YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE EMIGRANT.

1846.

THE EMIGRANT.

BY

SIR FRANCIS B. HEAD, Bart.

' SEND HER VICTORIOUS, HAPPY AND GLORIOUS,
LONG TO REIGN OVER US, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN I"
Old Smg.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1846.

Ca.n.l50i

London : Printed by W. Clowes & Sons, Stamfoid Street.

PREFACE.

As the Common Crow is made up of a small
lump of carrion and two or three handfuls of
feathers, so is this Volume composed of Poli
tical History, buoyed up by a few light sketches,
solely written to make a dull subject fly.
If this strange mixture of grave matter with
gay referred only to the happiness of those
who have emigrated, or who may hereafter
emigrate, to our Colonies, it would, I am sen
sible, be beneath the notice of the general
reader ; but, I regret to say, it discloses facts
which not only threaten the safety of our
Institutions, but in which the Honour of the
British Crown is deeply involved : and having
made this declaration, the truth of which no
person who shall patiently read my sketches
will, I believe, be disposed to deny, I now
commit my evidence to the public to speak for
itself.

CONTENTS.

Chapter Page
I. A NEW SKY  1
II. THE BACK-WOODS  32
III. SERGEANT NEILL  53
IV. THE GRENADIERS' POND .... 62
V. THE EMIGRANT'S LAEK . ... 69
VI. THE LONG TROT  78
VII. THE BARK CANOE;  121
VIII. THE FLAEE-UP  154
IX. THE BRITISH FLAG  187
X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA , • . .205
XI. THE APOLOGY  238
XII. THE HUNTED HAEE  261
XIII. HOME  288
XIV. POLITICAL POISON  324
XV. THE EXPLOSION  366
XVI, MOEAL  400
APPENDIX  , 429

THE EMIGRANT.

Chapter I,
A NEW SKY.

However deeply prejudiced an Englishman
may be in favour of his own country, yet I
think it is impossible for him to cross the At
lantic without admitting that in both the
northern and southern hemispheres of the new
world Nature has not only outlined her works
on a larger scale, but has painted the whole
picture with brighter and more costly colours
than she used in delineating and in beautifying
the old world.
The heavens of America appear infinitely
higher — the sky is bluer — the clouds are whiter
— the air is fresher — the cold is intenser — the
moon looks larger — the stars are brighter — the
thunder is louder — the lightning is vivider —
the wind is stronger — the rain is heavier — the
B

2 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
mountains are higher — the rivers larger — the
forests bigger — the plains broader; in short,
the gigantic and beautiful features of the new
world seem to correspond very wonderfully
with the increased locomotive powers and
other brilliant discoveries which, under the
blessing of an Almighty power, have lately
been developed to mankind.
The difference of climate in winter between
the old and new world amounts, it has been
estimated, to about thirteen degrees of latitude.
Accordingly, the region of North America
which basks under the same sun or latitude as
Florence, is visited in winter with a cold equal
to those of St, Petersburgh or of Moscow ; and
thus, while the inhabitant of the Mediterranean
is wearing cotton or other light clothing, the
inhabitant of the very same latitude in the new
world is to be found either huddkd close to
a stove hot enough to burn his eyes out, or
muffled up in furs, with all sorts of contri
vances to preserve the very nose on his face,
and the ears on his head, from being frozen.
This extra allowance of cold is the effect of
various causes, one of which I will endeavour
shortly to describe.

Chap. 1. A NEW SKY. 3
It is well known that so far as temperature is
concerned, cold is increased by altitude as it is
by latitude ; accordingly, that by ascending a
steep mountain — the Himalayas, for instance —
one may obtain, with scarcely any alteration
of latitude, and in a few hours, the same change
of temperature which would require a long
journey over the surface of the earth to reach ;
and thus it appears that in the hottest regions
of the globe there exists impending stratifica
tions of cold proportionate in intensity to their
respective altitudes.
Now, as soon as moisture or vapour enters
these regions, in southern countries it is con
densed into rain, and in the winter of northern
ones it is frozen into snow, which, from its
specific gravity, continues its feathery descent
until it is deposited upon the surface of the
ground, an emblem of the cold region from
which it has proceeded.
But from the mere showing of the case, it is
evident that this snow is as much a stranger
in the land on which it is reposing, as a Lap
lander is who lands at Lisbon, or as in England
a pauper is who enters a parish in which he
is not entitled to settlement; and, therefore,
B 2

4 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
just as the parish ofiicers, under the authority
of the law, vigorously proceed to eject the
pauper, so does Nature proceed to eject the
cold that has taken temporary possession of
land to which it does not owe its birth ; and the
process of ejectment is as follows.
The superincumbent atmosphere, warmed
by the sun, melts the surface of the snow ; and
as soon as the former has taken to itself a por
tion of the cold, the wind bringing with it a
new atmosphere, repeats the operation; and
thus on, until the mass of snow is either effec
tually ejected, or materially diminished.
But while the combined action of sun and
wind are producing this simple effect in the
old world, there exists in the northern regions
of the new world a physical obstruction to the
operation, I allude to the interminable forest,
through the boughs and branches of which
the descending snow falls, until reaching the
ground it remains hidden from the sun and
protected from the wind ; and thus every day's
snow adds to the accumulation, until the whole
region is converted into an almost boundless
ice-house, from which there slowly but con
tinuously arises, like a mist from the ground, a

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 5
Stratum of cold air," which the north-west pre
vailing wind wafts over the south, and which
freezes every thing in its way.
The effect of air passing over ice is curiously
exemplified on the Atlantic, where, at certain
periods of the year, all of a sudden, and often
during the night, there suddenly comes over
every passenger a cold mysterious chill, like
the hand of death itself, caused by the vicinity
of a floating iceberg.
In South America, I remember a trifling
instance of the same eftect. I was walking in
the main street of San Jago in the middle of the
summer, and, like every human or living being
in the city, was exhausted by extreme heat,
when I suddenly felt as if some one was breath
ing upon my face with frozen lungs. I stopped,
and turning round, perceived at a little dis
tance, a line of mules laden with snow, which
they had just brought down from the Andes.
And if this insignificant cargo — if the presence
of a solitary little iceberg in the ocean can
produce the sensation I have described, it surely
need hardly be observed how great must be
the freezing effects on the continent of North
America, of the north-west wind blowing over

6 A NEW SKY, Chap. I.
an uncovered icehouse, composed of masses of
accumulated snow several feet in thickness,
and many hundreds of miles both in length
and breadth.
Now, it is curious to reflect that while every
backwoodsman in America is occupying him
self, as he thinks, solely for his own interest, in
clearing his location, every tree — which, falling
under his axe, admits a patch of sunshine to
the earth — in an infinitesimal degree softens
and ameliorates the climate of the vast con
tinent around him ; and yet, as the portion of
cleared land in North America, compared with
that which remains uncleared, has been said
scarcely to exceed that which the seams of a
coat bear to the whole garment, it is evident,
that although the assiduity of the Anglo-Saxon
race has no doubt affected the climate of North
America, the axe is too weak an instrument to
produce any important change.
But one of the most wonderful character
istics of Nature is the manner in which she
often, unobservedly, produces great effects from
causes so minute as to be almost invisible, and
accordingly while the human race — so far as
an alteration of climate is concerned — are

Chap. I. A NEW SKY, 7
labouring almost in vain in the regions in
question, swarms of little flies, strange as it
may sound, are, and for many years have been,
most materially altering the climate of the
great continent of North America !
The manner in which they unconsciously
perform this important duty is as follows : —
They sting, bite, and torment the wild
animals to such a degree, that, especially in
summer, the poor creatures, like those in Abys
sinia, described by Bruce, become almost in a
state of distraction, and to get rid of their
assailants, wherever the forest happened to be
on fire, they rushed to the smoke, instinctively
knowing quite well that the flies would be
unable to follow them there.
The wily Indian observing these movements,
shrewdly perceived that by setting fire to the
forest the flies would drive to him his game,
instead of his being obliged to trail in search
of it ; and the experiment having proved emi
nently successful, the Indians for many years
have been, and still are, in the habit of burning
tracts of wood so immense, that from very
high and scientific authority I have been in
formed, that the amount of land thus burned

8 A NEW SKY, Chap. I.
under the influence of the flies has exceeded
many millions of acres, and that it has been,
and still is, materially changing the climate of
North America !
But besides the effect it is producing on the
thermometer, it is simultaneously working out
another great operation of Nature.
Although the game, to avoid the stings of
their tiny assailants, come from distant regipns
to the smoke, and therein fall from the arrows
and rifles of their human foes, yet this burning
of the forest destroys the rabbits and small
game, as well as the young of the larger game,
and, therefore, just as brandy and whisky for a
short time raise the spirits of the drunkard
but eventually leave him pale, melancholy, and
dejected, so does this vicious improvident mode
of poaching game for a short time fatten, but
eventually afflict with famine all those who
have engaged in it ; and thus, for instance, the
Beaver Indians, who forty years ago were a
powerful and numerous tribe, are now reduced
to less than one hundred men, who can scarcely
find wild animals enough to keep themselves
alive, — in short, the red population is diminish
ing in the same ratio as the destruction of the

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 9
moose and wood buffalo, on which their fore
fathers had subsisted : and as every traveller,
as well as trader, in those various regions con
firms these statements, how wonderful is the
dispensation of the Almighty, under which, by
the simple agency of little flies, not only is
the American Continent gradually undergoing
a process which, with other causes, will assi
milate its climate to that of Europe, but that
the Indians themselves are clearing and pre
paring their own country for the reception of
another race, who will hereafter gaze at the
remains of the elk, the bear, and the beaver,
with the same feelings of astonishment with
which similar vestiges are discovered in Europe
— the monuments of a state of existence that
has passed away !
In the meanwhile, however, the climate of
North America forms the most remarkable
feature in its physical character.
In Europe, Asia, and Africa, just as the old
proverb says, " Tell me his company and I '11
tell you the man ;" so, if the latitude be given,
the climate may with considerable accuracy be
described ; in fact, the distinction between hot
climates and cold ones is little else but the dif-
b3

10 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
ference between the distances of each from the
equator or from the pole.
But in the continent of North America, the
climate, comparatively speaking, regardless of
latitude, is both hot and cold ; and thus, for
instance, in Canada, while the summer is as
roasting as the Mediterranean, and occasionally
as broiling as the West Indies, the winter is
that of the capitals of Norway and Sweden ;
indeed, the cold of the Canada winter must
be felt to be imagined, and when felt can no
more be described by words than colours to a
blind man or music to a deaf one.
Even under bright sunshine, and in a most
exhilarating air, the biting effect of the cold
upon the portion of the face that is exposed to
it resembles the application of a strong acid ;
and the healthy grin which the countenance
assumes, requires — as I often observed on those
who for many minutes had been in a warm
room waiting to see me — a considerable time
to relax.
In a calm almost any degree of cold is bear
able, but the application of successive doses of
it to the face, by wind, becomes occasionally
almost unbearable; indeed I remember seeing

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 1 1
the left cheek of nearly twenty of our soldiers
simultaneously frost-bitten in marching about
a hundred yards, across a bleak open space,
completely exposed to a strong and bitterly
cold north-west wind that was blowing upon
us all.
The remedy for this intense cold to which
many Canadians and others have occasionally
recourse, is — at least to my feelings it always
appeared — infinitely worse than the disease.
On entering, for instance, the small parlour of
a little inn, a number of strong able-bodied
fellows are discovered holding their hands a
few inches before their faces, and sitting in
silence immediately in front of a stove of such
excruciating power, that it really feels as if it
would roast the very eyes in their sockets, and
yet, as one endures this agony, the back part
is as cold as if it belonged to what is called at
home " Old Father Christmas !"
Of late years, English fire-places have been
introduced into many houses ; and though mine
at Toronto was warmed with hot air from a
large oven, with fires in all our sitting-rooms,
nevertheless the wood for my grate which was
piled close to the fire, often remained till night

12 A NEW SKY, Chap. I.
covered with the snow which was on it when
first deposited there in the morning ; and as a
further instance of the climate, I may add that
several times while my mind was very warmly
occupied in writing my despatches, I found
my pen full of a lump of stuff that appeared to
be honey, but which proved to be frozen ink ;
again, after washing in the morning, when I
took up some money that had lain all night on
my table, I at first fancied it had become sticky
until I discovered that the sensation was caused
by its freezing to my fingers, which in conse
quence of my ablutions were not perfectly dry.
Notwithstanding however this intensity of
cold, the powerful circulation of the blood of
large quadrupeds keeps the red fluid, like the
movement of the waters in the great lakes,
from freezing ; but the human frame not being
gifted with this power, many people lose their
limbs, and occasionally their Hves from cold.
I one day inquired of a fine ruddy honest-
looking man who called upon me, and whose
toes and insteps of each foot had been trun
cated, how the accident happened? He told
me that the first winter he came from England
he lost his way in the forest, and that after

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 13
walking for some hours, feeling pain in his
feet, he took off his boots, and from the flesh
immediately swelling, he was unable to put
them on again.
His stockings, which were very old ones,
soon wore into holes, and as rising on his in
steps he was hurriedly proceeding he knew not
where, he saw with alarm, but without feeling
the slightest pain, first one toe and then ano
ther break off as if they had been pieces of
brittle stick, and in this mutilated state he con
tinued to advance till he reached a path which
led him to an inhabited log-house, where he
remained suffering great pain till his cure was
effected. On another occasion, while an Englishman
was driving one bright beautiful day in a
sleigh on the ice, his horse suddenly ran away,
and fancying he could stop him better without
his cumbersome fur gloves than with them, he
unfortunately took them off". As the infuri
ated animal at his utmost speed proceeded, the
man, who was facing a keen north-west wind,
felt himself gradually as it were turning into
marble, and by the time he stopped both his
hands were so completely and so irrecoverably

14 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
frozen, that he was obhged to have them am
putated. Although the sun, from the latitude, has
considerable power, it appears only to illumi
nate the sparkling snow, which, like the sugar
on a bridal cake, conceals the whole surface.
The instant however the fire of heaven sinks
below the horizon, the cold descends from the
upper regions of the atmosphere with a feeling
as if it were poured down upon the head and
shoulders from a jug.
From the above sketch it must be evident
that the four seasons of the year in Canada
exhibit pictures strikingly contrasted with each
other. In the summer, the excessive heat — the vio
lent paroxysms of thunder — the parching
drought — the occasional deluges of rain — the
sight of bright red, bright blue, and other
gaudy plumaged birds— of the brilliant hum
ming-bird, and of innumerable fire-flies that at
night appear like the reflection upon earth of
the stars shining above them in the heavens,
would almost persuade the emigrant that he
was living within the tropics.
As autumn approaches, the various trees of

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 15
the forest assume hues of every shade of red,
yellow, and brown, of the most vivid descrip
tion. The air gradually becomes a healthy
and delightful mixture of sunshine and frost,
and the golden sunsets are so many glorious
assemblages of clouds — some like mountains of
white wool, others of the darkest hues — and of
broad rays of yellow, of crimson, and of golden
light, which without intermixing radiate up
wards to a great height from the point of the
horizon at which the deep red luminary is
about to disappear.
As the winter approaches the cold daily
strengthens, and before the branches of the
trees and the surface^ of the country become
white, every li-ving being seems to be sensible
of the temperature that is about to arrive.
The gaudy birds, humming-birds, and fire
flies, depart first; then follow the pigeons;
the wild-fowl take refuge in the lakes, until
scarcely a bird remains to be seen in the forest.
Several of the animals seek refuge in warmer
regions; and even the shaggy bear, whose
coat seems warm enough to resist any degree
of cold, instinctively looks out in time for a
hollow tree into which he may leisurely climb.

16 A NEW SKY. Chap. I,
to hang in it during the winter as inanimate
as a flitch of bacon from the ceiling of an
English farm-house ; and even many of the
fishes make their deep-water arrangements for
not coming to the surface of the rivers and
harbours during the period they are covered
with ice.
Notwithstanding the cheerful brightness of
the winter's sun, I always felt that there was
something indescribably awful and appalling
in all these bestial, birdal, and piscal precau
tions ; and yet it is with pride that one ob
serves that while the birds of the air and the
beasts of the field, one after another, are seen
retreating before the approaching winter like
women and children before an advancing army;
the Anglo-Saxon race stand firm ! and indeed
they are quite right to do so, inasmuch as the
winter, when it does arrive, turns out to be a
season of hilarity and of healthy enjoyment.
Not only is the whole surface of the ground,
including roads and paths of every description,
beautifully macadamised with a covering of
snow, over which every man's horse, with tink
ling bells, can draw him and his family in a
sleigh ; but every harbour becomes a national

Chap, I, A NEW SKY, 17
play-ground to ride on, and every river an
arterial road to travel on.
In all directions running water gradually
congeals. The mill-wheel becomes covered
with a frozen torrent, in which it remains as in
a glass case ; and I have even seen small water
falls begin to freeze on both sides, until the
cataract, arrested in its fall by the power of
heaven, is converted for the season into a solid
mirror. Although the temperature of the water in
the great lakes is infinitely below freezing, yet
the restless rise and fall of the waves prevents
their congelation. As a trifling instance, how
ever, of their disposition to do so, I may men
tion that during the two winters I was at
Toronto, I made a rule from which I never de
parted, to walk every morning to the end of a
long wooden pier that ran out into the un
frozen waters of the lake. In windy weather,
and during extreme cold, the water, in dashing
against this work, rose in the air ; but before
it could reach me it often froze, and thus,
without wetting my cloak, the drops of ice
used to fall harmless at my feet.
But although the great lake, for want of a

1 8 A NEW SKY. Chap. L
moment's tranquiUity, cannot congeal, yet for
hundreds of miles along its shores the waves,
as they break on the ground, instantly freeze,
and this operation continuing by night as well
as by day, the quiet shingled beach is con
verted throughout its whole length into high,
sharp, jagged rocks of ice, over which it is
occasionally difficult to climb,
I was one day riding with a snaffle-bridle on
the glare ice of the great bay of Toronto, on
a horse I had just purchased, without having
been made aware of his vice, which I after
wards learned had been the cause of a serious
accident to his late master, when he suddenly,
unasked, explained it to me by running away.
On one side of me was the open water of the
lake, into which, if I had ridden, I should
almost instantly have been covered with a
coating of ice as white as that on a candle that
has just received its first dip ; while on every
other side I was surrounded by these jagged
rocks of ice, the narrow passes through which I
was going much too fast to be able to investi
gate. My only course, therefore, was to force my
horse round and round within the circum-

Chap. L A NEW SKY, 19
ference of the little troubles that environed me,
and this I managed to do, every time dimi
nishing the circle, until before I was what
Sidney Smith termed " squirrel-minded," the
animal became sufficiently tired to stop.
The scene on these frozen harbours and bays
in winter is very interesting. Sleighs in which
at least one young representative of the softer
sex is generally seated are to be seen and heard
driving and tinkling across in various direc
tions, or occasionally standing still to witness
a trotting-match or some other amusement on
the ice.
In the midst of this scene here and there are
a few dark spots on the surface which it is
difficult to analyze even when approached,
until from beneath the confused mass there
gradually arises, with a mild " Why-disturb-
me?" expression of countenance, the red face
and shaggy head of an Indian, who for hours
has been lying on his stomach to spear fish
through a small hole which, for that purpose,
he has cut through the ice.
In other parts are to be seen groups of men
occupied in sawing out for sale large cubical
blocks of ice of a beautiful bluish appearance.

20 A NEW SKY, Chap. I.
piled upon each other like dressed Bath-stones
for building.
The water of which this ice is composed is
as clear as crystal, resembling that which,
under the appellation of Wenham ice, has
lately been imported to England as well as to
India, and which has become a new luxury of
general use,
I have often been amused at observing how
imperfectly the theory of ice is, practically
speaking, understood in England,
People talk of its being " as hot as fire," and
" as cold as ice," just as if the temperature of
each were a fixed quantity, whereas there are
as many temperatures of fire, and as many
temperatures of ice, as there are climates on
the face of the globe.
The heat of " boiling water" is a fixed
quantity, and any attempt to make water hot
ter than " boiling" only creates steam, which
flies off from the top exactly as fast as, and
exactly in the proportion to, the amount of
heat, be it great or small, that is applied at the
bottom. Now for want of half a moment's reflection,
people in England are very prone to believe

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 2 1
that water cannot be made colder than ice ; and
accordingly if a good-humoured man succeeds
in filling his ice-house, he feels satisfied that
his ice is as good as any other man's ice ; in
short, that ice is ice, and that there is no use
in any body attempting to deny it. But the
truth is, that the temperature of thirty-two de
grees of Fahrenheit, that at which water freezes,
is only the commencement of an operation that
is almost infinite ; for after its congelation
water is as competent to continue to receive
cold as it was when it was fluid. The applica
tion of cold to a block of ice does not therefore,
as in the case of heat applied beneath boiling
water, cause what is added at one end to fly
out at the other, but on the contrary, the extra
cold is added to and retained by the mass, and
thus the temperature of the ice falls with the
temperature of the air, until in Lower Canada
it occasionally sinks to forty degrees below
zero, or to seventy-two degrees below the tem
perature of ice just congealed.
It is evident, therefore, that if two ice-houses
were to be filled, the one with the former, say
Canada ice, and the other with the latter, say
English ice, the difference between the quantity
of cold stored up in each would be as appre-

22 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
ciable as the difference between a cellar full of
gold and a cellar full of copper ; in short, the
intrinsic value of ice, like that of metals,
depends on the investigation of an assayer —
that is to say, a cubic foot of Lower Canada
ice is infinitely more valuable, or, in other words,
it contains infinitely more cold than a cubic
foot of Upper Canada ice, which again contains
more cold than a cubic foot of Wenham ice,
which contains infinitely more cold than a
cubic foot of English ice ; and thus, although
each of these four cubic feet of ice has pre
cisely the same shape, they each, as summer
approaches, diminish in value, that is to say,
they each gradually lose a portion of their cold
until, long before the Lower Canada ice has
melted, the English ice has been converted into
luke-warm water.
The above theory is so clearly understood in
North America, that the inhabitants of Boston,
who annually store for exportation immense
quantities of Wenham ice, and who know quite
well that cold ice will meet the markets in
India, while the warmer article melts on the
passage, talk of their " crops of ice" just as an
English farmer talks of his crop of wheat.
The various forms of sleighs which are used

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 23
in Canada, it would be impossible to describe ;
some are handsomely painted bright scarlet,
highly varnished, richly carved, and orna
mented with valuable black bear-skin " robes,"
as they are termed ; others are composed of an
old English packing-case placed on runners.
However, whatever may be their construction,
their proprietors, rich or poor, appear ahke
happy. One healthy cleax morning, accompanied by
a friend, I was enjoying my early walk along
the cliff" which overhangs the bay of Toronto,
when I saw a runaway horse and sleigh ap
proaching me at full gallop, and it was not
until both were within a few yards of the pre
cipice, that the animal, suddenly seeing his
danger, threw himself on his haunches, and
then, turning from the death that had stared
him in the face, stood as if riveted to the
ground. On going up to the sleigh, which was one
of very humble fabric, I found seated in it a
wild young Irishman, and, as he did not appear
to be at all sensible of the danger from which
he had just been providentially preserved, I
said to him,—" You have had a most narrow
escape, my man f"

24 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
" Och I your honour, '" he replied, " it 's na
thing at ari. It 's jist this bar as titches his
hacks I" And, to show me what he meant, he
pulled at the reins with all his strength, till the
splinter-bar touched the poor creature's thigh,
when instantly this son of Erin, looking as happy
as if he had just demonstrated a problem, tri
umphantly exclaimed, — " ThereH is agin!" And
away he went, if possible, faster than before.
I watched him till the horse galloped with
him completely out of my sight; indeed, he
vanished like a meteor in the sky, and where
he came from, and where he went, I am igno
rant to this day.
The Canada spring commences with a bril
liant, but rather an uncomfortable admixture
of warm days and of freezing cold nights.
By the beginning of April the siin is as hot as
it is in the south of France, the roads are
slushy until sunset, when in a few minutes
they congeal, and become covered with ice.
As this operation continues, as the sun
strengthens, and as the day lengthens, the
thick stratum of snow, which has so long
covered the surface of the country, gradually
melts by day and freezes by night, until the
heat increasing and the cold diminishing, the

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 25
black ground begins to appear ; and no sooner
does the earth, escaping from its wearisome
imprisonment, once again see daylight, than,
without waiting for a general clearance, there
start up in each of these little oases in the desert
of snow that surrounds them a variety of small
lovely flowers, which seem to have burst into
existence as if to hail the arrival and orna
ment the happy path of approaching spring.
But while this joyful process is proceeding
in the vegetable world, the interminable forest
is once again becoming the cheerful scene of
animal life. The old bear slowly descends,
tail foremost, from the lofty chamber in which
he has so long been dormant. The air is filled
— the light of heaven is occasionally almost
intercepted from morning till night — by clouds
of pigeons, which, as the harbingers of spring,
are seen for many days flying over the forest,
guided, I have been credibly informed, by a
miraculous instinct, not only to the particular
remote region in which they were reared, but
to build their own nests in the very trees
upon whose branches each individual bird was
hatched ! but if, as is well known, they are
instinctively led to the country of their birth.

26 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
it is not improbable that, when they reach it,
they will readily search out for themselves
their own " homes,"
In a very short time the whole surface of
the country becomes cleared from snow, and
the effect of the change is most interesting ; for
instance, on my arrival in Canada I found
everything around me buried in snow, and
my lonely house standing apparently in a
white barren desolate field, to which my eyes
soon became accustomed. But as soon as the
spring removed this covering, flower borders
of all shapes, a green lawn, and gravel walks
meandering in various directions, made their
welcome appearance, until I found myself the
possessor— and if it had not been for English
politics I should have been the h-appy pos
sessor — of a beautiful English garden, the
monument of the good taste of Sir Peregrine
and Lady Sarah Maitland, who many years
ago had planned it and had stocked it with
roses and shrubs of the best description.
But "all is not gold that glitters ;" and ac
cordingly, though spring ornaments almost
beyond the powers of description the surface of
Canada, she is no respecter of the Queen's

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 27
highways, but on the contrary, creates dreadful
havoc among roads of all descriptions. The
departure of the snow is followed by a general
blistering and up-wrenching of the surface of
the earth, which for some weeks remains what
is called "rotten," and which, especially in
the roads, is so troublesome to ride over, that
at this period a well-mounted horseman can
occasionally hardly travel above twenty or
twenty-five miles in a day ; indeed I have
sometimes come to narrow quagmires in the
roads which I have stood gazing at for minutes
in despair, and which it was almost imprac
ticable to cross at any price. However, the
first heavy rains settle the ground, and then
the rush of vegetation, being as beautiful as it is
surprising, it is rnost interesting to ramble in
solitude through the secret recesses of the forest.
The enjoyment, however, without great pre
caution, is a very dangerous one, as it is
almost incredible how quickly a stranger loses
his reckoning, and becomes lost in the laby
rinth that surrounds him.
In the lonely rides I was in the habit of
enjoying, I took some pains to make myself
intelligent upon this point, but with very little
c2

28 A NEW SKY. Chap. L
success ; and though I endeavoured to carry
in my head a " carte du pays," I often suddenly
felt myself completely bewildered.
On these occasions, however, without any
difficulty I always extricated myself from all
danger by the following process : —
I threw my hat on the ground, and then
riding from it in any direction, to a distance
greater than that which I knew to exist be
tween me and the road I was anxious to regain,
I returned on the footmarks of my horse to my
hat, and then radiating from it in any other
direction, and returning, I repeated the trials,
until taking the right direction, I at last
recovered the road ; whereas, if, without me
thod, I had wandered among the trees in
search of it, I might, and most probably should,
have been lost — a victim to the allurements
and beauties of spring. Of course, on reach
ing the road I had to recover the hat to which
my head had been so much indebted.
The storms which occasionally reign and
rage about the forest are very similar to those
which characterise the tropics. The sudden
explosion and loud rolls of thunder are not
only awful to hear, but this cannonading- from

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 29
heaven generally leaves behind it proof of its
having been composed of shot as well as of
powder ; indeed in my rides through the forest
I became intimately acquainted with several
trees that had been struck by lightning.
In one there was merely a deep furrowed
line from the top of the stem to the earth ; but
in others the effect had been terrific. The
lightning had descended down the bark of the
tree tiU it had met a knot, or something that
had turned it inwards, and which had there
caused it to explode. In these cases, a huge
stump, fifteen or twenty feet high, was left
standing, while around it, in all directions, the
remainder of the tree was to be seen lying on
the ground literally shivered to atoms.
In one immense pine the electric mine had
burnt in the heart of its victim within a foot
of the ground. The tree in its stupendous fall
snapped about fifty feet above the ground
another pine tree, about forty feet distant, and
resting and remaining on the top of this lofty
column, the two trees formed a right angled
triangle of most extraordinary appearance,
standing in the forest as if to demonstrate
the irresistible power of one of the greatest
agents of nature.

30 A NEW SKY. Chap. I.
But awful as are the effects of the lightning
of heaven, there are occasionally in Canada
sudden squalls of wind, which create havoc on
a much larger scale. Indeed, when a traveller
inquires for a road to any particular place, he
is often told to proceed in a certain direction,
" until he comes to a hurricane ;" which means,
until he finds in the lone wilderness a parcel of
trees torn up by the roots, and in indescribable
confusion lying prostrate on the ground.
From the foregoing sketches, I think it will
appear that, although the climate of England
is said to be the most uncertain on the surface
of the globe, that of North America is infinitely
more variable, as well as exposed to greater
vicissitudes. In the latter country, not only do the ex
tremes of heat in summer, and of cold in winter,
create an extensive range of temperature, which
in England is tethered to very narrow limits,
but in Canada the sudden alternations of tem
perature which attend every change of wind
constantly cause in the course of the day, and
even in a few hours, a change of climate of forty
degrees of Fahrenheit,
These sudden changes, however, when
effected, generally last three days : for instance,

Chap. I. A NEW SKY. 3 1
a heavy rain almost invariably continues that
time ; so does a paroxysm of intense cold ; so
does every unusually heavy gale of wind ; and
so does every occasional "sweating sickness"
of extreme heat.
On the whole, I am of opinion that the cli
mate of Canada is more healthy and invigorating
than that of England, but infinitely more de
structive to the skin, hair, teeth, and other items
of what is termed " personal appearance," In
short, those who admire pretty children, green
fields, and out-of-doors exercise may justly con
tinue to sing, —
" Through pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there 's no place like home."

( 32 )

Chapter IL
THE BACK-WOODS,
Among the list of hackneyed expressions which
for years I have been in the habit of repeating
to myself, there is no one that comes oftener
uppermost in my mind than the words —
" England, with all thy faults, I love thee still I"
At times, when I have seen our merchants
of London lend millions after millions of
money, first, to countries in South America,
whose geographical position I had reason to
know they could not, with any one of their
fingers, point out on a chart of the globe ; and
then, nothing daunted by defeat, to northern
states in the same hemisphere, whose institu
tions everybody knows to be recipient, without
ability to repay ; when again I witnessed the
mania which this country evinced for working
transatlantic mines, and which it still evinces
for expending hundreds of millions of money

Chap. II. THE BACK-WOODS. 33
in the projection of British and of foreign rail
roads, which the capital of the empire has not
power to construct, I own I have occasionally
found it difficult to maintain the feelings of
respect so justly due to the monosyllables
" John Bull," On the other hand, " with all
his faults," it is, I think, impossible for his
bitterest enemy to help acknowledging that
there is something generous and amiable
beyond description — noble and high-minded
beyond example — and evidently productive of
far-sighted political results, in the fact, that
every day, be the weather what it may, Jane,
his beloved wife, presents to him one thousand
babies more than the number he had requested
of her to replace those members of his family
who had just died !
Now, inasmuch as this deliberate increase to
our population of 365,000 babies a year (which
equals the number of men, women, and children
in the county of Worcestershire) as clearly
e-vdnces a desire, as it creates a necessity, for
Great Britain to people, by emigration, some
of those vast regions of the globe which, since
the creation ofthe world, have remained unin-
c3

34 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
habited, it is wonderful to observe how ad
mirably Nature has parcelled out to the dif
ferent nations of mankind the cultivation of
those territories which are best suited to their
respective characters and physical strength.
For instance, the indolent inhabitants of Old
Spain and of Portugal were led, apparently
by blind chance, to discover, in the New World,
plains of vast extent, situated in a genial
climate, which, without any culture, were
fitted for the breeding of almost every animal
which forms the food of man.
On the other hand, by the same mariner's
compass, the Anglo-Saxon race were con
ducted to a region visited by intense cold, and
covered with trees of such enormous size that
emigration to this country has justly been
termed " War with the Wilderness ,•" and cer
tainly any man who has experienced in it the
amount of fatigue to be endured in cutting
down a single tree, in ploughing among its
roots, and in sowing and reaping around its
stump, must feel that it required a strong,
healthy, hardy race of men to clear a country
in which the settler has, as it were, to engage

Chap. II. THE BACK- WOODS. 35
himself in a duel with each and every indivi
dual tree of the interminable forest that sur
rounds him.
But, on the discovery of America, Nature not
only led the British to the battle-ground I have
described, but by instinctive feeling she has
since conducted, and continues to conduct to
it, the individuals of our country best suited to
the task.
It would be incorrect to state that the many
thousands of emigrants that have annually
sailed for our North American provinces have
been particularly athletic ; but, as the French
army truly say, " C'est le ccEur qui fait le
grenadier " so it may accurately be stated that,
with a few exceptions, they must have been
persons of rather more enterprising disposition
than their comrades whom they left at home ;
indeed, when I have reflected on the expense,
anxiety, and uncertainty attendant upon emi
grating to a new world, I have often felt
astonished that labourers, tethered to their
parish by so many ties and prejudices, should
ever have summoned courage enough to make
up their minds to sail with their families in a

36 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap, II.
ship for countries in which, to say the least,
they must land ignorant, friendless, and un
known. But besides a certain amount of enterprise,
there has, I believe, existed in the minds of all
emigrants some little propulsive feeling or
other — oftener good than bad — that has tended
to put them on, as it is termed, their mettle,
and to make them decide on a change of scene ;
indeed, when I was in Canada I often thought
that it would have been as amusing to have
kept a list of the various different reasons that
had propelled from England those who were
around me, as it is to read in Gil Bias the
dissimilar causes which had brought together
the motley inmates of Rolando's cave.
For instance, one very gallant naval officer
told me that, after having obtained two steps
in his profession, by actions with the enemy,
he waited on William the Fourth, when he was
Lord High Admiral, to ask for a ship, in reply
to which request he was good-humouredly told
that " he was too young.'"
That a few weeks afterwards, on making a
similar request to Sir James Graham, who had

Chap. II. THE BACK-WOODS, 37
just succeeded to be First Lord of the Ad
miralty, with grave dignity he was told " that
the policy of the Government was to bring
forward young men, and that ' Jie was too old;'
and so," said my friend, " I instantly turned
on my heel, and declaring that I would never
again set my foot in the Admiralty till I was
sent for, I came out to Canada."
The inability of the Government to attend
to every just claim that was brought before its
consideration drove crowds of distinguished
officers of both services to the back -woods.
Many fine fellows came out because they could
not live without shooting, and did not choose
to be poachers ; a vast number crossed over
because they had " heavy families and small
incomes;" and one of the most loyal men I
was acquainted with, and to whose protection
I had afterwards occasion to be indebted, in
answer to some questions I was inquisitively
putting to him, stopped me by honestly say
ing, as he looked me full in the face, " My
character, Sir, won't bear investigation '. "
Of course, a proportion of the emigrants to
our North American Colonies belong to that

38 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
philanthropic class of men who, under the ap
pellation of Socialistes, Communistes, or Li
berals, are to be met with in every corner of
the Old World. Their doctrine is, Community
of goods : but they have no goods at all. They
preach — Division of property : but they have
no property to divide. So that their principle
is ; — not so much to give all they have (for
they have nothing to give) to other people ; —
as that other people should give all they have
to them.
Propelled by these motley reasons, feelings,
grievances, and doctrines, many thousands of
families and indviduals of various grades (in
1 842 their number exceeded 42,000) have an
nually taken leave ofthe shores of Great Britain
to seek refuge in the splendid wilderness of
Canada, or, in other words, sick of " vain pomp
and glory," have left the old world for what
they hoped would be a better.
Now, just as seafaring men declare that after
Thames soup has undergone fermentation —
during which process it emits from the bung-
hole of the casks which contain it a gas highly
offensive, and even inflammable, it becomes

Chap. II. THE BACK-WOODS. 39
the clearest, the sweetest, and most wholesome
water that can be taken to sea — so does the
same sort of clarification and the same results
take place in the moral feelings of the crowds
of emigrants I have described.
For a short time, on their arrival at their
various locations, they fancy, or rather they
i-eally and truly feel, more or less strongly, that
there is something very fine in the theory of
having apparently got rid of all the musty ma
terials of " Church and State ;" and revelling
in this sentiment, they for a short time enjoy
the novel luxury of being able to dress as they
like, do as they like, go where they like.
They appreciate the happiness of living in a
land in which the Old Country's servile cus
tom of touching the hat does not exist, in
which everj^ carter and waggoner rides instead
of walks, and in which there are no purse-
proud millionnaires, no dukes, duchesses, lords,
ladies, parsons, parish-officers, beadles, poor-
law commissioners, or paupers ; no tithes and
no taxes.
But after the mind, like the Thames water,
has continued for a sufficient time in this state
of pleasing fermentation, the feelings I have

40 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
just described begin graduaUy to subside.
Some fly away, and some crawl away ; some
evaporate, and some sink, until the judgment,
his best friend, clearly points out to the emi
grant that, after all, "liberty and equality,"
like many other resplendent substances, con
tain in their compositions a considerable quan
tity of alloy.
One of the first wants, like a flower in the
wilderness, that springs up in the mind of a
backwoodsman, is to attend occasionally a place
of worship. Solitude has first slightly intro
duced, and has then welcomed to his mind,
more serious reflections than any it had pre
viously entertained. The thunder and the
lightning of heaven, the sudden storms, the
intense cold, the magnificent colouring of the
sky, the buoyant air, the gorgeous sunsets, one
after another, have sometimes sternly and
sometimes smilingly imparted to him truths
which have gradually explained to him that
there is something very fearful as well as fal
lacious in the idea of any human being boast
ing to himself of being "independent" of
that power so eminently conspicuous in the
wilderness of America !

Chap. IL THE BACK-WOODS. 4 1
As soon as this want has taken firm root in
the heart, it soon produces its natural fruit.
The emigrants meet, consult, arrange with each
other, subscribe according to their means a few
dollars, a few pounds, or a few hundred pounds
(one of the most powerful axe-men in Upper
Canada expended on this object upwards of a
thousand pounds) ; the simple edifice rapidly
grows up — is roofed in — is furnished with
benches — until at last on some bright sabbath-
day, a small bell, fixed within a little turret on
its summit, is heard slowly tolling in the forest.
From various directions sleighs and waggons,
each laden with at least one man, a woman or
two, and some little children, are seen converg
ing towards it ; and it would be impossible to
describe the overwhelming feelings of the
various members of the congregation of both
sexes, and of all ages, when their selected and
respected minister, clad in a decent white sur
plice, for the first time opens his lips, to pro
nounce to them those well-known words which
declare that when the wicked man turneth
away from the wickedness he has committed,
and doeth that which is lawful and right, he
shall save his soul alive.

42 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
The thunder and the hurricane have now
lost all their terrors, the sunshine has suddenly
become a source of legitimate enjoyment, the
rude log-hut an abode of happiness and con
tentment, and thus the emigrant every day
more and more appreciates the blessing which
is rewarding him for having erected in the
wilderness his own established church.
Among the various good feelings that sub
sequently vegetate in his mind, is that of filial
attachment to Old England,
The banished heart first yearns for the
crooked lanes, green fields, and rosy cheeks
which adorn the surface of the old country ;
and then, not satisfied with loving the land, it
soon learns to love all who live in it.
But while these British sentiments are
growing, local politics first assail and soon
apparently entirely engross the emigrant's
attention. He has perhaps applied to be made
a magistrate, and has seen his neighbour ap
pointed instead ; he has written to the Governor
for a patent for the land he is clearing, and
has received no answer ; his nearest neighbour
and intimate friend is a reformer, who has told
him that " Reform" would very likely give

Chap. II. THE BACK- WOODS. 43
him a road, would perhaps get him some ap
pointment ; would indemnify him in some
way for the cow that died ; in short, he under
stands, and firmly believes, that any change
would do him good, and that even if it did
not, at all events it would be a change; and
so, he is ready to vote for the man that is
already promising to effect " a change."
Now it is almost inconceivable how eagerly
the backwoodsman engages in local politics of
this nature. Every angry word he utters in
flames his own angry feelings. He disputes
with one neighbour, and allies himself with
another ; and as neither the one nor the other,
nor any of them, have any knowledge of what
is really going on at the seat of Government,
except what they read in provincial newspapers,
which are often of the vilest description, a
murmur is created which, by people in Eng
land who do not understand emigrants' lan
guage, is supposed very clearly to threaten
separation from the mother country ! Whereas,
the moment that question is undisguisedly pro
posed, the whole fabric of local politics falls to
the ground ; party feelings are forgotten, and
from all directions the Irishman, Scotchman,

44 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
and Englishman, are seen worming their way
through the trees, to join together hand in hand
to maintain connexion with " Old England,"
whom it may truly be said they love infinitely
more dearly and more devotedly than do her
own children at home.
With respect to the Canadian population the
same feelings exist. They dispute and quarrel
among each other quite as vigorously as their
brethren from the old country ; yet although
they have never seen our green lanes, and can
therefore have no filial attachment to them,
they are most decidedly more proud of the title
of " British subjects " than people are in Eng
land ; and for this plain reason, that having
throughout their whole lives had an opportunity
not only of beholding immediately before their
eyes, but of studying the fallacy of " Repub
lican government," they infinitely better under
stand and appreciate than we do the inestimable
superiority of British institutions.
In no part of the world which it has been
my fortune to visit have I ever met with a
body of British subjects more enlightened and
unprejudiced than the native-born Upper Cana
dians,

Chap. II. THE BACK-WOODS. 45
They have English blood in their veins —
have English tongues, English hearts, English
heads — have received an English education,
and are well versed in English history. But
with an Englishman's average stock of know
ledge, they are divested of many of his preju
dices. On the subject of government they
are infinitely more enlightened than he is; not
instinctively or intuitively, but simply because,
from the days of their childhood, they have
enjoyed advantages of observing both sides of
a most important question, of which English
men can only see one. In short, as political
engineers, understanding the mechanism of
democracy as well as that of monarchy, they
see infinitely clearer than our great statesmen
in England possibly can do how subtle and
minute are the changes by which the latter
system can eventually be converted into the
former. For instance, an Englishman improperly
deals with British institutions as our sailors
very properly treat a seventy-four gun ship.
If any trifling object appears on the ocean,
they all run in a body either to windward
or to leeward, for they know the old ship will

46 THE BACK- WOODS. Chap. II.
bear it. The carpenter makes an incision
here, and with a sledge hammer drives a spike-
naU in there. He clears the decks for action ;
musketry and grape stick in this bulwark,
cannon shot go slap through that, but the
good old ship does not feel it : in fact, if the
master wiU but keep her off the rocks, her
crew truly declare there is no rough usage that
can hurt her. And so it is with many of our
great :md good men in England. They see
no harm, as regards the safety of British in
stitutions, in taking out a little screw here,
and in cutting asunder a plank there; see
nothing to fear in pecking a stone or two out
of this arch, or in diminishing the thickness
of that old-fashioned beam, " A little exten
sion of suffrage," they say, " surely can't hurt
a great country like this ! A concession or
two to public opinion will surely do no harm ;
in short, if we oppose actual revolution, there is
no moderately rough treatment that our insti
tutions are not strong enough to bear,"
On the other hand, an Upper Canadian
deals with British institutions as an Indian
manages his bark canoe.
The red pilot is not afraid of the storm, but

Chap. II. THE BACK-WOODS. 47
he unceasingly watches every approaching
wave, takes care to sit exactly in the middle
of his band-box, not to rise up in it too sud
denly, to step along it lightly, and above all,
never to drop into it any heavy weight that
might shiver or even shake the bottom of the
frail bark ; and thus he manages to traverse
waves in which many a stout vessel has foun
dered. A very few facts will practically exemplify
the meaning of the latter comparison.
Within a week after my arrival at Toronto,
I had to receive an address from the Speaker
and Commons' House of Assembly; and on
inquiring in what manner I was to perform
my part in the ceremony allotted to me, I was
informed that I was to sit very still on a large
scarlet chair with my hat on.
The first half was evidently an easy job ;
but the latter part was really revolting to my
habits and feelings, and as I thought I ought
to try and govern by my head and not by my
hat, I felt convinced that the former would risk
nothing by being for a few minutes divorced
from the latter, and accordingly I determined

48 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
with white gloves to hold the thing in my
hands ; and several of my English party quite
agreed with me in thinking my project not
only an innocent but a virtuous act of common
courtesy : however, I happened to mention my
intention to an Upper Canadian, and never
shall I forget the look of silent scorn with
which he listened to me. I really quite quailed
beneath the reproof, which, without the utter
ance of a word, and after scanning me from
head to foot, his mild intelligent faithful coun
tenance read to me, and which but too clearly
expressed — " What ! to purchase five minutes'
loathsome popularity, will you barter one of
the few remaining prerogatives of the British
Crown ? Will you, for the vain hope of con
ciliating insatiable Democracy, meanly sell to
it one of the distinctions of your station?
Miserable man ! beware, before it be too late, of
surrendering piecemeal that which it is your
duty to maintain, and for which, after aU, you
wiU only receive in exchange contumely and
contempt !"
I remained for a few seconds as mute as my
Canadian Mentor, and then, without taking

Chap. II. THE BACK-WOODS. 49
any notice of the look with which he had been
chastising me, I spoke to him on some other
subjects, but I did not forget the picture I had
seen, and accordingly my hat was tight enough
on my head when the Speaker bowed to it, and
I shall ever feel indebted to that man for the
sound political lesson which he taught me,
I could mention many similar reproofs which
I verbally received from native-born Cana
dians, especially one which very strongly con
demned me for a desire I had innocently enter
tained to go once — merely as a compliment —
to the Presbyterian church, which, when quar
tered in Scotland, I had often attended ; but I
was gravely admonished by the son ofthe soil on
which I stood, that, although I ought to protect
all churches, yet, as the representative of the
Established Church, I ought to take part in no
other service but my own ; and a few moments'
reflection told me that he was right ; and as a
further illustration of this transatlantic doctrine,
I may state that when the bold, venerable, and
respected leader of the Church of England in
Upper Canada was lately appointed " Bishop
of Toronto," he was not only immediately ad-
D

50 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
dressed by the title of " My Lord," but his
humble dweUing was, and to this day is, de
signated " The Palace," for the simple reason
that the emigrants and native-born inhabitants
of the province saw no reason for being
ashamed of British institutions, or of the dis
tinctions which characterize them ; and yet
how astonishing it is that people in England,
both Whigs and Tories, will persist in de
claring that monarchical pomp cannot possibly
be popular in our British North American
Colonies, and therefore that it ought not to be
maintained there !
In reply to this incorrect, unsound, and most
unfortunate doctrine, I will, to what I have
just stated, only add, that the Irish, Scotch,
English, and native inhabitants of Canada,
appeared to me to be quite as anxious that I
should ride good horses as I was myself — that
they liked to see a well-appointed carriage, and
that though it be a highly popular, it is really
a vulgar error to believe, that if I had ridden
about in a shooting jacket, distributing stunted
nods and talking through my nose, I should
have prevented the rebellion. Whereas on the
contrary, I found the general feeling of the

Chap. II. THE BACK- WOODS. 51
Canadian people to be, that if, contrary to
the policy with which they had been so long
afflicted, I would but avow uncompromising
hatred to democracy ; if I would but oppose, for
them, irresponsible, or, as it is jeeringly termed,
"responsible" government; in short, if I would
maintain the prerogatives of the British mo
narchy, they would maintain its glorious insti
tutions ; and accordingly, as soon as I printed
and circulated throughout the province the
following words : —
" The people of Upper Canada detest de
mocracy, revere their constitutional charter,
and are staunch in allegiance to their king,
"Never will I allow the power and pa
tronage of this thinly-peopled province to be
transferred from His Majesty's representative
to the domination of ' a Provincial Ministry,'
an irresponsible and self-constituted cabinet" —
The moment I published the above decla
ration, the British emigrants and the Canadian
people rose almost en masse, and drove from
their house of representatives Mr. Bidwell,
Mr, McKenzie, and every other prominent sup
porter of "responsible" government.
D 2

52 THE BACK-WOODS. Chap. II.
And yet, notwithstanding this undeniable
historical fact, strange to say, thousands of
great and good men in England, of all parties,
persist in believing, as obstinately as ever, that
our noble institutions are unsuited to the soil
of America !

( 53 )
Chapter III,
SERGEANT NEILL.
The breaking up of the ice in the rivers of
North America is one of the most wonderful
operations exhibited by nature on that Conti ¦
nent. By the beginning of April, although the sun
has attained very considerable power, yet the
ice in the rivers is so thick, and its temperature
so many degrees below freezing, that little or
no effect is produced upon it in the middle of
the stream. The banks, however, of the river
receiving heat from the sun, treacherously
melt that portion of the ice which immediately
touches them, and this operation continues
until a space of blue water intervenes between
the shore and the ice sufficient to prevent any
one from passing on foot from the one to the
other, and yet, long after this period, the ice
in the middle of the stream remains strong
enough to bear artillery or carriages of any
weight.

54 SERGEANT NEILL. Chap. HI.
Now, it is evident that if a river through
out its course were straight and of equal
breadth, the current, without waiting unril the
sun should melt the ice, would carry it bodily
away into the ocean so soon as the banks ceased
to hold it.
Rivers, however, being more or less tortuous,
and containing generally little islands and
rocks, it became necessary for Nature to resort
to an admixture in about equal parts of fair
means and foul, or, in other words, to combine
the persuasive powers of the sun with the rude
violence of the torrent, and thus the dense
stratum of ice which covers the surface of the
river finds itself between two powerful enemies,
one of which, by the constant application of
heat, is trying to melt it, while the other, as it
glides beneath it, is exerting a never-ceasing
effort to drag it towards the sea. Any one
who in swimming down a stream has ever
chanced to grasp the branch of a tree over
hanging the banks, has no doubt found it
almost impossible to hold on, and even if the
palm of the hand be applied to the surface of
running water, a rude guess may be made of
the force which a large river throughout its

Chap. III. SERGEANT NEILL. 55
whole course must exert against a covering of
ice which, standing stock still, refuses to par
take of its course.
As the sun strengthens, the velocity and
power of the current is hourly increased by the
melting of the snow, which, by wrenching the
ice upwards, isolates it, excepting at particular
bends and turns of the river, which retain or
jam the whole mass.
At these fortresses, as they may be termed,
the pressure on the ice becomes immense ;
bit after bit breaks, until each obstruction
having given way, the whole mass is retained
at some single point only. This last conflict
between the elements of nature is truly terrific ;
fields ofice are forced upon the land, and then
grinding, squeezing, undermining, and raising
each other, continue to form impending rocks
from 50 to 80 feet high ! While the resistance
of the ice is daily decreasing, the strength of
the never-tiring current is hourly increasing,
until by the swelling of the water the ice is
either lifted above the insular obstruction that
impeded it, or, unable any longer to resist, it is
forcibly rent asunder. The hour of victory
has then arrived, the spring of another new

56 SEEGEANT NEILL. Chap. III.
year has once again conquered the winter ; the
hquid water has overcome its frozen enemy,
and the whole of the ice, writhing and break
ing up in all directions, like a vanquished
army, at first slowly surrenders its position,
and then by a '^ sauve-qui-peut" movement
retreats in confusion proportionate to its mass,
I happened twice to succeed in witnessing
the breaking up of the ice of the Humber, a
small river in the neighbourhood of Toronto.
The floods which had wrenched up the ice
had floated a large quantity of timber of every
possible description, and as soon as the great
movement commenced, these trees and the ice
were hurried before my eyes in indescribable
confusion. Every piece of ice, whatever might
be its shape or size, as it proceeded, was either
revolving horizontally, or rearing up on end
until it reeled over ; sometimes a tree, striking
against the bottom, would slowly rise up, and
for a moment stand erect as if it grew out of
the river ; at other times it would, apparently
for variety's sake, stand on its head with its
roots uppermost and then turn over ; sometimes
the ice as it proceeded would rise up like a
house and chimneys, and then rolling head

Chap. III. SERGEANT NEILL. 57
over heels, sink, and leave in its place clear
water. In a few hours, however, this turmoil was
completely at an end, the torrent had subsided,
the stream had returned to its ordinary limits,
and nothing remained to tell of the struggle
and the chance-medley confusion I had wit
nessed but some white little islands of ice,
intermixed with dark masses of timber, floating
off the mouth of the river in the deep blue
lake.

