_ 
 

 
A NARRATIVE. 
 
 BY 
 
 SIK FRANCIS B. HEAD, Bart. 
 
 “ Qnanquam animus meminisse horret, luctuque refujrit • 
 Incipiam.” 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 mdcccxxxix. 
 
LONDON t 
 
 Printed by William Clowks and Sons, 
 Stamford Street. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 As I have reason to believe that the most import- 
 <int of my despatches from Upper Canada were, con¬ 
 trary to usual custom, submitted for the decision of 
 the Cabinet, I am perfectly sensible that the publica¬ 
 tion of this volume must draw upon me the whole 
 force of the Government. 
 
 The despatches it contains were almost, without 
 exception, written either during the day, while I was 
 constantly interrupted, or late at night, when 
 I was tired. Several were actually despatched 
 in the rough draught, and such was the pressure of 
 public business, that I had seldom time to revise them. 
 
 The general plan of my communications to the Co¬ 
 lonial Office was unequivocally to explain the expected 
 result of my proposed measures, which, having been 
 long ago carried into effect, must now be tested by 
 the triple ordeal of the future, present, and past; 
 and, as it has so happened that this volume has been 
 published with extraordinary celerity (it has been 
 printed in a week), I think it cannot be denied that. 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 —as I have no political connexion with any party, 
 as I do not address myself to any party, and as 
 there does not exist in either House of Parliament a 
 single member who can stand up and say that, directly 
 or indirectly, I have in any way solicited his assistance 
 on this or on any subject,—I can have but little to 
 support me in an unequal contest but the justness of 
 my cause. 
 
 I have neither explanations nor professions to offer. 
 Why do I publish these despatches ? am I actuated 
 by public principle or private feeling ? What do I 
 expect to gain by the course I am adopting ? Will 
 it be of any service to the country in general, or to 
 our North American colonies in particular ? 
 
 To all of the above questions one answer will 
 suffice. Reader, peruse the volume, and then judge 
 for yourself. Its copyright I have presented to my 
 worthy publisher; and having now, as I have long 
 wished to do, submitted to the country the result of 
 my experience in the administration of the govern¬ 
 ment of Upper Canada, I abandon it to find its 
 own level among the mass of Reports and Docu¬ 
 ments which are already struggling to obtain the 
 consideration of the public. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Preliminary History-The Elevation of Mr. M'Kenzie, and ^ 
 the recall by the Colonial Office, of His Excellency Major- 
 General Sir John Colborne ... 2 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The History of my Appointment to the Government of Upper 
 Canada . . 
 
 .23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 My Arnval at Toronto—Strange impression concerning me— 
 
 The conduct of the Loyalists—and of the Republicans— 
 
 Copy of Letter from Mr. Joseph Hume to Mr. M'Kenzie, 
 found among Mons. Papineau’s baggage—My communi- 
 catton to his Majesty’s Government. 32 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Republicans are mortified—My Opinions and Policy 
 expressed to the Colonial Office-Am called upon to in¬ 
 crease the Executive Council-Ominous circumstances 
 attending these Appointments—The Republicans prepare 
 to advance . 
 
 .50 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Prerogative of the Crown assailed by the Executive 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Council—The House of Assembly furiously join in the 
 attack—Remonstrance useless—They stop the Supplies 
 Insult me in a Petition to the King, and to the House ot 
 Commons—I appeal to his Majesty’s Government for sup- 
 port—Solemnly warn the Government of their policy— 
 Withhold assent to Money-Bills—Decline to grant the 
 Contingencies, and dissolve the Assembly—Explain to his 
 Majesty’s Government why I cannot agree with the Com¬ 
 missioners of Inquiry, and tender my Resignation Result 
 of the Elections—Dr. Duncombe and Mr. Hume declare 
 to Lord Melbourne that I have fabricated votes—Earnest 
 Recommendation to his Majesty’s Government not to sur¬ 
 render the casual and territorial Revenues of the Crown . 64 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Return to Toronto, after a two months’ Inspectional Tour of 
 the Provinces—Submit to his Majesty’s Government a 
 Memorandum on the Political State of the Canadas—Also 
 a Memorandum on the Indian Tribes—Remonstrate with 
 the Government—Adhere to the opinion that the Casual 
 and Territorial Revenues should not be surrendered— 
 Reply to Mr. Ex-Speaker Bid well’s Accusation—Loyal 
 Address from the Speaker of the new House of Assembly 
 on granting the Supplies.. .119 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 History of the Downfall of His Excellency Lieutenant- 
 General Archibald Campbell, Bart., Lieutenant-Governor 
 of New Brunswick—Its political Effect upon me—Receive 
 Intelligence that His Majesty’s Government had assented 
 to the Road Bills of the Old Assembly, which I had re¬ 
 served — Earnestly remonstrate against Concessions to 
 Democracy—Gratifying result of the Metropolitan Elec¬ 
 tions—Commuted Pensioners—Suspension of Cash Pay¬ 
 ments throughout the United States—The Legislature is 
 
V 
 
 CONTENTS. vii 
 
 Page 
 
 convened—Despatch to the Colonial Office, explaining 
 the Insecurity to Property of Republican Institutions— 
 Violent Struggle in the House of Assembly. 153 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Colonial Office again legislate on ex-parte statements— 
 Second Memorandum on the Political State of the Canadas 
 —Curious Questions respecting Fugitive Slaves—Third 
 Memorandum on the Political State of the Canadas—Em¬ 
 barrassment produced by the Colonial Office showing 
 their Despatches to the Lieutenant-Governor (before he 
 has received them) to a complaining Colonist . . .187 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Three ultimate causes of my Resignation—1. Dismissal of 
 Judge Ridout—Order from His Majesty’s Government for 
 his Restoration—2. Appointments of Attorney andSolicitor- 
 General, arrested by His Majesty’s Government—3. Rea¬ 
 sons for not elevating Ex-Speaker Bidwell to the Bench— 
 
 His Majesty’s Government communicate their desires for 
 his Elevation—My refusal to obey their orders—The Re¬ 
 publican Party unmask themselves and attack Toronto— 
 Despatch to His Majesty’s Government—Important Moral 
 in it suppressed.218 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Order back the Militia—Address the Governor of the State of 
 New York—H. S. Fox, Esq., Her Majesty’s Minister at 
 Washington—Despatch to Her Majesty’s Government— 
 American Pirates forced to abandon Navy Island—Receive 
 Despatch accepting my Resignation—Important Reply 
 thereto—Allegations against one of Her Majesty’s Under¬ 
 secretaries of State for the Colonies—Nature of Evi¬ 
 dence . 
 
 344 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 viii 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Captain Drew, R. N.—Description of the capture of the 
 Caroline—The Province again attacked—Farewell Speech 
 to the Legislature—Despatch to Mr. Fox—Fresh Invasion 
 —Support of the Legislatures of Nova Scotia and New 
 Brunswick—Address to me from the Speaker of the House 
 of Assembly—Gallant conduct of Captain Brown, of her 
 Majesty’s Thirty-second Regiment—Confession of the 
 American General Sutherland—Concluding Despatch to 
 her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Arrival in London—Interview with the Secretary of State— 
 Letter to Lord Melbourne. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A few Observations on three or four Paragraphs in the Re¬ 
 port on the Affairs of British North America from the 
 Earl of Durham, her Majesty’s High Commissioner, &c. 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Page 
 
 311 
 
 418 
 
 442 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Preliminary History—The Elevation of Mr. M‘Kenzie, and the 
 recall, by the Colonial Office, of His Excellency Major General 
 Sir John Colborne. 
 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, who has caused the effusion of so 
 much British blood and money, was, it is believed, 
 an insignificant pedlar-lad, who, about eighteen years 
 ago, having transferred himself to America, under 
 disreputable circumstances, succeeded in becom¬ 
 ing the shop or errand-boy of a notorious republican 
 at Toronto. 
 
 After living for some years in this description of 
 society, he gradually brought himself into notice by 
 the extraordinary talent he displayed in inventing 
 gross falsehoods, and, as his radical associates acutely 
 perceived that such poisonous misrepresentations 
 flowing through the province would by degrees 
 sicken the loyalty of those who, secluded in the back- 
 woods, were completely dependent for political in¬ 
 formation on the local press, he was strongly encou¬ 
 raged to throw aside his shopman’s apron, and to set 
 up a newspaper. 
 
 With this detestable object in view, Mr. M'Kenzie’s 
 exertions for many years were really almost super¬ 
 human. Every hardship, whether of wood, wind, or 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 weather, which the settler encountered in Ids lonely 
 residence in the forest, was, by some falsehood or 
 other, ingeniously shown to proceed indirectly from 
 Downing-street, or directly from the Government 
 House, or Legislative Council, at Toronto. Every 
 magistrate, militia officer, postmaster, or school¬ 
 master, who in any way misbehaved himself, either 
 in public or private, was declared to be an especial 
 favourite of the Government ; artful comparisons 
 were constantly unfairly made between the condition 
 of the old, densely-peopled districts of the United 
 States and the young settlements of Upper Canada, 
 the difference being of course attributed to the 
 withering influence of monarchical institutions. 
 
 After these mischievous misrepresentations (which 
 lowered, if it were possible, Mr. M'Kenzie in the esti¬ 
 mation of every honest, intelligent man) had suffi¬ 
 ciently shaken the loyalty of those who, secluded in 
 moral darkness, had unfortunately listened to his 
 tales, he considered that the time had arrived for 
 getting up some vague petition to the Colonial 
 Secretary for the general correction of “ grievances.” 
 In order to obtain sufficient signatures for this pur¬ 
 pose, it is perfectly notorious, throughout Upper 
 Canada, that the most barefaced and impudent decep¬ 
 tions were practised. In various directions agents 
 were employed who, themselves, affixed the names 
 or marks of all who could be induced to acknow¬ 
 ledge they had any one thing to complain of: indeed, 
 
3 
 
 several worthy individuals were added to the list, 
 who actually believed they had joined in a loyal ad¬ 
 dress. The names and signatures thus collected in 
 hatches, on separate pieces of paper, were then all 
 pasted together, and, with scarcely anything but 
 these credentials in his wallet, and with unprincipled 
 impudence as his companion, this low adventurer (by 
 one of those eccentric chances which occasionally 
 characterise the course of an impostor’s life) returned 
 to his mother-country, to introduce himself in 
 Downing-street to her Majesty’s Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies, leaving behind him in Upper 
 Canada that kind ol character which, with more 
 wit than elegance, has been thus quaintly described 
 by an American writer :— 
 
 “ is, without exception, the most notorious liar in all 
 our country. He lies out of every pore in his skin. Whe¬ 
 ther he be sleeping or waking, on foot or on horseback, 
 talking with his neighbours or writing for a newspaper, a 
 multitudinous swarm of lies, visible, palpable, and tangible, 
 are buzzing and settling about him like flies around a horse 
 i August.” 
 
 One would have thought that the infamous noto¬ 
 riety of this low-bred, vulgar man would have secured 
 the Governor and Legislature of Upper Canada from 
 his libellous and seditious accusations; but, alas ! the 
 very fact of his undertaking a journey of nearly 
 4000 miles shows pretty clearly that Mr. M'Kenzie 
 
 b 2 
 
shrewdly suspected that the Colonial Office would not 
 be very inimical to his demands. 
 
 The reception which Mr. McKenzie met with in 
 Downing-street he has boastingly explained by the 
 following letters, which are only a part of many he 
 has published in Upper Canada, in order trium¬ 
 phantly to demonstrate the accredited importance 
 with which he had been received, notwithstanding 
 the documents, of which he was the advocate, had 
 not passed through the executive government, or 
 before either branch of the Legislature of Upper 
 Canada. 
 
 (copy.) Colonial Office , July 26, 1832. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Lord Goderich has desired me to acknowledge the re¬ 
 ceipt of your papers, and I have the honour to inform you 
 that his Lordship regrets he cannot appoint an earlier day 
 than Friday, the 3rd of August. On that day, however, at 
 two o’clock, he will be glad to see you at this office. 
 
 I have the honour to be 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Charles Douglas. 
 
 W. L. M f Kenzie, Esquire. 
 
 19, Wakefield-street, Brunswick-square. 
 
 (copy of extract.) 
 
 Downing Street , 8th September , 1832. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am directed by Lord Goderich to acknowledge the re¬ 
 ceipt of your letters of the 27th August and 5th September. 
 
5 
 
 In answer to these communications, I have to inform you 
 that the other addresses, as well as that, from the Niagara 
 district, have in the usual manner been laid before his Ma¬ 
 jesty, and you are at liberty to state this fact to the persons 
 by whom they have been signed, without receiving a sepa 
 rate answer to each. 
 
 With respect to the war losses and the state of the re¬ 
 presentation, although, of course, he can enter into no dis ¬ 
 cussion with any private individual on those subjects,, 
 Lord Goderich is willing to receive and to pay such 
 attention as they may seem to require to any further 
 written statements you may think fit to submit to him. 
 If you have anything to offer which can only be verbally 
 communicated, his Lordship will not refuse, on his return to 
 town, to afford you such opportunities of addressing him as 
 his other avocations will allow. 
 
 (Signed) Howick. 
 
 To W. L. MTCenzie, Esquire. 
 
 (copy.) Colonial Office, Tuesday 26 th. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am desired by Lord Goderich to propose to you to 
 call here on Saturday next, at two, instead of to-morrow, 
 at half-past twelve, as the House of Lords meet at one 
 o’clock to send up an address to his Majesty. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 B. J. Balfour. 
 
 To W. L. M‘Kenzie, Esquire. 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Colonial Office , November 2, Tuesday . 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Lord Goderich has desired me to express to you his 
 
6 
 
 regret that the pressure of business should have prevented 
 him seeing you since his return to town. He now begs 
 leave to propose one o’clock on Tuesday next, at this office, 
 for the interview you desire. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 B. J. Balfour. 
 
 W. L. M'Kenzie, Esquire. 
 
 &c. & c. 
 
 Colonial Office, November 5th. 
 
 Lord Goderich presents his compliments to Mr. 
 MKenzie. He finds himself obliged to change the pro¬ 
 posed hour for interview to-morrow to twelve o’clock 
 instead of one, which he hopes will not be inconvenient to 
 Mr. M'Kenzie. 
 
 W. L. M‘Kenzie, Esquire. 
 
 Colonial Office, November 6 tk. 
 
 Lord Goderich is sorry to be again obliged to put 
 Mr. M'Kenzie off. He has now to propose twelve o’clock 
 on Wednesday, instead of twelve to-morrow. 
 
 W. L. M f Kenzie, Esquire. 
 
 In this country, people will scarcely comprehend 
 why Mr. M'Kenzie should (writing the words 
 “Esquire’ and “your most obedient humble servant ” 
 at full length) have published with so much ostenta¬ 
 tion copies of the above commonplace communica¬ 
 tions. In a small community, however, consider¬ 
 able importance is attached to any interview with 
 a minister ; and in colonial society this distinction is 
 
7 
 
 not only, by the vulgar, looked upon as an honour, 
 but, by the most sensible and reflecting, it is justly 
 considered as a political advantage which may be 
 productive of very serious results. 
 
 The following memorandum, which Mr. M'Kenzie 
 published in Upper Canada, together with the notes 
 which have been just quoted, sufficiently show the 
 mischievous application that may be made of these 
 improper interviews. 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 Memorandum.—On Wednesday, the 7th of November, 
 1832, I had the honour of a very long interview with the 
 Secretary of State; and on the day following the despatch 
 was written, which is an answer, in part, to my representa¬ 
 tions. 
 
 (Signed) W. L. M'Kenzie. 
 
 The despatch from the Colonial Minister to 
 His Excellency Sir John Colborne, to which 
 Mr. M'Kenzie here alludes, is one of the most 
 extraordinary public documents ever published in 
 Upper Canada. It begins as follows: 
 
 (copy.) Dowjiing-street, Nov. 8, 1832. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 During several months past, I have been in occasional 
 communication with Mr. William M'Kenzie upon the sub¬ 
 ject of the grievances said to exist in Upper Canada, and 
 for redress of which various petitions have been addressed 
 
8 
 
 to his Majesty. I propose in this despatch to follow Mr. 
 M'Kenzie through those parts of his statement, respecting 
 the representation of the inhabitants in the House of Gene¬ 
 ral Assembly, which appear to me essential to the consi¬ 
 deration of the practical questions he has undertaken to 
 agitate. 
 
 The despatch accordingly obsequiously follows 
 Mr. M'Kenzie through the whole course of his most 
 insulting abuse of the executive, legislative, civil 
 and religious authorities of the colony; and in one 
 instance, merely because Mr. M'Kenzie, an unprinci¬ 
 pled, vagrant grievance-monger,had complained “that 
 the law, as interpreted by the Court of King’s Bench, 
 entitles the county members only to wages,” without 
 asking His Excellency Sir John Colborne or the 
 House of Assembly itself for explanation or vindica¬ 
 tion, the despatch says, “ I have no right to interfere 
 with the deliberations of the Council, but I am able 
 to signify to you his Majesty’s pleasure that you 
 should not oppose any objection to any law which 
 may be presented for your acceptance for placing the 
 town and county representations on the same footing- 
 in this respect.” 
 
 Again, because Mr. M'Kenzie had complained 
 that various religious bodies, not choosing to take an 
 oath, were excluded from the elective franchise, the 
 despatch most humbly says, “I shall be happy to 
 introduce a bill into parliament for amending this part 
 of the constitutional Act of 1791, unless there should 
 
9 
 
 appear to be some difficulty in that measure which 
 does not occur to me at present.” 
 
 The influence of the crown appears to have been 
 as successfully attacked by Mr. M‘Kenzie as the 
 great constitutional Act of 1791, for, in reply to Mr. 
 M'Kenzie’s accusations that “ the crown possessed 
 an undue influence in the Provincial Legislature,” 
 the despatch says, " If this could be shown, his 
 Majesty would not hesitate to assent to any law 
 which might be passed for the purpose of limiting the 
 number of persons holding offices at pleasure who 
 should be permitted at one time to sit there.” 
 
 This uncalled-for surrender of the influence of the 
 crown,when compared with succeeding events, forms a 
 most melancholy illustration of the following ominous 
 prophecy, with which it was officially accompanied: 
 “ Mr. M'Kenzie,” says the despatch to Sir John 
 Col borne, “ has concluded his paper by predictions 
 of bloodshed and civil tear, and a dissolution of the 
 connexion between Upper Canada and this kingdom. 
 
 “ But against gloomy prophecies of this nature 
 every man conversant with public business must 
 learn to fortify his mind. They have ever been 
 the resource of those who endeavour to extort 
 from the fears of government concessions in 
 favour of which no adequate reasons coidd be 
 urged.” 
 
 Nothing could be more applicable to Mr. 
 MTvenzie than the above remark, and yet, as if to 
 
10 
 
 prove how much easier it is to preach wisdom than 
 to practise it, the despatch concludes by saying to 
 his Excellency Sir John Colborne,— 
 
 “ I have received these documents from Mr. 
 M'Kenzie, not merely as expressing his own opinion, 
 but also as explanatory of the views of those who 
 have deputed him to represent what they call their 
 grievances to his Majesty. To them, the utmost 
 possible respect is due. 
 
 “ Having written this despatch with a view to 
 publicity, you have my authority to make it public in 
 whatever manner you may think most convenient.” 
 
 Now, instead of appearing at the Colonial Oifice as 
 a broken-down pedlar and a notorious disturber of 
 the public mind, let us suppose that Mr. M'Kenzie 
 had come from a distant colony to the Horse Guards, 
 to complain against the military officer in command, 
 —can any one believe that Lord Hill would have 
 taken any other notice of the complainant than 
 mildly, but firmly, to have desired him to transmit 
 his communication through his commanding officer ? 
 
 In case a sailor, or even a naval officer, were to 
 come up to London to abuse his commodore, would 
 not the Admiralty pursue the same course, and ought 
 not our colonial governors and legislators to be 
 supported by the Colonial Office with that common 
 caution which would induce every judge and magis¬ 
 trate, or, indeed, any sensible person, not to deliver, 
 
11 
 
 or even to form, an opinion on an ex parte statement ? 
 Yet, in the case before us, the accusations of a man 
 of broken character and fortune against his Excel¬ 
 lency Sir John Colborne, against every constituted 
 authority, and against the feelings of every respect¬ 
 able inhabitant in Upper Canada, were not only list¬ 
 ened to by repeated appointments, but replied to 
 “ with the utmost possible respect ” in the elaborate 
 despatch above alluded to. 
 
 What were Sir John Colborne’s feelings, on un¬ 
 expectedly receiving this most extraordinary commu¬ 
 nication, it surely cannot be necessary to divulge, as 
 the sentiments of the other two branches of the legis¬ 
 lature of Upper Canada sufficiently appear from the 
 following published extracts of their admirable, con¬ 
 stitutional, and indignant reply to the message in 
 which the Lieutenant-Governor transmitted to them 
 a copy of the unfortunate document in question. 
 
 TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN COLBORNE, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 We, his Majesty's dutiful aiul loyal subjects, the legis¬ 
 lative council of Upper Canada, in provincial parliament 
 assembled, beg leave to express our thanks to your Excel¬ 
 lency for laying before us an original despatch, written to 
 your Excellency by the Right Hon. the Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies, on the 8th of November last, containing 
 his Lordship’s observations at great length upon a variety 
 of statements made to him by Mr. W. L. M‘Kenzie, an 
 inhabitant of this town. 
 
12 
 
 The statements upon which these comments have been 
 framed have also been laid before us by your Excellency ; 
 but, without entering into any particular consideration of 
 their contents, with which the council had little desire to 
 become acquainted, enough appears in the tenor of his 
 Lordship’s observations to make it manifest that those state¬ 
 ments have been made with a very unusual disregard of 
 truth, and in a spirit of wanton and intemperate hostility to 
 the legislative and executive authorities in this province. 
 
 We cannot say that it may not possibly give satisfaction 
 to some persons in this province to observe the condescend¬ 
 ing and respectful manner in which representations of so 
 peculiar a description, proceeding from an individual, have 
 been received and replied to, notwithstanding it was evident 
 they were outrageously insulting to all the constituted au¬ 
 thorities of this colony, and scarcely less so to the people at 
 large, in imputing to them sentiments and feelings by which 
 they never have been, and we are convinced never will be, 
 actuated. It is not in the nature of things, however, that 
 the legislative council, or that any portion of the people in 
 this province, of sound hearts and understandings, having the 
 truth under their view, can regard such statements as com¬ 
 pose Mr. M‘Kenzie’s voluminous correspondence with his 
 Majesty’s Secretary of State in any other manner than with 
 the most unqualified contempt —a contempt which, upon 
 every principle on which character is acquired or lost, we 
 think it must be more conducive to the public interests and 
 honour, and to all the ends of good government, to avow 
 than disclaim. So far, therefore, as the despatch of his 
 Majesty’s Secretary of State is to be considered as a reply to 
 those statements, or as a commentary upon information de¬ 
 rived from the same source, we cannot regard it as calling 
 for the serious attention of the legislative council. 
 
We appeal, however, to the intimate knowledge of this 
 colony which your Excellency has acquired during a resi¬ 
 dence of four years, for a confirmation of our remark, that, 
 upon several of the questions which in this despatch are 
 most elaborately discussed, no dissatisfaction or difficulty 
 prevails, or ever has prevailed ; that no person living here 
 ever heard or imagined before that they were seriously 
 talked of or thought of as grievances; and that the minds 
 of the people are so far from being disquieted by them, 
 that it is probable not a word would be heard upon them in 
 travelling from one extremity of the province to the other, 
 and in mingling with its industrious population through 
 every portion of it. 
 
 It has been painful to the legislative council to see that, 
 in a discussion founded upon these documents, the office of 
 Lieutenant-Governor of this province, and the names of some 
 of the most responsible of the King’s servants, are even 
 hypothetically connected with imputations which no one can 
 
 easily tolerate to find connected with his name. 
 
 (Signed) John B. Robinson, Speaker, 
 Legislative Council Chamber , 
 
 2nd day of February , 1833. 
 
 TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN COLBORNE, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 We, his Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Com¬ 
 mons of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament as¬ 
 sembled, return our thanks for your Excellency’s message 
 of the twelfth day of January last, transmitting a de¬ 
 spatch of the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for the 
 Colonies, in answer to certain letters and documents ad- 
 
14 
 
 dressed to his Lordship for the purpose of proving that the 
 people of this happy and prosperous colony are oppressed 
 and burthened with grievances, and have become so discon¬ 
 tented that there is danger of revolt and bloodshed, unless 
 these alleged burthens and grievances are removed and 
 redressed. 
 
 We most readily concede that the noble Secretary of 
 State was actuated by the best motives in framing the de¬ 
 spatch in question ; but w T e cannot refrain from expressing 
 our great regret that it did not occur to his Lordship 
 that allegations thus deeply affecting the character of his 
 Majesty’s subjects of Upper Canada rested on no better 
 testimony than that of an individual who had been twice 
 expelled this House, and who, in consequence of his having 
 fabricated and reiterated libels of the grossest description, 
 had been declared unfit and unworthy a seat in the As¬ 
 sembly during the present parliament. If this fact had 
 occurred to his Lordship, it is reasonable to suppose that he 
 would not have felt himself at liberty to recognise the 
 author of this additional calumny on the people of this 
 province as the agent, or as speaking the sentiments, of any 
 portion of the loyal inhabitants of the province of Upper 
 Canada, and would therefore have considered it utterly 
 unnecessary to enter into so elaborate an examination or 
 refutation of anything advanced by him. 
 
 (Signed) Arch. M‘Lkan, Speaker. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly , 
 
 9th day of February, 1833. 
 
 One would have thought that the manly indigna¬ 
 tion displayed in these high-spirited, loyal remon- 
 
15 
 
 strances from both branches of the Canadian 
 Legislature would have induced the Colonial Office 
 to have drawn in for ever the horns with which even 
 then it was feeling its way towards democracy: 
 however, Mr. M'Kenzie had still access to the de¬ 
 partment, and, as her Majesty’s Attorney and Soli¬ 
 citor generals of Upper Canada had joined in 
 ignominously expelling him from the House of As¬ 
 sembly, he determined to endeavour to display the 
 almost royal influence he possessed, by making it 
 appear that he had induced the Colonial Minister to 
 dismiss both these officers from his Majesty’s service. 
 Accordingly, with this object in view, he has pub¬ 
 lished in Upper Canada the following note and 
 memorandum:— 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 Lord Howick presents his compliments to Mr. M‘Ken- 
 zie, and will be happy to see him, if he will be good enough 
 to call on him, Monday, at twelve o’clock. 
 
 Colonial Office, 7th March, 1833. 
 
 Memorandum. —This note was addressed to me on the 
 occasion on which the Colonial Office resolved to change the 
 Attorney and Solicitor generals of Upper Canada, in answer 
 to my representations as to their conduct. 
 
 (Signed) W. L. M‘Kenzie. 
 
 Accordingly, within one day of the date of Lord 
 Howick’s note, a despatch (6th March, 1833, and 
 published by Mr. M‘Kenzie) was addressed to Sir 
 John Colborne, which, after referring to the part 
 
16 
 
 which the two crown officers had taken in joining 
 in the votes for the expulsion of Mr. M‘I\enzie, 
 concluded by saying, “ I have received his Majesty’s 
 commands to inform you that he regrets that he can 
 no longer avail himself of their services, and that, 
 from the time of your receiving this despatch, they 
 are to be relieved from the duties imposed upon them 
 in their respective offices.” 
 
 At the time this despatch was written it was 
 known to every loyal man in the North American 
 colonies that Mr. M'Kenzie was secretly, in his heart, 
 the same rebel and the same traitor which experience 
 has since proved him to be; and, although it might 
 have been deemed impolitic in the crown officers to 
 avow their natural hostility to such a being, yet the 
 bare fact of the Colonial Office publicly expelling 
 them with ignominy at the very moment when it was 
 known that Mr. M‘Kenzie was revelling in Down- 
 ing-street, reading confidential communications 
 which ought never to have been submitted to him, 
 had the effect of disheartening the British, and of 
 encouraging the republicans to believe most confi¬ 
 dently that the Colonial Office was with them, and 
 that, with that resistless engine to assist them, their 
 dark nameless object must eventually succeed. 
 
 On Mr. M'Kenzie’s return from England he was 
 accordingly hailed by the republicans, or anti-British, 
 as their “conquering hero,” and, supported as he had 
 been in Downing-street, it was not surprising that 
 
 
17 
 
 he succeeded in regaining a seat in the House of As¬ 
 sembly, where lie was enabled to ejaculate falsehoods 
 almost faster than his own infamous newspaper and 
 the republican press could manage to print them. 
 
 The loyal being dispirited, it was not surprising 
 that at the next election the republicans should be 
 successful. Accordingly, at the meeting of the session 
 m January, 183a, a large majority of republican 
 members (13 of whom actually were Americans) 
 was obtained. Mr. Bidwell, an avowed enemy to 
 monarchical institutions, and an incurable American 
 in his mind, manner, and utterance, was elected 
 Speaker ; and, as Mr. M'lvenzie’s grievances had 
 proved so fruitful and so successful to the radical 
 cause, it was determined to sicken the loyalists by a 
 second dose, and, accordingly, before the session was 
 a fortnight old, a grievance committee was appointed 
 as follows:— 
 
 1. W. L. M'Kenzie, 
 
 For whose apprehension for treason, murder, arson, and 
 highway robbery a reward of 1000/. is now offered. 
 
 2. T. D. Morrison, 
 
 Since tried for treason, and has suddenly quitted the 
 province. 
 
 3. David Gibson, 
 
 One of M'Kenzie’s principal officers in the battle of Gallow- 
 hiH) on which day, having absconded, he is now out¬ 
 lawed as a traitor, a reward of 500/. having been offered 
 for his apprehension. 
 
 C 
 
4. Charles Waters, 
 
 A notorious republican. 
 
 Although the transparent veil, which covered 
 rather than concealed the character of this commit¬ 
 tee, had not as yet rebelliously been cast aside, still it 
 was just as evident in our North American colonies 
 then as it is now, that the whole and sole objects for 
 which these republicans were striving w T ere— 
 
 1. Separation of the Canadas from the mother- 
 
 country. 
 
 2. The robbery and murder of the loyal inhabit¬ 
 
 ants. 
 
 3. The attainment of that general letter of licence 
 
 which is the natural effect, in a young, thinly- 
 peopled country, of a sudden transition to de¬ 
 mocracy. 
 
 It was perfectly well known to every man of cha¬ 
 racter in Upper Canada that, because the report of 
 this Grievance Committee would be written by its 
 chairman, Mr. M'Kenzie, it could possibly not, in the 
 nature of things, contain anything but a confused 
 mass of falsehoods and misrepresentations, forming 
 the basis of new demands upon the Colonial Office, 
 that the power of the Lieutenant-Governor should 
 be weakened—that his Executive Council should be 
 made “ responsible to the people,” and that the Le¬ 
 gislative Council, which corresponds with our House 
 of Lords, should also be elected by “ the people.” 
 
 All this being clearly foreseen, it became neces- 
 
19 
 
 sary for Mr. M'Kenzie and his colleagues, in deliver¬ 
 ing themselves of their report, to have recourse to a 
 considerable degree of stratagem. Accordingly, a 
 very few days before the close of the session, Mr. 
 M'Kenzie, at midnight, brought up in the House of 
 Assembly, when it was thinly attended, this report of 
 the Giievance Committee, which, without being 
 read, was merely received and laid on the table. 
 It was not adopted , but, on its being artfully pro¬ 
 posed that 2000 copies of it should be printed in 
 ‘pamphlet form ” (thereby giving the house to 
 understand that this report, whatever it might con¬ 
 tain, was after all a mere pamphlet), even this was 
 opposed and eventually carried only by a majority 
 of eight. 
 
 On the following morning, and on the two suc¬ 
 ceeding days, several members inquired for this 
 Grievance Report, but for three days it could not 
 anywhere be found, until it was again produced by 
 Mr. M Kenzie himself, who was obliged to confess 
 he had taken it home with him ; and it is now well 
 known that he did so for the purpose of surrep¬ 
 titiously inserting, previous to its being printed, a 
 quantity of additional matter; and with this base 
 transaction the session closed. 
 
 At the end of May the report of the Committee 
 was printed, and, when it made its appearance, instead 
 of being in “ pamphlet form,” it turned out to be a 
 large octavo grievance volume, in boards, contain- 
 
 c 2 
 
ing 553 closely-printed pages ; and it has been 
 calculated (I believe accurately) that there exist in 
 this book more than three times as many gross false¬ 
 hoods as pages ! 
 
 As every respectable inhabitant in the colony 
 knew that nothing but wilful misrepresentations 
 could proceed from the pen of Mr. M‘Kenzie, the 
 insulting libels which this report contained on the 
 Executive Government, the Executive Council, the 
 Legislative Council, and on everything that is 
 venerated in our social fabric, were treated with in¬ 
 difference and contempt, and by no one more so 
 than by His Excellency Sir John Colborne, who at 
 once forwarded the infamous volume to the Colonial 
 Office, with a few short observations, pointing out 
 the glaring “ falsehoods” it contained. 
 
 On the arrival in Downing-street of this huge 
 book of grievances, declared by the Lieutenant- 
 Governor to be full of “ falsehoods,” which had not 
 appeared before or even been alluded to by the 
 Legislative or Executive Councils, and which had 
 neither been read nor adopted by the House of 
 the representatives of the people of Upper Canada, 
 one would have thought that the Colonial Office 
 would have recollected the punishment under 
 which it had lately smarted—first, by the stern, 
 manly rebuke it had received from both Houses of 
 the Legislature, for having, without consulting them, 
 recommended legislative proceedings on Mr. M‘Ken- 
 
21 
 
 zie’s alleged grievances—and, secondly, by the hu¬ 
 miliating necessity to which it had been reduced, of 
 publicly restoring to office the two crown officers 
 who (Mi. M Kenzie has stated) were dismissed in 
 consequence of his representation. 
 
 One would have thought that, as “a burnt child 
 dieads the fire, such fatal experience would have 
 taught the Colonial Office to shudder at the very 
 name of Mr. M‘Kenzie—that it would have taught 
 the Office to place a just confidence in the Lieute¬ 
 nant-Governor of the colony, and never again, by 
 listening to ex-parte unofficial statements, to subvert 
 all rule and government, by giving the Governor and 
 Legislature the go-by. But the policy of the Colo¬ 
 nial Office was immoveable—its course unalterable 
 
 its malady incurable; and, though it was perfectly 
 aware of the struggle that was taking place on the 
 continent of America between monarchy and demo¬ 
 cracy, it deliberately threw its immense influence 
 into the wrong scale! 
 
 Accordingly, instead of disregarding this un¬ 
 adopted, and even unread, report of a party who have 
 since shown they were a nest of traitors; instead of 
 supporting the Executive Government, which had 
 been infamously reviled, they came to the determina¬ 
 tion, not only to recall His Excellency Sir John 
 Colborne from his post, principally because he had 
 treated this report with silent contempt, but, as if to 
 gild the fame, or rather the infamy of Mr. M‘Kenzie, 
 
22 
 
 they resolved to submit for the King’s approval a 
 series of drastic remedies for almost all the fictitious 
 disorders which the wicked report of Mr. M'Kenzie 
 had detailed. That brave and gallant veteran officer 
 Sir John Colborne (whom, though a slight difference 
 exists between us, I both respect and regard) was 
 accordingly officially apprized that he would immedi¬ 
 ately be removed—remedial concessions were framed 
 —the loyal population were again disheartened— 
 the republicans again improperly boasted that the 
 Home Government was with them;—and thus ends 
 the first chapter of the political accidents it has 
 become my melancholy fortune to relate. 
 
..tnffflf 
 
 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The History of my Appointment to the Government of Upper 
 Canada in November, 1835 . 
 
 It had blown almost a hurricane from the S.S. W._ 
 
 the sheep in Romney Marsh had huddled together in 
 gioups the cattle, afraid to feed, were still standing 
 with their tails to the storm—I had been all day im 
 mured in New Romney with the board of guardians 
 of the Marsh Union ; and though, several times my 
 horse had been nearly blown off the road, I had ma¬ 
 naged to return to my lodging at Cranbrook; and, 
 with my head full of the unions, parishes, magistrates, 
 guardians, relieving officers, and paupers of the 
 county of Kent, like Abon Hassan, I had retired 
 to rest, and for several hours had been fast asleep, 
 when, about midnight, I was suddenly awakened by 
 the servant of my lodging, who, with a letter in one 
 hand, and in the other a tallow candle, illumining an 
 honest countenance, not altogether free from alarm, 
 hurriedly informed me, “ That a king's officer had 
 come after me! ” 
 
 M hat could possibly be the matter in the work- 
 house of this busy world I could not clearly conceive; 
 however, sitting up in my bed, I opened the letter, 
 which, to my utter astonishment, was from the Secre¬ 
 tary of State for the Colonies, expressing a wish that 
 
24 
 
 I should accept the government of Upper Canada ; 
 and that, if possible, I would call upon him with my 
 answer, at half-past eight the following morning, as 
 at nine o’clock he was to set out for Brighton, to see 
 the King. 
 
 As I was totally unconnected with every member 
 of the Government, and had never had the honour 
 even of seeing Lord Glenelg in my life, I was alto¬ 
 gether at a loss to conceive why this appointment 
 should have been offered to me. However, as it ap¬ 
 peared there was no time to be lost, I immediately 
 got up, and, returning to London in the chaise of the 
 King’s messenger who had brought me the communi¬ 
 cation, I reached my own house at Kensington at 
 six o’clock, and having consulted with my family, 
 whose opinions on the subject of the appointment 1 
 found completely coincided with my own, I waited 
 upon Lord Glenelg at his residence, at the hour ap¬ 
 pointed (half-past eight), when I most respectfully, 
 and very gratefully, declined the appointment. 
 
 To this determination Lord Glenelg very obligingly 
 replied, .by repeating to me his wish to be enabled to 
 submit my name to the King for so important and 
 difficult a trust: he begged me to reconsider the 
 subject; and, in order that I might be enabled to do 
 so, he requested me to go and converse with his un¬ 
 der-secretary, Mr. Stephen, who, his Lordship said 
 would give me every information on the subject. 
 
 Nothing could be more uncongenial to my habits. 
 
25 
 
 disposition, and opinions than the station that was 
 offered to me : while, on the other hand, as regarded 
 my appointment in the poor-law commission, never 
 had. I been engaged in a service the duties of which 
 had so completely engrossed my mind. Rightly or 
 wrongly, it now matters not, I fancied that, against 
 prejudice and clamour, I should eventually succeed in 
 the noblest, and to my mind the most interesting, of 
 all services, that of reviving the character and condi¬ 
 tion of the English labourer ; and as, notwithstanding 
 the unpopularity of the new Act, I had, thanks to the 
 magistrates, yeomanry, and farmers of the county of 
 Kent, carried it into effect by acclamation, the plea¬ 
 sure as well as interest of the task was daily increas¬ 
 ing. 
 
 If the poor -law commissioners had expressed the 
 slightest wish to remove me from Kent to any sta¬ 
 tion of greater difficulty, or even of danger, it would 
 of course have been my especial duty not to have 
 declined; but, as the Colonial Office had not the 
 slightest claim upon me, and as I was really grossly 
 ignorant of everything that in any way related to the 
 government of our colonies, I continued, so far as 
 my own wishes, and even interests were concerned, 
 to adhere to my opinion. 
 
 Still, however, I did not like to persist in refusing 
 my humble services to the King’s Government, after 
 they had been twice required of me ; and accordingly, 
 walking towards Downing-street, under this con- 
 
26 
 
 fliction of feelings, it was with considerable reluctance 
 that I entered the door of the Colonial Office. 
 
 In obedience to a principle which I need not re¬ 
 peat, I at last, without any further reference to my 
 family, expressed to Mr. Stephen that I would under¬ 
 take the duty ; and accordingly a letter was, without 
 delay, despatched to Brighton to Lord Glenelg, who, 
 on receiving it, immediately submitted to the King 
 my name, ol which his Majesty was graciously 
 pleased to approve. 
 
 I must now mention a few details which, though 
 not very interesting to relate, had perhaps better not 
 be withheld from the public. 
 
 In my interview with Mr. Stephen I learnt that, 
 from motives of economy, which, in a moment of so 
 much alleged danger, I could not clearly comprehend, 
 there would be a difficulty in continuing to me an 
 aid-de-camp, and that, not only was I to receive 
 500/. a-year less salary than my predecessor, but 
 that, instead of his military remuneration, which 
 amounted, I understood, to nearly 1000/. a-year, I 
 was to lorfeit to the Government my half-pay as 
 major in the army. 
 
 With respect to these arrangements, I at once very 
 distinctly observed to Mr. Stephen that, although it 
 was, ol course, utterly impossible for me even to ima¬ 
 gine what would be the official expenses to which I 
 should be subjected, yet that, as so many governors, 
 one after another, were supposed to have failed in 
 
their missions, and as the difficulties which had over¬ 
 come them were declared to have increased rather 
 than to have diminished, 1 considered it was unrea¬ 
 sonable, as well as imprudent, in the Government to 
 ask me to encounter them with diminished means. I 
 told Mr. Stephen that to go without an aid-de-camp 
 to a disturbed colony, where the Governor had always 
 been seen to have one, would in my opinion be im ¬ 
 politic ; and I added that, as I was altogether below 
 my predecessors (Sir Peregrine Maitland and Sir 
 John Colborne) in military rank, and that as I was 
 to be divested of the command of the troops, I thought 
 the civil elevation of a baronetcy ought to be con¬ 
 ferred upon me. 
 
 In short, my argument ran upon the theory that 
 I thought I ought not to go into action without as 
 many shot in my locker, and as much support, as 
 my predecessors had had. I declared I wanted no 
 more. 
 
 In reply, Mr. Stephen admitted the justness of my 
 theory. He told me that I ought to have an aid-de- 
 camp—that he thought I should be justified in in¬ 
 sisting that my official expenses, as Lord Gos- 
 ford’s had been, should ;be defrayed—that if a 
 batch of baronets were to be created there would be 
 no difficulty ; but there were so many applications 
 for the distinction, that he thought Lord Melbourne 
 might feel he would create jealousy by a single 
 appointment. 
 
28 
 
 The following day I did not see Lord Glenelg; 
 but, as I had been apprized that, in order that the 
 King’s promise to the Legislature of Upper Canada, 
 to give his answer in January, should not be broken, 
 it would be necessary I should sail in a very few days, 
 I thought it advisable that, before I was gazetted, I 
 should repeat in writing the requests I had made to 
 Mr. Stephen. I accordingly did this, and myself 
 delivered the communication to Mr. Stephen, who 
 however advised me not to force it officially upon Lord 
 Glenelg, but to leave him perhaps to speak to his 
 Lordship on the subject. 
 
 I had, I think, only one short interview with Lord 
 Glenelg before I went to the King, at which, though 
 my attention Avas of course occupied Avith higher 
 subjects, I very shortly submitted to his Lordship 
 (in presence, if I recollect right, of Sir George 
 Grey) the propriety of my being raised as nearly as 
 possible to the same level as my predecessor, to 
 which general theory Lord Glenelg Avith his usual 
 kindness of manner replied, “ There is much truth 
 in Avhatyou say.” 
 
 On my arrival at Brighton, in order to be pre¬ 
 sented to the King, I explained the difficulty Avhich 
 had been raised about my aid-de-camp, to which it 
 was replied, “ You really ought not to go out with¬ 
 out one ! ” 
 
 Everybody thus seemed to agree with my theory, 
 and yet nothing Avas settled. At last Mr. Stephen 
 
29 
 
 took me to Lord Hovvick, and after considerable 
 trouble I was authorised to appoint Lieut. Halkett, 
 of the Coldstream Guards, as my aid-de-camp. 
 
 As my time was very short, my attention was 
 much engrossed in reading over a voluminous corre¬ 
 spondence which was placed before me in the Colonial 
 Office. I had to wind up, or rather to cut, the thread 
 of my business with the Poor Law Commission, and 
 had also my private affairs to settle ; accordingly the 
 day of my departure arrived without any terms with 
 the Government having been satisfactorily settled. 
 I had been subjected to considerable losses by being- 
 called upon so suddenly to break up my establish¬ 
 ment ; and for temporary outfit I had been thus sub¬ 
 jected to expenses exceeding 500/. 
 
 In order that the King’s promise to the Legisla¬ 
 ture of Upper Canada should be fulfilled, instead of 
 being sent, as had been customary, in a King’s ship, 
 I was desired to proceed with my suite, which con¬ 
 sisted of my aid-de-camp, my civil secretary, &c., by 
 the packet to New York, from whence I was to 
 transport them, as well as my baggage, in the 
 depth of winter, through the United States to 
 Canada; and, in order to indemnify me for all these 
 losses, outfit, and expenses, I was offered on the 
 morning of my departure 300/., of which, I was 
 told, it would be necessary to retain 230/. for the 
 fees of my commission. 
 
 With my suite I immediately set off for Liver- 
 
30 
 
 pool; and I was on board the New York packet, 
 which was actually moving out of the harbour, when 
 an official letter was delivered to me by post, can¬ 
 celling the appointment of my aid-de-camp ! 
 
 There was of course no time to remonstrate * 
 however, as Lieut. Halkett, in order to join me, had 
 obtained from the commanding officer of his regi¬ 
 ment a year’s leave of absence, I begged he would 
 employ it by accompanying me to Toronto as my 
 guest, which he accordingly did. 
 
 My arrival in Upper Canada will form the sub¬ 
 ject of the next chapter. I will therefore merely 
 here state that, in the very few words which passed 
 between Sir John Colborne and myself on the sub¬ 
 ject of official expenses, Sir John mentioned to me, 
 in general terms, that these expenses had, during the 
 ten years he had administered the government, ex¬ 
 ceeded his salary of Governor ; and I had scarcely thus 
 learned that the theory I had asserted in the Colonial 
 Office was a practical fact, when I found that, even 
 before I was sworn in, I was debtor to Sir John 
 Colborne 1050/. for stoves, kitchen apparatus, fur¬ 
 niture of public rooms, &c., and that I should be 
 required to pay another 1000/. for horses, car¬ 
 riages, sleighs, linen, liveries, additional furni¬ 
 ture, &c. 
 
 Considering that our valuable North American 
 colonies were supposed almost by everybody in 
 England, and especially by the Government, to be on 
 
31 
 
 the point of separating themselves from the parent 
 state, I will merely ask, was it even politic in the 
 King’s Government to despatch me on so forlorn a 
 hope, not only without sufficient means, but, morally 
 speaking, as destitute of ammunition as General 
 Whitelock's men were, when, without flints or fixed 
 bayonets, they were wilfully marched towards in¬ 
 evitable defeat ? 
 
 Whatever may be tbe opinion of tbe public on 
 this subject, I shall always believe that, had I, inex¬ 
 perienced and unsupported, fallen as soon as I reached 
 my post, his Majesty’s Government would have 
 been liable to impeachment for the loss of our North 
 American colonies. Nevertheless, I really do them 
 the justice to believe that they were so intoxicated 
 by the insane theory of conciliating democracy, 
 that they actually believed the people of Upper 
 Canada would throw up their hats and be delighted 
 at the vulgarity of seeing the representative of their 
 sovereign arrive among them as an actor of all work, 
 without dignity of station, demeanour, or conduct: in 
 short, like a republican governor, who, from his 
 cradle, has been brought up to reckon “ that all 
 men are born equal”—that the fabric of human so¬ 
 ciety has neither top nor bottom—that tbe protection 
 of property of all description belongs to the multi¬ 
 tude, and that the will of the mob is the real 
 “ law of the land.” 
 
32 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 My arrival at Toronto—Strange impression concerning me—The 
 conduct of the Loyalists—and of the Republicans—Copy of letter 
 from Mr. Joseph Hume to Mr. M‘Kenzie, found among Mons. 
 Papineau’s baggage—My communication to his Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment. 
 
 There would be no end to this chapter were I to 
 describe the simplicity of mind, ill-naturedly called 
 ignorance, with which I approached the city of 
 Toronto. 
 
 With Mr. McKenzie’s heavy book of lamentations 
 in my portmanteau, and with my remedial instruc¬ 
 tions in my writing-case, I considered myself as a 
 political physician, who, whether regularly educated 
 or not, was about to effect a surprising cure: for, as I 
 never doubted for a moment either the existence of 
 the 553 pages of grievances, nor that I would merci¬ 
 lessly destroy them root and branch, I felt perfectly 
 confident that I should very soon be able proudly to 
 report that the grievances of Upper Canada were 
 defunct—in fact, that I had veni-ed, vidi-ed, and 
 vici-ed them. 
 
 As, however, I was no more connected with 
 human politics than the horses that were drawing 
 me—as I had never joined any political party, had 
 never attended a political discussion, and had never 
 
33 
 
 even voted at an election, or taken any part in one— 
 it was with no little surprise that, as I drove into 
 Toronto, I observed the walls placarded in large 
 letters which designated me as 
 
 “ Sir Francis Head, a tried reformer.” 
 
 I could soon see that the loyalists looked upon me 
 in this light, and, accordingly, on the very first ap¬ 
 pointment, that of Surveyor-General, which they 
 themselves forced me to make, they almost one and 
 all joined in a very improper petition to the King, 
 which I am sure they have all since deeply regretted. 
 
 Exposed as I knew I must he to the political 
 stoim, it was to me a matter of the most perfect 
 indiffei ence from which quarter of the compass it 
 proceeded. “ I have the grievances of Upper 
 Canada ,” I said to myself, “ and I have their 
 remedies and, whether the Tories liked the medi¬ 
 cine or whether they did not, I cared not a single 
 straw. 
 
 Among those who in private audience presented 
 themselves to me was Mr. Bidwell, the Speaker 
 of the House of Assembly. 
 
 To this gentleman, who was the leader of the re¬ 
 publicans, I expressed the same language which I had 
 addressed to the leaders of the opposite party. I told 
 him plainly that I was an inexperienced man, but 
 that I would deal honestly towards the country; and, 
 being resolutely determined to correct the grievances 
 of the province, I at once took up the book which 
 
 D 
 

 34 
 
 contained them, and invited Mr. Bidwellto converse 
 witn me freely on the subject. 
 
 lo my utter astonishment, he told me that there 
 were'grievances not at all detailed in that book, 
 which “ the people” had long endured and were 
 still enduring with great patience ; that there was no 
 desire to rebel, but that a morbid feeling of dissatis¬ 
 faction was daily increasing—that increase it would , 
 and that, in fact, if it had not been distinctly stated 
 that I was the bearer of new instructions, those with 
 whom he was associated had come to the determina¬ 
 tion never to meet in provincial parliament again. 
 
 TJ hat, do you mean , Sir said I, " that this book 
 of grievances, which I have been especially sent to 
 correct, does not contain the complaints of the pro¬ 
 vince ? Mr. Bidwell repeated his former answer, 
 and, from that day to the hour of his leaving the 
 country, never could I get him to look at the book of 
 grievances, but whenever I referred to it he invariably 
 tried to decoy me to some other Will-o-’the-wisp 
 complaint, which in like manner would have flown 
 away before me had I attempted to approach it. 
 
 When Mr. McKenzie, bringing with him a letter 
 of introduction from Mr. Hume, called upon me, I 
 thought that of course he would be too happy to 
 discuss with me the contents of his own book, but 
 his mind seemed to nauseate its subjects even more 
 than Mr. Bidwelfs. Afraid to look me in the face, 
 he sat, with his feet not reaching the ground, and 
 

 - _•. .. .. .. 
 
 35 
 
 with his countenance averted from me, at an angle 
 of about 70 degrees; while, with the eccentricity, 
 the volubility, and indeed the appearance of a mad¬ 
 man, the tiny creature raved in all directions about 
 grievances here, and grievances there, which the 
 Committee, he said, had not ventured to enumerate. 
 
 “ Sir,” I exclaimed, “ Let us cure what we have 
 got here first l” pointing to the book before me. But 
 no, nothing that I could say would induce this pedler 
 to face his own report; and I soon found that the book 
 had the same effect upon all the republican members, 
 and that, like the repellent end of a magnet, I had 
 only to present it to the radicals to drive them from 
 the very object which His Majesty’s Government 
 expected would have possessed attraction. 
 
 Although I had arrived in total darkness, the light 
 of truth at once now bursting upon my mind, I per¬ 
 ceived most clearly that the republicans had over¬ 
 reached themselves; or, in still plainer terms, that 
 they had killed the goose which had been laying 
 them golden eggs. The following Guy-Faux letter 
 from Mr. Joseph Hume, M.P., to Mr. M'Kenzie, 
 points out the cautious, cunning, bit-by-bit course of 
 “ reform,” which, in order to attain their treasonable 
 object, the republicans in our colonies ought to have 
 adopted, instead of dangerously asking for too much 
 at a time, or of ever rashly committing the sum total 
 of their grievances to paper. 
 
 This letter, which was taken among Mr. Papi- 
 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 neau’s baggage after he had absconded, was endorsed 
 in the traitor’s own hand-writing as follows : 
 
 " Jos. Hume. Addressed to W. L. APKenzie, ad- 
 
 “ vice respecting the policy to be pursued by 
 “ him.” 
 
 “ To William Lyon M'Kenzie, of Toronto. 
 
 “ Lon dot}, December oth, 1835. 
 
 “ Mr dear Sir, 
 
 ^ on will learn, with as much pleasure as surprise, of 
 i lie recall of j our present Lieutenant-Governor, and of the 
 appointment of Sir Francis Head to succeed him. Of the 
 causes which produced this very fortunate change I will not 
 now dilate, but congratulate you and the people of the pro¬ 
 vince of the choice made of Sir Francis. 
 
 " Sir Francis is knowa as the author of • Observations 
 • on South America,’ whither he went on some mining ex¬ 
 pedition, and as the author of the ‘ Bubbles of the Brun- 
 
 ‘ Dens ' He has ^ employed as poor-law commissioner 
 in Kent, and his conduct and principles have been much 
 approved of. 
 
 " He has been selected as a civilian, as I hope it is now 
 die determination to send civilians as governors, instead of 
 the military men, as heretofore. Sir Francis has, therefore, 
 
 I believe, sold out ot the army. I send you a letter of in¬ 
 troduction to Sir Francis, to whom I have given* the 1st 
 and 7th Report of your Committee of Grievances, that he 
 may read and study them on his voyage to Canada; I gave 
 
 * Mr. Hume sent these reports and letters to me. He wrote me 
 a note proposing an interview, which I politely declined, and, after 
 having read his papers, returned them by a messenger.—F.B. H. 
 
37 
 
 him some of your late letters to me to read, so that he 
 might know the grievances you have to complain of, and 
 arrive in some degree acquainted with your province. If I 
 had your other reports, I should have given him a copy. I 
 gave my first copy to Sir George Grey, Under Secretary, 
 and Mr. Chapman has replaced that one by those you sent 
 him. If these had been in time, I should have met Sir 
 Francis Head, and have explained to him my view of your 
 situation, but I have written to him shortly on these sub¬ 
 jects. I enclose you a letter to him, and send you a copy 
 of that letter, that you may see what I have said to him. 
 
 “ My anxiety is, that you and all the reformers should 
 receive Sir Francis in the best possible manner, and do 
 everything consistent with principle to meet his views and 
 wishes. We think Sir Francis will do what is possible to 
 conciliate and settle matters, and you must make allowance 
 for the instructions he may have from Downing Street, 
 where I do not think they have yet come to the resolution 
 of doing to the colonists what they are doing, or striving to 
 do, for the people of the United Kingdom. 
 
 “ When I tell you that to us, who are on the spot, and 
 watching every movement of ministers, there appears to be 
 a reluctance to make reforms efficient for the objects con¬ 
 templated, and that we have still the battle to fight for ex¬ 
 tended suffrage—for protection for our electors in voting— 
 for equal civil rights to all classes of religious opinions— 
 for reform in our courts of law, &c., you must not be sur¬ 
 prised if the ministers are not prepared to yield you an 
 elective Legislative Assembly, which is one chief object of 
 your demands. You must have patience, and take as much 
 as you can get quietly. I approve much of the spirit of the 
 speech of Lord Gosford to the Assembly of Lower Canada, 
 
and trust that Sir Francis Head will do as much for you. 
 In that case, and you will be right to demand equal justice, 
 I would have you moderate your demands for the Legisla¬ 
 tive Council, and get all the other rights fairly established. 
 If I could have influence with Mr. Papineau and his asso¬ 
 ciates, I would counsel him to accept cheerfully the prof¬ 
 fered concessions by the Government, and give a fair trial 
 to the Government under the new and improved system. 
 You must bear in mind that the conduct of the House of 
 Lords in the last session has raised in the minds of the 
 reformers here a conviction, as strong as it can be either in 
 Upper or Lower Canada, that the House of Lords should 
 be elective and responsible , and I have given notice for an 
 inquiry, with that view, in the ensuing session. We do not 
 expect to carry that measure, as Lord John Russell has, in 
 public speeches, declared his intention to resist—to resist 
 any interference with the House of Lords and their privi¬ 
 leges. But we shall discuss the nature and constitution and 
 power of that House, and take , in the mean time , all the 
 concessions we can , to complete the Reform Bill, and other 
 measures now in progress. We do this to get quietly what 
 can be used afterwards for getting more , if that shall after 
 trial be necessary. Your demands respecting the Legisla¬ 
 tive Council are exactly the same in principle as ours respect¬ 
 ing the Lords. Responsibility to the people in both coun¬ 
 tries I deem essential for good government, and for the 
 power and satisfaction of the people. But I must consider 
 the resistance to that concession, and wait the proper time 
 for urging the demand, so as not to interfere with other 
 reform going on. 
 
 “Our object, therefore, in your object ; and I request 
 you to use your influence to prevent that question, if it should 
 
39 
 
 not be yielded by your Governor* from causing' strife or ill 
 will between the Reformers and the Government. I observe 
 that Lord Gosford has left the Legislative Council* as to its 
 election by the people* out of his speech; but he has pro¬ 
 mised to improve it by leaving out all those dependent 
 functionaries* and you should try to get on with that* the 
 best way you can, for some time. Whenever we succeed in 
 England* you will have no difficulty in Canada in obtaining 
 an improved Legislative Council* and I hope you will keep 
 that in view. 
 
 “ I wish you would convey to Mr. Papineau, in Lower 
 Canada* this opinion and advice* as the one which all the 
 best friends of Canada in this country would offer* and let 
 them consolidate and mature what his Lordship has offered 
 to give them. My friend Mr. Roebuck, and some others 
 here* are too sanguine * and disposed to demand too much * 
 and in a manner likely to do harm to the party here; and 
 I should* therefore* be delighted to see a tone of moderation 
 and conciliation assumed by the popular party in both 
 countries* in answer to the overtures of the present Whig 
 Government. You will bear in mind that the Liberal party 
 here have the court* the aristocracy, and the church all 
 against them* and that it is sound policy in the Radicals 
 not to urge demands from the Whigs which shall* in any 
 way, give ground for the King to throw off the Whigs and 
 to take the Tories to power. Every day the Whigs remain 
 in power* the power of the people is increasing, and the 
 power of the Tories and the church is decreasing: I there¬ 
 fore entreat you to prevail upon the Reformers in both 
 Canadas to act with moderation; and* whilst they continue 
 to state what their ultimate and just demands are* receive 
 with conciliation what they can get towards the ameliora¬ 
 tion of your existing grievances. 
 
40 
 
 “ If the Reformers, from the Ultra-Radical to the milk- 
 and-water Tory-Whig, had not acted on these principles in 
 the last session, the Tories would have remained in power* 
 and we should not have got Municipal Reform and other 
 reform, as now going on. 
 
 “ You may take my advice, who have never flinched from 
 giving an honest advice to the Canadians, that the healing 
 of their differences in the Canadas, by accepting the con¬ 
 cessions offered, will please the Ministers here, and give 
 satisfaction to the King, who is understood to take a warm 
 interest in your affairs. Take wliat you can get —petition 
 for the rest; but use cool language, and act with moderation 
 in every way. You may trust to us here, that every acces¬ 
 sion of right and power, by the people of the United King¬ 
 dom, will soon be returned to the Canadians. I shall be 
 pleased to hear from you from time to time, and, with best 
 wishes for your success, 
 
 “ I remain. 
 
 Yours obediently, 
 
 (Signed) “Joseph Hume.” 
 
 “ P.S.—The Tories here have been boasting much of 
 their success in the late registration of votes, but I believe 
 without truth. I believe Reformers are stronger than ever 
 all over the country, and that, with the aid of the Munici¬ 
 pal Councils, the majority for Reform in the House of 
 Commons, in the next election, will be 150 at the least. 
 The Tories are boasting of an early dissolution, and that 
 Sir Robert Feel will again be in office soon; but, as the 
 present Ministry will not resign, I do not think the King 
 will try another covp-d’etat , as he did in November last 
 year. 
 
 “ From all this you will conclude that the Whigs will 
 remain, and, as they cannot stand without the Radicals , 
 
41 
 
 the Ministers must be doing a little to please them, and 
 thus the rights of the people will be gradually secured. 
 
 « J. H.” 
 
 Having endeavoured to explain the position in 
 which I found myself, after my first fortnight’s expe¬ 
 rience in provincial government, I will now lay 
 before my readers a despatch which was written 
 within a week of my arrival at Toronto. 
 
 Government House , Feb. 5, 1836. 
 
 My Loud, 
 
 In my despatch. No. 2, I informed your Lord- 
 ship that I arrived at Toronto on the 23rd ult. I 
 had previously engaged apartments, for myself and 
 the three gentlemen who accompanied me, at the 
 principal hotel in this city, but on my arrival a letter 
 from Sir John Colborne was immediately delivered 
 to me, by his aid-de-camp, informing me that rooms 
 were prepared for me at Government-House. Re¬ 
 quiring rest and quietness, I at first declined the 
 invitation; but, finding that party differences were 
 running very high, and being desirous to show that 
 I had at least arrived with unbiassed feelings, I 
 thought it better to accept than to decline the atten¬ 
 tion that was offered to me, and I accordingly went 
 to Government-House on Saturday. 
 
 On Monday J. Avas sworn in as Lieutenant-Go¬ 
 vernor of this province, and the following morning 
 Sir John Colborne and his family left Toronto for 
 
42 
 
 Montreal, accompanied, for a few miles, by a vast 
 concourse of people, who, I was happy to see, vied 
 with each other in testifying the sense they enter¬ 
 tained of his amiable character and high moral 
 worth. 
 
 On Sir John Colborne’s departure I endea¬ 
 voured to make myself acquainted with the outline 
 of public feeling in the province, by conversing 
 calmly with the men of most ability of all parties. 
 I had several interviews with the chief-justice and 
 the officers of the crown, two long conversations with 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, member for York, two interviews 
 with Mr. Bidwell, the Speaker of the House of As¬ 
 sembly, and with others. 
 
 As far as I was capable of judging, it appeared 
 to me that, in general terms, a good feeling pervaded 
 a majority of the people of this province, who, in¬ 
 tently occupied in their various locations, are natu¬ 
 rally desirous to be tranquil, and equally disposed to 
 be loyal. 
 
 That party feeling, however, and struggle for 
 office, which have existed so strongly in the mother- 
 country, have produced similar excitements in this 
 province; added to which, strong republican prin¬ 
 ciples have leaked into the country from the 
 United States. These various elements have long 
 been conflicting together in the House of Assembly, 
 which, I firmly believe, misrepresents the general 
 feeling and interests of the inhabitants, who, as I have 
 
43 
 
 before said, ardently desire peace, tranquillity, and a 
 continuance of exemption from taxation. But, from 
 the peculiar state of this infant society, all that is 
 good and estimable remains at the bottom, while the 
 surface is agitated by factious discussions. 
 
 In England this evil would soon be corrected by 
 the ebullition of a free press ; but the greatest diffi¬ 
 culty which seems to present itself is, that the press 
 is here conducted by editors who, on all sides, not 
 only misrepresent, but shamelessly falsify, all public 
 events. In Toronto, this unprincipled mode of war¬ 
 fare is so well understood, that it produces but little 
 evil; but the dissemination of falsehood throughout 
 the remote districts of the province, as well as in 
 Lower Canada, creates a moral contagion which it 
 is almost impossible to arrest. 
 
 As tar as I have been able to judge, I should say 
 that the republican party are implacable; that no 
 concession whatever would satisfy them, their self- 
 interested object being to possess themselves of the 
 government of this province, for the sake of lucre and 
 emolument. 
 
 Under these circumstances, I considered that the 
 great danger I had to avoid was the slightest at¬ 
 tempt to conciliate any party; that the only course 
 for me to adopt was to act fearlessly, undisguisedly, 
 and straightforwardly, for the interests of the country, 
 to throw myself on the good sense and good feeling 
 of the people, and abide a result, which, I firmly be¬ 
 lieve, will eventually be triumphant. 
 
 Having resolved on this course, I verbally ex- 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 

 
 44 
 
 plained it to Mr. Bidwell, the Speaker of the House 
 of Assembly, a gentleman of unimpeachable moral 
 character, but of strong republican principles ; to 
 Mr. M‘Kenzie, one of the members for York; to 
 the various heads of parties; and to the members of 
 the Executive Government; and, on the 27th ultimo, 
 I delivered to the two Houses of the Legislature the 
 following speech :— 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, 
 
 As the Lieutenant-Governor of this province, I am com¬ 
 manded by the King to lay before you the answer his 
 Majesty has been pleased to give to the several addresses 
 and representations which proceeded from the two branches 
 of the legislature during your last session. 
 
 This communication I shall submit to you in a Message, 
 which will at once inform you of the difficult and most 
 important duties about to devolve upon me, as well as upon 
 yourselves. 
 
 As regards myself, 1 have nothing either to promise or 
 profess, but 1 trust I shall not call in vain upon you to 
 give me that loyal, constitutional, unbiassed, and fearless 
 assistance which your King expects, and which the rising 
 interests of your country require. 
 
 The newspapers I have forwarded contain the 
 Addresses I received from the Legislative Council, 
 and from the House of Assembly, to which addresses 
 I replied as follows :— 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, 
 
 It is with much satisfaction that I receive your congratu¬ 
 lations upon my assumption of the government of this ini- 
 
45 
 
 portant province, and I cordially participate in the senti¬ 
 ments of gratitude you express for the paternal solicitude of 
 our most gracious Sovereign. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, 
 
 I thank you for the address I have just had the pleasure 
 to receive from you. I appreciate the liberality with which 
 you welcome my arrival among you. I am gratified to 
 learn that you sincerely desire cordially to co-operate with 
 me in the arduous duties which, by command of our revered 
 Sovereign, we are about impartially to perform; and I look 
 with confidence towards the future for the continuance of 
 your loyal support. 
 
 A great difficulty now arose in my mind, namely, 
 whether my message should consist of my instructions 
 and appendix, as I received them, or whether I 
 should condense them. 
 
 I at first attempted the latter course, but, in car¬ 
 rying it into effect, I found the subjects so important, 
 the remedies to be applied requiring so unavoidably 
 the explanatory arguments upon which they had 
 been prescribed, that I felt it was almost impossible 
 for me to undertake correctly to translate them into 
 other words. I also considered, that as unexpected 
 difficulties had lately arisen in Lower Canada, and 
 as the press was at that moment decrying “ the trem¬ 
 bling Government of Great Britain,” any concession 
 proceeding from me might appear as if extorted by 
 the threats of the moment: whereas, I felt that f my 
 instructions were given to both Houses exactly as I 
 
received them, their date would clearly show that 
 they had no reference whatever to the tumultuous 
 proceedings of the day. 
 
 I had also reason to believe that the House of 
 Assembly would not be satisfied with anything short 
 of the precise words of his Majesty s Government, 
 inasmuch as Sir John Colborne had formally an¬ 
 nounced to them, that on my arrival the King’s 
 answer to the addresses and communications from 
 both Houses of the Provincial Legislature would be 
 officially announced to them. I felt confident that 
 they would receive with the greatest suspicion and 
 dissatisfaction any alteration made by me, and that 
 although I might certainly assert the prerogative of 
 refusing to accede to their wishes, yet that such a 
 course would belie the straightforward policy which 
 I had declared I would adopt, and at once involve 
 me in an ignominious dispute, amounting, alter all, 
 to nothing less than a quibble, because as I was 
 actually ordered by your Lordship to give them the 
 substance of my instructions, they might fairly argue 
 that the substance and the reality were and ought to 
 be identical. 
 
 It is true that by giving to them the Appendix 
 which is an extract of Lord Gosford’s instructions, I 
 felt that I might possibly embarrass his Lordship and 
 the Commissioner of Inquiry; but after giving the 
 subject the best reflection I was able, I considered 
 that the point of all others on which the House of 
 
47 
 
 Assembly were most anxious to receive his Majesty’s 
 determination, namely, the alteration, if any, in the 
 Legislative Council, was only mentioned in my 
 instructions by a reference to the said Appendix, and 
 that the manner in which it was there treated was by 
 arguments (which I could not presume to withhold) 
 avowedly declared to be applicable to both the 
 Canadas. 
 
 I also remembered, that in the draft of the Instruc¬ 
 tions and Appendix originally given to me by your 
 Lordship, I was ordered to give the “copy” of them 
 to the provincial Legislature, and that when the 
 word “substance” was substituted for the word 
 “ copy,”* your Lordship will remember it was 
 explained to me in England, that the alteration was 
 merely made because it had been considered undigni¬ 
 fied that it should appear, I was ordered to do so, 
 your Lordship observing to me, ‘‘Bid remember, the 
 more you give them of it the better." 
 
 I have not hesitated to make this explanation to 
 your Lordship of the course I determined to adopt, 
 because, as regards Lord Gosford, I am not without 
 the apprehensions I have stated. 
 
 For the reasons above stated, I accordingly for- 
 
 * This alteration was made by the King himself, who deemed it 
 infra dig. that the Assembly of Upper Canada should read that I 
 was ordered to give them a copy of my instructions. His Majesty 
 thought it better that the quantum of the communication of my in¬ 
 structions should at least aprpear to be left to my discretion. 
 
48 
 
 warded a copy of my Instructions and Appendix to 
 each house of Parliament, in the form of a message; 
 headed as follows :— 
 
 " Government House, l'3th January , 1836. 
 
 “The Lieutenant-Governor transmits to the Legislative 
 Council (House of Assembly) the communication alluded 
 to in his speech to the two Houses of the Legislature, on 
 the 27th instant. 
 
 “ The Lieutenant-Governor was commanded by his 
 Majesty to communicate the substance of his Instructions 
 to both Houses of the Provincial Parliament, but consider¬ 
 ing it would be more satisfactory to them to receive the 
 whole, he accordingly transmits it herewith.” 
 
 I am well informed that the Legislative Council 
 were highly satisfied with the above message, and a 
 deputation waited upon me with an address expres¬ 
 sive of these sentiments. 
 
 The House ol Assembly has not yet pronounced 
 its opinion on the subject, but has merely ordered 
 2000 copies of the message to be printed. A most 
 violent discussion will of course take place, and the 
 result will pretty clearly determine the relative 
 strength of the placable and implacable parties in 
 that House. 
 
 Whatever may be the result, I shall steadily and 
 straightly proceed in the course of policy I have 
 adopted : I shall neither avoid nor rest upon any 
 party, but, after attentively listening to all opinions, 
 I will, to the best of my judgment, do what is honest 
 
49 
 
 and right, firmly believing that the stability of the 
 throne, the interests of this province, and the confi¬ 
 dence of the people can now only be secured by such 
 a course. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 As I had anticipated, the production of my In- 
 stiuctions embarrassed Lord Gosford in the policy 
 by which he was endeavouring to obtain his supplies, 
 lhe Colonial Office joined in the general disappro¬ 
 bation which, in London, was expressed at my con¬ 
 duct, although the Office knew, as well as one tvho is 
 still living knows, that in my Instructions, as they 
 Avere originally shown to the King, I was ordered to 
 give “ the copy,” and that it was his Majesty himself 
 who made the alteration, which was explained away 
 to me by Lord Glenelg, as I reminded his Lordship 
 in the preceding despatch. 
 
 E 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Republicans are mortified-—My Opinions and Policy express¬ 
 ed to the Colonial Office—Am called upon to increase the 
 Executive Council—Ominous Circumstances attending these Ap¬ 
 pointments—The Republicans prepare to advance. 
 
 Although the well-known blue-hound grievance 
 book, which I constantly kept on my table, acted as 
 a talisman in driving from me the republican party, 
 who apparently could speak no language but that of 
 indefinite complaint, yet I clearly foresaw that they 
 would not long submit to be thus easily defeated. 
 Although nothing but polite expressions had passed 
 between us, it was perfectly evident to me, that the 
 Republicans were sorely mortified at being, on all oc¬ 
 casions, “ brought to book,” and that as their case had 
 thus become desperate, they were not merely waiting, 
 but were eagerly seeking, for an opportunity to pick 
 any quarrel with me, that would enable them to join 
 with Mr. Papineau and the House of Assembly of 
 Lower Canada in open rebellion. Accordingly, 
 though the main body of their forces continued sta¬ 
 tionary, it will appear from the following despatch, 
 that, before I had been three weeks in the Province, 
 their skirmishers began to advance. 
 
51 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Government-House, Toronto , Feb. 15th, 1836. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to enclose to your Lordship an 
 address which. 1 have received from the House of 
 Assembly. 
 
 Your Lordship will perceive that it was moved 
 by Mr. M‘Kenzie, with the object publicly to extract 
 from me my opinions on various subjects, which have 
 long been violently agitated in the House by himself 
 and others, and that in order to give unusual pub¬ 
 licity to the address, 2000 copies have been ordered 
 by the House to be printed; besides which, it has 
 been copied and published in most of the news¬ 
 papers. 
 
 I accordingly submit to your Lordship my answer 
 to this address, which you will perceive is written to 
 meet the object to which I well know it is intended 
 to be applied, namely, to be circulated throughout the 
 Canadas. 
 
 I can assure your Lordship that I have had very 
 satisfactory and amicable conversations with a number 
 of individuals of all parties; and the more I reflect 
 upon what I have heard and observed, the more con¬ 
 vinced I am that the population of Upper Canada 
 will eventually rally round this government, if it 
 firmly and decidedly declares that it is determined to 
 maintain the constitution inviolate , but to correct* 
 cautiously, yet effectually, all real grievances. 
 
 e 2 
 
 
52 
 
 As long as people in the remote districts are al¬ 
 lowed to believe that the government of this province 
 feels itself insecure, so long will they be disposed to 
 attach themselves to whatever they are led to conceive 
 has stability and strength; but if their own interests 
 be appealed to, if they find that we are anxious to 
 infuse among them capital and population, both of 
 which they ardently desire, and that nothing but dis¬ 
 sension prevents it, they will, 1 firmly believe, very 
 quickly correct for themselves the greatest of all their 
 grievances, namely, a factious opposition to the Bri¬ 
 tish Government. 
 
 Since my arrival here my attention has been much 
 occupied in searching for two or three individuals 
 fit to be added to the Executive Councils, which will 
 probably be the subject of my next despatch. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The Constitutionists, or Tories (as they were 
 called by the Republicans), who immediately after my 
 arrival had made one bad move, now as thoughtlessly 
 made another, which for a moment threatened alarm¬ 
 ing consequences. 
 
 An active member of my Executive Council 
 brought before my consideration, in the most formal 
 
53 
 
 manner possible, certain reasons for my increasing that 
 body, which, though obvious and unanswerable, I should 
 have been most happy to have overlooked, until I had 
 had time enough to become better acquainted with 
 the province. Under such an excuse, however, I did 
 not feel disposed to shield myself, and as this griev¬ 
 ance at least was admitted, I determined I would not 
 be seen openly to refuse to correct it, but the em¬ 
 barrassing question at once arose, from which party 
 should the increase be made ? I did not choose to join 
 the Republicans: the Tories, who, fearing I was their 
 enemy, had thought proper to join in petitioning the 
 King against the very first act of my administration, 
 were still almost in a body standing aloof from me. 
 I did not, therefore, feel it right to advance towards 
 them ; and, being thus obliged to be independent, I 
 determined that the addition to my council should be 
 made from the middle party, instead of from either of 
 the two extremes. Accordingly, explaining my ob¬ 
 ject, I collected all the most respectable opinions I 
 could, putting down every name that was recom¬ 
 mended to me, and finding that the name of a Mr. 
 Robert Baldwin (a gentleman I had never see u) 
 was repeated on my list infinitely oftener than any 
 other, I sent for this individual (as will appear by 
 the following despatch), and throwing myself upon 
 his advice for the addition of two other names, I was 
 led by him to select Dr. Rolph, who has since 
 proved, next to Mr. M'Kenzie, the most wicked of 
 the traitors. 
 
The Constitutionists, or Tories, were both cha¬ 
 grined and alarmed at Dr. Rolph s appointment, but 
 if they had not joined against me on my arrival, and 
 if one of their party had not most inconsiderately 
 forced upon me this increase of the council, neither 
 Dr. Rolph nor even Mr. Robert Baldwin would ever 
 have been appointed by me. 
 
 The following despatch will explain the ominous 
 circumstances which attended these appointments. 
 
 No. 9. 
 
 Government-House , Toronto, 
 Feb. 22, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 A few days after my arrival here I received a 
 communication from the Executive Council, sub¬ 
 mitting to me the necessity of increasing their num¬ 
 ber, which, from being composed of three individuals, 
 would (in case of the illness of any of the members) 
 be unable to form a quorum. I was also informed 
 by them, that as Mr. Peter Robinson, besides being 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, was also au Executive 
 Councillor, he had the invidious duty imposed on 
 him of auditing his own accounts. 
 
 This important subject, as I stated to your Lord- 
 ship in my Despatch, No. 5, has occupied my atten¬ 
 tion for some time: for in so small a community as 
 that of Toronto and its neighbourhood, to select 
 
55 
 
 three individuals suited to the office was no easy 
 task. 
 
 After making every inquiry in my power, I 
 became of opinion, that Mr. Robert Baldwin, ad¬ 
 vocate, a gentleman already recommended to your 
 Lordship by Sir John Colbourne for a seat in the 
 Legislative Council, was the first individual I should 
 select, being highly respected for his moral character, 
 being moderate in his politics, and possessing the 
 esteem and confidence of all parties. 
 
 Having come to this conclusion, I deemed it pru¬ 
 dent to consult the Chief Justice, who is speaker 
 of the Legislative Council ; Mr. Bidwell, the speaker 
 of the House of Assembly; and the members of the 
 Executive Council; and as all these gentlemen un¬ 
 reservedly approved of his selection to the office,* I 
 sent for Mr. R. Baldwin, and proposed to him to 
 
 accept the same, with the addition of Mr. -, 
 
 who had already been recommended by my pre¬ 
 decessor, and Dr. Rolph, who had also been recom¬ 
 mended by Lord Goderich as Solicitor-General of 
 this province. 
 
 I had several interviews with Mr. Baldwin, of 
 many hours’ duration ; I allowed him to consult Mr. 
 Bidwell, Dr. Rolph, and his other friends, on the 
 subject; and the result of his deliberations was, his 
 positively declining to take the office, unless I enabled 
 
 * They recommended him only as a middle man. 
 
 
him to carry with him the support of the House of 
 Assembly, which he stated could not be effected 
 unless I should consent to dismiss the three existing 
 councillors. 
 
 With this demand I resolutely refused to comply, 
 on the grounds that I had other interests besides those 
 of the House of Assembly to consider; that the 
 Commons already possessed its own legitimate power; 
 that to impart to it in addition an exclusive influence 
 in my Council would be unconstitutional and unjust; 
 besides which, it would at once connect with party 
 feelings the representative of His Majesty, who 
 ought to stand unbiassed, and aloof from all such 
 considerations. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin maintained his demands, and I 
 accordingly parted with him, declaring that nothing 
 should induce me to dismiss from the council three 
 gentlemen who had given me no cause for complaint; 
 that, if necessary, I would rather throw myself on 
 the good sense of this country, as well as of the 
 world, and abide the result, whatever it might be. 
 
 On Mr. R. Baldwin leaving me, I sent for his father, 
 I)r. Baldwin, who, although rather more ultra in his 
 theory of reform, is a gentleman of very large pro¬ 
 perty, who is respected for his moral character, and 
 who had also been recommended by my predecessor 
 for a seat in the Legislative Council. On consulting 
 with Dr. Baldwin, and on proposing to him that he. 
 Dr. Rolph, and Mr.-, should join the Executive 
 
Council, he insisted on the same demands as Mr R. 
 Baldwin, and we accordingly parted. 
 
 I felt so confident the terms required of me were 
 unjust, and that to all reasonable men they would 
 appear so, that I had fully determined on the course 
 I would adopt. However, this alternative was ren¬ 
 dered unnecessary, by an intimation I received that 
 Mr. R. Baldwin felt disposed to reconsider my pro¬ 
 posal ; and accordingly, the following day, he called 
 upon me to agree to join the council, without the 
 dismissal of the three existing councillors. 
 
 I accordingly appointed an hour to receive Mr. R. 
 
 Baldwin, Dr. Rolph, and Mr. -, and in their 
 
 presence I addressed the following note to Mr. 
 Baldwin, a copy of which it was agreed should be 
 given by him to Mr.-and Dr. Rolph. 
 
 Government-House, Feb . 19, 1836, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I have great pleasure in learning that you, Dr. Rolph, 
 
 and Mr. -, accept the invitation I made to you, by 
 
 joining the Executive Council. 
 
 The confidence I shall repose in you will be implicit; 
 and as I have no preliminary conditions either to accede to, 
 or require from you, I shall rely on your giving me your 
 unbiassed opinion on all subjects respecting which I ?nay 
 feel it advisable to require it. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 R. Baldwin, Esq. 
 
58 
 
 After my interviews with these gentlemen, who 
 were yesterday sworn into office, and gazetted, as 
 “ members of the Executive Council, until the King s 
 pleasure lk‘ known,” I sent for Mr. Bidwell, and 
 asked him whether he conceived that the House ot 
 Assembly would feel satisfied with the addition I had 
 made to the Executive Council. 
 
 Mr. Bidwell told me that he thought these ap¬ 
 pointments would give general satisfaction ; that he 
 was of opinion the House of Assembly had confidence 
 in these gentlemen, as well as in myself, and that it 
 would be his desire, as well as those, he believed, 
 with whom he co-operated, to give me their assist¬ 
 ance, and in no way to offer me any factious opposi¬ 
 tion. He observed, however, that there were several 
 grievances, ivhich your Lordship's instructioits to 
 me had overlooked, and that he expected these would 
 shortly be brought before my attention. 
 
 I must add, that Mr. Bidwell’s communications 
 with me have been satisfactory, and that I have no 
 cause whatever to complain of him, although I have 
 not hesitated invariably to apprize him that with his 
 political opinions I do not concur. 
 
 Having now informed your Lordship of the indi¬ 
 viduals I have added to the Executive Council, with 
 the circumstances which have preceded their appoint¬ 
 ments (which, I trust, may be confirmed), it only 
 remains for me to state, that although tranquillityin this 
 province is, 1 now conceive, momentarily established, 
 
I do not expect that the present House of Assembly 
 will long discontinue their agitations. 
 
 It shall be my duty, however, to afford them no 
 reasonable cause for complaint. To their addresses, 
 as well as to their opinions, I will give every possible 
 attention, and will afford them ready assistance to 
 correct all real grievances; but I am so convinced 
 that every improper concession will not only strengthen 
 their demands, but weaken my influence in the pro¬ 
 vince, that I shall continue to resist, as I have 
 hitherto done, any demand that may at all tend to 
 undermine the happy constitution of the province, 
 as I believe that this policy will eventually secure to 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (whoever 
 he may be) the confidence and the support of the 
 community. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 F.S. I submit to your Lordship copies of two 
 addresses I received last week from the House of 
 Assembly, with my answers, which explain the rea¬ 
 sons for which I declined to comply with their 
 requests. __ 
 
 Without troubling the reader with these two que¬ 
 rulous addresses, my answers to them will sufficiently 
 
60 
 
 explain that they were small clouds clearly indi¬ 
 cating an approaching storm. 
 
 (copy of answer, No. 1.) 
 
 “ Gentlemen, 
 
 “ I much regret that I cannot, without authority 
 from the Secretary of State, comply with the request 
 contained in your address.. 
 
 “ The numerous copies of despatches, &c., which 
 accompanied my message to the House of Assembly, 
 of the 15th instant, will, I trust, satisfy the House 
 of my desire to lay before it as much of the corre¬ 
 spondence between my predecessor and His Majesty’s 
 Government, as with any propriety I could be expected 
 to divulge. 
 
 “ I have already given to the House, according to 
 its request, the names of individuals whose recommen¬ 
 dation for seats in the Legislative Council has not 
 yet even received the sanction of His Majesty’s 
 Government. 
 
 “ The only part of His Excellency Sir John Col- 
 borne’s despatch of the 16th September, 1835, which 
 I have deliberately withheld, is that in which he 
 confidentially expresses to His Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment his high estimation of the character of the 
 individuals he proposes; and although in the particu¬ 
 lar case alluded to, no objection whatever exists to 
 the publication of his opinions, yet I conceive it would 
 establish a bad precedent, were I to consent to make 
 
61 
 
 public, descriptions which must unavoidably always 
 be personal, and Avhich might occasionally be painful 
 to the individuals, and consequently unjust towards 
 them to disclose.” 
 
 (copy of answer, No. 2.) 
 
 “ Gentlemen, 
 
 “ It is with great reluctance I feel it necessary to 
 state, that, without authority from the Secretary of 
 State, I am unwilling to submit to the House of 
 Assembly ‘ the documents and other evidence in 
 the possession of the Government or its Officer, 
 relative to the Huron reserve, or to the proceedings 
 of the Government had thereon, as would enable the 
 House to ascertain whether its interference on behalf 
 of the Wyandot Indians is required.’ 
 
 “ My objections on this subject are those of policy 
 rather than of law ; and without denying the consti¬ 
 tutional right of either of the two Houses of the Le¬ 
 gislature to inquire into any subject in which they 
 may consider the public interests to be involved, I 
 am of opinion that the disclosure of ‘ documents 
 and evidence’ alluded to would be attended with 
 evil consequences to those whom it is intended to 
 benefit, by rendering the Indians doubtful of the all- 
 sufficient and paternal protection of His Majesty, on 
 which they have hitherto solely relied. 
 
 “ Without reverting to the anomalous history of the 
 aborigines of this land, I will merely observe, that, in 
 

 
 
 
 62 
 
 Upper Canada, the Indians have hitherto been under 
 the exclusive care of His Majesty, the territories 
 they inhabit being tracts of Crown lands devoted to 
 their sole use as * His allies' 
 
 “ Over these lands His Majesty has never exer¬ 
 cised his paramount right, except at their request, 
 and for their manifest advantage. Within their own 
 communities, they have hitherto governed themselves 
 by their own unwritten laws and customs ; their 
 lands and property have never been subject to tax or 
 assessment, or themselves liable to personal service. 
 
 “ As they are not subject to such liabilities, neither 
 do they yet possess the political privileges of His 
 Majesty’s subjects generally. 
 
 “ The superintendents, missionaries, schoolmas¬ 
 ters and others, who reside among them for their 
 protection and civilization, are appointed and paid by 
 the King ; to his representative all appeals have 
 until now been made, and with him has all responsi¬ 
 bility rested. In every respect they appear to be 
 most constitutionally within the jurisdiction and pre¬ 
 rogative of the Crown; and as I declare myself not 
 only ready, but desirous to attend to any complaint 
 they may offer me, I consider it would be highly 
 impolitic (especially for the object of redressing a 
 trifling grievance) to sanction the adoption of a new 
 course for their internal government. 
 
 “ To this general view of the subject, I have only 
 to add, that as regards the particular memorial sub- 
 
mittecl to the House of Assembly, by Thomas 
 Splitlog, Thomas Clerk, and six others, of the 
 Huron or Wyandot nation, a counter-petition, signed 
 by eleven individuals of similar tribe and rank, has 
 been presented to the House of Assembly, stating, 
 ‘ we have the fullest confidence in the justice and 
 € fatherly protection of our beloved Sovereign and 
 * his representative the Lieutenant-Governor,’’ 
 
CHAPTER V, 
 
 The Prerogative of the Crown assailed by the Executive Council— 
 The House of Assembly furiously join in the Attack—Remon¬ 
 strance useless—They stop the Supplies—Insult me in a Petition 
 to the King, and to the House of Commons—1 appeal to His 
 Majesty’s Government for Support—Solemnly warn the Govern¬ 
 ment of their Policy—Withhold Assent to the Money-Bills—De¬ 
 cline to grant the Contingencies, and dissolve the Assembly—Ex¬ 
 plain to His Majesty’s Government why I cannot agree with the 
 Commissioners of Inquiry, and tender my Resignation—Result of 
 the Elections—Dr. Duncombe and Mr. Hume declare to Lord 
 Melbourne that I have fabricated Votes—Earnest Recommenda¬ 
 tion to His Majesty’s Government not to surrender the casual 
 and territorial Revenues of the Crown. 
 
 The reader is now about to enter upon the most 
 violent, and certainly the most eventful, moral 
 struggle that has ever taken place in our North 
 American colonies; and as I have no hesitation in 
 confessing, that, by retreating before the Republicans, 
 the contest could have been avoided, I beg particu¬ 
 lar attention to the subject. 
 
 The subtle, persuasive eloquence of Dr. Rolph, 
 whose treasonable principles were, by several intel¬ 
 ligent people, justly estimated, induced many to 
 believe that from the moment he became a member 
 of my Executive Council I was lost. However, I 
 entertained not the slightest apprehension on the 
 subject, for so long as the Council afforded me consti¬ 
 tutional advice, I knew I should be too thankful to 
 
‘ 8 •*«»?!» 
 
