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 the McGill University Library collection. 
 
 Title: Letters on emigration 
 
 from the British Isles : 
 and the settlement 
 of the waste lands in the 
 province of Canada 
 Author: McVicar, Robert 
 
 Publisher, year: Hamilton [Ont.] : S. 
 
 Hewson, 1853 
 
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LETTERS ON EMIGRATION 
 
 FROM THE BRITISH ISLES, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE WASTE LANDS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 PROVINCE OF CANADA, 
 
 BY ROBERT Me VICAR, Esquire. 
 
 HAMILTON: 
 Published b? S. Hewson, Kiss Steeet. 
 
 1 85 3 . 
 
ISIBODIJCTIOS. 
 
 rTI HE Author of these Letters, having been frequently addressed, 
 ■*- and earnestly solicited by a great number of his friends, who 
 occupy high positions in society, both at home and abroad, to pub- 
 lish, for the information of the Public, h s Correspondence with the 
 Canadian Government, on the. subject of Emigration, &c<, has at 
 length been induced to yield to their reiterated request ; and in com. 
 plipnee with their wishes, now presents to the Public that portion of 
 his Correspondence which is more immediately connected with the 
 subject of Emigration, and settlement of the Huron Tract, which 
 dates from 1842 to 1847. 
 
 No doubt but many will very naturally observe, — What good 
 can now result from the publication of these Letters at this late pe. 
 riod ? — to which the author would reply — that the subject matter 
 contained and set forth in these letters, &c., bears as much, even 
 at this present time, on emigration, and settlement of the waste lands 
 in Canada, as when they were first penned — and that there can be 
 no true and genuine intelligent Loyal Patriot living, within the limits 
 of the province, who can for a moment view, with any other feelings 
 than those of painful disgust, the impolitic and ruinous course which 
 our Canadian Government pursued during the last twelve years — a 
 course which in its destructive tendency paralyzed every loyal feel, 
 ing.in Canada, and caused the current of Emigration from the Brit- 
 ish Isles to flow to the Seaports of the United States — not to men. 
 tion the vast number of families from all sections of the Province 
 that have been yearly removing, for the last thirteen years, to our 
 neighboring rivals. Instance the undeniable truths which are re- 
 
2 
 
 corded in the Public Registers kept at the different Sea-ports in the 
 United states, during the last five years ; which will show that forty 
 millions of pounds sterling (principally in gold) were carried there 
 by emigrants from the United Kingdom of Great Britain. When 
 to this is added the vast strength and wealth which that already over- 
 grown Republic is receiving yearly from Canada, the subject be- 
 comes painfully melancholy, and truly harassing to the feelings of 
 every true and loyal patriot in Her Britannic Majesty’s Dominions 
 — even to contemplate — more particularly when the immense and 
 valuable resources of this hitherto ill-fated Province, arc duly con- 
 sidered and born in mind — so many millions of acres of fertile soil, 
 in a salubrious country such as the Huron Tract containing twenty- 
 two Townships, is well known to be, the greatest part of which re- 
 mains at this very day in a state of unproductive wilderness. — The 
 author’s fondest hope, and most, sanguine expectation, would be 
 fully realized should the publication of this work be the means of 
 calling the serious attention of the inhabitants of the Province to 
 the different subjects npon which it treats ; and induce them here- 
 after to adopt such measures as in their wisdom they may deem best 
 calculated to prevent a farther extension of the evils that have alrea- 
 dy so evidently resulted from, and are still growing out of, the unbe- 
 coming apathy (to use the mildest term) which has been hitherto ob- 
 served on the part of the Canadian Government, with respect to this 
 all-important subject, — emigration and settlement of the Waste 
 Lands of the Province, upon which the future destiny of Canada 
 wholy depends — whether it will continue an integral portion of the 
 British Empire or not. 
 
EMIGRATION TO CANADA. 
 
 3 
 
 Montreal, 25 ih April, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I have been this moment informed that you are in- 
 vested with authority to plant a Colony in the Huron 
 Tract. I hope this report is true, and in that event I 
 shall feel anxious to compare notes with you, as I am 
 about taking measures preparatory to escorting a number 
 of my Highland Friends both at home and abioad to 
 the Shores of Lake Huron this season. The class of 
 people wKo will accompany me as well as those who 
 are making arrangements to follow are of a high order ; 
 — we shall have our own Ministers, Schoolmasters, 
 Doctors, Surveyors, and tradesmen of every description, 
 such as may be required in settling a new Colony. I 
 have made a Tour through the Huron Tract last summer 
 and satisfied myself touching the valuable resources of 
 that portion of the wilds of Canada so far rs to induce 
 me to come to the determination of settling there for 
 life, provided that I shall receive any reasonable encour- 
 agement from Government to whom I am about applying ; 
 but as you are.as report says, invested with the Com- 
 mission of settling that Country, I shall await your 
 answer before doing so. Let me therefore intreat 
 that you will be pleased to convey me your views and 
 sentiments soon after you receive this as possible, in 
 order that I may take my measures accordingly. 
 
 My claim on your friendly pulse as a countryman 
 and an old acquaintance induces the hope that you will 
 
 A 
 
4 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 favour me with a reply at your earliest convenience, 
 and with sentiments of the highest consideration. 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s truly, 
 
 Rob’t Me Vicar. 
 
 To Colonel Fraser, > 
 
 &c., &c., &c. \ 
 
 Fraserjizld, Glengarry, 30th April, 1842. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I had much pleasure in receiving your letter of the 
 25th instant, as it affords me great satisfaction to hear 
 that you are likely to become a settler in the Huron 
 Tract as well as that you will direct the description of 
 Settlers to it that you mention, which if you do, cannot fail 
 to give the settlement a character equal to any part of 
 theProvince. I think about 500 Scotch will follow me 
 from Glengarry several of whom have been seeing the 
 Country, and on their return have disposed of their 
 property even at a nominal price. 
 
 As you have been there, I need not tell you the 
 advantages it has in its fine climate and excellent 
 Fisheries. My present undertaking with the Government 
 is the settlement of Owen Sound to which a road has been 
 opened last year from Oakville, and a plank road will be 
 made to it from Lake Simcoe next year . 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 5 
 
 There are about 23 Townships in the Tract the whole 
 of which I expect will be under my superintendance ; I can 
 therefore assure you that I shall put aside a Township, 
 Fronting on the lake for you and your followers, in which 
 I shall take a lively interest. I purpose leaving this on 
 the 20th May, and should be most happy could you make 
 it convenient to accompany me, so as to make your choice 
 of a location for yourself, not an acre has yet been granted 
 to any person and I am fully authorized to dispossess all 
 squatters which I shall undoubtedly do, as 1 feel confi- 
 dent they have taken possession of what appeared to them 
 the best situation. The price of the land has been fixed at 
 8s. per acre, Cy., Cash. I shall, however, have it in my 
 power to grant poor settlers that may wish to settle on the 
 roads leading to the Sound 50 acres each ; say a family of 
 three sons 21 years of age, who with their father, might re- 
 ceive 200 acres gratis: it is my intention to erect Mills 
 where the Town, is laid out and I shall bestow on persons 
 of Capital good Mill Sites in convenient places throughout 
 the tract. I shall be glad to hear from you and will thank 
 you to let me know how many settlers I may expect to 
 follow you this season, and how soon. I think the best 
 route at present will be by Lake Simcoe as the road and 
 water communication are good, besides there are up- 
 wards of 500 settlers in the Townships of St. Vincent; 
 on the map called Zero, to which a good road from 
 Lake Simcoe has been made. When the Plank Road 
 
6 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 is finished, one day may firing as from Toronto to the 
 spot. 
 
 BeHeve me to remain, 
 
 Your’s truly, 
 
 Alexandee Fraser. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq. 
 
 Montreal, 9th May, 1842. 
 
 My clear Sir, 
 
 It is with feelings of the most unfeigned pleasure I 
 take up the pen to acknowledge the receipt of your very 
 kind and friendly communication of the 30th ultimo. 
 The invitation therein contained to accompany you to 
 Owen Sound I most cheerfully accept, and if spared' 
 will be at Eraser’s Field on the 19th inst. I would have, 
 replied to your favour at an earlier date were I really 
 not overwhelmed with a pressure of business of a nature 
 so serious to my ulterior movements as not to leave me a 
 moment to spare to address you, and even to this late 
 hour my mind is so involved in the winding up of my 
 private affairs in the province, preparatory to our con- 
 templated journey to the shores of Lake Huron, that i 
 ana unable to convey to you my opinions touching the 
 arduous and philanthropic undertaking in which you have 
 embarked so satisfactorily as I would have wished;, 
 however, when we meet I shall submit to your consid- 
 eration all my views and plans candidly and sincerely j 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 a 
 
 In the meantime permit me to assure you that so far 
 as the utmost exertions both of my mind and body are 
 capable of, to further and promote your views as well 
 as the best interests of the Colony, I shall be unwearied, 
 and you may at all times under any circumstances 
 safely rely on receiving my most cordial co-operation 
 and support, in the adoption and execution of every 
 measure calculated to raise the character of the settle- 
 ment above that of any other in the Province of Canada. 
 Immediately after your Letter reached me I opened an 
 extensive correspondence with the different sections of 
 this District, arid circumstantially explained to the In- 
 habitants thereof the superior quality of soil, advantage 
 of climate an J productive'fisheries of the waters, of the 
 Huron settlement together with its numerous water 
 privileges for Mills and Machinery of every description, 
 &c., and in order to direct the course of the emigrants 
 coming out this year to the settlement, I have employed 
 competent persons in Quebec and Montreal to give 
 them the necessary instructions as to tho route by 
 which they are to proceed to Owen Sound. I have also 
 secured the best services of all the Steam Boat Captains 
 and Crews plying on the Ottawa Waters, to instruct 
 and advise all classes of people travelling to the Upper 
 Province for the purpose of settling there, to prbceed 
 direct to the Huron Settlement. Report states that 
 nearly 500 families from my native Island, (Islay) are 
 coming out this year, all of them will doubtlessly proceed 
 
a 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 to the settlement direct, as the whole host of their 
 relatives and Countrymen in the Townships of Caledon, 
 Esquesing, Thora, and many other places in the vicinity 
 of Toronto, as well as all the Highlanders, Crews of 
 Boats, &c., employed on the Waters to and from this 
 to and above Toronto will repair to the Huron Settle- 
 ment this ensuing autumn and winter, and should they 
 find the picture which I have drawn of that interesting 
 part of the country correct, and meet with reasonable 
 protection during the first two years from Government, 
 thousands of their friends and countrymen at home 
 will follow them next year ; hence the necessity there is 
 of taking the necessary and timely measures to obviate 
 the possibility of the poor and destitute families who go 
 there this season, suffering next winter from the want of 
 food. The fisheries of Lake Huron are sufficiently 
 productive to enable the Government at a mere nominal 
 expense to procure any quantity of Fish that maybe 
 required to feed ten times as many families as can be 
 expected to settle this year. I should therefore most 
 respectfully but candidly, offer it as my opinion, that it 
 would be advisable for you to direct your early attention 
 to the important object, in taking precautionary mea- 
 sures to ensure the certainty of having one, two or three 
 Fisheries established in different parts of the Lake, on 
 the same unerring system as the Fisheries at the 
 Hudson’s Bay Post3 in the Indian Country. These 
 Fisheries I would superintend myself at least for the 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 9 
 
 first season, and for the effectual accomplishment ofthi3 
 object it would be necessary to take one or two expe- 
 rienced fishermen from this Province. I have already 
 partially engaged one who has been for eight or nine 
 years employed as head Fisherman in Lake Superior in 
 the service of the American Fur Company, and who 
 is perfect master of drying and salting Fish in all the 
 departments required. Should you deem it proper that 
 I should employ this individual at moderate wages for 
 the year have the goodness to say so, and 1 shall 
 secure his valuable services at once, and by your direc- 
 tions will gladly provide the necessary supply of materials 
 for nets &c., &c., which will amount to but a trifling 
 sum of money. As to the exact number of actual settlers 
 that will follow me this season it is impossible for me 
 to say, but I have no hesitation in stating that in the 
 event of your investing me with full power, holding out 
 reasonable encouragement to the stranger to draw 
 settlers to the Huron Tract, you might safely calculate 
 on one thousand settlers a year for a number of years 
 to come. No confidence can be placed on the miserable 
 useless sort of Emigrant Agents at present under 
 Government pay in this Province, and I have much 
 cause to apprehend that many of the same class are 
 holding similar offices in the Upper Province, to the 
 manifest injury of this Country ; and I may, without 
 any fear of contradiction add, the destruction of thousand* 
 of industrious families who were compelled to quit their 
 
10 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 homes and that of their ancestors by direful necessity, 
 in the expectation of finding that protection in the 
 Wilds of Canada under the fostering wing of the British 
 Government which their own native land so unnaturally 
 denied them. The views of these office holders do 
 not extend beyond the consideration of the yearly salary 
 which they receive from the Government. Beneficial 
 advice and instruction to the forlorn stranger who visits 
 the shores of Canada in search of a home they are 
 not capable of imparting, because they do not possess 
 the necessary knowledge of the resources of the Coun- 
 try, and much less benevolent traits of character to 
 enable them to do so. It cannot be therefore reasonably 
 expected that such persons will take the slightest interest 
 in the welfare of the poor broken hearted stranger. 
 To the voice of distress they evince a callous indifference; 
 in consequence of meeting with such frozen and icy 
 reception at the hands of the officers of the crown, 
 those poor strangers become weakened and disheart- 
 ened, misery and starvation ensue, and from this source 
 thousands of industrious and Loyal British Subjects 
 after visiting our shores, are left to their unfortunate and 
 malancholy doom, to wander about from one place to 
 another in search of employment or a home, till at 
 length their little all is exhausted and in the last gasp 
 of despair, as the only alternative left them, how 
 repugnant soever it may be to their British feelings, 
 throw themselves on the protection of the American 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 11 
 
 Government. By this criminal neglect our strength in 
 this fertile colony is weakened by making it a nursery 
 to supply the Army and Navy of the United States 
 with the best of our British subjects. 
 
 Viewing the important task which you have under- 
 taken, the settling twenty three Townships, in all its 
 bearings, tendencies and relations, it appears to me ev- 
 ident that there is an absolute necessity for your employ- 
 ing an Agent to secure from the grasp of the Vultures 
 empLoyed by the Canada Land Company and conduct 
 to the Huron Settlement the different flocks of Emi- 
 grants expected from the old country this and following 
 seasons. In the absence of a more qualified person to 
 perform the duties of this important appointment I beg 
 to tender my feeble but friendly services. 
 
 Reserving to our meeting on the I9th instant, further 
 remarks and suggestions, I remain with sentiments of 
 the greatest regard, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s most truly, 
 
 To Colonel Fraser, 
 &c., &c., &c. 
 
 Rob’t McVicab. 
 
12 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Cornwall, 11th, May, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I was this moment handed your letter of the 9th in- 
 stant, and I am much pleased at your determination of ac. 
 companying me to Owen Sound. I shall not leave before 
 the 22nd, therefore’ if you are up by the 19th or 20th it will 
 be time enough. On the 24th I make my final arrangement 
 with the Go'vernment, and which day I trust we shall be 
 able to make a good one. I have already engaged an 
 experienced fisherman on w'hom I can depend and several 
 others of the same cast will accompany me, so that it 
 may not be necessary at present to engage the person 
 you allude to. I can no doubt procure twine at Toronto, 
 and in the event we find the Government liberal I agree 
 with you in opinion that an active person should be era- 
 oyed to direct Emigrants on their arrival to the settlement 
 at once. All this we shall be prepared to submit on 
 going to Kingston. 
 
 V our’s truly, 
 
 Alexander Fhases. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq. 
 
 Montreal, 20th May, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 It is with feelings of deep regret I have to acquaint 
 you that circumstances of the most unavoidable necessity 
 over which I could have no controul, places it beyond my 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 IS 
 
 power to accompany you to Owen Sound. Being deprived 
 of this pleasure has proved most painful to my feelings ; 
 
 I shall however, follow you the very moment I can leave 
 this place. The long pending litigation in which I was 
 engaged in Quebec is at length decided in my favor, 
 holding forth some prospects of my being able to carry 
 to the new settlement sufficient means to support my family 
 for at least a few years. This new change in my favor is 
 the cause of my detention here. About the 10th proximo 
 1 shall hope to have all the matters connected with this 
 important case completely wound up, and accompanied by 
 some followers will proceed direct to the shores of the 
 Lake. I have already shipped off several respectable 
 families with instructions to take the route by Lake Sim- 
 coe — I hope you will overtake them and direct them to 
 the Townships you intend for myself and followers. To 
 your own friendly judgement I leave the selection of the 
 Townships. Ihave printed cards of information and in- 
 struction which will guide the stranger to the spot of their 
 destination. Before leaving Fraser’s field have the good- 
 ness to address me so that I may know where to find you 
 when I do move up. I would also feel thankful by your 
 imparting to me the actual extent of the protection which 
 destitute settlers may expect to receive at the hands of 
 the Government, in order that I may act accordingly. 
 
 For your information I subjoin a copy of a letter 
 which I have this moment received from my Brother. 
 Pray are those who settle on the shores of' the lake en- 
 
14 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 titled to 50 acres gratis ? if not, I fear the distinction will 
 operate injuriously against your views. As I shall be ad- 
 dressing you ere many days I shall close these hasty lines, 
 and with the highest regards I remain, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s most faithfully, 
 Rob’t McVicar. 
 
 To the Honorable i 
 Alexander Fraser. ) 
 
 Montreal, 30th May, 1842. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq., 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I understand from many sources that you possess a 
 thorough knowledge of the capabilities cf the wilds of Ca- 
 nada West, and that you are taking an active- and philan- 
 thropic interest in sending Emigrants to settle there under 
 the protection of the British Government on the shores of 
 Owen Sound. I have long had reason to believe that the 
 Huron Tract would prove an eligible home to the indus- 
 trious or monied surplus population of the old country. 
 It will only want a few years steady support and fostering 
 care from the Home Government, with the active local 
 assistance of well informed and enterprising men in di- 
 recting the tide of emigration, to become one of the richest 
 Jewels in the British Colonial Crown. 
 
 That these views may be the more effectually carried 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 15 
 
 into execution allow me, though a comparative stranger 
 to you, to tender you humbly a few hints of advice, and to 
 plead as my excuse for such intrusion, my warm wishes 
 for tho welfare and happiness of my fellow-man, knowing 
 that such feelings will touch a responsive chord in your 
 bosom. 
 