In the different regions of the globe which
it has been my fortune to visit, I have always
experienced great pleasure in pausing for a
few minutes at the various spots which have
been distinguished by some feat or other of
British enterprise, British mercy, British ho
nesty, British generosity, or British valour.
About the time I was in Canada a trifling
circumstance occurred on the breaking up of
the ice, which I feel proud to record.
In the middle of the great St. Lawrence
there is, nearly opposite Montreal, an island
called St, Helens, between which and the shore
1)3

58 SEEGEANT NEILL. Chap. III.
the stream, about three quarters of a mile
broad, runs with very great rapidity, and yet,
notwithstanding this current, the intense cold
of winter invariably freezes its surface.
The winter I am speaking of was unusuaUy
severe, and the ice on the St. Lawrence par
ticularly thick; however, while the river be
neath was rushing towards the sea, the ice was
waiting in abeyance in the middle of the
stream until the narrow fastness between
Montreal and St. Helens should burst and
allow the whole mass to break into pieces, and
then in stupendous confusion to hurry down
wards towards Quebec,
On St, Helens there was quartered a small
detachment of troops, and while the breaking
up of the ice was momently expected, many of
the soldiers, muffled in their great-coats with
thick storm-gloves on their hands, and with a
piece of fur attached to their caps to protect
their ears from being frozen, were on the ice
employed in attending to the road across it to
Montreal. After a short suspense, which increased
rather than allayed their excitement, a deep
thundering noise announced to them that the

Chap. III. SEEGEANT NEILL. 59
process I have described had commenced.
The ice before them writhed, heaved up, burst,
broke into fragments, and the whole mass, ex
cepting a small portion, which remaining
riveted to the shore of St. Helens formed an
artificial pier with deep water beneath it, gra
dually moved downwards.
Just at this moment of intense interest, a
little girl, the daughter of an artilleryman on
the island, was seen on the ice in the middle
ofthe river in an attitude of agony and alarm.
Imprudently and unobserved she had attempted
to cross over to Montreal, and was hardly half
way when the ice both above, below her, and
in all directions, gave way. The child's fate
seemed inevitable, and it was exciting various
sensations in the minds, and various exclamar
tions from^ the mouths of the soldiers, when
something within the breast of Thomas Neill,
a young sergeant in the 24th regiment, who
happened to be much nearer to her than the
rest, distinctly uttered to him the monosyllar
bles " Quick, march !" and in obedience thereto,
fixing his eyes on the child as on a parade
bandarole, he steadily proceeded towards her.
Sometimes just before him, sometimes just

60 SEEGEANT NEILL. Chap. III.
behind him, and sometimes on either side, an
immense piece of ice would pause, rear up an
end, and roll over, so as occasionally to hide
him altogether from view. Sometimes he was
seen jumping from a piece that was beginning
to rise, and then, like a white bear carefully
clambering down a piece that was beginning
to sink, however, onwards he proceeded, until
reaching the little island of ice on which the
poor child stood, with the feelings of calm
triumph with which he would have surmounted
a breach, he firmly grasped her by the hand.
By this time he had been floated down the
river nearly out of sight of his comrades.
However, some of them, having run to their
barracks for spy-glasses, distinctly beheld him
about two miles below them, sometimes leading
the child in his hand, sometimes carrying her
in his arms, sonietimes "halting," sometimes
running " double quick ;" and in this dan
gerous predicament he continued for six miles,
until, after passing Longeuil, he was given up
by his comrades as — lost.
He remained with the little girl floating
down the middle of the river for a considerable
time ; at last, towards evening, they were dis-

Chap. III. SEEGEANT NEILL. 6 1
covered by some French Canadians, who, at no
small risk, humanely pushed off" in a canoe to
their assistance, and thus rescued them both
from thefr perilous situation.
The Canadians took them to their home ;
at last, in due time, they returned to St, Helens.
The child was happily restored to its parents,
and Sergeant Neill quietly returned to his
barracks. Colour-Sergeant William Delaney, and Pri
vate George Morgan, of the 24th Regiment,
now at Chatham, were eye-witnesses of the
above occurrence.

( 62 )

Chapter IV.
THE GEENADIEES' POND.
Whenever a man has a favourite propensity,
good or evil, it matters not a straw, his mind
is always exceedingly clever in finding out
reasons for its indulgence; and accordingly,
as soon as I commenced my duties at Toronto,
something within me strenuously advised that
I should every day take a good long ride.
" You will never," said my mentor, " be able
to get through your business without it !
Your constitution will become enervated ; you
will get sallow, yellow, bitter-minded, sour-
tempered ; you will die if you don't take your
usual exercise ! "
Not wishing to be considered obstinate, I
yielded to this advice, and I believe I may say
that, up to the period of the rebellion, I never
departed from it for a single day: indeed I
am confident that, under Providence, the
preservation of my health has been the reward
of my dutiful obedience.

Chap. IV. THE GRENADIERS' POND. 63
In Canada, as soon as the hand of winter
paints the ground white, everybody, muffled in
fur, instinctively steps into a sleigh ; and as
matter, philosophers say, cannot occupy two
places at the same time, it follows that nobody
can be seen on what sailors call " the outside
of a horse." To this rule, however, I formed,
I believe, a solitary exception.
Whether it was hot or cold — whether it
rained, blew, or froze, sooner or later I ma
naged every day, unattended by any one, to
get a canter through the dark pine-forest which
immediately surrounds Toronto, and then
across the Humber Plains, a distance of about
fourteen miles.
In spring, summer, and autumn, this whole
some exercise was indescribably delightful,
especially because its solitude afforded me op
portunity quietly to reflect on various subjects
which were weighing heavily on my mind.
In winter this recreation was also highly ex
hilarating; but as I was constantly detained by
business until the blood-red sun was within a
few inches of the horizon, and had therefore
oftentimes to ride through the forest in the
dark, it was necessary to take due precaution

64 THE GRENADIERS' POND. Chap. IV.
to prevent being frozen; and, indeed, after
being all day in a house heated by a stove, I
found that it occasionally required some little
resolution to face a temperature occasionally
forty or fifty degrees below freezing. However,
as soon as through the double windows of my
room I saw my horse walking backwards and
forwards, waiting for me, I always felt en
couraged to make my toilette, of which I will
only say that, like that of a Turkish lady, it
left little but my eyes uncovered.
This protection I found quite impervious to
the weather ; and although if I had lost one of
my fur gloves I should have lost a hand, and
if I had been stripped of my fur coat, should
have been frozen, yet as no such accidents were
likely to befall me, I proceeded in daylight or
in darkness along my usual track, the sensation
of cantering through snow very nearly resem
bling that of riding across ploughed land.
One lovely day in spring I had crossed the
Humber Plains, which in high beauty were
covered with shrubs, little flowers of various
descriptions — wild strawberries, wild rasp
berries, and immense scarlet tiger-lilies in full
bloom, and I had reached the shore of Lake

Chap. IV. THE GRENADIERS' POND. 65
Ontario at a point about three miles from To
ronto, when I saw immediately before me a
group of men stooping down to raise from the
ground something which, on my riding up to
them, proved to be an enormous land-tortoise,
which had burrowed into the sand of the beach.
After laying the creature on its back the men
continued with their hands to excavate the sand
in search, as they told me, of eggs ; and accord
ingly in a short time they brought to light
almost a hat full of them, as round as, and about
the size of canister shot. On conversing with
the men, I found that, as payment for her eggs,
they were going to roast the poor mother — an
unjust arrangement, which by a little money I
managed to prevent; and I had scarcely pro
ceeded a hundred yards when I came to two
men standing still, and holding between them
a weak-looking middle-aged man, who did not
appear to be offering any resistance, and whose
countenance, the moment I beheld it, pro
claimed that he was insane.
" What had we better do with this poor fel
low?" said one of his captors to me; "he
wants to make away with himself, and says he
is determined to drown himself, either in the
Lake or in the Grenadiers' Pond here ! "

66 THE GEENADIEES' POND. Chap. IV.
Now, the beautiful blue Lake, covered with
a healthy ripple, and extending as far as the
eye could reach, was close to us ; and on the
other side, within fifty yards of us, there was
hidden in the forest a horrid miry little spot,
called the Grenadiers' Pond, because a party
of English soldiers, in endeavouring, during
the war, to cross it in a boat, had been upset,
and after floundering in the mud had sunk in
it, and were there still. Poor fellows ! I had
often shuddered at their fate, as I looked at the
spot, — an image of John Bunyan's " Slough of
Despond." As there was no asylum for lunatics in the
province, it required some few moments' con
sideration to determine what to do; at last,
after a short conversation with the men, I ar
ranged with them that they should take their
prisoner to the hospital at Toronto ; and as I
had to ride by it in my way home, I told them
I would see that, by the time they arrived,
proper arrangements should be made for treat
ing him with kindness and attention.
The poor maniac paid no attention whatever
to what we were saying : he offered no resist
ance ; made not the slightest effort to escape ;
but never shall I forget the wistful expression

Chap. IV. THE GRENADIERS' POND. 67
of countenance with which he kept turning
his haggard face sometimes towards the blue
Lake, and sometimes towards the bank which
concealed from us the Grenadiers' Pond; in
short, it was painfully evident that the affec
tions of this nameless, friendless being were,
as nearly as possible, divided between both,
and that, weaned from every other attachment
to this world, or to the next, his agonising dis
traction solely proceeded from the difficulty of
determining which of two delightful resting
places to prefer; indeed, so strong was his in
fatuation, that as the two men led him between
them before me, a stranger would have fancied
tliat, instead of leading him away from death,
we were conducting him to execution; — that
his wife and children were behind him ; and
that he was looking back, first over one shoul
der, and then over another, to offer them
one more blessing, and to bid them another —
and then another — last — " farewell ! "
When the party reached the hospital, they
found everything ready for the man's recep
tion, and next morning I was happy to learn
that he appeared perfectly calm and tranquil.
On the following day, however, when I in-

68 THE GRENADIERS' POND. Chap. IV.
quired, I was informed that he had managed a
few hours ago to escape, and that he was gone
— they knew not where !
I knew well enough where he was gone, and
it being in my daily track, I immediately rode
to the point I have described, between the Lake
and the Grenadiers' Pond. He was not there;
but it was afterwards ascertained that, within
an hour after he had escaped from the hospital,
a man exactly answering his description had
been seen walking hurriedly up and down the
narrow space I have described, and that when
the person who had passed him turned his
head back to look for him, he had, to his sur
prise, completely disappeared !
If he had gone into the lake, his body, in
due time, would have been washed on shore ;
but as this did not happen, well knowing where
he was, I often rode to the Grenadiers' Pond to
indulge for a few moments in feelings
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
A POOR LUNATIC,

( 69 )

Chapter V,
THE EMIGRANT'S LARK.
Henry Patterson and his wife Elizabeth sailed
from the Tower in the year 1834, as emigrants
on board a vessel heavily laden with passengers,
and bound to Quebec.
Patterson was an intimate friend of a noted
bird-catcher in London called " Charley Nash."
Now Nash had determined to make his friend
a present of a good skylark to take to Canada
with him ; but not having what he called " a
real good un" among his collection, he went
into the country on purpose to trap one. In
this effort he succeeded, but when he returned
to London he found that his friend Patterson
had embarked, and that the vessel had sailed
a few hours before he reached the Tower Stairs,
He therefore jumped on board a steamer that
was just starting, and overtook the ship just as
she reached Gravesend, where he hired a small
boat, and then sculling alongside, he was soon

70 THE EMIGRANTS LARK. Chap. V.
recognised by Patterson and his wife, who with
a crowd of other male and female emigrants,
of all ages, were taking a last farewell of the
various objects which the vessel was slowly
passing. " Here 's a bird for you, Harry," said Nash
to Patterson, as standing up in the skiff he took
the frightened captive out of his hat, " and if
it sings as well in a cage as it did just now
in the air, it will be the best you have ever
heard." Patterson, descending a few steps from the
gangway, stretched out his hand and received
the bird, which he immediately called " Char
ley" in remembrance of his faithful friend
Nash, In the Gulf of St, Lawrence the vessel was
wrecked, almost every thing was lost except
the lives of the crew and passengers, and ac
cordingly when Patterson, with his wife hang
ing heavily on his arm, landed in Canada, he
was destitute of every thing he had owned on
board excepting Charley, whom he had pre
served and afterwards kept for three days in
the foot of an old stocking.
After some few sorrows, and after some

Chap. V. THE EMIGRANTS LAEK. 7 1
little time, Patterson settled himself at Toronto,
in the lower part of a small house in King
Street, the principal thoroughfare of the town,
where he worked as a shoemaker. His shop
had a southern aspect ; he drove a nail into the
outside of his window, and regularly every
morning, just before he sat upon his stool to
commence his daily work, he carefully hung
upon this nail a common skylark's cage, which
had a solid back of dark wood, with a bow or
small wire orchestra in front, upon the bottom
of which there was to be seen, whenever it
could be procured, a fresh sod of green turf.
As Charley's wings were of no use to him in
this prison, the only wholesome exercise he
could take was by hopping on and off his
little stage ; and this sometimes he would con
tinue to do most cheerfully for hours, stopping
only occasionally to dip his bill into a small
square tin box of water suspended on one side,
and then to raise it for a second or two towards
the sky. As soon, however, as (and only
when his spirit moved him) this feathered
captive again hopped upon his stage, and
there, standing on a bit of British soil, with
his little neck extended, his small head slightly

72 THE EMIGRANT'S LAEK. Chap. V.
turned, his drooping wings gently fluttering,
his bright black eyes intently fixed upon the
distant deep, dark -blue Canada sky, he com
menced his unpremeditated morning song, his
extempore matin prayer !
The effect of his thrilling notes, of his shrill,
joyous song, of his pure, unadulterated English
voice upon the people of Canada cannot be
described, and probably can only be imagined
by those who either by adversity have been
prematurely weaned from their mother country,
or who, from long-continued absence from it,
and from hope deferred, have learned in a
foreign land to appreciate the inestimable
blessings of their father-land, of their parent
home. All sorts of men, riding, driving,
walking, propelled by urgent business, or
sauntering for appetite or amusement, as if
by word of command, stopped spell-bound
to listen, for more or less time, to the inspired
warbling, to the joyful hallelujahs of a com
mon homely-dressed English lark ! The loyal
listened to him with the veneration with which
they would have listened to the voice of their
Sovereign ; reformers, as they leaned towards
him, heard nothing in his enchanting melody

Chap. V. THE EMIGRANT'S LARK. 73
which even they could desire to improve, I
believe that in the hearts of the most obdurate
radicals he reanimated feelings of youthful
attachraent to their mother country ; and that
even the trading Yankee, in whose country
birds of the most gorgeous plumage snuffle
rather than sing, must have acknowledged
that the heaven-born talent of this little bird
unaccountably warmed the Anglo-Saxon blood
that flowed in his veins. Nevertheless, whatever
others may have felt, I must own that, al
though I always refrained from joiningCharley's
motley audience, yet, while he was singing,
I never rode bj' him without acknowledging,
as he stood with his outstretched neck looking
to heaven, that he was (at all events, for his
size) the most powerful advocate of Church and
State in Her Majesty's dominions; and that
his eloquence was as strongly appreciated by
others, Patterson received many convincing
proofs. Three times as he sat beneath the cage,
proud as Lucifer, yet hammering away at a
shoe-sole lying in purgatory on his lap-stone,
and then, with a waxed thread in each hand,
suddenly extending his elbows, like a scara-
E

74 THE EMIGRANT'S LARK. Chap. V-
mouch ; three times was he interrupted in his
work by people who each separately offered
him one hundred dollars for his lark : an old
farmer repeatedly offered him a hundred
acres of land for him; and a poor Sussex
carter who had imprudently stopped to hear
him sing, was so completely overwhelmed with
affection and maladie du pays, that, walking
into the shop, he offered for him all he pos
sessed in the world . , . , his horse and cart ;
but Patterson would sell him to no one.
On the evening of the — th of October,
1 837, the shutters of Patterson's shop-windows
were half closed, on account of his having that
morning been accidentally shot dead on the
island opposite the city. The widow's pro
spects were thus suddenly ruined, her hopes
blasted, her goods sold, and I need hardly
say that I made myself the owner — the lord
and the master of poor Patterson's lark.
It was my earnest desire, if possible, to
better his condition, and I certainly felt very
proud to possess him ; but somehow or other
this "Charley-is-my-darling" sort of feeling
evidently was not reciprocal. Whether it was
that in the conservatory of Government House

Chap, V. THE EMIGRANT'S LARK. 75
at Toronto Charley missed the sky — whether
it was that he disliked the movement, or
rather want of movement, in my elbows — or
whether from some mysterious feelings, some
strange fancy or misgiving, the chamber of
his little mind was hung with black, I can
only say that during the three months he
remained in my service I could never induce
him to open his mouth, and that up to the
last hour of my departure he would never sing
to me.
On leaving Canada I gave him to Daniel
Orris, an honest, faithftil, loyal friend, who
had accompanied me to the province. His
station in life was about equal to that of poor
Patterson ; and accordingly, so soon as the bird
was hung by him on the outside of his humble
dwelling, he began to sing again as exquisitely
as ever. He continued to do so all through
Sir George Arthur's administration. He sang
all the time Lord Durham was at work — he
sang after the Legislative Council — the Execu
tive Council — the House of Assembly of the
province had ceased for ever to exist — he sang
all the while the Imperial Parliament were
framing and agreeing to an Act by which even
e2

76 THE EMIGRANT'S LARK. Chap. V.
the name of Upper Canada was to cease to
exist — he sang all the while Lords John
Russell and Sydenham were arranging, effect
ing, and perpetuating upon the United Pro
vinces of Canada the baneful domination of
what they called "responsible government;"
and then, feeling that the voice of an English
lark could no longer be of any service to that
noble portion of Her Majesty's dominions — he
died! Orris sent me his skin, his skull, and his
legs, I took them to the very best artist in
London — the gentleman who stuffs for the
British Museum— who told me to my great
joy that these remains were perfectly unin
jured. After listening with great professional
interest to the case, he promised me that he
would exert his utmost talent ; and in about a
month Charley returned to me with unruffled
plumage, standing again on the little orchestra
of his cage, with his mouth open, looking
upwards — in short, in the attitude of singing,
just as I have described him.
I have had the whole covered with a large
glass case, and upon the dark wooden back of
the cage there is pasted a piece of white

Chap. V. THE EMIGRANT'S LAEK. Tl
paper, upon which I have written the follow
ing words: — THIS LARK,
TAKEN TO CANADA BT A POOR EMIGRANT,
¦WAS SHIp-WRECKED IN THE ST. LA-WRENCE,
AND AFTER SINGING AT TORONTO FOR NINE YEARS,
DIED THERE ON THE 14tH OF MARCH, 1843,
UNIVERSALLY REGRETTED,
Home ! Home ! Sweet Home !

( 78 )

Chapter VI,

THE LONG TEOT.

When an engineer has to construct, in a fo
reign country, a work of magnitude upon
which his reputation must stand or fall, his
first object should be, by repeated trials, to
ascertain the quality of the timber, iron, stone,
lime, cement, and other materials of which his
work is to be composed.
The same precaution is evidently necessary
in the administration of the government of an
important colony ; and accordingly my princi
pal endeavour during the time I was in Canada
was to make myself acquainted with the anta
gonist opinions, dissenting sects, and conflict
ing interests, as represented by the conglome
rated population of the Province,
As my despatches were almost invariably
written at night, for upwards of two years I
was principally occupied in receiving for six
days in the week, from ten in the morning till

Chap. VI. THE LONG TROT, 79
three or four o'clock in the afternoon, whoever
might desire to see me; and as everybody
had either some little grievance to complain
of, some little favour to ask, or some slight
curiosity to become acquainted with me — in
short, some small excuse for a holiday-trip
to Toronto, my waiting-room was almost con
stantly supplied with a round-robin list of
attendants, to which there was apparently no
end. I need hardly say that I had some endless,
objectless, miserably-unimportant, and conse
quently most wearisome stories to listen to;
and that the bulk of the business, if such it
could be termed, would have been infinitely
better transacted by written memorials, to be
carefully examined and reported on, by the
various departments to which each respectively
belonged. On the other hand, though I was often much
fatigued by giving attention to such a variety
of minute statements, many of which had nei
ther head nor tail, and which were quite as
confusedly understood by the various explain-
ants as they were by me; yet I always felt it
to be of infinite service to me thus to learn

80 THE LONG TROT. Chap. VI.
from their own mouths whatever the inhabit
ants of the Province might have to complain
of; and that a little patience, a few sentences
of explanation, and a few words of kindness,
were seeds well worth the trouble of sowing.
But although by this dull routine I became
personally acquainted with most of those who
could afford the enjoyment of a journey to
Toronto, yet there were, of course, many emi
grants in the remote districts whose purses
and whose occupations tethered them to their
locations. From some of these I was in the
habit of receiving letters on all sorts of sub
jects ; and although it was occasionally not a
very easy task to decipher them, it was very
gratifying to me, after a careful analysis of
their contents, to ascertain what very trifling
grounds of complaint they contained : indeed,
I believe that in many cases the grievance was
not half equal to the trouble of describing it.
Some evidently did not know in what form to
begin or end their epistle ; and some who had
managed to ascertain this, had really nothing
to put in the middle of it. In short, I was ad
dressed in all sorts of ways, and with all sorts
of requests ; as a sample of which I will insert

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 8 1
the following very reasonable letter which I
received from an old soldier of the 49th : —
« 29ih March, 1837.
" May it plase your Honor and glory, for iver more.
Amen! "I, James Ketsoe, Formly belonging to the 49
Regt. of Foot, -was sent to this contry in 1817 by his
Majesty Gorge the Forth to git land for myself and
boys; but my boys -was to small, but Plase your
Honor now the Can work, so I hope your honor wold
be so good to a low them Land, because the are Intitle
to land by Lord Bathus. I was spaking to His Lord
Ship in his one office in Downing Street, London, and
he tould to beshure I wold Git land for my boys.
Plase your Honor, I was spaking to Lord Almor before
he went home about the land for my boys, and he sed
to beshure I was Intitle to it.
" Lord Almor was Captain in the one Regt., that is,
the Old 49th Regt. foot. Plase your Honor, I hope
you will doe a old Solder Justis. God bless you and
your family. " Your most humble Sarvint,
"James Ketsoe."
" N.B. — Plase your Honor, I hope you will excuse
my Vulgar way of -writing to you, but these is hard
times. Governor, so I hope you will send me an
answer.'' To these various applications I gave the
clearest answers in my power ; but knowing
E 3

82 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
that a visit to my malcontents would give
much more satisfaction than any letters I could
write to them, I resolved to inspect every dis
trict in the province, and accordingly, during
the two summers I was in Canada, I employed
myself in this duty.
The plan I pursued was, to give notice of the
time and place at which I proposed to enter
each district ; and accordingly, on my arrival,
I generally found assembled, on horseback,
people of all conditions, who, generally from
good feelings, and occasionally from curiosity,
had determined to accompany me through
their respective townships.
The pace I traveUed at, from morning till
five or six o'clock in the evening, was a quiet,
steady, unrelenting trot ; and in this way I pro
ceeded many hundred miles, listening some
times to one description of politics and some
times to another — sometimes to an anecdote
and sometimes to a complaint — sometimes to
a compliment and sonietimes, though very
rarely, to observations evidently proceeding
from a moral region "on the north side of
friendly," I thus visited all the cities, towns, and

Chap, VI, THE LONG TROT. 83
largest villages : all the principal locations —
The Rideau, St, Lawrence, and Welland canals ;
all the public works, the macadamised roads,
plank roads, corduroy roads, the great harbours,
Hght-houses, and the great rivers, I went
down the rapids of the Trent in a bark canoe, —
down the Ottawa water-slide on a raft, with
the lumberers ; in fact, I traversed the wilder
ness of Canada in various directions, from the
extreme east to the extreme west, and visited
Lakes Huron, Erie, Simcoe, and Ontario,
But although the features of the country
were highly interesting, the experience I
valued most of all was the moral and political
information I was enabled to collect from the
numerous persons who were good enough to
ride along with me, and whom I always found
as ready to instruct me as I was to learn ; in
short, quite as willing to couch from my eyes
the film of ignorance and prejudice as I was
to submit — so far as it could rudely be done at
a trot — to the operation.
It would not only make a large volume, but
an exceedingly dull one, were I to describe in
detail the various public works I inspected,
the scenes I visited, or the facts and opinions I

84 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
collected ; I will therefore briefly make but a
few unconnected observations.
Although every foreigner, the instant he
lands in England, is struck with the evidence
displayed before him, in every direction, of the
wealth and energy of the British people, yet a
much more striking exemplification of both is
to be seen by any one who will carefully sur
vey a British colony.
For instance, the growth of the colony of
Upper Canada demonstrates beyond all doubt
the extraordinary vigour of its parent state.
Fifty years ago, the region in question,
which is considerably larger than England and
W^ales, and which is bounded by five or six of
the largest States of the adjoining republic,
was a splendid wilderness of deep rich soil,
covered with trees — pine, beech, birch, cedar,
and oak, of unusual girth and height, under
the branches of which there existed, almost
hidden from the rays of the sun, the wild
beasts of the forest, and their lords and masters,
a few red Indians, who, with no fixed abodes,
rambled through the trees as freely as the
wind, which " goeth where it listeth."
In the hidden recesses of this vast wilderness,

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 85
man and beast, unseen by any living witness,
were occasionally desperately engaged in single
combat. The Indian sometimes was hungry —
sometimes was gorged — sometimes, emerging
from the -wilderness, he stood for a moment
gazing at the splendid interminable ocean of
fresh water before him ; and then, diving again
into the forest, he would traverse it for hundreds
of miles in search of game, or of friends whose
hunting grounds, as well as innumerable other
localities, were clearly traced on the tablet
of his mind ; in short, he was acquainted
with the best salt-licks — he knew where to go
for bears or for beavers, for fish, flesh, or fur,
and he knew how to steer his course to com
mune with " the Great Spirit" at that solemn
place of worship, the falls of Niagara ; never
theless, with all his instinct and intelligence,
the vast country he inhabited remained unal
tered and even untouched, except by his foot
as he rambled across it.
Upon this strange scene of unadulterated,
uncontaminated nature, a solitary white man's
face intruded ; and within the short, fleeting
space of half a century, what an extraordinary
change has he effected !

86 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
Upwards of half a million of his race are
now busily cultivating the country, and in
various other ways reaping the golden harvests
of their industry.
Cities and towns, composed of substantial
brick or stone houses, and lighted with gas,
have arisen, as it were by magic, from the
ground. Magnificent harbours have been for
tified, valuable fisheries and timber trade
established, and mines in operation.
On macadamised roads upwards of 200,000/.
has already been expended, as also an immense
sum on plank roads.
On inland navigation there has already been
expended — on the Rideau Canal, upwards of a
million sterling ; on the Welland Canal, nearly
half a miUion; on the St. Lawrence Canal,
more than 300,000/, ; on the Lachine Canal,
about 100,000/. ; besides large sums on the
Grand River Navigation, Tay Navigation, &c.
Innumerable miUs of various descriptions
have been constructed.
A legislature has been created ; and by its
power and authority, and under the blessing
of sound religious establishments of various
denominations, the supremacy of the law has,

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 87
throughout the whole Province, been enabled
to guard life and property as effectuaUy as
they are protected in England,
Lastly, and in addition to the above, a mil
lion and a half sterling, the late loan from
the mother-country, either has been expended
or at this moment is expending on public
works and improvements of various descrip
tions ; and when it is considered that the
region in question, in which, within the period
stated, civilization has made more rapid strides
than on any other portion of North America
or of the habitable globe, is singularly gifted
with a salubrious and exhilarating climate ;
that it is connected not only with a series of
the noblest fresh-water seas on the surface of
the world, but with the colonies of Lower
Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince
Edward's Island, and Newfoundland, which
comprehend harbours, collieries, and fisheries
of the most valuable description ; is it not aston
ishing to reflect that there should exist British
Statesmen, both Whigs and Tories, of great
moral worth, who are disposed to argue that
our North American colonies, the nursery for
our seamen, the employers of our shipping, the

88 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
brightest jewel in the British Crown, are of
no use ?
Why, even if the cities, towns, villages,
houses, farms, cleared land, fisheries, lumber-
slides, mines, collieries, harbours, mills, light
houses, canals, macadamized roads, fortifica
tions, and various other public works and build
ings which might be enumerated, were to be
sold by public auction, the sum which all this
British property would fetch in the market,
enormous as it would be, would bear but little
proportion to its real intrinsic value, inas
much as in all new countries the value of every
possession hourly increases with the swelling
growth of the whole country : by which I
mean, that while A is working with his axe in
the wilderness, his location and his log-hut are
improved in value by every neighbouring
clearance, by the establishment of every ad
joining mill; in fact, by every road, canal,
village, town, city, or market of any de
scription, constructed in any part of the
country. But besides the present marketable value of
our North American colonies, it is surely of
inestimable importance, not only to Great

Chap. VI, THE LONG TEOT. 89
Britain, but to the whole family of mankind,
that the immense surplus population of our
empire, instead of being every day cast adrift,
as an infant is deserted by an unnatural
mother — instead of being left without educa
tion, religious, moral, or political, to the com
mission of every possible crime, and thus to
bring " sorrow, and sin, and shame " upon the
English name — should be parentally conducted
by the mother-country to a fertile, healthy, and
happy country, inhabited by colonists who
glory in the name of Britain — whose virtues
and whose bravery do honour to Old England,
and who, with open arms, receive all those
whose labour in the mother country is a drug,
but in the young country, an assistance of in
estimable value.

In riding through the forest I often passed
deserted log-huts, standing in the middle of
what is called " cleared land," — that is to say,
the enormous pine trees of the surrounding
forest had been chopped down to stumps
about a yard high, around which there had
rushed up a luxurious growth of hard brush-

90 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VL
wood, the height of which denoted that several
years must have elapsed since the tenants had
retired. There was something which I always felt to
be deeply affecting in passing these little
monuments of the failure of human expecta
tions — ofthe blight of human hopes !
The courage that had been evinced in set-^
tling in the heart of the wilderness, and the
amount of labour that had been expended in
cutting down so many large trees, had all
ended in disappointment, and occasionally in
sorrows of the severest description. The arm
that had wielded the axe had perhaps become
gradually enervated by ague (which always
ungratefully rises out of cleared ground), until
death had slowly terminated the existence of
the poor emigrant, leaving a broken-hearted
woman and a helpless family with nothing to
look to for support but the clear bright blue
heavens above them.
In many of the spots I passed, I ascertained
that these dispensations of Providence had been
as sudden as they were awful. The emigrant
had arisen in robust health — surrounded by his
numerous and happy family, had partaken of a

Chap, VI. THE LONG TROT, 9 1
homely breakfast — had left his log-hut with a
firm step, and with manly pride had again
resumed his attack upon the wilderness,
through which every blow of his axe, like the
tick of a clock, recorded the steady progress of
the hand that belonged to it. But at the hour
of dinner he did not return ! The wife waited —
bid her rosy-faced children be patient — waited
— felt anxious — alarmed — stepped beyond the
threshhold of her log hut — listened : the axe
was not at work ! Excepting that inde
scribable seolian murmur which the air makes
in passing through the stems and branches of
the forest, not a sound was to be heard. Her
heart misgives her ; she walks — runs towards
the spot where she knew her husband to have
been at work. She finds him, without his
jacket or neckcloth, lying, with extended arms,
on his back, cold, and crushed to death by the
last tree he had felled, which in falling, jump
ing from its stump, had knocked him down,
and which is now resting with its whole weight
upon his bared breast !
The widow screams in vain ; she endeavours
to extricate her husband's corpse, but it is
utterly impracticable. She leaves it to satisfy

92 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
her infant's hunger— to appease her children's

cries !

The above is but a faint outline of a scene
that has so repeatedly occurred in the wilder
ness of America — that it is usually summed
up in the words, " He was killed hy the fall of a
tree."

In riding through the midland district 1
passed a log-hut which stood about one hundred
yards from the road, in the centre of a clear
ance of about four acres.
As it had evidently been deserted many
years, I inquired, as usual, of the person be
longing to the township, who happened to be
riding nearest to me, to whom it belonged 1
in reply to which I received the following little
story, which has since very often flitted across
my mind.
The British emigrant who had reared this
humble shanty was one day engaged in a
remote part of his two-hundred-acre lot in
ploughing a small space of ground which he
had but partially cleared, and he was proceeding
without his coat close to his plough, driving a

Chap. VI. THE LONG TROT. 93
yoke of oxen, when the animals, starting at
some wild beast or other object which they saw
in the forest, suddenly dragged the plough be
tween an immense fallen tree and a stump, by
which the driver's right foot and ankle were so
firmly jammed, that the plough was not only
completely stopped, but imraoveably fixed.
For a considerable time the poor fellow,
standing with his left leg on his plough, suf
fered excruciating agony, from which he saw
not the slightest chance of release. At times
he almost fainted ; but on recovering from his
miserable dreams he always found himself ii^
the same position — in the same agony — in
the same writhing attitude of despair.
In a fit of desperation he drew his knife
from his belt, and for a few seconds meditated
on endeavouring to release himself by cutting
off his own foot ; but reflection again plunged
him into despair, and in this agony he re
mained until he bethought himself of the fol-t
lowing plan.
Stooping forwards, he cut the band that
connected his oxen to the plough. As soon as
they were at liberty he drew the patient
animals towards him by the rope-reins he had

94 THE LONG TROT. Chap. VI.
continued to hold, and when their heads were
close to him, he passed his hands down his
naked arms, which for some time had been
bleeding from the musquitoes that had been
assailing them, and then daubing the points
of the horns of both his bullocks with his
blood, he cut their reins short off, and striking
the animals with their reins they immediately
left him, and, just as he had intended that
they should, they proceeded homewards.
On their arrival at his log-hut the blood on
their horns instantly attracted the attention of
a labourer who lived with him, and who, fan
cying that the animals must have gored their
master, hastened to the clearance, where they
found him, like Milo, fixed in the cleft oak, in
the dreadful predicament I have described, and
from which it was with the utmost difficulty
that he could be released,
I cannot accurately recollect whether or not
the poor feUow suffered amputation ; but his
deserted log-hut, as I trotted by it, bore me
lancholy evidence that he had been unable to
continue to labour as a back-woodsman, and
that accordingly he had deserted it.

Chap. VI. THE LONG TROT. 95
The Rideau Canal, which by a channel of
154 miles connects the St. Lawrence and Lake
Ontario with the Ottawa River, is not only,
without any exception, the most permanent as
well as the best constructed work on either
continent of America, but it is of incalculable
military importance, inasmuch as it secures a
communication between the Great Lakes and
Upper Canada with Montreal and Quebec, in
case the frontier road, that of the St, Lawrence
River, should fall into the hands of the repub
lican territory which adjoin it.
In taking the levels for the construction of
this vast work it appeared that there were two
modes in which it could be executed.
1st. By deep cuttings and embankments to
retain the water within the usual limits of a
canal; and,
2nd. By constructing locks at more advan
tageous levels, and then by flooding consider
able portions of land between them, to form a
series of artificial lakes, instead of a narrow
channel. The latter course, after very mature consi
deration, was adopted ; and although its ad-

96 THE LONG TEOT. Chap: V.
vantages may be undeniable, yet it has pro
duced a very appalling and unusual picture.
The flooding of the wilderness was a sen
tence of death to every tree whose roots re
mained covered with water ; and yet no sooner
was this operation effected than Nature ap
peared determined to repair the injury by con
verting the fluid which had created the devas
tation into a verdant prairie ; and accordingly
from the hidden soil beneath there arose to the
surface of these artificial lakes a thin green
scum, which gradually thickened, until the
whole surface assumed the appearance I have
described. But this vegetable matter, beautiful as it
appears, mixed with the gradual decay of the
dead trees, becomes rank poison to human hfe ;
so much so, that by native-born Canadians, as
well as by emigrants, it is invariably designated
by the horrid appellation of ^^ fever and ague."
As I proceeded in a steamer through this
treacherous mass, which, rolling in thick folds
before the prow of the vessel, again closed in
at its stern, the view was desolate beyond de
scription.

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 97
As far as I could see, in all directions, I was
surrounded by dead, leafless trees, whose pale,
livid, unwholesome-looking bark gave them
the appearance of so many corpses; and as
the wind whistled and moaned through the
net-work of their stiff, stark, sapless branches,
I could not help feeling it was wafting with it,
in the form of miasma, Nature's punishment for
the wholesale murder that had been com
mitted ; in short, I felt that as a single tree
may stand in the middle of a deserted battle-
plain, surrounded by countless groups of muti
lated human corpses, so I stood on the deck of
the steamer, almost a solitary witness of the
melancholy picture of a dead forest ; or, as in
Canada it is usually termed, of " drowned
land." In justice, however, to the deceased distin
guished officer who constructed this work, it
is proper to say, that on my inspection of
the WeUand Canal I beheld a similar scene ;
and that for practical reasons, which it would
be tedious to detail, the system of flooding land
for canals is often adopted on the Continent of
North America,

98 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
As I was journeying towards the banks of
the Ottawa, I trotted some miles out of my
way to visit a lone shanty, which nearly thirty
years ago witnessed the death of an English
nobleman under circumstances of unexampled
fortitude, which have often been repeated to
me, and of which I believe the following to be
an accurate account.
In the latter end of August, 1819, the Duke
of Richmond, who was then Governor-General
of the Canadas, after visiting Niagara and other
parts of the upper province, reached Kingston
on his return to Quebec,
He had pre-arranged to inspect a new set
of recently settled townships; that is to say,
blocks of the wilderness which had been desig
nated on the map as such, on the line of the
Rideau canal, between the St. Lawrence and
the Ottawa,
The expedition was to occupy three or four
days. On the morning of the first day, as the
duke, accompanied by his staff", was rumUing
tiirough the forest in a light waggon of the
country, he observed that he felt unwell, com
plained of a pain in his shoulder, and men-

Chap. VI. THE LONG TROT. 99
tioned to the officers who were with him that
he had had great difficulty in drinking some
hot wine and water that had been recom
mended to him.
On the evening of this day, he called the
attention of a trusty servant who had been ac
companying him to an unfinished letter he
had addressed to a member of his family at
Quebec, and which the man was to dehver
when they all arrived there I
The next day he became so much worse,
that some of his staff" would fain have persuaded
him to relinquish his expedition, and make for
the St. Lawrence as the easier route to Quebec.
He, however, determined to make his inspec
tion according to his appointments.
On the following day he was evidently ex
tremely unwell, and he so far consented to
alter his plan, that he stopped short of the
village he had intended to reach, in consequence
of there being a swamp through which he would
have had to walk.
Colonel  ., therefore, went forward to
make preparations for the next day, and the
duke remained all night at a cottage.
Colonel  saw how ill he was, and mr-
f2

100 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
nestly advised him to stop ; but the duke feehug
unwilling to disappoint those who were to meet
him, persisted in proceeding.
On the following morning he crossed the
swamp ; and it was observed that whenever the
water was disturbed he was very much agitated,
and occasionally jumped upwards. On reaching
the settlement he was met by Colonel  ,
who was struck with his altered looks and
manner, and begged him to endeavour to ob
tain some rest ; but he turned the subject by
saying he should like to walk round the vil
lage, and he accordingly proceeded to do so.
In the course of their walk they reached a
small stream which crossed the road, on which
the duke turned suddenly, and said to Co
lonel  , that though he had never been
nervous, his feelings were then such that he
could not cross it if his life depended on it.
Nevertheless, though so ill, and though he was
pressed to remain quiet, he persisted in desir
ing that he should not disappoint the chief
officers ofthe settlement from dining with him,
and begged they might be asked as usual.
To one of his party he calmly remarked,
" You know,  , I am in general not afraid

Chap. VL THE LONG TEOT. 101
of a glass of wine, yet you will see with what
difficulty I shall drink it," During dinner the
duke asked this officer to take wine with him,
and it was evident that from some unaccount
able reason it required the utmost resolution
and effort on his part to bring the glass to his
lips. The party retired early, but as the duke, in
consequence of certain feelings during the pre
ceding night, expressed a great horror and
disinclination to go to bed, it was not till late
that he did so.
Early the next morning he was found calmly
finishing his letter to a member of his family,
which he sealed, and then delivered to
Colonel  , with a desire that it might be
delivered at Montreal, a request at the time
utterly incomprehensible.
Colonel  , on receiving this letter, natu
rally enough observed that they should all
proceed there together ; on which the duke
mildly but firmly observed, " It is no use de
ceiving you, I shall never go down there alive''
Colonel  , considering this to be deli
rium, entreated him to remain quiet, and to
send for medical advice. The duke, however,

102 THE LONG TROT. Chap. VI.
persisted in going as far as he could, and
inquired what arrangements had been made for
his proceeding to the Rideau Falls, where a
birch canoe belonging to the North-west Com
pany was waiting for him.
In reply, he was informed that it was pro
posed he should go by himself in a small canoe
down a little stream which meandered through
the forest for some miles, after which he wonld
have to ride and walk. The duke made some
objection to the canoc) intimating that he did not
believe he could get into it ; but he added, " If
I fail you muM force me'.' Now all this was
deemed by the officers of his suite to be the ef
fect of over excitement, fatigue, and the extreme
heat of the sun. However, after breakfast the
duke's party, attended by all the principal in
habitants of the little settlement, walked down
to this stream, where they found the canoe in
waiting manned by a couple of half Indians.
After taking leave of the assembled party
and attendants, the duke with an evident effort
forced himself into the canoe, and he had
scarcelj"^ sat down wben the frail bark pushed
off, and almost immediately afterwards was lost
sight of in the dark forest.

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 103
So remarkable however was the appearance
and eSoTt he had made in approaching and in
seating himself in the canoe, that a gentleman
present immediately exclaimed, " By Heavens !
gentlemen, the Duke of Richmond has the hy-
drophobia ,'"
This appalling observation conveyed to the
minds ofhis devotedly attached attendants the
first intimation or suspicion of the awful fact
which they had so unconsciously witnessed ;
and then flashed upon them the various cor
roborating circumstances which for the few
preceding days had been appearing to them
unaccountable ; namely, the spasms he had
suffered in drinking — his agitation in crossing
the swamp — his inability to pass the stream, &c.
The agony of mind of the officers of his staff
at such overwhelming intellig;ence was inde
scribable ; and while the object of all their
thoughts was threading his way down the
stream, they proceeded along a new road that
had lately been cut through the forest to the
point at which the Duke was to disembark.
They had proceeded about a mile, bewil
dered as to what possible course they should
pursue, when to their horror they saw the

104 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VL
Duke running with fearful energy across the
path, and then dart onwards into the forest.
They immediately ran after him, but he
went so fast that it was some time before he
could be overtaken, and when he was — he
was raving mad !
They secured him and held him down on a
fallen tree for a considerable time. At last
his consciousness returned, and the very first
use he made of it was to desire that they would
take no orders from him, and that he would do
whatever they determined for him.
What to do was of course a difficult point
to settle ; they at last resolved to return to the
settlement, and accordingly in that direction
they all proceeded on foot.
Close to the settlement, they reached the
little stream which he had arrived at the pre
vious day, and which he had told Colonel
 he could not cross.
At this point the duke stopped short, and
turning round said, that as the last request he
should have to make, he begged they would not
require him to cross that stream, as he felt he
could not survive the effort.
Under the difficult circumstances in which

Chap. VI, THE LONG TEOT. 105
they were placed, they could not resist such an
appeal, and they therefore turned back along
the path which led into the forest not knowing
where to go, or on what plan to proceed.
They at last arrived at the little shanty I
have mentioned, and it being the only place
of refuge for many miles, his staff requested
the duke to remain there.
After looking at it for a short time, he said
he would prefer to go into the barn rather
than into the hovel, as he felt sure it was fur
ther from water. His attendants of course
immediately assented to his wish, and he then
sprang over a high fence and walked in.
He remained in that barn the whole day,
occasionaUy perfectly collected, with intermis
sions of spasmodic paroxysms, which affected
both mind and body.
Towards evening he consented to be moved
into the hut, and accordingly such a bed as
could be got ready was speedily prepared.
The officers in attendance anxiously watched
over him throughout the night, and he became
so much more calm that they suffered them
selves to hope that he might recover.
The duke, however, who from many circum-
f3

106 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
stances which afterwards transpired, must, for
several days, have been clearly sensible not
only of the nature of his malady, but that he
could not survive it, was now perfectly aware
of his approaching end, and accordingly, after
calmly expressing to those around him that his
greatest earthly consolation was that his title
and name would be inherited by a son of whose
character he declared the highest opinion and
confidence, he died expressing calm resignation
to the will of God, and without a struggle.
His body was brought down in a canoe from
the Rideau to Montreal, where his family, whp
had scarcely heard of his illness, had assem
bled to welcome his return ; and was subse
quently removed in a steamer to Quebec, where
after lying in state for some days his remains
were interred close to the Communion table
in the cathedral of Quebec.
Nothing could exceed the affliction, not only
of those immediately about him, but of the
inhabitants of both Canadas, by whom he was
universally beloved.
The bare facts of his illness, which I have
purposely repeated as nearly as possible in
the words in which I have often heard them

Chap. VL THE LONG TROT. 107
detailed by those on whose hearts his name
is indelibly recorded, form the simplest and
best evidence that could be offered of the un
exampled power of the human mind to meet
with firmness and submission the greatest
calamity which can assail the human frame.
As I remained for a few minutes on horse
back before the hovel which commemorates,
on the continent of North America, the well-
known facts I have just related, I deeply felt,
and have ever since been of opinion, that there
exists in the British peerage no name that is
recollected in Canada by all parties with such
aflfectionate regard as that noble Englishman
and English nobleman, Charles Lennox, the
late Duke of Richmond.

On my arrival at the Ottawa I received
from a number of very "inteUigent persons
much information, of which I had been igno
rant, respecting the lumber- trade, in which
they were all very deeply engaged. I after-
v.ards, for a considerable time, conversed with
a gang of those fine athletic fellows who, under
the appellation of " lumberers," transport an-

108 THE LONG TROT. Chap. VL
nually immense quantities of valuable timber
of all descriptions to the Ottawa, to be floated
down that river for the markets of Europe,
A little above the picturesque city of Bytown,
which appears to overhang the river, there are
steep rapids and falls, by which the passage of
this timber was seriously delayed. To obviate
this, some capitalists constructed a very im
portant work, by which the torrent was first
retained, and then conducted over a long pre
cipitous " slide " into the deep water beneath,
along which it afterwards continued its unin
terrupted course.
Although the lumberers described to me
with great eagerness the advantages of this
work, I did not readily understand them ; in
consequence of which they proposed that I
should see a raft of timber descend the slide ;
and as one was approaching I got into a boat,
and rowing to the l-aft, I joined the two men
who were conducting it, and my companions
who had taken me to it then returned to the
shore. The scenery on both sides of the Ottawa is
strikingly picturesque, and as the current
hurried us along, the picture continually varied.

Chap. VI. THE LONG TROT. 109
On approaching the slide, one of my tvvo
comrades gave me a staff about eight feet long,
armed at one end with a sharp spike ; and I
then took up my position between them at
what may be termed the stern end of the raft,
which was composed of eight or ten huge
trees, firmly connected together.
As soon as the raft reached the crest of the
slide, its stem, as it proceeded, of course took
leave of the water, aud continued an indepen
dent horizontal course, until its weight over
balancing the stern, the raft, by tilting down
wards, adapted itself to the surface of the slide,
and then with great velocity rushed with the
stream to the water, which was boiling and
breaking beneath.
During the descent, which was totally di
vested of all danger, I found that by sticking
my staff into the timber, I had no difficulty
whatever in retaining my position ; and al
though the foremost end of the raft disappeared
in the deep water into which it had plunged,
yet, like the head of a ship, it rose triumphantly
above the breakers ; and it had scarcely reco
vered, when the raft rapidly glided under a
bridge, from the summit of which it received

110 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VL
three hearty cheers from my brother lumber
men, who had assembled there to see it pass.

We had been riding for several hours, when,
as we were approaching the Rice Lake, we
arrived about noon at the end of a long strag
gling village of Indians, on whose civilization
much care and benevolent attention had been
bestowed. On this occasion I adopted the course I had
pursued on reaching several other Indian
settlements — namely, I requested our party to
halt, and then, dismounting, I walked quietly
by myself into every single habitation of the
disjointed street, which extended upwards of
half a mile.
By this means I managed to pay my red
children a visit without being known to them,
and consequently without in any way ruffling
or rumpHng the simple, placid habits of their
life, I found few .at home except women and
children; some of the former were dressing
their chUdren, a few were playing with them,

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. Ill
and some were feeding the ravenous little
things with spoons as large as a common
saucer. Many ofthe huts were clean and tidy; and,
as I was kindly received in all, I was well
enough disposed to take a favourable view
of the condition of their inmates. There was,
however, something in the complexion of most
of the children who were playing round the
doors that completely divested the picture of
the sentiment with which I was desirous to
adorn it.
Whether eating rice had made all their faces
white — what could have made so many of their
eyes blue, or have caused their hair to curl, I
felt it might be unneighbourly and ungrateful
to inquire ; and yet these little alterations, in
significant as many may deem them to be,
created in my mind considerable disappoint
ment ; indeed, I felt it useless to bother myself
by considering whether or not civilization is a
blessing to the red Indian, if the process prac
ticaUy ends — as I regret to say it invariably
does — by turning him white I

112 THE LONG TEOT. Chap, VL
After continuing my trot through the forest,
during which I rode over a corduroy-bridge,
so barely covered witb loose poles that, as I
crossed it, I could see the water of the torrent
rushing beneath my horse's legs, I arrived
early one fine morning at the head of the steep
rapids of the Trent ; and, as I had had occasion
to give considerable attention to one or two very
expensive projects for improving the naviga
tion of that valuable river, I made the neces
sary arrangements for descending the declivity,
in order that I might see what it really was.
The broad portion of the river before me
was covered by floating trees, and masses of
large timber, which lumberers, many miles
above, had committed to its waters, and which,
unattended by any one, were now on their
journey to a distant market.
This timber, in various groups, advancing
sometimes endways, and sometimes sideways,
came slowly towards us, until it reached the
narrow crest of the declivity, when, just as
if the bugle had sounded the word " canter /"
away it started, to descend a crooked water-
hill nine miles long,
A couple of full-blooded Indians had brought

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 113
on their shoulders to this spot a small bark-
canoe, in which I had intended to have de
scended, as I had been strongly recommended,
with no one but themselves. An English boy,
however, who was with me looked so wistfully
and so sorrowfully, that, when the moment
came, I could not perpetrate the cruelty of
leaving him behind; and I had scarcely
nodded to him a reluctant assent, than I
found him seated in ecstasy by my side.
For a short time the Indians held on by the
bank, to give respectful precedence to some
timber which was approaching; however, so
soon as they saw a space of clear water suf
ficiently large, they let go ; the canoe slowly
followed the stream, until, reaching the crest
of the rapids, over it went, and I need hardly
add, away we went, on a little journey without
any exception the most interesting I have ever
enjoyed. The declivity down which we were hurrying
was apparently composed of large stones, some
close to the surface, some two or three feet
beneath it, over which the heavy mass of water
flowed, rolled, and tumbled, excepting that
occasionally, without apparent reason, it would

114 THE LONG TROT. Chap, VL
in certain places stand still and boil. Every
now and then, I thought our band-box must
have been smashed to atoms ; but the old
shaggy-headed Indian who was standing at
the prow, with calm dexterity guided us be
tween the stones, and then immediately with
equal success, avoided " snags" and " sawyers,"
the former of which, fixed by one end to the
bottom, presented the other at us, as if deter
mined to spit us.
But, besides the little local difficulties be
longing to the passage, we were often appa
rently on the very brink of engaging in a civil
war with our fellow-travellers the floating tim
ber. Occasionally, these trees and rafts, as
they were hurrying along before us, would
strike against a rock, stop, stagger, and then,
slowly reeling round, proceed, as if for a change,
with their other ends foremost. During this
very unpleasant operation, our placid pilots
steered diagonally, to lose time, and thus pre
vent the canoe dashing against them. And
yet we had not much time to dispose of, inas
much as the timber behind us, like irregular
cavalry, was rapidly and confusedly following
our rear. However, although to raw strangers

Chap. VI. THE LONG TEOT. 115
like ourselves, the difficulties which preceded,
followed, and environed us were apparently
great, and really at times seemed to be almost
insurmountable, yet the calm tranquil attitudes
of the old Indian, as sometimes with a finger
and sometimes with an elbow he would silently
instruct his comrade in which direction to
concur with him in steering, clearly proved
that he was as much the master and com
mander of his frail bark as an experienced
railway driver is of his locomotive-engine, or
as the coachman of an English mail is of his
cantering team.
Nevertheless, the interest of the voyage was
beyond description, and as every second created
something new to look at, and as there was
nothing at all to talk about, in due time we
reached still water, without the utterance, from
the moment we had started, of a single word ;
and as soon as we disembarked, we found our
horses on the bank ready and waiting for us.

