Columbia ©nitwito tnttjfCttpuflftegark LIBRARY IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 263 HISTORICAL SECTION. 325.11 IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER I CANADA , 1784-1812—.ITS CHARACTER AND RESULTS. Lieut.-Col. E. Cruikshank, Fort Erie. | T 1 ’P ] The purpose of this paper, as its title indicates, is an attempt to jpraise the volume and influence of immigration from the United I ;ates from the close of the American Revolution until the begin- : ng of the war of 1812, which undeniably marks the end of an I och in the history of this province. The first permanent settle- nlent actually began a hundred and twenty years ago on the west | ,nk of the Niagara river, on and around the site of the present ■ij wn of that name, under the personal direction of Lieut.-Colonel S a Butler, then in command of the noted corps of loyalists known Jutler’s Rangers. Since the date of the conquest there had been sffort to reoccupy any of the French posts, and the small and nportant stockade called Fort Erie was the only military station lin the present Province of Ontario. A stray white trapper a time to time pitched his tent or built a hut on the northern 'e of the lakes, but there had been no serious attempt at settle- Lt anywhere. a the winter of 1778-79, Butler had erected a large log building Niagara, which was occupied by his battalion as its winter - rters for the next five years, and ever afterwards known as Rangers’ Barracks. The great difficulty experienced in sup- ing the garrison and a numerous body of refugee loyalists who sought shelter there, induced General Haldimand to propose establishment of a settlement in the vicinity. Finally, Lieut. - onel Mason Bolton, the commandant at Fort Niagara, reported 4th March, 1779, that “ an opportunity now offers to make a inning by encouraging some of the distressed loyalists lately ived at this port for His Majesty’s protection. With the little jk they have brought, the second year they might support IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 263 HISTORICAL SECTION. 3 ^ 5.11 c u IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA, 178J.-1812—ITS CHARACTER AND RESULTS. Lieut.-Col. E. Cruikshank, Fort Erie. The purpose of this paper, as its title indicates, is an attempt to appraise the volume and influence of immigration from the United States from the close of the American Revolution until the begin¬ ning of the war of 1812, which undeniably marks the end of an epoch in the history of this province. The first permanent settle¬ ment actually began a hundred and twenty years ago on the west bank of the Niagara river, on and around the site of the present town of that name, under the personal direction of Lieut.-Colonel John Butler, then in command of the noted corps of loyalists known as Butlers Rangers. Since the date of the conquest there had been no effort to reoccupy any of the French posts, and the small and unimportant stockade called Fort Erie was the only military station within the present Province of Ontario. A stray white trapper from time to time pitched his tent or built a hut on the northern shore of the lakes, but there had been no serious attempt at settle¬ ment anywhere. In the winter of 1778-79, Butler had erected a large log building at Niagara, which was occupied by his battalion as its winter- quarters for the next five years, and ever afterwards known as the Rangers’ Barracks. The great difficulty experienced in sup¬ plying the garrison and a numerous body of refugee loyalists who had sought shelter there, induced General Haldimand to propose the establishment of a settlement in the vicinity. Finally, Lieut.- Colonel Mason Bolton, the commandant at Fort Niagara, reported on 4th March, 1779, that “an opportunity now offers to make a beginning by encouraging some of the distressed loyalists lately arrived at this port for His Majesty’s protection. With the little stock they have brought, the second year they might support 264 HISTORICAL SECTION. themselves and families, and the third year they might he useful to this post.” During the next summer the country of the Six Nations was devastated by Sullivan’s army, and its whole population thrown back upon Fort Niagara for subsistence. On September 13th, Haldimand formally applied for leave to form a settlement, which was approved by Lord George Germain, in a despatch dated 17th March, 1780, and received sometime in June. After conferring on the subject with Butler, who was then in Quebec, Haldimand authorized Bolton to begin the settlement, in a letter dated 7th July, 1780. The settlers were to hold their lands from year to year. No rent was to be required of them. They were to be furnished provisions for twelve months, with all necessary seed- grain and agricultural implements, The produce of their farms over and above what was required for their own maintenance was to be sold to the garrison at prices fixed by the commandant. On the 17th December, 1780, Butler reported that four or five families had taken up lands and built houses. A year later he stated that the settlers had maintained themselves since Septem¬ ber, 1781, having drawn only half rations for some time previous. A return of 16th August, 1782, showed that sixteen families, num¬ bering sixty-eight persons, had settled. They had cleared 236 acres and had grown that year 1,178 bushels of grain and 630 bushels of potatoes. They already possessed a considerable num¬ ber of horses, horned cattle, sheep and swine. A few months later they united in a petition to the Governor, praying for leases or other security for the tenure of their lands and protesting against the regulation obliging them to sell to the garrison at prices fixed by the commanding officer. Still, the number of settlers steadily increased, and the quantity of cleared land was officially reported next summer as 713 acres. The negotiations for peace failed to inspire these exiles with much hope of returning to their former homes, and, in fact, Colonel Butler declared that none of his men “ would even think of going to attend courts of law in the colonies where they could not expect the shadow of justice . . . and that they would rather go to Japan than go among the Americans where they could never live in peace.” Finally, in June, 1784, the remainder of his battalion was dis¬ banded after seven years’ service. But Lieut.