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CANADA :

ITS

DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND RESOURCES.

mmtm

CANADA:

ITS

DEFENCES, COXDITION, AND UESOURrES.

BF.INO

A SECOND AND CONOLUDTNO VOLUMK OF "MY DIARY, NORTH

AND SOUTH."'

W. HOWARD RUSSELL, LL.D.

BOSTON:
T. O. H. P. BURN HAM.

NEW YORK: 0. S. FELT.
18G5.

I '

RIVERSISE, CAMBRIDGE :

ri-KBKOTYPED AND PRINTED BT

H. 0. BOUnUXOX AJSD COMPANY.

1 fcjM*''^" tr^r--

--IT,

PREFACE.

I BEGAN to write this book by way of sequel to
" My Diary North and South," with the intention of
describing Canada as I saw it at the close of my
visit to North America, but the subject grew upon
me as I went on, and at last I discarded much per-
sonal detail, and set to work with the view of calling
attention to the capabilities of the vast regions be-
longing to the British Crown on the American Con-
tinent, and of pointing out the magnificent heritage
which is open to our redundant population. But the
subject was too great for the compass of one volume,
because connected with it, too intimately to be over-
looked, were the questions of the defence and of
the future of countries, which the establishment of
a moiiarchical principle on an imperfect basis, and
their dependence on the Crown, exposed to the hos-
tility of a great republic. I was therefore obliged
to contract my own experiences, small as they were,
and to omit many topics included in the original
scope of my writing. The book was nearly finished
when suddenly, as it seemed, the whole of the Prov-
inces, yielding to a common sentiment of danger,
sent their delegates to consider the policy and possi-

PREFACE.

bility of p great Confederation, which had been
strongly recommended in the pages already written.
The idea of such a Confederation was an old one ;
but the prompt resolve to carry it into practical effect,
and the words spoken and acts done in consequence,
rendered it necessary to cancel the work of many
hours, as much of what I had written would have
been anticipated by what has been printed. There
are many dangers inherent in the nature of the
proposed Confederation ; there are many obstacles
to its harmonious and successful working; but on
the whole some such scheme appears to be the
only practical mode of saving the British Provinces
from the aggression of the North American Repub-
licans.

What is to become of the existing Governments
of Provinces? How regulate the contentions which
may arise between Provincial Parliaments and Pro-
vincial Ministers and Provincial Governors by the
action of the Federal Parliament and of the repre-
sentative of the Crown at the seat of Government ?
The difficulties we foresee may never come to pass,
and others far greater, of which we have no foresight,
may arise ; but for all this the Confederation presents
the only means now available, as far as we can per-
ceive, for securing to the Provinces present indepen-
dence and a future political life distinct from the
turbulent existence of the United States. A glance
at the map will reveal the extent of the Empire
which rests upon the Lakes with one arm on the
Atlantic and the other on the T>acific, whilst its face
is wrapped in a mantle of eternal snow ; but it tells
us no more. No reasoninsr man can maintain that

PREFACE.

Vll

the people whom a few years will behold as numer-
ous as the inhabitants of these islands, will be con-
tent to live permanently under the system of the
Colonial Office. That system is probably the only
one our Constitution permits us to adopt; but it is
nevertheless the policy, if not the duty, of this State
to foster the youth and early life of the colonies we
have founded, and to protect them, as far as may be,
from the evils which shall come upon them in conse-
quence of their p'^eseni connection with great Britain.
Despised, neglected, and abandoned, the Provinces
would feel less irritation against their conquerors
than against their betrayers, and England might re-
gret with unavailing sorrow the indifference which
left her without a foot of land or a friend in the New
World. Generosity not inconsistent with justice
may yet lay the foundations of an enduring alliance
where once there was only cold fealty and unsympa-
thizing command. A powerful State may arise
whose greatest citizens shall be proud to receive
such honors as the Monarch of England can bestow,
whose people shall vie with us in the friendly con-
tests of commerce, and stand side by side with us in
battle. And when the inevitable hour of separation
comes, the parting will not then be in anger. A
Constitutional Republic, in which Monarchy would
have been possible but for the prudence of the mother-
country, may exist without any hatred of Monarchy
or of England ; and the people, born with equal
rights to pursue liberty and happiness, would love
the land from which flowed the sources of so many
substantial blessings.

I hope that my apprehensions may prove ill-

via

PREFACE.

founded, and that the dangers to which our North
American possessions now, and England herself and
the peace of the world hereafter, are in my opinion
exposed, may be forever averted.

WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL.
Temple, January, 18f^6

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory. — Canada nnd the Mason and Slidcll Case. — Threats
of Annexation. — Defence of Canada. — Reasons for Visitin^j tlio
British Provinces. — Illness at New York. — Hostility disphiyed
there. — Monotony of New York. — Hotel Life. — " Birds of a
Feather." — Nationality ab«(orl)<>d. — Start for Canada. — Kail-
way Companions. — Public Credulity. — A Victory in the Papers.
History of "A Big Fight." — General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick .

PAGE

CHAPTER II.

To the Station. — Stars and Stripes. — Crowd at Station. — Train im-
peded by Snow. — Classic Ground. — " Manhattan." — " Yonkers."
Fellow- Travellers and their Ways. — " Beauties of the Hudson."
West Point: their Education, &c. — Large Towns on the Banks
of the Hudson. — Arrive at Fast Albany. — Delavan House. —
Beds at a Premium. — Aspect of Albany not impressive. — Sights.
The Legislature 15

CHAPTER III.

Unpleasant Journey to Niagara. — Mr. Seward. — The Union and its
Dangers. — Pass Butfalo. — Arrival at Niagara. — A " Touter."
Bad Weather. — The Koad. — Climate compared. — Desolate Ap-
pearance of Houses. — The St. Lawrence viewed from above. —
One Hundred Years ago. — Canada the great Object of the Amer-
icans. — The Welland Canal. — Effect of the Falls from a Distance.
Gradual Approach. — Less Volume of Water in Winter. — Differ-
ent Effect and Dangers in Winter. — Icicles. — Behind the Cata-
ract. — Photographs and Bazaar. — Visit the " Lions " generally.
Brock. — American and Canadian Sides contrasted. — Goat Island.
A Whisper heard. — Mills and Manufactories ....

CHAPTER IV.

Leave Niagara. — Suspension Bridge. — In British Territory. — Ham-
ilton City. — Buildings. — Proceed Eastward. — Toronto. — Dine at
Mess. — Pay Visits. — Public Edifices. — Sleighs. — Amusement
of the Boys. — Camaraderie in the Army. — Kindly Feeling dis-

CONTENTS,

PAGE

Slayed. — Journey resumed towards Quebec. — Intense Cold. —
now Landscape'. — Morning in the Train. — Hunger and lesser
T'*ouble8. — Kingston, its Rise and military Tosition; Harbor,
Docliyards; Its Connection with the Prince of Wales's Tour. —
The Upper St. Lawrence. — Canada as to Defence .... 47

CHAPTER V.

Arrive at Cornwall. — The St. Lawrence. — Gossip on India. — As-
pect of the Country. — Montreal. — The St. Lawrence Hall Hotel.
Story of a (iuardsman. — Hiirnside. — Dinner. — Refuse a Ban-
quet. — Fiaga. — ('llmate. — Siilon-a-man-qer. — Contrast o." Amer-
icans and English. — Sleighs. — The " Driving Club." — The Vic-
toria Bridge. — Uneasy l-'celing. — Monument to Irish Emigrants.
Irish Character. — Montreal and New York. — The Kink. — Sir E.
Williams. — Influence of the Northerners 62

CHAPTER VI.

Visit the "Lions" of Montreal. — The \1{\\ Regiment. — The City
open to Attack. — Quays, Public Buildings. — French Coloniza-
tion. — Rise of MoK.real. — Stone. — A French-Anglicized City. -
Loj'alty of Canadians. —Arrival of Troops. — Facings. — British
and American Army compared. — Experience needed by Latter. —
Slavery 76

CHAPTER VII.

First View of Quebec. — Passage of the St. Lawrence. — Novel and
rather alarming Situation. — Russell's Hotel. — The Falls of Mont-
morenci, and the " Cone." — Aspect of the City. — The Point. —
" Tarboggining." — l)p.scription of the " Cone." — Audacit}' of one
of my Companions. — A Canadian Dinner. — Call on the Governor.
Visit the Citadel. — Its Position. — Capabilities for Defence. —
View from Parapet. — The Armory. — Old Muskets. — Red-tape
Thoughtfulnesa. — Erencli and English Occupation of Quebec. —
Strength of Quebec 88

CHAPTER VHI.

Lower Canada and Ancient France. ^^ Soldiers in Garrison at Que-
bec. — Canadian Volunteers. — The Governor-General Viscount
Monck. — Uniform in the United States. — A Sleighing Party. —
Dinner and Calico UaH . 107

CHAPTER IX.

Canadian View of the American Struggle. — English Officers in the
States. — My own Position in the States and in Canada. — The
Ursulines in Quebec. — General Montcalm. — French Canadians.
Imperial Honors. — Celts and Saxons. — Salmon Fishing. — Early
Government of Canada. — Past and Future 113

^ i«k.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X.

PAGB

Canadian Hospitality. — Muffins. — Departure for the Statcn. — Deser-
tions. — Montreal aguin. — Southerners in Montreal. — Drill and
Snow-Shoes. — Winter Campaigning. — Snow-Drifts. — Military
Discontent 131

CHAPTE XI.

Extent of Canada. — The Lakes. — Canadian Wealth. — Early His-
tory. — Jacques Cartier. — English and French Colonists. — Colo-
nial and Acadian Troubles. — La Salle. — Border Conflicts. — Early
Expeditions. — Invasions from New England. — Louisburg and
Ticonderoga. — The Colonial Insurrection. — Partition of Canada.
Progress of Upper Canada. — France and Canada. — The Ameri-
can Invasion. — Winter Campaign. — New Orleans and Plattsburg.
Peace of Ghent. — Political Controversies. — Winter Communica-
tion. — Sentiments of Hon. Joseph Howe. — General View of Im-
perial and Colonial Relations 140

CHAPTER XII.

The Militia. — American Intentions. — Instability of the Volunteer ,

Principle. — The Drilling of Militia. — The Commission of 1862. —
The Duke of Newcastle's Views. — Militia Schemes. — Volunteer
Force. — Apathy of the French Canadians. — The First Summons 1.77

CHAPTER XIII.

Possible Dangers. — The Future Danger. — Open to Attack. — Canals
and Railways. — Probable Lines of Invasion. — Lines of Attack
pnd Defence. — London. — Toronto. — Defences of Kingston. —
Defences of Quebec. a • • •

197

CHAPTER XIV.

Rapid Increase of Population. — Mineral Wealth. — Cereals. — Imports
and Exports. — Climate. — Agriculture. — A Settler's Life .

213

CHAPTER XV.

Reciprocal Rights. — American Ideas of Reciprocity. — The Ad Valo-
rem System. — Commercial Improvements. — Trade with Amer-
ica. — The Ottawa Route. — The Saskatchewan. — Fertility of the
Country. — Water Communication. — The Maritime Provinces. —
Area and Population 229

CHAPTER XVI.

The "Ashburton Capitulation." —Roundaries of Quebec. — Arbitra-
tion in 1831. — Lord Ashburton's Mission. — The Questions in Dis-
pute. — " The Sea " v. «' The Atlantic." ~ American Diplomatists.
Franklin's Red Line. — Compromise. — The Maps. — Maine. —

ZIl

CONTENTS.

Damage to Canada. — Mr. Webster's Defence. — His Opinion of
the Koud. — Value of the Heights. — Our Share of Ec^uivalents. —
Vaiue of Rouse's Point. — Vermont. — New Hampshire

PAOB

250

CHAPTER XVII.

The Acadian Confederation. — Union is Strength. — The Provinces.
New Brunswick. — I'lie Temperature. — Trade of St. John. — Cli-
mate and Agriculture of Nova Scotia. — Prince Edward Island. —
Newfoundland. — The Red River District. — Assiniboia. — The
Red River Valley. — Minnesota and the West. — The Hudson's
. Bay Company — Their Territory. — The Northwest Regions. —
Climate of Wmnipeg Basin — Its Area. — Finances of the Confed-
eration. — Imports, Exports, and Tonnage. — Proposed Federal
Coustitutiou. — Lessons from the American Struggle. .

274

CANADA:

ITS DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND RESOURCES.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory. — Canada and the Mason and Slidell Case. — Threats of
Annexation. — Defence of Canada. — Reasons for Visiting the British
Provinces. — Illness at New York. — Hostility displayed there. — Mo-
notony of New York. — Hotel Life. — " Birds of a Featlier." — National-
ity absorbed. — Start for Canada. — Railway Companions. — Public
Credulity. —A Victory in the Papers. — History of " A Big Fight." —
General' Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick.

I DO not pretend to offer any new observations on
the climate, soil, or capabilities of Canada, nor can I
venture to call these pages a " work " on that great
province. I have nothing novel to advance in the
hope of attracting an immigration to its wide-spread
territories, and any statistical facts and figures I may
use are accessible to all interested in the commerce
or in the past, present, and future of the land.

Nor do 1 write with any particular theory in view,
or with any crotchet on the subject of colonies, out-
lying provinces, and dependencies, and their value or
detriment to the dominant commercial and imperial
power.

My actual acquaintance with the country and the
people is only such as I acquired in a few weeks'
travelling in the depth of winter; and such sort of
knowledge as I gathered would certainly afford no
great excuse in itself for intruding my remarks or
opinions on the public when so many excellent books
on Canada already exist.

,iSb.

2 CANADA.

But it happened that my visit took place at a very
remarkable period of Canadian and American his-
tory, and at a tinqe, too, when certain doctrine -^^
broached not for the first time, but urged with more
than usual ability, as to the relations between what
for convenience I call the mother-country and her
colonies, were exciting great attention across the
Atlantic.

When I left Washington in the winter, a great
crisis had been peacefully but not willingly averted
by a concession on the part of the Federal Govern-
ment to what the sentiment of the American people
considered an exhibition of brute force. The first
year of the war had closed over the Federals in
gloom. Their arms were not wielded with credit at
home, — if credit ever can attach to arms wielded in
a civil war, — and the foreign power which it had
been their wont to trent With something as near
akin to disrespect as diplomatic decency would per-
mit, aroused by an act which outraged the laws of
nations and provoked the censure of every European
power with business on the waters, had made prep-
arations which could only imply that she would
have recourse to hostility if her demands for satis-
faction were refused.

It was under these circumstances that England
obtained the reparation for whl^h she sought, and in
the eyes of Americans filched a triumph over their
flag and took an insolent advantage over their weak-
ened power " to do as they pleased." General Mc-
Clellan, playing the part of Fabius, perhaps because
he knew not how to play any other part, had fallen
sick and was nigh at death's door in the malarious
winter at Washington. The great Union army, like
a hybernating eel in the mud, lay motionless, between
the Potomac and the clever imposture of the Con-
federate lines and wooden batteries at Manassas.

But haughty and hopeful as ever, in tone if not
in heart, the Americans raved about vengeance for

RIDICULE OF THE AMERICAN PRESS.

their own just concessions. They boasted that the
seizure of Canada would be one of the measures of
retaliation to which they intended promptly to resort,
as the indemnity to their injured vanity and as com-
pensation for the surrender of Messrs. Mason and
Siidell.

Meanwhile the small force of British troops sta-
tioned in Canada was reinforced by the speedy dis-
patch of some picked regiments from England, which
did not raise it much beyond its regular strength,
and tardy steps were taken to organize an efficient
militia in the province. The volunteer movement
had extended its influence across the ocean, and a
commendable activity all over the British Colonies
and Canada falsified the complacent statements of
the American papers that the people were not loyal
to the Crown nor careful of the connection, which,
it was alleged, they would gladly substitute for the
protection of the standard of the Northern Republic.

All these necessary precautions against the conse-
quences of the refusal of the America.! Government
to yield the passengers taken from ui.der our flag,
were watched angrily and jealously in the States.
The British reinforcements were ridiculed ; their tedi-
ous passages, their cheerless marches, were jeeringly
chronicled. Whole ships were reported to have gone
down with living cargoes. Those who landed were
represented as being borne on sleighs by sufferance
routes, which would be impracticable in war. The
Canadians were abused — and so were the Provin-
cialists. The volunteers were assailed 'wii^h the
weapons which the American press knows so well
how to use.

But that was false policy. It gave a stimulus to
the loyal feeling of the subjects of the Crown. The
Canadian press retorted, and, exulting in the triumph
of the Home Government over the Republican Ad-
ministration, uttered the taunts which Americans
least brook to hear.

CANADA.

It was assumed that the task of vengeance and
conquest would be light. I received letters in which
it was maintained that Canada could not be de-
fended, and that she was not worth defending ;
others merely urged that if the Canadians would not
take a prominent part in aid of imperial measures
for their protection, they must be handed over to the
invading Americans; that their country cost more
than it was worth, and that it was a mistake to keep
any connection with the wrong side of the ledger,
no matter what the results of rupturing it might be.

Americans told me " General Scott declares the
Canadian frontier is not capable of defence." True,
Americans had told me some months ago that Gen-
eral Scott, now mis en retraite in New York, after a
hasty return from Europe, — not, as was asserted,
with diplomatic authority or with the view of invad-
ing Canada, but to save his pension in case of for-
eign war, — would be in Richmond about July 22d
or 24th, 1861. I heard some views of the same kind
from our own officers, who expressed doubts respect-
ing the possibility of a successful resistance to Amer-
ican invasion.

Now if that were so, it struck me that the troops
we had in the country could prove but of little use,
and that at the same time the relative condition of
strength between the United States and Great Brit-
ain had undergone a vital change in face of the very
agencies which ought to have established more solidly
the results obtained in the last trial of force and re-
sources between them on Canadian ground. It was
worth while trying to ascertain the truth and to re-
solve these questions.

The United States, dreading a foreign war which
might interfere with their invasion of the Southern
States, had ungraciou"^ly made a concession, in re-
venge for making which their press declared they
would on the first convenient occasion make war on
the Power they had offended, in a country which

FORTIFYING THE FRONTIER.

they had invaded with all their united power — when
Great Britain, steamless and remote, was engaged
in European conflicts and destitute of maritime
allies — only to meet with defeat, or with success of
a nature to prove their incompetency to conquer.

Was the power of this distracted republic, con-
tending furiously with rebellious members, then, be-
come so great ? If so, with what motive was Great
Britain hurrying across the sea the ^lite of her troops
— too few to save these vast domains, too many to
lose, and far too many to return as paroled pris-
oners ? Why try to defend on such terms what was
worthless and indefensible ? Canada, if not suscep-
tible of defence, would be certainly unsuitable as a
base for offensive operations against the States.
Obviously the matter stood thus : that the military
question depended on the temper and spirit of the
people themselves.

The whole force of the Canadians, sustained by
Great Britain, might, apparently, defy all the offen-
sive power of the United States; and I desired to
ascertain in what condition were their temper and
defences.

At this time British officers were endeavoring to
prepare the possessions of the Crown against threat-
ened invasion. The Americans on their side were
busy fortifying some important points on the lakes.

General Totten, an officer of the United States
Engineers, well known for his ability, was under-
stood to be engaged on a very elaborate plan of
works along the frontier. Colonel Gordon, whose
name will be forever associated with the left attack
at the siege of Sebastopol, aided by an experienced
staff", was employed on our side, studying the capa-
bilities of the frontier, and maturing a pl^sn for the
consideration of the government in case of an Amer-
ican war.

There were reasons, too, of a personal character
for my visiting Canada. I had a fever, which was

CANADA.

" iiiiil

contracted at Washington and laid me prostrate at
New York. It was "»f the low typhoid type, which
proved fatal to so many in the Federal army at the
same time, and its effects made me weaker for the
time than I ever remember to have been. There
was no promise whatever of military operations, and
I read every day of the arrival of friends and ac-
quaintances in Canada, whose faces it would be
pleasant to see, after the endurance of so many hos-
tile glances and such public exhibition of ill-will.

I do not wish to dwell on private annoyances, but
as an instance of the feeling displayed towards me
in New York I may mention one circumstance. On
my arrival in 1861 I was elected an honorary member
of the club which derives its name from the state or
city, and was indebted to its members for many acts
of courtesy and for more than one entertainment.
Returning to the city from Washington early this
year, I was invited to dine at the same club by one
or two of my friends. Certain members, as I after-
wards heard, took umbrage at my presence, and fast-
ened a quarrel on my entertainers. A day or two
subsequently the people of New York were called
on, by the notorious journalist who had honored me
with his animosity ever since I refused the dishonor
of his acquaintance, to express their indignation at
the conduct of the club ; and the members received
a characteristic reprimand for their presumption in
letting me into the club, from which they had kept
their censor and his clientelle carefully out. My
offence was rank ; and public opinion — or what is
called so — perhaps was in favor of the ostracism at
that moment ; for, as far as I know, the people must
have believed I was the sole cause of the Federal
defeat and flight at Bull Run.

There was some novelty in the idea of starting
for Canada in the midst of the bitter winter wind
and the dazzling snow ; but I would have gone to
Nova Zembla at the time to have escaped the mo-

NEW YORK DEMOCRATS.

notony of New York, which the effects of recent ill-
ness rendered more irksome.

New York is among cities, what one of the lower
order of molluscous animals, with a single intestinal
canal, is to a creature of a higher development,
with various organs, and full of veins and arteries.
Up and down the Broadway passes the stream of
life to and from the heart in Wall Street. In the
narrow space from water to water on either side of
this dry canal there is comparatively little anima-
tion, and nothing at all to reward the researches of a
stranger.

Johnson's remark about Fleet Street would apply
with truth to the gawky thoroughfare of the Atlantic
Tyre. In the Broadway or its " west-end " exten-
sions are to be found all the hotels, which are the
ganglia of the feverish nervous system so incessantly
agitated by the operations of the journalistic insects
living in secret cysts nigh at hand. All day the
great tideway is rolling in, headed by a noisy crest
of little boys, with extras under their arms, and her-
alded by a confused surfy murmur of voices telling
" lies " for cents, and enunciating " Another Great
Union Victory ! " in one great bore ; or it is rushing
out again with a dismal leaden current, laden with
doubts and fears, as the news of some disaster
breaks through the locks of government reservoirs
and floods the press.

In my hotel, where I was fain to seclude myself in
my illness, and to follow the very un-American prac-
tice of living in a suite of private rooms, there was
but little conflict of opinion on any great event, real
or fictitious, which turned up from day to day. The
guests and visitors were wellnigh all of one way of
thinking. They were of the old conservative party,
so oddly denominated Democrats, who believed in
States Rights : in the right of states to create and
maintain their domestic institutions — to secede, if
they pleased, from the Union — to resist the attempts

CANADA.

of the General Government of the other states to
coerce them by force of arms.

Some of these gentlemen were satisfied the South
would not be coerced ; ' me hoped the South would
resist successfully. No: I fear, were ♦' loyal " to
President Lincoln and r»i.. Seward, and I am sure
none would have said so much for either of them or
their friends as I would.

The majority principle forces people who hold sim-
ilar views to meet together, and to select the same
hotels to live in. This is unfortunate for a stranger
who desires to hear the views of both sides. In the
*' New York," from the highly artistic and skilful oper-
ator who flashed out cocktails at the bar, up to the
highest authority, there was no man who would like
to say that he was on good terms with Mr. Sumner,
or that he did not think Mr. Seward the representa-
tive of evil principles. The rule was proved by the
exceptions : two I suspect there were — stout Irish
waiters, who did not approve of the attempts to
destroy " our glorious Union," but who did not find
the atmosphere of the place quite favorable to the
free expression of the opinion they mildly hinted at
to myself.

The sameness of ideas, of expressions, of faces,
became unbearable. I could tell quite well by the
look of men's faces what news they had heard, and
what they were saying or going to say about it.
Here were crafty politicals and practical men of busi-
ness, and persons of a philosophical and reflective
temperament, as well as the foolish, the mere pleas-
ure-hunters, and the unthinking mass of an hotel
world, all looking forward to a near to-morrow to
jnd the woes of the state, always waiting for a
* decisive " battle or " an indignant uprising of the
people " to drive the Republicans out of power and
office.

Not one of them could or would see that the con-
test, when terminated, would give birth to others —

AMERICAN CONTEMPT FOR CANADA.

that the vast bodies of divers interests, prejudices,
hatreds, and wrongs set in motion by war over so
enormous a surface, where the} had been kept sus-
pended and inert by the powers of compromise, could
never be reconsolidated and restored to the same
state as before, and that it would be the work of
time, the labor of many years, ere they could settle
to rest in any shape whatever.

I am told respectable Americans do not use the
word " Britisher," but I am bound to say I heard
Americans who looked very respectable using the
word at the time of which I speak, when there was
still irritation on both sides in consequence of the sur-
render of Mason and Slidell : in the minds of the
friends of the South, because they were balked in
their anticipation of a foreign war ; in the Federal
mind, because, after much threatening and menaces,
they had seen the captives surrendered to the British
by the President, or, more properly speaking, by Mr.
Seward.

Hence it was, perhaps, that Canada was always
mentioned in such a tone of contempt, as though the
speakers sought to relieve their feelings by abuse of
a British dependency.

" Goin' to Canada ! " exclaimed the faithful Mi-
lesian who had been my attendant — in fact, my sub-
stitute for a nurse. " Lord help us ! That^s a poor
place, anyhow. I thought you 'd be contint wid the
snow we 've got here. It 's plinty, anyhow. But
Canada ! " The man had never been there in his
life, but he spoke as if it were beyond the bounds
of civilization. He had served in a British reg-
iment for many years ; many of his brothers had
been, I think he told me, in the service, but now they
were all in the States, and to his notion thriving like
himself.

In no country on earth is an old nationality so
soon absorbed as in America. I am inclined to think
the regard professed for England by American liter-

CANADA.

ary men is sentimental, and is produced by education
and study rather than by any feeling transmitted in
families or by society.

The emigrant, it is remarked, speedily forgets —
in the hurry of his new life the ways of the old slip
out of his memory. One day I said to my man, as
a regiment of volunteers was marching down Broad-
way, " Those fellows are not quite as well set up as
the 41st, Pat."— "Well, indeed, and that's thrue ;
but they 'd fight as well, I b'lieve, and better maybe,
if they 'd the officers, poor craychures ! Anyhow,"
continued he with great gravity, " they can't be
flogged for nothin' or for anything." — " Were you
ever flogged? " — " No, sirir — not a lash ever touched
my back, but I 've known fine sogers spiled by it."
It is likely enough that he had never thought on the
subject till he came to the States — a short time be-
fore and he would have resented deeply the idea that
any regiment on earth could stand before Her Maj-
esty's 41st.

It was now near the end of January, and as a
gleam of fine weather might thaw the glorious Union
army of the Potomac, and induce them to advance
on the inglorious army of the Confederacy, I resolved
to make the best of my way northwards forthwith.

My companions were a young British officer, dis-
tinguished in the Crimea, in India, and in China,
who represented a borough' in Parliament, and had
come out to see the great contest which was raging
in the United States ; and an English gentleman,
who happened to be at New York, and was anxious
to have a look at Niagara, even in its winter dress.

On the 27th January we were all packed to start
by the 5.30 p. m train by Albany to Niagara, and
thence to Toronto. The landlord made me up a
small assortment of provisions, as in snow-time trains
are not always certain of anything but irregularity.
I was regarded as one who was about to make my-
self needlessly miserable when he might continue in

K "UNION VICTORY.'

much happiness. " You had bettor stay, sir, for a few
days. I have certain intelligence, let me whisper
you, that the Abolitionists will be whipped at the end
of this week, and old Abe driven out of Wash-
ington."

The little boys still shout out, " Another great
Union Victory." The last, by the bye, was of Gen-
eral Thomas, at Somerset, which has j^radually sub-
limed to uncertainty, though he handled his men well,
and is not bad at a despatch.

The credulity of the American mind is beyond be-
lief Populus vult decipi — and certainly its wishes
are complied with to the fullest extent. The process
of a Union victory, from its birth in the first telegram
down to its dissolution in the last despatch, is curious
enough.

Out comes an extra of the " New York Herald " —
" Glorious Union Victory off Little Bear Creek, Mo. !

— Five Thousand Rebels Disposed of I — Grand
Skedaddle ! — General Pumpkin's Brilliant Charge !

— He Out-Murats Murat! — Sanguinary Encoun-
ters ! — Cassius Mudd's Invincibles I — Doom of the
Confederacy I — Jeff. Davis gone to Texas ! " and so
on, with a display of large type, in double-headed
lines, and a profusion of notes of admiration.

There is excitement in the bar-rooms. The Dem-
ocrats look down-hearted. The War Christians are
jubilant. Fiery eyes devour the columns, which con-
tain but an elaboration of the heading — swelled
perhaps with a biographical sketch of Brigadier-
General Cyrus Washington Pumpkin, " who was
educated at West Point, where he graduated with
Generals Beauregard and McDowell, and eventually
subsided into pork-packing at Cincinnati, where he
was captain of a fine company till the war broke
out, when he tendered his sword," &c. Cassius
Mudd's biography is of course reprinted for the
twentieth time, and there is a list of the names of all
the officers in the regiments near the presumed scene
of action.

CANADA.

1 liilS!

'il

Then comes the action : — "An intelligent gentle-
man has juit arrived at Chicago, and has seen Dr.
Bray, to whom he has given full particulars of the
fight. It was commenced by Lieutenant Epaminon-
das Bellows," (son of oar respected fellow-citizen,
the President of the Bellowstown and Bellona Rail-
way ; — here follows a biography of Bellows,) " who
was out scouting with ten more of our boys when
they fell into an ambuscade, which opened on them
with masked batteries, uttering unearthly yells.
With Spartan courage the little band returned the
fire, and kept the Seceshers, who were at least 500
strong, at bay till their ammunition was exhausted.
Bellows, his f m dilated with patriotism, his mellow
tones ringing above the storm of battle, was urged to
fly by a tempter, whose name we suppress. The
heroic youth struck the cowardly traitor to the earth,
and indignantly invited the enemy to come on. They
did so at last. The lieutenant, resisting desperately,
then fell, and our men carried his body to the camp,
to the skirts of which they were followed by the
Secesh cavalry and four guns. Our loss was*only
two more — the enemy are calculated to have lost
85. The farmers at Munchausen say they were busy
all day carrying away their dead in carts.

" On reaching the camp, General Pumpkin thought
it right to drive back the dastardly polluters of our
country's flag. He disposed his troops in platoons,
according to the celebrated disposition made by Mil-
tiades at Marathon, covering his wings with squad-
rons of artillery in columns of sub-divisions, with a
reserve of cavalry in echelon ; but he improved upon
the idea by addiag th? combination of solid squares
and skirmishers in the third line, by which Alexander
the Great decided the Battle of Granicus.

" In this order, then, the Union troops advanced till
they came to Little Bear Creek. Here, to their great
astonishment, they found the enemy under General
Jefferson Brick in person (Brick will be remembered

THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BEAR CREEK.

by t?iany here as the intelligent clerk in our advertise-
ment department, but he was deeply tainted with
Seccsh sentiments, and on the unfurling of our flag
manifested them in such a manner that we were
obliged to dispense with his services). The infamous
destroyer of his country's happiness had posted his
men so that we could not see them. They were at
least three to one — mustering some 7000, with guns,
caissons, baggage-wagons, and standards in propor-
tion — and were arranged in an obtuse angle, of
which the smaller end was composed of a mass of vet-
erans, in the order adopted by Napoleon with the
Old Guard at Waterloo : the larger, consisting of
the Whoop-owl Bushwhackers and the Squash River
Legion in potence, threatened us with destruction if
we advanced on the other wing, whilst we were
equally exposed to danger if we remained where we
were.

" General Pumpkin's conduct is, at this most crit-
ical moment, generally described as being worthy of
the best days of Roman story. He simply gave the
word * Charge ! ' — * What, General ? ' exclaimed our
informant. ' Charge ! Sir,' said the general, with a
sternness which permitted no further question. With
a yell our gallant fellows dashed at the enemy, but
the water was too deep in the creek, and they ^etired
with terrific loss. The enemy then dashed at them
in turn. They drove our right for three miles ; we
drove their left for three and a quarter miles. Their
centre drove our left, and our right drove their centre
again. They took five of our guns; we took six of
theirs and a bread-cart.

" Night put an end to this dreadful struggle, in
which American troops set an example to the war-
seamed soldiers of antiquity. Next morning General
Pumpkin pushed across to Pugstown, and occupied
it in force. Union sentiment is rife all through Mis-
souri. We demand that General Pumpkin be at once
placed at the head of the Army of the Potomac."

lill

CANADA.

Now all this — in no degree exaggerated — and, the
like of which I have read over and over again, affords
infinite comfort or causes great depression to New
York for an hour or so, coupled with an " editorial,"
in which the energy and enterprise of the Scarron
are duly eulogized, old Greeley's hat and breeches and
umbrella handled with charming wit and eloquence,
and the inevitable flight of the Richmond Govern-
ment to Texas clearly demonstrated. Next day some
little doubt is expressed as to the exact locality of
the fight — " Pumpkin's force was at Big Bear, 180
miles west of the place indicated. We doubt not,
howe/er, the account is substantially correct, and that
the Sccesh forces have been pretty badly whipped."

Next day the casualties are reduced from 200 killed
and 310 wounded to 96 killed and none wounded ;
and scrutinizing eyes notice a statement, in small
type, that the " father of Lieutenant Bellows has
written to us to state his son was not engaged on the
occasion in question, but was at home on furlough."
And by the time " Another Great Union Victory ! "
is ready, the fact oozes out, but is by no means con-
sidered worth a thought, that General Pumpkin has
had an encounter with the Confederates in which he
suffered a defeat, and that he has gone into winter
quarters.

I do not suppose for a moment that these deceitful
agencies are exercised only in the North, but am per-
suaded, from what I know, that the Southern people
are at least as anxious for news, and as liable to be
led away by suppressions of truth or distorted nar-
ratives, as those of the Free States. If we had had a
telegraphic system and a newspaper press during the
Wars of the Roses, or the struggle of 1645, it is prob-
able our partisans, on both sides, would have been
as open to imposture ; but I do not think they would
have continued long in the faith that the ever-detected
impostor was still worthy of credence.

THE STARS AND STRIPES.

CHAPTER II.

To the Station. — Stars and Stripes. — Crowd at Station. — Train im-

(>c'ded \yy Snow. —Classic Ground. — " Manhattan." — " Yonkers." —
''I'llow-Travellers and their Ways. — "Beauties of the Hudson." —
West Point: their Education, &c. — fiUrfje Towns on the Banits of the
Hudson. — Arrive at East Albany. — Delav-an House. — Beds at a Pre-
mium. — Aspect of Albany not impressive. — Sights. — The Legislature.

As we drove over the execrable snow-heaps to the
station, the streets seemed to me unusually dreary.
The vast Union flags which flapped in the cold air,
now dulled and dim, showed but their great bars of
blood, and the stars had faded out into darkness.

Apropos of the Stripes and Stars, I may say I never
could meet any one in the States able to account for
the insignia, though it has been suggested that they
are an amplification of the heraldic bearing of George
Washington. Strange indeed if the family blazon
of an English squire should have become the flaunt-
ing flag of the Great Republic, which with all its
faults has done so much for the world, and may yet,
purged of its vanity, arrogance, and aggressive ten-
dency, do so much more for mankind ! Not except-
ing our own, it is the most widely spread flag on the
seas ; for whilst it floats by the side of the British
ensign in every haunt of our commerce, it has almost
undisputed possession of vast tracts of sea in the
Pacific and South Atlantic.

At last we got to the end of our very unpleasant
journey, and approached the York and Albany Ter-
minus, over an alpine concrete of snow-heaps, snow-
holes, and street-rails. At the station my coach-
driver affectionately seized my hand, and bade me
good-by with a cordiality which might have arisen

I» ' ' '

CANADA.

from the sensitiveness of touch in his palm as much

as from personal affection. The terminus was

crowded with citizens (eating apples, lemon-drops,

and gingerbread-nuts, and reading newspapers) and

I a few men in soldier's uniform, going north — only

t one or two of what one calls in Europe gentlemen

f: or ladies, but all well dressed and well behaved, if

they would only spare the hissing stoves and the

feelings of prejudiced foreigners.

The train, with more punctuality than we usually
observe in such matters, started to the minute, but
only went ten yards or so, and then halted for nearly
half an hour — no one knew why, and no one seemed
to care, except a gentleman Who was going, he said,
to get his friend, "the Honorable Something Ray-
mond, to do something for him at Albany," and was
rather in a hurry. When the engine renewed the
active exercise of its powers, the pace was slow and
the motion was jerking and uneven, owing to snow
on the rails, and the obstacles increased as the train
left the shelter of the low long-stretching suburb
which clings to it, and is dragged, as it were, out of
the city with it along the bank of the Hudson. But
even 181st and 182d streets abandoned their attempts
to keep up with the rail ; and all that could be seen
of civilization were sundry chimneys and walls and
uncouth dark masses of wood or brick rising above
the snow. The lights in the wooden stations shone
out frostily through the dimmed windows as we
struggled on.

We were passing through at night what h to
Americans classic ground, in spite of odd names : for
here is " Manhattan " (associated in my mind for-
ever with a man who, unfortunately for himself and
me, had a wooden leg, as he planted the iron ferule
of that insensible member on the only weak point of
my weaker foot) — and next is " Yonkers," where a
lady once lived with whom Washington was once in
love, and several " fights " took place all around, in

t0%^-

CLASSIC GROUND.

d as the train

ows as we

which the Americans were more often beaten than
victorious ; — " Dobb's Ferry," " Tarry town " (poor
Andr6 ! let those who wish to know all that can be
known of the " spy" read Mr. Sargent's life of him,
published in Philadelphia), which is " nigh on toe
Sleepy Hollow," where Mr. Diedrich Knickerbocker
had such a remarkable interview with the ancient
Hollander; — " Sing Sing," where many gentlemen,
not so well known to fame, have interviews of a less
agreeable character with modern American author-
ities. We are passing, too, by Sunnyside, where
Washington Irving lived. I would rather have seen
him than all the remarkable politicians in the States
— old Faneuil, or Bunker's Hill, or all the wonders
of the great nation ; though I am told he was unbear-
ably prosy and sleepy of late days.

Cold and colder it becomes as we creep on, and
slower creaks the train with its motley freight. The
men round the stoves " fire up " till the iron glows
and gives out the heated air to those who can stand
it, and an unsavory odor, as of baked second-hand
clothing, and a hissing noise to those beyond the tor-
rid circle. The slamming of the door never ceases.
Sometimes it is a conductor, sometimes it is not.
But no matter who makes the disturbance, he has a
right to do so. No one can sleep on account of that
abominable noise, even if he could court slumber in
a seat which is provided with a rim to hurt his back
if he reclines, and a ridge to smite his face if he leans
forward. Apples and water and somebody's lemon-
drops are in demand ; and vendors of vegetable ivory
furtively deposit specimens of ingenious manufacture
but inscrutable purpose in the lap of the unoffending
stranger, who in his sleepy state often falls a victim
to these artifices, and finds himself called on to pay
several dollars for quaint products of the carver,
which he has unduly detained in his unconscious-
ness. / '

The train arrives at Poughkeepsie, seventy -five

CANADA.

miles from New York, an hour and a half late. We
hear that, instead of reaching Albany at 10.30 or
11 p. M., we shall not be in till 1 or 1.30 a. m., and
will "lose communications;" therefore we eat in
desperation at refreshment-rooms large oysters boiled
in milk out of small basins. In the night once more.
We have passed West Point long since, and an
enthusiastic child of nature, who has been pointing
out to me the " beauties of the Hudson," which is
flowing down under its mail of ice close to our left,
has gone to sleep among the fire-worshippers at the
stove.

Now, the fact is, that scenery under snow is, I
may safely affirm, very like beauty under a mask,
or a fine figure in a waterproof blanket. The hills
were mere snow-mounds, and the lines of all objects
were fluffy and indistinct ; and I was glad my eulo-
gistic friend slept at last. West Point I longed to
see ; for though its success in turning out great gen-
erals has as yet not been very remarkable, I had met
too many excellent specimens of its handiwork in
making good officers and pleasant gentlemen not to
feel a desire to have purview of the institution. Had
I not heard a live general sing " Benny Haven, ho ! "
— had I 11 )t seen Mordecai sitting at the gate of
Pelissier in vain, and McClellan and Delafield en-
gaged in a geological inquiry on the remains of the
siege of Sebastopol? Above all, does not West
Point promise to become something like a military
academy, in a country such as America is likely to
be after the war ?

It is a mistake rather common in England, and in
Europe, to suppose that a majority, or even a minor-
ity, of the American generals are civilians. With
very few exceptions indeed, they have either been
some time at West Point, or have graduated there.
In a country which has no established lines to mark
the difference of classes, which nevertheless exists
there as elsewhere, there is a positive social elevation

AMERICAN OFFIERS.

acquired by any man who has graduated at West
Point; and if he has taken a high degree, he is re-
garded in his State as a man of mark, whose services
must be secured for the military organization and
public service in the militia or volunteers.

There is no country in the world where so many
civilians have received their education in military
academies without any view to a military ca-
reer. There are of course many "generals" and
" colonels " of States troops who have had no pro-
fessional training, but not nearly so many as might
be imagined.

But the great defect under which American offi-
cers labored until this unhappy war broke out, was
the purely empirical and theoretical state of their
knowledge. They had no practical experience. The
best of them had only such knowledge as they could
have gleaned in the Mexican war. A man whose
head was full of Jomini was sent off to command a
detachment in a frontier fort, and to watch maraud-
ing Indians, for long years of his life, and never saw
a regiment in the field. As to working the three
arms together creditably in the field, I doubt if there
is an officer in the whole army who could do it any-
thing like so well as the Duke of Cambridge, or as an
Aldershot or Curragh brigadier.

It would be hard for any Englishman to be indif-
ferent to the advantages of military training in a
country where every village around could have told
tales of the helpless, hopeless blundering which char-
acterized the operations of the British generals here-
abouts in the War of Independence. Reflecting
thus, too, I felt less inclined to wonder at the mis-
takes made by the Federals, and by the Confederates.
Had the British generals proved more lucky and skil-
ful, should we now have been passing the towns
which cluster on the banks of the Hudson, or would
" monarchy " have impeded the march of life, com-
merce, and civilization out here ?

r — "

•

CANADA.

Towns of 5000,

10,000, 20,000, and even of

30,000 inhabitants rise on the margin of the fine
river, v^rhich in summer presents, I am assured, a
scene of charming variety and animation, and in
autumn is fringed by the most beautiful of all beau-
tiful American landscapes, surcharged with the glo-
rious colors of that lovely season. Through the dark-
ness by the bright starlight we could see the steam-
boats locked fast in the ice, like knights in proof,
awaiting the signal to set them free for the charge.
But, ah me ! how weary it was ! — how horrible the
stoves ! At last and at last the train stopped, and
finally deposited us at three o'clock in the morning
on the left bank of the Hudson, at East Albany.

The city proper lies on the opposite shore of the
river ; and I got, as I was directed, into a long low
box called the omnibus, which was soon crowded
with passengers. In a few minutes we were off.
Then I was made aware that the 'bus was a sleigh,

and that it was on runners, and Just at that

moment the machine made a headlong plunge, like a
ship going down by the bows at sea, and in an in-
stant more had pierced the depths of darkness, and
with a crashing, scrunching bump touched the bot-
tom. " We 're on the river now, I guess," quoth
one. And so it was. We had shot down the bank,
which must be higher than one would like to leap,
even on snow, and were now rolling, squeaking, and
jerking over the frozen river, amid the groans and
shrieks and grumbling protests of the ice, which
seemed in some places to give way as if it were go-
ing to let us down bodily, and in others to rise up in
strong ridges to baffle the horses' efforts. Then, after
a most disagreeable drive, which seemed half-an-hour
long, — and about thrice as long as it really was, I
suppose, — a prodigious effort of horse-muscle and
whipping, and of manual labor, accomplished the
ascent of the other bank, and the vehicle passed
through the deserted streets of Albany — the capital

THE DELAVAN HOUSE.

of the great State of New York — to the Delavan
House, which was open to receive but not to enter-
tain us. A rush of citizens was made to " the office "
of the hotel. More citizens followed out of fast-
arriving vehicles from the train, — for there was no
means of getting on till the forenoon, — and all went
perforce to the Delavan House.

The hotel office consisted of a counter with a
raised desk, enclosing a man with a gold chain, a
diamond stuck in the front of a dress shirt — not as
pin to a scarf or as a stud, but as a diamond per se,
after the fashion of those people and of railway con-
ductors in the land — his hat cocked over one eye, a
toothpick even at that hour in his mouth, a black
dress suit of clothes, a dyed moustache and beard
d la Rowdy Americain, and an air of sovereign con-
tempt for his customers. The crowd pressed around
and hurled volleys of questions, — " Can we have
beds, sir ? " &c. But the man of Delavan House re-
plied not. To all their entreaties he returned not a
word. But he did take out a great book and spread
it on the counter, and putting a pen in the ink he
handed it to the citizen nearest, who signed himself
and his State, and asked meekly " if he could have a
bed at once, as he was so " &c. To him the man
of Delavan House deigned no reply. The pen was
handed to another, who signed, and so on — the
arbiter of our destinies watching each inscription
with the air of an attorney's clerk who takes signa-
tures to an attestation.

There were at least fifty people to sign before me,

and I heard from a waiter there were only ten beds

— which on the most ample allowance would only

accommodate some thirty people — vacant. Were

the Britishers to be beaten ? Never ! Leaving our

luggage, we dashed out into the snow. And lo ! a

house nigh at hand, with lights and open doors. A

black waiter sallied out at the tramp of feet in the

hall. He told as, " De rooms all tuk, sar." He was

fl:

CANADA.

ill

told to be less indiscreet in his assertions, and all the
time of colloquy the invading Celts and Saxons
pushed onwards and upwards to the first landing.
Here were doors standing open. We entered one.
Three small rooms — beds empty ! no luggage !

This will do. " Massa, dis room 's all " " You

be quiet! " And the luggege was dragged over by
our own right hands, eventually aided by the Ethiop.

I had the satisfaction, as I was gliding away with
my hat-box, to hear the man of Delavan House read-
ing the book of fate, and selecting his victims at his
grim pleasure. In fact, the house on which we had
stumbled was a sort of succursal to the hotel ; and
the proprietor, afraid of offending so mighty a poten-
tate, was shocked at the idea of letting in any one
without his leave. What became of the victims I
know not, but I do know that the beds — though we
went to them supperless — of the humble hostelry
were very grateful.

I went to bed about 4 a. m., with the fixed inten-
tion of getting up early and visiting the capitol, when
I could have seen with these eyes the glories of the

Hon. Raymond as Speaker in the State Hall,

and have heard something more of the interesting
proceedings against a New York alderman, who
accused senators and representatives of being acces-
sible as Danae to the golden shower, and even to
greenbacks.

No man can see the real merits of a city in snow.
I shall repeat the remark no more ; therefore if I say
I don't like a place, let the snow bear the blame ; but
Albany did not impress me when I did get up, and
the sight of the State Capitol at the top of a steep
street was so utterly depressing, that I abandoned
my resolve, and sought less classic ground. What
have not these Greeks to answer for in this new
land ?

There was a comforting contrast to the hideous
domes and mock porticos, and generally to the ugli-

THE LEGISLATURE.

ne89 of the public buildings, in the solid unpreten-
tious look of the old Dutch-built houses of private
citizens. Though there is an aspect of dccadenro
about Albany, it seems more, Ixir more respectatile
and gentlemanly than its smug, smirking, meretri-
cious but overwhelming rival, New York.

I was informed by an American that it was called
after the second name in the title of James the Sec-
ond, before he ascended the throne. " Bad as the
Stuarts were to you, they were a great deal better
for the colonies," said he, " than your Hanover House,
and perhaps if you had n't changed them you might
not have lost us." It was curious to hear an American
saying a good word for the luckless house, though I
am by no means of the opinion that England could
ever have ruled colonies which were saturated with
the principles of self-government.

It was too cold at such a season as this for philo-
sophical research in a sleigh,* and too slippery for
sauntering; and we were whirled out of the State
capital without seeing much of it, except church
steeples, and some decent streets, and the ice-bound
river studded with hard-set steamers.

There are, however, in summer time, as I hear, and
can well imagine, many fine sights to be seen. There
is the Fall of Cohoes, where the Mohawk River, a
stream of greater body than the Thames at Rich-
mond, leaps full seventy feet down into a gulf, whence
it collects itself to pursue its course to the Hudson.
There are Shaker settlements, and many communi-
ties of " isms " and astounding congregations of
" ists ; " and there are clean Dutch streets, and Dutch
tenures and customs to this day. With the tenures,
however, the rule of the majority has made rough
work; and the lords in capite, or padroons, have
suffered pauperization by the simple process of non-
payment of their rents.

The Legislature is now in solemn conclave. They
are investigating charges implied in the speech of a

CANADA.

New York alderman, who declared he could get any
measure passed h(^ liked, by paying the members^
of course extra-olTicially, because the payment, per
se^ could only be an agreeable addition to their in-
come. The Speaker is Mr. Raymond, of the " New
York Times," who, in spite of or perhaps in conse-
quence of the opposition of the " Caledonian Cleon,'*
his rival, was elected to that high office. It was in
course of conversation with an American gentleman
respecting the election, that I learned there was no
more certain way of succeeding in any contest in the
State, than to obtain the abuse of the organ under
that person's control. Be it senator, mayor, or com-
mon-councilman, the candidate he favors is lost, for
all respectable people instinctively vote against him.

! 1

MR. SEWARD.

CHAPTER III.

Unpleft«ant .loumev to Ninparn. — Mr. Seward. — The Union and ita Dan-
ijers. — I'ass hiiffalo. — Arrival at Niagara. — A " Touter." — Bad
Weather. — The Hoad. — Climate compared. — Desolate Appearance of
Houses. — The St. Lawrence viewed from above. — One Hundred Yeara
apo. — Canada the creat Object of the Americans. — The Welland Ca-
nal. — Ktl'cct of the Kidls from a Distance. — (iradiial approacli. — Less
Volume of Water in Winter. — Different Effect and DaiiRors in Winter.
Icicles. — Behind the Cataract. — Photographs and Bazaar. — Visit the
"Lions" jrenerallv. — Brock. — American and ('anadian Sides con-
trasted. — Goat Isfand. — A Whisper heard. — Mills and Manufactories.

It was past noon ere the train once more began
its contest with the snow — now conquering, now
stubbornly resisted, and brought to a standstill, —
the pace exceedingly slow, the scenery that of undu-
lating white table-cloths, the society dull.

The journey to Niagara was as unpleasant as very
bad travelling and absence of anything to see could
make it. The train contained many soldiers or volun-
teers going back to their people, who discussed the
conduct of the war with earnestness and acuteness ;
but though we were so far north, I could not hear
any of them very anxious about the negro.

Well-dressed men and women got in and out at
all the stations, nor did I see persons in the whole
line of the cars who seemed to have rubbed elbows
with adversity. Shenectady ! Utica! Syracuse! Au-
burn ! Here be comminglings ! — the Indian, the
Phceno - Numidian, the Greek - Sicilian, the Anglo-
Irish, all reviving here in fair towns, full of wealth,
commerce, and life.

The last-named is, I believe, the birthplace, and is
certainly what auctioneers call the residential abode,
of Mr. Seward. I remember his Excellency relating
how, after the Battle of Bull Run, — when he was
threatened by certain people from Baltimore with

CANADA.

h I

i i

hanging, ns tbo reward of his misdocda in plnnging
1lu» conntry into civil wiir, — ho resolvtul to visit his
frllow-iMtizons and n<'igriborH, to Jiscoitjiin whether
IhtTo was nny (!hang(^ of furling junongst thoni. He
wuH rtM^eivcd with every demonstration of kindness
and res^HH^t, and then, said he, " J felt my head was
(jnite safe on my shonlders." It is bnt jnst to say,
Mr. Seward altogether diselaims the int<Mition of seiz-
ing on Canada, which has been attribnttul to liini in
Kngland ; although he (u^rtainly is of opinion, that
tlu? province (smnot continn(^ l^>ng to bt^ a deptMidency
of the lOnglish Crown. How long does he think
(California will Im^ content to re(;eivo orders from a
government at Washington ?

The danger which menac(^a the Union will become
far greatcu' after the sucecvss of Iht* Unionists than
it was during the war, because the extinction of the
))rineipl(; of States Rights will naturally tend to cen-
tralize tlu^ po\ver of tlu^ FedtM*al Uovernment. They
caimot restort; that which they have pulled down.
In virtue of their own jirinciples, tht;y nuist nn>intain
a strict watcli antl supreme control over the State
Governments and Legislatures. Kndless disputes
and jealousies will arise. The Democrats, at onc<;
the wtmlthiest and the ablest party in each State,
will take evt^ry opportunity of opposing the central-
ized Oovernment ; and although the Republicans
may raise armies to light for the Union, they will not
hi' able to prevtMit the slow and certain action of the
State licgislatures, which will tend tt> detach the
States more and more from any federation in which
their interests are not engaget), and to form them
into groups, bound tog(^tlu;r by conun unity of com-
merce, nuuuifacture, feeling, and destiny.

Canada mnst of course acu't^pt its fate with the
rest; but J^higlislwnen, at ItMist, will not yield it to
the menaces or violence t)f the Northern Amerit^ans,
as long as the peopli^ of the province prt^fi^ being
our lellow-aubjecta to uu incorporation in the Great

A NIAGARA TOUTKR.

in plunfriiif*
(1 to visit his
tiiiii whetlior
4 MuMii. He

of iviiuiiu'ss
ny head vva8

just to ssiy,
iitioii of seiz-
(h1 1o him in
opinion, that

(h'p<Mi(h'ncy
•OS ho tliink
rtlors fn)ni a

will burorne
ioiiists tlian
letion of Iho
tend to ctui-
iKMit. They
illod down.
i8t nipintain
r the 8tato
H8 disputoa
iits, ut onco
uch Static,
\n* fcnlral-
lopublicans
loy will not
lion of tho
li'tach tho
1 in which
'onn Ihcin
(y of cani-
ty with tho
yield it to
\njori(!ans,
dor boing
tho Grout

Republic, or any section of it that may bo desirous
of tlu^ abstraction.

I fear we mostly look at Mr. Seward's oon(hiet
and lanL(nat(<^ from a point which causes erroneous
inferences. It shouUI bo remembered that he is an
American nunister — that ho has not only thi" intt^-
ests but tho passions and prejiidices of tho American
people to consult, and that, like Lord Palmerston, ho
is not the njinister of any country but his own. His
son, the Under-so{Totary of Stat(% is tho j)roprietor
and editor of a journsd hero, which it* conducted with
tho moderation and tact to bo expected from the
amiable ctharacter of the "ijentloman alluded to.

There was little to bo setm of lla^ towns at which
wo halted, and our jourm^y was iH>ntinued from one
to the other monotoiu)usly enough. Tho weary creep-
inpfofthe train, the foul atinospliort^, the delays, how-
ever inevitable and imavoidable, rather spoihnl one's
interest in tho black smoky-lookinjif cities on tho
white plains throuj^h which wo passed ; and ni^ht
found us still "scroo*(in*ij on," and lUHMisionally stop-
pinj» and di^ijjin^ out. Thus wo passtnl by Kochester
and the (icneseo Falls, which seem oxttMisively used
up in mill-workinjj^, and arrived at Hulfalo (278 nulcs)
a little before mi(lni«>[ht. There wt^ branched oil' to
Niagara, which is 22 miles further on.

Up to this time wv. had boon minded \o ^o to tho
Clifton ilouse, which is on th(^ (^anadian side of tho
river, thoujjfh it is kept by Americans, and of which
wii had agreeablt^ memories in tiu^ sununer, when it
was tho heackpiarters of many pleasant Southerners.
There were only three or four uumi in our car, oiu' of
whom was, ov«mj undtM* such hopeless circumstances,
doini^ a little touting for an hotel at diti Amerii^an
sid('. After a whilt; he threw a tly over us and
landed \\w whole baski^t. All the larti;e hotels, he
said, wiH-e shut up on both sides of the {''alls, but ho
coidd take us to u very nici^ (piit^t and comfortable
place, whore we wouUl meet with every attention,

CANADA.

PIJH

''111

■ Hi

M\ I

ilHi: \

and it was the only house we would find open.
This exposition left us no choice.

We surrendered ourselves therefore to the tout,
who was a very different being from the type of his
class in England, — a tall, pleasant-faced man, with a
keen eye and bronzed face, ending in an American
Vandyke beard, a fur collar round his neck, a heavy
travelling-coat, — from which peered out the ruffles
of a white shirt and a glittering watch-chain, — rings
on his fingers, and unexceptionable shoeing. He
smoked his cigar with an air, and talked as if he
were conferring a favor. " And I tell you what !
I '11 show you all over the Falls to-morrow. Yes,
sir?" Why, we were under eternal obligations to
such a guide, and internally thanking our stars for
the treasure-trove, at once accepted him.

At the gloomy deserted station we were now shot
out, on a sheet of slippery deep snow, an hour after
midnight. We followed our guide to an hostelry of
the humbler sort, where the attention was not at
first very marked or the comfort at all decided. The
night was very dark, and a thaw had set in under
the influencs of a warm rain. The thunder of the
Falls could not be heard through the thick air, but
when we were in the house a quiet little quivering
rattle of the window-panes spoke of its influence.
The bar-room was closed — in the tawdry foul-
odored eating-room swung a feeble lamp : it was
quite unreasonable to suppose any one could be
hungry at such an hour, and we went to bed with
the nourishment supplied by an anticipation of feast-
ing on scenery. All through the night the door and
window-frames kept up the drum-like roll to the
grand music far away.

We woke up early. What evil fortune ! Rain !
fog ! thaw ! — the snow melting fast in the dark air.
But were we not " bound " to see the Falls ? So
after breakfast, and ample supplies of coarse food,
we started in a vehicle driven by the trapper of the

THE NEGROES AND THE IRISH.

night before. He turned out to be a very intelligent,
shrewd American, who had knocked about a good
deal in the States, and knew men and manners in a
larger field than Ulysses ever wandered over.

The aspect of the American city in winter-time is
decidedly quite the reverse of attractive, but there
was a far larger fixed population than we expected
to have seen, and the fame of our arrival had gone
abroad, so that there was a small assemblage round
the stove in the bar-room and in the passage to see
us start. I don't mean to see us in particular, but
to stare at any three strangers who turned up so sus-
piciously and unexpectedly at this season. The
walls of the room in the hotel were covered with
placards, offering large bounties and liberal induce-
ments to recruits for the local regiment of volun-
teers ; and I was told that a great number of men
had gone for the war after the season had concluded
— but Abolition is by no means popular in Niagara.

It was resolved that we should drive round to the
British side by the Suspension Bridge, a couple of
miles below, as the best way of inducting my com-
panions into the wonders of the Falls ; and I pre-
pared myself for a great surprise in the difference
between the character of the scene in winter and in
summer.

For some time the road runs on a low level below
the rivr^-bank, and does not permit of a sight of the
cataract. The wooden huts of the Irish squatters
looked more squalid and miserable than they were
when I saw them last year — wonderful combina-
tions of old plank, tarpaulin, tin-plate, and stove-
pipes. " It's wonderful the settlement does n't catch
fire!" — " But it does catch fire. It's burned down
often enough. Nobody cares ; and the Irish grin,
and build it up again, and beat a few of the niggers,
whom they accuse of having blazed 'em up. They
*ve a purty hard time of it now, I think."

There are too many free negroes and too man}

CANADA.

Irish located in the immediate neighborhood of the
American town, to cause the doctrines of the Aboli-
tionists to be received with much favor by the Ameri-
can population ; and the Irish of course are opposed
to free negroes, where they are attracted by paper-
mills, hotel service, bricklaying, plastering, house-
building, and the like — the Americans monopoliz-
ing the higher branches of labor and money-making,
including the guide business.

At a bend in the road we caught a glimpse of the
Falls, and I was concerned to observe they appeared
diminished in form, in beauty, and in effect. The
cataract appeared of an ochreish hue, like bog- water,
as patches of it came into sight through breaks in
the thick screen of trees which line the banks. The
effect was partly due to the rain, perhaps, but was
certainly developed by the white setting of snow
through which it rushed. The expression on my
friends' faces indicated that they considered Niagara
an imposition. " The Falls are like one of our great
statesmen," quoth the guide, "just now. There's
nothing particular about them when you first catch
a view of them ; but when you get close and know
them better, then the power comes out, and you feel
small as potatoes."

As we splashed on through the snow, I began to
consider the disadvantages to which the poor emi-
grant who chooses a land exposed to the rigors of a
six-months' winter, must be exposed; and I won-
dered in myself that the early settlers did not fiy, if
they had a chance, when they first experienced the
effects of bitter cold. But I recollected how much
better were soil, climate, and communications than
they are in the sunny South, where, for seven
months, the heat is far more intolerable than the cold
of Canada — where the fever revels, where noxious
reptiles and insects vex human life, and the blood is
poisoned by malaria, and where wheat refuses to
grow, and bread is a foreign product.

THE ST. LAWRENCE.

Even in Illinois the winter is, as a rule, as severe
as it is in Canada, the heat as great in summer —
water is scarce, roads bad. It is better to be a
dweller on the banks of the St. Lawrence than a
resident in the Valley of the Mississippi, even if
a tithe of its fabled future should ever come to
pass. There is no reason why the Canadas should
be regarded with less favor than the Western States,
although the winters are long enough : in the prairie
there is a want of wholesome water in summer, and
a scarcity of fuel for cold weather, which tend to
restore the balance in favor of the province?*

The country, \vhich I remembered so riant and
rich, now was cold and desolate. At the station,
near the beautiful Suspension Bridge, — which one
cannot praise too much, and v/hich 1 hope may last
forever, though it does not look like it, — the houses
had closed windows, and half of them seemed empty,
but the German proprietors no doubt could have
been found in the lager-beer saloons and billiard-
rooms. The toll-takers and revenue officers on the
bridge showed the usual apathy of their genus. No
novelty moves them. Had the King of Oude ap-
peared with all his court on elephants, they would
have merely been puzzled how to assess the animals.
They were not in the least disconcerted at a group
of travellers visiting the St. Lawrence in winter-
time.

The sight of the St. Lawrence as we crossed over,
roaring and foaming more than a hundred feet below
us, and rushing between the precipitous banks on
which the bridge rests, gave one a sort of ^^ frisson : "
it looked like some stream of the inferno — the
waters, black and cold, lashed into pyramids of white
foam, and seeming by their very violence to impede
their own escape. Some distance below the bridge,
indeed, they rise up in a visible ridge, crested with
high plumes of tossing spray ; but it is related as a
fact that the steamer " Maid of the Mist," which

CANADA.

was wont to ply as a ferry-boat below the Falls, was
let down this awful sluice by a daring captain, who
sought to save her from the grip of certain legal
functionaries, and that she got through with the loss
of her chimney, after a fierce contest with the waters,
in which she was whirled round and buffeted almost
to foundering. At that moment the men on board
would no doubt have surrendered to the feeblest of
bailiffs for the chance of smooth water.

About one hundred years ago, the spot where we
now stood was the scene of continual struggles be-
tween the Red man, still strong enough to strike a
blow for his heritage, and the British. It was on the
14th September, 1764, that the Indians routed a de-
tachment at Niagara, and killed and wounded up-
wards of two hundred men ; and their organization
seemed so formidable that Amherst was glad to make
a treaty with the tribes through the instrumentality
of Sir W. Johnston. The colonists then left on us
the main burden of any difficulty arising from their
great cupidity and indifference to the rights of the
natives. In ten years afterwards they were engaged
in preparing for the grand revolt which gave birth to
the United States and to the greatest development
of self-government ever seen in the world.

As they were setting about the work of wresting
the New World from the grasp of the monarchical
system, Cook was exploring the shores of the other
vast continent in the Southern Sea, where the spirit
cf British institutions, with the widest extension of
constitutional liberty, may yet successfully vindicate
the attachment of a great Anglo-Saxon race to the
Crown.

There are many in America who think the colonies
would never have revolted if the French had retained
possession of Canada, and, indeed, it is likely enough
the Anglo-Saxons would have held to the connection
if the Latin race had been sitting upon them north-
wards ; but the political accidents and the military

OUR COLONIES.

results which expelled the fleur-de-lis from Canada,
doubtless created an unnatural bond of union between
the absolutist Court of St. Germains and the precur-
sors of Anacharsis Clootz in the colonies. To the
seer there might have been something ominous in the
coalition.

The men who were battling for the divine right of
kings in Europe could scarce fight for the divine right
of man in America without danger. The kiss which
was imprinted at Versailles on Franklin's cheek, by
the lips of a royal lady, must have had the smack of
the guillotine in it.

Anyway, we must allow, the French Canadians,
who stood by us shoulder to shoulder and beat back
the American battalions, whose power to invade was
mainly derived from foreign support, showed they had
a surprising nstinct for true liberty. No doubt they
would have fought at least as stoutly, had the arro-
gant colonists been aided by red -coats, for the sake of
the white banner and the fleur-de-lis ; but in the time
of trouble and danger they stood loyally by the Crown
and connection of England, and their services in that
day should not be lightly forgotten.