 It will be of the greatest advantage and benefit, both 
 spiritually and temporally to your new settlement, to make 
 early arrangements for securing Ministers of tho Gospel, 
 and competent School Teachers. You ought also to se- 
 cure well qualified Medical men to look after the bodily 
 wants and diseases of your settlers immediately upon their 
 arrival : of this you must at once see tho indispensible 
 necessity. If you could induce the Government to secure 
 to me such remuneration as might induce me to leave my 
 present practice, and insure me the means of supporting 
 myself and family I shall go with you, and if all turn out 
 as I expect I can bring out from Banff and Aberdeen- 
 shire, in course of the second year, at least from 80 to 
 100 families with plenty of means and appliances to boot. 
 
 With regard to rr.y own testimonials of character 
 and competency, I have only to say that I have been 
 upwards of eight years in the north of Scotland and four- 
 years here, in the full exercise of my profession; and, if re. 
 quired, can produce satisfactory certificates from many of 
 the most respectable individuals both at home and here. 
 With regard to professional education I have only to refer 
 
 B 
 
16 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 to diplomas now in my possession, or to the record s of ub- 
 erdeen, Edinburgh, and London Colleges. 
 
 If you should think of employing my services, bo 
 kind enough to grant me as early an answer as is possibly 
 convenient, in order that I may be able to make early ar- 
 rangements to meet the occasion. 
 
 I am Sir, 
 
 Your most ob’t Servant, 
 
 Al. Scott. 
 
 To Rob’t McVicar, Esq., 
 
 22nd June, 184 . 
 
 M y dear Sir, 
 
 Notwithstanding I took all the trouble and pains pos- 
 sible to see the Honb’le Mr. Sullivan in the course of the 
 day, I regret to say that I failed. He goes up to-morrow 
 by the stage, and I shall meet him at Lachine where I shall 
 communicate all to you. 
 
 Your’s truly, 
 
 Alexander Fraser. 
 
 Mr. McVicar. 
 
 Montreal, 23rd June, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Colonel Fraser left this yesterday for the express 
 purpose of meeting Mr. Sullivan at Lachine, who, it ap- 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 17 
 
 pears is invested with full power to close a final settlement 
 or complete an arrangement with the Colonel touching the 
 settlement of the Huron Tract. The terms and consider- 
 ations of the Colonel are so severe that the Government 
 seems to evince an unwillingness to comply with them, and 
 it is my opinion that an arrangement between them will no! 
 take place. I shall hope to receive a despatch from him 
 (Fraser.) to-morrow, conveying every particular which 
 may have taken place between him and Mr. Sullivan, and, 
 in the event of no arrangement having been effected be- 
 tween the parties, in that case I would wish to consult you 
 as to the propriety of my following the Governor General in 
 order to have a personal interview with him in Quebec. It 
 is to be regretted that the Petition was not presented at an 
 earlier date ; it is now, however, too late to complain and 
 we must do the best we can. Will you have the goodness 
 to say- when it will be convenient for you to favor me with 
 an interview, and with every kind wish believe me, with 
 sentiments of the highest consideration, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Ever your’s truly and faithfully, 
 
 Rob’t McVicar. 
 
 Lewis T. Drummond, Esq., 
 
 To the Editor of the Montreal Herald : 
 Sir, 
 
 I feel assured that a fellow feeling Will induce you to 
 devote occasionally a column 1 of your Widely circulated 
 
18 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 journal to the publication of a few Letters intended humbly, 
 but with a heart warmly devoted to the happiness and the 
 best interests of my fellow-men, to draw the attention of 
 the public in general but more particularly of the nu - 
 merous Emigrants daily disembarking on our wharves, 
 to the subject of Emigration into Canada. 
 
 When the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, is groaning under the weight of a population too 
 numerous to be supported on their native soil, it would 
 argue a want of loyalty and philanthropy, in any British 
 subject intimately acquainted with the resources of Can- 
 ada, to withhold from the Government and the people, 
 a full development of all he knows regarding its easy 
 capabilities of becoming a prosperous and happy home 
 to all Emigrants, willing and determined to live under 
 tho sway of the British sceptre, and a nursery for rear- 
 ing up Sons, who both on flood and field will add fresh 
 strength to the parent country, and bind new laurels 
 around the British Crown. 
 
 During last summer, I travelled over a large portion 
 of the Huron Traot for the express purpose of devel- 
 oping its various resources, and, after a careful examina* 
 tion of the capabilities of the soil, with the signal 
 advantage of the genial climate, for the purpose op 
 agriculture, and of the Waters for the establishment of 
 Mills and Fisheries, I feel it my duty publicly to record 
 my belief, that, with a few years fostering care from 
 Government, and proper management on the part of 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 19 
 
 its Agents, the Huron Tract is destined to become the 
 Garden of Canada West. 
 
 In my next I shall enter into details. 
 
 I remain, Dear Sir, 
 
 Your ob’t Servant, 
 
 Rob’t McVicab. 
 
 To the Editor of the Montreal Herald : 
 
 Sir. 
 
 Another season has opened upon us, and the tide of 
 Immigration seems to have set in towards our shores 
 with increasing force. 
 
 The redundant population of Great Britain and 
 Ireland must find a channel in some direction or other* 
 and British North America holds out the greatest 
 inducements. Thousands of Immigrants have already 
 landed on our wharves, and in all probability tens of 
 thousands are yet to follow ere the close of the season. 
 
 This might be a source of the highest gratification 
 to every genuine Patriot, who ardently desires to see 
 the connection between this country and the parent State 
 fixed more firmly, by the prosperous settlement of 
 persons who, if I may so speak, have been ejected 
 from the land of their nativity, for want of room or for want 
 of employment. But the question is painfully forced upon 
 our minds. Is this likely to be the case under the 
 present system of things ? Alas, the answer is apparent. 
 
20 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 The experience of years is thrown away ; and 
 the year forty-two finds us as destitute of any system by 
 which the great ends of Immigration may be attained, 
 and the interests of all parties consulted, as we were ten 
 years ago. It is true that Immigrant Agencies have 
 been established, at the principal landing places under 
 the auspices of Government, and sums of money ex- 
 pended that leave no doubt of the good intentions of 
 Government on the subject. But the question still 
 recurs, how far the interests of Emigration are served 
 by the means and money at present set apart for that 
 purpose ? 
 
 The present system, if such it should be called, 
 may be briefly stated : It consists in printing a number 
 of hand Bills, and posting them up in conspicuous 
 places, directing Emigrants where the Agent’s Office 
 may be found; in putting a few advertisements in the 
 Newspapers, soliciting information from persons at a 
 distance, and, in sending poor Emigrants to their des. 
 filiation ; and when the Boatmen have pushed off their 
 Boat, and the Emigrant is gone from among us, so that 
 we no longer see his wants, nor hear his cry of distress, 
 the feeling seems to be, that all that is necessary is done 
 for him. But where is the Emigrant’s destination ? Alas, 
 who can tell ! Does he know it himself, or is the 
 Emigrant Agent more wise 1 Does he know it ? no, Sir, 
 neither of them can tell. The Emigrant, generally 
 speaking, is driven to seek a home in this distant region, 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 21 
 
 either by immediate necessity, or by gloomy foreboding 
 of coming want. 
 
 Few come to Canada for the purpose of spending a 
 fortune, but many are induced to come in the hope of 
 acquiring one, but in what particular way or place the 
 fortune is to be made, is a subject upon which the 
 Emigrant has scarcely ventured to bestow a thought. 
 He arrives in Canada with very little knowledge of 
 the Country and with less capital. Ho finds himself a 
 Etranger in a strange land, without resources, and without 
 the necessary information to enable him, to turn his time 
 to the best account. Then the poor Emigrant feels the 
 sad reality of his position. He applies for counsel at 
 the Agency Office, and he is there told he can be forwarded 
 up the Country. He has probably heard some one say 
 that By-town, Kingston, or Toronto is a good place, and 
 this is enough to induce him to proceed to the place, to 
 which his hopes have been already directed. But here 
 he finds himself surrounded by Thousands who, like 
 himself, have been attracted to the good place, the sha- 
 dow flies before him ; thus, Mr Editor, Emigrants are 
 tossed about from place to place, along the great tho- 
 roughfare of the Province, without any fixed purpose, and 
 without having their minds drawn to any fixed object, 
 till sickened by disappointment, many cross over to our 
 neighbouring States, while not a few, sink under accumu- 
 lating misfortunes. 
 
 I shall resume this subject with your permission, and 
 
22 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 shall in future Letters, point out the deficiencies in the 
 present system. I shall also suggest a system of Emi. 
 gration which I trust shall be found to be strictly practical, 
 having for its object, the permanent and prosperous settle- 
 ment of all industrious Emigrants, and at the same time, of 
 fully securing the interests of all parties concerned. Emi- 
 gration will prove, if conducted on a proper basis, the 
 sovereign remedy for our political disorder. It will relieve 
 Great Britain and Ireland of a useless and redundant 
 population, and prove the Sheet Anchor of the parent State 
 by which, this Colony will be permanently and indissolubly 
 connected to it. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient humble Servant, 
 
 PHILANTHSOPir. 
 
 To the Editor of the Montreal Herald : 
 Sir. 
 
 In your Journal of Thursday, I was pleased to find a 
 long and sensible Letter on the subject of Emigration into 
 
 this Colony, signed ‘'Philanthropy.” I enter fully into your 
 Correspondent s views as far as they extend, regarding the 
 protection and instruction necessary to be afforded by Gov- 
 ernment, to all Emigrants on their arrival at the Ports of 
 Quebec and Montreal. The agents at those Ports, eapa- 
 bla of directing the tide of Immigration into useful channels, 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 23 
 
 bo as to meet the liberal intentions of Government in set- 
 tling theWaste Lands of Canada, must be active, intelligent, 
 and Philanthropic men, well acquainted with all the sections 
 and resources of the country ; who, thus qualified, will be 
 able to direct monied settlers to advantageous locations, 
 and with necessary Government funds placed at their 
 command, to forward destitute Immigrants comfortably 
 to an eligible destination. 
 
 It is not at By-Town, Kingston, or Toronto however, 
 that either of these Emigrants will find it most advan- 
 tageous to remain, no ; front my intimate knowledge of the 
 Huron Tract, and of the liberal Terms on which Govern- 
 ment have decided to settle that part of its possession, I 
 sincerely advise all Emigrants, especially Agriculturists, 
 to proceed to Owen Sound without delay, as soon as the 
 Government has caused to be surveyed and laid out con- 
 venient Lots of Land, on which the settler can immediately 
 commence operations, to build for himself and family a 
 house and home, with lands in his power, to clear for the 
 reception of the seeds of next year’s Crops- Government 
 has fixed the price of its lands, to those who can pay for 
 them, at 8s. per acre, but to families destitute of means, who 
 may chose to settle on the line of roads leading to the 
 shores of the Lake, Government will grant to any young 
 man over 14 years of age capable of wielding the axe, 50 
 acres of land, say a family of five sons who with their father 
 will receive 300 acres in one block, but I would recom- 
 mend to the Government, to grant to the venerable parent 
 
24 
 
 EM IGRATION 
 
 100 acres more, as a provision for the wants of his de- 
 clining years, and a support to the female members of 
 his family. The title deeds for this bonus. I should strorig- 
 ly recommend to be granted, after the expiration of the first 
 year’s possession, provided the settlers have within that 
 time, cleared rcadyfor cropping a proportion of 0 acres 
 to the 100. These terms are certainly liberal on the part 
 of the Government, but its agents must be strictly watched, 
 and when found incapable of discharging the duties of 
 their office for the public good, let them be discharged) 
 and their places filled by men competent to meet the 
 requisite responsibility. Allow me here to quote a few 
 extracts from a Settler’s letter dated Norval, 17th June, 
 1842 : — ■ 
 
 “ I remain as I was when you saw me here, out 
 “ of pay and out of business. The Government owes me 
 “ £62 11s. lid. Toe settlement, for advances out of my 
 “ own pocket, for the public — good, owes me about one 
 “ hundred pounds, and all monies having been kept back 
 “ from individuals by government, is much to the hurt of 
 “ the prosperity of this section of the Colony, and renders 
 “ repayment to me in the meantime impossible. I hope 
 “ you will intercede for me, as I would like to get into my 
 “ old situation. My sons and I will go to the Bay, and I 
 “ think as many as 20 Families will follow us, bill I shall 
 “ rhake no movements until I see you”. 
 
 “ The fine Saw Mill you saw in progress at Arthur 
 << has been allowed to stand still and do nothing, eVer" since 
 
TO CANADA • 
 
 “ October last, upon a mere quibble of dispute between 
 “ the agent and the person who leased it.” 
 
 “ No sales of land allowed here, and many a man had 
 “ to return with the money in his pocket in consequence. 
 “ Many a fine loyalist had to return from this place, 
 “ Arthur, without having had an opportunity of acquiiing 
 a lot of land while real rebels of the worst kind, get 
 “ some two, and some three lots each ; this is a hard 
 “ saying, but I think him no friend to government who 
 “ would not expose such conduct.” 
 
 Previous to the receipt of the above, I had advised a 
 great number of families, each possessing from £200 
 to £600 stg, to proceed to the Huron Tract in the firm 
 faith, that, whatever lands they wished to purchase would 
 at once be apportioned to them,— you may imagine the 
 painful nature of my feelings, when I contemplate the re- 
 ception they are likely to meet with. Many others who 
 have arrived here since, in equally good circumstances 
 I have been obliged to shun, in order that I might not be 
 tempted to mislead them. That is bad enough, but sup- 
 pose the passengers of any one of the six vessels, lately 
 reported, as taking in at Greenock a full complement of 
 Emigrants for different ports in America, in such a state 
 of destitution, as to depend on public Charity for the 
 means of subsistence on their voyage across the Atlantic, 
 were landed on the wharves of Montreal, what earthly 
 provision has been made for them ? I see nothing ready 
 to meet them but misery and starvation, but it is time 
 
2,i 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 to drop the curtain upon such a lamentable picture, and 
 to implore the Government to look behind it. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your ob’t Servant, 
 
 Montreal, July, 2nd, 1842. 
 
 A Settler. 
 
 FraserjieU, 7th July, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your Letter of the 2nd instant and that of the Com- 
 missioner of Crown Lands was received by me yester- 
 day, and I lose no time in sending you a copy. From 
 its contents, you may judge how unpleasant it is to bo 
 kept in a state of suspense. I could not find the Hon’blo 
 W. Sullivan previous to my leaving Montreal, neither 
 did I meet him at Lachine, else I would have written to 
 you. My own opinion is, that the Council will deter- 
 mine to keep the new settlement under their own mis- 
 management, rather than grant me the conditions I have 
 asked, and without which I shall not undertake it. Under 
 these circumstances, it will be more prudent for you and 
 I to refrain from holding put any encouragement to in- 
 tending settlers to that part of the Province. The mo- 
 ment the decision of the Council is communicated to me, 
 I shall inform you of the result 
 
 Believe me to remain in haste, 
 Your’s truly, 
 
 Alexander Fraser. 
 
 Rob’t Me Vicar, Esq. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 27 
 
 Crown Lands Department, 4t/i July, 1842. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a 
 Letter addressed by you to His Excellency, on the 21st 
 of June, 1842, which has been referred to this department ; 
 and to acquaint you that as it embraces so much new 
 matter, it cannot be disposed of without submitting it to 
 the consideration of the Council, which cannot be done 
 until the members re-assemble at Kingston. 
 
 I hive the honor to be, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most ob’t servant, 
 
 John Davidson. 
 
 The Hon’ble Colonel Fraser. 
 
 Montreal, lOi/i July,, 1812. 
 
 My dear Drummond, 
 
 Having wearied my very soul out of patience await- 
 ing your return, now that you have arrived will you do 
 me the favor to say at what hour this evening or to 
 morrow morning, I can have the pleasure of seeing you, 
 as I have much of importance to communicate. The 
 Government will not grant the extent of Colonel Fra- 
 ser’s demand, consequently he will have nothing further 
 to do with the Huron Tract Settlement. *1 here are hun- 
 e 
 
28 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 dreds in the field about soliciting what he has refused. His 
 support he has promised me. My wish is to see his 
 Excellency in person. On this point your advice is in- 
 dispensable and no time is. to be lost. I sincerely trust 
 your amiable mother and Cousin are enjoying the blessings 
 of good health, and with every good wish, 
 
 I remain, 
 
 My dear Drummond, 
 
 Ever your’s most truly, 
 
 Rob’t. McVicar. 
 
 Lewis T. Drummond, Esq. 
 
 To the Editor of the Montreal Herald : 
 
 Sir, 
 
 When Lake t^uron and its tributary streams are 
 teaming with fish, in such abundance as at a very trifling 
 outlay could easily be made to supply thousands of set- 
 tlers, with not only a healthy but a luxurious meal, and 
 the surplus produce of the Fisheries made a valuable 
 article for exportation ; when the Shores of the Lake 
 and the adjacent country are capable of yielding, to the 
 Agriculturist, an eligible field where he may reap a 
 rich reward for his industry, and when the Home Gov- 
 ernment holds out to the starving thousands, who can nei. 
 ther find employment nor room to enable them to live on 
 their native soil, a readily available and happy home, in 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 29 
 
 this part of the British dominions, on the liberal terms 
 mentioned in my last letter ; every right thinking man 
 must wonder and deplore that so many hundreds of Emi- 
 grants are daily landed on our wharves, and afterwards 
 huddled together in such masses with such miserable 
 accommodation as is sufficient to breed a pestilence, and 
 that our Provincial Government does not see the immedi- 
 ate necessity of providing a safe and quick transit for all 
 Emigrants to the place of their destination, where lands 
 ought to be ready to be apportioned on a day’s warning 
 to both the monied and the poor settler. 
 
 The distress I have to day witnessed at the Emigrant 
 Sheds has induced mo hurriedly to pen the foregoing re- 
 marks, and my only motive for so doing is the ameli- 
 oration of misery to my fellow men. The same feelings 
 prompts mo to suggest to the Government the necessity 
 of its interference, in protecting the public against tho 
 accidents which so frequently occur from high pressure 
 steam Engines. It has long been known that the danger 
 of bursting between high and low pressure Engines is as 
 4J to one. Your details of the awful and heart rending 
 circumstances .attending the blowing up of the Shamrock 
 yesterday, must plead my excuse for troubling the Gov-- 
 ernment with the above suggestion. 
 
