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HINTS 
 
 
 TO 
 
 EMIGRANTS; 
 
 IN A 
 
 SERIES OF LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM BELL, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGATION 
 PERTH, UPPER CANADA. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH A MAP AND PLANS. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 PRINTED FOR WAUGH AND INNES. 
 
 M.DCCC.XXIV. 
 
 ft 
 
 ft 
 
PRINTED BY A- BALFOUR AND CO. 
 
 A 
 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 The following sheets are submitted to 
 public inspection, chiefly with a view to 
 inform and assist those who are desirous 
 of emigrating to Canada. Many accounts 
 have of late appeared describing this im- 
 portant and rising colony ; but the travel- 
 ler has generally described the route from 
 Quebec to Montreal ; from Montreal to 
 Kingston ; from Kingston to York ; from 
 York to Niagara ; from Niagara to Am- 
 herst or Detroit, without ever having seen 
 the back settlements. Now it is evident 
 that, to the emigrant, these must be of the 
 highest importance, because one or other of 
 them will, in all probability, be in future 
 his place of residence. The Military Set- 
 tlements, particularly described in these let- 
 ters, have had much of the attention and 
 care of Government, and now contain a 
 large and increasing population. It is hoped, 
 the account here given of these settlements, 
 will be of use to the British public, as it is 
 the result of daily observation and expe- 
 rience. during a residence of six years, in 
 
W7 1 
 
 iv 
 
 which time the writer visited not only the 
 whole of these settlements, but almost eve- 
 ry other part of the province. 
 
 The writer has no wish either to encou- 
 rage or discourage emigration, being con- 
 vinced that every person ought to judge 
 and choose for himself. Success, in every 
 part of the world, depends much upon pru- 
 dence and good management. Those who 
 emigrate with foolish and unreasonable ex- 
 pectations arejgenerally disappointed, while 
 those who make wise arrangements, and 
 pursue their object with persevei'ing indus- 
 try, as generally succeed. 
 
 That emigrants may be fully aware of 
 the difficulties they have to encounter, an 
 account of the voyage to Montreal, and of 
 the journey to Perth, is also laid before 
 them. Many expect, that when they ar- 
 rive at Quebec the difficulty is over, but 
 they may rest assured, that unless they are 
 carried up the country at the expense of 
 Government, their journey to their land, in 
 the Upper Province, will cost them as much 
 as their voyage. That all who are propos- 
 ing, from good motives, to leave their na- 
 tive country, may be directed by the wis- 
 dom which cometh from above, and be en- 
 abled to bring health, prosperity, and espe- 
 cially religion, along with them, is the sin- 
 cere wish of the 
 
 Author. 
 
 a 
 
u 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 My Dear Sir, 
 
 When I took leave of you, a short time be- 
 fore I left my native country, you requested me 
 to write you an account of my voyage to Canada, 
 of the new settlements to which I was going, and 
 especially of the state of religion in the colony, 
 together with any thing else that might appear 
 interesting. Though this was delayed it was not 
 forgotten, and I now proceed to obey your com- 
 mands. 
 
 You know that, in consequence of a petition 
 addressed to the Associate Presbytery of Edin- 
 burgh, by a number of Presbyterians settled at 
 I erth, in upper Canada, I was, early in the 
 spring of 181?, ordained as their minister. My 
 family having arrived at Leith, and all beino- 
 ready for our departure, on Saturday the 5th of 
 April, we proceeded to the shore with a number 
 of our friends. A gentleman belonging to the 
 customhouse, though a stranger to us, had the 
 kindness to offer the cutter to put us on board 
 
J 
 
 2 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 the ship, which lay at anchor about two miles 
 from the shore. She was called the Rothiemur- 
 chus, and commanded by Captain Watson. 
 
 My reason for sailing from Leith instead of 
 Greenock was this : I had been preaching in 
 Edinburgh and Leith for some months before I 
 embarked, by which I got acquainted with the 
 owner of the Rothiemurchus, whose son was the 
 Captain ; and, expecting to be more comfortable 
 with him than with an entire stranger, I was in- 
 duced to sail from this port. 
 
 Our feelings at this moment may be more ea- 
 sily conceived than I can describe them. Leav- 
 ing our native country, perhaps for ever — having 
 a numerous family of young children — and going 
 to a part of the world where we had not a single 
 acquaintance, were all calculated to produce seri- 
 ous reflections. Mrs. Bell and the children dis- 
 covered some emotion, but, upon the whole, they 
 supported themselves under this trial of their for- 
 titude better than I expected. Having taken an 
 affectionate leave of our friends on the shore, we 
 proceeded with a few who accompanied us to the 
 ship. In half an hour we were on board. Here 
 we found the Rev. Mr. Taylor arid his family, 
 who were proceeding with us to Canada. 
 
 All on board was hurry and bustle, getting 
 ready for sailing. The passengers, young and 
 old, amounting to 105, were all on board. Some 
 appeared lively and cheerful — some thoughtful 
 and serious — while a few, by the tears which they 
 shed, showed that they were not leaving their 
 country and their friends without a struggle. At 
 five in the evening the Captain came on board, 
 and gave orders to get ready for proceeding. 
 Before six we had weighed anchor and were un- 
 der sail with a fair wind. But in half an hour it 
 came round to the east, and blew rather fresher; 
 
 6 
 
 Q 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 3 
 
 so that about seven we were forced to come to 
 anchor, not far from the place we had just left. 
 
 About half an hour before we sailed, a messen- 
 ger at arms came on board with a warrant, to ap- 
 prehend, and carry ashore, a man who had forgot- 
 ten to discharge his debts before he came away. 
 But, after searching half an hour below, with a 
 lighted candle, he was forced to return disap- 
 pointed. After he was gone, the man he had 
 been seeking crawled out of the coal-hole below 
 the lower deck, to the no small astonishment of 
 his fellow-passengers ; many of whom congratu- 
 lated him on his narrow escape from the hands 
 of justice. 
 
 We now proceeded to examine the accommo- 
 dations which the ship afforded. These were not 
 of the first order. She was fitted for the timber 
 trade, and had no cabin except a small one on 
 the quarter deck, called by seamen a roundhouse ; 
 but as there was a good deal of room between 
 decks, and as we were not overcrowded with pas- 
 sengers, we expected, at this season of the year, 
 to make a tolerable shift. Mr. Taylor and I had 
 engaged a part at the stern, in which were the 
 two windows which usually light the cabin. For 
 this part we paid <£120. The Captain had en- 
 gaged to divide it from the rest of the ship by a 
 temporary partition ; this however he never per- 
 formed. 1 
 
 On each side of the ship were ranged two tiers or 
 stories of bed-births; the passengers providing their 
 
 own bedding. Along the open space in the nfiddle 
 were placed two rows of large chests, which were 
 sometimes used as tables, and at other times as 
 seats. When evening approached, a good deal 
 ot noise and confusion took place before all the 
 passengers were arranged in their births; and 
 the Captain was obliged to interpose his autho. 
 
 £ 2 
 
■ z 
 
 i LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 rity, and to determine which bed every one was 
 to have. This was an arrangement which ought 
 to have been made sooner, and the want of it oc- 
 casioned much unnecessary trouble, both to the 
 Captain and passengers. We now began to 
 feel what it was to be at sea with so much com- 
 pany. The crying of the children, the swearing 
 of the sailors, and the scolding of the women who 
 had not got the beds they wanted, produced a 
 concert in which it was difficult to discover any 
 harmony. Its disagreeable effect was heightened 
 by the darkness of the night, and the rolling of 
 the ship ; which, at this time, began to be agitat- 
 ed by a sea somewhat rough. I almost envied 
 the happiness of many a poor but pious cottager, 
 who, at that moment, at his peaceful fireside, and 
 surrounded by his family, was worshipping the 
 God of his fathers — a privilege which we could 
 not then enjoy. 
 
 Next morning, which was Sabbath, I got up 
 at seven, and found that we w'ere still at anchor. 
 The wind was easterly, and blowing a fine breeze, 
 so that numbers began to be affected with sea- 
 sickness. I had agreed with both the captain 
 and the passengers, that we should have worship 
 morning and evening every day, and preaching 
 on Sabbath. This morning we met at eight 
 o’clock for w r orship, for the first time, the bustle 
 and confusion having prevented us the evening 
 before. Most of the passengers and sailors at- 
 tended, and behaved with the greatest propriety, 
 with the exception of two young gentlemen who 
 were passengers, and two or three of the sailors, 
 who were not a little amused with the idea of 
 having worship on board a ship, and wished to 
 turn it into ridicule. But as they observed there 
 was a great majority against them, they soon 
 composed themselves, and behaved like the rest. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 5 
 
 The manner of our worship, not only at this 
 time, but during the whole passage, was this : 
 A few verses of a hymn or psalm were read out, 
 and sung by the whole assembly ; a portion of 
 Scripture was read, and then Mr. Taylor or I 
 engaged in prayer, the one in the morning and 
 the other in the evening. 
 
 After breakfast I began to be sick; but, by 
 the advice of a sailor, I took a draught of salt 
 water, which operated as an emetic, and I soon 
 got better. As we had made an arrangement for 
 preaching twice every Sabbath, I was just about 
 to commence, when the Captain requested me to 
 defer it till the afternoon, as he wished the pas- 
 sengers’ luggage put below and the decks cleared. 
 With this request we found it necessary to com- 
 ply. Most of the passengers observed the Sab- 
 bath as decently as circumstances would permit ; 
 but the sailors were hard at work, stowing away 
 chests, or fastening them down to the lower deck, 
 a good part of the day. But what annoyed us 
 more than even this, was the arrival of boats 
 from the shore with persons, who brought liquors 
 on board, that they might have a parting glass 
 with their friends. Of this the sailors were al- 
 ways sure to have their shares, so that before 
 dinner-time, some of them were quite intoxi- 
 cated. 
 
 In the afternoon, the necessary arrangements 
 being made, Mr. Taylor preached between decks. 
 All the passengers, and most of the sailors, at- 
 tended. Not an instance of levity was observed 
 during the whole time, excepting in the conduct 
 of the young gentlemen above alluded to. At 
 six we met again for worship. The evening was 
 delightful, and my feelings at the moment were 
 such as I am not able to describe. The service 
 in which we were engaged, the sight of our na- 
 
6 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 tive shore, which in a few hours we were to 
 leave, perhaps for ever, and the recollection that 
 many prayers had, in the course of the day, 
 been presented to God in our behalf, both by 
 churches and individuals, produced emotions of 
 an unusual nature. 
 
 At five next morning, we weighed anchor, and 
 set sail with a fair wind. The morning was fine, 
 and the ebbing tide in a few hours carried us out 
 of the river. During the day, the wind, though 
 light, continued favourable, and we had, literal- 
 ly speaking, a pleasure sail. Every heart was 
 light, and every face wore a smile. Some were 
 reading the books they had the precaution to 
 take along with them ; some conversing about 
 their prospects in America, or the friends they 
 were leaving behind; and, between decks, a 
 party of young people were dancing a good part 
 of the day. As we scudded rapidly along, the 
 coast of Fife, with its numerous towns and well- 
 cultivated fields, was soon left far behind. About 
 sunset we were opposite to Stonehaven, and be- 
 fore midnight passed Aberdeen; but as I bad 
 retired to rest, I had not an opportunity of see- 
 ing the Guid Town . 
 
 On the following morning, which was the 8th 
 of April, I was awakened at an early hour, by 
 the violent motion of the ship, and an unusual 
 bustle on deck. On getting up, I found that we 
 were likely to have dancing enough against our 
 will- A gale blew from the north-west, the sea roar- 
 ed and foamed around us, the passengers became 
 sick, and every thing began to wear a discouragincr 
 aspect. As we entered the Murray Frith, things 
 began to grow worse and worse. Both wind and 
 sea increased ; two-thirds of our people were sick, 
 and in a very uncomfortable condition. Conster- 
 nation and alarm were soon visible in every coun- 
 
 a 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 7 
 
 tenance ; children were crying, and women wring- 
 ing their hands, and wishing they had remained 
 at home. What a change a short time produces ! 
 Fiddling and dancing were never once pro- 
 posed. 
 
 The aspect of the sea in a storm is truly grand, 
 though a sense of danger seldom allows one to 
 contemplate it with pleasure. Our ship had little 
 ballast, and mounted on the waves like a feather. 
 But sometimes a head sea broke over her with a 
 shock that made every one stagger, and swept 
 the deck of every thing moveable. The gale 
 continued all day, and about sunset it began to 
 blow more violently than before. The sea roar- 
 ed, and ran tremendously high. The ship rolled 
 so much, that we were often dashed from one 
 side of our beds to the other, with great violence. 
 She sometimes lay so long on one side, that I fear- 
 ed she would never rise more. Those who had 
 young children, found it difficult to avoid crush- 
 ing them to death in their beds. About midnight 
 a woman lately married was taken with premature 
 labour, and added much to the horror of the scene 
 by her dismal cries. But before morning she was 
 safely delivered of a male child, and in a few days 
 was as well as before. The surgeon's situation, 
 during her labour, was scarcely less embarrassing 
 than her own. He was several times thrown 
 down by the violent motion of the ship, and at 
 one time the birth in which she lay, went to pieces 
 with a crash, which made some people think that 
 the good Rothiemurchus herself had uttered her 
 last groan. 
 
 After a sleepless night, in which we received 
 many a bruise, and uttered many a groan, the 
 morning of the 9th brought us little comfort. On 
 getting up, I was informed that a squall had car- 
 ried away our main-yard, and damaged the rigging. 
 
s 
 
 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 and that we were on our way back to Leith to 
 refit. The ship was going smoother, it is true; 
 for she was going with the wind ; but the gale 
 was not in the least abated. What a sight was 
 now presented between decks ! Clothes, and ves- 
 sels of all descriptions; spoons, knives, broken 
 bottles, basons, and jugs, shoes and hats, with 
 provisions of all sorts, were strewed over the 
 decks, or lying in promiscuous heaps. At one time, 
 when the ship lay on her side, several of the 
 chests, though strongly lashed to the deck, broke 
 from their moorings, and, in their progress down- 
 wards, carried destruction to every thing on which 
 they happened to fall. The temporary births, 
 made of rough boards for the passengers’ beds, 
 cracked so much during the storm, that many 
 thought the ship herself was going to pieces. 
 Lvery now and then we were alarmed by a sea 
 breaking over us, and pouring down by the hat- 
 ches, which could not be entirely shut, for fear of 
 suffocating the people below. 
 
 Alter breakfast, we left the Murray Frith 
 passed Peterhead, and proceeded to the south! 
 ward. Having arrived at the mouth of the Dee, 
 the river on which Aberdeen is situated, the Cap- 
 tam directed the first mate to stand off and on 
 till he went ashore to try if he could procure a 
 mainyard at that place. The wind was north- 
 west, and the hills covered with snow ; the wea- 
 ther was cold, and we were continually assailed 
 w.th showers of rain and sleet. We could not 
 meet for worship as usual, most being sick, and 
 no one able to stand on deck. We had been told 
 that a passage round the north of Scotland was 
 generady disagreeable, but did not expect to find 
 it hair 60 bad. 
 
 On the 10th, the wind and weather became a 
 little more moderate. About mid-day, the Cap- 
 
 a 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 9 
 
 tain returned with a mainvard dragging behind 
 the boat, and, as soon as it was taken on board, 
 we bent our course once more to the northward. 
 But the wind being still against us, we found 
 necessary to stand out to sea during the night. 
 
 On the morning of the 11th, finding that we 
 were a great way to sea, we put about, and 
 stood for the shore, which, when we reached, we 
 found that we had not advanced an inch to the 
 northward. We were mostly all sick, and in a 
 very uncomfortable condition. 
 
 Next day we found things no better, the wind 
 being still a-head. Many were sick ; some were 
 grumbling about the provisions ; and others won- 
 dering at their own folly in leaving a comfortable 
 home to engage in such a dangerous undertaking. 
 But they were in greater danger than they were 
 aware, for in the course of the day the ship had 
 a narrow escape from destruction by fire. A 
 party of the passengers found their own provi- 
 sions. One of them was melting tallow in a pot, 
 when it caught fire, and the flame rising to a 
 great height, the ship would have been in a blaze, 
 had not the Captain heaved the pot, tallow and 
 all, into the sea. With this I shall conclude the 
 history of the first week of my voyage, express- 
 ing my hope that it may afford more pleasure to 
 you in reading than to me in writing. The re- 
 collection of the uncomfortable situation in which 
 we were then placed, still presents a gloomy pic- 
 ture to my mind* 
 
3 
 
 10 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 During the night the gale having increased, we 
 had, on the morning of the 13th, several squalls, 
 which produced some alarm, though we carried 
 very little sail. The wind being still from the 
 north, the motion of the ship was violent and 
 sickening. Though it was Sabbath, we had no 
 sermon on board, the storm being so great, that 
 no person could keep his place without holding 
 fast. For myself, I was very sick, and compelled 
 to keep my bed the whole day. Some were now, 
 however, getting clear of their sickness, and able 
 to move about. At sea it is easy to discover the 
 natural disposition of your fellow-travellers. They 
 soon lay aside all reserve. Our passengers were 
 now seen in their proper characters. Some con- 
 ducted themselves as seriously and consistently as 
 the last Sabbath, while others were more pro- 
 fligate and regardless. 
 
 The morning of the 14th was fine, and I rose 
 refreshed with a good sleep. The wind had fallen 
 during the night, the sea was becoming calm, and 
 all our passengers were well, and hungry for their 
 breakfast. This being dispatched, the Captain 
 gave orders to prepare and rig our new main 
 yard, a work which had hitherto been prevented 
 by the storm. In a few minutes as many car- 
 penters (passengers) as could get round it, were 
 at work. About two P. M. it was finished, and 
 in its place, and from that time till six in the even- 
 ing we sailed with a fine favourable breeze. But 
 when we entered the Murray Frith, the wind 
 veered to the north-west as before, and began to 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 11 
 
 blow a gale, so that we were obliged to stand out 
 to sea during the night, carrying very little 
 sail. 
 
 After a rough and tempestuous night, in which 
 sleep was out of the question, we, on the morning 
 of the 15th, tacked and made for the shore. On 
 the appearance of land, it was found that we had 
 drifted to the southward, and were still between 
 Aberdeen and Peterhead. As the gale increased, 
 we carried but little sail, and stood to the north- 
 east during the whole day. The weather was 
 cold and boisterous, and the sea running moun- 
 tains high. W e now suffered excessively, both 
 from sickness and the rolling of the ship. No 
 ease was to be obtained, either in bed or out 
 of it ; and we were often dashed from the one 
 side to the other with the greatest violence. 
 
 In the course of the following night the storm 
 continued with unabated fury ; our beds crack- 
 ed frightfully; and every thing moveable was 
 dashed from its place. In the morning of the 
 16th we tacked and stood for the shore, or rather 
 drove before the storm, for it had now become so 
 violent that sailing was out of the question. In- 
 deed not a sail was up, except a stay sail to steady 
 the ship. But after all we could do, it rolled ex- 
 cessively ; its side being exposed to a heavy sea, 
 which frequently broke over it, and swept every 
 thing moveable from the deck. One of these seas 
 had nearly carried a sailor overboard, but he got 
 hold of something just in time to save himself. 
 Two or three of the passengers had also very nar- 
 row escapes. I could have enjoyed the sublime 
 aspect, which the sea at this time presented, could 
 I have obtained a firm station from which to view 
 it, but the violent vibrations of the ship produced 
 so much corporeal uneasiness, that the mind could 
 enjoy nothing. The waves, capped with foam, 
 b 6 
 
12 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 resembled hills covered with snow, and separated 
 by green valleys. The storm continued all day, 
 attended with hail and rain : the passengers spent 
 their time below, some of them as quiet as pos- 
 sible, and others, either grumbling about the bad- 
 ness of the provisions, or groaning under the in- 
 fluence of uneasy feelings. The provisions, in- 
 deed, were none of the best, and produced much 
 altercation in the course of the voyage. The 
 bread, by the Captain himself, was admitted to be 
 more than a year old, and the beef much older : 
 indeed I have never seen any thing like the latter 
 presented to human beings. The pork, however, 
 was tolerable ; and the oatmeal, of which there 
 was a considerable quantity on board, was excel- 
 lent. The first complaints about the beef were 
 made to the cook, who was a cross, ill-natured, 
 old man, and swore shockingly. He treated them 
 in a very unceremonious way ; and it was painful 
 to hear the language used on the occasion. For 
 some time after this storm of human passions, the 
 old man would not allow the female passengers to 
 approach the fire-place, to prepare food for their 
 children, and kicked some who dared to disobey 
 his mandates. 
 
 On the morning of the 17th we found ourselves 
 near a rugged, rocky shore, a few miles to the 
 south of Wick, in Caithness. The wind having 
 moderated the evening before, we had not only 
 got a sound sleep, but advanced a good many 
 miles during the night. Most of us were free 
 from sickness, and joy was visible in every coun- 
 tenance at the happy change in our circumstances. 
 
 I called the people together to worship, and we 
 offered our grateful adorations to that Being who 
 sets bounds to the raging of the sea, and hushes 
 the storm into a calm at his pleasure. I had 
 been using every endeavour, from the first day I 
 
 Cl 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 13 
 
 came on board, to get both the passengers and 
 crew to leave ofF swearing entirely. Though the 
 evil was not cured, it was evident that a reforma- 
 tion had taken place, or at least that some re- 
 straint had been imposed. I took this opportu- 
 nity of impressing upon the minds of all, the fol- 
 ly, the absurdity, and the wickedness of profane 
 swearing, and recommended, by every argument I 
 could think of, the benefit of laying it aside at 
 once. I reminded them of the disagreeable, and 
 even dangerous circumstances, in which we had 
 been placed for eight days past, and that some- 
 thing even worse might be awaiting us, if this 
 vice should be still indulged. As a great majo- 
 rity of the passengers not only heartily joined 
 with us in the performance of religious duties, but 
 in every endeavour to promote improvement 
 among the rest, our advices were not neglected. 
 From this time forward none were heard to swear, 
 except two or three of the sailors, and as many of 
 the passengers, who seemed to be altogether in- 
 curable, at least by the means in our power. All 
 day we continued beating to the northward, and 
 at sunset arrived at John-o’- Groat’s House, the 
 north-east point of the mainland of Scotland. The 
 tide not being favourable for entering the Pent- 
 land Frith, we resolved to remain where we were, 
 and hang on the wind till morning. All this 
 time the ruins of Johnny’s far-famed mansion 
 were full in view, on the side of a rocky hill near 
 the point. The building seems to have been of 
 small dimensions, and only parts of the walls are 
 now standing. It was resolved that we should 
 proceed to Stromness, a port in one of the Orkney 
 Isles, and there remain till the wind shifted, for 
 it was now directly in our teeth. 
 
 At three o’clock in the morning of the 18th, 
 we left John- o’- Groat’s House, and entered that 
 
li 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 sea of whirling and struggling waters, the Pent- 
 land Frith. Here the tide runs with inconceiv- 
 able fury, and having at this time to oppose the 
 wind, the conflict was tremendous. After we had 
 passed this dangerous strait, and got among the 
 islands, the sea became more tranquil. In our 
 course, we made many a tack, and were some- 
 times within the ship’s length of the rocks ; the 
 wind blew a strong breeze, the sea foamed, and 
 the rain fell in torrents; but both sailors and 
 passengers exerted themselves so well, that, under 
 the direction of the pilot, before noon, they 
 brought the ship to anchor in a spacious natural 
 harbour, in front of the town of Stromness. Some 
 ships were here before us, and others came after- 
 wards, all more or less damaged by the late gales. 
 We were quickly surrounded by boats, eager to 
 take the passengers on shore : being asked how 
 much they charged, they replied sixpence each 
 person; but a competition taking place, most got 
 a- shore for a penny. 
 
 Mr. Taylor and I w r ent a-shore, and waited 
 upon one of the ministers. He treated us with 
 civility, but appeared rather embarrassed, and 
 seemed pleased when we took our leave. We 
 then took a stroll through the town, and purchas- 
 ed a few articles of which we were in want. Most 
 of the houses are two stories high, are white- 
 washed on the outside, and have a very neat ap- 
 pearance when viewed from the harbour. But 
 we were much surprised to find that there was no 
 proper street, and that the houses w r ere not ar- 
 ranged in rows, but scattered about in all direc- 
 tions. The vacant spaces between them were 
 mostly paved with flat stones, wheel carriages, till 
 lately, having been unknown on these islands. 
 Provisions of all kinds, and peats for fuel, are 
 
UPPER CANADA. 15 
 
 brought from the country in hampers on the backs 
 of little horses. 
 
 We next took a walk into the country, and 
 called at several farm-houses, expecting to pro- 
 cure milk, but in this we were disappointed, for 
 none could be obtained. No wonder. Not a 
 blade of grass had yet appeared, and the crop of 
 last year was all consumed. T-he cattle of all 
 descriptions were in a very poor condition. Some 
 were gnawing the moss which covered their bar- 
 ren pastures, and others picking up the sea-weed 
 along the shore. The soil did not appear to be 
 naturally bad, but the natives seemed to ha\e 
 made but little progress in agriculture, drawing 
 the chief part of their subsistence from the fish- 
 ing. Their ploughs were composed of two crook- 
 ed sticks, put together in the rudest manner. 
 Had we not seen them in operation, we should 
 have supposed them useless ; but they performed 
 their work much better than could be expected. 
 We saw no thorn hedges, and scarcely a shrub or 
 tree of any description. The only enclosures we 
 observed were near the town, and these were sur- 
 rounded with walls of loose stones, or banks of 
 earth. The only grain they were sowing was 
 oats, and that of a very inferior kind. But 
 ploughing was the principal field operation going 
 forward, and this was chiefly managed by wo- 
 men, while the men were engaged in the fish- 
 ing. 
 
 The dwellings of the country people were for 
 the most part very homely mansions, through the 
 walls of which both wind and rain find easy ac- 
 cess. Yet this free admission of the air does them 
 no injury, as the fine fresh complexions of the 
 natives bear witness. On entering a farm-house, 
 we found a family, the very picture of health, 
 finishing a dinner of fish and eggs. They had 
 

 16 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 no bread, nor, as we afterwards learned, any- 
 thing to make it of. They invited us to a seat, 
 with an easy frankness, which at once gained our 
 confidence. W e soon found from their conver- 
 sation, that though they were poor ? they were not 
 ignorant. On looking round, we discovered that 
 the family was larger than we had supposed. In 
 one place lay a calf, in another a ewe with two 
 lambs, and in a third a hen was laying with great 
 composure. 
 
 On our return to the ship, we found that farm- 
 ers, from a distant part of the island, had been 
 there with a supply of provisions. Fowls they 
 sold at ninepence each, butter at ninepence a- 
 pound, and eggs fivepence a-dozen. They had 
 also a small quantity of milk, which they sold at 
 threepence a-quart, but no bread could be ob- 
 tained. Indeed, we were informed there had been 
 very little meal or flour in the island for several 
 months. This island, which is of considerable 
 extent, is called the Mainland of Orkney. It 
 was formerly called Pomona, in honour of the 
 goddess of fruit, but if her ladyship ever resided 
 here, it must have been at some very remote pe- 
 riod, as not a trace of her can now be discovered. 
 Kirkwall is the capital, and is distant from Strom- 
 ness nine miles. 
 
 On the 19th I made another excursion a few 
 miles into the country, but the road not being 
 good, I was forced to return. In two or three 
 places I observed women carrying manure in 
 baskets on their backs to enrich the land. This 
 is a circumstance mentioned by several writers, 
 but I considered it a joke. Most of the people I 
 met were stout, active, and fair complexioned. 
 As I passed the church-yard, I stept in to look at 
 the monuments of the dead. While thus employ- 
 ed, I was joined by the clergyman. He seemed 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 17 
 
 to be very sensible and intelligent, as most of the 
 Scottish clergy are. We took a walk along the 
 shore together, and when we parted, he invited 
 the Captain and me to call upon him at the manse 
 on the following evening. 
 
 On returning to the ship, I found that the re- 
 pairs and watering were nearly completed, but the 
 wind being still unfavourable, we could not move. 
 About twenty other vessels were now at anchor 
 near us, all repairing the injuries they had sus- 
 tained from the storm. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 The 20th of April being Sabbath, we requested 
 the Captain not to permit any work to be done on 
 board, excepting what was absolutely necessary. 
 With this request he complied. I preached in 
 the forenoon and Mr. Taylor in the afternoon, 
 when all the passengers and crew attended. In 
 the evening, the captain and I went ashore to wait 
 upon the minister, according to his request. He 
 met us at the door, and conducted us into the 
 garden, where, though there was nothing to be 
 seen, he kept us waiting till we were shivering 
 with cold. At last he conducted us into the house, 
 where we were received by his wife and some 
 other ladies, who were visitors, in a very stiff and 
 formal manner. The family was large, and lour 
 or five children present were so unruly and noisy, 
 that we could seldom hear one another speak. In 
 a short time tea was served up with great cere- 
 mony, but I observed with regret, that the good 
 old custom, generally followed in Scotland, of 
 
18 
 
 C7 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 asking a blessing on the refreshment we were to 
 receive, was dispensed with. 
 
 I had gone in the expectation of spending the 
 evening in an agreeable manner, hut the conver- 
 sation was so trifling that I felt not at all com. 
 lortable. Several times I attempted to introduce 
 something more suitable and serious, but it only 
 pioduced silence. Between seven and eight we 
 took our leave and returned, accompanied to the 
 shore by a young surgeon, whose profane lan- 
 guage was extremely disgusting. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st I went ashore again, 
 and had another ramble through the island, en- 
 ding the farm-houses and conversing with the 
 peopte. They appeared to be poor, but cheerful 
 d contented. In the mean time, the ship’s boat 
 was getting fresh water on board, which here is 
 
 X 'Tl'l • , pn u gS flow fro,n the hills > and every 
 where fall into the sea in the purest streams. 
 
 the co , urse of , t { le n 'gbt the wind having be- 
 come more favourable, we prepared, on the morn- 
 
 Th° tle 2 ^ d A Pfil, for leaving Stromness. 
 
 _ , r a sh ° wer »n the morning, followed by 
 
 sea till il° g ’ A hlCh ndered us from putting to 
 sea tfll the afternoon. In the mean time, how- 
 ever, we were employed warping out of the har- 
 boui, as the little wind we had blew directly in. 
 
 1 owards evening the fog cleared off, and proceed- 
 
 w.fh fifV SCa> PaSSed , the Ho J head in company 
 
 Am J? A?” VGSSels ’ most of tllem bound for 
 
 left m rn t Af ‘ er SUnSe ! the wind died away, and 
 
 in fromTl klng f m ° ng ‘ 16 Wave6 ’ which st ill rolled 
 in liom the western ocean. 
 
 dafon D i gh Ua co . ntinued calm , but about mid- 
 
 deed in i ~ 3d * r‘ eeZe Spmng U P‘ 11 was in ‘ 
 open sea W T S , dlrec,,on ’ but being now in the 
 pen sea, w e had room to tack. All day we stood 
 
 the north. As the breeze freshened^ and the 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 19 
 
 inotion of the ship increased, many became sick, 
 and despondency again took the place of cheer- 
 fulness. An inquiry was set on foot to ascertain 
 why the wind was generally against us. Some 
 imputed it to the man who had forgotten to pay 
 his debts, others to a party of smugglers who had 
 escaped from the clutches of the excise, but the 
 cook determined the question, by affirming in the 
 strongest manner, that it was the unchristened 
 child that occasioned our detention. Sailors are 
 often very superstitious, of which we had a strik- 
 ing instance in this man, who appeared firmly to 
 believe what he had asserted. The man, how- 
 ever, who owned the child did not ask for bap- 
 tism, and, if he had, some proceedings not usual 
 on board a ship must have been gone through. 
 He was one of the smuggling party, was a despe- 
 rate character, and it was discovered that he and 
 the mother of the child were not married, though 
 they had said they were when they came on board 
 the ship. The wind becoming fair about sunset, 
 we had a comfortable sleep, and all night ran 
 seven or eight miles an hour. 
 
 On the 24th we proceeded at the same rate. 
 As we advanced into the ocean, the colour of the 
 sea somewhat changed. Near the coast it had a 
 greenish cast, but in the ocean it had the appear- 
 ance of a deep blue. About mid-day we passed 
 the islands of Rona and Barra. We now found 
 ourselves in the western ocean, and, what was 
 worse, many of us sick. In the course of the af- 
 ternoon there was much grumbling among the 
 passengers about the provisions. A new act had 
 been passed a few weeks before we sailed, provid- 
 ing that a certain quantity of butter, flour, and 
 oatmeal, should be allowed to each passenger. 
 None of these articles had been served out ; and, 
 

 so 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 the beef and biscuit being too long kept, tile peo- 
 ple became quite dissatisfied. 
 
 On the 25th a rebellion was like to have bro- 
 ken out in the ship. The provisions formed the 
 one of contention ; the Captain persisting in his 
 refusal to serve out butter, flour, &c. according 
 to the provisions of the act. It was ascertained! 
 however, that before sailing he had been required 
 to lay in these articles, and that they had been ta- 
 ken on board accordingly. One of the passengers 
 produced a printed copy of the act, which he 
 handed about among the passengers. A meeting 
 was held, and a deputation appointed to wait up- 
 on the Captain and request that he would grant 
 them the allowance provided for them by the le- 
 gislature. But he denied that any such provision 
 had been made, and threatened to make their si- 
 tuation much worse than it had hitherto been. 
 Ihey offered to show him the copy of the act 
 w Inch they had got, but he refused to look at it, 
 
 ? r er f. < ?, t lem tf > * eave the quarter deck imme. 
 diately. This produced a serious fermentation, 
 
 sul Th Ven r >P ° Sed resortin g to violent meal 
 lhese ’ however, were rendered unneces- 
 sary by our worthy commander's order, to serve 
 out immediately a week's provisions, including but- 
 ter, flour, and oatmeal. This not only restored 
 peace but gave general satisfaction, these articles 
 
 T be “ f ‘fT 1 A < -on « 
 
 ere —0 miles west o i the Hoyhead. The wea- 
 ther was fine and the air mild. 
 
 A new difficulty arose on the 26'th. The dailv 
 allowance of soup hitherto furnished, was with? 
 held from the passengers, in consequence of their 
 d-pute with the Captain. Some of them to 
 him to remonstrate, but he not being in a listen- 
 ing humour, a serious altercation took place and 
 much threatening and abuse followed? J* had 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 21 
 
 been sick and in bed for some time, but after in- 
 quiring what was the matter, I went to the scene 
 of action, and having learnt the merits of the case, 
 proposed an accommodation, to which both par- 
 ties agreed, and we had little more difficulty on 
 that subject. The Captain, however, appeared to 
 be a good deal mortified, and during the rest ot 
 the passage, he was more harsh and unaccommo- 
 dating than before. This I considered very un- 
 generous, for though five or six of the passengers, 
 the smugglers to wit, had treated him in a very 
 unceremonious manner, yet the generality con- 
 ducted themselves with a degree of moderation 
 and submission that did them great credit. The 
 proposal for having recourse to violent measures, 
 they resisted with firmness, but in this, as in many 
 other cases, the innocent were punished and the 
 guilty escaped. From this time, the Captain sel- 
 dom attended our morning and evening worship, 
 and some even said that he wished to throw ob- 
 stacles in the way of others. 
 
 Be this as it may, on the morning of next day, 
 which was Sabbath, the 27th of April, the Captain 
 ordered all the beds and bedding to be brought 
 on deck and aired. As this was the first time 
 such an order had been given since we left Leith, 
 it excited both surprise and indignation. The 
 greater part of the passengers always wished to ob- 
 serve the Sabbath as it ought to be, and they con- 
 sidered this order as both unnecessary and insult- 
 ing, as it seemed to be calculated to prevent our 
 usual assemblies on that day. After some con- 
 versation, they requested me to speak to the Cap- 
 tain, and endeavour to persuade him to defer the 
 work till another time ; and to assure him that 
 they would willingly attend to it on Monday, or 
 any other day except Sabbath, which they wished 
 to devote to religious purposes. I delivered their 
 
22 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 message accordingly ; but the captain, having ta- 
 ken at least his usual allowance of grog, was not 
 in an accommodating humour. He told me that 
 he was determined to enforce the order, as the act 
 of Parliament required the beds to be aired, and 
 it was usual to have it done on Sabbath. I ob- 
 served, that it might be usual to have it done on 
 that day, but, as another day would answer equal- 
 ly well, I thought it would be better to comply 
 with the wishes of the passengers, and defer it till 
 Monday. They were at that moment met for the 
 purpose of engaging in our morning worship. It 
 was my turn to officiate, and I proceeded to per- 
 form my duty. Worship being over, the captain 
 came forward and made a speech, which was in- 
 tended to remove our scruples. Among other 
 things, he said, “ I have had as good a religious 
 education as any of you, though I have not al- 
 ways made a good use of it, and though I am not 
 so well up to religion as you, (directing a look to 
 Mr. Taylor and me,) I know that airing the beds 
 is a work of necessity, and I declare to God there 
 is no harm in it.” He then walked off, repeating 
 his order to turn out the beds and air them. A 
 few complied immediately, but the majority deter- 
 mined to wait till next day. About two hours 
 after, the captain ordered all the passengers off 
 the quar-terdeck, swearing, that as he was master 
 of his ship he was determined to have some re- 
 spect shown him. Those who had carried their 
 bedding on deck lost part of their blankets soon 
 after, by a sudden gust of wind, which_carried them 
 overboard. This served as a warning to the rest, 
 who took care to have theirs better secured. Mr. 
 Taylor preached in the forenoon, and I in the af- 
 ternoon. In the interval the sailors cleaned the 
 whole of the decks, and sprinkled them with vine- 
 gar. The cleaning of a ship is very necessary for 
 
 
 i 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 33 
 
 preserving the health of the passengers, but sure- 
 ly this work might be performed on any other day 
 rather than on the Sabbath. It is pleasing to ob- 
 serve the endeavours that are now making to im- 
 prove the moral and religious habits of seamen, for 
 really many of them are very wicked. 
 
 Next morning, the 28th, I was awakened by 
 the rolling of the ship, and a strong wind blow- 
 ing directly against us. We tacked and stood to 
 the north, but the motion of the ship was violent 
 and sickening. The sea was every hour growing 
 rougher, so that few could keep out of bed ; but 
 in the evening the wind shifted to the north, and 
 we got upon the right course once more. 
 
 The wind was fair on the 29th, but light and 
 unsteady. We went, however, six miles an hour 
 all day. A large herd of porpoises passed us, 
 tumbling along in a very odd manner. We saw, 
 soon after, a few of the birds called Mother Ca- 
 rey’s chickens. They resembled swallows at a 
 distance, but were much larger. The day was 
 fine, and every one cheerful and free from sick- 
 ness. 
 
 The wind was fair on the 30th, and we pro- 
 ceeded at the rate of seven miles an hour. There 
 were plenty of gulls flying about us, though we 
 were a great distance from l^nd in every direction. 
 At noon we were 751 miles west from Greenwich. 
 At a distance I observed something floating on 
 the water, and a number of gulls feeding at it. I 
 supposed it to be a dead fish, or, perhaps, the 
 body of some unfortunate seaman or luckless tra- 
 veller. 
 
 On the 1st of May, the wind again opposed us, 
 and we stood to the north. Numerous gulls were 
 flying about the ship and diving in the air, which 
 sailors consider portentous of a storm. The wea- 
 ther was cold and gloomy. 
 
T 
 
 ry 
 
 21 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 May 2, The wind was still west, and blowing so 
 hard that we could carry very little sail, and 
 many were sick from the violent rolling of the 
 ship. No sleep could be obtained in the night. 
 
 On May 3, we had another storm, so violent 
 that we could carry no sail at all. I have often 
 heard of the sea running mountains high. The 
 expression is doubtless a hyperbolical one, but if 
 ever it could be used with propriety in any case 
 I have witnessed, it might in this. The sea cer- 
 tainly had a frightful aspect. No provisions could 
 be cooked or served out; but, indeed, eating with 
 most of us was entirely out of the question. Here 
 I will take the liberty of concluding this letter, 
 which contains the history of two weeks of our 
 voyage. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Sabbath, May 4, was perhaps the most dismal 
 day we had during the voyage. We had both 
 snow and hail, and the storm was so great that we 
 could neither sit nor Stand, and there was no al- 
 ternative but to lie in bed. Even there no ease was 
 to be obtained, for we were knocked from one side 
 to the other till our sides ached. No cooking 
 could be accomplished, and no provisions were 
 served out, except rotten Dutch cheese, as bitter 
 as soot, and bread partly alive. Luckily we had 
 brought some provisions along with us, which 
 were of immense service on these occasions. About 
 noon the gale began to abate, though the swell 
 did not. The aspect of the sea was at this time 
 grand, to any who could contemplate it without 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 2j 
 
 terror. One moment we were placed upon an 
 eminence, from which we could see in all direc- 
 tions the waves curling their monstrous tops to 
 the sky. The next we descended into a gulf, 
 which seemed opening its mouth to swallow us up. 
 At sunset the wind was become quite moderate, 
 but the swell was still prodigious. During wor- 
 ship I was thrown down by the rolling of* the 
 ship, but not hurt. 
 
 After a very uncomfortable night, I had the 
 satisfaction to find, in the morning of the 6th, 
 that the wind was fair, and we were proceeding at 
 the rate of seven miles an hour. This continued 
 all day : the wind south-east, and the sea still con- 
 siderably agitated. 
 
 May 7. — After a good sleep I arose in the morn- 
 ing much refreshed. Health is sweet after sickness, 
 and rest alter toils. For some days past I had 
 not only been affected with sea-sickness, but in 
 other i espects was very unwell. Whenever we 
 had stormy weather, or a head- wind, as the sai- 
 lors call it, I was affected with a qualmish sick- 
 ness, a headach, and an aversion to food of every 
 kind ; and these symptoms always lessened or in- 
 creased with the roughness of the sea and the 
 rolling of the ship. The best remedy I found 
 was a little vinegar and sugar. Fourteen of our 
 passengers found their own provisions. Hitherto 
 they had the use of the fire I or cooking, but they 
 were now forbidden to come near it, the Captain 
 alleging this was an indulgence he had never pro, 
 unsed them ! 1 
 
 In the morning of May 8, we found that the 
 wind was still fair, but very light. I was well, 
 and had a good appetite, the swell being now great- 
 y abated The day was fine, and the sun shone 
 night. About noon we passed a quart-bottle 
 floating on the water. Perhaps it was the bearer 
 c 
 
^ 
 
 26 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 of a letter, but we could not persuade the Captain 
 to lower the boat and take it up, though we pass- 
 ed very near it. Our water for some time past 
 had been very bad. When it was drawn out of 
 the casks, it was no clearer than that ot a dirty 
 kennel alter a heavy shower of rain, so that its ap- 
 pearance alone was sufficient to sicken one. But 
 its dirty appearance was not its worst quality. It 
 had such a rancid smell, that, to be in the same 
 neighbourhood, was enough to turn one’s stomach: 
 Judge then, what its taste must have been. I 
 do not know what I would not have given at this 
 time for a draught of good water. What we 
 brought from Stromness was good to the last, but 
 what came from Leith was now horrid. The 
 stink it emitted was intolerable. Some said that 
 its being put in port-wine pipes was the reason it 
 was so bad ; others, that Leith water is always bad 
 after it has been some time at sea. But the boy 
 informed us that it had been in the casks near six 
 months. 
 
 On May 9, we had a light west wind. Many 
 of our passengers were seized with a dysentery, 
 in consequence of eating putrid fresh beef; I 
 mean some that was fresh when we left Leith, 
 five weeks ago. They were not allowed to taste 
 it till it was unfit for use, and then they were 
 made welcome to use it. Three or four seemed 
 almost in a dying condition, and were placed 
 under the doctor's care. 
 
 What took place on the 10th I cannot inform 
 you, as I was too sick to get out of bed. It 
 was a favourable circumstance, however, that 
 Mrs. Bell was a little better, so that she could 
 take care of the children. I would not be a 
 sailor for the world. A quiet life, and domestic 
 comfort, in the humblest cottage on land, are 
 preferable, in my estimation, to the best accom- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 2T 
 
 modations at sea. The agitation, the noise, and 
 the crowded state of a ship, are bad enough 
 when one is well, but sickness renders them 
 doubly disagreeable. 
 
 On the 11th, a light breeze sprung up from 
 the north-west, and we proceeded about three 
 miles an hour. The day was fine, but I did not 
 enjoy it, not being able to quit my bed. Mr. 
 Taylor preached to the people in the afternoon. 
 As I grew worse and worse, the doctor attended, 
 and gave me some medicine in the evening. 
 Of the Captain I saw nothing; but Mr. Rich- 
 mond, the first mate, paid me every attention in 
 his power, as indeed he had done to all the fa- 
 mily, during their protracted illness. But the 
 water was now in such an abominable state, that 
 our situation was very uncomfortable. I was 
 told that two sharks were seen near the ship, and 
 at some distance a whale was observed. 
 
 During the 12th, the wind was fair, though 
 light, and we sailed four miles an hour. Be- 
 ing something better, I sat up about an hour on 
 deck. We passed a Danish ship from St. 
 
 T homas, the first we had seen since we entered 
 the ocean. 
 
 The wind was still fair on the 13th, and 
 stronger, so that we sailed eight miles an hour. 
 The day was fine, and we were visited by two 
 kinds of birds, which I was told had been very 
 rare for about a week past. The one was a 
 large black kind, called by the sailors hoatswains y 
 the other gulls, which were fatter and heavier 0 
 than those we saw on the coast of Scotland. 
 
 On the 14th, the wind was so favourable that 
 we ran a hundred miles in twelve hours. I 
 felt considerably better ; but some of the female 
 passengers were seriously ill. The amusing phe- 
 nomenon, produced by the dashing of the salt 
 c 2 
 
 
ry 
 
 28 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 water against the bows of a ship, or any other 
 opposing object, was seen to great advantage in 
 the evening. The agitated water seemed to be 
 entirely on fire, and produced a very fine effect. 
 This was followed by showers of rain. 
 
 On the 15th we were surrounded with fog, 
 which indicated that we were near the banks of 
 Newfoundland. We sounded, but found no 
 bottom, with a line of 120 fathoms. Our pro- 
 gress was about five miles an hour. The fog 
 made the weather cold and uncomfortable. 
 
 At sunrise, on the 16th, we sounded, and 
 found the bottom with a line of 70 fathoms. 
 Two hours after we sounded again, and found 
 the bottom at 43 fathoms, a coarse gravel. 
 We tried to fish, but took nothing. At 9 
 A.M. a mass of ice appeared just a-head, about 
 two hundred yards distant. We instantly alter- 
 ed our course a little. The novelty of its ap- 
 pearance brought every person on deck, who 
 was able to get out of bed. It was of an oval 
 shape, and appeared to be half a mile in length. 
 W e had scarce time to look at it when another 
 and a larger mass was announced. It was as 
 high as our top mast, and probably reached near 
 the bottom of the sea. At a distance, it had 
 much of the appearance of North Berwick Law 
 in East Lothian. In the course of the day we 
 passed about thirty other masses, but none of 
 them large excepting four. They were all mov- 
 ing to the south-east, with a velocity which 
 showed that the current in this place is very 
 considerable. The air was cold, and the fog pre- 
 vented our seeing any thing more than a mile 
 from the ship. At 10 A.M. a whale was ob- 
 served blowing within a stone’s throw of our bow. 
 The alarm was instantly given, but he disap- 
 peared so quickly that we had just time to see 
 his back, which appeared like a black rock, be- 
 
w 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 fore he went down. In five minutes he was ob- 
 served blowing about a cable’s length from the 
 ship’s stern, but very little of him appeared above 
 water. About noon we shortened sail, and again 
 tried fishing, but were not very successful. Af- 
 ter fishing three hours, with five lines, we had 
 taken only twenty-two cod. These, however, 
 filled a barrel, and afforded a very seasonable re- 
 freshment. The sea is here smoother, and of a 
 more muddy colour than in the deeper parts of 
 the ocean. 
 
 On the 17th, being becalmed, we again tried 
 fishing, but were not more successful than on 
 the former day. We took only twelve fish. 
 When the sun grew hot, the fog cleared off, and 
 we had a very fine day. Two brigs were in 
 sights At a distance we observed a large mass 
 of ice, which we had passed in the night unob- 
 served, It had much the appearance of a great 
 castle in ruins. 
 
 Our residence on the banks of Newfoundland 
 continued longer than we wished, for the fog 
 was cold, and we were heartily tired of a sea 
 life. The wind was fair on the 18th, but so 
 light that we advanced only about four miles an 
 hour. The ship went so smoothly along, that 
 we could scarcely perceive her moving. Six ves- 
 sels were in sight. As we approached the en- 
 trance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they be- 
 came more numerous. As the fog cleared off, 
 we observed two large pieces of ice, that we had 
 passed in the night. We spoke a brig, nineteen 
 days from Cork, in Ireland. At that moment 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
ry 
 
 30 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 two whales were observed spouting the water to 
 a great height in the air, where it appeared like a 
 column of smoke. After spouting, they showed 
 their tail, and a great part of their back, above 
 water. After amusing us about half an hour, 
 they disappeared. The day was fine, and the 
 ship went so steadily, that we had sermon both 
 forenoon and afternoon. 
 
 The wind was fair and steady on the 19th, and 
 we ran eight miles an hour all day ; but the fog 
 was so close, that, in the evening, we were oblig- 
 ed to shorten sail, lest we should run among the 
 ice, or upon the coast of Newfoundland ; which 
 we were every moment expecting to see. Our 
 water was become so filthy, that it was a punish- 
 ment to be compelled to taste it; so that we were 
 anxiously looking for the termination of our pas- 
 sage. After sunset, we sounded in twenty-three 
 fathoms, on the tail of the Green Bank. 
 