It is above all things noteworthy, perhaps, that the
Americans in all their wars with the mother-country
have sought to strike swift hard blows in Canada, and
that hitherto, with every advantage and after con-
siderable successes, they have been driven, weather-
beaten back, and bootless hom>^ It was actually on
the land shaken by the roar of these falling floods
that battles have been fought, and that the air has
listened in doubt to the voice of cannon mingling
with the eternal chorus of the cataract.

There are here two points at which Canada lies
open to the invader. The first lies above the Rapids
— the latter is below them, where the St. Lawrence
flows into the lake. Three considerable actions and
various small engagements have taken place on the
Canadian side of the river, all of which were charac-

■ i

CANADA.

terized by great obstinacy and much bloodshed. Let
us consider them, and see what can or ought to be
done in order to guard the tempting bank which offers
such an excellent base of operations for future hos-
tile occupation.

An inspection of the map will show the Wellar '
Canal, running from Port Maitland, Dunnville, and
Port Colborne, on Lake Erie, to Lake Ontario at
Port Dalhousie. The command of this canal would
be of the very greatest importance to an invading
army, as it would establish a communication inside
the Falls of Niagara ; but it would be very difficult
to obtain such a command so as to prevent the de-
struction of the canal in case of necessity. It is ob-
vious, however, that the line of it should be defended,
and that garrisons should be stationed to hold points
inside the line, such as Erie and Chippewa, to render
it unsafe for the enemy to move down inside them.
At Fort Erie there is a very insignificant work; but,
with that exception, the line of the Welland Canal
may be considered as perfectly open and defenceless
— not by any means as utterly indefensible.

The river is not broad enough to prevent the dwell-
ers on the banks from indulging in hostilities if they
pleased ; but no practical advantage would be gained
in a campaign by any operation which did not settle
the fate of the Welland Canal. The locks will per-
mit vessels 142 feet long, with 26 feet beam, and
drawing 10 feet of water, to pass between Erie and
Ontario ; and from the latter lake to the sea, or, vice
versdy they can pass by the St. Lawrence Canal,
drawing one foot less water. It would be above all
things important to prevent an enemy getting pos-
session of this Welland Canal. It would not suffice
for us to destroy it by injuring a lock or the like, as
such an act would militate against our own lines of
communication, — more important to us, who have
an inferior power of transport on the lakes, than it
would be to the Americans.

THE CLOUD OVER TUE FALLS.

In addition to a well-devised system of field-works,
it is desirable that permanent fortifications should be
constructed to cover the termini of the canal and the
feeder above Port Maitiand. At present, the defen-
sive means of Fort Erie, at the entrance of the river
above the Rapids, are very poor, and quite inadequate
to resist modern artillery . However, this subject will
be best discussed when I come to speak of the general
defence of Canada.

This yawning gap is barrier enough between the
two countries should they ever, unhapp" -, become
belligerent, but the banks can be commanded by
either ; and in case of war the bridge would no
doubt be sacrificed by one or other, as well as the
grander structure at Montreal would be, without
some special covenant.

When still a mile and a half away, a whirling pil-
lar of a leaden gray color, with wreaths of a lighter
silvery hue playing round it, which rose to the height
of seveial hundred feet in the air, indicated the posi-
tion of the Falls. The vapor was more solid and
gloomy-looking than the cloudlike mantle which
shrouds the cataract oftentimes in the summer. I
doubt if there is a very satisfactory solution of its
existence at all. Of course the cloud is caused by
particles of water thrown up into the atmosphere by
the violent impact of the water on the surface, and
by the spray thrown off" in the descent of the torrent;
but why those particles remain floating about, in-
stead of falling at once like rain, is beyond my poor
comprehension. Sure enough, a certain portion does
descend like a thick Scotch mist : why not all ? As
one of my companions, with much gravity and an air
of profound wisdom, remarked last summer, "It's
probable electricity has something to do with it ! "
Can any one say more ?

Assuredly, this ever-rolling mighty cloud draping
and overhanging the Falls adds much to their weird
and wonderful beauty. Its variety of form is infinite,

m'\

CANADA.

,1,1'

changing with every current of air, and altering from
day id day in height and volume ; but I never looked
at it without fancying I could trace in the outlines
the indistinct shape of a woman, with flowing hair
and drooping arms, veiled in drapery — now crouch-
ing on the very surface of the flood, again towering
aloft and tossing up her hands to heaven, or sinking
down and bending low to the edge of the cataract,
as though to drink its waters. With the aid of an
active fancy, one might deem it to be the guardian
spirit of the wondrous place.

The wind was unfavorable, and the noise of the
cataract was not heard in all its majestic violence ;
but as we came nearer, we looked at each other and
said nothing. It grew on us like the tumult of an
approaching battle.

There is this in the noise of the Falls : produced by
a monotonous and invariable cause, it nevertheless
varies incessantly in tone and expression. As you
listen, the thunder peals loudly, then dies away into
a hoarse grumble, rolls on again as if swelled by
minor storms, clangs in the ear, and after a while,
like a river of sound welling over and irrepressible,
drowns the sense in one vast rush of inexpressible
grandeur — then melts away till you are almost
startled at the silence and look up to see the Falls,
like a green mountain-side streaked with fresh snow-
drifts, slide and shimmer over the precipice.

It may well be conceived with what awe and su-
perstitious dread honest Jesuit Hennepin, following
his Indian guides through the gloom of the forest
primeval, gazed on the dreadful flood, which had
then no garniture of trimmed banks, cleared fields,
snug hotels, and cockney gazabos to alleviate the
natural terror with which man must gaze on a spec-
tacle which conjures up such solemn images of death,
time, and eternity.

No words can describe the Falls ; and Church's
picture, very truthful and wonderful as to form, can-

■•■■r< 1

AT THE FALLS.

not convey an idea of the life of the scene — of the
motion and noise and shifting color which abound
there ill sky and water. I doubt, indeed, if any man
can describe his own sensations very accurately, for
they undergo constant change ; and for my own part
I would say that the effect increases daily, and that
one leaves the scene with more vivid impressions of
its grandeur and beauty than is produced by the first
coup'd'asil.

A gradual approach does not at all diminish the
power of the cataract, and the mind is rather unduly
excited by the aspect of the Styx-like flood — black,
foam-crested, and of great volume, with every indi-
cation of profound depth — which hurries on so
swiftly and so furiously below the road on which you
are travelling, between banks cut down through grim,
dark rock, so sheer that the tops of the upper trees
which take root in the strata can be nearly touched
by the traveller's stick. The idea that the whole of
the great river beneath you has just leaped over a
barrier of rock prepares one's conception for the
greatness of the cataract itself.

In summer time there were wild ducks flying about,
and terns darted up and down the stream. Now it
was deserted and desolate, looking of more inky hue
in contrast with the snow. Close to the boiling cat-
aract the fishermen's tiny barks might then be seen
rocking up and down, or the angler sought the bass
which loves those turbulent depth? ; but no such
signs of human life and industry are visible in winter.

Before Niagara was, odd creatures enough lived
about here, which can now be detected fossilized in
the magnesian limestone. How many myriads of
years it has been eating away its dear heart and
gnawing the rock, let Sir Charles Lyell or Sir Roder-
ick Murchison calculate ; but I am persuaded that
since I saw it some months ago there has been a
change in the aspect of the Horseshoe Fall, and that
it has become more deeply curved. The residents,

CANADA.

■'Ill

however, though admitting the occurrence of changes,
say they are very slow, and tliat no very rapid al-
teration has taken place since the fall of a great par^
of Table Rock some years ago ; but masses of stone
may be washed away every day without their know-
ing it.

One very natural consequence of a visit in the
winter was undeniable — that the Falls were visibly
less : they did not extend so far, and they rolled with
diminished volume. The water did not look so pure,
and incredible icicles and hanging glaciers obscured
the outlines of the rocks, and even intruded on the
watercourse ; whilst the trees above, laden with snow,
stood up like inverted icicles again, and rendered it
difficult to define the boundary between earth, air,
and water.

A noiseless drive brought us to the village. Clif-
ton House was deserted — the windows closed, the
doors fastened. No gay groups disported on the
promenade ; but the bird-stuffer's, the Jew's museum,
the photographer's shed, the Prince's triumphal arch,
were still extant ; and the bazaars, where they sell
views, sea-shells, Indian beadwork and feathers, moc-
casons, stuffed birds, and the like, were open and
anxious for customers. Our party was a godsend;
but the worthy Israelite, who has collected such an
odd museum here, — one, under all the circumstances,
most creditable to his industry and perseverance as
well as liberality, — said that travellers came pretty
often in fine winter weather to look at the cataract.
We walked in our moccasons to the Table Rock, and
thence to the verge of the Falls, and gazed in silence
on the struggling fury of the terrible Rapids, which
seem as if they wrestled with each other like strong
men contending against death, and fighting to the
last till the fatal leap must be made.

The hateful little wooden staircases, which like
black slugs crawl up the precipice from the foot of
the Falls, caught the eyes of my companions ; and

INSIDE THE FALLS.

3en earth, air,

when they were informed that they could go down
in safety and get some way belli nd the Fall itself,
the place was invested with a new charm, and ice,
rheumatism, and the like, were set at defiance. I
knew what it was in summer, and the winter journey
did not seem very tempting ; but there was no alter-
native, and the party returned to the museum to pre-
pare for the descent.

Whilst we were waiting for our water-proof dresses
to go under the Falls, we had an opportunity of sur-
veying the changes produced by winter, and I was
the more persuaded that the effect is not so favorable
as that of summer. The islands are covered with
snow — that which divides the sweep of the cataract
looking unusually large ; the volume of water, dimin-
ished in the front, is also deprived of much of its
impressive force by a decrease in the sound produced
by its fall. The edges of the bank, covered with
glistening slabs of ice, were not tempting to the foot,
and could not be appr ached with the confidence
with which they are trod by one of steady nerves
when the actual brink is visible.

There were some peculiarities, however, worthy of
note ; and in a brighter day, possibly the effect of the
light on the vast ranges of icicles, and on the fan-
tastic shapes into which the snow is cut on the rocks
at the margin of the waters, might be very beautiful.
These rocks now looked like a flock of polar bears,
twined in fantastic attitudes, or extended singly and
in groups by the brink as if watching for their prey.
Above them rose the bank, now smooth and pol-
ished, with a fringe of icicles — some large as church-
steeples; above them, again, the lines of the pine-
trees, draped in white, and looking like church-
steeples too. At one side, near Table Rock, the
icicles were enormous, and now and then one fell
with a hissing noise, and was dashed on the rock
into a thousand gliding ice arrows, or plunged into
the gulf.

CANADA.

By this time our toilette-room was ready, and each
man, taking off' his overcoat, was encased in a tar-
paulin suit with a sou'wester. In this guise we
descended the spiral staircase, which is carried in
a perpendicular wooden column down the face of the
bank near Table Rock, or what remains of it, to the
rugged margin, formed of boulders now more slippery
than glass.

Our guide, a strapping specimen of negro or mu-
latto, in thick solid ungainly boots, planted his splay
feet on them with certainty, and led us by the treach-
erous path down towards the verge of the torrent,
which now seemed sis though it were rushing from
the very heavens. On our left boiled the dreadful
caldron from which the gushing bubbles, as if over-
joyed to escape, lecped up, a.id with glad efferves-
cence rushed from the abyss which plummet never
sounded. On our right towered the sheer precipice
of rock, now overhanging us, and gav lished with
rows of giant teeth-like icicles.

After a slow cautious advance along this doubtful
path, we perceived that the thin edge of the cataract
towards which we were advancing shot out from the
rock, and left a space between its inner surface and
a black shining wall which it was quite possible to
enter. There was no wind, the day was dull and
raw, but the downright rush of the water created
a whirling current of air close to it which almost
whisked away the breath ; and a vapor of snow, fine
sleet, and watery particles careered round the en-
trance to the recess, which no water kelpie would be
venturesome or lonesome enough to select, except in
the height of the season.

On we thus went, more and more slowly and
cautiously, over the polished ice and rock, till at last
we had fairly got behind the cataract, and enjoyed
the pleasure of seeing the solid wall of water falling,
falling, falling, with the grand monotony of eternity,
80 nigh that one fancied he could almost touch it

PHOTOGRAPHS AND BAZAAR.

with his hand. When last I was here, it was pos-
sible to have got as far as a ledge called Termination
Rock ; but the ice had accumulated to such an ex-
tent that the guide declared the attempt to do so
would be impracticable or dangerous, and indeed
where we stood was not particularly safe at the mo-
ment. As I was in the cave, gazing at the down-
poured ruin of waters with a sense of security as
great as that of a trout in a mill-race, an icicle from
the cliff above cracked on the rocks outside, and
threw its fragments inside the passage. I own the
desire I had to get on still further and pierce in be-
hind the cataract, where its volume was denser, was
greater than the gratification I derived from getting
so far. But we had reached our ultima thule^ and,
with many a lingering look, retraced our steps — now
and then halting to contend the better with the gusts
from the falls, which threaten to sweep one from the
ledge. If the foot once slipped, I cannot conceive
a death more rapid : life would die out with the
thought, " I am in the abyss ! " ere a cry could es-
cape.

Whilst returning, another icicle fell near at hand ;
therefore it is my humble opinion that going to Ter-
mination Rock in winter is not safe except in hard
frost, the safer plan being not to go at all. And yet
no one has ever been swept or has slipped in, I be-
lieve, and so there is a new sensation to be had very
easily. The path on our return seemed worse than
it was on our going — a very small slippery ridge
indeed between us and the gulf; but danger there
can be but little. As we emerged from the wooden
pillar, we submitted to a photographer for our por-
traits in water-proof.

Poor man ! In summer he has a harvest, perhaps ;
in winter he gleans his corn with toil and sorrow,
making scenes for stereoscopes. I am not aware that
we omitted anything proper to be done ; for we pur-
chased feather fans — the grifls did — and bead work

' il

CANADA.

m t

and other "mementos of the Falls," which are cer-
tainly not selected for any apposite quality. As if the
Falls needed a bunch of feathers and beads to keep
them in remembrance! Well, many a time has a
lock of hair, a withered flower, the feeblest little atom
of substantial matter, been given as memento ere
now, and done its office well.

As I passed by Clifton House on my return to
the American side, I observed a solitary figure in
a blue overcoat and brass buttons, pacing rapidly
up and down under cover of the veranda. Who
on earth could it be ? It can't be — yes it is —
it is, indeed, our excellent guardian of British cus-
toms rights and revenues — good Mr. . The

kindly old Scotchman stares in surprise when he
hears his name from an unknown passer-by, but in
a moment he remembers our brief acquaintance in
summer time. Every one who knows him would,
I am sure, be glad, with me, to hear that some better

post were got for Mr. in his old age than that

of watching smugglers on the waters of the St.
Lawrer:ce, below Niagara.

After a brief interview, we proceeded on our way,
and continued our explorations. Due honor was
paid to the Rapids, Bath Island, Goat Island, the
Cave of the Winds, Prospect Tower, and all the
water lions of the place, though rain and sleet fell
at intervals all the time when there was no snow.

When the Prince v^as here he laid the last stone
of the obelisk which marks the place where Brock
was killed, in the successful action against the
Americans at Queenstown in 1812. The present
monument to that general is certainly in as good
taste as most British designs of the sort, and seems
but little open to the censure I have heard directed
against it. Its predecessor was so atrociously bad,
that some gentleman of fine feelings in art, who was
probably an American and a Canadian patriot as
\yell, blew it up some years ago.

AMERICAN SIDE OF THE PALLS.

lo snow.

TiTere are not wanting at the present time many
men in Canada of the same stuff as Brock and his
men. It is astonishing to find the easy and univer-
sal conviction prevailing in the minds of Americans,
contrary to their experience, that the conquest of
Canada would be one of the most natural and facile
feats in the world.

Except in their first war, when they displayed
energy and skill in the attack on Quebec, the active
operations of the Republicans in Canada were not
marked by any military excellence, notwithstanding
the very hard fights which took place, but they showed
themselves most formidable opponents when they
were attacked in position.

The Canadian side of the Falls boasts of charming
scenery. Even in the snow, the neat cottages and
houses — the plantations, gardens, and shrubberies —
evince a degree of taste and comfort which were not
so observable on the American side, notwithstanding
the superior activity of the population.

Our observations on our return to the right bank
of the river confirmed my impression concerning the
diminished volume and effect of the cataract. The
ice, formed by spray, hung over the torrent, which,
always more broken and less ponderous than that on
the other side, is in summer very beautiful, by reason
of the immense variety of form and color in the jets
and cascades, and of the ease with which you can
stand, as it were, amid the very waters of Niagara.

The town half populated, — the monster hotel
closed, — the swimming-baths, in which one could
take a plunge into the active rapids safely enclosed
in a perforated room, now fastened up for winter, —
presented a great contrast to the noise and bustle of
the American Niagara in the season. This is the
time when the Indians enable the shopkeepers to
accumulate their stores of bead and feather work ;
and a few squaws, dressed in a curious compromise
between the garments of the civilized female and

M ii

CANADA.

the simpler robes of the " untutored savage," fktted
through the snow from one dealer to another with
their work. In some housed they are regularly em-
ployed all day, and come in from their village in the
morning, and go home at night when their work is
done.

The view of the Rapids from the upper end of
Goat Island is not, to my mind, as fine as that ob-
tained from the island on the British side, higher
up. The sight of that tortured flood, loaded with
its charging lines of " sea-horses," — its surging glis-
tening foam-heaps streaking the wide exi .• \nse which
rolled towards us from a dull leaden horizon, — was
inexpressibly grand and gloomy, and struck me more
forcibly than the aspect of the Rapids had done in
August, when I beheld them in a setting of rich
green landscape and f i >st.

On the whole, I wouia much rather, were I going
to Niagara for the first time, select the Canadian side
for my first view. It would be well never to look at
the Falls, if that were possible, till the traveller could
open his eyes from the remnant of the Table Rock
on the Great Horseshoe ; but curiosity will probably
defeat any purpose of that kind. Still, the Horse-
shoe is grand enough to grow on the spectator day
after day, even if there be some disappointment in
the first aspect. The noise, though it shake the earth
and air, is not of the violent overwhelming character
which might have been expected from its effect on
window-panes and shutters. As the voice of a man
can be heard in the din of battle by those around
him, so can even the low tones of a clear speaker be
distinguished most readily close to the brink of a
cataract, the roar of which at times is very audible,
nevertheless, from twelve to fifteen miles away.

The only dravvback to a sojourn on the Canadian
side is, perhaps, the feeling of irritation or unrest
produced by the ceaseless jar and tumult of the Falls,
which become wellnigh unbearable at night, and

PICTURESQUENESS OF THE FALLS.

yeX one's slumbers with unquiet dreams, in which
water plays a powerful part. The American side is
iiot so much affected in that way. The Horseshoe
presents by far the greatest mass of water ; its rush
is grander — the terrible fathomless gulf into which
it falls is more awe-inspiring than anything on the
American side ; but the latter offers to the visitor
greater variety of color — I had nigh said of sub-
stance — in the water. At its first tremendous blow
on the seething surface of the basin, the column of
water seems to make a great cavern, into which it
plunges bodily, only to come up in myriad millions
of foaming particles, very small, bright, and distinct,
like minute, highly polished shot. These gradually
expand and melt into each other after a wild dance
in the caldroa, which boils and bubbles with its aw-
ful heil-broth forever. In the centre of the Horse-
shoe, which is really more the form of two sides of
an . ^btuse-angled triangle, the water, being of great
deptii, — at least thirty feet where it falls over the
precipice, — is of an azure green, which contrasts
well with the yellow, white, and light emerald colors
of the shallower and more broken portions nearer
the sides.

It would be considered rather presumptuous in
any one to think of improving upon Niagara, but I
cannot help thinking that the efjfect would be in-
creased immensely if the island which divides the
cataract into the Horseshoe and the American Falls,
and the rock which juts up in the latter and sub-
divides it unequally, were removed or did not exist ;
then the river, in one grand front of over one thou-
sand yards, would make its leap en masse. The
American Falls are destitute of the beauty given by
the curve of the leap to the Horseshoe ; they descend
perpendicularly, and are lost in a sea of foam, not
in an abyss of water, but in the wild confusion of
the vast rocks which are piled up below. But they

are still beautiful exceedingly, and there is more va-

i I
p i

■■■ B •'■■(

I
11 1

I!'

CANADA.

riety of scene in the islands, in the passage over the
bridges to Goat Island and to the stone tower, which
has been built amid the very waters of the cataract,
so that one can stand on the outside gallery and look
down upon the Falls beneath.

Goat Island is happily intersected with good drives
and walks, laid out with sufficiently fair taste through
the natural forest, and seats are placed at intervals
for the accommodation of visitors. It is no dispar-
agement to the manner in which the grounds have
been ornamented to say that a good English land-
scape gardener would convert the island into the
gem of the world. The ornamentation need not be
overdone; it should be congruous and in keeping
with the Falls, which nature has embellished with
such infinity of coloring. As it is, the island is much
visited. Strange enough, the softest whispered vows
can be heard amid the thunder of Niagara, and it
is believed that many marriages owe their happy
inspiration to inadvertent walking and talking in
these secluded yet much-haunted groves. Saw-mills,
paper-mills, and manufactories delight the utilitarian
as he gazes4on the Rapids which have so long been
wasting their precious water-power, and it is not un-
likely that a thriving town may grow up to distress-
ing dimensions on the American side of the stream,
at all events.

AMERICAN PREJUDICE.

CHAPTER IV.

Leave Niacara. — Suspension Bridge. — In British Territory. — Hamilton
City. —Buildings. — Proceed Eastward. — Toronto. — Dine at Mess. —
Pay Visits. — Public Edifices. — Sleighs. — Amusement of the Boys. —
Camaraderie in the Army. — Kindlv Feeling displayed. — Journey re-
sumed towards Quebec. — Intense Cold. — Snow l^andscape. — Morning
in the Train. — Hunger and lesser Troubles. — Kingston, its Rise and
military Position; Harbor, Dockyards; Its Connection with the Prince
of Wales's Tour. — The Upper St. Lawrence. — Canada as to Defence.

We left the Falls with regret — the " city of the
Falls " without any painful emotion. The people at
the hotel were perfectly civil and obliging, though
they bore no particular good-will, perhaps, to one
whom they had been taught to regard as the bitter
enemy and traducer of their country and their cause.

Our guide seemed to pity us for our folly in
going to such a place as Canada, when we could,
if we liked, stay in an American hotel in the States.
He assured us it was "only fit for Irish, French-
men, and free niggers." The true American of this
type is perpaps the most prejudiced man in the
world, not even excepting the old type of the British
farmer, or men of the Sibthorp epoch. His convic-
tion of his immense superiority is founded on the
readiness with which others flock to serve him. By
their service he becomes a sort of aristocrat in regard
to all immigrants, and can live without having re-
course to any menial office or duty. I presume our
hairy friend never brushed his boots in his life, and
would sooner wear them dirty forever than stoop
to the unwonted task. At last came our time to
depart.

Our sleighs glided smoothly down to the railway
station at the Clifton, where the train was waiting
to take us over the Suspension Lridge. That struct-

CANADA.

ure is, I fear, too beautiful to last. It requires a
good deal of coolness and custom to look down
from it on the fearful flood of the river rolling be-
low, and mark the vibration as a heavy train passes
over it. Then, too, there is the influence of cold on
iron to be considered, the effects of tension, and the
like : all have been duly provided for ; and yet the
bridge looks very light and very graceful, and let us
hope it may be very strong and very lasting.

In five minutes we were in British territory. The
first palpable and outward sign of the fact was an
examination of our luggage by the customs officers
at a station a few miles from the frontier, during
which, or by which, one of the party lost a hat and
its iifuardian box. The examination was rendered
as little irksome as possible by the civility of the
officials ; and it made me quite happy to see the
crowns on their brass buttons, degraded British sub-
ject as I was. One burly fellow congratulated me
on " escaping alive out of the hands of the Yankees,
— he would not have given a cent for my Rfe for
the last six months."

Our journey was not so much impeded by snow
as we expected. It is forty-three miles from Niagara
to the rising city of Hamilton, and we were little
more than one hour and a quarter in doing the dis-
tance. All I am aware of is that on our way we
passed through vast snow - fields, by the mineral
waters of St. Catherine's, the frozen canal, and that
we caught glimpses on our right of the blue expanse
of Lake Ontario.

The first sight of Hamilton caused a rapid change
in my mind respecting the condition of Canada, and
a most agreeable feeling of surprise. It was evident
the Americans were not justified in their affected de-
preciation of the Provinces, if they contained such
towns as these. Despite the unfavorable circum-
stances under which it was visited, the city presented
an appearance of comfort and prosperity which even

HAMILTON.

a democratic people might envy, and which scarcely
justified the corporation in refusing, as I hear they
do, to rely on local sources for liquidation of certain
claims against them.

Fine-looking streets, a forest of spires, important
public buildings, did no discredit to the old standard
which floated over the Custom-house near the sta-
tion. And yet it was not possible to help remarking
that the passengers in the train were reading Ameri-
can, not Canadian, newspapers. They were enjoying
the fruits of American piracy in their more serious
studies. The literary thefts of the sanctimonious
Harpers, who play forever on the moods and tenses
of the verb to steal, were in the hands of all the
people who were reading books.

Not alone the British flag did we see at Hamilton,
but the British soldier ; for at the doorway of the
hotel were two well-known faces. A battalion of
the Rifle Brigade was expected every moment, and
two ofl[icers had been sent on to provide for their re-
ception, as there were no barracks to receive the
force, and they were hunting up house-owners to let
their premises on the instant. It may be imagined
that house-owners take a favorable view for them-
selves of the value of property thus suddenly in re-
quest; and the officers were proportionately indig-
nant with those griping Canadians, as if they would
have met different treatment from English colonists
anywhere.

Hamilton is a city of some 20,000 inhabitants.
It is on a bay (Burlington), which runs in at the
west of Lake Ontario north of the peninsula formed
by the lake, by the St. Lawrence, by Lake Erie, and
by the river falling into Erie at Maitland. It is on
the rail between the west from Detroit and London,
the southeast from the States, and the east from
Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec. In event of war
it is exposed to an attack by any American gunboat
from the harbors on the south shore of Lake Ontario,

iii i

a?! -

I'^i

CANADA.

and yet, to the best of my belief, it is utterly desti-
tute of defence, and has not even a martello tower
for its protection.

The name is not fifty years old, Pnd twenty years
ago Hamilton had less than 4000 inhabitants. Its
growth bears no comparison with that of some Amer-
ican cities, but it is still very remarkable, and its
wealth, importance, and defencelessness are quite
sufficient to make it an object of attack. The houses
are built of stone. Banks, hotels, manufactories,
churches — well constructed and handsome — give
proof of the prosperity of the community ; and the
residence there of Sir Alan MacNab, who lived some-
where in the vicinity in a bran new mediaeval castle,
should be some guaranty for their loyalty. Indeed,
I was told that in no place had the Prince a more
gratifying or enthusiastic reception.

But men without discipline, organization, or defen-
sive works can do but little against gunboats. It is
true that Hamilton would not be of much service to
the enemy, as it would not command the communi-
cations ; but its possession by them would be very
embarrassing, and its destruction, for lack of means
to defend it, would be very discreditable. The pop-
ulation ought to yield at least 4000 able-bodied men
for local service ; and a casemated work, armed with
powerful guns, could keep a mere mtschief-seeking
gunboat at proper distance, and save the place from
destruction or injury.

Our halt at Hamilton was brief, and soon we were
on our way eastwards once more, skirting the shores
of the lake, fenced in by a monotonous line of snow-
laden fir-trees and palings. The people who got in
and out at the stations were of a different race from
the Americans — stouter and ruddier of hue, and
many of them spoke with a Scotch or Irish accent,
the former predominating. They did not talk much
about anything but the weather, and did not give
themselves concern about anything except the winter

TORONTO.

and its prospects, having made up their minds long
ago that there was to be no fight between England
and the United States.

Just iXii it became dusk we reached Toronto, hav-
ing accomplished the thirty-eight miles in two hours;
but late as it was, we could make out the |)icturesque
outlines of a large city. Close to the station a line
of sleighs, and a mass of well-dressed people drawn
up by the margin of a sheet of ice, on which a skated
crowd were whirling about, gave an air of gayety to
the place.

A sharp smart sleigh-drive, and we were at the
comfortable hotel called Rossin House, where an in-
vitation from the officers of Her Majesty's 30th to
dinner was awaiting us. They were quartered in a
substantial old-fashioned barrack on the shore of
Lake Ontario, some distance outside the city. The
barracks are surrounded by an earthen parapet, pro-
vided with traverses and embrasures, and there is a
very quaint and fantastic earthen redoubt on the
beach, but any ordinary vessel of war could lay the
whole establishment in ruins with perfect impunity
in half an hour.

The mess-table was surrounded by an unusual
number of old Crimean oflficers, and I was glad to
find the fears I had entertained, that the inducements
offered by the Americans to soldiers to desert, had
not as yet given any considerable increase to the ten-
dency in that direction, which causes such anxiety
to regimental officers stationed near the frontier.
Whilst I remained at Toronto, I dined daily at the
same hospitable board.

A snapping fierce wind, laden with icy arrows, set
in the day after our arrival. In the afternoon, how-
ever, I sleighed out and visited the bishop, one of the
most lively, agreeable men conceivable, of the age
of ninety or thereabouts ; Mr. Brown, who is one of
the powers of the State, and the editor and owner of
the ablest paper in West Canada ; the mayor, and
other Torontians of eminence.

"i'

■M

'I •

' 'i

CANADA.

The city is so very surprising in the extent and
excellence of its public edifices, that I was fain to
write to an American friend at New York to come
lip and admire what had been done in architecture
under a monarchy, if he wished to appreciate the
horrible state of that branch of the fine arts under his
democracy. Churches, cathedrals, market, post-office,
colleges, schools, mechanics' institute, rise in impe-
rial dignity over the city ; but there was a visible
deterioration in the beer and billiard saloons, and the
drinking exchanges. The shops are large, and well
furnished with goods, and trade even now is brisk
enough, considering the time of the year. All this
is within an enemy's grasp, and more, than this, the
command of the railway east and west.

In this winter time the streets are filled with
sleighs, and the air is gay with the carolling of their
bells. Some of these vehicles are exceedingly ele-
gant in form and finish, and are provided with very
expensive furs, not only for the use of the occupants,
but formere display. The horses are small, spirited
animals, of no great pretension to beauty or breed-
ing. The people in the streets were well dressed,
comfortable-looking, well-to-do, — not so tall as the
people in New York, but stouter and more sturdy-
looking. Their winter brings no discomfort; for fuel
is abundant and not dear, and when the wind is not
blowing high, the weather is very agreeable.

Here, again, I observed that the young people
have a curious custom of going about with small
sleighs, which are, to the best of my belief, called
" tarboggins," though I did not see them indulge in
the practice by which the youth of New York vex
and fret the drivers of all vehicles in sleighing-time.
I have been amused by observing the urchins in the
Empire City prowling about with these primitive
sleighs, watching for an opportunity to exercise their
talents. Fortunate it is for the British coachman
that the youth of the-^e islands are not acquainted

TARBOr.QININO.

with this pleasing mode of locomotion. Onr omni-
buses, hfiviiig a conductor beliind, would be b(»tt(T
defended thjin the American vehicles, which havi? no
such protection ; but the four-wheeled cabn would
fall a helpless prey into their hands.

The sport is carried on in this wise : the youths
take their tarboggin or sleigh, — a flat piece of board
four feet long, with or without runners, will do;
through a hole at one end is attached a piece of
cord. The boys watch their opportunity, and when
a v<?hicle passes, noiselessly on the snow they run
out, slip the cord over the iron or any projection of
the carriage behind, and, holding the end fast, throw
themselves down on their sleigh, which is dragged
along by the vehicle ; and if cabby should arise in
his wrath, in an instant the end of the cord is let go,
and the young navigator, starting to his feet, runs
off with his instrument of torture in search of a new
victim. It adds much to this entertainment for one
boy to catch hold of the leg or the sleigh of another
boy, so that a string of four or five youths may be
seen in full enjoyment of the recreation. Bless them !
If I had not seen them following this sport, I should
have fairly doubted if there were any boys in the
United States.

If there was not all the cordiality which could be
desired between the natives and the military, no fault
could be found with the full measure of hospitality
dealt out to their own countrymen by the officers of
the garrison. Removed from the stifli'ness of home
stations, the genial, kindly character of our young
soldiers expatiates, in despite of middling cookery and
colonial wines, and keeps open house for friends on
foreign service. When sleighing for the day is over,
and the skating party has come to an end, it is hard
indeed for poor Jones to think of anything more than
his dinner ; but if he made the most of his opportu-
nities, he might write a book in the solitude of his
barrack, as those famous prisoners have done whose

(

f i'

CANADA.

brains have conceived and brought forth such brill*
iant works in the darkness of the Tower.

The snows are wellnigh as binding and environ-
ing for a third of the year in bad seasons, and no
doubt something would come of it all, but that
the officer has his duties to attend to, and cannot
escape from Private lOOO's stoppages, grievances, or
failings. Now, it is no easy matter indeed for British
officers to be very great friends in the same regiment.
Of course you will find Pylades and Orestes there ;
but you may be sure, if you do, they are men who
have no clashing interests, no contest of purses, no
conflicting views about leave or steps. It is to me
quite wonderful, all things considered, how bravely
the natural kindliness of our officers contends against
a system which, with all its advantages, creates a
source of rivalry and jealousy not known in other
services.

In a promotion-by-seniority service there can of
course be no feeling against a man on the part of his
juniors because he happens to be older ; but no one
can well brook the greater fortune which depends on
the command of money, — though he may be willing
to seize on it, if he can, by the same means, — in the
case of his own juniors. I do not speak without
some small knowledge when I say that there is a
much larger amount of camarnderie in our service
than ought to be found in it, but that there is much
less than exists in some other armies. The French
officer is jealous of the man promoted by merit, for
the declaration of that superiority is a tacit censure
on himself, and he is also prone to take umbrage at
the good fortune of the immortels of the mat major ;
but he has little ground for antipathy to any of h«s
own set, as regards social position or military rank
in the corps.

Our strong love of field-sports also tends to create
small difficulties when at home, from which spring
other causes of estrangement. One man, for in-

IjlJllh;

TORONTO.

stance, waYits to get to the spring-meeting when
another is burning for the spring-fishing — shooting-
leaves and hunting-leaves clash together, though in
no army in the world is there such a liberal system
of furlough as in our own. These causes do not
operate in Canada, where there is now, in fact, but
little sport of any kind within easy distances. Moose
shooting in snow is slow work, and for other game
the sportsman must wander far and wide. But when
the table is set, and the full tide of conversation flows,
what a cheery group of warriors, young and old, may
be seen in Canadian quarters! They have had
sleighing parties and skating adventures, and alto-
gether have got over the day somehow, and are pre-
pared to look pleasantly on the world, albeit the snow
is two feet deep over it.

As to the position aft'orded by the buildings in these
particular old barracks in Toronto, no more uncom-
fortable place could well be imagined in face of an
enemy. The defences are so ludicrous that a Chinese
engineer would despise them. Certainly, we have no
right to laugh at Americans, or to hold their works
in petto, if we take one glance at the fortifications of
Toronto ; and yet, as will be seen, it is a place of
the very greatest importance.

My stay here would have been longer, perhaps,
but that 1 was informed of a very kindly intention
on the part of the people which 1 did not desire to
have carried out, at all events under the existing cir-
cumstances — being in hopes that a future opportu-
nity would occur of proving that I was not inditler-
ent to the good feeling and very ilattering sentiments
of the gemiemen who had conuncnced the movement
towards myself; and so, in the; sure ho|)e that I would
be back in Toronto ere 1 left America, I bade my
good friends good-by, never, as it prov(?s, in all likeli-
hood to see them again, and, in the midst of a snow-
fall, resumed my journey with my companions
towards Quebec.

^llli

1 Wh-

1 Tr'

!«l«.

4 • ■k-

U mS

CANADA.

After undergoing a year of obloquy, ill-looks, slan-
der, and popular disfavor in a great country, it was
very pleasant to meet with such marks of good-will
and kindness from one's countrymen ::nd fellow-
subjects on the same continent ; and it was quite as
gratifying to know that such feelings were entertained
by them, as it would have been to receive the out-
ward token of their existence, which alone would have
contented my friends.

The evening on which I left Toronto was intensely
cold. Never for a moment had the snow and frost
relented, and a wind of piercing keenness swept up
the frozen dust in thick clouds, which penetrated
every chink. The railway officials did their best for
us, and the stove in the carriage was poked up, to
excessive energy ; but the heat of these calorifiers is
worse than cold itself.

Our way lay through a snow-field bordered by
snow-hills, or by the stiff cones of snow-covered firs.
Our fellow-passengers were big men in fur-coats and
thick boots, who were given to silence and sleep.
Slowly the train creaked through the soft barrier
which so gently yet stiffly opposed the tramp of the
iron horse. The landscape was simply nothing to see.
It looked as if one were going forever through - a
vast array of newly washed sheets spread over the
whole country. Darkness fell suddenly out of the
skies on the whiteness, but still could not darken it.
The whiteness shone through the depths of night,
and flashed out in streaks of dazzling light, as the
flare of the engine-fires and of the lamps shot out
over the surface. And so it came to pass that at last
we went to sleep, gathering up rug and great-coat and
wrapper into vast mounds, from which issued many
a spiritus asper and susurrous sounds for the livelong
nighu

On waking up it seemed as though day had just
dawned, but the watch said it was nearly eight
o'clock. A cold white light, filled with rime, bat-

FOUL AIR.

tied through the frost on the windows of the carriage,
which was spread over the glass like beautiful damas-
cened white table-cloths. Scraping away a lovely-
trellis pattern with my nail, I opened a space of clear
transparent ocean in the ice-sea, and was rewarded
for my pains by a view of a cloud of snow which had
been falling all night, and now rested deep on the
ground, and turned the pines and firs bounding the
line of rail into ragged white tumuli.

The train still creaked and bumped now and then
over the snow, squeaked, puffed, and grated, and at
last came to a standstill, again wert on, and again
halted. At last we reached a station. Seven hours
behind time ! A sensation of hunger by no means
slight fell upon us. Frost is an appetizer of un-
doubted merit. We had neglected laying in a viati-
cum. More prudent and accustomed travellers pro-
duced flasks and brown-paper parcels, and all the
wonderful things which Americans consume on the
voyage. Let me not be fastidious, however; for
after a time I envied meii. vvho were discussing pleas-
antly fragments of unseemly cakes, spice-nuts, and
brandy-balls for breakfast.

My companions prowled up and down the horrid
car, reeking with the stove-drawn odors of many
bodies during the night — they sought food like young
lions. Pah ! what an atmosphere it was ! — all win-
dows closed by reason of cold intense outside, the
hateful stoves, one in the centre of the car, and one at
each end, heated almost to redness, surrounded by
men who crowded up, and thewed tobacco, and
smote the iron surface with hissing burnt-sienna-
colored jets y — frowsty, fusty, and muggy exceed-
ingly. There was a deposit of train-oil, — a hot
humanized dew all over us. And water, there was
none to wash with. So I applied a handful of snow
gathered on the carriage platform to my face and
handi in lieu thereof, and got back to my seat just
as A n returned from some distant part of the

i '

lltt

CANADA.

\ :

It ■»

ii ^:

train with hands full of apples. They were delicious,
and with three or four of them, and a few cigars, we
mi.i.aged to construct a charming breakfast.

It was so dark when the train reached Kingston,
that we could see nothing more than the outlines
of the station. I was exceedingly anxious to visit a
place of so much importance historically, commer-
cially, and strategically, and fully intended to remain
there for some days on my return to Toronto ; but
the Fates ordained that it was not to be, and all my
personal knowledge of Kingston was derived from
that glimpse in the dark of the railway terminus,
and certain steeples and spires rising above the snow.
But the position of the city confers upon it a very
high place on the list of military posts for the defence
of Canada, and some considerations connected with
it will be discussed hereafter.

Politically Kingston has become a dead body since
1844, when its short-lived career as the capital and
seat of government was cut short. The military
genius of the French occupants in early days, in seiz-
ing on the best positions for, the defence and main-
tenance of their conquest, is shown still, by the fact
that our forts occupy the sites of those which were
originally constructed by them. More than a hun-
dred years before there was any trace of a city at
Kingston, or any building save the wigwam of the
Indian or the log-huts of the soldiery, the Count de
Frontenac built a fort in communication with the
great system, from the St. Lawrence to the Ohio, of
the French strongholds, which was destined to
extend to the Mississippi, and to enclose the trouble-
some English Colonies within stringent limits.
When this fort was captured by Colonel Bradstreet
in 1756, the French had only established a kind of
military colony and a very insignificant trading-post
round the fort. In little more than twenty years
subsequently the present town was founded ; and in
the war with America the place became of very
great consequence.

KINGSTON.

It is a fact curious enough, and worthy of some
consideration, that the great war in the middle of the
last century, which ended in the loss to France of her
hopes of Indian influence and of empire, and in the
seizure of her American Colonies by Great Britain,
should have, according to the best of American
statesmen and philosophical reasoners, led also to the
establishment of the United States, and the founda-
tion of the greatest Republic the world has ever seen.

Kingston commands the entrance to the Rideau
Canal, one of the principal means of communication
between Lake Ontario and the interior of the country,
forming an admirable connection between the Ottawa
River and Lake Ontario : it is, in fact, the most im-
portant means of inland intercourse, because the
difficulties in the way of an enemy are very con-
siderable, either in a direct attacl^ upon Kingston, if
properly fortified, or in a flank movement against it
from the interior.

The canal is brought into working order with the
Grand Trunk Railway ; so that if the Americans, our
only possible enemy, were to make demonstrations
against our frontier and our lines, with a view of in-
tercepting our supplief and internal relations between
the east and west of the province, it would be easy to
disembark men and munitions at Kingston Mills and
forward them by railway. Kingston, again, is an ex-
cellent point of observation, and with proper defences
and aggressive resources, ought to command Lake
Ontario and the entrance from the St. Lawrence.
An adequate force stationed there, with a proper
flotilla, could effiectuaUy keep in check any hostile
demonstration from Cape Vincent, Sacket's Harbor,
or the other posts from Oswego to the western ex-
tremity of iJake Ontario.

The harbor is said to be excellent ; there is a dock-
yard, which could be rendered capable of doing most
of the work required for our light gunboats ; and
with the additions pointed out and urged by our en-

ii^

III

CANADA.

gineer officers to the existing fortifications, Kingston
could be made a position of as much military strength
as it undoubtedly now is of strategical importance.

Between Toronto and Kingston there are, however,
Port Hope, Coburg, and Belville on the line of rail-
way, all of which present facilities for the landing of
an enemy : at any one of these points a hostile oc-
cupation would cut the regular communications at
once ; and indeed it is very much to be regretted, in
a military point of view, that engineering, commer-
cial, or other considerations caused the makers of the
Grand Trunk Railway to run the line close to the
shores of a great inland sea, the opposite side of which
belongs to a foreign country which has from time to
time announced (if not through the lips of statesmen,
by the popular voice) that the conquest of Canada is
a fixed- principle in its policy.

The Americans, whether by accident or design,
have constructed the New York Central, which runs
along the south coast, at a distance of many miles
from Lake Ontario, but cross-lines connect it with
the principal ports upon the lake, from Buffalo to
Sandusky ; their line runs tolerably close to the shore
of Lake Erie higher up, but there is no position on
that lake which has to fear the aggression of such a
force as could be collected at Kingston.

Perhaps to the generality of people in England,
Kingbtcii was first made known by the unpleasant
incidence which compelled the Prince of Wales to
pass it unvisited, or rather to remain on board the
steamer. No doubt the Orangemen are now very
sorry for what they did, and, in fact, feel that they
were led by the fanaticism or the desire for notoriety
of some small local leaders to make themselves very
ridiculous and offensive. The zeal of the^e Defenders
of the Faith was no doubt stimulated by the presence
of a large number of Irish Roman Catholics, who are
at least as violent as their opponents.

The French Canadians, with just as much fidelity

war;

THE RAILWAY LINES.

to their faith, do not enter into the violent polemical,
political, and miscalled religions controversies which
led to such an unseemly result at Kingston ; and cer-
tainly, it is much to be regretted that the peculiar in-
fluence of American institutions, which checks any
attempt of religious parties to disturb the public peace
or social relations for their own purposes and for the
gratification of pride or lust of power, cannot be ex-
tended to the provinces and to the British Possessions,
where they work such prodigious mischief.

From Kingston the line winds along the shore of
the great lake - like river, studded with a thousand
islands. Here, again, the Americans would possess
considerable advantage in case of war, as their main
line is far inland, but branch-lines from it lead to
Cape Vincent and Ogdensburgh, at right-angles to
our line of communication. The American water-
boundary, I believe, passes outside a considerable
number of the more important islands ; but the power
which possesses naval supi;emacy on Lake Ontario
will probably find the means of commanding the
Upper St. Lawrence, no matter which belligerent
establishes himself on the islands.

T»3 Canadians with whom I conversed in the
train declared they were quite ready to defend their
country in case of invasion, but did not understand,
they said, being taken away to distant points to fight
for the homes of others. It seemed quite clear to
them that the United States would only invade
Canada to humiliate and weaken the mother-country,
and that the general defence of the province ought to
devolve on the power whose policy had led to the
war ; whilst the inhabitants should be ready to ^ive
the imperial troops every assistance in the localities
where they are actually resident.

CANAD.i.

CHAPTER V.

i- r

;i ■

't ■ '

'If

ill

II In

Arrive at Cornwall. —The St. T.awrence. — Gossip on India. — Aspect of
the Country. — Montreal. —The St. Lawrence Hall Hotel. — Story of
a Guardsman. — Uumside. — Dinner. — Refuse a Banquet. — Flapfs. —
Climate. — Snlon-a-mnnger. — (^ontrast of Amoricans and English. —
Sleif^hs. — The "Driving Club." — The Victoria Ilridge. — Unea.sy
Feeling. — Monument to Irish Emigrants. — Irish Character. — Montreal
and New York. — The Rink. — .Sir F. Williams. — Intluence of the
Northerners.

It was noon ere we reached Cornwall, a place
some seven^' mijea from Montreal, where a rough
restaurant a, 13 . ation enabled us to make a sup-
plement to tht velicj'^'. cies of our simple repast. The
people who poured in cind out of the train here were
fine rough-looking fellows, with big, broad, sallow
faces and large beards, wrapped up in furs, wearing
great long boots, — men of a new type. Several of
them were speaking in French; but the literature
which travelled along with us was American, mostly
New York, in the matter of periodicals : it was of
course English, and pirated, in the most substantial
forms. The frost still clung to the outside of the
windows ; inside, the foliage and broad tracery of
leaves, and cathedral-aisles, and plumes of knight
and lady, tumbled down in big drops, and by degrees
the sun cleared away the crust on one side, so that
we could look out on the flat expanse of snow-covered
forest.

On our right, now and then glimpses could be
caught of a pale blue ribbon-like streak across the
dazzling white plain. " That 's the St. Lawrence
you see there. Pitty it 's friz up so long. We
would n't envy the Yankees anything they've got to
show us if we had a port open all the year," quoth an
honest Canadian beside me. For the first time I
Began to feel sympathy for a country that " can't get

ASPECT OF TUE COUNTRY.

ont" for five mortal months, and that breathes
through another man's nostrils and mouth. A hor-
rible semi-suffocated sort of existence. No wonder
the Canadians look longingly wer at that bit of land,
which Lord Ashburton yielded to the United States
and the State of Maine.

A n and I, by way of counteracting the influ-
ence of the atmosphere and external scenery, ialked
of India. Some poor creatures half the world's girth
away, whom we were speaking of at that moment,
would have given a good deal for some of the despised
ice and snow around us, groaning no doubt under
that sun which even in February knows no coolness
in Central India in mid-day. How oddly things turn
up ! I had ever firmly believed that a young soldier
friend of mine had slain many enemies in that great
rebellion, and had, Achilles-like, sent many so'^'s of
sepoys to Hades, and so in that faith speaking, s. \-

denly I was interrupted by A n. " What -^re vv>a

talking of? He kill so many budmashes at Nulla-
NuUah ! Why, I don't believe he ever fired a shot or
made a cut at a nigger in his life." Mi/ fierce little
friend had done both, and many a time and ft. And
so, as he knew, away went a reputation, within thirty
miles of Montreal ; thermometer 10.^

Hereabouts were seen many snug homesteads ris-
ing up through the snow, with farm-houses, and out-
houses — all clad in the same livery. The country
looked well cleared and settled ; sleighs glided over
the surface, and were drawn up at the stations to
carry passengers and luggage. Anon we came upon
a great frozen river, and crossed it by a series of
arches too great for a bridge ; but this was neverthe-
less the Ottawa itself rolling away under its ice
coat, as the blood flows through an artery, to rush
unseen into the cold embrace of the St. Lawrence.
These two great bridges must be worth visiting
when they can be seen in the full exercise of their
functions. The river forms an island here which the
ice now continentalizes.

CANADA.

1 1:

! .

About four o'clock, very much as land looms up in
the ocean, we saw the dark mass of Montreal rising
up in contrast to the whitened Mountain at the foot
•of which it lies; the masts of vessels frozen in, and
funnels of steamers, mingled with steeples and
domes ; and as the sun struck the windows a thou-
sand flashes of glowmg red darted back upon us.
Then the train ran past a " marine factory," what-
ever that may be, and a suburb of stone and wooden
houses intermixed, and a population of children
whose faces looked preternaturally pale, perhaps from
the reflection of the snow, and of women in pork-pie
hats with tL'ck veils over their faces, and of men,
mostly smoking, in great fur coats and boots ; and at
last the train reached the terminus, where a great
concourse of sleigh-drivers, who spoke as though
they had that moment left Kingstown jetty, Ireland,
claimed our body and property. These were promptly
routed by the staff" of the St. Lawrence Hall, who
carried off our party to an omnibus without wheels,
which finally bore us off to the hotel so called.

The soldiers about the streets were all comfortably
clad in dark overcoats, fur caps with flaps for the
ears, and long boots ; but the dress takes from their
height, and does not conduce to a smart soldier-like
appearance.

The streets through which we passed were lined
with well-built lofty houses. It might scarce be
fancy which made me think that Montreal was better
built than American cities of the same size. In the
great cold hall of the hotel there was excessive
activity : befurred officers of the regiments sent to
Canada during the Trent difficulty, before Mr. Sew-
ard had made up his mind and persuaded the Presi-
dent to give up the Southern envoys, were coming
in, going out, or were congregated in the passage.
Orderlies went to and fro with despatches and office
papers. In fact the general-in-chief, Sir Fenwick
Williams of Kars, and staff, the comnianding officer

W -'.•'

TABLE-D'HOTE.

of the Guards, Lord G. Paulet, and staff, were
quartered here, and carried on their office business ;
and the Commissary-General, Power, and the Prin-
cipal Medical Officer, Dr. Muir, were also lodging in
the hotel, with a host of combatant officers of infe-
rior grade.

There was no rush to the table-cVholej after the
American fashion, but the dinner itself was very
much in the American style. I was much amused
at the distress of a Guardsman who made his ap-
pearance at the doorway during dinner, with a letter
in his hand for one of the officers. He halted stiffly
at the threshold, and stood staring at the brilliancy
of the splendid ormolu ornaments, and the array of
lacquered chandeliers and covers. In vain the wait-
ers pointed out to him the officer he sought; he
would not intrude on the gorgeous scene, nor would
he trust his missive to another hand. At last, after
gazing in a desperate manner on space, and balanc-
ing from one leg to another, he took a maddening
resolve, put his hand to his cap, held the other out
with the letter in it as his dumb apology and in mit-
igation of punishment, and marching straight to his
mark, trampling crowds of waiters in his way, only
halted when he came up to the table he sought,
where, with eyeballs starting, he put the missive to
the level of the captain's nose, saluted, and ejacu-
lated, " By order of Colonel Jones, sir." — " All right."
With a wheel round and a salute, the perturbed
warrior countermarched and escaped into the pro-
saic outward world. A Frenchman would have
come in with the most perfect self-possession, and
possibly with some little grace. An American would
probably have turned his chew, have addressed some
remarks to the waiters on his way, have given the
captain a tap on the back or a nudge of the elbow,
and would rather have expected a drink. And
which of the three, after all, is to be preferred ?

I me; a whole regiment of men I knew, and after

CANADA.

*. .

«;

dinner adjourned with some of them to my rooms.
They all growled of course, found fault with Canada
and abused the Government, and seemed to think it
ought not to snow in winter.

I received a most interesting letter from a friend
of mine with the Burnside expedition, which revealed
as large an amount of bad management as could
well be conceived. Burnside, personally, has enough
ingenuity, but is quite wanting in self-reliance, pres-
ence of mind, and vigor. The expedition from
which so much was expected did more than might
have been thought possible at one time under the
circumstances.

A telegram from Toronto informed me that it was
in contemplation to invite me to a public banquet,
and desired me to state my wishes. Very much as
I appreciated such an honor from my countrymen
and fellow-subjects, it was inconsistent, as I con-
ceived, with my position, as it certainly was with my
sense of the merits attributed to me, to accept the
very great compliment offered to me. It came all
the more agreeably as it was in such contrast to the
manner in which I had been received in the United
States for the last few months ; and it touched me
very sensibly, more than ray friends at Toronto could
have imagined.

A n came in rather wroth abovit a matter of

flags. He had been to see some Frenchmen, whether
real or true Zouaves of the Crimea I know not, who
gave out on tremendous posters that they were the
identical children of the Beni Zoug Zoug, who had
acted before us all in that theatre on the Woronzow
Road once so charming and well filled ; and he had
been seized with indignation because they, in that
Canadian city, under the British flag, had dared to
perform under the folds of the tricolor, and the Stars
and Stripes of the United States. I explained that
the British flag was metaphorically and properly
supposed to float above both ; all which much com-

ENGLISH AND AMERICANS.

fortcd him, and so to bed — cold enough, in despite
of stoves and open fire. The servants here are Irish
men and womrn, with a sprinkling of free negroes.

Next day the weather was not at all warmer. In
winter tinn; the cold is by no means unbearable in
this Canadian clime, when one is well furred and
clad ; to the poor it must be very trying, for furs and
fuel are dear, and ( ven clothing of an ordinary kind
is not cheap. The emigrant, in his rude log-hut
open in many chinks, must shrink and shiver and
suH'er in the blast. What do they, who follow, not
owe to the hardy explorer who has opened up wood
and mountain, and laid down paths on the sea for
them ?

A thick haze had now settled down on all things,
a cold freezing rime, which clung and crept to one,
and almost sat down on the very hearth. Descend-
ing the stairs, which were in a transition state and
in the hands of carpenters, to the long salon-d-
manger^ I found the tables well filled by guards-
men, riflemen, and members of the stafi', miLitciry
and civil, who gave the place the air of a mess-room
under disorderly circumstances.

I had before this seen many such rooms in Ameri-
can hotels in cities filled with soldiery, and I am
bound to say the difference between the two sets of
men was remarkable. The noise, gayety, and life of
these grave English were exuberant when compared
to the silence of American gatherings of the same
kind, which are, indeed, disturbed by the clatter of
plates and dishes, and the horrible squeaking of
chair-legs over the polished floors, but otherwise are
quiet enough. Here, men laughed out, talked loud,
shouted to the waiters, aired their lungs in occa-
sional scoldings and objurgations, having reference
to chops aid steaky and tardy-coming dishes; " old-
fellowed" ti.(3ir friends; asked or told the news. I
don't know that the Englishmen were better look-
ing, taller, or in any physical way had the advantage

iii'l'

CANADA.

1^ %

of the men of the continent, except in ruddier cheeks
perhaps, and in frames better provided with cellular
tissue ; but the distinction of style and manner was
marked.

The Americans usually came into the salon singly,
each man, with a bundle of newspapers under his
arm, took a seat at a vacant table, ordered a prodig-
ious repast, which he gobbled in haste, as though
he was afraid of losing a train, and then rushed off
to the bar or smoked in the passages, never sitting
for a moment after his breakfast. The Ensflishmen

came in little knots or groups, exhibited no great
anxiety about newspapers, ordered simple and sub-
stantial feasts, enjoyed them at their ease, chattered
much, and were in no particular hurry to leave the
table. The taciturnity of the American was not
"well-Dred, nor was the good humor of the Briton
vulgar. It may be said the comparison is not just,
because the Americans were engaged in a fearful
war, which engrossed all their thoughts ; whilst the
English officer was merely sent out on a tour of
duty. But in the bar-room, restaurants^ or streets,
the American did not maintain the same aspect : he
put on what is called a swaggering air, and was not
at all disposed to let his shoulder-straps or his sword
escape notice.

The good people at home would have been greatly
surprised to hear the way in which the officers spoke
of their exile to the snows of Canada ; but though
they growled and grumbled when breakfast was
over, probably till dinner-time, they would have
fought all the better for it. Indeed there was not
much else to do.

The streets were piled with snow; and at the
front of the hotel, sleighs, driven by Irishmen, such
as are seen managing the Dublin hacks, wrapped up
in fur and sheepskins, were drawn up waiting for
fares, to the constant jingle of the bells, which en-
livened the air. It was too early and too raw and

SLEIGHING AND DRIVING.

cold for many of the ladies of Montreal to trust
their complexions to the cruelties of the climate,
thickly veiled though they might be ; but now and
then a sleigh slid by with a bright-eyed freight half-
buried in fourrures^ and some handsome private
vehicles of this description reached in their way as
high a point of richness and elegance as could well
be conceived. The horses were rarely of correspond-
ing quality. The guardsmen and other soldiers,
" red " and " green," strode about in cold defiant
boots, and seemed to like the town and climate
better than their officers. Mr. Blackwell, the amia-
ble and accomplished chief of the Grand Trunk
Railway, called for me, and drove me out to an early
dinner.

It was a matter of some ceremony to set forth ; a
fur cap with flaps secured over the ears and under
the chin, a large fur cloak, and a pair of moccasons
for the feet, had to be put on ; and then we clomb
the sides of the boat-like sleigh, and started off at a
rapid pace, which produced a sea-sick sensation —
at least what I am told is like it — in very rough
places where the runners of the sleighs have cut into
the snow. On our way we were rejoiced by the
sight of the " Driving Club " going out for an ex-
cursion. Sir Fenwick Williams leading. All one
could sc«, however, was a certain looming up of dark
forms through the drift gliding along to the music of
the bells, which followed one after the other, and were
lost in the hazy yet glittering clouds tossed up by the
horses' hoofs from the snow. In the afternoon the
rime passed off, and the day became clearer, but no
warmer.

At about three o'clock, we sleighed over by rough
roads to the terminus of the railway, close to the
Victoria Bridge, where a party of the directors and
some officers — Colonel Mackensie, Colonel Weth-
erall. Colonels Ellison and Earle of the Guards, and
others recently arrived — were assembled to view

4»

V\i *

CANADA.

I '1

the great work which would stamp the impress of
English greatness on Canada, if her power were to
be rooted out to-morrow. The royal carriage — a
prettily decorated long open wagon, with the Prince
of Wales's coat of arms, plume, and initials still
shining brightly — was in readiness; and as cold
makes one active, or very lazy, as the case may be,
we lost no time in starting to explore the bridge,
which threw its massive weight in easy stretches
across the vast frozen highway of the St Lawrence —
so light, so strong, so graceful, for all its rigid lines,
that 1 can compare the impression of the thing to
nothing so much as to that of the bounds of a tiger.

The entrance, in the limestone rock, is grandly
simple ; but ere we could well admire its propor-
tions the car ran into the darkness of the great tube.
The light admitted by the neatly designed windows
in the iron sides of the aerial tunnel was not enough
to enable us to pierce through the smoke and the fog
which clung to the interior. The car proceeded to
the end, the thermometer marking 6,° Statistics,
though I have them all by me, I am not about to
give, as the history of the bridge is well known ; but
Mr. Blackwell showed me a table which indicated
that the monster suffers or rejoices like a li^'ing thing,
and contracts and expands and swells out his lines
wondrously, just in proportion as the temperature
alters.

From this end of the magnificent bridge one could
see, nearly a hundred feet below him, the rugged sur-
face of the ice, beneath which was rolling the St.
Lawrence. It was distinguished from the snowy
expanse covering the land by the bluish glint of the
ice, and by the torn glacier-like aspect of the course
of the stream, where the frozen nasses had been-con-
tending fiercely with the current cind with each other
till the frost-king had clutched them and bound them
in the midst of the conflict. You could trace the
likeness of spires, pinnacles, castles, battlements, and

BRIDGE ACROSS THE ST. LAWRENCE.

alpine peaks in the wild confusion of those serried
heaps, which were tilted up and forced together ; but
the haze did not permit us to follow the course of the
stream for any great distance. It was too cold for
enthusiastic enjoyment, and we got into the car and
backed into the darkness till we reached th j centre
of the bridge.

I confess, when it occurred to me that great cold
makes iron brittle, the uneasy i .eling I experienced
of suspense, malg're moi^ in passing over any of
these great engineering triumphs, was aggravated so
far that it required a good deal of faith in the charm-
ing diagram of the effects of temperature on the
bridge, to make me quite at ease. I suppose it is
only an engineer who can be quite above the thought,
" Suppose, after all, the bridge does go at this par-
ticrJar moment." And then the iron did crackle and
brAUg and shriek most unmistakably and demonstra-
tively.

At the centre of the bridge we got out, and had
another look at the river, some sixty feet below. Re-
marked the thinness of the iron ; was informed it was
on purpose, every plate being made specially for its
place. Examined carefully a bolt driven in by the
Prince of Wales ; rather liked its appearance, as it
was well hammered and seemed sound. Then the
car received us, and we were drawn through this
ghastly cold gallery once more, and were divulged
at the railway station among a crowd of furred citi-
zens.

Thence through the city over the rough road in
our carrioles and sleighs. On our way I remarked
a stone obelisk standing out of the snow close to the
railway, in a low patch of ground near the river.
" That," said my companion, " is a memorial to six
thousand Irish emigrants who died here of ship-
fever." What a history in those few words — a tale
of sorrow and woe unutterable — I hope, not of neg-
lect and indifference tool The railway engineers

iSiliiis

ffif,!!

CANADA.

have thoughtfully erected the monument of the name-
less dead, and so far rescued their fate from obiivioii.

I am not so philosophic as to witness the tlejrc'a!-
ing emigia'ions which leave the homes of a cocnty
waste, and hli the lands of future kingdoms and no -
uible rivals with an alienated population, without
regret. Above all, I pity the fate of the poor pio-
neers whose hapless lot it is to labor unthanked and
de^spised, to build up the stranger's cities, to clear
his forests, and make his roads, to found his power
and greatness, and then to sit at his gate waiting for
alms when the hour cometh that no man can work.

It is most strange, indeed, and yet too true, that
a race which, above all others, ought to seek the
material advantages and the substantial results of
hard work, should be the most readily led astray by
windy agitators and by political disputes and pas-
sions. Here we are driving through the streets of
Montreal, which owes much of its existence to Irish
labor, and the laborer lives in filth and degradation,
in the back slums of the city, intensely intereste»l
in elections and clerical discussions, little bette?
cared for or regarded than the dogs thereof till his
vote is required.

The city is now in its winter mantle, but it shows
fair proportions. The Roman Catholic chapels arfi
well placed and handsome, and excel in sijic and
numbers the Protestant churclijs. The Qi irter-
master-General, who has had << hire one of the
Catholic colleges to serve as bi .^ks for the troops,
says the priests are remarkably keen practitioners at
a bargain : good Churchmen always were in old
times. The metal-'^overed domes and spires, the
roofs of houses sheeted with tin, now began to glis-
ten in the sun, and gave a bright look to the place
which did not make it all the warmer.

Montreal is a much finer-looking place than I had
expected. The irregularity of the streets pleased the
eye, wearied by straight lines and regular frontage

fi. ;

THE RINK.

The houses of stone i 'Hh double windows have plain
Vnrr fronts, and do not present so good an appear-
liiijc ud the best of New York ; but the character of
the residences as a whole is better, antl tue effti;t of
the city, to compare small things with greai, very
much more interesting and picturesque.

Our destination in this drive was the Rink, or
covered skating-ground, which is the fashionable
sporting resort of Montrealese in the winter time.
The crowd of sleighs and sleigh-drivers around the
doors of a building which looked like a Methodist
chapel, announced that the skaters were already as-
sembled.

Anything but a Method isi^looking place inside.
The room, which was like a large public bath-room,
was crowded with women, young and old, skating
or preparing to skate, for husbands, and spread in
maiden rays over the glistening area of ict, gliding,
swooping, revolving on legs of every description,
which were generally revealed to mortal gaze in pro-
portion to their goodness, and therefore were dis-
played on a principle so far unobjectionable. The
room was lighted with gas, which, with the heat
of the crowd, made the ice rather sloppy ; bat the
skating of the nativcf^. was admirable, and some
hardened campaigners of foreign origin had by long
practice learned to emulate the graces and skill of
the inhabitants.