 65 
 
 ♦ 
 
 give it immediate consideration ; and, on the other 
 hand, standing as I did (to say the least) totally 
 without support from any party, I felt confident 
 that if the Council should attempt to force upon 
 me unconstitutional proposals, it woidd be out of 
 their power to deprive me of that invincible moral 
 power which always rushes to the vindication of a 
 just cause. 
 
 With the members of the Council, however. Dr. 
 Rolph, who I soon learned was the bosom friend and 
 confidant of Mr. Speaker Bidwell, did not plead in 
 vain. 
 
 Aware that in the House ot Assembly there 
 stood in array an irresistible majority in favour of 
 the republican principle of making the Lieutenant- 
 Governor s Executive or Privy Council “ respon¬ 
 sible to the people,” the necessity of my making 
 this concession appeared to be inevitable ; and calcu¬ 
 lating therefore that, situated as I was, I would not 
 venture to refuse, they at last agreed together to ad¬ 
 dress to me a written requisition to this effect. 
 
 When I received this unexpected document which 
 was regularly signed by all the six members of 
 the Council, I saw no reason to be alarmed at it. 
 That I was sentenced to contend on the soil of America 
 with Democracy, and that if I did not overpower it, 
 it would overpower me, were solemn facts, which for 
 some weeks had been perfectly evident to my mind; 
 but by far the most difficult problem I had to solve 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 was, where I ought to make my stand. To involve 
 myself in a struggle with the House of Assembly, 
 about any one trifling concession, would, I knew, 
 have brought the Home Government down upon me 
 with all its power ; the province might also with 
 some apparent reason have complained ; and thus, 
 bit by bit, and inch by inch, I felt I might be driven to 
 abandon constitutional ground, which, once lost, could 
 never be reclaimed. It was therefore, I repeat, with 
 but little apprehension that I found my Council (who 
 I knew would be immediately backed by the House 
 of Assembly) had called upon me at once to sur¬ 
 render to a democratic principle of government, 
 which I felt, so long as the British flag waved in 
 America, could never be admitted. I accordingly 
 declined to accede to the demands of my Council, 
 who, taken quite aback by my refusal, were no 
 sooner politely bowed out ol my service, than I received 
 from the House of Assembly the following address, to 
 which I gave the reply which follows it:— 
 
 “ House of Assembly . 
 
 Ci To His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Com¬ 
 mander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, and of 
 the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant Go¬ 
 vernor of the Province of Upper Canada, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 “ May it tlkase your Excellency, 
 
 “ We his Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Com¬ 
 mons of Upper Canada in provincial Parliament assembled, 
 humbly beg leave to inform your Excellency, that this 
 
07 
 
 u 
 
 House, considering the appointment of a responsible Execu¬ 
 tive Council, to advise your Excellency on the affairs of the 
 province, to be one of the most happy and wise features in 
 the Constitution, and essential to the form of our govern¬ 
 ment, and one of the strongest securities for a just and 
 equitable administration, and eminently calculated to ensure 
 the full enjoyment of our civil and religious rights and pri¬ 
 vileges, have lately learned, with no small degree of anxiety, 
 that the Executive Council so recently formed for the purpose 
 above stated (as we presume), consisting of six members, 
 did, on Saturday the 12th instant, unanimously tender to 
 your Excellency their resignations, and that your Excellency 
 was pleased to accept the same; and humbly request your 
 Excellency to inform this House, without delay, whether 
 such are the facts, and also to communicate to this House 
 full information relative to the cause of disagreement be¬ 
 tween your Excellency and your said late Executive Coun¬ 
 cil, as far as lies in your Excellency's power to make kiiowm; 
 as also to furnish this House with copies of all communi¬ 
 cations between your Excellency and your said late Council, 
 or any of them, on the subject of such disagreement and 
 subsequent tender of resignation.” 
 
 (Signed) M. S. Bidwell, Speaker. 
 
 Commons' House of Assembly , 
 
 March 14 th, 1836. 
 
 His Excellency's Reply. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 “ Nothing can appear more reasonable to my mind than 
 the surprise and anxiety which the House of Assembly ex¬ 
 press to me at the intelligence they have received of the 
 sudden resignation of the six members of the Executive 
 Council; for with both these feelings I w 7 as myself deeply 
 
 F 2 
 
impressed, when firmly relying on the advice, assistance, and 
 cordial co-operation of my Council, 1 unexpectedly received 
 from them the embarrassing document which, with my reply 
 thereto, I now, at the request of the House of Assembly, 
 willingly present to you. With every desire to consult my 
 Council, I was preparing for their consideration important 
 remedial measures, which I conceived would be advisable to 
 adopt; and had they but afforded me those few moments 
 tor reflection, which, from my sudden arrival among you, I 
 fancied I might fairly have claimed as my due, the question, 
 which so unnecessarily they have agitated, would have 
 proved practically useless. 
 
 “ Had they chosen to have verbally submitted to me in 
 Council, that the responsibility, and consequently the power 
 and patronage of the Lieutenant-Governor ought hence¬ 
 forward to be transferred from him to them—had they even, 
 in the usual form of a written petition, recommended to my 
 attention as a new theory, that the Council, instead of the 
 Governor, was to be responsible to the people—I should 
 have raised no objection whatever to the proceeding, how¬ 
 ever in opinion 1 might have opposed it; but when they 
 simultaneously declared, not that such ought to be, but 
 that such actually was the law of the land, and concluded 
 their statement by praying that a Council sworn in secrecy 
 to assist me might be permitted, in case I disapproved of 
 their opinion, to communicate with the public, I felt it my 
 duty, calmly, and with due courtesy, to inform them, that 
 they could not retain such principles together with my con¬ 
 fidence, and to this opinion I continue steadfastly to adhere. 
 
 " I feel confident that the House of Assembly will be 
 sensible that the power intrusted to me by our Gracious 
 Sovereign is a subject of painful anxiety ;—that from the 
 
69 
 
 patronage of this province I can derive no advantage ; and 
 that I can have no object in retaining undivided responsi¬ 
 bility, except that which proceeds from a just desire to be 
 constitutionally answerable to his Majesty in case I should 
 neglect the interests of his subjects in this province. With 
 these sentiments I transmit to the House of Assembly the 
 documents they have requested, feeling confident that I can 
 give them no surer proof of my desire to preserve their pri¬ 
 vileges inviolate, than by proving to them that I am equally 
 determined to maintain the rights and prerogatives of the 
 Crown , one of the most prominent of which is, that which I 
 have just assnmed, of naming those Councillors in whom I 
 conscientiously believe I can confide. 
 
 “ For their acts I deliberately declare myself responsible ; 
 but they are not responsible for mine , and cannot be, 
 because, being sworn to silence, they are deprived by this 
 fact, as well as by the Constitution, of all power to defend 
 themselves.” 
 
 The foregoing documents I forwarded to tlie Co¬ 
 lonial Office with the following despatch. 
 
 No. 15. 
 
 Toronto , March 22nd, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to inform your Lordship that on 
 Saturday, 12th instant, the six members of the Exe¬ 
 cutive Council suddenly and simultaneously resigned— 
 that a majority of twenty-seven against twenty-one 
 of the House of Assembly very resolutely espoused 
 their cause—that all business in the House was sus- 
 
pended until my answer to tlieir address was re¬ 
 ceived—that a public meeting has been called on tbe 
 subject, at Toronto—that similar meetings will pro¬ 
 bably take place throughout the country—and that 
 the whole province is, and for a short time will be, 
 in a state of very great excitement. 
 
 All this will, I firmly believe, be productive of 
 the most beneficial political results, and I now pro¬ 
 ceed to submit to your Lordship a plain statement of 
 the whole affair. 
 
 In my despatch No. 9, I stated to your Lordship 
 that almost immediately after my arrival here, the 
 old Executive Council represented to me the neces¬ 
 sity of increasing the number which was not only 
 barely sufficient to form a quorum, and, consequently, 
 in case of the illness of any one member would be 
 powerless, but that the Commissioner of Crown Lands, 
 from being one of the members, was obliged to audit 
 his own accounts. 
 
 In my despatch alluded to, which I beg your 
 Lordship will be pleased to re-peruse, I detailed the 
 difficulty I had had in adding three new members 
 to the Council, and the attempt which had been made 
 to insist on my forcing the unpopular old members 
 to retire. 
 
 As soon as this addition to the Council was ga¬ 
 zetted, which happened less than a month ago, a 
 universal joy and satisfaction was expressed by the 
 radical party, and I received addresses from various 
 
71 
 
 places, expressing in very strong terms approbation 
 of the addition I had made to the Council, and praying 
 that the old members might be dismissed. 
 
 In receiving these addresses I could not but re¬ 
 mark, that not only were many of them expressed in 
 exactly the same terms, as if written by one person, 
 but that several were presented to me by the same 
 two members of the Assembly ; and from other omi¬ 
 nous circumstances I became fully convinced that an 
 attempt somewhere or other was making to pro¬ 
 mulgate an error which has long been artfully in¬ 
 culcated in this province—namely, that the Executive 
 Council were responsible to the people for the acts 
 of the Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 The object of this smooth-faced, insidious doc¬ 
 trine was at first to obtain for the Council merely 
 responsibility, and, when that point was conceded, 
 immediately to demand from the Crown the power 
 and patronage which has hitherto been invested in 
 the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 As the addresses proceeded from places of no im¬ 
 portance, I replied to the personal congratulations 
 on my arrival, with which they commenced, without 
 taking any notice at all of the objectionable clauses, 
 at the same time I was perfectly alive to the very 
 great danger that was brooding ; and expecting that 
 it would sooner or later be brought before my notice 
 by an address from the House of Assembly, I de¬ 
 termined that, the moment it assumed a tangible form, 
 I w r ould at once stand against it. 
 
 
While I was in this suspense, the attack was made 
 upon me from a quarter from which I certainly did 
 not expect it; namely, from the Executive Council 
 itself, which, in a document signed by them all, 
 declared that the popular doctrine was the law of the 
 land, that the old practice had been unconstitutional; 
 and that in case I was of a different opinion, my 
 council, sworn to secrecy, humbly prayed that it 
 might be permitted to communicate with the people. 
 
 I need hardly observe, that by this address the 
 old, unpopular Councillors* at once impeached the 
 conduct and practice of their whole lives. However, 
 on the receipt of the document, I immediately in¬ 
 formed the Council that they could not retain such 
 principles and my confidence, and that they must 
 consequently abandon either the one or the other. 
 
 This reply was what they did not expect; for the 
 new members, elated by the success of the intrigues 
 which had been adopted, had fancied themselves to 
 be so strongly supported by the people, that they did 
 not conceive I would venture to do anything but 
 accede to their threat. 
 
 As soon as the Council received my reply, four 
 of the members, namely, ..... 
 at once surrendered at discretion, offering to recant 
 all they had written, and assuring me they had since 
 the receipt of my answer again changed their minds : 
 
 * The Honourable Colonel Wells is the only surviving member of 
 these old councillors—a more loyal man does not exist in Upper 
 Canada; so indeed was the late Honourable P. Robinson. 
 
73 
 
 however, the other two held out; and I, therefore, 
 declared that the document by which I had been 
 attacked could only be cancelled by the same Council 
 from which it had proceeded, and that unless it was 
 retracted as formally as it had been made, I must 
 adhere to the reply I had given to it. 
 
 I had two reasons for maintaining this course: 
 first, because had I dismissed only the two popular 
 candidates without explaining the cause, I should have 
 incurred the greatest unpopularity, and should have 
 been hampered by the continuance in office of the 
 other four: secondly, because, for the reasons above 
 stated, being persuaded that sooner or later it would 
 be necessary I should stand against a doctrine which 
 was rapidly tending to upset the prerogative of the 
 Crown, I deemed it advisable to do so before it got 
 too strong for me, particularly as I never could hope 
 to attain a more advantageous position for the con¬ 
 test than that afforded me by the ill-written document 
 of my own Council. 
 
 Having now very briefly explained the outline of 
 the affair, I beg to refer your Lordship to the four 
 following printed papers which will fully explain it 
 in detail. 
 
 1. A copy of the address I received from the 
 House of Assembly. 
 
 2. My reply thereto, enclosing, 
 
 3. The communication I had received from the 
 Executive Council, and 
 
 4. My reply thereto. 
 
Having submitted to your Lordship the foregoing 
 documents, I beg leave to repeat, as my humble 
 opinion, that the greatest possible benefit will be 
 derived from the dispute I am having with this pro¬ 
 vince : for if truth be invincible, it will follow that 
 the effort which is making to oppose me must even¬ 
 tually be discomfited, and among the description of 
 people which I have to deal with such a result will 
 be highly important. 
 
 On the other hand, should I be defeated, I trust 
 your Lordship will never regret that I did not hesi¬ 
 tate to maintain the rights and prerogatives of the 
 Crown. 
 
 I also enclose herewith to your Lordship, an 
 address I have received from the mayor, aldermen, 
 and commonalty of the City of Toronto, with my 
 reply thereto. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &e. &c. &c. 
 
 As soon as the Constitutionists were convinced 
 by the principles I was maintaining, that notwith¬ 
 standing Mr. Hume’s pestilential letter of recom¬ 
 mendation in favour of Mr. M‘Kenzie (who had 
 openly boasted of it), and notwithstanding the sus¬ 
 picious appointment of Dr. Rolph to my Council, 
 
I was not, as had been generally supposed, a demo¬ 
 crat, they most loyally, one and all, joined me to a 
 man. Moral war was thus (as it long ago ought to 
 have been by his Majesty’s Government) openly 
 proclaimed between the Constitutionists and the 
 Republicans; or, in other words, between those who 
 were for British institutions, against those who were 
 for soiling the empire by the introduction of demo¬ 
 cracy ; and I need hardly add, that the approaching 
 struggle was most anxiously looked upon by the 
 other North American Colonies as one on which 
 their own political destinies depended. 
 
 I was, of course, too much occupied to be able to 
 write to the Colonial Office at very great length: 
 however, on the 6th of April, 1836, I forwarded a 
 despatch which, commencing with detailing events 
 which having already been submitted to the reader, 
 it would be tedious to recapitulate, proceeded as fol¬ 
 lows :— 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 Many of the addresses I received on this subject 
 had evidently proceeded from the same pen, and had 
 the influence, which was thus exerted, continued to 
 be secret, it might shortly have produced such pow¬ 
 erful effects, that I might have found it almost 
 impossible to have opposed it; but, very fortunately, 
 the power exerted against me was too eager for its 
 object, and the battery was unmasked before the 
 enemy was sufficiently organized to man it. 
 
76 
 
 My Executive Councillors themselves suddenly 
 claimed the responsibility which had hitherto rested 
 with the Lieutenant-Governor; and on my requiring 
 them to resign, an excitement suddenly burst forth 
 in the House of Assembly beyond all description. 
 
 The republican party fancying that their object 
 was attained, and that I was caught in the net which 
 had been so insidiously drawn around me, were 
 exasperated at seeing me suddenly extricate myself 
 from it, and the House addressing me on the subject, 
 instantly suspended all business until it had received 
 my reply. 
 
 The whole correspondence on the subject, some 
 of which has already been forwarded to your Lord- 
 ship, I here annex in a printed form : it contains— 
 
 “ 1. The address of the House of Assembly. 
 
 “ 2. My reply thereto. 
 
 “ 3. The communication addressed to me by the 
 Executive Council. 
 
 “ 4. My reply thereto. 
 
 “ 5. An address from the mayor and common 
 council of the City of Toronto. 
 
 “ 6. My reply. 
 
 “ 7. An address, signed by the mayor, from a 
 public meeting held in the city hall. 
 
 “ 8. My reply. 
 
 “ 9. An address from the House of Assembly. 
 
 “ 10. My reply. 1 ’ 
 
 I. trust that the tone of my answers to the above 
 
77 
 
 communications will sufficiently prove to your Lord- 
 ship how desirous I was to offer all possible expla¬ 
 nation, and to do everything in my power to govern, 
 and to be governed, by truth and reason. 
 
 At the time I conducted this correspondence, I 
 was perfectly sensible that I was friendless; for the 
 republican party had proved themselves to be impla¬ 
 cable, and the constitutional party I had refused to 
 join : however, seeing that the moment bad now 
 arrived for resolutely assuming my position, I awaited 
 the result of the conflict with a perfect confidence, 
 solely proceeding from the justice of my cause. 
 
 The success of these measures has, I can faith¬ 
 fully assure your Lordship, equalled my most sanguine 
 expectations. 
 
 Every newspaper in the Upper as well as in the 
 Lower Province, excepting Mr. M'Kenzie’s Advocate 
 and one other, has in the most unequivocal terms 
 supported me in the doctrine I have maintained ; the 
 constitutional party have joined me to ainan, and in the 
 numerous addresses I have received are the names of 
 many influential individuals who have hitherto been 
 opposing the Government. Indeed, I can truly declare, 
 that the intelligent classes of every denomination are 
 rallying around me in a manner which fully corro¬ 
 borates the statement I first made to you on arriving 
 in this province, namely, “that all that is good and 
 estimable remains at the bottom, while the surface 
 is agitated by factious discussions.” 
 
A very striking example of this fact occurred on 
 Saturday last. 
 
 As soon as the late Executive Council resigned, 
 Mr. M'Kenzie and his party, at an immense expense, 
 forwarded to every part of the province printed copies 
 of the annexed circular, almost all of which were 
 franked by members of the Assembly. This docu¬ 
 ment, as your Lordship will observe, ended by a 
 printed petition to the House of Assembly, which 
 only required the insertion of the name of the town¬ 
 ship and of the subscribers. 
 
 As soon as this firebrand was supposed to have 
 caused sufficient excitement, the four members of the 
 Metropolitan County of York, namely,* Mr. M'Ken¬ 
 zie, Dr. Morrison, Mr. Gibson and Mr. MTntosh, 
 issued another notice (which I also annex) dated 
 “ House of Assembly,” and calling a public meeting 
 to be held ten miles from Toronto on Saturday 
 last. 
 
 As this country has been supposed to be under 
 the complete influence of Mr. M'Kenzie, and its 
 other members, it was agreed upon by the constitu¬ 
 tional party, that, as they might be overpowered by 
 numbers, they would not attend, and accordingly it 
 was expected that the Radicals would completely carry 
 the day: however, the reply I had written to the 
 
 * Of these four individuals, three have since either been fried 
 for treason, or have absconded. 
 
79 
 
 industrious classes of Toronto had been much read, 
 and accordingly, when the meeting assembled on 
 Saturday an unexpected result took place. 
 
 Mi.M Kenzie totally failed in gaining attention; 
 another member, Dr. Morrison, who is mayor of 
 Toronto, was collared and severely shaken, and the 
 whole affair was so completely stifled by the indig¬ 
 nation of the people, that the meeting was dissolved 
 without the passing of a single resolution. 
 
 Mr. M‘Kenzie and his party afterwards assem¬ 
 bled, and then went through the form of carrying 
 their ready-concocted resolutions. 
 
 The effect which this unexpected defeat will pro¬ 
 duce throughout the province will, I am perfectly 
 convinced, eventually break up the radical faction; 
 and as soon as I have an opportunity of visiting, as I 
 propose to do it I remain here, every county in this 
 piovince, and of meeting and conversing with the 
 inhabitants, I feel quite confident that a burst of 
 loyalty will resound from one end of the province to 
 the othei, for a more honest, well-meaning yeomanry 
 and peasantry cannot exist than his Majesty’s sub¬ 
 jects in this noble province. 
 
 It is out of my power to describe to your Lord¬ 
 ship, without the appearance of exaggeration, the joy 
 and gladness expressed to me by all parties at the 
 constitutional resistance I have made; but I will not 
 conceal from your Lordship that there is one question 
 in almost everybody’s mouth, namely, “ JVill the 
 
80 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor he supported bp the Home Go¬ 
 vernment ?” “ He never will !” say the Radicals; 
 
 “ We fear he will not /” say the Constitutionists. 
 
 Your Lordship has to settle this question, and in 
 my humble opinion upon your decision rests our 
 possession of the Canadas. 
 
 I have the honour to he. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The war which raged against the Executive Go¬ 
 vernment of U pper Canada, in the House of Assembly, 
 could only he explained by a publication of the vio¬ 
 lent speeches of the Republicans, which are much too 
 long to be here inserted. Suffice it to say, that the 
 republican majority adopted an address to the King, 
 signed Marshall S. Bi dwell, Speaker, in which his 
 late Majesty’s attention was called to a report which 
 the House of Assembly had adopted, in which it 
 was declared that my “ ear was credulous,” my 
 “ mind poisoned,” my “ feelings bitter”—that l was 
 “ despotic, tyrannical, unjust, deceitful,” that my 
 conduct had been “ derogatory to the honour of the 
 King,” “ demoralizing to the community,” and that 
 I had treated the people of the province as being 
 “ little better than a country of rogues and fools.” 
 Not satisfied with this attack upon my character, the 
 

 
 81 
 
 House adopted a long memorial to the House of Com¬ 
 mons, signed Marshall S. Bidwell, Speaker , in 
 which not only was the same offensive report sub¬ 
 mitted, but it was further stated in the memorial as 
 follows:— 
 
 " It is with pain, disappointment, and humiliation we 
 notice the reiterated declaration of his Excellency to con¬ 
 duct our affairs without the advice of the Executive Coun¬ 
 cil according to his own will and pleasure, which his public 
 acts have already proved to be arbitrary and vindictive. 
 And this view of his sole ministerial power and authority, 
 with a nominal responsibility to Downing-street, he has sus¬ 
 tained before the public by mis-statements and misrepre¬ 
 sentations so palpably opposed to candour and truth, as to 
 destroy all hopes of further justice from his government 
 
 .For other instances of his deviation from 
 
 candour and truth, &c., we refer to the appended docu¬ 
 ments. 
 
 (Signed) “ Marshall S . Bidwell , Speaker.” 
 
 As this Mr. Bidwell was the well-known leader 
 of his party, as he was generally supposed to have 
 been the framer of the address against me to the 
 King, and as he was at all events the official organ of a 
 House of Assembly which had heaped upon me such 
 unparalleled abuse, the reader will hereafter learn 
 with no little surprise, that his Majesty’s Government, 
 instead ol supporting me by openly resenting his 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 conduct, desired that he should he publicly exalted to 
 the Judicial Bench, by me, whose station of representa¬ 
 tive of the King he had so grossly insulted. But as 
 this will form the subject of a distant chapter, I will 
 at once regularly proceed with my narrative by stating, 
 that on the Assembly stopping the supplies, I with¬ 
 held my assent from all their money bills, and even 
 from their own contingencies, on the principle that as 
 nothing but a storm of agitation could now settle the 
 weather, it would be useless to attempt to suppress it. 
 In the following despatch, I will, however, request 
 the reader’s especial attention to and recollection of 
 the solemn warning it contains. 
 
 No. 26. 
 
 Toronto , 21 st Jlpril, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship 
 two addresses from the House of Assembly to his 
 Majesty, as also a copy of one to the House of Com¬ 
 mons, reprobating in unusual language my conduct as 
 Lieutenant-Governor of this province. I have also to 
 inform your Lordship, that the House of Assembly 
 have deemed it their duty to stop the supplies—that, 
 in consequence of this proceeding, I have reserved all 
 their money bills for the consideration of his Majesty; 
 
83 
 
 and that I have declined to grant their contingencies. 
 I also inclose to your Lordship a copy of my speech on 
 proroguing the Provincial Legislature. 
 
 Under these circumstances, I feel it incumbent 
 to submit to your Lordship a plain statement of the 
 whole affair. 
 
 In my despatch No. 3, to your Lordship, dated 
 5th February, I stated as follows:— 
 
 “ lar as I have been able to judge, I should say that 
 the republican party are implacable, that no concession 
 whatever would satisfy them, their self-interested object 
 being to possess themselves of the government of this pro¬ 
 vince, for the sake of lucre and emolument.” 
 
 In my despatch, No. 9, dated 22nd February, I 
 stated to your Lordship as follows:— 
 
 “ Having now informed your Lordship of the individuals 
 I have added to the Executive Council, with the circum¬ 
 stances which have preceded their appointments (which I 
 trust may be confirmed), it only remains for me to state 
 that although tranquillity in this province is, I conceive, 
 now momentarily established, I do not expect that the pre¬ 
 sent House of Assembly will long discontinue their agi¬ 
 tations. 
 
 It shall be my duty, however, to afford them no reason 
 able cause for complaint. To their addresses, as well as 
 their opinions, I shall give every possible attention, and will 
 afford them every assistance to correct all real grievances j 
 but I am so convinced that every improper concession will 
 not only strengthen their demands, but weaken my influ¬ 
 ence in the province, that I shall continue to resist, as I 
 
 G 2 
 
have hitherto clone, any demand that may at all tend to 
 undermine the happy constitution of the province, as I be¬ 
 lieve that this policy will eventually secure to the Lieute¬ 
 nant Governor of Upper Canada (whoever he may be) the 
 confidence and support of the community.” 
 
 To the foregoing opinions, expressed to your 
 Lordship, I firmly continue to adhere, and refer to 
 them for the object of proving that the political state 
 of this province requires no deep experience, but 
 that its moral was evident to me before I had been 
 a month in this capital. 
 
 The speech I yesterday delivered on proroguing the 
 Provincial Legislature will sufficiently explain the 
 attempts I have in vain made to carry into effect the 
 remedial measures with which I was intrusted. I 
 will, therefore, only shortly observe, that the Griev¬ 
 ance Report remains unopened —that not one of the 
 remedies your Lordship prescribed has been carried 
 into effect; that, in fact, this Grievance Report was 
 nothing but a revolutionary ignis fatuus, purposely 
 created to deceive the British Government, and that, 
 as I stated in my despatch, No. 24, dated 6th April, 
 “ far from desiring to remove these grievances, the 
 republican members deem them the fulcrum for sub¬ 
 verting the government, and for destroying the con¬ 
 stitutional liberties of the province.” 
 
 The decided measures which your Lordship took 
 promptly to correct the alleged grievances which were 
 brought before you have had the happy effect of break- 
 
85 
 
 ing up the faction which, from want of firmness, has 
 long been undermining the constitution of this pro¬ 
 vince. Its enemies are now unmasked, disarmed, and 
 discomfited, and the inhabitants of this country are now 
 indignantly exclaiming, as Cromwell said, “ You who 
 are deputed here hy the people, to get their grievances 
 redressed, are yourselves become their greatest 
 grievance /” 
 
 If the sentiments contained in these petitions 
 from the House of Assembly were really the senti¬ 
 ments of their constituents, this province might justly 
 he said to he in a state of revolt; whereas the fact is, 
 as I stated it to youf Lordship in my despatch No. 24, 
 “ that a hurst of loyalty will very shortly resound 
 from one end of the province to the other, as a more 
 honest, well-meaning yeomanry cannot exist than his 
 Majesty’s subjects in this noble province and for a 
 proof of this assertion, I refer your Lordship to the 
 enclosed addresses I have already received. 
 
 Your Lordship cannot hut remark, that, for the 
 first time in the history of this province, the supplies 
 have been stopped—that the whole country has thus 
 been thrown into confusion, and that the period 
 selected for this violence has been my arrival with 
 your Lordship’s instructions to correct all the griev¬ 
 ances of the country! Had the object of those who have 
 styled themselves Reformers been reform, your Lord¬ 
 ship’s instructions would have been hailed with joy; 
 instead of which they have been repudiated hy the 
 Republicans, as the enemy of their hopes. 
 
86 
 
 The case is fortunately so clear, that no one even 
 in England can now fail to understand it. 
 
 “ Why ,” it will be asked, “ have the supplies in 
 Upper Canada been stopped?” The answer is, be¬ 
 cause the complaints of the Republicans were ordered 
 to be corrected; and being thus driven off their 
 grievance-ground, they were forced by your Lordship 
 to unveil their real object, which has been neither 
 more nor less than to seize upon the power and 
 patronage of the Crown! 
 
 “ And how,” it will be asked, “ have they at¬ 
 tempted to do this ?” I reply, by demanding that 
 the Executive Council be henceforward responsible 
 to the people; or, in other words, to themselves, for 
 the acts of the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 “ And is this all?” No; they further demand 
 that the Legislative Council shall be elective ; or, in 
 other words, that it also shall be nominated by them¬ 
 selves : and if this does not betray their real object— 
 if this does not prove to people in England the trai¬ 
 torous, democratic intentions of the half-dozen Repub¬ 
 licans who have been allowed to agitate this noble 
 province—facts are useless, and argument powerless! 
 
 If the duties of the Lieutenant-Governor of this pro¬ 
 vince merely consisted in his being one branch out of 
 three of the Colonial Legislature, even in that case 
 there could be no more reason why he should be 
 governed by an Executive Council, than that such a 
 body should be created to govern the House of As- 
 mbly or the Legislative Council; but, besides the 
 
87 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor’s station in the Provincial Legis- 
 ture, he has to guard the lands and property of the 
 Crown: in short, he is the only individual in this 
 colony competent to consider the interests of the 
 British Empire, of which this colony is but an atom. 
 
 1 he Executive Council are his Privy Council, to 
 give him sworn advice when he wants it, and not to 
 “ encumber him with help” when he does not re¬ 
 quire it. 
 
 If I had been governed by my late Council, the 
 constitution of this province would at this moment 
 be subverted, for it will be evident to your Lordship 
 that the unanimous demand they made upon me was 
 contrary to law. 
 
 This doctrine was, in 1828, clearly explained by 
 Mr. (now Lord) Stanley, who, in reply to Mr. Roe¬ 
 buck’s motion, “ That a select committee be ap¬ 
 pointed to inquire into the political state of the 
 Canadas,” declared as follows:— 
 
 “ The first point to which the Honourable Mem¬ 
 ber referred, was, the constitution of the Executive 
 Council. It may, perhaps, be necessary for me to 
 inform the House that the Executive Council is a 
 body acting in the nature of the Privy Council in 
 this country—advising the governor, but not respon¬ 
 sible to him, and forming a council against whose 
 opinion, as well as with it, he may act ” 
 
 My Lord, 1 most solemnly\ declare, as my deli¬ 
 berate opinion, that if this doctrine be ever subverted. 
 
democracy, in the worst possible form, will prevail in 
 our Colonies *. The two branches of the Legislature 
 have their respective interests to attend to, which too 
 often are made subservient to their private views; 
 but the Lieutenant-Governor is the King’s 
 sentinel, and if he be disarmed of the power he has 
 received from the Imperial Parliament, and be fettered 
 by his Provincial Council, the Republicans will move 
 heaven and earth to become the individuals to govern 
 him. 
 
 If the power of the Lieutenant-Governor is to be 
 surrendered, I respectfully recommend that the deed 
 be done in broad dayligh t : for, to hamper him by the 
 number of his councillors, or to oblige him to consult 
 them when he does not need their advice, would most 
 surely produce the same effect in a weak, discredit¬ 
 able manner. 
 
 As the subject is of vast importance, and as I be¬ 
 lieve our colonial possessions now hang upon your 
 Lordship’s decision, I will proceed to shew with what 
 artifice the Republicans of the House of Assembly of 
 this province have, in their petition against me, en¬ 
 deavoured to attain this object. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 But the Republicans in the House of Assembly 
 
 * The reader is particularly requested to keep in mind these 
 solemn warnings, as he will, ere long, read with astonishment the 
 orders given by Her Majesty’s Government lespecting them to Sir 
 Archibald Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. 
 
89 
 
 were unable to answer the correspondence which I 
 had held with my late Executive Council, and, feeling 
 that they were dead beaten, they caught at this straw, 
 and petitioned the House of Commons, which of 
 course they knew were perfectly ignorant of the 
 "'hole subject, against what they have termed my 
 “ deviation from candour and truth.” 
 
 But it is perhaps well they should have done so, 
 as it will explain to the House of Commons, as well 
 as to your Lordship, what sort of people the revolu¬ 
 tionists of Upper Canada are, and will prove the 
 absolute necessity of not ordering the Lieutenant-Go¬ 
 vernor to he governed by his Executive Council, 
 which might he composed of such men. In this 
 event, what would become of the property of the 
 Crown ?—What would become of the rights of the 
 people ? 
 
 I have now submitted to your Lordship facts which 
 are incontrovertible, and have replied to the accusa¬ 
 tions which have been made against me by the House 
 of Assembly, by merely contrasting them with their 
 own declarations. 
 
 I must now proceed alone upon my own testimony, 
 to which I trust your Lordship will give that weight 
 which is due to the station I hold. 
 
 I have stated to your Lordship that the instructions 
 you gave me to correct the grievances of this country 
 have had the effect of breaking to pieces the repub¬ 
 lican party. The loyal feeling which is now rising 
 
90 
 
 up to support me in all directions is greater than I 
 dare describe; as a single proof of which, I will in¬ 
 form you, that a scene took place on my proroguing 
 the Provincial Legislature which is unprecedented in 
 the history of this country. 
 
 Although Toronto is, and always has been, the 
 head-quarters of the reformers, and though this 
 capital will suffer more than any other part of the 
 province by the stoppage of the supplies, yet never 
 before was the Parliament House so crowded, in¬ 
 side and out, as when I went there to deliver my 
 speech. 
 
 As soon as it was ended, contrary to all custom, a 
 burst of acclamation resounded—cheers were several 
 times repeated, and a crowd of the most respectable 
 people, of all parties, actually endeavoured to take 
 the horses from my carriage to draw me up to Go¬ 
 vernment House. 
 
 On the speech being read again by the Speaker in 
 the House of Assembly, the gallery and floor was 
 equally crowded, and, as soon as Mr. Speaker Pid- 
 well had concluded, three cheers were given in the 
 House, although never before had such a demonstra¬ 
 tion of public feeling been evinced. 
 
 I am perfectly confident that the whole country is 
 disposed to rise up to support me, and I can assure 
 your Lordship that I foresee no difficulty whatever in 
 crushing the republican party, and in establishing 
 loyalty, except a general fear which prevails through- 
 
91 
 
 out the country that the Home Government will be 
 afraid to support, me. 
 
 I tell your Lordship the truth, for it is proper you 
 should know that the reception which was given in 
 England to Mr. M‘Kenzie has had the effect of 
 cowing the loyalists and of giving a false courage to 
 the republicans. 
 
 One word of firmness from the British Govern¬ 
 ment will now settle the question for ever; but if 
 you hesitate to support me; if in your Lordship s 
 reply to this despatch you encourage by a single word 
 the republicans, they will instantly be reanimated, and 
 will again utter their old cry against the “ weak and 
 TREMBLING GOVERNMENT OF GREAT BRITAIN.” 
 
 That they have mistaken British generosity for 
 fear no one is more persuaded than myself, but I 
 earnestly entreat your Lordship to put confidence in 
 me, for I pledge my character to the result; I so¬ 
 lemnly declare to your Lordship that I have no diffi¬ 
 culties to contend with here that I have not already 
 overcome; the game is won; the battle is gained as 
 far as relates to this country, and I cannot give your 
 Lordship a more practical proof of it than by saying I 
 want no assistance excepting the negative advantage 
 of not being undermined at home. 
 
 I am not myself in the least afraid of your Lord¬ 
 ship’s shrinking from supporting me, but if you 
 knew the feeling of this country you would pardon 
 my telling you that the loyalists are incapable of 
 
understanding the generous, liberal policy under 
 which the Home Government has intended to act, 
 and that the republicans firmly look to it for support. 
 
 In the present House of Assembly, which is 
 composed of 60 members, five of whom only are Eng¬ 
 lish, five Irish, and nine Scotch, there are thirteen 
 American members, many of whom have not only 
 a distaste for monarchical government, and are 
 avowed advocates for the election of magistrates, 
 legislative councillors, &c. &c., but who are desirous 
 to upset the constitution of this province for the sake 
 of reigning in its stead [for which see their incorrect 
 accusations against me.] 
 
 Many of these individuals attained their places 
 by the encouragement which was given to Mi. 
 M'Kenzie in England; and, now that I have suc¬ 
 ceeded in turning the tide, they will, I hope, sink 
 for ever, and be replaced by intelligent, loyal British 
 subjects, if your Lordship will firmly support me. 
 
 Whether I may continue here, or be replaced, is a 
 subject I will not now discuss; but as long as I do 
 remain here, and just at the present moment, it is of 
 vital importance that I should retain the victory 
 which has been won. 
 
 Upon Upper Canada, I conceive, hangs our pos¬ 
 session of our North American, and possibly of our 
 West Indian possessions : for, if this colony be firmly 
 secured, not only will the rest be maintained, but I 
 believe every intelligent individual in the United 
 
93 
 
 States foresees that democracy must ere long pro¬ 
 duce, by a revolution in that country, the identical 
 form of government (I mean a monarchy) which it 
 is endeavouring to overturn in this province. 
 
 Your Lordship is aware I have had some expe¬ 
 rience in ascertaining the opinions of the lower 
 classes in the mother-country, and I have no hesita¬ 
 tion in declaring that in no part ol Great Britain 
 does there exist so loyal a disposition as will be dis¬ 
 played in this province, if we will only act towards it 
 with firmness and decision. 
 
 I shall never regret the generous policy which 
 attempted to produce here tranquillity by concilia¬ 
 tion, for I at present owe to it my success; but my 
 speech to the Legislature will prove to your Lordship 
 that we can carry that policy no further—that to 
 Republicans the more we concede the more they 
 demand—that, while they are pushing at the consti¬ 
 tution, every inch of ground they gain redoubles their 
 exertions—and that, on the contrary, if resistance be 
 sternly offered to them they give up the attempt and 
 run away.* 
 
 I fully expect that before a month has elapsed 
 the country will petition me to dissolve the present 
 House of Assembly, but until the feeling is quite 
 ripe I shall not attend to it: I would therefore 
 request your Lordship to send me no orders on the 
 
 * I beg the reader to determine whether or not this prophecy has 
 been fulfilled ? 
 
94 
 
 subject, but to allow me to let the thing work by 
 itself; for it now requires no argument, as the 
 stoppage of the supplies, of the road money, and all 
 other money bills, will soon speak for themselves 
 in a provincial dialect which every body will un- 
 derstand. 
 
 The language contained in the 92 Resolutions 
 from Lower Canada, as well as in the resolutions 
 they have lately forwarded to the Government; the 
 language contained in the Grievance Report of this 
 province, in the petitions now forwarded by the 
 House of Assembly of Upper Canada against me, 
 and in Mr. Speaker Papineau’s letter to Mr. Speaker 
 Bid well, are in my humble judgment subversive 
 of all discipline, and totally irreconcilable with 
 the allegiance due from its colonies to the British 
 Empire. 
 
 I feel quite confident that if such language be 
 received by his Majesty’s Government without a 
 stern rebuke it will be aggravated; and I therefore 
 earnestly express my hope that your Lordship will 
 deem it proper to reprohate the reception which I, as 
 the hearer of your remedial measures, have met with 
 hy the House of Assembly, and that you will hy 
 your expressions firmly support me in the course 
 I have pursued. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
95 
 
 The reader will soon perceive that, instead of sup¬ 
 porting me in the course I had pursued, and instead 
 of reprobating the author of the 92 Resolutions in 
 Loner Canada, and the conduct of Mr. Speaker 
 Biduell in the Upper Province, his Majesty’s Go¬ 
 vernment, after the receipt of this despatch, obtained 
 the royal assent to the Road Rills I had reserved, 
 thus restoring to Radical Road Commissioners the 
 disposition of road money which had notoriously been 
 misapplied to the basest political purposes! 
 
 Not satisfied with this, his Majesty’s Government 
 communicated to me their desire that Mr. Bidwell, 
 like the author of the 92 Resolutions in Lower 
 Canada, should be exalted to the Judicial Bench, not¬ 
 withstanding the recommendations contained in the 
 three following despatches! 
 
 No. 28. 
 
 Toronto, 21th April, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to you a copy of a 
 letter which Mr. Papineau, Speaker of the As¬ 
 sembly of the Lower Province, has addressed to 
 Mi. Bidwell, Speaker of the House of Assembly of 
 Upper Canada. 
 
 I conceive that the traitorous and revolutionary 
 language it contains, as well as the terms in which 
 it speaks of your Lordship, need no comment; but I 
 will only observe, that although the letter is dated 
 
96 
 
 20tli of March, it was detained by Mr. Bidnell 
 until a few hours before I prorogued the Legislature, 
 and then by him laid before the House of Assembly 
 of this province. 
 
 I take this opportunity of mentioning to your 
 Lordship that the House of Assembly lately ap¬ 
 pointed three Commissioners to meet Mr. Papineau 
 and the other two Commissioners from the Lower 
 Province, and that the individuals named for this 
 unconstitutional object were Mr. Speaker Bid well, 
 Mr. Perry, the chairman of the committee to whom 
 was referred my correspondence with the Executive 
 Council (a gentleman who has lately uttered most 
 violent language against me as well as against the 
 British Government), and Mr. 
 
 No. 29. 
 
 2 # Toronto, April 28th, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to enclose to your Lordshijr a 
 copy of the minutes of the Executive Council, hy 
 which it will appear that, in withholding assent to the 
 money bills, and in declining to grant the contingen¬ 
 cies of the House of Assembly, I acted with the ad¬ 
 vice of my Council. 
 
 One of my reasons for not granting the contin¬ 
 gencies was, the knowledge that a large sum would 
 be granted out of them, by the Assembly, to send an 
 
97 
 
 agent to England, which I have good reason for know¬ 
 ing they had determined to do. 
 
 I have just learned that Mr, Robert Baldwin, one 
 .of the Executive Council, leaves Toronto this day for 
 London. It is stated that he goes there for the re¬ 
 covery of his health; but it is acknowledged by his 
 party, that he will be prepared to answer any ques¬ 
 tions which the Government may feel disposed to put 
 to him. 
 
 The system of sending agents from the British 
 North American Colonies, and their being received by 
 the Government, is one which 1 feel confident your 
 Lordship will discountenance.* 
 
 1 he House of Assembly, or the Legislative Coun¬ 
 cil, or the Executive Council, or any individual in the 
 colony, have a constitutional mode of making accusa¬ 
 tions against the Governor, to which accusations he 
 has also a constitutional opportunity to reply. 
 
 Should this not be deemed sufficient, and should 
 the novel course of receiving agents be adopted, then 
 I submit that, in common justice, the party complain¬ 
 ing should appoint one agent, and the party com¬ 
 plained of another, but that one should not be heard 
 without the other: the inconvenience of such a system 
 must be so apparent, that I feel confident your Lord- 
 ship will not approve of it. 
 
 »• • 
 
 * In this almost single instance my recommendation was most 
 strictly complied with. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 The mere fact of its being supposed that the re¬ 
 volutionary party have an agent at home, who is 
 successfully undermining the character of the Lieute¬ 
 nant-Governor, Avill give great importance in this 
 country to Mr. Baldwin’s residence in London ; and 
 I therefore hope that, should he, directly or indi¬ 
 rectly, communicate with the Colonial Office, your 
 Lordship will give him that style of answer, a copy 
 of which, transmitted to me, and published in this 
 country, would at once put an end to that sort of 
 left-handed attacks upon the constitution. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 38. 
 
 3. Toronto, May 19 th, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship 
 an address which was this morning presented to me 
 by a deputation from the electors of this city, with 
 my answer thereto. 
 
 I would direct your Lordship’s attention to the fact, 
 that, at the last general election for the city, the total 
 number of votes that were polled amounted to 512, 
 and that to the present address there are attached 
 no less than 461 signatures. 
 
 J have also the honour to transmit an address from 
 

 
 
 99 
 
 tlie electors of llie county of Lennox, of which Mr. 
 Speaker Bidwell and Mr. Perry (the chairman of the 
 committee, who drew up the report on the correspond¬ 
 ence with my late Executive Council) are at present 
 the members. It will explain to your Lordship the 
 reaction which is taking place in this province. 
 
 I may also observe, that I have this evening re¬ 
 ceived official information, that 1200 electors of the 
 Gore district are coming down in a body to Toronto 
 to present to me, in person, an address, strongly sup¬ 
 porting me in the measures I have adopted. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 ^ our Lordship’s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 40 
 
 Toronto, May 28th, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a 
 copy of a Gazette Extraordinary, by which it will ap¬ 
 pear that I this day dissolved the Provincial Parlia¬ 
 ment. 
 
 The new elections will be concluded on 27th June. 
 The number of signatures attached to the loyal 
 addresses which I have received already amount to 
 24,100 ; many others are on their way. 
 
 h 2 
 
 
100 
 
 (Private.) Toronto, May 28th, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 My official communication of this day’s date will 
 inform your Lordship that I have this day dissolved 
 the Provincial Parliament. 
 
 Of course a most violent contest will take place, and 
 I need hardly observe that it is one upon which our 
 possession of the Canadas may almost be said to de¬ 
 pend. 
 
 Sensible as I am of its importance, I feel calm and 
 tranquil as regards its result. 
 
 In South America, truth and justice carried me 
 through difficulties even greater than those I have 
 now to contend with, and I have the firmest reliance 
 they will again be triumphant. 
 
 I enclose to your Lordship a printed copy of an 
 answer I this day gave to one of the numerous ad¬ 
 dresses. 
 
 In all my other answers I have been cool and calm; 
 but in this I have made an exception, because I have 
 long determined to notice that letter which Papineau 
 addressed to Mr. Speaker Bidwell. 
 
 The fact is, Papineau as well as Bidwell, and all 
 their party, have long endeavoured to inculcate the 
 idea, that the whole of the population of the Canadas 
 are “ united, to a man ”—that they only tolerate the 
 British Government, and that, consequently, they can 
 throw it off when they please. 
 
 Now, I think it highly necessary that this artful 
 
101 
 
 spell should be broken—that the truth should be 
 proved, and I have therefore done so effectually. 
 
 I am quite sure that my answer* will do Papineau 
 the greatest possible injury; for it will prove his 
 theory to have been false. It will re-animate the 
 loyalists; and as our militia regiments all assemble 
 for a few days on the 4th of June, the appeal will 
 stir them up, and turn their votes in the right direc¬ 
 tion. 
 
 I am aware that the answer may be cavilled at in 
 Downmg-street, for I know it is not exactly according 
 to Hoyle. Mats, mon seigneur, croyez-vous done 
 qu on fasse des revolutions avec de Veau de rose? 
 It is impossible to put down republicanism by soft 
 words. 
 
 1 have only one moment, as the mail is starting. 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Youi Lordship s faithful and obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The reader will have observed the heavy difficulties 
 I had to contend with, not only in Upper Canada, but 
 in England. The following despatch will moreover 
 explain that, although I was privately on amicable 
 terms with the Commissioners of Inquiry in Lower 
 Canada, yet that I found it so utterly impossible to 
 
 Let them come if they dare!” 
 
 * << 
 
102 
 
 subscribe to the policy they were ordered to pursue, 
 that I respectfully tendered to her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment my resignation. 
 
 “ Tw'onto, June lsi, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have received from Lord Gosford and the Com¬ 
 missioners of Inquiry, a copy of their reports to your 
 Lordship on the Executive Council, and I have had 
 an interview with Sir George Gipps, who was here 
 two days ago, on his way to Niagara. 
 
 It may have appeared strange to your Lordship 
 that, during the short time that has elapsed since my 
 arrival here, I should have twice respectfully tendered 
 to your Lordship my resignation of the station I hold. 
 
 The ostensible reason which I gave for so serious 
 a proposal was, that my income and rank were in¬ 
 adequate, as I still declare them to be, to the duties 
 I had to perform ; but having read the Commissioners’ 
 Report, and having conversed with Sir George Gipps, 
 of whose talents and probity I am deeply sensible, I 
 have resolved to hesitate no longer to confess to your 
 Lordship, that I do not agree in opinion with the 
 Commissioners of Inquiry; and that I have long 
 felt I should eventually embarrass them by remaining 
 in this country. I should not do justice to myself, 
 or act frankly towards your Lordship, the Governor- 
 General, or Commissioners, were I any longer to 
 conceal that, as regards their policy, I have not an 
 idea in common with them. 
 
103 
 
 The very first act of my administration was a 
 deliberate departure from the course they adopted. 
 I perfectly well knew, and I stated it to your Lord- 
 ship, that by not giving to the legislature of this 
 province the Commissioners’ version of their instruc¬ 
 tions, I should seriously embarrass them: at the 
 same time I could not make up my mind to conceal 
 the truth, and I therefore promulgated the instructions 
 themselves, in puris naturalibus, although I was 
 sensible it might cause my recall. 
 
 In the Commissioners’ Report respecting the 
 Executive Council, they build their recommendations 
 on the foundation, “ that the weightiest accounta¬ 
 bility which can attach to any man, in matters of a 
 public nature, for which he is not punishable by 
 law, or by loss of office, is accountability to public 
 opinion .” 
 
 To this doctrine I have never been able to sub¬ 
 scribe ; on the contrary, I have always considered 
 that every man in office should make public opinion 
 follow him, and never attempt to follow it. 
 
 However, upon this foundation the Commissioners 
 project plans which, consistently with their theory, 
 are avowedly framed “ to secure as much as possible 
 of the confidence of the people.” 
 
 In the contest which I have had with the House 
 of Assembly here, my argument has been that the 
 Governor and his Executive Council form the great 
 constitutional counterpoise to the representatives of 
 the people; and that in proportion as the Provincial 
 
Legislative Council is deficient in the rank, wealth, 
 and superior education which give influence to our 
 House of Lords, so it is-necessary that the Governor 
 and his Council should be enabled to withstand the 
 democratic pressure which, in the British constitu¬ 
 tion, it is as much as the King and the House of 
 Lords can do to resist. I therefore consider that the 
 Commissioners’ recommendation of attempting to 
 conciliate partly public opinion by forming the Exe¬ 
 cutive Council out of the two Houses of the Legis¬ 
 lature—or, in other words, out of the very elements 
 it is intended to control, is a fatal error. 
 
 I also consider, that to absolve the Governor’s 
 council from secrecy would render it absolutely im¬ 
 possible for him to consult them ; for as he is only 
 supposed to consult them on subjects upon which he 
 feels his judgment to be rickety, the confession to 
 them of his own weakness would, if made public, 
 ruin his authority by depriving him of respect. 
 
 Besides this, if a councillor were permitted to 
 declare what measure he had not advised, he would 
 equally be at liberty to declare what measures he 
 had advised ; and, if these were popular measures, 
 the Governor of this colony, besides having to stand 
 against democracy, would also have to bear against 
 the additional odium of having stood against the 
 popularity-hunting advice of his Council ; which, 
 altogether, would in practice be more than he could 
 bear. 
 
 But the Report of the Commissioners respecting 
 
the Executive Council forms but a single feature in 
 the whole picture of their policy, which to my mind 
 has a democratic character to which I cannot con¬ 
 scientiously accord. 
 
 I can declare to your Lordship, that, before I 
 came to this country, many of my friends fancied I 
 was a radical, and, indeed, I almost fancied I was one 
 myself, for in all the countries I have ever visited 
 I really have been devotedly attached to what is vul¬ 
 garly called the liberty of the subject, but I cannot 
 go as far as the Commissioners; and I feel it only 
 due to them, and to your Lordship, to state so. 
 
 For instance, I consider that the language of the 
 92 Resolutions of Lower Canada was not only in¬ 
 sulting to the British Government, but traitorous. 
 
 If this be true, it unavoidably follows that the 
 author ot these resolutions is a traitor, and to create 
 him a judge was, in my humble opinion, to place 
 on the British bench one whose proper situation was 
 the dock. 
 
 I consider that, in a British colony, British 
 interests should be paramount, and that in these 
 provinces we should foster them by every means in 
 our power, by infusing into the country our redundant 
 population, and by giving nothing to aliens but their 
 bare rights. 
 
 I do not in the slightest degree presume to offer 
 these observations as complaints against the Commis¬ 
 sioners, or even as suggestions worthy your Lord- 
 
106 
 
 ship’s consideration ; but merely as a confession that 
 my principles and opinions differ completely fiom 
 those of gentlemen under whom, I believe, I should 
 act, and with whom, I am sure, it is highly advisable 
 I should concur. 
 
 As long as I could continue neutral, my opinions 
 were concealed in my own breast, but eveiy houi 
 drives me to the necessity of taking decisive mea¬ 
 sures; and as the Commissioners and I are now 
 acting in opposite directions, I feel quite confident 
 that sooner or later the principles which govern us 
 must be suspected to be different, and that, the mo¬ 
 ment the truth is elicited, embarrassments of a very 
 serious nature must ensue. The British population 
 of both the Canadas is now leaning with its whole 
 weight upon me, instead, as it ought to do, upon the 
 Commissioners ; I therefore feel I am doing his Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government more harm than good—that being 
 the lesser power I really ought to retire—and I have 
 no hesitation in recommending to your Lordship that 
 I should do so. 
 
 There exist, in the Commission of Inquiry,opinions 
 openly promulgated which many may term liberal, 
 to which I cannot and never will subscribe; but, far 
 from wishing to oppose them, I only desire to offer 
 to your Lordship to yield to them the field. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c., &c. &c. 
 
107 
 
 I 
 
 Although in the foregoing despatch 1 divulged to 
 his Majesty’s Government my opinion concerning 
 the Commission of Inquiry, the high jurisdiction of 
 which extended to Upper Canada, yet in doing so I 
 felt it but right, 1st—to tender my resignation; 
 and, 2ndly, to make the Commission aware of the 
 opinions I entertained, by communicating them 
 almost literally in a letter to Sir Charles Grey. 
 
 As his Majesty’s Government, in reply to my com¬ 
 munication, declined to lay my resignation before the 
 King, I could not, as I desired, “yield to them 
 the field and as the Government did not call upon 
 me to explain my meaning, I had no opportunity of 
 doing so : but as the despatch has now become pub- 
 lic, I leel it a duty I owe to the Commission pre¬ 
 cisely to explain my meaning. 
 
 In the Commission there existed one gentleman of 
 whose talent and probity I have already spoken in 
 high terms. His abilities were good, his power of 
 writing uncommon, but his political principles were 
 offensive to almost the whole of the British popula¬ 
 tion. 1 lie freedom (which surely must be known 
 even in this country) with which he avowed them 
 was a subject of general regret; and although I could 
 not but admire the honesty with which he spoke his 
 mind, yet when I found that even at a large party, 
 expressly invited to meet him at the Government House 
 at Toronto, in Upper Canada, he advocated his prin¬ 
 ciples so undisguisedly, that, on his leaving the room, 
 
108 
 
 one of the public officers observed, loud enough for me 
 to hear him, “ That gentleman should be recalled!” I 
 felt it my duty, though he was personally my friend, 
 to express what I did in my despatch, and having 
 done this “ to yield to him the field.” 
 
 The feeling in the Canadas among the British 
 party was, on this subject, right or wrong, so strong, 
 that, on this gentleman returning to England, it was 
 a subject of considerable speculation to observe in 
 what way a person who was known to have honestly 
 expressed such sentiments would be received by the 
 Colonial Office; and they were equally astonished and 
 disheartened (to no one was the moral more appalling 
 than to myself), when they saw it very shortly an¬ 
 nounced that, out of the whole population of Great 
 Britain, he was selected by his Majesty’s Government 
 to be placed at the head of one of the most x-ising and 
 important of our colonies. On this appointment I 
 have no comment to offer, and I most deeply regret 
 the necessity which has called for even what I have 
 said. 
 
 The following despatches on various subjects will 
 speak for themselves. 
 
 Toronto, June 22 , 1836 
 
 Mv Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship 
 a newspaper published here, entitled the Correspond¬ 
 ent and Advocate, which contains a letter from 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, of which the following is an extract 
 
“The people of Lower Canada and the Upper 
 Canada Reformers especially direct their views to 
 four important objects, not one of which will be con¬ 
 ceded, as I believe, until it be too late. They are 
 —an elective Legislative Council; an Executive 
 Council responsible to 'public opinion; the control 
 over the whole provincial revenue to be in the Le¬ 
 gislature ; and the British Parliament and the 
 Colonial Office to cease their interference in our 
 internal concerns.” 
 
 As the Republicans in the Canadas generally 
 mask their designs by professions of attachment to 
 the mother-country, I think it is important to re¬ 
 cord this admission on the part of Mr. M‘Kenzie 
 of the traitorous object which the Reformers of this 
 province have in view. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 56. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, 
 
 8th July, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 The important subject of this despatch is to inform 
 your Lordship of the result of the elections which 
 have taken place here in consequence of my having 
 dissolved the Provincial Legislature on the 28th of 
 May. 
 
 As soon as I determined on the 5th of March last 
 
110 
 
 to make a stand against the unconstitutional demands 
 of my late Executive Councillors (which, as your 
 Lordship is aware, were strenuously supported by the 
 House of Assembly), I became sensible that the only 
 
 practicable method of breaking the republican paity 
 
 was by opening the eyes of the people to the traitorous 
 designs of those who were leading them insensibly 
 to revolution. 
 
 In proportion as the Constitutionists were ob¬ 
 served to rally round the British flag (which I hoisted 
 for the first time in the history of the Province on the 
 roof of the Government House), the Republicans 
 felt it necessary to make on their part every possible 
 exertion ; and as the period for the elections gradually 
 approached, it became evident to every reflecting man 
 in Lower Canada, that by the conflict about to take 
 place in the Upper Province, Mr. Papineau’s power 
 would either be materially increased or diminished, 
 inasmuch as in one of my replies I had noticed his 
 letter to Mr. Speaker Bidwell as follows : — 
 
 “ But as Mr. Speaker Papineau has thought proper to 
 promulgate in this province, ‘ that the people of the Canadas, 
 labouring under the accumulative wrongs proceeding from 
 an Act of Parliament, unite as a man,' I feel it necessary 
 publicly to repudiate that assertion, by declaring what the 
 state of opinion in Upper Canada really is. 
 
 “The people of Upper Canada detest democracy ; they 
 revere their Constitutional Charter, and are consequently 
 staunch in allegiance to their King. 
 
u 
 
 ' ■ 
 
 Ill 
 
 “ They are perfectly aware that, there exists in the Lower 
 Province one or two individuals who inculcate the idea that 
 this province is about to be disturbed by the interference of 
 foreigners, whose power end whose numbers will prove 
 invincible. 
 
 “ * n tlle nanie of every regiment of militia in Upper 
 Canada, I publicly promulgate, let them come if the 
 dare." 
 
 The elections commenced on the 20th of June, and 
 the struggle, as might be expected, was a desperate 
 one. I am happy however to inform your Lordship, 
 that the result has been successful, and that truth 
 and justice have as usual prevailed. 
 
 In the late House of Assembly the Republicans 
 had a majority of eleven. In the present House 
 of Assembly the Constitutionists have a majority of 
 twenty-five (there being now forty-five constitu¬ 
 tional members, and only seventeen republican !) 
 
 In the late House there were thirteen American 
 members; in the present House there are only seven, 
 one of whom is a Constitutionist. 
 
 Among the Republicans who have lost their 
 election are the following names: 
 
 “1. Mr Speaker Bid well,* the twin or Siamese 
 
 * The Government insisting on elevating Mr. Bidwell to the bench, 
 after they had received this despatch, is surely incomprehensible. 
 
112 
 
 as the leading speaker of the Republicans; the chaii- 
 man of the committee to whom was referred my 
 correspondence with my Executive Council. 
 
 “ 3. Mr. W. L. M'Kenzie, the Chairman of the 
 Grievance Report, and arch-agitator of this province.” 
 
 As a single example of the reaction which has 
 lately taken place in the public mind, I may state 
 that the Solicitor-general, who is the leader of the 
 constitutional party in the House of Assembly, was 
 returned without opposition; that Mr. M'Lean, the 
 late constitutional Speaker, was returned at the head 
 of his poll; while Mr. Speaker Bidwell, the avowed 
 advocate for republican institutions, was the lowest 
 of the four candidates for his county. 
 
 The effect which the election lias produced in 
 this country, and the excitement it will cause in 
 Lower Canada, I will not attempt to describe, hut 
 will only express a hope that it will, in your Loid- 
 sliip’s estimation, sufficiently defend the course of 
 policy which I have adopted on my arrival at this 
 province, and which I had the honour to explain to 
 your Lordship in my despatch of the 5th ol February, 
 as follows:— 
 
 “Under these circumstances I considered that 
 the great danger 1 had to avoid, was the slightest 
 attempt to conciliate any party; and that the only 
 course for me to adopt, was to act fearlessly, undis- 
 guisedly, and straightforwardly for the interests of 
 the country, to throw myself on the good sense and 
 
113 
 
 good feeling of the people, and abide a result which 
 I firmly believe will be triumphant.” 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your lordship s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 57. 
 
 Toronto, 1 6th July, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 In my last despatch, No. 56, dated 8th instant, 
 I had the honour to inform your Lordship, that our 
 elections have added forty constitutional votes to the 
 House ol Assembly, which is composed, as your 
 Lordship is aware, of sixty-two members. 
 
 “The republican minority of course feel that 
 their cause is desperate ; and, as a last dying struggle, 
 they have, I understand, been assembling at To¬ 
 ronto night after night, for the purpose of appealing 
 for assistance to his Majesty’s Government! 
 
 Their conventions are so secret that it is im¬ 
 possible for me to know what passes there; but I 
 have been informed, that they have actually despatched 
 Dr. Buncombe,* (an American, and a rank republi- 
 
 * This Dr. Duncombe crossed the Atlantic on his secret mission 
 under a false name. On arriving in London he of course went to Mr. 
 Hume, who seconded his charges against me of having “fabricated 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 can) with complaints of some sort respecting the 
 election. 
 
 I also beg to state to your Lordship, that I ex¬ 
 pect that Dr. Baldwin, Mr. George Rulout and Mr. 
 Small, whom I have felt it necessary to dismiss from 
 the situations they respectively hold, in consequence 
 of the disrespectful language they have publicly 
 used against me, will also seek to be supported by 
 his Majesty’s Government. 
 
 I feel confident that your Lordship will discoun¬ 
 tenance this dark, unconstitutional practice of de¬ 
 spatching agents from the province to his Majesty s 
 Government, to make secret complaints against the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, w hich, of course, it is impossible 
 for him to repel. 
 
 I will therefore merely assure your Lordship that 
 in the elections, as well as in the prompt dismissal of 
 a few of the ringleaders of the Republicans, I have 
 acted cautiously and conscientiously . 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 votes. 1 * On his return to Upper Canada he failed even to appear 
 before the House of Assembly to substantiate any one of his alle¬ 
 gations, became a traitor in arms, ran away, and a reward of 500/. 
 is now offered for his apprehension." 
 

 u 
 
 ] 15' 
 
 No. GO. 
 
 Toronto . 2 3rd July, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Until I know whether my past proceedings have 
 been approved of or condemned, it feels cheerless to 
 enter upon the consideration of the future: however, 
 as it is absolutely necessary to consider what should 
 be done at the meeting of the Provincial Legislature 
 which might possibly take place in November, I 
 feel it my duty to submit to your Lordship a few 
 observations. 
 
 * * * •* 
 
 In an evil hour we fatally surrendered, without 
 bloodshed, the duties levied under 14 Geo. III.,* 
 the consequence of which has been, that the Repub¬ 
 licans, instead of thanking us, have called upon us 
 also to surrender the hereditary revenues of the 
 Crown. 
 
 Your Lordship took the pains of ordering in detail 
 a remedy for every single grievance in Mr. M‘Ken- 
 zie’s volume, and the Republicans instantly repaid 
 you by calling for an immediate surrender of the 
 power and responsibility of the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 Little now remains in our hands, and if that little be 
 conceded, if we give up the hereditary and territorial 
 revenues of the Crown, in my humble opinion we 
 
 * See the Duke of Wellingtons admirable protest against this 
 fatal measure. 
 
 I 2 
 
have King Lear’s fate before us, without his plea of 
 inexperience. 
 
 I need hardly observe to your Lordship, that the 
 British Constitution was granted to the inhabitants 
 of the Canadas, merely for the internal government 
 of their own property, and their own affaiis ; not to 
 entitle them to claim possession of the property of 
 the parent state! If once this distinction he con¬ 
 founded, not only will the property of the Crown be 
 in danger, but the colony will actually be encouraged 
 to demand its separation from the mother-country ; 
 but if the Crown voluntarily surrenders its actual 
 property in this colony, before it has imbibed from 
 the mother-country a hundredth part ol the redundant 
 population it is capable of sustaining, it may with 
 equal justice be required to surrender its juris¬ 
 diction. 
 
 I feel quite confident that if the Lieutenant-Gover¬ 
 nor of this province, whoever he may be, will act 
 with common firmness, he will not be seriously em¬ 
 barrassed by this refusal on the part ot his Majesty s 
 Government; and if the territorial revenues were 
 placed at the Lieutenant Governor’s disposal, under 
 such orders and precautions as his Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment might think proper to direct, to be judiciously 
 applied by him to those sort of improvements (such 
 as road-making for instance) which would benefit 
 the mother-country as well as the province, or if 
 necessary, to be temporarily withheld, I believe that 
 
117 
 
 the country, instead of factiously opposing the Lieu¬ 
 tenant-Governor, would feel it their interest (which 
 at present it is not) to live upon good terms with 
 him ; and there can be no doubt whatever, that, being- 
 disinterested, being unconnected with all jobs and 
 local speculations, the Lieutenant-Governor of the 
 province could direct the expenditure of the here¬ 
 ditary revenues of the Crown with greater advantage 
 to the country than if they were to be intrusted to 
 the people’s representatives.* 
 
 Whether the Lieutenant-Governor or the House 
 of Assembly is to have the expenditure of this money 
 is the point which I respectfully submit to your Lord¬ 
 ship’s consideration. 
 
 In my humble opinion it should be given to His 
 Majesty’s representative. 
 
 1st. Because it is the property of the Crown, and 
 not the property of the people; and 
 
 2ndly. Because it is politic to give the Lieute¬ 
 nant-Governor every possible constitutional support, 
 and impolitic to throw that which legitimately 
 belongs to his influence into the scale of the House 
 
 * The Legislative Council, in their late able “ Report on the State 
 of the Province,” in speaking of the proposed surrender to Upper 
 Canada of the casual and territorial revenues, in most disinterested 
 terms declare, “ that they are far from being impressed with the 
 conviction that such a relinquishment of th ejust lights and preroga¬ 
 tives of the Crown will contribute to the welfare of the colony.’ 
 Yet, against the advice of tw r o branches’of the Legislature, the Colo¬ 
 nial Office insist on surrendering them ! 
 
118 
 
 of Assembly, which already too clearly prepon 
 derates. 
 
 I have not yet been able to determine when the 
 Legislature will assemble; but as it is very possible 
 that it may be advisable it should do so early in 
 November, I hope to receive immediate instructions. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 
119 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Return to Toronto, after a two months’ Inspectional Tour of the 
 Provinces Submit to His Majesty’s Government a Memorandum 
 on the Political State of the Canadas—Also a Memorandum on 
 the Indian Tribes—Remonstrate with the Government—Adhere 
 to the Opinion that the Casual and Territorial Revenues should 
 not be surrendered—Reply to Mr. Ex-Speaker Bidwell’s Accusa¬ 
 tion-Loyal Address from the Speaker of the new House of As¬ 
 sembly on granting the Supplies. 
 
 In my inspectional tour, which occupied about two 
 months, I traversed Upper Canada from the extreme 
 south to the eastern district, and from thence to the 
 western boundary. 
 
 I generally travelled with two attendants ; and, as 
 a considerable portion of the journey was necessarily 
 performed on horseback, I had an opportunity of con¬ 
 versing on very agreeable and easy terms with the 
 yeomen and farmers, who generally assembled to ride 
 Avith me through their respective districts, and proceed¬ 
 ing considerable distances, I had thus an opportunity 
 of conversing through the day with various sets of 
 farmers. In my visits to the Indians it was found 
 inconvenient to carry a tent, and accordingly my aid- 
 de-camp and I lived in the open air, and at night slept 
 on the ground. 
 
 Nothing can be more reasonable than that his 
 Majesty’s Government should withhold their support 
 from any officer in their service who conscientiously 
 
advocates in his despatches principles differing from 
 their own ; but that my humble opinion on the poli¬ 
 tical state of the Canadas, and of the Indians, 
 should on that account have been withheld from the 
 public, when every report, even of disagreement, 
 proceeding from LordGosford and the Commissioners 
 of Inquiry in Lower Canada, was liberally submitted 
 by his Majesty’s Government to both Houses of Par¬ 
 liament, to enable them to form their judgment on 
 the Canada question, appears to me inexplicable. 
 
 No. 79. 
 
 Toronto, TJjyper Canada, Oct. 8, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to inform your Lordship that I 
 have issued a proclamation convening the Legislature 
 of this province for the despatch of business on Tues¬ 
 day, the 8th of November next. 
 
 I had, as your Lordship is aware, fixed upon the 
 end of November; but in consequence of the state of 
 affairs in Low er Canada, I have considered that his 
 Majesty’s Government would probably like to have 
 before them, at the meeting of the Imperial Par¬ 
 liament, the actual result of the whole of the proceed¬ 
 ings of the session of this Legislature, and I therefore 
 fixed on the day I have mentioned. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
No. 86. 
 
 Toronto , Upper Canada, Oct. 28, 1836. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to submit to your Lordship 
 a short memorandum on the present political state of 
 the Canadas. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Memorandum on the present Political State of the 
 Canadas. 
 
 During the inspectional tour I have lately con¬ 
 cluded, I have been occupied two months in calmly 
 observing the moral feeling of this province. 
 
 Avoiding addresses of congratulation, or any¬ 
 thing that could cause political excitement, I have 
 mingled with men of practical intelligence, and have 
 listened to the variety of opinions they offered to me, 
 with the same attention with which, as an Assistant 
 Poor Law Commissioner, I made myself acquainted 
 with the prejudices and difficulties it was then my 
 duty to encounter. 
 
 I have since had full leisure and opportunity 
 deeply to reflect upon all I have seen and heard; 
 and, although 1 am at this moment sensible how 
 much may possibly depend on the integrity of the 
 evidence I am about to offer to your Lordship, and 
 
122 
 
 into what difficulties I may lead His Majesty’s Go¬ 
 vernment, if by exaggeration I should induce them 
 to construct their remedial measures upon a false 
 foundation; yet, with all this before my mind, I have 
 no hesitation whatever in declaring to your Lordship, 
 that upon the loyalty of the people of Upper Canada 
 his Majesty's Government may now build as upon a 
 rock. I declare to your Lordship that in England 
 there does not exist a more sensible attachment to the 
 British constitution, and to the person of our Sovereign, 
 than here. The owners of property in Upper Canada 
 dislike democracy: they dislike it infinitely more 
 than people in England do, because there it is a fine 
 omne-ignotum pro-magnifco theory, that no man un¬ 
 derstands—whereas here, it is seen practically work¬ 
 ing before our eyes in the United States ; and it is 
 because the British population in Upper Canada see 
 it in operation, that they deliberately detest it, in 
 which feeling, or rather judgment, they are joined 
 by many of the Americans themselves, who sorrow¬ 
 fully foresee that Lynch law must ere long unavoid¬ 
 ably treat their rights, their hard-earned property, 
 and their religion, just as the cataract of Niagara 
 everlastingly behaves to the calm, gliding waters of 
 Lake Erie. 
 
 Of course there exists in Upper Canada, as in 
 England, a party who desire to subvert the British 
 Constitution; but I can assure your Lordship that 
 this party is, generally speaking, composed of people 
 
who, in point of property as well as in point of 
 character, have little or nothing to lose, and whose 
 opposition is therefore, proportionately, not equal 
 to that which exists in the mother-country. 
 
 The opinion which so generally prevails in 
 England, that a republican government is better 
 suited to the disposition of the Canadian people than 
 the British Constitution, is an error which the simple 
 lact I am about to mention ought to subvert. 
 
 Previous to the late election, I made the following 
 declaration, which was printed and circulated over 
 the whole province :— 
 
 “ The people of Upper Canada detest democracy ; they 
 revere their Constitutional Charter; and are, consequently, 
 staunch in allegiance to their King.” 
 
 This declaration against democracy was, of course, 
 disapproved of by the republican members of the 
 late House of Assembly ; and, consequently, nothing 
 could be more clearly put to the decision of the 
 inhabitants of any country than the following 
 question, which the people of Upper Canada actually 
 asked of each other on the hustings : “ Do you vote 
 for the House of Assembly or for Sir Francis Head ?” 
 which amounted in plain terms to this, “ Are you 
 for a republican government, or are you not ? ” 
 
 The subject having been thus publicly sifted, 
 debated, and argued for about three months, the 
 verdict of the people was unequivocally delivered as 
 follows:— 
 
124 
 
 It discarded from the House of Assembly 
 
 1. Mr. Speaker Bidwell, the avowed advocate of 
 republican institutions. 
 
 2. Mr. Peter Perry, the leading supporter of these 
 doctrines. 
 
 3. Mr. W. L. M'Kenzie, the leading writer in 
 support of these principles. 
 
 It completely broke up the republican majority, 
 which, under the pretence of being redressers of 
 grievances, had long insidiously, but successfully, 
 obtained seats in the Assembly: in short, the result 
 of the election, or in other words of the opinions oj' th e 
 people, was eventually declared to be as follows:— 
 
 Number of Constitutional members elected 44 
 
 Number of their Opponents ----- 18 
 
 Of this latter number (18) there were not three 
 who dared openly to avow, before their constituents, 
 a desire to separate this colony from the mother- 
 country, or to exchange its constitution for democracy. 
 
 I feel it impossible to take leave of the above 
 recited historical fact, without remarking how little 
 it supports Mr. Papineau in his assertion, that 
 “ America is destined to give republics to Europe!” 
 
 With respect to the Indians inhabiting the vast 
 regions around us, I can assure your Lordship, from 
 personal communication with these brave men, that, 
 in the event of a war, all those upon whose attachment 
 we have a just claim would, at any time, sacrifice 
 their lives for their great father, the King, and that, 
 
 
125 
 
 if it should he necessary to call upon them, they would 
 come. 
 
 Having now stated the result of the observations I 
 have personally made on the state of public feeling 
 in Upper Canada, I would gladly conclude; but the 
 political state of Lower Canada is so entangled with 
 the interests of this Upper Province, that I feel it my 
 duty respectfully to submit to your Lordship my 
 opinion of the remedial measures which ought to be 
 adopted, in order that His Majesty's Government 
 may take them into consideration, with the various 
 other projects and recipes which will be proffered 
 on the subject. 
 
 The remedy which I fear will be assiduously 
 recommended by the British population of Lower 
 Canada is, that the two provinces should be united, 
 and placed under the government of some individual 
 in whose coolness, decision, and ability they can 
 rely. 
 
 My humble but deliberate opinion of this project 
 is, that it would produce the effect of separating both 
 the Canadas from the parent state, on the homely 
 principle, that if tainted and fresh meat be attached 
 together, both are corrupted. 
 
 Upper Canada is now, as I have assured your 
 Lordship, sound and healthy at heart. 
 
 So long as in the United States democracy dis¬ 
 played only its brilliant flowers, considerable danger 
 existed of the weed being rashly transplanted into 
 
126 
 
 this neighbouring soil; but since the poisonous pio- 
 perties of its fruit have become known to us, the 
 attachment of the Upper Canadians to their Biitish 
 constitution has, from deliberate conviction, gradually 
 become what I have described it to be. I fiimly 
 believe that this good feeling will increase—that the 
 disease of democracy has ceased to be infectious 
 that we have now nothing to dread but its contagion, 
 and, consequently, nothing to avoid but its actual 
 contact. However, notwithstanding the good feeling 
 which exists in the country, it is well known, to 
 every observer of human nature, that a considerable 
 portion of mankind are always governed more by 
 prudence than by principle. In this country, as in 
 all others, there must, consequently, exist a large 
 body of men, termed here “ majority men, from 
 their propensity to attach themselves to the largest 
 party. 
 
 So long as Upper Canada remains by itself, I feel 
 confident that, by mere moderate government, her 
 “ majority men” will find that prudence and prin¬ 
 ciple unite to keep them on the same side; but if 
 once we were to amalgamate this province with 
 Lower Canada, we should instantly infuse into the 
 House of General Assembly a powerful Frencli party, 
 whose implacable opposition would be a dead or 
 rather a living weight, always seeking to attach itself 
 to any question whatsoever that could attract and 
 decoy the “ majority men and I feel quite confi- 
 
127 
 
 dent, inasmuch as evil passions are always more alert 
 than good ones, 
 
 (“ For oft, though Wisdom wakes. 
 
 Suspicion sleeps at Wisdom’s gate,”) 
 
 that, sooner or later, the supporters of British insti¬ 
 tutions would find themselves overpowered, not by 
 the good sense and wealth of the country, (for they 
 would, I believe, always be staunch to our flag,) but 
 by the votes of designing individuals, misrepresenting 
 a well-meaning, inoffensive people. 
 
 But leaving political intrigue out of the question, 
 I submit to j our Lordship, in opposition to the project 
 of uniting the Canadas, that there exists no moral 
 affinity between the inhabitants of the two pro¬ 
 vinces. I he one are commercial and enterprising, 
 the other anti-commercial and quiet: the busy enjoy¬ 
 ment of the one nation is locomotion, the peaceful 
 luxury of the other is rest. 
 
 But even if their propensities were identical, their 
 climate, soil, and geography are so different, that 
 their interests would be constantly at variance. 
 
 For instance, the Upper Province, surrounded bv 
 seas of fresh water, which it holds in partnership 
 with the United States, requires rail-roads and 
 markets, which it might be against the interests of 
 the Lower Province to promote. 
 
 The distance between the extreme districts being 
 about 1100 miles, and there being no travelling by 
 water for at least five months in the year, would 
 
128 
 
 make the meeting of tlie Legislature at any point of 
 common rendezvous exceedingly inconvenient. Be¬ 
 sides which, the size of the two provinces united, 
 would impart to them a political weight, power, and 
 importance, which would, I fear, encourage a sepa¬ 
 ration from the mother-country. In short, the more I 
 practically consider the project, the more clearly does 
 it appear to my mind, that both provinces would he 
 embarrassed by their union, and that, between the 
 two stools, the British Constitution would fall to the 
 ground. 
 
 Deeply impressed with this opinion, it is alaiming 
 to me to reflect how strongly tL , project will pro¬ 
 bably be pressed upon the consideration of his Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government by various classes of people, each 
 actuated by self-interest; tor instance. 
 
 1. By the British population of Lower Canada, 
 who desire to he rescued from the domination of the 
 French. 
 
 2. By a portion of the British in Upper Canada, 
 whose votes have been canvassed by their corre¬ 
 spondents in the Lower Province. 
 
 3. By tlwt unthinking portion of the community, 
 which here, as well as in England, is always in favour 
 of novelty and change. 
 
 4. By all those deep-calculating Republicans in 
 both provinces, who shrewdly foresee that the union 
 of the two provinces would eventually cause their 
 separation from the British Empire. 
 
129 
 
 In case his Majesty’s Government,for better 
 than I have offered, should disapprove of tin 
 
 ,ior better reasons 
 ove of the union. 
 
 it then becomes necessary to consider how the present 
 revolt in Lower Canada should be dealt with. 
 
 In my humble opinion there are but two courses 
 to be adopted; namely, either peaceably to attempt 
 to cure the evil, or to determine forcibly to kill it. 
 
 which I can conceive, is emigration ; and it will no 
 doubt be argued, that as an army of emigrants is 
 
 cheaper than an army of soldiers, it should be our 
 policy to swamp the misrepresentatives of the French 
 habitans, by openi... upon them, by dint of free 
 giants of land, the flood-gates which retain our 
 superabundant population. 
 
 I feel confident, however, from what I have seen 
 of Upper Canada, that this theory would fail to pro¬ 
 duce the desired effect: for the severity of the Quebec 
 climate, compared with this, would chill the efforts 
 of Government to effect this rapid emigration • and, 
 even if it were to be effected, the time that must 
 elapse before the present members of the Assembly 
 could be actually displaced would defer the remedy 
 to a distance beyond our present political horizon. 
 In the mean while. Upper Canada would be like a 
 living body chained to a dead one: for as the two 
 provinces are partners in the joint-stock revenues of 
 the fet. Lawrence, as well as in the navigation of the 
 Ottawa, a sulkiness, or anti-commercial obstinacy, on 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 
 the one part, would amount to an actual blockade of 
 the interests of the other : in short, the Uppei Pro¬ 
 vince would be driven by desperation to seaich foi 
 an outlet to the ocean, via the United States. 
 
 The political disorder of Lower Canada being 
 (as I have endeavoured to shew) by the slow process 
 of emigration incurable , we are now driven to con¬ 
 sider what would be the safest, the simplest, and the 
 most effectual method of killing it. I do not mean 
 by personal violence, but the calm, legislative powers 
 of the Imperial Parliament. 
 
 It is useless at the present hour retrospectively to 
 regret the uncalculating course of policy, which from 
 our first possession of the Canadas has not only pei- 
 mitted, but encouraged a few individuals who mis^ 
 represent the real interests of the French hahitans 
 of Lower Canada, (whose simplicity and amiability 
 of character no one can fail to admire,) to assume 
 towards the British empire a tone of arrogance, and 
 a posture of defiance which, considering their relative 
 physical strength, and the total absence of any just 
 cause for revolt, is without a parallel in colonial 
 history. 
 
 Our past policy has, however, been productive of 
 one advantage, namely, that it must now satisfy the 
 cool judgment of the civilized world, that Great 
 Britain in forbearance has borne more, and in sub¬ 
 mission has submitted to more, than would have 
 been tolerated by any other nation on the surface of 
 
131 
 
 the globe ; and indeed, such is the scrupulous regard 
 for justice, and the love of mercy, which is inherent 
 in the British character, that I am proud to believe it 
 mil be with the deepest regret that the subject will even 
 now be considered by the Imperial Parliament. 
 
 Something, however, must be done; and although 
 I trust I am as unwilling as any person can be, to 
 meddle with the Constitutional Act of 1791, yet, 
 seeing the unavoidable necessity of doing so, I cannot 
 but avow, I think it the duty of the country, if it does 
 resolve to interfere, to prevent the necessity of ever 
 doing so again. 
 
 With the double object therefore of cure and pre¬ 
 vention in view, the following is the manner in which 
 I would propose that the Imperial Parliament should 
 deal with Lower Canada. 
 
 1. Let the Act giving up the revenue of the 14th 
 George III. be repealed. 
 
 2. Annex Gaspe to New Brunswick. 
 
 3. Annex Montreal to Upper Canada. 
 
 4. Make the north bank of the Ottawa the boun¬ 
 dary of Lower Canada, giving the waters of the 
 river, and the expenses of making them navigable to 
 Upper Canada ; Lower Canada having free right to 
 use them by paying the same tolls as the Upper 
 Province. 
 
 By the above simple arrangement, the Canadas 
 would be divided into tivo lots; the one British, 
 the other French. Upper Canada, which, without 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 any exception, contains the largest region of black rich 
 earth I have ever witnessed, would then comprehend 
 almost all that is British in the Canadas ; and it would 
 have, as its own port of entry, Montreal, the wealth and 
 importance of which would draw the exports as well 
 as imports of the country to the St. Lawrence: 
 whereas, continue to deny to Upper Canada that 
 port, and every person acquainted with the country 
 foresees, and has long foreseen, that its produce, pent 
 up under high pressure, must fly off, by licit or illicit 
 means, into the United States. 
 
 As long as Upper Canada remained poor, and 
 occupied in petty political discussions, the want of a 
 free port of entry was merely a subject of constant 
 complaint; but whenever it shall become flushed with 
 wealth, unless free circulation be given to its com¬ 
 merce, I have no hesitation in saying, I believe the 
 people would revolt from any Government on earth 
 that should deny them this natural respiration. 
 
 Convinced of this truth, I consider the opportunity 
 now afforded to the Imperial Parliament of provid¬ 
 ing against this approaching evil a most fortunate 
 occurrence: for if the misrepresentatives of Lower 
 Canada had not by their late conduct shaken off 
 their connexion with the British population ot the 
 Canadas, the latter would very shortly have found 
 it necessary, without right, without justice, and for 
 no other reason than for that which all over the 
 world governs mankind, namely, their own interests 
 
» 
 
 133 
 
 to Imve severed the connexion themselves. That the 
 two tribes of men, French and English, do not assimi¬ 
 late, is no modern discovery; why, therefore, should 
 we expect that a commercial partnership should suc¬ 
 ceed on the St. Lawrence, which would not hold 
 together for five minutes on the Thames ? 
 
 My humble project of separating the two tribes 
 is nothing more than what Nature herself did, when 
 she deliberately created the British Channel. 
 
 If it should be argued, that, by transferring Mon¬ 
 treal from the Lower to the Upper Province, we 
 should make the latter too strong, and the former 
 too weak, I respectfully reply, that Upper Canada 
 need not be ashamed to acknowledge that, single- 
 handed, she can never be made strong enough to 
 stand against the United States by land ; nor, with 
 her solitary port on the St. Lawrence, could she ever 
 attempt to contend against Great Britain by sea. 
 With one of these powers she must consequently 
 exist in alliance ; and leaving consanguinity out of the 
 question, there can be no doubt in the mind of any 
 man who is acquainted with the inhabitants of Upper 
 Canada, that they are deliberately of opinion that 
 they hold at this moment a higher and more inde¬ 
 pendent station, as a colony of their own revered 
 mother-country, the British Empire, than they would 
 hold if they were permitted to be styled one of the 
 supernumerary stars of the United States. 
 
 We have therefore nothing to dread from the size 
 
134 
 
 or from the prosperity of Upper Canada, and with 
 respect to the division proposed making the Lower 
 Province too small— if it be true, and surely no one 
 can deny it, that the French are not the same sort of 
 restless, commercial people as ourselves that we 
 made a grand mistake in legalizing their language— 
 that their habits, wants, and religion, however they 
 may be deserving of our respect, nevei will assimi¬ 
 late with our own ; it may be fairly asked, what harm 
 shall we do ourselves, or what injustice shall we do 
 to them, by saying, * Gentlemen, your representatives 
 have failed to support the Executive out of the reve¬ 
 nues we surrendered to you, on condition you should 
 do so: we have, therefore, repealed that Act, the 
 provisions of which you yourselves have most delibe¬ 
 rately broken. 
 
 « You profess not to like your connexion with 
 Great Britain, under whose mild, parental protection 
 you have amassed all your wealth: we have, there¬ 
 fore, detached you as much as possible from British 
 interest, nevertheless, for the sake of those who have 
 already emigrated, as well as for those who have a 
 right still to emigrate from their mother-country to 
 the British colony you inhabit, we shall insist on re¬ 
 taining within that portion of the empire the British 
 Constitution. 
 
 “ You have, therefore, your own Legislative 
 Council, your own representatives in the House of 
 Assembly ; and with these advantages, which you may 
 
135 
 
 either use or abuse, we now leave you to act as you 
 may think best for the interest of the noble country 
 you inhabit.” 
 
 If Lower Canada, under these altered circum¬ 
 stances of its own seeking, should choose to be com¬ 
 mercial and loyal, it would soon reap the inestimable 
 advantage of its connexion with our empire: if, on 
 the contrary, it should prefer to be disloyal and anti¬ 
 commercial, it would injure no one but itself, for it 
 could not possibly be an independent nation, neither 
 could it hope to join the Upper Canadians, for they 
 would say, “ No, Gentlemen, we have already tried 
 a connexion with you, you did not suit us, you would 
 not work with us, you publicly declared you did not 
 like us, your representatives refused to meet for legis¬ 
 lation, until our British Constitution was changed for 
 elective institutions : we have at last got a port of 
 our own, we are busy opening the navigation of the 
 Ottawa and the St. Lawrence, and we are satisfied.” 
 
 Lastly, It could not join the United States, 
 
 1st, On account of its distance ; 
 
 2nd, Because, by the common law of nations. 
 Great Britain and Upper Canada would object to any 
 foreign power occupying a position of our empire 
 which commands the entrance of one of the noblest 
 of its rivers. 
 
 I am aware that in the eastern township of Lower 
 Canada, as well as at Quebec, there exist some British 
 inhabitants, who, if they were to hear of the proposed 
 
136 
 
 annexation of Montreal to the Upper Province, might, 
 at first, with some reason, fancy themselves peculiarly 
 neglected, by being thus apparently placed even more 
 than ever under the domination of the French; but I 
 think a little reflection would satisfy them, that as it is 
 impossible for them, as they are at present, ever to be¬ 
 long to the French majority, the more the power of 
 that majority be crippled, the less will they have to 
 fear from its domination. 
 
 With respect to Upper Canada, I have already 
 stated that, with the assistance of Montreal, the navi¬ 
 gation of its two great rivers would immediately be 
 perfected. 
 
 Enjoying independently its own port of entry, and 
 public confidence being restored, the province would 
 become rapidly rich from the redundant capital, enter¬ 
 prise, and population of the mother-country, and its com¬ 
 merce being attracted by the wealth and intelligence 
 of Montreal, would travel on our own noble rivers the 
 St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, instead of being forced 
 upon canals and rail-roads in the United States, 
 which, in case of war, it would suddenly be deprived 
 of. The loyal colony of New Brunswick would also 
 be benefited by the arrangement, and I believe that the 
 just lesson would produce a salutary moral through¬ 
 out all our colonies. 
 
 In the above outline of the advantages which would 
 attend the division of the Canadas as I have proposed, 
 I have said nothing of the immense value of these 
 
137 
 
 provinces to Great Britain, because I feel that sub¬ 
 ject is too vast to be described. I will, therefore, only 
 observe that Upper Canada alone is capable of re¬ 
 ceiving the whole agricultural population of England 
 and Wales—that its commerce is a market for our 
 own manufactures, and a nursery for our seamen, in¬ 
 stead of for those of other powers. 
 
 If the Imperial Parliament will now deal with 
 Lower Canada with firmness and decision, there is 
 nothing whatever to fear— if it vacillates, all is gone. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 My memorandum on the state of the Indians of 
 America will be found in Appendix A. 
 