 Yon will soon hear from me again, mean time 
 
 I am, &c., &e., 
 
 A Settler. 
 
 10th July, 1842. 
 
30 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Montreal, 19 th July, 1842. 
 
 My dear Drummond, 
 
 [was twice at your office yesterday. At the time of 
 my first visit you were engaged, at my second you were 
 absent at court. Your contemplated interview with his 
 Excellency will, I am satisfied, be productive of much good, 
 not only to my personal interests but also to the thousands 
 that are now starving on our shores, as well as. to the bun- 
 dreds of families who, possessing means, I have been 
 instrumental in sending to the Huron Tract this season 
 and who, after experiencing much toil and misery, accom- 
 pained with heavy and vexatious expense were under the 
 necessity of returning in consequence of the Government 
 Agents there having neither the power, nor probably the 
 will, to locate them on lands which they were both willing 
 and able to pay for Cash down. It is a lamentable state 
 of things, that that fine Tract of Land on the shores and 
 vicinity of Lake Huron lies dormant, and has virtually 
 been a dead Letter to the Crown, since it was purchased 
 from the Indians during the administration of Sir Francis 
 Bond Head, whereas by judicious management during a 
 few years, it might become the most important and valu- 
 able Section of the British dominions on the Continent of 
 America. Do draw the immediate attention of his Ex. 
 cellency to the “Letters of the Settler” in the Herald news 
 paper, and to those in the same paper signed “ Philanlhro- 
 py” and to the Editorial remarks. I am pledged to 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 31 
 
 upwards of a thousand respectable families, both at home 
 and here, to see them comfortably located in the land of 
 Promise. A reasonable renumeration for my services 
 sufficient to support my family from the appearance of 
 want, is all that I look for. Should the Government feel 
 disposed to meet my moderate views, I have no hesitation 
 in pledging myself, if spared life and health, that before the 
 expiration of ten years from this date I will have settled to 
 the satisfaction of the Government and the perfect comfor 4 
 and happiness of the settlers every acre of the Twenty 
 three Townships in the Huron Tract. Touching referen- 
 ces as to character, experience and capability for the faithful 
 discharge of the arduous duties of an undertaking of such 
 an important nature, please to direct the attention of His 
 Excellency the Governor General to the narratives of the 
 first ar.d second land arctic expedition under the command 
 of my friend Sir John Franklin, now Governor of Van 
 Diemans Land. Also to the narrative of Lieutenant Ingal 
 commander of the exploring expedition via the River St. 
 Maurice, in the Summer of 1829, and if further reference be 
 required application can be made to 
 
 The Hon’ble Matthew Bell, Three Rivers. 
 
 “ “ Baron Grant, Montreal. 
 
 " “ Alex’r Fraser, Glengarry. 
 
 “ “ Alex’r Grant, L’Orignal. 
 
 The NcNab of McNab, Ottawa. 
 
n 
 
 EMlGSAtlQN 
 
 Peter Warren Dease, Esq., Commander of the ex- 
 pedition to explore the North West Passage. 
 
 Alex’r Buchanan, Esq. Queen’s Council, Montreal. 
 The members of the Bar of Montreal, all the inhabitants 
 of the County of Two Mountains, among whom I resided 
 for Ten Years, and to the Inhabitants of all the Scoteh 
 Settlements in Canada West. 
 
 I feel convinced that all your principles are based 
 upon a heartfelt wish to do good to your fellow creatures, 
 thousands of whom are at this moment suffering under the 
 scorpion lash of neglect and absolute want on our Shores? 
 and that you will not withhold from His Excellency the 
 information which it is in your power to impart, so well 
 calculated to enable him to accomplish the important ob- 
 ject of his mission to this hitherto neglected and convulsed 
 Province. 
 
 For my own part, I am as I have ever been ready 
 and willing to espouse the cause of humanity, and to exert 
 every energy of mind and nerve of body, with which God 
 has endowed me, in endeavouring to ameliorate the heart- 
 rending distress under the pressure of which so many of 
 my fellow beings are now groaning. 
 
 Soliciting the favor of a few lines from you at your 
 earliest convenience after your interview with the Gover- 
 nor General, 
 
 I remain, my dear Drummond, 
 
 Ever your’s faithfully, 
 
 Lewis T. Drummond, Esq. Rob’t McVicab. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 33 
 
 Kingston, December, 7th, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 I arrived here on Sunday evening, and called on 
 my friend Mr. Bucheite, the Deputy Surveyor General, 
 with whom I am staying, at the Boarding House of Mr. 
 Warry, Wellington Buildings, Wellington Street. On 
 Monday morning I proceeded to the Government House, 
 and had a long interview with my friend Captain Bagot, 
 
 I was extremely sorry to find His Excellency Sir Charles 
 Bagot had been so ill on Friday that the family and him- 
 self thought he was dying ; however, since then he has 
 been daily gaining strength, and Capt’n Bagot informed 
 me that he was glad to hear of my bring here, but his 
 Physician thought I Ind better defer seeing him for a day 
 or two. Lady and the Misses Bagot were very kind and 
 friendly. I caked there again yesterday twice; when ho 
 he expressed the kindest anxiety to promote my interest 
 as much as he can. I find he never saw nor heard of 
 your application, he thinks it will be desk able for me to 
 proceed to Toronto and see you and the land, and re- 
 port to him if it is salubrious and free from Swamps, 
 which he is informed is one great fault ; however, he says, 
 he should depend upon my judgment of it. I have men- 
 tioned the appointment of an Em’grant Agent and stated 
 your experience, qualifications and merits , and from what 
 I can learn I think you may have an annual Grant of 
 Land in addition to the fixed salary ; but this is to be pri- 
 
84 
 
 EMIGRATION' 
 
 vate as no appointment will be made at present. Col. 
 Antrobns fixed to write me an order on Capt’n Jones, the 
 Provinicial Secretary, for my account of £17 4 4, but 
 he not being here Capt’n Bagot waits his return from 
 Montreal, and it having cost me to Kingston between 
 £l and £5 more than I expected, having to travel by 
 sleigh after setting out, I shall feel much obliged by your 
 enclosing to me, per return of post, 15 or 20 Dollars; and 
 please to write particularly whether you will meet me at 
 Toronto, or if I shall proceed to your farm. If you could 
 also send the stick for' His Excellency I think it would be 
 a gratifying remembrance to him. Do not fail to enclose 
 to me, and write per return of First Post ; hoping you 
 found Mrs. McVicar and your family all well, with best 
 respects, 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 J. Tihkis. 
 
 Rob t McVicar, Esq., > 
 
 Village of Norval. $ 
 
 Kingston, 15th Decemler, 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 After a long interview which I have had with Mr. 
 Morin, of the Crown Lands Office, and naming the dis- 
 appointment which numerous families and individuals 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 35 
 
 experienced who were invited to the Huron Tract for 
 Settlement by the representatives of the Honorable Co- 
 lonel Fraser and his Agents from no agent being there 
 authorized to receive the monies, for such purchases as they 
 chose to make, and locate them on the Lands ; and that 
 there are now 153 to 200 heads of Families at St. An- 
 drews and its vicinity waiting in suspense, since my 
 arrival, orders have been given for the immediate survey 
 and laying out of 12 Townships; and as I have named 
 your great experience and judgment in such matters, 
 and named that you would undertake an agency, I am 
 told you must make application, if you really wish it, for 
 altho’ Cap. Baget will exert himself to promote my views, 
 and a request from him has its proper weight, the Go- 
 vernmnt you must know will not be trifled with. I have 
 the satisfaction of seeing that the Townships of Ba'got, Peel 
 and Yimmistown, is laid out, and my friend Bouchette is 
 now occupied by the Town of Bagot to bo immediately 
 laid out. I wrote vou last week of my arrival, and to 
 know if you wished me to proceed to Toronto, and also 
 requesting you to oblige me with 15 or 20 Dollars per 
 return of Post, as Colonel -Antrobus’ Salary is not yet 
 receivable, and you have not attended to any one request. 
 You will oblige me by enclosing the above amount of 
 Cash, and name if you wish me to proceed to Toronto as 
 according to the Governor’s wish we may judge of the 
 
M 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Land from the Timber. Waiting your attention with 
 the needful, 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 JoSIAH TlMMIS. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq., 
 
 Kingston, December, 30lh 1842. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your favor of the 20th is duly to hand, 
 
 and I presented your order upon Mr , who says 
 
 he willpay it as so >n as he can and says ho has written you. 
 I have been desirous to procure Ayhvin’s interest to pro- 
 mote my applications to the Council, and as he met me 
 on my return on Monday from the Government House 
 and very cordially invited me to visit him, as he had heard 
 of my being here, I have since been with him at his house, 
 and this morning accompanied him to his office, and had a 
 long discussion with him, in company with Mr. Lafontaine, 
 to urge the immediate Survey of the Huron Tract, and 
 the inefficiency of the agents now there, and the tender 
 of your services to undertake that most important duty. 
 They wished me to see Mr. Morin again, the Commissi- 
 oner of Crown Lands, with whom I- have since had a long 
 conversation 5 he was extremely courteous and promised 
 
to CANADA. 
 
 ST 
 
 to promote my views in any thing that will benefit the 
 Province . I read to him an extract from your letter 
 discribing the fertility of those parts, with which he was 
 much pleased, but stated as there was an Agent at Owen 
 Sound and another at Garrafraxa, you had better look over 
 one of the Townships that you thought best for your 
 friends, and make a written application to be laid before 
 the Council as the appointment would be one of greater 
 responsibility than you seem aware of, and large sums of 
 money will be paid into your hands. The Council say 
 you will have to give securities to the customary Amount. 
 Col’n Antrobus has not yet sent his order on Capt’n Jones, 
 and of course I shall have to wait the arrival of my friends 
 here. I must thank you for your Polite invitation to your 
 dinner party, but wish to finish the business in hand here 
 before coming on to your place. I am very £lad to in- 
 form you that the Governor is recruiting in health very 
 nicely. I wrote your Brother to accompany me to your 
 place a fortnight back, and he seems as prompt a corres- 
 pondent as yourself, for there is no reply from him yet. 
 
 With respectful compliments to Mrs. McVicar and 
 your family, as well as to yourself, and wishing you a 
 happy New Year, 
 
 I am, my dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 J Timm is. 
 
 To Rob’t MoVicab, Esq. 
 
33 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Kingston, January 5th, 1843. 
 
 I had the pleasure of seeing Captain Bagot 
 this morning, and am very glad to inform you that bis 
 Excellency is getting in pretty good health again, he has 
 gone out in his sleigh. I find there are such numerous 
 application for the Crown Land Agencies; and those for 
 Arthur and Syderfham Townships being already filled ; 
 from the Commissioner having handsomely promised that 
 you shall have the choice of any Township you wish, 
 as mentioned in my letter to you, as there are 8 mora 
 Townships on the road laid out between Sydenham and 
 Arthur ; you had better determine on one, and come here 
 on receipt of this-, as Mr. Bouchette will kindly give you 
 every information on his maps ; and it is likely he will 
 go to the Saguenay below Quebec very soon, and I intend 
 to accompany him. I think the next Township to Arthur 
 will be best for you, as you might have your store there, 
 and for your fishing you could purchase a Town Lot for 
 J65 at Owen’s Sound, and place your Brother there or 
 
 else De la Ronde. Mr. has not been able to pay your 
 
 order ; but his brother, Captain is coming down from 
 
 Toronto to collect his freight accounts, and you had better 
 come with him and he will furnish you with such funds 
 as you want. Now I must request your immediate attention 
 to this, or else Mr. Morin will give the appointment to an- 
 other ;and I perceive by your Brother’s writing that he is not 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 39 
 
 Competent. I therefore shall expect you on return of the 
 
 Mail if Captain has set out, and bring any documents 
 
 with you that may promote your interest, also do not forget 
 the Governor’s stick. There is about to be some change 
 in the Council. I find I am too late for this day’s Mail 
 
 and have therefore been to Mr to see if his Brother 
 
 had arrived, and he appears to think from your neglecting 
 to write him, as you aught to have done, that you may be 
 too careless or indolent to attend to your interest here with 
 the Government, after all my exertions and applications 
 for you : should this be the case, as I shall not now come 
 on to Toronto, I must request you to write me per return 
 of Post, such excuse as you judge proper, to exonerate 
 me from any blame in formally applying to the Council 
 for you, as Capt. Bagot was yesterday very inquisitive 
 if your judgment of land was to be depended upon. I 
 feel that my honor and credit are at stake, in having re- 
 presented your qualifications and competency in such 
 strong terms. 
 
 Mr. Bouchette says that the mouth of the Saugine 
 River Townships will be best for you,, now lying out. 
 Relying upon seeing you per return of Mail, 
 
 I am, dear Sir, 
 
 Your’s sincerely, 
 
 J. Timmis. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq., 
 
 D 
 
40 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Kingston, Idth January, 1843. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Having taken an early and lively interest in the wel- 
 fare and prosperity of the new settlement, at present form- 
 ing under the auspices of Government, on the Shores 
 of Lake Huron, and been actively employed during the 
 whole of last summer in sending settlers there, I beg 
 leave to tender my best services as an agent to settle with 
 respectable families one or more Townships fronting on 
 the lake and bounding on the Saugine River. Having 
 traversed a considerable portion of that country made 
 me acquainted with its soil, fisheries and resources. 
 Touching respectability of character, talents and the ne- 
 cessary qualifications required to discharge successfully 
 the important duties connected with an appointment of 
 this high trust and responsibility, permit me to solicit 
 reference to the accompanying documents, also to Sir 
 John Franklin’s narratives of his first and second Land 
 Arctic Expeditions, and the narrative of Lieutenant In- 
 gall, 15th Regiment of foot, of his Exploring expedition 
 via the River St. Maurice, during the Summey of 1829. 
 Should any further recommendations be required, refer- 
 neces can be had to 
 
 The Hon’ble Matthew Bell, Three Rivers. 
 
 “ “ Baron Grant, Montreal. 
 
 “ “ Col. Alex’r Fraser, Glengarry. 
 
 “ “ Alex’r Grant, L’Orignal. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 41 
 
 The NcNab of Me Nab, Ottawa. 
 
 Peter Warren Dease, Esq., Commander of the ex. 
 pedition to, and Discoverer of the North West Passage. 
 
 Alex’r Buchanan, Esq. Queen’s Council, Montreal. 
 The members of the Bar of Montreal, all the inhabitants 
 of the County of Two Mountains, among whom I resided 
 for Ten Years, and to the Inhabitants of all the Scoteh 
 Settlements in Canada West. 
 
 I am acquainted with the English, French, Gaelic 
 and Indian Languages, and am also a practical Farmer. 
 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 Rob’t McVicar. 
 
 The Hon’ble. A.N. Morin, > 
 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands. $ 
 
 Kingston, 22nd January, 1843. 
 Sir, 
 
 I trust that the subject of the present application will 
 justify the liberty I thus take in addressing you a second 
 time. My domicile is in the Village of Norval, a distance 
 of 214 miles from this place. From thence I was called 
 down here by Mr. Timmis, merchant in Quebec, for the 
 express purpose of waiting upon you, and receive my ap- 
 
42 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 pointment as agent to settle one or more Townships in 
 the Huron Tract, as you will see by his letter to me bear- 
 ing date 15th instant. 
 
 The painful disappointment which I experienced at 
 not finding an appointment open for me on my arrival 
 here, can be more easily conceived than described. In the 
 present state of the roads, the journey from and to Norval 
 is harassing and dangerous, not to mention the heavy 
 expense unavoidably attendant on so long a route. I 
 have a large Family to support, and my circumstances^ 
 a pecuniary point of view are not so good as they were 
 a few years past, I am therefore but ill prepared to meet 
 disappointments and expenses of so vexatious a nature, 
 particularly after the trouble .and expense I was at during 
 last summer in sending settlers to Owen’s Saund. Under 
 these considerations may I solicit the favor of your having 
 the goodness to oblige me with a reply in writing to my 
 letter of application of the 16th instant, in order that I 
 may be enabled to take the necessary measures in di- 
 recting the ulterior movements of the numerous families 
 who where and still are making preparations to follow 
 me to the Huron Settlement. 
 
 I know how unreasonable it is to trouble you with a 
 communication of this kind, at a time when you are over- 
 whelmed with business ofimportance, but your own expe- 
 rience hath long ere now taught you that how trivial 
 soever the affairs of a private individual may appear 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 43 
 
 to the public, they arc still of importance to himself and 
 every one expects to escape neglect. 
 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble Serv’t, 
 Rob’t. McVicae. 
 
 Hon’ble. A. N. Morin, } 
 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, > 
 
 Kingston. J 
 
 Government House, March 6 th, 1S43. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I beg to forward to you the papers. &c., belonging 
 to Mr. McVicar, which I have read according to your 
 wish, and which bear testimony to the high character of 
 the owner. The Governor General’s state of health quite 
 prevents me bringing his case under notice I regret to say. 
 
 I am surprised and annoyed at seeing some letters 
 from a Mr. Timmis to Mr. McVicar, who appears to have 
 made use of the Governor General’s name and my own 
 in a way that he has not the smallest authority, and most 
 perfectly unwarrantable, never having seen him at King, 
 eton but once then without reference to any thing he states 
 in his letter. I feel it necessary in consequence to put 
 myself in communication with Mr. Morin, the Commis- 
 
44 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 sioner of Crown Lands as he may have taken the same 
 liberty there, and I recommend you to guard Mr. McVicar, 
 against his placing too much confidence in him. Should 
 Mr. McVicar not be going to leave Kingston, I would 
 gladly see him if such should be his wish. 
 
 1 have the honor to be, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your humble and obedient Servant, 
 
 To Thomas Hammond, Esq. 
 