We had arrived very nearly at the eastern
extremity of Upper Canada, and had been
trotting for some time through the forest, when,

116 THE LONG TEOT. Chap; VL
on reaching sorae cleared land, we found in the
road, at sorae Uttle distance, waiting to receive
us, a fine athletic body of raen. The inslant
we reached them a bag-pipe gave us a hearty
welcome ; and in a few moments, very much
to my satisfaction, I found myself surrounded
by the muscular fraraes and sinewy counte
nances ofthe Glengarry Highlanders.
About fifty years ago Bishop M'Donell
brought one thousand eight hundred raen of
that narae to the settleraent which I had now
reached, and their religion, language, habits,
and honour have continued there ever since,
unaltered, unadulterated, and unsullied. Their
loyalty has always been conspicuous, and I
need hardly say with what reverence they
remeraber the distant land of their forefathers.
In short, so far as I was corapetent to judge,
there exists no difference whatever between
these people and their clansraen in the old
country, and they certainly most strongly ex
emplify the old remark —
" Coelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt."
I received from these fine feUows not only a
hearty welcome, but every possible attention.

Chap. VL THE LONG TEOT. 117
During the time I remained in the settlement
a Highlander guarded tbe door of the house at
which I stopped, and the piper, with no little
pride, during the whole period continued
marching up and down as he serenaded me
with various tunes, the soul-inspiring raeaning
of which he no doubt considered that I as fully
understood as hiraself.
As the inhabitants of the township of Glen
garry speak nothing but Gaelic, there exists
scarcely a stranger araong them ; and as their
names are all alike, they must, one would
think, occasionally have some difficulty in
designating each other ; for instance, a cause
was lately tried there in which not onh^ the
names of both plaintiff" and defendant were
M'Donell, but each had selected from the
Canadian bar a counsel of that name ; the
jury, twelve in number, were all M'Donells or
M'Donalds, and so were almost all the wit
nesses. The four raembers of Parliament for
the county and town bear the same name ;
their sheriff is a M'Donell, so is their vicar
general, so are most of their priests, and so was
their late bishop.
However, by whatever name they may be

118 THE LONG TEOT. Chap. VI.
designated, the Glengarry Highlanders in Up
per Canada may well be proud of it.
They are devotedly attached to British in
stitutions, and when I had afterwards occasion
to send them to Lower Canada to assist Sir J,
Colborne, they showed the rebels in that pro
vince very clearly that Highland blood is not
to be trifled with ; indeed there was so much
of Rob Roy in their dispositions, that it is
whispered of them that though they went down
infantry they came back cavalry !

I at last reached the eastern extremities of
the province, frora whence I returned by the
St. Lawrence, and from Kingston to Toronto in
the steamer. The next sumraer I started on a
similar tour through the western districts to the
opposite boundary of Upper Canada. But
my reader is no doubt tired unto death of my
long trot, and therefore, without asking him
to follow me throughout another one, rougher,
if possible, than the last, I will only say, that
the splendid region which lies between Toronto
and Lake Huron contains the richest land on
the continent of North America, and must

Chap. VI. THE LONG TROT. 1 19
hereafter become one of the most favoured
countries ou the surface of the globe.
The enormous size of the trees clearly indi
cates the luxuriance of the earth in which they
flourish, and although it is truly astonishing to
observe how much has been done by the emi
grant, yet as a solitary exaraple of what ample
roora there still is in this favoured spot for the
redundant population of the raother country,
I will state, that between Lakes Ontario and
Huron there exist six miUion acres of uncleared
land in one block !
The Crown lands of Canada, which, in my
humble opinion, ought always to have been
given to the British emigrant for nothing, or,
to speak more correctly, as payment by the
mother country for his courage, trouble, and
expense in clearing them, can even now be
purchased at about five shillings an acre.
An Irish gentleman, resident in Canada,
was desirous to persuade his sons to work as
back-woodsmen instead of frittering away their
constitutions and money in luxuries and plea
sure; and as champagne costs in America
something more than a dollar a bottle, when-

120 THE LONG TROT. Chap, VL
ever this old gentleman saw his sons raise the
bright sparkling mixture to their lips he used
humorously to exclaim to them, " Ah, my
hoys I there goes am, acre of land, trees and
all !"

( 121 )

Chapter VIL

THE BARK CANOE.

I DO not know at what rate in the eastern
world the car of Juggernaut advances over its
¦victims, but it has been roughly estimated that
in the opposite hemisphere of America the
population of the United States, like a great
wave, is constantly rolling towards the west
ward, over the lands of the Indians, at the
rate of about twenty miles per annum.
In our colonies the rights of the Indians
have been more carefuUy attended to. The
British Sovereign and British Parliament have
faithfuUy respected them ; and as a very friendly
feeling exists between the red men of the forest
and their white brethren, our Governors have
never found any difficulty in maintaining the
title of "Father" by which the Indians invari
ably address them.
Yet notwithstanding this just feeling and
this general desire of our countrymen to act
G

122 THE BAEK CANOE. Chap. VII,
kindly towards the Indians, it had for some
time been in contemplation in Upper Canada
to prevail upon a portion of them lo dispose of
their lands to the Crown, and to reraove to the
British ManitouUn Islands in Lake Huron.
When first I heard of this project, I felt
much averse to it ; and by repeated personal in
spections of the territories in which they were
located, took a great deal of pains to ascertain
what was the real condition of the Indians in
Canada, and whether their proposed removal
would be advantageous to them, as well as
to the province, and the result of my inqui
ries induced me, without any hesitation, to
take the necessary steps for recommending to
them to carry this arrangement into effect.
Whoever, by the sweat of his brow, culti
vates the ground, creates out of a very small
area, food and raiment sufficient not only for
himself, but for others ; whereas the man who
subsists solely on garae, requires even for his
own family a large hunting ground. Now so
long as Canada was very thinly peopled with
whites, an Indian preserve, as large as one of
our counties in England, only formed part and
parcel of the great forest which was common

Chap. VII. THE BAEK CANOE. 123
to all, and thus, for a considerable time, the
white men and the red men, without inconve
nience to each other, following their respective
avocations, the latter hunted, while the former
were employing themselves in cutting down
trees, or in laboriously following the plough.
In process of time, however, the Indian pre
serves became surrounded by sraall patches of
cleared land ; and so soon as this was effected,
the truth began to appear that the occupations
of each race were not only dissimilar, but hos
tile to the interests of each other. For while
the great hunting ground of the red man only
inconvenienced the white settler, the little
clearances of the latter, as if they had been so
many chained-up barking dogs, had the effect
of first scaring and then gradually cutting off
the supplies of wild animals on whose flesh and
skins the red race had been subsisting ; besides
which, every trader that came to visit the dwell
ings of the white man, finding it profitable
to sell whisky to the Indians, and the fatal re
sults of drunkenness, of small-pox, and other
disorders combined, produced, as may be iraa
gined, the most unfortunate results.
The remedy which naturally would first
g2

124 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VIL
suggest itself to most men, and which actually
did suggest itself to the minds of Sir Peregrine
Maitland, Sir John Colborne, and other ad
ministrators of the Government who paid pa-^
rental attention to the Indians, was to induce
them to give up their hunting propensities, and
tether theraselves to the laborious occupations of
their white brethren. In a few cases, where the
Iftdians, circurascribed by temptations such as
I have described, had become a race of half-
castes, the project to a certain degree succeeded ;
but one might as well attempt to decoy a flight
of wild fowl to the ponds of Hampstead Heath
— one might as well endeavour to persuade the
eagle to descend from the lofty region in
which he has existed to live with the fowls in
our court-yards, as to prevail upon the red
men of North America to becorae what we caU
civihzed ; in short, it is against their nature,
and they cannot do it.
Having ascertained that in one or two parts
of Upper Canada there existed a few Indians
in the unfortunate state I have described, and
having fpund them in a condition highly de
moralized, and almost starving on a large block
of rich valuable land, which in their possession

Chap. VII. .THE BARK CANOE. 125
was remaining roadless and stagnant, I deter
mined to carry into effect the project of ray
predecessors by endeavouring to prevail on
these people to remove to the British Islands
in Lake Huron, in which there was some
game, and which were abundantly supplied
with fish ; and with a view to introduce them
to the spot, 1 caused it to be made known to
the various tribes of Indians resident through
out the immense wilderness of Canada, that on
a certain dav of a certain moon, I would meet
them in council, on a certain uninhabited
island in Lake Huron, where they should
receive their annual presents.
In the beginning of August, 1836, I ac
cordingly left Toronto, and with a small party
crossed that most beautiful piece of water,
Lake Simcoe, and then rode to Penetan-
guishene Bay, from whence we were to start
the next morning in bark canoes.
It was proposed that we should take tents ;
but as I had had sorae little experience of the
healthy enjoyment of an out-of-doors life, as
well as of the discomfort of a mongrel state of
existence, and as, to use the words of BaiUie
Nicol Jarvie, "a raan canna aye carry at his

126 THE BARK CANOE, Chap. VIL
tail the luxuries o' the Saut-market o' Glas
gow," I determined that, in our visit to our
red brethren, we would adopt Indian habits,
and sleep under blankets on the ground.
As soon as our wants were supplied, we
embarked in two canoes, each manned by
eight Lower Canadian Indians ; and when we
got about a mile from the shore, nothing could
be more beautiful than the sudden chorus of
their voices, as, with their faces towards the
prow, and with a paddle in their hands, keep
ing time with their song, they joyfully pushed
us along.
For some hours we steered directly from the
land, until, excepting the shore on our right,
we could see nothing but the segment of a
circle of blue water ; and as the wind became
strong, as our canoes were heavily laden with
provisions, portmanteaus, powder, shot, &c,,
I certainly for some time looked with very
respectful attention to each wave, as one after
another was seen rapidly and almost angrily
advancing towards us ; but the Indian at the
helm was doing exactly the sarae thing, and
accordingly, whenever it arrived, the canoe
was always precisely in the proper position to

Chap. VIL THE BAEK CANOE. 127
meet it ; and thus, sometimes to one tune, and
sometimes to another, we proceeded under a
splendid sky, through pure, exhilarating air,
and over the surface of one of the most noble
of those inland seas which in the Western hemi
sphere diversify the interminable dominions of
the British crown.
Towards evening we steered for the belt of
uninhabited islands on our right ; and as soon
as the sun had nearly reached the magnificent
newly-gilt clouds that for nearly an hour had
been slowly rising from the horizon to receive
it, our pilot advised us to disembark on one of
these islands for the night.
The simple operation was soon effected ; in
a few minutes our canoes were lying bottom
upwards on the shore ; and while we, like
Alonso and his crew, were strolling about
our island, the Indians were busily occupied
in preparing our supper. The raanner in
which one of them created a kitchen-fire was
as follows : — As soon as sufficient sticks and
wood had been collected, he made a nucleus
of some of the finest fibres of birch-bark, around
this he wound coarser ones, until the raass was
the size of, and soraewhat resembled, a small

128 THE BAEK CANOE. Chap. VIL
bird's-nest, in the middle of which he put a
piece of vegetable tinder, which he had lighted
by a flint and steel.
Holding the whole in his right hand, and
with a countenance destitute of expression, he
then began to make his arm rapidly vibrate.
In a few seconds there proceeded from the
mass a little smoke, which rapidly increased
until all of a sudden the whole substance, as
if by magic, burst into flames ; and the Indian
then placing his handful of fire amongst the
sticks already prepared, they burst into a
blaze, and the fire was thus established.
While some of the Indians, stooping over
and gliding around it, were cooking our supper,
others were quietly occupied in preparing our
beds, by snapping off the fresh elastic shoots
of the spruce fir, upon which was spread a
blanket, over which two other blankets were
suspended frora a horizontal pole, in the an
gular form of a roof.
The next morning at daybreak we all arose
frora our lairs. The sky formed the painted
ceiling of my dressing-room— Lake Huron my
wash-hand basin ; and while in this state of
magnificence I was arranging my toilette, eggs

Chap. VII, THE BAEK CANOE. 1 29
were spluttering in a frying-pan, a kettle sus
pended from a green bough was vigorously
boiling, and in a few minutes a sumptuous
breakfast was spread upon a piece of clean
naked granite rock.
As soon as our meal was concluded we asain a
embarked in our canoes, and, accompanied by
a joyous song, echoing through the wild scenery
around us, we proceeded to worm our way
through the commencement of — strange to
say — upwards of twenty-five thousand little
islands, which, like skirmishers thrown out in
front of an array, guard the northern shore of
Lake Huron.
Although these islands are composed of
granite, they were all more or less covered with
shrubs and trees ; and as we proceeded in our
canoes it was truly astonishing to observe the
intelligence with vvhich the Indians conducted
us through this labyrinth, from which there
constantly appeared to be no exit ; however,
whenever we expected that the canoes in a few
seconds raust inevitably be wrecked upon the
rocks imraediately before them, we all of a
sudden came to an opening ; and, the wild fowl
g3

130 THE BAEK CANOE, Chap. VII.
rising from the newly discovered water the
instant they saw us, we proceeded along a new
channel, which shortly led us to another ap
parent stand-still, and to another sudden open
ing ; and thus every raoment were Nature's
scene-shifters busily eraployed in changing the
lovely pictures that were successively exhibited
to us.
In consequence of the islands being com
posed of rock, the water which surrounded
them was as clear as in the raiddle of the lake;
and as the air was equally pure, an effect was
produced by these siraple causes beautiful be
yond all powers of description.
Not only every tree and bush that was
flourishing on the rocky edges of these islands,
but the rocks themselves, were reflected so
faithfully in the lake, that in the outline as
well as colouring of these objects, we all re
peatedly observed there existed not the
slightest distinction between the original and
the picture; excepting, indeed, that in the
forraer the trees grew upwards, while in the lat
ter frora the very same roots they grew down
wards : the back-ground o.f the picture was the

Chap. VIL THE BARK CANOE. 131
dark blue sky, every cloud and feature of
which appeared identical in the deep cerulean
lake. As we proceeded through this beautiful
scenery, which in its shapes and colours
changed as suddenly as the pieces of painted
glass in a kaleidoscope, our party amused
themselves, sometimes in shooting at flights of
wild-fowl, which in their passage through the
air, just clearing the trees ofthe islands, started
from their course the instant they unexpectedly
discovered our canoes beneath them ; at other
times we employed ourselves in catching fish,
not less beautiful to look at than to eat.
These occupations were occasionally en
livened, or, as it may be termed, set to music
by the sudden choruses of the Indians, who
with unabated steadiness continued to propel
us ; and although the heat of the sun did not
impede us, yet as it strengthened, and as the
hours of their labour lengthened, the coun
tenances of these faithful beardless men began
to show fatigue, and by mid-day they would
appear nearly exhausted, when all of a sudden
they would startle us by a simultaneous scream
of " Widdy ! Widdy ! ! " caused by a rat, racoon,

132 THE BAEK CANOE. Chap. VII.
or some other description of game, the sight of
which seemed completely to reanimate their
frames for half an hour.
At about one o'clock we determined to com
mit two acts which, with Englishmen, always
have been, are, and ever will be, inseparable —
namely, to rest and eat, and accordingly, se
lecting an island for the purpose, the Indians
landed, and we were preparing to follow them,
when we perceived them retreating towards us
backwards, striking with their arms as if they
were boxing ! The enemy they were combat
ing was a swarm of musquitoes which had
risen from a little swamp.
In general a musquito approaches his vic
tim as a Neapolitan approaches his inamorata,
with a whining song, which resounds some
times near one ear, and sometimes near the
other, until the capricious, timid, dainty little
creature has deterrained on the exact spot on
which he will alight; but the rausquitoes
which assailed our Indians, and which, as it
were by the point of the bayonet, triumphantly
drove us from the island, flew at us straight as
bull-dogs, or as arrows from a bow : indeed, it
evidently mattered not to them whether our
faces were red, white, yellow, young, old,

Chap. VII. THE BAEK CANOE. 133
tender, or tough; for sick unto death of
vegetable diet, all they wanted was warm
blood,* To escape from their intemperate desires, we
paddled across to another island, which we
found perfectly free from any assailant.
An uninhabited island has always in my
mind possessed indescribable charras, and ac
cordingly while luncheon was preparing, con
stantly changing my raind, like an ant on its
hillock, I rambled about in all directions, until
in one of the most secluded parts of the island
I came unexpectedly to the grave of one of the
red aborigines of the land. It was coraposed
of flat stones, ^llcd in the shape of a coffin
upon the clean granite rock. Within this
quiet cell some Indians had deposited their
departed comrade; and although our relative
situations were different, inasmuch as I was
* An American living near the Grand River, Michigan, told
the following story concerning the musquitoes : Being in the
woods, he was one day so annoyed by them, that he took refuge
under an inverted potash-kettle. His first emotions of joy at his
happy deliverance and secure asylum were hardly over, when
the musquitoes, having found him, began to drive their probosces
through the kettle. Fortunately, he had a hammer in his pocket,
and he clenched them down as fast as they came through, until
at last such a host of them were fastened to the poor man's domi
cile, that they rose and flew away with it, leaving him shelterless !

134 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VII.
living and he dead, I felt, as I respectfully
stood at his feet, that in the chancery of
Heaven his title to the bare rock on which he
lay was better than mine to the soil on which
I stood ; and I might have carried my reflec
tions farther, had not one of my companions
^ interrupted them by exclaiming to me, with a
countenance in which the sentiments of joy and
hunger appeared indissolubly united, " the fish
is quite ready ! " I will, therefore, en route to
wards the canoes, only observe, as a remarkable
instance of the unwritten laws of honour which
govern the Indians, that in these graves there
are invariably deposited by their friends powder,
shot, and other implements, to enable the de
parted warrior to hunt for game so soon as
" The Great Spirit " shaU bid him " arise ! "
and that although there are neither bars, nor
bolts, nor sentinels to guard this property, it
remains by the side of its owners, inviolable
and unviolated.
For the reraainder of the day we continued
in uninterrupted solitude across large squares,
and along streets, lanes, alleys of water, to
thread our way through an archipelago of little
islands of various shapes and dimensions, until
at sunset we disembarked on one containing

Chap. VU. THE BAEK CANOE. 135
about six acres, on which we were to stop for
the night.
Before, however, we retired to rest — before
the moon had risen, and while the stars alone
enlivened the darkness that enveloped us, I
accorapanied ray corapanions on a fishing ex
cursion. At the head and stern of the canoe there
stood, mute as a statue, an Indian, holding in
his hand a long piece of birch-bark, which, as
soon as all was ready, each of them set on fire.
The efl'ect of the blaze was strikingly pic
turesque. In an instant the darkness above and
around us seemed, if possible, to increase ; and
yet, while almost everything above water was
thus shrouded frora view, everything beneath
its surface was as suddenly revealed to us as
if the light of heaven had been transported
from the firmament to the bottom of Lake
Huron. Every fissure in the rock was visible,
every little stone or stick at the bottom of the
creek seemed to shine; and although there
were neither " wedges of gold, great anchors,
heaps of pearls, nor unvalued jewels," yet we
distinctly saw at different depths fishes of all
ages and sizes, motionless, fast asleep, and ut-

136 THE BAEK CANOE. Chap. VII.
terly unconscious of the evil presence immedi
ately above them — of the Red Lords of creation,
whose attitudes, as they either calmly held the
flaming bark, or eagerly raised their sinewy
arms to dart their spears, would have formed
a picture of great interest.
The precision with which the Indians aimed
their deadly blows was surprising ; indeed, they
seldom missed, but, on the contrary, the instant
their lithesome arms descended, the scales of
their victim beneath them, by a sudden flash,
told that the barb had fatally aroused him from
his last slumber.
Our amusement, if such it may be termed,
was suddenly stopped by some large heavy
drops of rain, which, gravely admonishing us
to return, the word was no sooner given than
the flaring bark at each end of the canoe was
dropped into the water; and thus the lurid
picture it had been creating instantly vanished
into utter darkness.
In a few minutes the rain fell in torrents,
and continued throughout the whole night:
however, my gipsey canopy kept rae quite dry,
and I never awoke until daylight.
The weather had then cleared up ; and shortly

Chap. VIL THE BAEK CANOE. 137
after sunrise we were once again to be seen
continuing our paddling career.
The waters through which we steered our
course appeared, if possible, to be bluer than
ever ; and the colouring was so strong, that,
when leaning over the side of the canoe, I
dipped a tumbler into the lake, I could not
help feeling surprised to find on raising it that
the fluid it contained was bright, sparkling, and
as clear as crystal.
At about eight o'clock several of our party
began to talk openly about what all of us, I
believe, had for some time been secretly think
ing of — our breakfast ; and, out ofthe innume
rable islands we were passing, we were looking
for one to suit us, when smoke from an Indian's
wigwam determined us to land on the spot he
had chosen.
It was a heavenly morning; and I never
remember to have beheld a homely picture of
what is called "savage life" which gave me
more pleasure than that which, shortly after I
landed, appeared immediately before me.
On a smooth table rock, surrounded by trees
and shrubs, every leaf of which had been
washed by the night's rain as clean as it could

138 THE BAEK CANOE. Chap. VIL
have appeared on the day of its birth, there
were seated in front of their wigwam, and close
to a fire, the white smoke from which was
gracefully meandering upwards through the
trees, an Indian's family, composed of a very
old man, two or three young ones, about as
many wives, and a most liberal allowance of
joyous-looking children of all ages.
The distinguishing characteristic ofthe group
was robust, ruddy, healthy. More happy or
more honest countenances could not exist ; and
as the raorning sun with its full force beamed
dn their shining jet-black hair and red coun
tenances, it appeared as if it had imparted to
the latter that description of colour which it
itself assumes in England when beheld through
one of our dense fogs.
The faraily, wives, grandfather and all, did
great credit to the young men by whose rifles
and fishing tackle they had been fed. They
were all what is called full in flesh ; and the
Bacchus-like outlines of two or three little
naked children, who with frightened faces stood
looking at us, very clearly exclaimed in the
name and on behalf of each of them, " Haven't
I had a good breakfast this morning ? " In short,

Chap. VII, THE BAEK CANOE. 1 39
without entering into particulars, the little
urchins were evidently as full of bear's flesh,
berries, soup, or something or other, as they
could possibly hold.
On our approaching the party, the old man
rose to receive us ; and though we could only
communicate with him through one of our
crew, he lost no time in ti-eating his white
brethren with hospitality and kindness. Like
ourselves, they had only stopped at the island
to feed ; and we had scarcely departed when
we saw the paddles of their canoes in motion,
following us.
Whatever may be said in favour of the
" blessings of civilization," yet certainly in the
life of a red Indian there is much for which
he is fully justified in the daily thanksgivings
he is in the habit of offering to " the Great
Spirit," He breathes pure air, beholds splendid
scenery, traverses unsullied water, and subsists
on food which, generally speaking, forms not
only his sustenance, but the manly amusement,
as well as occupation, of his life.
In the course of the day we saw several
Indian families cheerily paddling in their
canoes towards the point to which we were

140 THE BAEK CANOE. Chap. VII.
proceeding. The weather was intensely hot ;
and though our crew continued occasionally to
sing to us, yet by the time of sunset they were
very nearly exhausted.
During the night it again rained for seven
or eight hours ; however, as is always the case,
the wetter our blankets became the better they
excluded the storm.
As we were now within eight or ten miles
of our destination, and had therefore to pay a
little extra attention to our toilette, we did not
start next morning until the sun had climbed
many degrees into the clear blue sky ; however,
by about eight o'clock we once again got into
our canoes, and had proceeded about an hour,
when our crew, whose faces, as they propelled
us, were always towards the prow, pointed out
to us a canoe ahead, which had been lying still,
but which was now evidently paddling from
us with unusual force, to announce our ap
proach to the Indians, who from the most
remote districts had, according to appointment,
congregated to meet us.
In about half an hour, on rounding a point
of land, we saw immediately before us the
great ManitouUn Island ; and, compared with

Chap. VIL THE BARK CANOE. 141
the Other uninhabited islands through which
we had so long been wandering, it bore the
appearance of a populous city ; indeed, from
the innumerable threads of white smoke which
in all directions, curling through the bright
green foliage, were seen slowly escaping into
the pure blue air, this place of rendezvous was
evidently swarming alive with inhabitants, who,
as we approached, were seen hurrying from all
points towards the shore ; and by the time we
arrived within one hundred and fifty yards of
the island, the beach for about half a mile was
thronged with Indians of all tribes, dressed in
their various costumes : some displayed a good
deal of the red garment which nature had given
to them ; some were partially covered with the
skins of wild animals they had slain ; others
were enveloped in the folds of an English
white blanket, and some in cloth and cottons
ofthe gaudiest colours.
The scene altogether was highly picturesque,
and I stood up in the canoe to enjoy it, when
all of a sudden, on a signal given by one of
the principal chiefs, every Indian present
levelled his rifle towards me ; and from the
centre to both extremities of the line there

142 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VIL
immediately irregularly rolled a feu-de-joie,
which echoed and re-echoed among the wild
uninhabited islands behind us.
As soon as I landed I was accosted by some
of the principal chiefs ; but from that native
good breeding which in every situation in
which they can be placed invariably distin
guishes the Indian tribes, I was neither hustled
nor hunted by a crowd ; on the contrary,
during the three days I remained on the island,
and after 1 was personally known to every
individual upon it, I was enabled, without any
difficulty or inconvenience, or without a single
person following or even stopping to stare at
me, to wander completely by myself among all
their wigwams.
Occasionally the head of the family would
rise and salute rae, but generally speaking, I
received from the whole group what I valued
infinitely more — a sraile of happiness and con
tentraent ; and when I beheld their healthy
countenances and their robust active frames, I
could not help feeling how astonished people
in England would be if they could but behold,
and study, a state of human existence in which
every item in the long list of artificial luxuries

Chap. VII, THE BAEK CANOE. 143
which they have been taught to venerate is
utterly unknown, and, if described, would be
listened to with calm inoffensive indifi'erence,
or with a smile approaching very nearly to the
confines of contempt ; but the truth is, that
between what we term the civilized portion of
mankind, and what we call " the savage," there
is a moral gulf which neither party can cross,
or, in other words, on the subject of happiness,
they have no ideas with us in coramon. For
instance, if I could suddenly have transported
one of the ruddy squaws before me to any of
the principal bedrooms in Grosvenor Square,
her first feeling on entering the apartment would
have been that of suflfocation from heat and
impure air; but if, gently drawing aside the
thick damask curtains of a four-post bed, I had
shown her its young aristocratic inmates fast
asleep, protected frora every breath of air by
glass windows, wooden shutters, hoUand blinds,
window-curtains, hot bed-clothes, and beautiful
fringed night-caps, — as soon as her smile had
subsided, her simple heart would have yearned
to return to the clean rocks and pure air of
Lake Huron ; and so it would have been if I
could suddenly have transported any of the

144 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VU.
young men before me to the narrow contracted
hunting-grounds of any of our English country
gentlemen ; indeed an Indian would laugh
outright at the very idea of rearing and feeding
game for the sake of afterwards shooting it;
and the whole system of living, house-fed, in
gaiters, and drinking port wine, would to his
mind appear to be an inferior state of happiness
to that which it had pleased " the Great Spirit"
to allow him to enjoy.
During the whole evening, and again early
the next raorning, I was occupied in attending
to claims on the consideration of the British
Government which were urged by several of
the tribes, and in making arrangements with
some of our ministers of religion, of various
sects, who, at their own expense, and at much
inconvenience, had come to the island.
At noon I proceeded to a point at which it
had been arranged that I should hold a council
with the chiefs of all the tribes, who, according
to appointment, had congregated to meet me ;
and on my arrival there I found them all
assembled, standing in groups, dressed in their
finest costumes, with feathers waving on their
heads, with their faces painted, half-painted,

Chap. VH. THE BARK CANOE. l45
quarter-painted, or one eye painted, according
to the customs of their respective tribes, while
on the breasts and arms of most of the oldest
of them there shone resplendent the silver
gorgets and armlets which in former years had
been given to thera by their ally — the British
Sovereign. After a few salutations it was proposed that
our Council should commence ; and accord
ingly, while I took possession of a chair which
the Chief Superintendent of Indian affairs had
been good enough to bring for me, the chiefs sat
down opposite to rae in about eighteen or
twenty lines parallel to each other.
For a considerable tirae we indolently gazed
at each other in dead silence. Passions of all
sorts had time to subside ; and the judgment,
divested of its enemy, was thus enabled calmly
to consider and prepare tbe subjects of the ap
proaching discourse ; and as if still further to
facilitate this arrangement, " the pipe of peace"
was introduced, slowly lighted, slowly smoked
by one chief after another, and then sedately
handed to me to sraoke it too. The whole
assemblage having, in this siraple raanner,
been soleranly linked together in a chain of
H

1 46 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VII.
friendship, and as it had been intimated to
thera by the Superintendent that I was ready
to consider whatever observations any of them
might desire to offer, one of the oldest chiefs
arose; and, after standing for some seconds
erect, yet in a position in which he was
evidently perfectly at his ease, he commenced
his speech — translated to me by an interpreter
at my side — by a slow, calm expression of
thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for having
safely conducted so many of his race to the
point an wbich they had been requested to
assemble. He then, in very appropriate terms,
expressed the feelings of attachment which had
so long connected the red raan with his Great
Parent across the Salt Lake ; and after this
exordiura, which in composition and mode of
utterance would have done credit to any
legislative assembly in the civilized world, he
proceeded, with great calmness, by very beau
tiful metaphors, and by a narration of facts it
was impossible to deny, to explain to me how
graduaUy and — since their acquaintance with
their white bref hren — how continuously the race
of red raen had melted, and were still melting,
like snow before the sun. As I did not take

Chap. VII. THE BAEK CANOE. 147
notes of this speech, or of those of several other
chiefs who afterwards addressed the Council,
I could only very inaccurately repeat them.
Besides which, a considerable portion of thera
related to details of no public iraportance:
1 will therefore, in general terms, only observe,
that nothing can be more interesting, or offer
to the civilized world a more useful lesson
than the manner in which the red aborigines
of America, without ever interrupting each
other, conduct their Councils,
The calra, high-bred dignity of their de
raeanour — the scientific manner in which they
progressively construct the framework of what
ever subject they undertake to explain — the
sound arguments by which they connect, as
well as support it — and the beautiful wild
flowers of eloquence with which, as they
proceed, they adorn every portion of the moral
architecture they are constructing, form alto
gether an exhibition of grave interest ; and yet,
is it not astonishing to reflect that the orators
in these Councils are men whose lips and gums
are — while they are speaking' — black from the
wild berries on whicb they have been subsist
ing — who have never heard of education —
h2

148 THE BARK CANOE' Chap. VII.
never seen a town — but who, born in the
secluded recesses of an alraost interminable
forest, have spent their lives in either fol
lowing zigzaggedly the garae on which they
subsist through a labyrinth of trees, or in
paddling their canoes across lakes, and araong
a congregation of islands such as I have de
scribed !
They hear more distinctly — see farther — smell
cleai'er — can bear more fatigue — can subsist on
less food — and have altogether fewer wants than
their white brethren ; and yet, while from
morning till night we stand gazing at our
selves in the looking-glass of self-admiration,
we consider the red Indian of Araerica as
" outside barbarians."
But I have quite forgotten to be the Hansard
of my own speech at the Council, which was
an attempt to explain to the tribes assembled
the reasons which had induced their late " Great
Father" to recoraraend some of them to sell
their lands to the Provincial Government, and
to remove to the innumerable islands in the
waters before us. I assured them that their
titles to their present hunting-grounds re
mained, and ever would remain, respected and

Chap. VII. THE BARK CANOE. 149
undisputed ; but that, inasmuch as their white
brethren had an equal right to occupy and cul
tivate the forest that surrounded them, the
consequence inevitably would be to cut oflP
their supply of wild game, as I have already
described. In short, I stated the case as fairly
as I could ; and, after a long debate, suc
ceeded in prevailing on the tribe to whom I
had particularly been addressing myself to
dispose of their lands on the terras I had pro
posed ; and whether the bargain was for their
weal or woe, it was, and, so long as I live,
will be, a great satisfaction to rae to feel that
it was openly discussed and agreed to in pre
sence of every Indian tribe with whom Her
Majesty is allied ; for, be it always kept in
mind, that while the white inhabitants of our
North American Colonies are the Queen's
subjects, the red Indian is by solemn treaty
Her Majesty's ally.
As soon as the council was over, the super
intendent of Indian affairs proceeded to deliver
to the tribes assembled their annual " presents,"
or, as they might more justly be termed, " tri
butes ;" and before evening many a happy
squaw grinned approbation of the bright.

150 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VII.
gaudy, glittering ornaments, white blankets,
&c., which adorned her wigwam.
The next day, after I had been occupied
some hours in business of detail, the whole
of the Indian chiefs and young men who were
on the island asserabled to take part in some
Olympic games which I had directed to be
prepared for them, and which appeared to give
them indescribable delight.
We had prizes for archery, prizes for rifle
shooting — at both of which sports, or rather
professions, for they exist by them, the Indians
highly excel.
We had then canoe races, and last of all
swimming races.
For the latter none but the very strongest
and most active of their young men competed.
The candidates, about twenty in number,
assembled in line ou the beach about fifty yards
from the waters of the blue lake, which, without
a ripple on its lovely countenance, lay sleeping
before them. Their anxiety to start was clearly
evident from the involuntary movement of little
tell-tale muscles on their cheeks, red arms,
backs, and straight legs ; in short, they stood
trembling, now in one part, now in another,

Chap. VII. THE BARK CANOE. 151
like young horses by the side of a cover in
England which hounds are drawing.
As soon as the signal rifle was fired, off they
started at their utmost speed ; and certainly
nothing could be finer than to see them, like
so many Newfoundland dogs, dash into and
then hop, skip, and jump through the water,
until the first strike of their extended arms
showed that they had taken leave of the bottom,
and were, coraparatively speaking, tranquilly
afloat. The whoop and encouragement of their
respective friends, as sometimes turning one
cheek upwards and sometimes the other, they
gallantly stemmed through the water towards
a canoe lying about half a mile from the shore,
were highly exhilarating ; and the excitement
increased, as first two or three jet-black heads,
and then four or five more rounding the canoe,
suddenly changed into as many blood-red faces
strenuously approaching a prize which had
been selected as not only the most appropriate
but the most encouraging — namely, a horizontal
pole covered from end to end with glass beads
for young squaws.
The eye of every swimmer as he advanced

152 THE BARK CANOE. Chap. VII.
appeared eagerly fixed upon the glittering
prize, which no doubt his heart had already
destined for the object or objects of his affec
tion; however, in all regions of the globe
human hopes are eggs that very often indeed
turn out to be addled ; and thus it was with the
hopes of the swimmers before us. The race
was what is termed excellent ; indeed the
struggle was so severe that half a dozen of the
leading swimmers might, to use a sporting
phrase, " have been covered with a sheet ;" the
consequence of which was, that they came within
their depths at the same raoraent, and they
were no sooner on their feet than, with uplifted
arms, tearing and splashing through the shallow
water, they rushed to the beach, then onwards
to their goal; and arriving there nearly together,
they knocked pole and pole-holders head over
heels on the ground, and then throwing them
selves upon them they crushed all the beautiful
glass beads to atoms !
" The lovely toys, so keenly sought.
Thus lost their charms by being caught."
The young squaws for whom the prize had
been destined, had they been present, might
no doubt have drawn a useful moral from the

Chap. VIL THE BARK CANOE. 153
result. The catastrophe, however, was really
most tragical, and was so deeply affecting tbat,
to restore sunshine after the storm, I ordered
the pole to be refitted with beads, to be fairly
di-vided among the young conquerors ; and in
deed, to tell the truth, I took care that even
the squaws of the defeated should have some
reason to be thankful for the exertions that had
been made in their behalf.
While the excitement caused by these little
games was at its height, we managed, unper
ceived, to get into our canoes, and to paddle
homewards. As our duty was over, we had
plenty of time to shoot and fish as we pro
ceeded. Our days were passed in meandering
under a clear sky, through the beautiful islands
I have described, and on which, at night, we
slept as before. The expedition was altoge
ther a most delightful one : wholesome exer
cise for the body, healthy recreation for the
mind ; and I certainly returned to my daily
work at Toronto considerably stronger than
when I had left it to make my visit to that
simple, high-bred, and virtuous race of men,
the red aborigines of the forest.
h3

( 154 )

Chapter VIII.
THE FLARE-UP.
This chapter contains a few trifling details of
events with the outlines of which the public is
afready acquainted.

As soon as Mr, McKenzie, Dr. Duncombe,
Mr. Robert Baldwin, Mr. Speaker BidweU, Dr.
Rolph, and other nameless demagogues found
that their demand for " responsible govern
ment " was repudiated by the people of Upper
Canada, to whom they had appealed ; that in
consequence of their having made this de
mand they had lost their elections, and that
their seats in the Coraraons' House of Assembly
M'ere filled up with loyal men, opposed to the
revolutionary innovation they had desired to
effect, it was naturally to be expected that they
would have given up a political contest in
which it was evident that they had morally,
been completely and irretrievably defeated.

Chap. VIII. THE FLARE-UP. 155
In England, where the popular voice is a
many-stringed instrument composed of fund-
holders, landowners, churchmen, statesmen,
shipowners, manufacturers, independent la
bourers, and paupers, it is quite impossible
that any measure can be approved of by all
these different and conflicting interests ; but in
the back- woods of North America these arti
ficial distinctions do not exist; and as almost
universal suff'rage prevailed in Upper Canada,
it must have been evident to Messrs. Baldwin,
Bidwell, Rolph, and Mr, McKenzie, as it was
to me, that the moral opinion against respon
sible government, which had been constitution
ally declared by the free and independent
electors of the province, was identical with the
physical force with which, if necessary, it
would be resisted by thera; and when it is
considered that the physical strength of the
British erapire, and that the bayonets of the
Queen's troops were ready to join this prepon
derating force, I perhaps ought to have sus
pected, from the mere fact of a few fundless
demagogues holding out against such odds,
that they were encouraged to do so by the
Government and by the people of the United

156 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap. VIII.
States. The idea, however, never for a mo
raent entered ray mind : my council was com
posed of raen of great sagacity, high character,
and prudence ; yet no one among them fore
saw or even suspected danger from our neigh
bouring ally. Mr. Ex-Speaker Bidwell and his
comrades, however, well enough knew whose
expectations they were fulfilling, and to whom
they were to look for reward ; and accord
ingly, so soon as all hope of being re-elected
to the legislature ceased, Mr. McKenzie com
raenced a set of operations against rae which I
felt at the tirae could only be compared to the
antics which Robinson Crusoe's raan Friday
played off upon the poor bear.
The course of policy which I had deterrained
to pursue — whether right or wrong it now
matters not — was at all events a plain one.
For upwards of two years I had occupied
rayself in ascertaining the real sentiraents of
the people whom it was ray fate to govern, and
the result of this rainute investigation having
been raost powerfully corroborated by the late
elections, I felt that I might confidently await
the hour, should it ever arrive, in which it
would be my duty to caU upon the brave and

Chap. vm. THE FLAEE-UP. 157
loyal inhabitants of Upper Canada to rally
round rae to suppress rebellion, and, above all,
to resist the sraallest attempt to introduce that
odious principle of " responsible government "
which a few republicans in the province had
been desirous to force upon them.
Now this course of policy, which it will be
perceived treated Mr. McKenzie with abject
contempt, was exactly that which he was par
ticularly desirous I should not pursue ; for he
felt, and justly felt, that as a political mounte
bank, it was no use at all for him to be every
day performing dangerous tricks unless he could
asserable an audience, aud he therefore resolved
to do everything he could to force rae to patron
ise or bring him into notice ; and so, first, he
wrote, and then he printed, and then he rode,
and then he spoke, stamped, foamed, wiped his
seditious little mouth, and then spoke again ;
and thus, like a squirrel in a cage, he continued
with astonishing assiduity the centre of a revo
lutionary career, until many, bewildered by
his movements, wondered that I did not begin
to follow his example and do the same ; and,
indeed, by several I was seriously blamed for
what they were pleased to term " supineness."

158 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap. VIIL
As soon, however, as Mr. McKenzie found
that his poisonous prescriptions would not ope
rate upon rae, he resolved to strengthen the
dose, and he accordingly issued placards an
nouncing raonster-raeetings, at which speeches,
very nearly approaching to sedition and trea
son, were uttered, and the next morning
printed and published in his newspaper.
These proceedings and these newspapers
were brought to rae by many of my best sup
porters, who, with feelings more or less excited,
expressed in unexceptionable terms thefr dis
approbation of the course I was pursuing,
Mr, McKenzie's next step was to prevail
upon his followers to assemble at their meet
ings with " loaded fire-arms," and under the
pretence of shooting at pigeons, they were ad
vised in placards to bring bullets, and " to
keep their powder dry."
This measure of course increased to a very
considerable degree the unpopularity of the
course I was pursuing ; and raany declaring
to me they were in bodily fear, and whose
countenances truly enough certified the state
ment, called at Government House to entreat
me, in justice to the loyal inhabitants of the

Chap. VIII. THE FLAEE-UP, 159
province, to arrest Mr, McKenzie for high
treason ; a recommendation in which people of
almost all classes appeared to concur.
It was from no feeling of obstinacy, but after
the most deliberate reflection, that I declined
to adopt the proceedings suggested to me,
I need hardly say I was as anxious to incar
cerate Mr, McKenzie, and as wiUing to dis
perse illegal assemblages as any wbo advocated
these measures. But I had no troops, no
physical force but that which is the represent
ative of moral justice. Many people have
blamed, and 1 believe still blame rae, for hav
ing, as they say, " sent the troops out of the
province." I however did no such thing. Sir
John Colborne, the Coramander of the Forces
in Canada, felt that he required the whole of
thera to defend the lower province, and deera-
ing the raoral power which he saw I possessed
sufficient, he offered me a couple of companies
onlj', and then, without consulting me, recaUed
the whole of the remainder of the troops.
Considering that Upper Canada was larger
in surface than England and Wales, I felt
that I should gain more by throwing myself
entirely upon the militia, than by keeping

160 THE FLAEE-UP.' Chap. VIIL
these two companies ; and Sir John Colborne
fully concurring in this opinion, he acceded
to my request, and accordingly by recalling
them enormously increased ray power.
Being thus without troops, I felt that even
if I had wished to corarait au arbitrary act, it
would not be prudent for rae to atterapt to
seize Mr. McKenzie until he had advanced
within the short clumsy clutches of the law ;
and as I had long ago directed, and was re
minding daily the Queen's Attorney-General,
Mr. Hagerman, to report to rae whenever that
moment should have arrived, I had no alterna
tive but to set law and justice at defiance, or,
regardless of clamour, to await until in the
sacred name of both I could seize my victim.
But I had another raost powerful reason,
which, though well understood in Canada, and
raost particularly by Mr. McKenzie, was from
fear and excitement insufficiently appreciated
by those who were blaming me.
Upon the loyalty of the province I well
knew I had every reason to rely ; yet it was
equally well known to me that the militia of
Canada are men whose time cannot with im-
punity be trifled with.

Chap.VIIL THE PLAEE-UP. 161
They always have been, and always will be,
ready to turn out when required ; but the ad
ministrators of the governraent of our North
American provinces should ever beware of
keeping these men — I may truly say these
gentlemen — away from their farms and families,
doing nothing.
Now, Mr. McKenzie knew this well enough,
and, inasmuch as his crafty pigeon-shooting
policy was to force rae to call out the militia,
send them back, call them out again, send them
back again, until, when the moraent of his real
attack should arrive, I might, like the shepherd-
boy in the fable, in all probability have called
for assistance in vain ; so, on the other hand,
my antagonist policy was to refuse to harass
the militia, to show them that my supineness
only appeared great because my reliance upon
them was great ; and thus, repressing rather
than exciting their ardour, to wait until I
really wanted their services, and then, pointing
to the rebels, to bid them " make short work of
'em, and then go back home."
For these reasons I adhered to my determi
nation. Those who were alarmed looked to
me ; I looked to the Attorney-General ; he

162 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap. VIII.
continued silent, and I therefore reraained (for
which by people in England who did not under
stand my difficulties 1 have occasionally been
much blamed) "with folded arms."
But during the suspense in which I was thus
placed, there was another path by which Mr,
McKenzie endeavoured by every exertion in
his power to assail me.
A servant girl had poisoned her mistress, for
which offence she had been arrested, tried, and
conderaned to death. I believe a female had
never before been executed in Upper Canada,
besides which, she was young aud beautiful.
All these circumstances combined, naturally
enough interested many in her favour, and a
petition was addressed to rae, praying that her
life might be spared.
I need not say that I fervently joined in the
prayer, and with that feeling I forwarded it to
Chief-Justice Robinson, and to the judges for
their report. The subject received their most
serious attention ; but inasmuch as there was
nothing in the evidence upon which the young
woraan had been convicted that cast the
slightest shadow of doubt upon her guilt, or
which offered the sraallest excuse for the deU-

Chap. VIII. THE FLAEE-UP. 163
berate murder she had committed, they sub
mitted to me a detailed report of their notes,
almost without corament.
As soon as, by the advice of my council, I
had declined to accede to the prayer of this
petition, Mr. McKenzie felt that a great com
motion might easily be produced ; and as a
number of the best men in the province con
sented to be agitators in such a cause, the
excitement extended ; and as the hour of re
bellion in both provinces was evidently ap
proaching, many who might have judged better
joined in petitioning and in advising me, as a
matter of "policy," to grant a reprieve. I
again consulted the judges; but with tliatcalui
integrity which has always distinguished their
leader, he merely repeated what he had written.
The executive council, much to their credit,
remained firm in the opinion they had ex
pressed ; and as the raoraent was one in which
the sraallest concession to claraour, the slightest
departure frora sound principles, the raost
trifling atterapt to conciliate opponents whora
it was my duty to defy, probably would, and
at all events might, have been productive of
serious results, I declared, with feeUngs which

164 THE FLARE-UP. Chap. VIII.
I need not describe, that the sentence was irre
vocable, and that the law was to take its course
— as indeed it did — at Toronto.
Mr. McKenzie immediately perceived that
he had better raake the execution of this young
girl the moraent of his outbreak. He accord
ingly raade arrangements for conceaUng arms
in the town, and for an assemblage of all his
deluded followers, who were to enter the city
under the excuse of witnessing the execution.
They were then to come to Government House
to petition in her favour, " dispose" of me, save
the girl, plunder the banks, seize the govern
ment muskets, &c.
If Mr. McKenzie had, after concocting this
plan, remained quiet, a number of very fine
fellows would no doubt, under the impulse
of the moment, have felt themselves justified
in rescuing a young woman from a horrid
and ignominious death ; and when once the
authorities were overcorae, considerable mis
chief might have ensued until the yeomen and
farmers forming the militia had had time to
advance ; but in the madness of his guilt he
wanted method, and his conduct became so out
rageous, that without being aware of his plot,

Chap. VIII. THE FLAEE-UP. 165
I made arrangements for calling out at a mo
ment's warning a small portion ofthe militia.
The instant this order was issued, Mr,
McKenzie clearly saw that, although I could
reraain doing nothing, he could not. He there
fore, in the following number of his newspaper,
published a list of nineteen successful strikes
for freedom which had taken place in the his
tory of the world, and in very plain language
called upon his followers to follow these glo
rious examples.
The Attorney-General, who with calm un
remitting attention had been watching the
eccentric raoveraents of this contemptible de
magogue, now called upon me to report that
Mr. McKenzie had at last crossed the line of
demarcation, and that he was within the reach
and power of British law.
I instantly assembled my council, and with
their advice I directed the Attorney-General to
lose not a moment in arresting Mr. McKenzie
for high treason ; but he had all along under
stood his position as clearly as the legal ad
viser to the Crown, a.nd accordingly, at the
very instant I was ordering his apprehension,
he had fled from Toronto, had assembled his fol-

166 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap.VIIL
lowers, and as a leader of a band of rebels,
arraed with loaded rifles and pikes, he was
advancing to attack Toronto.

About a mile frora Toronto, on the edge of a
lonely cliff wbich overhangs the beautiful waters
of Lake Ontario, there had been constructed
many years ago a weak fort in which a regiment
of the line had always been quartered. As soon
as Mr. McKenzie commenced the agitation I
have just described, I requested the officer of
engineers of the district to strengthen this fort by
every means in his power ; and accordingly its
earth-works were surrounded by a couple of
lines of palisadoes, the barracks were loop-
holed, the magazine stockaded, and a corapany
of Toronto militia were lodged in a corner of
the barracks.
Although, however, I made these prepara
tions, and also took the necessary precautions
for preventing Government House from being
carried by surprise, I secretly resolved, that on
the breaking out of the rebellion which had
already commenced in Lower Canada, and
which I was quite aware would sooner or later

Chap.VIIL THE FLAEE-UP. 167
take place in the Upper Province, I would take
up my position in the market-place of Toronto,
instead of retiring, as it was expected I would,
to this fort. For although I was a coramander
without troops, I had served long enough in
the corps of engineers to know — first, that there
exists in warfare no more dangerous trap than
a fortress too large for its garrison ; and se
condly, that there is no hold against a rabble
more impregnable than a substantial isolated
building, well loop-holed, swarming alive with
raen, and containing, hidden within its portal
of entrance — as the market-house of Toronto
did contain — a couple of six-pounders with
plenty of grape-shot, as also about four thou
sand stand of arms, with bayonets, belts, ball
cartridges, &c.
I submit to the opinion of any military man
of experience, that such a position, within a
couple of hundred yards of ray own house, was
not only perfectly adequate to any attack I
could possibly have to expect, but that it was
infinitely better adapted for defence by the
militia of Upper Canada than a circumvaila-
tion of low earth-works, situated nearly a mile
from any human habitation, and immediately
bounded on one side by the forest. Besides

168 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap.VIIL
which, in the moral contest in which I was
about to be engaged, I should have been out
of ray proper element in a military fort : for as
my army — if I was to have any — were the peo
ple of Upper Canada, my proper position was,
without metaphor, in the heart of their capital ;
and I therefore submit, that if I had abandoned
Toronto, I should have deserted my post,
I state these few explanatory details, because
in Canada, as well as in England, many people
very kindly disposed towards me, but unversed
in the rudiments of war, have considered that
I was very nearly taken by surprise ; whereas,
the truth is, tbat if Mr. McKenzie had con
ducted his gang within pistol-shot of the
market-house, the whole of the surprise would
have belonged to him.

