 out of the Lake, and terminating in the western 
 point. On this point is a lighthouse, just opposite to 
 the Fort, with the narrows or channel of entrance 
 between them. This strip of land, for it is nothing 
 more, bears the singularly inappropriate name of 
 “Gibraltar,” to which it is in every respect as dis- 
 similar as can possibly be imagined. A little to the 
 westward of the entrance is a small stream called the 
 Humber, but neither it nor the Don are navigable at 
 any distance from the Lake. 
 
 Fhe plan of Toronto is as regular and sym- 
 metrical as that of any American city, and its streets 
 are as broad as those of llochester or Buffalo. The 
 principal sti*eets run parallel to the Lake, and these 
 are intersected by others running at right angles to 
 them. Along the edge of the hay there has been 
 judiciously left a sufficient space to form a fine drive 
 or promenade ; and there being here a number of 
 excellent mansions with gardens, fronting the Lake, 
 as well as the public buildings of the Parliament 
 House and Government offices, the town looks 
 remarkably well in approaching it by water. It 
 suffers under the same disadvantage, however, that all 
 towns having a perfectly level site must do, in the 
 entire absence of the picturesque. But although no 
 good drawing or striking view could be taken of 
 Toronto from any point on the same level, the bird’s- 
 eye and panoramic view to he had of it from the roof 
 of the Parliament House, is really beautiful, and well 
 worth the traveller’s attention. 
 
 The Fish-market at Toronto — in a little bay, just 
 within the projecting wharfj at which the landing is 
 
12 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 principally effected— is often a scene of great interest 
 and variety, from the number of Indians who are 
 seen there, mixed with the Canadians. From this 
 point, just opposite the City Hotel, the accompany- 
 ing view IS taken ; and will give an accurate idea 
 of the close abroach of the houses to the steep bank 
 nsing from the water, and the general character of 
 the ordinary buildings of the town ♦ 
 
 King Street. 
 
 This extends for nearly two miles in length4s about 
 eighty feet in breadth-and has on each side a num- 
 
 a^d stoir^^Tf edifices, as stores 
 
 and shops They ar^ intermingled, it is true, with 
 
 many smaller ones of wood ; but these are everv 
 
 year giving place to more substantial building 
 
 Ihe range of this street is agreeably diversified by 
 
 and The^r^ Market! 
 
 ength, with a fine vista into the country, amidst 
 at either extremity. The centres 
 
 1 he oLacdaS 
 
 nd the side-walks are chiefly, though not entirelv 
 
 . “I ?- P'r ae»Teh7^ 
 
 iTwhil' 
 
 it is extrcm 1 instead of wood, 
 
 ‘hat exper en ^ t 1 
 
 pave™err,ht«ntrof”K T 
 
 e centre of Broadway, at New York, 
 
 * See Plate I. ’ 
 
 

I 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 13 
 
 to the smootli and noiseless wooden pavement oppo- 
 site the City Hall and Park, where this transition 
 takes place. 
 
 Not only are these wooden side-walks in general 
 use here, but, in one instance, planks of fir have been 
 used for making an extensive road into the country, 
 leading eastward from Toronto to Kingston. We 
 drove about six miles out on tbis road beyond the 
 river Don, and I never remember to have travelled 
 so smoothly. The planks composing the road are 
 about fifteen feet in length, a foot in breadth, and an 
 inch in thickness ; they are sawn smoothly, but are 
 not planed. The road is first levelled, and on the 
 bed thus formed, these planks are laid across trans- 
 versely, and not lengthwise as in the side -walks 
 A small portion of soil and dust is strewed over the 
 whole, to prevent unnecessary friction on the wooden 
 surface ; so that unless the attention of the traveller 
 was called to the fact, he would not perceive the 
 planks over which he was driving, though he would 
 recognize the unusual smoothness of the road by the 
 motion. But while to the casual observer it presents 
 the same earthy and dusty appearance as any other 
 road, there arc no ruts or pits in it — scarcely indeed 
 a mark of the horses’ feet or carriage-wheels that 
 pass over it. On close examination, however, he 
 will see the separate planks, and trace their lines 
 of junction, and he will also hear the peculiar dull 
 smooth sound, given out by the low rumbling of his 
 vehicle over this wooden platform. In addition to 
 the great comfort of driving on such a road as this, 
 I was glad to learn that it is so much less expensive 
 here, where pine wood is abundant, than the mac- 
 
14 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 adamized roads, that it is likely to be extensively 
 used over all the country in' future. A road of the 
 former description, costs at least £1000 per mile, 
 and requires reparation in this climate almost every 
 year. A road of the latter kind can be well made 
 for £.500 a mile, in the first instance, and would not 
 require to be repaired more than once in ten years. 
 1 he present road has been laid down for six years, 
 without a single plank having been required to be 
 removed ; and the general impression here is, that 
 It would last six years longer if left untouched, before 
 It would require any reparation whatever. 
 
 Of the public edifices of Toronto, the Parliament 
 House and Public OflSces are the principal : these 
 are three plain structures of brick— a centre and two 
 wings— the former intended to be adorned with a 
 portico and entablature, and the latter intended to 
 be connected with the centre by open arcades; but 
 this IS not yet accomplished. The Hall of Repre- 
 se^atives, or House of Commons, is a plain but 
 sufficiently spacious apartment, on the ground-floor. 
 A sofa, elevated about a foot above the general level, 
 serves for the Speaker’s chair ; while the members 
 sit around on chairs, all on the same level, each 
 having a small desk, with drawers, and pens and 
 ink, as in the Legislative Halls in the United States. 
 Pelow the bar is a space, under the gallery, to which 
 admittance can be obtained only through the intro- 
 duction of a member; but to the gallery above this, 
 and fronting the Speaker, the public are freely 
 admitted at their pleasure. The Hall of the Legis- 
 lative Council, corresponding to the House of Lords, 
 
 IS on the same level, on the other side of the main 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 1.5 
 
 entrance. This is richly carpeted — while in the 
 Lower House the floor was bare ; it is also adorned 
 with rich draperies of curtains, gilded cornices, 
 carved ceiling, and other corresponding ornaments. 
 At one end is the Throne, from which the Repre- 
 sentative of the Majesty of England, in the person 
 of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province for the 
 time being, reads or delivers his Speeeh at the open- 
 ing or closing of the Session, just as is done by the 
 Sovereign in the Mother-Country. This Throne is 
 of fine dark polished wood, with an overhanging 
 canopy, lined with deep crimson velvet, surmounted 
 by the crown. The chair of state — the ascent to 
 which is by three or four projeeting semicircular 
 steps, carpeted with crimson cloth — is elaborately 
 carved with suitable devices, for the support of a 
 representative of royalty — though the work was exe- 
 cuted, I learnt, by a republican carver, in the demo- 
 cratic city of New York ! 
 
 The Parliament was not in being at tbe time of 
 our visit, so that we saw nothing of its proceedings ; 
 and as, if the union between the two Provinces should 
 take place, Toronto would no longer be the metro- 
 polis of Upper Canada, which would cease to have a 
 separate and independent existenee, it is extremely 
 probable, that no further Parliament will ever be 
 convened in this city, and that the Parliament 
 House will be converted to some other purpose.* 
 
 The College of Toronto embraces a number of 
 excellent brick buildings, surrounded with lawn and 
 gardens, and is well adapted for the education of 
 
 * This has since taken place — the Act of Union for the two 
 Canadas having abolished the Legislature here. 
 
16 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 youth. It was built about twelve years since, out of 
 funds arising from a grant of the reserved Crown 
 Lands, 250,000 acres being appropriated to this 
 purpose ; the money produced by its sale from time 
 to time being invested under the direction of a 
 Board of Trustees. When the eountry shall he 
 filled up with population, these lands will be of 
 immense value, and the endowment of the college will 
 be munificent. The number of students is at present 
 about 120, of whom two-thirds at least are from the 
 families residing in Toronto. The education being 
 collegiate and classical, is not so well adapted to boys 
 from the country who intend to follow the occupa- 
 tion of their fathers as farmers, as it is to young 
 gentlemen destined for professional and official pur- 
 suits ; and therefore, it is not so much frequented by 
 the former class as by the latter. The annual cost 
 of the students does not exceed £30 a year for 
 tuition and board. Under the direction of its able 
 president and competent assistants, the education of 
 the boys is well conducted, and their health and 
 morals carefully protected. 
 
 The Government House, which is nearly opposite 
 to the College Buildings, is the least ostentatious 
 residence of a Colonial Governor to be found any 
 where perhaps in the British dominions. The 
 presence of the sentries on guard at the entrance is 
 the only circumstance that would lead a passer-by to 
 imagine that here resides the Representative of the 
 Majesty of England. The interior is fitted up with 
 sufficient neatness and good taste, to show that it is 
 the^ residence of a gentleman ; and the parties given 
 m it by Sir George and Lady Arthur were charac- 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 17 
 
 terized by great elegance : but the exterior of the 
 edifice would never lead one to suspect this. 
 
 There are eight churches in Toronto. The 
 largest and handsomest is that of the Established 
 church of England. This was partly destroyed by 
 fire a few years since, and has been recently rebuilt 
 from the subscriptions of the inhabitants, nearly all 
 the more wealthy families here belonging to tbe 
 Establishment. It is built of stone, has a spacious 
 and comfortable interior, a lofty tower of good archi- 
 tecture, but crowned by an abridgment of a spire 
 above this, which is mean in its proportions, and 
 this meanness not at all redeemed by its glittering 
 coat of white tin-plate, with which the spire alone is 
 covered. The Kirk of Scotland, also an Established 
 church in the colonies, stands near it, and though 
 smaller, is a fine building. The Roman Catholic 
 church, in size, and rank of architecture, comes 
 next to the two named. The other churches, com- 
 prising the Wesleyan and the Primitive Methodists, 
 the Secession church of Scotland, the Congrega- 
 tional, and the Baptist, for coloured persons only,* 
 are smaller and less imposing in their appearance, 
 but sufficiently large and commodious for their 
 respective congregations. 
 
 We attended the public service in the Established 
 church on the three Sundays of our stay here, and 
 heard some excellent sermons from the Rev. Mr. 
 Grassett, the officiating clergyman, the Bishop of 
 Toronto being absent on a confirmation tour. There 
 were several points of contrast between the congre- 
 
 * This distinction ought not to exist on British ground ; but 
 the proximity of tlie United States accounts for it. 
 
 C 
 
f 
 
 IS 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 f,n-ation of tliis, the first English church we had seen 
 for nearly three years, and the congregations of 
 America, with which we had for some time been 
 so familiar, as well as minor ones, which pressed 
 themselves on our attention. The most striking 
 difference was in the aspect of the congregation. 
 In the United States, scarcely any distinction is 
 seen, cithei in the size of the pews, their furniture 
 and decoration, or in the apparel of the persons who 
 occupy them ; all the seats are equally large, and 
 eijually well fitted, and all the congregation are so 
 well dressed, that it would be difficult to determine, 
 by any external appearance, the relative rank, 
 wealth, or condition, of any of the individuals or 
 families present. Here, on the contrary, the dis- 
 tmction was very marked : some of the pews were 
 large and elegantly furnished, others were small 
 without any furniture at all in them; some of the 
 persons were elegantly dressed, others were in very 
 iiomely, though always decent apparel. Then the 
 military attending the church in large numbers, 
 there was the tramp of some 300 or 400 men, pre- 
 ceded by the band of the regiment, playing a gay 
 march, the officers on horseback, and on foot a 
 detachment of provincial dragoons, with their steel 
 scabbards clanging against the pavement as they 
 a ighted and walked ; the officers of the infantry 
 enteiing in bright scarlet and gold, those of the 
 royal artillery in blue and red, the lieutenant-gover- 
 nor, with cocked hat and plumes, and his aides-de- 
 camp and staff similarly attired, accompanying the 
 ad.es and children of the family to the governor’s 
 pew, and causing all eyes to be directed to their 
 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 19 
 
 movements. Nothing like this is ever seen in the 
 American churches. When at Washington, we 
 attended the Episcopal church of Dr. Hawley, and 
 there saw Mr. Van Buren, the President of the 
 United States, enter in plain clothes, not distin- 
 guishable from any other individual, walking from the 
 Government House alone, and without a single attem 
 dant, taking his seat in a pew with other gentlemen, 
 and coming in and going out with no more of recog- 
 nition than any other of the individuals by whom he 
 was surrounded. The contrast was therefore very 
 striking. 
 
 Here, too, for the first time since leaving home, 
 we recognized the parish clerk, occupying his desk 
 beneath the minister, reading the responses, and 
 giving out the psalms in the same nasal tone, and 
 with the same defective and uneducated manner, 
 which characterizes that race in England. In the 
 American churches no clerk is ever seen ; this 
 perhaps is a defect, because the responses are very 
 faintly uttered by the congregation. In the English 
 churches, the clerks are almost invariably illiterate 
 and vulgar men, who spoil the effect of the responses 
 by their drawling pronunciation. This also is a 
 defect ; indeed, both are bad, but the last is certainly 
 worse than the first. The remedy for both would 
 be to have a second clergyman as an assistant minis- 
 ter — a student of divinity not yet ordained, but well 
 educated, and capable of reading with dignity and 
 propriety, though he might not have finished his 
 studies. This would be an excellent preparation 
 for the pulpit, and would add to the solemnity and 
 pleasure of the service in a very high degree. In 
 
 c2 
 
20 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 short, the vei-y best readers that the colleges or 
 schools could furnish, ought only to be employed in 
 this duty, though at present no attention seems to 
 he paid to this indispensable qualification.* 
 
 The elevated pulpit of the church here, like those 
 in England, was fitted to receive only one person, 
 and had a box-like and confined appearance, after 
 the ample space and more moderate elevation of the 
 platform pulpits of America, where five or six minis- 
 ters may sit beside each other on the same sofa, 
 when occasion renders this desirable. Here, too, 
 besides the great elevation and narrow space of the 
 pulpit, its decorations of velvet were adorned with 
 gold lace, an ornament that I never remember to 
 have seen in the churches of the United States. 
 The college cap and black silk gloves of the clergy- 
 inan, his stately step as he trod the aisle or ascended 
 the pulpit, the attendance of the beadle to open and 
 close the pulpit or desk door, and to follow close 
 upon his person, all these were parts of the “ pomp 
 and circumstance" of worship which we had not 
 witnessed before, during all our journeying on this 
 continent, and it seemed to us more than ever incon- 
 sistent with the purity and simplicity of the gospel. 
 
 The organ of the church had been destroyed by 
 tire, and had not since been replaced, so that the 
 music and singing was heard to great disadvantage. 
 ;>uch as It was, however, it was very inferior to the 
 mere vocal music of the choirs of the smallest Arne- 
 ncan churches, even when there are no organs ; but 
 
 so clergyman read the service 
 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 21 
 
 where there are always sure to be a number of well- 
 trained singers, selected with great care, and paid 
 for their services as part of the church establish- 
 ment, while the members of the congregation join 
 with more hearty co-operation in this part of public 
 worship. Considering how important and how im- 
 pressive this portion of divine service might be made 
 when well conducted, and how feeble and inefficient 
 it is when otherwise, I cannot but think that as 
 much pains ought to be bestowed upon it, as upon 
 any other branch of the establishment. It is a sound 
 maxim — that whatever is worth doing at all, is worth 
 doing well; and if sound learning, purity of life, 
 Christian doctrine, and accurate and impressive deli- 
 very, ought to be the qualifications of the preacher, 
 the reading or responding clerk ought not to be infe- 
 rior in the last particular to his pastor ; while, for 
 the chanting and singing of the beautiful psalmody 
 which the Church now possesses, accomplished voca- 
 lists ought to be furnished, at the expense of the 
 same fund as that by which the other two are sup- 
 ported, their services being equally necessary to the 
 completeness of the whole. 
 
 There was one American feature in this English 
 church, however, which I was very glad to see ; and 
 it is so good that it ought to become genei-al : 
 namely, the addition of this beautiful comment on 
 the Law of Moses, which is appended to the Ten 
 Commandments — 
 
 “ Hear also what our Lord Jesus Christ saith — Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. This is the first and 
 greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments 
 hang all the law and the prophets.” 
 
i 
 
 22 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 I saw this sentence inscribed in letters of gold, 
 on the tablets above the communion table, following 
 immediately after the Table of the Ten Command- 
 ments j and it was pleasing to observe it there, 
 where I never remember to have seen it before in 
 any church of England. I should have been still 
 more pleased, however, had the American example 
 been followed out completely, by the public reading 
 of this sentence, as a regular part of the service, 
 alter the recital of the Commandments at the Com- 
 munion Table ; because there is nothing that can be 
 more advantageously presented, again and again, to 
 the mind than this great truth : that the duty of 
 loving our neighbour as ourselves, is as imperative 
 as that of loving our Creator} and that no religion 
 is worthy the name, if it does not embrace a belief 
 m this fundamental doctrine, and enforce the prac- 
 tice as well as the profession of this sublime duty. 
 
 here are nine newspapers in Toronto, chiefly 
 weekly, some twice and some three times a week, but 
 none daily. By these, all shades of political and 
 religious opinions are represented: the Patriot, 
 published twice a week, is high Tory, or ultra Con 
 smwative} the^^^^^^^ t^L a 
 
 »eJk t Star, three limes a 
 
 a wik R 9“ ” i-lhe Examiner, once 
 
 a week Reformer ;_lhe Globe, also weekly, extreme 
 Radte J i-ihe Church, Episcopalian ;-the CoS 
 ftesbytenan ;_the Guardian. Methodist ; anSe 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 23 
 
 be great ; few persons ever adverting to their articles 
 or opinions in general conversation ; and none of 
 them being so extensively read as newspapers are 
 even in England. 
 
 Among the public officers may be named those of 
 the Receiver-General, of the Inspector-General, and 
 of the Surveyor-General of Crown Lands and Clergy 
 Reserves, who has upwards of 120 deputy-surveyors 
 employed under him, in different parts of the Pro- 
 vince, in the survey of lands in their respective 
 districts. 
 
 The Courts of Law held in Toronto consist of the 
 Court of Queen’s Bench, with a Chief Justice, four 
 Puisne Judges, and an Attorney and Solicitor- 
 General ; a Clerk of the Crown and Pleas, and 
 Deputies in each District. There is also a High 
 Court of Chancery, of which the Lieutenant-Governor 
 is the Chancellor, assisted by a legal gentleman as 
 Vice-Chancellor, and a Registrar. From this last, 
 causes may be sent up to the Court of Appeal, 
 consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council, 
 the Vice-Chancellor, and the Judges of the Court 
 of Queen’s Bench. 
 
 There are nearly a hundred Barristers in the 
 Upper Province, all of whom are also Attorneys, 
 according to the usage of the United States, and 
 contrary to that of England ; and there are nearly 
 200 Notaries regularly licensed to practise. The 
 talents of the bar and the bench are quite equal to 
 the usual standard of Colonial qualification. Chief 
 Justice Robinson is a man of very superior abilities 
 and attainments, whose popularity is almost universal 
 
24 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 in tile Province, and whose influence is greater 
 perhaps than that of any other individual in it. 
 
 The Medical Profession is unusually numerous. 
 There is a Medical Board, constituted under an act 
 of the Imperial Parliament, 59th of Geo. the 3rd, 
 consisting of 15 members, which sit at Toronto! 
 Under the license of this Board there are now about 
 300 practitioners of medicine and surgery in the 
 Province. There is a General Hospital in the city, 
 which IS on a liberal foundation, and is very admi- 
 rably conducted. There is also a Benevolent Insti- 
 tution for the relief of widows and orphans, as well 
 as a House of Refuge for giving subsistence and 
 employment to those who are found in a state of des- 
 titution in the streets. 
 
 An Emigrant Offlce, for Upper Canada, exists 
 at loronto, and is presided over by an able and 
 experienced Superintendent, Mr. Hawk, whose duty 
 It IS to receiye such emigrants as arrive, forward 
 them to their respective destinations, assist them 
 with advice, and sometimes with means of transport 
 so as to get them as speedily as possible into the way 
 ot obtaining employment for their labour, or of pur- 
 chasing lands if they desire it. The sums expended 
 m this service are considerable ; but the ofiice is one 
 lat well deserves the liberal support of the govern- 
 ment; for here, population is wealth— all that is 
 wanting, indeed, to the full developeraent of the vast 
 resources of Canada, is a supply of healthy, vigoroTs 
 sober, and industrious emigrants ; who, if they come 
 with nothing but the labour of their own hands 
 ervc to augment the national wealth from the first 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 ‘25 
 
 day they begin to clear and till the soil ; but who, if 
 they bring with them capital, also tend of course 
 still more to advance the prosperity of their new 
 home. 
 
 There are several banks in Toronto, and all in 
 good credit. There has been a suspension of specie 
 payments, for a limited period, authorized by law as 
 in the United States ; hut they have long since 
 resumed, and the currency, therefore, is not here in 
 the same decayed condition, as it is on the opposite 
 side of the Lake. The bank-notes issued here 
 resemble the American ones, being for dollars and 
 not pounds sterling; and being also elaborately 
 ornamented in the engraving, and circulated till they 
 become so ragged and dirty, that it is sometimes 
 difficult to make out their amount or place of 
 
 issue. . • 1. r 
 
 The municipal government of the city consists ot 
 
 a mayor and aldermen, elected by the suffrages of 
 the householders. To these belong the power of 
 licensing places for the sale of ardent spirits ; and 
 it is said that with a view to strengthen themselves 
 in their position, the Tory party, who are now in the 
 ascendant in the municipal body, have issued more 
 licenses than were ever known before— every person 
 so licensed being one of their own voters ! Certain 
 it is, that the number is excessive ; for in a short 
 walk of little more than a hundred yards, in passing 
 from our hotel to the cathedral of the Established 
 Church, we counted no less than fourteen spirit or 
 dram-shops, in Church Street, within a few steps of 
 the sacred edifice itself ; just as around St. Patricks 
 Cathedral in Dublin, and Westminster Abbey m 
 
26 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 London, there are to be found more of these dens of 
 infamy than in any similar extent of space in either 
 of these populous cities ! Surely the bishops, deans, 
 and chapters should look to this. 
 
 There is a Lemperance Society here, on the prin- 
 ciple of total abstinence from all that can intoxicate ; 
 but their numbers are few, the higher classes of 
 society, and the Episcopal clergy, withholding their 
 patronage and support. During one of the even- 
 ings of my stay here, I delivered a public address on 
 the subject of rempcrance in the Wesleyan Methodist 
 Church, but though it was very numerously attended, 
 there were very few of the leading families among 
 the auditory ; and the only members of the clergy 
 present were a Congregational minister and a Roman 
 Catholic priest. The absence of all the heads of the 
 community on this occasion could not be attributed to 
 any other cause than their indifference or unwilling- 
 ness to countenance or uphold the Temperance cause ; 
 for when my lectures on Egypt and Palestine were 
 given in the same building, one course before and 
 one after the Temperance address, the church was 
 crowded to excess, and there was scarcely a familv 
 of any note or influence absent. The Lieutenant- 
 Governor, the Chief Justice, and the other official 
 dignitaries of the province and city, attended with 
 their families regularly for three nights in succession 
 at each course, and in several instances put aside 
 other engagements, to enable them to be present ; 
 but the Temperance Reformation was to them 
 evidently an unpopular and unattractive subject ; 
 although the time will perhaps come, when their 
 attention being enlisted in its examination, they will 
 
TOKOS TO. 
 
 27 
 
 discover, as all have done who have yet examined it 
 thoroughly, that there is no single subject that can he 
 named, in which the interests of humanity are more 
 involved than this ; and that it is impossible to assist 
 in a more benevolent work than that of endeavour- 
 ing, by precept and example, to elevate the lower 
 classes from the misery and degradation into which 
 intemperance plunges so many of its unhappy victims, 
 and rescue them from their own follies and crimes. 
 
 * The late splendid meeting of rank, wealth, and piety, in 
 Dublin, to present a Testimonial to Father Mathew, is a happy 
 omen of future good. 
 
chap. IJI. 
 
 Ss”“ !?i™ 
 
 An,ericat.s-A,nerica„?n».rn dislike of the 
 
 capital — Progress made bv^ r^"glish 
 
 Advance in populatbn aSd '? ‘"“‘yfive years- 
 
 population— GeLral loyaltj Ld increase of 
 
 feuperaddition of hatred anH ®“®‘=i'raent to British rule- 
 meeting of Upper Sadians "rn"’P‘ ^^e^ica-Great 
 posed restoration of the monnmpnt^'^r Pro- 
 
 as we did iramodiatoly from tte Uri W Sw"* °T 
 certain points of rp«oTnki C/nited States, with 
 
 similarity, between the “bJe^L 
 
 f«« be worth «»a- 
 
 n.ewri"pta%”r r p'™™ “>« ^y"- 
 
 wooden houses, fhe pSs or ? 
 
 of the foot-pavement fnf J^^^h^ons at the side 
 
 and the practice of heapbl^'^'"^ T* ’ 
 
 opposite the shop-doors tl ^ ^ 
 
 large and thriving business of a 
 
 the stage-coaches^ of Pnil li observe also that 
 
 United StaJ^d SluL* ‘''T *e 
 
 at the sides, and in exfer; " ®”Stand, being open 
 " “""“r and interior exactly like 
 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 ‘29 
 
 those seen at Rochester and Buffalo. The American 
 practice of attaching Bar-rooms to the principal 
 hotels, and of large numbers of persons meeting there 
 to drink, as well as the custom of sitting around the 
 outer doors of the hotels, on the steps, and in the 
 balconv, or the streets prevails here ; and smoking 
 segars in the streets is as prevalent in Toronto as it 
 is in the cities of America, though rarely seen in 
 England. 
 
 Of the points of dissimilarity there are, however, 
 many more than points of resemblance; some of 
 them to the advantage, but others to the reproach of 
 the Canadians. One of the first of these points that 
 struck us, was the solicitation of beggars. We had 
 been nearly three years in the United States without 
 seeing an American beggar in the streets, but we had 
 not been landed five minutes in Toronto before we 
 were accosted by several, between the wharf and 
 our hotel. In the States we had never seen women 
 employed in manual labour ; here we witnessed 
 several instances of it ; and of ragged, swearing, and 
 profligate boys, we saw a greater number in Toronto, 
 than in the largest cities of the Union. On the 
 other hand, we saw no persons here who chewed 
 tobacco ; there was less of hurrying and driving to 
 and fro in the streets ; the shopkeepers were all more 
 civil and obliging, the servants more respectful and 
 attentive, and all classes more polite. Even at the 
 hotel, when the ladies rose to retire from the table, the 
 gentlemen all rose, and stood till they had withdrawn, 
 a custom we had never once seen observed at the 
 public tables in America ; though there, the respect 
 and deference to the sex is shown in another way, by 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 80 
 
 no gentleman being permitted to take his place until 
 the ladies are first seated. 
 
 1 he state of society in Toronto appeared to us 
 peculiarly agreeable. We had the advantage, it is 
 true, of mingling with the best ; but I may say, with 
 the strictest truth, that these appeared to me to 
 combine all the requisites of the most perfect social 
 intercourse — elegance without ostentation, compe- 
 tency without extravagance, learning without pe- 
 dantry, politeness without frivolity, hospitality 
 without intemperance, and a manly ‘frankness and 
 candour without undue familiarity. We dined out 
 more frequently at Toronto, in the course of the 
 three weeks we passed here, than in the United 
 Mates in the space of three years ; and there was a 
 heartiness and cordiality, which seemed to indicate 
 the most perfect confidence in the good sense and 
 onour of all present : the very opposite of the cold 
 and cautious look and manner, so frequently ob- 
 ^rva e in the intercourse of Americans with their 
 Unghsh visitors in the United States. The evenina- 
 parties were animated without being overcrowded*^ 
 and the air of gaiety thrown over them by the pre- 
 sence of many of the military officers of the garrison, 
 and the superior carriage and great elegance in the 
 nanners of the ladies, whether they were grouped in 
 
 sTrikLTT’ " dance. lere\erv 
 
 th A”™® "’P'“ of oonversation here, is 
 
 ho comparative progress made bj the Americans and 
 Canadians m their respootivo territories. AlZt 
 •oil Lnghsh travellers .ho have passed from ol 
 
TOIIONTO. 
 
 31 
 
 
 country into the other, have given it as their opinion 
 that Canada is far behind the United States in enter- 
 prise and progress ; and they attribute this difference 
 to the superiority of republican over monarchical 
 institutions. The British residents here, appeared 
 to me to be as sensitive to these remarks, as the 
 Americans are to any observations of English 
 travellers which in any way disparages their country 
 or its institutions. Great pains are accordingly taken 
 by the Canadians, to show that in some instances, 
 this superiority of America to Canada is imaginary 
 and not real ; and in others, where it may be regarded 
 as real, it is not so much owing to American enter- 
 prize, as it is to English liberality in lending them 
 a large amount of capital to carry forward their great 
 public works, which capital, if it had been invested 
 in Canada instead of the United States, would have 
 produced results equally advantageous to this country. 
 Upon this subject. Chief Justice Robinson in his 
 able work “ On Canada and tbe Canada Bill ” says ; 
 “ Upon sober reflection and comparison, it appears 
 that a plain statement of facts will amount very 
 nearly to this : that Irishmen have dug in America 
 an astonishing number of canals, and made a pro- 
 digious extent of rail-roads, which Englishmen have 
 paid for ; and when these material ingredients in a 
 public work are allowed for, namely, the labour of 
 constructing them, and the chai’ge for that labour, 
 the balance of merit that remains seems pretty much 
 confined to the ingenuity of the contrivance, and 
 to a vast energy in borrowing, which I apprehend 
 it may be the secret wish of some persons in this 
 country, had not been so industriously exerted.’’ 
 
CANADA. 
 
 S‘2 
 
 Anothei- writer, in one of the numbers of the 
 Patriot, endeavours to show the advance which 
 Toronto has made within a given period ; and has 
 succeeded in proving it to be considerable, as will be 
 seen by the following extracts ; 
 
 “ The Government Gazette, and another small newspaper at 
 Kingston, were the only newspapers published in the whole pro- 
 vince, about twenty-five years ago ; there are now nine printed 
 Toronto alone. Within that period, the mail was conveyed 
 by land from Montreal to York once in two weeks ; and thence 
 westward once every month ; and the communication by water 
 was so tedious and uncertain, that the recollections of the older 
 inhabitants seem now to border on the marvellous. Eight or 
 nine post-offices then sufficed for the few insignificant towns or 
 villages scattered along the frontier. At this time there are 238 
 post-offices in the Upper Province alone, and at Toronto 
 20 mails are made up every week, a similar number bein<» 
 received. “ 
 
 “ From the duties levied at Quebec in 1816, Upper Canada 
 received £21,584 17s. 6d., the proportion being determined by 
 the amount of goods passed at the Coteau du Lac. Since 1817, 
 the proportion has been based upon the comparative population 
 of the two Provinces ; in that year it was stated to be one-fifth ; 
 at later periods it was increased to one-fourth, one-third, and 
 under the last agreement, which expires this year, 38^ per cent., 
 upon which calculation this Province received for 1839, £61 678 
 16s. 3d., which, at an ad valorem duty of 2i per cent., would 
 show the value of British goods imported into Upper Canada 
 alone to be, two and a half millions of pounds sterling 1 
 “ The only duties upon goods at this port, are upon those 
 brought from the United States In 1816, the year after the 
 war, they were £350 6s. 3d., in 1839, £5,726 11s. 3d. The 
 amount received, affords very little Information in regard to the 
 real extent of this trade, the quantity illegally introduced or very 
 much undervalued, being vastly greater than the entries on the 
 Custom House books. Of tea alone, it is supposed that not less 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 S3 
 
 than 3,000 chests were clandestinely landed in this port during 
 tlie last year. All kinds of grain are admitted duty free. 
 
 “ In the belief that a very great change had taken place in 
 our mercantile transactions within a few years, and that we are 
 becoming less dependent on the importers of the Lower Pro- 
 vince, application was made to 49 distinct wholesale or retail 
 traders residing in Toronto, respecting the amount of goods 
 imported by them, direct from Great Britain, in 1839 ; when the 
 whole was ascertained to be considerably over £306,000 sterling, 
 without including duties in Lower Canada, inland transportation, 
 and other charges in the country. The duties are uniform, but 
 the other expenses vary materially, according to the nature of 
 the goods, circulating very large sums of money, and affording 
 employment to many hundreds, perhaps thousands of indivi- 
 duals. 
 
 A fact connected with this subject, is worthy of immediate 
 consideration by mercantile men. The Canada Marine Assurance 
 Company lately declared a dividend of 50 per cent, on their 
 capital paid in ; and the Ottawa and Rideau Forwarding Com- 
 pany are said to have divided last year a profit of 40 per cent. ! 
 
 “ From this statement, confined to a single branch, some 
 approximation to the great amount of business now transacted 
 at Toronto, might be made; with a great probability that it is 
 yet only in its infancy ; founded on the extraordinary increase of 
 a superior class of houses now building in all directions, and the 
 high premiums given for leases of the corporation water-lots, over 
 and above the heavy expenditure, required by the conditions, to 
 be incurred upon them. 
 
 These energetic improvements are based upon a conviction 
 of the superior local advantages of this place, for becoming the 
 commercial metropolis of the whole of Upper Canada above 
 Prince Edward District. 
 
 “ There is a broad and indefinite extent of country north of 
 Toronto, capable of supporting a population equal to that of the 
 whole Province at tliis time, which cannot, with advantage, receive 
 merchandise by any other channel. 
 
 The Home District (including Simcoe) contains 51 town- 
 ships, besides the city of Toronto ; Markham is the most popu- 
 
 D 
 
Si 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 lous, and had not, by the last census, 6,000 inhabitants; 18 other 
 townships did not average 430 each ; and there are 15 more, 
 which being almost uninhabited, have never furnished any returns. 
 All these townships are becoming gradually more accessible by 
 the extension of good roads. But how vast would be the accele- 
 ration of that progress, and the corresponding increased con- 
 sumption of merchandise, by the construction of a railroad 
 through or near such an extent of valuable land, connecting 
 Lakes Ontario and Huron. Without dwelling upon the import- 
 ance of its being the most direct line from Oswego to Michigan, 
 the undertaking would be of such very great advantage to this 
 city, that, far beyond any other project, it deserves instant and 
 vigorous exertion to effect it without further delay. A scientific 
 survey by an able and experienced geologist, of the height of 
 land between the two lakes, would make known the existence 
 and location of valuable mineral substances usually occurring in 
 such regions. It is certain that the northern shores of Lake 
 Superior abound in such productions, which the distance and 
 difficulty of transport have hitherto prevented being worked with 
 profit. 
 
 When the Welland Canal is enlarged, and the improvements 
 of the Grand River completed, the whole of the immense fertile 
 region above Niagara, cannot have access to any considerable 
 depot of British manufactures, nearer than this port.” 
 
 To these may be appended two remarkable pas- 
 sages from Chief Justice Robinson^s work, before 
 adverted to, which will still more strikingly exhibit 
 the progress made by Upper Canada, at least in 
 population and improvement. The passages are 
 these — 
 
 “ There are people in Upper Canada still living who saw it 
 when it contained not a cultivated farm, nor any white inhabit- 
 ants, but a few fur-traders and soldiers, and perhaps ten or a 
 dozen French families, on the south side of the Detroit river. 
 
 1 can myself remember when its population was estimated at less 
 than 30,000; in 1812 it was supposed to be about 70,000; in 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 35 
 
 1822, 130,000; and in 1837, the census showed a population 
 of 396,000 ; but all the townships were not then returned. The 
 number I suppose to amount now to something between 450,000 
 and 500,000. These are all living in the enjoyment of the Eng- 
 lish law, both civil and criminal, administered in the same manner 
 as in England. The English language is universally spoken ; and 
 recent events have shown that there is among the people generally 
 a sound feeling of attachment to their constitution and govern- 
 ment, a strong sense of duty to their Sovereign, and a determi- 
 nation to resist any danger that seems to threaten their connection 
 with the British Crown/^ p. 32. 
 
 ‘‘ Fifty years ago the province was one vast wilderness. If in 
 the time that has passed, the inhabitants, beside clearing their 
 farms, had done nothing more than make the highways, which 
 have enabled them to take their grain to market, and to pass from 
 one district to another, throughout this extensive territory, they 
 could hardly have seemed to deserve much reproach. But besides 
 doing this, they have within the period built numerous lighthouses; 
 constructed expensive artificial harbours ; made many miles of 
 macadamized roads, at an expense probably little short of 
 200,000/. ; completed the Welland canal, at a cost of 400,000/. ; 
 expended 300,000/. on the St. Lawrence canal ; constructed the 
 Burlington Bay canal, the Des Jardiiis canal, and the Grand 
 River navigation ; and there are other works in progress. They 
 have also made expensive surveys with the view of ascertaining 
 the practicability of further improvements. In addition to these, 
 several important works of a similar description have been success- 
 fully carried through by private enterprise ; such as the Niagara 
 docks, the Tay navigation, &c.” p. 57. 
 
 The population of Toronto has gone on all this 
 while progressively increasing. The official returns 
 do not go further back than 1833, but in 1830 — 
 persons resident here at that time think there were 
 not then more than 1,200 persons, while now, only 
 
 D 2 
 

 
 36 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 ten years after, there are upwards of 13,000. 
 following is the official return : 
 
 The 
 
 1833 
 
 1834 
 
 1835 
 
 1836 
 
 9,254 
 
 9,765 
 
 9,654 
 
 10,871 
 
 1837 
 
 1838 
 
 1839 
 
 1840 
 
 12,571 
 
 12,153 
 
 12,883 
 
 13,764 
 
 Of the feeling of this population towards the 
 British Government, no one that associated with the 
 people could doubt for a moment, that it was one of 
 strong attachment, mingled with a sentiment of pride, 
 at being the subjects of so great a nation. It is true 
 that the disaffected having been recently driven out, 
 and the leaders of the late rebellion being exiled or 
 transported, there is little encouragement for the 
 expression of disloyalty now, so that a feeling of 
 hostility may exist in some who have the prudence to 
 suppress its display. This is just possible : but if the 
 feeling exists at all in any who remain, they must be 
 very few. I should say, indeed, that all the past 
 history, as well as the present aspect, of this Province, 
 and its population, goes to prove that they are as 
 loyal in their attachment to England, as any class of 
 their fellow-subjects at home. Unfortunately, there 
 are some among them who seem to think, that loyalty 
 does not consist merely in loving their own monarch, 
 and preferring their own institutions to every other ; 
 but that it embraces also contempt for other coun’ 
 tries, and hatred towards other institutions and other 
 people. Among these— and they embrace a very 
 arge portion of all ranks of society— every oppor- 
 unity is seized of disparaging America and the 
 Americans, and speaking of them with unmeasured 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 
 contempt. Indeed I heard more of this feeling ex- 
 pressed in Toronto, towards the institutions and 
 people of the United States, in our short stay of three 
 weeks, than I had heard of censure or condemnation 
 of English institutions and English people, during 
 all the three years that we had passed among the 
 Americans ; and when I was appealed to, as having 
 so recently travelled through that country, great dis- 
 appointment was usually expressed at my not con- 
 curring in their unfavourable views. 
 
 During the first week of our stay at Toronto, a 
 most interesting meeting took place, on Queenstown 
 Heights, in the Niagara District, on the opposite 
 side of the Lake Ontario, at which it was my inten- 
 tion to have been present : but on the morning on 
 which it took place, I was seized with an attack of 
 cholera, which confined me to my bed. From the 
 accounts given me of the meeting by those present, 
 it was one of the largest and most animated that had 
 ever taken place in Upper Canada. The occasion 
 of its being held was this ; A lofty column had been 
 erected on Queenstown Heights over the remains of 
 the late gallant Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, who 
 fell near the spot, while cheering on his men, at the 
 battle of Queenstown, against the Americans, in 1814. 
 The universal popularity of the General, as a civil 
 governor as well as a military commander, had caused 
 this monument to be regarded with more affectionate 
 veneration than any other structure in the Province. 
 A miscreant, named Lett, one of the most abandoned 
 of the Canadian rebel party, who had escaped into 
 the United States territory, knowing this feeling of 
 attachment to the name and memory of General 
 
38 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Brock, as pervading all classes of Canadians, sought 
 to gratify his own malicious and vindictive spirit, and 
 at the same time to wound and insult the people of 
 Upper Canada, by attempting to destroy this monu- 
 ment. This was done by the introduction into it 
 of a considerable quantity of powder, which was fired 
 by a train ; and the explosion, though it did not 
 overthrow the column, shattered it so extensively 
 from top to bottom, as to render it unsafe to let it 
 remain in its present condition. The object of the 
 meeting on Queenstown Heights was, therefore, to call 
 forth the expression of public opinion in execration 
 of the deed, and to resolve upon the best mode of 
 replacing the shattered monument by another. 
 
 The notice of the meeting having been widely 
 circulated, and its object univei*sally approved, the 
 gathering was immense : from eight to ten thousand 
 persons, according to the estimate of some, and from 
 six to eight thousand, according to the estimate 
 of others, being assembled on the ground. Steam 
 vessels, engaged for the purpose, left their respective 
 ports of Kingston and Coburg, of Hamilton and 
 Toronto, in time to arrive at the entrance of the 
 Niagara river about 10 o’clock in the forenoon. 
 The whole of these, ten in number, then formed in 
 line, and ascended the river abreast, with the govern- 
 ment steamer, containing the Lieutenant-Governor 
 ot Upper Canada, Sir George Arthur, and his Staflp, 
 leading the way. The British shore was lined with 
 thousands, and the fleet of steamers filled with hun- 
 dreds, each shouting and responding to the cheers of 
 
 to ship 
 
 ‘loam. Ihe landing being effected, the march to the 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 39 
 
 ground was accompanied by military guards, and a 
 fine military band. The public meeting was then 
 held in the open air, near the foot of the monument 
 on Queenstown Heights. Sir George Arthur was in 
 the chair. The resolutions were moved and speeches 
 made by some of the most eminent and most eloquent 
 men, holding high official stations in the Province ; 
 and considering that amidst this grand and imposing 
 assemblage, there were a great number of veteran 
 officers of the Canada militia, who had fought and 
 bled with the lamented chief, whose memory they 
 were assembled to honour, and whose monument they 
 had come to re-establish over his remains, the enthu- 
 siasm with which the whole mass was animated, may 
 readily be conceived ; while the grand and picturesque 
 combination of natural objects of scenery, beheld from 
 the Heights on which they were met, and the bright- 
 ness of the day (the 30th of July,) added greatly to 
 the effect of the whole. 
 
 After the public proceedings had closed, every 
 resolution being unanimously carried by acclamation, 
 an Address of Congratulation to the Queen, for her 
 happy escape from the hand of an assassin, was pro- 
 posed and carried with equally hearty unanimity ; 
 the loyalty of the Canadians being as fervent as Ian. 
 guage can express. The business of the day was 
 closed by a public dinner under a pavilion erected 
 for the accommodation of a thousand persons, Chief 
 Justice Robinson presiding; and at this, as at the 
 morning meeting, great eloquence was displayed in 
 the speeches, great loyalty evinced in the feelings, 
 and great enthusiasm prevailed among all ranks and 
 classes of the people. 
 
40 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 From some of the more unguarded of the speakers, 
 occasional expressions of vindictiveness towards the 
 Americans escaped ; but these were exceptions to the 
 general rule, and in this instance they were certainly 
 out of place ; first, because the Americans, who must 
 have witnessed the whole proceedings from their 
 own side of the river, ofifered no display of even a 
 wish to prevent the fullest honour being done to a 
 G^eneral who had often been successful against them 
 on the field ; and next, because the Americans had 
 no share whatever in the act of attempting to destroy 
 the monument of Brock — the wretch who did the 
 deed being by birth an Irishman, and by settlement 
 a Canadian. Upon the whole, however, the meeting 
 presented a proud display of high and noble feelings, 
 honourable to the memory of the dead, and equally 
 so to the character of the living. It was conducted 
 with great dignity and judgment, and no accident 
 occurred to interrupt the pleasures of the day ; the 
 steam- vessels re-embarking their passengers soon after 
 sunset, and conveying back the individuals composing 
 this congregated multitude to their respective homes 
 in safety. 
 
 Among the other meetings occurring here durino- 
 our stay, was one on the 1st of August, held by the 
 coloured inhabitants of Toronto, to celebrate the 
 Anniversary of the emancipation of their brother 
 Africans in the West Indies. They went in proces- 
 sion in the forenoon to the Episcopal church, where 
 an appropriate sermon was addressed to them by the 
 ev. Mn Grassett ; they dined together in the after- 
 noon, when they expressed their gratification at the 
 emancipation of their coloured brethren in the BritM 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 41 
 
 colonies in suitable speeches ; and the whole was as 
 well conducted as the greatest lover of order and 
 decorum could have desired. 
 
 There was a regatta on the morning of the same 
 day, in which several sailing and rowing boats were 
 engaged. The bay of Toronto is admirably adapted 
 for such aquatic exhibitions ^ but the taste oi fond- 
 ness for such sports does not appear to oe sufficiently 
 general to furnish the requisite number of boats and 
 competitors to make a very gay or extensive regatta 
 here, as yet at least ; though it was evidently much 
 enjoyed by those who joined in it. 
 
CHAP. IV, 
 
 Facts connected with the recent Rebellion in Upper Canada- Visit 
 trom an Indian Missionary— Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee— Indian 
 
 Settlement at “The river where credit is given”— State and 
 condition of the Canadian Indians generally — Difficulty of 
 converting the pagan tribes of India— Remarkable speech and 
 
 fo\T. ” r to remove the Indians 
 Pn!-V I y Island— Indian preference of French and 
 
 of nI, V of Upper Canada, equal to that 
 
 nimaf! ^e'^ent decline in the price of land— 
 
 Magistrates-Causes of this, 
 the leward of political partisans— News of the Union of the 
 Canadas— Parting visits to friends. 
 
 We heard much, of course, of the late rebellion in 
 Upper Canada, of which Toronto was the chief seat ; 
 and we were taken out to Gallows-hill, and the ruins 
 ot Montgomery’s Tavern, the principal rendezvous, 
 which, by order of the Governor, Sir Trancis Head, 
 had been burnt to the ground. From all that I could 
 earn, and I mixed freely with both parties, my con- 
 viction was, first, that there had not been a sufficient 
 amount of grievance or oppression to warrant the 
 taking up arms against the Government at all; 
 and next, that the persons who did so were few in 
 
 Si™ ; ‘ ” of ‘hem 
 
 I rancis Head, m turning a deaf ear to all the 
 lamed bj his warmest partisans here ; as the entirely 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 43 
 
 unprepared state in which he kept the town, was such 
 as almost to tempt the rebels to attack it. Indeed 
 nothing but the gross mismanagement and cowardice 
 of their leaders could have saved the city from being 
 sacked and destroyed, as it might have been with any 
 tolerable management. In this case, 7,000 stand of 
 arms, and a large quantity of ammunition, with 
 300,000 dollars in specie, would have fallen into the 
 hands of the captors, and their success would no 
 doubt have drawn around them some addition to their 
 forces from the idle and profligate, as well as the 
 injured and dissatisfied of the province ; while much 
 greater numbers of reckless adventurers from the 
 opposite shores of the States of New York, Ohio, and 
 Michigan, would have poured in in such numbers, as 
 to make their dislodgment difficult, if not impossible, 
 except at the cost of more blood and treasure than it 
 took to make the original conquest of the whole 
 country. For running this risk. Sir Francis Head 
 may well be blamed. But on the other hand it 
 cannot be denied that the gathering storm having 
 then expended all its fury, the political atmosphere 
 has since been perfectly tranquil; the disaffected have 
 fled, or are silent ; and everywhere the most exube- 
 rant loyalty and professions of attachment to the 
 British crown and British rule are seen. All ideas of 
 independence, or of separation from British connec- 
 tion, are repudiated ; and as to annexation to the 
 United States, my own conviction is, that nothing 
 could be more obnoxious to the great mass of the 
 Upper Canadians than this ; they would, I think, 
 spurn the proposition with disdain, and the whole 
 Province, to a man, would seem to he ready to take 
 

 CANADA. 
 
 up arms against any power, friendly or hostile, that 
 should endeavour either to persuade or coerce them 
 into such an alliance. 
 
 Dating our stay at Toronto, I received a visit 
 from the celebrated Indian Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee, 
 or “ the rapidly flying feather,” who had embraced 
 Uiristianity, and become himself a missionary to the 
 Indian tribes, under the name of Peter Jones. He 
 was dressed in the European costume, as a Methodist 
 minister, and spoke English perfectly well. He had 
 visited England some years since, and there married 
 an nghsh lady, whom we also saw, and recognized 
 in her a former acquaintance in London. She had 
 returned home once since her marriage, in com- 
 pany with her husband, but had come back again to 
 Canada with him, and professed herself to be per- 
 fectly happy m her present position. She had with 
 “w"" the tribe had named 
 
 “Round World.” 
 
 I he body of Indians over whom Mr. Jones presides are 
 a poi tion of the great tribe of the Chippewas settled 
 on the banks of .he river Credit, seve'n'teri.'So 
 the weslrrard of I'oronto. and numbering about 250 
 souls. The^ are all Christians, and the dX" 
 portion of them are said to be truly devout. They 
 have portions of the Scriptures and hymns in Z 
 
 acceptable to them in their native language. The 
 
 mmseltso pleased with them, that he sent up to the 
 
 be smred fr “^ny of the Indians as could 
 
 om eir labours to come down and attend 
 
TOnONTO. 
 
 with him the lectures on Palestine ; this being the 
 first occasion at which any Indians had ever been 
 assembled for such a purpose in Canada. 
 
 To our inquiries respecting the progress of Chris- 
 tianity among the Indians, and the influence of the 
 new faith on their lives and actions, he replied, 
 that the work of conversion from the pagan super- 
 stitions of the adults w’as very difficult, and its pro- 
 gress accordingly extremely slow ; and that their 
 chief hope lay in the education of the children. The 
 Credit settlement was supported entirely by agricul- 
 ture, at which all the Indians laboured with industry ; 
 though in the winter they indulged themselves with 
 the pleasures of the chase, and supplied themselves 
 with venison from the deer of the woods, for the 
 remainder of the year. The men adopt the Euro- 
 pean dress, but the women retain the Indian robe oi 
 blanket. The stream along the banks of which they 
 live, is called by the Chippewa name of “Muhze- 
 nuhega-zeebe,” which means “ The river where 
 credit is given,” commemorating this feature of its 
 history : in the early days of the province, when the 
 only white men that ever visited it were the fur 
 traders, this was the place of their meeting with the 
 red men ; and as articles were sometimes supplied to 
 them above the value of the furs they had in hand, 
 and payment for these was deferred till their meeting 
 in the same place in the following year, the stream 
 was called by the name mentioned, which it is always 
 likely to retain. 
 
 Among the pagan Indians that inhabit the north- 
 ern and western borders of Upper Canada, Peter 
 Jones had sometimes gone for the purpose of per- 
 
46 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 suading them to embrace Christianity, but hitherto 
 he had met with no success ; nor did he think it 
 likely that any of the men who had passed the 
 middle period of life would ever be prevailed upon 
 to change their religion. On the last occasion of 
 his preaching to such a tribe, he was listened to with 
 silence and respect — this being an attention which 
 Indians always pay to any discourse, however oppo- 
 site to their own views those of the speaker may be 
 — a courtesy well worthy the imitation of their more 
 civilized white brethren in Europe, At the close 
 of the sermon, however, one of the chiefs rose, and 
 addressed the missionary to the following effect. 
 He said that he had no doubt the religion of Christ 
 was a good religion, but it was made for the white 
 man — though he did not seem to regulate his conduct 
 very much by its precepts. But, he added, God has 
 made another religion for the red man, which is 
 much better for him to follow. In proof of this, he 
 related the fact of one of the Indians of another 
 tribe, who had embraced Christianity, dying, and 
 remaining dead for three days. When they were 
 about to bury him, however, he recovered, and awoke 
 again to life ; after which he related that during the 
 last three days he had been in the heaven of the 
 Christians, where he was very happy ; but God at 
 length observing him among the white men, asked him 
 how he came there ? to which he replied, that having 
 embraced Christianity, and died in that faith, he 
 came naturally to the Christian’s heaven. God then 
 told him he was entirely mistaken, as the Christian 
 religion and the Christian heaven were for white 
 men only. He hade him, therefore, instantly to 
 
TORONTO 
 
 47 
 
 leave the place — go back to earth again — and follow 
 the religion of his fathers ; when, at his death, he 
 would be admitted into the heaven of the red men, 
 and there enjoy with them the pleasures of the 
 hunting-ground and the wigwam, with plenty of 
 game. The Indian accordingly renounced the new 
 religion, and went back to the old, lived a long while 
 afterwards, and died happily in a good old age. 
 “After this,” said the chief, “I cannot think of 
 leaving the religion of the red man for the religion 
 of the white ; for, like the Indian whose history 
 I have recounted to you, I might be turned out of 
 the white man’s heaven by the Almighty, as having 
 no right to be there ; and the opportunity might not 
 be afforded me of returning again to tbe earth, to 
 win the red man’s heaven by a return to my own 
 proper religion, and tbus I might risk the loss of 
 both.” This speech, said Mr. Jones, made such an 
 impression on the pagan hearers, of the tribe, that 
 it was in vain to address them further on the 
 subject. 
 
 The Indians in Upper Canada are not numerous, 
 their whole number not exceeding 8,000. Many 
 portions of them are civilized sufficiently to have 
 forsaken the hunter-state, and embraced the agri- 
 cultural. A number of these appear to conform 
 cheerfully to the change, and to be good subjects 
 and good Christians ; but some among tbe number 
 continue indolent, dissolute, and drunken. Sir 
 Francis Head, during bis recent government here, 
 conceived the plan of transferring all the Indian 
 tribes now on the continent of Upper Canada, to 
 the great Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, for the 
 
48 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 purpose of keeping them from all communication with 
 the whites, and thus saving them from degradation. 
 But the Indians themselves are averse to this separa- 
 tion. They do not like to quit their present lands, 
 and they evince the same attachment to their ancient 
 camping places as the Indians of the United States. 
 It is, therefore, not probable that they will all con- 
 sent to remove there, though they have no objection 
 to join the annual assemblage of their red brethren 
 at this island, when the presents of the British 
 government, in blankets, knives, fish-hooks, cotton 
 cloths, and other articles, are distributed among 
 them. 
 
 The Indians generally are said to have a greater 
 respect for the English than for the Americans ; 
 first, from their being the nation originally settling 
 on their continent, and therefore of more ancient 
 standing ; and next, because they have been treated 
 by the English with more justice, good faith, and 
 generosity, than by the Americans. But they prefer 
 the French to both ; the French, in Canada at least, 
 being to them the most ancient of the whites, and 
 having not only treated them with fairness, but with 
 kindness, mingling with them in their social parties, 
 and flattering them by a more ready conformity to 
 their manners than either of the other nations have 
 ever done. It is said, that several of the American 
 Indians are coming over from Michigan to settle in 
 Upper Canada ; and the Oneidas of the State of 
 New York, have signified their intention to do the 
 same. A portion of the Six Nations, to which the 
 Oneidas belong, are already settled on the banks 
 of the Grand River, to the westward of this ; the 
 
 

 
 TORONTO. 4Q 
 
 Mohawks being the principal tribe among them ; 
 and the Chippewas are so scattered, that when, dur* 
 ing the last year, a general meeting of the chiefs of 
 the tribe were assembled on the Grand River, to 
 meet the chiefs of the Mohawks in friendly council, 
 to bury the tomahawk, and smoke the calumet or 
 pipe of peace, in token of their renewal of the 
 ancient treaties of peace existing between their 
 separate nations, their scattered bands were gathered 
 in from seventeen different stations. 
 
 From the testimony of all parties who have had 
 an opportunity of comparing the land on the opposite 
 sides of the lakes, the soil of Upper Canada is in 
 no respect whatever inferior to that of the States of 
 New York or Ohio, and the finest parts of the 
 Frovince are those lying west of this. M^any por- 
 tions of the country are agreeably undulated, though 
 there are no mountains; while the abundance °of 
 water in the lakes, rivers, and springs, with which 
 the country is supplied, is highly favourable to its 
 fertility. Wheat is everywhere produced in great 
 quantities, and of excellent quality, and the harvest 
 of the present year is said to be unusually abundant. 
 The markets of Toronto bear evidence of the excel- 
 lence and cheapness of everything required for the 
 table ; the fish of the lake is of the finest kind, par- 
 ticularly the white fish and salmon ; the beef, mutton, 
 and lamb are quite equal to those of the best pro- 
 vincial markets in England ; and everything in the 
 way of provisions is cheap and good. The value 
 of land, however, instead of having progressively 
 increased with time, as in the United States, has of 
 late greatly declined ; and we met with gentlemen 
 
50 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 
 
 who were large holders of land, which they had 
 purchased from 15 to 20 years ago at 10s. an acre, 
 for which they could not now get 2s. 6d. There 
 has never been, indeed, a period in the history of 
 the Province, in which farms could be purchased 
 by settlers at so cheap a rate as now ; and yet 
 some of the emigrants who had left England with 
 the intention to settle in Canada, and who had 
 come up from Quebec at the government expense, 
 preferred going over into the United States, and 
 settling themselves there. 
 
 The climate, during our stay at Toronto, w^as 
 more variable than we had found it in any part of 
 America, there being scarcely any two days in suc- 
 cession that were alike. Though the days were often 
 close and sultry, there was several times a sharp 
 frost at night. The rain, too, was very considerable, 
 and the alternation of violent thunder-storms on one 
 day, and chilling mists and vapours on the other, 
 was far from being acceptable. All agreed, however, 
 that this was a very unusual kind of August, this 
 month being generally hot, dry, and steady. The 
 summer is very short, for autumn commences early 
 in August, and the leaves were beginning to change 
 colour from decay as early as the 8th of that month. 
 From the suddenness of the, transition from wdnter 
 to summer, the spring is the least agreeable portion 
 of the year. Some think the autumn the pleasantest 
 time, and speak in raptures of the months of Sep- 
 tember and October, as well as of the hazy Indian 
 summer which follows in November; but the greater 
 portion of the inhabitants seem to prefer the winter, 
 which, though long, and extremely cold, is to many. 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 51 
 
 both healthy and agreeable, from the dryness of the 
 atmosphere, the steadiness of the temperature, and 
 the exhilarating exercise of skating and sleighing. 
 
 From the opportunities I had of judging, by what 
 passed under my own observation, I should be dis- 
 posed to think that the people of Upper Canada 
 were much less temperate than the people of the 
 United States. Absolute drunkenness is happily in 
 both countries now become rare ; and where it exists 
 at all, it is amongst the lowest of the people. But 
 even among these it abounds to a greater extent in 
 Toronto than in any town of the same size in 
 America ; and we saw more drunken persons, and 
 heard more profane and blasphemous oaths and im- 
 precations, in our short stay here, than a traveller 
 would meet with in a year in the States, unless he 
 went pui-posely in search of it, which we certainly 
 did not in either country. At the table of our hotel, 
 almost every one drank wine, beer, or brandy- and- 
 water. At the public tables in America it is now 
 rare to see anything drank but w'ater. In private 
 circles, wine is more freely used in Canada, and 
 more urgently pressed on those who do not use it, 
 than is the case in the United States ; and with the 
 heads of office, political, military, civil, judicial, and 
 even ecclesiastical, the Temperance cause is not at 
 all in favour, since none of all these powerful and 
 influential classes come forward publicly to give this 
 cause the benefit of their sanction and example. 
 
 1 he most melancholy picture, however, of the inte- 
 rior of the Province, in this respect, is presented by 
 a writer in the Canada Temperance Advocate, a 
 w'ork wholly unconnected with party politics, under 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 the date of July 25th, only a few weeks from the 
 period of my writing this, August 12th, and signed 
 by his own proper name, as a guarantee for its 
 accuracy. As an essential part of the evidence on 
 which a correct judgment may be formed on this 
 question, it is desirable that the statements of this 
 writer should be extensively published, that the 
 evil may become so notorious as to demand imme- 
 diate attention. The letter is headed ‘‘ Upper 
 Canada,’’ and is signed ‘‘ John Dougal,” and these 
 are the melancholy facts it communicates — 
 
 In my last* letter respecting Upper Canada, I promised to 
 make some general remarks in reference to a portion of the 
 magistracy of that Province. Owing to various causes, the matter 
 has been deferred ; but I still feel called upon to take up the 
 subject, from the conviction, that before the people of that beau- 
 tiful Province can be, generally speaking, a sober, a moral, and a 
 religious people, there must be a great change in its magistracy. 
 I therefore earnestly solicit the attention of the Governor-Gene- 
 ral, and Lieutenant-Governor, to the following statements. 
 
 ‘‘ Whilst many of the magistrates of Upper Canada are sober, 
 moral, excellent men, who perform the duties of their important 
 station in the most praiseworthy manner, many of them are of a 
 very different character. This is showed by the fact, that licenses 
 for the sale of liquor are issued with most unbounded liberality 
 to persons even who possess none of the accommodations required 
 by law. The issuing of these licenses is managed so that, if 
 applications be refused at the Quarter Sessions, they are sure to 
 be granted by some two of the magistrates afterwards ; or if the 
 applicant’s character be very bad indeed, so that a tavern license 
 is refused, he is still almost certain to get a license to keep a 
 beer-shop, from some friend and patron amongst the magistracy, 
 and I need not add, that beer-shops are almost invariably drunk- 
 eries of the worst character. 
 
 W ithout mentioning all the facts respecting magistrates in 
 Upper Canada which came to my knowledge, I will mention a 
 
TORONTO. 
 
 53 
 
 few wliich were communicated to me, upon such authority as I 
 could not for a moment doubt. 
 
 In one village of Upper Canada, two of the magistrates were 
 in the habit of breaking the law, by playing at cards and drinking 
 with the tavern-keeper and his customers, often for the greater 
 part or whole of the night. Of course, they could not refuse a 
 license to their pot-companion. 
 
 In another village a majority of the magistrates are noto- 
 riously intemperate. 
 
 “ In a back township, a magistrate, who kept a tavern, sold 
 liquor to people till they got drunk and fought in his house. He 
 then issued a warrant, apprehended them, and tried them on the 
 spot ; and besides fining them, made them treat each otlier to 
 make up the quarrel. 
 
 “In a district town of Upper Canada, one of the. leading 
 magistrates is an extensive dealer in liquors, and all tavern-keepers 
 who will take their supplies from him can get licenses without 
 difficulty. Should any presume, however, to buy from other mer- 
 chants, their licenses are refused. 
 
 In a town of Upper Canada, several of the magistrates are 
 intemperate, and some of them are on the limits for debt. 
 
 ‘‘I might multiply instances of intemperance amongst this 
 important class of the community ; but it is a painful subject, and 
 I shaU conclude by stating, that throughout Upper Canada a 
 large proportion, if not a majority, of the magistrates are distillers 
 or sellers of intoxicating drinks ; and therefore, it may be pre- 
 sumed, directly interested in the increase of their traffic and the 
 multiplication of grog-shops. The effect of this state of things 
 on the morals of the people must be, and indeed evidently is, 
 disastrous ; and I again beg leave to call the attention, not only 
 of the people at large, but of those in authority, to it, and to add, 
 that much that is stated above applies with equal force to Lower 
 Canada.” 
 
 This is indeed a melancholy picture ; and from 
 the best information I could obtain, by occasional 
 conversations with persons resident in the interior, 
 
 I had too much reason to believe that it was as 
 
CANADA. 
 
 di 
 
 faithful as it was melancholy. The only explanation 
 given of this state of things, is, that the successive 
 Governments have made the most active of their 
 partisans. Justices of the Peace, with little reference 
 to any other consideration ; and hence a number of 
 persons, the most unfit for the office, have been 
 thrust into this important station. It is high time, 
 indeed, that this state of things should be amended. 
 
 It was on the last day of our stay at Toronto, 
 that the news reached there, of the Bill for the 
 Union of the two Provinces of Canada, having 
 passed both Houses of Parliament, and received the 
 royal assent. The views taken of this measure 
 vary, of course, according to the political bias of 
 different parties and classes ; but I shall pass them 
 over for the present, as it is my intention, after 
 seeing both the Provinces, and mingling with the 
 society of each, to devote a separate and supple- 
 mentary chapter, to a general view of the whole 
 subject, connected with their past, present, and pro- 
 bable future condition, under the changes proposed 
 in the Union Bill, as far as these can be clearly and 
 safely predicted. 
 
 Our last day was passed in a round of farewell 
 visits to the many families from whom we had 
 received such cordial and hospitable attentions 
 during our short stay here, as to make us leave it 
 with greater regret than we had felt at quitting any 
 place for a long time. 
 
 

 CHAP, V 
 
 Departure from Toronto — English steamboats — Passage along 
 the coast — Character of the country— Touch at Port Hope? 
 and at Coburg — Arrival at Kingston, and stay there — History 
 of the rise and progress of that town— Beautiful and advan- 
 tageous situation of Kingston— Visit to the Fort on the opposite 
 Peninsula — Description of its interior and subterranean pas- 
 sage — Plan of the town — Materials and style of building — 
 Public Edifices Court House— Churches — Country around 
 Kingston — Bay of Quinte. 
 
 On Friday, the 14th of August, we left Toronto, 
 and were accompanied to the steam-boat, the Wil- 
 liam the Fourth, by sereral of our friends. The 
 day was beautifully fine, and the breeze bland and 
 favourable for our voyage. We left the wharf at 
 9 A. M., took a last look at Toronto as we steered 
 down the bay, rounded the Light-House at Gibraltar 
 Point, and passed the new Fort constructing to 
 guard the entrance of the harbour ; when we bore 
 up our course down Lake Ontario, for Port Hope, 
 Coburg, and Kingston, to which we were bound. 
 
 Our boat, though one of the largest of the British 
 steamers on the Lake, was neither so light, airy, or 
 commodious, as most of the American steamers. 
 Instead of state-rooms, into which the passengers can 
 retire, and dress and undress in privacy, as in all 
 the American boats on Lakes Michigan, Huron, 
 and Erie, there are in the English boats only open 
 sleeping berths. Owing to this arrangement, the 
 gentlemen are entirely excluded from the ladies’ 
 
56 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 cabin ; and the ladies dare hardly venture, except at 
 the period of meals, into the gentlemen’s ; so that 
 the parties can only be together on deck, whatever 
 may be the state of the weather. The English 
 steamers are all painted black, with a white, or red, 
 or yellow narrow stripe along the sides, which gives 
 them a dark and heavy appearance. The American 
 steamers have always white bottoms, and light and 
 tastefully painted upper works ; and on the whole they 
 appear to be better furnished, and kept in cleaner 
 and nicer order, than the English ones. The latter, 
 however, have the superiority in the table, which is 
 much better provided, and everything better cooked; 
 while time is allowed to enjoy as well as to eat the 
 meal, and the attendants go through their duties 
 without the hurry and bustle of an American break- 
 fast or dinner. In safety, it is certain that the Bri- 
 tish vessels have also the superiority, partly from the 
 greater strength of all the machinery and workman- 
 ship, but still more from the greater degree of vigi- 
 lance and cai’e with which every department of duty 
 is superintended, and the greater subordination and 
 more implicit obedience, of the crew ; but in speed, 
 the American boats generally excel the English. 
 
 Our passage down Lake Ontario was extremely 
 agreeable. W e coasted along the northern shore 
 
 at a distance of from three to five miles from the 
 land ; and the appearance of this, though not suffi- 
 ciently broken and mountainous to be picturesque, 
 was nevertheless often beautiful and always pleasing. 
 Ridges of progressively increasing elevation appeared 
 to rise behind and above each other on receding 
 northward from the coast, so that the country mus^ 
 
LAKE ONTARIO. 
 
 57 
 
 be agreeably undulated in the interior. Wood is 
 everywhere abundant ; and on the interior hills the 
 primitive forest appears never to have been disturbed ; 
 but on the sloping land nearer the shore, the cleared 
 patches and tilled fields are frequent, many of them 
 beautifully green, as if laid out in grass, others of 
 a bright yellow, with waving fields of wheat ready 
 for the harvest ; while, scattered over the surface, and 
 peeping through the woods, many substantial and 
 comfortable farm-houses and country residences 
 diversify and enliven the scene. 
 
 At 4 o’clock, p. M., we touched at Port Hope, a 
 promising little town on the Lake, with about 200 
 houses, two churches with spires, and a fine open 
 tract of cleared land behind the settlement, which is 
 said to be a thriving one. We remained here but a 
 few minutes at the wharf, and then stood on for 
 Coburg, a distance of seven miles below it, where 
 we reached before 5 o’clock. The boat stopping 
 here half an hour, we landed and walked up from the 
 pier to the town. It is laid out with great symmetry, 
 has firte broad streets, substantial houses of stone, 
 brick, and wood; and all the external symptoms of ad- 
 vancing prosperity. It contains a population of from 
 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants ; and has a fine agricultu- 
 ral country behind it, reaching for thirty miles north 
 to the river Trent, and the Bay of Quinte. This tract 
 is said to be quite equal to any part of England for 
 beauty and fertility ; requiring only population and 
 capital to make it as rich in all other respects. In 
 the immediate vicinity of the town, is a large and 
 handsome edifice built of stone, erected by the Wes- 
 leyan Methodists as an academy and college for the 
 
58 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 education of youths belonging to their body. It 
 has the reputation of being well conducted and well 
 sustained by their voluntary contributions ; and has 
 at present upwards of a hundred students within its 
 walls. 
 
 On leaving Coburg, we continued our course 
 down Lake Ontario, leaving behind us the isolated 
 lighthouse built on a sunken rock, at the entrance of 
 the bay, resembling the Eddystone in miniature. 
 After witnessing a glowing and exquisitely beautiful 
 sunset, the night soon closed in, and the rest of our 
 way presented nothing of interest till we reached 
 Kingston, which we did at 3, a. m., having gone the 
 whole distance of 180 miles in 18 hours, including 
 stoppages ; our actual rate, therefore, exceeding 10 
 miles an hour ; and the fare for the whole distance 
 being six dollars each. After sunrise we landed 
 and repaired to the British-North-American Hotel, 
 where we found good apartments, and took up our 
 abode. 
 
 The town of Kingston is older than Toronto, 
 dating back to about the year I 672 , when Mbns. de 
 Courcelles, the French governor of Canada, (the 
 whole country then belonging to France,) built here 
 a fort at the outlet of Lake Ontario into the river 
 St. Lawrence, where Kingston now stands, partly as 
 a barrier against the Iroquois Indians, who occupied 
 the opposite side of the lake and river, and partly 
 as a protection to the fur-traders who resorted here. 
 The fort was enlarged and strengthened at a subse- 
 quent period by his successor, the Count Frontenac, 
 and his name was accordingly bestowed on the posi- 
 tion. A small town gradually arose around this 
 
 

 KINGSTON. 5Q 
 
 spot, and at the surrender of Canada to the British 
 arms, in 1759, it fell into the hands of the English, 
 after whieh it was called Kingston. There are 
 some few of the oldest inhabitants here, who re- 
 membei when tnere was but one stone building and 
 not more than twenty wooden ones in the place; 
 and even at the period of the last American war, 
 in 1813, it was a very small village. Since the 
 peace of 1816, it has progressively advanced till it 
 has reached the dignity of a city, governed by a 
 mayor and aldermen, and has a population of nearly 
 7,000 persons. The chief source of its wealth is 
 agriculture, and its principal commerce is in the 
 expoi’tation of agricultural produce, and the impor- 
 tation of manufactures and other goods for domestic 
 consumption. Large quantities of grain from the 
 United States are accumulated at Kingston, and 
 when ground into flour it is exported as Canadian 
 produce, in British vessels, by which it obtains 
 admission into England, at a low duty, though the 
 same articles going direct from the ports of the 
 Union, would pay a much higher rate. 
 
 The situation of Kingston unites strength, beauty, 
 and convenience, in an unusual degree. In all these 
 respects, it is superior to Toronto. The town lies 
 along the northern shore of the Lake Ontario, just 
 where the western extremity of that lake narrows 
 into the strait or channel of the river St. Lawrence ; 
 having a large island opposite to it, within the 
 British lines ; the main channel of the river lying 
 beyond and between this island, and the Ame- 
 rican shore in the State of New York. The town 
 stands on an ascending slope from the water’s edge, 
 
Go 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 which gives it a more elevated appearance than 
 Toronto ; and just in front of it, is a peninsula pro- 
 jecting out between two bays, which is still higher 
 than the town, and commands a beautiful and exten- 
 sive view from its summit. On the topmost ridge 
 of this elevated peninsula, stands the fort of Kings- 
 ton, which commands the passage by the river and 
 lake, overlooks the whole town, and could bring its 
 guns to bear upon almost every part of the sur- 
 rounding country. Between the fort and the town, 
 is a smaller peninsula, on which is the Naval Yard, 
 at which, during the last war with America, a ship 
 of 120 guns was built for the lake service, but was 
 never used, and has since been taken to pieces.* 
 
 We visited the Fort in company with the com- 
 manding officer, Major Deedes of Her Majesty’s 
 34th, and were struck with its admirable position, 
 and great strength, the masonry being of the most 
 solid and massive kind, executed in the fine blue 
 limestone of the peninsula on which it stands, the 
 ditches broad and deep, the walls thick, and the 
 1 amparts and batteries elevated, strong, and spacious. 
 The quarters for officers and men are roomy and 
 substantial ; and every provision seems to have been 
 made for their comfort. Extensive tanks or reser- 
 voirs of water are kept within the fort always filled, 
 in case of a siege ; a large supply of provisions is 
 also constantly on hand. The number of men at 
 present in the garrison is about 250, including a 
 detachment of provincial artillery, the number of 
 guns mounted about 50,—and a magazine, with 
 ammunition of all kinds, a large supply of small 
 * See plate II 
 


 r 
 
 u 
 
 f 
 
 df 
 


 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 61 
 
 arms, and several bombs and mortars, with shot and 
 shells, are always kept ready for use. In going the 
 rounds of the Fort, we were taken down to a sub- 
 terraneous vaulted passage or covered way, intended 
 for a retreat in case of need, and leading to vaulted 
 chambers, with port-holes for cannon, and openings 
 for musketry, commanding the ditches, so that if an 
 enemy penetrated thus far, they could be ** mowed 
 down like grass,” as our guide' expressed himself. 
 It was through this subterranean passage that two 
 of the Canadian insurgents, who were confined in 
 this Fort, made their escape, and succeeded in getting 
 across to the United States. The very strength of 
 the place in which they were confined, led°to a 
 relaxation of vigilance on the part of the sentries, 
 and they had opportunities of making their prepara- 
 tions unobserved for some days before, having been 
 informed by one of the masons who had worked in 
 this subterranean passage, of all the particulars 
 respecting it. It was remarked to us that the same 
 relaxation of vigilance, arising from undue reliance 
 on the strength of the place of confinement, had led 
 to the escape of two other Canadian prisoners from 
 the castle of Quebec ; while at Amherstburgh and 
 some other British garrison forts, w’here the rebel 
 prisoners were confined only in an ordinary guard- 
 house, they were so well looked after, because of the 
 insecurity of their prison, that not one of all the 
 number effected an escape. 
 
 The town of Kingston is laid out with sufiicient 
 regularity ; but it has no street to compare with 
 King Street, in Toronto ; and few of those delightful 
 
CANADA. 
 
 little villas and garden dwellings, which abound in 
 the neighbourhood of the latter, and make its envi- 
 rons so agreeable. The town is about a mile and 
 half in length, three-quarters of a mile in breadth, 
 and contains a population of from 7>000 to 8,000 
 persons. The whole town lies on a bed of blue 
 limestone rock, so near the surface, that in digging 
 the necessary depth for the foundations of a house, 
 there is usually enough stone obtained by the exca- 
 vation to build the edifice with. Stone-houses are, 
 therefore, more numerous than any other ; very few 
 being built with brick, and only the smaller houses 
 of wood. The dark blue tint of the stone gives the 
 town a heavy and peculiar appearance ; but at the 
 same time it leaves an impression of substantiality and 
 durability. Shrubs and flowers are cultivated in 
 the gardens appended to many of the better order 
 of dwellings, which gives them a gay and cheerful 
 appearance. 
 
 Among the public buildings, the Court House is 
 the most prominent. It stands near the centre of 
 the town, opposite to the principal hotel, and within 
 a few yards of the English church. The Court 
 House has a front of about 100 feet, a depth of 200 
 feet, and is about 60 feet in height. The front has 
 a pediment, above and behind which rises an octa- 
 gonal tower, with lantern and cupola, to a height of 
 from 60 to 70 feet above the roof, making the whole 
 elevation, with the terminating spire, about 150 feet, 
 ihe interior is spacious and well arranged ; and on 
 the upper floor is one of the best fitted Court-rooms 
 in the province. The Town Jail is in the rear of 
 
KINGSTON'. 
 
 63 
 
 this Co»rt House, ; but there is a large Penitentiary, 
 conJucted on the Silent System, or Auburn plan 
 remote from this, beyond the town. 
 
 or Kingston— one English, 
 
 or Established Church, the largest and best; one 
 Kirk of Scotland ; one Roman Catholic; one Pres 
 byterian; one Methodist; and one Baptist. We 
 attended the service of the Established Church 
 during our stay here, and found a small congrega- 
 tion, not more than two hundred. At Toronto there 
 were more than a thousand ; but we hardly won- 
 dered at the paucity of numbers here, as we had to 
 undergo the penance of hearing the beautiful com- 
 position of the Liturgy drawled out by one of the 
 very worst readers I ever remember to have heard 
 vvith one exception only, and that was a reader in 
 the Minster of Beverley, in Yorkshire. They miaht 
 be matched, I think, against the world, for the 
 absence of every requisite qualification for their 
 duty as readers, though both might perhaps have 
 been good and pious men; hut it is a sad and unpar- 
 donable misappropriation of time and money, and 
 highly detrimental to the efficiency of the public ser- 
 vice, and the interests of religion, to permit persons 
 so utterly incompetent to occupy the places which 
 might be so much more advantageously filled by 
 their superiors. ^ 
 
 The country around Kingston is not so fertile as 
 It IS in the neighbourhood of Toronto; the garden- 
 land of Upper Canada lying between the Lakes 
 Ontario, Erie, and Huron ; but there are still some 
 hue spots for cultivation even here. The price of 
 land is rather higher than farther west; though 
 

 CANADA. 
 
 inferior in quality and productiveness ; the price 
 ranging from 20s. to 30s. per acre ; while in the 
 western districts much better tracts may be had for 
 from 15s. to 20s. per acre, and large tracts of wooded 
 land at 10s. 
 
 There is a beautifully winding and picturesque 
 sheet of water called the Bay of Quinte, which forms 
 an inlet from the general course of Lake Ontario, 
 and up which excursions are often made from King- 
 ston, as steamboats go daily up to Bath, 40 miles, 
 and Belleville, 80 miles, and return again on the 
 following day. We were prevented from taking 
 this excursion by other engagements ; but heard the 
 scenery so much spoken of, that our inability to 
 enjoy it was matter of regret to us. 
 
CHAP, VI. 
 
 n Penitentiary— Chaplain’s and Inspec- 
 
 tors Reports -Difficulty of providing for prisoners Xen 
 
 principal cause of^ crime— DeL- 
 tive education— Religion of the convicts-Registry of fecL 
 connected with the prisoners-Cost of the Penitfntiary-Sda! 
 ries— Expenses— Proceeds of labour— Objections of honest 
 
 th^cTnll'Zp'®'* Canal— Fine works— Line of 
 
 e canal Process, cost, and value— Great fire at Kingston— 
 Rebuilding of the town— Newspapers— Mechanics’ InsUtute— 
 Temperance Society-Old Indian Regiments met vvith at 
 Kingston and Toronto— General state of society here— Sultrv 
 weather— Visit of the Governor-General of Canada on his 
 tour— Reception at Kingston— Causes for its coldness 
 
 During our stay at Kingston, we visited the Peni- 
 tentiary, and were shown over the building by one 
 ot the deputy-wardens, who answered all our inqui- 
 ries readily. The edifice occupies a beautiful situa- 
 tion near the edge of the Lake, at a distance of 
 about two miles from the town in a westerly direc- 
 tion ; the road to it being one of the best in the 
 country, diversified by many agreeable dwellings on 
 each side, and having the General Hospital about 
 midway between the town and the Penitentiary 
 The building for the latter is intended to form a 
 cross, with four wings proceeding from a common 
 centre ; the front wing being for the offices and 
 dwelling of the warden and his deputies ; and the 
 other three for the cells, workshops, kitchen, eating- 
 
66 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 rooms, chapel, and other apartments for the prisoners. 
 Two of these wings are completed, and the other two 
 are in progress. The work is paid for by grants of 
 the Provincial Legislature of Upper Canada ; and 
 their funds being limited, they have not proceeded 
 with the rapidity that could be desired. It is about 
 nine years since the building was first commenced, 
 and five since it was opened to receive the con- 
 victs ; but it will take another five years probably 
 before the whole work will be complete. The 
 blue limestone of which it is built, is procured from 
 the rocky bed on which the edifice stands ; and the 
 quarries all around it afford an inexhaustible supply, 
 not only for their own building, but for as many 
 public edifices as the town may require. 
 
 The system of discipline pursued here, is that 
 which is known as the Silent System, or Auburn 
 plan, where the prisoners work in companies, but 
 under the superintendence of inspectors, to prevent 
 their communicating with each other, either by 
 sounds or signs, as far as it is found practicable to 
 enforce it. The construction of the cells, in five 
 separate stories rising above each other, and each 
 entered from a balcony or veranda running along 
 their whole front, is after the plan of Auburn and 
 other similar Penitentiaries in the United States ; 
 the cells are narrower, but they are lighter, and 
 better ventilated, than many that we remember. 
 The convicts have a prison dress, made of coarse 
 cotton cloth, white on one side, and brown on the 
 other, for summer ; and a dress of coarse woollen cloth, 
 brown on tbe one side, and vellow on the other, for 
 winter; each garment being stamped with the letters 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 67 
 
 *» ‘1« 
 
 } uld not fail to be recognized so long- as thesp 
 garments were worn by them, after an escape tZ 
 
 meirZ ^d. having a pound tf 
 
 nipal f ^ ^ preparation of Indian 
 
 nieal for supper. Their hours of labour do not 
 
 aays and it is never excessive in its nature. The 
 
 vario2Tur'Sl*'’‘'T T’a 
 
 vai ous, but all are healthy. There is a lar<m and 
 well-ventilated hospital for the sick, and everv“atten 
 tion IS paid to their cleanliness and recovery. Lcept 
 
 iste f "condition of these convicts 
 
 IS better than that of many of the poorer mechanics 
 
 nd labourers at home, as they have always an abun 
 daauuppi, of food and clothing, good IXr a„d 
 medical attendance when ill ; but so lieavv is the 
 burden of forced silence, and forced confiLment 
 
 to tooJifoff“" >11 “to anxious 
 
 According to the last Report presented to the 
 Legislature, there were 148 convicts in the Peniten 
 
 of'the "l «bout 30 
 of the males were black or coloured persons. Of 
 
 this number there were the following— 
 
 Bnrn 
 
 Born in the Canadas . . 45 
 
 — United States 39 
 — Ireland . . 33 
 
 Born in England 
 Scotland 
 
 Other countries . 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 ^ v-.v,.* WUIIUltJS . y 
 
 Their j^es ranged from 10 to 72 ; the greatest 
 number being between the ages of 20 and 30^ The 
 
 F 2 
 
 1 
 
68 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 convictions for larceny were 72 , for horse-stealing 
 20, for forgery 6, for burglary only 3, and for mur- 
 der only 1. Among the persons confined for horse- 
 stealing, was a young and handsome female, about 
 twenty years of age, whose history was remarkable. 
 She had taken part with the rebels in the late insur- 
 rection, and, habited as a boy, had been employed as 
 a messenger, to convey intelligence from one part of 
 the country to the other. Her journeys were made 
 on horseback, and the letters or despatches which 
 she bore were concealed beneath her saddle, so that 
 detection, or even suspicion. 
 When the rebellion was put down, and her services 
 were no longer required, the desire to possess a horse 
 for her own riding was so irresistible, that not hav- 
 ing the means to purchase one, she stole it, and being 
 detected, was tried, convicted, and sent to the Peni- 
 tentiary after which the fact of her connection with 
 ^e rebels, as their messenger, became first known. 
 
 e females are under the charge of a matron, and 
 are treated with more kindness than the males: they 
 have their sleeping cabins divided only by a thin 
 partition of wood, so that they can and do converse 
 with each other in the night-time ; in the day they 
 ar^ employed in needle-work, for the Institution 
 
 The term of confinement varies from one to four- 
 teen years; the average term appears to be about 
 ree years. The former term is found by expe- 
 
 n the character of the convicts ; and is, therefore 
 1 ecommended to be lengthened, in all cases in which 
 they are sent to the Penitentiary at all. The fol_ 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 69 
 
 !hrCb»“„7 *'p ’"“'■''r” “"Wned in 
 
 the Chaplain s Report for the past year 1839. 
 
 the sentence: it cannot in reason L expected that 7 fi * 
 of one year, can in the least weaken a^habit which 
 with the convict’s growth and «fr m I ^ ^ ‘grown 
 The p„.peot .f . 
 
 ™. co„.„w/e., 
 
 “Hrs 
 
 sioiis ; conscience still exercises her nffl s^^ous impres- 
 
 short sentence may produce the desirS^ffirt f “ 
 
 speaking the reverse is the case • and ^ 
 
 In the second place aTplit of 
 those who are recommitted; a desire t^rel" “T7 
 for the labour performed while in prison and f ‘hemselves 
 
 received no recLpense, impl L^att m" lo 77“^^ 
 selves by plundering others Somc^ 1 
 ledged. that had they received any th^r aHir r 
 egmvalent, or had been assured that a moiety of Z7 
 would be paid them, after a stated period 
 would have had some inducement to continue 77h " 
 honesty; but having once incurred the suspicions of JJ; , 
 
 Z'Z! r T “3~ C: 
 
 ,».« ^ .h. 
 
 the struggles or rebukes of conscience thev then th ^ 7“'® 
 
 .ought *11 
 
 "h. Bhe tbrte, l„dl.po..d W opp... . .LpiollTOr- 
 
 with 
 
 Witli the Chaplain in his views, and urge some fur 
 ther reasonings in the following passages • 
 
70 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 “ The Inspectors coincide with the Chaplain in his opinion of 
 short sentences, that they generally serve rather to harden and 
 irritate, than soften and subdue the criminal ; and with regard to 
 second convictions, whatever may have given rise to that ‘ spirit 
 of revenge,’ referred to in the Chaplain’s Report, as inducing 
 those unhappy persons of whom he speaks, to return to their 
 former evil courses, it affords a melancholy proof how little they 
 had profited by the salutary restraints to which they had been 
 subjected, and the moral lessons inculcated upon them during 
 their imprisonment. 
 
 “ With regard to the suggestion hinted at in the Chaplain’s 
 Report of appropriating < a moiety ’ of the convict’s earnings to 
 be paid to him ‘ after a stated period of probation,’ something of 
 the kind has often occurred to the Inspectors ; but the difficulties 
 which present themselves to their minds in carrying this plan into 
 effect, so as to promote the true and substantial benefit of the 
 convict, without prejudice to the public interest, appear so great, 
 that it is with diffidence they venture to bring the matter under 
 Your Excellency’s consideration. 
 
 “ On this subject, however, they would beg leave to observe, 
 that under the existing Penitentiary regulations, and in conformity 
 to the present law, the convict, when discharged, only receives a 
 few shillings to aid him in returning to his friends ; — to whom, 
 if they are honest and respectable, and if he entertains any sense 
 of the disgrace which his misconduct has brought upon them as 
 well as himself, he feels reluctant to return in that destitute con- 
 dition in which he is placed when enlarged, and sent out again 
 into the world ; and in this wavering and undecided state of 
 mind, while yet lingering in the vicinity of the prison, he proba- 
 bly meets with some of his former inmates ; it may be some of 
 those who had been associated with him in iniquity, and fellow- 
 prisoners in the same common jail before conviction. With them 
 he renews an acquaintance, and involved as they are in the same 
 common flite, they are led to look upon each other with a feeling 
 of mutual sympathy as the outcasts of society ; to form a sort of 
 community among themselves, and instead of following up their 
 original intention of returning to their friends to earn a subsist- 
 ence by honest industry, they are but too apt to engage in some 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 71 
 
 new criminal enterprise, by which, according to their system of 
 morals, they may remunerate themselves for their past loss of 
 time and labour. 
 
 “ Under the evil influence of temptation from these associations 
 all their virtuous resolutions vanish— they again put forth their 
 hands to steal ; are detected, convicted, and sentenced a second 
 time, for another series of years, to resume their former routine 
 of labour in silence, and to be placed once more under those 
 restoaints, they had already found so irksome and so opposite to 
 their licentious and vagrant habits of life. 
 
 While the Inspectors feel the necessity and importance of 
 some plan being adopted to place convicts on their discharge 
 from prison in a state of probation, they scarcely feel themselves 
 authorized to recommend any definite plan for effecting this 
 object, however desirable. With great deference they would 
 submit, that if one-third of the convict’s earnings could be paid 
 to him in annual instalments, on his producing to the treasurer 
 of the District m which he resides, satisfactory certificates of 
 good conduct, signed by any two magistrates of that District, 
 together with a certificate of some resident minister of religion ; 
 that he, the convict, had been a regular attendant on his minis- 
 try during the year, and that, to the best of his knowledge and 
 belief, his character among his neighbours for honesty, sobriety, 
 and industry, had been irreproachable, it might hold out such an 
 inducement to the discharged convict to commence a new and 
 honest course of life, and to persevere in his efforts of amend- 
 ment, as to be productive of the best effects. The Inspectors, 
 however, in offering this suggestion with all the objections that 
 may be raised to its practical operation, and they are not without 
 the apprehension that there may be many, again revert to their 
 already expressed opinion of the ineflficacy of short sentences to 
 produce reformation.” 
 
 This is undoubtedly an object of the highest con- 
 sideration, how to prevent the unhappy convict, 
 when released from confinement, from falling too 
 speedily into temptation again. And here, I must 
 observe, that the decided superiority of the Solitary 
 
72 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 System of the Philadelphia prisons is at once appa- 
 rent, No one having ever seen the prisoner in his 
 confinement, except the otficers of the Penitentiary, 
 he cannot be recognized by any one as a previous 
 convict, nor can he recognize any virho, like himself, 
 had been an inmate of the Penitentiary, and is after- 
 wards released, so that one great cause of subsequent 
 CTil association and connection is thus swept away. 
 Coming out anew into the world in this condition, 
 and provided with the means of subsistence for a 
 short period, till they can obtain employment, the 
 chances of a new career of honest labour for the 
 convicts, are much greater than when coming, as 
 t ey do from the prisons on the Auburn system, 
 personally known by sight to each other; when 
 meeting, after their release, destitute of means, they 
 unite to drink, and interchange their sympathies and 
 congratulations, and the concoction of some new 
 project of crirno is f.ViA ncnol v • 
 
 .... i..„vxuiug immeaiate and profitable labour for 
 those who were discbarffPrl 
 
 ruinous propensity. The subjoined 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 73 
 
 
 # schedule will furnish a variety of particulars relating to the con- 
 vict, as collected by personal inquiry.” 
 
 This schedule shows that no less than 50 were 
 under the actual influence of liQuor when they com- 
 mitted the crime of which they were guilty, and 36 
 had intemperate parents, as well as being intem- 
 perate themselves. Of the whole number of 148 
 convicts, 30 could read only, 40 could read and 
 
 write, and 78 were 
 several religions were 
 
 unable to do either, 
 thus reported — 
 
 Their 
 
 Church of England . 
 
 . 24 
 
 Church of Scotland 
 
 . 7 
 
 Church of Rome . . 
 
 . 23 
 
 Baptists .... 
 
 . 4 
 
 Methodists . . . . 
 
 . 13 
 
 Presbyterians . . . 
 
 . 3 
 
 Showing just half the whole number, or 74, who 
 professed no religion ; and out of these, there are 
 15 who have come back to the prison on a second 
 conviction, Q, on a third, and 1 on a fourth convic- 
 tion, the last being a hoary-headed offender of the 
 age of 7 1 . 
 
 For breaches of the rules of discipline, such as 
 talking, or acts of insubordination, the punishment 
 is flogging, of two kinds ; for the lighter offences, 
 a few stripes with the cow-skin over the clothes ; for 
 more serious offences, flogging with the cat on the 
 bare back ; but the instances are rare in which either 
 are resorted to, and with females neither is used. 
 
 The chaplain visits the prison daily, to confer 
 with the prisoners; and on Sunday, he performs 
 public worship, which they all attend. This appears 
 to be a relief to them, as a change of occu- 
 pation and a holiday ; but as they are shut up in 
 their cells at all other times of the day, except when 
 
u 
 
 74 
 
 caxada. 
 
 they are out at meals and in chapel, they usually 
 complain of Sunday as the most irksome day of all 
 the week, and would willingly work in preference if 
 they could be allowed. 
 
 A full and complete registry is kept of all parti- 
 culars connected with each prisoner ; and every 
 individual that is discharged, has a long series of 
 questions proposed to him, his answers to which are 
 recorded in the Register Book. By this means, 
 a pretty accurate view may be obtained of the impres- 
 sions of the prisoners themselves as to the several 
 parts of the discipline and treatment they undergo 
 which IS of great value to the Inspectors of the esta! 
 blishment. 
 
 The whole cost of the Penitentiary up to the pre- 
 sent time has been about 40,000/., of which 30,000/. 
 las been expended on the building, and 10,000/. in 
 salaries of the officers and subsistence of the convicts 
 above the means resulting from their labours! 
 
 1 to complete 
 
 he whole building and its enclosures ; but after that, 
 
 the labours of the convicts will no doubt more than 
 cieiiay the annual expenditure. 
 
 The salaries are all very moderate ; the Warden 
 
 airk* Ch^ J D*P“‘y-Warden, 
 
 erk. Chaplain, and Surgeon, from 100/. to 150/. 
 
 each ; and the rest of the salaries, to keepers 
 
 5oT?o™8o/ 
 
 . per annum ; the aggregate being 2,800/. 
 
 the ^t)0/. per annum ; which, with 
 
 other items of furniture, medicine, tools &c 
 make up a total annual cost of about 6,300/. ’ The 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 75 
 
 rations of food do not exceed in cost, however, 7 / 4 d. 
 per head per day ; and the clothing of each person 
 20s. for the summer suit, and Sjs. 6d. for the winter 
 suit, per annum. 
 
 The proceeds of the labour of the convicts for 
 the past year did not exceed 1,500/. ; and of these, 
 the shoemakers produced about 400/. ; the stone- 
 cutters, 350/. ; the blacksmiths, 300/. ; and the car- 
 penters, 150/. To these have now been added a 
 rope-making establishment, by which a greater 
 profit will be made than from any other source ; 
 already large quantities of very excellent cordage 
 have been produced, and sold to great advantage 
 within the present year. Here, however, as in the 
 United States, the mechanics of the town of Kingston 
 have remonstrated against the manufacture and sale 
 of the articles produced in the Penitentiary, as coming 
 in competition with their own labour, and driving 
 them out of the market by cheapness. This remon- 
 strance has been effectual ; and the utmost pains 
 are now taking to direct the labour of the convicts 
 to the production of articles not made in Kingston ; 
 and even these are sent principally to distant markets 
 for sale. 
 
 The Episcopal church here being under repair, 
 and having a new spire making for it, the persons to 
 whom this work was entrusted, contracted with the 
 Penitentiary, to quarry and dress the stone required 
 for the purpose, which they furnished according to 
 order; but the working-masons employed in the 
 reparation of the church refused to use the stone, 
 because it was quarried and dressed by the convicts, 
 to the detriment of the free and honest labourer; and 
 
76 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 accordingly it was all rejected, to the loss of course 
 of one or both of the contracting parties. 
 
 During our stay at Kingston, we made an excur- 
 sion to visit the works on the Rideau Canal. For 
 this purpose we drove to the head of the small bay- 
 lying between the town of Kingston and the penin- 
 sula on which the Fort is placed ; and extending its 
 inlet for about six miles to a spot called Kingston 
 Mills. Our journey there was over a rugged road, 
 
 and through a stony and sterile tract, greatly infe- 
 rior to the land around Toronto, and thickly over- 
 spread with weeds, including the Scotch and Canada 
 thistle. In the few patches cultivated, we saw 
 Indian corn, rye, wheat, and potatoes, but very 
 scanty crops of either; though the crops in Upper 
 Canada generally are said to be this year unusually 
 good, both in quantity and quality. There were 
 the ordinary rail and snake fences seen in the 
 United States, with girdled trees, stumps in the 
 ground, and long trunks lying rotting on the surface ; 
 with log-huts, and other accompaniments of new 
 settlements in America; and as bad roads as any- 
 where in the Union. ^ 
 
 At the head of this bay, the works of the Rideau 
 Canal commence, the object being to provide a 
 ^mmunication by water, from the Lake Ontario to 
 Montreal without going over the rapids, which in 
 several places obstruct the navigation of the St 
 Lawrence. The line of the Canal goes therefor^ 
 rom hence to the Ottawa, or Grand River, through 
 a series of small lakes, and cuts, terminating at 
 
 works lieie commence with 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 77 
 
 four locks, that communicate with a small lake 
 elevated 50 feet above the level of the bay. These 
 
 are admirably constructed — the masonry excellent 
 
 the fine blue limestone of the country massive in size, 
 and well united ; and everything connected with the 
 machinery is in the most perfect order. From this 
 point of view, the scenery is pleasing, and it is said 
 to continue so all the way through. The navigation 
 ot this canal is by small steamboats, which pass 
 easily through the locks and cuts, so that it is more 
 expeditious and more comfortable than canal travel- 
 ling generally. The first four locks being ascended 
 the boat crosses a lake ten miles before it enters 
 another cut, and proceeds thus, by artificial channel, 
 and natural sheets of water, all the way to Bytown • 
 making the distance of 110 miles in SO hours, 
 including the stoppages requisite to pass through 47 
 locks on the way. From %town, the Ottawa boats 
 descend to Montreal in seven hours, but as these 
 boats are not always ready on the arrival of the 
 steamers from the canal, 48 hours is usually em- 
 ployed in the whole trip of 180 miles. 
 
 This great work, which is of the highest impor- 
 tance to Upper Canada, in the transport of her 
 produce to the great mart of shipment, Montreal, 
 was begun in the year 1826, and opened for naviga- 
 tion in 1830. It has been constructed chiefiylbv 
 grants from the Imperial Parliament out of the fund's 
 of the English Treasury, and has cost, on the whole 
 upwards of 1,000,000/. But the money is well 
 spent ; and a time will arrive, when the produce con- 
 veyed on this canal downward, and the manufactured 
 goods transported on it upwards, will yield a hand- 
 
78 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 some return for the original outlay, at a less impost 
 than the present rate of 7s. 6d. per ton for tolls. 
 
 A great fire occurred in Kingston, in the spring 
 of the present year, occasioned, as some assert, by 
 the accidental ignition of some wooden shingle-roofs, 
 by the sparks emitted from a steamboat lying along- 
 side the wharf 5 and, as others allege, by some 
 incendiary connected with the late rebellion,— but of 
 this there is no proof. The fire was very destruc- 
 tive : as the blue limestone, of which most of the 
 houses are built, split into fragments by the heat, 
 and soon fell to pieces. The buildings now erecting 
 to replace them, are of a better and more substantial 
 kind ; and the town will be ultimately much improved 
 in appearance by this change, though its progress is 
 not very rapid. 
 
 There are three Newspapers in Kingston, two of 
 which are published weekly, and one twice a week ; 
 this last, the Chronicle, is Conservative ; the Brit- 
 ish Whig is a supporter of the present Administra- 
 tion, and the Herald is Radical ; so that each class 
 of opinions is fairly represented. They are condueted 
 with great moderation and some ability ; but their 
 influence on public opinion does not appear to be 
 much felt or acknowledged. There is a Mechanics’ 
 Institute in the town, which contains nearly SOO 
 members, at a subscription of 10s. per annum. It 
 was founded by an Englishman settled here as a 
 mechanic, who was a member of the Mechanics’ 
 Institution of London, and having experienced the 
 benefits of this in his own case, he was desirous of 
 introducing the same advantage at least to his coun- 
 rymen here. They have a good library, and the 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 79 
 
 Institution is patronized and assisted by the o-entry 
 of the town. There is also a Temperance Society 
 here, but, as at Toronto, it is not countenanced, as 
 It deserves to be, by the higher classes j and yet 
 every day must furnish to those who walk the’ 
 streets of the town, abundant proof of the utility of 
 such Societies, and the evils that spring from the 
 want of them ; as drunken men and drunken women 
 were seen by us almost every day during our short 
 stay here ; and places licensed for the sale of ardent 
 spirits, are almost as abundant as they are at Toronto. 
 
 My Lectures were delivered here in the Union 
 Chapel, and were very fully attended ; amon^^ the 
 audience were many military officers, the Bishop of 
 loronto, who was here on a Confirmation Tour, and 
 nearly all the leading families of the city. Thev 
 were attended also by the members of the Mechanics’ 
 Institute, and the pupils of the Sundav Schools, 
 facilities being afforded to the last two classes for 
 that purpose. 
 
 While at Toronto I found there the 32nd regi- 
 ment of infantry, which were stationed at Madr'as 
 at the^ period of my being there in 1818, some of 
 the officers of which I knew ; and here at Kingston 
 I found stationed the 24th regiment, which” was 
 stationed in Bengal in 1820, and with many of the 
 officers of which I was acquainted. A few only of 
 
 each remained attached to these regiments now 
 
 death, exchanges, and retirements, having made 
 many changes among them ; but it was agree”able, at 
 this distance of time and place, to meet even these 
 few, and talk over old times and Indian affairs. 
 
u 
 
 80 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 The society of Kingston is less extensive, less 
 varied, and less elegant than that of Toronto ; which 
 may be readily accounted for, as the population is 
 not so great, the military not so numerous, and the 
 metropolitan establishment of a Governor and Coun- 
 cil, a Legislature, Courts of Judicature, are all 
 wanting to make the parallel complete.* Our recep- 
 tion here, however, was respectful and kind, though 
 the cordiality and hospitality of Toronto was too 
 fresh in our recollection not to make us sensible of 
 the contrast. 
 
 The weather was intensely hot, during the whole 
 of our stay here, the wind faint from the south-west, 
 the air sultry, and the thermometer from 90° to 95° 
 in the shade ; most of the residents, however, said 
 that this was an unusual degree of heat for Kingston, 
 though in Montreal and Quebec it was common at 
 this season of the year. 
 
 It was on the last day but one of our stay at 
 Kingston, that the Governor-General of Canada, 
 Mr. Poulett Thompson, afterwards Lord Sydenham’ 
 arrived here from Montreal, on his way to the Upper 
 Lakes, on a tour of inspection. He landed under 
 a salute from the steamer, and rode to the hotel 
 accompanied by his staff and suite on horseback! 
 ^o demonstration of enthusiasm marked his arrival 
 On the following day, he attended at the Court 
 House, to receive the address intended to be pre- 
 sented to him, and was there met by the mavor and 
 aldermen, and about two hundred of the inhabitants. 
 
 at Government has been fixed 
 
 at Kingston, so that now tlie public officers are numerous there. 
 
KINGSTON. 
 
 81 
 
 among whom were forty or fifty ladies. His recep- 
 tion was respectful, but nothing more \ there was not 
 the slightest demonstration of any opposite feeling, 
 ljut in England it would be called cold, though here 
 it was not meant to be so. On his presenting himself 
 to the audience, an Address was read by the mayor, 
 expressing the sentiments of respect entertained 
 towards the Governor by the inhabitants of Kingston, 
 and declaring their readiness to co-operate with him 
 in every measure which should have for its object the 
 improvement of the country, the calming public 
 agitation, and the maintenance of British connection. 
 Ehe lieply to the Address, which had been pre- 
 viously written, was then handed to the Governor- 
 General by his secretary, and was read by His 
 Excellency to the mayor and the inhabitants present. 
 A similar course was followed with an Address read 
 on behalf of the Mechanics’ Institution of Kingston, 
 and the Reply to it ; after which, the Governor- 
 General descended from the judge’s seat on the 
 bench, and standing at the foot of the steps leading 
 to it, received the several individuals who were pre- 
 sented to him by the mayor. There was no speech 
 made by any one ; and the reading of the Addresses 
 and Replies, not occupying more than fifteen 
 minutes, the whole proceeding was one of the coldest 
 kind that I had ever witnessed, where congratulation 
 and respect was really intended to be expressed, and 
 where nothing like insult or disrespect was meant to 
 be conveyed, or even insinuated by any of the parties 
 present. 
 
 On the subject of the Bill for uniting the Pro- 
 vinces of Canada, great differences of opinion pre- 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 vailed, some hoping all good, some fearing all evil, 
 from what they regarded as a hazardous experi- 
 ment ; but amidst all this diversity of opinion, none 
 failed to acknowledge the great ability of the Gover- 
 nor-General as a statesman, and his great industry 
 and aptitude as a practical man of business. Some, 
 however, doubted the soundness of his judgment — 
 some questioned his sincerity ; many considered him 
 to be cunning in the arts of winning assent by per- 
 sonal influence and tact in the management of indi- 
 duals ; and still more regarded him as lax in his 
 morality: some facts that had transpired with respect 
 to his domestic associates, giving great dissatisfaction 
 to those who regarded purity of life in any governor, 
 whether single or married, as of great importance to 
 the society of a colony, where evil example set by 
 those in high places, is sure to find imitators in 
 those who are subordinate in station. These con- 
 siderations, mingled with great doubt and distrust 
 as to the beneficial issue of his political measures, 
 weie assigned as the causes of the coldness which 
 characterized his reception ; and from all I could 
 learn in conversation with the inhabitants of Kings- 
 ton, I believe this to be correct. 
 