-Colonel DePeyster, who had succeeded to the command at Fort Niagara, reported at the close of the month that the disbanded men were slow to signify IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 265 their desire to cultivate Crown lands, and that he had only about one hundred names on his list. “They seem to dislike the tenure of the lands,” he added, “ and many wish to fetch their relations from the States by the shortest route. I have permitted some of the most decent people to wait your Excellency’s pleasure on that head, but last night seventy of the people who refused to sign went off without leave, with the intent never to return.” Eventually a majority of the Rangers decided to remain, and within another month the roll of actual settlers at Niagara had swollen to 250, making with their families a body, of 620 persons. Before winter set in their numbers were considerably increased by the return of comrades, and the arrival of friends and relatives driven from New York and Pennsylvania by the persecution to which they were subjected. During the late summer and autumn of the same year another body of 1,568 disbanded soldiers and other loyalists, chiefly belonging to the Royal Regiment of New York and Jessup’s and Rogers’ corps, settled in nine townships assigned to them on the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, between Point au Baudet and the Bay of Quinte. Nearly two thousand others were dispersed at Montreal, Chambly, St. John’s, Sorel and the Bay of Chaleur, while about three thousand had sailed for Cape Breton. A number fled from Pittsburg and Redstone to Detroit, and settled in conjunction with some of the disbanded Rangers on both sides of the river. Within a year more than ten thousand loyalists were settled west of the Ottawa. According to General Campbell’s muster of 4th November, 1784, not less than 28,347 had arrived in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, while the former white inhabitants of those provinces did not exceed fourteen thousand, of whom the greater part had also come from New England, and are described as having “ discovered during the late war the same sentiments which pre¬ vailed in.that country.” A very large proportion of these immigrants were unquestion¬ ably people of education and high character. The list of proscribed citizens of Massachusetts is said by Mr. Tyler to read “ almost like the bead-roll of the oldest and noblest families concerned in the founding and building of New England civilization.” The exiles from other colonies were not less numerous and respectable. “ There were, in fact,” as Mr. Hosmer frankly states, “no better men or women in America as regards intelligence, substantive good purpose and piety.” 266 HISTORICAL SECTION. But their losses and suffering during seven years of civil strife had inspired them with an almost implacable animosity for their triumphant enemies. They had risked their lives and fortunes for the maintenance of a great empire comprising the whole British race, and as a penalty were doomed to end their days in poverty and obscurity. One of the Commissioners deputed by Congress to superintend the evacuation of the city of New York was moved to comment upon the impolicy of driving them out in a truly pro¬ phetic strain. “ We shall find a city destitute of inhabitants/’ he wrote to Washington, “and a settlement made upon our frontiers by a people, whose minds being soured by the severity of their treatment, will prove troublesome neighbors, and perhaps lay the foundations of future contests which, I suppose, would be for the interest of our country to avoid.” The memory of their wrongs was not readily effaced, and as late as 1794 we find Lieut.-Governor Simcoe declaring that there were few families among the inhabitants of Upper Canada “ who cannot relate some barbarous murder or atrocious requisition on the part of the rulers of the United States.” The number of immigrants that came in during the five or six years following the conclusion of peace, who were generally known by the rather disparaging title of “ late loyalists,” was undoubtedly considerable, but no precise statistics are available. It would pro¬ bably have been much greater had the tenure of the lands been placed on a satisfactory footing. Long, whose book of travels was published in 1791, states that “the settlements in Upper Canada bid fair to be a valuable acquisition to Great Britain, and in the case of a war with the United States will be able to furnish not only some thousands of veteran troops, but a rising generation of a hardy race of men whose principles during the last war stimulated them to every exertion at the expense of their property, family and friends. There was,, however, when I resided in that country one cause of complaint, which, though it may not immediately affect the welfare and pros¬ perity of the present inhabitants, or an increase of population to the unlocated lands, is big with impending danger. All the land from Point au Baudet (the beginning of the loyalist settlements on the St. Lawrence), to the head of the bay of Kenty, which at this period, I am informed, contains at least 10,000 souls, is said to be liable to the old feudal system of the French seigneuries, the lords of which can claim title to receive some rent or exercise some IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 267 paramount right, which though it may he at present very insigni¬ ficant and perhaps may never be insisted on, yet renders every man dependent on the lord of the manor, and in process of time as land becomes valuable the raising of these rents or exercise of these rights may occasion frequent disputes.” In December, 1784, and again in April, 1785, these settlers had petitioned that the district lying to westward of Point au Baudet should be separated from the Province of Quebec, and that “ the blessings of British laws and of the British Government and an exemption from the French tenures may be extended to the said settlements.” They renewed their appeal in a series of loyal addresses in November and December, 1786, and about a year later the magistrates of Cataraqui, in a letter to Sir John Johnson, concurred in representing that “ the object which first presents itself as of the most importance is the tenure of the lands. The conditions on which they have been granted to the loyalists in this province are so different from what they have been used to, and so much more burdensome than those offered to our fellow-sufferers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, that they are universally dis¬ agreeable.” Major Mathews, who had been sent to inquire into the com¬ plaints of the inhabitants, indicates in his MS. diary, under date of 31st May, 1787, that similar dissatisfaction extended even to the settlements at Niagara. “ This day came in eight or ten men from the States to see their friends, said to be good loyalists and wishing to settle with them. With regard to the settlement at this post (Niagara), it appears to be in the same thriving and prosperous state below, but notwith¬ standing the testimony of loyalty and good order given by the settlers, attested in their offer of assistance to Major Campbell in defence of this post, a few of them hold the principles and doctrines of Mr. McNiff*. Major Campbell is well informed of them, and has a watchful eye upon their