I had taken to bed a bad sick head-ache, and
at midnight of the 4th of December, was fast
asleep with it, when I was suddenly awakened
by a person Avho informed me that Mr. McKen
zie was conducting a large body of rebels upon
Toronto, and that he was within two or three
miles of the city.
A few faithful friends kindly conducted my

Chap.VIIL THE FLAEE-UP. 169
family to a place of safety, and eventually to a
steamer floating in the harbour, and while they
were proceeding there, I walked along King
Street to the position I had prepared in the
market-house. The stars were shining bright as diamonds
in the black canopy over my head. The air
was intensely cold, and the snow-covered
planks which formed the footpath of the city
creaked as I trod upon them. The principal
bell of the town was, naturally enough, in an
agony of fear, and her shrill, irregular, mono
tonous little voice, strangely breaking the serene
silence of night, was exclaiming to the utraost
of its strength — " Murder I Murder ! Murder !
and vfmch worse I .'"
As soon as I reached the market-house I
found assembled there the armed guard of the
town, and a small body of trusty men, araong
whom were the five judges, a force quite suffi
cient to have repelled and punished any attack
which we were likely at that raoment to expect.
We, however, lost no time in unpacking
cases of muskets and of ball cartridges, and in
distributing them to those who kept joining
our party. That, however, among us we had
I

170 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap. VHI.
at least one whose zeal exceeded his discretion,
I soon learned by a musket-ball, which, passing
through the door of a small room in which I
was consulting with Judge Jones, stuck in the
wall close beside us.
In a very short tirae we organized our little
force, and as we had detached, in advance,
piquets of observation, to prevent our being
surprised, we lay down on the floor to sleep.
About eight o'clock in the morning I in
spected my followers in the square in which
the market-house stands. We were of course
a motley group, I had a short double-bar
relled gun in my belt and another on my
shoulder. The Chief Justice had about thirty
rounds of ball-cartridge in his cartouch, the
rest of the party were equally well armed, and
the two six-pounders were comfortably filled
with grape-shot.
Still, however, our " faraily compact" was
but a small one, and as Mr. McKenzie's forces
were much exaggerated, and as Rumour, with
her usual positiveness, of course declared that
rebels were flocking to him by hundreds from
all directions, and as he had already committed
murder, arson, and robbery to a considerable

Chap.VIIL THE FLAEE-UP. 171
amount, it was evident to us all that a problem
of serious importance to the civilized world was
about to be solved.
In one of my printed proclamations I had
lately said — " The people of Upper Canada
detest democracy, revere their Constitutional
Charter, and are staunch in allegiance to their
King." Was the publication of these words by
me an empty bluster, or a substantial truth ?
Again, in reply to the demand for " responsible
government," I had stated that " / had not the
power to alter the Constitution of the province,
and that, if I had the power, I had not the
WILL," Was that despotic declaration now to
be revenged, or would the farmers and yeomen
of the province rise en masse to maintain it ?
The result of the late election, and of the ob
servations I had been enabled to make in my
tours through the province, had convinced me
that the people of Upper Canada preferred the
freedom of monarchy to the tyranny of demo
cracy ; but would they, in the depth of winter,
leave their farms and families, to substantiate
this theory ? Would they, unsolicited by me,
risk their lives in its defence ? I knew that
they ought — I firraly believed that they would,
I 2

172 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap.VIIL
If they did, the triumph of British institutions
over the new-fangled demand for " responsible
government " would be unanswerable. If they
did not, I felt that the hour for the legitimate
repudiation by the mother-country of her North
American colonies would have arrived, and
that, whatever penalty I individually might
have to pay, no man could reasonably condemn
me for having maintained, on the soil of
America, so long as I was able, and without
concession, the supremacy of British institu
tions. Impressed with this latter opinion, I
fancied that my mind was perfectly tranquil,
and in this state I passed the day, which was
occasionally enlivened by an alarra that the
rebels were advancing upon us, and which of
course caused every barricadoed window to be
suddenly bristled with the muzzles of loaded
muskets, "like quills upon the fretful por
cupine," The sun set without our receiving succour,
or any intimation of its approach. My confi
dence, however, on the people of Upper Canada
stiU remained in the zenith, and I have now
the pleasure to show tbat in that position it
was not misplaced.

Chap.VIIL THE FLAEE-UP. 173
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Sir Allan
MacNab received inteUigence, ar Hamilton, a
considerable town at the head of Lake Ontario,
and situated about forty-five miles from Toronto,
that I was in the market-place, invested by
Mr. McKenzie and his band of rebels.
He immediately mounted his horse and
rode to the wharf, seized a steamer that was
lying there, put a guard on board of her,
despatched messengers in various directions to
the Canadian farmers, yeomen, &c,, in his
neighbourhood, and at five o'clock sailed, with
the vessel heavily laden with " the men of Gore,"
upwards of a thousand of whom had but lately
spontaneously proceeded to Toronto to express
to Sir John Colborne their abhorrence of a
letter published by a certain member of the
British House of Commons, in which he had
designated their glorious connexion with Great
Britain as " the baneful domination of the
mother country."
In all parts of the provinces similar exertions
were made; and thus without a moment's delay
whole companies, sraall detachments, straggling
parties, and individuals, without waiting to
congregate, had left their farms and farailies,

174 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap.VIIL
and were converging in the dark through the
forest, from all directions, upon the market
place of Toronto, Poor fellows! they could
not, however, compete with the power of steami
and accordingly the " men of Gore" first came
to the goal for which all were striving,
I was sitting by tallow-candle light in the
large hall, surrounded by my comrades, when
we suddenly heard in the direction of the lake
shore a distant cheer. In a short time, two
or three people rushing in at the door, told us
that " a steamer full of the men of Gore had just
arrived !" and almost at the same moment I
had the pleasure of receiving this intelligence
from their own leader.
I have said that my mind had been tran
quilly awaiting the solution of a great problem,
of the truth of which it had no doubt ; but my
philosophy was fictitious, for I certainly have
never in my life felt more deeply aff"ected than
I was when, seeing my most ardent hopes
suddenly reaUsed, I offered my hand to Sir
Allan MacNab.
I had, of course, reason to be gratified at
the attachment of any one to the cause it was
my duty to uphold ; but of all the individuals

Chap. VIIL THE FLARE-UP. 175
in the province whom I could most have de
sired to see combined with me in arms to
defend it, was the very one who first came to
the British standard— namely, the Speaker of
the Commons' House of Assembly, the con
stitutional representative of the representatives
of a free and loyal people !
The next morning regiments of tired farmers
and leg-wearied yeomen flocked in from all
directions. On their arrival, I of course went
out and thanked them, and then told those who
had no fowling-pieces that they should imme
diately receive muskets and ammunition.
" If your Honour will but give us arms," ex
claimed a voice from the ranks in a broad Irish
brogue, " the rebels will find legs !"
We had now sufficient force to attack Mr.
McKenzie and his gang, who had taken up
their position in Montgomery's Tavern, a large
building flanked by outhouses, situated on the
summit of Gallows Hill, and about four miles
from Toronto; and accordingly my council,
who had opportunities of listening to various
opinions, very strongly urged me to do so.
Lower Canada, however, was in open rebel
lion; and as success in the upper province

176 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap. VIH.
would, of course, be productive of serious moral
consequences upon the other, and vice versd, I
determined that nothing should induce me to
risk losing a game, the court cards of which
were evidently in my hands.
However, on the morning of the 7th we had
such an overwhelming force that there re
mained not the slightest reason for delay ; and
accordingly, leaving a detachment to guard
tbe market bouse and protect the town, the
remainder of our force which, during the pe
riod of delay, had been organised into com
panies, was assembled for the object they had
so eagerly desired.
As the attack of Montgomery's Tavern has
already officially been described, I will only
here mention a few trifling details, which, of
course, could not be stated in a formal account.
I was sitting on horseback waiting to hear
the officer commanding the asserabled force
order his raen to advance, and was wondering
why he did not do so, wben one of the prin
cipal leaders rode up to rae, and told me that
the militia wished rae to give them the word
of command, which I accordingly did.
As the companies were very small, and only

Chap.VIIL THE FLAEE-UP. 177
occupied the breadth of the macadamized road,
our force had an imposing appearance, and we
were scarcely out ofthe town when the rebels,
from the top of the hill they were occupying,
must have seen this mass of bright arms glit
tering in the sunshine.
The enthusiasm and joy of this column was
beyond all description. Any one who had
met them would have fancied they were all
going to a wedding ; or rather, that every one
of them were walking to be married. To this
universal grin, however, there was very pro
perly contrasted the serious, thoughtful, care
worn countenances of the ministers of religion,
of various persuasions, who accompanied us
until we received a few shots from the dark
forest which bounded a narrow strip of cul
tivated land on each side of the road.
Many among them, and especially the bold
diocesan of the Church of England, would wil
lingly have continued their course, but with
becoming dignity they deemed it their duty
to refrain ; and, accordingly, giving us their
blessing, which I trust no one more reve
rentially appreciated than myself, they one
after another retired, i3

178 THE FLAEE-UP. ChIp. VUL
" Our men are with thee," said the respected
minister of the Wesleyan Methodists ; " the
prayers of our women attend thee ! "
Montgomery's Tavern was now but a mile
before us, and the shots from the forest on
each side increasing, it was deemed advisable
to let loose a strong party of skirmishers upon
the rebels, who were firing upon us.
The word was no sooner given than I saw
Judge Maclean, a high-minded Canadian
Highlander, vault over the snake-fence by my
side ; but the men in both detachments did the
same; and the manner in which they rushed
into the forest resembled the descriptions I
have read of a pack of high-bred fox-hounds
dashing into an English furze cover.
We had hitherto listened to the firing of
rifles, but the honest deep-toned voices of the
English musket clearly announced the supe
riority of that noble weapon over the " little
pea" instrument that was opposed to it, and
which gradually subsiding, very soon became
silent. As soon as the head of the column arrived
within musket shot of Montgomery's Tavern,
which was evidently occupied by Mr, McKen-

Chap. VIII. THE FLAEE-UP. 179
zie's principal force, it halted until our two
guns could come up. The rebels fired, as if
disposed to maintain the position, but as soon
as a couple of round shot passed through this
building, they were seen exuding from the door
like bees from the little hole of their hiye, and
then in search of the honey of safety flying in
all directions into the deep welcome recesses
of the forest.
At this moment a man on horseback was
observed trying to ride his horse into the door
ofthe tavern,
" Shoot me that man I" exclaimed the officer
in command in a sharp eager tone of voice.
A couple of our best shots advanced, took a
cool deliberate aim, and were on the point of
firing, when a voice frora the ranks exclaimed
" Don't fire I It 's Judge Jones I " and true
enough it was.
This Canadian subject, followed by Alexan
der Macleod (afterwards tried in the United
States, and whose little story will appear in a
subsequent chapter), had managed to get
ahead to the point I have described.
The column now eagerly advanced ; but by
the time it reached the tavern, which if it had

180 THE FLARE-UP. Chap. VIU.
been properly defended would have given us
some trouble, the Irishman's prophecy had
been completely fulfilled — that is to say, the
rebels' legs had eflTectually saved them from the
ARMS of the loyal.
The bubble had completely burst, and no
thing remained to tell of its past history but
Mr. Mackenzie's flag — his bag, full of letters
and papers advocating " responsible govern
ment," and the heaps of dirty straw on which
he and his gang had been sleeping.
" Juvat ire, et Dorica castra,
Desertosque videre locos, littusque relictum.
Hic Dolopum manus I hic saevus tendebat Achilles !"
Shortly after the column had halted in front
of this buUding, a party from the skirmishers
brought to me a couple of prisoners they had
captured in the bush. They had corae from
the interior of the province, had been told all
sorts of stories, had been deluded rather than
seduced, and now they stood trembUng, as if
the only remaining problem in this world of
any importance was, on which of the innu
merable tall trees around us they should be
hanged ; indeed I think I never before beheld
two raen so arran tly frightened.

Chap.VIIL THE FLAEE-UP. 181
They were all that remained of Mr. M'Ken-
zie's army, and as I had off'ered large sums for
the apprehension of him and of all his leaders,
I felt at the moment — rightly or wrongly it is
now too late to consider — that I could not cele
brate our triumph more appropriately than by
telling these two poor trembling beings, after
half a dozen words of admonition, that " in
their Sovereign's name I pardoned them."
But the sentence came upon them so unex
pectedly, that although they were released,
they could neither move nor speak, indeed,
they very nearly fainted away.
It was, however, necessary that we should
mark and record, by some act of stern ven
geance, the important victory that had been
achieved ; and I therefore determined, that in
the presence of the assembled militia I would
burn to the ground Montgomery's Tavern, and
also the house of Mr. Gibson, a meraber of the
Provincial House of Assembly, who had cora
manded Mr. M'Kenzie's advanced guard, and
who with him had just absconded to the
United States.
Mr. Montgomery had also been one of the
principal ringleaders; his tavern had long

182 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap. VIII.
been the rendezvous of the disaflPected ; it had
just been their fortress from which they had
fired upon Her Majesty's subjects; but far
above all, its floor was stained with the blood
—and its walls had witnessed the death — of
Colonel Moodie.
This gallant old soldier, who had highly
distinguished himself in the Peninsular war,
was residing three or four miles up the road
on which we stood ; and as soon as Mr.
M'Kenzie's body of armed rebels had passed
his house, he determined that — coute qui coute
— he would ride through them, and give me
information that they were marching on To
ronto. As he approached Montgomery's Tavern
his fearless pace clearly proclaimed his object.
The rebels called upon him to pull up, but
feeling that he was " on Her Majesty's service,"
he professionally continued his course, until
he fell to the ground, pierced by several shots
from their rifles.
On being carried into Montgomery's Tavern,
mortally wounded, he was treated with bar
barous indignity. The rebels called him "a
Bloody Tory /" and the appellation was correct ;

Chap. VIII. THE FLARE-UP. 183
but he died as he had lived, an honest, brave,
loyal subject ofthe Crown,
Although it will probably cause not the
smallest excitement in this country among
Whigs or Tories, yet in our North American
colonies it is deemed most strange, and in the
future history of the British empire it will
surely appear unaccountable, that the leader of
the Conservatives during his enjoyment of
office did nothing for Colonel Moodie's widow,
daughters, or son, all of whom were left in great
poverty ; and yet that he advised our gracious
Sovereign publicly to pardon and bring back
to Upper Canada Mr. Montgomery, in whose
house this gallant old soldier had died, and
also Mr, Gibson, who had taken charge of all
Mr, McKenzie's prisoners, and who had
been Colonel Moodie's jailer while he was
dying! On the return of this man to Canada, the
Queen's subjects he had maltreated, indignant
at his pardon, obtained writs against him for
false imprisonment ; and such was his own
estimation of his guilt, that, seeing that the
pardon of the Crown could not shield him
from the paramount vengeance of British law,

184 THE FLAEE-UP. Chap.VIIL
he again absconded to the United States.
However, " revenons a nos moutons !"
I need hardly say that my order to burn the
buildings in which Colonel Moodie had been
thus treated was very cheerfully received ; and
I was on horseback waiting the result, when
about forty yards on my right I heard the
voice of a woman who was surrounded by some
of the militia, and who was evidently in an
agony of despair.
Fearing there might be a disposition to ill-
treat her, I rode up to her.
For some reason or other — probably, poor
thing, because either her husband, or brother,
or son, had just fled with the rebels — she was
in a state of violent excitement, and she was
addressing herself to me, and I was looking
her full in the face, and listening to her with
the utmost desire to understand if possible what
she was very incoherently complaining of, when
all of a sudden she gave a piercing scream, I
saw her mind break — her reason burst ; and no
sooner were they thus relieved from the high
pressure which had been giving them such
excruciating pain, than her countenance re
laxed ; then, beaming with frantic delight, her

CuAP. vm. THE FLAEE-UP. 185
uplifted arms flew round her head, her feet
jumped with joy, and she thus remained
dancing before me — a raving maniac !
But volume after volume of deep black
smoke rolling and rising from the windows of
Montgomery's Tavern now attracted my atten
tion. This great and lofty building, entirely
constructed of timber and planks, was soon
a mass of flames, whose long red tongues
sometimes darted horizontally, as if revenge
fully to consume those who had created thera,
and then flared high above the roof
As we sat on our horses the heat was in
tense ; and while the conflagration was the
subject of joy and triumph to the gallant spirits
that immediately surrounded it, it was a lurid
telegraph which intimated to many an anxious
and aching heart at Toronto the joyful intelli
gence that the yeomen and farmers of Upper
Canada had triumphed over their perfidious
enemy, "responsible government."
As mankind, in every region of the globe,
are prone to exaggerate the importance of
every little event in which they themselves
happen to have been engaged, it would only
be natural if I were to follow this course as re-

1 86 THE FLARE-UP. Chap. VIIL
gards the events I have just detailed. Figures,
however, as well as facts, fortunately prevent
me from doing so.
The whole force which Mr, McKenzie and his
assistant, Dr, Rolph, a practising midwife, were
enabled to collect, amounted only to 500 men.
Now at this moment the population of
Upper Canada was 450,000 ; Toronto con
tained 10,000, and the Home District 60,000.
On the fourth day after the outbreak, such
numbers of loyal men were flocking towards
Toronto from all directions, that I was obliged
to publish placards throughout the province
announcing that I had no occasion for their
services ; and on the seventh day after the out
break I issued a general order, placing (besides
Her Majesty's troops, who had already de
parted) the militia of seven counties of Upper
Canada at the disposal of Sir John Colborne
for the defence of the Lower Province.
I mention these facts to prove that the advo
cates of " responsible government" had physically
been defeated as completely as their demand
had several months ago been morally defeated
thoughout the Province at the hustings.

( 187 )

Chapter IX.

THE BRITISH FLAG.

On my arrival at Toronto, people from all parts
of the Province, propelled by a variety of feel
ings which they could not control, were seen
centripedally riding, driving, or walking to
wards Government House. One, in pure
English, described to me the astonishing lux
uriance of the western district; another, in a
strong Irish brogue, the native beauty of Lake
Simcoe; another, in broad Scotch, explained
to me the value of the timber trade on the
Ottawa; one confidently assured me that in
his district there were veins of coal — another
hinted at indications of copper — one raved about
a fishery — another was in raptures about the
college — some described to rae Lakes Huron,
Erie, and Ontario — several the Falls of Niagara
— all praised the cliraate ; " and yet," said I to
myself, as absorbed in deep melancholy I im
perfectly listened to their descriptions in detail.

188 THE BRITISH FLAG. Ceap. IX.
" and yet how is it that in the foreground of
this splendid picture I can no where see the
British Flag ? Except by its powerful influence,
how can I, inexperienced and unsupported,
expect to stand against the difficulties which
are about to assail me ? Except by its eloquence,
how can I advocate the glorious institutions of
our country ? Except under its blessing, how can
I even hope to prosper ? With nothing to look
up to, and nothing to die under, an admiral
might as well attempt to fight a ship without
a pennant, or to go to sea in a ship without a
bottora, as that I should vainly undertake to
govern Canada from a house with nothing on
its roof to greet the winds of heaven but stacks
of reeking chimneys."
In building, I know quite well that it is
usual to coraraence by laying what is vulgarly
called the foundation stone ; however, under the
feelings I have but faintly described, I deter
mined that I would begin to build my political
edifice from the top, and accordingly in due
time there appeared on the roof of Government
House, first, half a dozen workmen mysteriously
hammering away, as if at their own shins, then
a tall straight staff wearing a small foraging cap

Chap. IX. THE BRITISH FLAG, 189
on its head appeared, as if it had started up by
magic, or like a mushroom had risen in the
night ; and lastly, an artillery-man, in his blue
jacket and red cuffs, was seen, with extended
arms, to haul up, hand over head, and to leave
behind him, joyfully fluttering in the wind, the
British Flag,
What were my own feelings when I first
beheld this guardian angel hovering over ray
head I had rather not divulge, but the sensa
tion it created throughout the Province I need
not fear to describe, " There 's no mistaking
what that means !" exclaimed an old Canadian
colonel of militia who happened to be standing,
with a group of his comrades, at the moment
the artillery-man finished his job, "Now
what s the use of that, I should j ust like to
know ?" muttered a well-known supporter of
republican principles : however, the latter ob
servation was but an exception to the rule, for
the truth is, that the sight of the British Flag
extinguished rather than excited all narrow
jealousies, all angry feelings, all party distinc
tions, all provincial animosities. Its glorious
history rushed through the mind and memory
to the heart of almost every one who beheld it.

190 THE BRITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
The Irish Catholic, the Orangeman, the
Scotch Presbyterian, the Methodist, the English
reformer, the voters for ballot, for universal
suffrage, for responsible government, or, in
other terms, for " no Governor," for liberty and
equality, and for other theoretical nonsense
which they did not clearly understand, as if, by
mutual consent, forgot their differences as they
gazed together with fraternal aff'ection upon
what all alike claimed as their common property,
their common wealth, their common parent;
and, while as if rejoicing at the sight of its con
gregation, the hallowed emblem fluttered over
their heads — it told them they were the children
of one family — it admonished them to love one
another — it bade them fear nothing but God,
honour their sovereign, and obey their own
laws. From sunrise till sunset this "bit of
bunting" was constantly, as from a pulpit,
addressing itself to the good feelings of all
who beheld it, and especially to the members
of both branches of the legislature, who, in
their way to, and return from, Parliament-
buildings, had to walk almost underneath it
twice a day during the session.
In all weathers it was there to welcome

Chap. IX. THE BRITISH FLAG. 191
them, as well as all conditions of men ; some
times, in the burning heat of summer, it hung
motionless against the staff", as if it had just
fainted away from the dull, sultry mugginess
of the atmosphere ; at other times it was occa
sionally almost veiled by the white snow
storm, termed "poudr6," that was drifting
across it. Some one truly enough declared
that " the harder it blew the smaller it grew ;"
for, as there were flags of several sizes, it was
deemed prudent to select one suited to the
force of the gale, until, during the hurricanes
that occasionally occur, it was reduced from
its smallest size to a "British Jack" scarcely
bigger than a common pocket handkerchief;
nevertheless, large or small, blow high or blow
low, this faithful sentinel was always at his post.
For many years the English, Irish, and
Scotch inhabitants of Upper Canada had been
in the habit, on the day of their respective
patron saint, of meeting and (very prudently
before dinner) of marching together arm-in
arm, hand-in-hand, or " shoulder to shoulder,"
in procession down King-street to Govern
ment House, which forms the western extre
mity of that handsome thoroughfare of the
city. These assemblages were naturally pro-

192 THE BEITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
ductive of glorious recollections, and of noble
sentiments ; and, as I have already stated, that
they allayed rather than excited all provin
cial disputes, it was highly desirable to en
courage them; and as for some time there
had been carefully preserved in the govern
ment store an iraraense silk standard, sent from
England, and which had been hoisted on
a flag-staff" opposite Parliament-buildings on
the opening of the Provincial Legislature, on
the birth-day of the Sovereign, and on other
State occasions, I directed that, on the three
days alluded to, the artillerymen who had
charge of the flag-staff' on Government House
should lower the ordinary flag so soon as the
head of the procession, preceded by its band,
made its appearance; and then, as it ap
proached, lo haul up this great Iraperial
Standard. It would be difficult to describe to those who
have never been long from England, and quite
unnecessary to explain to those who have, the
feelings with which the followers of each of
these three processions received the compli
ment, so justly due to the distinguished day on
which they had respectively assembled.
Every man as he marched towards the Im-

Chap. IX. THE BEITISH FLAG. 193
perial Standard, which he saw majestically
rising in the sky to receive him, felt convinced
that his stature was increasing, that his chest
was expanding, that the muscles of his legs
were growing stronger, and that his foot was
descending firmer and heavier to the ground.
The musicians' lungs grew evidently stouter,
the drummers' arms moved quicker ; the na
tional airs of ' God save the Queen,' ' St, Pa
trick's Day in the Morning,' and ' Scots wha
hae wi' Wallace bled,' resounded louder and
louder; and as the sacred object upon which
every eye was fixed, in its ascension slowly
floated and undulated across the pure deep
blue sky, it gradually revealed to view a glit
tering mass of hieroglyphics out of which every
man ravenously selected those which he con
ceived to be especially his own,
" What animals are those?" said a man
through his nose, on St, George's Day, as he
pointed to the congregation of Lions with fists
clenched ready to box, and of Unicorns quite
as eager to butt, that were waving over his
head. " Is it animals you 're spaking after ? "
sharply replied a young Irishman, who like
the querist had been standing in the crowd,

194 THE BEITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
waiting to see the procession of Englishmen
arrive : " one of thim animals I till ye is the
Irish Harp; and so get out o' that, ye 
Yankee, or I 'll bate tlie sowl out o' ye I"
Now it so happened that by tbe time the last
words were ejaculated, the young Irishman's
white teeth had almost reached the middle-
aged querist's eyebrows ; and as they were evi
dently advancing, and as the surgical operation
proposed strongly resembled that of taking
the kernel out of a nut, or an oyster out of its
shell, the republican naturalist deemed it pru
dent instantly to decamp, or, as it is termed by
his fellow countrymen, to " absquantilate."
A number of instances, more or less amusing,
were mentioned to me, exemplifying the strong
feelings of attachment to the mother coun
try elicited by the parental presence of the
British flag. A compliment however was paid
to it by one of its most bitter enemies, which,
as it forms part of an important subject, and
elucidates a serious moral, I will venture to
relate. On my return frora Gallows Hill I rode
through High Street to Government House,
from which I had been absent three days.

Chap. IX. THE BEITISH FLAG. 195
On entering the room which to me, as well
as to my predecessors, had, by day and by
night, been the scene of many an anxious
hour, and in which I had been in the habit of
transacting the whole of my public business,
my first feeling was, naturally enough, one of
humble gratitude to that Supreme Power which
had given victory to our cause ; and I was in
the pleasing enjoyment of reflections of this
nature when one of my attendants entering the
room delivered to me a card, and informed me
that Mr. Bidwell was in the waiting-room, and
that he appeared extremely desirous to see me.
When I first arrived in the Province this
Mr, BidweU was Speaker of the Commons'
House of Assembly, in which he commanded
a republican majority. Without, however, re
peating details which are now matters of his
tory, I will briefly remind the reader, that after
I had dissolved the House of Assembly, and
had appealed to the people to assist me in re
sisting the principle of "responsible govern
ment" which Mr- Bidwell and Mr, Baldwin
had endeavoured to force upon me, the former
not only ceased to be Speaker, but he and
almost every other member of his republican
k2

196 THE BEITISH FLAG, Chap. IX'.
majority lost their election, and were replaced
by members firmly attached to British institu
tions. The insignificant gang of conspirators whose
declamations had caused so much sensation in
England, seeing that they had irrecoverably
lost all power in the legislature of Upper
Canada, were induced by a secret influence,
which I shall shortly have occasion to expose,
to endeavour to attain by force of arms that
system of "responsible government" which by
argument they had failed to obtain.
In this conspiracy, as well as in the rebellion
which had just been suppressed, Mr. Bidwell
had been deeply implicated ; and, indeed, up
to the very moment of the outbreak he had
been in communication with Dr, Rolph, Mr,
McKenzie, and other leaders of the rebellion.
Although, however, he had acted with ex
treme caution, and although, being what is
commonly called " a man of peace," he had
prudently refrained from taking arms, yet in
consequence of the political part he had acted
and the sentiments he was known to entertain,
a number of. people in the United States, as
well as in different parts of Upper and Lower

Chap. IX. THE BEITISH FLAG. 197
Canada, addressed to him letters which arrived
in such numbers, that on and from the moraent
of the rebellion, the Post-Office authorities
deemed it their duty to seize them, and then to
forward them to me unopened.
As soon as JNIr, Bidwell, on inquiring for
his letters, ascertained this fact, as also that
McKenzie had inscribed his name alone on the
rebel flag which the miUtia had just captured
at Gallows Hill, he felt that his own caution
was no longer of any avail to him, for that,
by the incaution of others, he was no doubt
already betrayed.
His only hope had been that the rebels
might succeed in massacring the loyal, and
in thus deposing the power and authority of
the Crown ; but so soon as he learnt that the
former had not only been completely defeated,
but that McKenzie, Dr. Rolph, and their other
leaders, had absconded to the United States,
Mr, Bidwell felt that his life, that his existence,
hung upon a thread.
His obvious course was to fly to the United
States; but the coast was already guarded;
and, besides, as he was no horseman, he had
not courage to attempt to escape ; and yet his

198 THE BEITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
conscience told him that the hand of any loyal
man might, in retributive justice, now be
raised against him : and as he knew how ex
asperated the militia had been by the bar
barous murder of the brave Colonel Moodie,
he had reason not only to fear the ven
geance of the Crown, but that any one of the
militia-men he met might become his execu
tioner; in short, he knew not what to do,
where to go, or how to hide himself.
In this agony of mind his acquaintance with
the magnanimity of British institutions, his
knowledge of British law, British justice, and
British raercy, adraonished him to seek pro
tection from the sovereign authority he had
betrayed — from the executive power he had
endeavoured to depose ; and accordingly with
faltering steps he walked towards Government
House ; and entering the waiting-room, he
there took refuge under the very British flag
which it had been the object of the whole of
his political life to desecrate !
On the day before the outbreak, I had had
the windows of the roora in which I was
sitting when I received Mr. Bidwell's card,
blocked up with rough timber, and loop-holed ;

Chap. IX, THE BRITISH FLAG. 199
and on his opening my door, the instant this
strange and unexpected arrangement caught
Mr. Bidwell's eyes, he remained at the
threshold for some moments, and at last slowly
advanced, until he stood close before me. He
neither bowed to me nor spoke ; but fixing his
eyes on the tied-up bundle of his sealed letters
which I held in my hand, he stood for some
time broken down in spirit, and overwhelmed
with feelings to which it was evident he had
not power to give utterance.
As I had not sent for him, I of course waited
to hear what he desired to say ; but as he said
nothing, and appeared to be speechless, I rayself
broke the solemn silence that prevailed by
saying to him, as I pointed with his letters
to the loop-holed windows at my side, " Well,
Mr, Bidwell, you see the state to which you
have brought us !" He made no reply, and as
it was impossible to help pitying the abject
fallen position in which he stood, I very calmly
pointed out to him the impropriety ofthe course
he had pursued ; and then observing to him,
what he well enough knew, that were I to open
his letters his life would probably be in my
hands, I reminded him of the mercy as well as

200 THE BRITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
the power of the British Crown ; and I ended
by telling him that, as its humble representa
tive, I would restore to him his letters un
opened, if he would give me in writing a
promise that he would leave the Queen's terri
tory for ever.
Mr, Bidwell had concealed in his heart some
good feelings as well as many bad ones ; and as
soon as his fears were removed, the former
prompted hira to express hiraself in terras which
I will not undertake to repeat. Suffice it, how
ever, to say, that he retired to the waiting-room,
wrote out the promise I had dictated, and
returning with it I received it with one hand,
and with the other, according to my promise,
I delivered to him the whole of his letters
unopened. The sentence which Mr. Bidwell deliberately
passed upon himself he faithfully executed.
He instantly exiled himself from the Queen's
dominions, and repairing to the state of New
York, he very consistently took there the oath
of allegiance to the United States, and openly
and publicly abjured allegiance to all other
authorities, and " especiaUy to the Crown of
Great Britain!"

Chap. IX. THE BEITISH FLAG. 201
In return, he instantly received all the
honours which it is in the power of Republicans
to bestow ; and such was the feeling in his fa
vour, that, contrary to custom, precedent, and I
believe contrary even to law, he was elected by
acclamation a meraber of the American bar.
The sequel of the story is an odd one.
At the very moment that Mr. Bidwell, with
the barred light from my loop-holed windows
shining on and shadowing his pallid coun
tenance, was standing before me, tendering
with the hand that wrote it his own sentence
of condemnation, the Queen's Government were
relieving me fromthe relative position in which.
I stood, because I had refused to promote this
Mr. Bidwell to the bench over the heads of
Archibald Maclean, Jonas Jones, Henry Sher
wood, Sir Allan MacNab, and other Canadian-
born members of the bar, who throughout their
lives had distinguished themselves in the field,
as well as in the senate, by their attachment to
the British throne, I had told the Queen's
Governraent (vide my Despatches printed by
order of Her Majesty, and laid before Parlia
ment) that Mr, Bidwell's "object had been to
separate Canada from the parent state, to create
k3

202 THE BRITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
disaffection for the paternal Government of the
King, and by forming an alliance with M.
Papineau's party, to exchange the British con
stitution for the low grovelling principles of
democracy ;" and " that for these reasons
publicly to elevate Mr. Bidwell to the bench,
would deprive me of the respect and confidence
of the country."
But the picture I here drew of Mr, Bidwell's
principles and of the objects he had all his life
had in view was highly attractive rather than
repulsive, and accordingly, in reply to my
sketch, I was boldly informed that Her Ma
jesty's Government " could not regard the part
which Mr, Bidwell formerly took in local politics
as an insuperable barrier to his future advance
ment in his profession, and that, on the contrary,
adverting to the general estimate of Mr. Bid
well's qualifications for a seat on the bench,
it appeared that the public service \i. e. Lord
John Russell's object] would be promoted by
securing his service." I was therefore ordered,
in case of another vacancy, to offer the appoint
ment to Mr. Bidwell : this, rightly or wrongly
it now matters not, I refused to do : and thus
while Mr, Bidwell, in consequence of having

Chap. IX. THE BRITISH FLAG. 203
abjured his allegiance to the British Crown,
was receiving in the United States compli
ments and congratulations on his appointment
to the American bar, it appeared from the
London Gazette that the Queen's Government
had advised Her Majesty to relieve his oppo
nent from the administration of the govern
ment of Upper Canada ; in short,
" The man recovered from the bite,
The dog it was that died ! "
The above epitaph so graphically describes
my decease, that I have not a word to add
to it.
Of my poor surviving flag-staff, however, I
may be permitted to state, that it was deemed
ad-visable to take the thing down, aud accord
ingly, with the help of half a dozen carpenters,
down it came never to rise again.
Out of millions of acres of flag-staffs that
were growing around it, not one was deemed
worthy to exist on its site or in its immediate
neighbourhood !
What the radicals said, and what the loyal
militia thought, when instead of their revered
"British Flag " they once again beheld nothing

204 THE BRITISH FLAG. Chap. IX.
on the roof of Government House but the
stacks of reeking chimneys I have described,
it is now too late to inquire.
There is one feeling, however, in which all
parties in Canada have agreed, namely, of utter
astonishment that the leader of the great Con
servative Party in the mother country has
never once opened his lips in Parliament to
demand from his fearless opponent a single
word of explanation respecting the strange
facts connected with Mr. Bidwell's proposed
elevation to the Bench, as detailed in de
spatches laid by comraand of the Queen before
both Houses of the Imperial Parliament.

( 205 )

Chapter X,
THE FALLS OF NIAGARA.
As soon as intelligence reached me that the
American General, Van Ransalaer, and his
forces had taken forcible possession of Navy
Island, I directed Sir Allan MacNab to march
the Canada militia under his command to
the Niagara frontier ; and his reports of the
reinforcements which were hourly arriving at
Van Ransalaer's camp becoming at last so
alarming, by the advice of my council I pro
ceeded to the Niagara frontier, to a point
within a mile of Navy Island.

Of the Falls of Niagara so many detailed
descriptions have been printed that I shall
only attempt of them a rough outline.
It is well known that the magnificent re
servoirs of fresh water which characterise the
continent of North Araerica are coraposed of
a series of five lakes, or rather of inland seas.

206 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
of different altitudes, whose circumferences ex
ceed four thousand miles, and which commu
nicate with each other by two short friths or
narrow channels, the lowest being the Niagara
river, which by an inclination of three hun
dred and thirty feet conducts the waters of
Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie,
into Lake Ontario, from whence they flow
through the St, Lawrence to Quebec, aud at
last to the Atlantic, lying six hundred and
twenty-seven feet below Lake Superior, and
about two thousand miles from it.

I had ridden from the neighbourhood of
Lake Erie to this river, where I found a four-
oared boat ready to receive me, and accordingly
stepping on board, propelled by the current
and by my crew, I proceeded down the clear
blue stream at a very rapid rate.
Although it was in the depth of winter, the
scenery around me was calmly beautiful.
On the right, or American shore, were to be
seen towns, villages, and habitations embedded
in snow, and intermixed in about equal parts
with the remains of the forest. On the left, or

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 207
British side, there existed, here and there, a
village, a fort, several thriving farms, and a
narrow belt of cleared land, also milk-white,
occasionally dotted with stumps, and bounded
by the dark -stemmed, white-topped wilderness.
The difi'erence between these two fraternal
shores was only that of age. The right bank
was the emblem of youth, the left of infancy.
Both had been partially cleared by the same
parent — by the same race ; but the right shore
was the elder brother, and had attained strength
and age before the other was born, or, to drop
metaphor, the American or eastern shore had
been sufficiently cultivated, peopled, and en
riched by England to enable it to cast off its
dependance at a period when the left shore was
still reraaining a portion of that vast wilder
ness well known in North America by the
appellation of " the far West. "
As through a brilliant but intensely cold air
we glided rapidly between these two shores,
the perpendicular banks of which were from
four to eight feet above the water, and which
were so near to us that we could easily have
hailed people on either side, we passed Grand
Island, which belongs to the Americans ; and

208 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
then hurrying by a lovely wooded spot be
longing to the British, called Navy Island, we
suddenly, on rounding a point of land, saw
from the very middle of the river before us, a
mysterious-looking white mist, rising towards
the dark blue sky which serenely reigned above
it. My heart felt sick the instant I beheld this
mist ; and 1 am quite sure that if I had not
known what it was, and had not listened to a
strange voice of admonition which for some
time I had observed to be rumbling through
the air, I should have obeyed the instinctive
feeling which, though I cannot describe it,
earnestly warned me to "get ashore ! " Indeed
Nature has beneficently iraplanted this feeling
in the hearts even of beasts, a curious instance
of which occurred a few years ago.
Some people in the neighbourhood, who in
their composition had rather more curiosity
than mercy, subscribed a sum of raoney for
the purpose of sending a vessel full of living
animals over their watery precipice into a
watery grave. As soon, however, as this un-
piloted vessel reached the vicinity at which I
had arrived, the sagacious bear, on seeing the

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 209
mist, felt exactly what I felt, namely, that
there was danger ahead, and accordingly he
jumped overboard ; and being diagonally
hurried down by the current, with great diffi
culty he reached the little island flourishing
on the brink of the grave before him. The
other animals made similar attempts, but in
vain ; and thus, on the vessel reaching the
cataract, the only living beings that remained
on board, and who, therefore, must have been
devoid of the instinctive feelings which had
ejected the rest, were those who, having wings,
had no need of it, namely, geese; but their
brother biped, man, had cut their wings ; and
as they had no intuitive disposition to escape,
and could not fly away, they met the doom
which had so unkindly been prepared for thera.
Several were killed ; and although a few, by
fluttering, preserved their lives, they were al
most immediately killed for the sake of their
feathers, which were sold to the human species
as curiosities,
" Put me ashore, if you please," I said to my
pilot, as soon as I saw this mist ; but the faith
ful fellow knew that, without any danger, he
could carry me a little farther, and so, much

2 10 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
against my will, I proceeded to a spot some
what lower down, on which, with very con
siderable alacrity, I landed on the shore, which
was about six feet above the water ; and the
boat then veering round with her stern towards
the mist, was soon drawn high and dry on the
beach. * * # #
It was in the depth of winter, near midnight,
and pitch dark, when, following the footsteps
of a trusty guide, I traversed the dry, crisp, deep
snow, until I came to a few rugged steps which
I could only very slowly descend. "A little
this way!" muttered my guide, as for some
seconds I was lingering on a spot from which
my other foot, after fumbling in vain, could
feel no landing-place at all. At last, after
blundering for a short distance among trees,
and over snow-covered obstacles of various
shapes, I arrived on a flat surface, which I im
mediately felt to be glare ice, and along which,
my conductor leading me by his hard hand
very slowly, we cautiously proceeded, until in
a low voice he announced to me that I had
reached the point to which I had directed him
to conduct me — the table-rock of Niagara.

Chap.X. THE palls op NIAGARA. 211
I could see nothing, and for that very reason
I had come ; for in the various visits which at
diflTerent seasons of the year I had made to
this spot, I had felt so confused with what I
saw and heard — my attention had been so dis
tracted sometimes by one organ, and sometimes
by another — sometimes by " Oh look .'" and
sometimes by " Oh listen .'"—that I had resolved
I would try and meet my enemies one at a
time ; and even this I found to be almost more
than my senses could endure.
But although I could see nothing, yet I felt
and heard a great deal.
My first sensation was, that the " dreadful
sound of waters in mine ears" was a substantial
danger; and that I was an actor in, and ac
tually in the midst of what, as a passing
stranger, I had come merely to contemplate.
The cold thick vapour that arose from the
cauldron immediately beneath me partaking
of eddies in the atmosphere, created also by
what was passing below, ascending and de
scending, rushed sometimes downwards upon
me frora behind as if it had determined to drive
me into the abyss ; then it quietly enveloped
me, as if its object were to freeze me to death ;

212 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
then suddenly it would puff full in ray face,
and then whirl round me as if to invite me to
join in its eccentric dance.
But while my eyebrows, eyelashes and hair
were heavily laden with this condensed vapour,
which had rested upon them like flour on the
head of a miller, from the same cause my at
tention was constantly arrested by loud crashes
of falling ice from the boughs of the trees be
hind me, which thus occasionally ridded them
selves of the enorraous masses which, from the
congelation of this vapour, were constantly
settling upon thera.
Yet, although the sensations and noises I
have described were quite sufficient to engross
my attention, it was of course mainly attracted
by the confused roar and boiling of the great
cataract, whose everlasting outline, though
veiled by darkness, was imraediately before
me. For a considerable time I listened to it all
with the feelings of confusion I had so often
before experienced ; but as I becarae graduaUy
accustoraed to the cold whirling vapour that
surrounded me, as well as to the sudden crash
ing noises behind me, I felt myself by degrees

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 213
enabled — at first imperfectly, and then distinctly
— to analyze and separate from each other the
various notes of the two diflTerent instruments
of which the roar of Niagara is composed —
namely, the deep thundering tone of the fall of
more than a hundred millions of tons of water
per hour over a precipice of 150 feet ; and the
raging, hissing, lashing, and boiling of all this
broken water in the confined cauldron beneath.
The more 1 studied this language, the more
clearly I understood it, until, in the ever-
changing but unceasing thunder of its elo
quence I could always trace, in different pro
portions, and often apparently in different
places, the presence of these two voices in
concert, Sometiraes the stunning, deafening noise
proceeding from three thousand six hundred
millions* of cubic feet per hour of an element of
the same specific gravity as oak, suddenly
arrested in its fall from 150 feet, would appa
rently so completely overpower every other,
that I felt I could point in the dark precisely
to the bottora of the falls; at other times,
nothing beneath was heard but tbe raging of
• A ton of water contains thirty-six cubic feet.

214 THE FALLS OP NIAGARA. Chap.X.
broken water, while the thunder that created
it was resounding high over head, and some
times far away, as if a heavy battering train of
artillery were trotting through the forest over
a paved-road.

It was in the depth of the same winter that
I again descended the same rugged steps,
traversed the sarae ice, and once again stood,
as nearly as possible, on the very same spot of
the same table rock.
It was bright daylight. Behind me every
tree, every rock, as well as the solitary cottage
that enlivens them, were covered with a glitter
ing coating of congealed ice, which was also
reposing in heavy masses upon the depressed
branches of the adjoining forest. The unusual
brilliancy of this white scenery was deserving
of great attention, but I neither dared, nor had
I inclination to look at it, because close to, and
immediately before me, there stood, partially
enveloped in the halo of its own glory, that
great cataract, terraed by the Indians — " 0-Ni-
-Iw-GA-RAH !" — " the thunder of water."
As soon as by the utterance of a deep sigh.

Chap. X. THE PALLS OP NIAGARA. 215
I had recovered from a vain attempt to repress
the various emotions that overwhelmed me, on
suddenly finding myself within a few feet of so
many millions of tons of falling water — which
have not unjustly been corapared to an ocean
thrown over a precipice — the first detail that
attracted ray eyes was the astonishing slowness
with which the enormous mass was apparently
descending into the milk-white "hubble-bub-
ble-toil-and-trouble" scene of confusion which
was raging far beneath.
About four-fifths of the water which formed
the cataract before me was of a lovely clear
deep green hue ; and as I earnestly gazed at it,
it was beautiful to observe in this semi-trans
parent fluid the opaque masses of ice which,
first appearing on the crest, were easily traced
descending leisurely in the fluid, in which,
like the white patches in green marble, they
were embedded.
The remaining fifth part of the magnificent
curtain before me was composed of muddy
water from Chippewa Creek, which, running
into the Niagara River about a mile above,
flows, without being permitted to mix with the
pure stream, until falling with it over the

216 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
precipice it forms a broad red border to the
variegated mass I have described.
About a mile above the cataract, the advanc
ing volume of deep water which, imprisoned
within the bordages of the Niagara River, is
cheerfully emigrating from its native fresh
inland seas to the distant salt ocean, receives
its first check from sorae hidden rocks over
which it falls about seventy feet in a series of
splendid white breakers. The confusion is of
course appalling ; but as delirium often leaves
the human patient just before his death, so
does this water previous to its fall completely
recover its tranquil character, and thus for the
last hundred yards it approaches its fate with
that dignity, serenity, and resignation which
attend it to the very edge of the cataract, and
which, as I have already stated, faithfully ac
company it in its descent.
The sight, even for a raoment, of this
enorraous mass of moving water is truly mag
nificent; but when one refiects that the mil
lions of tons of water per minute which are
calmly passing down the glassy cataract, for
thousands of years have been falling, and, for
aught we know, for thousands of years may

Chap.X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 217
continue to flow, by day and by night, over
its crest ; — the raind is illuminated rather than
dazzled by the bright glimraering before it of
that Almighty Power which, by evaporation,
wind, and condensation, is eternally collecting
frora remote regions of the globe this ever
lasting supply of water, to be transported to,
and deposited in, those immense inland re
servoirs. Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and
Erie. The scene, altogether, is one of the most
impressive sermons that can be preached, and
it is, I think, impossible for any one to stand
on the edge of the table-rock of Niagara, some
times completely enveloped in the dense cloud
of white vapour, that in rolling volumes,'
pierced with prismatic colours, is rising from
the foaming surges below ; soraetimes enrap
tured with the splendid pictures before, be
neath, and around him ; and sometiraes deaf
ened almost to distraction by the thundering,
raging, and hissing noises which frora all
directions assail his ears ; without feeling most
deeply his abject dependence upon that Sacred
Name which naturally rushes into the raind,
and which by any one who suddenly beholds
L

218 THE FALLS OP NIAGARA. Chap.X.
the cataract of " 0-ni-aw-ga-rah ! " surely can-.
not be exclaimed — " in vain ! "
But however raagnificent m^y be the Falls
and scenery of Niagara, the raoral picture be
fore me was, to my mind, infinitely more
attractive. Upon the British shore of the river, just
above the great cataract, and consequently
between it and Navy Island, there had been
erected, from the neighbouring forest, one of
its tallest pines, upon the summit of which
there was floating, in the pure freezing breeze;
the British flag.
Beneath, around, and for a considerable
distance within view of it, were to be seen, in
various costumes, either on duty, or at recre-.
ation, in companies, detachments, or groups,
2500 Canadian farmers, yeomen, and other
volunteers, who, bringing with them no
thing but the clothes in which they stood,
had left thefr families, and in defence of
British Institutions, had, of their own accord,
rallied round him whom they considered as
their natural leader — the Speaker of t^eir
own House of Asserabl}'. Their spirits were
buoyant as the air they breathed ; their hearts

Chap.X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 219
bold as the scenery that surrounded them ;
their cause pure as the deep blue canopy
over their heads, or as the unsullied snow
under their feet.
Occasionally the armed guard, their bay
onets glittering in the sunshine, were observed
marching along the shore to relieve the sen
tries ; and while their appearance was drawing
upon them the fire of the American artillery
frora Navy Island, a nuraber of young railitia-
men were to be seen in the background of the
picture running after the round shot that were
bounding along the ground, with the sarae joy
and eagerness that, as schoolboys, they had run
after their foot-ball. Soraetimes a laugh, like
a roll of musketry, would re-echo through the
dark forest, and sometiraes there would be a
cheer that for a raoment seemed to silence the
unceasing roar of the Falls ; and certainly
I had never before witnessed so much en
thusiasm. On the foUowing day the whole of the
militia were reviewed, and the ceremony was
not over when I was informed that a large
body of Indians had just arrived from the
interior recesses of the Province, that they had
l2

220 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
taken up a position on the right of our line,
and that the chiefs wished to speak to me.
As soon as I was enabled, I rode to the ground
they were occupying, where I found a long
line of arraed Indians, painted for war, who,
without evincing any military stiffness, but,
on the contrary, standing perfectly "at ease,"
remained motionless as statues as I passed
thera. On the right were assembled their
chiefs, and, on reaching them, I soon found
that their object in desiring to speak to me
was to drive a bargain with me, the terras of
which shall speak for themselves.
As soon as the customary salutations were
over, the senior chief, with that astonishing
stillness of manner and native dignity of de
meanour which characterise all Indian orators,
briefly told rae that he and his brother chiefs
had heard that the big knives (the Americans)
had invaded the land of their great mother ;
that, for reasons which they very clearly ex
plained, they did not like the big knives ; that
they did not desire to leave their great mother,
and that they had therefore come to fight the
big knives. Before, however, they raised the
hatchet of war, they wished to be informed

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 22 1
whether the wives of their chiefs and young
men who should fall would receive the sarae
consideration tbat in the late war had been
granted to the widows of their white brethren ?
This plain question ought not to have been
very difficult to answer, I knew, however,
that in a certain tenement in Downing-street
there existed an unwholesome opinion (which,
in beautiful language, was very shortly after
wards expressed) that it would be barbarous to
allow the Indians to assist in repelling the in
vasion of Upper Canada by Araerican citizens.
I had no doubt of the fatal imbecility of such
a policy ; on the contrary, it was to my mind
as clear as the sun that was shining upon the
strange scene before rae, that, although phi
lanthropic objections might be raised to the
Indians accompanying a British force in in
vading the territory of the Americans, there
could be nothing more just than to allow them,
in defending their own territory, to assist in
repelling invasion ; for, against any complaints
that raight be raised, with what dignity might
we reply, — " Our Indians never scalp us —
never scalp each other — and they have only
scalped you because, in defiance of the laws of

•222 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
nations, you invaded their territory, to rob
them of their lands. If you think their habits
of war barbarous, learn in future to leave
them in the placid enjoyment of peace."
But although I was quite determined that,
until I should receive orders to the contrary, I
would employ these Indians, yet I was par
ticularly anxious not to deceive them ; and I
therefore told the chiefs and warriors before
rae, that in reply to their question I could only
say the Provincial Legislature would make no
distinction between them and the militia of the
province. As soon as this doubtful answer
was translated, the chiefs, turning towards
each other, gravely held a short conference, at
the conclusion of which their red honest coun
tenances became suddenly illuminated — the
feathers on their heads gently waved in token
ofthe feelings that were arising in their breasts ;
and this slight signal being observed by their
young raen, who had been eagerly watching
thera, the war-whoop burst from, and ran along,
the line like a feurde-joie. The note which each
Indian emitted resembled the sharp, shrill yelp
of a wolf; and when the whole of them joined
in full cry, which must clearly enough have

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. 223
been heard in Navy Island, the sympathisers,
I have no doubt, experienced no very pleasing
sensations in their scalps.
But although our force thus hourly increased,
it proportionably added to a difficulty which
for some days I had been suffering under, and
which, without exception, was the greatest I
had to contend with during my residence in
Upper Canada, namely, that of restraining
the power which under a raoral influence had
rallied round the British flag.
For nearly a fortnight the militia, in obe
dience to my repeated orders, without return
ing a shot, had submitted in patience to the
fire of twenty-two pieces of artillery, the pro-
.perty of the Government of the United States,
and which had offensively been planted by
American citizens on the territory of their
sovereign. Great as was this injustice, it was
the insult that appeared to them insupportable ;
and as plenty of boats were lying idle on our
shore, and as everything was in readiness to
enable our overwhelming force to land, and
with the point of the bayonet to clear the
Island, I was urged by various arguments to
allow them to do so ; arid at this critical mo-

224 THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Chap. X.
ment my difficulty was not a little increased
by the sudden arrival of several waggons full
of the black population in Canada, a most
powerful athletic set of raen, who of their own
accord, and at their own expense, had corae
over to the frontier briefly to beg, in the name
of their race, that I would accord to thera the
honour of forraing the forlorn hope in the an
ticipated attack on Navy Island. They asked
for no more ; and as they stood around rae
eagerly leaning forward for my answer, it was
evident from the expression of their yellow
eyes, red gums, and of many of their clenched
ivory white teeth, that all they wanted was
permission to avenge themselves on the in
vaders of British soil, where raany of them,
scarred and mutilated, had sought refuge from
the slave States of " the land of liberty" on the
opposite shore.
But although it was clearly evident that I
ought not to be influenced by vindictive feelings
of such a nature, yet 1 had arguments calmly
submitted to me which it was very difficult to
refute. First of all, my own judgment told rae
that I was liable to reprehension, and even to
punishment, for the loss of any portion of the

Chap. X. THE PALLS OP NIAGAEA. 225
Queen's territory which had been coraraitted
to my care. By many, whose counsel it was
my duty to respect, I was admonished that it
was not politic to allow the railitia of the Pro-
¦vince to be subjected to insult and disgrace.
Many of my steadiest adherents seriously dis
approved of the course I was pursuing; and
even Captain Drew, R.N., now in this country,
who on the outbreak had joined the ranks of
the militia with a musket on his shoulder, and
wbo was ready enough, when called upon, to
do what was right, declared to Sir Allan Mac
Nab that if the system I was pursuing was
much longer continued, he should feel it due
to himself and to his profession to retire from
the scene,
I need hardly say with how rauch pain I
listened to observations of this nature, and how
anxious I really was to recover the territory I
had lost. On the other hand, the raore I re
flected on the subject the raore I felt convinced
of the propriety as well as prudence of the
policy I was pursuing.
It is true the Americans were doing all
in their power to provoke a war between Great
Britain and the United States, but for that
l3