 His Excellency left the town in the afternoon, 
 pi oceeding from the hotel on foot to the steamboat, 
 accompanied by the mayor of the city, and his suite, 
 in number about a dozen, and embarked at five 
 o clock in the steamboat attending him. They then 
 proceeded on a visit to Niagara, and from thence 
 to the Lakes Erie and Huron, from whence the 
 Governor - General proposed to return by way of 
 Upper Canada to Montreal. 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 Departure from Kingston for Montreal— Passage through The 
 Thousand Islands— Brockville— Prescott— Osnaburgh— Tube 
 
 Ferry — Route by land and water towards Montreal — Passage 
 through Lake St. Francis— Rapids of the St. Lawrence — Boats 
 and rafts — French Canadians — Dwellings — Farms — Neatness, 
 cleanliness, love of flowers, and of dress — Fort — Highlanders 
 of Glengarry — Village of the Cedars — Village population — 
 French Parish Church — Junction of the Ottawa River with 
 the St. Lawrence — Embarkation on the Ottawa at the Cascades 
 — Visit to Mr. Ellice’s Seigneury of Beauharnois — Indian village 
 of Caughnawagha — Journey from Lachine to Montreal — Stay 
 at this city, and occupations there. 
 
 Having concluded my labours in Kingston, we left 
 that city on the morning of Saturday, August 22d, 
 in the steamer Dolphin, quitting the wharf at half- 
 past nine. The weather was very beautiful ; and as 
 we soon got among The Thousand Isles, which here 
 stretch themselves along the centre of the St. Law- 
 rence for a distance of forty miles, we had abundant 
 exercise for all our faculties. The main stream of 
 the St. Lawrence, as it flows from the western termi- 
 nation of the Lake Ontario, is about twelve miles 
 wide ; hut it is so thickly studded with islands, that 
 it is like passing through a vast archipelago rather 
 than navigating a river. Though this extensive 
 range bears the name of The Thousand Isles ; it is 
 said that there are more than 1,600 of them, which 
 
84 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 I can readily believe. The largest of them are from 
 8 to 10 miles in length, and 4 to 5 in breadth ; and 
 the smallest of them cover perhaps an acre of space. 
 They are for the most part rocky, sometimes rising 
 in abrupt cliffs from the water, and so bold and 
 steep that you may run the boat near enough 
 almost to touch the cliffs from the vessel; a few 
 only are low and flat, but being nearly all wooded, 
 they form a perpetual succession of the most roman- 
 tically beautiful and picturesque groups that can be 
 conceived. The water of the St. Lawrence is of a 
 bright green tinge, and beautifully clear, much clearer 
 than the clearest parts of the Upper Mississippi, 
 almost indeed as transparent as Lake Huron itself; 
 and from its majestic breadth, its rich and varied 
 scenery, and the settled population seen along its 
 banks, the St. Lawrence has a grandeur, as well as 
 a variety and beauty, about it, which no other river 
 that we had yet seen on this continent possessed in 
 an equal degree. 
 
 After clearing The Thousand Islands, we continued 
 down the St. Lawrence, whose stream was here con- 
 tracted to about two miles in breadth, till we reached 
 Brockyille, a small town on the left bank, in Canada; 
 and still proceeding onwards, we reached Prescott, 
 on the same side, and also in Canada, about 4, p. m. 
 having been seven hours performing a distance of 
 seventy miles. 
 
 We were detained here four hours in waiting for 
 the arrival of an American steamer from Lewiston, 
 which did not come as expected, after all. Prescott, 
 which contains about 2,000 inhabitants, was the 
 scene of a battle during the late insurrection in 
 
PRESCOTT. 
 
 85 
 
 Canada ; a large party of Canadian insurgents, 
 aided and joined by several Americans, having come 
 over from the opposite town of Osnahurgh, in the 
 State of New York, to attack Prescott ; but thev 
 were signally defeated, and a great number of their 
 body were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. 
 Osnahurgh is somewhat larger than Prescott, and 
 presents a good appearance from the Canadian side, 
 across the stream, which is here about two miles in 
 breadth. A ferry-boat, which is constructed on a 
 very simple, but excellent plan, plies between the two 
 towns. Two long hollow tubes, of about a foot in 
 diameter, and painted at each end, are placed parallel 
 to each other on the water, at a distance of from ten 
 to twelve feet apart. On these tubes a platform is 
 laid across, surrounded by a railing; and in the 
 centre of the whole is a/ water-wheel or paddle, 
 between the tubes, worked by a small engine. The 
 tubes having much less hold of the water than a 
 boat’s hull would have, the whole fabric is propelled 
 with great speed by small power, because of the 
 little resistance or friction ; I should conceive it 
 highly advantageous to introduce this principle more 
 extensively in steam - rafts on rivers, as combining 
 economy, speed, and capacity for burden, in a 
 greater degree than almost any other form of con- 
 struction.* 
 
 * Since my return to England, and while these sheets are 
 going through the press, I have had the pleasure to see, at the 
 Marquis of Northampton’s Soiree, as President of the Royal 
 Society, on Saturday, the 2otli of Feb. an ingenious application 
 of the same principle to a new Life-Buoy, which was composed 
 of a single metallic tube, or cylinder, of about three feet in 
 diameter, and twelve feet in length ; — having in the centre a 
 
8C 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 We left Prescott at 9 p- m., and, hurried on by a 
 current going at the rate of about four miles an hour, 
 we reached a place called Dickenson’s Landing, 
 some miles below Prescott, at two in the morning. 
 Here we had to leave the boat, and go twelve miles 
 by a stage-coach, to avoid the Longue Sault, one of 
 the many turbulent Rapids, by which the navigation 
 of the St. Lawrence is occasionally interrupted be- 
 tween Kingston and Montreal. It rained torrents, 
 and was so dark that it was difficult to see ten yards 
 ahead, so that our removal and transfer of baggage 
 was most uncomfortable. There were three stage- 
 coaches in waiting, and by these we were conveved 
 over as rough a road as we ever found in the United 
 States. The whole distance of our land-journey was 
 twelve miles, but about midway, from the rough roads 
 and careless driving, one of the three coaches was 
 upset, and the passengers much bruised by the fall. 
 We remained to assist, in the dark and rainy night, 
 in getting the coach up again, the baggage reloaded, 
 and the passengers reseated ; and proceeding on our 
 journey, we reached the place of embarkation below 
 the Rapid at 4 a. m. Here we embarked in the 
 Highlander, a larger and better steamboat than the 
 Dolphin ; but both of them were greatly inferior to 
 American boats even of the same class. 
 
 In this vessel we started at 6 a. m. from Corn- 
 wall, opposite to which the American border begins 
 
 liollow well, like that of the Esquimaux’ and other Indians’ 
 fishing-canoes, into which half-a-dozen men might get, and with 
 the paddles attached to the sides of the buoy, propel themselves 
 speedily alongside a ship, or to the shore : while from its light- 
 ness It would ride easily over the highest surf. * 
 
GLEXGAKRY. 
 
 87 
 
 to recede from the river, the line of 45° of latitude 
 constituting the boundary line ; passed down the lake 
 St. Francis, an expansion of the St. Lawrence, through 
 some fine scenery, with a number of large and small 
 islands scattered over the stream ; and after a short 
 trip of forty miles, with the British shore now on 
 both sides, we reached another landing, called the 
 Couteau du Lac, about 10 a. m. Here we again 
 disembarked, dividing ourselves among three coaches, 
 and proceeded along the left bank of the river, the 
 road winding with the stream, and keeping within 
 a few yards of its edge. The distance of this land- 
 journey was sixteen mites, which we performed in 
 two hours. Nearly the whole of the way we observed 
 small villages, and single dwellings of the Canadian 
 peasantry lining the road on the left, while the Rapids 
 of the St. Lawrence, which this land-journey was 
 taken to avoid, as no steamboats can pass over them, 
 varied the picture agreeably on our right. Over 
 these Rapids we had an opportunity of seeing the 
 deeply-laden cargo-boats of the country, and large 
 rafts of timber, carried with the veloeity of twenty 
 miles an hour, in a turbulent and agitated mass of 
 foaming white waves and breakers. 
 
 The dwellings of the Canadians, though humble, 
 appeared to us to be all characterized by great neat- 
 ness and cleanliness in their interiors ; the farms 
 were well fenced, and in better order than we had ex- 
 pected to find them, after the representations we had 
 heard of their slovenly mode of eultivation. The 
 peasants themselves were Freneh in their physiog- 
 nomy, as well as language, and French in their habits 
 and manners ; so enduring are national peculiarities 
 
8S 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 even after long subjection to another power. Their 
 love of flowers was seen in the adornment of their 
 windows, and the walls and doors of their cottages, 
 with the geranium, the rose, and the jasmin ; and 
 their love of dress was evinced in the gay colours 
 and neat ornaments of the women and children. 
 We passed, in the course of this ride, a small fort, 
 at which were stationed a corps of volunteers doing 
 duty ; these were from the district of Glengarry, a 
 short distance from this, in the interior, originally set- 
 tled with Highlanders, and remarkable for their loy- 
 alty amidst the general disaffection of the French 
 Canadians, by whom they were surrounded. 
 
 About midway of the distance between the Couteau 
 du Lac and the Cascades, to which our land-journey 
 extended, we passed through the village of Les Ce- 
 dres, where a large number of the habitans, as the 
 country-people are called, were assembled in the 
 village-green. The whole picture was more like the 
 gathering for a rural fete in some town of Switzerland 
 or France, than anything we had expected to meet 
 on the continent of America. The Church being 
 Open, we went to see it, while the stage-coach carried 
 the mail to the post-office ; and were struck with its 
 large size, tasteful arrangement, and costly decora- 
 tions. Though an ordinary parish church of the 
 village, it was larger than most of the new churches 
 of London : and being very lofty, with an arched 
 roof, and without side-galleries or pillars, it had an 
 air of vastness and lightness combined, which was 
 peculiarly impressive. The altar was richly carved 
 and gilded, the ceiling was gorgeously ornamented ; 
 the pulpit was exquisitely carved, yet beautifully 
 
OTTAAYA RIVER. 
 
 89 
 
 chaste in its snowy whiteness ; and the principal, as 
 well as the side-altars, were dressed in excellent 
 taste. There were pews for the congregation, as in 
 the English and American churches, though this is 
 not usual in the Catholic churches of France ; a 
 large organ and choir occupied the greater portion 
 of the end-gallery opposite to the altar ; the pictures 
 were neither too numerous nor too gaudy, though not 
 of first-rate execution ; and about the whole there was 
 a harmony and keeping which was at once rich, with- 
 out being tawdry, and gay and brilliant, without 
 being deficient in sobriety or solemnity. 
 
 At noon, we reached the next place of embark- 
 ation, which is called the Cascades, it being the 
 westernmost point of junction, at which the Ottawa, 
 or Grand River, falls into the St. Lawrence ; two 
 other branches of the Ottawa going north-eastward, 
 and dividing the Isle of Jesus from the Island of 
 Montreal, and both from the continent of the oppo- 
 site shores. The Ottawa, though a tributary of the 
 St. Lawrence, is a large river, rising in the latitude 
 of 48° north, and running in a south-east direction 
 at least 500 miles, receiving several smaller streams 
 on both sides in its way. It is on the banks of this 
 river that the principal part of the timber shipped 
 from Montreal and Quebec, is hewn, and collected 
 into rafts to be floated down the stream ; and here 
 the old race of boatmen, or voyageurs, still linger. 
 The waters of the Ottawa have a tinge of reddish- 
 brown, which is strikingly contrasted with the light 
 ffreen colour of the waters of the St. Lawrence. At this 
 
 o 
 
 point of their junction, the distinction between the 
 two streams is as well defined as between the waters 
 
90 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 of the Missouri and Mississippi, and it is said that 
 this distinction continues visible for more than a 
 hundred miles below Montreal. 
 
 Embarking at the Cascades on another steamer, 
 we proceeded onward by the St. Lawrence towards 
 Beauharnois, where we landed to take in wood. The 
 boat remaining here for some time, we took the 
 opportunity of going up to the village, walking 
 around it, and conversing with its inhabitants. This 
 spot was the scene of a terrible conflagration during 
 the late rebellion, and we saw several of the houses 
 remaining just in the state in which they were left 
 after the fire, without any steps having been since 
 taken to remove even the rubbish and ashes occa- 
 sioned by the burning. The estate of Beauharnois, 
 of which this is the principal village, extends for a 
 great distance from this spot, covering, it is said, 
 a space of about eighteen miles square. The Seig- 
 neury or ownership, of this large property, was 
 vested in Mr. Edward Ellice, M.P. for Coventry, 
 and his son happened to be here at the time of the 
 rising of the rebels. He was taken prisoner, with 
 several others, and held for some days in close con- 
 finement, but supplied with every necessarv, and 
 ultimately released. It is said here that the whole 
 ot this fine property was sold to Mr. Ellice some 
 years since for less than 10,000/.; that the im- 
 provements made on it by him, have cost about an 
 equal sum, making the whole outlay 20,000/. ; and 
 t^hat during the whole of the period it has been in 
 
 derived an income of at least 
 
 c;nO ^ it- The whole has been re- 
 cently sold by him to a Company of Proprietors in 
 
LACniNE. 
 
 91 
 
 England for about 120,000/., and these even are 
 thought to have made a cheap purchase ; — so 
 valuable is this fine estate, comprising upwards of 
 200,000 acres of good land, a large portion under 
 cultivation, with many buildings, and within a few 
 miles of the city of Montreal. In twenty years 
 hence, with the infusion of a good class of settlers, 
 and the judicious application of capital, the value of 
 this estate may be easily raised to 500,000/. ; and in 
 half a century it can hardly fail to be worth a mil- 
 lion. Mr. Ellice has the reputation here of having 
 been a very liberal Seigneur, facilitating every im- 
 provement, consulting the interests of his tenants, 
 huildinff for their use both a Catholic and a Pro- 
 
 o ^ 
 
 testant place of worship ; looking to the ultimate 
 rather than immediate profits to be raised from his 
 property, his efforts have been eminently successful, 
 while the country cannot fail to be benefited by the 
 increase of settlers which the Company of Pro- 
 prietors, to whom this estate is now sold, will no 
 doubt speedily attract to it. 
 
 Leaving Beauharnois, we descended the St. Law- 
 rence about twenty miles to Lachine, where we were 
 again obliged to disembark, and take a land-journey 
 by stage of nine miles, to Montreal, to avoid the 
 Rapids of the river between this place and the city, 
 which are impassable by steamboats, and only navi- 
 gated by cargo-craft and timber-rafts, in which, of 
 course, there is no accommodation for passengers. 
 Nearly opposite to Lachine, is the Indian settlement 
 of Caughnawagha, where about 500 Iroquois Indians 
 in a semi-civilized state, reside under the government 
 of a chief, who is paid a certain annuity for himself 
 
92 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 and the tribe, by the British government, in return 
 for the cession of their lands, and who acts under 
 instructions from the Governor of the Province, to 
 whom he is held responsible for the good conduct 
 of the settlement. These Indians are all Roman 
 Catholics, and the priest has control over the chief 
 as w'ell as his people. There is large church, which 
 looks imposing at a distance, but the dwellings of 
 the Indians are poor and mean, and the settlement is 
 miserable and dirty. The same reluctance to labour, 
 which characterizes the whole race, is observed 
 among the males at Caughnawagha, the chief bur- 
 den being thrown upon the females ; and such is the 
 fondness, in both sexes, for ardent spirits, that in- 
 toxication is freely indulged in, without the slightest 
 punishment or even sense of shame, so that "there 
 is little or no hope of their physical or moral im- 
 provement. 
 
 Fiom Lachine we came by a good road, nine 
 miles to Montreal, the aspect of everything wo 
 obser^d on the way being perfectly French — the 
 dwellings, signs, names of streets, physiognomy, 
 dress, language— all resembling what would be met 
 with at the entrance to any pi-ovincial town in 
 France, until we got into the heart of the city, 
 wheie some admixture of English persons and Eng- 
 hsh sounds began to be seen and heard. We arrived 
 at Rasco’s hotel about 5 p.m. ; having been, therefore, 
 32 hours from Kingston to Montreal, performing a 
 distance of about 200 miles, and the fare being 10 
 dollars each. The house was extremely full, this 
 ^eing the season of the year in which travellers 
 lom the United States extend their excursions into 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 93 
 
 
 Canada ; but we were so fortunate as to obtain 
 apartments, and were glad enough to repose after 
 one of the most fatiguing journeys we had for a long 
 time experienced, arising chiefly from the frequent 
 shiftings from steamboat to stage-coach, to avoid the 
 many Rapids of the St. Lawrence, and the want of 
 sleep on the way. 
 
 We remained at Montreal for a fortnight, which 
 we passed very agreeably, in visiting all the institu- 
 tions of the city. Catholic and Protestant, in excur- 
 sions to the Mountain, and other parts of the 
 neighbourhood, and in the interchange of visits 
 with those to whom we brought letters of introduc- 
 tion. We met here, too, as usual, a great number of 
 persons whom I had known in other countries ; and 
 among them, one of the members for Coventry, on 
 a pleasure - excursion from England to visit the 
 Canadas, and pass by the Lakes on to the Valley 
 of the Mississippi. Indeed, almost every day brought 
 some old acquaintance to pay me a visit. I found 
 among the resident merchants and gentlemen in 
 official station, the greatest readiness to answer every 
 inquiry, and facilitate every investigation ; and the 
 result of my labours during our stay at Montreal 
 will be found embodied in the following history and 
 description of the city. 
 
CHAP. Vlll. 
 
 Karly history of Montreal — Indian village of Hoclielaga — Tribe 
 of the Hurons — Cession of Montreal to the Jesuit Missionaries 
 — Consecration of the spot selected for the town — Transfer 
 of the Island to the St. Sulpicians — First intercourse and 
 traffic with the Indians — Foundation of the Seminary of St. 
 
 Sulpice — Horrible massacre of the whites by the Indians 
 
 Surrender of Montreal to the British — Terrible fire — Depre- 
 ciation of Paper Money — Capture of Montreal by Americans 
 — Recapture — Visit of Prince William Henry, late King of 
 
 England — Awful and alarming atmospherical phenomenon 
 
 Destructive ravages of the Asiatic cholera— First overt act of 
 rebellion in Montreal— Probable future seat of the United 
 Government. 
 
 Montreal is one of the oldest settlements on the 
 North American continent, taking precedence, in 
 point of date, both over the landing of the Pilgrim 
 bathers on the Rock of Plymouth, and the founding 
 of Jamestown in Virginia by Captain Smith. As 
 early as the year 1535, it was visited by Cartier, a 
 French navigator from St. Malo, who had been 
 engaged in the cod-fishery on the hanks of New- 
 foundland. He sailed from France on the 20th of 
 April, 1534, with two small vessels of sixty tons 
 each, and reached Newfoundland in the short space 
 of twenty days. Passing through the Straits of 
 Belleisle, he entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, tra- 
 versed the Bay of Chaleurs, to which he gave this 
 name, because of the great heat experienced in it. 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 95 
 
 took possession of Gaspe, by erecting a cross there 
 with the fleur-de-lis, in the name of the King of 
 France, and prevailed on two native Indians to 
 return with him to his country. Fhe success of this 
 first voyage led to a second, in which he sailed from 
 France with three vessels, on the 19th of May in 
 the following year, 15S5, and entering the great 
 river of Canada — to which he was the first to give 
 the name of the St. Lawrence, because it was first 
 entered on the day dedicated to that saint in the 
 Roman calendar, namely, the 10th of August — he 
 passed up as high as where Quebec now stands, and 
 leaving his vessels there, came up the river in boats, 
 and on the 3rd of October reached the Indian 
 settlement of Hochelaga, on the spot where the city 
 of Montreal now stands. 
 
 The Indians then occupying this village, were of 
 the tribe of Hurons ; their settlement, however, was 
 very small, not containing more than fifty wigwams, 
 which are described as being shaped like tunnels, 
 fifty feet in length by fifteen in breadth, divided into 
 several chambers, and having a gallery running 
 round the upper part of each. The whole of the 
 settlement was encompassed by a circular enclosure, 
 and guarded by three separate rows of pickets or 
 wooden stakes, as fences, there being but one en- 
 trance into the village, and this being guarded with 
 great care against the attacks of enemies. These 
 Indians were acquainted with husbandry and fishing, 
 and lived a stationary life. They received their 
 white visitors with great courtesy and hospitality ; 
 but never having before seen men of a different 
 colour from themselves, everything about their per- 
 
90 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 sons, dresses, and arms, excited intense curiosiU’. 
 Cartier examined the mountain whieh rises behind 
 the present city, and which then overlooked the 
 Indian village of Hochelaga, and was so pleased 
 with the magnificent prospect from its summit, that 
 he called it, in honour of the King of France, 
 Mount Royal, which name it continued to bear for 
 at least seventy years afterwards, as it is so called in 
 documents of the year 1 690 to I70O; but it was 
 afterwards changed to Montreal, though by whom, 
 and under what circumstances, does not appear. 
 
 Though Cartier had formed the idea of establish- 
 ing a French settlement here, at the period of his 
 visit, his speedy retm’n to France prevented its 
 execution at that time, and it was not until more 
 than a century afterwards, in 1640, that it actually 
 took place. In the mean while, Canada, from being 
 originally a French possession, had for a short time 
 become English, and then reverted to its original 
 occupants again. It was in 1629, in the reign of 
 Charles the First of England, that the whole of New 
 France, as it was then called, fell into the hands of 
 the English, by capture ; but in 1632, it was restored 
 to the French, by the peace of St. Germain-en-Laye, 
 the treaty of which was signed on the 29th of March, 
 in that year. 
 
 In 1640, the King of France ceded the whole of 
 the Island of Montreal to a Company, consisting of 
 thiity-five individuals, who had associated themselves 
 for the purpose of colonizing the settlement as 
 Missionaries, and propagating the Christian religion 
 among the Indians. Several French families were 
 induced to come out as settlers also, under the aus- 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 97 
 
 pices of Mons. do Maisonneuve, who was appointed 
 Governor of the Colony, then confined to the Island, 
 and thus the germ of a new community was formed. 
 
 In 1642, the spot selected for building the new 
 French town, which was close to the Indian village 
 of Hochelaga, was consecrated by the Superior of the 
 Jesuits. This ceremony took place on the 29th of 
 May, on the Island of Montreal ; hut it had been 
 preceded by a similar ceremony in Paris, about three 
 months before, when the thirty-five Associates went 
 together to the Church of Notre Dame, and suppli- 
 cated the Virgin Mary to take the Island of Mont- 
 real under her protection. A further ceremony was 
 observed, by the same persons, on the Island itself, 
 on the 15th of August, in the same year, on the 
 Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin ; and all the 
 pomp and pageantry of the Catholic worship was 
 put forth in its most imposing form, to impress the 
 Indians with an exalted idea of the new religion 
 which they were called upon to embrace. 
 
 In 1644, the whole of the property of the Island 
 of Montreal, was transferred by the Associates, to 
 whom it had been granted by the King of France, 
 to the Society of the St. Sulpicians at Paris ; and by 
 them it was conveyed to the Seminary of the St. Sul- 
 picians, a branch of their own order, then at Mont- 
 real In their hands it has continued ever since, 
 not having been disturbed by the English conquest 
 of the Province, or by any legislative enactment ; 
 and to remove all doubt respecting their legal right 
 and title to the property, which had begun to be 
 questioned or disputed, there has been recently issued, 
 by the Governor-General in Council, an Ordinance 
 
9S 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 of Incorporation, granting to the Seminary of St. 
 Sulpice, the whole of the Seigneury of the Island of 
 Montreal, with all the rights and privileges thereunto 
 appertaining. 
 
 As the European inhabitants of Montreal began 
 to increase, they attracted the attention of the In- 
 dians of the neighbouring tribes to their settlement, 
 and the Iroquois being tempted to attack them, 
 they soon found the necessity of fortifying their 
 position, which they did at first simply with stockades, 
 but afterwards with a stone wall, fifteen feet high, 
 with battlements and gates, affording abundant 
 security. Montreal then became the chief mart for 
 the fur-trade with the Indians of the Ottawa river 
 and its tributaries ; and a large fair was held here 
 from J une till August : but though large profits were 
 made by the French traders through these fairs, 
 great injury occurred to the health and morals of the 
 Indians, who were here first made acquainted with 
 the use of ardent spirits ; and here, as they have 
 done everywhere, wherever this poison has been in- 
 troduced, they have committed such excesses, as to 
 be intoxicated as long as the supply of the destructive 
 poison lasted ; and to have contracted a fondness for 
 it, which no time or subsequent experience seems to 
 have the power to destroy. 
 
 In 1657, the Abbe Quetus arrived from France 
 with authority from the Order of St. Sulpicians, in 
 Paris, to effect snch improvements as might be 
 deemed desirable j and it was by him that the 
 Seminary of St. Sulpice was first built here, avowedly 
 for the education and conversion of the Indians, but 
 also for educating young men to the priesthood, and 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 99 
 
 supplying clergy to the parishes, as well as founding 
 a hospital for the diseased of all classes ; in which 
 benevolent labours they were greatly assisted by 
 large donations from pious individuals in France. 
 
 In 1689, Montreal was the scene of a horrible 
 massacre of its inhabitants by the Iroquois Indians, 
 a body of whom, to the extent of 1,200, invaded the 
 island on the 26th of July, in that year, and attack- 
 ing the town, put to death by the tomahawk and the 
 war-club upwards of a thousand of the French, 
 including men, women, and children, and carried off 
 twenty-six prisoners, whom they reserved for a more 
 horrible death, and burnt alive at the stake ! Char- 
 levoix, the French historian of the times, adds also, 
 that these monsters actually ripped open the wombs 
 of pregnant women, and tore from thence their 
 unborn infants, whom they roasted alive in the pre- 
 sence of their expiring mothers, and compelled those 
 who had strength enough left to move, to turn their 
 own offspring round before the fire 1 1 
 
 In 1720, Montreal contained 3,000 inhabitants, 
 and in 1757, these had increased to 5,000. In I76O, 
 about a year after the surrender of Quebec to the 
 British, after the battle in which General Wolfe 
 was killed, Montreal was invested by three detach- 
 ments, coming from opposite directions, and all 
 under brave and skilful officers. General Murray, 
 with a force from Quebec ; General Amherst, with 
 a force from Oswego, then a British post; and 
 Colonel Haviland, from the opposite shore of the 
 St. Lawrence. The French commandant, Governor 
 Vaudreuil, proposed a capitulation, and the terms 
 being mutually agreed on, the city was given up to 
 
100 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 the British, without a battle, on the 8 th of September, 
 1760 ; Quebec having surrendered on the 18th of 
 September, 1759. 
 
 In 1765, a terrible fire broke out in Montreal, 
 on the 16th of May, by which, in a very few hours, 
 no less than 108 houses were destroyed, and 215 
 families reduced to great distress. A subscription 
 for their relief was opened in England ; and His 
 Majesty, George the Third, contributed 500/. to the 
 list. The loss by the fire exceeded 100,000/. In less 
 than three years after this, another extensive fire 
 occurred, breaking out on the 11th of April, 1768 ; 
 by which ninety houses were consumed, two churches, 
 and a large charity-school ; and the distress occa- 
 sioned by this second conflagration was even greater 
 than by the first. In addition to this, immense 
 losses were sustained by the inhabitants, who were 
 holders of the Government paper-money of that day, 
 called “card-money.” This had been used for 
 thirty years before the conquest of Canada, for the 
 payment of all the civil and military expenses of the 
 colony, in the nature of drafts made by the French 
 Intendant on the Royal Treasury at Paris ; which 
 circulated as freely, and with as much confidence in 
 their validity, as if they were gold or silver. But a 
 fraudulent issue of these having been made for his 
 own private purposes, beyond the necessary expense 
 of the colony, by the Intendant, named Bigot, to 
 whom the entire management of its finances had 
 been entrusted, they were refused payment, by order 
 of the King at the French Treasury ; and the unfor- 
 tunate holders never realized more than 4 per cent, 
 of the original value of their notes, so that many 
 
MOISTREAL. 
 
 101 
 
 persons accustomed to affluence were by this calamity 
 reduced to bankruptcy and want, without the slightest 
 hope of redress. 
 
 In 1775 , the revolution of the United States 
 against Great Britain being then in progress, Mont- 
 real was attacked by the American General, Mont- 
 gomery, and there being but few troops in the town, 
 it was surrendered to him on the ISth of November. 
 It remained in possession of the revolutionary force 
 until the month of May in the following year, when 
 reinforcements arriving from England, it was re- 
 taken. Soon after this, the peace of 1783 gave 
 general tranquillity to all the remaining possessions 
 of the British in this quarter. From this period, 
 the trade and population of Montreal gradually 
 increased ; and the French inhabitants appeared 
 to be perfectly reconciled to the authority of their 
 new rulers. 
 
 In 1787 , the late King William the Fourth, then 
 Prince William Henry, visited Quebec in the Pega- 
 sus, of 28 guns, of which he was then commander ; 
 and proceeding up the St. Lawrence to Montreal, 
 he entered it on the 8 th of September, and was 
 received with great honour as a member of the Royal 
 Family of England. 
 
 During the war with the United States from 1812 
 to 1814, Montreal was several times threatened, and 
 twice in great danger from hostile attacks y but 
 happily the city escaped them all, and at the peace a 
 new impetus was given to the increase of her trade 
 and population. 
 
 In 1819, a most remarkable phenomenon occurred 
 at Montreal, which infused terror into all classes. 
 
CANADA. 
 
 loa 
 
 According to the account given of it by the Journals 
 of the day, it must have been most alarming. It 
 was on the morning of Sunday, the 8th of November, 
 that the sun rose of a pink colour, seen through a 
 hazy atmosphere, and with a greenish tinge on all 
 the clouds that were visible ; this was succeeded by 
 a dense mass of black clouds, from whence descended 
 heavy rains, depositing on the earth large quantities 
 of a substance that had the appearance and smell of 
 common soot. On Tuesday the 9th, the same phe- 
 nomenon was repeated, but with more intensity. The 
 rising-sun was of a deep orange colour ; the clouds 
 in the heavens were some green and others of a pitchy 
 blackness ; the sun then alternated between a blood 
 red and a deep brown colour ; and at noon it was so 
 dark, that candles were obliged to be lighted in all 
 the houses. All the brute animals appeared to he 
 struck with terror ; and uttered their fears in mourn- 
 ful cries, as they hurried to such places of shelter as 
 were within their reach. At three o’clock it was as 
 dark as night; and out of the pitchy clouds proceeded 
 lightnings more vivid, and thunders more loud, than 
 had ever before been heard, causing the floors of the 
 houses to tremble to such a degree, as to throw those 
 who were seated or standing off their feet. After 
 this, torrents of rain fell, bringing masses of the same 
 sooty substance noticed before; a short period of 
 light followed, and after this, at 4 o’clock it was as 
 dark as ever. The hall at the top of the steeple of 
 the Roman Catholic church was next seen enveloped 
 in flames ; the fire-alarm was given by all the bells 
 in the city, and the cry of “ fire ” was repeated in 
 every street. The populace rushed to the open 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 103 
 
 square, near the Church, called the » Place d’ Armes 
 and every one seemed impressed with a belief, that 
 some great convulsion of nature was about to take 
 place, or that the last day was at hand. The iron 
 cross, which was sustained by the ball on fire, soon 
 fell on the pavement with a loud erash, broken into 
 many pieces ; the rain again descended in torrents, 
 blacker even than before ; and as the water flowed 
 like ink through the streets and gutters, it carried 
 alono- on its surface a foam like that produced by the 
 violent action of the sea. The night was darker 
 than ever ; and the fate of the buried cities of Her- 
 culaneum and Pompeii seemed to be awaiting the 
 town of Montreal! Fortunately, however, the fol- 
 lowing day* was light and serene ; though it required 
 some time to tranquillize the fears, which these sin- 
 gular, and hitherto unexplained appearances, had 
 very naturally engendered. It is said that many of 
 the towns east and west of this, as far indeed as 
 Kingston on the one hand, and Quebec on the other, 
 had witnessed something of these appearances ; but 
 they were nowhere exhibited with so much intensity 
 as at Montreal. 
 
 In 1832, this city was visited by the Asiatic cno- 
 lera, and about 2,000 persons were carried otF by it 
 between June and September in that year; the 
 burials on the 19th of June, amounting to 149, out ot 
 a population of 28,000. Indeed it is asserted, that ot 
 the inhabitants in Lower Canada, then amounting 
 to about half a million, a greater number had been 
 swept away by this disease, in the short space of 
 three months, than had fallen by the same scourge 
 among the population of England, embracing up- 
 
104 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 wards of fifteen millions, in double that space of 
 time. 
 
 In 1837, the first overt aets of the rebellion of 
 Lower Canada, were committed in Montreal. On 
 Monday, the 6th of November in that year, a party 
 of about 300 persons, calling themselves “ The Sons 
 of Liberty,’ issued forth from a building in St. 
 James’s Street, in which they had assembled; and 
 being armed with pistols, sabres, and other weapons, 
 they attacked whoever fell in their way, and literally 
 swept the streets clear for a time. The loyal inha- 
 bitants, however, soon rallied, and the military 
 coming to their aid, the insurgents were speedily 
 dispersed. Some of the more zealous of the 
 Government party proceeded to the office of The 
 Vindicator, a journal that had assisted in the pro- 
 pagation of seditious sentiments ; and destroying 
 its presses and types by violence, they thus ren- 
 dered it powerless for the future. At night, peace 
 was restored ; and the city itself, after that, was not 
 again the scene of actual warfare, the insurgents 
 confining their operations to the smaller towns. 
 
 Since the suppression of the rebellion, Montreal 
 has been perfectly tranquil ; and as, by the Union 
 of the Provinces, it is likely to become the seat 
 of the general government, instead of Quebec or 
 Toronto, at which the respective Legislatures of 
 Lower and Upper Canada previously held their 
 sittings, it is probable that it will increase in popu- 
 lation, wealth, and importance, in a much greater 
 ratio than heretofore. 
 
CHAP. IX. 
 
 Description of its architecture and interior— Roman Cathobc 
 
 s'iTr~f«r« rt 
 
 ISS«i^5|i 
 
 ry • ATrvntrP‘tl—— British, ftiid. 0<in8,di3,n School 
 
 FrSeTant'^National School-McGiU’s College for the higher 
 branches of education. 
 
 The City of Montreal is seated on the south-east 
 side of tL island of the same name, with the river 
 St. Lawrence flowing before it, from south-west to 
 north-east, from a mile and half to two miles in 
 breadth. The junction of the Ottawa or Grand 
 River with the St. Lawrence, encompasses two large 
 islands, and several of a smaller size The tvvo 
 larcre ones are the Isle of Jesus, which is nearest to 
 the northern, and the Isle of Mount Royal, wteh 
 is nearest to the southern and eastern shore, with 
 navigable channels for small vessels between each. 
 
 The hill called Mount Royal rises behind the town 
 
106 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 to the north-west, and forms a prominent object in 
 the picture from every point of view. It is about 
 550 feet in elevation above the stream, is well wooded 
 over the greatest part of its extent, and its side 
 towards the St. Lawrence is dotted with many beau- 
 tiful villas and gardens, which add much to the 
 charm of the landscape, while the view from its 
 summit is extensive and picturesque in the extreme. 
 The island is about twenty-eight miles in length, ten 
 miles in its greatest breadth, and seventy miles in 
 circumference y and its fertility is such as to give it 
 the name of the Garden of Canada. The island is 
 divided into ten parishes, each having its parish 
 church, vicar, and cures, according to the original 
 apportionment of the ecclesiastical authorities of the 
 Catholics. The Seigneury, or feudal lordship of 
 the manor, belongs chiefly to the Seminary of the 
 St. Sulpicians j and yields a large revenue toward the 
 support of their order and the Catholic church. 
 
 The town extends along the border of the river 
 for about three miles, including the suburbs and 
 inward from the water a breadth of about a mile and 
 quarter, covering an area of about a thousand acres 
 of land. The principal streets run nearly north-east 
 and south-west, almost parallel to the stream of the 
 St. Lawrence, which runs a little more northerly. 
 The principal street is called Notre Dame Street, 
 and this goes along a ridge elevated about fifty feet 
 above the river’s bank ; while below it, nearer the 
 water, and almost parallel to it, but with greater 
 irregularities in its line, runs St. Paul’s Street. The 
 former is the principal promenade of fashion, in 
 which are the best shops, the principal churches. 
 
MONTKEAL. 
 
 107 
 
 and the public edifices. The latter is the chief 
 street of the merchants, in which the Custom-house, 
 and the largest stores and warehouses, are placed. 
 From this ridge, along the summit of which Notre 
 Dame Street leads, you look down to the south-east 
 over a gradual declivity to the river ; and on the 
 other side, or north-west, you also look down over 
 a gradual declivity to the plain or valley of the land; 
 the lateral streets from St. Paul’s sloping upwards 
 to Notre Dame, and downwards from Notre Dame 
 to the plain on the land-side, crossing the longitudi- 
 nal streets at right angles. There are six suburbs, 
 though these are all included within the City boun- 
 dary, and, like the fauxbourgs of Paris, they form 
 continuous parts of the same town. These are the 
 Quebec Suburb, on the north-east; the St. Law- 
 rence Suburb, on the north-west ; and the Suburbs 
 of St. Antoine, St. Joseph, St. Ann, and Recollet, 
 on the south-east and south-west. 
 
 All the older parts of the town are as irregular, 
 and the streets as narrow, as in the oldest towns of 
 France ; but in the more modern parts of the City, 
 the streets are much broader and more regular in 
 their lines of direction. The Rue Notre Dame, 
 which is nearly a mile long, and is by far the finest 
 avenue in the whole, is only thirty feet broad ; and 
 St. Paul’s, which is the next in importance, is still 
 narrower. Some of the lanes and alleys leading from 
 this down to the river, are barely sufficient for a 
 horse and cart to go through, obliging the passenger 
 who meets it to shrink back against the wall to avoid 
 coming in contact with the wheels, reminding him 
 of some of the narrowest lanes leading out of Cheap- 
 
108 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 side and the neighbourhood of St. Paul’s Cathedral, 
 in London. Craig Street and McGill Street, are 
 however, from sixty to eighty feet broad ; and with 
 these examples, no doubt all future additions to the 
 City will be on a similar scale. The streets are in 
 pneral wretchedly paved, full of deep holes and 
 inequalities ; so that a drive over them in one of the 
 caleches of the town, might be imposed as a penance, 
 from the violent shaking it gives the whole frame. 
 In some parts of the City the streets are macadamized, 
 and these are sufficiently smooth and agreeable ; but 
 the material used being limestone and not granite, 
 is too easily pulverized, and is, therefore, subject to 
 the double inconvenience of being very muddy in 
 wet weather, and very dusty in dry. The side- 
 walks are necessarily very narrow, and most of them 
 broken and irregular also , so that neither driving 
 nor walking can be much enjoyed in the streets 
 Montreal. 
 
 The houses are chiefly built of the grey lime- 
 stone, with which the adjoining mountain abounds ; 
 the older buildings, of irregularly shaped blocks, 
 united with cement, and the interstices filled up 
 with smaller stones ; but the more recent build- 
 ings are of squared and hewn blocks, well dressed or 
 smoothed, and united in the best style of masonry. 
 The roofs are mostly covered with tin-plate, in the 
 shape of slate-tiles, or wooden shingles ; and as the 
 dryness of the climate and remoteness from the sea, 
 occasions it to preserve its brightness for many years 
 without rust, the roofs and spires give out a dazzling 
 whiteness in the bright sunshine, which is at once 
 novel and agreeable. The modern shops, or stores 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 109 
 
 as they are called here, where the American phra- 
 seology is strangely mingled with the French, are 
 many of them as large and as handsome as in New 
 York or Philadelphia ; and the greatest number of 
 them are lighted with gas, though that improvement 
 has not yet been introduced into the lighting of 
 the streets. In most of the older warehouses, iron 
 shutters and doors are used, as preventives to the 
 spread of fire ; and the tin roofs are partly adopted 
 because of their saving houses from the risk of con- 
 flagration by the falling of sparks, which so often 
 spread the ravages of fire in cities, where wooden 
 roofs are common, though economy and durability 
 are its chief recommendations. 
 
 Of the public edifices of Montreal, the churches 
 form the most prominent ; and of these, the new 
 Catholic cathedral is the largest and most important. 
 The order of the architecture is Norman Gothic, 
 and the whole of the exterior is remarkably plain. 
 The front presents itself to the west near the centre 
 of Notre Dame Street, and opposite the open square 
 called the Place d’Armes, by which means its fii§ade 
 is shown to great advantage. The loftiness of the 
 arcades at the entrance, which are about fifty feet in 
 height, give it an imposing air; but at present it 
 wants the finish of its towers, to give it all the effect 
 which these, when completed, will produce. The 
 size of the building is large, being 255 feet in length, 
 135 feet in breadth, and 72 feet in height ; the two 
 front towers on the west being intended to be 220 
 feet high. The interior is arranged and decorated 
 in extremely bad taste. The body of the ground- 
 floor, which slopes by a gradual descent from the 
 
110 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 door to the altar, the whole length of the building, 
 is filled with pews ; and a double row of side gal- 
 leries rising one over the other, as in a theatre, con- 
 tains other pews, there being 504 on the ground- 
 floor, and 370 in each of the galleries, making in 
 the whole 1,244, capable of seating comfortably 
 8,000 persons ; and with the occupation of the 
 aisles and passages, which are very broad, affording 
 space enough for 10,000 persons under the same 
 roof. 
 
 The galleries are sustained by large clustered 
 pillars, which are painted in the worst taste, to 
 resemble blue and white clouded marble j the pews 
 are of a dark yellow colour, and the ornaments of 
 deep brown, producing a most tawdry effect. Even 
 the great east window, the size of which is 64 feet 
 in height by 32 in breadth, is rendered mean and 
 vulgar in its appearance, by the paintings of its 36 
 compartments executed as transparencies instead of 
 the rich-coloured glass of the ancient cathedrals of 
 Europe. 
 
 The roof is groined, and is 80 feet in height, but 
 it wants the rich carving and gilding of the older 
 edifices to cover its nakedness. The space enclosed 
 for the high altar is large, and within it are ranges 
 of semicircular seats for the inferior clergy and 
 assistants, of whom there are sometimes a hundred 
 present, in surplices and caps ; but the principal altar 
 and all the smaller ones, of which there are seven 
 in diflferent parts of the church, are greatly inferior 
 to what the scale of the building would lead one to 
 expect. T, he organ also is small and without strength 
 or beauty of tone, while the chanting was inferior 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 Ill 
 
 to that of the smallest Catholic churches in Europe. 
 The pulpit is attached to one of the side-pillars on 
 the north, about the middle of the cathedral, and hay- 
 ing no stairs to ascend up from helow, access to it 
 can only be had through the northern lower gallery, 
 on a level with which it is placed. The preacher 
 has no portion of the congregation facing him as he 
 stands, except those in the opposite gallery ; all those 
 in the gallery from the front of which he speaks, 
 being behind him, and all those in the lower part of 
 the church having their faces to the altar at the 
 east, while he is looking south, or at right angles 
 across their heads. While the exterior of the build- 
 ing is imposing from its size, and chaste in its sira- 
 plfcity, the interior is more awkwardly arranged than 
 any similar edifice I remember. The cathedral was 
 commenced in 1824, and was opened for worship in 
 1829, when high mass was performed, and an oration 
 delivered, in presence of nearly the whole of the 
 Canadian Catholic clergy. The then British Gover- 
 nor of Lower Canada, Sir James Kempt, and his 
 official staff of civil and military officers, with up- 
 wards of 8,000 inhabitants of the city, also attended. 
 
 Besides the cathedral, there are three other 
 Roman Catholic churches ; that of St. James’s, called 
 the Bishop’s church, as Montreal was erected into a 
 bishopric in 1836, in which church the bishop per- 
 forms divine worship : — the Recollet church, in 
 which the Irish Catholics chiefly assemble and the 
 church of Notre Dame de Bon Secours, principally 
 frequented by the French ; while all classes of 
 Catholics attend the cathedral. 
 
 The Protestant Episcopal church, called Christ 
 
112 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 church, forms one of the ornaments of Notre Dame 
 Street, on the opposite side to that on which the 
 large cathedral stands, and a little north of it. It 
 was commenced in 1 805, but suspended for want of 
 funds till 1812, when a parliamentary grant of 
 4,000^. enabled the builders to proceed, and in 1814 
 it was first opened for public worship. In 1818, it 
 was erected by letters patent from the Greal Seal in 
 Dngland, into a parish church and rectory, making 
 the rector, churchwardens, and members for the 
 time being, a body corporate, to manage all its pecu- 
 niary affairs. The church is 120 feet in length by 
 80 in breadth, and the tower and spire rises to a 
 height of 204 feet. The front is a simple Doric in 
 the exterior, with pilasters and pediment, as there 
 was not depth enough for a portieo, the building 
 receding only a few feet within the line of the street. 
 The interior is Corinthian ; and the pews, galleries, 
 pulpit, and altar, are all remarkable for their chaste- 
 ness of design and good taste in decoration, while 
 the organ, procured from London at an expense of 
 1,500Z., is one of the best in the country. 
 
 There are three Scotch churches belonging to the 
 Established Kirk of Scotland. The oldest of these 
 was opened in 1792, and from its steeple, it is said 
 the first Protestant bell was sounded in Canada. 
 The second, called St. Andrew’s, was opened in 
 1807 ; and the third, called St. Paul’s, the hand- 
 somest of the whole, was opened in 1835. They 
 will each contain about 750 persons, and their 
 united congregations are much larger than that of 
 the Episcopal church. 
 
 The W^esleyan Methodists, who are also in con- 
 
MONTREAI,. 
 
 113 
 
 nection with the present body in England, and under 
 the direction of the Conference at home, have three 
 churches. The principal one of these is nearly in 
 the centre of the city, in St. .James’s Street. It is 
 a very handsome building, with Doric portico, and 
 good exterior, while the interior is extremely elegant 
 and commodious. It cost about 5,000/., and will 
 seat a thousand persons. The other two churches 
 of the Wesleyans are, one in the northern section of 
 the City, the Quebec Suburbs ; and another in the 
 southern quarter, or St. Ann’s Suburbs, and all of 
 them have large congregations. 
 
 There is an American Presbyterian church, which 
 was first opened in 1826, a Baptist church, opened 
 in 1831, and a Congregational or Independent 
 church, opened in 1835, besides a Scotch Secession 
 church, opened in 1836, all well sustained and well 
 attended. '1 here is also a small synagogue for the 
 Jews. 
 
 It will be seen, therefore, from the dates attached 
 to these several churches, that of late years, increas- 
 ing provision has been made for Protestant worship- 
 pers ; and that while the Catholic population is 
 thought to amount to 20,000, and the Protestant 
 population to not more than 10,000, there is more 
 ample accommodation for the latter than for the 
 former, in the vaidous buildings that are scattered 
 over the City and its suburbs ; so that no Protestant 
 inhabitant can be distant more than a quarter of a 
 mile from a Protestant place of worship. 
 
 The Homan Catholic establishments of a benevo- 
 lent nature, are among the most ancient of the City ; 
 they are numerous, large, richly endowed, and well 
 
114 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 conducted. They consist of the Seminary, tlie Col- 
 lege, the Petite Seminaire, and three Nunneries — 
 the Hotel Dieu, the Black Nunnery, and the Grey 
 Nunnery. By the courtesy of the Superior of the 
 St. Sulpicians, and the attention of one of the 
 brotherhood, who accompanied us on our visits, we 
 had the privilege of seeing each of these establish- 
 ments, and examining into all their details. 
 
 The most ancient is the Nunnery of the Hotel 
 Dieu, which was founded in 1644, by Madame de 
 Bouillon, for the reception and care of the sick and 
 diseased poor, of all nations, and of both sexes. It 
 is situated nearly in the centre of the city^, and 
 covers a large area of 468 feet by 324. The funds 
 by which it is sustained are derived from rents of 
 lands and houses, belonging to the Hotel from origi- 
 nal endowments, assisted occasionally by grants from 
 the Provincial Legislature. Nothing could exceed 
 the cleanliness, neatness, and comfort of the several 
 wards in which the sick and aged are accommodated 
 here ; and the Dispensary of Medicines was the 
 most perfect in its arrangement that I ever remember 
 to have seen. The Sisters, as they are called, by 
 whom the establishment is conducted, are in number 
 thirty-seven, one of whom is the Superior. They 
 are what are called Cloistered Nuns, never leaving 
 the building and the garden attached to it, but 
 devoting themselves entirely to religious worship, 
 and the care of the sick and infirm. They dress in 
 a black habit, with a broad collar, plain, hut of snowy 
 whiteness, extending over the bosom and neck, a 
 white frontlet covering the brow close down to the 
 eye-brows, and a black gauze veil thrown back over 
 
MONTUEAL. 
 
 115 
 
 the head. The ages of those we saw, varied between 
 thirty and fifty. Their duties are severe, and their 
 diet scanty and simple. In the chapel attached to 
 the convent, which is richly ornamented, they have 
 mass celebrated every day, and offices of devotion at 
 three separate periods besides. From each of the 
 sick wards there are large windows leading into 
 galleries of the chapel, from whence the altar can be 
 seen, and the music and prayers heard, by those who 
 are too sick or too infirm to go to the chapel itself. 
 The admissions to the Hospital are limited only by 
 the extent of their accommodations, which will 
 receive about a hundred persons. Those who enter 
 it are supported gratuitously, and supplied with food 
 and medicine for as long as they may require it ; and 
 as soon as those who are cured leave the Hospital, 
 there are always others to fill their places. 
 
 The candidates for the Sisterhood are chiefly 
 Canadians ; but sometimes French and Irish. They 
 must be well recommended for piety and morals, 
 and undergo a probation of five years, after which, 
 if their conduct is approved, they are received into 
 the Sisterhood, and take the black veil, making, at 
 the same time, three vows, one of chastity, one of 
 poverty, and one of seclusion and devotion to the 
 care of the sick and infirm. Two of the Sisters are 
 at all times together, in each ward, day and night, 
 relieving each other in watches of four hours ; and 
 none are exempt from this duty except the Lady 
 Superior, whose constant superintendence during 
 the day furnishes her with abundant occupation. 
 They appear to be very happy, and are under no 
 physical restraint, as the gate of the Nunnery is 
 
 i2 
 
IIG 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 alwa)'S open in the daytime, and there is nothing to 
 prevent the escape of any Sister who desired it, but 
 no such attempt has ever been made. 
 
 The Black Nunnery, or Convent of Notre Dame, 
 is the next in order of date, having been founded in 
 1653, by Madame Marguerite Burgeois, accompa- 
 nied by some young ladies whom she brought with 
 her fi-om France, to form a seminary for female 
 education. This Nunnery is also in the centre of 
 the City, fronting the street of Notre Dame, and 
 covering an area of 433 feet by 234. These are 
 not cloistered nuns j though living in communitv, 
 and making vows of chastity and poverty, they are 
 not secluded, but go out as occasion requires, and 
 attend worship publicly at the cathedral^ There is 
 a Superior and eighty Sisters in the whole ; but not 
 more than forty are usually resident at the Nunnery ; 
 the remainder being sent to the surrounding villages 
 as missionaries, to superintend the education of 
 female children there, and usually going in pairs. 
 At the time of our visit (September 2nd), the pupils 
 had just begun to return to school from the summer 
 vacation j and about half the number only, or eighty, 
 were present. These varied between ten and eighteen 
 years of age ; and though chiefly Canadians, included 
 some from New York and other parts of the United 
 States. They were in general good-looking, healthy, 
 clean, dressed in a neat uniform of blue striped ging- 
 ham, with black silk aprons, and appeared cheerful 
 and happy. Their course of education embraces all 
 the usual branches of useful and ornamental instruc- 
 tion ; and from the specimens of music, writing, 
 embroidery, and other productions, that we witnessed, 
 
MONTBE.VL. 
 
 117 
 
 
 we were disposed to infer that they were well 
 instructed. There are about one hundred and sixty 
 hoarders, and forty day-scholars ; and the expense 
 of board and tuition does not exceed 20/. sterling 
 per annum. The receipts from education are not 
 quite sufficient to sustain the establishment, as in the 
 villages, the Sisters teach the children of the poor 
 gratuitously ; hut the deficiency is made up from the 
 funds of the St. Sulpicians ; as this Convent has no 
 endowments besides the building and its accessaries. 
 The Sisters dress in a black habit, with a white 
 handkerchief surrounding the face, an apron with 
 dark blue and white stripes, and a black hood and 
 veil. In this dress they are often seen in the 
 streets, and at the cathedral, and hence the name 
 of the Black Nuns is given to them by the inhabit- 
 ants, from the black habit and veil of the order. 
 
 The Grey Nunnery is a larger establishment than 
 either of the preceding, though more recent in point 
 of date. It lies farther removed from the centre of 
 the town, towards the south, and occupies a most 
 agreeable situation, near the banks of the river. 
 The history of its foundation is thus detailed. 
 A Canadian lady, Madame Jourville, being left a 
 widow at the age of 28, though possessed of a large 
 patrimonial fortune, formed the determination to 
 retire from the world, and devote herself entirely to 
 the duties of religion and benevolence. She is said 
 to have been handsome, dignified, and accomplished ; 
 and to have possessed such influence among her sex, 
 as soon to be able to prevail on several others of her 
 own age, and similarly circumstanced as to fortune, 
 to unite their property into one common fund, to 
 
118 
 
 CANADA, 
 
 devote this to purposes of charity, to hind themselves 
 hy vows to the fulfilment of their respective duties, 
 as superintendant and assistants of a Charitable 
 Asylum, and to support themselves by their own 
 industry. This being determined on, in I737 they 
 took a large house in the City, where they all resided, 
 and commenced their labours, with six old and des- 
 titute individuals, whom they took under their care. 
 About ten years after this, the zeal of these bene- 
 volent ladies having increased rather than diminished, 
 they undertook to incorporate with their own infant 
 institution, a much older and larger one that had 
 fallen into debt and disorder, though conducted by 
 some French ecclesiastics under the title of the 
 Freres Charrons ; and by the liberality, zeal, and 
 prudent management of Madame Jourville and her 
 exemplary Sisters, the debt was redeemed, funds were 
 accumulated, patients were increased, and in a short 
 time, accommodation, food, and medicine was fur- 
 nished to upwards of a hundred sick and infirm 
 persons. 
 
 In addition to a hospital for the diseased, it w^as 
 subsequently made both a Foundling and an Orphan 
 Asylum, and the circumstance which led to this 
 extension of its charities is said to have been this. 
 Madame Jourville was one day in the winter going 
 from the Hospital into the city, on a visit ; and saw 
 in her way, an infant abandoned by its unfeeling 
 parents, stuck fast in the ice, with its little hands 
 raised up in an imploring attitude, and a poniard 
 passing through its throat. It was quite dead, but 
 was brought by Madame Jourville to the hospital, 
 to show to the Sisters, and to he decently interred. 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 119 
 
 Seeing the new field thus opened for their benevo- 
 lent labours, these devoted Sisters determined to 
 make their house a home for orphans and destitute 
 children wherever found. An inscription on the 
 gateway of the outer court, embodies a quotation 
 which expresses this addition to its objects — 
 
 IIopiTAL General des Sceurs Grises 
 Fondce en 1755. 
 
 “ Mon Pere, et ma Mere m ont abandoniie ; mais le Seigneur 
 m’a recueilli.” — Ps. xxvi. 10. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the funds of this esta- 
 blishment were assisted by an annual allowance made 
 by the French Government, which was continued to 
 be paid with the same punctuality after the conquest 
 of Canada by the English, as before ; and ceased 
 only with the first revolution of France, in 1794. 
 It had been given up as hopeless, until the restoration 
 of the Bourbons, in 1816; soon after which, the 
 memorials that were sent from hence to the French 
 court were successful in obtaining from the Bourbon 
 family, not only a resumption of the annual payment 
 so long enjoyed, but also the payment of all the 
 arrears due, with interest upon the same ; so that 
 very large sums were thus placed at their disposal. 
 These sums the Sisters have judiciously expended 
 in the erection of a new and spacious building in 
 the situation near the river before described, capable 
 of accommodating tw'o hundred sick and insane 
 persons, and of sustaining and educating three hun- 
 dred children. 
 
 We were received by the nuns with great courtesy 
 and kindness. The Lady Superior, who is Treasurer 
 
120 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 and Manager of the Estates of the Institution, as 
 well as Directress of all the internal economy of the 
 establishment, was at her desk in the library, making 
 up her accounts, when we arrived ; and after a short 
 conversation on the object of our visit, she introduced 
 us to the Sisters, about a dozen of whom were occu- 
 pying a spacious and agreeable apartment looking 
 out on the St. Lawrence, with a large garden before 
 it, and a pleasant balcony for a promenade, commu- 
 nicating with the room. These were all engaged in 
 needlework of various kinds j but all entered cheer- 
 fully into conversation ; and we thought w’e had sel- 
 dom seen a more ruddy or healthy set of middle- 
 aged ladies between forty and sixty than these. All 
 the emblems of their faith were thickly placed around 
 the room ; crucifixes, pictures of saints, representa- 
 tions of miracles and Scriptural scenes ; but there 
 was nothing gloomy in their appearance or deport- 
 ment ; on the contrary, they were not merely serene, 
 but cheerful. 
 
 We were shown over every part of this establish- 
 ment, with as little reserve as in either of the others, 
 a privilege which we owed no doubt to the authority 
 of the Superior of the St. Sulpicians, under whose 
 auspices our visit was made, as well as to the influ- 
 ence of the reverend Brother who accompanied us. 
 Here the wards for the sick, the insane, the aged, 
 and the infirm, were all more spacious, more airy, 
 and better fitted with every requisite, than either of 
 those we had visited before j and the neatness and 
 cleanliness of everything we saw excited our admira- 
 tion. The number of the Sisters is about sixty ; 
 their ages vary between thirty and seventy years , 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 121 
 
 their dress is a grey habit, with a neat white cap, 
 white apron, and silver crucifix. They are subject 
 to the same probation or noviciate as the Black 
 Nuns, and make vows of chastity, poverty, and devo- 
 tion to their duties, whe» they are adopted into the 
 order ; but not vows of solitude or separation from 
 the world. They observe nearly the same discipline 
 as the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu, watching in turns 
 with the sick, the aged, and the insane ; of whom 
 they have about a hundred and fifty under their care 
 at present ; and training, exercising, and instructing 
 the foundlings and orphans, of whom they have 
 nearly two hundred, from two to twelve years of age. 
 After this period, they find occupation both for the 
 boys and' girls, and generally sustain or assist them 
 till they are able to get their own living. They have 
 a pretty island, called the Nun’s Island, in the St. 
 Lawrence, a little above the town, which they have 
 had cultivated with grain, vegetables, and fruits ; 
 and this, with other lands and houses, yields them a 
 handsome revenue, which they judiciously and bene- 
 volently expend in works of the most disinterested 
 charity, to which indeed they devote all their labour 
 and care. The Sisters here, as well as in the other 
 Nunneries, occupy very small bedrooms, with the 
 simplest furniture, and their diet and apparel is all 
 of the plainest kind. They are not stimulated by 
 the admiration of the world, nor rewarded by the 
 praises of mankind ; but appear to be solely actuated 
 by sincerely devotional, or religious and benevolent 
 feelings, to the performance of their duties, for which 
 their only reward is an approving conscience. 
 
 The Seminary of St. Sulpice is under the direc- 
 
122 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 tion of the Brothers of the St. Sulpicians, who are 
 not ecclesiastics, but what are called secular clergy, 
 not being priests nor yet recluses, but under vows 
 of celibacy and poverty, and living therefore in com- 
 munity of goods. Of the origin of this body, an 
 account has been already given in the preceding 
 chapter, in the sketch of the history of Montreal. 
 The Brothers are at present only sixteen in number, 
 besides the Superior, and they have some difficulty 
 in getting candidates for admission to their body. 
 They are mostly Canadians and French, with two 
 Irish only, and they are from thirty to sixty years of 
 age. They are very careful in requiring the strongest 
 proofs of respectability and piety in candidates for 
 admission, and a long probation must be undergone, 
 after which, if approved, they are received ; but 
 they must give up all claim to property, as indivi- 
 duals, at the time they enter, and can never after 
 resume it, though they are at any time at liberty to 
 quit the “ House,” as they call it, and join the 
 world ; but none have yet done so. 
 
 The property of this body is very considerable, in 
 their corporate capacity. They are Seigneurs, or 
 Lords of the Manor, of the whole island of Mont- 
 real, and as such, are entitled to all the feudal 
 rights and privileges of this extensive Seigneury. 
 By the old feudal law of France, the King was Lord 
 or Seigneur of all the landed property of the crown 
 in his dominions, and had the power to grant or 
 transfer to others, for military, ecclesiastical, or other 
 purposes, such portions of these Seignorial rights as 
 he thought proper, on condition of his receiving the 
 quint or one-fifth of the purchase-money, whenever 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 123 
 
 such lands were transferred to others by gift or sale ; 
 but if the purchaser paid immediately, he was 
 entitled to the rabat, or a reduction of two-thirds of 
 the quint, by way of discount, making it therefore 
 one-fifteenth instead of one-fifth of the amount. 
 When individuals, however, or corporate bodies hold 
 these fiefs of the original feudal lord, the King, (as 
 is the case with the Seminary of St. Sulpice, to 
 whom the Seigneury was granted by the King of 
 France, before the conquest of Canada by the British, 
 and their rights were then confirmed, by the treaty 
 of capitulation,) the holders in fief are lawfully 
 entitled to one-twelfth of the purchase-money of 
 every estate sold or transferred by those living within 
 their Seigneury, under the name of lods et ventes. 
 This privilege, though it brings in a considerable 
 revenue to the Seminary, is undoubtedly a great 
 obstacle to the sale, transfer, or improvement of pro- 
 perty ; and all the English inhabitants and proprietors 
 of land and houses here, are most anxious to have 
 this feudal tenure abolished, and some more reason- 
 able principle and practice substituted in its stead. 
 If a person, for instance, purchases an estate worth 
 12,000^., the large amount of 1,000/. must be paid 
 to the Seigneur, as lods et ventes. But should such 
 an estate be so improved by the sole expense of the 
 first purchaser, as to be worth 60,000/., if he desires 
 to sell it again, and obtains that sum for it, 5,000/. 
 must be paid to the Seigneur on the second sale, and 
 so on at every subsequent transfer ; so that this tax 
 operates as a direct hindrance to expenditure and 
 improvement, as well as to the sale or transfer of all 
 landed property. 
 
194 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 It is thought by the ablest lawyers here, that the 
 St. Sulpicians have not the means of establishing a 
 strictly legal title to their Seignorial rights, as suc- 
 cessors of the first holders, to whom the King of 
 France granted them, from defects in their line of 
 succession ; and, it is added, that on all occasions, 
 the Brothers of the Order have shrunk from having 
 the question raised in a court of law. But the 
 Governor-General, Lord Sydenham, has, in the 
 exercise of the almost supreme power with which 
 he is clothed, issued an Ordinance, giving them this 
 legal right, and confirming them in the full posses- 
 sion of all that they claim, which has given groat 
 dissatisfaction to those who had hoped to have seen 
 this tenure abolished, or modified, or compromised, 
 in some way or other, for the future. The Ordin- 
 ance will require, it is thought, the confirmation of 
 an act of the Imperial Legislature to make it bind- 
 ing, or it may be referred to the Local Legislature 
 in the new Parliament of the United Provinces of 
 the Canadas to do this ; hut in the mean while the 
 rights continue to be exercised freely and fully as 
 heretofore. 
 
 The use made of the funds thus obtained, appears 
 to be unobjectionable. They are chiefly devoted to 
 the education of youth, to the care of the sick, to 
 the assistance of the Nunneries when needed, and 
 to the support of religious worship in the city, and 
 in the country parishes. The Seminary is a large, 
 ancient, and plain building, near the centre of the 
 city, covering, with its spacious gardens and grounds, 
 an area of 444 feet by 342, the edifice itself forming 
 three sides of a square 132 feet in length for the 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 125 
 
 
 central pile, and 90 feet in depth for each of its 
 wings. It has attached to it, a School for pupils of 
 the younger class, of which there are upwards of 300 
 under tuition ; and several branch Schools of the 
 same establishment, are conducted by them in other 
 parts of the city and parish. The College for the 
 education of the higher class of pupils, is near the 
 Grey Nunnery, in the llecollet Suburbs. It has 
 been recently erected at a cost of upwards of 10,000/. 
 It is a substantial and well-arranged building, form- 
 ing three sides of a square, the centre pile being 
 210 feet by 45, and the two side wings 186 feet by 
 45 each. There are spacious play-grounds for the 
 students, and ample and comfortable accommodation 
 for 160 boarders in the building, and class-rooms 
 for the education of that number, and 140 non- 
 resident or day scholars, or 300 in all. The students 
 enter at ten years of age, and continue till eighteen. 
 The St. Sulpician Brothers are the principal, though 
 not the only instructors, as they have professors 
 from among the ecclesiastics also, so that altogether 
 there are about twenty head-teacbers, and several 
 subordinates. The number of pupils at present 
 exceeds 200 ; and the cost of board and education, 
 in all its branches, does not exceed 30/. a year. 
 
 I found it difficult to ascertain the exact revenue of 
 the Seminary, from its Seignorial rights, having 
 heard it estimated by some at 10,000/., by others at 
 20,000/., and by others at intermediate sums, per 
 annum. All that is known with certainty is this : 
 that they have refused to accept a fixed annual 
 income of 6,000/. a year, which was ofiered to be 
 guaranteed to them for the abandonment of the 
 
126 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 feudal tenure as far as their own body is concerned, 
 and if the Government Ordinance should be con- 
 firmed by legal authority, it is thought they would 
 not accept 20,000^. a year for their revenue. 
 
 In addition to the objection made to this system, 
 as retarding the improvement of property, the Pro- 
 testant part of the population feel aggrieved at seeing 
 the wealth thus produced, appropriated to the sup- 
 port and propagation of the Catholic religion 5 hut 
 as the Clergy Reserves, (from unappropriated waste 
 lands, of which there are millions of acres in 
 Canada,) appropriated by law to the support of the 
 English and Scotch churches, and likely to be par- 
 ticipated in also by Protestant Dissenting bodies, is 
 a much more ample fund than the Seigneury of 
 Montreal, it may naturally be expected that the 
 Catholics, seeing this, will think their Protestant 
 brethren a little unreasonable to complain of the 
 appropriation of the smaller resources to the propa- 
 gation of the more ancient faith of the conquered 
 race, while the larger fund is entirely in their hands 
 to uphold the more modern faith of the conquerors. 
 
 There is a School for the education of children, 
 without distinction of religious faith, called The 
 British and Canadian School. It was first estab- 
 lished in 1822, and meant for the education of the 
 children of the labouring classes gratuitously, as 
 well as to train teachers for country schools. This 
 was first conducted in a hired building; but the 
 success attending it led to the contribution of suffi- 
 cient funds, by voluntary subscription, to build a 
 good school-house, sufficient to accommodate about 
 400 hoys, and 250 girls, with a residence for the 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 hr/ 
 
 head-master. The building was purchased in 1836 , 
 and at the present time it contains about 200 boys, 
 and 100 girls, taught in separate apartments, and 
 all gratuitously ; and among them the proportions 
 are 150 Catholics, 75 Presbyterians, 40 Episcopa- 
 lians, and 35 Methodists. The building cost about 
 1 , 500 /. ; and this, and the sum required to cover the 
 annual expenditure, has been raised by voluntary 
 contributions from all classes. If such schools as 
 these can be multiplied throughout the country, and 
 well sustained, they will have the most beneficial 
 effect, in destroying those prejudices of race and 
 religion which now unhappily keep each aloof from 
 the other, and make the rising generation much 
 more liberal towards each other, when they come to 
 act together in future life, than their parents are at 
 present. On this ground alone, therefore, independ- 
 ently of their general benefit as promoting education, 
 they deserve especial encouragement. 
 
 There is a Protestant National School, conducted 
 under the patronage of the Society for the Promotion 
 of Christian Knowledge, which was founded in 
 1816 , and gives free education to about 150 boys 
 and 100 girls; of whom nearly one-fourth are of 
 French families and three-fourths of English ; all 
 who subscribe ten shillings a year to the funds of 
 this school, are entitled to exercise the right of 
 visitors. 
 
 For the higher branches of education there is now 
 an institution, called the University of McGill Col- 
 lege, after an eminent merchant of Montreal, who, 
 in 1814 , left by will, the estate of Burnside, on the 
 Mountain near the city ; and the sum of 10,000/. 
 
12S 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 in money, to establish it. The will being contested, 
 it was not until 1821 that the decision was made in 
 favour of its validity, and then the College was 
 incorporated; the Governors, Judges, and Bishops 
 of Canada for the time being, being appointed ex- 
 officio the Directors of the Institution. In 1823, 
 the Professors were appointed; one of Divinity, 
 from Cambridge ; one of Moral Philosophy and the 
 Classics, from Oxford ; one of History and Civil 
 Law, from Aberdeen ; one of Mathematics and 
 Natural History, from Oxford ; and one of Medi- 
 cine and Surgery, from Edinburgh. Though all 
 the first Professors have been thus taken from the 
 British Universities, it is intended to give the prefe- 
 rence in future appointments to those who may have 
 graduated at the College itself. There is no reli- 
 gious test, either for the professors or the students ; 
 and the course of instruction is intended to embrace 
 all the studies usually pursued in the Universities at 
 home. 
 
 There are now, therefore, ample means at the 
 command of the community of Montreal, for the 
 education of the Catholic and Protestant youth of the 
 City ; and if these means are rightly administered 
 and applied, no portion of the children of either 
 class need be deprived of the benefits of instruction. 
 

 CHAP. X. 
 
 Municipal government — Municipal edifices — Court House 
 
 Barracks— Gowrnment House— Custom House-Commerce 
 of Montreal Tonnage of Shipping — Imports and Exports 
 ot the City— Increase of population — Hotels -Theatre- 
 Newspapers of Montreal— Instance of illiberality towards 
 Catholics— Injustice towards America and the Americans— 
 Example of unjustifiable imputations — Books — American 
 repnnts of English works— Ship-building and rope-makinc 
 establishments. ® 
 
 The Municipal Government of Montreal is in the 
 hands of a mayor and aldermen, which, before the 
 suspension of the constitution, at the time of the late 
 rebellion, was an elective body, and is intended to be 
 so again, when the new act for uniting the two Pro- 
 vinces of Canada into one shall come into operation ; 
 but at present the mayor and aldermen are appointed 
 by the Governor-General for a certain period. 
 
 Of the civic and municipal buildings the Court 
 House is the principal. It occupies a favourable 
 position in Notre Dame Street, is built of the grey 
 limestone of the country, and was erected in 1800 , 
 at a cost of 5 , 000 /. It has an open space of lawn 
 and trees before it j and is one of the best ornaments 
 of the town. 
 
 Near it is a large building, formerly occupied as 
 the old Jail, but now used as a barrack for the sol- 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 dicrs doin^ duty in tli6 city. A new Juil hss since 
 been erected in the Quebec Suburbs near the river, 
 at a cost of about 30,000/. The building extends 
 over a frontage of 255 feet, and a depth of 85, and 
 with the courts and grounds covers about five acres 
 of space. In it, debtors as well as criminals are 
 confined, though in separate apartments ; and there 
 are 35 rooms for debtors and 150 cells for criminals, 
 in the whole. No occupation is furnished to either, 
 and no system of prison discipline, beyond ensuring 
 safe custody, is observed ; so that the moral improve- 
 ment of the prisoners is in no way provided for, nor 
 is there even a school, or a chaplain attached to the 
 establishment. It seems appropriately placed between 
 two large distilleries, the manufactories of that liquid 
 poison, which makes the greatest number of debtors 
 and criminals too, and is overlooked by the barracks 
 of the soldiers, whose services are often rendered 
 more necessary to suppress riots and insurrections 
 from the di'inking that demoralizes men, and makes 
 them dishonest, disorderly, and disloyal, in turns. 
 
 The Government House, which was formerly an 
 establishment of the North-west Fur Traders in the 
 city, is small and ill adapted for its purpose ; it is, 
 therefore, not used as the residence of the Governor, 
 who occupies temporarily, a private house fitted up 
 for his use ; hut should the seat of government for 
 the United Province be fixed here, appropriate 
 buildings will no doubt be erected, superior to any 
 that are now existing. 
 
 The new Court House may be numbered among 
 the best of the public buildings of the City, for the 
 good taste of the design, and the neatness of the 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 131 
 
 execution. It stands near the river, and in front 
 of it is now constructing an admirable range of road 
 or quay, supported by a solid wall of mason °y towards 
 the water, extending already nearly a mile, and 
 intended to go the whole length of the port ; there 
 is nothing finer than this, of its kind, in the Colony. 
 The harbour or dock for the reception of vessels 
 alongside the wharfs, though not spacious, is com- 
 modious, and suflScient for the number of ships that 
 require to make use of it. 
 
 The commerce of Montreal is not so extensive, as 
 its admirable position would lead one to expect, or 
 as it must in time become, though it has been 
 steadily productive to those engaged in it. It 
 stands at the head of the ship-navigation of the 
 St. Lawrence : for beyond this, upwards, the various 
 Rapids of the stream render it impossible for ships or 
 even steamboats to proceed ; and hence land-jour- 
 neys over the space rendered unnavigable by these 
 Rapids are obliged to be performed by passengers 
 who ascend or descend in the varied steamboats that 
 run in the intervals of smooth water between them. 
 All the exportations from Upper Canada are there- 
 fore first shipped at Montreal ; and all importations 
 for the consumption of Upper Canada are also first 
 landed here. Montreal enjoys also the most favour- 
 able position for intercourse with the United States, 
 as well as for foreign trade ; for, by a steamboat 
 from her wharfs, the traveller is taken in an hour to 
 La Prairie, on the opposite side of the river, from 
 whence a railroad of fourteen miles conveys him to 
 St. John’s, near the head of Lake Champlain, on the 
 borders of the United States, in another hour; and 
 
 K 2 
 
182 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 from thence he has steamboat and railroad convey- 
 ance all the way through Lake Champlain and Lake 
 George to Saratoga and Albany, and thence by the 
 Hudson to New York, which city he may reach from 
 Montreal in two days. Add to this, that the canal 
 of La Chine cuts off the Rapids of the St. Lawrence, 
 enabling large cai’go boats to ascend to the Ottawa ; 
 that from thence the Rideau canal opens a passage 
 into the St. Lawrence at Kingston, from whence 
 navigation is open and easy to Lake Ontario, and 
 thence by the Welland Canal into Lakes Erie, Hud- 
 son, and Michigan ; and it must appear, to the least 
 sanguine observer, that an inexhaustible field of 
 commercial enterprise is thus accessible from this 
 City. 
 
 Some conception may be formed of the actual 
 commerce of Montreal, by a statement of its tonnage 
 and imports, which is thus collected from the Cus- 
 tom House books. The entries of vessels inwards 
 
 was — 
 
 In 1832 . 
 
 1833 . 
 
 1834 . 
 
 1835 . 
 
 . 27,713 tons 
 . 30,864 
 . 20,105 
 . 22,729 
 
 In 1836 . 
 
 1837 . 
 
 1838 . 
 
 1839 . 
 
 . 22,133 tons 
 . 22,668 
 . 15,750 
 . 16,829 
 
 The cause of the dimunition in the last two years, 
 was the late rebellion, which, destroying confidence, 
 and indisposing merchants to risk their property, 
 naturally led to their abstaining from trade with the 
 Colony to the same extent as before. But already 
 the progress of revival has begun. 
 
 The amount of the imports annually have varied 
 between a million and half and two millions sterling, 
 according to the Custom House returns ; but in 
 
MONTUEAL. 
 
 133 
 
 addition to this, a large amount of smuggled trade 
 is carried on between Canada and the United States, 
 of which, of course, no returns can be had. Of 
 exports, the quantities only are given, and the fol- 
 lowing are among the principal articles and quan- 
 tities of each, for an average of the years from 1835 
 to 1839, both inclusive — 
 
 Pine timber . 1,836 tons 
 Elm do. . . 875 tons 
 
 Oak do. . . 764 tons 
 
 Deals . . 35,422 
 
 Handspikes . 6,748 
 
 Staves . . 468,935 
 
 Wheat . . 52,876 minots 
 
 Flour . . 25,607 barrels 
 
 Pork . . 1,231 barrels 
 
 Potashes . 16,543 barrels 
 Pearlashes . 6,487 barrels 
 
 Oilcake . 1,293 pieces 
 
 The fur-trade, which was formerly carried on so 
 extensively by the North-West Company, up the 
 Ottawa river and its tributaries, by the Canadian 
 voyagers, is now in the hands of the Hudson’s Bay 
 Company, with which the interests of the former 
 have been merged, and they have their principal 
 depots elsewhere. The large, rafts of timber that 
 come down the Ottawa, float by the island of Mont- 
 real, by the back channel behind the island, in 
 large numbers every day ; and during our stay here, 
 we saw from thirty to forty large rafts from the 
 St. Lawrence go by in front of the island daily to 
 Quebec. Some of these are so large as to be worth 
 5,000/., and it is deemed a small one which is not 
 worth 1,000/. They float down chiefly by the force 
 of the current, and go over all the Rapids with 
 safety ; but they are also assisted occasionally by 
 several small square sails, spread on low masts at 
 
134 
 
 CANADA 
 
 different parts of the raft ; and the only shelter or 
 accommodation for the men, are two or three little 
 huts which they erect on the timbers themselves. 
 
 Opposite to the City are two pretty islands, one 
 called the Nun’s Island, low, fertile, and woody, 
 belonging to the Grey Nuns, and cultivated with 
 wheat, for their benefit ; another, the Island of St. 
 Helen’s, high and well-wooded, but used only for 
 the fort and barracks which it contains, to defend 
 the entrance to the harbour. 
 
 The importation of wheat from the United States 
 into Canada, has much increased of late years, as 
 the growers in the former country send their wheat 
 over here, where it is ground in Canadian mills ; and 
 then, being of the manufacture of the Colony, it 
 may be sent to England as Canadian flour, and im- 
 ported at a duty of fourpence only per barrel, while 
 the same article could not be sent direct from New 
 York to England, owing to the existing restrictions 
 of the British corn-laws.* 
 
 The population of the City is undoubtedly on the 
 increase ; but from some neglect or omission, no 
 
 * Since this was written, a change has taken place, somewhat for 
 the better, as Canadian wheat and flour is to be henceforward 
 imported duty-free into England, while American wheat may be 
 imported into Canada at a duty of 3s. per quarter, so that all the 
 wheat grown in Canada will be sent to England, and all the 
 wheat eaten in Canada will come from the United States. Tiiis 
 is, no doubt, a step in advance towards free-trade, and so far 
 valuable ; but how much better would it be to permit a direct 
 importation from the United States to England, as well as from 
 Canada, instead of this circuitous and round-about trade ! 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 135 
 
 very late census has been taken. The statement 
 deemed most authentic, makes its numbers in the 
 years mentioned, as follows — 
 
 In 1800 it was 9,000 I In 1831 it was 28,000 
 
 1825 22,000 I 1840 40,000 
 
 There are two good markets in Montreal, and 
 several hotels. Rasco’s, at which we lived, was by 
 most persons considered the best ; and having the 
 reputation of being the most fashionable, it was the 
 most frequented ; but though it had good rooms, 
 they were but ill furnished with the requisites for 
 comfortable dormitories ; and the table was the 
 worst supplied, and the servants the most inattentive 
 of any we had yet met with in Canada. It was infe- 
 rior, indeed, in both these important features, to 
 most of the hotels of similar scale and pretensions in 
 the United States. 
 
 There is a large theatre in Montreal, which is 
 well supported in the season in which it is open ; 
 and of late it has been made unusually attractive by 
 the performance of operas, in which Mr. and Mrs. 
 Seguin from England have performed the principal 
 parts. Mr. Seguin himself has been recently 
 adopted as a Chief of the Huron tribe of Indians, 
 at the village of Lorette, near Quebec, with all the 
 ceremonies usual on the election of a native chief ; 
 he being dressed in the Indian costume, his body 
 and face painted, and the war-dance performed 
 around him by the Indians of the tribe. The 
 reason assigned for this adoption of Mr. Seguin into 
 their nation, was that his father had rendered some 
 services and shown some kindness to members of the 
 
136 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 tribe in England ; and gratitude for these favours 
 induced them thus to honour his son. 
 
 Of newspapers, there are two daily morning 
 papers, the Herald and the Courier ; two published 
 thrice a week, the Gazette, and the Transcript ; 
 besides a French paper, called L’Aurore de Canada; 
 a religious newspaper, published once a fortnight, 
 called the Wesleyan ; and the Canadian Temperance 
 Advocate, published monthly. These are all con- 
 ducted with as much talent as provincial papers in 
 England ; and with the courtesy of gentlemen 
 towards each other. During the late troubles there 
 were wider differences of opinion amongst them than 
 at present ; as all seem now disposed to exercise reci- 
 procal forgiveness and conciliation, and urge upon 
 their readers the duty of giving the Union a fair 
 trial, by recommending all parties to unite in up- 
 holding the authority of the laws. There is still, 
 however, a strong feeling manifested by some of them 
 against the Catholics, and this expressed in language 
 which cannot fail to wound the feelings of this large 
 and influential class of their fellow-subjects, without 
 effecting the object which the writers seem to have 
 in view. An ordinance having been recently issued 
 by the Governor-General and Council, confirming 
 the St. Sulpicians in the possession of the Seigneury 
 of Montreal, which their Order had held from the 
 first foundation of the City to its conquest hy the 
 British, and which was then guaranteed to them by 
 the articles of capitulation, — the following article on 
 the subject appeared in the Montreal Herald, of 
 Sept. 3d, 1840 — 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 137 
 
 On the ground of education, we do not see any reason why 
 the Seminary should be invested with such extravagant wealth, 
 but many why it should not. 
 
 “In the first place, it is an unjust preference of a foreign 
 priesthood, to men of British birth or descent. What possible 
 claim can be urged in favour of them, that cannot be urged in 
 favour of our own people ? Are they more learned, more zealous, 
 more pious, than Roman Catholics and Protestants from the 
 British Isles? Have they shown themselves, by their conduct 
 for the last fifty years, the supporters of education, even with 
 the very means which they profess to have received for purposes 
 of education ? Have they ever come before the public, openly 
 and honestly, as most men with their pretences would have done, 
 and shown what has become of the revenues, which they actually 
 have collected, from their first coming into the country, for the 
 express purpose of spreading education? Have they ever attempted 
 to show the amount of education bestowed by their means, or 
 a schedule of the proposed increase of their schools ? No ! 
 never ! 
 
 “ And yet these are the persons, aliens in fact to our country, 
 and aliens by their vows to all the common feelings of humanity, 
 to whom this atrocious act makes a yearly present of such vast 
 wealth. Let the darkened state of this Province be considered, 
 and we hesitate not to assert, that, supposing their title to the 
 property they claim, to be good and valid, an inquiry ought to 
 be made, to ascertain how far they have fulfilled the conditions 
 expressed in it. For these men to be picked out by the govern- 
 ment as recipients of the enormous income, of not less than 
 £30,000, is an outrage upon the common sense of the country ; 
 and that too without accountability to the power that grants it. 
 
 “ If, with the income they already enjoy, they have been able, 
 as has been affirmed again and again, to send thousands of pounds 
 into foreign countries, will the disposition or the opportunity be 
 less to do so systematically, when they are literally wallowing in 
 riches ? We suspect not, else all human nature is a falsehood. 
 
 “ If a junto of foreigners are of more importance to us, socially 
 and politically, than the State itself, then the State, if it has the 
 power, does well to yield up its rights and interests, in the train- 
 
138 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 ing of the young generation, to that junto. But, according to 
 the principles of our government, no such abdication can take 
 place, without the consent of the people, and that consent will 
 never be given. 
 
 The Ordinance, in truth, creates a dominant church of the 
 worst description, because it is not open to public opinion, and 
 is concentrated in the persons of a few natural-born aliens. Were 
 its numbers more extensive, its members British sulyects, and 
 its acts open to public view and public investigation, as all other 
 churches are, we should have some hope for the liberties of the 
 country. But as the case stands, we confess our fears, and warn 
 the public accordingly. 
 
 ** It is the only dominant church in the English portion of 
 America, and will receive, unless the Ordinance is abrogated, 
 equal to one-third part of all the public revenue raised in the 
 country, in which it has been established. 
 
 “ These are hints worthy of being thought over by Electors in 
 making a choice of Representatives ; and to the Electors in Upper 
 Canada, where the battle against only a semblance of a dominant 
 church has been fought and won, we are convinced they will 
 prove of value.” 
 
 There is one point on which nearly all the British 
 Canadians appear to agree, and that is, in abuse of the 
 Americans, towards whom, the feeling of hatred and 
 contempt seems to be universal, and to be expressed 
 on all available occasions. On this subject, I found 
 myself almost every day engaged in a contention with 
 some one or other, and never of my own seeking ; 
 but the harsh and undeserved manner in which the 
 British Canadians utter their sweeping censures on 
 the American nation generally, for acts committed 
 only by a few desperate and reckless individuals on 
 the frontier, was such as I could never permit to 
 pass in silence. I was often indeed accused of want of 
 patriotism or national attachment, for not joining in 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 130 
 
 these contemptuous censures ; and incurred the risk 
 of losing all my personal popularity by taking this 
 course. But though we had seen, during our 
 three-years’ sojourn in the United States, many 
 things to condemn, and I have made no scruple to 
 express that condemnation wherever felt ; yet we saw 
 also many things to admire, and these I have not failed 
 to praise. But the Canadians will see no virtue or 
 excellence in the whole nation, and hurl their ana- 
 themas against all those who do ; so that, as I often 
 told those whom I heard thus engaged, we had heard 
 more abuse of America and the Americans from the 
 mouths of British Canadians in a few weeks, than 
 we had heard of England or the English in the United 
 States during as many years. Scarcely a day passed 
 in which there were not articles in the Montreal 
 papers, attributing the incendiary fires upon the 
 frontiers to the “miscreant Americans,” as they called 
 them. I ventured to suggest, that in their ignorance 
 of the real perpetrators of these crimes, they ought 
 not, without evidence, to fix the stigma of them on 
 the people of another nation, when they might be 
 committed by persons of our own. But my observa- 
 tions were usually resented with indignation, and 
 I was more than once told that it was unworthy of 
 me, as an Englishman, to admit the existence of 
 any good qualities among such a people as the 
 Americans !— the extent of my dissent from the 
 Canadian censures being this only-^that where the 
 perpetrators of an act or acts are unknown, and 
 where, in contiguous nations thei*e are found 
 reckless and desperate characters in each, we ought 
 not to impute the commission of such acts to the 
 
CANADA. 
 
 liO 
 
 people of one nation rather than another, but wait 
 till evidence should fix the guilty and absolve the 
 innocent. At length, after several weeks of abuse 
 and vituperation poured out on the Americans, as 
 being the incendiaries, and as aiding and abetting 
 all such nefarious practices, the following article 
 appeared in the leading paper of Montreal, the 
 Courier, of September 3rd, 1840 — 
 
 ‘^The Late Fires. — Through the active exertions and vigi- 
 lance of the police, under the direction of the chief commissioner, 
 the most searching investigations have been prosecuted into the 
 origin and circumstances of the late fires. The fires at Chambly, 
 it has been ascertained, were clearly incendiary, but it has been 
 satisfactorily proved that the perpetrators did not come from 
 the American side. They consisted of two or three loose women, 
 and a male companion of their’s, whom Messrs. Mignault and 
 De Salaberry, in the discharge of their magisterial duties, had 
 committed to prison upon more than one occasion. These mis- 
 creants revenged themselves for the punishment which the law 
 rewarded to their offences, by destroying the property of the 
 committing magistrates. The women are in custody, and the 
 participation of the whole in the crimes alleged against them, 
 stands upon the confession of one, amply corroborated by facts 
 and circumstantial testimony. The police, we understand, are 
 close upon the track of the man, with very little doubt of being 
 able to secure him before long. 
 
 “ There need but few remarks upon these facts. The duty of 
 the community is clear, viz., to uphold the laws and all who 
 administer them to the utmost of their power, and to testify 
 unequivocally their approbation of prompt and well-directed 
 exertions for the apprehension of offenders. In all communities, 
 there is a depraved tendency to crime, which can only be arrested 
 by the fear of punishment, and that fear is always commensurate 
 with the probabilities of detection. A vigorous execution of the 
 laws is the only means of checking the growth of crime. The 
 magistrates whose private property has suffered from the dis- 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 141 
 
 cliarge of their public duties, must not be allowed to remain the 
 sufferers. The loss must be made up to them, either by a levy 
 on the district, or by funds at the disposal of the government. 
 No men will undertake the responsible and troublesome office of 
 magistrates, if they are not to be protected from the vengeance 
 of the criminals whom they may be compelled to punish.” 
 
 But though the newspapers of the City had, for 
 weeks before, teemed with the most unjust accusa- 
 tions of the Americans, as the authors, “the un- 
 doubted authors,” as they said, of all these incendiary 
 fires, I did not observe a single expression of regret 
 in any of them, at having been mistaken or misin- 
 formed, nor the slightest offer of reparation for the 
 unfounded imputations previously made. No wonder, 
 therefore, that such ungenerous conduct as this 
 should lead to retaliation on the other side, as far as 
 the expression of sentiments in newspapers is con- 
 cerned, and thus a war of words leads often to a 
 war of deeds ; a little spark of ill-will gets fanned 
 by alternate blasts from either side, while new 
 supplies of fuel from both, causes the whole to 
 hurst out into a flame, which it is more easy to kin- 
 dle than it is to extinguish. 
 
 The hooks chiefly met with in the book-stores 
 of Montreal, are American reprints of English 
 works, which, though imported at a duty of 30 per 
 cent., when passed through the Custom House here, 
 can he sold at about half the price of the English 
 editions ; and when smuggled across, as is often the 
 case, and the duty of 30 per cent, evaded, they can 
 of course be sold at so much less. The consequence 
 is, that few English editions are sold of any work, 
 of which the Americans make a reprint ; as these, 
 
142 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 having nothing to pay the authors for copyright, 
 can furnish them so much cheaper than an English 
 publisher could do.* A very few books are published 
 originally in Canada, such as school-books, local 
 
 * Here is another instance in which the British have no scruple 
 in doing themselves what they condemn the Americans for doing. 
 For years past, the press of England has contained articles con- 
 demning the Americans for pirating English works, and reprint- 
 ing them, without any regard to the interests of the English 
 author or publisher. Yet, in England, American books, when 
 thought likely to pay as a speculation, are continually reprinted 
 in the same manner, and sold at a cheap rate, of which there is 
 a striking example while these sheets are going through the press. 
 Mrs. Sigourney’s “ Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands,” origi- 
 nally published at 6s., is reprinted and sold by an English bookseller 
 at Is. 6d. ; and every Canadian bookseller, as opportunity serves, 
 will purchase American reprints of English books, in preference 
 to the genuine English copies, because they are cheaper, without 
 the least regard to the interests of the English author or pub- 
 lisher. The true remedy for this is undoubtedly an international 
 law of copy- right ; but while English booksellers pirate from the 
 Americans whenever it suits their purpose, it is hardly fair to 
 heap odium on American booksellers for doing the same thing 
 with English works ; and as to the use of smuggled goods 
 instead of lawful duty-paid articles, while the East India Com- 
 pany is sanctioned by the British government in deriving two 
 millions a year from the growth of opium, to smuggle into China, 
 while the Parliament of England sanctions a war to avenge the 
 seizure of the smuggled article, and make the Chinese pay millions 
 of dollars for compensation to the smugglers, and the ransom of 
 their towns from plunder and destruction — the Chinese sycee 
 silver just going into the Royal Mint of England while this note 
 is penned — it is idle for us to condemn other nations for pirating 
 and smuggling our books. We literally “ strain at a gnat and 
 swallow a camel,” and should set about ‘‘putting our own house 
 in order,” before we say any more on the sins of other people. 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 143 
 
 histories, and works for which the demand is likely 
 to be large in the Province ; and these are quite as 
 well executed as they would be in any part of the 
 United States. 
 
 There is a large Shipbuilding Yard at Montreal, 
 which was commenced in 1806, and the business of 
 shipbuilding here went on increasing till 1825, when 
 the number launched from it was 6l. From that 
 time onward till 1828, the numbers diminished 
 gradually to 30; and in 1831, there were only 9 
 finished. Since then, the establishment has been 
 in other hands, and steamboats have been the prin- 
 cipal vessels built here; but these are all greatly 
 inferior in beauty of form, as well as internal accom- 
 modation, to the American steamers. 
 
 A large Rope Walk was established in 1825, and 
 is now in full operation. The walk is 1,200 feet 
 long, and two and three stories in height. A steam- 
 engine has lately been erected, to propel the wheels 
 of a new set of patent machinery for making blocks 
 as well as ropes ; and all kinds of cordage is now 
 made here in perfection. The hemp used is entirely 
 Russian, though the soil and climate of Canada is 
 well adapted to the growth of this article ; and with 
 due encouragement from the government, through 
 the first few years of the experiment, it is thought 
 that all the hemp required for the Province, and for 
 all the British shipping frequenting it, might be 
 easily raised in Canada itself. 
 
CHAP. XI. 
 
 Monument to Lord Nelson— The Champ de Mars Hospital- 
 Orphan Asylum— Ladies’ Benevolent Society— Sunday Schools 
 Bible and Tract Associations — Home Missionaries for con- 
 verting the Canadian habitans— Natural History Society- 
 Museum and Library— Gas Works and Water Works— City 
 Police Force— Indian Females in the Streets — General Society 
 of Montreal — Licentiousness of the Military — Temperance 
 Excursion on the River St. Lawrence — Visit to Canadian 
 Villages — Force of the current in the Pass of St. Mary — 
 Landing of the Temperance Party at the Wharf— Contrast 
 between this and Pleasure Excursions in general — Visit to the 
 summit of Mount Royal— Splendour and beauty of the View. 
 
 The only remarkable public monument in Montreal, 
 is a Doric column at the head of the New Market, 
 erected in honour of Lord Nelson, whose statue is 
 placed on its summit, being a colossal figure of eight 
 feet high. The shaft of the column is five feet in 
 diameter, and the height of the whole monument, 
 including the pedestal and colossal figure at the top, 
 is about seventy feet ; and as it stands on nearly the 
 highest ground of the City, it is one of the principal 
 ornaments of the town. It was erected in 1809 by 
 private subscription among the British inhabitants of 
 Montreal, at a cost of about 1,300/. On each side 
 of the pedestal, is a pictorial representation, in alto- 
 relievo, of one of the principal events of Lord 
 Nelson^s life : that on the north, represents the 
 Battle of the Nile in 1798 ; that on the east, the 
 
MONTREAL. 145 
 
 interview between Lord Nelson and the Prince 
 Regent of Denmark, after the Battle of Copenhagen 
 in 1801 ; and that on the south, represents the 
 Battle of Trafalgar, in which the hero received his 
 death-wound ; while on the w'est, which is the front 
 of the monument, is an emblematical composition, in 
 which, a crocodile of the Nile, and naval trophies, 
 are the most prominent objects ; and within a circu- 
 lar frame of laurel wreath is contained the inscrip- 
 tion. 
 
 The Champ de Mars is a very limited field for so 
 imposing a name, its dimensions being 681 feet by 
 842. It is lined with a formal row of Lombardy 
 poplars on each side, is nearly in the middle of the 
 town, and serves the double purpose of a parade 
 ground for the exercise and drill of troops, and a 
 promenade for the inhabitants. 
 
 Among the Benevolent Institutions established by 
 the Protestants in this City, there are several that 
 do them great honour. One of the principal of 
 these is the General Hospital. The increase of 
 emigration bringing a large number of poor and 
 destitute persons into Canada from England, and 
 the Catholic hospitals in the Nunneries being inade- 
 quate to accommodate the increased number of sick 
 persons, a Ladies’ Benevolent Society was formed by 
 the Protestant families of the City, for the purpose 
 of aflfording relief to such individuals. By their 
 benevolent efforts, which equalled those of the 
 Catholic ladies who had preceded them in this 
 “ labour of love,” they obtained, by private subscrip- 
 tion, a sufficient sum to hire a house, which was 
 devoted to the purposes of a hospital, and called the 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 House of Recovery. This was accomplished in 
 1818, but the success of their labours required a 
 much larger house in 1819 ; and in 1821, they had 
 made such progress in the acquisition of funds, by 
 public and private appeals to the benevolent in every 
 way, that they were enabled to lay the foundation of 
 a much larger building, the present General Hopital 
 of Montreal, which was completed and opened for 
 patients in 1822. A still further addition was made 
 to it, by the munificent donation of a wealthy mer- 
 chant of Montreal, Mr. John Richardson, so that it 
 is now amply supplied with every requisite. In the 
 first year of its operations, 1822 to 1828, it admitted 
 421 in-door patients, and gave medical attendance 
 and relief to 397 out-door patients; and in 1824, 
 there had been received 47 O in-door patients, while 
 364 of the former had been relieved ; and of both of 
 these there were about an equal number of Catholics 
 and Protestants. The Institution is supported partly 
 by donations, a certain amount of which, 25/., con- 
 stitutes a Governor ; partly by annual subscriptions 
 of 31 , and under ; and partly by grants from the 
 Provincial Legislature. There are eight medical 
 officers who visit the hospital once a day, and give 
 their services gratuitously ; besides the house-surgeon, 
 physician, apothecary, clerks, nurses, and attend'ants, 
 all of whom are paid by salaries ; and everything 
 connected with the management and condition of 
 the Institution appears to be in excellent order. 
 
 There is a Protestant Orphan Asylum, which was 
 established in 1822, and is conducted entirely by 
 Ladies, each Subscriber of 25s. annually, bein^ eli- 
 gible to serve on the Committee. The chifdren 
 
MONTREAL. 14y 
 
 taken in here are educated in the doctrines of the 
 Church of England, and attend school till they are 
 nine years of age, when the hoys are apprenticed to 
 some trade, and the girls provided with situations in 
 shops or houses. The average income of the Insti- 
 tution from donations and subscriptions is about 300 /. 
 a year ; and since its first establishment up to the 
 present time more than 300 orphans have been pro- 
 vided for, most of whom are now comfortably and 
 respe’ctably situated. 
 
 Another valuable Institution of a similar nature, 
 but extending its provision to widows as well as 
 orphans, was established here in 1832 , under the 
 title of the Ladies’ Benevolent Society. It is sup- 
 ported like the former, by donations and voluntary 
 subscriptions, and its annual income exceeds 6001. a 
 year. In the eight years of its existence it has 
 received only one grant of 500 /. in aid of its funds 
 from the Provincial Legislature, while relief has 
 been extended within that period to about 800 per- 
 sons within its walls, and to 500 persons without 
 them ; about 100 children have been placed in advan- 
 tageous situations, and more than 300 have been 
 restored to their friends. 
 
 The Sunday Schools of the Protestant Churches, 
 include upwards of a thousand pupils, and many of 
 the most respectable inhabitants give their gratuitous 
 services as superintendants or teachers. There is a 
 Bible Society, and a Young Men’s Tract Society, 
 for the circulation of religious books. There is “a 
 Baptist Missionary Society for propagating the gospel 
 in the more remote sections of Canada, and a French 
 Canadian Society for spreading the Protestant reli- 
 
 l2 
 
148 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 gion by Missionaries through the Catholic villages 
 of the French peasantry, or habitans as they are 
 called, so that no pains are spared to promote 
 Christian piety ; while the Temperance Society of 
 Montreal, formed on the principles of total abstinence 
 from the use of all intoxicating drinks, is an admira- 
 ble auxiliary to all these benevolent and religious 
 associations, by promoting the public health and 
 morals. This Society has upwards of 1,200 pledged 
 members in its ranks ; and through the zeal* and 
 liberality of some of the wealthiest merchants of the 
 City, who furnish the funds for such purpose, frequent 
 meetings are held, tracts circulated, and families 
 visited for the purpose of reclaiming the intemperate, 
 and spreading the principles, pi’ecepts, and examples 
 of temperanee wherever they can obtain access. 
 
 A Mechanics’ Institute was established in 1828, 
 and was for some time w'ell sustained, until the late 
 rebellion, which disturbed everything, caused a 
 great falling off in its members. Since the restora- 
 tion of tranquillity, it has again revived, and is now 
 in full course of operation, with its regular meetings, 
 lectures, and library, and increasing numbers of 
 associates and visitors. 
 
 For the higher classes, there is an Institution 
 called the Natural History Society of Montreal, 
 whieh was founded about the same time ; and having 
 directed its attention chiefly to the collection of 
 specimens in natural history, for their Museum, 
 and to the formation of a Library of scientific works, 
 they have already accumulated a very valuable store 
 of both. In 1832, the Society was incorporated by 
 an act of the Provincial Legislature, and they have 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 H<) 
 
 now a good building of their own, with suitable 
 rooms for all their purposes, a collection of native 
 and foreign birds, reptiles, and insects, the first 
 of which is deemed the finest in the country, some 
 few quadrupeds, a number of shells and plants, and 
 about 2,000 specimens of minerals ; so that in a few 
 years hence, with donations to its collection increas- 
 ing as they do every year, this Museum will take 
 a high rank for its extent and utility. 
 
 Though the streets of Montreal are not yet lighted 
 with gas, the principal shops are supplied with all 
 the light they require, from the Gas Works estab- 
 lished in 1837, 3. place called the Cross, about a 
 
 mile from the City. The expense of these Works 
 was about 20,000^, and they have now the means 
 of furnishing the whole town ; but want of funds is 
 the only reason alleged for the delay in applying gas 
 instead of oil to the lighting of the streets. 
 
 The supply of the City with water is ample and 
 cheap. It is effected by means of a steam-engine, 
 by which the water is raised from the river St. Law- 
 rence, and propelled up into two large reservoirs, 
 within a spacious building in Notre Dame Street, 
 the highest central ground of the town. From these 
 reservoirs, which contain 250,000 gallons, the water 
 is conveyed by iron pipes to all the houses paying 
 for it, the conduits now extending altogether over 
 15 miles, and the Works having cost about 80,000f. 
 The water of the St. Lawrence affects most strangers 
 disagreeably, operating as a powerful aperient ; but 
 its effects are neutralized by boiling the water before 
 using it ; and if care be taken to use it chiefly in 
 tea, coffee, or soup, and not to drink it alone, for 
 
150 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 some time, the system becomes ultimately accustomed 
 to it, and its former effects arc no longer felt, so 
 that the old resident inhabitants drink it without 
 inconvenience. To emigrants it is often recom- 
 mended to use brandy or whisky in it, and they are 
 in general but too glad to avail themselves of such 
 an excuse. But this is wholly unnecessary, and is 
 only resorting to a greater evil in order to avoid a 
 less. The precaution of having it boiled before use, 
 and taking it in the way I have mentioned, in tea, 
 coffee, or soup, and but very sparingly at first in 
 the unmixed state, will be a much cheaper, and 
 much safer preventive, and lead to no ulterior evil, 
 which cannot be predicated of the other mode of 
 using spirits as a corrective. 
 
 During the recent government of the late Lord 
 Durham (whose death appears to be universally 
 regretted here,) a Police Force was organized, on 
 the plan of that first instituted by Sir Robert Peel 
 in London. It consists of one hundred privates, six 
 mounted patroles, six sergeants, and six corporals. 
 The corps is formed into two divisions A and B, 
 with two captains to each, and the whole is placed 
 under a General Superintendant. The expense, 
 which is about 6,000^. a year, is paid by the Home 
 Government, and the benefits of it are worth the 
 purchase. 
 
 In the streets of Montreal are to be seen every 
 groups of female Indians, wearing mocassins of 
 their own manufacture on their feet, English men’s- 
 hats on their heads, and large blue English blankets 
 thrown over their shoulders. They come down to 
 the city daily, from the Indian village of Caghnawaga, 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 151 
 
 to sell the articles made by themselves and their 
 female children, in basket-work and other trifles ; 
 but it was a pleasing feature in their character to 
 observe that they were always sober, a rare occur- 
 rence with Indians of either sex, who frequent the 
 towns in the United States. This difference is occa- 
 sioned by the influence of Christianity, as the Cagh- 
 nawaga Indians are Catholics, and under a most 
 rigid discipline, and solemn vows of abstinence from 
 the use of spirits, which it is said they faithfully 
 observe, and their appearance and conduct, as far as 
 they fell under my own observation, induce me to 
 believe that this is really the case. 
 