 H. Bagot. 
 
 Kingston, March 18 th, 1843. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq., 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Having witnessed such scenes of misery and distress 
 for many years past among the poorer class of Immigrants, 
 who are by far the greater portion of the number that 
 yearly land on our shores, as were indeed calculated to 
 harrow the soul of every philanthropist, and call into action 
 every feeling of deep sympathy in their favor, I have 
 been led to investigate the cause, and to endeavor to dis- 
 cover an antidote for those evils which, I am sorry to 
 say, are daily on the inerease. After mature deliberation 
 and close application to the subject, I find that no less 
 than a simultaneous burst of public indignation is likely 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 45 
 
 to rouse the authorities of the land to adopt measures 
 for preventing a recurrence of the evils of the past ; there, 
 fore, Sir, the sooner something ean be done for that 
 purpose the better. I take the liberty of addressing you 
 on the subject, hoping as the friend of the child of adver- 
 sity, from the interest which you have always taken in 
 the Immigrant’s welfare, and the settlement of the waste 
 Lands of the Province by a hardy and Loyal population, 
 that you will use all your abilities and influence yourself 
 and every effort to enlist into the service, men of talent 
 and influence from every part of the Country, in order 
 that overwhelming evidences may be produced to expose 
 the folly of the present system, if such it may be called, 
 of Immigration, as also the Land selling and granting, to- 
 gether with the miseries to which poor Immigrants are 
 subjected after arrival here, and the vexatious delays and 
 disappointments which thwart the purposes of such Immi- 
 grants as may arrive with some means; delays and disap- 
 pointments which eventually induce them to cross the 
 lines, to add fresh State and Territories to the already 
 too widely extended Republic. As it is my intention to 
 trouble you with a series of letters on this subject, I will 
 merely draw your attention to a few lamentable facts 
 which indicate “something rotten in the state of Denmark,” 
 something wrong in the policy presented both here and 
 at home as regards Emigration ; a policy which entails 
 a train of miseries for years on the poor and ignorant 
 
40 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Immigrants, who listened to the speechifying syrens of 
 Immigration. It is a fact in the first place, that while the 
 Colonial Government sells no land under Ss. per acre, 
 and that under stipulations beyond the power of the indi- 
 gent settler to comply with, having only a few months 
 allowed him to pay the whole amount, Agents remuner- 
 ated by government, private companies and individuals, 
 travel from the Dan to the Beershcba of the British Isles, 
 urging these poor people to leave their ancient houses, 
 where indeed they find but little encouragement to remain 
 and Emigrate to the fertile wilds of Canada, where they 
 may in a few years live in independance and comfort. 
 Endless forests fine and fertile, swarming with deer ; Ri- 
 vers and Lakes abounding with Fish, overshadowed with 
 trees, abounding in sugar growing on land requiring no 
 manure, and so productive as to exceed belief, arc painted 
 in such fanciful and fascinating colours and passed before 
 the eye of the imagination, with such skill and effect as 
 almost enough to set the poor creatures frantic with joy 
 at their expected prosperity. But, mark the result ; fam- 
 ilies divided in expectations of soon meeting again in the 
 arms of love and comfort, every thing is sold that is 
 not required for the voyage to pay their passage, and 
 tne remaining portion of the money laid out in provisions 
 often less than will serve them on the ocean, in full ex. 
 pectation that on arrival in America employment is easily 
 and readily obtained, wages ample and money plenty ; that 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 47 
 
 lands are cheap and easy of access ; terms of payment 
 most liberal, and clearing theforest an easy matter ; but, 
 alas ! once landed at Quebec, the delusion which drew 
 them from home is vanished after being led by it, as by 
 the Ignis. fatuus to the boys, and marshes of troubles and 
 difficulties of a new order requiring years of hard la- 
 bour, present privations and future perseverance, reso- 
 lutigas'and industry to overcome, flush with hope and 
 confident of immediate commencement to prosperity the 
 poor Emigrant leaves his family on the wharf and calls 
 on the Emigrant Agent whom he thinks has every pow- 
 er of making him happy ; but, behold, he is handed over to 
 another at the next port, by a line or two of writing, and 
 a few pounds of Bread and Pork, and so on from one to 
 another, till tired of going Westward with no better en- 
 couragement, he sinks down in despair, cursing the day 
 he left his native home, or crosses the lines to the United 
 States, throwing off his shoes the dust of his allegiance 
 in the face of this portion of the British Empire, vowing 
 to raise his arm against it, whenever a collision takes 
 place betwixt both powers, and why ? Because he was 
 disappointed at first, and next rejected by the Colonial 
 Government, which prefers keeping millions on millions 
 of acres in the state of native uselessness, and which may 
 be unproductive for half a century to come, than to give 
 tjie moneyless and working man a few year’s credit, or 
 ipaite reads into the bosom of the forest whereby such. 
 
4a 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 as could purchase land would have a chance of reaching 
 it. The present system of land granting and selling is 
 quite impolitic, and very injurious to the pr> sperity of 
 the Country ; it would be far better to warn Emigrants 
 from leaving their homes, if they could not avail them- 
 selves of the terms which Government offers them, than 
 laying out thousands of pounds yearly for their convey, 
 ance and sustenance, till arrived far in the West of Can- 
 ada where they are allowed to scatter like sheep without 
 a shepherd, on the mountains of want and dificulty, and in 
 danger of falling into the mire of despair, whereby they 
 are forced to cross the lines in anticipation of a better 
 fate, and from which place, however willing, they cannot 
 retrace their steps. Thus, Sir, is the Canadian Govern- 
 ment turned into a nursery for bringing up hardy labour- 
 ers and soldiers for their rivals the Americans, all from 
 the pet notion that laying out money in making roads in 
 the forest is not economical ; and that it is unsafe to trust 
 the hardy loyal Emigrant with £40 worth of uncultivated 
 land, which land if left so for a century would not be one 
 copper’s worth of help to the country. I see that Mr. 
 Merritt, in his letter to Lord Stanley, asserts that the pro- 
 duction of the soil is the true wealth of the country. Gov- 
 ernment seems to admit the fact, but does not adopt the 
 principle. Leaving this part of the subject for another 
 day, let me draw your attention to the misery to which 
 such poor Emigrants are exposed, when left on our 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 4 § 
 
 wharves unwilling to go further, and obliged to seek 
 charity when employment is not to be had. Families 
 are broken up and scattered over the country among 
 strangers, exposed to every evil temptation never to meet 
 again with their former innocence. Families young, mo- 
 dest and virtuous, are exposed to the idle gaze of the 
 profligate and licentious ; and to answer their unfeeling 
 and impertinent interrogatories, much to the contam- 
 ination of their morals, and finding themselves disappoin- 
 ed and left for days and nights on the wharves, feel them, 
 selves degraded, and consequently get careless of their 
 conduct or character ; and hence the great change which 
 takes place in their morals, after arrival here. I shall 
 leave the darkest shades of this picture untouched until 
 another opportunity, as this communication is merely a 
 rambling introduction to a series of letters which will 
 follow. 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 The Tourist of the Woods. 
 
 Kingston, March 21st, 1823. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Having in my letter to you of the 18 inst. brought 
 the miseries of deluded Immigrants under your notice, 
 
50 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 earnestly soliciting your aid in bringing the matter before 
 an enlightened public, with the intention of enlisting 
 general sympathy in their behalf, and if possible to effect 
 a change in the system adopted by the government for 
 the disposal of the Waste Lands in this Province, as also 
 to induce the Home Government to take into serious 
 consideration the great importance of concocting measures 
 whereby Emigration may prove a benefit instead of a 
 curse to the parent state, as well as to the Emigrants 
 themselves. I now beg leave to draw your attention to 
 a few facts which, if well understood on the other side 
 of the Atlantic, would open the eyes of the British Pub- 
 lic to see plausible reasons, little thought of before, for 
 the alienation of British feelings which increased by de- 
 grees in this Province for years, and ultimately burst 
 forth in open Rebellion, a Rebellion which was supressed 
 through the loyalty of thousands whose British feelings 
 drew them round the British Flag to protect its honor, 
 while the usages they received in this portion of the. 
 empire, were sufficient to overcome the most devoted 
 attachment to the British Grown, if that enthusiasm which 
 British Subjects feel towards their country’s power and 
 glory did not, in a peculiar manner, outvie that of most 
 other nations. Facts, Sir, which would satisfactorily 
 explain the cause of that inveterate enmity, which thou- 
 sands of british born Subjects living in the United States, 
 bear towards the Government of this country. Great 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 51 
 
 indeed, must the loyalty of that man be, who can With- 
 stand for many years want, misery and neglect, in the 
 land of his adoption, and that land British ; while fo- 
 reigners receive the cordial support and patronage of 
 high officials, in posts of honor and lucrative situations, 
 in preference. Great must the loyalty of that man be, 
 that stands the brunt of national ingratitude and scorn for 
 years, and the denials which cause him to seek a liveli- 
 hood in an enemy’s country, and swear fealty to a foreign 
 power ; whose aggressions were repelled by the loyalty 
 of his forefathers, whose blood has been sacrificed at 
 the shrine of British Glory, and is forced to say concern- 
 ing this Province something similar to what our Saviour 
 said to this world. Place hunting loyalty finds favor 
 and support ; Foreign speculators meet with encour- 
 agement ; and Anti-British feelings, lucrative berths and 
 places of honor ; but the loyal son of a loyal British 
 subject cannot get a place to rest his head on, nor a foot 
 of land on credit, if he happens to be poor, on which to 
 employ his strength, -and by industry realize comparative 
 independance, by which in a few years he might become 
 its legal possessor, increasing not only both the true wealth 
 of the country and the demand for British Manufactures, 
 but the Power of the British Nation- It is a fact, Sir, 
 which defies contradiction that, once, Upper Canada stood 
 a monument of British Loyalty and of unparalleled attach- 
 E 
 
52 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 ment of a neglected Colony to the Parent State, unequalled 
 in the history of latter days ; and yet how are its defenders 
 treated, and their friends and countrymen used, on seeking 
 an asylum here from the hardships which they suffer in 
 their native land, arising from a superabundant population 
 and scarcity of land for cultivation ? In reply, 1 may refer 
 you to file Act of Council which puts the waste lands 
 beyond the reach of the poor Immigrants, being tanta- 
 mount to prohibitory duty on all Loyal or British Subjects 
 which the, public Statesman, the. Patriot and the Philan- 
 thropist endeavour to introduce for the double purpose 
 of relieving their distress at home, and for the other 
 beneficial purposes I mentioned above by which means, 
 a liberal system of land granting or selling, and by the 
 expenditure of a few thousand pounds yearly, in getting 
 the Immigrant’s interest watched from the time he leaves 
 his ancient home, till settled in a new one here, a second 
 British Empire of a loyal and contented race, glorying 
 in the fame of their fathers and their fathcr-land, would 
 be formed or created here ere many years, whose power 
 would equal its parent worthy of a Crown, and a King 
 of England’s Royal Blood to wear it ; an Empire, Sir, 
 which would, following the steps of its parent, spread 
 honesty and honorable principles, moral and religious 
 sentiments, the spirit of improvement and.adventure; moral 
 and political integrity, together with the blessings of arts 
 and sciences, and civil and religious liberty over the 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 53 
 
 Western World. But it would appear, Sir, to a casual 
 disinterested observer, as if the minds of the present 
 rulers of the land were too contracted to harbour any 
 idea, as that such would be possible, but it appears to 
 mo from the experience which I have had in the matter 
 for twelve years past, as if it were the thing most to 
 be dreaded even under every restriction which can be 
 put on its progress. I could have mentioned many who 
 have fallen victims to the notions of certain Officials of 
 the Colonial Government regarding Emigration, and many- 
 more whose praiseworthy endeavours to settle the Wilds 
 with sturdy and even wealthy settlers, were frustrated 
 througa stumbling blocks thrown in their way by soma 
 of the Government’s Officials ; but I need not go further 
 back than the settling of Owen’s Sound, and the Lands 
 by the Garrafraxa Road. How many thousands, Sir, 
 have been disappointed and disgusted with the manner 
 in which that has been conducted? how many thousand 
 enemies to British power and rule "has it made of loyal 
 subjects, and how many more is it making daily? With 
 what feelings of indignation, do all men of honor or of 
 honest p/inciple receive the intelligence that such shuffling 
 has been used between Government and its Agents, as is 
 capable of depriving the poor man of not only tho prom- 
 ised chance of purchasing the 50 acres adjoining the 50 
 of free grant, but the Grant itself, and all the labour and 
 expenses laid out upon which, opportunity is to be taken 
 
54 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 advantage of in the poor Emigrant’s not being able to 
 pay cash down, for the said adjoining 50 acres. Heavens ! 
 is such conduct understood in the least by the poor Emi- 
 grant at home ? certainly not ; nor was it by me when 1 
 encouraged them publicly to come and take advantage of the 
 oiler. What will be their disappointment on arrival here, 
 or the feelings of such as you and I, who took some pains 
 in urging them forward, and how many more enemies 
 will it make to the British Nation ere another year. If 
 your own loyalty had not been of the highest order, how 
 could it withstand your disappointments on finding that of 
 the two thousand four hundred families which you had been 
 mainly instrumental in forwarding to the Huron Tract 
 last year, posessing wealth to the amount of £350,000, 
 to expend in purchasing land and cultivating that fertile 
 soil, few if any remained after the sacrifice of time and 
 means which you have made to the cause, but returned 
 disappointed and disgusted with the Agents of Govern, 
 ment and Government itself, wreaking vengeance against 
 them and packing up their all, crossing the lines, crying 
 “ What have we to do with Victoria or the daughter of 
 the Duke of Kent, come, let us pitch our tent in the camp 
 of her enemies ; “ and so they did, to the present loss to 
 the Province of £250,000, besides a much greater loss 
 on a further time both in money and protectors of the 
 soil, a greater loss by far than the desertion of the soil, 
 a greater loss by far than the desertion of an entire Reg. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 85 
 
 iment of hired Soldiers ; but this is the policy of the 
 Canadian Government, and who dare say nay. The pro- 
 duce of the soil being allowed on all hands to be the true 
 wealth of the Country, its increase and its prosperity ; 
 hence it follows that the producers, if British subjects, 
 bound by bonds of gratitude to the Government are its 
 strength and bulwarks, the greatest pledge Britain can 
 have for its remaining long an integral part of herself, 
 and a guarantee for employment of her manufacturers at 
 home, and her stability as a great nation abroad ; yet, sir, 
 all this is risked for the sake of fostering the pet scheme 
 of the Canadian Government, for raising a fund for pre- 
 tended present necessity by demanding 8s. per acre, for 
 the waste land they have to sell, almost down ; by which 
 more men and money leave the Province yearly, than 
 would maintain the glory of Britain single handed, ere 
 but a few years in this country, against any force our 
 neighbours could raise, which desertion from the Province 
 comes two fold against us another day. 
 
 I have many applications from my native land for 
 advice regarding Emigration, and all I can say is that I 
 was informed lately at the Crown Land’s Office that the 
 best way of settling the country was to allow it to settle 
 itself, by people paying for their lands and finding roads 
 for themselves. I had at the time the offer of 800 heads 
 of respectable families to settle in the rear of kingston, 
 who could pay for the land if roads were made and agents 
 
56 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 on the spot, to locate them on the lots apportioned for 
 their ultimate destination and permanent homes, none of 
 whom will come by Quebec but for the sake of a cheaper 
 passage from home, free conveyance and rations from the 
 Government till they get pretty far West, so as to require 
 little time or expense to reach across to the Western 
 Hemisphere. 
 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 The Toukist of the Woods. 
 
 Kingston, 6th, April, 1843. 
 
 My Dear Sir, 
 
 Now that Sir Charles Metcalf has arrived, no time 
 is to be lost in submitting to his consideration all the 
 documents in your possession illustrative of the important 
 object you have in view ; and in my humble opinion it is 
 quite unnecessary for me to write one word more on the 
 subject, or for you to collect any other information till 
 such time as his Excellency’s opinion may be had relative 
 thereto. If the evidences you are to lay before him are 
 not sufficient to rouse the mind of so highly talented and 
 so able a Statesman, and according to all accounts so 
 good hearted a man, no other effort of yours, or of such 
 as feel as you do, will avail anything. I feel so confident 
 that his Excellency cannot fail to make further enquiries 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 57 
 
 that I am fully of opinion that you will have ample oppor- 
 tunity of bringing before him such a mass of information 
 regarding the evils which heretofore were so fruitful of 
 baneful consequences to British power in this Province, 
 arrising out of an irregular Immigration and impolitic 
 system of settling the Waste Lands of the Province as 
 will be the means of affecting very important changes, 
 unless, he like others before him, may be led to disregard 
 truth unless emanating from higher quarters. I cannot 
 for a moment doubt that his Excellency is well aware of 
 the great importance of the preponderance of a loyal 
 population in this province ; the manifold advantages to 
 be derived from settling the waste lands, with a hardy 
 and industrious people ; even should they be all poor, 
 but much more so, if mingled with a proportionate number 
 of small Capitalists, of which there will be no lack should 
 proper encouragement be held out to them. 
 
 The great evil rests in too many of them coming out 
 here yearly, and being obliged to go to the United States 
 in search of what is denied them here ; thus draining Us 
 of both a physical, mental, and monetary strength, thereby 
 gives a compound ratio of power to that of our rivals. 
 We have Agents encouraging Emigration travelling the 
 British Isles, overcoming the minds of the people with tho 
 most flowery speeches, containing the most logical whole- 
 sale reasoning on the subject, calculated to attract the 
 attention of not only them, who grasp at every thing, that 
 
EMIGRATION 
 
 58 
 
 is likely to afford them relief through industry, but even 
 such as are living in comparitive independance, who for- 
 sake their native homes in search of a Paradise in Canada; 
 but what is the result? they meet with disappointment, 
 lose all faith in British Philanthropy, public engagements, 
 and honor; and steer their course to the far West sworn 
 enemies to the land of their Fathers ; and is it any won- 
 der ? what have all the Immigrant Societies organized 
 through the province done in the cause of those Immi- 
 grants who arrive through the persuasion of eminent 
 orators, and on whom they depended on their arrival 
 for guidance, information, aid and protection? nothing, 
 absolutely nothing ! When they looked for such bodies, 
 all the information which they could find concerning them 
 was that they were organized, but never had gone intooper- 
 ntion!!! Where were the extensive tracts of fertile sur- 
 veyed land, were the Poor were to have Grants, and tho 
 men of means have advantages of purchase? Where were 
 the Roads leading to the unsettled portions of the Country 
 which offered any chance of location to the swarms of 
 houseless, homeless, moneyloss and friendless families 
 yearly arriving, entirely dependant on the generosity of 
 Government? why, Sir, all these things were merely on 
 paper, preparatory to being transferred to the face of the 
 forest. What are the Emigrant Agents able to do, to 
 whom the Immigrants are recommended and on whom 
 they depend? nothing further than to inform them that 
 
TO CANADA . 
 