 On the 20th, we steered for the channel be- 
 tween Cape Breton and Cape Ray, in cold wea- 
 ther and a thick fog. Judging that we were not 
 far from tbe coast of Newfoundland, sounded 
 several times, but found no bottom. 
 
 About ten o’clock on the 21st, we had a nar- 
 row escape from the ice. The wind being from 
 the north-west, we were steering for the coast 
 when we fell in with some large masses, about 
 forty miles east of Cape Ray, as we afterwards 
 learned. We put about instantly, but were so 
 near them that it was with difficulty we got clear 
 without damage. At this moment the coast of 
 Newfoundland was discovered, and we had it 
 some hours in view. But, being entirely covered 
 with snow, it had a very uninviting appearance. 
 The surface of the island appeared to be rocky, 
 rugged, and uneven; but we saw no hills of any 
 magnitude. Neither trees nor houses could be 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 31 
 
 seen ; a dreary waste extended as far as the eye 
 could reach. The shore was lined with masses 
 of ice ; and the cold was so intense that one could 
 seldom remain more than a few minutes on deck. 
 All day we steered to the westward, with a light 
 northerly breeze, keeping the coast upon our right. 
 In the afternoon the sky was clear, and the sun 
 shone bright, but it was still very cold. 
 
 At day-break on the 22d, we discovered the 
 island of Cape Breton, distant only five or six 
 miles. The coast, for several miles from the 
 shore, was lined with field-ice, or closely compact- 
 ed masses, which extended both north and south 
 as far as the eye could see. The island appeared 
 to be mountainous, rocky, and barren, and was 
 partially covered with snow. The wind being 
 northerly, it was very cold, and we made but lit- 
 tle progress. In the evening the wind died away, 
 and the air became mild and pleasant. During 
 the day we had seen several whales, and one of 
 them within fifty yards of the ship. Some of the 
 passengers being still dissatisfied about the provi- 
 sions, one of them filled a bottle with soup, which, 
 he said, he would carry to Quebec, where he in- 
 tended to make a complaint against the Captain, 
 for the manner in which he had treated us. He 
 said it was merely stinking water, in which stink- 
 ing beef had been boiled, which no dog would 
 taste unless he was starving. In the evening we 
 were becalmed on a sea as smooth as glass. 
 Twenty-seven sail of vessels were in sight. 
 
 On the morning of the 23d, we prepared to en- 
 ter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, by a strait about* 
 five leagues across between Cape North and St. 
 PauPs Island. Our course appeared to be block- 
 ed up, lor many miles, with ice ; but as we had 
 now the assistance of a gentle southern breeze, wc 
 determined to attempt a passage. Accordingly* 
 
 

 *2 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 two men were stationed at the helm, eight at the 
 bows of the ship, with fenders, and the first mate 
 at the mast head, to look out for openings in the 
 ice, and give directions. Thus prepared, we set 
 forward, and soon discovered that what had ap- 
 peared a close body of ice was merely an immense 
 assemblage of loose masses, of all shapes and 
 sizes, covering about half the surface of the water. 
 Hy dexterous steering, and the calmness of the 
 sea, we got through in safety. No large piece 
 struck the ship except one; and, though this 
 knocked some splinters off the bow, and nearly 
 threw us down with the shock, yet th e fenders so 
 tar preserved the ship, that she received no mate- 
 rial injury. Having got through this ice, which 
 we were about two hours in passing, we reached 
 an open sea, and the breeze increasing, carried 
 us forward at the rate of eight miles an hour 
 —a velocity which we seldom exceeded. But the 
 fog soon grew so thick, that we could not see 
 the ship’s length before us. We had sailed 
 two hours without seeing any ice, and were be- 
 ginning to congratulate ourselves that we were 
 out of danger, when the man stationed at the bow 
 vociferated, There is ice a-liead . At this time 
 we were going before the wind with every sail set, 
 and the sea running high. Every thing was let 
 go, and the ship was wore with the utmost dis- 
 patch. But a few moments necessarily elapsed 
 before she could come round, and they were mo- 
 me nts of awful suspense. We were within a few 
 yards of a group of enormous masses of ice, like 
 lagged rocks, which would have probably stove 
 in the side of the ship if we had fallen upon them ; 
 
 1 ut Providence mercifully preserved us, and we 
 got round in safety. As the wind was blowing 
 directly towards the ice, we found it difficult get- 
 ting away, and feared every moment being dash- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 33 
 
 ed against it ; but every one exerted himself to 
 the utmost, and she was got off without damage. 
 For two hours we stood to the south, when the 
 fog clearing off, jind there being no ice in sight, 
 we resumed our course, and steered to the west 
 till sunset. In the evening the fog having re- 
 turned, the Captain determined to lie too all night, 
 lest we should again fall in with ice. When we 
 entered among the ice in the morning, I forgot to 
 tell you, we saw several of the masses entirely co- 
 vered with seabirds ; on others, seals were lying, 
 looking like so many shipwrecked mariners. 
 
 May 25. — A day or two before we left Leith, 
 our worthy captain wrote and published his “ Ge- 
 neral Orders,” among which was the following : 
 “ I order that there shall be no insult or obstruc- 
 tion of any kind whatever, given by any person 
 on board this ship, to the religious worship of 
 those who may be so inclined j and I earnestly 
 recommend to all on board to meet and join in 
 worship with the Rev. Messrs. Taylor and Bell 
 when requested by them.” To the honour of the 
 passengers and the ship’s crew, I have to say, we 
 received neither insult nor obstruction from any 
 of them. The evening being fine, several whales 
 were seen spouting near us. They are very nu- 
 merous in the Gulf. They, and I suppose all we 
 saw on the passage, were of the kind called Jintiers 
 by the sailors. They are seldom attacked by 
 whalers, their large fins being dangerous wea- 
 pons. But tinners were not the only monsters of 
 the deep we saw in this place. At some distance 
 I observed two large white porpoises playing. 
 They frequently raised their tails ten or twelve 
 feet in the air, and then lashed them in the wa- 
 ter, raising the spray to a great height, like 
 shower of rain. They appeared to be remarkably 
 white* and swift in their motions. Soou after 
 
34 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 they first appeared, one of them was observed 
 fighting with another of a similar form, but differ- 
 ent colour, being quite black. They sometimes 
 raised their heads several yards above water, and 
 appeared to be tearing one another like two dogs. 
 The black and white species, we were told, have 
 a great antipathy at one another. During the 
 day the wind had been against us, but while we 
 were engaged in worship, in the evening, it be- 
 came fair, and we pursued our course rapidly all 
 night. 
 
 At four o'clock on the morning of the 26th, 
 we passed Cape Rosieres, and approached the 
 Continent of America. The shore is bold, and 
 covered with wood, to the water’s edge, but the 
 snow still lay among the trees. It was cold, and 
 winter did not seem to have taken its leave. About 
 noon the wind became squally, and shifted to the 
 west. This soon brought sickness, and a violent 
 headach to many of us ; for the ship was rather 
 tumbling among the waves than sailing. In the 
 ocean we had seen much larger waves, but never 
 a more stormy and boisterous sea. The squall 
 came so suddenly that it carried away the main- 
 top mast of a brig near us, before her sails could 
 be lowered. The river, or rather the gulf, at 
 this place, is said to be 60 miles in width. 
 
 I he 27th we spent very uncomfortably, as the 
 storm abated nothing of its violence. Not a sail 
 could be set, and we drifted to the eastward un- 
 der bare poles, as seamen express themselves : 
 most of us sick and in bed. 
 
 On the 28th the wind became more moderate, 
 so that we were able to carry some sail, w hich les- 
 sened the violent rolling of the ship. In the 
 morning we were near the Island of Anticosti, 
 but did not see it, being very sick. The situa- 
 tion of my family at this time gave me no little 
 
 
w 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 3.5 
 
 Uneasiness; most of them being so reduced by 
 protracted sickness, as to be unable to come out 
 of bed even in fine weather. One of the boys 
 was nearly blind, and we were much alarmed lest 
 he should become entirely so. 
 
 On the 29th, though the wind was still west, 
 we made some progress. The weather was ex- 
 cessively cold, and the snow in the woods gave 
 the country a very unpromising appearance. Both 
 shores were in sight, but they were uninhabited, 
 hilly, and covered with wood. At noon we were 
 close to the south shore. The hills appeared to 
 be composed of sand or soft sand-stone. On our 
 next tack, we observed a small boat at a distance, 
 and, supposing it contained a pilot, we shortened 
 sail till he came on board. Though this was 280 
 miles below Quebec, yet pilots often come so far, 
 looking for ships. They are obliged to have their 
 numbers painted in large characters upon their 
 sails, as well as on their boats. The law does not 
 permit them to come below a place called Feather 
 Point, and requires them to take the first vessel 
 they meet. But as their fees increase with the 
 size of the vessel, they sometimes go beyond their 
 limits, looking for a large one, and then they pre- 
 tend they have been driven beyond their limits, 
 contrary to their inclinations. 
 
 Our pilot being taken on board, informed us 
 that he had left the island of Orleans, where he 
 had a farm, nine days ago, and had run the whole 
 distance, 270 miles, in a small boat, carrying only 
 two men. They lay on 'shore during the night 
 and in their boat during the day. Having a good 
 wind, they had run seventy-five miles the same 
 morning before we fell in with them. They had 
 a cask in the boat from which we tasted the first 
 American water ; and I can assure you that 
 wine would not have afforded me half the plea- 
 
LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 .14 
 
 sure. I cannot describe to you how filthy and 
 disgusting our water had been for some time, but 
 this was sweet and good. The pilot also gave me 
 a little maple sugar. In colour it was something 
 like bees’ wax, and in taste it resembled honey. 
 His report of the dulness of trade at Quebec 
 damped the spirits of our passengers, many of 
 them being mechanics. In the afternoon several 
 whales were seen, two of them of a very large size. 
 They spouted the water to a great height in the 
 air, turned up their tails, and roared so as to be 
 distinctly heard on board the ship. When I 
 awoke on the 30th, the ship was going steadily, 
 so I concluded the wind was fair. On inquiry I 
 found it was so, and that we were running eight 
 miles an hour. About seven o’clock we passed 
 Cape Chat, where the width of the river is not 
 more than thirty miles, but a little higher up it 
 widens to forty-five or fifty. At noon we were 
 close to the north shore. The land here is more 
 level than lower down, but it is still covered with 
 lofty pine and other timber down to the water’s 
 edge. A brig near us pumped hard all day, hav- 
 ing received considerable damage among the ice. 
 
 On the 3 1st, the wind being still fair, we passed 
 at day-break Hie Island, and some time after 
 Crane Island. As we approached the south bank 
 of the river, we observed that the land was cleared 
 and inhabited. The farm-houses were mostly 
 painted white, and stood on a gentle slope, at 
 some distance from the water. The neatness of 
 their appearance, and the aspect of the fields, 
 which were assuming a verdant hue, revived our 
 spirits, and afforded sensations no less new than 
 agreeable. The sight of human habitations, and 
 of people employed in the labours of the field, 
 had never before afforded me so much pleasure. 
 For some time the land appeared to be good and 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 37 
 
 nearly level, but except here and there, where a 
 small settlement is formed on the bank of the ri- 
 ver, it is entirely covered with wood, for we were 
 still 100 miles below Quebec. During the day 
 we passed several very pretty islands in the river, 
 but the villages scattered along the south bank 
 chiefly engaged our attention. Most of these vil- 
 lages, which were at the distance of four or 
 five miles, contained each a neat little church 
 w'ith a steeple, the spire of which was covered 
 with tin plates, or white iron, which in the sun- 
 shine have a very brilliant appearance. The 
 width of the river was no more than eight or ten 
 miles, and being favoured by both wind and tide, 
 we glided along with great rapidity. At five in 
 the evening we passed Goose Island, which is 
 forty miles below Quebec, when both wind and 
 tide failing, we advanced but slowly the rest of 
 the evening. At dusk we dropped anchor thirty 
 miles below Quebec. All were in high spirits, en- 
 couraged by the hope of soon getting ashore. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 I dare say you have observed, that the pros- 
 pect of accomplishing an undertaking one has 
 long contemplated, fills the mind with peculiar 
 pleasure. Though at this time a wide field of 
 labour and difficulty lay before me, yet my feel- 
 ings and expectations were of a very agreeable 
 kind. Canada, to which my attention had been 
 for some time turned, was now before me — my 
 family were beginning to recover — and what was 
 not at this time a trifling enjoyment, a draught of 
 good water was to be obtained. On the morning 
 of June 1, being Sabbath, we weighed anchor at 
 
i I 1 ■■ 
 
 38 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 three o’clock, and proceeded with the tide ; but 
 the wind being against us, we made only fourteen 
 miles, before the tide turned, when we were for- 
 ced to come to anchor, and remain till the after- 
 noon. We had sermon as usual, but the fine day 
 and the novelty of the scene around us, induced 
 a few of the more irreligious part to absent them- 
 selves. About two o’clock a boat put off* from the 
 shore, and brought on board a large basket of 
 eggs, and the carcass of a fine calf, which had 
 been killed about an hour before. The Captain 
 purchased part of the veal at sixpence a-pound, 
 and the eggs at a shilling a-dozen. The boat 
 was manned by six young Canadians. They 
 were well dressed, and had an air of cheerfulness 
 and comfort, which formed a striking contrast 
 with the care-worn countenances of a great part 
 of our population. We learned from them, that 
 they were Roman Catholics, as indeed most of the 
 Lower Canadians are. At three o’clock we weigh- 
 ed again, and the wind having shifted to the cast, 
 we glided up the south channel of the river, 
 which is here about three miles in width. The 
 Island of Orleans, which we were at this time 
 coasting, is twenty-one mdes long and three 
 broad. I he soil is good, and a great part of it is 
 well cultivated. The south bank of the river al- 
 so appeared to be good land, and it is studded 
 all along with neat villages and still neater 
 churches. 1l he north bank, which we could see 
 over the Island of Orleans, rises into hills, covered 
 with wood to the very summit. At the upper 
 end of this island we had a fine view of the Falls 
 of the Montmorency, a considerable river flowing 
 from the north, which here tumbles over a high 
 rock into the St. Lawrence. At a bend of the 
 river, a short distance below Quebec, that city 
 gradually presented itself to our view. From its 
 
UPrER CANADA. 
 
 39 
 
 elevated situation, it produces, at first sight, a 
 striking effect, especially to a stranger who has 
 not seen it before. It stands on an extensive and 
 rocky hill, the highest part of which is crowned 
 by the fort or citadel. The side next the St. 
 Lawrence presents a high and precipitous rock. 
 But the north side slopes down gradually to the 
 St. Charles, which at the lower side of the town 
 falls into the St. Lawrence. The spires of the 
 churches, and many of the roofs of the houses are 
 covered with tin, which causes them, when the 
 sun shines, to glitter like silver. Just as the 
 evening gun was fired at the fort, we dropped an- 
 chor before the town. The water of the St. Law- 
 rence continues fresh and fit for drinking about 
 forty miles below Quebec, and perhaps we never 
 tasted a greater delicacy than the first we obtain- 
 ed. How many real enjoyments are undervalued, 
 merely because they are common ! A custom- 
 house officer came on board immediately, but we 
 could not get ashore till next morning. 
 
 At eight o'clock, on Monday the 5^d of June, 
 we got ashore, being the first time we had been 
 on land for six weeks, perhaps prisoners liberated 
 from a dungeon never felt more joy on the event. 
 The first thing 1 did was to purchase a few ne- 
 cessaries for the family. I then went to the Cha- 
 teau, the residence of the Governor-General, Sir 
 J. C. Sherbroke, and delivered my letter from the 
 presbytery to his aide-de-camp in-waiting. He 
 carried it up, and in a short time returned to in- 
 form me that His Excellency wished to see me. 
 I was accordingly introduced, and was received 
 with that politeness and condescension for which 
 Sir John was distinguished. After a short con- 
 versation, he told me that I and my family should 
 have a free passage to Perth, and referred me to 
 Colonel Myers, the Deputy Quarter-Master Ge-* 
 
iO LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 neral, to get the details settled. The colonel, he 
 said, was with him when my letter was brought up, 
 and had already received orders on the subject. 
 Having thanked his Excellency, I took leave of 
 him, and went to the office of Colonel Myers. He 
 received me with the greatest politeness, and after 
 making some inquiries, he requested me to call 
 on the following day, when he would have mat- 
 ters arranged. I next took a walk through the 
 town, and called on several persons to whom I 
 had letters of introduction. The day was hot, 
 and the fields were becoming green, though not a 
 month before, carriages were passing the river on 
 the ice. So quickly does winter depart when 
 summer arrives ! In the evening I went on board 
 the ship, which still lay in the middle of the ri- 
 ver. She had a quantity of gunpowder on board, 
 and on this account was not permitted to come to 
 the wharf till it was landed. Some Indians pad- 
 dling about among the shipping in their canoes, 
 were to us a great novelty, being the first we had 
 seen. 
 
 The powder being landed on the morning of 
 the 3d, the ship was brought up to the wharf, so 
 that all the passengers got ashore. My family 
 had been, for some days past, getting much bet- 
 ter. Most of them were reduced to skeletons, and 
 indeed I was little better myself; but, through 
 means of better accommodations, and wholesome 
 food, an improvement soon took place. About 
 mid-day I waited on Colonel Myers, and got eve- 
 ry thing respecting our conveyance to Perth set- 
 tled in a satisfactory manner. By the time I re- 
 turned to the ship, she had been entered at the 
 custom-house, and during the rest of the day the 
 passengers were busily employed getting their 
 luggage on shore. Mr. Taylor and family, with 
 a great many more* went off to Montreal by the 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 41 
 
 steam-boat, in the evening. A few carpenters 
 and masons remained and obtained employment 
 in Quebec, where they got from five to seven shil- 
 lings a- day. 
 
 June 4. — There are in Quebec two markets 
 held every lawful day, one in the upper town, and 
 one in the lower ; but the former is the best sup- 
 plied with provisions. The upper town stands on 
 the top of the rock, and is all within the walls ; 
 for Quebec is a fortified town. The lower town 
 lies along the bottom of the hill on the banks of 
 the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles, which here 
 form a junction. In the afternoon, being in the 
 upper town, I took a walk round the ramparts 
 with a gentleman to whom I had been introduced. 
 As I had never before seen a fortified town, the 
 various works were quite a novelty. Defended, 
 as it now is, it would be no easy matter for an 
 enemy to take Quebec, if the garrison were deter- 
 mined to hold out. This being the king’s birth- 
 day, I preached at the request of a friend in St. 
 John’s chapel. The congregation was not large, 
 but the singing was excellent 
 
 I was told, that during the day our ship’s crew 
 discovered a very mischievous disposition, break- 
 ing and destroying various articles of the ship’s 
 stores, and disregarding the orders of their offi- 
 cers. Since they came into port, the sailors have 
 generally been half drunk. The cheapness of spi- 
 rituous iiquors at Quebec, soon leads those who 
 have a thirst for them into dissipated habits. 
 Many a ship’s crew exhibits an affecting view ot 
 human nature. At sea, the Captain is a little 
 tyrant, and the crew little better than slaves; but 
 in port the order is reversed. When hands are 
 scarce, the least harshness or severity is resented, 
 and they take the first opportunity of changing 
 masters. About mid-day, a beautiful halo re- 
 
42 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 sembling a rainbow appeared round the sun. 
 Here, as in other places, there are many super- 
 stitious people. Some said it foretold the death 
 of the king, others a war with the United States. 
 Some expected an earthquake, others the end of 
 the world ; while a few with greater probability 
 looked for a change of weather. This actually 
 took place; for it rained all the following night. 
 
 : ^ ile splendid and novel spectacle of the 
 nlr Dieu \ ls to be exhibited by the Roman 
 Catholics on the eighth of this month. The 5th 
 is the proper anniversary of that feast; but, since 
 the Ungiish became numerous in the colony, the 
 grand procession has generally been deferred till 
 the following Sunday. D.vine service was per- 
 ormed in the d.fferent churches ; but I was in 
 none of them except the French, church. It is 
 le cathedral ; for there is here both a Catholic 
 and a I rotestant Bishop. It was crowded, and 
 the congregation were all on their knees; some 
 of them on the steps on the outside of the doors. 
 
 1 hey appeared to be very devout. Would to 
 trod they were better informed. In the after- 
 
 ri!’ 1 r ent l a n mi,es into lhe countl 7 to dine 
 
 serin, r! e " d ‘ Hert i 1 Was lntl ’°duced to several 
 Chnstians, whose company and conversa- 
 
 much"inf e qU t Ue r ^ reshin S- 7 hey afforded me 
 
 o, r^rS“!^tT;‘” n Ksl, ““ ns the S ““ 
 
 Gener^r. * ci ^ e ^ at tile Quarter-Master. 
 
 letter f • a ‘ U recel ved some papers and 
 
 m sed t k ,n UC , tl0 r 5 Which Co1 ’ Myers had pro- 
 
 was snen? ave y * T' The rest of the day 
 as spent in prepar.ng for our departure. Mrs 
 
 Boding s ° f ar recovered as to' walk out, we 
 
 E; a " Ve, : l,,g at t! ? e louse Of a friend, who 
 situation under government, and from 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 i3 
 
 whose family we had experienced the greatest 
 kindness. 
 
 A great part of the 7th was spent in removing 
 our luggage from the ship to the steam-boat Mal- 
 sliam. As it lay at some distance from the wharf 
 at which we landed, I procured a boat, and con- 
 veyed our things by water, without taking them 
 ashore. When I presented Col. Myers’ order to 
 the Captain of the steam-boat, he told us we might 
 go below, and select our beds where we liked best. 
 The size of this vessel, and the excellent accom- 
 modation which it afforded, surprised me not a 
 little. The large cabin, or dining-room, is spacious, 
 and well fitted up. On each side is a row of small 
 rooms, each containing four beds in two tiers. 
 There is a separate cabin for the ladies, which is 
 fitted up in a very convenient and elegant man- 
 ner. Very good printed regulations were exhi- 
 bited in the cabin for the information of passen- 
 gers, but they were not strictly adhered to. We 
 were to rise at seven, breakfast at eight, lunch at 
 twelve, dine at four, and sup at eight, &c. The 
 provisions here set before us were not only abun- 
 dant in quantity, but excellent in quality, and 
 formed a striking contrast with those of the Ro- 
 thiemurchus, some of which were by far the worst 
 I ever tasted. About sunset, all being ready for 
 our departure, we moved from the wharf, and pro- 
 ceeded up the river. Fora few miles above Que- 
 bec, the banks were high and rocky ; — but the 
 bell having summoned us to supper, we saw no 
 more of them till morning. On going below, we 
 found an extensive table furnished in a sumptuous 
 manner, to which about fifty gentlemen and ladies 
 sat down : the company was agreeable and polite, 
 and all w r ent on well till bed time. At ten o’clock 
 all retired to rest, as required by the regulations, 
 excepting four young gentlemen, whom I under- 
 stood to be officers of militia : but perhaps I do 
 
— — ' 
 
 *■4 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 them injustice, when I call them gentlemen, for 
 as it afterwards appeared from their conduct, they 
 had very little title to that honourable appellation. 
 After the rest had retired, they began drinking, 
 and soon became very noisy. About twelve 
 
 0 clock, one of them, whom his companions ad- 
 dressed with the title of Colonel, began to be not 
 only noisy, but mischievous. He ran through the 
 bed-rooms, waking up all the passengers as he 
 went along, and inquiring if they had not seen a 
 person whom he named. Whatever the answer 
 was, he and his companions set up a loud lauo-h. 
 
 1 wice the Captain sent below to request them to 
 go to bed, but without effect : at last he sent one 
 of the waiters to extinguish the candles ; but this 
 did not mend the manners of the colonel, who 
 now became more noisy than ever. One while he 
 howled like a dog, another he mewed like a cat; 
 one while he swore, another he sung hymns, 
 which he said he had learned at the Methodist 
 meeting. At last, about two o’clock, being tired 
 of their frolic, they all went to bed, leaving no 
 very favourable impression on my mind of the 
 manners of Canadian gentlemen. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 The distance from Quebec to Montreal is 180 
 miles ; four steam. boats were constantly employed 
 carrying goods and passengers backwards and for- 
 wards. The passage upwards generally takes 
 about thirty-six hours, including a short stay at 
 1 hree Rivers and Will, am Henry; but the pas- 
 sage down is performed in less time. The fare 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 45 
 
 in the best cabin was three pounds for each per- 
 son ; but every thing necessary was provided : in 
 the fore cabin, the passage was five dollars, and 
 on the deck four, but without either beds or pro- 
 visions. Since that time the number of steam- 
 boats has been increased, and the fare has been 
 considerably reduced ; the mail, for a number of 
 years past, has been carried by this conveyance : 
 but I must resume my narrative. 
 
 At seven o’clock on the morning of Sabbath, 
 the 8th of June, on going upon deck, I found that 
 we were about fifty miles above Quebec. The 
 river was about a mile across, the banks low, and 
 the soil sandy. Along the shore I perceived a few 
 scattered huts, but scarcely any signs of cultiva- 
 tion. After breakfast two gentlemen came to me 
 and said, as they understood that I was a clergy- 
 man, the passengers wished to have prayers and a 
 sermon, and hoped I would have no objection. 
 With their request I readily complied, and preach- 
 ed in the large cabin to about seventy or eighty 
 people. The young bucks, who gave us so much 
 trouble the evening before, did not behave very 
 well at first, but finding the rest did not counte- 
 nance their levity, they laid it aside. With regard 
 to the rest, I have seldom had a more attentive 
 audience. 
 
 About three o’clock we reached the town of 
 Three Rivers, which is situated half way between 
 Quebec and Montreal, being ninety miles distant 
 from each. It appeared to contain about 5000 or 
 4000 inhabitants, two churches, and a number of 
 other good buildings. It stands on a plain, near 
 the mouth of three rivers, from which circum- 
 stance it derives its name. One of these is called 
 the Black River, because its water is darker than 
 that of the St. Lawrence. This noble river seems 
 to disdain the company of its dirty companion, 
 
? 
 
 *6 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 for they flow side by side for some distance before 
 they intermingle. 
 
 At Three llivers the mail and a number of 
 passengers were landed ; others were taken on 
 board, and a quantity of goods was put into bat- 
 teaux, in order to be sent ashore. Many well 
 dressed people were walking on the beach, and 
 the Sabbath appeared to be rather considered a 
 day for amusement than any thing else. The 
 tide sometimes flows up to this place, but seldom 
 beyond it. Every thing being in readiness, we 
 started again for Montreal. At four o’clock we 
 sat down to an excellent dinner, in the prepara- 
 tion of which no expense had been spared. In 
 the dessert, raisins and almonds were served up in 
 profusion. We were now in Lake St. Peter, which 
 is said to be thirty miles in length, and sixteen in 
 breadth. It is so shallow, that vessels often get 
 a-ground on their way to Montreal. Near the 
 middle of the lake, we passed very near a vessel 
 from Greenock, with a cargo of coals. She had 
 got a-ground, and was putting part of her cargo 
 on board of another vessel. 
 
 June 9. — Next morning, when I got up, we 
 were only sixteen miles from Montreal, and the 
 country on both banks of the river was delightful. 
 By the time breakfast was over, we had reached 
 the foot of the current St. Mary : a team of horses 
 assisted in dragging up the boat, and we soon 
 found ourselves before the city of Montreal, which, 
 being built upon a plain, is not seen to any ad- 
 vantage at a distance. Its interior is, however, 
 every way agree able, for it contains many elegant 
 buildings, wealthy merchants, and hospitable in- 
 habitants : it struck me as somewhat strange, that 
 though Montreal carries on commerce to a great 
 extent, it has neither quay nor wharf for the ship- 
 ping. On getting ashore, by means of a gang- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 47 
 
 way, I went immediately to Mr. Clarke, the De- 
 puty Commissary-General, with the order I had 
 received from Colonel Myers. This gentleman 
 behaved to me with great civility, and immediate- 
 ly gave me an order directed to the Commissary 
 of Transports, for the carriages necessary to con- 
 vey my family and baggage to La Chine : but as it 
 just then began to rain, I determined to defer my 
 departure till another day. YVe spent the after- 
 noon at the Rev. Mr. Easton’s, from whose fa- 
 mily we experienced every attention in their power 
 to bestow. In the evening, accompanied by Mr. 
 Easton, I waited upon several gentlemen, to whom 
 I had letters of introduction, and from whom I 
 experienced many civilities. 
 
 June 10. — As the rain still continued, we could 
 not proceed on our journey ; but, as the steam- 
 boat was about to return to Quebec, it was neces- 
 sary to have our baggage landed. This was at- 
 tended with no little trouble and damage, both 
 from the state of the weather, and the awkward- 
 ness of the Canadian carters, who are certainly 
 the most thoughtless race of beings I have ever 
 met with. In rainy weather, the streets of Mont- 
 real are very muddy, especially in the suburbs, 
 where they are not paved : on the shore, wh^re 
 there is neither paving nor wharf, the mud was 
 ancle deep. 
 
 Montreal contains near 30,000 inhabitants, 
 about one half of whom are of French extraction : 
 the rest are English, Scotch, Irish, Americans, 
 &c. The English language is more frequently 
 spoken than at Quebec, yet even here it is difficult 
 doing business without some knowledge of French. 
 The city contains many handsome buildings, and 
 is evidently making rapid advances in improve- 
 ment. 
 
LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 June 11 — The morning being fine, we were in 
 motion at an early hour, preparing for our jour- 
 ney. About 10 o'clock, as it had been previously 
 arranged, the Commissary sent us five carts, and 
 we were busily employed packing up and loading 
 till noon, when we started for La Chine, which is 
 nine miles above Montreal. We went by the lower 
 road, which is on the bank of the river. The soil 
 is a strong loam, and seemed mostly to he well 
 cultivated. At almost every house there is an 
 orchard, and the trees were now in blossom. The 
 St. Lawrence has here many rapids, some of which 
 produce a sound like distant thunder. r J lie is- 
 lands, too, are numerous, and all of them covered 
 with wood. Though the road was none of the 
 best, our carters trotted their horses most of the 
 way with loaded carts. Though, at first sight, 
 the Canadians appear smart and active, the/are 
 thoughtless inconsiderate people. If they are not 
 carefully attended to, when loading and unload- 
 ing, they often smash trunks and boxes to pieces 
 without the least concern. 
 
 On my arrival at La Chine, I delivered my let- 
 ter to the Commissary, who immediately ordered 
 a batteau to be got ready, and the baggage to be 
 put on board ; but as there was a strong westerly 
 wind, we could not proceed till it became more 
 moderate. The delay gave us time to see the 
 village and the neighbouring country. The for- 
 mer contains only a few houses. It is situated at 
 the head of the most dangerous rapid in the St. 
 Lawrence, where the French, soon after they set- 
 tled in the country, fitted out an expedition to 
 penetrate to China by the west ; and, from this 
 circumstance, the place obtained the name of La 
 Chine Here there is a government store, and a 
 great many batteaux, for receiving and transport- 
 ing stores and merchandise to the upper province. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 49 
 
 Batteaux are large flat-bottomed boats, drawing, 
 when loaded, from eighteen inches to two feet of 
 water, and navigated by five or six men. In still 
 water they use oars, but in the rapids setting 
 poles ; and, where the current is strong, one goes 
 on the bank and assists with a rope. In this*way 
 they ascend rapids, which a stranger to their me- 
 thod would consider impassable. 
 
 June 12 . — I had resolved to start at six o’clock 
 next morning, but it was eight before the men 
 could be collected ; and even then they proceeded 
 with reluctance, as the wind, though more mode- 
 rate, was still westerly. Having ascended two 
 miles with some difficulty, they landed, and re- 
 fused to proceed any farther till the wind fell. 
 This gave us an opportunity of making an excur- 
 sion over the island of Montreal. In a wood 
 through which we passed, we observed several 
 species of birds which we had not before seen 
 some of them covered with the most beautiful 
 plumage. A squirrel, also, which we saw skip- 
 ping about among the boughs of a tree, was the 
 first we had seen in a wild state. After dinino- 0 n 
 bread and milk at a farm-house, we returned to 
 the batteau, and the wind having fallen a little we 
 proceeded and entered Lake St. Louis. Havino- 
 passed several islands, we entered what appeared 
 to be a river, but which afterwards turned out to 
 be a narrow channel between an island and the 
 south shore of the lake. Here we met several 
 rafts of timber passing down to Montreal. On 
 the side of the next island we observed a farm- 
 ouse ; where, as it was now evening, we resolved 
 to spend the night. The owner could speak no 
 English, but he was very civil, and allowed us a 
 room and a fire. As he could furnish no beds 
 we brought our own from the boat, and spread 
 them on the floor, where we enjoyed a refreshing 
 

 50 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 sleep. We had bread along with us, and got 
 plenty of milk from our host, at twopence a pint, 
 this being the only article of provision he could 
 furnish. 
 
 June 13. — At five o'clock in the morning, the 
 weather being fine, we set out. After rowing 
 two hours, we landed on a small island to break- 
 fast. It was sandy and low, producing nothing 
 but shrubs and grass, mixed with wild vines, which 
 were now covered with blossoms. After another 
 hour’s labour we landed on the island Perrot, which 
 is the largest in the lake. Here we found wild 
 vines, honeysuckle, berry bushes, and fruit trees, 
 growing along the shore. At a small distance 
 from the place where we landed, two men were 
 ploughing, or rather attempting to plough ; for 
 their tackle \vas so clumsy, and their endeavours 
 so aw 7 kward, that they appeared to us very un- 
 skilful at their employment. They had two 
 horses and two oxen yoked to a great heavy two- 
 wheeled plough, w hich was almost load enough 
 alone. This work, as might be expected, was 
 executed in the very worst manner, and confirmed 
 the low opinion I had formed of Canadian culti- 
 vators. The soil in this, and in most of the other 
 islands in this part of the St. Lawrence, is a stiff 
 heavy loam, like what is in Scotland called carse 
 land. Our next stage was to the Cascades, where 
 there is a portage of five miles, the current being 
 too strong to be ascended by loaded boats. There 
 is at this place a short canal with locks, but they 
 were at this time undergoing repairs. The per- 
 son who has the charge of a batteau is called a 
 conductor ; and while ours was gone to the Com- 
 missary, to get an order for carts, two large Ame- 
 rican boats came into the basin where we lay, to 
 land their cargo. The men were young and ac- 
 tive ; but their manners and language were both 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 51 
 
 coarse and disgusting, and they swore most pro- 
 fanely. I confess I felt both mortified and dis- 
 appointed ; for, like many of my countrymen, I 
 had imbibed a strong prejudice in favour of the 
 American character, which at this first interview 
 with them received a severe shock. A little red 
 lead having been accidentally spilt on the deck, 
 one of them painted his face with it in a hideous 
 fashion, and began to dance and shout like the 
 Indians. He was soon joined by his companions, 
 disguised in like manner, and we had an imitation 
 of the war-whoop and dance, unattended by any 
 of their dangers; though, probably, the Indians 
 themselves scarcely ever exhibited a more savage 
 appearance than did the actors in this scene. 
 
 While the conductor was gone to procure carts, 
 
 I ascended a high bank, to enjoy the prospect of 
 the scenery around me, and seated myself under 
 a tree. I had not been long there, when my at- 
 tention was attracted by the industrious inhabit- 
 ants of an ant-hill, near the place where I sat. 
 The' whole community were busily employed, and 
 might have afforded a useful lesson to the indo- 
 lent part of the human race. Amongst many in- 
 stances of sagacity, the following may be noticed : 
 One of them was dragging the dead body of his 
 companion, which probably had been killed by 
 accident, away from the entrance of the nest. 
 Having, with much labour and tugging, removed 
 it to the distance of a yard, he placed it under 
 some withered grass. Another was dragging a 
 dead fly, far larger than himself, towards the 
 hive, but having to carry it up hill, the labour 
 was immense. In this way, however, he removed 
 it more than a yard, proceeding backwards all the ^ 
 way. On arriving at the hole, the aperture proved 
 too small to admit his prey. After making seve- 
 ral efforts without success, other ants came out 
 d 2 
 
y 
 
 52 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 to give their assistance ; but they also were un- 
 successful. It was amusing to see how they skip- 
 ped about, and discovered the greatest anxiety, 
 when they found their efforts of no avail. 
 
 After waiting about four hours, the conductor 
 at length returned with a number of carts, and 
 we proceeded to load them without delay. The 
 empty batteau was then made to ascend the ra- 
 pids, by means of some of the men pulling at the 
 rope on the bank, while the rest used their sett- 
 ing-poles. I had no idea, till I came here, that 
 the ascent of the St. Lawrence was attended with 
 so much labour and difficulty. On reaching the 
 village of Les Cedres, which is five miles above 
 the Cascades, we unloaded the carts on the bank 
 of the river, and, having covered the goods with 
 a tarpaulin went to procure lodgings for the 
 night, as we did not expect the boat would arrive 
 before the morning. At the inn we found good 
 accommodation, and were provided with an excel- 
 lent supper, for which we were charged Is. 6d. 
 each. Being excessively tired with our exertions, 
 and the heat of the weather, we enjoyed a sound 
 sleep. The village of Les Cedres is about thirty- 
 six miles from Montreal. 
 
 June 14. — The men having arrived with the 
 boat, we loaded it, and, after breakfast, proceeded 
 on foot, while they with great labour ascended 
 other rapids which we had still to pass. About 
 noon we reached C6teau du Lac, where there is a 
 small fort on the bank of the river, and a short 
 canal with two locks, which enabled us to avoid a 
 very difficult rapid. Here we saw many large 
 rafts of timber going down the river. The velo- 
 city with which they shot down the larger rapids 
 was astonishing, and it was still more astonishing 
 they were not dashed to pieces among the rocks. 
 We now entered Lake St. Francis, which is about 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 .53 
 
 thirty miles in length, and fifteen in breadth. It 
 contains several islands covered with wood. Soon 
 after entering upon the lake we passed a place 
 called Point au Boudet, which marks the bound- 
 ary line between the two provinces. The county 
 of Glengary, the residence of many Highland fa- 
 milies, lay upon our right. The land is low and 
 level, and must form a striking contrast with the 
 hills in their native country. About dusk we 
 reached the mouth of the river Raisin, and there 
 being only one farm-house near, to it we directed 
 our steps. Here Mrs. Bell, I, and the younger 
 children slept, but the rest, after supping on bread 
 and milk, slept in the boat. The day had been 
 very hot, and, after sunset, the sand-flies began 
 to be very troublesome. This is often the case at 
 this season of the year, in low and swampy land, 
 where these insects abound. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Glengary is an extensive tract, inhabited 
 chiefly by Scotch Highlanders, who, though they 
 have been many years in Canada, not only speak 
 the Gaelic language, but retain much of their ori- 
 ginal character and customs. About one-half of 
 them are Roman Catholics, and the rest are Pres- 
 byterians. The former have two priests to in- 
 struct them in their duty, and the latter have 
 three ministers, each of whom preaches at more 
 than one place, their parishes being very exten- 
 
 June 15. — This being Sabbath, and a vacant 
 church being at hand, I wished to preach to the 
 

 51 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 people in the neighbourhood, but, the wind being 
 fair, our Canadian boatmen would not stay. At 
 Lancaster we stopped at a farm-house to breakfast. 
 The owner could speak very little English, but he 
 complained, as well as he was able, of the poverty of 
 the country. I told him, no country could be rich 
 under such management. Though his farm seem- 
 ed to contain good land, all he could furnish us 
 was a few quarts of milk, for which, however, he 
 did not forget to charge us an exorbitant price. 
 His agriculture was miserable, and every thing 
 about the farm bore the marks of indolence and 
 carelessness. The fences were in ruins, the gar- 
 den was neglected, and weeds were growing up 
 to the very door of the house. It did not appear, 
 from the conversation of the people, that the cul- 
 tivation of their minds had engaged more of their 
 attention than that of their farm. I recommended 
 to their attention the improvement of both, and 
 especially that they should attend to the duties of 
 religion, which I found were very much neglected 
 among them. 
 
 Our boatmen having procured a new supply of 
 rum, took after dinner a little too much, and got 
 nearly drunk. They then refused to take us into 
 the batteau, telling us to walk on, as there were 
 rapids in the way. We had already walked many 
 miles, and were much fatigued with the journey 
 and the heat of the weather ; and as there was no 
 rapid in sight, I insisted they should take us on 
 board immediately. For the first time they be- 
 gan to be insolent, but I told them, if they did 
 not behave better, I should report them to the 
 Commissary on my arrival at Prescott, when their 
 pay would be stopped. This had the desired ef- 
 fect, for they were very civil and obliging all the 
 rest of the way. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 55 
 
 About three o’clock we reached Cornwall, a 
 considerable village on the bank of the river, in 
 which are two churches ; the one belonging to the 
 Episcopalians, and the other to the Presbyterians. 
 The river for several miles contains rapids, but 
 none of them very difficult to pass; yet, to relieve 
 the men as much as possible, the male part of oui 
 company walked all the afternoon. At sunset we 
 landed in a small bay, where the remains of the 
 American army under General Wilkinson were em- 
 barked in 181 A, after the baitle of Crystler’sFarm. 
 Most of the children, as usual, slept in the boat ; 
 but the rest, with Mrs. Bell and myself, walked to 
 the village of Moulin de Roche, about a mile dis- 
 tant, where we found good accommodation for the 
 night. On our way thither, we saw, for the first 
 time, fire-flies moving about in great abundance. 
 They appeared like sparks of fire flying through 
 the air ; and, as we did not immediately recollect 
 what they were, they surprised us a good deal. 
 The appearance they presented in the dark was 
 quite a novelty, particularly to the children. The 
 sun during the day had been very hot, and, in 
 the evening, one of the children complained very 
 much of her arms being sore. Upon examining 
 them at the light, I found that the upper side of 
 them was entirely covered with blisters. Not 
 knowing the danger, she had gone with them all 
 day exposed to the burning rays of the sun. Af- 
 ter rubbing them with cream they were wrapped 
 up, but the skin peeled off, and they were very 
 painful for several days. On the islands in the 
 river, as we passed along, we saw numbers of In- 
 dians, sometimes in the woods, and sometimes 
 fishing in the river. 
 
 June 16. — Before six o’clock the boat came up 
 to the village, where it had some difficulties to en- 
 counter in passing a very bad rapid, opposite to 
 
^Z7 
 
 66 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 the mil]. Higher up, at another mill called Mou. 
 hnette, there is another rapid still worse. There 
 18 a l° c k through which the batteaux usually 
 pass ; but at this time it was repairing, so that we 
 were forced to ascend the rapid. This we found 
 no easy task, even with the assistance of a yoke of 
 uu? n, W hi C h we k' re d from a neighbouring farmer. 
 This is one of the most dangerous rapids in the 
 river, on account of the rocks and trunks of trees 
 with which, in various places, it is interrupted. 
 1-very year both boats and lives are lost in it. 
 Not a week before, a batteau going up with the 
 kings stores, was wrecked, and, indeed the re- 
 mains of the boat and part of the cargo, which 
 
 still lay upon a rock, tended not a little to excite 
 alarm. 
 
 l he oxen being yoked to a long rope, we pro- 
 ceeded; but scarcely had we got into the current, 
 when the boat swung round by the force of the 
 stream, and grounded upon a rock. At this 
 moment the dexterity of the Canadian boatmen 
 was evinced. ‘ Two of them jumped into the wa- 
 ter, up to the middle, and by the assistance of 
 their poles, got the boat afloat, and at the same 
 time the oxen moving forward, it was brought up 
 without any farther accident. If the oxen are 
 trusty and the rope strong enough, there is not 
 much danger; but, if any thing fails, the boat is 
 hurried down with great rapidity, till meeting 
 with a projecting rock, or the trunk of a tree, it 
 is dashed to pieces. 
 
 This rapid being passed, we went to a farm- 
 nouse on the American side, to breakfast. The 
 owner was an American, and discovered a very 
 goomy and knavish disposition. He indeed 
 
 furn' e i US / ay tW * e L . the Va ' ue of ' ever J article he 
 urmshed us. This gave another shock to my 
 
 prejudice in favour of the Americans. The line 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 67 
 
 which separates Canada from the United States, 
 joins the river near the place ; and all the rest 
 of the way we had the State of New York on 
 our left hand. Having passed some more rapids 
 of less consequence, and several islands, we came 
 to the foot of the great rapid, called the Longue 
 Sault . Here we found it necessary to hire a 
 team of horses, which a neighbouring farmer fur- 
 nished for a dollar, to assist in drawing up the 
 boat. At this place the water shoots down a 
 shelving rock, with great agitation and noise, I 
 suppose at least thirty feet in Jess than a mile; 
 and from the vast body of water continually de- 
 scending, it presents a very formidable appear- 
 ance. Had I not seen the batteau go up, I could 
 not have supposed it possible. 
 
 After passing this rapid, we had smoother wa- 
 ter, and many islands to pass. As I wished to 
 see the state of the country, I pursued my jour- 
 ney on foot, the road being on the bank of the 
 river for many miles. The soil, in many places, 
 was bad, and the cultivation worse. The land 
 had been covered with large pines, which were 
 cut about two feet from the ground, and grain 
 sown among the stumps. In some places I ob- 
 served that the standing trees had been on fire, 
 the branches and bark were consumed, and the 
 blackened trunks standing like the masts of a 
 large fleet. About seven, we reached a tavern 
 near the church in Williamsburgh, where we re- 
 mained for the night. Our accommodation was 
 very indifferent, though we were charged 2s. Gd. 
 each for supper and bed. 
 
 I may here inform you how the boatmen are 
 lodged on these occasions. After selecting the 
 place at which they intend to spend the night, 
 they make the boat fast to the bank. They 
 then collect wood to make a fire and cook their 
 
 a • : - ** ■ 
 
M LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 supper. When that is over, they drink their 
 grog, and go to sleep upon the ground, with one 
 tarpaulin under them for their bed, and another 
 over them, fixed in a slanting direction to send off 
 the water if it should rain. They carry their 
 provisions along with them, consisting generally 
 of pork and pease. They are a savage-looking 
 race, and are capable of enduring a great deal of 
 fatigue. When seated round their fire, on the 
 bank of the river, after the fatigues of the day, 
 one while swearing and another while singing, 
 you would consider them more like a band of 
 robbers than any thing else. Being of French 
 extraction, they are generally Catholics, and are 
 very punctual in saying their prayers on their 
 knees, both morning and evening; but they are 
 no sooner done praying, than they begin swear- 
 ing. I have even seen one of them stop in the 
 middle of his prayers to swear at one of his com- 
 panions, and then proceed as before. Their 
 prayers were merely a form, which they repeated 
 without any ^parent concern. I tried to per- 
 suade them to leave off swearing, but they are so 
 habituated to this practice, that they are not sen- 
 sible when they do it. They were, in general, 
 very civil and accommodating ; and one of them, 
 as often as we slept at a farm house, carried our 
 beds to the place where they were wanted, with- 
 out being asked. The conductor understood a 
 little En glish, but the rest were almost totally ig- 
 norant of that language. Great numbers of these 
 men are employed on the St. Lawrence during 
 the summer, transporting merchandise and other 
 stores to the upper province. They are paid by 
 the voyage, and are from seven to fourteen days 
 going up to Kingston, according to the state of 
 the wind; but, if this is favourable, they some- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 69 
 
 times return in less than two days, the stream 
 carrying them down with great velocity. 
 
 June lllth. We roused our boatmen at five 
 o’clock, being anxious to reach Prescott in the 
 evening. The morning w r as cold, and most of us 
 proceeded a few miles on foot. The weather, in 
 Canada, undergoes very sudden transitions from 
 cold to hot, and from hot to cold. The north 
 bank of the river is here well settled, and culti- 
 vated for many miles. The farm houses are 
 about a quarter of a mile distant from each other, 
 on both sides of the road. The inhabitants are 
 mostly Dutch and German discharged soldiers, 
 or their children, who were settled here at the 
 end of the American revolutionary war. They 
 are still firmly attached to the British govern- 
 ment, and armed readily in defence of the coun- 
 try in the last contest with the United States. 
 When they were settled here, forty years ago, 
 they had to grind the first grain they raised, in 
 pepper-mills, there not being a grist-mill within a 
 hundred miles of them. Many of tnem were so 
 poor, that they could not procure a cow, or even 
 a sheep, till several years after their first settle- 
 ment. Now, however, they have all the neces- 
 saries of life in abundance ; and both saw-mills 
 and grist-mills in their own neighbourhood. The 
 wind being against us, and there being many ra- 
 pids to pass, we did not advance so fast as we ex- 
 pected. I was not a little surprised tbrt, not- 
 withstanding the number of boats that ascend this 
 river, there is no towing path at the rapids. 
 Those who pull at the rope have to struggle 
 through the inequalities of the ground the best 
 way they can, sometimes in mud, sometimes among 
 stones, and sometimes up to the knees in water. 
 In the afternoon, being on shore, my road at one 
 time lay through a wood, in which were some of 
 
ry 
 
 60 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 the largest pine trees I had ever seen : the trunk 
 of one, which had been blown down by the wind, 
 was about a hundred feet long, and more than 
 five feet diameter at the lower end. At sunset we 
 took up our lodging at a paltry tavern, seven 
 miles below Prescott. The prospect of the St. 
 Lawrence is here delightful : both banks are cul- 
 tivated, and a long chain of wooded islands lies in 
 the middle, extending many miles in length. 
 