 The general society of Montreal did not appear 
 to us to be as elegant and refined as that of f oronto. 
 There is as large a body of official personages and 
 professional men, and a still larger admixture of the 
 military ; but the former did not seem to us to 
 bring the same degree of excellence, in attainments 
 or manners, into society, as we had observed at To- 
 ronto ; while the military have the character, and 
 many of them had the appearance, of being intempe- 
 rate and dissipated. The manner in which many of 
 these had comported themselves towards ladies, both 
 married and single, w^as spoken of in terms of severe 
 reprobation ; and it was said that many serious and 
 painful dissensions had been occasioned in hitherto 
 happy families, in consequence of the improper cor- 
 respondence and intercourse betw^een the officers and 
 members of several of the most respectable houses. 
 By many, this laxity of domestic morals was attri- 
 buted to the influence of evil example in high places; 
 and it was thought that while those who occupied 
 
u 
 
 152 CANADA. 
 
 the highest stations, and who ought, therefore, to be 
 examples of private as well as public purity to their 
 inferiors, lived in utter disregard of the domestic 
 proprieties, it was not to be wondered at that persons 
 of inferior station and authority should indulge their 
 evil propensities, and hope to pass uncensured with 
 impunity. 
 
 During our stay at Montreal, we joined a large 
 party of the Fiiends of Temperance in a pleasant 
 excursion on the St. Lawrence. A steamboat was 
 engaged for the occasion ; refreshments were pro- 
 vided, among which, however, there was no other 
 beverage than pure water, with abundance of ice ; 
 the band of the 85th regiment had been permitted 
 by its officers to accompany the party, and every 
 practicable arrangement was made for the comfort of 
 all. The passage money for the day’s trip, refresh- 
 ments included, was only one dollar ; and the surplus 
 of receipts above expenditure, if any, were to be 
 given to the funds of the Temperance Society. The 
 number of persons embarked exceeded 300 ; more 
 than half of whom were ladies and their children. 
 The day was peculiarly auspicious, when we left the 
 wharf at 9 o’clock in the morning, and continued so 
 to the close. We proceeded down the St. Lawrence, 
 stopping at several of the villages near the river on 
 our way ; particularly at Longueil, Boucherville, 
 and Varennes, at each of which the party landed, 
 and visited the parish churches. These were all 
 open ; and the priests were most attentive to our 
 wishes. We found all these edifices spacious, richly 
 yet tastefully decorated ; in beautiful order, as to 
 cleanliness and repair; their steeples light, airy, 
 

 MONTREAL. 153 
 
 and lofty ; and one of them, with two steeples, one 
 on each side of the entrance, a favourite fashion with 
 the Canadians of this quarter, and one that adds very 
 much to the picturesque appearance of their villages 
 along the borders of their noble river. 
 
 At St. Sulpice, the lowermost point of our excur- 
 sion, the boat was anchored, the steam let otF, and 
 during an interval of about an hour, an address was 
 delivered to the assembly on board, on the utility of 
 forming Temperance Societies, and the importance 
 of making a public profession by signing the pledge ; 
 on the importance as well as duty of the rich and 
 influential setting an example to their inferiors in 
 station, by abstaining altogether from the use of 
 intoxicating drinks; and answering most of the 
 objections commonly raised by opponents of such 
 unions, pledges, and privations. The address was 
 listened to with profound attention, both by those on 
 board, and by a large company assembled at St. Sul- 
 pice, on the shore, as our boat was anchored only 
 a few yards from the wharf. Curiosity thus excited, 
 brought a number of persons on board, who had 
 heretofore been utterly indifierent to the question of 
 Temperance, and had hardly ever spoken of it with- 
 out ridicule. But they confessed themselves to have 
 been brought to see the subject in a new light, 
 through the medium of this address ; and in proof of 
 the sincerity of their convictions, gave in their adhe- 
 sion to the Society, and promised to exert themselves 
 to prevail on others to follow their example. 
 
 After our stay here, we weighed anchor, and pro- 
 ceeded upward on our return to Montreal, enjoying 
 the beautiful scenery of the river, and the fine ap- 
 
u 
 
 ]54 CANADA. 
 
 proach to the town, at our leisure ; our progress being 
 much less rapid than on the downward trip, espe- 
 cially in the narrow pass called St. Mary’s, between 
 the lower part of the City, and the island of St. He- 
 len’s in the middle of the stream. The current 
 runs here at the rate of from six to seven miles an 
 hour, in its ordinary course ; but on some occasions 
 this rate of speed is augmented to nine and ten miles ; 
 hence it is very difficult even for steam-vessels to 
 resist its power. Previous to the introduction of 
 steam-navigation, sailing-ships, which could never sur- 
 mount this Rapid but by the force of a very strong, 
 as well as favourable wind, have been known to be 
 detained for months below, without being able to 
 reach Montreal, though a distance of less than three 
 miles ; and even now they are sometimes detained 
 for several days, when the current is peculiarly 
 strong, as they cannot be even towed through it 
 then by the most powerful steamers. By many 
 this is felt to be a great disadvantage to the mer- 
 chants and shipowners ; and the only counterbalan- 
 cing good that can be taken into the account is, that 
 the strength of the current would present a formi- 
 dfible hindrance to the advance of any naval force 
 against Montreal ; as the batteries of St. Helen’s, 
 the guns of which are pointed right across this 
 channel, would commit as much havoc on the 
 vessels slowly ascending it, as the castles of Sestos 
 and Abydos, in the narrow channel of the Darda- 
 nelles, where the strength of the current opposes, in 
 the same manner, the rapid passage of ships. 
 
 We reached Montreal on our return at sunset, 
 and every individual out of the 300 on board— crew. 
 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 155 
 
 passengers, and all-landed as clean, fresh, and sober, 
 as when they embarked, a circumstance which had 
 never before been witnessed, on any former pleasure 
 excursion from this city ; as on all such occasions it 
 invariably happens, that some return drunk, many 
 partially intoxicated, and the largest number more or 
 less affected by even the moderate quantities of drink 
 which they have taken. In this, however, the first 
 Temperance Excursion ever made from the wharfs 
 of Montreal, no such disgusting sights were seen, no 
 such offensive sounds heard, as those which too often 
 mark the return of a large party from a pleasure trip 
 on the water. F or the sake, therefore, of the exam- 
 ple thus exhibited, and the proof thus given, of the 
 capacity of men to enjoy considerable pleasure with- 
 out the slightest admixture of intemperance, it is 
 desirable that such Excursions should be frequently 
 made by the Friends of Temperance, as by so doing 
 the community will be induced to contrast their 
 sober, orderly, and happy returns, with the inebriate, 
 disorderly, and often contentious and riotous conduct 
 of those who take intoxicating drinks on such occa- 
 sions, while such contrasts often contemplated can 
 hardly fail to make converts to the purer and better 
 system. Of the necessity of this, and every other 
 mode of operating upon the public mind of Montreal 
 especially, in favour of the Temperance cause, as 
 well as to counteract the powerful influences arrayed 
 against it among the public authorities of the City, 
 the following paragraph, from the last number of the 
 Temperance Advocate, furnishes a melancholy proof. 
 
 “ The Corpokation of Montreal— Upon the list of Civil 
 Magistrates appointed under the Corporation Ordinance for the 
 
u 
 
 156 CANADA. 
 
 city of Montreal, we perceive the names of two of the largest dis- 
 tillers, and three of the largest importers of intoxicating drinks 
 in Canada ; men whose business is, we believe, productive of more 
 misery and crime than the business of any other five men in the 
 country. Besides these five, there are five more directly inte- 
 rested in this most pernicious of traffics, making ten out of nine- 
 teen, or a clear majority of the whole on the rum interest. 
 
 We may add farther, that, as far as we know, not one of the 
 nineteen abstains from intoxicating drinks; consequently, the 
 drinking usages of society which are continually bringing forward 
 such a plentiful harvest of drunkards for the scythe of death, will 
 receive all the countenance and support that the civil magistrate 
 can lend ; and if members of the corporation act consistently with 
 the business in which so many of themselves are engaged, they 
 will not only not refuse applications for licenses, but, by every 
 means in their power, encourage and extend a traffic in which 
 they are so deeply interested.” 
 
 That the higher classes of society generally are 
 indifferent to the cause of Temperance in this City, 
 is beyond a doubt ; and a remarkable proof was 
 furnished to me of this, in the following contrast. 
 The courses of Lectures which I delivered during my 
 stay here, on Egypt and Palestine, were attended by 
 audiences of 600 persons at a time, in the Wesleyan 
 Church of St. James’s Street, including the most 
 influential and distinguished families of the City. 
 But when an evening was specially set apart for the 
 delivery of an address in favour of Mechanics’ Insti- 
 tutes, and Temperance Societies, with a view to 
 encourage both, for the improvement of the public 
 morals, and the promotion of rational and intellectual 
 enjoyment, not more than half the audience attend- 
 ing the previous Lectures w'ere present ; and the 
 absentees were almost wholly from among the clergy, 
 the members of the learned professions, and the civil 
 
MONTREAI.. 
 
 157 
 
 and municipal authorities. On the renewal of the 
 regular course, on the evening after this address was 
 delivered, all these absentees returned, and continued 
 their attendance to the end — expressing themselves 
 delighted with the accounts of the countries described, 
 but confessing themselves at the same time unwilling 
 to give up even a single evening, to hear anything on 
 the subject of Temperance or Education 1 though 
 more than half the crime and misery in this and 
 every other country, is clearly attributable to the 
 want of these preservatives. 
 
 On one of the finest days of our stay at Montreal, 
 we were taken by a party of friends to visit the 
 Mountain that rises behind the City, and gave its 
 name. Mount Royal, to the town. This was originally 
 called Ville Marie, from being dedicated to the 
 special protection of the Virgin Mary, but was ulti- 
 mately called Montreal, from the hill that formed 
 the most distinguishing feature of its locality. The 
 gentle ascent, leading from the outskirts of the town 
 to the foot of the hill, was very pleasing ; and the 
 view from the terrace and garden of the house, at 
 which we stopped to enjoy the hospitality of our 
 friends, in the refreshments they had provided for 
 us, was picturesque and beautiful. But it was not 
 until we had ascended to the brow of the hill, about 
 300 feet above this house, and nearly 500 feet above 
 the level of the St. Lawrence, that we saw the full 
 beauty of the picture in all its extent and splendour, 
 and certainly nothing could surpass it. The hill or 
 mountain itself, is pleasingly varied in its surface, 
 by gentle undulations, rocky masses, and fine old 
 forest trees, with here and there a perpendicular 
 
158 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 cliff or precipice, from the brink of one of which, 
 looking towards the east, our view was taken. Imme- 
 diately at the foot of the mountain, commences a 
 gently descending slope, which soon terminates in a 
 plain, that i-eaches to the river’s edge, and the fer- 
 tility of which is seen in the rich corn fields, thriving 
 orchards, and well - stocked gardens that cover 
 nearly its whole area. 
 
 Along the edge of this, near the foot of the hill, 
 are ranged several pleasant villa-residences of some 
 of the wealthiest inhabitants j one of these, on a 
 grand scale, was left unfinished, by its projector, 
 an opulent “ north-wester,” as the old fur-traders to 
 the north-west territories were called, Mr. McTavish, 
 and is now fast going to ruin, his heirs residing in 
 the United States, and feeling no interest in its pre- 
 servation. In the grounds close by, a monument 
 has been erected by his surviving nephews, to the 
 memory of Mr. Me Xavish, whose remains were de- 
 posited here after death. The tomb is just in the rear 
 of the house ; the column or monument rises from 
 a small rocky eminence behind it, and being thickly 
 embowered in shrubbery, gives a romantic interest to 
 the picture. Near this spot is also the building- 
 erecting for the McGill College ; so that the opposite 
 conditions of progress and decay may here be con- 
 trasted in the edifices named. In the same neigh- 
 bourhood is an establishment belonging to the 
 Seminary of the St. Sulpicians, which was originally 
 called the Chateau des Seigneurs, as the Sulpicians 
 then were, and still are, of Montreal ; but it is now 
 more generally known by the name of The Priests’ 
 l^arm. It consists of an old but substantial pile 
 
MONTREAL. 
 
 159 
 
 of buildings, with extensive gardens and orchards, 
 and commands a delightful view of the City, the 
 river, and the surrounding country. In the summer 
 the Professors of the College bring their pupils here 
 once a week for exercise and recreation ; and they 
 usually march to and from the place in military 
 order, preceded by a hand of music, formed by 
 amateurs of their own body, all parties greatly 
 enjoying the holiday. 
 
 The view of the City of Montreal from the brow 
 of the mountain, is one of the finest that this or 
 any other country could produce, and is worth a long 
 voyage or journey to enjoy. The noble stream of 
 the St. Lawrence, over which the eye ranges for a 
 distance of twenty or thirty miles at least, forms a 
 magnificent feature in the scene ; while the richly 
 cultivated plains beyond the river, dotted thickly 
 over their whole extent with white villages and 
 closely clustered hamlets and cottages, contrasting 
 vividly with the rich green of the full-foliaged woods 
 and the golden yellow of their now ripened corn- 
 fields — the blue masses of the Belleisle mountains 
 in the nearer back-ground, and the lighter tints of 
 the still loftier chains in the farthest distance, rising 
 beyond the British and American frontier within 
 the States of New York and Vermont — the lovely 
 little spots of St. Helen’s and the Nun’s Island in 
 the centre of the stream, and the sparkling radiance 
 of the metallic-roofed spires of the numerous parish 
 churches, beaming like scattered points of light, 
 placed purposely to show the number of the sacred 
 edifices spread over the surface of the land — with the 
 reflected rays of the declining sun, given out by the 
 
IGO CANADA. 
 
 white tin roofs of the colossal cathedral, towering 
 high above all the other buildings of the town — the 
 church steeples, and the terraces of the public and 
 private buildings in the City of Montreal — contributed 
 to make up a picture, which, for extent of view, 
 richness of colouring, and variety of feature, has few 
 or no superiors perhaps on the surface of the globe. 
 It is impossible to convey, in an engraving, the 
 enchanting effect of such a scene ; because the im- 
 mensity of space over which the eye ranges, and the 
 size and grandeur of the objects, cannot be reduced 
 to paper ^ but the accompanying View of JVIontreal 
 from the Mountain, will convey as accurate an idea 
 of the whole as can be produced on so limited a 
 scale. 
 
£ 2 ^ 
 
 
7 
 
 
 I 
 
 j 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 
 
f 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Departure from Montreal for Quebec — Passage down the River 
 
 St. Lawrence— Villages— Boats— Rafts— Canadian boat-songs 
 
 —Splendid sunset— Improving scenery of the river’s banks— 
 First view of Quebec — Magnificent picture — Wolfe’s Cove — 
 Plains of Abraham — Land at Quebec — Hotel on the Ram- 
 parts. 
 
 The period having at length arrived for our leaving 
 Montreal, we were occupied during all the former 
 part of the day in taking leave of our numerous 
 friends, receiving their visits and benedictions, with 
 a fervent hope that we should return at some future 
 time to see them again ; and on the afternoon of 
 Saturday, the 5 th of September, we embarked in 
 the steamer, the Canadian Eagle, for Quebec. The 
 weather was delightfully fine; the thermometer 
 about 72°; and our passage down the splendid St. 
 I^awrcnce was full of interest and pleasure. On both 
 sides the banks are covered with a continued succcs- 
 sion of villages, in each of which a parish church is 
 seen lifting its spire to heaven, and between village 
 and village, the cottages are so abundant as to form 
 almost a continuous and thickly-peopled neighbour- 
 hood. The large timber rafts descending with the 
 force of the current alone, or aided occasionally by 
 numerous small sails hoisted at different points, the 
 sinaller ones propelled by huge oars, the heavy 
 
 M 
 
162 CANADA. 
 
 splash of which is regulated by the song of the 
 Canadian boatmen, reminding one of Moore’s 
 delightful Air — 
 
 “ Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast, 
 
 The Rapids are near, and the daylight’s past.” 
 
 The singular river craft, with long low hulls, and 
 single masts, carrying two or three square sails, 
 which, like those of the polaccas in the Mediterra- 
 nean, suffer no diminution of breadth in proportion 
 to their height — and the numbers of small fishing 
 canoes, some anchored and others floating with the 
 stream — all added considerably to the interest and 
 novelty of the scene, and give to the descent of the 
 St. Lawrence much more of variety and interest than 
 is seen or experienced in the descent of the Missis- 
 sippi. The river preserves all the way below Mont- 
 real a breadth of nearly two miles, here and there 
 prettily studded with woody and rocky islets, until 
 about sixty miles from the City, it expands into the 
 Lake St. Peter’s. There its volume is augmented 
 by the waters of several streams flowing into it on 
 both sides, but without much disturbing the beauti- 
 fully clear green which distinguishes the current of 
 the St. Lawrence ; and from thence onward it con- 
 tracts and expands its surface from one to five miles 
 in breadth, the banks growing more and more elevated, 
 and more and more populous, as you advance down- 
 ward towards the sea. 
 
 The sunset upon the river was one of the richest 
 and most beautiful that we had for a long time wit- 
 nessed, and would be thought an exaggeration if 
 faithfully depicted on the canvass ; I remember 
 
163 
 
 UIVKR ST. L.'WVRENCE. 
 
 nothing in the Mediterranean or the Indian Ocean 
 equal to it ; and only one sunset superior, which was 
 that seen amid the forests of Tennessee, in the autumn 
 of the last year, and described on that occasion. In 
 this sunset on the St. Lawrence, the heavens in the 
 east, were of a singular dappled grey, rising above 
 a base of thickly-piled-up clouds, which seemed to 
 indicate the gathering of a storm : while in the west, 
 the whole of the heavens were suffused with a glow- 
 ing red, in every gradation of shade, from the deepest 
 crimson, to the lightest roseate hue. Gradually, 
 the clouds resolved themselves into beds of horizon- 
 tal strata, in which the variety of colours surpassed 
 anything that I remember ; but so beautifully 
 blended, and so harmoniously placed in juxtaposi- 
 tion and succession, that each tint seemed to set off 
 or enrich the beauty of its adjoining ones. Among 
 these, purple, crimson, amber, yellow, turquoise 
 blue, and aquamarine green, seemed most predomi- 
 nant; and no mosaic of varied marbles that was 
 ever made by the most skilful artist could present a 
 richer, more varied, or more glowing surface, than 
 did the eastern dome of the heavens in this enchant- 
 ing sunset ; which I longed to have the power of 
 transfixing on some permanent memorial before its 
 rapidly changing aspects caused its splendours to 
 fade away. 
 
 After a fine run during the night, we arose early 
 on the following morning, to enjoy the still improving 
 scenery of the approach to Quebec, and we were 
 not disappointed. We had passed the small settle- 
 ment of Les Trois Rivieres in the night, and were 
 down at the mouth of the river St. Anne at sunrise 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 The ledges of rocks that in many places line the 
 shores of the river at a considerable distance from 
 the land, thus narrowing the navigable channel of 
 the centre, are very remarkable ; on some of them 
 are placed lights at night, to warn the boatmen of 
 their danger, but the great depth of water near them 
 lessens the risk of injury, and they may be often 
 approached within a few yards in perfect safety. 
 We passed the entrance also to the river of Jacques 
 Cartier, so called after the early French navigator, 
 who was the first to penetrate the St. Lawrence as 
 high as Montreal ; and soon after this, the first view* 
 of Quebec opened upon us, the City being then dis- 
 tant seven or eight miles. 
 
 I had expected to behold a beautiful picture, and 
 I was not disappointed. On tbe left was seen Cape 
 Diamond, with its steep pyramidal line, rising from 
 the river’s edge to a height of 350 feet, surmounted 
 by a flagstaff and telegraph. Leading inward to 
 the Citadel, of which this was the site, were the 
 celebrated Plains of Abraham, on which Wolfe 
 received his death-wound, in the battle fought there 
 with Montcalm, by which Quebec was captured. 
 On the right w^as point Levi, and the rising ground 
 behind it covered with villages. Betw'een these 
 opposite capes was the harbour of Quebec, in which 
 a squadron of ships of war were seen at anchor, with 
 about twenty sail of merchant vessels under weigh, 
 steering up the river with a flood tide, and a light 
 easterly breeze, and at least a hundred other ships 
 moored in the stream. Beyond all this, in the mid- 
 dle-distance, and forming the remote back ground to 
 tbe harbour, was the lofty mountain of Cap Tour- 
 

 QUEBEC. 
 
 165 
 
 ment, of a light blue tint; while the glassy surface 
 of the river— the whiteness of the ships under sail— 
 the freshness of the verdure on the opposite shores 
 —the glittering of the bright tin-roofed domes and 
 spires in Quebec— and the life and animation that 
 seemed to pervade the whole scene-formed altogether 
 a finer picture than anything that we had yet seen 
 upon this splendid river, and worthy of a Qaiide or 
 a Stanfield for its delineator ; it would require indeed 
 all the varied powers and peculiar excellencies o 
 each to do it justice. 
 
 As we drew nearer to the City, the details in- 
 creased in interest. On both sides of the river the 
 banks were occupied by large timber yards, or coves, 
 as they are called here, though there is little or no 
 indentation in the lines of the shore, in which thou- 
 sands of large logs lay floating as they came from the 
 rafts ready for shipment to England. Ship-building 
 establishments were also seen mingled with these, 
 and every foot of the space seemed to be occupied 
 for some industrial purpose. On the left, below 
 Cap Rouge— so called from a singular mass of red^ 
 dish rock which terminates in an overhanging blutt 
 towards the river— the settlement of New London 
 was pointed out to us, and immediately opposite to it 
 on the right, the equally insignificant settlement of 
 New Liverpool, the names of which reminded us ot 
 the United States, and seemed more after the man- 
 ner of naming places on the Hudson or the Ohio, 
 than on the St. Lawrence. Among the coves on 
 the left, that which bears the name of Wolf s Cove 
 will attract the attention of the English traveller 
 most strongly; and when he sees the steep acch- 
 
u 
 
 
 1 66 CANADA. 
 
 vities, almost perpendicular and always precipitous, 
 up which the soldiers of Wolfe’s army made their 
 ascent to the battle-plain, and over which the sailors 
 of the fleet hoisted or hauled up the cannon for the 
 fight, he will wonder at their intrepidity, and be 
 surprised at their success. 
 
 We stood in for the wharf of the Lower Town, 
 passing immediately under the towering Citadel; 
 and landing amidst a crowd of claimants for the 
 honour of conveying us to our hotel, we selected a 
 vehicle, and with French drivers, whose vociferations 
 were as loud and angry towards their horses as their 
 politeness was excessive towards their passengers, we 
 wound our way up the steep and tortuous ascent from 
 the Lower to the Upper Town; — passing the Sault 
 aux Matelots, formerly no doubt the principal resort 
 of the boatmen and sailors, — entering the fortified 
 portion of the City, through the Prescott Gate,— 
 winding past the Parliament House, with its fine 
 
 front and lofty dome, — ^passing the English Church, 
 
 the French Cathedral, the Court H^ouse, N^unneries, 
 Gardens, Markets, and narrow streets of indescrib- 
 able irregularity,— till we at length reached the object 
 of our search, Payne’s Hotel, near the ramparts ; and 
 finding comfortable apartments, we took up our 
 quarters there. 
 

 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 ... p„„a,ia Cabot, Cortereal, and Veraz- 
 
 Earliest intercourse with Canada , ’„yoyages of Jacques 
 zano- First intercourse 
 
 Cartier-Roberval, Viceroy citfby the Lglish 
 
 Founding of Quebec-First capture crf^ 
 
 in 1629— Other attacks at X ir .. recital of Grey’s 
 
 General Wolfe— Plan ”P®'^f.,*p^g„aling the Heights of the 
 
 Elegy, the night before the Plainf-Beath of General 
 
 of Quebec by the Americans. 
 
 To some travellers, the principal charm of 
 L in the holdnees of it. I^illon. a. ’ 
 
 toothet.,™ the 
 
 to huS ^soctations. For myself, I can say 
 
 1? and inclination to enjoy them, a 
 
 who have leiswe ana j endeavour 
 
 “T ir: Ar^^dtr^uci »f material. 
 
 irair.. to eoAle him top^icip^^^^^^^ 
 
 IK" LTS—, aLLn Ihllow 
 Kp T i by several interesting excnrsmns m the 
 
 "ThKsm^ of Quebec carries us back to the 
 earliest voyages made upon this coast, antenor even 
 
168 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 to the settlement of Virginia, or the landing of the 
 Pilgrim Fathers in New England, by nearly a hun- 
 dred years. So thickly clustered were the grand 
 maritime discoveries of these early days, that in 
 1492, Columbus first landed in the West India 
 Islands j in 1497j Vasco de Gama first passed round 
 the Cape of Good Hope ; and in 1498, John and 
 Sebastian Cabot discovered the continent of North 
 America, sailing under the auspices of Henrv VII. 
 of England, from Bristol, touching at the coasts of 
 Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and passing 
 the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The father, John 
 Cabot, was knighted on his return, for his dis- 
 
 coveries, and had, what would now be thought a 
 contemptible sum, a reward of 10^. sterling from the 
 King’s privy purse, for his finding the new countries; 
 while the son, Sebastian, who made several voyages 
 afterwards, and brought home three “ wild men,”\s 
 they were called, from Newfoundland, to the King, 
 was ultimately honoured with the appointment of 
 Grand Pilot of all England, on a salary or fee of 
 166/. 13d. 4d. per annum, with which he built a 
 fine house, called Poplar, at Blackwall, near London, 
 and there ended his days. 
 
 In the year 1500, the Portuguese sent out an 
 expedition to the coast of North America under 
 Gaspar Cortereal, and visiting the shores north of 
 the St. Lawrence, as far as the entrance of Hudson’s 
 Bay, they brought away with them fifty-seven of the 
 more robust of the native Indians, to be used as 
 labourers, and sold as slaves. Their supposed 
 excellent qualities, and the large supply which the 
 country was thought likely to furnish of these 
 
169 
 
 
 qukbec. 
 
 labourers, caused it at length to be called ierra 
 Laborador, or the Land of Labourers, from whence 
 its present name, Labrador j although m the oldest 
 Its ^ ^^erra Corterealis, from 
 
 ^ In 150‘t, the French first directed their attention 
 to this coast, and some fishermen from the Basque 
 Provinces of Normandy and Breton, ventured thus 
 "a’rch of fish, on the hanks and coa^ oj New- 
 foundland, and were amply rewarded They gave 
 the name to Cape Breton ; and in 1508, Aubert, a 
 pilot of Dieppe, took from hence some American 
 £Ls, .„/Lveyedthem ‘o Fra„« wtee ^ 
 excited great curiosity, as the aboriginal inhabitants 
 of the New World. 
 
 Verazzano. the Florentine 
 
 who followed frem Europe to tins part of Amen* 
 and he came in the service of Francis I., Ki g 
 France, in 1524,. His voyage was a most en e^ 
 prising and comprehensive one; he sailed from 
 Madeira, 900 leagues westw^d, and 
 the land about Savannah in Georgia, ^itude 32 
 north from whence he sailed up along the whole line 
 of colst reaching from thence to latitude 50 nort , 
 embracing, therefore, the whole of what constitut 
 Te Sd States, and the British North American 
 P.^vinces of the present day. a far more extensive 
 survey of the new continent than ha een eve 
 beforl accomplished by any navigator. To all tMs 
 region he was the first to give the name of La 
 N^uvelle France,” claiming it for his patron and 
 employer ; hut that name was soon displaced in th 
 south by other claimants, and was ultimately re- 
 
u 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 stricted to the territories actually possessed by the 
 French. 
 
 An interesting incident is mentioned in the his- 
 tory of Verazzano’s voyage, which shows that the 
 first intercourse of the aborigines with their white 
 visitors, was of a most friendly nature. It is said, 
 that at the desire of Verazzano himself, a young 
 seaman of his crew swam to the shore, for the pur” 
 pose of making some presents to the natives, and 
 opening an intercourse with them by signs. On his 
 reaching the beach, he found so many of them 
 assembled, with weapons of various kinds, that 
 he began to be alarmed, and in his terror endea- 
 voured to turn back and regain his ship ; but he was 
 seized by the natives, and taken by them, in a state 
 of insensibility from fear, up to their encampment. 
 When he recovered his senses, and saw himself com- 
 pleteljMn their power, his fears returned, and he 
 stretched out his hands towards the ship, and by 
 piercing cries intimated his wish to reioin 
 

 QUEBEC. 
 
 171 
 
 safely to \he ship, deeply impressed with the 
 humanity of the savages. 
 
 "MVTFrrclvvho undithe 
 Sg Frti“e fU sailed from St, Male. 
 nJril 1534. with two ships of only 60 Ions each, 
 Id for;* of 61 men. In May of the same year 
 
 ho an;i,ed e^rI^hX of 
 
 Srm!’(whieh they so named because of the gre« 
 
 ^ VZtLre in July), advanced from thence to 
 
 rFrl^Cri^y t“he. *or^. f*™"' td 
 
 thXg andJith the Church, C„tmr was 
 
 with a new commission ; and h 
 
 placed under 1- Ihe Her- 
 
 1^ tons, the 1 After a solemn bene- 
 
172 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 mately reunited on the coast of Newfoundland, on 
 the 26th of July. It was on the 10th of August, 
 the festival of St. Lawrence, that they first made a 
 siifBcient entry into the great river of Canada, to see 
 that it was filled with islands, and led for a consider- 
 rable depth into the land. In honour of this Saint, 
 therefore, on whose festival it was thus far entered 
 for the first time, the name of St. Lawrence was 
 given to the Gulf or inlet, and subsequently extended 
 to the river, of which this was the outlet into the 
 sea; its embouchure being here about 120 miles 
 across, a scale of magnitude which is worthy of the 
 noble stream itself. From hence they proceeded 
 upwards by the Island of Anticosti, (so called by 
 the English at a subsequent period, being a corrup- 
 tion of its Indian name, Natiscotec), but named by 
 Cartier, Assumption, because first seen on the day 
 of that festival. They then advanced as far as the 
 river Saguenay, which they entered on the 1st of 
 September, and reached on the 6th the Isle aux 
 Coudres, or Isle of Filberts, so called from the abun- 
 dance and large size of the nuts found by them there. 
 Beyond this, they came to the present Isle of Orleans 
 named, however, by Cartier, the Isle of Bacchus,’ 
 irom the number of vines with which it abounded, 
 (a feature, it will be remembered, which caused the 
 Northmen in their still earlier voyages to call 
 the whole country Vinland) ; and on the 7th of 
 eptember, 15p, they first saw the promontory to 
 
 the north of this island, which forms the present site 
 or Quebec. 
 
 named Stadacona, and the Chief of the Tribe then 
 
QUEBEC. 173 
 
 occupying it, called Donnacona, came, accompanied 
 by twelve canoes, with eight Indians in each, to pay 
 their visit to Cartier’s squadron. As they approached 
 the Great Hermina, however, the chief ordered all 
 the canoes to keep back, except his own and another, 
 to avoid the appearance of hostility and force ; and 
 these two approaching, hailed the ship in their own 
 tono-ue. It fortunately happened that Cartier had, 
 on board, the Indians who had been previously taken 
 from the coast and carried to France ; and these, 
 understanding the language of their red brethren, 
 spoke to them in their own tongue, described the 
 wonderful country they had seen in their absence, 
 and spoke with gratitude of the kind treatment they 
 had received from the French. This was sufficient 
 to induce Donnacona and his friends to approach 
 still nearer, till they came on board, when the Chief 
 took the arm of Cartier, kissed it, laid it on his 
 neck, and did everything he could to show his glad- 
 ness and affection. These advances were met in a 
 kindred spirit by Cartier, who went into the canoe 
 of the Indians, partook of bread and wine with them, 
 and made every one pleased with themselves and 
 with each other. Here, therefore, Cartier determined 
 to winter; and finding, in the small river bt. 
 Charles, which joins the St. Lawrence a little to the 
 north of the promontory of Quebec, a safe and goo 
 place for that purpose, he moored his vessels here, 
 on the l6th of September. This being the fesbval 
 of the Holy Cross, he named the place, the Fort 
 of St. Croix accordingly ; and thus describes its 
 
 position — 
 
u 
 
 1 74 CANADA. 
 
 “ There is a goodly, fair, and delectable bay, or creek, conve- 
 nient and fit to harbour ships. Hard by, there is, in that river, 
 one place very narrow, deep, and swift running, but it is not the 
 third part of a league ; over against which, there is a goodly 
 high piece of land, with a town therein. That is the place and 
 abode of Donnacona ; it is called Stadacona ; under which town, 
 towards the north, the river and port of the Holy Cross is, where 
 we staid from the 15th of September, 1535, until the 6th of 
 May, 1536 ; and there our ships remained dry.” 
 
 The spot occupied by the Indian settlement of 
 Stadacona, now the Suburbs of St. Roch, just with- 
 out the ramparts of Quebec, he thus describes— 
 
 “ It is as goodly a plot of ground as possible may be seen ; 
 and therewithal very fruitful, full of goodly trees, even as in 
 France ; such as oaks, elms, ashes, walnut trees, maple trees, 
 and white thorns, that bring forth fruit as big as any damsons,’ 
 and many other sorts of trees, under which groweth as fine tall 
 hemp as any in France, without any seed, or any man’s work or 
 labour at all.” 
 
 The further progress of Cartier from hence up 
 the river St. Lawrence as far as Hochelaga, is de- 
 scribed in a previous chapter on the history of Mont- 
 re^al ; it remains only to be added, that after losino- 
 
 persons of the expedition, from scurvy and cold^ 
 and the health of all the rest, save three, being greatly 
 affected by the severity of the climate, they returned 
 to Frmce in July, 1,536, carrying with them, the 
 chief Donnacona, and two other Indians of rank, 
 as well as the interpreters whom they first brought 
 out with them, all of whom were well received by 
 e mg of France, and treated with so much kind- 
 ness as to become entirely reconciled to their fate. 
 

 QUEBEC. 175 
 
 As every successive voyage made from Europe to 
 this quarter of the glohe seemed to increase the gene- 
 ral interest felt in its future settlement, so on the 
 termination of this second expedition of Cartier, a 
 third was set on foot, of which Jean Fran9ois de la 
 Roque, the Lord of Roherval in Picardy, was to 
 have the civil and military command, under the title 
 of Viceroy and Lieutenant-General in Canada, there 
 to represent the King with full powers ; and of which 
 Cartier was to have the maritime command, under 
 the title of Captain-General and Leader of the 
 squadron. The fleet consisted of five ships, and the 
 whole cost of their outfit was provided for by the 
 king. They sailed from St. Malo on the 23rd of 
 May, 1541, and did not reach the port of St. Croix 
 in the river St. Charles, till the 23rd of August, 
 Roherval not joining them at all. On their arrival 
 at Stadacona, the Indians came in great numbers to 
 see them, though they were somewhat disconcerted 
 at hearing that their former chief, Donnacona, had 
 died in France ; and that the rest had married there, 
 and were so well off that they had no wish to return. 
 Cartier now ascended the St. Lawrence in boats a 
 second time, and fixed his new winter-quarters at the 
 mouth of the river which empties itself into the St. 
 Lawrence at Cape Rouge, about nine miles above 
 St. Croix. Here he built two forts, one on a level 
 with the water, and another on the top of the hill, 
 with steps cut out of the rock to communicate from 
 the one to the other, calling the port, Charlesbourg 
 Royal. He then proceeded up as high as Montreal, 
 examining the river and the rapids in his way, and 
 descended to Charlesbourg Royal for his winter- 
 
CANADA. 
 
 176 
 
 quarters ; from whence, when the spring came, he 
 set out to return to France. In the mean while, the 
 Lord of Roberval, who had failed in his engagement 
 to accompany Cartier, had left France in April, 
 154<2, with three large ships, and two hundred per- 
 sons, as settlers for the first French colony to be 
 founded here ; and in the roadstead of St. John’s, in 
 Newfoundland, Cartier, on his return voyage, met 
 Roberval on his outward enterprise. The latter 
 did his utmost to prevail on Cartier to return with 
 him, but this, for reasons not recorded, he declined 
 to do, and pursued his voyage to France, where he 
 soon afterwards died ; while Roberval proceeded to 
 Canada, and established himself at the position last 
 left by Cartier at Cape Rouge. He remained here 
 for one winter, without effecting much towards the 
 settlement of the country — returned to France in 
 1543 — engaged in the wars of the times between his 
 sovereign Francis the First and the Emperor Charles 
 the Fifth — and six years afterwards, having got 
 together a large number of settlers willing to try 
 their fortunes in the New World, he, with his brother 
 Achille, left France for Canada, but the fleet in 
 which they sailed was never heard of more I 
 
 From this time, up to 1603, a period of more than 
 half a century, there were several voyages of minor 
 interest and importance that took place, one of La 
 Roche, another of Pontgrave, and another of Chau- 
 vin ; but no important results were produced by 
 them. In 1603, however, the celebrated Champlain, 
 a captain in the French navy, who had served in the 
 West Indies with great honour, was appointed to 
 command a new expedition to Canada ; and in his 
 
QUEBEC. 177 
 
 voyage up the St. Lawrence, it is said that he 
 expressed himself deeply impressed with the excel- 
 lence of the position now occupied by Quebec, and 
 formed his intention to rhake it the site of a town or 
 settlement of the French. This was not effected, 
 however, until five years afterwards, when, on due 
 examination of the promontory called Cape Diamond, 
 the river St. Charles, and the fine deep and spacious 
 harbour formed here by the opposing shores, and 
 the Isle of Orleans, he determined to fix on this spot 
 the capital of the new empire of the West, to be 
 called New France ; and on the third of July, I6O8, 
 he here laid the foundations of the present City of 
 Quebec. 
 
 Champlain continued to reside in this settlement, 
 making occasional excursions in the summer, on one 
 of which he discovered the beautiful lake that still 
 bears his name, dividing the State of Vermont from 
 the State of New York. He brought out his family 
 from France and induced others to follow his example 
 for the purpose of advancing the prospects of the 
 settlement. In 1620 — the year of the English Pil- 
 grim Fathers landing at Plymouth — ^he built a fort 
 at Quebec on the site of the castle of St. Lewis, 
 which he rebuilt of stone in 1624, and fortified 
 strongly. Such was the infancy of the colony then, 
 that it numbered in that year only fifty souls ; and 
 the first French child born in Quebec, was baptized 
 in the year 1621, and entered in the parish register, 
 under the name of Eustache, son of Abraham Mar- 
 tin, and Margaret L’Anglois. This entry is dated 
 October 24th, 1621. 
 
 Not long after this, Quebec was taken by the 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 English ; a small armament, under Louis Kertk, a 
 Huguenot refugee, having sailed against it. Finding 
 the garrison wholly unprovided for defence, he caused 
 it to surrender upon a summons ; and the British 
 flag was thus planted on the walls of Quebec, on the 
 22nd of July, 1629 ; about 130 years before its 
 second capture by General Wolfe, in 17^9* On the 
 occasion of its first capture, Champlain was sent to 
 England as a prisoner of war ; from whence he was 
 soon liberated, and returned first to France, and 
 ultimately to Canada, where he arrived in 1633 ; 
 just one year after he had lived to see Quebec and 
 all Canada restored again to the French, by the treaty 
 of St. Germain-en-Laye, which was signed on the 
 29th of March, 1632. The founder of Quebec did 
 not long survive the restoration of the City, however; 
 for he died in Dec., 1635, in the settlement he had 
 first formed, and where he had lived for upwards of 
 thirty years. He was followed to the grave by all 
 the community, by every class of whom he was greatly 
 respected ; and a funeral oration was pronounced by 
 one of the Fathers of the Church over his remains, 
 which were interred with all the honours that the 
 means of the Colony would enable the inhabitants to 
 bestow, his loss being universally regretted. 
 
 From that period to this, Quebec has been slowly 
 but progressively on the increase; though it has 
 had some trying times to pass through, and been the 
 scene of many a hard struggle. In 1653, it was 
 attacked by a body of 700 Indian warriors, who 
 massacred most of the inhabitants without the town, 
 but were successfully repulsed by those within the 
 walls. In 1690, it was again attacked by a British 
 

 QUEBEC. 1 79 
 
 Colonial force from Massachusetts, under Sir William 
 Phipps ; but after an unsuccessful attempt to make 
 it surrender, the forces were withdrawn. Another 
 failure took place in the attempt to reduce Quebec, 
 which was made in 17 H> when the naval force 
 under Admiral Walker, and the military under 
 General Nicholson, were so unfortunate that no less 
 than eight ships, containing 884 seamen, officers, and 
 troops, were wrecked amid the fogs of the coast ; 
 while the military were obliged to abandon their 
 position, and give up the expedition in despair. 
 
 The great struggle for the possession of Quebec, 
 was reserved, however, for a later period, 1759. The 
 war of 1755 , between the English and the French, 
 led to extensive military operations on the American 
 continent, where the French had established a line 
 of military posts, from the entrance of the St. Law- 
 rence to the outlet of the Mississippi, from Quebec 
 to New Orleans, so as to hem in the British posses- 
 sions on the west, and threaten at some future day, 
 the conquest of all her settlements. At the head of 
 this gi'owing military power of the French in Ame- 
 rica, stood Quebec — ^its age, its size, its strength, 
 and its position, all combining to give it precedence 
 as the seat of empire in the west. Its reduction 
 became, therefore, an object of intense desire on the 
 part of the British ; and accordingly, a plan of com- 
 bined operations, the first idea of which was suggested 
 by Governor Pownall, of Massachusetts, to Mr. Pitt, 
 afterwards Earl of Chatham, was determined on, by 
 which several points should be attacked at once. 
 In pursuance of this plan, General Amherst was to 
 attack Fort Ticonderago and Crown Point, on Lake 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Champlain, from New York ; Sir William Johnson, 
 with a large body of Iroquois Indians, from the 
 Valley of the Mohawk, was to attack Niagara, and 
 if successful descend to Montreal ; and Genpral 
 Wolfe, supported by a naval as well as military force, 
 was to conduct the attack on Quebec. 
 
 In pursuance of this plan. General Wolfe sailed 
 from Spithead in England, with a portion of the 
 troops to be placed under his command, joined by 
 the ships of war under Admiral Saunders, on the 
 17th of February, 1759. They rendezvoused at 
 Halifax, where they were joined by other regiments, 
 making the whole land-force 8,000 men. It was 
 not till the 6th of June that they sailed for the St. 
 Lawrence, nor until the 26th of the same month 
 that they anchored off the Isle of Orleans, near to 
 Quebec. It may be interesting to state that among 
 the officers of the naval expedition, was the cele- 
 brated Captain Cook, the circumnavigator of the 
 globe, who was then serving in the capacity of sail- 
 ing-master on board the Mercury, one of the fleet. 
 He had served a short apprenticeship of three years, 
 in a collier between Newcastle and London, between 
 174’7 1750, had quitted the merchant service, 
 
 and entered on board a man-of-war, the Eagle, of 28 
 guns, in 1752 ; he was at the siege of Louisburg in 
 the Pembroke, in 1758, and was appointed sailing- 
 master of the Mercury, under orders for Canada, on 
 the 10th of May, I759. His skill and capacity 
 recommended him so strongly to the notice of the 
 Admiral commanding the fleet. Sir Charles Saun- 
 ders, that he committed to his care the execution of 
 some of the most difficult duties connected with the 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 181 
 
 attack upon Quebec, all of which he discharged 
 most ably. He was afterwards appointed to make 
 a nautical survey of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and 
 the coasts of Newfoundland, and discharged this 
 duty so well, that he received a commission as Lieu- 
 tenant in April, I76O, and in May, I768, v/as made 
 a Captain in the navy, in which capacity his cele- 
 brated voyages of discovery were subsequently per- 
 formed. 
 
 At Quebec, the French force consisted of 13,000 
 men, of which six battalions were regular troops of 
 the line, and the remainder were formed of a well- 
 trained Canadian militia, with cavalry and Indian 
 auxiliaries, the whole under the command of a brave 
 and distinguished General, the Marquis de Mont- 
 calm. The French naval force consisted of two 
 large frigates, and six smaller vessels of 24 guns 
 each. The British force consisted of 8,000 men, 
 all regular and well-disciplined troops, under the 
 command of General Wolfe, and the naval force 
 consisted of 20 ships of the line, 8 frigates, 9 sloops, 
 3 fire-ships, and 7 smaller vessels. 
 
 The first attempts of the British were unsuccess- 
 ful, and the grenadiers, with Wolfe at their head, 
 were signally defeated, near the Falls of Montmo- 
 renci. At a council of war held soon after this, 
 W^olfe urged a repetition of the attack upon the 
 French lines here ; but General Townsend, the third 
 in command, suggested the plan of ascending the 
 river some distance above Quebec, reaching the 
 Plains of Abraham behind the town, and attacking 
 the works in their weakest part from thence. Wolfe, 
 seeing at once the excellence of the plan, surrendered 
 
182 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 his own opinion, adopted the advice of his inferior 
 in rank, and determined to carry it into execution. 
 
 Accordingly, on the night of the 12th of Septem- 
 ber, the ships and boats of the fleet co-operating 
 with the army, the main body of the troops were 
 conveyed with the flood-tide up the river St. Law- 
 rence, past the batteries of Quebec, as if they were 
 going to attack some point beyond the City j but 
 when the ebb-tide turned, they all dropped silently 
 down till they came to the small cove appointed for 
 the landing, called from thence Wolfe’s Cove, not 
 more than two miles beyond Cape Diamond, where 
 the strongest part of the French was seated. The 
 following touching anecdote is recorded of Wolfe, 
 which shows how strongly his love of literature, and 
 ambition of intellectual glory, beamed through all 
 his military feelings* even at a moment when it 
 might have been expected that everything would 
 have been absorbed in the thoughts of the coming 
 conflict on which he was about to enter. Among the 
 midshipmen who attended General Wolfe in his 
 duty of visiting the various posts on the night before 
 the battle, was young Mr. Robinson, subsequently 
 the distinguished Professor of that name of Edin- 
 burgh, who states, that as they rowed along in the 
 boats, the night being peculiarly flne, and the stars 
 beaming with unusual brilliance. General Wolfe 
 repeated to his companions in arms, with great feel- 
 ing and pathos, the beautiful poem of Gray’s Elegy 
 in a Country Churchyard, which had only just then 
 been published, and after uttering the exquisite 
 line — 
 
 “ The paths of glory lead but to the grave,” 
 

 
 QUEBEC 1 83 
 
 he remarked to the officer who sat next to him in the 
 stern of the boat, that he would prefer the distinction 
 of being the author of that poem, even to the honour 
 of beating the French on the morrow. 
 
 At daylight on the 13th, the troops landed at the 
 foot of the steep acclivities leading up to the heights of 
 Abraham ; and as the spot was wholly undefended, 
 from the belief that it presented natural difficulties 
 which no troops could overcome, the British met with 
 no resistance in their way. The ascent was in many 
 places nearly perpendicular, the height about 300 
 feet above the river, and everywhere so steep, that 
 it was only by pulling themselves up from time to 
 time by the roots and branches of the bushes, that 
 the troops could surmount the obstacles of their way. 
 They nevertheless achieved their undertaking with- 
 out the loss of a man, and soon formed in good order 
 on the Plains of Abraham, at the summit ; while 
 the sailors of the fleet surpassed even the soldiers, in 
 the boldness of their enterprise, as they succeeded in 
 dragging up these precipitous cliffs, a brass six- 
 pounder, the only piece of artillery used on the 
 British side in the action. 
 
 The French general, Montcalm, who was then at 
 Beauport, a little below Quebec, would not credit 
 the intelligence first brought to him of the English 
 having obtained access to the Plains of Abraham, as 
 he thought such an achievement impossible; but, 
 being satisfied of the fact, he hastened to the spot, 
 determined to give the enemy battle. The two 
 commanders met at the head of their respective 
 forces ; Wolfe commanding the right of the English 
 line, while Montcalm commanded the left of the 
 
CANADA. 
 
 IS'l. 
 
 French ; and wherever the battle raged most 
 furiously, these gallant leaders were found. Wolfe 
 was soon wounded by a musket-ball in the wrist, 
 which he hastily bound up and concealed ; when 
 placing himself at the head of the grenadiers, he led 
 them to the charge with the bayonet, and succeeded 
 in driving the enemy before him. In this onset he 
 received a second ball in the groin ; notwithstanding 
 which he still held on his way, until a third ball 
 inflicted a mortal wound in the breast, and he fell 
 to rise no more. From the first moment, his greatest 
 anxiety was to prevent his death from being known 
 to his soldiers. He intreated the officer who sup- 
 ported him, not to let the troops see him drop ; but 
 when, as he was quenching his burning thirst, with 
 some water brought from a neighbouring well, he was 
 told that the enemy were giving way in every direc- 
 tion, he exclaimed, » Now, God be praised, I die 
 happy ! ” and these were the last words he breathed ; 
 expiring on the battle-field at the early age of thirty- 
 two. 
 
 Montcalm was also soon wounded by a musket-shot 
 at the head of his troops, but still continued in 
 action ; until a more severe wound, received from 
 the only piece of cannon which the English had on 
 the field, gave him his death-blow, though he sur- 
 vived some hours after receiving it. On being told, 
 in answer to his earnest inquiries, that his wound 
 was mortal, and that ten or twelve hours would pro- 
 bably be the limited term of his life, he replied, “ I 
 am glad of it, as I shall not then live to see the sur- 
 render of Quebec.” His dying moments were marked 
 great generosity towards his conquerors ; and 
 

 QUEBEC. 185 
 
 at 5 o’clock the following morning he also breathed 
 his last. 
 
 The body of Wolfe was taken to England, and 
 buried with military honours in the family vault at 
 Greenwich, a monument being afterwards erected 
 to his memory in Westminster Abbey ; and the 
 body of Montcalm was interred in the Ursuhne 
 Convent of Quebec, in a hollow grave made by the 
 bursting of a shell that fell within the Convent walls, 
 where a monument also marks his resting-place, and 
 
 records his lamented death. 
 
 The slight loss of the assailants, and the severe 
 loss of the defenders of this important Citadel of 
 Quebec, furnish a remarkable contrast. On the 
 part of the British, the loss was only 45 killed, and 
 506 wounded. On the part of the French, the loss 
 amounted to 1,500 killed, wounded, and taken pri- 
 soners ; the commanders on both sides were slam, 
 and several of the general officers of each of the 
 armies were mortally and severely wounded. 
 
 Quebec thus falling into the hands of the British, 
 was filled with a garrison of 5,000 men under 
 General Murray, articles of capitulation were 
 interchanged, and signed by the respective generals 
 commanding the forces ; and from that day to this, 
 Quebec has remained in our possession. 
 
 Soon after its surrender to the English, however, 
 the scattered portions of the French army were col- 
 lected at Montreal, where they were reinforced by 
 volunteers ; and a strong attack was made on Quebec 
 by their united forces, amounting according to the 
 French account to 10,750 effective men, and accord- 
 
186 CANADA, 
 
 ing to the English account to 15,000 men. There 
 were at that time only 3,000 British in the garrison, 
 and no ships of war ; while the French had six 
 frigates of from 26 to 44 > guns each, which gave 
 them the complete command of the river, and induced 
 them to place the City under siege. Before this 
 could be put into execution, however. General Mur- 
 ray, the English commander, determined on giving 
 the French battle. Accordingly he marched out to 
 the Plains of Abraham where they were encamped, 
 for that purpose, under all the disadvantage of oppos- 
 ing a force of 10,000, with one of 3,000 men only. 
 As might have been anticipated, though his men 
 fought bravely, they were overpowered by superior 
 numbers, and compelled to retreat into the Citadel, 
 where they remained from the 28th of April, the 
 day of the battle on the Plains, till the 11th of May, 
 on which the French Commander, the Marquis de 
 Levi, commenced the siege. The preparations in 
 the Citadel had enabled them to mount no less 
 than 132 pieces of cannon on the ramparts; the bat- 
 teries of the besiegers were, therefore, soon silenced 
 by their fire. On the 15th, a large fleet of English 
 ships of war arrived in the river, which speedily 
 destroyed the French flotilla, and compelled the 
 Marquis de Levi to raise the siege and retreat to 
 Montreal, where the Marquis de Vaudreuil was 
 determined to hold out to the last. General Amherst 
 however, approaching from Lake Champlain, and 
 the British forces joining them from Quebec on the 
 one side, and Lake Ontario on the other, there was 
 no hope for the French, who seeing themselves thus 
 
QUEBEC. 187 
 
 surrounded on ^all hands, signed a capitulation on the 
 8th of September, by which the whole Province of 
 Canada was secured to the British power. 
 
 At the period of the American revolution, it is 
 well known, that Canada did not join the revolted 
 Colonies, but continued firm in her allegiance to the 
 Crown ; and hence it became the land of refuge to 
 the many loyalists who were driven from the United 
 States by the success of their War of Independence. 
 As it was believed, however, by the Americans of 
 that day, that an attack upon Quebec would he 
 successful, and if so, would induce all Canada to 
 join their cause, such an attack was planned, and its 
 execution committed to two American Generals, 
 Montgomery and Arnold. The British troops 
 usually retained in Canada for its defence had 
 been sent on to Boston, so that the Province was 
 almost destitute of military force, there being scat- 
 tered throughout all Canada only about 800 men. 
 In this state of things. General Montgomery advanced 
 from Lake Champlain on St. John’s, and after a 
 short resistance took it •, he then marched on against 
 Montreal, which being perfectly defenceless, surren- 
 dered to the American arms, on the 12th of Novem- 
 ber, 1775 * At the same time. General Arnold was 
 known to Montgomery to he advancing towards 
 Quebec, from the New England States, by way of 
 the Kennebec river through Maine, which at this 
 late period of the year was a most daring under- 
 taking. After passing thirty-two days in the wild 
 forests and swamps, and suffering almost incredible 
 hardships and privations in this hitherto untrodden 
 wilderness, Arnold and his followers reached the 
 
CANADA. 
 
 188 
 
 banks of the St. Lawrence by the Chaudiere river, 
 on the 4 th of November, in the same year. From 
 thence they descended to Point Levi, opposite to 
 Quebec, where they arrived on the 9th, crossed 
 over on the night of the 13th, and landed 500 men 
 at Wolfe’s Cove, without being perceived either by 
 the sentries or from the ships of war. 
 
 On the 1st of December, this foree was joined by 
 a much larger one under General Montgomery from 
 Montreal. By these two, the City was invested, and 
 several bombardments of it made with shot and 
 shells, but without producing much effect. A night- 
 attack was at length determined on by Montgomery, 
 on the southern, and Arnold on the northern side of 
 the Lower Tower. Both attacks were made with 
 great courage and impetuosity, but both failed. In 
 the former. General Montgomery and nearly all his 
 personal staff were killed ; in the latter. General 
 Arnold was wounded, and with most of his followers 
 taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans in these 
 attacks was upwards of 100 killed and wounded, and 
 of the British only 1 naval officer killed, and 17 men 
 killed and wounded. The Americans did not, how- 
 ever, give up the attempt to reduce Quebec ; as, dur- 
 ing all the winter following, they continued to receive 
 re-inforcements, and to invest the town ; and in the 
 spring of the ensuing year. May I776, they renewed 
 their attack on the Citadel. General Carleton, the 
 English commander of the garrison, having received 
 an important accession to his force, by the arrival of 
 a small squadron under the command of Sir Charles 
 Douglas, bringing to his aid provisions, ammunition, 
 and men, was enabled to baffle every attempt made 
 
QUEBEC. 189 
 
 on the City, and ultimately to make a sally on the 
 enemy, when they retreated, and abandoned their 
 post. 
 
 This was the last hostile attack on Quebec by any 
 foreign foe, and as since that period the Citadel has 
 been gradually strengthened and improved, under 
 every successive Governor of the Province, it is now 
 in a condition to resist ten times the force ever yet 
 brought against it, and could not, so long as it con- 
 tained supplies of provisions, and an adequate num- 
 ber of brave and faithful men, be conquered by any 
 force likely to be brought against it from this con- 
 tinent. 
 
 Thus far, the history of Quebec has been briefly 
 sketched, from its first founding by Champlain, in 
 1608, up to its last defence by General Carleton in 
 1776, since which, no military operations of import- 
 ance have been conducted here. All else belongs to 
 its civil history and condition, and this will be best 
 exhibited, bv a description of Quebec as it is at the 
 present moment, with such notices of the rise and 
 progress of its principal establishments, as may be 
 necessary to render that description complete. 
 
Description of the City in its present state — Situation of the 
 town — Excellence of its harbour — Commanding position of 
 
 the Citadel — Plan and arrangement of the streets and alleys 
 
 Lower Town and Upper Town — Suburb of St. Roch — Streets 
 — Private Dwellings — Shops — Public Buildings — Ancient 
 Castle of St. Lewis — Ceremony of swearing fealty by the 
 Seigneurs — Destruction of the ancient Castle by fire — Beauti- 
 ful Platform and Promenade on its site — Parliament House — 
 Exterior of the building— Hall of the Legislative Assembly 
 — Library — Valuable eollection of old books — Legislative 
 Council Chamber — Bishop’s Palace — Lower Town — Custom 
 House — Exchange — Trinity House — Sault-aux-Matelot — 
 Origin of the name— Upper Town — Court House and Jail 
 — Government Offices — Museum of Natural History — Literary 
 Society — Mechanics’ Institute. 
 
 The situation of Quebec is highly advantageous, in 
 a commercial as well as a military point of view, and 
 its appearance is very imposing, from whatever quar- 
 ter it is first approached. Though at a distance of 
 350 miles up from the sea, the magnificent river, on 
 which it is seated, is three miles in breadth a little 
 below the town, and narrows in to about a mile in 
 breadth immediately abreast of the citadel ; having, 
 in both these parts, sufficient depth of water for the 
 larpst ships in the world— a rise and fall of 20 feet 
 in its tides — and space enough in its capacious basin, 
 between Cape Diamond on the one hand, and the 
 Isle of Orleans on the other, to afford room and 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 191 
 
 anchorage for a thousand sail of vessels at a time, 
 sheltered from all winds, and perfectly secure ! A 
 small river, the St. Charles, has its junction with the 
 St. Lawrence, a little to the north of the promontory 
 of Cape Diamond, and affords a favourable spot for 
 ship-building and repairs, as well as an excellent 
 winter-harbour for ships lying up dismantled. 
 
 The Citadel of Quebec occupies the highest point 
 of Cape Diamond, being elevated 350 feet above the 
 river, and presenting almost perpendicular cliffs 
 towards the water. The City is built from the 
 water’s edge, along the foot of these cliffs, round 
 the point of the promontorj', and ascending upward 
 from thence to the very borders of the Citadel itself. 
 It is divided into the Lower and Upper Town, the 
 former including all that is below the ramparts, or 
 fortified lines, the latter comprehending all that is 
 above and within that barrier. Besides these, there 
 is a large suburb, separated from Quebec proper, by 
 the ramparts, and some open lawn beyond these on 
 the west, called the Suburb of St. Roch, on the right 
 bank of the river St. Charles, the ordy portion of the 
 whole that is built on level ground. 
 
 On landing at Quebec, therefore, the traveller 
 has to wind his way up through steep, narrow, and 
 tortuous streets, with still narrower alleys on his 
 right and left, till he reaches the fortified line or 
 barrier. Here he enters by Prescott Gate, on the 
 right of which, after passing through it, he sees the 
 imposing structure of the New Parliament House, 
 with its lofty cupola and fine architectural front ; 
 and on the left, a double flight of mean and straggling 
 wooden steps, leading to one of the oldest streets, as 
 
CANADA. 
 
 1 
 
 192 
 
 an avenue to the Place d’Armes. Going across this 
 last, he passes the English and French Cathedrals, 
 the Government OtBces, and Palace of Justice, on his 
 right ; and has the site of the old Castle of St. Lewis, 
 and the platform overlooking the harbour, on his left. 
 Passing by these, and continually ascending for about 
 half a mile beyond, he reaches the ramparts and 
 gates on the upper side of the City; and going 
 through these, he comes to the open lawn in front of 
 the glacis, beyond which is the Suburb of St. Roch, 
 on the level ground along the southern bank of the 
 St. Charles river. 
 
 The plan of the City is as irregular as the greatest 
 enemy of symmetry could desire. The steepness of 
 the ascent from the river to the plain abovej is no 
 doubt one cause of this, because it was only by making 
 the ascending streets winding and tortuous, that thev 
 could be got over at all; but besides this, the 
 inequalities in the surface even of the Upper Town, 
 led to other irregularities in the form and direction 
 of the streets ; while the large space occupied by the 
 old religious establishments, still further curtailing 
 the lines in different directions, so cut up the area, 
 that there is not a single street in all Quebec, which 
 can compare, in length, breadth, or general good 
 appearance, to the King Street of Toronto, or the 
 Notre Dame of Montreal. The streets of Quebec 
 are, therefore, in general, short, narrow, crooked, 
 steep, wretchedly paved in the centre, still worse 
 provided with side-walks, and not lighted with lamps 
 at night. The private dwellings are in general des- 
 titute of architectural beauty, and small and incommo- 
 dious ; some few are of wood, none of brick, but the 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 'i 
 
 i 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 193 
 
 greatest number are of rough-hewn stone, with high 
 steep roofs, containing a double row of projectino- 
 garret windows, very lofty chimneys, and the roofs 
 principally covered with sheets of bright tin. The 
 shops are also small and mean, and greatly inferior, 
 in the extent and variety of their contents, to those 
 of Montreal and Toronto; though the prices charged 
 are, as we thought, higher here than in either of 
 these. 
 
 The public buildings are scattered over the City 
 with so much irregularity, that their position seems 
 to be as much the effect of accident as design. Seve- 
 ral of them, however, are so prominently placed, and 
 advantageously seen, that they relieve, in some degree, 
 the general monotony of the mass of ordinary houses,’ 
 and are thus far ornamental to the town ; while the 
 spires of the churches, the dome of the Parliament 
 House, and other elevated points rising from the 
 general surface, with their tinned roofs glittering in 
 the sun, give a liveliness and variety to the picture 
 presented by the City, from every point of view, 
 which no other place in Canada, and indeed few 
 places on the globe present. 
 
 The earliest of the public buildings erected in 
 Quebec, was undoubtedly the Castle of St. Lewis, 
 of which Champlain laid the foundation, on the 6th 
 of May, 1624. The position chosen for it was a most 
 commanding one; on the very edge of an almost 
 perpendicular precipice of rock, 200 feet above the 
 river, yet close to its edge ; as, between the cliff and 
 the stream, there is only just room enough for one 
 narrow avenue, called Champlain Street. The 
 Castle erected here, was regarded as the Palace of 
 
 o 
 
194 - 
 
 can AD A. 
 
 the French Governors, who received in it the fealty 
 and homage of the several Seigneurs holding their 
 lands according to the feudal tenure of the times. 
 Nor is this practice discontinued ; for, according to 
 Mr. Hawkins, in his Picture of Quebec, the Sove- 
 reignty of England having succeeded to that of 
 France, with all its ancient rights and privileges, the 
 King’s Representative, in the person of the English 
 Governor, receives the same homage at the present 
 day, as was paid by the Seigneurs of former times ; 
 this being one of the conditions on which the feudal 
 tenure is sustained. His words are these — 
 
 ‘‘Fealty and homage is rendered at this day (1834) by the 
 Seigneurs to the Governor, as the representative of the Sovereign, 
 in the following form : — His Excellency being in full dress, and 
 seated in a state-chair, surrounded by his staff, and attended by 
 the Attorney-General, the Seigneur in an evening dress, and 
 wearing a sword, is introduced into his presence by the Inspec- 
 tor-General of the Royal Domain and Clerk of the Land Roll. 
 Having delivered up his sword, he kneels on one knee before the 
 Governor, and placing his right hand between those of the Gover- 
 nor, he repeats aloud the ancient oath of fidelity ; after which a 
 solemn act is drawn up in a register kept for that purpose, which 
 is signed by the Governor and Seigneur, and countersigned by 
 the proper officers.” 
 
 In this Castle the French and English Governors 
 resided till 1809, when it was found necessary to 
 erect a temporary new building for their use, while 
 the old one underwent repair ; and 10,000^. were 
 expended for this purpose under the administration 
 of Sir James Craig. After this it continued to be 
 the seat of government as before ; and all the pro- 
 clamations and ordinances issued, and all the messao-es 
 sent to the legislative assemblies by the Governor in 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 195 
 
 the King’s name, were dated from the Castle of Que- 
 bec. It was also the scene of all the public levees 
 and private entertainments of the Governors and 
 their families ; and was therefore the constant resort 
 of all the gay and fashionable society of the Province. 
 In 1834, however, this ancient edifice was entirely 
 destroyed by a fire, which broke out on the S3rd of 
 January, in the depth of winter, when Lord Aylmer 
 occupied it as his official residence ; and notwith- 
 standing every exertion made to save it, the thermo- 
 meter being at 22° below zero, and the fire-engines 
 only capable of being worked by a constant supply 
 of warm water, the castle was soon reduced to ashes. 
 It has never since been rebuilt ; but Lord Durham, 
 during his short stay here, had the site cleared of 
 the ruined heaps that still covered it, and the whole 
 area of the former edifice levelled, floored with wood, 
 and converted into a beautiful platform, with a fine 
 iron railing at the edge of the precipice, making it 
 one of the most beautiful promenades imaginable — 
 commanding an extensive view of the St. Lawrence 
 down as far as the Island of Orleans — the harbour 
 filled with ships immediately before it, and the oppo- 
 site bank of the river, with Point Levi, the village of 
 D’Aubigny, and the road leading up through one 
 continuous line of cottages to the Falls of the Chau- 
 diere. Nothing could exceed the beauty of this, as 
 a marine picture, during the period of our stay here ; 
 as at that moment there were no less than six ships 
 of war assembled for the purpose of holding a court- 
 martial on Captain Drew, R.N., known as the cut- 
 ter-out of the Caroline Steamer from the American 
 shore, at the time of the late Canadian rebellion. 
 
 o 2 
 
These ships were the Winchester, Admiral Sir 
 Thomas Harvey, the Vestal, Cleopatra, and Croco- 
 dile frigates, and the Pilot brig. In addition to 
 these, there were not less than 300 sail of merchant 
 ships anchored in the stream, 16S of which arrived 
 in two successive days, September 14th and 15th, 
 and at least 100 more lay alongside the quays and 
 wharfs. As the weather was beautifully fine, and 
 the country still verdant all around, the sight of so 
 many ships seen from a height of 200 feet above the 
 river, with the fine extent of country opposite, thickly 
 dotted with villages and hamlets of the purest white, 
 and the grandeur of the mountains in the distance 
 fading away into a lighter and lighter blue, till 
 scarcely distinguishable from the azure sky of the 
 far horizon, was beautiful and magnificent beyond 
 expression. 
 
 The Parliament House comes next, in the order 
 of its importance among the public buildings of 
 Quebec. The site on which this stands is of even 
 earlier date than that of the Castle of St. Lewis ; 
 there being good reason to believe that it occupies 
 the first spot of ground which was cleared by Cham- 
 plain, for his fort, on founding the City, in 1608. 
 Here, too, as at the Castle, the site stands on a mass 
 of rock made level by art, and extending to the brink 
 of a perpendicular precipice, of about 100 feet above 
 the river, the narrowest part of which is commanded 
 by its guns. Along the edge of this precipice, 
 beyond the area occupied by tbe Parliament House, 
 still runs the Grand Battery of Quebec, the prome- 
 nade on which, and the view from its platform, is 
 scarcely inferior to that already described on the 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 197 
 
 site of the old Castle of St. Lewis. On this spot, 
 originally cleared for a fort, the palace of the Bishop 
 was subsequently erected ; and a portion of the old 
 episcopal residence still continues there ; but the 
 greater portion of it is occupied by the New Parlia- 
 ment House, begun about ten years ago, and not yet 
 completed, though promising, when finished, to form 
 one of the most perfect of the public buildings of the 
 City. 
 
 In general appearance it resembles the Royal 
 Mint, on Tower Hill. There is a centre of about 
 200 feet in length, and two wings coming out at 
 right angles from the extremity of the centre, so as to 
 form three sides of an oblong, the fourth side being 
 open towards the street, with a level space in front, 
 elevated about six feet above the street, and railed 
 in. The architecture is of the Ionic order, with a 
 good portico and pediment, containing the royal 
 arms in front ; the centre is surmounted by an octa- 
 gonal tower, dome, and lantern, well proportioned 
 in all its parts. The whole edifice is built of a 
 brownish sandstone, well hewn, and excellently put 
 together, and it is three stories in height. In the 
 centre, what was formerly the chapel of the Bishop’s 
 Palace, has been converted into the Commons House 
 of Assembly, as St. Stephen’s Chapel was for the 
 House of Commons in England. 
 
 The dimensions of this Hall are 65 feet in length 
 by 36 in breadth, and the height is about 30. The 
 arrangement of the interior resembles that of the 
 House of Commons at home— the Speaker’s Chair 
 being at the head of the Hall, raised 1 8 inches above 
 the floor; the scarlet-cloth covered table for the 
 
CANADA. 
 
 IDS 
 
 clerks, and the mace, being before him. The seats 
 for the members are ranged down the sides, rising in 
 gentle stages of elevation one behind and over the 
 other ; leaving the centre of the floor open for the 
 egress and ingress of members. The parties of the 
 administration and the opposition sit, therefore, here 
 as in England, face to face, with the Speaker at the 
 head of the Hall, looking down the centre — a much 
 better mode of arrangement for a deliberative assembly 
 than the semicircular or theatrical form, universal 
 throughout the United States of America. Here, 
 however, as in the States, each member has his desk 
 and drawers, with pen and ink before him. This, 
 though convenient no doubt to the members them- 
 selves, is found to be productive of long speeches, 
 and long readings of documents, which, in the absence 
 of such desks, drawers, and conveniences, would not 
 be so practicable. The number of members was 
 about ninety when the Assembly was sitting, and for 
 this small number there is ample accommodation. 
 Below the bar, where the sergeant-at-arms sat to 
 preserve order, the public were admitted to hear the 
 debates, and a hundred persons might be accommo- 
 dated there ^ while in a gallery above, overhangin*** 
 that space, and confined to the end of the Halk 
 another hundred might be easily accommodated. In 
 the hours of meeting, from three o’clock in the after- 
 noon till midnight, and often beyond, as well as in 
 all the forms of the House, the custom of England 
 was followed. The whole aspect of the interior is 
 much better, however, than that of the present 
 English House of Commons j the Speaker’s Chair 
 especially is far more elegant, and the royal arms 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 199 
 
 embossed, coloured, and gilded, on the panelling of 
 the Chair, behind the Speaker’s head, with the 
 portraits of George the Third, by Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds 3 George the Fourth, by Sir Thomas Law- 
 rence; and the portraits of their several Speakers, 
 from the earliest who enjoyed that honour, down to 
 Mr. Papineau, give a richness and brilliancy to the 
 whole, in which our House of Commons in England 
 is peculiarly deficient. 
 
 Above the Hall of Assembly is the Library, 
 which is spacious, admirably fitted up, and furnished 
 with a collection of more than 10,000 volumes. The 
 Library is still more valuable for the quality of its 
 books than for their numbers ; and it is thought, that 
 there does not exist anywhere on this continent, a 
 collection so rich in old, rare, and valuable works as 
 this. On looking over it, which I was permitted to 
 do at leisure, on my visit there, I was surprised to 
 see so many of this description, both in English and 
 in French, as well as in other languages, ancient and 
 modern, and this not confined to any one branch of 
 literature, science, or art, but embracing the writ- 
 ings of the most eminent men, on almost all the 
 subjects that can interest the public mind. As it 
 is matter of great uncertainty where the future seat 
 of government for the United Province of Canada 
 will be fixed, the Library will remain here till that 
 is settled ; but if it should not be at Quebec, (which 
 is more than probable,) this valuable collection will 
 no doubt be transferred to the seat of Legislation 
 wherever that may be. 
 
 The Legislative Council Chamber is in the old 
 wing of the Bishop’s Palace, still remaining, and 
 
200 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 overlooking the river St. Lawrence from its windows. 
 It is fitted up with a throne, decorated with crimson 
 velvet and gold, from which, at the opening and 
 close of every Session, the Governor of the Province 
 delivers his Speech to both Houses of Parliament, 
 as the Sovereign’s representative. This room also 
 IS ornamented with several portraits. Leading from 
 it, are other rooms and offices connected with this 
 branch of the Provincial Legislature. In the 
 vaulted rooms below, which formed the Refectory of 
 the ancient Bishops, where they exercised hospitality 
 to the inferior members of the Church, visiting them 
 on ecclesiastical affairs from all parts of the country 
 the Secretary of the Province had his offices and 
 rooms, so that every portion of this fine pile was 
 occupied during the sittings of the Legislature for 
 parliamentary purposes. 
 
 Among the public buildings in the Lower Town, 
 there is a Custom House, a Mercantile Exchange’ 
 and a Public News Room, neither of which, how! 
 ever, present any remarkable features. Indeed all 
 the lower part of the town is destitute of architec- 
 tural beauty, though there is something romantic in 
 the overhanging cliffs of the Citadel, the Castle, and 
 the Sault-aux-Matelot, with the batteries of cannon 
 projecting over all these, from 100 to 350 feet above 
 the heads of the spectators, as they look upward 
 towards these several points. 
 
 the name given to the 
 chff on whose brow the Grand Battery is now placed. 
 Ihe alleged origin of the name is this : that it was 
 meant to commemorate the extraordinarv' leap of a 
 dog called Matclot, who made a « sault” from hence 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 201 
 
 to the river below, and escaped without hurt. It is 
 probable that in early days, the river came up to 
 the very foot of the rock, but in process of time, a 
 considerable space has been gained from the stream 
 outward from the rock, and on this has been built 
 the street called Sault-aux-Matelot, (from the back 
 windows of the houses of which you can put out 
 your hand and touch the perpendicular cliff behind 
 them,) as well as the street of St. Paul, and the 
 wharfs now used for loading and landing. There is 
 also a Trinity House in the Lower Town, managed 
 by the Masters and Wardens of the Holy Trinity, 
 and performing nearly the same duties as are dis- 
 charged by the Trinity Houses of Deptford, London, 
 and Kingston-upon-Hull, for the regulation of pilots 
 and the navigation of the river. 
 
 In the Upper Town, there is a Court House, or 
 Palais de Justice, as it is called by the French, which 
 is well built of stone, occupying a most favourable 
 position in the open space of the Place d’Armes, 
 and well provided, in its interior, with every accom- 
 modation, in Courts, Jury Rooms, and other offices, 
 for the due administration of Justice, civil and 
 criminal, according to the laws of England. The 
 building is 136 feet long by 44 feet broad. It was 
 finished in 1804 , and its cost was defrayed by the 
 Provincial Legislature to the amount of 30 , 000 /. 
 
 The Jail of Quebec is very nearly in the centre 
 of the Upper Town, among the houses of the gentry. 
 It is large, strong, and commodious ; but as no system 
 of prison-discipline has yet been adopted here, be- 
 vond that of enforcing subordination, and securing 
 safe custody — the condition of the inmates is not 
 
202 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 such as to fit them to return with improved charac- 
 ters to society. The building was erected in 1814-, 
 at a cost of 15,000/., and is 160 feet in length by 
 60 in breadth. It has a separate House of Corree- 
 tion for females attaehed to it, and an open Court 
 Yard, in which the male prisoners are allowed to 
 take exercise at certain hours of the day. There 
 is a private Benevolent Society, called “The Quebec 
 Jail Association,” which takes some interest in the 
 moral improvement of the prisoners, and their ex- 
 penditure is defrayed by voluntary contributions. It 
 is admitted that their exertions are productive of 
 some good ; but the want of a better system of 
 prison-discipline, under legislative authority, such as 
 prevails everywhere in the United States, is much to 
 be regretted. 
 
 In a large edifice at the corner of the Place 
 d’Armes, are concentrated nearly all the minor 
 Public Offices. In this building is the Museum of 
 the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, 
 founded by Lord Dalhousie in 1824, and incor- 
 porated by the Legislature in 1830. It contains a 
 number of interesting and valuable specimens in 
 geology, mineralogy, and natural history, particularly 
 in the department of birds. But the whole estab- 
 lishment is suffering much from neglect 5 and nothing 
 that I saw at Quebec seemed to be so much in dis- 
 order as this Museum. There is a Mechanics’ 
 Institute also in the City, and these have rooms and 
 ^*^**^*’y j their numbers are few, their means 
 limited, and their establishment apparently as much 
 
 neglected as that of their older and wealthier 
 brethren. 
 
CHAP. XV^. 
 
 Religious Establishments of the French Catholics — First Con- 
 vent of the Recollets — Arrival of the Jesuits — Dissolution of 
 their Order — Foundation of the Hotel Dieu — Description of 
 the building — Convent of Ursuline Nuns — Female Education 
 — Seminary for the education of boys — Course of instruction — 
 Numbers and classes — Bishop’s residence — Chapel and Library 
 — General Hospital of the Congregational Nuns — Catholic 
 Cathedral — Bishop of Nancy — Extraordinary Religious Service 
 of the Retraite — English Protestant Cathedral and Chapels — 
 Sunday Schools — School of the Royal Institution — Scandalous 
 Sinecure of the Master of this School — Benevolent Institu- 
 tions — Marine Hospital. 
 
 The religious establishments of Quebec are suffi- 
 ciently ancient, numerous, and interesting, to deserve 
 a separate chapter, and may be taken in their chro- 
 nological order. It is worthy of being mentioned 
 to the honour of the French nation, that in all their 
 early Colonial settlements, greater attention appears 
 to have been paid to the important duty of promoting 
 education and religion, than by any other nation that 
 can be named. It will he remembered that the first 
 efforts towards a permanent settlement of the French 
 in Canada, was made at the expense of a Company 
 of Merchants, under the royal protection, and nearly 
 about the same period that the first East India 
 Company of the English was chartered by Queen 
 Elizabeth. The stock-holders and directors of this 
 last named body, never gave education or religion a 
 
 
u 
 
 20i CANADA. 
 
 thought in their earliest enterprises ; and when they 
 had attained to sovereign power in the East, the use 
 they made of it, as it respects education and religion, 
 was to prohibit both the one and the other for a long 
 period, excluding even the voluntary missionaries 
 sent out by Christian societies to preach the Gospel 
 at their own cost, and discouraging, by every means 
 in their power, the conversion of the Indian popu- 
 lation, until public opinion, and the power of the 
 press, forced them to adopt a more liberal and Chris- 
 tian policy. The French Company for trading to 
 Canada, were, on the contrary, so impressed with 
 the duty of providing instruction and religion for 
 the Indians among whom they were going to place 
 settlers, that they undertook, by the articles of their 
 first charter, in 1614, to send out, and defray the 
 expense of four ecclesiastics, who were to be the 
 teachers and preachers of the Gospel to the new 
 community, and who were to extend their especial 
 regards to the aborigines with whom they should be 
 placed. 
 
 These venerable Fathers, of the order of Recollets, 
 embarked from France with Champlain in I6l5, and 
 passed their first few years in visiting the sick, in- 
 structing the ignorant, and learning the language of 
 the Huron Indians. They were joined in 1620 by 
 three others of their order from France, and they 
 then built their first Seminary, on the banks of the 
 St. Charles river, where they remained, with some 
 interruptions, till 1690, when they gave up their 
 grounds there, at the instance of the Bishop, to 
 make room for a General Hospital on the spot, and 
 took in heu of it a smaller space within the precincts 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 205 
 
 of the town of Quebec. Here they built a Church 
 and Convent, which they continued to occupy until 
 1796 , when both were entirely destroyed by fire. 
 Soon after this, the Order becoming extinct, the 
 ground was prepared for other buildings, and the 
 English Cathedral was afterwards erected on the 
 same spot, being consecrated hi 1804. 
 
 The Jesuits first visited Quebec in 1625, having 
 also been brought out by Champlain, in a subsequent 
 voyage to that in which he was accompanied by the 
 Fathers of the Recollet. The number of the Jesuits 
 who came first was three, of one of whom. Father 
 Breboeuf, it is said that he had such a peculiar talent 
 for acquiring languages, that he had learnt more of 
 the Indian tongues in three years, than many other 
 persons had done in twenty. In 1626, three other 
 Jesuits joined these, making, in the whole, eleven 
 ecclesiastics sent out from France, for a community 
 which then consisted of only fifty-five souls. But 
 their religious labours were not confined to the 
 Christian settlement ; they went as missionaries 
 among the Indians, and fi-om their ready adoption 
 of many of their peculiarities, became soon so fami- 
 liar and friendly with the various tribes, as to pro- 
 duce the best effects. 
 
 In 1635 , the foundation of the Jesuits’ College 
 were laid in Quebec, a member of their Order, who 
 had abandoned the world to belong to their Society, 
 the eldest son of the Marquis de Gamache, whose 
 name T^as Rene Rohault, having given 6,000 crowns 
 of gold from his private fortune for this purpose. 
 In 1640, the Church and the College of the Jesuits, 
 built from this pious donation, were entirely destroyed 
 
20G 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 by fire. Both, however, were subsequently rebuilt, 
 and for a long series of years, up to the dissolution 
 of the Order in I 764 , the Jesuits continued to pro- 
 mote the spread of education and religion, both in 
 the College of Quebec, and in the villages of the 
 surrounding country. The last of the Jesuits, Father 
 Casot, died here in 1800, when the whole property 
 of the Order in this City fell into the possession of 
 the Crown ; and their spacious College, forming a 
 quadrangle, enclosing an open square, in the very 
 heart of the City, is now occupied as a barrack for 
 the soldiers of the Coldstream regiment of guards I 
 On visiting this spot, it was impossible not to be 
 struck with the contrast. The interior open square 
 formed the garden of the College, and in it, during 
 the Jesuits occupation, there were several large trees 
 of the primeval forest, which had been enclosed 
 when the building was first constructed, while lawn 
 and shrubbery filled up the intermediate parts. On 
 the conversion of this seat of learning and piety to a 
 barrack for troops, these noble trees were cut down, 
 the lawn and shrubbery rooted up, and the arel 
 converted into a hard and bare drill-ground, or 
 parade, for the soldiers, about 800 of whom we saw 
 assembled at beat of drum, within the enclosure of 
 this pile, originally erected for the purposes of edu- 
 cation, religion, and peace ! 
 
 Within a year after the first foundation of the 
 Jesuits College at Quebec, another religious estab- 
 ishment was founded, for the cure of the sick, and 
 the aid of the aged and infirm. This was the Hotel 
 JJieu. It appears that, in 1636. representations 
 having reached 1< ranee, from the Jesuits here, of the 
 
QUEBEC 
 
 207 
 
 necessity of such an establishment as this, a pious 
 and wealthy lady, the Duchesse D’Aiguillon, niece 
 to the celebrated Cardinal Richelieu, undertook at 
 her own private expense to found a Hotel Dieu in 
 Quebec, and devoted the sum of 20,000 livres to 
 this purpose, which donation, by the assistance of 
 relatives and friends, was afterwards doubled. In 
 addition to this, the Duchesse obtained from the 
 Company of Merchants, to whose charge Canada 
 had been assigned by royal charter, a large tract of 
 waste lands, the sale or rental of which would pro- 
 vide annual funds for the institution, and a space 
 amounting to about twelve acres, in the heart of the 
 City of Quebec, on which the Hotel Dieu was to be 
 erected, on which space, this ancient building and 
 its spacious gardens still stand. 
 
 The Duchesse D’Aijjuillon offered the charo-e 
 and superintendence of this institution to the Nuns 
 Hospitalieres of Dieppe; and three of their body 
 immediately consented to undertake it. The eldest 
 of these ladies, who was chosen as the Superior, was 
 only 29 , and the youngest 22 years of age; but 
 they were willing to brave all the dangers of the 
 voyage, the rigours of the climate, and the perils of 
 Indian warfare, for the sake of religion. 
 
 On the 4th of May, l6S9, they left France for 
 Quebec ; the fleet in which they sailed, bringing 
 with them also, a Superior and three Ursuline Nuns, 
 for a new Convent, and several Jesuits and Priests 
 for the collegiate and ecclesiastical establishments 
 already begun there. They landed on the 1st of 
 August following, and their arrival was hailed with 
 all the ceremonies of a grand religious fete, in which 
 
208 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 the whole community assisted. They entered imme- 
 diately on their pious labours, applied themselves to 
 the study of the Indian languages, received the sick, 
 the aged, and the infirm, and encountered incredible 
 sufferings and privations in the performance of their 
 benevolent duties. A few years afterwards they 
 were joined by other Nuns of their Order from 
 France; their Hotel was completed, their Chapel 
 consecrated, and the sphere of their operations greatly 
 extended among the Indians as well as the French ; 
 and from that time to the present they have steadily 
 pursued their original objects of benevolence and 
 piety, many thousands of patients having obtained, 
 through their Institution, the comforts of sustenance 
 and medical care, which it would otherwise have been 
 wholly beyond their power to procure. 
 
 The building of the Hotel Dieu, which we were 
 permitted to visit freely, is seated in the lowest part 
 of the Upper Town, within the ramparts, between 
 Hope Gate and Palace Gate, and nearest to the 
 latter. This Gate was so called because it opened 
 on the Palace of the Intendant — the Civil Governor 
 under the French system — but the Palace itself was 
 destroyed during the American siege of Quebec, in 
 1776, and was never restored. The Hotel Dieu is 
 a substantial old structure, built of stone, with wings 
 and corridors, having three stories in height, appro- 
 priated to the separate wards for the male and female 
 sick, and to the necessary accommodation for the 
 Nuns and their assistants. In passing through it, 
 we could not but admire the neatness, cleanliness, 
 freshness, and order, of everything we saw ; and 
 rejoiced to see the comfort in which the sick, the 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 209 
 
 aged, and the infirm, seemed to live in this welcome 
 asylum for the destitute. The Nuns are at present 
 about 40 in number, between the ages of 25 and 70. 
 Their dress is wholly white, except the veil, which is 
 black. Like the Sisters in charge of the Hotel 
 Uieu at Montreal, these are cloistered Nuns, who 
 never go beyond the walls of their building. They 
 appeared to be animated by the strongest sense of 
 religious duty ; and though the gates are always open 
 during the day, and no impediment would he offered 
 to any one choosing to go out, no instance has 
 occurred, we were told, of any of these Nuns having 
 attempted to leave the establishment, or even 
 expressed their desire so to do. Except the Lady 
 Superior, whose constant superintendence engages 
 all her time, all the Nuns take their turns in watch- 
 ing by night, and attending the sick by day, relieving 
 each other every two hours ; and it is thought that 
 the uniform kindness, gentleness, and good will, 
 which they manifest toward the sick, has as great a 
 share in effecting their recovery, as the medicine 
 they administer. 
 
 There is a beautiful Chapel attached to the Hotel 
 Dieu, in which mass is celebrated every morning, 
 and vespers said evei’y evening ; besides the regular 
 service on Sundays and Festivals. A splendid altar- 
 j)iece, representing the taking down the body of 
 Christ from the Cross, painted by a native artist of 
 Quebec, had been just finished and placed in the 
 Chapel; and several smaller pictures of the old 
 masters adorned its walls. The same arrangement 
 that we had witnessed at Montreal prevailed here, 
 by which openings from the sick-wards into the gal- 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 leries of the Cliapel, enabled even those who were 
 confined to their beds, to hear and join in the service. 
 
 About the same period of the foundation of the 
 Hotel Dieu, 1639, the idea was suggested, of estab- 
 lishing a Convent here for the education of female 
 youths among the Catholic population, and for the 
 conversion and education of the female children of 
 the Indians. A young widow of rank and fortune 
 in France, Madame de la Peltrie, was the first to 
 carry it into execution. Devoting her whole wealth 
 to this object, she obtained the co-operation of two 
 Ursuline Nuns from Tours, and one from Dieppe, 
 and accompanying them in person to Quebec, they 
 arrived here on the 1st of August, 1639, with the 
 Hospitalieres and the Jesuits already mentioned. 
 The details of their early struggles are full of the 
 most romantic interest, and show to what an extent 
 religious zeal and a strong sense of duty will enable 
 the highest-born and the most delicately-bred, to 
 encounter sufferings and privations which would 
 destroy the most robust when not sustained by the 
 lofty and animating principles that bore these pious 
 and benevolent ladies so triumphantly through their 
 career. 
 
 The building occupied by the Ursuline Nuns at 
 present, occupies the site of their original Convent, 
 though that was destroyed by fire in 1630, and a 
 second perished by the same element in 1686, everv- 
 thing within the walls being on each occasion con- 
 sumed ; so that this is the third edifice constructed 
 by them. It stands nearly in the middle of the 
 Upper Town of Quebec, not far from the English 
 and French Cathedrals, the Court House, and the 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 ^211 
 
 Place D’Arraes ; and with its surrounding gardens, 
 covers a space of seven acres of ground. The build- 
 incr consists of four separate wings, forming a qua. 
 drangle around an open court ; its length is about 
 120, and its depth 40 feet ; the Chapel is 95 feet 
 by 45 ; in this there are several excellent paint- 
 ino-s by old French masters. Within the walls oi 
 this Convent, was deposited the body of the French 
 general, Montcalm, his corpse being laid in a hoi- 
 low pit, caused by the bursting of a shell there, 
 during the siege of Quebec. During the recent 
 administration of Lord Aylmer, as Governor in Chief 
 of the Province, he caused a marble slab to be placed 
 over the grave, with this inscription— 
 
 “ Honneur a Montcalm ! Le Destin, en lui derobant la Victoire, 
 I’a recompense par un Mort glorieuse ! 
 
 The number of the Ursuline Nuns at present in 
 the Convent is about forty, besides the Lady Supe- 
 rior, and some few Noviciates. Here, however, as 
 in most of these establishments, both at Quebec and 
 Montreal, they find a difficulty in keeping up their 
 numbers. Now and then a candidate for admission 
 comes out from some of the religious orders of France ; 
 but they do not find among the Canadian females, 
 persons willing to undergo the labour and submit to 
 the discipline of the Convent, though these labours 
 are chiefly directed to the education of female youths 
 belonging to the families of Quebec and its neigh- 
 bourhood. So highly is the tuition given here 
 prized by all classes, that Protestant families send 
 their daughters just as freely to the Ursuline Conven 
 for education, as Catholics ; and it is thought that 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 more than three-fourths of the young ladies of Que- 
 bec have received their instruction here. 
 
 There is also a Seminary for the education of male 
 youths, which was founded by the first Catholic 
 Bishop of Quebec, Mons. De Laval de Montmorency, 
 as early as 1663. It was at first intended to educate 
 young men for the priesthood only ; but when the 
 Order of the Jesuits, who had taken charge of the 
 general education of the children of the community, 
 was dissolved by a decree of the French king in 
 1764 , the Directors of the Seminary opened their 
 Institution for the reception of all the pupils who 
 chose to resort to it. Since that period, a gootl 
 system of general education has been pursued here, 
 in which the children of all classes participate. Like 
 almost all the early buildings of this country, the 
 first Seminary was entirely destroyed by fire in I 7 OI ; 
 burnt down a second time in 1705 ; a third time 
 almost completely demolished during the siege of 
 1759 ; and a fourth time consumed by fire in I 772 . 
 
 The present buildings of the Seminary are more 
 extensive than any of earlier days ; these having been 
 enlarged and completed in 1820, from funds received 
 from France, consisting of the donations of pious 
 individuals made to the Seminary before the French 
 Revolution. These funds were not recovered or 
 made available for appropriation, till the restoration 
 of the Bourbons, by whom, both principal and arrears 
 of interest were obtained, and sent out to this country 
 accordingly. The building comprises four wings, 
 each of four stories in height ; the length of these 
 wings in the aggregate is nearly 400 feet, and the 
 
QUEBEC. 213 
 
 depth of each wing about 40 feet. Attached to the 
 Institution is a large garden, containing seven acres 
 of ground, well furnished with fruits, flowers, and 
 old forest-trees, originally occupying this site when 
 the spot was first enclosed ; and from the terrace of 
 this garden — which approaches near the cliff, called 
 the Sault-aux-Matelot, on the edge of which is the 
 Grand Battery— the view of the river, the anchorage 
 of the shipping, and the Island of Orleans, is pecu- 
 liarly fine. 
 
 The Institution is conducted by a Board, consist- 
 ing of seven Directors, one of whom is the Superior, 
 and is elected by the others triennially. These are 
 assisted by three Professors of Theology, the chief 
 of whom is called Le Grand Seminaire ; and twelve 
 Professors of different branches of literature and 
 science, the chief of whom is called Le Pi efet des 
 Etudes. These are all lay-brothers, and, therefore, 
 under no vows which would prevent their leaving 
 the Institution whenever they think proper; and 
 their services are so far gratuitous, that they receive 
 no salary or perquisites of any kind, having no claim 
 to anything beyond food and clothing while they 
 remain in the Institution, and discharge the duties 
 allotted to them there. As the education received 
 here is, therefore, conducted gratuitously, so no 
 charge is made for instruction to the day-pupils, who 
 exceed 150 ; their whole payment being 20s. yearly, 
 10s. in the spring and 10s. in the fall, for lights and 
 fuel ; while the hoarders, who amount to about 150 
 also, pay I 7 /. 10s. annually for their board, with a 
 proportionate reduction for all periods of absence in 
 the year, exceeding eight days. 
 
 IL 
 
214 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 The course of education pursued here embraces 
 nine classes, and the usual time allowed for passing 
 through each class is a year; but while some 
 remain the whole of this period, the average time 
 which the pupils pass at the College varies between 
 five and seven yeai's. The Greek and Latin 
 languages and literature are taught by competent 
 Professors. Mathematics in all its branches. His- 
 tory and the Belles Lettres, and the Sciences of 
 Astronomy, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Natural 
 Philosophy, all receive their due share ; and it is 
 said by those who have often witnessed the annual 
 exhibitions, which take place on the 15th of August, 
 and are usually attended by the Governor and heads 
 of office in the City, that there are few Colleges in 
 Europe, which could produce a greater number of 
 well-educated youths than are presented every year 
 to the world by the Quebec Seminary. I regretted 
 exceedingly that our visit to the Institution was 
 during the vacation, as it adjourns on the 15th of 
 August, and meets again on the 1st of October ; but 
 we saw enough for ourselves, and heard enough from 
 others, to satisfy us that the Institution fully deserves 
 the high reputation it enjoys. 
 
 The Catholic Bishop of Quebec, whose ancient 
 Palace is appropriated to the Legislative Council 
 Chamber, and whose ancient Chapel is occupied by 
 the Hall of the Legislative Assembly, now resides 
 in the Seminary ; and in his apartment there, are 
 preserved the portraits of the twelve venerable pre- 
 lates who preceded him in the episcopal office. 
 The Chapel of the Seminary is larger and handsomer 
 than any of those previously described ; and contains 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 215 
 
 a great number of fine pictures by ancient French 
 masters. The Congregation Hall, or Interior Chapel 
 of the Students, possesses a Library of more than 
 8,000 volumes, with a valuable Philosophical Appa- 
 ratus, and an interesting cabinet of Indian anti- 
 quities, minerals, fossils, and curiosities. The whole 
 establishment appeared to be admirably arranged, 
 the accommodations ample, the ventilation ^d neat- 
 ness of the apartments perfect, and everything con- 
 nected with their system of tuition and scholastic 
 
 discipline worthy of praise. ^ j 
 
 Another noble Institution of the Catholic founders 
 of Quebec is the General Hospital, which is seated 
 on the site of the first Convent of the Recollets, on 
 the banks of the river St. Charles, or Port or 
 Croix, where Cartier laid up his ships during the first 
 winter that he passed in Canada. This Hospital 
 Avas founded by the second Bishop of Quebec, Mons. 
 de Saint Valliere, who devoted 100,000 crowns to 
 the erection of the buildings ; and by his influence 
 obtained the application of a fund, raised for the 
 support of the indigent poor, to which every person 
 in the Colony had to contribute towards the mainte- 
 nance of its annual expenses. Its management, 
 when completed, was placed in the hands of a body 
 of Nuns, who were called Les Sceurs de la Congre- 
 gation ; but subsequently their numbers were aug- 
 mented by a Superior and twelve Nuns of the 
 Hospitalieres, from the Hotel Dieu, whmh revived 
 chiefly the indigent and sick of the City. These 
 united Sisters were subsequently incorporated as an 
 independent community, and they now embrace 
 forty.five professed Nuns, with a few noviciates. 
 
Here, as in the Hotel Dieu, every applicant for 
 medical aid and relief is received until all their wards 
 are full ; while the sick and the infirm, the aged and 
 the insane, are all treated with a degree of care and 
 tenderness that is the subject of universal praise. 
 Phe Nuns sit, two at a time, in each ward, without 
 intermission, day and night, being relieved every two 
 hours ; and they appear to be cheerful and happy in 
 the discharge of their duties. The building is very 
 large, having a front of 228 feet, and the several 
 wings are from 30 to 50 feet in depth. The Chapel 
 attached to the Hospital is accessible to all the sick 
 wards through the gallery ; and religious services 
 are performed in it twice every day. The Nuns 
 wear a silver cross on the breast, and are said to 
 be more skilful than any of the Sisterhood of the 
 other Institutions in the manufacture of embroidery 
 for pontifical vestments, and adornments of altars. 
 The works produced by them in this way, as well 
 as in the manufacture of various articles of needle- 
 work, which are purchased by visitors, add consider, 
 ably to the replenishing their funds ; though these 
 sometimes fall short of their annual expenditure in 
 the maintenance of the Hospital, in which cases, aid 
 is sometimes granted by the Provincial Legislature, 
 but this is only occasional. 
 
 The Catholic Cathedral was founded here by the 
 first Bishop of Quebec, Mons. Frau9ois de Laval, 
 in 1660, and still forms one of the ornaments of the 
 ity. It is situated close to the Seminary, and 
 occupes the south side of the market square, in the 
 heart ol the town. Its exterior is plain, but its 
 tower IS lofty, and well proportioned to the edifice. 
 

 QllEBFX. 2 1 7 
 
 The length of the building is 21 6 feet, and its 
 breadth 108, and it will contain upwards of 4,000 
 persons. Its interior, though peculiar, is very much 
 superior to that of the Cathedral at Montreal. The 
 nave is very lofty, going up to the full height of the 
 roof; but the side-aisles are low, and a gallery or 
 corridor runs along within the arches that separate 
 the two. The high altar is superbly ornamented ; 
 and over it is a frame-work of wood, resembling a 
 colossal crown, which is richly carved and gilded, 
 and gives a gorgeous appearance to the whole ; while 
 the smaller altars in the side-chapels, and some well- 
 executed pictures, add to the general effect. 
 
 During our stay here, the Bishop of Nancy, from 
 France, whom we heard at Montreal, was constantly 
 engaged at the Cathedral. There was held a reli- 
 gious’ week, called Retraite Generale, in which he 
 preached every morning at 9 o’clock, to females only, 
 and every evening at 7 o’clock to males only ; while 
 in the intermediate hours, mass was said, and private 
 confessions, prayers, and penances were performed. 
 It resembled a Religious Revival, as it is called in 
 the United States, though not accompanied by those 
 vociferations which so often attend the protracted 
 meetings of these. I was told that in the Catholic 
 Church, the practice is not uncommon, of setting 
 aside a particular period, like this week of the 
 Retraite, for the express purpose of devoting it 
 entirely to religious exercises, in which persons 
 making a retreat from the world and its affairs, give 
 themselves up wholly to confessions, penances, fil- 
 ings, and prayer, by which they obtain absolution 
 for the past, and indulgence for the future. It was 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 218 
 
 very striking to see the crowds that attended at the 
 morning and the evening houi*s of the sermon, and 
 indeed during the whole of the day, for there was 
 not an interval of five minutes in which there were 
 not persons entering and departing. The greatest 
 number came from the suburbs, and from the sur- 
 rounding villages, and their appearance was just that 
 of the French peasantry on a fete day, in any of the 
 provinces of the north of France, with somewhat 
 less of hilarity, and a more subdued tone of dress 
 and manners. 
 
 There are four other Catholic Churches besides 
 the Cathedral ; the oldest is that in the Lower Town, 
 called Notre Dame des Victoires, which was built 
 in 1690 ; another called the Church of the Congre- 
 gation, near the ramparts ; a third called the Church 
 of St. Roch, in the Suburb of that name, without 
 the fortifications ; and a fourth, the Church of St. 
 Patrick, recently erected, for the use of the Irish 
 emigrants. All of these are spacious, well fitted 
 and furnished, and fully attended. The general 
 opinion of the Protestants here is, that there is no 
 diminution of zeal for the spread of the Catholic 
 religion in Quebec and the Provinces ; on the con- 
 trary, of late years, this zeal seems to have been 
 strengthened, and greater efforts, it is thought, are 
 making now, than at any former period, to confirm 
 the wavering in their faith, and bring new converts 
 into the fold, in which, it is added, they are more 
 than usually successful. 
 
 Since the conquest of Canada by the British, 
 though the Catholics have been allowed, by the terms 
 of their capitulation, the fullest enjuyment of the 
 
I 
 
 QUEBEC. 
 
 219 
 
 exercise of their religion, and the undisturhed pos- 
 session of all their ancient property and revenues 
 connected therewith, there has been a natural desire 
 on the part of the conquerors to make adequate 
 provision for the propagation and support of the 
 Protestant religion. Accordingly, a Bishop s See of 
 the Church of England was established at Quebec; 
 and in 1804, the present Protestant Cathedral was 
 consecrated for divine worship in 1804, by the first 
 Protestant Bishop of the Colony, the 
 Dr. Jacob Mountain, who filled this office for 
 years, died in Quebec in 1825, at the ag® ^ 75, 
 and was buried within the altar of the Cathedra 
 that he founded and built, where a very chaste an^d 
 beautiful monument is erected to memory The 
 length of this Church is 135 feet, its breadth 7 3, and 
 its height within 41 feet. The height of the spire 
 is 152 feet, and the whole building being surrounded 
 with a fine open space, part of the original Place 
 d’ Amies, is a conspicuous ornament ot the L.ity. 
 In a portion of this space, is still to be seen, one of 
 the aboriginal trees of the forest, which occupied its 
 present position when Cartier first visited the spot, 
 now 300 years ago ; and when Champlain, near y a 
 century afterwards, first pitched 
 branches, before Quebec was founded in 1008. it 
 is a noble elm, of great size, and cannot be looked 
 
 upon without veneration. 
 
 During our stay at Quebec, we attended the 
 
 Episcopal Church, but remarked nothing peculiar 
 
 in the service, except that we received the impression 
 
 of its inferiority, in the talents of the clergy, to the 
 
 aeneral standard of the English church, and thought 
 & 
 
220 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 there was rather more than the usual portion of 
 formality in the ministers, and coldness in the con- 
 gregations, as compared with the earnestness, zeal, 
 and sympathy, which we had witnessed elsewhere. 
 
 There are besides the Cathedral, four Chapels of 
 the Church of England, within the parish of Quebec; 
 the Holy Trinity, adjoining the Theatre Royal, in 
 the Upper Town ; St. Paul’s, or the Mariner’s 
 Chapel, in the Lower Town ; St. Matthew’s, or the 
 Free Chapel, in the Suburb of St. John ; and the 
 French Protestant Chapel, called St. Peter’s, in the 
 Suburb of St. Roch — all of which are well endowed 
 and well frequented. There is also a Church of St. 
 Andrews, connected with the Kirk of Scotland, 
 which was first opened in 1810, and has since been 
 so enlarged, that it will contain 1,500 persons, 
 though its regular congregation does not exceed half 
 that number; but it is sometimes filled on special 
 occasions. There is a second Scotch Church of a 
 smaller size, called St. John’s : and two Wesleyan 
 Chapels, one in the Upper Town and one in the 
 Lower ; so that the Protestant places of worship are 
 quite as numerous, compared with the population, 
 as those of the Catholics. 
 
 Attached to all these churches, there are Sunday 
 Schools, which are numerously attended by the chil- 
 dren of the respective congregations. There are also 
 some few Infant Schools, of recent introduction ; 
 a National School, a British and Canadian School, 
 and a School of the Quebec Education Society — in 
 all of which the children of the poor, of both sexes, 
 are taught gratuitously. There is an Institution for 
 the Deaf and Dumb, sustained by the contributions 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 <2<2l 
 
 of the benevolent. Of higher Protestant Schools, 
 there are several small private establishments for 
 young ladies ; the Classical School of the Rev. Dr. 
 Wilkie, for young gentlemen ; and all these are we 
 conducted and well supported. There is 
 tution, however, which exists only in name, though 
 utterly useless in reality. It is called the Grammar 
 School of the Royal Institution, and was meant to 
 be a Free School, on an endowment or foundation, 
 to be sustained by the Provincial Government ; hut 
 the following paragraph, which appeared in the Colo- 
 nist Newspaper, of Quebec, for the ?th of Septem- 
 her, 1840, during our stay there, and which, upon 
 inquiry, I found to he correct, will show that Colo- 
 nial Masters of Grammar Schools are disposed, when 
 they can, to follow the had examples of some of their 
 cl Js in the mother-country •, in reading the Reports 
 of Commissioners on Education and an y ^ 
 sented to both Houses of Parliament at home, they 
 
 seem to have “ taken a leaf out of their book. Here 
 is the statement of the Quebec Editor— 
 
 « The public accounts, printed by order of tlie Conned 
 
 exhibit a charge for the salary of the Master of the Royal 
 Grammar School at Quebec, and another charge for rent of a 
 
 i nnl-room. We believe that the school in question has been 
 oil for the last six or seven years, if not longer, but not 
 rrsTarJ of the master. We believe also 
 
 Luh s scTiool is under the superintendence of that worse than 
 ! Llv the Royal Institution. It is somewhat surprising 
 useless y, where the charges for instruction, in pri- 
 
 thatinacityhketh^ 
 
 vate schools, are J ^e are inclined to think, 
 
 ,1.«.U b. P'™> •■J ^ rf ,hl. foundUion, 
 
 .. .pp..,. .h. 
 