226 THE FALLS OF NIAGAEA. Chap. X.
tery reason I felt it my duty, by forbearance,
to make every possible exertion to avert such
a calamity ; and although the hourly increas
ing force at Navy Island was threatening us
with imminent danger, yet so long as we
could possibly refrain from dislodging it by
force, it was evident to rae that I was working
out a moral triumph of inestimable value to
mankind. Ever since my arrival in Canada I had been
occupied in a chemical analysis of the compa
rative advantages between monarchical and
republican institutions, in the result of which
the civilized world was not only deeply inte
rested, but was afready more or less involved.
Many great and good men in all countries
were, I knew, looking to the Continent of
America for the solution of the problem
upon which the continuance of the govern
ments of Europe and the destiny of mil
lions, born as well as unborn, must eventu
ally depend ; and now what was the evidence
that the two opposite shores of the Niagara
river offered to these political inquirers ? Why,
on the one side the citizens of the republic,
destitute of respect either for their own laws

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGAEA. 227
or for the laws of nations, had invaded and
were preparing to massacre and plunder a
neighbouring people with whora they were at
peace, and who had oflTered thera not the
slightest cause for offence : and secondly, a
Government, if such it can be called, openly
declaring that it had not power to protect its
own arsenals from plunder, and that it was
utterly incompetent to restrain its people. Ori
the other side of the river were to'be seen as
sembled men of various races and colours,
Scotch, Irish, English, native Canadians, the
red children of the forest, and lastly, the black
population of the province. Ever since the re
tirement of the Queen's troops, the whole of
these men had virtually been invested with
absolute independence, either to continue under
their monarchy or to become republicans. They
had not only been invited to revolt, but had
been told that, if they would but remain pas
sive, others would revolt for thera. The pro
mise was fulfilled; yet, instead of hailing their
"liberators," they had attacked them, had de
feated them, and had driven them from the
face of the land they wished to liberate; and
now, although they had rushed to the frontier

228 THE PALLS OP NIAGARA. Chap. X.
of their country to repel foreigners, whose
avowed object was to force them, against their
wills, to become republicans — although they
had power to overwhelm thera, and were burn
ing to do so — in calm obedience to their laws,
and to the administration of their Government,
they submitted with patience to insults they
were competent to punish, and to aggressions
they bad power to revenge. And did this
obedience exist only on the Niagara frontier ?
and was it raerely created by the presence of
the adrainistrator of their Government ? No !
It pervaded the whole province; it was indi
genous to British soil. The supremacy of the
law was the will of the Canadian people : it
was what they were fighting for ; it was what
they theraselves were upholding, not because
it was a gaudy transatlantic European theory,
but because it was a practical substantial bless
ing — because it formed the title-deeds of their
lands, the guardian of their liberty, the pro
tector of their lives — because it was the sup
pressor of vice and iramorality, and because it
implanted, fostered, and encouraged, in the
minds of their wives and of their little children,
gratitude and subraission to the Great Author

Chap. X. THE PALLS OP NIAGARA. 229
of their existence. It was under the influence
of this feeling, of this general submission to laws
human and divine, that a small detachment
ofthe militia had just been enabled to conduct,
from the western frontier of the Province to
Toronto, the American " Major-General T. S,
Sutherland, comraanding second division Pa
triot Array."
This vagabond, for he deserves no other ap
pellation, had had the cruelty, as well, as the
audacity, to direct a heavy fire of cannon upon
the inhabitants (woraen and children) of Sand
wich, from an American vessel, which he had
conducted into the harbour of that town, under
the pretence of liberating (^Anglice, massa
cring) the British people. The Canada militia
fiew to arms. With feelings of indignation,
which need not be described, they rushed at
their assailants; many, regardless of extrerae
cold, jumped into the water, and then, in clothes
frozen like armour, assisted their comrades in
carrying the vessel ; but having attained this
object, their sense of obedience to their laws
admonished them, instead of massacring their
prisoner, "to bring him to justice."
That sacred monarchical feeling saved the

230 THE FALLS OP NIAGARA. Chap'.- X.
life of this republican miscreant ; it protected
him as he passed in irons through the towri of
Sandwich ; it protected hira during his rriarch
for 190 miles through dense districts of the
forest, in which a single rifle bullet ffom afl
impervious ambush could have despatched him ;
and on his arrival at Toronto it protected hiiii,
as he passed through a large assemblage df
people, to appear before me at Government
House. Now, vvhen, on the British bank of the
Niagara, I gazed at, and reflected on, the two
pictures before me, it Was evident to me that,
even divesting the one of the chivalrous arid
enthusiastic feelings which characterised it,
and the other of the base passions which dis
graced it, the problem was clearly demon
strated that, under equal excitement, life and
property were insecure in the republican
country, while under monarchical institutions
both were protected. The contrast was so
clear, the facts so strong, the evidence so con
vincing, and the conclusion so inevitable,
that I felt convinced that, the longer I could
keep open the exhibition of these two pictures,.
the longer should I afford to the inhabitants

Chap. X. THE PALLS OP NIAGARA. 231
of our North American Colonies, as well as to
our politicians at home, of all descriptions, an
opportunity of forraing their own opinions, and
of arriving at their own conclusions, on the
iraportant question in dispute ; in short, that
with the case before them, they would act as
jurymen and as judges in a cause in which the
whole family of mankind were interested.
But besides this, I felt that inasiriuch as
" honesty is always the best policy," so for
bearance (as long as it cobld be maintained)
was the best means I could use to repel the
invasion of the American people. I knew that
hard shot tend to irritate, rather than con
vince republicans. On the other hand, the
whole civilized world knows, that however
thick may be the hide of their consciences,
the skin that covers their vanity is ridicu
lously thin, and I therefore felt, that so soon
as they should clearly see that the finger of
scorn was pointed at their institutions, so
soon as the disgraceful fact of there being
nothing but mob-government in the State
of New York becarae demonstrated, the Ame
rican Congress would feel that, unless they
very quickly recovered their artillery from the

232 THE PALLS OP NIAGARA. Chap. X.
disreputable service in which it was engaged,
American Ministers at every court in Europe
would be required at all public dinners to
sit below the salt, at all state ceremonies to
act as the menials of the other ministers, to
remain like impostors at hard labour, and to
continue under political quarantine until clean
bills of health should be granted to thera from
the Corps Diplomatique of the civilized world,
certifying to their creditors as well as to their
allies that the Government of the dis-United
Republican States of North America had
become something more substantial than the
roar of a tyrannical raob ; in short, I was
fully convinced that the citizens of the State of
New York must inevitably, ere long, become
arrantly asharaed of theraselves, and that,
sraarting under the ridicule and contempt of
every respectable foreigner sojourning in their
" land of liberty," they would, in due time, see
the necessity of retiring from Her Majesty's
territory, and of restoring to their emasculated
Government that artillery which had so long
been the vile emblem, as well as the criminal
advocate, of lawless democracy.
For the above reasons, although I had made

Chap. X. THE PALLS OF NIAGAEA. 233
all necessary preparations for carrying Navy
Island by assault, .1 determined that, in spite
of the arguments that were assailing rae, I
would, so long as it was possible, calmly remain
on the defensive,
A new feature, however, now presented
itself. Although the American pirates on
Navy Island had been fearfully increasing, it
had been evident, that whatever might become
their numbers, they would have a heavy day's
work to perform, whenever they should en
deavour, in their small boats — which were all
the craft they possessed — to invade the raain
land of Upper Canada ; and upon this physical
difficulty we had principally relied. Our in
vaders, however, were equally aware of the
difficulty they would have to encounter, and
they accordingly determined to take effectual
means for overcoming it.
In broad daylight, in the presence of the
United States Marshal, who had been sent
from Washington to the frontier, in the pre
sence of other high authorities of the Federal
Government, of the State Government, and of
a militia regiment quartered in the iramediate

234 THE FALLS OP NIAGAEA. Chap. X.
vicinity, a thousand men were set to work to
cut the Caroline steamer from the ice in which
she had been firmly embedded. Seventeen
AmericEin citizens openly and publicly signed
a bond to indemnify her proprietors iri case of
her loss. The Collector of Customs, acting
under the influence of the existing Govern^
ment, i, e. the mob, unblushingly gave her a
licence, under the authority of which, and
amidst acclamations of triumph, she sailed for
Navy Island, where she immediately acted
as passage-boat, conveying men and artillery
from the American shore to the aforesaid terri
tory of the Queen of Great Britain.
The means for invading Upper Canada Were
now successfuUy effected, A lodgment had
been raade ; our eneray was converging to their
carap, on Navy Island, from all directions;
and we now saw the irresistible power of steam
flash into action for the evident object of acce
lerating the invasion of Her Majesty's domi
nions ! Our danger was imrainent : the popu"-
lation of Upper Canada did not araount to
half a raillion, while that of the United States
exceeded sixteen millions; and I was quite

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGAEA. 235
sensible that if our invaders could but over
power us on the frontier, the Province would
immediately be overwhelmed with riflemen,
who, after robbing and murdering the loyal,
would take possession of the fastnesses of their
country and then fortify thera with the artillery
of the United States before the ice should break
up and allow any succour frora England ; and
surely I need hardly say that if this calamity
had befallen one of the most valuable of Her
Majesty's North American provinces, I should
most justly have been arraigned for the high
crirae and misdemeanour of having, contrary
to the royal instructions, contrary to the usages
of war, and contrary to the advice of every
respectable authority, shamefully neglected to
recover the Queen's territory and to protect
the lives and properties of Her Majesty's sub
jects which had been committed to my care.
I most confidently submit to the judgment
of even the most strenuous advocates of peace,
that I had carried forbearance to its utmost
limits, and that promptly to deprive the citi
zens of the State of New York of an engine
by which they were about to invade us, was, in

236 THE FALLS OP NIAGAEA. Chap. X.
fact, under Providence, the only reasonable hope
left of preventing — as it did prevent — war be
tween the United States and Great Britain.
Under these circumstances the " Caroline "
was captured ; and that there should be no
misunderstanding on the subject, on the follow
ing day, in public orders, I unequivocally ap
proved of the act. The details of this gallant
feat need not be repeated. Every Canadian,
and, I trust, every British traveller, will ever
think of them -with pride as he gazes on the
Falls of Niagara. I will only once more
record that this act of calm justice and cool
vengeance produced febrifugal results highly
beneficial. It struck terror into those who,
with bands and banners, were marching from
all directions to invade us ; and by thus in
ducing them to halt, the United States Govern
ment were not only obliged, but were enabled
to exert themselves. They recovered their
artillery, General Van Ransalaer with his force
fled, the assault of his camp became unneces
sary, and frora that hour to this the Niagara
frontier of Upper Canada has never been in
vaded.

Chap. X. THE FALLS OF NIAGAEA. 237
MORAL,
How the leader of the Conservatives, with
all these facts before him, could publicly ap
prove of the Queen of Great Britain apolo
gizing to the President of the United States
for this act, involves considerations which will
form the subject of the following chapter.

( 238 )

Chapter XI.
THE APOLOGY.
In the amicable adjustment of every question
of dispute between individuals of high honour,
or between nations of high character, there are
certain words to which raost especial import
ance has invariably been attached, and first
and foremost in this vocabulary, stands the
word " APOLOGY,"
In every case in which an individual has
received unjustifiable insult, or in which a
nation has reasonably complained of aggression,
reparation has usually been demanded either
by the payraent of money, or by the offending
party consenting to use towards the other the
word " apology." A man of honour does not
want more, cannot take less ; and this has always
been so clearly understood, that in the amicable
settleraent of cases of this nature, it has been
custoraary for the advocate of the offended
party to say to the advocate of the offending

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 239
party, " Use but the word ' apology,' and you
may accompany it with almost whatever other
words you may think proper, but that deter
gent word mu,st be ' pronounced.' "
Now as regards the case of ' the Caroline,'
the facts are shortly as foUows : —
So long as the citizens of the United States
were firing their State artillery upon the un-
oflTending subjects of the Queen of Great
Britain, the Federal Governraent at Washing
ton saw no great reasou for complaining of the
policy of forbearance I had been pursuing ; but
the instant that the British force, after a fort
night's endurance, presumed, in self-defence, to
strike a solitary blow in return, the President
of the United States (vide his message to Con
gress, and other papers printed and laid before
Parliament) declared the act " an outrage,"
and demanded for it from the Queen of Great
Britain " atonement and reparation."
Now, as this demand' involves considerations
of the highest importance, I deem it necessary
to state the following facts previous to offering
a few observations on the subject.
1st. Within a few days of the capture of
' the Carolirie,' the Governor of New York

240 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XI.
directed a Commissary-General of no very
great capacity to recover, if he could, the State
artillery from Navy Island,
The foUowing extraordinary and very honest
letter addressed by this gentleraan to Sir Allan
MacNab, and which has been printed and pub
lished in Upper Canada, is the official evidence
of an American officer, showing very clearly
the practical working of republican institutions.
To Colonel MacNab, commanding the British
Forces on the Niagara Frontier.
" SiK, " Enclosed I send you a copy of a letter
from Van Ransalaer, that you may the better appre
ciate the embarrassing situation in which I am placed.
" From the first moment after my arrival on this
frontier, down to the present tirae, I have sedulously
endeavoured to accomplish the purposes of my mission
by every pacific and moderate measure which my own
or the ingenuity and wisdom of my advisers could
suggest, and all without the slightest success.
" For your kind and generous forbearance and
courtesy during the pendency of our negotiations, I
tender you my grateful acknowledgments.
" / can ask for nothing more at your hands ; and if
the poor deluded beings who have encamped on Navy
Island are slain, their blood he upon their own kead —
not mine. " I have, &c.,
(Signed) " Henry Arcdlarius,
Commissary-General."

Chap. XL THE APOLOGY. 24 1
2nd. Besides the occupation of Her Majesty's
territory of Navy Island by "General Van
Ransalaer," and the firing upon the inhabitants
of Sandwich by " Major General T, S, Suther
land, commanding second division of the
Patriot Army," it had been my duty to report
to Her Majesty's Government (see my printed
despatches as laid before Parliament) that an
American force, armed with new United States
muskets, had landed on another part of Ca
nada (Point Pelee), and after killing and
wounding thirty of Her Majesty's soldiers,
under the command of Colonel the Honourable
S, Maitland, had returned to the territory of
the United States.
3rd. That about the same time another part
of Upper Canada (Bois Blanc Island) was
invaded by five hundred armed American citi
zens, who, besides firing upon or imprisoning
all Her Majesty's subjects whom they could
find, carried oflT to the United States horses,
hogs, sheep, cattle and poultry, valued at up
wards of 1000^, sterUng,
4th. That about the same tirae a party of
Americans, to revenge themselves for the de
struction of ' the Caroline,' captured and
M

242 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XI.
burned a large British steamer named Hhe
Sir liobert Peel.'
5th. That, as if to demonstrate to the civi
lized world that a Republican Government
cares no more for the laws of nations or for any
laws on earth than do its citizens, an officer of
the United States Government was directed
(during a negotiation which for three years
had been pending between the American and
British Governments on the subject of the
President's demand for reparation from the
Queen of Great Britain for the destruction of
'the Carohne") to oflTer to Her Britannic
Majesty the unwarrantable insult of seizing, of
imprisoning, and of bringing before an Ameri
can Court of Justice one of Her Majesty's
bravest and most loyal subjects to be tried for
his life for having (as was falsely alleged)
served under her flag in this capture of ' tbe
Caroline.' Considering, at the period of the destruction
of the ' Caroline,' how completely the Ameri
can people on the northern frontier of the
United States had cast aside all respect for
their own Government — for the British Go
vernment — for the Laws of Nations — and for

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 243
the solemn treaty which existed between Great
Britain and the United States, it may seem out
of character with such violence, and with the
repeated insults to Her Majesty which have
just been detailed, coolly to argue on the
legality or illegality of ray having at last been
driven, as an act of self-defence, to destroy an
offensive engine which, had it continued to
operate, would most certainly have overpowered
me. As, however, the deraand of the President of
the United States for " reparation and atone
ment " involves principles of vast importance,
it is necessary that the subject of his claim
should be fairly and dispassionately considered.
Nothing in international law can be more
clear than that the American Government has
no right, in time of peace with Great Britain,
to fire, or to allow their citizens to fire, the
United States artillery upon any portion of
the British empire. If the United States Go
vernment had organized and equipped an army
within its own territory for the avowed purpose
of invading Upper Canada, we should not
have borne with it. If this army had invaded
us, we should have resented it as an act of war.
M 2

244 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XI.
If the ' Caroline 'steam-boat had been employed
by the Government of the United States as a
troop-ship or transport for the purpose of sup
plying this army which had invaded us, we
should have been justified in destroying her.
Why, then, if these acts could not be done
with impunity by the Government of the United
States, should we suffer them frora a portion
of its people acting within its jurisdiction?
The answer is, the United States Govern
ment could not restrain its people.
To this it raust in general terras be replied,
that a Governraent which wants either the
will or the power to perform its functions can
not be considered or treated as a Government
in places where that will or power does not
exist. If a government be superseded by popular
violence it cannot complain of a usurpation of
its rights, for the plain reason that, at the time
of the alleged usurpation, it was not in posses
sion of the exercise of those rights of which it
alleges the usurpation.
Again it is argued (vide papers laid before
Parliament) that the United States are neutral,
and that one belligerent power has no right to

Chap. XL THE APOLOGY. 245
pursue another belligerent power into the ter
ritory of a third which is neutral.
To this argument there are two conclusive
objections : —
1st, That there are not in the case of the
' Caroline ' two belligerent powers, and there
fore there cannot be a neutral — there cannot
be a middle, without at least two extremities,
2nd, It is not the exercise of neutrality to
permit the organization and equipment of
forces hostile to a belligerent power, within
the territory, and with the means of the neu
tral. The very fact of the ' Caroline ' being
claimed as American property, and the persons
killed in defending her as Araerican citizens,
shows clearly the absurdity of setting up the
' Caroline,' her crew, and the Navy Island
array as one belligerent power, Great Britain
the other, and the United States the third.
But even if the Navy Islanders and their
steam-boat were admitted to be a power, it
can only be considered as one with which the
United States were at war, inasmuch as this
third power had invaded their own territory,
robbed their public arsenals, held their laws

246 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XL
and authorities at defiance, put their arms on
board the 'Caroline,' and transported theiri
beyond the frontier, the owners of the ' Caro
line ' consenting _to be in the ser^vice of this
power, and committing acts of hostility against
the United States ; so that if the United States
had reparation to demand, it should be from
this power, instead of which they demanded
reparation for them from us their friends !
But in 1818 this doctrine was most clearly
expounded by Mr. Adams, then Secretary of
State, in a letter, which by otder of the Presi
dent, he addressed to the Minister of Spain,
respecting the seizure by General Jackson of
the Spanish forts, under circumstances singu
larly identical with tbe seizure of ' the Caro
Une ' by Sir Allan MacNab,
" The necessity of crossing the Spanish line," says
Mr, Adams, " was indisputable, for it was beyond tbe
line that the Indians made their murderous incursions
within that of the United States.
" By all the laws of neutrality and of War, as well
as of prudence and of humanity, he (General Jackson)
was warranted in anticipating his enemy by the
amicable — and, that being refused, by the forcible —
occupation of the Spanish forts. There will need no
citation from printed treaties or international law to

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 247
prove the correctness of this principle. It is engraven
in adamant on the common sense of mankind. No
writer upon the law of nations ever pretended to con
tradict it ; none of any reputation or authority ever
omitted to assert it.
" The obligation of Spain to restrain by force the
Indians of Florida from hostilities against the United
States and their citizens is explicit — is unqualified.
The fact that they have received shelter, assistance,
supplies, and protection in the practice of such hos
tilities from the Spanish commander in Florida, is
clear and unequivocal. If, as these commanders have
alleged, this has been the result of their weakness
rather than of their will, it may serve in some measure
to exculpate individually those officers, but it must
carry demonstration irresistibly to the Spanish Go
vernment, that the rights of the United States can as
little compound with impotence as with perfidy.
" The United States has a right to demand, as the
President does demand of Spain, the punishment of
those officers for their misconduct ; and he demands of
Spain a just and reasonable indemnity to the United
States for the heavy and necessary expenses which
they have been compelled to incur by the failure
of Spain to fulfil her engagements to restrain the
Indians."And yet, in the teeth of this plain doctrine,
expounded by one President in 1818, another
President in 1840 brought Alexander Macleod
to trial for having assisted in preventing British

248 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XL
territory from being invaded by the citizens of
the United States ; and this President of 1840,
not satisfied with this, continued — during and
after Mr. Macleod's trial as strenuously as
before it — to demand from the Queen of Eng
land " atonement and reparation " for having,
under circumstances explained by the Ame
rican Comraissary - General Arcularius, de
fended her territory from invasion, exactly in
the raanner in which General Jackson had de
fended hiraself against invasion frora the ter
ritory of Spain !
Now, if the thirty separate Governraents
forming " the United States " think proper to
borrow from the nations of Europe millions of
money under one principle, and then, under
another principle, or rather in defiance of all
principle, to repudiate their respective debts;
if they thus deem it advisable to demonstrate
to the civilized world how much easier it is for
the citizens of the republic to promise than to
perforra, to preach honesty than to practise it ;
the evil is coraparatively of small importance ;
and, at all events, by the remedy which the
Reverend Sydney Smith so moderately ad
ministered, the recurrence of the offence has

Chap. XL THE APOLOGY. 249
been effectually prevented :— but surely the
President of the United States should not be
allowed to vary the laws of nations at his will ;
and while he is demanding from Spain repa
ration for a particular description of outrage,
which he clearly explains, to commit himself
this very same outrage on the Queen of Eng
land ; and then, not satisfied with having
punished one of her subjects for having re^
sisted it, to require from Her Majesty herself
reparation and atonement for the insult She
has received from him !
The violation of the American boundary by
Sir Allan MacNab in capturing "the Caroline "
is identical with the trespass which a man
would undoubtedly commit were he to go into
his neighbour's garden to remove from it the
foot of a ladder which the said neighbour from
the said garden had reared against his (the
trespasser's) house, and from which he (the
said neighbour) was wantonly firing upon his
(the trespasser's) inoflTensive family.
That Sir Allan MacNab violated the Ameri
can boundary is undeniable ; but it is equally
true that this act of aggression consisted solely
of a five minutes' violation, in the middle of the
M 3

250 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XL
night, of American water. Now, giving to
this act of aggression the utmost weight which
the most subtle advocate could impart to it,
surely the leader of the Conservatives, before
he approved of the Queen of England using
the word " apology " with reference to this act^
should have considered that there were two
sides to this grievance-account, and that on
the British side of the ledger there stood 1*6-
corded —
1st. A fortnight's violation and occupation
by the Americans of Her Majesty's territory,
Navy Island.
2nd. The firing by American citizens Upon
Her Majesty's subjects from the said island for
fourteen days from twenty-two pieces of artil
lery, the property ofthe Araerican Government.
3rd, The firing of American cannon upon
Her Majesty's town of Sandwich, U, C,
from an American vessel directed by the
Araerican citizen, " Major-General T. S, Su
therland." 4th. The murder and wounding by Ameri
can citizens armed with new United States'
muskets, of thirty British soldiers,
Sth. The invasion by American citizens of

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 25 1
Bois Blanc Island, the imprisonment of Her
Majesty's subjects there, and the robbery of
their cattle to the amount of 1000/, sterling.
6th. The insult oflTered to the British Sove
reign by the trial of one of Her Majesty's sub
jects for an oflTence for which, by the laws of
nations. Her Majesty alone was responsible.
Now surely the leader of the great Conser
vative party in England ought to have felt,
and with no little indignation, that of all the
blustering demands that have ever been raade
since the creation of the world, the attempt of
the President of the United States not only
to twist this grievance-account to his favour,
but, in the form of an apology, to require from
the British Sovereign immediate payment of
his side of the account which he was pleased
to term — its balance, was, without any excep
tion, the most preposterous.
Surely the Conservative leader ought to
have felt that if " atonement and reparation"
were to be demanded by either party, it should
be by the Queen of England, from the Presi
dent of the United States ; and that even if the
balance of the Dr, and Cr. account I have
recorded had been in favour of the latter, Her

252 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XL
Britannic Majesty would have been fully justi
fied in maintaining, on the old legal axiom of
" autrefois acquit" that inasmuch as the Pre
sident and Government of the United States
by their illegal trial of a British subject had
forcibly taken the laws of nations into their
own hands, the alleged oflTence could not, a
second time, become the subject of international
proceedings. In short, that the moment Alex
ander Macleod had been compelled to raise his
hand in the Courts of the United States, and
to plead " Not Guilty" to an indictment for
murder, and to trust to the decisions of the
tribunals of that country whether he was to be
disgracefully deprived of life or not for having
performed a British soldier's duty, in repelling
the attempt of a foreign power to seize upon
and overturn Her Majesty's authority within
Her North Araerican dominions ; the Queen of
England was, to say the least, at once absolved
from making any further atonement to that
power which had illegally claimed reparation
for the act in question from Her subject instead
of from Herself,
Lord Melbourne was so clearly convinced
that no reparation was due from the Queen of

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 253
England to the President ofthe United States,
that, as the guardian of Her Majesty's honour,
he resolutely refused to offer any ; and, not
satisfied with this, the Whig Governraent for
warded to Canada a powerful despatch, the
substance of which was printed and published
in the Province, stating " that the Queen's
Advocate, Attorney and Solicitor General, had
reported it to be their opinion that, under
the circumstances stated by Sir Francis Head, "
the capture and destruction of the Caroline was
lawful, to which the Secretary of State for the
Colonies added his own irapression, " that it
was justifiable and praiseworthy,"
Lord Palmerston also unhesitatingly declared
in the House of Coraraons (vide Hansard, 9th
February, 1841), that
" Her Majesty's Government considered the capture
of the 'Caroline,' under the circumstances, to have
been a proceeding perfectly justifiable by the con
sideration of the necessity of defending Her Majesty's
territory, " That that opinion had been submitted both to the
Minister of the United States here, and, he believed,
by Mr. Fox to the American Government."
But the most powerful advocate in support

254 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XL
of this doctrine was Sir Robert Peel himself,
who, in a raost eloquent speech, in which he
quoted at great length General Adams's letter
respecting General Jackson's invasion of Flo
rida, most powerfully and eloquently defended
the legality and propriety of the very act which
afterwards formed the subject of his unfortu
nate submission. However, it appears that, on
his accession to power, he was anxious to get
this Vexatious affair what is now-a-days called
" settled," and certainly very quickly settled it
was. From the correspondence presented to both
Houses of Parliament by comraand of Her
Majesty, in 1843, it appears that on the 27th
of July, 1842, Mr. Webster, on behalf of the
President of the United States, explained his
case as follows : —
" The act of which the Government of the United
States complains is not to be considered as justifiable
or unjustifiable, as the question of the lawfulness or
unlawfiilnesS of the employment in which the ' Caroline'
was engaged, may be decided the one way or the
other. That act is of itself a -wrong and an ofi'ence to
the sovereignty and dignity of the United States, being
a violation of their soil and territory ; a wrong for

Chap. XL THE APOLOGY. 255
which to this day no atonement or even apology has
been made by Her Majesty's Government.
" Your Lordship camiot but be aware that self-
respect, the consciousness of independence and national
equality, and a sensitiveness to whatever may touch
the honour of the country, — a sensitiveness which this
Government will ever feel and ever cultivate, — make
tbis a matter of high importance ; and I must be
allowed to ask for it your Lordship's grave con
sideration, " I have, &c.,
(Signed) " Danl. Webster."
Now, although the British minister had been
unwilling to offer the " atoneraent and apology"
alluded to in the foregoing letter of Mr. Web
ster, it appears that within twenty-four hours
he raade to him the following submission : —
"Nearly five years are now past since this occur
rence ; there has been time for the public to deliberate
upon it calmly ; and I believe I may take it to be th6
opinion of candid and honourable men, that the British
officers who executed this transaction, and their Go
vernment who approved it, intended no slight or
disrespect to the sovereign authority of the United
States. That they intended no such disrespect, I can
most solemnly affirm ; and I trust it will "be admitted
that no inference to the contrary can fairly be drawn,
even by the most susceptible on points of national
honour." One would have thought that "the most

256 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XI.
susceptible nation on points of national honour"
ought to have been satisfied with this declara
tion in the name of the Queen of Great Bri
tain, that, in the capture of the Caroline, no
slight or disrespect to the sovereign authority
of the United States was intended ; but the Bri
tish Minister, as if foreseeing that, without the
use ofthe word " apology," this troublesome bu
siness could not quickly be " settled " — and that
any mention ofthe narae of Alexander Macleod
. — ofthe raurder ofthe Queen's soldiers — ofthe
invasion of the Queen's territory — and of the
plunder of the Queen's subjects, might se
riously embarrass the negotiation, added, —
What is perhaps most to be regretted is, that
some EXPLANATION and apology /cr this occur
rence was not immediately made."
The capitulation was complete — the humilia
tion of the British Sovereign was deemed suffi
cient ; and accordingly Mr. Webster was autho
rised to address to the British Minister, as a
receipt in full of all demands, a despatch of
which the foUowing are extracts, and which,
considering the fearful odds between the re
spective complaints of England and the United
States against each other, is certainly the

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 257
greatest triumph of an unjust deraand, which,
in the annals of diplomacy, has ever been
recorded.* (copy.)
" Department of State,
" Washington, August 6, 1842,
" My Lord,
" Your Lordship's note of the 28th of July, in
answer to mine of the 27th of July, respecting the
case of the ' Caroline,' has been received, and laid
before the President.
" The President sees with great pleasure that your
Lordship fully admits that great principle of public
law applicable to cases of this kind which this Govern
ment has expressed,
" Seeing that the transaction is not recent, having
happened in the time of one of his predecessors ; see
ing that your Lordship, in the name of your Govern
ment, solemnly declares that no slight or disrespect
was intended to the sovereign authority of the United
States; seeing that it is acknowledged that, whether
justifiable or not, there was yet a violation of the ter
ritory of the United States, and that you are instructed
to say that your Government consider that as a most
serious occurrence; seeing, finally, that it is now
admitted that an explanation and apology for this
violation was due at the time ; the President is con
tent to receive these acknowledgments and assurances
in the conciliatory spirit which marks your Lordship's
* See Appendix B.

258 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XI.
ktter, and will make this subject, as a complaint of
violation of territory, the topic of no further discussion
between the two Governments. " I have, &c.,
(Signed) " Daniel Webster,"
It is difficult to conceive how the representa
tive of the great Conservative party in Eng
land could approve, not only of oflTering in the
name of his Sovereign, this apology to the
President of the United States (vide his speech
in the House of Commons), but of ever since
Withholding from Alexander Macleod indem
nification for the losses and sufferings he had
endured ; or of even any notice by Her Ma
jesty's Government of his affecting letter of
complaint, excepting a cold acknowledgment
of its receipt.
As history will not, I hope, blame me for the
apology that has been oflTered for my defence of
the Queen's territory, I can truly say that the
mortification which for a moment this apology
created in my mind has completely subsided.
But the constitutional party in our North Ame
rican Colonies, who took arms to maintain Con
servative principles, deeply feel that their great
leader in England has deserted them. They

Chap. XI. THE APOLOGY. 259
feel that the noble cause in which they carae
forward has been tarnished by an uncalled-for
submission ; they feel that, while neither their
lives nor their properties have been duly noticed,
the demands of democracy have been too
readily conceded. The best-educated men in
our North American Colonies are indignant at
the forraer having, as they say, been sacrificed by
the Conservative Government in an unworthy
atterapt to appease the latter. They complain
that, like the soldiers of Whitelock, they have
been irresolutely commanded — that they have
been misgoverned by a timid course of policy,
upon which it is impossible for them in future
to rely ; and when it is considered what noble
feehngs the militia of the whole of our North
American provinces displayed in 1837, it is
mortifying to hear how odious are the com
parisons which they now form between the
leaders of the two great parties in England ;
and that, while they are loud in admiration of
the courage of the one, they as invariably
designate his opponent by a contemptuous
appellation which it would be indecorous to
repeat ; in short, they are in a state of despair,
caused by a firm conviction that, in the apology

260 THE APOLOGY. Chap. XI.
which has been made by the Conservative
Government in England for the destruction
of the Caroline, their interests and their honour
have been alike sacrificed.
There are, I know, among our Conserva
tives many raost worthy raen who believed
that the dishonour of this apology, though
great, would be araply repaid by its pacific
results. Great, however, must have been their
disappointment when they perceived that de
mocracy, instead of being satiated, was excited
by our weakness ; and that when their leader
grasped at the reward of his policy, he reaped
nothing but the mortification and disappoint
raent of hearing those who at such a costly
sacrifice of principle he had endeavoured to
conciliate, openly and ungratefully exclaim, —
" And now hurrah for the Oregon !"

( 261 )

Chapter XII,
THE HUNTED HAEE.
It is over ; — and so it does not now matter ; —
nevertheless it is a historical fact to which
some minds raay attach curious importance,
that although by statute-law hare-hunting ends
in England on the 27th of February, it was
not until the 23rd of March that the anxieties
I had so long been suflTering suddenly ceased.
On that day, at noon precisely, I had pro
ceeded to Parliament Buildings to attend the
swearing-in of my successor ; and as soon as
this important ceremony was over, bowing in
silence, first to hira and then to his Executive
Council — who had so long been my own
faithful advisers, and whom I now left seated
on each side of him in the Council Chamber — I
descended the stairs, and then opening a private
door, I found myself at once and alone in the
pure fresh air.
It was a most heavenly day ; and although

262 THE HUNTED HARE. Chap. XII.
the ground before me was still sparkling with
snow, and although the harbour behind me
was still covered with ice as thick as in the
depth of winter, the sun was quite hot, the air
highly exhilarating, and the Canada sky I
fancied bluer and more magnificent than I had
ever beheld it ; indeed, it was altogether to me
a moment of overwhelming enjoyment; and
the sunshine which gilded everything I beheld
was but an emblem of that which was gladden
ing my own heart, in the fulness whereof I
could not help fervently muttering to myself,
" Tlumk God I am at last relieved ! " for
although there is certainly nothing to boast of
in the feeling, yet I raay as well confess, that
even if ray political existence in Canada had
been, what is commonly called, " a bed of
roses," it would have been peculiarly uncon
genial to my taste, as well as to habits which,
good or bad, had become too old to alter ;
indeed, for so many years of my life I had
enjoyed uninterrupted quietness and retire
ment, that nothing short of scarification could,
I fancied, erase from my mind a number of
deep wrinkles, which, after all, ugly as they
might appear, I did not wish to have removed.

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HARE. 263
The pinnacle of power, like the mast-head of a
ship, was, I had long known, a bleak, lofty,
lonely, exposed, desolate spot — in fact, a place
of punishment.
I had, therefore, no desire in the evening
of my life to seat myself upon it to be an object
for every man to gape and gaze at, well know
ing that I could not even for a moment descend
from it, for exercise or recreation, but that the
countenances of every happy group would gra
dually become formal, rigid, and joyless, as I
approached them.
But besides my natural inaptitude for the
lofty position I had been occupying, and be
sides the rough weather to which I had
politically been exposed, I had been attended
by one unceasing sorrow, namely, that of being
obliged to act contrary to the policy of those
whom I was serving, and to whom, as in duty
bound, I had long ago tendered my resignation,
but in vain. However, my burden, of what
ever it might have been composed, had now
dropped from my shoulders — the millstone had
suddenly been detached from my neck, my
portmanteau was ready packed, and although
the navigation of Lake Ontario had not yet

264 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XIL
opened, and although all its bays, harbours,
and rivers were still frozen up, the steamer
which had undertaken for rae to break this
erabargo was lying outside the ice, sraoking,
hissing, and only waiting to receive me.
Accordingly, almost iramediately after my re
turn to Government House, and (for reasons
which will shortly be explained) without ser
vants, or any attendant, but Judge Jones, who
had most kindly expressed a wish to accompany
rae, I rode towards the vessel, around which
I found asserabled a very large, and by me
unexpected, concourse of the militia, and of
others of various classes, to whom I had been
equally indebted.
Without detaining them a raoraent, I dis
mounted, and stepped on board, and, as the
vessel, uncasting the hawser which had detained
it, instantly left the ice, it received from them
the ordinary salutations ; when all of a sudden
there burst from every person present a shriek
of exclamation, rather than a cheer — which I
am sure neither they nor I shall ever forget^
caused by the only mode I had of acknow
ledging the compliraent they had bestowed
on us, naraely, by taking oflT my hat, and then

Chap. XIL THE HUNTED HAEE. 265
for a few seconds silently pointing to the
British flag, which was waving over my head.
They well enough knew what I meant ; and
their sudden response to ray parting adrao-
nition was, I can truly s-ay, the most gratifying
" Farewell ! " I could possibly have received
from them.
Of all the physic in the London Pharma
copoeia, there is nothing that so magically
gladdens a sad heart, and which so eflTectually
illuminates with joy a care-worn countenance,
as the variegated ideas which, head-over-heels,
rush into the mind of every one who, with a
fine vessel under his foot, has just sailed from
the scene of ten thousand little troubles, and
at the rate of about ten knots an hour finds
himself traversing wave after wave of deep
blue water. The change of element is a change
of existence, and, enraptured with the bright
colouring of the new world, the mind simulta
neously forgets the gloomy shadows of the old
one; and thus, for nearly an hour, I sat on
the deck in the exquisite enjoyment of the
tranquil scene around me.
Our steamer was the only passage-vessel —
the only box full of living creatures on a lake
N

266 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
nine times as long, and from two to four times
as broad as the sea between Dover and Calais,
and as it gallantly proceeded on its solitary
course, before us, behind us, and on our right,
the horizon was bounded by a circular line;
while on our left the distant shore of Upper
Canada was rapidly passing in review.
Occasionally I glanced at it, as the meraory
does on a subject that has completely gone by;
but it was the open lake, or, so far as appear
ances warranted the appellation, the great ocean
before me, that alraost entirely engrossed my
attention, I was on my way " home ! " and
yet, though the word was fondly imagined,
and easily pronounced, tbere were some little
difficulties in my path towards it, which, while
the steamer is cheerily progressing, I will en
deavour to explain.
As soon as I was officially informed that
my successor had been appointed, I, of course,
had to consider by what route I would re
turn. The direct road was through the United
States to New York. In consequence, however,
of the excitement created by the destruction of
the Caroline, and by a reward of bOOl. which

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HARE. 267
had been offered for my apprehension, I con
sidered it would not be prudent for me to take
that path, and there being only one other, I
wrote to Sir John Hervey, the Lieutenant-
Governor of Nova Scotia, to beg that he would
be so good as to obtain for me a passage to
England from Halifax in a vessel of war ; a
request which he very obligingly immediately
fulfiUed, No sooner, however, was it known that I had
made arrangements for returning by that route
than, throughout the three North American
Provinces through which I had to pass, naraely.
Lower Canada, and New Brunswick, and Nova
Scotia, resolutions were agreed on, to evince,
by public honours to me, their approbation of
the resistance I had successfully offered to
" responsible Government," and to the forraa
tion of that ridiculous anomaly, " a Provincial
Cabinet." As a display of this sort was not only un
congenial to my feelings, but would have
elicited expressions of insubordination to the
Home Government, which it would have been
highly culpable in me to have encouraged, I
declined every invitation from the three Pro-
n2

268 THE HUNTED HARE. Chap. XII.
vinces by replies of which the following is a
specimen : — " Toronto, March 19, 1838.
" Gentlemen,
" It has affiDrded me unexpected gratification
to learn from your letter of the 13th inst., which I have
this moment received, that a large and respectable
body of the citizens of Montreal have done me the
honour to invite me to a public dinner during my pre
sence in Montreal.
" I beg you will be so good as to ofi'er to the gentlemen
who have evinced such a desire, my sincere thanks for
this flattering testimony of their good opinion, which I
can truly assure thera I raost sensibly appreciate ; at
the same time, I request they will do me the additional
favour of permitting me to express a desire not to avail
myself of their obliging invitation to a public dinner.
" On retiring from this Government, I shall to the
utmost of my ability continue to render to the Canadas
every assistance in my power ; but I trust, on reflection,
you will agree with me in the opinion, that, on my
journey to England, I should in no place do any thing
that can tend directly or indirectly to agitate a dis
cussion of any of those questions in which the people
of the Canadas, as well as myself, feel so deeply
interested. " I have the honour to be,
" Gentlemen,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) " F. B. Head.
" To ihe Hon. Peier M' Gill, John Mokon,
and Adam Thom."

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HARE. 269
Having thus obtained for myself perraission
to travel privately to Halifax, I was quietly
awaiting the near arrival of my successor,
when by several friends, on whom I could
rely, I was informed that a gang of people had
not only determined that I should not leave
the country alive, but had sworn to murder me
on my road to Halifax.
As I had received raany threatening letters
of this sort, to which I had paid no attention,
I saw no sufficient reason for altering ray plan,
and I accordingly persevered in it until the
day before my successor was sworn in, when I
received from Sir John Colborne, who was in
Lower Canada, a short corifideiijial message,
warning rae, on good authority, of the conspi
racy that had been entered into to murder me
on my way to Halifax.
I said nothing to any one on the subject, but
a very few moments' reflection determined the
course I would pursue, and which appeared to
me a very clear one.
On retiring frora the administration of the
Government of Upper Canada, my direct path
to England was that by which Her Majesty's
Government had sent me to the Province,

270 THE HUNTED HARE. Chap. XII.
namely, through the United States. Now, if
by going another road I could have avoided
danger, I felt it would be my duty to do so ;
but, from the evidence before me, it clearly
appeared that the lonely circuitous route to
Halifax* was the most dangerous of the two,
and I therefore felt very strongly that whatever
little difficulties I might have to encounter, I
had better meet on the straight path than on
the crooked one ; in short, that of two evils I
had better select the road on which no one ex
pected I should travel than that on which
everybody had been led to believe that I
should ; and, after all, my judgment told me
that, as I had little more than three hundred
miles to go through the United States, if I
made the best of my way I should be enabled
quietly to slip through the country before it
was known I bad entered it.
With respect to Judge Jones — who, without
any exception, was the raost calra, fearless man
it has ever been ray fortune to be acquainted
with — I knew quite well that it was perfectly
* The distance from Toronto to New York, through the United
States, is about 350 miles ; the distance from Toronto to Halifax
about 1200 miles.

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HARE. 27 1
immaterial to him which route I selected, inas
much as, in accompanying me, all he desired
was to share my fortune, whatever it might be ;
that is to say, to be tarred with the same
brush, feathered from the same bag, or, if
deemed preferable, to be hanged with the same
rope ; and I verily believe, that so far as re
garded his own personal appearance or comfort,
he did not care sixpence which of the three
should be selected ; and accordingly, as soon
as I communicated to him my decision, it re
ceived his joyful and cordial approbation.

My arrival off the harbour of Kingston was,
of course, in a few minutes known throughout
the town. For raany reasons I was desirous
not to attract notice ; but as it was irapossible
to preserve an incognito, I soon found that, of
two evils, I should create infinitely less excite
ment by at once receiving the deputation that
desired to wait upon me, than by declining.
So soon, however, as this uncongenial ceremony
was over, I sent for Colonel MacDonell, a
brave and distinguished officer, who had volun
teered to command, as well as to lead on, the

272 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
proposed attack on Navy Island, and whom I
had lately appointed sheriff of the Midland
district, and, on his arrival at the hotel, I at
once told him of my intention to return to
England through the United States,
After a few minutes' consideration, he re
commended that he should instantly call upon
a portion of the militia to keep ray secret for
me, by cutting off, by a line of sentinels along
the ice, all comraunication between Kingston
and tbe opposite shore, and to continue this
erabargo until two or three hours after ray de
parture, so as to give me a sufficient start.
This arrangement having been approved of,
and carried into effect, Judge Jones and I left
the hotel the next raorning, at five o'clock, and
drove down to the beach.
The ice, which had covered the St. Lawrence
during the whole winter, had only a few days
ago broken up, and, by tbe force of the cur
rent, had been carried out to sea. The river,
however, during the whole of the three pre
ceding days, had been nearly covered with
moving fragments of ice, of various shapes
and dimensions, which had floated down from
Lake Ontario ; and, as soon as the sun had set,

Chap. XIL THE HUNTED HAEE. 273
these fragments had adhered to each other,
and the stream, which is here nearly four
miles broad, had remained during the three
nights frozen, but had again broken up so
soon as the heat of the morning sun had dis
jointed the pieces of ice which the low tempera
ture of the night had frozen together.
When, a little after sunrise, we reached the
beach, the river was in the congealed state I
have just described ; and as I had never~ft>F-a
moment reflected — so I was totally unable to
conceive — how it could be proposed that we
should cross the wide rough mosaic pavement
which was before us ; for the river beneath this
ice was running with extreme rapidity, and
therefore, if, in the operation of crossing, we
.should happen to break in, it appeared to rae
that the current raust inevitably carry, and
then carefully keep us, most uncomfortably,
beneath the frozen surface.
The mode, however, in which we were to
cross, though strange, was divested of the
smallest particle of danger, and, as there was
no time to be lost, we at once commenced the
operation. Our two portmanteaus were put into a sraall
n3

274 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
boat which was lying in readiness on its side
on the ice. Two active able-bodied men,
placing themselves on each side of this little
craft, balanced it on its iron keel, and the four
men walking forwards pushed it along, towards
the United States, at the rate of between three
and four miles an hour.
As soon as they started, the few faithful
friends who had accorapanied me to the beach
bade me farewell, and this little ceremony
having consumed a few seconds, Judge Jones
and I had to run upon the ice till we overtook
the boat, which we then closely followed.
When we got about a mile from the Canada
shore, we passed several parts of the river
which were unfrozen, and at which the current
was rushing and boiling up with great vio
lence. In a short time as we proceeded the
ice began to crack slightly, then violently, upon
which the men steadily continuing their course
told rae to keep one of my hands on the side
of the boat. We thus advanced merriljT^ along
araidst most awful cracks, until it becarae quite
evident that we had reached a portion of the
ice which, to use a comraon phrase, had re
solved " to stand it no longer," and accord-

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HAEE. 275
ingly, with a loud crack of execration, the
surface for some distance around gave way ; so
we all gently placed our stomachs on the sides
or gunwale of the boat, and without even wet
ting our feet we found ourselves afloat, and
very shortly were all standing up in the boat.
Nothing could be more perfectly secure than
our position. The men, with long hooks in
their hands, propelled the boat until it reached
strong ice, when we leisurely got out, hauled
the boat out of the water on to the frozen sur
face, and then, the raen cheerfully pushing on
as before, we proceeded, sometimes a quarter
of a mile, when a second succession of little
cracks and great cracks again ended by our
throwing ourselves horizontally on our sto
machs, and the boat beneath us again sinking
souse into the clear water.
This occurred to us about half a dozen times,
until, as we approached the opposite shore, we
found the ice considerably stronger.
As soon as we reached the land, the four
men who had pushed us along took our port
manteaus out of the boat, tumbled tiiem on the
beach, and then for reasons that may be easily
understood, treating us with apparent neglect.