 (Private.) Toronto, 2Sth Oct. 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 It is an old maxim in the army, that any project 
 of apparent difficulty, or danger, should always be 
 accompanied by an offer from the proposer to carry 
 it into effect himself. 
 
 The memorandum I have the honour to submit 
 this day to your Lordship contains a proposition of 
 this nature, and I should have no hesitation in de¬ 
 claring to your Lordship that I would pledge my 
 character to carry either half of what I recommended 
 into effect: I mean, that I would undertake either to 
 advance the interest of the Upper Province in the 
 way I have proposed, or by caution, forbearance, and 
 
138 
 
 firmness to tranquillize the Lower Province*, notwith¬ 
 standing the operation I have recommended it should 
 undergo ;+ but, from tlie treatment I am receiving, I 
 feel that my services are not appreciated, and will 
 not long be in action. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 To those who may have conceived that I have in- 
 temperately abandoned my post, I beg to observe, 
 that I remained at it nearly eighteen months after 
 the above despatch was written. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, 7th Nov. 1836. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your Lordship’s despatches (No. 73 and 95), of the 
 importance of which I am deeply sensible; but as the 
 Legislature assembles to-morrow, I trust your Lord- 
 ship will excuse me, if I reply to these communi¬ 
 cations in as few words as possible. 
 
 The flattering manner in which your Lordship has 
 been pleased to convey to me the King’s gracious 
 approbation of my conduct has afforded me the first 
 
 * After it had been reduced. 
 
 f Although I offered to carry either of these two measures into 
 effect, yet I can truly say that nothing in this world would have in¬ 
 duced me to have assumed the impracticable duty of contending 
 with an amalgamation of the Houses of Assembly of the two Pro¬ 
 vinces. 
 
o 
 
 139 
 
 happy moment I have enjoyed since my arrival in 
 this province. 
 
 The future so completely occupies my attention, 
 that it is Avith reluctance I turn to the consideration 
 of the past; but your Lordship seems to Avish that 1 
 should frankly explain myself respecting my political 
 opinions, and I will therefore lay them before you 
 without reserve. 
 
 Up to the receipt of your Lordship’s despatch (No. 
 95), I have suffered, from the treatment I have re¬ 
 ceived from his Majesty’s Government, more pain 
 thani t Avould be possible for me to describe. 
 
 On the 29th ol February almost every member in 
 the House of Assembly, with a majority of the Le¬ 
 gislative Council, recommended to your Lordship that 
 an individual should be appointed to the important 
 station of Surveyor-General of this province, in 
 opposition to an appointment which I had made. In 
 resisting this aggression, I had no interest but that of 
 the public service, and I undertook a heavy responsi¬ 
 bility in standing against a recommendation appa¬ 
 rently so respectable. 
 
 Your Lordship must have received this communi¬ 
 cation about the end of April, and though my argu¬ 
 ments and reasoning appeared to you satisfactory, and 
 though eventually you approved of my conduct, yet it 
 Avas not until the 27th of September that I avus relieved 
 from the painful belief which generally existed here, 
 that the measure I had taken Avas discountenanced 
 by his Majesty’s Government. 
 
140 
 
 On the 4th of March I received from the Execu¬ 
 tive Council a document, ferociously supported by 
 the House of Assembly, which I immediately trans¬ 
 mitted to your Lordship, with my answer, which your 
 Lordship was pleased eventually to notice in the 
 following terms :— 
 
 ,f From the construction thus given to the Act of 1791 I 
 must altogether dissent, nor do I know that it would be pos¬ 
 sible to refute it in terms more complete and satisfactory 
 than those employed in your answer of the 5th of March.” 
 
 The above support, however, I did not receive from 
 your Lordship until the 27th of September, during 
 which time I was engaged single-handed in one of 
 the severest moral contests on record in the Colonial- 
 Office. Your Lordship’s silence was construed, not 
 only by my enemies but by everybody, even by my 
 own Executive Council, as the marked disapprobation 
 of his Majesty’s Government, and it bore me almost 
 to the ground. 
 
 By my own unassisted exertions, I received ad¬ 
 dresses of support from about 28,000 yeomen, farm¬ 
 ers, &c., all of which I forwarded to your Lordship, 
 but to which, to this day, I have never received the 
 slightest acknowledgment from his Majesty’s Go¬ 
 vernment, addressed to those who thus generously 
 came forward to support me. 
 
 Whenever a mail arrived, I was asked, with the 
 greatest anxiety, what remarks the British Govern¬ 
 ment had made to these noble addresses ; the morti¬ 
 fying answer I had to give was “ None." 
 
141 
 
 The speech I delivered to the Legislature at the 
 close of the last session has, in this province, as well 
 as in the United States, been noticed in a manner 
 strongly supporting me, as the administrator of the 
 Government. Upwards of 100,000 copies of it have 
 been distributed. 
 
 The greatest curiosity naturally existed in this 
 little community to know what notice His Majesty’s 
 Government had taken of this speech ; I had again 
 to reply “ None.” 
 
 When I eventually gained a victory, which I hope 
 I do not overrate when I say that it has saved 
 the Canadas, weeks and weeks elapsed without the 
 slightest acknowledgment, or even mention of it, by 
 his Majesty’s Government, the effect of which cor¬ 
 roborated the general belief that I was acting against 
 the policy of his Majesty’s Government, and that I 
 should eventually be recalled. 
 
 During this period of painful suspense, my family 
 were in the greatest embarrassment and anxiety; and 
 though certain points of my conduct were approved of 
 by your Lordship, yet other minute points were visited 
 with observations which I never expected to receive. 
 For instance, I was told that by having given to the 
 Legislature the whole, instead of the substance of my 
 instructions, I had “disregarded the express injunc¬ 
 tions of the Kingthat I had “ avowed in the most 
 public manner, that, in thus divulging the precise 
 terms of my instructions, I was acting in opposition 
 
142 
 
 to his Majesty’s orders,” and that “ I had thereby 
 contributed a little to impugn the respect due to the 
 royal authority.” 
 
 Again, in your Lordship’s despatch (No. 73), in 
 spite of the triumph I had gained, I was slightly re¬ 
 proved for having accepted the resignation of Messrs. 
 Rolph, Baldwin, and -, and your Lordship with¬ 
 
 held your approbation from what was stated to he 
 “ my recommendation, that Mr. - should he re¬ 
 moved from the office of-whereas, 
 
 if your Lordship will he so good as to refer to my 
 despatch on the subject, it will appear that I never 
 recommended that gentleman’s removal ; on the 
 contrary, that I earnestly x-equested your Lordship 
 not to remove him, until I found him associated with 
 Mr. Papineau and Mr. Bidvvell, when I merely 
 retracted the above recommendation, leaving it en- 
 tirely to your Lordship to deal with him as you might 
 think proper. 
 
 My Lord, I could continue these observations fur- 
 ther, and could shew you the mischievous political 
 effect they produced in the Canadas, as well as in 
 England, of causing everybody to believe that I was 
 discountenanced by his Majesty’s Government, to 
 whose interests, honour, and policy I had never been 
 faithless for a moment. But I will say no more on 
 the subject; I dismiss it from my mind and from my 
 memory, and have only made the above explanation 
 as an apology, rather than as a reason, for a few in- 
 
143 
 
 temperate sentences which in my despatches to your 
 Lordship I regret that I have expressed. 
 
 I will now proceed to reply to the latter paragraph 
 in your Lordship’s despatch No. 95, which states, 
 that a e ‘ zealous and cordial co-operation on my part, 
 in prosecution of the system of policy thus solemnly 
 announced, is the condition upon which the admi¬ 
 nistration of the province can be continued in my 
 hands.” 
 
 The above observation of your Lordship is so plain 
 and unequivocal, that, if it stood isolated, I should 
 receive it with respectful silence; but, as it appears 
 to be connected, in a slight degree, with the baronet¬ 
 age which your Lordship announces to me it is his 
 Majesty’s intention to confer upon me, I feel the 
 strongest possible anxiety to explain myself most 
 clearly on the subject, before the gracious intention 
 of his Majesty can possibly be carried into effect. 
 
 With respect to the instructions I have had the 
 honour to receive from your Lordship, I have no 
 hesitation in saying, that, when I read them in Eng¬ 
 land, they appeared to me to be everything I could 
 desire. 
 
 They have formed the text of all the replies I have 
 made to the various addresses I have received, and I 
 have invariably referred to them as a proof that I was 
 ordered by your Lordship “ to maintain the happy 
 constitution of this province inviolate, yet cautiously, 
 but effectually, to correct all real grievances.” The 
 
144 
 
 victory 1 gained over the Republicans I attributed 
 (vide my despatch No. 56), not to my own exertions, 
 but to your Lordship’s instructions. 
 
 With respect, however, to that part of Lord Gos- 
 ford’s instructions which relate to the giving up the 
 hereditary and territorial revenues of the Crown, I 
 never understood, or indeed reflected upon, that sub¬ 
 ject, until, by our victory here, it became evident, to 
 my humble judgment, that it was neither necessary 
 nor advisable to do so. 
 
 In my despatch No. 60, I therefore explained, 
 with the frankness with which I have always ven¬ 
 tured to address your Lordship, the reasons of my 
 earnest recommendations that they should be with¬ 
 held. I respectfully adhere to the opinion I have 
 expressed; and I have no hesitation whatever in 
 saying, that, if the subject were open to your Lord¬ 
 ship’s revision, I should feel it my duty to tender my 
 resignation, rather than be the instrument ol doing 
 what I conscientiously believe is impolitic. 
 
 But your Lordship informs me, that the King’s 
 word is pledged to the performance of this arrange¬ 
 ment ; and it being therefore irrevocable, it is useless 
 for me to say any more on the subject. 
 
 If it were open to argument, I do yet believe I 
 could bring conviction to your Lordship’s mind, that 
 Lower Canada having refused to serve any longer 
 under the British Constitution, has virtually absolved 
 his Majesty from any previous offers of accommoda- 
 
tion he may graciously have made. I look upon the 
 territorial revenues of the Crown as our last cable • 
 that when it goes, we shall be on a lee-shore, and, at 
 the next tempest, be driven on the rocks. As the 
 pilot in charge of your vessel, I warn your Lordship 
 oj the danger, and if it be necessary that I should 
 abandon my opinion, or the reward which is intended 
 for me, I have no hesitation in at once renouncing 
 the latter, for every hour of reflection makes me cling 
 firmer and firmer to the former. 
 
 I have now, as regards my instructions, opened my 
 mind to your Lordship, without concealment or 
 reserve; and it only remains for me to be equally 
 explicit, as regards my own private policy, or, in 
 other words, the manner in which I shall continue to 
 carry my instructions into effect. 
 
 In this I have no alteration to propose. In a moral 
 contest it never enters into my head to count the 
 number of my enemies. All that guides me is a de¬ 
 termination to do what is right. I will never shrink 
 fiom responsibility, and will endeavour never to con¬ 
 ciliate nor offend. 
 
 The more I am trusted, the more cautious I shall 
 be—the heavier I am laden, the steadier I shall sail; 
 but I respectfully claim the military privilege of 
 fighting my own battles in my own way, and of retiring 
 from your Lordship’s service whenever I may find it 
 advisable to do so. 
 
 I will not apologise for having explained myself so 
 
146 
 
 clearly, because I am sure your Lordship will feel 
 for me bow absolutely necessary it is that I should 
 not receive the baronetage which I am informed is 
 graciously to be conferred upon me, with the slightest 
 possibility of a misunderstanding on the subject. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. 13. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 89. 
 
 My Lord, Toronto, 6th JVov. 1836. 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your Lordship’s despatches, Nos. 75, 76, 77, and 80, 
 in which I am informed that certain letters respecting 
 my conduct have been addressed to your Lordship by 
 the following persons:—Messieurs Marshall Spring 
 Bidwell, Robert William Baldwin, John Rolph, T. 
 D. Morrison. 
 
 I have also the honour to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your Lordship’s despatch No. 95, enclosing a copy 
 of a petition addressed by Mr. Charles Duncombe, a 
 member of the House of Assembly of this province, to 
 the House of Commons, and presented to the same 
 by Mr. Joseph Hume. 
 
 On the receipt of the above-named despatches, 
 Nos. 75, 76, 77, I immediately communicated to 
 Messrs. Bidwell, Rolph and Morrison, a copy of 
 your Lordship’s request, namely, ** that I would call 
 
■■ 
 
 147 
 
 on each of these gentlemen respectively for a copy of 
 
 is letter to your Lordship, in order that I might he 
 
 a . t0 SU PP ] y y° ur Lordship with any observations 
 on it which I might consider it to require.” 
 
 I he copies of his replies, which I herewith enclose, 
 will explain to your Lordship that Mr. M. S. Bidwell 
 declines to furnish me with a copy of his letter to your 
 Lordship, urging, as his reason, “ that it contained a 
 narrative of what had taken place between his Excel¬ 
 lency and himself, particularly relative to his Excel¬ 
 lency’s proposition to appoint him a judge of the Court 
 of King’s Bench.” 
 
 And Mr. Bidwell further adds, 
 
 " This P rivate ,etter to the distinguished nobleman 
 whose name I have mentioned 1 do not now choose, 
 especially as I have no longer any connexion with 
 public life, to convert into a public and official com¬ 
 munication, by transmitting to you a copy of it.” 
 
 It will no doubt appear strange to his Majesty’s 
 Government that Mr. Bidwell, after transmitting to 
 your Lordship statements concerning my conduct, 
 should, when called upon by your Lordship to avow 
 them, deem it advisable to withhold them from me 
 in this country on no better grounds than that they 
 merely “ contained a narrative of what had taken 
 place between the Lieutenant-Governor and himself.” 
 
 It will no doubt appear equally inexplicable to your 
 Lordship how Mr. Bidwell could hope, for a moment, 
 
 l 2 
 
148 
 
 that a British minister * would allow him, or any per¬ 
 son, to forward, under the protection of privacy, se¬ 
 cret communications respecting the conduct oi the 
 Lieutenant-Governor of this province. 
 
 However, as Mr. Bid well shields himself under 
 this plea of privacy, it only remains lor me to observe, 
 that I have it not in my power to offer to your Lord- 
 ship any observations on the subject of his communi¬ 
 cation. 
 
 As regards Mr. John Rolph j', whom your Lord- 
 ship is so good as to inform me has also “ commented 
 at considerable length on my conduct,” 1 have to in¬ 
 form your Lordship, that, to the letter from my secre¬ 
 tary, enclosed herewith, in which I called upon him, 
 by your Lordship’s desire, lor a copy ol his letter, 
 Mr. Rolph replied, by merely acknowledging its re¬ 
 ceipt; that, after an interval of live weeks, being 
 again pressed by my secretary for a specific answer, 
 he replied as follows :— 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 Sir, Toronto, 5th Nov. 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge your letter of 
 the 21st of October, recalling my attention to the let¬ 
 ter of the 28th of October. 
 
 * The reader has to learn, that, in spite of this despatch, the Co¬ 
 lonial Office desired me to raise this man to the Bench! He has 
 since the rebellion voluntarily transported himself, and engaged 
 never to return to Upper Canada. 
 
 t Since absconded, and is now an outlawed traitor. 
 
c 1 
 
 149 
 
 The sickness in my family has abated, and I hope 
 shortly to be able to furnish the Lieutenant-Governor 
 with a copy of my letter to Lord Gleneljr. 
 
 o 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) John Rolph. 
 T. Joseph, Esq., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 As regards Mr. John Rolph’s comments on my 
 conduct, I have therefore also to state, that, not having 
 obtained from him the information I required, it is 
 out of my power to offer to your Lordship any reply 
 to his allegations. 
 
 Mr. T. D. Morrison * in his letter dated 29th of 
 April, 1836, “ imputes to me a misquotation from the 
 Report of the Committee of 1835 on Public Grievances, 
 in my speech at the close of last session.” To this 
 accusation I consider it unnecessary to reply, as it 
 merely amounts to this—that, in my speech from the 
 rin one, I quoted, as from the Grievance Report, a 
 sentence which actually belonged to its Appendix. 
 
 M ith lespect to Mr. Robert Baldwin’s communi¬ 
 cation, dated 26th July, 1836, in which he encloses to 
 your Lordship a Toronto newspaper, informs your 
 Lordship of the contents of private letters he has re¬ 
 ceived, and transmits to your Lordship a list of cer¬ 
 tain tunes which he has been informed have been played 
 at public dinners in Upper Canada, I have no observa¬ 
 tions to make on such subjects, except that I believe 
 
 * Since tried for treason, and has sinceleft the province. 
 
150 
 
 that Mr. M. S. Bid well, Mr. John Rolpli, Mr. T. D. 
 Morrison, Mr. R. Baldwin, and Mr. C. Duncombe, 
 would be the very first to complain were I to under¬ 
 take to curb in this province the freedom of the 
 press, or to stifle the tunes of which Mr. Robert 
 Baldwin has so gravely complained. 
 
 With respect to my expression, “ let them come if 
 they dare;' your Lordship has only to read Mr. 
 Papineau’s letter to perceive that this sentence avas 
 most clearly levelled at the invitation which the 
 Speaker of the House of Assembly of Lower 
 Canada made to this province as well as the other 
 British North American Colonies to unite for an ob¬ 
 ject that could not be misunderstood. 
 
 The Americans had no more to do with the subject 
 than the Chinese, and of this fact, every inhabitant 
 of the Canadas might be sensible ; but my defiance 
 Avas more than Avas expected, and it Avas therefore 
 deemed safer to misinterpret it than to meet it. 
 
 I certainly appears to me not very creditable to 
 those Avhose accusations I have just replied to, that 
 after having so loudly and repeatedly complained ol 
 the " humiliating and mortifying ” inconvenience of 
 seeking for justice 4000 miles off, they should centri- 
 fugally Avrite and hurry across the Atlantic, to com¬ 
 plain of the honest verdict Avliich has been delibe¬ 
 rately pronounced against them, not by me, but by 
 the inhabitants of their oavii province. 
 
 If your Lordship lioAvever Avill be good enough to 
 
continue invariably to furnish me with a copy of the 
 accusations they secretly write against me, this un- 
 J3i itisli practice will very shortly be discontinued. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. 13. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 P.S. It is my intention to forward a copy of Mr. 
 Charles Duncombe’s petition to the House of Com¬ 
 mons to the House ot Assembly, as I conceive that 
 tribunal to be the proper one for inquiry into the 
 allegations it contains. 
 
 P.S. Nov. 27. I have purposely detained this de 
 spatch three weeks but no reply from Hr. Holph has 
 been received. 
 
 No. 100. 
 
 Toronto , Upper Canada, 
 
 Wth December, 1836. 
 
 Mv Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to inform your Lordship that 
 having proceeded in state to the Legislative Council 
 Chamber to give assent to a bill, the Speaker of the 
 House of Assembly addressed me from the bar of the 
 House of Assembly as follows:— 
 
 “May it please your Excellency, 
 
 “ We, his Majesty’s faithful subjects the Com¬ 
 mons of Upper Canada, recognising the duty which 
 
152 
 
 we owe to our Sovereign and the loyal people whom 
 we represent, and sensible that it is the anxious de¬ 
 sire of your Excellency to accede to all our reasonable 
 expectations, and to afford us every aid in removing 
 all well-founded complaints, beg leave to present to 
 your Excellency for the royal assent, a bill which has 
 passed both houses of the legislature, to provide for 
 the support of the civil government lor the current 
 year, and trust that the evils occasioned by withhold¬ 
 ing the supplies during the last session may thus be 
 effectually removed.” 
 
 I have, &c, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &e. &c. 
 
 
153 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 History of the Downfall of His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir 
 Archibald Campbell, Dart., Lieutenant-Governor of New Bruns¬ 
 wick—Its Political Effect upon me—Receive Intelligence that His 
 Majesty’s Government had assented to the Road Bills of the Old 
 Assembly, which I had reserved—Earnestly remonstrate against 
 Concessions to Democracy—Gratifying Result of the Metropolitan 
 Elections—Commuted Pensioners—The Suspension of Cash Pay¬ 
 ments throughout the United States—The Legislature is convened 
 —Despatch to the Colonial Office explaining the Insecurity to Pro¬ 
 perty of Republican Institutions—Violent Struggle in the House 
 of Assembly. 
 
 Although in my despatches to his Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment I could scarcely avoid, almost in self-defence, 
 egotistically claiming for the Executive Government 
 credit for the apparent result of its measures, yet I 
 should do injustice to the people of Upper Canada 
 were I now to deny to them the sole honour of a moral 
 victory obtained by their fervent loyalty as well as 
 by their deliberate attachment to our happy institu¬ 
 tions. 
 
 Not only did their free, unbiassed verdict produce 
 most beneficial results throughout the whole of the 
 North American Colonies which with the utmost 
 anxiety had been watching in Upper Canada the con¬ 
 flict between principles by which they themselves had 
 been equally disturbed, but far above all did it offer 
 
a morale of inestimable value to the mother-country 
 itself: for surely it is impossible for any man to deny 
 that, previous to the struggle in Upper Canada, there 
 existed among all parties in England an impression, 
 beyond the power of argument to efface, that demo¬ 
 cracy not only was indigenous to the soil of America, 
 but that no other form of government could be made 
 to flourish there. 
 
 But although every person acquainted with human 
 nature knows how impossible it is at once to eradi¬ 
 cate any flrmly-rooted error, (for though you cut 
 down the tree in America it requires ten or twelve 
 years before the stumps rot,) yet the incontrovertible 
 fact that the people of Upper Canada, when formally, 
 appealed to at a general election, had deliberately, 
 emphatically, and unequivocally declared themselves 
 in favour ofmonarchicalinstitutions, was a staggering 
 blow to the popular error in the mother-country, 
 which it was highly desirable to repeat before it 
 could recover from it. 
 
 Never, therefore, had the British Government a 
 nobler opportunity of forcing conviction on the 
 public mind, and of calling upon it to surrender its 
 prejudices and misconceptions. 
 
 Aware of all the facts which had occurred, surely 
 it was the bounden duty of the Government to have 
 magnanimously led the two Houses of the Imperial 
 Parliament forward to reform, by frankly telling 
 them to reform themselves, and, instead of mutilating, 
 
155 
 
 to appreciate the blessings of time-tried institutions, 
 which the inhabitants of Upper Canada had proved 
 to possess the same intrinsic value on the continent 
 of America, as they had possessed in the old country 
 in its noblest days. 
 
 Far, however, from adopting this course, his Majes¬ 
 ty’s Government, just as if they had been mortified 
 at the triumph which had been gained, and just as 
 if they had determined that its salutary consequences 
 ought immediately to be arrested, planned a mea¬ 
 sure which I humbly think to future ages will-appear 
 not only incomprehensible, but incredible ! 
 
 It was of course utterly impossible for his Majesty’s 
 Government to order me to abandon the principle 
 which before the whole continent of North America 
 I had successfully maintained, namely, “ that the 
 Executive Council is not responsible to the people.” 
 
 1. Because, as Lieutenant-Governor of the pro¬ 
 vince, I had been supported in that principle by the 
 voice of the people at the general election. 
 
 2. Because the Legislative Council had supported 
 the same principle. 
 
 3. Because the House of Assembly, shortly after 
 they had been elected, had adopted by a trium¬ 
 phant majority the following opinion (date 22iul Feb. 
 1836) of their Committee :— 
 
 “ The question regarding the Executive Council it is 
 perhaps unnecessary to discuss. Never was the public 
 opinion more clearly, more emphatically expressed than on 
 
 
156 
 
 that very subject, at the late general election. A laige 
 majority of your Honourable House was, as your Commit¬ 
 tee firmly believe, returned as advocating principles and 
 opinions diametrically opposed to those contained in this 
 second resolution.” [This second resolution of the House 
 of Assembly in Lower Canada wets to render the Execu¬ 
 tive Council of this province directly responsible to the 
 representatives of the peoplef &c.] 
 
 “ Your Committee, however, cannot let pass the oppor¬ 
 tunity of expressing their opinion, that the Governor, Lieu¬ 
 tenant-Governor, or person administering the government 
 of this province, is intrusted with the exercise of the royal 
 prerogative within the same, and that he, and not the Exe¬ 
 cutive Council, is constitutionally responsible, as well to the 
 Sovereign as to the people of this province, for the impar¬ 
 tial and upright performance of the duties of his office; a 
 responsibility essential to the preservation of the rights and 
 liberties of his Majesty’s subjects in Upper Canada, and 
 which it is the important duty of their representatives to 
 maintain and enforce, and not to suffer that responsi¬ 
 bility, so far as depends on them, to be weakened or de¬ 
 stroyed, by transferring the whole or any portion of it to 
 other parties; and that any attempt to transfer to the Exe¬ 
 cutive Council this responsibility, and, as a necessary conse¬ 
 quence, the power and patronage vested by law in the per¬ 
 son administering the government, is in derogation of the 
 constitutional charter, and would be dangerous to the liber¬ 
 ties of the people, injurious to the stability of our social and 
 political institutions, and utterly destructive of the ties 
 which attach this colony to the British empire.” 
 
 As it appears from the foregoing extracts how firmly 
 the Legislature and inhabitants of Upper Canada stood 
 
157 
 
 combined together heart and hand to resist the repub¬ 
 lican principle of making the Executive Council 
 “ responsible to the people ,” it was with regret I re¬ 
 ceived from the Colonial Office a despatch dated 
 25th July, 1836, in which after some highly compli¬ 
 mentary sentences, it was ominously observed, “ His 
 Majesty's Government look to no transient results or 
 temporary triumphs !” 
 
 That the results of the contest in which we had 
 been engaged would not be “ transient,” or its 
 “ trium P h temporary”, were, at the time this despatch 
 was written, as clear to every loyal subject in our 
 North American Colonies as they have since been 
 proved by the repeated repulses which the American 
 people have met with wherever they have unjustifiably 
 attempted to invade the Canadas for the purpose of 
 forcing upon us their loathsome institutions. Still 
 it was evident to me from the sentence above quoted 
 —from the non-publication in England of my de¬ 
 spatches announcing the moral victory that had been 
 gained and from the remarkable ministerial silence 
 that had prevailed on the subject in both Houses of 
 Pailiament, that the Colonial O/lice was but little 
 disposed to change its policy. I own, however, I 
 vi as not prepared for the astonishing course which 
 I will endeavour as shortly as possible to relate. 
 
 As if determined to fulfil its own prophecy by 
 proving that in Upper Canada the “ triumph” gained 
 would be “temporary,” and the results “transient,” 
 
158 
 
 the Colonial Office, on the 30th September, 1836, 
 addressed to me a despatch, which, after asserting a 
 most melancholy axiom, namely, that “it is vain 
 to suppose that any concession can he made to the 
 General Assembly of any one ol the North American 
 provinces and withheld from the rest, enclosed to 
 me copies of despatches and instructions to his Ex¬ 
 cellency Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Camp¬ 
 bell, Lieut.-Governor of New Brunswick, to which he 
 was ordered to give general publicity, and which I was 
 desired to consider, as far as they could be applied 
 to Upper Canada, “ as addressed to myself.” The 
 despatch then proceeded to say, “ It has appeared 
 to me (the Secretary of State) that it would be very 
 desirable to accelerate the meeting of the Legislature 
 of New Brunswick, in order that the nature of the 
 proposed arrangements in that province might be well 
 understood in both the Canadas and in Nova Scotia, 
 before the opening of the regular session of the 
 
 General Assemblies in those provinces. 
 
 It is further my wish, that the meeting of the 
 Upper Canada Assembly though postponed for some 
 weeks after that of New Brunswick, should pre¬ 
 cede, by an equal period, the meeting of the Lower 
 Province.” 
 
 As the whole of the despatches to Sir Archibald 
 Campbell have been published throughout every 
 province in North America, I need hardly say, that 
 the “ proposed arrangements” which were thus 
 
ordered to be effected, contained not only directions 
 lor the surrender of the casual and territorial revenues 
 against which I had so humbly but so strongly re- 
 monstrated, but the following order to Sir Archibald 
 Campbell:—“ In making your selection (for seats in 
 his Majesty’s Executive Council) you will not confine 
 yourself to a single class or description of persons, 
 but will endeavour to ensure the presence in the 
 Council of gentlemen representing the various in¬ 
 terests which exist in the province, and possessing at 
 the same time the confidence of the people at 
 large !” 
 
 By this most extraordinary and complicated 
 arrangement, the triumph which the loyal inhabitants 
 of our North American Colonies had gained over the 
 demands of the Republicans was not only proved to be 
 
 temporary,” but was completely destroyed. 
 
 Instead of allowing the Legislature of Upper Ca¬ 
 nada to continue to lead the way towards real reform 
 by the merciless eradication of Republican principles, 
 it was not only ordered to the rear, but as it were 
 confined there in irons by the Colonial Office until 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick could as¬ 
 semble the Legislature of that province, publicly to 
 surrender to them, among other concessions, the very 
 point which, before the whole continent, the Upper 
 Canadian Legislature had successfully defended from 
 the Republicans : for I submit to the intelligence of 
 the civilised world, that this decision of the Colonial 
 
160 
 
 Office respecting the Executive Council, when 
 divested of the diplomatic language in which it was 
 couched was a direct surrender of the question in 
 dispute. I ask, first, whether it was constitutional to 
 order that the Governors Executive Council shoul 
 be made “ to represent the various interests which 
 were already represented in the House of Assembly; 
 and secondly, whether there is any difference between 
 the Colonial Office ordering the Executive Council 
 “ to possess the confidence of the people at large ,” 
 and the republican demand which the people of Upper 
 Canada had resisted, namely, “ that, the Executive 
 Council must he responsible to the people? 
 
 But perhaps, after all, the most astonishing fact in 
 the whole of this proceeding is, that not only these 
 concessions, but various others, which were ordered 
 to be promulgated by Sir Archibald Campbell 
 throughout the whole of our North American colonies, 
 appear to have been arranged in the Colonial Office 
 by Messrs. Crane and Wilmot, two deputies from 
 the House of Assembly of New Brunswick! 
 
 Without meaning, in any degree, to compare these 
 two most respectable gentlemen with Mr. M‘Kenzie 
 still one would have thought that the fatal experience 
 which the Colonial Office had so dearly purchased by 
 listening to the latter individual would have pioved 
 the impropriety of the principle of legislating oil ex 
 parte statements, proceeding either from the people or 
 from the representatives of the people, without refer- 
 
.... 
 
 161 
 
 ring them to the Lieutenant-Governor, Executive 
 Council, and Legislative Council of the colony ! The 
 following extracts, however, of the despatches alluded 
 
 to from the Colonial Office to Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 
 cleaily show, not only that the old system continued, 
 but that vires acquisiverat eundo. 
 
 Extract of a despatch to Sir A. Campbell, dated 
 Downing-Street, 31st Aug. 1836, and published in 
 Aew Brunswick :—“ I have also been in communi¬ 
 cation with these gentlemen (Messrs. Crane and Wil- 
 mot), as well on the matters to which the address ad¬ 
 verts, as on others connected with the, colony." 
 
 A second despatch to Sir A. Campbell, dated 
 5th Sept. 1836, encloses— 
 
 “ Copies of the correspondence which had passed on the 
 subject of that, address, and on other matters of a public 
 nature between this department and Messrs. Crane and 
 W dmot, the gentlemen deputed by the House of Assembly 
 to represent them in this country. Having communicated 
 to Messrs. Crane and Wilmot the draft of my despatch of 
 the 31st ultimo, I have received from them the enclosed 
 observations upon it. I have also had with them personal 
 communication on the subject. I now proceed to inform 
 J°u *** what respects his Majesty has, in consequence, been 
 pleased to direct that the instructions contained in my de¬ 
 spatch of the 31st ultimo shall be altered or modified. 
 
 I he first alteration proposed by Messrs. Crane and 
 M ilmot is, that the Executive Council could, in compliance 
 with the wishes of the Assembly , be at once enlarged, with¬ 
 out waiting for the further deliberation contemplated in my 
 
 M 
 
despatch of the 31st ultimo. On this point, his Majesty, 
 after due consideration of the arguments urged by the 
 House of Assembly, and of the representations of Messrs. 
 Crane and Wilmot, is prepared to adopt the necessary steps 
 for meeting the wishes of the Assembly . 
 
 It appears that these concessions to one branch 
 only of the Legislature produced the natural effect 
 of increasing, rather than of satiating, the voracious 
 appetite of Messrs. Crane and W ilmot, for a thiid 
 despatch to Sir Archibald Campbell, dated 10th 
 September, 1836, referring to the two previous 
 despatches observes— 
 
 “ In one respect, the arrangements announced in the 
 despatches just referred to are defective. They do not 
 comprise any detailed explanation of the provisions of the 
 Act, to be made for securing the civil list, and for the 
 general sale of the Crown lands. I am yet engaged in cor¬ 
 respondence with Messrs. Crane and^ ilmot on these topics, 
 and some time may, probably, elapse before I can settle 
 with these gentlemen what are the precise terms in which 
 those laws ought to be drawn up. You will not, however, 
 postpone on that account the meeting of the Legislature, or 
 the communications which are to be made to them.” 
 
 The Legislature was ordered to be convened with 
 the least possible delay, and the despatch to Sir 
 Archibald Campbell then observes— 
 
 (i Considerations applying not to New Brunswick alone, 
 but to the other British North American provinces also, 
 require that no time should be lost in giving general publi¬ 
 city to the proposals w'hich you are authorised to make. 
 
■i wv 
 
 U 
 
 • - ... . 
 
 163 
 
 You will, therefore, take the necessary measures for conven¬ 
 ing the General Assembly, for the dispatch of business on 
 the receipt of this despatch. 
 
 “ On the meeting of the Legislature, you will, by a mes- 
 sage, communicate to the Legislative Council, and to the 
 Assembly, copies of my despatches of the 31st of August 
 and of the 5th of September. It is my wish that no need¬ 
 less reserve should be practised on this occasion. 
 
 “ The views explained in those despatches having been 
 maturely adopted, after a full and careful investigation, it is 
 desirable that they should be fully known, and clearly 
 developed to the Legislative bodies of New Brunswick, and 
 through them to the Legislatures of the other British North 
 American Provinces'' 
 
 The severe mortification which this infatuated 
 course ol policy of the Colonial Office produced in 
 Upper Canada is indescribable. The Loyalists were 
 again disheartened, the Republicans again exultingly, 
 though untruly, boasted that the Home Government 
 was with them. 
 
 His Excellency, Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, seeing the effect produced, not only in New 
 Brunswick, but throughout all the British North 
 American Colonies, by the representations of a single 
 pair of “ delegates,” from a single branch of the 
 Legislature of a single province—feeling how com¬ 
 pletely his authority was superseded—how hopeless it 
 was for him to attempt to maintain monarchical 
 institutions, while the Colonial Office openly legis¬ 
 lated on the democratic principle of “ delegates," (the 
 
 M 2 
 
 
164 
 
 very name of which was most offensive to the Royal¬ 
 ists,) and openly disapproving, on constitutional 
 grounds, of the mode in which the King’s casual 
 and territorial revenues were proposed to be surren¬ 
 dered—expressed himself to his Majesty s Govern¬ 
 ment, in terms which will, probably, ere long, come 
 to light. 
 
 On his Majesty’s representative hesitating to sur¬ 
 render the revenues of the Crown, until he could 
 merely receive an answer from the Colonial Office 
 to the objections which, without loss of time, he had 
 submitted to it, the House of Assembly, made 
 impatient by their successes, immediately petitioned 
 the King. 
 
 The following extract from a respectable paper 
 will explain the sentiments as well as the fate ot this 
 gallant veteran, who (though I have never seen him, 
 or corresponded with him) I believe, I may say, left 
 his post honoured and respected by every loyal subject 
 in Upper Canada. 
 
 It appears that the conduct, of Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, with respect to 
 the Civil List, has excited so much of the displeasure of 
 the Assembly of that province, as to induce them to de¬ 
 spatch a deputation to England with an address to his Ma¬ 
 jesty, praying for the recall of Sir Archibald. To the com¬ 
 mittee who waited upon his Excellency with this address, 
 the gallant veteran made the following reply—a reply worthy 
 of the man and his services to his King and country :— 
 
Reply of Sir A. Campbell to a Deputation from the 
 House of Assembly, New Brunswick. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 The conscientious rectitude of my own conduct render 
 the subject of this address to me a matter of the most per¬ 
 fect indifference. 
 
 I have had the honour of serving his Majesty for nearly 
 half a century, in almost every quarter of the globe ; and I 
 trust those services have been such as to suffer no diminu¬ 
 tion in the estimation of my Sovereign, from any represen¬ 
 tation that may be made by the House of Assembly of New 
 Brunswick. 
 
 I need hardly say, that no one in our British North 
 American colonies felt the shock of Sir Archibald 
 Campbell’s retirement more keenly than I did, for 
 in his fate I clearly read, as addressed to myself, the 
 words, “ Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.” My hour, 
 however, had not yet arrived; and I have, therefore, 
 in the interim, to lay before the reader the following- 
 despatches, which will show the nature of the diffi¬ 
 culties with which I continued to struggle. 
 
 No. 103. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, 
 
 30 th December, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to reply to your Lordship’s de¬ 
 spatch, No. 93, as also to one marked “ confidential ,” 
 and dated 30th September, 1836. 
 
 In the former communication I am informed that 
 
166 
 
 his Majesty’s Government has assented to twelve road 
 bills, which at the close of the last session I had 
 reserved. In the latter, I am furnished with copies 
 of three despatches addressed through Sir Archibald 
 Campbell to the Governors of all the North Ame¬ 
 rican Colonies. 
 
 Previous to reporting to your Lordship the embar¬ 
 rassment which has been occasioned here by the above 
 communications, I beg leave to state that I am lully 
 sensible that any general system or course of policy 
 which it may be advisable to adopt throughout the 
 North American Colonies, may, though generally 
 beneficial, be productive of embarrassment in parti¬ 
 cular places. All I therefore desire to do is faithfully 
 to apprise your Lordship of the effect which the de¬ 
 spatches referred to have produced in this province. 
 
 In my despatch, No. 44,1 had the honour to inform 
 your Lordship, “that although, with the advice of my 
 Executive Council, I had reserved all the money 
 bills for the signification of his Majesty’s pleasure, 
 yet there were three of them, to which the Council 
 concurred with me in recommending that the Royal 
 Assent should immediately be given.” 
 
 I added, “ It would have given me much pleasure 
 to have at once assented to these three bills ; but I 
 conceive it was of greater importance to maintain 
 the principle, that the House of Assembly is not to 
 be allowed to embarrass the Government, without also 
 embarrassing the country, and that to withhold the 
 
167 
 
 Supplies does not mean to stop the Government wheel, 
 hut the whole machinery of the Legislature.” 
 
 With respect to the other twelve bills, I had much 
 stronger reasons for reserving them; inasmuch as 
 the expenditure of the money voted in each bill had, 
 for well-known revolutionary purposes, been uncon¬ 
 stitutionally committed to Republican Commissioners, 
 which fact in my despatch to your Lordship, No. 64, 
 dated 29th July, 1836, I endeavoured to explain as 
 follows:— 
 
 .Before I set out, I am anxious to address your 
 Lordship on the subject of the Commissiouerships, 
 which were passed by the House ot Assembly during 
 theii last session, and which will be best explained 
 by the enclosed copy of my reply to an address I 
 received from the Township of Pickering. 
 
 1 he sum voted by the House of Assembly of this 
 province nominally for road-money, amounts to 
 50,000/. a year; and as this money is not only voted, 
 but placed at the disposal of certain members of the 
 House who are self-appointed by the Assembly as 
 salaried Commissioners, it becomes a political engine 
 of enormous unconstitutional power. 
 
 “ The insidious uses to which it has been applied, 
 have, I can assure your Lordship, been revolutionary ; 
 and I beg to call your attention to the fact, that, in 
 the enclosed printed list, the name of Mr. Peter 
 Perry occurs no less than six times.” 
 
 Having thus submitted to your Lordship the rea- 
 
sons for which I had reserved all the money bills of 
 the late House of Assembly, I awaited your Lord¬ 
 ship's justification of the measure, which in your 
 despatch, No. 73, was, very much to my satisfaction, 
 unequivocally expressed. 
 
 It now became necessary, that, previous to the 
 meeting of the present Legislature, I should deter¬ 
 mine on the measures it would be advisable to recom¬ 
 mend in my speech from the throne. 
 
 The addresses I received from both Houses in reply 
 to this communication will ere this have explained 
 to your Lordship that my proposed measures met 
 with the cordial approbation of the Legislature; 
 which accordingly at once set to work by appointing 
 a joint committee to inspect and report on the state 
 of the Welland Canal, and, indeed, on all the other 
 important changes I had submitted for consideration. 
 
 Nothing could be more satisfactory and praise¬ 
 worthy than the cool, business-like progress which 
 the Legislature was making, and the complete 
 government of all those feelings of triumph which 
 it has been my earnest endeavour to discourage and 
 suppress. No angry expressions had been uttered 
 even in the House of Assembly ; and after the storm 
 it had experienced, the public mind was rapidly sub¬ 
 siding into a calm, when all on a sudden I received 
 your Lordship’s despatch,No. 93,dated 6th September, 
 1836, containing the Royal Assent to all the bills I 
 had reserved, which not only confused the arrange- 
 
169 
 
 ments the Legislature had commenced, hut through¬ 
 out the whole province caused the resurrection of the 
 Republicans as political Commissioners, with large 
 sums of money at their command. 
 
 On receiving this communication, my first im 
 pression was to suppress it: however, on reflection, 
 it appeared to me, that I ought to allow myself to be 
 driven by the Republicans from this province, rather 
 than presume to stay the execution of the King’s will; 
 and accordingly, of two evils, choosing the least, 
 I transmitted His Majesty’s assent to the twelve bills 
 to both Houses of the Legislature. 
 
 My Lord, I had not recovered from this shock, 
 when I received the confidential despatch, dated the 
 30th of September, 1836, informing me that at the 
 instigation of agents from only one branch of the Le¬ 
 gislature of New Brunswick, your Lordship had 
 deemed it advisable, through Sir Archibald Camp¬ 
 bell, to promulgate to all the North American colo¬ 
 nies that, among other arrangements, the Executive 
 Council was to be increased in number, and hence¬ 
 forward to be composed of individuals '‘possessing 
 the confidence of the people.” 
 
 In my reply of the 5th of March last, to my late 
 Executive Council, which had been honoured by your 
 Lordship’s approval, I had stated, “ The Lieutenant- 
 Governor maintains, that the responsibility to the 
 people, who are already represented by the House of 
 Assembly, which the Council assumes, is unconsti- 
 
 
170 
 
 tutional; that it is the duty of the Council to serve 
 HIM, not THEM.” 
 
 Your Lordship cannot have forgotten the total de- 
 feat which the Republicans experienced by rashly 
 attempting to drive me lrom this invincible position ; 
 and as the British population ol the North American 
 Colonies were eager spectators ol the conflict, your 
 Lordship will, I am sure, pardon me for expressing 
 the feelings of mortification and depression with which 
 I now recollect the prophecies which; ever since the 
 commencement of the political war I have waged 
 here, have invariably foreboded that I should not be 
 supported by the British Government. 
 
 “ It is out of my power” (I stated in my despatch. 
 No. 24, dated 6th of April last) " to describe to your 
 Lordship, without the appearance of exaggeration, the joy 
 and gladness expressed to me by all parties at the consti¬ 
 tutional resistance I have made; but I will not conceal 
 from your Lordship that there is one question at this mo¬ 
 ment in almost everybody’s mouth, namely, ‘ W ill the 
 Lieutenant-Governor be supported by the Home-Govern¬ 
 ment?’ 6 He never will? say the Radicals; ‘ We fear lie 
 will not? say the Constitutionists.” 
 
 My Lord, there is no portion of your Lordship’s 
 instructions which I am not at this moment preparing 
 to carry into effect. I have made it generally known 
 that I am about to surrender to the Provincial Legis¬ 
 lature the casual and territorial revenues of the Crown; 
 and I have also informed the Chairman of a Com- 
 
171 
 
 mittee of the House of Assembly, to whom the re¬ 
 vision of the Land-granting Department has been 
 referred, that, under certain restrictions, 1 am autho¬ 
 rized by His Majesty’s Government, moreover, to 
 surrender to the Provincial Legislature the authority 
 to regulate the disposal of the Crown Lands; but I 
 regret to inform your Lordship, that the leading re¬ 
 commendation contained in the report of the said 
 Committee on the Land-granting Department is, that 
 the whole ot the said Crown Lands shall at once be 
 offered to the public, (or, in other words, to the people,) 
 at the low price of five shillings an acre ! 
 
 But who is there now in the province to resist this 
 proposal ? 
 
 The only individual who might be expected to pro¬ 
 tect the interests of the emigrant, is the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, but I fear this expectation cannot now be 
 realized ; for by the late instructions to Sir A. Camp¬ 
 bell, the Lieutenant-Governor, if he attempted to 
 guard the Crown lands, would not only find the two 
 branches of the Legislature against him, but his own 
 Executive Council might reasonably argue, that un¬ 
 less they also opposed him, they would forfeit “ the 
 confidence of the people ; ” and it is impossible to offer 
 a more convincing proof of the reality of this danger, 
 than by referring to the petition which, shortly after my 
 arrival here, was forwarded to your Lordship, earnestly 
 recommending, as surveyor-general of this province, a 
 clerk in the office who (although a most loyal, gallant 
 
172 
 
 subject) had been proved to have been acting contrary 
 to express orders as private agent. 
 
 Your Lordship has only to review this singular 
 petition, to perceive that it contains tbe names oi 
 almost every member of both Houses of the Legisla¬ 
 ture ; and it therefore clearly follows, that had this 
 appointment depended on the Provincial Legisla¬ 
 ture, it would most certainly have been carried into 
 effect. 
 
 The necessity of protecting the emigrant from the 
 rapacity of the settled inhabitant, has just been con¬ 
 firmed by the highest possible practical authority, 
 namely, by Mr. President Jackson, of the United 
 States, who, in his message promulgated last week, 
 makes the following confession :— 
 
 (After commenting at considerable length on the 
 President’s speech, and on the preponderating influ¬ 
 ence which Messrs. Crane and Wilmot had obtained 
 in the Colonial Office, the despatch proceeds as 
 follows:—) 
 
 It will, I hope, be liberally construed as no want 
 of attachment to your Lordship, or of fidelity to his 
 Majesty’s Government, if I acknowledge, that I feel 
 jealous of the intervention of a new influence, alien to 
 the constitution of this legislature. 
 
 The British Constitution has nothing whatever to 
 fear from its low-bred antagonist Democracy, in Ame¬ 
 rica, if his Majesty’s Government will not avert from 
 us its support. 
 
 I 
 
173 
 
 ■ nought shall make us rue, 
 
 If England to herself do rest but true.” 
 
 But, if the Lieutenant-Governors of our colonies 
 be sentenced to contend with— 
 
 1. Public opinion, or, in other words, the opinion 
 of “ the people .” 
 
 2. The House of Assembly, or the representatives 
 of “ the people.” 
 
 3. An Executive Council required to possess the 
 confidence of “ the people.” 
 
 4. Agents in England, enjoying the ear and con¬ 
 fidence ot his Majesty's Government, as being the re¬ 
 presentatives of the representatives of " the people 
 
 And lastly, it, as a general rule, all our colonies ai'e 
 to surrender whatever prerogative any one of them in 
 pa i ticular may be deprived of, by which arrangement 
 the weakest Lieutenant-Governor, whoever he may 
 be, will lead all the rest, (which is certainly contrary 
 to military tactics, for the guards at Waterloo never 
 for a moment thought of giving up Hougoumont, be¬ 
 cause some of the Belgian infantry ran away,) I think 
 your Lordship, on reflection, will perceive, that in¬ 
 stead of crushing democracy in this continent, we 
 shall actually be creating it in our colonies. 
 
 I have ventured to offer to your Lordship’s impar¬ 
 tial consideration the above suggestions, in opposi¬ 
 tion to Messrs. Crane and Wilmot’s recommendations, 
 that certain alterations should be made in those 
 instructions which, on leaving England, I had the 
 honour to receive from your Lordship. 
 
 
174 
 
 Under those instructions, I had successfully con¬ 
 tended with democracy in America, and, confident ol 
 the eventual result of this noble struggle, I had only 
 required of his Majesty’s Government “ the negative 
 assistance of not being undermined at homer 
 
 The more seriously I contemplate the political tran¬ 
 quillity of this province, the more steadfastly am 1 con¬ 
 firmed in my opinion, that cool, stern, decisive, un¬ 
 conciliating measures form the most popular descrip¬ 
 tion of government that can be exercised towards the 
 free and high-minded inhabitants of the Canadas. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, Jan. 13 th, 1837. 
 My Lord, 
 
 The election of aldermen and common council- 
 men for the five wards of this city closed yesterday, 
 and the result is creating so much sensation in this 
 province, that I feel it my duty to communicate it to 
 your Lordship. 
 
 Ever since the termination of the general elections 
 in July last, the wreck of the republican faction, 
 whose head-quarters are at Toronto, have been en¬ 
 deavouring to demonstrate, that the re-action which 
 has taken place throughout the country was but 
 the momentary effect produced by my replies to the 
 addresses I received, and by the improper issuing 
 
175 
 
 of patents, in short, that their outworks had been car- 
 ried by a mere coup-de main ; and as the election for 
 the metropolis approached, it was determined by the 
 Radicals to display the power they yet possessed in 
 their citadel, by electing as the new mayor, either Mr. 
 M Kenzie, or one ot the three gentlemen (Dr. Bald¬ 
 win,* Mr. George Ridout, or Mr. Small) who had 
 been dismissed from office by me. 
 
 As it mattered but very little to me who was 
 mayor oi this city, I can assure your Lordship, that 
 I scarcely ever gave the subject a thought, or indeed 
 had time to do so: however, the electors of the city 
 having been eye-witnesses of the conflict I had had 
 ■with the Republicans—having been made acquainted 
 with all the accusations urged against me by Messrs. 
 Hume and Duncombe—having had an opportunity of 
 observing, for two months, the practical working of 
 the new House of Assembly, and of reflecting, for a 
 year, on the course of policy I had adopted, they un¬ 
 equivocally expressed their verdict in my favour, by 
 exterminating the twenty republican candidates from 
 every single ward in the city, and by electing in their 
 stead staunch Constitutionists, who, in every in¬ 
 stance excepting one, had majorities of more than 
 two to one over their opponents. 
 
 As not a single patent has been issued during the 
 
 The name of this gentleman will, in conjunction with that of 
 Mr. Ex-Speaker Bidwell, be shortly brought before the reader’s espe¬ 
 cial attention. 
 
170 
 
 elections, and as almost universal suffrage prevails, the 
 political self-purification of this metropolis offers a 
 moral which, I humbly conceive, does not require a 
 
 comment. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 I now transmitted to the Colonial Office a very 
 long despatch, enclosing the minute investigation, and 
 unqualified vindication, by the House of Assembly 
 of the charges brought against me in England, by Mr. 
 Joseph Hume and Dr. Duncombe, of having carried 
 the elections by “ the fabrication oj votes. As these 
 documents have been laid before the House of Com¬ 
 mons, by his Majesty’s Government, 1 need not heie 
 insert them. 
 
 No. 56. 
 
 Upper Canada, Toronto, Map 5, 1831. 
 My Lord, 
 
 With reference to your Lordship’s despatch of the 
 12th of January last, No. 130, in which is enclosed 
 a letter from the Deputy Secretary at War, stating, 
 that on being furnished with a list of the military 
 pensioners referred to in my despatch of the 19th of 
 October, 1836, No. 84, with full particulars of each 
 man’s case, the Secretary at W ar will consider whe- 
 

 .. . ... r,*** 
 
 n 
 
 177 
 
 ther any mode of relief to any of them is within his 
 power, I have the honour to transmit to your Lord- 
 ship a report from Emigrant agent A. 13. Hawke, 
 affouling all the information he is able to impart. 
 
 As the three branches of this Legislature have al¬ 
 ready respectfully supplicated his Majesty in behalf 
 of these miserable men, I feel it would be improper in 
 me to say anything further in their favour. It will 
 appear by Mr. Hawke’s report, that an exact list of 
 them cannot be obtained, and, consequently, that full 
 particulars of each man’s case cannot be submitted 
 to the Secretary-at-War:—the following general 
 description of their situation will however apply very 
 nearly to them all. 
 
 The commuted pensioner in Upper Canada is an 
 improvident veteran with whom the British Govern¬ 
 ment has profitably made a hard bargain; having 
 spent his best days in the service of his country, from 
 severe service and hard drinking he has not remaining 
 strength to gain in this climate sufficient subsistence, 
 and consequently every winter he suffers most bit¬ 
 terly both from cold and hunger. 
 
 The braver he is, the less he complains; but his 
 sufferings have at last attracted such general com¬ 
 miseration, that last year the legislature felt it their 
 duty to address His Majesty on the subject. 
 
 If relief be withheld from these poor, worn-out, 
 improvident men, another winter or two will be more 
 than many of them can withstand. When all are 
 
 N 
 
 \ 
 
178 
 
 gone, the transaction, so far as regards the pecuniary 
 saving, will undoubtedly be at an end ; but I respect¬ 
 fully assure your Lordship, it is generally considered 
 here that a little blot will remain upon the brilliant 
 history of this province, which it will then be too 
 late to efface. 
 
 I have, &c., 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 66. 
 
 Upper Canada, Toronto, May 30, 1837. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to inform your Lordship that, 
 with the advice of my Executive Council, I have this 
 day determined to convene the Provincial Parliament 
 of Upper Canada on the 19th of June. 
 
 1 much regret this measure, as the Council agrees 
 with me in the opinion, not only that there exists no 
 real necessity for convening the Legislature, but that 
 the proclamation will tend to ruffle the commercial 
 tranquillity which at present exists throughout this 
 province. 
 
 The apprehension that there would be a run on the 
 chartered banks in Upper Canada, in consequence of 
 their continuing specie payments, has proved to have 
 been groundless. Nevertheless, your Lordship will 
 easily imagine that it is impossible for me to act con¬ 
 trary to the policy of the surrounding states, without 
 opposing a number of private interests, which have 
 
lately been joined in a line and cry for the assembling 
 ot the Legislature; and as I foresee, that whatever 
 embarrassment the trade of this province may have to 
 suffer, in consequence of the present unexampled 
 state of the monied market, would be industriously 
 declared to be the effect of the non-convention of the 
 Legislature, I have deemed it advisable of two evils 
 lo choose the least, and meet a real difficulty rather 
 than one which would be intangible. 
 
 1 have no apprehensions respecting the result, and 
 expect that the session will last only a few days. 
 
 1 have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 82. 
 
 Upper Canada, Toronto, July 12, 1837. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a 
 copy of my speech on proroguing the Legislature 
 of this province. 
 
 In my despatch. No. 66, dated the 30th of May. 
 1 explained to your Lordship the reasons which had 
 induced me most reluctantly to convene the Provincial 
 Parliament, and as soon as it assembled I experienced 
 all the difficulties I had anticipated. I will endeavour 
 to explain them to your Lordship. 
 
 Pile rapid improvements which for some years 
 have been taking place in the United States have 
 been a mystery which few people have been able to 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 comprehend. Every undertaking had appaiently 
 been crowned with success ; every man s speculation 
 had seemed to answer; the price of labour, although 
 exorbitant, had everywhere been cheerfully paid, 
 and money had appeared in such plenty, that it had 
 profusely been given in barter for almost every com¬ 
 modity that came to market. In short, the countiy 
 was triumphantly declared to be “going a-heud; 
 and, as the young province of Upper Canada was 
 observed to be unable to keep up, the difference in 
 its progress was contemptuously ascribed to the differ¬ 
 ence in its form of government. 
 
 Monarchical institutions were therefore ridiculed, 
 republican principles were sell-praised, and demo¬ 
 cratic opinions were not only disseminated over this 
 continent, but, crossing the Atlantic, they made their 
 appearance in our own happy country, where it has 
 lately been deemed by many people fine and fashion¬ 
 able to point to the United States of America as a 
 proof that riveting religion to the state, and that no¬ 
 bility of mind, are to commerce what friction is in 
 mechanics. 
 
 In the midst of all this theory, the whole com¬ 
 mercial system of the United States suddenly was 
 observed to tumble to pieces, its boasted prosperity 
 being converted into a state of disorder altogether 
 new in the moral history of the world, for the republic 
 declared itself to be bankrupt, without even pretend¬ 
 ing to be insolvent: in short, its banks simultaneously 
 
dishonoured their own notes, keeping specie which 
 belonged to their creditors in their vaults. This 
 example of the banks offered a pretext to any man to 
 absolve himself from his debts by fictitious bank¬ 
 ruptcy. The public creditors afar off, as well as those 
 on the spot, had no power to save themselves, and 
 under these circumstances a general distrust pre¬ 
 vailed. 
 
 This sudden annihilation of national credit in the 
 United States produced of course serious incon¬ 
 venience and alarm in Upper Canada. 
 
 The mysterious prosperity of the Republic was 
 now proved to have been produced by an imprudent 
 and reckless system of discounting, which had sup¬ 
 plied the country with more money than it was pos¬ 
 sible lor it to repay : in fact, to lend money having 
 been supposed to be quite as profitable a speculation 
 as to borrow it, one debt had been contracted to pay 
 another; the people had borrowed of the banks, the 
 banks had borrowed of each other, and thus the credit 
 system had been strained till it snapped. 
 
 The Chartered Banks of Upper Canada clearly 
 read the moral which was brought so immediately 
 before their eyes, and, taking warning from their 
 neighbours, they naturally enough suspended their 
 own discounts: this precaution caused a great deal o 
 distress to all the farmers and merchants who had 
 been in the habit of receiving from the banks what 
 is termed “ accommodation.” The more the applicants 
 
.. 
 
 182 
 
 proved their inability to continue business unless they 
 were assisted, the clearer the banks perceived the 
 danger of relieving them. 
 
 The borrowers being thus unable to obtain money 
 —the last year’s crop of potatoes having failed the 
 public works being arrested—and the province being 
 invaded by a number of emigrants, who were roaming 
 about without the means of obtaining food or em¬ 
 ployment, it was natural that everybody should en¬ 
 deavour to search out the cause of the disorder which 
 was observed to prevail. 
 
 The banks, perfectly sensible of the real reason, 
 were silent, but an opinion was propagated which 
 rapidly became popular; namely, that the distress 
 which existed arose from the banks continuing theii 
 specie payments. 
 
 As soon as the Legislature was assembled, this 
 theory was very strenuously discussed, but the mem¬ 
 bers of the House of Assembly having, besides then- 
 public duties, a variety of borrowing and other private 
 interests to represent, it was found almost impracti¬ 
 cable for them to agree either respecting the disease 
 or the remedy : the more the question was stirred the 
 more turbid it became, and, as no party would con¬ 
 sent to abandon their opinions, a Bill (see A.), which 
 almost embodied them all, was framed, and, after 
 considerable discussion, it was carried through the 
 House by the following majority:— 
 
For the Bill . 
 Against it 
 
 . . 33 
 
 . . 16 
 
 Majority . . . .17 
 
 In this Bill, First, the Chartered Banks (although 
 they had never applied for the indulgence) were re¬ 
 lieved from the forfeiture of their charters in case 
 they should continue their business after they had 
 ceased to redeem their notes in specie. 
 
 Secondly. The notes of all the banks in the pro¬ 
 vince, chartered or unchartered, as well as the deben¬ 
 tures passed during the last session of the Legisla¬ 
 ture for any sum over six pounds five shillings, were 
 in effect made legal tender. 
 
 On this Bill coming to the Legislative Council it 
 was amended as follows (see B.) :— 
 
 The power of allowing the banks to continue their 
 business of banking, notwithstanding their suspension 
 of cash payments, was placed in the hands of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and the making 
 of notes or debentures legal tenders*was cancelled. 
 
 On the amendments of the Legislative Council re¬ 
 turning to the House of Assembly they were rejected ; 
 and after a long-protracted discussion, which ended 
 in nothing, a number of the members in despair made 
 preparations for returning to their homes. 
 
 On the very eve of their departure, which was 
 justly enough hailed by the Radicals as an event 
 certain to produce a revolution in the province, the 
 
House of Assembly became sensible of the calamity 
 they were about to create. 
 
 The amended Bill of the Legislative Council was 
 again considered, and, after a most desperate struggle 
 between public and private interest, it was with a very 
 few trifling alterations carried by a small majority, 
 and, being accepted by the Legislative Council, it was 
 assented to by me ; and thus the question which had 
 threatened to convulse this province (to say nothing 
 of the effects it would have produced in Lower 
 Canada) was satisfactorily settled and concluded. 
 
 The above account may induce your Lordship 
 to conceive that the republican and constitutional 
 parties in the House of Assembly of Upper Canada 
 are nearly balanced, but this is by no means the case. 
 
 The policy of the Republicans has always been, 
 and still is, to arrest improvements of every descrip¬ 
 tion, and, by encouraging whatever tends to create 
 embarrassment and distress, to bring Monarchical 
 Government into disrepute: instead, therefore, of 
 endeavouring to conciliate private feelings, they art¬ 
 fully did everything in their power to irritate the 
 discussion, whatever direction it took ; and though, 
 upon any other subject, they would totally have 
 failed in their ob ject, yet, in consequence of the feelings 
 1 have described, they certainly in this instance were 
 very near obtaining it. 
 
 i have now explained to your Lordship the result 
 of the extraordinary session which has just closed, 
 
185 
 
 and it only remains for me to state the course of 
 policy I intend to pursue. 
 
 I intend to recommend the banks to accommodate 
 the public as far as in prudence they can do so ; but 
 as the penalty which attended the exhaustion of their 
 coffers is now removed, or, in other words, as they 
 would not now be obliged to discontinue their bank¬ 
 ing in case they should become unable to redeem 
 their notes, it is my opinion that they should make no 
 expensive exertions to obtain any more specie than 
 they now possess, but that what they have got they 
 should freely pay away. If, while they are pursu¬ 
 ing this honest course, the United States or .Lower 
 Canada (finding that suspended bank-notes are not 
 money) should be driven to return to cash payments, 
 Upper Canada will then triumphantly have weathered 
 the storm : if, on the other hand, no such events 
 should occur, and that their coffers are consequently 
 drained, still the good faith of the province will have 
 been preserved; and, without desiring to value credit 
 at more than its intrinsic worth, I have reason to 
 believe that the banks themselves feel that the com¬ 
 mercial character of Upper Canada is of more value, 
 even to themselves, than the trifling cost of replenish¬ 
 ing their vaults whenever this continent shall return 
 to cash payments. 
 
 Although a violent and almost universal clamour 
 has been raised against the continuance of cash pay¬ 
 ments, yet I feel proud in informing your Lordship, 
 
 / 
 
186 
 
 that up to the present day no application has been 
 made by any one of the Chartered Banks to the 
 Legislature or to myself for permission to suspend. 
 The power to grant this permission has now been 
 placed by the Legislature into my hands. 
 
 If it be sought for, and if, after attentively listening 
 to the arguments urged in its favour, I see reason to 
 grant it, I will not hesitate to do so. On the other 
 hand, your Lordship may depend that I will not be 
 driven by clamour to give up the proud position 
 which, by the integrity of the Chartered Banks, this 
 province has up to the present moment been en¬ 
 abled to maintain. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 V 
 
 
 
187 
 
 
 CHAPTER VIH. 
 
 The Colonial Office again legislate on ex-parte statements—Second 
 Memorandum on the political state of the Canadas— Curious ques¬ 
 tion respecting fugitive slaves—Third Memorandum on the politi¬ 
 cal state of the Canadas—Embarrassment produced by the Colonial 
 Office showing theirDespatches to the Lieutenant-Governor, before 
 he has received them, to a complaining Colonist. 
 
 The following despatch affords another example 
 of the fatal propensity of the Colonial Office to legis¬ 
 late on ex-parte accusations, however small and insig¬ 
 nificant the matter itself may be, if it gives the oppor¬ 
 tunity of casting anything like censure on that branch 
 of the legislature whose duty it is to stand, whenever 
 necessary, against the representatives of the people. 
 
 Government House, July 9.0th, 1887. 
 
 My Loijd, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your Lordship’s despatch (No. 73, dated 28th April, 
 1837), in which is transmitted to me a copy of a 
 letter addressed to your Lordship by Mr. Egerton 
 Ryerson, complaining of the conduct pf the Legis¬ 
 lative Council in having, “ at the eleventh hour of 
 the session, sent a Bill, authorizing a loan of 4100/. 
 to the Trustees of the Upper Canada Academy, back 
 to the Assembly, so amended as completely to defeat 
 
188 
 
 the object of it, by providing that the Receiver-Gene¬ 
 ral should not advance any of the money granted by 
 the Act, unless he had money in his hands for which 
 he had no other use.” 
 
 Having, as your Lordship is aware, advanced from 
 the Casual and Territorial Revenue Fund the ba¬ 
 lance necessary for the payment of the war losses, 
 
 I had no means of immediately paying to Mr. Ryer- 
 son the sum of 4100/.; nevertheless, being desirous 
 that your Lordship’s wishes should he carried into 
 effect, I have given to Mr. Ryerson such a statement 
 of my intention to advance the money in question, 
 so soon as it can be procured, as will, I am happy to 
 understand from him, enable him easily to obtain the 
 amount from one of the provincial banks. 
 
 Having, I trust, thus fulfilled the spirit (although 
 it has not been in my power to obey the letter) of 
 your Lordship’s instructions, I feel it due to the 
 Legislative Council to explain to your Lordship that 
 Mr. Ryerson’s declarations against that branch of 
 the Legislature are unmerited and incorrect. 
 
 o 
 
 The impression which Mr. Ryerson’s letter to 
 your Lordship seems designed to produce is, that the 
 Assembly, being eager to encourage the Upper Ca¬ 
 nada Academy, had readily passed a bill to that effect 
 through their House, and had in good time sent it 
 up to the Legislative Council—that an amendment 
 was there made to the bill, which was calculated and 
 contrived to defeat it—that the bill and amendment 
 
189 
 
 were purposely kept back till the eleventh hour, and 
 then sent down to tlie Assembly, when it was too 
 late to remove any difficulty. 
 
 The facts are as follows :—The session commenced 
 on the 8th of November, and ended on the 4th of 
 March. On the 24th of February the bill for grant¬ 
 ing aid to the Academy came up to the Legislative 
 Council from the Assembly,—that is, within the 
 last eight or nine days of a session of 116 days, and 
 when the Legislative Council had probably forty or 
 fifty other bills before them. It was read a second 
 time on the 25th of February, was discussed in com¬ 
 mittee on the 27th, (the 26th being Sunday,) and 
 was amended and returned to the Assembly on the 
 28th. On the same day that bill was sent up among 
 other bills sent from the Assembly; and after the 
 28th of February, when it was returned amended by 
 the Council, I understand that the Assembly sent no 
 less than twenty-six bills, which, with very few ex¬ 
 ceptions, were passed through the Council, and be¬ 
 came laws. 
 
 From the foregoing statement, it is clear—1st, 
 That the Legislative Council could not have returned 
 the bill in question early , because it came to them 
 late. —2ndly, That the bill, when it did come, was 
 passed through all its stages without delay. 
 
 Now, with respect to the merits of the amend¬ 
 ment, on adverting to the Acts passed in the last ses¬ 
 sion, your Lordship will perceive that about a million 
 
190 
 
 and a half of money was granted by the Legislature, 
 and the province being already in debt, the Acts, ge¬ 
 nerally speaking, provided for raising by loan the 
 monies required to meet these new grants. 
 
 The bill to which Mr. Ryerson refers simply 
 granted 4000/. out of the unappropriated monies in 
 the hands of the Receiver-General, and made no 
 provision for borrowing the 4000/. on debenture. 
 
 The Legislative Council knew that, after the grants 
 which the Assembly had made, there would not be 
 4000/. in the Receiver-General’s hands unappro¬ 
 priated, and, consequently, that if the bill passed into 
 a law, either it would be a delusion, or the Receiver- 
 General would be embarrassed by the conflicting de¬ 
 mands of persons claiming money granted by several 
 Acts passed on the same day. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the Council added the 
 following proviso to the bill:—“ Provided always 
 nevertheless, that the monies granted by this Act 
 shall not be paid by the Receiver-General, unless 
 there shall remain in his hands unappropriated 
 monies, after the payment of the charges imposed 
 upon the provincial'revenue under any Act or Acts 
 heretofore passed, and also of any monies granted 
 during the present session for the support of the 
 Civil Government, or to defray any charges attend¬ 
 ing the public revenue.” 
 
 This precautionary limitation, that in case there 
 should not be unappropriated money for all the 
 
191 
 
 claimants, the charges for the public service voted 
 (luring the same session should be first defrayed, is 
 what Mr. Ryerson, in his letter to your Lordship, 
 terms “ a proviso, that the Receiver-General should 
 not advance any money granted by the Act unless 
 he had money in his hands for which he had no other 
 uee." 
 
 I understand that the Archdeacon of York (al¬ 
 luded to so severely by Mr. Ryerson, as having 
 been hostile to the bill) was not even present when 
 the amendment was framed, discussed, and passed. 
 I am informed that he took no part in the bill, ex¬ 
 cept voting for it, as he did for an act of incorpora¬ 
 tion ot a Roman Catholic College, passed in the same 
 session; that the amendment was framed by the 
 speaker of the Council, who is a private contributor 
 to the building ot the Academy, and who, I under¬ 
 stand, strongly advocated in the Council the ex¬ 
 pediency of giving to the institution the public 
 support that had been prayed for. 
 
 I feel confident your Lordship will read with in¬ 
 terest and with satisfaction this vindication of a 
 branch of a Legislature which, I respectfully assure 
 your Lordship, requires the firmest possible support, 
 in order to encourage it to continue uncompromising 
 hostility and opposition to the House of Assembly, 
 whenever it may constitutionally be necessary to 
 do so. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
192 
 
 Having written this despatch, 1 thought it highly 
 salutary that the principle contained in the last 
 paragraph should he promulgated in the colony, and 
 I accordingly sent it in a message to the House of 
 Assembly, who, far Irom being offended at it, con¬ 
 tinued, like the free people they represented, to give me 
 their support. I mention this fact, to prove how un¬ 
 necessary it is, in our North American provinces, 
 unconstitutionally to seek for momentary populaiity 
 by making improper and therefore degrading conces¬ 
 sions to the representatives of the people. 
 
 Second Memorandum on the Political State of the 
 Canadas. 
 
 Upper Canada, Aug. 29th, 1837. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 In communicating to me a copy of the Resolutions 
 which it was the intention of her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment to bring forward in the House of Commons 
 respecting LoAver Canada, your Lordship was pleased 
 to conclude your despatch to me, No. —, dated F eh. 
 18th, 1837, as follows: “ I shall look forward with 
 much anxiety for a full communication from you on 
 the subject, &c.” 
 
 Besides being thus officially invited to furnish 
 her Majesty’s Government with my opinions respect¬ 
 ing the measures proposed to be adopted towards 
 Lower Canada, I had a natural inducement to do 
 so, from the political connexion which exists between 
 the two provinces: for I need hardly observe to your 
 
193 
 
 Lordship, that it is useless for Upper Canada to be 
 expending 300,000/. in rendering the upper portion 
 ot the river St. Lawrence navigable, if the lower 
 waters are to remain impassable, our access to the 
 ocean, as well as our prosperity, being dependent 
 on the tranquillization of the Lower Province. 
 
 As my residence here had of course enabled me to 
 form an opinion on the measures proposed to be intro¬ 
 duced by her Majesty’s Government, and as that 
 opinion was solicited, I should not have withheld it, 
 except for the reason that, as your Lordship’s com¬ 
 munication reached me too late for my opinion to be 
 ot any practical use, I felt it would be only vexatiously 
 embarrassing the Government were I to transmit it. 
 I therefore determined to be perfectly silent on the 
 subject, and, if the same reasons existed, I should 
 still remain so ; but, seeing that the remedial reso¬ 
 lutions ot the Imperial Parliament, as I anticipated, 
 have totally failed in their effect; seeing that the 
 House of Assembly of Lower Canada have again 
 refused the supplies; that Mr. Papineau’s language 
 has become more insulting than ever, and that his 
 agents here are openly preaching revolt,—I feel 
 that, as her Majesty’s Government will be now driven 
 to determine what is next to be done, I have no ex¬ 
 cuse for any longer withholding my opinions, and I 
 accordingly, reluctantly and respectfully, submit them 
 for consideration. 
 
 My Lord, the portion of this globe from which I 
 
 o 
 
195 
 
 
 politics, concurrent opinions such as the following 
 ought not to be rejected. 
 
 1. The British population of Lower Canada deeply 
 lament the course of policy which the Home Govern¬ 
 ment, for many years, has been pursuing. 2. So 
 does the loyal British population of Upper Canada. 
 3. The Chief Justice, the Law Officers of the Crown, 
 every faithful public servant in this province, silently 
 evince their sorrow at the concessions which have 
 been made, and which are still being made, to those 
 few designing men, who, for self-interested objects, 
 have been long labouring to subvert the British 
 Constitution. 4. So do I, the Lieutenant-Governor 
 of the province. 5. So does Sir John Colborne, 
 the Commander of the Forces in the Canadas. 
 6. So do the British troops, who, although, generally 
 speaking, regardless of politics, cannot here avert 
 their minds from circumstances which are so glar¬ 
 ingly before them, and which they foresee tend to 
 haul down the colours that from their boyhood they 
 have been taught to venerate. 
 
 If her Majesty were suddenly to arrive in the 
 Canadas, there is no one among those I have enume¬ 
 rated who would not be proud to follow her with 
 devotion, from Niagara to Quebec. If a represen¬ 
 tative of our colonial policy W'ere to appear here, I 
 do declare to your Lordship, that in my humble 
 opinion he would be seen to traverse the Canadas 
 alone. And now, my Lord, who is the individual 
 
 o 2 
 
am now addressing yon is the most favoured region 
 which it has ever been my humble fortune to visit. 
 The freshness and elasticity of the Canadian air—the 
 peculiar blueness of the sky—the magnificence and 
 utility of the great lakes—the unexampled exuber¬ 
 ance of the soil—the indication of mineral wealth— 
 and the abundance of timber and fuel—form altogether 
 a rich picture, which it is beyond the power of the 
 artist to delineate. With respect to the inhabitants, 
 I will only say that, so far as I am competent to judge 
 of them, they are worthy of the free country they 
 inhabit. 
 
 The British population have lost none of the noble 
 qualities which distinguish their race. The French 
 Canadians retain 'all the social virtues which adorn 
 the character of the French, without their propensity 
 to war. 
 
 Blessed with these advantages, the Canadas ought 
 to be happy; but, on the contrary, the Upper Pro¬ 
 vince was, and the Lower is, apparently, on the 
 brink of revolution. 
 
 Where, it will be asked, does the blame rest ? I 
 respectfully reply, neither upon the surface of the 
 country, nor upon the morals of its people; but upon 
 the conciliatory measures which, under successive 
 administrations, have been unremittingly applied by 
 the Colonial Office. 
 
 If, in common law, respectable evidence be deemed 
 sufficient to substantiate any accusation, surely, in 
 
196 
 
 who ventures to bring these truths before your Lord- 
 ship’s mind ? Why, one who is indebted to your 
 Lordship for a selection in his favour almost unpa¬ 
 ralleled, who has obtained, through your Lordship’s 
 recommendation, hereditary rank, and, who at this 
 moment, feels most deeply that all he has ever written, 
 instead of offending your Lordship, has most liberally 
 been pardoned and overlooked. 
 
 As your Lordship’s accredited agent, as one whose 
 especial duty it is to act towards his principal with 
 honour and fidelity, the evidence I offer to your 
 Lordship is entitled to respect. 
 
 The concurrent opinions, which I have just stated 
 to your Lordship, might once have been termed 
 theoretical; but they have now not only been re¬ 
 duced to practice, but the proof has been, as it were 
 mathematically, worked out both positively and nega¬ 
 tively. 
 
 1. The conciliations which Lord Gosford has been 
 commanded to make in Lower Canada as well as 
 those almost promised by inference in his late speech, 
 have ended in anarchy. 
 
 His Lordship’s generous character, his high- 
 minded integrity, his rank, his fortune, his affability, 
 his amiability, all have failed to produce political 
 tranquillity; his moral power has gradually sunk 
 under the experiment—he has now “ lost all but his 
 honour .” 
 
 Again, in New Brunswick, the concessions made 
 
to Messrs. Crane and Wilraot have equally failed in 
 satisfying that country. These gentlemen, as agents 
 from the House of Assembly, obtained the surrender 
 of the casual and territorial revenue. When their 
 own scale was thus heavily laden, they next asked 
 that the salary or influence of their Governor might 
 
 . o 
 
 inversely be lightened ; when this was granted, they 
 returned in triumph, their Governor, retiring from 
 the conflict, yielding to them the field ; but the bon¬ 
 fires were hardly extinguished, when Mr. A. Wilmot, 
 I perceive from the journals, proposed that the Execu¬ 
 tive Council should be converted into persons “ pos¬ 
 sessing the confidence of the people ,” which, in these 
 Colonies, means nothing more nor less than that the 
 Governor’s head is to be emptied of its contents, and 
 then stuffed with republican brains. 
 
 2. In Upper Canada, the opposite or negative 
 process, I mean the unconciliatory course of policy 
 has, it cannot be denied, practically tranquillized the 
 province. It has not only completely overthrown the 
 enemies of the British Constitution, but, in a very 
 great degree, has effected their conversion. Hun¬ 
 dreds of men who leaned with their whole weight 
 against the Government, so long as they found it bend 
 to their pressure, suddenly stood erect to defend it, 
 the instant it resolutely commanded them to keep off. 
 People of the most violent politics have lately acknow¬ 
 ledged themselves to have been in error; and even 
 the late Speaker, Mr. Bidwell himself, who was the 
 avowed republican associate of Mr. Papineau, now 
 
u 
 
 198 
 
 openly declares that he deeply regrets the course he 
 was led to pursue. 
 
 I could proceed to prove to your Lordship, that tlxe 
 policy I have humbly pursued has very numerous 
 supporters, even in the United States but I will not 
 seek for evidence beyond the limits of Her Majesty s 
 dominions. I will merely observe to your Lordship, 
 that the success which has been obtained in Upper 
 Canada is not adventitious; but that it is a result 
 which, in my very first despatch, dated the 5th be- 
 bruary, 1836, to your Lordship, I distinctly foretold 
 as follows:— 
 
 « As far as I have been able to judge, I should say that 
 the republican party are implacable, that no concession 
 whatever will satisfy them, their self-interested object being 
 to possess themselves of the Government of this province, 
 for the sake of lucre and emolument. 
 
 “ Under these circumstances, I conceive that the great 
 danger I had to avoid was the slightest attempt to conciliate 
 any party, and that the only course for me to adopt was to 
 act fearlessly, undisguisedly, and straightforwardly, for the 
 interests of the country—to throw myself on the good sense 
 and good feeling of the people, and abide a result which, 1 
 firmly believe, will eventually be triumphant.” 
 
 Having concluded the foregoing preliminary ob¬ 
 servations, I will now very shortly proceed to submit 
 to your Lordship, not my remarks respecting tlie late 
 resolutions of the Imperial Parliament, for as they 
 have passed it is useless now to discuss them, but my 
 humble opinion of the course which should hencefor¬ 
 ward be adopted. I therefore respectfully recom- 
 
199 
 
 mend Her Majesty’s Government to frame their future 
 policy upon two unalterable determinations. 
 
 1. Nolumus Leges Anglic mutari. 
 
 2. We will not retain possession of the 
 Canadas by force of Arms. 
 
 [I mean by this— 
 
 1. We will not mutilate the British Constitution in our Colonies 
 by concessions to Democracy. 
 
 2. Let us govern by moral power, and not by military force; (i. e. 
 u Let's clap the padlock’’ on the affections of the people.;] 
 
 My Lord, I have no hesitation in saying, that if 
 these two maxims are mildly but firmly maintained, 
 truth, reason, and justice will overpower the factious 
 * opposition that is now offered to us, and that a 
 splendid moral triumph will be the result. 
 
 Much might be written on this subject, but with 
 the voluminous details which are already before the 
 Government, I feel that the deliberate result of my 
 opinion will be less troublesome to your Lordship 
 than a statement of the minute arguments on which 
 it has been founded. 
 
 The servants of the Crown in Lower Canada 
 ought, I conceive, to be immediately and for ever 
 made independent of the House of Assembly, by an 
 act of the Imperial Parliament. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The above official opinions, like all which I have 
 humbly offered, were deemed unworthy to be laid 
 before the Imperial Parliament. The British Con_ 
 
stitution in our colonies was weakened again by 
 concessions, and then, to prevent its falling, it was 
 found necessary to support it by force of bayonets. 
 
 No. 112. 
 
 Upper Canada , Toronto , 8 th October y 1837. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to submit to your Lordship 
 sundry documents, as per Schedule, respecting the 
 case of Jesse Happy, a fugitive slave, who has been 
 demanded from me by the Governor of the Com¬ 
 monwealth of Kentucky on a charge of horse 
 stealing. 
 
 Your Lordship will perceive the reasons for which, 
 by the advice of my Executive Council, I declined to 
 deliver up this man, who continues a prisoner in 
 Hamilton Gaol, until he should have had time to 
 procure affidavits of the facts set forth in the various 
 petitions I have received in his behalf. 
 
 Your Lordship will also perceive it is by the 
 advice of the Council that I now respectfully beg 
 leave to draw the attention of her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment to this case as a matter of general policy. 
 
 I believe no one is disposed to deny that the 
 Canadas, as well as the United States, are much 
 benefited by that portion of the provincial statute 
 which, for the general purification of society, 
 encourages each to claim from the other persons 
 guilty of felony. 
 
 To this arrangement I have invariably given all 
 
the assistance in my power; and in a late instance, 
 although very great exertions were made to induce 
 me to refuse to surrender a man demanded by the 
 authorities of New York, on a charge of having 
 robbed the Rochester Bank, yet, in spite of the 
 arguments and recommendations in his favour, I 
 gave him up, and have since learned that he has 
 confessed his guilt. 
 
 I have also to inform your Lordship that in a case 
 which was brought before me only a few days pre¬ 
 vious to that which is the subject of this communi¬ 
 cation, I insisted on giving up to the Governor of the 
 Commonwealth of Kentucky a slave who, in order 
 to effect his escape, had been guilty of stealing his 
 master’s horse. I submit to your Lordship a copy 
 of a petition I received in this man’s favour, with my 
 reply thereto, and have to inform your Lordship 
 that the under-sheriff was attacked in endeavouring 
 to carry my orders into effect; that two men were 
 killed and others wounded in the affray, which ended 
 in the escape of the prisoner, which is now the sub¬ 
 ject of judicial investigation. 
 
 I mention these facts to satisfy your Lordship that 
 I am by no means desirous that this province should 
 become an asylum for the guilty of any colour: at 
 the same time the documents submitted with this 
 despatch will I conceive show that the subject of 
 giving up fugitive slaves to th authorities of the 
 adjoining republican states is one respecting which 
 
202 
 
 it is highly desirable I should receive from her 
 Majesty’s Government specific instructions. 
 
 It is quite true, that if a white man who has 
 stolen a horse from the Commonwealth of Ken¬ 
 tucky comes with it, or without it, to this province 
 he is by the statute I have alluded to liable to be 
 given up on demand to the neighbouring authorities; 
 and it certainly does seem to follow that a black 
 man ought not to expect, because our laws grant 
 him personal freedom, that he should moreover 
 claim from them emancipation from tidal for crimes 
 for which even British-born subjects would be held 
 responsible. Yet on the other hand it may be 
 argued that a slave escaping from bondage on his 
 master’s horse is a vicious struggle between two 
 guilty parties, of which the slave-owner is not only 
 the aggressor, but the blackest criminal of the two. 
 It is the case of the dealer in human flesh versus 
 the stealer of horse-flesh; and it may be argued 
 that, if the British Government does not feel itself 
 authorized to pass judgment on the plaintiff, neither 
 should it on the defendant. 
 
 The clothes and even the manacles of a slave are 
 undeniably the property of his master, and it may 
 be argued, that it is as much a theft in the slave 
 walking from slavery to liberty in his master’s shoes 
 as riding on his master’s horse; and yet surely a 
 slave breaking out of his master’s house is not 
 guilty of the same burglary which a thief would 
 
203 
 
 commit who should force the same locks and bolts 
 in order to break in ! 
 
 Besides these observations on the general principle 
 of the measure, the objections urged to its practice 
 are as follows :— 
 
 It is alleged, that after a slave surrendered by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada has been tried 
 in the United States, and accpiitted of the offence 
 laid to his charge, he is sure to be taken back to 
 slavery by his old master; and that, to obtain this 
 object, it is notorious that false affidavits can always 
 be obtained, in a slave state, against any runaway 
 slave. It is therefore argued, that giving up a slave 
 for trial to the American laws, is, in fact, giving him 
 back to his former master ; and, therefore, that until 
 the republican authorities can separate trial from such 
 unjust punishment, that, however willing we may be 
 to give up a man to the former, we are justified in 
 refusing to deliver him up to the latter, unless suffi¬ 
 cient security be entered into in this province, that the 
 person delivered up for trial shall be brought back to 
 Upper Canada as soon as his trial or the punishment 
 awarded by it shall be concluded. 
 
 It is argued, that the republican states have no 
 right, under the pretext of any human treaty, to claim 
 from the British Government, which does not recog¬ 
 nise slavery, beings who by slave-law are not 
 recognised as men, and who actually existed as brute 
 beasts in moral darkness, until on reaching British 
 
204 
 
 soil they suddenly heard, for the first time in their 
 lives, the sacred words, “ Let there he light, and there 
 was light! ” From that moment it is argued they 
 were created men, and if this be true, it is said they 
 cannot be held responsible for conduct prior to their 
 existence. 
 
 Having now furnished your Lordship with the 
 principal arguments which are used against the course 
 I myself have adopted in one slave-case, and have only 
 hesitated to adopt in another, 1 beg leave respect¬ 
 fully to recommend that instructions on the subject 
 may without delay be transmitted to the Lieute¬ 
 nant-Governor of this province. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 Third Memorandum on the Political State oj the 
 Canadas. 
 
 Toronto, 18 th November, 1837. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Being sensible that your Lordship will be desirous 
 to receive authentic information not only of the gene¬ 
 ral state of affairs in the Canadas, but of the particular 
 course of policy which is being pursued in each of 
 the provinces, I have the honour to enclose to your 
 Lordship a copy of a second letter, which has been 
 expressly despatched to me by Sir John Colborne, 
 with a copy of my reply thereto. 
 
 These letters, short and familiar as they are, contain 
 

 '205 
 
 a moral of considerable importance, for they indis¬ 
 putably shew that the Canadas are each acting on a 
 principle diametrically opposed to the other—the 
 Lower Province centripetally drawing to itself as 
 much military force as it can collect; the Upper 
 Province centrifugally discarding every British sol¬ 
 dier from its territory. 
 
 My Lord, it is I conceive undeniable, that for 
 many years Mr. Papineau has been labouring to 
 separate the Canadas from the mother-country. To 
 effect this object by force lie has been perfectly sen¬ 
 sible would be impossible ; he has, therefore, been 
 endeavouring to attain it by means which may almost 
 be termed constitutional, namely, by seeking the 
 intervention and authority of the Imperial Parlia¬ 
 ment. 
 
 For this purpose, a member of the House of Com¬ 
 mons (Mr. Roebuck) has been paid by the House of 
 Assembly of Lower Canada to expatiate on griev¬ 
 ances, and to declare at all times and in all places to 
 those who have no personal acquaintance with the 
 Canadas, that the people there are restless, dissatis¬ 
 fied, yearning for republican institutions, and that, 
 unless the never-ending, still-beginning concessions 
 they require are granted, another American tear 
 must be the result. 
 
 In order to corroborate these vague statements by 
 evidence, Mr. Papineau’s policy lias been to involve 
 each succeeding Governor in a quarrel with the 
 
206 
 
 House of Assembly, to keep up an endless war be¬ 
 tween the two Houses of the Legislature, as well as 
 between the Assembly and the Executive Council. 
 Besides this, in order to create discontent among the 
 people, all great improvements have been discounte¬ 
 nanced, immigration has been taxed, and every arti¬ 
 fice lias been resorted to, practically, to convince them 
 that there really must exist something in the manage¬ 
 ment or rather mismanagement of their country, 
 which required “ reform.” 
 
 While Mr. Papineau was himself working out this 
 revolutionary formula in Lower Canada, he well 
 knew it would be absolutely necessary he should pro¬ 
 mote a conspiracy in the Upper Province—accord¬ 
 ingly Mr. Joseph Hume was selected to echo Mr. 
 Roebuck’s complaints in the House of Commons, 
 while Mr. Bid well was to be the mimic in Upper 
 Canada of Mr. Papineau himself. 
 
 By pointing out grievances with one hand, and pre¬ 
 venting their (correction by the other, a small repub¬ 
 lican party in this province managed to create 
 discontent, and gradually to obtain a majority in the 
 House of Assembly; and the revenue of the province 
 being thus at tbeir disposal, they availed themselves 
 of every possible opportunity to pay and employ 
 those only who, by disseminating falsehood, would 
 create discontent. 
 
 Under this malign influence people in the remote 
 districts conceived that every difficulty they met in 
 
pm 
 
 207 
 
 the backwoods proceeded from the British Govern¬ 
 ment ; and as it was invariably stated to them that if 
 they were under a republic they would instantly be 
 relieved, they had every possible temptation to revolt. 
 The republican agents had the power of worming 
 their way to these poor people by paths, on which it 
 was believed nothing proceeding from the Govern¬ 
 ment could be made to travel: the rebel party fancy¬ 
 ing therefore that the ignorance in which their vic¬ 
 tims were involved could not be dispelled, openly 
 boasted of their triumph, and in the House of As¬ 
 sembly instantly evinced the most treasonable dispo¬ 
 sition. 
 