conduct. Colonel Butler told us these dis¬ contents amongst the settlers proceeded from what they consider to be an improper choice of the commission of the peace, wishing themselves to have the nomination of their civil officers and to hold committees for the choice of them and other interior management of the settlement, agreeable to a letter to that effect which it seems was circulated from Mr. De Lancy through all the upper settle¬ ments, and which is considered by all the gentlemen in opposition to that doctrine with whom I have conversed, to have been the 268 HISTORICAL SECTION. origin of the McNiff party. . . . They are also jealous of the tenure in which they hold their lands, and cannot reconcile the idea of the Canadian one.” At this time the Land Board for Niagara seem to have exercised some discrimination in allotting grants, as the minutes record that the Board proceeded to examine “ into the loyalty and more par¬ ticularly into the character of all such persons as appeared before them. To such as were approved they administered the oath of allegiance, and directed the surveyor to give them a ticket specify¬ ing the quantity of land to which they and their families were entitled.” By this time the Quakers and similar religious societies in the Middle States began to consider the advantages of removing into a land, where, to use the language of the British consul at Phila¬ delphia, “ they can enjoy once again the blessings of His Majesty’s Government, and be exempt from those evils which a relaxed system of la,ws, a ruined trade, and oppressive taxes have brought upon them. . . . Already has the country of Canada presented itself. Some have explored it, and many others may be induced to follow and accept the terms of colonization there held out. Most of the people I allude to are of the sect called Quakers.” On 10th November, 1789, he added that “ some very useful citizens have migrated into Canada from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and it has been hinted to me that there are many others ready to follow if they were encouraged; the late scarcity in Canada gave some check to the disposition to migrate thither, but I am con¬ vinced it would soon revive if advantageous terms of settlement were promulgated and generally known; a measure, however, which, as it would be viewed with a very jealous eye by the United States, requires very discreet and careful management.” We possess an official return of the number of persons who ■entered Canada by way of Oswego between 1st May, 1789, and 1st November, 1796, making an aggregate of 819, of whom 265 were on their way to Niagara, 400 to Kingston, and 154 to Lunenburg. Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe brought out a battalion of about 430 officers and men, which seems to have been chiefly composed of American loyalists who had emigrated to England and availed themselves of this opportunity of returning to America. It was disbanded in 1805, and nearly the whole corps settled in Upper Canada. Simcoe displayed great activity in promoting emigra- IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 269' tion from the United States from the day of his arrival. Before leaving Quebec he issued a proclamation offering free grants of land in the new province to persons desiring to become settlers. In one of his earliest despatches to Mr. Dundas he states that he had been assured by a correspondent in Pennsylvania that a large number of persons in that State were disposed to remove to> Upper Canada, and that this agent had “ held out to them that language of encouragement” which Simcoe had directed him to- use. The Rev. Samuel Peters, a loyalist of Connecticut, had already been recommended by him as the Anglican bishop of the- Province, and he had proposed that Mr. Peters should be authorized to return to that State to invite the loyal clergy of the Church of England and such Puritan divines as would accept its doctrines, to remove thither with their parishioners. He had since been assured by persons living in Connecticut that the “ ecclesiastical establish¬ ment suggested by him would be the most likely means of obtaining emigration from that country, although the delay of Great Britain in giving a free constitution to Upper Canada had made a sensible- alteration in the disposition of the Loyalists there.” He also- pointed out that while it was understood that all persons born in the United States before the independence of the country was- recognized, were entitled at any time to resume the full privileges- of a British subject after taking the oath of allegiance, this right did not extend to their children born in the United States since the treaty of peace, and suggested that an Act should be passed for their relief. Mr. John Munro, of Lunenburg, had already reported that immigrants were flocking in with all their property from the United States, and Simcoe determined to send a confidential agent to communicate with a large body of Quakers, who “had intimated their desire to remove to Canada, but were too wary to commit their views to writing.” He still anticipated that the influence of the Anglican clergy in Connecticut would be the means of pro¬ moting immigration from a state which was already over-popu¬ lated, and requested that his proclamation might be reprinted in various West Indian newspapers as the best means of circulating it in the United States, “ the land-jobbers of which are industrious- in preventing them from being diffused from this country.” An efficient provision for higher education was also of the highest- importance, as otherwise “ the gentlemen of Upper Canada will have to send their children to the United States, where by habit, intercourse and assiduous design in their instructors, their British) 270 HISTORICAL SECTION. principles will be perverted and the loyalty which glories in the honest pride of having withstood all the tempests of rebellion will be totally undermined and subverted.” Dundas, however, was not strongly inclined to second Sim- coe’s ambitious designs for promoting immigration, as on the 12th July, 1792, he replied: “ With respect to great emigration I am of the opinion that in the very infancy of the Province such emigration would not be productive of all the good results your mind would suggest. Popu¬ lation is often the effect, but never the cause of prosperity, espe¬ cially an ingrafted population, outrunning all laws, regulations, usages, and customs which govern us and go hand-in-hand with a progressive and regular population. I have said this not to check emigration from the United States, but that there is every appear¬ ance of sufficient numbers coming from there of their own accord without going out of your way to entice or allure them. If care is taken to render the situations settled under your care comfortable, their fame will naturally spread and attract