 5 # 
 
 there is plenty of Land to be had in the Province from 
 8s. upwards per acre, but in general unaccessable for want 
 of Roads. That the Canada Company are able to give 
 more favorable terms than the Government, from which 
 they purchased their lands, and if they proceed 3 or 4 
 hundred miles more to the West, if they have no means 
 they, the agents, will give them conveyance and bread 
 and Pork till they arrive there, or to some Poit where 
 work may be had. In the name of all that is good ; what 
 kind of policy is this, or what is the poor Emigrant to 
 think of a country whose Government with more than 
 sufficient Land to contain the redundant population of 
 Britain for centuries, listens with a deaf ear to the cry 
 of the poor Emigrant, and who through false economy, 
 leaves the vast untrodden regions of fertile soil unap- 
 proachable to both rich and poor ! 
 
 I have seen them at home, sir, in all stages of want, 
 poverty and misery ; for I made it my duty to travel for 
 two years for that purpose in a capacity which afforded 
 me access to the Halls of the great as well as the Cottage 
 of the poor, yet I never saw any thing capable of drawing 
 a bitter tear from the eye for the distress of strangers 
 than I have witnessed here.* 
 
 * As it may be observed in a pamphlet that was published 
 in Edinburgh, on the changes that took place in the County of 
 Sutherland (Scotland,) entitled McLeod’s Letters, and although there 
 has been an at'empt made to suppress their circulation by the local 
 agents of that noble house, there was no effort made to contradict 
 any one solitary fact therein contained. 
 
80 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 I have travelled through Canada and the states, and 
 I know the general feeling existing on the subject, and I 
 hesitate not to say that it weakens British Power, love, 
 and loyalty on this Continent, more than all our rivals the 
 states could by any other means effect. I have as you 
 know edited a journal in English and Celtic solely for the 
 benefit of Immigrants for 18 months, through which I 
 could draw settlers for hundreds of thousands of acres 
 yearly to the country, but seeing that they came only to 
 fill up our neighbour’s territories and increase their com- 
 merce and revenue to our di.sadv intnge, I discontinued 
 it in utter despair, but if you will be more fortunate than 
 such as followed the same tract before, it will be a source 
 of gratification to yourself but of much more importance 
 to the welfare of the Immigrant and British Power in 
 America. That you may succeed, is the earnest wish of 
 my heart, and il my feeble aid may be of any importance 
 you shall not fail in receiving it, meantime I remain 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 The Tourist of the Woods. 
 
 [emigration] 
 
 For the British Whig. 
 
 Mr. Editor, 
 
 In my addressing you I would emphatically call to 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 61 
 
 the consideration of tho British public, the immense im- 
 portance of the subject of Emigration, upon which nnnv 
 useful letters have already been written at different pe- 
 riods ; yet, as there is a dormant spirit showing itself in 
 the Canadas, as to its proper working by a regular system 
 for the occupation and settlement of the Waste Lands, 
 through the opening of Roads, with proper agents to \\ horn 
 tho Emigrants must be referred to have such location -of 
 Land apportioned to him for his immediate settlement, 
 a system which" I am pained to find is little if at all atten- 
 ded to, I would ask what right has the Canadian Govern- 
 ment, through its agents, to encourage Emigration, unless 
 they couple with encouragement to the Immigrant, atten. 
 tion to his wants on arrival here, in forwarding him to 
 such land as he may wish to settle either through purchase 
 or free grant ? 
 
 Mr. Editor, as I am aware that your attention is 
 directed to the well being of mankind, you will not, I trust, 
 consider it intruding bn any portion of your valuable 
 time, that I should hereafter trouble you with commu- 
 nications respecting this serious subject, but altogether 
 important to the future welfare and prosperity of this 
 valuable appendage to the British Crown; 
 
 Aebobicus. 
 
 Kingston, 3rd April, 1843. 
 
62 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 To His Excellency, The Right Honorable Sir Charles 
 Theophilus Metcalf, &c-, &c., &c., 
 
 The Memorial of Robert McVicar, Esq , &c., &c., at 
 present residing in the Village of Norval, near To- 
 ronto, Canada West, 
 
 Humbly Shf.wetii : — 
 
 That the well earned reputation acquired by your 
 Excellency in the various other portions of the British 
 Dominions which has graciously pleased your Sovereign 
 to confide to your care, for a careful and attentive regard 
 to the best interests of the Crown and the prosperity 
 of the community at large, induces your memorialist to 
 approach your Excellency on the present ocasion. 
 
 The subject which your memorialist thus ventures to 
 bring under your Excellency’s notice, so soon after your 
 arrival on our shores, is of such vast importance as fully 
 to plead in excuse the abruptness of his appearance before 
 you, so immediately after the cares and fatigues of your 
 voyage and to furnish in itself a sufficient apology. Your 
 Memorialist earnestly trusts, in coming before you with- 
 out the preliminary ceremony of a personal interview, 
 in submitting most respectfully for your Excellency’* 
 careful perusal, the accompanying correspondence, com- 
 munications and suggestions, on a matter of such vital 
 interest as well to the Province of Canada as to the Bri- 
 tish Empire, to which every sincere Patriot and well 
 meaning Philanthropist will unite in giving a cordial and 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 63 
 
 candid investigation, your memorialist can truly intimate, 
 that nothing but a most devoted attachment to the 
 British Crown, a most earnest wish for the prosperity of 
 this valuable colony, a deep anxiety for its permanent 
 continuance as an integral portion of the Empire, a sin- 
 cere regard for the success of a wholesome Immigration 
 for the permanent welfare, temporal and spiritual, of the 
 Immigrant, and a fervent interest that unfortunate portion 
 of his fellow countrymen at home, who have for years been 
 depressed in their circumstances. Nothing but these pow- 
 erful considerations, your memorialist would repeat 
 could have induced him to address you on such a mo. 
 mentous question which may be treated by others more 
 competent than himself, but by none more zealous, or 
 more devoted to its prosperity. These were the motives 
 which induced your me morialist instantly to attend to the 
 invitation of a confidential friend of His Excellency Sir 
 Charles Bagot, to appear here to accept the agency of one 
 or more Townships then to be surveyed, in reference to 
 which your memorialist takes the liberty of calling your 
 Excellency’s attention to the communications addressed 
 to him by Mr. Timmis, and his letter to Mr. Morin still 
 unanswered. But as your Excellency’s Memorialist feels 
 confident that, upon the fair consideration of the question 
 depends the misery or happiness of the thousands that 
 annually leave the British Shores, he hopes your Excel* 
 
64 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 lency will excuse the liberty he has taken, in addressing 
 you at a moment when so many matters of importance 
 will no doubt for some time continue to engross your 
 valuable time ; and should your Excellency feel desirous 
 of acquiring some knowledge- of your Memorialist’s po- 
 sition and standing in society, and the character he has 
 hitherto borne in British North America, your Excellency 
 will find in the subjoined correspondence that he has re- 
 sided the greater portion of his life in these Colonies, 
 that he had the honor to be connected in a more or less 
 degree with the first and second Land Arctic Expeditions 
 to the Polar Regions, to which the published narratives 
 will bear ample testimony, and that during the unfortunate 
 commotions and disturbances of 1837 and 1839, he took 
 an active part in suppressing these outbreaks and main- 
 taining the supremacy of Her Majesty’s Crown in this 
 Colony, in all of which lines and positions he trusts he has 
 done some service to his Queen and Country, thereby 
 entitling him to be considered as one whose interests in 
 the welfare of the Province arises from no sinister motives, 
 but springs from a pure sense of loyalty and philanthropy. 
 
 That your memorialist has witnessed with painful 
 feelings of regret, for many years past, many causes 
 whose effects bear heavy on the prosperity of the Pro- 
 vince, and which still exist although they might be very 
 readily and easily removed, causes which if not attended 
 to in due season, may prove more injurious to British 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 65 
 
 Interests than any of the political commotions which 
 have hitherto occured within the limits of the Colony. 
 
 Your memorialist would consider himself wanting 
 in duty to his beloved Sovereign, to the Country of his 
 adoption, andto the cause of humanity, were he to omit the 
 earliest opportunity of bringing the matter before your 
 Excellency, and to submit copies of various documents 
 bearing strongly on the subject to which he solicits se- 
 rious attention. 
 
 That the subject of the disposal of Lands, that are 
 public, by sale pr grant, and that of Emigration have for 
 many years past attracted much of the public attention 
 both io Britain and in Canada, yet in reality nothing has 
 been done to remove the numerous evils to which the 
 thousands of Emigrants who annually land upon our soil 
 are exposed, nothing to foster a systematic Immigration, 
 or to abolish an impolitic mode of disposal of the waste 
 Lands of the Crown. These evils so far from diminution 
 are on the increase, steadily though perhaps impercep- 
 tibly corroding the very strength of the British Power in 
 North America, while every attention is bestowed upon 
 the discord of parties and factions with the benevolent 
 view of restoring an order of things which will produce 
 amity and concord among people of different origins, poli- 
 tics, and feelings, ahd lead to the security of British power* 
 a course which would more particularly lead to such re- 
 
66 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 suits and destroy every hope of an ascendency of an anti- 
 British feeling, is almost wholly overlooked. 
 
 Your Memorialist considers this will be found in an 
 efficient system of Emigration, whereby loyal British sub- 
 jects might be encouraged to settle in this eountry, and 
 a liberal system of land granting, suitable to the wants and 
 circumstances of every healthy, hardy, and industrious 
 Emigrant from the country. The present system is in 
 the opinion of your Memorialist, one of the greatest stum- 
 bling blocks to the cause of Colonial prosperity, and the 
 nurture of loyalty and attachment to the Crown, and this 
 principally on account of the lands being withheld from 
 the poor Emigrant, unless he is prepared to pay eight 
 shillings per acre in Cash, for want of agents sufficiently 
 interested in the Immigrant’s welfare and capable of bear- 
 ing fatigue of mind and body in seeing them settled in 
 the remote Townships, from the absolute absence of pas- 
 sable roads to and from the principal market-towns, owing 
 to these causes thousands of Emigrants and Capitalists 
 leave the Province with disgust, and become settlers with- 
 in the already formidable territories of our rivals of the 
 United States ; even after the great majority of them have 
 been provided for and conveyed at the expense of our 
 Government to the different ports of Canada West, while 
 agents from this Province are traversing the British Isles 
 from one end to another encouraging almost every class 
 of Emigrants to leave their native Shores, those who are 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 67 
 
 induced to take suich a stepj fifld on tlleir arrival, their 
 hopes disappointed, every resolution is paralized, and their 
 loyal attachment to their legitimate Governmentso severely 
 tested, that in too many instances they remove to another 
 land, elaim the protection of a foreign power, and swear 
 fealty to a rival authority. To such an extreme point 
 has this evil extended its influence, that no farther back 
 than last year, over 2000 families which your Memorialist 
 had guided to the Owen Sound settlement, at a great sac- 
 rifice of time and means, have left for the United States 
 with means to the amount of £250,000, and deprecating 
 the Government of this Province as the cause o( their 
 disappointment. 
 
 Your Memorialist’s feelings on this occasion may 
 more readily be imagined than described, while millions 
 of acres are lying waste, and uncultivated, and even un- 
 surveyed, contrary to the promise of Government, upon 
 Which a population might have been settled that would 
 hsrVe afforded two full regiments of loya'l subjects, now 
 Seeking a home among our rivals. 
 
 Yolir Memorialist Would beg leave to refer your Ex- 
 cellency’s attention to page 35 of the accompanying man 
 USCript. Instead of such neglect and apathy regarding 
 the distressing circumstanced in which thesd loyal people 
 die placed after their arrival here, every attention should 
 tih paid to their wants, every' care sh'oidd' be taken to eri- 
 edurage' thferri to fdniain iri' thid Province, afid 1 to induce 
 
68 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 their friends to follow them. And this is humbly sub- 
 mitted. 
 
 Rob’t. McVicar. 
 
 Kingston, April 16th, 1843. 
 
 King Street, April 18th, 1843. 
 Captain Higginson’s compliments to Mr. R. McVicar, 
 and begs to say that by desire of the Governor General, 
 Captain Higginson will be happy to see Mr. McVicar on 
 the subject of His Memorial, to day at four o’clock, or to- 
 morrow, at 11 or 12. 
 
 Rob’t Me Vicar, Esq. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The more I look into the subject of Emigration the 
 more I see the necessity of bringing the matter before the 
 immediate attention of the Governor General, of making 
 the British public conversant with the great resources of 
 this country, and with the means and modes to be adopted 
 to make them available for the general good both of Emi. 
 grants and the British Empire. When I take into con. 
 sideration the hundreds of thousands of pounds periodically 
 distributed among the starving thousands of redundant 
 population of the British Isles merely for, I may say, 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 69 
 
 momentary relief, or at most a temporary one, and great 
 as these sums are, yet they are scarcely sufficient to keep 
 the poor from actual starvation, and no sooner one supply 
 for thousands is distributed, than a fresh call under the 
 most appalling circumstances is made. I say, when I take 
 into consideration the great probability of the continuance 
 of the same, I feel surprised that some effort is not made 
 by the British public, on whom such demands fall as a 
 voluntary tax of a heavy description, and which is likely to 
 continue so, to relieve themselves by degrees of such a 
 burden by paying for the passages of so many thousand* 
 yearly, and applying to the Imperial Government for a 
 grant of Land for such persons, or for land on terms at 
 least as favourable as the Canada Company now offers. 
 But I do not see any reason why two or three millions of 
 acres should not be of more benefit to the British and 
 Colonial Government given as free grants, or at any rate 
 on easy terms to such persons, than to allow such land to 
 stand unproductive for a Century to come. The district 
 in the neighbourhood of Owen Sound if I remember well 
 contains nearly two millions of acres, where the white 
 man has not as yet cleared an acre, and when I look at 
 the vast tract of country lying between the Georgian Bay 
 of Lake Huron and the Ottawa River, unsettled to within 
 a few miles of Kingston, a tract, through the centre of 
 which water communication extends uninterrupted, with 
 exception of a few portages, to the Ottawa, [ feel aston. 
 
TO 
 
 emigration 
 
 ished at Emigrants coming here to seek Wild Land ai 
 an asylum from the misery which they suffer at home, 
 for want of work or land whereby to raise the means of 
 subsistance being refused land under 8s per acre, ah d 
 that to be paid within a few months. 
 
 This last mentioned tract cannot contain less thah 50, 
 ooo acres making every reasonable allowance for Lakes, 
 Rivers, Rocks, and mountains as represented on the rndpS, 
 the half of which will not, under the present system of 
 land granting or selling, be settled for at least two or three 
 Centuries to come. Why then should not a road be made 
 from Kingston to some point of the above mentioned 
 Water communications, betwixt the Georgian bay and the 
 Ottawa, and give Emigrants 50 or 100 1 acres all alotig 
 the route at proper distances, say of two or three hundred 
 acres, leaving the rest in Government hands to be' sold 
 to such as may be able to pay for them ; many of whom 
 no doubt would be glad to do so when such settlement 
 should take place, guaranteeing to them labour at a cheap 
 rate from the poor who sho'uld be settled there. Why 
 should not the same be done in the Owen’s Sound Tract, 
 rhofe especially when by such a system the land in a feW 
 years would increase in value and price, so far beyond 
 its present value, as to be sufficient to cover any lodS 
 Which might be supposed to arise from granting or selling' 
 at a low rate* every three hundred acres on each side of 
 the principal Roads ; should these two Roads be Settled 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 71 
 
 in this manner, two extensive fields for operation would 
 be opened to t'.ie poor Emigrant, and to the capitalist 
 and speculator. The country would ere many years 
 settle far into the Interior, forming a formidable reserve 
 in time of war, of able bodied and faithful subjects, who. 
 from the present system, are compelled to proceed beyond 
 the lines, from whence they may pour their force upon 
 us at a future period, for the gross neglect with which 
 they were treated on their arrival in Canada. 
 
 I would ask any sensible man the question whether 
 it would be more profitable or beneficial to this Colony 
 and to the Empire, to have three or four millions of these 
 acres of Waste Lands settled by a loyal, hardy, and in- 
 dustrious race of people to the amount of 50 or 100 
 thousand, leaving in the course of two or three or four 
 years, six times as much for six times as many, who 
 would pay for it, and embark their capital in various 
 ways in these regions, than to have those same Lands 
 unproductive, while the distant settlements of our neigh- 
 bours swarm with disappointed British subjects. 
 
 It is my opinion if Government continues the plan 
 of allowing the Land to settle itself, that it will never be 
 settled unless the Americans take the liberty of doing it 
 some day when Britain is stumbling over her interest, 
 and withdraws her soldiery from the Province ; yes, and 
 when people will get so disgusted at these measures, 
 which deny their countrymen a chance of settling, that 
 
EMIGRATION 
 
 they will be careless in repelling the aggressions of the 
 enemy, particularly when the majority of them, may be 
 those very friends of theirs who left this Province dis- 
 appointed. Would it not be a wise policy of Britain, to 
 adopt measures, by which she could safely depend on the 
 number of her yeomen in Canada, as well as on their 
 loyalty, without being under the necessity of sending 
 troops from home 1 would it not be a wise policy of her 
 to look forward to the day when, by a proper system of 
 land selling, of making great Branch Roads into the 
 uninhabited Regions, and by such other measures as 
 would be found expedient by the wisdom of her nobles, 
 she might place a Vice-Roy of the Royal Blood to rule 
 over this country by laws suitable to it, as ruling by 
 Governors seems to be any thing but- satisfactory or 
 successful ? 
 
 These matters which I wrote at random, I beg to lay 
 before you, that you may digest them properly, and bring 
 them into notice in which ever way you may think proper. 
 
 Your’s respectfully, 
 
 The Tourist of the Woods. 
 Kingston, 18th Af.ril, 1843. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Kingston, 29th April, 1843. 
 
 In compliance with His Excellency the Governor 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 73 
 
 General’s request, imparted through you to me, I beg leave 
 to submit for his information the following plan and sys- 
 tem ; to provide for Immigrants and others, and for the 
 successful settlement of the Waste Lands of this important 
 Colony, now lying a dead letter to the British Crown, 
 which I have embodied in as small a compass as the 
 subject would permit with any degree of clearness, suffi- 
 cient to render it susceptible of being properly understood 
 to advantage, or used as the Ground Work of a plan of 
 such national importance, as I feel assured it is in the 
 Power of Government to make it. 
 