 My Lord, affairs were in this state: the House of 
 Assembly of Lower Canada had published their 
 ninety-two resolutions; the Assembly of this province 
 (although they pretended to have attachment to the 
 mother-country) were advocating an Executive Coun¬ 
 cil responsible to the people, an elective Legislative 
 Council, and were openly insulting the Executive, 
 when I arrived in this province. And yet with all 
 these advantages Mr. Papineau knew perfectly well 
 that the day had not arrived for attempting to carry 
 his object by force ; with every desire to do so, he 
 was afraid: in short he knew quite well that, though 
 the dissemination of his poison had sickened loyalty, 
 it was not yet dead ! 
 
 The result of the exertions which I humbly made 
 proved the accuracy of his judgment. 
 
208 
 
 By addressing the people in homely language I re¬ 
 vived the loyal spirit in Upper Canada, and by 
 resorting to reason instead of military force, I became 
 at last enabled by the assistance of the former to dis¬ 
 miss the latter from the province. 
 
 I mention these facts to your Lordship for the pur¬ 
 pose of showing the impolicy of our now allowing 
 Mr. Papineau to enjoy the triumph of making it 
 appear that we retain possession of the Lower Province 
 only by force of arms. 
 
 If Lower Canada were to be governed by reason 
 instead of by force, I beg leave to ask how could it 
 possibly separate itself from the British Empire? 
 
 II the Republicans of the two provinces, united, 
 were afraid to attempt it, what chance has one to attain 
 it, now that its comrade has turned against it ? 
 buppose that by a coup-de-main Mr. Papineau could 
 gain forcible possession of Montreal and of the fortress 
 ol Quebec, what could they be worth to him but a 
 hempen neck-cloth ? Would the British population 
 be annihilated ? Would there be no reaction ? Would 
 Upper Canada submit to a republic between it and 
 the ocean ? I can assure your Lordship that Mr. 
 Papineau’s dominion, like his life, would hang only 
 by a thread. Between the British navy on the one 
 side, and the brave militia of Upper Canada and of 
 New Brunswick on the other, he would find himself 
 a wild elephant between two tame ones. 
 
 It may appear strange that Mr. Papineau, whose 
 
209 
 
 abilities have been proved by the demoralization they 
 have effected, should at this moment be occupying a 
 position so completely untenable; but the fact is, & he 
 
 triumphs by the weakness of our conduct, and though 
 he is in reality a ruined man, yet he has managed by 
 impudence and artifice to gain the very darling object 
 he has tor so many years ardently been striving for : 
 in short, he has summoned eight British regiments 
 into his province not to fight, but to be quoted in the 
 House of Commons as undeniable evidence that we 
 require military force to retain possession of that 
 country. 
 
 % although I cannot deny the fiict of the 
 
 presence of the troops, yet I do respectfully submit to 
 your Lordship, that Mr. Papineau has managed to 
 obtain them by illegitimate means and by false 
 pretences. 
 
 llie foice at present in Lower Canada i§ unneces- 
 sajy, but we have had recourse to it from the same 
 unfoitunate aberration that has hitherto induced us 
 not only to submit to Mr. Papineau s insults, but to 
 bow before them in proportion to the insolence with 
 which they have been inflicted. From the extreme 
 of submission we have suddenly flown to the extreme 
 ot anger; and influenced in both instances by our 
 passions, Ileason and Justice, which in government 
 are invincible, have passed unheeded. 
 
 It is now late in the day to repent of our policy \ 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 but there is yet time not only to confess, but to cor¬ 
 rect the errors we have been guilty of. 
 
 My Lord, I respectfully recommend her Majesty’s 
 Government immediately to abstract all the tioops 
 from Lower Canada excepting those necessary to 
 garrison Quebec and Montreal. 
 
 As soon as the political atmosphere shall be thus 
 purified, let Mr. Papineau, if he dare, attack the 
 Queen’s Government, and the British population of 
 our North American Colonies; let him, if he dare, 
 take forcible possession of the Lower Province. 
 
 Instead of encouraging the loyal inhabitants of 
 both provinces ignominiously to lean upon our troops, 
 let us allow them to fight if necessary for themselves, 
 for their families, and for their liberties; and if this 
 policy be mildly but firmly pursued, the civilized 
 world will cheer us in our path, and, as I have 
 before ventured to assure your Lordship, a brilliant 
 moral victory will be the result. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 P.S. Since writing the above, I have just received 
 from an officer sent expressly to me from Montreal 
 by Sir John Colborne, a letter urging me to de¬ 
 spatch to Lower Canada some companies of our 
 militia for five months’ service, as Sir John observes, 
 “ Ij we do not immediately take active measures to 
 
211 
 
 arm and organize our friends, the province will he 
 lost." 
 
 I have the honour to enclose a copy of Sir John 
 ( olborne’s communication, with my reply thereto, 
 which will explain to your Lordship the reasons 
 which, in my opinion, forbid me at present to comply 
 with his request. 
 
 Notwithstanding the state of the Lower Province 
 as reported to me by the officer commanding the 
 forces, I remain still ol the opinion already expressed 
 in this despatch, namely, that her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment should immediately abstract all the troops from 
 Lower Canada, excepting those necessary to garrison 
 Quebec and Montreal. 
 
 I am perfectly sensible that this recommendation 
 will appear extraordinary to your Lordship, when 
 contrasted with the pressing exigencies of Sir John 
 Colborne. I will, therefore, endeavour to explain 
 opinions which I can assure your Lordship I have 
 not the slightest desire to advocate. 
 
 If Mr. Papineau and his followers were a foreign 
 enemy, it would be desirable that the party which 
 possessed the greatest quantity of physical strength 
 should predominate: but the French hahitans of 
 Lower Canada are as much her Majesty’s subjects as 
 the British troops, and in the present state of the 
 civilised world, I do maintain that a civil war must 
 henceforward be a moral one; and that victory will 
 eventually declare itself in favour of moral and not 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 of physical preponderance. The peace, welfare, and 
 stability of society depend upon the maintenance oi 
 this principle ; and such is the momentum ot public 
 opinion, that I feel confident no power on earth can 
 now-a-days prevail which attempts to withstand it. 
 
 I submit to your Lordship, that no government is 
 justified in attacking its own citizens until it has 
 previously gone through the forms of endeavouring 
 to govern them by firmness and reason. A govern¬ 
 ment need not be firm, nor need it be reasonable, but 
 the fatal consequence of its being neither one nor the 
 other is, that it exists in an unfit state suddenly to 
 put down rebellion by force; for what is despotism 
 but government sans reason ? 
 
 My Lord, I say nothing against the unfortunate 
 by-gone system of conciliation which has hitherto been 
 adopted in Lower Canada—I will even admit, lor 
 argument’s sake, that the Government was right to 
 try the experiment,—but I respectfully maintain that 
 it is not justified in flying from it to the opposite 
 extreme without having had recourse to the middle 
 regimen I have described. But it is argued that the 
 British population is in actual danger, that the Lower 
 Province “ will be lost” unless we have immediate 
 recourse to physical force, and, consequently, that it 
 is now too late to philosophise on the subject. I 
 conceive that the argument is the same as if a man who 
 had commenced to build liis house on a bog were to in¬ 
 sist on continuing it because lie had already completed 
 
213 
 
 its first story. It is true the removal of the build¬ 
 ing would be mortifying and expensive, but, if it 
 were impossible for it to stand, the sooner it were 
 abandoned the better. 
 
 My Lord, I conceive that no quantity of British 
 troops would be sufficient to put down agitation in 
 Lower Canada, or even to protect every person in 
 that province from open violence. The cumbersome 
 attempt on our part to do all this by soldiers would 
 appear to the world a series of aggressions, which 
 would sooner or later excite sympathy in favour of 
 Mr. Papineau and bis adherents. 
 
 On the other hand, if, sheathing the sword, we were 
 at once to place ourselves on the defensive, and 
 openly await the very evils we are now trying to 
 avert, Mr. Papineau would then he driven either to 
 give up agitation or to become the aggressor , in 
 which latter case we (I mean the British population 
 of the North American colonies) should instantly 
 gain in moral power infinitely more than we had laid 
 aside in military force. 
 
 I submit to your Lordship, that in military strength 
 Mr. Papineau has no chance whatever of successfully 
 contending against the British empire. Let us, 
 therefore, equally be his superior in that moral power 
 by which our possession and protection of the Cana¬ 
 das must eventually he decided. 
 
 F. B. H. 
 
 The foregoing opinions (which by her Majesty’s 
 
214 
 
 government were not deemed worthy to be included 
 among those submitted to the Imperial Parliament) 
 clearly show that I had totally failed to foresee the 
 invasion of our colonies by our American allies. I 
 own, however (and the confession should shame them), 
 that it never entered into my heart for a moment to 
 conceive that, while American friendship was stand¬ 
 ing smiling at our side, its hand was only waiting 
 until we faced our difficulties to stab us in the back . 
 “Experience,” they say “makes men wise,” but 
 where in the page of the history of civilised nations 
 was such experience to be learned ? It is recorded 
 for the first time ; and I humbly submit that I am 
 much less deserving of blame lor not having antici¬ 
 pated this attack than is the British nation, who, al¬ 
 though the event has actually happened, can scarcely 
 even now, by argument or facts, be persuaded to 
 believe what the conduct of the American authorities 
 has been. 
 
 To repel this unprecedented attack ol laithless friends 
 the whole energies of the British Empire should, if ne¬ 
 cessary, be directed, just as they should be directed to 
 repel an invasion of our colonies by the power ol 
 France or Russia. But, leaving this unnatural contin¬ 
 gency out of the question, and returning to the do¬ 
 mestic government ol our North American colonies, I 
 beg leave to say that, barring foreign invasion, I most 
 unalterably adhere to the opinions expressed in the 
 foregoing despatch: for I well know that I speak the 
 sentiments of the British population of our North Ame- 
 
215 
 
 rican colonies, when I say that if, instead of sending out 
 seven-and-twenty regiments, her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment would send out only one man, who, standing alone 
 among them, would promise the people that, while 
 he lived, the institutions of our empire should never be 
 changed, a universal British cheer would resound 
 throughout our colonies, and “ Reports ” of alleged 
 grievances would be heard of no more. When the 
 people of Upper Canada were appealed to, did they 
 not strictly fulfil the prophecy by responding to the 
 call ? And is it not an historical fact, that the brave 
 inhabitants of New Brunswick, with their Lieutenant- 
 Governor at their head, stood not only ready, but 
 earnestly wishing to be called ? Grievances ! Sepa¬ 
 ration from the mother country ! Hatred to British 
 institutions! Natural attachment to democracy ! 
 Commissions of Inquiry, one after another, may in 
 our colonies no doubt collect complaints in detail, just 
 as they would be collected from every regiment and 
 every line-of-battle ship in our service, were we to pay 
 people for searching for them ; but, let the enemy ap¬ 
 pear, let the British colours be hauled up, and let our 
 people but see the foe who unjustifiably advances to 
 deprive them of their liberties, and in one moment 
 all complaints are forgotten ! 
 
 The following despatch affords another sad 
 example of the endless embarrassments which 
 the Lieutenant-Governors of our provinces suffer 
 
216 
 
 from tlie eaves-dropping system of our Colonial 
 Office. 
 
 No. 127. 
 
 Upper Canada, 21th Nov., 1837. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a 
 pamphlet entitled “ the Correspondence of the Honour¬ 
 able William Morris with the Colonial Office as 
 the delegate from the Presbyterian body in Canada .” 
 
 I have also the honour to transmit a copy of a com¬ 
 munication which, in consequence of the above 
 publication, I directed my civil secretary to address 
 to the Moderator of the Synod. 
 
 Your Lordship will, from the above document, per¬ 
 ceive the inconvenience which has arisen from allow¬ 
 ing “ a delegate" from this province the entire perusal 
 in Downing-street of a despatch which it is left to 
 my judgment to determine whether the whole or a 
 part only should be published in Upper Canada. 
 
 With respect to the intemperate, uncalled-for lan¬ 
 guage contained in the pamphlet, I have only to re¬ 
 quest that your Lordship will be so good as to com¬ 
 pare it with the accusations lately made against the 
 Attorney-General of this province, from the effects of 
 which that officer as well as her Majesty’s Solicitor 
 General are still suffering. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
Is there another public office in the state—in the 
 world—which would permit its conditional or discre¬ 
 tional orders to its confidential servants to he thus 
 perused, while the matters were still pending, by in¬ 
 terested or hostile individuals, whose known purpose 
 was to thwart them ? 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Three ultimate causes of my Resignation—1. Dismissal of Judge Ri- 
 dout—Order from His Majesty's Government for his Restoration— 
 2. Appointments of Attorney and Solicitor General arrested by 
 his Majesty’s Government—3. Reasons for not elevating Ex-Speaker 
 Bidvvell to the Bench—His Majesty’s Government communicate 
 their desires for his Elevation—My refusal to obey their Orders— 
 The Republican Party unmask themselves and attack Toronto— 
 Despatch to His Majesty’s Government—Important Moral in it 
 suppressed. 
 
 The following despatches will speak for themselves. 
 No preliminary observations are necessary, as the dates 
 will sufficiently explain that, in consequence of the 
 rebellion which had already broken out in Lower 
 Canada, a corresponding insurrection was naturally to 
 be expected in the Upper Province, and, consequently, 
 that it was more than ever politic that I should give 
 encouragement to the loyal, and discouragement to 
 that party who were on the very eve of a rebellion. 
 
 If I had been governing by force of arms, they 
 would have been sufficient; but, having yielded to 
 the Lower Province Her Majesty’s troops, I had 
 nothing left to support me but a strict adherence to 
 that plain moral rule which bids all nations, as well 
 as all individuals, keep up a just distinction between 
 their enemies and their friends. 
 
No. 72. 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, 12 th Sept., 1836. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship 
 the accompanying memorial from Mr. George Ridout, 
 complaining that he has experienced unjust treatment 
 from me. 
 
 The facts attending this gentleman’s dismissal from 
 his situations of Judge of the District Court of Niagara, 
 of Justice of the Peace, and of Colonel of Militia, are 
 shortly as follows : — 
 
 On the 27th March last, Mr. George Ridout, head¬ 
 ing the deputation, read that address to me from 
 a public meeting held at the City Hall, by Dr. 
 O’Grady (the editor of the Correspondent and 
 Advocate') and others which I forwarded to your 
 Lordship on the 6tli of April last, in my despatch 
 No. 24. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Mr. Ridout made a declaration 
 which became the subject of genex-al conversation, 
 that, in the event of his being dismissed by me from 
 office, “ I should deserve to be tarred and feathered, 
 and that he would lend a hand to do so.” 
 
 In one of the public offices in Toronto he declared 
 that we must or should now have “ war to the knife.” 
 
 Mr. George Ridout was a frequent attendant as 
 well as speaker at the Constitutional Reform Society, 
 from which was widely circulated a printed address 
 
220 
 
 signed by Dr. Baldwin, of which the following is an 
 extract:— 
 
 “ It is our duty solemnly to assure you, that the conduct 
 of Sir Francis Bond Head has been alike a disregard of 
 Constitutional Government, and of candour and truth in his 
 statements.” 
 
 Mr. Ridout declares he is not a member of this 
 society, yet from his frequent attendance and speak¬ 
 ing at the meetings of this society, before as well as 
 after it had, for mere electioneering purposes, changed 
 its name (only a few weeks ago) from the “ Alliance” 
 to the “ Constitutional Reform Society,” I felt I had 
 a right to consider him as an active member. 
 
 Previous, however, to declaring him to be such, 
 I took the precaution of obtaining a legal opinion on 
 the subject, which was that Mr. G. Ridout most de¬ 
 cidedly did appear to be an active member of the said 
 Society. 
 
 It is perfectly true that old Mr. Ridout was a loyal, 
 gentlemanlike, and estimable man, and it was from a 
 benevolent desire to reclaim Mr. G. Ridout, his son, 
 from radical principles, that the situations he held 
 were successively heaped upon him by Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland and by Sir J. Colborne; but the more he was 
 favoured the more violent he became, and when, as a 
 judge and colonel of militia, he talked about tarring 
 and feathering the King’s representative, I considered 
 it was my duty to inform him that his Majesty had 
 no further occasion for his services. 
 
L 
 
 221 
 
 I may add that, shortly after my arrival here, I 
 myself took a great deal of trouble to endeavour to 
 reclaim Mr. George Ridout, and kindly to persuade 
 him of his errors, but in vain. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 The Petition of George Ridout, of the city of Toronto, 
 in Upper Canada, Barrister-at-Law, 
 
 Sheweth, 
 
 That your petitioner, a native of Canada, and son of the 
 late Honourable Thomas Ridout, Surveyor-General, was 
 appointed a Lieutenant in the Militia by the late Major- 
 General Sir Isaac Brock, a name ever dear to this pro¬ 
 vince, and with whom he was present at the battle of Queen- 
 ston. 
 
 By the ordinary progressive steps, and a service of more 
 than seventeen years, your Petitioner rose to the rank 
 of Colonel of the 2nd Regiment East York Militia, in 
 the room of the Honourable John B. Robinson, appointed 
 to fill the high office of Chief Justice of this colony in 
 1830. 
 
 That your Petitioners appointment to the honourable, 
 though not lucrative situation, of Judge of the Niagara 
 District Court, was conferred upon him, in 1828, by Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland, late Lieutenant-Governor of this pro¬ 
 vince. 
 
 During the administration of his successor, Sir John 
 Colborne, your Petitioner discharged the duties of these si¬ 
 tuations, so much to the satisfaction of that officer, that he 
 
222 
 
 was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the Niagara district. 
 That your Petitioner was treated with kind consideration 
 both by Sir Peregrine Maitland and by Sir John Colborne, 
 though he voted for gentlemen who were deemed the Re¬ 
 form candidates. 
 
 That thus in practice, as well as by the King’s instructions, 
 your Petitioner found theprinciple recognised,that every elec¬ 
 tor has a right to exercise his own judgment, without fear or 
 apprehension, and to indulge in such political opinions as 
 are consistent with his duty to his King and country, with¬ 
 out fear of proscription. 
 
 Aware also of the unrestricted liberty he had enjoyed un¬ 
 der the government of Sir P. Maitland and Sir John Col¬ 
 borne, he hesitated not to follow the course he had hitherto 
 pursued; and at the late election for this city gave his vote, 
 for the second time, in favour of his brother-in-law, the late 
 member, and a Reformer, as he believes, in the spirit of 
 Lord Goderich’s despatch, and to that only. 
 
 The election for the city of Toronto closed on the 23rd 
 June last; but no intimation of the intention of Sir Francis 
 B. Head to punish your Petitioner for his vote reached him 
 until the 15th July, after the result of all the elections had 
 been ascertained; and the time chosen for making this com¬ 
 munication was, when your Petitioner was in the discharge 
 of his duty as Judge of the Court at Niagara, although his 
 residence is at Toronto. 
 
 The reasons assigned for your Petitioner’s dismissal from 
 the various honourable situations he held are totally with¬ 
 out foundation, as will plainly appear from the correspond¬ 
 ence between your Petitioner and the private secretary of 
 his Excellency, Sir Francis Bond Head. That this may 
 admit of no doubt, your Petitioner submits the evidence 
 
hereto annexed.* Your Petitioner respectfully refers 
 the same papers, hereto annexed, shewing the unavailable 
 exertions he made to procure redress from Sir F. B. Head, 
 for the injustice suffered, and the necessity imposed upon 
 him of appealing for that redress to his Majesty’s Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Your Petitioner feels the injustice done him the more 
 sensibly, not only because he has been punished, although not 
 guilty of the charges alleged to him ; but persons who took 
 an active part as members of the societies alluded to, have 
 been permitted to do so with impunity; whilst others 
 holding lucrative and important situations under Govern¬ 
 ment, clerks in offices, and even messengers, in defiance of the 
 King’s instructions, have attended the polls from Riding to 
 Riding, during the late elections ; and they used every ex¬ 
 ertion, even to intimidation, in order to obtain votes for the 
 candidates known, or supposed to be acceptable, to Sir F. 
 B. Head. 
 
 If the inhabitants of this most important province are to 
 
 * N.B.—The papers appended to this petition are 
 
 1. Communication from Mr. Joseph. 
 
 2. Mr. G. Ridout to Mr. Joseph. 
 
 3. Colonel Coffin to Mr. Ridout. 
 
 4. Mr. Ridout to Colonel Coffin. 
 
 5. Mr. Ridout to Colonel Coffin, demanding a Court Martial. 
 
 6. Colonel Coffin to Mr. Ridout. 
 
 7. Petition to Sir F. B. Head. 
 
 8. Certificate, that G. Ridout opposed the formation of the Society, 
 
 under the principles that Mr. M‘Kenzie had moved. Signed 
 by Dr. Morrison. 
 
 9. Certificate, that George Ridout does not belong to the So¬ 
 
 ciety. 
 
 10. Minute from Osgoode Hall Law Society, that George Ridout 
 was appointed treasurer for 1830. 
 
224 
 
 adopt a new line of conduct for every successive Governor 
 that may be ordered out, whose views may differ from each 
 other as to the interpretation of the King’s instructions ; if 
 proscription is to follow acts previously deemed not only 
 harmless, hut constitutional, and even entitled to favour, 
 because a new Governor adopts a policy diametrically op¬ 
 posite to that of his predecessor—then must the situation 
 of the honest inhabitants of Upper Canada be deplorable 
 indeed. The natural consequence must be, that men ac¬ 
 customed to the equal and steady application of known 
 rules and laws, and to the mild sway of the British Govern¬ 
 ment, will abandon the country, and the emigrant will avoid 
 so frightful a tyranny. 
 
 Convinced that your Lordship will not sanction injustice, 
 nor permit any man, however exalted in station, to use the 
 power delegated to him for the use of his Majesty’s subjects, 
 to be exercised in their oppression, I appeal, with the utmost 
 confidence, from the decision of Sir Francis B. Head to 
 the justice of his Majesty’s Government, for such redress as 
 a gentleman of unblemished honour, and a loyal British 
 subject, has a right to expect. 
 
 All which is humbly submitted. 
 
 (Signed) George Ridout. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, 12th August, 1836. 
 
 Government House , 12 th July , 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am commanded by the Lieutenant-Governor to call 
 your attention to the enclosed printed address, which has 
 lately been widely circulated by, and* <f on behalf of a” so¬ 
 ciety, of which it appears you are an active member. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor desires me to observe, that the 
 
225 
 
 language contained in this address has hitherto remained 
 unnoticed by him, only from his determination not to inter¬ 
 fere with that public verdict which he felt confident the 
 country would clearly express. But as the elections are 
 now over, his Excellency considers that in order to maintain 
 the happy constitution of this province inviolate, it is ab¬ 
 solutely necessary, in obedience to the King’s instructions, 
 that no person should be permitted to retain any office of 
 trust or confidence under the British Government, who at¬ 
 tempts (however unsuccessfully) to insult the Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the province by language such as is contained 
 in your society’s address. His Excellency, therefore, 
 deems it his painful duty to direct me to inform you that 
 his Majesty has no further occasion for your services as 
 Judge of the Niagara District Court, and Justice of the 
 Peace. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 George Ridout, Esq., Toronto. 
 
 (Signed) J. Joseph. 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 The Constitutional Reform Society of Upper Canada 
 to their fellow Reformers. 
 
 The difference between Sir Francis Bond Head and 
 the House of Assembly, growing out of the resignation of 
 the late Executive Council, has led to a dissolution of Par¬ 
 liament. 1 he unanimous representation of the late Exe¬ 
 cutive Council, severally signed by the Honourable Peter 
 Robinson, the Honourable G. H. Markland, Honourable 
 Joseph Wells, Honourable J. H. Dunn, and Robert Bald¬ 
 win and John Rolph, Esqrs., we declare to be moderate, 
 just, and constitutional. The refusal of Sir F. B. Head to 
 allow the Executive Council to discharge the duties ob- 
 
 Q 
 
viously belonging to their office, and imposed by their oath, 
 of advising the Lieutenant-Governor upon our public affairs, 
 preparatory to his final and discretionary action upon those 
 affairs, betrays a disposition, as a stranger, to conduct the 
 government in an arbitrary, unsafe, and unconstitutional 
 manner, which the House of Assembly, unless traitors to us, 
 could not sanction or grant supplies to uphold. 
 
 The fifty-seven rectories could not by law have been esta¬ 
 blished without the advice and consent of the Executive 
 Council of the province ; and their recent establishment and 
 endowment, with their exclusive ecclesiastical rights and 
 privileges, is a practical and melancholy proof of the indis¬ 
 pensable necessity of a good and honest Executive Council, 
 alike possessing the confidence of the King and the people. 
 It is our duty solemnly to assure you that the conduct of 
 Sir Francis Bond Head has been alike a disregard of con¬ 
 stitutional government, and of candour and truth in his 
 statements to you. We therefore appeal to you mo§t ear¬ 
 nestly not to abandon your faithful representatives at the 
 approaching contest, but by your manly conduct prove your¬ 
 selves worthy of good government and honest public servants. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 W. W. Baldwin, President. 
 
 (copy) 
 
 Adjutant-General's Office , 
 
 Toronto , July 20, 183G. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 With reference to the communication which has been 
 made to you this day by Mr. Secretary Joseph, I am com¬ 
 manded by his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor to 
 acquaint you, that for the reasons assigned in that commu- 
 
227 
 
 ideation, his Majesty has no farther occasion for your services 
 as Colonel of the Second Regiment East York Militia. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) N. Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant-General of Militia, Upper Canada. 
 
 To George Ridout, Esq. 
 
 (Signed) N. Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant-General of Militia, Upper Canada. 
 (copy.) Toronto, July 14, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 W hilst in the discharge of my duty as a public officer at 
 Niagara, yesterday, I had the honour of receiving your 
 letter of the 12th inst, communicating to me that for 
 reasons assigned by Mr, Joseph, his Majesty had no fur¬ 
 ther occasion for my services as Colonel of the 2nd Regi¬ 
 ment of East York Milijtia. 
 
 As I have fully answered Mr. Joseph's communication, 
 and I hope satisfactorily shown that there was no foundation 
 for the reasons therein assigned, it will be unnecessary for 
 n e to add anything farther, than merely to remind you that 
 among the dismissals, no allusion is made to the situation 
 I held of acting Judge-Advocate on the approaching court- 
 martial at Cobourg, and to beg of you to consider this a 
 sufficient notice of my resignation of that office. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) George Ridout. 
 
 N. Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant-General of Militia. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 (copy.) Toronto, 14 th July, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Not being aware that any act of mine could be construed 
 into a sufficient justification for the extraordinary step lately 
 taken in dismissing me from the colonelcy of the second 
 Regiment East York Militia, unless the vote for my brother- 
 in-law can be considered a sufficient pretext, a privilege 
 it is pretended that every elector has a right fearlessly 
 and independently to exercise, I take the liberty ol de- 
 mantling a court-martial. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 (Signed) George Ridout. 
 
 To Colonel Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant General of Militia, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 A true Copy. (Signed) N. Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant General of Militia. 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 Adjutant-General's Office , 
 
 Toronto , July 20, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have had the honour to submit to his Excellency the 
 Lieutenant-Governor your letter of the 14th instant, which, 
 I must observe, was only brought to my office by your clerk 
 yesterday; and am commanded by his Excellency to in¬ 
 form you, that as you are no longer an officer ot Militia, 
 it would be proper, in order to bring you to court-mar¬ 
 tial, that you should be reinstated in the rank you formerly 
 held, an arrangement which his Excellency declines to 
 sanction. 
 
 His Excellency deems it scarcely necessary to observe to 
 you, that it was not for having voted for your brother-in- 
 
229 
 
 law that you were removed from the situations you held in 
 his Majesty’s service. 
 
 I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) N. Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant-General of Militia. 
 
 A true Copy. (Signed) N. Coffin, 
 
 Adjutant-General of Militia, Upper Canada. 
 
 Memorandum. —The original letter, of which this is a 
 copy, was, by his Excellency’s commands, returned to the 
 writer the day after its receipt. 
 
 J, Joseph. 
 
 Toronto , 2 7tli July , 1836. 
 
 To 11 is Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Knight, &c. &c. &c., 
 and Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 1 have the honour to state for your information that I 
 find by a letter addressed to me by the Adjutant-General 
 of Militia, that your Excellency refuses me a court-martial, 
 but admits that I have not been removed from the situa¬ 
 tions which I held in his Majesty’s service for voting in 
 favour of my brother-in-law at the late election. 
 
 In bringing my case under the notice of his Majesty’s 
 Government it is material that the facts should be truly 
 stated. I beg therefore to remind your Excellency that I 
 am fully prepared to prove, as mentioned in a former com¬ 
 munication, that the reasons assigned by your Excellency 
 for depriving me of office are totally without foundation. 
 Why should I hesitate to speak the whole truth? They 
 are altogether untrue . 
 
 The only other reason which I could think of was my 
 
230 
 
 vote, which your Excellency, as appears from the Adjutant- 
 General’s letter, admits not to have been the case. r lhe 
 clear and undeniable inference therefore is, that, in as far 
 as depends upon your Excellency, I am disgraced and 
 turned out of office under false pretences, and because it is 
 your pleasure. 
 
 Such a course of proceeding will not be approved ot by 
 my gracious Sovereign, so just and tender in the exercise ol 
 his power, nor will his Majesty countenance oppression on 
 the part of those to whom he has delegated a portion of 
 his authority, or suffer them, if guilty of injustice, to pass 
 unpunished. 
 
 It will scarcely be credited in the House of Commons, or 
 by the British public, that a man, who has served without 
 a view to reward during a bitter war, should be insultingly 
 oppressed by one—a stranger to the province, as your 
 Excellency is—a stranger to the services of many of its 
 inhabitants—but clothed with a little brief authority, in¬ 
 trusted to you by the Colonial Minister, and listening to 
 evil, irresponsible advisers, exercises that power in the 
 violent reckless manner in which it has been directed 
 against me. 
 
 Alter discovering that the reasons assigned for my dis 
 missal were untrue, and that there was no just ground for 
 such a proceeding, the honourable course would have been 
 to have restored me instantly to my offices, with such 
 apologies for my wounded feelings as one gentleman owes 
 to another whom he has unjustly aspersed. 
 
 But as this has not been done I feel myself justified in 
 stating to his Majesty's Government that I have been 
 treated with the grossest injustice, without even the shadow 
 of misconduct on my part, for the reasons assigned are 
 totally without foundation. 
 
231 
 
 If, however, even at this late period, your Excellency 
 has any other reasons than those given, which have been 
 hitherto kept back, I am willing to allow them every 
 weight; nor shall I attempt, when informed of their 
 existence, to suppress or lessen their just influence with 
 his Majesty’s Government in the statement which I am 
 about to forward. 
 
 If no other reasons are produced, I have a right to con¬ 
 sider your Excellency’s conduct to me inconsistent with 
 your duty as the representative of my gracious Sovereign ; 
 and, as I can expect no redress at your hands, it only 
 remains for me to appeal to the justice of the Imperial 
 Government. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) George Ridout. 
 
 Toronto , 18/A August, 183G. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In compliance with established rule I now enclose to his 
 Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor my memorial to Lord 
 Glenelg, and pray that his Excellency will be pleased to 
 forward the same to his Lordship without delay. 
 
 I take the liberty of stating, that by jirivate conveyance 
 1 send to his Lordship a copy ol’ the memorial now en¬ 
 closed, and of the papers and evidence attached to it. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) George Ridout. 
 
 To John Joseph, Esq., Civil Secretary 
 to His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Home District . ' Upper Canada. 
 
 Alexander Stewart, of the city of Toronto, carpenter, 
 maketh oath and saith, that he was present at a large 
 
232 
 
 meeting held in the said city, about the month of January, 
 m the year 1835, when William Lyon M‘Kenzie, Esq., 
 proposed to form a political society, called the Alliance 
 Society of Upper Canada, and at the same time submitted 
 a series of resolutions for the adoption of the said society. 
 That George Ridout, of the said city, barrister-at-law, was 
 opposed to Mr. W. McKenzie’s resolutions, and opposed 
 *he foundation of a society on the principles contained in 
 those resolutions. 
 
 This deponent further saith, that he believes the said 
 George Ridout has not, since the above-mentioned period, 
 joined any political society in this province. 
 
 (Signed) A. Stewart. 
 
 Sworn before me, at the city of Toronto, Upper Canada, 
 the Fifteenth day of August, One Thousand Eight 
 Hundred and Thirty-six. 
 
 (Signed) T. D. Morrison, 
 
 Mayor. 
 
 To WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. 
 
 The subscribers hereto, severally filling the offices attached 
 to their respective names in the Alliance Society of Upper 
 Canada, do declare that George Ridout, of the city of 
 Toronto, barrister-at-law, did not, at any time since tile 
 organization of the said society* become a member thereof\ 
 
 Dated this 12th day of August, 183G. 
 
 (Signed) T. D. Morrison, President.* 
 
 John MTntosh, Vice Pres. 
 John E. Tims, Sec. 
 
 T. Parsons, Sec. 
 
 * This certificate, ficm four of ti e most violent Radicals in Upper 
 Canada, cunningly avoids meeting the accusation against Mr. Ridout, 
 namely, that because he constantly attended and spoke at the meet¬ 
 ings in question, he appeared to be an active member. 
 
233 
 
 To WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. 
 
 1 
 
 The subscribers hereto, severally filling the situations 
 attached to their respective names, in the Constitutional 
 Reform Society of Upper Canada, do declare that George 
 Ridout, of the city of Toronto, barrister-at-law, did not, at 
 any time since the organization of the said society, become 
 a member thereof. 
 
 (Signed) W. W. Baldwin, Pres. 
 
 Francis Hincks, Sec. 
 James Leslie, Treas. 
 
 City of Toronto 
 
 to Wit. 
 
 Upper Canada. 
 
 I, Thomas D. Morrison, Esq., Mayor of the city of 
 Toronto, do hereby certify that Alexander Stewart, of the 
 city of Toronto, carpenter, whose affidavit, taken before me, 
 is hereto annexed, is a person to me well known—that he is 
 a person of respectable character, and worthy of full 
 credence. 
 
 I do hereby also certify that the names, T. D. Morrison, 
 John MTntosh, J. E. Tims, T. Parsons, W. W. Baldwin, 
 brands Hincks, and Janies Leslie, subscribed to the certi¬ 
 ficates on the preceding page, are of the respective hand¬ 
 writings of the said persons, and they held the several offices 
 mentioned in the said certificates, and placed opposite their 
 respective names, in the societies therein mentioned. 
 
 Given under my Hand and Seal of Office, this Fifteenth 
 day of August, in the year of our Lord, One 
 (L. S.) Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty-six. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 T. D. Morrison,* 
 M ay or. 
 
 * Lately tried for high treason, and has since left the province. 
 
234 
 
 Home District y \ 
 
 ss . J Upper Canada. 
 
 Michaelmas Term , 10 Geo . IV. 
 
 At a convocation of the Law Society, held in the Court 
 House, on Monday, the 1st day of Michaelmas Term, in 
 the tenth year of the reign of King George the Fourth, • 
 
 PRESENT- 
 
 Henry John Boulton, Attorney-General, 
 
 Christopher Alex. Hagerman, Solicitor-General, 
 William Warren Baldwin, Esq. 
 
 Darcy Boulton, J., Esq., 
 
 George Ridout, Esq.,— 
 
 Thomas Ward, Esq., 
 
 It was moved by W. W. Baldwin, Esq., seconded by the 
 Solicitor-General, C. A. Hagerman, that George Ridout, 
 Esq., be appointed Treasurer for the remainder of the year, 
 ending in Hilary Term next; a vacancy having occurred 
 by the elevation of the former Treasurer, John B. Robinson, 
 to the Bench as Chief Justice ; and resolved accordingly. 
 
 Hilary Term . 10 Geo . IV. 
 
 At a convocation held at the Law Society Library, on 
 Monday, 28th day of December, 1829, being in the Term 
 in Hilary, in the tenth year of the reign of King George 
 the Fourth,— 
 
 present— 
 
 Henry John Boulton, Esq., Attorney-General, 
 Christopher Alex. Hagerman, Esq., Solicitor-General, 
 William Warren Baldwin, Esq., 
 
 Jonas Jones, Esq., 
 
 John Rolfe, Esq., and 
 Simon Washburn, Esq.,— 
 
 It was proposed by the Solicitor-General, that George 
 Ridout, Esq., be Treasurer for the ensuing year, that is, 
 until Hilary Term next; and resolved accordingly. 
 
235 
 
 Hilanj Term , 1 William IV. 
 
 At a convocation held at the Law Society Library, on 
 Monday, the 2/th day of December, 1830, being in the 
 Term in Hilary, in the 1st year of the reign of King 
 William the Fourth,— 
 
 present— 
 
 George Ridout, Esq., Treasurer, 
 
 William W. Baldwin, Esq., 
 
 Simon Washburn, Esq., 
 
 James Esmall, Esq., 
 
 Robert Baldwin, Esq., 
 
 William H. Draper, Esq.,— 
 
 It was moved by Simon Washburn, Esq., and resolved. 
 That George Ridout, Esq., be continued Treasurer for the 
 ensuing year, that is, until Hilary Term next. 
 
 Treasurer s Office, Osgoocle Hall. 
 
 City of Toronto. 
 
 I hereby certify the above to be a true extract from the 
 Journals oi the Law Society of Upper Canada. 
 
 Given under the Seal of the Society at Osgoode Hall, 
 this 20th day of August 1836. 
 
 (Signed) R. B Sullivan, 
 
 (L S.) Treasurer. 
 
 (copy.} Government House, Au<just22d , 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 letter of the 18th inst., enclosing a memorial to Lord Glen- 
 el g, with the accompanying documents, which you request 
 the Lieutenant-Governor to forward without delay. 
 
 I beg leave to inform you that I placed them in his Ex¬ 
 cellency’s hands on Saturday evening, as he was preparing 
 
for his journey to Kingston, and was directed by his Excel¬ 
 lency to acquaint you that he would transmit your Memo¬ 
 rial, with its enclosures, to the Secretary of State, as soon 
 as he should return to the Government House. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) J. Joseph. 
 
 George Ridout, Esq., Toronto. 
 
 Reply to the above Case. 
 
 No. 113. 
 
 (copy.) Downing-street, Aug . 29 th, 1835. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have received your despatch of the 10th Septem¬ 
 ber, No. 72, enclosing a memorial addressed to my¬ 
 self, by Mr. George Ridout, dated on the 12th of the 
 preceding month of August, in which Mr. Ridout 
 appeals to his Majesty’s Government, against your 
 removal of him from the offices of Colonel ot the 
 Militia, Judge of the District Court of Niagara, and 
 Justice of the Peace. 
 
 In deliberating on the advice which it became my 
 duty to submit to the King on this occasion, I have 
 thought myself obliged to exclude from my considera¬ 
 tion, every ground which has been alleged in defence 
 of your proceeding against M. Ridout, which was not 
 assigned by yourself, in your correspondence with that 
 gentleman. 
 
 In general, I should consider it unjust to subject 
 any man to humiliation and punishment, for reasons 
 
237 
 
 which he has not had an opportunity of controvert¬ 
 ing ; but in Mr. Ridout’s case, there are peculiar 
 motives for adhering to this principle. 
 
 In his letter of the 27th July, he combatted both 
 by argument, and by evidence, the single charge pre¬ 
 ferred in your private secretary’s letter, and then pro¬ 
 ceeded as follows: 
 
 “ It, however, at this late period, your Excellency 
 has any other reasons than those given, which have 
 been hitherto kept back, I am willing to allow them 
 every weight; nor shall I attempt, when informed of 
 their existence, to suppress or lessen their just influ¬ 
 ence with his Majesty’s Government, in the statement 
 which I am about to forward.” 
 
 Thus, distinctly apprised, that Mr. Ridout proposed 
 to appeal against your decision, and with so unequi¬ 
 vocal a demand for an opportunity of impelling every 
 accusation which you might design to bring against 
 him, I think you were reduced to the alternative, 
 either of disclosing to him all the grounds of your 
 proceeding, or of leaving the appeal to be decided by 
 his Majesty, upon those grounds exclusively, which 
 you had so disclosed. 
 
 Adverting, then, to the only charge against Mr. 
 Ridout, and of which he was apprised in your private 
 secretary’s letter of the 1st of July, I find it to have 
 been, that he was an active member of a society, by 
 which a very objectionable address had been widely 
 circulated. 
 
 Mr. Ridout does not deny either that the address 
 
238 
 
 was indefensible, or that it had been widely circulated, 
 or that it had originated with the society in question. 
 But he does, in the most positive terms deny, that he 
 was a member of that society, or that he had even 
 seen the address, until it met his eyes in a printed 
 form, in the course of its circulation through the pio- 
 vince, or that he was in any sense responsible for it, 
 either as author or publisher. To these peremptory 
 contradictions of the facts alleged against him, lie 
 adds, that he attended at the meeting at which the 
 society in question was established, and opposed its 
 formation on the principles contained in the resolutions 
 brought forward by its author. 1 his statement is 
 corroborated by the affidavit of Mr. Stewart, who 
 states himself to have been present on the occasion. 
 
 Such is the state of the question, as it is presented 
 to me by your despatch and its enclosures. I have 
 sought in vain for any proof that Mr. Ridout was a 
 member of this society, or that he in any manner par¬ 
 took in the publication of the objectionable address. 
 
 I am compelled, therefore, to come to the conclusion, 
 that the charge is not only unsupported by proof, but 
 that, to a great extent, it is actually disproved, as it is 
 in every point directly contradicted. 
 
 But, in absence of evidence as to the fact, you 
 have referred me to the legal opinion of the Solicitor- 
 General of Upper Canada, who states, that Mr. 
 Ridout most decidedly did appear to be an active 
 member of that society. 
 
 It will, of course, not be ascribed to any want of 
 
230 
 
 respect towards Mr. Hagerman, if I observe, I do not 
 understand why any legal reference is necessary in 
 this case. The question involves no legal principle, 
 lint relates to a simple matter of fact. Mr. Stewart, 
 though describing himself as a carpenter is, I think, 
 lar more entitled to speak with authority on this 
 occasion than the Solicitor-General of the province, 
 because the former possesses, and the latter does 
 not possess, a personal acquaintance with what ac¬ 
 tually occurred, and, because Mr. Stewart was pre¬ 
 sent, and Mr. Hagerman was absent when the society 
 was formed, and when Mr. Ridout is said to have 
 protested against its formation. 
 
 It is with the deepest reluctance that I overrule a 
 decision publicly adopted by you, especially in a case 
 of the present nature. I have, on every occasion, 
 felt and, as I trust, have evinced, the utmost solici¬ 
 tude to afford you all the support and countenance in 
 my power in the discharge of your arduous duties. 
 Rut it is superfluous to say, that every consideration 
 must yield to the irresistible claims of justice, and for 
 the reasons which I have mentioned, I find it impos¬ 
 sible to dispute Mrr Ridout's pretensions to be rein¬ 
 stated in his various offices. I have accordingly, to 
 convey to you his Majesty’s commands, that Mr. 
 Ridout should be permitted to resume the various 
 employments from which he had been removed. I 
 refer to your own judgment the mode of proceeding 
 to carry these instructions into effect. 
 
240 
 
 It will afford me most sincere pleasure, if you 
 shall be able to reconcile the prompt and complete ex¬ 
 ecution of them, with the protection of your own au¬ 
 thority from the danger to which I am well aware it 
 may he exposed by the measure which I am thus 
 compelled to adopt. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) Glenelg. 
 
 Sir Francis B. Head, K. H., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 13. 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, 
 
 Gth February, 1837. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your Lordship’s despatch, No. 113, which only ar¬ 
 rived here on the 6th instant, in which, referring to 
 my having removed Mr. George Ridout from the 
 offices of Judge of the District Court ot Niagara, 
 Colonel of Militia, and Justice of the Peace, your 
 Lordship states, “ It is with the deepest reluctance 
 that I overruled a decision publicly adopted by you, 
 especially in a case of the present nature . . I 
 
 have therefore, accordingly to convey to you his 
 Majesty’s commands that Mr. Ridout should be per¬ 
 mitted to resume the various employments from which 
 he has been removed.” 
 
 As the refutation of the last set of accusations 
 
241 
 
 made against me, namely, those made by Messrs. 
 Hume and Buncombe, were despatched to your Lord- 
 ship only two days ago, (thus completing the victory 
 which, after a year’s hard fighting, I have managed to 
 gam over the opponents of the British constitution,) it 
 was with some little disappointment and surprise, that 
 I received from his Majesty’s Government a commu¬ 
 nication amounting almost to a dismissal, not in the 
 lenient form of being relieved, hut by being publicly 
 rendered incompetent to retain my station. 
 
 When my predecessor, Sir John Colborne was 
 ordered by your Lordship to lay before the House of 
 Assembly of the province he governed your Lord- 
 ship s decided disapprobation of his conduct, he pre¬ 
 ferred at once to tender his resignation, a course 
 which I believe almost every man of honour, who has 
 ever been placed in similar circumstances, has deemed 
 it incumbent upon him immediately to adopt. 
 
 I feel however so confident that I can succeed in 
 bringing conviction to your Lordship’s mind that I 
 am as innocent oi having acted unjustly towards Mr. 
 Ridout, as I have been proved to be innocent of the 
 various allegations brought against me by Messrs. 
 Hume, Duncombe, Baldwin, Bidwell, Rolph, & c ., 
 that I have determined to submit to the consideration 
 of his Majesty s Government the following state¬ 
 ments and observations. 
 
 It is perfectly true that in the month of July last 
 I dismissed Mr. Ridout from the situations of Judge 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 of the District Court of Niagara, Colonel of the Mi¬ 
 litia, anil Justice of the Peace, alleging to him, as the 
 grounds of my doing so, that he Mr. Riilout appeared 
 to he an active member of a society which had widely 
 circulated a printed Address signed by Dr. Baldwin, 
 Judge of the Surrogate, of which the following is an 
 
 extract: 
 
 “ It is our duty solemnly to assure you that the con¬ 
 duct of Sir F. B. Head has been alike a disregard of 
 Constitutional Government, and of candoui and 
 truth in his statements to you.” 
 
 It is also true that Mr. Ridout declares he “ had 
 nothing to do with drawing up the Address alluded 
 to—that he had never seen it, until it met his eyes in 
 a printed form—that he was not a member of the 
 Society from which it had proceeded—and that at the 
 meeting at which the Society in question was esta¬ 
 blished, he opposed its foundation on the principles 
 contained in the resolutions brought forward by its 
 author (which latter statement, I admit, is corrobo¬ 
 rated by the affidavit of Mr. Stewart, a carpenter, who 
 declares he was present on the occasion). 
 
 If your Lordship will be so good as to refer to the 
 letter from my Secretary to Mr. Ridout, you will 
 perceive that it was not stated by me that Mr. Ridout 
 had drawn up the Address alluded to, or that he had 
 ever seen it till it met his eye in a printed form, or 
 that he was a member of a Society from which it pro¬ 
 ceeded. All that was declared was, that the paper 
 
243 
 
 “ had been published by a Society ” of which Mr. 
 Ridout, long after it had been placarded all over the 
 
 province, continued to " appear to be an active 
 member 
 
 r need hardly observe to your Lordship, that 
 Mr. Ridout, as a Judge of the District Court, must 
 have known perfectly well that many a man has been 
 hanged as an accomplice in a murder, who never saw 
 it committed; and that when a Society of avowed 
 republican principles has placarded and published 
 
 in the newspapers a gross and wilful insult upon the 
 
 King’s representative, any officer in the service of his 
 Majesty’s Government might even legally be con¬ 
 sidered an accomplice by constantly attending the 
 said meeting, most especially if, like Mr. Judge Ri¬ 
 dout, he was heard to utter the most inflammatory 
 speeches; but the following instructions to me from 
 
 your Lordship on this subject admit of no misin- 
 terpretation. 
 
 I further unreservedly acknowledge that the 
 principle of effective responsibility should pervade 
 every department of your Government, and for this 
 reason, if for no other, I should hold that every public 
 officer should depend on his Majesty’s pleasure for the 
 tenure of his office. If the head of any department 
 should place himself in decided opposition to your 
 policy, whether that opposition be avowed or latent , 
 it will be his duty to resign his office into your hands ; 
 unless this course be pursued, it would be impossible 
 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 to rescue the head of the Government from the impu¬ 
 tation of insincerity, or to conduct the administration 
 of public affairs with the necessary firmness and de¬ 
 cision.” 
 
 I most respectfully submit to your Lordship whe¬ 
 ther his Majesty’s Government, after giving me the 
 above instructions to act with firmness and decision, 
 is justified in suddenly turning upon me for having 
 obediently carried them into effect ? 
 
 I most respectfully ask, whether, in framing the 
 above instructions, it ever occurred to your Lordship, 
 for a moment, to conceive that I could possibly meet 
 with such an extreme case of “ opposition, avowed or 
 latent,” as that of two judges, who, above all people, 
 ought to be immaculate from political sin, openly at¬ 
 tending a republican society, which at every meeting 
 grossly and publicly insulted the King’s representa¬ 
 tive ; the one judge actually affixing his name as 
 chairman to a most infamous placard ; the other con¬ 
 stantly haranguing the people. 
 
 Supposing, instead of being members of the Ju- 
 dicial Bench, the especial duty of whom, by example 
 as well as by precept, is, to maintain the King’s au¬ 
 thority, they had been officers of the army or navy, 
 Would any quibble or subterfuge whatever be suffi¬ 
 cient to screen them from dismissal ? 
 
 Mr. Judge Ridout’s legal talents are sufficiently 
 demonstrated by the craftiness ol his defence and evi¬ 
 dence, which insidiously attempt to prove “ that he 
 
245 
 
 had attended at the meeting at which the society in 
 question was established, and opposed its formation 
 on the principles contained in the resolutions brought 
 forward by its author.” He conceals, however, from 
 your Lordship the following important explanation. 
 
 Until Mr. Bidwell delivered to the House of As¬ 
 sembly Mr. Papineau’s letter, openly proposing to 
 the North American Colonies to unite together for a 
 
 o 
 
 revolutionary purpose, the society in question was 
 known by the name of the “ Alliance Society.” 
 
 On my dissolving the House of Assembly, the Con¬ 
 stitutionalists formed a “ Constitutional Society,” for 
 the express purpose of opposing the unholy doctrines 
 of this “ Alliance Society,” some of the members of 
 which, finding that it required a veil, proposed to 
 change its name from the “ Alliance” to the “ Con¬ 
 stitutional Reform Society.” The most reckless and 
 violent of the party opposed this change, preferring 
 what is vulgarly termed here “ to go the whole hog.” 
 Of this number was Mr. Ridout, who truly enough 
 informed your Lordship “ that he opposed the forma¬ 
 tion of the society in question .” 
 
 Having given this short elucidation of the letter of 
 dismissal which my secretary addressed to Mr. Ridout, 
 as also of his reply, I respectfully proceed to your 
 Lordship’s observations thereon. 
 
 Your Lordship states, “In deliberating on the ad¬ 
 vice which it became my duty to submit to the King 
 on this occasion, 1 have thought myself obliged to 
 
246 
 
 exclude from my consideration every ground which 
 has been alleged in defence of your proceedings 
 against Mr. Ridout, which is not assigned by your¬ 
 self in your correspondence with that gentleman.” 
 
 “ But, in the absence of evidence as to the fact, you 
 have referred me to the legal opinion of the Solicitor- 
 General of Upper Canada, who states, that Mr. Ridout 
 most decidedly did appear to be an active member of 
 the said society. It will of course not he ascribed to 
 any want of respect towards Mr. Hagerman, if I ob¬ 
 serve that I do not understand why any legal reference 
 is necessary in this case.” The question involves no 
 legal principles, but relates to a simple matter of fact. 
 Mr. Stewart, though describing himself as a carpen¬ 
 ter, is, I think, far more entitled to speak with autho¬ 
 rity on this occasion than the Solicitor-General of 
 the province. 
 
 I cannot but believe that, on reflection, it will be 
 evident to your Lordship that, if the solemn, delibe¬ 
 rate judgments of the King’s representative in a Bri¬ 
 tish colony, without any opportunity being afforded to 
 him for explanation, be suddenly overruled by his 
 Majesty’s Government, on the mere denial of the in¬ 
 dividual sentenced to punishment, supported only by a 
 witness of unknown character,—if going still further, 
 it be decreed that the Governor’s official expla¬ 
 natory despatches on the subject are to be treated by 
 his Majesty’s Government, to whom they are re¬ 
 spectfully addressed, as mere hearsay evidence, which 
 
247 
 
 must not affect the merits of the case,—if the delibe¬ 
 rate judicial opinion given by his Majesty’s Attorney 
 (not Solicitor) General to the King’s representative, 
 be declared to possess no more weight in the mind of 
 his Majesty’s Government than the evidence of a com¬ 
 mon carpenter, I state, with deference, that the dig¬ 
 nity, honour, and authority of the Governor are vir¬ 
 tually extinct. 
 
 I respectfully submit, that, in no department of the 
 state, not even in your Lordship’s own office, has it 
 ever been deemed necessary, or even advisable, that 
 every reason for which an individual is to be relieved 
 from office must be stated to him. 
 
 It may be necessary to remove a public servant for 
 many reasons, which it may not be desirable to ex¬ 
 plain to him. But, in maintaining the dignity of the 
 station of Lieutenant-Governor of this province, I 
 am, by your Lordship’s own instructions, especially 
 absolved from any such necessity; for it is distinctly 
 stated, “ It is the duty of the Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Upper Canada to vindicate to the King and to Par¬ 
 liament every act of his administration.” 
 
 “ To his Majesty and to Parliament the Governor 
 of Upper Canada is at all times fully responsible for 
 his official actsand yet, when I proceed to do so, 
 his Majesty’s Government cast my official vindication 
 aside, and pass a severe judgment upon me, with the 
 following preamble:—“ In deliberating on the advice 
 which it became my duty to submit to the King on this 
 
248 
 
 occasion, I have thought myself obliged to exclude 
 from my consideration every ground which has been 
 alleged in defence of your proceedings against Mr Ri- 
 dout, ivhiclt was not assigned by yourself in your 
 correspondence with that gentleman.’' 
 
 The following circumstances officially detailed to 
 your Lordship in my despatches, Nos. 72, 62, and 
 57, must have been accordingly “ excluded from 
 your consideration, in judging of the propriety of 
 Mr. Judge Ridout’s dismissal.” 
 
 1. “ That on the 27th March, Mr. Ridout, head¬ 
 ing the deputation, read that Address to me from 
 a Public Meeting held at the City Hall, by Dr. 
 0‘Grady, (the Editor of the Correspondent and Ad¬ 
 vocate ,) and others, which I forwarded to your Lord- 
 ship on the 6th April.* 
 
 * To this insolent Address I returned a calm answer, to which, 
 contrary to all precedent, I received a communication, termed “ a 
 rejoinder,” of which the following is an extract:— 
 
 “We cannot altogether agree with your Excellency, that ‘ the only 
 consolation which should support an honest man in an arduous duty 
 is the reflection that he is ready to atone for every error he commits 
 and that he is subject to arraignment if he offend.’ The highwayman 
 and the pirate might , and often have , pleaded the same—have even 
 been ready to make atonement, by restitution, and after ‘ arraign¬ 
 ment ,’ expiated their crimes according to law.'' 
 
 I ask whether, when such language as the above had been ad¬ 
 dressed to the King’s Representative, it was not the bounden duty 
 of his station to dismiss from his Majesty’s service him who had 
 headed and read the original Address? Is it not incomprehensible, 
 that his Majesty’s Government should, at such a time, have joined 
 with such a man against me? 
 
249 
 
 2. “ That shortly afterwards, Mr. Judge Ridout 
 made a declaration which became the subject of gene¬ 
 ral conversation, that in the event of his being dis¬ 
 missed by me from office, I should deserve to be 
 tarred and feathered, and that he (Mr. Judge 
 Ridout) would lend a hand to do so. 
 
 3. “ That in one of the Public Offices, he (Mr. 
 Ridout) declared that we must or should now have 
 war to the knife. 
 
 4. “ That from a benevolent desire to reclaim Mr. 
 Ridout from radical principles, the situations he 
 held were successively heaped upon him by Sir P. 
 Maitland, and by Sir John Colborne; but the more 
 he was favoured, the more violent he became. 
 
 5. “ That shortly after my arrival here, I myself 
 took a great deal of trouble to endeavour to reclaim 
 Mr. George Ridout, and kindly to persuade him of 
 his errors, but in vain.” 
 
 6. In my despatch to your Lordship, No. 57, I 
 stated, “ I will therefore merely assure your Lord¬ 
 ship, that in the elections, as well as in the prompt 
 dismissal of a few of the ringleaders of the Repub¬ 
 licans, I have acted cautiously and conscientiously.” 
 
 7. That Mr. Judge Ridout, in a letter dated 27th 
 July, which he addressed to me as the Lieutenant 
 Governor of this Province, declared that the reasons 
 asssigned by me “ are altogether untrue;" that I 
 have turned him out of office “ under false pre¬ 
 tences that, “ clothed with a little brief authority,” 
 
I am “ exercising my power in a violent, reckless 
 manner,” &c. 
 
 If the foregoing extracts from public despatches 
 all directly bearing upon the subject in question, be 
 deliberately excluded from your Lordship’s consider¬ 
 ation, I cannot but most respectfully repeat, I am at 
 a loss to understand why, in your Lordship’s instruc 
 tions to me, after distinctly stating, that unless I had 
 power to dismiss from office any person who might 
 openly or latently oppose my policy; “ it would be 
 impossible to conduct the administration of public 
 affairs with the necessary firmness and decision. It 
 is added, “ that it is the duty of the Lieutenant Go¬ 
 vernor of Upper Canada to vindicate to the King 
 and to Parliament, every act of his administration 
 for, how can I possibly vindicate my dismissals, but 
 by despatches which I have the high privilege and 
 honour of addressing to your Lordship. 
 
 I had certainly conceived, that as long as I was 
 deemed worthy of the confidence reposed in me, in¬ 
 dependent of the production of facts and arguments, 
 the mere expression of my opinion of the absolute 
 necessity of the dismissal from office of any person, 
 who, from my local knowledge, I deemed hostile to 
 the British Constitution, would have carried with it 
 infinitely more weight than the individual’s denial of 
 his own guilt. 
 
 The dangerous duty imposed upon me, of select¬ 
 ing for office those who are most fit for it, and of 
 
251 
 
 dismissing those who are unfit, requires the coolest 
 deliberation and judgment: my very appointment to 
 the station I hold presupposes my competence to the 
 task; and it will now be my endeavour respectfully 
 to demonstrate to your Lordship that, as regards 
 the dismissal of Mr. Ridout, I have discharged this 
 duty conscientiously and correctly. 
 
 Your Lordship must be aware that I succeeded 
 in defeating the Republican party iu this province, 
 by calmly appealing to the judgment and good sense 
 of the people. It was not, therefore, very likely that, 
 when the victory was established, I should suddenly 
 lose the equanimity by which I had gained it. But, 
 because I had defeated the political machinations of 
 my opponents, I was in all directions assailed by 
 language, which gradually increased in virulence, 
 until it became evident to me, that for the dignity, 
 and even maintenance, of the King’s authority, it 
 was absolutely necessary I should check it. 
 
 Inasmuch, however, as the danger of doing so 
 was apparent, I deeply reflected on the course which 
 it would be most prudent for me to adopt. 
 
 The press—the shameless and traitorous language 
 of which it would be impossible to describe—I de¬ 
 termined to let alone; I also resolved not to notice 
 affidavits and other evidence which I received, con¬ 
 cerning individuals of low station, who, although 
 holding commissions in the militia, publicly declared, 
 “ That the Lieutenant Governor wan the d - eat 
 
liar and d—~est rascal in the province .” I con¬ 
 sidered these persons as not worthy to be made ex¬ 
 amples of; but the two individuals whom I event¬ 
 ually determined to select for punishment were Mr. 
 Ridout and Dr. Baldwin, because I considered that, 
 as Judges of the land, they had no excuse whatever 
 for the offensive conduct they had been pursuing. 
 
 Instead, however, of at once following my own 
 judgment, which, on the subject in question, I nevei 
 once mistrusted for a moment, my first course was to 
 seek the advice of my Council, who, with the facts 
 existing before their eyes, deliberately and unani¬ 
 mously approved of the dismissal of Dr. Baldwin 
 and Mr. Ridout. Not satisfied with their concur¬ 
 rence, I deemed it necessary to consult his Majesty s 
 Attorney-General on the whole subject, and espe¬ 
 cially whether I should be authorised in declaring, 
 that Mr. Ridout “ appeared to be an active member” 
 of the Association, at which he had been, and still 
 was, a constant attendant. 
 
 The Attorney-General made every due inquiry, 
 the result of which was, a deliberate confirmation of 
 my views on the subject. 
 
 I accordingly publicly dismissed Mr. Ridout and 
 Dr. Baldwin from the offices which they respectively 
 held under his Majesty’s Government, and though, 
 like Dr. Duncombe, Mr. Bidwell, Dr. Rolph, &c., 
 Mr. Judge Ridout has framed a remonstrance to his 
 Majesty’s Government, yet in this country neither 
 
253 
 
 lie nor Dr. Baldwin presumed to get up even a 
 petition to the House of Assembly on the subject. 
 
 The people of any British colony are always ready 
 enough to espouse the cause of an injured man ; and, 
 trusting to inflammatory speeches, &c., an attempt 
 was made to stamp the disapprobation of this Capital 
 upon my conduct, by returning Dr. Baldwin, Mr. 
 Ridout, and Mr. Small, (whom I had also dismissed) 
 as Aldermen for the city. Your Lordship knows 
 the result, which has only just taken place, namely, 
 that in spite of Dr. Baldwin’s wealth, in spite of 
 Mr. Ridout’s efforts—in short, in spite of everything, 
 they completely failed in their object; and, though 
 they have sought the crown of martyrdom in Eng¬ 
 land, they failed in being dubbed even Aldermen in 
 Toronto! 
 
 If I have unjustly treated them, it cannot be a 
 secret to the House of Assembly; but the opinion 
 which that branch of the Legislature has just for¬ 
 warded to your Lordship, as well as to both Houses 
 of the Imperial Parliament, states, 
 
 “ Few Governors of a colony were ever placed 
 in circumstances of greater difficulty than those 
 which assailed Sir Francis Head within three months 
 of his assuming the Government of the province; 
 and it is, perhaps, not too much to say, that no man 
 could have met those difficulties (ungenerously and 
 unreasonably thrown in his way) with more temper, 
 firmness, and judgment, than he did.” 
 
254 
 
 Not satisfied with these concurrent verdicts in my 
 favour, on receiving your Lorship’s despatch, ordering 
 Mr. Ridout to be restored to his offices, I again as¬ 
 sembled my Council, who, without having been made 
 acquainted with your Lordship’s decision, forwarded 
 to me this morning the following minute of their 
 opinions. 
 
 (copy.) In Council , 9 th Feb. 1837. 
 
 His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor was pleased 
 this day to come down to the Council, and to inform them 
 that the case of Mr. George Ridout, late Colonel of Mili¬ 
 tia, and Judge of the Niagara District Court, had been 
 referred to his Excellency by his Majesty’s Government, on 
 an application to his Majesty by Mr. Ridout, praying for 
 redress. 
 
 His Excellency, referring to the circumstances under 
 which Mr. Ridout’s removal took place, and to the fact 
 that, at the time the advice of the members of the Council, 
 as to the question whether there was anything in Mr. 
 Ridout’s statements, and whether any circumstances have 
 transpired in the knowledge of the Council, since Mr. 
 Ridout’s removal, which, in their opinion, ought to induce 
 his Excellency to make a report to his Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment, or to come to any determination respecting his case, 
 more favourable to Mr. Ridout than those already made, 
 and resolved upon; 
 
 The members of the Council in office at the time of Mr. 
 Ridout’s removal feel bound to say, that to their knowledge 
 the conclusion to remove him from office was not arrived at 
 without much deliberation, and even reluctance, on the part 
 of his Excellency. 
 
255 
 
 Under the conviction that, if officers in the employment 
 of his Majesty were to be permitted to express them¬ 
 selves without measure or discretion as to the conduct of 
 his Majesty’s representative, and to join with others in 
 endeavouring to destroy the respect and confidence, on the 
 part of the people, which are so necessary to the well-being 
 of any government, it would be almost impossible that the 
 affairs of the colony could be conducted, for any length of 
 time, successfully.— 
 
 The members of the Council then in office performed 
 what they felt to be a disagreeable and painful duty, in 
 recommending to his Excellency the dismissal of Mr. 
 Ridout. 
 
 The Council are now unanimously of opinion that the 
 power vested in His Excellency, of removing any officer 
 holding a situation during pleasure, when his remaining in 
 office is considered injurious to His Majesty’s Government, 
 and to the tranquillity and peace of the country, was in this 
 instance exercised judiciously, and when it scarcely could be 
 avoided without bringing the Government into contempt. 
 If Mr. Ridout disapproved of the measures adopted by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, he was not called upon to support 
 them, or even to refrain from opposition, or claim of 
 redress, preserving the decorum and decency of language 
 which must, under any circumstances, be considered as due 
 to the representative of the King. 
 
 When, however, a gentleman holding an official situa¬ 
 tion departs from the rules which are dictated by the 
 most ordinary considerations of propriety, and sets an ex¬ 
 ample to others of disrespect and insubordination, which the 
 ignorant and fcvil-disposed are but too apt to follow, the 
 Council cannot but feel that it is no less due to the dignity 
 of the Crown than to the feelings of those who desire that 
 
257 
 
 o. The Hon. W. H. Draper, who lias lately joined 
 the Executive Council, and who is member or repre¬ 
 sentative for this metropolis, where every fact con¬ 
 cerning Mr. Ridout’s dismissal is of course known 
 and at hand. 
 
 I have now submitted to your Lordship the leading 
 reasons lor which I deemed it necessary to dismiss 
 Mr. Ridout from the offices he held under His Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government; and I have only to add, that 
 had I not done so, I have reason to know the principal 
 members of the Bar would have declined to appear 
 in the Court of Niagara, on account of the reprehen¬ 
 sible political conduct of Mr. Judge Ridout. 
 
 M ith respect to the order which I have received 
 from your Lordship to restore this gentlemen to the 
 offices from which he has been removed, I have only 
 to state that, if such should continue to be Ilis Ma¬ 
 jesty 3 desire, I will obey the command : it is not my 
 intention petulantly to tender my resignation because 
 my judgments have been overruled ; at the same 
 time, I feel perfectly confident that, the moment Mr. 
 Ridout’s authority is restored to him, I shall be de¬ 
 prived of my own, as well as of all power or possi- 
 lulity of carrying on the government of this province. 
 
 As I expect every hour to hear of the arrival of my 
 lamily at New York, they having sailed from England 
 on the 10 th of January, I can have no desire they 
 should so immediately recross the Atlantic ; but I am 
 not ashamed to say that I have not courage to face 
 
256 
 
 the Government under which they live should be respected, 
 that the offending individual should be removed from a 
 place in which his example is calculated to be so peculiarly 
 injurious. 
 
 The Council, therefore, feeling the greatest regret that 
 Mr. Ridout’s conduct should have rendered such a course 
 advisable, cannot at present recommend his Excellency to 
 advise His Majesty to restore Mr. Ridout to the offices from 
 which he has been removed. 
 
 (Signed) R. B. Sullivan, P. C. 
 
 And now, my Lord, I beg to show who these gen¬ 
 tlemen of my Council are who originally concurred, 
 and who still concur with me, in the propriety of the 
 dismissal of Dr. Baldwin and Mr. Ridout. 
 
 1. The first on the list is the Hon. R. B. Sullivan, 
 Dr. Baldwin’s own nephew, whose sister was married 
 to Mr. Ridout’s own brother. 
 
 2 . The Hon. Captain Baldwin, of the Royal Navy, 
 actually the brother as well as the friend of Dr. 
 Baldwin, whom I dismissed ! Captain Baldwin also 
 for many years has been the intimate friend of Mr. 
 Ridout. 
 
 3. The Hon. William Allan, for many years Pre¬ 
 sident of the Bank of Upper Canada, a man whose 
 character for probity would be admired in any country 
 in the world. 
 
 4. The Hon. John Ehnsley, an officer in His Ma¬ 
 jesty s Navy, a person of considerable property, and 
 peihaps the most ultra-reformer in the Legislative 
 Council. 
 
the difficulties wliicli from all sides would assail me 
 the moment it became known that His Majesty s 
 Government had openly declared itself opposed to one 
 of the most prominent measures ol my administration 
 of this government. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 The following despatch is a sample of the able 
 style of special pleading exercised by the Colonial 
 Office towards Colonial Governors. Instead of, 
 in a moment of mutiny, supporting me in my sta¬ 
 tion, and of giving proper weight to my opinions, I 
 submit that her Majesty’s Government treated me 
 and Mr. Ridout just as a police magistrate would 
 deal with the case of two unknown persons, brought 
 before him for having been found quarrelling in the 
 street. 
 
 Doionhig-street 5th April, 1837, 
 
 I have received your despatches of the 6th of Feb¬ 
 ruary last, No. 13, on the case of Mr. Ridout. In 
 order to explain clearly the view which I have taken 
 of this subject, I must begin with a short retrospect 
 of what has hitherto occurred, although it will per¬ 
 haps involve me in the repetition of some statements 
 already addressed to you. 
 
 Mr. Ridout’s dismission from his office was com¬ 
 municated to him on the 12th of July last, in letteis 
 
250 
 
 written to him by your Secretary, and by the Adju¬ 
 tant-General of Militia. In your Secretary’s letter 
 tins measure was attributed to the circumstance that 
 Mr. Ridout appeared to be a member of the Constitu¬ 
 tional Reform Society of Upper Canada, by and on 
 behalf of which had been circulated the printed ad¬ 
 dress to which reference was then made. The Ad¬ 
 jutant-General’s letter stated that Mr. Ridout was 
 deprived of his Commission in the militia for the rea¬ 
 sons mentioned in your Secretary’s letter. 
 
 On the 14th of July, Mr. Ridout transmitted to 
 your Secretary an answer, denying that he was a 
 member of the society in question, or that he had ever 
 seen their address until it was in circulation in print 
 through the city of Toronto. His answer to the Ad¬ 
 jutant-General suggested that the real cause of his 
 dismission was a vote which he had given at the ge¬ 
 neral election. The Adjutant-General replied by 
 conti adicting the truth of this surmise. 
 
 On the 22nd of July Mr. Ridout announced to you 
 his intention to bring his case under the notice of his 
 Majesty’s Government, and made an application to 
 be furnished with an explanation of any other reasons 
 for your conduct which might have been kept back. 
 
 No notice having been taken of this letter, lie 
 placed in your hands, for transmission to this country, 
 his petition of the 12th of August, in which he offered 
 to prove that he had refused to connect himself with 
 the Constitutional Reform Society, because he disap- 
 
 s 2 
 
260 
 
 proved of its constitution. He attached to that do¬ 
 cument the affidavit of Alexander Stewart, in which 
 the deponent confirmed Mr. Ridout s statement, al¬ 
 leging that he was present at the formation ot the 
 society, and heard Mr. Ridout oppose that measure. 
 
 In your despatch of the 12th of September, you 
 enclose the preceding correspondence, and imputed 
 to Mr. Ridout various acts of misconduct, to which 
 that correspondence contained no allusion. 
 
 In my despatch ol the 29th of November, I stated 
 that I had thought myself obliged to exclude from 
 my consideration every ground alleged in defence of 
 your proceeding against Mr. Ridout, which had not 
 been assigned by your sell in your correspondence 
 with that gentleman. For this decision I gave three 
 distinct reasons. They were, first, that it seemed to 
 me unjust to subject any man to humiliation and 
 punishment, for reasons which he has not had an op¬ 
 portunity of controverting ; secondly, that Mr. Ridout 
 had combated, both by argument and by evidence, 
 the single charge preferred in your Secretary s let¬ 
 ter ; and thirdly, that, with a view to an appeal to 
 his Majesty’s Government, he had demanded an op¬ 
 portunity of repelling any other accusation which you 
 might have to bring against him. 
 
 In reference to this statement, you have, in your 
 despatch of the 9th of February, observed that, in no 
 department of the State, not even in my own office, 
 has it ever been deemed necessary, or even advisable, 
 
261 
 
 that every reason for which an individual is to be re¬ 
 lieved from office must be stated to him ; that it 
 may be necessary to remove a public officer for many 
 reasons, which it may not be desirable to explain to 
 him; and that you were expressly absolved from 
 such necessity by any other instructions to you. 
 
 You must permit me to state unreservedly, that 
 this answer appears to me inadequate; first, I am 
 totally ignorant of the existence cither in this office 
 or any other department of the State, of any such 
 practice as that to which you refer. 
 
 I am not aware of so much as a single instance, in 
 which a public officer has been dismissed as a punish¬ 
 ment, and on the ground of misconduct, without the 
 most explicit disclosure to him, of the reasons by 
 which his superior vindicated such an exercise of 
 authority. 
 
 Secondly.—I cannot concur with you in opinion, 
 that any man ought to use, or possess such a power 
 over those serving under him.* The only difficulty 
 of supporting my opinion on this subject by argument 
 is, that so simple and elementary a principle of 
 justice, would rather be obscured than illustrated by 
 a statement of the reasons which instantly suggest 
 themselves in support of it. Those are indeed 
 official relations of such a nature, that it is necessary 
 to confine to the superior officer the right of dissolving 
 them at once, without assigning any cause whatever 
 * It was a moment of mutiny. 
 
to the sufferer. Thus, for example, a public officer 
 should be at liberty instantly to remove his private 
 secretary for mere incongruity of habits or temper, 
 or for the want of some peculiar talent, or qualifica¬ 
 tion, causes which, in such a relation, are of the ut¬ 
 most weight, but which could scarcely be drawn out 
 into a specific charge or statement. In such cases 
 this is mutually understood as the necessary condition 
 and tenure of the service; yet even in this intimate 
 and confidential relation, if the removal should be 
 made avowedly on the ground of misconduct, the 
 superior would be bound in common justice to explain 
 unreservedly, in what the imputed fault consisted. 
 If not, any man’s character and happiness might be 
 sacrificed by vague suspicion, and by surmises, infa¬ 
 mous in proportion to the station and character of 
 the accuser. 
 
 Thirdly.—1 cannot allow that the instructions 
 from me which you have quoted, absolve you from 
 this obligation. 
 
 On the contrary, I think they clearly impose it on 
 you, they declare your responsibility to the King, and 
 to Parliament. In Mr. llidout’s case notice was 
 given to you that an appeal was about to be made to 
 his Majesty ; To acquit yourself of the responsibility 
 which I declared you to owe to the King ; it became 
 incumbent on you to establish the fact, that Mr. 
 Ridout had merited the severe punishment which had 
 been inflicted on him. 
 
263 
 
 To substantiate that conclusion, it was necessary to 
 show that he had really been guilty of the offences 
 laid to his charge, and this could be proved only by 
 showing what he was alleged to have said or done 
 admitted of no satisfactory explanations, a result 
 which could not be established, until an opportunity 
 of making such explanation had been afforded to him. 
 
 Fourthly.—If I could admit that you were entitled 
 to inflict a punishment without a distinct statement 
 to the accused party, of the causes which had pro¬ 
 voked it, I should yet limit that admission to cases 
 in which an entire silence had been maintained. 
 
 Instead of this, however, you communicated to Mr. 
 Ridout a single charge which he contradicted, and 
 applied himself to disprove. 
 
 He was thus, l think, warranted in believing that, 
 if successful in refuting that accusation, his excul¬ 
 pation was complete. Finally, I thought that, in 
 what related to the Constitutional Reform Society, Mr. 
 Ridout’s defence was conclusive,* and I could not 
 therefore but doubt, whether he might not have been 
 
 * Mr. Ridout’s defence on this subject, far from being conclusive, 
 was a glaring quibble. He answered the accusation, that, by con¬ 
 stantly attending and speaking at a meeting, he appeared to be an 
 active member, by merely declaring that he was not an actual mem¬ 
 ber of the society ; and it was exactly because I knew he was not, 
 that I had applied to the Attorney-General on the subject This of¬ 
 ficer’s official opinion, that Mr. R. decidedly “ appeared to be an 
 active member,” I forwarded to the Colonial Office, who had it before 
 them while writing this despatch. 
 
equally successful in vindicating himself against the 
 other charges, if they had been made known to him. 
 
 For these reasons, I adhere to my first opinion, 
 that I was hound to exclude from my consideration 
 every allegation against Mr. Ridout, of which he had 
 not been apprised. 
 
 You, however, maintain that your despatch of the 
 12th of September ought to have satisfied me of the 
 truth of the accusation preferred in your secretary’s 
 letter of the 12th of July. Two reasons are assigned 
 for this conclusion. First, I had before me the 
 statement of your own conviction that the charge was 
 well founded; and, secondly, I knew that you haa 
 obtained a legal opinion to the same effect. 
 
 It would be more than superfluous to declare iny 
 perfect reliance on the accuracy of every assertion of 
 yours, respecting any matter of fact which has fallen 
 within your own personal observation ; neither is it 
 necessary for me to disclaim altogether the idea of 
 impeaching, in any degree, the legal knowledge or 
 the talents of the Attorney-General. But neither 
 you nor the Attorney-General offered vourselves as 
 witnesses to the matter of fact, namely, whether-Mr. 
 Ridout was or was not a member of the Constitu- 
 ional Reform Society. You laid claim to no personal 
 knowledge * of his conduct in reference to that body. 
 
 * I told the Government that he constantly attended and harangued 
 the meeting ; this was notorious. Surely her Majesty's Government 
 did not mean to insist that I ought to have acquired personal know - 
 ledge of the fact by attending the meeting myself! 
 
265 
 
 The Attorney-General was quoted, not as a witness 
 of the fact, but only as an interpreter of the law. 
 Consequently, notwithstanding the strong dissent 
 which you have expressed, I must continue to think 
 that the authority of Stewart, though a common 
 carpenter, when speaking on his oath respecting an 
 occurrence which passed in his own presence and hear¬ 
 ing, is entitled to much more weight on the question 
 of fact than can be assigned to the opinion even of 
 the Attorney, who appears to have had not the 
 slightest personal knowledge * of what took place at 
 the meeting. This is a conclusion to which, in so 
 far as regards the facts in question, no one, I am 
 inclined to think, would more readily subscribe than 
 the Attorney-General himself. 
 
 From your despatch of the 6th of February, I 
 now, however, for the first time, learn that Mr. 
 Ridout’s removal from office was recommended by 
 the Executive Council, and I further learn that they 
 adhere to their original opinion. 
 
 On this subject I have to state that I have never 
 expressed, nor do I now entertain, any judgment 
 opposed to theirs; on the contrary, I entirely agree 
 with them that the various ads of misconduct ascribed 
 to Mr. Ridout, in your despatch of the 12th of J)e- 
 
 * The Attorney-General did not attend these meetings, but, in 
 consequence of my calling upon him for his opinion, he made neces¬ 
 sary inquiries of those who had been present, and who had witnessed 
 Mr. Ridout's behaviour there. 
 
266 
 
 comber, and still more fully stated in your despatch 
 of the 6th of February, are such as would, it substan¬ 
 tiated on proper inquiry, justify the very severe 
 penalty inflicted on him. 
 
 If I am to understand the Council as thinking that 
 such an inquiry was needless, I must, with whatever 
 reluctance, differ from them. The grounds ot that 
 difference I have already in part explained ; but I must 
 add that, if there be any one class of public officers 
 in whose case it is especially incumbent on the 
 Executive Government to proceed with caution, cir¬ 
 cumspection, and with a strict observance of all the 
 essential forms of proceeding on such occasions, it is 
 the class of those who are intrusted with the admi 
 nistration of justice. 
 
 In avowing my opinion that the matters laid to the 
 charge of Mr. Ridout would, if established, justify his 
 dismission, I wish to be understood as not referring to 
 the intemperate terms in which he addressed you after 
 his removal from office ; much allowance in to he 
 made for natural feelings, under a sense of supposed 
 injury. It is to the other allegations that my remark 
 applies. It is, I can assure you, painful to me to 
 take any course of conduct which may aggravate the 
 difficulties of your situation, yet I feel myself bound, 
 by the panunount obligations of justice, still to with¬ 
 hold my approbation of the measures adopted in Mr. 
 Ridout’s case. On the other hand, his restitution to 
 office may, 1 think, be properly made to depend upon 
 
267 
 
 liis ability to exculpate himself from the various 
 charges preferred against him in your despatches of 
 the 12th of September and 6th of February. To 
 this extent the instructions conveyed to you in my 
 despatch ol the 29th ot November are withdrawn 
 and qualified. Further than this it is impossible for 
 me to advance. You will, therefore, in whatever 
 mode you shall think best, put Mr. Ridout in posses¬ 
 sion ol those accusations, and, alter weighing his 
 answers, and the evidence by which it may be sup¬ 
 ported, you will communicate to me the result. 
 
 I cannot close my answer-to your despatch of the 
 6th of February without adverting to some of the 
 general topics to which you have there taken occa¬ 
 sion to advert. 
 
 You complain that the GLovernor’s official explana¬ 
 tory despatches have been treated by me in this case 
 as mere hearsay evidence, which must not affect the 
 merits of the case. I may perhaps misunderstand 
 the precise meaning of this remark, but if it be that 
 statements made by a Governor to me on the au¬ 
 thority of third persons are entitled to the same 
 weight as if they referred to facts of which he was 
 the personal observer and witness, I can only say 
 that I am not aware of any reason which would justify 
 me in so regarding them. 
 
 If I might interpret some other passages of your 
 despatch, you understand me to have authorised you 
 to dismiss from office any person who should openly 
 
268 
 
 or latently oppose your policy. If you will again 
 refer to the instructions which you have thus quoted, 
 you will perceive that the officers to whom I referred 
 were not of the class to which Mr. Ridout belonged, 
 but persons whose public offices bring them into a 
 confidential or immediate connexion with your ad¬ 
 ministration of the affairs of the province. I cer¬ 
 tainly never contemplated that every officer of the 
 militia, every district judge, and every justice of the 
 peace, should hold his office on the condition of being 
 dismissed if he should happen to oppose the policy 
 of the Lieutenant-Governor for the time being. To 
 urge the rule which I have laid down to such con¬ 
 sequences is at once to misapprehend my meaning, 
 and to establish a principle which would bring almost 
 every gentleman in the province into such relations 
 with the local Government as no man of independent 
 character and principles could be expected or desired 
 to maintain. The instructions to which you have 
 referred were intended to apply (and I think that 
 intention sufficiently manifest) to those high and 
 confidential officers of your Government only with 
 whom you are habitually brought into confidential 
 intercourse upon the general interests of the province. 
 If there be any ambiguity in my instructions to you, 
 which I do not perceive, you will hereafter under¬ 
 stand them in this limited sense only. 
 
 You further express your expectation that the 
 “ mere expression of your opinion of the absolute 
 
 
 
necessity for the dismissal of any person from office 
 whom, from your local knowledge, you deemed hostile 
 to the British constitution, would have carried with 
 it infinitely more weight than the individual’s denial 
 of his own guilt.” From this and other passages in 
 your despatch, I infer that you regard the Secretary 
 of State as virtually bound to adopt your opinions in 
 individual cases as conclusive, even upon an appeal 
 against your decision. But such is not my estimate 
 of the duties of my office: I act under a strict and 
 effective responsibility to the King and to Parliament. 
 Of every measure which I take, or which, when 
 taken by others, I approve, I must be prepared to 
 produce the vindication. But I should ill acquit 
 myself of that duty il I attempted to rest my justifi¬ 
 cation on an implicit confidence in the judgment of 
 the officer against whose acts an appeal had been 
 brought before me. Cherishing as I do the strongest 
 presumption in favour of every decision of yours, I 
 must yet, as often as your sentence is impeached, 
 examine into the merits of the question with strict 
 impartiality, and with a jealousy of those preposses¬ 
 sions in favour of your opinions from which I can 
 never be exempt. In our relative position in his 
 Majesty’s service, I could not act on any other prin¬ 
 ciple without abandoning my duty to the King and 
 to his Majesty’s subjects, and I trust that, on your 
 part, the just and lively estimate which you have 
 formed of the importance and responsibility of your 
 
270 
 
 own duties will be combined with a due allowance 
 fox 1 the not less ai-duous and responsible nature of 
 mine. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) Glenelg. 
 
 Extracts from a Despatch to the Right Honour¬ 
 able the Lord Glenelg, dated 5th April, 1837, 
 No. 41. 
 
 My Loud, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a 
 copy of a Gazette Extraordinary, by which it will 
 appear that I have made the following appointments, 
 until the King’s pleasure be made known. 
 
 Robert S. Jameson, Esq., Vice-Chancellor ; 
 
 Archibald M'Lean and Jonas Jones, Esquires, 
 Judges in the Court of King’s Bench ; 
 
 Christopher Alexander Hagerman, Esq., Attor¬ 
 ney-General ; and 
 
 William Henry Draper, Esq., Solicitor-General. 
 
 As regards Mr. Hagerman I can say that I 
 have not been in the habit of seeing or consulting him, 
 excepting on such cases as have especially belonged 
 to his station, and accordingly, during the whole of last 
 session of the Legislature, I did not, I think, send for 
 him ioui times. Mr. Hagerman’s claims, as brought 
 
 under my consideration, are shortly as follow:_ 
 
 He was present at the actions of Chrystler’s farm— 
 the taking of Oswego and in several engagements on 
 
271 
 
 the Niagara frontier during the year 1814, and was 
 recommended for a gold medal by Sir Gordon Drum¬ 
 mond, on whose staff he served as provincial aide-de- 
 camp. He was first elected representative for the 
 town of Kingston in 1826 ; since that period he has 
 been three times returned, and has held the situation 
 of Solicitor-General nearly eight years. 
 
 On the 30th November, 1829, Sir John Col- 
 borne received from Sir George Murray a despatch, 
 No. 48, relating to the disappointment which Mr. 
 Hagerman had experienced in consequence of not 
 having been confirmed by His Majesty in the office 
 of judge, to which he had been temporarily appointed 
 on the removal of Mr. Willis, of which the following 
 is an extract:— 
 
 “ At the same time I readily admit that the case, as 
 regards Mr. Hagerman, is one of some hardship, and I have 
 to request you will assure that gentleman that I regret ex¬ 
 tremely that he should have suffered any inconvenience in 
 consequence of the arrangements which I felt it my duty to 
 recommend, and that I shall be very ready, at a future 
 opportunity, to give his claims every consideration.” 
 
 I believe Mr. Hagerman to be warmly and en¬ 
 thusiastically attached to the British Constitution, 
 and to the connexion of this province, of which he is 
 a native, with the mother-country ; I consider him 
 to have been a faithful servant of the Crown. The 
 assertion of his principles has continually drawn upon 
 
272 
 
 him in the House of Assembly the whole fire of the 
 Republicans; and in these actions, although he has 
 shown considerable powers of defence, he has occa¬ 
 sionally evinced an impetuosity which it would have 
 been prudent to have restrained. I believe, how¬ 
 ever, that liis moral character is respected even by 
 his opponents ; and therefore, on the whole, con¬ 
 sidering that no just reason existed why, on the 
 promotion of the Attorney-General, he should not be 
 appointed as his successor, I felt it to be my duty to 
 name him as such until the King’s pleasure should 
 be known. 
 
 Having submitted to your Lordship the grounds 
 upon which 1 have made the appointments in ques¬ 
 tion, I think it proper to state that it is with un¬ 
 feigned regret I have omitted to recommend to your 
 Lordship’s notice the name of Mr. Bid well. That gen¬ 
 tleman’s legal acquirements are, I consider, superior 
 to at least one of the individuals whom I have elevated. 
 His moral character is irreproachable, and though he 
 was ostensibly the leader of a party who have offered 
 me every possible insult and indignity, yet I can assure 
 your Lordship that I entertain towards Mr. Bidwell 
 no feeling of animosity; and that, even if I could 
 desire to triumph over a person whom I have pub¬ 
 licly disarmed of his power to oppose me, I should 
 feel that that triumph would be infinitely more grate¬ 
 ful to his Majesty by forgiveness than by revenge. 
 
273 
 
 But, anxious as I am to give to talent its due, yet I 
 cannot but feel that the welfare and honour of this 
 province depend on Jus Majesty never promoting a 
 disloyal man. 
 
 Divested of all its objectionable language, Mr. 
 Bid well's object (so far as it could be elicited by the 
 conduct of his associates) was to separate this colony 
 from the parent state; to create disaffection for the 
 paternal government of the King, and, by forming an 
 alliance with Mr. Papineau’s party in Lower Canada, 
 to exchange the British constitution for the low, 
 grovelling principles of democracy. 
 
 I therefore considered that publicly to elevate 
 Mr. Bidwell to the Bench would deprive me of the 
 respect and confidence of this country ; and I believe 
 your Lordship will agree with me in opinion, that, 
 where a man acts with disloyal associates, his talents 
 aggravate, rather than extenuate his offence. 
 
 Having afforded your Lordship all the inform¬ 
 ation in my power respecting the law appointments 
 I have made, it only remains for me respectfully 
 to express my hope that his Majesty will be gra¬ 
 ciously pleased to confirm them. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s 
 Most obedient humble Servant, 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 t 
 
~ 
 
 274 
 
 No. 200. 
 