 June 18. — We got up at five, and proceeded 
 on our journey. We found the river wider, and 
 the current not so strong as lower down. About 
 seven, we went ashore to breakfast at a farm- 
 house : the farmer was the owner of three hundred 
 acres of good land, and yet the house presented 
 a picture of wretchedness I can scarcely describe. 
 The little furniture it contained was mere rubbish, 
 and the clothes and beds of the family consisted 
 of little else than rags ; and yet, amidst these 
 symptoms of poverty, there were silver spoons 
 on the table. An hour more brought us to Pres- 
 cott, which is a thriving village, and a port of 
 entry, about half a mile from Fort Wellington. 
 
 I went immediately to seek the Commissary, but 
 he was not at home, having just gone to the coun- 
 try to breakfast. Being anxious to proceed di- 
 rectly to Perth, I went to him, having obtained 
 information where he was : having found him, I de- 
 livered my letter, and expressed a wish to be de- 
 tained at Prescott as little as possible. In the 
 mean time, the batteau was brought up to the 
 government store, and unloaded upon the wharf, 
 but our goods lay till evening before the Commis- 
 sary found it convenient to come down to open 
 the door to receive them. Waggons being scarce, 
 
 I found I should have to wait some time ; I there- 
 fore hired two rooms, while we should remain, at 
 two shillings a-day. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 61 
 
 June 19. — The Commissary having assured me 
 that I should have the first waggons that could be 
 got, I waited all dav in the hopes of getting for- 
 ward, but none came. I proposed sending for 
 some, but to this he was averse : he said they ne- 
 ver urged the farmers to go, as this would make 
 them extravagant in their demands, and they 
 were so lazy, that they never came of their own 
 accord till the want of money compelled them. 
 
 In the afternoon, I and a friend went across 
 the river to Ogdensburg, in the state of New 
 York. There is a ferry-boat constantly employ- 
 ed at this place ; the river is about a mile and a 
 half across ; at the landing place there is a large 
 building for the storing of flour and other pro- 
 duce ; and a little to the west are the ruins of a 
 small fort, which the British burnt when they took 
 the town in the late war. A considerable river, 
 on which there are several mills, falls into the St. 
 Lawrence on the west side of the town. The 
 houses are in general neat, and well built ; and 
 the inhabitants seemed to enjoy comfort and 
 abundance. The court house is a large building, 
 three stories high : on the ground-floor is the jail, 
 and apartments for the keeper ; the second floor 
 contains the court room, which is occasionally used 
 as a church, there being then no building express- 
 ly set apart for that purpose. We met a man at 
 the door, who, upon our asking admission, very 
 civilly showed us the whole building. Upon learn- 
 ing that we were strangers, he conducted us to 
 the upper story, in one end of which there is a 
 free-masons , hall, and in the other several neat 
 apartments furnished with beds. One of these he 
 said we were welcome to occupy while we remain- 
 ed in the place : he at the same time offered to 
 introduce us to some respectable people, if we 
 wished to remain in the town ; we thanked him. 
 
r ry 
 
 02 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 but declined his kind offer. We next took a walk 
 through the town : it contains many shops, or 
 stores, well furnished with goods, but most kinds 
 we considered dear, being twice as high as in Bri- 
 tain. In the evening we returned to the Cana- 
 dian side of the river. 
 
 June 20 . — About mid-day two waggons came 
 to carry loads to Perth, and we were in hopes of 
 getting away, but were disappointed ; for they 
 were permitted to choose their own loading, and 
 they preferred government stores. After they 
 were gone, I learned that the reason they assigned 
 for refusing to take my family and luggage to 
 Perth was, that they heard that 1 was a minister, 
 and expected that I would reprove them for swear- 
 ing, a vice to which they were very much addict, 
 ed. Indeed I found this to be the case v/ith many, 
 even of those from whom better things might be 
 expected. While I was standing on the wharf in 
 the afternoon, five batteaux came up, loaded with 
 government stores. The storekeeper being pre- 
 sent, gave orders respecting the unloading of them, 
 which not being obeyed so readily as he wished, 
 he got into a violent passion, and swore shocking- 
 ly. But recollecting himself, he turned round 
 and said, u I beg pardon for being so unmanner- 
 ly as to swear in your presence.” I replied, that 
 it was certainly very unmannerly to swear in any 
 one s presence, but he ought rather to ask pardon 
 of God for swearing in his presence, which was 
 much worse than to swear in mine. “ It is true,” 
 said he, but these Canadians are such a set of 
 brutes, that they would make a saint swear.” 
 Though he was sensible it was wrong, yet he had 
 no sooner turned from me, than he began to swear 
 at them as rudely as before. This is a specimen 
 of the ridiculous conduct which a common swearer 
 exhibits. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 63 
 
 The hatred existing between the English and 
 Americans I found was not extinguished, though 
 the war was at an end. In the morning a despe- 
 rate and bloody fight took place at the river 
 side, between an American and an Englishman, 
 who had agreed to give each other a sound beat- 
 ing for the honour of their respective countries. 
 Such occurrences, I was told, are not rare, though 
 they proceed from no other motive than national 
 animosity. The melancholy effects of the war are 
 to be seen even in the morals of the people. 
 Drunkenness and profane swearing are quite com- 
 mon, and even some of the females are addicted 
 to these vices. Provisions are dear, and not easi- 
 ly obtained. This is the case all the way between 
 Montreal and Kingston, a distance of 200 miles. 
 Taverns are numerous, but most of them are of 
 the lowest description in all respects except their 
 charges, which are generally sufficiently high. 
 The farmers, too, are generally rude in their man- 
 ners, and many of them destitute of education. 
 
 June 21. — Three waggons came in the morn- 
 ing, but they declined taking baggage, and loaded 
 with stores. They said the road was bad, and a 
 load of beef or flour was not so easily upset as 
 lighter articles. The Commissary informed me 
 that he had learned from a gentleman just come 
 from Brockville, that my friend Mr. Smart had 
 been waiting for me there two or three days. He 
 therefore advised me to proceed, and make ar- 
 rangements for the accommodation of my family, 
 and he would forward them by the first opportu- 
 nity. Being tired of waiting, I agreed to this, 
 and set out immediately. Brockville is a thriving 
 village, on the bank of the St. Lawrence, twelve 
 miles from Prescott. On my arrival, I experien- 
 ced the kindest reception from Messrs. Morris 
 and Easton and their families. Mr. Smart had 
 
61 
 
 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 left Brockville a little before, but Mr. Easton des- 
 patched a messenger to inform him of my arrival, 
 when he returned. Those alone who have been 
 placed in similar circumstances, can form an idea 
 of the pleasure I felt on seeing my worthy friend 
 after a separation of nearly ten years. Our first 
 salutations were followed by many inquiries after 
 each other’s welfare. The afternoon escaped un- 
 perceived ; but we did not part even at night, for 
 I accompanied him to his own house, which was 
 five miles distant. How comfortable and refresh- 
 ing is Christian society in a country where real 
 Christians are not numerous ! Never did I feel 
 the observation more forcibly applied, “ As iron 
 sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the counte- 
 nance of his friend.” In the course of our con- 
 versation, I received much valuable information 
 lespecting Perth, and the people amongst whom 
 I was going to settle. The prospect I found was 
 by no means flattering; but if God is glorified, 
 the kingdom of Christ enlarged, and sinners con- 
 verted from the error of their ways, I shall not 
 regret any personal sacrifices it may be necessary 
 to make. J 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Sabbath, June 22. — It providentially happened 
 that Mr. Smart’s new church, being just finished, 
 was to be dedicated to-day. On our arrival at 
 rockville, the church was crowded, and worship 
 began immediately. The Rev. Mr. Easton, from 
 Montreal, preached in the forenoon, and I in the 
 afternoon. When the congregation was dismissed, 
 
UPPER CANADA. 65 
 
 several people from different parts of the country 
 crowded round me, welcomed me to the province, 
 and expressed a hope that I would make it con- 
 venient sometimes to preach among them. One 
 gentleman, whose house was eleven miles forward 
 on the road to Perth, said, if I would stop with 
 him all night, he would take me home in his wag- 
 gon, and furnish me a horse to proceed on my 
 journey in the morning. Grateful for such at- 
 tention from strangers, I gladly accepted his 
 offer. 
 
 June 23. — My kind host having furnished me 
 a horse, according to his promise, I set out at an 
 early hour, the weather being hot. About nine 
 I halted at a paltry tavern to breakfast, where I 
 had a good specimen of American rudeness. On 
 entering the house I found the landlady seated at 
 table, with three or four savage-looking fellows, 
 who appeared to be farm servants. They had no 
 clothing on except woollen shirts and trowsers. 
 On inquiring if I could be furnished with break- 
 fast, the mistress replied, with a very insolent tone 
 and air, “ Yes, I guess so ; if you will walk into 
 the other room, and wait till I have finished my 
 own.” I had forgot the instructions I had re- 
 ceived. Had I seated myself at table, sans cerc- 
 monie , with the good lady and her servants, all 
 would have been well. The tavern-keepers in 
 Canada are mostly from the United States, and 
 they seldom fail to resent the least appearance of 
 superiority shown by travellers. Had I known 
 of another tavern on the road, I would have pro- 
 ceeded ; but as there was no other for many miles, 
 I concluded it was best to walk into the log cabin, 
 and rest myself till my saucy mistress had leisure 
 to attend to me. After a delay of half an hour, 
 breakfast made its appearance, consisting of rye- 
 bread, rancid butter, a stinking mutton chop, and 
 

 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 tea sweetened with maple sugar. For this repast 
 I was charged two shillings, which was sixpence 
 more than the usual charge. After leaving this 
 house, I travelled seven or eight miles, along a 
 narrow path in the wood, without seeing a house 
 or a human being, often in doubt whether I was 
 proceeding in the right direction or not. The 
 trees were large, and. the soil excellent, and I 
 would have been happy in the contemplation of 
 the future improvements of the wilderness I was 
 traversing, had I not been surrounded with clouds 
 
 of musquitoes, which stung me most unmerci- 
 fully. 
 
 Before entering the wood, I had left my horse 
 at a farm house to be returned by the first oppor- 
 tumty. As I walked along on foot, a large snake 
 glided into the path before me, raised its crest, 
 and began to hiss. I had read a great deal 
 a . . out American snakes, and did not know but 
 this might be one of a dangerous kind. I there- 
 fore thought it most prudent to avoid its compa- 
 took a circuit round it, and got into the 
 path on the other side. Looking back, I found 
 it had faced about, curled up its tail, and hissed 
 with great fury. Not knowing what its inten- 
 ions might be, I walked on to avoid farther in- 
 convenience. At a place called the Beaver Mea- 
 d°w, I found a hut, at which I procured some 
 refreshment, and rested myself half an hour, the 
 day being very hot. Proceeding on my journey, 
 
 I travelled through seven miles more of a thick 
 orest, when I came to the ferry where the Rideau 
 
 lJ^ IS cr ? ssed - . Th . is ,ake is near thirty miles in 
 g > and varying in breadth from two miles to 
 
 fomul ° f , a , m le - ° n the banks ° f tins lake I 
 found several habitations ; the people were kind ; 
 
 duced b f’ ng fatlgUed ' VUh m y journey, I was in- 
 duced to remain all night ; but my face and 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 67 
 
 hands had been so much stung with musquitoes 
 during the day, that they now swelled and in- 
 flamed, and pained me so much that I could 
 scarcely shut my eyes. 
 
 June 24. — At an early hour I set out to finish 
 my journey, and crossed the lake in a canoe. 
 Perth was still distant about seven miles, and the 
 road lay through the woods as before ; but a 
 young man accompanied me as a guide. The 
 morning was hot, musquitoes were numerous, and 
 the journey fatiguing. At last, after many a 
 weary step, an opening appeared in the wood, and 
 Perth was announced. Fifteen months before, it 
 was a thick forest, twenty miles from the habita- 
 tions of men. Its first appearance forcibly re- 
 minded me of Virgil’s description of Carthage, 
 when iEneas visited Dido on the African shore. 
 
 Instant ardentes Tyrii ; pars ducere muros, 
 Molirique arcem, et manibus subvolvere saxa ; 
 Pars aptare locum tecto, et concludere sulco. 
 
 Jura magistratusque legunt, sanctumque senatum. 
 
 They differed, however, in this, that in the 
 African city stones were used in their buildings, 
 while here timber was chiefly employed. 
 
 Perth is pleasantly situated on both banks of 
 the Tay, formerly called the Pike River. The 
 length of the town is seven-eighths of a mile, the 
 breadth somewhat less. The streets are regular- 
 ly laid out, and cross each other at right angles, 
 at the distance of 140 yards from each other. 
 Many hands were employed makingimprovements, 
 and at least sixty acres were already cleared. About 
 thirty log-houses were erected, and materials col- 
 lected for more. The river runs through the town, 
 and varies from thirty to fifty yards in breadth. 
 At the upper side of the town it contains an 
 island, measuring about ten acres, and connected 
 

 68 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 with the two sides of the town by two wooden 
 bridges. On this island the militia are annually 
 mustered, on St. George’s day. Near the centre 
 of the town there is a hill, on which are erected 
 the jail, the court-house, and two of the churches. 
 The streets are sixty-six feet wide, and, by their 
 intersections, divide the site of the town into 
 squares of four acres each. Each building lot 
 contains an acre ; so that the gardens are large, 
 and the houses at a considerable distance from 
 one another. The town now contains about a 
 hundred buildings, some of them finished in an 
 elegant and commodious manner. — But I had for- 
 gotten that I was describing my arrival. 
 
 Without delay I waited on the Superintendent, 
 Captain Fowler, with my letters from Quebec. 
 He received me politely, and said he would render 
 me all the assistance in his power. In the mean 
 time, he granted me a lot of land near the town, 
 containing twenty-five acres. In the course of the 
 day I was introduced to the chief magistrate, and 
 a few of the half pay officers, many of whom are 
 settled here. J 
 
 June 25.—- After breakfast I took a walk in 
 company with two officers, to see the Scotch set- 
 tlement. A line extending seven miles in length 
 is settled on both sides by emigrants from Scot- 
 land. The land appeared to be good, and the im- 
 provements proceeding rapidly. In a new settle- 
 ment, much labour and perseverance are necessa- 
 ry, to cut down woods, build houses, and inclose 
 nelds; but here these are not wanting. The day 
 was hot, and the musquitoes annoyed us so much, 
 that we had not proceeded more than two miles, 
 when we were forced to return. In the evening, 
 is. Bell and the children arrived, together with 
 three waggons loaded with baggage. We took 
 immediate possession of a small Jog house I had 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 69 
 
 rented for L.20 a-year. This was double its va- 
 lue, but as it was the only place to be obtained 
 in the village, I was forced to give what the 
 owner demanded. It was indeed more like a 
 stable than a dwelling house j but as we were 
 as well lodged as our neighbours, we studied con- 
 tentment. All the children, on their arrival, were 
 shockingly bitten by musquitoes, but we rubbed 
 their hands and faces with strong vinegar, which 
 considerably moderated the pain. In" two days 
 they all got better, except one of them, whose 
 face was so much swollen that he continued al- 
 most blind for a week. 
 
 Nearly twelve weeks had now elapsed, since 
 we took leave of our friends in Scotland. The 
 difficulties we had experienced in our way to this 
 place, were numerous, but not more so than we 
 had anticipated. With a family of six children^ 
 the eldest only fourteen years of age, we could 
 not reasonably expect it to be merely a pleasure 
 voyage; but, thanks to that kind Providence, 
 winch has ever preserved us, we all arrived in 
 safety and good health. Thus, having obeyed 
 the first part of your commands, I shall in my 
 next proceed to the second. J 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 In the year 1814, the attention of His Maies 
 ty s government having been called to the tide of 
 emigration, at that time flowing from Great Bri 
 tain to the United States, the following plan was 
 adopted to direct it to Canada. A free passage 
 was offered to those who were disposed to emi- 
 
m 
 
 
 
 70 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 grate to that colony ; a hundred acres of land to 
 each family upon their arrival, together with im- 
 plements and rations, for a limited period, from 
 the government store. The heads of families 
 were to deposite, in the hands of the government 
 agent, as a security for performing the conditions, 
 L.16 for the husband, and two guineas for the 
 wife ; but this money was to be repaid them two 
 years after they settled upon their lands. All 
 children under sixteen years of age were to be 
 carried out free ; and on their attaining the age 
 of twenty-one, to have each 100 acres of land. 
 In Scotland, about seven hundred persons, men, 
 women, and children, accepted these liberal offers, 
 and in June, 1815, they embarked at Greenock, 
 and sailed in four transports for Canada. 
 
 On their arrival at Quebec, they were ordered 
 to proceed up the St. Lawrence. It was the 
 wish of the governor to settle them near Drum- 
 mondville, in the lower province; but, as they 
 were allowed to choose for themselves, they pre- 
 ferred the upper province, where the climate is 
 milder, and the soil better. A few days’ stay at 
 Montreal gave some, who began to be tired of 
 the expedition, an opportunity of deserting it, 
 and settling in that city ; others went over to the 
 United States. Both of these classes, of course, 
 forfeited their deposite money ; but that was now 
 of no consequence, as they had obtained a free 
 passage for themselves and families. The re- 
 mainder of the expedition, having proceeded up 
 the river eighty-four miles farther, landed at 
 Cornwall, where part of them were settled on 
 some vacant crown lands on the west side of 
 Glengary. The remainder, to the number of 
 sixty families, proceeded sixty miles higher up 
 the St. Lawrence, and landed at Brockville. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 71 
 
 Summer being already far spent, and some 
 difficulty having occurred, respecting the place 
 of settlement, it was determined that they should 
 remain in the barracks at Brockville, till the fol- 
 lowing spring. To those who had large families 
 this delay was a serious loss, for though they re- 
 ceived rations all the time they remained, yet 
 they stood in need ol clothing and other neces- 
 saries, which they could ill afford to provide. To 
 those who had no families, and were willing to la- 
 bour, it was an advantage ; for they had time to 
 lay by a little for future use, money being then 
 plentiful, and workmen in demand. 
 
 It was while the settlers remained at Brockville 
 they prepared and forwarded a petition for a mi- 
 nister to be sent out to them. The plan they 
 pursued, though good in itself, was connected 
 with some unpleasant circumstances. Government 
 
 had promised them a small salary for a minister 
 and a schoolmaster, previously to their leaving 
 home. 1 he latter they had brought along with 
 them, and now they proposed to send for the 
 former ; but, being connected with all the four 
 branches of the Presbyterian church in Scotland, 
 they could not, for some time, agree to which of 
 them they should apply for a minister. This to 
 them was in reality a matter of no importance, as 
 none of those causes of difference exist here which 
 dmde Presbyterians at home. A faithful mini- 
 ster, ot 1 resbyterian principles, was what thev 
 wanted, and the points on which they differed 
 ought never once to have been mentioned. Un- 
 happuy , however, this was not the case. Dis- 
 putes and contentions took place, the bad effects 
 of which are felt to this day. After some angry 
 discussion, a great majority of them at last 
 agreed to apply to the Associate Presbytery of 
 
 

 72 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 Edinburgh, and leave it to them to select a suit- 
 able person for their minister. A petition was 
 prepared, signed, and forwarded accordingly. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1816, they were directed 
 to proceed to the place of settlement on the banks of 
 the Tay. The townships of Bathurst, Drummond, 
 and Beckwith, had been surveyed, and were now 
 open for their reception. In the adjoining town- 
 ships of Elmsley and Burgess, which had been 
 surveyed before the war, there was also a good 
 deal of vacant land. A place for a government 
 depot and a town had been laid out on the banks 
 of the Tay, forty-two miles north from the St. 
 Lawrence. About the beginning of March the 
 settlers set out for their new residence ; but before 
 they could reach it with their baggage, they had 
 to open a road twenty miles of the way through 
 a forest. Having reached the spot where the 
 village of Perth now stands, they began to clear 
 the ground and prepare for building. Some huts 
 covered with boughs or bark were the first build- 
 ings they erected. The King's store, Superin- 
 tendents office, and a bridge across the Tay, soon 
 followed. Those who wished to become farmers 
 were settled upon their lands at once ; but those 
 who wished to settle in the village obtained town 
 lots of an acre each, on condition of clearing them 
 off and building houses. Every possible advan- 
 tage was afforded them ; every one, as he came 
 forward, having a choice of all the lots that were 
 vacant. Some, however, selected bad lots, either 
 from want of skill or an unwillingness to take the 
 trouble to go and examine the land. Colonel 
 Macdonnell was then the superintendent, and the 
 settlers often speak to this day of his kindness and 
 attention to their interest, and the loss the settle- 
 ment sustained when he left it. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 73 
 
 Before I proceed farther, let me tell you some- 
 thing about the division of the land. A township or 
 parish is generally about ten miles square, it is di- 
 vided by lines into twelve parts or concessions, and 
 each of these parts into twenty-seven lots ; eacli 
 lot containing 200 acres, except the last, which 
 contains only 100. Ordinary settlers formerly 
 received each 200 acres ; but since the last war 
 they usually receive 100. Every seventh lot is 
 set apart for the support of the church, and is 
 called a clergy reserve. The clergy connected 
 with the Church of England form a corporation 
 for the management of these lots, and lease them 
 for twenty-one years whenever they can find 
 tenants ; but as most of them lie waste, they are 
 a great hindrance to the improvement of the 
 country. 
 
 Perth settlement being formed soon after the 
 termination of the war with the United States, 
 and at a time when a great reduction in the army 
 took place, a great many discharged soldiers were 
 induced to settle there. Indeed, when I came to 
 the place, not less than two-thirds of the popula- 
 tion were of this description. The privates set- 
 tled upon the;r land, but most of the officers built 
 houses in the village, and tended not a little, by 
 the politeness of their manners, to render a resi- 
 dence here desirable. 
 
 It was expected that, in 1816, government 
 would grant the same assistance to emigrants as 
 in the preceding year; and, under this idea, 
 many had prepared to leave home. No assistance, 
 however, was afforded them on the passage, but 
 they obtained land, implements, and rations for 
 one year, the same as those who had arrived be- 
 fore them. Accordingly, in the course of the 
 summer, the settlement received a great accession 
 to its population both of emigrants and dischar^- 
 
74- 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 cd soldiers. But provisions being enormously 
 dear, and many being dissatisfied with the treat- 
 ment they received from the new superintendent, 
 left the settlement in the course of the following 
 winter, and went over to the United States. 
 
 When I arrived, June 24, 1817, the popu- 
 lation of the settlement was as follows : 
 
 Men, Women. Children. Total. 
 Emigrants, . 239 111 3G6 
 
 Discharged Soldiers, 708 179 287 
 
 947 290 653 1890 
 
 The implements granted to each settler were 
 as follows : a spade, an adze, a felling axe, a 
 brush-hook, a bill-hook, a scythe, a reaping-hook, 
 a pitch-fork, a pick-axe, nine harrow teeth, two 
 hoes, a hammer, a plane, a chisel, an auger, a 
 band saw, two gimblets, two files, one pair of 
 hinges, one door, lock and key, nine panes of 
 glass, one pound of putty, fourteen pounds of 
 nails, a camp-kettle, a frying-pan, a blanket for 
 each man or woman, and one for every two child- 
 ren. Besides these there were concession tools, 
 which a number of settlers in the same neighbour- 
 hood had in common ; such as a pit-saw, a cross- 
 cut saw, a grindstone, a crow-bar, a sledge ham- 
 mer, &c. An officer's allowance was just the 
 above list doubled. But, indeed, the supply that 
 any one received depended on how be stood with 
 the secretary. Those who enjoyed his good 
 graces obtained more, and those who had incurred 
 his displeasure less. Complaints were often made, 
 but they w r ere generally unavailing. They were 
 too numerous to be examined. Many of them 
 were made without just cause, and those that were 
 otherwise, seldom reached the governor ; but, 
 when they did, he never failed to cause the 
 grievances to be redressed. Indeed, it is but jus- 
 
c* 
 
 
 ^5 
 
 1 
 
 S;€ 
 
 
 $ 
 
 0 
 
 <c 
 
 1 
 
 fc 
 
 $ 
 
 I 
 
 Co nrejiian tin* 
 fas fen Street 
 
 Herr rot Street 
 
 [J 1 
 
 lXj 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 X 
 
 I 
 
 %**/'<> nr* fsion line 
 Foster Street ■ 
 
 Herriel Street. 
 
 Harvey Street. 
 
 Crtriy Street 
 
 Broc,k Street 
 
 Cockbartt Street 
 
 Hatton Street 
 
 Robinson Sh'ee t 
 
 
 211 
 
 
 
 
 
 '3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 in 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dewaitevdl* St 
 
 j Brock Street . 
 
 j Cockburn Street . 
 
 Hatton Street - 
 
 Robinson Street - 
 
 The Idarid is reserved tor Tttrrtd* 
 ground for the Militia 
 J A rising ground containing huor-es 
 
 2 The Kings Store 
 5 The Superintendents 0/Tice 
 ‘ t /he Roman tathcUe Chttrah 
 
 (REFERENCES 
 
 I Sralt* 15 CTiains to t»u brirh 
 
 reserved, by Government /hr gu/^He bnddwgsh The English. Epitcvgul L 
 
 6 The, Jail and Courthouse 
 
 7 The, ThbUc, Sckfc/he’ise 
 
 8 The. Methodist ihapd 
 
 9 The. Untying If rcimd 
 
 jSConcefs wrt tin* - 
 1P/L PrrriyTeridn Chunk 
 U The Pheeiytertatb Manse Got 
 12 A Small Braver Meadow 
 'A.Sell l>tW 
 
 braver ■'icgK W' _ 
 
 ' . ThomS'iti Sculp’. Uo.™ • 
 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 75 
 
 tice to say, that government, both at home and 
 here, have scrupulously fulfilled their engage- 
 ments to the settlers, and even done more for 
 them than was promised. It is true that the set- 
 tlers have not obtained their deeds so soon as they 
 expected, but it is hoped they will not be much 
 longer delayed. The abuses committed in the 
 settlement, I have reason to believe, were not only 
 contrary to the intentions of government, but 
 without their knowledge. 
 
 The settlement was formed under the direction 
 of the commander of the forces ; and the expenses, 
 which were considerable, were defrayed out of the 
 military chest. The settlement was indeed en- 
 tirely military, and the officers in charge of it 
 have mostly been connected with that department. 
 But while it was under the direction of a civilian , 
 if I may be allowed to use such a term, the 
 greatest abuses were committed. This man was 
 as haughty and insolent to those below him as he 
 was fawning and cringing to those above him. 
 His conduct indeed was such that many good set- 
 tlers, unable to endure his tyranny, relinquished 
 their lands, and left the settlement in disgust. 
 Hundreds, on their way to Perth, hearing how 
 their predecessors had been treated, turned back, 
 and went over to the Uni#d States. Instead of 
 studying to advance the prosperity of the settle- 
 ment, all his plans seemed to be formed to procure 
 its ruin. Never was the insolence of office dis- 
 played in a more forbidding point of view. Ren- 
 dered bold by impunity, he laid no restraint upon 
 his malevolent disposition. He oppressed the 
 settlers, insulted religion, and plundered the pro- 
 perty of government. 
 
 Little does John Bull know what rogues he 
 sometimes has in his service, in the distant parts 
 of his dominions ; and little did I expect that, 
 e 2 
 
 
76 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 under the British government, such abuses could 
 so long escape detection. At last, however, the 
 day of retribution arrived. Colonel Cockburn, 
 under whose superintendence the settlement was 
 then placed, came to Perth to see how the settle- 
 ment was going on. On the following morning he 
 ordered a court of inquiry to be assembled, pledg- 
 ing himself that, if the complaints against the se- 
 cretary were well founded, he should be imediate- 
 ly dismissed. On examining witnesses, the prin- 
 cipal of which were the clerks in the office, it was 
 clearly proved that he had not only been guilty of 
 abuse of power, but of embezzling king’s stores, 
 and of defrauding government of money to a large 
 amount by false returns. But no immediate steps 
 being taken to secure his person, he made his 
 escape, and reached the United States in safety. 
 
 During the year 1818, many of the settlers suf- 
 fered great hardships. The crops of the two for- 
 mer years had not only been scanty, but the ex- 
 tent of land in cultivation was small. Their cloth- 
 ing, which is subject to much tear and wear in the 
 woods, was greatly reduced, and the prospect alto- 
 gether was by no means cheering. Numerous pe- 
 titions were prepared and dispatched to the go- 
 vernor, praying for further assistance in rations. 
 After some delay, half rations were granted to 
 those who w T ere in the greatest distress, and who 
 had large families. This supply afforded a great 
 relief to the settlement; but, as it was only to be 
 continued till the harvest, that season xvas waited 
 for with the most anxious expectations and fervent 
 prayers. When it arrived, by the blessing of God, 
 it brought plenty along with it. The potatoe 
 crop in particular, was not only abundant but of 
 an excellent quality, and formed the principal sup- 
 port of many poor families for the next twelve 
 months. Some indeed had grain, but not being 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 77 
 
 a, 
 
 > abiisen, 
 however, 
 ael Codb 
 
 settlemiti 
 how these 
 ing momnj 
 sembled, p, 
 i against I 
 ild be m 
 esses, tk| 
 he office,:: 
 y been g£- 
 
 g king’s® 
 
 noney toil 
 immediatf: 
 n, he mi 
 :ates iim 
 'the settle 
 s of the Is 
 ity, but j 
 dt The: 
 
 ■ and wear: 
 lie prosper. 
 Numerit 
 hed to i 
 ance in n 
 ere 
 
 istress, aai 
 jffordedij 
 was only 
 
 SOD 
 
 ons andl? 
 Jessinjl 
 Tkffi 
 
 (initial 
 princip 
 ? next 1 ' 
 jut $ 
 
 able to get it ground, some were forced to boil and 
 eat it whole; others bruised it imperfectly be- 
 tween two flat stones; while a few, who could af- 
 ford a coffee-mill, ground small quantities into 
 meal by that contrivance. Since that time, pro- 
 visions have been growing more abundant every 
 year, and all who are industrious have more than 
 they can consume. The first year after the set- 
 tlement was formed, provisions of all kinds were 
 enormously dear, and though they were nearly 
 one-half cheaper in 1817, when I arrived, yet 
 they were high in comparison of what they are 
 now. The subjoined list will give you some idea 
 of the rate of provisions, servants 1 wages, cattle, 
 &c. in 1817 and 1823. 
 
 18 17. In 1823. 
 
 A barrel of flour 14 dollars. 4 dollars. 
 
 A bushel of potatoes 2 do. 1 shilling. 
 
 A bushel of Indian corn 2 do. 2 do. 
 
 A bushel of wheat 4 do. 4 do. 
 
 Eeef or mutton 9d. 3 d. 
 
 Fork lOd. 3 ,^ 
 
 llutter Is. 8 d. gd. 
 
 Cheese Is. 
 
 Loaf sugar 2s. j s# 
 
 Maple sugar Is. 3d. 4 d. 
 
 A man servant 16 dollars a month. 6 dollars. 
 
 A woman do. 6 do. 3 do. 
 
 A good horse 100 do. 60 do. 
 
 A good cow 30 do. 20 do. 
 
 A sheep 5 do. 2 do. 
 
 Spanish dollars are the principal silver coins in 
 circulation, though all kinds pass without difficul- 
 ty. Halifax currency is the standard by which 
 our accounts are regulated, and fixes dollars at 
 5 shillings ; so that our currency is to British as 
 10 to 9, that is, eighteen shillings of your cur- 
 rency are equal to twenty of ours. 
 
 From the low price of provisions, it is evident 
 the farmer is but poorly rewarded for his trouble, 
 even when he can obtain a market for his produce ; 
 
78 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 but, as this is not always the case, when money is 
 wanted to procure clothing, or other necessaries 
 for his family, he is often reduced to the greatest 
 difficulties. Those, indeed, who are considerate 
 and industrious, see the nature of the country, 
 and manufacture their own clothing, thereby keep- 
 in o’ themselves independent of the merchants, 
 who, by the sale of imported goods at a high 
 price, drain the country of cash. 
 
 Could a few gentlemen, possessing spirit and 
 capital, be persuaded to establish manufactories in 
 this settlement, they would tend greatly to pro- 
 mote the prosperity of the colony. I have often 
 wondered that nothing of this kind has been at- 
 tempted. Labour, provisions, and building ma- 
 terials, are both cheap and abundant; and me- 
 chanics of all descriptions can be readily obtained. 
 The first attempts at establishing manufactories 
 in a new country, must always be attended with 
 difficulty and expense ; but if conducted prudent- 
 ly and perseveringly they cannot fail to enrich 
 their owners. 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 During the last w^ar with the United States, it 
 was found that the transportation of stores and 
 reinforcements by the route of the St. Lawrence 
 was attended with great inconvenience and risk. 
 The south bank of that river being the enemy's 
 frontier, every brigade of boats was continually 
 exposed to attack unless strongly guarded. This 
 circumstance seems to have suggested the neces- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 79 
 
 sity of opening a safer line of communication be- 
 tween Montreal and Kingston. Various plans 
 were proposed, and for some time occupied the 
 attention of government. At last it was resolved 
 that the navigation of the Ottawa or Grand River 
 should be improved as far as the Nepean, which is 
 about 1 22 miles from Montreal ; and that from 
 the Point, or landing place there, a military road 
 should be opened through the Richmond and 
 Perth settlements, and from thence to Kingston. 
 To the execution of this plan some considerable 
 obtacles were opposed. 
 
 The river Ottawa contains a long and danger- 
 ous rapid called the Longue Sault 9 which neither 
 boats nor rafts can pass without the greatest dif- 
 ficulty. This obstacle is to be removed, by build- 
 ing locks, and cutting a canal on the north bank 
 of the river to the length of about twelve miles. 
 This undertaking is now executing at the ex- 
 pense, and under the direction of government. 
 About one-half of the cut is already completed, 
 and is attended with very considerable expense, 
 most of it being through a hard rock. When fi- 
 nished, it will tend greatly to improve the coun- 
 try ; as, besides its original intention, it will open 
 a direct and easy communication between Mont- 
 real and the numerous settlements formed, and 
 to be formed on the banks of this fine river. 
 
 The military road from the Point of Nepean on 
 the south bank of the Grand River, to Kingston, 
 is already opened, but not finished. The distance 
 from the Point to Richmond is twenty miles, from 
 Richmond to Perth thirty miles, and from Perth 
 to Kingston about seventy miles ; so that the 
 whole distance from Montreal to Kingston by this 
 route will be 240 miles. 
 
 To facilitate this plan, as well as to contribute 
 to the improvement of the country, the military 
 
80 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 settlements of Perth, Richmond, and Lanark, 
 were formed under the direction of the comman- 
 der of the forces. Having already given you some 
 account of the first of these, I shall now proceed 
 to the second. 
 
 Richmond settlement was formed in the sum- 
 mer of 1818. The 99th regiment being reduced 
 that year, the men were offered a location of land 
 in the usual proportions, if they chose to settle 
 there. A great number of them accepted this 
 offer, and were conveyed to the settlement at the 
 expense of government. They were placed un- 
 der the superintendence of Major Burke, and re- 
 ceived rations for one year, besides the usual al- 
 lowance of implements, &c. Some of them have 
 become useful and industrious settlers, but, like 
 other discharged soldiers, a great proportion of 
 them left the settlement as soon as their rations 
 were consumed. 
 
 A more steady and persevering class of farmers 
 was found in a body of emigrants, who, in the 
 same summer, arrived from Perthshire, in Scot- 
 land, under the direction of a Mr. Robertson, 
 who had previously arranged the terms of their 
 emigration with Earl Bathurst. They paid their 
 own passage to Quebec, but were conveyed from 
 t hence to their land at the expense of government. 
 
 I hev were nearly all settled in the township of 
 Beckwith, which lies about mid- way between 
 Richmond and Perth. With good characters and 
 industrious habits, they could not fail to succeed, 
 and they now enjoy independence and plenty. 
 
 The town of Richmond, which has its name 
 fiom the commander of the forces, who unfortu- 
 nately died near that place, is pleasantly situated 
 on the banks of the river Jock, which runs through 
 it, and falls into the Rideau, twenty miles below 
 the town. It is about the same extent, and laid 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 81 
 
 out something like Perth, but it does not contain 
 so many houses. A few half-pay officers are set- 
 tled here, who have contributed much to its im- 
 provement. In the town there is a government 
 store and several merchants’ shops ; and about a 
 mile higher up the river there is both a saw-mill 
 and a grist-mill, the property of Captain Lyons. 
 Richmond settlement, like that of Perth, contains 
 much good land ; but, being mostly level, there 
 are several swamps of considerable extent. But 
 when these are cleared, drained, and sown with 
 grass, they will make excellent pasture. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 The settlement at Lanark was formed in the 
 year 1820, under the following circumstances : 
 The distress, arising from the want of employ- 
 ment and low wages, induced a number of maniir 
 facturers, mechanics, and others in Glasgow, La- 
 nark, and other places in the west of Scotland, to 
 form societies, and petition government to convey 
 them to Canada, grant them lands, and assist 
 them till they could raise a crop for the support 
 of their families. The whole of their petition it 
 appears could not be granted ; but, through the 
 influence, it is said, of Lord Archibald Hamilton, 
 Ivirkman Finlay, Esq. and other benevolent gen- 
 tlemen, they obtained from government a grant 
 of land, and L.10 a-heacl in money, to assist them 
 in settling themselves in Canada. Upwards of 
 nine hundred individuals having accepted these 
 terms, shortly after sailed for Quebec. In the course 
 of the summer, a subscription of L.500, raised in 
 
82/ LETTERS FROM TERTH, 
 
 London, together with a smaller sum raised in Glas- 
 gow, enabled 176 more, who had not money enough 
 to pay their own passage, to follow. On their ar- 
 rival at Quebec, they were without loss of time for- 
 warded to Perth, where the Earl of Dalhousie or- 
 dered them to be settled, in two newly surveyed 
 townships, to the north-west of this settlement. One 
 of these townships is called Lanark, that being 
 the name of the county from which most of the 
 emigrants came. It is watered by a considerable 
 river, which now obtained the name of the Clyde. 
 In a convenient spot on the banks of this river a 
 village was laid out, and a government store 
 erected. Captain Marshall was appointed super- 
 intendent of the new settlement, an arrangement 
 to which it is indebted for much of its prosperity. 
 This gentleman was not only distinguished for 
 humanity, affability, and good management, but, 
 in consequence of his long residence in the coun* 
 try, was well acquainted with the difficulties to 
 which a new settlement is exposed. The other 
 township was named Dalhousie, in honour of the 
 commander of the forces. 
 
 It was an unfortunate circumstance for these 
 people, that they arrived so late in the season. 
 Had they come two months earlier, they would 
 have had good weather to go upon their land, 
 erect huts, and clear an acre or two for fall wheat 
 before the winter set in ; but the summer being 
 over before they could make any improvement, or 
 secure themselves from the severity of the wea- 
 ther, much distress and loss of property were the 
 consequences. The prudent and industrious part 
 of them, hovrever, surmounted every obstacle, and 
 are doing well. I3ut the thoughtless and impro- 
 vident part, of which the number was not small, 
 squandered away the money they received from 
 government, and spent their time in idleness, till 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 83 
 
 poverty and want appeared, and awoke them from 
 the dream of happiness and abundance with whicii 
 they had been feasting their imaginations. They 
 then discovered what they might have known be- 
 fore, that in Canada as well as in Scotland, they 
 who will not work must not expect to eat. 
 
 The accounts from the infant settlement, trans- 
 mitted to the societies in Scotland, being general- 
 ly favourable, thousands were anxious to emi- 
 grate; and, early in the following spring, made 
 preparations for that purpose. A committee of 
 persons, of great respectability, was formed to 
 arrange the details of the business. They 
 applied to government, and obtained permis- 
 sion for 1800 to go on the same terms as those 
 that went in the preceding year. Upon examin- 
 ing the lists of the different societies, however, it 
 was found that the applicants amounted to be- 
 tween 6000 and 7000. In the preceding year, 
 many who applied in the first instance, found af- 
 terwards that they were unable to raise money to 
 pay their passage, and other necessary expenses. 
 I he committee judging that it might be so now, 
 did not use any other meaus for reducing the 
 number, till they ascertained how many could 
 comply with the terms proposed by government 
 
 Upon the presidents of the different societies 
 making them returns, it was found that no more 
 than 188.1 had the means of paying their passage 
 and other expenses. The necessary arrangements 
 being made, tins number embarked at Greenock 
 m the spring of 1821, on board four transports, 
 named the George Canning, the Earl of Buck- 
 inghamshire, the Commerce, and the David ; and 
 
 safet)* pr ° Si)eroUS P assa o c > arrived at Quebec in 
 
 Gieat praise is due to the committee of o-n n t.] e 
 men above mentioned, as well as to their score- 
 
 
81 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 tary, Mr. Robert Lamond, for the pains they took 
 to get the arrangements with government complet- 
 ed, and providing good accommodation for the 
 emigrants on their passage, and at the lowest pos- 
 sible rate. 
 
 This emigration produced very beneficial con- 
 sequences, not only to the emigrants themselves, 
 but to the country in general. The distresses 
 which the lower classes suffered had produced a 
 spirit of discontent, which threatened to lead to 
 very serious consequences. But the discussions 
 about the advantages and disadvantages of emi- 
 grating to America soon engaged the attention of 
 all who were not satisfied with their situation at 
 home. Taxes and politics gave way to the more 
 interesting subject of obtaining a treehold farm in 
 Canada ; and though the number that actually left 
 the country formed but a small proportion of the 
 labouring and manfacturing classes, yet those that 
 remained found readier employment, and better 
 wages. „ -J 
 
 The assistance granted to the emigrants by go- 
 vernment, consisted of money, implements, and 
 land. The amount of money was L.10 each for 
 every man, woman, and child. The sum charged 
 for conveying them and their baggage from Que- 
 bec to Lanark was L.£ a-head, but it cost govern- 
 ment more, the distance being little short of 400 
 miles. Of the remaining L.8, they received L.S 
 on their arrival at the place of settlement, L.3 
 more at the end of three months, and the remain- 
 ing L.2 at the end of six months, from the date 
 of their arrival. Each male settler above the 
 age of twenty-one, besides a hundred acres ot 
 land, received most of the implements mentioned 
 in the lists circulated among them before they left 
 home ; but their expectations of receiving pota- 
 toes, oats, wheat, Indian corn, beans, grass-seed, 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 85 
 
 pine-boards, and paillasses, were not realized. 
 What was the reason I have not been informed, 
 but the disappointment was not great, as the arti- 
 st cles were purchased at a cheaper rate than that 
 marked in the list. 
 
 When the emigrants arrived at Quebec they were 
 ^ forwarded to Lanark without loss of time, and 
 
 iste reached that place early in the summer. This 
 
 i gave them a great advantage, and enabled those 
 
 dir who were industrious to get houses erected, and 
 
 sciiv some improvements made upon their lands before 
 
 ioi the winter set in. But the season being uncom- 
 
 ei monly rainy, and they being much exposed to the 
 
 m weather, a few were carried off by dysentery, 
 
 tie: leaving families in very destitute circumstances, 
 
 dk The benevolent, however, have used every endea- 
 
 m vour to provide for the orphans, in the best man- 
 
 jo ner they are able. Amongst these, as amongst 
 
 the others, who came the year before, there were 
 several idle and dissipated characters, who w T ere 
 not likely ever to make good farmers. But most 
 of them have now left the settlement, and those 
 that remain are in general actively and indus- 
 triously proceeding with the improvement of their 
 land, well satisfied with the change they have 
 made. 
 
 In 1821 , the townships of North Sherbrooke 
 and Ramsay were added to the Lanark Settle- 
 ment, so that the settlers who came that year had 
 the choice of all the unoccupied land in four town- 
 ships. The soil is in general good, and, where 
 properly managed, has produced abundant crops. 
 Many of the settlers being brought up in towns 
 knew nothing of farming, and had every thing 
 respecting it to learn. But necessity is the mother 
 of invention ; and, under its influence, these people 
 have made surprising improvements. The face of 
 the country is more diversified with small hills 
 
 
* 
 
 86 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 than in Perth Settlement, but where the soil is 
 not encumbered with rocks, it is equally good. 
 A saw-mill and a grist-mill were erected near the 
 village soon after it was laid out, and timber being 
 abundant in the neighbourhood, one inch boards 
 can be procured at six dollars a thousand feet. 
 Other mills are now building in different parts of 
 the settlement, and will soon be in operation. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie, taking a deep interest in the 
 prosperity of the settlement, and anxious to ad- 
 vance its religious improvement, wrote a letter to 
 the Duke of Hamilton, expressing a hope that 
 His Grace, or Lord Archibald Hamilton, would 
 countenance a subscription in Lanarkshire, for the 
 purpose of erecting a church for the use of the 
 settlers. Contributions were made accordingly, 
 and the sum of L. 290 Sterling was transmitted to 
 Quebec, about the beginning of 1828. In March 
 following, Colonel Marshall received orders to 
 proceed with the building. Contracts were im- 
 mediately formed with masons and carpenters, 
 and it is expected the church will be finished in 
 the course of the summer of 1823. 
 
 Good roads and navigable canals tend much to 
 advance the interior improvement of any country. 
 The want of these has been seriously felt in the 
 military settlements ; but we expect that, in a 
 few years more, the difficulty will be removed. 
 Roads are laid out in various directions ; they 
 are every year undergoing improvements, settlers 
 being obliged to labour at least three days every 
 summer upon the highways. In winter they 
 drive their sleighs in all directions, and lakes and 
 rivers form no obstacle. 
 
 A canal has long been talked of between the 
 Grand River and Kingston, and we hear that it 
 is soon to be commenced, surveyors beino- em- 
 ployed in examining the different lines, in order 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 87 
 
 to determine which is best. It is probable it will 
 ascend the Rideau River, pass through the lake 
 of that name, as well as some of the smaller ones 
 with which the province abounds. Its length 
 will not be less than a hundred miles, and will 
 probably be to cut about half that distance. 
 This undertaking will greatly improve the coun- 
 try, employ a great number of hands, and afford 
 a ready means of conveying the farmer’s produce 
 to market. At present, rafts of timber and 
 staves are sent down our rivers to Montreal ; but 
 the numerous rapids in the way occasion both 
 difficulty and loss of property. 
 
 The military settlements of Perth, Richmond, 
 and Lanark, are all in the county of Carlton, 
 which contains about twenty townships or pa- 
 rishes, most of them ten miles square. Twelve 
 of these are already partly settled, and the rest 
 will be located as soon as a sufficient number of 
 emigrants shall arrive. This county, besides a fer- 
 tile and well- watered soil, possesses many local 
 advantages, being bounded on the north by the 
 Grand River, and intersected by the Tay, the 
 Mississippi of Upper Canada, and theMadawaska, 
 to say nothing of innumerable smaller streams. We 
 are now represented in the provincial parliament by 
 one member ; but, at the next election, which will 
 take place in June, 1824, we will be entitled to 
 two, as the county contains more than 6000 inha- 
 bitants. 
 
 Although it is only seven years since the set- 
 tlement at this place was commenced, astonishing 
 improvements have been made. Many of our 
 settlers, it is true, have gone away to other places, 
 but they were generally those who could be most 
 easily spared, and their places were speedily sup- 
 plied by persons of a more substantial and indus- 
 trious character. The woods are gradually disap- 
 
88 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 pearing, and luxuriant crops rising in their stead. 
 The roads are improving, and the means of com- 
 munication between the different parts of the coun- 
 try becoming every year more easy. The habita- 
 tions first erected by the settlers were of a very 
 homely kind, but these are gradually giving place 
 to more comfortable and substantial dwellings. 
 The military superintendence of the settlement 
 was removed on the 24th of December, 1822, and 
 we have now all the civil privileges enjoyed by 
 the rest of the province. Perth is the capital of 
 the district ; and the courts of law and justice are 
 held in the town. It contains a jail and court- 
 house, four churches, seven merchants’ stores, five 
 taverns, besides between fifty and a hundred pri- 
 vate houses. The houses are all built of wood, 
 except the jail and court-house, and one merchants’ 
 store, which are built of brick. There is also a 
 stone house erecting this summer, by one of our 
 merchants. The villages of Richmond and La- 
 nark are not making great progress ; but this is 
 not to be wondered at, in a country where all 
 must live by agriculture. Unless manufactories 
 be established, the population of our villages will 
 always remain small. When strangers arrive at 
 Perth, and compare the number of churches with 
 the population of the village, they conclude that 
 either we are a very religious people, or, in build- 
 ing them, have taken care to provide accommoda- 
 tion for our country friends as well as for our- 
 selves. There are in the county one Episcopal 
 clergyman, four Presbyterian ministers, one Ame- 
 rican Methodist preacher, two Roman Catholic 
 priests, besides a great variety of lay preachers in 
 the remote parts of the settlement. But as I in- 
 tend to devote an entire letter, or perhaps more, 
 to the state of religion, I shall not now go into 
 particulars. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 89 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 New countries are generally settled by adven- 
 turers, with whom religion is not a primary con- 
 sideration. Pious persons are seldom found will- 
 ing to break off* their former connexions, and for- 
 sake the land where both they and their fathers 
 have worshipped God. Persons coming from a 
 country where religious institutions are observed, 
 into one where they are neglected, unless they 
 have known something of the power of godliness, 
 will feel themselves set free from restraints which 
 w ere far from being pleasant. They will find the 
 profanation of the Sabbath, and the neglect of re- 
 ligion, quite congenial to their unrenewed minds ; 
 and, if this is the case when they first settle in the 
 w r oods, what can we expect when they have lived 
 a number of years without religious instruction ? 
 May w^e not expect that depraved passions will be 
 indulged, that vices will be practised with avidity, 
 and that the future world will be neglected amidst 
 the clamorous demands of the present ? This we 
 find to be actually the case in the back woods of 
 America. It is true, there are few new colonies 
 in which some persons are not to be found who 
 feel the power of religion, but even they discover 
 how soon evil communications corrupt good man- 
 ners. Professing Christians themselves, when 
 they are placed where no Sabbaths are observed, 
 and no religious ordinances administered, soon be- 
 come lamentably deficient in the discharge of 
 Christian duties. 
 