a sufficient emigration. Nothing could be more justly offensive to other nations, and especially the neighboring States, than to make the emigration of their subjects a professed and avowed object of our Government.” To this Simcoe rejoined that he had never harbored the idea that the British Government should encourage immigration by an “overt act which might justly offend that government which he was con¬ vinced lay in wait to take advantage of such conduct,” bat unless the Province was peopled it could not pay its way for many years. The immigrants from the United States, he said, were fully aware that they must be industrious, and from experience were generally superior to Europeans. He continued to report from time to time that there was every prospect of a very large immigration, and announced that he had promised to the Quakers, Tunkers, and Mennonites the same exemptions from military service that thev had formerly enjoyed under the British Government. Mr. Peters sent out from London 51 families of loyalists, con¬ sisting of 186 persons who were settled at Kingston and in the adjacent township of Pittsburg. In 1793 Simcoe considered it expedient to deviate from his original policy of granting not more than 200 acres to any one person. Entire townships were then granted to individuals or associations of persons who undertook to introduce a satisfactory number of settlers. The township of Haldimand was granted to IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 271 Abel and Hazel ton Spencer; the township of Murray to Jacob Watson, Stephen Graham, John Barker and Ebenezer Cooley; the township of Hope to Jonathan and Abram Walton and Elias Smith; the township of Hamilton to Marshall Jones and others; the township of Bristol to Andrew Price, Samuel Jarvis and others; the township of Cram ah e to Silas Hodges and others, and the township of Clarke to Jasper Murdock. During the same year a settlement in the vicinity of Long Point was authorized for the convenience of a body of loyalists “ of the most determined principle ” from Pennsylvania and Maryland, who had despatched agents to signify their intention of removing into the Province. An epidemic among the settlers on the Genesee River is stated to have checked immigration into Canada by that route; but many of the inhabitants of that region had lands allotted to them in Canada, and announced their intention of immigrating as soon as possible. A preference for the British Government was assigned by some as their chief motive, but the majority appeared to be mainly influenced by the extortions of the land-jobbers and dread of the neighboring Indians. The arrival of a party of loy¬ alists from North Carolina is recorded, who had learned to their surprise on arriving at the Genesee that the King still possessed dominions in North America. De la Rochefoucauld states that many immigrants came from Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont, and that their principal object was to escape taxation. He thought Simcoe was too eager to people the Province to be very particular as to qualifications. The Governor’s reception of a family of settlers they accidentally encountered on their arrival at Niagara, with their oxen, cows and sheep, is thus described : “We come,” they said to the Governor, whom they did not know, “ to see whether he will give us land.” “ Aye, aye,” he replied, “ you are tired of the Federal Government. You do not like to have so many kings. You want your old father. You are perfectly right. Come along. We like such good Loyalists as you. We will give you land.” On the other hand, Isaac Ogden, of Connecticut, who visited Upper Canada in 1795, states that “the authorities are cautious in receiving Republicans from the States, and wish only to encour¬ age husbandmen and laborers. Clergymen, lawyers, physicians and school-masters are not the first characters who would be fostered. Many congregations would have been formed and schools opened if the policy in this respect had been different.” 272 HISTORICAL SECTION. The prospect of a war with the United States lessened the stream of immigration, and the conflict with France diverted the attention of the Ministry. The retirement of Simcoe was generally lamented as a serious blow to the welfare of the Province. “ As soon as he was gone,” says Gourlay, “ not only were all his schemes set aside, but the engagements which he had entered into were grossly violated. Men of capital and enterprise had come into the Province duly furnished with cattle and implements to commence the settlement of townships granted on condition that they should be settled, had these taken from them and 1,200 acres of land offered in lieu thereof. Some accepted of this and re¬ mained, others went off in disgust to proclaim the perfidy of the British Government. Governor Simcoe had sent forth proclama¬ tions liberally inviting settlers into Upper Canada, and all that he did should have been ratified. One of his schemes was in every way judicious yet most wantonly marred. He had lined out a grand highway, which was to run from one extremity of the Pro¬ vince to the other, connecting his military posts and naval estab¬ lishments. This he called Dundas Street, and part is represented on the map. He had no money wherewith to open this, but his purpose was to grant the margin to actual settlers on condition of each making good the road so far as his grant extended. Settlers sat down at different parts along this proposed grand thoroughfare and fulfilled their engagements, only, to be grievously disappointed. The moment Simcoe was recalled, the ungranted lots along Dundas Street were seized by the people in power.” However, Simcoe’s own letters prove that before his departure he had become convinced of the impolicy of making large grants of lands to “ leaders who seek settlers indiscriminately amongst people not to be trusted,” and he complained that “ a multi¬ tude of land-jobbers in the United States, from President Wash¬ ington, who was then advertising his own lands as the cream of the country, down to the lowest class of adventurers, were doing everything in their power to hinder emigration to Canada by con¬ stantly vilifying the country and endeavoring to render its govern¬ ment odious.” Hon. Peter Russell, who administered the government for three years, was so easily satisfied by applicants that Simcoe’s successor in office as Lieutenant-Governor, General Peter Hunter, averred that he “ would have granted lands to the devil and all his family as good loyalists providing they were able to pay the fees.” Dur- IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 273 ing his administration a, second wave of immigration had set in, mainly composed of Quakers, Tunkers and Mennonites from Penn¬ sylvania and New Jersey, mingled with some less desirable settlers who had been involved in the “ Whiskey Insurrection ” in the former state. John Maude, an English traveller, relates that in July, 1800, he met two families near Bath, N.Y., on their way to Niagara. “ Their intention is to seek shelter under the British Government from the tyranny of the United States. ‘ We fought seven years to get rid of taxation and now we are taxed more than ever. D—n my eyes,’ said one of these sons of freedom, ‘ was we now to have another war with England, if I would act so like a d—d fool as I did the last.’ ‘ How like a fool, friend ? ’ ‘ Why, d—n me, to fight against them.’ These families were from the disaffected countries of Penn¬ sylvania. Hundreds of them have removed, are removing, and will remo.ve into Upper Canada, where they will form a nest of vipers in the bosom that fosters them.” A man named Ransom, living on Lewiston Heights,, informed Maude that he had counted 155 families in waggons that had passed his house during the summer on their way into Canada. “ You would be astonished to see the people from all parts of the States by land and by water,” Thomas Merritt wrote from Niagara on 16th July, 1800, “two hundred and fifty waggons at a time, with their families on the road, something like an army on the move; the goodness of the land is beyond all description, there is the best of crops this season I ever saw, promising plenty.” Major William Graham, of Yonge Street, late a captain in the Duke of Cumberland’s Provincial Regiment, writes on 29th March, 1802, to Hon. D. W. Smith: “ I am sorry to find in the dispositions of several of the inhabi¬ tants of Yonge Street, and in particular those‘from the Northern States, that they show a very great contempt to the officers of the Government, both civil and military, and it is their whole desire to have the election of all their own officers. Mr. Wilson and I mean to wait on the Governor and Council to point out a few of the most officious ones amongst them. As for Fish and little Hide, the school-masters, they use all their efforts to poison the minds of the youth by teaching them in Republican books, and in particular the third part of Webster’s History. Nothing would give me more pleasure than for you and other officers of the Government to look on pages 113 to 149 of the Third part of Webster’s History. 18 274 HISTORICAL SECTION. “ Youths educated in such books will by and by have the privi¬ lege of voting members for our Assembly and filling the House with their own kind, and when that is the case what may the Governor and Council expect but trouble. As I had the misfor¬ tune to live in Maryland before the rebellion in America I was an eye-witness of the steps they took.” Colonel Talbot, in a letter of 27th October, 1802, declares in his usual sweeping fashion, “ that the population of the Province, con¬ sisting of refugees from all parts of the United States, may be thus classed—1. Those enticed by a gratuitous offer of land with¬ out any predilection on their part to the British Constitution. 2. Those who had fled from the United States for crimes or to escape their creditors. 3. Republicans whose principal motive for settling in that country is an anticipation of its shaking off* its allegiance to Great Britain. These three descriptions of persons, with a few exceptions, comprise the present population.” D’Arcy Boulton, whose “ Sketch of His Majesty’s Province of Upper Canada” was published in 1805, states that “Americans are continually coming in and speculating in lands. Some have made 1,000 per cent, in three years. I could instance cases where for land purchased for $10 or $12, a lot being 200 acres, in twelve or fourteen years £300 was refused. The bulk of the inhabitants are Americans.” In another place he remarks that “ many settlers have come from the United States, some even from North Carolina, but there is a space of country between Niagara and the Genesee where the roads are not sufficiently open for waggons. The mode of settlement adopted is for two or three men coming in together in the summer who raise a log-house, each putting in a field of wheat and returning for their family. They who move by land bring their families as far as the mouth of the Genesee, then take boats and send their cattle by land.” The townships on Lake Erie, he adds, were settling very fast. A very rare pamphlet, entitled “ A Description of Upper Canada in a letter to Lord Castlereagh,” dated 24th October, 1809, states that Americans were “ coming into the Province from all quarters bringing their families and connexions with them.” Abstracts of the grants of land during the first eleven years of the century show that the total number was 11,728, comprising 2,803,071 acres. If each grant represented the family of a bona fide settler, this might be taken to indicate an immigration of 50,000 or 60,000 persons. IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 275 Michael Smith, in his “ Geographical View of Upper Canada,” published early in 1813, estimates that “ one out of twelve of the inhabitants of Upper Canada are natives of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and all the children of such born in Canada make the proportion a little more than two out of ten. There are about an equal number of those who took part with the King in the Revo¬ lutionary War, who with their children born in Canada make about one-sixth part of the inhabitants; the rest with their children are Americans. Or, in o'ther words, if all the people were divided into ten equal parts, eight parts would be natives of the United States with their children born in Canada and two parts of these eight would be what are now called Loyalists (though born in the United States before the war) with their children born in Canada. The other six would be natives of the United States and their children born in the Province. Within the term of twelve years the inhabitants of the Upper Province have increased beyond conjec¬ ture, as the means of obtaining land have been extremely easy.” The inhabitants of the Eastern and Johnstown Districts were almost entirely Scotch Highlanders and Loyalists, but the recent American settlers appear to have formed an actual majority in all the other districts except, perhaps, that of Niagara, where the Loyalists and their descendants were numerous, and the Western, where there were many French-Canadians. In the Home, Midland, Newcastle and London Districts the recent immigrants from the United States outnumbered all the other inhabitants at least two to one. Two-thirds of the members of the Assembly and one- third of the magistrates were natives of the United States, and as the juries were selected in rotation from each township as the name stood upon the assessment rolls, a majority of these were usually Americans. American travellers agreed in reporting that they had observed among the inhabitants “a determined partiality to the United States