It was a mighty pretty sight. The spectators sat
or stood on the raised ledge round the ice parallelo-
gram like swallows on a clift', and now and then
dashed off and swept away as if on the wing over
the surface, in couples or alone, executing quadrilles,
mazurkas, waltzes, and tours de force, that made one
conceive the laws of gravitation must be suspended
in the Rink, and that the ouside edge is the most
stable place for the human foot and figure. Mercy,
what a crash ! There is a fine stout young lady
sprawling on the ice, tripped up by Dontatop of the

til 1

CANADA.

■', * j

i i !

lit

Guards, who is making; a iirst attempt, to the detri-
ment of the lieges, llow H flighted the ladies are,
and pretend not to be ; for the fallen fair one is the
best contortionist in the place! she is on her legs
again — has shaken the powdered ice and splash
off her dandy jacket and neat little breeches, — yes,
they wear breeches, a good many of them, — and is
zigzagging about once more like a pretty noiseless
firework.

The little children skate, so do most portentous
mammas. A line of recently arrived officers, in fur
caps and coats, look on, all sucking their canes, and
resolving to take private lessons early in the morning.
Some, in the goose-step stage, perform awful first
lines with their skates, and leave me in doubt as to
whether they will split up or dash out their brains.
The young ladies pretend to avoid them with una-
nimity, but sail round them still as seagulls sweep by
a drowning man. And if a fellow should fall — and
be saved by a lady ? Well ! It may end in an in-
troduction, and a condition of " muffinage." And
what that is we must tell you hereafter. I can't an-
swer your question as to whether the women were
pretty ; eyes dark generally, and good complexions.
The Rink is a bad place to judge of that point.

I paid my respects to Sir Fenwick Williams, who
has his quarters in the hotel. The general has plenty
of work to do at present, and did not seem quite so
well as when I saw him afier his return from Kars.
There is a general impression that the Federals will
keep their armies in good humor at the end of the
war, by annexing Canada, if they can. No one asks
what thev will do with them when that work has
been accomplished. Dined at the house of the Hon.
John Rose, riiember for Montreal, and formerly a
member of the Government. He had, after his hos-
pitable wont, sorae young officers to dine also ; and,
after an agjeeabi<^ evening, I slid home in a bitter
snow-drift to the hotel, and so to bed. Here is a
page from my diary.

INFLUENCE OF THE NORTHERNERS.

February 6. — The severe cold makes the head
ache, and stupefies me ultra niodum. I wrote to Mr.
Hope, stating my reasons for declining the great com-
pliment of a public dinner intended for me at To-
ronto. As I move about here, I feel that society is
much under the influence of the unrulv fellow, our
next neighbor. There is no great love lor him ; but
his prodigious kicks and blows, his threats, his bad
language, his size and insolence, frighten them up
here. There is great anxiety for the American news ;
and I am bound to say, the Northern Americans
must have done something to make the Canadians
dislike them, as there is little love for them even
where little is felt for England. I saw a great many
of the principal personages to-day. Called on the
Bishop, whose sweet, benevolent face is an index of
his mind. He spoke in high terms of his Roman
Catholic coadjutor; indeed, it would be diflicult to
quarrdl with Dr. Mountain. In education, they work
harmoniously together. Mr. D'Arcy M'Ghie called
on me. He is now a member of the Canadian Par-
liament, and is giving his support to the authority of
the British Crown. His loyalty is, of course, stig-
matized by some as treason to what they call the
cause of Ireland ; but I believe the atmosphere of
Canada is found to have a vapor-dispelling, febrifuge
character about it which works well on the mind of
the Irish immigrant. A most entertaining, witty,
well-informed barrister, also an Irishman, paid me a
visit, and gave some admirable sketches of Canadian
society, of the bar, of the working of parties, as well
as his own ideas on all points, in a peculiarly terse
and pleasant way.

CANADA.

CHAPTER VI.

1 > ■

Visit the " Lions " of Montreal. — The 47th Repiment. — The City open to
Attack. — Quays, Public Huildings. — French Colonization. — Kise of
Montreal. — Stone. — A French- Anglicized City. — Loyalty of Canadi-
ans. — Arrival of Troops. — Facings. — British and Ainericnn Army com-
pared. — Experience needed by Latter. — Slavery.

I REMAINED Several days at Montreal, examining
the lions, and making the most of my brief stay.
Here are living a knot of Southern families in a sort
of American Siberia, at a very comfortable hotel,
who nurse their wrath against the Yankee to keep it
warm and sustain each other's spirits. They form a
nucleus for sympathizing society to cluster around,
and so germinate into innocent little balls, sleigh-
parties, and occasional matrimonial engagements.

" Waiting for his regiment," too, was old General
Bell, — the veteran who saw his first shot fired in the
Peninsula, and his last, forty-four years afterwards,
before Sebastopol. There were parades of the 47th
Regiment and inspection-drills on the St. Lawrence
in snow-shoes ; and Penn marched out his Arm-
strongs in beautiful order, on their sleighs, for all to
see.

The position of this fine city leaves it open to at-
tack from the American frontier, which is so near
that the blue tops of the mountain ridges of the
bordering States can be seen on a clean day. The
rail from the centre of New York runs direct to
it, through the arsenal and fort of Rouse's Point on
Lake Champlain ; and there are two other lines con-
verging on it, so that an enormous force could be
swiftly sent against it. The frontier is here a mere
line on the map, so drawn as to leave the head of
Lake Champlain and Rouse's Point in the hands of
the Americans. Its importance, its beauty, and the

MONTREAL.

feeling of the inhabitants would render it tempting
to the Northern armies ; and the fierce, relentless, and
destructive spirit which has been evoited in their
civil war, might lead them to destroy all that is
valuable and handsome in a city which stands in
strong contrast to the hideousness of American towns,
if they were, as of old, oblif^ed to abandon the city.

The quays of Montreal are of imperial beauty, and
would reflect credit on any city in Europe. TIjey
present a continuous line of cut-stone from the La-
chine Canal along the river-front before the city,
leaving a fine broad mall or esplanade between the
water's edge and the houses. The public buildings,
built of solid stone, in which a handsome limestone
predominates, are of very great merit. Churches,
court-houses, banks, markets, hospitals, college s, all
are worthy of a capital ; and these would present a
very different appearance to an invader from that
which was offered by the poverty-stricken and insig-
nificant Montreal of 1812.

Tiiere are a few guns mounted on a work on the
left bank of the river above the city, but for military
purposes the place may be considered perfectly open.
There are more than 90,000 people in the city, but it
is said not to be a fighting population ; and there are
many foreigners and emigrants of an inferior class,
who taint the place with rowdyism. The British
element was active in volunteering when I was there,
and figures in uniform were frequently to bo seen in
the streets; but the time was unfavorable for any
public displays, and 1 never saw any of the volunteers
working en masse.

Here, as elsewhere, the jealousies of claimants for
command, local and personal rivalry, have impeded
the good work ; but such obstacles would vanish in
the |)resence of danger. National feeling has tended
to make the organization of corps too expensive, and
the question of drafting for the militia has also inter-
fered with the full development of the movemerit.

'ii'

CANADA.

I-

v'l.

It would be unjustifiable to assert that the enter-
prise of the French people, and their capacity for
colonization, have t^^^n diminished by republican in-
stitutions ; but, unquest'onably, the great convulsions
which have agitated society since the fall of the mon-
archy appear to have concentrated the energies of the
race upon objects nearer home, even though they
have annexed Algeria, established a protectorate over
Tahiti, and are engaged in war with the Cambodians.
Where is the enterprise which, more thart '^00 years
ago, originated a company of merchant adventurers,
who pushed out settlements into this wilderness, and
founded factories among the Iroquois and the Mo-
hawks ? In those days, indeed, the zeal of Jesuits
and other Roman Catholic missionaries preceded the
march and directed the course of commerce.

Montreal owes its existence to a certain Monsieur
Maisonneuve, the factor of the Commercial Associa-
tion in 1642. More than 100 years afterwards it was
nearly destroyed by fire ; and ten years after the con-
flagration the troops of the insurgent colonies took
possession of the town, which was a favorite object
of attack in the two American wars.

In spite of many misfortunes — fire, hostile occu-
pation, insurrection, riot — Montreal has flourished
exceedingly, and the energy of its population has
been displayed in securing for it a principal share of
the trade between England and the Upper Provinces.
Its railway communications have been pushed with
great energy, and the canals and quays are in im-
perial grandeur ; but still, in case of war with the
States, the only outlet in winter (by rail to Portland)
would be effectually blocked up.

The city contains nearly 100,000 inhabitants, of
whom 60,000 are Roman Catholics — representing a
great variety of nationalities, with a predominance,
however, of French Canadians and Irish. An abun-
dance of fine stone, found near the town, has enabled
the inhabitants to build substantial houses in lieu of

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

the wooden edifices from which they were driven by
two great conflagrations; but the material is of a
dull cold gray color, and the streets, seen in winter-
time, have in consequence a gloomy and melancholy
aspect. Many of the cupolas and spires and the
roofs of many of the houses are covered with metal
plates, which shine out in the sun, and give the city
a bright appearance from a distance, which is not
altogether maintained on a nearer approach.

The mental activity of the population, displayed in
a large crop of newspapers, doubtless indicates a
close intimacy with the United States ; but Montreal
is, after all, French Anglicized, and, notwithstanding
the disaffection of which it gave symptoms in the
rebellion, the sympathies of its people are very far re-
moved from the bald republicanism of the New Eng-
land States.

Nuns and priests seem, to a Protestant eye, to be
rather too numerous for the good of the people ; but
having seen the schools of the Christian Brothers,
and having heard the testimony of all classes to the
services rendered to morals and religion, to charity
and to Christianity, by the various religious orders, I
am forced to believe that Montreal is much indebted
to their labors.

The number of hospitals, schools, scientific institu-
tions — the libraries, reading-rooms, universities, are
remarkable. They are worthy of a highly civilized,
wealthy, and prosperous community ; but, in fact, the
economy with which they are managed is not one of
the least remarkable features about the Montreal in-
stitutions. Party animosities have now been soft-
ened ; but there is no doubt of the satisfaction with
which the Liberal Canadian points to the fact that
those who were imprisoned and persecuted by the
Government, for rebellious a. ts or tendencies, have
since been called to office, and have served the Crown
in high official positions.

The people of Canada are learning a useful piece

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WEBSTER, N.Y. M580

(716) 872-4503

CANADA.

of knowledge or two from what is passing so close to
them. The annexation party are heard no more : in
their room stand the people of Canada, loyal to the
Crown and to the connection, prepared to defend
their homes and altars against invasion. So far as
I have gone, in no place in the Queen's dominions
is there greater attachment to her person and au-
thority.

The Canadians see with sorrow the ills which
afflict their neighbors, in spite of all the ill-advised
menaces of the Northern Press ; but they felt natur-
ally indignant at being spoken of as if they were a
mere chattel, which could be taken away by the
United States from Great Britain in order to spite
her. With such turbulent and dangerous elements
at work close to them, they will no doubt eagerly
assist the authorities in their efforts to secure their
borders and their country, by putting the militia on
a proper footing. The patriotism of the Legislature
can be relied on to do this. England will do the
rest, and give her best blood, if need be, to aid this
magnificent dependency of the same Crown as that
to which she is herself subject, in maintaining the
present situation.

It was most agreeable to hear praise instead of
grumbling, and to know that amid no ordinary diffi-
culties the troops were landed and conveyed across
the snows of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in
the month of January without casualty or mishap
worth mentioning, and that the arrangements were
worthy of every commendation. It made us feel
proud of our army when we saw the cheerfulness,
soldierly look, cleanliness, and deportment of the
men, and learnt that they had conducted themselves
in the most exemplary manner, though exposed to
great temptation by the hospitality of the New-
Brunswickers and the cheapness of intoxicating
liquors.

And what wonderful vicissitudes of service those

OLD <:;rimean friends.

close to
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New-
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those

officers and men have seen ! Here is a face yet
burned by the suns of India, encircled in fur cap, and
peering into the railway carriage to welcome some
well-known friend from China or Aldershot. There
marches a sturdy Guardsman, one of the few who
remain of the men of Alma and Inkerman, with that
small ladder of glory on his breast. Here is one of
the old Riflemen, — alas, most gracious Queen ! they
feel proud in sadness of their name now, — one of
"the Prince Consort's Own Rifle Brigade," who
heard, that bright evening when our good ship was
gliding through the blue waters of the Dardanelles,
the rich chorus of those manly voices, most of which
are silenced forever, —

" Soldiers, mci'rily march away !
Soldier s jjlory lives in story,
His laurels are green when his locks are gray,
Then hurrah for the life of a soldier 1 "

Firm and clean and straight as of yore, under all his
load of great-coat, furs, and boots, struts, the soldier
of the 47th, mindful of De Lacy Evans, " little Inker-
man," and of the greater in which it was eclipsed.
Will he be as trim and neat, I wonder, if they take
away his white facings ? Of the old " fours " — the
second brigade of the division which with the light
divided the "general" fighting — the 41st and 47th,
though perhaps no better, always looked better than
the 49th, because of their facings.

The influence of facings, indeed, goes much fur-
ther than that in general society. The hotel in which
I live (a very attentive host is doing his best to com-
plete the resemblance by extensive dilapidations) is
as like a barracks as can be. The " St. Lawrence
Hall " is in a military occupation. The obstacles in
way of " alterations " are bestridden by Guardsmen,
Riflemen, and Engineers, on their way to breakfast
and dinner, as if they were getting through breaches.
In the hall abundance of soldiers, anxious orderlies
with the quaint quartos full of orders, and military

CANADA.

:;r

B.^

idlers smoking as much as you like, but, I am glad
to say, not chewing — nor, as a Ne\\j York paper
calls the Republican Senators, " tobacco-expectorant."
To appreciate this boon properly, pray be prepared
to limit the suffrage immensely. In the passages
more orderlies and soldier-servants, who now and
then do a little of what is called flirting with the
passing demoiselles de service; tubs outside in the
passage ; doors of rooms open d la caserne ; military
chests and charts on the table.

It would have given those who admit that war is
necessary sometimes, as the sole means of redressing
national grievances, considerable satisfaction to have
seen the difference presented by the regular troops of
Great Britain in Canada and the vast masses of vol-
unteers assembled on the Potomac by the United
States. It is not that the British are one whit finer
men : taking even the Guards, there are some few
regiments there which in height and every constit-
uent of physique, except gross weight, cannot be
excelled.

As a whole, perhaps, the average of intelligence,
taken there to mean reading and writing, may be
higher among the United States volunteers than
among the British regulars; — not much, however.
The Sanitary Commission of New York, a very
patriotic and thoroughly American body, did not
attempt to claim more than three fifths of the United
States armies as of American birth. The immediate
descendants of Irish and German parents are thus
included among native-born Americans, though they
are in all respects except birth Irish and Germans
still. Very probably they have not partaken to the
full, or to any great extent, of the advantages of pub-
lic education.

But, taking the statement of the Commissioners,
— which, by the bye, is a very serious reflection on
the patriotism of the Northern populations, — it may
be doubted whether in reading, writing, and arithme-

ing

ARJIY EDUCATION AND DISCIPLINE.

im glad
t paper
torant."
irepared
assagea
3W and
'ith the
in the
nailitary

} war is
Iressing
to have
3ops of
of vol-
United
lit finer
me few
constit-
inot be

ligence,
nay be
rs than
owever.

a very
lid not
United
nediate
re thus
^h they
ermans

to the
of pub-

sioners,

bion on

it may

rithme-

tic there is any great superiority on the part of the
United States troops over the British. I admit that
in some regiments of the New England States there
is a higher average of such knowledge as may en-
able a man to argue on the orders of his officers,
and of such intelligence as may induce him to be-
lieve he is competent to criticize the conduct of a
campaign.

There is an immense amount of newspaper read-
ing and letter- writing, the former taste predominat-
ing ; but our own mail-bags are ample enough to
satisfy any one that the same preponderance which
is maintained by London over New York in corre-
spondence is to be found in the English army over
the American. Many Irish and Germans here have
no inducements to write letters, but there are few
who are unable to read their newspapers.

What is it, then, one may reasonably ask, which
would satisfy the grumbler, who finds fault with the
expenditure of standing armies, that he has got value
for his money when he contrasts the British troops
here with the battalions on the Potomac ? It is the
erficiency produced by obedience, which is the very
life of discipline : the latter is ob^d'.ence incorporated,
and, in motion or at rest, acting by fixed rules, with
something approaching to certainty in its results.

The small army in Canada could be massed to-
gether, with its artillery and transport, in a very short
time, and directed with precision to any one point,
though it is a series of detachments on garrison duty
rather than a corps d'armee, and it has neither cav-
alry nor baggage animals. With all the liberal (if
not occasionally extravagant) outlay, and the cost
of transporting it, the force in a few weeks would be
far less expensive than an American corps of the
same strength ; and it is no disparagement to the
latter to say they would be less efficient than the
British. I do not speak of actual fighting ; for our
battle-fields in Canada tell how desperate may be the

I*.

CANADA.

Ji^

H;K

encoun^^^ers between the armies. Our force would
be under the orders of experienced officers. The
staff would consist of men who have seen service in
the Russian war, in Asia, in India, and in China,
and who have witnessed the operations of great
European armies. The United States is laboriously
seeking to acquire experience, at a cost which may-
be ruinous to its national finances, and a delay which
may be fatal to its cause; but it cannot galvanize
the inert mass with the fire of military elliciency,
though it burns, we are told, with hidden volcanic
energies, and is pregnant with patriotic life. The
use of an army in war is to fight, to be able to move
to and after its enemy, to beat and to pursue him.

It ip not greatly to be wondered at if the work,
which Great Britain has only partially accomplished,
notwithstanding the greatness of its progress, should
be only begun in the United States. The aptitude
of a large mass of the inhabitants for arms, whether
they be foreign or native-born, is marred by many
things. There is the principle of equality intruding
itself in military duty, confounding civil rights with
the relations between superior and inferior — be-
tween officer and rank-and-file. There is the diffi-
culty of getting^men to follow officers who have no
special fitness for their post.* A soldier may be made
in a year ; a company officer cannot be made in
three years. There are many officers in the Ameri-
can army of great theoretical and some practical
knowledge ; there are many in the British army lazy
and indifferent ; — but no one would think for a mo-
ment of comparing the acquirements, in a military
sense, of the officers of the two nations.

In the Crimean war, when our army was enlarged
at a time that severe losses had much diminished the
number of officers, we saw that our standard was
considerably lowered by the precipitate infusion of
new men. No wonder, then, that the United States
had and has great difficulty in procuring officers of

TRAINING OF OFFICERS.

the least value for a levy of more than half a million
of volunteers.

But the system itself is a most formidable barrier
to success. Under no circumstances can it reach a
moderate degree of efficiency, unless the test of sub-
sequent examinntion be rigidly enforced. There is
no superiority of rank, of military knowledge, of per-
sonal character, of social position, to create an emu-
lation in the mind of the private to be the obedient
but daring equal of the officer in the time of danger.
To such general remarks there are many and brilliant
exceptions.

In the course of time, the personal qualities and
the reputation for bravery and skill of officers would
stand in the Republican armies in lieu of those influ-
ences Vv^hich move the British soldier. No one is
foolish enough to think or say that the private fol-
lows his officer because the latter has paid so much
money for his commission or has so much a year.
The gradual rise from one rank to another is a guar-
antee of some military knowledge — at all events,
of acquaintance with drill. Social position counts
for much. Men who are equal before the law are
very unequal in the drill-book.

It would be lamentable to see so much faith in a
cause, such devotion, zeal, boundless expenditure,
and splendid material comparatively lost, — to behold
the petted Republic wasting away under this influ-
ence, and the vis inertice of the force it has called into
being, — were it not that the spectacle is a lesson for
the nations. It has not yet come to its end.

If standing armies there must be, let them be as
complete in organization as possible. If an empire
must rely on volunteers as its main defence, let care
be taken that they are organized and officered so as
to be effective, and regulated on such principles of
economy that they may not overwhelm with debt
the country they are engaged in protecting by their
arms.

m I

^1 1*h'

• h

CANADA.

It is quite true that the Confederates suffer from
the same disadvantages as those which affect the
Federals, but in a far less degree. Mr. Davis, early
in the war, got hold of the army and subjected it to
discipline. It was not so difficult to do so in the
South as in the North, owing to the difference in the
people. The officers were appointed by him. The
men were animated, as they are now, by an intense
hatred of their enemy. Their armies were in a de-
fensive attitude ; a large number, comprising some
of the best, of the United States officers sided with
them. They are operating besides on the inner
lines.

But, after all, if the possession of the seaboard, the
use of navies, the vast preponderance of population,
the ability to get artillery and arms, and the occupa-
tion of the heads of the great river communications
be not utterly thrown away, the North must overrun
the South, if only the Northerners can fight as well
as the Southerners, and if the Nortli can raise money
to maintain the struggle.

Let us leave out of view the slave element for
onee. The Abolitionists assert that the most formi-
dable weapon in the United States armory is the use
of the emancipated slave ; but it is rather difficult to
see how the slaves could assist the North as long as
they remain obedient and quiet in the South, or how
the North can get at them by a mere verbal declara-
tion till it has conquered the Slave States. Above
all, it is not clear that it would benefit the penniless
exchequer of the North to have 4,000,000 black pau-
pers suddenly thrown on it for support.

Slavery is to me truly detestable ; the more I saw
of it the less I liked it. It is painful, to one who has
seen the system at work and its results, to read in
English journals philosophical — pseudo-philosophi-
cal treatises on the subject, and dissertations on the
" ethics and aesthetics " of the curse, from which \v ^

SLAVERY.

shook ourselves free years ago with the approbation
of our ov '\ consciences and of the world.

Before ). speak of the defence of Montreal in con-
nection with the general military position of the
Canadian frontier, I shall continue my brief narrative
of my tour through Canada.

vii.,

I f'W

It-
•J' s

CANADA.

CriAPTPm VII.

First View of Quebec. — Pnssnpe of the St. Lawrenop. — Xovol and rather
alarming Situation. — Russrira Motel. — 'I'iic Falls of Montniorenci, and
the "Cone." — Aspect of tlie (,'ity. — The Point. — " Tarboggiiiing."
Description of the " Cone." — Aiuhicity of one of my Companions. —
A (Canadian Dinner. — Call on the (lovernor. — Visit the Citadel. —
Its Position. — Capabilities for Defence. — View from Parapet. — The
Armory. — Old Aiuskets. — Red-tape Thonghtfnlness. — French and
English Occupation of Quebec. — Strength of Quebec.

It was early in the morning when the train from
Montreal arrived at Point Levi on the right bank of
the St. Lawrence, a little above Quebec. The im-
pression produced on us by the Heights of Abraham,
by the frowning citadel, by the picturesque old city
glistening in the sun's rays, and by the great river
battling its way through the fields of ice and the
countless miniature bergs, which it hustled upwards
with full-tide power, can never be effaced.

It required some faith to enable one to believe the
passage could be made by mortal boat of that vast
flood from which the crash of ice sounded endlessly,
as floes and bergs floating full speed were dashed
against each other — flying fast as clouds in a wintry
sky up the river, the banks of which resembled the
sheen sides of an Alpine crevasse. The force of the
stream is so great as to rend through and rupture the
coat of ice which is thickened daily, and the masses
thus broken, tossed into all sorts of singular shapes,
jagged and quaint, are borne up and down by the
flood till they are melted by the increasing warmth
of spring. An ice bridge is occasionally formed by
the concentration of the ice in such masses as to
resist the action of the water, and then sleigh-horses
cross by a path which is marked out by poles or
twigs stuck in the snow, but it more usually happens

-.{.-

THE ST. LAWRENCE.

that the river opposite Quebec remains unfrozen, and
ort'ers the singular spectacle of the ice rushing up and
down every day as the ide rises and falls, to the
great interest and excitement of strangers who have
to cross from one side to the other.

At first the attempt seems impracticable. The
deep blue of the St. Lawrence can be only seen here
and there through the bergs and Hoes, like the veins
beneath a snowy skin, but those glints are forever
varying as the ice passes on. The clear spaces are
no sooner caught by the eye than they are filled up
again, and every instant there are fresh refts made in
the shifting surface, which is at once as solid as a
glacier and as yielding as water. In this race the
bergs are carried with astonishing force and rapidity,
and a grating noise ; and a grinding, crashing sound
continually rises from the water.

At the station there was a goodly crowd of men
in ragged fur coats and caps, pea-jackets, and long
boots, of an amphibious sort, who did not quite look
like sailors, and who yet were not landsmen. These
were clamoring for passengers, and touting with
energy in a mixture of French and English. " Prenez
notr' bateau, M'sieu' — La Belle Alliance ! Good
boat, Sar ! Jean Baptiste, M'sieu' : I well known
boatman. Sir." " The blue boat. Sir, gentleman's
boat, Mon Espoir," " L'Hirondelle," and so on at the
top of their voices. And sure enough there, drawn
up on the snow near the station, was a range of
stout whale-boats, double planked on the sides, and
provided with remarkably broad keels.

We selected, after a critical inspection, the captain
of one of these — a merry-eyed, swarthy fellow, with
a big beard and brawny shoulders — as our Charon,
and following his directions we were stowed away in
a sort of well between the steersman and the stroke-
oar, where we sat down with our legs stretched out
very comfortably, and were then covered up to the
chin with old skins, furs, and great-coats. When all

111
1; M

CANADA.

't ^

::i

was ready, a horso was brought forward with a sling
bar, to which a rope was attached from the bow, and
we glided forward along the road towards the most
favorable point for crossing at that stage of the tide.
Tlie boat was steadied and guided by the crew, who
ran alongside with their hands on tin gunwales.
Houses by the road-side snowed up — shop-windows
with French names — sallow-faced, lean people look-
ing out of the grimy windows — some large ships on
the stocks, roughly placed on the river-bank — these
met the eye as we passed over the snow road towards
the point opposite the city now looming nearer.
With cheap timber and labor it is not surprising that
the ship-building trade of Quebec flourishes.

For more than a mile and a half the boat careered
eastwards, in active emulation with several other
boats which were in our track, and the citadel on the
opposite shore already lay behind us, before the horse
was detached at the side of a deep incline leading to
the river, and in another moment the boat was glid-
ing down the bank and rushing for a blue rent in the
midst of the heavy surface, into which we splashed
as unerringly as a wild duck drops into a moss-hole.
The moment the bow touched the water, all the crew,
some seven or eight in number, leaped in and seized
their oars, which they worked with a will, whilst the
skipper, standing in the bow, directed the course of
the steersman.

We were now in a basin of clear water surrounded
quite by ice, which only left the tops of the small
bergs and the high banks on each side visible to us
seated low down in the boat ; and as we looked the
floes were rapidly closing in upon us ; but the skip-
per saw where the frozen wall was about opening,
and forced the boat to the point of the advancing and
narrowing circle, in which suddenly a tiny canal was
cleft by the parting of the bergs, and the opportunity
was instantly seized by the boatmen.

The ice was already closing and gripping the tim-

bers

BOAT ADVKNTURE.

bcrs as soon as we liad fairly entered, and in an in-
stant out leaped the crew on the treaeherons snrface,
which here and there f<ank till they were knee-deep,
and by main force they slid the boat up on a floe, and
rocking her from side to side as a kite /hitters before
it makes a swoop, they roused her along on the sur-
face of the ice, which was Hoating np towards the
city very rapidly. With loud cries to a sort of (rhorus,
the crew forced the craft across the floe till they
floundered in some half-frozen snow, through which
the boat dropped into the water. Then in thc^y
leaped, like so many Newfoundland dogs corning to
land, all wet and furry, took the oars again, and
rowed across and against the tide-sci as hard as they
could. Now in the water, then hanging on by the
gunwales, this moment rowing, in another tugging
at the boat-ropes, clambering over small ice-rocks,
running across Hoes, sinking suddenly to the waist
in the cold torrent, the men battled with the current,
and by degrees the shore grew nearer, and the pic-
turesque outlines of the city became more distinct in
the morning sun.

What with the extraordinary combinations and
forms of the ice drifts, the inimitably fantastic out-
lines of the miniature ice architecture, and the novelty
of the scene, one's attention was entirely fixed on
what was passing around, and it was not till we had
nearly touched land that we had time to admire the
fine effect of the streets and citadel, which, rising from
the icy wall of the river-bank, towered aloft over us
like the old town of Edinburgh suddenly transplanted
to the sea.

We found an opening in the blue cold w^ater-rocks
near the Custom-house landing-wharf, at which place
there was a shelving bank; a stout horse was at-
tached to the boat by a rope, on which the crew threw
themselves with enthusiasm ; and in a few seconds
more we were on the quay, and thence proceeded to
Russell's Hotel, which was recommended to us as

CANADA.

the best in the place. One may find fault with
American hostelries ; but assuredly they are better
than the imitations of them which one finds in Can-
ada, combining all the bad qualities of hotels in the
States and in Europe, and destitute of any of the
good ones.

The master of the hotel was an American, and he
had struggled hard "under the depressing influences
of the British aristocracy " to establish an American
hotel, and he only succeeded in introducing th^ least
agreeable features of the institution ; but the attend-
ants were civil and obliging, and there was no ex-
travagant pressure on the resources of the place, so
that we fared better than if we had been down south
of the frontier. Even the landlord, though not par-
ticularly well disposed towards one so unpopular
among his countrymen as myself, yielded sc far to
the g-enius loci as to be civil. The rooms were small,
and not particularly clean ; but as painting and
papering were going on, those who follow me may
be better provided for.

A short rest was very welcome ; but what fate is
like that which drives the sight-seer ever onwards,
and forces him, with the rage of all the furies, from
repose ? " The Falls of Montmorenci were but a
drive away, and the ' Cone ' was in great perfec-
tion."

« What is * the Cone ? ' " The effect of our igno-
rance on the waiter was so touching — he v/^s 50
astonished by the profound barbarism of our con-
dition — that we felt it necessary for our own char-
acter to proceed at once to a spot which forms the
delight of Quebec in the v^rinter season, and to which
the bourgeoisie were repairing in hot haste for the
afternoon's pleasure.

A sleigh was brought round, and in it, ensconced
in furs, we started oil' for the Falls, which are about
eight miles distant. It was delightful to see any-
thing so old on this continent as the tortuous streets

QUEBEC.

of the city, which bear marks of their French origin,
after such a long contact as I had endured with
the raw youth of American cities in general, but it
was impossible to deny that the antiquity before us
had a certain air of dreary staleness about it also.
The double-windowed flat-faced houses had a lanky,
compressed air, as if they had be a starved in early
life, and the citizens had the appearance of people
who had no particular object in being there, and
set no remarkable value on time. A considerable
sprinkling of priests was perhaps the most remark-
able feature in the scene, and occasionally knots of
ruddy-faced riflemen, in all the glory of winter fur
caps and great-coats, disputed the narrow pavement,
alternating with the " red " soldiers of the line.

The city is built on very irregular ground, and
some of the streets are so steep that it is desirable
for new-comers to have steel spikes screwed into the
foot-gear to combat the inclination to proneness on
the part of the wearers. Emerging through a postern
in the ancient battlemented wall we came out in an
uninteresting suburb of small houses, from which a
descent led to the margin of the water. Far as the
eye could reach a vast snow plain extended, with
surface broken into ridges, mounds, and long dark
lines, and dotted with opaque blocks from which the
church-steeples &prung aloft, indicating the sites of
villages. The ridges were the hills over the St. Law-
rence, the mounds its islands, and the lines its banks,
which expand widely on the left to embrace the
sweep of the St. Charles Lake, on which stands the
projecting ledge of the eastern part of the city.

As we approached the Lak^, over which our route
lay, black specks, which were resolved into sleighs,
or men and women on foot, were visible making
their way over the ice, which was marked by lines of
bushes and branches of trees dressed up in the snow
BO as to indicate the route, and far away similar
black specks could be made out crossing the St.

n :|

■Hi

CANADA.

' i !'•

Lawrence below, which has now become the great
highway. But not a very smooth road. The surface
is far from being level, and consists indeed of a suc-
cession of undulations in which the profound cavities
sometimes give one a sense of insecure travelling.

On the whole, however, the expedition was much
to be enjoyed, the air was bracing, and the cold not
intense, and the scene " slid into the soul " with all
its deep tranquillity. Doubtless it produced a very
different effect on the red-nosed Britons who were
keeping watch and ward on the ramparts of the
citadel, or on the poor " habitant " trudging patiently
beside his sleigh-load of wood, and knowing that
snow is his portion for the next five months.

On our right a continuous movement of white
rugged masses, to all appearance like a stream of
polar bears, betokened the course of the unfrozen St.
Lawrence ; on our left rose the high bank of the lake
over which we were travelling, and cottages of the
villagers ; before us the sleighs were streaming to-
wards a point which ran out into the river and beyond
which there seemed to be a shallow bay. This was
the point at which the Montmorenci River, recover-
ing from its fall, expanded into a broad sheet at its
junction with the greater river. Here we arrived in
about an hour.

At the Point there were a few houses, some vessels
imbedded in the snow, and piles of sawn timber and
deal planks, and a great concourse of sleighs ; and
beyond it, looking up to the left, at the distance of
some half-mile, we saw a glistening sugar-loaf of
snow, OP the summit of which the creaming, yellow-
tinged mass of the Palls apparently precipitated
itself from the high precipice which bars the course
of the stream. On the snow between us and the
sugar-loaf, and up the white sides of the latter, little
black objects were toiling with .small progress, but
at intervals one of them, gliding from the top of the
cone like a falling star in the Inferno, rushed prone

THE CONE.

to the base, and thence carried by the impetus of the
descent skimmed over the ice towards us for hun-
dreds of yards, like a round shot, till its force was
spent.

Of the crowd gathered at the Point nearly every
one had the small hand-sleigh, something like a tiny
truck with iron runners, under the arm, known in the
vernacular as a "tarboggin," of the derivation of
which it is better to confess ignorance. A few were
provided with sleighs of ampler proportions, and all
the visitors were bent on tarboggining it, either from
a shoulder of the Cone or from the summit of the
mass itself.

As we approached over the snow the natives, men
and women, flew past us on their way after a rush
down the Cone, shouting to the by-standers to take
care. Sometimes two were together, the lady seated
on the front part of the machine, the man behind
lying on his face with his feet stretched out so as to
guide the sleigh by the smallest touch against the
ice. At a distance the pleasure-seekers looked like
some hideous insects impelled towards us with in-
credible velocity. As they came near and flew past,
the expression of their countenances by no means
indicated serene enjoyment.

Near the Cone itself a crowd of " tarboggin " hirers
and guides beset us and guaranteed a safe descent,
but it seemed a doubtful pleasure at best, and there
was some chance of breaking limb, as we were told
happ'^ned frequently during the season. We ascended
to the lower shoulder of the Cone by steps in the snow,
and gazed on the scene with some curiosity. Not
only were the people launching themselves from the
Cone, but more adventurous still there were who,
climbing up the steep side of the precipice, tarboggin
under arm, at last reached some vagtage snow, by
the side of the Fall, where they threw themselves
flat on the sleigh, and then came rushing down with
a force which carried them clear up the side of the

'■",':}. ll

.••?'■ il

if-

CANADA.

lower ledge of the Cone and over it, so that they
were once more plunged downwards, and were borne
off towards the St. Lawrence.

It could now be very plainly seen that the Falls
fell behind the Cone into a boiling turbulent basin,
which fretted the edge of the ice and repelled its
advances. Although much diminished in volume
the body of water, which makes a leap of 250 feet
down a sheer rock face into the caldron, was suffi-
ciently large to present all the finest characteristics
of a waterfall, but it was at times enveloped in a
mist of snow, or rather of frozen spray, which blew
into eyes, mouth, ears, and clothes, and penetrated
to the very marrow of one's bones. And it is of
this ever-falling frozen rain the Cone is built, and as
the wintt^r lengthens on the Cone grows higher and
higher, till in favorable seasons it reaches an altitude
of 120 feet. It is as regular as the work of an archi-
tect, and, I need not say, much more beautiful. At
present it had not attained its full growth, and was
only 80 feet in height — but its symmetry was of
Nature's own handiwork. The Falls are in a narrow
concave cup of rock crested with pine forests, and
its sides now forbid the ascent, which is practicable
in summer time by a series of natural steps in the
strata. The waters cover this young cone with wings
of spray and foam, and flittering, tremulous, and
unsubstantial as they are, it is nevertheless from their
aerial vapors that the solid and sturdy ice-mountain
grows up.

Of its substantial nature we had an excellent proof
— of a human, practical kind ; for, obeying many
invitations, we walked along a snow-path which led
to a pcrtal cut in the solid oxide of hydrogen, and
entering found ourselves in a hot and stuffy apart-
ment, excavate.d from the body of the Cone, in which
there was an Americanized bar, with drinks suited to
the locality, and as much want of air as one would
find in a house in the Fifth Avenue of New York.

TARBOGGINING.

It was full of people, who drank whiskey and othei
strong waters.

I know not by what seduction overconie, but, some-
how, so it happened, that one of my companions, on
our return to the outer air and light, was led to sac-
rifice himself on a tarboggin, and yielded to a demon
guide. I watched him toiling on, with painful steps
and slow, doggedly up the path towards the slippery
summit, and, when he had gained it, I slid down
below to observe the result of the experiment, and
judge whether it looked pleasant or not. He was
but an item among many, but 1 knew he was among
the braves des braves^ and had received a baptism of
fire in the trenches of Sebastopol, which had rained
a very font of glory in India, and scarcely paled in
China. I watched him assuming the penal attitude
to which the young tarbogginer is condemned, and
after a balance for a moment on the giddy height,
his guide gave a kick to the snow, and down like a
plunging bomb flew the ice - winged Icarus. He
passed me close ; I could see and n.ark him well.
Never, to judge from facial expressioi;, could man
have been in deadlier fear. With hara-set mouth,
staring and rigid eyes, and aspect quite antipathetic
to pleasure, he careered like one who\ is falling from
a house-top, and his countenance had scarce assumed
its wonted placid look when I met him gasping and
half faint. And yet he had the astounding audacity
to say, " It was delicious. Never had a more deUght-
ful moment," when he came back pale and panting
from his flight.

We returned from the Falls by a hilly, rough road
over the bank of the Lake, and arrived at our hotel
in time to dress for dinner, to which I was invited
at the house of a Canadian gentleman, I think an
Englishman by birth, who entertained us right hos-
pitably.

There is a wonderful calm in the conversation of
the Canadians, perhaps a little too much so, but it ia

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CANADA.

a relief from the ambitious restlessness of the com-
mon American. The Canadian mind suffers as the
mind of every country which is not a nationality
must suffer, and caution assumes the place of enter-
prise. If the Americans knew the business of diplo-
macy a little better, and could but restrain the dem-
ocratic vice of boastful threatening and arrogant
menace, they could have alienated Canada from our
cold rule long ago, even though Canada would have
lost by the change many privileges and a cheap pro-
tection to her industry, commerce, and social expan-
sion.

February 10th. — To-day I paid my respects to
His Excellency the Governor, Viscount Monck, and
proceeded to visit the citadel, which is now occu-
pied by a battalion of the 60th Rifles under Colonel
Hawley. Independently of the historical associa-
tions which attach to this commanding-looking work,
I was attracted to it by the consideration that it has
twice saved Canada to Great Britain. I am bound
to say that, in my poor opinion, it will never do so
again, if left in its present condition. The works,
once strong, have lost much of their importance since
the introduction of long-range artillery, and the arma-
ment is in a very imperfect condition, consisting of
old-fashioned pieces of small calibre, which could
furnish no reply to a battery established on the
heights across the St. Lawrence.

The citadel itself has in its construction some of
the points of a regular fortress after Vauban, and on
the river side the parapets tower aloft from a steep
rock, which puts one in mind of the site of the plat-
form at Berne ; but on the east side it is hampered
by houses and by the suburbs of the city ; and it
could be approached without much difficulty from the
other side, as soon as p lodgment could be effected
on the Heights of Abraham. The fosses and ditchos
were partially filled with snow, which obscured the
ground and the adjacent country, if such whiteness

THE CITADEL.

can obscure anything. Colonel Hawley was good
enough to show us over the works and point out the
objects of interest as far as they could be discerned.
Among them were some ancient iron guns on which
Great Britain ought not to rely for very effective
service in the defence of the place.

But some new heavy guns have recently been
mounted, others are to follow, and as the ordnance
stores in Canada will soon be replenished with the
best description of pieces, there then need be no ap-
prehension for Quebec on the score of weak artillery ;
or for a position that is the key of Quebec, which is
most emphatically the master-key of Canada.

The outworks of the citadel itself, however, are
not by any means in a satisfactory condition ; even
the high parapet overlooking the lower town might
be crumbled away and expose the interior of the
place ; in one particular part of this work the guns
are masked by blocks of houses, the windows of
which actually look into the interior of the citadel,
and the fire of the place could be so impeded, and
the defence so cramped by the existing enceinte, that
1 very much doubt whether it would not be better to
remove the latter altogether.

We trudged patiently around the long lines of
parapet in the snow, now looking down upon the
river clamorous with its burden of ice, and on the
tortuous streets of the old-fashioned town. In sum-
mer and in the open months the St. Lawrence is
thickly studded with ships ; and dense forests of
masts line the course of its banks ; but now the only
specimen of commercial enterprise on its bosom con-
sisted of a few canoes struggling backwards and
forwards through ice and water with their scanty
freights.

Inside the citadel, cherry-cheeked riflemen were
playing like schoolboys in the snow. In spite of
temptation the regiment was in good condition ; and
although in modern days some objection might be

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100

CANADA.

if ■ :h

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taken to the closeness of their quarters in summer,
the British soldiers who served under Wolfe would
have been greatly astonished if they could have seen
the comforts enjoyed by, and the cares bestowed on,
their descendants. Even those much-neglected, in-
jured Penelopes, the soldiers' wives, are tolerably well
off in their quarters, somewhat too crowded, it is true,
but still more comfortable than at Aldershot or the
Tower.

After a long march along the parapet, in which I
stumbled across more rotting gun-carriages, useless
mortars, and bad platforms than I care to mention,
we visited the Armory, which is near the parade-
ground of the citadel. The stock of fire-arms is ar-
ranged with great taste, and the cleanliness and
effectiveness of all the material reflected credit on the
storekeeper.

Some of the contents consisted of very interesting
rifle* of renowned makers in former days, with carved
stocks, flintlocks, and barrels encrusted with gold,
intended as presents to Indian chiefs and warriors of
tribes sufficiently strong to cause us injury by their
hostility or render us service by their alliance. Old
flintlock muskets of inferior quality, with barrels
like so many feet of cast-iron piping, intended for the
indiscriminate destruction of friend or foe ; horse-
pistols of the fashion in vogue one hundred years
ago, and the like, were to be found in the same
spacious apartment, which contained specimens of
the most recent improvements in fire-arms. Formerly
flint pistols were served out to the frontier patrols,
but of course percussion locks have, for many years,
been given to all those employed in the service of
the Crown in a military capacity. Some worthy
official at home, however, still continues to send out
barrels of flints with laudable punctuality, as he has
not been relieved by superior order from the necessity
of keeping up the supply of these articles. We have
all heard of the forethought evinced by the home

Ik,!^

RED-TAPE IHOUGHTFULNESS.

101

authorities, when they sent out water-tanks for our
lake flotilla, forgetting that they were borne on an
element quite fit for drinking. But 1 heard in the
citadel of a still more remarkable instance of thought-
fulness.

A ship arrived at Quebec some time ago with an
enormous spar reaching from her bowsprit to her
taffrail consigned to the storekeeper. It had been
the plague of the ship's company, it had been in
everybody's way, and had nearly caused the loss of
the vessel in some gales of wind. The whole re-
sources of the quartermaster-general's department
were taxed to get it safely mi shore, and transport it
to the heights. And what was it ? A flag-staff for
the citadel. And what was it made of? A stout
Canadian pine, which had probably been sent from
the St. Lawrence in a timber-ship to the government
officials at home, who, having duly shaped and
pruned it into a flag-staff", returned it to the land of
its birth at some considerable expense to John Bull.

Th>^ citadel is of no mean extent, but covers about
forty acres of ground, and necessarily requires a very
strong garrison; if they were exposed to shell or
vertical fire from the opposite side of the river, or
from the western side of the place, as there is no de-
fence provided, they would certainly suffer great loss.
It is obvious that a permanent work must be built at
Point Levi, to sweep the approaches and prevent the
establishment of hostile batteries on the river. A
regular bastion with outworks should be constructed
on the heights above the point, in order to make
Quebec safe.

There are also dangers to be apprehended from the
occupation of the railway terminus at Riviere du
Loup which do not affect Quebec immediately, but
are, nevertheless, to be carefully guarded against. In
the event of war appearing imminent, a temporary
work to cover the terminus on the land side, and
sweep the river, would be necessary.

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CANADA.

There exist the remains of some outworks in ad-
vance of the citadel, which are so well placed that it
would be very desirable to reconstruct defences on
their sites. They are called +he French works, and
their position does credit to ti. ^kill of the engineer
who chose it.

The British flag has waved for just 102 years from
Cape Diamond, but the Fleur-de-lis had fluttered on
the same point for 220 years, with the exception of
the three years from 1629 to 1632, when Sir David
Kirke placed Quebec in our hands.

Nothing proves the inaccuracy of artillery in those
days more strikingly than the inability of the French,
on Cape Diamond, to prevent the British transports
landing their men at Point Levi, although the St.
Lawrence is little more than 1000 yards broad op-
posite the citadel. By our bombardment, however,
we nearly laid Quebec in the dust before the action.

On account of the very natural remembrance of
the glory of Wolfe's attack, his death and victory, it
has almost been forgotten that our first attempt to '
land at Montmorenci was repulsed by Montcalm
with the loss of 600 men ; and it was only when the
original scheme failed, that Wolfe conceived the plan
of reembarking his troops, and landing above the
town. He had 8000 regular troops ; the Fronch had
10,000 men, but of these only five battalions were
regular French soldiers. Montcalm believed no doubt
that he could drive the British into the river, or force
them to surrender, and he threw the force of his at-
tack on the British right, which rested on the river.
The French right, consisting of Indians and Qana-
dians, was easily routed ; the French left, deprived
of the services of its general and of his second in
command, was ultimately broken, and fled towards
the town, covered in some degree by the centre
battalions, which fell back steadily; nor was it till
five days after the battle that Quebec fell into our
hands. The fire must have been exceedingly close

WOLFE — MURRAY ~ ARNOLD.

103

and

and desperate ; and its effects speak well for the
efficiency of old Brown Bess at close quarters, for
out of the force engaged, the British lost over 630,
and the French 1500, of whom 1000 were wounded
or taken prisoners. There was little artillery engaged ;
for we had but one, and the French but two or three
pieces on the heights. A very few months afterwards
we had nigh lost that which we had so gallantly and
fortunately gained.

On the 28th April next year, General Murray,
following the example of Montcalm, and depriving
himself of the advantages which a position inside the
walls of Quebec would have given him, moved out on
the Heights of Abraham, with 3000 men and twenty
guns, to oppose the French under the Chevalier de
Levi, who were moving down upon the city. In an ill-
conceived attack on the enemy, Murray lost no less
than 1000 men and all his guns, and had to retreat
to the city. He was only relieved by the arrival of a
British squadron in the river, which compelled the
French to retire with the loss of all their artillery.

Looking down upon the narrow path below the
parapet, one must do credit to the daring of Arnold,
Montgomery, and the Americans in their disastrous
attempt to carry the citadel by an escalade. Arnold,
after his astonishing march and desperate perils by
the Kennebec and Chaudiere, — which has been well
styled by General Carmichael Smyth one of the most
wonderful instances of perseverance and spirit of
enterprise upon record, — followed the course pur-
sued by Wolfe ; and embarking at Point Levi, occu-
pied the Heights of Abraham but when Montgomery
joined him from Montreal, it was found they had no
heavy artillery. Thus they were forced either to
march back again, or to try to carry the place by
storm. Two columns, led by Arnold and Montgom-
ery, endeavored to push through the street at the foot
of the citadel, one from the east and another from
the west.

104

CANADA.

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The Canadians say, that after Montj^omery car-
ried the entrenchment, which extended from the foot
of the dirt* to the river, he rushed at the head of his
column, followed by a group of officers, towards a
second work, on which was mounted a small field-
j)iece. The Americans were just within twenty yards
when a Canadian fired the gun, which was loaded
with grape. Montgomery and the officers who fol-
lowed him were swept down in a heap of killed and
wounded, and the column at once fled in confusion.
Arnold, who had forced his way into the houses
under the citadel, was carried back wounded soon
after his gallant advance ; and the Canadians again
claim for one of their own countrymen, named Dam-
bourges, the honor of having led the sortie from the
citadel which charged the Americans, and forced
those who were not slain to surrender.

Certainly the Canadians showed upon that occa-
sion, as no doubt they would again, a strong indis-
position to fraternize with the American apostles of
liberty, equality, and fraternity; they harassed their
communications, and, under their seigneurs, cut off
several detachments. The attempt on Quebec was
never repeated ; and the Americans fared but ill in
both their Canadian campaigns.

A well-organized expedition made in winter time
would now be attended with far greater danger than
it was in former days, and if the snow remained in
good condition, artillery, provisions, and munitions
of war could be transported with greater facility than
on the ordinary country roads. Quebec would,
under these circumstances, be deprived of the co-
operation of the fleet ; but with the improvement in
the defence which would be effected by the erection
of a regular work at Point Levi, and by the altera-
tions indicated in the citadel itself, Quebec would be
in a position to resist any force the Americans might
direct against it, and would have nothing to fear ex-
cept from regular siege operations, which there was

QUEBEC.

105

no chance of interrupting or raising. It would be
most important to have the feelings of the inhabitants
enlisted on our side. I fear there is reason to believe
that they are antagonistic to the Americans, rather
than violently enamored of ourselves.

Having enjoyed a view from the Flag-staff Tower,
3f50 feet above the river, which in summer must be
one of the grandest in the world, and which even now
was full of interest, my visit to the Citadel was ter-
minated by lunch in the mess-room, and I returned
homewards through the city. I was encircled with
people enjoying the keen bright air, though the ther-
mometer was twenty degrees below freezing point.

Not the least interesting to me of the people were
the hdhitans in their long robes gathered in round the
waist by scarlet or bright-colored sashes, with long
boots, and fur caps, and French faces, chatting in
their Old-World French ; and the monks, or regular
clergy, who moved as beings of another age and world
through the more modern types of civilization, — such
as fast officers in fast sleighs, and the Anglicized
families in their wheelless caleches. I had the honor
of an invitation to dine at the club called Stadacona,
which is a corruption or modification of Indian
words signifying " the site of a strait," where I met a
number of the citizens of Quebec at an excellent sub-
stantial dinner, which had far more of English tastes
than of French cookery about it. The conversation
did not disclose any symptoms of the tendency to-
wards Americanization which the Northern journals
are so fond of attributing to the people of Canada ;
but it was perceptible that a war with America was
regarded as an evil which could only fall on Canada
because of her connection with Great Britain, and
that Great Britain ought therefore to take a main
part in it. The Canadians are proud of the part
borne by De Salaberry and others in the former war;
but, greatly as the country has advanced, I doubt if
there is now such a population of ready, hardy fight-

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106

CANADA.

ing men as then existed ; for most of the hunters,
lumberers, and nomad half-castes, who cannot be
called settlers, have been absorbed in cultivated lands
and settled habits. The appointment of British offi-
cers to organize and command the volunteers has given
offence ; and I think it would be advisable, if not
necessary, in case of actual war, to let the volunteers
choose their officers within certain limits, and to give
the authorities corresponding to our lords-lieutenant
of counties power to name the commanding officers
of corps, under the sanction of the Governor-General.

LOWER CANADA.

107

CHAPTER VIII.

Lower Cnnada and Ancient France. — Soldiers in Garrison at Quebec. —
Canadian Volunteers. — The Governor-(}eneral Viscount Monck. — Uni-
form ill tlie United States. — A Sleigliing Part}'. — Dinner and Calico
Ball.

I AM afraid that in this Lower Canada just now
we do but occupy the position of a garrison. The
aspect and the habit of the popular mind are foreign,
but they are not French any more — at least modern
French ; rather are they of an Old- World France -
of a France v/hen there was an ancient faith and a
son of St. Louis ; when there was a white flag blaz-
oned with fleur-de-lis, and a priesthood dominant —
a France loyal, chivalrous, and bigoted, without
knowledge and without railways, content to stand on
ancient paths, and hating reform and active mutation.
What a change has occurred since the old Bourbon
struck the medal with its inscription, " Francia in
Novo Orbe Victrix, Kebeca Liberata. 1690." There
may be marty in Canada who cannot forget their
origin and their race, kept alive in their memories by
a common tongue, ancient traditions, and antipathy
to a foreign rule exercised from a far-off" land, and
sometimes manifested by rude, rough instruments,
and by a mechanism of force ; but it would be well
for them to remember that, whilst France has passed
through many convulsions, Canada has been saved
from external and internal foes, with the exception of
the American invasion in 1812, and the troubles
caused by her own disaffected people at a later period,
whilst as an appanage of France she must have
undergone incessant anxieties and assaults. She has
been spared the agonies of the Revolution, the ex-

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108

CANADA.

haustive glories and collapse of the Empire, the
reaction of the " Desired one " — the consequences
of the convulsions of 1830, of 1848, of 1852. Great
Britain, too, is bound to remember that she is deal-
ing with a brave and ancient race, delivered to her
rule under treaty, who have, on the whole, resisted
many temptations, and preserved a firm attachment
to her government in the face of an aggressive and
prosperous Republic. Our soldiers must be taught
to respect the people of Canada as their equals and
fellow-subjects, — a hard lesson perhaps for imperious
islanders, but not the less necessary to learn, if we
would preserve their attachment and our territories.

In justice to them I must say that the 60th Rifles
gave no occasion to the people to complain, though
Quebec is not destitute of its " rough " fellows, and
of provocations ; and that during my stay in Canada
I only heard of one instance in which officers or men
could be accused of indiscretion or want of respect
for the people. Whiskey is shockingly cheap and
atrociously bad, and public houses are only too
numerous, so that the base upon which the evils
which afflict the soldier rest is not wanting here any
more than at home.

A garrison rule must be very galling unless the
officers and men are minded to behave themselves,
and it would cause me regret if my observations of
some regrettable circumstances in that relation were
confirmed by larger experience. Of course the peas-
ants are provoking ; they are heavy and coarse, rely-
ing on their vis inertice, and aggressively pa'ssive.
The other day, for instance, w^hen Lord Monck was
leading his sleigh party, several country carts came
down from the opposite direction in the deep track,
and it was with the utmost difficulty the driver of our
party avoided collision with them, as the habitans
would not get out of the way. Still one does not like
to see young Greenhorn of the Invincibles flicking up
the bourgeoisie with his whip as he whisks round a

DINNER AT LORD MONCK'S.

109

corner, for not getting out of the way. A gallant
captain of volunteer artillery complainod greatly of
matters of this kind, but he also expressed very un-
reasonable jealousy respecting the appointment of
English olKcers to superintend and organize and com-
mand the force.

February IWi. — Still more snow falling, and the
cold sharper than ever. Visited the Parliament
Houses and Library, of which more hereafter ; saw
the Ursuline Chapel; called on Mr. Cartier, Mr.
Macdonald, Mr. Cauchon, and Mr. Gait, members
of the Ministry, to whom I had introductions. In
the evening dined with the Governor-General and
Lady Monck at Government House. Although His
Excellency has been but a short time in the coun-
try, and succeeded an able, energetic man, he has
already gained the confidence of men difficult to
win, and gives fair promise of administering the
affairs of the provinces with sagacity and vigor. It
occurred to me, considering the position of Canada,
that, to escape from the consequences of divided
views and command, it would be desirable to have
the military and civil administration in one hand at
critical junctures, or to send out a soldier as Gov-
ernor-General. To be a good soldier one must be
gifted with the faculties which constitute a good
ruler, and the civilian can only possess those same
qualities minus the special knowledge of the pro-
fessional military man. Lord Monck, however, has
applied himself with ability and zeal to the consider-
ation of the provincial defences.

The table of the Canadian Viceroy was elegant
and hospitable ; and it was a relief to the eye to
catch such semblance of state as was afforded by the
scarlet uniforms and gold lace of the aides-de-camp,
military secretary, and others of His Excellency's
household, who were at dinner, after the long mo-
notony of American black. Not but that now and
then uniform was creeping in at private dinner-tables

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110

CANADA.

in the States also, principally on the persons of for-
eign-born officers. Bnt it is, or rather it was, op-
posed to the custom of the country.

I remember Mr. Seward telling me one day, when
we met in Washington, that it was contrary to eti-
quette for a foreigner to wear the livery of his royal
master or mistress in the United States. Soon after-
wards I saw at table a colonel in full uniform of the
French infantry ; but, on inquiry, I learned he was
in command of a New York regiment composed of
his exiled compatriots ; and a very gallant regiment
— in spite of its Anglophobia, loudly expressed dur-
ing the Trent affair — it proved itself. Even here
let me tell a story. When the colonel in question,
who had been for many years a journalist in New
York, appeared in Washington, after getting his
commission, he repaired to the house of an astute
and witty diplomatist, with whom he had an ancient
intimacy. " Ah ! my dear colonel," exclaimed the
Minister, " by accepting the command of your regi-
ment, you have cut short the friendship of ten
years." — " How is that. Excellence ? " — " Why, how
can we ever meet again as of yore? I cannot dine
with you ; for how dare I present myself in your
camp ? " — " Why not, Excellence ? " — '' Why, my
dear friend, do you think I could ever get my hair
dressed well enough to please the five hundred
French coiffeurs in your regiment ? " — " But, at all
events, my dear Minister, I can come and dine with
you ! " — " Impossible, my friend ! How could I ven-
ture to ask a man to dinner who has under his
orders five hundred French cooks ! "

More snow. The landlord is rather impressed
with the news that the Union army is positively
about to march on Richmond at once ; and, indeed,
it is only the sceptical mind, with some knowledge
of facts, that can resist the etfect of the constant
iteration of falsehoods in the American papers,
which never loses its influence on the American
mind.

A SLEIGHING PARTY.

Ill

February 12th. — Notwithstandinfif a slight fall of
white rain, Lord Monck had a sleighing party to
Lorette, an Indian village, where we repaired in
great force, ladies and gentlemen, furred and muffed,
and enjoyed ourselves greatly, lunching in a very
pleasant rustic sort of auberge, half buried in the snow.
These sleighing parties render a Canadian winter
tolerable, and there is a certain degree of " chance
of being lost" which commends them to the adven-
turous and forms a theme for many small stories.
On our coming home, we had nigh experienced one
of these mild adventurcL, for the snow fell again and
obscured the face of the country, — a very white and
well-washed face indeed, with no remarkable feat-
ures in it, — and it was by chance we got on the
track at a certain turn in the road, which was only
marked out by the summits of the submerged fences
and hedges peering over the drift, and looking un-
commonly like each other all over the country.
This little experience of travel rather dispelled no-
tions I had of the great practicability of a winter
campaign, for it would be quite impossible to move
guns and troops with certainty in a country where
all movements depended on the snow not falling, in
opposition to the probability that it would do so.

The officers of the 60th Rifles entertained His
Excellency at dinner in the evening, and I had the
honor of being invited to meet him. The entertain-
ment took place in the mess-room of the citadel.
Little more than a century ago, M. de Montcalm
may have been dining on the same spot with the
regiment of Musketeers of Guienne. Who may
dine there in 1962 ? The evening was ended at a
" calico " ball for the benefit of the poor of the city,
which was attended by the townspeople only, the
ladies being dressed in calico, which was afterwards,
I believe, with the receipts, distributed to the indi-
gent.

February IWi. — Accompanied Mr. Bernard, who

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112

CANADA.

kindly placed his knowledge and good offices at my
disposal, to see some of the lions of the city ; and,
thus ably conducted, I visited the Parliament Houses,
the Library, the Ursuline Convent, the Rink, and
many other places ; I dined in the evening with Mr.
Gait, the Finance Minister, whom I had the pleas-
ure of meeting at Washington some time before.
Mr. Cartier, the head of the Administration, and
nearly all the Ministers, were present. Afterwards
attended a ball at Mr. Cauchon's, one of Mr. Gait's
colleagues, which was an assemblage of the Slite of
the old French society of the place. My compan-
ions left me to-day for England, where one was
anxious to take his seat on the opening of Parlia-
ment, and the other went with him, I suppose, for
companionship's sake.

ENGLISH OFFICERS IN THE STATES.

113

CHAPTER IX.

Canadian View of the American Struggle. — English Officers in the States.
My own Position in the States and in Canada. — The Ursulines in
Quebec. — General Montcalm. — French Canadians. — Imperial Hon-
ors. — Celts and Saxons. — Salmon Fishing. — Early Government of
Canada. — Past and Future.

Whilst I was in Quebec the American papers
ceased not to record great Union successes, impend-
ing expeditions, and, as is their wont, to throw out
hints of some inscrutable woe conceived by the
head of Stanton, and to be wrought by the arm of
McClellan on the South. " Jeff. Davis going to
Texas or Mexico — The neck of the rebellion broken
— 'Our young Napoleon preparing for the last grand
campaign." Many of our officers were very anxious
to visit the Federal armies, but the tone of the
Northern press was so exceedingly virulent and in-
sulting toward Englishmen, that the authorities,
mistaking their license for the real opinion of Ameri-
cans, discouraged applications for leave as much as
possible. This was to be regretted ; the more so
that those officers who went from Canada to the
States were not provided with any official letters,
and were, indeed, in some instances, misguided so
far as to conceal their military character. It could
not but have been most useful to our officers to have
been enabled to take fair measure of the system and
capability of an American army, North or South ;
to have formed an estimate of their generals and of
the value of their several arms — cavalry, artillery,
and infantry, each of which presented conspicuous
examples of what to avoid, more especially the first,
whilst the second had peculiar features worthy of
study, and the third was a very wonderful illustra-
tion of the volunteer principle.

::^].'!

i ■ i

Sr''l«l

.^'1

^ III

r!MiH

^ :

114

CANADA.

When I represented the importance of sending
officers to the armies for the special purpose of exam-
ining and reporting on their condition, I was met by
the reply that it would be a violation of neutrality to
dispatch commissioners to the Federal army, unlesa
similar officers were sent to the Confederate head-
quarters ; and that it would not be possible to adopt
the latter step, as the Washington Government
would not grant them leave to go through the lines,
and would resent the proposal. When some officers
were at last dispatched with an official sanction to
the army at Yorktown, they made their appearance
in a forlorn, destitute, and helpless condition, which
made their companions in arms blush for them.

For myself, I had every reason to believe that no
objection would be made to my accompanying the
army under General McClellan. Several senators
who had given me their good wishes, were most de-
sirous that I should be able to set off an account of
a victory against the narrative of the retreat from
Bull Run. Although I had been recovering a little
from the effects of the ludicrous and malignant false-
hoods circulated against me up to the Trent affair, I
was tres mal vu in some quarters in Washington, and
of course I was included in the general outburst
against all British subjects with which the surrender
of Mason and Slidell was accompanied.

In Canada I had recovered health and spirits;
nay, more — some small shreds of popularity in
the States. The secretaries of literary institutions
renewed their requests for lectures, the autograph
hunters sought the post-office once more with their
flattering though ill-spelt missives ;. but there was no
inducement to return to the States till the army of
McClellan was actually about to take the field. The
exploits of the army of the West had, indeed, at-
tracted my eyes in that direction. The capture of
Fort Henry and Fort Donelson promised well for its
future career, but if I travelled so far out of my way

}]

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

115

I should have lost my chance of seeing the most
brilliant and important campaign. The chief interest
was certainly concentrated on the Potomac, and in
the operations against Richmond. The West was
far away, and it would have been a chance against
my letters reaching home so as to anticipate the ex-
aggerated illusions of the New York journals. And
so I quietly waited and watched till the news from
the States became so triumphant and decided that
it behooved me to return, lest some important move-
ment should take place on the Potomac. As I could
not be with more than one army, I then resolved to
follow the fortunes of McClellan's great host, which
indeed was regarded by Americans themselves with
the greatest anxiety. And so, after a few days, I
set about leaving cards and paying farewell visits to
those who had so kindly entreated me in the City
of the Strait.

The learned institutions, the libraries, the machin-
ery of education, the various literary and scientific
associations, and the admirable seminaries of Que-
bec, are most creditable to the community ; they
would place that city on a level with some of the
most learned of European cities of far greater an-
tiquity ; and the public spirit and intelligence of its
citizens have been fully evinced in the aid and sup-
port they have rendered to institutions designed for
the spread of knowledge.

The public buildings have also the stamp of re-
spectable antiquity upon them ; none of them possess
any considerable architectural merits, but several are
exceedingly interesting. Constant fires have proved
nearly ruinous to the buildings erected by the orig-
inal settlers; and those which have been subse-
quently built are not remarkable for beauty — in-
deed, I may say that the Laval University is one of
the plainest buildings it has ever been my lot to be-
hold.

On all sides it is admitted that the nuns of the

• r

ri :'

116

CANADA.