CANADA. 
 
 master is anything but anxious to attract public attention, as he 
 has not put up a sign or any exterior mark upon the house for 
 which the public pays, in order to indicate the purpose to which 
 it is devoted. It is to be hoped that the superintendence of this 
 school will be taken from the Royal Institution, and that it will 
 be made effective for the purposes of education ; the whole history 
 of this Institution, from first to last, is a very fair specimen of the 
 jobbing and incapacity of Canadian officials. Contrast the 
 supineness and neglect, in the management of the Grammar 
 School and the Royal Institution, with the activity and energy of 
 the Seminary and other French Canadian institutions of learning, 
 and then join in the cry that the French Canadians are indifferent 
 to education !” 
 
 The most important of the benevolent institutions 
 originating with the Protestants is the Marine 
 Hospital, commenced in 1832, under the auspices 
 of Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of the 
 Province, and completed sufficiently to be opened 
 for the reception of patients in 1834 ; at a cost of 
 about 30,000/. The situation chosen for this 
 establishment is on the banks of the River St. 
 Charles, just opposite to the spot where Cartier 
 wintered on his first voyage; and the space laid 
 out for the building, gardens, and grounds, cover 
 upwards of six acres. The Hospital is on a large 
 scale, having a front of 206 feet, with two wings of 
 100 feet each in depth. The building is of stone, 
 with a fine Ionic portico, the proportions of which 
 are said to be taken from the Temple of the Muses, 
 on the river Ilissus, in Greece ; and everything 
 connected with its exterior and interior is finished 
 in the best style. As the Institution makes no 
 distinction of creeds in its admission of patients, in 
 which respect it follows the liberal example of its 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 2^3 
 
 Catholic predecessors, the ground-floor contains a 
 Protestant and a Catholic Chapel, with accommoda- 
 tions for the ministers of each ; wards for 60 patients, 
 with a most complete range of kitchens, store-rooms, 
 and nurses’ apartments. The principal story, or 
 first floor above this, to which the elevated portico 
 leads by a double flight of steps, contains a fine 
 hall of entrance, apartments for the medical officers, 
 rooms for surgical operations, wards for 68 patients, 
 and a Medical Museum. The third story con- 
 tains the apartments for the principal nurses, with 
 wards for 140 patients; and the fourth contains 
 wards for 94 more, making in the whole, room for 
 362 persons. In every story there are hot and 
 cold baths for those who require them; with 
 gardens and ornamented grounds around the Hos- 
 pital, for the recreation and exercise of those 
 who are recovering. Altogether this Institution 
 does great honour to the City of Quebec, and its 
 humane and liberal inhabitants. Long may it sub- 
 sist, to give comfort and relief to the weather-beaten 
 Mariner who may be thrown sick and indigent upon 
 its charity ; and may increasing honours be shown to 
 such Institutions and their Founders, till the public < 
 sentiment in this respect shall be so improved, as to 
 lead men to honour more the Philanthropist who 
 cures a wound, than the Warrior who inflicts it ; and 
 to erect monuments to those whose chief delight it is 
 to save lives, rather than to those whose principal dis- 
 tinction it is, to have destroyed them ; when a Howard 
 and a Fry, a Wilberforce and a Clarkson, shall be 
 more honoured and more imitated, than a Napoleon, 
 or a Catherine, a Caesar or an Alexander. 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Visit to the Citadel with the Chief Engineer — General descrip- 
 Uon of the Fortifications — Lines and Ramparts enclosing' the 
 Quebec— Visit to the Plains of Abraham— Death of 
 Wolfe-^eeting with the British Admiral at Wolfe’s Monu- 
 
 Cove-Inspection 
 
 of the Heights ascended by the troops — Return to Quebec by 
 the bank ol the river— Scenes of poverty, filth, and intem- 
 perance, by the way— Visit to the Joint Monument to Wolfe 
 ^d Montcalm-Earlier French Tribute to the memory of 
 Montcalm— Correspondence of Bougainville and Pitt on this 
 subject— Curious Antiquity of Quebec— Le Chien d’Or. 
 
 Devoting a day to the examination of the Citadel 
 and Fortifications of Quebec, we had the advantage 
 of being accompanied over the whole by the Chief 
 Engineer, whose knowledge of all the points of 
 interest, and the courtesy with which he conducted 
 us everywhere that we desired to go, added much to 
 the gratification of our visit. 
 
 The Citadel occupies the crown of the hill, called 
 ape iamond, the almost perpendicular face of 
 which is presented towards the river St. Lawrence, 
 m the narrowest part of the stream, and, therefore, 
 opposes a formidable barrier to the passage of any 
 vessels up or down, should it be desired to prevent 
 
 '^hich is a mass of dark-coloured 
 Slate, abounds with quartz crystals found in veins. 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 225 
 
 of great brilliancy, and hence its name, Cape Dia- 
 mond. It is 350 feet in height above the river, 
 steep on all sides towards the stream, which washes 
 its base, on the north, the east, and the south, and 
 level only towards the west, where the Plains of 
 Abraham form a high table-land, even with the top- 
 most height of the Citadel, and extending for several 
 miles in a westerly direction. The Citadel is about 
 200 feet above the level of the Upper Town of 
 Quebec, and more than 300 above the Lower Town, 
 so that the commanding view from its telegraphs, 
 extending for many miles up and down the river, 
 and covering a space of many leagues in every direc- 
 tion of the land, is magnificent indeed. 
 
 In going to the Cit^el from Quebec, you wind 
 up a hill from the ramparts to the glacis, passing, on 
 the way, batteries and sentries thickly placed ; and 
 reaching the top of the hill, you enter first the outer 
 ditch of the ravelin, commanded on all sides by guns 
 and musketry, then into the principal ditch of the 
 works, which extends all round the Citadel, and 
 which is also commanded on all sides by cannon, 
 and covered-ways for small arms. From this, you 
 enter the Citadel itself, by a noble gateway of Doric 
 architecture, called the Dalhousie Gate. In passing 
 through this, the visitor is enabled to form a com- 
 petent idea of the amazing strength of the works, in 
 which he sees walls of solid masonry thirty feet in 
 height, and five feet in thickness, with casemated 
 chambers for the garrison, vaulted and rendered 
 bomb-proof. In the interior are spacious magazines, 
 storehouses, and every other necessary provision for 
 an extensive force ; the whole area of the Citadel 
 
 Q 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 22(J 
 
 covering about forty acres. All around the lines 
 v?hich encompass it, are formidable batteries pointed 
 in every direction, with numerous sally-ports, covered- 
 ways for protecting the ditches, and for passing from 
 one part of the Fort to another, and all executed in 
 the best and strongest manner. 
 
 Along the brink of the precipice overhanging the 
 river, is a fine range of buildings, forming the 
 officers’ quarters, and commanding one of the most 
 varied and beautiful views that can be conceived. 
 From the windows of their mess-room, we could see 
 not less than 200 vessels all lying at anchor, 350 feet 
 below us, in the St. Lawrence, and among them, the 
 squadron of Admiral Sir Thomas Harvey, consisting 
 of six ships of war ; while the distant hills of Maine 
 and New Hampshire, in the United States, could be 
 distinctly seen in the southern horizon, with a beau- 
 tifully undulated country between, speckled over with 
 villages and cottages innumerable. From the ffag- 
 stafF near by, at which the telegraph is worked, the 
 eye extends in the opposite direction of north, to the 
 extremest verge of civilization ; as the last range of 
 hills seen in that quarter, form the present boundarv 
 of the white settlers, there being nothing between 
 that and the north-pole, but the wandering tribes of 
 Indians, and the few stations of the Hudson’s Bay 
 Company for collecting their furs. In the centre of 
 the Citadel is the open ground for parading the 
 troops, but this, instead of being level, has a slight 
 convexity, in the gently rounded surface of the rock. 
 It has been thought that this would be a disadvan- 
 tage, in the case of shells being thrown into the 
 Fort, as, alighting anywhere on this convexity, they 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 would roll towards the quarters of the officers and 
 men, or to the batteries on the lines, and there ex- 
 plode, causing great destruction of life. To avoid 
 this, it is intended to level this protuberance, and 
 give it rather a gentle concavity, so that all shot or 
 shells falling here, would roll towards the centre, 
 instead of the edges, and there become comparatively 
 harmless. It may give some idea of the cost of such 
 works in general, to state, that the lowest estimate of 
 the amount for which this surface of the parade- 
 ground could be thus levelled or rendered slightly 
 concave, is 20,000^. sterling. 
 
 Besides the Citadel, which is deemed impregnable, 
 so long as provisions and ammunition should hold 
 out, and no treachery exist in the camp, the whole 
 of the Upper Town of Quebec is surrounded by 
 fortified lines, the circuit of which extends about 
 three miles. These works consist of elevated ram- 
 parts, on which are formidable batteries, at different 
 points, connected by bastions and curtains. These 
 go towards the river, right through the heart of the 
 City, dividing the Upper Town, which is within the 
 lines, from the Lower Town, which is without them; 
 while on the land-side, they pass between the City 
 and the Suburbs of St. John and St. Roch, with an 
 open grassy space beyond the ramparts, on which no 
 houses are permitted to be built. In these fortified 
 lines, there are five gates of communication, open 
 from sunrise to midnight, namely, St. Lewis, St. 
 John’s, Hope, Palace, and Prescott Gates. Over 
 the whole of the lines, is a beautiful promenade along 
 the ramparts, with tall poplar trees planted between 
 the guns, seats or benches for the public use, and 
 
228 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 the enjoyment of pure air, and as extensive and 
 varied a prospect as the most ardent lover of the 
 picturesque could desire. The number of guns 
 mounted on the lines, and in the various batteries 
 within the town, are about 100, and those in the 
 Citadel about 80. There are two battalions of the 
 Guards here, in garrison, the Grenadiers and the 
 Coldstream, about 900 of each, with some artillery, 
 engineers, sappers, and miners, and everything is 
 kept in a state of perfect readiness for defence. 
 
 After inspecting the Lines and the Citadel, we 
 were taken by one of the sally-ports from the latter, 
 out on the narrow path which leads along the brow 
 of the hill without the walls, looking down to the 
 St. Lawrence. After a dizzy walk of half a mile 
 along this edge of the cliff, where the slightest false 
 step would have sent us down a height of 300 feet, 
 we came to the remains of the old French lines, 
 within which the army of Montcalm was entrenched, 
 previous to their coming out to give battle to Wolfe 
 and his troops in the Plains of Abraham, in 1759. 
 From hence we extended our walk out to thesa 
 Plains, and went first to the spot were Wolfe is said 
 to have received his death-wound. It is a piece of 
 rock, now in the centre of an enclosed field, and not 
 far from the well, from which water was brought to 
 him in his dying moments to cool his burning thirst. 
 The spot has been recently enclosed. Lord Aylmer 
 having been the first to show it this mark of respect ; 
 and over it he caused to be erected a small plain 
 column of dark stone, without even a capital, having 
 engraved on it simply these words — 
 
 “ Here died Wolfe victorious.’’ 
 
QL'IiBEC. 
 
 ^ 2^29 
 
 We met, at this monument, the gallant Admiral 
 Sir Thomas Harvey, commanding the Winchester, 
 and now here with the naval squadron in the St. 
 Lawrence, accompanied hy his flag-captain ; and 
 enjoyed an agreeable ramble with them over the 
 Plains. 
 
 The space beyond the spot where Wolfe fell, and 
 on which he formed his troops for the attack, is now 
 laid out as a Race Course. On the inner border of 
 this, a line is formed of four large martello towers, 
 with circular walls of immense thickness towards the 
 outer quarter, from which they might be attacked, 
 but so thin and weak towards the Citadel, that if 
 they were to be taken by an enemy, they might be 
 battered down with the greatest ease by the guns 
 there. They have each ports for guns in the central 
 story, and a large sweeping gun on the top, so placed 
 as to be capable of being turned to any point of the 
 horizon, so that this line of towers presents a formid- 
 able outwork of protection to the Citadel on the land- 
 side. If such works had existed in Montcalm’s day, 
 he might have defied ten times the force that Wolfe 
 brought against him ; but Quebec was not then in 
 anything like the perfect state of defence in which it 
 has since been placed. 
 
 From the Plains of Abraham we advanced towards 
 the steep and almost precipitous cliffs, which rise 
 upward from the water to the edge of this level 
 platform, and were shown the places where the sol- 
 diers scrambled, or rather climbed and dragged 
 themselves up by the roots and branches of shrubs 
 and trees, with their muskets and knapsacks ready 
 for the fifcld ; and also the spot where the intrepid 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 230 
 
 sailors of the fleet dragged up the only piece of can- 
 non, a six-pound fieldpiece, that was used on the 
 part of the British in the action ; and we could not 
 but admire the dauntless energy and patient perse- 
 verance, which must have been necessary to accom- 
 plish such an undertaking. 
 
 From hence we descended by an exceedingly steep 
 and winding road to the spot called Wolfe’s Cove, from 
 its being the place of the General’s landing with his 
 gallant hand, before ascending the heights. Looking 
 up from thence along the steep acclivities leading to 
 the Plains — for this winding road, down which we 
 came, did not then exist — we could not wonder that 
 Wolfe should say, as it is recorded of him, to Capt. 
 Donald M’Donald of Frazer’s Highlanders, the 
 officer who commanded the advanced guard of the 
 Light Infantry, “ I don’t believe there is any possibi- 
 lity of getting up, but you must do your endeavour.” 
 At the Cove there is at present a large timber-yard, 
 where rafts from the river are collected, and at which 
 ships take in their lading, similar establishments 
 lining the shores of the St. Lawrence on both sides 
 for several miles above Quebec. On the steep hill 
 descending to it, we met a great number of little 
 carts, filled with chips for firewood, drawn some- 
 times by one, and sometimes by two dogs in harness, 
 attended by boys as drivers. The cruelty inflicted 
 on these poor brutes, by the heavy loads they were 
 compelled to draw, and the severe use of the whip to 
 urge them on, was most painful to witness j though 
 the boys, when remonstrated with on the subject, 
 appeared to evince so much surprise, as to lead us to 
 believe that such complaints were quite new to them. 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 <231 
 
 From Wolfe’s Cove we returned to the town, by 
 the lower road as it is called, coming through a long, 
 narrow, and straggling suburb, called Champlain 
 Street, which extends itself for two or three miles, 
 at the foot of the Heights of Abraham, the breadth 
 between the cliffs and the river being rarely more 
 than fifty feet. As this quarter is the resort of 
 sailors, lumber-men, and newly-arrived emigrants, it 
 presents a fearful scene of disorder, filth, and intem- 
 perance ; and we thought that in this comparatively 
 short drive of less than an hour, we saw more of 
 poverty, raggedness, dirty and disorderly dwellings, 
 and taverns and spirit shops with drunken inmates, 
 than we had witnessed in all our three years’ journey 
 through the United States. There could not have 
 been less than a hundred openly licensed houses of 
 this description in this single street. We were 
 assured that the number of places at which spirits 
 are sold illicitly, exceed even the licensed houses ; 
 and these, as might be expected, are the most mis- 
 chievous and disorderly of the two, being kept by 
 the most reckless characters, and without the slightest 
 check or responsibility. Everyone here complains 
 of this, but no one sets about its reform, who has 
 the power to effect it. The Temperance Societies, 
 of which there are two in Quebec, call the public 
 attention to the subject from time to time, but the 
 Government are indifferent to the matter ; and the 
 municipal authorities seem to think the paltry reve- 
 nue afforded by the sale of spirits and licenses, of 
 more importance than the misery which it brings in 
 its train *, accordingly, no one who desires a license 
 and will pay for it, is refused. There are thus, at 
 
CANADA. 
 
 ^232 
 
 the present (ime, about 200 licensed taverns, and 
 nearly the same number of licensed groceries, at 
 which spirits are sold, within the city and suburbs 
 of Quebec ; add to this one-half the number of 
 unlicensed spirit-shops, which is deemed much below 
 the truth, there will be about 600 places at which 
 this destroying poison ts sold, in a population of 
 30,000 at the utmost, including all the seamen and 
 boatmen in the port. Supposing families to consist 
 generally of five persons, this would make one spirit- 
 shop to every ten families in the place ; while of the 
 butchers, bakers, clothiers, and furnishers of the 
 town, there is not probably one to every hundred 
 families ! so that the poisoners of the health and 
 morals of the community — two-thirds of whom are 
 openly licensed by the public authorities, and the 
 other third tolerated and permitted by the same 
 power — are ten times more numerous in proportion 
 to the whole population, than they who supply 
 wholesome food, raiment, and furniture ; and fifiy 
 times more numerous than those who administer 
 education or religion ! I No wonder, therefore, that 
 a community should remain poor, ignorant, and demo- 
 lalized, the great mass of whom are so powerfully 
 affected by the evil influences, and so slightly brought 
 within the sphere of the good. 
 
 We terminated our day’s excursion by returning 
 through the Upper Town, and visiting, in our way, 
 the Monument erected in a portion of the Govern- 
 ment Garden, to the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm. 
 1 his is a chaste and well-proportioned obelisk, of 
 the Egyptian shape, built of grey stone, standing 
 within the garden mentioned, and on the slope that 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 233 
 
 is open towards the river, so that it is distinctly 
 visible from thence. Its pedestal is 13 feet square, 
 and on this reposes a sarcophagus of the Roman 
 style, 7 feet in height. On this is placed the obelisk, 
 which is 6 feet in diameter at the base, and 45 feet 
 in height, making the whole elevation 65 feet from 
 the ground. On the north front of the sarcophagus, 
 looking towards the land-side, is the word Montcalm, 
 pointing in the direction from which he advanced to 
 meet the enemy ^ and on the south front, looking 
 towards the river, is the word Wolfe, equally indi- 
 cating the quarter by which this General advanced 
 to the attack. A Latin Inscription records their 
 equal bravery, and similar death, and dedicates this 
 Monument of their common fame, to history and to 
 posterity. 
 
 The monument was designed by Captain Young, 
 of the 79th Highlanders ; and its erection was com- 
 pleted by Lord Dalhousie, on the morning of the 
 day on which he quitted the Province for Lngland, 
 at the close of his administration, accompanied by 
 his successor. Sir James Kempt, on the 8th of Sep- 
 tember, 1828. It should be added, that the idea of 
 erecting this joint monument to the memory of Wolfe 
 X and Montcalm, was first suggested by Lord Dalhousie, 
 \ who headed a subscription-list to raise the funds ; 
 pvhich was speedily followed up by the subscriptions of 
 all ranks and classes of persons in Quebec, those of 
 French, as well as those of British origin, and 
 Catholics as well as Protestants. The foundation- 
 stone of the monument was laid by His Lordship, 
 on the 15th of November, 1827, with masonic and 
 military ceremonies j and the occasion was honoured 
 
^34 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 with the presence of a veteran of 95 years old, Mr. 
 James Thompson, who had fought in the army of 
 Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham, and who witnessed 
 the death of his General, being probably the last 
 remaining survivor of that eventful day. 
 
 Long, however, before any English person had 
 thought of raising a monument to the memory of 
 General Wolfe, at Quebec, the French troops, who 
 served in Canada with Montcalm, subscribed their 
 means to provide a monument for their General in 
 the country in which he fell. This occurred within 
 less than two years after the battle in which he was 
 killed; as in March, I 76 I, Mens, de Bougainville, 
 then a member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, 
 wrote an interesting letter to Mr. Pitt, (afterwards 
 Lord Chatham,) enclosing to him the copy of an 
 Epitaph, written by the Academy of Inscriptions 
 and Belles Lettres, for Montcalm’s tomb, and asking 
 the permission of the British government to have a 
 marble tablet, with this epitaph, placed in the Ursu- 
 line Convent at Quebec, where the remains of Mont- 
 calm were deposited in the grave opened for him by 
 the bursting of a shell ; apologizing, at the same time, 
 for taking off the minister’s attention for a moment 
 from more important concerns, but justifying it by 
 the elegant compliment, that “ to endeavour to im- 
 mortalize great men and illustrious citizens, was, in 
 effect, to do honour to himself.” The reply of Mr. 
 Pitt to this application, in which he “ communicates 
 with pleasure, the King’s consent to have this honour 
 done to the illustrious warrior,” contains this beau- 
 tiful passage — “ The noble sentiments expressed in 
 the desire to pay this tribute to the memory of their 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 235 
 
 General, by the French troops who served in Canada, 
 and who saw him fall at their head, in a manner 
 worthy of him, and worthy of them, cannot be too 
 much applauded. I shall take a pleasure in facili- 
 tating a design so full of respect to the deceased ^ 
 and as soon as I am informed of the measures taken 
 for embarking the marble, I shall immediately grant 
 the passport you desire, and send orders to the 
 Government of Canada for its reception.” The 
 marble was immediately executed, and shipped for 
 Canada, under the auspices of the British govern- 
 ment, and in an English vessel ; but unfortunately, 
 she never reached her destination, nor was ever more 
 heard of after leaving her port, so that this generous 
 design was never completed, until the Earl of Dal- 
 housie, moved, it is said, to the undertaking, by a 
 perusal of this correspondence, conceived the idea 
 of uniting the names of Wolfe and Montcalm, in a 
 monument that should do equal honour to the 
 memory of both ; and which will, no doubt, be pre- 
 served and venerated as long as Quebec shall con- 
 tinue to exist. 
 
 The only other public monument, or rather 
 monuments, to public men, existing in Quebec, except 
 that to the first Protestant Bishop, as mentioned in 
 the description of the English Cathedral Church, is 
 one, in the same edifice, to Lieutenant-General 
 Hunter, Governor of Upper Canada, and Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the Forces in both Provinces, who 
 died in Quebec in 1805; and another to the memory 
 of Mr. Thomas Dunn, one of the oldest settlers in 
 the Colony, who for many years had filled the im- 
 portant offices of executive and legislative councillor. 
 
CANADA. 
 
 2:3G 
 
 and twice administered the government of the Pro- 
 vince in intervals between succeeding Governors, 
 and who died here on the 15th of April, 1818, in 
 the 88th year of his age. The remains of the Duke 
 of Richmond, then Governor of Canada, who died 
 of hydrophobia, the torments of which he bore with 
 surprising fortitude for a long period before his 
 death, which occurred on the 28th of August, 1819, 
 are buried beneath the altar of the Cathedral Church ; 
 but though his public and private character made 
 him an object of universal esteem while living, and 
 his death was lamented by all classes, no monument 
 has yet been placed over his grave, either by the 
 people, the government, or his wealthy and powerful 
 relatives and friends in England. 
 
 Before we returned to our hotel, we went to see 
 one of the antiquities or curiosities of Quebec, called 
 Le Chien d’Or. It is in front of what was once the 
 Freemasons’ Hall, but is now the office of the Quebec 
 Mercury. Over the door of this edifice, is inserted 
 a large stone slab, with a dog gnawing a bone, sculp- 
 tured in relief, and gilded. Around this figure is a 
 square frame cut out of the stone, on the top of 
 which frame, or border, is the first line, and at the 
 bottom, underneath the figure of the dog, the other 
 three lines of the following verse, engraved in the 
 old style of inscriptions, in Roman capitals, with the 
 V for Uy and other marks of antique orthography 
 and execution — 
 
 Je suis un Chien, qui ronge Tos : 
 
 En le rongeant Je prends mon repos. 
 
 Uii terns viendra, qui n’est pas venu. 
 
 Que Je mordray qui m’aura mordu.” 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 237 
 
 The history of this inscription is characteristic of 
 the times in which it occurred. Mons. Philibert, 
 a rich merchant of France, resided here in 1712, 
 when Mons. Begon was the Intendant. The former 
 having received some injuries from the latter, which 
 his power and influence made it dangerous for him 
 to resent, placed this gilded dog and inscription 
 over his door. The allusion in the last two lines, 
 being supposed to point to Mons. Begon, one of the 
 French officers of the garrison took it upon him 
 to avenge the insult, by stabbing Mons. Philibert 
 through the body with his sword, in the open street, 
 of which wound he died. The assassin made his 
 escape, and left the Province, no doubt abundantly 
 provided for by the Intendant ^ but he did not escape 
 retribution, for the brother of the murdered mer- 
 chant, comina; out from France to settle his affairs, 
 and learning that his murderer had gone to the East 
 Indies, he undertook a voyage there in search of 
 him, and meeting him in the streets of Pondicherry, 
 he challenged him on the spot, where they fought 
 with swords, till the assassin of the merchant was 
 killed by the hand of his brother. This act was 
 universally applauded, by the chivalric but anti- 
 christian spirit of the age, in which, forgiveness of 
 injuries, instead of being regarded as a virtue, was 
 stigmatized as a crime ; and, unhappily for mankind, 
 we are not much wiser or better, in that respect, at 
 present, in the age in which we live, than the genera- 
 tions that lived before Christianity was preached or 
 known. 
 
CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Commerce of Quebec — Ships, Tonnage, and Cargoes — Large pro- 
 portion of Wines and Spirits imported — Articles of Export, 
 nature and quantities — Great increase of Immigration during 
 the present year — Municipal Government — Population — 
 French and English society in Quebec — Newspapers — Political 
 parties — Public amusements — Picture Gallery — Painting of 
 Indians — Tribe of Hurons — Castes and names — Spread of the 
 Catholic religion in America — Recent arrival of several com- 
 panies of Nuns — Crowded Temperance Meeting in the 
 Parliament House — Statistics of Intemperance in the City of 
 Quebec — Expenses of Jails, Hospitals, Asylums, and Paupers 
 — Coroner’s Inquests — Proportion of criminals from drinking — 
 Execution of a British seaman for murdering a marine — 
 Efforts of the Catholic Bishop and Clergy in favour of 
 Temperance — Climate of Quebec— Health of the Canadian 
 peasantry. 
 
 The military importance of Quebec has hitherto 
 occasioned it to he most generally thought of, and 
 spoken of, as a fortress of great strength, and the 
 principal citadel of our North American possessions. 
 But it will henceforth be regarded in another and a 
 more interesting point of view ; namely, as a port of 
 entry for the Commerce of Europe. Of the present 
 trade of Quebec, the following facts, compiled from 
 the Official Returns of the Exports and Imports 
 for the last year, 1839, will furnish a tolerably 
 accurate outline; The ships that arrived at Quebec 
 in that year, with their tonnage and men, were as 
 follows— 
 

 
 QUEBEC. 
 
 
 239 
 
 Country. 
 
 Ships, 
 
 Tons, 
 
 Men, 
 
 Value of 
 Cargoes, 
 
 Great Britain . . 
 
 751 
 
 270,894 
 
 10,750 
 
 £1,806,920 
 
 Ireland . , . . 
 
 179 
 
 57,845 
 
 5,425 
 
 18,507 
 
 British N. America 
 
 125 
 
 14,352 
 
 655 
 
 25,588 
 
 United States . . 
 
 38 
 
 17,542 
 
 620 
 
 18,940 
 
 France • . . . 
 
 17 
 
 4,702 
 
 173 
 
 3,053 
 
 Hamburgh • . . 
 
 9 
 
 2,294 
 
 80 
 
 19,663 
 
 British West Indies 
 
 8 
 
 1,376 
 
 78 
 
 206 
 
 Foreign West Indies 7 
 
 1,632 
 
 67 
 
 354 
 
 Portugal . . . 
 
 4 
 
 579 
 
 29 
 
 766 
 
 Gibraltar . . . 
 
 3 
 
 421 
 
 23 
 
 4,412 
 
 Russia . . . . 
 
 2 
 
 722 
 
 28 
 
 2,500 
 
 South America 
 
 2 
 
 746 
 
 29 
 
 5,082 
 
 Amsterdam . . 
 
 1 
 
 490 
 
 20 
 
 000 
 
 Sicily . . . . 
 
 1 
 
 74 
 
 8 
 
 784 
 
 Totals . 
 
 1,147 
 
 373,669 
 
 17,985 
 
 £1,904,775 
 
 It is remarkable, and at the same time painful to 
 observe, that by far the largest imports into this 
 country are wines and spirits, which come pouring 
 in from all quarters, and amount to the following 
 quantities for the same year, 1839 — 
 
 Countries. 
 
 Wines, 
 
 Spirits. 
 
 Great Britain .... 
 
 258,597 galls. 
 
 599,728 galls. 
 
 British West Indies 
 
 
 106,715 „ 
 
 France 
 
 67,087 „ 
 
 21,254 „ 
 
 Ireland 
 
 23,939 „ 
 
 2,494 „ 
 
 Foreign West Indies . . 
 
 
 30,196 „ 
 
 Portugal 
 
 . 26,114 „ 
 
 219 ., 
 
 British North America . 
 
 1,816 „ 
 
 4,339 „ 
 
 Hamburgh .... 
 
 
 3,880 „ 
 
 United States . . . 
 
 633 „ 
 
 61 „ 
 
 Totals . . 378,186 766,886 
 
 which, as the population of the two Canadas does 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 240 
 
 not exceed a million in number, is more than a gallon 
 of wine or spirits to each living being in the Provinces, 
 man, woman, and child ! 
 
 Of the vessels that cleared out from Quebec in 
 1839, with their different destinations, the folio winar 
 is the statement compiled from the same Official 
 Report of Exports and Imports for the year 1839 
 
 Countries. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Great Britain . 
 
 868 
 
 315,944 
 
 12,424 
 
 Ireland 
 
 . 200 
 
 66,387 
 
 2,676 
 
 British North America 
 
 107 
 
 6,166 
 
 4J4 
 
 British West Indies 
 
 7 
 
 7,763 
 
 45 
 
 Cuba 
 
 1 
 
 181 
 
 13 
 
 Azores 
 
 1 
 
 103 
 
 7 
 
 Totals . 
 
 1,184 
 
 389,544 
 
 15,579 
 
 By this it will be perceived that there were 37 
 ships more cleared out than were entered in, with a 
 difference of 15,579 tons. These extra ships were 
 all built in the St. Lawrence within that year, and 
 sailed fr6m hence on their first voyages, making that 
 additional number and tonnage ; but, as will be also 
 observed, the seamen forming the crews of the ships 
 leaving the port were less, by 2,406, than those which 
 entered into it— this diminution being occasioned by 
 desertions, deaths, and disabilities, all greatly accele- 
 rated by the immoderate use of the ardent spirits 
 which they assist to bring into the port. 
 
 The value of the exports is not given, but merely 
 the articles and the quantities of each. These are 
 
 very varied ; but the following are the most important 
 articles — 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 241 
 
 Dt?als , • . . 
 
 3,031,194 pieces 
 
 Hoops . . • 
 
 31,100 
 
 pieces 
 
 Punclicon Staves 3,083,395 
 
 >» 
 
 Oars . . . 
 
 18,064 
 
 it 
 
 Standard Staves 
 
 1,495,837 
 
 » 
 
 Handspikes 
 
 11,333 
 
 it 
 
 Barrel Staves . 
 
 982,176 
 
 >» 
 
 Spars . . . 
 
 3,906 
 
 it 
 
 Pipe Staves 
 
 482,238 
 
 
 Masts . . . 
 
 1,700 
 
 tl 
 
 Battens . . 
 
 48,681 
 
 „ 
 
 Tree Nails . • 
 
 5,370 
 
 it 
 
 White Pine 
 
 197,377 
 
 tons 
 
 Pot Ashes . . 
 
 17,335 
 
 barrels 
 
 Red Pine * . 
 
 163,933 
 
 it 
 
 Pearl Ashes , 
 
 8,045 
 
 »♦ 
 
 Oak Timber . 
 
 53,923 
 
 it 
 
 Flour , . . 
 
 48,593 
 
 a 
 
 Elm .... 
 
 29,571 
 
 it 
 
 Beef . . . 
 
 2,167 
 
 it 
 
 Birch Timber 
 
 1,872 
 
 it 
 
 Pork . . . 
 
 9,248 
 
 
 The commerce of the country suffered a great 
 stagnation by the late rebellion ; but it is fast reviv- 
 ing, now that confidence in the stability of the 
 Government is restored. Accordingly, up to the 
 present time, (September 19th, 1840), there have 
 arrived upwards of 1,000 vessels since the commence- 
 ment of the year. There being at least 300 more 
 expected in the Fall fleet, there will he more than 
 200 ships this year above the number of the last. 
 The number of emigrants arrived from the mother- 
 country this year is much greater than the last, 
 according to the following report up to the same 
 period, as obtained from the Emigrant Office of 
 Quebec — 
 
 Number of Emigrants arrived during the week ending Sept 
 18th, 1840 — 697; of whom there were— 
 
 From England . 167 From Scotland . 56 
 
 From Ireland . 465 Lower Ports . . 9 
 
 The whole number of emigrants reporfed up to 
 this period in the last year, was hut the 
 
 number up to this period in the present year is 
 21,914 ; showing an increase of 14,765, or more 
 than 300 per cent. ; and it is quite within probability 
 that the ratio may so increase as to make the present 
 
 u 
 
CANADA 
 
 
 Q V> 
 
 year’s immigration greater than the last by 400 per 
 cent ! 
 
 Quebec was incorporated as a City by an act of 
 the Provincial Parliament, in 1833. It was divided 
 into ten wards, and appointed to be governed by a 
 Mayor and Common Council of twenty members, 
 chosen by popular election. But under the late sus- 
 pension of the constitution, the Corporation has had 
 its functions placed in abeyance till restored by the 
 Governor-General under the new Union Bill ; and 
 the first organization of that body will be by the 
 nomination of the Governor-General and his Special 
 Council. 
 
 The population of Quebec is estimated to be under 
 30,000 ; of whom it is thought that about two-thirds 
 are of French descent, and one-third only of English. 
 What is exceedingly to be lamented for the sake of 
 both, is, that the families of each do not mingle 
 nearly so much as the English and French in Paris, 
 or the English and Italians at Naples. The French, 
 as the conquered people, might naturally be supposed 
 unwilling to press themselves on the society of their 
 new masters ; and being little inclined to learn any 
 language but their own, the overture toward social 
 intercourse would never be likely to come from them. 
 Add to this, their inferiority in wealth, and the pre- 
 judices likely to be imbibed by them on the score of 
 religion ; and there seems abundant reasons why the 
 French should not be disposed to court the English. 
 But I cannot perceive the same excuses on the other 
 side. The English, as being the more powerful, 
 more wealthy, and more free on the score of religious 
 prejudice, ought to have done everything in their 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 243 
 
 power to make the yoke sit lightly on the necks of 
 those who are obliged to wear it ; and that not 
 merely by preserving to them as many of their civil 
 and political privileges as possible, but also by invit- 
 ing them to their societies, learning their language, 
 and interchanging hospitalities. But no attempt at 
 this appears ever to have been made, on such a scale, 
 and with such constancy, as to ensure its success ; 
 and, therefore, the French have remained as much 
 separated from the English up to the present time, 
 as they were within the first ten years after the con- 
 quest. In entering the shops, or walking the streets, 
 French is almost the only language heard ; and by 
 far the greater number of the inhabitants below the 
 middle class neither understand nor desire to learn 
 English. They have their separate newspapers, 
 published in French — their separate fauxbourgs — 
 their separate cafes — and their separate churches ; 
 so that any amalgamation or intermarriage between 
 the races is very rare, and interchange of visits 
 between them almost as unusual. 
 
 Of the French society here, therefore, I know 
 much less than of the English ; but in the casual 
 intercourse I had with those of both sexes, during my 
 stay in Quebec, I should say that I received the 
 impression of the men being less elegant and less 
 informed, and the women less beautiful and less 
 accomplished, than their ancestors appear to have 
 been. It is recorded that in 17^3, four years after 
 the capture of Quebec, by the English under Gene- 
 ral Wolfe, the first presentation of any Canadian 
 subjects of His Majesty, took place at the court of 
 George the Third. He had come to the throne a 
 
 R 2 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 
 few days only after the news of the conquest, and 
 was then both young and gallant ; and on the pi*e- 
 sentation to him of the Chevalier Chaussegros de 
 Lery and his lady, who was very beautiful, the 
 King understanding that they were from Quebec, 
 said, addressing the lady — “ Madame, If all the ladies 
 of Canada are as handsome as yourself, I have 
 indeed made a conquest.” The beauty of the present 
 race of Canadians, as far as I could judge, from 
 the crowds of ladies assembled at the church and 
 elsewhere, is much more rare than the same quality 
 in the United States ; where, in an hour’s walk on a 
 fine day in the streets of New York, Philadelphia, 
 and Baltimore, one may see more female beauty than 
 we have yet observed in all Canada, during our three 
 months’ sojourn in it. The Canadians are gene- 
 rally admitted here, however, to be extremely amiable, 
 virtuous, attached to their parents and children, 
 faithful in all their domestic relations, and happy in 
 the enjoyment of their homes ; and these are quali- 
 ties of much higher value than mere beauty. 
 
 We enjoyed the hospitality of some very agreeable 
 and amiable English families, where a combination 
 of intelligence, courtesy, and accomplishments, con- 
 tributed much to our pleasure, and made us regret 
 that we could not prolong our stay with them ; and 
 I passed a very cheerful evening also at the mess of 
 the officers of the Coldstream Guards. We received 
 and repaid some morning visits, and during our three 
 weeks’ stay had frequent occasional intercourse with 
 the higher classes of the community. So far as 
 these opportunities enabled me to form an accurate 
 opinion, I was led to think that the style and tone of 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 245 
 
 society here was higher than among the same classes 
 at Montreal, and equal to that of Toronto. In both, 
 the same line of distinction is drawn between the 
 officials, the wealthy merchants, and the professional 
 men — who constitute the gentry ; and persons engaged 
 in trade ; but this does not appear to interrupt the 
 good feeling between them. 
 
 There are six newspapers in Quebec, three in Eng- 
 lish and three in French ; four of them published three 
 times a week, one twice, and one only once. Of the 
 three English newspapers, the Mercury is the advo- 
 cate of the Administration, the Gazette is its oppo- 
 nent, and the Colonist is a Reformer, but independent 
 of any particular party. The three French news- 
 papers are all opposed to the Union, and to English 
 predominance ; one of them. La Gazette de Quebec, 
 is conducted by a Scotch editor ; another, Le Cana- 
 dien, by a French editor ; and a third, Le Fantasque, 
 which is a witty and satirical sheet, like the Figaro 
 or Chiravari of Paris, by a Canadian. Of all these, 
 the Gazette, conducted by the Scotch editor, Mr. 
 M ‘Donald, is the most violent in its censures of the 
 Union Bill, and of the government both of England 
 and Canada ; and as it is published by one of the 
 principal English booksellers at Quebec, Mr. Neil- 
 son, it may give the English reader an example of 
 the style of writing and reasoning on political topics 
 in this journal, which exercises considerable influence 
 among the French population of Lower Canada, to 
 present the following extract from its sheet, dated 
 the 15 th of September, 1840. 
 
 “ Une Bagatelle.” — M. Thomson, pour engager le parlement 
 britanni(jue ^ charger le Bas* Canada, solvable, dune dette con- 
 
246 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 tractee sans son consentement, par le Haut-Canada, qui est en 
 banqueroute, lui a dit que ce n’etait qu une bagatelle.’’ Cette 
 “bagatelle,” cependant, equivalent k une taxe ^-peu-presde six 
 millions de piastres, ce qui fait au raoins trente piastres par 
 famille, riche ou pauvre, que les habitants du Bas-Canada seront 
 forces de payer k MM. Baring, banquiers de Londres, creanciers 
 du Haut-Canada, parents et amis de M. Thomson, k qui les 
 habitants du Bas-Canada ne devaient rien. Trente piastres 
 seraient sans doute “ une bagatelle ” pour M. Thomson ou MM. 
 Baring ; mais combien de pauvres families dans le Bas-Canada 
 qui seront obligees de vendre jusqu’a leur derniere guenille pour 
 fournir cette somme a des gens qui n’y ont pas plus de droit 
 que le vouleur de grand-chemin qui vous demande la bourse ou 
 la vie! 
 
 La oh la tete du serpent a pu passer, son corps et sa queue 
 peuvent passer sans peine. Lorsqu’ayant la main dans la bourse 
 d'autrui, on en a tire six millions de piastres pour les distribuer 
 k ses amis et parents, pourrait-on se faire un scrupule d’y puiser 
 encore quelques milliers de piastres pour en garnir ses propres 
 poches ? 
 
 A la fin du bill d’union, par lequel le parlement britannique, 
 oh le Bas-Canada n’est pas represents, s’avise d’hypothequer 
 toutes les proprietes du Bas-Canada qui ne lui appartiennent pas 
 plus que ne lui appartiennent celles des anciennes colonies 
 anglaises qui composent maintenant les Etats-Unis, au paiement 
 d’une dette de six millions de piastres que le Bas-Canada n’a 
 jamais contractee, et dont il n’a jamais retirS et ne retirera peut- 
 Stre jamais aucun bSnSfice, M. Thomson a fait ajouter une petite 
 “bagatelle” de liste civile de 83,333/. 65 . 8c/. ou 333,333 piastres^, 
 qu’il a voulu soustraire au controle des representants de ceux 
 qui la paieraient, et a la tSte de laquelle il figure lui-mSme pour 
 7,777/. 155. 6c/. f, (31,111 piastres, 11 centiSmes). 
 
 Tous les gouverneurs-generaux du Canada jusqu’h M. Thom- 
 son, parmi lesquels il y a eu plusieurs pairs du royaume, des 
 dues, des comtes et autres personnes distinguSes par leur rang 
 ou par des services rend us k la patrie, se sont con tenths d’un 
 traitement annuel de 20,000 piastres, qu’ils recon naissaient 
 devoir a la bienveillance du peuple, quoique la plupart d’entr’eux 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 247 
 
 fussent, de plus, charges de famille. Mais M. Thomson, sort! de 
 derri^re un comptoir et n’ayant pas m6me de famille a soutenir, 
 lie peut pas se contenter de ce qui a suffi aux Richmond, aux 
 Dalhousie, etc. ; il faut qu’on y ajoute en sa faveur une petite 
 “ bagatelle” supplementaire de 11,1 11 piastres par an, qui apres 
 la “bagatelle” de six millions nest vraiment pas sensible. 
 
 Le pr6sident des Etats-Unis, qui gouverne un peuple de 
 seize millions d’imes, ou de quinze d seize fois la population des 
 deux Canadas, et qui est oblige de tenir une cour comme les 
 t^tes couronn^es, et de recevoir les ambassadeurs de toutes les 
 puissances du monde, se contente aussi de 25,000 piastres par 
 an, ou 6,111 piastres de moins que M. Thomson ; mais qu’est-ce 
 qu’un pr6sident des Etats-Unis, qui ne peut recevoir comme tel 
 que ce que le peuple des Etats-Unis lui accorde volontairement 
 sur ses propres biens, a c6t6 d’un M. Thomson, qui d Faide des 
 representants des propri^taires de la Grande Bretagne, dispose 
 en maitre absolu de toutes les propriet6s du Canada ? Car s’il 
 peut, sans le consentement de ceux qui se sont crus jusqu’ici les 
 proprietaires, en prendre pour six millions de piastres, puis pour 
 333,333 piastres, pourquoi ne pourrait-il pas aussi bien prendre 
 toute le reste ? Celui qui peut vous oter un sou de votre bien 
 sans votre consentement peut tout vous l oter, s’il le juge d 
 propos. Done, si le bill d’union de M. Thomson, adopte par le 
 parlement britannique, a force de loi, il n’y a pas en Canada un 
 seul homme qui soit r6ellement propri6taire ; les vrais proprie- 
 taires sont les representants de la Grande-Bretagne, qui disposent 
 d leur gr6 des propriet5s du Canada, qui en donnent six millions 
 de piastres d MM. Baring, 31,111 piastres par an d M. Thomson, 
 etc. Done, si cet acte du parlement britannique a force de loi, 
 tous les habitants du Canada sont des esclaves dans toute la 
 force du terme, autant que les n^gres de la Louisiane ou de la 
 Virginie. 
 
 The editors of the Canada journals are in 
 general above the standard of those who fill this 
 office in the provincial papers of the United States, 
 both in the extent of their information, and in the 
 gentlemanly tone of their writings, and there is 
 
248 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 therefore less of personality, or party violence, exhi- 
 bited towards each other, in their columns. Th 
 differ as to principles, and debate these fairly, with 
 considerable talent on each side ; though for good 
 taste in the selection of subjects, and extracts, as 
 well as for elegance of style and acuteness of reason- 
 ing, we thought the French papers here superior to 
 the English. 
 
 Of public diversions, there are not many, and 
 these few are neither well conducted nor well sus- 
 tained. There is an excellent and capacious Theatre 
 Royal, but it has been closed for more than a year ; 
 and the smaller Theatre of St. Paul has so few 
 attractions, in the mediocrity of its performances, 
 that it is scarcely at all attended by the gentry of 
 either race. Concerts are occasionally given by 
 visitors from England and the United States, and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Seguin, who were recently here, were 
 well attended. The great attraction for Canadian 
 tastes, is said, however, to be the Circus, and they 
 are therefore visited every year by several companies 
 of Equestrians from New York and elsewhere, who 
 are attended by large numbers. Races are also held 
 in the summer, on the Plains of Abraham ; but 
 these are not productive of less evils than the same 
 sport in England, and the following paragraph from 
 the Canadian Colonist of September 7lh, the races 
 having terminated the week after our arrival here, 
 may be taken as evidence of the grounds on which 
 the writer condemns them — 
 
 ** The races terminated on Friday ; the sport we learn was very 
 poor, but on the other hand, there was the average number of 
 casualties both in men and in horses j and the broken heads and 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 249 
 
 blackened eyes at the police-office, gave abundant employment 
 to the magistrates, varied by charges of swindling, gambling, and 
 pocket-picking. It is calculated that more than two thousand 
 working-men were kept idle during the two days of the races, 
 and the pecuniary loss to the community consequent upon this 
 must be heavy. The state of society in Canada does not seem 
 to us to warrant horse-racing, which is a luxury only suited to 
 older and more wealthy countries than ours. The sport was 
 introduced many years since by the military, who in general have 
 not much occupation ; it is but little encouraged by the better 
 class among the civilians, and we are not without the hope of seeing 
 it abandoned altogether, as the good sense of the officers ot the 
 distinguished corps in garrison must convince them that the 
 practice is not suited to a country where support for the whole 
 year is to be earned in the few fleeting months of summer and 
 autumn.” 
 
 Besides the pictures in the various Catholic places 
 of worship in Quebec, we saw some excellent ones 
 in the gallery of a native artist, who was self-taught, 
 but having copied from good models, chiefly scrip- 
 tural pieces from the old masters, he had acquired 
 great power, and a remarkably chaste style. At 
 another gallery, we saw a picture recently painted 
 in Quebec, representing the Presentation of a newly 
 created Chief of the Council of the Huron tribe, 
 resident at the Indian village of Lorette, in their 
 aboriginal costume. There was a singular mixture 
 of French and Indian in the physiognomies, as well 
 as dresses, of the chiefs represented on the canvass, 
 all of which were portraits taken from the life. 
 Indeed, so mixed is the blood of these Indians at 
 present, that among all the figures introduced into 
 this picture, there was but one of pure Huron 
 descent, and he is said to he the only one of the 
 unmixed race now remaining in the tribe. We saw 
 
250 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 this Indian, (whose French name is Zacharie Vin- 
 cent, hut his Indian name is Te-la-ri-ho-lin, or, “ one 
 who is divided,”) and had a long conversation with 
 him, as he spoke French with great ease. His por- 
 trait was very faithfully executed, and presented a 
 marked difference — in the rounded face, expanded 
 nostrils, and high cheek-bones, as well as in his deep- 
 brown complexion — from the sharper features and 
 fairer skins of the half-breed, who had descended as 
 much from a French as an Indian stock. The tribe, 
 it appears, is divided into four sections, or companies, 
 namely, the Stags, the Wolves, the Bears, and the 
 Turtles. The Chief Warrior is of this last com- 
 pany, and his name is A-non-cha-wanck-ratte, or, 
 “ one who passes over the tops of houses.” The 
 Grand Chief belongs to the company of Stags, and 
 his name is Tza-wan-ho-hi, or, “ one who plunges 
 things into the water.” And the second Warrior 
 belongs to the company of Wolves, his name being 
 Ta-hour-hau-chi, or, “ the dawn of the morning.” 
 The medicine-man of the tribe, who is both doctor 
 and necromancer, is of the company of the Bears, 
 and his name is Ah-rat-hin-ha, or, “one who quickly 
 mounts an eminence.” Among the rest of the 
 figures are Indians having the following names — 
 Oh-da-wan-hort, or, “ he that has the river in his 
 mouth A-te-jaih-ta, or, “ the complete warrior.” 
 Among the females, the accoucheuse of the tribe is 
 called A-tir-taoux-i-ack, or, “one who agitates the 
 water,” while another, the Grand Chief’s daughter, 
 is called A-ti-a-an-onk, or, “one who takes care of 
 the water-spring.” Though her father belongs to 
 the company of the Stags, the daughter is numbered 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 251 
 
 among the company of the Wolves, that being her 
 mother’s division, and the offspring invariably follow 
 the caste of the mother, for, as the Indians say, 
 “ It is the woman who nourishes the earth.” The 
 Indians named here are among the principal per- 
 sonages of the Huron tribe, and all are introduced, 
 by their portraits, into the picture described. They 
 are faithful Catholics, and are said to fulfil their 
 
 religious duties in the most exemplary manner, being 
 much more improved by their commerce with the 
 whites, than the Indian tribes who have first come 
 
 into contact with Protestants usually are. 
 
 The pains taken by the early French visitors to 
 Canada, to propagate their religion, was, indeed, 
 much greater than to extend their trade ; and the 
 zeal and devotion manifested by many of the first 
 Catholic Missionaries is above all praise. That the 
 same spirit of proselytism is reviving among the 
 Catholics of the present day, is certain from all that 
 we see around us in every part of Canada, as well as 
 in the United States. In both, indeed, such efforts 
 are making to spread the Catholic faith, as to lead 
 to the belief that the Papal power, seeing its gradual 
 decay in the Old World, is anxious to secure for 
 itself a home and an asylum in the New. The 
 following is only one of many similar notices which 
 w'e have seen in the public prints of this continent 
 within the last three years. It is taken from the 
 Gazette de Quebec, of the 21st of September, pub- 
 
 lished during our stay in the City 
 
 « Arrivee de Religieuses de France aux Etats-Unis.— 
 Nous trouvons ce qui suit dans le New York Catholic Register 
 du 10 septembre : 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 Dames du Ctewr.— Madame de Gallitzen, de Tordre 
 
 des Dames du Sacre-Coeur, est arriv^e dans ce port Tautre jour, 
 sur le navire lowa^ avec sept autres dames de son ordre. Apres 
 avoir passe quelques Jours en cette ville, elles sont parties pour 
 I’ouest, ou plusieurs communautes de leur ordre sont dej^ etablies. 
 Nous felicitons les Catholiques de New-York sur la perspective 
 de voir une communaute de ces dames excellentes et accomplies 
 etablie dans cette ville le printemps prochain. 
 
 “ S(Kurs de la Providence de Ruille- sur* Loir. — C’est avec des 
 sentiments de satisfaction sincere que nous avons le plaisir d’an- 
 noncer I’avrivee du Cincinnati^ capitaine N • Barstow, le vendredi 
 4 du courant, apr^s un trajet de quarante jours, avec les dames 
 suivantes de Fordre de la Providence, de Ruille-^sur-Loir, diocese 
 de Mons, en France ; sceur Theodore, superieure ; soeurs Vincent, 
 Basilide, Olympie, Marie-Xavier, et A. de Liguori. 
 
 ^‘Leur destination est Vincennes (Indiana), oii elles se propo- 
 sent d^ prendre la direction dune ecole et de visiter les malades. 
 Elles sont parties ce matin pour Philadelphie.” 
 
 Missionaries are also sent from Quebec and Mont- 
 real up the Ottawa river to the Indian tribes of the 
 north-west; and the reports of their proceedings, 
 published occasionally in the French papers, show 
 that these are not inferior in zeal and devotion to the 
 first founders and propagators of the faith on this 
 continent. 
 
 During our stay in Quebec, I delivered three 
 Courses of Lectures in succession — one on Egypt, 
 another on Palestine, and one on Mesopotamia and 
 the countries east of the Jordan ; and they were all 
 attended by large and constantly increasing audiences. 
 The first was delivered in the Methodist Church ; 
 but a singular condition was annexed to the grant 
 of this building ; namely, that no meeting in favour 
 of Temperance should be held in the same edifice. 
 This condition was exacted, as I afterwards learnt. 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 253 
 
 by some of the Trustees of the Chapel, who were 
 distillers and dealers in ardent spirits ; and who did 
 not wish to have their craft put in danger. This was 
 the only instance in which any such condition had 
 been proposed by any religious body in Canada 
 within my knowledge ; as the chapels of the same 
 sect had been freely offered for the delivery of my 
 Lectures, in Toronto, Kingston, and Montreal, and 
 Temperance meetings held in them at the close of 
 the Course. It is due, however, to the Minister 
 and some of the Trustees of the Methodist Church, 
 at Quebec, to state that they did their utmost to 
 remove this obstacle, but they were overruled by the 
 majority. Not desiring to submit to such a condition 
 as this, the remainder of the first Course was given 
 in the Court House, which the Judges pobtely offered 
 for that purpose. Increasing numbers, making it 
 impossible to find accommodation for all in this 
 building, the second Course was delivered in the 
 Theatre Royal, which had been shut up for more 
 than a year, and was now specially prepared for this 
 occasion. The Governor-General, however, having, 
 on application to him for that purpose, directed the 
 Hall of the Legislative Assembly in the Parliament 
 House of Quebec to be placed at my disposal, the 
 third Course was given there, and was more numer- 
 ously attended than either of the preceding, the 
 auditors occupying the seats of the members of the 
 Legislature, and the gallery ; and the Lectures being 
 delivered from the Speaker’s chair — the last occupant 
 
 of which was Mr. Papineau. n i • 
 
 On the last evening of our stay in Quebec, this 
 Hall was filled by upwards of a thousand auditors. 
 
254 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 every foot of all the avenues and vacant spaces being 
 covered by persons standing, while every seat below 
 was occupied with others who had come to hear a 
 parting address from me, on leaving Canada most 
 probably for ever, ‘‘ On the evils inflicted on our Colo- 
 nies, as well as the Mother-Country, by Intemperance, 
 and the duty of all classes of society to assist in less- 
 ening them.” What added greatly to the interest of 
 this meeting was the fact, that the Commander of 
 the troops in the garrison of Quebec, deeply impressed 
 with the great evil of Intemperance, as the most 
 destructive foe of discipline and order in the Army, 
 had a large body of the Coldstream guards marched 
 down to the Parliament House, and seats were 
 reserved for them in the strangers* gallery ; so that 
 there were persons of all ranks and classes in the 
 community present. At Montreal and Toronto it 
 had been found difiicult to secure the attendance of 
 the more wealthy and influential classes of society to 
 listen to this subject ; but here, by making the 
 admission, though gratuitous, a privilege or favour, 
 granting it to those only who held tickets, and distri- 
 buting these chiefly among the higher classes, they 
 came at length to be in such request, that they were 
 eagerly sought after by others, and bought at a price ; 
 and twice the number were asked for that the room 
 would contain. The effect of this arrangement was 
 to bring together a larger number of persons than 
 had ever been assembled at any Temperance meet- 
 ing before held in Quebec ; and to bring to it 
 especially the classes who had hitherto kept aloof 
 from even hearing and considering the question. 
 To them, therefore, the address delivered on this 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 255 
 
 occasion was chiefly directed, with a view to impress 
 them if possible with the duty of their joining the 
 Friends of Temperanee, in the advocacy and promo- 
 tion of all such measures as might he likely, both by 
 precept and example, to lessen the amount of the 
 crime, disease, and poverty, which Intemperance 
 was everywhere producing, and in no place more 
 extensively than in Quebec. 
 
 Among the statistical facts connected with this 
 subject, which had been furnished to me by gentle- 
 men holding official stations in the City, there are 
 some which may be usefully recorded here, as show- 
 ing how uniformly the increase of places where 
 intoxicating drinks are to he had, leads to accumu- 
 lated evils in the community that sanctions or per- 
 mits this traffic ; and how much more is lost, even 
 in a pecuniary sense, by the expenses involved in its 
 train, than is gained by the revenue from licenses 
 or duties on consumption. 
 
 The number of tavern-licenses already granted 
 for the year 1840, in the District of Quebec, was 
 SOI ; grocers’ licenses in the City to sell under 20 
 gallons, 154 ; and the same in the country to sell 
 under 3 gallons, 77 } making 532 licensed retailers of 
 spirits in the whole. In the City, however, the num- 
 ber of unlicensed retailers are reported by the police 
 to be rather more numerous than the licensed j but 
 supposing them to be only equal, the number would 
 stand thus : licensed taverns, 170, licensed grocers, 
 154, making 324 licensed spirit-sellers for the City 
 alone ; and adding an equal number of unlicensed 
 places, there would he 648 houses in which spirits 
 are retailed, for a population of less than 30,000 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 256 
 
 persons. There are, besides these, a number of dis- 
 tilleries and breweries in active operation, as well as 
 importers and wholesale dealers bringing into the port 
 of Quebec every year 1,145,072 gallons of wine and 
 spirits, in the proportion of about two-thirds of the 
 latter to one-third of the former, the exact amounts 
 being, of wine 378,186, and of spirits 766,886 gals. 
 
 It has been estimated, on the most moderate 
 data, that the sum expended annually in Quebec in 
 intoxicating drinks, exceeds 50,000/. ; and that the 
 expenditure arising out of this, for Jails, Hospitals, 
 Asylums, and Police, amount to 10,000/. a year 
 more; while the losses occasioned by intoxication, 
 in idleness, riots, gambling, fires, wrecks, and other 
 consequences of drinking to excess, would more than 
 make up the balance of 100,000/. a year, as a total 
 expenditure or waste of the property of the com- 
 munity! 
 
 The Coroner of the City had held inquests over 
 39 persons, who had come to a premature death by 
 drunkenness, in the short space between March and 
 September; adding his opinion, that this did not 
 represent a third of the number who had actually 
 died of drunkenness in the same space of time ! His 
 inquests were held only over the bodies of those who 
 came to their death under circumstances of sudden- 
 ness or violence, which demanded this investigation ; 
 while every day there were occurring instances of 
 persons dying from this cause, in the public hospitals, 
 and in their own dwellings, as well as in public- 
 houses. In such cases, a previous sickness of a few 
 days would be sufficient to give a colouring to the 
 belief that they came to their death by the ordinary 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 257 
 
 operation of disease, but the disease itself arose from 
 excessive drinking, by which they were really killed, 
 though they would not come under the list of cases 
 in which it might be thought necessary to call for 
 an inquest by the Coroner. 
 
 The Jailer of the City had furnished his Report 
 also, from January to September, 1840, after having 
 investigated the case of every individual committed 
 to his charge ; and in this, he noticed those who con- 
 fessed to him that they had been first led to commit 
 the crimes with which they were charged, by indulg- 
 ing in Intemperance, putting down all the others as 
 unknown ; and the following is the Table sent by 
 him — 
 
 Month of 
 commitment. 
 
 Number 
 
 committed. 
 
 Caused by 
 Intemperance. 
 
 Cause not 
 known. 
 
 January 
 
 57 
 
 33 
 
 24 
 
 February 
 
 75 
 
 47 
 
 28 
 
 March 
 
 64 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 April 
 
 57 
 
 47 
 
 10 
 
 May 
 
 179 
 
 159 
 
 20 
 
 June 
 
 280 
 
 237 
 
 43 
 
 July 
 
 221 
 
 165 
 
 56 
 
 August 
 
 212 
 
 194 
 
 18 
 
 September 
 
 265 
 
 236 
 
 29 
 
 Totals 
 
 1,400 
 
 1,148 
 
 252 
 
 These were facts, of which the greatest number 
 of the auditors present were entirely ignorant, merely 
 because their investigations had never been directed 
 into the channels through which alone such informa- 
 tion could be obtained, and because their attention 
 had never been drawn to the subject. It is due to 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 25S 
 
 their humanity and proper feeling, however, to state, 
 that they appeared to be as much pained as they 
 were surprised to find themselves surrounded with 
 such numerous places for the sale of intoxicating 
 drinks, and to see so clearly how much of the crime, 
 misery, and death, which occurred in their City, 
 was to be traced to this cause. In consequence of 
 this conviction, a determination was expressed by 
 many of the most influential members of the com- 
 munity, who had never heard the question presented 
 in this shape befoi’e, to unite their etforts with those 
 of the Temperance Societies already established, to 
 stop the further progress of the evil, and, if possible, 
 apply a remedy or cure to so much of it as already 
 exists. Liberal contributions were cheerfully made 
 to a fund for printing and circulating information on 
 this subject ; and the meeting, which lasted nearly 
 three hours, dispersed with strong feelings in favour 
 of the cause. 
 
 One of the most pleasing proofs that could be 
 given of the impression produced by this meeting, 
 and of the great utility of holding such assemblies 
 as frequently as opportunity will admit, was this — 
 that a gentleman of fortune, living on the income of 
 his seigneuries in the neighbourhood of Quebec, 
 retired home from the meeting with a resolution to 
 destroy all the stock of spirits and wine in his cel- 
 lars ; and having carried this resolution into execu- 
 tion, he then joined the Temperance Society of 
 Quebec, and contributed liberally to its funds. 
 Of the sincerity of such a convert there could be no 
 doubt. 
 
 On the following morning, we had the pleasure to 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 259 
 
 see, by the French paper of the City, that the power- 
 ful influence of the French Bishop of Nancy had 
 been exerted to advance the same object, so that we 
 ventured to hope that a friendly rivalry and emula- 
 tion might exist between the Catholic and Protestant 
 population of Quebec, to see which would make the 
 greatest number of converts to Temperance, and 
 which could reclaim the greatest number of the 
 unfortunate inebriates of the City from the error of 
 their ways. One melancholy spectacle, which 
 occurred on the morning of the same day on which 
 these meetings were held, (Sept. 28th) was w^ell cal- 
 culated to impress the public mind in favour of our 
 views. This was the public execution of an English 
 seaman on board the Cleopatra frigate, who was 
 tried by a court-martial for having first struck his 
 superior officer on duty, and then stabbed to death 
 the sergeant of marines who was ordered to take him 
 into custody ; the violence of this man’s passions 
 having been greatly strengthened and inflamed by 
 his habitual indulgence in drink, whenever the 
 opportunity offered. He was found guilty, and sen- 
 tenced to be hung at the yard-arm of the ship in 
 which he had committed the murder ; and as it was 
 the first instance of the kind that had ever occurred 
 in Quebec, it excited universal attention, and made 
 a deep impression on the public mind. 
 
 I subjoin the article from the French paper, the 
 Canadian, of Quebec, to show the proceedings of the 
 Catholic Clergy on the subject of Temperance, 
 which, when contrasted with the condition exacted 
 by the Methodist Trustees, that no Temperance 
 Meeting should be held in their Chapel, places their 
 
 s 2 
 
260 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 conduct in no favourable light. It is from the paper, 
 of Sept. 28th, as follows— 
 
 “ Hier s’est terraine la Retraite, commencee il y avail deux 
 seraaiiies, a la cathedrale de cette ville, sous la direction de Mon- 
 seit^neur de Nancy. Cette retraite ne devait durer qu’une 
 semaine, mais Taffluence des fiddles aupr^s des directeurs de leurs 
 consciences a ete telle, tant de monde a voulu profiler des avan- 
 tages spirituals qu ofFrait cette retraite, qu’on a dd doubler le 
 temps qu’on lui avail d abord destine. Tel est I’effet du cours 
 de predications de ce prelat distingue ; il en dit plus que tout ce 
 que nous pourrions rapporter, dans le cas ou un pareil sujet torn- 
 berait dans les attributions du journalisme. Monseigneur de 
 Nancy a preche deux fois par jour la premiere semaine, et une 
 fois la seconde, et chacune de ses improvisations durait une heure 
 et demie k peu-pr^s. On avail reuni dans cette retraite les fiddles 
 des deux paroisses de Quebec et de St. Roch, la matinee pour 
 les femmes, le soir pour les hommes, et chaque fois la cathedrale 
 etait encombree de monde. On a calcule qu’il ne pouvait pas y 
 avoir moins de 5 a 6,000 personnes a chaque instruction. 
 
 Monseigneur de Nancy a su profiler de I’impulsion qu’il a im- 
 prim^e k la population catholique de cette ville, pour encourager 
 la formation d’une Societe de Temperance, sous les auspices des 
 autorites ecclesiastiques, et avec des avantages et exercices spiri- 
 tuels, sur le modele des societes recommandees par les ev^ques 
 catholiques d’lrlande et des Etats-Unis. Ainsi le passage de ce 
 prelat serait marque par Taccomplissement d’une CEUvre qui ne 
 pent manquer d’influer beaucoup et d’une mani^re permanente 
 sur le bien-^tre social de notre population. 
 
 ‘‘ On trouvera dans cette feuille les precedes d’une assemblee 
 qui eut lieu hier k la chapelle St. Joseph, au sujet de la formation 
 d’une Societe de Temperance en cette paroisse. 
 
 “ Cette apres-midi il a dk ^tre presente a Monseigneur de 
 Nancy une adresse, signee par un grand nombre de notabilit^s 
 catholiques de cette ville, le remerciant des efforts qu’il a bien 
 voulu faire en faveur des fideles des deux paroisses. 
 
 Temperance. 
 
 “ A une assemblee nombreuse de citoyens tenue hier k Tissue 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 261 
 
 des vfepres, a la chapelle. St. Joseph, les resolutions suivantes 
 furent unanimement adoptees : 
 
 « L’Hou. Juge Panet, President, Thos. Amiot, Ecr. Secretaire. 
 
 “ Resolu, Qu’une societe soit immediatement etablie dans la 
 paroisse de Quebec, sous le nom de ‘ Societe de Temperance de 
 la paroisse de Quebec.* 
 
 “ Resolu, Qu’un comite de douze membres soit nomme pour 
 dresser les regies ei reglement de la dite Societe, lequel comite 
 devra faire rapport Diraanche prochaiii a une assemblee convoquee 
 a cet elFet, et qu’il leur soit permis de s’adjoiudre tels citoyens 
 qu’ils jugeront a propos. 
 
 Resolu, Que les Messrs, suivants composent le dit comite : 
 
 Mr. le Cure de Quebec, Messrs. Petticlair, Massue, Dr. 
 Nault, Dr. Parent, Ed. Gingras, Tanswell, DeFoy,pere, J. Paquet, 
 R. Malouin, Buteau, Gauvin. 
 
 “ Resolu, Que les remerciments de cette assemblee, soient 
 offerts k Mr. le Cure et k Mr. le President pour la part qu’ils ont 
 bien voulu y prendre. 
 
 “ Resolu, Que les procMes de cette assemblee soient publies 
 
 dans le Canadien et la Gazette fran^aise de Quebec. 
 
 “ Thos. Amiot. 
 
 Quebec, 27 Septembre 1840. Secretaire. 
 
 From the united efforts of the Protestants and 
 Catholics in this good work, much benefit may be 
 expected; though it is not so much among the 
 population of French descent, as among the English, 
 and especially the Irish emigrants, that the evil of 
 Intemperance abounds. Even among these, however, 
 there is said to be a manifest improvement since 
 the labours of the excellent Father Mathew have 
 wrought such changes in Ireland ; many of the emi- 
 grants taking the pledge of total abstinence at his 
 hands before their embarkation ; and in such cases, 
 there have, not yet been known any certain instances 
 of relapse. Still, by far the larger number of that 
 
CVNADA. 
 
 
 Q6<2 
 
 race of emigrants who come to Quebec are addicted 
 to the use of whisky to excess. Finding it much 
 cheaper here than at home, they indulge in it more 
 freely, often expending their little all before they 
 get away from the city, and contracting diseases by 
 which they are carried off, they leave their wives 
 and children in a state of complete destitution. 
 
 The climate of Quebec embraces the two extremes 
 of heat and cold, and must be very trying to the 
 constitution of strangers. The winters are long and 
 dreary, the snow commencing usually in October, 
 and sometimes covering the ground all the time till 
 May. During this period of seven months, the 
 weather is as cold as it is in December and January 
 in England ; and in the depth of their winter, the 
 thermometer is more frequently below zero than 
 above it, sometimes descending to 35 ° and 40°. Furs 
 are then worn by all who can afford them, as in 
 Russia ; and hats for the head are rarely or ever 
 seen. The guards on the ramparts are obliged to 
 be changed every hour, so that there is a constant 
 marching and relieving of the men at their posts. 
 Instances have been known, in which a soldier hav- 
 ing dropt or mislaid his mittens, has had his hands 
 frostbitten by holding his musket; and officers, we 
 were assured, take with them little pocket mirrors, by 
 which they are enabled to see, from time to time, 
 whether any part of their faces has changed colour, 
 it being thus easy to see a frostbitten part without 
 being able to feel it. The speedy application of 
 friction and snow, will restore the dormant action, 
 and prevent the putrefaction which would otherwise 
 ensue. Yet, at this season of severe cold, Quebec 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 
 is said to be full of gaiety. All business is at a 
 stand, from tbe river being frozen over and rendered 
 inaccessible to ships, so that the merchants have 
 little or nothing to do ; and the military and official 
 personages being also less occupied than at other 
 times, parties are formed for sleighing in the day- 
 time, and dinners, balls, and evening parties take 
 place at some house or another almost every night. 
 
 In May the snows begin to melt, the frosts to 
 break up, and in June the summer bursts into full 
 maturity, almost without the interval of spring. Its 
 shortness, however, renders it necessary that the 
 heat should be great, or otherwise the grains and 
 fruits of the earth would not ripen. Accordingly, 
 Nature provides this intensity of heat while the short 
 summer lasts. In consequence of this, maize, or 
 Indian corn, for which there is not heat enough in 
 England, is here ripened easily, and grapes are 
 grown in the open air. The heat is excessive, even 
 in the Citadel, and on the elevated parts of the 
 country round about ; but in the lower streets of the 
 City, and in the Coves under the Heights of Cape 
 Diamond, the heat is said to be suffocating, and far 
 more oppressive to the feelings than is ever experi- 
 enced either in the East or the West Indies. It is 
 at this season that the emigrants chiefly arrive, and 
 that spirit-drinking is carried to the greatest excess, 
 and it is then also that disease commits its most 
 dreadful ravages. When the cholera prevailed here 
 a few years ago, the wealthy and temperate portion 
 of the community, who lived in the upper and more 
 airy parts of the town, and who did not indulge 
 in excesses, were but very slightly affected by the 
 
CANADA. 
 
 ^>64 
 
 scourge ; while from Champlain Street, in the lower 
 part of the town, where filth and intemperance 
 abounded, we were assured, by a medical gentleman, 
 that no less than eighty carts with dead bodies had 
 come in a single day to the common burying-ground 
 appropriated to their reception ! 
 
 Notwithstanding the extreme and sudden changes 
 of temperature experienced at Quebec, and through- 
 out Lower Canada generally, the French peasantry 
 or hahitans, appear to be as healthy as any persons 
 of the same class in England. Enjoying the advan- 
 tages of competency in food and raiment, having 
 clean and well- ventilated villages and dwellings, and 
 being moreover generally temperate both in their 
 food and drink, they live to a good old age, and are 
 ruddy, active, and cheerful in an unusual degree ; 
 the women and children are always well dressed and 
 remarkably clean, and everything we saw of the 
 French Canadians induced us to believe that they 
 are among the happiest peasantry in the world. 
 
CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 ^isit to the FallsofMontmorenci— Contrast between the French 
 Canadians and the Americans-Description of 
 Montmorenci-Beautiful view of Quebec 
 
 on the Cape Rouge road-Spencer Wo«d— St. ^oix road— 
 Drive from Point Levi to the 
 
 peasantry, character and condition — Visit to the Falls of t e 
 Chaudier^Catholic crosses-Militia stations-F.ne views of 
 Quebec from the Heights of Point Levi— Excursion to Lake 
 St. Charles and Lorette - History and description of 
 Huron Indians— Amalgamation . 
 
 Visit to the Indian Church- “ Our Lady of Loretta —Visit to 
 the dwelling of the Indian Chief. 
 
 Sesides the varied and magnificent views presented 
 Tom the Citadel, the ramparts, and many parts of 
 the Upper Town of Quebec, which may be enjoyed 
 with increased pleasure every day, in a walk of half 
 an hour, or little more, the surrounding county 
 presents a number of interesting objects, and affords 
 many agreeable excursions. The principal of they 
 which we visited, were the Falls of Montmorenci. to 
 the north-east about nine miles; the Falls of the 
 Chaudiere, to the south-west about twelve miles; 
 the Lake St. Charles, to the north-west about sixteen 
 miles ; and the Indian village of Lorette, in the road 
 to the Lake, about eight miles. As we took a 
 separate day for each, it may he well to describe 
 them in the order in which they were visited. 
 
CANADA. 
 
 260 
 
 In going to the Falls of Montraorenci, we passed 
 out of St. John’s Gate, and through the Suburbs of 
 St. John and St. Roch. These are wholly inhabited 
 by French Canadians, none but French signs are 
 seen, and nothing but the French language heard. 
 Crossing the river St. Charles, near its moiith, by a 
 wooden bridge, we passed several pretty villa resi- 
 dences, chiefly occupied by wealthy official men and 
 their families, and came on the road to Beauport. 
 Leading off from this on the left, is a road which 
 passes through the forest, to the ruins of an ancient 
 French chateau, said to have been the scene of licen- 
 tiousness and murder, from jealousy ; and thought 
 the more of, by the peasantry around, from the gene- 
 ral belief of the spot being haunted, by the unap- 
 peased ghost of the unhappy victim who there met 
 her untimely death. The story runs, that the cele- 
 brated and profligate Intendant, Bigot, the contem- 
 porary of IMontcalm, built this chateau for the 
 accommodation of a mistress whom he placed in this 
 secluded spot, to escape the observation of his wife ; 
 but the usual sagacity which jealousy never fails to 
 exert, led to the discovery of this retreat by the 
 injured and insulted lady of the Intendant, who 
 sought her opportunity for revenge, and indulged it 
 by poisoning the rival who had robbed her of her 
 domestic peace. From that hour, the chateau, 
 which is now called the Hermitage, has never been 
 inhabited but once, when it was used as a place of 
 refuge by the ladies of Quebec during the siege of 
 the City ; hut being after that entirely abandoned, 
 it is now in ruins. 
 
 The village of Beauport, which is a little more 
 
BEAUFORT. 
 
 2G7 
 
 than half-way between Quebec and Montmorenci, is 
 remarkable for a church, with three spires, two 
 rising from square towers on each side the entrance, 
 and one rising from a square tower above the pedi- 
 ment. The appendage of two towers and spires to 
 the parish churches of the Canadians is not uncom- 
 mon, but this is the only instance I remember to 
 have seen in which there were three. As the 
 churches are large, the spires light and lofty, and 
 the roofs and domes generally covered with bright 
 tiling of tin, these edifices add very much to the 
 beauty of the rural picture. Though Beauport is 
 the only actual village on the way from Quebec to 
 Montmorenci, the whole road is one continuous 
 street of cottages, with few and small intervals of 
 space between the several groups ; and as our drive 
 along it was on a Saturday, we had an opportunity of 
 seeing all the population preparing for the Sabbath. 
 In every instance in which we had yet had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing the Canadian peasantry, we had 
 been struck with their peculiar neatness and cleanli- 
 ness, both in their persons and dwellings ; and all 
 we witnessed in our journey to-day, strengthened our 
 first impressions. Though the glass windows of the 
 cottages were cleaner than any we remember to have 
 seen in the country dwellings of the agricultural 
 settlers in the United States, yet they were all under- 
 o-oino- the usual renovation to which they are sub- 
 jected every Saturday afternoon — the sashes being 
 taken out, and the glass washed with water, while 
 the frames are scrubbed with brushes and soap, and 
 the whole wiped perfectly dry before the sashes are 
 replaced. Fresh flowers are usually placed in the 
 
268 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 windows after this ; and every part of the interior is 
 thoroughly cleaned. It is the universal custom of 
 the habitans to whitewash their dwellings every 
 spring; and as the roofs as well as the sides are of 
 wood the former being covered with wooden shin- 
 
 gles overlapping each other, exactly in shape like 
 the slate-tiles of roofs in England— every part of the 
 edifice is equally subjected to the white-washing 
 process, which gives the distant view of the land- 
 scape over which they are scattered, a livel\ and 
 even brilliant appearance ; and inspires all who see 
 them nearer at hand with great respect for the clean- 
 liness and order of their occupants. 
 
 The contrast between the clean, well-dressed, re- 
 spectful, and courteous French peasantry of Canada, 
 with the dirty, ill-clad, rude, and disorderly appear- 
 ance and conduct of most of the Irish and other 
 emigrant settlers in the United States, — and the 
 equally striking contrast between the neatness, clean- 
 liness, and order of their dwellings, with the utter 
 neglect of all attention to these qualities in the log- 
 cabins and shanties of the western cultivators among 
 the Americans — is greatly in favour of this country 
 and its inhabitants. 
 
 There are many causes, no doubt, which contribute 
 to produce this difference, and these may he num- 
 bered among them : — In the first place, the Canadian 
 peasant lives in the home of his fathers, and intends 
 that it shall be the home of his children ; he accord- 
 ingly takes the same kind of pride, in improving, 
 adorning, and preserving his patrimonial dwelling, 
 that an English landowner does in preserving the 
 family mansion, the condition of which reflects 
 
tiUEBEC. 
 
 209 
 
 praise or blame on the character of its occupant. 
 The American, on the contrary, lives in a house 
 which has no patrimonial charm or association con- 
 nected with it, and he continues to occupy it only 
 until he can move further on, or build a better house 
 near the same spot, so that he cares but little about 
 its condition, if it answers the temporary purpose 
 for which it was erected. In the second place, the 
 Canadian is without the ambition to become rich, 
 and neither his time nor his thoughts are much 
 engrossed, either about speculations in buying and 
 selling, or disputations in matters of religion, or con- 
 troversies and contention amid the strife of politics. 
 He has, therefore, abundant time to enjoy his home, 
 surrounded by his contented domestic circle; he 
 accordingly makes that home as agreeable as he can, 
 because all his thoughts and feelings centre in its 
 happiness. The American, on the contrary, is so 
 busy in devising schemes for the accumulation of 
 money, so engaged in looking out for new lots of 
 land to buy, and for purchasers to take off his old 
 ones, as well as so frequently involved in the disputes 
 of politics and religion, that he has neither time nor 
 inclination to bestow much pains or much expense 
 in clearing, or improving, or adorning, a house, 
 which is his to-day, but may be another’s to-morrow. 
 Both of these parties would perhaps he benefited 
 by copying a little from each other, and avoiding 
 their respective extremes. It may be said, indeed, 
 that if the principal object of life ought to be the 
 enjoyment of those blessings which the Deity has 
 placed within our reach, the Canadian peasant seems 
 to be the wisest, as he is undoubtedly the happiest 
 
270 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 msin of tliG two. But if> on tlio othor hand, tho 
 principal object of life ought to be to sacrifice the 
 certain enjoyment of the present for the uncertain 
 wealth and influence of the future, then the life of 
 the American is most in conformity with that view. 
 I cannot but think, however, that if an amalgamation 
 or interchange could be made between these two 
 races, and the Canadian could receive an inoculation 
 of the American’s enterprise, in exchange for a por- 
 tion of his contentment with things as they are, and 
 disposition to enjoy rather than to improve, that both 
 would be materially benefited thereby. At present, 
 I think the Canadian the more sober, more virtuous, 
 and more happy ; and the American, the more 
 instructed, more energetic, and more persevering, 
 but neither so clean, so healthy, so domestic, or so 
 amiable as the Canadians of French descent, as we 
 see them in the Province of Lower Canada, after a 
 lapse of more than two centuries from the first settle- 
 ment of their ancestors. 
 
 In about three hours after leaving Quebec, we 
 reached the Falls of Montmorenci, and were all 
 disappointed. We had heard so much of their 
 height, grandeur, and beauty, from those who had 
 spoken to us of them, that it is probable our expecta- 
 tions were unreasonably high ; and the quantity of 
 water in the Falls, is no doubt less in the month of 
 September, when we visited it, than after the melt- 
 ing of the snows in May ; but after making every 
 allowance for this, we still thought they had been 
 overrated. The river Montmorenci comes from the 
 north in a stream of about a hundred yards wide, 
 and it is not until it reaches the very edge of the 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 271 
 
 St. Lawrence, which it enters almost at right angles 
 with its course, that the water descends over a cliff, 
 the cataract literally falling into the St. Lawrence 
 below. The perpendicular height of the Falls is 
 said to be 250 feet, but I feel confident that this is 
 overrated, though when I remember that the early 
 French traveller. Father Hennepin, believed the 
 Falls of Niagara to be 600 feet high, while their 
 actual admeasurement gives only 180 feet, and com- 
 paratively recent English travellers have spoken of 
 the Citadel on Cape Diamond as being 1,000 feet 
 high, whereas it is only 350, I do not wonder that 
 an over-estimate should he made of the Falls of 
 Montmorenci. The breadth of the sheet of water 
 as it descended in one mass, appeared to me to he 
 from 60 to 80 feet ; hut there were some smaller 
 streams disconnected with the great mass, which fell 
 at the same time, and when the river is very full, 
 these probably are all connected in one wide sheet, 
 which must greatly increase the effect. The acces- 
 series of romantic landscape, of rich woods, and 
 broken masses of projecting rock, are also wanting 
 here, so that there is a nakedness and tameness in 
 the picture, that makes it greatly inferior even to 
 the secondary Falls of the Mohawk, or Trenton, or 
 the Genessee, in the United States ; and to place it 
 in comparison with the overwhelming grandeur of 
 Niagara, would be to do violence to all the rules of 
 taste and judgment. 
 
 Near the Falls is a house, which was at one time 
 the residence of the late Duke of Kent, the father of 
 Her present Majesty, when he commanded the forces 
 at Quebec ; his brother, the late King William IV., 
 
Til 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 having been here many years before him, as cap- 
 tain of a ship of war. It was near these Falls 
 that General Wolfe met his first repulse, when he 
 attacked the position of the French General Mont- 
 calm, and was driven back, and compelled to re- 
 embark, with the loss of 700 of the Hessian troops 
 engaged in the assault. There are extensive saw- 
 mills here, worked by the stream of the Montmo- 
 renci ; and as there are upwards of a hundred saws 
 in motion at a time, an entire cargo of planks is said 
 to be completed by these mills in the space of a 
 single day 1 These mills are fed by a large wooden 
 chute, or trough, about six feet broad and six feet 
 deep, extending for nearly half a mile in length, and 
 having a declivity of perhaps twenty degrees, so that 
 the torrent rushes through it with an amazing velo- 
 city, estimated by some at fifty, and by others at a 
 hundred miles an hour ! In the winter, when the 
 river St. Lawrence is frozen over below Quebec, the 
 Falls of the Montmorenci send out a spray, which, 
 lodging on the ice of the river below, just beyond 
 the point of its actual descent, freezes, and, by 
 accumulation, causes a mound, which increases every 
 hour, by fresh spray from the Fall freezing almost 
 as fast as it descends. As this process goes on all 
 through the winter, the conical mass of ice formed 
 by the spray alone, rises up to a considerable height ; 
 in the winter of 1829, it attained to an elevation of 
 126 feet, but does not often reach so high. 
 
 On returning from Montmorenci, we enjoyed a 
 splendid view of Quebec ; the whole of the northern 
 side of the promontory of Cape Diamond, on which 
 the City and Suburbs is chiefly built, being spread 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 273 
 
 out before us, while the beautiful Island of Orleans, 
 opposite the Falls, the southern shores of the St. 
 Lawrence, the towering Citadel, and the crowded 
 fleet of ships, some under sail, and others at anchor, 
 under the frowning battlements of the Cape, made 
 up a picture of surpassing beauty, and abundantly 
 compensated for any disappointment we might have 
 felt at the Falls not coming up to the high standard 
 of our expectations. 
 
 Our second excursion was by the road to Cape 
 Rouge, along the high level of the Plains of Abra- 
 ham, returning by the St. Foix road ; the former 
 overlooking the broad St. Lawrence, and the latter 
 commanding the beautiful valley and winding stream 
 of the St. Charles. It is difficult to say which of 
 these roads presents the finest variety of views ; but 
 it will be perfectly safe to assert, that there is no spot 
 that we have yet visited on the continent of Ame- 
 rica, which unfolds so many grand and enchanting 
 landscapes, combining every element of the pictu- 
 resque, as this delightful ride of a few hours \ and no 
 traveller who visits Quebec should omit to enjoy it. 
 In our way out, we visited the beautiful spot called 
 Spencer Wood, where one of the wealthy merchants 
 of Quebec has formed, at a distance of less than an 
 hour’s ride from the City, a country seat, which 
 unites the charms of an English mansion and an 
 Italian villa. The house is built of wood, but with 
 such thickness and solidity, as to afford equally good 
 protection against the summer heat and winter cold. 
 The centre is upwards of a century old, but the 
 wings are of recent addition, and are prettily orna- 
 mented with Ionic colonnades in the best taste. 
 
 T 
 
 k 
 
CANADA. 
 
 27't 
 
 Within the house is a fine collection of pictures, and 
 articles of vertu, collected with much labour, and at 
 great expense, by the intelligent and tasteful proprie- 
 tor, who has travelled much in Italy and Germany, 
 and availed himself of every opportunity to bring 
 with him from thence, some of the treasures of 
 ancient and modern art. The gardens, of which 
 there are two, are spacious, and laid out with a happy 
 admixture of symmetry and the wild freedom of 
 nature ; and fruits and flowers in great variety, in- 
 cluding exotics as well as native productions, are 
 here raised in great perfection. The grounds in 
 front of the house, sloping towards the river, are well 
 disposed, and contain some fine clumps of forest-trees 
 of great size, here and there interspersed over the 
 lawn ; while the walks along the edge of the cliffs, 
 and the steep banks that overhang the St. Lawrence, 
 present a continued variety of striking and beautiful 
 views of that magnificent river. The projecting 
 promontory of rock which overlooks Wolfe’s Cove, 
 at the foot of which the hero made his first 
 landing, presents a view of Cape Diamond, Point 
 Levi, and the crowded harbour of Quebec between 
 them, which is not to be surpassed perhaps by any 
 marine picture on the globe ; while the sight of the 
 shores on each side, with thousands of large logs 
 of -timber ready for shipment, the numerous vessels 
 engaged in completing their lading from these, the 
 new rafts every day arriving from the upper province 
 and the Ottawa, the number of new vessels building 
 on the stocks, and the mingled sounds of the ship- 
 wrights’ hammers, the lumbermen’s axes, and the 
 chorus-songs of the raftsmen and steevadores working 
 
aUEBEC. 
 
 275 
 
 alongside, and on board the loading ships, make up 
 altogether a scene of grandeur, beauty, bustle, and 
 animation, to which no other port in the world per- 
 haps can present a parallel. 
 
 We were most courteously received by the wealthy 
 proprietor of this beautiful spot, and accompanied by 
 him through the grounds ; after seeing which, and 
 passing through some agreeable scenes in crossing 
 the country, we returned home by the St. Foix road. 
 This, like the road to Cape Rouge, is thickly studded 
 with pretty villa residences, belonging to the more 
 opulent inhabitants of Quebec ; and all along its 
 extent, the view of the country to the left or north- 
 west is extensive and beautiful. In the fore-ground 
 it embraces the graceful windings of the small river 
 St. Charles, with the General and Marine Hospitals, 
 and the suburbs of St. Roch on its right bank. 
 Beyond the river, the surface of the country gradually 
 ascends, and exhibits, as prominent points, the vil- 
 lages of Lorette, of Charlesbourg, and of Beauport, 
 with the lofty mountains in the back-ground, which 
 form the limit of civilization northward ; while a 
 portion of the river St. Lawrence, the glen of the 
 Falls of Montmorenci, and the Isle of Orleans 
 beyond, add much to the beauty of the landscape. 
 
 Our third excursion was to the Falls of the Chau- 
 diere, on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence, and 
 about twelve miles distant from the city to the south- 
 west. I.eaving Quebec at ten in the morning, we 
 crossed the river in one of the large ferry-boats, pro- 
 pelled by wheels, worked with a large capstan in the 
 centre of the boat. To each of the four capstan-bars, 
 a horse was attached by means of a strong iron-arched 
 
 T 2 
 
CA^ADA. 
 
 TlCy 
 
 hoop, and kept in constant motion round the capstan, 
 bv the perpetual alternation of the whip and the 
 voice, both zealously applied by two Canadian 
 drivers. The current of the St. Lawrence appeared 
 to be running at the rate of at least five miles ail 
 hour, accelerated by a strong ebb tide ; for though 
 Quebec is distant 350 miles from the sea, the oceanic 
 tide is felt here in great strength, and extends about 
 50 miles above the City ; the rise and fall at spring- 
 tides being about 22 feet, and at neap-tides about 18. 
 The navigation of the river, to sailing vessels espe- 
 cially, is greatly assisted by this alternation of ebb 
 and flow ; as, with a contrary wind, ships can beat up 
 or down the stream with great speed, when the tide 
 is in their favour ; and with a fair wind, even a con- 
 trary tide offers no serious impediment. 
 
 Landing at Point Levi, opposite to Quebec, we 
 had an exceedingly steep hill to ascend ; but on 
 reaching the summit of this, we had a tolerably level 
 and pleasant road all the remainder of our way. 
 From the village of D’Aubigny, and the landing at 
 Point Levi, after an agreeable ride of five miles, we 
 reached the river Etchemin, which empties itself 
 into the St. Lawrence, and over which we crossed by 
 a good wooden bridge. A little before reaching 
 this, is the beautiful villa of Lauzon, belonging to 
 Sir John Caldwell ; beyond the bridge, are exten- 
 sive saw-mills, erected by this gentleman, and in 
 constant and profitable occupation. From hence 
 the road along the shore of the St. Lawrence leads 
 through the small town of New Liverpool, w’here a 
 large number of ships were loading timber ; and a 
 few miles further on brought us to the river Chau- 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 277 
 
 diere, which we also crossed hy a bridge. Proceeding 
 up the left hank of the stream for about three miles, 
 we arrived at the cottage of one of the habitans, 
 where it was necessary to leave our carriage, at a 
 distance of about half a mile from the Falls, the 
 remainder of the way being impracticable except for 
 very narrow vehicles, or on horseback, or on foot. 
 We remained a little while at the cottage, while the 
 occupant of it prepared to accompany us as a guide ; 
 and were as much struck here, as we had been 
 everywhere else in Lower Canada, with the great 
 cleanliness of the peasantry, both in their persons 
 and dwellings. Nothing could surpass the neatness 
 and order of everything we saw here ; while the 
 family, consisting of a mother and five children, pre- 
 sented all the appearance of competency and comfort 
 according to their sphere of life. Like the peasants 
 of the country generally, they spoke only French ; 
 and like them too, they exhibited as much of habitual 
 gaiety and cheerfulness of disposition, and as much 
 kindness and courtesy of manners, as in the best 
 parts of France. From their answers to our inquiries, 
 we learnt that the greatest number of the farmers 
 around them were proprietors of the lands they tilled ; 
 and from the law and practice of subdividing the 
 property of persons at their death in equal portions 
 among their children, the estates were often cut up 
 into very small parcels. But this did not appear, 
 as yet at least, to be attended with any practical 
 evil ; for, small as some of the portions were, they 
 were so carefully cultivated and managed as to sup- 
 port a family comfortably out of five arpents of land, 
 the arpcnt being about little more than half an 
 
278 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 English acre. In the long winters which cover 
 the ground with snow for six months in succession, 
 from November to April, the peasants employ them- 
 selves in cutting wood to supply the City with fuel, 
 and store up the surplus for the consumption of the 
 steamboats in the summer. In such intervals of 
 this as they can command from their agricultural 
 labours, they work on the river, assisting to load the 
 ships ; hut this of course applies only to the poorer 
 classes of the peasantry, the smallness of whose 
 farms, and the extent of whose families, require this 
 addition to their other means of support. 
 
 The Falls of the Chaudiere, to which we found an 
 easy access in the company of our guide, surprised 
 and delighted us by their beauty ; and the more so, 
 perhaps, from our having been told by more than 
 one person that they were not worth the trouble of 
 coming to see! Long experience had taught us 
 however, the difficulty of obtaining accurate informa- 
 tion from others on objects of this nature ; so that 
 we vvere determined to see for ourselves, and form 
 our own opinions. Thus, the Falls of Montmorenci, 
 that had been vaunted to us so highly, did not at all 
 come up to our expectations ; while the Falls of the 
 Chaudiere, which had been spoken of so contemp- 
 tuously, as greatly exceeded our anticipations. The 
 perpendicular height of the Cascade is little more 
 than a hundred feet, but the mass of waters is so 
 romantically broken by projecting rocks, as to pro- 
 duce a turbulence and fury in its descent which is 
 wild and picturesque in the highest degree. The 
 breadth of the Fall is about a quarter of a mile ; 
 and the roar of the waters as they roll over the 
 
QUEBFX. 
 
 279 
 
 broken masses that intercept their descent to the 
 basin below, is grand and impressive; while the 
 up-turned strata of slaty rock, lying at an angle of 
 about 50° with the horizon, and presenting the edges 
 of innumerable lamin® to the feet of the visitor who 
 advances over them to the edge of the cataract, adds 
 much to the interest and beauty of the scene. The 
 accessories of wood and verdure on the adjoining 
 banks improve the whole ; and the rainbows pro- 
 duced by the action of the sun on the clouds of mist 
 and spray that here, as at Niagara, ascend from the 
 foot of the precipice, were more brilliant and gorgeous 
 in their colouring than any we remembered. 
 
 We lingered among the rocks as long as our time 
 would admit, being unwilling to quit a scene of so 
 much romantic beauty, but were at length compelled 
 to retire with our guide, at whose cottage we resumed 
 our carriage, and returned to Quebec. From many 
 points of the road, the views of the St. Lawrence 
 were very fine, and from the heights approaching 
 Point Levi, the view of the Citadel, the City, and 
 the harbour of Quebec, is perhaps the most impos- 
 ing that the neighbourhood commands.* 
 
 In this, as in every other picture embracing an 
 extensive range of view, the difficulty lies in trans- 
 ferring to paper the proper impression of space. In 
 the accompanying View of Quebec, this difficulty is 
 lessened by tbe number and contrast of the surround- 
 ing objects. The middle ground of the picture 
 represents the broad St. Lawrence, its current run- 
 ning from left to right, the stream opening to a 
 breadth of five miles just below or to the right of 
 
 * See the aecompanyiiig Engraving. 
 
280 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Quebec, and gradually increasing its width to sixty 
 miles across, from Gaspe to Labrador, where it 
 empties itself into the Gulf. The lofty cliffs on the 
 distant left of the picture are those of Cape Diamond, 
 350 feet in perpendicular elevation, at the foot of 
 which, on a narrow ledge of debris, from the heights 
 above, runs the long line of Champlain Street, 
 chiefly inhabited by emigrants, and persons engaged 
 as labourers in the timber-yards and shipping, while 
 the heights themselves are crowned by the long line 
 of fortifications and barracks, which constitute the 
 Citadel of Quebec. To the extreme left of this are 
 the Plains of Abraham, where the victory of Wolfe 
 over Montcalm was achieved, and up the almost 
 perpendicular cliflPs of which the soldiers and sailors 
 climbed, and drew up their arms and ammunition 
 with them. To the immediate right of the Citadel, 
 and a little lower in elevation, lies the City of 
 Quebec, sloping down to the river, and extending 
 inward for a mile tow'ards the small river of St. 
 Charles. The long white row of dwellings that 
 extends from this to the right a little up from the 
 stream, are those which line the road from Quebec 
 to the Falls of Montmorenci, as described in our 
 visit to that spot, and the lofty mountains rearing 
 their peaks behind them, are part of the chain that 
 bound the present settlements of the whites from 
 those of the Indians, which lie beyond them to the 
 north. 
 
 In our way along the road, from whence this View 
 is taken, we saw many of the Catholic crosses set 
 up by the wayside, some of them grotesquely orna- 
 mented, and nearly all of them having displayed on 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 281 
 
 the horizontal bar of the cross, representations of the 
 implements and things used at the time of the cruci- 
 fixion of the Saviour : such as a hammer, pincers, 
 and nails, a ladder, a spear with a sponge for vinegar 
 at the end of it, and another for piercing the side. 
 Upon some were hung shreds and relics of votive 
 offerings, placed there by persons who had recovered 
 from sickness, or escaped some misfortune, and took 
 this mode of testifying their gratitude to Heaven. 
 We passed also some of the stations of the militia 
 captains, indicated by a tall mast and topmast, rigged 
 with shrouds and backstays as in a cutter, with 
 halyards for a flag, the whole enclosed within a 
 square platform railed around below. On a small 
 board fastened to the shrouds, and presented towards 
 the road, so as to be easily read by every one passing 
 by, was the name of the captain, whose station it 
 was •, and these being mostly substantial farmers, his 
 dwelling-house was very near. The militia of Lower 
 Canada embraces a body of 80,000 men, compre- 
 hending all males between the ages of sixteen and 
 sixty ; but during the late rebellion, it was thought 
 unsafe to call them out, as there was little confidence 
 in their fidelity, both officers and men being nearly 
 all French Canadians. In Upper Canada, the militia 
 comprises a body of about 50,000, but these being 
 nearly all of English descent, formed the chief reli- 
 ance of the Province in the late troubles ; and as a 
 proof of their loyalty and zeal, it was stated at the 
 Brockville meeting recently held in Upper Canada, 
 on the Heights of Queenstown, that within a few 
 days after the issue of the Proclamation calling for 
 their services, there were upwards of 17,000 men 
 
282 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 reported to the Lieutenant-Governor as being under 
 arms. 
 
 We reached the brow of the hill over which we 
 were to descend to the Ferry, about sunset, while 
 the tinned roofs and towers of Quebec were brightly 
 reflecting the horizontal beams of the declining orb 
 of day, and the broken outline of the City, with its 
 ever-varying levels, the softened light behind the 
 Citadel, showing all its works in sharp relief, and 
 the placid harbour, in a perfect calm, with about 300 
 ships at anchor, all in sight from this elevated point 
 of view, made up a picture of unsurpassed magni- 
 ficence and beauty. 
 
 Our last excursion was to Lake St. Charles, a 
 distance of about l6 miles north-west of Quebec, 
 and the Indian village of Lorette, which lies about 
 midway on the road. In this visit we had the plea- 
 sure to be accompanied by a most agreeable party of 
 ladies and gentlemen, whose acquaintance we had 
 the good fortune to form in Quebec, and whose intelli- 
 gence and lively spirits added much to the delight 
 of our journey. Some went on horseback, and 
 others in carriages, for which the road is very good 
 all the way, and we were fortunate in having a 
 bright sunny day after eleven o’clock, though up to 
 that hour it was cold and misty. 
 
 Leaving Quebec at nine, we proceeded along the 
 right bank of the river St. Charles for a mile or two, 
 and then crossing it by the Scotch bridge, followed 
 pretty nearly the windings of the stream, which pre- 
 sented many deep, woody, and romantic ravines in 
 the way. We halted at the village of Lorette at 
 noon for an hour, and then proceeded to the Lake 
 
QUEBEC. 
 
 283 
 
 St. Charles. The road to this, passes over a hill 
 called Bellevue, from whence the prospect is exten- 
 sive and beautiful on all sides. On the right, or the 
 east, the mountain of Des Ormes rises, at a distance 
 of five or six miles, to an elevation of more than 
 1,000 feet; and on the left, or the west, the moun- 
 tain of Bonhomme, is about the same distance, and of 
 somewhat less elevation ; while to the north-west, 
 the mountain of Tsounonthuan, rises to a greater 
 elevation than cither. Between these mountains 
 flows the river of Jacques Cartier, so called after the 
 earliest French navigator that visited these parts ; 
 and the valleys are interspersed with several small 
 but pretty lakes, of which Lake Charles is the pi in- 
 cipal, and this is distinctly seen from the heights of 
 Bellevue. Beyond the most distant range of hills 
 seen towards the north from this point, there are no 
 inhabitants but Indians, excepting only the few 
 hunters and agents of the fur-traders. 
 
 * The Lake St. Charles is about five miles long, 
 and "not more than a mile broad, and is divided into 
 two portions, the Upper and the Lower lake. The 
 river Huron fiows into it from the north, and the 
 river St. Charles flows out of it on the south ; while 
 several smaller streams originating, in small lakes, on 
 both sides, pour their waters into the general reser- 
 voir, which carries them all into the St. Lawrence. 
 The shores of the lake are thickly wooded with a 
 great variety of trees, among which, however, the 
 pine and fir predominate. The western bank of the 
 lake is nearly level, but the eastern rises up in a 
 steep slope, so as to show the foliage to the greatest 
 advantage ; and as the first snow fell upon the moun- 
 
284 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 tains about three days before our excursion, (Sept. 
 26,) and there had been sharp frosts every night 
 since, the autumnal tints, for which the American 
 forests are so remarkable, were displayed in all their 
 gorgeousness and glory. The bright scarlet of the 
 maple was like the most brilliant silk or satin ; the 
 light and sparkling yellows of the ash and aspen were 
 like the purest amber ; and every shade of crimson, 
 purple, and brown, were intermingled with these ; 
 while the rich dark green of the pines and firs 
 deepened the tone of the whole, and produced an 
 ensemble which the forest scenery of no other coun- 
 try can perhaps equal. 
 
 We found, on the borders of the lake, the house 
 of a Canadian peasant, as delightfully clean as all 
 the others that we had entered. We obtained here 
 the use of some canoes and paddles for a launch upon 
 the water. Some of the party went in single canoes, 
 which are more easily propelled, but are more liable 
 to upset than the double ones ; others, more cautious, 
 took the double canoe, lashed side by side, which 
 cannot be capsized ; but all appeared to enjoy the 
 exhilarating exercise. The lake is said to abound 
 with fish, especially excellent trout, and it is there- 
 fore a favourite resort of the angler. At the head 
 of the waters we were shown a pretty little rustic 
 cottage that was recently built here by Sir Charles 
 Grey, formerly a Judge of the Supreme Court in 
 India, and now a member of the House of Commons.* 
 He was one of the Commissioners sent out with 
 Lord Gosford, to inquire into and report upon the 
 state of the Province ; and being enchanted with 
 * At present Governor of Barbadoes, 1843 . 
 
LORETTE. 
 
 €85 
 
 the romantic retirement of this spot, he bought a 
 tract of about a hundred acres of uncleared forest 
 land on the upper margin of the lake, and built this 
 rustic lodge for occasional pleasure parties, though 
 his stay in the Province was so short, that he did not 
 visit it more than two or three times. 
 
 In returning to the village of Lorette, and passing 
 over the high ground of Bellevue, we had a fine 
 prospect to the south of us, extending from the river 
 of Montmorenci to the river Chaudiere, with the 
 Citadel and town of Quebec nearly midway between 
 the two, distant about ten miles ; while all the beau- 
 tiful plain between these objects in the distance, and 
 the hill on which we stood, were studded with villages 
 and cottages, as white as snow, giving an impression 
 of great comfort, virtue, and happiness among their 
 
 numerous occupants. ^ 
 
 At Lorette we now remained for two or three 
 hours, to examine the village, and see the Indian 
 tribe residing there. The settlement was originally 
 made for such of the Huron Indians as had embraced 
 Christianity, and were willing to adopt the habits of 
 an agricultural and settled life, under the superin- 
 tendence and direction of a priest appointed to pre- 
 side over them. To this course they were the more 
 readily inclined, as, in their wars with the Iroquois, 
 one of the Six Nations from the opposite side of the 
 St. Lawrence, the tribe of the Hurons had been 
 almost annihilated ; and their seeking the protection 
 of the French, and placing themselves entirely under 
 their guidance, seemed to offer the only hope o 
 their miserable remnant being saved. They are at 
 first said to have numbered about 3,000 individuals. 
 
286 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 but in the early period of their settlement, a disease 
 before unknown to them, the small-pox, and habits 
 to which they were not previously addicted, especially 
 drinking intoxicating liquors, speedily reduced them 
 to less than half. Although they were ultimately 
 prevailed upon to abandon entirely the use of the 
 fire-water,” as spirits are appropriately called among 
 them, their numbers have still diminished ; while 
 their repeated marriages and intermarriages with 
 the French peasantry and the Canadian hunters 
 and voyageurs, have almost obliterated all trace of 
 pure Indian blood among them. Indeed, there is 
 but one, Zechariah Vincent, of whom I have spoken 
 before, that remains, who can boast of being ‘‘ a 
 Huron, the son of a Huron,” without the least 
 admixture of white blood ; and the greater darkness 
 of his complexion, the glossy jet of his long ringlets 
 of hair, the breadth of his nostrils, and fulness of his 
 lips, mark him out to the most casual observer, as 
 standing alone in the settlement — the last of the 
 Hurons — for with him, the pure blood of his tribe 
 will end, there being no Huron wife that he can take, 
 all the females of the tribe being more French than 
 Indian. I spoke to some of these, who w^ere as fair 
 as the peasantry of France ; and w^ho, from their 
 features, hair, eyes, and manner, might be taken for 
 Bretons or Normans. We asked them, how they 
 could call themselves Indians, when they replied — 
 ‘‘ C’est vrai que nous sommes Frangaises, ou plutot 
 Canadiennes ; mais un peu sauvagees.” Very few 
 of these even speak the Huron tongue, which is now 
 almost entirely confined to the old men of the tribe ; 
 but French only is spoken by the Avomen and 
 
LORKTTE. 
 