276 THE HUNTED HARE. Chap. XU.
and as if they were heartily glad to get rid of
us, they veered the boat's head round, and,
pushing her towards the Canadian shore, they
left Judge Jones and me behind them.
Our first object was to hire a conveyance,
and as my companion kindly undertook this
piece of errantry, I remained quietly with the
luggage ; and I was sitting on my portman
teau, and with mingled feelings gazing on the
Canada shore, when I saw, about a hundred
yards on my right, a tall thin man, who was
looking at me with quite as rauch attention as
under the circumstances of the case I could
possibly desire.
In about two minutes he walked very leisurely
towards me, and at last coraing close up to me,
he said to me slowly through his nose, " Straun-
ger ! ere you from Canny-day V I told him I
was ; but not wishing to prolong the conver
sation, I took up a stone, and as if to amuse
myself, threw it along the surface of the ice.
He then asked me " how the trials were going
on?" to which 1 replied that they had not
commenced. He then after a short pause said,
"Is your new Governor come yet?" "Oh
yes !" I replied ; " he came the day before I

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HARE. 277
left." The man asked me a few other insig
nificant questions, and from sheer inquisitive
ness would have gone on till sunset ; but Judge
Jones arriving in a rough carriage he had
hired, we put our portmanteaus into it, and
then drove away.
As the roads were very bad, we proceeded
that day only about twenty-five miles, to a
small village inn, where we got a good dinner,
and in due time went to bed.
The next morning we started in the only
conveyance we could get, an open waggon,
such as is generally used, in which we pro
ceeded towards Waterton, a considerable town,
in which I knew that there were a number of
our fugitive rebels, and in which there had
been great excitement on account of our burn
ing the Caroline, We ought to have driven
round this town, and under some excuse have
sent into it for a fresh conveyance. How
ever, after a short conseil de guerre, it was de
termined, for a particular reason, to take the
usual course ; and accordingly, driving into a
town I had never before entered, we stopped
at a hotel on one side of the principal square.
It so happened that several people were

278 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
standing round the door of this inn ; and as I
had not thought it right to disguise myself, as
I had no occasion to enter it, as I only wanted
a relay of horses, and as Judge Jones the
instant we stopped went into the house and
ordered them, the waggon drove away, and,
being thus left alone in the square, I sat down
on a truck which happened to be near rae.
Of all people — of all beasts — birds — or fishes
in creation, an Araerican is the most inquisi
tive. Like a note of interrogation, he fancies
he is constructed on purpose to ask questions ;
and accordingly several idle awkward-looking
fellows, after gaping and staring at me frora a
distance, indolently walked towards me for no
earthly object but to cross-examine me on any
subject. One carae, and then another carae;
and then a third, seeing the other two, came
to hear what they might be saying ; and so on,
until among the little group that surrounded
me I saw a sudden flash in the eyes of one of
them, which clearly enough told me that he
knew me ; and accordingly, in a very few
seconds he said to rae, " Is not your narae Sir
Francis Bond Head ?" I told him it was.
Several immediately asked me, with great

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HAEE. 279
eagerness, if the trials had commenced, and
what would be the result? However, by this
time our carriage drove out of the yard ; and
so having answered the questions that had
been put to me, and having no desire to wait
for any raore, I slowly walked towards it; and
Judge Jones joining me frora the inn with a
countenance of beaming joy and irresistible
good humour, we got in and drove off before
any of my dull catechists had quite recovered
from their astonishment, or had quite made up
their minds what to think, say, or do, '
As soon as we got clear out of the town I
told Judge Jones that we had now no time to
lose, and as by a silent nod he seemed to agree
with me in this opinion, we very shortly pro
ceeded to determine on the measures we would
pursue. While I had been sitting in the square he
had been " trading " with the innkeeper, and,
according to the custom of the countrj^, had
paid him in advance for a carriage with relays
of four horses about every ten miles to Utica, a
distance qf about eighty miles.
We therefore agreed that, as soon as we
reached the first post, we would leave our port-

280 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
raanteaus to corae on by the stage-coach, and
then ask the landlord to give us each a saddle-
horse, instead of supplying us, as by his agree
raent he was bound to do, with four horses
and a carriage.
We were quite sure that this proposal would
as readily be accepted as, in the story of Alad
din, was the raagician's oflTer to exchange new
lamps for old ones ; and accordingly, hurrying
our driver to the utmost speed his own teraper,
rather than his horses' mettle, would allow,
we soon reached the post-house, and in a very
short time I enjoyed the delightful sensation
of being ray own master on horseback instead
of servilely sitting behind wheels.
I need hardly say that our pace was a cheer
ful one ; nevertheless, as I was perfectly certain
we should be pursued, I foresaw that we should
not be quite safe until we could get clear of
the next post.
As soon as we reached it — we were then, I
believe, about twenty miles from Waterton —
we produced our order for four horses, and
raade our application for two ; and although
the strange bargain was readily accepted, a
considerable time was lost before Judge Jones,

Chap. XIL THE HUNTED HAEE. 281
with his usual kindness, could get the horses
saddled. During this interval I was waiting in a little
room in the inn, when in walked a huge over
grown man, whose over-heated countenance
clearly explained for him that he had been taking
the trouble to follow rae. His first nasal ques
tion, expending an enormous quantity of super
abundant emphasis on the fifth word, was, " Ere
you Sir Francis Bond Head ?" and as soon as
I had replied that I was, he began a long
incoherent rigmarole story about some cheese
of his which some Governor of Canada had
seized, and for which he desired to make me
answerable. He went on in this strain for
about five minutes ; and he was only waiting the
arrival of about sixty horsemen, or rather men
on horseback, who had started imraediately after
hira from Waterton, and who, like a pack of
straggling, ill-assorted, long-backed hounds,
were following him, when through the window
I saw our horses corae to the door, and as I
was anxious to get to thera without disturbance,
on the principle that one bluster is as good as
another, I put the fore-finger of my right hand
into my waistcoat pocket, and then fumbling

282 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XIL
to view the small-rounded end of a piece of
black walnut wood, I walked forwards. The
movement, trifling as it was, succeeded, and in
a few seconds, finding myself again on my
saddle, 1 gave my friend a farewell look, and
then, with Judge Jones at my side, we started
away upon our second horses, "And now,
republicans," I said to myself with feelings
which it would have been more becoraing to
have repressed, " if you can catch rae I shall
deserve all that deraocracy has power to be
stow !" But although our thirty couple of
pursuers followed us for a considerable time,
there was not the slightest chance of their
o-vertaking us. Their horses were of course
tired, and even if they had succeeded in getting
others, the delay must have occupied much
time, besides which, as the night was getting
dark, as the road was full of holes, and as the
Americans have no experience whatever in the
comraon English art of " going-a-head" on
horseback, I felt sure, every tirae my horse
floundered in the dark, that the obstacle, what
ever it was, having been overcome, remained
behind an item in our favour.
During the remainder of the night, we were

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HAEE. 283
I
occupied, sometimes in vainly attempting to
waken up our various landlords, in unsuccess
fully endeavouring to satisfy them of the
reasonableness of our travelling at such an
unusual hour, in stirring up snoring " helps"
to saddle horses that were fast asleep ; and
then again, forgetful of the many nasal male
dictions our project had received, in riding as
fast as in the obscurity of the night was prac
ticable ; at last, by the time the sun arjose, we
were near Utica, where we arrived just in time
to wash and repair our toilette, before the first
train started by railroad for Albany, the capi
tal of New York, distant about 100 miles.
I was very little fatigued with the ride I had
had ; but although the spirit of my companion
was invincible, it was evident tbat the unusual
exercise, which for my sake he had so kindly
undergone, had considerably disordered, to say
the least, one end of him, for his head was
swelled, and his face, in consequence, appeared
flushed and overheated.
By tbe time we had breakfasted we were
required to take our places in the railway-
carriage, and I need hardly say with what in
describable pleasure we found ourselves gliding

284 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
along the surface of the earth, without anxiety,
troubles, or delays. However, as the shape of
our caps, and the fur they were raade of,
clearly betrayed that we were frora Canada,
several of the passengers conversed with Judge
Jones on the subject of the late rebellion.
The gentleman who sat next rae observed
that he approved of the Governor having sent
the Queen's troops out of the Province, and
thus leaving "the people" to decide for thera
selves ; and shortly after, while the others were
talking, be suddenly turned, and asked me
whether I (speaking of rae in the third person)
had yet left Canada ; upon which, in a low tone
of voice, I told hira, to his utter astonishment,
that I was sitting by bis side !
He behaved very rauch like a gentleraan ;
and, without raaking known to his fellow-
passengers the little confidence I had reposed
in hira, and which, indeed, I had no intention
to conceal, he conversed with rae until we
reached the city of Albany.
As the steamboat for New York was there,
waiting for the arrival of the train, we had
only time allowed us to hurry to it, and had
scarcely been on board a rainute when we

CH.AP. XII. THE HUNTED HAEE. 285
found ourselves adrift, smoking, steaming, and
scuffling down that splendid river the Hudson,
On our arrival at New York, I was quite
aware that I was not only out of reach of
border-excitement, but that I was among a
highly-intelligent people, and that I had only
to conform to their habits to ensure generous
treatraent during the week I had to remain
among them, until the sailing of the packet.
Instead, therefore, of living in any way that
raight oflTensively savour of " exclusiveness,"
I resolved to go to one of the largest hotels in
the city, and while there, like everybody else,
to dine in public at the table d'hote.
I accordingly drove up to the American
hotel ; but, thinking it only fair to the landlord
that he should have the opportunity of (if he
wished it) refusing me admission, I told him
who I was, and what I wanted.
Without the smallest alteration of counte
nance, he replied by gravely asking me to
follow him, I did so, until he led me into his
own little sitting-room, and I was wondering
what might be about to happen, when, raising
one of his hands, he certainly did astonish me
beyond description, by pointing to my own

286 THE HUNTED HAEE. Chap. XII.
picture, which, araong some other framed
engravings, was hanging on the wall !
When the dinner hour arrived, my worthy
companion and I proceeded at the usual pace
to the room, but everybody else, as is the cus
tom, had gone there so very rauch faster, that
we found the chairs appointed for us the only
ones vacant.
There was evidently a slight sensation as we
sat down ; but of mere curiosity. A number
of sharp glittering eyes were for sorae little
time fixed upon us, but hunger soon conquered
curiosity, and in due time both were satiated.
During the week 1 remained at New York,
I had reason not only to be satisfied, but to be
grateful for the liberal reception I met with.
Although as I walked through the street I
saw in several shop windows pictures of the
' Caroline' going over the Falls of Niagara,
detailing many iraaginary, and consequently
to my mind, amusing horrors, yet neither at
the theatre which I attended, nor elsewhere,
did I receive, either by word or gesture, the
slightest insult.
Several Araerican citizens of the highest
character in the country called upon rae, and I

Chap. XII. THE HUNTED HARE. 287
certainly was ranch gratified at observing how
thoroughly most of them in their hearts ad
mired British institutions.
On the morning of my departure I was in
formed that an immense crowd had assembled
to see rae erabark. Mr, Buchanan, the British
Consul, also gave rae intimation of this cir
cumstance ; and as among a large assemblage
it is impossible to answer for the conduct of
every individual, Mr. Buchanan kindly recom
mended me, instead of going in a carriage, to
walk through the streets to the pier, arm in
arm with him, I did so ; and though I passed
through several thousand people, raany of
whom pressed towards us with some little
eagerness, yet not a word, or a sound, good,
bad, or iudiflferent, was uttered,
I took a seat on the deck of the packet, and
when almost immediately afterwards the moor
ings of the vessel were cast adrift, I felt that
the mute silence with which I had been allowed
to depart was a suppression of feeling highly
creditable, and which, in justice to the Araeri
can people, it was my duty ever to appreciate
and avow.

( 288 )

Chapter XIII.
HOME.
During my residence in Canada, I had read
so much, had heard so much, and had preached
so much about " The OLD Country,'' that as
the New York packet in which I was returning
approached its shores, I quite made up my
mind to see, in the venerable countenance of
" my auld respeckit raither," the ravages of
time and the wrinkles of old age. Neverthe
less, whatever might prove to be her infirmities,
I yearned for the moraent in which I raight
exclaira — " This is my own, my native land !"
I disembarked at Liverpool on the 22nd of
i\pril, and, with as little delay as possible,
started for London on the railway, which had
been completed during my absence.
Now, if a very short-sighted young man,
intending to take one raore respectful look at

Chap. XIII. HOME. 289
the picture of his grandmother, were to find
within the frame, instead of canvass,
" A blooming Eastern bride,
In floVer of youth and beauty's pride,"
he could not be more completely — and, as he
might possibly irreverently term it, agreeably
surprised than I was when, on the wings of a
lovely spring morning, I flew over the surface
of " Old England."
Ever thing looked new ! The grass in the
meadovvTswas new — the leaves on the trees and
hedges were new — the flowers were new — the
blossoms of the orchards were new — the lambs
were new — the young birds were new — the
crops were new — the railway was new. As
we whisked along it, the sight, per rainute, of
an erect man, in bottle-green uniform, standing
like a direction-post, stock still, with an arm
extended, was new ; the idea, whatever it might
be intended to represent, was quite new. All
of a sudden, plunging souse into utter darkness,
and then again into bright dazzling sunshine,
was new. Every station at which we stopped
was new. The bells which affectionately greeted
our arrival, and which, sometimes almost before
we even could stop, bade us depart, were new.
o

290 HOME. ' Chap. XIII.
During one of the longest of these intervals,
the sudden appearance of a line of young ladies
behind a counter, exhibiting to hungry travel
lers tea, toast, scalding-hot soup, sixpenny pork
pies, and every thing else that human nature
could innocently desire to enjoy — and then,
almost before we could get to these delicacies,
being summarily ordered to depart ; — the sight
of a crowd of sturdy Englishmen, in caps
of every shape, hurrying to their respective
carriages, with their mouths full, — was new.
In short, it was to new and merry England
that after a weary absence I had apparently
returned ; and it was not until I reached
Downing Street I could believe that I really
was once again in " The OLD Country;"
but there I found ever}' thing old: — old
men, old women, old notions, old prejudices,
old stuff and old nonsense, and, what was
infinitely worse, old principles ; in fact, it
appeared as if the building in which I stood
was intended to collect and remove to our colo
nies all worn-out doctrines that had beconje
no longer fit for home consumption ; and al
though 1 was somewhat prepared for almost
any unwholesome prescription that might be

Chap. XIIL • HOME. 291
administered by it, yet I certainly was alto
gether overvrhelmed with astonishraent when
I was gravely inforraed that Her Majesty's
Government had just despatched to Quebec a
Lord High Comraissioner, in order, for the
fourth time, to inquire into, and, if possible,
explain to Her Majesty the grievances of the
Canadas, and of her other North Araerican
colonies ! !
So long as Monsieur Papineau aud Mr.
McKenzie, raasking, or rather casting a trans
parent veil over their real designs, had asked
only for " reforra," there might have been
something like an excuse for Old England
stoutl}' disbelieving the various administrators
of the Governraent who for the last twenty-
five years, in diflTerent voices, had one after
another been opposing the poisonous conces
sions to deraocracy which the home Govern
ment, under the name of " domestic raedicine,"
had been pouring upon the free, the happy,
and the loyal inhabitants of a New world.
But the " Reforraers " of our North Araerican
Colonies had lately, of their own accord, dis
pelled all mystery or misunderstanding on this
subject ; and accordingly, in much clearer terms
o2

292 HOME. Chap. XIII.
than any which a Lord High Commissioner
could venture to use to the Queen, they bad
themselves printed and published placards and
proclamations, explicitly revealing, for the
information of Her Majesty and of all her
subjects, their simple secret, namely, that
separation from the mother country — in short,
that rebellion, and not reform, had been their
object. But besides tbis valuable information,
they had statistically supplied Her Majesty
with a true and faithful list of all their own
names ; and on the other hand, of the names,
trades, and occupations of that overwhelming
majority who had long professed, and who had
^ust proved, themselves ready to die in defence
of her authority and of British institutions.
They had shown Her Majesty that the
British population in her North American
Colonies, with a few contemptible exceptions,
were loyal ; and that there might be no mis
take, they concluded by explaining to Her
Majesty, that as the principal leaders of what
they had termed "their glorious minority"
had absconded to the United States, the portion
left behind were as small, as insignificant, and
practically as harmless, as the spots in the sun.

Chap. XIII. HOME. 293
It is true that the French in Lower Canada
were under raartial law, but they had never
even pretended to like British institutions ;
indeed, for a long tirae they had honestly re
fused to exercise what we call their " consti
tutional liberties;" and not even understanding
what representation meant, and not caring a
pinch of snuff who represented them, they had
naturally enough been misled by Mons. Papi
neau and others, who of their own accord had
just absconded.
But while the inhabitants of our North
American colonies had not only suppressed
domestic rebellion, but had repelled foreign
invasion ; in what state, I beg leave to ask,
was the mother country ? Why, when I re
turned frora Canada, Wales was in a state of
insurrection — Ireland on the point of rebellion
— there were fires at Manchester — riots at
Birraingham, and even in the agricultural
.districts there were disturbances which were
seriously alarming the Governraent,
If, therefore, a Royal Commission were at
that time to be established, would it not have
been infinitely more reasonable that three or
four of the most inteUigent of the native-born

294 HOME. Chap. XIIL
inhabitants of our North Araerican colonies
should have been appointed by the Queen to
probe, examine, and report to Her Majesty what
were " the grievances" of the mother country,
than that any one meraber of a population so
dreadfully diseased should be ordered to pre
scribe for that portion of their fellow-country
men whom I had just left in the enjoyraent of
robust health ?
However, the great physician had afready
sailed ; and now coraes a political story, which
I will venture to assert is the raost hysterical
that has ever been acted on our colonial theatre,
and which is occasionally so ludricous, and
yet on the whole so melancholy, that it may
justly be termed " the comedy and tragedy
of errors."
Although freedom of speech on every sub
ject which, like science or pohtics, affects the
general welfare of mankind is one of tbe
brightest distinctions of civilization ; yet every
liberal raan feels, that to speak ill of an oppo
nent behind his back is an abuse of this
valuable privilege ; and if it be deeraed just,
as well as generous, to aflTord this description
of protection to an absent man, who in a few

Chap. XIII. HOME. 295
days, or even hours, can appear to defend him
self; how much more is it our duty to grant
it to one who is dead, but whose character still
survives, to be assailed by any one who can
enjoy the unmanly pleasure of striking at that
which is utterly defenceless.
These commonplace observations will, I
trust, be sufficient to prevent any respectable
person, now or hereafter, from uttering any
expression that may unnecessarily assail the
meraory of the late Lord Durhara.
A few facts, however, must be stated re
specting him, which I shall easily compress
within a very short limit.
It was the Earl of Durham who, under the
Queen's Commission, sailed from England as
Lord High Commissioner, in 1838, to examine
into and report on the state of Her Majesty's
North American colonies.
Whether it was that the weight of responsi
bility which had been imposed upon him was
specifically more than his mind could bear —
whether it was that the exalted pinnacle on
which he was suddenly placed made his head
giddy — or whether it was that the unexpected
reversal by the British Parliament of an illegal

296 HOME. Chap. XIIL
ordinance which he had issued, overpowered
his temper, are now questions of no earthly
importance ; suffice it to say, that overwhelmed
by feeUngs which he was incapable to control,
he issued, under the Royal Arms, certain pro
clamations against the British Parliament ;
without waiting to be relieved came home ; and
under the influence of passions I have but
faintly described, there affixed his signature to a
volurainous Report, containing with its Appen
dix 690 folio pages, of the contents of which it
will shortly appear he was perfectly ignorant.
That Lord Melbourne never troubled himself
to read this ponderous volurae, with that guile
less and high-rainded honesty which charac
terises hira,* he hiraself adraitted in the House
of Lords.
The arch-leader of his Cabinet, however,
well understood its contents, and clearly fore
seeing what would be their results. Her
Majesty, at the age of nineteen, was fatally
advised, contrary to all precedent, to order
* Although Lord Melbourne of course could not concur in the
policy I had pursued in Canada, yet in the various interviews I
had with him, his conduct towards me was open, generous, and
high-minded ; indeed, his kindness of manner was infinitely more
than I had any right to expect.

Chap. XIII. HOME. 297
' to be printed and to be laid before both
Houses of Parliaraent," this posthumous docu
ment written after Lord Durham had abandoned
his post, and recoramending, upon evidence
which the Report pretended to detail, two
measures :
1st, The legislative union of the Canadas,
and, 2nd. That the power and patronage of the
Crown should henceforward be transferred
from Her Majesty's representative, to^ that
system of " responsible government" which the
people of Upper Canada at their late elections
had repudiated, which at the hour of rebeUion
they had risen almost en masse to repel, by
exertions that had been greeted with the ap
plause and acclamations of the Legislatures
of the adjoining Provinces of Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick.
Now, at the time these two measures were
recommended in Lord Durham's Report, Lower
Canada was under martial law ; and although
Upper Canada had faithfully resisted open
rebellion, yet it was arithraetically known that
the minority of members of Parliament opposed
to Governraent in the Upper Province, added
o3

298 HOME. Chap. XIIL
to the French radicals in the Lower Province,
would constitute a permanent incurable repub
lican raajority; and accordingly the bold project
of the arch-leader of Lord Melbourne's Govern
ment was as follows : —
1st.* Swamp for me the accursed loyalty of
Upper Canada, by creating in the Coraraons'
House of Assembly of the United Legislature
a permanent republican majority,
2nd. Constitute for me " a Provincial Ca
binet," to fetter, or, as I must at present call it,
to advise, the Governor-General, which cabinet
must carry with it the confidence, or in other
words be the mouth-piece, of the aforesaid
republican majority ; and the legitiraate infiu
ence of the Crown being thus raisdirected in
favour of the disloyal, and the power of her
Majesty's Secretary of State for tbe Colonies
completely superseded by the republican " CA
BINET," the loyal of Upper Canada will be
placed for ever in a rainority ; and as it is to be
decreed by the Iraperial Parliament that the
majority shall govern. Hurrah for the Union !

* " Never again,'' says Lord Durham's Report, page 20, " will
the present generation of French Canadians yield a loyal sub
mission to a British Government."

Chap. XIII. HOME. 299
Hurrah for deraocracy in our colonies of the
most luxurious growth, and then hurrah !
hurrah ! my lads, for a republic at horae ! !
But the Queen's sentinel, the Duke of Wel
lington, clearly foresaw what must inevitably
be the fatal results of the proposed Union of
the Canadas ; and, as he had only to explain
the reasons which were subsequently embodied
in his protest to carry with him a majority in
the House of Lords, and as Sir Robert Peel
also comraauded a large Conservative raajority
in the House of Coraraons, and was only
awaiting an opportunity to exercise it, it was
naturally to be supposed that the projector of
this clever plot, whenever it was proposed,
would be signally defeated.
So soon, therefore, as Lord John Russell
gave notice in the House of Coraraons of his
intention to bring in a Bill for the Legislative
Union of the Canadas, the Conservative party
looked to Sir Robert Peel for a decided ex
pression as to the course they should adopt,
A raost raysterious silence, however, ap
peared to envelope the whole subject: like
sheep following their shepherd in a fog, they
could not see a yard before thera ; when all of
a sudden, to the utter dismay of all who, like

300 HOME. Chap. XIII,
the Duke of Wellington, understood the sub
ject, Sir Robert Peel declared in broad day
light that he should very reluctantly vote for
a measure which he perfectly well knew had
been strenuously opposed —
1st. For twenty-five years by the successive
Executive Councils of Upper Canada,
2nd, For upwards of forty years by the suc
cessive adrainistrators of the Governraent of
that Province.
3rd. By the two Houses of Legislature of
Upper Canada, who in 1 837, fearing that Lord
Gosford and the Royal Coramissioners raight
possibly recoraraend the said Union, joined in
an address to the King, declaring that such a
raeasure would, in their opinion, " be destrUjCtive
of their connexion with the parent State."
4th. By Sir George Arthur, the existing
Lieutenant-Governor, who in his published
despatch to Her Majesty's Secretary of State,
No. 91, dated April 17, 1839, described—
"The Earl of Durham's scherae for the future
government of Canada as essentially the same as that
which was advocated by Mr. Bidwell, Dr. Rolph, and
Mr. McKenzie."
and in his pubhshed despatches, dated 2d July,
and 21st August, 1839, added —

Chap. XIIL HOME. 301
" There is a considerable section of persons who are
disloyal to the core ; reform is on their lips, but sepa
ration is in their hearts. These people having for the
last two or three years made ^Responsible Govern
ment ' their watchword, are now extravagantly elated
because the Earl of Durham has recommended that
measure 
" It (responsible governraent) was McKenzie's
scheme for getting rid of what Mr. Hume called ' the
baneful domination of the mother coimtry ;' and never
was any better devised to bring about sucji an end
speedily." Considering the combined weight which was
constitutionally due to the above authorities,
especially to the latter, whose testimony, as the
reigning representative of Her Majesty, was
surely more trustworthy than that of the dis
tinguished nobleman who had abandoned his
post, it was certainly a raost astonishing spec
tacle to behold the respected leader of the
Conservative soldiers of the erapire combin
ing against the opinions of his party with Lord
John Russell in what both — the one ironically,
the other with studied gravity — justly termed
" a final settlement of the Canada question."
The Conservative leader not only well knew
that Lord Durham was innocent as a lamb
of the contents of his Report ; but he equally

302 HOME. Chap. XIII.
well knew that two of those who were its real
authors had been convicted by the tribunals of
this country of offences of a raost unusual de
scription ; indeed that he (Sir R, Peel) hiraself,
in bringing into the House of Commons a Bill
denouncing one of these individuals, then lying
in the felons' gaol at Newgate, to which he
had been sentenced for three years, not only
described in eloquent terms " the fraud, the
forgery, and the villainy he had practised,"
but added —
" Hundreds of delinquents, much less guilty,
had been convicted of capital felonies, and had
forfeited their lives ! " — (See Hansard, 6th
June, 1827,)
When, therefore, the Conservative leader
corapared the high authorities which, with tbe
Duke of Wellington at their head, were eager
to protest against the proposed measure, with
the moral and political character of the well
known writers of Lord Durham's Report, who
had recoraraended these raeasures, it is astonish
ing to conceive how, for the unworthy reward
of " settling " a troublesome question, prior to
his approaching advent to power, he could have
determined to join with his high-couraged
opponent in enacting a law which he, as well

Chap. XIII, HOME. 303
as every man acquainted with the subject,
perfectly well knew would paralyze the Queen's
Secretary of State for the Colonies, and
eventually separate Her Majesty's North Ame
rican colonies frora the British crown.
But a new and raost extraordinary objection
now arose ; for on carefully investigating the
Report signed by Lord Durham, it appeared
that the evidence it pretended to convey to the
Queen, and which formed the basis of its re
medial measures, was, to say the least, a tissue
of raisreeprsentations ; and that even"Sir George
Arthur, after stating in his published despatch
to Her Majesty's Secretary of State, No. 107,
dated 13th May, 1839, that
" Lord Durham had evidently regarded the loyal
as the most culpable, and tbeir opponents as the
injured party,"
concluded by declaring
" Of the Earl of Durham's Report in other respects,
I will only state, that on many important points he
has been rauch misinformed."
to which testimony Sir Peregrine Maitland,
who had administered the Government of
Upper Canada for ten years, added in a
printed letter dated 19th August, 1839,

304 HOME. Chap. XIIL
" I have no objection whatever to its being stated
that I have expressed to you my decided condemnation
— with full liberty to disclose my sentiments — of Lord
Durham's Report ; my opinion that it gives an inaccu
rate and unfair description of the Province and people
of Upper Canada, and that it censures ignorantly and
unjustly, those who have administered the Government
of that Province. (Signed) " P, Maitland."
The merchants in London connected with
the North American Colonies waited in a body
on Her Majesty's Government with a public
expression of their conviction that Lord Dur
ham's Report was inaccurate.
As the Report in question is really beneath
criticism, I will raerely explain that, without
giving the naraes of witnesses, the fictitious
evidence which it oflTers to the Queen is usually
given to Her Majesty in the strange, intangible,
and anonymous form of " They say" this, and
"Jit is saicZ"that; and in this way the raost
flagrant mistateraents are raade to Her Ma
jesty, of which the following is a small sample.
1. Page 62, The Report here tells the
Queen that
" In Upper Canada, under a law passed immediately

Chap. XIII. HOME. 305
after the last war with the States, American citizens
are forbidden to hold land."
Now I have the highest authority for stating
that there exists no such provisional statute ;
that no law of the kind during tbe war, or
before or after the war, has ever been passed,
nor was any such law ever proposed !
2. Page 56. The Report, in undertaking
to explain to the Queen the real cause of the
rebellion in Upper Canada, informs Her Ma
jesty that
"The Lieutenant-Governor on assuraing the go
vernment of the colony dismissed from the Executive
Council some of the members who were most obnoxious
to tbe House of Assembly, and requested three indi
viduals to succeed them."
Now the printed journals of the House of
Assembly can prove that every word of this
stateraent is in opposition to the truth, for the
Lieutenant-Governor refused to the House of
Assembly to dismiss the obnoxious raerabers
referred to, and consequently never requested
three individuals to succeed them.
3. Page 61.
" They say," says the Report to the Queen, " that
an Englishman emigrating to Upper Canada is prac-

306 HOME. Chap. XIII.
tically as much, an alien in that British colony as he
would be if he were to emigrate to the United States."

Now every word of this is in opposition to
the truth, which is, that there is no one privi
lege, great or small, that a Canadian -born
subject enjoys which a British eraigrant does
not equally enjoy the instant he sets his foot
on the British soil of Canada ; indeed " the
blue book" returned every year to the Colonial
office for the inforraation of Parliament will
prove, that of the five raerabers of ray Executive
Council, four were British eraigrants, as also
that the Receiver-General, the Coraraissioner
for Crown Lands, the Surveyor-General, the
Adjutant-General of the Militia, the Deputy
Adjutant-General, the Vice-Chancellor, his
Registrar and Master in Chancery, the Solici
tor-General, the Judge of the Court of Probates,
eleven Collectors of Custoras, ten out of thir
teen of the Masters of the Grammar-schools,
seven out of eight of the Masters of Upper
Canada College, the Bursar of the University
and all his Clerks, the Clerk of the House of
Assembly, the Clerk of the Executive Council,
&c., were all British emigrants. Is it not

Chap. XIII. HOME. 307
dreadful that such mistateraents should have
been made to the Queen ?
4. Page 118. T!ie Report here informs Her
Majesty " That the pi-ople of the province of Canada have
hitherto very imperfectly known what it is to have a
Government."
by which is meant a Republican Government.
5. Page 65.
"It is said," says the Report to the Queen, " that
they (the Roman Catholic population) are wholly
excluded from all share in the government of the
country, and the patronage at its disposal."
Now I can state that the Roman Catholic
bishop McDonell had a salary of upwards of
400Z. a year, with a seat in the Legislative
Council; that one of my Executive Council
was a Roman Catholic ; that there were also
two in the Legislative Council ; and that the
sheriflTs of the Eastern, Ottawa, and of tv\o
other districts, all of whom received the emolu
ments of tiieir offices, were Roman CathoUcs,
&c. &c,
6. Page 60. The Report here gravely in
forms the Queen that immediately after the
rebeUion

308 HOME. Chap. XIII.
" The whole body of reformers were harassed by
magistrates whose political leanings were notoriously
against them ;"
which raeans that the sworn protectors of the
public peace, instead of rewarding, had culpably
apprehended to be tried for high-treason the
principal leaders of tbe rebellion, who had
been .taken in arras against the Crown,
7. Page 59. The Report here vaguely tells
the Queen that
" The outbreak, which comraon prudence and good
manageraent would have prevented from coraing to a
head, was proraptly quelled by the alacrity with which
the population, and especially the British portion of
it, rallied round the Government."
Now the Report here, as well as in many
other parts, endeavours to deceive Her Majesty
by drawing a distinction, as invidious as it is
unjust, in favour of her British-born and against
her Canadian subjects; whereas the truth is
that Mr. McKenzie, the instigator of the rebel
lion, was a Britisher, so was Dr, Rolph, and so
were several other leaders. On the other
hand, Chief Justice Robinson, the five judges
of the Court of Queen's Bench, Her Majesty's
Attorney-General, Sir Allan MacNab, and

Chap. XIII. HOME. 309
thousands of others, who were among the first
to take arms, were Canadians; in short, the
British and their Canadian brethren vied with
each other in loyalty to the Crown, and in
detestation of the execrable principles which
the Report endeavours to uphold.
Lastly, page 116, the Report, with uplifted
eyes, recomraends
"That the security for the existing endo-wments of
the Catholic Church in Lower Canada should be
guaranteed by the Act."
On the other hand, speaking of the clergy
revenues for the Protestant Church, whose
members form four-fifths of the population of
Upper Canada, the Report, with a countenance
of grave hypocrisy which it is melancholy to
behold, states to Her Majesty, page 64,
" It is most important that this question should be
settled, and I know of no mode of doing this but by
repealing all provisions, in Imperial Acts, that relate
to the application of the Clergy Reserves, and the
funds arising from thera ; leaving the disposal of the
funds to the local legislature,"
(which the Report well knew would, as soon as
the Union was carried, be overwhelmed by the
French Catholic majority,)
" and acquiescing in whatever decision it may adopt."

310 HOME. Chap. XIII.
No doubt this was a clear and certain mode
of "settling the question;" for how, it might
justly have been said to the Queen, can
your Majesty's subjects in Canada possibly go
on quarrelling about the Clergy reserves,
when, by the repeal of all former Imperial Acts
on the subject, there will no longer be any
Clergy reserves to quarrel about ?
Lastly, p. 94, the Report concludes by
honestly and truly stating to the Queen, in
the narae of Lord Durhara —
"I believe that all the discontented parties, and
especially the Reformers of Upper Canada, look with
considerable confidence to the result of my mission."
Now, if there be any raan in this world who
has never uttered an untruth, who has dis
tinguished hiraself through a long political
life for his respect for truth, and for his ab
horrence of raistatements, by whomsoever
they may be raade, I believe that everybody
in this country would concur with rae in
declaring that raan to be Sir Robert Peel.
It was therefore naturally to be supposed
that, however strong raight be his desire for
the attainraent of a particular object, to sup
port Lord John Russell in his clever project,

Chap. XIII. HOME. 3 1 1
the natural disposition of his (Sir R. Peel's)
raind would have induced hira at least to in
vestigate the respectable evidence I have re
ferred to, the whole of which, with much
more, was submitted to hira.
The Chief Justice of Upper Canada, who
happened to be in England at the tirae Lord
Durhara's Report was published, was, above
every one, the most corapetent to analyze its
truth or falsehood. He subjected it to this
process ; and having prepared himself with
written evidence sufficient to enable him, with
the utmost confidence, to appear before either
House of Parliament, or before his Sovereign,
to contradict the statements in Lord Durhara's
Report, he addressed to Her Majesty's Secretary
of State au official letter, which he afterwards
published, stating that
" He was ready, in any place and at any time, to
show that Lord Durhara's Report was utterly unsafe
to be relied upon as the foundation of parliamentary
proceedings." In consequence of this offer. Chief Justice
Robinson, as raight naturally be expected,
received frora the Colonial-office one or two cora
munications, hurrving his return to Canada ;

312 HOME. Chap. XIIL
and as I knew that if Sir Robert Peel, what
ever might be his policy, would only consent,
for the sake of comraon justice, to stand up
for one moraent in the House of Coraraons to
ask Lord John Russell to allow the Chief
Justice of Upper Canada to remain for a few
weeks in England, in case authentic inforraation
should be required, such a request could not
possibly be refused, I addressed to Sir Robert
Peel, with whom I had but lately become very
slightly acquainted, the following private note,
to which I received the annexed characteristic
official reply : —
Copy. " Cranford, Middlesex, March 20, 1840.
" My dear Sir Robert,
" I read in the newspaper, that on Monday
next Lord John Russell is to ask leave in the House
of Commons to bring in a Bill for the Union of the
Canadas. " Under the hope that people of all politics have
determined to divest the consideration of this important
question from party feeling, I beg leave to submit to
you, whether it would not be highly desirable that
Chief-Justice Robinson should be retained in this
country: — or rather, whether it would not appear
inconsistent with an honest desire to arrive at the
truth, for Parliament to allow so competent an au
thority to leave England at the very moraent when his

Chap. XIIL HOME. 313
evidence, founded upon twenty-seven years' service
under the Crown, and upon eighteen years' service in tbe
Provincial Legislature, might be required and con
sidered. " Without the slightest reference to any opinions
that Chief-Justice Robinson may or may not have
formed on the subject of the Union, I can faithfully
assure you that I believe there exists no individual in
our British North American Colonies so competent as
be is to furnish the Iraperial Parliaraent with /acis and
dates ; indeed it is a conviction of my own utter in^
competency to do so, which makes me appreciate the
value of Chief- Justice Robinson's experience.
" I have the honour to be,
" My dear Sir Robert,
" Your obedient humble Servant,
F, B. Head."
To ihe Rt. Hon. Sir R. Peel, Bart.
" I beg leave to add, that the Chief- Justice has not,
directly or indirectly, the slightest idea of my having
made to you the above communication."
(reply.) " Whitehall, March 21.
" Sir Robert Peel presents his compliments to
Sir Francis Head, and in reply to his letter of the
20th March, begs leave to observe that he is not
aware of any mode by which the object to which it
refers could be attained, excepting through the volun
tary extension of the leave of absence of Chief-Justice
Robinson by the Colonial Department.

314 HOME. Chap. XIIL
" He does not think that any notice of the subject
in Parliament would facilitate that extension."
The doom of Her Majesty's splendid North
American Colonies was now evidently pro
nounced ; the Conservatives, in melancholy
silence, sat behind their leader, watching with
astonishment his mysterious alliance with prin
ciples which they could not comprehend; ai^d
thus, almost in funeral silence, the fatal BiU
proceeded. So long as Chief-Justice Robinson remained
in England I was perfectly sensible that, under
Providence, he alone was competent to arrest
the measure. However, so soon as this re
jected witness was about to sail from England,
I felt it had become my duty to make a last
desperate effort to serve the Crown, and to
save a Colonial region to which I had reason
to be devotedly attached ; and as for upwards
of two months 1 had been studying Lord
Durham's Report, and felt confident that, in
spite of any cross-examination, I could overturn
the evidence it contained, I addressed to that
estimable personage, the Archbishop of Can
terbury, the following letter, to which I re
ceived the annexed very courteous reply : —

Chap. XIIL HOME. 315
" Hanwell, Iith May, 1840.
" My Lord Archbishop,
" I BEG leave with the utmost respect to state
to your Grace that for reasons which I have ex
pressed, I have felt it my duty to address to the House
of Lords the enclosed Petition, in which your Grace
will perceive I have humbly prayed, that in con
sideration of the imminent iraportance of the Bill
before Parliament for the Union of the Canadas, the
House would be pleased to make an exception to its
usual practice, in my favour, by allowing me most
respectfully to disclose at the bar of the House, certain
grave objections against the said Bill, as well as against
the improper means by which the consent of the
Legislature of Upper Canada has been obtained to
the measure.
"If I belonged to any political party, if I had any
party object in view, or if I had any angry feelings to
gratify, I should not venture to approach your Grace
on the subject ; but as I am not only totally uncon
cerned with any party, but desire to divest myself of all
appearance of political bias, I have determined most
humbly and most respectfully to request your Grace,
as the head of the Established Church, to be pleased
to present and to support my Petition.
" I have the honour to be,
" My Lord Archbishop,
" Your Grace's most obedient humble servant.
(Signed) " F. B. Head."
" To His Grace
" The Archbishop qf Ca^nterbury."
p2

316 HOME. Chap. XIII.
" To tke Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament
assembled.
" The Petition of Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., late
Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, humbly
showeth, " That your Petitioner is in possession of certain
grave objections against the Bill now before Parlia
raent for the Union of the Canadas, as well as against
the iraproper means by which the consent of the Legis
lature of Upper Canada has been obtained to that
measure, which he firmly believes, if taken into con
sideration, could not fail to induce your Right Honour
able House to reject the said Bill, as one which raust
inevitably destroy the Established Church in Upper
Canada, subvert British institutions in both Provinces,
and effect the separation from the empire of the whole
- of Olir North American colonies.
" Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays, that in
consideration of the imminent importance of the pro
posed experiment, your Right Honourable House will
be pleased to raake an exception to its usual practice
in favour of -your petitioner, by allowing him most
respectfully to disclose his objections at the bar of
your Right Honourable House.
" And your Petitioner, as in duty bound, will ever
pray. (Signed) "F. B. Head."
(Reply.)
,, -p. s, " Lambeth, May 18th, 1840. . ,
" I SHOULD have felt it my duty to take charge of

Phap. XIIL HOME. 317
the Petition which you have placed in ray hands, more
especially as it relates to a -measure which may deeply
affect the interests of the Church in a part of the
empire with the concerns of which you are thoroughly
acquainted, if its prayer could be granted consistently
with the usages of the House of Lords. But as it appears
that the permission which you desire would be con
trary to all precedent, I trust you will agree with me
in thinking that, as I could not hope to prevail on the
House to depart fi-om its usual practice in this parti
cular instance, it would be useless to present the
Petition. "I have the honour to be,
" Dear Sir,
" Your faithful and obedient servant,
" W. Cantuar."
" Sir Francis B. Head, Bart."
Lord Durhara's political survey of the pro
vince of Upper Canada had occupied his Lord
ship five days, one of which had been spent by
hira at Toronto, which is situated on the Lake
shore, and the other four on the Niagara
frontier. During the twenty-four hours he was at
Toronto he had to receive in the morning, as
well as again at a large party at night, the
addresses and homage of people of all politics,
propelled by one impulse to the capital to bow

318 HOME. Chap. XIIL
their heads, with becoming submission, to the
Queen's Lord High Commissioner. During
the four days Lord Durham was at the Niagara
frontier he reraained the centre of the same
solar system, with this addition, that crowds of
people flocked over to him frora that shore
which has been described in the Report bearing
his signature, as —
" That bordering country in which no great indus
trial enterprise ever feels neglect, or experiences a
check." (Pennsylvania to wit !)
The feelings of curiosity were mutual. His
Lordship having only just returned from a
residence in Russia was no doubt curious to
survey, with microscopic attention, the human
aniraalcula of a republic ; and on their parts
they were equally desirous to behold what most
of thera had hitherto only read of — " a live
Lord !"
His Lordship's hospitality was unbounded ;
and as his dinners, served in the Russian
fashion, were on a scale of unusual magnifi
cence, the congratulations which he received
were unbounded, and his reception all that his
most ardent fancy could have desired.
But this gorgeous scene, coupled with that

Chap. XIIL HOME. 319
which had been exhibited at Toronto, formed
the sum total of his Lordship's practical know
ledge of a country larger than England and
Wales !
Majestically sailing through the centre of
Lake Ontario, which is more than twice as
broad as the straits between Dover and Calais,
he returned, in splendid magnificence, to
Quebec ; from whence, under the feelings of
excitement I have described, he sailed in Her
Majesty's frigate ' The Inconstant,' for Eng
land, without ever having been a mile in the
interior of Upper Canada — without ever having
seen a flake of snow — without ever having ex
perienced the Canadian winter's storm — or,
what is infinitely more boisterous — the Cana
dian Legislature in session.
Now even if Chief-Justice Robinson, a native
of Canada, the Speaker of the upper branch of
its Legislature, had respectfully requested per
mission to offer to the British Parliaraent an
opinion different from that conveyed in Lord
Durham's Report, one would have thought that,
on the common principle of "audi alteram
partem," the appointed leader of the great
Conservative interests of the empire would

320 HOME. Chap. XIIL
have felt it his duty to retain him as coun
sel for the Crown, or at all events to have
obtained for hira a hearing ; but what Chief-
Justice Robinson desired, and what I desired,
was not to trouble or bother the Conservative
party with opinions, but to be permitted to
PROVE to tbe Imperial Parliament that the
statements contained in Lord Durham's Report
to the Queen, and which formed the basis of
the remedial measures which Her Majesty had
been advised to submit for their consideration,
were incorrect and "utterly unsafe to be
RELIED ON ;" and it was to this strike-but-hear-
rae request which was so clearly explained to
him, that the Conservative leader shook his
head, and to which, as the representative of a
party forming a majority in the House of Com
mons, he faintly muttered " No ! no !"
Now what a melancholy contrast might be
drawn between this fiaccid policy of the Con
servative leader, and the sinewy, muscular
assistance by which Lord John RusseU upheld
in Canada the supporters of his bold project,
and of which the following is a striking ex
ample : —
Previous to the passing of the Act for the

Chap. XIII. HOME, 32 1
Union of the two Provinces, the Whig Govern
ment had invariably directed the Governors of
the Canadas not to allow political opinions,
however virulent, to incapacitate men of talent
for office ; and accordingly, I was very properly
removed because I had deposed a judge who
had insulted rae, and because 1 had objected to
raise to the bench the raost powerful instigator
of the rebellion ; but on Mr, Poulett Thomson's
arrival in Canada to carry the Union into
effect, he was firraly backed up by instructions
frora Lord John Russell, dated 16th October,
1839, in which his lordship, after referring to
this practice, boldly declared, " It is time ihat
a different course should be followed," which
different course, it need hardly be stated, was
very clearly explained to raean, that all office
holders to whom it applied raust either vote
for the Union or resign.
It would be tedious, hurailiating, and indeed
quite unnecessary, to detail all the instances of
high courage evinced by Lord John Russell in
order to carry his two Republican raeasures —
naraely, the Union of the Canadas and the
establishment of "responsible Government"
into effect, I will therefore only state, that
p3

322 HOME. Chap. XIIL
seeing reason to fear that, in spite of every
effort, he would fail, the Governor-General was
authorised, among other inducements, to pledge
the Crown to lend to "the people" of the
United Provinces a raillion and a half ster
ling for their roads, canals, and other public
works ! !
It is altogether incomprehensible how so sa
gacious a statesman as the Conservative leader
could possibly have allowed this revolutionary
bribe to be effected, without raising his eloquent
voice against it ; for of all the fatal measures
which a mother country can adopt towards a
colony, surely there can be no one more certain
to produce separation, than to PROPOSE the
creation of a heavy debt due by the child to
the parent, and thus to make it the interest of
the young colony to revolt ! However, the
unnatural alliance between the Conservative
leader and Lord John Russell was but the era-
blera of that indissoluble union which they had
corabined together to eflTect ; and accordingly,
by an Act of the Imperial Parliaraent, the
Conservative Province of Upper Canada was
led to the altar, to be united before God and
man, in unholy wedlock, to a Province whose

Chap. XIIL HOME. 323
consent had not even been asked — whose bridal
ornaments were manacles and chains — and who,
bound hand and foot, was pubhcly conducted
from the prison of martial law to take part
in a ceremony such as the history of the civil
ized world had never before recorded !
The Duke of Wellington, for reasons most
powerfully expressed (vide Appendix A), pro
tested against the bans; but not deeming it
advisable to turn out the Whig Government
on a question which the Conservative leader
was determined to carry, his Grace did not, as
he had power to do, forbid the marriage, but,
he entreated the majority he comraanded "not
to reject the Bill if Her Majesty's Government
persevered in calling upon them to pass it,"
— Hansard, 1th July, 1840.
The melancholy and most extraordinary re
sults of this fatal measure will form the subject
of the next chapter.

( 324 )

Chapter XIV.
POLITICAL POISON.
However loudly tbat parti-coloured race of
men distinguished by the generic title of
"Conservatives" may in different notes con
demn the political principles of Lord John
Russell, yet surely they must unanimously
concur in acknowledging his high guberna
torial qualifications, and in adrairing the
courage with which this charapion of reform
leads on his weary followers to the assault of
outwork after outwork, which an ordinary
mind would trerable even to approach.
" The great difficulty," said one of the writers
of Lord Durhara's Report while he was in
Canada, " which we have to encounter is the
loyalty of the Upper Province ! " and as the
Union had effectuaUy levelled this barrier, the
writer in question, as well as most people,
would probably, at least for a short time, have
indulged in those rejoicings which, like calm

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 325
and sunshine after a storm, usually succeed all
great victories. Such effeminate indulgence,
however, was repugnant to the masculine en
terprising spirit of the British arch-leader of
reform ; and accordingly so soon as the great
measure alluded to was carried, another of a
much deadlier composition, of a much darker
hue, was projected.
In the Union Bill which Lord John Russell
had laid before Parliament, he had boldly in
serted twenty clauses establishing what he
terraed " District Councils," the raerabers of
which were to be elected very nearly by uni
versal suffrage.
Now, as it is only in our Colonies that Lord
John Russell can just at present venture to
unmask his real designs, it may be of service
to the fundholders, landowners, manufacturers,
and fai-mers of England, clearly to understand
what his Lordship really does mean by those
dissolving views which, under the general ap
pellation of " Reforms," he is hourly displaying
to an admiring audience. The District Council
Bill in question not only beautifully displays
the whole secret, but explains a useful formula
or infallible receipt for converting any mo-

326 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
narchy in Europe into an unbridled democracy,
such as has not yet been exhibited on the sur
face ofthe globe.
Lord John Russell has, it appears, shrewdly
observed that in that model republic, the
United States of America, " the people," tyran
nical as they raay vulgarly be called, are in
fact very often most inconveniently restrained
by their own representatives in Parliament,
and especially by " the Upper House of Parlia
ment," designated in America, as elsewhere,
by the contemptuous appellation of " that con
gregation of old women,"
Now, effectually to reraedy this grievance,
Lord John Russell introduced in his Canada
Union Bill clauses declaring —
1st. That the raembers of the Upper House
who in the two Provinces had formerly held
their seats for life, should henceforward be
appointed only for eight years.
2nd. That/w raembers should form a quo
rum, 3rd, That " The President " of this little
Upper House, as well as all members thereof,
should be appointed by the Governor-General,
who it will be recollected was to be advised by

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 327
his Executive Council, who it must always be
kept in mind were " to possess the confidence
of the people,"
4th, That this " President" so appointed
was to have a casting vote.
On the other hand, Lord John Russell (pro
bably recollecting the proportions of Falstaff's
bill for bread and sack) proposed in his Union
Bill— 1st. That the House of Representatives of
" the people" should consist of ninety-eight
members ; and
2nd, That the said House should elect their
own "Speaker,"
Now it is pretty evident, from the mere
showing of the case, that in the new constitu
tional act of the Canadas the lusty representa
tives of " the people" had very little to com
plain of in the way of restraint.
Lord John Russell however was determined
that even this little monarchical " grievance"
should be removed.
He therefore courageously proposed in his
Union Bill to deprive this Provincial Parlia
ment of all power to do good or evil : in short,
to convert Governor- General, Executive Coun-

328 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV,
cil, little Upper House, and large House of
Representatives into mere men of straw, and
to vest the real adrainistration of aflTairs in the
hands of a nuraber of what he called " Dis
trict Councils," each of which was to elect its
own " Speaker," and to be composed of twenty-
seven raerabers, ten of whora were to form a
quorum, and one-third of whom were annually
to be replaced by yearly elections.
The powers to be granted to these District
Councils, Lord John Russell clearly explained
in the following clauses of his Bill : —
" And be it enacted. That it shall be lawful for every
district council to make ordinances for providing a
suitable building for the meetings of the said council,
and for maintaining and regulating an effective system
of police within the said district, and for the paving
and lighting of any town within the said district, and
for the making and maintaining or improving of any
new or existing road, street, railway, canal, or other
convenient communications and means of transit,
whether natural or artificial, for passengers, cattle,
goods, or merchandise, by land or water, -svithin the
liraits of the said district, and also all bridges, viaducts,
tunnels, cuttings, embankments, and other works con
nected therewith, or for the stopping up, altering, or
diverting of any such road, street, railway, canal, or
other sub-communication as aforesaid, and the works

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL, POISON. 329
connected therewith, and also for any other purpose,
matter, or thing, which shall be specially subjected to
the direction and control of the said district council by
any act of the legislature of the said United Pro-vince.
" And be it enacted. That it shall be lawful for the
said district council to make ordinances directing the
levying and assessing and application of moneys, for
effecting all or any of the purposes for which they are
empowered to make ordinances as aforesaid, either by
imposing tolls and rates, to be paid in respect of any
public work, and to be collected and applied as shall
be directed by any such ordinance, or by means of a
rate or assessment to be assessed and levied upon real
or personal property within the said district, or upon
the owners or occcupiers thereof in respect of such pro
perty, and to enforce the collection and payment of all
such rates and tolls, or such rates and assessraents as
aforesaid, by reasonable penalties, and also to make
ordinances for the levying ot" moneys by such rate or
assessment as aforesaid, ano ^applying the same in or
towards the payment of all accessary expenses incurred
or. estimated as likely to h'd incurred for the current
year in respect of the local government of the said
district, either on account of the lawful expenses of
returning officers at elections of members for the dis
trict council, or the salaries of officers, or otherwise
howsoever." Now, on the homely axiom that two -things
cannot occupy the same place at the same time,
it follows, just as Lord John Russell cleverly

330 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
intended it should follow, that when all these
powers were imparted to his Lordship's District
Councils, his Lordship's Provincial Parliament
would prove to be an assemblage of raen of straw,
whom his agents, " the people," would very soon
set on fire and destroy : for besides the incon
venience in a roadless country 1500 miles
long, of having only one unwieldy Parliament
to be convened, prorogued, and dissolved when
ever the Queen's representatives should think
fit ; the advantage which these snug District
Councils were evidently intended to possess,
was, that there would then exist no " congre
gation of old women," or any other description
of bridle, or even of halter, to restrain demo
cracy from doing what it liked with whatever
it might consider to pe its own ; in fact, that
with all the patronage and popular power of
their former Houses of Representatives, these
District Councils would have no one above
them but a harraless automaton Governor-
General, whose councillors, it must always be
reraerabered, were, by his Lordship's proposal,
to be dismissed whenever " they found them
selves opposed to the express wishes of tlie
people''

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 33 1
Now, the inhabitants of the United Kingdora
have here reflected before thera, as in a looking-
glass. Lord John Russell's own exeraplification
of the " Reform " he is by rapid strides suc
cessfully establishing for them at home.
However, although Lord John Russell's Bill
in question was, generally speaking, imper
fectly understood in England, yet it was clear
enough to many of our legislators that if these
district councils clauses were passed, a demo
cracy, infinitely more licentious than anything
existing in the United States, would, by an
act of the Imperial Parliament, be established
by royal assent in the territory of the Crown,
This was, of course, deemed " too bad," and
the vicious clauses were accordingly expunged.
Nevertheless, the establishment of such a sys
tem of government in the outworks of the
empire would evidently, sooner or later, lead
to such important corresponding results at
horae, that Lord John Russell courageously
deterrained to carry the measure, although the
Iraperial Parliament had not assented to it,
and although the people of Canada had never
asked for it, did not want it, and did not like it.
Accordingly, infusing into the Governor-Ge-

332 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
neral's councils a quantum suff. of republican
advocates, he re-introduced the measure before
the newly united Provincial Legislature of
Canada, and exerting the utmost influence
which the Queen's Government could collect,
he carried his point, and then, as Her Majesty's
Secretary of State for the Colonies, he pre
vailed upon the Queen to give her Royal
assent to the Bill, establishing these District
Councils, which are now, by the unaniraous
consent of all parties in Canada, designated
" Sucking Republics," and which, notwithstand
ing the influence of the million and a half of
money about to be distributed for public
works, were only carried in the House of As
serably by the casting vote of the Chairraan of
the Coraraittee, Caleb Hopkins.
There were other deraocratic measures of a
similar nature, which, by the irresistible force
of Lord John Russell's bold policy, were intro
duced and carried in the Colonial Legislature,
and he was intently occupied in successfully
rooting up every monarchical flower in the
garden of the Canadas, and in planting in
their stead a succession of republican weeds of
the rankest growth, when, all of a sudden, for

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 333
reasons which I do not profess to understand,
the great raass of people at home forming the
middle classes, ' and distinguished by tbe title
of Conservatives, became alarmed at Lord John
Russell's principles, as expounded by himself
in the Iraperial Parliament, and accordingly,
the administration of whom he had been the
arch-leader, was assaUed, routed, and broken
up. By no portion of the Queen's subjects was
the intelligence of this event received with
greater joy, and more fervent thanksgiving,
than by those in our British North American
colonies who, during so long a period, had
been suffering martyrdora for that cause they
had risen in arms to defend ; and if any cir
cumstance could have added to their triumph,
it was to learn that the great Conservative
party in the raother country who had achieved
this victory had, by acclamation, elected as
their leader and as the representative of their
principles, him, whom, notwithstanding his
late apparent neglect of thera, they had always
considered as the individual who, under Pro
vidence, was the most competent to protect the
'Queen's loyal subjects in our colonies from a

334 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
recurrence of the indignities they had so long
been enduring. The general feeling among
the disloyal, though of an opposite character,
was equally strong. It was evident that their
hopes must now be deferred and their notes of
triumph suspended. They knew that those
who had instigated them to rebellion must, at
all events for a time, be driven from the
council of the Governor-General, and that the
appointments of patronage and emoluraent on
which they had been feasting would now, as a
matter of course, be granted to recruit their
opponents for the pecuniary losses they had
sustained ; in short, while the loyal with ruddy
countenances beaming with joy, were shaking
hands with each other — were preparing to link
elbow with elbow, and in a phalanx to stand
together shoulder to shoulder in defence of the
glorious Institutions of Great Britain, the rebel
party, pallid, sallow, and conscience-stricken,
were equally sensible that their resignations
were virtually deterrained on, and accordingly
that — to use a Parliamentary phrase — "they
were only holding office until the appointment
of their successors,"
Very shortly, however, after the great Con-

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 335
servative leader's accession to office, the loyalists
observed with astonishment and dismay that
a policy was to be pursued against them by
him such as had never entered their heads to
conceive. The rule of his administration was soon
openly announced to be — that, regardless of the
character of the Crown, he had determined
" to join the majority^' of whatever " poli
tical opinions that majority might be com
posed ;" and as by the Union of the Provinces,
and by the courageous poUcy of Lord John
Russell, a republican majority had of course
been created in every branch of the Legislature,
the result was inevitable. In vain the loyal
urged — argued — supplicated — and at last
loudly demanded as their birthright that,
regardless of majorities or minorities, the
influence of the British Crown should by the
Conservative Government of England be cast
into thdr scale as fearlessly as it had been cast
into the scale of their adversaries by the Whig
administration to the latest moment they were
in power. They declared that they were con
stitutionally entitled to the protection of their
Sovereign in return for the allegiance which.