Ursuline Convent have conferred the greatest benefit
upon the city by their unceasing devotion to the
task of education. Many neople of respectability —
Protestants as well as Catholics — send their children
to be educated by these excellent women, represent-
ing the system inaugurated more than 200 years ago
by Madeleine de Chauvigny, who, moved by grief
for the loss of her husband to devote herself to
Heaven, and to the spread of the Christian faith,
sailed forth from France, and, landing at Quebec,
established schools for the Indian girls to learn the
faith of the white race, which was destined to destroy
their own.

The Ursuline Convent is a massive building, ugly
as most convents of modern date are, standing
amidts the houses of the city. The day I visited it
there were no means of seeing the schools, and I was
obliged to be content with a sight of the chapel in-
stead. On ringing the bell by the side of a massive
iro»» -bound door, I was admitted to the front of a
grille^ through which I conveyed my wishes to the
unseen lady who demanded the purport of my visit ;
and, after a short delay, the clergyman attached to
the service of the church was ready, and an old
Swiss portress conducted me to the entrance of the
chapel, which is of large size, of no pretensions to
architect ral beauty, and of little interest to me for
anything but the fact that within its walls lie the
bones of Montcalm.

The Ursulines, however, are of opinion that they
have got a collection of paintings of merit, and I was
called upon to admire some extraordinary specimens
of art very nearly approaching the class denominated
daubs, which were not recommended even by an-
tiquity. Although the priest bore a pure Irish pat-
ronymic, he had never been in the British Isles, hav-
ing been educated in France, where he was born,
whence he came out to Canada in the course of his
ministry. He was an agreeable, intelligent, gentle-

MONTCALM.

117

%f-.

manly man, but he had evidently no faith in the
pictures, and probably not much greater in some
other remarkable decorations exhibited within the
holy walls. The altar-piece aiid two or tliree sub-
jects belonging probably to the old convent, rescued
the collection from entire condemnation.

On the wall of the chapel, on the left-hand side
fjom the entrance, there is a marble slab, on which
are engraved the following words: " Honneur a
Montcalm! Le destin en lui derobant la victoire I'a
recompensd par uiie mort glorieuse! " The graceful
words are due to Lord Aylmer. Montcalm received
his death-wound from a ball fired by the only piece
of artillery which we could get up the heights ; but
like his great rival and conqueror he was wounded
in the fight by a musket-shot at a comparatively
early stage of the battle. Like Wolfe, too, Montcalm
loved literature : " dgalement propre aux batailles et
aux academies, son d<^sir dtait d'unir aux lauriers de
Mars les palmes de Minerve."

The following is a translation of the inscription
and epitaph written by the Academy of Inscriptions
and Belles Lettres of Paris in 1761, and inscribed on
a monument which that body had designed to erect
in Quebec, but which never reached that city, the
vessel on which it had been embarked having been
lost at sea : — .

" Here Lieth

In either hemisphere to live forever,

LEWIS JOSEPH DE MONTCALM GOZON,

Marquis of St. v^eran, Baron of Gabriac,

Commander of the Order of St. Lewis,

Lieutenant-General of the French army ;

not less an excellent citizen than soldier,

who knew no desire but that of

TRUE glory;

Happy in a natural genius, improved by literature ;

Having gone through the several steps of military honors

with an uninterrupted lustre ;

skilled in all the arts of war,

the juncture of the times and the crisis of danger ;

. :■!,

V..( 1

118

CANADA,

m ■ I.

In Italy, in Bohemia, in Germany,

an itulefatijjahlo general :

IIo 80 di3ehnr«reil his important trusts,

That he seemed always eciual to still jireatcr.

At len^^th,. grown bright with perils,

sent to secure the province of Canadai

with a handful of men,

ho more than once repulsed the enemy's forces,

and made himself master of their forts,

replete with troops and ammunition.

Inured to cold, hunger, watching, and labors,

unmindful of himself,

he hfid no sensation but for his soldiers :

An enemy with the fiercest impetuosity ;

a victor with the tenderest humanity ;

adverse fortune he compensated with valor ;

the want of strength with skill and activity ;

and, with his counsel and support,

for four years protracted the impending

fate of the colony.

Having, with various artifices,

long baffled a great army,

headed by an expert and intrepid commander,

and a fleet furnished with all warlike stores,

compelled at length to an engagement,

he fell — in the first rank — in the first onset,

warm with those hopes of religion

which he had always cherished ;

to the inexpressible loss of his own army,

and not without the regret of the enemy's,

XIV. Se-.tember, A. D. MDCCLIX.

Of his age, XLVIII.

His weeping countrymen

deposited the remains of their excellent General- in a grave

which a fallen bomb in bursting had excavated for him,
recommending them to the generous faith of their enemies."

Had his counsel been taken by de Vaudreuil, we
never could have occupied Point Levi, and in all
probability the expedition to Quebec would have
failed.

There is something exceedingly touching in the
death of the two generals in the same battle. My
guide, however, was more interested in calling my
attention to the ornaments of the altar, and to a
skull, which he assured me was that of Montcalm.

i!,

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emies."

Jil, we

in all

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Im.

THE FRENCH CANADIANS. 119

»»Thronj?h o.vh Iftck-lnsfrc cycloss hole,
Tho gay nn-css of wisdom ami of wit.
And passion's host that never brook'd control,'

was seen filled with dust, and the jiricst held in his
hand, like a cricket-ball, the home of the subtle intel-
lect of the man who raised to such a height the
power of France in the western world. When tho
old Indian chief told Montcalm, — " Tu es petit!
mais je vols dans tes yeux la hauteur du chene et la
vivacitii des yeux des aigles," how little the politic,
gallant Frenchman ever thought his skull would be
kept in a box in a priest's cupboard, and shown as a
curiosity to strangers from that barbarous Britain.

I cannot say that the priest succeeded in pointing
out anything as interesting among the pictures as
even the skull of the Marquis de Montcalm.

So far as I can ascertain, no Canadian painter has
yet been inspired by the faith and devotion which
wrought such miracles and wonders in medieeval
Europe, to concentrate his talents on church pictures.

There is not much good fellowship between the
French Roman Catholics and their Irish co-religion-
ists ; and I was told that few of the latter ever en-
tered the chapel of the Ursulines, though they con-
stitute an appreciable proportion of the population.
The Canadians, indeed, retain a good deal of the old
French sentiment, and regard the Irish very much as
their ancestors, under St. Ruth, looked on the poor
vassals of the Irish Jacobins. The Irish are, however,
more energetic and restless, and do not lose by com-
parison with the unenterprising inhabitants.

The feelings and faith of the French Canadian
tend to keep up all that is French in his nature.
Small wonder that it should be so. But it may be
doubted whether he has much sympathy with the
Empire, though he is proud of the glory and renown
attained by the parent stock under the " Great Gaul "
who founded it.

In visiting the beautiful and well-ordered Library

120

CANADA.

of the Houses of Parliament, the state of which does
honor to the excellent curator, I observed several very
handsome volumes of the most costly works marked
with the French imperial c'pher. They had, it ap-
ptared, been presented to the Canadinn Parliament
by the Emperor Louis Napoleon, and they were
pointed out to me with much pride and pleasure;
but I looked in vain for any such outward and visi-
ble sign of favor and policy on the part of the reign-
ing House in England. The conduct of PVance
towards Canada in former times, if not always just
to the settlers, was indeed exceedingly liberal to the
landed interest ; on one occasion some sixteen coun-
try gentlemen were raised to the French peerage.
The mo >t a Canadian can hope for now is a barren
baronetcy or the honors of the Bath. By conferring
on our colonies, dependencies, and provinces very
liberal democratic forms of government institutions,
and at the same time refusing to give the counter*
poise which an extension of the aristocratic system
to them would bestow, we hasten the coming of the
day when separation becomes inevitable. When
separation takes place, the difference of institutions
begets opposition of views and of policy, distrust,
and, finally, collision.

One of my New York acquaintances, who pro-
fessed to be somewhat of a philosopher, said, one
day, he was quite sure the colonies never would have
revolted, no matter how high tea was taxed, if the
king had made a few of the leading Americans peers
of the realm. The dream of an Imperial Senate with
representatives from all the portions of the wide-
spread territories of Great Britain may excite the
imagination, but it is not likely to be ever realized.
The honors which have been conferred on such men
as Sir Etienne Tachd and Sir Narcisse Belleau, are
highly prized, and a more liberal bestowal of the
cheap defence of nations would do much to gratify
the reasonable ambition of the Canadians.

ANCIENT MEMORIES.

121

ch does
ral very
marked

it ap-
lament
" were

asure :

visi-

reign-
France
ys just
to the
coun-
serage.
barren
ferring
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have
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men
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atify

That there should be some — and not a little —
jealousy of foreign interference and usurpation of
places, profits, and honors, by the English families,
is not unnatural. I am not persuaded that it was
right to hand over the whole direction of the volunteer
and militia organization to British officers, who are
by the many viften identified with the last noisy ensign
\<rho has been playing pranks in the Rue de Mon-
tague. The remembrances of the old rebellion have
not altogether died out, but it appeared to me that
the Canadians are a mild, tractable race, fond of
justice, a little too fond of law, and quite content to
live under any rule which secured them equal rights,
and gave them facility for moderate litigation and
religious exercises.

While I was in Quebec some foolish young men
stormed a house under a misapprehension as to its
character. The same thing might have happened in
Great Britain ; it would have excited no feeling —
the perpetrators might have compounded for their
folly, or have suffered the penalty. Here the matter
was hushed up, and some of the Canadians were
vexed and angry. Provincials must necessarily be
jealous of the smallest appearance of disrespect or
show of distinctive justice between the two races.

There are very few persons in England acquainted
with the many ancient and glorious memories which
endear Quebec to the French Canadians. Jacques
Cartier is to them a greater discoverer and navigator
than Captain Cook is to us, and a long list of names
thoroughly French illustrate the early history of the
city. De Frontenac, Le Chevalier de Levi, Dam-
bourges and others are not known to those who are
well acquainted with Wolfe and Montcalm.

Quebec, though doubtless the oldest city existing
on the continent, is in a very different condition from
that in which it was for many a year after it was
founded by Champlain, more than two centuries and
a half ago. It is quite delightful, after a sojourn in

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122

CANADA.

the United States, to ramble through the tortuous
streets, lined by tall narrow windowed houses, with
irregular gables, even though an air of something like
decay has settled upon the place. There is no trace
in Quebec of the feverish activity of American cities —
no great hotels nor eager multitudes thronging the
pavements ; but in summer the quays present a most
animated appearance, for the noble waters of the St.
Lawrence are then laden with stately ships, and
traffic is carried on extensively in the exchange of the
exhaustless forest-produce of the back country for the
manufactures of Europe.

The Indian squaws and their people have well-
nigh vanished from the scene, and it would almost
seem as though they were unfit to learn the doctrines
of Christianity — it is certain they had not qualities to
permit of their flourishing in the midst of Christians.
Other colored races brought in contact with the
white man have saved themselves from extermination
by service ; but the individual Indian is feudatory to
no man — he says "Ich Dien" to no created being.
The result is, that, slowly and surely, he is driven
further and further out into the waste, or is caught
up in the waters of civilization, and held, like the fly
in amber, as a jurious instance of the incompatibility
of one substance with the surrounding particles of
another. He will never again play a part in any
contest which may take place between the British
and Americans; notwithstanding the efforts made by
the Confederates to use the Southern Indians in the
present war, no adeqate results have been obtained
for the trouble. In the War of Independence the
Indians served on both sides, but the odium of
employing them in the first instance against the
colonists must undoubtedly rest on the British min-
istry of the day.

Although the distance from Montreal to Quebec,
taking ^he course of the river, is but 180 miles, there
is considerable difl'erence in climate. The scenery

FRENCH CANADIANS.

123

around the capital of the Lower Province, and the
present scat of Government, is more elevated and
picturesque; but the quality of the soil is not so
favorable to agriculture. The habitant is a very dif-
ferent being from the Scotch or English farmer; he
regards with aversion agricultural implements of the
new school, and woos the earth to yield its fruits with
the most simple appliances ; he is stubborn in his
attachment to antique customs, and if he has most
of the virtues, he assuredly has some of the faults
of a purely rural agricultural population.

The events of the rebellion induced us, perhaps, to
underrate the military capacity of the French Cana-
dians, but they may point with pride to the deeds of
their ancestors in defence of their soil against
American invasion, and they would, no doubt,
maintain in the field the reputation of the race from
which they spring. The great defect of the native is,
perhaps, his want of enterprise. He rarely emigrates
to new scenes of labor, and even the inhabitant of
the town shrinks from an encounter with the active
American or Anglo-Saxon. Thus it is, at the present
moment, that nearly all the agricultural and industrial
enterprises of Lower Canada have originated with
or been developed by persons of a dili'erent stock.
Want of capital is the great evil which afflicts the
inhabitants of both Canadas, and even the oil-wells
and gold mines have, to a large extent, fallen into
th^ hands of the solid men of Boston, and of the
hard men of New England; but the Canadians
would behave in the face of an enemy with the
spirit, courage, and conduct which they have ex-
hibited on their own limited battle-fields.

It would be of little value, within the limits of this
volume, to attempt a recapitulation of the principal
events of Canadian history, either in connection with
its early founders or with the English government;
but surely the materials are not wanting for an
interesting record of the struggles of the enterprising

124

CANADA.

Europeans who contended so fiercely with barbarous
races and an inclement clime to found what already
promises to be a great nation. The savage has died
out, or he has been civilized into a degraded creature
for whom no place seems left at the great table of
nature, and the civilized man his successor has learned
to control and mollify the influences of climate, and
to extort from the soil fruits in abundance. But
Canada is by no means as cold as it has been painted,
or rather, it would be more proper to say, the cold
there is not so intolerable as we think. It would
astonish many people in this country to learn that
the Northern States of America suffer more from cold
than does the vast frontier region of Canada which
borders on the Lakes. In Iowa, for instance, the cold
is more intense than at Montreal. Grapes and
peaches ripen on the Canadian shores of the great
lakes; plums, melons, tomatoes, and apples thrive and
grow to perfection in the provinces. As cultivation
advances the rigor of winter is appreciably dimin-
ished, although the farmers, with that customary
want of submission to the will of Providence which
characterizes all people who live in dependence on
the seasons, complain that the frost is not as severe
as it was in the good old times, and that they are
deprived of the advantages of long-enduring snow
and rigid winters.

What glorious visions of shooting now and of
fishing in spring had opened before me, if the Federal
army would only stay quiet ! Not, indeed, that there
is much sport for the rifle or fowling-piece now left
in this part of Canada in winter, except moose, for
which I did not care much, but that such strange
scenes could be visited and described. In open
weather there is a little shooting of quails, partridges,
and ground game; before winter sets in there is
plenty of wild ducks, but it is in fishing that the
province is most tempting. The Godbout, uncertain
as it is, would tempt any fisherman to a pilgrimage —

SOCIETY IN QUEBEC.

125

a river in which one man, Captain Strachan, played
and landed forty-two salmon and grilse in two half-
days. But then the black flies and mosquitoes!
Well, of this more hereafter. Though little that
more must be, as long as there is such a guide-book
as that of Dr. Adamson — ^the charming, amiable, and
accomplished gentleman, in whom I was rejoiced to
recognize the type of le vrai gentilhomme irlandais ;
who knows everything that ever was done or
thought by Canadian salmon, and is ever willing
to impart his knowledge.

To a young officer fresh from a Mediterranean or
home station — unless he were at Aldershot or the
Curragh, perhaps — Quebec must appear rather dull.
He has none of the excellent sporting for great and
small game which India affords. Society presents
itself under a new aspect. A people speaking a
different language are not his servants, nor his kith
and kin, and yet he must protect and fight for them.
He has no sympathy with a nationality which is
prouder of Montcalm than of Wolfe, and which
claims, nevertheless, the lions and the harp as ^^ noire
drapeau.''^ So if he be * iwise and unreasonable^
he takes dislikes and ascribes every inconvenience
he endures, not to the policy of the mother-country
he serves, but to the people of the province.

I was present' one evening at a ball given by one of
the ministers, a French Canadian, at which there
was a large assemblage of all the best people in the
city, and J was struck by the absence of young
officers, although many of higher rank were present.
A lady to whom I mentioned the circumstance, said,
" Oh ! they rarely come among us, so we have left
off asking them. If they do come, they stand with
their backs against the wall criticizing our style and
our dresses, and never offer to dance till supper is
over, when they vanish." This is by no means uni-
versally applicable to all societies or regiments, but
it is no doubt the truth in some instances.

126

CANADA.

¥:' 9t

I ;...

'■ r

One must regret that the English language was
not introduced into the law courts and legislature.
Experience proves that there are no instruments so
powerful in sustaining the existence of a nationality
as the tongue and pen. The Canadians of to-day
affect to be French, more because they speak a
French at which Paris laughs, than from any real
sympathy founded on mutual interests or present
history between France and Canada. I was assured
by one earnest Canadian, that France had never
forgiven the Bourbons for the fault of Louis XV., in
ceding Canada to Great Britain. He had more
reason probably for asserting that, but for the estab-
lishment of our supremacy in 1765, the rebellion of
the thirteen colonies of North America would not
have occurred when it did. But the conquest by
Wolfe, confirmed by treaty, put an end to most cruel
and barbarous maasacres, outrages, and petty border
wars, between the French and English settlers and
their auxiliary tribes of Indians, and if it had been
attended or followed by any wise and liberal acts of
government, must have produced very great results
on the tone and temper of the Canadian mind.

It would have been wonderful indeed, if, a century
ago, when our statute-book was written in blood,
when our fellow-subjects at home were under the
ban of religious disability, and beaten to the earth
beneath the weight of penal enactments, any traces
of wisdom had been exhibited in the management
of a distant dependency. Keeping alive the feel-
ings of a distinct nationality by the powerful ma-
chinery of different national laws and customs, the
conquerors ruled the province by military law for
more than ten long years ; but the tempest which
agitated the American colonies was already felt in
the air. The ministry, anxious only to drain money
from their distant dependencies, were engaged in
devising taxes, whilst the colonists prepared to vin-
dicate, by force of arms, their great principle, that

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

127

u *

% .

representation was the basis of taxation. The two
Acts of 1774 were passed to enable the government
to raise revenues for the maintenance of the local
government, and for the appointment of a council
of government, nominated by the Crown. By the
capitulation of Quebec, the free exercise of their
religion was accorded to the Canadians. By the
Act of 1774, the Roman Catholic Church was rec-
ognized as established, and the " Coutume de Paris "
accepted as the foundation of civil and equity ad-
ministration.

Is it not strange that Great Britain should have
accorded such concessions jto Roman Catholics and
colonists, when the penal system was most rigor-
ously enforced in Ireland ? But is it not stranger
still, that the people of the American colonies, who
were about to set themselves up as the children and
the champions of freedom of faith and conscience,
should have taken bitter umbrage at those very con-
cessions ! The Americans of the North bore an ex-
ceeding animosity to the French Canadians. They
remonstrated in fierce, intolerant, and injurious lan-
guage with the people of Great Britain, for the ces-
sion of these privileges to the Canadians, and the
Continental Congress did not hesitate to say that
they thought " Parliament was not authorized by the
constitution to establish a religion fraught with san-
guinary and impious tenets."

In a strain of sublime impudence, considering the
work they were ready for, the same Congress also
expressed their astonishment that Parliament should
have consented to permit in Canada, " a religion that
has deluged your island with blood, and dispersed
impiety, bigotry , persecution, murder, and rebellion
through the world."

It may be worth while to notice the fact that the
first notion of united action on the part of the Brit-
ish North American Colonies may have been devel-
oped by the British Government, and that the idea

128

CANADA.

';f : i

of independence was suggested by the very recom-
mendations to self-defence which came from the
mother-country. The Convention of Delegates at
Albany in 1754, which met in consequence of the
advice tendered by the Home Government, adopted
a federal system, which contained, in effect, the germ
of the United States. Though this and similar
propositions were not entertained, the growth of such
an idea must have been rapid indeed. In the Brit-
ish colonial system there was the breath of life — a
little fanning, and the whole body was alive and
active. In the Canadian system there was only the
animating spirit of dependency on France, and on a
system in France, which was perishing before the
sneers of the new philosophy.

The French Canadians of the present day, in ac-
cusing the British Government of a hundred years
ago of want of liberality and foresight in the admin-
istration of their newly acquired territory, are wil-
fully blind to the sort of government which they
received from the Bourbons. The dominion of a
foreign race, however, is always galling, be it covered
ever so thickly with velvet, and all its acts are
regarded with suspicion and dislike. The conces-
sions and liberality of the British Government which
drew forth such indignant protests from the bigoted
New Englanders, was ascribed to fears of Canadian
revolt, or to a selfish desire to conciliate the good-
will of subjects who might become formidable ene-
mies. If England lost the American Colonies be-
cause she refused to accept a principle which,
however sound and just, was certainly new and not
accepted as of universal application, she needed not
to apprehend the recurrence of a separation, forcible
or peaceable, of Canada on any such grounds. It is
impossible for a country to be held by a more slender
cord ; and in all but the actual exercise of the sover-
eign style, title, and attributes, Canada is free and
independent. If the sentiment or the nationality of

FUTURE COMBINATIONS.

129

the Lower Canadians ever induces them to seek the
protection or rule of any European State, they will
no doubt at once conic into collision with Upper
Canada and the United States, and we can but pity
their infatuation. If Upper Canada thinks to better
herself by separation, and union with the Western
States, Great Britrin assuredly will never hold her by
force. It would be useless to discuss the rights and
obligations of a sovereignty and its nominal depen-
dency 4n relation to mutual succor in time of war ;
but it seems only fair that the freat permanent
works necessary for strategical purpoc .j, and as points
d'appui for the forces of the protecting military
power, should be made and repaired and garrisoned
at the imperial expense, whilst on the mass of the
population must be placed the task of rising to de-
fend their country from invasion, assisted by such
imperial troops as can be spared from the occupation
of the fixed points of defence. The Canadians must
not content themselves with the empty assertion that
if their country should be invaded Great Britain
alone is attacked. Let them emulate the Old Eng-
land Colonies, and the conduct of their ancestors in
1812. The United States bear them no good- will ;
and as the only power from which Canada has any-
thing to fear, the Americans would be just as likely
to make war against the Province as against the
Empire, and trust to their own impregnability, ex-
cept at sea, as a guarantee against any dangerpus
consequences.

The future is beyond our ken. There are prophets
who long ago predicted the amalgamation of the
Upper Province with the West, and who now find
greater hope for the realization of their soothsayings
in the approaching dissolution of the Federal States.
Others there are who see at no distant time the re-
establishment of a French dependency on the north-
ern portion of the Anglo-Saxon States, already
hemmed in on the slave border by the shadowy out-

130

CANADA.

lines of an empire under French protection. When
we see what has taken place on that continent within
the last hundred years, it is not to be said that com-
binations and occurrences nnuch more wonderful
will not come to pass before the present century
closes. The policy of a State, as the duty of an
individual, is to do what is right and leave the future
to work out its destiny.

CANADIAN HOSPITALITY.

131

CHAPTER X.

Canadian ITospitality. — Muffina. — Departure for the States. — Desertions.
iMftntreal a^iiin. — Southerners in Montreal. — Drill and Snow-Shoes. —
Winter Campaigning. — Snow-Drifts. — Military Discontent.

Although my residence in Quebec was very
short, I left the city with regret. Compared with
the cities of the States, its antiquity is venerable and
its ways are peace ; but from what I heard of public
amusement in summer time I should say that life
here would be found dull, as compared with exist-
ence in a European capital, or in a city so vainly
gay and profitably festive as New York. There is
no great wealth among the people, but a moderate
competency is largely enjoyed, and neither wealth
nor poverty attains undue dimensions.

I found at Quebec a very agreeable society, the
tone of feeling which prevails in a capital, the
utmost hospitality. Had I had a hundred mouths
they would here all have been kept busy. Invita-
tions came in scores, and were to be resisted with
difficulty. Knowing all this I am the more as-
tonished at the recent statements which I have
heard, that the Canadians have not extended any
civilities to our officers. If so, a great change must
have taken place. I am not now talking of sleigh-
ing parties, but of the hospitality of the inner house.
The fair Canadians may ha- e been too kind in ac-
cepting the name and position of " muffins " from
the young Britishry ; but the latter cannot say they
have suffered much in consequence. A muffin is
simply a lady who sits beside the male occupant of
the sleigh — Sola cum solo^ " and all the rest is
leather and prunella."

132

CANADA.

I-' r

■|:^

The social system is intended rather for the com-
fort* of the inner life, and for the development of
domestic happiness, than for such external glare and
glitter as Broadway delights in, or for such unsouri '
social relations as mark the America of hotels. The
great artists who adorn the drama or the lyric stage
can rarely be bribed sufficiently high to visit these
northern regions ; but I doubt whether there is not a
better taste in art among the people of Quebec than
there is to be found in most cities of the same size
in the United States.

On a gloomy winter evening I was once more
battling with the ice on the St. Lawrence ; and, after
a long passage, left Point Levi for Montreal.

A weary life-long night it seemed, and a still
wearier day in the train. It was close upon twenty-
one hours of stuffy, foodless travel, ere we arrived at
Montreal. Nor can I remember anything worth re-
cording of all that linked weariness, long drawn out,
except that, halting at a roadside station in the night,
I came on a detachment of the Scots Fusilier Guards,
who had come up from Riviere du Loup, after their
passage in sleighs over the snows of New Brunswick,
and were in high spirits, looking very red in the face,
and bulky in comparison with the lean habitans,
" Misthress," quoth one of them to the woman at the
bar, " wad ye gi'e me a dhrap av whuskie ? " The
Hebe complied with this request, and for some very
small pecuniary consideration filled him out nearly a
tumblerful of the dreadful preparation known in the
States as " Fortyrod." The soldier tasted it, blinked
his eyes, squeezed them close, pursed up his lips,
smacked them, gave a short watery cough, smelt the
mixture, and, looking at his comrades, exclaimed,
"My Gude ! Hech! I'd jist as soon face a charge
of baynets." After that proem I was prepared to
see the hardy warrior eject the fiuid, but he proceeded
to a most inconsequent act; for, nodding his. head,
he said, "Sae, here 's t' ye, my lads," and tossed down
the fire-water incontinent.

RETURN TO MONTREAL.

133

There were several companies of H. M.'s 63d Regi-
ment in the train, also going up to JNIontrcal. Jt did
not escape me that at the station pi( kets were look-
ing sharply out for intending deserters, who might
have cut away in the darkness ; and I was told, and
felt inclined to believe it might be worth their while,
that there were Yankee crimps lying in wait at all
the stations to help the deserters across the frontier,
if they could induce them to leave their colors. The
anxiety and annoyance caused by desertion, and by
the chance of it, add to the dissatisfaction which is
now expressed in our army in Canada ; but I must
say I cannot quite sympathize with the violence and
exaggeration in which that dislike finds vent.

Captains of companies sulTer losses, but in many
instances they have only themselves to blame. The
men, seduced by high pay, either in the States or as
farm-laborers in Canada, are seized with an irresist-
ible desire to quit the service abruptly, " without
leave," and resort to ingenious artifices to escape.
Sometimes a whole guard will march off bodily, non-
commissioned officers and all ; occasionally one of
the number will submit to be handcuffed, and will
be marched by his comrades through the post as a
deserter, or a man will put on a sergeant's jacket
or sew chevrons on his coat-sleeve, and march off
his party as if they were going out on picket or pa-
trol duty. Such artifices cannot always be success-
fully encountered, but they are to be met to some
extent by increased vigilance.

I need not say that it was with satisfaction I ex-
changed my railway van for a comfortable room in
the house of Mr. Rose at Montreal. The news of an
immediate advance of the army of the Potomac
which had been received from New York turned out
to be untrue ; no immediate hurry was there need
for to go down to i;he seat of war. I dined at the
club, .where we had a very agreeable party, enlivened
by the fervent conversation of some Southern gentle-

134

CANADA.

men of the little colony of refugees which finds shelter
in Montreal under the British flag. There is some
work of Nemesis in the condition of these gentle-
men. H«re are Charleston people, who claimed the
right to imprison British subjects because they had
dark skins, now taking refuge under the British flag,
from the exercise of the very power which enabled
them to maintain their claim, and apologizing to
Englishmn. for the peculiar institution on the ground
that they treated their niggers better than the Yan-
kees do.

The snow again falling, and the day cold. On the
Sunday after my arrival, I walked into town in moc-
casons, and attended service in Christ Church, where
the ritual was in close imitation of the cathedral
formula at home. I saw a party of the Guards
marched to church, who had an air of profound dis-
content-on their manly features. Some Canadians
near me evidently regarded them as hardened here-
tics going to a place of punishment, and at the same
time deserving it as foreign mercenaries; but the
Guards certainly did not seem to care one farthing
for their opinion, if they understood the expression
of it. The building is very handsome ; but, in spite
of the cold outside, I found the atmosphere unbear-
able, owing to the stoves, iron pipes, or some other
undesirable calorific apparatus. The sermon was
respectable and frigid.

I spent the next day visiting the remarkable places
and persons passed over in Montreal on my last brief
visit. In the evening I dined with Colonel Kelly and
H. M.'s 47th Regiment, who entertained Sir Fen-
wick Williams and the ofHcers of the Guards then
in garrison, and on the following morning at 9 o'clock
I drove over to the Barracks to see a drill of the regi-
ment on the St. Lawrence in snow-shoes. Sir Fen-
wick Williams and some staff" officers were on the
ground. The regiment was admirably handled by
Colonel Kelly, and the scene was very novel and

WINTER CAMPAIGNING.

135

;rmon was

amusing. The regiment was in excellent condition :
the men seemed rather to like the fun with the snow-
shoes, and when skirmishers were thrown out or
called in at the double, there was certainty of a fall
or two from unlucky privates tripping up in their
shoes and tumbling in the snow, which flew like
puffs of musketry. Fresh from parades of volun-
teers I felt the force of Lord Clyde's maxim, — " The
first duty of a soldier is to obey " — as I looked at
the measured tread even at the quickest, and the
alert, agile formations of the men to whom discipline
was the whole scope of military intellect. There
was, I thought, in that complex machine of many
parts, but of only one animating, moving power,
what would be cheaply bought by the United States
by many hundreds of thousands of dollars for the
purposes of war, though man to man one of their
regiments might be more intelligent, and quite as
capable of deeds of valor as the old 47th, of whom
indeed not many had the Crimean medal, though the
campaign is now but a few years old.

In the evening I dined with the Commander-in-
Chief, Sir Fenwick Williams, and met Mr. Cartier,
Mr. Gait, and Mr. Rose.

The letters from England which came by every
mail showed that the position was not much under-
stood, as it was believed there would be a speedy
movement of the army of the Potomac, which I knew
to be buried in mud. The American papers of course
deluded their readers by constant assurances that
McClellan was about to move next week. It would
seem, after all, that in new countries the practice of
going into winter quarters, which prevailed among
sixteenth and seventeenth century generals, was
founded on good reason ; but that as the land be-
came better drained, and the roads were improved
by civilization and populations, the necessity for in-
action was diminished. Napoleon astonished Europe
by some wonderful escapades in the field ; but even

136

CANADA.

in the Peninsula the British suffered greatly in winter
movements. In the old French war, operations in
Canada were usually over in August or early in
September; but the Americans, in their bold and
skilful campaign of 1775, commenced their invasion
or dash late in the year — managed so well that they
broke in almost simultaneously at Montreal and Que-
bec, on the British, who had only one regular regi-
ment in the Provinces, in November — and it was
on the last day of the year that Montgomery and
Arnold made their brilliant and unsuccessful attempt
to carry the citadel by escalade.

Again, in 1812, it was as late as October before
the Americans opened their campaign on the Niagara
frontier ; and it was about the middle of November
when they directed their ill-managed and abortive
demonstration against Montreal. They again moved
in January, 1813, and several actions took place in
the early months of the year, nor did the approach
of winter drive the contending parties from the
field ; and a good deal of sharp fighting took place
in December. In the following year the Americans
began the offensive at a later period, though the
corps intended to operate against the Montreal dis-
trict was in motion in the first week of March. Our
defeat at Plattsburg occurred on September 11th.
The Americans make much of it — with great jus-
tice. They defeated the best regiments of an army
which had proved itself, in face of the picked troops
of Napoleon, the first in Europe. When winter is
well established in these high latitudes, perhaps it is,
under ordinary circumstances, more favorable to mil-
itar}' operations than it is in lower latitudes, where
tremendous rains alternate with heavy snow-storms,
which do not form permanent deposits over which to
move men or guns.

On the following day I dined with Mr. Chamber-
lain, of the " Montreal Gazette," Mr. Rose, Mr.
Ryland, Major Penn, and a number of gentlemen

SXOW-DKIFTS.

137

connected with the Canadian press, at a famous old-
fashioned English tavern, kept by an old-fashioned
John Bull cook, who would have fainted outright at
the sight of a vol-au-vent and died of an omelette
glaceey where we had much old-fashioned English
talk. On our issuing into the outer world there was
a snow-fall going on, the like of which I, unaccus-
tomed, had never seen before ; and my voyage out
to Mr.Rose's was diversified by attempts of the sleigh-
driver to get over boundary-walls and into gardens,
till we came to a dead stop just as the fall cleared
off a little, and permitted us to get a glimpse of the
moon. But the moon gave no assistance, for its
rays only lighted up great snow mounds and a uni-
versal whiteness, and the road seemed as doubtful as
ever. As I was deliberating what was best to be
done, a sleigh-bell was heard jingling in the distance,
and the vehicle gradually approached us. We hailed
the occupant, and I heard a well-known voice in an-
swer : it was that of Colonel Lysons, an inmate of
the same hospitable abode as that I occupied. Our
united efforts at last discovered the mansion.

The snow-storm continued next day : the fall was
so great that Lysons, who was bound to Quebec on
duty connected with the Militia Bill, and started
early, was compelled to return re infecia in the morn-
ing. Towards the afternoon the storm ceased, and
left a thick outer garment over the body of the coun-
try. The younger people of the house considered the
occasion favorable for snow-balling, and I was in-
cluded in some diffusive arrangements, very unfavor-
able to literary composition, for the spread of the
white artillery, directed by willing hands and unre-
lenting aim at short range. I dined with the artillery
mess — went afterwards to a ball given by H. M.'3
16th Regiment at the Donegana, which is the head-
qua: ters of Secessiondom — and finished the evening
by a visit to the house of Mr. Judah, who gave a
dance which was attended by Lord F. Paulet and a

! I

81 1
if

138

CANADA.

I'M-

number of soldiers, and, above all, by a lovely Ameri-
can, who created a strong 3urrent in favor of the
Union, of which she was a stanch advocate.

As already hinted, I have heard of complaints from
officers of the Guards and other regiments that the
Canadians during the period in question did not treat
them with the hospitality for which they were once
celebrated. Of that point I am not well able to
judge; but I must say, that during the whole period
of my stay in Canada, I never was in any society in
which I did not see British officers, and never knew
of their having had reason to complain v." neglect till
lately. If there was any want of hospitable civility,
I must think the officers were in some measure to
blame for it ; for among those stationed any length
of time in Canada, rr who knew the country in for-
mer years, I always i.*- ird unreserved praise of those
Canadians who had the means of entertaining vis-
itors. It must be remembered that there are few
Canadians who are wealthy enough to give set din-
ners, and that the reserve which guards the family of
the Frenchman existed in the times from which his
descendants in Canada take their traditions and man-
ners. Many people in Montreal, well inclined to
show every attention in their power to the officers
quartered among them, were deterred by the very
prestige of the Guards' social position from offering
them ordinary civility ; and by degrees in many cases
an estrangement grew up.

I saw nothing to account for the discontent of
officers who were quartered at Montreal, save and
except the fact that they were on foreign service, that
they were not in England or London among their
friends, and that they did not like the people, — all
grounds which they might unfortunately allege
against any other part of the world in which the
British army is forced to serve. The subject is only
important, in so far as it exercises an influence over
the relations ^f the two countries ; a common expres-

^ere once

MILITARY DISCONTENT.

139

sion of dislike on the part of men who exercise a
great influence among the most powerful classes in
this country must increase any tendency to regard
with indifference the possession of the great territory
which it is my belief we should seek to attach to the
Crown by every possible legitimate means, Professor
Goldwiii Smith and the political economists of his
school notwithstanding.

After a stay of some days in Montreal, I received
iiitelligence which rendered it necessary for me to
depart at once for the United States, and I returned
to New York by Rouse's Point, travelling night and
day. I had seen enough of Canada to inspire me
with a real regard for the people, and a sincere inter-
est in the fortunes of such a magnificent dependency
of the Crov/n, and I resolved, as far as in me lay, to
attract the attention of the home country to a region
which offers so many advantages to her children, and
promises one day to be the seat of flourishing com-
munities, if not of a vast and independent empire.

■■ i.

•t

!•' .1

140

CANADA.

y *

ii !

CHAPTER XI.

Extent of Canada. — The Lakes. — Canadian Wealth. — Early History.
Jncqfles Cartier. — English and French Colonists. — Colonial and Aca-
dian Troubles. — La Salle. — Border Conflicts. — Early Expeditions. —
Invasions from New England. — Louisbiir^j and Ticonderoga. — The
Colonial Insurrection. — Partition of Canada. — Projjress of I'pper Can-
ada. — France and Canada. — The American Invasion. — Winter Cam-
paipjn. — New Orleans and Plattsburg. — Peace of (ihent. — Political
Controversies. — Winter Communication. — Sentiments of Hon. Joseph
Howe. — General View of Imperial and Colonial Relations.

A VICTORY won not a century ago gratified the
animosities of the American colonies, and added to
the countries ruled by the Sovereign of Great Britain
a tract of territory thrice the size of his kingdom.
From Labrador to the western limit of Lake Superior,
a line drawn east and west within the boundaries of
Canada, is 1600 miles long ; but the breadth of the
country from its Southern frontiers to the ill-defined
boundary on the North, is but 225 miles. This vast
region is divided into Upper and Lower Canada.
The former lies between long. 40° and 49° N., and
lat. 74° and 117° W. The latter lies between 45°
and 50° North and 57° and 80° W. The three hun-
dred and forty thousand square miles thus bounded
present every variety of scenery and of soil. The
climate is mainly influenced by the relations of the
land to the enormous inland seas and great rivers
which occupy such a space in the map of British
North America. From Lake Superior, which is
larger than all Ireland, flows the mighty stream
which feeds Lake Huron by the River St. Mary.
Huron is nearly 250 miles long and 221 miles broad.
From Lake, Huron the river and lake of St. Clair lead
the flood into Lake Erie, which is 280 miles long and
63 miles broad. From lake Erie the current runs

I • «

■ I'

THE LAKES.

141

with quickening pace, till it rushes in ceaseless flight
into the fathomless depths of Niagara, and whirls
onward to melt into the waters of Lake Ontario.
The last and smallest of these seas, Ontario, is 180
miles long and 50 miles broad. The St. Lawrence,
winding through many islands, emerges from its east-
ern extremity and commences its uninterrupted career
of 700 miles to the Atlantic. The land of this north-
ern continent in fact reverses the part of Ocean, and
enfolds sea after sea within its arms. The water
blesses the land for its protection ; it yields an easy
way to the progress of civilization ; transports the
produce of the settler's labor to distant markets, and
lays open to his enterprise the wide-spreading forests
and plains which, but for them, would still be the her-
itage of the Indian and of his prey. Among the great-
est proofs of enterprise in the world are the canals by
which the people living on the shores of the lakes have
rendered navigation practicable from the sea to Lake
Superior. The display of the natural and artificial
products of the far-reaching lands watered by the giant
St. Lawrence at the Great Exhibition of 1862, came
to the eyes of most of us with a sort of shock. It was
surprising indeed to behold such evidences of wealth
given by a dependency which was associated in the
popular mind with frost and snow, with Niagara,
Labrador, and French insurrection — moose, mocca-
sons, and Indians. There we saw an exuberance and
excellence of growth in timber and in cereals — in
all kinds of agricultural produce, combined with
prodigious mineral riches. Sir William Logan, as-
sisted by the zealous, skilful, and indefatigable staff
of Canadian geologists, showed what a future Canada
may expect when capital and populadon combine to
disinter the treasures which now lie hid within its
rocky ribs.

According to Jesuit Hennepin, the name of Canada
furnishes a proof of an ignorance and deficient ap-
preciation of the true value of the country that still

(1^

142

CANADA.

! f-;

!1!

if!;

ill'

mark the workings of the European mind in refer-
ence to the resources of Canada. According to him,
the word Canada was derived from a corruption of
the Spanish words Capo da Nada, or Cape of Noth-
ing, which they gave to the scene of their early dis-
coveries when, under a conviction of its utter barren-
ness and inutility, they were about abandoning it in
disgust. The derivation may be well doubted, but
the implication may be true enough. The main-
spring of Spanish, and indeed of all European en-
terprise in those days, was the hope of gold, and
although there is reason to know that the precious
metal is associated with others scarcely less valuable
in Canada, of course it was not found lying in heaps
and blocks on the sea-shore, and therefore the Span-
iards concluded that it did not exist. It has been
conjectured, with greater appearance of probability,
that Canada is a modification of the Spanish word sig-
nifying " a passage ; " because the Spaniards thoug;ht
they could find a passage to India through Canada ;
as others, with greater reason, believe there may yet
be found a permanent practicable way to the shores
of the Pacific through its wide expanse of lake and
mountain.

The accounts of the first discovery of Canada, mea-
gre as they are, possess a romantic interest which is
never likely to assume any very precise or substantial
form. Although Cabot, who discovered Labrador
and Hudson's Bay, was the first person who sug-
gested or projected the establishment of colonies or
settlements in these newly found regions, and Eng-
lish merchants actually established some small colo-
nies there, it is to Jacques Cartier, of St. Malo, that
the credit of the first real establishment of Europeans
in Canada must be assigned. Cabot discovered the
Gulf of St. Lawrence : it was Cartier who found that
the Gulf was but the mouth of a vast river ; and
who urged his little craft among its unknown dan-
gers till he came to the site of Quebec. It was no

EARLY HISTORY.

143

ordinary man who, having accomplished thus much,
pressed onwards till he reached Hochelaga, the site
of Montreal. He was impelled by the love of gold
and precious stones, and believed that here he had
found them, but they were indeed only Lagcnian
mines. Cartier, and many another gallant sailor,
found glittering mica and crystals on the shores of
their new-found lands, which in their innocent faith
they believed to be gold and diamonds, and so filled
ship and were off to sea again. The failure of these
early adventures cast Canada into disfavor with those
who led the enterprise of the East. Whilst the Eng-
lish merchants and navigators were, with uncertain
steps, seeking some solid resting-place on the eastern
shores of America below the St. Lawrence, Canada
was left in the possession of the Indians — not a
peaceable possession, because the great Tribes were
as irreclaimably belligerent as the Highland Clans or
the Irish Septs. It is curious to reflect on the fact,
indeed, that little more than two hundred years ago
the whole of the vast region between Massachusetts
and Hudson's Bay was in the hands of the Red Man.
But he was then yielding ground rapidly before the
imperious strangers who had seized his shore farther
south. The merchants of Bristol and of London
turned their attention to Virginia before the French
of St. Malo had well established themselves on the
shores of the St. Lawrence. Both English and French
alike were encouraged and stimulated in these early
efforts by the Crown. About the time that James
the First was granting charters and framing corpora-
tions for colonies in Virginia, Champlain was estab-
lishing French settlements at Tadousac and Quebec,
in Nouvelle France. The early dealings of English
and French with the natives are discreditable to both
nations; both fomented or availed themselves of
dissensions among the Tribes, and when hostilities
broke out, threw their weight on one side or the other.
Whilst the New England Puritans were encouraging
themselves in the work of destroying the Red Man

^ ^;

':j : I

144

CANADA.

by quoting passages from the Old Testament, which
clearly showed how they the chosen people of God
were called upon to slay the Canaanite, Champlain,
with his Roman Catholic priest/'^ was quite as busy
in rooting out Iroquois in the njiine of Heaven and
of the Church. Of the two in\^ilng races, indeed,
the French were the least exclusive, for they neither
burned nor banished Dissenters. So great was the
liberality of France in those days, that Protestant and
Roman Catholic emigrants shared in the same en-
terprise, and abode in the same settlements. But the
Brethren of New Plymouth took a very limited view
of Christian fraternization, and at the very outset the
colonists of the Northern and of the Southern States
were animated by principles so opposed that even in
the grub state they bit and stung each other.

English and French colonists were alike under-
going the spasmodic influences of the jealousy and
intrigue which usually preside over the birthplace of
colonies, when the operations of the war which broke
out between France and England in 1628, were ex-
tended to those distant regions. The growing power
of England at sea enabled her to strike a tremendous
blow at New France. Champlain, with all his gar-
rison, was starved into capitulation by Sir David
Kirke ; but on the restoration of peace and of the
colony to France, in 1633, he returned to Canada,
where he died two yeais afterwards. Champlain,
with all his faults, was undoubtedly a man note-
worthy, politic, and valuable in his time and genera-
tion, and his name will ever be associated with the
early history of the continent. Priests and nuns and
missionaries after his death swooped down on the
Indians, who began to hate each other worse than
ever they had done before, whilst at the same time
they learned to entertain a savage dislike for the race
which they had welcomed to their shores so cour-
teously and gently. Thousands of Indians were
indeed converted, as it was called, to Christianity ;
but it was only that they might rage with greater

LA SALLE.

145

t, which
of God
implain,
as busy
ven and
, indeed,
1 neither
was the
tant and
ame en-
But the
ted view
utset the
n States
even in

e under-
3usy and
place of
ch broke
vere ex-
ig power
lendous
his gar-
• David
of the
anada,
m plain,
n note-
Igenera-
nth the
ms and
on the
5e than
\Q time
Ihe race
cour-
|s were
[ianity ;
reater

criKilty and fierceness against their brethren. Mas-
sacres of Christians and of converts by furious sav-
ages fanned these unholy flames. Little is left of
either the Indians or of their Christianity now. A
common animosity to the aborigines brought about
the first " rapprockment " between the French and
British Colonists. The New English and the New
French first met in America to consider the propriety
of an alliance against their Indian enemies, which
should not be broken by war between the parent
countries, but the status of the two offshoots of the
great European rivals was very diiferent. The
French in Canada at one time displayed a wonder-
ful amount of enterprise, energy, and perseverance
in their dealings with the savages, which can only
be appreciated by those who have studied their early
records, but it contrasts strongly with the quiescence
and political folly of their descendants. Their early
explorations were charac^.erized by a spirit worthy
of the countrymen of Cartier. Among these, the
voyage of La Salle from Niagara deserves to be
mentioned, as indicative of the highest qualities of
a traveller. In a little craft of some sixty tons, he
ascended the rapid river above the Falls of Niagara,
amidst difficulties which we can but little understand,
and gained the broad expanse of Lake Erie ; thence
boldly steering westward, he came upon the narrow
river or strait of Detroit, crossed the lucid waters of
Lake St. Clair, and was at last rewarded by the
grand discovery of Lake Huron. Still boldly pur-
suing his course westward. La Salle at last came to
Lake Michigan, whence in company with Father
Hennepin, his Jesuit historian, he undertook the feat
of penetrating to the head-waters of the Mississippi.
Nor did he stop when he reached the mystic stream ;
he trusted himself to the mighty flood, and never
turned round or bated breath till he floated out, 2000
miles below, on the turbid waters of the Gulf of
Mexico. Whilst the hierarchy of France were busy

146

CANADA.

i,,%'

m '

founding bishoprics, building churches, and esta])li»h-
ing seminaries, the English, distracted by internal
convulsions, left their American colonies pretty much
to themselves. France sent out governors, coun(;il-
lors, and bishops to New France ; England dispatched
her Puritans, adventurers, younger sons. Catholic
cavaliers, and Nonconformists ; but the natives were
sure to suffer, no matter in what form the colony
was ruled, or of what Europeans it was composed.
Terrible diseases, although known in Europe for two
hundred years previously, according to contemporary
writers, appeared suddenly, and without European
communication, among the indigenes^ and ravaged
the miserable tribes, already decimated by intestine
war and ruin. Christians were naturally held ac-
countable for all the evil ; and for a large part indeed
they were.

Whilst James the Second was making a last stand
for his Crown against the victorious Dutchman, La
Salle, with a patent of Governor, was sailing from
La Rochelle, for the dependency of Louisiana, which
now completed the vast semicircle over which the
King of France claimed authority, and which enclos-
ing the British settlements in a belt from Newfound-
land through the lakes, swept thence by the Ohio
down to the Gulf of Mexico, far away to the terra
incognita under the setting sun. The superior trad-
ing resources of the Indians of the South, the
favorable conditions for the expansion of trade pos-
sessed by the British on the Hudson over the French,
who had to struggle with longer frost, and the wintry
storms of the St. Lawrence, and the greater com-
mercial enterprise of the English colonists, nullified
that vast territorial superiority. The French gov-
ernors thought, by displays of vigor and violence to-
wards the natives, to alter the course of trade ; but
they could not compete with their neighbors, and
quarrels and petty wars vexed the life of both
colonial systems. In 1690, M. de Frontenac launched

INDIAN AND BOKDEli WARS.

147

threr little corps of invadin*^ sava^ra, aidvA and IihI
by French troops, against the British settlenieiits in
the Nvw England Colonies. Schenectady in New
York, Salmon Falls in New Haiiipshire, Caseo in
Maine, were surprised and biirned, and the colonists
were given to the sword and the scalping-knife. For
a time the survivors of the massacre had something
else to do besides persecuting each other to death for
witchcraft or torturing their heretics. They set to
work to avenge their slaughtered saints. Sir William
Phipps, a native of Massachusetts, led his Puritan
hosts to Port Royal in Nova Scotia, but was obliged
to retreat ingloriously from an attempt against Mon-
treal. His rival, De Frontenac, had no better fortune
in a projected attack by land and sea against New
York. The war which raged between the colonists
was terminated by the Peace of Ryswick ; but peace
did not last long, and the declaration of war by
Great Britain against France and Spain revived the
bloody contests between the borderers. The British
Government sent out Marlborough's veterans, and
those sailors who had swept the seas of every enemy,
to aid the colonists. An immense expedition, which
seemed capable of destroying any trace of French
rule in Canada, sailed from Boston in 1710, against
Quebec, but failed miserably at sea and in the St.
Lawrence ere it reached the city. The Peace of
Utrecht, in 1713, brought about a cessation of hos-
tilities, but not of jealousies, or of Indian wars and
massacres. By that time the predominance of the
white man was well established, and the faces of the
Indians were turned steadily towards the setting
sun, and their footsteps followed his course towards
the forests of the west. Fort after fort encroached
on their decreasing domain, and Englishman and
Frenchman, each after his kind, sought to reproduce
in the New World those features of the mother-
country which he loved or admired or respected
most.

■

■I

148

CANADA.

J' .:, j

*v-

■'1

Hi.

nfl

Til ilio period vvliioh olnpHod botwoon ibo Tronty of
lUn'chi and ihv drclaraiion of war in !74''), both tbo
Colonics and Canada prospcnul, but. lln^ incnMi.so of
i\\v ioYinvr was to tliat of ihv. bitter aH tlio inoriMiHO
of ^raiii (u)niparrd witb that of moss. 'Vlivi pcopUf
of IVIassaclmst'ttH, led by thrir coU)nial cliitjf, IVp-
ptTi'll, wiili (u)ntiM^<MitH from llluxb^ Island, Vt^mont,
nnd (^onnctrticut, wt^n; joint'd by the Hritisb Ih't^t.
imdrr Warren, and Hvi out on their darling |)rojeet.
of reducing Ijouisbur^, liu; ^retji J^Veneh arsenal and
Hiation at. (-apti Hreton. On the I7th of Aup;ust,
174(), after a sic'^e of two months, tla^ phu*e surnui-
dered with all ils stores to the victorious C-olonists.
]t was with dillieulty that hVanee eouhl (;ouunimi(Mite
with her nuMUUMul dependency, for i\\v hvm was nearly
controlUui by the! Hritish th'cts, but iier pride was
aroused, and f^reat armanuMits w(^re pr<*pareil and
dispatched to ('ana(bi. Aj/lavit Dnts ct IiohIvs dissi-
jKintur. 'J\vo expeditions were nigh lost altogether
on tlu; waves. A third was destroyed by the lleet
under Warren and Anson. The Peace of lituthellu
put an end to the passionate ell'orts of France to
retrit^ve her disasters, but tla; rivalries and excesst^H
of the liritish and P\'(uich fur-traders continutHJ tlu^
strife between tin; (-olonies and New Traucu^ 'Vho
latter claiming the whole course of the Ohio, as it
appears with somt^ reason, forbade our traders to
resort thert!. h\>rts were built to enable tlw l^'rench
to cxertri.Me their jurisdiction and authority on ground
which was regardtnl by tii<^ Hritish ('olonists as
their own, and it is a remarkable fact, that (ii'orge
Washington's lirst military service; was in conuuand
of an expedition of Virginians to capture tlu; works
rre<'led by tlu; l<N*<'nch, luid that lu; was compelled to
Jay down his arms by !)«' Villiers, after a brief and
inglorious — not to say very badly managed cam-
paign. Although (ireat Hritain made considerabk;
cllbrts to ai<l the (.olonists in their wars, she coukl
not very well continue to do so wIkui shi; was at

nOKDlCK CONFLICTS.

119

proposal. Hut \Uo. »ihh\ Ii

of rVtUiiul Union, of H(>ir-iuxiition, of hwyin^ troopn

pence with Franco, if her diflttint snbji'cts oliosc to
curry on hoHtilitioB on tlK'ir own urrount. Tlio
KIng'H (lovtirnnKM^t ^Mivt^ lulvit'o to i\\v ('oloni«'s lo
unitti lor Ht'll-ddVnoo, wliitrlj Uul in I7'V1 to tin tissnii-
blii^c of ii convention at Albany, ut wliifli Massa-
flniHctts, Rliodn Inland, Nrw llanipsliiro, ('onnfrticui,
Ponnnylvania, Maryland, and Now York \yvrv ro\uv-
HiMilfd. Tlu^ dch'gatrs drew up a plan lor what, was
in cihH^i a Kederal Union, hut. tla^ plan IVII to tho
ground. TIh^ llonn^ (iovernnient n'tusfti to adopt
it, bocauso of certain eneroaehnients which it con-
taine<l on th«^ prerojjfatives of the Crown; and tho
colonial assemblies, which had Already <*xhibite<l a
sturdy self-reliance and independence worthy of
attention at home, w«"re eqiiatly dissalislitid with the

had bt'cn sown — the idea
of Itwying troops
and regulating tradt^, was busy in menV minds. In
the same year the ( -olonists wert^ preparing for their
gHMit attack on Canada — an attack which was made,
not because Krantn^ was the juiemy of Kngland, but
because J^^enchmen in (Janaila werts rivals of tin?
American Colonists.

Tht; lines of invasion of l*Vench C*anada marked
out by the American subjects of the Hritish C>rown,
were very nuicli the s.inni as I hose of the American
rebels against the (Vown, wlu'U sonu^ twenty odd
years afterwanls llu'y prepared to invade Mritish
('anada. Ii is singular that the men who, under the
authority of the (-rown of lOngland, or using at least
tlui pp'text of a state of war between the home (rjum-
tries, wagt'd war against tln^ subjects of FrancM' in
Canada, should have been forenmst in the rebellion
against l^iUghuKJ, and that, in the invasimt of Canada,
which was one of tluMr lirst undertakings in pmsu-
anc(^ of thtar rebellion, they should ha.v(! found neither
fe«ympathy nor aid amongst the l*'riuich (^uiadians,
whose allegiance had bctMi so rcecMilly trausleired to
the King of Knglund. More uiiiguhu utili is it that

- l|

150

CANADA.

France, which had received so many tremendous
blows from these very colonists, and which suffered
so much in her efforts to defend her Canadian depen-
dencies from these inveterate assailants, should have
been mainly instrumental in establishing their inde-
pendence, and in leading their great revolution to a
successful issue. The condition of the Scottish bor-
ders in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries furiiish')s
but a very poor parallel to the state of the debatable
land which spread from the banks of the Ohio, by
the great lakes, down to the Atlantic. Constant
aggressions took place from one side or the other by
trading parties, bands of Indians, or by armed parties
with larger purposes of occupation or vengeance.
Whilst the English Colonies were enjoying the full
fruit of the principles on which they had been
founded, Canada, regarded as a mere dependency of
the French Crown, vexed with the complicated and
inconsistent form of government, was daily losing
ground. The ill-paid governors were corrupt, or at
all events exacting : the Intendants ground the prov-
ince to powder to make the most of their office, and
beneath each of these officers was an army of eccle-
siastics, bent on appropriating, for that incarnation
of the Church which appeared in their proper per-
sons, the best of the land and the great tithes of all
trade and commerce. Of the many encounters which
took place on the borders, there are few authentic
records : it is sufficient to know that neither the
French nor the English succeeded at the period in
effecting a permanent lodgment within the frontiers
of the enemy. The Governors of Canada com-
memorated their victory, " Rebellibus Novm Ang'Hce
IncoHs^^^ on medals and brasses, and Great Britain
rewarded by various honors the colonial generals and
governors who were supposed to have attained ad-
vantages over their Canadian neighbors. In 1756
war was again declared by Great Britain against
France. Montcalm, availing himself of the utter

LOUISBURG AND TICONDEROGA.

151

imbecility of Lord Loudon, who commanded the
British troops, speedily fell upon the important post
of Oswego, on Lake Ontario, and captured it, with
its garrison, guns, flotilla, and stores. He followed
up that great success, in the following year, by the
capture of Fort Edward, which surrendered, with its
garrison of 8000 men under Monroe, who were mas-
sacred by the Indian auxiliaries. The officers who
were sent from England to command the troops, and
their continental allies at this period, must have in-
spired the American continentals with a feeling of
profound contempt ; but Lord Ci.atham, perceiving
that the Colonists must be the mainstay of military
operations, aroused the various New England settle-
ments, by spirited despatches and promises of help,
to make strenuous efforts against the enemy. Once
more a British fleet under Admiral Boscawen, ap-
peared upon the scene, and a force of 14,000 men,
under Lord Amherst, was covered by its guns in the
o|)erations which led tr ihe surrender of Louisburg
on the 26th of July, i.756. This success was tar-
nished by thf* defeat of a powerful army under Abe -
crombie, in an ill-judged assault against Ticonderoga,
where 16,000 men were beaten back by the French
garrison, which numbered only 3000; but Kingston,
on Lake Ontario, surrendered to the British- American
troops, and Fortdu Quesne — in the advance against
which Braddock lost his life in the former war — was
abandoned without a blow by its French garrison,
who would be somewhat astounded, if, revisiting the
glimpses of the moon, they could gaze upon the
Pittsburg of the present day on the site of their
ancient post. In July, 1759, three great expeditions
were directed against Canada. The Ministry re-
solved at any cost to trample under foot every trace
of French dominion on the American continent, and
in that resolution they were mainly su.stained by the
passion and animosity of the New England Colonists.
A powerful corps under Lord Amherst was directed

(11

,f^

) I

'pi

152

CANADA.

against Ticonderoga. Another corps, under Sii
William Johnson, mainly composed of continentals
ana Indians, advanced against Fort Niagara, whilst
an army commanded by General Wolfe, covered by
the fleet, made an attack from the St. Lav/rence
against Quebec. Ticonderoga and Crown Point
were abandoned by the French, and Fort Niagara
was taken after an engagement with the enemy.
How Wolfe fared ell the world knows : an elaborate
account of the great victory which gave Canada to
the Crown would be out of place in this volume, but
elsewhere I have made a few remarks concerning the
events of that memorable battle. On the 18th of
September the British standard floated from the cita-
del of Quebec. Ever since that time the country,
handed over four years afterwards by the Treaty of
Paris to the British, has remained under the pro-
tection of England, acquiring year by year a greater
measure of freedom and self-government, till, at this
moment, it may be considered as attached to the
Empire solely by what Mr. O'Connell called "the
golden link of the Crown." The whole population
of the country then ceded was under 70,000. The
population of the British Colonies in America was at
least twenty times as numerous. The American
Colonists were at last gratified by a conquest which
relieved them from a dangerous neighbor, who was
backed by the power of France, and which opened
to their enterprise not only the lakes and rivers of
Canada, but Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, the St.
Lawrence, and all the valuable fisheries of the sea-
board. It was unfortunate that no attempt was
made to define the exact boundary line between the
Colonies and the new territory, although the Proc-
lamation of 1763 no doubt was supposed at the
time to be sufficiently accurate ; but we shall see
hereafter that the neglect proved very damaging to
the interests of Canada. The Americans, perhaps,
would have resented any attempt to define very

nder Sii
itinentals
ra, whilst
►vered by
L^awrence
vn Point

Niagara
B enemy,
elaborate
anada to
iume, but
rning the
5 18th of
I the cita-

country,
Freaty of

the pro-
a greater
U, at this
;d to the
led "the
opulation
00. The
ca was at
A.merican
est which
who was
h opened

rivers of
the St.

the sea-
mpt was
ween the
the Proc-
d at the

shall see
laging to

perhaps,
fine very

THE COLONIAL INSURRECTION.

153

nicely the frontier between the new conquest of Eng-
land and the territories of the colonists who had con-
tributed to some extent in effecting it; and there
were not many who foresaw the rupture which divided
the mother-country and her dependencies forever.

For fifteen years Canada, content with the preser-
vation of her ecclesiastical establishments, of freedom
of religion, and of the " Custom of Paris," seemed
perfectly indifferent to the transfer of her allegiance
from one king to another, the change, perhaps, being
more in the language of her rulers, and the blazon
of her standard, than in the mode of government.
In fact the British military governors were singularly
like the French military governors ; but it was felt
at home, as soon as the difficulties with the colonies
began, that Canada could not continue to be like a
mere military division of a conquered country. In
1774, the Quebec Act was passed, which created a
council to aid in the administration of the province,
guaranteed the freedom of the Roman Catholic
Church, and abrogated the Royal Proclamation of
1763. In lieu of the administration of a military
proconsulate, there was established a settled govern-
ment, wuth some show of a representative basis.
The American Colonists were then upon the verge
of the great rebellion, and as a proof of the spirit in
which they acted, it may be remarked th^t the Con-
tinental Congress made a most violent remonstrance
against the toleration of Roman Catholicism in Can-
ada, guaranteed by the Quebec Act. The very next
year the rebellious Colonists captured Ticonderoga
and Crown Point, and Montreal ; and had their
enterpi'ise against Quebec succeeded, Canada might
have become included in the territory which eventu-
ally became portion of the United States. So bent
were the Colonists on including Canada in the scope
of their great design, that in 1776, immediately after
their unsuccessful invasion, Franklin, who was one
of the main movers of Wolfe's expedition, and two

:!:

i\
■I'

■11

ILI

154

CANADA.

m i

gentlemen, were sent by Congress to offer the Ca-
nadians a free press and State rights, and the free
exercise of the faith which but two years before they
had so bitterly denounced the British Government
for guaranteeing, if they would but join in the revolt
against Great Britain. In the war which followed
between the British and the American Colonists,
Canada was made the base of operations against the
colonies, which generally terminated in disasters,
such as that of Burgoyne, though, in pitched battles,
the British were almost invariably victorious. The
habilans took little or no part in the contest, but on
the Declaration of Independence, a number of Royal-
ists emigrated from the States and settled in the
country, in very much the same way as the Southern
Americans are now taking refuge in Canada from the
persecution of their Northern neighbors. The wish to
give, in their new country, these devoted men some
equivalent for that which they had lost, suggested a
course which has been condemned by subsequent
events. The Home Government resolved upon the
unfortunate step of dividing the province into Upper
and Lower Canada, with a governor-in-chief in
Lower, and a lieutenant-governor in Upper Canada,
so that the Royalists might not be quite swamped
by the French element. The governors selected
were c''ten tnen without particular aptitude for ad-
ministration, certainly destitute of the ability needed
in dealing with the very peculiar state of society,
trade, and interests prevailing in the provinces.

Although the legislative council and assembly of
Upper Canada had equal privileges with that of
Lower Canada, the condition of the people was very
different, principally owing to the paucity of popu-
lation. Governor Simcoe, to whom the care of Up-
per Canada was first confided, ruled over a wilder-

ness, in which a

few clearings

around the

trading

stations on the lakes and rivers, and some huts
gathered about the military posts, were the sole ves-

THE PARTITION OF CANADA.