 Though religion in Canada is at a low ebb, it 
 is evidently upon the advance ; and when the 
 w 7 ant of faithful labourers in different parts of the 
 
90 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 country is supplied, by the blessing of God, we 
 may expect a great reformation to take place. 
 The people are not so destitute of speculative 
 knowledge, as of moral habits and religious prin- 
 ciple. I have met with many of the old settlers, 
 who have lived from twenty to forty years in the 
 country, and who could talk fluently, and even 
 correctly, in praise of religion, and yet they would 
 drink, swear, profane the Sabbath, and neglect the 
 duties of religion as much as the most ignorant of 
 their neighbours. Occasional instruction will not 
 uffice : there must be line upon line, and precept 
 upon precept, before we can expect to see vice 
 wither and religion flourish. Professing Christians 
 must be collected into congregations, and superin- 
 tended by pious, active, and faithful ministers. 
 But how is this to be effected ? The people are 
 neither able nor willing to support ministers at 
 their own expense, and there is no provision of a 
 general nature made for them, either by public 
 authority or private exertions. The few ministers 
 that are here are making every effort to dissemi- 
 nate the good seed of the word, but what are they 
 in such an extensive country ? A hundred, or 
 even two hundred ministers, might find ample 
 employment in Upper Canada, had they the 
 means of support. Previous to the late war, the 
 number of ministers, of all denominations, was 
 very small. Since 1S15 they have greatly in- 
 creased. 
 
 The church of England claims an establish- 
 ment here, and meets with a decided preference 
 from the members of government. The bishop 
 of Quebec has the oversight of all the inferior 
 clergy in both provinces. All the ministers be- 
 longing to that communion, in the two provinces, 
 are missionaries from the Society for the propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel, and receive their salaries from 
 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
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 91 
 
 the funds of that institution. You will be able 
 to form a tolerably correct idea of the extent of 
 their congregations, from the following extract 
 from the Society’s Report for the year 1821, 
 which is the latest I have at hand. 
 
 “ Lower Canada. — At fifteen stations there 
 are fifteen missionaries: One has L.215 ; thirteen 
 have L.200 each, and one L.IOO. The visiting 
 missionary (lion, and Rev. Dr. Stewart) has L.300 
 per annum. Marriages 87 — baptisms 266— com- 
 municants 210 — burials 57. 
 
 Upper Canada. — At seventeen stations there 
 are seventeen missionaries : Of whom, one at 
 
 York has L.275 Sterling per annum, fifteen have 
 L.200 each, and one L.50. The missionary at An- 
 caster has L.20 in addition, as visitor to the In- 
 dians; and there is a schoolmaster to the Mo- 
 hawks at L.30, and a catechist at L. 10 per annum. 
 Marriages 118 — baptisms 348 — communicants 
 118— burials 57.” 
 
 The Presbyterian church in Canada adheres to 
 the doctrines, discipline, and mode of worship, of 
 the church of Scotland. In the lower province 
 there is one presbytery, but it has not, of late, 
 held any regular meetings. In the upper pro- 
 vince there are three presbyteries, which meet in 
 general synod once a-year. The number of the 
 congregations in the lower province, with which I 
 am acquainted, is eight ; namely, one in Quebec , 
 which has been established many years, and is 
 both numerous and respectable. The Rev. Dr. 
 Sparks, their former minister, died in IS 18. The 
 Rev. Dr. Harkness, their present pastor, has been 
 settled among them abour four years. — Two in 
 Montreal , the one under the pastoral care of the 
 Rev. Mr. Sommerville, the other under that of 
 the Rev. Mr. Easton. They have both been es- 
 tablished a good number of years, but how many 
 I have not learned. These three have all large and 
 
 
92 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 commodious churches, and support their ministers 
 both respectably and comfortably. — St. Andrews , 
 on the Ottawa, forty-five miles above Montreal, of 
 which the Ilev. Mr. Henderson is minister. The 
 llev. Mr. Taylor, formerly of Stenhouse, came out 
 with me in 1817 as the minister of this congre- 
 gation, but did not fix his residence among them. 
 Mr. Henderson, their present pastor, (formerly of 
 Carlisle,) came out in the following year, and 
 has laboured successfully among them ever since. 
 The congregation meets in the school-house in the 
 village, till a more commodious place of worship 
 can be erected. — At La Chine , nine miles above 
 Montreal, a congregation was collected in 1817, 
 by the labours of Mr. Kirkland, a young man 
 who arrived in that year from Ireland. A regu- 
 lar call being presented to the presbytery, they, 
 in July 1818, ordained him to the pastoral charge. 
 Mr. Kirkland, however, in the following year, not 
 finding his prospects so encouraging as he expect- 
 ed they would be, left La Chine and went over to 
 the United States. In 1821, the Rev. Mr. Brun- 
 ton, formerly of Aberdeen, preached some time at 
 La Chine ; but I hear he has left it, so that the 
 congregation is again vacant. No church had 
 been built: The congregation met in the school- 
 house. — In 1817, a small congregation was col- 
 lected at River du Chine , about thirty miles above 
 Montreal. Mr. Andrew Glen was ordained their 
 pastor, and laboured among them about two 
 years ; but, meeting with discouragements, he left 
 them, and went to Terre-bonne , twenty miles from 
 Montreal, where he taught the government school 
 two or three years. By his preaching on Sabbath 
 days he collected a small congregation ; but as he 
 left the place in 1822, they have had no pastor 
 since that date.— At Chambly , sixteen miles east 
 from Montreal, since 1817, a preacher has some- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 93 
 
 times officiated for a short time, but the congre- 
 gation has never been regularly organized, or 
 joined in church-fellowship. At present it has 
 ‘ no supply of preaching. 
 
 In Lower Canada, (except in Quebec and 
 ‘ !| Montreal) Protestant congregations are very 
 small; a vast majority of the people being Ro- 
 man Catholics. Hence ministers cannot be sup- 
 ported by the people, and are soon forced to re- 
 linquish their charge. O that some of your mis- 
 J sionary societies, that have done so much for the 
 
 ! heathen, would do something for this country ! 
 
 ; Here are thousands of nominal Christians, who 
 will do little or nothing to provide religious in- 
 31J " struction for themselves or their children, who 
 might yet be reclaimed by the friendly assistance 
 er : of others. A few faithful ministers are making 
 
 1 every exertion in their power, but they are un- 
 
 J supported by any missionary or other society, 
 
 Ik® and have to devote great part of their time to 
 
 n: the teaching of schools, to obtain the means of 
 
 fc support. 
 
 r In the Upper, Province there are eighteen 
 )ti ministers, and thirty congregations. Some of the 
 
 nit latter, it is true, are in an infant state, but so 
 
 M were the greatest in the world at their first com- 
 
 n mencement. This province is capable of sup- 
 
 b porting a numerous population ; and I trust the 
 
 K day is not far distant, when the handful of corn, 
 
 <£ which is now scattering over its barren surface, 
 
 ; shall shake, with prosperous fruit, like the cedars 
 
 of Lebanon. In giving an outline of their his- 
 tory, I shall observe no other method, than mere- 
 > ly to begin at the lower part of the province, and 
 go over them in succession. The four first are 
 f a . J1 in Crlengary, and are at the distance of from 
 
 6 sixt y to seventy miles above Montreal. The most 
 
 northerly of these is Lochiel. 
 
u LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 1. Lochiel is about thirty miles north from the 
 St. Lawrence, on the road from Cornwall to the 
 Grand River. It is mostly inhabited by Scotch 
 Highlanders, who have shown a laudable zeal in 
 providing themselves and their children with re- 
 ligious instruction. In the year 181S, a neat and 
 commodious church was erected; and, in the fol- 
 lowing one, the Rev Mr. McLaren was sent out 
 from Scotland as their pastor. His success in his 
 labours has been considerable, and he preaches 
 both in Gaelic and English. 
 
 2. The congregation of Williamstown lies in 
 the middle of Glengary, and is both numerous 
 and respectable. As you may expect, they are 
 mostly Highlanders, and give a decided preference 
 to the Gaelic language. This probably is the 
 oldest Presbyterian congregation in the province. 
 For many years it enjoyed the services of the 
 Rev. Mr. Bertram, who died one year before I 
 came to the country. Their present pastor, the 
 Rev. Mr. McKenzie, is from Scotland, and was 
 settled among them in 1819- 
 
 3. Connected with the above, there is another 
 congregation on the River Raisin , where Mr. 
 M‘Kenzie occasionally preaches, but they are not 
 yet in a condition to support a minister them- 
 selves. 
 
 4. M‘ Martin's Mills is also in Glengary, 
 about six miles from Williamstown, and eight 
 from Cornwall. The congregation at this place 
 is one of the most numerous in Canada. They 
 have a church capable of containing from 400 to 
 500 people, and it is generally well filled. They 
 formed one branch of Mr. Bethune’s congrega- 
 tion. That gentleman had four places of wor- 
 ship, which he supplied in rotation, of which this 
 was one, Cornwall another, Williamstown a third, 
 and Lancaster a fourth. The Rev. Mr. Fletcher 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 95 
 
 ® is the pastor of the congregation at M‘Martin’s 
 '[ 0! Mills. He came to Glengary as a teacher at the 
 ' termination of the war with the United States, 
 ^ and, on receiving a unanimous call to M‘Martin’s 
 ^ Mills, was ordained in 1819. He preaches both 
 ^ in Gaelic and English. 
 
 ^ 5. Lancaster is a village on the bank of the 
 
 ie St. Lawrence, sixty-four miles above Montreal, 
 m and contains a church in which Mr. Bethune for- 
 p 1 ? merly preached. The congregation here have 
 never been able to support a minister, but they 
 nl are sometimes supplied with preachers from other 
 ii® places. 
 
 t). Cornwall is a neat well-built town, standing 
 refs on the bank of the St. Lawrence, eighty-four 
 Ip roiles above Montreal, and twenty miles above 
 pr, Lancaster. The Presbyterians have a church in 
 ; which Mr. Bethune formerly preached. The 
 jv Rev. Mr. Jonnstone is their present pastor, and 
 i; came to them from Ireland in 181 7. Pie is ac- 
 tive and indefatigable in the discharge of his du- 
 ty* but a dispute with some neighbouring ma- 
 il? gistrates has involved him in considerable" diffi- 
 
 0 cullies. The old church being small, and in a 
 t decayed state, he formed the design of erecting 
 (■ one m ?re elegant and of larger dimensions. With 
 
 this view he raised considerable subscriptions in 
 $ Quebec and Montreal, as well as in his own con- 
 . gregation. Ihe fabric was not only begun, but 
 far advanced, when it was found that some of his 
 opponents had taken out the deed from Govern- 
 ment in their own name, as trustees. Thelfarther 
 
 1 progress of the work was stopped, and there beino- 
 no prospect of the dispute being settled, the 
 church remains in an unfinished state. 
 
 7. Many of the congregation of Osnabrnclc are 
 Dutch people, who were settled here when dis- 
 charged from the army at the end of the Ameri- 
 
96 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 can revolutionary war. The church stands on 
 the banks of the St. Lawrence, thirteen miles 
 above Cornwall, and ninety-seven from Montreal, 
 The edifice is not large, but is neatly fitted up, 
 though it has been a good many years built. I 
 am not acquainted with the early history of the 
 congregation, nor do I know that they ever had 
 a settled minister before the Rev. Mr. Taylor, 
 who came among them in 1817, and engaged to 
 preach to them and to the people in Williams- 
 burgh alternately. There being few persons 
 among them possessed of vital religion, the con- 
 nexion was attended with little comfort to either 
 party. After labouring for two years with little 
 success, Mr. Taylor crossed the St. Lawrence, 
 and settled in a congregation of his own country- 
 men, in the State of* New York. Mr. Johnstone 
 of Cornwall is now their pastor, whose enterpris- 
 ing disposition is better suited to the genius of 
 the people. 
 
 8. Williamsburg is the next township above 
 Osnabruck. The congregation is nearly of the 
 same description with that of the last mentioned 
 place. They had a church built many years ago, 
 but never had a pastor, except for a short time. 
 Mr. Taylor supplied them while he remained on 
 this side of the river. Since he left them, Mr. 
 Johnstone has'been their minister and preacher at 
 Cornwall, Williamsburg, and Osnabruck, alter- 
 nately. 
 
 9. Matilda is the next township above Wil- 
 liamsburg. It is thirty-three miles above Corn- 
 wall, and fifteen below Prescott. A congregation 
 was formed here some years ago, and a place of 
 worship erected, but the want of a minister has 
 greatly hindered its prosperity, and it is at pre- 
 sent in a divided and scattered state. 
 
 10. Prescott , sometimes called Fort Welling- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 or 
 
 ton, because it is in the neighbourhood of that 
 fort, is forty-eight miles above Cornwall and 
 twelve below Brockville. It is rising into a place 
 of some importance, being a port of entry, and 
 the place at which a ferry-boat constantly plies 
 between Canada and Ogdensburg, in the State 
 of New York. It was only during the last war 
 that it began to be a village, and then Mr. Smart 
 of Brockville preached sometimes, tyoth to the 
 country people and to the soldiers of the garri- 
 son. At the time I landed there, and for some 
 years both before and after, it was distinguished 
 for scenes of profligacy and wickedness. The 
 Sabbath was profaned in the most open manner 
 and swearing, drunkenness, and other vices were 
 quite common. From having resided there a few 
 days, I had a strong wish that the people should 
 be provided with religious instruction. I preach- 
 ed to them once myself, and earnestly requested 
 Mr. Smart to visit them as often as possible, and 
 endeavour to promote reformation. He did so 
 and, in the mean time, was looking out for a more 
 permanent supply. In 1820, Mr. Boyd, a yournr 
 preacher from Ireland, arrived. He was encrao-ed 
 to teach the school in the village, and preach to 
 the congregation on the Sabbath day. He lod 
 ged for some time with Mrs. Jessup, a widow lady 
 of considerable property and influence in the 
 place. His labours were acceptable, both as a 
 teacher and preacher. His congregation, as well 
 as his school, greatly increased, and considerable 
 exertions were made for his support. A call was 
 prepared and laid before the presbytery, which 
 Mi. Boyd having accepted, he was ordained by 
 
 aJv TsS Yte V Crockville 0,1 tlle 2d of Febru- 
 i ‘I* * \ Jr ■ prospect being encouraging, he 
 
 determined, ,f possible, gc t a church °ere?«d 
 Its. Jessup gave the ground gratis, and the con. 
 
98 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 gregation contributed to the utmost of their power. 
 Still, however, funds were wanting, to supply 
 which, Mr. Boyd made a journey to Montreal and 
 other places, and collected a very considerable 
 sum. In the course of the summer the church 
 was built, and in December following I received 
 a letter from Mr. Boyd, informing me, that on 
 the 12th of January it was to be dedicated to the 
 service of God, and requesting me to preach on 
 the occasion, and assist at the administration of 
 the Lord’s Supper on the following day. To this 
 call I attended with pleasure, and have seldom 
 been more gratified than I was with the appear- 
 ance of things when I reached Prescott. A hand- 
 some and commodious place of worship, capable 
 of containing from 300 to 400 people, was not 
 only erected, but finished in a manner creditable 
 to all concerned. I preached in the afternoon to 
 a crowded congregation, and in the evening again 
 addressed them on the nature and design of the 
 Lord’s Supper, and on the manner in which that 
 ordinance should be observed. On the Sabbath 
 dav, Mr. Johnstone, who was expected, not having 
 arrived in time, I preached again to a crowded au- 
 dience. After sermon the sacrament was adminis- 
 tered to about forty communicants ; and seldom 
 have I witnessed a more solemn and interesting 
 scene. Mr. Smart preached an excellent sermon in 
 the evening. The day was one of the coldest I ever 
 experienced ; but the congregation had taken care 
 to have the church furnished with a good stove. 
 In the course of the summer I again assisted Mr. 
 Boyd at the administration of the sacrament, 
 when some additions were made to the church, 
 and every thing seemed to indicate that Mr. 
 Boyd’s labours were attended with success. His 
 plans and endeavours to promote improvement 
 were, it is true, in certain quarters meeting with 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 99 
 
 osiiji opposition. But this was to be expected. No 
 Adi reformation can be made without giving offence to 
 isifc some * Mr. Boyd has suffered some inconvenience 
 let f rom the P resent embarrassed state of the country 
 [ri in a P ecuniar y point of view ; but he still con tin- 
 e fa ues ^ 1S exer tions with unremitting zeal, and in 
 ltd: ^ e . ^ a . st ^ ettcr I received from him, he speaks of 
 
 m ^signing his school at midsummer, and devoting 
 ^ himself wholly to the ministry. 
 
 11 - Brockville is 144 miles above Montreal, 
 f and 56 below Kingston. Besides its public build- 
 ltl? * n g s > which are the jail, court-house, and Presby- 
 ® terian church, it contains a number of handsome 
 'f private houses, many belonging to lawyers and 
 merchants. It is the capital of the county of 
 ie> Leeds, and the various courts for administering 
 
 m law and justice are held there. The Presbyterian 
 
 m congregation existed many years ago, but they 
 list never had a regular supply of preaching, nor was 
 the church organized till ’Mr. Smart, their pre- 
 mia? sent minister, came among them. Having been 
 §ei* unsuccessful in their applications in other quarters 
 fe; they, in 1808 or 1809, applied to the London 
 it Missionary Society for religious instruction. Mr. 
 it Smart was at the time studying in the Mission- 
 ary Seminary at Gosport, with a view to his pro- 
 ^ cccding to the Last Indies; Ci but the counsel of 
 i the -Lord shall stand, and he will do all his pleas- 
 ! »re. India was not to be the scene of his future 
 labours. This petition was the means of chana- 
 lng his destination, and he was soon after or- 
 • dairmd in London to the work of the ministry in 
 Llizabeth Town, in TTnnpr u; 
 
 Elizabeth Town, in Upper Canada. On his arrival, 
 
 bet 
 l ii 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 V 
 
 f 2 
 
100 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 he did not confine his labours to one particular 
 place, but travelled and preached in all the settle- 
 ments between Cornwall and Kingston, — an ex- 
 tent of more than 100 miles. The roads were 
 bad, and the farmers’ houses at which he lodged 
 were often uncomfortable. His health sensibly 
 declined, and he was forced to travel less. Dur- 
 ing the war he preached frequently to the garri- 
 son at Fort Wellington ; and it was on one of 
 these occasions that a ball from one of the Ameri- 
 can guns, on the opposite side of the river, passed 
 over his horse’s neck, and struck the ground a 
 little beyond him, covering him and two gentle- 
 men who walked near him with dust. It was 
 during this war that Brockville began to rise into 
 a village. It took its name from General Brock, 
 who nobly fell in the act of defending the country 
 from the invasion of the enemy. There being no 
 church hitherto erected, Mr. Smart determined to 
 set about one. His congregation contributed li- 
 berally, and he raised farther supplies in Quebec, 
 Montreal, Kingston and other places. The build- 
 ing was begun in 1816, and was completed the 
 very day I reached Brockville, in June, 1817, 
 and was dedicated the following day, in presence 
 of a large congregation. Mr. Easton of Montreal 
 preached in the forenoon, and I in the afternoon. 
 A Christian church was regularly organized some 
 years ago, and the sacrament of the Lord’s sup- 
 per is administered every three months. The 
 place of worship cost about L.1400, and is a sub- 
 stantial stone building, affording accommodation 
 for a large congregation ; but except on particular 
 occasions it is never filled, and for some time past 
 the congregation has been rather upon the 
 decrease. No blame, however, can be attached to 
 Mr. Smart, whose character is unblemished, and 
 whose pious labours are unremitting. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 101 
 
 Though Mr. Smart’s residence is nearly fifty 
 miles from mine, he was almost the only Presby- 
 terian minister with whom I could have any in- 
 tercourse, for five years after I came to this coun- 
 try. This was regarded as a very providential 
 circumstance by us both. Though both born in 
 Scotland, we became acquainted in London : we 
 were both members of Dr. Waugh’s church in 
 Wells Street, and used to attend a prayer meeting 
 in the vestry every Thursday evening, consisting 
 of young men belonging to the congregation. 
 Here, with emotions you can better conceive than 
 I can describe, we first, in the presence of others, 
 presented our supplications at the throne of grace, 
 and spoke on some passage of Scripture which had 
 been proposed for the occasion. And though we 
 had both before felt a desire to preach the gospel, 
 yet it was assuredly here that we finally resolved 
 to devote ourselves to the work of the ministry. 
 A short time after, Mr. Smart went to Gosport, 
 and I went to Glasgow to pursue my studies. For 
 several years after he went to Canada, we were 
 separated by a vast ocean, and never expected to 
 meet again in this world. But how wonderful are 
 the ways of Providence ! Here we are settled over 
 neighbouring congregations, and are members of 
 the same Presbytery. But it is time to proceed 
 to the history of Perth congregation, 
 
 IS. As you have already been informed, Perth , 
 and the country around it, were first settled by 
 discharged soldiers, and emigrants from Scotland. 
 To the latter, previously to their leaving home, Go- 
 vernment had offered assistance for the support of 
 a minister, without respect to religious denomina- 
 tion. Of this offer, about forty heads of families 
 availed themselves ; and while they remained at 
 Brockville, before they came to the settlement, 
 they signed a petition, and transmitted it to the 
 
102 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 Associate Presbytery of Edinburgh, requesting 
 that a minister might be sent to them. Drs. Hall 
 and Peddie were appointed their commissioners, 
 with power to do every thing necessary in the af- 
 fair. I happened to be present when this petition, 
 along with two others from America, was laid be- 
 fore the Presbytery. Being requested to fill one 
 of these situations, I, after due consideration, de- 
 termined to prefer Perth. Having gone through 
 the usual parts of trial, I was, on the 4th of 
 March, 1817, ordained as the minister of the pe- 
 titioners and others, who might afterwards place 
 themselves under my direction. On the 5th of 
 April I embarked at Leith, and, on the 1st of 
 June, landed at Quebec. On the 21st I reached 
 Brockville, when Mr. Smart informed me that he 
 had preached at Perth once a-month since the 
 settlers went there, which was in the month of 
 April. On reaching Perth, I met with the kind- 
 est reception from the agents of Government, and 
 the half-pay officers settled in the village ; but I 
 was sorry to find that very little unanimity exist- 
 ed with regard to the most proper place for my 
 residence. Some of the Scotch settlers were so 
 unreasonable as to insist that I should confine my 
 services entirely to them, while others agreed with 
 me in thinking they should be extended to the 
 whole settlement, which at this time consisted of 
 five townships, each ten miles square. 
 
 I arrived on Tuesday the 24th of June, and on 
 the following Sabbath preached at the inn, that 
 being the only place in the village where there 
 was a room large enough for the purpose ; for 
 most of the settlers were still living in small huts. 
 The morning had been very rainy, the roads were 
 bad, and the congregation was small — at least I 
 thought so then, for I had not adverted to the 
 circumstance, that in a thinly peopled country, in 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 103 
 
 which few make a profession of religion, every 
 congregation must of necessity be small. The 
 ao-ents of Government, the magistrates, and a num- 
 ber of the half-pay officers, attended. At the con- 
 clusion of the service, I gave notice of a meeting 
 of the congregation on the following Wednesday, 
 to choose trustees, and provide a place of worship, 
 no arrangements having hitherto been made by 
 the people themselves. 
 
 The result of this meeting was not very satis- 
 factory, one party pertinaciously asserting an ex- 
 clusive right to my services, while another main- 
 tained the propriety of my residing in the village, 
 which was near the centre of the settlement, and 
 extending them to the whole. It was in vain I 
 assured them that it was of little consequence in 
 what place I should reside, as I would preach in 
 different parts of the settlement as frequently as 
 possible. Nothing would please either the one 
 side or the other, but to have things entirely their 
 own way ; and I saw that the cautions I had 
 received from Mr. Smart were not unnecessary. 
 It was evident a spirit of opposition had more in- 
 fluence than the wisdom which cometh from above, 
 which is first pure, and then peaceable, gentle 
 and easy to be in treated. A committee, however, 
 was chosen, and some necessary arrangements 
 made, and I took up my residence in the village. 
 One result of the meeting was of a satisfactory 
 nature, for I had observed that there were at least 
 a few among them who spoke and acted like 
 Christians. How much better, thought I, is my 
 situation, than that of the missionary to the hea- 
 then, who has not the countenance of even one 
 real Christian to strengthen his hands and encou- 
 rage his heart. 
 
 On looking round me, however, I saw a moral 
 as well as a natural wilderness, requiring cultiva- 
 
104. 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 tion. With regard to a great majority of the 
 settlers, religion seemed to occupy no part of their 
 attention. The Sabbath was awfully profaned ; 
 and drunkenness, swearing, and other vices, were 
 thought matters of course. The number of those 
 inclined to attend public worship was small, and 
 of those possessing real piety still smaller. As 
 soon as I could obtain a little leisure, I paid a 
 pastoral visit to the families in the Scotch settle- 
 ment, from whom I received a welcome reception. 
 But the task I had undertaken was attended with 
 more difficulty than I was aware. No person, 
 who has never been in a new settlement, can con- 
 ceive how fatiguing and unpleasant it is to wade 
 through swamps and bushes, and climb over rocks 
 and fallen timber, under a burning sun, and sur- 
 rounded with clouds of musquitoes. Every night 
 when I reached home, I was ready to drop down 
 both with corporeal and mental fatigue. 
 
 The second Sabbath being a fine day, my con- 
 gregation was considerably larger than on the 
 first, but still it was small, compared with those 
 to which I had been accustomed. In going to 
 and returning from the place of worship, I could 
 not help making comparisons between my native 
 country and this. Many were at work at their 
 ordinary employments, and I began to see that 
 religious instruction, by a great part of the popu- 
 lation, so far from being considered a privilege, 
 would be considered a great hindrance to the 
 prosecution of their plans. 
 
 After visiting a good part of the settlement, 
 and preaching every Sabbath for two months, I 
 resolved on organizing the church. With this 
 view, I explained to the congregation the nature 
 and constitution of a Christian church, and show- 
 ed the obligations Christians were under to join 
 in communion, and to observe all the ordinances 
 
UPPER] CANADA. 105 
 
 of the Gospel. I then gave notice, that, on the 
 following Sabbath, when public worship was over, 
 I should receive applications, and examine the 
 certificates of those who wished to join in the com- 
 munion of the church. On the two following Sab- 
 balhs applications were made by forty-seven per- 
 sons, thirty-eight of whom were admitted ; and, 
 on the second Sabbath of September, the sacra- 
 ment of the Lord’s Supper was administered for 
 the first time. There were two young communi- 
 cants ; all the rest had been members of churches 
 in Scotland. All the communicants were seated 
 at one table, and the season was comfortable and 
 refreshing to us all. To me in particular, many 
 circumstances concurred to render it peculiarly in- 
 teresting. Two elders who had been ordained at 
 home, assisted in administering the sacrament. 
 
 At the next communion, which was on the se- 
 cond Sabbath of December, a few new members 
 were admitted, and on every occasion since that 
 time there have been some either more or less. 
 The total number of church members admitted, 
 up to June, 1823, is 270, but perhaps one-third 
 of these now belong to the two other churches 
 which have been formed in the neighbourhood. 
 Up to the same date, I have baptized 350 chil- 
 dren, and celebrated 115 marriages. Besides 
 preaching in various places, I have visited and 
 examined the congregation every year since I came 
 to the settlement. When you consider the im- 
 mense surface over which they are scattered, you 
 will have some idea of the labour with which these 
 services is attended. Early in 1818, five mem- 
 bers, who had been elected by the congregation, 
 were ordained to the office of elders. Two of these, 
 who were old men, have since died ; but three new 
 ones have been ordained, so that the number of 
 elders is now six. 
 
 
106 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 Though the members of the church have for- 
 merly belonged to different religious denomina- 
 tions, nothing has happened among them, materi- 
 ally to disturb that peace and good understand- 
 ing which should ever prevail in a Christian com- 
 munity. Those without , however, have not been 
 wanting in their attempts to introduce controver- 
 sy, and create dissension, but hitherto with little 
 effect ; and I trust the blessing of God, and the 
 good sense of the people, will ever secure them 
 against the designs of the turbulent and malicious, 
 who delight in disunion. An instance of this kind 
 I shall have occasion to notice, in speaking of the 
 building of our place of worship. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 For more than a year I preached in the large 
 room at the inn, there being no other suitable 
 place in the settlement. The people had neither 
 money nor time to build a place of worship, the 
 accommodations for their families requiring their 
 first attention. Yet it was necessary that some- 
 thing should be done, as the rent we paid for the 
 room took the whole of the ordinary collection. 
 In April, 1819, I obtained possession of the new 
 schoolhouse, and occupied it till the church was 
 ready for our reception, which was in August of 
 the same year. The settlers were not able to do 
 much ; but seeing the necessity of having a place 
 of worship erected early in 1818, a subscription 
 was set on foot for that purpose ; and, as soon as 
 L.20 were collected, the building was commenced, 
 and the frame of the church erected on a lot I had 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 * 
 
 
 I 
 
 UR! 
 
 Dll 
 
 i 
 
 fei 
 
 SC 
 
 & 
 
 107 
 
 obtained from government for the purpose. Some 
 of our neighbours warmly opposed building so 
 early, for no other reason, so far as I could see, 
 but that they might have a pretence for withhold- 
 ing their assistance ; while others pronounced it 
 madness to think of finishing the house we had 
 begun, and prophesied that it would stand un- 
 completed as a monument of our folly. We, how- 
 ever, went on, and in the course of the summer I 
 visited Brockville, Montreal, and other places, and 
 collected about L.150 in cash. The news of this 
 gave courage to the desponding, and made our 
 enemies almost ashamed of their opposition. Tak- 
 ing advantage of this favourable moment, I called 
 upon those who had hitherto contributed nothing, 
 and procured in the settlement new subscriptions 
 to the amount of L.60 more. Considering the ex- 
 treme poverty of most part of the settlers, this was 
 more than we could reasonably expect. The work 
 was set forward without delay, and the church 
 was soon in a condition to be occupied. In a few 
 months it was ail finished except the galleries, 
 which we did not immediately want We have 
 still a trifle of debt, which I hope in the course of 
 two or three years will be paid off. The church 
 is capable of accommodating about 200 people, 
 and has at the east end a steeple covered with tin, 
 according to the fashion of this country. For the 
 last twelvemonth it has proved far too small on 
 sacramental occasions ; but, when I have the as- 
 sistance of another minister, he preaches in a dif- 
 ferent place to a part of the congregation. Be- 
 sides the lot on which the church is built, I have 
 since obtained a grant of an acre on the opposite 
 side of the street for a manse or parsonage house, 
 besides two acres more for a burying ground. 
 
 I shall now give you an outline of the attempt 
 lately made to deprive us of this property. Two 
 
 
108 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 of our half-pay officers having been refused the 
 privileges of the church for immoral conduct, a 
 plan was laid to remove me from my situation 
 and seize upon the property of the church, the 
 deeds of the land not having been issued. With 
 this view a letter was addressed to the governor, 
 signed by six persons, complaining that my ma! 
 nagement of the church was not at all to their liking, 
 fins, by the by, was a testimony m my favour, 
 and it is well they can charge me with' nothing 
 worse. They then go on to state farther, that I 
 am connected with the Secession Church, “whose 
 political principles,” say they, “ your Lordship 
 well knows are very different from those of the 
 church of Scotland.” This, however, ruins the 
 whole attempt, though it was intended to insure 
 its success ; for such an assertion can proceed from 
 nothing but malice or ignorance. They then as- 
 sume it as indisputable, that the land on which 
 the church is built was granted to the church of 
 Scotland, and therefore recommend to his Lord- 
 ship to put it under trustees belonging to that 
 communion. 
 
 His Lordship’s answer, it is said, agreed to this 
 proposal, but directs that I shall not be disturbed 
 in the possession of the church during my life-time. 
 T-liis w as a serious disappointment, as expectations 
 had been entertained that their representation 
 would have procured my removal from office. 
 Nor were the attempts to create division in the 
 congregation either feeble or of short duration. 
 Their labour, however, was entirely lost ; for in- 
 stead of creating disunion, it produced a greater 
 degree of unanimity and zeal in the congregation 
 than ever had been witnessed before. A meeting 
 was held in the church, at which it was unani- 
 mously resolved that I should be requested to ex- 
 plain the business to the Governor. I according- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 109 
 
 ly wrote a letter, of which the following is a copy, 
 and addressed it to Colonel Cockburn. 
 
 “ Sir, Perth , Sept . 7, 1822. 
 
 “ Having heard that certain persons here have 
 made an application to the Governor, materially 
 affecting the property of the Presbyterian church 
 under my care, I take the liberty of making the 
 following statement, which I beg you will have the 
 goodness to lay before his Lordship. 
 
 “ At the request of certain persons now located 
 in this settlement, I was, in 1817, ordained, by 
 the Associate Presbytery of Edinburgh, as the 
 minister of those who did then, or who afterwards 
 should place themselves under my ministry. I 
 was then recommended to Earl Bathurst, not only 
 by the presbytery, but by the Lord Advocate of 
 Scotland, and Lord Viscount Melville, and re- 
 ceived from his Lordship a letter to the Lieute- 
 nant Governor of Upper Canada, with orders for 
 the payment of the salary that had been promised. 
 Immediately on my arrival here, I entered on the 
 discharge of my duties ; and, at the end of three 
 months, organized a regular Christian church, on 
 the principles, and according to the standards of 
 the church of Scotland. On examining the mem- 
 bers, I had observed that there were among them 
 some from all the Presbyterian bodies in that 
 church. Therefore, to unite them for the present, 
 and prevent any dispute in future, I proposed that 
 the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the church 
 of Scotland, should be recognized as the basis of 
 our union ; and that it should be held, as a fun- 
 damental and unalterable principle, in all time 
 coming, — that the members of the church who 
 were in regular standing and full communion, 
 should have the privilege of choosing their mini- 
 sters, elders, trustees, &c. and that no person be- 
 
110 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 sides these should have any right to interfere 
 in their affairs, or vote at their meetings. This 
 proposal was agreed to, without a dissenting 
 voice, and has been acted upon ever since, with 
 the happiest effect, and without interruption, till 
 lately, that certain persons not qualified as above, 
 have attempted to interfere in our affairs. One 
 of the conditions offered to us before we left Scot- 
 land, (as you will see by looking at the printed 
 papers,) was, that we should have land allotted to 
 us, on which to build a church ; and this, be it 
 observed, “ without distinction of religious sects .’ 1 
 Accordingly, a few months after I came to the set- 
 tlement, I and tw r o of my elders waited upon the 
 Superintendent, with a copy of these conditions, 
 and requested that he would put us in possession 
 of the land alluded to. He immediately gave us 
 the lot on which the church is now built, and 
 wrote the name of one of my elders upon the dia- 
 gram, as the person to whom the deed was to be 
 issued. 
 
 “The next step was to get a church built. With 
 this view I went about personally, and solicited 
 subscriptions, not only in the settlement, but in 
 various parts of both provinces. In this service 
 I travelled more than a thousand miles, at my 
 own expense, and collected the greater part of 
 the money expended on the building. I after- 
 wards superintended the erection, laying out the 
 money to the best advantage ; and when it was 
 nearly finished, committed it to the care of trus- 
 tees, under certain regulations, enacted at a ge- 
 neral meeting of the congregation. All this time 
 we acted under the most implicit confidence that 
 a deed would be granted us whenever we should 
 apply for it. The burying ground, and lot for 
 the parsonage house, I obtained from yourself at 
 a subsequent period. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 111 
 
 % “ At the time the congregation was organized, 
 
 f three months after I came to the settlement, the 
 
 ' communicants amounted to forty, and the other 
 members to about one hundred and fifty. Since 
 to that time they have gradually increased, till, at 
 aS5i the last enumeration, there were 244 communi- 
 cants, and of other members upwards of 1200. 
 
 ' The harmony that has always prevailed, and still 
 does prevail, notwithstanding the many attempts 
 * of our enemies, both to slander and to stir up 
 division, calls for our astonishment and gratitude. 
 P Our offence, so far as I can learn, is the strictness 
 it0i of our discipline, particularly in refusing to pro- 
 W fane the sacraments by administering them to 
 
 <w improper persons. But why should this be an 
 
 F offence 1 know not, as we never exercise autho- 
 
 iljj rity over any but those who, of their own accord, 
 
 tint become members of our church. With regard to 
 
 onii the persons who have made the application, at 
 
 .m least five of them, they never were in commun- 
 ion with our church, nor indeed with any other 
 wilt' that we have heard of. Their assertion, that the 
 
 hU political principles of the Associate Synod are 
 
 eot)l very different from those of the Church of Scot- 
 hiix land, is no less extraordinary and unfounded than 
 les,( the statement that it was not known in the settle- 
 rs ment that I was ordained and sent here by that 
 body. It was known bv His Majesty’s govern- 
 or ment; for it is noticed in Earl Bathurst’s letter to 
 the Lieutenant Governor; it was known to my 
 r ; congregation, for their petition for a minister was 
 hi, addressed to the Associate Presbytery of Edin- 
 burgh ; and it was known to the public, for a let- 
 j$ ter from the Presbytery, and the certificate of 
 my ordination, were read in presence of the con- 
 gregation, (of which Mr. Da verne. Captain Fow- 
 0 ler, and the magistrates formed a part,) the first 
 Sabbath I preached in Perth ; and how these 
 
 
112 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 gentlemen could be ignorant of it, is more than I 
 can comprehend. 
 
 “ His Lordship’s order, that I should not be dis- 
 turbed in the possession of the church, &c. during 
 my incumbency, deserves my warmest thanks, 
 and shall be gratefully remembered, because it 
 seems to have been given under the idea, that I 
 had not, properly speaking, a right to it. Blit 
 from the pains I have already taken, it will be evi- 
 dent that I am no less concerned for the interest 
 of the congregation than for my own. And, as 
 the measure is not only hostile to them, but tends 
 to destroy my peace of mind, embarrass me in the 
 discharge of my duty, I hope his Lordship will 
 discharge persons, who are not of our communion, 
 from interrupting us in the peaceable possession 
 of our property. 
 
 It only remains, that I should apologise for 
 the length of this communication, which I am 
 sorry the nature of the case has rendered neces- 
 sary. — I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient 
 Servant, 
 
 William Bell. 
 
 To Lieut. -Col. Cockburn , 
 
 Quebec. 
 
 To this letter I received no answer ; but we 
 have not since been troubled in the possession of 
 the property. 
 
 13. Lanark congregation is the next in order. 
 Some of the settlers, who are mostly from the 
 west of Scotland, having resided the first winter 
 in Perth, were members of the church here be- 
 fore they settled on their lands. After they went 
 to Lamar k, I visited them as often as possible, 
 preached among them, and baptized their chil- 
 dren. On the 24th of June, 1821, after preach- 
 ing and baptizing a number of children, I pro- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 113 
 
 ceeded to organize the church. Upwards of forty 
 members were admitted, and a committee of ma- 
 nagers appointed. On the 17th of March, 1822, 
 the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was adminis- 
 tered, for the first time, to the church, and a num- 
 ber of new members were admitted. It was a 
 time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, 
 and many rejoiced to see a communion table 
 spread for them in the wilderness. I continued to 
 visit and preach among them as formerly, but they 
 were chiefly supplied by the Rev. Mr. Gemmili, 
 formerly of Ayrshire, who had come to Lanark 
 as a settler. In March, 1823, assisted by Mr. 
 Gemmili, I again administered the Sacrament to 
 upwards of ninety communicants, a good many 
 new members having been admitted. They are 
 looking for a minister from Scotland, having pe- 
 titioned for one, and Mr. Gemmili in the mean 
 time supplies them with preaching. A stone 
 church is now building in the village, with the 
 money collected in Scotland for that purpose. 
 The village of Lanark stands in a very romantic 
 situation, on the banks of the Clyde, fourteen 
 miles north-west from Perth. 
 
 14. Beckwith congregation for two years had 
 no supply of preaching but what I could afford 
 them. They came from Perthshire in Scotland, 
 and settled in Beckwith in 1818. I occasionally 
 visited them, preached among them, and baptized, 
 their children, but having more preaching stations 
 than I could possibly supply, I recommended that 
 they should petition for a minister of their own. 
 To this they agreed, and a petition was forwarded 
 to the Associate Presbytery of Edinburgh. It 
 was long before they had any answer, and they 
 concluded that it had been unsuccessful. In the 
 mean time, that they might enjoy all the ordinan- 
 ces of the Gospel, I spent some days among them, 
 
114 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 examined many applicants, and, on the 24th of 
 February, 1822, administered the Sacrament of 
 the Lord’s Supper to ninety communicants. Six 
 of them were young persons, but all the rest had 
 been members of other churches, either in this 
 country or in Scotland. I continued to preach 
 among them occasionally as before, till the Rev. 
 Mr. Buchanan, who was in the same year sent as 
 their pastor, arrived. They received him and his 
 numerous family with joy, built them a house, 
 and did all in their power to render them comfort- 
 able. Mr. Buchanan is settled in the middle of 
 the township, about twenty miles from Perth, and 
 preaches in both Gaelic and English. His com- 
 ing is a great comfort to me, as I can now have 
 the assistance of a minister, as well as his company 
 and conversation on every sacramental occasion. 
 
 15. Richmond is in the township of Goulburn, 
 and thirty-one miles from Perth. The Presby- 
 terians settled there are not numerous, but they 
 are evidently increasing. When I first preached 
 in the village, early in 1822, the congregation was 
 very small, but they soon after increased. After 
 Mr. Buchanan settled in Beckwith, he sometimes 
 preached among them, and last winter they en- 
 gaged Mr. Glen to preach and teach the school, 
 but, as he has only lately settled there, I can give 
 no account of his success. 
 
 16. In Kingston there are two Presbyterian 
 congregations, and neither of them of long stand- 
 ing. The first was formed in 1817, and they 
 sent to Scotland for a minister soon after. They 
 had, in the mean time, occasional supplies of 
 preaching, but none permanent till the Rev. Mr. 
 Barclay, their present minister, arrived in 1822. 
 They had, in the preceding year, commenced 
 building a handsome stone church, which is now 
 finished in a very elegant manner. The congre- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 115 
 
 v gation, which consists chiefly of Scotch emigrants, 
 ^ fs numerous and respectable, and seems to be in 
 11 a prosperous condition. 
 
 17. The second congregation of Presbyterians 
 
 r in Kingston, consists chiefly of persons from the 
 
 United States. In no part of Canada is party 
 1 spirit discovered more than in this place. Al- 
 
 though there was only one society at the com- 
 mencement of the church building, it soon be- 
 a came evident that they were united neither in 
 
 H sentiment nor affection. A division took place 
 
 ^ soon after Mr. Barclay’s arrival, and the party 
 
 ^ separating have erected another church, but have 
 
 ^ not yet obtained a minister. 
 
 18, 19, and 20. Namely, Ernest Toxvn , Frede- 
 
 iC ® ricksburg , and another new congregation, a tew 
 
 miles from the latter, on the Bay of Quinte, and 
 k about thirty miles above Kingston, are all under 
 
 'A the pastoral care of Mr. MT)owall, who settled 
 
 b in that part of the province about thirty years 
 
 pra ago. He was.educated in the United States, and 
 
 pK ordained there as minister of the congregation at 
 
 i Ernest Town, which is the place of his residence. 
 
 oqd The other two congregations have been raised by 
 
 his labours since that time, and he preaches to 
 them alternately. The surrounding country being 
 o! fertile and well settled, the congregations are nu- 
 merous, and likely to become more so. 
 tr 21. At Ilaldemand , about half way between 
 
 Kingston and York, there is a small presbyterian 
 congregation, but they have not yet obtained a 
 I settled minister. 
 
 22. Markham congregation, near York, was 
 formed some years before I came to the country, 
 and is now under the pastoral care of the llev. 
 Mr. Jenkins. Like all ministers settled in new 
 congregations, he has had many difficulties to 
 encounter, but they are every year growing less. 
 
 
116 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 25. York , though the capital of the province, 
 contained no Presbyterian congregation till 1821, 
 when Mr. Harris, a young preacher from Ireland, 
 arrived. By his labours, a congregation has been 
 collected, and a church built. He intends to re- 
 main there, but he has not yet been ordained to 
 the pastoral office. 
 
 24, 25, and 26. In Yonge Street , a few miles 
 to the north of York, in Dundas Street , between 
 York and London, and Ecquessing , congrega- 
 tions have been formed, but no churches have 
 been built, nor ministers settled. 
 
 27. Niagara congregation was formed some 
 years before the last war with the United States, 
 and was many years under the care of the Rev. 
 Mr. Burns. Being in a well-settled country, it is 
 one of the best congregations in the province. 
 The church was burnt by the enemy during the 
 late contest, but the congregation expect to re- 
 ceive some compensation from government. When 
 Mr. Burns died, early in 1822, the congregation 
 applied to our presbytery for a supply of sermon, 
 and Mr. Creen, a young man from Ireland, 
 being the only licentiate at that time under our 
 direction, he was sent forward. His conversation 
 and preaching being agreeable to the people, they 
 requested he might be ordained over them, and 
 the presbytery had made arrangements for that 
 purpose, when it was discovered that Mr. Creen 
 was making arrangements of a very different 
 kind, namely, to receive Episcopal ordination 
 from the Bishop of Quebec. Being indignant at 
 his duplicity, the congregation dismissed him 
 from their employment, and the presbytery with- 
 drew his licence. Early in 1823, Mr. Johnstone, 
 another preacher, who had lately arrived from 
 Ireland, was sent to supply the congregation. I 
 have just heard that they are well pleased with 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 117 
 
 his preaching, and have requested that he may be 
 ordained as their pastor. 
 
 28. At Stamford , a few miles higher up the 
 Niagara River, a congregation was formed a few 
 years ago, of which Mr. Wright is now pastor. 
 He also preaches at some other places in the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 29. At St. Catherine's on the road to the Tal- 
 bot Settlement, there is a congregation and a 
 church, of which Mr. Eastman, from the United 
 States, is minister. He travels a good deal, and 
 has a number of other preaching stations. 
 
 30. The Talhot Settlement contains a great 
 number of Presbyterians, but no congregation 
 was formed till a few years ago, when Mr. Sche- 
 melhorne, formerly of the Dutch Reformed 
 church, settled there. He is both diligent and 
 successful in his labours, and has three or four 
 places at which he preaches in rotation. 
 
 The first presbytery ever held in this pro- 
 vince met in 1818, and was named the Presby- 
 tery of the Canadas, as there were some of the 
 members from both provinces. The standards 
 of the Church of Scotland were recognised as the 
 basis of their union, and have been acted upon 
 ever since. At the first meeting of this presby- 
 tery, there were only four ministers present, but 
 they soon after received so great an accession to 
 their number, that it was deemed advisable to di- 
 vide themselves into two or more presbyteries, 
 not on account of their number, but on account of 
 their distance, that all the members might have it 
 in their power to attend the meetings, which had 
 hitherto been impossible, on account of the great 
 distance they had to travel. It was accordingly 
 resolved, at a meeting held in Glengary, about 
 the end of 1819, that those in the lower province 
 should be left to form a presbytery by them- 
 
 

 118 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 selves, and that those in the upper province 
 should form three presbyteries. The first to meet 
 at Cornwall, the second at Brockville or Perth, 
 and the third at York or Niagara ; and that the 
 whole should form a general synod to meet once 
 a-year. These meetings have not been so regu- 
 larly attended as could be wished, but this is not 
 at all wonderful, when the immense distance of 
 the members from one another, and the badness 
 of the roads, are taken into the account. The 
 Presbytery of Cornwall, I think, has had two 
 meetings, that of York and Niagara only one. 
 The Presbytery of Brockville and Perth have had 
 a meeting once every three months, and to them 
 applications for supply of sermon, &c. from the 
 upper part of the province, have generally been 
 made. The synod, up to June, 1S23, has had 
 only three meetings. Four ministers in this, and 
 three in the lower province, have not yet connect- 
 ed themselves with the synod, and have taken no 
 part in these proceedings. 
 
 There are a few Methodist circuit preachers 
 in each of the provinces, but what is their num- 
 ber, or the amount of their congregations, I have 
 not been informed. They are mostly from the 
 -American Conference, and on that account are 
 preferred by their countrymen settled in the Ca- 
 nadas. For some years past they have had much 
 disputing with the missionaries from the British 
 Conference, but this probably arises more from 
 the opposition of their political creeds, than from 
 any difference in their religious sentiments. 
 
 The Baptists have a few preachers settled in 
 different parts of the province, but their congre- 
 gations being too small to support them, they 
 live chiefly by agriculture. 
 