336 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
with muskets on their shoulders, they had
lately practically evinced to Her Majesty.
In answer to the above, and many other
arguments — and, I might add, imprecations —
that were used, it was calmly replied, that the
cardinal principle of Sir Robert Peel's govern
ment was to break up " party distinctions" in our
colonies rather than encourage them ; that it
was time that all party distinctions respecting
the late " unfortunate " disturbances should be
obliterated ; in short, that Her Majesty's Go
vernment in Canada would in future be based
on the Christian maxim of " Forget and For
give;" which, being translated into comraon
English, was very soon found to mean that Her
Majesty had been advised by her Conservative
Prime Minister to forgive her enemies and
TO FORGET HER FRIENDS !
The extent to which this pernicious axiom —
this unnatural policy — was carried out in
favour of the rebel party, and against the
loyalists, it would be tedious to detail ; and
even if detailed, would not — could not be
believed; indeed it is a fact, that when the
first batch of appointments, as explained in a
letter from the new Governor-General to Mon-

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 337
sieur Lafontaine, were by order of the Queen's
Conservative Governraent published, some
even of the rebel party believed and actually
declared the document in question to be " a
hoax." The general character of these appointments,
and of the unfortunate atterapt to " break up "
tlie loyal party in Canada, raay be elucidated
by a few anecdotes, which, as the policy of
" the great Conservative party in England,"
are really irresistibly ludicrous, and of which
the following is a specimen.
When Mr. McKenzie, to save his life, ab
sconded from Gallows Hill, there was found in
the roora he had been occupying a certain car
pet bag, well known in Upper Canada by the
narae of " the Devil's snuff-box." In this bag
were found all Mr. McKenzie's private papers,
and araong them several letters from Mr.
Hume ; of one of which the following is an
extract : — To Dr. Duneombe.
" Dear Sir, " Worthing, 2Qfh Sept. 1836.
" Send over to the Reform Club the note for
Mr: Chambers. I have requested him to bring you a
letter I have written to Mr. Bidwell : you will put it
Q

338 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
into tbe cover I send herewith, and send it off with
your first packet to Upper Canada.
" There are several points of your letter of the 24th
deserving attention ; but one in particular deserves
immediate notice. You must not think of the Re
formers leaving the House of Assembly to the Tories.
[Mr. Bidwell, Mr. McKenzie, and their followers, had
just lost their elections.] That would be to acknow
ledge defeat, and that you were afraid to raeet them.
No, no, that will not do.
" I have to remind you that a statement of Sir F.
Head's proceedings should be printed, for the in
formation of the public and of the members of Parlia
ment, before you leave this, unless you prefer to have
a statement drawn up in Canada and sent home to us,
with a petition embodying all, that, when we present
it, we may move for a Committee to inquire into the
allegations ; and there must be two of the best inforraed
of the Reformers sent to England by the tirae the House
of Coramons meets, to prove those facts you have com
plained of. A coramittee in Toronto ought to take
evidence, and collect facts and proofs for their own
house and for ours, as you must be aware, from the
state of matters here, the ministers are quite in the
dark." (Signed) "Jos. Hume."

In obedience to the above advice, ihis ^Dr,
Duncombe, a member of the Provincial House
of Assembly of Upper Canada, and a Mr,

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 339
Robert Baldwin, were accordingly despatched
by the rebel party to England to complain
1;hat I had unjustly been the means of their
4einand for " responsible governraent" having
been rejected at the elections. Lord Mel
bourne and the Secretary of State for the
Colonies very properly refusing, however,
even to see either of thera, they returned to
Upper Canada, "the place frora whence the}'^
carae." Up to, and even after, the breaking out of
the rebellion, Mr, R. Baldwin reraained in
close coraraunication with Dr, Rolph, who,
after Mr. McKenzie's defeat, becarae " Presi
dent of the Patriot Council " on Navy Island,
Dr, Duncorabe, however, following the spirit
of Mr. Hurae's advice, played a bolder garae ;
and while Mr. McKenzie, in open rebellion,
was commanding in chief at Gallows Hill,
he simultaneously headed an auxiliary insur
rection in tlie London district.
As soon, however, as Mr. McKenzie ab
sconded, I directed Sir Allan MacNab, without
a moment's delay, to march with 700 militia
into the London district and attack Dr, Dun
combe, who, with a considerable force, had been
q2

340 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
cutting down bridges, barricading houses, &c.,
and was occupying, as his main position, a mill.
Sir Allan, by a quick movement round a
swamp, surrounded the whole gang, who, find
ing themselves surprised, and that their leader.
Dr. Duncorabe, had just fled, surrendered to
hira, and laid down their loaded rifles on the
snow. Sir Allan MacNab instantly forraed his
militia-raen into a hollow square, and the whole
of his prisoners being in the raiddle of it, he
read to thera papers written by many of them,
showing that it had been their intention to
pillage the banks, rob and destroy the property
of the loyalists, " tie Sir Allan MacNab to a
tree, fire a volley into hira," and carry into
effect raany other "reforms."
The Speaker of the House of Asserably,
pointing to the railitia under arras, told these
men they were now in his power. " Yet," said
he, " I will allow you all to return to your
homes, except you, Soloraon Lossing, a justice
of the peace, whose oath of office required you
to communicate all treasonable attempts ; and
as it appears from the papers I hold in my
hand that you have been present at all Dr.

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 34 1
Duncombe's meetings to get up this rebellion,
that as an extensive miller you have supplied
pork and flour for the maintenance of the
rebels, taking their receipts in writing to pay
you so soon as they had obtained their object
of capsizing the Governraent, I shall deal dif
ferently with you."
In the presence of the railitia and of the
whole band of pardoned rebels this fellow was
taken into custody by two sergeants of the loyal
militia, and coraraitted by Sir Allan MacNab to
the coramon jail at Hamilton, to be tried for
high treason, and tbe receipts I have raentioned
were simultaneously transmitted to Her Ma
jesty's Attorney-General.
The great leader of the Conservatives, how
ever, had determined that the majority in
Canada, whatever might be its principles,
should prevail, and the Union for which he
and his followers in the English House of
Commons had voted having placed the loyal
in a rainority, he not only selected this man,
Solomon Lossing, to be a justice of the peace,
but, as if deterrained to work out the " forget
and forgive" principle of his adrainistration,
ad absurdum, he actually made hira " Warden"

342 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
of the district in which he lived, a high and
distinguished appointment, similar to that of
Lord-Lieutenant of one of 6ut counties, and
which authorized him, Solomon Lossing, to
preside at all meetings of Her Majesty's Jus
tices of the Peace in that splendid district of
Canada I !
Now let us for a raortient, as if by magic,
fly from the transatlantic colony before us,
from petty politics— and from colonial dis
turbances — to Her Majesty's last court at St.
James's. Let us there picture before us out
Gracious Sovereign standing slightly in front
of the illustrious attendants of her court, com
posed of statesmen of the Hiost distinguished
character, of military and naval officers, " sans
peur et sans reproche," and lastly, of those
lovely high-bred forms which the soil and air of
Britain can alone produfce.
In such a scene, " how sudden would have
been the various emotions, sensations, and
feelings which would have been produced, if
Her Majesty, breaking with her beautiful voice
the formal silence that prevailed; had mildly
said to the Prime Minister of her empire, on
whose conservative principles she wafe depend-

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 343
ing, and to whom she had confidently intrusted
the honour of her Crown,
"Who, Sir, is Solomon Lossing?"
But it would ob"viously have been unfair to
Solomon Lossing's associates not also " to
forget and forgive" any little eccentricities of
conduct by wbich they might have been dis
tinguished ; and accordingly the Queen's Ga
zette announced to the loyal inhabitants of
Canada, that "' Her Majesty had been pleased
to appoint Mr. Robert Baldwin to be Her Ma
jesty's Attorney-General in Upper Canada !"
and also to be a member of the Governor-
General's executive council ! The royal pardon
was also granted to Dr. Duncombe and to Dr,
Rolph, President of the Provisional Coraraittee
on Na-vy Island, which had oflTered 500^, for my
apprehension, both of whom returned in triumph
to Her Majesty's province of Canada, from which
for the reasons detailed they had absconded.
Besides this, a new coraraission of the peace
was issued, by which it appeared that twenty-
three magistrates who had assisted in suppress
ing the rebellion were " forgotten " (^. e. dis
missed), and in their stead twenty-four who
had either taken open part in, or had noto-

344 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
riously instigated the rebeUion, were " for
given" (i. e. appointed to be magistrates in
their stead), and a high eulogium was pro
nounced in the English House of Coraraons by
the Conservative preraier on Mr. Hurae, and
on another gentleman well known to entertain
similar opinions.
Now, because this policy was pursued in
Upper Canada, it became necessary, for con
sistency's sake, that it should also be adopted
in Lower Canada, and that it was so will be
sufficiently explained by the following raost
extraordinary anecdote.
Shortly after the burning of St. Eustache,
the raurder of Lieutenant Weir, and irame
diately after Mons. Papineau, on being de
feated by Colonel Wetherall, had absconded
to the United States, Sir John Colborne, by
the advice of his council, offered a reward of
500^. sterling for the apprehension of a certain
Mons. Girouard, a notary in Lower Canada,
who had not only organised the rebels, but had
commanded them at the horrid massacre of
the Queen's subjects at St. Eustache.
On Mons, Girouard being arrested for high
treason there was found among his baggage

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 345
the following " nil-desperandura " note ad
dressed to him by a Mons. Lafontaine imrae
diately after Papineau's defeat aud flight : —
" Consolez-vous ! Viger et Papineau vous
donneront 20,000 Louis, pour armer les Bonnets
Bleus du Nord, (Signed) " Lafontaine."
The above note was transraitted to Her
Majesty's Governraent by Sir John Colborne
in his despatch dated 6th May, 1839, and by
command of Her Majesty was laid before both
Houses of Parliaraent, together with evidence
on oath, forwarded by Sir John Colborne,
showing that Mons, Lafontaine had addressed
a public meeting in order " to raise his coun
trymen against the government of the Queen,
to excite their discontent, to engage them to
violate the laws of the country, and to excite
in their favour the syrapathy of and alliance
with the United States,"
Sir John Colborne further reported that
Mons, Lafontaine had been one of the earliest
agitators in Lower Canada ; indeed this cri
minal was so sensible of his own guilt, that on
warrants being issued against him on oath,
Q 3

346 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
charging hira wilh treason, he absconded, and
only returned to the Province under Lord
Durhara's proclamation of amnesty.
Now, alraost iramediately after the leader of
the great Conservative party in England be
came the Queen's Prime Minister, he deter
mined to make this Mons. Lafontaine Her
Majesty's Attorney-General, as also a member
of Her Majesty's Executive Council to advise
the Governor-General ! !
In order, however, to carry the first of these
unnatural appointments into effect, it was ne
cessary to turn frora that office (the salary of
which was 1500Z. a year) the Honourable C. R,
Ogdeui whoj for eighteen years, had been either
the Solicitor or Attorney-General of Lower
Canada, Mr, Ogden, with raany corapllraents,
was accordingly suraraarily dismissed by Her
Majesty's Conservative Government, No notice
was given to him that his reraoval was con
templated — no complaint had been raade
against him — no vote even of want of political
confidence in him had been proposed. The
only reason that was given to this loyal, faith
ful, and highly talented public servant, for his
dismissal, was that Her Majesty's Government

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 347
deemed it " expedient" to remove him because
the rebel party had declared " their indisposi
tion to co-operate with him," — that is to say,
they were determined to revenge themselves
on him for having, in the strict performance of
the high duties of his office, advised, and issued
warrants for, the arrest of Mons, Papineau,
Mons, Lafontaine, and the rest of their accom
plices. Accordingly Mr, Ogden was no sooner re
moved than Her Majesty's Goverment not only
appointed (vide the Royal Gazette) this Mons,
Lafontaine to be " Her Majesty's Attorney-
General in Lower Canada," authorizing him
at the same time to name any one of his ac
complices to be appointed Solicitor-General of
the same Province, and any other one of his
accomplices to be appointed Clerk of the
Governor-General's Executive Council — the
Conservative leader not only over the heads
of the loyal thus constituted Mons. Lafontaine
Her Majesty's representative in the courts of
justice, but he offered a situation of the highest
trust and confidence, namely, that of Commis
sioner of Crown Lands,* to Mons, Girouard,
* In order to gite this appointment to a rebel leader, it was

348 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
late comraander of the rebels at St. Eustache,
to whom the foregoing note from Mons. Lafon
taine had been addressed, and whom the Con
servative Governraent designated "a gentleraan
possessing administrative faculties of a high
order, and, at the same time, the confidence of
his countryraen," He also appointed Mons,
Valliere, who, on the breaking- out of the rebel
lion, had been suspended by Sir John Colborne
at the instance of the legal advisers of the
Crown, to be Chief Justice of Montreal ! Mons,
Papineau, the guilty cause of the raurder of
hundreds of the Queen's subjects, of the de
struction of British property to an incalculable
amount, and of an expense to the mother-
country of nearly two raiUions, received under
favour of a " Noli prosequi," entered by Mons.
Lafontaine his accomplice. Her Majesty's At
torney-General, the Queen's pardon ; and that
he raight clearly see that the Conservative
liberal principle of " forget and forgive " ap
plied quite as easily to religion as to politics,
the Conservative Government selected and ap-
necessary to turn from that office (the salary of which was 800/.
a year) Mr. Davidson, a loyalist, against whom no fault was even
alleged.

Chap. XlV. POLITICAL POISON. 349
pointed Mons. Papineau's own brother, a
Roman Catholic, to be (vide the Royal Gazette)
" Her Majesty's Coraraissioner of Crown
Lands for Upper and Lower Canada ! ! "
One of the Conservative newspapers in
Canada, " The Toronto Patriot," noticed this
announcement of Sir Robert Peel's policy, as
expressed in the Governor-General's letter to
Mons. Lafontaine, as follows : —
" The doubts which long existed as to whether it
was genuine, or an impudent hoax and gross personal
insult, have been removed, and, to our mingled sorrow
and humiliation, we know that this document is what
it purports to be.
" No public document issued in the British North
American provinces, frora the time of Wolfe down to
the present day, has ever been perused by the true-
hearted subjects of the Sovereign of Great Britain
with such an intensity of mortification, and such a
feeling of abasement.
" On no former occasion do we recollect witnessing
so strong an expression of intense sorrow and humilia
tion as has been exhibited by every one with whom we
have conversed on the occasion of this abject surrender
of the happiness, hopes, and prosperity of the people
of this rising colony into the hands of a merciless and
grasping faction, who have never kno-wn power but to
abuse it — who have never been for a moment intrusted
with influence, but they have used it to the embroil-

350 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV,
ment of the whole country, the strangulation of public
prosperity, and the paralysis of enterprise and im
provement." On the day of this official announcement of
Sir Robert Peel's most extraordinary alliance
with the rebel party, the following strange
scene took place in the Commons' House of
Assembly of the Canadas.
A Mr, Simpson, who is married to Mr. Roe
buck's mother, was speaking in favour of Sir
Robert Peel's new proteg^, Mons. Girouard,
and of the high appointment which had been
offered to him, when Sir AUan MacNab sud
denly rose up, and bowing to the Speaker, said,
" I ara sorry, Sir, to interrupt the Honourable
Gentleraan, but as he seeras to be acquainted
with this Mons, Girouard, I beg to inquire
of him if he be the same individual for whose
apprehension as a traitor the late Government
had offered 500Z. ?"
Mr. Simpson. — " He is."
Sir Allan MacNab.—" Then I beg to inquire
whether he was apprehended, and if so, whether
the reward offered by the Government has been
paidV
Mr. Simpson,. —^^ Monsieur Girouard was

Chap, XIV; POLITICAL POISON. 351
apprehended, and the reward offered by the
late Government has been paid,"
Sir Allan MacNab.-^" To whom was this
reward of 500?. paid ?"
Mr. Simpson (confusedly).-^" To me," —
(^Laughter.) Sir Allan MacNab. — " Then I suppose there
must have been some mistake !"
Mr, Simpson, — " No."
Sir Allan MacNab (smiling). — " Well, then^
if the Queen's Government intend now to
make him Her Majesty's Commissioner of
Crown Lands, and an Executive Councillor^
you will of course return the money ?"
Mr, Simpson. — " Oh, no ; I have spent that !"
Sir Allan MacNab (addressing himself to the
Speaker). — " I beg pardon, Sir, for the inter
ruption ; but I thought these curious facts
might as well come from the Honourable
Member (bowing to him) as the best authority."
(Sir Allan MacNab then sat down araidst
roars of laughter.) And yet how truly may
it be said — " Quis talia fando
Temperet a lachrymis ?"
•After the raelancholy fact of Her Majesty s>

352 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
Conservative Government having offered in
the name of the Queen one of the most honour
able and important appointments in the gift
of the Crown to a person for whose apprehen
sion as a traitor Lord John Russell's much
abused " Whig-Radical Government" had
honestly offered and had paid five hundred
pounds sterling, it would be tedious as well as
needless to detail other instances of this unna
tural policy. Suffice it therefore to say, that
in the Lower Province as well as in the Upper,
every rebel, in proportion to his guilt, was
promoted by the Conservative Governraent to
offices of eraolument, trust, or honour. That
the magistrates in particular were apparently
selected from the Jail Calendar : indeed, so
recklessly and impetuously was this policy
pursued, that it is said one poor inoffensive,
inefficient, senseless man was named as a
raagistrate who had no strength to perform the
duty, having only a few weeks ago been actu
ally hanged as a rebel !
Besides these appointments, the Queen was
advised by her Conservative Minister to pardon
and bring back to Canada almost every ab
sconded traitor who, like Monsieur Papineau,

Chap. XIV, POLITICAL POISON. 353
had distinguished hiraself by insulting Her
Majesty's representative, and who by rais
chievous representations had encouraged his
deluded followers to rebel.
By the system thus detailed, the rebel party
were scientifically fortified from all reasonable
apprehensions, and the law was divested of all
its terrors ; for not only in the Council of the
Governor-General were their leaders invested
with power to protect them, but in Her Majesty's
Courts of Justice, in Upper as well as in Lower
Canada, besides the Judges I have naraed,
there appeared, as standing counsel, pur
posely retained by the Crown to defend thera.
Her Majesty's Attorneys and Solicitors General,
who, having themselves either openly insti
gated the late rebeUion, or been arrested for
high treason for having been engaged in it,
were peculiarly corapetent to plead for those
who from over zeal might hereafter be induced
to commit similar indiscretions.
There remained, however, one deserving-
individual whom the Whig Governraent had
contemptuously overlooked, and whom it con
sequently became the duty of the Conservative
Government in England to promote.

354 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV,
On the llth of Nov. 1835, Mr, Speaker
Papineau kid before the House of Assembly,
by whose order it was printed, a letter of advice,
dated London, SOth May, 1835, from a Mr,
Roebuck, a member of the British House of
Coraraons, of which the foUowing is an ex
tract : —
" Let the Assembly continue steadfast to their pur
poses, and pursue with undeviating energy the cause
they have hitherto followed, and we may bid defiance
to our opponents, and rescue Canada from that petty
but harassing tyranny which has so long weighed
down her powers and disgraced the Mother Country,
which permitted, nay, which fostered, this infamous
dominion. " I caimot avoid taking advantage of this oppor
tunity of recording soleranly ray opinion as to the
demands whicb, as guardians of a whole people, you
are bound to insist on. The object you have in -view
is to frarae a governraent in accordance with the wants
and the feelings of that people. In America, no go
vernraent can unite these conditions but one that is
purely democratic. Any pretence by which it is
sought to saddle you with any species of aristocracy
ought by you to be scouted and repressed. The Le
gislative Council frora the beginning has been such a
pretence ; and your efforts ought never to relax until
you have thoroughly rooted out that wretched imita
tion of a banefully mischievous institution. All your

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 355
other grievances spring from this parent source ; if this
source be not dammed up, the grievances will never
cease to exist. Put an end to the Council, and they
will of necessity expire at once. All other objects
ought, therefore, to yield to the paramount one of ex
tirpating the Council. Make it elective if you will ;
that, however, appears to me a clumsy mode of ridding
yourselves of the evil. Why, I ask, are not the As
sembly and a Governor sufficient for the government
of the country ?
" Excuse me for thus expressing my opinions ; ray
anxiety for your national welfare will, I hope, be suflS-
cient apology.
" Believe rae. Sir, that I have the most perfect con
sideration for the high office which you hold, and for
yourself personally ; and that I am your obedient
servant, (Signed) "J. A. Roebuck.
" Tke Hon. tke Speaker ofthe
House of Assembly."
Now the Writer of the abote letter, whose
honestly expressed principles I will leave to
i§peak fot theraselves, was notoriously, up to
the latest moment of the rebellion, the paid
advocate of the party that rebelled.
Sir Robert Peel, therefore, deemed it advis
able, as no doubt it was consistent, that this
gentleman, for the encouragement of his col-

356 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV,
leagues, should be pubhcly promoted in Her
Majesty's Courts of Justice in England, exactly
in the sarae way as his employers, the insti
gators and actual leaders of the rebellion in
Canada, had been promoted in that Colony ;
and accordingly, although several staunch Con
servative lawyers in England were, it is to be
supposed, candidates for the honour. Sir Robert
Peel, to the utter astonishment of every inha
bitant of our North American Colonies, raised
above them J. A. Roebuck, Esq., by giving
him a silk gown !
" Finis coronat opus I"
In short, while every possible encourageraent
and reward were given by Her Majesty's Con
servative Governraent to any man who directly
or indirectly had, like Mr. Roebuck, advocated
republican institutions, or who had insulted,
or with loaded fire-arms in their hands had
either murdered the Queen's subjects, or had
openly assailed the authority of the Crown ;
those who had rushed forward in its defence,
whose blood had been shed, and whose pro
perties had been destroyed, were, under the
contemptuous appellations of "Tories," "Bloody

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 357
Tories," "Knot of officials," and " Family com
pact" (the head of this " faraily" being the
Queen, and the "corapact" a loyal deterrai
nation to die in her defence) subjected to
dismissal frora office, and to every possible
indignity which the triumph of revengeful and
malevolent feelings could invent.
" Who are the rebels now?" said a convicted
traitor, sneering over his shoulder, as he rode
by a group of united loyalists. " I guess it's
YOU who are now opposed to your Queen's Go
vernment!" But, alas ! it was the Queen's
Conservative Prime Minister in England who
was opposed to them !
But not only had Sir Robert Peel (under
the vain hope that, by breaking up the loyal
party in our North American colonies, he would
be enabled to govern there without opposition)
becorae the powerful charapion of democracy
on the soil of Araerica, but even in England
he deemed it advisable to avert the light of his
countenance from any of our colonists on a
visit to this country who had distinguished
themselves by their attachment to monarchical
institutions. Of this I will only shortly detail
two instances.

358 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
1st. Chief Justice Robinson, a native-born
Canadian, is the son of a British officer, who
served during the Arperican war, and who ac
corapanied General Simcoe, to Canada ; and al
though he bore a distinguished part in several
actions in the Araerican war, and in 1837, with
a rausket on his shoulder, accorapanied by his
two sons, again took his place in the ranks
of the loyal, yet it was on a very different and
opposite path on which he had gradu9.11y risen
to distinction.
At the age of twenty-one, having previously
studied and been called to the bar in England,
his talents gained for him the provincial ap
pointment of Attorney-General, After ha-ving
for ten years powerfully supported British in
stitutions in the House of Asserably, he was
raised to the Upper House, of which for raany
years he reraained Speaker until an Act of the
Iraperial Parliament (the Union of the Ca
nadas) deprived hira of this distinction, an(l of
the eraoluments attending it.
Of Chief Justice Robinson's character, I will
only allow myself briefiy to say, that a com
bination of such- strong religious and moral
principles, modesty of mind, and such instinc-

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 359
tive talent for speaking and writing, I have
never before been acquainted with ; that every
lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, for the
last twenty-five years, has expressed an opinion
of this nature ; and that by general acclama
tion it would, I firmly believe, be acknowledged
by every man in our North American colonies
whose opinion is of any value.
But I have reason to believe that Sir Robert
Peel himself entertains, and has repeatedly ex
pressed, a sirailar opinion of Chief Justice
Robinson's character and attainraents ; never
theless, during the five years that the patronage
of the British Crown was in his gift, he offered
him no compensation whatever for the loss of
salary he had sustained by the Imperial Union
Act ; no reward — no distinction ; and yet, most
strange to relate, the Conservative minister
did not altogether forget him, for to conciliate
the republican party he advised the Queen
(vide the Royal Gazette) " to appoint as Her
.Majesty's Surveyor-General of Canada" Chief
Justice Robinson's late housemaid's husband, an
English emigrant who had worked industriously
in Toronto as ajourneyraan carpenter, and who,
under Lord John Russell's adrainistration, had

360 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
worked harder still in making for his Lordship
a provincial "Cabinet" for his new system of
responsible government.
2nd, Sir Allan MacNab, a native of Canada,
is the son of a British officer who, decorated
with thirteen wounds, accorapanied General
Siracoe to the Province when it was a dense and
unpeopled wilderness. At the age of fourteen
he volunteered to join the grenadier company
of the Sth British regiment in an attack in
which raost of the corapany were killed, and
he subsequently took part in several other
actions against the Araericans. For his con
duct in 1837 he received the thanks of Lord
Seaton, of two Lieutenant-Governors, and of
the Provincial Legislatures of Upper Canada,
New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia : tbe militia
of Upper Canada presented him with a sword,
and the United Service Club, in London, in
opposition to a standing rule, made him an
honorary member of their club.
In consequence of the Union of his country
by an Act of the Imperial Parliament with Lower
Canada, Sir Allan MacNab, who with one dis
sentient voice had been elected Speaker of the
Commons' House of Asserably, lost the emolu-

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 36 1
ments of that office, and accordingly Lord Sea
ton felt it his duty to present to Sir Robert Peel's
Government, and very strongly to support, a
memorial from Sir Allan MacNab, asking for
indemnification, or honorary distinction. In
reply he was officially informed, " that it was to
Canadian preferraent alone that his claim could
be fully justified, and that the Queen had no
resources beyond the limits of Canada for
compensating the valuable services he had
rendered ; " but in order that there should
be no mistake as to the real reasons for the
refusal of Her Majesty's Conservative Go
vernment to comply with Lord Seaton's re
commendation, Sir Allan MacNab was verbally
informed (I copy the following words frora his
own written meraorandura of the interview in
question), " that he had been so prorainent a
political character that any raark of Royal
favour conferred upon hira in England raight
interfere with the Government of Sir Charles
Bagot ;" and when Sir Allan compared this
cautious policy of the Conservative Govern
ment with the bold masculine support which
the Whig administration had always fearlessly

362 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
given to their adherents, how justly might he
have declared that if he had supported Demo
cracy with half the zeal he had served the
British Crown, he would not have been de
serted. In Colonial history there surely cannot
exist a more striking exemplification of the
unfortunate policy of sacrificing principle to
conciliate what is tremblingly called " Public
Opinion " than the picture here before us.
In Lower Canada a wicked rebellion was
instigated, organised, and headed by the
Speaker of the House of Assembly, who openly
called upon his adherents to cast off their
allegiance to the British Cro-wn,
In Upper Canada, not only was rebellion
suppressed, but foreign invasion was repelled,
by the Speaker of the House of Assembly,
who, at the head of the loyal railitia of the
Province, successfully protected the property
as well as the authority of the Crown,
The above circumstances having been duly
considered by the Queen's Conservative Prime
Minister, Her Majesty was advised to "forgive"
the rebel Speaker, and to " forget " the loyal

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 363
one ! nay more — Her Majesty was advised, as
an act of generosity, to give her royal assent to
Lower Canada by her own Governor, restoring
to Mons, Papineau certain arrears of salary
due to him previous to his having declared
himself a traitor : and yet Her Majesty has not
heen advised by Sir Robert Peel — as an act of
justice, to indemnify Chief-Justice Robinson
and Sir Allan MacNab for the deprivation of
their respective salaries hy an Act of the Ira
perial Parliaraent ! Indeed, to such an extent
has this unnatural policy been carried out, that
to gratify the revenge of rebels against whora
Sir Allan MacNab had been obliged to appear
as prosecutor for the Crown, he was by the
Conservative Government publicly superseded
in his duties of Queen's Counsel in his own
district, the emoluments of which were given
to a lawyer of the opposite party ! !
" There is no fear now of any rebellion in
Canada," s'^id a fine handsome young Canadian
miUtia-naan to me the other day, on his arrival
for the first time in his life in England ; " the
republican party have it all their own way, so
there is no one to rebel but the loyal •' "
r2

364 POLITICAL POISON. Chap. XIV.
Now, casting aside all angry feelings, all
colonial squabbles, all provincial politics — cast
ing aside the various conflicting passions by
which the two great political parties in Eng
land are so unfortunately distracted, I calmly
ask, what must the civilized world think of the
course which the Sovereign of Great Britain,
by the advice of Her Ministers, is pursuing
towards her North America Colonies?
What raust the King of the French— what
must the Emperor of Russia, think and say of
such a policy ? But I ask further, what would
the Eraperor of China think of it, or what
would the Cacique of the most barbarous
nation under the sun say, if any raan could
dare to advise hira, for the attainraent of any
object, to pamper his enemies and to poison
his friends ?
The policy of the great leader of a party
calling themselves Conservatives, must surely,
to the vulgar of all nations, appear utterly in
comprehensible ; and when one reflects upon
the honest integrity of the " Old English" cha
racter, it certainly is melancholy to hear so
many noble voices, which the world has been

Chap. XIV. POLITICAL POISON. 365
taught to respect, now singing, in abject obe
dience to the motions of their band-master, —
" Arise,
Pamper her enemies.
And make them fat.
Prosper their politics.
Reward their knavish tricks.
On them our hearts we fix —
God save the Qdeen!"
New Song.
I ask these simple questions of those who
honestly, but inconsiderately, argue that be
cause our colonies are out of sight, it little
matters how they are dealt with, how they are
retained, or how they can be got rid of.

( 366 )

Chapter XV.

THE EXPLOSION.

Before I explode the mine over which the
reader has unconsciously been sitting during
his perusal of the last fourteen chapters, and
which I can promise him will scatter to the
winds the whole political fabric he has been
reviewing, a few preparatory remarks are
necessary. Although it had long been evident to the
inhabitants of the British North American
Colonies that Lord John Russell had cou
rageously determined to convert that splendid
portion of the Queen's erapire into a republic
— an act of political surgery highly interesting
to the fearless operator, but of excruciating
agony to the poor patient — nevertheless, on
the constitutional protection of their Sovereign,
and on the good sense of the middle classes in
England, or, in other words, of the great Con
servative majority, they placed the fullest and

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 367
firmest reliance ; and, accordingly, although
the tempest that was assailing them was vio
lent, and the clouds that obscured their hori
zon black, yet in the transcendent talents of
Sir Robert Peel they saw, or fancied that they
saw, a bow of prismatic colours, foretelling to
them all most clearly, that the hour of sunshine
and tranquillity would in due time inevitably
arrive. The confidence that was reposed in this
powerful statesman throughout our North Ame
rican provinces was beyond all description ;
and, as a very trifling instance of it, I will
state that, although I had never seen him, I
commissioned my most faithful attendant —
a gentleraan of high character, who is now
at Toronto — in case of my death, to go to
England and make known to this public ser
vant from me certain facts which I believed
would warn him of dangers by which the
Queen's colonies were assailed from enemies
in Her Majesty's own camp.
On his accession to power, the confidence in
his ability and his integrity were so great,
that I have reason to say the whole body of
the loyal were prepared cheerfully to support

368 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV,
any measures, comprehensible or incompre
hensible, that he might recommend.
But when, with astonishment and disraay,
they beheld the extraordinary raanner in which,
as Prirae Minister of England, he used, or,
to speak plainly, abused the powers with
which, as the representative of the Conserva
tives, he had been invested — when, for reasons
which no person could understand, they ob
served him for days, weeks, months, and years,
unrelentingly persecuting every man who had
evinced loyalty to the Queen — and, on the
other hand, not only placing above thera in
situations of confidence, honour, and emolu
ment, men who had headed the rebellion, but
polluting Her Majesty's courts of justice and
the Governor's Executive Council by intro
ducing therein persons who had been pro
claimed traitors, for whose apprehension as
such rewards had been offered, and in one
case had actually been paid ; — when they saw
him (as, indeed, I felt it my duty at the time
to tell him that he was doing, namely) " re
ward every raan in proportion to his guilt ;"
— and, finally, when they read that in his
place in Parliament he had approved of the

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 369
Queen of England apologising to the President
of the United States for the destruction of a
vessel, the hostile engine of pirates who were
firing cannon upon the loyal inhabitants of a
British colony, — the feelings that were excited
against him were, to say the least, as extra
ordinary as the raeasures which had created
them. Now, all violent, interaperate expressions
(1 have voluraes of letters filled with thera)
I pass over as unfit to be recollected, and
indeed as improper even to have been confi
dentially expressed ; but I will describe a few
of the silent sentiments and deep-rooted opi
nions which I know to exist in the hearts of
various classes of emigrants and colonists,
I, The best educated and raost talented see,
with feelings of sharae, mortification, and dis
gust, that principles which they know to be just,
and which for so many years, at great sacrifice,
they have been conspicuously propounding,
have since the death of Williara IV, been
brought into derision and contempt by the
very Conservative leader in England who,
previous to that period, had professed to up
hold thera. They see that, for reasons which
r3

370 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
to their minds are inexplicable, and which,
indeed, they have no desire to investigate, he
has allied himself, so far as regards the des
tinies of the British North American Provinces,
with his bold republican opponent ; and under
these circumstances they feel that resistance
on their part would be nothing but a factious
opposition to the authority of the government
of their Sovereign. They might complain ; —
they might protest ; — they might in powerful
terms appeal to "the people" at home; — in fact,
they have, I know, strongly been advised to do
so ; but, although they are fully competent to
the task, they prefer to submit in silence to the
mysterious dispensation which has afflicted
them. They are prepared for the calamity
which they clearly foresee is about to assail
thera, and they pray that no indignity they
raay have to endure, no insult or loss of earthly
property, may ever wring from them the
slightest feeling of disaffection towards their
Sovereign ; but that, on the contrary, their
last breath may — as I feel confident it will— -be
expended in invoking the blessing of the Al
mighty upon the British Crown, upon British
institutions, and upon the British people.

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 37 1
2, The bold, loyal, enthusiastic, and hitherto
successful supporters in the senate as well as
in the field, of the Provincial Government,
openly declare that, although their attachment
to " the old country " and to all that belongs
to it remains unaltered and unalterable, it is
hopeless to go on resisting democracy if the
leaders of both political parties in England are
determined to force it upon them. They
mourn over the loss which they cannot repair ;
but they do not hesitate to add, that if they
are to consider the interests of their children,
they cannot afford to make theraselves use
lessly conspicuous by Quixotically revealing-
political attachments and opinions which ere
long may cause them to be driven from their
country, and their estates to be confiscated.
For these reasons they not only determine
to accept office, but seek it ; and although no
liberal man can say they are not justified in
doing so, yet the inevitable consequence has
been a complete and apparently a disreputable
breaking up in Canada of the constitutional
party, who, separated from each other by the
timid policy of their great leader in England^
are now in many instances waging civil war

372 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
against each other, to the utter destruction
of their future power.
3, The majority-men, of course, openly
support the views, or, as they are falsely terraed,
the "principles" of whoever raay be in power;
and as the leaders of the two great parties in
England have joined together hand in hand
to proclaim through the Royal Gazette to the
inhabitants of the British North American
colonies that disaffection to the Crown is the
high road to preferment; as the citizens of
the adjoining states "ditto that fact;" — and as
they lately offered 100 dollars in silver, and
300 acres of the best land in Canada to any
who would attack with loaded rifles the loyal
of that Province, — these majority-men clearly
see that by reviling " The Family Compact"
and by joining the disaffected, they are playing
a safe and sure game, which will be rewarded
by all parties, punished by none : in short, that
by professing republican doctrines, however they
may secretly detest thera, they embark in a
lottery composed of all prizes and no blanks.
4. I need hardly say that the party who re
belled, who plundered, and massacred the loyal,
and who on being defeated and caught, at an

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 373
enormous expense to the mother country,
naturally expected to be expatriated, rejoice
inwardly and laugh outwardly at finding them
selves the Executive Councillors, the Judges,
and the Crown advisers of the Sovereign they
betrayed ! ! ! The measures which at this
moment they are carrying into effect clearly
foretell their object ; but even without such
ocular demonstration, it surely is logically true
that if when they were in a fearful minority
they dared to express their hatred to every
thing that was British, they can see no reason
for refraining to work out this "principle" now
that the preponderating power and patronage of
their Sovereign is virtually at their disposal.
Now is it not melancholy (I hope I raay be
permitted to add heart-breaking), that in this
degraded picture are involved — without the
power of extrication — the whole of that noble
population of Upper Canada whose conduct in
1837 I have but faintly described ?
Have not they been swamped, as we all fore
told they would? Has their marriage been
productive of happiness to the loyal of either
Province ? On the contrary, has it not brought
misery upon both, and indelible discredit on

374 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
the British narae ? In short, has it not com
pletely failed in its professed object of protect
ing the loyal, and has it not — as we all pre
dicted it would — been the means of placing the
rebel party over their heads, and of thus esta
blishing in the outworks of the British empire
an unbridled and ungovernable democracy ?*
Lord John Russell will of course respond to
these questions by a silent smile.
The great Conservative leader, however, very
confidently makes to those who coraplain to
him the following ingenious explanation.
" It is true that the Union of the Canadas
has not answered the expectations which we
were all led to form of it, and that it has forced
me to elevate a party there whose liberal
* In my published despatch to Her Majesty's Secretary of State
for the Colonies, dated 28th Oct. 1836, 1 stated " my humble but
deliberate opinion of the Union of the Provinces is, that it would
produce the effect of separating both the Canadas from the
parent state, on the homely principle that if fresh and tainted
meat be attached together both are corrupted." Deeply im
pressed with this opinion, it is alarming to me to reflect how
strongly the project will probably be pressed upon Her Majesty's
Government by various classes of people, each actuated by self-
interest ; for instance, by all those deep calculating republicans in
both Provinces who shrewdly foresee that the union of the two
Provinces would eventually cause their separation from the British
Empire.

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 375
politics it would be difficult for me altogether
to justify ; but, individually, I had no personal
knowledge of the country, nor had any of my
colleagues ; and as a nobleman of high rank
had been sent out by Her Majesty's Govern
ment to acquire the information of which we
were all ignorant, and as the Report of this
impartial and distinguished statesman recom
mended that Upper and Lower Canada should
be joined into one Province, I deemed it
advisable to support to the utmost of ray power
his Lordship's deliberate recommendation, based
upon the experience which he had gained in
his mission."
The moment for the eaplosion has arrived.
Reader ! per-ase the following letters : —
1st, From Sir Allan MacNab (Speaker of the
Commons' House of Assembly of the United
Canadas), 2nd. From W. B, Jervis, Esq. (appointed by
Sir John Colborne, Sheriff of the Home Dis
trict), 3rd, From the Honourable Justice Hager
man (late Her Majesty's Attorney-General).
4th, From the Earl of Durham,

376 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
1. From the Hon. Sir A. N. MacNab.
" Legislative Assembly, Montreal,
"28th March, 1846.
" My dear Sir Francis,
"I HAVE no hesitation in putting on paper the
conversation which took place between Lord Durham
and myself on tbe subject of the Union. He asked me
if I was in favour of the Union ; I said, ' No.' He
replied, ' If you are a friend to your country, oppose
it to the death.' " I am, &c.
(Signed) " Allan N. MacNab."
Sir F. B. Head, Bart.
2. From W. E. Jervis, Esq.
" Dear Sir Allan, " Toronto, March 12, 1846.
" In answer to the inquiry contained in your
letter ofthe 2nd inst,, I beg leave to state, that in the
year 1838 I was at Quebec, and had a long conver
sation with the late Earl of Durham upon the subject
of an Union of the Provinces of Upper and Lower
Canada — a measure which I had understood his Lord
ship intended to propose.
" I was much gratified by his Lordship then, in the
most unqualified terms, declaring his strong disappro
bation of such a raeasure, as tending, in his opinion,
to the injury of this province ; and he advised me, as
a friend to Upper Canada, to use all the influence I
might possess in opposition to it.
"His Lordship declared that, in his opinion, no
statesman could propose so injurious a project, and

Chap. XV, THE EXPLOSION. 377
authorised me to assure my friends in Upper Canada,
that he was decidedly averse to the measure.
"I have a perfect recollection of having had a
similar inquiry made of me by the private secretary of
Su George Arthur, and that I made a written reply
to the comraunication. I have no copy of the letter
which I sent upon that occasion, but the substance
must have been similar to that I now send you.
" I reraain, &c.
(Signed) " W, E. Jervis."
Sir Allan MacNab.
3. From the Honourable Justice Hagerman.
" 31, St. James's Street, London,
I2th July, 1846.
"My dear Sir Francis,
It is well known to many persons that the late
Lord Durham, up to the time of his departure from
Canada, expressed himself strongly opposed to the
Union of the then two Provinces. I accompanied Sir
George Arthur on a visit to Lord Durham, late in the
autumn, and a very few days only before he threw up
his government and embarked for this country. In a
conversation I had with him, he spoke of the Union as
the selfish scheme of a few merchants of Montreal —
that no statesman would advise the measure — and that
it was absurd to suppose that Upper and Lower Canada
could ever exist in harmony as one Province.
" In returning to Toronto with Sir George Arthur,
he told me that Lord Durham had expressed to him
similar opinions, and had at considerable length de
tailed, to him reasons and arguraents which existed

378 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
against a measure which he considered would be
destructive of the legitimate authority of the British
Government, and in which opimon Sir George declared
ke fully coincided.
" I am, &c.
(Signed) " C. A. Hagerman."
Sir P. B. Head, Bart.
4. From the Earl of Durham.
" Dear Sir, " Quebec, Oct. 2, 1838.
" I THANK, you kindly for your account of the
meeting,* which was the first I received. I fully
EXPECTED THB ' OUTBREAK ' ABOUT THE UnION OF
THE TWO Provinces ;— IT IS A PET MON
TREAL PROJECT, BEGINNING AND END
ING IN MONTREAL SELFISHNESS.
"YOURS TRULY,
(Signed) "DURHAM."
Major Richardson,
I am confident that every honest man, un
tainted by party politics, who reads the above
documents, must require some little tirae to
recover frora the astounding effects which, by
* A few weeks only before Lord Durham sailed for England,
this meeting in favour of the Union was got up in Montreal, the
inhabitants of which clearly enough foresaw how much they
would be benefited by their city becoming, as it has become, the
place of meeting of the Legislature of the United Canadas.

Chap. XV, THE EXPLOSION. 379
suddenly unbuttoning his eyes, they have pro
duced on his senses,
" What !" it will justly be exclairaed, " Has
our Sovereign aud both Houses of Parliaraent
been induced to pass an Act — 'which experience
now shows should have been entitled — 'An
Act for the dismemberment from the British
empire of Her Majesty's North American Colo
nies' — on a fictitious report? Is it really
true, that the prospects of every loyal subject
of the Queen in the Canadas have been blasted
by Parliament having innocently but ignorantly
administered — as from the late Lord Durhara's
prescription — a reraedial measure which his
Lordship, to the last hour of his transatlantic
administration, vitally opposed — which he
recommended the Queen's subjects to ' oppose
to the death ' and which now turns out to have
been rank poison? Have the British people
been deceived ? Have they been falsely dealt
with ? If so, without caring who may have
been the nameless culprits, who are the states
men that ought to have prevented it ?"
The people of England may well ask such
questions ; for there can be no doubt that they
and their whole system of governraent at this

380 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
raoraent appear before the civilized world in a
most ridiculous hght; — in a most unenviable
position ; — such as never before has been wit
nessed ;— -such as no political romance has ever
before iraagined ; — such as the history of no
country on earth has ever before described ; in
short, in a predicaraent unheard of and unread
of, " But who," the country will no doubt loudly
repeat, " are we to blame ?"
" Is it Lord John RussellV
His Lordship may justly reply to this question :
" My political course has been honest and con
sistent, I have for years openly supported the
republican party in our Colonies, Every raea
sure I have introduced therein has been for
their elevation — for the depression of the loyal.
My appointments in the Colonial Department
which have been publicly gazetted, have un
disguisedly avowed my opinions in favour of
' irresponsible Government,' which every
body surely must know raeans the separation
of our Colonies frora the British Crown.
" The people of England may therefore
blame theraselves ; but they have no right to
blarae me for honest, straightforward policy.

Chap. XV, THE EXPLOSION. 381
which, if they disapproved of, they had always
power to prevent,"
Is it the Duke of Wellington, the leader of
the Conservatives in the House of Lords ?
His Grace may laconically reply to this
question by a very short note, referring the
people of England to his celebrated protest,* in
which are distinctly enumerated his objections
to the fatal measure recommended in Lord
Durham's Report, the consequences of which
he accurately foretold.
Is it then the Canadian Authorities that we
are to blame ?
1. Sir George Arthur may justly reply, —
" The people of England have no right to
blame me. I was ordered to give all the
assistance in my power to Lord Durhara ; it
was therefore my duty to treat my superior
with becoming respect. Nevertheless, I told
the Queen's Government in my published
despatch, No. 91, dated 17th AprU, 1839, that
the recommendation contained in his Lordship's
Report was ' the same as that which had been
advocated by Mr, Bidwell, Dr, Rolph, and
McKenzie,' If the people of England could
* See Appendix A.

382 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
not, or would not, understand what that
meant, they raay blame themselves, but they
have no right to blame me."
2. The Honourable W. B. Sullivan* may
justly reply : " It is true that, as the pre
sident of Mr. Poulett Thomson's Executive
Council, I advocated in the Legislative Council
the Union of the Canadas, which, having been
recoraraended by the Queen in England, and
by Her Majesty's representative in Canada,
and by Her Majesty's Governraent, I con
ceived it would be useless for me to resist.
Nevertheless, though I was forced, under
Lord John Russell's despatch, dated 16th Oc
tober, 1839, to advocate the measure, I made
no secret that I was as inwardly opposed to it
as I had always been ; indeed, when Judge
McLean said to me, as I was leaving the Legis
lative Council, where I had just been speaking
on the subject, — That was a good speech of
yours, Mr, Sullivan, in favour of the Union!"
* N.B. — I first appointed Mr. Sullivan to be a member of my
Executive Council, of which he was President. His extraordi
nary talents were such that he remained President of the Executive
Council of Sir G. Arthur, Lord Durham, Lord Sydenham, Sir C
Bagot, and for about two years with Lord Metcalfe. Mr. Sulli
van served me with great fidelity.

Chap, XV. THE EXPLOSION. 383
I openly repUed, " Yes ; but if you had heard
the one I made last year against it, you would
have said it was much better,"
" What my opinions really were of the raea
sure I was forced to advocate, will sufficiently
appear from the following extract of a letter,
dated Crown Lands Office, Nov, 2, 1839,
which I addressed to the Speaker of the House
of Assembly : —
' I do not think the House of Assembly is to be
forgiven for admitting the notice of Union of the Pro
vinces, upon any terms.
'If it should take place, as it probably will, the
radicals of this Province (Upper Canada) will unite
with the French of Lower Canada, and overpower the
loyalists. If this should take place in any one session,
all the safeguards you can possibly invent will be
abrogated AT A BLOW.
' When the Provinces are united, on any terms, the
supremacy of the party lately in rebellion seems to me
to be placed beyond a question ; and I believe they
krww it as well as I do.'
" My prophecies have all been fulfilled ; but
the people of England raust blarae the man I
could name, and not me, for the success of
a measure which, supported by the Conserva
tives at home, was forced upon the Canadas

384 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
by the Imperial Parliament — by the mother
country !"
3. Chief-Justice Robinson, the late Speaker
of the Upper House of the Provincial Legisla
ture of Upper Canada, may justly say —
"The people of England have no right to
blarae me. I told the Queen — I told the leader of
the Conservatives — and that being of no avail,
I told the people of England, as plainly as I
could speak, in a volume which I addressed to
them at the time, that, as a Canadian who had
been eighteen years in the Provincial Legislature
of my country, ' I was ready at any place, and at
any time, to show that Lord Durham's Report
was utterly unsafe to be relied upon as the
foundation of Parliamentary proceedings.' It
appeared, however, as if the ParUament and
the people of England did not wish that the
mistateraents in this Report should be dis
proved ; and they must therefore blame them
selves, and not me, for the disreputable conse
quences that have ensued,"
4. Am I to blame for the Act that has brought
so much discredit upon the nation, and raisery
to a large nuraber of our fellow-countryraen ?
I reply—" No ; I appealed to the leader of the

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 385
Conservatives for his assistance to retain an
unexceptionable witness, perfectly corapetent
to disprove the statements in Lord Durhara's
Report. " 1 made known to him that I was prepared
to disprove it, and that Sir Peregrine Maitland,
who had adrainistered the Governraent of
Upper Canada for ten years, and who was in
England, had also just declared it to be ' inaccu
rate, unfair, ignorant, and unjust.' Seeing that
the Conservative leader was deterrained to shut
his eyes to every fact — and his ears to every
witness that the late Adrainistrators of the
Colony in question desired to produce to in-
vahdate Lord Durhara's Report, and that he
was deterrained to lead his party in the dark
to vote for the fatal measure, I applied to be
allowed to disclose, at the bar of the House of
Lords, 'certain grave objections against the
Bill, as well as against the improper raeans by
which the consent of the Legislature of Upper
Canada had been obtained.' In short, I did
all that reason or desperation could do to save
the British Parliament from the discredit of
legislating on evidence which I knew to be
iNC0RK,ECT ; but, in consequence of the Con-
s

386 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
servative leader deserting me, no party would
assist me, and therefore I must join with those
whose names I have enuraerated in saying that
the people of England raust blarae themselves,
and not me, for the melancholy result."
But without harassing the reader by further
inquiries, it raust now surely be evident that
the leader of the great Conservative party
is the individual who is solely answerable for
the raiserable dileraraa in which the country
is placed. Lord Durham's proclamations in Canada
against the British Parliaraent— his abandon-
raent of his post without waiting to be relieved
— his raarch of false triumph from Falmouth
to London — the publication of his Report in
the Times newspaper before the Queen had
laid it before Parliament ; and lastly, its dis
reputable contents, formed altogether indis
putable evidence of the fact which, I trust,
will shield his memory from all blame — namely,
that his mind had been temporarily affected ;
that, to speak plainly, he was for a raoment out
ofhis senses, and that in this state he had signed
a raost voluminous Report and Appendix, the
greater part of which he had probably never

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 387
read — and, if he had read it, was not in a fit
state to understand it.
Although this fact was not legally proved,
nevertheless, surely the circumstances I have
enumerated formed grounds for exciting the
suspicion of any man of business, especially of
one whose raind is well known, like a banker's
chest, to be protected even from his partners,
by all the heavy bars, bolts, padlocks, and
Chubb-locks that caution and precaution can
possibly construct.
But when, in addition to all these strong
grounds for suspicion, Sir Robert Peel found
that his clear-headed colleague, the Duke of
Wellington, for twenty-seven reasons which he
stated,* not only gravely opposed, but was se
riously alarmed at Lord Durhara's measure ; —
that the reigning Lieutenant-Governor of the
Colony which was to be ruined by it com
pared it to the old scheme of a gang of traitors
who had either just been hanged, or for whose
apprehension Her Majesty was at the moraent
offering large rewards ; — when to his knowledge
two ex-Lieutenant Governors and a competent
Canadian witness were desirous to confirm the
* See Appendix A.
s2

388 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
same ; — I ask, was it not the duty of the repre
sentative of the Conservative interests of the
Empire to insist that such evidence should at
least be received for as much only as it
might be worth, by a Coramittee of the
House of Coraraons, previous to the per
petration by Parliaraent of an act which the
Duke of Wellington and other corapetent au
thorities considered would disraember frora the
Empire the Queen's North American Colonies ?
Is it possible for Sir Robert Peel, over whose
door there might justly be written — " Dealer in
figures and in facts," satisfactorily to explain
the motives that caused this want of caution —
this rejection of evidence ? Can he deny that
this proposal to legislate in the dark was not
only diametrically opposed to the favourite
principle he had all his political life been
advocating, but to the comraercial practice of
the British people who placed him in power ?
The followers of the high-sounding name of
Conservatism in the House of Coramons would
raost readily have listened to reason or evidence ;
but their leader, raysteriously guarding his own
secret in his own breast, led thera with their
eyes blindfolded, and with their ears stuffed

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 389
with cotton, to vote for an Act for which he is
now solely responsible.