155

tiges of the white man and civilization. As the
English colonists gained the upper hand in the con-
stant strife which raged during the latter period of
the French occupation, the habitans of the remoter
settlements had gradually withdrawn towards Lower
Canada, and had concentrated in the neighborhood
of the towns on the St. Lav/rence, where they could
find safety in case of danger, and transport should
their friends be unable to protect them. It was not
surprising that the whole French population flocked
into the lower province; for under a foreign rule they
gained confidence and ease by the contemplation of
their numbers and the concentration of their masses.
Although many American Royalists came into the
lake country so abandoned, they were not equal in
number to the population that fled. It required no
small amount of courage and perseverance in Gov-
ernor Simcoe to conduct the affairs of his little gov-
ernment, from the site which his sagacity pointed out
to him as the most favorable for the development of
his province. The Red Man's wigwam still clung
to the border of the British posts, and the few in-
trCj^ld men who ventured to fix their homes along the
, shore of the Upper St. Lawrence, found themselves
amidst an uncongenial population of half-breeds and
Indians, accustomed indeed to the chase, and to the
rude barter which represented the only trade of those
vast regions, but utterly averse to settled life and
agricultural labor; obnoxious also to handicraft-men,
mechanics, and the followers of the peaceful, regular
pursuits, which are the handmaidens of civilization.
Under these circumstances the advance of Upper
Canada, slow as it was for some years, is surprising,
and the rapidity of her subsequent progress is certainly
worthy of admiration. In 1793 the revenue of Upper
Canada was less than 1000/. a year ; and although the
machinery of carrying on government and law existed,
it was but imperfectly, if at all, worked. In theory the
English law prevailed, and one cannot but admit, if

156

CANADA.

.|fc

we are to judge by its fruits, that it was far better
calculated to promote the security and prosperity of
the country, than the Custom of Paris, to which the
French Canadians clung in virtue of the capitula-
tion of Quebec. Even thus early the militia occupied
the attention of the legislature, although they were
obliged to do battle against the denizens of the forest,
and to encourage the hunter by rewards for the de-
struction of bears and wolves. The regulation of
trade between the provinces and the United States —
the establishment of ports of entry — the adjustment
of land-titles, and other useful matters of the kind,
were not neplecied by the earliest Parliaments. Un-
happily relij^ "o ;^''estions arose soon after the close
of the last ct nryia Lower Canada. The national
feeling became assoc ifced with the ancient religion
in opposition to the aims of the British Government
and of the Protestant clergy. Whilst Dissenters and
Presbyterians and other schismatics from the Church
of Eftgland were allowed free scope in Upper Can-
ada, the Government set itself to work to give to the
Protestant Church in Lower Canada the prestige
which belonged to the Catholic Church. The Cana-
dians raised the cry, — Nos institutions ! notre lang^ue I
et nos lots !

When hostilities with America seemed imminent
in 1807, the militia nevertheless responded to the call
with enthusiasm in Lower Canada, and Acts were
passed in Upper Canada for raising, training, and
billeting the force in case of need. Although the
language for which the Lower Canadians cried out
was that of France Acadianized, the institutions and
the laws in which they took pride belonged only to
a France of the past. The Republic had placed be-
tween Canada and France a barrier which the priest-
hood declared to be impassable. What had they to
do with the Goddess of Reason and a calendar with-
out a saint? What had a people steeped in feudal-
ism, or the Custom of Paris, to do with the Code

THE WAR OF 1812-15.

157

Napoleon ? Nevertheless the rulers of Canada sus-
pected the habitans of treason, whilst the habitans
suspected the rulers of desig^^s upon their faith ; and
so it was that want of confidence, one of the most
formidable impediments to the good understanding
between governor and governed which can exist, took
root and grew apace. The second war with the
United States was at hand. The animosity of the
Americans of the Southern and Middle States against
England was much augmented by the discovery
of a project of the Canadian Secretary, Ryland, to
detach the New England States from the Union, and
to annex them to Canada. The bitter feelings which
the old New England Colonists had entertained to-
wards their French neighbors had been mitigated by
the influence of a common language and tl con-
genial religion and laws of the English ru'ei of
Canada. Certain it is that the New Englr id ('tie-
gates opposed the war which was declared against
Great Britain by the Government of Washington by
every means in their power, though they v/ere by no
means complimentary to Canada, which hey sup-
posed it to be one of the objects of the war party in
America to annex. On the declaration of war in
1812, the Canadians, with the exception of the in-
habitants of one parish, turned out with the greatest
alacrity, and in considerable force, to defend their
country. General Hall, the American Governor of
Michigan, seized upon Sandwich in July in the same
year; but he was soon very glad to cross over to
Detroit again, where he very ingloriously capitulated
soon aftewards to General Brock, with 2500 men
and 33 pieces of cannon, thus surrendering the whole
State of Michigan to Great Britain.

The Americans, elated by their naval successes
however, resolved to conquer Canada, although Mas-
sachusetts, Connecticut, and New York opposed the
war with so much determination, that it seemed very
probable the Union would be broken up by the per-

i ''s

^t I

^'r"

158

CANADA.

Bill

sistence of the Southern statesmen in their policy.
A corps under Colonel Van Rensellaer attacked the
British and the Colonists under Brock at Queens-
town, near Niagara, and although that gallant, in-
trepid, and able officer fell at the head of the 49th
regiment, the British, aided by Canadians and Indi-
ans, captured or slew nearly the whole of the Amer-
ican invading force, under the eyes of a large num-
ber of American militia, at the other side of the
river, who refused to cross to the aid of their coun-
trymen. The Americans demanded an armistice,
which was /nost injudiciously granted by General
SheafTe. The American General Dearborn, moan-
time, with a force varying, it is said, from 8000 to
10,000 men, invaded Lower Canada, but after some
unsuccessful skirmishes retreated to Plattsburg. A
few days afterwards the American General Smith
made an attack on Fort Erie, which was character-
ized by pusillanimity, and ended in disgraceful fail-
ure. When the campaign opened in January, 1813,
it was not auspicious for the invading Americans.
General Winchester's force was defeated by Colonel
Proctor, near Frenchtown ; Ogdensburg was taken ;
but the Americans, nevertheless, continued the war
with characteristic perseverance and foresight, and
set to work to use the water communications which
we had neglected, and thus gained an assured advan-
tage. General SheafFe was driven out of Toronto
by an expedition which landed under the guns of a
newly created American lake fleet, commanded by
an experienced and brave sailor. Commodore Chan-
cey. The capture of Fort George followed ; but an
attempt to overrun Lower Canada ended in utter
defeat, Prevost, however, being beaten back in an
attack upon Sackett's Harbor, and Proctor being re-
pulsed in an assault on Sanduskey, so as to moder-
ate any undue exultation on the side of the British
on account of their success.

This war excited little attention in England, where

ITl

EVACUATION OF DETROIT AND AMIIERSTBURG. 159

' f

men thought only of their great naval victories, in
which their ships captured, sunk, or dispersed whole
fleets of the enemy, or of the grand operations in
Spain, where Wellington was worsting in succession
the best generals of the Empire. All the strength
of the United States was put forth in their war
against Canada, and it is only astonishing that the
Americans did so little with the means at their dis-
posal. In July a British expedition, covered by two
sloops of war, destroyed stores, barracks, and prop-
erty at Plattsburg, Burlington, and Swanton, whilst
the Americans burned the British stores at York. It
must be remembered that the \mericans had every
facility in the command of the lakes, and in the com-
mand of the waters. The connection between Lower
and Upper Canada was carried on by rapid and dan-
gerous rivers, and by lakes which were constantly
patrolled by the Americans, the roads being simplv
tracks through a forest, or causeways of a most rudi-
mentary character. For some time both sides con-
tended for the supremacy of the Lakes. On the 31st
of July the British, under Sir J. Yeo, captured two
of Commodore Chancey's squadron, which was fur-
ther reduced by the loss of two gun-boats, which
capsized in trying to escape from the victorious Eng-
lish. But Chancey repaired damages in Sackett's
Harbor, and on the 28th of September attacked the
British flotilla, which eventually retreated under the
guns of Burlington Heights. For the time, therefore,
the Americans were masters of Lake Ontario, and
they used their advantages in capturing British stores
and reinforcements. On the 10th of September the
British lost the command of Lake Erie also. An
American squadron of nine vessels under Perry, far
superior in size, number of men, and in calibre of
guns, defeated a British squadron of six vessels under
Barclay. The result of this defeat was that the Brit-
ish under Proctor had to evacuate Detroit and Am-
herstburg, and fall back to open communication with

160

CANADA.

lis, ,'

it'

their base of supplies. Oft the river Thames the
pursuit became so severe, that Proctor turned to bay,
hnt he was overwhelmed by the Americans under
Harrison, who numbered 3500, whilst the British did
not exceed a third of that strength. Michigan was
lost to us, and the only port retained by the British
west of Burlington was Michiiimacinac, which they
had taken early in the war. Nothing less than the
conquest of Lower Canada would now satisfy the
Americans. A force of 12,000 men was assembled
to operate against Montreal. On the 20th of Sep-
tember, Colonel de Salaberry, a Canadian in com-
mand of a post of militia, and a few Indians, checked
the advance of the enemy, and fell back to Chateau-
gay, where in a most creditable and gallant action
he defeated an American column under Hampton,
which was intended to cooperate with an expedition
down the St. Lawrence, against Montreal. Another
portion of the force was defeated at Chrystler's Farm,
with some lorfs, by a body of British regulars, Cana-
dian militia, and Indians. The attack on Montreal
was precipitately abandoned, and the Canadians,
who had done so well, were sent back to their homes.
But winter did not put an end to the war. The
British determined to drive the enemy out of Canada,
and the Americans retired before them. On the 10th
of December the enemy abandoned and burned the
town of Newark. On the 18th of December the
British surprised Fort Niagara with all its garrison,
and gave Lewiston and Manchester to the flames.
Buffalo and Black Rock were captured and destroyed
by the British under Riall, and the whole country-
side was laid waste in retaliation for the burning of
Newark. Sir George Prevost was able to meet the
Canadian Parliament with pride, and to congratu-
late it on the conduct of the provincial militia in the
field, and the loyalty of the people. Before the com-
ing of spring had loosed the lakes and rivers, the
Americans returned to the attack on Canada, and in

CHIPPEWA. — NEW ORLEANS.

161

March, 1814, Macomb cros&cd Lal^e Champlain ;
but a part of his force wn.s r(»pinit;cu in an attack oa
Lacolle, and he retired tf Fhittsbur^. In May, Hir
J. Yeo fitted out an expedition from KiiigBtun, which
sailed on the 4th of May, captured ()rfwego, and
destroyed some military stores, but did not succeed
in a similar attempt against Sackett's Harbor. On
the 3d of July a strong force of Americans landed
near Chippewa, and defeated a body of British, Ca-
nadians, and Indians, of inferior numbers, under
Riall. A very bloody and determined contest ensued
on the 25th, near the same place, in which the Amer-
icans made repeated eftortt- to break the British, but
were repulsed, and finally retired to their camp,
whence they retreated towards Fort Erie, destroying
their baggage and stores. The British followed, and
were beaten in a desperate attack to storm the fort.
Whilst these small yet sanguinary actions were
breaking out sporadically along the Canadian fron-
tier, the Government at home made use of a part of
the forces liberated by the peace with France, and
resolved on giving the Americans a little diversion
from their pursuit of glory and conquest in Canada.
A British force under Ross defeated the American
army at the Races of Bladensburg, captured Wash-
ington, and destroyed public buildings and property
of all kinds. A demonstration against Baltimore
did not succeed because the fleet could not cooper-
ate, although the British troops routed the American
covering army with the utmost ease, and at New
Orleans our troops endured a humiliating repulse.
The war did not languish in Canada. The British
took Prairie du Chien in the west, and seized on all
the country between the river Penobscot and New
Brunswi k. The most important part of the State
of Maine thus fell into British possession, and a
provisional government was established over it till
the end of the war, when Maine was restored to the
United States. To compensate for these successes,

162

CANADA.

the British flotilla was beaten by the Americans
under McDonough, and Sir George Prevost sus-
tained a discreditable defeat at the hands of a very
inferior force under General Macomb, on the 8th of
September, at Plattsburgh. The Americans, how-
ever, abandoned Fort Eiie on the 5th of November,
which was the last vestige of their great plans for the
conquest of Canada. The Peace of Ghent put an
end to a contest in which the United States would
have soon found itself opposed to the whole power
of Great Britain. The conditions of that Treaty
were disastrous for Canada, as they shut her out
from any seaport for several months of the year. In
fact. Admiral Gambier, Mr. Goulburn, and Mr.
Adams, knew nothing at all about their business,
and exercised neither diligence, research, nor caution,
in examining the stipulations of the treaty. They
accepted all the American conditions and statements
without ikiquij-y or hc>sitation. They never bestowed
a thought on the effe^^t of such observations as " the
high lands lying due north from the source of the
River St. Croix, and the head of the Connecticut
River not having been ascertained " ; " part of the
boundary between the two powers not having been
surveyed," and the like, which many years after be-
came essential and powerful arguments in the dis-
cussion. In the war the Canadians had displayed
courage and spirit, ai:d the best American generals
and statesmen were very speedily satisfied that they
could eflect very little in the way of conquest. Thtiy
were but too glad to make peace. The war had not
only damaged their resources, but threatened the
very existence of the Uruon. The Northern delegates
at the Hartford Convention had not merely objected
to the proceedings of the Federal Government, but
had entered upon the discusHion of fundamental
changes in the Constitution. In the Treaty of Ghent
no concession was made on any of the points on
which the declaration of war was made. In some

*..jifeu

POLITICAL CONTKOVERSIES.

163

respects the contest with the United States proved
of decided benefit to Canada ; the money spent by
the army enriched the country, and the incidents of
the campaign tended to raise the reputation of the
Canadians in England, and elevated the sentiment
of self-respect among the people. Roads were made
or projected for military purposes. Canals were dis-
cussed and planned, and steam began to contend
w^ith currents and rapids. The revenue exceeded the
expenditure, although nearly 27,000/. figured as an
item for militia services the first year after the war.

Had it not been for political and civil complica-
tions, the progress of Canada would have becii still
more rapid ; but truth to say, progress encountered a
considerable obstacle in the character of the people
of Lower Canada. Probably not less than 35,000
of the whole population were of French descent,
strongly attached to their institutions, and therefore
indisposed to change — influenced by traditions of a
most conservative character, and by territorial ar-
rangements which perpetuated the very essence of
feudalism. Nevertheless, emigration was encouraged,
free passages were given to some immigrants, food
to others, one hundred acres of land to all. Banks
were established ; but through all the extent of the
uppei province in 1817, there were not (juite seven
persons to the square mile. In some instances inju-
dicious governors exercised their power to counteract
the good disoosiiion of the House of Parliament, and
occasionally Parliament marred the excellent inten-
tions of the representaUves of the Crown. Impeach-
ment of judges, imprisonment of journalists, ques-
tions of privilege and the like arose, which interru[)ted
the good feeling so necessary to the progress of colo-
nial life. Constant fears of sedition, privy conspiracy,
and rebellion, haunted the minds of governors, whilst
the colonists and the liabitans struggled for greater
freedom of action. Although the Ciiuadians had re-
sisted the Americans with the greatest energy, they

164

CANADA.

pi 1

n 1

1 5

;.5

were suspected of a desire to coalesce with, or to
imitate the institutions of, the enemy. England at
this time was agitated by aspirations for reform, and
those who led the masses certainly justilied tlic sns-
picion with which their designs were regarded, by
intemperance of language. Among i' e emigrants
who [locked to Canada were men who were tinged
deeply with the dye of dangerous democratic doc-
trine, and notwithstanding the great gulf fixed be-
tween the new-comers and the French hahUans, it
was feared that the two parties would unite in found-
ing a government which could not be congenial to
one or the other. When Lord Dalhousie came out
in 1850, he found however a tolerably prosperous
community. The dissensions respecting the civil
list which had occurred for several years previously,
inaugurated Lord Dalhousie's administration. The
Assembly would not grant a permanent civil list,
and took the extraordinary step of appointing an
agent, who was a member of the British Parliament,
to represent them in England. The impolicy of
dividing the country into two provinces became more
apparent as questions connected with revenue arose,
and the discussion of these questions was embittered
by deficient harvests and commercial distress. Now
it was seen how injuriously the want of a port open
all the year aflected the interests of Canada, which
for five or six months was denied all access to the
sea, unless through the United States. The union
of the two provinces was agitated, but the French
population did not support the project. They be-
lieved th(;y would lose by amalgamation; that they
would forfeit their privileges, and oe deprived of the
advantages tliey enjoyed in the free import of Amer-
ican produce. When it became known that the
Government really had a project for the union of tlie
provinces, Mr. Papineau, the Speaker of tlie Asseiu-
bly, was dispatched to England with a petition
against the proposed amalgamation, and it was de-

NEGLECT OF CANADIAN INTERESTS.

165

ferred for a time. Financial difficulties increased
the ill-temper of the governed, and the harshness and
resolution of the Governtnent widened the breach
between them. Squabbles and ill-blood sprang up
with greater vehemence and animos^ity every day,
and the seeds of the evil which came to maturity in
1837, if not then first planteo, were certainly invig-
orated. The energies of thj English, Scotch, and
Irish emigrants who flocked into the north were not
to be repressed by these malign influences. The cit-
izens of the old world pushed their way into Upper
Canada, and finding lakes and rivers unfit for navi-
gation, projected and carried out canals, and already
gi'asped the probability of landing cargoes of Cana-
dian wheat in Liverpool, from vessels loaded at
Kingston and Montreal.

The Imperial negotiators who renounced all the
claims which they might have preferred in behalf of
Canada on the peace of 1815, would probably have
failed to secure for the province a port en the sea,
although the British, who held so large a portion of
the State of Maine, might have fairly sought some
equivalent for it. At all events no strenuous efibrt
was made to obtain such an advantage — nor was
there any attempt on our part to ascertain what the
precise boundaries were which the Americans claimed.
We will just see how a British negotiator many
years later consented to draw a line which placed
the land communications of the mother-country
with the provii.'.es in war time at the mercy of an
enemy for many miles of its course — Canadian
interests iind Imperial considerations being alike
neglected — peace; and war alike hampered, by want
of foresight, })ru(hmce, or statesmanlike consideration.
The increasing prosperity of Canada forced her to
enter into closer relations with the United States,
and to accede to arrangements with the Federal
Government, which were of course regulated by Im-
perial agency, and which were not always character-

166

CANADA.

ized by wisdom. But there was no alternative — at
least not one which could then be adopted. Thi.»
idea of a /[^eat confederation of the British Provin'^ey.
whir;h would nable Canada to avail herself of the
^jor'ts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, if il pre-
sented itself at all, was seen to be surrounded by
embarrassing obstacles and conflicting sentiments.
The skill in the conception, and the energy displayed
in the execution, of the canal system, which is the
grandest and most extensive in the world, have made
a practicable passage of more than 2000 miles from
Auticosti up to Superior City; and works proposed
or in progress by land and water attest the enter-
prise and resolution with which the Canadians con-
tended against the only impediments in the way of
their prosperity and greatness. The claims of Can-
ada to Imperial aid against invasion are strengthened
by concessions made by the Imperial agents, which
clear away the path of the invaders. Although all
the border States had their representatives and chari)-
pions, the voice of Canada was not heard in the d«.
liberations of t]ie Commission. It was British terri-
tory which was m debate — there are some who hold
that Canada is alone called upon to defend it. Al-
though the land may be invaded because it beloi. ;s
to Great Britain, so far that Great Britain is act j-
ally attacked by aggression upon it, Canada, in-
volved il war because of its^ riependency on the
British Crown, must bear th ^ 'unt of defending
that which British diplomacy has rendered peculiarly
liable to invasion. It is plain that those who insist
on leaving Canada to defend herself, are advocating
a policy which tdids to separate Canada from the
British Crown. The provinces are ruled by a Brit-
ish viceroy, and are under the British flag, which
would be the cause of an American attack. Canada
can do nothing to provoke hostility, but the English
may be struck with effect as long as the provinces
are rule'? by the Crown, and contain a company of
British soldiers.

VALUE OF THE PROTECTION.

167

Tt would be interesting to inquire whether the
Cauadians would be better off by themsolv^s than
they are at present, supposing always that ♦ho new
theories are likely to prevail, in case of war. Not-
withstanding the violence and exaggerated language
of the American press, it is only right to conclude
that Canada is far less liable to insult and aggres-
sion under British protection than she would be
without it. But that remark can only hold good in
cases where the Americans do not feel more than
usual irritation against Great Britain. The Cana-
dians must feel that if they stood alone, pretexts
would not long be wanting to treat the provinces as
Texas was served. Canada has at present the
power of England at her back, and the threat to
deprive her of it by no means implies that she will
be left to fight single-handed in the day of need.
On the whole, balancing the chances of aggression
on account of England against the chances of ag-
gression if she stood alone, it is certain that Canada
gains more than she loses by her present connection.
The growth of great States along her frontier, and
the excessive weakness of a water boundary in face
of a maritime power, have caused us at home to
insist on the engineering impossibility of defending
the whole of the land and lake boundaries, but it by
no means follows that the conquest of the country
would be equally easy. With the full command of
the sea and all its advantages — with commerce
free — with a wonderful unanimity in the object of
the war — with immense exaltation of spirit, and
unparalleled expenditure of money, the Northern
Americans have not yet subdued the Southern States,
though they have more than tested the quality of
their inner armor. Canada, with its narrow belt of
inhabited territory, flanked by inland seas and vast
rivers, offers no resemblance, it is true, to the South,
but aided by Great Britain and her army, her fleet,
and her purse, she might defy subjugation it she

168

CANADA.

* ■: .;■ > '*

4
i

could not escape invasion. It must be noted that
the Americans frequently dwell on ideas for a long
time ere they attempt to carry them out, but that
generally they do make an effort to give practical
effect to those theories which have taken hold of the
popular mind. For many years before the annexa-
tion of Texas and the war with Mexico took place,
the people were prepared for both by the constant
inculcation of their necessity. It is only justice to
the Government of the United States to declare that
their action has been generally restrictive, and that it
has acted as a drag on the wheels of the popular
chariot. There is in fact a great people standing
between the fringe of the noisy democracy and the
highlands of Federal authority, which breaks the
force of the popular wave, and hears unmovedly the
beatings of the turbulent press, and raging voices of
the Cleons of the hour. Shame it is indeed to them
that they so often permit the worth and sense and
honor of the nation to be represented by the worth-
less, foolish, degraded scum that simmers in its noisy
ebullitions on the surface of the social system. We
cannot be sure how far the Americans are actuated
by the feolingb which find expre sion in the most
scandalous prblic ppper of New York, but we do
know that the paper in question is largely read, and
that its favorite topic, wrien there is a lack of
subjects for abuse or menace, is the forthcoming
doom of Canadrt, " when this weary war is over."

In case of an invasion caused by any quarrel
with Great Britain, or by any policy for which the
Canadians are not responsible, what ought they to
expect from us ? Everything but impossibilities.
Among t!;i greitest of impossibilities would be pro-
tection oi ilui v,l?.>le of the frontier, with all the aid
they couK! give u^. The greatest would be the de-
fence of their tcrrilN -ries without all the aid they could
afford. The Canadians tell us that in the hour of
danger they will be ready, !)ut as yet they have fallen

MUTUAL DUTIES.

169

1 that
L long
t that
ictical
of the
inexa-
place,
iistant
ice to
re that
that it
opular
mding
nd the
ks the
Jly the
ices of
them
[se and
iworth-
s noisy
We
aated
most
we do
d, and
ck of
oming
er."
juarrel
ch the
ley to
ilitieri.
[e pro-
ne aid
Ihe de-
could
)ur of
fallen

short of that degree of preparation which we have
a right to expect. If the blow falls at all it will
come swift and strong, but if they do their duty to
us there can be no fear of our failing them in the
time of peril.

The Honorable Joseph Howe has vindicated the
claims of the Colonies to the care, protection, and
assistance of the mother-country. He has pointed
out the defects in our system, from which the inevi-
table necessity arises, that the colony shall become
detached from the mother-country, to become its
rival, or probably its enemy at some future stage of
its existence. Though California — 3000 miles away
— is represented at Washington; "though Algeria
is represented at Paris ; " the provinces of North
America have no representation in London.

" Our columns of gold," he exclaims, " and our
pyramids of timber, may rise in your Crystal Pal-
aces, but our statesmen in the great council of the
empire never. Saxony or Wirtemberg are treated
with a deference never accorded to Canada, though
they are peopled by foreigners. The war of 1812-
15 was neither sought nor provoked by the British
Americans. It grew out of the continental wars,
with which we certainly had as little to do. Whether
a Bourbon or a Bonaparte sat upon the throne of
France, was a matter of perfect indifference to us.
We were pursuing our lawful avocations — clearing
up our country, opening roads into the wilderness,
bridging the streams, and organizing society as we
best could, trading with our neighbors, and wishing
them no harm. In the mean time British cruisers
were visiting and searching American vessels on the
sea. Then shots were tired, and, before vf» had
time to recall our vessels engaged in foreign com-
merce, or to make the slightest pre|)aration for de-
fence, our coaste were infected by American cruissrs
and privateers, and ouz whoie frontier was in a
blaze.

■1

r *

['/ ^ ■

170

CANADA.

" You count the cost of war by the army and
navy estimates, but who can ever count the cost of
that war to us ? — a war, let it be borne in mind,
into which we were precipitated without our knowl-
edge or consent. Let the coasts of England be in-
vaded by powerful armies for three summers in suc-
cession ; let the whole Channel from Falmouth to
the Nore be menaced, let Southampton be taken and
burnt, let the Southdowns be swept from the Hamp-
shire hills, and the rich pastures of Devonshire supply
fat beeves to the enemy encamped in the western
counties, or marching on Manchester and London ;
let the youth of England be drawn from profitable
labor to defend these great centres of industry, the
extremities of the island being given up to rapine
and to plunder ; fancy the women of England living
for three years with the sound of artillery occasion-
ally in their ears, and the thoughts of something
worse than death ever present to their imaginations ;
fancy the children of England, with wonder and
•alarm on their pretty faces, asking for three years
when their fathers would come home ; fancy, in fact,
the wars of the Roses or the civil wars back again,
and then you can understand what we suffered from
1812 to 1815. Talk of the cost of war at a dis-
tance ; let your country be made its theatre, and
then you will understand how unfair is your mode
of calculation when you charge us with the army
estimates, and give us no credit for what we have
done and suffered in your wars.

" Though involved in the war of 1812 by no inter-
est or fault of our own ; though our population was
scattered, and our coasts and frontiers almost de-
fenceless ; the moment it came, we prepared for
combat without a murmur. I am just old enough
to remember that war. The commerce of the Mari-
time Provinces was not a twentieth part of what it
is now, but what we had was almost annihilated.
Our mariners, debaned from lawful trade, took to

THE EFFECT OF WAR ON CANADA.

171

privateering, and nnade reprisals on the enemy. Our
Liverpool * clippers ' fought some gallant actions,
and did some service in those days. The war expen-
diture gave to Halifax an unhealthy excitement, but
improvement was stopped in all other parts of the
province; and, when peace came, the collapse was
fearful even in that city. Ten years elapsed before
it recovered from the derangement of industry, and
the extravagant habits fostered by the war.

" A few regiments were raised in the Maritime
Provinces, their militia was organized, and some
drafts from the interior were brought in to defend
Halifax, whence the expeditions against the French
Islands and the State of Maine were fitted out. Can-
ada alone was invaded in force.

" General Smith describes the conduct of the Cana-
dian militia in the few but weighty words that be-
come a sagacious military chieftain pronouncing a
judgment on the facts of history.

" ' In 1812 the Republicans attacked Canada with
two corps, amounting in the whole to 13,300 men.
The British troops in the Province were but 4500, of
which 3000 were in garrison at Quebec and Mont-
real. But 1500 could be spared for the defence of
Upper Canada. From the capi:ure of Michilimaci-
nac, the first blow of the campaign, down to its
close, the Canadian militia took their share in every
military operation. French and English vied with
each other in loyalty, steadiness, and discipline.

" ' Of the force that captured Detroit, defended by
2500 men, but a few hundreds were regular troops.
Brock had but 1200 men to oppose 6300 on the
Niagara frontier. Half his force were Canadian mi-
litia, yet he confronted the enemy, and, in the gallant
action in which he lost his life, left an imperishable
record of the steady discipline with which Canadians
can defend their country.

" * The invading army of yeomen sent to attack
Montreal were as stoutly opposed by a single brigade

172

CANADA.

■. k'i

of British troops, aided by the militia. In the only
action which took place the Canadians alone were
engaged. The enemy was beaten back, and went
into winter quarters.

" ' In 1813, Canada was menaced by three separate
corps. The Niagara district was for a time overrun,
and York, the capital of the Upper Province, was
taken and burnt. The handful of British troops tliat
could be spared from England's European wars,
were inadequate to its defence ; but in every {struggle
of the campaign, disastrous or triumphant, the Cana-
dian militia had their share. The French fought
with equal gallantry in the Lower Province. At
Chateaugay, Colonel de Salaberry showed what
could be done with those poor, undisciplined colo-
nists, who, it is now the fashion to tell us, can only
be made good for anything by withdrawing them
from their farms and turning them into regular sol-
diers. The American general had a force of 7000
infantry, 10 field-pieces, and 250 cavalry. De Sala-
berry disputed their passage into the country he loved,
with 1000 bayonets, beat them back, and has left
behind a record of more value in this argument
than a dozen pamphlets or ill-natured speeches in
parliament.'

" When the independence of the United States
was established in 1783, they were left with one half
of the continent, and you with the other. You had
much accumulated wealth and an overflowing poivn-
iation. They were three millions of people, poor, in
debt, with their country ravaged and their commerce
disorganized. By the slightest effort of statesman-
ship you could have planted your surplus population
in your own provinces, and, in five years, the stream
of emigration would have been flowing the right
way. In twenty years the British and Republican
forces would have been equalized. But you did
nothing, or often worse than nothing. From 1784
to 1841, we were ruled by little paternal despotisms

f
\
\

IMPERIAL APATHY.

173

established in this country. We could not chanj^e
an oHicer, reduce a salary, or impose a duty, with-
out the permission of Downing Street. For all tiiat
dreary period of sixty years, the Republicans gov-
erned themselves, and you governed us. They had
uniform duties and free trade with each other. We
always had separate taritfs, and have them to this
day. They controlled their foreign relations — you
controlled ours. They had their ministers and con-
suls all over the world, to open new markets, and
secure commercial advantages. Your ministers and
consuls knew little of British America, and rarely
consulted its interests. Till the advent of Huskis-
son, our commerce was cramped by all the vices of
the old colonial system. The Republicans could
open mines in any part of their country. Our mines
were locked up, until seven years ago, by a close
monopoly held in this country by the creditors of the
Duke of York. How few of the hundreds of thou-
sands of Englishmen, who gazed at Nova Scotia's
marvellous column of coal in the Exhibition, this
summer, but would have blushed had they known
that for half a century the Nova Scotians could not
dig a ton of their own coal without asking permis-
sion of half a dozen English capitalists in the city of
London. How few Englishmen now^ reflect, when
riding over the rich and populous States of Illinois,
Michigan, Missouri, and Arkansas, that had they not
locked up their great west, and turned it into a hunt-
ing-ground, which it is now, we might have had be-
hind Canada, three or four magnificent provinces,
enlivened by the industry of millions of British sub-
jects, toasting the Queen's health on their holidays,
and making the vexed question of the defence of our
frontiers one of very easy soluiion.

" When the Trent atfair aroused the indignant
feeling of the empire last autumn, we were — as we
were in 1812 — utterly unprepared. The war agjiin
was none of our seeking.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

2.0

1.8

1.25 1.4 III 1.6

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174

CANADA.

ml' '
I"

" Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had thousands
of vessels upon the sea, scattered all over the world.
Canada had her thousand miles of frontier unpro-
tected. Had war come, we knew that our money-
losses would have been fearful, and the scenes upon
our sea-coasts and our frontiers, sternly painted as
they must C3cur, without any stretch of the imagina-
tion, might well bid the ' boldest hold his breath for
a time.' But, did a single man in all those noble
provinces falter ? No I Every man, ay, every woman
accepted the necessity, and prepared for war.

" Again it was a question of honor, and not of
interest. In a week we could have arranged, by
negotiation, for peace with the United States, and
have kept out of the quarrel. But who thought of
such a thing ? Your homesteads were safe ; ours in
peril. A British — not a colonial ship — had been
boarded ; but what then ? The old flag that had
floated over our fathers' heads, and droops over their
graves, had been insulted ; and our British blood was
stirred — without our ever thinking of our pockets.
The spirit and unanimity of the provinces, no less
than the fine troops and war material shipped from
this country, worked like a charm at Wasliington.
President Lincoln, like Governor Fairfield, saw
clearly that he was to be confronted not only by the
finest soldiers in the world, but by a united and high-
spirited population. The effect was sedative; the
captives were given up. And the provincials — as
is their habit when there is no danger to confront —
returned to their peaceful avocations."

It may be necessary to make some allowance for
the tinge of colonial patriotism in this passage, but
after all the Hon. J. Howe is a transplanted English-
man. He speuivs with the voice of some millions of
people, and we must listen to it, or be prepared for a
good deal of lukewarnmess or " disloyalty." I have
avoided any reference to the disputes which broke
out into rebellion in 1837, because no useful end

thousands
the world,
ler unpro-
ur money
enes upon
>ainted as
I imagina-
breath for
lose noble
ry woman
ar.

id not of
anged, by
)tates, and
bought of
e; ours in
• had been

that had

1 over their

blood was

ir pockets.

es, no less

pped from

[ashington.

ield, saw

ily by the

and high-
lative; the
Icials — as
lonfront —

ance for

|ssage, but

English-

illions of

ared for a

»" I have

ich broke

seful end

THE FUTURE.

175

would be gained by an account of an unfortunate
schism which was produced by want of judgment on
the part of the Government at home, and by the ex-
treme fanaticism of a party in the province. But the
fanaticism has in no small degree been justified by
what has since taken place. When " rebels " are
pardoned, it may be a proof that the government
which pardons is strong and generous. When " reb-
els "are not only restored to civic rights, but are
invested with office, it is almost a demonstration that
the government which permits them to exercise im-
portant functions under it, was in error in the contest
which drove these men to resistance. The rebellion
in Canada had, however, nothing to do with the great
question we are now discussing. We are approach-
ing the larger subject, which is opened by the con-
sideration of the arguments which are used by Im-
perialists and Colonists in their controversy respecting
the magnitude and relation of the empire and the
colony in war.

It becomes of high practical value to consider what
Canada can do, and what Canada has done in the
direction of self-defence, should she be threatened
with war, either from imperial or colonial causes.
It can be no satisfaction to Canada to become a fief
of the new Federal quasi - republic because Great
Britain failed in her duty ; and all the references to
the patriotism and exertions of valor of Canadians
in past times, would reflect all the greater discredit
on them now, when they enjoy rights and privileges
unknown to their hardy ancestors. Let us first see
what her resources and defensive powers are, and
then cast a glance at what Canada and the British
Provinces in North America have got to defend.
The only military force Canada can employ is the
militia. Her present proud position should induce
the people of Canada to make every effort to pre-
serve the conditions under which they enjoy so much

, ^ H

1 I

176

CANADA.

liberty, happiness, and prosperity ; but she has in the
future a heritage of priceless value, which she holds
in trust for the great nation that must yet sit en-
throned on the Lakes and the St. Lawrence, and rule
from Labrador to Columbia.

'!'\

THE MILITIA.

177

CHAPTER XII.

The Militia. — American Intentions. — Instability of the Volunteer Princi-
ple. — The Drilling of Militia. — The Commission of 1862. — The Duke
of Newcastle's Views. — Militia Schemes. — Volunteer Force. — Apathy
of the French Canadians. — The First Summons.

In a country situated as Canada is, witliout well-
defined obligations as regards the sovereign power,
there can be but two kinds of military force available
for defence — a militia and an organization of volun-
teers. The first is essentially the proper constitu-
tional force on which Canada must mainly rely in
case of invasion. The second, notwithstanding its
enormous importance and value, is but accidental.
Unless Canada assumed towards us the relations of
a protected state, like India, and raised an army offi-
cered by the British, such as was that of Oude, or
as that, to a certain extent, of some states at the
present day, her volunteers could have no fixed and
adequate value in a general scheme of defence. The
Canadian militia must constitute the chief strength
of Canada in operations on her territory. It would
be impossiblf for Great Britain to do more than pro-
vide officers, money, arms, artillery, and ammunition
— perhaps the h(!ad and backbone of the force which
would be needet! for a large system of campaigns.
The only enemy Canada has to fear is the Northern
Republic. I am quite willing to do every justice to
the moderation of Mr. Seward, and to the pacific
policy of Mr. Lincoln, but it cannot be disputed that
the strength of the central Government will be much
diminished on the cessation of the present conflict,
and that whatever way it ends the Cabinet of Wash-
ington will be little able to oppose the passions of
the people in the crisis which peace, whether it be

178

CANADA.

'.'4',

! K

i i\j

wf ■

one of humiliation or of triumph, will bring with it.
Passion, the passion wrought of pride, love of do-
minion, national feeling, and the like, is far stronger
than the silken bond of commerce. There is danger
of war with Great Britain as soon as this war in
America is over ; and the question is, how far Canada
will be able to aid herself? Because, if she does not
contribute largely to her own defence, it seems cer-
tain that British statesmen will not strive very stren-
uously to avert her doom. At the moment I write
there is not, in a state of organized efficiency, one
regiment of militia in the length, which is great, and
the breadth, which is small, of Canada. Party vio-
lence has set at nought all warnings and all solicita-
tious. The Canadians appear to rely on the tradi-
tions of the past, and on the result of the small
campaigns in the war with America, without any
appreciation of the vast changes which have taken
place since. Northern Americans, reaching their
boundaries with pain and many a toilsome march,
filtered small corps upon their soil — far inferior in
numbers and equipment to those which now repre-
sent the quota of the smallest State in the Union. In
my letters from America I called attention to the
significant fact that the northernmost point of the
territory claimed by the Southern Confederacy was
within 120 miles of the lake which forms the southern
boundary of Canada. It may not be likely that
the Confederacy will ever make good its claim to
Western Virginia, and fix its standard in undisturbed
supremacy at Wheeling, but it is nevertheless true
that a strong passionate instinct urges the people of
the North to consolidate the States of the West and
those of the East by the absorption of Canada, which,
with its lakes and its St. Lawrence, would be ample
recompense for the loss of the South ; and, with the
South in the Union, would be the consummation of
the dream of empire in which Americans wide-awake
pass their busy restless lives. The Americans are

MILITARY RESOURCES OF CANADA.

179

;ncans are

well aware of the vast advantage of striking a sud-
den blow. The whole subject of Canadian invasion
lies developed in well-considered papers in the bureau-
drawers of Washington. At the time of the Trent
affair I was assured by an officer high in rank in the
Government that General Winfield Scott hud come
back from France solely to give the State the benefit
of his counsels and experience in conducting an
invasion of Canada; and I cannot think it doubtful
that the Federal Government would, in four or five
weeks after a declaration of war with England, be
prepared to pour 120,000 or 150,000 men across the
British frontier. What has Canada done to meet
the danger ? In May, 1862, the Honorable John
Macdonald proposed that a minimum of 30,000 men
or a maximum of 50,000 men should be enrolled and
drilled for one month every year for three or for five
years, but it was considered that Canada could not
spare so large a number of men from the pursuits of
trade, and above all of agriculture, during the open
season when drill would be practicable. The meas-
ure was rejected. Mr. Sandfield Macdonald, after
the failure of this proposal, introduced and carried a
measure which gave the Government a permissive
power to call out the unmarried militiamen for sbc
days' drill in every year, and which provided that
militia officers might be attached to the regular regi-
ments serving in Canada for two months every year,
in order to learn their duties. By the fundamental
law of Canada the Government has the power of
calling out in time of war, first, all eligible unmarried
men betv/een 18 and 45 years of age; secondly,
married men between 18 and 45 ; and finally, those
males fit to carry arms between 45 and 60 years of
age. Under these laws Canada should have a force
of 470,000 men available for service, and of these
there are actually on the muster-rolls of the militia
197,000 unmarried men between 18 and 31 years of
age, whose service would be compulsory in case of

180

CANADA.

■ i

' .-■

''f

. v '.

}

\ I

need. The Canadian Parliament voted half a tnillioii
of dollars in each of tlie years 1863 and 18()4 for
military purposes, but the greater proportion of thcise
sums was expended on the volunteers and on the
staff of the militia. 'JMiere has been no adequate
return for the heavy drain such a sum causes on the
Provincial exchequer. The best commentary on the
voluntary system in militia drills is to be found in
the fact that less than 10,000 men have been in
attendance on them.

With the experience we have had of the unstable
character of volunteer forces in the field, it is not
prudent for Canada to rely on her volunteers so much
as she does. They have within their very body the
seeds of dissolution. Some corps can decree their
disbandment at two months', others at six months'
notice — in other words, they may melt away at the
very crisis of the war. Does American volunteering
teach us nothing? In all human probability the
South would have been struck to tlib earth at the first
battle of Bull Run, if the Pennsylvania volunteers
had not presented to the world the extraordinary
and disgraceful spectacle of whole battalions under
arms marching off from the field, as their unfortunate
General McDowell expressed it, *' to the sound of the
enemy's guns." That was no isolated case. The
desertion, at the same time, of other volunteer bat-
talions under the equally unfortunate General Pat-
terson in the Shenandoah Valley, left him unable to
prevent the Confederate General Johnston marching
with all his men to the aid of Beauregard. Over
and over again the Federal leaders have been
paralyzed by similar defection 5^, and it was not till
they became strong enough to hold the volunteers by
force, as Meade did before he made his attempt
against Richmond, that the evil was cured. Had
the Federals gained Bull Run, they were ready to
have marched on Richmond at once — they would
have found the city defenceless, and the South dis-

rUOI'OUTlUN OF LULJAX AND iilllXL MILITIA. 181

'a million
18(U for
n of ihnse
id on tliu
adequate
scs on the
iry on the
; found in
e been in

e unstable
, it is not
rs so much
y body the
ecrec their
ix months'
way at the
)lunteering
ability the
at the first
volunteers
raordinavy
tons under
nfortunate
und of the
ase. The
nteer bat-
neral Pat-
unable to
marching
d. Over
ave been
,s not till
unteers by
is attempt
•ed. Had
ready to
ey would
ISouth dis-

organized. Such a proof of Federal power as a de-
er ve victory would, I believe, from what I saw in
tht, South, have crushed the; Secession party, and
have strengthened the adherents of the Union, who
were then numerous in many of the States. It might
not have stopped the civil war, but it would have
certainly given the most enormous pi'"pon(leranco to
the North. The defeat mainly caused by McDowell's
weakness in men, and the reinforcements received
by the enemy in consequence of Patterson's inability
to hinder their arrival, which was caused by the
wholesale disbandment of volunteers, gave such an
impetus to the Confederates, that their principle was
carried triumphantly over the States, and crushed all
opj)osition. We have seen what that defeat has
cost the Federals since. In Canada the volunteers
belong almost exclusively to the urban population —
only a fifth come from rural districts ; and as the
towns in Canada are very small, it >s plain that the
volunteer system would operate very injuriously on
the trade of the cities, and would in all likelihood
break down, without any imputation on the courage
and patriotism of the townsmen. It is, of course,
beyond the power of Canada to cope with the people
of the United States single-handed, but the agencies
which England could bring to bear against the enemy
on the American seaboard, and on all the seas fur-
rowed oy her ships, would damp the ardor which
the Northerners would exhibit at the first onslaught.
It would be, no doubt, a very deplorable and a very
disgraceful contest, but Great Britain would not be
responsible for the beginning of hostilities.

Just in proportion to the celerity and magnitude
of their first successes, would be the efforts of the
Americans to secure their conquest. It is far easier
to repel than to expel. A handful of militia, ill-
drilled, supported by a similar force of volunteers of
similar inefficiency, could offer no resistance to the
warms of invaders, and would but increase the

182

CANADA.

I t

stress to which the little army of Queen's troops
in garrivson here and there would be subjected at the
outbreak of war. To all argument and entreaty, to
insinuations and menace, Canada opposes the grand
simplicity of her non possunius. She is burdened
with debt, and even without any expenditure for the
militia her outlay is considerably more than her
income. A party in Canada called for a regular
agi'eement with the Government at home to regulate
the amount to be paid by Canada, and the troops to
be furnished by her, as a part of the British Empire.
These troops were to consist of militia of the tirst
class, to be drilled by detachments in each succeed-
ing year, till the whole number, whether it were
50,000 or 100,000, should be properly disciplined.
It was proposed by some advocates of this scheme
that each body of militia should be called out for
six months ; and that when that period expired the
men should b^ entitled to immunity from further
drills till war broke out, when they would become
liable for ten years' service, after which they would
go into a reserve only to be used in great emer-
gencies.

Many modes of raising, maintaining, and drilling
this force have been suggested ; but as the principle
was not adopted they are scarcely worth discussing.
Drills for short periods are certainly of little or no
avail ; and if money cannot be borrowed to put
100,000 men in a state of readiness, the organization
of 50,000 men to be drilled for three months in each
year in bodies of 12,000 or 15,000 does not seem at
all unreasonable. The rate of wages in Canada is
very high, and the lowest estimate for the support,
pay, and clothing of a militiaman for six months
comes to about 20/. per man. It is, therefore, a sim-
ple sum in multiplication to arrive at the ultimate
figure of Canadian possumus in regard to the paying
power of the Provinces. It is not true that if one
man can be kept for 20/. for six months two men

RELATIONS OF CANADA TO GREAT BRITAIN. 183

I's troops
ted at the
itre.ity, to
the grand

burdened
are lor the

than her

regular

to regulate
t* troops to
jh Empire.
3f the tirst
;h succeed-
er it were
disciplined,
his scheme
lied out for
expired the
lom further
ild become
they would
eat emer-

land drilling
le principle
discussing.
Ilittle or no
red to put
organization
iths in each
iiot seem at
Canada is
.he support,
[six months
Wore, a sim-
|he ultimate
the paying
that if one
Is two men

can be kept for the same sum for three months.
The levy of ^OjOuO militiamen for six month- would
cost Canada, if she wer(^ alone, one million sterling.
Mr. Cartwri^ht has pointed out that Canada could
discipline 100,000 militia, with half a year's instruc-
tion each, for as much as would support a standing
army of 2000 men for the same period. We may
be very angry with the Canadians for their happy
security. It is not so very long ago since the
Duke's letters to Sir John Burgoyne startled us out
of a similar insouciance. We may feel that the
sudden development of the United States has placed
us in a very doubtful military position. It is not so
easy to shake off the obligations incurred by conquest
and by emigration under the flag of Great Britain.
In the face of very frigid warnings from the press,
and very lukewarm enunciations of policy from her
best friends, Canada had some reason to fear that
there is a secret desire " to let her slide," and that
nothing would please England so much as a happy
chance which placed the Provinces beyond our care
without humiliation or war.

The duty of Canadians to their own country i*
very plain indeed if the people of England refuse to
give them distinct guarantees that under certain con-
ditions they will give them the v^^hole aid of money,
men, and ships that is required ; but these guaran-
tees are implied in the very fact of suzerainty of the
Crown. It must, however, be made known — if it be
not plain to every Englishman — that the abandon-
ment of Canada implies a surrender of British Colum-
bia, of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Ed-
ward's, Newfoundland, if not also the West India
Islands. Many bitter words written and spoken here
rankle in the breasts of the Canadians, and I have
quoted the words in which a Canadian statesman has
placed before Englishmen the terrible consequences
which Canada may suffer from war, because she is
a part of the British Empire, engaged in a quarrel

184

CANADA,

■■; :

on imperial gronndrt with the Government of the
United States. We do undoubt(uily owe sometliing
to Canada, from the bare fact tiiat for many years
she resisted temptation, and rtunained under our (lag
unmoved by the blandishments and ti rcats of the
United States. In my poor judgment the abandon-
ment of Canachi would be the most signal triumph
of the prinei|)le of democracy, and the most pregnant
sign of the decadence of the British Empires which
could be desired by our enemies. No matter by
what sophistry or by what expedi(!ney justified, tlio
truth would crop out througfi the fact itself that we
were retiring as the Romans did from Britain, Gaul,
and Dacia, but that the retreat would be made in the
face of united and civilized enemies, and tlr.it the
sound of our recall would animate every natioVi in
the world to come forth and despoil us.

As yet there is no reason for such a pusillanimous
policy.

The Commission of 1862 laid it down as their
opinion that an active force of 50,000, with a reserve
of the same number, would be required for Canada ;
but as the bill founded on their report did not become
law, the Canadian Government had no power to
borrow arms from the Home Government for the
whole number, as would have been the case had they
passed the bill. Lord Monck, however, procured
from the Home Government a considerable augmen-
tation of the supplies in store of artillery, small arms,
ammunition, and accoutrements. But the rejection
of the MUitia Bill of 1862 filled the Home Govern-
ment with apprehension. The Duke of Newcastle,
on the 20th of August of that year, wrote as fol-
lows : —

" If I urge upon you the importance of speedily re-
suming measures for some better military organiza-
tion of the inhabitants of Canada than that which
now exists, it must not be supposed that Her Maj-
esty's Government is influenced by any particular

nnt of the
Homothing
tmny ycnra
er our Hag
Jits of the
.• abaiuloii-
iil Iriiunph
it pregnant
ipin^ which
matter by
iHtitied, the
t'lf that we
itain, Gaul,
riadc in the
id tliat the
y natioVi in

Lsillanimous

\vn as their
th a reserve
or Canada ;
not become
o power to
ent for the
so had they
r, procured
le augm en-
small arms,
le rejection
ime Govern-
Newcastle,
ote as foi-

speedily re-

[y organiza-

that which

^t Her Maj-

particular

THE DUKE OF NEWCASTF.E'S VIEWS.

185

)

apprehension of an attack on t!ie Colony at the
present motnent, but undoubtedly tln^ necessity for
preparation which has froui time to time been urged
by successive S(!cretari<?s of State is grt^atly increased
by the presence, for the first time on the American
Continent, of a large standing army, and the unset-
tJed condition of the neighboring States. Moreover,
the growing importance of the ('olony, and its attacli-
ment to free institutions, make it every day more
essential that it should possess in itself that without
which no free institutions can be secure — adecpiate
means of self-defence. The adecjuacy of thosi; means
is materially inlluenced by the peculiar position of
the country. Its extent of frontier is such that it can
be safe only when its population capable of bearing
arms is ready and competent to tight. That the
population is ready, no one will venture to doubt ;
that it cannot be competent, is no less certain, until
it has received that organization, and acquired that
habit of discipline which constitute the difl'erence
between a trained force and an armed mob. The
drill required in the regular army, or even in the best
volunteer battalion, is not necessary, nor would it
be possible, in a country like Canada, for so large a
body of men as ought to be prepared for any emer-
gency ; but the Government should be able to avail
itself of the services of the strong and healthy por-
tion of the male adult population at short notice, if
the dangers of invasion by an already organized army
are to be provided against.

" We have the opinions of the best military au-
thorities, that no body of troops which England could
send would be able to make Canada safe without the
elficient aid of the Canadian people. Not only is it
impossible to send sufficient troops, but if there were
four times the numbers which we are now main-
taining in British North America, they could not
secure the whole of the frontier. The main depend-
ence of such a country must be upon its own people.

W "ST

186

CANADA.

The irregular forces which can be formed from the
population, know the passes of the woods, are well
acquainted with the country, its roads, its rivers,
its defih^s ; and for defensive warfare (for aggression
they will never be wanted), would be far more
available thnn regular soldiers.

"It is not therefore the unwillingness, or the in-
ability of Her Majesty's Government to furnish sulli-
cient troops, but the useh^ssness of such troops with-
out an adequate militia force, that I wish vo impress
upon you.

" In your despatch of the 17th May last, you in-
formed me that there were then 14,760 volunteers
enrolled, besid(^s others who had been more or less
drilled. It is far, indeed, from my intention to dis-
credit either the zeal or the efliciency of these volun-
teers, who have, I hope, greatly increased in number
since the date of your d("spatch ; but they constitute
a force which cannot sutlice for Canada in the event
of war. They might form an admirable small con-
tingent ; but what would be required would be a
large army. They might form a force stronger than
is necessary in time of peace to secure internal tran-
quillity, but would be inadequate to repel external
attack in time of war. Past experience shows that
no reasonable amount of encouragement can raise the
number of volunteers to the required extent.

" It appears to me that the smallest number of men
partially drilled which it would be essential to pro-
vide within a given time, is 50,000. The renidinder
of the militia would of course be liable to be called
upon in an emergency. Perhaps the best course
would be, to drill every year one or more companies
of each battalion of the sedentary militia. In this
maniHT the training of a large number of men might
be eli'eeled, and all companies so drilled should, once
at least in two years, if not in each year, be exercised
in battalion drill, so as to keep up their training.

" I put forward these suggestions for the considera-

TIIF DUKn OF NEWCASTLE'S VIEWS.

187

lion of the Canadian Government and Parliament,
hut Her Majesty's CJovernment have no desire to
dicilate Jis to details, or to interfere; with tlie internal
government of tht; Colony. Their only object is so
to assist and gnidc its action in the matter of the
militia as to make that forcf eflicient at the least
possible cost to the Proviiiv c and to the mother-
country.

" The Canadian Government will doubtless be
fully alive to the important fact that a well-organized
systiun of militia will contribute much towards sus-
taining the high position with reference to pecuniary
ciedit, which, in spite of its large debt, and its dcffi-
cient revenue for the past few years, the Colony has
hitherto held in the money markets of P^urope. A
country which, however unjustly, is suspected of
inability or indisposition to provide for its own de-
fence, does not, in the present circumstances of
Anu^rica, offer a tempting iield for investment in pub-
lic funds or the outlay of private capital. Men ques-
tion the stable condition of affliirs in a land which is
not competent to protect itself.

" It may, no doubt, be argued on the other hand,
that t!ie increased charge of a militia would diminish
rather than enlarge the credit of the Colony. I am
convinced that such would not be the case, if steps
were taken for securing a basis of taxation sounder
in itself than the almost exclusive reliance on cus-
toms duties. It is my belief that a step in this di-
rection would not only supply funds for the militia,
but would remove all apprehension which exists as
to the resources of the Colony.

" Whatever other steps may be taken for the im-
* proved organization of the militia, it appears to Her
Majesty's Government to be of essential importance
that its administration, and the supply of funds for
its support, should be exempt from the disturbing
action of ordinary politics. Unless this be done there
can be no confidence that, in the appointm(;nt of

«v

1!^

-mm'mi^.m'm^mfp

188

CANADA.

11 ':■

"I'i

^i'll

officers, and in other matters of a purely military
character, no other object than the efficiency of the
force is kept in view. Were it not that it might
fairly be considered too great an interference with
the privileges of the representatives of the ])eople, ]
should be inclined to suggest that the charge for the
militia, or a certain fixed portion of it, should be
defrayed from the consolidated fund of Canada, or
voted for a period of three or five years.

" It has further occurred to me, that the whole of
the British Provinces on the continent of North Amer-
ica have, in this matter of defence, common interests
and common duties. Is it impossible that, with the
free consent of each of these Colonies, one uniform
system of militia training and organization should be
introduced into all of them ? The numbers of men
to be raised and trained in each would have to be
fixed, and the expenses of the whole would bo de-
frayed from a common fund, contributed in fair pro-
portion by each of the Colonies. If the Governor-
General of Canada were Commander-in-Chief of the
whole, the Lieutenant-Governors of the other Colonies
would act as Generals of Division under him ; but it
would be essential that an Adjutant- General of the
whole force, approved by Her Majesty's Government,
should move to and fro, as occasion might require, so
as to give uniformity to the training of the whole,
and cohesion to the force itself.

" As such a scheme would affect more than one
Colony, it must, of course, emanate from the Secre-
tary of State, but Her Majesty's Government would
not entertain it unless they were convinced that it
would be acceptable both to the people of Canada
and to the other Colonies ; and they desire to know,
in the first instance, in w^hat light any such plan
would be viewed by the members of your Executive
Council. I understand that the Lieutenant-Gov-
ernors of Nova Scotia and New Jirunswick, availing
themselves of the leave of absence lately accorded

i§'i

THE MILITIA SCHEME.

189

to thorn, intend to meet you in Quebec in the course
of the ensuing month. This visit will afford you a
good opportunity for consulting them upon this im-
portant question.

" The political union of the North American
Colonies has often been discussed. The merits of
that measure, and the difficulties in the way of its
accomplishment, have been well considered ; but
none of the objections which oppose it seem to
impede a union for defence. This matter is one in
which all the Colonies have interests common with
each other, and identical with the policy of Eng-
land."

The Government of the day presented a scheme
which was rightly characterized by Lord Monck as
containing no principle calculated to produce effective
results, and to be entirely illusory and nugatory as
far as the enrolment of the militia was concerned.
Lord Monck enclosed the heads of a plan for the
reorganization and increase of the actwe militia,
based mainly on the voluntary principle, with rules
for the erection of armories, drill-sheds, and rifle-
rangers, and the appointment of brigade-majors and
sergeants, &c., and other means of a perfect organ-
ization. The scheme was to raise an active battal-
ion for each territorial division of the country corre-
sponding with the regimental district of the sedentary
militia, to be increased in number as needed, each
active battalion to be taken from the sub-division of
the district. Mr. Macdonald thought no Government
could exist which would venture to recommend the
raising of 50,000 partially trained militia, although
the cost, spread over five years, would scarcely exceed
the annual appropriations. In fact, at the root of
all these various schemes and plans lay the evi' of
uncertainty. Canada did not know how far England
would go in her defence, and seemed fearful of
granting anything, lest it might be an obligation
which the mother-country would have otherwise

190

CANADA.

'. .

h! i ■

-It:

!;l

■■i 1 '
,' i

Hi:

'H:

Hi'J

lllili

incurred, whilst England, by withholding any definite
promise, or indulging only in vague remonstrances,
sought to make the Canadians show their hands.
Each was anxious for an answer to the question.
" How much will you give us ? " The Military
Commissioners reported that Canada ought to pro-
vide 150,000 men, including the reserves, which force,
large as it is, would be less than that furnished by
states of smaller population in the Northern Union ;
but Canada is very poor, and not unnaturally makes
the most of the argument that she can have no war
of her own, and that her defence should be our affair.
No one, I apprehend, will allow himself to be beaten
to death because there is no policeman by.

In February, 1863, a report of the state of the mi-
litia of the Province was prepared by Lieutenant-
Colonel de Salaberry and Lieutenant-Colonel Powell,
of the Adjutant- General's of Militia Department in
Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, from which
it appears that there were then 25,000 volunteers or-
ganized, of whom 10,230 belonged to Lower, and
14,780 belonged to Upper Canada. Of these there
were pro:3ortionately 33 for every 1000 in the cities,
and 7i for every 1000 in the counties ; those in the
upper section contributing less than those in the
lower section, and Upper Canada contributing a larger
number on the 1000 than Lower Canada. In the
enumeration of the various Cv,mpanies — field bat-
teries, troops of horse, companies of artillery, engi-
neers, rifles, infantry, naval and marine companies —
it is to be observed tiiat only one naval company
appears as having performed twelve days' drill.
Some steps should be taken to develop naval and
marine companies in the passes along the shores
of the lakes. The importance of having trained
sailors and gunners stationed just where they are
wanted cannot be exasfserated, but it is n

likely that Brigade- Majors will look after such

very

VOLUNTEER FORCE.

191

ny definite
)nstrances,
leir hands.
I question.
3 Military
ght to pro-
rhich force,
rnished by
3rn Union ;
ally makes
ive no war
3 our affair.
) be beaten
r.

: of the n[>i-
Ljieutenant-
mel Powell,
)artment in
from which
lunteers or-
Lower, and
these there
n the cities,
ose in the
ose in the
ing a larger
a. In the
field bat-
[illery, engi-
mpanies —
1 company
days' drill,
naval and
the shores
ng trained
e they arc
s not very
;er such 5>

force. It must be remembered that the national
force of Canada consists of two different organiza-
tions — the volunteer militia and the regular militia.
Canada is divided into twenty-one military districts,
eleven in Lower and ten in Upper Canada. In each
district there is a Brigade- Major to superintend the
drill and instruction of all volunteer companies fur-
nish monthly reports thereon, and by inspections and
active organization to promote the efficiency of
the volunteer service as far as possible.^ The ap-
pointment of these officers has been attended with
very good results in this branch of the Militia Staff.
In August, 1862, forty-six non-commissioned officers
were sent out by Government, and paid by the
Canadian Parliament, to drill volunteers ; and sixty-
eight sergeants were subsequently applied for to
meet the increasing demand for instruction. The
report of the Deputy- Adjutant Generals of Militia,
presented to Lord Monck in 1863, stated, —

" Taking population as a basis, these Volunteer
Corps are distributed as follows: —

" Population all Canada (census 186.' ), 2,506,752,
— present Volunteer force, 25,010, or say 10 Volun-
teers for each 1000 inhabitants.

" Population : —

Lower Canada, 1,110,664 Volunteers, 10,230, — or say 9+ for each 1000.
Upper Canada, 1,390,088 " 14,780, — or saj- 10| for each iUOO.

2,506,752 25,010

" Population all Canada, showing proportion of
Volunteers in cities and counties.

Cities, 257,273
Rural, 2,249,479

Volunteers 8,525, — or say 33 for each 1000.
" 16,485, — or say 7 J tor each 1000.

2,506,752 25,010

" Population of Cities.

Lower Canada, 153,389
Upper Canada, 103,884

257,273

Volunteers, 5,500, or say 36 for each 1000.
" 3,025, or say 29 for each 1000.

8,525

192

CANADA.

■f

1, .

I' >

'St .1

III'

!ii

" Population of Rural Parts.

Lower Canada, 957,275
Upper Canada, 1,'2!»2,2()4

Volunteers, 4,730, or sav 5 for each 1000.
" 11,755, or say 9 for each 1000.

2,249,479 16,485

" It will thus be seen that in the cities of Canada,
those in the Upper Section of the Province contrib-
ute less, in proportion to their population, than do
those in the Lower Section ; while in the rural parts.
Upper Canada contributes a larger number for each
1000 inhabitants than does Lower Canada.

" The volunteering, thus far, has been the free-will
offering of the people, and it is gratifying to observe
that in the counties of Upper Canada, with the ex-
ception of three, nearly every one has furnished its
quota of the 25,000 now organized, while in many
instances they are considerably beyond the propor-
tionate number.

" In Lower Canada, until of late, volunteer corps
have been chiefly organized in the cities, but within
the last six months a considerable number of volun-
teers have been organized in the rural parts, and now
evidences are not wanting that ere long applications
will be received at this department for permission to
increase this number considerably.

"The present volunteer force comprises field bat-
teries, troops of cavalry, foot companies of artillery,
engineer companies, rifle companies, companies of
infantry, and naval and marine companies, and is
divided properly into three classes, viz : Class A, and
two divisions of Class B.

" Corps in Class A are those who have furnished
their own uniforms, and who have been paid $6.00,
for each man uniformed, for 12 days' drill performed
in 1862.

" First corps in Class B who have furnished their
own uniforms, and who have been paid $6.00 in lieu
of clothing, after 12 days drill performed in 1862.

" Second corps in Class B who have been organ*
ized upon the understanding that they receive no

MILITIA AND VOLUNTEERS.

193

pay for the 12 days' drill, but that the Government
will provide them with uniforms and drill instruc-
tion.

" Of the corps in Class A, 6 field batteries, 11
troops of cavalry, 2 companies of foot artillery, and
33 rifle companies have certified to the performance
of 12 days' drill in accordance with the General
Order of the 4th November last, and have received
from the Government $22,672 therefor.

" Of the corps in Class B, 3 troops of cavalry,
8 foot companies of artillery, 2 engineer corps, 49
rifle companies, 15 companies of infantry, and one
naval company have certified to the performance of
12 days' drill in accordance with the General Order
of the 4th November last, and have received from
the Government $20,952 therefor.

In the twenty -one districts there were recorded
468 battalions of sedentary militia. Seventy - six
driU associations, composed of the officers and non-
commissioned officers, had been formed, and were
to be supplied with arms and instructors, to which
number considerable additions have since been made.
The total number of militiamen in Lower Canada
was estimated at 190,000 ; in Upper Canada, at
280,000. In the former, 63,000 first-class service
men; in the latter, only 33,000 first-class service
men. Second-class, 58,000 and 83,000 respectively.
Reserve, 20,000 and 25,000 respectively. The cities
of Upper Canada gave 29 volunteers for every 1000
— the rural districts only 9 volunteers for every
1000. In three counties containing 50,000 people
there was no volunteer or volunteer corps. In
thirteen counties the average number of volunteers
was 250, and in sixteen counties it was only 125.

In Lower Canada, however, the zeal of the people
for militia volunteering was by no means remarkable.
Thirty counties, with a population of 450,000, had
not a single volunteer corps, nor one volunteer. The
towns gave 36 volunteers per 1000, the rural districts

III

ill

ii:'*;

illl

194

CANADA.

only 5 per 1000. In fact, the people of French de-
scent appeared to consider militia volunteering a sort
of playing at soldiers, which had no particular attrac-
tions for them. England had taken them in charge,
and might do as she liked with them.