 Catholics are nothing like so numerous in this 
 as in the lower province ; yet even here there is 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 119 
 
 p* a considerable number, the greater part of them 
 it to; from Ireland. I know of at least six priests of- 
 )r|r ficiating in different stations, but it is probable 
 k there are more in the province, 
 net The country being extensive, is still far from 
 being fully supplied with religious instruction; 
 tkj but a great proportion of the people, so far from 
 being sensible of their wants, have a great aver- 
 e£ sion to those who do not think them every thing 
 
 mt, that is clever and excellent. The last war had a 
 
 jIj, very injurious effect upon the morals of the peo- 
 
 pie — an effect which will be felt for many years 
 y, to come. But the number of their instructors 
 ij has been of late years greatly increased, and 
 though there is still much to be effected, it is 
 r pleasing to observe, that the wilderness and the 
 
 j solitary places are beginning to be glad, and the 
 
 desert to blossom like the rose. 
 
 itffl 
 
 5t£ - 
 
 pfE 
 
 * LETTER XVI. 
 
 D^Il 
 
 Having, in my former letters, obeyed the prin- 
 cipal injunctions you laid upon me, 1 shall now, 
 without order or arrangement, set down a few 
 pieces of miscellaneous information, which may 
 assist you in forming a just idea of the state ot 
 this country, and particularly of this settlement, 
 r You are aware, that at the time of my coming 
 here, a great proportion of the population was 
 discharged soldiers and others, who knew little 
 at or nothing of the nature and discipline of a pres- 
 byterian church. I had expressed my determi- 
 nation to offer my services to the whole settle- 
 ment, and religious instruction to all descriptions 
 
120 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 of persons who were willing to receive it. From 
 this the ignorant entertained the belief that I was 
 come to be a kind of chaplain to the settlement, 
 and that I would not only give instruction, but 
 administer the Sacrament to all sorts of persons 
 without distinction. I was in consequence sub- 
 jected to many visits of a very unpleasant nature. 
 Ignorant or immoral persons would sometimes 
 call at my house with children and request me to 
 baptize them ; and it was of no use to tell the 
 former they must be instructed, or the latter that 
 they must reform their conduct, before I could 
 recognise them as church members, or baptize 
 their children. Some indeed, were civil, and at- 
 tended to the instructions I gave them, but others 
 were quite enraged, and threatened to lodge a 
 complaint with the magistrates, or even to tell the 
 governor himself. As a specimen of what I had 
 to encounter, take the following. 
 
 On the Saturday evening before I administered 
 the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper for the first 
 time, a foreigner, who was a discharged soldier, 
 called, and requested me to baptize his child. I 
 asked him a few questions, to ascertain whether 
 he understood the nature of that ordinance, and 
 whether he performed the duties of religion or 
 not. Finding by his answers that he was very 
 ignorant, I instructed him in the nature and de- 
 sign of baptism, and told him that I would bap- 
 tize his child when he made a profession of reli- 
 gion, and proved his sincerity by performing its 
 duties as became a Christian. To all this he 
 agreed, and left me well pleased with what I had 
 told him. In half an hour, however, he return- 
 ed, attended by his father-in-law, who was one 
 of the most forward and insolent men I ever met 
 with — a man who, as I afterwards learned, made 
 no profession of religion, and had distinguished 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 121 
 
 himself by his quarrels, both with his neighbours 
 and his own family. At first he was somewhat 
 civil, and argued a good deal to persuade me to 
 baptize the child. It was in vain that I told him 
 it was contrary to the rules of our church to bap- 
 tize in private, and that never having seen any of 
 the parties before, I could not interfere till the 
 parents brought a certificate of their moral cha- 
 racter. Still he insisted, but finding it of no use, 
 he altered his tone, and in a most insolent manner 
 told me that I must do it, and that I had no right 
 to refuse. I replied that he was mistaken, and 
 that I should be glad if he would leave the house, 
 as he was behaving very improperly, and troub- 
 ling me at a very unseasonable time. After a little 
 more conversation to the same effect, they left the 
 house in a rage, the young man saying he would 
 baptize it himself, but the old man said,’ “No, we’ll 
 take it to the Catholic priest.” In about ten minutes 
 they returned, bringing the child and its mother 
 along with them. The old man pretended to 
 apologize for his former rash conduct, and said if 
 he had offended me he would ask pardon, but 
 still insisted that I should baptize the child as it 
 was present. I again told him, that it was con- 
 trary to the practice . of our church, and that the 
 mode of his application was altogether irregular 
 and improper; that I knew nothing of him^and 
 that, from what I had seen of his conduct, I had 
 formed a very unfavourable opinion of him. This 
 was followed by a torrent of abuse from the whole 
 party. The old man in particular talked quite in 
 a raving manner. He said he would take a pro- 
 test against me ; that he had been educated for a 
 clergyman, though he was now a wood-cutter ; 
 and that he could read Latin, Greek, Hebrew, 
 and French, as well as John Brown of Hadding- 
 ton could ; and a great deal more to the same 
 a 
 
 / 
 
122 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 purpose. Had you baptized the child, said he, I 
 would have done you all the good in my power ; 
 but as you have not, I will do you all the mis- 
 chief I can. I told him that though, as appeared 
 from his conversation, he was a very important 
 personage, yet neither a desire of enjoying his fa- 
 vour, nor a fear of incurring his displeasure, should 
 induce me to depart from the line of conduct 
 which my duty marked out. They then left the 
 house, uttering imprecations, and threatening re- 
 venge. I afterwards learned that, upon leaving me, 
 the mother ran to the river side, and lifting a little 
 water, threw it in the child’s face ; but the whole 
 party having consulted together, concluded that 
 this was not sufficient, and that, to make sure work, 
 it would be better to take the child to the Catho- 
 lic priest, which they did accordingly, by whom 
 the service was performed in French. You will 
 no doubt be surprised, as I was, when the circum- 
 stance happened, that any person living in a 
 Christian country could be guilty of such extra- 
 ordinary conduct ; but upon inquiry, I found that 
 the old man’s conduct was not more extraordinary 
 in this than in other particulars. 
 
 While I am on this subject, I shall mention one 
 other instance, which had a more tragical termi- 
 nation. Though I had given public notice that, 
 in ordinary cases, I would baptize no children but 
 in presence of the congregation, and after the pa- 
 rents had received the necessary instructions, or 
 had satisfied me that they had a right understand- 
 ing of that ordinance, yet ignorant applicants con- 
 tinued to bring children to my house, and insist 
 that I should baptize them there. On the even- 
 ing of one of the coldest days I have ever felt even 
 in Canada, a man and a woman came with a child 
 nearly frozen lo death, and requested me to bap- 
 tize it. I asked if they were the parents of the 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 ' 123 
 
 child. They said they were not the parents, but 
 had merely come as godfather and godmother. I 
 told them they were much to blame for bringing- 
 out the child in such inclement weather, and there- 
 by endangering its life ; and asked them if they 
 were so ignorant of the nature of the duty I had 
 to perform, as to suppose that I would baptize a 
 child while the parents were not present, and yet 
 in the neighbourhood. They excused themselves 
 by saying that the child was sick, and the pa- 
 rents were afraid it would die without baptism, 
 which would be a shocking thing ; and being ra- 
 ther unwell themselves, had requested thetn to 
 carry the child to the parson, and, as they intend- 
 ed to stand godfather and godmother, they did 
 not see any need for the parents being present. 
 Seeing they were ignorant, I proceeded to give 
 them instructions, and to show them that infants 
 ought not to be baptized unless they were the 
 children of believing parents; but the man, who 
 was a very forward fellow, interrupted me, by 
 asking whether I would baptize the child or not ? 
 
 I replied that I would not till I had seen and con- 
 versed with the parents, or at least with the fa- 
 ther of the child. O well, said he, “ it’s no use 
 waiting ; I’ll take it to the Catholic priest. I dare 
 say he 11 do it. It is no matter to us who does it 
 if it is done and with this they left the house’ 
 About half an hour after the man came in again 
 for his stick, which he had forgotten in his hurry 
 and mentioned, with some degree of exultation’ 
 that, upon paying half a dollar to the priest, he 
 had christened the child without asking any ques- 
 tions. The service was performed in French, of 
 which they understood not one word. This rela- 
 tion will give you some idea of the people with 
 whom I had sometimes to deal. 
 
 g 2 
 
 
r 
 
 124 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 About a month after this circumstance took 
 place, the father of the child himself called, and 
 wished me to baptize it again , as, he said, he did 
 not like Catholic baptism. r lhis of course I de- 
 clined. He then said, if I would not do it he 
 meant to lodge a complaint against me with a ma- 
 gistrate ; for all I could say did not convince him 
 that I was not an army chaplain. I smiled at the 
 man’s ignorance, and told him he was welcome 
 either to do that, or follow my instructions as he 
 thought best. Whether he went to a magistrate 
 or not I have not learned ; but he spent the re- 
 mainder of the day at a tavern, and in attempting 
 to go home in a very cold night, lost his way, and 
 perished in the snow. Next morning his body 
 was found, and brought to Perth. It was frozen as 
 hard as stone, and presented a shocking spectacle. 
 The child in question died the same evening, and 
 on the following day they were both buried in one 
 grave. 
 
 He that would remove ignorance, and promote 
 general reformation, must turn his attention to the 
 rising generation. The old are obstinate, and so 
 much attached to their vices from habit, that their 
 reformation is next to impossible ; but the young 
 are more easily bent. Being convinced of this, 
 I, amongst other means of improvement, detei* 
 mined to attempt the establishment of a Sunday 
 school, and accordingly gave public notice of my 
 intention. Though I began with five scholars, 
 they soon increased to twenty ; but, when the no- 
 velty of the thing was over, and the roads became 
 bad in the rainy season which followed, their num- 
 ber was reduced to about one-half. Sometimes it 
 has been given up and resumed again, and in tins 
 way it has been continued till lately, and I trust 
 not without some good effect, though it was not so 
 numerously attended as might be expected. It 
 
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UPPER CANADA. 
 
 125 
 
 ^ has been taught most part of the time by a mem- 
 ber of the church, who was a very suitable per- 
 v; son, having been employed in the same way at 
 home. Four or five other Sunday schools have, 
 at my request, been attempted in other parts of 
 i[ * the settlement, and with similar success. 
 
 ^ Up to the time of my arrival in the settlement, 
 ^ no school of any kind had ever been attempted. 
 At the request of the inhabitants, I determined to 
 open one for the common branches of education. 
 ti It was accordingly begun on the 7th of July, 
 Rflf 1817, with eighteen scholars. The governor in 
 w chief being informed of the circumstance, not only 
 fc expressed his approbation, but ordered a salary 
 ife of L.50 a-year to be paid me as the teacher. The 
 sp number of scholars increasing, the want of a school- 
 
 house was very much felt ; for I had still to teach 
 in my own dwelling-house, which was both small 
 and inconvenient. At last, however, a convenient 
 school-house was erected, and I took possession, 
 using it for the school during the week, and for 
 the church on Sunday. Things continued in this 
 lii state till the end of 1819, when an episcopal cler- 
 gyman came here to settle, who kindly agreed to 
 j 1 take the school off my hands without my consent. 
 
 Against this measure the inhabitants unanimous- 
 ly ly petitioned, but without effect. This was the 
 g more to be regretted, that the school was proceed- 
 ing in the most satisfactory manner, and never was 
 more prosperous than at the time it was given up. 
 It is but right to observe, however, that the De- 
 puty Quarter-Master-General did me the justice 
 unequivocally to state, that he had no fault to 
 find with my management of the school, but that 
 he thought it right that a clergyman of the church 
 of England ought to have a situation under go. 
 vernment in preference to any one else. On this 
 transaction I shall not at present make any other 
 
126 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 observation than merely to say, that the school, 
 under the direction of my reverend successor, soon 
 after died of a consumption, and the school-house 
 has been for some time empty. 
 
 While I am on the subject of schools, I shall 
 just inform you what the legislature has done to 
 encourage education in Upper Canada. In the 
 province there are nine districts, in each of which 
 the sum of about L.400 annually is allowed for 
 the support of schools, namely, L. 100 for the dis- 
 trict school, in which the classics, mathematics, 
 &c. are taught, and the rest for the support of 
 common schools, in which the ordinary branches 
 of education are taught. Of the former, there is 
 only one allowed in each district ; of the latter, as 
 many as the inhabitants think proper, provided 
 they furnish at least twenty scholars for each, the 
 salary being divided among all the schools, in pro- 
 portion to the number of scholars taught in each. 
 The rest of the teachers’ support is raised from 
 the school fees, which are from two to three dol- 
 lars a quarter. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Most of the marriages solemnized in this colo- 
 ny at an early period, were performed by magis- 
 trates, or commanders of military posts. Mini- 
 sters were few in number, and often far distant. 
 Now, none but clergymen are permitted to marry, 
 unless there be no one nearer than eighteen miles; 
 but, in that case, a magistrate is still permitted to 
 solemnize marriages according to the form of the 
 church of England, provided he advertise his in- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 127 
 
 tention, and the name of the parties on some pub* 
 lie-house in the township three weeks before the 
 marriage takes place. Ministers of Presbyterian, 
 Calvinistic, and Lutheran congregations, have the 
 same privilege of celebrating marriages within the 
 bounds of their own communities as ministers of 
 the church of England have. This privilege is 
 also enjoyed by priests of the Romish church. 
 The methods of getting married are two ; by be- 
 ing published the three preceding Sabbaths in the 
 church, the same as in England, or by special li- 
 cense from the Governor, in which case the mar- 
 riage may be dispatched at once, before the pub- 
 lic can be aware of what is going on. A confiden- 
 tial agent, in every considerable town, has some of 
 these licenses ready sealed and signed by the 
 Governor, and having blanks to be filled up with 
 the names of the parties to be married. In this 
 settlement a license costs six dollars; but mother 
 parts of the province it costs eight. Since money 
 became scarce they are not so much in demand ; 
 but those who can afford the expenses generally 
 give them the preference. 
 
 It is customary among people from the United 
 States, when a death takes place, to request some 
 minister to preach a funeral sermon at the house 
 of the deceased to those who attend the interment. 
 Sometimes an address is delivered to the attendants 
 at the grave. I have not declined to do either of 
 these when requested ; but neither is very com- 
 mon in this settlement. 
 
 I had not been a week in Perth, when a per- 
 son called upon me, to request that I would at- 
 tend at the burying-ground, and read the funeral 
 service at the interment of one of his neighbours. 
 This I however declined, and assigned my rea- 
 sons for so doing. I had another call of the same 
 kind a few days after, and since that time I have 
 
128 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 had several more. My refusal drew down the 
 displeasure of the parties concerned ; for I could 
 not convince them that I was prevented by con- 
 scientious scruples. They imputed my conduct 
 to an unaccommodating disposition. 
 
 In the autumn of 1817, a farmer from the Ri- 
 deau settlement called upon me, and said he had 
 heard me preach at Brockville, and had taken the 
 liberty to request, that I would come and preach 
 a sermon to him and his neighbours when I could 
 make it convenient. 1 agreed to his proposal, 
 and we fixed the time. When it arrived I set 
 out on foot ; for there were then no horses in 
 the settlement, nor any thing to feed them with, 
 nor roads on which they could travel. At ten 
 o'clock, on Saturday the 3d of October, I set out. 
 My journey was about twenty miles, and most of 
 it in the woods, where there was scarcely any 
 track. I took a guide with me, and it was well 
 I did so, for without one I never could have found 
 the way. We passed two considerable rivers, 
 which we had to wade, carrying our clothes on 
 our shoulders to keep them dry. Two very bad 
 ash swamps also lay in our way, in which, where 
 we could not find fallen trees to walk upon, we 
 sunk to the knees in mud. After a fatiguing 
 march of eight hours, we reached our lodging 
 about sunset. Our landlord was very kind and at- 
 tentive; but the landlady, who appeared to have 
 a great talent for silence , did not speak to us 
 for some hours after our arrival, nor more than 
 a dozen words all the time we remained in the 
 house. All the family slept in one apartment, 
 which was large. The door was not fastened at 
 night, and I observed that it had neither bolt nor 
 bar, — a proof that the farmers have no apprehen- 
 sion of nocturnal depredations. The house was 
 pleasantly situated on the bank of the river Ri- * 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 129 
 
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 deau, near the place first proposed for the settle- 
 ments of the Scotch emigrants. 
 
 At four next morning a violent storm of thun- 
 der and rain came on, which lasted till nine. This 
 rather alarmed me, as we were four miles from 
 the place where I was to preach ; but at ten, the 
 storm being over, we proceeded down the river in 
 a canoe. At a farm-house which we passed, we 
 stopped and took in three young women, relations 
 of our pilot. They could paddle very dexterous- 
 ly, but, like our landlady, they remained silent. 
 I made several endeavours to draw them into 
 conversation, but without success. My guide 
 afterwards told me, that the young women in that 
 quarter are so shy, that if a stranger call, they 
 often run and hide themselves ; and if they re- 
 main, they scarcely speak a word. Their educa- 
 tion must be very defective, or injudiciously ma- 
 naged. After a voyage of three miles between 
 woody banks, we landed, and walked one mile to 
 the school-house A crowd had already collected 
 near it, their horses stood near them tied to stumps, 
 saddled and bridled ; for most of them came on 
 horseback. My attendant had forewarned me 
 that my audience would make a somewhat rustic 
 appearance ; and indeed I found that he was not 
 mistaken. Being a little thirsty, I walked into a 
 house to get a glass of water, when about half a 
 dozen of young men followed me, and stood round 
 me with their hands in their pockets, staring me 
 in the face, without speaking a word. Many of 
 them had never seen a Presbyterian minister be- 
 fore, and on hearing that one was coming, their 
 curiosity was excited in no ordinary degree. On 
 mounting the desk, the congregation seemed large 
 for so retired a place, but many of them had a 
 very homely appearance. The men sat on one 
 side of the house, and the women on the other, as 
 
130 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 is customary at Quakers 1 meetings. Most of the 
 latter wore no head dress, though some of them 
 had children on their knees. Bare-headed wo- 
 men, with long hair hanging over their shoulders, 
 suckling children, had certainly a very odd ap- 
 pearance ; and I could scarcely persuade myself 
 that I was not in an assembly of Indians. After 
 sermon, the leader of the class, for they are nearly 
 all Methodists in that quarter, invited me to his 
 house to take some refreshment, but having to 
 return in the canoe with the rest, I was obliged to 
 decline his kind offer. I afterwards learned that 
 my audience were very well pleased with my ser- 
 mon, till near the conclusion, when I observed 
 that true believers are kept by the power of God, 
 through means of faith, unto eternal salvation. 
 This gave them great offence, and they concluded 
 that, since I did not think a believer could fall 
 from grace, I ought not to be countenanced. In 
 the evening I had much interesting conversation 
 with my landlord, who was a sensible, well-inform- 
 ed man. Next day I returned home, better 
 pleased with the people of my own charge than I 
 had been before my journey. 
 
 About a fortnight after this, I resolved to visit 
 Kingston, where I was told there were many 
 Presbyterians destitute of a minister. The dis- 
 tance, by the nearest road, is about seventy miles, 
 but by Brockville and the St. Lawrence it is near 
 a hundred. As my object was usefulness, I re- 
 solved to take the latter, that being better inha- 
 bited than the other. On my way I preached in 
 Brockville, Yonge, Gananoque, and other places, 
 where I found kind friends and encouraging con- 
 gregations. On leaving Gananoque, as I was 
 tired of walking, and being still twenty-five miles 
 from Kingston, I engaged a passage in a country 
 boat, which was proceeding to market with a car- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 131 
 
 go of apples. The wind was contrary, but being 
 light, the men expected to reach Kingston before 
 i: evening by the assistance of their oars. But 
 
 before we had proceeded far, the wind increased, 
 and it began to rain so fast, that we were forced 
 to land upon Howe’s Island, and take shelter at 
 the house of the forester. This part of the St. 
 *S5 Lawrence, on account of its numerous islands and 
 
 r: still water, is called the Lake of a Thousand 
 
 ira; Islands. Wolfe’s Island, which is the largest, is 
 
 about fifteen miles long, and contains much good 
 land. The rain having abated, we proceeded on 
 our voyage, but as the wind blew hard, we made 
 very little progress. As I was anxious to reach 
 Kingston that night, and being told that I might 
 find a road through the woods, I went ashore, 
 lock though the night was very stormy, and the woods 
 drenched with rain. The sun sunk below the 
 id; horizon soon after I landed, and I had still nine 
 
 he miles to travel on a road which turned out to be 
 
 .jt$ much worse than I expected. Indeed it scarcely 
 
 deserved the name of a road, differing little from 
 the rest of the forest, except that the mud was 
 deeper in consequence of the passage of cattle. 
 The rain continued all the time, and the mud in 
 swampy places was so deep that I got through 
 with difficulty. There was moonlight, but, the 
 sky being charged with clouds, it was very faint. 
 At one place I came to an opening, in which I 
 observed, at a short distance, two huts ; but, on 
 going to them, in the hope of finding shelter for 
 the night, I was mortified to find that they were 
 not inhabited. Finding that there was no alterna- 
 tive, but either to grope my way through mud and 
 bushes, or remain in the woods all night, I per- 
 severed, when on a sudden I heard a drum beat, 
 and never before did the sound of that instrument 
 afford me so much pleasure. From the sound, 
 
 
132 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 which I had no doubt proceeded from the garrison , 
 I concluded that I must be within two miles of 
 Kingston. In little more than half an hour I 
 reached that place, and though I was a stranger, 
 I soon met with kind friends, as I have uniformly 
 done in every place where Providence has sent me. 
 A good fire to warm me, and dry my clothes, a 
 comfortable supper, and agreeable company, soon 
 made me forget my toils. In such circumstances 
 the comforts of life and the blessings of society 
 are doubly sweet. 
 
 On the following day, which was Saturday, I 
 waited upon a few of the friends of religion, but 
 was sorry to find that they were far from being 
 united in their sentiments. In such a country as 
 this, one would expect to find nothing like party 
 spirit in religious matters; but the case is quite 
 otherwise. The inhabitants are emigrants from 
 all the religious denominations, and all zealous for 
 their own sect or party. On the Sabbath I preach- 
 ed twice in the Lancastrian school-house, to a 
 numerous and attentive congregation. On Mon- 
 day, at the request of some of the friends of reli- 
 gion, I visited them at their own houses, and 
 found some very agreeable company. At that 
 time there were in Kingston an Episcopal church, 
 a Roman Catholic chapel, and a Methodist meet- 
 ing-house. The Presbyterian churches were not 
 then built, though one of them had been proposed. 
 On Tuesday I. left Kingston, and walked to Ga- 
 nanoque, where I met with a kind reception from 
 the family of Charles IVLDonell, Esq. where I had 
 lodged on my way up. My kind host requested 
 me to stay with him a day or two and rest myself, 
 and as this afforded me another opportunity of 
 preaching in the village, I consented. On Wed- 
 nesday I went with Mr. M‘Donell to see his saw 
 and grist-mills, on the Gananoque river. The 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 133 
 
 logs are brought to the mills by water, drawn up, 
 and cut by machinery. The boards are then 
 rafted, and sent down the St. Lawrence to Mont- 
 real and other places for sale. The grist-mills 
 are no less complete. Boats with grain can come 
 close up to the building, when it is drawn up, 
 ground into flour, packed into barrels, and again 
 lowered into the boats ; by which it is afterwards 
 conveyed to market. Here we were joined by 
 Colonel Stone, with whom I took a walk up the 
 bank of the river to see the rapids, while he de- 
 tailed to me his plans for rendering the river na- 
 vigable to the lake from which it issues. 
 
 In the evening I preached in the school-house 
 to about a hundred people. After sermon I had 
 some conversation with a few of them, who appear- 
 ed to be serious good people. They were chiefly 
 Baptists, and I learned that they had two small 
 societies in that neighbourhood. Next day I 
 breakfasted with Colonel and Mrs. Stone. Being 
 both pious and well informed, they are a blessing 
 to the neighbourhood. The Colonel not only 
 furnished me a horse for my next journey, but 
 accompanied me several miles himself. In the 
 evening I reached the house of Mr. Purvis, one 
 of Mr. Smart’s elders, where I remained for the 
 night. Next day I went on to Mr. Smart’s, being 
 engaged to assist him in the administration of the 
 Lord’s Supper on the following Sabbath. In the 
 evening the members met for conference and 
 prayer, when I delivered an address on the nature 
 and design of the ordinance they had in view. 
 None but those who have lived in a country like 
 this know how delightful it is to meet with a com- 
 pany of those with whom we are connected in 
 church fellowship. Suffice it to say, it was a time 
 of refreshing to us all. The following day I spent 
 in the happiest manner with Mr. Smart and his 
 

 134 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 family. Many plans were proposed, and discuss* 
 ed for advancing the Redeemers kingdom in the 
 province. The last thing we took under consi- 
 deration was a plan for uniting the exertions of 
 all the Presbyterian ministers in the country; 
 and we concluded that Mr. Smart should write to 
 them all and request their concurrence. This 
 was the origin of that union which has since been 
 formed. The greater part received the proposal 
 with pleasure, but two or three chose rather to 
 stand by themselves. 
 
 About ten on Sabbath morning, we left Mr. 
 Smart’s house for Brockville, which was distant 
 about five miles, to engage in the solemn and de- 
 lightful services of the day. I preached to the 
 congregation, and Mr. Smart administered the 
 sacrament to the members of the church, whom 
 he addressed in a very impressive manner. Next 
 day I set out on my way home, in rainy weather 
 and deep roads. After two days disagreeable 
 travelling, I reached Perth in safety, though much 
 fatigued. The roads in this country not being 
 covered with stones or gravel, in rainy weather 
 soon become almost impassable. 
 
 The two journies I have mentioned above 
 were made soon after I settled here. Since that 
 time I have made two or three journies every 
 year, to the distance of fifty or a hundred miles, 
 preaching at the various places as I went along, 
 baptizing children, catechising, and visiting fa- 
 milies in their own houses. The labours, fa- 
 tigues, and privations to be endured, in some of 
 these excursions, can only be estimated by those 
 who have travelled in a country like this. In 
 some places tolerably good accommodation is to 
 be had ; in others little or none. This is parti- 
 cularly the case in new settlements. After mak- 
 ing a long journey through deep snow, or perhaps 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 135 
 
 k 
 
 U 
 
 rtks 
 
 our 
 
 ii 
 
 ncti 
 
 pnw 
 
 rat 
 
 Ml 
 is is 
 
 in 
 
 rib; 
 
 ari: 
 
 Li 
 
 IK 
 
 W 
 
 •ki 
 
 TK 
 
 dB 
 
 OB! 
 
 SS 
 
 it 
 
 tail 
 
 k 
 
 i/ 
 
 >* 
 
 f! 
 
 mud, and fording the rivers in my way, I have 
 had to sleep on a bear or buffalo skin spread on 
 the ground, and a blanket over me. The winter 
 is the best season for travelling, after the snow is 
 well trod, but at first it is very difficult, especial- 
 ly if the ground was not frozen before the snow 
 fell. I have seen it knee deep in the month of 
 November, while the mud below was nearly as 
 deep ; but it is rare to see much snow so early : 
 there is seldom much before the beginning of Ja- 
 nuary. When the ground is hard frozen before 
 the snow falls, the roads are soon fit for sleighing ; 
 but, when there is a fall of snow before the mud 
 is sufficiently hard to carry a horse, it is long be- 
 fore travelling is good, the snow keeping out the 
 frost. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 In new settlements, nothing is more common 
 than for persons to lose themselves in the woods, 
 and remain for days, or even weeks ; and some 
 have perished there, not being able to find their 
 way out. One of my parishioners, soon after he 
 settled here, was lost nine days, subsisting all the 
 time on leaves, herbs, and roots. When he was 
 recovered, and brought back to his house, his fa- 
 culties seemed somewhat impaired ; and even to 
 this day, the recollection of what he suffered, 
 chiefly from hunger and anxiety, produces a me- 
 lancholy effect upon his mind. When a person 
 is lost, he becomes quite bewildered and stupified. 
 East from west, and north from south, can no 
 longer be distinguished, and anxiety takes pos- 
 
 
136 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 session of the mind, hurrying one forward proba- 
 bly in the wrong direction. When this misfor- 
 tune happens in severe weather, the danger is 
 very great. In passing through where there was 
 no path, I have sometimes wandered from the 
 proper direction, when I had not the sun for a 
 guide, but I never went so far astray as to be in 
 much danger, excepting once. 
 
 On the evening of the 23d of December, 1818, 
 which was one of the coldest days in that winter, 
 being on my way home from a distant part of the 
 settlement, I wished to come by a line I had 
 never before travelled. I walked along a creek, 
 about two miles ; but the ice at one place being 
 bad, I broke through, and got wet to the knees. 
 In less than half a minute, my clothes were as 
 nard as boards, the frost being intense. It is in a 
 case of this kind that freezing is most to be 
 dreaded. As long as one is dry, the frost makes 
 less impression. Knowing that I was now in 
 great danger, I travelled with the utmost expedi- 
 tion ; but I had not proceeded half a mile farther 
 when I again broke through at a spring. The 
 sun was just setting, and I was still three miles 
 from home. I turned from the creek, and struck 
 into the wood. My trowsers, stockings, and shoes 
 were now as hard as stone, which greatly retarded 
 my progress. My situation at this time was some- 
 what hazardous, my body being in a state of per- 
 spiration, and my extremities freezing. But, in a 
 case of this kind, strange as it may appear, it is a 
 pleasure to feel pain ; for whenever a hand or a 
 foot is frozen, it becomes insensible. On leaving 
 the creek, I had to pass through about half a 
 mile of cedar swamp, and here I lost my way. 
 The snow was about a foot deep at an average; 
 but while I climbed over fallen timber, and strug- 
 gled through thickets, if I had firm footing at one 
 
UPPER CANADA. 137 
 
 n ^ 
 
 i- step, the next I plunged in some hole up to the 
 
 r middle ; but the exertions I made were the means 
 
 j, of saving me. Had I stood still but a few min- 
 utes, I would have been frozen to death. After 
 {, exerting myself for some time, and seeing no pro- 
 k' spect of getting out of the swamp, I began to sus- 
 pect that I was travelling in a wrong direction. 
 i 5 The sun, which had been my only guide, was 
 
 j rl , now sunk below the horizon, and there was a pro- 
 
 ,•! spect of being benighted in the wood, with certain 
 
 Ik death as the consequence. I sprung forward with 
 
 m redoubled vigour ; and, for near an hour, made 
 
 u the most strenuous exertions ; but seeing no pro- 
 
 ! spect of getting out, the shades of darkness fall- 
 
 * in g around me, and my strength beginning to 
 
 ** fail, I was about to sit down on a fallen tree, and 
 
 resign myself to my fate ; when, looking to my 
 " right, I observed that the darkness in that direc- 
 tion was less dense than in the others. A ray of 
 0T : hope sprung up, and I again set forward. I had 
 
 l f,. not proceeded far, when I came to a clearing with 
 a hut in the middle ; but what was^ my disap- 
 1 pointment, on reaching the door, to find it unin- 
 
 n habited. Now, however, the danger was at an 
 
 end ; for by following a tract which I found in 
 the snow, I knew I would soon reach some inha- 
 bited house. After travelling some time, I got 
 into a well-beaten path, in which I had not pro- 
 T ceeded far when I met two men, from whom I 
 
 “ learned that the road led to Perth, which was dis- 
 
 tant about three miles. I now discovered where 
 my error lay. After losing sight of the sun, I 
 had travelled to the north-easf, instead of the 
 south-east. In little more than half an hour I 
 reached home, for I lost no time on the road. I 
 found my family somewhat uneasy, being alarmed 
 at my stay. After getting the clothes on my 
 lower extremities thawed and taken off, I found 
 
 a 
 
138 
 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 that no part of my feet was frozen. My shirt 
 was drenched with perspiration, and that which 
 had descended from my head, hung in icicles 
 round the ends of my hair. Since that time I 
 have never ventured into the woods without a 
 compass ; and I would advise every one else to 
 use the same precaution. 
 
 In this country, after the winter sets in, all 
 wheel carriages are laid aside, and nothing but 
 sledges are used. By them lumber or grain is 
 carried to market, firewood is drawn home, and 
 people travel to a distance to see their friends, or 
 to transact business. In old settlements, where 
 the road is good, they form a very pleasant con- 
 veyance, and with a good horse one may travel 
 fifty or sixty miles in a day without difficulty ; but 
 in a new settlement, where the road is encumber, 
 ed with stumps, and the surface is full of inequa- 
 lities, both the horse and traveller will be suffi- 
 ciently fatigued with half that distance. In a 
 storm, however, it is as easy travelling in the 
 woods as in the open country. In the former, 
 you are sheltered from the piercing winds, which, 
 in the latter, sometimes freeze the traveller's nose, 
 ears, or even fingers, before he is aware. There, 
 too, the snow in a storm drifts so much, that tra- 
 velling is rendered both difficult and tedious. 
 The truth of this I once felt, in a journey of more 
 than one hundred miles, to attend a meeting of 
 Presbytery. I had travelled part of the way by 
 myself, when I was joined by Messrs. Smart and 
 MdDowall. They had a double sledge, and we 
 agreed to travel together, the snow fell thick, and 
 the air was so very cold that we were obliged to 
 stop every three or four miles to get ourselves 
 warmed. The road lay along the bank of the 
 St. Lawrence, and was much exposed to the storm. 
 The snow was drifted so much that we could 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 139 
 
 scarcely tell where the road lay, except when we 
 ( were guided by the fences. No vestige of the old 
 track being visible, we were in continual danger 
 t of upsetting. About nine in the evening, we 
 reached the house of a hospitable Dutchman, 
 named Von Allan, one of Mr. Smart’s elders. 
 There we enjoyed very comfortable accom- 
 5; modations for the night. Next morning, af- 
 
 ^ ter breakfast, we set forward to finish our 
 
 - journey. It no longer snowed, but both the 
 
 wind and the cold had increased. No trace 
 f ‘ of a rpad was to be seen, the snow being deep, 
 
 i: and drifted on the top as smooth as the surface 
 
 of a lake. Except in a few spots the horses 
 sunk to the belly at every step, so that our pro- 
 gress was very slow. The wind was directly in 
 3 our faces, and it was the coldest I ever encounter- 
 ed, even in this cold country. Though we were 
 7 well muffled up in great coats, and enveloped in 
 1 13 buffalo robes, yet we could not endure the cold 
 p more than two or three miles at a time. It was 
 well for us we were travelling a road where houses 
 \ r are to be met with at short distances ; and here it 
 ■■ is thought nothing strange to walk into any house 
 you come to, in a cold day, to enjoy the benefit of 
 k ^e fire. In spite of all the care and precautions 
 10 we employed, Mr. Smart had his nose frozen, and 
 ’(fs Mr. M'Dowall one of his ears; but they were 
 both speedily recovered by the application of a 
 little snow. What would our friends on your side 
 is of the water think of travelling more than a hun- 
 i dred miles, under such circumstances, to attend a 
 id, meeting of four ministers and two elders. In the 
 
 U evening we lodged at the house of a worthy Scots- 
 
 man, in whose hospitable and pious family the 
 i sufferings of the preceding day were entirely for- 
 gotten. No comfort in life affords one more plea- 
 sure than religious society ; and I do not know 
 
 

 HO LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 that ever I found it more refreshing than on the 
 present occasion. In the course of the day I had 
 been thinking of the labour and difficulty of intro- 
 ducing religion, and laying the foundations of 
 churches in a new country, till the prospect 
 appeared gloomy and discouraging ; but the scene 
 which the evening presented was so much brighter, 
 that, with Paul on a similar occasion, I thanked 
 God, and took courage. Our journey home was 
 more agreeable, the weather having moderated, 
 and the road being again tracked with passing 
 sledges. The alteration in the temperature of 
 the air is in this country both great and sudden. 
 The cold in winter is sometimes dreadful, but this 
 seldom continues more than a day or two. A 
 few cold days are often followed by weather so 
 mild that travelling is quite pleasant; and mi 
 many winters pass without a complete thaw in 
 January or February, though these are the cold- 
 est months in the year. 
 
 T he sky in Canada is neither so serene nor the 
 weather so steady as I was led to expect, from 
 what I had read on the subject, but we have cer- 
 tainly a purer air, and fewer changes of weather, 
 than you have. Thunder, during the summer 
 months, is both frequent and loud, and twice 
 since I came to the country I have heard thunder 
 wtien frost and snow were upon the ground. 
 Flashes of electricity are attended with a vivid- 
 ness and brilliancy unknown in more liorthern 
 latitudes, and I have sometimes got out of bed 
 in a dark night, during a thunder storm, to en- 
 joy from the window, a sight of the town, com- 
 pletely illuminated by flashes which occurred eve- 
 ry two or three minutes. 
 
 The year, in this place, is about equally divid- 
 ed between summer and winter. The former be- 
 gins about the first of May, and the latter about 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 U1 
 
 the first of November. The heat of summer and 
 1 the cold of winter are intense for about three 
 jli months, each in its season. The rest of the year 
 ofc is more temperate. Though vegetation begins on 
 ki or before the first of May, it does not make much 
 pi appearance till the earth is well warmed with the 
 rays of the sun, when it proceeds with a rapidity 
 )figs unequalled in any part of Britain, and it is no 
 k unusual thing to see crops of grain sown, ripened, 
 
 ttt and cut down all in the space of three months, 
 
 fc But it is seldom so plump as in colder climates, 
 pjii where it ripens more slowly. 
 
 to Storms are sometimes so violent as to do con- 
 
 si siderable damage. The most serious I have seen 
 lull happened on the 28th of June, 1818. About 
 
 Jo mid-day it began to thunder, attended with rain, 
 
 ibi which continued about two hours, when a violent 
 
 ill storm, or rather hurricane, commenced, so vio- 
 
 tb lent, that trees in all directions were prostrated 
 
 !. on the ground. First hail, and then rain fell in 
 
 torrents. The hail was as large as gooseberries, 
 ms: and besides doing much damage to the crops, de- 
 
 ^ molished many of the windows that were exposed 
 
 (K to its fury. I never witnessed a storm any thing 
 
 like so severe. The darkness, the lightning, the 
 B peals of thunder, the rattling hail, and the de- 
 
 K luge of rain which swept along the ground, all 
 
 tended to heighten the terrific grandeur of the 
 scene. There was not a road in the settlement 
 which was not blocked up by trees falling across 
 k it. 
 
 On calm summer evenings, when there are any 
 clouds in the sky, an electrical phenomenon is 
 sometimes presented of a very sublime and inter- 
 esting nature. The first time I observed it was 
 on the evening of the 29th of June, 1818. lhe 
 weather had been excessively hot for some weeks. 
 After sunset it grew very dark, the sky being co- 
 

 142 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 vered with thick black clouds. About nine o’clock 
 the electric fluid began to play in a more singu- 
 lar and beautiful manner than I had ever wit- 
 nessed. At intervals of about a minute, the 
 western sky was illuminated, with a brilliancy 
 and effect which I cannot describe. There was 
 no flash, but a steady glare of light which ren- 
 dered every object perfectly visible while it last- 
 ed, which was from two to three seconds each 
 time. The evening was perfectly calm, and there 
 was neither thunder nor rain that night, but 
 abundance of both just before sunrise. My fa- 
 mily and I contemplated the pleasing scene in the 
 garden for more than half an hour, when we re- 
 tired. How long it continued afterwards I did 
 not know. The same thing I have sometimes 
 witnessed since, though not in so striking a man- 
 ner. 
 
 Many of our settlers have suffered loss, and 
 some of them have been almost ruined by fires. 
 When they are burning off* the timber from the 
 land, a strong wind sometimes carries the fire 
 much beyond the limits they have prescribed. 
 The ground is all covered with a thick coat of 
 leaves, which, when very dry, catch fire like tin- 
 der, the wind carrying it over the ground with 
 great rapidity, and sometimes even setting fire to 
 the standing trees. If it meet fences or houses in 
 its way, very great exertions are necessary to 
 save them from destruction, all being built of 
 wood, and all being very dry, for people always 
 choose a dry season for burning off their land. 
 When a fire gets into a dry cedar swamp it burns 
 with great fury. The crackling noise, the vivid 
 flames, and the volumes of dense smoke that 
 darken the sky form a sublime spectacle. 
 
 In a country where there are many rivers and 
 but few bridges, you may expect to hear of nu- 
 
 3 ! fore 
 jo fell 
 g bui 
 
 * 
 
 jittac 
 
 ioi the 
 sreiyd 
 
 fij ti 
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 dy w 
 
 ithe 
 n have 
 aiilsf 
 
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 ®eys 
 i he, 
 jttt 
 m 
 I'm 
 W bE 
 fta 
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 it 
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 its 
 
 — 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 U3 
 
 merous deaths by drowning. Our rivers that are 
 not fordable are usually crossed in canoes. These 
 do well enough for persons accustomed to their 
 use, but in unskilful hands they are frequently 
 upset. Our population in this settlement are not 
 much accustomed to the water, and no year has 
 passed without two or three persons being drown- 
 ed. In 1820, I had a narrow escape myself in 
 crossing the Mississippi river to preach to the 
 people on the opposite side. A farmer had fur- 
 nished a canoe, and six of us were just putting off’ 
 from the shore to cross at a part where the river 
 is very deep, when a very heavy man, in endeav- 
 ouring to seat himself more comfortably, upset 
 the canoe, and threw us all in the water. Fortu- 
 nately we were only a few yards from the shore 
 when the accident happened, so that we all reach- 
 ed it in safety. Had this happened at a distance 
 from the bank, the probability is, that we would 
 all have been drowned, as not one among us 
 could swim. 
 
 Another time I had to cross the same river to 
 preach, a few miles lower down. Part of my 
 congregation crossed with me in canoes from this 
 side. On our return we had the same kind of 
 conveyance, and all had got over safe, except four 
 or five, who were in the last canoe. They had 
 just put off from the shore, when one of them, 
 who had never been in so small a vessel, in alter- 
 ing his position, upset the canoe. The place was 
 not beyond their depth, and all got out safe. 
 When they had all got across, one of them, who 
 was a Highlander, observed that canoes wer skit- 
 tle things, and he would take care how he ven- 
 tured into one again. 
 
 Accidents among our new settlers are no less 
 frequent by the falling of trees than by drowning. 
 At first they are unskilful in conducting the ope- 
 
 m 
 
 a 
 
144 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 rations of clearing, and are not aware of the dan- 
 ger to which they are exposed from large trees 
 falling across one another, or knocking branches 
 from others while they are coming down. Every 
 year, two or three at least have met their death 
 this way, and many more have been seriously 
 hurt. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 You will perceive by what I have already said, 
 that when I first settled here, the majority of the 
 population consisted of discharged soldiers. This, 
 however, is not the case now. The number of 
 emigrants has increased, while that of soldiers has 
 decreased. Few discharged soldiers make good 
 cultivators, they have not in general acquired the 
 habits of industry and application necessary for 
 farmers. They were allowed rations by govern- 
 ment for one year, and while these lasted they 
 seldom deserted their land, except to earn wages; 
 but when their rations were eaten up, a great 
 part of them left the settlement. Those that re- 
 main are hard working industrious people, and 
 seem to make good settlers. 
 
 A few of the half-pay officers reside upon their 
 lands in the country, but most of them remain in 
 the villages — the majority in Perth. The whole 
 number amounts to between thirty and forty, and 
 most of them are justices of the peace. This 
 gives them a greater influence in the settlement, 
 than is perhaps agreeable to the civilians, few of 
 whom hold commissions of the peace, or any other 
 
UPPER CANADA. 143 
 
 office under government. It is but justice, how- 
 n ever, to these gentlemen, to observe, that though 
 ® instances of arbitrary and oppressive conduct may 
 : have occurred, yet, in general, they have con- 
 
 tk ducted themselves with a degree of moderation 
 is and politeness that does them credit. 
 
 I have already hinted, that the morals of a con- 
 siderable portion of our population would bear 
 amendment. Ihe vice most common in this set- 
 tlement is Sabbath profanation, though it is much 
 less practised now than formerly. When I came 
 to the settlement, there was little difference made 
 between that day and other days, excepting that 
 there was more drinking, quarrelling, fighting, 
 and less work done; but, since that time, the 
 worst part of our population has gone away, and 
 f'i among those that remain, much reformation has 
 i.1 taken place, though with some there is still room 
 ah for improvement. 
 
 | K You may easily conceive how I felt on coming 
 kr hither, when I compared the morals of this count 
 is try with those of that which I had just left. But 
 r I was determined to attempt a reformation, at 
 least as far as my own influence extended, for I 
 il: soon found that I must expect little co-operation, 
 
 is ^ appears to be a prevailing sentiment in this 
 • country, that every man may do just what he 
 it: pleases, provided he does not injure his neigh- 
 
 bour so as to bring him under the lash of the 
 law. So feebly are the restraints of the law of 
 li G°d felt, that many, if reproved for swearing or 
 Sabbath- breaking, will boldly inquire. What harm 
 is there in it ? I began the endeavour to reform 
 Sabbath-breakers, by preaching a sermon on the 
 duty of remembering the Sabbath-day, to keep 
 it holy ; and showed that the neglect of it tended, 
 not only to incur the displeasure of God, in whose 
 favour all happiness consisted, but to sap the 
 
 H 
 

 H6 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 foundation of public morals, on which the happi- 
 ness of society must always depend. If a man ^ 
 have no regard for the authority and law or (rod, ^ fof 
 he will not be influenced by the laws of men any 
 farther than his safety or his interest is concern- ^sigi 
 ed. I requested my congregation, not only to 
 pay a sacred regard to the Sabbath themselves, 
 but to use their influence with their neighbours, ^ 
 by persuasion alone, to prevent their falling into ^ 
 this sin. I was sensible, however, that some more j^: 
 extensive endeavour must be made. The most ^ atl 
 culpable part never entered a place of worship, ^ 
 and therefore did not hear my admonition ; but I ^ , 
 determined they should hear it, and, therefore, in 
 company with one of my elders, visited them at 
 their own houses, pointed out the duty of ob- y 
 serving the Sabbath, told them that a reforma- 
 tion was to be attempted, and requested their as- ^ 
 sistance. In the discharge of this duty, I met 
 with more encouragement and civility than I ex- tt( |, 
 pected. Though we visited every house, hut, ^ 
 and tent, both in the village and the neighbour- ^ 
 hood, we met with nothing but attention, and even 
 thanks for our visit, excepting from one family, j fefe 
 to whom our message was evidently disagreeable, ^ 
 for what reason you may easily guess. Since that jy. 
 time, reformation has been gradually advancing, ^ 
 some of the more respectable inhabitants setting ^ 
 the example to their inferiors. Were all, who ^ 
 have influence, to concur, the thing would be ^ 
 easy, but unfortunately this is not the case, and ^ 
 fishing, hunting, forming parties, &c. are still ^ 
 persisted in by some, of whom better things ^ 
 might be expected. But speaking generally, the 4 
 Sabbath is now as well observed here as in any ^ 
 other place in the province. &rai 
 
 When the settlement was formed, money was ^ 
 plentiful, and with some of our youths who were ^ 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 nr 
 
 not kept to hard labour, frolic was the order of 
 the -day, and sometimes even of the night. Take 
 the following as an instance. On the morning of 
 the 26th of March, 1818, it was found that all 
 !' the signs in the village had changed their places, 
 and most houses had caricatures of some sort or 
 another fixed against their front. A tavern sign 
 was fixed over a shop, and the shop sign over the 
 tavern. The sign from the stage-house was iixed 
 on the Superintendent’s office, and a merchant’s 
 sign attached to the residence of the Catholic 
 priest, &c. &c. A reward was offered for the dis- 
 covery of the actors in this comedy, but no direct 
 ecf proof was ever adduced, though few had any 
 doubts about who they were. 
 
 On the 10th of July, 1820, the first election 
 for a member to represent the county in the pro- 
 vincial parliament took place. Several candidates 
 !* had offered themselves ; and every morning for 
 1 some days before the election, caricatures and pla- 
 cards were exhibited to the no small amusement 
 of the inhabitants, to many of whom an election 
 - was quite a new thing. When the day arrived, 
 all were in motion at an early hour, hurrying to 
 f the village on the tiptoe of expectation. At ten 
 ik o’clock a number of gentlemen proceeded to the 
 house of the returning officer, and accompanied 
 him to the hustings. Business was just about to 
 commence, when the floor of the hustings, being 
 overloaded, gave way, and precipitated the whole 
 company to the ground. Little damage, how- 
 ever, was sustained, beyond a few slight scratches, 
 the discomposing of dresses, and the splashing of 
 ink. The only fracture I observed was in the 
 board of a volume of Burn’s Justice, which a ma- 
 gistrate was gravely consulting at the moment the 
 accident happened. Carpenters in abundance be- 
 ing at hand, the hustings were speedily repaired, 
 h 2 
 
"Z7 
 
 148 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 and business commenced. The writ was read by 
 the returning officer, and candidates were propos- 
 ed. Speeches were made, some of them amusing 
 enough, from the manner in which they were de- 
 livered. All having declined the contest excepting 
 William Morris and Benjamin Delisle, Esquires, 
 they were declared the only candidates ; and the 
 freeholders were requested to divide, those for the 
 former to the right hand, and those for the latter 
 to the left. A great majority having taken the 
 right hand, loud huzzas followed, and Mr. Morris 
 was declared the successful candidate. But Mr. 
 Delisle demanding a poll, it was immediately 
 commenced, and continued till four o’clock, when 
 the numbers were, for Mr. Morris 156 — for Mr. 
 Delisle 36. During the day liquors and other 
 refreshments had been served out in abundance, 
 and those who had partaken most liberally, began 
 to discover their various dispositions. Some were 
 frolicsome, and others mischievous ; some danced 
 and sung, others swore and threatened ; and be- 
 fore evening, several bloody battles had been 
 fought, but not between the opposite parties. At 
 five o’clock, eighteen gentlemen, the principal of 
 Mr. Morris’s friends sat down to an excellent din- 
 ner at the head inn, and spent the evening very 
 agreeably together. Next morning business on 
 the hustings having commenced at the usual hour, 
 Mr. Delisle came forward, and said that he would 
 now decline any further contest. The returning 
 officer then declared Mr, Morris duly elected, and 
 his friends proceeded to chair him, which was 
 done in a handsome manner. The procession pa- 
 raded the streets during several hours, the crowd 
 huzzaing and singing loyal and patriotic songs. 
 At various places they were regaled with wine and 
 other liquors, which soon made them forget all 
 iheir hardships, and the difficulties of a new set- 
 
 imeD 
 
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 goers 
 
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 - 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 149 
 
 tlement. After the procession was over, the even- 
 ing was spent by all classes in festivity and re- 
 joicing. 
 