 But previous to my introducing my plan to the notice 
 of His Excellency, I consider it absolutely necessary to 
 explain the evils arising from the want of a regular system 
 being established, and that in as few words as possible, 
 having already had the honor of laying it at large before 
 His Excellency. Leaving the evils to which Emigrants 
 are generally exposed, for the want of a proper system of 
 Emigration being adopted in the Mother Country, from 
 the time they leave their native homes until they are 
 landed in Quebec or Montreal ; great as these evils are, 
 I shall proceed to point out those to which they are 
 subjected on arrival here. 
 
 In the first place, they are landed on our shores full 
 of hopes and expectations, dreaming of happiness, enjoy- 
 ment and prosperity which they have been led to believe 
 were assuredly awaiting them, through the representations 
 
74 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 made by agents from this country encouraging them to 
 emigrate here, agents whom they understood were ap- 
 pointed by Government or sanctioned by it ; and how 
 could they otherwise think, when the British Press daily 
 pours forth its eulogiums on the praiseworthy exertions 
 of such individuals, and the munificence of the Canadian 
 Government, which granted to the chief of the Appostles of 
 Canadian Immigration Five hundred pounds for his able 
 services in the cause, and when it had been published from 
 one end of the British isles to the other, that Immigration 
 Societies were forward in all parts of the province, to act 
 in unison with his efforts to make the Emigrants comfort- 
 able on their arrival here. But, alas, no sooner are they 
 landed on our shores, than ever vestige oPtheir anticipated 
 prosperity and happiness vanishes, as, in the first place 
 those fertile lands which they expected would be granted 
 to them on terms suitable to their circumstances, are pla- 
 ced beyond their reach, through the means of the present 
 system, no lands being granted under 8s. per acre whether 
 it be accessible by roads or not, and that 8s. per acre, or 
 £40 for each Lot of 100 acres, to be paid down, or at least 
 within a very few months. I would here beg leave to 
 solicit His Excellency to meditate for a few moments on 
 the feelings of these poor and helpless people, who thus 
 disappointed after pushing their way up this Country, are 
 compelled to seek daily labour at such wages as any one 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 75 
 
 chooses to give them in absence of the Land, which was 
 their sole object before leaving home. 
 
 Heads of Families with their tender babes flocking 
 around, enquiring of their parents, at every post they ar- 
 rive, where was their future home, or how far was it yet 
 away? what must be the feelings of the poor Parents 
 when unable to reply, post after post is passed and yet 
 perhaps no employment, night after night passes away 
 during which, they sleep on the decks of crowded steam- 
 boats, or in the hold of crowded Barges without changing 
 clothes for weeks, and are finally landed somewhere to 
 take up their lodgings gcntral'y in Immigrant Sheds, much 
 crowded and full cf. disease, where they remain until em- 
 ployment is found for them. But how is it generally found ? 
 It is found by breaking up this hitherto happy and virtuous 
 family in pieces; a son is sent to a distance among 
 strangers, and a daughter, young, innocent an 1 inexper- 
 ienced in the world, is hired out by the month, the parents 
 know not. with whom, pr with wlnt characters, and the 
 remaining portion are, obliged very often to remain behind 
 while the Father goes onward to earn their bread. But 
 even hard ’as this is, it could be borne with some degree 
 of fortitude if there was any appearance of again meeting 
 by winter, around the hearth of a permanent home, where 
 even the most simple and scanty morsel could be enjoyed 
 with-love, hope and cheerfulness : but the present system 
 
 G 
 
76 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 of Land settling denies 'it. I have here drawn a true 
 picture of the state of thousands and thousands ofEmi- 
 giants, who came here through the representation made 
 jo them at home, and who would never have come here 
 to suffer as they must do for want of means to purchase 
 lands, had they known the true state of things. 
 
 Let me next bring before His Excellency’s notice 
 another great evil, and that is one which falls to the lot 
 of the man of some little means. He arrives here like 
 the rest with his eye directed towards a lot of land, he 
 counts over his 20, his 30, his 40, or even his 50 pounds 
 which he had husbanded carefully and probably saved 
 with penurious economy, for the purpose of feeding his 
 family during winter, and for purchasing a cow, imple- 
 ments of forest husbandry, and grain to put in the ground 
 in spring ; but mark his astonishment and disappointment 
 on learning that he must pay forty pounds for a lot of 
 land, cash down, before he can get ” leave to toil” on it, 
 or rear a cot for the protection of his family from the 
 weather. His hopes are blasted, he wanders from place 
 to place for some other mode of living, until winter over, 
 takes him, during which time (should he have laboured 
 for money until then) his all is melted away in idleness 
 for want of land to work on; in spring, poorer than ever, he 
 resumes his travels westward, inactive in mind and unloyal 
 in feeling. Often a person of this sort starts at once to 
 the United States, where he can obtain a lot of land for 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 77 
 
 £20 or £25 of the finest quality, requiring less labour in 
 clearing, and having the advantage of roads and a settled 
 neighbourhood, as well as the enjoyment of the company 
 of many of his countrymen who left Canada from the 
 same reason. 
 
 The next evil which I would bring before His Ex- 
 cellency, is one which is more hurtful to the welfare and 
 prosperity of this Province yes, and to the United King- 
 dom, than to the Immigrant himself; and that is, when 
 a small capitalist arrives, and wishes to settle in the rear 
 Township of some certain post he may feel inclined to 
 choose as his' final landing place, and when he finds that 
 there are no roads made through such Township no agent 
 to point out lots for him, and few if any settled therein, 
 or probably the lands not even surveyed, he follows the 
 same footsteps with the Immigrant who went last year 
 to Owen Sound settlement, and who returning in disgust 
 to Toronto, meet with thousands of their fellow countrymen 
 possessing extensive means, then on their way to the 
 same settlement, who wearied and being disappointed 
 after hearing the report of the former party, retraced 
 their steps with them and crossed over to the United 
 States. Such is too often the case, and it can be proved 
 that about one sixth of the Immigrants arriving here, and 
 those chiefly of that class who posess the most means 
 and who would; be of the most importance to the colony, 
 leave the Province in this way, and thus, enrich and 
 
78 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 strengthen a rival power. To enumerate the evils 
 arising out of the present system would swell this doc- 
 ument far above the size of that already laid before His 
 Excellency, therefore I will briefly state that settlers are 
 scattered so far apart in many instances for want of 
 sy.i.Lu), that they cannot help each other in health, Un- 
 less in sickness. They have no preachers, teachers, or 
 physicians. Females on ccrlaia occasions are, on this 
 account, lamentable sufferers. The cause of religion and 
 morality suffer by it beyond what people generally have 
 any idea of. There is a loss of commerce, of trade, and 
 of military strength in time of war, or otherwise, besides 
 many other causes too numerous to relate, but which will 
 shortly be put before the public for their iai’orrnation, in a 
 work preparing for the pres;. 
 
 I shall simply remark on this head that the present 
 system is quite inapplicable to the condition of both 
 this country and the parent state, and entirely unsuit- 
 able to the wants of the great tide of Immigration 
 which is flowing yearly to our shores with increasing 
 force, I will therefore commence in detail my intended 
 plan of settling the waste lands of the Province, with a 
 few preliminary remarks. First, it is evident that it is 
 Immigration that made the lands which are now settled 
 in Canada so valuable as they now are, and raised the 
 Province so high in the estimation of the parent state and 
 of so powerful a support to the greatness of the Empire, 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 79 
 
 hence it follows that Immigration, if properly conducted 
 and if facilities are afforded to the thousands that yearly 
 arrive, to locate themselves according to their circum- 
 stances, will continue to produce similar and beneficial 
 results. Millions of acres, now lying waste, and unpro- 
 ductive, will, ere many years, become valuable and the 
 province so increased in power and strength and I may say, 
 impregnable to a foreign foe ; and as happily the Province 
 is beginning to enjoy a political repose, party and fac- 
 tious animosities dying gradually away, every exertion 
 should be made to attach the incoming strangers from 
 the parent stale to their adopted country, and to retain 
 both themselves and their capital within it, instead of as 
 is now the case, every thing being kept in a state calcula- 
 ted to wean away their affections to a rival power. If 
 the present administration found on assuming the reins 
 of Government, false systems and acts in existence, it 
 it is no reason that they should not make such improve- 
 ments and retrenchments in this respect, as they do in 
 others of less importance. If their policy be, as is set forth, 
 to govern according to the wishes of the majority of the 
 people, they cannot surely err in adopting a better system 
 of settling the Wild Lands of the Crown, than that which 
 is now become a crying evil, and one which will not fail, 
 ere many years, to bring forth disastrous consequences. 
 If Immigration is not required, if the lands are not inten- 
 
80 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 ded to be settled, it would be an act of charity in the Gov- 
 ment, to have it published in all quarters of the United 
 Kingdom, that the people might avoid the heart-rending 
 disappointments and sufferings they must meet here on 
 arrival, and it is a duty which every well wisher of the 
 Empire has a right to perform, to withhold from our 
 rivals such vast strength and wealth, as is yearly drained 
 from it, and conducted through Canada; therefore I would 
 humbly suggest to His Excellency the following system 
 of settling the Waste Lands of the Province. 
 
 1st. To grant to every head of a family from '50 
 to 200 acres, according to the number of male adults in 
 each family able to wield an axe, and drive a plough, for 
 a certain number of years, free, if not possessed of capital 
 to purchase ; allowing the settler sufficient means to main- 
 tain his family for one year and to purchase implements 
 and grain to put in the ground, under stipulations of pay- 
 ing for the same in yearly instalments, after the first two 
 or three years ; when, it may be safely inferred, suste- 
 nance for the family could be raised from the Soil, for the 
 weaker portion of the family, while the stronger might 
 labour on the Public Roads or Government Works, a por- 
 tion of the time, to pay for the Land. 
 
 2nd. In order to facilitate the settling of the Waste 
 Lands, great channels for the tide of Immigration should 
 be opened to a considerable extent into the interior, in 
 way of main roads, from the principle ports on the River 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 81 
 
 and Lakes, at the extremity of which roads, the nucleus 
 of settlements should be formed, where a Town, or Village 
 Plot would be laid out, and a Township or two surveyed, 
 in which every third or fourth 100 acres should be re- 
 served by Government for sale, at a future period, when 
 the increase of settlers and improvements would render 
 it valuable, like uncultivated land now in settled Town- 
 ships, the propery of Companies or Individuals, which 
 lots would, ere many years, be readily bought up by 
 small capitalists at more money than four or five such 
 lots would obtain at the first formation of the settlement. 
 My reason, for commencing the Settlement at the farthest 
 ends of the main Roads is, that if once a good settlement 
 was made there, the eountry, betwixt that and the landing, 
 place on the Lake, would sooner fill up and realize high- 
 er prices to Government. 
 
 3rd. Agents of the proper cast, should be placed 
 in such Townships, with an assistant each, to point out 
 the lots to the Immigrants; and such agents and assistants 
 to be paid for their services, partly by. land, in their re- 
 spective Townships, on which they were to be permament 
 settlers, thereby adding confidence to the energy of the 
 settlers, and fulfilling their duty to the Government more 
 faithfully, with more convenience and less trouble to them- 
 selves. Such agents to be men of Philanthropic feelings, 
 of energy, mental and bodily capabilities, and fit not only 
 to point out the lots to the settlers on paper, but also on 
 the face of the forest itself. 
 
82 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 4th. To place Immigrants, who might have come 
 from the same section of country at home in one settle- 
 ent for the first year or two, that they might have an 
 earlier opportunity of having their own teachers and phy- 
 sicians, two things, the want of which, are seriously felt at 
 first in new settlements, and I may add, more so, many 
 years after, from the neglect of religious and moral cul- 
 tivation, as well as the want of laying a good foundation 
 for health. 
 
 5th. A good road to fertile soil is the most impor- 
 tant object connected with the Immigrant’s location, to 
 draw them into the heart c f the forest ; for the want of 
 which they confine themselves to thickly settled portions 
 near the great thoroughfare on the Lake side; from which,, 
 on the least disappointment and inducement to cross to 
 the United States, they will have every facility of leaving 
 British soil for ever. A competent surveyor with a suit- 
 able party, accompanied by a man of scientific knowledge, 
 should proceed to survey the route of such Roads, 40, 50, 
 or 60 miles beyond the well settled parts of the country, 
 the season previous to its being opened for location, that 
 it might be ready for next year’s Immigrants. 
 
 While the party, under the suveyor, are carrying on 
 their duties, it should be the province of the scientific 
 individual, not only to examine the nature of the soil and 
 its productions on their route, whither of timber, fruit, 
 grass or otherwise ; its geological and geographical struc. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 83 
 
 ture, at least along the line of roads and its vicinity ; but 
 also, to see that the said surveyor and his party prosecute 
 their business energetically and faithfully; as from the evils 
 now arising, and the losses that have been sustained by 
 the Province, through the neglect of surveyors, their care- 
 lessness, delays ai.J inaccuracies are of a magnitude 
 not to be overlooked. Vast sums of money have been 
 expended to no purpose, and parties have been known to 
 be left for days together idle, while the surveyor has amused 
 himself by hunting, fishing and visiting Lumberer’s huts 
 at the public expense. In opening such a road, another 
 party of able men should follow, who were born or lived 
 for some years in the country, and who were well ac- 
 quainted with clearing the forest and malting such roads 
 as the party with the overseer would direct such Immi- 
 grants to perform, who might want temporary employ, 
 ment, before they proceeded towards a location, or were 
 waiting until such a tract of country could be opened. 
 
 6th. Temporary Huts should be erected on this 
 line of roads, for the accomodation of these parties while 
 making the roads, at certain distances to suit their conve- 
 nience, with an acre of land to be cleared, which huts 
 would, next season and every succeeding season, be found 
 exceedingly serviceable to Immigrants on their arrival, as 
 temporary residences for the first season, until they could 
 during the winter prepare others on the lands allotted to 
 them, in the setPcrnent or along the road; the acre of 
 
84 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 cleared land to be prepared, to raise potatoes and such 
 other vegetables as are known to come to maturity in 
 proper season, even if not planted until the middle or the 
 end of June. This temporary dwelling would be of in- 
 calculable benefit to young and weak families, along with 
 an acre of ground, thus affording the same relief yearly 
 to incoming families. The hut to be erected and the acre 
 of land to be cleared, both by the first settlers, at the 
 government expense. 
 
 7th. The expenses attendant on this, would be but 
 small, compared with the benefits arising from it ; and 
 more so, when it must be borne in mind, that such loca- 
 tions would afterwards sell at greatly advanced rates : but, 
 should they not, a small rent might be charged during 
 their temporary residence, to be paid in money or produce, 
 during the three years they were to occupy their perma- 
 nent locations, without paying any instalments. 
 
 8th. As mills are of the utmost importance to new 
 settlements, the government should cause them to be erect- 
 ed and lease them or afford such advantages to Capitalists 
 by lease or purchase, as could not fail to enlist their en- 
 terprising attention, and advance the completion of such 
 works or contracts, to be entered into, to have such mills 
 completed according to certain plans and at a given time, 
 under penalty of forfeiture and fine. 
 
 9th. The chief Immigrant agent, in such a section, 
 should be chosen from among persons well acquainted 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 85 
 
 with forest life ; of an enterprising character and of Phil- 
 anthropic foelings ; of good moral habits and energy of 
 purpose, well acquainted with all the advantages of the 
 forest and how such advantages could be used to the ben- 
 efit of the Immigrant ; one, not only of sound judgment, 
 but of undeniable character, who, on examination, is 
 found to be well acquainted with the subject, and who is 
 desirous of making himself useful to the strangers ; one 
 who should take cognizance of the conduct of survey, 
 ors and agents ; and who is eapable of conducting 
 the business efficiently. 
 
 10th. That in such places as Owen Sound, the Ri- 
 ver Saugine, and the other parts of Lake Huron, which 
 are known to have extensive fisheries in their vicinity', 
 and which require only a little capital and proper man- 
 agement to produce immense profits to government and 
 great relief in way of provisions to Immigrants, the chief 
 agents should be men well acquainted with this branch 
 of business, who should feel a pleasure in prosecuting the 
 trade and who should attend to it not in their offices but 
 on the open lake as well as on the shore ; and whose ob- 
 ject would not be to pocket handsome salaries for report- 
 ing the services of others instead of their own. 
 
 As the prosecution of Lake Huron Fisheries are of 
 immense importance, measures to avail themselves of 
 their great income should be adopted by government in- 
 stead of allowing enterprising Americans to carry on a 
 
8G 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 lucrative trade of it in our waters and on our very shores, 
 to the amount of at least one hundred and thirty thousand 
 Pounds yearly, as has appeared in the Public Prints, not 
 much more than a year ago. 
 
 During the winter season as well as throughout the 
 year all the Immigrants who might pour into the Huron 
 Tract could be more than well supplied with food there - 
 frotnr: This is no fanciful idea but one which can be well 
 
 substantiated. 
 
 11th. The principle thing which the Immigrant of 
 any small means stands most in need of on arrival, being 
 a fixed home after leaving his native one, every attention 
 should bo paid to adopting measures for the purpose. If 
 settlements of the above description were formed, where 
 Capitalists would be encouraged to settle, there would be 
 no danger of the poorer class wanting employment or 
 iustenance : and if the poorest Immigrants were once 
 located among them or in their vicinity, we should never 
 hear any more of their distress. The most indigent that 
 we have heard of, who came out. in' a body, were those, 
 for two seasons from tire island of Lev, 'is, on the west of 
 Scotland; whose lives I may say were preserved by sub- 
 scriptions raised in Montreal and other places ; and who 
 if not placed on land, would continue a burden on society 
 to this day ; but from being located among and near 
 ethers from the same part, their distresses were not after- 
 wards heard of and they are now thriving rapidly. Du- 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 87 
 
 ring the troubles of 1837, and 1838, the young men, who 
 to a man stood in defence of the Crown, were known to 
 sell their rations of beef at a high price and to purchace 
 oatmeal with the money, sufficient not only to maintain 
 themselves, but as many more of the young and aged 
 males and females of their friends, who were in want. 
 Among the older settlers of the Eastern Townships where 
 they were .located, they dug Potatoes out of the ground 
 at a certain per centage of the produce, by which and other 
 such means they were enabled to live during winter ; and 
 such, who had provisions granted them by way of loan, 
 have paid it punctually and thankfully, and arc now quite 
 independant of pecuniary aid, such proofs of the little 
 which a poor family requires, when placed in a home in 
 the forest, are sufficient to urge the adoption of settling 
 the Immigrants immediately on land, instead of granting 
 a temporary relief by way of bread and pork while con- 
 veying them from one place to another for employment, 
 without any fixed object or place in view ; and who, when 
 winter arrives, are left to live on charity, without any 
 hopes for spring. 
 