By degrees, a great change occurred in the senti-
ments, if not in the actions, of the people. A little
more address in dealing with their prejudices; a little
more of a conciliatory tone ; somewhat greater tact in
legislative business, produced beneficial results. The
foundation, at all events, was laid of a sound militia
bill. The Commissioners who reported in 1862,
including Mr. Cartier, Mr. John A. Macdonald, Mr.
Gait, and Colonel Lysons, proposed a scheme which
was very comprehensive and ably conceived ; but it
was not considered suitable to the means of the coun-
try by the politicians, and the debates which arose
on the Militia Bill prepared in accordance with its
recommendations, were characterized by an acrimony
and party spirit which flavored the subsequent dis-
cussions on the same subject. They recommended
complete battalions as the base of the system, for
r( asons which are in the abstract irrefutable. They
then recommended that the Province should be di-
vided into military districts, as the Commander-in-
Chief might direct, and that each military district
should be divided into regimental divisions. They
further recommended as follows : —

" That in order to facilitate the enrolment, relief,
and reinforcement of an active force, each regimental
division be divided into * sedentary battalion divis-
ions,' and be sub-divided into ' sedentary company
divisions."

" That each regimental division shall furnish one
active and one reserve battalion, to be taken as nearly
as practicable in equal proportions from the male
population of such division, between the ages of 18
and 45.

" That each company of an active battalion, to-

THE FIRST SUMMONS.

195

gether with its corresponding reserve company, be
taken from within the limits of a defined territorial
division, the boundary of which shall be identical with
that of a sedentary battalion division, or of a distinct
portion of such division.

" That in order to accommodate the sedentary bat-
talion divisions to the organization of the active bat-
talions, the limits of the former be, where necessary,
rearranged.

" We recommend that each of the principal cities
of the Province, namely : Quebec, Montreal, Ot-
tawa, Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton, and London,
with such portions of the sr rounding country as may,
from time to time, be added to them by the Com-
mander-in-Chief, shall constitute a military district,
to be divided into regimental and sedentary battalion
divisions, as hereinbefore detailed; that they be al-
lowed to furnish volunteer militia of the three arms
in the proportions hereinafter detailed in lieu of active
battalions of regular militia. In the event of these
cities failing to furnish their full complement of vol-
unteers, they shall in part, or altogether, fall under
the general regulations of the regular militia, in such
manner as the Commander-in-Chief shall direct."

The recommendations of the Commissioners were
to some extent acted upon ; and since the foregoing
pages were written the first fruits of the volunteer or-
ganization- have been witnessed, in the actual appear-
ance on service of a number of companies, which have
been dispatched to guard the frontiers of Canada from
being made the base of offensive operations against
the Northern States by Confederate partisans shel-
tered for the time under the British banner. These
are but the advance guard of the 80,000 men who
have been ordered to hold themselves in readiness for
active service.

The summons of the Governor-General has been
heard and obeyed in the best spirit. The people of
Canada have answered to the call with an honorable

196

CANADA.

alacrity, and have displayed a temper which gives the
fairest guarantee of their services ; but they have not
indulged in threats or offensive language, and the
most irritable of Federal Rep'iblicans must admit
that the cause which has c^ d them from their
homes is entitled to considerati and respect.

POSSIBLE DANGERS.

197

,„;,

CHAPTER XIll

Possible Dangers. — The Future Danger. — Open to Attack. — Canals and
Kailways. — l*rohal)le Lines of Invasion. — Lines of Attack and Le-
fiMice. — London. — Toronto. — Defences of Kingston. — Defences of
Quebec.

The return of able-bodied males fit for military
service in Montcalm's time, exceeded the whole num-
ber of volunteers now actually enrolled ; but the pres-
ent force is possessed of seven field batteries, of sev-
eral squadrons of cavalry, and of 15,000 men armed
with rilled muskets. There must be at this moment
in Canada at least 50,000 rifles of the best kind.
There were four 18-pound batteries, two 20-pound
Armstrong batteries, a large number of howitzers, and
an immense accumulation of stores last year, which
have received constant accessions ever since, as the
threats of the New York press have produced to us in
increased expense some of the evil results of war.
There are also in the stores great quantities of old-
fashioned brass and iron field and siege guns, of shot
and shell, of mortars, and of ammunition.

The Americans can find no fault with us for taking
steps, in view of contingencies which they have
threatened, to obviate, as far as possible, the disad-
vantages to which distance from the mother-country
exposes the Provinces. It was enough that before the
days of steam, which has greatly increased the dis-
parity between us. Great Britain submitted to condi-
tions in regard to the Lakes which could only be
justified by the supposition that Canada was the
western shore of Great Britain. By the articles of
the Treaty of 1817, the United States of America and
Great Britain are limited to one vessel with one 18-

198

CANADA.

I' ; y

i ■ ' It'

\'3:

111 ■ ;':

1 i'i'i

poiindfir and a crow of one hiindrod mon oach on Lake
Ontario, Lake Cliamplain, and the upper lakes. No
other vessels of war an; to he built or armed, and six
months' notice is required to terminate the treaty
obligations.

It will have been observed that the Americans of
the Northern States are spoken of as the only enemies
whom Canada has to fear. They are the only peo-
ple who threaten from titne to time the conquest and
annexation of the Provinces, and who have declared
by the mouths of their statesmen, that they intend to
insist, when they are stron^r enough, on the fulfilment
of the doctrine that the whole continent is theirs ; for
the natural basis of the Monroe dogma is, the right
of the Americans to lay down the doctrine at all ; and
if they can say to the nations of Europe, " You shall
make no further settlements on this soil," they can
say, when it pleases them, with just as much right,
" You who are now occupying this soil must either
loave it or own allegiance to the Union." The Union
is now, what it never was before, a sovereignty, and
Americans in its name fancy that they can do what
they please. The Canadians are by no means well
disposed towards their neighbors' institutions, man-
ners, and customs, and do not desire to be incorpor-
ated with them. The annexation must, therefore, be
effected by force, sufficiently great to overpower the
resistance of the inhabitants, whether singly or sup-
ported by the British army and navy.

It fortunately happens that the freedom of speech
and writing prevalent in the United States are safety-
valves for the popular steam, and that words are not
always indicative of immediate or even of remote
action. It would be difficult to estimate the nature
of the influences which shall prevail when the Amer-
ican civil war is over. If the North succeeds in over-
coming the South, no great danger of war with Great
Britain or of invasion of Canada will exist. It will
need every man of the Federal army to occupy the

Till-: FUTURE DANGER.

199

h on Lake

akcrt. No

■ii]^ iind six

the treaty

lericans of
ily enemies
! only pt'o-
nqueHt and
ve declared
y intend to
e fulfdincnt
5 theirs ; for
is, the right
; at all; and
« You shall
il," they can
much right,
must either
The Union
reignty, and
an do what
means well
itions, man-
be incorpor-
herefore, be
erpower the
gly or sup-

of speech
Is are safety-
lords are not
of remote
le the nature
In the Amer-
;eds in over-
with Great
:ist. It will
occupy the

Southern States. If, on the other hand, the North
should be obliged to al)andon her project of forcing
the (;areass of the South back into tlie Union l)y the
sword, she will suddenly find herself with a large
army on her hands, with a ruined exchequer, and
an immense fund of mortified ambition and angry
passion to discount.

It is possible that the sober and just-minded men
who form a large part of American society may be
able to avert a conflict, if the American soldiery and
statesmen entertain the views attributed to them; but
that is just the point on which no information exists.
It is not easy to ascertain the actual weight of the
classes who would naturally oppose the press and the
populace in a crusadt; against Great Britain. My own
experience, limited and imperfect as it is, leads me to
think that there is in the States a very great number,
if not an actual majority, of people whose views
are not much influenced by violent journals or intem-
perate politicians, who rarely take part in public
affairs, but exercise, nevertheless, their influence on
those who do. There is not a community in the
Northern States which does not contain a large pro-
portion of educated, intelligent, and upright men, who
shrink from participation in party struggles and in-
trigue ; and I regret that they are not more largely
known. Their existence is marked by no outward
sign foreign nations can recognize. It is on them,
however, that the safety and reputation of the Fed-
eral Government depends; it will be on them that
t!ieir country's reliance must be placed when the
legions return home.

If the war were over in 1865, there would probably
be 600,000 men under arms, and there would be at
least 200,000 more men in the States who had served,
and would take up arms against England with alac-
rity. A considerable proportion of that army would
indeed seek their discharge, and go quietly back to
their avocations; but the Irish, Germans, &c., to

200

CANADA.

!;:%'

whom the licrnso of war was apfrrrahle, would not
bo unwilling to invade C/anada, and a pcrctMitagn
of Americans WDuld doubtless ('a«jf(M"ly seek lor an
o])|)ortnnity of gaininj^ ai^ainst a forei«i;n enemy llie
lanr(N ihey luid not found wliilst contending with
their felU)W-et)nntrymen. Connneree, iinhM-d, wouM
suffer — the Amerieans would find lor the lirst. time;
what it was to enter upon a (piarrel single-handed
with th(^ Hritish nation. They have hitherto mi^t
only th<^ sith' blows and stray shots of the old mother-
country — and they believe they havt; encountered
the full weight of her arm, and the utmost extent of
her energies. The wicked men who are striving to
engage the two States in a (piarrel which would
cover the seas of the vvorld with blood •xmi wreck,
cannot be deterred from their horrible work by any
appeals to fear or consci(Mice; but the inlluence! of
the past, and of the Christian and civilized people
of the ex-United States will, it is to be hoped, defeat
their ellorts, seconded though they may be by the
prejudice, religious animosity, and national dislike
of a portion of the people. If the war party prevail
they will have no want of pretexts — the 8au Ju:ui
question alone would sutiiec them if they had not a
whole series of imaginary wrongs to resent, arising
from the incidents of the present war, and a multi-
tude of claims to prefer to which England can never
listen.

At some day, near or remote, Canada must become
cither independent in whole or in part, or a portion
of a foreign state. It will be of no small moment
for those then living in Great Britain whether they
have alienated the allbctions or have w^on the hearts
of the newly created power. Those who doubt this
may consider how a Gaul now rules over the rnh'r
of Rome, and how all that remains of an evidence of
the occupancy of this Island by the masters of the
world for four hundred years, are tumuli, ruined
walls, stratilled roads, and bits of tile and pottery.

T" — '^

OriCN TO ATTACK.

201

li, would not
[I percciitago

surli for an
r\\ (MIlMliy tli(^
tiMuliiig with
U(1(M'(I, would
the lirst liiiK;
i'm^h'-liaudi'd

hhlu'rlo mvX
V old rnothcr-

ciK'ouulercd
i()8t exirnl. of
re Htriviiiij; 1o
wliicli woiild
id viud wreck,
work by any
! inllueuee of
^ilized people
hoped, defeat
ay be by the
tional dislike

party prevail
the 8au Juan
ley had not a
reijent, arising

and a multi-
uid can never

must become
, or a portion
mall moment
whether they
on the hearts
ho doubt this
)ver the ruler
n evidence of
1 asters of the
imuli, ruined
and pottery.

The climate of Canada is not more severe than that
of Russia — her natural advantages are much gr<*at-
er — her inland seas are nevc'r frozen — her (rommu-
nications with F^urope an; easy — she oilers a route
to all the world from the Atlantic to the P;utirKr.
The United States will be no longer a country for
the poor man to live in; th(! load of taxation will
force (^migration to Canada, and the States lying on
tlu! l(;ft banks of the lakes and of the St. Lawrence
will be enriched by the demands of Aint^ricta for h(;r
product;, in pro[)ortion as the waste lands an; oecu-
])ied, and the Union is fill(;d with a tax-paying swarm-
ing population. It is astonishing how soon a man
liberates himself from the traditions and alh'giance
of hitf nafive-country in the land of his adoption,
wh(;n his inten;sts and his pride are touched. The
attitude of our iimnediatc; colonies in face of the;
transportation question will at once satisfy us that
the tnother-eountry has little to expect from old
associations, whenever her interests are made to
appear antagonistic to those of lu;r colonies, ('an-
ada has the most liberal institutions in the world —
her municipal freedom is without parallel — educa-
tion is widely disseminated — religious toleration
restrains the violence of factions. The cold is by
no means as great as that which is borne by the
inhabitants of the greater part of northern El^ ape,
and is far less dangerous to health than the more
temperate climates of lowe;r latitudes, where rain
and tempest are substituted for snow and hard
frosts.

The frontier of Canada is assailable at all points.
In some places it is constituted by a line only visible
on a map, in others it is a navigable inland sea, in
others a line drawn in water, in others the bank of a
river or the shore of a lake. Coincident with it runs
the frontier of the United States.

The best guarantee against invasion would be,
complete naval supremacy on the lakes and rivers,

-i'-j'.f'awiS

,:; U]

u! ■•!

,1]'!!'' ;

liiiW'i,

I'm

I :|

202

CANADA.

because they constitute the most accessible roads for
the invaders, and the most serviceable barriers for
defenders, if they have the proper means of defence.
To give any chance of successful resistance, some
equality of naval force on the part of the invaded is
almost indispensable. The question arises, who
shall provide this naval force ? Canada cannot. She
is prevented by Imperial treaties, by want of means,
and even if she had them, she is forbidden to use the
means, by the principle which forbids a dependency
equipping ships of war in times of peace. Great
Britain has, no doubt, a powerful fleet, but the far
inferior navy of the United States, close at hand,
contains more vessels suitable for warlike operations
in inland waters and canals than we possess, 4000
miles away. In fact we ought to have a very great
preponderance of small vessels to give us a fair start,
and even then it would be difficult to begin hostilities
on equal terms. Lake Michigan, with the enormous
resources of Chicago, is entirely American, and the
possession of such a base is an advantage which is
by no means counterbalanced by our position on
Lake Huron. To prevent the enemy clearing all be-
fore them on the lakes, by an energetic naval sortie
from their ports, it would be necessary to have the
means of furnishing a flotilla as soon as hostilities
became imminent, and to watch every point, particu-
larly such as that of Sorel, where communication from
Richelieu to the St. Lawrence might be interrupted.
But it is thought we cannot hope to cope with the
Americans on equal terms in all the lakes, and that we
must be content with concentrating our strength on
Lake Ontaria and in the St. Lawrence. All our
water-ways are very much exposed. Whilst Great
Britain retains her supremacy, the St. Lawrence is
open during the summer, and can be kept free by
iron-plated vessels as far up as Montreal. The day
of wooden gunboats has passed, and it becomes
requisite for the Government to take immediate

^iMl

CANALS AND RAILWAYS.

203

steps to secure an adequate supply of armored
vessels on the spot as soon as hostilities become prob-
able. It is gratifying to know that the Canadian
Legislature is about to fortify the harbor and arsenal
at Kingston, so as to cover the infant naval force.
Under any circumstances, it is not possible to de-
fend a canal by guarding the locks, or by placing
forts at particular places, and yet the canals are of
vital importance to us. The Beauharnais Canal runs
on the right bank of the St. Lawrence, and is pecu-
liarly unfortunate in its military position. The
Welland Canal is of consequence, but it would be
better to destroy it than permit an enemy to hold it.
The Rideau Canal, which runs from Lake Huron to
Kingston, is a very valuable communication, but it
needs to be deepened and enlarged at the Rapids.
All the canals require to be enlarged and improved,
but they are far better placed, bad as their state and
position are, than the roads and railways. The Grand
Trunk Railway is open to attack for many miles at
different parts of its course, and in some places
trains could be fired upon from American territory!
Our reinforcements last winter were sent through
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in sleighs, along
a route which for miles could be cut across at any
time by the enemy from Maine, and it would be
necessary, to make all safe, for us to follow the Met-
apodliac road, or to construct the intercolonial rail-
way.

The harbors of Halifax and of St. John's are not
closed in winter, and the mode which was adopted
of sending troops into Canada by those points would
no doubt be reverted to till some better means shall
be provided. From St. Andrew's, in New Bruns-
wick, there is a railroad to Woodstock, which lies
near the State boundary of Maine. Here the route
from St. John's meets the St. Andrew road, and,
united, the line follows the course of the St. John
River, and may be divided into four days' marches

I
I

204

CANADA.

r'ij !

; ■ T

'^i ;■ jv

iiSi;

— to Florenceville, 1 ; to Tobiqne, 2 ; to Grand Falls,
3 ; to Little Falls, 4. All this route lies close to the
American frontier, and is therefore quite unfit for
the march of troops in detachments. The St.
John's route also takes four days to Woodstock.
Even with the advantages afforded by the line of
railroad, it must be remembered that the snows of
winter may often mar all combinations; — our first
detachments suffered considerably from cold in the
railway carriages, and it may be readily conceived
that the course of an army in sleighs to Riviere du
Loup on the St. Lawrence, where the Grand Trunk
Railway begins or terminates, might be rendered
very unsafe by no more formidable agencies than
violent snow-storms alone.

Our military authorities do not, it is said, fear a
winter campaign, but the Americans have already
shown that they are not to be deterred by frost and
snow from moving troops into Canada. To ensure
moderate security the Metis road, notwithstanding
its greater length, should be improved and adapted
for military purposes, and the railway should be con-
structed to complete the work. In considering the
three modes of invasion of which I shall speak, it
may be inferred that Montreal will be the most likely
point of attack, and that Quebec will be compara-
tively safe at first, but it would not be wise to act on
the hypothesis as if it were an absolute certainty.

In the State of New York, at its capital of Albany,
the Americans possess an admirable base of opera-
tions against us. Except in winter, the Hudson is
an open highway between Albany and New York,
and the sea and railways connect it with the shores
of the lakes and with the vast centres of American
resource and industry. Albany is specially capable
of serving as a base against the very places most
likely to be assailed, Montreal and Quebec. There
is no necessity for any argument to show that the
loss of these places would be equivalent to the over-

rROCABLE LINES OF INVASION.

205

throw of the British in Canada. From the Hudson
there is cl canal to Lake Cliamplain, on the upper
extremity of which, and almost on the raih'oad con-
necting Montreal with New York, is situated a case-
mated work popularly known as Rouse's Point,
about two days' march from the commercial capital
of Canada. Rouse's Point would serve as an im-
mediate base for the collection of supplies and the
concentration of an army, whilst Albany would be-
come the great ddpot for the war. It is probable
that the Americans would try to strike several blows
at once. They might direc^ one expeditionary force
from Rouse's Point against Montreal, and others
from Albany and Rouse's Point against Quebec.
They might also menace, or actually attack, the
frontier at Detroit or at Niagara. As a war with
Great Britain would be popular, and no lack of men
would be found, it would also be practicable for
them to direct from either of those points an expedi-
tion to attack Ottawa, or the towns west of the river
Ottawa.

Kingston would also be a point of attack, as much
from its importance to us as from its value to the
enemy, who would, by the possession of it, command
the Rideau Canal, which connects the river Ottawa
with Lake Ontario. It is plain that if the points
liable to attack were left in their present state, there
would be little hope of our ability to defend them by
fighting in the open field. United, the Americans
are to the Canadians as about eight to one. The
State of New York alone is as populous, and is
richer, than the Canadas. Great Britain, thousands
of miles away, could not hope, by any expenditure
of money, or by any display of military skill, to
equalize the conditions of the assailants and the
defenders of her sovereignty. The engineers are
right, therefore, in the argument, that the only way
of enabling the Canadians and their British allies to
make way against the Republicans, is to establish

w^^

206

CANADA.

!;f

i !

I i

II \

III ■■!'

■; ;*»■■

j I'" ,•■;'

! i

I I'l'e.*-'

fortified works supported by or supporting a naval
force. The Americans have an idea that it is possi-
ble to carry on operations during winter. Our en-
gineers start with the assumption that it is impossible
to do so on any large scale, and that it is out of the
question for some five months of the year in Canada.
The obstructions to siege operations might not be so
serious, but they would be so considerable as to ren-
der the undertaking of them exceedingly hazardous,
and little likely to succeed. The question, then, pre-
sents itself whether Canada can be defended for the
time in each year during which operations are prac-
ticable, and if so, in what manner the defence is to
be conducted. Our military authorities are of opin-
ion that Canada can be- defended. The Americans,
as far as I could judge from their remarks on the
subject, and from conversations with several of their
officers, conceive that Canada lies at their mercy
whenever they choose tc attack it. As a chain of
great frontier fortresses could not be established or
maintained, the means suggested for the purposes
of defence are principally of a provisional character.
To meet the flood of invasion, it is proposed to cover
the approaches to the vulnerable points. Ottawa,
Montreal, and Quebec would be defended by forces
posted in earthworks, and covered by entrenched
camps at Prescott and Richmond, and other suitable
places.

If we examine the modes of proceeding to which
the enemy would probably resort, we shall find them
classified under five heads. First, a naval descent
on Goderich. Second, the descent of a force be-
tween Detroit and London. Thirdly, the descent of
a force on Niagara. Fourthly, the passage of a force
between the St. Lawrence and Ogdensburg. Fifthly,
an attack by several columns converging in concert
on a point between Derby and Huntingdon, with a
view of concentrating on Montreal, and cutting the
communications with Kingston as well as with Que-

LINES OF ATTACK AND DEFENCE.

207

g a naval
it is possi-
Our en-
impossible
out of the
in Canada.
t not be so
3 as to ren-
hazardous,
I, then, pre-
ded for the
IS are prac-
efence is to
are of o pin-
Americans,
arks on the
eral of their
their mercy
i a chain of
ptablished or
he purposes
al character,
)sed to cover
,s. Ottawa,
|ed by forces
f entrenched
ither suitable

Ing to which
kll find them
[aval descent
a force be-
ie descent of
ge of a force
irg. Fifthly,
[g in concert
rdon, with a
cutting the
[as with Que-

bec. Let us take a glance at the present state of the
principal points, and consider what is needed to im-
prove their condition.

If we look at the map of Upper Canada, the posi-
tion of Paris at once attracts the eye as a favorable
site for the main body of the defensive force ; whilst
Stratford and London, being points of railway junc-
tion, would naturally be held as long as possible.
Guelph would serve as a point of concentration for
troops obliged to fall back from London or from Strat-
ford, according to the direction from which the enemy
came. Toronto would become the natural point
of concentration for troops obliged to retire from
Guelph, and under the conditions necessitating such
a retreat the force defending the Niagara frontier
would be obliged to fall back upon Hamilton to the
entrenched position covering that town. If the
Americans attack the western settlements near
Georgian Bay, it seems impossible to oppose them
with assured advantage. A calm consideration of
the subject has led the best authorities to the conclu-
sion that we cannot hope at present to establish a
naval force on either Lake Huron or Lake Erie.
The Welland Canal is, in its present state, unsuited
to the purposes of modern naval warfare, and a canal
is at all times, and under the most favorable circum-
stances, very little to be depended upon. "With the
aid of fortified harbors there is, however, no reason
to fear for our naval supremacy on Lake Ontario,
and it is to that object our best efforts should be
directed. It would of course be impolitic to leave
Toronto and Hamilton open to naval demonstra-
tions, but the principal efforts of the authorities
should be directed to establish permanent works to
protect Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston, and Quebec,
and to prepare positions for entrenched camps and
earthworks on the points most likely to be assailed.

It is plain that a navy alone can prevent descents
on the land line of such extensive waters, and that

208

CANADA.

t ■ !

m'i

Liife

the possession of Rouse's Point enables the Ameri-
cans to turn the line of the Richelieu and threaten
Montreal. Let us run rapidly over the positions,
beginning with the west If worlds were thrown up
at Goderich and Sydenham on points there which
are suitable for defensive positions, it might be pos-
sible to check any adventurous force intent on speedy
victory and conquest ; but no fortifications could be
maintained on those remote points for permanent
occupation, as the enemy could operate on the flanks
and rear and turn them from Huron or Georgian Bay.

A permanent work on Point Edward Sarnia, to
command the St. Clair River, has been suggested,
and it has been recommended that the defences of
Fort Maldon and Bar Island should be made perma-
nent works, but other engineers have considered it
unwise to erect fortifications at Sarnia or Amherst-
burg, and contend that the Niagara and Detroit
frontiers are too much exposed to be tenable by any
works. Guelph should also be rendered worthy of
its important position. London, being a railway
station, is, in event of a war, an important point to
hold for the carriage of troops; and although there is
no ground close at hand admitting of tenacious grip,
there is a tolerably good line of defence at Konoska,
which the spade could convert into a fair position.

When we come to consider the condition of the
Toronto district it becomes apparent that two points
require especial attention — Fort Dalhousie and Port
Colborne. It is unwise to leave these places without
defences to cover the garrisons, and to enable them
to protect the shore against desultory operations and
isolated detachments. Domville and Maitland are
open to predatory attacks which might be prevented
by ordinary fortifications or earthworks on eligible
sites. It is impossible to defend a canal; but much
good might be done by enlisting the employes on the
Welland as a sort of guard, whose local knowledge
would be available in time of danger. Although, as

DEFENCES OF KINGSTON.

209

I have said, strong reasons are urged against any
outlay for the defence of the Niagara frontier, on the
ground of its exposure, there are distinguished author-
ities who insist that a permanent work is required at
Fort Erie ; and who contend that another fort should
be erected at Niagara, in support of an entrenched
camp, which would exercise a most powerful influ-
ence over the movements of an invading force, par-
ticularly if there were gunboats placed on the Chip-
pewa. One of the painful necessities of war between
the United States and Great Britain would be the
destruction of the suspension bridges over the river.
Hamilton is generally considered as incapable of de-
fence, but it lies in a district which presents two
lines of hills capable of being adapted to defensive
purposes, and earthworks there might be stifdy held,
in case of attack, by the troops of the district, to en-
able the forces to concentrate and retire along routes
previously determined. Toronto itself may be re-
garded as an open place equally incapable of defence
by ordinary works ; but it should not be left open to
such a coup by a single cruiser, as might be obviated
by the erection of a fort on the site of the new
barracks ; and it would be necessary to construct a
strong entrenched camp to cover it and protect the
troops retiring before the enemy. A chain of earth-
works might be placed on the elevated ridges which
run from the Don River towards Humber Bay. A
casemated fort on the island is also most desirable.
Toronto has something more than its mere strategi-
cal importance to recommend it. It has special
claims to consideration as an important centre of
civilized life, commerce, enterprise, and learning.

The defences of Kingston are more worthy of its
ancient importance. In fact, the only works in Can-
ada suited to modern warfare are those at Kingston
and Quebec. The latter are capable of much im-
provement, as has been already pointed out. Both
need to be strengthened, and to be extended. If the

lil'

'I i1

210

CANADA.

Americans have beaten us by treaty, why should we
not at all events have iron-plated vessels sent up the
St. Lawrence as far as treaty will allow them to go,
and prepare naval establishments and encourage
naval volunteers for times of danger at Kingston?
Fort Henry, Fort Frederick, an earthen work, and
the Market Battery, are in good condition, but much
must be done before the place can be regarded as be-
ing in a satisfactory state. The Shoal Tower, the
Cedar Island Tower, and the Murney Tower, con-
structed of stone, are placed on points covering the
w^ater approaches to Kingston. But all the guns in
these works, with one exception, are en barbette^ and
to render Kingston safe it would be necessary to erect
strong works to resist the advance of an enemy land-
ing either above or below the town. It is estimated
that 390,000/. would be sufficient for the purpose of
erect! riii; the permanent forts absolutely indispensable
for the safety of the harbor and dockyard establish-
ment. The position of these works should be chosen
with a due regard to all possible conditions of attack.
Wolfe Island, Abraham's Head, Snake Island, Sim-
coe Island, and Garden Island, should be provided
with adequate forts to support the new scheme of
defence. T'^e Navy Yard should be removed, and
the points now open to attack at once fortified.
Belleville and Prescott both afford admirable ground
for works of great importance : the former possesses
a most advantageous site for temporary works and
for a line of defence ; and the latter has such a com-
manding situation that a permanent work, with
casemates, should be constructed there to guard what
is, according to some of our engineers, one of the
most valuable positions in the province.

When we come to consider the actual state of
Montreal, its importance, its liability to attack, and
the difficulty of offering an adequate defence, the
best means to adopt are not very obvious. The best
method of defence would doubtless be to construct an

DEFENCES OF QUEDEC.

211

hould we
nt up the
em to go,
jncourage
Kingston?
vork, and
but much
led as be-
?ower, the
)wer, con-
Bering the
le guns in
rbette, and
ry to erect
lemy land-
estimated
purpose of
lispensable
establish-
, be chosen
s of attack,
iland, Sim-
e provided
scheme of
oved, and
;e fortified,
lie ground
Ir possesses
works and
ch a com-
..ork, with
guard what
one of the

il state of
[attack, and

lefence, the
The best
lonstruct an

entrenched position, consisting of a parapet strength-
ened by redoubts, to cover the approach from the
south side. A tete de pont should be built to cowt
tho approaches now so open and cxposeJ to attack.

The enhirgement of tlie Ottawa and Ride;m canals
is of obvious importance, and outlying works miglit
be traced which could be used in case of invasion to
hold the enemy in check; but still, as a precautionary
measure, it would be desirable to remove the more
important stores at Moiitrt'al to Quebec and Ottawa,
if it is in contemplation to mak^' this valuable posi-
tion subsidiary to any place in Canada.

Permanent works might be erected at St. John's,
the Isle aux Noix, and St. Helen's Island, where forts
should be reconstructed on improved principles. But
the most obvious measure, in the opinion of some
engineers, the fortification of the hill over the city,
and the erection of a Citadel upon it, which would
render the mere occupation of the town below value-
less to an enemy, is not approved of by more recent
authorities.

Gunboats on Lake St. Louis would prove most
valuable in defending the works at Vaudrueuil.

Quebec is, however, the keyof Canada ; and that
key can be wrested from our own grasp at any mo-
ment by a determined enemy, unless the recommen-
dations so strongly urged from time to time by all
military authorities meet with consideration. The
old enceinte should, be removed and the French
works restored, according to the suggestions of scien-
tific officers, and of the ablest engineers we possess.
An entrenched camp might be marked out to the
west of the Citadel, with a line of parapet and re-
doubts extending from the St. Lawrence to the St.
Charles River. In order to cover the city from an
attack on the south side, it would be necessary to
occupy Point Levi, and to construct a strong en-
trenched line, with redoubts at such a distance as
would prevent the enemy from coming near the river

llpil

■ i

CANADA.

to slicll tho city and citadel. But it is evident that
they arc nil ad rem, unless behind these works, and
in snp[)ort of them in file open, can be assembled a
force of sufficient stren<(th to prevent an investment,
or to attack tin; investing armies, and at the same
time to hold front against them in the field. It is
estimated that 1/30,000 men might hold the whole of
the Caiiadas, East and West, against twice that
number of the enemy. If we are to judge by what
has passed, it is not probable the United States will
be inclined or able for such an efibrt. Quebec might
be held with 10,000 men against all comers. From
25,000 to 30,000 men would make Montreal safe.
Kingston would require 20,000 men, and Ottawa
would need 5000. The greater part, if not all of
them, might be composed of militia, and volunteers
trained to gunnery and the use of small arms. For
the protection of the open country, and to meet the
enemy in the field, an army of from 25,000 to 85,000
men would be needed from Lake Ontario to Quebec.
The western district on Lake Erie could not Lj pro-
tected by less than 60,000 men.

Thus, in case of a great invasion from the United
States, Canada, with* any assistance Great Britain
could afford her, must have 150,000 men ready for
action. What prospect there is of this, may best be
learned from a consideration, not so much of the
resources of Canada, as of the willingness of the peo-
ple to use them.

IIAPIU INCKKASE OF rOPULATlON.

213

ulnit that
.vorks, and
rtcnibUHl a
iivcstiiHMit,
t \\w same
iold. It irt
[» whole of
twice that
ere by what
Istates will
lebec might
ers. From
n treat safe,
nd Ottawa

not all of

I volunteers

arms. For

to meet the

00 to 85,000

to Quebec.

not Lj pro-

the United

Ireat Britain

in ready for

|may best be

luch of the
Is of the peo-

CIIAPTER XIV.

Rapid Tncrense of Populiition. — Mineral Wealth. — Cereals. — Imports and
KxportH. — Oliinute. — Agriculture. — A Settlor's Life.

The rapid increase of population and settlements
in Canada, and the growth of cities and towns, are
among the great marvels of the last and of the pres-
ent ceiitury, so rich in wonders of the kind. It is not
too much tc say, that any approximation to a similar
rate of increase will make British North America a
great power in the world. The direction of emigra-
tion has not been favorable. The Germans and the
Irish have rather sought the United States. The
emigrating powers of Scotland are rapidly decreasing,
and the few English who emigrate prefer Australia,
New Zealand, even the States of the Union, to a
country which suffers from the early neglect of the
home government, the studied aspersions and mis-
representations of powerful agencies, and the igno-
ance of the poorer classes who seek to improve their
condition by going forth in search of new homes.

Mr. Sheridan Hogan, the writer of a prize essay on
Canada of no ordinary excellence, has devoted some
of his pages to show that the growth of Canada in
population has been overlooked in the scope of the
wondering gaze which Europe has fixed on the de-
velopment of the United States, although, in fact, the
increase of Canadians in the land has been quite
as astonishing as that of Americans south of the
St. Lawrence. In 1800, he says, the population of
the United States was 5,305,925. In 1850 it was
20,250,000. The increase was therefore 300 per cent,
nearly. In 1811 the population of Upper Canada
was 77,000, and in 1851 it was 952,000, an increase

10*

T :'W

ir^li

214

CANADA.

of over 1100 per cent, in forty years. Within tlie
decade up to 1855 tlie rate of increase in tli(j United
States was 13.20 per cent. Tn Upper Canada it was
1*'4 per cent, from 1841 to iHol. Upper Canada ex-
liibited in forty years nearly four times the increase
of the United States in fifty years. Even the popu-
lation of Lower Canada increased 90 per cent, from
1829 to 1854. In a table in the same work it appears
that the Irish in Lower Canada were more than
double the English and Scotch together, and that
they equalled both in Upper Canada. The writer
says : —

" The ' World's Progress,' published by Putnam,
of New York, — a reliable authority, — gives the
population and increase of the principal cities in the
United States. Boston, between 1840 and 1850, in-
creased forty-five per cent. Toronto, within the same
period, increased ninelif-five per cent. New York,
the great emporium of the United States, and re-
garded as the most prosperous city in the world, in-
creased, in the same time, sixty-six per cent., about
thirty less than Toronto.

" The cities of St. Louis and Cincinnati, which
have also experienced extraordinary prosjjerity, do
not compare with Canada any better. In the thirty
years preceding 1850, the population of St. Louis
increased fifteen times. In the thirty-three years
preceding the same year, Toronto increased eighteen
times. And Cincinnati increased, in the same period
given to St. Louis, but twelve times.

" Hamilton, a beautiful Canadian city at the head
of Lake Ontario, and founded much more recently
than Toronto, has also had almost unexampled pros-
perity. In 1836 its population was but 2840, in
1854 it was upwards of 20,000.

" London, still farther west in Upper Canada, and
a yet more recently founded city than Hamilton,
being surveyed as a wilderness little more than
twenty - five years ago, has now upwards of ten
thousand inhabitants.

RAPID INCKRVSK OF POPUI ATION.

215

" The city of Ottawa, recently called after the
magnilicent river of that name, and upon which it is
situated, has now above 10,000 inhabitants, although
in 18J]0 it had but 140 houses, including mere sheds
and shanties ; and the property upon which it is
built was purchased, not maiiy years before, for
eighty pounds.

" The town of Bradford, situated between Hamil-
ton and London, and whose site was an absolute
wilderness twenty-five years ago, has now a popula-
lation of 6000, and has increased, in ten years, up-
wards of three hundred per cent. ; and this without
any other stimulant or cause save the business aris-
ing from the settlement of a fine country adjacent
to it.

" The towns of Belleville, Cobourg, Woodstock,
Goderich, St. Catherine's, Paris, Stratford, Port Hope,
and Dundas, in Upper Canada, show similar pros-
perity, some of them having increased in a ratio even
greater than that of Toronto, and all of them but so
many evidences of the improvement of the country,
and the growth of business and population around
them. f

" That some of the smaller towns in the United
States have enjoyed equal prosperity I can readily
believe, from the circumstances of a large population
suddenly filling up the country contiguous to them.
Buffalo and Chicago, too, as cities, are magnificent
and unparalleled examples of the business, the energy,
and the progress of the United States. But that
Toronto should have quietly and unostentatiously
increased in population in a greater ratio than New
York, St Louis, and Cinciiniati, and that the other
cities and towns of Upper Canada should have kept
pace with the Capital, is a fact credit.ible alike to
the steady industry and the noiseless enterprise of
the Canadian people.

" Although Lower Canada, from the circumstance
already alluded to of the tide of emigration llowing

216

CANADA.

I ^

i ■!■

: ^
»
I
I

\i V

westward, has not advanced so rapidly as her sister
Province, yet some of her counties and cities have
recently made great progress. In ths seven yearri
preceding 1851, the fine county of Megantic, on the
south side of the St. Lawrence, and through which
the Quebec and Richmond Railroad passes, increased
a hundred and sixteen per cent. ; the county of
Ottawa, eighty - five ; the county of Drummond,
seventy-eight ; and the county of Sherbrooke, fifty.
The city of Montreal, probably the most substan-
tially built city in America, and certainly one of the
most beautiful, has trebled her population in thirty-
four years. The ancient city of Quebec has more
than don bled her population in the same time, and
Sorel, at the mouth of the Richelieu, has increased
upwards of four times ; showing that Lower Can-
ada, with all the disadvantages of a feudal tenure,
and of being generally looked upon as less desirable
for settlement than the West, has quietly but justly
put in her claim to a portion of the honor awarded
to America for her progress."

Save and except coal, the want of which is to a
considerable extent compensated by the vast stores
of forest, of bog and of mineral oils in the Provinces,
Canada is very rich in many minerals of the first
importance, iron is deposited in exceeding abun-
dance in the Laurentian System — lead, plumbago,
phosphate of lime, sulphate of barytes, and marbles
are found in the same wide - spread formation of
gneiss and limestone.

The Huron System of slate, &c., contains cof.»per,
silver, and nickel, jaspers and agates. The Quebec
group in the East promises to be equally valuable.
The bases of metallic and ochreous pigments, every
description of marble and slate, minerals, and sub-
stances useful in chemistry, in arts, in agriculture, in
architecture, are scattered throughout the land, from
Lake Superior to Gaspd. Notwithstanding the long
winter, Upper Canada yielded, according to late

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.

217

averages, 21 bushels of winter wheat and 18 i bushels
of spring wheat to the acre ; Lower Canada, where
agriculture has not received the same development,
yields a smaller proportion to the acre, but the wheat
is of excellent quality. In Upper Canada the yield
of oats is about 30 bushels to the acre; in Lower
Canada it is 23 bushels. Barley is a little less in
Upper, and about the same as oats in Lower Can-
ada, and Indian corn is about as much as oats. The
potato yields from 125 to 176 bushels per acre. All
these crops, as well as those of roots of every de-
scription, are increasing rapidly, and it is calculated
that the value of the farms of Upper Canada is no
less than 60,000,000/. sterling, whilst the live stock in
the same Province was estimated to be worth nearly
9,000,000/. In 1860 the value of the timber exported
was 1,750,000/., and the forest yielded altogether
just 2,000,000/. sterhng. As there is reason to know
that in 1851 the value of agricultural exports was
6,000,000/., it may be assumed with some degree of
certainty as a near approximation that Canada sends
abroad about ten millions' worth of forest and farm
produce. It is estimated that the imports of the
same year were worth eighteen millions sterling.

There are many other illustrations of the rapidity
of Canadian increase, but the foregoing must suffice
for the purposes of this volume. It is only surpris-
ing that the Provinces should have advanced at all,
considering the misrepresentations which have been
circulated concerning their climate, condition, and
prospects, and the attractions held forth to emigrants
by the United States.

The popular idea as to the barrenness and cold of
Canada would be most effectually dispelled by a
glance at garden products and cereals in autumn
only, or by the experience of a winter in New York
and a winter in London or Hamilton. The author
of a pamphlet, published by authority of the Bureau
of Agriculture, observes : —

:«?!

218

CANADA.

I !

I' h}

" The most erroneous opinions have prevailed
abroad respecting the climate of Canada. The so-
called rigor of Canadian winters is often advanced
as a serious objection to the country by many who
have not the courage to encounter them, who prefer
sleet and fog to brilliant skies and bracing cold, and
who have yet to learn the value and extent of the
blessings conferred upon Canada by her world-re-
nowned ' snows.'

" It will scarcely be believed by many who shudder
at the idea of the thermometer fallen to zero, that
the gradual annual diminution in the fall of snow, in
certain localities, is a subject of lamentation to the
farmers in Western Canada. Their desire is for the
old-fashioned winters, with sleighing for four months,
and spring bursting upon them with marvellous
beauty at the beginning of April. A bountiful fall
of snow, with hard frost, is equivalent to the con-
struction of the best macadamized roads all over the
country. The absence of a sufficient quantity of
snow in winter for sleighing, is a calamity as mach
to be feared and deplored as the want of rain in
spring. Happily neither of these deprivations is of
frequent occurrence.

" The climate of Canada is in some measure ex-
ceptional, especially that of the Peninsular portion.
The influence of the great Lakes is very strikingly
felt in the elevation of winter temperatures and in
the reduction of summer heats. East and West of
Canada, beyond the influence of the Lakes, as in
the middle of the States of New York and Iowa,
the greatest extremes prevail, — intense cold in win-
ter, intense heat in summer, and to these features
may be added their usual attendant, drought.

" Perhaps the popular standard of the adaptation of
climate to the purposes of agriculture is more suit-
able for the present occasion than a reference to
monthly and annual means of temperature. Much
information is conveyed in the simple narration of

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CLDIATE.

219

facts bearing upon fruit culture. From the head of
Lake Ontario, round by the Niagara frontier, and all
along the Canadian shores of Lake Erie, the grape
and peach grow with luxuriance, and ripen to per-
fection in the open air, without the slightest artifi-
cial aid. The island of Montreal is distinguished
everywhere for the fine quality of its apples, and the
island of Orleans, below Quebec, is equally cele-
brated for its plums. Over the whole of Canada
the melon and tomato acquire large dimensions, and
ripen fully in the open air, the seeds being planted in
the soil towards the latter end of April, and ^lie fruit
gathered in September. Pumpkins and squashes
attain gigantic dimensions ; they have exceeded 300
pounds in weight in the neighborhood of Toronto.
Indian corn, hops, and tobacco are common crops,
and yield fair returns. Hernp and flax are indige-
nous plants, and can be cultivated to any extent in
many parts of the Province. With a proper expen-
diture of capital, England could be made quite inde-
pendent of Russia, or any ot'^er country, for her
supply of these valuable products.

" The most striking illustration of the influence
of the great Lakes in ameliorating the climate of
Canada, especially of the western peninsula, is to be
found in the natural limits to which certain trees are
restricted by climate. That valuable wood, the black
walnut, for which Canada is so celebrated, ceases to
grow north of latitude 41° on the Atlantic coast, but
under the influence of the comparatively mild Lake
climate of Peninsular Canada it is found in the
greatest profusion, and of the largest dimensions, as
far north as latitude 43°."

This subject is well illustrated by the subjoined
table, showing the mean temperature and rainfall at
Toronto from 1840 to 1859 : —

■h

220

CANADA.

i,,',

f'i

I i

kait^

1-t

•M

1—1

►."to

J«

l^--^
^

•

a
c

1-H
1-H

•

•a

a
a

►s

OS
CO

T-i

00
r-i

•

»-H

•

r-J
CO

t—

4->
V

•

of.

t
it

•

CSI

«o

•

»
H

1-3

in,
o

t-H

•-3

<£>

•

►H

'in

•

l-H

Tt< >0

rj< lO

00 CO

00 00

f-H I— (

i-HtH

PROGRESS OF CULTIVATION.

221

«o

•

»-l

•

o
o

•

Ttl

•

■^

•

i-t

l-H

•

a
1— 1

»-H

OOS

■* lO

CDQO

T-l t-t

The Rev. Mr. Hope, who has been indefatigable
in his efforts to promote the interest of his adopted
country, quotes the following passage from the To-
ronto " Globe " of September 21st, 1860, to show that
people at home are much mistaken in considering
Canada a region of frost and snow.

" The display of fruit, in quantity and quality, sur-
passed what has been shown at any previous exhi-
bition. The results in this department were very
satisfactory, proving that the climate of Canada
admirably adapts it for the raising of many of the
most valuable kinds of fruit. One of the principal
exhibitors was Mr. Beadle of St. Catharine's nur-
series. On one side of the central stand in the Crys-
tal Palace, he had 115 plates of apples, pears, peaches,
&c., and 30 jars of cherries, currants, raspberries,
blackberries, 6rc, Mr. Beadle exhibited ten varieties
of peaches grown in the open air. Several of these
varieties were of very large dimensions, and were
much admired for the delicate richness of their tints.
He exhibited also numerous varieties of apples ; 41
in one collection of three of each sort, and 20 in an-
other collection of six of each sort. He had also a
large show of pears, comprising a large number of
varieties. Among the varieties of open-air grapes
shown by Mr. Beadle, were the Blood-blacks, the
Delaware, the Diana, the Northern Muscadine, the
Perkins, Sage's Mammoth, and the Wild Fox."

In 1828, when the whole population of Upper
Canada amounted to 185,500 inhabitants, the num-
ber of acres under agricultural improvement was
570,000, or about S^^ for each individual ; in 1851
the average for each inhabitant was very nearly four
acres. The comparative progress of Upper and Lower
Canada, in bringing the forest-clad wilderness into cul-
tivation, may be inferred from the following table : —

LOWER CANADA. UPPER CANADA.

Year No. acres cultivated. No. acres cultivated.

1831 2,065,913 818,432

1844 2,802,317 2,1G«,101

;-: 4

i ■

1851.

.3,605,376 3,695,763

222

CANADA.

Hence, in a period of twenty years, Lower Canada
increased her cultivated acres by .75, and Upper Can-
ada by 3.0. Before proceeding to describe in detail
the progress of agriculture in Upper Canada, it will
be advisable to glance at the efforts made by socie-
ties and the Government of the Province to elevate
the condition of husbandry in all its departments,
and to induce the people at large to join hand in
hand in the march of improvement.

The Board of Agriculture for Lower Canada took
decisive steps during the year 1862 to secure the
proper disbursements of the provincial grant, and to
devote liberal awards of public money to the pro-
motion of agricultural industry in all its important
branches. The Lower Canadian Provincial Shows
had previously partaken more of the character of an
agricultural festival than of a meeting for the pur-
pose of securing the progress of the science and art
of Agriculture by fair and open competition and
peaceful rivalry. In this respect they differed mate-
rially from the same annual expositions in Upper
Canada, where astonishing advances in the proper
direction had been made. The Board determined
to establish an Agricultural Museum, and to give
assistance to county societies towards the importa-
tion of improved breeds of horses, cattle, and sheep.
The Board is willing to advance to any society funds
for the purchase of stock, retaining one third of the
annual, government allowance for three successive
years to discharge the debt thus incuiTed. If this
new spirit of enterprise should continue, the progress
of agriculture in Lower Canada will be much accel-
erated. Although it must be acknowledged that in
the face of many difficulties, national prejudices, and
peculiarities of character, a very marked improve-
ment has taken place in many departments of hus-
bandry, and in many parts of the Lower Province,
much, very much, remains to be done. The influence
exercised by the Agricultural f^chool at St. Anne is

AGRICULTURE.

223

;r Canada
pper Can-
3 in detail
.da, it will
by socie-
to elevate
partmenta,
n hand in

inada took
secure the
tnt, and to
o the pro-
important
dal Shows
icter of an
)r the pur-
ice and art
etition and
[ered mate-
in Upper
;he proper
determined
id to give
e importa-
and sheep,
ciety funds
hird of the
successive
d. If this
e progress
luch accel-
;ed that in
dices, and
improve-
rs of hus-
Province,
e influence
•t. Anne is

already favorably felt, and this establishment appears
likely to work a beneficial change in Lower Canadian
husbandry. The details of its operations show its
great utility.

The indirect assistance given by the imperial
Government to Agriculture in Upper Canada dates
from a much earlier period than the encouragement
given to Agricultural Societies by the Provincial
Government; for we find among the donation of
George III. to the U. E. Loyalists the old English
plough. It consisted of a small piece of n fixed
to the coulter, having the shape of the letter L, the
shank of which went through the wooden beam, the
foot forming the point, which was sharpened for use.
One handle, and a plank split from a curved piece
of timber, which did the duty of a mould-board, com-
pleted the rude implement. At that time the traces
and leading lines were made of the bark of the elm
or bass-wood, which was manufactured by the early
settlers in ;o a strong rope. About the year 1808 the
" hog-plough " was imported from the United States ;
and in 1815 a plough with a cast-iron share and
mould-board, all in one piece, was one of the first im-
plements, requiring more than an ordinary degree of
mechanical skill, which was manufactured in the
province. The seeds of improvement were then sown,
and while in the address of the President at the
Frontenac Cattle Show in 1833, we observe atten-
tion called to the necessity for further improvement
in the ploughs common throughout the country, we
witness, in 1855, splendid fruit at the Paris Exhibi-
tion. In a notice of the trial of ploughs at Trappes,
the "Journal d' Agriculture Pratique" makes the
following reference to a Canadian plough : " The
ploughing tests were brought to a close by a trial
of two ploughs equally remarkable — to wit, the
plough of Ransome and Sims, of Suffolk, England,
and that of Bingham, of Norwich, Upper Canada.
The ^rst is of wood and iron, like all the English

i -I

I f.

824

CANADA.

ploughs, and the results which it produced seemed
most satisifactory, but it a[)peared to require a little
more draught than the Howard plough. Bingham's
plough very much resembles the English plough ; it
is very fine and light in its build ; the handles are
longer than ordinary, which makes the plough much
more easy to manage. The opinion of the French
laborers and workmen who were there, appeared, on
the whole, very favorable to this plough."

The following extracts from Mr. Hogan's book are
as truthful as they are eloquent : —

" Great as has been the prosperity of America, and
of the settlements which mark the magnificent coun-
try just described, yet nature has not been wooed in
them without trials, nor have her treasures been won
without a struggle worthy of their worth. Those
who have been in the habit of passing early clearings
in Upper Canada must have been struck with the
cheerless and lonely, even desolate appearance of the
first settler's little log hut. In the midst of a dense
forest, and with a ' patch of clearing ' scarcely large
enough to let the sun shine in upon him, he looks
not unlike a person struggling for existence on a
single plank in the middle of an ocean. For weeks,
often for months, he sees not the face of a stranger.
The same still, and wild, and boundless forest every
morning rises up to his view ; and his only hope
against its shutting him in for life rests in the axe
upon his shoulder. A few blades of corn, peeping
up between stumps whose very roots interlace, they
are so close together, are his sole safeguards against
want ; whilst the few potato plants, in little far-
between * hills,' and which struggle for existence
against the brier-bush and luxuriant underwood,
are to form the seeds of his future plenty. Tall
pine-trees, girdled and blackened by the fires, stand
out as grim monuments of the prevailing loneliness,
whilst the forest itself, like an immense wall round
a fortress, seems to say to the settler, — ' How can

A SETTLER'S LIFE.

225

m's book are

poverty ever expect to escape from such a priscn-
house.'

" That little clearing — for I describe a reality —
which to others might afford such slender guarantee
for bare subsistence, was nevertheless a source of
bright and cheering dreams to that lonely settler.
He looked at it, and instead of thinking of its little-
ness, it was the foundation of great hopes of a largo
farm and rich corn-fields to him. And this very dream,
or poetry, or what you will, cheered him at his lonely
toil, and made him contented with his rude fireside.
The blades of corn, which you might regard as con-
veying but a tantalizing idea of human comforts,
were associated by him with large stacks and full
granaries ; and the very thought nerved his arm, and
made him happy.

" Seven years afterwards I passed that same set-
tler's cottage — it was in the valley of the Grand
River in Upper Canada, not far from the present vil-
lage of Caledonia. The little log hut was used as a
bp'^.k kitchen to a neat two-story-frame-house, painted
white. A large barn stood near by, with stock of
every description in its yard. The stumps, round
which the blades of corn, when I last saw the place,
had so much difficulty in springing up, had nearly
all disappeared. Luxuriant Indian corn had sole pos-
session of the place where the potatoes had so hard
a struggle against the brier-bushes and the under-
wood. The forest — dense, impenetrable though it
seemed — had been pushed far back by the energetic
arm of man. A garden, bright with flowers, and
enclosed in a neat picket-fence, fronted the house ; a
young orchard spread out in rear. I met a farmer
as I was quitting the scene, returning from church
with his wife and family. It was on a Sunday, and
there was nothing in their appearance, save perhaps
a healthy brown color in their faces, to distinguish
them from persons of wealth in cities. The wagon
they were in, their horses, harness, dresses, everything

^^H

226

CANADA.

f-.

I'T

about them, in short, indicated comfort and easy cir-
cumstances. I inquired of the man — who was the
owner of the property I have just been describing?
* It is mine, sir,' he replied; ' I settled on it nine
years ago, and have, thank God, had tolerable suc-
cess.'

" There is, perhaps, no class in the world who live
better — I mean who have a greater abundance of
the comforts of life — than men having cleared farms,
and who know how to make a proper use of them,
in Upper Canada. The imports of the country show
that they dress not only well, but in many things
expensively. You go into a church or meeting-house
in any part of the province which has been settled
for fifteen or twenty years, and you are struck at
once with the fabrics, as well as the style of the
dresses worn by both sexes, but especially by the
young. The same shawls, and bonnets, and gowns
which you see in cities, are worn by the women,
whilst the coats of the men are undistinguishable
from those worn by professional men and merchants
in towns. A circumstance which I witnessed some
years ago, in travelling from Simcoe to Brantford —
two towns in the interior of the province — will serve
to convey an idea of the taste as well as the means
of enjoyment of these people. At an ordinary Meth-
odist meeting-house, in the centre of a rural settle-
ment, and ten miles from a village or town, there
were twenty-three pleasure carriages^ double and sin-
gle, standing in waiting. The occasion was a quar-
terly meeting, and these were the conveyances of the
farmers who came to attend it. Yet twenty years
before, and this was a wilderness; twenty years
before, and many of these people were working as
laborers, and were not possessed of a pair of oxen ;
twenty years before, and these things exceeded even
their brightest dreams of prosperity.

" The settler who nobly pushes back the giant
wilderness, and hews out for himself a home upon

StaJP f

THE CANADIAN SETTLER.

227

the conquered territory, has necessarily but a bony
hand and a rough visage to present to advancing
civilization. His children, too, are timid, and wild,
and uncouth. But a stranger comes in, buys the
little improvement on the next lot to him, has chil-
dren who are educated, and a wife with refined
tastes, — for such peoph; mark, in greater or less num-
bers, every settlement in Upper Canada. The neces-
sities of the new-comer soon bring about an acquaint-
ance with the old pioneer. Their families meet —
timid and awkward enough at first, perhaps; but
children know not the conventionalities of society,
and, happily, are governed by their innocence in their
friendships. So they play together, go to school in
company ; and thus, imperceptibly to themselves, are
the tastes and manners of the educated imparted to
the rude, and the energy and fortitude of the latter
are infused into their more effeminate companions.
Manly but ill-tutored success is thus taught how to
enjoy its gains, whilst respec i able poverty is instructed
how to better its condition. That pride occasionally
puts itself to inconvenience to prevent these pleasant
results, my experience of Canada forces me to admit;
and that the jealousy and vanity of mere success
sometimes views with unkindness the nianner and
habit of reduced respectability — never perhaps more
exacting than when it is poorest — I must also ac-
knowledge. But that the great law of progress, and
the influence of free institutions, break down these
exceptional feelings and prejudices, is patent to every
close observer of Canadian society. Where the edu-
cated and refined undergo the changes incident to
laborious occupations, — for the constant use of the
axe and the plough alters men's feelings as well as
their appearances, — and vhere rude industry is also
changed by the success which gives it the benefit of
education, it is impossible for the two classes not to
meet. As the one goes down — at least in its occu-
pations — it meets the other coming up by reason

228

CANADA.

IP"*'

of its successes, and both eventually occupy the same
pedestal. I have seen tiiis social problem worked
out over and over again in Upper Canada, and have
never known the result different. Pride, in America,
must 'stoop to conquer;' rude industry rises always.
" The manner of living cf the Upper Canadian
farmei may be summed up in few words. He has
plenty, and he enioys it. The native Canadians
almost universally, and a large proportion of the old
country peopje, sit at the saniC table with their ser-
vants or laborers. They eat meat twice, and many
of them thrice a day ; it being apparently more a
matter of taste than of economy as to the number of
times. Pork is what they chiefly consume. There
being a great abundance of fruit, scarcely a cleared
farm is without an orchard ; and it is to be found
preserved in various ways on every farmer's table.
Milk is in great abundance, even in the early settler's
houses, for where there is little pasture there are sure
to be large woods, and ' brouse,' or the tops of the
branches of trees, supply the place of hay. The
sweetest bread I have eaten in America I have eaten
in the farmers' houses of Upper Canada. They
usually grind the ' shorts ' with the flour for home
consumption, and as their wheat is among the finest
in the world, the bread is at once wholesome and
exceedingly delicious. Were I asked what is the
characteristic of Canadian farmers, 1 would unhesi-
tatingly answer ' Plenty ! ' "

Sll U^-K

BECIPROCAL RIGHTS.

229

py the same
lem worked
la, and have
in America,
•ises always.
:x Canadian
ds. He has
1 Canadians
)n of the old
ith their ser-
e, and many
mtly more a
le number of
ume. There
ely a cleared
to be found
irmer's table,
early settler's
there are sure
e tops of the
)f hay. The
I have eaten
nada. They
ur for home
ng the finest
olesome and
what is the
ould unhesi-

CHAPTER XV.

Reciprocal Rights. — American Ideas of Reciprocity. — The Ad Valorem
System. — Commercial Improvements. — Trade with America. — The
Ottawa Route. — The Saskatchewan. — Fertility of tiie Country. —
Water Communication. — The Maritime Provinces. — Area and Popu-
lation.

The absence of a winter port is an evil to Canada,
for which no energy and no advantages can compen-
sate. Although Halifax has a magnificent harbor,
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia offer but small
facilities for winter navigation ; and the day seems
distant when the great railroad of which so much has
been spoken and written shall open the communica-
tion between England and the remotest portions of
the vast empire which reaches from the Atlantic to
the Pacific.

The position of Canada threw her into close rela-
tions with the United States, and the result of her
geographical condition was the Reciprocity Treaty,
which has caused so much discussion and discontent
on both sides of the St. Lawrence, and which the
Government of the Federal States has now given
notice to terminate.

In March, 1862, the report of the Committee of the
Executive Council, to which an able paper of Mr.
Gait, then Finance Minister, had been referred, ad-
vised that the views and suggestions therein expressed
by Mr. Gait should be adopted, and that report was
approved by Lord Monck. Mr. Gait's Report was
founded on a reference made to him of the report of
the Committee on Commerce of the House of Rep-
resentatives at Washington respecting the Reciproc-
ity Treaty, and of a memorial from the Chamber of

Commerce of Minnesota.

230

CANADA.

The House of Representatives reported in favor of
a system resembling that of the " Zollverein " as the
only means of securing the benefits of reciprocal
trade, and recommended as desirable a uniform sys-
tem of light-houses, copyrights, postage, patents,
telegraphs, weights and measures, and coinage.

This was a favorite scheme of the late Senator
Douglas ; and if the American Government had ex-
hibited any desire to diminish the rigors of Morrill
Tariffs and of State protective enactments, we might
applaud the liberality of their views and the noble
candor of their conclusions. They believed that
" free commercial intercourse between the United
States and the British North American Provinces,
developing the natural, geographical, and other ad-
vantages of each for the good of all, is conducive to
the present interests of each, and is the proper basis
of our intercourse for all time to come " — sentiments
certainly noble, if somewhat vaguely expressed. We
will see presently how Mr. Gait deals with the prac-
tical rendering of them by the Federal Government.
The Reciprocity Treaty, negotiated between Lord
Elgin and Mr. Marcey in June, 1854, was entered
into to avoid further misunderstanding in regard to
the extent of the right of fishing on the coasts of
British North America, and to regulate the commerce
and navigation between the respective territories and
people in such a manner o.^ to render the same recip-
rocally beneficial and satisfactory.

The Convention secured to American fishermen the
liberty of taking, curing, and drying fish on the Brit-
ish North American coast generally ; the Treaty ex-
tended to them the liberty to take fish of every kind
(except shell-fish) along the coast of Canada, New
Brunswick, Prince Edward's Island, &c., with per-
mission to land, to dry nets, and cure fish, without
any restrictions as to distance from shore — reserving
only the right of private property and the salmon and
shad fishings in the rivers ; and the same rights were

RECIPROCAL RIGHTS.

231

n favor of
in " as the
reciprocal
[liform sys-
e, patents,
nage.

te Senator
snt had ex-
I of Morrill
s, we might
1 the noble
jlieved that
the United
I Provinces,
id other ad-
onducive to
proper basis
- sentiments
>ressed. We
ith the prac-
Grovernment.
;ween Lord
was entered
in regard to
he coasts of
he commerce
rritories and
same recip-

ishermen the
on the Brit-
le Treaty ex-
,f every kind
Canada, New
^., with per-
fish, without
— reserving
salmon and
rights were

conceded to British subjects on the eastern sea-coasta
of the United States north of the 36th parallel of lati-
tude. It provided that the following articles should
be admitted duty free reciprocally : Grain, flour
and breadstuffs, animals, fresh and salt meat, cotton-
seed and vegetables, fruit, fish, poultry, hides and
skins, butter, cheese, tallow, lard, horns, manure, ores,
coal, stone, slate, pitch, turpentine, timber and lum-
ber, plants, firs, gypsum, grindstones, dye-stuffs, flax,
rags, and unmanufactured tobacco. It gave to
Americans the right to navigate the St. Lawrence
and the Canadian canals, subject to the tolls, and it
gave to British subjects the right to navigate Lake
Michigan ; but it reserved to the British Government
the right of suspending, on due notice, the privileges
of Canadian navigation, in which event the right of
British subjects to navigate Lake Michigan should
also cease and determine, and the United States
should have the right of suspending the free import
and export of the articles specified. But here, it will
be observed, there was a one-sided reciprocity. The
Americans received, absolutely, the right of using all
the canals in Canada from the British Government ;
the Government of the United States conferred no
such privilege reciprocally on British subjects. All
they did — perhaps all they could do in consonance
with the doctrine of States Rights they are so busily
engaged at present in destroying — was to engage to
urge on the State Governments to secure to the sub-
jects of Her Britannic Majesty the use of the several
ship-canals on terms of equality with the inhabitants
of the United States. It was also provided that
"American lumber floated down to St. John and
shipped to the United States from New Brunswick
should be free of duty." This treaty was to remain
in force for ten years from the date at which it came
into operation, and further until the expiration of
twelve months after either of the contracting parties
gave notice to the other of its wish to terminate the

^ :y

.it

232

CANADA.

same — each of them being at 1 jerty to give notice
at the end of the ten years, or at any time afterwards.
This treaty expired on the 11th September, 1864,
since which time the United States and Great Brit-
ain have been free to give notice of the termination
of its provisions, to take effect in twelve months after
the date of the notice. Of this power, as already
stated, the United States Government has availed
itself. An exception to the operation of the treaty is
made in the case of Newfoundland, in res'^ect to
which its provisions hold good till Decemt :i 12th,
1865. The State of New York, by its Legislature,
urged Congress to protect the United States from
what they denounced as an " unequal and unjust
system of commerce." T y asserted that nearly all
the articles which Canada ht.^ to sell are admitted into
the United States free of duty, whilst heavy duties
are imposed on many articles of American manufac-
ture, with the intention of excluding them from the
Canadian market ; and that discriminating tolls and
duties, in favor of an isolating and exclusive policy
against American merchants and forwarders, to de-
stroy the effect of the treaty and in opposition to its
spirit, have been adopted by Canada ; and on these
grounds they demanded a change in the system of
commerce now existing, to protect the interests of
the United States in the manner intended by the
treaty.

The Canadian Minister, in reply, observed that the
treaty made no mention whatever of the matters com-
plained of, and, in a very lucid argument, charges
against the Legislature of the United States the very
same grounds of complaint as the Committee alleged
against Canada. No accusation of an infraction of
the treaty is made, and therefore the subjects treated
of in the Report affect the commercial relations and
not the good faith of the contracting parties. The
Committee accuse Canada of violating the spirit and
intent of the treaty, by an increase of duties on man-

AMERICAN IDEAS OF RECIPROCITY.

233

ufactured articles, by a change in the mode of levying
duties, and by abolishing tolls on the St. Lawrence
canals and river; but Mr. Gait contends that the
treaty had nothing to do with manufactures, but was
expressly limited to the growth and produce of the
two countries mentioned in the schedule. Those arti-
cles not enumerated in it are necessarily excluded
from its operations, and must be made the subject of
special legislation between the two States before any
act of either respecting the mode of their admission
can be made ground of remonstrance.

As a proof of the narrow spirit in which these fine
declaimers about " liberty of commerce and reciprocity
of trading advantages " have dealt with the treaty, it
m?y be mentioned that they imposed duties on planks
in part planed, tongued, or grooved, and on flour
ground in Canada from American wheat, and on
lumber nade in Canada out of American logs. The
Canadian Government, however, have maintained,
both against the Americans and the mother-country,
their right to decide for themselves both as to the
mode and the extent to which taxation should be im-
posed. Declamations against a policy of Protection
come indeed with a bad grace from the United
States; and Mr. Gait, in suppressed sarcasm and
irony, shows that their doctrine of Free Trade with
Canada really means an exclusive protection for them-
selves against the manufactures of Great Britain.