 Considering the mixture of worthless persons 
 which our population formerly contained, it is 
 p astonishing how few crimes have been committed. 
 
 t: There has been only one murder in the settle- 
 
 fc ment; and though there have been several in- 
 
 i'i stances of stealing, I have not heard of a single 
 
 a; robbery being committed. This shows how be- 
 
 I neficial constant employment is in suppressing 
 
 vice and encouraging virtuous dispositions. Idle- 
 ness is the parent of every vice ; but, in a new 
 settlement, he must be a lazy fellow indeed, whose 
 :«! own accommodation does not stimulate him to 
 exertion. I had once an out-house broken open 
 and some pork stolen, and several of my neigh- 
 bours have had similar depredations committed 
 on their property. But as food in all these cases 
 h was the object, it is but charitable to conclude 
 that hunger operated jio less powerfully than a 
 thievish disposition. 
 
 For some time after the settlement was formed, 
 the brute creation suffered even more from hunger 
 than the human. In the summer they could pick 
 up a scanty subsistence from the leaves and bushes, 
 but in the winter many of them perished for want 
 of food. The rage for acquiring stock was so 
 prevalent, that many purchased cattle and pigs, 
 for which they had no food, and turned them 
 adrift to shift for themselves, though there was 
 not then a blade of grass in the settlement. When 
 enraged by hunger, scarcely any fence could keep 
 them out, and those having crops had them de- 
 stroyed by the cattle and pigs of those who had 
 none. In this way I had three acres of fine wheat 
 half ruined by a flock of pigs belonging to one of 
 my neighbours. It was against the law for them 
 

 150 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 to run at liberty ; but at that time none minded 
 what was law but what was most convenient for 
 themselves. I remonstrated with my neighbour, 
 but being one of the clerks in the Government 
 Office, he thought he might do what he pleased, 
 and I could obtain no redress. His eldest son 
 was even heard to threaten to shoot some of my 
 cattle if he fell in with them in the woods. Of 
 this I took no notice, thinking it not at all likely 
 that he would dare to carry his threat into execu- 
 tion ; but I was mistaken. On the following Sun- 
 day, April 16, 1820, he shot the best cow I had, 
 not above a quarter of a mile from the house. On 
 hearing what had happened, I went directly to 
 his father’s house, but as neither of them was to 
 be found, I left word what was the object of my 
 call. Next morning, both the father and the son 
 came to my house, and expressed both indignation 
 and astonishment that 1 should suppose cither of 
 them capable of doing me any injury. I told 
 them the threat which had been held out was suf- 
 ficient ground upon which to prosecute the young- 
 man, which I was determined to do. After so- 
 lemnly protesting that he had not a gun in his 
 hand during the preceding day, they left me ; 
 but after consulting some of their friends, they 
 returned, confessed the fact, and promised to make 
 good the damage. But this they afterwards de- 
 clined to do till compelled by the fear of a prose- 
 cution. 
 
 Being once on my way home from Brockville, 
 I fell in with a farmer on the road, who knew 
 me, and invited me to his house. In our way 
 thither, he said if I would stay with him all night 
 and preach a sermon in the evening, he would 
 send to let his neighbours know. To this I 
 agreed, and preached accordingly, to about fifty 
 people, whom he had collected. When the ser- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 151 
 
 mon was over, a man came forward and told me, 
 in presence of the congregation, that he had a 
 few words to say respecting the doctrine I had 
 preached. I told him to say on. “ Well, 1 ’ said he, 
 
 & “ you told us that there was no such thing as ab- 
 
 solute perfection in this world.” “ And does not 
 the Scripture say the same ?” I replied. “ I do not 
 hold to your doctrine,” said he, “ for the Scripture 
 says that Job was a perfect and upright man. 
 
 I replied, “ that Job might be relatively perfect, 
 but not absolutely so; or he might be perfect in 
 his own estimation, though not in the estimation 
 of God. “O,” said he, “ I do not understand these 
 distinctions; I take the Scripture just as it 
 stands: it tells me that Job was perfect and up- 
 right.” I replied, “ in your sense of the word, 
 there is not a just man upon earth that sinneth 
 not, and that is the Scripture just as it stands.. 
 That you have formed an erroneous opinion of 
 Is Job’s character, is evident from his own words ; 
 
 6 I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.’ 
 Now if he had no sin, as you suppose, of what 
 did he repent, or why did God, who is just in all 
 his ways, and holy in all his works, suffer Satan 
 to afflict him?” To this question he could make 
 no proper answer, and the conversation dropt. 
 In that quarter Methodists are numerous, and 
 this was one of their leaders. From the speci- 
 men I have given, you will be able to form some 
 idea of what a minister has to encounter, for 
 this is no solitary instance of ignorant presump- 
 tion. A place of worship after sermon among 
 these people is often converted into an aiena of 
 dispute, and more attend for the purpose of criti- 
 cising or calling in question the correctness of 
 what they hear, than to receive instruction. 
 
 I have already observed, that the late war 
 
162 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 had no very favourable effect upon the morals of 
 the country, and yet there are many who wish 
 for nothing more than to see the contest renewed. 
 The affluence which all descriptions of persons 
 enjoyed through means of the government money 
 put into circulation, compared with the poverty 
 which at present prevails, has still so much in- 
 fluence over their minds, that they would prefer 
 war, with all its horrors, to the tranquillity which 
 they now enjoy. In 1818, when I was in Mont- 
 real, collecting a little money to assist in build- 
 ing our church, among other persons, I waited 
 upon a gentleman in one of the government of- 
 fices, from whom I expected something hand- 
 some, on account of the interest which 1 had no 
 doubt he would take in the prosperity of the 
 military settlement. Hut what was my disap- 
 pointment, when he told me he would not give 
 a penny. On leaving him he called after me, 
 that he would give something to the building 
 of the church, if I would promise to pray for a 
 new war, but I proceeded without making him 
 any reply. The next I waited on was W. Clarke, 
 Esq. Deputy-Commissary-General, lately decea- 
 sed, from whom I experienced very different 
 treatment. Indeed no one ever solicited the as- 
 sistance of that good man for any benevolent 
 purpose in vain. 
 
 I cannot omit here bearing honourable testi- 
 mony to the kindness and liberality of the good 
 citizens of Montreal, while I was engaged in this 
 business. Nor is that the only instance in which 
 they deserve praise — many a church besides ours 
 have they assisted to build. I had been disap- 
 pointed of assistance from the person whom I 
 expected to accompany me, but another as suit- 
 able offered of his own accord. In our progress 
 
 re fli 
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 people 
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 Perth, 
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 111. 
 
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UPPER CANADA. 
 
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 P 
 
 fill 
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 ffe 
 
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 si’ 
 
 153 
 
 we had a new and interesting view of human 
 nature, and a great variety of tempers and dis- 
 positions were unfolded to our inspection. Most 
 people to whom we applied gave us something. 
 Some gave us more than we expected, and others 
 gave us less ; and the few who gave us nothing 
 were the very persons from whom we expected 
 most. Some gave with seeming reluctance, but 
 the far greater part contributed with a frankness 
 which did them honour. One gentleman to 
 whom we applied, said he knew very little about 
 Perth, but he would give us ten dollars to the 
 building of a church there with pleasure, and 
 that he would give a like sum to assist in the 
 building of a church in every township between 
 Montreal and Niagara. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 You probably think T have not given so flat- 
 tering an account of this country as some others 
 who have written, on the subject. But the truth 
 is, many have written descriptions of this country 
 who were ill qualified for the task. A traveller 
 who makes a tour from Quebec to Detroit, a dis- 
 tance of eight or nine hundred miles, sees but lit- 
 tle of the interior of the country, and knows very 
 little respecting it, except by the information he 
 receives from others, and hence the erroneous 
 and absurd statements which of late have issued 
 from the press. What I have written is the re- 
 sult of my own experience during a residence of 
 six years. Some of the flattering accounts you 
 have seen, of the state of the country, are more 
 
 - 
 

 134 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 like descriptions of wliat it may be fifty or a 
 hundred years hence, than of what it is at the 
 present time. This province possesses great 
 natural resources, and, I have no doubt, will at 
 some future time support a dense population; 
 but immense improvements must be made, and 
 many years pass away before this takes place. 
 Nine-tenths of the province are still covered with 
 wood, and lying in a state of nature. The ac- 
 cession which the population every year receives 
 from emigration is trifling, when compared with 
 the extent of the country. Every year since the 
 late war, at least ten thousand emigrants have 
 arrived at Quebec, not one half of which ever 
 settle in Canada. The greater part go to the 
 United States, and purchase land, though they 
 could get as good in Canada for little or nothing. 
 But delays are sometimes necessary, and these are 
 always disagreeable, and often ruinous to a poor 
 man travelling with a large family. 
 
 Most emigrants who write home to their friends 
 an account of the country, represent it either as 
 very good or very bad, according to the circum- 
 stances in which they find themselves at first; 
 hence the contradictory accounts which appear 
 before the public. I have been amused with the 
 various effects which even the state of the weather 
 sometimes has upon the minds of emigrants. In 
 a fine day, when the roads are good, they are 
 seen trudging along to the promised land with 
 happy faces ; but in rainy weather you may see 
 them carrying their children on their backs, and 
 wading through the deep mud, grumbling out 
 their reproaches against themselves, for their folly 
 in leaving comfortable homes for a howling wil- 
 derness, where nothing but hunger and hardships 
 are to be met with. Often have I seen females 
 sitting at the side of the road, resting their weary 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 155 
 
 limbs, or crying till they were sick, and express- 
 ing unavailing wishes that they were back to their 
 native country. 
 
 Some, after much toil and exertions, just reach 
 Canada, when, overcome with fatigue or disease, 
 they sink into an untimely grave before they have 
 half carried their plans into execution, leaving 
 perhaps a large family of orphans among strangers, 
 without the means of support. Many instances 
 of this kind I could relate to you ; but take the 
 following as a specimen : Near the end of August, 
 in 1820, the mother of a large family died here 
 the day after her arrival from Glasgow. She had 
 left her country, and performed a perilous voyage 
 and a toilsome journey ; but was not permitted to 
 see the land she was looking forward to as her 
 future residence. She had been sick for some 
 days, but being anxious to reach the end of her 
 journey, she came forward in a covered waggon ; 
 but breathed her last a few hours after she reach- 
 ed Perth. 
 
 In 1821, an emigrant, who had a large family, 
 went into the St. Lawrence at La Chine, for the 
 purpose of bathing; but incautiously going be- 
 yond his depth he was drowned. What his wife 
 and children suffered in these circumstances I will 
 leave you to judge. On reaching Fort Welling- 
 ton, they were detained a few days for want of 
 waggons. The widow, overcome with grief and 
 fatigue, was taken ill and died, leaving a family 
 of eleven children totally unprovided for. But 
 in this country orphans need never be destitute of 
 a home. Farmers, who have few or no children 
 of their own, readily take them and bring them 
 up for the benefit they receive for their labour. 
 
 But I think I hear you saying, Would you 
 wish to discourage emigrations by these state- 
 ments ? To this 1 answer, By no means. Your 
 
156 
 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 surplus population, who have not employment at 
 home, could not do better than come to Canada, 
 provided they are possessed of health, industry, 
 perseverance, and as much cash as to settle them 
 decently upon their land ; but, if they have not 
 these, they had better remain where they are ; for 
 a removal to Canada is attended with both labour 
 and expense, and even there exertion is still ne- 
 cessary. If emigrants have a correct idea of the 
 obstacles they have to surmount, and of the coun- 
 try in which they are to settle, the more that come 
 the better. Here is plenty of land to labour on ; 
 and labour, if properly directed, will produce a 
 sufficiency of food and clothing. Children may 
 be trained to habits of industry, at employments 
 more conducive to health than those pursued in 
 your manufacturing towns ; and people may have 
 their time at their own disposal, to labour when 
 they like, and rest when they like, which of itself 
 is no inconsiderable ingredient in human happi- 
 ness. Besides, a man who has a piece of land suf- 
 ficient to provide him all the necessaries of life, is 
 not under the fear of want of employment, so of- 
 ten felt of late years by your artisans and la- 
 bourers. 
 
 As to myself, though I have had many labours 
 to undergo, and difficulties to encounter, I have 
 never once repented coming to this country. In 
 fulfilling my office, which, in this extensive settle- 
 ment, I can assure you is no sinecure, the heat in 
 summer, and the cold in winter, have consumed 
 me, till, like Jacob of old, sleep has departed 
 from my eyes. But every year the roads are be- 
 coming better, so that travelling is now easy com- 
 pared with what it once was, when a horse could 
 not be employed. But, from the nature of things 
 in this country, travelling must always be difficult, 
 and often dangerous in the fall and spring, the 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 157 
 
 mud at both these seasons, particularly the latter, 
 rendering the roads almost impassable. The win- 
 ter sometimes breaks up so suddenly, that the 
 traveller finds it very difficult to reach his home, 
 fe® The winter, in 1820, had lasted so long, that 
 when April commenced the sleighing was not over, 
 k On the 4th of that month I went to Beckwith, a 
 
 I ft distance of twenty miles, to preach and baptize 
 
 oft some children. When I left home the morning 
 
 m was fine, and the sleighing was tolerable ; but be- 
 et® fore I had proceeded half way it began to rain, 
 
 ico; and continued heavy all day and all the following 
 
 UK i night, and the air being warm, travelling soon be- 
 
 iisi! came extremely difficult. But it was necessary to 
 
 mi return home before I slept, even if I should travel 
 
 letk all night. On my return, my horse had no less 
 
 b difficulty in getting through than I had. The 
 
 ila snow being half melted, he sunk to the bottom at 
 
 it every step. Between twelve and one next morn- 
 
 r ing I reached home, as wet as if I had been drawn 
 
 j® out of the river, having waded a good part of the 
 
 jij way to the knees in half-melted snow, while the 
 
 oft rain poured down copiously* Had I waited till 
 
 ii the rain was over, my return for some time would 
 
 have been difficult, if not impossible. The snow 
 melted so fast, that in two days the swamps were 
 all covered with water, and the rivers had over- 
 [ s flown their banks. In a short time the Tay had 
 risen to such a height, that it carried away the 
 bridge built by tire settlers in 1816, so that we 
 were forced to travel, for about two months, be- 
 tween the north and south side of this town in 
 boats or canoes. This, to me particularly, was a 
 serious inconvenience, as my school-house was on 
 the south side, while I, and a great part of my 
 scholars, lived on the north. The rivers here do 
 not rise and fall so rapidly as they do with you. 
 The country is nearly level, and so of course are 
 
158 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 the rivers. Their course is long, and in low places 
 they form lakes, sometimes of considerable extent, 
 so that the progress of the water is slow. The icoffi' 
 consequence is, that when the snow, which has rc - 
 been accumulating for four months, melts, which 
 it always does in April, if not sooner, the rivers ieini 
 and lakes are raised far above their usual height; inn,! 
 and though about the middle of May they begin 
 to fail, yet it is so slowly, that they are not redu- Mtnn 
 ced to their usual level before midsummer. bnii 
 
 I forgot to tell you before, that, when our J,t 
 
 church was building, I applied to the Governor-in- kit! 
 
 Chief, Sir John Sherbrooke, for some assistance itl 
 
 in building materials. He was a worthy man, arer 
 
 and I never applied to him in vain. lie readily iring 
 
 granted the supply I required, consisting of glass, Hals, 
 
 putty, locks, hinges, nails, sheet-iron, and a stove. fiet 
 
 111 health, how r ever, having required his return to sfore 
 
 England soon after, we were, through the malici- Holy 
 
 ous machinations of some underling in office, near- iprs 
 
 ly deprived of the articles altogether, and we have m 
 
 never obtained the stove to this day. We are not ito 
 
 the less indebted, however, to his Excellency for rai 
 
 his good intentions, and his liberality towards us, net 
 
 while he held the supreme power in this colony. ud 
 
 The favour was considerable, because it was grant- jjo 
 ed at a time when both labour and building mate- la 
 
 rials were at a very high rate. The church could sat 
 
 be built now for little more than half what it cost 
 at the time it was erected. But this is of little ‘ft 
 
 consequence, as money has undergone so great an to. 
 
 alteration in value, that it would be more difficult ia$. 
 
 to raise half the sum now, than it was at that time loe 
 
 to raise the whole ; and that it was no easy mat- A 
 
 ter, no one knows better than I do, as the greater m 
 
 part of the burden rested upon my own shoul- to 
 
 ders. iij 
 
 CO 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 1 59 
 
 The church, and other property belonging to 
 it, are vested in five trustees, and their successors 
 * in office, who must in all cases be members of the 
 
 H church. The power of electing trustees, elders, 
 
 4 and a minister, in case of a vacancy, is vested in 
 
 k the members generally, who are in full commu- 
 
 nion, and no other. Had it not been for this ar- 
 'k tide, which gives great offence to some who are 
 tot not members, confusion, if not ruin, would have 
 been introduced into the affairs of the congrega- 
 ea; tion, by persons calling themselves Presbyterians, 
 m but who are ignorant alike of church discipline 
 v:, and the power of religion. Upon the whole, I 
 rr have reason to bless God for his goodness in car- 
 rying me through many labours, difficulties, and 
 ty trials, and for enabling me to lay the foundation 
 
 i A of a church of Christ where there never was one 
 
 before, and which, I trust, will be a temple for the 
 Holy Ghost till the end of time. While the song 
 of praise has been ascending from our united 
 fek voices, I have been overpowered with feelings 
 
 art! which I cannot describe, on considering that the 
 
 ini worship of God w*as now established on a per ma- 
 rl? nent footing, in a place where, till lately, nothing 
 
 was heard but the rustling of winds, the howl- 
 ing of wild beasts, or the war-whoop of savages. 
 What a blessing this may be, not only to the pre- 
 ex sent generation, but to others yet unborn, it is im- 
 [0 possible to calculate. 
 
 When I first thought of engaging in the mini- 
 stry, it was my earnest wish that I might be placed 
 in some situation, where I might not even seem 
 to encroach upon the labours and usefulness of 
 other ministers, or appear to build upon another 
 man’s foundation. In this I have been gratified 
 . to an extent which I did not then anticipate, be- 
 ing, by the providence of God, placed in a new 
 congregation, a new church, and in the middle of 
 
160 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 a new country, where there is abundant scope lor 
 my utmost exertions. I preach Christ, not by 
 constraint but willingly ; and, if he is glorified, I 
 am happy. Since I came to this settlement in 
 1817, besides all my other labours, I have travel- 
 led upwards of 4000 miles, and preached about 
 900 sermons, visited my congregation at their own 
 houses every year, and catechised them as fre- 
 quently; and when the extent of the settlement 
 is considered, the labour will not appear trifling. 
 Indeed, no one who has never been in a new coun- 
 try, can form a just idea of the difficulty of tra- 
 velling, where one has to climb over rocks and 
 fallen timber, wade through swamps, and ford 
 rivers in every journey he makes. In this settle- 
 ment, however, new roads are opened, and bridges 
 built every year ; so that in several directions a 
 horse can now be used. 
 
 The improvements that are constantly making 
 in the state of the country, render a residence here 
 every year more agreeable. Markets are plenti- 
 fully supplied, and at a moderate rate ; wages are 
 greatly reduced ; and public morals, as well as 
 the appearance of nature, are improving. The 
 cleared land is increasing in breadth ; settlers 
 have less labour, and fewer hardships ; and they 
 begin to be reconciled to many things which they 
 at first thought disagreeable. There is a post 
 twice a-week, which brings us letters, newspa- 
 pers, and magazines, both British and American. 
 Six years ago there was not a grist-mill in the 
 settlement, now there are six ; and several saw- 
 mills, which furnish boards of various kinds at a 
 moderate price. 
 
 The inhabitants being from different countries,, 
 there is a curious diversity to be observed in their , 
 manners and customs, at weddings, burials, &c. 
 In some cases, both men and women attend fu- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 161 
 
 oti 
 
 Hi 
 
 ecu 
 
 tn& 
 
 ion 
 
 of to 
 k, 
 
 if 
 
 sa 
 
 nerals to the burying-ground ; in others the men 
 only. Some request their neighbours to attend, 
 as is the custom in Scotland ; in others, they are 
 left to attend or not as they think proper, as in 
 the United States. The small number of deaths 
 which occur in the settlement, in proportion to the 
 population, is a decisive evidence that the coun- 
 try is very healthy. There are always some deaths 
 among emigrants at their first arrival ; but these 
 are chiefly occasioned by accidents, fatigue, expo- 
 sure to the weather, or intemperance. 
 
 The heat in summer, and the cold in winter, 
 are the most serious inconveniences we experience ; 
 but these are felt in an extreme only for a few 
 weeks. The severity of the winter is by no means 
 so 0 -reat as I was led to expect. A few very cold 
 days occur every winter; but the greater part 
 are not too cold either for working out ot doors 
 or for travelling. There is much pleasant wea- 
 ther equally removed from both extremes, lhe 
 snow is seldom so deep here as in the lower pro- 
 vinces. 1 have never seen it more than two leet 
 deep, except where drifted ; and some winters it is 
 not half so much. Several shocks of earthquakes 
 have of late been felt, but most of them were 
 slight. The most severe was in the summer ot 
 1S16, which created some alarm. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 The agriculture of this province is still m s 
 very backward state, even in the old settlements. 
 And no wonder, as the original settlers were mostly 
 discharged soldiers, mixed with farmers from the 
 
 
162 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 United States. The best farmers are those who l<l 
 have recently arrived from Great Britain. Here ^ 
 and there you may see a farm under good manage- # 
 ment ; but in general there is much room for im- 4 t 
 provement. The Canadian farmers, by which is 
 generally meant the French settlers in the lower ® r; 
 provinces, have made little or no improvement on 
 the plan pursued by their great grandfathers a M 1 
 hundred years ago; and what effectually hinders 
 the amelioration of their circumstances is, their 
 firm belief that no system is half as good as theirs, if 
 
 It is to be hoped, however, that the success of »pf 
 
 the English and Scotch farmers settled among fill*! 
 
 them, will at length open their eyes to see their ® 
 
 error. jgsti 
 
 Agricultural societies were established in 1S17 m 
 in both Quebec and Montreal, and since that time ^ 
 in various other parts of the two provinces. These 
 have already done much good; and it is to be bar 
 hoped that, in a few years, they will be enabled 
 to introduce a new and improved system of hus- 
 bandry. It cannot be denied, however, that those 
 who possess liberal minds, and are doing their ut- ^ 
 
 most to promote the improvement of the country, tee 
 
 have much apathy, ignorance, prejudice, and ob- ;S; 
 
 stinacy to contend with. In some instances, the ^il- 
 liberal premiums held out by the societies have ^ 
 
 produced no competition at ail among the native •: 
 
 farmers. But the country is so well fitted for d 
 
 agriculture, that among British emigrants its pros- 
 perity is not doubtful. The soil is fertile, the cli- ^ 
 
 mate is genial ; and when the timber is cleared Ki 
 
 off, and the stumps decayed, extensive plains will i 
 
 every where present themselves fit for tillage. The 
 emigration which every year takes place from the 
 United States to these provinces, is of itself a suf- 
 ficient evidence of the advantages which they hold 
 out to settlers. 
 
 r 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 163 
 
 Emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland 
 • H? feel quite at home in Upper Canada. The lan- 
 guage is their own ; and they every where meet 
 nfc with their countrymen, ready to welcome them 
 Ac to this land of freedom from tithes and tax-ga- 
 kk therers. They must expect to labour hard, es- 
 iens: pecially for a few years at first; but the prospect 
 
 Ifatk of independence, and a provision for their fami- 
 ly Ik lies, will sweeten all their toils. While land is 
 
 sis,: to be obtained here at a moderate rate, nothing 
 
 lastb but ignorance or prejudice can induce emigrants 
 
 succh to prefer the United States, for there the taxes 
 
 led se are higher and the land dearer. Canada is an 
 
 ) see: extensive country, and presents a variety of situa- 
 
 tions to the choice of emigrants. I do not think, 
 ed in'; however, that any place in the province will be 
 
 etk: found more agreeable than Perth, when all cir- 
 
 m \\ cumstances are considered. Here are churches 
 
 itj; of various denominations, schools for the educa- 
 
 b eK tion of youth, stores for furnishing goods of al- 
 
 eDlff! most every description, and society of all sorts, 
 
 { | 3 r from the best to the worst. The inhabitants are 
 
 healthy, and less subject to fever and ague, than 
 ^ those who inhabit the shores of the great lakes. 
 
 The sky is serener, and the air clearer, than in 
 ^ Britain ; and colds and coughs are much less fre- 
 quent. The summer is not long ; but the pro- 
 '] gress of vegetation is so rapid, that our crops are 
 good, and the productions of our gardens va- 
 rious. Many kinds which in Britain must be 
 raised in hot-houses, are produced here in great 
 perfection in the open air. Cucumbers are rais- 
 ed in every garden. Musk melons sometimes 
 weigh from six to ten pounds, and water melons 
 from twelve to twenty. Pumpkins have some- 
 times reached sixty pounds, and frequently from 
 forty to fifty. These facts speak for themselves, 
 1 and give a correct idea of the climate. 
 
164 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 Emigrants coming to this country, ought, how- 
 ever, to be cautioned against indulging unreason- 
 able expectations, which can never be realized. 
 Many have supposed, that if they could be con- 
 veyed to America, their difficulties would be at 
 an end. They would find, on their landing, some 
 one ready to offer them assistance and employ- 
 ment. Whatever it may have been formerly, 
 this is not the case now. Both labourers and me- 
 chanics are more abundant, and their wages lower 
 than they were a few years ago. Farmers ought 
 to bring a sum of money along with them, or 
 they cannot expect to succeed, especially on new 
 land ; for though they should get a farm for no- 
 thing, theii stock and first improvements will 
 cost them something considerable, besides what is 
 necessary to support their families, at least one 
 year after their arrival. Some persons come to 
 Canada with foolish expectations, and when they 
 find them disappointed, they send back the most 
 deplorable accounts to their friends, and blame 
 the country for all the evils into which their own 
 imprudence has plunged them. An industrious 
 family, with a small stock of money, may soon 
 become comfortable, but the indolent and impru- 
 dent will find themselves no better off* than in 
 Britain. 
 
 Government has sometimes given encourage- 
 ment and assistance to emigrants wishing to set- 
 tle in Canada. This is a very wise measure. In 
 many parts of Great Britain and Ireland, the po- 
 pulation has become so great as to be a burden to 
 the country ; but were those that can be spared 
 conveyed to the colonies, and supported during 
 the first year, they would by industry, not only 
 become comfortable themselves, but be a benefit 
 to their country. Were the money employed in 
 Ireland to suppress rebellions, laid out in this 
 
 Aft ik 
 jj.an 
 Allah 
 ifjiiist i 
 $ 00 $ 
 jlj fc 
 ijitllO' 
 jifeob 
 05 fa 
 it are; 
 ave, w 
 sem as 
 ions. 
 Top 
 
 if folk 
 fpossi 
 
 ff 
 fapei 
 sjlittl 
 kd n 
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 ft 
 
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 cia : 
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 ad c 
 years 
 ill: 
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 at 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 165 
 
 way, its diseases would be cured without blood- 
 shed, and the forests of Canada would be peopled 
 with a hardy race, ready to defend their country 
 against invasion. It is said, that some of those 
 persons settled upon the crown-lands w T ere form- 
 erly disaffected to government, but if they were 
 so at home they are not so here. The relief they 
 have obtained from taxes, abundance of whole- 
 some food and labour, and the felicity of voting 
 for a representative in the provincial parliament, 
 have, with other causes, contributed to render 
 them as loyal subjects as any in the British do- 
 minions. 
 
 To persons intending to emigrate to Canada, 
 the following hints may be of use. Let them sail, 
 if possible, from a port on the west coast. A 
 voyage round the north of Scotland is generally 
 disagreeable, and often dangerous. In the fort- 
 night that I was detained upon that coast, I suf- 
 fered more than in all the rest of the passage. 
 Let them select a ship that has good accommoda- 
 tions, and is not too much crowded. To most 
 people the smell and confinement of a ship are 
 sufficiently disagreeable, even with a moderate 
 number, and the utmost attention to cleanliness 
 and airing. But, when there are three or four 
 hundred on board one ship, as has sometimes 
 been the case, it soon becomes intolerably filthy, 
 and disease is the consequence. T hree or four 
 years ago, two Dutch ships coming from Holland 
 to the United States, crowded with passengers, 
 were rather longer on the way than they expected. 
 Disease made its appearance among them, and, 
 before a landing could be effected, it had carried 
 off about ninety of its victims. If passengers 
 find their own provisions, they will then have 
 what is fit to eat, the captain finding only water 
 and fire for cooking. In some ships you may 
 
"37 
 
 166 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 find abundance of good and wholesome food for 
 the passengers, but in others it is scarcely fit for 
 hogs*. Even when the captain engages to find 
 provisions, as sickness may be expected, passen- 
 gers would do well to carry a few necessary arti- 
 cles along with them, such as currant jelly, goose- 
 berry jam, raisins, gingerbread, eggs, cheese, but- 
 ter, tea, sugar, &c. A few simple medicines 
 should also be at hand, and all should take phy- 
 sic whenever they come ashore, even though they 
 should not be sick. For want of this precaution, 
 many are laid up with a flux, for months after 
 they arrive, and most of the children that die are 
 carried off by that disorder. 
 
 Emigrants should bring plenty of warm cloth- 
 ing for winter, and some that is lighter for the 
 summer. The winter is colder and the summer 
 warmer than with you, and it would be very in- 
 convenient to wear the same kind of clothes in 
 both seasons. All kinds of clothing, indeed, as 
 well as other necessaries, may be purchased at 
 Montreal, but at a somewhat higher rate than in 
 Britain. Those who have money, should not lay 
 it out in the purchase of goods, expecting to get 
 profit by them. This may have been an advan- 
 tage formerly, but it is seldom so now. I have 
 even known instances of persons who brought out 
 goods, selling them for less than they cost at 
 home. They should bring all they have in ready 
 cash, namely, in gold and silver, or in bills upon 
 some good house in Quebec or Montreal. Eng- 
 lish shillings pass at 13d., half-crowns at 2s. 9d., 
 Spanish dollars at 5s., and other silver coins in 
 proportion — seven shilling pieces at 7s. 9d., and 
 guineas at full weight, at 23s. lOid. 
 
 Those who wish to settle in the lower pro- 
 vince, will every where find opportunities of buy- 
 ing or renting land, but emigrants generally pre- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 167 
 
 | 3 fer the upper province, on account of its milder 
 fo climate. In the seignories in the lower pro- 
 : vince, the feudal system still prevails, but in this, 
 
 & the lands granted by the crown are all freehold, 
 aft Land, in its natural state, in this neighbourhood, 
 
 ^ sells for from five to forty shillings an acre, ac- 
 cording to its goodness and situation. But emi- 
 m grants who have the means, will find it a better 
 p plan to buy a farm on which some improvement 
 it^ has already been made, than to settle upon wild 
 ^ lands back in the woods. A farm of a hundred 
 ;j f. acres, with a small house and a few acres cleared, 
 may be obtained for from fifty to a hundred 
 pounds. 
 
 fa The hardships of a new settlement, in a wild 
 oti country, are greater than most people suppose. 
 m The north bank of the St. Lawrence was settled 
 !ij. at the termination of the revolutionary war, about 
 fe ; forty years ago, by loyalists and discharged sol- 
 ah diers. The country was then an entire forest, 
 
 jjj and the settlers were from fifty to a hundred miles 
 
 from a mill, and nearly as far from a store at 
 i 0l : which necessaries could be procured. Hence 
 
 m they were often forced to grind their grain in cof- 
 
 ife fee-mills, or boil and eat it whole. From an old 
 
 [jt and respectable officer I had the following ac- 
 jtdf count, which will throw some light upon the con- 
 j;p dition of the settlers, at the period to which it re- 
 
 r fers. One of his men had been constantly em- 
 
 ployed for some days, with a hand-mill, grinding 
 i wheat for the use of the rest, when he resolved to 
 attempt providing flour at a less expensive rate. 
 He dispatched his negro servant to Kingston mill 
 & with a horse and sleigh, and a small load of wheat. 
 
 Five or six others went at the same time. No 
 m road being then opened, they had to cut their 
 way through the woods in the best manner 
 could. But there was a little snow on the ground, 
 
 
163 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 and the rivers were frozen over. After about a 
 fortnight’s absence the men returned, having ef- 
 fected their object, but without much benefit ; for 
 they and the horses, during their absence, had 
 consumed the greater part ot their loads. None 
 of the settlers here are so far from a mill, yet 
 some of them are from ten to twenty miles ; and, 
 till the roads were opened, they had to carry the 
 grain all that distance on their backs. 
 
 A few years ago there was a post between the 
 towns once a fortnight, and that carried slowly 
 by a man on foot — now it comes twice a-week, 
 and travels with the greatest dispatch, either on 
 horseback or in the stage. The large rivers and 
 lakes are navigated, not only by small craft, but 
 by large steam-vessels fitted up in the most com- 
 modious manner. The Frontenac, which sails 
 every week, during the summer, between King- 
 ston, York, and Niagara, is 170 feet long, and 32 
 broad upon the deck, and carries a burden of 740 
 tons. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Ships bound for Montreal generally make a 
 short stay at Quebec till they are entered at the 
 custom-house. Emigrants have then an opportu- 
 nity of going ashore to see the city and fortifica- 
 tions, to procure necessaries, and to transact bu- 
 siness. Should an unfavourable wind, or other 
 cause, detain the vessel longer than they wish to 
 remain, they may proceed to Montreal by one of 
 the steam-boats, which leave Quebec two or three 
 times a-week during the summer. The distance 
 
 .<180 n 
 sue,*- 
 kfinip 
 
 Jiofort 
 ®res an 
 
 4 will 
 
 ?sold, 
 v . 1 
 
 rprovi 
 
 W 
 I Thi 
 A,b 
 dand . 
 ne ibat 
 
 w sails 
 
 lillDj 
 
 ii&lut 
 to lean 
 fie- 
 'nointe- 
 ‘dto 
 at 
 [[key 
 4m 
 Thosp 
 
 % i 
 
 fiij F 
 
 tk 
 
 foi 
 
 iliars 
 
 *!, 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 369 
 
 is 180 miles ; but one day, or perhaps a little 
 more, will bring them to Montreal. There, at 
 the Emigrants’ Office, they may procure much use- 
 L ful information, or they may purchase whatever 
 
 ■ stores and necessaries they may be in want of. 
 Tea, sugar, spirits, bread, &c. are cheaper than in 
 Britain, but articles of clothing and hardware are 
 
 I 5 clearer. Those who wish to settle near Mont- 
 real, will find abundance of land, either to be let 
 
 ■ or sold, but it will be dearer than that at a dis- 
 tance. Those who intend to proceed to the up- 
 
 ,T - per province, must procure carts to convey their 
 baggage to La Chine, which is nine miles higher 
 fil up. The river, all the way, is full of dangerous 
 rapids, but a canal is now cutting between Mont- 
 real and La Chine, which, when finished, will ob- 
 i viate that difficulty. At La Chine boats may be 
 
 £ hired to Kingston, which is 200 miles above 
 
 Montreal, or to any shorter distance. A steam- 
 i? boat sails three times a-week between Prescott 
 and Kingston, a distance of sixty-eight miles. 
 Two hundred and eighty from the latter place, 
 the steam-boat Frontenac, sails every week, du- 
 ring the summer, to York and Niagara. Those 
 who intend to proceed farther, will have to travel 
 eighteen miles by land, and then embark at Chip- 
 pewa, and traverse Lake Erie, or if they prefer 
 it, they can proceed all the way to the Talbot 
 1 Settlement by land. 
 
 Those who intend to reside in the Perth or 
 Lanark Settlement ought to land at Brockville, 
 which is 132 miles above Montreal. They can 
 easily procure waggons to carry them to Perth, 
 which is forty-two miles, or to Lanark, which is 
 fifty-six miles from Brockville. The expense of 
 # conveyance from Montreal to Perth is about two 
 dollars a cwt. In these new settlements lands 
 may, at any time, be purchased or rented at a 
 i 
 
 
( 7 o LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 moderate rate, and no place in Canada presents 
 a more agreeable residence for British emigrants. 
 
 Those who prefer the Richmond Settlement, may 
 either come by Perth, or, which is a nearer way, JW 
 
 proceed from 'La Chine up the Ottawa, and land 1 
 
 at the point of Nepean, which is about 120 1 
 
 miles above Montreal. The distance from the «, fi 
 
 point or landing place to Richmond, is about mI> 
 
 twenty miles. Prom this settlement, a consider- d* 
 
 able quantity of both timber and staves have been *aept b; 
 exported during the present year, 1823. lie St 
 
 The county of Carlton, in which the military node 
 
 settlements are situated, did not, till 1816, re- an® 
 
 ceive any settlers except a few in the township of >1 
 
 Nepean, but so rapidly has its population, since .IsliH' 
 
 that time, increased, that in 1823 it contains stlst 
 
 about 8000. At present it may be viewed as an iliitk 
 
 inland place, but it is watered by several fine ri- at. 
 vers, which fall into the Ottawa. These, by a )np 
 little improvement, will be rendered navigable for nip 
 boats, by which a communication may be carried The 
 
 on with Montreal at a moderate expense. The tain 
 
 military road, too, which is now opened from the ot j!ai 
 
 Point of Nepean to Kingston, and the canal, ah 
 which is soon to be commenced, will all tend to toes 
 
 render it one of the most thriving districts in Up- rian 
 
 per Canada. H 4 
 
 line 
 ' te 
 
 i 
 
 LETTER XXII. fee 
 
 ¥ 
 
 Afteh so much has been said and written on ioi ; 
 the subject of Canada, any geographical descrip- 't00( 
 
 tion oi it may seem quite superfluous. Take, ^ 
 
 however, the following brief notices. They may fet 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 % 
 
 Hi 
 
 B 
 
 ii t 
 
 k 
 
 M 
 
 ika 1 
 
 ib 
 
 ti 
 
 L. 
 
 7' 
 
 ,az 
 
 )ntQ 
 
 Ik: 
 
 !,k 
 
 ilti 
 
 CE5 
 
 t 
 
 OS! 
 
 (5 
 
 iit 
 
 tfi 
 
 fi 
 
 jf 
 
 171 
 
 be interesting to some, if not to all, whose read- 
 ing is not extensive. Its extent has never been 
 accurately defined, but it may be averaged at 
 1500 miles in length and 200 in breadth. It is 
 divided into two provinces, called the Upper and 
 the Lower : the Ottawa, in a great part of its 
 course, forming the boundary line between them. 
 Canada is bounded by the United States on the 
 south and east, and by Indian lands, little known, 
 except by fur traders, on the north and west. 
 The St. Lawrence, one of the largest rivers in 
 the world, rises near its western boundary, and, 
 after running 2000 miles, and forming a number 
 of large lakes in its course, falls into the ocean at 
 the Island of Cape Breton. This noble river in- 
 tersects the lower province nearly in the middle, 
 and is the principal source of its wealth and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 On approaching Lower Canada from the sea, 
 one is apt to form a very unfavourable opinion of 
 it. The shores are bold and rocky, the forest 
 extends to the water’s side, and the snow lies in 
 some places till the end of May. On advancing 
 a little way, however, the aspect of the country 
 improves, the land is more level, the climate more 
 mild, and thriving settlements appear scattered 
 along the south bank of the river. The soil of 
 the lower province is exceedingly various. About 
 Quebec it is a dark brown loam ; higher up it is 
 sandy ; and above Montreal a stiff clay pre- 
 vails. 
 
 Quebec is the capital of the province, and a 
 place of considerable trade. It is built upon a 
 rocky hill, on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, 
 about 400 miles from its mouth. It contains about 
 20,000 inhabitants, and sends four members to 
 the provincial parliament. It is strongly fortified, 
 both by nature and art, and is capable of with- 
 
^Z7 
 
 172 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 standing a regular siege. Being the principal 
 port, all the shipping have to enter and clear out 
 it the custom-house. The method here employ- 
 ed, of collecting all the duties at one place, is a 
 <rreat saving in expense. Part of the imports 
 being consumed in the upper province, Us go- 
 vernment receives a share of the revenue accord- 
 ing to a proportion previously agreed on. The 
 French language still prevails ; the English inha- 
 bitants forming much the smallest part of the 
 
 ^ The city of Montreal stands on the east side of 
 an island of the same name, twenty-one miles long, 
 and fourteen broad, at the junction of the Ottawa 
 and the St. Lawrence. Its population increased 
 rapidly during the last war, and many enriched 
 themselves by the lucrative trade which they car- 
 ried on with the upper province and the United 
 States. They amount to about 30,000, and send 
 four members to the provincial parliament. About 
 one half are of French, anti the other half of Eng- 
 lish extraction ; but the greater part can speak 
 both French and English. They are distinguish- 
 ed by hospitality, activity, and enterprise, as the 
 inhabitants of commercial cities generally are. 
 Orchards abound in the neighbourhood, and the 
 Agricultural Society, established in 1317, has 
 given considerable encouragement to the farm- 
 ing interest, which was previously in a very low 
 
 bta, riie town of Three Rivers stands on the north 
 bank of the St. Lawrence, half way between Que- 
 bec and Montreal. It contains about 4000 in- 
 habitants, the most of whom speak the French 
 lammao-e. At a short distance from the town 
 there are extensive iron works, which furnish cast 
 o-oods of various kinds, both for domestic use and 
 for exportation. Besides the above, there are in 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 173 
 
 the lower province a few towns, or villages, of 
 some importance, of which the principal are Wil- 
 liam Henry, forty-five miles below Montreal, 
 Laprarie, nearly opposite to that city, and Cham- 
 bly, upon the Richlieu River, sixteen miles far- 
 ther east. 
 
 The St. Lawrence is navigable for the largest 
 ships to Quebec, for trading vessels to Montreal, 
 and for batteau and Durham boats to Prescott, 
 where sloop navigation again begins. The ori- 
 ginal French settlers were instructed by their 
 government to found a city as far up the river as 
 trading ships could ascend ; and in this they have 
 strictly complied with their orders ; for Montreal, 
 which has its name from a mountain in the mid- 
 dle of the island, is built close to the bottom of 
 the first dangerous rapids. There is indeed a 
 considerable current below the city, but ships can 
 ascend it with a strong east wind. The La Chine 
 canal joins the river just below this current, 
 where no doubt warehouses will be built and ships 
 unloaded. 
 
 Lower Canada is divided into seventeen coun- 
 ties, which, together with the towns, send fifty 
 members to the provincial parliament. This 
 branch of the legislature has been dissolved four 
 times since the year 1808, before the period pre- 
 scribed by the constitution, in consequence of their 
 opposition to the measures of government. r l he 
 Legislative Council, which may correspond with 
 the House of Peers in England, consists ot thirty- 
 three members. The Governor General is Com- 
 mander of the Forces. 
 
 The present inhabitants of Lower Canada, being 
 chiefly descended from the original French set- 
 tlers, speak the French language, profess the Ro- 
 man Catholic religion, and cultivate their land in 
 the old French fashion. They still retain all the 
 

 174 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 gaiety, hospitality, and thoughtlessness of that 
 nation. But though the Canadians are Roman 
 Catholics, they discover very little of that into- 
 lerance of other denominations, which has often 
 marked the character of that communion in other 
 parts of the world. 
 
 Upper Canada, though more elevated than 
 the lower province, yet, being more to the south, 
 possesses a milder climate ; and, in consequence, 
 offers better encouragement to agricultural pur- 
 suits. The first settlers being discharged soldiers 
 and loyalists, who had lands assigned them at the 
 end of the first American war, settled along the 
 north bank of the St. Lawrence, about forty years 
 ago. Since that time the population has received 
 accessions every year of emigrants, both from 
 Great Britain and the United States. From the 
 former, indeed, it received few, till within the last 
 eight years, being overlooked as a place of little 
 or no importance ; but of late many thousands, 
 who could well be spared from home, settled 
 upon its plains, and are now employing their ener- 
 gies with advantage, both to themselves and their 
 country. The English language is, of course, 
 generally spoken through the province. 
 
 York is the seat of government, and has already 
 assumed the appearance of a town, though it was 
 laid out only in 1797. It was taken, and partly 
 burnt, by the Americans during the late war. 
 Its population is something short of 1500, though 
 some travellers have represented it as amounting 
 to more than twice that number. The town 
 stands on a plain, at the head of a bay, on the 
 north shore of Lake Ontario. It is 175 miles 
 ■west from Kingston, and 375 from Montreal. It 
 contains a handsome building, lately erected, for 
 the accommodation of the two houses of Assem- 
 bly. The country in the neighbourhood is well 
 
 ifcateJ 
 
 /provisii 
 
 finite 
 
 uteOnt 
 
 ice. It 
 youth' 
 
 [fas Ini 
 
 soolatioc 
 wses ar 
 ad in t 
 see, and 
 ijitis 
 ate air 
 tie fort 
 Mam 
 toite s 
 
 aiantlei 
 
 Me! 
 
 "ilitll 
 
 ally site 
 ace, or 
 ksrio. 
 idisthi 
 
 spart 
 
 'flood t 
 fc, a- 
 
 m 
 
 n m 
 ing 
 rile 
 He 
 
 ins 
 
 loi 
 
 bee 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 175 
 
 i cultivated, and supplies its market with abundance 
 of provisions at a moderate rate. 
 
 Kingston, which is situated at the outlet of 
 fa Lake Ontario, though not the scat of government, 
 fa is both the oldest and the largest town in the pro- 
 vince. It is built on a point of land formed by a 
 fa bay on the one side, and the lake on the other. 
 
 m It was laid out in 1784s and contains, in 1823, a 
 
 m population of 2000, besides the garrison. The 
 
 Ip houses are mostly built of limestone, which is 
 
 j(fe found in the neighbourhood in the greatest abund- 
 m ance, and of an excellent quality. When first 
 dug, it is of an azure colour, but after exposure 
 to the air for some time, it becomes nearly white. 
 ltl . The fort and the naval dock yard are situated 
 fts about a mile to the eastward of the town, on the 
 opposite side of the bay. Here the little navy, 
 Iki employed upon the lake during the last war, is 
 
 f dismantled, and rests in peace. The largest ves- 
 
 sel is the St. Lawrence, built for 100 guns. Nia- 
 r gara is the next town in importance. It is plea- 
 [8 santly situated on the west side of the St. Law- 
 ji rence, or Niagara River, where it falls into Lake 
 Ontario. Queenstown is eight miles higher up, 
 and is the place where goods intended for the up- 
 per part of the province are landed, to be carried 
 beyond the falls. It is a thriving and agreeable 
 v place, and already contains many good houses, 
 
 w though it was burnt by the American army during 
 
 the last war. The celebrated falls of Niagara are 
 seven miles above Queenstown ; but I need add 
 nothing to what has already been said of them by 
 travellers. 
 
 The county of Lincoln, which lies on the west 
 side of the Niagara River, is by far the most po- 
 pulous in the province, and contains 14,000 in- 
 habitants. The province is divided into twenty- 
 five counties, contains 120,000 inhabitants, and 
 
 
176 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 sends forty members to the House of Assembly. 
 Each county, the population of which does not 
 exceed 4000, sends one representative, but if it 
 has more than that number, it sends two. The 
 legislative council consists of twelve members. 
 The members of the House of Assembly are 
 chosen by British subjects, who possess a freehold 
 of forty shillings of clear annual value in the 
 country, or of L.5 clear annual value in a town, 
 or renting a house of at least L.10 a-year. Any 
 British subject may offer himself as a candidate 
 who is possessed of a freehold estate in the 
 province, of the assessed value of L.80, free of 
 all incumbrance. The members are paid for their 
 services at the rate of two dollars a-day. An 
 election takes place once in four years, but the 
 House of Assembly may be dissolved any time at 
 the Governor s pleasure. 
 
 Since the year 1792, all the benefits of the 
 British constitution have been enjoyed by this 
 colony. It was then divided into two provinces, 
 and had a House of Assembly and Legislative 
 Council constituted in each. They have power, 
 with the consent of the Governor, \o make laws, 
 provided they are not contrary to British acts of 
 Parliament. If any of the bills they pass seem 
 doubtful, they are reserved for the King’s ap- 
 probation, who may refuse his assent any time 
 within two years. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Canada is a country susceptible of immense 
 improvement. Its navigable rivers are numerous, 
 
KJ 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 177 
 
 and its lakes of an extent unknown in other parts 
 of the world. Both offer a quick and easy com- 
 munication between the different parts ol the 
 province. A few short canals would render the 
 country accessible by water in all directions. Its 
 plains are fertile ; and though the greater part 
 are still covered with wood, they must one day 
 submit to the hand of industry, and support a 
 numerous population. The country is in general 
 rather level than otherwise, yet every river affords 
 falls, and some of them sufficient to drive the 
 heaviest machinery. Since the restoration ot 
 peace, every year adds a few thousands to tne 
 population, and increases the extent ot cleared 
 land, which still bears a small proportion to the 
 immense forests on the back ground. 
 