 Downing Street , July 14 th, 1837. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have had the honour to receive your despatch of 
 the 5th of April last, No. 41, enclosing the copy of 
 a gazette extraordinary, notifying certain legal ap¬ 
 pointments which you had made, in conformity with 
 an Act passed by the Legislature of Upper Canada, 
 during the last session. The public events which 
 have occurred since my receipt of that Act have 
 hitherto rendered it impossible to submit it for the 
 Royal sanction. But I trust that I shall have it in my 
 power to communicate to you the Queen s pleasure 
 respecting it at an early period- In the mean time 
 her Majesty commands me to express her approbation 
 of the appointment of Mr. Jameson to be Vice Chan¬ 
 cellor, and of Messrs. A. Maclean and Jonas Jones 
 to be Judges in the Court of Queen’s Bench, and I 
 shall take an early opportunity of transmitting to you 
 the necessary warrants under the royal sign manual 
 
 conferring those appointments. 
 
 The selection of Mr. Hagerman to be Attorney- 
 General appears to be more open to question. I 
 am fully prepared to admit, as a general rule, the 
 claim of the Solicitor-General not to be passed over 
 in any new arrangements such as those to which 
 your despatch refers, and I am of opinion that such a 
 claim should not be set aside without some strong 
 and paramount reason. I am also willing to give the 
 
275 
 
 greatest weight to the representations which you have 
 addressed to me in Mr. Hagerman’s favour, founded 
 both on his private character and public merit. It 
 is, however, essential that the gentleman who fills the 
 high and x'esponsible office of Attorney-General 
 should hold opinions on cpiestions of general policy, 
 and relating to the administration of the affairs ol 
 the province, in unison with those of the Executive 
 Government. 
 
 I have no reason to doubt that you have received 
 the utmost support and co-operation from the Solici- 
 toi General, but I am bound to add that, if the senti¬ 
 ments ascribed to Mr. Hagerman in the resolutions, 
 a copy ot which I have the honour to enclose, be 
 leally entertained by him, and have been publicly ex¬ 
 pressed by him in his place as a member of the pro¬ 
 vincial Legislature during the last session, a very 
 wide difference exists between his view and that of 
 her Majesty’s Government, supported by the opinion 
 given by the Law Officers of the Crown in 1819, as 
 to the rights of the Church of Scotland in Upper 
 Canada under the Act of 1791 * As these resolu- 
 
 The offensive sentiment which Mr. Hagerman, in a most angry 
 discussion in the House of Assembly, is accused of having uttered, 
 was as follows:—*■ The Church of England is the Established Church, 
 the Roman Catholic Church is an Established Church, but the 
 Church of Scotland is no more an Established Church than that of 
 any other dissenting body in the province.”—Mr. Hagerman denies 
 having uttered these words. 
 
 T 2 
 
tions have been transmitted to me by an individual 
 member of the General Assembly ot the Church ot 
 Scotland, and as I have not received any information 
 from you on the subject, I am willing to hope that 
 some misapprehension may have existed as to the 
 real nature of the language employed by Mr. Ha- 
 german. I shall therefore suspend my opinion as to 
 the propriety of his advancement to the office of 
 Attorney-General, until he shall have had an oppor¬ 
 tunity of offering any explanation which he may 
 desire to give with reference to this subject. You 
 will communicate to Mr. Hagerman a copy of so 
 much of this despatch as relates to him, together with 
 a copy of the enclosed paper. 
 
 There is another subject noticed in your despatch, 
 to which it is necessary that 1 should advert. You 
 state that it has been with unfeigned regret that you 
 have omitted to recommend for one of the new legal 
 appointments Mr. Hid well, whose professional talents 
 you consider superior to those of at least one of the 
 gentlemen selected by you, while his character is ir¬ 
 reproachable. You observe, however, that Mr. Bid- 
 well’s object, “ so far as it could be elicited by the 
 conduct of his associates,” was to separate Upper 
 Canada from the parent state, and you claim my 
 assent to the proposition, that, “ where a man acts 
 with disloyal associates, his talents aggravate rather 
 than extenuate his offence.” I need not assure you 
 of the great weight which I attach to any opinion re- 
 
277 
 
 specting the affairs of Upper Canada deliberately 
 expressed by you, and I have accordingly felt bound 
 in the present instance to defer to your judgment 
 lelative to Mr. Bidwell. But, considering that the 
 disloyalty which is imputed to Mr. Bidwell’s asso¬ 
 ciates is not charged against himself, or attempted 
 to be proved by any act of his ;* that lie has, for the 
 present at least, withdrawn himself from political 
 strife; and that his legal abilities and high moral cha¬ 
 racter are acknowledged and respected even by his 
 political opponents; I cannot regard the part which 
 hef formerly took in local politics as an insuperable 
 barrier to his future advancement in his profession. 
 On the contrary, adverting to the general estimate of 
 his qualifications for a seat on the Bench, it appears 
 to me that the public interests would be promoted by 
 securing his services; nor would it be of slight im¬ 
 portance to convince the inhabitants of Upper Canada 
 that, in the selections lor judicial offices, the Execu- 
 tive Government is actuated by no other feeling than 
 an anxiety to promote the welfare of all classes of 
 hei Majesty s subjects. If, therefore, as you appeal' 
 to anticipate, another vacancy should occur among 
 the Judges ol the Court of King’s Bench, it is the 
 
 * See the insulting accusations made against me to the King and 
 to the House of Commons (page 81), both signed Marshal Sjrring 
 Bidwell . 
 
 •i* Mr. Bidwell's opposition to monarchial institutions had not 
 ceased. 
 
278 
 
 wish of her Majesty’s Government that the situation 
 should he offered to Mr. Bidwell, and they will hear 
 with much pleasure that he has accepted it. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Glenelg. 
 
 No. 99. 
 
 Government House, Toronto, 10 th Sept., 1837. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of the following 
 despatches, which I have had the honour to receive 
 from your Lordship. 
 
 1st. Despatch No. 158, dated 5th April, 1837, 
 repeating to me that the reasons I submitted to your 
 Lordship for having removed Judge Ridout from 
 office appear to your Lordship inadequate, and that 
 your Lordship still withholds your approbation of 
 the measures adopted in Mr. Ridout’s case. 
 
 2nd. Despatch No. 200, dated 14th July, 1837, 
 informing me that your Lordship has not been pleased 
 to confirm the appointments of the Attorney and So¬ 
 licitor General, which on the 5tli of April last I had 
 the honour to notify to your Lordship in a Gazette 
 extraordinary, but that it is the wish of her Majesty’s 
 Government that the situation of Judge of the Court 
 of King’s Bench should, in case of an expected 
 vacancy, be offered to Marshal Spring Bidwell, the 
 Speaker of the late House of Assembly, the leader of 
 
279 
 
 the Republicans in this province, and the fellow- 
 labourer and correspondent of Mr. Speaker Pa- 
 pineau. 
 
 As, after very deliberate consideration, I have deter¬ 
 mined to take upon myselt the serious responsibility 
 of positively refusing to place Mr. Bid well on the 
 Bench, or to restore Mr. George Ridout to tile 
 Judgeship from which I have removed him, I feel it 
 my duty, not only respectfully to explain to your 
 Lordship the reason of my conduct, but frankly to 
 disclose to your Lordship opinions and sentiments 
 which, being hostile to the policy of the Colonial 
 Office, ought not to be withheld from j our Lord- 
 ship. 
 
 I feel confident that your Lordship will, with the 
 equanimity which distinguishes your character, calmly 
 listen to the observations I am about to make, and I 
 can assure your Lordship that at the present instant 
 there is no feeling more strongly impressed in my 
 own mind, than that, in the utterance of strong opi¬ 
 nions which I feel most deeply, I may not be led 
 away to use an expression which can in any way be 
 considered as evincing a want of that respect which 
 is justly due to your Lordship, as well as to the high 
 station you hold. 
 
 My declining, or, in plain terms, my refusing , to 
 carry your Lordship’s orders into effect, would, I am 
 aware, commonly be considered as an overt act of 
 hostility, but when it is considered that the popula- 
 
280 
 
 tion of our colonies amounts to 99,000,000 of people 
 scattered over thirty-five portions of the globe, it must 
 he evident that their prosperity depends, not only on 
 the Colonial Minister commanding what he deems to 
 be right, but on the Colonial Governors refusing, at 
 their peril, to execute what they conscientiously be¬ 
 lieve to be wrong. 
 
 In a conflict of this nature, it does not therefore 
 necessarily follow that disobedience in a Lieutenant- 
 Governor is disaffection to the Minister; and, although 
 I am sensible that your Lordship has power abruptly 
 to terminate such objection on my part by immediate 
 dismissal, yet I have no observations to offer on that 
 subject, as it is my own duty, and not your Lordship’s, 
 that I am at present desirous to perform. 
 
 My Lord, in my despatch, dated 18th Nov. last, 
 (page 204,1 I respectfully informed your Lordship 
 “ that, in my humble opinion, the whole blame of the 
 dissensions which exist in the Canadas rests neither 
 upon the surface of the country, nor upon the morals 
 of the people, but on the conciliatory measures which, 
 under successive administrations, have been unremit¬ 
 tingly applied by the Colonial Office.” 
 
 I stated to your Lordship that “ the British popu¬ 
 lation of the Canadas, the Chief Justice, the Law 
 Officers of the Crown, and every faithful public 
 servant were of this opinion ; and that, although her 
 Majesty were suddenly to arrive in the Canadas, there 
 was no one of those I had enumerated Avho M ould 
 
281 
 
 not be proud to follow her with devotion from Niagara 
 to Quebec; yet that, if a representative of our colonial 
 policy were to appear here, “ I declared to your Lord- 
 ship ” that, in my opinion, “ he would be seen to tra¬ 
 verse the Canadas alone.” 
 
 In this statement I communicated to your Lordship 
 the truth, but not the viholc truth. Your Lordship’s 
 late despatches oblige me to supply the deficiency. 
 
 My Lord, there exists in this country no personal 
 feeling against your Lordship, but the loyal British 
 population of the Canadas loudly complain that there 
 exists in the colonial department an invisible over¬ 
 ruling influence, which either favours the introduc¬ 
 tion of republican principles as productive, in theory, 
 “ of the greatest happiness to the greatest number,” 
 or, acting under the mistaken persuasion that demo¬ 
 cracy must inevitably prevail over this continent, 
 deems it politic to clear the way for its introduction, 
 rather than attempt to oppose its progress ; in short, 
 it has for many years been generally believed that 
 however loyal may be the head of the colonial de¬ 
 partment, its heart is in favour, not only of repub¬ 
 lican institutions, but of the expediency of assisting 
 rather than of retarding the launching our North 
 American Colonies into that vast ocean of democracy, 
 upon which the United States, the cable of their 
 public credit having snapped, are at this moment 
 driving without rudder or compass. 
 
 If a statement of the above opinions were to reach 
 
282 
 
 your Lordship anonymously, or bearing the signature 
 of a few individuals, or even of a large body ol indi¬ 
 viduals, it would, of course, be cast aside as con¬ 
 temptible ; but your Lordship, whose attachment to 
 the British Constitution is well known, will, I con¬ 
 ceive, be startled when I tell you, not only that the 
 British population of the Canadas partake largely of 
 this opinion, but that I, her Majesty’s representative 
 in this province, am of that opinion; that the late 
 Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Colborue, who had 
 eight years’ experience, is of that opinion; that Lieu¬ 
 tenant-General Sir Peregrine Maitland, who as Lieu¬ 
 tenant-Governor, had ten years’ experience, is ol that 
 opinion; I believe Lord Aylmer, Lord Dalhousie, 
 Sir A. Campbell (the late Lieutenant-Governor of 
 New Brunswick), to be of that opinion ; and, more¬ 
 over, that if the Lieutenant-Governors of all the Bri¬ 
 tish Colonies were to be examined by your Lordship, 
 their testimony would, generally speaking, substan¬ 
 tiate rather than deny what I have stated. 
 
 If your Lordship believes the statement I have 
 made, the concurrent opinions I have quoted must be 
 conclusive; if, on the other hand, your Lordship doubts 
 the accuracy of my statement, I beg your Lordship 
 to examine the witnesses, whose names 1 have sub¬ 
 mitted to you. I have had no communication with 
 any of them, but from the seat of Government of this 
 province, where the seutiments of my predecessors 
 are recorded, I clearly see what is passing before my 
 
283 
 
 eyes, I plainly hear what is sounding in everybody’s 
 ears. 
 
 Your Lordship must, of course, be aware, that a 
 monarchy may be mechanically lowered into a re¬ 
 public by means of an inclined plane, the angle of 
 which may be so acute, that the surface to a common 
 observer appears to be level; but lest this metaphor 
 should not be clear to your Lordship, I will state in 
 still plainer terms, that the way to convert a monar¬ 
 chy into a republic, is to take every opportunity to 
 subtract power from the Crown, in order to add or 
 give it to the people. 
 
 I\ow, it must be evident to your Lordship, that this 
 arrangement may be practically effected by a secret 
 influence, which it may be almost impossible to detect, 
 for instance, there may be appointed to the Govern¬ 
 ment of her Majesty’s Colonies a series of military 
 men, each ignorant of the principles of civil govern¬ 
 ment, as well as unacquainted with the various classes 
 of society of which it is composed. During their ini¬ 
 tiation to their new professions, every encouragement 
 may be given at your Lordship’s oflice to representa¬ 
 tions arriving there from any portion of “ the people 
 while, on the other hand, every possible discourage¬ 
 ment may be given to the friends and supporters of 
 monarchy. A man, asking for concessions, may 
 invariably be represented to your Lordship as highly 
 intelligent and respectable ; a man stanchly re¬ 
 commending their refusal, may be termed politically 
 biassed. 
 
*284 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governors, observing that they are 
 applauded whenever they concede any thing to the 
 House of Assembly, and that, somehow or other, 
 they invariably get themselves into difficulty when¬ 
 ever they support the Legislative Council, may, for 
 a long time, be led unconsciously to do what all mi¬ 
 litary men are naturally disposed to do, namely, 
 recklessly to carry into effect the spirit of their in¬ 
 structions. 
 
 So long as they do this, they may peacefully enjoy 
 their stations; but when experience in their new 
 professions opens their eyes,—when reflection staggers 
 their judgment,—when beginning to perceive that 
 concessions to what is falsely called “ the people” 
 increase rather than satiate the appetite,—they appeal 
 to the Colonial Office, and, in language military rather 
 than diplomatic, bid them “ be firm” then, and from 
 that moment, they may immediately find themselves 
 unaccountably afflicted with a sweating sickness, 
 which is a sure precursor of their removal. The lan¬ 
 guage of praise ceases to cheer them,—they may re¬ 
 ceive slight rebukes,—objections maybe raised to the 
 appointments which they make,—people who oppose 
 them in the colony may be raised to distinction,—any 
 trifling disputes in which they may be involved may 
 invariably be decided against them,—their tiny autho¬ 
 rity in the colony may continually be shaken, until, 
 by a repetition of petty circumstances, which mortify 
 rather than offend, they may become disgusted with 
 their duty, they may intemperately proffer their re- 
 
285 
 
 situation, a new man may be appointed, and the 
 same process may be renewed. 
 
 Tiie whole of these circumstances may occur, the 
 democratic power may gradually be increased, the 
 influence of the executive may gradually be dimi¬ 
 nished, the whole loyal population may become in¬ 
 dignant at observing their inevitable declination to¬ 
 wards democracy, and yet there may be no particular 
 moment, or no one particular circumstance sufficiently 
 strong to arouse the Colonial Minister to a knowledge 
 of the dreadful fact, that the tendency of his own 
 office is republican, and that, while all on its surface 
 is seen flowing towards the throne, a strong under¬ 
 current is absolutely carrying everything away from 
 it! 
 
 The case I have just sketched may be merely one 
 ot imagination; but I beg your Lordship to keep it in 
 mind, as I bring before your patient consideration the 
 following statements and observations :— 
 
 My Lord, on my assuming the government of this 
 province, I was desired by your Lordship to consider 
 as the guide of my proceedings Lord Gosford’s in¬ 
 structions, in which were contained the following 1 
 words:—“ In every part of the instructions with 
 which, either as Chief Commissioner or as Governor, 
 you are charged, conciliation, and the reconcilement 
 of all past gi-ievances, are studiously presented as the 
 great object of your mission.” 
 
 Being convinced that the concessions which had 
 
286 
 
 been made in our colonies to the advocates ot demo¬ 
 cracy had been the sole cause of the disturbances in 
 the Canadas, I, very shortly after iny arrival here, ex¬ 
 pressed myself to your Lordship as follows : 
 
 “ The more seriously I contemplate the political 
 tranquillity of this province, the more stedlastly am I 
 convinced in my opinion, that cool, stern, decisive, un- 
 conciliatory measures form the most popular system 
 of government that can be exercised towards the tree 
 and high-minded inhabitants of the Canadas. 
 
 I need not observe to your Lordship that it is im¬ 
 possible for two systems to be more diametrically 
 opposed to each other than that prescribed to Loid 
 Gosford and that which I had determined to pursue. 
 
 I had not the slightest intention to rebel against 
 what I considered to be your Lordships policy, 
 (namely, the maintenance of the King’s authority in 
 the Canadas,) but, being convinced that this object 
 could only be obtained by the means I have ex¬ 
 plained, I did not hesitate to inform your Lordship 
 of the course I had deliberately determined to pur¬ 
 sue. 
 
 My policy having been shortly explained, I beg 
 leave to bring before your Lordship’s mind the fol¬ 
 lowing sketch of my principles, as they have been 
 avowed to your Lordship in my various despatches. 
 
 [Long extracts of my despatches are here quoted, which, 
 having been already submitted to the reader, it would be 
 tedious to repeat.] 
 
287 
 
 I have now recapitulated to your Lordship a plain 
 statement of the policy and principles which have 
 regulated my proceedings; and, without advocating 
 any political theory, I only refer to the practical 
 result of the conciliatory system which has been 
 adopted in Lower Canada, and of the non-conciliatory 
 system which has been adopted in Upper Canada, 
 and respectfully say to your Lordship, “ Look on 
 this picture and on that!” 
 
 As far as regards your Lordship’s approbation of 
 my services, I have every reason to be grateful for 
 the terms in which it has been expressed, and for the 
 distinction which his late Majesty has graciously 
 conferred upon me; but I have now arrived at the 
 point of my narrative in which I think it will appear 
 what sort of reception my principles and policy have 
 met with from the Colonial Office. 
 
 [Long extracts of my despatches, all complaining of 
 want of support, are here quoted, but, as they have been 
 
 already before the reader, it would be tedious to repeat 
 them.] 
 
 It being very desirable that I should secure the 
 services of my Presiding Councillor, the Honourable 
 R. B. Sullivan, a lawyer of considerable eminence, 
 who of course could not devote to me his whole time 
 for the councillor’s salary of 100/. a-year, I gave him 
 an appointment, which, as he immediately quitted his 
 profession, I requested might be confirmed. A tech¬ 
 nical objection was immediately raised in your Lord- 
 
288 
 
 ship’s office to this recommendation ; and, though I 
 earnestly repeated it, Mr. Sullivan’s appointment lias 
 not, at the expiration of fourteen months, even yet 
 been confirmed. 
 
 I have now to proceed to your Lordship’s despatch 
 No. 200, dated 14th July, 1837, in which I learn 
 that her Majesty’s Attorney and Solicitor-General ol 
 this province, both of whom were lately appointed by 
 me, have not been confirmed by your Lordship. My 
 Presiding Councillor, and both my law officers, thus 
 stand at this moment before the public in the equi¬ 
 vocal situation of having been countenanced by me, 
 and being discountenanced by the Colonial Office, 
 the moral of which evidently appears to the public 
 to be, that her Majesty’s Government has no confi¬ 
 dence in the Lieutenant-Governor of this province. 
 
 My Lord, I refer with satisfaction to the despatch 
 I had the honour to address to your Lordship on the 
 subject of the late law appointments, as my conscience 
 tells me that the difficult duty I was then called upon 
 to perform was executed with caution, reflection, and 
 strict impartiality. 
 
 With respect to the Attorney-General, whose feel¬ 
 ings at this moment must be suffering severely from 
 the indignity which has so publicly been offered to 
 him, I find from your Lordship’s despatch that, 
 although it is admitted that as the late Solicitor-Ge¬ 
 neral of this province he (Mr. Hagerman) had a 
 claim not to be passed over on the promotion of the 
 
289 
 
 Attorney-General, Mr. Jameson, to be Vice-Chan¬ 
 cellor (an appointment which your Lordship lias 
 confirmed), although your Lordship acknowledges 
 Mr. Hagerman’s public and private merit, as also 
 that as Solicitor-General he has afforded me the 
 utmost support and co-operation, yet, in spite of all 
 this, and I must respectfully add, in spite of the shock 
 which the marked disapproval of the Colonial Mi¬ 
 nister gives to my administration, yet Mr. Hager- 
 man’s promotion has been publicly stopped merely 
 because, in some resolutions passed by the congre¬ 
 gation of a single church, in a single town in this 
 province, it was printed in a newspaper that, in a reli¬ 
 gious discussion in the House of Assembly, he uttered 
 an opinion concerning the rights of the Church of 
 Scotland which was illegal. 
 
 o 
 
 My Lord, the story of Mr. Hagerman’s conduct 
 on the great subject of the clergy reserves was 
 shortly as follows: When that question was about 
 to be brought before the Assembly, I foresaw it 
 would give rise to a most angry debate, which would 
 probably end in nothing. I, therefore, although I 
 had no precise instructions on the subject, determined 
 to use all the influence in my power to help the ques¬ 
 tion to a conclusion; and I accordingly determined 
 to recommend that the reserves should be divided 
 among the churches ol England, Scotland, Rome, 
 and Wesleyan Methodists, in the proportions which 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 the population of those great sects relatively bear to 
 each other in the mother-country. 
 
 On submitting this abstract proposition to Mr. 
 Hagerman, he at once assented to the church of Eng¬ 
 land, the church of Scotland, and the Methodists 
 sharing the reserves ; but he avowed to me that, un¬ 
 less strong arguments were adduced, he could not 
 conscientiously be the advocate of the Roman Church. 
 The more I argued in favour of that part ot my 
 proposition, the more did Mr. Hagerman urge his 
 objections to it; and I can truly add, the more did I 
 respect him for doing so. He firmly adhered to his 
 opinion ; but he concluded by observing, that, though 
 he could not promise to vote in favour of the Catho¬ 
 lics, yet, for my sake, he would retire from opposing 
 their admission. 1 conceived that, on a question ot 
 conscience, Mr. Hagerman ought not to have done 
 more than he did. However, alter all, the proposal 
 never came to a division. 
 
 Finding that party-feeling was running so high 
 that it was impossible for any man breathing to 
 guide it, I became of opinion that it would be pru¬ 
 dent to abandon the contest by placing the reserves 
 at the disposal of his Majesty, or, in other words, by 
 reinvesting them in the Crown. This proposition I 
 explained to Mr. Hagerman, who brought it forward 
 in the House of Assembly, advocated it most ably, 
 and failed in carrying it only by one vote. 
 
291 
 
 The great discussion having thus failed, it was, 
 t erefore, abandoned in despair by all parties ; but a 
 memorial was addressed to the House of Assembly 
 by the ministers, elders, and congregation of Lan¬ 
 caster, in connexion with the Church of Scotland 
 complaining that « there appeared to have been an 
 organised system pursued by the different Provincial 
 Administrations, of thwarting them in the attainment 
 of their just and legal rights:" that the endow¬ 
 ment of the fifty-seven rectories was “ unjust, illegal 
 and unconstitutional and “ that your memorialists 
 complain especially of the power which the Act under 
 which these rectories have been established gives to 
 the Church of England, of lording it over our con¬ 
 sciences, and exercising a spiritual tyranny over us, 
 to which, as conscientiouly attached to the doctrine 
 discipline, and worship of the Presbyterian church 
 ice cannot submit." 
 
 It was impossible for any one acquainted with the 
 religious feelings which existed at that moment in 
 the House of Assembly to read the language of this 
 petition without foretelling that it would be produc¬ 
 tive of a violent religious debate : and, accordingly, 
 as soon as the subject was broached the conflict be¬ 
 gan. Sometimes the Scotch got uppermost—some¬ 
 times the English—but what was ejaculated by either 
 I believe no man living can declare. However, it 
 happened that Mr. M'Kenzie’s newspaper came out 
 next day, and, as he is not only a Scotchman, 
 
 n 2 
 
but one of Mr. Hagerman’s bitterest enemies, your 
 Lordship may easily conceive that Mr. Hagennan s 
 speech was purposely and mischievously made as 
 offensive as possible to the Scotch. As I never do 
 read the debates—which I know to be inaccurately 
 reported—I have not the most distant idea of what 
 was published on this subject, but I understand it 
 Avas transferred from Mr. M'Kenzie’s paper to 
 others; and the consequence Avas, that the congre¬ 
 gation of St. Andrew’s Church, in the town ot 
 Kingston, at an evening meeting, passed ten resolu¬ 
 tions, two of which censured the Solicitor-General, 
 Mr. Hagennan, for the incorrect statements and in- 
 temperate language lie had been declared to have 
 uttered respecting the church and clergy ot Scot¬ 
 land.* 
 
 I have noAV detailed to your Lordship Mr. Hager¬ 
 man’s conduct as regards the great question ot the 
 clergy reserves, and I cannot but feel most deeply 
 the treatment he has received. 
 
 Mr. Hagerman’s Avhole life in this province has 
 been one of loyalty to his Sovereign, and of national 
 attachment to the mother-country. 
 
 In the field, as Avell as on the floor of the House 
 
 * The words imputed to Mr. Hagerman—who denies to have 
 uttered them—were : “ The Church of England is the established 
 Church; the Roman Catholic Church is an established Church ; but 
 the Church of Scotland is no more an established Church than that 
 of any other dissenting body in the province.” 
 
oi Assembly, lie has done his duty; and while the 
 republican majority were against him, night after 
 night was he seen fearlessly standing as Solicitor- 
 General of the province against language which 
 would have disheartened almost any man. 
 
 On the promotion of the Attorney-General he na¬ 
 turally looked for distinction and reward ; but it is 
 sickening to the heart to observe that all his services 
 have been forgotten, that he has been publicly dis¬ 
 countenanced by the Government he had served, for 
 no other reason than because, by some channel or 
 other, a newspaper account oi a common religious 
 squabble was allowed to enter the Colonial Office ! 
 My Lord, this very man, M'Kenzie, who published 
 the statement to which I allude, is known to every 
 one to be the disseminator of falsehoods of the 
 grossest description, and I have no hesitation in say¬ 
 ing that no man’s character or promotion is safe in 
 this province if extracts from his newspaper are to 
 be received at the Colonial Office as evidence of 
 guilt.* But even supposing the speeches of the 
 
 "Asa specimen of Mr. M'Kenzies falsehoods, I may state that 
 one morning, while I was at Toronto, there appeared in his paper a 
 detailed account of my having been taken before a magistrate in the 
 province for horse-stealing. Minute circumstances were detailed, my 
 examination was given, and eventually the words by which it was 
 stated I had at last made myself known to the magistrate. 
 
 The story from beginning to end being a falsehood, Mr. M‘Kenzie 
 was asked how he could possibly have made such a statement, to 
 which he answered, “ Oh, it served my purpose /” which was, to 
 
294 
 
 members of the House of Assembly were correctly 
 reported, surely it cannot be desirable to establish as 
 a precedent that every word that in the heat of de¬ 
 bate may be uttered by a member on the floor of that 
 House, flies to the Colonial Office, to arise in judg¬ 
 ment against him, in case he be recommended for 
 reward. But in this particular case of Mr. Hagei 1 - 
 man’s a most singular circumstance has occurred. 
 The statement concerning the rectories submitted by 
 your Lordship for opinion to the crown officers of 
 England has completely overlooked Lord Bathurst’s 
 despatches, dated 2nd April, 1818, and 22nd July, 
 1825, which contain the very authority in question. 
 The decision of the crown officers ol England is 
 consequently erroneous; and, in reading the de¬ 
 spatches alluded to, your Lordship will at once per- 
 ceive that what they declare to be “ not valid or law¬ 
 ful ” is in fact both one and the other. This error 
 may throw the whole of this province into commotion, 
 and I mention this circumstance as a strong proof 
 that, as mistakes, even in deliberately written docu¬ 
 ments, must occasionally occur, how hard it is to 
 punish the Attorney-General of Upper Canada for an 
 illegal opinion, which is merely reported in a news¬ 
 paper to have escaped him in the anger of debate, 
 and which after all he denies to have uttered. 
 
 irculate the libel in the back woods. It however went much further, 
 J or it got into the London ‘Times’ newspaper, and consequently 
 went round the world. 
 
 \ 
 
295 
 
 I respectfully submit that your Lordship should 
 look to the Lieutenant-Governor, and not to the edi¬ 
 tors ot provincial newspapers, for the fitness and 
 character of an Attorney-General to the Crown. 
 
 I have already stated to your Lordship that I have 
 only official acquaintance with Mr. Hagenuan, but I 
 deeply feel for him, because I know him to have 
 served faithfully, and it is my duty to protect those 
 who have honestly served the King’s Government. 
 
 Of the Solicitor-General, W. LI. Draper, who is 
 also another public sufferer from this newspaper 
 leport, I have but little to say, as your Lordship has 
 just had an opportunity of judging for yourself how 
 far the description I had given to your Lordship of 
 that gentleman was correct. He has said not one 
 word to me on the subject of his appointment as 
 Solicitor-General not having been confirmed, but I 
 know that he must feel deeply mortified. 
 
 As far as regards my government, the non-confirm¬ 
 ation of my law officers shakes it to the founda¬ 
 tion it encourages the republicans—it disheartens 
 the constitutionalists. 
 
 The despatch in which your Lordship informs me 
 of the reasons which have arrested the appointments 
 of the Attorney and Solicitor-General of this province 
 concludes by your Lordship announcing to me the 
 desire of her Majesty’s Government that Mr. Marshal 
 Spring Bidwell, the leader of the republican party of 
 this province, should, contrary to my recommendation, 
 be raised to the bench ! 
 
296 
 
 My Lord, among the various difficult duties which 
 I am called upon to perforin, there is no one which 
 requires cooler judgment than the impartial selection 
 of individuals for office : the duty is at all times in¬ 
 vidious, but there is no part of it more painful to my 
 feelings than the bad custom which exists of giving a 
 description of the various individuals to her Majesty’s 
 Government; and I have often almost determined to 
 request that, so long as confidence be reposed in me, 
 my appointments may be confirmed on the faith of my 
 recommendation. 
 
 To describe behind his back the character of eve 17 
 individual selected for office, as well as rejected by 
 me—to point out the qualifications of the one, and to 
 record for ever the failings of the other—is an occu¬ 
 pation revolting to my feelings; for, however violently 
 a man may have opposed the King's Government, to 
 paint all his faults, to delineate all his weaknesses, 
 and to make accusations against him, which I know 
 he has no power to contradict, is a service which 1 
 think no man of honour should ever be called upon 
 to perform. In the case of Mr. Bid well, I drew his 
 character to your Lordship with a light, and I must 
 say a feeling hand ; I wished to avoid saying more 
 ol him than was absolutely necessary to show your 
 Lordship that I had sufficient reasons for not having 
 selected him for promotion. 
 
 1 accordingly acknowledged Mr. Bidwell’s ability 
 and moral character, but added, “ yet , anxious as 1 
 am to give totalent its due, I cannot but feel that 
 

 297 
 
 the welfare and honour of this 'province depend on his 
 Majesty never promoting a disloyal man.” 
 
 “I therefore consider that publicly to elevate Mr. 
 liidwell to the bench, would deprive me of the respect 
 und confidence of the people of this province.” 
 
 I certainly considered that the whole tenor of my 
 observations respecting Mr. Bidwell would have sa¬ 
 tisfied he Majesty’s Government that, in not select¬ 
 ing him for promotion, I had reluctantly performed 
 a necessary duty: however, having failed in my ex¬ 
 pectations, I have now to detail to your Lordship 
 circumstances respecting this gentleman which it is 
 most painful to me to record. 
 
 Mr. Bidwell’s father, who was a prominent mem¬ 
 ber in Congress, was long distinguished in the United 
 States for his detestation of Great Britain. After 
 having taken the oath of allegiance to llie Re¬ 
 public, and of abjured allegiance to the Crown of 
 England, it became necessary for him, on account of 
 c nduct hichl need not relate, to abscond from jus¬ 
 tice ; and being, in consequence, outlawed by the 
 States, he became an inhabitant of Upper Canada. 
 
 On being called upon by Sir Gordon Drummond, 
 during the invasion of this country by the Americans, 
 to take the oath of allegiance to our Sovereign, he at 
 first refused, claiming to be a natural-born British 
 subject; but, it being resolutely required of him, he 
 did so, protesting, however, to the magistrate, that 
 the oath was not binding, inasmuch as it had been 
 
299 
 
 the people of this province as being “ little better 
 than a country of rogues and fools." 
 
 Not satisfied with this, Mr. Bidwell, on the last 
 night of the session, presented to the House of As¬ 
 sembly a traitorous communication addressed to him 
 from his fellow-labourer and colleague Mr. Speaker 
 Papineau. 
 
 This letter impeached the King’s ministers, ac¬ 
 cused your Lordship of “ arrogance,” termed the 
 Royal Commissioners the King’s “ deceitful agents," 
 and was altogether of a purely rebellious character. 
 On my dissolving the parliament and appealing to 
 the people of Upper Canada for redress, they com¬ 
 pletely overturned the republican party in general, 
 and Mr. Bidwell in particular. In vain he attempted 
 to retain his station, but he was driven by the people 
 not only from the Speakership, but from the House 
 of Assembly itself—in fact, he actually lost his elec¬ 
 tion. 
 
 My Lord, the whole of the above facts are known 
 to your Lordship, and yet in the very same despatch 
 in which I learn that the promotion of her Majesty’s 
 Attorney and Solicitor-General has, after a whole 
 life of loyalty and devotion to our Sovereign, been 
 arrested, from a newspaper statement of an erroneous 
 opinion said to have been uttered in the heat of a 
 religious debate, I am informed that, in opposition to 
 my recommendation to the contrary, it is the wish of 
 Iler Majesty’s Government that Mr. Bidwell should 
 be raised to the bench ! 
 
298 
 
 compulsory ; and, on being returned as a membei ol 
 the Provincial Parliament, he was expelled, and 
 never re-elected. To the last hour ol his lile his 
 hatred to the British constitution was consistent and 
 unchanged. 
 
 His principles were inherited by his son, whose 
 talents, as your Lordship perfectly well knows, have 
 been unceasingly exerted in endeavouring, by sub¬ 
 verting the constitution, to dethrone our Sovereign 
 from this portion of his dominions. He has been the 
 untired advocate of republican government, and by 
 his ability, and by his eloquence, he rose to become 
 the leader of the republican party, and eventually he 
 became Speaker of the House ol Assembly. 
 
 Whenever he had an opportunity of expressing 
 his sentiments, they were in favour of an Elective 
 Legislative Council, of an Executive Council “ respon¬ 
 sible to the people”—and, just as I was arriving in 
 Upper Canada, he declared in the House of Assembly, 
 that “ the King had insulted the Legislature by ap¬ 
 pointing Commissioners to inquire into the affairs 
 of the province.” 
 
 In his capacity of Speaker he delivered to me, to 
 be transmitted to the King, one of the most insulting 
 addresses that ever has been offered to the British So¬ 
 vereign. It declared that I was “despotic," “tyran¬ 
 nical" “ unjust ,” “ deceitful," that my conduct had 
 been “ derogatory to the honour of the King," “de¬ 
 moralizing to the community ,” and that 1 had treated 
 
300 
 
 In my former despatch on this subject I submitted 
 to your Lordship that “publicly to raise Mr. Bid- 
 well to the bench would deprive me of the respect and 
 confidence of the people of this province, the welfare 
 and honour of which depended on his Majesty s never 
 promoting a disloyal many 
 
 To these principles and opinions I respectfully hut 
 unalterably adhere ; and nothing is therefore left for 
 me hut to declare to your Lordship, with the deepest 
 regret, that so long as I remain Lieutenant-Gover¬ 
 nor of this province, I will never raise Mr. Bidwell 
 to the bench ; and I think it proper to confess to your 
 Lordship that I have at this moment two appoint¬ 
 ments to make of King’s Counsel, neither ol which 
 can I, conscientiously, bestow upon that gentleman, 
 who has not, as your Lordship seems to conceive, 
 “ at, least for the present withdrawn himselffrom po¬ 
 litical strife ,” but who, in a moral conflict, has been 
 forcibly driven from the field: Seeing that I have pre¬ 
 vented him from becoming President of the repub¬ 
 lican state of Upper Canada, he might now, no doubt, 
 be happy to become a judge under the monarchy. I 
 know that he expresses his regret at having written 
 to your Lordship a letter of accusations against me, 
 which, when called upon by your Lordship’s desire 
 to furnish me with a copy of, he deemed it prudent 
 to decline, but he has never yet publicly recanted his 
 principles or disavowed his party, and his name is at 
 this moment appearing uncontradicted in the Radical 
 newspapers of this province as follows :— 
 
301 
 
 Resolved, that reposing the greatest confidence 
 in our fellow-citizens ,— 
 
 John Rolph , M.P.P. (note an absconded traitor) 
 Marshall Spring Bidwell, (left the province) 
 
 S. D. Morrison, M.P.P. (tried for treason) 
 
 James Liplic, ] 
 
 James H. Price, ) ( notorious republicans) 
 
 John Edward Sims, and 
 Robert M'Kay, Esquires ; 
 
 “ TVe do hereby nominate and appoint them Mem¬ 
 bers of the Provincial Convention for the city of 
 Toronto ; carried unanimously and by acclamation 
 I have now to reply to your Lordship’s despatch, 
 No. 158, dated 5th April, 1837, respecting Mr. G. 
 Ridout, which involves constitutional principles of 
 the same vital importance as those which relate to 
 Mr. Bidwell. 
 
 Mr. Ridout’s case is shortly as follows 
 On the 12th July, 1836, my Secretary addressed 
 to Mr. Ridout a letter, of which the following is a 
 copy :— 
 
 Government House, July 12, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am commanded by the Lieutenant-Governor to call 
 your attention to the enclosed printed address, which has 
 lately been widely circulated by and “on behalf’* of a 
 society of which it appears you are an active member. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor desires me to observe that the 
 language contained in that address has hitherto remained 
 unnoticed by him only from his determination not to inter- 
 
302 
 
 fere with that public verdict which he felt confident the 
 country would clearly express; but as the elections are 
 over, his Excellency considers that in order to maintain the 
 happy constitution of this province inviolate it is absolutely 
 necessary, in obedience to the Kings instructions, that no 
 person should be permitted to retain any office of trust or 
 confidence under the British Government, who attempts 
 (however unsuccessfully) to insult the Lieutenant-Governor 
 of this province by language such as is contained in your 
 society’s address. His Excellency therefore deems it his 
 painful duty to direct me to inform you that his Majesty 
 has no further occasion for your services as Judge of the 
 Niagara District Court and Justice of the Peace. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 J. Joseph. 
 
 On tlie 12th September, 1836, I transmitted to 
 your Lordship a Memorial from this gentleman, com¬ 
 plaining that he had experienced unjust treatment 
 from me, in having been dismissed from the situations 
 of Judge of the District Court of Niagara, of Justice 
 of the Peace, and of Colonel of Militia. Conceiving 
 that your Lordship had confidence in my character 
 and judgment, and having neither time nor inclina¬ 
 tion to detail the many reasons which had induced 
 me, after mature deliberation, to determine on Judge 
 Ridout’s dismissal, I deemed it sufficient merely to 
 inform your Lordship 
 
 “That on the 2/th March last Mr. George Ridout, 
 heading the deputation, read that address to me from a 
 public meeting held at the City Hall, by Dr. O’Grady, 
 
303 
 
 (Editor of the Correspondent and Advocate), and others 
 which I forwarded to your Lordship on the 6th of April 
 last, in my despatch No. 24. 
 
 “ Shortly afterwards Mr. Ridout made a declaration 
 which became the subject of general conversation, that in 
 the event of his being dismissed by me from office, ‘ I 
 should deserve to be tarred and feathered , and that he 
 would lend a hand to do so 
 
 “ In one of the public offices at Toronto he declared that 
 we must or should have ‘ War to the knife' 
 
 “ Mr. George Ridout was a frequent attendant as well as 
 speaker at the Constitutional Reform Society, from which 
 was [widely circulated a printed address, signed by Dr. 
 Baldwin, of which the following is an extract: 
 
 “ ‘It is our duty calmly to assure you that the conduct 
 of Sir F. B. Head has been alike a disregard of constitu¬ 
 tional Government and of candour and truth in his state - 
 ments .* 
 
 “Mr. Ridout declares he is not a member of this society, 
 yet from his frequent attendance and speaking at the 
 meetings of this society before as well as after it had, for 
 mere electioneering purpose, changed its name (only a few 
 weeks ago) from the “Allianceto the “Constitutional 
 Reform Society,” I felt I had a right, to consider him as an 
 active member. Previous, however, to declaring him to be 
 such I took the precaution of obtaining a legal opinion on 
 the subject, which was, that Mr. Ridout did appear to be 
 an active member of the said society. 
 
 “It is perfectly true that old Mr. Ridout was a loyal, 
 gentlemanlike, and estimable man, and it was from a bene¬ 
 volent desire to reclaim Mr. George Ridout, his son, from 
 radical principles, that the situations he held were succes- 
 
304 
 
 sively heaped upon him by Sir Peregrine Maitland and by 
 Sir John Colborne; but the more he was favoured, the 
 more violent he became, and when a judge and colonel of 
 militia he talked about tarring and feathering the King s 
 representative, and I considered it was my duty to inform 
 him that his Majesty had no further occasion for his services. 
 
 “ I may add, that shortly after my arrival here, I myself 
 took a great deal of trouble to endeavour to reclaim Mr. 
 George Ridout, and kindly to persuade him of his errors, 
 but in vain.” 
 
 In reply to the above communication, which con¬ 
 tained an outline of the charges against Mr. Ridout, 
 as well as what he has alleged in his defence, your 
 Lordship was pleased to command me to replace Mr. 
 Ridout in the various employments from which he 
 had been removed. It being utterly impossible for 
 me to obey this order, and retain my authority in the 
 province, I immediately addressed to your Lordship 
 a very long despatch, No. 13, dated 5th February, 
 1837, to which I particularly beg leave to refer your 
 Lordship, showing your Lordship, that tar from hav¬ 
 ing acted hastily, I had not dismissed Judge Ridout 
 until I had consulted and received the concurrent 
 advice of the Attorney-General of this province, as 
 also of my Executive Council. 
 
 I also referred your Lordship to an extraordinary 
 document in my favour, transmitted by the House 
 of Assembly not only to your Lordship but to both 
 Houses of the Imperial Parliament, of which the 
 
305 
 
 following is an extract: — “Few governors of a 
 colony were ever placed in circumstances of greater 
 difficulty than those which assailed Sir Francis Head 
 within three months of his assuming the government 
 of this province ; and it is perhaps not too much to 
 say, that no man could have met those difficulties, 
 ungenerously and unreasonably thrown in his way, 
 with more temper, firmness, and judgment, than he 
 did.” 
 
 My despatch contained many other documents, 
 all supporting me in the course I had adopted ; how¬ 
 ever, after having maturely considered this evidence, 
 your Lordship was pleased again to reply, that you 
 “ felt it your duty still to withhold your approbation 
 of the measures adopted in Mr. Ridout’s case.” 
 
 It is useless for me to presume to argue any longer 
 with your Lordship, or with Mr. Ridout, on this sub¬ 
 ject, Mr. Ridout resting his whole defence upon two 
 quibbles:—1st, That he was not a member of the 
 Constitutional Reform Society, which I have always 
 admitted, having merely said that, by constantly 
 attending and speaking there, he appeared to be a 
 member; and, 2nd, That he opposed the name of 
 the society being changed from the “ Alliance So¬ 
 ciety ” to the “Constitutional Reform Society;”— 
 which latter argument, as I have already explained 
 to your Lordship, is the same as if a clergyman, on 
 being expelled by his bishop for attending an irreli¬ 
 gious meeting, were to prove that he had opposed 
 
 x 
 
306 
 
 
 the society becoming deistical, because lie wished it 
 to remain atheistical. 
 
 I have no further accusations to make against Mr. 
 Ridout; I have nothing further to urge against what 
 he has said in his defence, hut having, as Lieutenant- 
 Governor, by the advice of my Council, deliberately 
 selected him for punishment, as the most intem¬ 
 perate of my opponents, I feel it necessary, as in the 
 case of Mr. Bidwell, respectfully, but explicitly, to 
 declare to your Lordship, that, so long as I am 
 deemed competent to be Lieutenant-Governor of this 
 province, I decline to have any further communi¬ 
 cation with Mr. Ridout, and must decline to restore 
 him to the stations from which I have removed him. 
 
 My Lord, I have many similar subjects to those 
 which I have already introduced, but will trouble 
 your Lordship with only one more, namely, your 
 Lordship’s despatch of the 6th June, 1837, in which 
 I am censured by your Lordship for not having sent 
 Mr.- with my despatches respecting the mo¬ 
 
 netary affairs of Upper Canada, instead of the 
 Hon. W. H. Draper, a member of my Executive 
 Council. 
 
 Your Lordship is already aware that Mr.-, 
 
 as a member of my late Executive Council, signed 
 that hostile document which involved me in one of 
 the greatest struggles recorded in the Colonial Office, 
 and that he was subsequently appointed, by the late 
 House of Assembly, as an associate with Mr. Bid- 
 
307 
 
 well and others, to meet Mr. Papineau and others, 
 on the part of Lower Canada. 
 
 I have never complained to your Lordship of 
 
 Mr.-, or have ever shown him any feeling of 
 
 hostility; but to have selected him out of the whole 
 province as my messenger to your Lordship, in pre¬ 
 ference to the confidential members of my own 
 Council, would have been an act of inconsistency, 
 which would have deprived me of the confidence of 
 this country. 
 
 It was with regret I observed that, after I had sent 
 from Upper Canada to your Lordship Mr. Draper, 
 as a member of my government, possessing my con- 
 dence, that that gentleman should have been allowed 
 to return without being the bearer to me of a single 
 line from your Lordship on the subject of his especial 
 mission, or any other subject, and yet that despatches, 
 in which Mr. Draper himself was particularly con¬ 
 cerned and even named, were given to a military 
 officer who was a passenger in the very same packet 
 with Mr. Draper. 
 
 It is perfectly well known in your Lordship’s office 
 that in a colony very considerable importance is 
 assumed by any one who has’ the honour to be bearer 
 of your Lordship’s despatches to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, and I need not say that these despatches 
 having been withheld from my Executive Councillor, 
 and given to another, forms one of the proceedings of 
 the Colonial Department, which, to the people of this 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 
 province, appears as if it were intended to discounte¬ 
 nance my administration. 
 
 My Lord, I have now finished my statement, and, 
 although I am sensible it may offend your Lordship, 
 yet I have the consolation of reflecting that I have 
 acted on the defensive solely for the benefit of this 
 noble province. 
 
 I have no complaints whatever to make against 
 your Lordship, whose intentions I am perfectly con¬ 
 fident are pure and just; but it is impossible for me 
 to observe the support which, not only in this pro¬ 
 vince, but elsewhere, is invariably given to the repub¬ 
 lican party, and the discouragement which is shown 
 to the supporters of the British constitution, without 
 becoming of opinion, that in the Colonial Office an 
 invisible republican influence exists under which 
 Governor after Governor has succumbed. 
 
 It may be said that no one of the statements 1 have 
 made, taken separately, supports so serious an accu¬ 
 sation, and freely I admit it; but I ask your Lordship 
 to consider whether the innumerable official obstruc 
 tions which I have found in my path could all possibly 
 have come there by chance ? 
 
 Whatever may be the opinion of her Majesty’s 
 Government on this subject, I do declare to your 
 Lordship that I join the loyal British population of 
 the Canadas in believing that such obstructions have 
 been intentional, and that any Governor who acts as I 
 have done, although he may receive honours from his 
 
309 
 
 sovereign, and thanks from the Colonial Minister, will 
 experience, as I have done, an intangible power which, 
 though it never looks him in the face, will unequivo¬ 
 cally decree,— 
 
 “ I will drain him dry as hay— 
 
 Sleep shall neither night nor day 
 Hang upon his pent-house lid; 
 
 He shall live a man forbid; 
 
 Weary seven nights nine times nine. 
 
 Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.” 
 
 My Lord, I can truly say that my spirits, as well 
 as my strength, are worn out by the minute vexations 
 I have met with, and among them there is nothing 
 that I feel more deeply than the mortification which 
 those who have faithfully served the King’s Govern¬ 
 ment are now feeling at the non-confirmation of their 
 appointments. I am not, however, writing under 
 the influence of temper, but my judgment calmly 
 warns me that it is impossible for any government 
 on earth to be carried on without the maintenance of 
 a firm and consistent system of rewards and punish¬ 
 ments, and that, if the Colonial Office reward those I 
 punish, and punish those whom I reward, my autho¬ 
 rity here, as well as my character, must be ruined, 
 
 I have not been hasty either in my opinions or in 
 my measures, for from the moment of my arrival to 
 the present day, my despatches have invariably ex¬ 
 pressed to your Lordship sentiments such as are 
 contained in the following extract, which was ad¬ 
 dressed to your Lordship seventeen months ago. 
 
310 
 
 
 “It is out of my power to describe to your Lord- 
 ship, without the appearance of exaggeration, the 
 joy and gladness expressed to me hy all parties at 
 the constitutional resistance I have made. But I 
 will not conceal from your Lordship that there is one 
 question at this moment in almost everybody’s mouth, 
 namely, £ JVill the Lieut.-Governor be supported by 
 the Home Government ?' ‘ He never will !’ say 
 
 the Radicals; ‘We fear he will not!’ say the 
 Constitutional! sts. 
 
 “ Your Lordship has to settle this question; and, in 
 my humble opinion, upon your decision rests our 
 possession of the Canadas.” 
 
 With the deepest regret, I have at last been driven 
 deliberately to refuse to carry into effect your Lord¬ 
 ship’s instructions, and having done so, and having 
 avowed opinions hostile to the colonial policy, but 
 which I can assure your Lordship are accompanied 
 with no angry feelings towards any man, I feel it to 
 be a duty which I owe to your Lordship, as well as to 
 myself, respectfully to request that your Lordship 
 will be pleased immediately to tender to her Majesty 
 my resignation of the station which I have the honour 
 to hold. 
 
 My Lord, I belong to no political party in Eng¬ 
 land ; and even if I did, the British distinction be¬ 
 tween Whig and Tory, like our London fog, does 
 not cross the Atlantic. The two parties here are 
 constitutionalists on the one side, and democrats on 
 
311 
 
 the other. The dispute on this continent is not, as 
 it is in England, which of two parties shall attain 
 the honour of conducting the government of their 
 Sovereign; hut here the great mass of society is 
 striving to secure to their children the blessings of 
 the British constitution, which a small party, from 
 self-interested motives, is endeavouring to pull down. 
 The idle, the profligate, and the unprincipled, see 
 that democracy in the United States is rapidly hurry¬ 
 ing to anarchy, and they well know, or rather they 
 reckon, that anarchy, or, in other words, plunder, is 
 the shortest method of obtaining wealth. 
 
 I have with attention personally observed the 
 effects of democracy in both continents of Ame¬ 
 rica, and, having reason to feel deeply attached to the 
 people of Upper Canada, I have determined for their 
 welfare to do all in my humble power to arrest a 
 course of policy which in my opinion has long 
 tended to the subversion on this continent ot British 
 institutions. 
 
 No one can read an account of the early stages of 
 the American Revolution, without being struck with 
 the resemblance of much that we now witness to that 
 unfortunate period of our history. 
 
 It was then a capital error in the Government ot 
 the mother-country, that they seemed to believe the 
 Americans to be sincerely contending lor the single 
 object of freedom from taxation by the British Par¬ 
 liament, and they imagined that by renouncing that 
 power, and by disabling themselves (by 18 Geo. III.) 
 
312 
 
 from raising money in tlie Colonies, even for the 
 necessary support of the Government, they would 
 overcome all difficulties. But it w r as soon evident 
 that the outcry raised about taxation was but the 
 means to another end. Separation from the mother- 
 country was, from the first, the self-interested object 
 of the few ruling demagogues who gave the im¬ 
 pulse ; and they persevered just as resolutely after 
 the ostensible ground of difference had been re¬ 
 nounced as before. The Government soon learnt 
 that their measure of conciliation availed them no¬ 
 thing. 
 
 So here, in our time, the Government has gone 
 back step by step for years, giving ground before 
 the pretensions of Mr. Papineau and the Assembly, 
 however insolently advanced; weakening by each 
 concession the confidence of the King’s loyal and 
 attached subjects, and encouraging as well as 
 strengthening an unprincipled faction avowedly hos¬ 
 tile to British rule. No approach to an amicable 
 adjustment has followed any or all of these con¬ 
 cessions. On the contrary, they have been so many 
 unprofitable sacrifices of principles and usages ne¬ 
 cessary to the maintenance of good government, 
 and at the last an end is arrived at, when the King’s 
 Ministers are reduced to choose between an unequi¬ 
 vocal and direct violation of the Colonial Constitu¬ 
 tion, or an abandonment of the power of governing. 
 A firm determination early evinced to yield nothing 
 to clamour, to surrender nothing for the mere sake of 
 
t 
 
 313 
 
 conciliation, would have secured to the Government 
 the respect of all classes, and would have averted the 
 necessity of resorting to measures which admit in 
 principle of no defence. 
 
 Whatever may have been the brilliant theory of 
 subverting the British Constitution in America, we 
 who are living on this continent clearly see before our 
 eyes its effects; namely, that in the United States 
 the will of the people has become stronger than the 
 power of the law. Public credit, life, and property 
 hang therefore upon the conduct of a dense mass of 
 men, in no one of whose hands can it be wise that 
 such vast interests should be committed. The only 
 remedy is in a revolution, of which it is easier to 
 foresee the beginning than the end. 
 
 To save the people of Upper Canada from follow¬ 
 ing in the footsteps of the United States, has been 
 the object of every act of my administration. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s 
 Most obedient Servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 132. 
 
 My Lord, Toronto, Dec. 19, 1837. 
 
 I have the honour to inform your Lordship that 
 on Monday, 4tli inst., this city was, in a moment of 
 profound peace, suddenly invaded by a band of armed 
 
 I 
 
o 
 
 314 
 
 rebels, amounting, according to report, to 3000 men 
 (but in actual fact to about 500), and commanded by 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, the editor of a republican newspaper; 
 Mr. Van Egmond, an officer who had served under 
 Napoleon; Mr. Gibson, a land-surveyor; Mr. 
 Lount, a blacksmith; Mr. Loydd, and some other 
 notorious characters. 
 
 Having, as I informed your Lordship in my de¬ 
 spatch, No. 119, dated 3rd ultimo, purposely effected 
 the withdrawal of her Majesty’s troops from this 
 province, and having delivered over to the civil autho¬ 
 rities the whole of the arms and accoutrements I pos¬ 
 sessed, I of course found myself without any defence 
 whatever, excepting that which the loyalty and fidelity 
 of the province might think proper to afford me. 
 The crisis, important as it was, was one I had long 
 earnestly anticipated, and accordingly I no sooner 
 received the intelligence that the rebels were within 
 four miles of the city, than, abandoning the Govern¬ 
 ment House, I at once proceeded to the City Hall, in 
 which about 4000 stand of arms and accoutrements 
 had been deposited. 
 
 One of the first individuals I met there, with a 
 musket on his shoulder, was the Chief Justice of the 
 province, and in a few minutes I found myself sur¬ 
 rounded by a band of brave men, who were of course 
 unorganized, and, generally speaking, unarmed. 
 
 As the foregoing statement is an unqualified ad¬ 
 mission on my part that I was completely surprised 
 by the rebels, I think it proper to remind, rather than 
 
315 
 
 to explain, to your Lordship, the course of policy I 
 have been pursuing. 
 
 In my despatch, No. 124, dated 18th ult., I re¬ 
 spectfully stated to your Lordship, as my opinion, 
 that a civil war must henceforward everywhere be a 
 moral one, and that, in this hemisphere in particular, 
 victory must eventually declare itself in favour of 
 moral, and not of physical preponderance. 
 
 Entertaining these sentiments, I observed with 
 satisfaction that Mr. M'Kenzie was pursuing a law¬ 
 less course of conduct which I felt it would be impo¬ 
 litic for me to arrest. 
 
 For a long time he had endeavoured to force me to 
 buoy him up by a Government prosecution, but he 
 sunk in proportion as I neglected him, until becom¬ 
 ing desperate, he was eventually driven to reckless 
 behaviour, which I felt confident would very soon 
 create its own punishment. 
 
 The traitorous arrangements he made were of that 
 minute nature that it would have been difficult, even 
 if I had desired it, to have suppressed them ; for 
 instance, he began by establishing union lists (in 
 number not exceeding forty) of persons desirous of 
 political reform; and who, by an appointed secretary, 
 were recommended to communicate regularly with 
 himself, for the purpose of establishing a meeting of 
 delegates. 
 
 As soon as, by most wicked misrepresentations, 
 he had succeeded in seducing a number of well- 
 
316 
 
 meaning people to join these squads, his next step 
 was to prevail upon a few of them to attend their 
 meetings armed, for the alleged purpose of firing at 
 a mark. 
 
 While these meetings were in continuance, Mr. 
 M'Kenzie, by means of his newspaper, and by con¬ 
 stant personal attendance, succeeded in inducing his 
 adherents to believe that he was everywhere strongly 
 supported, and that his means, as well as his forces, 
 would prove invincible. 
 
 I was not ignorant of these proceedings; and in 
 proportion as Mr. M'Kenzie’s paper became more 
 and more seditious, and in proportion as these armed 
 meetings excited more and more alarm, I was 
 strongly and repeatedly called upon by the peaceable 
 portion of the commuuity forcibly to suppress both 
 the one and the other. I considered it better, how¬ 
 ever, under all circumstances, to await the outbreak, 
 which I was confident would be impotent, inversely 
 as it was previously opposed ; in short, I considered 
 that, if an attack by the rebels was inevitable, the 
 more I encouraged them to consider me defenceless 
 the better. 
 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, under these favourable circum¬ 
 stances, having been freely permitted by me to make 
 every preparation in his power, a concentration of 
 his deluded adherents, and an attack upon the city 
 of Toronto, was secretly settled to take place on the 
 night of the 19th instant. However, in consequence 
 
317 
 
 of a militia general order which I issued, it was 
 deemed advisable that these arrangements should be 
 hurried, and, accordingly, Mr. M'Kenzie’s deluded 
 victims, travelling through the forest by cross-roads, 
 found themselves assembled, at about four o’clock in 
 the evening of Monday, the 4th instant, as rebels, at 
 Montgomery’s Tavern, which is on the Yonge Street 
 Macadamized road, about four miles from the city. 
 
 As soon as they had attained this position, Mr. 
 M'Kenzie and a few others, with pistols in their 
 hands, arrested every person on the road, in order to 
 prevent information reaching the town. Colonel 
 Moody, a distinguished veteran officer, accompanied 
 by three gentlemen on horseback, on passing Mont¬ 
 gomery’s Tavern, w T as fired at by the rebels, and I 
 deeply regret to say that the Colonel, wounded in 
 two places, was taken prisoner into the tavern, where 
 in three hours he died, leaving a widow and family 
 unprovided for. 
 
 As soon as this gallant, meritorious officer, who 
 had honourably fought in this province, fell, I am 
 informed that Mr. M'Kenzie exultingly observed to 
 his followers, “ That, as blood had now been spilled, 
 they were in for it, and hud nothing left but to ad¬ 
 vance Accordingly, at about ten o’clock at night 
 they did advance; and I was in bed and asleep when 
 Mr. Alderman Powell awakened me to state that, in 
 riding out of the city towards Montgomery’s Tavern, 
 he had been arrested by Mr. M'Kenzie and another 
 
318 
 
 principal leader ; that the former had snapped a 
 pistol at his breast; that his (Mr. Powell’s) pistol 
 also snapped, but that he fired a second, which, 
 causing the death of Mr. M'Kenzie’s companion, had 
 enabled him to escape. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Powell reached Toronto, the alarm- 
 bell was rung, and, as Mr. M'Kenzie found we might 
 be prepared for him, he forbore to proceed with his 
 attack. 
 
 On arriving at the City Hall I appointed Mr. 
 Justice Jones, Mr. Henry Sherwood, Captain 
 Strachan, and Mr. John Robinson, my aid-de-camps. 
 I then ordered the arms to be unpacked, and, man¬ 
 ning all the windows of the building, as well as those 
 of opposite houses which flanked it, we awaited the 
 rebels, who, as I have stated, did not consider it ad¬ 
 visable to advance. Besides these arrangements, I 
 despatched a message to the Speaker of the House of 
 Assembly, Colonel the Honourable Allan M‘Nab, of 
 the Gore District, and to the Colonels of the militia 
 regiments in the Midland and Newcastle Districts : 
 an advanced picquet of thirty volunteers, commanded 
 by my aid-de-camp, Mr. Justice Jones, was placed 
 within a short distance of the rebels. 
 
 By the following morning (Tuesday) we mustered 
 about 300 men, and in the course of the day the 
 number increased to about 500; in the night, an ad¬ 
 vanced picquet, commanded by Mr. Sheriff 1 Jarvis, 
 was attacked within the precincts of the city by the 
 
319 
 
 rebels, who were driven back, one of their party 
 being killed and several wounded. 
 
 On Wednesday morning we were sufficiently 
 strong to have ventured on an attack, but, being sen¬ 
 sible of the strength of our position, being also aware 
 how much depended upon the contest in which w r e 
 were about to be engaged, and feeling the greatest 
 possible reluctance at the idea of entering upon a 
 civil war, I despatched two gentlemen to the rebel 
 leaders, to tell them that, before any conflict should 
 take place, l parentally called upon them, as their 
 Governor, to avoid the effusion of human blood. In 
 the mean while, however, Mr. M‘Kenzie had com¬ 
 mitted every description of enormity ; he had robbed 
 the mail with his own hands,—had set fire to Dr. 
 Horne’s house,—had plundered many inoffensive in¬ 
 dividuals of their money,—had stolen several horses, 
 —had made a number of respectable people prisoners; 
 and, having thus succeeded in embarking his mis¬ 
 guided adherents in guilt, he replied to my admoni¬ 
 tion by a message, that he would only consent that 
 his demands should be settled by a national conven¬ 
 tion, and he insolently added that he would wait till 
 two o’clock for my answer, which in one word was, 
 “ Never .” 
 
 In the course of Wednesday the Speaker of the 
 House of Assembly, Colonel the Honourable Allan 
 M‘Nab, arrived from the Gore District at the head 
 of about sixty men, whom he had assembled at hall 
 an hour’s notice; and, other brave men flocking in to 
 
/ 
 
 u 
 
 320 
 
 me from various directions, I was enabled by strong 
 piquets to prevent Mr. M'Kenzie from carrying into 
 effect his diabolical intention to burn the city of To¬ 
 ronto, in order to plunder the banks ; and, having 
 effected this object, I determined that, on the follow¬ 
 ing day, I would make the attack. 
 
 Accordingly, on Thursday morning, I assembled 
 our forces, under the direction of the Adjutant-Gene¬ 
 ral of militia, Colonel Fitzgibbon, clerk of the House 
 of Assembly. 
 
 The principal body was headed by the Speaker, 
 Colonel Allan M‘Nab, the right wing being com¬ 
 manded by Colonel Samuel Jarvis, the left by Co¬ 
 lonel William Chisholm, assisted by the Honourable 
 Mr. Justice M'Lean, late Speaker of the House of 
 Assembly; the two guns by Major Carfrae of the 
 militia artillery. 
 
 The command of the militia left in the city re¬ 
 mained under Mr. Justice Macaulay, and the protec¬ 
 tion of the city with Mr. Gurnett, the mayor. 
 
 I might also have most advantageously availed 
 myself in the field of the military services of Colonel 
 Foster, the Commander of the forces inUpper Canada, 
 of Captain Baddeley of the corps of Royal Engineers, 
 and of a detachment of eight artillerymen, who form 
 the only regular force in this province; but, having 
 deliberately determined that the important contest in 
 which I was about to be engaged should be decided 
 solely by the Upper Canada militia, or, in other words, 
 by the free inhabitants of this noble province, I was 
 
I 
 
 321 
 
 lesolved tlifit no consideration whatever should in¬ 
 duce me to avail myself of any other assistance than 
 that upon which, as the representative of our gracious 
 Sovereign, I had firmly and implicitly relied. 
 
 At twelve o clock the militia force marched out of 
 the town, with an enthusiasm which it would be im¬ 
 possible to describe, and in about an hour we came 
 in sight of the rebels, who occupied an elevated posi¬ 
 tion near Gallows Hill, in front of Montgomery’s 
 tavern, which had long been the rendezvous of Mr. 
 M Kenzie s men. They were principally armed with 
 rifles, and for a short time, favoured by buildings, 
 they endeavoured to maintain their ground ; however, 
 the brave and loyal militia of Upper Canada, steadily 
 advancing with a determination which was irresisti¬ 
 ble, drove them from their position, completely 
 routed Mr. M'Kenzie, who, in a state of the greatest 
 agitation ran away, and in a few minutes Montgo¬ 
 mery’s tavern, which was first entered by Mr. Jus¬ 
 tice Jones, was burnt to the ground. 
 
 Leing on the spot merely as a civil Governor, and 
 in no way in command of the troops, I was happy to 
 have an opportunity of demonstrating to the rebels 
 the mildness and beneficence of her Majesty’s Go¬ 
 vernment, and, well knowing that the laws of the 
 country would have ample opportunity of making 
 examples of the guilty, I deemed it advisable to save 
 the prisoners who were taken, and to extend to most 
 of these misguided men the royal mercy, by ordering 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 their immediate release. These measures having 
 been effected, and the rebels having been deprived 
 of their flag (on which was inscribed in large letters 
 
 “ Bidwell^ and the glorious minority! 
 
 “ 1837, and a good beginning! 0 ) 
 
 the militia advanced in pursuit of the rebels about 
 four miles, till they reached the house of one of the 
 principal ringleaders, Mr. Gibson, which residence 
 it would have been impossible to have saved, and it 
 was consequently burned to the ground." 
 
 The infatuated followers of Mr. McKenzie were 
 now completely dispersed ; deceived and deserted by 
 their leaders, they sought for refuge in all directions ; 
 ashamed and disgusted with the murder, arson, high¬ 
 way and mail robbery, which he had committed be¬ 
 fore their eyes, and detesting him for the overbearing 
 tyranny of his conduct towards them, they sincerely 
 repented that they had ever joined him ; and I have 
 been credibly informed that their wives and children 
 now look upon Mr. M‘Kenzie as their most malig¬ 
 nant enemy. Mr. M‘Kenzie has fled to the United 
 States—Mr. John Rolph has absconded—Mr. Bid- 
 well,! who took no part in the affray, has amicably 
 agreed with me to quit, and has quitted this province 
 for ever—Dr. Morrison and the Captain Van Eg- 
 mont are our prisoners—Mr. Lount and Mr. Gibbon 
 
 *By my especial orders. 
 
 t The gentleman whom I hadbeen directed to raise to the bench. 
 
have fled, and I understand are making for the United 
 States. As Mr. M'Kenzie had heeil particularly 
 active in disseminating his principles throughout the 
 London district, and as Dr. Duncombe, well known to 
 the House of Commons in England, was reported to 
 he there with a body of armed rebels, I deemed it ad¬ 
 visable, as soon as the militia returned to Toronto from 
 driving Mr. M'Kenzie from Gallows Hill, to order a 
 body of 500 men to proceed immediately to the Lon¬ 
 don district. I placed this corps under the command 
 of the Hon. the Speaker of the House of Assembly, 
 Colonel Allan M'Nab, who, with great promptitude, 
 marched with it to the point of its destination. 
 
 On the day of Mr. M'Kenzie’s defeat, as well as 
 on the following morning, bands of militia-men, from 
 all directions, poured in upon me, in numbers which 
 honourably proved that I had not placed confidence 
 in them in vain. 
 
 From the Newcastle district alone 2000 men, with 
 nothing but the clothes in which they stood, marched, 
 in the depth of winter, towards the capital, although 
 nearly 100 miles from their homes. 
 
 b rom Gore, Niagara, Lake Simcoe, and from vari¬ 
 ous other places, brave men, armed as well as unarmed, 
 rushed forward unsolicited ; and, according to the best 
 reports I could collect, from 10 to 12,000 men simul¬ 
 taneously marched towards the capital to support me 
 in maintaining for the people of Upper Canada the 
 British constitution. 
 
324 
 
 The numbers which were advancing towards me 
 were so great that, the day after Mr. M'Kenzie s 
 defeat, I found it absolutely necessary to print and 
 circulate a notice declaring “ that there existed no 
 farther occasion for the resort of militia to To¬ 
 ronto and the following day I was farther enabled 
 to issue a general order, authorizing the whole of the 
 militia of the Bathurst, Johnstown, Ottawa, and 
 Eastern districts, to go and lend their assistance to 
 Lower Canada. I have now completed a plain state¬ 
 ment of the events which have occurred in this noble 
 province during the last week, and have done so at some 
 length, as the moral they offer is most important. 
 
 Your Lordship knows that at the last election Mr. 
 M'Kenzie, and those of his party who advocated 
 murder, plunder, equal rights, and revolution, under 
 the mask of reform, in vain applied to farmers arid 
 yeomen of this country to support them, instead of 
 supporting me. Driven by the voice of the people 
 from their seats in the House of Assembly, they de¬ 
 clared that they had only been defeated by the influence 
 of a corrupt Government. However, the moment the 
 charges made against me in the House of Commons 
 reached this country, the House of Assembly deliber¬ 
 ately investigated the whole affair, which they proved 
 and pronounced to be a series of wilful and premedi¬ 
 tated falsehoods. 
 
 Mr. M‘Kenzie and his party, finding that at every 
 point they Avere defeated in a moral attack which they 
 
had made upon the British constitution, next deter¬ 
 mined to excite their deluded adherents to have re¬ 
 course to physical strength. Being as ready to meet 
 them on that ground as I had been ready to meet them 
 in a moral struggle, I gave them every possible ad¬ 
 vantage. I in no way availed myself of the immense 
 resources of the British empire ; on the contrary, I 
 purposely dismissed from this province the whole of 
 our troops. I allowed Mr. M'Kenzie to write what¬ 
 ever he chose, say what he chose, and do what he 
 chose ; and, without taking any notice of his traitorous 
 proceedings, I waited, with folded arms, until he had 
 collected his rebel forces, and had actually commenced 
 his attack. 
 
 I then, ,as a solitary individual, called upon the 
 militia of Upper Canada to defend me, and the result 
 has been as I have stated, viz., that the people of 
 Upper Canada came to me when I called them ; that 
 they completely defeated Mr. M'Kenzie’s adherents, 
 and drove him and his rebel ringleaders from the land. 
 
 (When her Majesty’s Government published this 
 despatch, they omitted the following paragraphs and 
 words printed in italics):— 
 
 *“ These are historical facts which it is impossible 
 to deny; and the plain inference is, that the inha¬ 
 bitants of Upper Canada, as I have often publicly 
 declared, detest democracy, and revere the noble 
 monarchical institutions of the British empire. 
 
 * For want of this moral, or explanation, my policy in quelling 
 the mutiny has been severely condemned. 
 
326 
 
 “ My Lora, what a serious lesson have the inha¬ 
 bitants of Upper Canada offered to their mother- 
 country ! Our evidence, humble as it is, will surely 
 bring conviction to the minds of those misnamed re¬ 
 formers, ivho, ignorant of the blessings they enjoy, 
 desire to adulterate the purity of our revered institu¬ 
 tions : situated as we are here, surely we are better 
 able to judge between monarchical and republican 
 Government than the people in Englandwho are 
 acquainted only with the former . The faithful at¬ 
 tachment which this province has evinced to British 
 justice, to British juries, and to the British Sovereign, 
 is the noblest instance of independence I have ever 
 witnessed, and it induces me to tell your Lordship, 
 plainly and unequivocally, that neither the Legisla¬ 
 ture nor the people of Upper Canada will any longer 
 submit to the base conciliations which have long dis¬ 
 graced the Colonial Office . 
 
 “ My Lord, it has long been notorious to every 
 British subject in the Canadas, that your Lordship s 
 Under-Secretary, the author of our Colonial de¬ 
 spatches, is a rank republican . His sentiments, his 
 conduct, and his political character, are here alike 
 detested, and I enclose to your Lordship Mr. McKen¬ 
 zie's last newspaper, which, traitorous as it is, contains 
 nothing more conducive to treason than the extracts 
 which as its text it exultingly quotes from the pub¬ 
 lished opinions of her Majesty's Under Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies ! 
 
 €e These sentiments have already been very clearly 
 
327 
 
 expressed by me to your Lordship, especially in my 
 despatch dated \Oth September, 1837; and I am 
 perfectly confident that the triumph which this noble 
 province has gained will never be complete until the 
 Government shall remove from office a man who, by 
 discouraging the loyal and encouraging the disaf¬ 
 fected, has at last succeeded in involving the Ca¬ 
 nadas in civil war." It now only remains for me to 
 inform your Lordship that Mr. M'Kenzie, who is 
 escaped to Buffalo, in the United States, has... by 
 falsehood and misrepresentations, almost succeed#! ui 
 exciting a large body of labourers out of work to in¬ 
 vade Upper Canada for the purpose of plundering 
 the banks and of gaining possession of the crown 
 lands, [ which your Lordship is aware I have been 
 desired to surrender to the Provincial Legislature 
 This [newfeature in “reform ”] is [one which~\ at this 
 moment ] causing throughout the province consider¬ 
 able excitement, and I must say that, for the sake of 
 humanity, I earnestly trust and hope the attempt will 
 not be made. 
 
 I entertain the utmost reliance that the Govern¬ 
 ment of the United States will nobly prevent any 
 such invasion. I am persuaded that all Americans 
 of intelligence and property will feel that the charac¬ 
 ter of their country requires them to discountenance 
 a lawless and unprincipled aggression [which would 
 bring upon them the execration of the civilised 
 tooiid ; for where would they stand in the estimation 
 of mankind if they were to be seen ungratefully re- 
 
328 
 
 paying the high-minded and successful exertions 
 which Great Britain lately made to save them from 
 war, by steeping her colonies in blood and misery ?~\ 
 Should, however, any of the inhabitants of Buffalo, 
 or other frontier towns, regardless of these sentiments, 
 [presume, ] for the sake of plunder, to invade the free 
 and independent people of Upper Canada, I feel con¬ 
 fident that every man in the province, Indians and 
 black population included, will assemble together in 
 one band to exterminate the invaders or to perish in 
 the attempt. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, Sfc. F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 133. 
 
 Toronto, 28 th December, 1837. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship 
 a copy of the speech with which I have this day 
 opened the Legislature of this province, together 
 with copies of sundry documents, which will explain 
 to your Lordship—firstly, that the rebellion which 
 has broken out here has been effectually put down, 
 with the loss on the side of the Constitutionalists of 
 only one man killed; and, secondly, that an unprovoked 
 attack has been made upon our territory by Ame¬ 
 rican citizens, who have succeeded in taking pos¬ 
 session of Navy Island (which is about two miles 
 above the cataracts), have entrenched and garrisoned 
 it, have planted thirteen pieces of cannon upon it, and, 
 
329 
 
 in fact, have thus formed a camp upon our territory, 
 to which people, by handbills termed proclamations 
 of the Provisional Government, are publicly invited 
 under the promise that “ three hundred acres of the 
 most valuable land in Canada, and one hundred 
 dollars in silver, will be given to each volunteer who 
 may join the Patriot forces in Navy Island. 
 
 I have communicated these facts to His Excel¬ 
 lency the Earl ol Gosford, and to Sir John Col- 
 borne, and have addressed communications to the 
 Governor of the State of New Yoi*k, and to her 
 Majesty’s Minister at Washington, copies of which 
 I have the honour to enclose. I have stationed 
 a militia force of about 2000 men on the Niagara 
 frontier, and have made all the arrangements in my 
 power for calling out the militia ol the province, in 
 case their services should be required. 
 
 Having thus done all in my power to withstand 
 the invasion of a foreign enemy, which was never con¬ 
 templated in my despatch to your Lordship, No. 124, 
 dated 18th November, I feel it my duty to recom¬ 
 mend, contrary to the suggestions contained in that 
 despatch, that her Majesty’s Government should 
 afford to the Commander of the Forces every pos¬ 
 sible assistance, promptly and effectually, to put 
 down this attack by American citizens, unauthorised 
 by their Government, and in open violation of the 
 laws of nations. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, fyc. 
 
 F. B. Head, 
 
330 
 
 * 
 
 Niagara Frontier, Upper Canada, 
 
 My Lord, 16 th Jan. 1838. 
 
 I have great pleasure in communicating to your 
 Lordship that the pirates have been driven from 
 Navy Island, which is now in possession of her 
 Majesty’s forces on this frontier. 
 
 I have also the satisfaction to state that the gallant 
 militia ol Upper Canada have also driven the pirates, 
 who had taken possession of the Bois Blanc Island, 
 from that position, and in a most gallant manner 
 have captured a schooner off Malden, which is on 
 the St. Clair river, about sixteen miles below Am- 
 herstburg. 
 
 As this vessel contained three pieces of artillery, 
 200 stand ot arms, and most of the principal officers 
 ol the pirate force, her loss will discourage them ; and, 
 finding that at both ends of the province they have 
 been discomfited by its brave inhabitants, I trust 
 they will find it necessary to abandon the infamous 
 attempt, which has been made by the citizens of the 
 United States, to plunder the property and overrun 
 the institutions of a province with which they were, 
 politically, existing in friendly alliance. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, fyc. 
 
331 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Order back the militia.—Address the Governor of the State of New 
 York—H. S. Fox, Esq., Her Majesty’s Minister at Washington— 
 Despatch to Her Majesty’s Government—American pirates forced 
 to abandon Navy Island.—Receive Despatch accepting my resigna¬ 
 tion. —Important reply thereto.—Allegations against one of Her 
 Majesty’s Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies. Nature 
 of evidence. 
 
 By people in England I have been generally blamed 
 for allowing treason to come to a head. But the lact 
 is, the province had suffered quite enough from 
 agitation; and, as I had carefully tested the mate¬ 
 rials with which I had to work, I felt that, instead of 
 either trying to conciliate Mr. M‘Kenzie, or make 
 his fortune by a Government prosecution, I had bettei 
 let him come within the reach of the law and then 
 let it hang him. His legs saved him from the latter 
 fate ; but so faithfully did the brave and loyal Militia 
 of Upper Canada respond to the confidence that had 
 been reposed in them, that the insurrection was no 
 sooner quelled than we were threatened with being 
 absolutely overwhelmed at Toronto by those who 
 were rushing forward to die, if necessary, in defence 
 of monarchial institutions. The general order already 
 alluded to was accordingly instantly promulgated, 
 besides which, expresses were sent in all directions, 
 of which the following is a specimen : 
 
332 
 
 No. 14. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Enclosed I send you a copy of his Excellency’s order 
 issued after the defeat of the rebels, to prevent the recourse 
 of the immense number of loyalists flocking to the capital. 
 They are not now required ; and his Excellency being in¬ 
 formed that you are upon your march to this place, with a 
 body of fine fellows, I am desired to express to you and 
 your men the high sense his Excellency entertains of your 
 loyalty and zeal, and to thank you and your men for this 
 evidence of their determination to put down rebellion, and 
 to desire that you will return to your respective homes, 
 holding yourselves in readiness to act when called upon. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Jonas Jones, A. D. C. 
 
 Colonel M‘Donell, 
 
 2nd Northumberland Militia. 
 
 The following despatches, written on the exigency 
 of the moment, will, I believe, faithfully portray the 
 hydra-headed difficulties which the loyalty of the peo¬ 
 ple of Upper Canada, one after another, triumphanly 
 overcame. 
 
 No. 31. 
 
 To his Excellency Governor Marcy } State of New York , 
 
 / Albany . 
 
 Government House , 13 th Dec . 1837. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your Excellency has doubtless received intelligence, 
 
333 
 
 though not of an authentic character, of an insurrectionary 
 movement which within the last few days has been made 
 in this province, and which the loyal feeling of a great mass 
 of her Majesty’s subjects has enabled me promptly to sup¬ 
 press. Though an occurrence of this particular nature in a 
 country immediately adjoining the state under your Excel¬ 
 lency’s government must naturally excite a considerable 
 degree of interest, I might not have felt myself called upon 
 to communicate with your Excellency upon the subject, if I 
 had not received an official report, from the magistracy of 
 the district of Niagara, that efforts are made by calling 
 public meetings in Buffalo to procure countenance and sup¬ 
 port among the inhabitants of that city to the efforts of the 
 disaffected in Upper Canada. 
 
 I am perfectly persuaded that, under any circumstances, 
 the public authorities in the United States would exert 
 themselves to strengthen, rather than to disturb, the kind 
 feeling which has for so many years united the natives of 
 Great Britain and the United States in the most amicable 
 relations; and when I acquaint your Excellency that the 
 armed party of traitors who are now dispersed, during the 
 few days that they remained embodied, were guilty of such 
 unprovoked and wanton acts of murder, arson, and robbery, 
 as disgusted their adherents, and occasioned their rapid 
 desertion, 1 feel no doubt that whatever may be justly done 
 by the Government of one friendly and enlightened nation 
 towards restraining its subjects from disturbing the peace 
 and injuring the unoffending inhabitants of another, may 
 confidently be expected of your Excellency. 
 
 It is fit I should apprize your Excellency that there is not 
 at this moment to my knowledge, within the whole extent 
 of Upper Canada, a single body of men assembled with 
 
334 
 
 arms, or otherwise in opposition to the Government. Before 
 the 5th of December there had been about 500 or 600 men 
 hastily got together at the instigation of a Mr. M‘Kenzie, 
 the editor of a seditious newspaper here; but these have 
 been wholly dispersed, and their leader, we understand, is 
 now in Buffalo, endeavouring to excite there a support 
 which he fails to meet with in his province. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Your Excellency’s most obedient, 
 humble servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 88. 
 
 To Hi? Excellency Governor Marcy. 
 
 Toronto, 23 rd December , 1837. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I take the liberty of introducing to your Excellency the 
 Honourable Archibald M‘Lean, late Speaker of the House 
 of this province, who is the bearer of a communication from 
 me to her Britannic Majesty’s Minister at Washington, on 
 the same subject on which I had the honour to address your 
 Excellency on the 13th instant; a copy of which communi¬ 
 cation Mr. M'Lean takes to Washington. 
 
 Mi. McLean will inform your Excellency that the party 
 of Americans who, under the command of Mr. Van Rensa- 
 laer, have taken possession of Navy Island, have issued a 
 proclamation, hoisting in Canada the flag of independence, 
 offering a reward of five hundred pounds for my apprehen¬ 
 sion, with three hundred acres of our crown lands to every 
 volunteer who will join in the invasion of this province. 
 
 I have not yet had the pleasure of hearing from your 
 Excellency (which, indeed, time has not admitted of), but I 
 
335 
 
 feel confident your Excellency will, by the most energetic 
 means, put an immediate stop to proceedings which must 
 otherwise inevitably lead to a national contest. 
 
 Mr. M‘Lean will have the honour to submit to your Ex¬ 
 cellency any further information which you may desire. 
 
 I remain, with much consideration, 
 
 Your Excellency’s 
 Very faithful and obedient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 Private. No. 89. 
 
 To his Excellency Ilenry S. Fox , Washington . 
 
 Government House , Toronto , 
 
 23rd December , 1837. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I beg leave to introduce to your Excellency the Honour¬ 
 able Archibald M‘Lean, late Speaker of the House of As¬ 
 sembly of this province, and now one of its Judges. 
 
 My official communication will explain the object of his 
 mission, which, I regret to say, is, I conceive, of a very 
 alarming nature. 
 
 The little outbreak in this province has been completely 
 put down by the people themselves, for I had no other 
 assistance. But the case has assumed a new feature. A 
 number of American citizens of wealth and intelligence are 
 desirous to get possession of this fine province, and to swamp 
 our institutions; they willingly afford money, and, as thou¬ 
 sands of people are everywhere out of work in the United 
 States, an invasion may be made, which it would be out of 
 our feeble power to resist. 
 
336 
 
 I trust I am not apt to be unreasonably alarmed, but 
 can sincerely assure you that, unless the American Govern¬ 
 ment take immediate measures to put down the invasion of 
 this territory by force of arm , I think the worst will happen. 
 
 A body of Americans, headed by an American, have now, 
 with about 700 men, taken possession of Navy Island, 
 which belongs to Great Britain. They have issued there a 
 proclamation declaring the independence of Canada, have 
 offered a reward of 500/. for my apprehension, and 300 
 acres of the richest lands of the crown to whoever will vo¬ 
 lunteer to assist them in invading this territory. 
 
 The people of the United States are so excited on the sub¬ 
 ject, and so ripe for plunder, that no words or writing will, 
 in my opinion, stop them. I consider that the United States 
 Government must either put down the aggression by force, 
 or be held responsible for the consequences. 
 
 I remain, with great consideration. 
 
 Your, obdient servant, 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 No. 113. 
 
 Niagara , January 16///, 1838. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 1 have great pleasure in communicating to your Lord- 
 ships that the pirates have been driven from Navy Island, 
 which is now inpossession of her Majesty’s forces on this 
 frontier. 
 
 I have also the satisfaction to state that the gallant mi¬ 
 litia of Upper Canada have also driven the pirates, who had 
 taken possession of Bois Blanc Island, from that position, 
 and in a most gallant manner have captured a schooner off 
 Malden, which is on the St. Clair river, about sixteen miles 
 
below Amherstburg: as this vessel contained five pieces of 
 artillery, 200 stand of arms, and most of the principal offi¬ 
 cers of the pirate force, her loss will discourage them ; and, 
 finding that at both ends of the province they have been 
 discomfited by its brave inhabitants, I trust they will find 
 it necessary to abandon the infamous attempt which has 
 been made by citizens of the United States to plunder the 
 property and overrun the institutions of a province with 
 which they were politically existing in friendly alliance. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glene/g , $-c. 
 
 (copy.) No. 238. 
 
 Downing- Street, 2 6th October, 1837. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your despatch, No. 99, ol the 10th September last. 
 
 I will not conceal from you the surprise with 
 which I have perused that despatch, nor my sense of 
 the degree of public inconvenience likely to ensue 
 from so abrupt a termination of your administration 
 ot the affairs of Upper Canada, at a period when the 
 result of your policy in seteral important questions 
 remains undecided, and when it is obviously of the 
 greatest consequence that measures recommended 
 and initiated by yourself should be followed up 
 under your own superintendence in the approaching 
 session ot the provincial Legislature. I therefore 
 feel it my duty to abstain from laying your resig¬ 
 nation before the Queen until I shall have had an 
 
opportunity of consulting my colleagues collectively 
 as to the course which it will be right for me 
 to adopt. The absence of several of them from 
 London at the present moment precludes my doing 
 this immediately, although the delay, I trust, will be 
 of very short duration. In the mean time I pur¬ 
 posely abstain from adverting to any of the topics 
 which you have introduced into your despatch. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) Glenelg. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Bond Head. 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 No. 247. 
 
 Downing-street, 24 th Nov., 1837. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In my despatch of the 26th of October, No. 238, 
 I acknowledged the receipt of your despatch of 
 the 10th of September, No. 99, and informed you 
 that I had felt it to be my duty to abstain from lay¬ 
 ing before the Queen your resignation of the office of 
 Lieutenant-Governor of the provineeof Upper Canada, 
 until I should have had an opportunity of consulting my 
 colleagues collectively, as to the course which it would 
 be right for me to adopt. Her Majesty's confiden¬ 
 tial advisers having now bestowed their careful atten¬ 
 tion on the whole subject, I proceed to communicate 
 to you the result of their deliberations. It is due to 
 my own character, and to the station which I have 
 
339 
 
 the honour to hold, that I should connect this com¬ 
 munication with an explicit reference to the various 
 grounds which you have assigned in explanation of 
 your conduct on this occasion. The first of these 
 topics, however, I shall pass over with a very few 
 words. To those who have intrusted me with the 
 office which I now fill I have given the most precise 
 explanation of the mode in w'hich I have executed the 
 duty of superintending your administration of the 
 affairs of Upper Canada. But to an officer serving 
 under my immediate authority, who charges me with 
 having surrendered the exercise of my own independ¬ 
 ent judgment to some invisible and overruling in¬ 
 fluence, exerted for the introduction of republican 
 principles into British North America, I need make 
 no reply—contented to refer to his more calm and 
 deliberate judgment the question whether it is fitting 
 that so serious a charge should be conveyed in such a 
 form, and on such an occasion. 
 
 Commencing with this topic, you next proceed to 
 announce that the system of policy pursued by my pre¬ 
 decessors and by myself, in reference to British North 
 America, is essentially opposed to your own. This 
 declaration naturally leads to the inquiry whether, 
 during the period of our official connexion, there has 
 ever arisen, until the present time, any material ques¬ 
 tion of practical conduct on which we have differed. 
 Our abstract principles may not have been the same: 
 in our official correspondence you may have occasion- 
 
 z 2 
 
ally advanced doctrines to which I have not been able 
 to give my assent. Such disagreements are more or 
 less inseparable from every discussion between those 
 who at once assert for themselves, and respect in 
 others, the free exercise of an independent judgment. 
 