If the gentlemen who composed the elaborate Re-
port, bristling all over with generous sentiments and
with the expression of the most enlightened and lib-
eral doctrines, could blush, they might well perform
that interesting operation when reading Mr. Gait's
reply. Canada admits the registration of foreign
vessels without charge ; the United States do not.
Canada has sought admission to the great lakes for
coasters; the United States refuse. Canada allov/s
American vessels to pass free through her canals ; not
a Canadian vessel is allowed, even on payment of toll.

->, ■

234

CANADA.

to enter an American canal. The promise in the
treaty, that the Government of Washington would
urge on the States the concession of a right to navi-
gate their canals on equal terms with American sub-
jects, has not been kept ; at least, there is no trace of
any effort having been made to induce the State
Legislatures to relax their present extreme policy,
which is in strong contrast with the professions of
their Committee-men. Canada permits foreign goods
bought in the United States to be imported on the
payment of duty on the original invoice ; the United
States will not permit similar purchases to be made
in Canada. Tea imported from Canada is weighted
with duty of ten per cent., while the duties under
the Canadian tariff are very much lower than those
levied in America. The permission to pass goods
under bond through the States conferred an obvious
advantage on American railroads ; but, indeed, the
Committee were fain to admit that the United States
had not established a fair reciprocity, inasmuch as
they recommend that reciprocity should be made
complete. Duties have been imposed in the United
States for purposes of Protection, and they can
scarcely bring accusations against Canada until they
have established a system of duties as low as those
of Canada. The ad valorem system of Canada,
against which the Committee protest, is the system
of the United States ; for tea and sugar there is a
discriminating duty in favor of American vessels of
twenty per cent. Duty is levied in Canada solely for
purposes of revenue ; and though this policy, which
has led the late minister and his predecessors to re-
duce tolls and customs-dues to a minimum, has
alarmed the canal and ship-owners and railway direc-
tors of New York, it is viewed with approbation by
the great Western States.

" It is," says Mr. Gait, " a singular charge to make
of discrimination on our part against them, that we
do not permit one section of our public works to be

INCREASE OF CUSTOM DUTIES.

235

used for purposes exclusively beneficial to them,
when they absolutely, and contrary to the engage-
ments of the treaty, debar any Canadian vessel from
entering their waters, if we except Lake Michigan,
specially mentioned in the treaty. Surely Canada
does enough for them when she places them precisely
on the same footing as she does her own vessels ;
and it is a novel doctrine that because the whole St.
Lawrence is made free, therefore an injury is done to
the New York route. The remedy is simple, and in
their own hands ; let them do as Canada has done
— repeal the tolls on their canals, and admit Cana-
dian vessels to ply upon them — and then the desired
state of * fair competition ' will have arisen. But
the Committee must have formed but a low estimate
of the intelligence of their own people in the West,
when they make it a subject of complaint against
Canada that she has opened the St. Lawrence freely
to their trade. The undersigned apprehends that the
inhabitants of those great States will be much more
likely to demand from their own Government an
equitable application of their own customs-laws, so as
to permit them to import direct vid the St. Lawrence,
and to buy in the Canadian market, rather than to
join with the Committee in requiring a return to a
system by which the entire West has hitherto been
held in vassalage to the State of New York."

Mr. Gait argues that an increase of customs-duties
does not, necessarily, injuriously affect foreign trade
within certain limits, and that those limits have not
been exceeded in Canada. Formerly the cost of
British goods in Canada was much enhanced, owing
to natural causes, whilst Canadian producers ob-
tained a minimum price for their exports. The duty
was then generally 2^ per cent., but the price was
enormous ; and the Canadian suffered, pro tantOy in
his means to purchase them. Suppose the duties,
increased five per cent., were to produce a reduction
of ten per cent, on other charges, " the benefit," says

jll

■

236

CANADA.

Mr. Gait, " would accrue equally to the British man-
ufacturer and to the consumer ; the consumer would
pay five per cent, more to the Government, but ten
per cent, less to the merchant and forwarder."^ As Mr.
Gait considers the principle of Canadian finance and
customs to be misapprehended in England as well as
in the United States, it may be as well to give his
own words : —

" The Government has increased the duties for
the purpose of enabling them to meet the interest
on the public works necessary to reduce all the
various charges upon the imports and exports of the
country. Light-houses have been built, and steam-
ships subsidized, to reduce the charges for freight and
insurance ; the St. Lawrence has been deepened,
and the canals constructed, to reduce the cost of
inland navigation to a minimum; railways have
been assisted, to give speed, safety, and permanency
to trade interrupted by the severity of winter. All
these improvements have been undertaken with the
twofold object of diminishing the cost to the con-
sumer of what he imports, and of increasing the
net result of the labor of the country when finally
realized in Great Britain. These great improvements
could not be effected without large outlays ; and the
burden necessarily had to be put either through
direct taxation, or by customs-duties on the goods im-
ported, or upon the trade by excessive tolls corre-
sponding with the rates previously charged. Direct
taxation was the medium employed, through the
local municipalities, for the construction of all minor
local works — roads, court-houses, and jails, educa-
tion, and the vast variety of objects required in a
newly settled country ; and this source of taxation
has thus been used to the full extent which is be-
lieved practicable without producing serious discon-
tent. No one can, for a moment, argue that, in an
enlightened age, any Government could adopt such
a clumsy mode of raising money as to maintain

COMMERCIAL IMPROVEMENT.

237

■itish man-
mer would
it, but ten
r.'^ AaMr.
inance and
I as well as
to give his

1 duties for
the interest
ice all the
ports of the
and steam-
r freight and
n deepened,
the cost of
Iways have
permanency
winter. All
sen with the
to the con-
jreasing the
hen finally
.provements
,ys; and the
|her through
[6 goods im-
tolls corre-
;ed. Direct
hrough the
of all minor
jails, educa-
iquired in a
of taxation
ivhich is be-
ious discon-
that, in an
adopt such
;o maintain

excessive rates of tolls; nor would it have attained
the object, as American channels of trade were
created simultaneously, that would then have defied
competition. The only eft'ect, therefore, of attempt-
ing such course, would have been to give the United
States the complete control of our markets, and
virtually to exclude British goods. The only other
course was therefore adopted, and the producer has
been required to pay, through increased customs-
duties, for the vastly greater deductions he secured
through the improvements referred to. What then
has been the result to the British manufacturer?
His goods are, it is true, in many cases subjected to
20 per cent, instead of 2^ per cent., but the cost to
the consumer has been diminished in a very much
greater degree ; and the aggregate of cost, original

{>rice, duty, freight, and charges, are now very much
ess than when the duty was 2^ per cent., and con-
sequently the legitimate protection to the home-
manufacturer Is to this extent diminished. Nor ia
this all : the interest of the British manufacturer is
not merely that he shall be able to lay down his
goods at the least cost to the consumer, but equally
is «he interested in the ability of the consumer to buy.
Now, this latter point is attained precisely through
the same means which have cheapened the goods.
The produce of Canada is now increased in value
exactly in proportion to the saving on the cost of de-
livering it in the market of consumption.

" If the aggregate of cost to the consumer re-
mained the same now as it was before the era of
canals and railroads in Canada, what possible
difference would it make to the British manufacturers
whether the excess over the cost in Great Britain
were paid to the Government or to merchants and
forwarders ? It would certainly not in any way
affect the question of the protection to home-manu-
facturers ; but when it can be clearly shown that by

the action of the Government, in raising funds

11 ♦

tr^wtry

■ ■' I

238

CANADA.

i . ■■

through increased customs - duties, the cost to the
consumer is now very much less, upon what ground
can the British manufacturer complf^iu that these
duties have been restrictive on his trad'^ *

" The undersigned might truly point to the rapid
increase in the population and wealth of Canada,
arising from its policy of improvement, whereby its
ability of consumption has been so largely increased.
He might also show that these improvements have,
in a great degree, also tended to the rapid advance
of the Western States, and to their increased ability
to purchase British goods. He might point to the
fact that the grain supplied from the Western States
and Canada keeps down prices in Great Britain,
and therefore enables the British manufacturer to
produce still cheaper. But he prefers resting his
case, as to the propriety of imposing increased cus-
toms-duties, solely on the one point, that through
that increase the cost of British manufactured goods,
including duty, has been reduced to the Canadian
consumer, and that consequently the increase has in
its results, viewing the whole trade, tended to an
augmentation of the market for British goods."

In a tabular statement it is shown that the average
amount of duty levied on imports from the United
States in 1861 is the same as the average of the
previous twelve years, that the variations have been
very slight, and that the rate per cent, was less than
half what it had been a few years before, whilst
American trade has been steadily increasing. Under
the operation of the treaty, the imports from the
United States, in 1861, were nearly trebled, and the
exports from Canada to the United States were
nearly quadrupled ; the whole amount of trade in
1851 being, in round numbers, 12,500,000 dollars,
which was increased to 24,000,000 dollars in 1854,
and to 35,500,000 dollars in 1861. These advan-
tages may be still further extended without injury to
either nation or to the just claims of Great Britain to

THE OTTAWA K()(TTK.

239

an equality in the Canadian market ; and Mr. Gait
professed himself quite ready for the abolition of the
coasting laws on inland waters — of all discrimina-
tion as to nationality in respect of vessels — the free
import of wooden wares, agricultural implements,
machinery, and books, the assimilation of the patent-
laws ; but he totally opposes the project of a ZoU-
verein, on the ground that it would be inconsistent
with the maintenance of connection with Great
Britain, inasmuch as Canada would be called upon
to tax goods of British manufacture, while she
admitted those of the United States free.

" Great Britain is," he observes, " the market for
Canadian produce to a far greater extent than the
United States." The United States would neces-
sarily impose her views on the Zollverein, and " the
result would be," says Mr. Gait, " a tariff, not as
now, based on the simple wants of Canada, but upon
those of a country engaged in a colossal war." It
must be regretted, notwithstanding Mr. Gait's argu-
ments, that the Canadian tariff is so high ; but if
she be called upon to incur a fresh debt for the pur-
poses of defence, it is more likely that it will be
increased rather than diminished. In connection
with the relations of Canada and the West to the
United States, the opening of new water-ways and
roads becomes of paramount interest and import-
ance.

In March, 1863, a Select Committee was ap-
pointed by the Legislative Assembly to investigate
the subject of a navigable line between Montreal
and Lake Huron, by the Ottawa and Matawan
Rivers, Lake Nipissing, and French River. That
Committee reported that there were no engineering
difficulties to interfere with the opening of the route
for vessels of. every class up to the draught of twelve
feet, and that it would shorten the line to Chicago
350 miles, the exact difference in favor of the Ottawa
communication from Montreal to Mackinaw being

WT]

240

CANADA.

68 miles. In point of time there would be a reduc-
tion of 47 hours. The trade between the Western
States and the sea has increased to such an extent
durin«< the last four years, that l'i(),00(),0()Oof bushels
of wheat and ^rain stood in need of transport, ae-
eordin«^ to the last calculation; and even with its
present communications, Montreal is second only to
New York as a grain -exporting port, the quantity
shipped last year from it being over 15,000,000 of
bushels. The Ottawa route would actually be the
shortest line of communication between the ports on
Lake Michigan and New York itself by 150 miles,
when the Champlain Canal shall have been made,
and the Northern Canal eidarged.

The tract through which the proposed line w^ould
pass, exceeding in area the whole of the five New
England States, is covered with a wealth of timber
surpassing belief; and the forestless prairies would
furnish a market valuable as gold itself to the lum-
berer. Vessels going down and discharging their
cargoes would return with cargoes of timber, the
demand for which in the West is so great that the
city of Chicago consumes alone 100,000/. worth
in the year. Canadian pines would be in demand
to construct the new cities which are rising in the
Prairie State, and to keep the hearth-fires alight
through their rigid winters. The effect of such a
line in developing local traffic, agricultural improve-
ment, commercial enterprise, and the spread of civil-
ization, cannot be over estimated. In reference to
the military advantages to be derived from its con-
struction, the Committee makes but a meagre refer-
ence; but it is obvious that by securing such a route,
far removed from a foreign frontier, between the sea
and the western lakes, the means of defence and of
transport in war would be very much strengthened
and improved.

The St. Lawrence canals can be destroyed, as
Mr. Chamley observes, by the Americans, without

J,-

THE SASKATCEIF.WAN.

241

fires alight

their being obliged to land a man in Canada; whilst
by the Ottawa route gunboats could proceed from
the St. liawrcnce to Lake Huron in less time than
they would now require to get to Lake Erie. It is
not to be overlooked, however, that the higher lati-
tudes through which the canal would run, expose the
waters to a longer frost and necessary cessation of
trafKc. The advantage s of the route to New York
and to other Northeastern States of America, can
only be gained by completing the proposed Cookna-
woogo Canal, between the St. Lawrence and Lake
Champlain, and it is doubtful whether the jealousy
of the Americans would not prevent their furthering
a project which would confer great benefits on the
Provinces, even though their refusing to do so might
deprive them of certain advantages. This line would,
in fact, give us or the Canadians an admirable inte-
rior communication, and at the same time confer
military, political, and commercial benefits on the
Provinces, the extent of which cannot be easily fore-
seen.

Mr. Gait admits that there may be jealousies,
though he protests there should not be, and calls to
mind the opposition of Mohawk Dutchmen, the
Frenchmen of Detroit, and others, to the Erie Canal.
If the plans for improving the communications which
have been suggested should ever be developed, the
valley of Red River would be reached without much
difficulty, and land as good as that in the unsettled
portions of Iowa and Minnesota would be opened to
the British emigrant.

In the valleys of the Saskatchewan and Assini-
boine, Canada possesses a vast northwest of her
own, enjoying a mild climate, which contains, ac-
cording to one of the witnesses whose opinion is
cited by the Committee, 500,000 square miles of fer-
tile land, capable of sustaining a population of nearly
30,000,000 of people.

It has been ascertained beyond doubt, that the

242

CANADA.

tract between the North and South Saskatchewan
on the east is exceedingly fertile, and that no intense
cold prevails throughout an enormous region of rich
prairies on cretaceous and tertiary deposits. It is
scarcely possible for us to conceive what an enor-
mous expanse of fertile land lies to the east of the
Rocky Mountains, about the sources of those rivers ;
but there are too many witnesses of unmistakable
veracity to render us sceptical concerning the beauty
and capabilities of these regions. Could the poor
emigrant be carried to these fiertile districts, instead
of sinking into the rowdyism of American cities, or
beating down the rate of wages by competition, he
would find at least a comfortable subsistence, even
if he were unable at once to obtain a profitable
market for his labors.

Father de Smet, the missionary, a man whose
name is a tower of strength and faith, describes a
district which makes us wonder that poverty should
ever be known in Europe, and corroborates the glow-
ing picture of Sir George Simpson, — a soil and
climate better suited for agriculture than that of To-
ronto — a region abounding in game of all kinds,
rivers and lakes swarming with fish, plains covered
with buffaloes — seams of coal — delicious wild
fruits — forests of pine, cypress, poplar, and aspen.
Even at Edmonton, potatoes, wheat and barley,
corn and beans, are produced in abundance. "Are
these vast and innumerable fields of hay," asks
Father de Smet, " forever destined to be consumed
by fire, or perish in wintry snows ? How long shall
tliese superb forests be the haunts of wild beasts?
Are these abundant mines of coal, lead, sulphur,
iron, copper, and saltpetre doomed to remain forever
valueless? No ; the day must come when the hand
of labor shall give them value, and stirring and en-
terprising people are destined ere long to fill this
void ; the wild beasts will give place to domestic
animals ; flocks and herds will graze on the beauti-

FERTILITY OF THE COUNTRY.

243

ikatchewan
i no intense
ion of rich
)sits. It is
it an enor-
east of the
lose rivers ;
imistakable
the beauty
d the poor
cts, instead
in cities, or
petition, he
itence, even
a profitable

man whose
describes a
rerty should
js the glow-
-a soil and
that of To-
■ all kinds,
ins covered
icious wild

and aspen,
ind barley,
ince. "Are

hay," asks

consumed

V long shall

ild beasts?
id, sulphur,
lain forever

n the hand

ng and en-
to fill this

io domestic

the beauti-

ful meadows, and the mountain-sides and valleys
will swarm with life."

Before this picture, however, be realized, some
communication must be opened oast or west between
the community and the outer world ; and if the Brit-
ish Government docs not take some steps to secure a
settlement of these regions by its own subjects, the
irresistible agency of American emigration will erase
mere lines upon the map, and determine the question
of nationality beyond the power of appeal or altera-
tion. It is agreeable to admit that the inhabitants
of the State of Minnesota have not hitherto evinced
any design of raising difficulties as to jurisdiction, or
of disturbing the relations between the two Govern-
ments. In fact, the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce,
in 1862, presented a strong memorial against the
proposal to suspend or abrogate the provisions of the
Reciprocity Treaty. This memorial says : —

" Central British America, including an inhabita-
ble area of 300,000 square miles, and extending
northwest of Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains,
will probably be organized as a crown colony of
England, with the seat of government at Selkirk.
There is good reason to believe that a bill for this
purpose will become an Act of Parliament at the
session now impending. British Columbia, on the
Pacific coast, having received a similar organization
in 1858, the establishment of the province of Central
British America v%rill go far to realize the hope so
gracefully expressed three years since from the throne
of England: — 'That her Majesty's dominions in
North America may ultimately be peopled in an un-
broken chain from the Atlantic to the Pacific, by a
loyal and industrious population of subjects of the
British crown.'

" Minnesota, with the cooperation of the Govern-
ment at Washington, has relied with confidence
upon the probability of such a colonization of the
fertile valleys which stretch beyond the international

244

CANADA.

boundary, from the lakes of Superior and Winnepeg,
or the western limits of Canada, to the Pacific col-
ony of British Columbia. Our mails, our trains of
regular transportation, and our steam-vessels on the
Red River of the North, are already provided as im-
portant links of international communication from
Toronto to St. Paul, and thence to Fort Garry. The
projected railroads of Minnesota, with extensive grants
of land from Congress in behalf of their construc-
tion, harmonize in a northwestern trend to the val-
leys of the Red River of the North, and the still more
remote Saskatchewan. Our whole commercial fu-
ture has been projected in concert with the victo-
ries of peace, even more renowned than war, of
which we still hope to witness the achievement in
northwest America, irrespective of the imaginary
line of an international frontier.

"Animated by these expectations, which the march
of events has hitherto justified, we invoke the 'sober
second thought ' of the country upon the subject of
our continental policy. With the suppression of the
Southern rebellion; with dispassionate discussions
by all the parties interested ; with the happy accord
of minds Hke Cobden in England and Chase in
America upon the best methods of revenue ; and
lastly, with the lessons and suggestions of the next
three years, a treaty, eminently deserving the desig-
nation of a reciprocity treaty, will probably be sub-
mitted to the Congress of 1864."

"When the Committee of Commerce, to which the
Legislature of New York referred its petition against
the Reciprocity Treaty, made their report, they gave
expression to very different sentiments ; and enlarged
on the magnitude of the present possessions of the
British Crown on the American continent, and the
probable grandeur of their future, in a manner which
indicated certainly the existence of a feeling not far
removed from jealousy. With great truth they say,
that the value of the British North American posses-

AREA OF THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS.

245

sions is seldom appreciated : stretching from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, they contain an area of at
least 3,478,380 miles. The isothermal line of 60
degrees for summer rises on the interior plains of
this continent as high as the 61st parallel, — its aver-
age position in Europe. And a favorable comparison
may also be traced for winter and other seasons in
the year. Then, elevated by the subject, and warm-
ing by degrees, the Committee draw a glowing pic-
ture of this enormous empire. " Spring opens simul-
taneously," they say, " on the plains, which stretch
for 1200 miles, from St. Paul's to the Mackenzie
River. Westward are countries of still milder cli-
mate, now scarcely inhabited, but of incalculable
value in the future. Eastward are the small settle-
ments, yet distant from the other abodes of civiliza-
tion, enjoying the rich lands and pleasant climate of
the Red River." It may well surprise the inhabitants
of these isles, who have no' ^ot 100 miles of natural
navigable rivers in the three kingdom?, to learn that
this same Red Piver is capable of steamboat navi-
gation for 400 miles.

The following extract from this Report gives per-
haps the best idea of the British Possessions in a few
words which can be presented to the reader : —

" It is asserted by those who add personal knowl-
edge of the subject to scientific investigation, that
the habitable but undeveloped area of the British
Possessions westerly from Lake Superior and Hud-
son's Bay, comprises sufficient territory to make
twenty-five States equal in size to Illinois. Bold as
this assertion is, it meets with confirmation in the
isothermal charts of Blodgett, the testimony of Rich-
ardson, Simpson, Mackenzie, the maps published by
the Government of Canada, and the recen: explora-
tions of Professor Hind, of Toronto.

" North of a line drawn from the northern limit of
Lake Superior to the coast at the southern limit of
Labrador exists a vast region, possessing in its best

246

CA ^ADA.

parts a climate barely endurable, and reaching into
the /^ctic regions. This country, even more cold,
desolate, and barren on the Atlantic coast than in
the interior latitudes, becoming first known to trav-
ellers, has given character in public estimation to the
whole north.

" Another line, drawn from the northern limit of
Minnesota to that of Maine, includes nearly all the
inhabited portion df Canada, a province extending
opposite the Territory of Dakota and States of Min-
nesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine,
possessing a climate identical with that of our North-
ern States.

" The ' Maritime Provinces ' on the Atlantic coast
include New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Ed-
ward's Island, and Newfoundland. Geographically
they may be regarded as a northeasterly prolonga-
tion of the New England system. Unitedly they
include an area of at least 86,000 square miles, and
are capable of supporting a larger population than
that at present existing in the United States or Great
Britain. They are equal in extent to the united
territory of Holland, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, and
Switzerland.

" New Brunswick is 190 miles in length and 150
in breadth. Its interests are inseparably connected
with those of the adjacent State of Maine. It has
an area of 22,000,000 acres, and a sea-coast 400 miles
in extent, and abounding in harbors. Its population
some years ago numbered 210,000, whose chief occu-
pations are connected with ship-building, the fisheries,
and the timber trade. Commissioners appointed by
the Government of Great Britain affirm that it is im-
possible to speak too highly of its climate, soil, and
capabilities. Few countries are so well wooded and
watered. On its unreclaimed surface is an abundant
stock of the finest timber ; beneath are coal-fields.
The rivers, lakes, and sea-coast abound with fish. *

THE MARITIME PROVINCES.

247

" Nova Scotia, a long peninsula, united to the
American continent by an isthmus only fifteen miles
wide, is 280 miles in length. The numerous inden-
tations on its coast form harbors unsurpassed in any
part of the world. Including Cape Breton, it has an
area of 12,000,000 acres. Wheat, and the usual ce-
reals and fruits of the Northern States, flourish in
many parts of it. Its population in 1851 was de-
clared by the census to be 276,117. Besidei? possess-
ing productive fisheries and agricultural resources, it
is rich in mineral wealth, having beneath its surface
coal, iron, manganese, gypsum, and gold.

** The province of Prince Edward's Island is sepa-
rated from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia by
straits only nine miles in v/idth. It is crescent-
shaped, 130 miles in lengthj and at its broadest part
is 34 miles wide. It is a level region, of a more mod-
erate temperature than that of Lower Canada, and
well adapted to agricultural purposes. Its population
in 1848 was 62,678.

" The island of Newfoundland has a sea-coast 1000
miles in extent. It has an area of 23,040,000 acres,
of which only a small portion is cultivated. Its spring
is late, its summer short, but the frost of winter is
less severe than in many parts of our own Northern
States and Territories. It is only 1665 miles distant
from Ireland. It possesses a large trade with various
countries, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, the West
Indies, and the Brazils.

" The chief wealth of Newfoundland and of the
Labrador coast is to be found in their extensive and
inexhaustible fisheries, in which the other Provinces
also partake. The future products of these, when
properly developed by human ingenuity and industry,
defv human calculation. The Gulf Stream is met
near the shores of Newfoundland by a current from
the Polar basin, vast deposits are formed by the meet-
ing of the opposing waters, the great submarine
islands, known as " The Banks," are formed ; and

'- !i

T; r

; ^

jiii;

fjif i.

Hi *

2 f

248

CANADA,

the rich pastures created in Ireland by the warm and
humid influences of the Gulf Stream are compensated
by the *rich sea-pastures of Newfoundland.' The
fishes of warm or tropical waters, inferior in quality
and scarcely capable of preservation, cannot form an
article of commerce like those produced in inexhaust-
ible quantities in these cold and shadow seas. The
abundance of these marine resources is unequalled in
any portion of the globe.

" Canada, rather a nation than a province in any
common acceptation of the term, includes not less
than 346,863 square miles of territory, independently
of its Northwestern Possessions, not yet open for set-
tlement. It is three times as large as Great Britain
and Ireland, and more than three times as large as
Prussia. It intervenes between the Great Northwest
and the Maritime Provinces, and consists chiefly of
a vast territorial projection into the territory of the
United States, although it possesses a coast of nearly
1000 miles on the river and gulf of the St. Lawrence,
where fisheries of cod, herring, mackerel, and salmon
are carried on successfully. Valuable fisheries exist
also in its lakes. It is rich in metallic ore and in the
resources of its forests. Large portions of its terri-
tory are peculiarly favorable to the growth of wheat,
barley, ?»^d the other cereals of the north. During
the life of the present generation, or the last quarter
of a century, its population has increased more than
fourfold, or from 582,000 to 2,500,000.

" The population of all the provinces may be fairly
estimated as numbering 3,500,000. Many of the in-
habitants are of French extraction, and a few German
settlements exist ; but two thirds of the people of the
provinces owe their origin either to the United States
or to the British Islands, whose language we speak,
and who * people the world with men industrious and
free.'

" The climate and soil of these Provinces and Pos-
sessions, seemingly less indulgent than those of trop-

CLIMATE AND SOIL.

249

ical regions, are precisely those by which the skill,
energy, and virtues of the human race are best devel-
oped. Nature there demands thought and labor
from man as conditions of his existence, but yields
abundant rewards to wise industry. Those causes
which, in our age of the world, determine the wealth
of nations are those which render man most active ;
and it cannot be too often or too closely remembered
in discussing subjects so vast as these, where the
human mind may be misled if it attempts to compre-
hend them in their boundless variety of detail, that
sure and safe guides in the application of political
economy, and to our own prosperity, are to be found
in the simple principles of morality and justice, be-
cause they alone are true alike in minute and great
affairs, at all times and in every place."

p:mc'^

250

CANADA.

CHAPTER XVL

1" 'I

The "Ashburton Capitulation." — Boundftriea of Quebec. — Arbitration in
1831. — Lord Ashburton's Mission. — The Questions in Dispute. — " The
Sen" r. " The Atlasitic." — American Diplomatists. — Fraiil^lin's Red
I-iiie. — Compromise. — The Maps. — Maine. — Damage to Canada. —
Mr. Webster's Defence. — His Opinion of the Koad. — Value of the
Heights. — Our Share of Equivalents. — Value of Rouse's Point —
Vermont. — New Hampshire.

It was by tV ;el*'brated Treaty of Washington,
August 9th, 18h thi the boundary-line between
the British possessions '.■: Canada and the State of
Maine in the territories of the United States, was set-
tled and determined. That treaty has been some-
times spoken of as the "Ashburton Capitulation."
The story of the two maps which played so distin-
guished a part in the negotiations, is tolerably well
known, and has formed a subject of many discussions
which have now settled down into fixed convictions.
By many, if not by most Americans, acquainted with
the subject, it is believed that Mr. Webster did a
very smart thing. Englishmen, similarly instructed,
believe their country to have been cheated by the
great American elocutionist. Canadians are of opin-
ion that they have suffered an irreparable injury at
the hands of, or through the weakness of, those ap-
pointed to guard their interests by the Imperial Gov-
ernment. The Treaty of Paris, in 1783, did not
define the northeastern boundary of the United
States; it merely declared that the boundary was
drawn along the highlands which divide the rivers
that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence
from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. If
we had had at that time the knowledge of geography
and geology, with respect to the basin of the St.
Lawrence, which, thanks to the labors of the United

BOUNDARIES OF QUEBEC.

251

States' engineers and of Sir William Logan, we now
possess, there would not have been much difficulty
in fixing on the real line, as theie could not well be
any dispute respecting the exact line of highlands
from which the rivers flowing into the St. Lawrence
came, and from the other side of which the water-
shed was towards the Atlantic Ocean. Tons of
pamphlets, years of controversy, and thousands of
pounds might have been spared, not to speak of much
national animosity.

It may be remarked here, that the difficulty of rec-
onciling States' Rights with Imperial Federal policy
was foreshadowed in the original disputes which
took place at the time of the treaty adjustment. The
Treaty speaks of the "boundaries between the pos-
sessions of Her Britannic Majesty in North Ame ca
and the territories of the United States ; " but the
State of Maine in its vehement protest against the
line of the^King of the Netherlands, assumed the lan-
guage and the port of an independent Power, Mr.
Thomas Colley Grattan, in his work, " Cr Uized
America," has collected an immense amount of in-
formation, and has drawn up an argument on the
subject, which prove beyond a doubt, even without
collateral aid, that the line yielded by Lord Ashbur-
ton was not that which was meant by the framers of
the Treaty of 1783. Let us consider how the case
stood.

In 1763 the French possessions in North America
were ceded to Great Britain, and in the October of
that year a royal proclamation defined the bounda-
ries of the government of Quebec, " bounded on the
Labrador coast by the river St. John, which falls into
the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and from there by a
line drawn from the head of that river through the
Lake of St. John to the south end of the Lake Nip-
issing, from whence the said line, crossing the river
St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain in 45 degrees
of north latitude, passes along the highlands which

■|

mmiu

'■A

ft' '

252

CANADA.

divide the rivers that empty themselves into the said
river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the
sea, and also along the north coast of the Bay of
Chaleurs and the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
to Cape Rosiere, and from thence crossing the mouth
of the river St. Lawrence by the west end pf the
island of Anticosti, terminates in the aforesaid Lake
of St. John." It is fortunate enough that we have
no neighbors to raise any question about " the line
drawn through the Lake of St. John to the south
end of the L-^ke Ni pissing."

Previous to the Treaty of Independence only one
Act was passed bearing upon the southern boundary
of Canada. The Quebec Act of 1774 draws its
boundaries between the province of Quebec and the
colonies of Nova Scotia and Massachusetts, in
words nearly the same as those of the Proclamation
of 1763. When the State of Massachusetts and
the Sate of Maine were acknowledged to be " free,
sovereign, and independent," by the Treaty of 1783,
the contracting parties appeared to have defined
the boundary -line with tolerable exactitude. They
wished to prevent disputes between the United
States and the colonies, and therefore the bounda-
ries were constituted " from the northwest angle of
Nova Scotia, — viz. that angle which is formed by
a line drawn due north from the source of the St.
Croix River to the highlands, along the said high-
lands which divide those rivers that empty them-
selves into the St. Lawrence from those which fall
into the Atlantic Ocean, — to the north-western most
head of Connecticut River east, by a line to be drawn
along the middle of the river St. Croix from its
mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from
its source directly north to the aforesaid highlands
which divide the rivers which fall into the Atlantic
Ocean from those which fall into the river St. Law-
rence, comprehending all highlands within twenty
leagues of any harbor of the United States, and

THE DISPUTED BOUNDARY.

253

lying between lines to be drawn due east from the
points wliere the aforesaid bonndaries betw(?en Nova
Scotia on the one |)art, and East F'lorida on the
other, shall respectively touch tlio Bay of Fundy and
the Atlantic Ocean, exce[)t such iiighlands as now
arc, or heretofore have been, within the limits of the
said province of Nova Scotia."

The northwest angle of Nova Scotia thus be-
comes a point of consequence — upon the determi-
nation of it rests the true line. The British maintain
that the angle is contained at the point " where the
line due north from the river St. Croix touches the
highlands at a point about 100 miles south of the
point claimed by the United States." The Ameri-
cans argue that the northwest angle was " con-
siderably nearer to the St. Lawrence, at a spot
145 miles north of the source of the St. Croix." In
1794 Commissioners were appointed to determine
" where a line drawn due north from the St. Croix
would intersect a line of highlands corresponding
with those mentioned in the Treaty of 1783." The
umpire called in by the Commissioners fixed on the
most northern point of the river as the place from
which the line to the highlands was to be drawn, and
the result was that the line so drawn did not strike
the highlands which we held to be those meant by
the treaty, but passing them at a distance of twenty
miles on the west, came to an isolated mountain
called Mars Hill, from which the Americans desired
to prolong it northwards beyond the river St. John
to the highlands above the source of the Reste-
gouche ; but the British Commissioners insisted that
the line should not proceed further north, and that
the highlands which ran west from near that point to
the head of the Connecticut River should form the
next boundary-line.

Events of greater importance for a time prevented
any attempt to adjust a question which promised,
however, no slight difficulty in time to come. Then

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m f

254

CANADA.

war broke out between the United States and Great
Britain ; but the Peace of 1814 rendered it neces-
sary to renew the attempt to define the boundaries
of the two States. The Comnnissioncrs appointed
by the Treaty of (jJhent were not more fortunate
than their predecessors ; and it was thirteen years
after the signing of that treaty before the (n)vern-
ments of the two countries arranged a convention,
to carry out the provision made by an article in the
Treaty for the appointment of a referee in case of
disagreement. The King of the Netherlands, who
accepted the office of arbiter in 1831, delivered his
award, which, taking the line drawn north from the
St. Croix to Mars Hill, passed beyond it to the river
St. John, whence it took the course of the river west-
ward, inside the line claimed by the United States
to the head of the Connecticut River. This com-
promise was identical with the actual line estab-
lished by the Treaty of 1842, except on the western
side, where the line fixed by the King and that
claimed by the United States are the same. The
King's line approximates much more closely to the
United States' line than it does to that which we
claim ; however, the Americans refused to accept it,
on the grounds that the King had no right to go be-
yond the matter referred to him of determining
which of the two lines was right, and that he had
exceeded his province in proposing a line which had
not been referred to him by either of the parties.

Eleven years passed in unavailing endeavors to
adjust a question which rose into the highest rank
of diplomatic difficulties. Lord Ashburton, the head
of the commercial house of Baring, whose relations
with American commerce were supposed to be likely
to recommend him to American statesmen, was dis-
patched in 1842 to determine the boundary, in con-
cert with Mr. Webster. These gentlemen were as-
sisted by seven Commissioners from Maine and Mas-
sachusetts. The author of a pamphlet of very great

THE tiUliSTlUN IN DISPUTE.

2o5

ability, quoted by ^fr. Grattan, arrived at the conclu-
sion that the line designated in the Proclamation of
1763, ia identical vvHIi that claimed by the United
States, and that the line indicated in the treaty of
1783 is almost the same as tliat claimed by Great
Britain. He argued that it was clearly intended to
create a new boundary, because Mr. Townsend said
so, and Lord North repeated the statement in Par-
liament. He maintained that the variations in the
wording of the treaty from that of the proclamation
were specially introduced to show that a new boun-
dary was intended, and that if i*^^ had not been ao,
the description in the treaty would have been the
same as it was in the proclamation ; and he then
proceeded further to contend, with greater force of
reasoning, that the proclamation boundary, although
it might have adequately defined the limits of a
province, would have been obviously unsuitable as
between two independent nations, because it would
cut off communication between two portions of the
territory of one of the Powers, and give it to another
independent State. He further asserted, that all
negotiations and projects for peace on the part of
the United States were based on the supposition
that England would demand a new line, and that
Congress never contemplated an adherence to the
Proclamation of 1763. All the reasoning of the
pamphleteer in support of these propositions is dis-
tinguished by acuteness, and inclines the mind to
accept them with confidence; and he is not less
happy in his argument that the Madawaska River
is distinct from the river St. John — that it is a
tributary, not a branch, of that stream.

The quest." on as to the range of highlands meant
by the treaties can only be settled by analytical rea-
soning, which, in relation to matters of fact of the
kind under dispute, is satisfactory only to those who
direct their own course of argument. There are two
ranges of highlands dividing the rivers which flow

256

CANADA.

.in:

■i

into the St. Lawrence and those which empty them-
selves into the Atlantic; the first, running from the
sources of the Connecticut towards the Bay of Cha-
leurs, certainly separates rivers emptying into the St.
Lawrence from those emptying into the sea ; but
the second line, starting from the same mountainous
germ at the sources of the Connect'cut, branching
off from the firrit range at a point about eighty miles
from its conunencement, takes a southern course
towards the head of the St. Croix, and divides the
rivers which empty themselves into the St. Lawrence
from those which flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It
is contended on one side, with much force of reason-
ing and probability, that the highlands specified in
the Treaty cl 1783 are those of the southern range.
It was necessary of course to fix upon some great
natural features in a district vast in extent and un-
known to all but the Red men and the hunter. Rivers
and the summit level betwcv^n two great watersheds
would be obviously selected. It was the object of
England to secure free communication between all
parts of her America ti territory, and, of course, be-
tween Canada and Nova Scotia. The Americans
proposed the line of the St. John, which was at once
rejected. That being the case, it is difficult to con-
tLive how they could go back and propose, as a line
more likely to meet the views of England, the high-
lands of the northern range close to the St. Law-
rence, which would throw the greatest difficulties in
the way of the communication which it was a vital
point for England to secure. It will have I sen ob-
served that the words " the Sea " and the "Atlantic
Ocean " are used in the treaties, and it certainly is
not easy to comprehend how the Americans can
maintain that these terms have an identical meaning,
if the description of the maps which they had before
them at the time is correct. The Connecticut, the
Penobscot, and the Kennebec, can be considered as
flowing into the Atlantic Ocean from one range of

/" '.

THE SE.V VERSUS THE ATLANTIC.

257

ountainous

highlands only, and it is equally plain that the other,
or northern, range was that which was meant as the
highlands from which rivers flowed into the " sea."

It has been urged, ingeniously and truly, that the
words " The Sea " give a larger range of boundary
than the words " The Atlantic ; " and that therefore
the boundary which depended on a reference to the
Atlantic, was intended to have a smaller extent than
that which was made to depend upon the Sea. The
Atlantic was certainly substituted for the Sea, not
only in the treaty, but in the Commissions of the
Governors of Quebec, showing an alteration of the
boundary of their jurisdiction, whilst no change was
made in the Commissions of the Governors of New
Brunswick, because the boundary of their province
depended upon that of Quebec. The highlands
separating rivers that empty into the Atlantic Ocean
are by no means identical with the highlands sep-
arating the rivers that empty into the Sea. The
Americans have urged that the northern range di-
vides the rivers of the St. Lawrence from the Atlan-
tic rivers, but it certainly does not separate the Pe-
nobscot branches north and east which flow into the
Atlantic from the southern range ; and the term
" The rivers," of course means all the rivers, because,
otherwise, such a conisiderable stream as the Penol)-
Hcot would have been excepted specially. The
southern range separated all the rivers which flow
into the Atlantic, from all the rivers which flow into
the St. Lawrence.

Had the Commissioners drawn the due north line
from the western branch of the St. Croix, which
formed the ancient boundary of Nova Scotia, instead
of from the northern branch, the wiu>le of the com-
plicated and vexatious questions might have been
evaded, and the claiin urged l)y the Ui:ited States
might never have been heard. It was tiie doctrine
of State Rights alone which justilied the rejection
of the Netherlands compromise. The tract in dis-

Jlii

258

CANADA.

pute was indeed but seven million acres of river,
mountain, and forest, but the northern boundary of
this tract overlooked the course of the St. Lawrence,
and carried American territory within a day's march
of its stream, whilst the direct roads and 3ommuni-
cations between the Provinces east and west, would
be placed inside American territory. To the Maine
lumberers, however, this tract was not uninviting,
and it became a debatable land, in which Brit-
ish colonists from New Brunswick, and American
squatters, carried on a series of inroads and forcible
settlements, which were fortunately unattended by
actual bloodshed. Lord Palmerston, who in 1835
notified the refusal of the British Government to
accept the Netherlands compromise, appointed Com-
missioners in 1839 to inquire into the state of the
question upon the spot, and their report, which was
handed to the United States Government in 1840,
in the most absolute terms laid it down that the
southern range was that intended by the treaty of
1783. Mr. (trattan, who was by no means unduly
disposed to favor American pretensions, describes
with terse propriety the disputes which now arose.
" All on our side," he says, " was supercilious pride ;
on that of the United States, aggressive coarseness."
To Sir Robert Peel is due the praise of having
taken a decided step to settle the northeastern
boundary. Lord Ashburton, received with consid-
erable enthusiasm in the United States, was at once
accepted by President Tyler, and for the better ad-
justment of the difficulty, it was arranged that he
should be met by Mr. Webster in a spirit of perfect
candor; that memoranda and despatches were to be
dispensed with, and that every ho-iest, straightfor-
ward exertion should be made on both sides to come
to a satisfactory settlement of the vexed question.
Lord Ashburton had, however, to encounter not only
the Secretary of State, bvit the Commissioners of
Maine and Massachusetts, among whom were Mr.
Abbott Lawrence and Mr. Preble.

AMKRICAN DIPLOMATISTS.

259

oarsent'ss.

Mr. Grattan, who was actually invited to assist at
the negotiations by the American Commissioners,
and went to Washington as amicus cnrice, gives a
most minute and interestins: account of the wh;)le of
the proceedings, and states positively that IMr. Web-
ster sent a conlidential agent to the Commissioners,
proposing a line fur south of th'^ St. John's River,
before thoy had got further than New York, which
gave great offence to Mr. Preble, by whose influence
it was rejected. His pertinacity and the pomposity
of Lawn^nce, witli which w(; are well acquainted in
England, were obstacles in tl)e way of a calm discus-
sion of adverse claims, but the other Commissioners
are described as exceedingly forbearing, unassuming,
and well-behaved.

A^ first Lord Ashburton seemed to make way with
Mr. Webster, and to be on the point of obtaining a
more favorable line than that projiosed by the Neth-
erlands compromise, but the British Commissioner
had no special proof or absolute document to show
that the highlands south of St. John indicated the
boundary me«ant by the treaty of 1783. It was
known that Dr. Franklin sent from Paris to Wash-
ington, at the time of making the treaty, a map on
which was drawn a red ink-line to show the boun-
dary to Mr. Jefferson.

It is strange enough that, in the state of confusion
caused by conflicting statements and contradictory
documents, it should not have occurred to Lord
Ashburton or to Mr. Grattan, who records his own
anxious searches after i)r. Franklin's map, that a
counter[)art might have been readily found in Paris
in the archives of the Foreign Office; but the fact
was, Franklin's map could nowhere be found in the
State Paper Department of Washington.

The production of that map with the red ink-line
must have placed the boundary cpustion beyond the
reach of controversy ; in fact, the map of De Ver-
gennes could have been consulted at Paris, and the

260

CANADA.

same red line might havn been seen on it fis that
which was secin in Franklin's. Jjord Aberdceii huJ
for some inscrat^.blo reason resolved that the bon.i-
dary ?hould be drawn so as to inchide the setth ment
of Madawaska on the St. John, within the British
possessions, whilst the Commissioners were equally-
resolute not to except an inch -outh of the St. John
itself; and the arrangement proposed by a small
European monarch was regarded by the Americans
as a proof that they were entitled to all that they
had asked, and that the compromise was suggested
to propitiate England.

The expectations which had been entertained of
an immediate adjustment were followed by a re-
newal of angry feeling and political commotion.
Lord Ashburton, after an unequal struggle with
Webster and the Commissioners, in a controversial
correspondence on which he had not very wisely
entered, yielded in a spirit of honorable concession
the claim of Great Britain to the southern line of
highlands. He was impressed somewhat, no doubt,
by the vehemence and force of unanimous public
opinion in America respecting the justice of their
claim, the strc xg and general conviction felt that the
country was ii the right. Extended and accessible
on every side, his mind could not resist the constant
pressure of the audacious and ]Knetratii!g weight
of Webster's intellect, and he i^radually gave way
like a crumbling wall to the tjOi>u-tide of intense
determination by which he was assailed. The
middle of the St. John was accepted as the boundary,
but instead of folh^-'ving the highlands overlooking
the valley of the St. Lawrence, a line was deter-
mined upon sixty miles more to th(^ south, which
thus removes the United States frontier to a tolerable
distance from the navigation of the river and the
Jiiilitary control of the banks.

On both ^ides of the Atlantic this compromise was
received with expressions of disgust and anger. The

FRANKLIN'S RED LINE.

romise was

261

Amo^loapp, knowing themselves very well and Eng-
lif. iJ.^n .ery little, declared that Daniel Webster had
been bought.

In the land of liberty it is the custom of the repre-
sentatives of the people to conduct their debates in
secret whenever any question of public interest arises,
and the Senate rati tied the treaty by a large majority,
after a long debate carried on with closed doors for
several days.

Some time after the treaty had been signed, it
turned out that Mr. Webster had all the time pos-
sessed a map on which Franklin's red line, tracing the
boundary of 1783 south of the St. John, was distinctly
marked.

The map in question was an authentic copy of
one which was given to De Vergennes by Dr. Frank-
lin himself when the treaty was made. Its existence
had been made known to the President, to the Sen-
ate, and to all the Americans engaged in the nego-
tiation. This map was no doubt the same as that
which had disappeared from the State Department.
Its existence was known to many people. It appears
that Mr. Jared Sparks, of Boston, found in the
archives at Paris the following letter : —

"Paisse/y, Deer. 6thy 1782.
"Sir, — I have the honor of returning herewith
the map your Excellency sent me yesterday. I have
marked with a strong red line, according to your
desire, the limits of the United States as settled in
the preliminaries between the British and American
Plenipotentiaries.

" With great respect,

" I am, &c.,

" B. Franklin."

This letter was addressed to the Count De Ver-
gennes, the French 'Minister. Mr. Sparks, in fact,

discovered the actual map of North America of 1746,

la*

■lili:

!■

ill:

262

CANADA.

and on it was drawn a strong red line throughout the
entire boundary of the United States, answering
exactly to Franklin's description. " Imagine," says
Mr. Sparks, " my surprise on discovering that this
line runs wholly south of the St. John's, and between
the head-waters of that river and those of the Pe-
nobscot and Kennebec ; in short, it is exactly the line
contended for by Great Britain, except that it con-
cedes more than is claimed."

When the secret debates of the Senate were pub-
lished, it was seen that Mr. Rives, the Chairman of
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, had fortified his
argument against the rejection of this Ashburton line
by quoting the existence of this map, and warning
them of the risk and danger of a further search into
the archives of Europe. In the debate that followed,
Mr. Benton, eager to overthrow the value of Mr.
Sparks's discovery and of Mr. Rives's argument,
produced a map from the Jeflerson collection in the
library of Congress, which contained a dotted line
marking the boundary of the Government of Quebec
under the proclamation of 1763, but strange to say,
he overlooked the fact which was at once visible to
every eye, aiat a strong red line, indicating the limits
of the United States according to the Treaty of
Peace, was traced acioss it, which coincided minutely
and exactly with the boundary on Mr. Sparks's map.

Those v/ho wiwh for the most minute details re-
specting this map, may be referred to Mr. Grattan's
work. The map of Baron Steiben, and that of Fa-
den, coincide in a most remarkable manner in mark-
ing the limit? of the United States.

It is worthy of note that Mr. Buchanan, the last
President )f the United States, did his very best to
maintain the |n"Oi)riety of the deceit. Mr. Calhoun
is supposed to have itppreciated the importance of the
discoveries, aod to i^ave felt the injury to American
diplomacy whicl* Mr. Webster's'suppressions of truth
might create ot.) future occasions. The Americans

MR. WKUSTER'S OPINION.

263

actually made use of the weakness of the English
Minister as an argument that they had been cheated
thetnselves, and Mr. Webster's ability in concealing
the truth was considered evidence that he had not
gone far enough in the same line, and h'3 reputation
as a skilful and successful negotiator was considered
not to stand very high. The action of Sir Robert
Peel, however, prevented any endeavor to obtain the
legitimate advantages which the discovery of these
maps ought to have produced.

The decision arrived at affected the State of Maine
and the pretensions of its people, but it had little to
do with the prosperity or military strength of the
whole of the Union ; whilst it weakened Canada in its
weakest point, and conferred most signal advantage
on the only enemy it had to fear; it bit in to the sub-
stance of the Provinces, and at the same time cut
the vein of communication with the sea for five long
winte:* months. Strange that a line drawn upon a
piece of paper by the hand of a man gathered to his
fathers for so many years, should for a time at least
decide so much of a nation's happiness and prosperity
— for a time only, because it must soon be that the
increasing power or failing resources of the United
States, or of Canada, will cause a modification of the
present frontier, more in accordance with the com-
mercial and military exigencies of the two States.
The Canadians feel that Imperial diplomacy has
done them a great wrong, possibly very much as
France feels in respect to her Rhenish boundary; but
in a military point of view, perhaps the cession of
Rouse's Point has been the most serious of all the
circumstances affecting the relations for aggressive
purposes of the United States with the Province

In order that we may aj)preciate the importance of
Mr. Webster's achievement, let us quote his own
description of it in the great debate which took place
in the Senate on the Washington Treaty. Mr.
Webster, in noticing some of the many charges made

m mn-

264

CANADA.

:\ii

against him in reference to the treaty, dealt with the
question of military concession in the following man-
ner : —

" Lord Paimerston (if he be the author of certain
publications ascribed to him) says that all the impor-
tant points were given up by Lord Ashburton to the
United States, I might here state, too, that Lord
Paimerston called the whole treaty * the Ashburton
capitulation,' declaring that it yielded everything that
was of importance to Great Britain, and that all its
stipulations were to the advantage of the United
States, and to the sacrifice of the interests of Eng-
land. But it is not on such general, and, I may add,
such unjust statements, nor on any off-hand expres-
sions used in debate, though in the roundest terms,
that this question must turn. He speaks of this mil-
itary road, but he entirely misplaces it. The road
which runs from New Brunswick to Canada follows
the north side of the St. John to the mouth of the
Madawaska, and then, turning northwest, follows that
stream to Lake Temiscoata, and thence proceeds over
a depressed part of the highlands till it strikes the
St. Lawrence 117 miles below Quebec. This is the
road which has been always used, and there is no
other.

" I admit that it is very convenient for the British
Government to possess territory through which they
may enjoy a road ; it is of great value as an avenue
of communication in time of peace; but as a military
communication it is of no value at all. What busi-
ness can an army ever have there ? Besides, it is no
gorge, no pass, no narrow defile, to be defended by a
fort. If a fort should be built there, an army could,
at pleasure, make a detour so as to keep out of the
reach of its guns. It is very useful, I admit, in time
of peace. But does not everybody know, military
man or not, that unless there is a defile, or some nar-
row place through which troops must pass, and which

MR. WEBSTER'S OPINION.

265

a fortification will command, that a mere open road
must, in time of war, be in the power of the strong-
est ? If we retained by treaty the territory over which
the road is to be constructed, and war came, would
not tiie English take possession of it if they conld ?
Would they be restrained by a regard to the treaty of
Washington? I have never yet heard a reason ad-
duced why this communication should be regarded
as of the slightest possible advantage in a military
point of view.

" But the circumstance to which I alhule is, that,
by a map published with the speech of the honorable
member from Missouri, made in the Senate, on the
question of ratifying the treaty, this well-known and
long-used road is laid down, probably from the same
source of error which misled Lord Palmerston, as
following the St. John, on its south side, to the mouth
of the St. Francis; thence along that river to its
source, and thence, by a single bound, over the high-
lands to the St. Lawrence, near Quebec. This is all
imagination. It is called the * Valley Road.' Valley
Road, indeed! Why, Sir, it is represented as run-
ning over the very ridge of the most inaccessible part
of the highlands! It is made to cross abrupt and
broken precipices, 2000 feet high! It is, at different
points of its imaginary course, from fifty to a hundred
miles distant from the real road.

" So much, Mr. President, for the great boon of
military communication conceded to England. It is
nothing more nor less than a common road, along
streams and lakes, and over a country in great part
rather fiat. It then passes the heights to the St.
Lawrence. If war breaks out, we shall take it if we
can, and if we need it, of which there is not the
slightest probability. It will never be protected by
fortifications, and never can be. It will be just as
easy to take it from England, in case of war, as it
would be to keep possession of it, if it were our own.

" In regard to the defence of the heights, I shall dis-

:i !

I'; I

Iff fTfS--^

266

CANADA.

pose of that subject in a few w 'ds. There is a ridge
of highlands which does approach the river St.
Lawrence, although it is not true that it overlooks
Quebec ; on the contrary, the ridge is ut the distatice
of thirty or forty miles.

" It is very natural that military men in England,
or indeed in any part of Europe, should have nttached
great importance to these mountains. The great
military authority of England, perhaps the highest
living military authority, had served in India and on
the European continent, and it was natural enough
that he should apply European ideas of military de-
fences to America. But they are quite inapplicable.
Highlands such as these are not ordinarily found on
the great battle-fields of Europe. They are neither
Alps nor Pyrenees; they have no passes through
them, nor roads over them, and never will have.

" Then there was another cause of misconception on
this subject in England. In 1839 an ex-parle survey
was made, as I have said, by Colonel Mudii^e and Mr.
Featherstonhaiigh, if survey it could be called, of the
region in the North of Maine, for the use of the Brit-
ish Government. I dare say Colonel Mudge is an in-
telligent and respectable officer ; how much personal
attention he gave the subject I do not know. As
to Mr. Featherstonhaugh, he has been in our service,
and his authority is not worth a straw. These two
persons made a report, containing this very singular
statement : That in the ridge of highlands neaiest to
the St. Lawrence, there was a great hiatus in one
particular place, a gap of thirty or forty miles, in
which the elevation did not exceed fifty feet. This is
certainly the strangest statement that ever was made.
Their whole report gave but one measurement by the
barometer, and that measurement stated the height of
1200 feet. A survey and map were made the follow-
ing year by our own commissioners, Messrs. Graham
and Talcott, of the Corps of Topographical Engi-
neers, and Professor Renwick, of Columbia College.

OUR SHAKE OF EQUIVALKNTS.

2J7

!ii:

On this map, the very spot where thU gap was said to
be situated is dotled over tliiekly with figures, show-
ing heights varying from 1200 to 2000 feet, and form-
ing oik; rough and h)fly ridge, marked by abrupt and
nbnost |)er|)endieular preeipiees. When this map and
report of Messrs. Mudge and Featherstonhangh wert;
published, the British authorities saw that this al-
leged gap was laid down as an indefensible point,
and it was probably on that ground alone that they
desired a line east of that ridge, in order that they
might guard against access of a hostile |)ower from
the United States. But in truth there is no such
gap; our engineers proved this, and we quite well
understood it when agreeing to the boundary. Any
man of common sense, military or not, must there-
fore now see, that nothing can be more imaginary or
unfounded than the idea that any importance attaches
to the possession of these heights.

" Sir, there are two old and well-known roads to
Canada; one by way of Lake Champlain and the
Richelieu, to Montreal — this is the route which
armies have traversed so often in different periods
of our history. The other leads from the Kenne-
bec River to the sources of the Chaudiere and the Du
Loup, and so to Quebec — this last was the track
of ArnokPs march. East of this, there is no prac-
ticable communication for troops between Maine
and Canada, till we get to the Madawaska. We
had before us a report from General Wool, while
this treaty was under negotiation, in which that in-
telligent officer declares that it is perfectly idle to
think of fortifying any point east of this road. East
of Arnold's track it is a mountain region, through
which no tinny can possibly ;)ass into Canada.
With General Wool was associated, in this ex-
amination, Major Graham, whom I have already
mentioned. His report to General Wool, made in
the year 1838, nearly points out the Kennebec and
Chaudiere road as the only practicable route for an

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268

CANADA.

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army between Maine and Quebec. He was subse-
quently employed as a commissioner in the ex-parte
surveys of the United States. Being an engineer
officer of high character for military knowledge and
scientific accuracy, his opinion had the weight it
ought to have, and which will be readily given to
it by all who know him. His subsequent and still
more thorough acquaintance with this mountain
range, in its whole extent, has only confirmed the
judgment which he had previously formed. And,
Sir, this avenue to Canada, this practicable avenue,
and only practicable avenue east of that by way
of Lake Champlain, is left now just as it was found
by the treaty. The treaty does not touch it, nor in
any manner affect it.

" But I must go further. I said that the treaty of
Washington was a treaty of equivalents, in which
it was expected that each party should give some-
thing and receive something. I am now willing to
meet any gentleman, be he a military man or not,
who will make the assertion, that, in a military point
of view, the greatest advantages derived from that
treaty are on the side of Great Britain. It was on
this point that I wished to say something in reply
to an honorable member from New York, who
will have it that in this treaty England supposes that
she got the advantage of us. Sir, I do not think the
militai'y advantages she obtained by it are worth a
rush. But even if they were, if she had obtained
advantages of the greatest value, would it not have
been fair in the member from New York to state,
nevertheless, whether there were not equivalent mili-
tary p.dvantages obtained on our side, in other parts
of the line ? Would it not have been candid and
proper in him, when adverting to the military ad-
vantages obtained by England, in a communication
between New Brunswick and Canada, if such ad-
vantages there were, to have stated, on the other
hand, and at the same time, our recovery of Rouse's

STRATEGIC VALUE OF ROUSE'S POINT.

269

Point, at the outlet of Lake Champlain ? an advan-
tage which overbalanced all others, forty times told.
I must be allowed to say, that I certainly never ex-
pected that a member from New York, above all
other men, should speak of this treaty as conferrin<]f
military advantages on Grqp,t Britain without full
equivalents. I listened to it, I confess, with utter
astonishment. A distinguished senator from that
State saw at the time, very clearly, the advantage
gained by this treaty to the United States and to
New York. He voted willingly for its ratification,
and he never will say that Great Britain obtained a
balance of advantages in a military point of view.

" Why, how is the State of New York affected
by this treaty ? Sir, is not Rouse's Point perfectly
well known, and admitted, by every military man,
to be the key of Lake Champlain ? It commands
every vessel passing up or down the lake, between
New York and Canada. It had always been sup-
posed that this point lay some distance bouth of the
parallel of 45*^, which was our boundary-line with
Canada, and therefore was within the United States ;
and, under this supposition, the United States
purchased the land, and commenced the erection of
a strong fortress. But a more accurate survey hav-
ing been made in 1818, by astronomers on both
sides, it was found that the parallel of 45*^ ran south
of this fortress, and thus Rouse's Point, with the
fort upon it, was found to be in the British dominions.
This discovery created, as well it might, a great sen-
sation here. None knows this better than the hon-
orable member from South Carolina, who was then
at the head of the Department of War. As Rous'i's
Point was no longer ours, we sent our engineers to
examine the shores of the lake, to find some other
place or places which we might fortify. They made
a report on their return, saying that there were two
other points some distance south of Rouse's Point,
one called Windmill Point, on the east side of the

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270

fff'fiifftTfHiitw^iiiiiffir'fr''--

CANADA.

lake, and the other called Stony Point, on the west
side, which it became necessary now to fortify, and
they gave an estimate of the probable expense.
When this treaty was in process of negotiation, we
called for the opinion of military men respecting the
value of Rouse's Poini, in order to see whether it
was highly desirable to obtain it. We had their re-
port before us, in which it was stated that the
natural and best point for the defence of the out-
let of Lake Champlain was Rouse's Point. In fact,
anybody might see that this was the case who would
look at the map. The point projects into the nar-
rowest passage by which the waters of the lake pass
into the Richelieu. Any vessel passing into or out
of the lake, must come within point-blank range of
the guns of a fortress erected on this point ; and it
ran out so far that any such vessel must approach
the fort, head on, for several miles, so as to be ex-
posed to a raking fire from the battery, before she
could possibly bring her broadside to bear upon the
fort at all. It was very different with the points
farther south. Between them the passage was
much wider ; so much so, indeed, that a vessel
might pass directly between the two, and not be
in reach of point-blank shot from either."

Mr. Dickinson, of New York, here interposed, to
ask whether the Dutch line did not give us Rouse's
Point.

" Certainly not. It gave us a semicircular line,
running round the fort, but not including what we
had possessed before. And besides^ we had rejected
the Dutch line, and the whole point now clearly
belonged to England. It w?-g all within the British
territory.

" I was saying that a vessel might pass between
Windmill Point and Stony Point, and be without
the range of both, till her broadside could be brought
to bear upon either of them. The forts would be
entirely independent of each other, and, having no

I Y I'lV-*- — '-J— ■■■-^

MR. WEBSTER ON THE INVASION OF CANADA. 271

communication, conld not render each other the
least assistance in case of attack. But the military
men told us there was no sort of question that Rouse's
Point was extremely desirable as a point of mili-
tary defence. This is plain enough, and I need not
spend time to prove it. Of one thing I am certain,
that the true road to Canada is by the way of Lake
Champlain. That is the old path. I take to myself
the credit of having said here, thirty years ago,
speaking of the mode of taking Canada, that, when
an American woodsman undertakes to fell a tree,
he does not begin by lopping off the branches, but
strikes his axe at once into the trunk. The trunk, in
relation to Canada, is Montreal, and the river St.
Lawrence down to Quebec ; and so we found in the
last war. It is not my purpose to scan the propriety
of military measures then adopted, but I suppose it
to have been rather accidental and unfortunate that
we began the attack in Upper Canada. It would
have been better military policy, as I suppose, to
have pushed our whole force by the way of Lake
Champlain, and made a direct movement on Mon-
treal ; and though we might thereby have lost
the glories of the battles of the Thames and of
Lundy's Lane, and of the sortie from Fort Erie, yet
we should have won other laurels of equal, and per-
haps greater, va]ue at Montreal. Once successful in
this movement the whole country above would
have fallen into our power. Is not this evident to
every gentleman?

" Rouse's Point is the best means of defending
both the ingress into the lake, and the exit from it.
And I say now, that on the whole frontier of the
State of New York, with the single exception of tho
Narrows below the city, there is not a point of equal
importance. I hope this government will last for-
ever ; but if it does not, and if, in the judgment of
Heaven, so great a calamity shall befall us as the
rupture of this Union, and the State of New York

ii'i 9^[

■). . . ., -1 i.im

272

CANADA.

shall thereby be thrown upon her own defences, I ask,
is there a single point, except the Narrows, the pos-
session of which she will so much desire ? No,
there is not one. And how did we obtain this ad-
vantage for her ? The parallel of 45° north was
established by the treaty of 1783 as our boundary
with Canada in that part of the line. But, as I have
stated, that line was found to run south of Rouse's
Point. And how did we get back this precious pos-
session? By running a semicircle like that of the
King of the Netherlands ? No ; we went back to
the old line, which had always been supposed to be
the true line, and the establishment of which gave
us not only Rouse's Point, but a strip of land con-
taining some thirty or forty thousand acres between
the parallel of 45° and the old line.

" The same arrangement gave us a similar advan-
tage in Vermont ; and I have never heard that the
constituents of my friend near me made any com-
plaint of the treaty. That State got about sixty
or seventy thousand acres, including several villages,
which would otherwise have been left on the British
side of the line. We received Rouse's Point, and
this additional land, as one of the equivalents for
the cession of territory made in Maine. And what
did we do for New Hampshire ? There was an
ancient dispute as to which was the northwestern-
most head of the Connecticut River. Several streams
were found, either of which might be insisted on as
the true boundary. But we claimed that which is
called Hall's Stream. This had not formerly been
allowed ; the Dutch award did not give to New
Hampshire v^hat she claimed ; and Mr. Van Ness,
our Commissioner, appointed under the Treaty of
Ghent, after examining the ground, came to the con-
clusion that we were not entitled to Hall's Stream.
I thought that we were so entitled, although I admit
that Hall's Stream does not join the Connecticut
River till after it has passed the parallel of 45°. By

NEW HAMPSHIRE — VERMONT.

273

■I 'I

fences, I ask,
ows, the pos-
lesire ? No,
tain this ad-
\° north was
)ur boundary
^ut, as I have
ch of Rouse's
precious pos-
ie that of the
ivent back to
apposed to be
f which gave
of land con-
acres between

similar advan-
leard that the
ade any corn-
et about sixty
2veral villages,
on the British
b's Point, and
quivalents for
e. And what
here was an
north wester n-
everal streams
insisted on as
that which is
formerly been
give to New
Ir. Van Ness,
he Treaty of
e to the con-
all's Stream,
ough I admit
Connecticut
ilof45°. By

the Treaty of Washington this demand was agreed
to, and it gave New Hampshire 100,000 acres of land.
I do not say that we obtained this wrongfully ; but
I do say that we got that which Mr. Van Ness had
doubted our right to. I thought the claim just, how-
ever, and the line was established accordingly. And
here let me say, once for all, that, if we had gone
for arbitration, we should inevitably have lost what
the treaty gave to Vermont and New York ; because
all that was clear matter of cession, and not adjust-
ment of doubtful boundary."

Unfortunately Mr. Webster but too well described
our share of the advantages obtained by this " treaty
of equivalents." The consequences to us in a war
might be more disastrous than those he indicated.

«»#«•<« ■,)i*/t-«W,Js&^gij^>JJ

(III

274

CANADA.