 The lakes formed by the St. Lawrence are not 
 only the largest, but the best known. On ascend- 
 ing that river, the first we meet with is Lake S t. 
 Peter , about a hundred miles above Quebec. It 
 is said to be thirty miles long and sixteen broad. 
 The depth is generally from twelve to fifteen feet. 
 Though this lake is 500 miles from the ocean, 
 yet scTlevel is the river, that the tide has been 
 sensibly perceived at its entrance. 
 
 Lake St Louis is merely an expansion of the 
 St. Lawrence at the upper end ol the island ot 
 Montreal, and is connected with the Lake of the 
 Two Mountains, at the mouth of the Ottawa 
 River. It is about fifteen miles in length and 
 seven miles in breadth. It contains several islands, 
 the largest of which is Isle Perault, or I errot. 
 
 Lake St. Francis is entered at Coteau du Lac, 
 forty-seven miles above Montreal. It is thirty 
 miles long and thirteen broad; and, like all tie 
 rest, includes a number of islands. Ihe River 
 
178 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 Rasin, which traverses the county of Glengary, 
 falls into it on the north side. 
 
 Though Kingston has generally been consider- 
 ed the lower end of Lake Ontario, yet properly 
 speaking it extends to Prescott, sixty-eight miles 
 lower. On reaching this place we have passed all 
 the rapids, the river becomes still, and is a mile 
 and a half across. As we ascend, it increases in 
 breadth till we reach Kingston, where it is about 
 twelve miles over. This expanse of water is spot- 
 ted with an immense number of islands, from 
 which it has the name of the Lake of the Thou- 
 sand Islands . Wolfe’s Island, commonly called 
 Long Island, is by far the largest, being twenty 
 miles long and six broad. It contains a large 
 proportion of good land, and is partly settled. 
 
 Lake Ontario is of an oval figure, 230 miles in 
 length, measuring from Kingston, and sixty in 
 breadth at the widest part. Its water is remark- 
 ably transparent, and in some places very deep. 
 It has been sounded in the middle with a line of 
 350 fathoms without reaching the bottom. Its 
 islands are not numerous, but its banks afford 
 abundance of excellent limestone for building. 
 On its south shore lies the Gennessee country, in 
 the state of New York, where many Dutch and 
 Scotch families are settled in a fertile and flour- 
 ishing neighbourhood. 
 
 Lake Erie is 350 miles in length, and sixty in 
 breadth at the widest part. It pours its waters 
 into Lake Ontario by the Niagara River, on which 
 are the famous falls of that name. It contains 
 more islands than Lake Ontario. Its depth is 
 not great, varying from fifteen to eighteen fa- 
 thoms, over a bottom of limestone rock. Its shal- 
 lowness occasions it to be much agitated in storms, 
 rendering its navigation both difficult and danger- 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 179 
 
 ous. On its banks, of late, numerous settlements 
 have been formed, particularly the Talbot settle- 
 ment, where improvement is making rapid ad- 
 vances. The climate being good, the soil fertile, 
 and the settlers industrious, it bids fair to become 
 one of the most fruitful parts of the colony. 
 
 Lake St. Clair , though of small dimensions, is 
 the next we meet in ascending the St. Lawrence. 
 It commences above Detroit, and extends to forty 
 miles in length and twenty in breadth. 
 
 Lake Huron is of a triangular shape, each side 
 measuring from <i50 to 300 miles in length. Its 
 islands are numerous, among which is one 100 
 miles long and eight broad, held sacred by the 
 Indians as the residence of some of their divini- 
 ties. This lake abounds with excellent fish, es- 
 pecially with a kind of trout, some of which are 
 from four to five feet long, and weighing from 
 sixty to seventy pounds. 
 
 Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh wa- 
 ter in the world. It is 500 miles in length, 100 
 in breadth, and 1600 in circumference. Its bot- 
 tom is rocky and uneven, and its depth in many 
 places is very great. It receives the waters of 
 about forty rivers, though its only visible outlet 
 is the St. Lawrence, of which it may be consider- 
 ed the source. It contains several islands, one of 
 which, Isle Roy ale, is about 100 miles long and 
 forty broad. Its northern banks are high and 
 rocky, but afford some mines of virgin copper. 
 It communicates with Lake Huron by the straits 
 of St. Mary, but the St. Lawrence is here so rapid 
 as not to be navigable by vessels of any descrip- 
 tion. The climate is cold, and the soil around 
 the lake for the most part barren. 
 
 Besides the above, there is a great number of 
 lakes in Canada, and some of them of considerable 
 

 180 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 extent; but being mostly in the Indian territory, ■ ' 
 their extent is not so well known. I shall, how- :! ?’ , 
 
 ever, notice a few in the districts which are now , e 
 settling. The largest of these is Lake Simcoe , ^ . 
 
 which lies fifty miles to the north of York. Its *F° vin 
 extent is much the same as that of Lake St. Clair. ^ 8U 
 
 Between the capital and the lake, a main road, 
 called Yonge Street, has been opened, and is now ^ ol111 
 well settled on both sides. To the south-east of $ areV 
 
 Lake Simcoe, a chain of lakes, of smaller extent, ca i 
 stretches near a hundred miles. The outlet of 
 these is a large river, which falls into the Bay of -I rai ^ ! 
 Quinte, fifty miles above Kingston. tfroulc 
 
 The largest piece of water in this neighbour- ^ DOt 
 hood is the Rideau Lalce. Lying parallel with 
 the Sc. Lawrence, and seven miles distant from his, exc 
 Perth, it extends to nearly thirty miles in length, soon of 
 and varies in breadth from six miles to two hun- on a 
 dred yards. In the widest part of this lake there aontto 
 
 are several islands, but not of great extent. The « his 
 
 land on its banks is generally good, though in a ales, a 
 
 few spots it is rocky and of little value. ie flange 
 
 The Mississippi Lake is eight miles to the wem 
 
 north of Perth. Its length is about twelve miles, aoecessa 
 
 and its breadth varies from four miles to half a iery, 
 
 mile. It affords abundance of fish to the settlers 'trear 
 
 in the neighbourhood, who kill them with spears ant, an- 
 
 in great numbers in the spring, when ascending iready 
 
 the river to spawn. Some of the islands in the ihta 
 
 lake are still inhabited by Indians, whose hunting Sfulati 
 
 ground is on the north side, and who are far from Statu 1 
 
 being pleased with the encroachments our settlers ikich £ 
 
 are making on their territories. There are many itiiig 
 
 other lakes, but of smaller dimensions than those ate lc 
 I have mentioned. stenti 
 
 Canada was long overlooked in Britain, or ^rn. 
 
 considered a place of very little importance. This % 
 
 — 
 

 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 181 
 
 is a very great mistake. Besides all its other ad- 
 vantages, which are numerous, it presents an ex- 
 tensive field for settling emigrants with benefit 
 both to themselves and the mother country. The 
 two provinces are capable, it brought into cultiva- 
 tion, of supporting a population equal to that of 
 Great Britain ; yet all they contain at present do 
 not amount to 300,000, and a large proportion of 
 these are very poor. Were a few persons pos- 
 sessing capital and enterprise to settle here they 
 would be of immense advantage to the country, 
 and might eventually benefit themselves. As 
 they would obtain land at a moderate rate, so they 
 would not be troubled with those heavy taxes ot 
 which they complain at home. Here we pay no 
 taxes, except what are necessary lor the admini- 
 stration of justice in our own district. lo a tann- 
 er on a hundred acres of land, they seldom 
 amount to more than a dollar a-year, and he may 
 raise his own tobacco, make his own soap and 
 candles, and tan his leather if he chooses, without 
 the danger of a visit from an exciseman, some 
 have even made their own whisky, but this is 
 unnecessary, as they can carry their gram to the 
 distillery, and get its value in spirits or beer. 
 There are already three distilleries in this settle- 
 ment, and more have been proposed. Whisky is 
 already selling so low as half a dollar a gallon, 
 which has no favourable effect on the morals of our 
 
 population. . , 
 
 Stamp duties have never yet been imposed, 
 which affords a freedom and facility to the trans- 
 acting of business, quite pleasing to those who 
 have long grumbled at this incumbrance. The 
 revenues of the province are chiefly raised from 
 tavern, still, and other licenses, together with the 
 duties levied on imported goods. 
 
182 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 The exports of Canada consist chiefly in furs, 
 timber, staves, pot and pearl ashes. What has 
 been said about exporting provisions, is in a great 
 measure founded on a mistake. The flour, pork, 
 beef, and other articles, shipped from the St. Law- 
 rence, come chiefly from the United States. Agri- 
 culture is there better understood, and is conduct- 
 ed with greater spirit than in this country. The 
 farmers in the State of New York not only send 
 down great quantities of flour and other provision 
 to Montreal, but they come over to Canada in the 
 winter, when the sleighing is good, and undersell 
 our settlers in their own markets. Last winter, 
 and the winter before, they brought their produce 
 more than a hundred miles, and sold it here ; the 
 best beef and pork for 3d. a pound, flour at 4 
 dollars a barrel, and whisky at half a dollar a gal- 
 lon. It is true there is a duty upon American pro- 
 duce brought into Canada, but when the river 
 can be crossed at any part upon the ice it cannot 
 be collected. 
 
 The fur trade is one of which we know little or 
 nothing. It is carried on chiefly by the servants of 
 the North-West Company, at a great distance 
 back among the Indians, in the uncultivated parts 
 of the country. A few bears, martins, musk rats, 
 &c. are killed in the settlement every year, the 
 skins of which are sold to the merchants. 
 
 Since the termination of the war money has 
 become very scarce. This has induced the farmers 
 to begin to manufacture their own clothing. Most 
 of them have a lew sheep, which succeed very 
 well. While the mutton supplies their tables, 
 the wool is spun and manufactured into cloth by 
 the female part of the family. It is no unusual 
 thing to see a loom in a farmer’s house, especially 
 among the American part of the population. The 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 183 
 
 hides of the cattle they kill are sent to the tan- 
 work, and they receive half of it back when 
 dressed, the tanner retaining the other halt tor Ins 
 trouble. This they work up into shoes, when the 
 weather does not permit their pursuing the labour 
 of the field. 
 
 Almost every farmer manufactures sugar in 
 the spring to last his family through the year. 
 When this is spent, they frequently drink t mu- 
 tea without sugar, till the spring brings them a 
 new supply. Almost every article ofprovision 
 and clothing is raised upon their own farms, but 
 the few articles they must purchase from the mer- 
 chant, they pay with ashes, timber, staves, wheat, 
 flour, butter, cheese, or butcher meat. 
 
 Our forests afford a great variety of timber. 
 The kinds of most use for exportation are oak 
 pine birch, and maple ; the two former foi 
 building, and the two latter for cabinet work. 
 They are also in demand here for the same pui- 
 posef mahogany being little used. From maple 
 frees sugar fs made, and the wood is the best of 
 
 dD Apple'trees are of various kinds ; they are sel- 
 dom grafted, and yet bear abundance of fruit, 
 especially near nJs and lakes; but upon high 
 grounds thev are sometimes destroyed by the 
 
 p ^3 b0 SK 
 
 and red are abundant and easi y i . t t j le 
 
 of several sons are a!» .o 
 
 trees imported from But P u rr ies 
 
 fruit This is also the case with gooseberries, 
 i Cr f . which are both abundant 
 
 currants, strawberries, &c. w . j s are 0 f 
 
 £*£ »»s> 
 
 some of them produce very good grapes, though 
 they are small. 6 
 
 - 
 
184 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 The horses in the lower province are mostly of 
 the Canadian breed. They are not large, but re- 
 markably strong and hardy ; and upon a good 
 road, one of them will draw a light sleigh, with 
 two persons in it, fifty miles a-day for several days 
 in succession. In the upper province, American 
 horses of a larger breed are more in use. Carts 
 are rarely met with here. Waggons are general- 
 ly used, and the horses are harnessed in pairs. 
 
 The wild animals found in the woods are nu- 
 merous ; but few of them are either troublesome 
 or dangerous, as they generally retire, and keep 
 at a distance from the habitations of man. The 
 most common are bears, foxes, wolves, racoons, 
 beavers, otters, martins, minks, squirrels, hares, 
 rabbits, musk rats, and a few others. The bears 
 are the most dangerous, and are held in great ter- 
 ror, although I have not heard of any person in 
 this settlement being injured by any of them. 
 Many have been seen, and some have been shot. 
 The animals most troublesome to the farmers are 
 squirrels, of which there are two species, one 
 brown and the other grey, equally destructive to 
 crops both in fields and gardens. Though they 
 are very injurious in the autumn to the growing 
 crops, they do most mischief in the spring, by 
 taking up the seed out of the ground : I have 
 seen a field of Indian corn entirely ruined by 
 them, so that it was necessary to plant it a second, 
 and even a third time. The number killed by 
 some farmers in the course of* a year almost ex- 
 ceeds belief. There is another species, called the 
 black squirrel, much larger than the two former, 
 but it seems scarce, being seldom seen. Most of 
 our wild animals are hunted for the sake of their 
 furs, which form a considerable article of trade. 
 
 01 birds there are many kinds. The principal 
 

 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 185 
 
 are eagles, vultures, owls, night hawks, fish hawks, 
 cranes, geese, wild ducks, partridges, snow birds, 
 teal wild pigeons, black birds, thrushes, larks, 
 and various other kinds. The wood-pigeons pass 
 to the northward in the spring, and return in the 
 fall in immense numbers. When they happen to 
 alio-ht upon a newly sown field, they scarcely 
 leave a grain, if not disturbed. Great numbers 
 of them are taken in nets ; but they are more fre- 
 quently shot, and are generally found to be tat, 
 
 and good eating. . t . . 
 
 The rivers and lakes, with which the country 
 abounds, are well stocked with fish of various 
 kinds; such as salmon, chub, carp, pike, black 
 bass, pickerel, and sturgeon, which are both large 
 and good. In catching them, hooks and lines 
 are seldom employed. They are genera y 
 speared, or taken in nets in the rapids °f rivers- 
 Snakes are numerous, though few of them are 
 of a mischievous disposition. Rattlesnakes are 
 sometimes seen in the upper part of the province, 
 but never, that I have heard of, in this settle- 
 ment. Those striped with green and yellow, 
 usually called garter snakes, are frequently met 
 with in the woods. They are perfectly harmless 
 though they are apt to alarm a stranger with their 
 
 h ' Thf're are various kinds of insects but mus- 
 quetoes are the most troublesome. They make 
 their appearance about the beginning of May, 
 and in a few days, if the weather is hot, the woods 
 swarm with them. They are the scourge of 
 every new settlement ; but where the woo s are 
 cleared away they are seldom seen. Then legs 
 are long and slender, and t iey , j s 
 
 whole, a very feeble appearance, rhe body is 
 about a quarter of an inch long, and both in shape 
 
 
186 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 and colour resembles that of a wasp. Their pro- 
 boscis, as well as their legs, is slender, but their 
 bite is severe, and produces a certain degree of 
 inflammation, so that it is more painful afterwards 
 than at the time the wound is made. If the part 
 is rubbed or scratched, it swells, and sometimes 
 produces serious consequences. Attempts have 
 been made, by rubbing the skin with various pre- 
 parations, to drive them away ; but, so blood- 
 thirsty are they, that nothing will keep them off. 
 The hands, face, and neck, are most exposed to 
 their attacks, but no part is safe, as they easily 
 thrust their proboscis through the thin dress worn 
 in summer. After a person has been all day ex- 
 posed to their stings, it greatly mitigates the 
 pain to rub the parts affected with strong vine- 
 gar. Moisture seems to favour their production, 
 as they are more numerous, as well as more trou- 
 blesome, in a wet summer than in a dry one. 
 They are also more annoying in a showery warm 
 day, than in one that is dry, whether hot or cold. 
 Smoke is the only application which has any effect 
 in driving them away ; but this is so effectual, 
 that a fire of wet chips is lighted near the door 
 of almost every house in summer evenings for the 
 purpose of keeping them at a distance. They 
 continue during the four warmest months, but 
 when the weather becomes cold they disappear. 
 
 A species of small black flies, common in this 
 country, may be ranked next to musquetoes for 
 mischief. They are more troublesome in the 
 morning and evening than during the day. They 
 settle among the hair, round the face, and in the 
 neck, disfiguring the place they attack, by taking 
 out a small piece of the skin. Thev are very an- 
 noying in May and J line, but in J uly they dis- 
 

 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 18 T 
 
 appear. Sand flies are a very small kind of grey 
 ^ats, just visible to the naked eye, but no less 
 troublesome than the black flies while their attack 
 continues, which fortunately is only a few warm 
 nights every summer. Where houses are near 
 swamps or rivers, they enter by thousands and 
 attack the inmates, driving away sleep, and pro- 
 ducing the most uneasy sensations. 
 
 The fire-fly is the greatest curiosity to be found 
 among the insects of this country. It is of a 
 brown colour, and about the size of a bug. When 
 it flies in the dark it emits a bright phosphoric 
 lio»ht In low grounds, where they abound, it is 
 amusing to see hundreds of them dancing about 
 in the dark, like as many sparks of fire. Butler- 
 flies are numerous, and attract attention, y 
 beauty of their colours and the size of then 
 wind's. Crickets, resembling grasshoppers, are 
 also very troublesome to new settlers, eating ho es 
 in tbeir clothes, especially, when they find hem 
 in a dirty or greasy condition. But all of these 
 insects become less numerous, as the cultivation 
 of the land advances. 
 
 
From Quebec to 
 
 Lorett. 
 
 Table of Distances from Quebec to Montreal . 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 90 
 
 105 
 
 117 
 
 135 
 
 150 
 
 165 
 
 180 
 
 18 
 
 33 
 
 48 
 
 Cape Sante. 
 
 Dechambeau. 
 St. Ann’s. 
 
 78 
 
 93 
 
 105 
 
 123 
 
 138 
 
 153 
 
 168 
 
 1^ 
 
 30 
 
 60 
 
 75 
 
 87 
 
 105 
 
 120 
 
 135 
 
 150 
 
 15 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 72 
 
 90 
 
 105 
 
 120 
 
 135 
 
 30 
 
 45 
 
 57 
 
 60 
 
 90 
 
 105 
 
 120 
 
 15 
 
 Three Rivers. 
 
 Mackiske. 
 
 Masquenonge. 
 Bertliier. 
 
 27 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 75 
 
 90 
 
 12 
 
 33 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 75 
 
 18 
 
 33 
 
 48 
 
 63 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 45 
 
 Laventre. 
 
 End of the Island of Montreal. 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 ►3 ^ p" 
 
 P-g 0 q ^ 
 
 :l gL 
 
 r £ 
 
 P ^ 
 
 D O g 
 
 CLH5 ^ 
 
 3 S' 
 
 gw* 
 
 is® 
 
 p ^ 
 
 p 3 £ 
 
 3 Q- 
 
 P- crq 
 
 CO™ 
 
 5 S g 
 
 CD rD S 
 53 P_ ° 
 
 ^ qJ 
 W . o 
 
 cr p 
 
 3 
 
 orq 
 
 a> 
 
 «— ► (T) 
 O ft) 
 3 P 
 
 f 
 
 tn 
 
 H 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 
 fd 
 
 X 
 
 Montreal. 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
From Montreal to 
 La Chine. 
 
 27 
 
 36 
 
 18 
 
 Point Clair. 
 9 lisle. 
 
 27 
 
 38 
 
 57 
 
 64 
 
 67 
 
 80 
 
 47 
 
 18 
 
 29 
 
 48 
 
 55 
 
 58 
 
 84 
 
 89 
 
 92 
 
 71 
 
 38 
 
 9 
 
 "20 
 
 "29 
 
 Cedars. 
 
 39 
 
 ~46 
 
 75 
 
 80 
 
 66 
 
 71 
 
 107 
 
 117 
 
 129 
 
 132 
 
 144 
 
 151. 
 
 166 
 
 176 
 
 790 
 
 Too 
 
 83 
 
 88 
 
 To8 
 
 120 
 
 123 
 
 135 
 
 745 " 
 
 157 
 
 167 
 
 181 
 
 791 
 
 74 
 
 111 
 
 114 
 
 126 
 
 136 
 
 148 
 
 158 
 
 172 
 
 782 
 
 30 
 
 37 
 
 40 
 
 53 
 
 57 
 
 62 
 
 65 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 102 
 
 105 
 
 117 
 
 127 
 
 139 
 
 149 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 31 
 
 Coteaudu Lac. 
 
 Point Boudet. 
 
 Province Line. 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 20 
 
 53 
 
 56 
 
 71 
 
 81 
 
 33 
 
 37 
 
 42 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 93 
 
 70 
 
 82 
 
 96 
 
 108 
 
 118 
 
 163 
 
 773 
 
 130 
 
 140 
 
 154 
 
 764 
 
 85 
 
 97 
 
 107 
 
 119 
 
 129 
 
 143 
 
 153 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 24 
 
 28 
 
 10 
 
 33 
 
 "36 
 
 51 
 
 61 
 
 73 
 
 78 
 
 88 
 
 98 
 
 110 
 
 120 
 
 134 
 
 744 
 
 _23 
 
 "27 
 
 Lancaster. 
 
 River Rasin. 
 
 Colquhoun. 
 
 50 
 
 60 
 
 72 
 
 75 
 
 87 
 
 97 
 
 109 
 
 119 
 
 133 
 
 143 
 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 28 
 
 43 
 
 53 
 
 65 
 
 68 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 102 
 
 112 
 
 126 
 
 136 
 
 13 
 
 17 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 62 
 
 65 
 
 77 
 
 87 
 
 99 
 
 109 
 
 123 
 
 133 
 
 9 
 
 Cornwall. 
 
 Mill Roche. 
 
 12 
 
 27 
 
 37 
 
 49 
 
 74 
 
 86 
 
 96 
 
 110 
 
 120 
 
 23 
 
 33 
 
 45 
 
 48 
 
 60 
 
 70 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 
 Matice’s. 
 
 15 Cook’s. 
 
 Shaver’s. 
 
 40 
 
 43 
 
 55 
 
 65 
 
 82 
 
 92 
 
 106 
 
 116 
 
 77 
 
 87 
 
 101 
 
 111 
 
 25 
 
 37 
 
 40 
 
 52 
 
 62 
 
 74 
 
 84 
 
 98 
 
 108 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 37 
 
 47 
 
 59 
 
 69 
 
 83 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 ~27~ 
 
 37 
 
 49 
 
 59 
 
 73 
 
 93 83 
 
 Johnstown. 
 Prescott. 
 
 \2 Brockville. 
 
 To 
 22 
 32 
 46 
 56 
 
 25 
 
 Stephen Andrew’s. 
 l2|Daniel Baldwin’s. 
 Gananoque. 
 
 Franklin’s. 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
„ Table of Distances from Kingston to York. 
 
 From Kingston to ° 
 
 18 
 
 Bath. 
 
 
 31 
 
 13 
 
 Nappane Mills. 
 
 37 
 
 19 
 
 6 
 
 Bowen’s. 
 
 51 
 
 33 
 
 20 
 
 14 
 
 Magb 
 
 ee’s. 
 
 58 
 
 40 
 
 27 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 Bellville. 
 
 70 
 
 52 
 
 39 
 
 33 
 
 19 
 
 12 
 
 Trent 
 
 
 80 
 
 <52 
 
 49 
 
 43 
 
 29 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 
 Sandford’s. 
 
 88 
 
 70 
 
 57 
 
 51 
 
 37 
 
 30 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 Keelor’s. 
 
 96 
 
 78 
 
 65 
 
 ~ 59 ~ 
 
 45 
 
 38 
 
 26 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 Groover’s. 
 
 88 
 
 86 
 
 73 
 
 ~5 
 
 67 
 
 53 
 
 46 
 
 34 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 Cobourg. 
 
 T06~ 
 
 88 
 
 69 
 
 55 
 
 48 
 
 36 
 
 26 
 
 18 
 
 “l0~ 
 
 2 ~ 
 
 The Courthouse Hamilton. 
 
 in 
 
 93 
 
 80 
 
 74 
 
 60 
 
 53 
 
 41 
 
 81 
 
 23 
 
 31 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 Smith’s Creek. 
 
 119 
 
 101 
 
 88 
 
 82 
 
 68 
 
 61 
 
 49 
 
 39 
 
 23 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 8 
 
 Orton 
 
 ;’S. 
 
 130 
 
 112 
 
 127 ~ 
 
 99 
 
 93 
 
 79 
 
 72 
 
 60 
 
 50 
 
 42 
 
 57 
 
 34 
 
 26 
 
 24 
 
 19 
 
 11 
 
 Blair's. 
 
 145 
 
 114 
 
 108 
 
 94 
 
 87~ 
 
 75 
 
 65 
 
 49 
 
 41 
 
 39 
 
 34 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 Still’s. 
 
 160 
 
 T75~ 
 
 142 
 
 153~ 
 
 129 
 
 T23 
 
 109 
 
 102 
 
 90 
 
 80 
 
 72 
 
 64 
 
 56 
 
 54 
 
 49 
 
 41 
 
 30 
 
 15 Galloway’s. 
 
 140 
 
 138 
 
 124 
 
 117 
 
 105 
 
 95 
 
 87 
 
 79 
 
 71 
 
 69 
 
 64 
 
 56 
 
 45 
 
 30 15 | York. 
 
 ■MS 
 
 
 190 LETTERS FROM PERTH 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 191 
 
 Abstract of the Population for 1820 of those parts of 
 the Province of' Upper Canada which are actually or- 
 ganized into Counties and Districts . 
 
 Counties , §e, 
 
 Glengary, 
 
 Stormont, 
 
 Dundas, 
 
 Russell, 
 
 Prescott, 
 
 Grenville, 
 
 Leeds, 
 
 Carleton, 
 
 Frontenac, (exclusive of the towi 
 Town of Kingston, 
 
 Lennox and Addington, 
 
 H astings. 
 
 Prince Edward, 
 Northumberland, 
 
 Durham, 
 
 Simcoe, 
 
 York, (exclusive of the town 
 Town of York, 
 
 Lincoln, 
 
 Went worth, 
 
 Hal ton, 
 
 Norfolk, 
 
 Oxford, 
 
 Middlesex, 
 
 Kent, 
 
 Essex, 
 
 n of Kin; 
 
 Number of Inhabitants* 
 5782 
 4571 
 2195 
 107 
 1567 
 4373 
 6722 
 3699 
 gston) 2901 
 1880 
 5724 
 2520 
 6079 
 4322 
 1783 
 148 
 9593 
 1240 
 13,787 
 4959 
 4796 
 4178 
 2455 
 5243 
 1624 
 3732 
 
 f York 
 
 105,980 
 
 The opening of roads in a new settlement is 
 always attended with trouble and expense. This 
 is well known to the people in the county ot Carle- 
 ton ; but their difficulties would have been much 
 greater, had it not been for the liberal assistance 
 they have received from government. I he hrs 
 settlers at Perth had to open a road about twenty 
 miles into the woods for themselves ; but they re- 
 ceived rations while they were so emp oyt . lk 
 part of it was opened by a contractor, who receiv- 
 
 
192 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 ed fifty pounds from Government for his trouble. 
 But all that was done at that time was merely 
 making an opening through the woods wide enough 
 to let a waggon pass. The legislature, two years 
 afterwards, voted the sum of L.500 to improve 
 the same road, and clear it to the full width of 
 sixty feet. But this grant, liberal as it was, made 
 but little appearance when laid out upon a road 
 covered with heavy timber, and crossed by nu- 
 merous creeks. 
 
 In 1820, when the first emigrants on the Go- 
 vernment grant, arrived from Glasgow, it became 
 necessary to open a road from Perth to the new 
 settlement at Lanark. This cost the sum of L.200, 
 and the expense was defrayed, by the Commander 
 of the Forces, out of the military chest. About 
 the same time, when the military road began to 
 be opened from the Grand River to Kingston, 
 through Richmond and Perth, his Excellency 
 granted L.400 toward this undertaking, and the 
 Legislature granted L.200 more. Thus, in the 
 course of a very few years, L.1350 of public 
 money, besides the statute labour of a great num- 
 ber of men and oxen, have been expended on these 
 roads, and yet a great deal more must be done 
 before they are good. 
 
 In an extensive, but thinly inhabited country 
 like Canada, the postage of letters comes to be 
 very heavy. They were, till lately, charged as 
 high, and sometimes higher, than they are in Bri- 
 tain ; but in 1822 a reduction took place. In the 
 parliament of 1821, it was determined that all 
 letters to or from the members during the future 
 sessions should be paid by the clerk, and charged 
 in his account of contingent expenses. Previous 
 to that time, members of Parliament, and their 
 correspondents, had to pay the postage of their let- 
 ters the same as others. This sometimes came to 
 
UPPER CANADA, 
 
 193 
 
 k 
 
 t. 
 
 be very heavy, especially upon the members who 
 are not in general wealthy. 
 
 During the last war, when the American army 
 invaded Canada, it destroyed a great deal of* pro- 
 perty, both public and private, especially on the 
 Niagara frontier. Those who had lost private 
 property petitioned Government for compensation, 
 and steps were taken to afford them redress. Com- 
 missioners were appointed to ascertain the amount 
 of their losses. The demands of some individuals 
 appeared extravagant, and the amount of their 
 claims was so great, that it was difficult to deter- 
 mine how they could be all satisfied. The first 
 means employed was to sell all the forfeited estates 
 of the traitors, who had gone over to the enemy, 
 and to employ the proceeds in compensating those 
 who had suffered by the war. The produce of 
 the sales, however, did not amount to fifteen thou- 
 sand pounds, which was not a tenth part of the 
 claims put in. The Parliament of Great Britain 
 has since taken notice of the delay, and steps are 
 now taking to make good the losses by instalments. 
 Five shillings in the pound will be paid in the 
 summer of 18^3. 
 
 In 1821, the merchants in Canada were alarm- 
 ed by a report that his Majesty’s Government in- 
 tended to lav a duty upon timber from the British 
 colonies in North America, or to reduce the duty 
 upon that from the Baltic. Either of these would 
 be ruinous to the trade of Canada, and numerous 
 and strong remonstrances were sent home on the 
 subject. The evil was averted for the present, 
 but for how long we know not. The produce of 
 our forests is almost the only article we have to 
 pay for our imports from Britain, and the price is 
 at present so low as barely to defray the expense 
 of bringing it to market. But should a duty be 
 imposed, ruin to the trade, and consequently to 
 
I9i LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 Canada, would be the consequence. Nor would 
 the mother country herself be uninjured. A 
 market for her manufactures would be lost, and 
 many of her ships and seamen would be thrown 
 out of employment. 
 
 No country stands more in need of inland na- 
 vigation, or offers greater facilities for carrying it 
 into effect, than Upper Canada. The St. Law- 
 rence has hitherto been the principal highway to 
 the province. But it contains many rapids which 
 are difficult to ascend. And, besides, being the 
 boundary between Upper Canada and the United 
 States, whenever a war takes place, the enemy 
 have it in their power to capture any supplies that 
 may pass that way : hence the necessity of a na- 
 vigation by some other route less exposed. This 
 has long been an object both with Government 
 and the colonists ; the one to convey stores in time 
 of war, and the other to convey their produce to 
 market. With a view to effect this desirable ob- 
 ject, the House of Assembly, in 1822, appointed 
 commissioners to explore and survey the internal 
 communications of the province, to prepare plans 
 and estimates for the improvement of the inland 
 navigation, and to report their opinions as to the 
 most eligible and practicable routes for effecting 
 the same. They also voted the sum of three 
 thousand pounds to defray the expense of the 
 plans, surveys, &c. The proposed canal is to 
 connect the Grand River with Lake Ontario near 
 Kingston. It will be more than a hundred miles 
 in length, and it is expected will pass through 
 some part of Perth settlement. When it is com- 
 pleted, boats may pass between the upper and 
 lower province with produce or stores, without 
 being exposed to the frontiers of the United 
 States. 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 195 
 
 Another canal has been proposed to connect 
 Lakes Ontario and Erie, so as to avoid the falls 
 of Niagara. The distance between these lakes is 
 said to be about thirty miles, and many locks will 
 be wanted to enable boats to pass from the one to 
 the other. 
 
 By the report of the American Canal Commis- 
 sioners, it appears that the Great Western Canal, 
 which is to connect the waters of Lake Erie with 
 those of the Hudson at Albany, is about 353 miles 
 in length. Its width on the surface of the water 
 is forty feet, at the bottom twenty-eight, and its 
 depth four feet. The length of the locks is nine- 
 ty, and the width is twelve feet. The estimate 
 of the total expense of completing the canal is 
 4,881,738 dollars; or at the average rate, in- 
 cluding the expense of constructing 77 locks, of 
 about 13,830, or a little more than L.3000 Ster- 
 ling per mile. Should the canal, to connect Lake 
 Erie with Montreal, be of the same dimensions, 
 this will enable us pretty nearly to estimate the 
 expense. 
 
 The population of Upper Canada has been 
 rapidly increasing ever since the termination of 
 the late war. The average of emigrants from 
 Great Britain and Ireland, arriving at Quebec for 
 a number of years past, is about 10,000 annually. 
 A great proportion of these, perhaps one half, go 
 afterwards to the United States, but the half that 
 remains, will go far to settle seven or eight entire 
 townships ten miles square. For it must be re- 
 membered, that the clergy reserves in every town- 
 ship occupy one-seventh of the whole surface, and 
 there is generally another seventh of water, rock, 
 and swamp, on which no settlement can be made. 
 But the number of emigrants who have come, 
 need not deter others who intend to come, for 
 there are still vast tracts of forest land unoccu- 
 k 2 
 
196 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 pied. Almost every year from ten to twenty new 
 townships are surveyed, and laid open for loca- 
 tion. Most of the new townships are ten miles 
 square, and contain 66,000 acres, including roads. 
 Formerly the surveying of these lands was at- 
 tended with a considerable expense to govern- 
 ment, but a new plan has been adopted, which 
 saves the expense. The surveyor receives for 
 his work a part of the land surveyed, commonly 
 about one per cent. The greatest evil attending 
 the land granted by government, is its distance 
 from markets and good roads. This circumstance 
 induces many of the new settlers, who have mo- 
 ney, to purchase cultivated land, which they can 
 always do at a very moderate rate. The north 
 bank of the St. Lawrence, and of the lakes from 
 whence it flows, were the places first settled, and 
 they are still called the front or the old settle- 
 ments. In the lower parts of the province these 
 are occupied by loyalists or discharged soldiers. 
 But in the upper part of the province emigrants 
 from the United States are more numerous, who 
 have been tempted to settle in Canada by the 
 cheapness of the land and the fertility of the soil. 
 The British and Irish emigrants are settled in 
 the towns along the frontier, as merchants, me- 
 chanics, &c. on farms they have purchased from 
 older settlers, or back in the woods from thirty 
 to sixty miles, upon lands granted to them by 
 government. They are generally hardy, indus- 
 trious people, and are warmly attached to the Bri- 
 tish government, though it is said some of them 
 held radical principles before they left their na- 
 tive country. Government could never do bet- 
 ter with disaffected persons than send them to the 
 colonies, where they would have plenty of work 
 and few T taxes. In Canada the settlers have too 
 much work in rooting up trees, to trouble them- 
 
 selres- 
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UPPER CANADA. 
 
 197 
 
 selves with the cares of government. Indeed, 
 the liberality of government has been so great, 
 that all their complaints are removed, and no 
 room left for any feeling but gratitude. 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland, the present Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor of Upper Canada, is a decided 
 friend to religion. Every Sabbath day, whether 
 at home or abroad, he attends public worship 
 twice, if he has it in his power, and always con- 
 ducts himself in the church with the greatest re- 
 verence and propriety. Would to God that all 
 great men would imitate hisexample. What arefor- 
 mation of manners among their inferiors would soon 
 follow ! In his speech at the opening of the provin- 
 cial parliament in 1821 , among other excellent ex- 
 pressions he made use ot the following : “ V on 
 will concur in promoting the interest of true reli- 
 gion, and in improving all those means which 
 can add to the instruction, convenience, or happi- 
 ness of the people.” The conduct of his excellent 
 lady is no less praiseworthy. She gives encou- 
 ragement and support to numerous benevolent 
 institutions. The Sunday schools established at 
 York have, in particular, engaged her attention, 
 and we are told that she has oitener than once 
 distributed rewards to the deserving with her own 
 
 hands. a . tt 
 
 The Commons House of Assembly m Upper 
 Canada, consists of about forty members, but fif- 
 teen form a quorum for the dispatch of business. 
 
198 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 When the enemy took York in the late war, 
 the journals of the house were burnt, which has 
 been a serious inconvenience. Endeavours are, 
 however, making to obtain copies of them from 
 Earl Bathurst’s office. 
 
 Since the Jate war, there has been erected at 
 York, in Upper Canada, an elegant and commo- 
 dious building for the House of Assembly, &c. 
 In this building, besides the public offices, there 
 are several apartments, which the serjeant at 
 avms, from his office of keeper of the house, 
 thought he had a right to occupy. The clerk of 
 the house, thinking he had a better right, occu* 
 pied some of these apartments, and locked up the 
 rest. Next session, namely, in 1821, they laid 
 their respective claims before the House of As- 
 vsembly. A committee was appointed to inquire 
 into the business, and to make a report. The re- 
 port was favourable to the Serjeant at Arms, up- 
 on which, the House resolved, “ that the Serjeant 
 at Arms is, ex officio , housekeeper of the House 
 of Assembly, and all the apartments attached 
 thereto, Clerk’s offices excepted ; and that the 
 Serjeant at Arms do, within a reasonable time, 
 receive possession of the House, and apartments 
 thereunto attached. 
 
 The annual expenses of the civil government, 
 and the administration of justice in Upper Cana- 
 da, have been, for some years past, something 
 under L 20,000. This sum has been raised chief- 
 ly from three sources, namely, from licenses and 
 duties on certain goods imported from the United 
 States, one-fifth of the duties collected at Que- 
 bec, and L.10,000 annually granted by England. 
 The expenses of the naval and military depart- 
 ments are defrayed out of the military chest at 
 the charge of England. 
 
 The licenses are, Jirst y Shop licenses, for the 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 199 
 
 retail of liquors to be used out of the house, L.5 
 each ; secondly , Tavern licenses, at all different 
 rates, from L.l to L.10, according to the situa- 
 tion of the tavern, the magistrates having a dis- 
 cretionary power to fix them at what they think 
 right ; thirdly, Still-licenses, at two shillings and 
 sixpence a-year for every gallon the still contains ; 
 fourthly. Wholesale licenses, at L.5 each fifthly, 
 Pedlars’ licenses, at L.5 each, and L.5 more for 
 every horse he uses ; and, lastly, Auctioneers li- 
 censes, also at L.5 each. The duties upon im- 
 ported goods are all charged and collected m 
 Quebec, so that in Upper Canada no such ani- 
 mal as an excise-officer is to be met with. 
 
 There are duties charged upon certain goods 
 imported from the United States; but as the 
 frontier extends many hundred miles in length, and 
 the collectors are not numerous, importers some- 
 times find it inconvenient to call upon them, and 
 consequently the intercourse is carried on chiefly 
 
 1 ^Breach of "privilege is a thing not unknown i m 
 Upper Canada more than in England. In Fe- 
 bruary, 1821, Robert C. Horne, Esq. govern- 
 ment printer, and editor of the Upper Canada 
 Gazette, was taken into custody, and placed a 
 the bar of the House of Assembly, to answer .oi 
 a breach of privilege, in making an erroneous 
 report of the speeches of some ot die members 
 Being permitted to speak for himself, lie assured 
 he House, that he had always studied to be im- 
 nartial and that his endeavours had generally 
 Seen successful, but that on this occasion the 
 speeches had not been taken down by himself, 
 
 Z TOrd."™' opinions of any gentleman had been 
 misrepresented, bat that he tree wlh-g “> 
 
200 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 the error by a public acknowledgment. This 
 being the case, the House dismissed him with a 
 gentle reprimand. 
 
 When the House of Assembly met in 1821, 
 that being the first session after the general elec- 
 tion, there were two petitions presented, complain- 
 ing of undue returns. To give you some idea how 
 such things are done in Canada, I shall lay 
 these petitions before you. 
 
 “ To the Honourable the Commons House of 
 Assembly, in Parliament Assembled. 
 u The petition of David Pattie, of the town- 
 ship of Hawkesbury, in the district of 
 Ottawa, Esq. 
 
 66 HUMBLY SHEWETH, 
 
 “ That your petitioner, and William 
 Hamilton, Esq. were candidates at the last elec- 
 tion of a knight to serve in the present parlia- 
 ment, for the counties of Prescott and Russell ; 
 and that Joseph Fortune, Esq. was returning offi- 
 cer, who presided at the said election, which was 
 held at the township of Longueil, in the county 
 of Prescott, aforesaid, on Monday, the 10th day 
 or July last, and a poll having been demanded, 
 was continued by adjournments, until Saturday, 
 the 15th of the same month. 
 
 u That at the close of the poll on Saturday, 
 the last day of taking the same at the said elec- 
 tion, your petitioner had a majority of votes ; one 
 hundred and three having polled for your peti- 
 tioner, and only ninety-nine for the said William 
 Hamilton, as appeared by the poll-book kept by 
 the clerk of the said election ; and that the said 
 Joseph Fortune, being such returning officer as 
 aforesaid, contrary to his oath of office, as such 
 returning officer, in gross violation of the rights 
 
UPPER CANADA. 201 
 
 ot the people, and the privileges of your Honour- 
 able House, and to the great damage of your pe- 
 titioner, in a partial and arbitrary manner, im- 
 mediately after the close of the poll, on the last 
 day of the said election, without instituting any 
 scrutiny into the legality or illegality of any of 
 these votes, received and entered upon the poll- 
 book at the said election, and without assigning 
 any sufficient reason for such his arbitrary and 
 vexatious conduct, did, corruptly and falsely, re- 
 turn the said William Hamilton, and did declare 
 him, the said William Hamilton, to be duly elect- 
 ed, to represent the said counties of Prescott and 
 llussell in this parliament. 
 
 46 That the said Joseph Fortune was, in other 
 respects, grossly partial to the said William Ha- 
 milton, and inimical to the election of your peti- 
 tioner ; and that he exhibited such partiality up- 
 on many occasions, during the said election, and, 
 in particular, in representing to the voters at the 
 said election, that your petitioner, being an Ame- 
 rican, was a bad subject, and unworthy to repre- 
 sent them in parliament, and did also use various 
 other means, highly unbecoming his situation and 
 office aforesaid, to prevent persons from voting 
 for your petitioner, and to induce and influence 
 them to give their votes for the said William Ha- 
 milton. 
 
 “ That several persons offered to vote at the 
 said election, in the right of land they had only 
 obtained tickets of location for, to the legality 
 whereof your petitioner objected, and that many 
 of the said persons hesitated to take the freehold- 
 ers’ oath, in respect of the lands so held by them 
 until the said Joseph Fortune told them they had 
 a right to vote, and might safely take the said 
 oath, alleging he had seen a letter from the Hon. 
 William D. Powell, chief justice of this province, 
 to George Hamilton, Esq. brother of the said 
 
 i i 
 
202 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 William Hamilton, stating that such persons had 
 a right to vote at elections in this province. 
 
 “ And lastly, That the said William Hamilton 
 doth not possess an unencumbered freehold, in 
 lands or tenements, in fee-simple, in this province, 
 to the assessed value of L.80, lawful money of 
 this province ; whereby he is uneligible to serve 
 in Parliament, and his return is consequently void, 
 as your petitioner is advised, and humbly sub- 
 mits to the decision of your Honourable House. 
 
 u Wherefore your petitioner humbly prays, 
 that the said Joseph Fortune be ordered to attend 
 at the bar of your Honourable House, and to 
 produce the poll books taken at the said election 
 under his authority, and that he be ordered to 
 amend his return of the said William Hamilton to 
 serve in Parliament as aforesaid, by erasing the 
 name of the said William Hamilton thereout, and 
 inserting that of your petitioner instead thereof, 
 and that your Honourable House will make such 
 further orders as to your wisdom may seem 
 meet, and to justice appertains. 
 
 “ And your petitioner, as in duty bound, will 
 ever pray. 
 
 (Signed) David Pattie.” 
 
 t€ Mr. Jones of Grenville, seconded by Mr. Rut- 
 tan, moved that the petition of David Pattie, Esq. 
 complaining of an undue election, contains matter 
 which, if true, will make void the election of 
 William Hamilton, Esq. 
 
 “ Which was carried. 
 
 ci Mr. Burwell, seconded by Mr. Crooks, moved, 
 That the petition of David Smith, Esq. and others 
 of the township of Durham, be now read. 
 
 “ Which was carried, and the petition read as 
 follows 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 203 
 
 « To the Honourable the Commons House of 
 Assembly, in Parliament Assembled. 
 
 “ The petition of John David Smith, of the 
 county of Durham, in the district of New- 
 castle^ Esq. ; Charles Fothergill, of the 
 same place, Esq. ; John William Bannis- 
 ter, of the same place, Esq.; John Wil- 
 liams, of the same place, Esq. ; John Tay- 
 lor, of the same place, Esq.; Jeremiah 
 Button, of the same place, Esq. ; and 
 others, the undersigned freeholders of the 
 same county ; 
 
 “ HUMBLY SHEWETH, 
 
 “ That Samuel Street Wilmot, Esq. and George 
 Strange Boulton, Esq. were candidates at the last 
 election of a knight to serve in this present parli- 
 ament for the said county of Durham ; and 1 ho- 
 mas Ward was the returning officer who presided 
 at the said election, which was held at Port 
 Hope, in the said county of Durham, on Monday 
 the third day of J uly last ; and a poll having 
 been demanded, was continued by adjournment 
 until Saturday, the eighth day of the same month. 
 That at the close of the poll each day, the said 
 Thomas Ward, being such returning officer as 
 aforesaid, declared the majority in favour of the 
 said George Strange Boulton ; and that, at the 
 close of the poll on Saturday, the last day of tak- 
 ing the same at the said election, after the votes 
 had been examined by the said Thomas Ward, 
 in presence of the said candidates, and several 
 names had been struck oft by mutual consent, 
 the said George Strange Boulton had a majo- 
 rity of votes, one hundred and sixty of the names 
 still remaining on the poll-book having polled 
 for the said George Strange Boulton, and only 
 
§04 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 seventy for the said Samuel Street W llmot, as 
 appeared by the poll-book kept by the clerk at 
 the said election. 
 
 « Yet the said Thomas Ward being such return- 
 ing officer, as aforesaid, contrary to his oath of 
 office as such returning officer, in gross violation 
 of the right of your petitioners, and the freedom 
 of elections, and of the privileges of your Ho- 
 nourable House, in a partial and arbitrary man- 
 ner, after the close of the poll, on the last day of 
 the election, and without adding up the numbers 
 of the votes taken on the last day of the election, 
 and without assigning any sufficient reason for 
 his arbitrary and vexatious conduct, did corruptly 
 and falsely return the said Samuel Street Wilmot, 
 and did declare the said Samuel Street Wilmot 
 to be duly elected to represent the said county of 
 Durham in this Parliament. 
 
 “ Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray, 
 that the said Thomas Ward be ordered to attend 
 at the bar of your Honourable House, together 
 with his poll-clerk, and to produce the poll-book 
 taken at the said election, under his authority, 
 and that he be ordered to amend his return of 
 the said Samuel Street Wilmot, to serve in Parli- 
 ament as aforesaid, by erasing the name of the 
 said Samuel Street Wilmot, and inserting that of 
 the said George Strange Boulton instead thereof, 
 and that your Honourable House will make such 
 farther orders as to your wisdom may seem meet, 
 and to justice appertains, 
 
 “ And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will 
 every pray. 
 
 (Signed by) John D. Smith, J. P. 
 and eighty-one others.'” 
 
 “ Mr. Nichol, seconded by Mr. Burwell, mov- 
 ed, That it be resolved that the petition of David 
 
UPPER CANADA. 
 
 20 5 
 
 Smith and others contains matter which, if true, 
 will make void the election of Samuel VVilmot, 
 Esq. member for the county of Durham. 
 
 “ Which tvas carried. 
 
 “ The House then resolved, that Mr. Pattie 
 and Mr. Boulton, previous to the investigation of 
 their petitions, should enter into a bond of L.200 
 each to the clerk, conditioned for the payment 
 of such costs as should be awarded by the House 
 against them, should they fail in supporting the 
 grounds of their petitions respectively. 
 