and a decided and almost avowed hostility to the British Government.” Christian Schultz, who visited the Province in 1807, found six or seven farmers in a tavern near Presqu’Isle, on Lake Ontario, discussing the recent attack on the frigate Chesapeake, of which they had just been informed. “ They seemed disappointed,” he observes, “ that I did not think it would lead to war when they expected to become part of the United States.” Subsequently, in a public house at Niagara, when eight or ten persons were present, 276 HISTORICAL SECTION. a man declared publicly in his presence : “ If Congress will only send us a flag and a proclamation declaring that whoever is found in arms against the United States shall forfeit his lands, we will fight ourselves free without any expense to them.” About the same time, in fact, we find Lieutenant-Governor Gore informing Sir James Craig : “I think I may venture to state that the generality of the inhabitants, from Kingston to the borders of ^the Lower Provinces, may be depended upon, but I cannot venture from the industry that has been used by certain characters now and lately in this province, to assert that the inhabitants about the seat of this Government, Niagara and Long Point, are equally to be relied on. I have also to observe that, excepting the inhabitants of Glengarry and those persons who have served in the American War and their descend¬ ants, which form a considerable body of men, the residue of the inhabitants of this colony consist chiefly of persons who have emigrated from the States of America, and of consequence retain those ideas of equality and insubordination much to the prejudice of this government, so prevalent in that country.” John Melish, as the result of his observations in 1810, states his conviction “ that if 5,000 men were sent into Upper Canada with a proclamation of independence, the great mass of the people would join the American Government.” This opinion prevailed widely among his countrymen at the beginning of the century. In March, 1806, Jacob Crowninshield, of Massachusetts, formerly Secretary of the Navy, declared in Congress that “ the States of Vermont and Massachusetts will ask no other assistance than their own militia to take Canada and Nova Scotia.” President Jefferson assured Turreau, the French ambassador, in July, 1808, that “if the English do not give the satisfaction we demand we will take Canada, which wants to enter the Union, and when together with Canada, we shall have the Floridas, we shall no longer have any difficulties with our neighbors, and it is the only way of preventing them.” On 22nd February, 1810, Henry Clay told the United States Senate: “ The conquest of Canada is in your power. I trust I shall not be deemed presumptuous when I state that I verily believe that the militia of Kentucky are alone competent to place Montreal and Upper Canada at your feet.” In the debate on the report of the Committee on Foreign Rela¬ tions in December, 1811, the leaders of the war party in Congress IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 277 fairly vied with each other in boasts of the ease with which the conquest of Canada might be effected. Mr. Grundy said: “We shall drive the British from our conti¬ nent. I am willing to receive the Canadians as adopted brethren.” General Widgery made the amazing declaration, “ I will engage to take Canada by contract. I will raise a company and take it in six weeks.” John Randolph, who was in opposition, observed on the last day of the discussion, that ever since the report of the committee had come into the House, “ we have heard but one word —like the whip-poor-will, one monotonous cry—Canada ! Canada ! Canada!” Recent events in the Floridas did not fail to be construed as highly significant and encouraging by the advocates of the annex¬ ation of Canada. In 1810 a body of real or pretended American settlers in West Florida organized an insurrection and marched upon Baton Rouge, the capital. They killed the Spanish governor and took the town, which was promptly occupied by a body of regular soldiers of the United States, under pretence of restoring order. On the 3rd August, 1811, General Matthews wrote from St. Mary’s, in Georgia, to the Secretary of War: “I ascertained that the quiet possession of East Florida could not he obtained by an amicable negotiation with the powers that exist there ; . . . but that the inhabitants are ripe for revolt. They are, however, incompe¬ tent to effect a thorough revolution without external aid. If two hundred stand of arms and fifty horsemen’s swords were in their possession, I am confident they would commence the business, and with a fair prospect of success. These could be put into their hands by consigning them to the commanding officer at this post, subject to my order. I shall use the most discreet management to prevent the United States from being committed, and though I cannot vouch for the event, I think there would be little danger.” What answer was returned may be conjectured from subsequent events. On 16th March, 1812, two hundred self-styled insurgents crossed the river and summoned the town of Fernandina to sur¬ render, while an American gunboat took up a position to cover their movements. The governor of the place inquired whether the commander of the gunboat intended to assist the insurgents, and upon being assured that he did, at once capitulated. Three days later Matthews took possession of Fernandina with a company of United States regulars to restore order. They made no secret of their expectations that Canada might be 278 HISTORICAL SECTION. overrun in a similar manner. Replying to a speech from Randolph on 6th May, 1812, Calhoun exclaimed: “ So far from being unpre¬ pared, Sir, I believe that in four weeks from the time that a declara¬ tion of war is heard on our frontiers, the whole of Upper and part of Lower Canada will be in our possession.” Dr. Eustis, the Secre¬ tary of War, publicly asserted that “we can take Canada without soldiers'; we have only to send officers into the Province, and the people disaffected to their own government will rally round our standard.” Jefferson assured a correspondent in August, 1812, that “ the acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighbor¬ hood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching, and will give us experience for the attack of Halifax, the next, and the final expulsion of England from the American continent.” These boastful forecasts were aptly satirized with but little exaggeration in a pamphlet of the day, entitled “ The Wars of the Gulls.” “ These are the true limits of my dominions. Yes; I mean to have Canada or Felix Grundy is no prophet, and William Widgery an unprincipled deceiver. ‘ Take Canada, say they, before the ice breaks up, and as for the rest, it may be taken any time, for the ice never breaks up. Plant but a standard