 Habitually indisposed to make my official corre¬ 
 spondence the channel for the debate of abstract ques¬ 
 tions of policy, I have been content to know that you 
 were prepared to obey my instructions, and have felt 
 comparatively very little concern as to the light in 
 which you might regard my opinions. Whatever 
 theoretical distinctions may have existed between you 
 and me, it is at least clear that, subject to the excep¬ 
 tions to be noticed in the sequel, you have avowed your 
 entire acquiescence in the whole tenor of my instruc¬ 
 tions, and that every act of which you have been the 
 author, involving any of the general and permanent in¬ 
 terests of the province, I have sanctioned and approved. 
 
 [After replying to nine trifling subjects of com¬ 
 plaint the despatch proceeds as follows.] 
 
 X. Another specific complaint urged in your 
 despatch is, that I employed, not Mr. Draper, but 
 another gentlemen, as the bearer of my despatches to 
 you respecting the financial affairs of the province. 
 Even this complaint, slight as it may appear, must 
 not pass unnoticed. 
 
 I fully intended to make Mr. Draper the bearer of 
 my despatches in question. With that view he was 
 requested to attend at this office. He promised to do 
 
341 
 
 so, but, from causes unexplained and unknown to me, 
 Mr. Draper left England without presenting himself 
 at this office; and the employment of another mes¬ 
 senger was therefore a matter of inevitable necessity. 
 These facts were communicated to you on the 4th of 
 August. When you wrote your despatch of the 10th 
 of September, you had probably not received that 
 communication. 
 
 In the preceding observations I beg to state that 
 1 mean to make no complaint of Mr. Draper, nor to 
 imply the slightest reflection upon him of any kind. 
 My opinion of that gentleman has been sufficiently 
 attested by the confirmation, since that time, of his 
 appointment as Solicitor-General of the province. 
 
 The next topics to which I have to advert demand 
 the more particular notice, as they appear to be re¬ 
 garded by you as the more immediate and prominent 
 grounds of your resignation. 
 
 XI. You remonstrate against my instruction on 
 the subject of Mx*. Bidwell's eventual promotion to 
 the bench, in case of a future vacancy ; and you de¬ 
 clare your determination never to carry that instruc¬ 
 tion into effect. Your opposition is vindicated by 
 the objections which you make to the political career 
 of Mr. Bidwell, and which, you insist, ought to have 
 forbidden the adoption by her Majesty’s Government 
 of any resolution favourable to that gentleman’s em¬ 
 ployment in the service of the Crown. 
 
 My estimate of Mr. Bidwell’s chai'ucter and claims 
 
342 
 
 to advancement to the bench had been derived chiefly 
 from your own despatches. It was on no lower au¬ 
 thority that I adopted the opinion that he was pro¬ 
 perly eligible for that distinction. You now inform 
 me that you had drawn his character with a light 
 and feeling hand. You had, however, acknowledged 
 Mr. Bidwell to be a gentleman of great abilities, of 
 the first eminence in his profession, and of irreproach¬ 
 able private character. I knew, indeed, that he had 
 formerly taken a very prominent part in opposition to 
 your own measures, and those of your immediate pre¬ 
 decessor. You had stated that his object “ so far as 
 it could be elicited by the conduct of his associates,” 
 was to separate Upper Canada from the parent state ; 
 and you had claimed my assent, in reference to this 
 gentleman, to the proposition, “ that, where a man 
 acts with disloyal associates, his talents aggravate ra¬ 
 ther than extenuate his offence.” I had further been 
 apprized that Mr. Bidwell had entirely retired from 
 political life, confining himself to the duties of his 
 profession, and had ceased to act with the party of 
 which he had formerly been a member. Such was 
 my information when I instructed you eventually 
 to offer to Mr. Bidwell a seat on the bench. I 
 confess that it did not appear to me fit that, 
 under such circumstances, he should be punished 
 by a permanent and irreparable incapacity for a 
 promotion to which, on the grounds of private cha- 
 
343 
 
 racter, no objections could be raised, and to which, on 
 the grounds of professional eminence, he had the 
 highest possible title. It appeared to me dangerous, 
 or rather impracticable, to govern the province on 
 the principle of a proscription of the whole of one 
 large body of the inhabitants. You now indeed 
 make the additional statement that Mr. Bidwell was 
 a member of a revolutionary society called the “ Pro¬ 
 vincial Convention!” Of this fact I was totally 
 ignorant until the receipt of the very despatch now 
 under consideration. By a despatch from you of a 
 still later date, namely of the 22d of September, it 
 appears that a letter bearing the date of the 3rd of 
 August, and the signature of Mr. Bidwell, was pub¬ 
 lished at Toronto on the 20th of September, in which 
 Mr. Bidwell expressly declines to be a member of 
 that society, and complains of the unauthorized use 
 of his name for that purpose. In reporting this fact, 
 you assume that the date which the letter bears was 
 purposely falsified; that Mr. Bidwell had heard of 
 the intentions in his favour, and had published his 
 letter with a false date, in order to remove an objec¬ 
 tion which might have obstructed his advancement. 
 On what authority this accusation is made you have not 
 explained ; and without some such explanation I could 
 not impute what would be in effect a wilful violation 
 of truth to a gentleman whose moral character is 
 
344 
 
 unimpeached by his most decided political antago¬ 
 nists. If, however, the only practical ground of dif¬ 
 ference between you and me had been the promotion 
 of Mr. Bidwell, I should have been anxious, for 
 the present at least, to defer to the strong opinion 
 which you have expressed against my recommenda¬ 
 tion. Mr. Bidwell had certainly no claim of strict 
 right to the promotion in question. Every selection 
 of that kind is an act of discretionary authority in 
 which the Government is not only at liberty, but is 
 bound, to weigh all conflicting prudential considera¬ 
 tions on either side; and, whatever may have been my 
 views respecting Mr. Bidwell’s appointment, I do 
 not scruple to admit that, if I had been to make my 
 choice between the execution of that purpose and your 
 continuance in office, I should not have hesitated to 
 prefer the latter alternative. 
 
 XII. But Mr. Ridout s case is of a different com¬ 
 plexion, and with respect to it I am compelled to 
 acknowledge my irreconcilable dissent from your 
 judgment and conclusions. 
 
 In the despatch to which I am now replying, the 
 particulars of this case are recapitulated but briefly, 
 and therefore with that kind of inaccuracy which is 
 inseparable from the abridgment of any considerable 
 extent of detail. On the other hand, in the corre¬ 
 spondence which has taken place on this subject, and 
 which is comprised in the despatches referred to in 
 
the margin,* will be found a full and careful investi¬ 
 gation and statement of every material circumstance. 
 To that correspondence I reply with confidence, as 
 proving that the course which I pursued was impe¬ 
 ratively forced upon me by the duties of my office, 
 and by the obligations of justice to Mr. Ridout, and 
 of good faith to the province at large. 
 
 I think it necessary, however, to preface the re¬ 
 marks I have to make on this subject by a short 
 summary of the facts as they are to be collected from 
 the papers before me. 
 
 You dismissed Mr. Ridout from the offices of 
 Colonel of Militia, Judge of the District Court of 
 Niagara, and Justice of the Peace, and caused a letter 
 to be addressed to him, in which that measure was 
 stated to have been taken on the ground that it ap¬ 
 peared that he was an active member of a society 
 which had circulated an address insulting to your 
 person and office. Mr. Ridout distinctly denied that 
 he was a member! of that society ; that he had any- 
 
 * Sir F. Head, 12tli Sept. 1836, No. 72. Lord Glenelg, 29th 
 Nov. 1836, No. 113. Sir F. Head, 6th Feb. 1837, No. 13. Lord 
 Glenelg, 5th April, 1837, No. 158. 
 
 f Is it not astonishing that, notwithstanding the uncommon abi¬ 
 lity with which this despatch is written, the Colonial OHice should 
 persist in not seeing the real bearing of the case, namely, that Mr. 
 Kidout cunningly answers the charge that “ he appeared to be an 
 active member,” by stating (what was quite true) that he teas not a 
 member of it? 
 
346 
 
 thing to do with drawing up the address in question ; 
 or that he had even seen it, until it was in circulation 
 in print through the city of Toronto. He trans¬ 
 mitted to you evidence on oatli in corroboration of his 
 statement. As you took no notice of his complaint, 
 he placed in your hands an appeal to myself, having 
 first requested, in terms to which no possible ob¬ 
 jection could be made, that, if there were any other 
 reasons for his dismissal than that which you had 
 assigned to him, lie might be informed of them. You 
 did not comply with this request, but, in transmitting 
 to me his appeal, you imputed to Mr. Ridout various 
 acts of misconduct to which no allusion had been 
 made in your correspondence with him. I answered 
 you by stating in effect that, in deciding on Mr. 
 Ridout’s appeal, it was impossible for me to advert 
 to any other grounds of accusation than that which 
 had been made known to Mr. Ridout as the cause of 
 his dismissal. 
 
 I explained the reasons which led me to regard as 
 satisfactory Mr. Ridout’s defence against the charge 
 of which alone he had been informed, and I signified 
 to you his late Majesty’s commands that Mr. Ridout 
 should be permitted to resume the various employ¬ 
 ments from which he had been removed. Against 
 this decision you remonstrated in your despatch of 
 the 6th of f ebruary. \ ou then for the first time 
 
347 
 
 informed me that you had acted on this subject with 
 the advice of the Executive Council. In my reply 
 of the 5th of April, after stating my dissent from 
 some of the principles which you had maintained 
 with reference to this case, I further addressed you 
 in the following terms :— 
 
 “ From your despatch of the 6th of February, I 
 now, however, for the first time, learn that Mr. 
 Hidout’s removal from office was recommended by 
 the Executive Council; and I further learn that they 
 adhere to their original opinion.” [See the despatch 
 already before the reader.] 
 
 I have entered on the preceding statement as ne¬ 
 cessary to explain and justify the very material fact 
 which I am desirous to record. That fact is, that 
 the instructions which you now refuse to obey do not 
 direct Mr. Ridout’s reinstatement. In the exercise 
 of the authority with which I was invested, I directed 
 you to place a Judge, whom you had dismissed from 
 office, in possession of the grounds of that very grave 
 proceeding, before I could confirm his removal. I 
 called upon you to render to him that measure of jus¬ 
 tice which the humblest member of society is entitled 
 to demand, by making known to him what were the 
 reasons on which the representative of his Sovereign 
 had sentenced him to degradation and punishment.* 
 
 * This despatch had scarcely left the Colonial Office when Toronto 
 
348 
 
 This is the instruction which you meet with a direct 
 and positive refusal. Such is one of the most pro¬ 
 minent grounds on which, at a moment of extreme 
 embarrassment and difficulty, you have resigned the 
 administration of the Government of Upper Canada. 
 Your deliberate refusal to obey my instructions of 
 the 5th of April is communicated to me for the first 
 time in a despatch dated on the 10th of September. 
 It is to be collected, from other communications of 
 yours which are recorded in this office, that my de¬ 
 spatch of the 5th of April had reached your hands 
 on the 26th of June; that is, between two and three 
 months before the date of the peremptory declara¬ 
 tion that on this point, at least, you would not con¬ 
 form to the unequivocal instructions of your official 
 superior. You must permit me to say that your 
 purpose ought to have been much sooner announced. 
 
 I cannot acknowledge the justice or propriety of 
 leaving me so long in ignorance of such a decision, 
 and of the resignation, which you represent as im¬ 
 mediately and unavoidably connected with it. 
 
 I have thus noticed, separately and distinctly, the 
 various accusations of which, in your despatch of the 
 10th of September, you have made me the object. I 
 
 was attacked by the rebels. Surely this fact ought to vindicate the 
 ■\ery few dismissals which I had previously made. 
 
 If I had been arbitrary or unjust, could I have withstood the re¬ 
 bellion without troops ? 
 
349 
 
 have not stopped to comment on particular expres¬ 
 sions, or on the general tone and style of that com¬ 
 munication. The respect with which her Majesty s 
 Government have invariably acknowledged your pub¬ 
 lic services is too sincerely entertained to leave room 
 for any other feeling than that ot regret, in contem¬ 
 plating the position which you have thought it proper 
 to assume with relation to them. So long as I could 
 rely on your assurance that your policy would be re¬ 
 gulated by the instructions which you had received 
 from me, I felt fully justified in continuing in your 
 hands the administration of the province. You now, 
 however, inform me that you have felt it your duty 
 frankly to disclose to me opinions and sentiments, 
 which, being hostile to the policy of the ofiice over 
 which 1 preside, ought not to be withheld from me. 
 You have accompanied this disclosure with a positive 
 refusal to carry my instructions into effect, in a case 
 in which that refusal involves not only disobedience 
 to my directions, but actual injustice to an individual 
 who has appealed to me for redress. 
 
 Under these circumstances her Majesty’s Minis¬ 
 ters have, after the fullest deliberation, thought it 
 their duty to tender to the Queen their advice that 
 your resignation should be accepted ; and I have 
 received her Majesty’s commands to signify to you 
 her acceptance of it accordingly. 
 
 In conformity with your request, your successor 
 will proceed to Upper Canada with the least possible 
 
350 
 
 delay. In the mean time, I rely on your devoting 
 the short period of your future administration of the 
 affairs of Upper Canada to the protection and ad¬ 
 vancement of those highly important interests which, 
 during the last two years, have been intrusted to your 
 guidance with so much advantage to the public ser¬ 
 vice. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) Glenelg. 
 
 (copy). No. 11. 
 
 Toronto, January 2(Sth, 1838 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your Lordship’s despatch. No. 247, dated 24th No¬ 
 vember, 1837, in which you inform me that her 
 Majesty has been graciously pleased to accept my 
 lesignation, and that my successor will proceed to 
 Upper Canada with the least possible delay. 
 
 A.s I had not only tendered my resignation, but 
 had deliberately refused to carry into effect the com¬ 
 mands I had received from your Lordship respecting 
 the restoration of Judge Ridout to the offices from 
 Avhich I had removed him, and respecting the eleva¬ 
 tion of Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, I was quite pre¬ 
 pared to have received from her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment, with the utmost submission, the above commu- 
 
351 
 
 nications, and I can truly assure your Lordship that, 
 expecting they would have been delivered to me 
 without comment, I was also not only prepared but 
 desirous to have expressed to your Lordship and to 
 her Majesty’s Government my deep regret at having 
 from a sense of public duty been obliged to place 
 myself in opposition to their wishes. I was further 
 prepared to have begged your Lordship to pardon any 
 expression which, in the conscientious resistance of 
 your Lordship’s policy, I might inadvertently have 
 made use of, and to be assured that it had never been 
 my intention or desire to appear wanting to your 
 Lordship in respect for your private character or 
 public station. 
 
 These feelings I continue to entertain; but your 
 Lordship's late communication having coupled the 
 acceptation of my resignation with certain remarks, 
 I feel it due to the station I vet hold to record the 
 requisite explanation, particularly because it is evi¬ 
 dent to me, from the ingenuity of the extracts quoted 
 in your despatch, that they have been selected, dove¬ 
 tailed, and then brought before your Lordship’s con¬ 
 sideration by some person of considerable ability and 
 experience in what is commonly called “ special 
 pleading.” 
 
 1. In your Lordship’s despatch it is stated, “with 
 “ the solitary exception ol the proposed surrender of 
 “ the territorial revenue, I had not, from the com- 
 “ mencement of your administration until my receipt 
 
352 
 
 “ of your despatch of the 10th September, 1837, the 
 “ slightest reason to know or to surmise that, among 
 “ the measures prescribed for your adoption in my 
 “ original instructions, there was any one to which 
 “ you did not completely and cordially subscribe;” 
 and your Lordship added, “ therefore the contrast 
 “ which you declare to have existed between your 
 “ policy and mine has really prevailed in reference to 
 “ the specific measures indicated by my original in- 
 “ structions. I can only state that my ignorance of 
 “ the fact has been as unavoidable as it has been 
 “ complete.” 
 
 In order to support this view of the case, which of 
 course tends to show that I acted irrationally in ten¬ 
 dering my resignation, a few extracts are selected 
 from two or three of my despatches, in which it is 
 perfectly true that I distinctly avowed my approbation 
 of the original instructions which, on my appoint¬ 
 ment, I had had the honour to receive from your 
 Lordship. Nevertheless, notwithstanding this avowal, 
 the whole series of my despatches continuously prove 
 that I much more explicitly avowed my disapproval 
 of your Lordship’s policy ; and, though I do not pre¬ 
 sume to blame your Lordship, yet I feel I have reason 
 to complain that extracts, showing my approbation of 
 my instructions, are quoted against me in your Lord¬ 
 ship’s despatch, for the apparent purpose of convict¬ 
 ing me ot having expressed my approval of your 
 policy, whereas the disagreement which existed be- 
 
353 
 
 tween your Lordship and myself (not respecting my 
 instructions, but the impolicy of conciliation) has 
 never subsided for a moment since the first day of 
 my arrival in this province. 
 
 I could quote from my despatches, if it were neces¬ 
 sary, a series of extracts which would indisputably 
 show that, from the date of the elevation to the Bench 
 in Lower Canada of the author of the 92 resolutions, 
 down to the period of your Lordship’s proposed resto¬ 
 ration in this province of Judge Ridout, and of the 
 proposed elevation of Mr. Bidwell, I opposed, in the 
 strongest possible terms, the fatal system of concilia¬ 
 tion ; and, far from my not having differed from your 
 Lordship, I am sure it must have been notorious 
 throughout the British North American Colonies, 
 and even in England, that I was in this province 
 openly pursuing a course of policy diametrically 
 opposite to that which was theoretically advocated by 
 the Colonial (Mice, and practically carried into effect 
 in Lower Canada. 
 
 It is true that, on being supported by the people of 
 Upper Canada, and on gaining by a dissolution of 
 the Provincial Parliament an overwhelming constitu¬ 
 tional majority in the House of Assembly, I felt it 
 proper, on the common principle of official courtesy, 
 to ascribe the whole credit of the victory to the in¬ 
 structions (not the policy) which had emanated from 
 her Majesty’s Government; but I certainly did not 
 expect that this compliment would have been quoted 
 
 2 a 
 
u 
 
 354 
 « 
 
 against me with a view to show that your Lordship 
 had received no notice or warning that I was hostile 
 to the policy of her Majesty’s Government, until you 
 were suddenly embarrassed by the receipt of my 
 unexpected resignation, dated 10th September, 1837. 
 
 2. Your Lordship’s despatch next proceeds at 
 great length to show “that there is no one of my 
 reputed acts or proceedings in which the general in¬ 
 terests of the province were involved which has not 
 received your sanction. 5 ’ 
 
 Your Lordship’s despatch supports this assertion 
 by quotations from your own despatches, which, as 
 far as the words go, clearly substantiate the fact, but 
 your Lordship’s despatch has omitted the dates , 
 which, had they been quoted with the words , would 
 have proved the accuracy of my complaint, which 
 was, not that support had been altogether denied me, 
 but that it had been withheld from me during the 
 various struggles in which I had been involved ; and, 
 as Lord Chesterfield granted it to Johnson, only be¬ 
 stowed when success had considerably impaired its 
 importance. 
 
 I have before me a quantity of minute evidence on 
 this subject, but, casting it aside, I appeal at once to 
 the English Government newspapers and to the 
 Journals of the House of Commons—both of which 
 I am sure will prove to any unprejudiced person 
 that, ever since my arrival in this province, a most 
 remarkable silence has shrouded every victory which 
 
I have gained over the Republicans ; and, as one in¬ 
 instance of this discouraging system, I may observe 
 that Mr. Hume was allowed, on the floor of the 
 House of Commons, to act in the fictitious character 
 of accredited agent or representative of the people of 
 Upper Canada, long after Her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment were in official possession of my despatch con¬ 
 cerning a report from the House of Assembly, which 
 in the strongest possible terms repudiated Mr. Hume 
 as well as the treasonable language which he had 
 addressed to Mr. M'Kenzie, for whose apprehension, 
 as an absconded traitor, the sum of one thousand 
 pounds is at this moment offered by the Executive 
 Government of this province. 
 
 As the above observations will, I conceive, suffi¬ 
 ciently prove what, in British North America, is 
 perfectly notorious—namely, that in the arduous 
 struggles in which I have been engaged here, I have 
 not received from her Majesty’s Government oppor¬ 
 tune support, I feel it unnecessary to notice the par¬ 
 ticular cases of Captain Macaulay, the Executive 
 Council, the loyal addresses, the speech from the 
 Throne, and Mr. Sullivan’s appointment, which 
 are adverted to at great length in your Lordship’s 
 despatch, and which, I can assure your Lordship, 
 would appear to you under a very different aspect 
 were I, by a proper adjustment of dates and facts, 
 to lay the subjects fairly before you. I will, there¬ 
 fore, at once proceed to the non-confirmation of her 
 
 2 a 2 
 
356 
 
 < 
 
 Majesty’s Attorney and Solicitor-General, which, in 
 my despatch of the 10th of September, I so seriously 
 complained of. 
 
 Your Lordship’s observations on this subject, in 
 your late despatch, require but little reply, as it 
 appears that all I complained of is, in fact, admitted 
 by your Lordship, that is to say, you admit that both 
 these important appointments were suspended merely 
 because “A. member of the General Assembly of 
 Scotland had transmitted for your Lordship’s inform¬ 
 ation certain printed x'esolutions of the Presbytery 
 of that Church in Upper Canada, which resolutions 
 represented that in the session of 1836 Mr. 
 I lager man had, in his place in the House of As¬ 
 sembly of Upper Canada, held language and pur¬ 
 sued a line of conduct highly injurious to the cha¬ 
 racter and interests of the Scotch Church, and in 
 direct opposition to the avowed policy and recorded 
 opinions of the Ministers of the Crown.” 
 
 It has now turned out that your Lordship’s soli¬ 
 tary self-interested informant (a Scotchman, whose 
 accusations were founded on some extract he had 
 read from a most profligate newspaper) was in error; 
 but, even had he been right, I respectfully repeat 
 and maintain, that so long as a colony has a pro¬ 
 vincial legislature which can read, write, and speak 
 foi itself, no private individual who gets worsted in a 
 leligious squabble should be allowed to arrest, in 
 opposition to the recommendation of the Lieutenant- 
 
357 
 
 Governor, the promotion of Loth her Majesty’s 
 Attorney and Solicitor-General, until they can pub¬ 
 licly vindicate themselves from the poisonous accusa¬ 
 tions which the secret informer has been allowed to 
 pour into the ear of the Colonial Minister. 
 
 The Attorney-General (Mr. Hagerman) is known 
 at your Lordship’s office to he a stanch uncompro¬ 
 mising supporter of British principles, and I have no 
 hesitation in repeating that the marked indignity 
 which he and the Solicitor-General have received 
 has had a bad moral effect. 
 
 3. With respect to the reception which was given 
 at your Lordship’s office to the Solicitor-General, 
 the Honourable W. H. Draper, who, as a member 
 of my Executive Council, was especially despatched 
 by me to your Lordship, to explain the views which 
 the Executive Government here took in opposition 
 
 to the departmental conduct of Mr.- (who was 
 
 consequently exactly the last individual in the pro¬ 
 vince whom it would have been proper to have 
 selected for such a mission), I have only to inform 
 your Lordship that Mr. Draper, whose mild inoffen¬ 
 sive character and sound constitutional principles 
 are highly admired here, on his return to Toronto 
 from England, confessed to me, rather than com¬ 
 plained, that in the course of his lifetime he had 
 never had so much difficulty in suppressing his feel¬ 
 ings as on his first interview with your Lordship’s 
 Under-Secretary, Mr. Stephen, whose whole manner 
 
358 
 
 towards him was not only repulsive but highly 
 offensive. 
 
 Had Messrs.-and Draper been mere private 
 
 individuals, the eulogium which your Lordship’s de¬ 
 spatch passes on the former, and the neglect which 
 was shown to the latter, would interest no one ; but, 
 while Mr. Draper appeared at the Colonial Office as 
 a member of my Executive Council, and as an indi¬ 
 vidual devotedly attached to constitutional princi¬ 
 ples, Mr.- appeared there recorded as one of 
 
 the five members ot my late Executive Council, who, 
 shortly after my arrival, had made an attack upon 
 the constitution, which, being immediately backed by 
 the then House of Assembly, obliged me to dissolve 
 the Parliament and appeal to the people (who sup¬ 
 ported me), which had the effect of discarding Mr. 
 Speaker Bidwell and the other republican members 
 from the House of Assembly. 
 
 It was also recorded in your Lordship’s office that 
 
 Mr.-— had been named with Mr. Bidwell, Mr. 
 
 Papineau, and others of the same politics, as com¬ 
 missioners for an object which, though .artfully 
 veiled, was very generally and naturally here be¬ 
 lieved to be revolutionary. Under these circum¬ 
 stances, surely it must be very evident to your Lord- 
 ship that it would have appeared a measure of con¬ 
 ciliation highly offensive to my Council had I, 
 as Lieutenant-Governor of this province, selected 
 Ml '. --as the individual in Upper Canada most 
 
359 
 
 worthy of my confidence; and it certainly remains 
 for whoever may have advised your Lordship on this 
 subject to explain why, when all these facts were 
 recorded in the Colonial Office, your Lordship’s de¬ 
 spatch should persist in giving so decided a prefer¬ 
 ence to Mr.-, at the expense of Mr. Draper, a 
 
 loyal member of my Executive Council, whom I had 
 especially despatched to your Lordship to explain 
 the precise views of the Executive Government, of 
 which he officially was cognizant. 
 
 With respect to the despatches on the subject of 
 Mr. Draper’s mission, which were given to Major 
 Bonnycastle instead of to Mr. Draper (although it 
 was known at the Colonial Office that both these 
 gentlemen were to sail for New York in the same 
 packet), your Lordship states,— 
 
 I fully intended to make Mr. Draper the bearer of the 
 despatches in question. With that view he was requested 
 to attend at this office. He intended to do so, but, from 
 causes unexplained and unknown to me, Mr. Draper left 
 England without presenting himself at this office, and the 
 employment of another messenger was therefore a matter 
 of inevitable necessity. 
 
 If the united testimony of Mr. Draper and of 
 Major Bonnycastle be correct, your Lordship’s 
 obliging intentions towards Mr. Draper have been 
 frustrated in a manner which I think it but proper 
 your Lordship should be made acquainted with. 
 
 Mr. Draper admits that, by appointment, he was to 
 
360 
 
 have called at the Colonial Office on the day before 
 the packet sailed ; that he did call accordingly, but 
 not at the appointed hour. Major Bonnycastle, how¬ 
 ever, states that your Under-Secretary, Mr. Stephen, 
 told him, two or three days previous to the sailing of 
 the packet, that he (Major Bonnycastle) would he 
 the bearer of the despatches ; that he accordingly 
 asked Mr. Murdock (a clerk in your Lordship’s office, 
 who, he was informed, had charge of the Upper Ca¬ 
 nada correspondence) for them; that Mr. Murdock 
 told him that the despatches would not be given to 
 him; that he (Major Bonnycastle) went and told Mr. 
 Stephen what Mr. Murdock had said, upon which 
 Mi.Stephen sent for Mr. Murdock, and, in his (Major 
 Bonnycastle’s) presence, told Mr. Murdock, very an¬ 
 grily, that he, Mr. Murdock, ought to obey the in¬ 
 structions he had received, and that he was to give 
 the despatches to Major Bonnycastle . 
 
 4. I M ill now proceed to the two principal topics 
 in youi Lordships despatch, namely, my refusal to 
 raise Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, or to restore Judge 
 Bidout to the offices from which I had removed him 
 and my consequent resignation. 
 
 My Lord, I had not been a fortnight in this coun¬ 
 try when your Lordship wrote to me, suggesting for 
 my consideration “that it would be a very judicious 
 act on the part of the Government to place in sta¬ 
 tions of trust and honour those gentlemen of Upper 
 Canada (Mr. Rolph and Mr. Speaker Bidwell) who 
 
361 
 
 had been represented to you as among the most able, 
 popular, and estimable men in the colony.” 
 
 The recommendation submitted by your Lordship 
 for my consideration was, “ that Mr. Rolph should 
 be a member of the Executive Council, and Mr. Lid- 
 well be placed on the judicial bench.” 
 
 5. With respect to Dr. Rolph, the first individual 
 mentioned to me by your Lordship as a person whom 
 it might “ be a very judicious act on the part oj the 
 Government to place in a station of trust and honour, 
 l feel it only necessary to state that, next to Mr. 
 M'Kenzie, Dr. Rolph has been proved to have been 
 the most insidious, the most crafty, the most blood¬ 
 thirsty, the most treacherous, the most cowardly, and, 
 taking his character altogether, the most infamous of 
 the traitors who lately assailed us. After having 
 been the person who fixed the day on which Toronto 
 was to be attacked, he hypocritically undertook to be 
 the bearer of my appeal to the rebels, to avoid the 
 effusion of human blood; and it has actually been 
 proved before the Commission which is now investi¬ 
 gating this treasonable affair, that, after Dr. Rolph 
 and Mr. Robert Baldwin had delivered this message 
 from me, the former, Dr. Rolph, went aside with two 
 of the principal traitors, and diabolically recom¬ 
 mended them to come and attack the town. 
 
 I will only add that Dr. Rolph’s consciousness of 
 the part he had acted prompted him to fly to the 
 United States (before any idea was entertained of 
 
362 
 
 arresting him) the moment it became evident that 
 the treacherous attack he had planned would not 
 succeed. As a fugitive traitor, his seat in the House 
 of Assembly has just been declared void, with only 
 two dissentient voices, which merely disagreed on a 
 question of form. 
 
 With respect to the other individual (Mr. Bid- 
 well) mentioned to me by your Lordship as a person 
 whom it might “ be a very judicious act on the part 
 of the Government to place in a station of trust and 
 honour ,” it is certainly remarkable that, within less 
 than a month from the date of the above recommend¬ 
 ation, both he (Mr. Bidwell) and Dr. Rolph, the 
 foimer as Speaker, the latter as Executive Council¬ 
 lor, joined in perhaps the most ferocious attack that 
 ever was made by any Council or House of Assembly 
 upon the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony. The 
 grossly insulting language which was used against 
 me, every word of which has long ago been trans¬ 
 mitted to your Lordship, is, I maintain, without pre¬ 
 cedent; and, although your Lordship did not sup- 
 poit me duiing this conflict with these persons, yet, 
 when it was decided in my favour, you did not hesitate 
 to approve of the resistance I had made against their 
 violent aggression upon the constitution of the pro¬ 
 vince. Nevertheless, notwithstanding Mr. Bidwell 
 m consequence of his Republican doctrines, and of 
 ns avowed connexion with Air. Papineau, was pub¬ 
 licly driven, not only from the Speakership, but from 
 
363 
 
 the House of Assembly itself; and notwithstanding 
 that in my Despatch No. 41, dated 5th April, 1S3/, 
 
 I voluntarily explained to your Lordship why I could 
 not conscientiously place him on the Dench, yet, with 
 all this mass of evidence on your mind, your Lord- 
 ship deemed it advisable deliberately to inform me 
 that it was the wish of her Majesty’s Government 
 that the situation ol Judge ol the Court of King s 
 Dench should, in case ol an expected vacancy, be 
 offered to Mr. Didwell! 
 
 In vindication of this appointment your Lordship’s 
 late despatch states as follows .—“ I confess that it 
 “ did not appear to me lit that, under such circum- 
 “ stances, he (Mr. Didwell) should be punished by a 
 « permanent and irreparable incapacity for a promotion 
 “ to which, on the grounds of private character, no 
 “ objection could be raised, and to which, on the 
 “ grounds of professional eminence, he had the highest 
 “ possible title. It appeared to me dangerous, or 
 “ rather impracticable, to govern the province on the 
 “ principle of a proscription of the whole of one large 
 “ body of the inhabitants.” 
 
 What were the dangers which your Lordship 
 apprehended, — what were the principles upon 
 which your Lordship proposed to govern the North 
 American colonies,—and why your Lordship desig¬ 
 nated the small band of traitors, whose conspiracy 
 has lately been exploded without the assistance ol a 
 single soldier, “ the whole of one large body oj the 
 
364 
 
 inhabitants ,”—I will not presume to inquire, but 
 will simply state the following fact. 
 
 Your Lordship’s communication to me of the desire 
 of her Majesty’s Government to elevate Mr. Bid- 
 well to the Bench reached me on the 1st of Septem- 
 bei last, just two days after Mr. Bidwell had addressed 
 a letter to Mr. O c Callaghan (a traitor, for whose 
 apprehension a reward of 500/. has been offered by 
 Lord Gosford), which was published in his own 
 newspaper, and of which the following is an ex¬ 
 tract :— 
 
 Retired from public life, probably for ever, I still look 
 with the deepest interest and sympathy on the efforts of 
 those who are actively contending for the great principles 
 of liberty and good government. Your great and power¬ 
 ful exertion in the cause of liberty and justice I have 
 noticed with admiration and respect, and I look with deep 
 interest on the struggle in Lower Canada, between an 
 insulted, oppressed, and injured people and their op¬ 
 pressors. —All hope of justice from the authorities in Eng¬ 
 land seems to be extinguished. 
 
 My Lord, if I have been wanting in respect to her 
 Majesty s Ministers, I offer to them the foregoing ex¬ 
 tract as my apology; for even at this moment of my 
 approaching departure for ever from this province, the 
 very idea of my having been desired to elevate the 
 writer of such sentiments to the British Bench 
 creates within me feelings which it is difficult to sup¬ 
 press. Under the excitement of these feelings, I 
 
365 
 
 positively refused to obey your Lordship’s instructions, 
 and I respectfully tendered toiler Majesty my resig¬ 
 nation of the station I hold. Events have since 
 proved that the judgment I had formed ol the dan¬ 
 gerous effects of conciliation was not incorrect. 
 Treason, which had long slumbered in this province, 
 having been fanned by conciliation, suddenly burst 
 into a flame. The details of the late rebellion, as 
 contained in my despatch dated December 19th, No. 
 132, have already explained to your Lordship that on 
 the 7th of December last the brave militia of Upper 
 Canada drove the rebels from their position at Gal¬ 
 lows Hill; that their place of rendezvous, Montgo¬ 
 mery’s Tavern, immediately fell into their possession; 
 and that, on a small party reaching it, they found, 
 brought out, and unfurled in triumph before their 
 comrades, the traitor’s flag, upon which was inscribed 
 in large letters,— 
 
 “ Bidwell and the glorious minority, 
 
 1837, and a good beginning.” 
 
 My Lord, if that flag had, as was expected by its 
 followers, triumphantly entered ’loronto, I have no 
 hesitation in saying it woidd have waved over the 
 corpse ot every loyal subject in the city , indeed, uc 
 have received evidence that a general massacre ol the 
 Queen’s loyal subjects would have been attempted. 
 The flag in question was captured on the 7th 
 December last, just six days alter the departure from 
 Downing Street of your Lordship s despatch, which. 
 
366 
 
 in leply to my declaration, that, so long as I continued 
 to be Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, I would 
 never raise Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, informed me 
 " that her Majesty's ministers have , after the fullest 
 deliberation , thought it their duty to tender to the 
 Queen their advice that my resignation should be 
 accepted 
 
 I beg leave to place these facts on record, without 
 a comment. 
 
 7. It gives me pain to reply to that part of your 
 Lordship’s despatch which relates to my refusal to 
 restore Judge Ridout to the offices from which I had 
 lemoved him. The despatch says nothing in favour 
 of the Judge’s proposal to tar and feather me; 
 nothing in favour of the whole course of his political 
 misconduct; nor does it in any way oppose my opinion, 
 or the opinion of the Executive Council, that Judge 
 Ridout was not a proper person to be allowed to 
 continue in office under the British Government; 
 but the despatch clings with inexplicable tenacity to 
 a fact which I have always fully admitted, namely, 
 that I disclosed to Judge Ridout only a part, instead 
 of the whole, of the reasons, for which I had felt it 
 necessary to inform him that his late Majesty had 
 no further occasion for his services; and because I had 
 adopted this course, your Lordship declares, “ it was 
 impossible for me to advert to any other grounds of 
 accusation than that which had been made knoicn to 
 Mr. Ridout as the cause of his dismissal Even in 
 
367 
 
 peaceful times, I am not aware that it is usual always 
 to satisfy every public servant of all the reasons for 
 which his services are no longer required ; but in the 
 moment of mutiny, or on the eve of a traitorous in¬ 
 surrection, such as I have just quelled, any man who 
 understands how to wield power, knows, that a well- 
 timed and unexpected display of just authority inva¬ 
 riably effects most striking results. This result was 
 strongly exemplified in my dismissal of Mr. Ridout, 
 which so effectually checked the insults the republi¬ 
 cans were preparing to offer me, that it rendered it 
 almost unnecessary for me again to defend myself; 
 whereas, in Lower Canada, the conciliatory or enduring 
 system of her Majesty’s Government was exercised 
 until the Royal Gazette suddenly teemed with dis¬ 
 missals, which, however, were too late to produce any¬ 
 thing but tbe most insulting and disreputable replies. 
 
 My Lord, I submit to the candid consideration of 
 your Lordship, that my administration of the govern¬ 
 ment of Upper Canada had not authorised her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government to consider me as an arbitrary 
 or vindictive man ; there was, therefore, .no reason 
 to presuppose that I had acted without reflection in 
 any dismissal I had effected; but Mr. Ridout’s case, 
 as it has been detailed to your Lordship, proves that 
 his dismissal was decided on by my judgment and not 
 by my passions, for there was not the slightest occasion 
 that I should have consulted either the Attorney-Gene¬ 
 ral or the Executive Council on the subject; and the 
 
368 
 
 very fact of iny having done so proves that I was de¬ 
 sirous to be guided by reason and justice. As I have 
 already stated to your Lordship, Mr. Ridout’s repub¬ 
 lican friends, fancying that his dismissal might, in a 
 city where almost universal suffrage prevails, secure 
 his election as an alderman, tried the experiment, 
 and failed ; he has never ventured to petition even the 
 House of Assembly on the subject; and I feel I may 
 say that every man of respectability in the province, 
 who is cognizant of the facts, is conscious that Mr. 
 Ridout’s dismissal was not only just, but a necessary 
 measure ; and I have only to add that, in the late 
 insurrection, which has tested all men’s principles, 
 Mr. Ridout is almost the only individual of a respect¬ 
 able family who has not either taken up or declared 
 himself ready to take up arms, to put down insur¬ 
 rection, or to repel the perfidious invasion of this 
 province by American citizens.* 
 
 My Lord, I have now finished the painful duty of 
 replying to your Lordship’s last communication ; and, 
 as I daily expect to hear of the arrival in the pro¬ 
 vince of my successor, I can have little desire to 
 protract a discussion which nothing but a strong 
 
 * After I had retired from the Government of Upper Canada, Sir 
 George Arthur, who succeeded me, investigated Mr. Ridout's case 
 by order of the Colonial Office : every chance was given to him in my 
 absence of shewing cause for his restoration to office.—I understand 
 that he totally failed, and that Sir George Arthur most decidedly 
 recommended that Judge Ridout should not be restored to the 
 offices from which I had removed him. 
 
369 
 
 sense of duty would have forced me to undertake. 
 Your Lordship cannot, I think, help observing with 
 astonishment, that, in the particular cases mentioned 
 in this despatch, the friends of British institutions 
 have certainly been depressed, and their opponents 
 elevated, by the Colonial Office ; your Lordship, how¬ 
 ever, would, I believe, not only be astonished, but 
 alarmed, were I indisputably to prove to you, as I 
 readily could do, that this unnaturul and destructive 
 system has long characterised the practical policy of 
 the Colonial Office, although it has been governed 
 by noblemen, like your Lordship, of high character 
 and worth. 
 
 I should not do justice to the brave and loyal peo¬ 
 ple of Upper Canada, who have protected my charac¬ 
 ter, my policy, and my life, were I, in taking leave 
 of them as well as of your Lordship, to shrink from 
 recording as my deliberate opinion that the hidden 
 cause of our colonial misrule—the secret reason why 
 Papineau, M'Kenzie, Rolph, Bidwell, Bedart, De- 
 bortz, Ridout, and others of similar politics, have been 
 openly supported by the Colonial Office in propor¬ 
 tion as the loyal population has been depressed—has 
 already been disclosed to your Lordship in my de¬ 
 spatch No. 132, dated 19th December, 1837, of 
 which the following is an extract:— 
 
 « My Lord, —It has long been notorious to every British 
 subject in the Canadas that your Lordship's Under-Secre¬ 
 tary, the author of our colonial despatches, is a rank re- 
 
 2 B 
 
 
370 
 
 publican. His sentiments, his conduct, and his political 
 character are here alike detested, and I enclose to your 
 Lordship Mr. M f Kenzie’s last newspaper, which, traitorous 
 as it is, contains nothing more conducive to treason than the 
 extracts which, as its text, it exultingly quotes from the 
 published opinions of her Majesty’s Under-Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies ! ” 
 
 The following are the extracts above alluded to as 
 republished by Mr. M‘Kenzie :— 
 
 Evidence given by James Stephen, junior. Assistant 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies, before the House of 
 Commons Committee on the Government of Canada, 1828 . 
 It is impossible (says Mr. Stephen) to suppose the Cana¬ 
 dians dread your power; it is not easy to believe that the 
 abstract duty of loyalty, as distinguished from the sentiment 
 of loyalty, can be very strongly felt. The right of rejecting 
 European dominion has been so often asserted in North and 
 South America, that revolt can scarcely be esteemed in 
 those continents as criminal or disgraceful. Neither does 
 it seem to me that a sense of national pride or importance is 
 in your favour. It cannot be regarded as an enviable dis¬ 
 tinction to remain the only dependent portion of the New 
 World." 
 
 As Lieutenant-Governor of this province I have 
 already stated my opinion of these execrable senti¬ 
 ments. That they are totally incompatible with the 
 station of an Under-Secretary of State for the Colo¬ 
 nies is, I conceive, a fact which is undeniable; and 
 that these sentiments are not only disloyal, but er¬ 
 roneous, will, I think, appear from the following 
 short observations;— 
 
371 
 
 1. Mr. Stephen says “ it is impossible to suppose 
 the Canadians dread your power.” That they do 
 dread our power has just been proved by the late 
 total defeat of Mr. Papineau and the whole of his 
 force, who laid down their arms to our soldiers ; all 
 the principal leaders have absconded for no other 
 reason but “ dread of our power?' 2. Mr. Stephen 
 asserts, that on this continent “ revolt can scarcely be 
 esteemed as criminal or disgraceful .” That the in¬ 
 habitants of Upper Canada, like all honourable men, 
 consider revolt against the parental Government 
 under which they live as an act both criminal and dis¬ 
 graceful, has been proved by the noble and successful 
 exertions they have just made to put down treason 
 and to bring to justice concealed traitors. 3. Mr. 
 Stephen declares as his opinion, “ that it cannot be 
 regarded as an enviable distinction to remain the only 
 dependent portion of the New JVorld” 
 
 Not only has Upper Canada put down insurrection, 
 but its brave and high-minded inhabitants have just 
 rushed, armed as well as unarmed, to their eastern as 
 well as to their western frontier, to repel the invasion 
 of their allies, American citizens, who, from New 
 York to Michigen, have been collecting money, men, 
 and arms, for the object of forcibly branding Upper 
 Canada with the independence or mobocracy under 
 which they themselves are publicly suffering. 
 
 The American force which has been brought against 
 us, although powerful enough against all their au- 
 
 2 b 2 
 
372 
 
 thorities to rob their own state-arsenals of arms and 
 cannon, proved unable to attain its perfidious object; 
 and I have no hesitation in saying that Upper Canada 
 feels at this moment proud of the “ enviable distinc¬ 
 tion” of being dependent on the British empire, whose 
 brilliant history it venerates, and whose Sovereign it 
 affectionately adores, with a loyalty which has just 
 called forth the unsolicited thanks and admiration of 
 the three branches of the Legislature of the gallant 
 province of New Brunswick, another North American 
 province which, contrary to Mr. Stephen's theory, 
 voluntarily remains “ one of the dependent portions 
 of the New World? 
 
 As I entertain no sentiments of animosity against 
 Mr. Stephen, it has been with very great reluctance 
 that I have mentioned his name; but, being deeply 
 sensible that this province has been signally pro¬ 
 tected by an omnipotent Providence during the late 
 unnatural rebellion, I feel it my duty, in retiring 
 from this continent, to divulge, through your Lord- 
 ship, to my Sovereign, my opinion of the latent cause 
 of our unfortunate misgovernment of the Canadas. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient 
 
 humble servant, 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
373 
 
 With respect to the foregoing serious allegations I 
 must be permitted at once to express my deep and 
 unfeigned regret at the necessity which, in a moment 
 of rebellion, obliged me, in the stern performance of 
 a most arduous duty, to assail the political principles 
 {quoted against me by Mr. M'Kenzie just before the 
 attack of Toronto) of a gentleman whose moral cha¬ 
 racter is above all reproach. 
 
 It is necessary, however, in my own defence, I 
 should now inform the reader that not only did my pre¬ 
 decessor, his Excellency Sir John Colborne, distinctly 
 allude to this secret irresponsible influence, but that, 
 in two most able reports lately addressed to her Ma¬ 
 jesty by the Legislative Council and House of As¬ 
 sembly of Upper Canada, reflections are diretcly made 
 against Mr. Stephen’s influence and principles; the 
 Legislative Council describing him as “ a gentleman 
 in the Colonial Department,”—the House of As¬ 
 sembly openly mentioning his name. 
 
 Besides this, in the leading article of the Montreal 
 Gazette (one of the most respectably-conducted 
 papers in Lower Canada^ there appeared, on the 
 22nd of November last, eight months after I had left 
 Upper Canada, the following observations : 
 
 We do not desire, as we have never wished, to screen Lord 
 
 ._, as the head of that branch of the Government, 
 
 from censure or blame for the entire absence, or at least 
 neglect, of those qualities which go to the formation ot an 
 
374 
 
 efficient minister of the Crown in his especial sphere of duty, 
 but we may express our regret that a person, so estimable in 
 private life, should have been seduced from the quiet tenor of 
 his way, to accept office in a department, in which the most 
 laborious assiduity and the most resolute firmness of decision 
 were essentially necessary—qualities in which his Lordship 
 could not but have felt his incompetency. Like his colleagues 
 he has appeared to consider that, where politics and parties 
 in England were not affected by the matter in question, 
 every possible evasion of decision, superficial examination, 
 conciliation of the violent, or the exposure of the peaceable, 
 and sacrifice of the weak to the party interests of the influ¬ 
 ential, might be practised with impunity, and that accident, 
 caprice, or inattention to official duties, would not be noticed 
 in Parliament, and public scandal would be thereby avoided. 
 Notwithstanding this opinion which we entertain, every man 
 of common observation must be aware of the utter impossi¬ 
 bility of any individual, however gifted or laborious, to 
 perform all the duties of such an office; he must be more or 
 less dependent upon his subordinates, especially for state¬ 
 ments of facts and circumstantial information, upon which 
 his conclusions and judgment must entirely be founded; and 
 the consequence is, that the individual intrusted with the 
 weighty responsibility of the vast Colonial charge is directed 
 Dy one official, who, unnamed and unseen, has the practical 
 control of the Colonial Office, and is never in any way 
 referred to at home. It is time that this system should be 
 abolished—it is time that the baneful domination of Mr 
 Under-Secretary Stephen should be got rid of, and that an 
 entirely new system of things should be adopted. 
 
 It is well known that Mr. Stephen has for many years 
 past been the confidential adviser and director of the Colo- 
 
375 
 
 nial department; nor can it be doubted that to his evil 
 influence must be ascribed all the misgovernment which 
 these provinces have suffered for so long a period. The in¬ 
 conveniences of a rapid succession of Ministers* entertaining 
 opposite opinions upon colonial administration, may have 
 been felt by other colonies; but in regard to these, for the 
 last fifteen years at least, such inconnveiences appear to have 
 been not so sensibly felt. Whoever was the Minister, the 
 same principles were followed—whatever was the exigency, 
 the same system was continued—and whatever was the na¬ 
 ture of the despatch, the same rule, the same sentiment, and 
 the same doctrines have been employed; all these afford 
 internal evidence of the offender, and point him out to pub¬ 
 lic animadversion. Indeed, since that gentleman has made 
 himself so officially necessary, he has prejudiced colonial 
 interests more than he can, by any means, hope to repair, 
 and has sat as an incubus, not only on Lord Glenelg's 
 breast, and stifled his measures, but has equally stifled the 
 good intentions as well as the active ability of his Lord¬ 
 ship’s predecessors. The House of Assembly of Upper 
 Canada, at its last session, pointedly noticed the influence 
 of the person mentioned above, and we trust that it will 
 be followed up by the Legislatures of the other colonies: 
 their internal peace, their advance in prosperity, and their 
 continued connexion with the parent country, loudly call 
 for the expression of opinion upon a matter of so much im¬ 
 portance to their best interests, and we trust that it will be 
 openly and boldly avowed. 
 
 To this opinion, which is infinitely more ably 
 expressed than my own, I subscribe, and, should I 
 be called upon either by her Majesty’s Government, 
 or by either House of the Imperial Parliament, to 
 
376 
 
 substantiate the allegations I have avowed, I shall at 
 once give the following list of the witnesses to whom 
 I refer:— 
 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland—Sir John Colborne—Sir 
 Archibald Campbell—the Crown Officers of Upper 
 Canada—Chief Justice Robinson—the Legislatures 
 of our North American colonics—the British mer¬ 
 chants in England connected with our North Ame¬ 
 rican provinces—the West India and other merchants 
 connected with our colonies. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Captain Drew, U.N.—Description of the capture of the Caroline— 
 The province again attacked—Farewell Speech to the Legislature— 
 Despatch to Mr. Fox—Fresh invasion—Support of the Legislatures 
 of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick—Address to me from the 
 Speaker of the House of Assembly—Gallant conduct of Cap¬ 
 tain Brown, of her Majesty’s Thirty-second Regiment—Confession 
 of the American General Sutherland—Concluding Despatch to 
 her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
 
 The despatches in the following chapter will speak 
 for themselves. 
 
 No. 15. 
 
 Toronto, Qth February, 1838. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 In my despatch of the 10th of January, which 
 contained a copy of my communication to Mr. Fox 
 at Washington, respecting the capture of the piratical 
 steam-boat the Caroline, I had the honoui to men¬ 
 tion to your Lordship, that, in justice to Captain Drew 
 of her Majesty’s Royal Navy, and the other officers 
 and men engaged in the service alluded to, I should 
 feel it my duty to bring their conduct before the 
 especial attention of her Majesty s Government. 
 
 It is proper, however, I should previously inform 
 your Lordship, that as soon as I found that this 
 
378 
 
 portion of the British empire was perfidiously at¬ 
 tacked and invaded by American citizens, under 
 American leaders termed “ Generals”—that artillery 
 and muskets were brought against us from the State 
 aisenals that Navy Island belonging to her Ma¬ 
 jesty was actually seized by Americans—that batte¬ 
 ries were formed there, from which shot were fired 
 lor many days upon the inoffensive inhabitants of this 
 province and that the island was regularly supplied, 
 by boats from the American shore, with provisions 
 and munitions of war,—I approved of the recommend¬ 
 ation of Colonel M‘Nab, commanding the expedition 
 on the Niagara frontier, that a naval force or flotilla, 
 under officers of experience, should be constituted; 
 and, feeling that it would be unjust, that, in the name 
 of her Majesty, I should require naval officers to 
 leave the back woods, into which they had retired, 
 without recognising them in the professional capacity 
 in which I had especially called them into action, 
 
 I directed my military secretary. Colonel Strachan,’ 
 to forward to Colonel M‘Nab a written communica¬ 
 tion, a copy of which is herewith enclosed, directing 
 him to call upon such naval officers in the province 
 as he might deem proper to select, to afford me their 
 services, on the understanding that they would receive 
 their full pay during the period they were thus pub¬ 
 licly employed by me on her Majesty’s service. 
 
 In consequence of the above communication (which 
 I at once think it right to acknowledge contains no 
 
379 
 
 authority beyond what the Lords of the Admiralty 
 may, from the emergency of the case, deem proper to 
 conform to it) Colonel M‘Nab called upon Captain 
 Drew, R.N., to collect and command a flotilla of 
 gun-boats and other craft, to be immediately fitted 
 out for the purpose of attacking Navy Island. 
 
 While the gun-boats were being prepared, the 
 American force, under the American commander 
 styling himself General Van Ransaller, continued, 
 day after day, to fire from Navy Island upon the un¬ 
 offending inhabitants of the Niagara frontier, although 
 not a gun had been fired on the part ot the British, 
 although the American forces on our island were 
 daily increasing; and although a steam-boat, char¬ 
 tered by these pirates, was actually employed in 
 transporting to the island munitions of war for the 
 purpose of aggravating the insult which, in a mo¬ 
 ment of profound peace, had perfidiously been made 
 by American citizens upon her Britannic Majesty’s 
 dominions. 
 
 Under these circumstances. Colonel M'Nab deter¬ 
 mined, as an act of self-defence, to call upon Captain 
 Drew to capture, burn, or destroy this steam-boat. 
 
 Accordingly, about eleven o’clock the same night. 
 Captain Drew, with five boats, containing nine men 
 each, pushed off from the British shore. The boats 
 were commanded by Captain Drew, R.N., Lieutenant 
 M'Cormack, R.N., Lieutenant John Elmsley, R.N., 
 Lieutenant Christopher Beer, R.N., and- Gor¬ 
 
 don, a commander of a steani-boat. 
 
380 
 
 The crew were composed of volunteers, who em¬ 
 barked in total ignorance of the service in which they 
 were about to be engaged, Captain Drew’s requisition 
 having merely stated “ that he wanted a few fellows 
 with cutlasses who would follow him to the devil.” 
 
 As soon as they were clear from the shore, Cap¬ 
 tain Drew ordered his followers to rest for a few 
 moments on their oars, and, while the current was 
 hurrying them towards the Falls of Niagara, which 
 were immediately below them, he briefly explained to 
 the crew the duty he required them to perform, and 
 the post respectively to be assigned to each. Silence 
 was then preserved until Captain Drew’s boat came 
 within fifteen yards of the steamer (which was ob¬ 
 scurely seen moored to the American wharf at Fort 
 Schlosser), when the sentinel on board in a hurried 
 manner called out “ Boat ahoy ! boat ahoy ! Who 
 comes there ?” 
 
 A man in the bow of the leading boat replied 
 “ Friend !” on which the sentinel called for the coun¬ 
 tersign. “ I'll give it to you when we get on hoard/' 
 replied Captain Drew, who, by this time being close 
 to the vessel, boarded her on the starboard gangway, 
 and, from an over-anxiety in his crew to follow him, 
 it so happened that for more than a minute he was 
 the only assailant on the pirate’s deck. Captain 
 Drew then encountered five men, one of whom fired 
 his musket close to his face, but, missing, he (Captain 
 Drew) immediately cut him down. 
 
 Caotain Drew then disabled another of the pirates, 
 
381 
 
 and, with the flat of his sword, driving the other 
 three before him, occasionally hastening them with 
 the point, he made them step lrom the vessel to the 
 wharf. 
 
 lly this time Lieutenant M'Cormack had boarded 
 on the starboard bow, and, it being so dark that he 
 could not recognise the men he found there, he asked 
 them “ if they were friends or enemies ?” One ol them 
 replied, “ An enemy !” and, immediately firing, snot 
 him through the left arm. Lieutenant M'Cormack 
 instantly cut this man down; several of the pirates 
 then fired upon Lieutenant M'Cormack, and wounded 
 him in five places; yet, in spite ot this, he effectually 
 disabled another of them, and then sinking from loss 
 of blood, the vessel was carried, when Captain Drew 
 immediately ordered a party ol his men to cut her oil. 
 
 It was, however, found that she was moored to the 
 wharf by chains from the bow and quarter, which it 
 required nearly fifteen minutes to unloose. 
 
 During this delay the American guard stationed 
 at the inn above Fort Schlosser turned out, and com¬ 
 menced firing upon the assailants; in consequence 
 of this Lieutenant Elmsley, R.N., heading a volun¬ 
 teer party of sixteen men, armed with nothing but 
 their cutlasses, advanced about thirty yards towards 
 them, and, forming in line, they gallantly stood there 
 to protect the vessel against the American riflemen 
 until the chain cables were cast off. 
 
 The crews, now returning to their respective boats 
 
382 
 
 towed the vessel from the wharf, but, the current 
 irrevocably drifting her towards the Falls of Nia¬ 
 gara, Captain Drew, assisted by one man, set her on 
 fire, and, as soon as she was fairly towed into the 
 stream, the assailants, finding she was more 
 than they could hold, let her go, and, giving her 
 three British cheers, they rapidly pulled away for 
 their own shore, while the pirate steamer slowly 
 glided towards her doom ! 
 
 A small light glowing within her suddenly burst 
 from her hold, and in a few minutes the guilty vessel, 
 enveloped in flames, was seen hurrying towards the 
 rapids, down which she hastily descended until, 
 reaching the crest of the Great Horse-shoe Falls’ 
 over she went. 
 
 Your Lordship will imagine, better than it is pos¬ 
 sible to describe, the solemn magnificence of this 
 spectacle; yet it does not exceed the moral picture 
 exhibited at the capture of the vessel. 
 
 I he justness of the cause, the noble project of the 
 attack, the coolness with which it was executed, and, 
 lastly, the mercy that was shown by our brave fellows 
 the moment the vessel was their own, are naval cha¬ 
 racteristics which reflect honour on the British empire 
 
 in general, and on this noble province in particular. 
 
 I therefore feel it my duty to request your Lord- 
 slop to lay my humble testimony of the merits of 
 Captain Drew (whose intrepidity and generosity are 
 beyond all praise) before the Lords Commissioners of 
 
383 
 
 the Admiralty, to whose liberal consideration I beg 
 leave most earnestly, but respectfully, to recommend 
 him. 
 
 I also feel it my duty to bring before their Lord- 
 ships’ especial consideration the case of Lieutenant 
 M‘Cormack, who is still lying on his back completely 
 disabled, and I much fear that one of his five wounds 
 will require the amputation ol his lelt arm. 
 
 This loss, to a backwoodsman, upon whose manual 
 labour his family is dependent for support, is irrepar¬ 
 able ; and I feel confident that her Majesty’s Go- 
 vernment will consider that, as it is highly advan¬ 
 tageous that the Queen should be enabled to call upon 
 the retired naval officers in this province whenever 
 their professional services on the lakes may suddenly 
 be required, so it is not only just, but politic, that, 
 if disabled, they should not be allowed to suflei 
 from privations which might tend to deter otlieis 
 from following their noble and patriotic example. 
 
 Although naval or military officers when called 
 upon by their Government are in no way responsible 
 for the political consequences of the daring measures 
 they are ordered to effect, yet I cannot help assuiing 
 your Lordship that the capture of the Caroline has 
 been productive of the most beneficial consequences. 
 
 * I visited this officer shortly after he was brought on shore, with 
 five gun-shot wounds through him. He was of course in a high 
 fever, but, even in that state, he expressed the satisfaction he felt at 
 having had an opportunity of serving his country. 
 
384 
 
 Before it took place American “ sympathy ” for 
 our absconded traitors was unbridled and unchecked. 
 
 1 be state arsenals were openly plundered, sub¬ 
 scriptions were openly collected, provisions, as well 
 as munitions of war, were openly supplied ; and while 
 her Majesty’s Government in Upper Canada was 
 subjected to enormous expenses, and while the un¬ 
 offending inhabitants ol this province were kept in a 
 state of painful anxiety, the inhabitants of the Ame- 
 lican fiontiei were actually amusing themselves at 
 our sufferings, and were even making parties of plea¬ 
 sure for the purpose of inspecting the preparations 
 on Navy Island. 
 
 No sooner, however, was the Caroline in flames 
 than a sudden excitement prevailed; but it was the 
 excitement of fear. The women fled from the villages 
 on the coast—people who had fancied themselves 
 bed-ridden decamped—and the citizens of Buffalo 
 evinced the greatest possible consternation for the 
 safety of their town. 
 
 Immense expenses were immediately incurred by 
 the Americans for the purpose of self-defence, and, 
 considering how much Upper Canada had been 
 obliged to expend on this principle, I trust your 
 Lordship will admit that it was salutary, politic, and, 
 above all, just, to make our American allies partici¬ 
 pate m the lamentable consequences of their own 
 perfidy towards us. 
 
 Of course there were not wanting those who argued 
 
tliat the excitement produced by this bold act of jus¬ 
 tice would irritate our assailants; however, it may be 
 observed that it is impossible to make war palatable 
 to one’s enemy, and that, indeed, it is not advisable it 
 should be so. 
 
 The result has now spoken for itself. The pirates 
 have fled from Navy Island, their plan of invading 
 the Niagara frontier has been abandoned, and our 
 allies, arrantly ashamed of themselves, are now 
 merely our enemies from that odd principle in human 
 nature, which invariably makes men hate and envy 
 those whom they have injured. 
 
 Our militia forces on the frontier have nearly all 
 been allowed to retire to their homes; but, as the 
 flotilla of boats requires to be guarded, and as I think 
 it highly advisable that some officer of experience 
 should watch the naval movements of the Americans, 
 I have directed Captain Drew, by two orders, (copies 
 of which are herewith enclosed,) to continue his pen¬ 
 dant flying until I shall have had time to communi¬ 
 cate to your Lordship. 
 
 As the expense of this precaution and observation 
 will be very trifling, I would strongly recommend 
 that it should be continued for at least a year; for, as 
 several vessels are now building on the lake, it 
 would be prudent that we should have some one 
 whose duty it is to ascertain whether any suspicious 
 alteration is effected in their structure. 
 
 Trusting that your Lordship will offer to the Lords 
 
 2 c 
 
386 
 
 of the Admiralty my apology, in case I should have 
 given any orders they may see reason to disapprove of, 
 and that you will be so good as to lay before them 
 Colonel M'Nab’s recommendation in favour of 
 Lieutenant Elmsley, a member of my Executive 
 Council, to whose intrepidity I can myself bear 
 testimony, 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 The Right Honourable the Lord Glenelg. 
 
 In reading the foregoing despatch, as also tire 
 documents appended to it, the reader will, I think, 
 join with me in regretting that, although this was 
 the first naval victory in her Majesty’s reign, my un¬ 
 ceasing applications for the promotion of Captain 
 Drew, and for a pension for Lieut. M'Cormack, 
 neither of whom I had ever seen before they captured 
 the Caroline, have been unavailing ! 
 
 Toronto, 20 th December, 1837. 
 
 Sir,—I am commanded by the Lieutenant-Governor to 
 inform you that, should you require the assistance of naval 
 officers of experience to recover possession for her Majesty 
 of Navy Island, his Excellency desires that you will call 
 upon such naval officers in the province as you may deem 
 proper to select to afford him their services, and that you 
 will explain to them that they will receive their full pay 
 
during the period they are thus publicly employed by his 
 Excellency in her Majesty’s service. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) J. M. Strachan, M. S. 
 
 Hon. Colonel M‘Nab. 
 
 By me, Allan Napier M'Nab, Colonel Commanding her 
 Majesty’s Forces on the Niagara Frontier. 
 
 By virtue of the power and authority vested in me, as the 
 Colonel Commanding Her Majesty’ forces on this frontier, 
 by his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Baronet, &c. &c., 
 Lieutenant-Governor of the province of Upper Canada, in 
 a despatch dated this twentieth day of December instant, 
 commanding me to call forth the services of such officers of 
 her Majesty ’3 Royal Navy as may be necessary for the 
 purpose of organizing an armed naval force to co-operate 
 with the troops .under my command in the reduction of 
 Navy Island : 
 
 I hereby authorise you to take upon yourself the charge 
 and command of the naval department, to act in concert 
 with me. You will organize such a force of armed vessels 
 and boats for a flotilla as will protect the landing, and tran¬ 
 sport orie thousand men from the Canadian shore to Navy 
 Island. 
 
 You will also make such other arrangements as in your 
 judgment you may think necessary for the good of her 
 Majesty’s service, and for effecting the object of the expe¬ 
 dition. For which this shall be your sufficient warrant. 
 
 Given under my hand at this twentieth day of 
 
 December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun¬ 
 dred and thirty-seven. 
 
 (Signed) Allan M'Nab, 
 
 Col. Com. 
 
 Commander Andrew Drew . 
 
 2c 2 
 
f 
 
 Niagara Frontier , Chippewa , Jan. 17, 1838. 
 
 Navy Island having been evacuated by the rebels, you 
 will immediately proceed to lay up the vessels and boats 
 composing the flotilla under your command in safety for 
 the winter. 
 
 You are hereby authorised to continue on the spot your¬ 
 self until further orders, with such a complement of naval 
 officers and seamen as you may deem sufficient to take proper 
 care of the flotilla. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 Captain Drew , Chippewa 
 
 Toronto , Feb. 4, 1838. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 You are hereby commanded,—in addition to the duties al¬ 
 ready pointed out to you, of protecting the property of her 
 Majesty lately employed in the Naval Department, and 
 placing the schooners and flotilla in a place of security,—to 
 use your utmost endeavours to procure such information of 
 the movements of the rebels, or any other persons inimical 
 to her Majesty’s Government, as may conduce to the interest 
 of her Majesty’s service; taking care, however, to be ex¬ 
 tremely cautious and circumspect in the discharge of your 
 duty; to avoid everything that could in the least degree 
 compromise the dignity of her Majesty’s Government, or 
 give just cause of complaint to the Government of any other 
 country at peace with Great Britain. You will report your 
 movements to me, as also to the Lords Commissioners of the 
 Admiralty, as often as occasion may require ; and you will 
 continue your pendant flying, until I shall have had time to 
 communicate these instructions to her Majesty’s Principal 
 Secretary of State for the Colonies. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 Captain Drew , R.N. 
 
339 
 
 \ 
 
 Head Quarters, Chippewa, Jan. 20, 1838. * 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to enclose the report of Captain Drew, 
 R.N., commanding the Naval Brigade on the Niagara Ri¬ 
 ver ; and the services of that force being no longer required, 
 
 I have given them leave (with the exception of Cap*. Drew) 
 to return to their homes. That valuable officer will retain a 
 sufficient number of officers and men to dismantle the ves¬ 
 sels and lay them up. 
 
 The conduct of Captain Drew, and the volunteers under 
 his command, has been most efficient since they joined the 
 service. Where all have so nobly done their duty, it may 
 appear improper to mention the names of individuals who 
 have signalized themselves while on this station ; I cannot, 
 however, refrain from mentioning the names of Lieutenants 
 M'Cormack and Elmsley; the former was dangerously 
 wounded in gallantly boarding the Caroline, and is still in 
 the hospital; the latter has been actively employed, almost 
 day and night, since he joined Captain Drew’s quadron ; 
 and I am authorized by Captain Drew to say, that he has 
 received the most valuable services from that officer ; and I 
 do Lieut. Elmsley but justice in saying, that the dangerous 
 nature of the duty which was assigned to him brought him 
 more under the fire of the enemy than any other under my 
 command. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 Allan N. M‘Nab, 
 Colonel Commanding M. and N. B. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 Lieut.-Colonel Strachan, Military Secretary. 
 
 No. 18. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada, Feb. 21 st, 1838. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to inform j our Lordship, that, 
 
390 
 
 having consulted my Executive Council, and the 
 Speakers of the Legislative Council and House of 
 Assembly, I yesterday determined that on Tuesday, 
 the 27tli instant, I would prorogue the Provincial 
 Parliament. 
 
 I feel confident that by doing so I shall relieve Sir 
 George Arthur (whose departure from England we 
 have not yet heard of) from the very difficult and 
 embarrassing situation in which he would be placed, 
 were he, on his arrival here as a stranger, to be sud¬ 
 denly called on to assent to or dissent from Bills, on 
 the policy or impolicy of which he had no time to 
 consider. 
 
 I feel confident it is only fair to Sir George 
 Arthur that he should have a few months’ leisure 
 before he be called upon to meet the Legislature. 
 
 I may also inform your Lox-dship that, in conse¬ 
 quence of the disturbed state of Lower Canada, and 
 of the United States, many of the members have felt 
 it advisable to return to their constituents, and that 
 others are very desirous to do so. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 The Right Hon. Lord Glenelg. 
 
 When, labouring in a distant country, one has been 
 by public opinion unjustly reviled, there is something 
 highly gratifying in that retributive justice with which, 
 in England, the error is generously admitted, so 
 soon as by the light of truth it is clearly perceived. 
 
391 
 
 This observation particularly alludes to the sen¬ 
 timents contained in the following speech, which at 
 the time it was promulgated were declared in Eng¬ 
 land to be a libel on the Americans; and yet these 
 sentiments have at last nobly resounded, infinitely 
 louder than I proclaimed them, in both Houses ol the 
 Imperial Parliament. 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and Gen¬ 
 tlemen of the House of Assembly. 
 
 Considering the circumstances under which you were 
 hastily assembled, it is satisfactory to me to observe that 
 you have been enabled, notwithstanding occasional anxiety 
 from attempted invasions of our frontier, to give your deli¬ 
 berate attention to the public interests, and to mature some 
 valuable measures. 
 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assembly. 
 
 I thank you for the supplies which you have granted 
 for the support of the Civil Government during the present 
 
 year. 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen, and Gentlemen. 
 
 I regret to say that there still exists, among a portion of 
 the American people, so strong a desire to force upon the 
 free inhabitants of this province republican institutions, that, 
 with scarcely an exception, every Government arsenal, from 
 Lake Champlain to Lake Michigan, has within the last two 
 months been broken open and plundered, to furnish arms 
 for the invasion of this portion of the British empire ; and, 
 however the circumstance may be explained, it is certainly 
 a remarkable fact, that all these robberies have been effected 
 without the sacrifice of a single life, and without even the 
 
392 
 
 imprisonment of the person who is notoriously the insti¬ 
 gator of these acts. 
 
 The wrong which citizens of the neighbouring States have 
 committed, by thus attempting to dictate to the inhabitants 
 of Upper Canada the form of government under which 
 they are henceforward to exist, will, as the assertion of a 
 new theory, be condemned by the civilized world as severely 
 as in practice it has been repudiated by the people of this 
 province. 
 
 What right, it will be calmly asked, have the inhabitants 
 of one country, armed with the artillery and weapons of 
 their Government, to interfere with the political institutions 
 of another ? What excuse, it will be gravely considered, had 
 citizens of the United States for invading the territory of 
 Upper Canada? 
 
 When our coloured population were informed that Ame¬ 
 rican citizens, sympathising with their sufferings, had taken 
 violent possession of Navy Island, for the double object of 
 liberating them from the domination of British rule, and of 
 imparting to them the blessings of republican institutions, 
 based upon the principle that all men are born equal, did 
 our coloured brethren hail their approach? No! on the 
 contrary, they hastened as volunteers in waggon-loads to 
 the Niagara frontier to beg from me permission that, in the 
 intended attack upon Navy Island, they might be permitted 
 to form the forlorn hope—in short they supplicated that 
 they might be allowed to be foremost to defend the glorious 
 institutions of Great Britain. 
 
 When the mild aborigines of this continent, who live 
 among us uninjured and respected, were informed that 
 citizens of the United States, disregarding the wampum- 
 belt, which was sacredly connecting them with Great Bri¬ 
 tain, had invaded our shores to sympathise with the suffer- 
 
393 
 
 
 of the red tenants of the forest, and to offer them 
 American friendship instead of the enmity of Beth* m e, 
 
 did one Indian brethren hail the.r *W“^ for ' b a,«le, 
 
 « "" —- 
 
 and, with rifle me ><ith a solitary request, 
 
 ' r S ,L in cle of their death, their wire, and children 
 namely, that, m ca t he Missisa- 
 
 mig ht he pensioned. The bW o 
 
 guas, the Chippewas, the Hmons and ^ tQ 
 
 taneously competed »i.h‘ Goiernme „t, under 
 
 -fhthers had W 
 
 ""When the Canadian fanner, and yeomen* British 
 origin were informed that citizens ^ ^ instances 
 
 sympathising with their J gty > s terr itory, for the 
 taken forcible possession British domination,—that, 
 
 purpose of liberating nmi leaders had issued 
 
 with this object m view, ^ liberator three hundred 
 
 proclamations, promisi g , with one hundred 
 
 acves of the besUands in 
 
 doliarsm silver, libemtors ^ ^ upon the citizens of 
 
 comman f h , Aeir land from tyranny to 
 
 Upper Canada J , to lay down their 
 
 rally round the standard of hbe, ft, j lhem 
 
 arms" —in which ease,. «',P-» ^ ^ 
 that “ their persons and pr*P"? „ J„ U he mil with 
 
 that if they would - cease ««<“«- « ^ ch? 
 
 X^sso^ereryprirate 
 
 | 
 
394 
 
 consideration, wherever the invaders appeared, thousands 
 o bayonets were seen bristling on our shore, ready to re¬ 
 ceive them. On the eastern, as well as on th/westem 
 lontier, but one feeling prevailed,-it was a noble determi- 
 
 of th” ° n l — Pai t ° f hee meU t0 con( l uer or die in defence 
 
 eu religion—their constitution-their character-their 
 
 cited fV T fa ™ S; yet> notvv dhsfanding their ex¬ 
 cited feelings, when the American citizens, who, from an 
 
 armed schooner, had cruelly battered the town of Amherst- 
 
 b irg, fell into the hands of the brave militia of the Western 
 
 District (m which not a single rebel had been in arnJ d d 
 
 these prisoners fall victims to popular fury, or wm" thev 
 
 “ d? theinStaDt0Ur -ad^rs surrende^ 
 
 the British PO n' e,, t ^ eXpenenced that merc y which adorns 
 tne British name, their wounds were healed at our hos 
 
 pitals, and, from the western extremity of Upper Canada 
 they were conducted unharmed through the province safe 
 under the protecting aigis of our laws f 
 When a of rebeis , defeated in ^ ^ ob 
 
 uce his capital to ashes in the depth of a Ci r 
 winter, were, after the conflict at Gallows Hill, brought to 
 
 zr : the Md - wa ****£z 
 
 No a „ A T n " b0rn and ° ur other Canadian subjects? 
 r ra T? smarting* under feeling^ natural"^ Aelo^ 
 
 allowed^Bieiiassailants f* 0narchical . Gove ™ment, they 
 ranks. t0 P&SS Um,1 J ured through their 
 
 When the gallant inhabitants of the provinces of New 
 
395 
 
 Brunswick and Nov. Scotia received intelligence tha,Ame- 
 
 rican citizens had commenced an attempt to ree 
 
 North American Colonies «from the tyranny of British 
 rule," did they rejoice at the event? No; a burst o oy 
 jdty resounded through their lands, and a general desire to 
 
 us was evinced. 
 
 If Upper Canada were merely a young, healthy province, 
 with no protection on the continent of America but its cha¬ 
 pter, its industry, and the agricultural difficult itha to 
 contend with-its filial attachment to its Government-the 
 bravery it has shown in its defence—and the raer ^ y . 1 ^ 
 extended to its captured assailants, ought to be sufficient 
 make its a^ressors ashamed of their late attempt to force 
 upon their neighbours institutions which they conscientious y 
 and unequivocally reject. But when it is considered that 
 C, Canada is an integral portion of the British empire, 
 and that the two countries are at this moment hound too¬ 
 ther by a solemn treaty of peace, the faithless attack of et t- 
 zens of the United States open the province, after t had 
 completely quelled a slight domestic insurrection, , 
 persisted in, excite feelings among the generous nations of 
 Europe, which will add but little to the character of repub- 
 licaninstitutions; for surely the smile of a nation shou 
 not be more dreaded than its frown, or Its extended 
 
 r ;:. u S , --r* 
 
 intelligent men, how will the American ci^ens who ha^ so 
 wantonly attacked the British empire, find it poss b 
 explain that the province of Upper Canada required them 
 
 to interfere in its concerns. . , . 
 
 There are two facts which the American nation have 
 
 power to deny. 
 
Jr'trelfa.* " "‘ eir inta ' es ' as “ ** to fulfil 
 c That lf thoif people be permitted to rob the United 
 
 J have felt 1, ,„ be the especial duty of the legislative sta- 
 
 : o“nhi:° Unly ■*— ""Fineipled i„- 
 
 habham tmd V "' Ce ? “ S bU ''» "“»“*> «* in- 
 
 bitants from the unreasonable accusation, which without 
 
 ment’of'uie u“ « sZ^t" *^ <W 
 
 ^uueu states, of having «assassinate” 
 
 crew of the Caroline. sinated ,he 
 
 The memoir of the attack which has Jw i> 
 
 siiliiP 
 
 S-S^csSS 
 
 jtTZd. ^ has 
 
 required here artificial support. ^ *“ * P °"’ er which 
 
 -e result, as had been «ie^ 
 
397 
 
 
 397 
 
 Upper Canada were no sooner left uncontrolled than they 
 proclaimed themselves in favour of monarchical institutions. 
 Surrounded by temptations on almost every side, they m if 
 nantly rejected them all; in a few hours they successfu y 
 put down insurrection in their own land ; and w en mei 1 - 
 can citizens, astonished as well as disappointed at their loy¬ 
 alty, determined to force them to become Republicans, peo¬ 
 ple of all religions, and of all politics, rushed to the irontie 
 to die in defence of their glorious constitution. 
 
 The conduct of the militia of Upper Canada attracted the 
 attention of the gallant and loyal inhabitants of New Bruns¬ 
 wick and Nova Scotia, whose legislatures have done them¬ 
 selves, as well as this province, the honour of prompt y ex¬ 
 pressing their unqualified approbation of the attachmen 
 which has been evinced here to the British constitution. 
 
 When these facts shall arrive before the English people, 
 and when they shall also have taken into ^ir consideration 
 the devoted and unalterable attachment which the British 
 population of Lower Canada have evinced for our revered 
 Institutions, surely they will come to the conclusion that the 
 concurrent opinions of her Majesty’s North American co¬ 
 lonies, respecting the relative advantages between monarc y 
 and democracy in America, must be sounder than their o 
 can be, inasmuch as eye-witnesses judge more correctly 
 than people can possibly do who are living our t ousan 
 
 m The°people of England will, I trust, not fail to admire 
 the calmness, the resolution, the generosity, and the honour¬ 
 able subjection to their laws, which have distinguished the 
 inhabitants of Upper Canada ; and, on the other hand, they 
 certainly cannot fail to observe that the republican pro¬ 
 ject of our English Reformers, namely, to make the people. 
 
398 
 
 bit by bit, responsible only to themselves, has ended, in Ame- 
 
 Zl\ 7 ! v g ° Vernment 0f the Unit ^ States confessing its 
 a ina i ity to restrain the passions of its citizens, to guard 
 
 a e ai sena s, or to maintain its treaties with its oldest 
 and most natural ally. 
 
 Lastly the British people will, I trust, observe with 
 considerable alarm, that the leading advocates for organic 
 changes m our institutions are either at this moment fying 
 in our gaols as traitors, or, from having absconded 3 are 
 
 tetdedTff1 ? m , the ^Prince ;-in short, that their'pre- 
 ^ended efforts to obtain in Upper Canada what they called 
 
 liberty for the people,” has ended in a most infa 
 
 ”7 7 attempt to plm.dee p nvl 
 
 • "‘'V 1 ? “ |K ' rie "“ befor « eyes, I mim c0 „ fes , 
 join with the Legislature and people of Upper Canada in 
 shuddering at the abused name of « reform ” ,„<jf 
 
 now recoil with abhorrence when we hear suddenly pm! 
 nounced the word “ sympathy." 7 P 
 
 As my successor is hourly expected here, I return to the 
 mother-country as I left it, totally unconnected with partv 
 -with politics; but in retirement I shall remember the 
 1 sons which the pe°p le of Upper Canada 
 
 ?• f d l f ® el 11 m 7 dut y to declare that I leav e The 
 continent of America win, „ • , e tne 
 
 vinced that th. Tl 7 Jud ^ ment P-kctly con- 
 
 are Is ,£ ' ' “I Asia - Africa, 
 
 O """° n 011 n ’ C,,are « V nature 
 
 fallacy, and , hal ^ ^™ ‘ a 
 
 elevate individuals a« th i • cnara cter, must 
 scale orsuciety " ni " 0,,S ’ “ ^ 
 
399 
 
 May the resplendent genius of .he British constitution 
 ever continue to illuminate litis noble land, and, animated 
 by its influence, may its inhabitants continue to be dtstm- 
 guished for humility of demeanour-nobility of mtnd-fide- 
 L to their allies—courage before their enemy-mercy m 
 victory-integrity in commerce-reverence for their reli¬ 
 gion-., ,d, at all times and under all circumstances, ,m- 
 
 plicit obedience to their laws. 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen and Gentlemen, 
 
 Farewell ! 
 
 Toronto, 3rd March, 1838. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I*have tlie honour to inform your Excellency that 
 3n the 22nd and 23rd ult. a body of American citi¬ 
 zens with arms and cannon, under the command ot 
 Mr Van Rensallaer and others (having previously 
 broken open and robbed the United States ai^enal at 
 Watertown), invaded and took possession of Hickery 
 Island, a small territory belonging to her Majesy 
 the St. Lawrence, about sixteen miles below K g 
 
 ^Thave also the honour to transmit to your Excel¬ 
 lency a copy of a communication I have received from 
 Colonel the Hon. John Maitland, commanding her 
 Maiesty s forces on the western frontier, by which 
 you will perceive that on the 25th ult. a snmlar in¬ 
 vasion of the Queen’s territory was committedby 
 large body of American citizens, who, iom 
 vince of Michigan, with arms and cannon, invaded 
 
400 
 
 and took possession of Fighting Island, a long slip of 
 land situated between Sandwich and Amherstburg. 
 
 I beg leave to call your Excellency’s particular 
 attention to the two circumstances remarked upon 
 by Colonel Maitland, namely, that the arms which 
 
 our gallant men captured from the perfidious in¬ 
 vaders of our soil were new United States muskets, 
 and that, when these ruffians were forcibly driven 
 from our island, instead of being captured by the 
 American authorities, they were allowed to form in 
 line on the American shore, from whence they opened 
 a fire upon her Majesty’s troops. 
 
 It only remains for me to apprize your Excellency 
 that I have been informed, from undoubted authority, 
 that, with scarcely an exception, every one of the 
 United State arsenals, from Lake Champlain to 
 Lake Michigan, have been broken open for the pur¬ 
 pose of enabling American citizens to invade us ; 
 and it is an act of atrocity unrecorded in the history 
 of civilized nations, that Van Rensellaer and M £ Ken- 
 
 zie, who have instigated their followers to these acts, 
 remain to this moment at liberty. 
 
 His Excellency I have, &c . 
 
 Henry S. Fox, Esq. F. B. Head. 
 
 Upper Canada, Toronto, March 6th, 1838. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship 
 copies of two messages which I have addressed to 
 
the two Houses of the Provincial Parliament, 1st, 
 on the subject of the destruction of the Caroline 
 steam-boat; 2nd, on a communication which has 
 been addressed to me by Sir Colin Campbell, Lieu¬ 
 tenant-Governor ot Nova Scotia. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg. 
 
 Government House, Toronto, March 6 th, 1838. 
 
 Sin, 
 
 It is with very sincere pleasure that 1 transmit to 
 your Excellency resolutions from the Legislative 
 Council and House of Assembly, in reply to those 
 forwarded to me in your Excellency s obliging com 
 munication of the 6th ot January. 
 
 Besides the documents, I beg you will be so good 
 as to convey to your Legislature, my thanks loi the 
 honour it has conferred upon me by connecting my 
 name with the province of New Brunswick, which, 
 in her Majesty’s North American Colonies, has al¬ 
 ways been so conspicuous for its loyalty, and for its 
 noble attachment to the principles of the British 
 Constitution. 
 
 I have &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 His Excellency Major-General 
 Sir John Harvey, K.C.B. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 
 
 Government House, Toronto, March Sth, 1838. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I request that your Excellency will do me the 
 favour to transmit to the Legislative Council of Nova 
 Scotia my thanks for the honour it has conferred 
 upon me by its resolutions dated 29th January last, 
 conveyed to me in your Excellency’s obliging com¬ 
 munication of the 6th of February. 
 
 It gives me very great pleasure to be enabled fur¬ 
 ther to request your Excellency to transmit to the 
 Legislative Council of Nova Scotia the accompanying 
 resolutions from the Legislative Council and House 
 of Assembly of this province. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, fyc. 
 
 No. 28. 
 
 Upper Canada, Toronto, Sth March, 1838. 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a 
 copy of an address which was read to me this day, 
 while seated on the Throne, by the Speaker of the 
 House of Assembly. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Cord Glenelg. 
 
403 
 
 Copy of the Speaker s Address. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 We, her Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, 
 the Commons of Upper Canada, have granted to our 
 Sovereign Lady the Queen the supplies necessary to 
 enable her Majesty to carry on the civil government 
 of this province for the present year. 
 
 Upon looking back upon the various important 
 communications which have been made by youi 
 Excellency to the House of Assembly during the 
 present session, we cannot but congratulate you and 
 the country upon the firm and noble attitude assumed 
 by your Excellency in all those public documents 
 which have emanated from your Excellency. 
 
 When we reflect upon the serious occurrences that 
 have taken place in kipper Canada, and upon its 
 borders, within a few months past, and upon the dis¬ 
 tinguished part taken by your Excellency to main¬ 
 tain the honour and interests ot our country during 
 that short but eventful period, we find equal cause of 
 gratulation. Rebellion has been crushed, the attacks 
 of perfidious citizens of a foreign power have been 
 repelled, and peace reigns triumphant within the 
 bounds of your Excellency’s government. "W e tiust 
 that the provisions ot the militia-law, to which \om 
 Excellency has just given the royal assent, may, 
 under Divine Providence, contribute to the pxeseiva- 
 tion of this loyal portion of the British Empire from 
 
 2d2 
 
404 
 
 the aggression of all enemies, whether foreign or 
 domestic. 
 
 h rom the message of your Excellency, transmitted 
 to both Houses of the Legislature, we have too much 
 reason to believe that the present will be the last 
 time we ever shall have the honour of meeting your 
 Excellency on an occasion like the present. 
 
 In the name ol the people of this province, I offer 
 to your Excellency the expression of their deep regret 
 that your Excellency should have felt constrained to 
 tender to her Majesty your resignation of the go¬ 
 vernment of this province, which your Excellency 
 has administered with so much credit to yourself and 
 advantage to the country. 
 
 The people of Upper Canada will ever retain a 
 grateful recollection of the services of your Excel¬ 
 lency ; and they feel assured your Excellency will 
 meet with a due reward at the hands of our youthful 
 and beloved Queen. 
 
 It now only remains for me to present to your 
 Excellency, for the royal assent, the Bill to provide 
 for the civil government of this province for the 
 current year. 
 
 No. 33. 
 
 Toronto, 14 th March, 1838. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a 
 copy of a despatch from Colonel the Honourable John 
 
Maitland, commanding the forces in the western 
 district, detailing the gallant manner in which he 
 marched against a large body of organised Americans, 
 who had taken possession ot Point Pele Island, which 
 they had invaded. 
 
 Your Lordship will perceive that the American 
 force retreated as soon as he advanced, and, travel sing 
 the island, which is nine miles long, quicker than it 
 was possible for him to follow them, they came in 
 sight of a couple of companies of the 32nd Regiment, 
 under the command of Captain Brown, which had 
 been purposely stationed on the ice, with a view to 
 cut off their retreat to the American shore. 
 
 r fhe Americans, seeing this small party, detei mined 
 to attack them with their whole force, and, advancing 
 towards them, they availed themselves of a quantity 
 of broken ice, behind which they were, to a certain 
 degree, protected, and then opened their tire. 
 
 In a short time about thirty ot our brave men tell, 
 and there can be no doubt that in a few minutes they 
 must have been all mowed down by the destructive 
 tire of so many rifles and muskets, had not Captain 
 Browm, with admirable decision, ordered his men to 
 charge. 
 
 The Republicans stood their ground until the mo¬ 
 narchical troops arrived within about twenty yaids of 
 them, when, abandoning their position, as also their 
 principle that “ all men are born equal, they decamped 
 in the greatest confusion, and reached the shore; and. 
 
had they there rallied behind the trees, it would have 
 been impossible for so small a party of men to have 
 dislodged them; however, they continued to retreat, 
 and were completely driven from our island. 
 
 If your Lordship will be so good as to compare the 
 date of this action with the attacks that were made 
 about the same day upon the province at Uickery 
 Island, near Kingston, and at Pantalbino, opposite 
 Buffalo, you will perceive that a simultaneous effort 
 was made to gain possession of Upper Canada. 
 
 In all quarters it has been repulsed, and I am happy 
 to say that in no instance have our faithless allies 
 dared to attack the main land, their attempts at con¬ 
 quest having only been directed upon our own islands. 
 
 I have every reason to believe that this is the last 
 effort which will be made; and I have no doubt 
 that its expected success has been the reason why 
 the Federal Government at Washington have so 
 unaccountably delayed to legislate on the subject of 
 these unprincipled aggressions. 
 
 Seeing that they can make no impression upon us, 
 
 I fully expect they will now adopt measures which 
 they should not have delayed. 
 
 I hear from every quarter that the excitement, or 
 sympathy, in the United States is rapidly subsiding. 
 
 In the attack at Point Pele Island, the Ameri¬ 
 cans not only lost their commanding officer, but, the 
 following day, General Sutherland, the author of 
 the proclamations alluded to in my speech on pro- 
 
407 
 
 roguing the Legislature, was, with his aid-de-camp, 
 Captain Spencer, taken prisoner and, two days 
 ago, they were brought here, through the province, 
 
 under a guard only of twelve men. 
 
 I immediately ordered Mr. Sutherland to be tried 
 by a court-martial, before which he was yesterday 
 arraigned. 
 