 “ The Speaker was next authorized to order 
 the attendance of the returning officers, with the 
 poll-books, and such w itnesses as were required by 
 the petitioners or sitting members. The whole 
 attended, except the returning officer of the coun- 
 ties of Prescott and Itussel), whose conduct seems 
 to have been very culpable. He being at a great 
 distance from the seat of government, declined 
 obeying the summons of the House, unless they 
 paid the expenses of his journey. For this con- 
 tempt of authority the Speaker issued his warrant 
 to the Serjeant at Arms to take him into custody, 
 and produce him at the bar of the House. The 
 distance w f as about three hundred miles that the 
 officer had to travel before he could carry his 
 orders into execution. So Mr. Fortune, the re- 
 turning officer, avoided him by crossing the Grand 
 River into the Lower Province, where the Ser- 
 jeant could not take him. The House was there- 
 fore compelled to content themselves with the 
 evidence of the poll-book, the poll clerk, and such 
 other witnesses as they were able to procure. But 
 they had evidence enough to enable them to de- 
 termine that the returning officer had acted 
 partially and unfairly, and that the sitting mem- 
 ber ought not to have been returned. Hts seat 
 
206 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 was consequently declared vacant, and Mr. Pattie, 
 after the return was amended, was permitted to 
 take his place.” ^ 
 
 The matter, however, did not rest here. Mr. 
 Fortune, the returning officer, being clerk of the 
 peace, and registrar for the county, the House ^ichi 
 addressed the Governor, requesting his Excellen- 
 cy to remove him from these offices. This was # 10 
 answered by an assurance that the wish of the “^e 
 House should be attended to, and he was soon ^' nt ' 
 afterwards removed from office. In the other 
 case the returning officer was directed to amend W 0 
 
 his return, and the petitioner took his seat. general 
 
 The difficulty in these cases arose chiefly from Mh 
 the uncertainty which existed in the minds of k we 
 
 many, whether the holders of location tickets ?P nt 
 
 have, or have not, the same right to vote at elec- ®P ta 
 tions, as those who had deeds actually in their wi ! 
 possession. A location ticket is a kind of certifi- ionbt 
 
 cate granted to a settler when he gets a grant of purity 
 
 land from government, securing a deed to him at on mat 
 
 the end of three years, if he has then cleared at «r ca 
 
 least five acres, and built a house, &c. Many of fiently 
 
 the new settlers have still nothing to show for pr 
 their land except these tickets. Hitherto they jects o 
 have been considered sufficient, but now the pail 
 
 House of Assembly have resolved, that none are ie go 
 
 to be permitted to vote, unless they have deeds ms 
 in their possession. is you 
 
 During the former provincial parliament, some electa 
 
 diversity of opinion existed between the two lise c 
 
 branches of the legislature; but in 1821, when war 
 
 the new parliament assembled, greater unanimity feer 
 
 prevailed. This afforded great pleasure to all, luetic 
 
 but especially to the governor, who, in his speech must 
 
 at the end of the session, amongst others made the i 
 
 use of the following expressions : — and L : 
 
 Ci 
 

 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 207 
 
 “ Having characterized this session of Parlia- 
 ment, the first since the late augmentation in your 
 respective bodies, by great unanimity in the dis- 
 charge of your important duties, you will, I 
 trust, carry into your several counties a disposition 
 which will lead you to cultivate a spirit of har- 
 mony and good will among all classes and de- 
 scriptions of their inhabitants. 
 
 « Let me recommend that you should also in- 
 still into the minds of your fellow-subjects the 
 duty of a ready and conscientious discharge of 
 those local services which the laws require for the 
 general advantage and convenience, and that you 
 should give, by your countenance and support, all 
 the weight in your power to the authorities 
 appointed for the enforcement of obligations so 
 important. In those parts of the provinces with 
 which you are severally connected, you will, I 
 doubt not, render your presence an additional 
 security against the progress of misrepresentation 
 on matters of public concern, of which, in who- 
 ever cause it may originate, experience has suffi- 
 ciently demonstrated the evil tendency. The su- 
 perior information you naturally possess, of sub- 
 jects of general importance, and your nearer 
 acquaintance with the views and principles of 
 the government, will at times enable you, by 
 means of honourable and manly exertion, such 
 as you, I am persuaded, would emp.oy, to expose 
 effectually any delusions which might be other- 
 wise calculated to mislead the judgments of the 
 unwary You must be sensible that such a just 
 discernment of their real interests, as recently in- 
 fluenced the great mass of this loyal people, 
 must ever be in the highest degree unpor ant for 
 the undisturbed enjoyment of your fud rights 
 and liberties, and that it must prove the best se- 
 
 5 
 
208 LETTERS FROM PERTH, &c. 
 
 curity for the permanence of that internal tranquil- 
 lity which is so essential to the diffusive existence 
 of private happiness, and the healthful growth of 
 those advantages which, in their maturity, constU 
 tute the greatness and felicity of a country.” 
 
 LI 
 
 i 
 
 At 
 
 sene? 
 io for. 
 appes 
 las it 
 Al 
 same 
 
 tniigi 
 obtai 
 form: 
 build 
 lo til 
 acres 
 ol)ta : 
 
 flic 
 
 Ci 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TO 
 
 LETTERS FROM PERTH, 
 
 BY A. BELL, 
 
 A SON OF THE AUTHOR* AND NOW IN SCOTLAND. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 At my father’s desire, I add to the foregoing 
 series of letters a few of my own, containing such 
 information as, since I came to this country, has 
 appeared to me would he useful, and which he 
 has not given. 
 
 Although government does not now give the 
 same encouragement to settlers as formerly, yet 
 emigrants from Great Britain or Ireland may still 
 obtain land from government, on condition ol per- 
 forming the settling duties. These consist of 
 building a house, clearing half of the road opposite 
 to their own land, and clearing and cultivating five 
 acres of the land within three years. They then 
 obtain a title-deed on the payment of certain fees, 
 which now amount to about L.3, 10s, 
 
210 APPENDIX. 
 
 Canada certainly affords great advantages to 
 emigrants. Hardships and difficulties they must toold ; 
 and will experience at first, as all new settlers do. ijenen 
 
 But after a few years labour they will come to en- j?rs cans 
 
 joy an independence, to which the members of an fierarl 
 over-crowded and manufacturing population are purest 
 entire strangers. This is a subject worthy of the joveyio 
 attention of the people of Britain ; but one great $dsu 
 difficulty is, that many who wish to emigrate to effort 
 
 Canada are ignorant of the course they ought to attlieii 
 
 pursue. With a view, therefore, of throwing some id a ft 
 little light upon this subject, I shall give a few di- leave 
 
 rections with regard to the voyage out, the settle- ^ am 
 
 ment on lands, and the mode of agriculture at ssary: 
 
 present practised in the province. ^iittc 
 
 Emigrants coming to Canada, ought to leave ae. 1 
 Britain in the spring with the first vessels that mkclc 
 .sail. They ought, if possible, to take a vessel go- Wtt! 
 ing directly to Canada. Many go by New York tone: 
 
 or Halifax ; but this is a bad plan if they intend $ple 
 
 to come to Canada, as the conveyance of baggage, key 
 
 by this route, will prove very expensive; much oat thi 
 
 more so than the other way. And they ought al- rere \i 
 
 ways to sail from the western coast of Britain if neces? 
 
 possible, as sailing from the east coast takes longer ough 
 
 time, and besides is much more dangerous. If there mg k 
 
 is any considerable -number of people in the same Thee 
 
 neighbourhood who intend to emigrate, they ought, ^anti. 
 
 if possible, to form themselves into societies, as ffl08 t c 
 
 those settlers did who went out a few years ago y ? 
 
 under the care of government. By doing so, they sear 
 
 will be able to charter a ship for themselves, and mi 
 
 provision themselves. In this way, they will ob- ^icl 
 
 tain their passage for one-half, or perhaps one- , a 
 
 third what it would cost them, were they to take these 
 
 their passages by single families from masters of th eiT 
 
 ships, and be provisioned by them, as it in these ^ 
 
 cases seldom costs less than L.8 or L.10 for grown 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 
 211 
 
 up people, and half for children. Though they 
 should provision themselves, the ship-owners will 
 in general provide water and fuel, as the passen- 
 gers cannot so conveniently provide these as the 
 other articles. Before going away, all their fur- 
 niture should be disposed of, as the expense of 
 conveying such articles as chairs, tables, and bed- 
 steads up the river, will cost far more than they 
 are worth. They ought to take nothing with them 
 but their clothes, cooking utensils, crockery ware, 
 and a few other necessary articles. They ought 
 to leave behind them every thing of a bulky na- 
 ture, and take nothing but what is absolutely ne- 
 cessary ; and all that they do take with them 
 ought to be packed in stout boxes of a convenient 
 size. They ought to be especially well provided 
 with clothing for winter. In summer they need 
 but little, and that little of the slightest materials. 
 Flannel shirts are worn by many of the common 
 people both summer and winter ; in the former 
 they dry up the sweat, and in the latter they keep 
 out the cold. The weather is sometimes very se- 
 vere in winter, and then thick woollen clothing is 
 necessary, with which all going to that country 
 ought to" be well provided previously to their leav- 
 ing home, for there all such articles are very dear. 
 The cotton goods taken out ought to be of a sub- 
 stantial quality, that they may wear well. The 
 most of those sold there are of a flimsy kind. In- 
 deed, the females among the old settlers seldom 
 wear a cotton dress about their household employ- 
 ments, as the wood fires throw out many sparks, 
 which seldom fall on a cotton dress without burn- 
 ing a hole in it, if they do not set it on fire. For 
 these reasons, they often wear woollen dresses of 
 their own manufacturing. In many farm-houses 
 a loom is to be seen, the manufacture of clothing 
 being the principal employment of the females, 
 
212 
 
 appendix. 
 
 when they can be spared from cooking and olhcr 
 domestic concerns. 
 
 Emigrants should convert all the money they 
 possess into Spanish dollars, or English guineas 
 or sovereigns. The dollars pass in Canada for 
 five shillings, and sovereigns at L.l, 2s. fid. The 
 guineas are valued according to their weight, and 
 pass at from twenty-two to twenty-four shillings. 
 All other gold and silver coins rise in value much 
 in the same proportion when brought into the pro- 
 vince; but these are most common and the most 
 convenient for carriage. This rise in value is al- 
 lowed by law, in order to encourage the importa- 
 tion of specie into the colony. Copper coins of 
 all descriptions, pence, halfpence, farthings, and 
 pieces of every sort, and belonging to every na- 
 tion, pass at the value of a halfpenny, and are 
 called by the genera! name of coppers. 
 
 People who have never been at sea before are 
 generally sea-sick. Various remedies have been 
 prescribed for this disagreeable disorder ; but none 
 of them have fully answered the ends for which 
 they were intended. No cure can be proposed 
 lor it, except going a long time to sea, and getting 
 so accustomed to a seafaring life that it produces 
 no effect. The best way, however, to prevent it, 
 is to remain as much as possible in the open air. 
 
 After being confined a long time to bad water 
 at sea, most people are apt to drink rather too 
 freely of good fresh water when they get it first. 
 J hose who go to Canada, ought to beware of 
 drinking too much of the fresh water of the river 
 St. Lawrence, when they come first up to it, as, 
 from its effects on those who are not accustomed 
 to it, it is liable to cause a flux. 
 
 Upper Canada being more favourable for Bri- 
 tish emigrants than Lower Canada, they mostly 
 » 1 go up there. They ought to proceed upwards 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 213 
 
 with the least possible delay* as the earlier in the 
 season they get upon their land the better. Steam- 
 boats sail from Quebec to Montreal almost every 
 day, so that there is no occasion for any long de- 
 lay at Quebec. The navigation of the river for 
 several miles above Montreal, is obstructed by 
 rapids, so that their baggage will have to be con- 
 veyed by land a distance of nine miles to La Chine, 
 a village at the head of the rapids. 1 here is a 
 canal cutting round these rapids, which, when fi- 
 nished, will be very beneficial to the country in 
 general. At La Chine, they will get boats to 
 convey them to Prescott or Kingston. The navi- 
 gation of the St. Lawrence between La Chine and 
 Prescott being obstructed by numerous rapids, it 
 is only fit for small cralt, and of these there are 
 two kinds employed on it, batteaux and Durham 
 boats. The batteaux are large, open, flat-bot- 
 tomed boats, navigated by French Canadians, 
 generally five or six to each. The Durham boats 
 are a sort of small sloops, navigated by Americans. 
 The batteaux are by far the safest conveyances. 
 The voyage from La Chine to Kingston, a dis- 
 tance of two hundred miles, takes in general about 
 seven or eight days. 
 
 There is still a great deal of land along the at. 
 Lawrence to give away ; but it is a considerable 
 way back from the river. There is a land Board 
 in every district, to whom all applications for land 
 are made. They meet only once a month, but 
 their secretary can at all times give any informa- 
 tion that is wanted. In every settlement formed 
 under the immediate care of government, there is 
 a land office, and some person is appointed to su- 
 perintend the affairs of the settlement, to whom all 
 applications are made, and who is constantly m 
 attendance. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ^37 
 
 214 
 
 To whatever part of the province settlers in- tfl° v 
 tend to go, they should push forward as quick as nf® 01 
 possible, as those who come last have always the 
 disadvantage of going farthest back in the woods. 
 Those, however, who purchase or rent lands in W 
 the improved parts of the country, succeed far Sef° rin 
 
 better than those who at first plunge into the fo- ^ as ^' 
 
 rest, and engage in employments, the nature of :emeiit. 
 
 which they do not understand. The manner of J sett! 
 
 renting a farm in this country is generally this: . iff L 
 
 The landlord, besides the land and houses, finds jatoBi 
 
 cows, horses, farming utensils, and perhaps seed :ere, til 
 
 for the first year; the tenant does all the labour, ;beset 
 
 and the produce of the farm is divided between i far as 
 
 them in such proportion as shall have been agreed aentrec 
 
 upon, generally equally. This is a good plan for sroyec 
 
 emigrants, at first, as even though they should :£rock 
 
 afterwards go into the woods, and take land of jofar 
 
 their own, they will then have some knowledge of inter,: 
 the mode of agriculture practised in the country, jebarr 
 and will have some stock to begin with on their Mai 
 own farms. jepara 
 
 Emigrants ought at first, if possible, to pur- tainj! 
 chase or rent land on which some improvement kmc 
 has been made. Few, indeed, are able to pur- Kido 1 
 
 chase ; for most of the settlers that go out there and c 
 
 are at first poor : but, if they have any ready Earl 
 
 money at all, a farm may now he obtained at a if the 
 
 very low rate, even lower than the improvement iedi; 
 
 cost. Farms containing 100 acres may be bought Man 
 
 at from 50 to 400 dollars, according to their situ- j sett 
 
 ation and goodness. But they should be cautious inej 
 
 about buying land upon a location ticket, that is* feta 
 
 without a deed. As government will not recog- iedi 
 
 nise these sales, new’ comers are very apt to be foot! 
 
 deceived by appearances. The cheapness of land There 
 is a temptation to the purchase, which they can- uj ^ 
 
 not resist ; and they very often lay out their mo- ag 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 SIS 
 
 
 ney to very little purpose. They ought not to 
 buy more land than they need for the present ; 
 for land will not rise in value as long as grants 
 from the crown can be so easily obtained. 
 
 That vou may, however, have some idea of 
 the formation of a new settlement, I shall give 
 you a sketch of the beginning of the Perth set- 
 tlement. The first emigrants who went to 
 this settlement went out from Scotland in 1815, 
 under the care of government. When they 
 got to Brock ville, they were lodged in the barracks 
 there, till it could be determined where they were 
 to be settled. Most of them wished to proceed 
 as far as Lake Erie ; but the agents of govern- 
 ment recommended lands, which were soon to be 
 surveyed, about forty-five miles to the north-west 
 of Brockville. As the season was now, however, 
 too far advanced to proceed to the land before 
 winter, it was resolved that they should remain in 
 the barracks till the spring. In the meantime, 
 several new townships were surveyed, and other 
 preparations for their settlement were made. 
 During the winter, the more industrious part of 
 them dispersed themselves through the country, 
 and obtained employment, some from the farmers 
 and others from mechanics. 
 
 Early in the spring of the next year (1816) aparty 
 of the men, along with some surveyors, and under 
 the direction of a Captain M‘Evar, went to mark 
 out and cut a road to the land on which they were 
 to settle. The new townships which had been 
 surveyed were Bathurst, Drummond, and part of 
 Beckwith. The country, for about one half of 
 the distance, was settled and partly cleared. But 
 the other half of their way lay through the forest, 
 where there was not the least trace ol a road, 
 and where no people of any civilized nation had 
 ever lived. As they had some sledges with 
 
216 
 
 appendix. 
 
 provisions along with them, which could not be 
 brought through the woods, they were obliged to 
 find their way in the best manner they could along 
 the rivers and lakes which lay in that direction, 
 upon the ice. They reached the place where the 
 town of Perth now stands, on the afternoon of 
 the 22d of March. The snow was then between 
 two and three feet deep, and the weather very 
 cold. Here, in the midst of an immense forest, 
 and many miles from any human habitations, they 
 were obliged to sleep in the open air. They 
 made themselves beds on the snow, of the small 
 twigs and branches of the hemlock trees, and, 
 buried in these, with large fires on each side of 
 them, they passed their first night’s residence in 
 Perth settlement. 
 
 As soon as possible, they built some huts to 
 hold the stores, and then proceeded to mark out 
 and clear the road though the woods, to the front, 
 which occupied them the greater part of a month. 
 During this time they experienced great hard- 
 ships, having to sleep in the cold open air, with- 
 out any covering, after working hard all day, 
 often up to the knees in water. One man was 
 taken very ill, from fatigue and cold. His com- 
 panions set out to carry him to his family at 
 Brockville, but he died by the way. 
 
 When they had got the road through, they 
 brought in their families, received their land, and 
 built huts for themselves. It was now rather late 
 for them to think of getting much crop in, but 
 however the most of them cleared a small piece, 
 and planted some potatoes. 
 
 The most of these people were settled together 
 along both sides of the line between Burgess and 
 Bathurst ; and from the circumstance of so many 
 Scotch people being settled together, that line 
 was called the Scotch Settlement . The land they 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 217 
 
 got was in general good, but very level. The 
 two new townships are watered on the front by 
 the Tay, and several other smaller streams, and, 
 on the back, by the Mississippi, which is a very 
 considerable river. 
 
 A piece of land containing 400 acres, in the 
 south corner of Drummond, was set apart for the 
 town, and divided into small lots. Men who had 
 been hired from the front settlements, built a 
 Government storehouse, and an office for the Su- 
 perintendent of the settlement and his clerks. 
 Merchants now began to come in and settle in 
 the town. Articles of every description were ex- 
 cessively dear, partly from the great expense 
 attendant on the transportation of goods from the 
 front, and partly from a circumstance which takes 
 place in almost every new settlement, namely, the 
 advantage which is taken of the necessities of the 
 settlers. Flour was twenty-two dollars a barrel, 
 wheat four dollars a bushel, and potatoes two ; 
 the four pound loaf half a dollar, and other things 
 in proportion. It is true they iiad the Govern- 
 ment allowance of provisions, but yet they had 
 a number of other necessary articles to buy. 
 
 The ljjjtle crop the settlers had put in, in a 
 great measure failed, on account of the smallness 
 of their clearings, being all shaded by the sur- 
 rounding woods, so that they yet received little 
 benefit from it. 
 
 During the summer, and in the autumn great 
 numbers of emigrants, and about 1200 soldiers, 
 came to the settlement, and received land. In 
 
 1817, several new townships were added to the 
 Perth settlement, and they were soon filled up by 
 emigrants, who were continually thronging in. In 
 
 1818, a settling establishment was begun at Rich- 
 mond, and in 1820 another at Lanark, and the 
 
218 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 population has now increased to upwards of 
 
 8000. 
 
 This settlement, in case of another war with the 
 United States, will be a place of the utmost secu- 
 rity; and should that event happen, it will be a 
 place of great importance. It will not only be 
 the route by which the government and merchant 
 stores will be conveyed to the upper part of the 
 province, but it will be the resort of all who are 
 not actively engaged in the war, and the depot of 
 all the valuable moveable property of those on the 
 frontier. There was a vast destruction of pro- 
 perty all along the front during the last war ; but 
 this is a hardship from which the inhabitants of 
 these settlements will be exempt. From its situ- 
 ation, and other advantages which this place pos- 
 sesses, it would be almost impossible to take it, 
 and it would likely be the last place in the pro- 
 vince that would )ield. Before an enemy could 
 come into it, he would have to defeat the whole 
 force on the banks of the St. Lawrence, come 
 through a large extent of forest, and cross a large 
 lake, which he could not avoid, as it extends up 
 and down the country a distance of upwards of 
 thirty miles, and at the narrow passes. of which 
 forts will most likely be built ; and then, the coun- 
 ty has four regiments of miiitiamen to defend it, 
 a good many of whom have been actively engaged 
 in a military life before. 
 
 There is now no land worth settling upon to 
 give away, within the bounds of this settlement; 
 but there is a range of new townships, lying be- 
 hind the Lanark settlement, which are now giving 
 away ; and wdien these are all filled up others 
 will be surveyed. This will be a very good situ- 
 ation, as it lies upon the Grand River, and will 
 have a very easy water communication with Mont- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 
 *19 
 
 real. By and by, however, when the Perth set- 
 tlers have received their deeds, there will most 
 likely be a number of farms offered for sale ; and 
 emigrants who have a little ready money, would 
 find it more to their advantage to purchase these, 
 if in good situations, than to go so far back into 
 the woods. The land in the Perth settlement is 
 well fitted for agriculture ; hills are to be met 
 with, but they are neither numerous nor high. 
 
 All the country hereabouts lias evidently been 
 once inhabited by Indians, and for a vast number 
 of years too. The remains of fires, with the bones 
 and horns of deers lying round them, have often 
 been found several inches under the black mould, 
 formed on the surface of the soil by the decayed 
 leaves which fall from the trees every autumn. A 
 large pot made of burnt clay, and highly orna- 
 mented, was lately found near the banks of the 
 Mississippi, under a large maple tree, probably 
 two or three hundred years old. Stone axes have 
 been found in different parts of the settlement. 
 Skeletons of Indians have been several times found, 
 where they had died suddenly or had been killed 
 by accident in the woods. One was found in a 
 reclining posture, with its back against a hillock, 
 and a rough-made stone tobacco pipe lying be- 
 side it. 
 
 Although it is only a few years since this settle- 
 ment was begun, it is astonishing to see what im- 
 provements have taken place. The woods are 
 beginning to disappear, and luxuriant crops are 
 seen instead of them. Good roads are making in 
 various directions. All the settlers have good 
 and comfortable, and many of them handsome 
 houses of their own; and the county already 
 contains three flourishing towns. 
 
 In short, if this settlement improves as fast for 
 t o 
 
 Lt r* 
 
220 APPENDIX. 
 
 a few years to come, as it has in those that are 
 past, it will form one of the most important parts 
 of the Upper Province. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 A great many settlers prefer going pretty far 
 up the country, as the farther up they go the cli- 
 mate is milder. Numerous new settlements have 
 been formed, and are now forming, on the banks 
 of Lake Erie, more than five hundred miles from 
 Montreal. Those emigrants who wish to go so 
 far up the country will get steam-boats at Prescott 
 or Kingston, to take them up to York. Here 
 there is a land-office, at which applications lelative 
 to the land in all the surrounding country have to 
 be made. At this office emigrants get tickets 
 with the numbers of several lots, which they are to 
 look at, and take the one they like best ; and the 
 families should be left at some convenient place 
 till this is done. 
 
 In choosing a good lot of land, the emigrant 
 ought first to look to the quality of the land, and 
 see that it is dry, and the soil rich. The quality 
 of land can always be known by the kind of tim- 
 ber that grows upon it. The best is covered with 
 maple, beech, and a large proportion of baswood, 
 (a tree pretty much the same as the limetree m 
 this country.) The land covered with pine and 
 hemlock is in general a barren sand ; and where 
 there is a deal of red elm, it is always rocky. 
 The dry land only is cultivated at first ; but it 
 once the settlers had time to cut drains through 
 

 APPENDIX. 
 
 221 
 
 the swamps, and let off the water, they will, in 
 general, be the best land. Many of them, which 
 would otherwise be dry enough, are formed by t le 
 water from the higher ground being prevented 
 from making its escape, by fallen timber and hil- 
 locks of earth. Those of them covered with cedar 
 
 are sandy; where ash grows they are clayey ; and 
 
 those covered with timenck are a soft black soil. 
 Always the more fertile the land is, the larger the 
 
 timber upon it is. , , 
 
 The other things which constitute a good lot 
 are, that there is a possibility of getting a good 
 road into it— ’.hat it is near neighbours— that it has 
 either a running stream, or a spring of water in it 
 and that it is near a navigable river, near a 
 
 town, near a mill, Src. „ . , , 
 
 A new comer, when looking for land, ought 
 
 always to get some person who is ac q ual "^ ' vl 
 the country to go along with him ; and he should 
 likewise take a pocket-compass with him. Ihe 
 roads and the boundaries of the lots are marked but 
 by blazes, i. e. a chip taken off each side of the 
 trees all along the line ; and by not pay insuffi- 
 cient attention to these, it often happens that a 
 new comer will lose his way in the woods. When 
 this happens, he will no doubt be much alarmed, 
 but he ought to keep his mind as calm and com- 
 posed as possible, and avoid hurrying himself ; 
 for if he does this, and gives way to fear and per- 
 plexity, he will bring on a state of mind little 
 short of insensibility. In the summer there wit 
 be little danger of starving though a person should 
 be lost for a short time, as there are a great many 
 kinds of roots and berries in the_woods, which will 
 sustain life for a few days. By recollecting m 
 what direction the inhabited country is from him, 
 a person who is lost in the woods may steer his 
 course out with a pocket compass, or if he has 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 T37 
 
 £22 
 
 none, by the appearance of the trees. Large trees 
 have always moss on the north sides of them, and ’ 
 their largest limbs are generally on the south side. a 
 
 The longest branches of birch trees, by which In. ^ 
 
 dians are said to steer their course through the P rocee 
 
 woods, point eastward. If he cannot find his way 
 in this manner, there are several other methods 
 w hich he may try. If he happens to find a stream jeul. 
 
 of water, or a blaze, by following it he may be 3ite( * 
 
 led out into the settled country, or, perhaps, to f ^ a 
 
 some place which he has seen before, and from ^ ol 
 
 which he may find his way. Or should he find fc' 1 ' 
 
 any cattle in the woods, by chasing them they {$* 
 
 will run homewards; and then, if he follows the f 
 
 them, he may be extricated from his unpleasant they 
 
 situation. However, if once a person has been 
 settled in one place for a considerable time, and isgt 
 
 lias made observations respecting the situation of don 
 
 his lot, and the direction in which the sun rises fa 
 
 and sets from his shanty, there will be little dan- roof 
 
 ger of him 'losing his way, even though he does log 
 
 venture a considerable way into the woods. lou 
 
 Having pitched upon a lot to please him, the low 
 emigrant must return to the land-office, to get, s\4 
 
 what is called, a location ticket . This contains to 
 
 the number of the lot, empowers him to take th 
 
 possession of it, and tells what are the conditions pe 
 
 on which it is to be his. If he finds a lot in a ses 
 
 place in some degree settled, there will likely he bu 
 
 a road cleared ; but if not, all those who settle to- ho 
 
 gether, in the same place, will join together and at 
 
 dear one. All that is done to the roads, in the th 
 
 first instance, is to clear away the brushwood, and bi 
 
 perhaps throw down a tree, to walk on, across a ac 
 
 wet place. Q , 
 
 He may take his family to his land, either * 
 
 then, or wait till he has got a house built. Should jj 
 
 lie take them in the first instance, he can erect a a 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 
 223 
 
 wigwam in a few hours, with poles, brush, and 
 bark, in which they may reside for a short time, 
 till a better habitation is got ready. Having 
 selected a proper situation, he must, first ol all, 
 proceed to erect a dwelling-house. He will cut a 
 number of straight logs, at the length required, 
 and when he has cut a sufficient number, he will 
 o-et them drawn to the spot with oxen, or be as- 
 sisted by his neighbours to carry them in. He 
 will next raise what is called a bee , that is, a col- 
 lection of his neighbours, to assist him in raising 
 his house. Whenever a person needs help, he 
 <rets all his neighbours to assist him, and repays 
 the favour, by giving them his assistance when 
 they need it. * The house is built, by laying the 
 loo-'s across one another at the corners, and notch- 
 ing them about half through, so that they are let 
 down close to each other, and hold one another 
 firm in their places. The next step is to get a 
 roof put upon it, and this is done in the follow- 
 ing manner : Baswood logs are cut as long as the 
 house is broad ; these are split in two, and hol- 
 lowed out in the middle, and laid close, side by 
 side with the hollow sides uppermost, across the 
 bouse, the front of which is made rather higher 
 than the back. Others with the round side up- 
 permost are laid upon these, so as to cover the 
 seams between them, and thus not only a strong, 
 but a completely water-tight roof is formed. A 
 hole is next cut through the logs for a door, and 
 a door hung in it ; windows are seldom or never 
 thought of at first in the woods. Some stones are 
 built-up against one of the walls to burn the fire 
 againstf and to keep it off the logs, and a chim- 
 ney to carry off the smoke, is made of boards or 
 wicker work, and plastered over with c ay 1 he 
 fires in this country are all burnt on the hearth, 
 at least on iron or stones only so far raised off it 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 2£4 
 
 as to admit the air below the wood. A floor of 
 split planks is then laid, the interstices of the logs 
 in the wall are filled with moss or clay, and 
 thus is completed, what is called by new settlers 
 a shanty . There ought not to be much labour 
 spent on these, more than merely to make them 
 comfortable, as after a few acres have been clear- 
 ed, some more eligible situation for building may 
 be discovered, and then, too, there will be more 
 leisure for attending to the building of a good 
 house. As soon as the emigrant has got a place 
 to live in, he must begin to clear land for crop; 
 and the first he clears should be round the house, 
 so that there may be no danger of any trees being 
 blown down upon it. The clearing of land is 
 done in the following manner : In the first place, 
 the underbrush, and all the small trees, less than 
 four or five inches thick, are cut close by the 
 ground, cut into pieces, and thrown into heaps. 
 1 here is always a great quantity of timber lying 
 on the ground, which has been blown down by 
 the wind, and which must be cut up. The next 
 step is to cut down the large trees, which is done 
 by making a cut half through the tree, about 
 three feet from the ground on the side to which 
 it leans, and then cutting it on the other side till 
 it falls. It should be so cut as to fall clear through 
 between the other trees, for if it should lodge up- 
 on another, it will be dangerous cutting that one 
 down for fear of the other one falling. People who 
 are very careless often get themselves hurt, and 
 some are even killed this way. As soon as a tree 
 is cut down, it is cut into logs twelve feet long, 
 and its branches are thrown into heaps. In this 
 manner, the whole of the piece intended to be 
 cleared is gone over, and not a tree must be left. 
 Some have recommended cutting only the under- 
 brush and girding the large trees, that is, cutting 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 225 
 
 a notch all round them so that they die, as the 
 best way for new settlers to do ; as the way that 
 they will get most crop in, and which will cost 
 them least labour. But this is a very bad plan, 
 because the trees in this country, from being so 
 closely crowded together, grow to an immense 
 height, and, of course, when they are left exposed 
 to the wind, and are notched in a piece at the 
 root, they are apt to be blown down, and, besides 
 spoiling the crop, they may, in their fall, kill cat- 
 tle, or perhaps people themselves. The crop is 
 much inferior, both in quantity and quality, to 
 that raised in an open clearing ; and then, after 
 all, the trees will have to be cut some time or 
 other. Those of the logs that are most easily 
 split, generally baswood, are split into rails and 
 drawn off. The remainder of the wood, when 
 sufficiently dry, is set fire to. All the brush and 
 small stuff is clean burnt off, and the large logs 
 are then rolled together, or drawn together with 
 oxen, and piled up in heaps and burnt. Ihe 
 decayed leaves, and the remaining rubbish, is 
 raked into heaps and clean burnt off. A fence 
 between five and six feet high is put up about the 
 field, and it is then ready for crop. 
 
 A good workman will cut down and prepare 
 for burning the timber upon an acre in a week, 
 but most new settlers, when they first come, 
 take a month. Taking men as we generally find 
 them, a fortnight is a fair average. When the 
 timber is all chopped upon new land, the work of 
 clearing is considered half done. The putting of 
 the logs in heaps, burning them off, and making 
 the land ready for the seed, takes as much labour 
 as the chopping, and is a very dirty employment. 
 The fencing takes about one half the labour of 
 any of the other parts. The chopping, burning, 
 and fencing of an acre, is now done for from 
 
2>(y 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 twelve to sixteen dollars, and about six years ago 
 it cost upwards of twenty. 
 
 The ashes of the burnt wood are carefully pre- 
 served and sold to the potash manufacturers, and 
 they in general fetch sixpence a bushel. Some- 
 times when the land has been covered with heavy 
 timber, and all hardwood, there is such a quan- 
 tity of ashes that it will almost pay for the clear- 
 ing of the land. The settlers generally make 
 their own soap ; and it is done in the following 
 manner : A barrel with a small hole in the bot- 
 tom of it, is fixed up about two feet from the 
 ground, and filled nearly full of ashes. Water 
 is then repeatedly poured into it, and this dissolv- 
 ing the alkali contained in the ashes, and holding 
 it in solution, runs through the hole in the bot- 
 tom, and is caught in a tub. The ley of a bar- 
 rel of ashes, boiled along with ten pounds of tal- 
 low, till it is of a proper consistence, produces 
 about forty pounds of very good soft soap. 
 
 There is a vast quantity of potash annually 
 made in Canada, and, as an account of the man- 
 ner in which it is manufactured may perhaps be 
 entertaining to you, I shall describe the process. 
 The alkali is extracted from the ashes in the man- 
 ner already described, but on a much larger scale. 
 A number of large vessels, called leeches , into 
 which the ashes are put, are ranged upon a sort 
 of a platform of boards, the ends of which slope 
 downwards into a large trough which receives the 
 ley. The manufactories are always built upon 
 some running stream, and the water is raised by 
 a pump, and distributed among the leeches by 
 wooden gutters. The ley is boiled in large boil- 
 ers, tiii the watery parts are all evaporated. It 
 is, in this state, called black salts. It is then 
 heated to a high degree, till it is completely fused. 
 By this process, all the impurities contained in 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 22 T 
 
 the potash are consumed, and, upon cooling, it 
 becomes perfectly white. It is then fit for the 
 market. 
 
 letter hi. 
 
 Those who begin to clear early in the sum- 
 mer, and are any way industrious, may easily 
 have two or three acres ready lor fall wheat, 
 which is sown about the end ot September or the 
 beginning of October. The seed is steeped a 
 short time in ley* and then rolled in lime or ashes. 
 
 It is then sown at the rate ot one bushel and a 
 quarter to an acre, and is harrowed in with a tri- 
 angular drag, or where oxen or horses cannot be 
 had in new settlements, it is hoed in ; new land 
 needs no other preparation. After this, till spring 
 commences, they should employ the most of their 
 time in chopping land for spring crop. It can be 
 burnt off in spring soon enough tor planting. 
 Except during a few very cold days, chopping 
 wood is a comfortable employment in winter, as 
 the weather is always dry in that season. 
 
 A Piece of new land, when ready for crop, is 
 verv different, both in its nature and appearance 
 from the land in Britain. The first thing that 
 strikes a person who looks over a new cleared field 
 is the appearance and the number of the stumps. 
 As it would cost too much labour and time to 
 take out the trees by the roots at first when they 
 fLh thev are cut off about three feet from 
 U e ground, and the stumps are left standing till 
 I Kv rot. Hardwood stumps become so rotten 
 in the course of seven or eight years, that they 
 
228 
 
 APPENDIX* 
 
 can easily be taken out, but the stumps of pines, 
 hemlock, and all the other species of fir, stand 
 quite fresh for thirty or forty years. The next 
 thing that strikes the attention is the unevenness 
 of the surface. There are, of course, natural in- 
 equalities in the surface, but the principal cause 
 of it is the rooting up of trees by the wind, and 
 which tear up a large lump of earth with them. 
 Some of these trees have fallen such a long time 
 ago, that they are entirely rotten away, not a ves- 
 tige of them is to be seen, and nothing remains 
 but a hillock of earth, and a hole by the side of 
 it. The soil, of whatever kind it is, is covered 
 with a stratum of rich black mould, four or five 
 inches thick, composed of the decayed leaves and 
 other parts of vegetables. This forms an excel- 
 lent manure for the land, which needs no other 
 for several years. From the number of roots 
 which the ground contains, the distance they run 
 in the ground, and their immensely numerous 
 ramifications, the surface of the ground is com- 
 pletely matted like a turf; but after it has 
 been once cultivated, it is entirely loosened. 
 Rough as the ground at first seems, new settlers 
 are very glad to get it that length. 
 
 In the end of March and beginning of April, 
 the sap of the maple trees is in circulation, and all 
 hands are employed making sugar. Some who have 
 provided troughs enough to collect the sap, make 
 from 100 to 500 pounds weight. In cold or rainy 
 weather, the trees do not run their sap freely ; but 
 when there is a sharp frost in the night, and a 
 warm sun during the dav, the operation succeeds 
 well. 
 
 2 he first thing is to make troughs, which are 
 generally made of black ash, a sort of wood very 
 soft, and easily worked, and of quite a different 
 nature from the ash in Britain. A tree, about 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 223 
 
 a foot thick, is cut into lengths of three feet. 
 These pieces are split through the middle, and the 
 halves hollowed out with an adze, and the ends 
 left about two inches, and the sides and bottom 
 half an inch. A place, containing a large pro- 
 portion of maple trees, commonly called a sugar 
 bush, is then selected, and the trees are tapped. 
 
 A hole, an inch and a half, or two inches wide, 
 is bored in the south side of the tree. Below this 
 a little way a cut is made with a large gouge, and 
 a spout of the same size and shape put into it ; 
 and a trough is then put under it to receive the 
 sap. Some people have as many as two hundr 
 tre P es running at once, and every tree will yieh 
 from two to three pounds of sugar m a seaso . 
 
 It requires, in general, about six ga ons o 
 to make a pound of sugar. Some idea of the 
 strength of the sap may be had from this circum- 
 stance, that the ip i/ its natural s^te is just of 
 a proper sweetness for making tea , u 
 er a tree is run, its sap grows the sweeter. A - 
 though the season for making sugar lasts little 
 more° than a month, there are often not more than 
 half a dozen days very favourable to making i . 
 A proper place having been selected m the centre 
 of the sugar bush for boiling the sap, a shed is 
 erected to serve as a shelter for those who attend 
 it ; a large fire is made, and the sugar kettles hung 
 1: of these there ought .Levs at la. .to . be 
 two ; one to boil the sap into molasses, and into 
 which the raw sap is to be put ; the other to bo 
 , t f When it is almost well 
 
 » p»‘ 'V » hkh 
 
 Zls up .I' the hupunties 
 
 that they can b ' J k "" C [ n "[ n . little taken 
 
 in water,) it is poured into moulds, if intended to 
 
230 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 be kept in cakes ; and if it is wished soft, it is 
 stirred till cold, or poured into some vessel with 
 small holes in the bottom of it, when the moist 
 parts of it drain off* in molasses, and leave the su- 
 gar dry and in a soft loose state. The trees run 
 little or none during the night, but as the sap 
 cannot be boiled up so quick during the day as it 
 runs, those who are attending to it must boil both 
 night and day ; and every sugar-bush must have 
 a reservoir to collect the sap into : this is a large 
 log hollowed out, so that it will contain several 
 hundred gallons. If care is taken in boiling the 
 sugar not to burn it, it can be made equal in 
 whiteness to any West India sugar. It has rather 
 a different taste ; but it probably derives its pe- 
 culiar taste from the sort of wood of which the 
 troughs are made. It can be obtained during the 
 season of making it, at fourpence a pound. 
 
 Good vinegar is also made with maple sap. It 
 is boiled into about one-sixth ; some yeast is put 
 into it to begin fermentation ; it is exposed in a 
 stout cask to the heat of the sun during summer, 
 and by next spring it is fit for use. 
 
 The end of April, the month of May, and part 
 of June, is the usual seed time. Potatoes, Indian 
 corn, wheat, rye, beans, pease, turnips, pumpkins, 
 melons, and cucumbers, are among the produc- 
 tions first reared upon new land. Many of those 
 who settle there are at first poor farmers, but ex- 
 perience teaches them sometimes to their cost, 
 1 he soil of Canada is as good as any of North 
 America, and is capable of producing not only 
 the necessaries of life, but many of its luxuries ; 
 
 i n t ^ le fertilit y the soil can do little without 
 skill to manage it properly. Settlers ought al- 
 ways to make a garden, as its productions will 
 greatly add to their comfort. Few kinds of gar- 
 en stuffs will succeed the first year, as the ground 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 231 
 
 is not sufficiently cultivated. Melons arid cu- 
 cumbers, however, will, and do come to as great 
 perfection in this country as in any other part ot 
 the world. They are very refreshing during the 
 great heats in summer, and ought to be attended 
 to by all new settlers. The hoe is almost the cmy 
 implement of husbandry employed on new land ; 
 the ground is so full of roots, that neither a spade 
 nor a plough could do any thing in it. 
 
 Spring wheat and rye ought to be among the 
 first things sown. Rye is sown upon poor land 
 that will not bear wheat. They are reaped in the 
 end of July, or beginning of August; three months 
 beinor, in general, sufficient time for bringing a 
 crop 0 of spring grain to maturity ; and it is then 
 secured in barns, this being the custom of the 
 
 C ° Indian corn is planted in the last half of May. 
 Drills are made about three or four feet separate, 
 and the grains are dropped into these, about a 
 foot from each other. When it is about a foot 
 high it is weeded and hoed ; and the suckers 
 which grow out from the roots of the stalks are 
 nulled C As soon as it begins to ripen, the tops 
 are cut off the stalks, that the ears of the corn 
 may be more exposed to the sun, and ripen more 
 uuickly. When ripe, which is known by the 
 husks that surround the cars turning quite dry, 
 and of a yellow colour, the ears are pulled lie 
 husks are taken off them, and they are either 
 spread upon a floor, or tied in bunches and hung 
 i!n to dry ; after which the corn is rubbed off. 
 The stalks are afterwards cut and secured 
 
 The Indian corn being thinly planted, in order 
 10 admit air, pumpkins are planted here and there 
 . it 'These spread themselves all over the 
 cl. and thus tw. crop, aro 
 raised at the same time. The pumpkins are a 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 2X2 
 
 very useful article in domestic cookery ; and in 
 feeding cattle they far surpass turnips. An acre 
 cultivated in this manner will produce from thirty 
 to forty bushels of corn, about a thousand pump- 
 kins, averaging each from twelve to forty or fifty 
 pounds weight, and the stalks, which will be about 
 a ton of excellent fodder. 
 
 Potatoes are cultivated much in the same man- 
 ner as Indian corn. A few are planted for early 
 use as soon as possible in the spring; but, for a 
 general crop, they are not planted till near the 
 end of June. Those planted at this time will far 
 surpass in size, quantity, and quality, those plant- 
 ed two months earlier. They are generally co- 
 vered so deep when planted, that they need no- 
 thing else done to them till they are taken up in 
 October. 
 
 The Americans have another way of planting 
 potatoes and Indian corn, in what they call hills. 
 Four or five sets of potatoes, or grains of corn, 
 are laid down together, and a hillock of earth is 
 made over them about four inches deep and 
 eighteen broad ; and these are made about four 
 feet from each other. They plead that this mode 
 is more suited to the climate than the other. I 
 have, however, for the sake of experiment, tried 
 the two ways together, and have found that there 
 is little or no difference, and if any, it is in favour 
 of the drill husbandry. This method certainly 
 has the advantage of the other, when ploughs are 
 used. 
 
 Turnips are sown about the middle of July ; 
 and when it is a favourable season for them, they 
 generally turn out well; but as they are some- 
 times rather a precarious crop, their place is much 
 better supplied by pumpkins. 
 
 The frost is so intense in winter, that turnips, 
 potatoes, pumpkins, and all kinds of crop that 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 233 
 
 would be injured by it, have to be kept in cellars 
 and root-houses under ground. 
 
 Beans and pease succeed very well, but espe- 
 cially when cultivated in drills, and put pretty 
 deep into the soil. French beans are more ge- 
 nerally cultivated, and succeed better, than any 
 
 0th i r s haU d not, however, enlarge upon the manner 
 of cultivating every particular article, as it will be 
 uninteresting to those who have no intention of 
 visiting that country, and to those who g 
 thither, a single day spent where the various kinds 
 of work are going forward will be of more value 
 than a whole volume of written instructions 
 
 As the land is not at first fit for the plough, on 
 account of the roots of the trees, it is, in general, 
 after one or two crops have been taken oft it, laid 
 downTith grass, and new land is every year 
 cleared for crop, till once there is as much cleaied 
 as intended So be farmed. This affords an op 
 portunity for rearing a large stock of cattle. A 
 Cr may keep as many cattle as he can feed 
 through the winter, for they cost him nothing m 
 summer ; they run in the woods, and feed on ten- 
 der shoots of the young trees, all umnclosed lands 
 beino- common. On this kind of feeding the cows 
 do not give so much milk as those m Britain, but 
 it is of°a better quality, and yields a great deal 
 more butter. Cattle must have provender pro- 
 vided for them nearly one half of the year; but 
 as settlers have but few at first, they may easily 
 provide for them. In the woods there are nume- 
 
 C meadows, containing from three or four to 
 liftv acres of land, covered with wild grass. On 
 these new settlers can make as much hay in a few 
 i c ns their cattle will need thiough winter. 
 
 illoS dams, on small rivets, cans* tho to 
 
23i APPENDIX. 
 
 overflow the low lands in the spring, and prevent 
 the growth of trees ; and from this circumstance 
 they are called beaver meadows . Besides this 
 wild hay, the cattle feed a good deal during the 
 winter, on the small twigs of the trees that are cut 
 down, and of which they are very fond. They 
 ought now and then to get a little salt, or else 
 they will not thrive ; and being accustomed al- 
 ways to get it, they become excessively fond of 
 it. And they ought to have sheds erected for 
 them to lie in during the winter, and so placed as 
 to shelter them from the north-west wind, which 
 in that country is the coldest. 
 
 When fifty or sixty acres have been cleared 
 upon a lot, the rest may be left for a sugar bush, 
 for fire- wood, &c. By ‘this time, the piece of land 
 that was first cleared will be fit for the plough. 
 The smaller stumps, and the extended roots^of 
 the larger ones, will now be very easily taken out, 
 so that the plough, in the hands of one who is a 
 little accustomed with this kind of work, will meet 
 with but little obstruction. The plough at first 
 used among the stumps is a kind called the hog 
 plough. It is a very stout clumsy sort of imple- 
 ment, has no coulter, and is calculated for not go- 
 ing very deep. 
 
 I he glass used in this country is a species call- 
 ed I imothy or fox-tail grass, a sort better adapt- 
 ed to the climate than any other. The rye-grass 
 commonly used in Britain has not sufficient roots 
 to draw up nourishment for itself during the hot 
 season, and in consequence of this it is quite wi- 
 thered up. The Timothy, however, having tre- 
 mendous roots, succeeds well in a hot climate. 
 
 If a person be any way industrious, he mav 
 raise as much provision the first year as to support 
 us family and have some over for sale ; and the 
 next year he may be able to sell a large quantity. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 23 S 
 
 There is always a little market for farming pro- 
 duce among newly come settlers, and some few 
 who do not farm at all, so that money or other 
 necessaries can be got in exchange for the surplus. 
 
 In a few years he will have a number of sheep, 
 the wool of which the female part of the family 
 can manufacture into clothing. 
 
 The Americans and the Canadians, who have 
 been a considerable time upon their land, make 
 all their own clothing, from the wool of their 
 sheep, and from flax and hemp, which there grow 
 very well. They depend little or none at all 
 upon the markets, making almost every article 
 they use themselves, and in this our settlers must 
 imitate them if they intend to succeed. 
 
 Emigrants generally form too high expectations 
 of the country before they see it, because they 
 are too apt to compare it with their own. The 
 consequence is, when they see bad roads and 
 bridges, miserable huts, and the hard labour in a 
 new settlement, most of them become discontented 
 and discouraged, and wish they had remained at 
 home. But the first appearance of it is the worst ; 
 they soon become reconciled to their new situa- 
 tion, which every year improves in comfort, and 
 they lay aside all thoughts of returning to their 
 native country. Many of our settlers labour hard 
 at their first settlement ; but the prospect of free- 
 dom and independence adds oil to the wheels of 
 exertion. The climate, generally speaking, agrees 
 well with British constitutions, and many of the 
 inhabitants live to a great age. Cases of fever and 
 ague sometimes occur ; but they are, in most in- 
 stances, among those who obstinately persist in 
 using stagnant water during the hot season of the 
 year. Those who take the trouble of digging a 
 well, which in general may be easily done, soon 
 obtain excellent water, which may be safely used, 
 if not taken in too great quantities when a person 
 
236 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 is overheated. If settlers be contented, and get 
 through their difficulties the first two or three 
 years, there is little fear of them afterwards, for by 
 this time they are acquainted with their new mode 
 of living and working. They are getting into a 
 stock of property of different kinds, which is al- 
 ways increasing ; and their attachment to the 
 land, which has been the scene of their labours, 
 becomes every year stronger. 
 
 The winters in Canada are very severe, though 
 not nearly so much so in the Upper as in the Low- 
 er province, the spring opening at least six weeks 
 earlier in the former ; but, from the constancy and 
 serenity of the weather, they are upon the whole 
 very pleasant. At first, while clearing land, this 
 is the most suitable time for chopping the wood. 
 A man at exercise of this sort, can keep himself 
 very comfortable even in very cold weather. Af- 
 terwards, however, when the settlers have got 
 their farms cleared, they are not so busy, having 
 little to do besides cutting firewood, and taking 
 care of their cattle. 
 
 Thus, in a few years, when settlers have got a 
 good part of their farms cleared and brought un- 
 der cultivation, they may live in a sort of inde- 
 pendent state. Having no rents to pay, they may 
 with ease, if they are industrious, raise enough 
 for their support. Money to be sure is not very 
 plentiful ; but, as they do not live upon it, this is of 
 no great moment when they have every thing else 
 they need. All the necessaries of life, and many 
 of its luxuries can be raised there ; and, if people 
 were contented, they might live as comfortably in 
 that country as in any other on the surface of the 
 globe. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by A. Ralfour & Co. 
 
 1824. 
 

 
Cx 
 


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