 12th. As the system is a plain and simple one, re- 
 quiring no extraordinary outlay or exertions on the part 
 of Government, farther than to lay out their large stock 
 of Waste Lands on, as it were, a compound interest for 
 the good of the Province, I shall merely mention that the 
 
 H 
 
88 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 system may be sfimmed up in the following few words, 
 viz : — 
 
 1st. To grant to all Immigrants who cannot pur- 
 chase, Land on 5, 6, or 7 year’s credit, only charging 
 them a small sum to pay for constructing the main road 
 to the settlement, during the first three years. 
 
 2th. To open main roads, as before described. 
 
 3rd. To place well chosen agents in their settle- 
 ments with one or two assistants. 
 
 4th. To erect a certain number of Huts, for the 
 reception of Immigrants on their arrival, with an acre of 
 land cleared and attached, on the line of roads, as stated 
 in article 6th. 
 
 5th, To place Immigrants from the same parts at 
 home, for the first two or three years, in the same loca- 
 tions, allowing all who may choose afterwards, when the 
 settlements are formed, to settle where they please. 
 
 6th. To prosecute the Fisheries on Lake Huron, 
 for the benefit of the province, as well as the relief of 
 destitute settlers. 
 
 7th. To send the Imm'grant immediately to his 
 location on arrival. All that remains for me to do 
 now, is to show, by the following calculation, the in- 
 crease of population, by way of Immigration, it would 
 produce in ten years, as also, the revenue whioh would 
 arise from that increase, in way of taxes alone for twenty 
 years, all of which under the present system would bo 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 89 
 
 lost, as two or three years more must put a stop to 
 Immigration altogether, under the present system ; the 
 country having taken an alarm at the increase of paupers 
 and vagrants, without fixed homes, who are necessitated 
 to procure a living by every means they can devise be 
 they legal and just or not. Crime is on the increase, from 
 the number that are thrown on the world without a place 
 to lay their heads on, who would otherwise be useful 
 and peaceable members of society, if located on land. 'L he 
 yearly expense to the country, arising from supporting of- 
 fenders, in apprehending and incarcerating them, and every 
 other expense attendant on prosecutions, would go a great 
 length in settling some thousands. It has been ascertained, 
 that the average number of Emigrants, for the last 12 
 years, was about 32,000 averaging 6,000 heads of fam- 
 ilies, two-thirds of whom were not able to purchase 
 land and who were consequently spread about the coun- 
 try in quest of labour, and the same number may be 
 expected this year, who will be obliged to follow the 
 same tract, and so on-yearly, until labourers and mechanics 
 will exceed the number of employers ; as a proof of this, 
 mechanicnl and other labour is reduced in price one- 
 third and in many cases more, since the commencement 
 of the great Immigration of 1840, and the worst is that 
 there is no employment for one half the number, not- 
 withstanding the reports of immigrant agents, who con- 
 clude than when they get the poor immigrants off their 
 
90 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 hands! by finding them employment for a month or two, 
 or three during the hurry of harvesting, being the time 
 that most of them arrive, that they are provided for, 
 throughout the year ; whereas, proofs positive could be 
 produced, that the majority of them would have starved, 
 if the public had not, from charity, supplied them with 
 sustenance or employment for their mere maintenance ; 
 so that, it is evident, that they become a burden on so- 
 ciety or at least are unwelcome intruders. It is also 
 well known, that they congregate in thousands to the 
 Puplic Works, both here and in the United States, and 
 travel from one place to another with their families, 
 without any other object in view, but that of procuring 
 the scanty necessaries of life, without looking beyond 
 the present day ; growing vicious in habits, immoral in 
 conduct, liotous in behaviour and disturbers of the peace 
 wherever they go ; who might, if located on land immi- 
 aiately after their arrival, have become respectable mem- 
 bers of society. Hence it appears, that 4,000 heads of 
 families may annually arrive for the period of ten years 
 to come, as was the case for the last three years, un- 
 able to purchase lands under the present system, we 
 shall at the expiration of that term, have 4t>,000 heads 
 of families, equal to 200,000 souls, depending entirely 
 on daily hire for sustenance, in addition to as many more 
 now similarly situated very few of whom can ever save 
 sufficient to purchase a lot of land on the only terms 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 91 
 
 now offered, if they should remain in the Province; the 
 consequence of which will be, that we shall ere many 
 years have alarming pauperism, crime and discontent, 
 productive of the most disastrous consequences ; where- 
 as by a proper system, before the expiration of ten years, 
 four millions of acres would be settled at the rate of, as 
 above stated, 100 acres to every head of a family of 4000 
 yearly, the taxes of which, according to the following 
 table, would amount £330,000, at the rate of 30s. yearly, 
 for each family, being below the average of what would 
 arise from increase of stock, Buildings, Cattle, &c. 
 
Itotal of Taxes in 20 years. 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
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TO CANADA. 
 
 93 
 
 which sum of nearly a million and a quarter of taxes, 
 would amount to within one fourth of the price put on 
 such land at present, being for the four millions thus 
 settled £1,600.000, shewing that the bare taxes alone 
 would in twenty years be equal to the amount demanded, 
 cash down, and that 520,000 souls would be added to the 
 population during this period, retrieved from want and 
 misery and made respectable Citizens, occupying four 
 millions of acres, which may be during that period in a 
 state of nature and unproductive, no mention being made 
 of such as can purchase land and may settle, the number 
 of whom would be, at the ratio assumed for the last three 
 years, in twenty-six years, 312,000 souls, in able circum- 
 stances. The next thing to be considered is the amount 
 of mechanical labour required by these 40,000 heads of 
 Families, who would otherwise be wandering in search 
 of labour themselves, assuming at farthest that, after eight 
 years of each successive yearly settlement, each head of 
 a family would purchase a Waggon, Harness, two Ploughs, 
 Harrows, &c., amounting in value to, at the least calcu- 
 lation, twenty-five pounds, in all £100,000 for the portion of 
 each year’s immigration, which, multiplied by that of ten 
 years, would amount to one million of money in the 
 course of the succeeding ten years ; and if it were ne- 
 cessary to calculate upon the consumption of British 
 .manufactures, mills &c. the amount would appear worthy 
 of trusting the Immigrant with a lot of land, which ha 
 
94 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 would in no way injure but improve, and could not 
 take away. I have here merely taken into account the 
 results of granting land to such as cannot pay cash down 
 for it, and who arc obliged to leave the Province,- or 
 become unprofitable to themselves and in a great measure 
 a burden to the Province. I must further remark, that 
 the trade for British Shipping, arising from their labour, 
 would be of great value and productive of furnishing Sea- 
 men for the British Navy, sufficient for any emergency. 
 As this subject requires no farther illustration to arouse 
 intelligent minds to make the necessary investigation, for 
 the purpose of adopting some system in preference to the 
 one now existing. I will conclude by merely saying, that the 
 condition of thousands of such Immigrants as have settled 
 in the back Townships, at irregular and great distances 
 from each other and in want of even passable roads, are in 
 a state of misery, which is heart rending ; but I shall only 
 introduce one section, which is that settlement which of 
 all others should produce the greatest share of comfort to 
 the settlers but which, owing to mismanagement, (to use 
 no harder expression) is now in a state, the most deplo- 
 rable. 
 
 From the account given of it by the Revd. William 
 Ryerson, who passed through it, on his return froth a 
 mission among the Indians, I learn that from the numbers 
 who left on account of the lands not being surveyed 
 besides other grievances, the few who remain are neigh- 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 95 
 
 bourless and unable, in any emergency in which they 
 may be placed, to receive the aid of their fellow settlers 
 at this season, owing to distance and unfinished roads ; 
 and those who have expended their winter’s provisions are 
 unable to reach a market to purchase any thing, and in 
 some instances they received even temporary assistance 
 from their nearest neighbours, by undergoing indescribable 
 hardships; in short, such were the scenes that Gentleman 
 had witnessed, that his feelings were overcome to such 
 a degree, that his heart felt pangs of sorrow, for the mis. 
 eries of his fellow men, who Were before strangers to 
 it ; the red man of tho woods in his slender wigwam 
 being many degrees more to be envied. From informs- 
 tion, through other sources, it appears that the said 
 settlement would have been, ere now, had the lands been 
 surveyed, the roads finished, and every thing done in 
 accordance with the proposed system, the most flourishing 
 in the Province. Instead of the 2,000 Families which 
 returned from it in August with £25,000 in their pockets’ 
 and who through disappoinment went to the United States, 
 it would now contain 10,000 souls in independent circum- 
 stances; half as many more with some small means, to 
 support themselves for a time, and probably the like 
 number of poor Immigrants who would find labour and 
 support among them. In other parts, accounts have 
 been received of families, in great distress, and of one 
 
93 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 which actually starved to death from absolute want being 
 at too great a distance from neighbours. 
 
 Having trespassed on the bounds to which I limited 
 myself at first, and on His Excellency’s time, permit me 
 to solicit his careful perusal of this Document, which I 
 trust he will take into his most serious consideration, and 
 at his earliest opportunity. In the meantime, 
 
 I have the honor to be, sir, 
 
 Your most ob’t and humble servant, 
 
 Rob’t McVicar. 
 
 To Capt’n Higginson, ) 
 
 Private Secretary, &e. $ 
 
 N. B. The annexed comipunicaiion, a letter to Doctor Roiph 
 Signed Y, in the Montreal Gazette, dated 22nd April, 1843, which 
 came under my notice since writing the foregoing, is deserving the 
 serio s attention of His Excellency, corroborating my statement 
 and confirming my views on this important subject. 
 
 Mr. McVicar presents bis compliments to Captain 
 Higginson, and would esteem it a favor if he, would lay the 
 accompanying Document before His Excellency tho 
 Governor General, at us early an hour as may possibly 
 convient ; Mr. McV. being unwell, feels anxious to 
 return to his family at Norval, near Toronto, a distance 
 of 214 miles from this, having remained here, labouring 
 under painful suspence, attended with heavy expence 
 since the 1 3th February last, waiting an answer to hia 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 67 
 
 different communications to the Crown Lands Office, all 
 of which remain unnoticed. He would, under these severe 
 touches of feeling, take it kind of Captain Higginson, to 
 convey to him the opinion aud ulterior views of 1 1 is 
 Excellency touching the subject matter contained in said 
 document, at any time before four p. m. 3rd proximo, in 
 order that he may be enabled to take his measures con- 
 formably. 
 
 Daley’s Hotel, 29th April, 1843. 
 
 Private Secretary’s Office, 2nd May, 1843. 
 Sir, 
 
 In compliance with the request contained in your 
 note of 29th. ultimo, I have had the honor of laying before 
 the Governor General the communication which accom- 
 panies it. I am desired to inform you in reply, that His 
 Excellency had perused with great interest your suggest- 
 ion for the" introduction of an improved system of locating 
 Immigrants on the Waste Lands of the Province, and to 
 convey to you his approbation of the zeal and assiduity 
 with which you have devoted yourself to so important a 
 subject. His Excellency is unable to offer an opinion 
 upon a question in which great and varied interests are 
 involved, without being in possession of all the information 
 within his reach, and with this view, has directed me to 
 transmit your Report to the Commissioner of Crown Lands 
 
98 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 for his consideration and remarks. The attention of that 
 officer will also be requested, to your letters to him that 
 remain unnoticed. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient and humble Servant, 
 
 J. W. .Migginson. 
 Private Secretary. 
 
 Rob’t Me Vicar, Esquire. 
 
 Norval, 24 th August, 1843. 
 
 Hon’ble Sir, 
 
 I beg leave to acquaint you, that I have a few days 
 since received intelligence of the movements of the sur- 
 veying party you sent out to the Saugine River in the 
 Huron Tract, the party were in excellent health and 
 spirits, and about completing the survey of one Township, 
 a report of which will doubtless be transmitted to the 
 Crown Lands Office, ere many days will have elapsed. 
 The season is far advanced, and the numerous families who 
 have made arrangements to accompany me there this 
 autumn are very uneasy, and most anxious to reach their 
 destination before the cold weather sets in, in order that 
 they may be enabled to clear some land to crop in the 
 spring, and build huts to pass the winter in, and take timely 
 advantage of the fall fishing, considerations of great mo- 
 ment to them, and are applicable to all strangers settling 
 
To CANADA. 
 
 99 
 
 in the wilds of Canada remote from old settlements. Many 
 families who went to the Huron Settlement late last au- 
 tumn, suffered most severely during the winter from cold 
 and famine; indeed their trials were so great that they 
 became quite d’sejuraged, and consequently unable to 
 make the necessary exertions calculated to alleviate their 
 wretched condition, even in the slightest degree. Hence 
 the worst description is given of the settlement by these 
 sufferers, which deters both poor and rich from going to it; 
 in this way vast numbers of wealthy and industrious fam- 
 ilies remove from the Province to the United States, who, 
 if they could meet with the least encouragement, would 
 rather settle in any part of the British Dominions in 
 America. In my raport to His Excellency the Governor 
 General, to which I beg ieavo to solicit reference, this 
 subject is touched upon at some length, I need’ not there- 
 fore enter into further details here, as that report must be 
 still in your possession. 
 
 Actuated and circumstanced as I am at present, har- 
 assed by countless applications from families to whom I 
 qm pledged throughout the Province, you may readily 
 conceive how anxious l must feel to move for my winter 
 Quarters where I would wish to be in time to enable mo 
 to' make the necessary arrangements for the secuiity and 
 comfort of the party who arc ready to accompany me, as 
 well as those whom I expect will follow ; may I therefore 
 he permitted to entreat that you will have the goodness to 
 
 i 
 
100 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 transmit to me your letter of instructitjn how to proceed 
 to, and act after my arrival at the Saugeen River. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Hon’ble Sir, 
 
 Your most obed’t and very humble Serv’t, 
 Rob’t McVicab. 
 
 Hon’ble A. N. Morin, 
 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, 
 
 Kingston. 
 
 Norval, 12 th Serlember, 1843. 
 
 Hon’ble Sir, 
 
 In respectfully soliciting reference to my communi- 
 cation of the 24th ultimo, to which I have not as yet 
 received a reply, I would be much pleased and obliged were 
 you to have the goodness to honor me with a few lines 
 at your earliest possible convenience, in order that I may 
 be enabled to take my measures accordingly. 
 
 The numerous families who have disposed of their 
 property in the United Province, preparatory to their 
 following me to the Saugeen River, are getting more 
 mpatient in consequence of the season being so far ad- 
 vanced, and their capital rapidly diminishing in supporting 
 their families in a state of inaction, many other respecta- 
 ble families, possessing capital, who Immigrated this year 
 after reaching Lake Simcoe on their way to join me in 
 jhe new settlement in the Huron tract, returned on hearing 
 that I was not before them to locate them on lands. These 
 families have since crossed to the United States, where 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 101 
 
 no doubt they will advise their friends at home and abroad 
 to follow them, hcncc the immense British Capital yearly 
 pouring from the British Isles into the United States which 
 by judicious management might be retained in the Canadas. 
 
 I remain, Hon’ble Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient 
 
 and very humble servant, 
 
 Rob’t. Me Vic ak. 
 
 Hon’ble A. N. Morin, } 
 
 Commissioner of Ci own Lands, > 
 
 Kingston. j 
 
 Village of Norval, 5th October, 1843. 
 
 Hon’ble Sir, 
 
 I had the honor of addressing you two communica- 
 tions bearing date 24th August and 12th September last, 
 which remain still by you unnoticed. I would feel thank- 
 ful, were you to have the goodness to favour me with a 
 few lines on receipt of this, and state whether you received 
 the communications above alluded to. 
 
 And with respect, I remain, 
 
 Hon’ble Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 Rcbt’ McVicab. 
 
 Hon’ble A. N. Morin, } 
 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, > 
 
 Kingston. ) 
 
102 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Village of Norval, 9t h November, 1843. 
 My dear Chieftain, 
 
 I was happy to learn through Mr. James McNab, 
 that you are in Kingston, and in ihe enjoyment of good 
 health and wonted cheerfulness of spirits, which proved 
 a great source of pleasure and satisfaction to your friends 
 in this quarter.. On the 9th ultimo I had the honor of 
 addressing a letter to your friend Sir Allan McNab, in 
 which I enclosed an order to receive from the Ilou’ble 
 Mr. Morin, my manuscript, containing my report which 
 1 have written on the subject of Emigration and settlement 
 of the Waste Lands of the Province, which manuscript, 
 in the present state of things, may not prove altogether 
 undeserving of his early notice and serious consideration. 
 Every 7 true Loyal Patriot, and sincere friend to the pros- 
 perity of Canada, will deeply 7 deplore equally as I do, the 
 present lamentable state of things, and the disgraceful 
 manner in which the violent and angry debates that tock 
 place in the Legislative Council on the 10th ultimo were 
 conducted, having no parallel in the history of any session 
 of a British Parliament, and in their pernicious and fatal 
 tendencies more calculated to create genera! distru-t, des- 
 troy confidence, and eventually spread the btneful influence 
 of a most dangerous and destructive contagion, through- 
 out this unhappy and hitherto ill fated Province, than any 
 calamity with which the Inhabitants thereof have yet 
 been afflicted. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 103 
 
 I am glad to learn through the public prints that 
 Mr. Sherwood, who perused my Report, brought the sub- 
 ject on which it treats before the Parliament, and supported 
 the reasonings and arguments therein set forth with his 
 usual dignity of style and becoming energy of purpose. 
 Notwithstanding the strong promises which the Hon’ble 
 Mr. Morin made tcfme in your presence, that two Town- 
 ships near the mouth of the Saugeen River, in the Huron 
 Tract, would be surveyed this last s i miner for my superin - 
 tendance to settle, that Gentleman not only neglected 
 performing these his solemn promises, but would not even 
 deign to acknowledge any one of those communications 
 which I addressed to him on the subject and in which I 
 clearly and explicitly stated all the arrangements I had 
 made with the numerous families that were to accompany 
 and follow after me to the new settlement in the Huron 
 Tract. Strange as it may appear, still all these my letters 
 yet remain unnoticed by Mr. Morin although they were 
 addressed to him on service. This extraordinary breach 
 of duty on the part of the Hon’ble Commissioner of Crown 
 Lands, has placed me in a position the most awkward and 
 painful, even to contemplate. By his criminal neglect, to 
 use the mildest term, my fondest hopes arc defeated, my 
 time and means wasted, and the best interest ok the coun- 
 try sacrificed to the gratification of private feeling, but 
 what can we Loyalists in reason expect at the hands of 
 the author of the 92 Resolutions which brought about the 
 
104 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 Rebellion of 1837-8, now that ho is placed in power by 
 the very Government which he struggles so hard to sub. 
 vert, and to annihilate its Institutions in Canada. All my 
 friends who have disposed of their properties preparatory 
 to their joining me in the Huron Tract finding my posi- 
 tion with the Government holding forth such cheerless 
 prospects, have since crossed to the United States, where 
 their friends purpose following them next season. In 
 this manner is Canada through the ill-timed policy and 
 mismanagement on the part of the Crown Land Depart- 
 ment converted into a nursery, daily furnishing the Gov- 
 ernment of the United States with additional wealth 
 and strength which may, at no distant period, recoil upon 
 the British Government with three-fold vengeance, when 
 it may be too late to discover the apathy with which the 
 leading Officers of the Crown in Canada seems to be at 
 present so lamentably afflicted. 
 