 287 
 
 children, so that “ la langue sauvage,” as they term 
 it, will soon disappear. The Hurons were said by 
 early travellers to be more voluptuous and effeminate 
 than any other of the Indian tribes ; which may 
 account for the French mingling more freely with 
 them ; they are said also to have had the custom 
 of recosnizing the hereditarv descent of the ofBce 
 and title of Chief through the female line, as well as 
 in the male, which made them an object of dislike 
 and contempt among the other Indian tribes, by 
 whom this custom was held in scorn. This may 
 account for the bitterness and unrelenting severity 
 with which the Hurons were pursued and extir- 
 pated, wherever they could be found, by their 
 enemies. 
 
 At present there are not more than 180 persons 
 belonging to the Indian settlement, of whom there 
 are about 70 men, 60 women, and 50 children. 
 They have a small tract of land under cultivation, 
 which they hold, not in common as the Indians 
 usually do, but in separate portions allotted to each, 
 the whole extent not exceeding 100 acres. The 
 men employ themselves in tillage and fishing during 
 the summer, and in cutting wood and hunting during 
 the winter. The women occupy themselves in gar- 
 dening, attending the cattle, and manufacturing 
 various articles of Indian dress, and ornaments in 
 leather, worked with porcupine’s quills and the hair 
 of the moose deer, richly coloured; and in birch 
 and basket-work, of fanciful forms and devices. 
 These they sell to visitors, generally at a handsome 
 price, while some are sent to the shops at Quebec, 
 where they find a ready sale among strangers visiting 
 
CANADA 
 
 
 288 
 
 the City, and where they may be seen in great 
 variety. The children appear to be under very 
 little restraint, and are not much occupied either in 
 learning or in working. During the first half-hour 
 of our visit, they assembled in groups around us, 
 with their rude bows and arrows ; and exhibited 
 their skill in the use of this weapon of their fathers, 
 by shooting at a copper coin stuck into the soil, and 
 beaten down so that its upper edge was but barely 
 visible; when at a distance of twelve paces, they 
 would soon bit it with such violence as to knock it 
 out of the ground, and receive the coin as their 
 reward. Both the men and women of the tribe 
 wear a peculiar costume, which is neither Indian 
 nor Canadian, but a grotesque mixture of the two. 
 Bright and gaudy colours are in great request 
 among the women, and feathers and arms are the 
 chief delight of the men. Even the boys sometimes 
 wear a lar ge bunch of feathers stuck in the top of 
 the cap, or hanging from its side, to denote their 
 Indian origin, of which they present no other sign, but 
 of which they appear to be proud. All wear the 
 blanket, like a shawl, a garment well suited to the 
 indolent habits in which they indulge, wrapping 
 themselves around, and sitting for hours together 
 basking in the sun, or smoking their pipes over the 
 embers of a fire, which they are often too lazy to 
 replenish. 
 
 There are two divisions in the village of Lorette, 
 separated by the stream of the St. Charles. That 
 on the right bank of the river, is called the Canadian 
 Lorette, and in this none reside but persons of pure 
 French descent, their number is perhaps about 500. 
 
LORF.TTE. 
 
 289 
 
 As this contains the parish church, it is frequented 
 on Sundays and fete days by as many as 1,500 per- 
 sons, for whose accommodation the church has been 
 recently enlarged. On the left bank of the river, 
 the division is called the Indian Lorette, and here 
 the 180 members of that mixed-blooded race alone 
 inhabit. Instead of a neat street or road, bordered 
 with pretty houses on both sides, as in the Canadian 
 village, the visitor sees here only a collection of rude 
 square buildings, of one story only, and neither so 
 clean, so well furnished, or in such neat order, as the 
 dwellings of the habitans. Their huts are separate 
 and detached, though with a small space only be- 
 tween each, just in the same manner as an encamp- 
 ment of wigwams would be placed, and presenting 
 a very unfavourable appearance. 
 
 The Church of the Indians is very small, not 
 capable of accommodating more than the Indians 
 themselves, and none others visit it, except out of 
 curiosity. The curate is one of the Catholic priest- 
 hood belonging to the missionaries specially set apart 
 for the work of preaching to the Indians, and the 
 service is conducted exactly as in any other Catholic 
 place of worship, the mass being in Latin, and the 
 sermons in French. As the curate was absent, we 
 were taken to the Church by one of the oldest of the 
 Indians, whose father was a pure-blooded Huron, 
 but his mother a half-breed Frenchwoman, he him- 
 self being then 9‘i> years of age, and in good health 
 and vigour ! The Church was very poorly adorned ; 
 but that upon which the Indians prided themselves 
 above all other things, was a representation in alto 
 relievo, over the principal altar, of the celebrated 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Santa Casa, or Holy House of Loretta, conveying 
 through the air by angels, not to Loretta in Italy, 
 as the Catholics of Europe believe, but to Lorette 
 in Canada, as the Indians here are taught. The 
 tablet over the altar, in which this is contained, is 
 not more than six feet by four, and the elevation of 
 the relief about an inch or two above the surface ; 
 yet the old Indian who showed it to us, reproved us 
 when we called it a representation of the Santa 
 Casa of “ Our Lady of Loretta he insisted upon 
 it, that it was “la veritable maison de la Sainte 
 Vierge, dans laquelle elle demeurait a Nazaret, et 
 ou notre Seigneur Jesus Christ etait eleve dans son 
 enfance.” He could not perceive the least difficulty 
 in this being the identical house in which Joseph 
 and Mary resided, and where they brought up the 
 child Jesus as their son. We thought this was 
 strange enough, but he assured us that wffiat was 
 more wonderful than all was this : that some Indians 
 having behaved ill, and brought a curse upon their 
 heads, the devil was permitted to come with his 
 angels and carry away this “ House of the Virgin,” 
 as too precious for their tribe to possess. This was 
 effected in the night ; but when they had carried it 
 some hundreds of miles in the air, the Holy House 
 itself, by its own strength and power, tore itself away 
 from the grasp of Satan and his imps, and hastened 
 back to the Church of Lorette, from whence it was 
 so sacrilegiously taken, and there it has remained 
 ever since ! This was the old man’s firm belief ; 
 and he even named the period at which it was 
 asserted to have taken place, namely, about l60 
 years ago. It is difficult to suppose that the priest 
 
LOHETTE. 
 
 291 
 
 is not aware of this opinion, and that he is not 
 unwilling to have it entertained. If he helieves it 
 himself, one may judge of the character of his mind ; 
 if he does not believe it himself, but permits it to 
 be believed by the Indians, one may see something 
 of the nature of the discipline, by which he holds 
 dominion over the minds of his flock ; and in either 
 case, it cannot increase one’s respect for his judgment 
 or his sincerity. If the curate had been at home, 
 
 I should have ascertained his own views from his 
 own confessions j but no one else could tell us more 
 than our old Indian guide had done already. 
 
 We visited the house of the chief of the tribe, 
 the only well-built residence in the village, but this 
 was particularly neat and clean ; and here we pro- 
 cured some mocassins and other articles of Indian 
 work, for presents to friends at home. We descended 
 also to the foot of the Falls of Lorette, which are 
 extremely romantic and pretty, the descent being 
 not perpendicular, hut at a very steep angle, and 
 there being an oblique turn in the course of the 
 descending torrent, which increases the foam and 
 the noise, and greatly improves the effect of the 
 picture. 
 
 Our labours were closed by a hearty repast, (the 
 party having brought their supplies of provender 
 with them from Quebec,) in the neat and clean 
 dwelling of one of the inhabitants of the ^Canadian 
 village ; and leaving Lorette about six o’clock, we 
 reached Quebec at nine, after a most agreeable 
 
 excursion. 
 
General Sketch of the History of Canada — First voyage of John 
 and Sebastian Cabot — Enterprises of the French navigators^ 
 Aubert, Cartier, and Robervalle — First capture of Quebec by 
 the English — Religious Establishments of the Jesuits — Expe- 
 dition of General Wolfe — Settlement of Canada under the 
 British — Distinctions between Upper and Lower Canada — 
 English and French races — Rebellion of 1837 — Visit of Lord 
 Durham — Union effected under Lord Sydenham — Area, cli- 
 mate, productions, and present condition of the Province. 
 
 Our journeys, from Toronto to Kingston, Montreal, 
 and Quebec, and our stay at each of these places, 
 having given me an opportunity of seeing the prin- 
 cipal towns of Upper and Lower Canada, and mix- 
 ing much with the inhabitants of each, I could hardly 
 fail to hear, as well as to see, much of the state of 
 the country, and its capacities for improvement, as 
 well as something of the people of all ranks, 
 their temper, feelings, and condition. During this 
 period I used all practicable diligence in reading 
 every public document or report within my reach 
 on these subjects, and comparing these with the 
 impressions communicated by others, and those 
 formed in my own mind from evidence passing under 
 my own observation ; so that this may be the most 
 appropriate time to give the result of my researches 
 and observations combined, on the Canadas. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 2<J3 
 
 The history of its discovery and conquest has 
 been detailed at considerable length in the separate 
 accounts of the two chief cities, Montreal and Que- 
 bec ; but it may be well to recall the principal dates 
 and events in a more condensed and continuous form, 
 as a brief chronicle of the past, before we enter on a 
 survey of its present condition. 
 
 In 1497, while the Seventh Henry filled the 
 throne of England, the two Venetian navigators, 
 John and Sebastian Cabot, sailing from Bristol in 
 England, saw the coasts of Newfoundland, Nova 
 Scotia, and New Brunswick, and brought accounts 
 of them to Europe. 
 
 In 1508, Aubert, a mariner of Dieppe, first sailed 
 up the river St. Lawrence, and brought to France 
 some of the native Indians then inhabiting the tract 
 of country called Canada. 
 
 In 1535, Cartier, the celebrated French navigator, 
 went much higher up the St. Lawrence, to which he 
 first gave that name, from entering it on the festival 
 of that Saint. He wintered in the small stream of 
 the St. Charles, close to the present Quebec, sailed 
 up as high as the Indian town of Hochelaga, 300 
 leagues from the sea, on the island now called Mont- 
 real, from the name of Mount Royal, first given by 
 Cartier to the lofty eminence in its centre. 
 
 In 1549, the Lord Robervalle, a French count, 
 sailed up to the island called Bacchus, by Cartier, 
 from the abundance of its grapes, and since named 
 Orleans, from the royal family of France, which 
 name it still retains. 
 
 In 1591, a fleet was sent from France to hunt 
 the walrus in the St. Lawrence; and old Hackluyt, 
 
' the eminent compiler of the first English collection 
 of Voyages and Travels in the reign of Elizabeth, 
 says that the amazing number of 15,000 of these 
 animals were killed in a single season, by the crew 
 of one small bark employed. 
 
 In 1608, more than a century after the voyage of 
 the Cabots, the French navigator, Champlain, visited 
 Canada, and founded the present city of Quebec on 
 the promontory of Cape Diamond ; and Cardinal 
 Richelieu, then prime minister of France, lent all 
 his powerful aid to the establishment of the new 
 possession. 
 
 In 1630, Charles the First of England commis- 
 sioned David Kerkt, a Dutchman, and his compa^ 
 nions, to fit out an expedition for the conquest of 
 “ La Nouvelle France,” as the territory was then 
 called ; and the inhabitants of Quebec, being wholly 
 unprepared for this sudden and unexpected visit, 
 surrendered their city to the English, 130 years 
 before it was conquered a second time by Wolfe. 
 
 Two years after its present capture, however, it 
 was ceded back to the French, by the treaty of St. 
 Germain, in 1632. 
 
 In 1635, the first College of Jesuits was founded 
 in Quebec j and in 1639, this was followed by a 
 convent of Ursuline Nuns ; both of these establish- 
 ments being supported by large endowments and 
 grants from the French sovereign and the heads of 
 the Catholic Church. 
 
 In 1665, the first large bodies of emigrants went 
 from France to Canada, taking with them farming 
 implements, seeds, cattle, and horses. These last 
 had never been seen by the Indians of this part 
 
GENERAL HISTORY. 
 
 295 
 
 of the continent, though introduced long before by 
 the Spaniards in Mexico and Peru. The astonish- 
 men and terror of the natives at the sight of these 
 powerful and warlike animals was great in both 
 cases \ and from these two stocks, introduced by the 
 Spaniards and the French, the whole continent 
 became subsequently covered 5 and large tribes of 
 Indians have every man mounted, while thousands of 
 wild horses now roam the prairies of the west. 
 
 In 1667 , the Sieur Perrot set out from Quebec, 
 on a mission to convert the Indians to Christianity ^ 
 and after travelling the long distance of twelve hun- 
 dred miles on foot, he succeeded in prevailing on 
 many of the chiefs and their followers to embrace the 
 Catholic faith. 
 
 In 1680, another Jesuit, Father Hennepin, went 
 from Quebec up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, 
 visited the Falls of Niagara, of which he was the 
 first to give an account. He then ascended by Lakes 
 Erie and Huron, to Michigan, traversed the plains 
 of Illinois, reached the giant Mississippi, and tra- 
 velled up its banks as high as the Falls of St. An- 
 thony, this being the most remarkable discovery of 
 the age. 
 
 In 1682, La Salle, the patron of Father Hennepin, 
 following in his footsteps as far as the upper portion 
 of the river Mississippi, was the first who descended 
 that great sti-eam to the sea in the Gulf of Mexico, a 
 distance of three thousand miles ; and he was the 
 first to take possession of the whole country in the 
 name of his sovereign the King of France, in honour 
 of whom, he called the whole region comprehended in 
 the valley of the Mississippi, by the name of Louisiana. 
 
29G 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 From this period on to 1756, very few striking 
 events are recorded in the history of Canada. But 
 in that year, the French General Montcalm was 
 sent out to take the command of Quebec, and to 
 rule as Governor-General over all Canada, the 
 entire territory of which did not then contain more 
 than 20,000 inhabitants, of whom nearly the whole 
 were French. 
 
 In 1759 , the expedition under General Wolfe 
 attacked Quebec, and the battle of the Plains of 
 Abraham gave victory to the English forces. The 
 details of this are given in the history of that City, 
 and need not be repeated here. 
 
 In 1763 , by the treaty of Fontainbleau, France 
 ceded to England the entire sovereignty and undis- 
 puted possession of all Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape 
 Breton, Newfoundland, and all the Islands in the 
 St. Lawrence ; while the English guaranteed to the 
 inhabitants of all these Provinces the free and undis- 
 turbed exercise of their religion, and the full enjoy- 
 ment of all their estates, personal property, and civil 
 privileges. 
 
 The French Canadians never joined the North 
 American Colonies in their revolt against the mother- 
 country, but remained always loyal to Great Britain. 
 The reason most frequently assigned for this, and 
 most probably the true one, is, that the ecclesiastical 
 authorities, being satisfied with the large posses- 
 sions and power remaining in their hands, and fear- 
 ing the possibility of its being wrested from them if 
 they joined the American Colonies in their rebel- 
 lion, used their influence with the people to remain 
 content with what they had, and rather to “ bear their 
 
GENERAL HISTORy. 
 
 297 
 
 present ills, than fly to others which they knew 
 not of.” 
 
 In 1791, the Province of Canada, originally only 
 one, was dividend into two, under the names of Upper 
 and Lower Canada. This took place in the ministry 
 of Mr. Pitt, who assigned this as his reason for the 
 measure, in addressing the House of Commons on 
 the subject. He said, “ there was no probability of 
 reuniting the jarring interests and opposite views 
 of the inhabitants, but by giving them two separate 
 legislatures.” It should be observed, in explanation 
 of this, that while all the country below Montreal 
 and Quebec towards the sea, had been in the con- 
 tinued occupation of the French inhabitants, the 
 tract of country above Montreal, along the borders 
 of the Lakes, had been settled subsequently to the 
 British conquest, by British officers, and discharged 
 soldiers, to whom large grants of land had been 
 made by the Government, under the name of mili- 
 tary bounties : as 5,000 acres to a field-officer, 3,000 
 to a captain, 2,000 to a subaltern, and 50 acres to 
 a private. There had also been a number of British 
 subjects in the North American Colonies, who were 
 unwilling to join the rebellion of that country, and 
 who fled to Canada, where they found a welcome 
 reception among the military and other settlers in 
 the parts described. These constituted a purely 
 British and Protestant population, while the lower 
 parts of Canada contained a French and Catholic 
 population ; and hence the difficulty of suiting the 
 measures of the Local Legislatures so as to please 
 both parties. To remedy this difficulty, the experi- 
 ment of Mr. Pitt was tried, and for many years it 
 
298 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 seemed to have accomplished the object he had in 
 view. 
 
 In 1837, however, the last great event in the 
 history of Canada occurred, which was the rebellion 
 under Papineau in Lower Canada, and Mackenzie 
 in Upper Canada. The details of this are so fami- 
 liar to every one, from their recent publication in 
 the public journals, and the debates in Parliament, 
 that it would be tiresome to repeat them here. 
 I have elsewhere expressed my opinion, that, as far 
 as I could judge, there never was an insurrection 
 undertaken with less reason, or with fewer griev- 
 ances to justify it; and that there were never placed 
 at the head of so important a movement, two persons 
 less qualified to lead, than the two individuals named. 
 In saying this, however, I do not wish to be under- 
 stood as meaning that there were no grievances to 
 be redressed. There were undoubtedly many, but 
 the remedies for them were all within the reach 
 of a firm but patient exercise of the power of public 
 opinion through the press, and through the legisla- 
 ture. The government of England, under the 
 administration of the Whigs, were faithless to their 
 own professed principles of attachment to constitu- 
 tional liberty, in acting as they did towards the 
 Canadians, by taking from them that legitimate con- 
 trol over their own legislature, which they have 
 themselves now and then threatened to exercise, 
 when in opposition at home ; namely, the power of 
 stopping the supplies, to force an unjust government 
 into remedying grievances, which otherwise they 
 would not remove. What the Canadians desired, 
 and what ought to have been instantly conceded to- 
 
GENERAL IliSTORY. 
 
 299 
 
 tliem, was not separation from the dominion of l^^ng- 
 land, but the enjoyment of a responsible government 
 in the Colony itself; and that they were right in this 
 demand, is proved by the fact, that after crushing 
 the rebellion by force, hanging some, and exiling 
 others, who took a part in it, the Tory government, 
 which succeeded the Whigs in England, have not 
 only granted this responsible government, but ad- 
 mitted into favour and power, some of the very 
 leaders of the rebellion, as a concession to the popu- 
 lar will. 
 
 After a suspension of the Canadian constitution, 
 and the dissolution of their two Legislatures, placing 
 the whole country under a military despotism. Lord 
 Durham was sent out, vested with large powers, to 
 assume the reins of government, and if possible heal 
 the wounds that had been made. His known cha- 
 racter for liberality and justice caused him to he 
 hailed by all the liberal party in Canada as a Pacifi- 
 cator ; and during bis short stay in the country he 
 appears to have won the respect and esteem even of 
 those most opposed to his views. With the assistance 
 of several able men, whom he took out with him for 
 the purpose, voluminous Reports were drawn up on 
 almost every branch of inquiry that could be insti- 
 tuted ; and these were laid on the tables of both 
 Houses of Parliament, and freely commented on by 
 the British and Colonial press, till the state of 
 Canada might be said to have been laid bare to all 
 who chose to examine these numerous documents. 
 The chief remedy that Lord Durham recommended 
 was a re-union of the Provinces into one, as they 
 
300 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 were before their division by Mr. Pitt, as he believed 
 that by assembling the French and English races in 
 one Parliament, and mingling them together in other 
 bodies for the transaction of public business, with 
 the exercise of a strict impartiality on the part of the 
 home and the local government, in the appointments 
 to office from each race, both would be ultimately 
 reconciled to each other. The French party, no 
 doubt, felt aggrieved at the loss of their nationality, 
 and as the conquered race, would have been delighted 
 to emancipate themselves from the bondage of a 
 foreign yoke. The English party had been too much 
 accustomed to indulge the feelings of conquerors and 
 superiors, and thus to arrogate to themselves some- 
 thing more of domination than was agreeable or just, 
 and thus the gulf between the races was growing 
 wider and wider every year. It was wise, therefore, 
 to attempt at least to close this breach ; and the 
 project of a re-union of the Provinces into one seemed 
 best calculated to eflFect that object. 
 
 The principal objection urged by the opponents 
 of the Union, in Upper Canada, was, that it would 
 give the French party predominance, and the reform 
 or radical party, as they preferred to call it, a poli- 
 tical victory. The more substantial objection of the 
 Lower Canadians was, that as Lower Canada had a 
 surplus revenue and was clear of debt, while Upper 
 Canada had a deficient revenue and heavy obliga- 
 tions, the amalgamation of the two would have the 
 effect of making the resources of the one division go 
 to pay the debts of the other. Both objections, 
 however, were too slight to be permitted to stand in 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 301 
 
 the way of consolidating and reconciling the discor- 
 dant elements of the country, and they were, there- 
 fore, wisely overruled. 
 
 Lord Durham’s hasty return from Canada, before 
 he had accomplished his object, in consequence of the 
 manner in which the Whig government at home 
 had abandoned him, as he conceived, in the hour of 
 need, led to the appointment of Mr. Poulett Thomp- 
 son, afterwards Lord Sydenham, as his successor ; 
 and the Parliament of Great Britain having passed 
 the Act of Union, and fixed a period for its being 
 carried into execution. Lord Sydenham lived to 
 accomplish it in a manner that reflects great honour 
 on his talents, judgment, firmness, and discretion ; 
 but soon after he had completed the organization of 
 the new Legislature and Government, in Canada, 
 he died. Lord Durham’s death, in England, had 
 previously occurred. The memory of both, as 
 public men, is held in deserved estimation in the 
 country to whose interests they both sedulously 
 devoted themselves with great zeal, disinterestedness, 
 and ability. 
 
 Since then, Sir Charles Bagot has held the office 
 of Governor-General for a short period, his shattered 
 health rendering his return to England necessary ; 
 and the last appointment made has been that of Sir 
 Charles Metcalfe, one of the most able, as well as 
 one of the most honourable, liberal, and successful 
 men of the present day, whose long and brilliant 
 career in the East Indies, in various offices of the 
 Civil Service, up to that of acting Governor-General, 
 and whose shorter but equally successful administra- 
 tion of the government of Jamaica, pointed him out 
 
302 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 as the fittest man of the class to which he belongs to 
 assume the administration of Canada. As a Whig, 
 “and something more,” Sir Charles Metcalfe’s con- 
 sistency and principle have been tried by the severest 
 tests, and never found wanting ; while his inflexible 
 integrity, and impartial justice, have won the admira- 
 tion and homage of all parties over whom his rule 
 had been exercised. It does great honour to the 
 discrimination of Sir Robert Peel to have selected 
 such a man for the office, for Sir Charles Metcalfe 
 was solicited, and urgently too, to take upon himself 
 this responsibility ; and was, in no sense of the word, 
 a candidate for public employment, having been sum- 
 moned from his retirement in Devonshire, which he 
 quitted with reluctance, and only from that sense of 
 duty by which his whole career seems to have been 
 uniformly dictated. 
 
 This sketch of the history of Canada for nearly 
 three hundred and fifty years, from the voyage of 
 Cabot in 1497 » to the present year 1842, is neces- 
 sarily brief, but it is faithful, and sufficiently detailed 
 perhaps for a section of a work like this. It will now 
 be desirable to pass on to some account of the extent, 
 area, capacity, productions, and resources of the Pro- 
 vince itself, as from these we shall be enabled to form 
 some idea of its value. 
 
 The whole of the British possessions on the con- 
 tinent of North America, including the shores of the 
 Polar Sea, and the territory of Oregon, from the 
 mouth of the St. Lawrence to the shores of the 
 Pacific, include an area of no less than 4,000,000 
 of square miles ; while the island of Great Britain 
 itself contains only 84,000 square miles, of which 
 
area and resources. 
 
 303 
 
 Eno^land alone covers about 58,000 only. Canada, 
 however, which forms but a small portion of the vast 
 area described above, reaches from the mouth of the 
 St. Lawrence in longitude 58° west to the head of 
 Lake Superior in longitude 90° west. It is therefore 
 1,300 miles in length from east to west, while its 
 breadth from latitude 42° north to latitude 52° north, 
 is about 700 miles ; giving it therefore an area of 
 about 350,000 square miles, or nearly seven times as 
 large as England alone ! 
 
 This vast area is greatly diversified in surface, 
 character, and quality of soil. The northern portions 
 are mountainous, rocky, and sterile ; the southern, 
 are of less elevation and more fertile. All along the 
 borders of the great lakes, and on the hanks of the 
 Ottawa and the St. Lawrence, as well as of the 
 Thames and the Severn, the soil is rich and well 
 adapted to every description of agriculture. 1 e 
 largest and finest tracts of land are in Upper Canada, 
 as it was formerly called, on the eastern shore of 
 Lake Huron, and the northern shore of Lake Erie, 
 including the Western, the London, the Home, the 
 Gore, and the Newcastle districts. In all these, 
 farms quite equal to any in the best parts of England 
 may be carved out by the skilful and enterprising 
 acrriculturist; while the abundance of rivers and 
 lakes, large and small, in every portion of this terri- 
 tory, give him the greatest facilities for bringing his 
 produce to market. In these tracts, the prices of 
 land range from 10s. to 10/, an acre, according to its 
 state, position, and other circumstances attending it. 
 On the northern shores of Lake Ontario, from 1 0 - 
 ronto to Lake Simcoe, and from Kingston and the 
 
301 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Bay of Quinte to the banks of the Ottawa, receding 
 inland for 200 miles, are also excellent tracts of land 
 and immense forests of timber. In Lower Canada, 
 from Kingston to Montreal, in the Bathurst and 
 Ottawa districts, are fine estates ; while all the region 
 around Montreal itself is a perfect garden. And 
 onward from thence to Quebec, especially on the 
 right bank of the St. Lawrence, in what are called 
 the Eastern Townships, are tracts of land of all 
 degrees of extent, and of every variety of fertility, still 
 open for purchasers. 
 
 As you proceed down the river towards the sea, 
 and approach the coasts of Gaspe on the southern, 
 and Labrador on the northern shore, the tracts get 
 more mountainous and more rocky; but the bays 
 and streams are equally prolific in yielding the trea- 
 sures of the deep, in fish of every kind, in immense 
 quantities, richly rewarding the enterprise of those 
 who seek them. 
 
 The climate of Canada is everywhere in greater 
 extremes of heat and cold than in England. Through- 
 out the winter, which lasts nearly seven months, 
 the cold IS excesdve in Lower Canada, sometimes 
 as much as 36'’ below zero; and even in Upper 
 Canada 20 below zero is not unfrequent in the month 
 ot February. But as the atmosphere is remarkably 
 ly, the air calm, and the sky cloudless, with a 
 glowing sun, people of health who are able to take 
 exercise feel less inconvenience and discomfort from a 
 Canadian winter, than they would from an English 
 one; and the recreations of hunting, shooting, and 
 sleighing on the firm and compact snow which then 
 covers the hedges and fences of the country in many 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 305 
 
 parts, and leaves a boundless plain, are highly relished 
 hy all parties. 
 
 In the summer, which is correspondingly short, 
 the thermometer occasionally rises to 105°, and is 
 almost constantly above 90° in the daytime in June 
 and July. But the breezes from the lakes and 
 streams, and the general freshness of the atmosphere, 
 prevent this heat from being oppressive; while the 
 advantages it affords, in bringing rapidly the harvests 
 and fruits to a state of ripeness and perfection, coun- 
 terbalances every other consideration, and evinces 
 the wisdom and benevolence of the great Creator, in 
 so adapting the elements and the seasons as to 
 produce, in the most rigorous climates, a summer 
 whose intensity shall accomplish, in a brief period, 
 what in other countries it requires a much longer 
 
 period to achieve. _ 
 
 Among the productions of Canada, animal and 
 veo-etable, there is abundance and variety. Of the 
 former, the wild animals include the moose and 
 fallow-deer, the bear, the wolf, the fox, the racoon, 
 the wild cat, the otter, and the beaver ; in the west- 
 ern parts the buffalo and the roebuck are occasionally 
 seen ; while squirrels, hares, partridges, and grouse 
 are numerous. Fish of various kinds, and most of 
 them excellent, abound in the lakes and streams, and 
 waterfowl in great profusion. Of vegetable produc- 
 tions, wheat, barley, and oats, may be raised in almost 
 every part of the Province; hemp and flax also 
 thrive ; while all the fruits of England and France 
 are grown in great perfection, especially in the warm 
 
 region about Montreal. ^ ^ . 
 
 The population of Lower Canada is estimated at 
 
CANADA. 
 
 
 306 
 
 700,000, and that of Upper Canada at 500,000. 
 But as the continued influx of emigrants add greatly 
 to the latter, and but little to the former, the time 
 is not remote, when Upper Canada, or the country 
 west of Montreal, and around the Lakes, will be the 
 more densely peopled of the two. 
 
 The great Lakes of Upper Canada are indeed 
 inland seas, for the navigator sailing on them is 
 often out of sight of land on either side, and en- 
 counters storms hardly less terrible than those that 
 are met with on the Atlantic. A brief notice of their 
 respective areas may be acceptable. 
 
 Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water 
 in the world, being 366 miles long, and 140 miles 
 broad. It is 1,200 feet in depth, and is 627 feet 
 higher than the level of the ocean. 
 
 Lake Huron is 240 miles long, and 220 broad. 
 It has 1,000 feet of depth in the centre, and its 
 waters are as clear as crystal. In the Georgian 
 Bay, leading out of this Lake, are upwards of three 
 thousand islands ! many of them small but beautifully 
 picturesque, and one of them, the Great Manitoulin, 
 75^ miles long. 
 
 Lake Erie is 265 miles long, and 63 miles broad. 
 It has a depth of 250 feet only, and is 565 feet 
 above the level of the ocean, being 62 feet lower than 
 Lake Superior, and 30 feet lower than Lake Huron. 
 
 Lake Ontario receives all the waters of the upper 
 Lakes, by the Falls of Niagara. This Lake is I72 
 miles long, and 52 miles broad. Though the smallest 
 of the I.akes in area, it has a greater depth than 
 Lake Erie, having 1,000 feet of soundings in its 
 centre. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 307 
 
 The magnificent St. Lawrence, of which these 
 Lakes are but the expansions in its course, rises in 
 tlie Lake of the Woods, to the north-west of Lake 
 Superior, and in the distance from this last to the 
 sea, it traverses a course of more than two thousand 
 miles. Taking into account its beauty, as well as its 
 length — the romantic passage among the Thousand 
 Isles, between Kingston and Montreal — the size of 
 its I..akes — the magnificence of its Cataracts and 
 Rapids, from Niagara to the Chaudiere, Montmo- 
 renci, and St. Ann’s— and the gigantic scale of its 
 opening into the sea— it is beyond all question the 
 most magnificent river in the world. Neither the 
 Amazons, the Plata, nor the Orinoco of South Ame- 
 rica, the Missouri or Mississippi of North America, 
 the Niger or the Nile of Africa, the Ganges, the 
 Indus, the Tigris, or the Euphrates in Asia, or the 
 Danube, the Rhine, or the Vistula in Europe, can 
 either of them present so remarkable a combination of 
 objects of beauty and grandeur as the St. Lawrence. 
 
 Of the Cities of Canada, separate descriptions 
 have already been given while the Commerce of 
 the respective ports before dwelt on furnishes the 
 best index to the general traffic of the country. 
 
 All that remains to complete this sketch, is an 
 account of the new form of Government since the 
 Union ; and as that cannot be more faithfully exhi- 
 bited than in the Act of Union itself, it has been 
 thought best to give it entire in the Appendix. 
 
 X 2 
 

 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Departure from Quebec — Fine view of the City and surrounding 
 objects — Falls of Montmorenci — Isle of Orleans — Isle of 
 Filberts — River Saguenay — Scenery of its cliffy banks — Gran- 
 deur of the St. Lawrence at its entrance — Anticosti — Gaspe — 
 Bay of Chaleurs — Magdalen Islands — Prince Edward Island — 
 History, description, statistics, and commerce of the Colony 
 — Government, population, and religious sects of the Island — 
 Entrance to Pictou — Town of Scotch settlers — Coal beds and 
 railroad— Passage through the Gut of Canseau — Shores of 
 Nova Scotia and of Cape Breton — Geological theory of the 
 formation of their Bays — Entrance to the harbour of Halifax 
 — Embarkation of the late Governor for England — Specimen 
 of Colonial nationality. 
 
 Having secured a passage from Quebec to Halifax, 
 by the mail - steamer Unicorn, we embarked on 
 Tuesday the 29th of September, and left the Queen’s 
 Wharf at 3 p.m. The weather was delightful, and 
 the splendid view of the City was even more pic- 
 turesque and imposing as we receded from it, than at 
 the period of our first approaching it. Though the 
 naval squadron had sailed in the morning, there 
 still remained more than a hundred merchant ships 
 at anchor in the open stream, while from 200 to 300 
 others were within sight along the edge of the river 
 at the coves and wharfs, taking in or discharging 
 their cargoes. From one point of view — where the 
 Heights of Abraham, and the Citadel on Cape 
 
RIVER ST. LAWRENCE. 
 
 309 
 
 Diamond, formed the back-ground, while the town 
 and its suburbs was spread out from tbe point of 
 that Cape to tbe entrance of tbe river St. Charles 
 before us, and the crowded shipping occupied the 
 centre of the whole — the picture was at once splendid 
 and beautiful in the extreme. 
 
 Soon after leaving Quebec, we approached the 
 south-western extremity of the Isle of Orleans, and 
 took the passage to the south of it, as the northein 
 has less width and less depth of water. Before we 
 reached the Island, we opened a fine view of the 
 Falls of Montmorenci on our left, the whole front 
 of which could be distinctly seen, presenting a sheet 
 of white foam descending, perpendicularly from the 
 cliff into the waters of the St. Lawrence, and look- 
 ing much better at this distance, about three miles 
 
 off, than when nearer to it. 
 
 The passage down the river was full of interest, 
 from the continued succession of agreeable land- 
 scapes presented on either side, the farms being all 
 brought under cultivation, and the whole way for 
 many miles on tbe southern shore being covered with 
 small villages, long lines of white cottages like a 
 continuous street, and many parish churches with 
 neat towers and spires ; the whole of the population 
 settled here being French Canadians, the cleanliness 
 and neatness of whose habitations we had before so 
 often remarked. The Isle of Orleans was equally 
 well cultivated, and as thickly settled ; and toth 
 banks of tbe mighty river wore the aspect of abun- 
 dance and prosperity. , 
 
 After passing the north-eastern extremity ot this 
 Island of Orleans, the St. Lawrence expands its 
 
310 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 breadth to several miles across, though it is still 
 studded with islands. Among those which we passed 
 about sun-set, were the Isle Madame, and Grosse 
 Isle, the latter being the Quarantine station of the 
 port of Quebec. Beyond these was the high land 
 of Cape Tourment, about 1,500 feet above the level 
 of the stream, and thirty miles below Quebec— the 
 scenery here possessing features of vastness and 
 grandeur, which increase as you approach the sea. 
 Near this, we passed by the ships of war which had 
 sailed from Quebec this morning, all now at anchor 
 in the stream, the flood-tide setting up strongly, and 
 rendering them unable to proceed ; while the“steamer 
 in which we were embarked continued her course 
 without interruption. 
 
 In the course of the night we passed through a 
 Rapid called the Traverse, where a floating light is 
 stationed for the guidance of navigators, the current 
 running here at the rate of from six to seven miles 
 in the hour. We passed also the Isle aux Coudres, 
 or Isle of Filberts, where the old French discoverer, 
 Jacques Cartier, anchored on his first voyage up the 
 St. Lawrence, and gave the name to the Island from 
 the great quantities of filberts then found growing 
 there. Two spots in the little bay opposite to it on 
 the northern shore, he called at the same time, St. 
 Peter’s and St. Paul’s. 
 
 Early on the morning of September the 30th, we 
 were abreast of Green Island, and the small village 
 of Trois Pistolles, on the southern shore ; while on 
 the northern, inmediately opposite to us, was the 
 entrance to the river Saguenay, which here pours its 
 tributary waters into the St. Lawrence. Of this 
 
river SAGUENAY. 
 
 311 
 
 stream »e heard many detoils from Captain Douglas, 
 
 :,;.o commanded the Unicorn, he ha.i^ b^n 
 
 PTrmloved on its first survey, and his ship hem 
 
 firs^ that had ever penetrated it 
 
 its mouth, vrhich is about 170 
 
 'Phis river rises in the mountains, about 500 mi 
 
 'etn^th-west of its emhouchure and m dm men- 
 
 dian of Moutreal. about 7d west. It flows hr 
 
 • h o T -ilip called the Lake of ot. Jonn, iroi 
 into a Lake, caiie 
 
 whence it again issues at its easieru cn , 
 
 wnence fe awrence. In breadth, it is 
 
 flows onward to the 3t. Lawrence 
 
 scarcely ever less than a mile; its deptn, wne 
 iJl has been found to be in many places a hun- 
 
 m ° atong its shores adds much to 
 
 ‘to Wildn^s and grandeur! there being only one sta- 
 ,ts wildness ana g Chicoutimi, at a 
 
 tiou of ^ ,, miles above the St. 
 
 distant o Indians bring their pellrira 
 
 Lawren , „ip.,sure-excursions have been made 
 
 for sale. “t,,. steamer, during the 
 
 up this river, h} 
 
 last summer, an to us as delighted 
 
 ;l;rrgrXrot theseener, they had witnessed 
 
 St. Lawrence, the i'^XXontth! wS 
 gl“rLS“ll h expands to forty miles from 
 
312 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 Cape Chat to Cape des Monts Pelles. From thence 
 it goes on still further expanding till it reaches the 
 breadth of about 120 miles from shore to shore, in 
 a line drawn from the extreme point of Gaspe due 
 north across the western edge of the Island of Anti- 
 costi, and so on to the coast of Labrador. Through 
 this magnificent mouth of the river, we passed into 
 the Gulf of St. Lawrence, having thus traced the 
 noble stream, from the island of Mackinaw, in the 
 Straits of Michillimackinac, at the head of Lake 
 Huron, down to the Island of Anticosti, a distance 
 of at least 2,000 miles, through a chain of the most 
 splendid Lakes in the world, and with almost every 
 variety of scenery along its majestic course. 
 
 From Gaspe round into the Bay of Chaleurs — so 
 named by Cartier, because of the excessive heats felt 
 there by himself and his companions, on his first 
 visiting that Bay in the month of August — the whole 
 coast is said to abound with fish, and during the 
 fishing season a large number of boats and men are 
 engaged in this occupation. It is thought that 
 there are often 2,000 persons thus employed, chiefly 
 in open boats. As many as 60,000 quintals of cod- 
 fish have been taken on the coast of Gaspe alone, in 
 a single season, of which about 10,000 were sold 
 in a fresh state, and 50,000 dried and salted for 
 exportation, while 30,000 gallons of oil were obtained 
 chiefly from the livers of these fish. Besides these, 
 about 4,000 barrels of herrings, and 2,000 barrels 
 of salmon, are taken and cured in the same period. 
 Seven or eight sailing- vesssels, chiefly schooners, with 
 about 250 men, are employed in the whale-fishery 
 within the Gulf, and make from 20,000 to 25,000 
 
GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE. 
 
 313 
 
 .alloRS Of oil in the season. Not less than 70 vessels 
 are also employed from Gasp6 m the timher-trade, 
 exporting from thence about 100,000 feet of 
 the yeai? The population of the district which 
 comprehends 350 miles of coast, 
 of Chaleurs, is estimated to be about 15,000, chie y 
 of French descent ; and along the edge of the shoi^e 
 laro-e portions of the territory have been brought 
 under cultivation, and yield good harvests of gram 
 Gasp6 is visited every spring, by large "umbers of 
 trades, from Jersey, who come here to select and 
 purchase dried fish, chiefly cod, which they ship off i 
 small vessels of their own. The greater part of these 
 goes to the ports of the Mediterranean, J^ber® the 
 CathoUc population form the great body of the con- 
 sumers • the inferior qualities they send to Halifax, 
 from whence they are shipped to the West Indies, 
 
 for the food of the negro population. 
 
 The large island of Anticosti, which stands at the 
 entrance into the rWer St. Lawrence, though more 
 than 300 miles in circumference, is as yet y 
 Svaled ov settled. A ligWhouse h- «centty 
 erected here, and some provision-stations established 
 for shipwrecked fishermen. Many small vessels also 
 
 frequent its coasts during the «*“"f 
 small parties of wreckers come to collect the mate 
 rials of such ships as may he c^t upon its iron- 
 bound coast, of which unfortunately there are 
 n"an’y, though the 4at 
 spring and summer on the eastern coast o Newfound 
 knd and Nova Scotia, do not extend thus fai into 
 the Gulf, and the Bay of Chaleurs is entirely clear 
 
 of them. 
 
314 - 
 
 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 
 
 In the course of the day we saw the spoutings of 
 several whales in the Gulf. At 4, p. m., the group 
 called the Magdalen Islands were in sight. As we 
 approached these, several seals were from time to 
 time seen to lift their heads out of the water, look 
 round a little, and then suddenly disappear. It is 
 said that the walrus is often found on the shores of 
 these islands, hut we did not pass sufficiently near 
 them to observe any. The whole group, comprising 
 about half a dozen small islets, belonged to the late 
 Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, who, though so distin- 
 guished an officer in the British naval service, was a 
 native of the island of Nantucket, off the coast of 
 Massachusetts, and always retained a gi*eat affection 
 for the place of his nativity, where a great number 
 of his relatives bearing the family name still remain. 
 One of these islands is called Coffin Island, and the 
 others are named Bird, Brian, Saunders, Wolfe, 
 Deadman, Entry, and Amherst ; but they are all 
 very small, and have but few inhabitants. 
 
 By sunset we came within sight of Prince Edward 
 Island, and steered for its eastern extremity, round 
 which it was intended to pass, so as to haul up for 
 the harbour of Pictou. There is an inner passage 
 from Gaspe through the Northumberland Straits to 
 this harbour, but as our passage through it would 
 have been by night, and the navigation is not 
 thought so safe as the outer passage, this last was 
 preferred. 
 
 Prince Edward Island is so called in honour of 
 the late Duke of Kent, the father of Her present 
 Majesty, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces 
 in these Provinces, in 1799> when its present name 
 
PICTOU. 
 
 315 
 
 was substituted for that of St. John, which it origi- 
 nallv bore. Though forming a separate pyernment, 
 as a Colony, it is comparatively small, being m is 
 greatest length 135 miles, and in its greatest breadth 
 34. only. In one place it is not more than a mile 
 wide ; and its coasts on both sides present so many 
 bays that there are few parts of the island in whic 
 it is more than ten miles across from the head of one 
 bay to the head of some other. The whole area of 
 the island exceeds 1,000,000 of acres, and as there 
 are no very lofty mountains, while there is an abun- 
 dance of wood, and many little lakes ^nd streams, it 
 is fertile and inhabitable throughout. The climate 
 is milder and softer than 
 
 the iocrs of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia , and 
 the health and longevity of its inhabitants is remark- 
 able. It will be described more at length in a sub- 
 
 ^^^ATsunrife, on the morning of Friday, the 2nd of 
 October, we passed close under the small island of 
 
 Pictou, which lies to the south of 
 Island and at 7, a. m. we entered the port of Pictou, 
 on the peninsula of Nova Scotia. There is a smal 
 liahthoLe on the eastern point of the habour as you 
 enter— one of the few with which all the coasts and 
 islands within the Gulf of St. Lawrence is too scan- 
 tily supplied, and for the want of which many ships 
 nrl wrecked every year; though the expense of 
 the J eafeguar.le to navigation would 
 bo amply repaid by a very slight imimst on the 
 numermis ships and vessels frequenting these waters. 
 
 The harbour of Pictou is small, but ^^ry pretty. 
 The course into it is nearly west by compass, or a 
 
316 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 true course of west-south-west j and the depth of 
 water over the bar three fathoms and half at low 
 water. The town is about two miles in beyond the 
 entrance of the harbour, and the shores on each 
 side are well cultivated, though the land appears to 
 be stony, and not very fertile. On the left hand, 
 as we advanced up the harbour, we saw a small 
 settlement of the Micmack Indians, the remnant of 
 their tribe, being encamped here in wigwams on the 
 slope of the hill near the sea. The town of Pictou 
 is small, containing perhaps 300 houses, almost 
 entirely built of wood ; but the spires of three 
 churches rising from among them, show that sufficient 
 provision exists for so small a community as to places 
 of worship at least ; the principal settlers here being 
 emigrants from the west coast of Scotland. 
 
 After landing the Quebec mail for Halifax at 
 Pictou, the steamer went up for a few miles into an 
 inner harbour to take in her supply of coals, and we 
 remained on board during the time. At this place, 
 we found several large vessels, English and Ame- 
 rican, loading with coals for different ports. The coal 
 mines are distant from hence about seven miles ; but 
 the coals are brought in by a railroad from thence 
 in small waggons, which are carried by projecting 
 stages of wood, erected for the purpose, right over 
 the holds of the ships prepared to receive them, 
 when the bottom of the waggon is let down, and the 
 whole of its contents falls perpendicularly into the 
 hold below. By this expeditious process, about eighty 
 tons of coal were taken on board in less than two 
 hours, the price of the article at the wharf being 18s. 
 pei chaldron. As the quality of the coal is excel- 
 
VICTOU. 
 
 317 
 
 lent, the demand for it increases every year, both m 
 the British Provinces and in the New England 
 States i and the supply is inexhaustible, as the area 
 over which the known beds of this material are spread 
 
 6xcG6cls ten ihiIgs s(][U3irG« a 
 
 Returning to the town of Pictou to take on board 
 
 some additional passengers for Halifax, we ® 
 
 harbour again about noon, passed Pictou Island at 
 onfo’clock, and saw Prince Edward Hand beyond 
 if but keeping nearer to the coast of Nova Scotia, 
 we passed the small village of Arisaig, and a ong 
 line of well-cultivuted coast for forty mtles^ hll we 
 rounded Cape George within half a mile oi the 
 Zre about four o’clock, stood across the opening 
 of G^or'e’s Bay till six, and then entered the nar- 
 Jow strait, called the Gut of Canseau This remark 
 
 able channel, which is about ^ 
 
 through the narrowest parts of it, divides u p 
 Breton on the north-east, from Nova Scotia on the 
 soS-west, the course through the strait being ahou 
 
 s:S-south.east by compass, or a 
 
 course Its average breadth is not more than two 
 
 Xand in someVey* r' ”°a of "“n^r 
 across, presenting therefore the asp^t of - 
 
 There is excelient anchoring ground , 
 
 watrfrom three to ten fathoms, near the shori^^and 
 • u QiiTilcen rocks and shoals, so 
 
 at once. ^ ^ winds than oi 
 
 but depends more on the state oi i 
 
 the tides, often going with the wind. 
 
318 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 four or five miles an hour. Both sides of the strait 
 appeared to be well settled and fully cultivated, and 
 the inhabitants, who are chiefly of Scotch descent, 
 with a few Acadians, have the reputation of being 
 remarkably industrious, moral, and prosperous. 
 
 After clearing this Strait, our passage through 
 which was interesting and agreeable, being accom- 
 panied by a brilliant moonlight, we crossed the Bay 
 of Chedabucto, at the head of which is a noble har- 
 bour, called Milford Haven, from its resemblance to 
 that celebrated port in Wales. About midnight we 
 rounded the promontory of Cape Canseau, and then 
 altered our course to west -south -west along the 
 coast. 
 
 As the daylight opened on the following morning, 
 we found ourselves running down the coast of Nova 
 Scotia, about eight or nine miles off shore ; but though 
 there was a fresh breeze from the southward, and 
 the coast is exposed to the full sweep of the sea from 
 the Atlantic, we had remarkably smooth water, and 
 a deliciously balmy atmosphere after the harsher and 
 colder air to which we had been subject in Lower 
 Canada. Everywhere along this coast, English 
 names prevail, though in some there is not the least 
 resemblance to be seen between the copy and the 
 original. Whitehaven, for instance, on the coast of 
 Nova Scotia, has no resemblance in position to 
 Whitehaven on the coast of Cumberland in EnHand. 
 
 o 
 
 On the other hand, Torbay and Berry Head, as seen 
 here, resemble very strongly the places so called on 
 the coast of Devonshire in England, both in their 
 conformation and in their relative positions. Sand- 
 wich Bay is very fine, though nothing like Sandwich 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 319 
 
 on the Kentish coast at home. Tl>e who e of this 
 south-eastern line of Nova Scotia, is 
 bays and harbours imaginable, resembling, m th^j 
 respect, the south-west coast of ’ , 
 
 with geologists to attribute this, in both cases, to th 
 action of the Atlantic waters, beating in from cen- 
 tury to century, and thus corroding away, or scoop- 
 ing out, those extensive hollows or ® 
 
 though this theory' may he suggested hy the appear- 
 ance^of such bavs as we see there on the map, the 
 difficulty in adopting it is very great, wh«n 
 sider the fact, that as far as history and the earliest 
 maps of these coasts, whether of Nova Scotia or of 
 
 Ireland, will enable us to judge. ® 
 
 of the Atlantic waves has taken for the last 
 
 300 years ; and that unless the rocks were ongmdly 
 much softer than they are at present, or unless the 
 
 oceanic waters once possessed P^bSit attr^ 
 
 sion or corrosion which they do not exhibit at pie 
 sent, it would require millions of years to have 
 produced the indentations which we see. some of 
 ?hcm extending for many miles up within the capes 
 and promontories that enclose them, leaving many 
 
 scattLd islands as so ^ ^'T^^e'cLt " 
 them to protect the projecting line of the coast. 
 
 X noon we were down abreast of the harbour o 
 Halifax and hauled up on a course of a^ut noith 
 Ty » or a trao „orth-nortl.-»es. the v.„ra .on 
 
 hLe being 
 
 L Sax is striking. The harhoar ,s one of the 
 
S‘20 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 finest that could be desired for though open to the 
 south-south-east, ships passing up beyond St. George’s 
 Island, and anchoring abreast of the town, are well 
 sheltered from every wind, and the harbour is acces- 
 sible at all seasons of the year. The town of Hali- 
 fax, which is on the left of the harbour as you enter, 
 rises from the sea, over a steep ascent, while the 
 summit of the hill, at a height of about 200 feet, is 
 crowned by a citadel, with fortifications and signal- 
 posts, which produces an imposing effect. If the 
 houses were large and built of stone, the position 
 occupied by the town could not fail to make its 
 appearance beautiful. But when you approach near, 
 the greater number of the edifices are seen to be of 
 wood, many of them are mean, as well as small, and 
 none of them are painted in the white dress, which 
 gives such freshness and brightness to the wooden 
 buildings of the towns and villages in Lower Canada 
 and the United States ; so that a stranger’s first im- 
 pressions of Halifax, derived from the exterior of 
 the great mass of the houses, are likely to be, as 
 ours were, decidedly unfavourable. Indeed, after 
 landing at the wharf, and passing up through one of 
 the principal streets of the town, to the only tolerable 
 hotel in the place, the Masonic Hall, and observin.. 
 in our way the dusty streets, unpainted houses! 
 roken and neglected side-walks, and numbers of 
 dirty and ill-clad negroes, our impression was, that 
 ever since leaving England, we had never seen, 
 either in the United States, or in the Canadas, any 
 town with so few good private dwellings, or even 
 pab ic buildings in proportion to its antiquitv and 
 P pulation, as Halifax appeared to present. ‘ 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 321 
 
 were unable to obtain apartments at the Masonic 
 Hall, but found accommodation at a Public Boarding 
 House, called the Acadian Hotel, just opposite the 
 west front of the Province Building, the only fine 
 public edifice in the town, and here we took up our 
 abode during the period of our stay. 
 
 Soon after our landing the town was full of bustle 
 and animation, in consequence of the preparations 
 making to accompany the embarkation of the late 
 governor, Sir Colin Campbell, with some public 
 demonstration of respect. It appears that the Ke- 
 form party in the Provincial Legislature, had carried 
 an Address to the Queen, praying for the removal of 
 Sir Colin from the government ; but instead 
 ing it home through the Governor himself, wMch is 
 the prescribed channel in such cases, the Address 
 was forwarded by the Speaker of the Legislative 
 Assembly directly to the Colonial Secretary in Lon- 
 don. By him it was returned, as not coming through 
 the proper channel; but, strange to say, though thus 
 scrupulous as to the form, the substance of the 
 Address was acted upon ; for Sir Colin soon received 
 an offer, from the Home Authorities, of the govern- 
 ment of Ceylon, which is considered of high^ rank, 
 and is much more lucrative than that of HaMax. 
 So rapid were the movements in the Colonial office, 
 that before Sir Colin could send home an answer, 
 signifying his acceptance or refusal of the proffered 
 advancement, his successor. Lord Falkland, arrive 
 in one of the large steam-packets to occupy his place 
 He was immediately sworn into the government, and 
 Sir Colin Campbell became a private individual ; 
 but even before Sir Colin’s departure, the new Cover- 
 
322 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 nor had signified the Queen’s pleasure that five of 
 the Conservative members of the Executive Council 
 —among whom was JVXr* Cunard^ the great ship- 
 owner and projector of the new steam-packet line — 
 should resign their seats ; and these vacancies were 
 filled with five Reformers, among whom was Mr. 
 Howe, the editor and proprietor of the principal 
 Reform Journal of the Province, a weekly paper 
 called the Nova Scotian, the constant advocate o 
 “ Responsible Government,” the test and watch-word 
 of the Reform party here as well as in the Canadas. 
 The appointment of Lord Falkland, as a Whig, to 
 succeed Sir Colin Campbell, as a Tory, and the 
 recognition of the principle of “ Responsible Govern- 
 ment,” by choosing the new members of the Executive 
 Council from the leading men of the Reform party, 
 was regarded, of course, as a great triumph to the 
 Reform cause ; and to neutralize or counteract this 
 as much as possible, the Conservatives were deter- 
 mined to get up a demonstration, so as to show that 
 they viewed the departure of Sir Colin with regret, 
 and were determined to show him all the honours in 
 their power on his leaving their shores. 
 
 In the town there were two Societies, the St. 
 George’s and St. Andrew’s, composed of English 
 and Scotch, or descendants of these races respectively j 
 and such of the members of these as belonged to the 
 Conservative party, moved chiefly by political motives, 
 had little difficulty in obtaining the addition to their 
 ranks of others who were neutral, and of some even 
 who were hostile to Sir Colin’s political administra- 
 tion, but yet respected him as a Scotchman, or 
 esteemed him for his private character ; while others 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 323 
 
 a<rain joined them from love of display and fondness 
 of the excitement of a public demonstratiom These 
 two bodies, with the badges of their respective Socie- 
 ties, accompanied by banners and music, repaired to 
 the Government House about three o clock, and 
 escorted Sir Colin and his daughter, who were accom- 
 panied in other carriages by Lord and Lady Falkland 
 Ld their suite, from thence to the wharf. The St. 
 Andrew’s Society had a gigantic thistle borne before 
 them in the procession, and the members unharnessed 
 Sir Colin’s carriage, and drew it by ropes prf 
 prepared for the purpose to the wharf, their ban 
 playincr first the well-known air » The Campbells are 
 Lming,” and then the more pathetic one of Auld 
 lanc^ sync.” In the mean while, the three regiments 
 S fnfLtry in the garrison here were turned out to 
 te the street through which the procession passed, 
 and the whole scene, though not enthusiastic, was a 
 verv gay and animating one. Several appropriate 
 Addrlss^es had been presented and replied to by S 
 Colin during the day ; and at the wharf where 
 he embarked on board the Britannia steamer for 
 England, he thanked those by whom he was sur- 
 rounded, in brief but feeling terms, and was evidently 
 much affected by this manifestation of respect from 
 those by whom he had been thus escorted. 
 
 About the same time, the Umcom steamer m 
 „hlch we had arrived 
 
 taking in about 300 men belonging to the 23d regi 
 mLt or Royal Welsh Fusileers. with their baggage, 
 to go up the^St. Lawrence •, and as the Britannia, for 
 England, with Sir Colin Campbell on board, started 
 ft-I the same wharf, there was a large concourse of 
 
 y 2 
 
3"24 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 persons, including the soldiers, the procession, and 
 the crowd assembled there. While the salute on 
 Sir Colin’s departure was firing from the fort, the 
 Unicorn started ; and between the 300 troops on 
 board, and the people on shore, there were exchanges 
 of recognition and adieus, in the waving of hats and 
 handkerchiefs, and responsive cheers, which so 
 moved one of the Halifax editors, as to induce him 
 to record his feelings in the following little morceau 
 of national vanity — 
 
 “ The splendid steamer Unicorn passed down tlie harbour at 
 a rapid rate, and in splendid style, at about six o’clock on Satur- 
 day evening, for Quebec, with the right wing of the 23d regiment, 
 who left this, bearing with them the high esteem of this commu- 
 nity, and its deep regret at their departure from a garrison in 
 which they have won the regard of its inliabitants. The siglit 
 was indeed an exciting and exhilarating one ; and, amid the roar 
 of cannon, the shouts of enthusiastic thousands, the sound of 
 soul-stirring music, and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, we 
 felt carried away by the tumult of our feelings, with an admi- 
 ration of, and a pride in belonging to, the Greatest Nation in 
 the Universe 
 
 This would be laughed at by us, if uttered by 
 Brother Jonathan, in the United States, but it is 
 tolerated if said by the descendants of John Bull, 
 in the Colonies. ’ 
 
CHAP. XXL 
 
 First settlement of Nova Scotia by the French — Town of Halifax 
 founded by the Earl of Halifax— Cruel treatment of the Aca- 
 dians by the British— First House of Assembly formed in 
 Halifax— Visits of the Duke of Clarence and Duke of Kent— 
 Situation of the town— Fine harbour and basin Town of 
 Dartmouth — Shubenecadie Canal — Plan of Halifax Dock 
 Yard and Ordnance Depot— Province Building — Government 
 House — Catholic Seminary — Protestant College — Museum and 
 Mechanics’ Institute — Churches of Halifax — Numbers^ and 
 sects — Newspapers — Commerce of the Port — Population 
 British, Negroes, and Indians — General society — Loyalty of 
 feeling— Ladies of Halifax— Hospitality— Parties— Country 
 Residences — Agriculture — Roads. 
 
 The town of Halifax, as an English settlement, and 
 under its present name, may be said to have been 
 first founded in 1749 ; when the Earl of Halifax, 
 then President of the Board of Trade and Plantations, 
 conceived the project of collecting a number of 
 soldiers and sailors, who were discharged in conse- 
 quence of the peace, for whom it was thought it 
 would be an excellent provision to send them here as 
 settlers. Previous to this, the place had been occu- 
 pied, first by Indians of the Mickmack tribe, then 
 powerful in this territory, and subsequently by the 
 Acadians, descendants of the original French colo- 
 nists ; the town was then called Chebucto. It 
 was the wish and intention of the British govern- 
 
826 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 ment, however, since the cession to it by France of 
 all Acadia, to fill up the Province as speedily as 
 possible with a British population. The Earl of 
 Halifax being at the head of the department with 
 which the execution of this project lay, and entering 
 into it with great zeal, the name of the settlement 
 was changed from Chebucto to Halifax, in honour 
 of this nobleman as its patron. 
 
 The numbers that are stated to have embarked in 
 the first expedition to this spot, were 3,760 ; con- 
 sisting of sailors, soldiers, and their families ; and 
 the sum of 40,000/. was appropriated by the govern- 
 ment at home for their conveyance. They first landed 
 in June, 1749; and procuring sawed timber and 
 plank from the neighbouring colony of Massa- 
 chusetts, then also under the British flag, they were 
 enabled to construct a small town, composed entirely 
 of wooden dwellings, but laid out with great regu- 
 larity, with straight and broad streets. They next 
 formed a Government, which consisted of a council of 
 six persons, named by the Governor, the Honourable 
 Edward Cornwallis, who exercised at the same time 
 legislative, judicial, and executive authority, subject 
 to the Governor’s control ; and during the first 
 six years of their administration, from I749 to 1755, 
 they received no less a sum than 415,584/., in annual 
 grants from the British Parliament, to support their 
 infant Colony. 
 
 For the first few years, the settlers of Halifax 
 were kept in perpetual apprehension from the attacks 
 of the Indians, who, though friendly to the Acadians, 
 were extremely hostile to the English, and scalped 
 and murdered them whenever they had an opportu- 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 327 
 
 nity. Sometimes they took them into the interior 
 by long and perilous journeys, under an infliction 
 of cruelties far worse than death itself* The English, 
 however, are not free from the reproach of having 
 behaved with quite as much cruelty to the large 
 body of French peasantry then scattered over the 
 territory of Nova Scotia, under the general name of 
 Acadians, from the French name of the province, 
 Acadia. About the year 1755, when the great 
 Lord Chatham was at the head of the ministry in 
 England, the French, having strengthened and rein, 
 forced Louisbourg, in Cape Breton, and excited 
 apprehensions that they intended to invade Nova 
 Scotia,— and the British, fearing that the Acadians, 
 their ancient subjects, would join the French in such a 
 case, a plan was formed by Governor Lawrence, 
 Admiral Mostyn, and Admiral Boscawen, who held 
 a council for this purpose, to root out the Acadians 
 from the territory, and scatter them as widely as they 
 could be spread. They were then thought to be 
 about 20,000 in number ; and though they were no 
 doubt strongly attached to their native country, 
 France, and had on all occasions refused to bear 
 arms against it, yet, like their countrymen in Lower 
 Canada, they lived in the peaceable pursuit of their 
 airricultural and pastoral operations. As it was 
 thought dangeroGs, however, to carry this wicked 
 project openly and avowedly into execution at once, 
 it was deemed most prudent to betray the unsus- 
 pecting victims into the snare laid for t em. ey 
 were invited in a body to repair to a certain place in 
 each district, to receive some communication ot an 
 important nature to themselves, but which could not 
 
828 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 be divulged till they met ; and in the full confidence 
 of hearing some good tidings, the greater number of 
 them assembled in their respective districts confidingly. 
 Here, the fatal secret was divulged to them by their 
 oppressors, that their extirpation had been resolved 
 upon, as the enemies of the State ; that their lands, 
 houses, and cattle, were all forfeited; that they 
 were to be sent to the other American colonies far- 
 ther south and west ; and that all they would be 
 allowed to take with them, would be a small sum of 
 money each, and such moveables of furniture as could 
 be readily transported. Their numbers being 
 greatly divided, no resistance was made to this cruel 
 and unjust decree, though many wept bitterly, and 
 all remonstrated against so great an act of tyranny, 
 but without avail. The day of embarkation arrived, 
 and the troops and English settlers under arms, had 
 literally to force most of them at the point of the 
 bayonet, into the vessels and boats engaged for this 
 odious service. They were thus driven by force from 
 their homes, without the slightest reparation for the 
 robbery inflicted on them, and were landed as so 
 many vagrants on different parts of the coast of 
 JNew York, Pennsylvania, and even Georgia, where 
 they sufiered great hardships, and many died of 
 fatigue and want ! 
 
 Out of the whole number of from 18,000 to 
 20,000 of the Acadians, whom it was intended by 
 this barbarous process to root out of the country. 
 It IS thought that not more than 10,000 were actually 
 exiled; the rest having fled from the reach of their 
 ruthless destroyers, into the depths of the wilderness 
 or refuge, and suffered more than those that had 
 
HALU'AX. 
 
 329 
 
 been banished ; while their perescutors, with a 
 fiendish malignity which no Indians of the most bar- 
 barous or ferocious tribes could surpass, absolutely 
 ravaged their lands, and destroyed their dwellings, 
 to prevent their finding any shelter in them if they 
 should return ! In one district, according to the 
 statement of Judge Haliburton, no less than 263 
 houses of the Acadian peasantry were at one time 
 seen in a blaze ; yet, the innocent sufferers from this 
 loss, many of whom witnessed the conflagration from 
 the depths of the forests into which they had re- 
 treated, were able to restrain their indignation while 
 they saw their own dwellings consuming before their 
 eyes, till the destroyers set fire to their places of 
 worship, as well as their houses, when their religious 
 feelings being outraged by this act of desecration, 
 they made a sally on their enemies, killed about 
 thirty of them in their rage and desperation, and 
 then fled to the depths of the woods, again to hide 
 themselves from their sight ! 
 
 A second case of the exile of the unhappy Aca- 
 dians took place in I 76 I, when, owing to a panic 
 occasioned by the landing of some French troops 
 on the Island of Newfoundland, the Government 
 ordered the few Acadians that still remained in 
 Nova Scotia to be seized and shipped for the Colony 
 of Massachusetts ; where, however, the New Eng- 
 landers positively refused to let them land, as they 
 had suffered so grievously from the burden of the 
 exiles previously cast upon their shores ; they 
 were therefore brought back again, in the same ships 
 that took them, to Halifax. 
 
 During the first period of the history of Halifax, 
 
u 
 
 330 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 the government was administered by the Council of 
 Six, already described ; but in 17<58, this was fol- 
 lowed by the formation of a representative assembly 
 of 22 members, elected for the several townships 
 settled in Nova Scotia, with power to admit repre- 
 sentatives from other townships that might after- 
 wards be formed ; the members being elected by the 
 suffrages of all who held a freehold of the value of 
 forty shillings annual rent, this being the specified 
 qualification. The first House of Assembly, thus 
 constituted, met in Halifax, on the 2nd of October, 
 1758. 
 
 The first line of post-office packets from Falmouth 
 in England, to Halifax, was established in 1785, 
 and His late Majesty, William IV., visited it, in one 
 of the king’s ships, as an officer of the navy, in 1787, 
 two circumstances which gave some eclat to the town 
 and port at the time. This was still further in- 
 creased by the subsequent residence here, of the late 
 Duke of Kent, as military commander. 
 
 The value of Halifax, as a naval station, became 
 fully known, however, in the war with France, which 
 broke out in 1793 ; as the squadron destined to 
 occupy the sea from hence to the West Indies, made 
 this port their rendezvous, and sent all the prizes 
 taken by them in this quarter, into it, for condemna- 
 tion and sale. This, of course, brought merchants 
 and speculators here with capital ; and many valuable 
 settlers were afterwards induced to remain as per- 
 manent residents, who opened channels of commerce 
 with the West Indies and South America, as well 
 as with Europe, and thus contributed to enrich the 
 town. In the last war between Great Britain and 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 331 
 
 the United States also, Halifax was the port into 
 which all the American prizes taken in the western 
 waters of the Atlantic were carried for adjudication ; 
 and the sale of the ships and cargoes here, brought 
 monied men from various parts, as purchasers, and 
 caused much wealth to circulate among the inhabit- 
 ants, as well as the visitors. The peace of 1814< 
 put a stop to this, and some comparative depression 
 followed y hut the attention of capitalists and mer- 
 chants became, from that period, devoted to more 
 steady sources of gain from commerce, and this they 
 have since pursued, with a fair return of profit on 
 their undertakings. 
 
 The situation of the town of Halifax h^ been 
 already described, as lying on the western side of a 
 fine harbour, about three or four miles in from the 
 sea. 1 1 is protected from the winds of the s.s.e., the 
 bearing of its only entrance, by the island of St. 
 George, which occupies the centre of the harbour, 
 and defends it, by its elevated batteries, from the 
 approach of an enemy, as well as covering it from 
 the swell of the Atlantic by its bulk. 
 
 Opposite to Halifax, on the eastern shore of its 
 harbour, is the small town of Dartmouth, the soil 
 around which is more fertile than on the west, and 
 is advantageously cultivated chiefly by German set- 
 tlers. The breadth of the harbour hero is about a 
 mile and half, and a steam ferry-boat goes across 
 every half hour. It is of nearly as early a date as 
 Halifax, having been founded in 1750 ; but about 
 six years after its foundation it was destroyed by the 
 Indians, and the greater number of its inhabitants 
 massacred. It was revived in 1784 by some families 
 
332 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 from Nantucket, among whom were some of the 
 Quebec family of the Roches, related to the wealthy 
 merchants of that name in New Bedford. They 
 carried on the whale-fishery here with great success 
 till 1792, when a branch of them removed to Milford 
 Haven in Wales. The town has now a population 
 of 1,500 only ; but if the projected canal, called 
 the Shubenacadie — intended to pass through a 
 chain of small lakes behind the town towards the 
 river Shubenacadie, which falls into the Bay of 
 Fundy — should ever be completed, it would no doubt 
 greatly advance the prosperity of Dartmouth. 
 
 It is from this point of view that the town of 
 Halifax, with its crowning hill and fortifications, its 
 busy wharves lined with shipping below, the spires of 
 its churches and the general mass of dwellings, is seen 
 to the greatest advantage.* The small but elevated 
 island of St. George, which shelters the town from 
 the s. E. winds and the swell of the Atlantic, is in 
 the middle of the picture ; while the opening of the 
 harbour’s mouth to seaward, and the distant line of 
 the ocean, is seen beyond, as indicated by a steamer 
 just appearing in the distant horizon. 
 
 Above and beyond the towns of Halifax and 
 Dartmouth, or farther in from the sea, the opposite 
 shores of the harbour approach each other within 
 less than half a mile, and constitute the passage called 
 The Narrows. Through this, however, there is 
 ample depth of water for the largest ships that fioat, 
 and within these Narrows, there is one of the most 
 magnificent sheets of water that can be conceived, 
 spreading out like an inland lake, covering an area 
 * See the accompanying Engraving. 
 


 N».v. A— j - 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 333 
 
 of ten miles square, in which all the navies of the 
 world might ride at anchor secure from every wind 
 that blows. This is called the Bedford Basin. It 
 is surrounded with lands of moderate height, well 
 cultivated, and in some future century will no doubt 
 contain towns and villages on its borders ; though at 
 present, the outer harbour of Halifax so effectually 
 answers all the purposes of shelter and accommoda- 
 tion to the ships frequenting it, that no use is made 
 of the splendid inner harbour or la,ke described, into 
 which the tide flows freely up to its extreme boun- 
 dary, the rise and fall here being about eight feet. 
 
 The plan of Halifax is much more symmetrical 
 than that of Quebec or Montreal, and approaches, 
 in this respect, the regularity of the Cities of the 
 United States. The length of the town along the 
 water’s edexe is about two miles, and its breadth up- 
 ward from the shore to the Citadel, about half a 
 mile The principal streets run through the length 
 of the town, or parallel to the water, there being 
 eight of this kind ; and these are crossed by sixteen 
 others, at right angles, ascending rom ® 
 up toward the Citadel, being very 
 a rise of about 200 feet m half a mile. These streets 
 p nn no feet broad, are mostly unpaved, 
 
 ilflffer rain The side-walks, as at Toronto 
 muddy after ram. ^ 
 
 and Quebec, m^ mos^^)^ neglected state, which 
 are in a most dilap stranger to walk over 
 
 „ake it either hy 
 
 or gasi -d ierefore. as at Quebec 
 
331 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 and Montreal, which are in the same state of dark- 
 ness, lanterns are indispensable to those who would 
 walk the streets in safety at night, when the moon is 
 not visible. 
 
 Above the town, and commanding both the har- 
 bour and the surrounding country, is the Citadel or 
 Fort, which does not cover a very extensive space, 
 but on which, large sums of money have been ex- 
 pended. It has great strength, and is considered 
 excellent as a military work. There is a deep ditch, 
 and covered-ways on both sides, with loop-holes 
 for musketry through the solid granite masonry ; 
 about fifty pieces of cannon are now mounted on the 
 batteries within, with space for more if needed. The 
 signal-post and telegraph here, are conspicuous 
 objects from afar ; and on a clear day, ships can be 
 descried through the powerful telescopes mounted 
 under shelter, at a distance of thirty miles. 
 
 Of the naval establishments for the equipment of 
 ships of war, there are two, the Dock Yard, and the 
 Ordnance Dep6t. The Dock Yard, as it is called, 
 according to the English usage, (though Navy Yard, 
 which is the term used in the United States, would 
 be here more appropriate,) has no dock in it ; the 
 rise and fall of the tide, which is only eight feet, 
 being insutficient to form a natural dock,°and no 
 artificial or dry dock having ever been made ; so that 
 ships of war requiring to have any repairs on their 
 bottoms, must be hove out for the purpose. This 
 yard covers fourteen acres of ground, has good 
 wharves, with deep water alongside them, and is well 
 furnished with anchors, cables, masts, and the usual 
 
 y naval stores, with ample and agreeable 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 335 
 
 accommodations for the commandant and officers of 
 the establishment, who are now, however, fewer in 
 number than in time of war. 1 here is a house for 
 the Admiral of the station, overlooking the harbour, 
 and a frigate, the Pyramus, is anchored there as a 
 receiving ship ; but the Admiral of the North 
 American squadron, now divides his time between 
 Halifax, Bermuda, and Barbadoes, visiting each at 
 fixed and appropriate seasons, so that the separate 
 ships cruising, on their respective stations, may know 
 where to find the Admiral’s ship in any case requir- 
 ing his aid or directions. The Ordnance establish- 
 ment is also very extensive ; and in both this and the 
 Dock Yard are to be found at all times a supply of 
 everything necessary for the reparation or equipment 
 of a naval fleet, for any operations likely to be re- 
 quired in this quarter. 
 
 The public buildings of Halifax are few in num- 
 ber, but one of them, called the Province Building, 
 is large, handsome, and commodious. Standing 
 nearlv in the centre of the town, and having an open 
 space all around it, so that all its proportions can be 
 seen to advantage, it is one of the principal orna- 
 ments of the City. It is built of a rich brown 
 
 close..rrained sandstone, sufficiently hard and smooth 
 
 to admit of being worked with as much exactness as 
 marble ; and no where in any country do I remember 
 to have seen more perfectly executed masonry than 
 in this building. It is of the Ionic order of archi- 
 ture, with a double front, each facing one of the 
 lateral streets. The east front is the principal one ; 
 and at this, the edifice has a centre and two wings, 
 each surmounted by a pediment, the centre having a 
 
836 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 fine Ionic colonnade of six columns, rising from 
 the second story to the pediment, which contains 
 the royal arms of England in relief. It has here 
 three stories above the basement. The whole edi- 
 fice is 140 feet long, 70 feet broad, 70 feet high in 
 the east front, and 60 in the west, the difference 
 being occasioned by the slope of the hill, and the 
 difference of elevation between the two streets to 
 which these fronts are respectively presented. The 
 extern or principal front has an open space planted 
 with trees, and enclosed with an iron railing, which 
 adds much to its beauty j and the western front ap- 
 proaches close to the side-pavement of the street. The 
 interior of the building is quite as handsome as the 
 exterior, and as commodious as it is handsome. In 
 the basement story are capacious cellars and store- 
 rooms for various purposes. In the first floor above 
 this, or the ground-floor as it would be called, are 
 nearly all the public offices of the general govern- 
 ment and of the town. In the principal floor above 
 this, on a level with the street to which the west 
 fiont is presented, are the Hall of Representatives, 
 for the Speaker and forty members, constituting the 
 House of Delegates, and the Legislative Council 
 Chamber, with a throne for the Governor and seats 
 for the members of his Council. In these apart- 
 ments is an excellent full-length picture of His late 
 Majesty William IV., in his robes over a naval 
 uniform, painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and sent 
 out by the late king as a present to the House : 
 and portraits of George II. and III., and their 
 respective Queens, are also placed in different parts 
 of the same budding. The Courts of Law are held 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 337 
 
 under the same roof j and on the upper story is a 
 good Library belonging to the Legislature ; so that 
 the edifice unites public convenience with elegance, 
 by its concentrating in one spot all the public 
 records and public offices of the town and province. 
 It was built about twenty years ago, and cost 
 G0,000/., which was paid out of the provincial 
 revenues. 
 
 The Government House is a handsome edifice of 
 the same brown free-stone as the Province Building. 
 Though nearly in the centre of the town, it has a 
 good lawn and garden before its principal front, and 
 an enclosed court with shrubbery at the private 
 entrance, forming a much larger and more agreeable 
 residence for the governor than exists at Quebec, 
 Montreal, or Toronto. 
 
 Dalhousie College is another of the well-built 
 public edifices of Halifax. It is higher up on the 
 side of the hill, and is well placed on the northern 
 side of a large open space, used as a parade for the 
 troops in garrison here. It is built of the same fine 
 stone as the Province Building and Government 
 House, with a centre and two wings; it is about 100 
 feet by 50, and consists of three stories. It was 
 founded by the Earl of Dalhousie, whose name it 
 bears, in the year 1818, when that nobleman was 
 governor here ; but as the older College of Windsor, 
 about fifty miles off, on the north-western part of 
 Nova Scotia, which was founded and endowed in 
 1787, is much more efficient, the College at Halifax 
 has never risen to any eminence. It has a Board 
 of Directors, a few professors, and a very few pupils ; 
 but all the accommodations and materials for a large 
 
338 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 number of students being there provided, time will 
 no doubt increase them. 
 
 There is a large Catholic seminary, called St. 
 Mary’s, conducted by an Irish gentleman of great 
 reputation, from the College of Maynooth ; a Classical 
 academy kept by a Protestant Divine, who is Chap- 
 lain of the gai'rison; and a National and an Acadian 
 school ; and several private seminaries. 
 
 In the College building is a Museum, containing 
 specimens of natural history, minerals, models of 
 machinery, and philosophical apparatus. Under 
 the same roof is a lecture-room, fitted up for the use 
 of the Mechanics’ Institute, capable of accommodating 
 300 auditors, where lectures are given by gentlemen 
 of the town, and well attended. 
 
 There are several barracks for the troops scat- 
 tered throughout the town in different quarters, and 
 open spaces used by them as parade grounds ; but 
 here, as at Quebec and Montreal, the military 
 officers mix but little with the general society, on 
 whom they look down as their inferiors in rank. 
 This is, perhaps, no real loss to the community, as 
 the dissipation which unfortunately characterizes 
 military life in most quarters of the world, (with 
 some exceptions, of course,) exercises no favourable 
 influence on the manners or morals of society ; 
 though the military themselves might benefit by 
 mixing more with civilians than they usually do. 
 
 Of churehes, there are nine in Halifax ; St. Paul’s 
 and St. George’s, of the Church of England ; St. 
 Andrew’s and St. Matthew’s, of the Church of Scot- 
 land ; St. Mary’s, of the Roman Catholic Church ; 
 with two Methodist, and one Baptist Chapel. There 
 
HALIFAX 
 
 339 
 
 is also a very small old Dutch Church, of almost as 
 great antiquity as any building here, as it bears on 
 its front the inscription and date of 1763. The 
 largest of the English churches is St. Paul’s ; it was 
 built in 1750, a year only after the first settlement 
 of Halifax by the English. It is constructed of wood, 
 is most comraodiously and comfortably arranged 
 within, and will hold at least 1,500 persons. St. 
 George’s is perhaps next in size ; this is also built 
 of wood. It is circular in shape, which gives it the 
 appearance, on the outside, of a building intended 
 for a circus or panorama. St. Mary’s is built of 
 stone, with a square Gothic tower, and is perhaps 
 the handsomest of all the churches ; the only other 
 stone edifice of worship is the Baptist Chapel ; all 
 the rest are of wood, and possess nothing remarkable 
 in their architecture. All these churches are well 
 filled ; and the clergy and ministers of religion here, 
 are characterized by more than a usual share of 
 ability and piety; added to which, great liberality 
 and toleration seem to prevail between the different 
 denominations of Christians. In St. Paul’s Church 
 there are three full services on the sabbath, anjl two 
 in the course of the week. On the evenings of 
 Sunday, the Church is thrown open to all classes, 
 the pews being relinquished by their proprietors, 
 and some of almost every other congregation in town 
 attend here on these occasions. 
 
 Newspapers appear to be as numerous here, as in 
 any town of a similar size in America. None of 
 them are published daily ; but there are large 
 weekly papers — the Times, Conservative ; the Nova 
 Scotian, Reformer ; the Royal Gazette, official ; the 
 . z 2 
 
d40 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 Journal and the Acadian Reporter, neutral. These 
 are all conducted with great care, and respectable 
 talent. There is also a religious paper in the Baptist 
 interest, called the Christian Messenger; and ano- 
 ther in the Methodist interest, called the Guardian. 
 Besides these, there are three penny papers published 
 twice and thrice a week — the Herald, the Morning 
 Post, and the Hailgonian, which furnish only the 
 heads of news, without exercising much influence 
 on public opinion. 
 
 There is a Theatre in Halifax ; but, like most of 
 these establishments in the Colonies, it is so little 
 frequented by the higher and even middle classes, 
 that its support is left to strangers, and the lowest 
 class of the population, so that it is constantly in 
 debt and embarrassment, and will ultimately, no 
 doubt, be abandoned. 
 
 The Commerce of Halifax is confined chiefly to 
 the United States, the West Indies, and the Brazils, 
 in America ; and to Great Britain and the Mediter- 
 ranean, in Europe. It consists chiefly of the export 
 of timber, dried fish, wheat, flour, oats, salted pork, 
 butter, and fish-oil ; and in the import of manufac- 
 tured goods from England, wines from the Mediter- 
 ranean, and sugar, molasses, logwood, mahogany, 
 cofiee, cigars, and rum, from the West Indies. The 
 ^§'g*‘®g3,te amount of exports and imports on an ave- 
 rage of several years past, is about 750,000/. annually 
 for each ; though for the whole Province of Nova 
 Scotia, including the few other ports, it is about 
 1 , 000 , 000 /. 
 
 The population of Halifax is estimated at 16,000 
 persons, including at least 1,000 negroes, and a few 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 341 
 
 Indians of the Micmac tribe. These last are rather 
 occasional visitors than permanent residents; but, 
 like the negroes, being seen frequently in the streets, 
 and attracting attention from their fantastic dress 
 and colours, they give an impression to the stranger 
 of their being more numerous than they really are. 
 The negroes settled here are chiefly from the United 
 States and the West Indies. During the American 
 war, the British squadron, under Sir Alexander 
 Cochrane, after ravaging the shores of the Chesa- 
 peake, and going up to Washington to burn the 
 Capitol, and destroy the public records there, brought 
 away a great many negroes from Maryland and 
 Virginia, as prisoners of war ; and these becoming 
 free as soon as they were landed here, had no dispo- 
 sition to return. Ships arriving from the West 
 Indies also brought, from time to time, runaway 
 slaves, who sometimes secreted themselves in the 
 ships’ holds, till they got to sea, and sometimes entered 
 on board vessels as cooks or stewards, and finding 
 many of their own colour here, joined them as resi- 
 dents. The greater number of them appear to have 
 made little or no improvement in their condition, 
 being poor, ignorant, dirty, and indolent ; while no 
 pains seems to be taken, either by the Government 
 or by any Benevolent Society, to elevate them, by 
 education and training, above their present state. 
 
 The general society of Halifax, of which we saw a 
 great deal during our stay here— having been invited 
 out to parties almost every day — appeared to be more 
 like that of an English seaport town, than any we had 
 met with since leaving home. The official, profes- 
 sional, and mercantile classes, all mingle on a footing 
 
KOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 34^2 
 
 of friendly equality ; and the members of each are 
 so closely connected by family ties of relationship or 
 intermarriaps, that there is more of cordiality and 
 affection witnessed in their intercourse with each 
 other, than is usually seen either in England or in 
 America. The men are in general intelligent, frank, 
 and gentlemanly in their deportment, and have the 
 ruddy glow of health which is more frequently seen 
 on the European than on the American side of the 
 Atlantic. They are entirely British in their feelings, 
 and loyal to a degree that reminds one of the reign 
 of George the Third, and the threatened invasion of 
 England by Napoleon, when it was not enough to 
 be loyal, but every one was expected to make con- 
 stant profession of his being so, to prevent his beino- 
 classed among the disaffected. Here, as in Canada! 
 there is a large class of Reformers, who contend for 
 the necessity of Responsible Government; — by which 
 is simply meant, that while the Sovereign at home 
 shall have the appointment of the Governor, and the 
 nomination of the Legislative Council— the members 
 w the Executive Council, corresponding to our 
 Cabinet Ministers in England, shall be selected from 
 ^at party which has the majority in the House of 
 Representatives, so that the acts of the Executive 
 shall be somewhat in harmony with the public 
 
 opinion, as expressed by the choice of their dele- 
 gates. 
 
 The ladies of Halifax, without being so aris- 
 tocratic as tbe ladies of England, or so handsome as 
 those of the United States, form a happy medium 
 between both, and are in many respects more agree- 
 able than either. In person, they appear to resemble 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 Si3 
 
 the American women, in being usually slender in 
 figure, regular in features, and pale in complexion, 
 with dark eyes and dark hair. But in their voices 
 they are entirely English, having that rich fulness 
 of tone, and distinctness and decision of utterance, 
 which is so superior to the thin voices and drawling 
 twang of the Americans. Without pretending to be 
 literary or scientific, they are almost all well-read 
 and well-informed ; and there is a pleasing frankness 
 and agreeable vivacity in their manners, which is 
 peculiarly charming. For cordial, friendly, and 
 lasting intercourse, their manners, habits, and feel- 
 ings, seem to be well adapted ; and from all we saw 
 and experienced in the many agreeable families, 
 whom we had the privilege and pleasure to know, 
 our impression was, that we had never mingled in a 
 society in which more of unostentatious, but substan- 
 tial hospitality, and sincere kindness, was manifested, 
 either towards strangers, or among each other, than 
 in Halifax. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of the town are some agree- 
 able residences, at distances of two or three miles 
 out ; and these, like the town-houses, are all much 
 better furnished than their exteriors would lead one 
 to expect. Fortunately for the people of Halifax, 
 the love of show, and the display of ostentation in 
 their houses, equipages, and dress, has not spread 
 among them as it has done among their neighbours 
 of the United States ; so that though they do not 
 live in such fine houses, and cannot boast such rich 
 carpets, mirrors, and other decorative furniture for 
 their dwellings, or such costly and extravagant ward- 
 robes for their persons, as are to be seen in even the 
 
?JOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 3U 
 
 second and third rate cities and towns in America, 
 they enjoy quite as many substantial comforts, enter- 
 tain their friends in a social interchange of hospi- 
 talities much more frequently ; and above all, are 
 free from those fearful anxieties which are insepara- 
 ble from extensive speculation and mercantile em- 
 barrassment, there having been no stoppage of any 
 bank in Halifax since its foundation, and only one 
 bankruptcjr has taken place among the merchants 
 here, in the long period of eight years I 
 
 The agricultural operations carried on near the 
 town, and the state of the farms within a few miles 
 of it, are greatly superior to anything that we saw 
 in Canada. This is attributed to the exertions and 
 example of a single individnal, the late Mr. John 
 Young, who came here from Glasgow about thirty 
 years ago, and introduced the Scotch system of farm- 
 ing on his own estate, which afterwards became 
 imitated throughout other parts of Nova Scotia. He 
 published a series of letters on the subject of a<rri- 
 culture and the breeding of cattle, under the signa- 
 ture of Agricola, which still enjoy great and deserved 
 celebrity, and which led to the formation of an Agri- 
 ^Itural Society, under the patronage of Lord 
 Da housie. The fields of his farm, though deprived 
 of the benefit of his own superintendence, are more 
 like English fields than any we had seen since leav- 
 ing home ; and the produce of the estate is still more 
 ^ghly valued than that of any other in the Province. 
 His sons have distinguished themselves as writers on 
 Colonial subjects, the fisheries, commerce, and cur- 
 lency, and latterly on the subject of Responsible 
 Government, one of them being a leader of the 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 345 
 
 Reform party in the House of Representatives, and 
 both being eminent in their profession as lawyers.* 
 There are some beautiful carriage-drives in the 
 neighbourhood of Halifax, one which goes out to the 
 south, near the entrance to the harbour, round a 
 point called Point Pleasant, and thence up into one 
 of the prettiest little bays that ean be imagined ; the 
 road all the way being macadamized, the scenery 
 pleasing, and the breeze from the water refreshing. 
 Another delightful drive goes out at the north side 
 of the town, passes the Narrows, and brings you 
 upon the shores of the Bedford Basin, along which 
 the drive continues, presenting an uninterrupted 
 view of its ample expanse of water, bordered by the 
 surrounding hills. Both these roads were executed 
 under the direction of Sir Colin Campbell, and added 
 much to his popularity. 
 
 My lectures were given in the Church of St. 
 Andrew’s, and were attended by audiences exceeding 
 a thousand in number ; the clergy of the Established 
 Church, and the ministers of other denominations, 
 vying with each other in their endeavours to secure 
 the attendance of the members of their respective 
 congregations ; and a parting address on Temper- 
 ance, delivered in the Masonic Hall, on the^vening 
 before our leaving Halifax, was productive of the 
 best effects, in adding largely to the members of the 
 Society, and also to the increase of its funds. 
 
 * The Reform member has since been elected Speaker of the 
 House. 
 
CHAP. XXII. 
 
 General Description of the Province of Nova Scotia — Area, 
 extent, and position — History of its discovery and first settle- 
 ment — Repeated captures and transfers between England and 
 
 France — Shameful expulsion of the Acadians — Topography 
 
 Climate and productions — Value of Exports and Imports 
 
 Estimated value of moveable and immoveable property 
 
 Towns of the Coast— Interior Administration of Justice. 
 
 The Colony of Nova Scotia, of which Halifax is the 
 capital, is very nearly an island ; being connected to 
 the continent of North America by a narrow isthmus 
 of only ten miles across, from the head of the Bay 
 of Fundy to the Straits of Northumberland, near 
 Prince Edward Island. It lies between latitude 
 43° to 46° north, and is therefore about 5° further 
 south than the southern coast of England ; and its 
 longitude is from 6l° to 67° west. It is estimated 
 to be nearly 300 miles in length from north-east to 
 south-west, and of varied breadth from 50 to 100 
 miles in different parts. It has an area of about 
 15,620 miles, or nearly 10,000,000 of acres, of 
 which 5,000,000 perhaps may be deducted for rivers, 
 lakes, and rocky surface, leaving therefore about 
 5,000,000 of acres of cultivable soil. It has, on the 
 north-east, the island of Cape Breton, separated from 
 it by the narrow strait called, the Gut of Canseau ; 
 on the north. Prince Edward Island ; on the west. 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 347 
 
 the Bay of Fundy and New Brunswick ; and on the 
 south and east, the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 The sea-coast is everywhere bold and rocky, with 
 deep water for the navigator, and a continued suc- 
 cession of creeks and bays for shelter. The interior 
 is undulated, but not mountainous ; there being no 
 elevation greater than 7 oi" 800 feet above the level 
 of the sea, over all its surface. The bed of the whole 
 territory appears to be granite, with trap and slate ; 
 there are also beds of sandstone for building, gypsum 
 and lime for manure, and immense beds of coal 
 for fuel ; with indications of iron, lead, and copper, 
 in many parts ; promising a rich reward to the future 
 toil of those who may be enterprising enough to 
 bring them from the bowels of the earth, when the 
 territory shall be more fully peopled. 
 
 The history of Nova Scotia may be briefly told. 
 It was first discovered by the Cabots in 1497 > 
 visited by the Mai'quis de la Roche in 1598 ; and 
 was first colonized by the French, under l)e Monts, 
 in 1604, when it was called Acadia. In 1613, how- 
 ever, the English sent a small expedition to expel 
 the French, and take possession of Acadia, on the 
 ground of their navigators having been the first to 
 discover the territory. This practice of claiming a 
 property in every land discovered, as if there were 
 no higher title, is happily ridiculed by one of the 
 writers of the day, in this quaint couplet 
 
 “ For these were the days — to all men be it known, 
 
 That all a man sailed by, or saw, was his own.” 
 
 But even this was not literally true, for it was rather 
 the monarchs of the hardy navigators, than the 
 
348 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 adventurous mariners themselves, who claimed the 
 territories because their subjects had discovered them. 
 Accordingly in 1621, King James the First granted 
 the whole of this country of Acadia to Sir William 
 Alexander, and changed its name to Nova Scotia. 
 The boundary line then fixed for the territory was 
 one drawn from the river St. Croix to the St. Law- 
 rence, so that it included all the present colony of 
 New Brunswick, as well as a part of Lower Canada 
 flora Bic Island to Gaspe. In conformity with the 
 usage of the times, this grant was made on the royal 
 word “for ever; ” but in treaties, grants, and diplo- 
 matic documents, the words “ eternal peace and 
 amity,” and “ perpetual and undisturbed possession,” 
 have a very limited meaning ; their true signification 
 eing only just as long as may suit the convenience 
 or interest of the parties to let this “eternity ” con- 
 tinue, which may be twenty years, or ten, or only 
 one, as circumstances may render expedient.* 
 
 I remember an anecdote so strictly in point to illustrate this, 
 that I cannot refrain from mentioning it. When I was at Shiraz 
 in Persia, in 1816, 1 lived in the house of an exiled Indian prince 
 named Jaffier All Khan, who was very much attached to the 
 EnghsMnd who had, before this, kindly entertained the estimable 
 Henry Martyn, the lamented Church of England Missionary, under 
 the same roof, and was delighted to hear that we were both natives 
 of the -same county, Cornwall. The father of Jaffier Ali Khan 
 had ceded some territory among the Northern Circars, under the 
 residency of Madras, to the East India Company ; in considera- 
 tion of which, the Company, through the Madras government, 
 undertook to pay, to himself and the dependent members of his 
 ami y, certain fixed annuities, which were to be guaranteed to 
 hm!^ “‘Perpetoty forever.” After a few years had elapsed, 
 l.o«ever, the Prince found his annuity considerably reduced in 
 
HALIFAX. 
 
 34-9 
 
 Charles the First, therefore, soon put an end to 
 the “for ever” of his predecessor James; and 
 shortly after his accession, this monarch sold what 
 his royal parent had previously given away. This 
 was done by the institution of a new order of Nova 
 Scotia baronets, which were limited to 150 in num- 
 ber. To each of these baronetcies, a grant of land 
 in the province was attached, and the titles and 
 territory were sold to such persons as would under- 
 take to make certain payments to the crown, in aid 
 of settlement, as it was called, but in reality to reple- 
 nish the King’s privy purse. 
 
 Many of the original French settlers, however, 
 remained in Acadia ; when Cromwell, in 1 654, 
 sent a force to dislodge them, and was successful. 
 In the reign of Charles the Second, it was again 
 ceded to France, by the treaty of Breda, in 16G7» 
 
 amount ; and no reason being assigned for this, he wrote, first 
 to India, and then to England, but could get no satisfactory 
 explanation on the subject. He then thought it possible that the 
 words “ perpetuity ” and “ for ever ” might have a different 
 meaning in English, from their equivalents in Persian, or that 
 some change had taken place in the general acceptation of the 
 terms ; as words sometimes grow obsolete and change their mean- 
 ing. He therefore sent to England for onfe of the latest and best 
 editions of the most generally approved dictionary of the English 
 language, which he spoke imperfectly, but which he could read 
 pretty well; and on turning, with great eagerness and anxiety, to 
 the words in question, he found that “ perpetuity ” meant exactly 
 as he had supposed, “ without change or cessation and that “ for 
 ever ” was only another and stronger mode of expressing the 
 same “continual duration.” But he found that at the India House, 
 as in the courts of other monarchs, “perpetual and everlasting ’ 
 meant only “ as long as might be expedient, and no longer.” 
 
S50 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 and remained in her possession till 1689, when 
 it was taken by the English, with an expedi- 
 tion from Massachusetts, then a British Colony, 
 under the command of Sir William Phipps. The 
 leader of this expedition was one of the most remark- 
 able men of his day. He was the son of a very 
 humble blacksmith, and was brought up as a shep- 
 herd’s boy. At the age of eighteen, he was first 
 apprenticed to a shipwright; and before he was 
 twenty-one, he built a small vessel, with which he 
 offered to raise some treasure, sunk in a Spanish 
 ship, that was wrecked some years before at the 
 Bahamas. His offer was made to the English 
 court, and was accepted ; and with the assistance he 
 received from thence, he succeeded in recovering 
 300,000/. from the wreck. Of this he retained a 
 portion sufficient to enrich himself, and the rest was 
 given to his patron, the Duke of Albermale, who 
 had assisted him in the equipment of the ship in 
 which he performed this expedition. He was after- 
 wards made a knight by King James the Second ; 
 and subsequently Governor of Massachusetts, in 
 1691, by the authority of William the Third. 
 
 Another change took place in the possession of 
 Nova Scotia, when it was ceded a second time, by 
 the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1696, to France, who 
 held It till 1710, when it was again captured by the 
 English, with an expedition from Boston ; it was 
 finally ceded to the British in the reign of Queen 
 Anne, in I7IS, since which it has remained in our 
 undisturbed possession. 
 
 The first large accession of British settlers that 
 went to Nova Scotia, embarked in the year I749. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 351 
 
 They consisted of about 4,000 adventurers, retired 
 officers, and others, who were encouraged by a Par- 
 liamentary grant of 4,000/. to assist them in their 
 settlement. They landed at Chebucto, where they 
 founded Halifax, and then gradually planted them- 
 selves in the interior. As there were many French 
 settlers still remaining in the inland parts of Nova 
 Scotia, these were expelled by the British, and driven 
 across the Bay of Fundy, to what now constitutes 
 New Brunswick. This forcible expulsion of the 
 French was attended with atrocities of which Eng- 
 lishmen may well be ashamed— • such as the burning 
 down the towns and villages of the peaceable and 
 unoffending inhabitants, the ejection from their 
 property and homes of the rightful possessors, 
 and the barbarous massacre of even women and 
 children. 
 
 In 1758, under George the Second, the first con- 
 stitution for the government of the Colony was 
 given. It embraced the three bodies of the House 
 of Assembly, the Legislative Council, of 12 mem- 
 bers, appointed by the Crown, and the House of As- 
 sembly, of 41 members, elected by 40-shilling free- 
 holders, for 7 years, as in England. But the powers 
 of the two branches appointed by the Crown, were 
 too powerful to admit of much influence on the part 
 of the Assembly elected by the people. The friends 
 of reform and improvement were, therefore, con- 
 tinually struggling against the united powers of the 
 Governor and his Council, until of late, when theii 
 labours have been crowned with success, in obtaining 
 the object of their desire, a responsible government, 
 meaning by that, an Executive taken from the party 
 
S52 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 that possesses a majority in the House of Assembly ; 
 just as in England, the ministers are always taken 
 from the party that commands a majority in the 
 House of Commons. Since this, which is of com- 
 paratively recent date, a life and spirit has been 
 infused into the public feeling of the Nova Scotians, 
 which is likely to be productive of the best effects on 
 the future prosperity of the Colony. 
 
 The form of the peninsula of Nova Scotia, is a 
 narrow and irregular oblong, running from north-east 
 to south-west, for about 300 miles. On the south-east 
 coast, which faces the Atlantic, the shores are so 
 broken and indented into bays, that there are no less 
 than 26 good harbours, within the line occupied by 
 this side ^ and of these, 12 are large enough for the 
 shelter and accommodation of the largest ships of 
 war, while the other 14 > are spacious and deep enough 
 for the largest merchant-ships now in use. The 
 harbour of Halifax, with its magnificent internal 
 basin, has no superior in the world. 
 
 In the undulating surface of the interior, there 
 are many pretty valleys, and some soft and pic- 
 turesque scenery, while the soil is generally fertile, 
 and the country well wooded. Many small rivers 
 and streams, issuing from the numerous internal 
 lakes, irrigate the land in their course ; and the pur- 
 suits of agriculture and pasturage may be almost 
 everywhere carried on with pleasure and profit. 
 
 The climate of Nova Scotia has a general resem- 
 blance to that of Canada, except that it is more 
 humid, from being surrounded by the sea. The 
 winter is long, seven months at least, but the severest 
 months of January and February never exhibit so 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 353 
 
 low a state of the thermometer as in Canada. There, 
 it often goes down to 20° below zero : here, 10° 
 above zero is the general limit. The heat in sum- 
 mer, during the months of June, July, and August, 
 ranges from 90° to 95°. The spring is very trying, 
 from the damp easterly winds, occasioned by the 
 breaking up of the polar ice, and the floating by of 
 vast masses of icebergs ; at this season, the 
 vicissitudes of temperature are so great, that a 
 change of 50° in 24 hours has been known. The 
 autumn is regarded as the most agreeable period of 
 the year, the months of September and October 
 being equal to the finest weather in these months in 
 England. The climate is undoubtedly very healthy ; 
 rheumatic afiections are the most frequent, and 
 sometimes consumption ; but intermittent fevers and 
 agues, so frequent on the American continent, are 
 here almost unknown ; and the inhabitants generally 
 live much beyond the ordinary term of European 
 life_70, 80, and 90, being ages frequently met with, 
 and sometimes above 100. 
 
 The products of Nova Scotia are varied and abun- 
 dant, though its resources are scarcely begun to be 
 developed. Grain, of every kind in use by its inha- 
 bitants, may be produced in almost every part of the 
 island, the yield varying from 25 to 40 bushels per 
 acre of wheat, 40 to 50 bushels of oats, 200 to 300 
 bushels of potatoes, and 2 to 3 tons of hay per acre. 
 Salt marshes are sometimes enclosed from the bor- 
 ders of the sea, and these yield, on their first har- 
 vest, 60 bushels of wheat to the acre. Barley, 
 buckwheat, peas, and beans, are also cultivated 5 
 
 2 A 
 
354 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 and every kind of English vegetables and fruits may 
 be raised in all parts of Nova Scotia in perfection. 
 
 It has been stated that there are about 5,000,000 
 of acres of cultivable surface in Nova Scotia, and 
 the largest portion of this has been granted at dif- 
 ferent times to favoured individuals, or land com- 
 panies, on conditions which most of them have failed to 
 fulfil j but it is thought that not more than 500,000 
 acres, or one-tenth only of the whole, are yet under 
 cultivation. There remains, therefore, an immense 
 field yet open in this Colony for settlers, and un- 
 cleared or unimproved land may be had as cheap as 
 in any part of America, varying from 2s. 6d. to 5s. 
 per acre, and from that upward, according to its 
 locality and advantages. Though some parts of the 
 country has only a scanty soil, in others it is rich and 
 deep ; and in the neighbourhood of Pictou, on the 
 north-west of the coast, within the Gulf of St. Law- 
 rence, there have been seven successive crops of 
 wheat, raised, without rotation, or without manure. 
 
 There are still fine forests of excellent timber in 
 the interior, including oak, beech, birch, ash, maple, 
 and other trees, which are felled from year to year 
 for exportation, to the value of about 150,000/. per 
 annum. In these forests there are still some wild 
 animals, but they are every year diminishing in 
 numbers. The moose deer, the bear, the fox, the 
 otter, the squirrel, the martin, and the mink, still 
 furnish furs to the hunters who pursue them ; 
 and these have yielded an export of about 5,000/. 
 value per annum. The great staple of the export 
 trade, however, is fish, which abounds around the 
 
SHIPPING AND PRODUCE. 
 
 355 
 
 coasts, in the bays, lakes, and rivers. A full fourth 
 of the inhabitants are thought to be engaged in the 
 catching and curing of cod, herrings, mackerel, hali- 
 but, and other sea fish, as well as in the capture of 
 whales and seal for their oils, and the latter for their 
 skins. The value of the fish and oil exported yearly 
 amounts to at least 200, 000^. Add to this, the 
 produce of the mines of coal and iron, in Nova 
 Scotia and Cape Breton, extending, it is said, to 
 50,000/. a year more, and we shall see that though 
 Nova Scotia is notone-fifth peopled, it is yet rich and 
 productive, from its own natural resources, and these 
 are capable of much fuller development, when capi- 
 tal and population shall be attracted to her shores. 
 
 The shipping amount to 150 vessels, measuring 
 at least 15,000 tons, and employing nearly 1,000 
 men. They sail principally to the West Indies and 
 the United States, and the amount of the exports 
 given for the year 1839, had these among their 
 largest items — 
 
 Timber of various kinds . . , . £ 75,000 
 
 Flour from the wheat of the Colony 180,000 
 Salted beef and pork .... 25,000 
 
 Produce of the coal and iron mines 120,000 
 Fisheries of various kinds . . . 150,000 
 
 The immoveable property of the Colony in lands, 
 buildings, &c., has been estimated to be worth 16 
 millions ; the moveable property, in ships, furniture, 
 implements, stocks of various commodities, and 
 monied capital, at 20 millions ; and the property 
 annually created within the Colony has been stated 
 at 8 millions and 10 millions, according to different 
 authorities, but these estimates are necessarily some- 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 v/hat uncertain, though they are no doubt not very 
 far from the truth. That which is more certain is, 
 that while the revenue is not more than 50,000^., 
 the expenditure is nearer 100,000/., the difference 
 having to be borne, as that of all our Colonies must 
 be, by the mother-country. 
 
 Of the principal City and Port of Halifax, a 
 description has already been given. The only other 
 place worthy of note is Annapolis, which is on the 
 western coast, looking towards New Brunswick, and is 
 the oldest settlement on the continent of North Ame- 
 rica, having been founded in 1604. It was originally 
 called Port Royal, but its name was changed to Anna- 
 polis, when it was ceded to the British in the reign 
 of Queen Anne, in compliment to that monarch. It 
 has a good river, and a noble harbour ; hut from 
 the rapid growth of Halifax, on the outer coast 
 towards the Atlantic, Annapolis never thrived, and 
 is still only a small town of less than a hundred 
 houses. There are also the towns of Windsor, Fal- 
 mouth, Truro, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, 
 Yarmouth, Cornwallis, Dartmouth, Amherst, and 
 Londonderry ; but they are all small and unimpor- 
 tant. 
 
 The Supreme Court of Judicature sits at Halifax, 
 but there are District Judges for the Country. The 
 common and statute law of England are here in 
 force, as well as the acts of the local Legislature, and 
 on the whole it is believed that justice is fairly 
 administered in a manner satisfactory to all classes 
 of the people. 
 
CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Cape Breton — Position — Area — Originally part of the French 
 Colony of Acadia — Subsequent history — Religious wars — Lax 
 morality of the Puritans — Destruction of Louisbourgh — Value 
 of its mines of iron and coal — Singular phenemenon of gas and 
 boiling water — Population — Classes — Occupations — Shipping 
 and trade — Prince Edward Island — Attempt to restore feudal 
 government — Lands disposed of by State Lottery — Area, pro- 
 duce, and population of the Island— Chief town — Legislature 
 — Commerce — Present condition. 
 
 Cape Breton, once a separate Colony, but now 
 united to Nova Scotia, — and Newfoundland, once 
 united to Nova Scotia, but now a separate Colony, — 
 have each so natural a connection with the other, 
 that a brief account is required of both, to make this 
 section of the work complete. 
 
 Cape Breton lies at the north-east end of Nova 
 Scotia, separated from it only by the narrow channel 
 of the Gut of Canseau, through which we passed 
 on our way from Pictou to Halifax. It is about 
 100 miles long by 80 broad, and covers an area of 
 nearly 2,000,000 of acres. It was first settled by the 
 French, when they founded Acadia, and was by them 
 called L’Isle Royal. It was on the south-east side 
 of this island that the French founded the town of 
 Louisbourgh, in 1720, where they employed an im- 
 
358 
 
 CAPfl BRETON. 
 
 mense number of men for 25 years, in erecting strong 
 fortifications, the whole cost of which was estimated 
 at 30,000,000 of livres. This was invaded in the 
 reign of George the Second, by English Colonists 
 from Massachusetts, in 1745 ; and after a most 
 obstinate siege and defence, in which there were five 
 unsuccessful attacks, the whole contest lasting forty- 
 five days, it was ultimately taken by the British, 
 but with a loss of more than 4,000 men on each 
 side. 
 
 The most remarkable feature of this contest was, 
 that it was not so much a national as a religious 
 war — a struggle of Puritan against Papist— in which 
 it was the desire and design of the bigoted Protest- 
 ants of the American Colony to dislodge and scatter 
 the Catholic settlers who were too near them ; and 
 it is a curious fact, that the celebrated George White- 
 field, the contemporary and colleague of John Wesley, 
 being then in Boston, actually consecrated and blessed 
 the standard of the Puritan warriors before they em- 
 barked in their holy war against those whom they 
 alleged to be little better than infidels ! As a proof, 
 however, that the standard of morality was not at all 
 higher among the Puritan assailants than it was among 
 the Catholic defenders, this fact will furnish suffi- 
 cient evidence. A few days after they had destroyed 
 the town and fort of the French, and the British 
 flag had been flying on the ramparts, two large ves- 
 sels were seen in the offing as if approaching the 
 harbour. As two French East Indiamen were about 
 that time expected to touch at Louisbourgh, on their 
 homeward voyage to I ranee, it was presumed that 
 these were the vessels in question. The cunning 
 
LOUISBOURGH. 
 
 359 
 
 Puritan conquerors, therefore, substituted the French 
 for the English flag on the ramparts ; and the ships 
 drawing near enough to observe it, entered the port 
 in the full confidence of its being still in the hands 
 of their fellow-countrymen. They had no sooner 
 cast anchoi-, than they were boarded and taken pos- 
 session of by the traitorous English, who had thus 
 decoyed them, under false colours, into portl The 
 laws and usages of war, perhaps, allow of such de- 
 ceptions, and the Puritans were not slow to adopt 
 this lax standard of morality. But war itself is so 
 anti-christian, and so immoral, that it is perhaps 
 ureasonable to expect any of its operations to he 
 otherwise. 
 
 At the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 17^8, Cape 
 Breton was restored to France, in exchange for 
 Madras, in the East Indies, which had been taken 
 by the celebrated French Admiral Labourdonnais, 
 and it continued in the possession of the French till 
 the war of 1756. It was then attacked by an expe- 
 dition, consisting of a fleet and army, the former 
 under the Admirals Holborn and Boscawe^ the 
 latter under the Generals Lord Loudon, Lord Howe, 
 and the celebrated Wolfe. Louisbourgh again fell 
 before its assailants, but the loss of the British was 
 400 men. There were captured from the French, 
 on this occasion, eleven stands of colours, and these 
 were sent as trophies to England. They were first 
 lodged in the king’s palace at St. Jamess, and t en 
 conveyed, under an escort of horse and foot soldiers, 
 with a very numerous procession, accompanie ) 
 * trumpets and kettle-drums, with all their noisy 
 clangour, to St. Paul’s Cathedral. There they were 
 
360 
 
 CAPE BRETON. 
 
 hung out as banners, beneath the dome of a Temple 
 dedicated to the religion of mercy, forgiveness of 
 injuries, and peace ; and there, very probably, some 
 of their tattered remnants may still be seen, in most 
 inharmonious contrast with the dove, the olive 
 branch, the cross, and the other emblems of the 
 religion of Him who said “Love your enemies, re- 
 turn good for evil, and do violence to no man.” 
 
 On this occasion, Louisbourgh was entirely dis- 
 mantled, and its fortresses destroyed ; and many ves- 
 tiges of the wrecks of large ships of war are still seen 
 m Its waters. It was not till 1820, however, that Cape 
 Breton was made a county of Nova Scotia, since 
 which It has so continued, and sends two members to 
 the legislature at Halifax. 
 
 The whole area of the island is estimated to cover 
 4,087 square miles, but considerable deduction must 
 be made from this for the many lakes and bays with 
 which It IS covered and indented. One part of the 
 island IS divided from another bv a noh1« 
 
 d on this island alone. When ' 
 was struck at a depth of 180 
 
SYDNEY. 
 
 361 
 
 feet, a large jet of water flew out with great violence, 
 and a violent hissing noise, as it was at boiling heat. 
 It appears that the water, here conflned and pent up 
 with the coal, is so charged with bituminous gas, 
 that when it is even in tranquil pools, it will burn at 
 the surface, like spirits. In consequence of its being 
 known to possess this property, the washerwomen of 
 Cape Breton are accustomed to dig pits, of a few 
 feet in depth, till the water begins to ooze out ; they 
 then put pebbles into the pit so as to cause the water 
 to rise to the surface, when they light the gas vapour 
 rising from it, as they would the vapour of brandy or 
 any other spirit, and on this they boil their water for 
 washing, the flame continuing for weeks and even 
 months, by the continual supply of the bituminous 
 gas from the earth, if not put out. In an examina- 
 tion of persons familiar with this phenomenon, it 
 was stated, that on the miners striking a new vein of 
 coal, the gas would sometimes escape with such vio- 
 lence and rapidity, as to cause a report like that of a 
 gun ; while the boiling water would issue out with 
 such force, as to make a sound like the hissing of 
 thousands of snakes. These mines are claimed by 
 the Crown, and are at present leased out to a mining 
 company for 3,000/. a year, with great benefit, it is 
 said, to the adventurers. The mines were first 
 opened about fifty years ago, and have increased in 
 value ever since. The produce of coal is about. 
 80,000 tons per annum, selling at 15s. per ton, 
 exported chiefly from Sydney to the United States 
 and to the British Provinces. The town of Sydney 
 is very small, containing not more than a t^ousan 
 inhabitants. It was only first settled ni 1823, but 
 
362 
 
 MAGDALEN ISLANDS. 
 
 its position is sufficient to ensure it future eminence. 
 The whole population of Cape Breton is reckoned to 
 be 40,000, of whom not more than 600 are employed 
 in the mines; the remainder are engaged in the 
 fisheries and in agriculture, and all classes are 
 removed from want; while most of the whole number 
 are in a comfortable condition. 
 
 The population includes some of the aboriginal 
 Indians, to the extent, it is said, of about 300, who 
 have a reservation of land for their use ; but here, 
 as elsewhere, they are gradually dwindling away. 
 Those engaged in the fisheries are mostly Acadians 
 
 French descent, with an admixture of Scotch from 
 the western coast of Scotland, and the agricultural 
 families are principally Irish emigrants ; while the 
 more skilful among the miners are almost wholly 
 from Scotland, and the number employed is from 
 5 to 600. 
 
 Some ships are built at Sydney for the fishing and 
 coasting trade, and the whole number of vessels 
 employed, includes about 500, ranging from 20 to 
 250 tons. There are nearly 100,000 acres of land in 
 cultivation, and the products are similar to those of 
 Nova Scotia, but a large portion of the surface of 
 the island still remains unoccupied and untilled. 
 
 To the north-west of Cape Breton, are the Mag- 
 dalen Islands, before spoken of, as seen in our ap- 
 proach to Pictou. These have about 200 families 
 settled on the whole group. And to the south-east 
 of Cape Breton, lies Sable Island, a small low sandy 
 bank, very dangerous to navigators, on which there 
 IS a British superintendant, with a few men to render 
 assistance to ships in distress, and to give aid and 
 
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 
 
 363 
 
 comfort to shipwrecked mariners thrown upon its 
 coast. 
 
 Prince Edward Island, which lies to the west of 
 Cape Breton, is a separate Colony, under a separate 
 government, lying between the latitude of 46 and 
 47°, and is one of the smallest possessions of the 
 Crown under a Legislature of its own. Its history 
 may be briefly told, and it is sufficiently curious to ‘ 
 he given. It was first seen by Cabot, hut first set- 
 tled by the French, and formed part of the territory 
 of Acadia, along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, 
 and Cape Breton. It followed the fate of the Pro- 
 vince to which it belongs, in the change of its masters, 
 and in 1758, after the reduction of Louisbourgh, 
 
 St. John’s— or Prince Edward Island, as it is now 
 called— was transferred to the English, and its per- 
 manent possession confirmed to them by the peace of 
 1763. Its population was then thought to be about 
 5,000, wholly of French descent. About this time, 
 a plan was proposed by Lord Egremont, then 
 First Lord of the Admiralty, for appropriating and 
 settling the Island, after this remarkable manner. 
 
 It was to be divided into twelve districts, each to be 
 assigned to an English baron, as his domain, on con- 
 dition that he should build on it a baronial castle, 
 dwell in it with his family and dependants, and there 
 exercise jurisdiction as lord paramount, thus restor- 
 ing the rude independence of the feudal age in this 
 remote island ! This plan, as may be readily sup- 
 posed, was never sanctioned or earned into efiFect. 
 
 The manner in which its lands were afterwards 
 disposed of was not much better. It was by means 
 of a Government Lottery, which was drawn m 
 
364 . 
 
 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 
 
 August, 1767. The plan was this. The area of the 
 whole Island was estimated to contain 1,360,000 
 acres; its length from east to west being about *14.0 
 miles, and its breadth varying from 15 to 35 miles. 
 These acres were divided off into lots of different 
 extents and different qualities. The tickets or shares 
 for drawing were distributed by the Government at 
 home, chiefly to men of rank, court favourites, and 
 persons who had ministerial influence, and the whole 
 of the lots were drawn in one day. The only con- 
 ditions annexed to the holders of prizes were, that 
 they were to pay small quit-rents of 2s. to fo. an- 
 nually to the Government, for every 100 acres drawn, 
 to send out one settler for every 200 acres held, and 
 to do this within ten years, or forfeit their title to 
 the land. But though a separate Council was 
 then formed for the Island, the holders of the estates 
 thus won by lottery, being chiefly men of rank and 
 influence, paid so little of their quit-rents, that there 
 was scarcely any revenue from that source, and the 
 Government were too tender towards their interests 
 to enforce a forfeiture. Indeed, instead of suffering 
 this just penalty, the parties were powerful enough 
 to obtain parliamentary grants in aid, to make up 
 the deficiency of their own neglect ; and at length it 
 ended in the Government consenting to commute the 
 long accumulated arrears due, for very small sums, 
 eaving, however, the landed property still in the 
 Hands of the original drawers in this State Lottery, 
 or their descendants. Thus, according to Lord 
 urham’s Report, the absentee proprietors so en- 
 tirely neglect their lands, that they leave a large 
 portion in a state of wilderness, hoping, no doubt, 
 
POPULATION AND RESOURCES. 
 
 365 
 
 for an increased value in course of time, by increased 
 population, but contributing nothing in the mean- 
 time towards its improvement ; so that out of these 
 1,360,000 acres contained in the Island, not more 
 than 100,000 are cultivated, and this in an inferior 
 manner to that of the other neighbouring Pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 In 1770 , the number of resident families on the 
 Island was reduced to 150, in consequence of a most 
 cruel and barbarous expulsion of the Acadians by 
 the English. Soon after this, a settlement was 
 formed by 300 Highlanders, with Capt. Macdonald 
 at their head ; when others following from various 
 parts of Britain, a constitution was given to the 
 Colony in 1773; and its first House of Assembly 
 was then called together for the business of legisla- 
 tion. Population now began to increase by immi- 
 gration, from Europe and from the surrounding 
 province?, and a great impulse was given to this by 
 the Earl of Selkirk, who, in 1803, took over from 
 Scotland a large body of 800 Highlanders. These, 
 from the prudence of their leader, and their own 
 industry, became so prosperous, that others readily 
 joined them ; and at the present time, by the united 
 effects of natural increase, and immigration, the 
 population of the Island is believed to be upwards of 
 40,000. The chief occupation of the people is 
 agriculture, the pasturing of cattle, and the fisheries. 
 
 The island is well adapted for agriculture and pas- 
 ture, it being estimated that there are not more 
 than 10,000 acres out of 1,360,000 that are unfit 
 for the plough. It is divided into three counties. 
 King’s, Queen’s, and Prince’s. The interior is 
 
36G 
 
 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 
 
 undulated, but not mountainous, and everywhere 
 fertile. There are many excellent hays and harbours 
 round the coast, and three rivers, the Hillsborough, 
 the York, and the Elliot, each of which is navigable 
 for several miles up. At the confluence of these 
 three streams, on the southern side of the Island, is 
 placed the chief port, Charlotte Town, which is the 
 capital of the island. The harbour is narrow at its 
 entrance, but broad within, and is well fortified. 
 The town itself is neat and pretty, and the view from 
 the higher part of it, as it rises up from the water, is 
 very fine. To the south are seen the hlue mountains 
 of Nova Scotia, across the channel, called Northum- 
 berland Straits, which separates Prince Edward 
 Island from the continent, varying from 10 to 20 
 miles in breadth. On the east and west are seen the 
 interior of the Island itself, with its fine fields, woods, 
 lakes, and streams, good farms near the capital, and 
 fine herds and flocks ; while the town and the 
 
 shipping below complete a varied and interesting 
 picture. 
 
 In the last year, the inhabitants, are said to have 
 raised about 300,000 bushels of oats, 150,000 bushels 
 of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley, with about 
 1,500,000 bushels of potatoes ; they had at the same 
 time on the Island, about 7,000 horses, 30,000 
 oxen and cows, 50,000 sheep, and 20,000 goats. 
 
 The fisheries have not been prosecuted with much 
 vigour fi>om Prince Edward Island, the largest 
 amount exported in any year being about 3,000 
 quintals of dried cod ; but shell-fish, especially lob- 
 sters and oysters, are obtained on its coasts, and in 
 Its bays, in great abundance, and of the finest quali- 
 
GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION. 
 
 367 
 
 ties ; and about 2,000 barrels of tbe latter have been 
 exported in a single season. 
 
 Ship-building is carried on also to a small extent 
 here, the builders usually completing about 60 ships 
 in each year, from 20 to 400 tons, but not averaging 
 more than 100 tons each ; the largest tonnage in 
 any one year did not exceed 10,000. 
 
 The government of the Island is vested in a 
 Governor appointed by the crown. Sir Cha,rles 
 A. Fitzroy being the present Governor, a council of 
 nine, nominated by the same authority, and a snug 
 little House of Assembly, consisting of only 18 
 members, 4 for each county, and 2 for each of the 
 3 towns, Charlotte, George, and Prince Town, 
 elected by the freeholders of the island. The whole 
 revenue of the Colony, chiefly from light duties on 
 imported goods, does not exceed 10,000/ a year, and 
 its local expenditure is kept within the bounds of its 
 income, hut the civil and military establishment is 
 paid out of the imperial revenues at home. 
 
 The population being now chiefly of Scotch de- 
 scent, the Presbyterians are the most numerous of 
 the religious sects. The Church of England is, 
 however, regarded as the State Church, though here, 
 no other denomination of Christians contribute to 
 its support. The Methodists are next in order of 
 numbers to the Presbyterians ; the Baptists ^ 
 
 few places of worship for their followers ; and the 
 descendants of the French Acadians and of the 
 Catholic Highlanders, have Catholic places of wor- 
 ship for their uses also; and all these are we 
 
 The climate is milder than that of Canada or 
 
368 
 
 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 
 
 Nova Scotia, from the absence of high mountains, 
 and the close proximity of the sea. It is also 
 deemed very healthy, intermittent fever and con- 
 sumption being almost unknown. Deaths between 
 the ages of 20 and 50 are very rare, and instances 
 of 90 and 100 years of age are very frequent. 
 
 The last assessment of property of all kinds 
 amounted to about 4 , 000 , 000 /. The revenue was 
 only 10 , 000 /., and the expenditure was 15 , 000 /., 
 the difference, as in all our Colonies, being paid 
 by the Government at home. It is clearly im- 
 politic to permit the continuance of such insigni- 
 ficant Colonies as these under a separate legislature. 
 It would be much better to let all the several Pro- 
 vinces be united under one general government, that 
 of Canada, for instance, with a Lieutenant-Governor 
 or Viceroy in each of the separate Provinces ; and 
 let each send representatives in proportion to their 
 population and wealth, to the Representative Body 
 of the General Legislature ; reserving to each of the 
 Provinces, municipal institutions for their several 
 cities and towns, so as to unite local legislation for 
 local purposes, with general legislation for general 
 objects ; and then to bend the whole force, both of 
 the Colonial and the Home Government, to the 
 encouragement of Emigration, as being the only thing 
 needful to develope the resources and increase the 
 wealth of the whole. But this is too large a subject 
 to be treated incidentally, and will be gone into more 
 fully before this Tour is concluded. 
 
CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Island of Newfoundland — Size — Position — Features of resem- 
 blance to Ireland — History — Voyages of the Scandinavians 
 and Welsh — Visit of English and French navigators — British 
 Admirals and Naval Captains appointed as Governors — First 
 constitution and Legislature given to the island — Area — Cli- 
 mate and productions — Rivers — Lakes — Soil — Bays — Har- 
 bours — Animals — Birds — Fisheries — Ships and men employed 
 — Seal-fisheries — Perilous enterprises — Exports of fish and 
 oil — Population — Religious bodies — Future prospects. 
 
 The Island of Newfoundland, which lies to the 
 north-east of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island, 
 and stands right in the centre of the channel of 
 entrance to the great Gulf of St. Lawrence, is one of 
 the oldest of our western colonies ; and, though 
 hitherto much neglected, is likely, in time, to become 
 of great importance. In shape it is not unlike 
 England, being a triangle, of which the base is towards 
 the south, and the apex towards the north. In size, 
 it is larger than Ireland, and has some striking 
 points of resemblance to it ; in the numerous inden- 
 tations of its rocky coasts, forming excellent inlets, 
 harbours, and bays — in the presence of many 
 rivers and lakes in the interior, as well as extensive 
 tracts of peat or bog, with buried forests of wood 
 beneath them— in the absence of all serpents, vipers, 
 or venomous reptiles — in the moisture of its climate, 
 
 2 B 
 
NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 S7O 
 
 and in the excellence of its soil for the growth of the 
 potato. It is the nearest part of America to 
 Europe, being only 1656 miles distant from Ireland, 
 little more than half the distance of New York from 
 Liverpool. Its longitude is 55 ° west of Greenwich ; 
 the latitude of Cape Race, its southern extremity, 
 is 46° 40' north, and of its northernmost termi- 
 nation, Cape Bauld, 51° 40'. It is separated from 
 the coast of Labrador, by the Straits of Belle Isle, 
 which have a varying breadth of from 10 to 15 
 miles. 
 
 There is now good reason to believe that New- 
 foundland was visited by the Northmen as early as 
 the year 1001, when Bruin, one of the sea-kings or 
 pirates, of Iceland was here. When at Boston, 
 during our tour through the United States, I 
 attended a lecture on the Voyages of the Northmen, 
 delivered by the Hon. Edward Everett, then Gover- 
 nor of Massachusetts, in which the evidence of these 
 Voyages of the Northmen, recently published by the 
 Antiquarian Society of Denmark, was analyzed and 
 criticized with great skill and judgment ; and the 
 result was a perfect conviction on my own mind of 
 the authenticity of their expeditions.* From Hack- 
 luyt’s Collection of Voyages and Travels, completed 
 and published in the reign of Elizabeth, we learn 
 that in the year 1 170, Madoc, a Prince of Wales, 
 went with ships and followers, to a country west of 
 
 » Mr. Everett is now Minister from the Court at Washington 
 in London, and well sustains the dignity of his mission. The 
 greatest men in America, including Presidents, Judges, and Sena- 
 tors, frequently assist, by pu!)lic lectures, to Instruct their fellow- 
 countrymen, and are honoured and applauded for their labours. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 371 
 
 Ireland, many days’ sail distant, where he settled 
 and remained ; and the evidence on this subject, 
 though slight, is neither contradictory nor improbable. 
 Of both of these early voyages, however, all recollec- 
 tion seemed to have been lost when Cabot made his 
 discovery of Newfoundland in June, 1497 * The first 
 land seen by him was called Prima Vista, or First 
 Sight, — Cabot, being an Italian, though sailing from 
 Bristol under a patent from King Henry the Seventh. 
 It turned out to be a small island, around which were 
 seen innumerable multitudes of the cod-fish called 
 Baccalao, so this name was given to the island, which 
 it still retains. A cape to the north of this, a little 
 westward, is still called Bonavista, which gives its 
 name also to an extensive bay. The larger island 
 called Newfoundland, was thought, by this navigator, 
 to be a continent ; and it was not till some years 
 after its first discovery, that its insular position was 
 established. 
 
 Cabot brought home with him from hence, some 
 of the native Indians, who spoke a language which 
 no one but themselves understood, and they w^ere 
 naturally objects of great curiosity at the time in 
 England. 
 
 The report of the countless shoals of fish seen on 
 the coast, tempted several nations to send out ships 
 and men, so that before many years had elapsed, 
 there were seen English, French, and Portuguese 
 vessels fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, as 
 well as around its coasts. 
 
 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, appears to have been the first who had a 
 patent to colonize the country. This was granted 
 
 2 B ^2 
 
372 
 
 NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 by Queen Elizabeth in 1579, and gave him the pri- 
 vilege to colonize 200 leagues of this newly-found 
 coast — so extensive were the grants of these early 
 days. After a disastrous expedition, and a delay of 
 several years, during which the patent expired. Sir 
 Walter Raleigh himself obtained another ; and build- 
 ing a strong ship, which he called after himself, he 
 sailed, with his relative. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, as his 
 admiral, but was compelled to put back to Plymouth, 
 from the breaking out of a contagious disorder on 
 board his vessel, and never resumed his voyage. 
 The rest of the little fleet went on and reached 
 Newfoundland in safety, the squadron consisting of 
 three small vessels, and a mere boat, the Delight of 
 120 tons, the Swallow of 50, the Golden Hind of 
 50, and the Squirrel of only 10 tons ! Only one of 
 these reached England on the return voyage, — the 
 little Squirrel, with Sir Humphrey Gilbert on 
 board, having foundered in a heavy gale off the 
 Azores, his last expression being, “ We are as near 
 to heaven by sea as we are by land.” 
 
 In I6l0, King James I. granted a royal patent to 
 the Lords Bacon, Verulam, Northampton, Baron 
 Tanfleld, and others, including the Lord Chancellor, 
 the Chief Justice, and many peers, as “ Adventurers 
 of the Cities of London and Bristol,” to occupy cei*- 
 tain of the coasts and flsheries. But these great 
 personages not being competent to manage such 
 affairs, and trusting to agents and deputies, not well 
 chosen, honest, or discreet, the speculation failed, 
 and their scheme was abandoned. 
 
 The first permanent settlement made here was in 
 1623, when Sir George Calvert, afterwards Lord 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 373 
 
 Baltimore, who planted Maryland in America, 
 souo’ht here an asylum for the free exercise of his 
 religion as a Roman Catholic, a body of Christians 
 then much persecuted and oppressed in England and 
 Ireland, from whence Lord Baltimore came. He 
 made his son Governor of the Colony, which he 
 called Avalton, after the ancient name of Glaston- 
 bury in Somersetshire, where it was believed that 
 Christianity was first preached in England ; the 
 reason of this choice being, that this was the first 
 place in which, as he considered, Christianity was 
 first preached in this newly discovered country. 
 Lord Baltimore, however, subsequently left this, and 
 went to Maryland in America, where he founded the 
 city still bearing his name, and Avalton is still re- 
 tained as the name of the principal district of New- 
 foundland, in which the chief city and port of St. 
 John’s is situated. 
 
 In 1633, Charles I. gave a patent to Lord Falk- 
 land, to found a settlement here, and a large number 
 of Catholics were sent out from Ireland. Long pre- 
 vious to this, the French had formed settlements on 
 various parts of the coast, but chiefly the west ; and 
 at this period many contests occurred between them 
 and the English, for the exclusive right of fishing in 
 particular localities. 
 
 Soon after the accession of William III. in 1692, 
 the question was taken up warmly, and a force sent 
 out to protect the English fisheries. And in I 7 O 6 , 
 Queen Anne was addressed by the Parliament on 
 the subject. But the war in the Low Countries 
 then engaging all the force and means of England, 
 nothing was done. The French accordingly held 
 
374 - 
 
 NEAVFOUNDLAND. 
 
 possession and supremacy till 171-5, when, by the 
 treaty of Utrecht, Newfoundland was ceded to Eno-- 
 land, reserving only certain rights of fisheries on the 
 eastern, northern, and western coasts. 
 
 The first British Governor that was appointed 
 over the whole Island, was in 1728. This was Lord 
 Beauclerk. Previously to this, Newfoundland had 
 formed part of the government of Nova Scotia. 
 Lord Beauclerk, however, being a member of the 
 House of Commons, did not like to vacate his seat ; 
 so, while he accepted and retained the office of 
 Governor, and its emoluments, he sent out Captain 
 Osborne, of the navy, as his deputy. From that 
 period onward, it was the custom to appoint naval 
 men as Governors, because the chief business of 
 the Island was fishing, and its chief visitors seafaring 
 men. Among the Governors are the names of 
 Admirals Rodney, Byng, Hardy, Sir Hugh Palliser, 
 Captain Byron, Admiral Gambler, Sir John Duck- 
 worth, Sir Richard Keats, Sir Thomas Cochrane, 
 and others, who, afterwards rose to distinction in 
 the naval service. The celebrated Captain Cook, 
 the circumnavigator, was also here, engaged in a 
 survey of the southern coast, where many of the 
 marks set up by him still remain. 
 
 In 1832, under the administration of Sir Thomas 
 Cochrane, a constitution was given to Newfoundland, 
 his commission authorizing him to form a legislative 
 body, to consist of himself as Governor, a Legisla- 
 tive and Executive Council of seven members, of his 
 own choice, and fifteen Representatives to be chosen 
 by the inhabitants of nine districts, into which the 
 Island was to be divided, to form a House of Assem- 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 £75 
 
 bly. In 1833, the first Local Parliament was 
 opened; and in 1834, Sir Thomas Cochrane was 
 relieved hy a successor. Captain Prescott, the last of 
 the naval Governors of the Island, whose adminis- 
 tration ceased in the summer of 1840.* 
 
 The Island of Newfoundland is about 300 miles 
 in length, from north to south ; and of the mean 
 breadth of 200 miles from east to west. Its circuit 
 is about 1,000 miles, and its area 36,000 square 
 miles. It has a surface of upwards of 23,000,000 
 of acres, or 3,000,000 of acres more than Ireland ; 
 but deducting the area of the large lakes of the inte- 
 rior, it may be said, perhaps, to be about equal to 
 that of Ireland, or 20,000,000 of acres. Its shape 
 is a broken and irregular triangle, of which the base 
 is to the south, running east and west, and the 
 Island gradually grows narrower till it reaches its 
 apex on the north. The western coast is the most 
 regular and continuous, though that is much broken; 
 the eastern coast is most irregular, being full of deep 
 bays and inlets of great extent. Indeed the whole 
 margin of the Island is full of estuaries, indentations, 
 and creeks. Coming from Cape Race on the 
 southern coast, and going northward up the eastern 
 shore, there are the fine Bays of Conception, Trinity, 
 and Bonavista. Passing on to the west,^ there are 
 the Bays of Exploits, Notre Dame, and White Bay ; 
 
 • Subsequently to this, Major-General Sir John Harvey, the 
 Governor of New Brunswick, has been appointed to Newfound- 
 land; and from so much of his administration as is yet known, 
 the greatest good may be expected from the enhghtened and 
 liberal measures, and the statesman-like views and sentiments, 
 which have marked the early period of his career. 
 
NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 37f) 
 
 and from thence on to the north, are Orange, Hare, 
 and Pistolet Bays, On the south there are Placentia 
 and Fortune Bays; and on the west, St. George’s 
 and the Bay of Islands, with many smaller ones. 
 In the interior are six or seven large lakes, from 
 twenty to fifty miles long, and forty or fifty smaller 
 ones, from which issue rivers and streams descending 
 to the sea. The substratum of the island is granite, 
 hut there is also slate, lime, and gypsum. Large 
 forests of wood exist in the interior, and valleys of 
 good soil. But the centre of Newfoundland is hardly 
 as well known as the centre of Africa ; there having 
 been only one traveller, as far as I have heard, Mr. 
 Cornach, who had ever gone across it, and this was 
 done with some Indians, the families living on the 
 game they shot by the way. Towards the south 
 there are said to be indications of iron. Some of 
 the hills are from 1,000 to 1,500 feet high ; but no 
 survey has ever been made of the interior, though 
 enough is known to render it certain that there°is 
 abundant room and sufficient soil there to support a 
 large population. 
 
 The chief town and best harbour of the Island is 
 St. John’s, on the southern portion of the east coast, 
 lying between Torbay on the north, and the Bay of 
 Bulls on the south. The harbour is formed by a 
 hollow between two lofty hills. The entrance to it 
 through the Narrows is so confined that only one 
 large vessel can well go in at a time. Precipices of 
 300 feet high hang over the ship on the one side, 
 and a lofty hill 600 feet high on the other. The 
 harbour, when attained, is not large, being about a 
 mile long, but it has deep water, and is perfectly shel- 
 
TOWN OF ST. JOHN’S. 
 
 377 
 
 tered from all winds. The entrance is so well forti- 
 fied as to make it quite safe from any but a very 
 large naval force. In time of war, a large iron chain 
 is stretched across the narrowest part of the entrance, 
 so as to render it impossible for a ship of any size to 
 pass it. 
 
 The town of St. John’s is built across the inner 
 shore of the harbour, on its northern edge, rising 
 gradually from the sea ; and having been constructed 
 by fishermen and traders, has no pretensions to either 
 symmetry or beauty. The dwellings are chiefly of 
 wood, the streets very narrow and irregular, and the 
 whole place is disfigured by stages jutting out from 
 the sides of the hills and the edge of the beach, for 
 the purpose of drying fish, in which occupation more 
 than half the entire population are engaged in the 
 fishing season. There is a large Government House, 
 without the slightest claim to admiration for its archi- 
 tecture, though built of stone, and costing a large 
 sum of money. But the conviction of these defects 
 is said to be now pretty general, and some recent 
 efforts to improve the town, and introduce a higher 
 style of building, seems to promise better things for 
 
 the future. , , , i • i 
 
 The western portion of the island, along which 
 
 the French have their fishing stations, is accounted 
 the most fertile ; and the climate there is softer, and 
 the atmosphere clearer, than in the east, as the f^s 
 of the Atlantic do not extend far into the Gult. On 
 
 theeasternportion.however,thereissufficiencyofgood 
 
 soil to grow grain, pasture cattle, and rase fruits 
 suited to the climate. The winters, as in Canada are 
 long and severe, high winds more prevalent, as well 
 
378 
 
 NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 as fogs ; but the climate is nevertheless deemed to 
 be healthy, and instances have been not unfrequent, 
 of fishermen of 90 and 100 years of age still continu- 
 ing their occupation. The reason of the fogs that so 
 
 frequently occur on the eastern shore is this In the 
 
 summer, the icebergs that are disrupted from the 
 great polar mass of frozen sea, float down past this 
 island, carried southward by the currents which are 
 known to flow in this season from the polar circles to 
 the equator ; and the temperature of the water is then 
 so much warmer than that of the air, that it gives 
 out the vapour constituting the fog. This, however, 
 does not ascend far above the surface ; for it has fre- 
 quently happened, that while the fog was so dense 
 below, that vessels, near enough for the crews to hear 
 each other’s voices from ship to ship, could not be 
 seen by each other from their decks, they were 
 nevertheless each visible from their respective mast- 
 heads, where the atmosphere was quite clear. Some 
 of these icebergs which float by the island are of 
 immense size, several miles long, and others smaller ; 
 and when the rays of the sun are opposite to the 
 direction in which they appear, they present the 
 most sparkling and brilliant appearances. 
 
 Of wild animals there are still found, in the inte- 
 rior of the island, deer, beavers, wolves, bears, foxes, 
 hares, and otters, which are shot and caught for 
 their flesh and furs. The celebrated dog of New- 
 foundland is getting scarce ; the genuine species is 
 said to be quite black, and not so large as the fine 
 creatures we usually see in England under that name. 
 Of land-birds, and water-fowls, thei'e are a great 
 variety j the sea-eagle, the fish-hawk, the raven, the 
 
NATURAL mSTORV. 
 
 379 
 
 crow, the strike, the blackbird, the night-hawk, the 
 owl, the snow-bird, the redpole, the robin, besides 
 grouse, ptarmigan, wild-geese, ducks, teal, widgeon, 
 and sea-birds in great numbers. The domesticated 
 animals include horned-cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, 
 and a rough and hardy race of horses. All these 
 feed on fish as readily as on grain ; a fact which did 
 not surprise me, as I remember to have observed the 
 same thing in the Persian Gulf, where at Muscat, 
 Ras-el-Khymar, and other towns on that coast, the 
 cattle feed on fish, and thrive under the diet ; and 
 I believe it is sometimes the case on the Scilly Isles, 
 oif the south-west coast of England. 
 
 The finny tribes of the Ocean are, however, the 
 great source of the wealth, and the great objects of 
 the enterprise of the Newfoundlanders, though they 
 do not neglect the produce of their rivers and lakes. 
 In these are found salmon, trout, and eels ; and all 
 are caught in great numbers. The Indians love to 
 pursue the sport by torch-light ; and are very dexter- 
 ous in spearing the trout, and bringing them up in 
 great numbers. The lights at the bow of the boat 
 attract the fish to the surface ; and the Indians, 
 stationed there, throw their darts into the bodies of 
 the fish as they turn their side upward, and dexter- 
 ouslv flinging their prize into the bottom of the 
 boah procid to take up others. In the M.sionary 
 Journal of the Island, a statement is made by one of 
 the missionaries who accompanied an Indian fishing- 
 a canoe, that in the boat in which he was, 
 lookout were speared in the course of two hours ; 
 ^ „ the five is of the group 1,000 were k.W 
 tn the same spaee of time. This ts a method of fish- 
 
880 
 
 NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 ing in which the Chinese are very expert, as I remem- 
 her on a voyage down the Red Sea, in 1816, that 
 the carpenter of the ship, who was a Chinese, having 
 prepared himself with a basket, and a dozen sharp 
 wooden darts, was lowered over the stern of the vessel, 
 to take his stand on that part of the rudder which 
 just rises above the surface; and a shoal of small fish 
 then following in the ship’s wake, he speared them 
 almost as fast as we could count them, and had half 
 a dozen buckets filled and drawn up on deck in less 
 than half an hour. 
 
 Among the smaller fish of the coast, there are 
 cod, mackerel, and herring, in immense quantities, 
 the latter coming in spring and autumn, and chang- 
 ing the colour of the sea by their number. There 
 are also sole, plaice, and halibut; and lobsters in 
 such abundance, that they are sold from twopence 
 upwards, the finest cod at threepence, and other fish 
 equally cheap; muscles also are found, but no 
 oysters, though supplies of these come from Prince 
 Rdward Island. Among the greatest delicacies of 
 the sea, however, is reckoned the capelin, a small 
 fish like a smelt, about six inches long, of a green 
 and brown tinge, with white silvery sides. They 
 come in immense shoals about the middle of June, 
 and remain on the coast for six weeks. They cover 
 the sea for miles in extent, and are pursued by 
 myriads of the cod-fish, which feeds on them. They 
 are accounted a great delicacy while they last, and 
 some few are carefully barrelled and sent to England 
 as presents, while a large portion is preserved as the 
 best bait for the cod. 
 
 The seal and cod fisheries are, on the whole, the 
 
SF.AL-FISHF,RY. 
 
 3S1 
 
 most important, and these are carried on with great 
 vigour and enterprise. Of sealing vessels there are 
 nearly 300 employed, varying from 60 to 160 tons, 
 and carrying from 15 to 30 men each, or 8,000 in the 
 whole. The men are armed with muskets, poles, 
 and cudgels, all used in killing the seals. They 
 usually start on their voyage in March, and the 
 harbours being then often frozen up, they have to cut 
 a way for their vessels through the ice to the sea. 
 On reaehing the offing, they beat to the northward 
 amidst broken ice, with which the sea is then thickly 
 covered, till they reach the more compact masses, 
 which are called Sea Meadows. There they find 
 at this season large herds of seals, the old ones having 
 come here to give birth to their young, who are now 
 only a few weeks old ; and their skins being more 
 valuable than those of the older animals, the greater 
 pains are taken to secure these. The men land on 
 these ice-fields, and proceed to the work of destruc- 
 tion ; the smaller seals are soon despatched by a 
 blow on the nose with the cudgel, and they are left 
 bleeding to die, till the colleetors come round ; the 
 larfmr require the lance or the musket, hut this is 
 used as rarely as possible, to avoid perforations in 
 the skin. When as many are killed as may be 
 found practicable, the men go round, strip oflp the 
 skin and the fat from the animals, and leave their 
 carcases on the ice ; these are taken to the ships, 
 and conveyed to land on their return, which is not 
 till the vessels are full, or the season draws to a close ; 
 and such is the havoc among these creatures, that it 
 is said as many as 500,000 have been killed in a 
 single season ! The fat of the skins is taken off on 
 
38 ^ 
 
 NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 shore, and converted into seal-oil, and the skins 
 being dried and prepared, form the seal-skin of com- 
 merce. 
 
 There are abundance of whales, grampuses, por- 
 poises, white and black, and other large fish, in the 
 seas around Newfoundland, but these are not much 
 attended to ; and even the cod-fishery on the Banks 
 is said to be diminishing, though, on the whole, the 
 general shipping and commerce of Newfoundland is 
 decidedly on the increase. Fi-om the latest returns 
 it appears that about 1,000 sail of vessels entered 
 and departed from the different ports of Newfound- 
 land in the last year, besides those employed in 
 the coasting and fisheries. The whole number of 
 vessels employed in the trade with Newfoundland 
 are at least 1 , 500 , of 150,000 tons burden, and 
 employing 30,000 men and boys ; so that it is a fine 
 nursery for seamen, as in no service in the world 
 could habits of endurance, vigilance, and readiness 
 of mind, be better formed than in this. The dark 
 nights, broken ice, violent gales, and fierce snow- 
 storms, to which they are exposed, make their occu- 
 pations more perilous perhaps than that of any other 
 that can be named. The number of boats employed 
 during the fishing season is reckoned at upwards of 
 4,000 ; and the number of men at least 20 , 000 , 
 besides 10,000 curers of fish, who occasionally go to 
 sea. The quantity of cod-fish taken and cured 
 amounts in general to 1,000,000 of quintals per 
 annum, and 12, 000 tons of seal-oil alone has been 
 exported in one year. There are not nearly so many 
 ships belonging to the English fishing on the Banks 
 of Newfoundland, however, as formerly ; they now 
 
FOREIGN VESSELS. 
 
 383 
 
 prefer to keep nearer the shore. During the times 
 of war, when other vessels could not come to the 
 Banks, there were often as many as 700 English 
 vessels seen fishing there in a season ; hut now 
 there are not more than 1 00, if so many — their places 
 being supplied by French, Spanish, and American 
 barques, schooners, and sloops. Of these, the 
 French employ in all these waters about 600 vessels, 
 of 60,000 tons, and 13,000 seamen, having a right 
 of fishing on 450 leagues of coast } and the Ameri- 
 cans have at least 1,000 vessels, and 30,000 men 
 and boys, in schooners of from 60 to 120 tons 
 each. 
 
 Vast as arc the numbers of fish taken on the 
 shores of this island, it would not appear that there 
 is any diminution in their numbers ; on the con- 
 trary, it may he safely alleged, that thousands of tons 
 more of cod, herring, mackerel, and capelin, might 
 be taken, and yet sufficient remain to breed, so that 
 the food of mankind from this source might be 
 almost indefinitely multiplied, if hands sufficient were 
 employed for that purpose. There is no reason 
 indeed why the whole coast of Newfoundland should 
 not be surrounded by settlers, who might combine 
 the labours of agriculture and fishing, as is done by 
 the New Englanders in the United States of America, 
 at Salem, Marblehead, Plymouth, and elsewhere. 
 Lewenhoek, the celebrated naturalist, is said to have 
 counted no less than 9,344,000 eggs in the roe of a 
 single cod ! and without supposing their multiplying 
 powers to be equal to this immense number, we 
 know that it is much greater than that of land 
 animals and birds ; and yet these multiply in vast 
 
384 
 
 NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 numbers, like the sheep on the plains of Australia, 
 and the pigeons on the banks of the Nile, and in the 
 forests of Kentucky, almost surpassing the bounds 
 of credibility. 
 
 The whole population of Newfoundland is esti- 
 mated at about 100,000, of which nearly one-half are 
 of Acadian and French descent, these being chiefly 
 on the western coast, and one-half are of British 
 descent. There are more than half the population 
 Catholic, as the British include a large number of 
 Irish emigrants. The Church of England, the 
 Church of Scotland, and the Methodist body, have, 
 however, each numerous places of worship, able 
 ministers, and zealous congregations ; and Sunday 
 schools are attached to each, and well supported. 
 Newfoundland is, therefore, fast improving ; and all 
 that is wanting is population, capital, roads, and 
 agricultural settlers, to make it richer, and more 
 competent to self-government, every year. 
 
CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Leave Halifax for journey to Windsor — Stage-coach — Intern* 
 perate passengers — Road — Scenery — Lakes — Autumnal foli* 
 age — Town of Windsor — River Avon — College — Fertile land 
 — Neat fields— Excellent farming — Embark in the Maid of the 
 Mist steamer — Scenery of the river — Bay of Mines — Gather- 
 ing storm — Anchor under Cape Blow-me-down— Narrow strait 
 
 Cape Split— Bay of Fundy — Highest and strongest tides in 
 
 the world — Narrow neck or isthmus of Nova Scotia — Heavy 
 sea in crossing the Bay of Fundy — Town of Cuaco on the New 
 Brunswick shore — Teignmouth — Shipbuilding and farming — 
 Highland rocky coasts— Capes and headlands— Arrival at the 
 City of St. John— Greetings by old Indian and Egyptian 
 friends. 
 
 On Tuesday the 13th of October, we left Halifax 
 at 7 A. M., in the stage-coach for Windsor, intending 
 to emhark from thence for St. John and Fredericton 
 in New Brunswick, the adjoining British Province, 
 and then go by land across the frontier into the 
 United States, on our way to New York. 
 
 The coach in which we rode was of the American 
 and not the English kind, and was made, we under- 
 stood, in the United States, from whence most of 
 their carriages are imported. Our fellow-passengers 
 were inferior in appearance and manners to any that 
 we had for a long time travelled with. Three or 
 four of the party took drams of spirits before we 
 left the coach-office, the habit of drinking spirits 
 
 2c 
 
386 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 being more generally, and more openly practised 
 here, than we had observed it in any of the towns of 
 Canada. 
 
 The road from Halifax to Windsor did not pre- 
 sent much of interest. The country through which 
 it passes is very rocky, with only a few small patches 
 of cultivation, and the trees are generally small ; but 
 the roads are excellent, the inns neat and clean, and 
 the perpetual recurrence of small lakes, forming a 
 complete chain across the country, with the rich tints 
 of the autumnal foliage, now seen in its most gor- 
 geous dress, gave great beauty to the scenery. 
 
 The distance from Halifax to Windsor is 45 miles, 
 and we reached it in 7 hours, including stoppages, 
 the fare being 3 dollars each. The entrance to 
 Windsor is pretty ; the College-buildings forming a 
 prominent object on the left hand of the road, on an 
 eminence ; and the residence of Judge Haliburton, 
 the celebrated “Sam Slick,” as he has chosen to 
 designate himself as an author, is also another pretty 
 object, in the same direction; while the cottage 
 dwellings of the inhabitants had such an air of pro- 
 priety and comfort, and were all so neatly ornamented 
 with flowers and shrubs, that we could not but sup- 
 pose ourselves among an industrious and thrifty 
 population. We alighted at a good inn, and, as the 
 steamer would not be ready to leave for St. John’s 
 till the following day, we had to remain here till 
 then. 
 
 Windsor is pleasingly situated on a river called 
 the Avon, which rises about thirty miles to the west- 
 ward of the town, but is not navigable for ships 
 bejond this point, nor for boats more than ten miles 
 
WINDSOR. 
 
 387 
 
 up. The town is seated on the right or southern 
 bank of tlie river, which is here about a mile across. 
 Above the town is a closed wooden bridge, built after 
 the American fashion, which crosses to the other side 
 of the stream. The town contains a population of 
 about 1,500 persons, among whom there are a great 
 number of individuals in easy circumstances, who 
 live here on fixed incomes, because the place is retired 
 and everything very cheap, and because the united 
 attractions of health, pleasing scenery, good shooting 
 and fishing, and agreeable society, make it an eligible 
 residence for persons not in mercantile business, and 
 for those engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 
 The College here was one of the earliest founded 
 in Nova Scotia ; but, as most parents who can afford 
 their children a collegiate education, prefer sending 
 them to England or Scotland for this purpose, the 
 Institution has never been well sustained. The cost 
 of board and tuition is very moderate here, the for- 
 mer being about 25/., and the latter "'ll. a. year ; yet 
 there are not more than about twenty students in the 
 college, and thirty younger pupils in the preparatory 
 academy attached to it. There are three Churches, 
 Episcopalian, Methodist, and Baptist ; a Court 
 House, and five inns ; but there is neither a news- 
 paper, bookseller, nor even a printer, in the place, 
 nor any nearer than Halifax. 
 
 Even here, however, I was solicited to deliver two 
 of my Lectures during my short stay ; and the Court 
 House being offered to me for the purpose, and some 
 written announcements being put into circulation by 
 the postmaster, an audience of great respectability 
 was soon collected, to whom, on the ewning of lues- 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 day, and on the morning of Wednesday, the Lectures 
 were delivered accordingly, and led to urgent requests 
 that I should remain to continue them ; hut this was 
 impracticable. 
 
 The principal occupation of the neighbourhood is 
 farming ; and both banks of the river, as seen from 
 hence, give evidence of great attention to agricultural 
 operations. We saw no fields, in all our journeys 
 through the United States, more perfectly ploughed, 
 or tilled, or cleaner, or more neatly fenced, than 
 those along the margin of the Avon. The land is 
 of high fertility, and we were assured that the whole 
 of the tract of country west of this, towards Annapo- 
 lis, was much more fertile and beautiful than this. 
 
 Ship-building is carried on here to a considerable 
 extent, and the vessels which we saw on the stocks, 
 those just launched, and others fitting for sea, were 
 of as good models as any seen on the Thames in 
 England. They are built chiefly of fir, will last from 
 ten to twelve years as good ships, and cost about 81 . 
 a ton to build, and fit with lower masts and spars, 
 ready to be rigged for sea. 
 
 At 2 p.M. on Wednesday, we embarked at Wind- 
 sor, on board the steamer. Maid of the Mist, for 
 St. John. The spring-tide was so high that it over- 
 flowed all the wharves, and the steamer could not 
 therefore approach them, so as to enable us to embark 
 dry. She was accordingly obliged to anchor out in 
 the stream, and as the current ran at the rate of five 
 miles an hour, and it blew hard from the westward, 
 we had some trouble in getting off to her. All her 
 shipments were required to be made very hastily, 
 for the tide retires so rapidly, that vessels soon take 
 
BAY OF FUNDY. 
 
 389 
 
 the ground ; and so great is the rise and fall, about 
 40 feet at this port, that the bed of the river is left 
 nearly dry at low water. 
 
 We started at half-past two o’clock, and proceeded 
 down the river Avon, both banks of which were lined 
 with beautiful farms, and the scenery was extremely 
 pleasing. Many quarries of gypsum, or plaster-of- 
 paris, were seen on the way, this being found here in 
 great abundance, and many cargoes of it are sent 
 from hence to the ports of the United States. As 
 we descended the river, which expanded considerably 
 below Windsor, our course lying first easterly, and 
 then bending northerly, we opened the entrance to 
 the Bay of Mines, and saw the high projecting pro- 
 montory of Cape Blow-me-down, stretching out from 
 the left, with all the symptoms of a gathering storm 
 collecting around its lofty head. As the steamer 
 was old and weak, and of very inferior machinery, 
 her size being 200 tons, and her engines of only 50- 
 horse power ; and as a strong west wind, and a flood- 
 tide of seven or eight knots an hour, was more than 
 we could hope to stem, the captain thought it prudent 
 to run in under the Cape at sunset, and anchor there 
 until the tide should turn, and the symptoms of the 
 gale disperse. 
 
 We according steered in, at sunset, for the land, 
 and anchored close under the high cliffs of the Cape 
 in seven fathoms water, about a mile and half from 
 the shore. The sunset was wild a,nd fierj', the 
 clouds gathered up thick and black in the north- 
 west, and though the moon was up, (for it was about 
 the full,) the darkness was pitchy; and all the 
 superstitious dread which the seamen of these waters 
 
390 
 
 BAY OF FUNDY. 
 
 have of Cape Blow-me-down, and Cape Split, both on 
 this coast, and both as much dreaded as Cape Hat- 
 teras in the Carolinas, seemed to be participated in 
 by the captain and passengers. The popular notion 
 is, that you can never round it without “a blow;” 
 and hence, say the sailors, it derives its name ; 
 though there are others, who say that this is a mari- 
 time corruption of the French name, Blomidon, 
 which appears in some early charts. On the other 
 hand, this itself may be a French navigator’s best 
 orthography of Blow-me-down, if written by the ear. 
 Be this as it may, strong gusts of wind are likely to 
 be suddenly felt, and to lay many vessels down on 
 their beam-ends ; as the contrary currents of wind 
 meeting at the outlet of three or four different chan- 
 nels, and encountering this lofty promontory, would 
 of itself occasion eddies and gusts that most pro- 
 bably gave rise to its present name. The Cape itself 
 is about 500 feet high, or 150 feet higher than Cape 
 Diamond at Quebec. Its lower part is composed of 
 cliffs of red sandstone, and its upper part is covered 
 with small pine trees ; but about a mile or two within 
 the point of the Cape, there are some few patches 
 of cleared land, and dwellings of settlers. 
 
 To the eastward of the Cape, the Bay of Mines 
 extends up as high as Truro, the midway town be- 
 tween Pictou and Halifax ; and there are several 
 smaller creeks and streams, which occupy indenta- 
 tions of the land, and agreeably diversify the line of 
 coast. 
 
 We remained here at anchor under Cape Blow- 
 me-down till past midnight, in anxious suspense as 
 to whether the gale would increase or abate at the 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 391 
 
 turning of the tide ; and although one would have 
 thought that the very jeopardy in which we were 
 placed, would have secured sobriety in all on board, 
 there were some so utterly regardless of the peril of 
 their situation, that they became intoxicated by the 
 large draughts of brandy in which they indulged. 
 Long before midnight we had scenes of drunkenness, 
 blasphemy, and riot in the cabin, among some of 
 our stage-passengers from Halifax, such as we had 
 never witnessed in all the three years we had passed 
 in the United States. The general travelling body 
 of Americans are, indeed, greatly superior to those 
 of the same rank in life that we have met with in 
 the British Provinces, in dress, cleanliness of person, 
 civility of manners, and general intelligence, but 
 especially in sobriety ; and though we had been often 
 disgusted with the tobacco-chewing passengers we 
 had encountered in the steamboats and stage-coaches 
 of America, we would willingly have taken the worst 
 of them in exchange for the drunken, profane, and 
 still more disgusting brandy-drinkers, with whose 
 oaths and imprecations, idiot stare, and unmeaning 
 laughter, we were shocked beyond measure. The 
 whole scene made us feel the force and truth of 
 some beautiful lines, which we had read but the 
 dav before, in an extract from a poem, entitled “ ihe 
 Tree of Death,” from the pen of Eliza Cook, m 
 the London Metropolitan Magazine, and transferred 
 to one of the provincial papers of Halifax— 
 
 “ Oh, the glossy vine has a serpent charm, 
 
 It bears an unblest fruit, 
 
 There’s a taint about each tendrilFd arm, 
 
 And a curse upon its root. 
 
^92 
 
 BAY OF FUNDY. 
 
 Its juice may flow to warm the brow, 
 
 And wildly lighten the eye : 
 
 But the frenzied mirth of a revelling crew, 
 
 Will make a wise man sigh ; 
 
 For the maniac laugh, the trembling frame. 
 
 The idiot speech, and pestilent breath, 
 
 The shattered mind, and blasted fame. 
 
 Are wrought by the vine, the Tree of Death.” 
 These men had been wine-drinkers oriinnally 
 when in more respectable stations of life ; but ex- 
 perience has established the fact, that without con- 
 stant vigilance and great care, the wine-appetite will 
 become so vitiated, as to require stronger and 
 stronger stimulants to produce the degree of excite- 
 raent sought, so that spirits are at length resorted to* 
 and then the fruit of this Tree of Death soon ripens 
 and destroys its virtues. ^ 
 
 ■ Z on Thursday mom. 
 
 “Wiorale as the 
 
 ebb-tide made, and we accordingly weighed anchor 
 
 round Cape Blow.me-dowl'^rud Le 
 
 btraits which lead out into the Bay of Fundv The 
 passage through these Straits is about ten miles in 
 ength, and the breadth from shore to shore is from 
 
 w h rocky cliffs towards the sea, particularly on fhe 
 
 Spe'kr Th-1^’ 'r Blow-me-lown to 
 S the St extremitv 
 
 of rock "1 " '?i 
 
 achou of the wares. like the masses of chalk which 
 WahriuTf of Ihe We of 
 
 “ The Needles. The ebb-tide was here running 
 
HIGH AND RAPID TIDES. 
 
 393 
 
 like a mill-stream, and in the opinion of the captain, 
 its speed was not less than ten miles an hour ! The 
 rise and fall in this upper part of the Bay of Fundy 
 being, in spring-tides with a westerly gale, sometimes 
 70 feet perpendicular — the greatest height of tide 
 known, it is believed, on the surface of the globe ; 
 and nearly four times the average height of the 
 tides in the British Channel! We were not more 
 than half an hour going through the Narrows, 
 though it was ten miles in length, swept onward by 
 the rapid torrent of the tide, and the full force of the 
 engines combined ; and as the sky was now clear, 
 and the moon bright, the transit through this pas- 
 sage was most agreeable. 
 
 On clearing these Straits, we entered into the 
 Bay of Fundy, the easternmost fork of which assumes 
 the name of the Cumberland, and sometimes Chig- 
 necto Bay, from the promontory of Cape Chignecto, 
 which divides this fork from the other of the Bay of 
 Mines. The Cumberland fork runs up to the 
 narrow neck or isthmus, which connects Nova Scotia 
 with New Brunswick, and makes the former a 
 peninsula. This heck is only eleven miles broad, 
 from the head of the Bay of Fundy to the bottom of 
 tbe Gulf of St. Lawrence ; so that a ship-canal of 
 that length across it would enable ships to sail from 
 Quebec to St. John, in New Brunswick, and so on 
 to the United States, without passing round Cape 
 Breton or Nova Scotia, a saving of nearly 300 miles 
 in the whole distance. 
 
 As soon as we had got fairly out into the Bay of 
 Fundy, we encountered a heavy sea from the west- 
 ward, as the result of the late gale j and stood 
 
394 
 
 BAY Of FUNDY. 
 
 across to the northern or New Brunswick shore, the 
 southern being that of Nova Scotia, to get into 
 smoother water — the breadth of the Bay here being 
 about 25 miles. We reached first a small place 
 where the Indians had a settlement, called Cuaco, 
 hut where there is now a little town called St. 
 Martin. Four years since there were not a hundred 
 persons there, but now there are more than a thou- 
 sand. The occupation of the male inhabitants is 
 ship-building, the beach being favourable for launch- 
 ing, timber abundant, and labour comparatively 
 cheap ; from the fact that many of the workmen have 
 little farms to which they give some portion of their 
 time, while their families assist ; and other portions, 
 when their immediate labours are not required on 
 their farms, they can give to ship-building, and thus 
 unite the profits of both. We saw at least a dozen 
 ships in different stages of progress as we passed 
 along the coast, and learnt from the captain that not 
 less than thirty had been launched from this little 
 town during the last year. 
 
 Just opposite to the town is a small rocky island, 
 on which is a lighthouse, and at the town itself there 
 IS a breakwater and pier-harbour for ships. The 
 coast is bold and steep, and the land is high and 
 rocky, though there are several patches of cleared 
 fields in the interior. Some of the cliffs present 
 diagonal strata, dipping from 20° to 40° downward 
 to the east. There is a dangerous ledge of rocks 
 off this town, distant nine miles from the lighthouse, 
 bearing south-east by compass, which is completely 
 covei ed at high water, though it is fifteen feet above 
 the surface at low water ; but being more frequently 
 
ST. MARTIN. 
 
 395 
 
 covered than bare, this ledge has been the cause 
 of many shipwrecks. In passing round the point 
 of the Island, we encountered the full force of the 
 flood-tide, sweeping upward in a boiling foam, occa- 
 sioned by the whirlpools, eddies, and counter-currents 
 round the rock, so that our feeble boat staggered 
 and rocked to and fro without making any visible 
 progress ; and we were an hour at least, with all the 
 force of steam that could be applied, in compassing 
 about a mile of distance by the shore. When we 
 got in under the cliffs, and out of the range of this 
 powerful current, we proceeded at a better rate, but 
 it was still very slow. The lighthouse is a low 
 octagonal tower, painted with broad alternate rings 
 of bright red and white, reminding me of a style of 
 decoration which I remember to have seen at the 
 caravanserai of Adjerood, in the Desert of Suez, and 
 some other Arabian buildings, baths and caravanse- 
 rais, in Egypt and elsewhere, but quite new to me 
 on this continent, at least. 
 
 Two miles beyond the town of Cuaco, or St. Mar- 
 tin, we passed round a lofty hut rounded cape, called 
 Cuaco Head, which rises abruptly from the sea to a 
 height of about 350 feet, the height of Cape Diamond 
 at Quebec, with perpendicular cliffs of red sand-stone 
 overhanging the sea, at least 250 feet in height, the 
 parts above this being covered with small pine-trees 
 and brushwood. The strata of the rocks seemed 
 here to he thrown into the greatest confusion, as if 
 the effect of some great convulsion ; and as we passed 
 round the pitch of the Cape, we saw a natural arch 
 in one of the disjointed masses of rock, through which 
 
BAY OF FUNDY. 
 
 S9f) 
 
 the view was complete when we got on the other side 
 of it. 
 
 Three miles beyond this, steering westward, along 
 the New Brunswick shore all the time, we passed 
 the small town of Teignmouth, where, though there 
 were not more than twenty houses visible from the 
 sea, there was a fine large ship on the stocks close 
 to the beach. Beyond this, about a mile, we passed 
 round a more rugged and broken promontory than 
 any we had yet seen, where several small islets were 
 detached from the cape, in masses of red sandstone, 
 with verdure and stunted shrubs on the top, within 
 which there was deep water and a good passage. 
 This place is called The Horse Shoe when the tide is 
 in, and the little curve in the coast is filled with the 
 sea ; but it is called the The Boot, when the tide is 
 out, and the beach is left dry. Near this also were 
 many clearings of land under cultivation. 
 
 Beyond this, about three miles further, we passed 
 round a cape called M ‘Cay’s Head, and four miles 
 further on we rounded Cape Mispeck, about 2 p.m., 
 the whole coast being high and rocky, and with very 
 few good landing-places along its edge. This being 
 the eastern cape of St. John’s Bay, we shaped our 
 course from west to north-west, and hauled up for the 
 town of St. John. As the ebb-tide had began to make 
 from the river, we saw several ships coming out to 
 sea, and soon descried the steamer, British America, 
 for Boston, which, on a given signal, ran down to 
 meet us, and take out such of our passengers as were 
 bound to that port. These being transhipped, we 
 pursued our way, and soon obtained sight of the City 
 
CITTf OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 397 
 
 of St. John, which, standing on high round, and 
 spreading upwards from the sea, presented a fine 
 appearance, as we drew near it. We entered the 
 hai-hour about four p.m., having been therefore twenty, 
 six hours on our passage, though the usual time is 
 about fourteen. The fare was very little, being only 
 five dollars each ; hut it was the dearest passage we 
 had ever made, as there was not a single comfort of 
 any kind obtained in return for the money paid. The 
 boat was one of the worst in condition, most dirty 
 and ill provided in every respect, both in acommoda- 
 tions, furniture, food, and attendants, that we had 
 anywhere seen on the American waters; and the 
 passengers the most vulgar, drunken, and disorderly, 
 
 ^with two or three exceptions only — that we had 
 
 ever met with in all our late tour of three years’ 
 duration. We regretted, indeed, that such a vessel 
 as the Maid of the Mist, and such persons as formed 
 her crew and passengers, should have the British 
 flag waving over them. But the disgrace belongs 
 only of course to the individuals who thus dishonoured 
 it, and not to the nation or the province to which 
 they belonged. 
 
 I had no sooner landed on the wharf, than I was 
 accosted by two individuals, who had known me in 
 other parts of the world ; one was a naval otficei 
 who had met me at Bombay in 1816, when I wore 
 the Arab costume and a long heard, after my journey 
 from Egypt, through Palestine, Mesopotamia, and 
 Persia ; and another was an officer of the army who 
 had known me in Egypt the year before I set out on 
 the journey named. As these gentlemen had both 
 resided here for some years, their influence, and the 
 
398 
 
 CITY OF ST. JOHN. 
 
 letters of introduction with which we were abun- 
 dantly supplied, soon brought around us a number 
 of the residents of the City, who had been for some 
 days expecting my arrival, and by these we were 
 escorted to the St. John Hotel, where we found 
 excellent accommodations prepared for us. The 
 attentive proprietors of this establishment keep their 
 house in the manner of an English, and not an 
 American hotel, and are therefore not above their 
 station, but take great personal pains to see that 
 everything is done which can contribute to the com- 
 fort of their visitors. We had here, as at Halifax, 
 the luxury of private sitting-rooms, and a private 
 table, so rarely to be obtained in the hotels of the 
 United States ; and we enjoyed it the more highly, 
 no doubt, from our long privation of the domestic 
 quiet, and entire freedom from restraint, which this 
 retirement within the bosom of one's family can 
 alone ensure ; so that we felt ourselves to be nearer 
 home, in a manner, by this return to the habits of 
 our native land. 
 
CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 History of New Brunswick and St. John — Situation of the City 
 and its suburbs— River St. John— Entrance and Rapids — 
 Public Buildings— Court House — Custom House — Market 
 House — Square — Banks — Churches — Hotels — Mechanics’ 
 Institute — Schools — Benevolent and Patriotic Societies — 
 Municipal Government— Destructive fires— Ship-building — 
 Number and cost of vessels— Commerce— Exports and Imports 
 — Fisheries — Saw-mills — American speculators— Projected 
 suspension bridge — Population of St. John Characteristics ■ 
 N ewspapers — Literary productions. 
 
 The City of St. John exhibits more of the American 
 rapidity of growth, than any of the settlements of 
 the British provinces. Fifty years ago, the spot on 
 which it stands was a wilderness, without a single 
 habitation, save the wigwam of the native Indian. 
 Now it is an incorporated City, containing a population 
 of at least 30,000 souls, with a number of large ships 
 belonging to the port, and merchants of considerable 
 opulence^ most of whom commenced with no other 
 capital than industry and credit, and many of them 
 began business but a few years since. 
 
 Previous to the year 1763, the whole of the terri- 
 tory now called New Brunswick, was considered by 
 the French to be comprehended within the domain 
 of New France ; and, with what is now called Nova 
 Scotia, was by them named Acadia. They had then 
 a fort at the mouth of the St. John River, and some 
 
400 
 
 NEW BKUNSWICK. 
 
 fur-trading ports in the interior. At the cession of 
 the Canadas, by the peace wdth France of I76S, this 
 territory was still claimed by the French, as Acadia, 
 and counterclaimed by the British, as part of Nova 
 Scotia. About this period a little colony from New 
 England settled at a place called Maugerville, about 
 fifty miles above the mouth of the St. John, where 
 they continued to increase till the peace with the 
 United States in I78S, when they numbered nearlj"^ 
 a thousand souls ; but still there was only a small 
 fur-trading post of the English at the entrance to 
 the river itself. 
 
 The cessation of the war with the United States 
 occasioning a great number of sailors and soldiers to 
 be discharged from the public service, in this quarter, 
 large bodies of each were sent here, and settled at 
 Fredericton, higher up the river, about ninety miles 
 from its mouth. It was not until I786, however, 
 that any town was begun at the entrance of the river; 
 but from that period to this, the city of St. John, 
 and the suburbs of Carleton and Portland, have 
 been gradually attaining to their present size and 
 number of inhabitants. 
 
 The situation of St. John is on a rocky promontory 
 and hill on the left of the river, as you look out 
 toward the sea, and on the right of the harbour as 
 jou enter. It is so steep in many places, that not- 
 withstanding the cutting down of the rock to ease 
 the ascent, it is still a toilsome labour to perambulate 
 It for any length of time. The plan of the town, 
 however, is regular, and the streets are laid out at 
 ng t angles ; the breadth of the principal one. King 
 reet, being lOO feet, and few of the others less 
 
ST. JOHN. 
 
 401 
 
 than 50 or 60. There is a large open square on 
 the top of the hill, around which are terraces of 
 houses, and no part of the City seems to want space 
 for ventilation. 
 
 On the opposite bank of the river, at its entrance, 
 is the little town of Carleton ; and on the same side 
 as St. John, are the suburbs of Portland and Indian- 
 Town, the houses of these being almost continuous. 
 Between Carleton and St. John is the inner harbour, 
 and farther out is the anchoring ground for ships 
 ready for sea. The rise and fall of tide here being 
 from 18 to 24 feet, much of the ground is left dry at 
 low water, and it is only at high water that ships of 
 large size can enter or depart. At the entrance of 
 the harbour is a small island, called Partridge Island, 
 on which there is a signal-post, a lighthouse, and 
 a large bell which is rung to warn ships entering 
 in time of fog. The harbour being comparatively 
 open to the sea, is not rendered inaccessible by ice at 
 any time of the year, so that its commerce is unin- 
 terrupted. 
 
 The river St. John cannot be entered by ships at 
 all, nor even by boats, except at the top of high 
 water ; as, just at its mouth, there is such a sudden 
 declivity in its bed, that the stream rushes with 
 immense rapidity over it ; there are therefore strong 
 rapids rather than falls, rushing outward with the 
 ebb, and inward with the flood, and the entrance 
 is smooth only at the top of high water. To voyage 
 on the river, therefore, it is necessary to go about a 
 mile from the town above these rapids by land, and 
 there embark in the steamer or other boats to ascend 
 the stream. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 The public buildings of St. John include an ex- 
 cellent Court House, facing King Square on the 
 hill, which has a fine architectural front, and an 
 admirably disposed interior, with a Council Cham- 
 ber, and other necessary offices. At the foot of 
 King Street, is a new Market-house, just finished, 
 with lofty and spacious Halls above, for public meet- 
 ings. A new Custom House is constructing, with 
 a front of 200 feet, intended, it is said by some, to 
 resemble the fagade of the late Carlton House in 
 London, though others give it a front of less pre- 
 tensions. There are two new Banks also in the 
 street nearest the harbour, which present fine speci- 
 mens of architectural taste, and are among the prin- 
 cipal ornaments of the City. 
 
 Of Churches there are fourteen, including two 
 Episcopalian in St. John, and two others in Port- 
 land and Carleton ; three Presbyterian, three 
 Methodist, two Roman Catholic, one Baptist, and 
 one Independent. As buildings, the Roman Catho- 
 lic and the Episcopalian are the largest and best j 
 of congregations, th^ Methodist and the Roman 
 Catholic are the most numerous, and the Episcopa- 
 lians the most wealthy ; but all the churches are well 
 attended, and the different denominations of Chris- 
 tians are said to agree remarkably well with each 
 other. 
 
 There are two good hotels, and several smaller 
 ones ; the principal of these is the St. John Hotel, 
 at which we lived during our stay here, and nothing 
 could exceed the civility and attention of the pro° 
 prietors, so that we found ourselves most agreeably 
 situated in this respect. There is a public Theatre, 
 
ST. JOHN. 
 
 403 
 
 small in size, and but poorly sustained ; for here, as 
 elsewhere, theatrical entertainments are on the de- 
 cline. A fine large Mechanics’ Institute is building, 
 but not yet completed, and the Society for which it 
 is erecting, receives the cordial support of the prin- 
 cipal inhabitants of the town. 
 
 Nearly all the new buildings are constructed of 
 brick or stone, instead of wood, and the handsomest 
 of the public edifices are built of a fine grey granite, 
 found in abundance on the banks of the river St. 
 John. 
 
 At the extremity of the promontory on which the 
 City stands, extensive ranges of barracks have been 
 recently erected for the military here, and these form 
 a very prominent object in the picture, as you enter 
 the harbour from the sea. 
 
 There are two Public Schools, one called the 
 Grammar School, for the higher branches of educa- 
 tion ; and the other, called the Madras Central 
 School, where the Lancasterian mode of teaching is 
 adopted, for the instruction of children in the ele- 
 ments of knowledge only. Each of the congrega- 
 tions has also a Sunday School attached to it, for 
 the gratuitous teaching of the children of the poor. 
 
 Among the associations, there are several for the 
 promotion of literature, humanity, and religion; 
 including a Literary Society, a Bible, a Missionary, 
 and a Tract Society, an Orphan and a Female 
 Benevolent Association, a Temperance Society, and 
 several Patriotic and Mutual Relief Associations, 
 under the names of St. George’s, St. Patrick s, St. 
 Andrew's, the Albion, the Sons of Erin, and the 
 British American Societies ; a Vaccine Establish- 
 
 2 d2 
 
404 
 
 NEW BRUNSAVICK. 
 
 ment, a Marine Hospital, and a Board for the assist- 
 ance of Emigrants. 
 
 The municipal government of the City consists of 
 a mayor, recorder, and six aldermen, with an equal 
 number of assistant aldermen, under the title of the 
 Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of 
 St. John. The mayor is a member of the Legisla- 
 tive Council of the Province, and repairs to the seat 
 of government at Fredericton when the Legislature 
 is in session. He is nominated to his office by the 
 Governor, but the aldermen and their assistants are 
 elected annually by the six wards into which the City 
 and Suburbs are divided, and of which, therefore, 
 they are the representatives. There are besides 
 these, a Sheriff, a Coroner, a Common Clerk, a 
 Chamberlain, a High Constable, six inferior Con- 
 stables, and two Marshals. All these are paid out 
 of the City revenues, which do not at present exceed 
 5,000/. a year, so that there is, as yet at least, no 
 large surplus fund for public improvements ; but as 
 the City possesses property which must greatly in- 
 crease in value with the augmentation of population 
 and commerce, its revenue will, no doubt, before 
 long, be such as to enable it to accomplish many 
 important public objects. 
 
 This City, like most others in America, has suf- 
 fered, at different times, severely by fires. One of 
 these, which occurred in 1837, destroyed about 120 
 houses and stores, in the business-part of the City, 
 and occasioned a loss of 250,000/. A yet more 
 recent fire, in the last year, 1839, occurring in 
 another part of the City, destroyed property to even 
 a still greater amount. The burnt districts, however. 
 
ST. JOHN. 
 
 405 
 
 are fast losing all traces of this calamity, by the 
 erection of new and more substantial edifices, in the 
 place of those destroyed ; but the loss to the inha- 
 bitants, by these two quickly succeeding conflagra- 
 tions, has been such as it will take them some time 
 to recover. 
 
 The principal business of St. John is shipbuilding, 
 which is carried on to a great extent The timber 
 used for the purpose is chiefly pine or fir, with the 
 occasional use of hackmatack and cedar, all of which 
 are abundantly and cheaply procured from the forests 
 of the surrounding country ; but the size of the trees 
 is not sutficient to admit of the building of ships of 
 large scantling. The average burden of vessels con- 
 structed here ranges between 300 and 500 tons ; 
 though within the last year, two fine ships, of 1,000 
 tons burden each, have been launched, and are now 
 fitting for sea. In the year 1836, there were built 
 here 81 ships, measuring about 25,000 tons, being 
 more than one-fifth of the number of vessels and 
 tonnage built in the whole of the United States 
 during the same year. There were then belonging 
 to the port of St. John 410 vessels, measuring 69,766 
 tons, navigated by 2,879 men ; while the total num- 
 ber of vessels entered at this port and its outbays, 
 in 1886, amounted to 2,549 vessels, measuring 
 289,127 tons, and navigated by 13,685 men. The 
 ships built here, do not cost more than 8/. per ton, 
 including masts and rigging ; while at Quebec, the 
 rate varies from 10/. to 12/., and in London from 
 15/. to 20/. In appearance, the New Brunswick 
 ships arc of fine models, and all the workmanship 
 on them appears to be well executed ; they maintain 
 
40G 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 their rank as first-class vessels, from five to seven 
 years, and with occasional repairs will last from 
 twelve to fifteen years. Taking, therefore, cheap- 
 ness, strength, and durability combined, they appear 
 to be peculiarly eligible for general trading purposes ; 
 and in the competition which the English mercantile 
 marine must necessarily encounter from other nations, 
 it is likely that the cheaper vessels of New Bruns- 
 wick will be in increasing demand. 
 
 The commerce of St. John embraces transactions 
 with Europe, Africa, and America ; and as its har- 
 bour is never closed by ice, there is no interruption 
 to its trade throughout the year. The export of 
 timber, in the various forms of squared logs, sawed 
 plank, and lumber, forms the chief article ; and next 
 to this, the fisheries yield their supply. In this 
 must be included the produce of the Southern Whale 
 Fishery, in which several of the larger ships of 
 St. John are engaged. In the last three years, an 
 average of about 150,000 gallons of sperm and whale 
 oil have been exported ; while the home-fisheries of 
 the Bay of Fundy furnish cod, hake, pollock, haddock, 
 in laige quantities, and seals are also taken on the 
 shores and islands, for their skins and oil. The im- 
 ports embrace all the varied articles required for the 
 consumption of the Province, or for re-exportation 
 where no other articles can be obtained in exchange 
 for the cargoes sent out. The amount of imports 
 for the year 1337, was 1,185,000^.; and of exports, 
 555,709^- sterling. The rapid progress of the 
 Colony may be judged of, by the fact, that in 1780, 
 the largest vessel built at St. John, was only 100 
 tons ; the trade from hence to Bermuda and the 
 
ST. JOHN. 
 
 ■107 
 
 West Indies being carried on in vessels of from 30 to 
 50 tons burden. 
 
 A singular custom prevails here, with respect to 
 the privilege of fishing in certain localities. The 
 coast within the jurisdiction of the City is parcelled 
 out into lots, of varying degrees of eligibility, com- 
 mencing with No. 1, and declining in value to No. 
 100 and upwards. A sort of lottery is formed of 
 these numbers every year, and in the month of 
 January, the freemen and widows of freemen of the 
 City are entitled to draw in this lottery for the fishing 
 berths thus numbered. The person who draws No. 
 1, makes his first cjjoice, and so on in succession ; 
 and as the numbers are often drawn by persons not 
 actually engaged in the fisheries, the privilege is 
 sold to fishermen, at various prices, from 50/., the 
 usual value of the first choice, downward to I/., the 
 value of the last, within 100 ; but above this number 
 the lots have no saleable value. 
 
 Of the suburbs of St. John, Portland appears to 
 be the largest. This is indeed contiguous to St. 
 John itself, and is the principal quarter of the timber- 
 sawing and ship-building operations. We visited 
 one of the steam saw-mills here, and were surprised 
 at the rapidity with which large square logs were 
 reduced into planks, and these again planed and 
 trimmed, all by machinery, rendering very little 
 human labour necessary. Some of the largest 
 fortunes made in St. John have been acquired by 
 these saw-mills, and several persons were named to 
 us, who had come to the Colony but a few years 
 since, without capital, but who, by credit, industry, 
 and continually extending operations, had acquiied 
 
408 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 sufficient to retire in opulence from business. Some 
 idea may be formed of the cheapness of timber here, 
 when it is stated that the gentleman who accompa- 
 nied us in our visit, one of the oldest inhabitants of 
 St. John, assured us he had provided from this saw- 
 mill, a complete supply' of all the necessary timber 
 for a frame-house, in upright beams, rafters, floorint^ 
 planks, door and window frames, and every other 
 kind required, for about 6/. sterling ! 
 
 Several of the owners of these saw-mills are natives 
 of the United States ; and they are observed, here as 
 elsewhere, to be generally more enterprising, and 
 more speculative, than the nati^ Colonists or the 
 British; sometimes to their own enrichment, but 
 sometimes also, it must be admitted, to the impover- 
 ishment of others. A memorable example of the 
 last description occurred but a short time since, of 
 which the monument still remains. A speculator 
 from the New England States, having visited St. 
 John, conceived the project of constructing a large 
 wooden suspension-bridge to cross over from Port- 
 land to Carleton, at the entrance to the river, and 
 readily prevailed on the inhabitants to form a 
 Company of Shareholders to subscribe the requisite 
 capital for the purpose, while he undertook the con- 
 tract for its construction. The bridge was intended 
 to be 1,400 feet in extreme length, with a single 
 span, resting on towers, distant from each other 
 435 feet, and the height of the bridge above the 
 water was to be 80 feet. The capital subscribed 
 was 30,000/., and the work proceeded with great 
 lapi ity ; but when the structure was sufficiently 
 acvanced to admit of foot-passengers crossing it. 
 

 k 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 f 
 
r 
 
 i 
 
ST. JOHN. 
 
 409 
 
 though before the suspension-chains were securely 
 fastened, the whole of the centre fell in with a ter- 
 rible crash, while some of the workmen were employed 
 on it ; and it has been since ascertained, that the 
 whole pile is so loosely and insecurely put together, 
 as not to be worth completing. 
 
 It is from the suburb of Portland that the best 
 view of the City and Harbour of St. John is obtained.* 
 On the extreme right of the picture, is just seen a 
 small portion of Partridge Island, on which the tele- 
 graph signals are made, to announce the approach 
 of ships in the offing. Between it and the low point 
 of the town is a passage for ships ; and beyond this, 
 in the distance, appears the high land of the Bay of 
 St. John, along the coast of which we had come in the 
 steamer from Windsor. The City, rising street after 
 street, slopes upward from the water on all sides, 
 and the principal churches and public buildings are 
 on the most elevated ground. At the foot of the 
 town, near the middle of the picture, is the inner 
 harbour, where the greatest number of ships he at 
 anchor and at the wharves. On the left is the 
 suburb of Portland, with several ships in frame on 
 the stocks, and a raft of timber approaching its wharf. 
 An Episcopal church, a Dissenting chapel, and a 
 Catholic place of worship, already adorn this suburb, 
 and the high mass of rock near its centre, furnishes 
 quarries of excellent stone for building. 
 
 The population of St. John and its suburbs exceeds 
 30 000, and of these by far the greater number are 
 of British birth and origin. There are no remnants 
 of the old French Acadians, like the hahtans of 
 Quebec, nor any negroes or coloured people as at 
 
 * See the accompanying Engraving. 
 
410 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Halifax j though there are a very few Indians still 
 lingering about the streets, but these are so poor and 
 feeble, that in a very few years it is probable they 
 will all be extinct. The Irish appear to be most 
 numerous, the Scotch next, and the English least of 
 all. The number of Irish names on the signboards 
 of the groceries and whisky-shops, show that Irish 
 habits have been imported also ; and the number of 
 women with coarse woollen cloaks, and large frilled 
 caps without bonnets, that one meets in the city and 
 suburbs, with the strong Irish accent in which they 
 converse, show that they are of very recent immigra- 
 tion. 
 
 Among the classes of society that account them- 
 selves of the higher orders, there is much less of 
 elegance and refinement than at Toronto, Montreal, 
 Quebec, or Halifax ; though the town of St. John is 
 better built than the latter, and the houses and stores 
 are very superior. There is an American air of equal- 
 ity in the conditions and manners of all classes here, 
 with the eager bustle and earnest pursuit of business, 
 which is so characteristic of American towns. Some- 
 thing of the boasting spirit of the New Englanders 
 is also manifest in the conversations one hears, and 
 in the comparisons made between the enterprise and 
 prosperity of St. John and other places. This exhi- 
 bits itself in the public papers occasionally, by such 
 paragraphs as the following, which is taken from a 
 St. John journal during our stay there. 
 
 “ Beat this who can !— The following vessels, all owned by 
 the Hon. Alexander Campbell, have been launched at Tatama- 
 gouche during the last three weeks : — Barque Acadia, built by 
 Mr. James Chambers, burthen about 360 tons : Ship Frances 
 Lawson, built by Mr. John Ilewet, burthen about 500 tons : 
 
ST. JOHN. 
 
 411 
 
 Barque Columbia, built by Mr. John Wallace, burthen about 
 360 tons; Brig Caledonia, built by Mr. John Pride, burthen 
 about 230 tons.” 
 
 There are six newspapers at St. John, published 
 weekly, and two thrice a week ; all political, except 
 one, which is devoted to the promotion of Temperance 
 and Religion. They are superior to the average of 
 the American papers, in the talent with which they 
 are conducted, and free from that fierce acrimony of 
 party-spirit, by which the journals of the United 
 States are too often characterized. The disaffection 
 of the Canadians finds no sympathy in their columns ; 
 as whatever differences of opinion prevail among 
 them on local affairs, and even these are very slight, 
 an ardent attachment to England, and a strong desire 
 to maintain the connection with her unimpaired, is 
 constantly manifested in all their writings. 
 
 An extensive literary taste can hardly he expected 
 to prevail in so young and busy a community, where 
 there are scarcely any persons of independent fortune 
 or leisure, and no public institution of a collegiate 
 or literary character; yet several works of merit 
 have been published at St. John— one entitled “ No- 
 titise of New Brunswick,” in 8vo., by an inhabitant ; 
 with a poem of considerable talent, entitled “ Mars 
 Hill,” from the pen of Mr. Lasky ; and an historical 
 novel, far above the average standard of such pro- 
 ductions, from the same pen. My Lectures were 
 attended for six successive evenings, by audiences of 
 500 persons, though the weather was sometimes most 
 inclement ; and the interest felt in them, appeared 
 to be quite as great as at Halifax, Quebec, Montrea , 
 or Toronto. 
 
CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Departure for Fredericton— Indian-Town— Mouth of the River 
 St. John— Great chasm in the rocks— Rapids and Cataract — 
 Beautiful scenery of the river — Expanding Lake or Bay — 
 Auxiliary streams of the Kennebecacis and Oromocto — Settle- 
 ments along the banks — Arrival at Fredericton — Description 
 of the town — Its plan, public buildings, and population. 
 
 On the morning of Thursday the 22nd of October, 
 we left the City of St. John at seven o’clock, during 
 a most violent tempest of wind and rain ; and 
 driving through the suburb of Portland to Indian- 
 T. own, above the rapid, at the entrance to the river, 
 we there embarked in a steamer for Fredericton. 
 This spot was called Indian-Town, because it was at 
 first wholly occupied by Indians, and the first house 
 built here for them was erected by the father of the 
 present Sheriflf of St. John. The first party that 
 came here to form the settlement had whisky given 
 them by the whites, and nearly all of them became 
 intoxicated, one of them stabbing his companion, so 
 that drunkenness and murder were the accompani- 
 ments of their first assembly I 
 
 We embarked in the steamer New Brunswick, a 
 fine boat, at half-past seven. The tempest of wind 
 and rain rendered it difficult to remain on deck ; but 
 the shores of the river were sufficiently attractive to 
 
RIVER ST. JOHN. 
 
 4.13 
 
 keep us there. The entrance to this river from the 
 sea, can only he made at the top of high water. 
 The obstruction is occasioned by a mass or ledge of 
 rock remaining in the channel between the lofty 
 cliffs on either side, over which ledge, soon after 
 high water, the stream presents a rapid, gradually 
 increasing to a cataract or fall, outwards into the 
 harbour ; and when the flood-tide begins to set, the 
 rapid or fall runs inward from the harbour to the 
 river with the same velocity, till near the top of 
 high water, when the general level between the har- 
 bour and the river is restored ; and at slack water, as 
 the pilots term it, boats can pass inward and out- 
 ward with safety, but only for a short period, about 
 a quarter of an hour, at each full tide. "1 he rup- 
 ture made by the river through the mass of rock 
 that impeded its passage to the sea, has left a great 
 chasm, which is Very striking, the cliffs on each side 
 being lofty and perpendicular, and the breadth of 
 the stream between them not more than a quarter of 
 a mile across. 
 
 As we advanced up the river St. John, the stream 
 appeared broader, and the scenery was very interest- 
 ing, and in some parts beautiful. On the right 
 hand of our course we passed a promontory called 
 the Boar’s Head, from some fancied resemblance 
 which suggested the name ; and near this, saw the 
 entrance of the river Kennebecacis, flowing from 
 the north-east. Here the river St. John expands 
 its width to four or five miles, this width continuing 
 for five or six miles in length, so as to form a sort of 
 lake or bay. The hills on each side are undulated 
 and wooded ; and great ne?itncss and care seemed to 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 4H. 
 
 be manifested on the farms we saw enclosed. There 
 were many small islands in the centre of the stream, 
 which were well wooded also, and on some of these, 
 neat white cottages were seen. On either bank there 
 were occasional villages, with the spire of a small 
 church piercing above the trees, and everything con- 
 nected with rural life seemed more carefully neat 
 and orderly, than we had been accustomed to see in 
 the United States ; though it must be admitted that 
 in the build, equipment, and appearance of their 
 boats and river-craft, the New Brunswickers seemed 
 to us much behind the Americans. Along the banks 
 we observed several long level tracts of land, nearly 
 even with the water s edge. 1 hese are always over- 
 flowed in the great freshets of spring, when the melt- 
 ing of the ice and snows swell the river above its 
 hounds. But they produce rich harvests of hay ; and 
 we saw on one of those low slips of land not less 
 than a hundred haystacks well and compactly made. 
 This was about thirty miles above the mouth of the 
 St. John. 
 
 The prettily undulated and wooded hills on each 
 side the river, looked the more beautiful from their 
 being clothed in their autumnal dress, with tints as 
 vivid as any seen in the American forests. On 
 some of the low marshes we observed herds of cattle 
 grazing, and protected from the overflow of the 
 stream by dykes. The cultivation improved as we 
 advanced, and we saw many of the haystacks fenced 
 around to protect them from the cattle, and roofed 
 over to defend them from rain. 
 
 About forty miles above St. John we passed Long 
 Island, with a church and tavern adjoining it, both 
 
KIVER ST. JOIIK. 
 
 415 
 
 close to the river, for the accommodation of farmers, 
 who come to it from many miles round. Ten miles 
 above this, we passed the small neat village of Gage- 
 town on our left. Beyond this, the banks of the 
 river become flatter and less picturesque, but the 
 country is more fertile and productive. Maugerville 
 on the left, and Sheffield on the right, are two small 
 villages about sixty miles above St. John, and these 
 are said to be the two oldest settlements on the 
 river. 
 
 Fourteen miles above this, we passed the town of 
 Oromocto on the left, where the river of that name 
 enters from the west. This river is navigable for 
 25 miles above its junction with the St. John ; and 
 at its mouth there is a new wooden bridge, with a 
 central opening to admit the passage of ships and 
 vessels. We saw many large vessels on the stocks 
 here, building for the trade of New Brunswick, 
 foreign as well as coasting. 
 
 We had a young Colonist on board, a native 
 of Woodstock, one of the frontier towns of this Pro- 
 vince, who exhibited a specimen of the strong Colo- 
 nial feeling which is unhappily too general among 
 persons from whose age and experience one might 
 have expected better things. The unpopularity of 
 Mr. Poulett Thompson, as Governor-General of 
 Canada, was very great, at his first appointment, 
 throughout all the North American Provinces ; and 
 in more than one place he had been burnt in effigy* 
 This conduct the young Colonist applauded, adding 
 only one regret, which he had no scruple to express 
 openly in the presence of all the passengers, which 
 was, that the people had not burnt Mr. Thompson 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 41 f) 
 
 himself, instead of his mere representative or effigy. 
 I asked him what could justify such a step? He 
 said, “ Because he was known to have spoken and 
 voted in the House of Commons for a reduction of 
 the duty on Baltic timber, and this was oppression 
 to the Colonies.” Such are the feelings that are 
 engendered by being brought up under the restrictive 
 or protecting system. 
 
 At four o’clock in the afternoon, we reached Fre- 
 dericton, which had a pleasing appearance from the 
 river, having performed the distance of eighty-five 
 miles from St. John in eight hours and half, and for 
 the very moderate fare of ten shillings each, exclusive 
 of meals. 
 
 We were met by several gentlemen at the wharf, 
 and escorted to Jackson’s Hotel, where we found 
 comfortable accommodations. We were afterwards 
 introduced to the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John 
 Harvey, and his family and staff, as well as the 
 Bishop of Nova Scotia, who was then on a tour 
 through the Province ; and we had the pleasure of 
 dining with a most agreeable party at the Govern- 
 ment House. Nothing could exceed the urbanity 
 and hospitality of all the leading members of society, 
 who did their utmost to make our short stay in the 
 capital agreeable. 
 
 Our examination of Fredericton, which was made 
 in company with some of the residents, who answered 
 all our inquiries without reserve, gave iis a favour- 
 able impression of the place and its inhabitants, and 
 made us feel a well-grounded hope of its future pros- 
 perity. The town is seated on a plain, on the right 
 bank of the river St. John, with hills rising behind 
 

 f 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 'f- 
 
 P. 
 
 \ A 
 
 ’ ■ 
 
 
 W. R..Uai-iieU„ 
 

FREDERICTON. 
 
 417 
 
 it to the south-west. The plain is about four miles 
 long and one mile broad. The river curves round 
 this plain in a convex shape, so as to give increased 
 water-frontage to the town. This is laid out with 
 great symmetry, in squares of eighteen different lots, 
 each lot containing a quarter of an acre. The streets 
 lie parallel to each other in one direction, and are 
 crossed by others at right angles. The longest are 
 those running nearly parallel to the river, these 
 exceed a mile in length. The transverse streets are 
 shorter. Near the landing-place is a fine open 
 square, with grass lawn, and a row of very large wil- 
 lows and poplar trees. On one side of this square is 
 the officers’ barracks. 
 
 As the town recedes from the river, the level is 
 more elevated, and some of the principal buildings 
 are seen on the rising ground. The most conspi- 
 cuous of these is King’s College, which is deemed 
 the finest building in the Province. It is I 7 I feet 
 long, and 159 feet deep, and embraces a basement 
 and two lofty stories, with a fine massive cornice 
 and pediments. The edifice is constructed with a 
 fine grey stone found near the site, and affords a very 
 favourable specimen of architecture. In the building 
 there is a chapel, two lecture-rooms, twenty-one 
 rooms for students, and ample accommodation for 
 the President, Vice-President, and servants. The 
 position is commanding, healthy, and agreeable, and 
 the course of tuition proposed is useful and orna- 
 mental. There is a Baptist Seminary in a lower 
 part of the town, a handsome little building 60 feet 
 by 35; a Grammar and Madras School, with 
 several private academies, and a number of Sunday 
 
 2 E 
 
118 
 
 KF.W BRUNSWICK. 
 
 schools, SO that education appears to he amply pro- 
 vided for. 
 
 There are five Churches, the Episcopal, Scotch, 
 Methodist, Baptist, and Roman Catholic, and all are 
 said to have full congregations ; and there are several 
 excellent Benevolent Institutions. 
 
 The Province Hall, in which the Legislature of 
 New Brunswick holds its sittings, is nearly in the 
 centre of the town. Attached to it are several public 
 offices, but the whole structure is not remarkable 
 for any architectural beauty. 
 
 The Governor’s residence is in the northern 
 quarter of the town, and is at once elegant and com- 
 modious, with a good lawn and gardens, and pleasant 
 walks along the banks of the river. 
 
 Fredericton was first founded as the capital of 
 New Brunswick, by Governor Carleton in 1784, 
 when this province was first separated from Nova 
 Scotia, and the position is well chosen. From it, 
 as from a common centre, the public roads branch 
 off to different quarters; and its central position 
 between Halifax and Quebec, makes it an important 
 military depot. 
 
 The country around it is pleasing, and the river 
 St. John extends for 400 miles above Fredericton, its 
 banks exhibiting frequent settlements of cleared 
 lands, farms, and pretty cottage dwellings ; and for 
 all this tract of country, Fredericton is almost certain 
 to become the great central mart of trade. The 
 present population is about 5,000, hut these are every 
 year rapidly increasing. 
 
 The last lectures that I delivered on the Ame- 
 rican continent were given at Fredericton, in a 
 
FREDERICTON. 
 
 419 
 
 new and handsome chapel of the Wesleyan Metho- 
 dists ; and they were crowded with large numbers. 
 Here, however, as at Toronto, there was an 
 appendage which might well have been spared, 
 though the etiquette of Colonial rule seemed to 
 require it. In the pews reserved for the Lieute- 
 nant-Governor and his staff, were orderly sergeants, 
 keeping possession previous to his arrival, while 
 military sentries with fixed bayonets were placed at 
 each entrance of the chapel ; and the concourse of 
 the large retinue of officers, from the Government 
 House and the Barracks, made the aisles ring with 
 the clatter of heavy boots, steel scabbards, and the 
 tramp of numbers, not quite in harmony with the 
 grave decorum of a chapel or a lecture-room. But 
 the entry once over, all afterwards was perfectly 
 orderly and subdued. 
 
 ^2 E ^ 
 
CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 General view of the Province of New Brunswick-Historv of h. 
 Boundary line— Extensive* forests— Variet^^ oHree^**' M~ 
 
 Great fire on the river Miramachi. Commerce— 
 
 Before quitting Fredericton, it will be well to nre 
 sent a general view of the Province of New Bruns. 
 Wtck, of which ,t IS the capital , as its importance is 
 
 rf^rmav r'l® '■''“‘“j* "’O'’® favourable estimate 
 
 of It maj bo formed, when the details of its statistics 
 are more acouratelj understood. 
 
 The territory now occupied by this Province 
 was onpnally included in that of Nova Scotia • its 
 
 S wh°’’'-r ““vporated with that until 
 
 a net "a ■** ‘“'I established as 
 
 anew Colony under its present name. 
 
 and th!'fi‘/rr”° Lieutenant.Colonel Carletoni 
 
 the S^'emnent was the founding 
 
 fte settlement of Fredericton, where it now stands 
 
 sovemmem," seat of 
 
 L u3lv e d h' T? ‘’>® Americans 
 
 for the States, namely, centrality of position ; 
 

 AREA, BAYS, AND RIVERS. 421 
 
 as Fredericton is nearly equidistant from the towns of 
 St. John, Miramichi, Bay Verte, St. Andrews, and 
 Passamaquoddy. On the upper part of the river 
 St. John, two military stations were fixed ; one at 
 Presque Isle, about 100 miles above Frederieton, 
 and another at the Grand Falls, 80 miles further 
 up. The French settlers who were then in this 
 province, joined by others from Lower Canada, of the 
 same race and religion, formed a small settlement 
 still higher up, about midway between Fredericton 
 and Quebec, which they called Madawaska, where 
 they still remain. 
 
 The area of New Brunswick is included within 
 the parallels of latitude 45° and 48° north, having 
 the Bay of Fundy on its southern border, and Lower 
 Canada on its northern ; and between the meridians 
 of 64° and 68° of longitude, having the Gulf of St. 
 Lawrence on its eastern border, and the American 
 State of Maine on its western. Its length from north 
 to south is about 180 miles, and its mean breadth 
 about 150, so that it contains 27,000 square miles, 
 or 17,280,000 acres ; being thus nearly as large as 
 Ireland, which contains 20,000,000 of acres. 
 
 There are some fine bays, as those of Chaleurs on 
 the north, Miramichi on the eastern coast, and St. 
 Andrew’s and St. John’s on the southern coast ; as 
 well as Chignecto Bay on the south-east, running up 
 from the great Bay of Fundy to the isthmus which 
 connects Nova Scotia with New Brunswick. 
 
 Of rivers, the Miramichi, on the eastern coast, is 
 the most easily accessible for shipping, and most navi- 
 gable for some distance from the sea. Several large 
 Learns pour their waters into it from the north and the 
 
422 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 south, and there are many small islands in its course ; 
 while the rising towns of Newcastle and Chatham 
 near its mouth, bid fair to become great seaports. 
 Already, in a single year, more than 200 ships, and 
 100 schooners and small craft, have been laden from 
 the Miramichi, with the produce of the interior. 
 
 The Restigouche is another fine stream farther 
 north, 220 miles long, three miles broad at its 
 
 entrance, and one mile broad 100 miles up, and 
 emptying itself into the Bay of Chaleurs at its head ; 
 while the Miramichi pours its waters into the Gulf 
 of St. Lawrence. The scenery of its banks is bold 
 and romantic, with cliffs, glens, and slopes ; it rises 
 near the sources of Grand River, which goes into 
 the St. John, near the Great Falls, and its general 
 course is north-east, like that of the Miramichi. 
 From the heads of both these streams, the distance 
 to the St. John is very little; and “portages,” as 
 they are called by the French, make the communica- 
 tion between them very easy. In the Bay of Cha- 
 Rurs, the towns of Bathurst about its centre, and 
 Dalhousie near its head, are both largely engaged 
 in the export of timber from the interior. 
 
 The river St. Croix, or the Schoodie, which is the 
 westernmost of the rivers of New Brunswick, rises 
 m a chain of small lakes, not more than 60 miles 
 irom the sea, and empties into the Bay of St. 
 Andrews. This was the original boundary, west- 
 ward between the British Provinces and the United 
 States, as fixed by the treaty of 1783; the words of 
 the tre^y, when defining the border of the United 
 
 te drawn 
 
 along the middle of the St. Croix, from its mouth in 
 
THE BOUNDARY UNE. 
 
 423 
 
 the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source 
 directly north to the aforesaid Highlands, (before 
 described in the treaty) which divide the rivers that 
 fall into the Atlantic Ocean, from those which fall 
 into the river St. Lawrence.” The truth is, that 
 both parties to this treaty were ignorant of the true 
 nature and topography of the region in question ; 
 and hence all the subsequent difficulties that have 
 arisen in its adjustment.* 
 
 • Since this was written, the treaty negotiated by Lord Ash- 
 burton has settled the Boundary Line, on a ditFerent basis from 
 tliat of the original treaty of 1783, and from that awarded by 
 the King of the Netherlands in 1814. And since this treaty was 
 signed, the publication of the pamphlet of Mr. Featherstonehaugh, 
 has disclosed the fact that Mr. Sparks, the American historian, 
 found, in the Geographical Department of the Archives of 
 France, a Map of the original Boundary Line agreed to, with the 
 red line drawn by the American minister, Benjamin Franklin, 
 confirming the justice of the British claim. The concealment 
 of that important fact, by the American Senate, and Secretary 
 of State, reflects a disgrace on all the parties privy to this 
 concealment, which no explanation can wipe away. Never- 
 theless, it is of great national importance to the peace of the two 
 countries, that this long-debated question is at length settled. 
 l,ord Ashburton may have been overreached by the dishonest and 
 unscrupulous negotiators of Washington, as the ablest man living 
 might have been ; but no honest man can deny to that nobleman 
 the praise of having fulfilled the duty assigned to him, in a man- 
 rier that reflects the greatest credit on his charac er. 
 Americans may well be ashamed of the share which their becre- 
 ,ary of State Ind Senate had in the traiisacaon ; but 
 man need blush for Lord Ashburton’s being ignorant of that 
 which the wisest man living could not be expecte to now w 
 such concealment was practised by his adversaries. After all, 
 however, the advantages to Great Britain in having this question 
 settled, are far greater than any sacrifice of mere tern ory, o 
 
• 1 . 24 . 
 
 NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 The river St. John is the longest and most pic- 
 turesquely beautiful of all the New Brunswick rivers. 
 Its Indian name Loosh-took, means literally Lono- 
 River. It rises near the Chaudiere river in Lower 
 Canada, not far from Quebec, and flows through a 
 course of nearly 600 miles (the length of England 
 and Scotland united), till it empties itself into the 
 sea in the Bay of Fundy. The Grand Falls on thl 
 
 height of the cataract is 50 feet. The river winds 
 through part of the United States’ territorv by a 
 circuitous bend, then enters New Brunswick Ld 
 
 St 7ohn ^Fredericton, on to the port of 
 
 The interior of the Territory of New Brunswick 
 
 fores ^ untrodden 
 
 forest. It IS known that there are several ridges of 
 
 ills, and some of an elevation of 2,000 feet this 
 
 eing the altitude of the celebrated Mars* Hill on 
 
 a line with the St. Croix river, and admitted by’the 
 
 Americans and the English as one of the fixed points 
 
 Sai;Line adjustment of the 
 
 w~r:=r;''rr?;i2£-'s; 
 
 itns." X7S r rr; 
 
 u JX“iTorr::.rr 
 
FORESTS AND QUARRIES. 
 
 4>‘25 
 
 principal of these are the red or Norway pine, and 
 the white pine, each of which grows to a large size, 
 seventeen tons of timber being frequently obtained 
 from one tree. The black, yellow, and white birch 
 for building, as well as the curly birch for furniture, 
 also abound. The spruce, the hemlock, the hack- 
 matack, tamarack, or larch, are frequently in all 
 parts of the country ; and the rock, the bird’s-eye, 
 and the sugar-maple, are all well known. Besides 
 these, there are the oak, the elm, the beech, the 
 hornbeam, the ash, the poplar, and the locust, so 
 that variety as well as abundance are thus secured 
 in the supply of forest-trees. These are cut down, 
 in their different localities, by bodies of men called 
 lumberers, who go out in companies during the win- 
 ter, under a leader, and share in the profits of the 
 enterprise. They prepare the trees after they are 
 cut down, by lopping off the branches, stripping the 
 bark, rough-squaring the trunks: and then, launching 
 them into the streams as the ice breaks up in spring, 
 they form them into rafts on the large rivers, and 
 thus float them by the current to the ports on the 
 borders of the sea. 
 
 In the course of their explorations in the interior, 
 these men have ascertained that the province contains 
 an abundance of excellent stone for building, espe- 
 cially granite and sandstone. Quarries of the stone 
 used for grinding-mills are opened at the head of the 
 Bay of Fundy, and form an article of extensive 
 import. Good marble has been found in some parts, 
 and limestone and gypsum are abundant. At Grand 
 Lake, on the left bank of the St. John, between Fre- 
 dericton and the sea, coals have been found, and the 
 
426 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 surface strata worked ; and it is said, by those who 
 have made inspection of this locality, that the supplies 
 are likely to be as large as those of Nova Scotia. 
 Salt springs are frequent within 50 miles of the sea, 
 from which brine and salt may be procured ; and at 
 Mispeck, iron ore has been found, which yields 70 
 per cent of pure iron. 
 
 In its forests and mineral wealth, therefore, New 
 Brunswick has an immense store of treasure for future 
 developement ; while for agriculture, pasturage, and 
 fishing, she is not inferior to the sister province Nova 
 Scotia ; and in the furs of its wild animals, the food 
 of Its domestic cattle, and the wealth of its fisheries, 
 it finds steady sources of increasing wealth. 
 
 We have seen that the whole area of New Bruns- 
 wick contains upwards of 17,000,000 of acres. If 
 from this 2,000,000 be deducted for lakes, rivers, 
 and rocky surface, and the deduction is more than 
 enough, there would remain 14,000,000 of acres, 
 fitted for tillage and pasture, when the forests are 
 cleared ; or allowing 2,000,000 of acres more for 
 these, as their entire removal is neither practicable 
 nor desirable, there would be 12,000,000 of acres of 
 available soil. Of this, not more than 4,000,000 
 have been alienated or sold : — of which 3,000,000 
 have been granted by the Crown under patents from 
 the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Bruns- 
 wick ; 500,000 sold to the New Brunswick Land 
 Company ; and 500,000 in sales to individuals. 
 
 riie climate and soil of all this territory are quite 
 equal to those of Canada, and excellent crops of 
 wheat, barley, oats, and maize may be everywhere 
 raised, while potatoes and all the esculent vegetables 
 
PIUCES OF LAND. 
 