in Canada and the sub¬ jects of oppression will rush by thousands to receive the oath of allegiance, and to become incorporated with the great nation of the Gulls. A few weeks more and my myrmidons shall be scouring the wilderness, and beating the bushes from Kingston to Lake Win¬ nipeg. No need of more recruits, for the renegadoes of free trade, the scapegoats of British oppression shall come over in swarms to join the invincible standard, and add new gulls to the conquering legions. . . . The whole Cabinet was resolved into a Proclaim¬ ing Committee, and after a session of six weeks, with no other assistance than a file of the Moniteur, that stupendous proclamation was engendered, which was to carry jeopardy and dismay from Fort Churchill to Halifax. It was for some time debated whether the proclamation should be sent alone or attended by an escort; but at length it was determined that just for form’s sake a regiment or two, under the command of a valiant general, well known on the borders of Canada, should attend the mammoth production into that country, and in case of an unforeseen difficulty they should call for advice and direction upon the trusty ci-devant cabinetteer. Barnabas Bidwell, and other confidential friends of the Great Mogul resident in that country. Everyone now admired the deep policy IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 279 of the Great Mogul, who, long previous to the invasion of Canada, had suffered his trusty associates, Bidwell, Garnett, and others, to make a generous sacrifice of their reputation at the time, that they might qualify themselves to reside with a better grace in the coun¬ try of their enemies, and make gradual preparation for the reception of the victorious proclamation, by teaching the illiterate natives how to read it when it should arrive.” The events of the war demonstrated beyond doubt that while the Loyalists and their descendants, with a few exceptions, still remained resolutely loyal, the Quakers and kindred religious bodies, probably numbering six or eight thousand persons, were generally apathetic and neutral, and the great mass of the recent immigrants, comprising possibly one-third of the population, were strongly disaffected, and in many instances, when occasion offered, actively hostile. While the successful defence of the Province could scarcely have been practicable without the support of the loyal inhabitants, the disaffected portion was a constant source of apprehension and danger. Shortly before the war began the Governor-General estimated the number of the militiamen nominally available for defensive purposes at 11,000, of whom, he explicitly stated that it would not be prudent to arm more than 4,000. General Brock remarked that “ although perfectly aware of the number of improper characters who have obtained extensive possessions, and whose principles diffuse a spirit of insubordination very adverse to all military institutions, yet I feel confident the large majority will prove faithful.” On February 24th, 1812, a proclamation was published announcing that “ divers persons had recently come into the Province with a seditious intent and to endeavor to alienate the minds of His Majesty’s subjects,” and directing the commissioners appointed to enforce the act lately passed by the Legislature for better security of the Province, to be vigilant in the discharge of their duties. On the following day Brock records his bitter disap¬ pointment at the defeat of a material amendment to the Militia Act in the Legislature. “ The many doubtful characters in the militia made me very anxious to introduce the oath of aligenation into the bill. There were twenty members present when this highly important measure was lost by the casting voice of the chairman. The great influence 280 HISTORICAL SECTION. which the fear and number of the settlers from the United States possess over the decisions of the Lower House, is truly alarming and ought by every practical means to be diminished.” Again in a letter to Lord Liverpool, of March 23rd, he remarked on this subject: “My observations convinced me of the expediency of every militiaman taking an oath abjuring every foreign power. The many settlers from the United States who openly profess a deter¬ mination of not acting against their countrymen made some test highly necessary. The number of aliens emigrating from the United States who have acquired property and consequently votes for the Assembly, alarmed at the novelty of an oath of abjuration, exerted their utmost efforts and ultimately succeeded (so extensive is the influence of this people that it even masters the Legislature) in preventing by the casting vote of the chairman of the committee, the adoption of this. A bill for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus was also defeated by their influence. Liable to the constant inroads of the most abandoned characters who seek impunity in this province from crimes of high enormity committed in the States, and surrounded by a population a great part of which profess strong American feelings and attachments, it will not, I hope, be deemed unreasonable at a time like the present, if I should be desirous to be clothed, in conjunction with His Majesty’s Executive Council, with the means so well calculated to maintain the public tranquillity.” Smith, in the “ Geographical View,” asserts that had the Habeas Corpus been suspended at this time, there would certainly have been an insurrection. On July 12th, Brock wrote from Fort George that “there can be no doubt that a large portion of the population in this neighbor¬ hood are sincere in their professions to defend the country, but it is likewise evident to me that the greater part are either indifferent to what is passing or so completely American as to rejoice in the prospect of a change of government.” Almost as soon as General Hull entered Canada at Sandwich he was joined by a party of American settlers from the Western and London districts, headed by Simon Watson, a surveyor, who raided the country on horseback as far as the township of Westminster without opposition. “ Nothing can show more strongly the state of apathy in that part of the country,” was Brock’s bitter comment IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 281 on this incident. “ I am perhaps too liberal in attributing the con¬ duct of the inhabitants to that cause.” A few days later he added : ‘‘The population, although I had no great confidence in the majority, is worse than I expected to find it, and the magistrates, etc., etc., appear quite confounded and decline acting— the conse¬ quence is, the most improper conduct is tolerated. The officers of militia exert no authority. Everything shows as if a certainty existed of a change taking place soon.” Again, on the 29th July he remarked: “The population, believe me, is essentially bad—a full belief