 In the course of last night he managed to open 
 veins in each arm and in each instep, and this morn¬ 
 ing he was found nearly lifeless from the loss of 
 blood; in consequence of which, the court-martial 
 
 has adjourned until Saturday. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Right Hon. the Lord Glenelg, &c. 
 
 p g._I have this morning received, lor the first 
 
 time, intelligence of rite departure from England of 
 Sir George Arthur, but I have not yet heard ot hie 
 arrival at New York. I find that Colonel Maitland’s 
 despatches are in the hands of the Judge Advocate 
 of the court-martial, and 1 fear they can scarcely be 
 copied in time tor this mail# 
 
 Copy of the Confession of the American General Suther¬ 
 land, made a few minutes before he attempted selt-i e- 
 
 sl ruction. Garrison , Toronto, 22nd March, 1838. 
 
 Sl In compliance with the wish expressed by your Excellency 
 that I would reduce to writing that part of the conversation 
 
408 
 
 that I had with the prisoner Thomas Jefferson Sutherland 
 on the 13th instant, which related to the United States Go¬ 
 vernment, I have the honour to transmit, for your Excel¬ 
 lency’s information, the following statement, which, as nearly 
 as I can recollect, is correct. 
 
 While visiting the prisoner, on the evening of the 13th, 
 with the officers of the guard, I was requested by Suther¬ 
 land to sit a short time and converse with him. Having 
 ascertained that I did not belong to the militia, or was con¬ 
 nected with the court-martial then sitting for his trial, he 
 entered freely into conversation, but chiefly on the politics of 
 the country, and stated his own views, and, as he said, those 
 of his Government, for the line of conduct lately pursued 
 by them 
 
 He said it was the aim of the United States to become a 
 great naval nation ; that they could not be a military one, 
 as a standing army of any force was not compatible with 
 their institutions, and, instead of supporting the Government, 
 would be first to cause its overthrow ; therefore their atten¬ 
 tion was directed to their navy, and their means of increas- 
 ing it. the greatest obstacle they had to contend against 
 was the possession by Great Britain of the Canadas,”from 
 which she could, at any moment, throw a large body of 
 troops into their territory. It was their determination, at 
 all hazards, to obtain the Canadas as they had Texas, and 
 then they would have the sea-board from the Gidf of Flo¬ 
 rida to the Northern Ocean. 
 
 I asked him, when he said “ they,” did he mean the 
 people of the United States, or the Government? His an¬ 
 swer was, that the people of the States were the Government, 
 and the will of the people was the law, by which their riders 
 must abide; that in the acts of the Americans in favour of 
 
409 
 
 the insurrection in this province, and in the Proclamation of 
 the President and General Scott to put down the meetings 
 and arm the Patriots, the Government had acted with du¬ 
 plicity, for it was not their wish or their intention to sup¬ 
 press them ; « In fact,* said he, “ it is apiece of humbug 
 on their part; and, as a proof of it, I will now tell you 
 that none of the arsenals were robbed of the arms, but the 
 doors were opened, and we were told to help ourselves. 
 
 This is all I remember which I consider material tor you 
 Excellency to be acquainted with, and, trusting it may meet 
 with your approval, 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great respect. 
 
 Your obedient humble servant, 
 ('Signed) William Spring, 
 
 Lieutenant-Adjutant, 24th Regt. 
 
 Certified to be correct, 
 
 George Sidingiiam, 
 
 Assistant-Surgeon, 24tli llegt. 
 
 (City of Toronto to wit.) 
 
 William Spring, Lieutenant and Adjutant of her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s 24th Regiment, being duly sworn upon the Evange¬ 
 lists, deposeth and saith, that the above statement is just 
 
 and true in all its particulars. 
 
 (Signed) William Spring. 
 
 Sworn before me, this 23rd March, 1838. 
 
 George Gurnet, Aid. and J. P. 
 
 No. 38. 
 
 Toronto, 17th March, 1838. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 From the particular circumstances under which 1 
 have been placed here, I have felt it necessary to agi- 
 
410 
 
 tate the public mind more than was congenial to my 
 habits, or perhaps, more correctly speaking, to the 
 station I hold. 
 
 It is not my desire to defend the irregularity, which 
 I am sensible can only be excused by its success; but, 
 inasmuch as the animosity which I have purposely 
 endeavoured to create in Upper Canada against re¬ 
 publican institutions may be considered by her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government to amount to an expression of 
 opinion on my part in favour of actual hostility 
 against the United States, I am anxious, before I 
 leave the province, to explain to your Lordship that 
 I am very far from desiring to recommend any such 
 measure. 
 
 Although it has been absolutely necessary that by 
 a species of agitation I should rally around me the 
 loyal and brave militia of this province, yet I can as¬ 
 sure your Lordship I have done so merely on the 
 defensive principle, and that nothing has been further 
 from my intention than to do anything offensive to the 
 Americans or their Government. 
 
 To all those in authority under me I have strongly 
 recommended this course of procedure, and I enclose 
 to your Lordship a private letter (A) which I some 
 time ago addressed to the Governor of the neighbour¬ 
 ing State of New York, which will, I believe, satisfy 
 your Lordship of the desire I evinced to co-operate 
 with the American authorities in maintaining our 
 treaty inviolate. 
 
411 
 
 1 have not time, nor would it be perhaps proper 
 that I should now detail to her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment the many reasons which, in my humble opinion, 
 exist against our declaring war with the United 
 States; but on my arrival in England, should it be 
 desired, I would do so; and it would certainly give 
 me very great satisfaction to be enabled to contribute 
 towards an object of so much importance to humanity 
 in general, and to the British empire ia particular. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenelg, 8{C. 
 
 (copy). (Letter referred to, A.) 
 
 JJis Excellency W. L. Marcy, Esq., Governor of the State 
 of New York . 
 
 Toronto, Dec . 27th, 1837. 
 
 Dear Sir, . 
 
 I have just received information that your Excellency has 
 
 taken the trouble to come to Buffalo for the purpose of 
 preserving the peace which has so long happily existed be¬ 
 tween Great Britain and the United States. 
 
 This exertion on the part of your Excellency is, I can 
 assure you, duly appreciated by me, and it has induced me 
 to determine on crossing over to Niagara to-morrow, iom 
 whence I will proceed to Fort Erie, and will have the plea¬ 
 sure of calling on your Excellency at Buffalo, at any hour 
 and at any place in the city,* on Friday the 29th instant, 
 
 * This visit would have been attended with some little risk, as the 
 people of Buffalo were so highly exeited, yet I thought they would 
 surely respect me as the guest of their own Governor. 
 
412 
 
 which your Excellency may he so kind as to appoint in a 
 note addressed to me, to the care of the officer commanding 
 the Canada Militia at Chippewa. 
 
 I remain, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 Reply to the above. 
 
 Albany, January 3rd, 1838. 
 
 oIR, 
 
 I have just received your letter of the 27th ultimo, di¬ 
 rected to me at Buffalo, and forwarded to this place. Your 
 Excellency was misinformed as to my being at Buffalo at 
 the time you addressed me. Had I been there, I should 
 ha\e readily assented to the proposed interview, in the 
 hopes it might have led to some arrangement calculated 
 to preserve the mutual relations between the United States 
 and her Britannic Majesty’s provinces of Canada, and quiet 
 the apprehensions of the inhabitants on the frontier. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 W. L. Marcy. 
 
 His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, 
 
 Lieu ten an t - Governor . 
 
 At the time I wrote this despatch to the Colonial 
 Office, my reasons for recommending that we should 
 avoid going to war with America rested on the 
 same grounds as the reasons which had induced me to 
 iecommend amoral instead of a military government 
 ol our British North American provinces. 
 
 When the Americans began to invade us, if 
 her Majesty’s Government had supported me’ in 
 
413 
 
 calmly calling upon them, before the civilized world, 
 to perform the duty they owed to the human character, 
 and to the human familyif remonstrance after 
 remonstrance had publicly been administered to 
 them until the old nations of Europe began to look 
 askance at them, to mistrust their promises, and to 
 recoil from their friendship; if, while this cheap 
 moral medicine was working its effect, every robber 
 invading Upper Canada, under the protection of no 
 government, and under no national flag, had been 
 without exception, quickly hung, as, by the laws ot 
 nations, pirates always have been hung there exists, 
 
 I believe, no people on earth who would more sensi¬ 
 tively have felt their disreputable station, and who 
 more nobly and more promptly would have risen to 
 redeem their national character, than the citizens o 
 the United States, who, like all men, however brave 
 they may be, cannot long bear up against being every¬ 
 where calmly looked down upon by men of honour. 
 
 If this simple policy had been pursued, about twomi - 
 lions of money would have been saved, and the diffi¬ 
 culties of adjustment, which have now (hidden though 
 
 they be) risen to an alarming degree, would have 
 been arrested. But what has been our course . 
 
 When I calmly called shame upon the Amencan 
 people, it was said 1 was rashly offending t lein. itn 
 L piratical steamer, the Caroline, chartered to cai^y 
 offensive weapons and invaders o hi 
 
414 
 
 island, was gallantly captured, we were told we 
 should involve the country in war. When robbers, 
 who had invaded Upper Canada to murder its people, 
 became our prisoners, with uplifted eyes we were 
 called upon, in the name of mercy, not to hurt them. 
 When the Indian warriors, painting their feces, rose 
 to defend their native territory against people whose 
 savage fury made them mutilate with their bowie 
 knives the very corpses of our officers, soldiers, and 
 militia, it was preached to us, as from a tub, that 
 Indian warfare ought not to be allowed ! 
 
 In short, with democracy attacking us in all 
 quarters, we were discouraged from defending our¬ 
 selves either by word or deed ; and, of course, under 
 these circumstances, invincible moral power was 
 gradually substituted by a costly military force, 
 which is now hanging upon the neck of the nation as 
 
 the mark of its abject weakness, rather than as the 
 proof of its strength ! 
 
 A country may undeniably submit to be insulted 
 by its neighbouring government if it chooses, but 
 surely it cannot be denied that a civilized community 
 has no right whatever to compromise the laws of 
 nations, by quietly submitting to piracy, which it is 
 the bounden duty of all men to unite in suppressing 
 H e have neglected this duty, and it now remains for 
 us to pay a disgraceful penalty which is yearly 
 increasing in geometrical progression. 
 
415 
 
 No. 44. 
 
 Upper Canada. 
 
 Toronto, 20 th March, 1838. 
 
 My Loud, 
 
 I have the honour to enclose to your Lordship a 
 printed copy of some addresses, &c., which have been 
 presented to me in consequence of my resignation of 
 the government of this province. 
 
 In justice to myself, as well as with a view to satisfy 
 your Lordship, I am desirous of explaining that, on 
 receiving your Lordship’s despatch, informing me that 
 my resignation had been accepted, and that my suc¬ 
 cessor had been appointed, I at once determined to 
 do everything in my power to prevent my departure 
 from this province embarrassing my successor or 
 the policy of her Majesty’s Government. 
 
 I accordingly, without loss of time, mentioned to 
 the Speaker of the Legislative Council, and the At¬ 
 torney and Solicitor-Generals, who are members ol 
 the Lower House, it was my anxious desire that no 
 private considerations should induce the Legislature 
 to forget for a moment that we had an enemy on oui 
 frontier that could only be repelled by unanimity 
 and high feelings. 
 
 I made a similar communication to the Mayor ot 
 Toronto, who came to inform me that some ol the 
 militia had thrown down their arms ; and I can as¬ 
 sure your Lordship that, whenever I had an opportu- 
 
416 
 
 nity, I did all in my power to allay the slight ex¬ 
 citement which at first appeared to prevail. 
 
 As soon as some addresses reached me, I deter¬ 
 mined that I would return but one and the same short 
 answer to them all, and, accordingly, I gave to the 
 Constitutional Society of Quebec, and to various other 
 public bodies, the identical reply which I had given 
 to the blacks and Indians. 
 
 I ha\ e just declined to accept a public dinner in my 
 way through Montreal; I shall do the same to a 
 similar invitation which I see is in preparation at 
 Quebec; and if, on my arrival in that city, I should 
 find it unsafe for me even to go by the Kennebec road 
 to New York, and should consequently proceed to 
 England by Halifax, in travelling through the pro¬ 
 vinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia I shall 
 pursue a similar course. 
 
 As Sir George Arthur has, I am informed, already 
 reached Montreal, his arrival here is hourly expected. 
 
 I therefore take this opportunity, which may possi¬ 
 bly be my last official despatch from this Government, 
 to assure your Lordship that, in the opposition I have 
 offered to the commands of her Majesty's Government, 
 and in the unreserved expression of my opinions, I 
 have solely been guided by a sense of public duty/ in 
 defence oi which I have nothing further to say; I 
 hope, however, I shall not in vain request your Lord- 
 ship to feel assured that it was never my intention 
 to be disrespectful to your Lordship. If anything 
 
418 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Arrival in London—Interview with the Secretary of State—Letter 
 to Lord Melbourne—Correspondence with the Colonial Office. 
 
 On my arrival in London, I solicited an interview, 
 in Downing-street, with Her Majesty’s Secretaz-y of 
 State for the Colonies, for the purpose of urging 
 the claims upon Her Majesty’s Government of Colonel 
 Fitzgibbon, who had commanded the attack of the 
 rebels on Gallows Hill—of Captain Drew, who had 
 commanded the successful attack of the Caroline— 
 of Lieutenant M'Cormack, who had been wounded, 
 and disabled there—and of the widow of Colonel 
 Moodie, who had been cruelly murdered as he was 
 gallantly bringing me intelligence of the approach 
 of the rebels. 
 
 Having performed these duties of public gratitude 
 for public services, I calmly complained to his 
 Lordship of the want of due support from Her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government on the most important occasions. 
 What were my feelings on this and other similar sub¬ 
 jects will, however, best be explained by a letter which 
 I subsequently addressed to Lord Melbourne; but be¬ 
 fore I come to that, I feel bound in justice to the 
 Government to mention an otherwise insignificant 
 matter—namely, the pecuniary loss occasioned to me 
 
419 
 
 by my mission. I have already stated that out of the 
 300/. originally granted to me for outfit, 230/. had 
 been retained for fees on my commission, and that 
 the appointment of my aid-de-camp had been an¬ 
 nulled. 
 
 Suffice it to say that Her Majesty’s Government 
 have, with strict justice, recently repaid me the whole 
 of my expenses, and that my aid-de-camp was re¬ 
 stored to me at Toronto, about five months after 
 his appointment had been suspended. 
 
 On more important points I have not (as the fol¬ 
 lowing letter will show) been quite so fortunate. 
 
 To Lord Melbourne. 
 
 Barford, TVurwick. Sept. 18, 1838. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 During the session of Parliament I was unwilling 
 to trouble Her Majesty’s Government with the follow¬ 
 ing application for redress, which I trust will now 
 receive from your Lordship a patient consideration. 
 
 My Lord, without recapitulating in detail the va¬ 
 rious by-gone difficulties which for more than two 
 years I encountered in administering the Government 
 of Upper Canada, I will merely observe, that on my 
 arrival in that province I found myself not only bounded 
 on the one side by Lower Canada on the eve of a 
 revolt, and, on the other side, by the United States, 
 whose government, as well as people, were secretly 
 using their influence to exterminate from the continent 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 
 
 of America Monarchical institutions, but I found my¬ 
 self exposed to and opposed by a Republican House 
 of Assembly, headed by Mr. Speaker Bid well, 
 generally looked upon as the bitter enemy of 
 Monarchy, the untiring advocate of Republican in¬ 
 stitutions, and the avowed friend as well as corre¬ 
 spondent of the traitor Papineau, the Speaker of the 
 House of Assembly in the Lower Province. 
 
 Previous to my arrival in Upper Canada, Mr. Bid- 
 well, and the overwhelming majority who supported 
 him, had determined to refuse to meet again in session 
 until their revolutionary demands had been acceded 
 to ; and there can be no doubt if Mr. Bidwell had 
 done this, and, without giving any reason, had merely 
 followed the example of Mr. Papineau and the House 
 of Assembly in the Lower Province, that the British 
 Government, embarrassed by this double revolt, and 
 by the simultaneous demands of the President of the 
 United States respecting the State of Maine, would 
 have found it almost impossible (even if they had 
 wished it) to have persuaded the English House of 
 Commons to have supported them in the expense of 
 resisting what would have been vulgarly termed the 
 unanimous desire of the North American Colonies 
 for Republican institutions : in short, the Canadas 
 would have been surrendered by us; and if the trans¬ 
 atlantic barrier of the British Empire had been thus 
 broken, the torrent ol democracy suddenly rushing 
 upon the mother-country might almost have over- 
 
421 
 
 turned our institutions at home. Fortunately, how¬ 
 ever, Mr. Bidwell and his party determined to go 
 through the form of meeting me in Provincial Par¬ 
 liament ; nevertheless, the day it assembled they 
 endeavoured to pick a quarrel with me, and imme¬ 
 diately followed up this attempt by a series of violent 
 addresses to me, the revolutionary object of which 
 could not be mistaken. 
 
 The published replies which I gave to these ad¬ 
 dresses not only parried the attacks made upon me, 
 but struck a series of heavy blows upon my assailants, 
 who, becoming angry in proportion as they saw them ¬ 
 selves publicly discomfited, prevailed upon their ac¬ 
 complice Dr. Rolph, a member of my Executive 
 Council, to require me to surrender to the said Council 
 the responsibility, power, and patronage which were 
 the constitutional attributes ot my station. 
 
 Until this demand was made I had, apparently, 
 been gradually retreating before Mr. Bidwell and the 
 House of Assembly, but no sooner did I perceive that 
 by supporting this unjust demand of Dr. Rolph they 
 had rashly encamped themselves with him upon a 
 position from which I felt myself competent to drive 
 them, than I determined on attacking them, and ac¬ 
 cordingly, throwing off all disguise, I refused their 
 demands, dissolved the Parliament, and declaring 
 myself, on the continent of America, to be the un¬ 
 compromising supporter of our Monarchy* and the 
 open opponent ot democratic institutions, I tluew 
 
422 
 
 myself upon the people of Upper Canada, and appeal¬ 
 ing to their loyalty and good sense, I commenced a 
 moral agitation which drew upon Upper Canada the 
 almost breathless attention not only of the whole of 
 our North American Colonies, but of the Govern¬ 
 ment and people of the United States. 
 
 The excitement attendant upon a general election 
 afforded me opportunities of addressing the back¬ 
 woodsmen of the remotest regions of the province, in 
 plain language, which, though deservedly open to 
 diplomatic criticism, nevertheless circulated in all 
 directions. My writings, faulty as they were, im¬ 
 parting to these honest freeholders truths of which 
 they had been kept ignorant, not only dispelled the 
 delusions which had been practised upon them, but 
 made them one after another turn with indignation 
 upon their betrayers. 
 
 During three months I maintained this conflict 
 with the enemies of the British constitution, during 
 which time Her Majesty’s Government (probably 
 believing that I should not be successful) deemed it 
 politic to leave me unassisted to struggle with the 
 storm. The crisis at last arrived, and when the 
 elections were terminated the result proved, that in¬ 
 experienced as I was in diplomatic controversies, I 
 had not falsely estimated the power and majesty of a 
 just cause. 
 
 My antagonist, Mr. Bidwell, was not only driven 
 from the chair, but he was discarded even from the 
 

 
 423 
 
 House of Assembly; in fact, he lost his election. 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, as well as all the leading republican 
 members, also lost their elections. Dr. Holph s in¬ 
 sidious machinations were totally discomfited, and the 
 important x’esult of the contest was the moral triumph 
 on the continent of America ol monarchical institu¬ 
 tions ; indeed, so decided was the opinion of the new 
 Parliament on the subject, that one of the first acts 
 of the House of Assembly was, to express, in the 
 strongest terms, its indignation at a certain traitorous 
 letter addressed by Mr. Papineau to Mr. Lidwell, 
 which that gentleman, as his last act, had at mid¬ 
 night, on the last night of the session, managed, 
 almost surreptitiously, to place upon the journals ol 
 the House. 
 
 The tranquillity which was thus obtained was not 
 the effect of mere momentary excitement; on the 
 contrary, it was suddenly and unexpectedly tested by 
 the simultaneous stoppage of all the banks in the 
 United States, as well as in Lower Canada, Nova 
 Scotia, and New Brunswick. Upon principles irre- 
 concileable with British commercial integrity, the 
 whole of these institutions, though they had specie 
 in their coffers, stopped payment. The banks of 
 Upper Canada alone performed their engagements to 
 the public creditor by honestly liquidating what they 
 had promised to pay on demand. The odium and 
 unpopularity unavoidably attendant upon their per¬ 
 formance of this duty fell (I believe unjustly) almost 
 
424 
 
 wholly upon me. Nevertheless, the discomfiture of 
 the Republicans was so complete that, in spite of the 
 temporary unpopularity to which I have alluded, and 
 to which I was subjected for nearly a year, I was en¬ 
 abled, when Mr. Papineau’s insurrection in Lower 
 Canada broke out, to grant to Lord Gosford and to 
 Sir John Colborne the timely assistance of Her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s troops from the Upper Province; and more¬ 
 over, when the writings of Mr. M‘Kenzie and Mr. 
 Ridwell, and the traitorous conduct of Dr. Rolph, 
 caused a sympathetic insurrection to break out in 
 Upper Canada, I again, in a moment of unexampled 
 difficulty, emphatically appealed to the good sense 
 and good ieelings of the people, and assuming the 
 attitude which 1 humbly believed to be best suited to 
 the occasion, with folded arms I publicly waited the 
 result. 
 
 Her Majesty's Government observing the danger 
 by which I was evidently surrounded, deemed it 
 again politic to leave me to my fate; indeed, in the 
 Imperial Parliament it was more than hinted that I 
 was over chivalrous—that my writings(my only means 
 of defence) were epigrammatic, and that the attitude 
 I had publicly assumed was the effect of a distem¬ 
 pered rather than of a serene mind. However, a just 
 cause again triumphed—the people of Upper Canada 
 again most nobly responded to my call, and while 
 people in England were accusing me of rashness, 
 the Caandian militia not only promptly suppressed 
 
425 
 
 domestic insurrection, but in every direction success¬ 
 fully repulsed the people of the United States, who, 
 apparently encouraged by their Government, at¬ 
 tempted to rush in upon and take possession ol the 
 Canadas. Lastly, Dr; Rolph, Mr. M'Kenzie, and 
 the whole ot the leaders of the insurrection, absconded 
 from the province; Mr. Bidwell also prudently re¬ 
 tired into the United States, where he was received 
 with open arms, and contrary to precedent, rule, and, 
 I believe, law, he was raised, per saltum, to be advo¬ 
 cate and attorney of the American bar. 
 
 My Lord, during the two years in which, as an in¬ 
 experienced man, I was engaged in the arduous 
 struggle which I have just imperfectly described, Her 
 Majesty’s Government not only cautiously abstained 
 from the danger of taking any share in the difficulties 
 I had to contend with—they not only abstained from 
 giving me adequate support, but pursuing a policy as 
 inexplicable to me as it was to the Provincial Parlia¬ 
 ment, and to every man, by whom I was supported 
 (hey seemed determined to pull down my authority, 
 and to restore to power those whom, in a moral and 
 almost a bloodless contest, I had defeated. 
 
 For instance, while I was publicly engaged in pre¬ 
 sence of the whole people of the North American 
 Colonies, in struggling against the demands of Dr. 
 Rolph, and his bosom-friend, Mr. Speaker Bidwell, I 
 received from Downing-street intimation that it might 
 be advisable to raise the former of these individuals to 
 
 | 
 
426 
 
 a place of high consequence, and to elevate the latter 
 to the bench ; and as if this were not sufficient to 
 dishearten those who surrounded me, I was, without 
 being offered the power of justifying myself, peremp¬ 
 torily ordered to replace on the bench Judge Ridout, 
 who by the unanimous advice of my Council (the sis¬ 
 ter of one of whom was married to his brother), I had 
 dismissed, because he continued openly to attend and 
 harangue the notorious Central Committee,because he 
 had himself read to me an insulting address, and 
 because he had violated all political decency by pub¬ 
 licly declaring that I, the Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Upper Canada, deserved to be “ tarred and feathered,” 
 and that lie. Judge Ridout, “would lend a hand to 
 do so.’’ 
 
 My Lord, my correspondence with Her Majesty’s 
 Government, on these topics, teem with facts and 
 incontrovertible evidence, showing the violent political 
 conduct during the whole of their lives, of Mr. 
 Bidwell, and of Mr. Ridout, who were considered by 
 my executive council, (whom I repeatedly consulted,) 
 by the Chief Justice, by the Attorney and Solicitor- 
 General, and by the bar, as unfit subjects, on account 
 of the violence of their politics, for the honours pro¬ 
 posed to be bestowed upon them by Her Majesty’s 
 Government. 
 
 To these earnest remonstrances on my part, and 
 though the Province was upon the eve of a rebellion. 
 Her Majesty’s Government deemed it politic to reply 
 
 / 
 
by desiring me, at the next vacancy, to elevate Mr. 
 Bidwell to the bench, and the Government persisted, 
 moreover, in withholding its approbation of my dis¬ 
 missal of Mr. Ridout! 
 
 My Lord, I belonged to no political party in 
 England; I had propounded on the continent of 
 America no political doctrines except, as I have 
 already confessed, unalterable attachment to monarch¬ 
 ical institutions, and uncompromising opposition to 
 democracy. I had given Her Majesty s Government 
 no just cause for offence, and having, unfortunately, 
 at their repeated solicitations, given up my perma¬ 
 nent situation (I was the senior of the twenty assis¬ 
 tant-commissioners) in the Poor Law Commission, 
 where, at least, I was serving to the satisfaction of 
 my employers, I had, so far as the private interests of 
 my family were concerned, made myself so completely 
 dependent upon my station and salary of Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Upper Canada, the outfit foi which 
 had been very expensive, that I had every reason to 
 desire to retain this appointment, and no reason 
 whatever to quarrel with Her Majesty’s Government: 
 nevertheless, as soon as 1 found that Ilei Majestys 
 Government were really the open supporters against 
 me, of such men as Mr. Bidwell and Mr. Ridout, 
 without the slightest feeling, either of petulance 01 
 anger, and, I hope, without the expression of a single 
 sentiment of disrespect, 1 begged leave to retire 
 from a most dangerous station, which, without the 
 countenance of my employers, 1 had not the ability 
 
428 
 
 to maintain ; in fact. Her Majesty’s Government ac¬ 
 tually drove me from the field, and it is a singular 
 fact, which your Lordship is aware is recorded in my 
 despatches, that only six days after the Government 
 despatch, which announced to me that my resigna¬ 
 tion was accepted, had left Downing Street, Dr. 
 Rolph, one of the individuals recommended for eleva¬ 
 tion by the Colonial Office, actually arranged as the 
 President of the Republican Provincial Government 
 of Upper Canada, his murderous attack upon Toronto; 
 which was attempted to be carried into effect by 
 Mr. M'Kenzie, lipon whose flag, (the emblem of 
 arson and robbery) when it fell into the hands of the 
 loyal Militia of Upper Canada, was found inscribed 
 in large letters— 
 
 “Bidwell, and the Glorious Minority; 
 
 1837, and a good beginning!” 
 
 As soon as my retirement from the Government 
 of Upper Canada was made known to the Provincial 
 legislature, (upon whose addresses I declined to give 
 copies of the correspondence with Her Majesty’s 
 Government, which led to my resignation,) I received 
 from both branches addresses, containing expressions 
 too complimentary for me to transcribe. 
 
 Not only from almost every town and district in 
 Upper Canada, I received addresses of a similar 
 nature, but the Legislatures, as well as people of 
 Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, 
 forwarded to me the most gratifying addresses, and. 
 
429 
 
 as soon as it became known, that in order to avoid 
 the personal danger which awaited me in the United 
 States, I had taken measures for embarking at Hali¬ 
 fax, preparations were immediately made in Lower 
 Canada, as well as in New Brunswick, and Nova 
 Scotia, for receiving me in these Provinces with pub¬ 
 lic honours. 
 
 I need not say, that under the peculiar circum¬ 
 stances attendant upon my retirement, from the loyal 
 people of Upper Canada, it would have been not only 
 highly gratifying but of essential service to me to 
 have accepted from the whole of our North American 
 Colonies (who, as by-standers, had been eye-witnesses 
 of my conduct) this public testimony of their support; 
 but I felt it would be of still greater advantage to me 
 to demonstrate that my retirement from the service 
 of Her Majesty’s Government had proceeded solely 
 from public principle, and that I had no lactious 
 desire either to embarrass my successor or the Go¬ 
 vernment under which 1 had served. I, accoidingly, 
 went through the United States to New York, and your 
 Lordship is aware, that instead ol this measuie being 
 appreciated by Her Majesty’s Government, it was by 
 almost every member of it termed, “ like my other 
 acts, over-chivalrous, and rash.” 
 
 On my arrival in England 1 was actuated by the 
 same feelings, and, though the merchants in the City 
 of London, connected with the North American 
 Colonies, insisted, in a manner which I could not 
 decline, on paying me a most honourable coinpli- 
 
 I 
 
 
430 
 
 ment, yet neither to them, nor even to my friends 
 did I divulge the cause of my return, or lay before 
 them copies of the correspondence with Her Majesty’s 
 Government, which had led to my resignation. 
 Neither directly nor indirectly did I either say, or 
 write, to any man, one word, which could in any way 
 embarrass Her Majesty’s Government, and conscious 
 of the integrity of my own conduct, I should, in my 
 retirement, have still submitted silently to the wrongs 
 which I conceive I have suffered, had it not been (as 
 I now propose to shotv your Lordship, by a document, 
 and by evidence which is unanswerable) that Her 
 Majesty’s Government suddenly turned round, and 
 adopted as their own the very arguments, and the 
 identical course of policy, for the pursuance of which 
 they had driven me from the Government of Upper 
 Canada. 
 
 The document to which I allude, and which re¬ 
 lates to the dismissal by her Mtyesty’s Government 
 
 of the Chief Justice of Newfoundland, is as follows : 
 (copy.) 
 
 “At the Court of Buckingham Palace, the 5th day of July 
 1838; 
 
 
 The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, 
 Lord Chancellor, Viscount Howick, 
 
 Lord President, 
 
 Lord Steward, 
 
 Earl of Albemarle, 
 Earl of Minto, 
 Viscount Palmerston, 
 
 Lord Holland, 
 
 Lord Hill, 
 
 Lord Glenelg, 
 
 Sir J. Hobhouse, 
 
 Mr. Chancellor of Exchequer. 
 
 
“ Whereas there was this day read at the Board a Report 
 from the Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee 
 of the Privy Council, dated this day, in the words fol¬ 
 lowing, viz. 
 
 “ In reporting to your Majesty upon the Memorial, your 
 Majesty has been pleased to refer to us from your Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Commons of Newfoundland in General Assembly 
 convened, we think it right in the first place to state that 
 we have not found anything to justify the terms adopted in 
 the prayer of the Memorial e that your Majesty would be 
 pleased to purify the bench of justice in Newfoundland by 
 the removal of the Chief Justice,’ inasmuch as we have 
 not found any ground for imputing to the Chief Justice any 
 corrupt motive or intentional deviation from his duty as a 
 judge, and we feel it is incumbent upon us to express dis¬ 
 approbation at the language and conduct adopted towards 
 the Chief Justice, as being unjust towards him personally, 
 and inconsistent with the respect due to the high office he 
 was filling. 
 
 “ We regret, however, to be under the necessity of report¬ 
 ing that we have found in some of the transactions brought 
 under our consideration, so much of indiscretion in the con¬ 
 duct of the Chief Justice, that he has permitted himself so 
 much to participate in the strong feelings which appear , 
 unfortunately, to have influenced the different parties in 
 the colonies , {although we do not find that his judicial de¬ 
 cisions have been affected thereby ,) that we feel it our duty 
 to state , that we think it would be inexpedient that he should 
 be continued in the office of Chief Justice of Newfound¬ 
 land. 
 
 “ Her Majesty having taken the said report into con¬ 
 sideration, was pleased, by and with the advice of the Privy 
 Council, to approve thereof \ and of what is therein recom- 
 
mended, and to order, as it is hereby ordered, that the Right 
 Honourable Lord Glenelg, one of her Majesty’s principal 
 Secretaries of State, do signify to Chief Justice Bolton her 
 Majesty’s pleasure thereon.” 
 
 (Signed) “ C. Greville.” 
 
 By the above document it will appear, that al¬ 
 most immediately after my resignation was accepted. 
 Her Majesty’s Government dismissed the Chief 
 Justice of Newfoundland, an old and faithful servant 
 of the Crown, for the identical* reasons which I had 
 given to them in Upper Canada, for having dis¬ 
 missed Mr. Kidout (who was merely the Judge of a 
 district court), and for not having elevated the Re¬ 
 publican ex-speaker Bidwell to the bench. 
 
 In the case of the Chief Justice of Newfoundland 
 (which was drawn up against him, and feigned by 
 Stephen Lushington,f Daniel O'Connell,J and F. 
 Fleming), it appears that the Privy Council reported 
 that they had not found anything to justify the terms 
 adopted in the Memorial of the Assembly of New¬ 
 foundland—that they had not found any ground for 
 
 I mean only identical in 'principle , for in the degree there was 
 no comparison. The Chief Justice of Newfoundland is charged only 
 with having participated in strong party feelings y whereas the par¬ 
 ties I had dismissed were proved to have used the most insulting 
 language, and to have otherwise violently opposed me. 
 
 t Since made Judge of the Admiralty; though he would not, I 
 suppose, deny that “he participates in strong party feelings.” 
 
 t To whom—though it will not, I suppose, be denied that “he 
 participates in strong party feelings”—it has been stated, and not 
 contradicted, that her Majesty’s Government offered successively two 
 of the highest stations on the Irish Bench.” 
 
433 
 
 imputing to the Chief Justice any corrupt motive, or 
 intentional deviation from his duty as a Judge; they 
 even expressed their disapprobation at the language 
 and conduct adopted towards the Chief Justice, which 
 they declared to be unjust towards him personally, 
 and inconsistent with the respect due to the high 
 office he was filling: and yet, in spite of the Chief 
 Justice’s admitted innocence, and notwithstanding 
 the declared guilt of his accusers, her Majesty’s 
 Government deliberately dismissed this public servant, 
 with no other explanation, or no other reason, than 
 is contained in the following sentence:—“We re¬ 
 gret, however, to be under the necessity of reporting 
 that we have found, in some of the transactions brought 
 under our consideration, so much of indiscretion in 
 the conduct of the Chief Justice, and that lie has 
 permitted himself so much to participate in the 
 strong feelings which appear unfortunately to have 
 influenced the different parties in the colony (al- 
 TUOUH WE DO NOT FIND THAT HIS JUDICIAL DECI¬ 
 SIONS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED THEREBY), that W>i 
 feel it our duty to state that we think it will he inex¬ 
 pedient that he should be continued in the office of 
 Chief Justice of Newfoundland.”* 
 
 My Lord, against the policy of a minister, or 
 against the policy of a government, it is, I am aware, 
 
 * One often hears of condemnation, with a recommendation to 
 mercy, but here is an acquittal, with a recommendation to punish¬ 
 ment ! 
 
 2 F 
 
 t 
 
generally speaking, hopeless for an humble individual, 
 like the Chief Justice of Newfoundland, or like my¬ 
 self, to argue or complain; for even if the individual 
 should succeed in proving ever so clearly, or ever so 
 cleverly, the said policy to be bad, the minister is, 
 I admit, fully justified in abruptly ending the discus¬ 
 sion, by exclaiming, “ Sic volo, sic jubeo, stet pro 
 ratione voluntas,’ which means “Its my policy.” 
 
 Your Lordship therefore, or Her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment, had full indulgence either to say to the Lieu¬ 
 tenant-governor of Upper Canada, “ We will not 
 allow you even on the eve of an insurrection in our 
 colonies to remove a Judge from the bench of a Dis¬ 
 trict Court, merely because he has taken a violent 
 part in politics —merely because from having done 
 so the Executive Council, the Attorney and Solicitor- 
 General, the Chief Justice, the Judges, and the bar 
 of Upper Canada all united in approving of his dis¬ 
 missal merely because he openly and grossly in¬ 
 sulted you by reading to you at the head of a Repub¬ 
 lican deputation an impertinent address—and merely 
 because he publicly threatened ‘to tar and feather’ 
 you. We moreover insist that out of the whole popula¬ 
 tion of Upper Canada, it is advisable that you should 
 select and elevate to the Bench, her Majesty’s bitter¬ 
 est opponent, because we do not think he should be 
 debarred from this exalted station merely because, 
 during his whole life, he has been (like his father 
 before him) the unceasing advocate of Republican 
 
institutions— merely because by his speeches and by 
 his writings he has done more than any other man 
 in the Canadas in bringing about the late revolt which 
 will cost the mother-country more than two millions 
 —and merely because he was the speaker and leader 
 of a house of assembly, which, previous to your dis¬ 
 solving it, offered you every possible insult.” 
 
 On the other hand, your Lordship or Her Majesty’s 
 Government had full indulgence to say to the Chief 
 Justice of Newfoundland, “ Your motives have never 
 been corrupt—you have never intentionally deviated 
 from your duty as a judge—your judicial decisions 
 have never been affected by your political principles, 
 but you have permitted yourself to participate in the 
 strong feelings which appear unfortunately to have 
 influenced the different parties in the colony of New¬ 
 foundland, and although in that colony there was not 
 the slightest danger of a revolt, yet we have consi¬ 
 dered the case brought against you before the Privy 
 Council, by Stephen Lushington, Daniel O’Connell, 
 and J. Fleming, and as it is our fixed policy that in 
 our North American colonies the bench of justice 
 shall be immaculate from and even unsuspected of 
 political bias —we dismiss you." 
 
 Your Lordship and Her Majesty’s Government 
 enjoy (as I have already admitted) full liberty to 
 pursue one of the above two diametrically opposite 
 courses of policy, and to give no explanation to either 
 complainant, except the Latin sentence I have 
 
 2 f 2 
 
436 
 
 quoted ; but, my Lord, I very respectfully submit that 
 neither your Lordship, nor Her Majesty’s Government, 
 nor the people of England, nor any power on earth 
 ought even to desire to possess the right of pursuing 
 in the North American colonies both of these policies 
 at the same time; I mean of saying that your law is 
 and is not, that it is right and that it is wrong ; in 
 short, that the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Cana¬ 
 da, and the Chief Justice of Newfoundland, shall be 
 equally driven from the service of their sovereign, 
 in order that the people of the North American colo¬ 
 nies may learn that a Judge s interference with poli¬ 
 tical party is no objection whatever, and is an insu¬ 
 perable objection to his remaining on the bench. 
 
 But taking leave of the case of the Chief Justice of 
 Newfoundland, I beg permission to remind your 
 Lordship, that in the able defence of Lord Durham 
 which her Majesty’s Government lately made before 
 1 arliament, your Lordship in the one House, and Lord 
 John Russell in the other, strenuously maintained the 
 identical doctrines, my support of which induced her 
 Majesty s Government morally speaking to drive me 
 from the Government of Upper Canada. It was 
 not denied, (on the contrary, it was admitted most 
 frankly by your Lordship as well as by Lord John 
 Russell) that Lord Durham had acted illegally, but 
 generously supporting the public servant in the exe¬ 
 cution of his new and difficult duties, your Lordship’s 
 whole argument tended to prove that Lord Dur- 
 
ham’s measures were justified by the necessity of 
 the case , and so strongly did her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment maintain this principle, that your Lordship not 
 only assailed the Avhole profession of the law, as well 
 as the quibbles by which lawyers maintain the small¬ 
 est private right against the public safety, but your 
 Lordship very truly added, “ that the noble Earl 
 (Durham) would be most seriously injured even by 
 the discussion—that unquestionably his authority 
 would be much weakened by it—and that it would 
 be far better for their Lordships to move an 
 address to the crown to recall him at once, than 
 to weaken and impair his authority; in short, that 
 to confer powers on an individual, and not to give 
 him confidence for the exercise of them, was only 
 laying a trap for him, or something like it.” 
 
 A Bill of Indemnity, which eventually passed 
 through both Houses of the Imperial Parliament, 
 was proposed and acceded to, on the principle urged 
 by the Government, that his Lordship was deserving 
 of protection, because his measures (though illegal) 
 were justified by the necessity of the case. 
 
 Now, if my correspondence with her Majesty’s 
 Government, which led to my resignation, were to 
 be referred to, it would at once appear, that the 
 reason, cause, or defence, I offered to her Majesty’s 
 Government, for not replacing Judge Ridout, and 
 for refusing to elevate on the eve of a revolt, the ex¬ 
 speaker Bidwell to the bench, was the necessity of 
 the case. A necessity, I humbly submil, infinitely 
 
438 
 
 heavier than Lord Durham’s necessity, inasmuch, 
 as his Lordship did not arrive in the Canadas until 
 the rebels in both Provinces had been defeated— 
 until the American forces had been successfully re¬ 
 pulsed in every attempt they had made to invade 
 and possess themselves of Upper Canada — until 
 Papineau, Bidwell, Rolph, M'Kenzie, and the whole 
 nest of Conspirators who had offered 500/. for my 
 apprehension, had absconded from the Province— 
 in short, until “ the hurly-burly was done, and 
 the battle lost and wonnevertheless, though my 
 necessity was as superior to Lord Durham’s, as in 
 rank, station, education, and diplomatic experience, 
 I was his Lordship’s inferior—and although, after 
 all, there was nothing illegal in my dismissing a 
 Judge for the very reason for which Her Majesty’s 
 Government dismissed a chief justice—yet Her 
 Majesty’s Government voted for an Act of Parlia¬ 
 ment to indemnify Lord Durham, and publicly re¬ 
 versed and discountenanced my Act, which was 
 identical with their own ! 
 
 Her Majesty’s Government have, it cannot be 
 denied, full power to direct in the North American 
 Colonies whatever policy they may think proper; 
 but I again respectfully maintain, that they cannot 
 carry on two conflicting policies at the same time, 
 by declaring that in Lower Canada an illegal act 
 ought to he, and that in Upper Canada, it cannot be 
 justified by necessity. 
 
 Without any wish to offend, or even to upbraid 
 
439 
 
 Her Majesty’s Government, I beg leave to state to 
 your Lordship, that I feel very deeply, it would have 
 been better (to use your Lordship’s own words) for 
 Her Majesty’s Government to have recalled me at 
 once from the government of Upper Canada, than 
 to have weakened, impaired, and undermined my 
 authority, until it fell prostrate to the ground—that 
 by having conferred powers on me, without giving 
 me confidence for the exercise of them. Her Majes¬ 
 ty’s Government laid a trap for me, from which it 
 was impracticable for me to escape—that her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government acted, therefore, unjustly towards 
 me, in removing me from a permanent appointment, 
 to one which almost immediately they made it im¬ 
 possible for me to maintain ; and lastly, that leaving 
 my own interests arid feelings completely out of the 
 question, it is as disheartening to the loyal popula¬ 
 tion of her Majesty's North American Colonies, as 
 it is encouraging to their republican opponents, to 
 observe, that while Lord Gosford, (who was obliged 
 by Her Majesty’s Government to try the fatal Ex¬ 
 periment of conciliating the republicans,) has been, 
 I rejoice to observe, most graciously received and 
 rewarded by his Sovereign, I, who returned to Eng¬ 
 land simultaneously with his Lordsip, have not, by 
 a single audience, been even honoured by an oppor¬ 
 tunity of most humbly assuring Her Majesty of the 
 loyalty of the people of Upper Canada—of their 
 devotional attachment to the British throne—of their 
 
440 
 
 admiration of the British Constitution—and of their 
 unalterable detestation of those republican principles, 
 which have created before their eyes on the Conti¬ 
 nent of America a vulgar mob-tyranny, under which 
 neither life nor property are secure. 
 
 My Lord, I do not expect that your Lordship can 
 find time even to consider the few arguments which 
 are contained in this communication, and which I 
 assure your Lordship explains but a part of the 
 wrongs which I consider 1 have received from Her 
 Majesty’s Government, but I trust that your Lord- 
 sliip, taking into consideration how unwilling I 
 have been factiously to embarrass Her Majesty’s 
 Government, and how patiently I have waited for 
 redress, will pause before you refuse the request 
 ■which I now respectfully make to your Lordship, 
 which is, that your Lordship would be pleased to 
 allow me, either before the Privy Council—before 
 the Judicial Committee thereof—or before a Com¬ 
 mittee of such members of the Government as it may 
 be deemed by it advisable to select, an opportunity 
 of convincing your Lordship by their report, that 
 Her Majesty’s Government has unjustifiably wronged 
 me. 
 
 If it should be reported to your Lordship that I had 
 failed in substantiating this allegation, your Lordship 
 would have the satisfaction of reflecting, that you 
 had granted to me the opportunity I had demanded. 
 If, on the other hand, I should succeed in substan- 
 
tiating my accusation, my opinion of your Lordship 
 leads me to believe, that your Lordship would re¬ 
 joice, rather than regret, that a truth which affected 
 the character of your Lordship’s administration was 
 no longer concealed from your knowledge. 
 
 1 have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Your Lordship’s most obedient 
 Humble Servant, 
 (Signed) F. 15. Head. 
 The Lord Viscount Melbourne, &c. &c. 
 
 In reply to this communication, Lord Melbourne, 
 in a note marked “ Private,” declined to accede to 
 the requests I had made. 
 
442 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A few Observations on three or four Paragraphs in the “ Report on 
 the Affairs of British North America from the Earl of Durham, 
 Her Majesty’s High Commissioner, &c. &c. &c.,'’ 
 
 (Presented by Her Majesty’s command to both Houses of Parliament.) 
 
 It has been strenuously urged against Lord Dur¬ 
 ham that his Lordship, in reporting “ on the affairs of 
 British North America,” was not justified in assail- 
 ing my by-gone policy and conduct. If his Lord- 
 ship s attention had by Her Majesty been merely 
 diiected to the administration of the government of 
 Ijower Canada, his public censure on my conduct would 
 certainly, to say the least, have been unnecessary; but 
 as his Lordship’s mission had in view the much 
 higher object of adjusting what is commonly termed 
 the disoidered state of our North American pro¬ 
 vinces, it surely cannot, by any unprejudiced man, 
 be denied that Lord Durham could not safely legis¬ 
 late for the future tense of life without not only at¬ 
 tentively observing the present, but without also 
 calmly reflecting on the past; for it is by the pro¬ 
 truding masts of vessels which have sunk that the 
 cautious mariner first learns to avoid the hidden 
 rocks upon which they have foundered. 
 
 I conceive, therefore, that Lord Durham was not 
 only perfectly justified, but that his Lordship per- 
 
443 
 
 formed no more than his duty in investigating the 
 policy which, as Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Ca¬ 
 nada, I had pursued, and in reporting to Her Majesty, 
 perfectly regardless of my feelings, whatever might 
 he his opinion on the subject; and I must go still 
 further and say, that however captivated a public 
 man may be with his own conduct, he has no right 
 even to feel offended at the honest disapprobation of 
 it which a superior officer in the performance of a 
 painful and arduous duty may feel it necessary to 
 pronounce. 
 
 But though I claim this freedom of action for 
 Lord Durham, I submit that there existed in his 
 commission no clause authorizing his Lordship to 
 rebuke any one by incorrect assertion. 
 
 As the tie which once connected me with Upper 
 Canada has been severed, it is not my duty, it is not 
 my inclination, nor do the present limits permit of my 
 replying to all the allegations against the Legislature 
 and the people of Upper Canada which are con¬ 
 tained in his Lordship’s report. I propose only to 
 make a few observations on those three or four para¬ 
 graphs which are especially directed against myself, 
 and on one or two others of a more general nature. 
 
 1. “ Proceedings of Sir Francis Head.” 
 
 This paragraph commences by reporting to Her 
 Majesty as follows :— 
 
 “ Such was the state of parties when Sir Francis Head, 
 
444 
 
 on assuming the government of the colony, dismissed from 
 the Executive Council some of the members who were most 
 obnoxious to the House of Assembly, and requested three 
 individuals to succeed them.” 
 
 This statement is, I beg to say without offence, 
 exactly a reversion of the truth, which was (vide 
 my despatch. No. 9, page 56), that the three in¬ 
 dividuals, named by Lord Durham, requested me to 
 dismiss “the members who were most obnoxious to 
 the House of Assembly,” that I resolutely refused to 
 dismiss them, and that accordingly they were not 
 dismissed. 
 
 Lord Durham's Report, after truly narrating that 
 I afterwards added three reformers to the Council, 
 reports to Her Majesty that— 
 
 “ Among the first acts of the Governor, after the ap¬ 
 pointment of this Council, was, however, the nomination to 
 some vacant offices of individuals, who were taken from the 
 old official party, and this without any communication with 
 his Council. These appointments were attacked by the 
 House of Assembly, and the new Council, finding that 
 their opinion was never asked upon these or other matters, 
 and that they were seemingly to be kept in ignorance of 
 all those public measures which popular opinion, neverthe¬ 
 less, attributed to their advice, remonstrated privately on the 
 subject with the Governor. Sir Francis desired them to 
 make a formal representation to him on the subject; they 
 did so, and this produced such a reply from him, as left 
 them no choice but to resign. The occasion of the dif¬ 
 ferences which had caused the resignation was made the 
 subject of communication between the Governor and the 
 
Assembly, so that the whole community were informed of 
 the grounds of the dispute.” 
 
 The whole of the above is a tissue of unintentional 
 errors. The unpopular appointment to which Lord 
 Durham in the plural number has alluded, was in fa¬ 
 vour of a new settler ; it had been made by me not 
 only by the advice, but solely at the suggestion of the 
 leading member of my old Council before the three 
 reformers were added to it. 
 
 The new Council, who were only in my service a 
 fortnight, never once remonstrated with me on that 
 or on any subject till I officially received their 
 public document, which (vide my despatch, No. 15, 
 page 72), emanated entirely from themselves without 
 my knowledge or suggestion . Lastly, the commu¬ 
 nication from the House (which is before the reader) 
 see page 66, was from the Assembly to me, and not 
 from me to it. 
 
 Lord Durham’s Report to the Queen proceeds as 
 follows : — 
 
 " The contest which appeared to be thus commenced on 
 the question of the responsibility of the Executive Council 
 was really decided on very different grounds. Sir F. Head, 
 who appears to have thought that the maintenance of the 
 connexion with Great Britain depended upon his triumph 
 over the majority of the Assembly, embarked in the contest 
 with a determination to use every influence in his power in 
 order to bring it to a successful issue. He succeeded, in 
 fact, in putting the issue in such a light before the province, 
 that a great portion of the people really imagined that they 
 
446 
 
 were called upon to decide the question of separation by 
 their votes.” 
 
 The following extracts from my replies to the 
 Addresses I received from 28,188 people before the 
 elections took place, will, I trust, without a com¬ 
 ment, clearly show whether or not Lord Durham 
 was perfectly justified in reporting to Her Majesty 
 that in order to gain the elections I had placed 
 the subject of dispute before the inhabitants of the 
 province disingenuously. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Extract from “ Reply to the Address of the Inhabitants of 
 the District of Johnstown .” 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I need hardly say that it affords me consolation to observe 
 from your address, that the yeomanry and farmers of Upper 
 Canada, instead of allowing other people to think for them, 
 have been at last driven to the necessity of judging for them¬ 
 selves of the serious events which have lately passed before 
 their eyes. 
 
 In the mother-country I have invariably found, that when 
 the yeomanry are once aroused from their lethargy, in which 
 they are too apt to remain, their sturdy opinion forms one 
 of the most correct verdicts in the land, and confidently be¬ 
 lieving that such will prove to be the case in this province, 
 
 I beg to ask those yeomen and farmers of the Johnstown 
 district, whose names are subscribed to the documents I have 
 just received, the following plain questions 
 
 What necessity has there been for this general disturb- 
 
ance throughout Upper Canada about a responsible Execu¬ 
 tive Government? 
 
 Have I not evidently, to the best of my ability, endea¬ 
 voured calmly to explain, not only to the Legislature, but 
 to the inhabitants of this province, my reasons for declining 
 to surrender to my late Executive Council that power and 
 patronage which is the prerogative of the Crown? 
 
 Has the language which so unnecessarily has assailed me 
 diverted me from my declared determination to govern and 
 be governed by reason ? 
 
 Have I once rebuked it by an intemperate expression? 
 
 While I was resolutely defending your constitution, 
 which is the sacred charter of your freedom, did I not re¬ 
 peatedly declare that, in case I was wrong, there existed, 
 above us all, a high tribunal, to which I was ever ready to 
 bow ? 
 
 Why, I ask, was not that offer accepted ? 
 
 What necessity was there for my opponents to promulgate 
 during the discussion, that their grand object was “To stop 
 the supplies?” 
 
 What was the use of paralyzing the country by so cruel 
 a remedy? 
 
 Did they think that despair and poverty could explain 
 what reason and argument had failed to substantiate ? 
 
 Can any three professional gentlemen of Toronto, intently 
 occupied in their ow T n petty interests, presume to offer to 
 Upper Canada the powerful protection, and parental assist¬ 
 ance which our Sovereign can bestow upon this young 
 growing country ? 
 
 Is the loyalty of this portion of the British Empire to bow 
 before a self-constituted triumvirate , merely because it de¬ 
 clares that no responsibility is trust-worthy but its own ? 
 
448 
 
 Gentlemen, I have no reply to offer to these questions, 
 but commit them to your own calm judgment and good 
 sense ? 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Extract from “ Reply to the Address of the Mayor and 
 Common Council of the City of Toronto” 
 
 The constitution of this province is the sacred charter of 
 the land; and it is no less my duty than the interest of its 
 inhabitants that I should firmly maintain it, as I ever will, 
 inviolate. 
 
 If that charter constitutes a “ Provincial Ministry" it 
 need only be shown to me to be secured; but I deliberately 
 repeat, that it contains the creation of no such a power, and 
 in my opinion, were it to be now created, it would be produc¬ 
 tive of the most vicious effects; for if the power and patron¬ 
 age of the Crown were to be delivered over to a tribunal 
 sworn to secrecy, they would very soon fall into the hands 
 of a few metropolitan families, who might possibly pro¬ 
 mote their own views to the rejection of the interests of 
 the distant counties ; whereas, while these powers continued 
 invested in the individual appointed by His Majesty to 
 be the Lieutenant-Governor of this province, he (being a 
 
 stranger) can have neither interest nor inducement to abuse 
 them. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Extract from “ Reply to the Address of the inhabitants of 
 the City of Toronto .” 
 
 I have no wish to deny « that in the British constitution 
 the King is assisted in all the affairs of Government by the 
 advice of known and responsible councillors and officers who 
 possess the confidence of the people, and who form His Ma- 
 
449 
 
 jesty’s CabinetBut Colonel Simcoe, who, you yourselves 
 state, “ was authorised undoubtedly by His Majesty’s Go¬ 
 vernment to declare to His faithful subjects in this province 
 the nature of the Constitution ” created no such cabinet, nor 
 any cabinet at all; and from his day, down to the present 
 hour, there has never existed any ministry in the colony 
 except the Governor, who is himself the responsible minis¬ 
 ter of the Crown. 
 
 ****** 
 
 The yeomen and industrious classes of Upper Canada 
 should never allow a single letter to be subtracted from or 
 added to the great charter of their liberties; for if once they 
 permit it to be mutilated, or what may be termed improved, 
 they and their children become instantly liable to find them¬ 
 selves suddenly deprived of their property, and, what is 
 better than all property, of their freedom and independence. 
 
 By this Act you are of course aware that a House of 
 Assembly, a Legislative Council, and a Lieutenant Gover¬ 
 nor are appointed ; but it creates no Executive Council; 
 and if people tell you that it does, read the Act , and you 
 will see the contrary . 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 “Reply to the Address of the Inhabitants of the County 
 of Hastings 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In return for the Address which I have just received 
 from you, I assure you that I will continue firmly to uphold 
 and support the best interests of your agriculturists and of 
 your province, and that never will I allow either the one or 
 the other to be placed under the irresponsible domination of 
 a Toronto ministry. 
 
 2 G 
 
450 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Extract from Reply to the Address of the Grand Jury 
 
 of the Home District." 
 
 If that noble charter had not existed, there can be no 
 doubt but that the representative of His Majesty would 
 have been overcome, and that the inhabitants of Upper 
 Canada would now be under the ignominious tyranny of 
 a secret metropolitan “ Cabinet;" but your constitution 
 has proved to be impregnable, and at this moment no peo¬ 
 ple bewail the fact more keenly than those who have lately 
 been nearly crushed in their endeavours to undermine it. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 Extract from “ Reply to the Address of the Inhabitants of 
 the Town and Townshij) of Kingston" 
 
 It therefore only remains for me to beg you to assure 
 them I feel most deeply the confidence they repose in me; 
 and that so long as I shall remain His Majesty’s represen¬ 
 tative in this province, I will never allow them to be uncon¬ 
 stitutionally subjected to the arbitrary domination of an 
 irresponsible , secret , and self-constituted “ Cabinet" 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 Extract from “ Reply to the Address of the Inhabitants 
 of the District of Ottowa" 
 
 The falsest reports are daily invented, and at great ex¬ 
 pense are circulated all over the province, in order if possi¬ 
 ble still to delude and agitate the public mind: for instance, 
 it has been stated that I wish to establish tithes—that I am 
 concocting plans for making the people of Upper Canada 
 slaves, &c. &c. &c. 
 
451 
 
 Gentlemen, my plans and projects are all contained and 
 published in the instructions which I received from the 
 King. They desire me to correct, without partiality, the 
 grievances of this country; and it is because the agitators 
 see I am determined to do so that they are endeavour¬ 
 ing to obstruct me by every artifice in their power. They 
 declare me to be their enemy, and the truth is, I really 
 am. 
 
 As her Majesty’s Government were in possession 
 of printed copies of all these replies, they surely ought 
 at least to have produced them in my defence when 
 they submitted, by command of the Queen, to both 
 Houses of Parliament, Lord Durham’s charge against 
 me, that I had gained the elections disingenuously. 
 
 Lord Durham, in informing Her Majesty what the 
 feelings of the people of Upper Canada were pre¬ 
 vious to these elections in 1836, states— 
 
 “ Above all, not only they, but a great many others, had 
 marked with envy the stupendous public works which were 
 at that period producing their effect, in the almost marvel¬ 
 lous growth of the wealth and population of the neighbour¬ 
 ing state of New York.” 
 
 Far from entertaining these feelings of envy, the 
 people of Upper Canada rejected at the elections 
 seven out of the thirteen American members who 
 had previously sat in the House of Assembly; and 
 the whole result of the contest, as well as the re¬ 
 peated defeats which the American sympathisers 
 have suffered during the last two winters, have proved 
 
 2 G 2 
 
 I 
 
 
452 
 
 how cordially I was supported in the assertion I 
 openly made “ that the people of Upper Canada 
 detest democracy 
 
 Lord Durham thus proceeds to inform the Queen : 
 
 “ The general support of the British determined the 
 elections in favour of the Government; and though very 
 large and close minorities, which in many cases supported 
 the defeated candidates, marked the force which the Re¬ 
 formers could bring into the field, even in spite of the dis¬ 
 advantages under which they laboured from the momentary 
 prejudices against them, and the unusual manner in which 
 the Crown , by its representative , appeared to make itself a 
 party in an electioneering contest , the result was the return 
 of a very large majority hostile in politics to that of the late 
 Assembly.” 
 
 Before the elections commenced I gave sucli re¬ 
 plies as I thought proper to the different Addresses 
 I received; but in order that the country should 
 clearly see that 1 was determined not “ to make 
 myself a party in an electioneering contest,” I gave 
 the following reply to the seven following Addresses, 
 two of which, from very influential bodies, arrived 
 at Government House a day or two only after the 
 election could legally commence. 
 
 List of Addresses just referred to. 
 
 1. Wesleyan Methodist Conference. (Signed by order 
 and in behalf of the conference. William Lord, President. 
 William Case, Secretary.) 
 
 & 2. United Synod of Upper Canada. (Signed in name, 
 presence, and appointment of synod. C. Nicholl, Mode¬ 
 rator; Whlliam Smart, Clerk of United Synod.) 
 
453 
 
 3. Gananogue and its vicinity. 
 
 4. Ramsay. 
 
 5. Warwick. 
 
 G. Goderich. 
 
 7. Township of Nepean. 
 
 Reply in Writing delivered to each oj the above. 
 
 “ Gentlemen ,—As the elections have commenced , I must 
 decline giving any other reply to the address which I have 
 just received from you, than merely to acknowledge its re¬ 
 ceipt.” 
 
 I may add, that, besides this precaution, I gave 
 orders to all my attendants, as well as to all the 
 clerks in the government office, to abstain from 
 contributing to the subscriptions which were set on 
 foot by the constitutionalists, in order to refute the 
 calumnies published by the republicans. I also de¬ 
 sired the Adjutant-General to promulgate that I 
 would suspend all militia promotions, or dismissals,* 
 until the elections were concluded. 
 
 2. Real Result of Sir F . Head's Policy. 
 
 In informing the Queen of “ real results' which 
 had happened two winters before his Lordship’s ar¬ 
 rival in North America, Lord Durham deems it ad¬ 
 visable to describe in the following terms the mem¬ 
 bers I had appointed to my Executive Council:— 
 
 “ It may, indeed, be fairly said, that the real result of Sir 
 F. Head’s policy was to establish that very administrative 
 influence of the leaders of a majority in the Legislature 
 which he had so obstinately disputed. The Executive 
 * See page 225, line 4. 
 
454 
 
 Councillors of his nomination, who seem to have taken office 
 almost on the express condition of being mere ciphers, are 
 not, in fact, then, the real government of the province. It 
 is said that the new officers of government whom Sir F. 
 Head appointed from without the pale of official eligibility 
 e el more apprehension of the present house than, so far as 
 can be judged, was ever felt by their predecessors with 
 regard to the most violent of the reforming Houses of 
 Assembly. Their apprehension, however, is not confined to 
 the present house: they feel that, under no conceivable con¬ 
 tingency, can they expect an Assembly disposed to support 
 them ; and they accordingly appear to desire such a change 
 in the colonial system as might make them dependent upon 
 the Imperial Government alone, and secure them against 
 all interference from the Legislature of the province, what¬ 
 ever party should obtain a preponderance in the Assembly. 
 
 Whether Lord Durham is justified in designating 
 the Executive Council whom I appointed as “ mere 
 cyphers' shall shortly appear; but, abandoning that 
 point for a moment, I hasten to vindicate before 
 the public the characters of four gentlemen whom 
 Lord Durham (notwithstanding his admiration of 
 the United States, where “all men are said to be 
 born equal,”) has designated to Her Majesty as hav¬ 
 ing been “ appointed by Sir F. Head from without 
 the pale of official eligibility” ! 
 
 The gentlemen alluded to by his Lordship are as 
 follows:— 
 
 1st. The Honourable Robert Baldwin Sullivan 
 (lately elevated to the Legislative Council by the 
 
455 
 
 recommendation of Sir George Arthur). This gen¬ 
 tleman, far from being one of those native Canadians 
 designated by Lord Durham as the “ family com¬ 
 pact,” belonged to a family who had emigrated from 
 Ireland—his father was not living—he had no brother 
 holding any public station—his nearest connexions 
 were the family of Dr. Baldwin, the chairman of 
 the Alliance (republican) Society. He had received 
 a good classical education—was a man of very supe¬ 
 rior talents—one of the leading members of the bar, 
 and of irreproachable character. His wife was the 
 daughter of Colonel Delatre, late quarter-master- 
 geueral at Ceylon. 
 
 2d. The Honourable William Allan, a native of 
 Scotland, was, at the time I appointed him to my 
 council, one of the oldest members of the Upper 
 House of the Legislature. He is a retired merchant 
 of the first respectability, opulent, and possessed of 
 large landed property. For forty years he has suc¬ 
 cessively enjoyed the confidence and respect ol 
 every Lieutenant-Governor of the province; and 
 being also well known in England, he was soli¬ 
 cited by the association of London merchants direct¬ 
 ing the Canada Company (to whom I beg leave to 
 refer) to take charge of their interests in that country. 
 In consequence of his high character he remained 
 President of the Bank of Upper Canada, by annual 
 election, from the time of its establishment till he 
 voluntarily retired, when he received from the share- 
 
456 
 
 holders, without political distinction, a very splendid 
 piece of plate, as a testimonial of their high gratitude 
 and respect. I beg to say that with a more high- 
 minded man than Mr. Allan / have never associ¬ 
 ated. 
 
 3rd. The Honourable John Elmsley, Lieutenant 
 of the Royal Navy (vide his gallant conduct in the 
 capture of the Caroline, page 381), is the son of a 
 former chief justice of Upper Canada, from whom 
 he inherited a large property in the province, and 
 nephew of the late Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell. 
 He had, before I appointed him, for many years 
 been a member of the upper branch of the Legisla¬ 
 ture, and had also formerly been for many years a 
 member of the Executive Council, from which he 
 had voluntarily retired under the administration of 
 Sir John Colborne. Mr. Elmsley is a very zealous 
 member of the Roman Catholic Church, which, ac¬ 
 cording to Lord Durham’s report, does not possess 
 any portion ot the patronage of the province. 
 
 4th. The Honourable Captain Baldwin had also, 
 before I appointed him to the Executive Council, 
 been for many years a member of the Legislative 
 Council. 
 
 He was a retired post-captain in the British navy, 
 highly respected in his profession, and although he 
 was the brother of Dr. Baldwin, the chairman of 
 the Alliance or Republican Association, his loyalty 
 and his mild, amiable disposition formed the conspi- 
 
457 
 
 cuous features of a character which by all parties was 
 esteemed. 
 
 5th. The Honourable W. Draper, Her Majesty’s 
 Solicitor-General, who, at the time I appointed him 
 jo my council, represented in the provincial parlia¬ 
 ment the metropolis of Upper Canada , is a well- 
 educated English gentleman, of amiable and irre¬ 
 proachable character, highly respected, and a promi¬ 
 nent member of the Society ot Upper Canada; in 
 point of talent one of the leading members of the 
 bar. 
 
 To the above description of these five gentlemen, 
 who are reported to Her Majesty by Lord Dur¬ 
 ham as having been “ appointed by Sir F. Head 
 without the pale of official eligibility ,” I beg leave to 
 add that they continue to form to this day the Execu¬ 
 tive Council of Upper Canada. A new Lieutenant- 
 Governor, of much colonial experience, has, since 
 my departure from the province, had an opportunity 
 of estimating their character and worth. In the 
 correspondence laid before Parliament by Her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Secretary of State, it will be seen that Sir 
 George Arthur speaks, as I always spoke of these 
 gentlemen, in terms of the highest confidence and 
 respect. 
 
 With respect to Lord Durham’s report to the 
 Queen, that my executive council “ seem to have 
 taken office almost on the express condition of being 
 mere ciphers ,” I beg leave most solemnly to declare 
 
nor 
 
 that such a condition was neither expressed 
 understood. 
 
 Although I maintained the important constitutional 
 maxim that I and not they were responsible to Her 
 Majesty and to Parliament for any misconduct I 
 might pursue, yet I was too happy to receive from 
 them their counsel and advice. The journals of the 
 Executive Council will show that on all important 
 subjects I consulted them—on no serious question 
 did I ever dissent from their advice, on the contrary, 
 to upwards of2,000 written opinions which I received 
 from this council, I subscribed my initials to all 
 excepting two, and on those two they yielded to the 
 reasons I mildly sumitted to them. 
 
 Besides officially convening them as I have de¬ 
 scribed, I issued a standing order, which was never 
 deviated from, namely, that however crowded the 
 waiting room ol Government House might be 
 with people wishing one after another to speak to 
 me, the executive councillors were the moment they 
 entered to take precedence of all, and that they were 
 to have the privilege (which they invariably ex¬ 
 ercised) ol walking at once into my presence at any 
 hour they chose. 
 
 I lived with them in the greatest possible confidence 
 and harmony, and I left them full of gratitude for the 
 manly opposition with which they invariably dis¬ 
 puted any proposition of mine which they considered 
 to be objectionable. 
 
459 
 
 As far as regards any censure which Lord Durham 
 may have gravely expressed toHer Majesty concerning 
 me, I have no desire to trouble his Lordship on this sub¬ 
 ject; but after the explanation which I have afforded 
 of these respectable gentlemen, I cannot but express 
 my sincere conviction, that Lord Durham will never 
 rest satisfied in his own mind, or Avill ever attempt 
 to address to the House of Lords one word on the 
 subject of the Canadas, until he has publicly re¬ 
 paired the error he has unintentionally committed, in 
 designating gentlemen who have faithfully served, 
 and who, under difficult circumstances, are still 
 faithfully serving their country, as having been se¬ 
 lected “ from without the pale of official eligibility " 
 and as having “ taken office almost on the express 
 condition of being mere ciphers. ' 
 
 3. As regards the new House of Assembly, and 
 myself, Lord Durham, with equal severity, thus ex¬ 
 presses himself to the Queen :— 
 
 “ I say this, without meaning to cast any imputation on 
 the members of the House of Assembly, because, in fact, 
 the circumstances under which they were elected were 
 such as to render them peculiarly objects of suspicion and 
 reproach to a large number of their countrymen. 
 
 “ They were accused of having violated their pledges at 
 the election. It is said that many of them came forward, 
 and were elected, as being really reformers, though opposed 
 to any such claims to colonial independence as might in¬ 
 volve a separation from the mother country. There seems 
 to be no doubt that in several places, where the Tories suc¬ 
 ceeded, the electors were merely desirous of returning 
 
 4 
 
460 
 
 members who would not hazard any contest with England, 
 by the assertion of claims, which, from the proclamation of 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, they believed to be practically 
 needless; and who should support Sir F. Head in those 
 economical reforms which the country desired, far more 
 than political changes—reforms, for the sake of which 
 alone political changes had been sought. In a number of 
 other instances, too, the elections were carried by the nn- 
 scrapulous exeicise of the influence of the Government , and 
 by a display of violence on the part of the Tories, who were 
 emboldened by the countenance afforded to them by the 
 authorities. It was stated , but I believe without any suffi¬ 
 cient foundation, that the Government made grants of land 
 to persons who had no title to them in order to secure their 
 votes. 
 
 “ This report originated in the fact, that patents for per¬ 
 sons who were entitled to grants, but had not taken them 
 out, were sent down to the polling places to be given to the 
 individuals entitled to them, if they were disposed to vote for 
 the government candidate. 
 
 “ Tlle taking such measures, in order to secure their fail- 
 right of voting to the electors in a particular interest, must 
 be considered rather as an act of official favouritism , than 
 as an electoral fraud. 
 
 “ But we cannot wonder that the defeated party put the 
 very worst construction on acts which gave some ground 
 for it; and they conceived, in consequence, a strong resent¬ 
 ment against the means by which they believed that the 
 representative of the Crou n had carried the elections, his 
 interference in which in any way was stigmatized by 
 them as a gross violation of constitutional privilege and 
 propriety. 
 
 “ cannot be matter of surprise that such facts and 
 
461 
 
 such impressions produced in the country an exasperation, 
 and a despair of good government, which extended far 
 beyond those who had actually been defeated at the poll.” 
 
 As the House of Assembly of Upper Canada is con¬ 
 stitutionally able, calmly and temperately, to speak loi 
 itself, I will merely, as regards these serious allega¬ 
 tions, declare that Lord Durham, in reviving the accu¬ 
 sation which Mr. Joseph Hume and Dr. Duncombe 
 two years ago made against me to Lord Melbourne, 
 has unintentionally made to the Queen mis-state¬ 
 ments which the evidence and documents printed by 
 order of the House of Commons on the 3d May, 1837, 
 unanswerably disprove. 
 
 With respect to the allegation affecting my own 
 character, namely, that “ the elections were carried 
 by the unscrupulous exercise ot the influence ot the 
 government,” I beg leave calmly but unequivocally to 
 deny itand to add that I am ready to suppoit my 
 denial by recorded proofs, which (after the same re¬ 
 volting charge brought against me by Mr. Hume 
 and Dr. Duncombe had been strictly investigated) 
 Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 referred to in the following despatch, which has been 
 printed and published in Upper Canada. 
 
 “ Downing-street! 17th April, 1837. 
 
 « Sir, —I have received your despatch, dated the 4th of 
 February (No. 7). It reached me on the ‘20th ultimo. It 
 was not until the 7th instant that I received, by a subse¬ 
 quent conveyance, the Appendix, comprising the evidence 
 
462 
 
 taken before the committee of the House of General Assem¬ 
 bly of Upper Canada, to which was referred my correspon¬ 
 dence with you on the subject of the petition presented to 
 the House of Commons by Dr. Dun combe in the Parliamen¬ 
 tary Session of 1836 . 
 
 The refutation of Dr. Duncombe’s charges is entirely 
 satisfactory. It, has been in the highest degree gratifying to 
 me to be able to report to His Majesty, that after a minute 
 and vigorous inquiry, during which every facility was given 
 to the petitioner to substantiate his accusation, your con¬ 
 duct, in reference to the elections, has been proved to have 
 been governed by a strict adherence to the principles of the 
 constitution. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 
 “ Sir, 
 
 “ Your most obedient servant, 
 (Signed) “ Glenelg. 
 
 “ Lieut.-Governor Sir Francis Head, K.C.H.” 
 
 Her Majesty’s Government having this proof bear¬ 
 ing t] le ir own signature of my innocence in their pos¬ 
 session, ought, I think, to have at least admitted it 
 among the bulky documents which they submitted to 
 Parliament with Lord Durham’s allegation. 
 
 Lord Durham next informs the Queen that the 
 Assembly, instead of supporting the Governor, com¬ 
 pelled his obedience to itself, and produced no change 
 in the administration of affairs, except that of re-in- 
 stating the “family compact” in power. 
 
 As the reader will have perused, in preceding 
 pages, the gratifying addresses with which, at the 
 close of two arduous sessions, the speaker of the 
 

 403 
 
 House of Assembly voluntarily accompanied the 
 vote for supplies, he will probably be no less sur¬ 
 prised than I am, at learning from Lord Durham 
 that the House had failed to support me. 
 
 It would not be difficult to proceed with the whole 
 of Lord Durham’s report on Upper Canada as I have 
 commenced, but as I have no desire unnecessarily to 
 hurt his Lordship, and as I have sufficiently shown 
 its inaccuracy, to vindicate my own character from its 
 attacks, 1 will merely notice, by a few concluding 
 observations, one or two topics in which I indivi¬ 
 dually have neither interest nor concern. 
 
 After impugning the characters of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, of the Executive Council, of the Legis¬ 
 lative Council, and of the members of the House of 
 Assembly, Lord Durham, not satisfied with resting 
 his grievances on them, humbly submits to Her Ma¬ 
 jesty a new subject of complaint which throughout 
 bis report is termed " the family compact.” 
 “ Successive Governors,” says his Lordship, as 
 they came in, in their turn are said to have either 
 submitted quietly to its influence, or after a short 
 and unavailing struggle to have yielded to this well- 
 organized party the real conduct of affairs.” 
 
 In a monarchical form of government, like that oi 
 Upper Canada, composed of a legislature ol three 
 branches, one of which contains the sturdy repre¬ 
 sentatives of the people, it would be difficult to 
 comprehend how this fourth power could possibly 
 
1 
 
 464 
 
 manage to exist, and what could possibly be its ele¬ 
 ments, unless the mystery had been thus explained 
 by his Lordship:— 
 
 “ The bench, the magistracy, the high offices of the 
 episcopal church, and a great part of the legal profession, 
 are filled by the adherents of this party : by grant or pur¬ 
 chase they have acquired nearly the whole of the waste 
 lands of the province; they are all-powerful in the chartered 
 banks, and, till lately, shared among themselves almost ex¬ 
 clusively all offices of trust and profit. The bulk of this 
 party consists, for the most part, of native-born inhabitants 
 of the colony, or of emigrants who settled in it before the 
 last war with the United States; the principal members of 
 it belong to the Church of England, and the maintenance 
 of the claims of that. Church has always been one of its 
 distinguishing characteristics.” 
 
 It appears, then, from Lord Durham’s own shew¬ 
 ing, that this “ FAMILY COMPACT,” which his Lord- 
 ship deems it so advisable that the Queen should 
 destroy, is nothing more nor less than that “ social 
 fabric ” which characterizes every civilized commu¬ 
 nity in the world. It is that social fabric, or rather 
 fortress, within which the British yeoman, farmer, 
 and manufacturer is enabled to repel the extor¬ 
 tionate demands of his labourers; and to preserve 
 from pillage and robbery the harvest of his industry 
 after he has reaped it! 
 
 “ The bench,” “ the magistrates,” “ the clergy,” 
 ‘'the law,” “ the landed proprietors,” “ the bankers,” 
 “ the native-born inhabitants,” and “ the supporters 
 
465 
 
 of the Established Church,” form just as much “ a 
 Jamil// compact ” in England as they do in Upper 
 Canada, and just as much in Germany as they do 
 in England. If Lord Durham proposes not only to 
 make the legislature of Upper Canada responsible to 
 what he calls “ the people,” hut to level to the 
 ground our social fabric, why, I beg leave, without 
 offence, to ask, instead of dedicating bis Report 
 to Her Majesty, did not his Lordship on his landing, 
 at once summon a National Convention, and place it 
 in the hands of “ the people ?” 
 
 The “family compact ” of Upper Canada is com¬ 
 posed of those members of its society who, either by 
 their abilities and character have been honoured by 
 the confidence of the executive government, or who, 
 by their industry and intelligence, have amassed 
 wealth. The party, I own, is comparatively a small 
 one; but to put the multitude at the top and the few 
 at the bottom is a radical reversion of the pyramid of 
 society which every reflecting man must foresee can 
 end only by its downfall. 
 
 There is continually repeated in the Report one 
 other observation, which, as Lord Durham has 
 stated it, appears so unanswerable, that I will endea¬ 
 vour to explain the subject, especially as most tra¬ 
 vellers have agreed in the conclusions which Lord 
 Durham has arrived at. 
 
 In offering examples of “ the results of long mis- 
 govermnent,” his Lordship states :— 
 
 2 H 
 
466 
 
 “ There is one in particular which has occurred to every 
 observant traveller in these regions, which is a constant 
 theme of boast in the states bordering upon our colonies, 
 and a subject of loud complaint within the colonies,—I 
 allude to the striking contrast which is presented between 
 the American and the British sides of the frontier line in 
 respect to every sign of productive industry, increasing 
 wealth, and progressive civilization. 
 
 “ By describing one side, and reversing the picture, the 
 other would also be described. On the American side all 
 is activity and bustle. The forest has been widely cleared; 
 every year numerous settlements are formed, and thousands 
 of farms are created out of the waste ; the country is inter¬ 
 sected by common roads ; canals and railroads are finished, 
 or in the course of formation ; the ways of communication 
 and transport are crowded with people, and enlivened by 
 numerous carriages and large steam-boats. The observer 
 is surprised at the number of harbours on the lakes, and 
 the number of vessels they contain; while bridges, artificial 
 landing-places, and commodious wharfs are formed in all 
 directions as soon as required. Good houses, warehouses, 
 mills, inns, villages, towns, and even great cities, are almost 
 seen to spring up out of the desert. Every village has its 
 school-house and place of public worship. Every town has 
 many of both, with its township buildings, its book-stores, 
 and probably one or two banks and newspapers; and the 
 cities, with their fine churches, their great hotels, their ex¬ 
 changes, court-houses, and municipal halls, of stone or 
 marble, so new and fresh as to mark the recent existence 
 of the forest where they now stand, would be admired in 
 any part of the Old World. On the British side of the line, 
 with the exception of a few favoured spots, where some 
 
4G7 
 
 approach to American prosperity is apparent, alt stems 
 waste and desolate. There is but one railroad in all British 
 America, and that, running between the St. Lawrence and 
 Lake Champlain, is only fifteen miles long.” 
 
 From tlie very little I have seen in twice passing 
 through the United States, I should say that the 
 above picture is that which an American rather than 
 an English writer would be expected to delineate ; 
 but, admitting it to be perfectly correct, I submit to 
 the judgment of the reader that the difference has 
 hitherto been attributed by travellers altogether to a 
 wrong cause. 
 
 The rapid growth of a young colony must almost 
 be witnessed to be believed ; and accordingly, in the 
 United States, the age of the settlement, and not its 
 fertility, is the general criterion of its wealth. 
 
 There was, of course, a time when the United 
 States formed but a portion of the dense forest of 
 America ; but, animated by British blood, these co¬ 
 lonies grew so rapidly that, in the year 1776, they 
 had attained a strength sufficient not only to take 
 leave of their parent state, but successfully to con¬ 
 tend with it. 
 
 However, while they had attained this degree of 
 strength, the province of Upper Canada, which is 
 as large as England and Wales, was a cheerless 
 wilderness—without a single white inhabitant, ex¬ 
 cepting a few soldiers in the fort at Hingston, and 
 about twenty French families who had crossed over 
 
 2h 2 
 
the Detroit river to settle on the British shore: there 
 existed, consequently, then, a much greater contrast 
 between the United States and Upper Canada than 
 there exists now. 
 
 But let us consider for a moment what is the 
 progress which Upper Canada has made : 
 
 In the year 1784 its settlement began. 
 
 99 
 
 1791 its 
 
 population 
 
 was 10,000 
 
 99 
 
 1809 
 
 
 60,000 
 
 99 
 
 1812 
 
 9 
 
 70,000 
 
 99 
 
 1822 
 
 99 
 
 126,000 
 
 99 
 
 1828 
 
 99 
 
 240,000 
 
 99 
 
 1837 
 
 99 
 
 396,000 
 
 99 
 
 1839 
 
 99 
 
 450,000 
 
 Total age, 55 years. (The age of the United 
 States being upwards of 200 years!) 
 
 In no one of the United States has a public work 
 equal to the Welland Canal been carried through by 
 a country so young and so thinly inhabited. 
 
 The same may be said of the St. Lawrence Canal, 
 which, in execution and grandeur of design, is per¬ 
 haps superior to any in the United States. (These 
 two works were strenuously opposed by the reform 
 party, as the journals of the Legislature will show.) 
 Besides these, the Rideau Canal, which, though 
 constructed by the parent government, is not on that 
 account the less useful to the province, forms an arti 
 ficial navigation of 120 miles, connecting, in fact, 
 the Atlantic with Lake Ontario. This canal is un- 
 
469 
 
 dcniably the best executed work on the continent of 
 North America. 
 
 Besides these undertakings, there have been cre¬ 
 ated the Niagara Dock, the Burlington Bay Canal, 
 and Desjardines Canal; also the Harbour of Coburg, 
 Tort Hope, Oakville, Port Credit, Toronto, Grand 
 River, Port Dalhousie, Port Stanley, &c. Now, 
 instead of upbraiding a healthy young British colony 
 merely on aecount of its youth and poverty, if our 
 travellers would but take the trouble to observe how 
 hard the backwoodsman is toiling, and what affec¬ 
 tionate exertions the little community is everywhere 
 making to copy the picture of its beloved mother- 
 country, instead of trying to poison its contentment 
 by unfairly comparing it with a portion of America 
 that has attained the strength of manhood, they would, 
 I think, be as much astonished as I have been, were 
 they attentively to observe how much has been done 
 in so short a time, and how, under the blessing of 
 God, this land has prospered! 
 
 But, although it is true that the inhabitants of 
 Upper Canada are poorer in purse than “the people" 
 of the United States, yet, if the moral picture be 
 considered, it is beyond all description in our favour. 
 
 Assassination is unknown—the bowie knife is 
 not to be purchased—the laws are respected reli¬ 
 gion is revered—public treaties are preserved ; and 
 nothing can be more true than that even (borrowing 
 Lord Durham’s words) if this picture “were to 
 
470 
 
 be reversed,” and the British institutions of Upper 
 Canada were to be destroyed, the gloomy forests would 
 still remain to be cleared—the sweat of the British 
 settler would still drop from his brow. 
 
 Although Lord Durham has apparently deemed it 
 beneath his notice to bring before the consideration 
 of the Queen the unparallelled sufferings of her Ca¬ 
 nadian subjects, yet I firmly believe that a paragraph 
 on that subject would not by Her Majesty have been 
 deemed the least acceptable portion of his Lordship’s 
 voluminous report. 
 
 Although but little versed in history, I firmly be¬ 
 lieve it nowhere contains a more affecting picture 
 than has been exhibited to the civilized world for the 
 last two years, by the brave resistance which a small 
 British population has been making against the un¬ 
 principled attacks by which the Americans, have en¬ 
 deavoured to force upon them republican institu¬ 
 tions. The instances of individual courage that 
 could be detailed are innumerable, while on the other 
 hand the conduct of the assailants has been stamped 
 by cruelty and cowardice. I must own, that when 
 I daily think of the number of our soldiers who have 
 untimely fallen—of the manner in which Colonel 
 Moodie, Lieut. Weir, Lieut. Johnson, Staff-surgeon 
 Hume, have been butchered and mutilated, of the 
 privations and losses the people of Upper Canada have 
 patiently endured ; and when, on the other hand, I 
 reflect that, on the last invasion at Sandwich, a 
 
471 
 
 body of American sympathizers escaping into our 
 woods, remained there starving from hunger and cold 
 —not daring anywhere to ask even shelter of those 
 whom they had professed they had invaded to liberate 
 them from the British Government, but wandering 
 through the province until, worn out by the punish¬ 
 ment of their guilt, they perished in the forest in such 
 numbers that nineteen corpses were in one spot found 
 frozen to death round the white embers of a fire,— 
 
 I own that whenever these two pictures come toge¬ 
 ther before my mind, it is filled with astonishment that 
 Lord Durham, with this glaring evidence before him, 
 could deliberately declare to our youthful Queen that 
 the people of Upper Canada are dissatisfied with their 
 institutions—that he could possibly find in his heart 
 to submit a report to Her Majesty without a single 
 word of commiseration of the unexampled sufferings 
 which had afflicted—without a single word of ap¬ 
 probation for the gallantry and fidelity which had 
 distinguished—Her Majesty’s loyal and devoted sub¬ 
 jects in the Canadas, but which on the contrary lauded 
 in well-measured terms the detestable invaders of 
 their soil! But it really seems to me that Lord Dur¬ 
 ham has looked upon British North America in ge¬ 
 neral, and upon the province ot Upper Canada in 
 particular, through a glass darkened. 
 
 It is possible that the public authorities whom his 
 Lordship as Her Majesty’s High Commissioner has 
 deemed it proper to revile will feel it their duty pa- 
 
472 
 
 tiently to submit to his remarks ; but, when it is con¬ 
 sidered that Parliament may be advised by Her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government to legislate upon this most mis¬ 
 chievous document, 1 feel it my duty to join with the 
 rest ot the community in gravely considering what 
 opportunities Lord Durham has had for forming the 
 astonishing opinions which are propounded in it. 
 
 “ It is said ” that his Lordship came up the St. 
 Lawrence in a steam-boat exclusively appropriated 
 to himself and his suite -that on arriving at King¬ 
 ston he landed to receive an address, and then pro¬ 
 ceeded by water to Niagara, where he passed the 
 county-town without receiving the address that was 
 framed for him, or conversing with its inhabitants ; 
 
 that at the Tails his Lordship remained about 
 four days, part ot which time he was unwell, part 
 was devoted to military review, and the greater part 
 in leceiving Americans and others who attended his 
 Lordship’s levees, balls, and dinners ;—that thus 
 intently occupied, he had not time to visit the most 
 interesting part of the Welland Canal, which was 
 within six miles, although his Lordship had offered 
 to procure assistance of £250,000 from Her Ma¬ 
 jesty’s Government;—that in crossing to Toronto, 
 he touched at the termination of the canal in Lake 
 Ontario without inspecting the work ;—that at the 
 seat of government at Toronto he spent twenty-four 
 hours, principally occupied with a levee, receiving 
 addresses, and with a state dinner;-that his Lord- 
 
473 
 
 ship then made the best of his way back to Montreal; 
 and that in such exclusive dignity did he travel that 
 he would not allow even the public mail to be taken 
 on hoard at Cornwall, by Avhich it was delayed a day. 
 
 If the above reports he correct, it would appear 
 that his Lordship left Lower Canada only for ten 
 days, during which time he had to travel by water 
 about 1,000 miles. 
 
 By promising, “ it is said,” to procure a grant oi 
 £250,000 to make the Welland Canal a prominent 
 work,—that the St. Lawrence should be improved 
 to Montreal,—that the navigation of the Ottawa 
 should be similarly assisted, and by his generous 
 expenditure, his Lordship naturally excited the hopes 
 of the people that these important undertakings 
 would be effected. 
 
 As the representative of their Sovereign, Lord Dur¬ 
 ham had a sterling claim upon their loyalty, which, 
 wherever he went, was paid to him at sight; and as 
 his conduct and demeanour were always dignified, 
 and as he expressed himself with fluent and accept¬ 
 able elocution, addresses from all quarters were poured 
 upon him. Nevertheless, authorised by tbe statements 
 made against me in the Report to the Queen, I 
 challenge Lord Durham to lay before the British 
 public every address he has received from the inha¬ 
 bitants of Upper Canada, with the fullest information 
 he can give of the number of signatures, or any other 
 explanation ; and if they support his representations 
 
474 
 
 of discontent, slander their governor and their legis 
 lature, or exhibit that restless desire for change 
 in their constitution which his Report everywhere 
 speaks of, I pledge myself to acknowledge that I am ig¬ 
 norant of the state of Upper Canada, and that his Lord- 
 ship, in five days’ sailing through it, has become better 
 acquainted with the interests and disposition of its 
 people than I am, after having traversed it in 
 all directions, on horseback, and even on foot—after 
 having slept in its forests—mingled with its inhabi¬ 
 tants in times of peace and war, and after an actual 
 administration of the government during three ses¬ 
 sions of Parliament. 
 