 4*^7 
 
 and garden-fruits of England may be reared and 
 ripened in New Brunswick as well as in any parts of 
 England, Scotland, or Ireland. Pasturage for cattle, 
 along all the river-borders, and in the valleys of the 
 interior, may also be commended ; and here, as in 
 the other Provinces, nothing is wanting, but popula- 
 tion and capital, to make the Colony rich, prosperous, 
 and powerful. 
 
 The prices of land vary, of course, according to 
 quality and locality. They may he said to range 
 from five shillings to five pounds per acre — the latter 
 only where some clearing or improvement has been 
 effected ; and then in the neighbourhood of towns 
 it will run up to twenty pounds or more. But for 
 farming purposes, either in the tract purchased by 
 the New Brunswick Land Company, which is a little 
 to the north of Fredericton, stretching onward from 
 the river St. John, or other parts under sale from 
 the Government, from 5s. to 10s. per acre, for 
 uncleared land may be named as the average price. 
 By a late regulation of the Home Government, pur- 
 chasers are now obliged to pay ten per cent, on the 
 value of the purchase at the time of making it ; and 
 the remainder within fourteen days from the time of 
 the sale, and possession is not given to the purchaser 
 to enter on his land until the whole payment is com- 
 
 pleted. . 
 
 It is remark able that in the case of persons dying 
 without making a will, their property in land is 
 divided by the custom of gavelkind, as it prevails in 
 Kent. The eldest son has two shares of the pro- 
 perty, and all the rest of the children have one ; and 
 
428 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 if a widow be left, her right of dower takes prece- 
 dence of these. 
 
 The whole population of New Brunswick is not 
 more than 150,000 by the last returns. By this time 
 there are probably 200,000, a number not so great 
 as the inhabitants of Liverpool or Manchester in 
 England, with a territory nearly equal to that of all 
 Ireland for their support. Of these, a large number 
 are of Irish immigration and descent, and these are 
 Roman Catholics. Among the rest are, Englishmen 
 of the Episcopal Church, Scotchmen of the Presby- 
 terian Church, and both of the Methodist and Bap- 
 tist persuasion. As there are places of worship 
 for all, and no one enjoys supremacy, they agree 
 remarkably well, and religious dissensions are very 
 rare. 
 
 The Government of the Province is in a Lieute- 
 nant-Governor, a Council of 16 members appointed 
 by the Crown from the Upper House, and a repre- 
 sentative body of 32 elected by the eleven counties 
 into which the Province is divided, and two from the 
 City of St. John. It meets at Fredericton in the 
 winter, and generally sits for two months. Its pro- 
 ceedings are regulated by the model of the English 
 1 arliament, though its proceedings are generally 
 very smooth and tranquil. 
 
 Abundant provision is made for the administration 
 of justice, in Courts of Chancery and Common Law. 
 
 1 he Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief 
 IS Chancellor, but he is assisted or advised by the 
 Judges of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice 
 has a salary of 950/. ; and three Puisne Judges, of 
 
REVENUE AND SHIPPING. 
 
 4-29 
 
 650/. a year. Circuit Courts are held in each county 
 in turn ; and County and Parish business is trans- 
 acted much as it is at home. The materials for 
 litigation are not yet very abundant ; and all parties 
 seem satisfied with the equity with which justice is 
 administered. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor has a salary of 3,500/. 
 a year ; the Commissioner of Crown Lands, 1,750/.; 
 the Provincial Secretary, 1,430/. ; and the other 
 officers of the Executive from 550/. down to 100/. 
 The sum of 1000/. is granted annually to the King’s 
 College, at Fredericton; and the whole of the 
 charges on the Civil List amount to only 14,000/, 
 which is secured, by act of Parliament for this pur- 
 pose, out of the Provincial Revenue. 
 
 The amount of the Provincial revenue for the last 
 year was about 52,000/., and of the Territorial 
 Revenue about 54,000/., while the appropriations 
 did not exceed 100,000/., so that there was the rare 
 novelty of a surplus of revenue above expenditure in 
 the Colony. The number of ships entered inward 
 were 3,482, and outward, 3,527 ; while the number 
 of registered vessels belonging to the Colony was 
 520, measuring 120,517 tons, and manned hy 3,84<2 
 men The exports from the whole Province, includ- 
 incT timber, ships, fish, oil, and other articles, exceed 
 2,000,000/. sterling in value ; and the number of 
 emigrants entering from Great Britain had ave- 
 raged for the last few years from 5,000 to 6,000 
 
 ^ One of the calamities to which the first settlers in 
 this Province has been subject, is the frequent occur- 
 rence of fires in the extensive forests of the interior. 
 
430 
 
 KF.W BRUXSWICK. 
 
 though this has not happened so often of late as 
 formerly. One of these instances, however, is too 
 remarkable to be omitted. It occurred on the river 
 Miramichi, in 1825. The season of the year Tsum 
 mer,) was more than usually hot and drv, the ther 
 mometer frequently at 100°, though in the winter it’ 
 goes down to 30 below zero. In October, the trees 
 of the forest were all so hot and dry as to be like 
 touchwood or tinder ; and on the 6th of that month 
 
 be^o^T^ T '^ere discovered to 
 
 re, whether by spontaneous ignition or bv 
 
 tained. This fire only increased the heat and dry- 
 ness of all the trees within its influence, so that the 
 conflagration spread with great rapidity. The atmos 
 phere was reddened over many miles of spacH^d’ 
 this was overhung by black clouds of smokefin dense 
 masses, giving a peculiar and almost terrific gloom 
 to the picture. Ever and anon there were sSdden 
 flashes like lightning, accompanied by cracklinrr of 
 00 s, and multiplied sounds of escaping gas like 
 ^he repeated discharges of cannon ; while shfwers of 
 burning forest were scattered far and 
 wide by the winds. The great heat, of course drew 
 the currents of the surrounding atmosphere’ more 
 powerfully towards its edges and centre, which onlv 
 served to increase the combustion j so that the flames 
 wept their way downward in the course of the river 
 
 he two approaching masses of fire on either bank 
 o boil, and hiss, and send up steam or vapour and 
 
 rolr of lb bubbling noise, added to that of the 
 of the flames, and the crackling and explosions 
 
DREADFUL FIRE. 
 
 431 
 
 of the woods, was enough to inspire terror in the 
 boldest hearts. 
 
 The fire, in its progress, soon enwrapped the two 
 towns of Douglas and Newcastle, covering an area 
 of 6,000 square miles with flame ; and as in these 
 towns there were large deposits of rum, turpentine, 
 tar, oil, and even gunpowder, these all added fresh 
 fuel to the flame, and made it blaze with indescriba- 
 ble fury. The conflagration thus spread onward 
 with still greater rapidity than before, sweeping away 
 all the villages and single dwellings in its course, 
 and extending, in the whole, for more than 100 miles 
 alonof both banks of the river ! 
 
 At least 500 human beings perished In the flames ; 
 while a much greater number of wild and domestic 
 animals were at the same time destroyed. The 
 putrescent and unburied bodies of both infected the 
 atmosphere, while the eflFect of this was still height- 
 ened by the dead bodies of the numerous Ashes which 
 were thrown up on the river’s banks. There were, at 
 this awful moment, not less than 150 vessels in the 
 Miramichi river; the crews of which were terror- 
 struck at the approach of a conflagration which 
 advanced with inconceivable rapidity, swept every- 
 thing before it, and threatened to enwrap them in 
 its destructive flames. Of the ships, some few 
 escaped, others were burnt down to the water’s edge 
 and then sunk. Of the men, many were burnt to 
 death ; and others, who escaped by getting out to 
 sea, were so mangled and blackened, as to carry the 
 marks for life ; while of those who succeeded in getting 
 beyond the actual reach of the fire, hundreds perished 
 for want of food, raiment, and shelter. Not less 
 
432 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 than a million’s worth of property, in timber, dwel- 
 lings, ships, and goods, were destroyed ; and the cala- 
 mity was, upon the whole, greater than any that 
 ever visited any British settlement before. 
 
 In England, a public subscription was raised, by 
 which 40 , 000 /. sterling was collected, and sent out 
 for the relief of the sufferers ; and the Americans of 
 the United States, to their honour be it said, not- 
 withstanding their border rivalries, were prompt to 
 come forward with relief, in money, and in materials, 
 to help their suffering fellow-creatures. 
 
43 ? 
 
 CHAP. XXIX. 
 
 Capacity of our Colonies to relieve the mother-country of her 
 surplus population — Practicability of making them also assist 
 to extend our commerce — Questions of Free Trade and Emi- 
 gration — Want of employment among the labouring classes — 
 Colonial Emigration offers a speedy and effective relief — 
 Decline of great empires from neglect of Colonization, Com- 
 merce, and Education — Four great elements of national wealth 
 — Superabundance of all these in England — Plan for trans- 
 ferring these to our North American Colonies, by free gifts of 
 land, and free conveyance of Emigrants, at the national cost — 
 Certainty of benefits, far more than equivalent to the outlay, 
 which would amply reward the mother-country, as well as 
 enrich the Colonies. 
 
 Having now examined and described the separate 
 Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Bruns- 
 wick, and added to these some notices of Cape 
 Breton, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, 
 this seems the most appropriate time and place in 
 which to offer some observations as to the capacity 
 of these Colonies for receiving and sustaining the 
 surplus population of the mother-country, and as to 
 their being made a source of wealth to their own 
 inhabitants, as well as of large pecuniary benefit to 
 Britain, from the extended commerce of which they 
 may be made the seat. 
 
 These questions, though at all times interesting 
 and important, have never been so urgent and press- 
 
 2 F 
 
434 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 ing as at the present moment; when, from all the 
 accounts that reach us here (Fredericton), the united 
 evils of an increasing population, a decreasing trade, 
 and a falling revenue, seem to be working together, 
 and threatening more calamity to England than any 
 combination of causes for a long period. If these 
 evils were inflicted on the country by any natural 
 calamity — such as the withering up of the fertility 
 of her soil, the exhaustion of her mines, the hostility 
 of other nations, earthquakes, pestilence, or any other 
 
 causes beyond the control of her rulers to avert 
 
 the people might resign themselves patiently to their 
 fate. But, as it appears to me that the evils in ques- 
 tion have been brought about by impolitic legislation 
 — especially by the continuance of restrictions on 
 the importation of food from other countries, and by 
 either a vicious system of management, or a total 
 neglect of the immense resources which our own 
 Colonies possess, — it becomes an imperative duty on 
 all who love their country, to consider by what mode 
 the evils under which she labours may be remedied, 
 and her commerce and prosperity revived. 
 
 As the greatest evil, or that which is at the root 
 of all others, is want of employment for thelabour- 
 mg classes — since this, of course, renders them 
 unable to maintain themselves, and causes them to 
 fall back on the classes above them for support — so 
 the first step in the I’emedy required, is to procure 
 them that employment, by which alone they can earn 
 their own subsistence, and contribute to the general 
 wealth of the kingdom, instead of becoming a drain 
 upon its resources, and augmenting its poverty. 
 
 Such relief might be instantly given, if the Legis- 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 435 
 
 lature of England could but be prevailed on to 
 remove those barriers to the extension of our foreign 
 trade which they themselves have placed on it, in the 
 shape of laws for prohibiting the importation of the 
 produce of other countries, except on the payment 
 of such high duties as place them beyond the reach 
 of the labouring poor. The supplies of food, of every 
 kind, which could be imported into England, from 
 North and South America, Russia, Poland, France, 
 Spain, Egypt, and other fertile lands, — in grain, 
 cattle, and farming produce, as well as in coffee, 
 cocoa, sugar, and other wholesome and nutritious 
 articles of sustenance and enjoyment — would furnish 
 to the people of England all that they could desire, 
 if the heavy duties now imposed on them were re- 
 duced, or altogether removed. And there is not 
 one of all these countries, that would not readily 
 receive British manufactures, of various kinds, in 
 payment for these supplies ; so that the double good 
 would be effected, of giving employment to the con- 
 stantlv-increasing population of Great Britain, and 
 supplying them at the same time with those very 
 articles of sustenance which it is utterly impossible 
 that England can produce from her own soil in 
 sufficient quantities to feed her people. The sur- 
 face of the island is limited, and almost every acre 
 that could be profitably cultivated, is already brought 
 under the plough. The population, already in 
 excess beyond the means of being well employed 
 and adequately fed from her own soil, is increasing 
 at the fearful rate, it is believed, of nearly a thou- 
 sand a day ; so that the disproportion of numbers 
 to resources is every hour augmenting. 
 
 2 F 2 
 
4.36 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 For such a state of things as this, there are but 
 two remedies. Either employment and food must 
 be brought from abroad ; or the people themselves 
 must be removed to other lands, to obtain that which 
 is denied them at home. A Free Trade with all 
 the nations of the earth would speedily effect the 
 former — Emigration, on an extensive scale, would 
 accomplish the latter. There is no good reason, 
 indeed, why both should not be had recourse to, as 
 this would make the remedy more speedy and more 
 effectual ; and both should be urged, without ceasino-, 
 ml achieved. But, as the landed proprietors of 
 England are all-powerful in the councils of the 
 country, there will no doubt be much greater oppo- 
 sition on their parts to Free Trade than to Emigra- 
 tion ; and as this last subject does not appear to iTave 
 received the public attention of the press or people 
 of England so extensively as the former, it may be 
 well to embody here the opinions which an extensive 
 personal survey of nearly all our Colonies, in both 
 emispheres, and a long and deep consideration of 
 the questions of Emigration and Colonization, have 
 induced me to form. 
 
 In doing this, it will not be necessary to advert 
 to the manner in which our extensive possessions in 
 Asia, Africa, and America were originally acquired, 
 tempting as the theme may be ; yet, to prevent mis- 
 conception, it may be well to state, that on a review 
 of all the circumstances attending the conquest or 
 acquisition of each, there appears to be much more 
 deserving of censure than of praise— more to be 
 ashamed than to be proud of— as force, fraud, plun- 
 er, and oppression, have been the chief elements by 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 ASH 
 
 which our Colonies have heen won and ruled and 
 this perhaps niay be the reason why they have 
 hitherto vielded us so little of national benefit. If 
 the first cost of the acquisition of each separate 
 Colony belonging to Great Britain could be estimated 
 in sterling money, including, of course, the equip- 
 ments of the fleets and armies used — the loans, sub- 
 sidies, and grants made — and the amount of debt 
 entailed ; and if to these could be added the annual 
 cost to the mother-country of the settlements that 
 have never yielded a revenue sufficient to pay their 
 own expenses, the sum would startle the boldest 
 financier \ and the most ingenious statesman would 
 be unable to show that equivalent advantages had 
 been derived from their possession. 
 
 That it is possible for nations to grow weaker by 
 an extension of territory, and to be drained of wealth 
 by multiplying their possessions and spreading their 
 dominion, has been proved in the case of the Romans, 
 the Arabs, the Spaniards and the Portuguese-each of 
 whom, in turn, fell, rather by the destroying power 
 of their own extension, than by any other cause. 
 And, though it was the boast of the two last-named 
 countries — as it may be that of England at the present 
 
 (jay that “ the sun never set on their dominions, 
 
 we see them both now reduced to the lowest degree 
 in the scale of nations— their weakness and poverty 
 causing them to be a by-word of reproach— their 
 Colonial dominion almost extinct, and their interna 
 peace perpetually disturbed by insurrection and 
 
 civil war. . p 
 
 There is nothing that can insure the escape ot 
 
 England from a similar decline and fall, but a just 
 
43S 
 
 NKW PLAN OF 
 
 and wise use of the power she possesses, and pursuing 
 a course the very opposite of that which brought 
 Spain and Portugal to their present low estate. 
 
 With each of these nations, it was a prominent 
 feature of their policy to prohibit and prevent Colo- 
 nization, or the fixed and permanent settlement of 
 the European race within their Colonial territories. 
 Xheir governors, and subordinate officers, after amass- 
 ing ^fortunes from the plunder of the natives, retired 
 to Europe to spend them ; while the aborigines, and 
 the mixed races that succeeded them, were regarded 
 only as creatures out of which profit or gain, in some 
 shape or other, was to be made. 
 
 With each of these nations also, it was a prominent 
 feature of their policy, to make almost every branch 
 of commerce a Monopoly, for the benefit of some 
 royal or distinguished personage, or for the special 
 advantage of some peculiar class ; and at the same 
 time, so to burden all articles of export and import, 
 not passing througb these channels of monopoly, 
 with heavy and grievous imposts, as to crush all 
 freedom of trade. 
 
 A third feature of their Colonial policy, was to 
 keep all their subjects in the most profound igno- 
 rance ; to discourage Education, to fetter the press, 
 to stifle all aspirations after knowledge, and to make 
 the abject people bend their necks under the double 
 yoke of priestly bigotry and intolerance, and civil 
 and political despotism. 
 
 These were the destroying cancers which ate into 
 the very heart and vitals of Spanish and Portuguese 
 dominion, till both were gnawed away. And thev 
 were to the full as effective in completing the humf- 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 439 
 
 liation of the countries named, as were the thirst for 
 military conquest, and the lust of religious power 
 and subjugation, which caused the empire of Rome 
 and the caliphate of Bagdad, under which the Arabs 
 spread their dominion from the walls of China to the 
 borders of the Atlantic Sea, both to crumble away 
 into dust. 
 
 Let England take the opposite course, if she 
 would avoid a similar fate! Let her encourage 
 and assist the Colonization of all her distant posses- 
 sions, and plant them with her surplus population of 
 every rank and class. Let her remove all restric- 
 tions on Commerce, first between herself and her 
 own Colonies, and then between herself and other 
 nations— till she enjoys, as far as her power can 
 secure it, a Free Irade with all the woild. 
 
 And, lastly, let her so encourage Education in 
 all her borders, as to raise up an intelligent, vii- 
 tuous, and independent race of subjects, among 
 whom neither ecclesiastical nor political tyranny 
 can ever be introduced, since by such a race they 
 
 would never be endured. 
 
 The materials which the Government of England 
 possesses for the accomplishment of these great ends, 
 are in her own hands; they are as abundant as they 
 are efficient ; and they want only the requisite degree 
 of moral courage on the part of her rulers, to be 
 brought into immediate operation. Every year tlmt 
 thev are suffered to lie dormant, our national difh- 
 culties will increase; but the moment they are put 
 into active combination, these difficulties will begin 
 to diminish. Let us see, then, in what they consist. 
 
440 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 The four great elements requisite for the produc- 
 tion of wealth, are land, labour, skill, and capital : 
 the first, to yield the raw materials, whether animal, 
 vegetable, or mineral, of which almost all articles 
 are composed ; the second, to perform the necessary 
 operations of obtaining these materials from the sur- 
 face or the bowels of the earth ; the third, to direct 
 these operations in the most economical and most 
 effective manner; and the fourth, to convey the 
 requisite amount of population to the scene of their 
 labours, and sustain them until the first realization 
 of profit from their own industry shall enable them 
 to support themselves. 
 
 Who can for a moment doubt that England pos- 
 sesses all these in greater abundance than any nation 
 on the face of the globe ? or that she has the power 
 to use them all for the national welfare, by the mere 
 will of her rulers, under the sanction of legislative 
 enactment ? 
 
 And first, of land . — To say nothing of the im- 
 mense regions of untilled and untrodden soil, which 
 belongs to England, in the Eastern world — millions 
 of acres in Hindoostan and Ceylon— millions more 
 in Australasia, the Cape of Good Hope, and the 
 Southern Seas — where there is room enough for the 
 whole population of Great Britain and Ireland ten- 
 times told : to say nothing of these, but confining 
 ourselves solely to those North American Provinces 
 of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape 
 Breton, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, 
 through which the Tour recorded in this volume 
 extends, we have the following area 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 i41 
 
 Canada 
 
 Nova Scotia 
 
 New Brunswick . 
 
 Newfoundland 
 
 Cape Breton 
 
 Prince Edward Island 
 
 . 222,720,000 acres 
 
 9,995,880 
 17,280,000 
 . 23,000,000 
 2,000,000 
 1,360,000 
 
 Total . . 276,355,880 
 
 In order to make the comparative size of these ter- 
 ritories the more apparent, it may he well to append 
 the following — 
 
 England and Wales 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Total 
 
 36,999,680 acres 
 20,399,360 
 18,000,000 
 
 75,399,040 
 
 It will be seen by this, that the area of the Cana- 
 das alone is about six times as large as that of all 
 England and Wales ; that Newfoundland alone is 
 larger than Ireland ; that New Brunswick is nearly 
 as large as Scotland ; and that Cape Breton and 
 Prince Edward Island are fully as large as Wales. 
 The whole area of our North American Provinces 
 alone is more than twice as great as that of all 
 France, which is 130,370,840 acres: but while 
 France has a population of 35,000,000 of people, 
 these Provinces have only an united population of 
 2,000,000, by the largest computation that can be 
 
 made. ^ 
 
 As we have seen that there is here land enough 
 and to spare— for of the whole of this vast area 
 there are not more than 30,000.000 of acres granted, 
 and of these not more than 5,000,000 cultivated 
 let us next see whether we have labour to apply to 
 
‘142 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 its cultivation. On this head, few proofs will be 
 required, si.nce the general notoriety of the fact ren- 
 ders these unnecessary. While Ireland pours forth 
 her tens of thousands of emigrants every year to the 
 United States and to these Provinces, — while Scot- 
 land sends her hardy sons to the remotest regions of 
 the globe in search of the means of existence,— and 
 while England has her union work-houses filled with 
 unemployed labourers, agricultural as well as manu- 
 facturing, and her poor’s-rates and population each 
 increasing yearly at a fearful rate,— no one can doubt 
 of there being an abundance of labour to be had, in 
 almost any quantity in which it may be required.* 
 
 Of sktll to direct that labour advantageously 
 there has hitherto been a lamentable deficiency in 
 most of our Colonies j because the business of Emi- 
 gration not being undertaken or directed by the 
 Government, but carried on by mercantile companies 
 or private individuals on their own account, few be- 
 
 sides the poor and destitute, who could not obtain 
 subsistence in their own country, have turned their 
 thoughts to Emigration as a remedy for the ills 
 under which they laboured. The poor, and persons 
 ot broken-down fortune and reckless character, have 
 formed hitherto too large a proportion of the num- 
 bers going out as settlers to our Colonies : so that 
 the “exile,” as it is called, is looked upon with feel- 
 ings o t e greatest distaste and reluctance by most 
 pel sons , and by some, indeed, is closely associated 
 ^nlh either misfortune or crime. But if more power- 
 ful mducamnts were offered, sufficient to tempt a 
 new and better class of emigrants to leave their 
 native home, there would be no more difficulty in 
 
 J 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 443 
 
 obtaining the highest amount of skill in every depart- 
 ment of agriculture, mining, and trade, to supply the 
 Colonies, than in procuring the requisite amount of 
 labour, to be directed by these, for the develope- 
 ment of our Colonial resources, and the enrichment 
 of all engaged in the increase of the national 
 wealth. 
 
 The last element in the catalogue of requisite 
 materials for the great work of making the Colonies 
 of England available to the mother-country, is the 
 possession of the means of conveying the requisite 
 amount of labour and skill to the spots where they 
 would be required, and the capital to sustain such 
 as might need that aid, until the first realization of 
 the profits of their own industry should enable them 
 to sustain themselves. With both of these, happily, 
 England is as amply provided as any nation on the 
 earth. The number of her ships of war now lying 
 idle in the harbours and docks of Portsmouth, Ply- 
 mouth, Deptford, Woolwich, and Sheerness, the 
 Medway and the Thames,— are of themselves suffi- 
 cient, if put into commission, to convey a million of 
 emigrants every year to the shores of our North 
 American provinces ; — and the funds of the public 
 treasury could he as easily applied to such pacific 
 and useful expeditions, as to the equipment of hos- 
 tile fleets for the war with China— the transport of 
 troops from Bengal and Madras for Canton and 
 Chusan — or those of Bombay for the Indus and the 
 war in AfTghanistan. All the materials are in the 
 hands of the British Government; and the only 
 thing that is wanting is the moral courage to use 
 them aright. 
 
444 . 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 No one will deny that the 100,000,000 of acres 
 of ungranted, unappropriated, and untilled land in 
 our North American Provinces, are perfectly worth- 
 less to both government and people, till brought 
 under a state of tillage ; while the maintenance of 
 our Colonial forces and dominion, is a matter of 
 heavy cost and burden to the mother-country ; be- 
 cause there is not yet a resident population suffi- 
 ciently numerous, or sufficiently wealthy, to be taxed 
 for its support. To bring these acres into cultivation, 
 therefore, and to fill the country with an industrious 
 and productive population, would add to the wealth 
 of the Colony, and enable it to aid the mother- 
 country in relieving it of some of its heaviest bur- 
 dens, besides giving it the power of paying its own 
 expenses out of its own resources. 
 
 No one can deny that a redundant population, 
 
 beyond the means of profitable employment, — exists 
 in England at the present moment, and is likely to 
 become, every year, a source of greater expense to 
 the mother-country, in the increased burden of poor- 
 rates, and the exercise of public and private charity, 
 amounting in the whole to 10,000,000/. sterling at 
 least, which this necessarily involves, — as well as of 
 great suffering, from hunger, nakedness, and disease, 
 engendered by want — with great deterioration of 
 morals, in the ignorance and crime unavoidablv 
 resulting from such destitution as this. And yet, 
 such a population, with skill to direct its labours, 
 put to work on the uncleared forests, unopened mines, 
 and untilled lands of the Colonies, would produce 
 wealth from these, sufficient to place them all in a 
 state of almost immediate competency, and, ulti- 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 445 
 
 mately, of opulence. All that is wanted, indeed, is, 
 that the governing power in England should exert 
 its influence and authority to bring these elements 
 together. The flint and the steel will never yield 
 fire, while each is kept apart from the other. Bring 
 them into contact, and the spark is elicited which 
 
 produces a flame. i. he untilled acres, and the un- 
 employed hands, will never produce wealth while 
 they remain apart. Bring them into contact, and 
 the production of riches will he the inevitable result. 
 
 This can never happen, however, while the 
 Government demands a price for the land, which the 
 poor can never pay ; and while the passage across 
 the ocean, and the expenses of reaching the terri- 
 tories in question, present an insuperable harrier to 
 thousands of families who could never raise the 
 means of defraying the cost. The painful associa- 
 tions hitherto connected with exile to the Colonies, 
 owing to the poverty of the class generally going out, 
 as their last forlorn-hope of sustaining existence— as 
 well as from the privations to which these are sub- 
 iected on their first settlement in the woods,— from 
 the scarcity of good society, and the means of educa- 
 tion and intellectual pleasures,— all these have pre- 
 vented persons in the higher and middle ranks of 
 life from entertaining the thought of emigration o 
 the North American Colonies ; and without some 
 new and powerful inducement, this indisposition on 
 their parts to leave their native home will still 
 continue. And yet. painful aa is the pressure of 
 population on the moans of subsistence among the 
 labouring classes of England, it is quite as painful 
 (though not so publicly proclaimed) among the mid- 
 
4<i6 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 die ranks. There is scarcely a family with an income 
 below a thousand a year, which does not feel the 
 difficulty of providing for its younger members.. The 
 navy and army are almost closed, and the world may 
 rejoice when they shall be entirely so, — the liberal 
 professions are all overstocked, — and every branch 
 of human pursuit in England is so crowded with 
 new competitors, increasing too every year, that 
 many pine in hopeless despair of even attaining to 
 anything beyond a bare and monotonous existence. 
 
 For all these, our Colonies afford ample room ; 
 and it needs but the fostering hand of the British 
 government so to change the position of millions, 
 now without hope, as to convert their present suffering 
 into immediate enjoyment, and their despair of the 
 future into well-founded expectations of substantial 
 happiness. 
 
 The following are the outlines of the principles 
 on which such a relief might be founded ; and the 
 details by which it might he worked out. 
 
 1st. The whole of the unappropriated lands in 
 the Colonies, called Crown lands, being the property 
 of the British nation, the Legislature of the Mother 
 Country has the undoubted right to regulate the dis- 
 posal of them by the Colonial Governments, in any 
 manner in which, by an act framed for that purpose, 
 they may think fit to prescribe — regarding, as the 
 basis of such act, the present exigencies of the British 
 population, and the importance of their well-being to 
 the general national welfare. 
 
 2d. An act might therefore be passed, authorizing 
 tne free gift of certain fixed and defined portions of 
 such lands, to families, or individuals applying for 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 44.7 
 
 them, on certain conditions to be prescribed — not at 
 the discretion of any governor, or other public autho- 
 rity — but by a law and regulation, bearing equally 
 upon all, and free from the possibility of any favour 
 or preference to any. 
 
 3rd. In order to ensure the best practicable 
 guarantee for the due fulfilment of the conditions on 
 which such free gifts should be made, the power of 
 the Government to resume possession of all lands 
 forfeited by non-performance of the requisite condi- 
 tions, and the power of re-granting them to others. 
 
 should form a part of such act. 
 
 4th. The Jree conveyance to the Colonies of all 
 applicants for land, under certain fixed regulations 
 also, should be provided for by the same law ; and the 
 Government be authorized to employ the requisite 
 number of ships, as well as to make such grants of 
 money, as might be voted in the estimates of the 
 year, for that purpose. 
 
 As an example of the conditions that might 
 accompany such grants of land, I will present my 
 own idea of a Plan ; though this, being matter of 
 detail, might, of course, be modified in any way that 
 might be thought necessary. 
 
 To every single or unmarried man, might be made 
 a grant of 20 acres to a man and wife without 
 children, 50 acres ; -to a family with one or more 
 children, 100 acres. The privilege of choice as to 
 locality, to be allowed to the applicants m the order 
 of their dates of application ; the only restriction being, 
 that the land must be previously unappropriated to 
 any other individuals. The coudilions to be annexed 
 should be: 1st. that unless a certain portion of the 
 
44-8 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 grants were brought into pasture or tillage within 
 three years after they were appropriated, they might 
 he resumed, and the parties deprived of all right or 
 title to them for ever ; — 2nd. that if a dwelling-house 
 and farming-establishment were not erected and com- 
 pleted within Jive years, the resumption might also 
 take place ; — and 3rd. that the full and irrevocable 
 title to the actual possession in fee simple, with power 
 to sell, devise, or alienate the land so granted, should 
 not be completed until seven years of consecutive 
 and continuous occupation and cultivation of the 
 same should have taken place. 
 
 It may be urged that this would be giving away 
 the national domain, and cutting oflF a future source 
 of great gain. It would, indeed, be giving away that 
 which is at present of no use ; but by bringing it 
 into productive cultivation, and enriching the families 
 living on it, such an appropriation of the public 
 lands would make them far more productive to the 
 nation in twenty years of time, than they would be 
 likely to become, in the present mode of sale, in a 
 hundred ; besides giving immediate relief to every 
 parish in England, by a lightening of their poor’s 
 rates, and relieving also thousands, who, though not 
 paupers, are straitened in their circumstances, and 
 obliged to keep it secret, suffering upon the whole 
 as much in mind as others do in body, and forming 
 a very large class of the British population. 
 
 If, in the first year in which such an act should 
 come into operation, a million of persons should be 
 conveyed, at the public expense, across the Atlantic, 
 the savings in the poor-rates and private charity 
 alone throughout the kingdom, would more than pay 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 4t9 
 
 the cost ; for the ships being the property of the 
 nation, and the seamen and officers already in its 
 pay, the expense would be trifling, compared with 
 the object, certainly not 5,000,000/. : and thus, sup- 
 posing 10,000,000/. to be saved to the country by 
 this relief, (for this sum at least is expended at 
 present, in sustaining, in one shape or another, the 
 surplus unemployed population of the mother coun- 
 try, who are able and willing to get their own living, 
 if employment could be provided for them, indepen- 
 dently of the old and infirm, who would then be the 
 only claimants of parish support,) a fund would 
 remain, out of which might be provided all the 
 necessary implements of husbandry, seed, and cattle, 
 for the first settlement. These being collected in 
 depots in each province, might be supplied to indi- 
 vidual settlers, at a year’s credit, payable on the spot; 
 with power to distrain if not punctually discharged, 
 or to defer for another year, if special circumstances 
 warranted such an indulgence ; so that the actual 
 outlay of the Government, in capital, might be fully 
 saved to the country, in diminished poor-rates and 
 charitable contributions ; and all the supply of imple- 
 ments, cattle, and seed for first stocking farms, be 
 reimbursed in two or three years at the farthest. 
 
 Should a million of emigrants go out on this plan 
 
 and the number might be limited to this for the 
 
 first year, if thought desirable— they would require, 
 on their reaching their place of destination, all the 
 aids which are needed in this country, in the shape 
 of carpenters, bricklayers, wheelwrights, smiths, 
 painters, glaziers, plumbers, printers, teachers, 
 ministers, medical men, and others, essential to e\ery 
 
 2 G 
 
4.50 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 numerous community : — and as such persons might 
 either themselves occupy grants of land, and turn 
 their knowledge of their several arts or professions 
 to profitable account, in such intervals of time as 
 agricultural labours allowed, or give themselves up 
 wholly to their respective branches of trade, they 
 would find ample reward, in payment by produce, 
 which takes place in every new country, and at the 
 same time relieve the pressure of all the respective 
 trades and professions to which they belong at home, 
 by their removal to another sphere of competition. 
 
 The very fact, however, of a Colony filling up 
 like this — with all grades and classes of society, so 
 mingled as to form a respectable and intelligent 
 community at once, instead of, as at present, com- 
 posed almost wholly of the helpless poor— would lead 
 richer capitalists to turn their attention to the same 
 region, as purchasers of land, as miners, or as 
 merchants. To such persons, the Government 
 might he empowered to sell tracts of not less than 
 500 nor more than 1 ,000 acres each, at the price 
 which public competition might establish ; with a 
 reservation of the power of resuming possession of all 
 such lands of which a certain portion was not brouo-ht 
 into pasture or cultivation within seven years from 
 the first purchase, and of refusing any further addi- 
 tion to such sales, until the first purchase should be 
 brought into a state of improvement : no such pur- 
 chases to be rendered irrevocable until seven succes- 
 sive and continuous years of actual residence and 
 occupation had elapsed, and then the title to be 
 granted in fee simple, and registered in the provincial 
 courts, with power to sell, devise, or alienate, as usual. 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 451 
 
 These restrictions, as to quantity and occupation, 
 would be necessary to prevent the great abuse that 
 has taken place in all our Colonies, in granting mil- 
 lions of acres to land-companies and adventurers, 
 who have suffered their immense possessions to lie 
 untilled and unpeopled, and yet made large sums by 
 selling off portions of their vast grants at compara- 
 tively extravagant prices. 
 
 There is another point of view, however, in which 
 this transfer of a million of people from England to 
 our North American Colonies may be regarded, and 
 it is this : — while they remain in England, they can- 
 not be otherwise than a burden to themselves and to 
 the community, non-producing, and non-consuming, 
 except at the expense of others, who, in one shape 
 or another, have to bear the burden of their mainte- 
 nance. But, on the soil of these provinces, this 
 million of people would become at once producers of 
 grain, cattle, and various other articles of food far 
 beyond their own power to consume ; and these they 
 would most willingly exchange for every article of 
 British manufactures, which habit had rendered 
 necessary or agreeable to them ; and for which they 
 would now have the means of paying, in the very 
 description of produce which the manufacturing 
 population of England most require. There would 
 not be a single individual out of all the million going 
 out, who would not become a speedy customer to 
 Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, and Rochdale, for wool- 
 lens and flannels ; to Manchester, Bolton, Oldham, 
 and Stockport, for printed and plain calicoes and 
 fustians ; to Derby, Coventry, and Macclesfield, foi 
 silks and ribbons ; to Nottingham and Leicestei foi 
 
 2 G 2 
 
452 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 hats, hosiery, and lace ; to Northampton for boots 
 and shoes ; to Norwich and Exeter for serges and 
 stuffs ; to Birmingham and Wolverhampton for iron- 
 mongery of every kind ; to Sheffield for axes, edge- 
 tools, and cutlery ; to Staffordshire for china, 
 earthenware, and glass ; to Belfast and Dundee for 
 linen ; to Glasgow and Paisley for cotton and w’ool- 
 len goods ; and to London for books, stationery, 
 plate, jewelry, and a variety of other articles, which, 
 as British settlers, they would not consent to do 
 without, beyond the period in which they could pay 
 for them ; and that period would begin after their 
 first or second crop of corn had been raised, and 
 the first produce of their herds and flocks had been 
 realized. 
 
 The multiplied blessings of such a state of things 
 as this, to England and to the Colonies, as contrasted 
 with the sufferings of the redundant population of 
 the one country, and the dormant capacity for wealth 
 lying wholly unimproved in the other, must strike 
 the most unreflecting mind. And as we have incurred 
 a debt of eight hundred millions sterling, in a con- 
 tinued series of unjust, extravagant, and wasteful 
 wars, to adjust the balance of power, and keep the 
 due proportions of strength — or ability to do mis., 
 chief— between the several tigers of the human race, 
 from Frederick to Napoleon, — it would now be wise 
 to devote some of our time, attention, and wealth, 
 to an attempt to adjust the balance of population , — 
 by preserving the due proportion between mouths to 
 be filled, and the means of supplying them with 
 food, — by taking from the limited space of our own 
 islands, the surplus number of people above our own 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 \53 
 
 power to employ advantageously, and conveying 
 them to those Provinces, where population will be 
 at once power and wealth ; while in England, the 
 excess, so to be disposed of, is at present a source of 
 feebleness and poverty. 
 
 It may be added, that this would be an easier task 
 than pouring our destroying armies into China and 
 Affghanistan. There, they were as unwelcome 
 visitors as an army of Chinese or Affghans would be 
 with us ; and as all robbers and plunderers, of what- 
 ever nation composed, always are. Here, however, 
 in the British Colonies, a fleet conveying an army 
 of emigrant settlers, embracing persons of several 
 grades, skilful directors as well as industrious labour- 
 ers, would be received with open arms ; illuminations 
 of joy would evince the pleasure with which they 
 would be hailed, and acclamations of welcome would 
 accompany them on their route. And why ? — 
 Because an increase of population, more especially of 
 the industrious, orderly, and productive classes, would 
 give increased value to every description of property 
 in the country ; and all the owners of such property 
 already settled in these Colonies would be benefited 
 by a corresponding augmentation in the value of their 
 estates and produce. Every, resident in each Pro- 
 vince would thus not only be better enabled, by this 
 rise in the value of his property, to provide for him- 
 self and his family, and accumulate wealth for them 
 all ; but the revenues of the country would also be 
 increased, whether they were raised by duties on 
 articles of manufacture or consumption imported 
 into the country, or by a property-tax assessed on the 
 realized capital, in lands, houses, mines, funds, &c, 
 
454 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 Instead of the Colonies being, as they now mostly 
 are, a heavy charge on the mother-country, from the 
 deficiency of their own revenues being made up by 
 grants from the Imperial Parliament, each Colony 
 would be enabled, not only to pay its own charges, 
 but have a constantly accumulating surplus fund, to 
 be expended in the making of roads, bridges, canals, 
 and other public works, establishing schools, hospi- 
 tals, and asylums, building Court-houses and places 
 of worship, improving the navigation of the rivers, 
 increasing the number of lighthouses on the coast, 
 and introducing, year after year, the many improve- 
 ments which every Colony must require, in the sup- 
 ply of its physical, moral, and intellectual wants, for 
 the happiness of its increasing population. 
 
 The principal objection, perhaps, that could be 
 urged to this plan of filling up our North American 
 Colonies in the way proposed, would be its tendency 
 to prepare the people too rapidly to assert their inde- 
 pendence, and throw oflf their connection w’ith 
 England. To this it may he replied, 1st, That the 
 ultimate independence of all our Colonies, of any 
 extent in size and population, is an event which no 
 human power can prevent j and which ought to be, 
 tlierefore, always anticipated and prepared for. 
 2dly. That when this event takes place, it is desirable 
 that it should he with the free will and consent of 
 both parties, and in a pacific and not hostile manner, 
 tldly. I hat it is likely to be accelerated, in point of 
 time, by any course of policy which the colonists 
 themselves shall deem unjust, and be therefore dis- 
 posed to resist , — as in the case of the United States 
 of /imerica ; and that it may be retarded and delavcd 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 455 
 
 by timely concessions to all reasonable wishes, and 
 granting to the colonists a full participation in all 
 the benefits enjoyed by the subjects of the mother- 
 country. Lastly. That whenever it may take place, 
 it can only be an evil to Great Britain, if effected by 
 violence, and in a spirit of determined hostility to the 
 parent race; but could not, if accomplished by 
 mutual consent, and in a friendly spirit, be productive 
 
 of any substantial disadvantage to either party. 
 
 At present, many thousands of the poorest class 
 of the British population leave the shores of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland, for the western world. Some 
 of these go to Canada, and others to the United 
 States. As the former presents no particular advan- 
 tage over the latter in a pecuniary point of view, 
 while the latter offers many temptations in the politi- 
 cal importance with which every citizen of the repub- 
 lic is there invested, thousands go to the United 
 States in preference. Many of these, never having 
 enjoyed the franchise or suffrage in their own country, 
 and attributing the poverty which compelled them to 
 leave it, to the misgovernment under which they 
 lived, they become more hostile in their feelings 
 towards Great Britain and her political institutions 
 than even the x\mericans themselves ; and assist 
 materially to foment and extend the worst spirit of 
 hatred and contempt towards England, and her 
 power and influence, which characterizes the great 
 mass of the lower classes of the American population. 
 
 Every individual of this large body of emigrants, 
 amounting to more than 100,000 yearly m^ht be 
 drawn to our own Colonies, and fixed there, by the plan 
 I have proposed ; and, then, instead of adding to the 
 
450 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 numbers of those who become hostile to England and 
 English interests, they would swell the population 
 most likely to be attached, as the great bulk of the 
 Canadians of British descent at present are, to the 
 name, honour, and welfare of the mother-country ; 
 because, in addition to the instinctive preference of 
 the nation and stock from whence we have sprung, 
 which is common to the people of all nations, there 
 would, in this case, be the additional tie of gratitude 
 for benefits conferred, and privileges enjoyed ; while 
 the continued communication with friends and rela- 
 tives at home, and the constant intercourse with 
 England, through the medium of books, newspapers, 
 and private correspondence, would serve to strengthen 
 and perpetuate the reciprocal feelings of pride, loyalty, 
 and affection for the father-land. 
 
 There are still some persons, though happily their 
 number is every year diminishing, who think a War 
 would have at least this benefit, that it would rid the 
 country of some of its surplus population by deaths ; 
 that it would give employment toothers in the equip- 
 ments of fleets and armies ^ and that it would revive 
 many branches of trade, by causing a demand for the 
 various articles required by the commissariat of large 
 expeditions. 
 
 The plan of Colonization here proposed would have 
 all these advantages of War, except the first, (if that 
 indeed could ever be considered one at all;) and if 
 it should be deemed necessary to keep up old names 
 and old forms, for the sake of supporting what is 
 called the “national dignity let this be considered 
 to be a War-— not against France, or Russia, or 
 America it is true, but a war against Poverty, 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 457 
 
 Disease, and Crime, three enemies more important 
 to be subdued than any with which we have to con- 
 tend, because they are always with us, and always 
 draining our resources, and destroying our prosperity. 
 Let there be a “ Royal Proclamation,” if it be neces- 
 sary to “ maintain the privileges of the Crown ; ” 
 and let the Queen issue her “Declaration of War” 
 against these three great enemies of her realm and 
 subjects. 
 
 Let the Admiralty be all in motion, to put into 
 commission every unemployed ship of war ; let half- 
 pay officers be summoned from their retirement to 
 enter into active service ; let men be recruited and 
 enlisted at all the outports of the kingdom ; and let 
 the Government stores of materials and provisions, 
 in all the dock-yards and arsenals of the coast, be 
 collected and increased for the use of this Pacific 
 Expedition. 
 
 In lieu of cannon, mortars, bombs, shells, and 
 rockets, let the iron-foundries be employed in making 
 plough-shares, hoes, spades, and other agricultural 
 implements : instead of muskets, lances, and bayo- 
 nets, let the workshops of England be employed in 
 producing scythes, pruning knives, and reaping 
 hooks. No war-horses for cavalry, gunpowder for 
 artillery, or rum and brandy for sappers and miners, 
 or infantry, would be required. In place of these, 
 cattle for farm-stock, seed for sowing, and wholesome 
 food and drink for all classes, might be laid in, at 
 half the cost ; and quite as much activity infused 
 into the various channels of labour from which these 
 supplies would be required, as any war with France, 
 Russia, or America, could produce ; with this great 
 
458 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 advantage, that all the capital thus expended, instead 
 of being lost and wasted, as it is in War, without an 
 equivalent benefit, would be here productive of future 
 wealth, more than sufficient to repay all the first 
 outlay. 
 
 Thus, indeed, might we fulfil the first command 
 of the Deity to his creatures, to “increase and multi- 
 ply, and replenish the earth,” and realize the pro- 
 phecy, “that men should turn their swords into 
 plough-shares, their spears into reaping hooks ; that 
 every man should sit under his own vine and under 
 his own fig-tree, with none to make him afraid : and 
 that nations should not learn war any more.” 
 
 iSuch an Expedition as this, would be the most 
 
 glorious that ever sailed from the shores of Europe, 
 
 undertaken with purer and more generous motives, 
 and devoted to higher and nobler ends, than those of 
 Da Gama or Columbus, of Drake or Anson, of 
 Nelson or of Napier ; and far more worthy than all 
 these, of a nation professing to believe and follow 
 that Gospel, which proclaims “ Peace on earth, and 
 good will towards men.” 
 
 Let us hope, therefore, that it may be the fortu- 
 nate lot of some individual, high in the councils of 
 the nation, to suggest this mode of National Relief 
 to our young and innocent Queen ; and that the 
 attribute of benevolence, which so becomes a female 
 crown, may he brought into such activh operation as 
 to lead to the serious adoption and practical execu- 
 tion of a plan, by which millions may he saved from 
 a premature death,— and the condition of millions 
 t at survive be changed fi-om poverty and wretched- 
 ness to competence and ease ; the national wealth 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 459 
 
 augmented, national industry employed, and national 
 glory, of the truest and most enduring kind, be 
 established on the firmest foundations bn which 
 earthly dominion can repose. 
 
 P. S. — Since this chapter was originally written, 
 the circumstances of the country have grown so much 
 more embarrassed, from want of employment, and 
 from declining trade, that what seemed most urgent 
 when I was in the heart of New Brunswick in 1840, 
 appears to me still more imperative, now that I am 
 in England in 1843. And that others are begin- 
 ning to be of the same opinion may be inferred from 
 the fact, that while these sheets are passing through 
 the press, a memorial is preparing by the merchants 
 and bankers of the City of London, praying the 
 Government to consider some Plan of Colonization, 
 to be undertaken at the national cost, for the relief 
 of our surplus and suffering population ; while a 
 member of the House of Commons, Mr. Charles 
 Duller, has given notice of his intention to move an 
 Address to the Crown, praying her Majesty to take 
 this subject into her gracious consideration. Free 
 Trade and extensive Colonization can alone, indeed, 
 save England from impending ruin. Both are im- 
 portant, and both ought to be adopted ; but, as is 
 the case with most remedies, the more speedily these 
 are applied, the more effective will they be; while 
 the longer they are delayed, the more difficult it 
 will become to carry them into execution. 
 
 In my last work on the “ Eastern and Western 
 States of America,” vol. ii. p. 8, published at the 
 
460 
 
 NDW PLAN OF 
 
 close of the last year, this subject of extensive Emi- 
 gration from Europe to America was advertcd'to ; 
 and a Plan was pointed out by which the nations of 
 the Old World might relieve themselves of their 
 surplus population, and at the same time hasten the 
 developement of the resources of the New. To that 
 proposition the objection raised, was, that it was 
 not the interests of the monarchies of Europe to 
 strengthen or enrich the republics of America ; and 
 that their co-operation could not be ensured to assist 
 m such a work, even though it would procure an 
 outlet for their own population, and give their 
 respective countries considerable relief. 
 
 1 o the present Plan no such objections can applv. 
 It must be the interest of Great Britain to people* 
 plant, and enrich her own Colonies ; and she needs 
 not the sanction or assistance of any other nation to 
 relieve the pressure on her own population by such 
 a mode as this ; so that no obstacle presents itself to 
 Its immediate accomplishment, beyond that of the 
 difficulty of transferring to the Legislature and the 
 liulers of the country, the impress of the public 
 feeling and the public will. The agency of th'e press, 
 ot petitions, memorials, addresses, and resolutions, 
 will, however, soon effect this ; while the exigencies 
 of the times, increasing every day, nay, every hour. 
 Will greatly accelerate it. 
 
 I may add, that since the manuscript of this work 
 was sent to the press, I have read, with great in- 
 terest and delight, the two admirable volumes of 
 Mr. Charles Fellows, descriptive of his Tours in 
 Asia Minor, and his Discoveries in Lvcia more 
 1 rticularly ; and I could not help asking myself 
 
NATIONAL C( )LONIZ ATION. 
 
 4.G1 
 
 repeatedly, while passing over their pages, why the 
 Colonies of the British nation, should not be made 
 to be as great and flourishing as those of the ancient 
 Greeks? There, in a single Province, Lycia, — embra- 
 cing little more than a degree in latitude and longi- 
 tude, or not more than 2,000,000 of acres, smaller 
 than the smallest of the British Provinces of North 
 America, with a large portion of even this limited 
 area occupied by rocky mountains and craggy and 
 inaccessible cliffs, without a single large navigable 
 river or lake, and with no greater fertility than many 
 parts of Upper Canada present — were no less than 
 thirty-six cities, in the time of Herodotus; while 
 over the 200,000,000 of acres in our Western Pro- 
 vinces, we could not present, in the united public 
 works and edifices, all put together, so much of 
 architectural beauty, cost, and grandeur, as some 
 single one of these cities of Asia Minor possesses, even 
 now, in such of their remains as have come down to 
 us after 2,000 years or more of time ! What Colo- 
 nies of ours even the oldest and the richest the 
 
 East Indies, or the West Indies, each owning the 
 sway of Britain for 200 years at least,— can show, in 
 all their united works, such edifices as those of 
 Xanthus, Aphrodisias, Mylasa, Stratoniceia, Ca- 
 lynda, Cadyanda, Tlos, Pinara, Sidyma, Patara, 
 Phellus, Myra, Arycanda,— all within the little Pro- 
 vince of Lvcia only ? while the other provinces of 
 Asia Minor, spreading over an area of less than 
 half that occupied by our Western Colonies, is filled 
 with remains of ancient art and magnificence in 
 
 every part. 
 
 And yet these were 
 
 all Grecian Colonies, having 
 
4G2 
 
 NEW PLAN OF 
 
 no other sources of wealth than their soil and its 
 productions, and free commercial intercourse with 
 their mother-country and surrounding nations. Out 
 of that soil, and through this commerce, they raised 
 all the wealth which enabled them to build the cities 
 and erect the monuments, which we value so highly, 
 that we fit out ships of war, and send costly expedi- 
 tions to bring home their dilapidated inscriptions 
 and rifled tombs.* 
 
 Even in the little region of the Decapolis, east 
 of the river Jordan, beyond Palestine, throuoh 
 which I travelled in 1815-a small Roman Colony 
 of much less extent than Lycia — the ten cities that 
 gave name to the Province, contained more of 
 architectural magnificence than all our Transatlantic 
 possessions put together j while works of utility as 
 well as of ornament abounded, in roads, bridges, 
 aqueducts, and reservoirs, to promote intercourse 
 and facilitate cultivation ; and the temples, theatres. 
 
 The French expended nearly £100,000 sterling to bring 
 home the single Obelisk of Luxor from Egypt, and set it up in 
 Uie public square at Paris; and the cost of the transport of the 
 Elgin Marbles, and other monuments of antiquity, purchased or 
 procured for the British Museum, would convey thousands of 
 families to our Colonies. Not but that art deserves a portion of 
 our attention and our wealth ; but the necessities of the starving 
 poor should now be our first consideration : and if we could 
 people and enrich our own Colonies, by agriculture and com- 
 merce, as the Greeks did theirs, we might then try to rival them 
 in budding Templ^ss, Palaces, and Tombs still more sumptuous 
 than theirs : and fill our Museums with the perfect chcf-d^ceuvres 
 
 tZ T ™l>erfect wreck and broken 
 
NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 
 
 463 
 
 hippodromes, amphitheatres, and naumaehia still 
 existing, even in that remote and comparatively 
 obscure province, might put to shame the directors 
 of the Colonial policy of England. 
 
 But it is not too late to follow these ancient 
 examples. Whatever Greek or Roman could accom- 
 plish in their Colonies or conquered Provinces, we can 
 do as well in ours, if we but put forth our energies to 
 effect it. Our soil and climate is as good, and our 
 agricultural and mineral wealth as great as that of 
 any of the dependencies of antiquity. We have a 
 knowledge of mineralogy, chemistry, and steam- 
 power, to which they were strangers. Our ships can 
 traverse the Atlantic more speedily and safely than 
 their frail barks and galleys could traverse the Medi- 
 terranean. Education is with us more easy than with 
 them, from the treasures and faculties which the art 
 of printing has accumulated for us. In architectui e, 
 sculpture, and painting, we have, like them, the means 
 of adorning Colonies, as well as planting them ; and 
 if, instead of filling up our distant settlements with 
 criminals, and those nearer to our coasts with pau- 
 pers, we would take the pains to form Colonies like 
 those of the ancient Greeks, — each body of emigrants, 
 headed by some esteemed and honoured leader, re- 
 sponsible for their safety and prosperity, and resting 
 his fame as well as fortune on their success, accom- 
 panied by professors of every science and art, work- 
 men of every trade required, and competent skill to 
 teach and direct, as well as labour to learn and 
 execute, so that all the elements of a perfect commu- 
 nity might land on the same shores from the same 
 expedition if this were done, and it is quite as 
 
464 < 
 
 ST. JOHN. 
 
 practicable now as it was 2,000 years ago, there is 
 no reason why they should not build at once, cities 
 like Smyrna or Ephesus, like Telmessus or Olympus, 
 as on the sea-coast of Asia JVIinor i or proceeding 
 into the interior of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or 
 Canada, rear such cities as Sardis, Laodicea, Hiera- 
 polis, Thyatira, and Philadelphia, and others equally 
 beautiful in the mountains and valleys of the same 
 romantic i-egion. 
 
 The surrounding country would afford them all 
 abundant supplies of food ; their herds and flocks 
 would multiply ; their forests yield timber, and their 
 fields grain, for exportation as well as use ; and while 
 all the productive powers of agriculture, mining, and 
 commerce might be set in motion in the surroundino- 
 country and coast, the cities might become the sea't 
 of every art and science known ; and opulence, refine- 
 ment, and enjoyment would crown the labours of all. 
 It was so in these Greek Colonies of Asia Minor 
 and the Roman Colony of Decapolis ; and unless it 
 can be shown that the people of antiquitv had at 
 their command more land and more laboui^, greater 
 skill and greater capital, than we— which we know 
 not to have been the case— no reason can be assigned 
 why we should not equal them at least, and sui pass 
 them if possible, in the successful issue and brilliant 
 results of a well-considered and well-directed plan 
 oi JNational Colonization. 
 
CHAP. XXX. 
 
 Departure from Fredericton — Arrival at Woodstock — Crossing 
 the Boundary Line — Mars Hill — American Fort at Houlton — 
 Note on Lord Ashburton’s Treaty — Tariff — Corn Laws — 
 Reform Bill — Arrival at Bangor in Maine — Voyage to Port- 
 land — Beautiful View of Boston — Journey to Worcester, 
 Norwich, and New London — Arrival at New York. 
 
 On Saturday the 24th of October we left Fredericton 
 at 8 A. M., accompanied hy many friends to see us 
 off, in the stage-coach running between this and 
 Woodstock, the westernmost or frontier town to- 
 wards the American boundary. The weather was 
 bright and beautiful, and the appearance of the town 
 gay and sparkling, with its lofty and tin-capped 
 spires. The coach and its driver were more after 
 the American than the English fashion, and the 
 horses and harness were equally so. Warm and sunny 
 as the weather was at present, we were assured there 
 had been some years in which snow had fallen in 
 every month, though, generally speaking, here, as in 
 the United States, the summer begins in May, and 
 is very hot till August, while September and Octo- 
 ber are the most agreeable months in the year. 
 
 2 H 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 4f)6 
 
 Our road lay along the right bank of the river 
 St. John, the scenery of which was pretty, rather 
 than grand; the cultivation appeared everywhere 
 neat and clean. On the borders of the stream were 
 encamped some Indians, of the Meleseet tribe, who 
 are fast diminishing, and in a few years hence will, 
 no doubt, be extinct. 
 
 Twice in the course of our journey we crossed 
 the river St. John in ferryboats, which took over the 
 coach and horses without the necessity of the pas- 
 sengers alighting. The stream was in these parts 
 narrow, and the water shallow, hut in the spring of 
 the year, on the breaking up of the ice, and melting 
 of the snows, its channel is broad and deep. 
 
 We reached Woodstock at 7 a. m., having been 
 eleven hours in performing 65 miles ; and the fare 
 for each person being three dollars. No public con- 
 veyances went beyond this, towards the United 
 States, so that we were obliged to arrange for pro- 
 curing a private one, and learnt, to our great disap- 
 pointment, that no covered carriage of any description 
 was kept in the place, either for private use or for 
 hire, and that we must wait until the morning before 
 even an open one could be got ready. The inn was 
 so dirty, and the hostess so unaccommodating, that 
 we preferred sitting up rather- than going to bed ; 
 and the night being excessively cold, we had great 
 difficulty in procuring sufficient fire-wood to keep us 
 warm. We had met with nothing more disagreeable 
 than this in any of the back settlements of America, 
 and we hoped the time would soon come when more 
 settlers, and of a higher and better class, would be 
 pouted into this region, to fill it with those who 
 
WOODSTOCK. 
 
 4G7 
 
 would have means and taste to surround themselves 
 with greater comforts, and be able and willing to 
 furnish them to others. 
 
 On the morning of the 25th, we left Woodstock 
 at the early hour of 4 a. m., in an open waggon, 
 which was the only vehicle that could be obtained 
 in all the town, to take us across the American 
 Boundary line, into the first post of the United 
 States Government at Houlton. The air was bit- 
 terly cold, with sleet and snow, and it was pitch 
 dark. From the carelessness and indifference of the 
 driver, our luggage was so loosely packed, that one 
 of the trunks fell off on the road, and its loss was 
 not perceived till some time afterwards, so that we 
 had to retrace our steps a mile or more to recover 
 it, in which we fortunately succeeded ; though an 
 hour or two later it would have been buried in the 
 drift of the snow, already beginning to accumulate 
 around it on the road. 
 
 At daylight we arrived at the Boundary line, 
 which was here marked by a broad opening in the 
 primitive forest,— a sufficient number of trees having 
 been cut down to leave a road or track of 50 feet 
 in breadth, running due north from the monument 
 fixed by agreement of both parties at the head of the 
 St. Croix river to Mars’ Hill, a prominent and 
 isolated mountain, the position of which was also 
 fixed by mutual consent, as one of the points in the 
 Boundary line to be settled. Besides the central 
 opening occasioned by the removal of all the trees 
 for a breadth of 50 feet, the outer rows of trees im- 
 mediately fronting this space on either side, were 
 blazed or burnt, till nearly all their bark was de- 
 
 2 H 2 
 
468 
 
 AMERICAN FORT. 
 
 stroyed, so as to make the Boundary more defined • 
 and in the centre of the road, as we crossed this 
 opening, was a lofty pole, erected on the stump of a 
 large tree left for that purpose, to give still further 
 certainty to the line of demarkation and division 
 between the two territories. 
 
 The American fort and garrison of Houlton, is 
 only one mile west of the line ; while Woodstock is 
 at least twelve miles distant from it. On approaching 
 Houlton, on the ramparts of whose fort, the Ame° 
 rican flag was waving, we had a fine view of Mars 
 Hill, distant probably from ten to twelve miles. 
 Its elevation is about 2,000 feet ; and being isolated 
 and unconnected with any chain, it rises above all 
 the surrounding country, and may be seen in a clear 
 day at a distance of 60 or 70 miles. Its summit is 
 rounded, and it has a slight depression near its 
 centre, forming two protuberances from one base, 
 resembling Mount Tabor, in Palestine, in the 
 view of that eminence as you approach it from 
 Nazareth. 
 
 The village of Houlton, which we entered at sun- 
 rise, is very small, containing not more than fifty 
 dwellings, besides the barracks and storehouses con- 
 nected with these. Some American troops are con- 
 stantly stationed here; and those we saw, both 
 oflicers and men, resembled other portions of the 
 same body that we had seen at Detroit and else- 
 where. Their personal appearance, dress, and 
 carriage, is greatly inferior to that of English or 
 any other European troops, at least of the great 
 
 when under arms, it must be admitted, by all candid 
 
THE BOUNDARY LINE. 
 
 469 
 
 minds, that they are quite equal to those of any 
 nation in the world. 
 
 While crossing this Boundary line, and seeing 
 the vast tract of untrodden forest that lay in the 
 direction of where what is called “ The Disputed Ter- 
 ritory” lay, we could not but regret, that while each 
 of the contending nations had already millions of 
 acres more than they could people for a century 
 perhaps to come, they should dispute and quarrel 
 about what each party might readily cede to the 
 other, and never feel the loss. It would be a cheap 
 purchase of tranquillity and good feeling between the 
 two nations to give up the whole territory in dispute ; 
 but if this be thought to involve a point of honour, 
 surely the policy of mutual concession might be 
 tried ; and as it is plain that neither party are in a 
 condition to show that their claims are free from all 
 objections, or in perfect accordance with the language 
 of the treaty of 1783, the wisest plan would be to 
 appoint a special ambassador on either side, to meet 
 together with full powers to arrange a compromise 
 on the basis of mutual concession ; for there is 
 margin enough for both nations to give and take ; 
 and in this way alone can the question ever be satis- 
 factorily settled. A war for such an object would 
 be little short of insanity ; and at its close would 
 leave the question as unsettled as ever; besides 
 wasting the lives and property of both countries, 
 and entailing debts and obligations, and feelings of 
 rancour and hatred, which it would take years to 
 allay.* 
 
 * Since this was written, the question has been happily set at 
 rest, by the mission of Lord Ashburton ; and of this I feel assured. 
 
470 
 
 THE BOUND ART LINE. 
 
 G brG8.kfEstGcl at tlic liotcl of Houlton, Rnd 
 remarked that the painted canvass or oil-cloth, which 
 
 tJiat if he had been sent out by the Whig administration instead 
 of the Tory, we should have seen the leaders and the press of that 
 party eulogizing his wisdom and discretion, and congratulating 
 both countries on his success. As it is, however, though he has 
 succeeded in settling the Boundary line on as advantageous terms 
 to England, as any Whig ambassador could have hoped to do, he 
 is set-upon with a ferocity that is almost as ludicrous as it is 
 disgraceful. His treaty is called a “ capitulation,” and it is urged 
 against him, as a crime, by the liberal press and liberal orators 
 of England, that he spoke of Boston as “ the cradle of American 
 liberty,” as if this were a sentiment unbecoming a British peer 
 to entertain. The shades of Chatham, Burke, Fox, and Barre 
 should rise from their graves to reproach these degenerate Whigs! 
 vvho tliink an admiration of and sympathy with “ the cradle of 
 American liberty,” unbecoming a British statesman ! It were 
 more worthy of a descendant of Lord North or Lord Mansfield 
 to utter such a reproach ; but, from a professedly liberal press 
 and liberal leaders in Parliament, it is, to say the least, discredit- 
 able I remember nothing of party rancour or injustice in the 
 conduct of public men or public writers in America more flagrant 
 than this attempt to run down and decry the successful issue of 
 Lord Ashburton's mission, in securing a settled Boundary and 
 probable Peace for England. It should be added, to the honour 
 of the three Whig Governors of the North American Provinces- 
 Lord Falkland, Sir William Colebrooke, and Sir John Ilarvey- 
 that each of them, in their seyeral speeches with which they ope^d 
 
 Scotia, New Brunswick, and 
 subip f It, Pi^esent year, 1843, made this 
 llhls 1 settlement of the Boundary line, matter of the 
 
 ..ghest congratulation, as calculated to consolidate the peace of 
 
 g^'^atly to improve their commerce. Their 
 sheT reached us in the Provincial papers, while these 
 
 .tet. g.,„g II.. „d U i/gLiijing 
 
 by those who, being nearer to the scene than ourselves, 
 
HOULTON. 
 
 4.71 
 
 covered the table after the breakfast-cloth was 
 removed, contained this device and motto. In the 
 centre was the American Eagle, and around it were 
 these words — “ The firm friend of American industry, 
 Henry Clay. — The tariff, the whole tariff, and 
 nothing hut the tariff.” This was an evident 
 parody on the recent watchword of the English 
 reformers — “ The hill, the whole bill, and nothing 
 but the bill.” The reflecting portion of the com- 
 munity, in both countries, will one day think these 
 great national boasts equally worthless ; and both, it 
 is hoped, will before long he reformed. The Ame- 
 ricans have this excuse for their mistake, that they 
 use it as a retaliation on the English for their unjust 
 Corn Laws. But the English reformers were either 
 blind or hypocritical, in pretending that their measure 
 could effect its avowed object, when they suffered so 
 many obstacles and impediments to remain to the 
 free and independent exercise of the franchise in 
 those who before held it, as well as in those 
 to whom it was newly extended. Time, the great 
 rectifier, will, it is to be hoped, amend them 
 
 both. 
 
 We succeeded in procuring at Houlton, though a 
 
 are most likely to be keenly alive to its importance for good or 
 for ill ; and their contentment with the settlement that has been 
 made, may well assure us, that it is not the “ reckless capitulation" 
 which the Whig organs and Whig orators of England, m t e 
 blindness of party spirit, have endeavoured to make it appear. 
 
 While writing this note, it is some gratification to perceive, 
 that notices of motion have been given by Mr Hume and Lord 
 Brougham, for a vote of thanks to Lord Ashburton for tlm 
 manner in which he conducted the negotiations, and brought them 
 to a successful close. 
 
472 
 
 MAINE. 
 
 much smaller place than Woodstock, what we could 
 not obtam there, an excellent covered staoe-coach 
 with four homes; and engaging with the «ver u, 
 pay him 50 dollars, about 10/., (his own price) for 
 the journey to Bangor, 117 miles, we left Houlton at 
 Q A.M,, and proccoded on our wav T’Vio i 
 track ^y through a dense foresH-pinr Lran” 
 maple trees now in bright and gorgeL colours fr„m 
 hear decaying foliap. Log.hu£ of settlers I” 
 
 in he forest, and trees were in many places c„t ,^n 
 
 iTcrivt: 
 
 * th \ ^ road was unusually rouah throuffh 
 
 ahoutgi miles "■ from hene^ 
 
 -oTiirhoiTrv““ 
 
 fortune at* Woods! “k’; td £“Cfcr“' “T t 
 
 We tarn thT® T T?P“' " fc-iliarity. 
 
 th^h ^ f SO high here that 
 
 Itterorl t “ '>'» ‘h 
 ttd"'S’f:rft:rrd'r 
 
 the administration Ha ” f^^^^^ate opposed to 
 Brunswick tea ”; i ^ New 
 
 dinner as well a ii dinner, or rather at 
 
 almost all families usi^^irth ™oal, 
 
 supper, or four times a^day. 
 
 point where the station, we reached the 
 
 with those of the P joins its waters 
 
 the Penobscot ; and here also we 
 
BANGOR. 
 
 473 
 
 alighted, and had an excellent supper and a most agree- 
 able and obliging landlord. The houses along this 
 route appeared to us neater and cleaner than in many 
 of the more settled parts of the United States ; for 
 here the primitive forests were still standing, and our 
 road for the greater part of the way lay right through 
 them. 
 
 We left this station at 6 p.m., the weather growing 
 cloudy and dark, and at night the cold became in- 
 tense, with a heavy fall of snow. In the midst of 
 one of the violent gusts of wind which blew, our 
 coach was overturned, the first occasion of an upset 
 we had experienced in a journey of three years ; but 
 fortunately no one was seriously hurt, though the 
 entire scattering of the baggage in the road, and the 
 time and labour required to replace all, and raise 
 the coach, before we could resume our journey, w^as 
 a disagreeable interruption. 
 
 Soon after resuming our way, we passed the Falls 
 of the Penobscot river, by a closed bridge which here 
 traverses the stream, about 15 miles before entering 
 Bangor, and near to the Indian village called Old 
 Town, which is situated here. 
 
 It was five o'clock on the morning of October 26, 
 when we reached Bangor ; and we had just time to 
 drive to the steamboat about to start for Portland, 
 when we embarked under a heavy fall of snow. We 
 soon found ourselves surrounded with all the usual 
 characteristics of an American party. A red-hot 
 stove stood in the centre of the gentlemen s cabin, 
 around which were congregated 50 or 60 passengers, 
 nearly all chewing tobacco, and soiling the. deck 
 in succession ^ and though it was nearly dark, the thin 
 
474 
 
 PENOBSCOT BAY. 
 
 wiry voices and drawling tones, so peculiar to the 
 New Englanders, were, enough to remove all doubt 
 as to our associates. 
 
 We left Bangor at 6 a.m., and passed down the 
 Penobscot river, which has bold rocky banks on either 
 side, like the river Kennebec. At the mouth of the 
 river, we saw the large port of Belfast, in which were 
 anchored a great many ships. Below this, the Bay 
 of Penobscot opens, and the town of Camden is seen, 
 with an island, on which were now the remains of a 
 wreck near it. 
 
 Farther down the Bay, and on the same side with 
 Belfast and Camden, we passed Thomas-Town, which 
 we reached at half-past one o’clock, this beino- 
 accounted half way between Bangor and Portland! 
 Here the wind shifted to the south, and brought us 
 a heavy rolling sea from the Atlantic ; but taking the 
 inner passage between the islands and the coast, the 
 efiect of the swell was greatly abated. These islands 
 are very numerous, and some of them are large, but 
 few are inhabited. They are highly useful as form- 
 ing a natural breakwater for the coast, and give 
 good shelter for fishing-boats employed here in the 
 season The coast all along is full of fine bays, 
 and fishing villages, and the lighthouses are numer- 
 ous and excellent. 
 
 At sunset it gathered up dark and thick, por- 
 tending a heavy south-west gale ; and as we had 
 some open sea to cross before we could reach Port- 
 and, many became alarmed for their safety. Indeed, 
 there were some periods in which the sea ran so high, 
 
 and Iffl ’■“IW so heavily, that the captain 
 
 and officers betrayed great anxiety, not to say fear. 
 
PORTLAND. 
 
 475 
 
 and all were most happy when we reached Portland 
 harbour near midnight. 
 
 Finding the steamer just on the point of leaving 
 for Boston, we were all speedily transferred to her, 
 though the removal of nearly a hundred passengers, 
 including many women and children, on a stormy 
 night, the confusion in selecting and identifying 
 baggage, and the horror of passing over narrow 
 planks between rolling vessels in pitchy darkness, 
 was a labour of some difficulty and little pleasure. 
 
 Soon after midnight, on the ^jy^h of October, we 
 left Portland, in the large and commodious steamer 
 of the same name; and in a short period after quitting 
 the harbour, the passengers, exceeding 150, were all 
 in bed, 200 separate berths being the extent of ac- 
 commodation furnished by this splendid vessel. The 
 wind shifted to the north-west, which, blowing off 
 the shore, gave us smooth water, but the air was 
 intensely cold. Soon after sunrise, we passed round 
 Cape Ann, which forms the eastern extremity of the 
 Bay of Boston, and observed here two excellent light- 
 houses on a small rocky island off the promontory, 
 near which are several other small islands also. 
 Nothing is more striking than the contrast between 
 the fewness of the lighthouses, from Quebec to Hali- 
 fax, and all through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and 
 their frequency and excellence here. Everything, 
 indeed, that conduces to the safety of navigation and 
 trade, is most liberally supplied by the American 
 government, in which it might serve as a pattern 
 worthy of imitation by much older countries than 
 itself. 
 
 Within the bay, just beyond Cape Ann, appeared 
 
47G 
 
 BAY OF BOSTON. 
 
 the flourishing little town of Gloucester ; and as 
 the sun rose bright, and the sky was cloudless, while 
 schooners and small-craft innumerable were entering 
 into or departing from the Bay, and ships of large 
 size were seen in the offlng, the moving picture was 
 animated and beautiful. The busy preparation of 
 150 passengers, who had all now left their beds for 
 breakfast, the washing, brushing, and combing, in 
 common— which is hardly to be avoided in so large a 
 number, since separate rooms for each would require 
 vessels of twice the present size— made the greater 
 number, however, indifferent to the beauty of the 
 scene, as the occupations of the breakfast-table 
 absorbed all their time and thoughts. The morning 
 meal was soon despatched, and by this time we were 
 just passing the Half-way-Rock, as it is called, 
 between Cape Ann and Boston, about 15 miles from 
 each. It is steep, lofty, and rugged ; and is crowned 
 with an excellent lighthouse. 
 
 Beyond this we had a fine view of Salem and 
 Marblehead, two of the sea-ports of New England ; 
 and the crowds of vessels coming out of their har- 
 bours, with the fair north-west wind, added to those 
 from Boston, literally covered the sea. We next 
 passed by the rocky promontory of Nahant, which is 
 the favourite sea-bathing place and summer retreat 
 ^ 1.1 ^ Bostonians in the dog-days, and a most agree- 
 able spot it is for such a purpose. Beyond it, the 
 snowy-white town of Lynn, celebrated for the extent 
 ot Its manufactures of ladies’ shoes, with which it sup- 
 p les a most every State in the Union, was spread out 
 on the plain. And now the entrance into the har- 
 or o oston increased in interest and beauty every 
 
CITY OF BOSTON. 
 
 477 
 
 mile as we advanced. The numerous islands that 
 stud the Bay, some with forts, others with country 
 mansions, some with hotels, and others with cottages 
 and gardens, give great variety to the scene ; while 
 the noble City, rising from the water, street over 
 street, and terrace over terrace, covering the sides of 
 the steep peninsular hill on which it stands, and 
 crowned by the majestic State House, with its beauti- 
 ful fagade nnd domes, make up a picture of such 
 varied beauty, as few marine cities can surpass. 
 
 We passed by the fine line-of-battle ship, Colum- 
 bus, of 80 guns, lying at anchor at the entrance of 
 the harbour, in full trim for sea ; and landed at Bos- 
 ton about eleven o’clock. This gave us a few hours 
 to visit some of our most intimate friends in the City, 
 and take leave of the principal families from whom we 
 had received attentions during our former stay here j 
 and after many affectionate greetings and warm 
 adieus, we left Boston at p.m., by the railroad for 
 Worcester, a beautiful inland city of Massachusetts, 
 described at length in my former volumes on Amer- 
 ica. We reached Worcester at half-past five ; and 
 from thence, passing through a thickly peopled manu- 
 facturing district, we reached Norwich, in Connec- 
 ticut at 9. This is a large and beautiful town, seated 
 on the river Thames, and is full of active and flou- 
 rishing manufactories and trading establishments. 
 
 From hence we proceeded down the river Thames 
 in a steamboat for New York. The banks of the 
 river were pretty, hut the stream was small. \Ye 
 made a short stay at New London, a smaller town 
 than Norwich, at the mouth of the river, but contain- 
 ing several large, as well as smaller vessels in its 
 
478 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 port; and launched from it at midnight out into Long 
 Island Sound, the name of that branch of the Atlan- 
 tic, which, lying between Long Island and the conti- 
 nent of America, makes the inner passage for most 
 of its coasting vessels bound to New York, 
 
 By sunrise, on the morning of the 28 th of October 
 we were up in the narrow part of this passage, leading 
 through the rocky strait, called Hell Gate by the 
 ancient mariners, from the whirlpools, eddies, rocks 
 and dangers with which it abounds, like the Scvlla 
 and Charybdis of the ancients, in the Straits of Mes- 
 sina; but now softened down into the less offensive, 
 but at the same time less expressive name of Hurl 
 Gate, which conveys no idea of its nature or charac- 
 ter, though It conforms to the example of the polished 
 preacher described, I think, by Cowper, who 
 
 “ never mentioned Hell to ears polite.” 
 
 buitw '*'■«« ‘teamship on the stocks, 
 
 building for the Emperor of Russia, and again en 
 
 jojingthegayand animating, as well as spLdidlv 
 wUhtJ N '’T *1° '>y ‘■’i® channel,-! 
 
 ith the Navy Yard, Brooklyn, the Battery, Cover- 
 
 "on on th? ’ r “7’ “agnilicLt Hud- 
 fr TngTn! o‘l>cr. 
 
 Ciw wi n • ® «n wliich stands the 
 
 bnUdinl „ r"T°“i' '■'urch-spires, its public 
 
 § ’ gigantic hotels, crowded thorouffhfares 
 
 at q A^M O 1 landed at the wharf 
 
 tin i f “>c Ante. 
 
 •he Broadly " Pa« »f 
 
CHAP. XXXI. 
 
 Intended Journey through Mexico, and Voyage by the Pacific 
 to China — Reasons for the abandonment of this part of our 
 Expedition — Liberal remuneration of literary labours in Ame- 
 rica — Unfortunate investments in American Stocks — Bank- 
 ruptcy of them all — and consequent total loss — Return to 
 England in the Steam-ship President — Considerations as to the 
 probable cause of her subsequent wreck — Conclusion. 
 
 When we left England, in August, 1837, it was my 
 intention to devote three years to our Travels 
 through the United States of America and the 
 British Provinces, one year to a Journey through 
 Mexico, and one year to a Voyage from some port 
 near the Isthmus of Darien, either Panama or San 
 Bias, to the Sandwich Islands, and on to China, 
 visiting as many portions of that country as might 
 be accessible. From thence we proposed to proceed 
 to Calcutta, and ascending the Ganges, to have gone 
 up as high in the interior as Delhi, crossing from 
 thence by land to Bombay, and returning to Eng- 
 land, by the Red Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, 
 all of which might have been easily accomplished in 
 the space of the five years which we had allotted to 
 the undertaking. 
 
 We had been fortunately spared to accomplish the 
 two first objects of our expedition, having visited 
 
480 
 
 MEXICO AND CHINA. 
 
 the Northern, the Southern, the Eastern, and the 
 Western States of America, from the Bay of Fundv 
 to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the borders of the 
 Atlantic to beyond the Mississippi, as well as the 
 British Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New 
 Brunswick, from the Island of Mackinaw, near the 
 entrance of Lake Superior, to the Boundary Line 
 which separates New Brunswick from Maine. But 
 all our hopes of visiting Mexico and China were 
 crushed, by circumstances which had arisen since 
 our departure from home, and which were not then 
 anticipated. In Mexico, the war between the Mexi- 
 cans and Texans, and the civil commotions between 
 the different aspirants to power among the Mexicans 
 themselves, made it impossible to travel through 
 that country with any safety. Robberies and mur- 
 ders were events of almost every-day occurrence j 
 and neither life nor property were respected. At 
 the same time, China, which when we left England 
 was beginning to be more accessible to Europeans 
 than at any period within the last hundred years, 
 was now entirely closed to the English, from the 
 disgraceful war arising out of the seizure of contra- 
 band opium, brought in, in defiance of all laws and 
 edicts, by English smugglers, encouraged by the East 
 India Company, who grew and furnished the poison- 
 ous drug, and countenanced by the Queen’s repre- 
 sentative as a lawful and honest trade ! As affairs 
 in both these countries were likely to get more 
 embroiled, before they would be tranquillized, we 
 were compelled with great reluctance to forego our 
 
 purposed visit to both, and think of returnino' to 
 England. ® 
 
GOOD AND ILL lORTUNE. 
 
 481 
 
 Another circumstance which rendered this addi- 
 tionally necessary, was a misfortune that we had little 
 expected. During our Tour through the United 
 States of America, the delivery of my Lectures had 
 been sufficiently rewarded, by the large audiences 
 that attended them, to enable me to defray all our 
 travelling and other expenses ; and to put by, at the 
 close of each year, a clear surplus of 1,000^. sterling; 
 the public spirit and munificence with which literary 
 labours of this description are remunerated in Ame- 
 rica being such, that I received, from the Young 
 Men’s Literary Society of Boston, an engagement on 
 their own invitation and offer of 2,500 dollars, or 500/. 
 sterling, for a single Course of Lectures on Egypt 
 and Palestine, and their receipts more than covered 
 the outlay ; — while at New York, Philadelphia, and 
 Charleston, the returns were on a still higher scale. 
 I had considered myself, therefore, most fortunate, 
 in the pecuniary result of my visit to the United 
 States, when the surplus sum of 8,000/. sterling, 
 earned by my literary labours alone, were safely 
 invested, as we supposed, in the stocks and funds of 
 the country, there to remain only till our embarka- 
 tion for Mexico, or our return to England, when 
 we purposed withdrawing them for remittance home. 
 For the sake of lessening the risk of loss, we had, 
 prudently as we then thought, divided the amount into 
 three portions of 1 ,000/. each ; determined to invest 
 them in three different descriptions of stock, and in 
 three different cities. Accordingly, 1,000/. was invested 
 in the Bonds of the Morris Canal Company in New 
 York ; 1,000/. in the Life and Trust Company of Balti- 
 more; and 1,000/. in the United States Bank of Phila- 
 
 2i 
 
482 
 
 HEAVY FINANCIAL LOSSES. 
 
 delphia, all then paying interest regularly in England 
 at the rates of 6, 7, and 8 per cent, and all in°such 
 reputation for stability, as to be at a high premium 
 in the market. On our reaching New York we 
 found that all three of these undertakings were 
 bankrupt ! and the stock of each not only paying no 
 interest, hut absolutely unsaleable, except at such a 
 ruinous depression as induced the ready adoption of 
 the advice of the best informed and most disinte- 
 rested, to hold on a little longer in the hope of a 
 revival. 1 his hope, however, grew more and more 
 faint, as time unfolded more and more of the reck- 
 lessness and dishonesty, by which these concerns 
 had become insolvent ; and thus the laboriously 
 acquired earnings of the three years, on which we 
 had counted for a welcome little resource for the 
 period when age and declining powers would make 
 labour less agreeable as well as less productive, were 
 all swept away at the same moment ! 
 
 My losses in India, occasioned by the oppressive 
 conduct of the East India Company’s Government, 
 and the wanton destruction of all my property in 
 that country, as well as the disappointed hopes of 
 redress, first raised by the Whig Administration of 
 England, in the Resolutions passed by them in the 
 House of Commons, declaring me to be entitled to 
 Compensation, and their subsequently shrinking 
 rom the fulfilment of their pledges, when they had 
 the power in their own hands to redeem them, were 
 
 heavier ^ 
 
 H,e„ "" I 
 
 health ^“*1 more buoyant with 
 
 > rength, and energy ; while there was yet 
 
DEPARTURE FOR NEW YORK. 
 
 483 
 
 time before me, in which to hope at least for its 
 recovery. But this loss, though so much smaller 
 in amount, seemed the more depressing, because 
 approaching age lessened the probability of a recur- 
 rence of any chances to redeem it ; and because it 
 rendered impracticable, that part of our expedition, 
 for which a portion at least of these resources would 
 have been so useful. 
 
 Having determined, therefore, on our return to 
 England, we engaged our passage in the ill-fated 
 steamship. President, Captain Keane ; and left the 
 harbour of New York in her, with about 90 other pas- 
 sengers, on the 3rd of November. Our voyage was 
 unusually stormy, after the first day’s run, with a 
 heavy gale from the eastward ; and the engines of the 
 vessel were so deficient in power, as compared with 
 her great size — her burden being 2,400 tons, and her 
 power 850 horse only — (while the Cunard line of 
 steamers, from Liverpool to Halifax, have engines of 
 650 horse-power, to 800 tons only,) that there were 
 many periods of the day in which we did not make 
 a progress of more than three miles in the hour. 
 Indeed, having made about 150 miles in the first 24 
 hours, we were three other days in making the other 
 150 miles ; being only 300 miles distant from New 
 York on the 7th, when we had been four days out 
 of port. 
 
 At this period. Captain Keane summoned a 
 meeting of his passengers in the great saloon, and 
 communicated to us all the unexpected and disagree- 
 able intelligence that the chief engineer had just 
 reported to him that there were not coals enough on 
 board to take the President to England, even if the 
 
 2 I 2 
 
484 
 
 RETURN TO PORT. 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 jr 
 
 \ 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 » 
 
 i 
 
 gale should cease immediately, and the wind become 
 fair. There were not indeed 14 days’ ordinary 
 supply of coal in the ship at present ; while at the 
 rate we had been proceeding (300 miles in 4 days) 
 it would take us just 40 days to accomplish the dis- 
 tance of 3,000 miles between New York and Liver- 
 pool. He thought it his duty, therefore, to return 
 immediately to New York, while the adverse gale 
 lasted, and he wished the passengers to know the 
 grounds of his proceeding, and to stamp the act with 
 their approbation. 
 
 This was of course very readily given, as the com- 
 mon safety of all rendered it imperative; but in the 
 document drawn up and signed by the passengers 
 for this purpose, a paragraph was inserted, expressing 
 the unqualified disapprobation of all the signers, of 
 the reckless and unjustifiable conduct of those whose 
 duty it was to have seen the requisite supply of fuel 
 placed on board before the ship left her port, as well 
 as of the fewness of the seamen constituting her 
 crew. 
 
 We accordingly bore up before the gale, and 
 reached New York on the morning of the 9th, to 
 the astonishment of all who saw us return. So 
 entirely satisfied, however, were all the passengers 
 — and they included several experienced shipbuilders 
 and nautical men — with the excellent qualities of 
 the President, as a sea-boat, her strength, buoyancy, 
 and easy motion, that not one of all the 90 passen- 
 gers left her to embark in any other packet, though 
 several were ready to sail about the same time, but 
 all re-embarked in high spirits, as soon as they were 
 assured of the full supply of coal being on board, 
 
 fe 
 
1 
 
 ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 485 
 
 and at least 50 of the passengers now looked after 
 this matter themselves. 
 
 Our passage home was as favourable, as its com- 
 mencement had been unfortunate ; we had fair winds 
 and fine weather almost the whole of the way ; but 
 having been known to have left New York on the 
 3rd of November, and not arriving in England by 
 the 18th, public anxiety began to be manifested for 
 our safety ; and no one even conjecturing the cause 
 of the delay, all manner of false reports were spread, 
 some invented purposely, no doubt, by interested 
 parties, others magnified by fears of friends, till at 
 length, day after day increasing the excitement, and 
 the President not reaching Liverpool till the 28th 
 of November, — ten days after the regular time at 
 which she might have been fairly expected — the 
 feeling of joy was intense and widely spread at the 
 intelligence of her safety ; and every newspaper in 
 England assisted to communicate the tidings of her 
 arrival. 
 
 On the following voyage, the unfortunate Presi- 
 dent was lost ; having sailed from New York in her 
 ordinary course, and never since been heard of. A 
 variety of conjectures have been hazarded, as to the 
 manner in which her loss was occasioned ; and at 
 this late period, when the subject may be adverted to 
 without harrowing up the feelings of those who had 
 friends on board, or prolonging their painful suspense, 
 for all hopes of her ever re-appearing have now been 
 long ago extinguished, it may not be unacceptable to 
 have the opinion of one who knew her qualities well. 
 I venture, therefore, to offer it as my belief, that 
 under the skilful commander who was then in charge. 
 
48G 
 
 FIRES AT SEA. 
 
 Captain Roberts, no gale which she could encounter 
 on her passage, would be sufficient to occasion her to 
 founder. Insufficient as her engines were to propel 
 her with the requisite degree of speed, they would 
 always have force enough to keep her head to wind- 
 ward jn the heaviest gale that blew; and in this 
 position, no pilot-boat that ever swam could lie-to 
 more easily and steadily than the President. As a 
 sea-boat she was unrivalled, and not the slightest 
 manifestation was anywhere visible on our homeward 
 voyage, in the severest period of the gale, of and 
 weakness amid-ships, or anywhere else. An iceber.^ 
 may have intercepted her course, or a ship may have 
 lun her down_as all who have been much at sea, 
 know how frequent are the accidents resulting from 
 a bad look-out; and fire is a calamity to which all 
 ships are liable, especially those that carry a hundred 
 passengers or more, where drunken revels among 
 some, not sufficiently discouraged, because profit it 
 ade by the sale of the wines and spirits, great care- 
 lessness with otliers, lights permitted improperly to 
 
 theirTrV" at alate hoJr. Ld 
 
 their inmates going to sleep without extinguishincr 
 
 w£ I''" of all the materials o°f 
 
 rapTdRVi? ooniposed, making fire much more 
 
 Ze dit U "Od much 
 
 more difficult to extinguish. 
 
 stiwed tbp calamities may have de- 
 
 ^ y unfortunate President ; and either would 
 
 the dbneMlblfS carried drunk from 
 
 York in ti,e PresidenT^ 
 
 excess. ’ and every day some of them drank to 
 
TEMPERANCE AT SEA. 
 
 487 
 
 account for the total destruction of every vestige of 
 her hull, as well as of her spars, boats, and moveable 
 furniture, but especially the last, for the devouring 
 flames leave no vestige of anything unconsumed, 
 and when all is burnt to the water’s edge, the heavy 
 and ponderous mass below soon sinks to the bottom. 
 This, though the most terrible, is the most speedy 
 death, and leaves at least the consolation that if the 
 sufferings of the victims were severe, they were soon 
 terminated. 
 
 A greatly improved system of discipline is no 
 doubt gradually gaining ground in all ships carrying 
 passengers ; hut, considering how many lives may be 
 sacrificed by the carelessness or helplessness of one 
 individual, and how many dissipated and thoughtless 
 young men there are who cross the Atlantic in these 
 steamers, it would certainly be a wise regulation to limit 
 the use of wine or spirits to each individual; better still 
 to abolish their use at sea altogether, as even when no 
 great danger happens, they produce a variety of minor 
 evils, and the substitutes of tea, coffee, chocolate, and 
 other wholesome and agreeable beverages, are now 
 admitted by the most experienced naval com- 
 manders to be better for the health and comfort of 
 passengers, officers, and crew, than wine and spirits 
 in any quantities whatever. T.he greater safety of 
 sailing without any supplies of these on board, is 
 acknowledged by the fact, that in the sea-ports of 
 America, the Marine Insurance Offices deduct five 
 per cent, from the premium paid by ships sailing 
 without them ; and at the same time make larger 
 dividends from the decreased number of losses in 
 ships of that class ; and it is to be hoped that before 
 
488 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 long, similar Marine Temperance Insurance Offices 
 will be established in Ejigland also. 
 
 In thus bringing to a conclusion the Narrative of 
 my Journeys over the North American continent, 
 which occupied us so agreeably to perform, and 
 which it has been scarcely less pleasurable to review 
 and record, I beg to thank ail those who have 
 travelled with me thus far to the end ;-to assure 
 them that the only reason why the details have been 
 ^ minute and ample, was a desire to make my 
 Descriptions as full and complete, as I wished them 
 to be accurate and impartial to hope that the senti- 
 ments I have ventured to interweave with my Nar- 
 rative on the subjects of Education, Temperance, 
 Colonization, and Peace, will not be regarded as a 
 presumptuous endeavour to intrude topics irrelevant 
 to the subject,- but as springing from a sincere and 
 earnest conviction in my own mind, of their import- 
 ance to the welfare of mankind and to indulge the 
 pleasing anticipation that the day is not very remote 
 when these topics will engage the minds of the 
 highest and noblest in the land, and abundantly 
 reward them m the triumphs which they will achieve 
 tor the national happiness. 
 
489 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 Since the preceding sheets were printed off, the an- 
 ticipated discussion on the subject of National Colo- 
 nization has taken place in the House of Commons ; 
 and I am unwilling to let this Volume go forth to 
 the world, without availing myself of the opportunity 
 to say a few words on this subject, especially as there 
 have been misrepresentations made, which it is im- 
 portant to correct. 
 
 Mr. Charles Buller cannot be too highly praised 
 for the able, luminous, and comprehensive speech, 
 with which he introduced the question of National 
 Colonization to the House. The only thing to be 
 regretted in it was, that though maintaining the 
 general principle, and showing its abstract justice 
 and necessity, he did not propose some specific plan 
 by which his views could be carried out into practice. 
 Rut it appears to be the fashion of the day, to express 
 implicit confidence in the Executive Government, 
 and to yield up to them so entirely the uncontrolled 
 regulation of the affairs of the kingdom, that the 
 chief function of the House of Commons, as a con- 
 trolling body, seems to be in abeyance ; so that 
 
490 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 motions of the greatest importance, after having been 
 introduced by most elaborate and able speeches are 
 one after another successively either abandoned or 
 ithdrawn; of which Lord Palmerston’s motion on 
 the American Treaty, Lord Ashley’s on the Trnffl 
 in Opium, and Mr. Puller’s on National Co W 
 tion, are striking examples. 
 
 ^ If Mr. Puller’s masterly introduction of the sub 
 ject deserves the highest commendation, it is difficult 
 to find adequate terms, in which to expl-ess thT2 
 rowness of view, and pettiness of detail, with which 
 It was niet by Lord Stanley ; and in referlnle To the 
 fhTn National Colonization detailed in 
 
 to Pages~a copy of which had been sent 
 
 omitted to state (hit n' Bat he 
 
 wasteland o, th; clltas ^iU 
 
 i«/parrof ?hc other words, form- 
 
 thf power of thc*^?* "Phonal domain j it is within 
 enact, alter or a Legislature to repeal, 
 
 the sale or grant rfh ’ '’oS^olations affecting 
 grant seh t ) " “^“ch as it is to 
 
 ?n England or eL? ^™ds 
 
 has, fiC time lo m d " 
 fit, and might if itL rh changes as it saw 
 
 might deem proper 
 
 P oper. On this subject, I quote one of 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 491 
 
 the most I'eceiit authorities. Lord Durham’s Report, 
 as thus abridged by Mr. Maculloch — 
 
 “ Since the province of Canada came under the British govern- 
 ment, the plans under which land has been granted and sold have 
 differed very widely at different periods ; but have very rarely 
 indeed been established on sound principles. Tlie township-lands 
 have been granted in many modes, differing in character and 
 object ; at first they were granted to settlers in free and common 
 soccage, with a reservation to resume all, or any part, if required 
 for military purposes, but subject to no other conditions ; the 
 quantity so granted to each individual being limited to 100 acres 
 for himself, and 50 acres additional for each member of his family ; 
 the governor having authority to increase this to 1,000 acres. 
 These favourable terms were meant to attract settlers fron^the 
 Colonies which now form the United States. This was in 1<63. 
 
 "‘In 1775 this arrangement was superseded, and the Quebec 
 Act of the preceding year having restored the French code and 
 lancTuage, corresponding instructions were given, future grants 
 should again be made in fief and seigniory, and three seigniories 
 were thus created. 
 
 “ In 1791 the regulations of 1763 were revived, though with 
 certain conditions annexed to them, which, in practice, were 
 avoided ; and tins mode continued till 1826. But the constitu- 
 tional Act of 1791 also enacted, that « reserve for the support of 
 a Protesta 7 it clergy should be made, in respect of every pnt 
 eaual in value, as near as could be estimated, to one-seventh part 
 of the land granted. The Crown reserves, to a like extent, ori- 
 ginated in the view of supplying, first by sales, and ultimately by 
 Lits, an independent source of revenue ; and obviating he 
 necessity of taxes, and consequently of such disputes as had led 
 u, ,l,e W.pe»d.„ce of .he Uoited S.a.e.. Th... re.TO how. 
 
 L, h..e proewi mo,, se.i.u. ob.mcl,. 
 
 Colony which the misconstruction or violation of the Act has 
 aiavated, by increasing their extent beyond what appears to 
 \£e been contemplated.”-/.ord Durham s Deport, App. B, 
 
 pp. 6, 7. 
 
492 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 This will be considered sufficient proof that tho 
 property in the waste lands of the Colonies is entirelv 
 und«- the eonlrol of the Imperial Parliament, by 
 which the different changes here described. 4ere 
 ordered and made. But subsequently to that period 
 other Acts have been passed. From 1800 to^isii’ 
 gmnts were made in lots of SOO acres to actual 
 settlers iron, 1814, grants were made on -quea “ 
 tickets,” requiring the erection of a house and h! 
 
 clearing and cultivating four acres, before’ the title 
 was perfected. In 1826, the mode of sellil L 
 auction a a minimum price was adopted, thepurclai 
 money being paid by four annual instalmel^r t 
 1831 the payment was ordered to be by half-vearlv 
 instalments ; and in 1837, the purchase money wil 
 ordered to be paid at the time of sale. And Tasr 
 an Act of the Impe,-ial Legislature authortenhe 
 
 S «*"es, at «ie rlt 
 
 Ot 100,000 acres annually.* 
 
 Again, in speaking of the tenures of land in 
 Upper Canada, and adverting to the grants to L\ 
 
 and to public Lmpanie. ^ 
 
 pany is named, as well as the PI ^ 
 
 Maculloch says— ^ ^ reserves, Mr, 
 
 had no intention of settliiiir on tlf 
 
 extent of the clergy and statp eoupled witli the great 
 
 influence over the Colony and^r*'^*’ ^ injurious 
 
 a>aterially retarded its pro- 
 
 ^^^Macullochs Geographical Dictionary-1841, vol. i. pp.5]7* 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 493 
 
 gress. Lord Durham ascribes the backward state of Canada, as 
 compared with the United States, mainly to the influence of the 
 circumstance now glanced at.”* 
 
 Lastly, so recently as the 23rd of July, 1840, the 
 date of the last great Act for uniting the two Pro- 
 vinces of Canada into one, and constructing the new 
 form of government for the United Province, the 
 42d clause of such Act expressly reserves to Her 
 Majesty the prerogative of disposing of the waste 
 lands ~qf the colony, and forbids the introduction of 
 any bill that shall touch or affect the same, in the 
 Local Legislature, without previously ascertaining 
 Her Majesty’s assent, the provision of the clause 
 being in substance this — 
 
 ‘‘ That whenever any bill shall be passed by the Legislative 
 Council and Assembly of the Province of Canada that shall in 
 any manner relate to or affect Her Majesty’s prerogative, touch- 
 ing the granting of waste lands of the Crown, within the said 
 Province, every such bill shall be laid before both Houses of 
 Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 and Her Majesty shall not give her assent to such bills, until 
 thirty days from their being so laid before Parliament, nor even 
 then in case either House of Parliament shall within that space 
 of time address Her Majesty to withhold her assent. And no 
 such bill shall be valid within the Province of Canada, unless 
 such bill shall first be transmitted to England, for the purpose 
 of being laid before Parliament previously to the signification of 
 Her Majesty’s assent thereto.” 
 
 Surely nothing can be plainer or more authorita- 
 tive than this, to prove that the property of the 
 waste lands of the Colony is still in the Crown of 
 England; that they form part of the National 
 
 • Maculloch’s Geographical Dictionary, vol. i. p. 520. 
 
494 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 Domain j and that the Parliament of Great Britain 
 has the sole power to control the disposal of these 
 lands, in any way in which the two Houses of the 
 Imperial Legislature and Her Majesty may see fit 
 If Lord Stanley did not know this, then he' is fairly 
 chargeable with ignorance of what it was his espe- 
 cial duty as Colonial Minister to know. If he did 
 ^ow this, and withheld the avowal of it from the 
 House, when he asserted that the Parliament of this 
 country could not dispose of a single acre of the 
 waste ands of Canada, as this was solely under the 
 control of the local Legislature, then he is chargeable 
 with want of candour ax\d fairness, and in either 
 case, the use which he made of his influence and 
 position in the House to impute ignorance to another 
 was neither just nor gentlemanly. His Lordship 
 might have recollected some recent instances of his 
 own mistakes, in the matter of “ TambofF,” and 
 other cases, which should have made him lenient 
 towards he errors of others, if he really supposed 
 
 rid- K attempt to cover another with 
 
 ridicule, as being grossly ignorant of that which he 
 
 IJS preceding 
 
 xtracts show, the ignorance or want of candour was 
 
 tlfb " to the many 
 
 rDuhli?'? p™'i« 
 
 the mom apparent triumph for 
 
 the moment by any statement which may suit the 
 
 STatl^r « ‘"e fii,: S 0 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 495 
 
 be unacquainted with the fact, that the sale or dis- 
 posal of the waste lands of the Crown, has been 
 placed under stringent regulations and restraints ; 
 and that, at present, such sale or disposal is vested in 
 the Local Legislatures or Governments of the respec- 
 tive Provinces, while the proceeds resulting from the 
 same, form a portion of the Colonial revenue. But 
 inasmuch as the whole of the National Domain, of 
 which these lands are a part, as well as the entire 
 affairs of the Colonies, are under the control of the 
 Imperial Legislature, it is undeniable that the Par- 
 liament of England has the power to repeal any 
 existing acts on this subject, to enact new ones, or 
 to revive old ones, as it may deem best. And as it 
 so recently exercised its power to suspend the whole 
 functions of Government in Canada, to unite the 
 two Provinces against the will of a large majority of 
 the people, to put down the Colonial Legislature, 
 and place the whole country under a Supreme Dicta- 
 tor, and subsequently to enact the construction of an 
 entirely new form of government, it is absurd to the 
 last degree to contend that it has not the power, if 
 it chooses to exercise it, of altering the tenures of 
 land, and taking the whole administration of its 
 grants into its own hands.* 
 
 But there would be no need even of this. For, 
 
 * Mr. Charles Duller has given notice of a motion after Easter, 
 to introduce some measure for altering the tenure and mode of 
 granting Crown Lands in the Colonies. But the very fact of 
 such a proposition being received in the British House of Com- 
 mons, is sufficient proof that the real and ultimate control and 
 authority over these lands is in the Imperial Parliament— what- 
 ever my Lord Stanley may say to the contrary. 
 
496 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER, 
 
 if any system of free grants were determined on 
 nothing would be more easy than to induce the local 
 governments to make them, or to prevail on the 
 Local Legislature to pass acts for that purpose if 
 such a form were necessary ; because it is even still 
 more the interest of the Colonies to encourao-e such 
 settlement of an industrious, skilful, and produc 
 tive population, than it is of the mother-country to 
 relieve herself of her surplus numbers. With us 
 Emigration affords a relief from burdens merely’ 
 with the Colonies, Immigration lays the foundation 
 of future wealth, strength, and greatness. The 
 interest of the Colonies is therefore even greater 
 than that of the mother-country, in offerin<r such 
 inducements as free grants to settlers of the descrin- 
 tion named ; and, therefore, whether the act or acts 
 for this purpose be passed in the Imperial or Local 
 Legislatures, the result will be the same. It is mere 
 captiousness to object to what is matter of form if 
 the principle of Colonization be admitted to be’ a 
 sound one; for in that case, matters of detail can 
 
 t"‘‘ f“"'“ “‘“'’O' “‘I 
 
 sate effected by the Local Legislature, as well as by 
 
 ?a 1? t ^ Wopriated to the local revenue 
 
 th^ settlers, would make all 
 So also, of the questions of previous surveying, and 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER, 
 
 197 
 
 the subsequent formation of roads, of the concentra- 
 tion of settlers, rather than their dispersion, and of 
 the raising, by rateable assessments on the area or 
 value of estates, when circumstances might require 
 it for local improvements in the several districts in 
 which they may be situated — all these are matters of 
 detail, which may be safely left to the local govern- 
 ments, and which in no way whatever affect the 
 soundness or unsoundness of the general principle of 
 Colonization at the national expense. 
 
 As to the visionary ” and impracticable nature 
 of that part of the Plan which proposes grants to 
 individuals on certain specified conditions — for this 
 also is alleged — we have seen that in 1814, such 
 grants were actually made on “ location tickets,” to 
 local settlers, to the extent of 200 acres to each 
 settler, requiring the erection of a house, and the 
 clearing and cultivating four acres before the title 
 was perfected,” so that it is neither so visionary nor 
 so impracticable, as is supposed. And Mr. Maculloch, 
 who is not generally considered Utopian in his views, 
 expressly says — 
 
 “ The plan of sellhig land, in any Colon}^, and especially one 
 in the situation of Canada, seems highly objectionable. The 
 preferable plan would be to tnake grants of land to all settlers, 
 on a uniform system, in proportion to their available capital, witli 
 a limitation of the maximum quantity to be assigned to any 
 individual ; and making it a condition of all grants, that they 
 should be forfeited in a given time, unless certain specified im- 
 provements were effected upon them within that time. 
 
 This is the very principle that I have ventured to 
 propose, and I am glad to he sustained in its pro- 
 
 * Geographical Dictionary, vol. i. p. 520. 
 
 2 K 
 
498 
 
 SUPPLEMENTAItY CHAPTEU. 
 
 position by so safe and cautious an authority, of 
 which I was not before aware, till this imputation 
 of “visionary and impracticable,” which Lord Stan- 
 ley has chosen to affix to my Plan, led me to look a 
 little into other authorities, to see what were the 
 opinions of other men as to the tenures of land in 
 the Colonies, and the practicability as well as expe- 
 diency of placing them on a more liberal footing. 
 