The Union of the Canadas having been dis
posed of, I proceed to submit a few observations
on the manner in which Her Majesty's Con
servative Governraent have since carried this
important raeasure into effect.
No leader of a great political party can
reasonably undertake the responsible duties of
his office, unless his followers are prepared to
give hira cordial, unsuspecting, and alraost
unconditional support ; for it is obvious that no
man can possibly undertake to propose any
series of raeasures, all of which are exactly
to match the variegated and variegating shades
in the colour of his party. Accordingly, in
the carrying out of the Canada Union Act, Sir
Robert Peel was clearly entitled to the support
of his party in such arrangements, comprehen
sible or incomprehensible, as he might, on
reflection, deem it best to pursue.
Now, there were various ways in which the
Conservative leader might have proceeded; for
instance, —

390 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
1st, He raight have said to the people of
the Canadas — " There has been a wicked re
bellion in both Provinces, I will recommend
the Queen openly to countenance and proraote
every individual who distinguished himself in
suppressing that rebellion ; and as openly to
discountenance and discard from office every
raan who in person or by his talents actively
proraoted it."
2nd. He raight have said — " I will advise Her
Majesty never to forget the loyal, but, with
Christian benevolence, to forgive those who
have trespassed against Her,"
3rd, He raight have said — " I will advise
the Queen to forget the loyal and forgive the
rebels, and henceforward to consider the party
who rose in arras against Her authority in
every respect as eligible to serve the Crown,
and to be selected for places of trust, honour,
and eraolument, as those who defended it,"
Now, on the principle I have already stated,
I subrait that Sir Robert Peel might fairly
have called upon his party, whatever might
have been their own individual opinions, to
support him in any one of these different
courses. But when, over-stepping altogether

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 39 1
the limits liberally prescribed by civilized
nations, he proceeds on a policy revolting to
the human mind ; — when he says to a young,
generous, high-minded, confiding Sovereign,
— " Deeming it expedient to belong to the
majority, I advise your Majesty openly to
discountenance or to remove frora ofiice in
your Canadian Colonies every raan who, dur
ing the late rebellion and foreign invasion,
conspicuously came forward in defence of
your Crown : — I advise your Majesty to
elevate to the Canadian Bench men who
were arrested for High Treason : — I advise
your Majesty to select as Your Royal Repre
sentatives in the Courts of Justice raen who, on
warrants being issued against them for treason;
fled their country, and who only returned to
it under a proclamation of amnesty : and
lastly, I advise your Majesty to select indi
viduals of the same attainted character as the
Executive Councillors of your Majesty's Repre
sentative in the Colony in question :" — I
humbly subrait, that when Sir Robert Peel
calls upon the great Conservative party in this
country to support hira in this policy, which,
from the time of his last accession to power up

392 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
to the latest moment of its existence, he has
actually pursued, he asks his willing followers
to do that which they have not power to
effect. The Conservative leader raight as well ask
his "party" to support him in preventing the
sun from shining — the wind from blowing —
the lightning from flashing — the thunder from
roaring. He might as well entreat them to
assist him in depriving honest men of the
mental consolation they enjoy, — of shielding
the dishonest frora the pangs of a guilty con
science, — as to ask them to support hira in
having given to his young Sovereign counsel
which every civilized and uncivilized nation on
the globe will unequivocally condemn.
In answer to such a request, how justly might
the high-bred members of his Conservative
crew now reply to their drowning admiral —
" We selected you to command our vessel ;
but during the engagement to which we were
all equally exposed, you thought proper to
jump overboard to seek security under the
eneray's guns ; and now, unable to reach either
ship, and with 'sights of ugly death before
your eyes,' you entreat us to leave our flag to

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 393
follow you. Were we to do so, we could ren
der you no assistance ; and, as we should only
share your melancholy fate  farewell !"
But to drop idle metaphor, and speak in
plain terras, can even Sir Robert Peel hira
self expect ever again to be the leader of the
great Conservative party in this country ?
After the course he has pursued in our Colo
nies, how could he ask to be again appointed
the Conservative adviser of our gracious Sove
reign ? How could he possibly undertake to
expound to foreign rainisters that the British
Constitution requires Her Majesty to protect
her loyal subjects in every portion of Her em
pire in return for their allegiance ? How could
he possibly ever again preach Conservative doc
trines in the House of Commons? His weapons
have hitherto been — 1st, powerful reasoning ;
2nd, wit ; 3rd, sarcasm ; but, brilliant as are his
talents, can the first of these defend his colonial
policy ? and, as regards the two latter weapons
can he ever again venture to draw either in
defence of Conservatism, so long as the name
of Solomon Lossing is reraerabered, or so long
as his bold antagonist recollects (and will he
ever forget it?) his having— just as Mrs. Glass
s 3

394 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
says, "first catch your hare" — offered to appoint
as Her Majesty's Comraissioner of Crown Lands,
a Canadian, for whose apprehension as a traitor
the Whig Government had offered and had paid
five hundred pounds — an act against which the
Conservative leader well knows urgent remon
strances were addressed to him in vain ?
Although the wealth of England excites the
astonishraent of all foreigners, yet the British
people during the lapse of ages have amassed
what is infinitely more valuable than their
gold ; what in fact has created it all ; and what
is now creating it; — ^naraely, a character for
honesty and plain dealing.
In their own country, by every grade of
society, an honest raan is respected : indeed,
the very countenances of the people bespeak
the national virtue that characterises thera.
It adorns the upper ranks — pervades the trans
actions of the raiddle classes — sweetens the
bread of the independent labourer ; and not
only does it bring down the blessing of Hea
ven upon the country, but wherever we travel,
whatever part ofthe globe we raay visit, we reap
— in respect — the harvest of the labour of the
millions who by honest dealing and straight-

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 395
forward conduct have iu the course of centuries
amassed this inestimable description of national
wealth. It is evident, therefore, that the British noble
man, the British merchant, and the British
people, cannot afford to lose this character for
the sake of supporting the political views of
any individual statesman, however brilliant
may be his talents, or however valuable raay
be his information.
The British people, whose word is every
where " as good as their bond," cannot afford,
for any party object that can be named, or
even be imagined, to be scornfully pointed at
wherever they go as belonging to that under
bred nation who preach loyalty and reward
treason ; — who deceitfully bow to a Sovereign
whose throne they are undermining ; — and who
can desert their fellow-countryraen in a dis
tant land, raerely because they honestly carae
forward to defend the portion of the erapire
they inhabit.
The British people have no desire to breed
only one description of politicians ; on the con
trary, they well know the advantages they
have derived by political controversies. They

396 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
tolerate — nay, they even encourage every man
to speak his mind, and, if in power, openly to
legislate as he raay think best. In language
and in conduct they liberally allow the ex
pression or the action of alraost any thing ;
but they can't bear double dealing — they don't
like what they terra " foul play " — they abo-
rainate hypocrisy : and thus though thousands
of voices would have greeted the arrival in this
country of their bitterest eneray, " Napoleon,"
the Emperor of Republicanism, yet the flesh of
every honest raan araong us creeps when he
thinks of that cringing, perfidious, "cage-de
fer" adviser of monarchy— MARSHAL NEY,
But when Sir Robert Peel reflects how nu
merous of late years have been the sudden
changes in his colonial principles — when he
calls to mind that, previous to the death of
William IV,, he as strongly supported the
loyal party in Canada as he has lately re
warded the rebels — that he as strongly sup
ported the Protestant establishment in those
colonies as he has since opposed it — that,
when out of office, he as strongly approved
of the capture of the Caroline, as since his
accession to power he has approved of the

Chap. XV; THE EXPLOSION. 397
Queen's apology for it ; it raight truly be asked
of hira by his best friend, " Even if your party
were again to place confidence in you, can you,
after the many instances in your colonial policy
in which you have suddenly changed your
mind, place any confidence in yourself? Can
you feel sure that you will not vote in favour
of every one of those Colonial questions to
which up to this moment you have declared
yourself to be resolutely and conscientiously
opposed ; and on the other hand, can you feel
certain that you will not suddenly veer round
and oppose, with all your power, the very
measures you are now advocating? And
lastly, are you quite sure that when the melan
choly intelligence shall reach this country, that
in consequence of the system of misgovernment
I have hurably endeavoured to describe. Her
Majesty's splendid North Araerican Colonies
have been severed by rebeUion frora the British
Crown, you will not, in your place in Par
liament, as the leader of the Conservatives,
instantly rise to declare* — ' that in approving of
these measures, you had no wish to rob others
of the credit justly due to thera ; — that with
* Vide Hansard, 29th June, 1846.

398 THE EXPLOSION. Chap. XV.
reference to the Honourable Lord opposite
(Lord John Russell), as with reference to your
self, neither is the party which is justly entitled
to this credit ; — that there has been a combi
nation of parties, and that that combination,
and the influence of Government, have led to
this ultiraate success ; — but that the name
which ought to be associated with the success
of these measures is not the narae of the noble
Lord, nor is it your own (cheers) ; — that the
naraes which ought to be, and will be, associated
with the success of these raeasures, are the
naraes of raen who, acting, you believe, with
pure and disinterested raotives, have, with un
tiring energy — by appeals to reason (cheers) —
enforced their necessity with an eloquence the
more to be admired, because it was unaffected
and unadorned (cheers) ; — that the names
which ought to be associated with the success
of those raeasures are the naraes of Louis
Joseph Papineau and William Lyon McKen
zie (loud and protracted cheering) ?' "
I now take leave of the Conservative Leader,
as also of the past and present tenses of his
Colonial policy.
That he has blighted the prospects and

Chap. XV. THE EXPLOSION. 399
ruined the happiness of our North American
Colonies, there can be no raore doubt than that
in doing so he has irrecoverably ruined hiraself.
That a portion of his party will for a short
time attempt to rally round him ; that by
transcendent abilities he will for a short time
endeavour to stand against the facts which, on
behalf of the brave and loyal people of Canada,
I have plainly related, is highly probable ; but
the British people never have supported, and I
firmly believe never will support, for any length
of time, any Statesman whose policy, doraestic
or foreign, brings discredit upon our institutions,
or which directly or indirectly tends, in every
region of the globe, to sully the honour of the
British Name. The British people consider
their fellow-subjects in all regions of the globe
as tbeir brethren ; and if on calm reflection
they shall be of opinion that the loyal inhabit
ants of our North American Colonies have,
by the leader of the Conservatives, been cruelly
deserted and unnaturally dealt with, they will
not, I feel confident, refuse redress, because
the deraand for retributive justice coraes frora
the poor Colonist, or frora the solitary unsup
ported voice of " The Emigrant,"

( 400 )

Chapter XVI,
MORAL.
Although in the preceding chapters it has
been ray painful duty to subrait to the reader
facts which irapugn the policy, or rather
impolicy, of the Siamese leaders of the two
conflicting parties to whom the destinies of the
British Colonies have so disastrously been cora
raitted, yet I have cautiously abstained from
laying blame on any of their supporters, or on
any Governor or Lieutenant-governor who has
acted under their authority, I trust, there
fore, that, with the exception of the two in
dividuals to whom I have alluded, I shall not
appeal in vain to the great and good men of
all parties to join with rae in a consideration,
divested of all angry feelings, of what course
ought to be pursued by Parliaraent under the
unexampled predicaraent in which it is placed ;
and in this consideration I need hardly say
that the interests of our colonies should be of

Chap. XVL MOEAL. 401
subsidiary importance to the great paramount
interests of the Empire,
There can be no doubt that the system which
has been pursued in our North Araerican
Colonies since the union of the Canadas, of
our Sovereign openly rewarding her eneraies,
and of as openly degrading the supporters of
our Monarchy, has not only been unsuccessful,
but is unnatural, — would be discreditable to
any nation, and is particularly inconsistent
with that ruddy-faced honesty and open deal
ing which have hitherto distinguished the Bri
tish people ; indeed, it must surely to every
body appear unaccountable, that while in the
eastern, northern, and southern regions of
the globe our honour and military successes
are at this moraent, if possible, brighter than
they have ever been, we are, in the Western
World, acting a part which makes every man
among us feel asharaed of the very name of the
nation to which he belongs.
Now, the answer of Sir Robert Peel and of
Lord John Russell to this fact is, — " Strange as
our late joint-policy may appear, we have had
no desire to betray our Sovereign ; but the truth
is, the Earl of Durham's recommendations of

402 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
an union of the Canadas, and of irresponsible
governraent, have created a republican raajority
in the Provincial Legislature which it is out
of our power to control ; and we have therefore
advised our Sovereign, for the sake of peace
and quietness, to go along with this republican
majority, instead of vainly endeavouring to
oppose it."
Now, with every respect for the inestimable
blessings of peace and quietness — without re
verting to by-gone prophecies, or repeating a
word of reproach, let us calraly consider—
1st. What will be the consequences to the
Erapire, of the Queen continuing to pursue the
course of policy recoraraended to Her Majesty
by Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel ?
2ndly. What would be the results if the
Queen were to pursue an opposite course to
that which those two statesmen have concurred
in advising Her Majesty to consider as " ex
pedient?" 3rdly. Supposing the severance of the Bri
tish North American Colonies from the Pa
rent State to be a question only of time ; and
that being so, it is, comparatively speaking,
of no great importance at what exact period

Chap. XVI. MORAL. 403
these colonies raay leave us, what is the tran
sition or intermediate policy best suited to the
interests of both parties ; — or, to speak still
plainer, what is the safest and most creditable
course for us to pursue, so that when the hour
of separation shall arrive, we may be prepared
to part with our North American Colonies on
good terms, and without the misery of a fratri
cidal war ?
Now, to arrive at this useful result, we will
consider the questions in the order in which
they are proposed,
1st. What will be the consequence to the
Empire, of the Queen continuing to pursue the
course of policy recommended to Her Majesty by
Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel ?
There can be no doubt that the raillion and
a half of raoney which to carry the union of
the Provinces was lent by this country to the
Canadas. and which has nearly been spent,
must have had the effect of strengthening tbe
Governor's influence ; and, on the other hand,
that when nothing is recollected of this loan
but the necessity of repaying either its interest
or capital, the influence of the Governor will
inversely be dirainished. But even supposing

404 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
it should remain equal to what it now is, events
similar to the following must, it is submitted,
be the inevitable result of the existing anomaly
of a colony being responsible only to the popu
lar branch of its own legislature, and conse
quently irresponsible to the monarchy of which
it is a dependency,
1, In addition to the arrears of salary, which
in the last session of the Canadian legislature
were voted to Monsieur Papineau, by a bill
introduced by one of the Council of Her
Majesty's Representative and since con
firmed by the Crown, Commissioners have
already been appointed by the Governor-Gene
ral's Council to ascertain the araount of losses
sustained by the rebels in Lower Canada ;
which losses the loyal raen in both Provinces
will, it is clearly foreseen, be ere long called upon
to pay. In vain will they plead, that when they
and the Queen's troops destroyed that property,
they were acting under the proclaraation of
their Sovereign's representative ; for the answer
will be : — The power of governing the Canadas
has been transferred by your Sovereign to the
raajority, who now rule, — We are the raajority,
and you raust therefore pay.

Chap. XVI. MORAL. 405
Accordingly, the Queen's Representative will
be advised by his Council, either himself to
bring in a bill, or in Her Majesty's Name to
assent to an Act bearing soraething like the
following title : — " An Act for indemnifying The
Honourable Louis J. Papineau, and divers other
Honourable per sons,forlosses consequent upon their
expulsion, as well as voluntary retirement, from
the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada in
the years 1837 and 1838, on the affairs of
THE people : for the remuneration of those who
were transported by Her Majesty's Government
to Van Diemen's Land, of widows and other
sufferers, andfor other purposes therein mentioned.
Louis J. Papineau and D. Wolfred Nelson to be
Commissioners on behalf of Her Majesty, for
carrying the same into effect."
2. The Governor-General, by the advice
of his Executive Council, who, it must always
be kept in mind, are by the recoraraendation
of the Queen's Government to be dismissed
the instant they cease " to possess the con
fidence of the people," has lately passed an
Act, since assented to in England, by which
Her Majesty is divested of every acre of her
Crown Lands in the Canadas, the disposal of

406 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
which is invested in the Governor and Coun
cillors " responsible to the people," These
lands, acquired by the blood and treasure of
Englishmen, and which should have been the
future home of the surplus emigrant British
population, will no doubt now be applied to
the worst uf purposes. But besides this, there
is now lying before Her Majesty's Secretary of
State for the Colonies, an address from the
Coraraons' House of Asserably of the Canadas,
praying Her Majesty to cause the Civil List
Clauses in the Union Act to be repealed.
By this arrangeraent the power of the Crown is
at once to be materiaUy reduced : every public
servant is eventually to be made responsible to,
and dependent for his salary on, the House of
Asserably, and Her Majesty's Government in
Canada will thus be left without a shilling. If
tbis be assented to, our Sovereign will be ad
vised to sever by Her Majesty's own act the last
and only lien that the mother-country has on
her colonies, except by military occupation,
3, In case of hostilities between Great
Britain and the United States, an Executive
Council such as at present exists, or as then
no doubt would exist, raight either by ora is-

Chap. XVI. MORAL. 407
sion allow the Militia Act, as also the PoUce
Force Act, to expire, so as to deprive the Crown
of that valuable aid, or it might decline to sus
pend the Habeas Corpus Act, by which means
treason could not effectually be repressed.
But a raore overt course raight, and no
doubt would, be pursued.
The Executive Council, under the plea that
they must be " responsible to the people," have
lately demanded, and have had conceded to
them, power tantamount to the appointraent
of the militia of the province. Should, there
fore, the leaders of the House of Assembly ever
again be induced to correspond with the
Government and people of the United States,
or, in other words, be bribed to sell Her
Majesty's splendid provinces of Canada to the
adjoining Republic, their course would be a
very simple one. They would, through the Exe
cutive Council, and in the name of the British
Sovereign, raise, arra, equip, organise, and drill
an army, which they would oflScer, and which,
masked under the narae of " Militia," would be
ready to act at a moment's warning, as they
might desire. In fact, it would be a force sui
cidally created by the Crown, which the loyal

408 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
would clearly foresee was in preparation to
seize their persons and confiscate their pro
perty, as punishment for the attachment they
had so obstinately evinced to the British
Crown, 4, During the decline and fall of our
Sovereign's power in her colonies by the
system I have but faintly described, the Exe
cutive Council, who generally hold the most
lucrative appointraents under the Crown, would
find it necessary, in order to satisfy the ma
jority of " the people," or, in other words, to
retain their offices, to be guilty of every kind
of corruption. All men in office would be
obliged, more or less, to advocate principles
they inwardly disapproved of, aud to listen to
language (such as Mons. Papineau and his
followers formerly used, to insult Her Majesty's
representative, to ridicule everything that was
British, and extol everything that was Republi
can) which, without offending the Governor in
Council, it would be out of their power to rebuke.
By this disgusting procedure their characters,
as Conservatives, would gradually be lowered
even in their own estimation. The bench
of justice would every day be more and

Chap. XVI. MORAL. 409
Inore polluted until the whole system of
British Government would becorae despicable
in the eyes of the raost sensible raen of all
parties, " The doraination of the mother-
country" would then really be " baneful ;" and
whenever, under the bribe of tbe people of the
United States, the reraedy of separation should
be resorted to, not only would all the raoneys
that have been spent on that colony be lost to
us, but what is infinitely raore lamentable,
there would reraain in it seeds of hatred and
contempt for " Perfidious Monarchy, the friend
of its enemies, and the enemy of its friends !"
For ages and ages our institutions would in
the English language be execrated, reviled, and
despised ; and thus by our own acts and deeds,
by the continuance of a revolutionary policy,
which the heart of every honest man among
us tells hira is unnatural, and which has
already evidently accelerated rather than
retarded the hour of separation, shall we, in a
very few years, convert one of the noblest
regions ofthe globe into a republican hotbed of
hatred and disaffection to the British Name.
Let us now consider —
2ndly, What would be the results if the

410 MORAL. Chap. XVL
Queen were to pursue an opposite course to that
which Lord John Russell and Sir R. Peel have
concurred in advising Her Majesty to consider as
" expedient ?" and —
3rdly. Supposing the severance of the British
North American Colonies from the Parent State
to be a question only of time, what is the safest
and most creditable course for us to pursue, so
that when the hour of separation shall arrive, we
may be prepared to part with these Colonies on
good terms, and without the misery of a fratri
cidal war ?
However great may be the wealth of the
British Erapire, its raoral character is infinitely
raore valuable. Our raoney, it cannot be de
nied, gives us coraforts and luxuries which
excite the envy of raankind ; but it is our cha
racter which raakes that money, and which
above all practically demonstrates to mankind
the reward of an honest submission to justice ;
or in other words the inestiraable advantage of
the English systera of self-government, under
which public opinion is required obediently to sit
behind the law ; whereas in a republic, public
opinion is always dragging the law behind it.

Chap. XVL MORAL. 411
On the maintenance, therefore, of British in
stitutions, not only do our own wealth and
national happiness depend, but the destinies of
all other nations are to a certain desree in-
volved in it; for if, in England, the office of
Lord Chancellor is sufficient to excite the emu
lation of every meraber of the bar — if a few
well-paid appointraents in the church, array, and
navy, are practicaUy sufficient to induce thou
sands of people to hope to attain thera ; how
powerfully raust our enorraous wealth and in
fluence encourage the whole family of mankind
to belike England, "true and just in all their
dealings !"
Whatever, therefore, may be the value ofour
Colonies ; — however convenient they raay be to
us as outhouses for our superabundant popula
tion, or as nurseries for our searaen, &c., &c.,
it is evident that we ought never for a moment
to jeopardise our character, or, in other words,
to peril the great interests of the British Empire
for the sake of retaining them ; indeed, as most
people beUeve, that, do what we will, we shall
not be able to retain them after they have
reached a certain age, it would be weakness to
T 2

412 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
incur a permanent disease for the sake of
appeasing a teraporary pain.
Nevertheless, if the petitions of the few insig
nificant deraagogues in our Colonies to whom
we have lately succumbed were merely for a
remission of this duty, or for an increase of
that one, — it raight be the interest, and it cer
tainly would be the desire, of the raother-
country good-huraouredly to yield to tbe
solicitations of her children, however indeco
rously they raight be expressed; but the object
which the gang in question have had in view
— which, with loaded rifles in their hands,
they demanded — and which our two great
statesmen have, to say the least, attempted
to concede, has been, that the portion of
the British Empire they inhabit should, under
and by our monarchy, be converted into a
Republic !
Now surely it must be evident to every one,
that our plain answer to this preposterous
request should be " No ! The British nation
can't afford to change its poUtical creed for the
sake of retaining an insignificant portion of its
congregation. If you don't like our Teraple,
leave it ; but you ought not to ask, nor can you

Chap. XVL MORAL. 413
reasonably expect, that we are to change our
tenets, overturn tbe opinions and forget the
experience of ages, to suit your epheraeral
views !
1 hurably submit that the Prime Minister of
this country, whoever he may be, should, in
reply to such a request, advise Her Majesty to
authorize Her Governor-General to address to
the respective Legislative Assemblies of our
North American Colonies a speech of which
the following might be the raw raaterial.
" Honourable Gentlemen and Gentlemen,
" I am commanded by our Sovereign to explain
to you without guile the principle upon which it is
Her Majesty's intention in future to govern this
favoured portion of the British empire.
" As it is the happiness of Her Majesty to reign in
the hearts of Her subjects, so She has no desire to
extend the beneficent protection of Her Empire to any
portion of it in which allegiance to Her Majesty does
not voluntarily exist; and therefore, although the
power of the empire is ready to protect you so long
as the flower of allegiance shall spontaneously grow in
your land, you must clearly understand that no
expense will be incurred — no force exerted- — and
above all, no war undertaken, to prevent you from
separating yourselves from the British Crown whenever
you may deem it your interests unanimously to ex-

414 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
press through your respective Legislatures a decided
desire to do so.
" In the mean while, the course which Her Majesty
has been advised to pursue in the Colonies is as
follows : —
"Perfectly regardless of numbers. Her Majesty
will openly countenance, and fearlessly select for em
ployment in Her Service, those who have evinced a
loyal adherence to British Institutions ; and on the
other hand, Her Majesty will direct that henceforward
no person, whatever may be his talents, shall be per
mitted to hold office under the Crown who has ever
taken part in open rebellion, or who, by any overt act,
has evinced disaffection to the British Government.
Moreover, Her Majesty wishes it to be clearly under
stood throughout Her North American Colonies, that
under no pretence, however trifling, or for no reward,
however large, will She consent to the smallest attempt
to conciliate democracy.
" Lastly, Her Majesty has directed me to inform
you that the ill-advised experiment of 'responsible
Government ' is hereby for ever abolished.
" Her Majesty's subjects are constitutionally repre
sented in their Coraraons' House of Assembly. They
are also members of the Upper Branch of their Legis
latures. Her Majesty's Representative will ever be
ready to listen to any facts or opinions which his
Council may suggest to him ; but Her Majesty hereby
declares that Her Representative is responsible to Hek,
— not to Her Majesty's Colonial people,— for tbe course
he may pursue ; and that unless he were so, Her Majesty

Chap. XVL MORAL. 415
would virtually be deprived of all power to maintain
the paramount interests of Her Empire, or to afford to
Her Colonial subjects that protection which it is Her
happiness to bestow."
Now, as no sensible raan, whatever raay be
bis politics, can desire that the Sovereign of
the British Empire should ever be afraid to do
what is right, or to say what is honest, it
follows that if the above declarations be both
one and the other, the consequences that
might result, let them cost what they might,
ought not for a moment to be urged in
arrest of a just judgment : for instance, let us
suppose that the utterance of a speech such as
I have imagined were to produce a temperate or
intemperate remonstrance frora the local legis
latures of our North Araerican colonies, which,
after an appeal by the Governor-General to the
hustings, were to be repeated by new Houses
of Asserably; the discussion, after all, would
be one only of words and of a little ink ; no
disturbance, no bloodshed would be necessary ;
the people would, through their representatives,
declare their deliberate desire to be severed
frora the British Erapire ; their Governor, in
the narae of Her Majesty, would from the

416 moral. Chap. XVL
throne of the Province accede to their wish.
With British colours waving over his head,
with the ancient axiora, " Nolumus leges Anglice
mutari," inscribed on the banner at his side —
with his Bible undesecrated — with British laws
unaltered — with the Honour of the British
narae unsullied, he would take leave of the
citadel of Quebec, and frora the deck of the
British raan-of-war which was about to con
duct hira to England, in accordance with the
royal salute that had just thundered from
below, he would, in bidding farewell to tbe
Canada shore, express to the people he was
leaving Her Majesty's most earnest prayer
that the Blessing of Almighty God might
FOR ever rest upon THEM, THEIR CHILDREN,
AND their land.
The parting would be one of tears, which
would for ever nourish sentiments of venera
tion for tbe British Sovereign, of affection for
the British people, and of admiration ofthe mag
nanimity of British Institutions ; in short, the
colony would be converted into one of Her Ma-
jestjf's most faithful and most natural allies.
Now, when one contrasts this picture with
that which I have endeavoured to show must

Chap. XVL MORAL. 417
inevitably be the result of the raiserable course
of policy we are now pursuing — a policy which
is heaping disgrace upon our institutions, dis
credit upon the principles of Monarchy, and
dishonour upon the British Narae — is it not
melancholy to reflect, that if we were to adopt
the first instead ofthe second, it could not possi
bly accelerate hy one year the separation of the
North Araerican colonies frora the British
Crown ; on the contrary, I believe every raan
acquainted with the inhabitants of these Pro
vinces will concur with me in saying that
while this second or degrading course of policy
is quite certain to effect their separation, the
opposite course would as surely prevent it.
Tbis assertion, strange as it may sound
to those unacquainted with the sentiments of
the British Emigrant, is no matter of idle spe
culation, but an incontrovertible truth which
has been proved; for the very speech which has
been suggested, is in fact the conduct tbat was
pursued in Upper Canada in 1836 and 1837.
The principle of responsible Government was
then resisted : the dissatisfied were then told
that not the smallest concession to democracy
would be made ; and tbe consequence, as this
T 3

418 MORAL. Chap, XVL
volume will have shown, was, that " the people"
rose en masse to declare their affection to their
Sovereign and their attachment to British In
stitutions ; and if such an effect was produced
by the non-conciliatory process, when the
representative of the Sovereign was inex
perienced, unsupported, and eventually — as
every one foresaw he would — publicly removed
for his adherence to the Crown; is it not
alraost incalculable to conceive what would be
the overwhelraing effect if the British Sove
reign, the British Parliaraent, and the British
Governraent would combine together in sup
porting a Governor-General in declarations
such as I have described ?
View the policy in any light, it is the best
tbat can be devised ; for if we are to lose our
colonies, it is the best way of losing them ; if
we are to retain thera, it is the best raode of
doing so. Whereas by the other course,
whether we retain thera or whether we lose
them, the character of the British nation is
alike irretrievably disgraced.
Seeing, therefore, that the experiment of
converting the Queen's representative in a
colony into the people's representative has

Chap. XVL MORAL. 419
proved to be as mischievous in practice as it is
evidently unsound in theory, it is humbly sub
mitted that by the recommendation of Par
hament the error should be discontinued, and
the anomaly peremptorily abolished.

The question of Responsible Government
having been sufficiently discussed, there now
remains to be considered what should be done
with respect to the awkward predicament in
which Parliament is placed as to the Union
of the Canadas ?
The case is a very plain one.
The British Parliament united the Canadas
because they believed that the Earl of Durham
had recommended the measure. But it turns
out that Lord Durham was opposed to the
measure. Query : Will the British Parliaraent
remedy their raistake or not ?
It is said, If they do, people will laugh at
them. It may as vulgarly be said, If they do
not, people wUl laugh at thera ; and if tbis be
true, can there be any doubt that it is better
to be laughed at for doing what is right, than
for persisting in doing what is wrong ? If an

420 • MORAL. Chap. XVL
honest man has wronged his neighbour by
mistake, does he not feel pleasure in ac
knowledging his error, and in doing all he
can to repair it ? Would it not be false pride
in him to say, I shall be humbled if I am seen
to acknowledge my fault ? But in this case
Parliaraent has coraraitted no fault ; they have
merely been deceived ; and if it be true that
in both Houses of Parliament there does not
exist a single nobleraan or gentleman who,
having been deceived, would not, the instant
his eyes were opened, repair the raischief he
had done, can there be any reason why these
persons, whora it is our duty to respect, should
refuse to do collectively what every one of
thera would do individually ?
That a few radicals who chuckle at the con
fusion they have created, would endeavour to
ridicule the proposal of repealing an Act which
had been passed by raistake, there can be no
doubt; but would the civilized world ridicule
the British Parliaraent for magnaniraously
undoing what it had erroneously done ? Would
History ridicule the act ? No ! it would
proudly record it : — indeed one can scarcely
iraagine a finer spectacle than that of the raost

Chap. XVI. MORAL. 421
powerful nation of the globe, with real great
ness of mind, openly confessing that it had
acted wrong : whereas if frora vulgar appre
hensions we try to conceal the error, we shall
be most woefully deceived ; for not only
the living, but the opinions of the dead,
will in all directions rise up in evidence
against us.
For instance, let us take the case of an indi
vidual whose name all parties respect.
When Sir Charles Metcalfe arrived in
Canada, he began by carrying out Sir Robert
Peel's unfortunate doctrines with the utraost
fidelity ; and he accordingly not only sub
mitted to " responsible Government," but in a
written document he publicly declared it to be
" the only way of governing the Canadas !"
He persisted in this course for about a year,
until of his own accord he discovered his error.
The whole of the remainder of his adrainis
tration was eraployed in a vigorous atterapt to
undo what on his arrival he had been induced
to do. He openly declared, in terms of un
usual force, that nothing should induce hira to
take back to his Council Mr. Robert Baldwin,
Mons. Lafontaine, and others, whora the Con-

422 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
servative Government had so improperly raised
to that post ; and he left the Province, openly
declaring "That the union of the Canadas
WAS a F,4TAL measure, AND THAT RESPONSIBLE
Government was an impracticable theory."
And will the British Parliament, so justly
respected by the civilized world, in the teeth
of such sentiments, which are probably re
corded in the Colonial Office, refuse to dissolve
what they have iraprudently united ?
When a certain individual, " by fraud, for
gery, and conspiracy," succeeded in carrying
to Gretna Green a child of fifteen, and in
legally marrying her, Parliaraent did not hesi
tate to undo that which it is said no raan
should put asunder; and if the whole nation
has been deceived — by tbe very same indivi
dual, or by others, it matters not* — into marry-
* The most able of the writers of Lord Durham's Report has
already lived to see the mischief he has committed, and accord
ingly in a printed confession now lying before me, and bearing
his signature, he thus honestly unveils the feelings with which
he left this country to legislate for Her Majesty's loyal subjects
in the Canadas ; and which sufficiently account for the hatred
expressed in the Report of everything bearing the name of
British, as also for the bombastic adulation with which the
Report describes " the material prosperity of the United States
" vnder aperfectli/free and eminently responsible Government :" —
" For a long while before the rebellion in Lower Canada, I

Chap. XVL MORAL. 423
ing the Canadas, do there not exist the same
reasons for ordering a divorce ?
I am quite aware, and have no desire to con
ceal, that speech-fulls of tiny objections, prin
cipally pecuniary, might be enumerated in de
tail against this decisive reraedy, ., On the other
hand, it is quite clear, and indeed always was so,
that the United Provinces are infinitely too large
to be governed by one Legislature ; that in that
Legislature the loyalty of the Upper Province
is swaraped ; whereas, if the latter Colony were
" had deeply sympathised with the majority of the people, as
" represented by the House of Assembly. [Mons. Papineau
" and Mr. Bidwell were then the Speakers.] I imagined, or
" rather fully believed, that the contest in Lower Canada re-
" sembled the dispute between England and her old colonies in
" America ; that the great majority of the colonists were strug-
•' gling for popular principles and good government, against an
" arbitrary, corrupt, and oppressive faction ; that the Act of the
" Imperial Government, which violated the Canadian constitu-
" tion, would justify a rebellion ; and that if rebellion for such
" a cause should succeed, every friend of liberty in the world
" would have as good ground for rejoicing as when Luther
" vanquished the religious despotism of Rome, and Washington
" established the United States of America."
The writer of the above sentiments, now that the Union has
been perpetrated, frankly confesses his error ; but in doing so,
how completely does he blow into the air the only vestige of
authority which the Imperial Parliament had left, for having
legislated on a Report which the nominal author and principal
writer have, it now appears, openly denounced !

424 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
to be replaced under its own Legislature, it would
not only reraain distinguished by its attachraent
to the British Crown, but it would ever be ready
to march into Lower Canada should the people
of that Province rebel. But the truth is, that
the French Canadians are a virtuous, peaceable,
and amiable people ; and if the few dema
gogues who have wickedly incited them were
firmly dealt with, instead of being meanly con
ciliated, as they hitherto have been, they would
not for a moraent dare to stand against the
power and the justice of the British nation,
especially as they well know tbat the in
habitants of the United States have no sym
pathy for them, but, on the contrary, frankly
say, — " If ever they fall into our hands, in six
months we will just improve them off the face of
the globe !" And so no doubt they would.
Still, after tbe wilful raisraanageraent of our
Colonies, it may be repeated by many that,
do what we will, we cannot now retain thera,
I hurably differ from this opinion ; * but,
even admitting it to be correct, I submit that
it forms an unanswerable reason for Parliament
* See Appendix C.

Chap. XVI. MORAL. 425
determining that this loss to the British Empire
of Her North American Provinces shall clearly
be the act of the Colonies themselves, and not
the act of the Imperial Parliament.
If we lose the Canadas under the system
we are now pursuing, our present race of
statesmen must, by history, inevitably be
made answerable for the results; whereas, if
Parhament repairs the raistake it has made,
they will as clearlj'^ be absolved from thera.
Whether the Colonies would like the repeal
of the Union Act or not (those who wish for
separation would, of course, oppose it), is, I
submit, a matter of very secondary importance
to that of the British Parliament maintaining
its high character. The objections of a pecu
niary nature could easily be solved by the
mother-country making a present to Canada
of the late bribe of a raillion and a half; the
greater portion of which must inevitably be
lost, if the present ira practicable systera of
governing the United Provinces be continued.

Although many more arguments might be
detailed in favour of the Imperial Legislature,

426 MORAL. Chap. XVI,
without delay, righting itself in the opinion of
the world, yet I feel very strongly that it would
be unbecoming, and indeed that it is perfectly
unnecessary, for me to say another word on
that subject.
The British Parliament, however often it
may have been deceived, has never yet been
blind to its duty, regardless of its honour, or
insensible to sharae; and, tberefore, having
subraitted all the evidence I desire to offer, our
statesraen will, no doubt, on due reflection,
see their course quite clearly, and will act with
better judgraent than any individual could
presurae to offer.
Confidently relying on their wisdora, I will
therefore now proceed to ray concluding ob
servation, which, though the last, has, I can
truly say, been the cause of the arduous task
I have undertaken. 1 allude to the position
in which the raost Illustrious Personage in
Her Realra has been placed by the course of
policy I have detailed.
I need not say, that in the Honour ofthe Bri
tish Crown the Nation is deeply involved ; but
leaving our own character and interests on this
subject entirely out of the question, I feel I

Chap. XVL MORAL. 427
shall not appeal in vain to Lord Melbourne,
Lord Aberdeen, Lord Lansdowne, Lord Stanley,
in short to every member of both Houses of
Parliament, to afford to Her Majesty that
timely succour which it cannot be denied has
become highly necessary.
On Lord Melbourne's retirement frora office.
Her Majesty was advised by his Lordship to
intrust Herself to the counsels of that great
Party justly bearing the title of Conservative,
Her Majesty, with the unsuspecting con
fidence which not only adorns Her Character,
but which endears it, guilelessly and iraplicitly
committed Herself to the course of policy
which the Leader of that great pa:ty advised
Her to pursue. And now, I ask, what has
been the result ?
What has been the use which has been raade
of Her Majesty's Narae? What has Her Ma
jesty been advised to do? What has Her
Majesty actually done? , , . . The hand of
Her subject trembles to record it.
But wUl History refrain from writing the
truth ? That the course which Her Majesty
has pursued towards Her Loyal and towards
Her disloyal subjects, in Her North American

428 MORAL. Chap. XVI.
Colonies, has been by the advice of Her Con
servative Prime Minister, we all know ; but
has the History of the British Sovereigns
been the mere history of their Ministers ? or
have they been held accountable to posterity
for the acts, good or bad, which they have
severaUy coraraitted ?
1 will go no farther ; but will now conclude
my volume with a sentiment to which I feel
confident tbe British People will unanimously
respond, namely : —
From the Statesman, whoever he may be, that
for any earthly object he may desire to attain,
will not hesitate to sully the Honour of the British
Crown  God save the Queen !

( 429 )

APPENDIX A.
Protest of the Duke of Wellington against the
Third Reading of a Bill to Re-unite the Colonies of
Upper and Lower Canada. J Sth July, 1840.
Dissentient,
1. Because the union of the two provinces of Upper
and Lower Canada into one province, to be governed
by one administration and legislature, is inconsistent
with sound policy.
2. Because the territory contained in the two pro
vinces is too extensive to be so governed with conve
nience. 3. Because the communications from one part of
the country to others are very long and difficult ; the
difficulties whereof vary, not only in different localities
and parts of the country, but in the same locality at
different seasons of the year.
4. Because the expense which might be incurred to
remedy the inconveniences and overcome the difficul
ties of the coraraunications at one season would not
only be useless, but raight be prejudicial, and render
the communications impracticable, at other seasons.
5. Because, even in the hypothesis that a central place
is fixed upon as the metropolis and seat of Governraent of
the United Province, ^nd for the assembly of the Legis-

430 APPENDIX A.
lature, still the communication with the distant parts
of the United Province would require a journey of from
500 to 1000 miles by land or by water, and in raost
cases by both.
6. Because the inhabitants of these provinces, having
originally emigrated from different parts of the world,
talk different languages, and have been governed, and
have held their lands and possessions under laws and
usages various in their principles and regulations as
are the countries from wbich they originally emigrated,
and as are their respective languages.
7. Because portions of this mixed population profess
to believe in not less than fifteen different systems or
sections of Christian belief or opinion ; tbe clergy of
some of these being maintained by establishraents,
those of others not; the Roman Catholic clergy of
French origin being maintained by an establishment,
while the Roman Catholic clergy attached to the
Roman Catholic population of British origin have no
established raaintenance, and the system of provision
for the clergy of the churches of England and Scotland
is still under discussion in Parliament.
8. Because these inhabitants of the two provinces,
divided as they are in religious opinions, have no
common interest, excepting the navigation of the river
St. Lawrence, in the exclusive enjoyment of which
they cannot protect themselves, whether internally,
within their own territory, or externally, but they must
look for protection in the enjoyment of the same to the
political influence and naval and military power of the
British empire.

APPENDIX A. 431
9. Because the legislative union of these provinces
is not necessary in order to render them the source of
great influence and power to the mother-country.
10. Because the operations of the late war, termi
nated in the year 1815 by the treaty of Ghent, which
was carried on with but little assistance from the
mother-country in regular troops, have demonstrated
that these provinces are capable of defending them
selves against all the efforts of their powerful neigh
bours, the United States.
11. Because the military operations in the recent
insurrection and rebellion have tended to show that
the military resources and qualities of the inhabitants
of Upper Canada have not deteriorated since the late
war in North America.
12. Because the late Lieutenant-Governor of Upper
Canada, Sir Francis Head, having, upon the breaking
out of the rebellion in Lower Canada, in the year
1837, detached from Upper Canada all the regular
forces therein stationed, relied upon the loyalty, gal
lantry, and exertions of the local troops, militia, and
volunteers of the province of Upper Canada.
13. Because, with the aid of those under tbe com
mand of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of
Upper Canada, Colonel Sir Allan MacNab first de
feated the rebels in Upper Canada, and then aided in
putting down the rebellion in Lower Canada, at the
same time that he was carrying on operations in re
sistance to the invasion of the province under the
Government by plunderers, marauders, and robbers
from the United States, under the name of sympa-

432 APPENDIX A.
tbisers in the supposed grievances of the inhabitants of
the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada.
14. Because the legislative union of the two pro
vinces, although the subject of much literary and other
discussion, had never been considered by the legisla
ture of Upper Canada, excepting on terms whicb could
not be proposed, or by any competent authority in the
Lower Province, excepting in the Report of a late
Governor-General .
15. Because the Bill introduced into Parliament in
the year 1839, having in view a legislative union of
the two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, was
withdrawn before it was completed.
16. Because the Legislature ofthe province of Upper
Canada which had co-operated with the Government
under Sir Francis Head, and had enabled him, after
getting the better of the insurrection in Upper Canada,
to assist the Commander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's
Forces in 1837 to put down the rebellion in the pro
vince of Lower Canada, was not fairly consulted upon
the proposed measures for the legislative union of the
two provinces.
17. Because a Despatch, dated the 16th of October,
1839, having for its object the introduction into Upper
Canada of new rules for the future administration of
the patronage of the Government and for the tenure
of office, was made public at Toronto some days pre
vious to the assembling of the Legislature of Upper
Canada, for the purpose of taking into consideration
the proposed law for tbe legislative union of the two
provinces, and the members of the two Chambers of

APPENDIX A. 433
the provincial Parhament of Upper Canada must have
had reason to believe that Her Majesty's Government
were anxious to carry through that particular mea
sure ; and that they would be exposed to all the conse
quences of opposition to tbe views of Her Majesty's
Government, as communicated in the said despatch, if
they should object to the Bill proposed to them.
18. Because it is well known that there is in Upper
Canada a large body of persons eager to obtain the
establishment in Her Majesty's colonies in North
America of local responsible government, to which
they had been encouraged to look by the Report of the
late Governor-General, the Earl of Durham, recently
published. 19. Because these persons considered that the de
spatch of the 16th October, 1839, then published, held
out a prospect of the estabhshment of a local respon
sible government under the government of the United
Provinces. 20. Because another despatch, dated 14th October,
1839, appears to have been sent to the Governor-
General at the same time with that of the 16th of
October, 1839, in which despatch of the 14th of Oc
tober, 1839, Her Majesty's Secretary of State clearly
explains the views of Her Majesty's Government upon
the subject of, and against the concession of, local
responsible government in the colonies.
21. Because this despatch was not published, nor
its contents made known in Upper Canada during the
session of the Legislature, for the consideration of the
measure of the legislative union, although called for
u

434 APPENDIX A.
by the provincial Parliaraent, upon which call the
Governor-General answered by the expression of " his
regret that it was not in his power to coraraunicate to
the House of Assembly any despatches upon the sub
ject referred to."
22. Because the Legislature of Upper Canada must
have voted in favour of the measure proposed to them
while under the influence of a sense of tbe intentions
of Government, declared to be erroneous, in relation
to the despatch of the 16th of October ; and its total
ignorance of the intentions of Her Majesty's Govern
ment, in respect to local responsible government in the
colonies, as declared in the despatch from the Secre
tary of State to the Governor-General, dated the 14th
of October, which it appears that his Excellency had
in his possession, during the discussions in the provin
cial Parliament of Upper Canada, on the measure of
the legislative union of the two provinces.
23. Because it appears the French population of
Lower Canada have generally declared against the
legislative union of the two provinces.
24. Because the bill cannot be considered by any
as giving facility to the administration of tbe govern
ment of the provinces of Canada by Her Majesty's
officers, when united by virtue of its provisions ; and
security in the dominion to the Crown of the United
Kingdom. 25. Because the difficulties existing in the govern
ment of the two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
under the provisions of the Act of the 31st George
HI., which led to insurrection and rebellion, were the

APPENDIX A. 435
result of party spirit, excited and fomented by leaders
in the Legislative Asserably in each province, acting
in later times, in coraraunication, concert, and co
operation with citizens of the bordering provinces of
the United States.
26. Because the union into one Legislature of the
discontented spirits heretofore existing in two separate
Legislatures will not diminish, but wiU tend to aug
ment, tbe difficulties attending the administration- of
the government ; particularly under the circumstances
of the encouragement given to expect the establish
ment in the United Province of a local responsible ad
ministration of Government.
27. Because a spirit had still been manifested in
the adjoining provinces of the United States in recent
acts of outrage upon the lives and property of Her
Majesty's subjects on the frontier, and even within Her
Majesty's dominions, which must tend to show in what
light the spirit of opposition to Her Majesty's admin
istration in the Legislature of the United Province will
be viewed in the United States.
Wellington.

u2

( 436 )

APPENDIX B.
The part which the Government and people of the
United States took in the repeated invasions by
American subjects of the territory of the British
Sovereign will be best explained by American tes
timony. 1. Thomas L. Sutherland, an American citizen who
styled himself in his printed proclamations to the
Canadian people as "Brigadier-General Command-
" ing 2nd Division Patriot Army, Upper Canada,"
when taken prisoner by a British force, declared to
the officer who had charge of him (vide his deposition
on oath certified by the mayor of Toronto, and already
published), " that in the proclamations of the President
" and of General Scott to put down the meetings and
" disarm the Patriots, the Government had acted with
" duplicity, for it was not their wish or their intention
" to suppress them ; that it was a piece of mockery on
" their part, and that in fact none ofthe arsenals were
" robbed of their arms, but the doors were opened
" and the patriots told to help themselves."
2. Ransalaer van Ransalaer, who, under the title
of " General," commanded the Araerican force and
United States artillery on Navy Island, printed and
published in the United States, on the 29th March,
1838, a ' Narrative of Facts connected with the Fron-

APPENDIX B. 437
tier Movements of the Patriot Army of Upper Canada,'
of which the following is an extract : —
" About the 10th of December last, while in
" Buffalo on private business, I was urged by Thoraas
" L. Sutherland, who brought me a general letter of
" introduction from Thomas W. Taylor, late
" Speaker, to take command of the Patriot Forces
" destined to act in liberating the oppressed of Upper
" Canada, and to establish a republican form of
" Government in the Province 
" Full and sole powers were to be invested in me to
" conduct all military operations in my own way, and
" no one allowed to interfere 
" With the hope of being instrumental in hastening
" a crisis so desirable to all tbe republican world —
" my wish as a Northerner to see the chivalrous ex-
" ample of the South in the case of Texas emulated
" here — ^my innate detestation of tyranny and oppres-
" sion wherever manifested ; finally, relying upon
" numberless promises of being sustained, and trusting
" in the smiles of Heaven itself, I agreed to accept
" the offer. (Signed)
" Ransalaer van Ransalaer."
3. It has been certified on oatb that an officer of
the State of New York, whose duty it was to prevent
the State artillery from being carried off to Navy
Island, allowed a cannon to proceed there on being
told by those who were conducting it, that " it was
only going to shoot ducks."
The following extract from the New York ' Sunday
x

438 APPENDIX B.
Morning Herald' of the 28th Jan., 1838, relates a
similar anecdote : —
" The Western Frontier. — There is nothing
new or of any interest from Buffalo or Detroit. The
following is a verbatim et literatim copy of the docu
ment, which Colonel Ransom chose to consider as
General Scott's manuscript, and on the strength of
which he gave up the cannon to the rogue who pre
sented it. A fine compliment to the General's literary
reputation, and the accomplished Colonel's own dis
cernment. This gem of military correspondence reads
thus : — ' Buffalo Head Qr Jany 18 1838.
' Col H B Ransom commander in Chief at
' Tonawanda. ' Pleas sen on those pieces of Canon which
are at you place let the same teams come on wdth
them. . ' Your in hase,
'W SCOTT* Commander
' in Chief on tbe Frontiers
'of Niagara.'"
It was in the bare-faced manner above published, and
explained by American authorities, that as, fast as
volunteers could be collected in the United States for
the invasion of Canada, they were allowed to arm them
selves from stores of artillery, muskets with bayonets,
rifles, and knapsacks, which tlie American Govem-
* This General Scott is now a candidate for tiie Presidency
of the United States.

APPENDIX B. 439
ment, for no ostensible object, had deposited in unpro
tected stores all along the Canada frontier ; in short,
as the American citizen Brigadier-General Thos. S.
Sutherland has honestly confessed, "the doors were
opened, and the patriots told to help themselves."
They did help themselves : we submitted for a fort
night to be fired upon by this artillery and by these
muskets ; and then because, for the reasons I have
stated, we struck a single blow in return, the Govern
ment of the United States declared the act an " out
rage," and demanded and obtained from the British
Sovereign an acknowledgment of the wrong, and that
an apology was due for it ! !

( 440 )

APPENDIX C.
Nothing is more disheartening to those who are
interested in the welfare of our North American
Colonies than to observe the erroneous opinion which
exists in the minds of people of all politics in England,
that these colonies must naturally and necessarily desire
to leave us.
What is the opinion of the most intelligent colonists
themselves on this subject will appear from the fol
lowing short extract from a volume entitled ' Canada
and the Canada Bill,' written in 1840 by an Upper
Canadian, namely, by Chief Justice Robinson, who
for eighteen years was a member of the Provincial
Legislature of bis country : —
" The conclusions which I desire the above observa
tions to lead to are, that the British possessions on the
continent of North America are precisely those which
the circumstances of Great Britain require ; that they
are placed exactly where it is most desirable they
should be ; that if their extent had been greater, it
would have been a disadvantage rather than a benefit ;
that they are large enough to maintain a population
sufficient, with the aid of Great Britain, to defend
them ; that they are not so situated as to admit of
their combining to throw off the dominion of the
mother-country ; that they could not rationally hope

APPENDIX C. 441
to exist as an independent nation, and have, therefore,
no other alternative before them but to become mem
bers of the American confederacy, or to continue what
tbey are — the favoured colonies of Great Britain, pro
tected by her fleets and armies, participating freely in
her trade, aided by her capital, and confirmed, by her
example and her power, in the possession of a consti
tution and laws better calculated than those of any
other country to secure the best interests and promote
the happiness of the human race.
" Tliey have showTi constantly and unequivocally (not
speaking at this moment of the peculiar case of the
French population of Lower Canada) that they in
finitely prefer the latter alternative. It remains for
the mother-country to consider whether she desires as
earnestly, on her part, that the connexion shall con
tinue, and whether and by what means she can ensure
its duration."
The mother-coimtry, after duly considering these
important questions, has decided to desert Chief Justice
Robinson and all who have made known facts sucb as
he has above expounded ; and, on the other hand, to
select, for all offices of emolument and honour in
our colonies, whoever has most prominently recom
mended rebellion.

THE END.

London : Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street.
Y

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' 15

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