 Again, in defence of the Executive Council, who 
 have served their country with so much fidelity and 
 ability, I call upon his Lordship to produce the able 
 document they drew out for him of the state of the pro¬ 
 vince, and if that document (which I have never seen) 
 warrants the description Lord Durham has given of 
 these gentlemen, and if it accords with the senti¬ 
 ments contained in his Report, I will willingly ac¬ 
 knowledge that I, instead of his Lordship, have 
 incorrectly estimated their character. 
 
 Lastly, I call upon Lord Durham to answer 
 whether, in his place in Parliament, he will venture 
 to declare that the sentiments contained in his Report 
 Avill not be repudiated by every Lieutenant-Governor 
 in the Dritish North American Colonies; that they 
 will not be repudiated by the whole of the respectable 
 
475 
 
 inhabitants of Upper Canada; and, on the other 
 hand, I ask his Lordship whether, before his country, 
 he will assert that from the most intelligent people of 
 Upper Canada, or from the committee who, with his 
 Excellency Sir George Arthur, had the honour of 
 waiting upon his Lordship in Quebec, he ever received 
 that description of the Canadian people, and that 
 admiration of the United States, which are contained 
 in his Report? 
 
 Although the preceding Governors and Lieutenant- 
 Governors of the Canadas have formed their estimate 
 of the country and inhabitants by personally visiting 
 them on easy terms; although even his Grace the 
 l)uke of Richmond (whose noble memory in the 
 Canadas is deeply respected) rode post through the 
 province just as our country gentlemen fifty years ago 
 used to ride through England; yet I cannot but admit 
 that the halo of glory which everywhere accompanied 
 his Lordship, the “ champ de drap d’or” on which 
 wherever he landed he was seen to tread, produced 
 in the Canadas a very favourable effect. Mankind 
 are always led by outward appearance, and I therefore 
 will not deny that as my Lord Durham, surrounded 
 by a brilliant staff, and unprejudiced by the conversa¬ 
 tion of a single Canadian, ascended the great St. 
 Lawrence, and, traversing the noble Lake Ontario, 
 which is forty miles broad, proceeded to Niagara, the 
 fine hotel of which had been previously cleansed of 
 every visitor, his Lordship’s career resembled the 
 
 
 
476 
 
 course of a heavenly meteor ; but admitting all this, 
 admitting the weight and consideration it very pro¬ 
 perly obtained for his Lordship, yet as not only the 
 welfare and the very existence of our North Ameri¬ 
 can Colonies, but of our interests at home, hang upon 
 the importance due to Lord Durham’s Report, I beg 
 leave to say, that, in my humble opinion, under such 
 circumstances his Lordship had not as much means 
 of writing the history of the American and Canadian 
 territories between which he sailed, as poor, blind 
 Lieutenant Holman, R.N., would have possessed, had 
 he socially travelled the same distance by public con¬ 
 veyances. 
 
 It therefore becomes necessary for the country 
 soberly to inquire from what sources his Lordship’s 
 information has been derived ? In the report itself 
 this important tact stands shrouded in mystery; for 
 instead of resting his opinion, verbal or written, upon 
 any recognised authorities, almost every assertion 
 is impersonally expressed by the words “ it is said,” 
 or “ it seems," or “ it appears.” But I trust Lord 
 Durham will eagerly divulge to Parliament by whom 
 “ it is said,’ to whom “ it seems,” and to whom “ it 
 appears.” 
 
 It was naturally to be expected that this important 
 fact, on which the whole validity of the Report de¬ 
 pends, would have been comprehensively contained 
 in the Appendix, but, on referring to that document, 
 it undeniably appears that his Lordship has most 
 
477 
 
 truly fulfilled the promise made on liis landing, 
 namely, “ that he would, make disclosures which would 
 astonish both the Parliament and the country ; for 
 certainly nothing can be more astonishing to any 
 man than, on opening an Appendix to a Report which 
 in impersonal terms asperses the character of the 
 Legislature as well as the public servants of Upper 
 Canada, and which recommends organic changes 
 that may shake the foundation of the British em¬ 
 pire, to find that, excepting five pages containing the 
 experienced opinions of Mr. Charles Buller and Mi. 
 R. D. Horner, on the subject of emigration and 
 crown lands, and excepting copies of thirty-five ad¬ 
 dresses and letters, which his Lordship received, 
 this Appendix, submitted by his Lordship to the 
 Queen, and by order of Her Majesty transmitted to 
 both Houses of Parliament, contains nothing at all 
 but the following subjects:— 
 
 State of the Hospitals, Prisons, Charitable Institutions, §c. 
 in Lower Canada . 
 
 Report from commissioners for the relief of insane and 
 invalid persons and foundlings in the district of Quebec. 
 
 IIopital General do Quebec, IS Juillet, 1838. 
 
 Reponses dela Superieurede l’Hopital General de Quebec 
 aux questions que Louis Massue, ecuyer, commissaire pour 
 le soulagement des invalides et insenses, lui a fait 1 honneur 
 de lui adresser. 
 
 Hotel Dieu de Quebec, 10 Juillet, 1838. 
 
 Le nombre des enfans requs a 1’Hotel Dieu de Quebec, 
 
478 
 
 depuis le 1 Janvier, 1824, jusqu’au 10 Juillet, 1838, inclu- 
 sivement. 
 
 Observations by Sir John Doratt, m.d., on the custody of 
 the insane, and the expediency of a public lunatic asylum. 
 
 Proposed alterations in the quarantine rules, by Sir John 
 Doratt, m.d. 
 
 Remarks on the quarantine station, Grosse Isle, from its 
 establishment in 1832, by Sir John Doratt, m.d. 
 
 Letter from the Rev. H. Sewell to Sir John Doratt, on 
 the state of the gaol of the city of Quebec. 
 
 Report of the Quebec gaol association, August, 1838. 
 
 Report from Dr. Morrin and Mr. Douglas, on the present 
 state of medical education of Lower Canada. 
 
 Suggestions for the establishment of a medical school at 
 Quebec, by Sir John Doratt, m.d. 
 
 Rules and regulations for the hospital connected with the 
 school of medicine. 
 
 Abstract of Payments to Convents, 1838. 
 
 Abstract relative to the payments made by the legisla¬ 
 ture of the province of Lower Canada, to the several con¬ 
 vents established in Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal. 
 
 Report from L’Hotel Dieu de Quebec. A Monsieur 
 John Doratt, m.d., inspecteur-general, fkc. &c. 
 
 Report from Quebec general hospital, July 5, 1838. 
 
 Etat des EnfansTrouves qui ont ete aux soins des soeurs 
 
 gnse?, de l’hdpital general de Montreal, pendant le 
 
 periode du 10 Octobre, 1836, au 10 Octobre, 1837. 
 
 I. Etat des enfans qui etoient requs avant lc 10 Octobre, 
 1836, et qui ont continue a £tre en nourrice. 
 
 (Here follow Jive folio pages, containing a list of these 
 little babies. 
 
479 
 
 In this extraordinary document it is reported to the 
 Queen that none of these babies have surnames, but their 
 Christian names are all inserted , as well as the precise 
 dates at which they were received by “ les sceurs grises," 
 the periods they remained with them , and the day of their 
 deaths . Thus it appears that Francois lived two days ; 
 Jeanne eight days; Marie Philomene five days; Louis 
 Jive days ; Corneille eight days ; Leandre six days; Ed¬ 
 ouard four days; Maximin only one day; and so on for 
 two hundred and fifty-six little babies l ) 
 
 Etat dcs insenses qui ont ete aux soins des soeurs grises, 
 de rhopital general de Montreal, pendant le periode du 10 
 Octobre, 1836 au 10 Octobre, 1837. 
 
 Memorandum by Sir John Doratt, m.d., of the expenses 
 incurred by the legislature of Lower Canada, for the insane, 
 invalid poor, &c., through the convents at Quebec and 
 Montreal. 
 
 Memorandum by Sir John Doratt of the expenses in¬ 
 curred by the legislature of Lower Canada for the main¬ 
 tenance and education of poor, and purposes of literature. 
 
 When the “ disclosures ” contained in this Ap¬ 
 pendix shall have ceased “ to astonish the Pailiament 
 and he country,” will not the public humbly persist 
 in requiring Lord Durham to produce lespectable 
 evidence in support of his allegations ? Deseivedly 
 respected as Lord Durham is, will the British 1 ai- 
 liament be satisfied with bis Lordship’s declarations 
 that “ it is said,” that “ it seems,” and that “ it 
 appears,” that British institutions must be changed ; 
 and in lieu of all other explanation will they be satis- 
 
480 
 
 fied with a detailed history, however interesting, of 
 the gaols, lunatic asylums, sceurs grises and enfans 
 trouves of Quebec? 
 
 Lord Durham’s best friends cannot deny that in 
 justice to his unsullied personal reputation his Lord- 
 ship is bound positively to prove the truth of his alle¬ 
 gations, lest his Lordship may ere long negatively be 
 required to disprove the rumour contained in the fol¬ 
 lowing letter which has been addressed to me by a 
 very able, discreet, and highly honourable public ser¬ 
 vant, namely, the Honourable W. H. Draper, Her 
 Majesty’s Solicitor-General for the province of Upper 
 Canada, who it will appear, though declared by Lord 
 Durham to be “ without the pale of official eligibility,” 
 witnessed his Lordship’s departure from the Canadas 
 with feelings of unqualified regret. 
 
 (copy.) 
 
 Toronto, \Qth October, 1838. 
 My dear Sir Francis, 
 
 I know so well the deep interest you feel in all 
 that affects the province, that I do not apologize for 
 again intruding my correspondence upon you. 
 
 Notwithstanding that I felt no confidence in the 
 scheme likely to be propounded by Lord Durham 
 for the settlement of our difficulties, I do most sin¬ 
 cerely deplore his sudden departure. His visit to 
 Upper Canada, and the cordial assurance he met 
 with of support in any scheme calculated to make 
 

 481 
 
 the connexion of tins province with Great Britain 
 perpetual, together with the manly and excellent 
 course pursued by the constitutionalists of the Lower 
 Province, has opened his eyes ; and he frankly con¬ 
 fesses himself a changed man in many important re¬ 
 spects. Among other changes he has given up the 
 idea of abolishing the legislative councils. He ap¬ 
 pears also convinced who are to be relied upon in the 
 province; and sees clearly, and openly avows that 
 the government of these provinces has been directed 
 by the Colonial Office in ignorance of the true state 
 of affairs. In truth he has been converted as regards 
 the Canadas, at least to the true and conservative 
 faith; and therefore I regret his departure, though 
 I think he has done right. 
 
 I have not the same regret at the loss of his secre¬ 
 tary, Mr. Buller, for I do not entertain any favour¬ 
 able expectation from him. He states (as I hear) his 
 opinion that nine-tenths of the people of Upper Canada 
 are disloyal The mode in which he has acquired 
 the information upon which this opinion is based is 
 somewhat unique. He was taken ill during Lord 
 Durham’s visit to the falls, and was left behind at 
 Niagara. While so detained he sent his servant out 
 to converse with everybody he could meet, and from 
 his report he has formed his judgment. This state¬ 
 ment as to the mode of ascertaining the opinions of 
 the people Mr. Buller has himself made to several 
 individuals, one of whom repeated it to me, as coming 
 direct from Mr. Buller. 
 
 2 i 
 
 
 
 
482 
 
 To you, my dear Sir, the province already owes 
 the proof of her sincere attachment to her Sovereign 
 and to her constitution. Persevere till you gain this 
 great good for us, and I will safely prophesy that in 
 Upper Canada— 
 
 “ Semper honos nomenque t.uum laudesque manebunt.” 
 
 Believe me, 
 
 my dear Sir Francis, 
 
 Very faithfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. H. Draper. 
 
 Of course I only give this letter as I received 
 it; but as the sentiments contained in Lord Durham’s 
 report must soon be gravely discussed, I feel it right, 
 in conclusion, to explain upon what ground my own 
 opinions, which differ so widely from his Lordship’s, 
 have been formed. 
 
 On my arrival at Toronto, I considered that the 
 object of the greatest importance Avas to make myself 
 as accurately acquainted as possible with the real 
 feelings of the inhabitants of the country. 
 
 To attain this information, I accordingly, for the 
 first year, publicly received any person, of any politics, 
 from any part of the province, from eleven o’clock till 
 three, for six days in the week: after the first year, 
 and until the time of the insurrection, I limited this 
 most toilsome duty to three days a-week. 
 
 Being desirous that people should see I belonged 
 
483 
 
 to no party, I never, from the day I entered Toronto 
 until the receipt of my resignation, ever entered any 
 person’s house—I never associated with any person ; 
 scarcely ever rode with anybody— never with a servant; 
 but when my horse was brought to my door at three 
 o’clock, if business did not detain me, I used to ride 
 by myself (whatever was the weather) for twelve 
 or fourteen miles. 
 
 In these moments I occasionally visited some of the 
 log-huts ; and whenever I could, with propriety, avail 
 myself of an opportunity, my disposition led me to 
 converse with those who were variously occupied at 
 their work. 
 
 Besides this, I was in the habit of receiving petitions 
 in writing from all parts of the province, on all public 
 subjects. 
 
 Putting all I have seen together, I readily admit 
 that all the complaints described in Lord Durham’s 
 Report actually exist; but I feel it my duly to add, 
 that they are the complaints of the small minority with 
 whom I had to contend. My despatches will strongly 
 corroborate Lord Durham’s report that there is a desire 
 in Upper Canada to make the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Executive and Legislative Councils “ responsible to 
 the people" —that “ the family compact” is complained 
 of—that American institutions are admired ; and I 
 do not presume to deny his Lordship’s assertion, 
 “ that all the discontented parties, and especially the 
 “ Reformers of Upper Canada, looked with consi- 
 
 2 i 2 
 
484 
 
 <e derable confidence to his Lordship’s mission but 
 I can declare to the country that Lord Durham is 
 wrong in attributing these sentiments of discontent 
 to the majority; and though his Lordship has reported 
 to the Queen his opinion of the “ Proceedings of 
 “ Sir Francis Head," “ Failure of Result aimed at 
 “ by Sir F. Head," “ Real Result of Sir Francis 
 “ Head's Policy," and of the consequent “ Exaspe- 
 “ ration of the People,” it is my humble opinion, 
 that, if his Lordship were to dare me to ride with 
 him through the British North American provinces, 
 I should very soon have to repeat, 
 
 “ But ere we could arrive the point proposed, 
 
 Caesar cried. Help me, Cassius, or I sink !" 
 
 It now only remains for me to say, that in reply 
 to the letter dated 18th September, 1838, page 419, 
 which I had addressed to Lord Melbourne, his Lord- 
 ship, in a note marked “ private,” declined to ac¬ 
 cede to the three requests I had made. ' 
 
 As Her Majesty’s Government thus denied me a 
 private investigation, which I had hoped would have 
 led to a more public discussion, at the expiration 
 of three months, I deemed it proper respectfully to 
 address to Lord Melbourne two other letters (which, 
 with his Lordship’s answers, have appeared in the 
 newspapers). In the first of these, I requested his 
 
485 
 
 Lordship’s permission to explain and vindicate my 
 own conduct, by publishing my despatches. In the se¬ 
 cond, I stated, “ I beg leave very respectfully to in¬ 
 form your Lordship, that as Her Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment will not sanction any of my requests, I shall 
 feel myself precluded from publishing my Despatches, 
 or from furnishing any one with the numbers or dates 
 of those I am desirous to produce.” 
 
 Having determined on this course, I faithfully 
 pursued it, and I had actually come to London on 
 purpose to inform Her Majesty’s Government, (and I 
 had made the same statement to two or three mem¬ 
 bers of each branch of the Legislature,) namely, “ that 
 “ if any member of either House should ask for my 
 “ Despatches in my name, the Government were autlio- 
 “ rised by me unequivocally to contradict the asser¬ 
 tion ,” when, on opening Lord Durham’s Report, I 
 found that, although I had thus obeyed the decision 
 of my late employers almost at the expense of my 
 character—and although I had, on a very important 
 subject, actually been employing myself in writ¬ 
 ing in their support—Her Majesty’s Government, 
 without consideration for my feelings, had recom¬ 
 mended the Queen to transmit, by Her Majesty’s 
 command to both Houses of Parliament, a Report 
 containing allegations against my conduct and cha¬ 
 racter, of a most invidious description; and, notwith¬ 
 standing her Majesty’s Government knew perfectly 
 well that, having bound me hand and foot to silence, 
 
486 
 
 1 was defenceless, they actually accompanied Lord 
 Durham’s Report with their own volume, containing 
 400 closely printed folio pages, in which not a single 
 line of even those printed documents in their pos¬ 
 session, which they knew would vindicate my charac¬ 
 ter, was admitted ; and it further appeared from the 
 newspapers, that when Lord Durham’s allegations 
 against me were officially presented, there was not, 
 among her Majesty’s Ministers, one individual who, 
 in either House of Parliament, stood up to utter a 
 single word in my defence. 
 
 When these facts came suddenly upon me, I 
 very strongly felt that my allegiance to the Ministry 
 was dissolved; and on the spur of the moment,* I ad¬ 
 dressed and published a note to Lord Melbourne, 
 informing his Lordship that I had determined to 
 vindicate myself. 
 
 A few hours’ reflection, however, induced me to 
 reconsider the subject; and though I had deter¬ 
 mined, officially, to write no more, I was actually, 
 through a mutual friend, endeavouring to obtain the 
 Government’s permission, when I observed, not only 
 that such parts of my correspondence as were neces¬ 
 sary for my vindication had been asked for by the 
 Duke of Wellington, granted by Lord Melbourne, 
 and ordered to be printed; but that the Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies, under whom I had served, as 
 
 * “Donnerund blitzen,” said Hatteraik, springing up and grap¬ 
 pling with him, “ you will have it then l"—Guy Mannering. 
 
487 
 
 well as another noble lord who had held the same 
 high office, had very liberally concurred in opinion, that 
 the publication of a portion of my Despatches was 
 necessary for my defence. 
 
 Casting all private feeling aside, I can conscien¬ 
 tiously declare that, on public grounds alone, I have 
 long felt it would be desirable that my despatches 
 should be allowed at least to neutralize certain opi¬ 
 nions respecting the British North American colo¬ 
 nies, to which general publicity has been given; 
 but, deeply sensible of the high confidence that had 
 been reposed in me, without uttering to the public a 
 single word of complaint, I saw the supporters ol 
 my administration, one after another, degraded— 
 those who insulted me rewarded ! Unsupported, 
 unvindicated, I was spoken lightly of by those 
 I was serving—even my gait in writing was, as it 
 proceeded, publicly pointed at by the Government; 
 nevertheless, I submitted in silence to all; and I can 
 truly say that, if my Lord Durham’s Report had 
 merely been published in the newspapers, I should 
 have taken no more notice of it there than of the ephe¬ 
 meral observations which I have long been accustomed 
 to endure. But uninfluenced, I hope, by temper, my 
 judgment most explicitly tells me that no loyal 
 subject ought to allow a Report, to the Sovereign, 
 to be submitted to both Houses of Parliament, by 
 order of a Government who have not only insisted 
 on his silence, but who have also suppressed his 
 
 
evidence, without rising before the country to vindi 
 cate himself: for, whatever may be a man’s philo¬ 
 sophy, or forbearance, lie ought to be ashamed 
 to say that “ he does not care ” for censure from 
 such a quarter, conveyed in so imposing a form. 
 
 On the common-admitted principle of self-defence, 
 I have, therefore, published less than one sixth (being 
 all that I consider at all important to the public) of 
 the despatches which were originally called for by the 
 Duke of Wellington ; and, having done so, far from 
 pleading that I have yielded to natural feelings, I 
 calmly maintain that, (without even reckoning the 
 sanction of the order of the House of Lords, that the 
 despatches requisite for my defence should be printed,) 
 I am perfectly justified in what I have done. 
 
 The reader is now aware of the serious differences 
 thathave existed between her Majesty’s Government 
 and myself; and without the slightest feeling of perso¬ 
 nal animosity, I commit the subject of our dispute to 
 the public, earnestly hoping that it may be considered 
 only so far as it regards the happiness* prosperity, 
 and protection of the British North American 
 Colonies. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 I 
 
 No. 95. 
 
 Memorandum on the Aborigines of North America. 
 
 Toronto, Upper Canada , 20 th Nov., 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 As the object of this communication is to endeavour 
 to supply your Lordship with the information respecting 
 the Indians and the Indian department, required by your 
 Lordship’s despatcli No. —, I feel it may be satisfactory 
 that I should commence by explaining what opportunities 
 I have had of forming the opinion I am about to oifer on 
 the subject. 
 
 I have, therefore, the honour to state to your Lordship 
 that I attended the annual delivery of presents to the visit¬ 
 ing Indians at Amherstburg, as also that which took place, 
 for the first time, at the Great Manitoulin Island in Lake 
 Huron. 
 
 During my inspectional tour of the province, I also 
 visited, with one or two trilling exceptions, the whole of the 
 Indian settlements in Upper Canada, and in doing so made 
 it my duty to enter every shanty or cottage, being desirous 
 to judge with my own eyes of the actual situation of that 
 portion of the Indian population which is undergoing the 
 operation of being civilized. 
 
 a 
 
2 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I have had a slight opportunity of making myself ac¬ 
 quainted with the Indian character in South America, and 
 from the above data, I have now the honour to transmit to 
 your Lordship the following observations on the subject. 
 
 Memorandum . 
 
 The fate of the red inhabitants of America, the real pro¬ 
 prietors of its soil, is, without any exception, the most 
 sinful story recorded in the history of the human race; and 
 when one reflects upon the anguish they have suffered from 
 our hands, and the cruelties and injustice they have en¬ 
 dured, the mind, accustomed to its own vices, is lost in utter 
 astonishment at finding that in the red man’s heart there 
 exists no sentiment of animosity against us, no feeling of 
 revenge; on the contrary, that our appearance at the 
 humble portal of his wigwam is to this hour a subject of 
 unusual joy. If the white man be lost in the forest, his cry 
 of distress will call the most eager hunter from his game; 
 and among the tribe there is not only pleasure but pride in 
 contending with each other who shall be the first to render 
 him assistance and food. 
 
 So long as we were obtaining possession of their country 
 by open violence, the fatal result of the unequal contest was 
 but too clearly understood; but now that we have suc¬ 
 ceeded in exterminating their race from vast regions of 
 land, where nothing in the present day remains of the poor 
 Indian but the unnoticed bones of his ancestors, it seems 
 inexplicable how it should happen that, even where their 
 race barely lingers in existence, it should still continue to 
 wither, droop, and vanish before us like grass on the pro¬ 
 gress of the forest in flames. “ The red men” lately ex¬ 
 claimed a celebrated Maimi Cacique, “ are melting like 
 mow before the sun” 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 3 
 
 Whenever and wherever the two races come into contact 
 with each other, it is sure to prove fatal to the red man. 
 However bravely for a short time he may resist our bay¬ 
 onets and our fire-arms, sooner or later he is called upon 
 by death to submit to his decree—If we stretch forth the 
 hand of friendship, the liquid fire it offers him to drink 
 proves still more destructive than our wrath—And, lastly, 
 if we attempt to Christianize the Indians, and for that sacred 
 object congregate them in villages of substantial log-houses, 
 lovely and beautiful as such a theory appears, it is an un¬ 
 deniable fact, to which unhesitatingly I add my humble 
 testimony, that, as soon as the hunting season commences, 
 the men (from warm clothes and warm housing having lost 
 their hardihood) perish or rather rot in numbers by con¬ 
 sumption ; while, as regards their women, it is impossible 
 for any accurate observer to refrain from remarking that 
 civilization, in spite of the pure, honest, and unremitting 
 zeal of our missionaries, by some accursed process has 
 blanched their babies’ faces,—in short, our philanthropy, 
 like our friendship, has failed in its professions. Producing 
 deaths by consumption, it has more than decimated its 
 followers; and under the pretence of eradicating from the 
 female heart the errors of a Pagan’s breed, it has implanted 
 in their stead the germs of Christian guilt! 
 
 What is the reason of all this—Why the simple virtues 
 of the red aborigines of America should, under all circum¬ 
 stances, fade before the vices and cruelty of the old world, 
 is a problem which no one among us is competent to solve; 
 the dispensation is as mysterious as its object is inscrutable. 
 I have merely mentioned the facts, because I feel that 
 before the subject of the Indians in Upper Canada can be 
 fairly considered, it is necessary to refute the idea, which so 
 
 a 2 
 
4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 generally exists in England, about the success which has 
 attended the Christianizing and civilizing of the Indians; 
 whereas I firmly believe every person of sound mind in this 
 country who is disinterested in their conversion, and who is 
 acquainted with the Indian character, will agree :— 
 
 1st. That an attempt to make farmers of the red man 
 has been, generally speaking, a complete failure. 
 
 2d. That congregating them for the purpose of civiliza¬ 
 tion has implanted many more vices than it has eradicated ; 
 and, consequently, 
 
 3d. That the greatest kindness we can perform towards 
 these intelligent, simple-minded people, is to remove and 
 fortify them as much as possible from all communication 
 with the whites. 
 
 Having concluded the few preparatory observations I 
 was desirous to make, I will now proceed to state what 
 negotiations I have already entered into with the Indians, 
 and what is my humble opinion of the course we should 
 adopt as regards their presents and the expenses of the 
 Indian department. 
 
 At the Great Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, where 
 I found about 1,500 Indians, of various tribes, assembled 
 for their presents, the Chippewas and the Oltawas, at a 
 great council held expressly for the purpose, formally made 
 over to me 23,000 islands. The Saugeen Indians also 
 voluntarily surrendered to me a million and a half acres 
 of the very richest land in Upper Canada. (For the de¬ 
 tails attending these surrenders, see my despatch to your 
 Lordship, No. 70.) 
 
 On proceeding to Amherstburg, I assembled the Hurons, 
 who occupy in that neighbourhood a hunting ground of 
 rich land of six miles square ; two-thirds of which they 
 surrendered to me, on condition that one of the said two- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 5 
 
 thirds should be sold, and the proceeds thereof invested 
 for their benefit. 
 
 The Moravian Indians, with whom I had also an inter¬ 
 view, have likewise agreed, for an annuity of 150/., to sur¬ 
 render to me about six miles square of black rich land, 
 situated on the banks of the Thames river. 
 
 I need hardly observe, that I have thus obtained for Her 
 Majesty’s Government from the Indians an immense por¬ 
 tion of most valuable land, which will undoubtedly produce, 
 at no remote period, more than sufficient to defray the 
 whole of the expenses of the Indians and Indian depart¬ 
 ment in this province. 
 
 On the other hand, as regards their interests, my de¬ 
 spatch, No. 70, will explain the arguments 1 used in 
 advising them to retire, or fall back upon the Manitoulin, 
 and other islands in Lake Huron; the locality being ad¬ 
 mirably adapted for supporting them, but not for white 
 men. Still it may appear that the arrangement was not 
 advantageous to the Indians, because it was of such benefit 
 to us; but it must always be kept in mind, that however 
 useful rich land may be to us, yet its only value to an 
 Indian consists in the game it contains; he is, in fact, lord 
 of the manor, but it is against his nature to cultivate the 
 soil— he has neither right nor power to sell it. As soon 
 therefore, as his game is frightened away, or its influx of 
 immigration cut off by the surrounding settlements of the 
 whites, his land, however rich it may be, becomes a “ rudis 
 indigestaque moles,” of little value or importance; and in 
 this state much of the Indian property in Upper Canada 
 at present exists. 
 
 For instance, I found 1G or 18 families of Moravian 
 Indians living on a vast tract of rich land, yet, liom absence 
 of game, almost destitute of everything; several of the 
 
 O J 
 
6 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 men drunk ; nearly all their children half-castes; the high 
 road through their territory almost impassable ; the white 
 population execrating their indolence, and entreating to be 
 relieved from the stagnation of a block of rich land, which 
 separated them from their markets as completely as if it 
 had been a desert. 
 
 The above picture (which is a very common one) will, 
 I think, sufficiently show, that however desirous one may 
 be to protect the Indians, and I hope no one feels for them 
 more deeply than myself, yet, practically speaking, that the 
 greatest kindness we can do them is to induce them, as I 
 have done, to retreat before what they may justly term the 
 accursed progress of civilization ; for, as I have stated, the 
 instant they are surrounded by the white population,- “ the 
 age of their chivalry has fled .” 
 
 The lieutenant-governor of the province may protect them 
 from open violence, but neither he, nor any other authority 
 on earth, can prevent the combination of petty vices, which, 
 as I have already explained, are as fatal in their operation 
 as the bayonet itself. 
 
 It is impossible to teach the Indian to beware of the 
 white man, for it seems to be the instinct of his untutored 
 nature to look upon him as his friend; in short, his sim¬ 
 plicity is his ruin, and though he can entrap and conquer 
 every wild beast in his forest, yet invariably he becomes 
 himself the prey of his white brother ! 
 
 For the foregoing reasons, I am decidedly of opinion that 
 Her Majesty’s Government should continue to advise the 
 few remaining Indians who are lingering in Upper Canada 
 to retire upon the Manitoulin and other islands in Lake 
 Huron, or elsewhere, towards the north-west.* 
 
 * This measure was strongly recommended by Sir John Colborne to 
 Her Majesty’s Government. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 ■7 
 
 Your Lordship has informed me, that the Committee of 
 the House of Commons on Military Expenditure in the 
 Colonies are of opinion, “ that the Indian department may 
 be greatly reduced, it not altogether abolished ; and they, 
 therefore, call the attention of the House to the same, and 
 also to the expense of articles annually distributed to the 
 Indians, and whether any arrangement may not be made 
 to dispense with such distributions in future, or to commute 
 the presents for money.” 
 
 As it is your Lordship’s desire that 1 should afford you 
 as much information as possible on the above suggestions, 
 1 will now respectfully endeavour to do so. 
 
 The presents which the British Government has been in 
 the habit of granting to the Indians in Upper Canada have 
 been delivered to two classes, termed the “ resident” and 
 the “ visiting,” whose numbers this year were as follow 
 
 Number of Indians resident in Upper Canada 
 Average number ot Indians who, in oidei to 
 receive presents from the British Govern¬ 
 ment, annually visit Upper Canada trom the 
 United States 
 
 Total average annual cost of presents issued 
 as above. 
 
 6,507 
 
 3,270 
 
 £8,500 
 
 It certainly appears to me very desirable indeed that we 
 should, if possible, discontinue the practice of giving pre- 
 sents to that portion of the visiting Indians who reside in 
 the territory of the neighbouring states; hut what is desir¬ 
 able is not always just, and it is therefore necessary before 
 the project be carried into effect, that we should consider 
 what arguments exist for as well as against it. 
 
 In its favour it may be stated. 
 
8 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 1st. That we should save an annual expenditure of say 
 4,000/. 
 
 2d. That, according to common laws among nations, 
 there appears to be no reason why, having lost all dominion 
 over and interest in the United States, we should continue 
 to make annual payments to any portion of its inhabitants. 
 
 3d. That it amounts almost to an act of hostility for the 
 British Government to continue to give guns, powder, and 
 ball, to the Indians of the United States, with whom that 
 people are at this moment engaged in civil war. 
 
 4th. That a considerable portion of the presents which 
 we give to the Indians, are shortly after their delivery to 
 be seen displayed by the shopkeepers of the United States, 
 who often obtain them almost for nothing. 
 
 In reply to the first objection, namely, “ that by with¬ 
 holding the presents we should save an annual expenditure 
 of 4,000/., it may be stated, that of all the money which 
 has been ever expended by the British Government, there is 
 perhaps no sum which ought to be less regretted than that 
 which we have hitherto bestowed on the aborigines of Ame¬ 
 rica. It has purchased for us the blessing of their race; 
 they love us, they have shed their blood for us; they would 
 do so again; they look upon us as the only just and mer¬ 
 ciful inhabitants of the old world, and impressed with these 
 feelings, their attachment to our Sovereign amounts almost 
 to veneration. “ When we see the snn rise in the cast ” 
 said a warrior to me at the Great Council at the Mani- 
 loulin Island, “ it is our custom to say to our young men , 
 there is our Great Father , he warms vs, he clothes us, he 
 gives vs all ire desire .” 
 
 There can be no doubt that up to the present page in the 
 history of the British empire we have acted well towards 
 the Indians. What that reflection may intrinsically be worth 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 0 
 
 it is not so easy to determine, as every man will perhaps 
 estimate it differently; however, its moral value, what¬ 
 ever it may be, should be deducted from the expense of 
 which we complain, for we cannot enjoy both advantages; 
 if we save the latter, we must lose the former. 
 
 In reply to the second objection, namely, “ that according 
 to common laws among nations there appears to be no 
 reason why, having lost all dominion over and interest in 
 the United States, we shotdd continue to make annual pay¬ 
 ments to any portion of its inhabitants it must be recol¬ 
 lected that, in our wars with the Americans, we gladly 
 availed ourselves of the services of the Indians, whom inva¬ 
 riably we promised we would never desert. In these pro¬ 
 mises we made no restriction whatever as to domicile; when 
 the tribes joined us, we never waited to ask whence they 
 came ; at the close of the war, when their surviving warriors 
 left us, we never prescribed to them where they should go. 
 
 It will be asked, in what way were these our promises 
 made? It is difficult to reply to this question, as it involves 
 the character of the Indian race. 
 
 An Indian’s word, when it is formally pledged, is one 
 of the strongest moral securities on earth ; like the rainbow 
 it beams unbroken, when all beneath is threatened with 
 annihilation. 
 
 The most solemn form in which an Indian pledges his 
 word, is by the delivery of a wampum belt of shells, and 
 when the purport of this symbol is once declared, it is re¬ 
 membered and handed down from father to son, with an 
 accuracy and retention of meaning, which is quite extraor¬ 
 dinary. 
 
 Whenever the belt is produced, every minute circum¬ 
 stance which attended its delivery seems instantly to be 
 
10 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 brought to life, and such is the singular effect produced on 
 the Indian’s mind by this talisman, that it is common for 
 him, whom we term “the savage,” to shed tears at the sight 
 of a wampum which has accompanied a message from his 
 friend. 
 
 I have mentioned these facts, because they will explain 
 the confident reliance the Indians place on the promises 
 which, accompanied by the delivery of wampums, were 
 made to them by our generals during and at the conclusion 
 of the American wars. 
 
 These rude ceremonies had probably little effect upon 
 our officers, but they sunk deep in the minds of the In- 
 dians; the wampums thus given have been preserved, and 
 are now entrusted to the keeping of the great orator, Si- 
 gonah, who was present at the council I attended on the 
 Manitoulin Island, in Lake Huron, and, in every sense, 
 these hieroglyphics are moral affidavits of the bygone 
 transactions to which they relate. On our part, little or 
 nothing documentary exists; the promises which were made, 
 whatever they might have been, were almost invariably 
 verbal—those who expressed them are now mouldering in 
 their graves. However, the regular delivery of the presents 
 proves and corroborates the testimony of the wampums, 
 and, by whatever sophistry we might deceive ourselves, we 
 could never succeed in explaining to the Indians of the 
 United States that their Great Father was justified in 
 deserting them. 
 
 To the third and fourth objections I have nothing to 
 reply ; for I must say 1 think the Americans have reason for 
 the jealousy they express at the British Government inter¬ 
 fering, by positively arming their own Indians, with whom 
 they are at war, with English guns, powder, and ball; I also 
 
f 
 
 APPENDIX. 11 
 
 cannot deny that a great proportion of the presents we give 
 to the American Indians form a tribute which we annually 
 pay to the shopkeepers ol the United States. 
 
 Having endeavoured as fairly as possible to explain the 
 arguments on both sides, I now beg leave to state that, after 
 having given the subject considerable reflection, I am of 
 opinion, that to the visiting Indians of the United States 
 we cannot, without a breach of faith, directly refuse to con¬ 
 tinue the presents, which by the word of our generals we 
 have promised, and which by long custom we have sanc¬ 
 tioned ; but observing that the minds of these people were 
 wide open to reasonable conviction, it occurred to me that 
 it would not be difficult to explain to them that their 
 Great Father was still willing to continue presents to such 
 of his red children as lived in his own land, but that iu 
 justice to the Americans, who are now our allies, he could 
 not arm against them those Indians who could continue to 
 reside in the territory of the United States; and conse¬ 
 quently that, after the expiration of three years, presents 
 would be given only to those of our red children who 
 actually shall inhabit the Canadas. 
 
 I did not formally make this declaration at the Great 
 Council at the Manitoulin Island, but it was sufficiently 
 hinted to them to be clearly understood, and as far as I could 
 learn, and have since learned, it was received without dis¬ 
 approbation. 
 
 I would therefore recommend that this declaration should 
 be formally announced at the next delivery of presents. 
 The Indians in the United States would thus have plenty 
 of time to prepare for tiie change, which I feel quite con¬ 
 fident would end by our being released honourably and 
 altogether from an engagement which I certainly think we 
 have maintained long enough, to reward liberally the United 
 
 I 
 
12 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Slates Indians for the services they rendered us during the 
 war; indeed there can be no doubt that we have treated 
 their warriors infinitely better than we have behaved to our 
 own veterans, who, blind, wounded, mutilated, helpless, and 
 miserable, are at this moment wandering in the great bush 
 or wilderness of Canada, regretting the hour that they ever 
 improvidently commuted with the British Government their 
 hard-earned pensions. 
 
 I do not think the Indians of the United States could or 
 would complain of the above arrangement, and I feel certain 
 that though a few would at first immigrate to Canada, they 
 would not long remain there. 
 
 bor many reasons, which it would be tedious to your 
 Lordship that I should detail, I would recommend that the 
 presents to the visiting Indians should for the three years 
 be delivered at the Manitoulin Island only. 
 
 The expense of forwarding the presents to that spot, 
 though less than to the old place of delivery, (Drummond 
 Island,) is greater than at Penetanguishene and Amherst- 
 burg; but as only those who are really in want of their 
 presents would come to Manitoulin, we should gain, as 
 indeed we did gain this year, by that arrangement infi¬ 
 nitely more than the difference of expense of transport. 
 
 In a memorandum I received on the 16th July last from 
 Mr. Commissary General Routh, many of whose sugges¬ 
 tions I have effected, that gentleman, not anticipating the 
 recommendation I have now made for the ultimate discon- 
 tniuance of presents to the American Indians, proposed to 
 diminish their expense by substituting strouds instead of 
 cloth, and by withholding powder, ball, and shot. 
 
 Every person with whom I have consulted is of opinion 
 that the latter privation would be most severely felt by the 
 Indian hunter who lives by his gun; however, I feel con- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 13 
 
 fident that Mr. Routh himself will agree with me in opi¬ 
 nion, that if the presents to all Indians residing in the 
 United States are, as I propose to be, totally discontinued 
 at so early a period as the expiration of three years, it 
 would be unnecessary, unadvisable, and ungenerous, to 
 make any deduction from the pittance or gratuity which is 
 so shortly to be withheld. 
 
 Your Lordship is aware that considerable expenses for 
 building, &c., were incurred at the Manitoulin Island 
 this year ; but the arrangement was made by Sir John 
 Colborne before I arrived here, and it was too late for me 
 to alter it; however, as soon as l got there, I put a stop to 
 all that was doing, and discharged every person who had 
 been engaged. 
 
 Having disposed of at least one-tKird part of the Indian 
 presents, and the expense of their delivery, I certainly re¬ 
 spectfully recommend that we should continue to deliver 
 them to those few Indians who continue to inhabit Upper 
 Canada. 
 
 I have already stated that this expense will shortly be 
 defrayed altogether by the sale of the lands they have 
 this year liberally surrendered to me; and even if that were 
 not to be the case, I do think that, enjoying as we do, pos¬ 
 session of this noble province, it is our bounden duty to 
 consider as heir-looms the wreck of that simple-minded, 
 ill-fated race, which, as I have already stated, is daily and 
 yearly fading before the progress of civilization. 
 
 We have only to bear patiently with them for a short 
 time, and with a few exceptions, principally half castes, 
 their unhappy race, beyond our power of redemption, will 
 bo extinct. 
 
 I am not prepared to recommend that money should at 
 
14 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 present be substituted for presents to the resident Indians 
 in this province. 
 
 1st. Because I think, unless good arrangements were 
 previously made, the Indians, from their improvident habits, 
 would in many places be left destitute; and, 
 
 2ndly. Without due precaution, a money delivery to so 
 many men, women and children, might possibly be attended 
 by very great impositions. 
 
 Another year’s experience and reflection will, I make no 
 doubt, enable me to offer to your Lordship a decided 
 opinion on this subject, as I am quite alive to the advantage 
 which w r e should gam by the substitution of money, if it 
 could be properly effected. 
 
 In the expenses of the Indian department, which at pre¬ 
 sent amount to 1,610/. 1 7s.. 10 d. per annum, I am of opi¬ 
 nion that a reduction might at once be made to the following 
 extent, (subject to moderate pensions, the greater part of 
 which might be in grants out of land which has lately been 
 ceded to me by the Indians) :— 
 
 Three superintendents at 206/. 14s\ 4c/.—640/. 3*. 
 
 One interpreter at 62/.—62/. 
 
 I also think that a considerable reduction might, be made 
 in the contingencies, which at present amount to 2,000/. 
 
 With respect to the pensions, which amount to 462/., I 
 conceive that as they have already been sanctioned, they 
 could not in justice be repealed. 
 
 In conclusion I now beg leave to refer to my despatch 
 No. 31, respecting the age and services of Colonel Givins. 
 
 I conscientiously concur with Sir John Colborne and Sir 
 P. Maitland in recommending that, in the evening of his 
 long and w'ell-spent life, this officer may not be neglected 
 by Her Majesty’s Government, to whose service he has 
 

 APPENDIX. 15 
 
 been more than half a century unremittingly and devotedly 
 attached. 
 
 His name is so identified with the Indian history of this 
 country, that I earnestly hope he may be allowed to retire 
 on his full pay; he has a large family, and his advanced 
 age must prevent his long receiving the remuneration so 
 strongly recommended by Sir J. Colbourne, by Sir P. 
 Maitland, and by myself. 
 
 To replace Colonel Givins, who would continue to assist 
 as an interpreter, I have already recommended, in my de¬ 
 spatch No. 31, the appointment of Mr. Hepburn, who last 
 year has without salary been performing the duties of Chief 
 Superintendent. 
 
 I am decidedly of opinion that at the expiration of three 
 years a still further reduction may be made in the Indian 
 department, and that its expenses of every description will 
 ere long be completely defrayed by the lands which I have 
 lately obtained from the Indians. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 F B, Head. 
 
 The Lord Glenclg. 
 
'' ^ - '■« * " Nv - "V . . ' V % 
 
MESSAGES, &c. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor informs the Legislative 
 Council, that in consequence of this province being invaded 
 and assailed by a foreign enemy, and being the scene of 
 actual military operations. Colonel Foster, the officer in 
 command of Her Majesty’s land forces, has assumed the 
 entire military authority and command over the troops; 
 that he is also in command of the militia ; and that the 
 Commissary-General at Quebec has communicated to the 
 officer in charge of the commissariat here, that consistently 
 with the rules of the service, no expenses can be allowed 
 unless sanctioned by the authority of the military com¬ 
 mander, upon whom the protection of the province has thus 
 necessarily devolved. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor takes this opportunity to com¬ 
 municate to the Legislative Council, that having had the 
 misfortune to differ from Her Majesty’s Government on 
 one or two points of colonial policy, he felt it his duty, on 
 the 10th of September last, respectfully to tender to Her 
 Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, the 
 resignation of the important station, which, for a short time, 
 he has had the honour to hold in this province. 
 
 His resignation having been graciously accepted, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor has to inform the Legislative Council 
 
 b 2 
 
20 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 that he yesterday received official information that Her 
 Majesty has been pleased to appoint Colonel Sir George 
 Arthur to be Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and 
 that his Excellency may be expected to arrive here in a 
 few days. 
 
 Under the peculiar circumstances in which the province 
 is at present placed, the Lieutenant-Governor feels confi¬ 
 dent, that the Legislative Council will rejoice with him at 
 the approaching arrival of an Officer of high character and 
 considerable experience, whose rank in the army will 
 enable him to combine the military command with the 
 civil government of this province. 
 
 Government House, 
 
 15th Jan., 1838. 
 
 To His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Baronet, Knight 
 Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order , Knight 
 of the Prussian Military Order of Merit , Lieutenant Gover¬ 
 nor of the Province of Upper Canada , Sfc. fyc. fyc. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legis¬ 
 lative Council of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament as¬ 
 sembled, beg to return our respectful thanks to your Excellency, 
 for communicating to us the fact, which is at this crisis particu¬ 
 larly important, that by the regulations of Her Majesty’s service 
 the command of the troops, and of the militia employed in 
 defence of this province, cannot be united in your Excellency’s 
 person with the administration of the civil government. 
 
 . U J om ExcelIenc y were to continue to represent Her Majesty 
 in tins colony, we are persuaded, that under present circum¬ 
 stances, such a separation of the civil power from the military 
 command would be likely to lead to very unfortunate results! 
 since military rank and experience, although they are by no 
 means incompatible with the peculiar qualifications which are 
 requisite to give confidence, animation, and effect, to the military 
 force, are not always to be found united with them. * 
 
Appendix. 
 
 21 
 
 We beg to assure your Excellency that we learn with extreme 
 regret, that the civil government of this province is to con¬ 
 tinue for so short a time in your Excellency s charge. It is not 
 known to us upon what particular points your Excellency’s 
 views have differed so essentially from those of Her Majesty’s 
 Government, that your Excellency was induced to tender your 
 resignation; hut we know, that at no period in the history of 
 Upper Canada has its political condition been such as ought to 
 he more satisfactory to the ministers of the Crown : and we feel 
 that not Upper Canada only, hut the empire, owes to your Ex¬ 
 cellency a large debt of gratitude, for your firm and manly 
 avowal, upon all occasions, of those sentiments which became the 
 representative of a British monarch, and lor the unwavering 
 support which your Excellency has never failed to give to the 
 established principles of the constitution. 
 
 It is this fearless adherence to right principles, rather than to 
 expediency, which has enabled your Excellency to rally round 
 the government, in a moment of danger, the arms of an united 
 people : and to exhibit this province to our Sovereign and to the 
 world, in a posture which must command for its brave and loyal 
 inhabitants the highest admiration and respect. 
 
 If the'result of your Excellency’s firm and uncompromising 
 policy shall impress upon Her Majesty’s Government the con¬ 
 viction, that they need not fear to support in Upper Canada the 
 principles of the British constitution, it will have produced an 
 effect of infinite value to this colony; and will have supplied 
 what we believe has been chiefly wanting to insure its perma¬ 
 nent tranquillity. 
 
 But the Legislative Council cannot refrain from expressing 
 the regret with which they have observed, in the case of your 
 Excellency, and of your respected and gallant predecessor, that 
 your connexion with the government of this colony has seemed 
 incapable of being protracted, with satisfaction to yourselves, 
 beyond the period when it became evident that no submission 
 would be made by you to a spirit of factious discontent, which 
 nothing can appease but the destruction of British rule. 
 
 We beg your Excellency to believe, that the Legislative 
 Council will ever entertain a grateful recollection of the justice 
 and condescension which they have always had occasion to 
 acknowledge in their intercourse with your Excellency; and that 
 
22 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 they participate deeply in the feeling of general regret at your 
 Excellency’s approaching departure from this province. 
 
 John B. Robinson, Speaker. 
 
 Legislative Council Chamber, 
 
 17th day of Jan., 1838. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor informs the House of 
 Assembly, that in consequence of this province being in¬ 
 vaded and assailed by a foreign enemy, and being the scene 
 of actual military operations. Colonel Foster, the officer in 
 command of Her Majesty’s land forces, has assumed the 
 entire military authority and command over the troops; 
 that he is also in command of the militia; and that the 
 Commissary-General at Quebec has communicated to the 
 officer in charge of the commissariat here, that consistently 
 with the rules of the service, no expenses can be allowed 
 unless sanctioned by the authority of the military com¬ 
 mander, upon whom the protection of the province has 
 thus necessarily devolved. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor takes this opportunity to com¬ 
 municate to the House of Assembly, that having had the 
 misfortune to differ from Her Majesty’s Government, on 
 one or two points of colonial policy, he felt it his duty, on 
 the 10th of September last, respectfully to tender to Her 
 Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for the Colonies the 
 resignation of the important station which, for a short time, 
 he has had the honour to hold in this province. 
 
 His resignation having been graciously accepted, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor has to inform the House of Assembly, 
 that he yesterday received official information that Her 
 Majesty has been pleased to appoint Colonel Sir George 
 Arthur to be Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 23 
 
 that his Excellency may be expected to arrive here in a few 
 days. 
 
 Under the peculiar circumstances in which the province 
 is at present placed, the Lieutenant-Governor feels con¬ 
 fident, that the House of Assembly will rejoice with lnm at 
 the approaching arrival of an officer of high character and 
 considerable experience, whose rank in the army will 
 enable him to combine he military command with the 
 civil government of this province. 
 
 Government House, 
 
 15th Jan. 1838. 
 
 To His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt., &t. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Com¬ 
 mons House of Assembly, in Provincial Parliament assembled, 
 humbly thank your Excellency for your Excellency’s message 
 of the 15th instant, communicating to this House, that “ in con¬ 
 sequence of this province being invaded and assailed by a 
 foreign enemy, and being the scene of actual military opera¬ 
 tions" Colonel Foster, the officer in command of Her Majesty’s 
 land forces, has assumed the entire military authority and com¬ 
 mand over the troops ; that he is also in command of the militia ; 
 and that the Commissary-General at Quebec has communicated 
 to the officer in charge of the commissariat here, that consistently 
 with the rules of the service, no expenses can be allowed unless 
 sanctioned by the authority of the military commander, upon 
 whom the protection of the province has thus necessarily de- 
 
 volved. , . 
 
 In reference to this subject, we can only express our earnest 
 hope that this regulation, which the rules of the service appear 
 to have rendered necessary, may in no respect impair the e i- 
 ciency of the operations hitherto planned and directed by your 
 Excellency, with so much success for the preservation and de- 
 fence of the province against the attack of foreign and domestic 
 enemies. 
 
24 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 We are further informed by your Excellency, that having- had 
 the misfortune to differ from Her Majesty’s Government, on one 
 or two points of colonial policy, your Excellency felt it your 
 duty, on the 10th of September last, respectfully to tender to 
 Her Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 the resignation of the important station which, for a short time, 
 your Excellency has had the honour to hold in this province, 
 and that your Excellency’s resignation had been graciously ac¬ 
 cepted. When this House recalls to recollection the events of 
 your Excellency s administration of the affairs of this province— 
 the universal respect and confidence with which you are re¬ 
 garded, arising from your Excellency’s firm and uncompro¬ 
 mising adherence to the principles of the constitution, and which 
 has afforded to the inhabitants of this colony various opportu¬ 
 nities of proving, not by words merely, but by acts the most con¬ 
 vincing and undeniable, their firm unshaken loyalty to their 
 Sovereign, and tneir desire to maintain their connexion with 
 the parent state, in contradiction to assertions and insinuations 
 of a contrary tendency, we cannot but view with alarm the dis¬ 
 closure now made, that your Excellency has felt yourself called 
 upon to resign the administration of the government on the 
 grounds stated in your Excellency’s Message. 
 
 If your Excellency’s measures and policy have not given 
 satisfaction to our gracious Queen, we are driven to inquire, in 
 the most humble and respectful, but solemn manner, what 
 course of policy it is that is expected by Her Majesty from Her 
 Majesty’s representative in this province? Deeply impressed 
 with the duty of submission to the constitutional exercise of the 
 royal prerogative, we do not question the right of the Sovereign 
 to select Her representatives in this or any other colony of the 
 empire ; but we nevertheless feel ourselves impelled by a sense 
 of duty, suggested by a desire to maintain our allegiance (and 
 which, on our part, can never be laid aside or forgotten), 
 humbly, but earnestly and emphatically to declare, that°if any¬ 
 thing be calculated to shake the attachment of Her Majesty’s 
 now truly loyal and devoted subjects to Her royal person and 
 government, it is by acts of injustice, or the manifestation of 
 ungenerous distrust towards servants, who have served the 
 British nation so faithfully and nobly as your Excellency has 
 done. It will be the duty of this House, before the close of the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 25 
 
 present session, and when more fully informed of facts, to ex¬ 
 press more at large the feelings and opinions they entertain on 
 this painfully interesting and important subject. 
 
 In the mean time, we beg to assure your Excellency, that this 
 House, and the people of the province, will regard your Excel¬ 
 lency’s relinquishment of its government as a calamity ot the 
 most serious nature, and which may result in difficulties and dis¬ 
 sensions that cannot be easily repaired or reconciled. We how¬ 
 ever are fully persuaded, that the blame cannot rest with yom 
 Excellency ; and while we sincerely and most willingly acknow 
 ledge the zeal, ability, justice and honourable disinterestedness 
 with which you have conducted the government of this province 
 during your short but eventful and arduous administration of its 
 affairs, we beg respectfully and affectionately to express, on be¬ 
 half of this province, our earnest hope, that your Excellency’s 
 prosperity in future life may be commensurate with the claims, 
 deep and lasting as they are, upon our gratitude—the approba¬ 
 tion of our gracious Queen—and the applause and acknowledg¬ 
 ment of the British nation. 
 
 II. Ruttan, Speaker . 
 
 Commons House of Assembly, 
 
 16th day of Jan. 1838. 
 
 To His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt. y &c. &c. &c.j 
 May it please Your Excellency," 
 
 We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legis¬ 
 lative Council of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament as¬ 
 sembled, humbly pray that your Excellency will be pleased to 
 transmit to this House copies of so much of your Excellency’s 
 correspondence with the Right Honourable the Secretary of 
 State for the Colonies, as relates to your Excellency’s resignation 
 of the government of this province, embracing the matter of 
 policy upon which your Excellency had the misfortune to difler 
 from Her Majesty’s Government, so far as the same may, in 
 your Excellency’s opinion, be with propriety communicated. 
 
 John B. Roeinson, Speaker . 
 
 Legislative Council Chamber, 
 
 19th day of Jan., 1838. 
 
26 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 His Excellency s Reply . 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen, 
 
 It would afford me the greatest satisfaction to trans¬ 
 mit to the Legislative Council, according to its request, so 
 much of my correspondence with the Right Honourable 
 the Secretary of State for the Colonies, as relates to my 
 resignation of the government of this province; but, after 
 deliberate consideration, I have come to the conclusion, that 
 the publication of these documents might, under existing 
 circumstances, embarrass my successor, and might be con¬ 
 sidered as a violation of official confidence. 
 
 So long as I remain in the service of Her Majesty’s 
 Government, I do not consider myself justified in defending 
 my own conduct, by any vindication that may embarrass 
 their policy. 
 
 Government House, 22d Jan., 1838. 
 
 To His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt ., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Com¬ 
 mons ot Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament assembled, 
 humbly request that your Excellency will be pleased to lay 
 before this House the correspondence between Her Majesty’s 
 Government and your Excellency, which induced your Excel¬ 
 lency to tender your resignation of the government of this pro¬ 
 vince , and also any subsequent correspondence between Her 
 Majesty’s Government and your Excellency, on the same subject. 
 
 H. Ruttan, Speaker. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly, 
 18 th Jan., 1838 . 
 
 His Excellency's Reply. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Nothing, at this moment, would be so gratifying to 
 my feelings as to lay before the House of Assembly the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 27 
 
 correspondence between Her Majesty’s Government and 
 myself, which induced me to tender my resignation of the 
 government of this province; but, after deliberate considera¬ 
 tion, I have come to the conclusion, that the publication of 
 these documents might, under existing circumstances, em¬ 
 barrass my successor, and might be considered as a viola¬ 
 tion of official confidence. 
 
 So long as I remain in the service of Her Majesty’s 
 Government, I do not consider myself justified in defending 
 my own conduct, by any vindication that may embarrass 
 their policy. 
 
 Government House, 22d Jan., 1838. 
 
 F. B. Head. 
 
 His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor, has much 
 pleasure in transmitting to the Legislative Council a highly 
 gratifying communication from his Excellency the Lieute¬ 
 nant-Governor of New Brunswick, accompanying a unani¬ 
 mous joint vote of thanks from the two Houses of the Legis¬ 
 lature of that province to the militia of Upper Canada, tor 
 their gallant conduct, in so ably, promptly, and energetically 
 suppressing the late rebellion in this province. 
 
 Government House, Jan. 22d, 1838. 
 
 (A similar Message to the House of Assembly.) 
 
 Government House, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Jan. Gth, 1838. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 With the highest satisfaction I comply with the wishes 
 of the Legislative Council and House ot Assembly of this pro- 
 vince, by transmitting to your Excellency Resolutions jointly 
 concurred in by these bodies, tendering to your Excellency, and 
 to the gallant militia of Upper Canada, the unanimous thanks 
 of the Legislature, and of the people of New Brunswick, for the 
 
28 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 able, prompt, and energetic suppression by them, and by your 
 Excellency, unaided by any portion of Her Majesty’s troops, 
 of the late insurrection in the neighbourhood of Toronto. 
 
 In doing this, I beg to add the expression of my warmes 
 concurrence in the sentiments embodied in those resolutions, 
 "ith the assurance that, while we feel the most entire confidence 
 in the ability of Her Majesty’s loyal subjects of Upper Canada, 
 under your Excellency’s guidance, to put down rebellion wher¬ 
 ever it may show itself, yet we cannot but regret that our remote 
 position with respect to that province prevents our offering our 
 more active co-operation. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) J. Harvey, 
 
 M. General , Lieutenant-Governor . 
 His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt., 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 New Brunswick, House of Assembly, Jan. 5th, 1838. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That the thanks of this province are 
 due, and should be presented to Sir Francis Bond Head, and 
 the gallant militia of Upper Canada, for their able, prompt, and 
 energetic suppression of the insurrection which lately took place 
 in the neighbourhood of Toronto. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That the conduct of our fellow-subjects 
 in Upper Canada, on this memorable occasion, so fully in accord¬ 
 ance with their former high spirit and character, affords a glorious 
 example to the sister colonies; and cannot fail to quicken the 
 zeal and animate the exertions of every loyal heart in these 
 colonies, in support and defence of the liberties they enjoy under 
 British laws and institutions. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That our fellow-subjects in Upper 
 Canada may rest assured of the lively sympathy of the inhabitants 
 of this province, in their loyalty and patriotic ardour, and of our 
 most zealous co-operation in maintaining the royal authorities, 
 and the inestimable advantages of our connexion with the mother- 
 country. 
 
 (Signed) Charles P. Wetmore, 
 
 Clerk of Assembly. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 29 
 
 New Brunswick, House of Assembly, Jan. 5tli, 1S38. 
 Resolved unanimously —That an humble Address be presented 
 to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, praying that his 
 Excellency will be pleased to transmit these Resolutions to his 
 Excellency, Sir Francis Bond Head, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 Upper Canada. 
 
 Resolved—That the Legislative Council be requested to join 
 
 in these Resolutions. 
 
 (Signed) Charles P. Wetmore, 
 
 Clerk of Assembly. 
 
 New Brunswick, Legislative Council Chamber, Jan. 5th, 1838. 
 Resolved unanimously —That this House doth most heartily 
 concur in the Resolutions of the House of Assembly, on the 
 subject of the insurrection in Upper Canada. 
 
 (Signed) Wm. Tyng Peters, Clerk. 
 
 Government House, Halifax, 6th Feb., 183S. 
 
 Sir, ' ' 
 
 At the request of the Legislative Council of this province, 
 I have the pleasure to transmit to your Excellency the enclosed 
 resolutions of that honourable body, expressing their high ad¬ 
 miration of the energetic measures adopted by your Excellency 
 to suppress the recent rebellious outbreak in Upper Canada, and 
 offering their thanks to Colonel Allan Napier MacNab, and the 
 militia under his command, for their gallant conduct on that 
 occasion. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your Excellency’s most obedient. 
 Humble servant, 
 
 His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt., C. Campbell. 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Legislative Council Chamber, 29th Jan., 1838. 
 On motion of Mr. Stewart, seconded by Mr. Ousely:— 
 Resolved unanimously —That while the members of this 
 House view with the deepest regret the existence of rebellion in 
 the provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, they cannot refrain 
 
30 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 from expressing the gratification they have derived from those 
 warm and animating displays of universal loyalty and attachment 
 to the British constitution and government, to which it has given 
 occasion throughout the British North American Colonies. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That the grateful acknowledgments of 
 this House ought to be immediately conveyed to his Excellency 
 Sir Francis Bond Head, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper 
 Canada, for the penetration with which he discovered, and the 
 firm, prompt, and energetic manner in which he baffled and de¬ 
 feated, the mad^designs of traitorous men to rob and murder 
 those who prefer the blessings of the British government to 
 republican institutions; but more especially for the noble- 
 minded reliance upon the courage and loyalty of the people alone, 
 by which he was enabled to render most important aid towards 
 the suppression of the unnatural rebellion in Lower Canada. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That the thanks of this House are 
 also due to Colonel Allan Napier MacNab, and the loyal militia 
 of Upper Canada, for their gallant conduct in crushing in its 
 infancy this rebellious attempt, and in exhibiting a noble example 
 of the spirit with which Her Majesty’s North American subjects 
 are determined to preserve their connexion with their mother- 
 country, and to put down all endeavours to weaken or destroy it. 
 
 Resolved'unanimously —That this House view, with astonish¬ 
 ment and regret, the support and assistance which, in a time of 
 profound peace and amity between the two governments, have 
 been afforded to the expatriated rebels by many citizens of the 
 American Union ; and this House trusts, that the efforts of the 
 general government of the United States will not be remitted 
 until such of its citizens as have been guilty of so unjustifiable a 
 violation of the existing treaty and the law of nations shall be 
 punished with that severity which they deserve. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That while this House recognise in 
 the British soldier that devotion to his sovereign and country 
 which has led to the effectual suppression of the rebellion in 
 Lower Canada, and also to along and dreary march at this in¬ 
 clement season, they cannot but rejoice that the absence of the 
 troops from the Upper Province has afforded gratifying and ir¬ 
 resistible evidence of the deep-rooted attachment of the people to 
 the British constitution. 
 
 Resolved unanimously-— That an humble address be presented 
 
_ 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 31 
 
 to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, praying that he will 
 be pleased to transmit these resolutions to his Excellency Sir 
 Francis Bond Head, the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. 
 
 John C. Halliburton, Clerk. 
 
 Legislative Council Chamber, 31st Jan., 1838. 
 
 Resolved —That Mr. Stewart, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Ratchford 
 do wait upon his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 present to him the address and resolutions agreed to on the 
 29th of this present month of January. 
 
 John C. Halliburton, Clerk. 
 
 To His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 We the undersigned, on behalf of the Executive Com¬ 
 mittee of the Constitutional Association of Quebec, having been 
 informed that your Excellency is about to retire from the govern¬ 
 ment of Upper Canada, feel ourselves impelled, as well by a 
 sense of justice to your Excellency’s person as by a sense of duty 
 to our beloved Queen, to express our deep regret at your Ex¬ 
 cellency’s intended departure ; and although circumstances have 
 placed your Excellency beyond our reach for the more intimate 
 and private relations of life, yet upon public grounds we feel 
 ourselves called upon to acquaint your Excellency that we deeply 
 deplore the causes which have led your Excellency to resign the 
 high and important station you have held in our sister province, 
 the duties of which you have so ably and so faithfully discharged. 
 
 The passing events in Upper Canada could not but be’re¬ 
 garded by us as of the most vital importance to this province, 
 and entertaining this view, we have watched with the utmost 
 anxiety your Excellency’s administration. We have followed you 
 through your prosperous career, and particularly during the 
 eventful period of the late rebellion, as whilst recording as we now 
 do, by this Address, our admiration of your public conduct, we 
 venture to express the hope that Her Majesty’s Ministers will at 
 length be convinced that the principles of the British constitution 
 alone are applicable to the good government of these provinces. 
 
 
 1 I 
 
 
 -r 
 
u 
 
 82 APPENDIX. 
 
 At a time when 'constitutional government has led to such 
 happy results from the exercise of a sound discretion, accom¬ 
 panied by a dignified and uncompromising course of policy, 
 which has conspicuously marked your Excellency’s administra¬ 
 tion in Upper Canada, we are irresistibly led to attribute the 
 present deplorable condition of the British and Irish inhabitants 
 of this province to a weak and vacillating policy, so directly op¬ 
 posite to that pursued by your Excellency. 
 
 We, therefore, deeply sympathise with the inhabitants of our 
 sister province on the loss they will so universally feel on the 
 occasion of your Excellency’s departure. 
 
 In respectfully offering our sincere wishes for your Excellency’s 
 future happiness, and that of Lady Head and family, we feel 
 that we speak the sentiments of the whole body of Constitu¬ 
 tionalists in this district, in expressing the hope, nay the con¬ 
 viction, that your valuable talents will ever be enlisted in behalf 
 of these provinces, and that the important services you have 
 already rendered to Upper Canada, and the empire at large, will 
 receive that well merited reward—the approbation of our most 
 gracious and beloved Queen. 
 
 (Signed) A. Stuart, Chairman . 
 
 Province of Lower Canada, W. Briston, Secretary . 
 
 Quebec, 24th Feb., 1838. 
 
 Montreal, 13th March, 1838. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 A large and respectable meeting of citizens, who long to 
 testify their grateful admiration of the talent, firmness, and in¬ 
 tegrity which have uniformly distinguished your brief but event¬ 
 ful administration of the government of Upper Canada, has 
 deputed us to inquire, whether you will so far gratify and honour 
 them as to accept of a public dinner during your anticipated 
 presence in Montreal. 
 
 We have the honour to be, 
 
 With the highest consideration and respect, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient and faithful servants, 
 
 (Signed) Peter M‘Gill, 
 John Molson, 
 Adam Thom. 
 
 To Sir F. B. Head, Bt., 
 &c. &c. 
 
■■ 
 
 33 
 
 Toronto, March 19 ,1838. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 It has afforded me unexpected gratification to learn 
 from your letter of the 13th instant, which I have this mo¬ 
 ment received, that a large and respectable body of the 
 citizens of Montreal have done me the honour to invite me 
 to a public dinner during my presence in Montreal. 
 
 I beg you will be so good as to offer to the gentlemen 
 who have evinced such a desire my sincere thanks for this 
 flattering testimony of their good opinion, which I can 
 truly assure them I most sensibly appreciate; at the same 
 time I request they will do me the additional favour of 
 permitting me to express a desire not to avail myself of 
 their obliging invitation to a public dinner. 
 
 On retiring from this government I shall, to the utmost 
 of my ability, continue to render to the Canadas every 
 assistance in my power; but I trust, on reflection, you will 
 agree with me in the opinion that, on my journey to Eng¬ 
 land, I should in no place do anything that can tend 
 directly or indirectly to agitate a discussion of any of those 
 questions in which the people of the Canadas, as well as 
 myself, feel so deeply interested. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant 
 , (Signed) F. B. Head. 
 
 The Hon. Peter M‘Gill. 
 
 John Molson, Esq. 
 
 Adam Thom, Esq. 
 
 Quebec, *22<1 March, 1838. 
 
 Sr , 
 
 The citizens of Quebec, being desirous of marking their 
 sense of your Excellency’s character and services during the 
 
 c 
 
eventful period of your government of Upper Canada, have, at a 
 public meeting, convened at the Exchange on Wednesday the 
 21st instant, resolved that a public entertainment should be given 
 for that object in this city, and that your Excellency should be 
 invited thereto, should it be your intention to visit Quebec prior 
 to your return to England. 
 
 In carrying this resolution into effect, the undersigned com¬ 
 mittee have now the honour of requesting your Excellency to 
 accept a public dinner on the part of the citizens of Quebec, on 
 any day which may suit your Excellency’s convenience after your 
 arrival in this city. 
 
 A duplicate of this letter has been forwarded to Kingston ad¬ 
 dressed to your Excellency. 
 
 We have the honour to be 
 Your Excellency’s most obedient humble servants, 
 (Signed) Ciias. F. Aylwin, 
 
 T. N. Stayner, 
 
 J. Charlton Fisher, LL.D. 
 His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt., 
 
 &C. &c. &c. 
 
 Montreal . 
 
 To His Excellency Sir F. B. Head, Bt , &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 We, her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the officers, 
 non-commissioned officers, and privates of the five battalions of 
 Montreal Loyal Volunteers, cannot allow your Excellency to 
 depart from your government of the province of Upper Canada 
 without expressing to you our high admiration of your Ex¬ 
 cellency’s upright, uncompromising, and constitutional adminis¬ 
 tration of the duties of your exalted and important office. 
 
 In presuming to address your Excellency as volunteer soldiers, 
 we feel assured, by the noble example which has been so lately 
 exhibited to us by your Excellency, that our sentiments will, in 
 your bosom, meet a sympathetic feeling of ardent loyalty to our 
 beloved Queen, and of undeviating adherence to the glorious 
 institutions of our father-land, of which it was unquestionably 
 designed that we should have the happiness, in this remote 
 corner of the British empire, to enjoy the ample blessings. 
 
35 
 
 Jn your Excellency’s administration of the affairs of Upper 
 Canada, as well as in that of your gallant predecessor, our es¬ 
 teemed Commander-in-chief, we joyfully recognise that rejection 
 of hollow expediency, and that adherence to pure and sterling 
 principle, which at once check the aspirings of restless and de¬ 
 structive innovation, and give high and expanding hope and 
 energy to the supporters of institutions based upon true patrotism, 
 and cemented by the wisdom and experience of ages. 
 
 We beg to express our undoubting confidence in your Ex¬ 
 cellency’s desire to impress upon the councils of our most gracious 
 Sovereign the importance of seizing upon the present opportunity, 
 so happily afforded, of making this province what it always 
 should have been, a British colony; and to convey to our be¬ 
 loved Queen our earnest desire to be emancipated from the 
 dominion of a race which has proved itself the enemy of British 
 settlement in this province, of British improvement, of British 
 laws and institutions, and of British connexion. 
 
 We beg to convey to your Excellency the expression of our 
 sincere regret at your relinquishment of the government of Upper 
 Canada at a crisis so important to the best interests of that noble 
 province, and of our heartfelt wishes for your happiness, and for 
 that honour and promotion at the hands of our most gracious 
 Sovereign which your Excellency’s patriotism so eminently de¬ 
 serves. 
 
 Montreal, 12th February, 1838. 
 
 At a Public Meeting, very numerously attended, held at the 
 News-room in the City of Saint John, on Thursday, the 22d 
 Day of March, 1838, his worship the Mayor in the Chair,— 
 On motion of Mr. Pentelow :— 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That this meeting has a high sense 
 of the inestimable advantages which have accrued to the Canadas 
 and the other British American possessions by the administra¬ 
 tion of Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., late Lieutenant-Governor 
 of Upper Canada— 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That, entertaining a lively hope that 
 Sir Francis Bond Head may pass through this city on his return 
 to England, this meeting deems it an indispensable duty that 
 some distinguished tribute of respect he paid to him by the loyal 
 
36 
 
 inhabitants of Saint John, and that therefore he be invited to a 
 public dinner to be given him on that occasion. 
 
 Resolved —That a committee of management be appointed to 
 prepare the same, and obtain subscriptions. 
 
 On motion of the lion. Judge Parker:— 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That his Excellency, Sir John Harvey, 
 our highly-respected Lieutenant-Governor, be invited as a guest 
 on the occasion. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That the Hon. Colonel MucNab, 
 Speaker of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, be also 
 invited as a guest, in the event of his being in this province on 
 his way to England. 
 
 Resolved —That his Worship the Mayor, H. B. Smith, Esq., 
 collector of her Majesty’s customs, and William H. Street, Esq., 
 be a committee to proceed to Fredericton for the purpose of con¬ 
 veying the aforesaid resolutions to Sir Francis Bond Head, his 
 Excellency Sir John Harvey, and Colonel MacNab. 
 
 (Signed) Robert J. Headham, Chairman . 
 
 At a Public Meeting of the Magistrates, Merchants, and prin¬ 
 cipal Inhabitants of the County of Gloucester, held at the 
 Court-house, in Bathurst, New Brunswick, on Monday, the 
 2nd day of April, 1838, William End, Member of the House 
 of Assembly, called to the Chair:— 
 
 It was resolved unanimously —That the province of New 
 Brunswick should cordially unite in those sentiments of admira¬ 
 tion and respect which have been so enthusiastically expressed 
 by the loyal people of Upper Canada towards Sir Francis Bond 
 Head, their late Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That to support and strengthen the 
 power and influence of the Government in these colonies should 
 be the paramount duty of every man who appreciates the im¬ 
 portance of British connexion, and desires to be protected by 
 British laws ; and that the political opinions of Sir Francis Bond 
 Head, expressed during his residence in Upper Canada, are 
 warmly responded to by the loyal people of this province, ’ and 
 regarded as a code, happily conducive to the honour and dignity 
 of the Crown, as well as the safety and welfare of the people 
 Resolved unanimously— That the unshaken fidelity with which 
 
37 
 
 the constitutional rights of the Crown and the subject were 
 maintained by Sir Francis Bond Head during bis administration 
 of the government of Upper Canada; bis sagacity in detecting 
 and disappointing the specious designs of pretended patriots; bis 
 firmness in overturning the less dangerous attempts of open re¬ 
 bellion, and the confidence with which, on two memorable occa¬ 
 sions, he intrusted the best interests of the colony to the good 
 sense of its freeholders and the gallantry of its militia, justly 
 entitle him to the everlasting gratitude of her Majesty’s faithful 
 subjects in every part of British America. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That, while the removal of Sir Francis 
 Bond Head from the government of Upper Canada must be 
 deeply lamented by those who nobly rallied round him in the 
 day of agitation and rebellion, this meeting is [not without a 
 cheering hope that the knowledge which lie has acquired of the 
 true character of her Majesty’s colonial subjects, when com¬ 
 municated to the Imperial Parliament, may convince the British 
 nation that the great mass of the people of these colonies, loyal 
 in feeling and in conscience, consider it their [enviable distinc¬ 
 tion to form a part of the British empire, and turn with abhor¬ 
 rence from those who would make these last retreats of suffering 
 loyalty a land of aliens from the British Crown. 
 
 Resolved unanimously —That the people of the county of 
 Gloucester, deeming it their bounden duty to adopt the senti¬ 
 ments of the aforegoing resolutions, are desirous of publicly de¬ 
 claring their feelings towards Sir Francis Bond Head and the 
 loyalists of Upper Canada; and that these resolutions be signed 
 by the chairman, and transmitted by him to his Excellency Ma¬ 
 jor-General Sir John Harvey, our esteemed Lieutenant-Go¬ 
 vernor, with an humble request that he may be pleased to com¬ 
 municate them to Sir Francis Bond Head. 
 
 (Signed) William End, Chairman . 
 
 Bathurst, New Brunswick, 
 April 2nd, 1S38. 
 
 Besides the above, I have a small volume of addresses, 
 
 which I received on my departure from the people through 
 
out all the districts of Upper Canada, to all of which ad¬ 
 dresses I gave the following reply, verbally explaining to the 
 respective deputations that, feeling it to be my duty not to 
 write anything on the subject of my retirement from the 
 government of the province which could tend to agitate that 
 question, I had resolved to give but one answer to whatever 
 valedictory addresses I might receive. 
 
 Copy of General Answer . 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I sincerely thank the inhabitants of-, for 
 
 the very gratifying expressions respecting my administration 
 of the government of this province which are containe in 
 their Address. 
 
 
 London; Frinted_l>y W. Clowes and SoNs^Stamford-street. 
 
Albemarle-street, March, 1839* 
 
 Mr. MURRAY 
 
 HAS LATELY PUBLISHED NEW EDITIONS 
 OF THE FOLLOWING WORKS: 
 
 1 
 
 ROUGH NOTES taken during some Rapid Journies 
 across the PAMPAS and among the ANDES. By Sir Francis 
 B. Head, Bart. Third Edition, post 8vo.> 9s. 6c/. 
 
 2 
 
 BUBBLES from the BRUNNENS of NASSAU. 
 By an Old Man. Fourth Edition, fcp. 8 vo., *ls. 6d. 
 
 3 
 
 FOREST SCENES and INCIDENTS in the 
 WILDS of CANADA. By Sir George Head. Second 
 Edition , with Map, post 8 vo., 10s. 6c/. 
 
 4 
 
 EXPOSITION and DEFENCE of EARL 
 BATHURST’S ADMINISTRATION on the AFFAIRS of 
 CANADA, to which is added, Thoughts on the Present Crisis of 
 the Canadas, and on the Policy of a Legislative Union between 
 the Two Colonies. By The Right Honourable Sir Robert 
 Wilmot Horton, Bart., G. C.H., Second Edition, 8vo. 3s. 6e/. 
 
 5 
 
 IRELAND and CANADA, supported by Local 
 Evidence, by the Right Honourable Sir Wilmot Horton, 
 Bart., G. C.H., dedicated, by permission, to Her Majesty the 
 Queen, 8vo., 2s. 
 
* 
 
 
 
 \ . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MEW ©@@IO 
 
 PUBLISHED THIS DAY BY MR. MURRAY, 
 
 ALBEMARLE STREET, JANUARY I, 1839. 
 
 THE STATE in its relations with THE CHURCH. 
 By VV. E. GLADSTONE, Esq., 
 
 STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, AND M.P. FOR NEWARK. 
 
 Third Edition, 8vo., 9s. 6d. 
 
 DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO HER MAJESTY, 
 
 THE PARLIAMENTS and COUNCILS of ENGLAND, 
 
 Chronologically arranged from the Reigns of William I. to the Revolution in 1688. 
 
 8 vo. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE OF 
 
 WILLIAM PITT, FIRST EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 Edited by WM. STANHOPE TAYLOIt, Esq., and 
 
 Captain T. HENRY PRINGLE, 
 
 The Executors of HIS SON, JOHN, EARL OF CHATHAM. 
 
 Vol. II. 8vo., 18*. 
 
 To be Completed in Four Volumes. 
 
 There is hardly any man in modern times, with the exception perhaps of Lord Somers, who fills 
 so large a space iu our history, and of whom we know so little, as Lord Chatham; and yet he is 
 the person to whom every one would at once point, if desired to name the greatest statesman and 
 orator that this country ever produced. 
 
 “We regard this work, indeed, as one of the greatest value; and hold the editors to have 
 formed a wise resolution, both as to their own duty, and the best service the'’ could reuder at once 
 to the memory of their illustrious ancestor, and to the public interests, by determining to keep 
 back no part of the precious documents intrusted to their care."— Rdinbury/i Review, July, 1838. 
 
 THE ART OF DEERSTALKING; 
 
 Illustrated by a Narrative of a few Days’ Sport in the Forest of Atlioll, with 
 some Account of the Nature and Habits of the Deer, and a short Description of 
 the Scotch Forests, their Legends aud Superstitions, Stories of Freebooters 
 Poachers, &c. &c. 
 
 By WILLIAM SCROPE, Esq., F.L.S. 
 
 With 12 Illustrations from the Drawings and Paintings of Edwin and 
 Ciias. Landsp.br, it.A. Royal 8vo., 21 . 2*. 
 
 
sot sansjmra.'E’ 5 © a.ss’2' ©sr ssnw ®@©iss s &®, $ 
 
 THE LIFE OF LORD ANSON, 
 
 THE CIRCUMNAVIGATOR OF THE GLOBE, 
 
 With a Supplementary Chapter on the actual Stale of the British Navy, 
 
 By SIR JOHN BARROW, Bart., F.R.S. 
 
 PRINTED CNIKORMI.Y WITH “ UARROw’s LIKE OK HOWE.” 
 
 Portrait. 8vo., 12*. 
 
 FllAN Cl A’S REIGN OF TERROR; 
 
 THE CONTINUATION OF LETTERS ON PARAGUAY. 
 By J. P. and W. P. ROBERTSON. 
 
 Post 8vo., 10?. 6d. 
 
 LETTERS ON PARAGUAY; 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF A FOUR YEARS’ RESIDENCE IN THAT REPUBLIC, 
 Under the Government of the DICTATOR FRANCIA. 
 
 By J. P. and W. P. ROBERTSON. 
 
 A New Edition , 2 vols. Post 8vo., 21s. 
 
 TRAVELS IN THE HIMALAYAN PROVINCES OF 
 HINDOSTAN AND THE PAN JAB, 
 
 In Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kahal, Kunduz, and Bokhara. 
 By Mr. WILLIAM MOORCROFT and Mr.GEORGE TREBECK. 
 
 Prepared for the Press from Original Journals and Correspondence. 
 
 By HORACE IIAYMAN WILSON, M.A., F.R.S., 
 
 Professor of Sanscrit in the University of Oxford. 
 
 With Illustrations and a Map, by John Auuowsmith. 
 
 2 vols. 8vo. Nearly ready. 
 
 ELEMENTS OF THE PATHOLOGY OF THE 
 HUMAN MIND. 
 
 By THOMAS MAYO, M.D., F.R.S., 
 
 FELLOW OK THE COLLEGE OK PHYSICIANS; AND LATE KBI.LUW OK ORIEL COLLEGE, 
 
 OXFORD. 
 
 Fcap. 8vo., 5s. Gd. 
 
&• 
 
 ! »=■- ■■■ : - - - — 
 
 4* mTsm.m&'Z 9 ® 2*11 ©^ ©if 2b®®ik© 
 
 ESSAYS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT DISEASES 
 OF WOMEN. 
 
 Part I.—PUERPERAL FEVER. 
 
 By ROBERT FERGUSON, M.D., 
 
 Physician to the General Lying-in Hospital; Lecturer on the Diseases of Women 
 and Children, and Obstetric Medicine, King’s College, London; Fellow of the 
 Royal College of Physicians. 
 
 Post 8vo., 9$. 6d . 
 
 HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE 
 ROMAN EMPIRE. 
 
 By EDWARD GIBBON. 
 
 An entirely New Edition. 
 
 Edited, with Notes, by the Rev. H. H. MILMAN. 
 
 Vol. XI. illustrated with Historical Maps ; to be completed in Twelve Volumes 8vo. 
 
 DISPATCHES AND CORRESPONDENCE OF HIS GRACE 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 Edited by LIEUT.-COLONEL GURWOOD. 
 
 The Twelfth and Last Volume. 
 
 Containing the Battle of Waterloo and the Convention of Paris. 
 
 8vo., 20s. 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 FROM THE PEACE OF UTRECHT TO THE PEACE OF AIX-LA- 
 CHAPELLE. 
 
 By LORD MAHON. 
 
 The Third and Last Volume. 
 
 8vo., 18$. 
 
 THE PROGRESS AND PRESENT POSITION OF 
 RUSSIA IN THE EAST. 
 
 A New Edition. Map. 8vo., 9$. Cut. 
 
V-/ 
 
 2S5 WIUII IFIEUggo 
 
 THE OBJECT AND EFFECT OF THE OATH IN THE 
 
 ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL CONSIDERED: 
 
 WITH 
 
 Observations upon the Doctrine of certain Irish Authorities with respect to Tithes; 
 and on the Policy of a Concordat with the See of Rome. 
 
 With an Appendix. 
 
 By THE Rt. IIon. Sir ROBERT WILMOT HORTON, Br., G.C.H. 
 
 8vo. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS IN REPLY TO A PAMPHLET BY 
 THE REV. RICHARD JONES, 
 
 Entitled " Remarks on the Manner in which TITHES should be assessed 
 to the POOR RATE.’’ 
 
 By WILLIAM BLAKE Esq., FRS. 
 
 MR. MURRAY’S LIST OF BOOKS 
 
 IN THE PRESS. 
 
 THE GEOLOGY OF THE SILURIAN REGION, OR 
 
 BORDER COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES, 
 
 Comprehending a Description and Classification of the Older Rocks, with Notices 
 and Sections of the Coal-fields, &c. &c. 
 
 By RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON, Esq., F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President of the Geological Society. 
 
 2 Vols., Royal 4to.,with large Geological Map, Views, Coloured Sections, and 
 numerous Plates of Organic Remains. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE POPES OF ROME, 
 
 THEIR CHURCH AND STATE, 
 
 DURING THE XVIth AND XVIItii CENTURIES. 
 
 Translated from the German of LEOPOLD IIANKE. 
 
 3 Vols. 8vo. 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERARY HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE 15th, 16th, and 17th CENTURIES. 
 
 By HENRY IIALLAM, Esq. 
 
 Vols. II., III., and IV., 8vo., completing the Work. 
 
 THE AGAMEMNON OF ^ESCHYLUS. 
 
 A new Edition of the Text, with Critical, Explanatory, and Philological Notes ; 
 designed for the use of Students in the Universities. 
 
 By the Rf.v. THOMAS WILLIAMSON PEILE, M.A., 
 
 Senior Fellow and Tutor in the University of Durham, and formerly Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge. 
 
 8vo. 
 
 
ft 
 
 
 ECT SSSWIEIE^^S ®3F ©®©IK© 
 
 THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 
 By THOMAS FOWELL BUXTON, Esq. 
 
 8vo. 
 
 GOETHE’S THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 Translated from the German. * 
 
 By CHARLES LOCK EASTLAKE, R.A. 
 
 8vo. 
 
 *' It is not the Translator’s intention, nor does he pretend to be competent to defend tins theory 
 in all its bearings. He is aware that men qf science in onr own country and in Germany have 
 objected to certain conclusions in it. These, however, cannot invalidate the truth of the experi¬ 
 ments ; and, as he has never met with an artist acquainted with the work who did not admit its great 
 utility, he conceived that he might do some service to his profession by translating it.” 
 
 A NEW BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY 
 
 UPON A LARGE SCALE, 
 
 Combining accuracy of statement and method with lmdiness in style, so as to 
 furnish at once a trustworthy book of reference, and a large collection of instructive 
 and amusing reading. No party or sectarian feelings or prejudices will be allowed 
 to interfere; and though the illustrious persons of our own country, whether dead or 
 living, must of course be treated at greater length than others, such space shall be 
 given to all really great names, that the English Student may henceforth be inde¬ 
 pendent of foreign repositories. 
 
 The Publisher, considering that the First Number of a Work of this kind will 
 alone afford subscribers a true insight into its nature and character, refers them to 
 it rather than to a mere Prospectus, in order to form an opinion of this undertaking, 
 which he has commenced with a determination of producing a work superior in 
 literary merit to any Biographical Dictionary yet published. 
 
 The Work will appear in Monthly Parts, and will probably extend to 20 or 25 
 closely-printed Volumes. 
 
 *** Communications, suggestions, and proposals, addressed to the Editors, will be 
 welcomed with every attention and consideration. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE 
 ROMAN EMPIRE. 
 
 By EDWARD GIBBON. 
 
 An entirely New Edition. 
 
 Edited, with Notes, by the Rev. H. H. MILMAN. 
 
 Vol. XII., illustrated with Historical Maps, will complete the Work. 
 
 8vo. 
 
 THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES. 
 
 Edited, with English Notes, and adapted to the Use of Universities and Schools. 
 
 By THOMAS MITCHELL, A.M. 
 
 forming No. V. of <( Mitchell’s Plays of Aristophanes,” Svo. 
 
uss irais jpiEsss, 
 
 A SURVEY OF PAST AND PROSPECTIVE CHANGES 
 
 IN THE LAW AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS OF ENGLAND. 
 
 By JOHN MILLER, of Lincoln’s Inn. 
 
 8vo. 
 
 A NEW GREEK GRAMMAR, 
 
 FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS. 
 
 Hy the Rev. CHARLES WORDSWORTH, M.A., 
 
 Late Student and Tutor of Christ Church, Oxford; Second Master of Winchester 
 College. 12mo. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE 
 OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 A JOURNEY FROM VIENNA, THROUGH STYRIA, ILLYRIA, AND 
 ISTRIA, TO TRIESTE AND POLA. 
 
 By PETER EVAN TURNBULL, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A. 
 
 2 vols. 8vo, 
 
 A HAND-BOOK FOR TRAVELLERS 
 
 IN DENMARK, NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND RUSSIA. 
 With Map and Plans. Post 8vo. 
 
 A HAND-BOOK for TRAVELLERS in FRANCE. 
 
 Post 8VO. 
 
 BUENOS AYRES, AND THE PROVINCES OF 
 LA PLATA. 
 
 By SIB WOODBINE PARISH, K.C.H., 
 
 MANY YEARS H. M. CHARGE D AFFAIRES IN THAT REPUBLIC. 
 
 With a Map, by Arrowsmith, and Plates. 8vo. 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE BRITISH POETS; 
 
 WITH 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL NOTICES, AND AN ESSAY ON 
 ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 By THOMAS CAMPBELL, Esq., Author of the 
 • “Pleasures of Hope.” 
 
 Second Edition. Beautifully printed. 8vo. 
 
 
 
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, 
 
 FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE EXTINCTION OF 
 PAGANISM IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 
 
 By the Rev. H. H. MILMAN. 
 
 • 3 vols. 8vo. 
 
 THE LIFE OF GIBBON, 
 
 WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. 
 Edited by the Rev. H. H. MILMAN. 
 
 One Volume, 8vo., uniform with Milman’s Gibbon. 
 
 DOMESTIC SCENES IN RUSSIA; 
 
 IN A SERIES OF LETTERS DESCRIBING A YEAR’S RESIDENCE 
 IN THAT COUNTRY, CHIEFLY IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 By the Rev LISTER VENABLES, M A. 
 
 Post 8vo. Ready. 
 
 A HAND-BOOK for TRAVELLERS in GREAT 
 BRITAIN. 
 
 Post 8vo. 
 
 A NEW CLASSICAL DICTIONARY 
 
 OF ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY, HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, AND 
 
 GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 ON AN IMPROVED PLAN. 
 
 Brought up to the knowledge of the present time, and including the Researches and 
 Discoveries of the German Scholars and Archaeologians. 
 
 One closely printed volume, 8vo. 
 
 In preparation. 
 
 =* 
 
i7#o