 The passage which his Lordship read in the 
 House of Commons, and by which he succeeded as 
 much by his manner probably as by the matter itself 
 in exciting “much laughter,” was that which relates 
 to the supply of materials for stocking farms, in 
 cattle, seed, implements, &c., recommended to be 
 furnished or collected by the Government, placed in 
 central depots in each Province, and to be supplied to 
 the settlers on terms of credit agreed on. It is no 
 doubt a novel idea to have a Commissariat for an 
 Ai m) of Peace ; and as men of weak or prej udiced intel- 
 lects find It much easier to pronounce any new pro- 
 position to be “ visionary and impracticable,” than 
 to undertake the trouble of inquiring into and under- 
 standing it_so in this instance, the laughter was 
 probably excited by what they were unable to com- 
 prehend But as the War Office has an organized 
 
 h^r^^pT ^ depots of ordnance, supplies of 
 
 hor.es, arms, ammunition, stores, clothino-, provi- 
 sions and implements of destruction, can“be^ fur- 
 
 CM fin? the Admiralty 
 plies to thrc"" to convey similar sup^ 
 
 Wales as Hope and New South 
 
 sidps for 111; Government can fit out 
 
 P polar expeditions, and land-journeys for 
 
 
SUPPLr.MKXTARV CHAPTER. 
 
 49.0 
 
 geographical discovery, and, by aid of funds and 
 agents, convey whatever is needful to any point at 
 which it may be required, — surely a “Colonization 
 Office ” could effect just as perfect an organization 
 for the supply of all that might be required for 
 stocking and cultivating farms in the Colonies, as 
 the “War Office” can do for its particular pur- 
 poses. 
 
 The irrationality is on the part of those who con- 
 sent to the lavish expenditure of millions for the 
 destruction of their fellow-men, and who resist the 
 more moderate expenditure asked, to lift up their 
 suffering countrymen from the depths of suffering 
 and misery, and place them in a condition of com- 
 petency and comfort. 
 
 A day will come when our posterity will look hack 
 upon the follies we commit as a nation in this re- 
 spect, with feelings of astonishment and pity ; when 
 the homage paid to warriors, and the sums lavished 
 in war, contrasted with the resistance to all projects 
 of benevolence and peace, will be regarded as proofs 
 of an irrationality, not to say insanity, for which, 
 when examining our boasted progress in civilization, 
 they will be utterly unable to account. 
 
 Another objection urged is this : that the labour- 
 market is overstocked ; and Lord Stanley declares 
 that he had had several communications, from New 
 Brunswick especially, urging him to use his influence 
 to restrain the current of emigration to that quarter. 
 But this is the effect of one of the prominent errors 
 of the existing system, which confines Emigration 
 chiefly to labourers only. No doubt, if a large body 
 of men were to go out in expectation of being eni- 
 
 2 K 2 
 
500 
 
 Sl’rPLDMFNTARY CIIAPTF.R. 
 
 ployed by others when they arrived there, they would 
 be disappointed. But, give to those who go out, 
 gi-ants of either 20, or 50, or 100 acres, and they 
 will not need to seek employment anywhere but on 
 their own lands. And in this way, occupation is as 
 easily found for a million as for a hundred, if each 
 has an assignment of land on which to labour ; while 
 purchasers of larger tracts, from 500 to l,OOo' acres, 
 might carry labourers with them, or engage them' 
 for limited periods in the country, if any'’ surplus 
 hands could then be found. 
 
 An example is, with many, more powerful than 
 an argument ; and for the satisfaction of those who 
 entertain any doubt of the extent to which individuals 
 might speedily improve their condition, the followino- 
 case may be stated, from M ‘Gregor’s British Ame! 
 rica, as cited by Butler, in his excellent little Work, 
 entitled “ 'J’he Emigrant’s Hand Book of Facts • ’’ 
 It is this— 
 
 “ On coming down the south-west branch of the Miramiclii, in 
 ti.e autumn of 1828, 1 was astonisi.ed at tl,e unexpected progress 
 made during so short a period in tlie cultivation of the soil. Near 
 ■w lere the road parts off for Fredericton, an American, possessing 
 a full share of the adventurous activity of the citizens of the 
 United States, has established himself. He told me that when 
 he planted hiiuself there, seven years before, he was not worth a 
 II mg. e has now (1829) more than 300 acres of land under 
 cultivation an immense flock of slieep, horses, several yokes of 
 oxen, milch cows swine, and poultry. He has a large dwelling- 
 house conveniently furnished, in which he lives with his family, 
 and a numerous tram of labourers ; one or two other houses \ 
 forge with a powerful trip-hammer, worked by water power 
 
 double purpose of a school and chapel, the floor of which 
 
 I was 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 501 
 
 laid, and on which benches were arranged, so as to resemble the 
 pits of one of our theatres. He said that all preachers who came 
 that way were welcome to the use of it, and should each get some- 
 thing to eat at his house, and have the use of the chapel, with 
 equal satisfaction to him. He then shewed me his barn, and in 
 one place a heap, containing about 90 bushels of Indian corn> 
 that grew on a spot — scarcely an acre — which he pointed out to 
 me. This man could do little more than read and write. He 
 raised large crops, ground his own corn, manufactured the flax he 
 cultivated, and the wool of his sheep into coarse cloths, and sold 
 the provisions which his farm produced. He talked much in 
 praise of the rich interior country, and how rapidly it would 
 be settled and cultivated, if possessed by the Americans.” — 
 pp. 37, 38. 
 
 Why then should not this rich and fertile country 
 be speedily filled up by the subjects of the nation to 
 whom the Colony belongs ? No other reason can be 
 given for this not being already the case, except the 
 fact, that those who are well off at home, are 
 unwilling to emigrate as long as they can possibly 
 remain in their native land ; and those who are so 
 embarrassed at home, as to look to emigration as a 
 relief from their difficulties, are unable to emigrate, 
 and equally unable to purchase lands, should they 
 expend their little all on their passage out. It is 
 for this reason that the aid of government is required, 
 to present inducements, to tempt those who have a 
 little capital, and to assist those who have none, by 
 giving to both a free passage at the public expense, 
 and granting to them certain portions of free lands, 
 as a nucleus, from which they are to rise from com- 
 pe fence to wealth. 
 
 The question of whether a million of persons 
 could be induced to emigrate in any one year, or only 
 
502 
 
 SUPPLE^rENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 a hundred thousand, or whether the cost of their con 
 vp^ance should be one million or five, is mere matter 
 ot detail or degree, and docs not affect the general 
 principle at all. This is certain, however, that if 
 the mother-country contains at present a much larcrer 
 amount of population tlian can be profitably employed 
 and adequately fed, -and Dr. MarshL, ht 
 speech at the Buckinghamshire Agricultural DinneT 
 alleged that there were 5,000,000 of our people who 
 were reduced to subsist on oatmeal, and 5,000,000 on 
 potatoes, to say nothing of the substitution of sea 
 weed when these failed,-_and if, in addition to our' 
 
 ^30^000 a? '"«r«ases at the rate 
 
 t 300,000 a jear, it is plain that nothing short of a 
 
 nlhon could afford any great relief; for SOO 000 
 migrating annually would barely take off ’ the 
 annual increase, and leave our 5 000 000 nf f 
 
 tTey 'are""^ where' 
 
 recommended ao a subslitulo. Bat be “ 
 
 Soolr„rZilXd°'"e‘'* 7-^““ 
 
 linrt ^ 1 -neiancl, the real quantity of waste 
 
 land covered with a fertile <tniJ 
 
 indeed. Were such trani * msjgnificant 
 
 who ta?e ^«-bTlu^t"raL7ultt 
 
 readiness of their o/ners to tt th V^^ 
 
 which sufficient profit Sit b 
 
 o»t be made to pay a rental, 
 
 n, 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 503 
 
 and provide subsistence besides ? The bare fact of 
 such lands lying waste and unoccupied, is sufficient 
 proof of the general opinion of the unprofitableness 
 of tilling them. But the lands in our Colonies, 
 which it is in the power of our Government to grant, 
 are fertile in the highest degree. Mr. Butler, in 
 the Work already quoted, says— 
 
 “ So great is the fertility of the soil in Canada, that 50 bushels 
 of wheat per acre are frequently produced, on a farm where the 
 stumps of trees, which probably occupy an eighth of the surface, 
 have not been eradicated ; some instances of 60 bushels an acre 
 occur, and near York, in Upper Canada, 100 bushels of wheat 
 have been obtained from a single acre.* In some districts wheat 
 has been raised successively on the same ground for 20 years 
 without manure.” — p. 6. 
 
 To suffer, therefore, such mines of wealth, as our 
 Colonies possess, to remain undeveloped for a single 
 year, while we have a surplus population burdening 
 the resources of our own country, and the whole com- 
 munity gradually sinking beneath the weight, is a 
 ^vitmo'ncrainst society, and a sin against the law of the 
 
 ♦ This, no doubt, must c 
 average produce of the whe 
 40 bushels,— extreme cases 
 per acre ; but if that of Ca 
 both. 
 
STIPPLEJIKNTAKY CIIAPTEK. 
 
 501 . 
 
 any amount of parochial or charitable relief given at 
 home and at a much cheaper cost ; with this essen- 
 idl difference, that the cost of home-support is everv 
 year increasing, and the millions receiving it ar‘e 
 every year growing more miserable and more demo- 
 lahzed ; while the cost of annual Colonization would 
 be every year diminishing, from the growing percep- 
 tion of the benefits of removing to fertile lani, and 
 the increasing tendency and disposition to persons in 
 the midd e and upper ranks, to go forth at dieir own 
 expense, to establish their families and aufrment their 
 fortune, the Colonies of the Empire ; tCp^d. 
 mg out language, literatnrc, institutions, and reLion 
 over count™, now forming an untrodd™ wilderness' 
 and spreading civilization and happiness, where bar 
 barism or solitude now hold alternate swav. 
 
 On tins subject, one of the most profound scholars 
 
 dlri'tf to h”'”; Pki'^ophy giving 
 
 civilization of the whnl« i ^ ^ aceable colonization — the 
 these peaceful means of advancLenT--irtr 
 
 bounded. And thu^lm^ t ‘h : mTf:!;:;'" 
 
 vances of men in civilizatinn • ^ ^ ^ empires, the ad- 
 
 Perpetuated and secured.”* ’ ^ •multitudinous forms, is 
 
 The next objection made to the Han is the vast 
 * Hccrcn’s Researches, v„]. jj. j,. 23, 2L 
 
SUPPLEMENTAKY CIIAPTEU. 
 
 505 
 
 expense it would incur in the free conveyance of the 
 settlers ; — 5,000,000/. sterling is thought to be a 
 monstrous outlay for the transfer of a million of 
 people ; — and a million of people is thought an extra- 
 vagant number to think of removing at once. 
 
 Men’s notions of what is trifling or what is vast in 
 national expenditure, vary very much, it is admitted. 
 For instance. Lord Stanley thought the sum of 20 
 millions not an exti^avagant one to pay for the release 
 of much less than one million of negroes from slavery. 
 Surely five millions might as easily be spared to relievo 
 a million of white people, some of them suffering far 
 greater privations than many of these negroes did in 
 the midst of their bondage. From the payment of the 
 20 millions for negro emancipation, the only pecuniary 
 benefit which England has derived, is the liability 
 to a yearly tax of nearly a million sterling for the 
 interest of the sum in question, for ever. But with 
 an equal degree of moral benefit which the transfer 
 of a million of our population to circumstances of 
 comfort in the Colonies would produce, we should 
 have the additional benefit of a pecuniary relief, in 
 our parochial burdens and charitable contiibutions 
 at home, of at least ten millions sterling ; while the 
 masses of labourers left behind would be benefited 
 by the removal of competitors in the price of theii 
 labour ^ and the million of settlers established in our 
 Colonies would soon become valuable customers to 
 England in every branch of trade. The expense, 
 therefore, even of five millions, if it should cost so 
 much, to effect this object, would be “trifling,” 
 when compared with the magnitude of the good to 
 be obtained. 
 
S06 
 
 SUPPLEJIENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 Trom the manner in which these propositions 
 have been received, one would have thou^^ht that it 
 was something unprecedented and unheard of to 
 
 aboTIirJ?"''"" Emigration, ^.d, 
 
 above all, to propose a grant of public money 
 
 it into effect. But in^the 
 years 1826 and 1827. two Select Committees of the 
 House of Commons reported it as their opinion, that 
 Emigration ought to be promoted and assist d bv 
 6ie Government; and that our North American 
 Colonies were peculiarly eligible for the purpose of 
 
 *he late 
 
 enaigration, under the dLctio„“L,!a;roLd“' 
 
 urgeTrrti 
 
 saSs po;ul fo„'^T„^^ '-‘" a 
 
 kurgh lLfc,v, Z'. 8<f ,? of ‘ke Edin- 
 
 Foba'bV cos” tTt’ril ™de ”e 
 
 their romestehrLt “w to S “‘“Z' ‘i "® 1™ 
 
 fo^eth7„”d:' S'"* T/™"" "“-h^trovrm 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 507 
 
 siderable as this sum is, we have no hesitation in 
 saying, that if it were twice as great, it would be 
 well and advantageously laid out in securing the 
 object in view.” — p. 66. And further on, the same 
 writer, (said to he the present Lord Jeffrey), repu- 
 diates, on just grounds, all propositions for having 
 the expense defrayed by loans on the Colonial lands, 
 by appropriation of poor’s rates, or by any system of 
 repayments from the emigrants themselves; and 
 contends “ that public provision should be made for 
 discharging at once and for ever, the entire expense 
 of the emigration.” — p. 70 . 
 
 Now, the deliberate Report of the Committee of 
 the House of Commons, and the articles written on 
 it in the two leading organs of public opinion named, 
 were published 15 or 16 years ago, since which the 
 population of the country has increased five millions 
 at least ; and if it were thought rational and prac- 
 ticable to expend fourteen, or if necessary twenty- 
 eight millions, for the convevance and settlement of 
 a million of persons from Ireland only, at that time, 
 the rationality and practicability of my own pro. 
 position, to expend five millions on the same object, 
 and for the same number of individuals, now, must 
 be apparent to all but those who will judge without 
 examination, and who raise a laugh, or indulge a 
 sneer, in order to cover their own ignorance. 
 
 In cases in which neither moral nor pecuniary 
 benefit is to result from our expenditure, we think 
 nothing of lavishing 20 millions on such a war as 
 that of Aflghanistan and China — the first to force an 
 unwelcome monarch on an unoffending people, the 
 second, to force a poisonous drug on an unoffending 
 
508 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 nation. Hero, all is loss as well as disifrace ■_fo,- it, 
 ransom so sbamefull,. exacted from the cliinese ' 
 the sprat of the Buccaneers of old-and the troSd 
 of the Somnauth gates, and the smoking ruins of 
 burning villages and bazaars, in the sniVit 
 most vindictive ages— will but poorly repav the cn'i 
 of our achievements. And yet to^ milJ 
 national loss incurred bv tbJo ^ i , ° the 
 
 wastofa, expenSt^ wtx o/fil^T 
 annually has been levied, and borne with a sriritT' 
 
 Surely an expenditure of five millions for P.l 
 
 tax of live millions on our shoulder s ? 
 
 we are ^ time when 
 
 stagnation of trade and aWt'****™ “V*"' S®"™' 
 
 Kobert Peel “ On the i ® *“ 
 
 means of removhe the rusefrf 
 
 published witbin’the presenf c‘r 
 
 regarded as visionary t T 
 
 both belong to what is calloft 
 of men, namely politionl "Matter-of-fact class 
 
 remedy of Systematic p f^®“®”'®*'®~"rges the same 
 the same To7 to recommends 
 
 convey ,be se.ttf LrT.i: 
 
 expense, that I have venturo I 
 a loan of m millions on the ^ proposes 
 
 oover the expense of the uLertakW 
 
 1 ^^Kmg. I recommend 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 .'>09 
 
 the appropriation of five millions out of the public 
 treasury, without a loan, for the same purpose — the 
 difference is not material. But the passage in which 
 Colonel Torrens sums up the general statement 
 of the case is worth giving entire. It is as follows — 
 
 ‘‘ A further observation appears necessary, in reference to the 
 objection, that Systematic Colonization cannot be reproductive 
 and self-supporting, and must be conducted at the expense of the 
 capital of the mother-country. Our powers of production have 
 outgrown the field of employment. Millions of capital are 
 locked up, waiting for advantageous investment ; other millions 
 flow off into worthless foreign securities, and are lost ; while one 
 portion of our able-bodied population work at short time, and 
 while another portion, unable to get work at all, are supported 
 out of rates levied on the industry of others. Systematic Coloni- 
 zation removes the plethora, and imparts to the system renewed 
 vitality. While it reproduces its own expenditure, with a large 
 increase, it retains the accumulating wealth, which would oti er- 
 wise flow off ; it invests in secure production the capital which 
 would otherwise be lost ; it gives full and regular work to the 
 partially employed ; and it enables those whose subsistence was 
 Substracted from the earnings of others, to create for themselves 
 independent support. While self-supporting, in the same sense 
 in which agriculture is seif-supporting. Systematic Colonization, 
 by giving full employment to capital and labour, by raising 
 profits and wages, and by relieving industry from the charge 
 of supporting able-bodied destitution, augments the disposable 
 wealth applicable to the purchase of colonial wastes, and thus 
 perennially creates the means of its own accelerating progress. 
 Wliile unappropriated wastes remain at the disposal of the crown, 
 no limits to this progress can be assigned. If the advance which 
 is employed in planting a thousand souls in a new country, can 
 be replaced by means of the value thereby conferred upon the 
 wastes, it can be re-emplo 3 ^ed in planting another thousand. If 
 the reproductive principle be applicable to the planting of 1,000, 
 it will be found equally applicable to the planting of 100,000— 
 to the planting of 1,000,000. If self-supporting Colonization 
 
510 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 can be carried on in one colony, it may be carried on throughout 
 every foreign dependency of the crown containing unappropriated 
 wastes, and possessing a climate to which European labour mav 
 be safely conveyed. The means of bridging the ocean, of givi„„ 
 virtual extension to England, and of thus creating the circum- 
 stances under which the causes of distress would disappear are 
 placed in our hands. Our colonial wastes are mines of gold- 
 millions of treasure slumber in our unappropriated lands.”— p. 9i . 
 
 Yet, Mr. Maculloch’s recommendation, of grantino- 
 or giving the public lands in proportion to the avaif- 
 able capital of actual settlers, instead of sellino- them 
 as at present— Colonel Torrens’ proposition oflbridir 
 mg the ocean with our ships of war, for the free 
 conveyance of settlers at the public expense-and my 
 own for doing both, as more effective than either 
 separately or alone,-are all equally unwelcome to 
 those who see in every innovation the germ of some 
 great change, which they continually dread, and thus 
 1 eject, not so much from the objection to the thinir 
 proposed, as the fear of the consequences to which 
 1 may ea , m abridging their own power, or privi- 
 leges, or inHuence, and by making the humbler 
 classes more elevated, as well as more happy, lessen- 
 mg the distinction between their present high posi- 
 tion and that of others below them. ^ 
 
 The only solution that can be offered, of this re- 
 istance on the part of the ruling powers of England 
 
 tb‘ extensive Colonization proposed is 
 
 this-that they find the Colonies, under their p Len 
 management, most convenient sources of patrrna"e 
 and power, in providing occupation and fo^-tune for 
 
 wolllT friends ; which sourct 
 
 filletfwfth Tn the Colonies became 
 
 h an intelligent, wealthy, and free population 
 
 \ 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 511 
 
 — and this they do not desire to hasten. On the 
 other hand, the reason why they offer so little resist- 
 ance to schemes of war and conquest, and why 20 
 millions are more easily granted for this than five 
 millions for objects of benevolence and peace, is, 
 that in the former also there is a wide field open for 
 the exercise of power and patronage, with gifts of 
 honour as well as profit to scatter among relatives, kin- 
 dred, and friends, of the order to which they belong. 
 
 All these may be intelligible reasons why the 
 higher orders of the country should patronize 
 schemes of conquest and plunder, and oppose those 
 of free trade and colonization ; and that portion of 
 the press (unhappily a large one) which panders to 
 their interests and prejudices, will support them in 
 their views. But that the mass of the British 
 public should see one proposition after another for 
 the benefit of the country rejected, and remain mute, 
 is a melancholy symptom either of the decay of 
 public spirit, or the apathy of despair. Lord Ashley’s 
 bill to improve the condition of women and children 
 in mines Mr. Villiers’ motions for free trade ; Mr. 
 Roebuck’s for inquiry into the policy of the AfF- 
 ghan war; Mr. Hume’s for the retrenchment of public 
 expenditure ; Lord Ashley’s for the suppression of 
 the traffic in opium; Lord Monteagle’s for a com- 
 mittee of inquiry as to the effect of the corn-laws ; 
 Mr. Ward’s for ascertaining the burden on lands ; 
 and Mr. Buller’s for a System of National Colo- 
 nization-all are rejected, or so opposed as to cause 
 them to be withdrawn ; and yet the people remain 
 as tranquil and unruffled, as if they were without 
 feeling or without hope ! 
 
.- 51^2 
 
 SlIPPLKMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 In the mean time, the trade of the country goes 
 on declining, by the continual falling off in our 
 foreign commerce, and the consequent stoppatre of 
 all the wheels of industry, which that commerce kept 
 in motion in our manufacturing districts, and by the 
 laying up to rot and perish of the ships formerly 
 employed in conveying the products of our forges, 
 mills, and looms to other lands. The profit on 
 every branch of business is continually diminishing, 
 by the increasing competition and narrowed limits 
 witbin which this is exercised. The revenue on all 
 articles of consumption is lessening, and the home 
 trade, in agriculture and cattle, as well as manufac- 
 tures, is also declining, from the restricted means of 
 the labouring classes, and their inability to purchase. 
 
 1 he only things that are increasing are population, 
 at the rate of 300,000 a year ; poor’s-rates from 2s. 
 to 10s. in the pound, and in some places 15s., in 
 one 17s. 6d., the increase in the single town of Shef- 
 field being from 9,0004 a year in 1837, to 52,000/. 
 a year in 1843, with its trade nearly annihilated,* 
 and Its active and intelligent population laid pros- 
 0-ate for want of employment ; and an income tax of 
 nve imllions a year to crown the whole ! 
 
 If this be a state of things that can be looked on 
 with indifierence, or if this be a period in which 
 propositions for national relief— conceived in an 
 earnest desire to lessen human suffering, and put 
 orward in terms of moderation, can be received in 
 ^e senate of the country with laughter and derision 
 we , indeed, may we apprehend that some great 
 
 al dX, population, 
 
 ' ngland has seen the zenith of her oreat- 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. 
 
 513 
 
 ness as a nation. Unless the people of England can 
 be roused to a sense of the impending dangers 
 which now hang over their heads, in the combined 
 influences of decreasing trade, declining profits, and 
 lessening consumption — with increasing population, 
 increasing poor’s-rates, and increasing taxation — their 
 rulers will do nothing. They are all men of large 
 fortunes, and will be the last to feel the weight of 
 any public calamity that may befall the nation. But 
 though, for the present, the pressure is chiefly on the 
 poor, it will soon reach the middle classes, and from 
 them as gradually ascend to those next in order 
 above them. The Chinese — ^barbarians as we deem 
 them — have a proverb, which displays some know- 
 ledge of human affairs, and by which we might 
 profit. It is this — “ He that is indifferent to an 
 evil a hundred miles off, will soon find it under his 
 own table.” 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 Proofs of Lord Stanley’s ignorance of what it is his 
 especial duty to know, and of his not being so true 
 an oracle on Colonial matters, as his manner of 
 giving his dicta on these subjects from the Treasury 
 benches would seem to assume, flow in wdth such 
 rapidity, that it is not easy to keep pace with them. 
 But a single example will serve to show what is 
 thought of his Lordship’s profound and accurate 
 knowledge on the relation between the demand and 
 supply of labour in our Colonies, on which he spoke 
 so confidently in a former debate on the same sub- 
 ject, as well as in the recent one on Mr. Puller’s 
 motion. The editor of the Colonial Gazette, pub- 
 lished in London, since this last debate, has shown 
 that Lord Stanley was either ignorant of, or pur- 
 posely suppressed, the fact, that the plan of sellino- 
 lands m the Australian Colonies, and applying the 
 proceeds to the conveyance of labourers, had been 
 suspended for two years past I and that a system 
 which he described as now in sufficiently active oper- 
 ation to render any interference with its excellent 
 working wholly unnecessary, had not been workino- 
 at all for two years of time ! And the Sydne^ 
 
 ad,erl, to a former debate on the same subject, and 
 
 2 L 
 
POSTSCltlPT. 
 
 515 
 
 which has been forwarded to me by a friend, has this 
 remarkable article, which I give in the editor’s own 
 words — 
 
 “ Lord Stanley’s speech in the House of Commons, wherein he 
 states that this Colony is at present over supplied with labour, is 
 another of the very glaring instances of ignorance of our circum- 
 stances, which so often characterizes the Secretary of State for 
 the Colonies. It is, therefore, with great satisfaction that we 
 see his Lordship’s statement placed in the strong light of contrast 
 with Mr. Macarthur s practical information, and so clearly con- 
 futed in one of the last week’s numbers of the Herald. From 
 what source his Lordship received the intelligence with which he 
 favoured and astonished the House it would be difficult to guess, 
 as it will be remembered that just about the time that tlie des- 
 patches which he would have last received from hence were 
 written, the outcry for labour to supply the deficiency occasioned 
 by the cessation of convict assignment was at its very highest 
 pitch, and the question of the eligibility of Coolie immigration as 
 a dernier ressort was mooted in the Legislative Council, and ably 
 discussed through the medium of the press. Lord Stanley’s 
 blunder^ therefore, could hardly have been occasioned by any 
 remarks in the despatches sent from hence. Perhaps the depres- 
 sion under which the great interests of the country were then 
 labouring, may have originated an idea, which the i\2iiwvd[ fertility 
 of his Lordship’s brain fostered into an excellent expedient for 
 getting rid of a difficult question without trouble. 
 
 The difficulty of the question lies in its novelty ; but we can 
 scarcely conceive one more fraught with interest to the people, 
 or honour to the government engaged in its successful develope- 
 ment. We almost shudder when we reflect upon the countless 
 numbers of able individuals, who, in Britain, are engaged in a 
 perpetual struggle for existence, and scarce know where to obtain 
 from the result of their labours wherewithal to enlarge the accu- 
 mulated sum of their misery, (for we can scarcely call that living 
 when both mind and feeling have sunk under the influence of 
 external circumstances). And then, when we turn to survey the 
 vast field for enterprise which our Colonies present, w’e are 
 
 2 L 2 
 
5lG 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 tempted to tliink that his Lordship’.s pliila nth ropy might be as 
 nobly if not as ostentatiously exercised, in affording relief to those 
 most pituMe of all slaves, the victims of misfortune and want 
 wl.o are suffering in his mon land, as in releasing the ne<^roes of 
 the West Indies from their bondage.” “ 
 
 The Sydney editor goes on to show, from the 
 comparative prices of labour in the Colony, that the 
 average remuneration there, to ploughmen,‘labourers 
 and mechanics, is about double that paid to the 
 same class of persons in England ; and that while in 
 the mother-country, thousands cannot obtain employ- 
 ment at any wages at all, in the Colony labour of 
 every kind is in constant demand. 
 
 It will be seen from this, that persons planted in 
 the antipodes to each other on the surface of the 
 globe, conceive very nearly the same ideas, and 
 express them almost m the same words, when thev 
 come to the consideration of any subject, free from 
 the arrogance of official power, and untrammelled 
 by the foolish prejudice against novelty and innova- 
 tion ; when, in short, they bend their thoughts to 
 ihe exammaUon of a subject before they pronounce 
 It to be visionary and absurd,” instead of havin<r 
 
 \lZrL “^®""^ble expedient of exciting a 
 
 laugh in order to rid nf p u • 
 
 without troublo.” ® 
 
 crvV/Fiw *!’'** *". hemispheres, the 
 
 be^ re echoed Int* National Colonization will 
 
 and hot S a feUow-eountmon : 
 
 till ‘h- effort; 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE ACT OF UNION FOR THE CANADAS, 
 
 PASSED JULY 23, 1840. 
 
 It was originally intended to have printed this Act entire ; but as, 
 like most other Acts of Parliament, the multiplicity of words in 
 which its enactments are clothed, renders it far less Intelligible to 
 the general reader than when divested of the surplus phraseology 
 in which the sense is often obscured, it has been thought best to 
 present a faithful Abstract of the same : and if a precedent for this 
 be wanting, it may be found in the case of the able and excellent 
 Chief- Justice Robinson, who, in his work, entitled “ Canada and 
 the Canada Bill,” gives, though a Judge, an Abstract of the Bill 
 rather than its verbose enactments, professedly to render the sub- 
 stance of it clearer to his readers. This praiseworthy example, 
 therefore, I may safely imitate. The several clauses of the Act, as 
 hereinafter enumerated, enact, in substance, as follows : — 
 
 I. That the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada be 
 united into one, under the name of the Province of Canada. 
 
 II. That certain previous Acts of Parliament recited be repealed. 
 
 III. That for the United Province there be one Legislative 
 Council and one Assembly, to be called the Legislative Council 
 and Assembly of Canada ; and that all laws passed by the said 
 Legislative Council and Assembly, and assented to by her Majesty, 
 shall be binding within the Province. 
 
518 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 IV". That her Majesty may authorize the Governor-General to 
 summon to tlie Legislative Council such persons, not beino- fewer 
 tlian twenty, as her Majesty shall see fit ; and that every person so 
 summoned shall be a member of the Council. 
 
 V. That every member of the Legislative Council shall hold his 
 seat for life. 
 
 VI. That such members may resign their seats if they see fit. 
 
 VII. That if any member of the said Council fail to attend for 
 two successive sessions, without leave of absence, or take an oath of 
 allegiance' to any foreign power, or become the subject of anotlier 
 state, or become a banla-upt, an insolvent, or a defaulter, or be 
 attainted of treason, or guilty of felony, or any infamous criine, his 
 seat shall become vacant. 
 
 yill. That all questions arising out of the last clause shall be 
 referred by the Governor to the Legislative Council, who shall 
 decide, with power of appeal to her Majesty, whose decision shall 
 be final. 
 
 IX. That the Governor shall have power to appoint a Speaker 
 ot the Legislative Council out of the body, and to remove him 
 and substitute another in his room, at pleasure. 
 
 X. That ten, including the Speaker, shall be a quoi-um of the 
 Legislative Council, and that all questions shall be decided by a 
 majority of votes, exclusive of the Speaker, who shall only have a 
 casting vote m cases of equality. 
 
 As^nibi^-*'^*' Governor shall call together the Legislative 
 
 tt'“ Legislative Assembly, the Provinces 
 
 before called Upper and Lower Canada, shall be represented by an 
 equal number of members. ^ 
 
 Ri,Sl!’ Sf f shall be divided into two 
 
 g , East and West, each to be represented by one member. 
 
 county of Northumberland shall be divided into 
 two Ridings, North and South, each to have one member. 
 
APPEISDIX. 
 
 519 
 
 XVII. Tiiat the city of Toronto shall have two members; and 
 the towns of Kingston, Brockville, Hamilton, Cornwall, Niagara, 
 London, and Bytown, each one member. 
 
 XVIII. That each county in Lower Canada, which, before the 
 Act for Temporary Government, was entitled to be represented, shall 
 have one member, except the counties of Montmorency, Orleans, 
 L’ Assumption, La Chesuaye, L’Acadie, Laprairie, Dorchester, and 
 Beauce. 
 
 XIX. That the counties of Montmorency and Orleans shall be 
 united into one, under the name of Montmorency ; the counties 
 of L’ Assumption and La Chesnaye shall be united under the name 
 of Leinster ; the counties of Laprairie and L’Acadie shall be united 
 under the name of Huntingdon ; and the counties ' of Dorchester 
 and Beauce shall be united under the name of Dorchester ; and 
 each of the counties thus formed shall have one member. 
 
 XX. That the cities of Quebec and Montreal shall have each 
 two members ; and the towns of Three Rivers and Sherbrooke 
 each one member. 
 
 XXL That the boundaries of the cities and towns for electoral 
 purposes shall be determined by the Governor-General, within 
 thirty days after the Union ; and those parts of the cities and towns, 
 which are not included in those boundaries, shall be taken to be 
 part of the county or riding. 
 
 XXII. That the Governor shall nominate the returning officers, 
 subject to the provisions hereinafter contained. 
 
 XXIII. That no person shall be compelled to act as returning 
 officer for’ more than one year, or oftener than once, unless other- 
 wise provided by the United Legislature. 
 
 XXIV That writs, returnable within fifty days at farthest, 
 unless otherwise provided by the United Legislature, shall be issued 
 bv the Governor to the returning officer ; and that similar writs 
 shall be issued, when from any cause yacancy occurs, six days 
 after notice of such vacancy shall have been left with the proper 
 officer. 
 
 XXV That the Governor shall, until otherwise provided for, 
 fix the times and places of election, giving eight days notice of his 
 selection. 
 
 XXVI. That the Legislature may alter the divisions and ex- 
 tents of the ridings, counties, cities, and towns, and establish new 
 Ind other divisions, and make a new apportionment of the 
 of representatives, and alter and regulate the appointment of 
 
520 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 returning officers, and make provisions for tlie issuing and return 
 ot writs, and the times and places of holding elections. But no 
 Bill, by which the number of re[iresentatives is altered, shall be 
 presented to tlje Governor for Royal assent, unless the second and 
 third reading in the Assembly and Legislative Council shall have 
 been passed, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
 of each. And the Royal assent shall not be given, unless addresses 
 shall have been presented to the Governor by the Legislative Coun- 
 passed *‘®®Pectively stating the Bill to have been so 
 
 XXVII. That until further provisions are made by the United 
 Legislature, the laws relating to the qualiecation of candidates and 
 voteiB, (except those which relate to the property qualification of 
 
 of duties 
 
 of the returning officers, the duration of and proceedings at elec- 
 tions, the trial of controverted elections, the vacating o/the seats 
 of members and the issuing and executing new writ! for vacande 
 other than by dissolution, which are in foi-ce in Upper Canada 
 
 Act for Temporary Government, shall respectively be applied to 
 Imridrcd pounds sterling* money of Orpof p v of five 
 
 demeanour, and subjected to the penalties of perjury. ^ ^ 
 
 saine as he shall see fit; and that he shall have ^ 
 and dissolve the same, as he shall deeni expediL^?'''®’’ 
 
 tV'’?',?*-?”" ofk. Council 
 lor four years, from tlie day of tl.e^murn 
 
 XXX.T Tu'““ kx 
 
 .i..» ukc pi« .?.r,s sif 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 521 
 
 XXXIII. That the Legislative Assembly shall at Its first meet- 
 ing elect a Speaker out of the body, and fill up his place whenever 
 a vacancy occur ; and that the Speaker shall preside at all the 
 meetings of the Assembly. 
 
 XXXIV. That twenty, including the Speaker, shall be a quorum 
 of the Legislative Assembly ; and that all questions shall be decided 
 by a majority of votes, exclusive of the Speaker, who shall have 
 a casting vote in cases of equality. 
 
 XXXV. That no person shall sit or vote in the Council or 
 Assembly, until he shall have taken and subscribed the oath of 
 allegiance before the Governor, or some person empowered by him. 
 
 XXXVI. That all persons now authorized by law to do so, may 
 make an affirmation in place of oath. 
 
 XXXVII. That when any Bill is presented to the Governor for 
 Royal assent, he, subject to the provisions of this Act, and to the 
 instructions he may receive from lier Majesty, shall in her Majesty’s 
 name give or withhold her Assent, or declare that he receives the 
 Bill for the signification of her Majesty’s pleasure. 
 
 XXXVIII. That when any Bill has been assented to by the 
 Governor in her Majesty’s name, he shall transmit a copy of it to 
 one of the Secretaries of State, and that within two years, her 
 Majesty may declare her disallowance of it ; and that the declara- 
 tion of this fact by the Governor to the Council and Assembly shall 
 annul the former assent. 
 
 XXXIX. That no Bill which has been received by the Govemor 
 shall liave any force until he shall declare to the Council and 
 Assembly, or make Proclamation, that lier Majesty has assented to 
 it ; and that such assent shall have no force unless given within 
 two years after the Bill has been presented to the Governor. 
 
 XL. That notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or 
 any other Act of the British or Provincial Parliament, her Majesty 
 may authorize the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province to exercise 
 any of the powers, judicial as well as other of the Govemor, not- 
 withstanding the presence of the Governor within the Province ; 
 and that her Majesty may authorize the Governor to depute any 
 person or persons to be his deputies, and exercise all his functions, 
 as well judicial as other, during his pleasure. Provided always 
 that the power of the Governor shall not be abridged, altered, or 
 affected by the appointment of these deputies, otherwise than as 
 her Majesty shall direct. 
 
 XLI. That from and after the Union, all writs, reports, journals, 
 and all public instruments whatever, connected with the Assembly 
 
522 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 and Council, shall be in English only ; and no translated copy 
 shall be kept on record, or have the force of an original record in 
 any case, though such shall not be forbidden to be made. 
 
 XLTI. That whenever an^ Bill shall be passed by the Council 
 and Assembly, affecting the rights of the Clergy of the Church of 
 Rome, or the Established Church, or the exercise of religious 
 worship, or her Majesty’s prerogative of granting waste lands 
 within the Province, such Bill shall be laid before the British 
 Parliament ; and her Majesty shall not assent to such Bill until it 
 has lain thirty days before the British Parliament, nor then, if 
 either House present an address to her Majesty, praying her to 
 withhold her assent ; and that no such Bill shall be valid in the 
 Province, unless the Council and Assembly shall, in the Session in 
 which the Bill was passed, have presented addresses to the Governor 
 ^ecifying the nature of the Bill, and praying him to transmit it to 
 England to be laid before the British Parliament. 
 
 XLIII. That nothing in this Act shall affect the execution of 
 any law of the British Parliament with regard to Customs, or the 
 regulation of Commerce. Provided always that the net produce of 
 such duties as are imposed shall be applied for the use of the 
 Province, and (except as hereafter provided) in such manner only 
 as her Majesty, with the advice and consent of the Council and 
 Assembly of the Province shall direct. 
 
 XLiy. That until otherwise provided by the Council and 
 Assembly of the Province, the judicial and ministerial authority 
 w nch was exercised by the Governor, Lieutunant-Governor, and 
 any members of the Executive Council of either Province, shall be 
 wsted m the like officer of the United Provinces and the Court of 
 Queens Bench of Upper Canada shaU be held at Toronto, or 
 wtlnn a mile from its municipal boundary. Provided always that 
 the Governor, with the consent of the Executive Council, may 
 appoint by Proclamation any place within the late Province of 
 Uppei Canada for the holding the said Court of Queen’s Bench. 
 
 XLV. That all powers which have been vested in the Governor. 
 Lieutenant-Governor, and Executive Council of either Province 
 
 Sm ^ repugnant 
 
 to the Act vested in tlie Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Exe- 
 
 cutive Council of the United Province alone, or in conjunction. 
 
 tim^S'ie ®****®*‘ Province at the 
 
 Vince to whS^X s’»all continue in force in those parts of the Pro- 
 
 ^Ct or shall bp nlf ^^^e altered by this 
 
 iS’re Act of the Provincial Legis- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 6-23 
 
 XL VII. That all civil and criminal courts, all legal commissions, 
 powers, and authorities, and all officers, judicial, administrative, or 
 ministerial, except so far as they are altered or abolished by this 
 Act, shall continue in their respective portions of the Province the 
 same as before the Union. 
 
 XL VI II. That in all Acts of the Provincial Legislature, which 
 Acts were to continue in force for a certain number of years, and 
 from tlience to the end of the then next ensuing session of the 
 Legislature of the Province in which they were passed, these words 
 shall be construed to apply to the session of the United Legislature 
 in all unexpired Acts. 
 
 XLIX. That the provisions of a former Act of the British 
 Parliament, which constitute certain arbitrators in matters of 
 trade between the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, be 
 repealed. 
 
 L. That after the Union, all duties and revenues over which the 
 respective Legislatures have had control, shall form one con- 
 solidated revenue fund for the public service of the Province of 
 Canada, in the manner and subject to the charges hereafter men- 
 tioned. 
 
 LI. That the consolidated fund shall be permanently charged 
 with all the expenses incident to its collection, management, and 
 receipt ; such expenses to be audited in such manner as an Act of 
 the United Legislature shall direct. 
 
 LII. That there shall be payable every year to her Majesty, her 
 Heirs, and Successors, the sum of forty-five thousand pounds, out 
 of the consolidated revenue fund, for defraying the expenses noted 
 in Schedule A, annexed to this Act ; and during the life and five 
 years after the demise of her Majesty, the additional sum of thirty 
 thousand pounds, for the purposes marked in Schedule B, annexed 
 to this Act ; these sums to be issued by the Receiver-General in dis- 
 charge of the warrants of the Governor, and accounted for hy him 
 to her Majesty, in such manner and form as her Majesty shall be 
 graciously pleased to direct. 
 
 LIII. That until altered by the Provincial Legislature, the 
 salaries of the Governor and Judges shall be those set against 
 them in Schedule A ; but the Governor may abolish any ot the 
 offices in Schedule B, and vary the sums assigned to various 
 
 branches in Schedule B; the sums thus saved being appropriid^^^ 
 to the Dimose of Government in the Province, as her Majesty sha I 
 direct not more than 2,000/. out of the 45 000 • shall 
 
 be payable as pensions to the Judges, and not more than 5,000/. 
 
524 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 out of the 30,0001. shall be payable as pensions; and that the 
 aecoun s of expenditure for the past year be laid shall before the 
 Council and Assembly, thirty days after the beginning of the ses- 
 sion and a list of the pensions, and of the persons to whom granted 
 shall be also submitted to them. ' g*aut,ea, 
 
 LIV. That during the time for which the sums of 4'ionn/ 
 
 and 30,p00f. are respectively payable, they shall be accepted^bv 
 
 her Majesty, as Civil List, in lieu of all territorial and other 
 revenues ; and that three-fifths of the territorial and other revenues 
 the Province shal be paid over to the consolidated revenue fund 
 and that during the life of her Majesty, and for five years after the 
 
 fuTh remaining two-fifths of these revenues 
 
 shall be also paid over to the consolidated revenue fund. 
 
 consolidation of the duties and revenues of the 
 United Province shall not affect the payments of suras heretofore 
 charged on the revenue of the respective Provinces. 
 
 1 . The expenses of collection, management, and receipt. 
 
 A The annual interest of the public debt of the Province 
 
 3. The payments of the Clergy of different denominations 
 
 4. The sum of £45,000 for the purposes in Schedule A. 
 
 purpose, in ■!» 
 
 t*‘cse charges, the consolidated revenue 
 
 t- 
 
 pn.t.ng ll.e ,„rpl„. .t the co,»oH.t,d*fu„d“ 7 of inv o1|7h ' 
 appointment ol toivn.liin ofltcer^ ’ i tlie election and 
 
 by Pr,.el..nali.„,Tnd £ wTtW Tie o?"!””! *° 
 
 named in it. lorce of law from a day to be 
 
 the^Svelmr ot^^ Proving in this Act to 
 
 liovince, shall be exercised by him in con- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 525 
 
 forniity with, and subject to, such orders and instructions as her 
 Majesty shall see fit to issue. 
 
 LX. That nothing in this or any other Act shall be construed to 
 restrain her Majesty, if she shall be so pleased, from annexing the 
 Magdalen Islands, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to her Majesty’s 
 Island of Prince Edward. 
 
 LX I. That in this Act, unless otherwise specified, the words 
 
 Act of the Legislature of the Province of Canada,” shall be under- 
 stood to mean. Act of her Majesty, her heirs and successors, enacted 
 by her Majesty, or by the Governor on behalf of her Majesty, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and 
 Assembly of the Province of Canada; and the words “ Governor 
 of the Province of Canada” shall be understood to mean, the 
 Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person authorized to execute 
 the office and functions of Governor of the Province. 
 
 LXII. That this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act, 
 to be passed in the present session of Parliament. 
 
•3 
 
 526 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SCHEDULE A. 
 
 Governor 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor 
 
 £. 
 
 7.000 
 
 1.000 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 1 Chief Justice 
 
 4 Puisne Judges, £900 each 
 1 Vice-Chancellor 
 
 1,500 
 
 3,600 
 
 1,125 
 
 LOWER CANADA. 
 
 1 Chief Justice, Quebec 
 
 3 Pmsne J udges, Quebec, £900 each . . ^ ! 
 
 1 Chief Justice, Montreal 
 
 3 Puisne Judges, Montreal, £900 each 
 
 1 Resident Judge, Three Rivers 
 
 1 Judge, Inferior District of St. Francis !. 
 
 1 Judge, Inferior District of Gaspe 
 Pensions to the Judges-Salaries of the Attorl 
 mes and Sohcitors General, and Contingent 
 and Miscellaneous Expenses of Administration 
 ot Justice throughout the Province of Canada 
 
 1,500 
 
 2,700 
 
 1,100 
 
 2,700 
 
 900 
 
 500 
 
 500 
 
 20,875 
 
 £45,000 
 
 SCHEDULE JB. 
 
 Civil Secretaries and their Offices 
 Provincial Secretaries and their Offices 
 Receiver-General and his Office 
 Inspector-General and his Office 
 Executive Council 
 
 Board of Works 
 
 Emigrant Agent 
 
 Pensions 
 
 Contingent Expences of Public Offices ' ’ 
 
 - 
 
 £. 
 
 8,000 
 
 3.000 
 
 3.000 
 
 2.000 
 
 3.000 
 
 2.000 
 700 
 
 5,000 
 
 3,300 
 
 £30,000 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Acadia^ the name given by the French to those provinces novv* called New 
 Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island, 363. 
 
 Acadians, a cruel project of Governor Lawrence, Admiral Mostyn, and 
 Admiral Boscawen, to root out the Acadians from the territory of Nova 
 Scotia, 327. Ten thousand sent into exile among the North American 
 colonies, 328. Statement of Judge Haliburton, 329. A second case of 
 expulsion, ibid. Cruel and barbarous conduct of the English in Prince 
 Edward Island, 365. 
 
 Ali Khan, Jaffier, an exiled Indian prince, anecdote of, 348. 
 
 America, agreeable contrast of an English steamer with an American, 6. 
 American practice of attaching bar-rooms to the principal hotels, 29. 
 Resemblances and differences between Canada and the United States, 28. 
 Superiority of America to Canada more imaginary than real, 31. Ame- 
 rican enterprise with Irish labour and English capital, ibid. Strange 
 dislike of the Americans, 36. Feelings of hatred and contempt seem 
 to be universal, 138. Canadians will see no virtue or excellence in the 
 American nation, 139. Not joined by the Canadians in their revolt against 
 the mother-country, 296. The treaty of Washington, 423. 
 
 Annapolis, a town of Nova Scotia, site of, 356. 
 
 Anticosti, island of, in the river St. Lawrence, 313. 
 
 Arthur, Sir George, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, presides at a 
 public meeting held on Queenstown Heights, 39. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baqot, Sir Charles, Governor- General of Canada, 301. r t j r 
 
 Baltimore, Lord, founded the first permanent settlement in the Islan^d of 
 Newfoundland, 373. Sought here an asylum for the free exercise of his 
 religion, as a Roman Catholic, ibid. Made his son governor of the 
 Colony, which he named Avalon, after the ancient name of Glastonbury, 
 in England, ibid. Retired to Maryland, in America, where he founded 
 the city which bears his name, ibid. . 
 
 Bay of Quinte, an inlet from the general course of Lake Ontario, 64. 
 Beauport, site of, 266. Its church remarkable for its three spires, 267. 
 Beauhurmis, the scene of a terrible conflagration during the late rebe ion, 
 90. The seigneury, or o\\mership, was vested in Mr. Edwaid Ellice, 
 M. P. for Coventry, ibid. Sold by him to a company of proprietors, in 
 England, 91. 
 
52H 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Bedford, basin, or inner harbour of the port of Halifax, in Nova Scotia “Vt*! 
 All the navies of the world might ride at anchor in it, secure from everv 
 wind that blows, every 
 
 American reprint of English works, 141. Few published originallv 
 in Canada, 142. The British have no scruple in doing themselves what 
 they condemn the Americans for, ibid. 
 
 Boundary line, between the British Provinces and the United States 
 fixed by the treaty of 17^ 422. Both parties to this treaty were 1?.,^ 
 rant of the topography of the region in question, 42.3. Lord AshbiirtoWs 
 treaty, Dishonest and unscrupulous conduct of the negociators at 
 Washington, dnd Lord Ashburton entitled to the thanks of fhe countrv 
 for having nevertheless succeeded in settling the treaty on terms “uffi 
 
 S^ndlr tta.” 
 
 Bras d' Or, or the Arm of Gold, a noble inlet of Cape Breton, 360 
 Brook, Maior-General, Sir Isaac, killed at the batt e of Queenstovn 07 
 Ills monument destroyed, and great public meeting on the oc“n, 38 ’ 
 
 c. 
 
 ^t'^d-'the" emftiS&rri^fcfcr to^^^^^ "^7 
 
 j1hn'B"t;i‘'’ N-\Scotia, and pSiSe Gulf of 
 
 John, the father, was knighted, with a reward of .flO sterling from 
 
 kings privy purse, ,Ud. Sebastian was appointed grend ptlo of Frii/ 
 
 p:,r.‘^L"Ll*dl^iS- 
 
 ^X'^Unired'stotef2l’"“ro ^ Canadians and the people of 
 
 Canadians in their resVectiv^^ttrSil^^^^^ 
 
 Robinson’s work, “ On Canada and the Ca^iada^ffill ’’ 34 ° F *"1”® 
 with the recent rebellion, 42. The soil of TTnnl, r. Facts^on'iected 
 
 that of the States of Nevv York 01 Zo 40 C 
 
 than the people of the United States 51 ’ temperate 
 
 gents from the fort at Kiniton 6 UifTcrp^ 
 for uniting the ProvincXsi bvvclHn^^ f v,®®" bill 
 
 by great neatness aiXeauliness 87 characterized 
 
 French peasantry and the disorderlv ®r between the courteous 
 
 Causes for such distinction ibid Fwer^o the United States, 268. 
 104. The Canadians dirnotloin he “®‘ ‘ebellion, 
 
 the mother-country, 187. Zea/amI Aov^r™®^ ® ’’et'clt against 
 
 sionaries,2ol. tL mi] tiaXf T ol *be first Catholic mis- 
 late disturbances, 281. Those of the "°t called out during the 
 
 their loyalty and aHachmeiXto iwl mA^ ^ S'*'® 
 
 History>f taiiada, 292. first laref boa’ "’'"‘"b of the 
 
 294. First importation of the hors/ ®/.^™Jgrants from France, 
 divided into two by Mr. Pitt 297 ’ RpLi?* ^ ^ Province. 
 
 Papineau and Mr. Mackenzie 298 ’ p? beaded by Mr. 
 
 299. Lord DurhamtXsted \vfth ^'00 ""‘‘®’' “ despotism, 
 
 government, z6id. Reports on the stare of XT®’ ‘be reins of 
 
 as they were before Mr. Pitt? bill r. ^ Provinces, ,bid. Re-union, 
 deserted by the Whies 3ni o b'H, recommended, 300. Lord Durham 
 ;^ca, .303.'^ CHma?:r304"'>®oS^^^ Thompson IS 
 
 306. Act of Union, (Appendif)7517 ’ ^ ^°1"''8‘’0". ^bid. Lakes, 
 
GENEUAL INDEX. 
 
 559 
 
 Can.seau, Gut of, dividing Cape Breton from Nova Scotia, 317 
 Cape Breton, visited by the French in 1504, 169. Situation, 357. Settled 
 by the French, and by them called L isle Royal, .-AW. The town of 
 Louisbourgh founded, i6id. Taken by the English, 358. Restored to 
 France at the peace of Aix-la-CImpelle, 359. Taken by the English in 
 the war of I7o6, tbid. Made a county of Nova Scotia, 360. Area of the 
 island, Coal and iron form its chief value, ibid. Its water so 
 
 charged with bituminous gas that it will burn like spirits, 361 Coal 
 mines first opened, ibid. Population, 362. 
 
 Cape Bbw-me-down, its derivation, 390. Superstitious dread of seamen. 
 tbtd. 
 
 Cape Diamond, near Quebec, height of, 280. 
 
 ^rUton, General, his victory over the Americans at Quebec, 188. 
 
 Carleton, Lieutenant- Colonel, first governor of New Brunswick 420. Laid 
 the foundation of Fredericton, ibid. 
 
 Carhton, a suburb of the city of St. John, New Brunswick, 401. 
 
 Cartier^ Jacques, a celebrated French navigator, enters the Gulf of St. 
 Lawrence, 94. His hospitable reception by the Indians, 95. Gives the 
 name of Mount Royal to the mountain which rises behind the present 
 city of Montreal, 96. Arrived at Newfoundland, naming the Cape Bona- 
 yista, 171. His second voyage, ibid. Gives name to the St. Lawrence, 
 ibid. His progress up that river, 174. Appointed captain-general and 
 leader of the squadron in Canada, 175. 
 
 Catholic, Cathedral at Montreal, description of, 109. The benevolent 
 institutions of that city are large, richly endowed, and well conducted, 
 113. Nunnery of the Hotel Dieu, 114. Convent of Notre Dame, 116. 
 Gr^ Nunnery, 117. Foundling and Orphan Asylum.^ 118. Seminary 
 of St. Sulpice, 121. The St. Sulpicians are the seigneurs or lords of 
 the manor of Montreal, 122. Their rights confirmed by the treaty of 
 capitulation, 123. A great obstacle to the sale, transfer, or improvement 
 of property, ibid. Their legal title thereto questioned, 124. Lord 
 Sydenham issued an ordinance confirming them in the full possession of 
 all that they claim, ibid. The use made of the funds thus obtained appears 
 to be unobjectionable, ibid. Strong feeling against them in many news- 
 papers, 136. Extract from the Montreal Herald, 137. Convent of the 
 order of Recollets founded at Quebec, 204. The Jesuits first visited 
 Quebec, 205. Foundation of their college, ibid. Church and college of 
 the Jesuits destroyed by fire, ibid Father Casot, the last of the Jesuits, 
 died in 1800, when the whole property of the order fell into the posses- 
 sion of the crown, 206. Hotel Dieu, ibid. De.^cription of, 208. Ursu- 
 line convent, 210. Twice destroyed by fire, ibid Seminary for the 
 education of male youths, 212. Ancient palace of the bishop appropriated 
 to the legislative council, 214. General hospital founded by Mons. de 
 Saint Valliere, the second bishop of Quebec, 215. Cathedral founded 
 by Mons. Francois de Laval, first bishop of Quebec, 216. Retraite 
 Generale, resembling a religious revival of America, 217. Great efforts 
 to confirm the wavering in their faith, and bring new converts into the 
 fold, 218. Their efforts above all praise, 251 . Missionaries among the 
 Indians, 252. Efforts of the Bishop of Nancy and the clergy of Quebec 
 in favour of temperance, 259. Crosses by the wayside, 280. Relics of 
 votive offerings, 181. Village of Lorette inhabited by Indian Catholics, 
 289. Singular superstition at, 290. Religious establishments of the 
 Jesuits, 294. Father Hennepin was the first to give an account of the 
 Falls of Niagara, 295- Seminary of St. Mary’s, at Halifax. 338. A 
 design of the Puritans of New England to dislodge the Catholics of Cape 
 Breton, 358 Instance of Puritan bigotry and deceit, ibid. The Catholics 
 sought refuge in Newfoundland from the persecutions of England and 
 Ireland; 373. 
 
 ^2 M 
 
530 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Chaleurs, bay of, famous for its fisheries, 312. 
 
 Champlain, a captain in the French navy, appointed to command an exnc 
 diOon to Canada, 176. Discovered the lake which bears his name 177 
 Founded Quebec, ibid. Sent to England as a prisoner of war’l 7s‘ 
 di'ed* fro'" thence to Canada, where he 
 
 Chauncaj, Commodore, with a fleet of American vessels, attacks Forts St 
 
 s^n^gfeTs r^pufsrd!^^ 
 
 Charlotte, town, capital and cWef port of Prince Edward Island, 366. 
 Chauditre, falls of the, 278. Their delightful situation, 279. 
 
 Churches great contrast betwixt those of the United States and England 
 
 favour of the Americans, 22. Differences of Roman 
 Catholic and Protestant, 89. i^oman 
 
 Co/nmza/eow, plan to relieve ^ of her surplus population 
 
 \ employment ind food for the 
 
 British people, 436. Emigration upon an extensive scale will obtain that 
 
 ^ g»eat empires from neg- 
 
 lect of Colonization, 438. England must take an opposite course, or share 
 a similar fate, 439. Extent of our colonial possessions 440 Oiirinfifv • 
 of land in the Canadas and neighbouring provinces 441 Redundaiu 
 
 $4r X’sitt ‘'‘“I Pu"'"‘P‘“^ whicrwould nloifl" S 
 
 446. Blessings of such a state of things to England and her Colonies 
 
 /•’ 489. Postscript, 514. 
 
 Cook, Captain, the celebrated circumnavigator of the globe, served in the 
 expedition against Quebec in 1759, 180 Brief notice of iM n ffi/, ! 
 duties connected with the attack committed to his care ibid Took a 
 nautical surv^ey of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the coasts ol Net 
 
 SmS OT ' "*• “■> ‘S' «««• .mi 
 
 D. 
 
 DciTtniouthy town of Nova Spofli 4301 1 x 
 
 nunn, Mr. Thomas, brief notice of population, 332. 
 
 b^auTifu^SmZt'm,^ of Montreal. 150. Forms a 
 
 19.5. Appointed Governor CeZ I Q"obec, 
 
 ■ voluminous reports on the smtrof t^e ‘ P"""''’*- ^99. His 
 
 re- union of the provinces ibiJ r.. Kecommends a 
 
 character held inVes^r'd’ SnaSfJS *"”eland, 301. His 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 .531 
 
 E. 
 
 Ellice, Mr. jun., during his residence at Beaiiharnois, taken prisoner by tlie 
 insurgents in the late rebellion, 90. 
 
 Everett, Hon. Edward, his lecture on the voyages of the Northmen, 370. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fredericton, capital of New Brunswick, its pleasing appearance from the 
 ri ver St. John, 416. Residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, ihid. Situa- 
 tion, 417. King’s college deemed the finest building in the Province, 
 418. Churches and benevolent institutions, ibid. Province Hall, ibid. 
 Governor’s house, ibid. Founded by Governor Carleton in 1785, 410. 
 Its central situation makes it an important military depot, ibid. Popula- 
 tion, ibid. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gaspe, town of, 312. Trade and population of, 313. 
 
 Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, obtained a 
 patent from Queen Elizabeth to colonize 200 leagues of Newfoundland, 
 372. His disastrous expedition, ibid. Acted as admiral under Sir Waller 
 Raleigh and reached Newfoundland, ibid. On his return- voyage hi.s 
 vessel foundered in a heavy gale off the Azores, ibid. His last expres- 
 sion, ibid. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hahitans, French Canadian peasantry so called, 88. As healthy as any 
 persons of the same class in England, 264. Amongst the happiest 
 peasantry in the world, ibid. Possess as much habitual cheerfulness and 
 courtesy of manners as the peasantry of France, 277. Mostly proprie- 
 tors of the lands they cultivate, ibid. Practice of subdividing their pro- 
 perty at their death in equal portions, ibid. 
 
 Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia, striking entrance of its harbour, 319. 
 First sight of the town unfavourable, 320. First settled by the French, 
 325. Founded by the English, ibid. Present name given, 326. First 
 form of government, ibid. Indians hostile to the English, ibid. Its value 
 as a naval station, ibid. Fine view of the town and fortifications, 332. 
 Symmetrical form of its streets, 333. More so than Quebec or Mon- 
 treal, ibid. Neglect of the footpath.s, ibid. Citadel, 334. Dockyard and 
 ordnance depot, ibid. Province Building, large, handsome, and commo- 
 dious, 335. Government House, 337. Protestant college founded by 
 the Earl of Dalbousie, ibid. Catholic college of St. Mary’s, 338. 
 Mechanics’ institute, ibid. Places of worship, ibul. Clergy and ministers 
 of religion possess more than a usual share of ability and piety, 339. 
 Newspapers and periodicals, ibid. Commerce, 340. Theatre not attended 
 by the higher or middle classes, ibid. Population, ibid. Negroes brought 
 as prisoners of war from America, 341. Runaway slaves from the West 
 Indies, ibid. Their destitute condition, ibid. Great cordiality among all 
 classes of society, 342. Here, as in Canada, there is a large class of 
 reformers, who contend for the necessity of a responsible government, 
 ibid. Entirely British in their feelings, and eminently loyal, The 
 
 ladies are almost all well-read and well-informed, 343. Form a happy 
 medium betwixt those of England and the United States, ibid. No 
 show or ostentation in their houses or furniture, ibid. Only one bank 
 stopped payment since the founding of the colony, 344. Agricultural, 
 society formed under the auspices of the Earl of Dalhousie, ibid. Beau- 
 
 2 M 2 
 
532 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 '’"Y®* “ecuted by order of Sir Colin Campbell 345 
 Bedford basin, or inner harbour, a noble expanse of water ibid H»rn,; 
 sunenor in the world, 352. Shipping, 355.*^ Courts of j dieai.tre 3M 
 Head, Sir Francis, Governor of Upper Canada, blamed for nT’eai^;; 
 opposing the insurpnts during the late rebellion, 42. His plan for 
 transferring all the Indian tribes on the continent of j * 
 
 the Great Manitoulin Island in Lake HuroTd? 
 
 or Hurl Gate, a rocky strait in Long Island Sound, 478 
 Hennepin, Father, a Jesuit, the first European who visitor 
 account of the Falls of Niagara, 295 ** ^ave an 
 
 ‘.TS «»■ 
 
 Hunter, Lieutenant-General, Governor of Unnpr n ■, 
 
 in.chief of the forces in both Pro^ces, Sfed i^ Quebec" 2^!"""“"'*^^- 
 
 I. 
 
 Indians, the celebrated Indian Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee or tliP rar^MT a • 
 
 Are said to have a greater respect for the separation, 48. 
 
 Indians, or “ wild men ” taken from Novlf “"ai Three 
 
 tian Cabot, 168. Fifty-seven Indian. by Sebas- 
 
 Gaspar Cortereal to be used as la^ - f a”"" V by 
 
 a pilot of Dieppe, conveyed some EnsT ® r “ * o"®*’ Hubert, 
 
 where they excited great curiosity IfiO i 9“P® to France, 
 
 Indian tow"n of S he ‘^’e em s te of 
 
 reception of Cartier by Doni.aconran Indian chtf jT^ n 
 with two Indians of rank, visit France eaci. r u '’ Ho""acona, 
 
 by the king. 174. Donnacona the Indian i^ r '^®"'® '^®*' ■'“eeived 
 
 excellent painting at Sc repres^^^^^ 175. An 
 
 created chief of the council’ of ’the Hurmi tribr2?q“‘*n" 
 names, 250. Indian village of Lorette ^5 ^ Valh' .^®®®"P“«" a"^ 
 only “ Huron the son of a Huron ’’ without th; l the 
 
 blood, 286. The Hiirnnc i ^he letist admixture of white 
 
 of the Indian tribes, 287. Thei7grotesT4^d^^ any other 
 
 into two divisions by the stream of thp f’ divided 
 
 Indians at Lorette, 289. Singular sunpr«H<--^^^^ ^^"**ch of the 
 
 Loretta,” 290. Tribe of Micmacs aT ^^yof 
 
 conveyed some native Indians from^ n Sebastian Cabot 
 
 Tribe of the Meleseet, 466. Newfoundland to England, 371. 
 
 J. 
 
 Johnson, Sir William, takes Fort Niagara, 3. 
 
 to^he’BritLhat“^7^^,J;^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 533 
 
 culture its chief source of wealth, ibid. Unites strength, beauty, and 
 convenience, U>ld, Admirable position of the fort, 60. Escape of two 
 Canadian insurgents by a subterranean passage, 61. Public buildings, 
 62. Places of worship, 63. Its penitentiary conducted on the silent 
 system, 66. Chaplain’s report, 69. Inspector’s reports of, 70. News- 
 papers, 78. Great fire at, in the spring of 1839, ibid. Society at King- 
 ston less extensive, less varied, and less elegant, than that of Toronto, 
 80. Arrival of Mr. Poulett Thompson the Governor- General, ibid 
 Receives addresses from the corporation and other bodies, 81. 
 
 L. 
 
 Labrador^ Terra Labrador, or the land of Labourers, why so called, 169. 
 
 Lakts of Upper Canada, notice of their respective areas, 306. 
 
 La SuUe^ a celebrated French commander, erects a fortress against the 
 native Indians on the spot on which Fort Niagara now stands, 3. 
 
 Louisbuuryh, capital of the Island of Cape Breton, founded by the French, 
 1720, 357. Its fortifications cost thirty millions of livres, 358. After 
 an obstinate siege and defence taken by the British in 1745, ibid. This 
 contest was not so much a national as a religious war, 358. Two French 
 East Indiamen decoyed into the harbour by false colours, 359. Ceded 
 to France by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, ibid. Taken by the Eng- 
 lish in the war of 1756, ibid. Entirely dismantled and its fortresses 
 destioyed, 360. 
 
 M. 
 
 Magdalen Islands, to the north-west of Cape Breton, the property of the 
 late Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, 314. Population, 362. 
 
 Mars' Hill, one of the points of the boundary line, 467. Fine view of, 
 468. 
 
 McGill, Mr., an eminent merchant of Montreal, left an estate, and the sum 
 of ^10,000, for the founding of an institution for the higher branches of 
 education, 127. His will contested, 128. Decision in favour of its vali- 
 dity, and the college incorporated, ibid. 
 
 Metcalfe, Sir Charles Theophilus, appointed governor-general, 301. His 
 appointment does great honour to the discrimination of Sir Robert Peel, 
 
 302. 
 
 Miramichi, dreadful and calamitous fire upon the river of, 430. The towns 
 of Douglas and Newcastle destroyed, 431. At least 500 human beings 
 perished in the flames, ibid. Public subscriptions in England and in the 
 
 United States, 432. „ , ^ ^ i t 
 
 Montcalm, Marquis de, commander of the French forces at Quebec when 
 attacked by General Wolfe, 184. Commanded the left of the arm^ in 
 the battle of the Plains, 183. Wounded by a musket-shot, 184. Received 
 his death-wound from the only piece of cannon which the English had 
 on the field, ibid. His last words, ibid. His dying moments marked by 
 great generosity towards his conquerors, ibid. His body interred in the 
 Ursuline convent at Quebec, 185. Lord Aylmer caused a marWe slab to 
 be placed over his grave, 21 1 . Monument to the memoTj of Wolte and 
 Montcalm, 232. Description of, 2.33. Early Freiich tribute to bis 
 memory, 234. Correspondence of Mons. de Bougainville and Mr. ritt, 
 (afterwards Earl of Chatham), ibid. i 
 
 Montgomery. General, of the American service, killed during a night attack 
 
 Mls^f, 270. Their beauty overrated, ibid. General Wolfe 
 Laval de, first CathoUc bishop of Quebec, founds 
 
OEJfKK.VI. INDEX. 
 
 531 
 
 Montreal, visited bv Cartier a Tronoi. . 
 
 95. The island ceded by the Kiiie of F f 
 
 Ceremony of con.secration of the French^tow/^'^rt.® »><lividuals, 
 the Jesuits, 97. The whole of the nronorf,*? " superior of 
 
 to whom it had been granted b^the Fr!n!l t '^sociates 
 
 St^ Sulpieian.s, at Paris, ibil 4e seminarv 
 
 Abbe Quelus, 98. A horrible masLcrc™of17 PI*"® ^y the 
 
 Indians, 99. Surrendered to the British Iroquois 
 
 fires at, ibid. Card-inonev ibid <5 ' " capitulation, 100 - Terrible 
 Montgomery, 101 . RSen''by ^ 
 
 William Henry, (William IVW/wW Visited by Prince 
 
 phenomenon occurred at, 102. Visited remarkable and alarming 
 
 first overt acts of the rebellion nf 1 Asiatic cholera, 100 . The 
 
 Montreal, 104. The ‘‘ti' ^of Liber^^^^^^^^ 1837 committed ii! 
 
 cathedral, 109. Other Roman r*.fKl!r 1 . ®'l‘'at'on, 105. Catholic 
 Episcopal church built by a narlkmen chuiclie.s, ] | ]. The Protestant 
 ibid. Wesleyan Methodist.s,^l 1 . 3 . OthTrifhces ®f.°‘ch churches, 
 iiery of the Hotel Dieu founded l.v M a P'aces of worship, ibid. Nini- 
 of Notre Dame founded by S.^e ^ Conveilt 
 
 Nunneiy, founded by Madame jXvO ^ , r H 8 ' The Grey 
 
 ling and Orphan Asylum, 118. The brmh»^“'''*r'“u “/l'’ 
 seigneurs, or lords of the manor of iho ^"^°i 8 “lpicians are 
 
 Large revenues therefrom, 123 Tlmfr'l f n"'* Motreal, 122. 
 ordinaiice by the governor-generiil the a ‘'‘’"H'med by an 
 
 made of the funds an nears tn h Lord Sydenham, 124. The 
 
 Canadian school, 126. ^Protestln/ Nat'io^'’t‘'“r“i^®’ »"<1 
 
 McG.ll college, ibid. MunfolKover menVfC^ 
 
 bmld.ngs Commerce, statement o™ 1 31 3"<1 ™»"icipal 
 
 at the hotel ^I3<; population, 
 
 real conducted with talent and cnnrt-Ac / ? Newspapers of Mont- 
 
 c'nmtred “ ‘d"™“ ” order of thelf E«'“ct 
 
 and Bruish against tl Sa„.ri 3 ^ 
 
 i40. American reprints of Fno-i.In^* .Extract from the “ Courier ” 
 stores, 141. Ship/buildingf fie% found in thd S- 
 
 Nelson 144. Champ de Mars 145 Rpi *1 memory of Lord 
 
 ehanics Institute, 148. Minima] Me- 
 
 'S '“r’s?;:, ?- Xi si 
 
 i.'.— ‘4," ““5 f 
 
 El'e Freri.h, iggi'""'-'"'''"'.. of the forces at Quebec, bis gallantry against 
 
 N. 
 
 A-cyroci .i^''"S"mnnbrr"a^^^ Newfoundland, 37 . 4 . 
 
 Wh^i 1 American war ibifJ vi ^ Alexander Coch- 
 
 Wdby‘;Tee;‘'- ''“‘‘®”-4™Venmn7in?h:r'‘‘n-^^ 
 
 } the goveriimem, ibid. * ^ <^oi‘dition, ibid. Neg- 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 535 
 
 Niaifara, fort of, early settlement at by I.a Salle, 3. Present fort built by 
 the French in 1725; taken by Sir William Johnson on the part of the 
 British in 1759; ceded to the Americans in 1796; taken by the English 
 in 1813; yielded to the United States in 1815,3. Sketch of its his- 
 t(iry, 4. 
 
 Nicholson, General, failed in an attempt to reduce Quebec, 179. 
 
 Nw Bi'unsicick, formed part of the French territory of Acadia, 399. At 
 the cession of the Canadas in 1763, it was claimed by the French as 
 Acadia, 400. Counterclaimed by the English as part of Nova Scotia, 
 ibid. Included in the province of Nova Scotia until 1784, when it was 
 established as a new colony under its present name, 420. Fredericton 
 founded, Chosen for its central position, Area, 421. Bays 
 
 and rivers, ibid. Interior of the territory, 424. Forests and quarries, 
 425. Has immense stores of mineral wealth 426. Number of acres 
 fitted for tillage and pasture, ibid. Climate and soil, ibid. Population 
 only wanted to make the colony rich, prosperous, and powerful, 427. 
 Prices of land, ibid. Custom of gavelkind as it prevails in Kent, in 
 England, ibid. Population, 428. Religious sects, ibid. Government of 
 the province, ibid. Salaries of public officers, 429. Provincial and ter- 
 ritorial revenue, ibid. Surplus revenue above expenditure, ibid. Com- 
 merce, ibid. Calamities by fire, 430. 
 
 Newfoundland, one of the oldest of our Western colonies, 369. Size, dtid. 
 Features of resemblance to Ireland, ibid. Nearest part of America to 
 Europe, 370. Voyages of the Scandinavians and Welsh, ibid. Discovered 
 by Cabot, and called by him Prima Vista, 371. Early voyages of Eng- 
 lish, French, and Portuguese fishing vessels to its coasts, ibid. Sir 
 Humphrey Gilbert obtained a patent froni Queen Elizabeth to colonize 
 200 leagues, 372. His disastrous expedition, ibid. Sir Walter Raleigh’s 
 patent, ibid. Royal patent of King James I., ibid. First permanent 
 settlement in 1623 by Lord Baltimore. 373. His son governor of the 
 colony, ibid. Charles I. gave a patent to Lord Falkland to found a 
 settlement, ibid. Contests between the French and English for the exclu- 
 sive right of fishing, ibid. Lord Beauclerke appointed the first British 
 governor over the whole island, 374. Appointed Captain Osborne of the 
 navy as his deputy, ilnd. Custom of appointing naval officers as gover- 
 nors, Constitution first granted, t6iV£. First local parliament, 37 o. 
 
 Captain Prescott the last of the naval governors, ibid Area, Pro- 
 
 ductions, 376. St. John’s the chief town, ibid. Climate, 377. \\ild 
 animals, 378. Domesticated animals, 379. Fisheries, ibid. Population, 
 384. Religious sects, ibid. 
 
 Nova prevalence of English names along its coast, 318. Geo- 
 logical theory of the formation bays, 319. First settlemeiU 
 
 by^the French, 325. Halifax founded by the English, ibid, Acadia the 
 F^Vch name of the Province, 327. Diabolical jilan of 
 rence Admiral Mostyn, and Admiral Boscawen to root out the Acadians 
 from ’the territory, Ten thousand of the French peasantry, or 
 
 Acadians banishel 328. A second case;of exile of the unhappy Aca- 
 dian s 329 General description of the Province, 3^ First discovered 
 
 bv To’hn and Sebastian Cabot in 1497, 347. Visited by the Ma.qins de 
 t>y jonn diiQ oco Colonized by the French, when it was named 
 
 b/ the English. The whole «f 
 
 j. ’ .. /I fr. William A-lexander, by .lames 1 , 348. Its name 
 
 Nova sS-ti^^Sr Cndary, Order of Nova Scotia 
 
 changed to ’ Original French settlers dislodged hy order 
 
 baronets by Cht^^sl.,.«9. „eaty of Breda, ibi,l. 
 
 ^ V TrthivSsh rte command of Sir William I>hi,,,,s .m 
 
 r'eded to France by the treaty of Ryswick, ibid. Again captured by the 
 Enjf^sh, /w Finally ceded to the British m the reign of Q.iccn Anne, 
 
general index. 
 
 586 
 
 large accession of British settlers ir i i 
 
 with atrocities of which Eii.w^'^a ^ ® expulsion 
 ashamed, ib7d. First constitution for rho rr ’’felaiid may well be 
 under George II.. .iirf. ^hfSm party obS:?’*^"^ 
 
 House of Assembly, 322. Consequence tLrefVom^a w'"T''^y ‘''® 
 peninsula, iW. Climate, fWrf. Products ^3 a ’ of the 
 
 for settlers, 354. Forests of excel 3 •, • ^ " ‘"""ense field open 
 
 Fish the gre.,t staple of etporrSs 3h „ “"^“1*. « 
 
 and moveable property within the colony^ ?f jmmovable 
 
 ceeds Jts revenue, 357. ^ expenditure far ex- 
 
 Island, opposite the city of Montreal, 134. 
 
 o. 
 
 Oltatva, or Grand River, a tributary of the St. Li 
 
 -awrence, 89. 
 
 P. 
 
 established a convent’( Ursulite Nuntrfo*f tr"^d ’o France 
 
 ZT^ ‘^0 Catholic populathin of youtl"’ 
 
 destroyed by fire, ibid. wuepet, 210. Their convent twice 
 
 ISlforSI'a'tc^^^^^^^ of Nova Scotia, 350. His 
 
 Spanish ship, ibid. Knighted by* Khtg^'jbmts'^*!! ** 
 
 ci^a“.T3i^' “rri/si/ a:,S5, 
 
 S'"'H wo., , o...„ 
 
 Porfe/asn^burrof'*?hedty:rs^ 
 
 cipal quarter of the timberiavvin/HnH^^ Prin- 
 
 Large fortunes acquired by these sai-mflls"^L^“ rl."® "Po™‘>ons, ibid. 
 408. American speculators, ibid A ^ m ^^®^P^ess of timber, 
 p edifices, 409. * ^ "^^morable example of one, ibid. 
 
 Areafnd dilite,’3ir ^3 "° f of Kent 314 
 
 by the French, and formed ^ ff theT‘ T" ‘’^cC^bot. ibid. Settled 
 
 rcm'l n by tC peace of 17*^3°'^A"i Con- 
 
 remarkable project for settline- i i Egremont^ 
 
 by a government lottery, 364 Co, d ^“"ds disposed of 
 
 Cord Diirh^aW^CpoVt M ‘be hoVers of 
 
 '^oadians, 365. The Earl of S barbarous expul- 
 
 Highlanders, arrives from j a bodvof «nn 
 
 agnculture and pasture lands well afi.fd 
 
 the Marine hospital, «f the b;nevoien^ inSfonf 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 537 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quebec, the approach to it forms one of the finest pictures on the river St. 
 Luwretice, 164. Historical sketch of, 167. The present site of Quebec 
 first seen by Cartier, a French navigator, September 7th, 1535, 172. The 
 foundation of the present city laid July 3rd, 1608, by Champlain, a cap- 
 tain in the French navy, 177. A fort on the site of the castle of St. 
 Lewis built by Champlain, ibid. First French child bom in Quebec, ibUl. 
 Taken for the English by Louis Kertk, a Huguenot refugee, 178. 
 Restored to the French by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, ibid. 
 Attacked by a body of 700 Indian warriors, ibid. Unsuccessful attempts 
 of the British to reduce Quebec, 1 79. Fell into the hands of the British 
 by the battle of the Plains of Abraham, 183. General Wolfe, commander 
 of the English forces, and General Montcalm, of those of the French, both 
 killed in the action, 184. General Murray defeated on the Plains of 
 Abraham, 186. Retired into the Citadel, ibid. Besieged by the French 
 under the Marquis de Levi, ibid. The French flotilla destroyed by 
 General Amherst, ibid. Surrendered by capitulation to the British, 187. 
 The city invested and bombarded by the Americans under Generals 
 Montgomery and Arnold, 188. Attacked by night but the enemy repulsed, 
 ibid. The last hostile attack on Quebec, 189. Situation highly advan- 
 tageous, 190. Public buildings, 193. Religious establishments of the 
 French Catholics, 203. A bishop’s see of the church of England estab- 
 lished, 219. Religious establishments, 220. Schools, ibid. Grammar 
 school, misapplication of its funds, 221. Marine hospital commenced 
 under the auspices of Lord Aylmer, then Govemor-in-chief of the Pro- 
 vince, 222. Description of the citadel, 224. Unusual number of licensed 
 and unlicensed spirit shops, 232. Le Chien D’Or, one of the antiquities 
 or curiosities of Quebec, 236. Its history,' 237. Official returns of 
 exports and imports, 239. Number of emigrants, 241. Incorporated as 
 a city, 242. Population, ibid. The French and English do not mix in 
 society, ibid. The English families are given to hospitality, 244. News- 
 papers, three in English and three in French, 245. Extract from the 
 “ Gazette,” ibid. Public diversions, 248. Number of tavern-licenses for 
 1840, 255. Vast amount of drunkenness, 256. Report of the jailor of 
 the city, 257. Public execution of an English seaman, 259. Climate 
 embraces the two extremes of heat and cold, 262. 
 
 R. 
 
 Richardsoriy Mr. John, a wealthy merchant of Montreal, gives a munificent 
 donation to the general hospital of that city, 146. 
 
 Rideau Canal, of the highest importance to Upper Canada, 76. 
 
 Robinson, Chief Justice, author of a work “ On Canada and the Canada 
 Bill,” 31. Extracts from, 34. Presides at a public dinner on Queens- 
 town Heights, 39. , , r 1 • j • ^ 
 
 Roque, Jean Francois de la, the lord of Roberval, m Picardy, appointed 
 viceroy and lieutenant-general in Canada, 175. Established hinaself at 
 Cape Rouge, 176. Returns to France, ibid. Collects a large body of 
 emigrants, and with his brother Achilla, left France for Canada, but the 
 fleet in which they sailed was never heard of more, ibid. 
 
 S. 
 
 Saquenay, river of, its source, 31 1 . Grandeur of its scenery, iJW. 
 
 Saint Croix, or the Schoodie, the westernmost of the n vers of New Bruns- 
 wick 4*"^2 The original boundary, westward, between the British 
 Province's and the United Stales, as fixed by the treaty of 1783, ibid. 
 
5SS 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 “"tlutr the harbour of Mont- 
 
 ",' province of New Brunswick ‘WQ « *.i 
 400. bituation, tbid. Its public buildings 402 pAnr i' ^fftjcment of 
 
 tb,d. Mechanics’ institute, 403 Mili ?rv hit™ hotels 
 
 ibid. Religious and literary assodatio1« ih d M 
 
 404. Severe losses by Hres, ibid. ShiDhiMldin'o- government 
 
 405. Commerce, 406. Rapid progress of the cof business 
 
 custom with respect to the privile|e of LhW .®og«bir 
 
 American speculators, 408. Population 400 a 5s 
 
 in the condition and manners of all clJsses^’dlO This‘^“"iT “^ '‘‘t“®**ty 
 
 Jgp..h, .a „a“; ~ 
 
 Government House, ibid. streets narrow and irregular, 377. 
 
 promenades, 0>id. present foims one of the most delightful 
 
 394^"sCb^llt' - «>« --t of New 
 tants, ibid, ^ ^ occupation of the iiihabi 
 
 ““ ■“« O' «»■- l-»r, .. Q«b.., ». 0,,„. 0, 
 
 rrS'-'v ■- ‘oo'-s* >ai .. b. Hd .o ,1. ,„™„ 
 
 tbe adru"*cribe”oViaiI»8,ol7ll^l^lW^^^ “dopted a, a phief of 
 
 'Ik llboTdTS.'''''''''' “’“"“I “Uppce poa, a.»bac, 273. Vi.itaJ b, 
 Syderdiam, Lord, governor-general of C.r, ^ ■ 
 
 Keceives an address from the mayor an?dd ’ Montreal, 80. 
 
 Mechanics Institution, 81. The whole ?. from the 
 
 His great ability as a statesman and formal ibid 
 
 ness, acknowledged 82 ’ e '"'’“■‘’try as a practical man of i..i ■ ' 
 
 in New BrunswTk,’415. questioned, ku h 11 u.m. 
 
 %dney. town in the island of Cape Breton, 362. 
 
 T. 
 
 Temperance, Society at Toronto on »j„a 
 
 I there, zbzd. Letter in the Cakd^Tem by the higher classes 
 
 pr^va'Cr™*"® "“/"’P^'unce fn Upper‘'cTnTda Melancholy 
 ^ievaiiing cause of crime 79 Canada, ibid. IjJtemDeraiu.o fhi 
 
 thffrSsoTlen*’ Kinston, 79. 
 
 enipeiaiice on the St. Law’rence frok' M^trLir^ ""A^f 
 
 mrtll t»l OUSl- 
 
 > unpopularity 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 539 
 
 address on the utility of forming temperance societies delivered by the 
 author at Montreal, 153. Extract from the Temperance Advocate, 
 155. The higher classes of society at Montreal indifferent to the cause 
 of temperance, 156. Two societies at Quebec, 231. Great number of 
 licensed taverns and spirit shops at Quebec, 432. Large imports of wine 
 and spirits, 239. Crowded temperance meeting in the Parliament House 
 at Quebec, delivered from the Speaker’s chair, 254. Statistics of 
 intemperance, 255. Temperance meeting at Halifax, 345. Intemperate 
 passengers in a stage-coach, 385. Drunkenness and blasphemy in a 
 steamer, 391. Drunkenness on board the President steamship, 486. 
 
 Toronto, the metropolis of Upper Canada, sketch of its history, 7. Rapid 
 increase of, 10. Public edifices, 14. Places of worship, 17. Newspapers, 
 22. Courts of Law, 23. Municipal government, 25. State of society 
 peculiarly agreeable, 30. Advance of Toronto within a given period, 32. 
 Population returns, 36. Meeting of the coloured inhabitants to celebrate 
 the anniversary of the emancipation of their brother Africans in the West 
 Indies, 40. Toronto the chief seat of the late rebellion, 42. Cheapness 
 and excellence of its markets, ibid. 
 
 Thompson, Mr. Poulett, see Sydenham. r c 
 
 Thousand Isles, extend along the centre of the St. Lawrence for forty miles, 
 83. 
 
 ValMre, Mons. de Saint, the second Catholic bishop of Quebec, founded 
 the convent of the Recollets in that city, 215. Description of, 216. 
 Verazzano, a Florentine navigator in the service of Frajicis I. of France, 
 notice of, 169. Interesting incident in the history ot, 170. 
 
 w. 
 
 f ord Ashburton deserving all praise for the successful J*"® treaty 
 
 i^hleh ato many yelrs o? dispute has at last settled the Boundary 
 
 wZtS'Key. George, the contemporary and colleague of John Wesley. 
 
 180. Military and naval force, 181. recital of Gray’s 
 
 right of the army, tbu . charge with the bayonet received a 
 
 While leading the grenadiers a mortal wound in 
 
 second ban ^ the groin tod ball mfl 
 
 {.urient bttwi^: !^ in Westminister abbey, ,6«t. 
 
540 
 
 general index. 
 
 marks the spot 
 
 ascending to the Plains of Abraham ^ ^ *"« ‘™°PS before 
 
 rVoodstock, town of njcor^..^ ,ui ' ’ 
 
 v.not, 400 . I^isagreabJe accommodation at, ito. 
 
 Y. 
 
 York, see Toronto. 
 
 SeJtia^"^"'’"^obHsh^^^^^^^ farming into Nova 
 
 tbtd. His sons have distiiieuished fh^mcii” subject of agriculture, 
 
 subjects, the fisheries, commfrce, and cu™encr<i^rf. ““ 
 
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 H-toey, Resource, 
 
 of1:h^t™q"''®’ Alabama. Louisiana, TennJs^see‘*a^^d'^Cp‘^^ °''®- 1 * 1 ^ 
 
 e.,. e ,ss. sa!sr ^^"'"°“ 
 
 STATES. 
 
 Dr.w,„s. Sy w. H. B.,„.,^-b„. cu„"-el Sy,o':^TfeX,"',“r'• "<■" 
 
 T-tM- T Engravings Cloth Ifis 
 
 the FRENCH Tth™Sst?vrnt!l;nift^? PHILIPPE, KING OF 
 
 AV<» VlOYfA "A *.• 
 
 
 S!.SS“=S;=-S 
 
 TV., ur z ^ »«orocco, eleffant i‘^c 
 
 Rev. Henry Blunt, A^ 
 
 Rev r R«''- Caleb Morris, 
 
 pf • V' CoR'son, D.D. R®’'- Thomas Raffles D D 
 
 SS: 'itvs*’- "■ "■ fe /:r S'"”" ■ 
 
 «ev. ,. Leifd.ild, D D. «,r li. Veo,",,m’ [y o* 
 
 ev. Kalph Wardlaw, D.D. 
 
FTSIIER, SON, AND CO. LONDON. 
 
 3 
 
 FISHER’S SERIES OF ILLUSTRATED WORKS. 
 
 ITALY, GREECE, AND THE RHINE, ILLUSTRATED in 
 
 a series of beantirully-exenited Engravings, from Drawings on the spot, by Colonel 
 Corkbiirn, Major Irton, Messrs. Bartlett, Leitch, and Wolfensberger. With Historical, 
 Classical, and Picturesque Descriptions by the Rev. G. N. Wright, M. A. In two 
 volumes. Quarto, containing Seventy-three Plates, elegantly bound, price ^2. 6s. 
 
 “ Another of Messrs. Fisher’s beautiful sets of Views, corresponding with their ‘ Constantinople,’ ‘ The 
 Mediterranean,’ ” &c. — S pectator. 
 
 “ A delicious portfolio of picturesque views. The scene is made to shift at every page, from the Rhine 
 to the Tiber, f,ora Athens to Mayence. There is the pleasure of rapid transition, variety, and contrast in 
 this.” — PatpvIot, 
 
 THE TURKISH EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED ; Comprisiiig 
 
 CoNSTANTJNOPT.R and the Seven Churches of Asia Minor, &c. &c. Containing 
 Ninety-six highly-finished Engravings, from beautifully-coloured drawings made 
 expressly for the work during a residence of several months, by Thomas Allom, Esq. 
 With an Historical Account of Constantinople ; a list of its Emperors and Sultans, 
 from the dedication of the City to the present day, (to be found in no other work.) and 
 descriptions of the plates, by the Rev. Robert Walsh, LL. D., Chaplain to the 
 British Embassy at the Ottoman Porte. Two vols. elegantly bound in Morocco, 
 price ^3. 3s. 
 
 “ Fisher’s Illustrations of Constantinople, &c. is one of the most beautiful and interesting of their many 
 iiMiVniin.is. Mr. Allom has cauelit the picturesque features of ‘ The City of the SuHan vita great sue- 
 
 HOLY LAND. By .John Cahne, Esq. 
 
 Hundred and Twenty large and highly-finished Engravings 
 _ • A.. .Mivnnsp bv W. H. BaRT- 
 
 diaracter, and* will pass to the library as a curious aud interesting 
 
 SYRIA AND THE 
 
 Illustnaied in a series of One Hunarea ana i weniy large ai.u -.-a-- 
 
 from drawings taken during a journey made expressly for the pinjose, by W. H Bart 
 LETT, Esq. Three quarto vols. handsomely bouna, embossed and gilt, pnee lUs. 
 
 “ It is difficult to imagine a series of views more full of interest for Christian readers than these- 
 Lebarmn f ! Tarsus ! what names are these 1 this is indeed a very oeautiful publica- 
 
 tiou.” — B rjttsh Magazine. ^ ... 
 
 .. worh deserves to find its way into every house where there is the slightest pretension to taste in 
 art or respect for that sanctified territory, with every portion of which our minds have oeen familiarized 
 in the Holy Scriptures.” Edinburgh Evening Post. 
 
 THE MEDITERRANEAN— ITS SHORES AND ISLANDS. 
 
 n Tl,. G N Wbight, M. A. Illustrated in a series of Views from Drawings on 
 
 vors” quarto, containing Sixty-five highly-finished Engravings, cloth elegant price £2. 2s.^ 
 .. The beauty of this work is surpassing : it is one of the cheapest and most desirable works we ever saw. 
 
 '““Mrst beautiful are the scenes which the artists have selected, and we have obtained the testimony of 
 Most , fidelity ’’—Edinburgh Journal. 
 
 TtI Ise who ite eiegance and utility oomhined. we cordially recommend Fisher's 'Shores and 
 
 Islands of the Mediterranean.' "-SHEPvrnLi. Ims. 
 
 rruT’ wtmaT AYA mountains illustrated, a series 
 
 THE HIM ALA pnoraved Views drawn by Turner, Stanfield, Roberts, 
 
 of Thirty-eight exquisitely , q white. Esq., 31st Regt; with Descrip- 
 
 tCs^hy^Emu ZIZT One superbWer-royal quarto volume, elegantly bound in 
 
 QUARTERLY Review. -r* J 
 
 historic illustrations Enpaved 
 
 in the highest Is 5^ morocco, elegant, ^3. 15s.; proofs on 
 
 t, a Commentary on t o Ho prosecute the most imjioi 
 
 in fact- a commentary o“n the Holy Writings^^^^^^^^^^^^ „f all studies with 
 
 biS student, and to an ellg to the hbr.ry."-T.«as. 
 
 ardour aud enthusiasm. 1 be worK is 
 
FISHKR, SON, AND CO. LONDON. 
 
 WESTMORLAND, CUMBERLAND, DURHAM & NORTm 
 
 UMBERLAND, ILLUOTRATED. In a series of Two H^rfd 
 Views, from Orawings on the spot by Thomas Allom, Esq., with descrimh-e i 
 by Thomas Rose. In three vols. quarto, tastefully bound and gilt, price £S. 
 
 f. fVio _ XI ^ _ i_ • 
 
 THE COUNTIES OF CHESTER, DERBY LEirF'^Tvit 
 
 LINCOLN, NOTTINGHAM, AND RUTLAND ILI IIST^ 
 
 Original Drawings by I'homas Allom ; with Descrfprions by^M«frI^NolLE^» H 
 Contammg Seventy-three Views, uniform with the lake Sc';ner;rha^5d:om:i;‘'bt^ 
 
 DEVONSHIRE AND CORNWALL ILLUSTR -VTFD v 
 
 One of the most splendid topographieel volumes we have ever see„.>'-LiTERARv Gazetvr. ’ 
 natural aud’IrMcitlfof’G'rm&Uaim-^^^ ““ libraries, illustrative of the beauties 
 
 SCOTLAND AND SCOTT ILLTJSTT? ATTrn n a. • • ^ 
 
 Hundred and Eiffht Plafpc fmm ^ Y ^D. Containing Od6 
 
 J. M. VV. Turnerf George Cruikshank^Tr Historical Drawirigs by 
 
 ^nted (and extracts from the Waverley NovelsVb^G scenes repre- 
 
 Quarto, elegantly bound, price £2. 2s. ) V • • Wright, M. A. Two volumes 
 
 plate to the page of the N^vel contain^ing thrsubj^^ 
 
 ^ H B^r2®?S:^BTyne?&e^Yk^ Drawings by George 
 
 containing Eighty-one Engravings! >>andt™el7te 
 
 A „,i.s 
 
 Artists. With Memoirs bv T T ^ ^ original Pictures by first-rate 
 
 0.«.. eou.1, r.. S oX“ 
 
 progress. With 
 
 representation of Vawtv Fair hvPoo^ original picture; and a eranhic 
 
 “HfS;!terr 
 
 MlSira''* honour upon a work ..hioh 
 
 .0 Elve ntieranee lo onr estimation of this mosi .au.ifu. edi.ion,..-Mo.v ,„ov 
 
fisher, son, and CO, LONDON. 
 
 6 
 
 IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE 2s. EACH, 
 
 four highly finished engravings. 
 
 "tZ «f Illustrated Worhs, “ The Rhine, Italy, If Greece"- 
 
 THE CHINESE EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 Engravings, delineating the sumptuous Palaces of the 
 Lmperor,— the Scenery, Architecture, Religious Ceremonies, Manufactures, and the 
 various extraordinary Institutions of that ancient and exclusive Nation ; drawn from 
 
 the Rev.' G n" WrJ^!‘’m.’a^ ’ Letter-press by 
 
 The letter-press will give a succinct account of the Manners, Customs, and Peculiarities 
 ot this primitive and singular people; and, together with the Views, will convey to the 
 eye and the mind a complete picture of 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Publishing in Monthly Parts, Price 2s. each. FISHER’S 
 
 COUNTY ATLAS OF ENOLAND & WALES. 
 
 Parts \ to S now ready ^ 
 
 The Maps of this Atlas will be executed in the best style ; and as the valuable Maps 
 issued by her Majesty's Board of Ordnance, will be taken as their basis, (with the requisite 
 additions and corrections to the present time) it is presumed this work will be found more 
 comprehensive, and more accurate in detail, than any work of the kind hitherto submitted 
 for public approval. 
 
 THE PEOPLE’S ILLUSTRATED & UNABRIDGED EDITION, 
 
 HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE. 
 
 To be embellished with'iipwards of Eighty highly-finished Engravings on Steel, from 
 Drawings on the spot, by W. H. Bartlett, Esq., and T. Allom, Esq. 
 
 A Number every Saturday . , . Three- Pence. 
 
 A Part every Four Weeks , . . One Shilling. 
 
 In Monthly PartSy Price 2s. each. 
 
 SCOTT’S, REV. THOS. M.A. FAMILY BIBLE 
 
 FISHER’S ILLUSTRATED EDITION. 
 
 To be completed in about 40 Monthly Parts, at 2s.; every Part embellished with a 
 highly-finished Engraving on Steel, forming a series of view’s of the principal places 
 mentioned in Scripture, from Drawings on the spot. 
 
 Fisher's edition of this invaluable Commentary is reprinted from the last which the 
 author published in the vigour of life ; — a genuine and authentic work, consisting w^holly 
 and entirely of the labours of the Rev. Thomas Scott alone. 
 
 Published Monthly , Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 PISHER’S COLONIAL MAGAZINE 
 
 AND COMMERCIAL MARITIME JOURNAL. 
 
 Containing numerous original and important Articles connected with “ Ships, Colonies, 
 and Commerce.” 
 
 “ All who have relatives or friends in the Colonies, or w'ho are otherwise interested in 
 their prosperity, (and who is not?) ought to patronize this periodical. Its objects are of 
 great and obvious utility.” 
 
FISHER’S PICTORIAL HISTORY OF CHINA AND THE CHINESE 
 
 FROM ORIGINAL AND AUTHENTIC SKETCHES, 
 
 Now publishing in Monthly P arts , JDemy Quarto size^ price 2s, each, 
 
 CHINA ILLUSTRATED 
 
 IN A SERIES OF HIGHLY-FINISHED VIEWS, DISPLAYING ’ 
 
 THE SCENERY, ARCHITECTURE, SOCIAL HABITS, &c. 
 
 OF THIS ANCIENT AND EXTRAORDINARY EMPIRE. 
 
 Drawings, by Thomas Allom, Esq. — Historical Notices, bv the 
 Rev. G. N. Wright, M.A. 
 
 LITERARY NOTICES.— LONDON PAPERS. 
 
 The Times. 
 
 “ The present work has been beautifully got up by Mr. Fisher. So far from being a tame flat 
 and uninteresting country, as most people imagine, it appears to possess all the characteristics of a 
 highly romantic and diversified region, inferior in grandeur, no less than in cultivation to no 
 country in the world.” ’ 
 
 Morning Herald. 
 
 “ A work which seems likely to show us what the natural beauties of China really are • how 
 gorgeous are its edifices, and how singular the customs of its people. The drawings are well chosen 
 and well engraved, and the text which accompanies them is written with ease, elegance anfl 
 perspicuity.” * 
 
 Literary Gazette. 
 
 “ Beautifully illustrated this Chinese exhibition will assuredly meet the desideratum at nresent 
 p much and so generally looked for by the people of England. The author’s lettered labours con- 
 joined with the artist’s graphic performances, will complete a design eminently worthv of a ner- 
 
 manent place in every British (we may say every European) library.” ^ ^ 
 
 Court Gazette. 
 
 “ The most completely familiar picture of China, as regards its people, costume, customs, and 
 
 the late warlike visit to the Celestial Empire has produced 
 V e dwbt not, that Mr. Allom s China, will cause ‘ considerable excitement' It brings China and 
 John Chinaman palpably to our firesides.’’ ® vnma ana 
 
 John Bull. 
 
 ?*y> »"<* the publishers appear to have access to original 
 
 sketches of its most interesting objects, which must render the work eagerly sought after Each 
 
 SmMiom’’ fund of useful and entertaining 
 
 . . . 
 
 to display the scenery, architecture, and social habits of the 
 Chinese, is to consi^ of a series of views from original and authentic sketches. The first Parts 
 ir u’" character of the engravings, and the judicious selectL of their subwjs 
 
 Those which are delineative of architectural views, are more especially choice The exolanatorv 
 descriptrveand^^^^^^^^^ reads with considerable interest, both as regards ib 
 
 The A.ROUS 
 
 » Every plate is a gem, as comprehensive as correct iii its design, and as masterlv as minute in if^ 
 execution The picture delights us by its intrinsic merits, whiirit fol^fb^^^ 
 
 d^awln^ranrl^j portrays. There are touches of nature^about W Allom’s 
 
 rea^ No? is ^agination with notions of 
 
 « w., VT A* Watchman. 
 
 themselves.’ ^ ated, if any such there be, buy the work, and judge for 
 
 “ This A . Sunday Times, London, 
 
 productions, and^^afways wkh h^ut^never^Jf beauty. We have seen many of Mr. Allom’s 
 
 transcend these views. ^ He has-been fairW w It i- ^ remember anything from his pencil to 
 before him.‘’ ® brought out to extra-exertioii by the novelty of the field 
 
 utility, and cheapness, in a de^^ee^far^Il^^ rmiiTem^ff^ which combines splendour. 
 
 Illustrations are well chosen an^admiraX exe^efl contemporary publication. The 
 
 leaves little to be desired in an historical andTesc^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 m W.rS ^ ^ ^ 
 
 FISHER, SON, & CO., NEWGATE ST.. LONDON. 
 
AMERICA, 
 
 HISTORICAL, STATISTIC, AND DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 BY JAMES S. BUCKINGHAM, ESQ. 
 
 IN TWO SERIES. 
 
 1. — The Northern, or Free States, in thirty-six Parts at One Shillinp;, with a Portrait of 
 
 the Author, a Map, and Seventy- three Engravings on Wood. 
 
 2. — The Southern, or Slave States, in twenty-six Parts at One Shilling, with Eight highly- 
 
 finished Engravings on Steel. 
 
 As these Volumes on America have now been quoted, as an authority, by the two great 
 Leaders of Political Parties in the House of Commons — Sir Robert Peel, and Lord John 
 
 Russell and as the unsolicited and disinterested testimonies of individuals of station and 
 
 intelligence, are deservedly esteemed by the world,— it has been thought desirable to state, 
 that they have been commended, in the most flattering terms, by many distinguished 
 individuals : but as their testimonies would occupy many pages, it is thought sufficient to 
 select only a few, as specimens of the whole; and to include among them especially those 
 of persons who have travelkd in the United States, or who are resident citizens of that 
 country, as their opinions will naturally be held to be of the greatest accuracy and 
 
 importance. Morpeth to Mr. Buckingham^ since his Travels in Anwica, 
 
 “ 1 am able to bear a witues&’a teatimony to the accuracy of the first three volumes of your Work on America, 
 which wefe my compLTl in my recent travels through that country ; and I found 
 
 and general impartiality, independently of higher results, made them most useful and 
 Text Boo^ I shall therefore have much pleasure in making acquaintance with 
 
 have so fully occupied the whole ground, that my abstaining from treading in your foot prints cannot fail o 
 
 generally acq Ashburton^ late Minister to Amenca. 
 
 «• T have read a considerable portion of your work on America-my long residence in that country leading me 
 
 the stamp of general impartiality and candour. 
 
 From Francis Hooky Esq. — Traveller in Amei’ica, 
 
 .. : .0 r:r.t 
 
 Langstaff, Esg .h.. 
 
 “““ ““ oZrge CatUn, Esg. the American Traveller. 
 
 My wife and "I'” "ow ”.iding i“ ^“don .7u^Vo°f“Uy'|JwlX 
 
 country. Amorioa, with ^ “sUy dc«ribed in your pages, as well as in your 
 
 .11 th. pu«. and inatilution. which y»« h.” „adinj th. other, w. have h.en 
 
 oloQuent '“’**1 7?JidVnd leea real than if wo were fellow trayellero with you, and 
 
 uuderatanding between thywoj^um^^^^^^ ^ America. 
 
 A'Jrirtha!’ r. bi7n'77bt ^7e'7uffi7fe77 1n7our.g.n..nt to proceed with th. 
 
 '"ion ""/rorEZard C. Delavan, Esg., Albany, Neu, Yarh. 
 
 .. I hare now the pleeaure to acVnowl.dge ;',Te’e7“eon°.id.red h, all unprw 
 
 X .bin «.d"Lw, with b.rBXrr’r:::^ e”c“.r^rrn- on thi. Country. Mr. Bleeclt.r, 
 
 ’Altta^Mt^ietr h":!!..! « the Hague, atnong other., eo ..tituate. it. 
 
 fisher, son, & CO. NEWGATE ST. l.ONDON. 
 
NEW WORK- DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN 
 
 This day is published, bound in Cloth, 10s. ; Silk, 12s. , Morocco, IC 9 
 
 THE WIVES OF ENGLAND, 
 
 THEIR RELATIVE DUTIES, DOMESTIC INFLUENCE, 
 
 AND SOCIAL OBLIGATIONS. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF “ THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND." 
 
 N. B. By desire— A. Marhiage-day Present Edition is prepared, printed 
 Paper, and elegantly bound in White Morocco. Price One Guinea. 
 
 on superfine 
 
 literary OPINIONS. 
 
 “ Mrs. Elhs lias already won golden opinions by the publication of her ‘ Womon 
 
 it enS: SponfhitS lytl "fir^tTear of ^ qiancing at thoughts before marriage, 
 istics of min,’ < the Xviour rational and fiftoT. Ih ‘character- 
 
 subjects, ‘ the love and the trials of married lif^ •’ deepens into those beautiful 
 
 what may be considered minor matters but whieh its close to touch on 
 
 stndTrdl^'^^^’ -an;gement, and aUiZn ^ 
 
 should form a hoLehold\oo^k ijf e"ver*^^^ ExcellmT'"^^ M ‘m P*'®®*"’®®''®' ‘‘ 
 tic wives will it form of ‘ the daughters of E^iglmid.”’-^S“^^^ loveable, and domes- 
 
 Now ready, in one volume octavo, price 14 s. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF ARISTOCRACIES ON THE 
 REVOLUTIONS OF NATIONS 
 
 CONSIDERED IN l^EI-ATION TO THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES OF 
 the BRITISH EMPIRE. 
 
 ' "'fong. 
 
 le lavf forbid my tongue to curse?" SHARSFEsag. 
 
 BY JAMES J. MACINTYRE. 
 
 I^ISHER, SON. rEU:i^EWFi:i^^gET. LONDON. 
 
1 
 
7(o