possesses them all that this province must inevitably succumb—this prepossession is fatal to every exertion. Legislators, magistrates, militia officers, all have imbibed the idea, and are so sluggish and indifferent in their respective offices that the artful and active scoundrel is allowed to parade the country without interruption and commit all imaginable mischief. They are so alarmed of offending that they rather encourage than repress disorders and other improper acts. I really believe it is with some cause that they dread the vengeance of the Democratic party, they are such a set of unrelenting villains.” However, the capture of Detroit and the victory at Queenston had a stunning effect upon the disaffected. Numbers fled from the Province at the first opportunity, others were deported for refus¬ ing to take the oath of allegiance, and the remainder were intimi¬ dated for the time being. By the end of the year, however, some of them seem to have regained courage, for Smith relates that he saw a party of about fifty in the Newcastle District marching along the main road with fife and drum beating for recruits, and cheering for President Madison. When York was taken, in April, 1813, several political prisoners were liberated from the jail, and an American officer who was present, relates that their “ friends and adherents in Upper Canada suffered greatly in apprehension or active misery.” After Niagara had been occupied by his troops, General Dearborn reported that “ the inhabitants came in in numbers and gave their paroles. I have promised them protection. A large proportion are friendly to the United States, and fixed in their hatred of Great Britain.” Another American officer states that “ our friends hereabouts are greatly relieved by our presence. They have been terribly perse¬ cuted by the Scotch myrmidons of England. Their present joy is 282 HISTORICAL SECTION. equal to their past misery.” The invaders were soon joined by two members of the Assembly, Willcocks and Mallory, who were then commissioned to enlist a body of troops from among the dis¬ affected inhabitants designated as the Canadian Volunteers. In May, 1813, Colonel Talbot informed General Vincent that “ there is a party in the County of Oxford that, with a very few exceptions, are, I am sorry to say, composed of a more violent and systematic band than those that compose the American army,” and about a month later, Justice William Dummer Powell, writing from York, warned the Governor-General that “in the event of any serious disaster to His Majesty’s arms, little reliance is to be had in the power of the well-disposed to repress and keep down the turbulence of the disaffected who are very numerous.” The repeated reverses of the American army and the re-occupa¬ tion of the Niagara frontier by the British forces, caused the flight of so many of the inhabitants that General De Rottenburg issued a general order stating that “ many farms in the District of Niagara are abandoned by their proprietors or tenants who have joined the enemy,” and appointing commissioners to “ husband the same and gather in the grain.” Almost a year later, the Adjutant-General, Colonel Baynes, makes the following remarkable statement in a letter addressed to the Governor-General: “ In the Upper Province the population is very scanty, and, with the exception of the Eastern District, are chiefly of American ex¬ traction. These settlers have been suffered to introduce themselves in such numbers that in most parts (with the exception above alluded to) they form the majority, and in many, almost the sole population. A military force composed of such materials could be but little depended upon, and this has been very generally exem¬ plified in some of the most populous parts of the settlements where two-thirds of the inhabitants have absconded, abandoning valuable farms, and in repeated instances have' seduced and assisted the soldiers to accompany them. Even members of the Legislature have deserted to the enemy, and his chief source of_information is drawn from the disaffected settlers that remain. This impolitic system had been suffered to grow to such an extent that, had it not been checked by the war, a few years would have rendered Upper Canada a complete American colony; indeed, that had been so nearly accomplished on the important line of communication IMMIGRATION FROM THE UNITED STATES INTO UPPER CANADA. 283: between Kingston and Cornwall, that, had it not been for the counterpoise afforded by the loyal Scots settlers of that place, Stormont and Glengarry, it would have been impracticable to have preserved the communication with the Upper Province, and this intercourse once interrupted, it would have been impossible for the Upper Province to have long sustained itself, as it is well ascer¬ tained that the several predatory incursions of the enemy between Kingston and Brockville were perpetrated with the connivance- and aid of settlers in that neighborhood.” 1 284 COMMERCIAL SECTION. COMMERCIAL SECTION. THE COMMERCIAL DIPLOMA. D. Young, Guelph. I am glad to have the privilege/of congratulating the Com¬ mercial Section of the Association on the steadily increasing popularity of commercial instruction, on the higher place now given to this work in pur High and Public Schools, and also on the apparent willingness of the public to support and further all plans for carrying out more thoroughly and completely all the branches of a business education; ^,nd I am sure that no small portion of this favorable hold on popular opinion is due to the good work and the moulding influence of members of this section of the Asso¬ ciation. \ During the past ten years m\ich more prominence has been given to the teaching of commercial/subjects in our High and Public Schools than in any previous tin\e in the history of the Province, and much more care has been manifested by the Education Depart¬ ment in framing regulations for th\ selection of properly qualified commercial masters. However, to say that we have ma&e some advancement in teach¬ ing commercial subjects over the methods employed twenty years ago in the old Grammar Schools, and that the course is now consid¬ ered extended, ind to say that now in\our Public Schools, book¬ keeping and k limited number of commercial transactions are taught, and m some special classes even\ phonography and type¬ writing, is hot an altogether satisfying statement or comparison when we recall the rather humiliating fact tqat in the old Grammar Schools, although the higher mathematics Nourished and Latin went tor seed, book-keeping and commercial transactions and ordinary business methods were almost, if not utterly unknown, while/n the Public Schools, if such subjects were taught at all, they were taught by masters quite incapable and almost as ignorant of those branches and inexperienced in business methods as the pupils themselves.