, {

h->

CHAPTER XVII.

The Acadian Coi. federation. — Union is Strength. — The Provinces. —
New Hriinswick. — Tlie Temperature. — Trade of St. John. — Climate
and Agriculture of Nova Scotia. — I'rince Kdward Island. — Newfound-
land. — The Kod Hiver District. — Assiniboia. — The Red Kiver Valley.
Minnesota and the West. — The Hudson's Bay Company — Their Ter-
ritory. — The Northwest Regions. — Climate of Winnipeg Basin — Its
Area. — Finances of the Confederation. — Imports, Exports, and Ton-
nage. — Proposed Federal Constitution. — Lessons from the American
Struggle.

We have now seen the dangers which threaten
Canada, we have to some extent examined the means
of resisting them, and have followed the process by
which a severe injury was inflicted on her powers of
defence. Mr. Webster was a grand specimen of un-
scrupulous intelligence — he was a colossal "Yan-
kee." It will be observed that he regarded the acqui-
sitions so dexterously made — qv^cunque modo rem
— as valuable on account of their military capabili-
ties — that he took the highest point accessible to
the American mind when he showed that his work
could be made available for the annoyance and
injury of Great Britain. In so far he betrayed — if
indeed there is any deception in the matter — the
animating principle of American political life. Let
any public man prove that he has hurt the English
power or affronted it — that he has damnified its
commerce and lowered its prestige, and the popular
sentiment will applaud him, no matter the agency
by which his purpose was effected. Recent events
have greatly inflamed the spirit which always burned
against us. The very events which have broken up
the Union may resolve its fragments into a new
combination more formidable and more aggressive.

The course open to Canada, which may feel once
more the force of that permanent principle in the

UNION IS STRENGTH.

275

/. > lerican mind, is plain. Great Britain may be
too far off. She may be too much engaged to hv,
able to aid Canada elficicntly and fully. But on the
borders of Canada there are provinces with great re-
sources and a great future, which have hitherto been
prevented by various considerations from welding
themselves into a Confederation. The time has
come now in the white heat of American strife for
the adoption of the process. The Confederation of
States with divers interests under a weak executive
has fallen to pieces. All the more reason for a Con-
federation of States with common interests and with
one governing principle. If we accept the common
governing principle of all the Colonies and Provinces
to be their attachment to Monarchical institutions,
any pressure from the influences of Republican in-
stitutions can but consolidate their union.

Under the circumstances in which the various dis-
tinct dependencies of the British Crown in the Con-
tinent of North America find themselves placed, it
is not surprising that the idea of a Confederation for
the purposes of common defence and military corrob-
oration should have arisen. It is surprising that it
should have floated about so long, and have stirred
men to action so feebly. I think it is the first notion
that occurs to a stranger visiting Canada and cast-
ing about for a something to put in place of the
strength which distant England cannot, and Cana-
dians will not, afford. At least, there is no sign as
yet that the Canadians will quite arouse from a sleep
which no fears disturb, although they hear the noise
of robbers. They will not prepare for war, because
they wish for peace, and it is plain enough that if
war should come instead of peace, England vvould
be too late to save them, because she would be too
far. Now, let it not be supposed that any confedera-
tion of the Canadas and British North American
provinces would yield such an increase of force as
would enable the collective or several members of it

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ami

276

CANADA.

to resist the force of the Republic of the Northern
American United Statics — at least, not just now.
But in the very conflict in which the Northern and
Southern Confederations are engaged we see the
vast energy and resources of a union of States in
war time as compared with the action of States not
so joined : — France, Great Britain, Turkey, and
Sardinia were associated in the war with Russia, but
their power would have been much greater had they
acted under a common head. There is in every as-
sociation of the States the danger of ultimate con-
vulsions, and of death itself, whenever the constitu-
tion and ideas of one State difl'er from those of
another ; for the diflference of constitution and ideas
is sure to produce soon a conflict of interests and
opinions which the bond of federation cannot com-
press. In the two Canadas there are certain oppos-
ing principles at work which have interfered with
harmonious action at times. These might receive
greater vitality and power on each side if the cohe-
sion of the British dependencies were not complete.
The religious questions which now are mixed with
questions of race would perhaps acquire development
and become more active and more mischievous. But
the actual positive visible dangers of non- Confedera-
tion are more weighty than those which may come
by and by from the adoption of a common central
government subject to the Crown. Setting out with
the principles of submission to the Throne — with
the recognition of the sovereignty of the monarch of
Great Britain and Ireland — with the full acknowl-
edgment of the rights and prerogatives pertaining to
the Crown — with the charters of their several and
collective liberties in their possession, the only great
schism to be apprehended is one which might arise
from the exercise of Parliamentary control over the
action of the Confederation, because colonists will
never admit that the Parliament can stand in the
place of the Crown. Let us take a glance at the

NEW BHUNSWICK.

277

vast area, and consider the importance of the vari-
ous colonies which own now no bond of connection,
except a common obedience to the Queen, in order
that we may appreciate their strength as a Confed-
eration.

The Province of New Brunswick contains just
28,000 square miles; it lies between 4-5° and 48'' kit.
(north), and 63° 45' and 67° 50' lonjc,'. (west), washed
on the east by the waters of the Gulf of St. Law-
rence, and on the south by those of the Bay of
Fundy. It has a very extensive seaboard, not less
than two thirds being maritime ; whilst on the west
it is bounded by the frontier of the State of Maine,
and on the north by Lower Canada. The popula-
tion in 1851 was 193,000, and it probably is not less
now than 225,000 souls. The boastfulness of the
Americans, and more especially of New Englanders,
in all that relates to their country, causes us to over-
look the progress of our own colonies, and we shall
be surprised to find the increase of people in New
Brunswick has been greater than that of Vermont,
Maine, or New Hampshire, by an average of 10 per
cent, within the decade up to 1851. The Govern-
ment is vice-monarchical and parliamentary ; the
Lieutenant-Governor of the Province being Com-
mander-in-Chief, Admiral, and Chancellor. His
ministers are the Executive Council, consisting of
nine members, whose tenure of office depends on the
will of the people, inasmuch as they must retire on
a vote of want of confidence. The Parliament con-
sists of the Legislative Council, which is somewhat
analagous to the House of Peers. It is composed
of 21 members, who are appointed by the Crown
durante placito^ but who usually hold office for life.
Although the Peers of Parliament are in one sense
nominated by the Crown, they are legislators durante
vitdj and cannot be removed from their functions by
the Crown, and in other respects there are defects in

T -sinqy^jy^yr'wrT'tfO. tv^JCJCr.. '."y

278

CANADA.

an analogy between them and the House of Lords.
The House of Assembly, consisting of 41 members,
is elected every four years by the peop''' of the four-
teen counties, and of the city of t)t. John. The
House levies taxes and duties, airi regulates the ex-
penditure and internal atfairs of the Province ; but
the Legislative Council may reject all its measures
except those relating to money matters, and the as-
sent of the Governor-General is needed to all meas-
ures whatever. But it does not follow that the con-
sent of Council, Assembly, and Lieutenant-Governor
will do more than stamp the measure with the pop-
ular and official imprimatur in the eyes of the Home
Government, because Her Majesty in Council may
reject any law whatever. It is rather in theory than
in practice, however, that such an exercise of pre-
rogative exists ; but in case of any marked difference
of opinion between the Home Government and the
Colonial Legislature, it is obvious that such a power,
however consonant with monarchical right and tra-
dition, might cause serious antagonism and create
wide breaches. The risk of such disturbing influ-
ences would, of course, be diminished by the action
of a general government.

It is little more than 100 years since a number of
English settlers and colonists, then loyal, coming
from Massachusetts, sailed from Newbury port to
the coast of New Brunswick, which had been ceded
by France to the British in 1713. Constantly men-
aced by the French Canadians, the few English who
represented the Crown could scarcely be considered
to hold the most attenuated possession of the Prov-
ince, until the French were obliged finally to cede
all claims to the possession of an acknowledged
nationality in British North America. The English
maintained that the whole tract of country now
known as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick be-
longed to the Crown by virtue of the discoveries of
Sebastian Cabot; but the French were the first to

NEW BRUNSWICK.

279

of Lords.

members,
f the four-
3hn. The
tes the ex-
/ince ; but
r* measures
md the as-

all rnt'as-
at the con-
t-Governor
th the pop-

the Home
onncil may
theory than
else of pre-
d difference
lent and the
Lch a power,
^ht and tra-

1 and create
)ing influ-

y the action

number of
yal, coming
bury port to
been ceded
jtantly men-
ngUsh who
considered
)f the Prov-
dly to cede
iknowledged
'he English
mntry now
inswick be-
Iscoveries of
the first to

found permanent settlements, and certainly gave good
reason why Acadia, as they termed the district, de-
spite its frosts and snows and long lugubrious win-
ters, should belong to the /triir-de-lis. As soon as
Wolfe's victory had established the power of Eng-
land, the enterprising spirit of the New Englanders
led them to undertake settlements in these neglected
regions. They carried with tllem what they had
derived from the old country, — a love of law, not
of litigation ; the forms of justice in the courts which
administered its substance, — a magistracy, a police,
a moral life and social liberty ; these were possessed
by the settlers at a time when the vast majority of the
people of Ireland was deprived of any semblance of
such rights; and when Scotland, unsuccessful in her
last effort for legitimacy and the Divine right of
kings, Was just recovering from the swoon into which
she had fallen as the last volleys rolled away from
Culloden.

The New Englanders who settled Mangerville and
civilized Sunbury were loyal to the Crown in the
revolt of the colonies ; they formed a nucleus round
which gathered many of the New England Tories
and their families, so that in 1783 it was considered
expedient by the Government to locate those who
were called loyalists, and who shook the dust off their
feet at the door of the New Republic, along the
cleared settlements adjoining the Bay of Fundy and
the water of St. John. It is strange that the first
newspaper should have been printed by these outcasts
at a time when there were scarcely half a dozen jour-
nals known in the mother-country ; but the peculiar
circumstances under which these immigrants were
placed no doubt developed the energies of a press
which was not shackled by any political censorship.
The wealth of the people lay around them ; their
mines were in the forest, and the axe provided them
with currency. To Sir Guy Carlton, the first Gov-
ernor, when New Brunswick received ^ distinct char-

.-;.(

■5*5*

2S0

CANADA.

t(M' and a mow constilnfion, and was soparatod from
Nova Srotia, in 17S8, must bo i'onc(»(lo(l llio ortulit
of liaviii<r iimsiul for 1 woiity yoars, willi siiuj^ular care
and succoss, llio infaiioy of llio colony; — a ucccs-
sion of Presidents or (i.»v(M'nors and (\)uncillors,
whoso names are r(»|>rodueed in tlio lust(>ry of tin;
American co'onies, — such men as HovcHoy llohiu-
son, Pulman, \Vinsh)w, and liudiow, — succeed<Hl in
the charj^'c, and piuhiaily developed the resources of
the risinjj; coimnuuity.

Fire has wrouL(ht mor<' than owe great wrong to
ihis land of frosi and snow. Yet, ii would not. be
just to deserilx' New lirunswick as a Siberia. From
rhristmas to March the country is tolerably well pro-
vided with a coi?>ing of snow. Frt)m April to May
})loughing and seed- lime last, and bofort^ October
ihe harvests are generally gathered in. A glorious
autumn yields to the rainfalls of November, and
these in their turn harden to sh^ei and snow iri De-
cember; but, after all, nearly sev(Mi months give
ppace for sowing, ploughing, reaping, and saving.
The New Brur.awickers, indeed, believe that the very
severity of the frost in winter tends to rondt»r the
cultivation of the land more easy than it is in Brit-
ain; and certainly rainfalls, and all tin* variableness
of climate, do more injury in iMigland than they do
in New Ikunswick. Vho. greatest rang*., of tem-
j)erature are in the (lulf of St. liawrence, where they
reach from XiO'^ below zero to 90' above it ; the higlu^st
lemperaturo at St. John may ho. roc^koned at 8G'\the
lowest at 14°. There are about 180 clear days and
120 cloudy days in the year, and the snow-storms
rarely last more than two days at a time. Now here
is a region to which one would think ihe bedrenchod
Highlander, the betaxed Englislnnaii, and much-
vexed Irishman would resort in myriads. And there
is land for many. At least 6,000,000 acres of land
suited for crops and wood-settlementa are still to be
disposed of. l^or half-a-crown a man may buy an

NKW imUNSWRK.

281

aero of land, but of iluit sum only 7ld. is demandod
on salo, and the nMnuiiulcr may bo paid in instid-

nuMits ("xliMidintr ovor tin

rv'.wa. Tlio sairs of tl

country lands aro niont' y. If thc^ srtth»r lii\«»s to
pay on tho spot ho oan havo his land for "^s. an aoro.
Think of that, con-aoro uumi of Tipporary and Loi-
trinil Think of that, farniors of tho Lothians, or
tenants of tho Uitjjhhind straths! Shall I ask tho
nuMi of Dorsetshire and Kast (Jloueovster to tliink of
it too? Nor wood they tear to ehanp^e their mode
of lif(», exeopt it be for the better, after the first
rud(» work of labor is done ; nor ikmuI thov ft'ar to

HuH'er from elimate or diseas(\ Typhus will eoase to
kill — fever and dysentery to deeimate. And if tlu^
settler has kinsmen and frii^nds willing to join with
him, he oan ehiim for himself and osieii of them 100
acres of land, and pay for it by tho work of road-mak-
ing in the la^w country, so tliat in four years, if tho
work set by the C-onunissionors be executed, each
man who has been one ytnir resident and has brought
ten acres into cultivation, becomes, ipso Jarto^ owner
of the whole lot of 100 acres. Now this is in a
country which has been described by no incompetent
witness, not as the peer of any rogioji on earth in the
beauty of wood anil water, but as tla^ superior of
the best. The St. John Hows in all its grandeiir
through the midst of the provinc(», and the Resti-
gouchd gives a charm of scenery to the forest not
to be surpassed. Lakes and sti\'ams open up deli,
valley, and mountain - pass. l^iVery creek in the
uuich-indentcd coast swarms with fish. 'V\w, l^ay
of Fundy aboimds with coiltish and pollock, hak(»,
haddock, shad, herring, halibut, mackerel, eels, skatv',
and many other kinds of lish. The mouths of tla^
rivers swarm with salmon, trout, striped bass, gas-
pereaux, shad, and white trout. The (Julf of St.
Lawrence and the Hay of Chah^u-s yield n«»arly
every .description of valuable tish, as well as lobsters,
crabs, oysters, and other shell-lish. The IVovincc

.-'

' 'W

f, ■

»?

)

I frl:

282

CANADA.

receives nearly 100,000/. a year in exchange for the
fish packed in ice, or cured and exported to foreign
countries. Its wealth in timber is incalculable, be-
cause the value rises gradually with the demand for
the produce of its forests all over the world, and,
with prudent management, these forests may be
considered as inexhaustible. Coal of a bituminous
character has been worked for some years past in
several districts ; iron, manganese, lead, and copper,
also exist in considerable quantities, and the mineral
produce of the Province will no doubt add much to
its importance as the works receive greater develop-
ment.

Although the trade of shipbuilding does not show
a regular increase, the size of the vessels built at St.
John and Miramichi has been increasing. Upwards
of 100 ships were launched at these ports in 1860,
with a measurement of 41,000 tons, and were worth
upwards of 320,000/. Various branches of trade
have obtained respectable dimensions, and are grow-
ing steadily. Frederickton, the capital of the Province,
is situated on the St. John, eighty-two miles from the
sea, where the navigation for sea-going ships may be
regarded as at an end. The number of great lakes
which are available for internal commerce and trans-
port complete the facilities offered by the river system
and by the main roads, the latter of which have been
liberally promoted by the Province. The water-power
of the colony is boundless. Education is provided
by the Legislature, so that the poorest man can give
his children the advantage of a sound instruction
almost without cost. Religion is free, and the volun-
tary system mitigates the animosity of sects. Emi-
grants from the South of Irelind have found here all
the conditions of prosperity, and have turned them
to good account. Scotch and English thrive exceed-
ingly. Indeed, if it were not that the greater clamor
and bustle of the United States had succeeded in
overpowering the appeals of New Brunswick to the

NOVA SCOTIA.

283

favor of the emigrant, many thousands of our coun-
t'-ymen would have there found the ease and com-
fort which they have sought in vain under the rule
of the Republic. The very name, New Brunswick,
has no doubt repelled settlers. A New Brunswick
ship they know nothing of even if they see one, and
the name itself rarely reaches their ears.

Nova Scotia formerly comprised the Province of
New Brunswick, but is now reduced to the length of
256 miles, and the breadth of 100 miles. The island
of Cape Breton, which belongs to it, is 100 miles longj
and 72 broad. The area of Nova Scotia and Cape
Breton is over 18,000 square miles. The population
is estimated at 370,000, the Census of 1861 having
given 330,860 and the ratio of increase having been
on an average of four per cent, per annum ; but emi-
grants are rarely attracted to the colony. In 1861, of
the people, 294,000 were native Nova Scotians, 16,000
were of Scottish, 9000 of Irish, 3000 of English ori-
gin ; France, which founded the colony, had only 88
representatives on land. The English Church had
48,000 members, the Scotch Church numbered 88,000,
the Church of Rome 80,000 ; there were 56,000 Bap-
tists, 34,000 Wesleyans, and, wonderful to say, only 3
Deists. When it is considered that the coal-fields of
Nova Scotia are the finest in the world, that her min-
ing wealth is extraordinary, that her seas, lakes, and
rivers teem with fish, that her forests yield the finest
timber, that the soil gives an ample return to the
farmer, and the earth is full of mineral resources, it
is surprising that emigrants of limited means have
not been tempted to try their fortune, in spite of
the threatening skies and somewhat rigid winters.
Nearly fiive millions and a half acres of land are still
in the hands of the Crown, of which upwards of four
inillion acres arc open for settlement, and the aver-
age price is about Is. Sd. an acre. From a very
trustworthy work .prepared by Messrs. Hind, Keefer,

ilffW

284

CANADA.

Hodgins, Robb, Perley, and the Rev. Wm. Murray,
to which I am indebted for much valuable informa-
tion, it would appear that the climate of Nova Scotia
is by no means so severe as it is reported to be, both
in Great Britain and the United States. Though, at
some seasons, the weather is very severe, as com-
pared with England, Ireland, the South of Scotland,
and a great portion of the United States of America,
still it is more conducive to health than the milder
but more humid corresponding seasons in those
countries. The length and severity of Nova Scotia
winters are greatly compensated by the mildness and
beauty of autumn — which is protracted, not unfre-
quently, into the middle of December — as well as by
the months of steady sleighing which follow. The
extreme of cold is 24° Fahr. below zero ; the extreme
of heat, 95° above, in the shade. These extremes
have not been often attained to of late years. The
mean temperature of the year is 43°. There are
about 100 days in which the temperature is above
70° in summer. There are about twenty nights in
the year in which the temperature is below zero.
The coldest season is from the last week of Decem-
ber till the first week of March.

The following table exhibits the annual mean
temperature of several European cities, as compared
with Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Toronto, C. W. : —

Latitude.
44» 40^

Fahrenheit.

Halifax 43.8

43 39 Toronto 44.4

31 Berlin 47.5

23 Dublin 49.1

7 Frankfort 49.5

52
53

50
49

39 Cherbourg 52.1

MEAN SUMMER TEMPERATUUE.

Fahrenheit.

Halifax 62.0

Toronto 64.5

Greenwich 60.9

Berlin 63.2

Cherbourg 61.9

The annual quantity of rain which falls is about

CLIMATE OF NOVA SCOTIA.

285

I. Murray,
e iiiforma-
)va Scotia
o be, both
rhough, at
3, at* com-
[ Scotland,
f America,
the milder
\ in those
ova Scotia
ildness and

not unfre-
; well as by
How. The
the extreme
je extremes
^ears. The

There are
re is above
ty nights in

elow zero.

of Decem-

Inual mean

Is compared

C. W. : —

Ihrenheit.
1.43.8

.44.4
1.47.5

.49.1

1.49.5

.52.1

leit.
.62.0
.64.5
.60.9
63.2
.61.9

lis is about

forty-one inches. Of this quantity about six and a
half inches fall in the form of snow. The annual
depth of snow is eight and a half feet. Much of
this quantity of snow is not allowed to rest long in
its solid form. There are about 114 days of rain on
the average in each year; much of this occurs in
winter. The average number of days of snow in
each year is about sixty. Violent tempests are not
of frequent occurrence in Nova Scotia. The pre-
vailing winds are the southwest, w^est, and north-
west. In summer the north, northwest, and west
winds are cool and dry. In winter they are cold and
piercing. The south and southwest are mild —
agreeable — delightful. The northeast brings the
greatest snow - storms ; the east and southeast the
most disagreeable rain-storms. Spring cotnmences
in Nova Scotia with the beginning of April. Seed-
time and planting continue till the middle of June.
Summer begins with the latter pc'-rt of June, and
embraces July and August. Veg'itation is very
rapid in the middle and western parts of the prov-
ince, where the hay crop, and usually nearly all
the grain crops, are harvested by the last week of
August or first week of September. Autumn is the
finest season in Nova Scotia. It is mild, serene, and
cool enough to be bracing, and the atmosphere is of
a purity that renders it peculiarly exhilarating and
health-giving. The " Indian summer" occurs some-
times as late as the middle of November, and lasts
from three to ten days. The winter in Nova Scotia
may be said to comprise about four months. It
begins, some seasons, with the 1st of December, and
runs into the month of April. In other seasons it
begins in the middle of December and ends with the
last of March. The mean temperature of spring is
49 ; of summer, 62° ; of autumn, 35° ; of winter,
22°. Similarity in agricultural productions furnishes
a very, fair criterion for the comparison of the cli-
mates of different countries. Wheat, rye, oats, bar-

lev« buckwheat, Indian corn, potatoes, turnips, man-
ia*

.1.' ■

\i%

m
m

286

CANADA.

f ^ i ;

gel-wurzel, tomatoes, and other roots and grains grow
in abundance and perfection in Nova Scotia. Ap-
ples, pears, plums, cherries, and a multitude of smaller
garden-fruits attain the utmost perfection. In some
sections of the country peaches and grapes ripen in
the open air. The climate of Nova Scotia is highly
favorable both to health and length of days. Men
and women frequently attain to the age of eighty
years with the full possession of their mental facul-
ties, and in excellent bodily health. It is not un-
usual to find men enjoying good health at ninety;
and not a few reach one hundred years, while some
pass that extreme boundary. Let the proportion of
deaths to population in Nova Scotia be compared
with that in Great Britain and the State of Rhode
Island : —

Nova Scotia, 1 in 70.71, or less than 1^ per cent.
Rhode Island, 1 in 46.11, or more than 2
Great Britain, 1 in 44.75, or more than 2

The climate of Nova Scotia is not noted for the
generation of any disease peculiar to itself. Diphthe-
ria has, of late years, been its most terrible scourge.

Prince Edward Island — called so after the Father
of Queen Victoria — is another member of the great
group of British colonies and dependencies. This
island, which is about 130 miles long and 30 miles
broad, has less than 100,000 inhabitants. It con-
tained less than 5000 souls in 1770, when it was
separated from the government of Nova Scotia, and
was erected into an independent province under un-
favorable circumstances, arising out of the unfor-
tunate conditions which were made when the land
was allotted to the original proprietors. The early
history of the colony afforded a remarkable exempli-
fication of wrong-doing with good intentions, and
the errors of the first English rulers who regulated
the settlement of the province were not atoned for
till many years of patient effort on the part of the
people had been devoted to a removal of abuses.

NEWFOUNDLAND.

287

The island is under a Governor named by the
Crown, whose Cabinet consists of an Executive
Council of nine, selected from the Legislative Coun-
cil and from the House of Assembly, the former con-
sisting of twelve, the latter of thirty members, elected
by the people.

Newfoundland is 420 miles long, and has an ex-
treme breadth of 300 miles. The population is now
about 130,000. Notwithstanding its name, there is
reason to believe that it was known to Icelanders
and Norwegians, to Vikings and Danes, four cen-
turies before Cabot came upon his Bonavista. The
early history of our connection with this great island
is not creditable to those who had influence with the
home authorities. In 1832, following the principle
of universal suffrage, which was considered appli-
cable to a colony, though it was rejected at home, a
Legislative system was erected on the basis of man-
hood franchise, the only qualification being that the
voter should have been a year in the same house.
The Governor, who is of course a representative and
nominee of the Crown, is assisted by an Executive
Council of five members, and the Parliament con-
sists of a Legislative Council of twelve and a House
of Assembly of thirty members.

There exists on the west of Canada a vast region
which may, perhaps, become great and flourishing in
less time than the districts which, inhabited by red
men and wild beasts in 1776, now form some of the
most important of the North and South American
States.

It is one of the very greatest of the evils connected
with our parliamentary system, that small or local
interests at home are likely to receive attention in
preference to the largest general interests of depen-
dencies. The Colonial Otfice is a sort of buffer
between Parliament and the shocks of colonial ag-

288

CANADA.

SI ■

■P I

1. '■

7!:

i. „;^.

|:-

i,- , ■

.. »'■

r*' '

^: .*"

■ :i ■■■,

V^'

gressions and demands; and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer can at any time find easy .means of
squelching any tendency in the chancellor of a bar-
barian administration "to dip his finger" into the
Imperial purse. Now, when "the People of Rtid
River settlement" address a memorial to the British
and Canadian Governments with the view of obtain-
ing a road to open up the wonderfully fine country
they inhabit to British subjects and to commerce,
without dependency on the United States, it may so
happen that at the period in question the smallest
claim of a metropolitan borough shall be considered
of far greater preponderance ; nor will the Govern-
ment or the Colonial Office at any time be much
disposed to irritate a friendly member who is inimical
to colonies, or to provoke the animosity of econo-
mists, for an object which is as intangible and incom-
prehensible to the mass of Parliament as a project
to run a railway to Eutopia, or to connect Timbuctoo
with China. Mr. Sandford Fleming, who has been
selected as the agent of these very settlers, has set
forth their case with much ability ; but he will scarce
become the Lesseps of this overland Suez, unless
some members of the House, who really look beyond
the interests of the day, and take heed for the future
of the Empire, can be induced to listen to his facts
and arguments. In 1863 a statement was submitted
by that gentleman to Lord Monck in elucidation of
the memorial of the settlers, which contains most
interesting facts and some valuable arguments.
Among the works of good governments the making
of roads and securing of easy means of intercom-
munication among the people subject to them must
ever be of paramount importance. 'J'he people of
Red River ask for the opening of the Lake Superior
route to British Columbia, and to have a telegraphic
line established, to both of which objects they will
contribute to the best of their ability. The point of
British territory nearest to the Red River settlement

THE RED RIVER DISTRICT.

289

lommerce,

by water is on the northern shore of Lake Superior,
400 miles distant ; and tho intervening distance can
only be traversed by a combined system of " portages"
and canoe-voyages, so difficult and tedious as in effect
to bar the access of commercial enterprise, and to
chill any spirit but that of adventurous geography,
amateur travel, or the search after gold and game —
thus, in fact, constituting obstacles which are well
described as " practically exiling the settlers for the
last two generations ' The route proposed for the
links which are to connect the exiles with the world
would be a part of the great project to connect
the shores of the Atlantic and Pacific within the
British possessions ; and it is maintained that the
favorable character of the Red River district for
such a road removes the objections which might be
formed on the ground of distance and difficulty.
The Hudson's Bay Company used the Pigeon River
route, which runs along by the boundary of the
United States, and is therefore not desirable in case
of hostilities, and the Kaministiguia route, called so
from the river of that name. Mr. Fleming, taking up
the suggestions of Mr. Dawson in his report to the
Canadian Government, recommends the creation of
a territorial road from some point in connection with
the railway system, such as Ottawa, to Nipigon
Bay on Lake Superior, which would be ample as a
trading-port, whence a stage and steamboat com-
munication could be established by making 197
miles of roads and two dams — one at the outlet
of Dog Lake, and the other at Little Falls ; or, by
making 232 miles of road, and a couple ol locks
at Fort Francis, and a dam, the route might be re-
duced to 273 miles of water, if the road were
pushed on to Savanne River. It must be remem-
bered that the Americans have already established a
route by Chicago ; but an examination of the dis-
tances' from Toronto shows that the Lake Superior
route would save no less than 715 miles of rail, 35

!"■•

290

CANADA.

iu:

.ic

water,
owcver.

and 58 of road. The American route,
possesses the ac itage of having already
820 miles of rail, of whic «514 carry the traveller
to Chicago from Toronto, and 30(5 convey him from
Chicago to Prairie La Crosse ; whereas there; is only
a length of 95 miles open in Canada, from Toronto
westwards to Collingwood. There is also an Ameri-
can route by Detroit, Milwaukie, and La Crosse to
Fort Garry, 1096 miles long, but that is still 646
miles longer than the communication which could
be made by means of 232 miles of road, the con-
struction of a dam and the locks in question. Labor
might be tempted by otfering, as is suggested,
blocks of 100 acres to settlers on condition of their
giving ten days' work in each year for ten years
on the road, and thus preparing it for a railway
track; but the settlers must be more patient and
easily satisfied than their language now indicates,
if they are content with the prospect of such a
tedious fulfilment of their wishes. They are will-
ing to open a road 100 miles long to the Lake
of Woods if England or Canada will guarantee the
rest of the road to Lake Superior; and they believe
such a road would rapidly fill Central British Amer-
ica with an industrious loyal people, and counteract
the influence of the North American Republics.
Whether the grand confederation which they foresee
of flourishing provinces from Vancouver's Island to
Nova Scotia, commanding the Atlantic and the
Pacific, and keeping in line the boundaries of the
Republicans, be ever realized in our day, it is plain
that the people will neither be British nor ^oyal if
they are neglected. The Americans have long been
turning their eyes in the direction of these regions.
Mr. Sibley, the last Governor of Minnesota, ordered
Mr. James W. Taylor to obtain reliable information
relative to the physical aspects and other facts con-
nected with the British possessions on the line of the
overland route from Pembina, vid the Red River set-

ASSINIDOIA.

291

tlemcnt and tiie Siiskatchew ;»n Valloy, to Frazer'8
River. That gentlcmairs report was presented by
(xovernor Ramsay to tlu? Legislature of the State
ill 18H0, with a recoininemlation to their attention
as " rehiting to matters wliieh eoneern in a great
degree the future growth and d(Jvelopnient of our
State." Mr. Taylor was received by Mr. McTavish
at the Selkirk s(;ttlement with every respect and con-
sideration, lie found the British colony of Assini-
boia prosperous and flourishing. Respecting that
colony he says : —

" Of the present comnnunity of ten thousand souls,
about five thousand are competent, at this moment,
to assume any civil or social responsibility which
may be imposed upon them. The accumulations
from the fur trade during fifty years, with few excite-
ments or opportunities of expenditure, have secured
general prosperity, with frequent instances of afliu-
ence ; while the numerous churches and schools sus-
tain a high standard of morality and intelligence.

" The people of Selkirk fully appreciate the advan-
tages of communication with the Mississippi River
and Lake Superior through the State of Minnesota.
They are anxious for the utmost facilities of trade
and intercourse. The navigation of the Red River
by a steamboat during the summer of 1859 was uni-
versally recognized as marking a new era in their
annals. This public sentiment was pithily expressed
by the remark, — ' In 1851 the Governor of Minnesota
visited us ; in 1859 comes a steamboat ; and ten
years more will bring the railroad ! ' "

The persons who expressed that sentiment differed
entirely from the memorialists already mentioned ;
but it must be that the Selkirk people, if neglected,
will incline towards the hand which is stretched out
to them across the waste, no matter whence it comes.
" Most amicable relations " do no doubt " exist be-
tween the trading-post at Port Garry and Kitson's
Station at St. Boniface ; " but long as they may en-
dure — and I trust they may be perpetual — they

292

CANADA.

It ;■■;:

will not amount to a preference for Republican in-
stitutions, if the mother-country seelts to secure the
settlers by the most tender or subtle link of interest
or regard. What change may be made in respect to
the jurisdiction and powers of the Hudson's Bay
Company by the home authorities must depend for
the time on circumstances ; but the actual settlers
seem to hope that the rumors which attributed to
Lord Derby's Government the intention of organiz-
ing a colony, bounded by Lakes Superior and Win-
nipeg on the east, by the Rocky Mountains on the
west, by the American frontier on the south, and by
lat. 55° on the north, may yet be justified. The
Canadian Government, Palliser's expedition, Noble's
explorations, Mr. J. W. Hamilton's surveys, and a
considerable number of public and private investiga-
tions conducted in the interests of politics, commerce,
religion, and geographical science, have all contrib-
uted their share to our knowledge of this vast terri-
tory ; and the more we know of it the more eligible
it seems as a field for individual enterprise, and
an area for the exercise of legitimate Imperial ambi-
tion.

From Lake Winnipeg to the highest navigable
point of Red River, which flows into the lake with a
course from north to south, there is a distance of 575
miles, only interrupted by some very insignificant
shoals at the mouth of Goose River and the Shay-
enne. Red Lake River and the Assiniboina extend
the area of "coast" navigable by steamers in the
Red River Valley to 900 miles — much more than is
enjoyed internally by the United Kingdom and
France together. Throughout the districts thus per-
meated by navigable rivers, rye, oats, barley, potatoes,
grass, and wheat, grow as well as they do, in Min-
nesota; and to these wild regions must be added the
country along the great north Saskatchewan, and
even the region which lies between it and the Rocky
Mountains in a northerly direction. When Mr. Tay-
lor wrote his Report, there was no reason to believe

THE RED RIVER VALLEY.

29;]

J, commerce,

that "an adjiisttnont of the future relations of the
British Provinces and of the American States on a
basis of mutual good-will and interest" might not bo
practicable; but Fort Sumter changed all that, wo
fear, and there seems little chance of such an inter-
national compact as he anticipates for a customs
and postal union. In reference to such an adjust-
ment he says : —

" It siM)uld, at all events, stipulate that the Reci-
procity Treaty, enlarged in its provisions and renewed
for a long period of years, shall be extended to the
Pacific Ocean, and, in conne^'tion therewith, all laws
discriminating between American and foreign built
vessels should be abolished, establishing freedom of
navigation on all the intermediate rivers and lakes
of the respective territories. Such a policy of free
trade and navigation with British America would
give to the United States, and especially to the west-
ern States, all the commercial advantages, without
the political embarrassments, of annexation, and
virould, in the sure progress of events, relieve our ex-
tended northern frontier from the horrors and injuries
of war between fraternal communities."

It is little to be doubted that the people of Minne-
sota are very well disposed to remain on friendly
terms with their neighbors ; but the Federal Govern-
ment at Washington, no matter for what party or
section it acts, must, by the very necessity of its
being and conditions of power, conduct the policy
of the United States in a very different spirit. It is
true our friends have, even so early, given some in-
dications that they are prepared for eventualities.

Whilst they have not been indilferent to the erec-
tion of a military post at Pembina, some of their
politicians, with a ludicrous pretence of fear from
the colonists, in case of war, have called for the cre-
ation o.f frontier forts ; and the Indians in the north-
west of Minnesota, who had a reservation, are to be
treated with the usual measure of justice used by
the white skin in dealing with the red skin, and to

294

CANADA.

11 I

be exterminated or driven into space as soon as con-
venient or practicable. Mr. Taylor, in reference to
the existence of coal near the sources of the Saskat-
chewan, which is undoubted', admits the uncertainty
of carboniferous strata in the ridges between the
Minnesota and the Red River north of the Missis-
sippi and Saskatchewan, though there are geological
reasons to hold that they will be found there. In
justice to the spirit in which this Report is conceived,
I quote the concluding passages : —

" The allusion j .it made to the exploring expedi-
tion conducted under the authority of Canada, justi-
fies a tribute to the zeal and intelligence with which
the enterprise of an emigration and transportation
route, from Fort William on the north shore of Lake
Superior, to Fort Garry, is prosecuted. With the
civil organization of Central British America, a
wagon-road between those points, to be followed by
a railroad, will receive all requisite encouragement,
certainly from the Canadian Treasury, perhaps by
the efficient cooperation of the Honie Government.
The Northwest Transit Company, acting under a
Canadian charter, but understood to have enlisted
London capitalists, is expected to resume operations
during the summer of 1860. These movements of
our provincial neighbors cannot fail to influence the
policy of Minnesota in favor of more satisfactory
communications than we now possess between Lake
Superior and the channels of the Upper Mississippi
and the Red River of the north.

" I desire, in conclusion, to express my obligations
to the late Executive of Minnesota, for the confidence
implied by the commission to which the foregoing
is a response. Believing firmly that the prosperity
and development of this State is intimately associ-
ated with the destiny of Northwest British America,
I am gratified to record the rapid concurrence of
events which indicate that the frontier, hitherto, rest-
ing upon the sources of the St. Lawrence and the
Mississippi, is soon to be pushed far beyond the in-

THE RED RIVER DISTRICT.

295

ternational frontier by the march of Anglo - Saxon
civilization."

It is indeed " a country worth fighting for ; " and
whether the contest be carried on by the slow proc-
esses of immigration or by the ruder agencies of
neglect, the conqueror and the conquered will have
reason to regard the result with very decided senti-
ments of joy or sorrow at no distant time. In the
language of the report of the New York Chamber of
Commerce, — " There is in the heart of North Amer-
ica a distinct sub-division, of which Lake Winnipeg
may be regarded as the centre. This sub-division,
like the valley of the Mississippi, is distinguished for
the fertility of its soil, and for the extent and gentle
slope of its great plains, watered by rivers of great
length, and admirably adapted for steam navigation.
It has a climate not exceeding in severity that of
many portions of Canada and the eastern States.
It will, in all respects, compare favorably with some
of the most densely peopled portions of the continent
of Europe. In other words, it is admirably fitted to
become the seat of a numerous, hardy, and prosperous
community. It has an area equal to eight or ten
first-class American States. Its great riv j, the Sas-
katchewan, carries a navigable w^ater-line to the very
base of the Kocky Mountains. It is not at all im-
probable that the valley of this river may yet ofl'er
the best route for a railroad to the Pacific. The
navigable waters of this great sub-division interlock
with those of the Mississippi. The Red River of the
north, in connection with Lake Winnipeg, into which
it falls, forms a navigable water-line, extending di-
rectly north and south nearly eight hundred miles.
The Red River is one of the best adapted to the use
of steam in the world, and waters one of the finest
regions on the continent. Between the highest point
at which it is navigable, and St. Paul, on the Mis-
sissippi, a railroad is in process of construction ; and
when this road is ccmnleted; another grand division

296

CANADA.

of the continent, comprising half a million square
miles, will be open to settlement."

It would be unjust to the Hudson's Bay Company
to refuse them the praise due to the efforts of their
servants in exploring the vast region over which they
ruled, and to the constancy with which they have
resisted aggression ; but as the privileges ©f that
body have now become part of the stock-in-trade of
a great mercantile association, there can be no rea-
son for doubting that a change of policy, in conso-
nance with the tone of the governing sentiment of
the age, will take place, and that the interests of free
trade, and the more extensive interests connected
with Imperial and Colonial progress and with col-
onization itself, will be found not incompatible.
When the ichthyophilists of London betake them-
selves, in the leafy month of June, to Gravesend,
in search of the placid turtle or the strenuous shrimp,
they may be startled by the booming of guns from
the bosom of the river, and by certain loud cheers
from two strict-rigged craft anchored in the stream.
A gayly decked river-steamer, from the flag-staff of
which flutters a hieroglyph in blue and white, with
the motto, "Pro pelle cutem^^ is lying alongside the
larger of the two. On board the steamer are many
sorts and conditions of men — the friends of direc-
tors, outlying members of both Houses, old salts and
older commercial personages, and men wearing the
bright, crisp, clean look of prosperous clerkdom.
These circulate from the deck of the steamer to the
broader expanse of the vessel alongside, where a
stout weather-beaten crew are drawn up, listening to
the recital of articles. Dipping down the compan-
ion it is probable that the visitor will find in the cap-
tain's cabin an assemblage of gentlemen, eating bis-
cuit and drinking sherry to the health of the skipper,
whilst others are peering into compartments and
berths 'twixt bulkheads filled with odd merchandise,
from gas-pipe-barrelled guns to needles, anchors, blan-

THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.

297

m conso-

kets, crinoline, and artificial flowers. They are peo-
ple whom we might meet in any place in London
from west to east, wearing the indescribable air of
men " out for the day." On deck are some old-fash-
ioned brass-bound boxes, inscribed " Hudson's Bay
Company," guarded by very ancient and fish-like
attendants, in a red and blue livery. The steamer
leaves the bluff" double-cased sides of the vessel for
a visit to her consort, for the two ships nowadays
form the sum total of the fleet sailing annually to
the Hudson's Bay settlements, where once there was
a flotilla of smaller craft, dressed in all their bravery
of flags, and making old Gravesend reecho to their
salvos as they went forth on that which was then
a dubious and adventurous voyage. Then, after
much leave-taking, and drinking of anchor-cups, the
steamer starts, amid the cheers of the outward-bound
crew, for the Nore, to enjoy a little fresh air before
she comes back to the Falcon at Gravesend, where
the annual dinner is held, and where many good
speeches are made and friendly sentiments expressed
in support of the Hudson's Bay Company. The
sagacious face of old Edward EUice, seamed with
the fine graver of thought, and plastic still as in
youth, for many a long year fixed men's eyes with
kindly regard ; and the mitis sapientia of his counsels,
his unrivalled tact, albMt the exquisite touch lay in-
side a shagreen glove, and his great ability in the
conduct of affairs, gave the Company that which
Rupert's charters, Charles's parchments, or prescrip-
tive rights, never could have secured so long.

It was under Sir E. L. Bulwer's administration of
foreign affairs that the most strenuous attempt was
made by the Government to adjust the conflicting
claims of Canada and Great Britain with those of
the Hudson's Bay Company, by the decision of the
Judicial Committee of Privy Council ; but the Com-
pany, though always willing to enter into an arrange-
ment with the Government for the adjustment of

298

CANADA.

contending interests, uniformly and not unwisely re-
fused to accept any arbitration or judgment involv-
ing the question of the validity of their charters.
The refusal of Parliament to renew the exclusive
right of trading, in 1859, and the assumption of the
control of Vancouver's Island by the Crown on the
expiration of the lease in the same year, were heavy
blows at the vested interests of the Company, which
deprived its cessio bonorum to the English Credit
Mobilier, in 1863, of great political importance,
though enormous commercial results may still be ob-
tained from the extension of trading and from set-
tling and gold - exploring operations. When the
speedy colonization and rapid rise of British Colum-
bia caused some attention to be directed towards the
means of getting there, and of cultivating an ac-
quaintance promising such great advantages, and it
was found that from east to west two routes were
practicable, it was not surprising if jealousy and
alarm were aroused because the Americans, by
further representations, unhappily baseless, respect-
ing the energy of the initiative taken by Canada and
England, had first started to clear the way to the
west, and to open communications with the Red
River settlement, en route. Fort Garry, in the Sel-
kirk settlemen, was first visited by a steamer from
the American post of Fort Abercrombie, in 1859.
Minnesota was a State which had the advantage of
a continental existence on the soil of the Great Re-
public. " Organized as a territory in 1849, a single
decade had brought the population, the resources,
and the public recognition of an American State.
A railroad system, connecting the lines of the Lake
States and Provinces at La Crosse with the inter-
national frontier on the Red River at Pembina, was
not only projected, but had secured in aid of its con-
struction a grant by the Congress of the United
States of three thousand eight hundred and forty
acres a mile, and a loan of State credit to the

THE NORTHWESTERN REGIONS.

299

amount of twenty thousand dollars a mile, not ex-
ceeding an aggregate of five million dollars. Dif-
ferent sections of this important extension of the
Canadian and American railways were under con-
tract and in process of construction. In addition,
the land-surveys of the Federal Government had
reached the navigable channel of the Red River;
and the line of frontier settlement, attended by a
weekly mail, had ad\cinced to the same poi.^it. Thus
the Government of the United States, no less than
the people and authorities of Minnesota, were rep-
resented in the northwest movement."

No matter how prosperous a colony of Great
Britain may be, a colony it must be so long as it is
not independent. The first result of the prosperity of
an American colony is its independence as a State
and its incorporation as a member of the common
sovereignty. The distinction arises from geograph-
ical considerations, but it is not the less potent — I
shall not yet say, more to be regretted. The reten-
tion of Canada would be of little, value to us if
there were to the west of it a great and populous
community, absorbing its capital, labor, and enter-
prise for the benefit of aliens, and if to the south
there were a series of States animated by an intense
political dislike to the mother-country. But there is,
as they say in Ireland, " the makings " of four free
and independent States, on the American model of
Ohio, in that district between the valleys of the
North and South Saskatchewan. In 1858 an Amer-
ican writer again described the region which the
British Government, the Colonial Office, and the Im-
perialism of bureaus, inclined to cast away without
even a mess of pottage. That writer says : —

" Here is the great fact of the northwestern areas
of this continent. An area not inferior in size to
the whple United States east of the Mississippi,
which is perfectly adapted to the fullest occupation
by cultivated nations, yet is almost wholly unoccu-

300

CANADA.

pied, lies west of the 98th meridian, and above the
43d parallel, that is, north of the latitude of Milvvau-
kie, and west of the longitude of Red River, Fort
Kearney, and Corpus Christi ; or, to state the fact in
another way, east of the Rocky Mountains, and west
of the 98th meridian, and between the 43d and 60th
parallels, there is a productive, cultivable area of
500,000 square miles. West of the Rocky Moun-
tains and between the same parallels, there is an area
of 300,000 square miles.

" It is a great mistake to suppose that the ter^per-
ature of the Atlantic coast is carried straight across
the continent to the Pacific. Theisothermals deflect
greatly to the north, and the temperatures of the
Northern Pacific are paralleled in the high tempera-
tures in high latitudes of Western and Central Eu-
rope. The latitudes which inclose the plateaus of
the Missouri and Saskatchewan, in Europe inclose
the rich central plains of the Continent. The great
grain-growing districts of Russia lie between the 45th
and 60th parallel, that is, north of the latitude of St.
Paul, Minnesota, or Eeistport, Maine. Indeed, the
temperature in some instances is higher for the same
latitudes here than in Central Europe. The isother-
mal of 70 deg. for the summer, which on our plateau
ranges from along latitude 50 deg. to 52 deg., in
Europe skirts through Vienna and Odessa in about
parallel 46 deg. The isothermal of 55 deg. for the
year runs along the coast of British Columbia, and
does not go far from New York, London, and Se-
bastopol. Furthermore, dry areas are not found
above 47 deg., and there are no barren tracts of con-
sequence north of the Bad Lands and the Coteau
of the Missouri ; the land grows grain finely, and is
well wooded. AH the grains of the temperate dis-
tricts are here produced abundantly, and Indian corn
may be grown as high as the Saskatchewan.

" The buffalo winters as safely on the upper Atha-
basca as in the latitude of St. Paul, and the sprang

CLIMATE OF WINNIPEG BASIN.

301

opens at nearly the same time along the immense
line of plains from Si Paul to Mackenzie's River.
To these facts, for which there is the authority of
Blodgett's Treatise on the Climatology of the United
States, may be added this, that to the region border-
ing the Northern Pacific, the finest maritime posi-
tions belong throughout its entire extent, and no
part of the west of Europe exceeds it in the advan-
tages of equable climate, fertile soil, and commercial
accessibility of coast. We have the same excellent
authority for the statement that in every condition
forming the basis of national wealth, the continen-
tal mass lying westward and northward from Lake
Superior is far more valuable than the interior in
lower latitudes, of which Salt Lake and Upper New
Mexico are the prominent known districts. In short,
its commercial and industrial capacity is gigantic.
Its occupation was coeval with the Spanish occupa-
tion of New Mexico and California."

The climate of this district is at least as favorable
to the agriculturist as that of Kingston, Upper Can-
ada, and is quite salubrious. Special science thus
describes it : —

Professor Hind, who spent two summers in the
country in charge of an expedition sent out by the
Canadian Government, writes : " The basin of Lake
Winnipeg extends over twenty -eight degrees of
longitude, and ten degrees of latitude. The elevation
of its eastern boundary, at the Prairie Portage, 104
miles west of Lake Superior, is 1480 feet above the
sea, and the height of land at the Vermillion Pass is
less than 5000 feet above the same level. The mean
length of this great inland basin is about 920 Eng-
lish miles, and its mean breadth 380 miles ; hence its
area is approximately 360,000 square miles, or a lit-
tle more than that of Canada.

" Lake Winnipeg, at an altitude of 628 feet above
the sea, occupies the lowest depression of this great
inland basin, covering with its associated lakes, Mani-

M't

302

CANADA.

tobah, Winnipegosis, Dauphin, and St. Martin, an
area slightly exceeding 13,000 square miles, or nearly
half as much of the earth's surface as is occupied by
Ireland.

" The outlet of Lake Winnipeg is through the
contracted and rocky channel of Nelson River, which
flows into Hudson's Bay.

" The country, possessing a mean elevation of 100
feet above Lake Winnipeg, is very closely repre-
sented by the outline of Pembina Mountain, forming
part of the eastern limit of the cretaceous series in
the northwest of America.

" The area occupied by this low country, which
includes a large part of the valley of Red River, the
Assiniboine, and the main Saskatchewan, may be
estimated at 70,000 square miles, of which nine
tenths are lakes, marsh, or surface rock of Silurian
or Devonian age, and generally so thinly covered
with soil as to be unfit for cultivation, except in
small isolated areas.

••' Succeeding this low region there are the narrow
terraces of the Pembina Mountain, v/hich rise in
abrupt steps, except in the valleys of the Assiniboine,
Valley River, Swan River, and Red Deer's River, to
the level of a higher plateau, whose eastern limit is
formed by the precipitous escarpments of the Riding,
Duck, and Porcupine Mountains, with the detached
outliers. Turtle, Thunder, and Pasquia Mountains.
This is the great prairie plateau of Rupert's Land ;
it is bounded towards the southwest and west by
the Grand Coteau de Missouri, and the extension of
the table-land between the two branches of the Sas-
katchewan, which forms the eastern limit of the
plains of the northwest. The area of the prairie
plateau, in the basin of Lake Winnipeg, is about
120,000 square miles ; it possesses a mean elevation
of 1100 feci; above the sea.

" The plains rise gently as the Rocky Mountains
are approached, and at their western limit have an

AREA OF WINNIPEG BASIN.

303

altitude of 4000 feet above the sea-level. With only
a very narrow belt of intervening country, the moun-
tains rise abruptly from the plains, and present lofty
precipices that frown like battlements over the level
country to the eastward. The average altitude of
the highest part of the Rocky Mountains is 12,000
feet (about lat. 51 deg.). The forest extends to the
altitude of 7000 feet, or 2000 feet above the lowest
pass.

" The fertile belt of arable soil, partly in the form
of rich, open prairie, partly covered with groves of
aspen, which stretches from the Lake of the Woods
to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, averages 80 to
100 miles in breadth."

Dr. James Hector, and all the explorers, agree in
their descriptions of this region. It is difficult to
reach ; but is it so difficult to reach as the shores of
America itself were 300, or 200, or 100 years ago ?
We cannot conceive what a century has done in
America, or at home. How little, then, can we con-
jecture what the next fifty years will effect in these
distant lands! The map, which now is crowded
with the names of cities where red men roamed in
terra incognita so recently as the beginning of this
century, should reprove any incredulity. The na-
tions are like water. When a country is filled above
its capacity, its surplus overflows. As soon as all
the eligible districts of Canada are occupied, the
streams of settlers will pour westwards; tracks and
roads will be made ; and, if the land be good, it will
soon be filled with people. As to the great regions
which lie to the west, and open on the Pacific, it can
only be said that they are to us what California was
to the United States on the first discovery of gold ;
and that after fifty years they may be less than Cali-
fornia is now, if steps be not taken to bind them up
with British interests, and to oppose the American-
ization with which they are threatened. Without
reference to the Far West, or the Far Northwest,
without regard to the Red River and Assiniboia or

304

CANADA.

' (J

I. •

li '

n -'ft'

I&-

to British Columbia, there is before us the great
fact, that out of the Canadas, and the British North
American Provinces and dependencies, can be created
a powerful Confederation attached to this country,
and capable of the grandest development in spite
of climatic influences. We have already given a
slight sketch of the extent and capability of these
provinces, and, hinted at the difficulties that may
arise in the working of the Confederation. Canada
is now more than threatened with the loss of the
advantages which were supposed to depend on the
Reciprocity Treaty, and Great Britain is formally
warned that she must prepare to meet Federal en-
croachments on the Lakes. Mr. Gait, in a very
ciuborate speech, exhaustive of the topics connected
with the financial aspect of the future Confederation,
lately laid before his hearers a series of calculations
which deserve close attention, and which are, we
believe, entitled to full confidence. The United
States at the end of the year 1865 will either have
effected the subjugation of the South by the destruc-
tion of all her armies in the field, or she will see an
increase to her debt of at least forty millions sterling,
or she will have arranged a compromise with the
South of which one feature will be the assumption
of the Southern debt. In the first case, the North
must prepare for a long and costly military occupa-
tion. In no case as yet have the trade and com-
merce of any Southern port or city subjugated and
held by Union troops, paid the Federal Government
for the cost of holding it. In the second case, in-
crease of taxation must fall with such a crushing
weight on the poorer classes, especially in the agri-
cultural States, as to force many of the people to
take refuge in Canada, unless deterred by unforeseen
obstacles. In the third case, the immediate result
will be to throw on the Northern States for some
considerable period a greater amount of debt, and
of consequent derangement, than they would have
been subjected to by either of the preceding condi-

FINANCES OF THE CONFEDERATION.

305

tions. There can be no just comparison brf'tween
the United States and the projected Confederation,
except in the ratio of taxation per capita. And, if
we take incorne, expenditure, and possible debt at
the end of 1865, and contrast the financial position
of the British Confederate with that of the Ameri-
can Federalist, we will find that the advantage is
decidedly on the side of the latter.

According to the Hon. A. T. Gait, the following
is a fair statement of the revenue and expenditure
of the provinces, of the debts and liabilities, of the
trade, exports and imports, and of all the assets and
demands by which the future Confederation would
be influenced, excluding of course the cost of such
undertakings as great intercolonial roads or enlarge-
ments of canals. Mr. Gait may not be a favorite
with some theorists of the Colonial Office ; he cer-
tainly is not popular at Washington, and he is not
more honored at home than most prophets, but he is
an able, clear-headed, trustworthy man : —

THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE PROVINCES.

Debt, 1863. Income, 18(j3. Outlay, 1863.
Nova Scotia .... $4,858,547 $1,185,029 $1,072,274
New Brunswick .... 5,702.991 899,991 884,61.3

Newfoundland (1802) . . . 946,000 480,000 479,420

Prince Edward Island . . . 240,673 197,384 171,718

Maritime Provinces . $11,748,211 $2,763,004 $2,008,025
Canada .... 67,263,994 9,760,316 10,742,807

Totals . . $79,012,205 $12,523,320 $13,350,832

INCREASED REVENUES IN 1864.

Canada, without the produce of the new taxes . . $1,500,000

New Brunswick 100,000

Nova Scotia 100,000

$1,700,000

Deficit of 1863 $827,512

Surplus of 1864 872,488

$1,700,000
Total revenues ofall the Colonies, 1804 .... $14,223,320
Outlay 13,350,832

Estimated Surplus $872,488

806

CANADA.

'SI'.'

ji.

THE POSITION OF THE CONFEDKRATTON, ESTIMATED ON

THE HASIS OF 1804.

Revenue now
pnxlucod for

Oonttnil
Qoveruinent.

Canada. . $11,250,000
Nova Scotia . 1,.'{00,000
Now Brunswick 1,000,000
Prince EdwM Isl'd 200,000
Newfoundland . 480,000

Local Revenues
which would

not ga Into the
guneriil (!hei*t.

Sl,2n7,043

107,000

89,000

32,000

5,000

Subsidy to be Difference, avail*
paid to able for the

each purpoHAK of the

Province, flen'l Oovernmont

$2,000,121
2«4,000
204,000
15.1,728
.309,000

$14,230,000 $1,530,043 $3,056,849 $9,643,108

Canada,
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick .
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland

Expenditure.

$9,800,000

1,222,565

. 834,518

171,718

. 479,000

Difference paya-
Local Outlay. ble by the

Oen'l Government.
$2,260,149
667,000
424,047
124,016
479,000

$12,507,591 $3,954,212
Surplus at the disposal of the General Government

$8,553,379
$1,089,7-26

Canada .
Nova Scotia .
New Brunswick

AVERAGE OF THE PRESENT TARIFFS.

20 per cent. Newfoundland

. 10 "
16J "

Prince Edward Island

11 per cent.

10 "

FUTURE POSITION OF THE PROVINCES.

Nova Scotia .
New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland .

Canada

Local Revenues.

$107,000

89,000

. 32,000

5,000

$233,000
1,297,043

$1,530,043

Estimated Outlay Estimated Local

for 1864 under Outlay under
present Government, the Union.

$667,000 371,000

404,047 353,000

171,718 124,015

479,000 250,000

$1,721,765
* 2,021,979
t 238,170

$1,098,015

$3,981,914 t

* Average of the last four years. t Interest on excess of debt.

t Not estimated by Mr. Oalt, for reasons given in the speech.

IMPORTS, EXPORTS, AND TONNAGE.

307

MATED ON

THE AUDITOR'S STATEMENT OF THE LIABILITIES OF CANADA.
Debenture Debt, direct and indiroct .... $05,238,640.21

MiHcellaneous Liabilitieii

Connnnii-School Fund

Indiiin Fund

littukiii^ Accounts . . . . .

Seigniorial Tenure: —
Capital to Seigniors
Chargeable on MiinicipalitioH* Fund
On account of.IesnitH' KHtateH
ludeuinity to tlie Tuwushipii

Less — SInlting Funds

Ca»U uud Bank Accounts

(U, 420. 14
1,181,U{>8.85
l,f)77,«()2.4«
3,aUU,<J82.8l

$2,889,711,00

. 100.710.08

140,271.87

, 801,500,00

4,118,202.02

$4,883,177.11
2,248,801.87

$76,578,022.09

7,132,068.98

$68,445,05a.ll
From which, for reasons given in his speech, Mr. Gait de-
ducted the Common-School Fund 1,181,958.86

Leaving as Net Liabilities

$67,203,094.20

IMPORTS, EXPORTS, AND TONNAGE OF THE PROVINCES.

xcess of debt.

Canada
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick .
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland .

Total Trade

Tmporti.
$45,064,000
10,201,301

7,704,824
. 1,428,028

5,242,720

$70,600,963
66,846,604

$137,447,567

Exports.

$41,831,000
8,420,008
8,964,784
1,627,540
6,002,312

Sea-going Tonnage.
Inward and Outward.

2,133,000

1,432,954

1,386,980

No returns,
ti ti

$66,846,604 $4,952,934

Lake Tonnage 6,007,000

Total Tons

11,859,934

A people of more than four millions will owe
something over 13,000,000/., as compared with a

{)eople of thirty millions owing 900,000,000/. ster-
ing ; and with a trade of 27,000,000/. a-year there
is no compensating power in any commercial superi-
ority the United States may possess to establish an
equation. If the expenses of the local and of the
Federal Governments be properly kept in hand, the
condition of the British Confederation, in a pecuni-
ary point of view at all events, must be infinitely
better than that of the Federal Union either by itself
or with the Southern States.

The Confederation which has just been proposed

if!"

iiS-'y-<^ii£tit^^C^

308

CANz^DA.

by delegates at Quebec, and which "v^nll come before
Parliaraerit soon after this volume escapes from the
printers, vests the Executive in the Sovereign of
Great Britain ; a superfluous investiture, unless the
delegates meant rebellion; and it provides for its
administration according to the British constitution,
by the Sovereign or authorized representative. It
does not appear very plain how the Sovereign of a
mixed monarchy with a limited franchise for the peo-
ple can administer his quasi-republican and unaris-
tocratic viceroyalty according to the principles of the
British constitution ; particularly, as the Sovereign or
his representative -is to be the Commander-in-Chief
of the land and naval forces of the Confederation^
which are thus expressly removed from the control
of the War-Ofl[ice at home. Difficulties of a merely
technical character will no doubt be overcome. But
the King of Great Britain and Ireland, in whom the
Executive is vested, will have to deal with a Trans-
atlantic House of Commons founded on abstract
returns of population, and elected by the provinces
according to their local laws ; so that some mem-
bers will represent universal suffrage, and others
limited constituencies, which is very different indeed
from the House of Commons of Great Britain and
Ireland.

In the Upper House a Wensleydale peerage is re-
produced. It is to consist of seventy-six members
nominated by the Sovereign for life, of whom twen-
ty-four are assigned to Upper Canada, and twenty-
four to Lower Canada, ten for Nova Scotia, ten for
New Brunswick, four for Newfoundland, and four
for Prince Edward Island. The Lower House, far
less aristocratic in its relations to Lower and Upper
Canada, has eighty-two members from the latter,
and sixty-five from the former, nineteen from Nova
Scotia, fifteen /or New Brunswick, eight for New-
foundland, and five for Prince Edward Island. " Sav-
ing the Sovertigntv of England," the powers of the

PROPOSED FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.

309

Federal Parliament, as enumerated under thirty-seven
different heads, are very large, and on such heads as
currency and coinage seem to trench on dangerous
ground, and in the last head of all are dangerously
vague. The appointment of the Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor by the Federal Government itself is obviously
open to exception, because it is anomalous ; but as
all the principles as well as the details of the measure
will receive the most careful consideration, it is not
necessary to treat the proposal as an accomplished
fact, although it certainly is most desirable to treat
every article with respectful attention, and to give
every weight to the expressed opinion of the dele-
gates. Among the objects specially indicated for
the future action of the Confederate or Federal
Government are the completion of the Intercolonial
Railway from Riviere du Loup to Truro, in Nova
Scotia, through the Province of New Brunswick, and
the completion of communication with the North-
western territories, so as to. open the trade to the
Atlantic sea-coast ; both to be effected as soon as the
Federal finances permit. Here there is the most
tangible proposal for the opening up of the great
regions to which I have called attention ; and the
Valley of the Saskatchewan is promised the facility
which is alone wanting to make it the seat of a
flourishing colony. When the Red River Settlement
is once connected with Lake Superior, the way to
the sea is open, but the advantages of access to the
world will be increased enormously as soon as the
railway is pushed on to the shores of Lake Huron
from Nova Scotia.

* So eager is one to grasp at the benefits which some
sucli Confederation promises to confer, that the perils
to the prerogative of the Crown, and to the body so
formed, are apt to lie hid <rom view. But they must
be well guarded against ; and I for one am persuaded
that it would be far better for us to see the Provinces
of British America independent than to behold them

14*

310

CANADA.

. »

incorporated with the Northern Republic. The great-
est of all these internal perils is in the maintenance
of the Local Parliaments, which may come into col-
lision with the Federal Government on local ques-
tions impossible to foresee, or define, or adjust; but
as the delegates considered the plan of a complete
Legislative Union quite incompatible with the re-
served rights of a portion of the Confederation, the
only way left to escape the mischiefs which threaten
the future life of the new body is to bind those Local
Parliaments within the most narrow limits, consistent
with local utility and existence.

It is not for the s^ke of our future connection, but
for their own integrity and happiness that such a
course is recommended. They have " an awful ex-
ample " at their doors. The torrents of blood which
have deluged the soil of the North American Repub-
lics all welled out of the little chink in the corner-
stone of the Constitution, on one side of which lay
States' Rights, and on the other Federal Authority.
Without some justification in law and in argument,
such men as Calhoun, and Stephens, and Davis,
would never have reasoned, and planned, and fought,
and worked a whole people up to make war against
the Union. Sad as the spectacle is of a community
of freemen waging war against the principles of self-
government, it must be admitted that theii; instinct
may be sounder than their reasoning, and that they
are engaged in a struggle for self-preservation, in
which they have swelled their proportions into that
of a gigantic despotism, but have after all attained
a giant's port and strength. It is impossible to say
whether the corruption which Montesquieu has de-
clared to be the destruction of a democracy, has yet
seized upon the tremendous impersonation of brute
force, of unconquerable will, of passion, of lust of
empire, which now rules in the Capitol, and occupies
the throne whereon feebly sat heretofore the mild im-
puissance of the old Federal Executive ; but if the

LESSONS FROM THE AMERICAN STRUGGLE. 311

pictures which have been presented to us be true,
there is a prophetic meaning in the words of the phil-
osophic Frenchman, — " Les politiques grecs, qui
vivaient dans le gouvernement populaire, ne recon-
naissaient d'autre force qui put le soutenir que celle
de la vertu. Ceux d'aujourd'hui ne nous parlent que
des manufactures, de commerce, de finances, de
richesse, et de luxe meme." The giant's feet may be
of clay, and his body may be of that artificial stiffen-
ing which gives to worthless stuffs a temporary sub-
stantiality, but behind the giant stand the great
American people, with hands dyed in their brothers'
gore, and who, having sacrificed friendship, traditions,
constitution, and liberty at home, will think but little
of adding to the pyre of their angry passions the
peace and happiness of others.

THE END.