 With sentiments of the highest consideration, 
 
 I remain, 
 
 My dear Chieftain, 
 
 Your faithful and oblig’d friend 
 Robert McVicar. 
 
 The McNab, of McNab. 
 
 Crown Lands Department. 21st March, 1844. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have been commanded by His Excellency the Goy- 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 105 
 
 ernor General, to tender you the situation of Inspector 
 of Clergy Reserves, fo.i the Western District, and I have 
 to request you will please acquaint me forthwith whether 
 you accept the said situation. The Inspection will be per- 
 formed jointly by you and George Duck, Esquire, liar- 
 wich, and will have to be proceeded upon so soon as you 
 have received the necessary instructions to that effect, 
 and continue without interruption. The amount of allow- 
 ance to the Inspectors has been fixed 15s. cy. for each 
 per day, during the whole time they will be actually em- 
 ployed on this service, and also for a reasonable number 
 of days in preparing their Returns. This allowance is 
 to cover all claims whatever for travelling expences sta- 
 tionary &c. and to be strictly limited to the sum so fixed. 
 Books of Returns will be furnished by this Department. 
 It is expected that the Inspectors will fulfil their duties 
 with speed and in a spirit of economy proportioned to 
 the limited extent of the funds which will immediately 
 result from the disposal of those lands. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Humble Servant, 
 
 T. Bouthillier. 
 
 Rob’t McVicar, Esq. 
 
 Village of Norval 25th March, 1844. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 
1Q0 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 letter of the 2 1st tns't, and in reply beg leave to acquaint 
 you that 1 accept with every due consideration the situa- 
 tion which His Excellency the Governor General has 
 been pleased to offer me. 
 
 I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble serv’t, 
 Robert McVicar. 
 
 T. Bouthillier, Esq. 
 
 Township of Howard, 23rd July, 1844. 
 My Dear Hammond, 
 
 You will naturally feel no ordinary degree of sur- 
 prise at my long continued silence, for which apparent 
 neglect, I have no plea of excuse to offer beyond a se- 
 vere trouble of mind, which has not in the slightest 
 degree diminished since the date of my last communica- 
 tion to you from Norval, parting with my family in a state 
 of destitution, together with other touching and painful 
 reflections, of a nature altogether so distressing as to pre- 
 clude the possibility of sitting down with calm feelings to 
 write to any one, and much less to a friend such as I have 
 considered you to be since I had the pleasure of your 
 acquaintance. Let me now, however, be permitted to ex- 
 press the hope, that you are long ere this time restored 
 to the society of your beloved family, who, I trust, togeth. 
 «r with your good self are in the full enjoyment of the bles- 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 10J 
 
 sings o( good health, and every other accompanying com- 
 fort reasonably to be expected, while journeying , through 
 this transitory vale of life so full of troubles, pains, and 
 afflictions. 
 
 A few days after my arrival in Chatham I met with 
 my young associate Mr. George Duck, a very gentlemanly 
 youth of pleasing manners and apparently obliging dis- 
 position, and on tile 5th of last month we commenced 
 operations and completed, as you will see by our Returns, 
 the Inspection of the Townships o; Ortorrh that same 
 month. We are now actively mploved in the Town- 
 ship of Howard, and expect to cample .6 the inspection 
 thereof by the latter end of this month. Our duty is very 
 laborious and painfully futigueing. travelling through woods 
 and swamps under the influence of a scorching sun tho’ 
 occasionally under pelting rain storms, ray aversion to 
 Rattle .Snakes, which, are very numerous in this quarter, 
 renders the duty to me more irksome and unpleasant 
 than it is to my young friend, and as we advance west- 
 ward, we will experience greater hardsoips. and fewer 
 comforts than we hive hitherto-done While journeying 
 through the townships of Orford and ilowaru, we could 
 always reach a kind of a Public house twice a week, but 
 these comforts we cannot expect near the shores t.l Lake 
 Huron where vve must pass many a C-noei less, and test, 
 less night, foul and stormy weather, distant from any 
 human habitation. Speaking truly and candidly, I must 
 
108 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 ■ay, that f have been placed in an office, the duties of 
 which are attended with greater labour and difficulties* 
 than the Gentlemen at head quarters can by any pos- 
 sibility be aware of. 
 
 Although we have traversed many a good Lot of 
 Land in the tract through which we have carried our op- 
 erations, still we have met in our progress Lots upon 
 which we found Squatters, correct and hard labouring 
 families, who, for the articles of food, have been fre- 
 quentl driven to the necessity of leaving the mothers and 
 youngest branches of the families in their wretched huts 
 and seek for work wherever it was to be found, to lteep 
 them in life ; the Lots upon which they squatted after 
 six and seven year’s occupation and hard labour, so un- 
 productive as to deny them any returns for their united 
 exertions. These miserable and unfortunate creatures, 
 willing soever as they may be to pay for the Lots which 
 they thus occupy it, on the terms now offered to them, is 
 altogether beyond their power to accomplish, and should 
 they be dispossessed without sufficient time given or any 
 indulgence extended to them to pay up the arrears of 
 interest already due, in such case they will be thrown 
 out on the wide world naked and with ruined consti- 
 tutions in actual want of bread. The situation and cir- 
 cumstances, in which such poor miserable creatures as 
 there alluded to, and there are many of them in this Dis- 
 trict, forms a subject too painftil even to contemplate. 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 109 
 
 We have not as yet met with a family of the above dos- 
 oription, but who are anxious to retain possession of their 
 lots and are most willing to pay for them, provided the 
 indulgence of time be extended to them. The Individu- 
 als who have had the good fortune of squatting on lots 
 of fertile land, convenient to mills and market, will be 
 able to pay for their lots conformable to the term; and 
 stipulations laid down by the Governor. This far I must 
 in candour admit, that I have experienced a great deal 
 of kindness at the hand of the Inhabitants of this district, 
 although I regret to state that a number of disappointed 
 office hunters, are in the field pursuing my confrere rand 
 self with all the implacability of personal resentmen^ 
 and strange to say, that too by Individuals that never 
 saw or knew anything about us, to such criminal extent 
 will wicked envy lead some of the disappointed children 
 of the human family. We are, however, fully determined 
 to pursue a line of conduct in the execution of our duty, 
 that will bid defiance to the most crafty and malicious 
 slanderer. Should any thing in the shape of a complaint 
 of any description prejudicial to either of us reach your 
 office, I trust you will have the goodness to give the same 
 a flat contradiction as not having the slightest shadow 
 of foundation in truth, but altogether emanating from 
 envious and truly depraved minds. 
 
 I had extensive communications from many parts 
 of Great Britain previous to my leaving Norval, by which 
 
110 
 
 EbIIGSATION - 
 
 it would appear that there is a great movement for an 
 extensive Immigration to Canada this year, but should they 
 meet with a similar reception as those who came out du- 
 ring the three proceeding years, the Wild Lands of this 
 Province will continue in a state of unproductive forrest 
 to the Government for centuries to come. Had the Gov- 
 ernor General employed my services in settling tne Hu- 
 ron Tract, instead of inspecting the Clergy reserves in 
 this district, I make no hesitation in stating that the Gov- 
 ernment would he benefited more in many' ways, inas- 
 much that I feel fully convinced, I would be instrumental 
 in retaining in the Province the thousands of wealthy 
 families who have left Canada in complete disgust, and 
 crossed over to Yankee Land, to swear fealty to that 
 Government, and seek under its Star Spangled Banner 
 that encouragement and protection which they in vain 
 sought for at the hands of the Canadian Government. I 
 trust you have brought mv Report on this subject under 
 the notice and consideration of yodr friend the Hon’ble 
 DeBlaquire, if so, I Would be glad to be meek: acquainted 
 with his opinion and sentiments thereon at your earliest 
 convenience. 
 
 Recent accounts received from Mrs. McVicar, con- 
 veys the gratifying intelligence of herself ami children 
 being in the enjoyment of the blessings of good health, 
 they are making the necessary preparations to follow 
 after me ; I have taken a small cottage for them conve-' 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 Ill 
 
 nient to a good school within a short distance of the Vil- 
 lage of Morpeth in this Township. 
 
 Have the goodness to convey to your Lady and 
 every member of your family the assurance ot my regard, 
 and sincere best wishes for their temporal and spiritual 
 welfare and oblige, 
 
 My dear Hammond, 
 
 Your ever faithful and affectionate friend, 
 Robert McVicar. 
 
 Thomas Hammond, Esquire. 
 
 Township of Zoon, 1st August, 1841. 
 
 My dear John, 
 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of your commit, 
 nication of 2-lth ultimo, which I received at a late hour 
 yesterday. With respect to the climate and soil on the 
 south and north, and bordering on the Saskachewan River, 
 from below Carlton House to the foot of the Rocky 
 Mountains, a distance of about 1,000 miles from east to 
 west, may be considered in every point of view equally 
 favorable to colonization as the settlement of Red River, 
 embracing similar advantages and disadvantages, with 
 the exception of the danger that might naturally be ap- 
 prehended from the numerous hostile tribes of Indians 
 who inhabit that part of the country, and who are in a 
 K 
 
112 
 
 EM1GBATI0N 
 
 continual state of warfare with each other, particularly 
 those tribes that are spread over the country lying to the 
 south and south-west of the river, who seldom visit the 
 establishment of the Hon’ble Hudson’s Bay Company. 
 These would in my opinion, be apt to view with a jealous 
 and suspicious eye, any encroachments upon their lands 
 by strangers, more particularly by Europeans who had 
 for their object the cultivation of the soil, and usurpation 
 of their teritory, which by the laws of nature they con. 
 sider to be their infallible property being the aborigines 
 thereof. According to my views and understanding of 
 the subject of sending Immigrants to settle that remote 
 portion of the Wilds of British North America, while 
 there is ample room in Canada for the redundant starved 
 population of the British Isles, I consider the scheme as 
 altogether chimerical, and could only originate in the 
 mind of an individual who has not given the subject that 
 due consideration which it. requires. If Mr. Sullivan has 
 any serious desire of proving to the community at home 
 and abroad, that he is actuated bv the true and noble 
 spirit of philanthropy let him at once obey the loud call 
 that the voice of distress now resounding from one 
 corner of the British Isles to the other is at this very mo- 
 ment making on his acknowledged pre-eminent talent, and 
 without a moment’s delay, clothe himself with the robe 
 of humanity, the armour of compassion and the breast- 
 plate of Christian fortitude, and thus equipped compare 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 113 
 
 Notes with our present Governor General, and advise 
 him to adopt forthwith, the system which I have had the 
 honor to draft out at the request of the late Lord Metcalf, 
 for the settlement of the Waste Lands of the Province. 
 When these lands, including the 23 Townships in the 
 Huron Tract, at present lying in a state of unproductive 
 wilderness, shall have been successfully settled, the Gov- 
 ernment than may with safety and success continue to 
 extend the settlement of the country from Lake Superior, 
 through the shores of the Lake of the Wbods, thence to 
 Lake Wincp 'g, thence to Lake Cumberland, Saskachewan 
 River, to tiro Rocky Mountains, and in course of time, 
 the settlement of the country might be successfully ex- 
 tended along the banks of Beaver River, from Green 
 Lake to the shores of Lesser Slave Lake, and thence 
 west to the Rocky Mountains. The tract of country 
 along the banks of the Pease River from, Athabasca Lake, 
 otherwise called Lake of the Mountains, to the foot of the 
 Rocky Mountains, is also susceptible of being settled, the 
 soil thereof being rich and productive, and the climate 
 salubrious. On the banks of the Saskachewan River, 
 the snow begins to thaw about the first of April ; the leaf 
 begins to bud about 1.9th of that month, and all the trees 
 are in full blossom about the 2nd June. About the 22nd 
 October the forest is completely stript of its foliage ; the 
 frost sets in about the 30th October, and the snow begins 
 tp fall about the 5th of November, the ice in the month 
 
Ill 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 of March, when it attains its full thickness, measures 3£, 
 feet when there is no current and the winter is unusually 
 severe ; the average depth of the snow during a period of 
 ten years has been ascertained not to exceed 2 feet 8 
 inches. The degree of cold during the months of January 
 and February ranges from 15 to 38, and has been known 
 as low as 42. The heat in the months of June and July 
 is oppressive ; its degree in 1814 was ascertained in the 
 shade, to be as high as 93 which accounts for the rapid 
 vegetation on the banks of that river. Before publishing 
 any report calculated to excite a general feeling in favour 
 of colonizing these distant regions, Mr. Sullivan should 
 cautiously ponder upon the subject, and by every means 
 within his reach, first ascertain the extent of the difficulties 
 and dangers to which the first settlement would be expo- 
 sed, particularly, during the first years. The melancholy 
 details connected with the history of the Colony planted 
 by the Earl of Selkirk on Red River, from its first forma, 
 tion in 1812 to the year 1821, when the coalition of the 
 Hudson’s Bay and North West Companies took place, 
 are of so harrowing a nature, as to furnish ample materi- 
 als to form a subject calculated to enlighten the knowledge 
 and direct the ulterior movements of Mr. Sullivan, in the 
 adoption and execution of his fond and praiseworthy 
 scheme, having for its object, the opening a field wherein 
 to place the famishing inhabitants of Ireland and Scotland, 
 thereby making a permanent provision for and relieving 
 
TO CANADA. 
 
 115 
 
 them from the heartrending distress, under the pressure 
 of which they have been so long suffering. In the event 
 of Emigrants being sent from the British ports by way 
 of Hudson’s Bay, which is the shortest and cheapest way 
 of conveying them, they must winter that year at or near 
 York Factory, and they could only reach their destination 
 in the Saskatchewan River the following autumn, at too 
 late a period to do any thing else than to build temporary 
 huts for themselves to pass the winter in, without any means 
 to subsist upon till they could get crops out of the ground, 
 which would be two years complete loss to them, besides 
 the immense expense the feeding alone of them would 
 amount to during that time, and I am aware that the tra- 
 ding establishment of the Hudson’s Bay Company are sel- 
 dom, if ever supplied with more provisions than is required 
 to carry on their trade ; and by sending Emigrants to 
 the Saskatchewan, on the Ottawa Waters, by the means 
 of canoes and boats, the expense would be at least doublet 
 and about the same time lost before they could get any 
 crops out of the ground. Viewing the subject of plant- 
 ing a settlement on the banks of the Saskatchewan River 
 in all its bearings, tendencies, and relations, it appears to 
 me a point of serious doubt whether the Hon’ble Hudson’s 
 Bay Company, who are most tenacious of the powers, 
 rights and privileges vested in them by virtue of their 
 Royal Charter, would silently acquiesce in the plan, and 
 afford the originator and friends thereof the benefit of 
 
llfi 
 
 EMIGRATION 
 
 their cordial support, without the solemn assurance of 
 which it would be. in my humble but candid, opinion, the 
 height of folly on the part of Mr. Sullivan, to embark in 
 so arduous an undertaking. With this impression on 
 my mind, I would most respectfully beg leave to recom- 
 mend Mr. Sullivan to compare notes forthwith with Sir 
 George Simpson, Governor in Chief of Rupert Land, and 
 if he obtain s from him the necessary assurance of his 
 able co-operation and support, in that case, he, Mr. S. 
 may rest perfectly satisfied, that every obstruction to his 
 laudable views will he removed to admit of his plans be- 
 ing carried into successful operation 
 
 You are at full liberty to mike use of this letter, 
 with the advice and consent of your superior officer, as 
 you may deem proper. 
 
 And with my good wishes for your welfare, 
 
 I remain, My dear John, 
 
 Your Loving Father, 
 
 Rob’t McVicar. 
 
 Mr. John McYicar, > 
 
 Crown Timber Office. \ 
 
IMMIGRATION INTO NEW YORK. 
 
 The following Statistics furnish valuable information worth ex- 
 animation : — 
 
 Comparative view of Immigration for four years, at the port of 
 New York . 
 
 NATION. 
 
 1849. 
 
 1850. 
 
 1851. 
 
 1852. 
 
 Ireland, . . . 
 
 112,501 
 
 116.382 
 
 163, 2'6 
 
 117,537 
 
 Germany, 
 
 55,705 
 
 45,402 
 
 69,883 
 
 118,126 
 
 England, . • . 
 
 28,321 
 
 28,125 
 
 28,553 
 
 31,275 
 
 Scotland, . . . 
 
 8,840 
 
 6,771 
 
 7,307 
 
 7,640 
 
 Wales, . . . 
 
 1,782 
 
 1,520 
 
 2,189 
 
 2,631 
 
 France, . . . 
 
 2,683 
 
 3.398 
 
 6,064 
 
 8,778 
 
 Spain, .... 
 
 214 
 
 257 
 
 278 
 
 450 
 
 Switzerland, . . 
 
 1,405 
 
 2,361 
 
 4,499 
 
 6,455 
 
 Holland, . . . 
 
 2,447 
 
 1,174 
 
 1,798 
 
 1,223 
 
 Norway, . . 
 
 3,300 
 
 3,150 
 
 2,112 
 
 1,889 
 
 Sweden, . . . 
 
 1,067 
 
 1,110 
 
 872 
 
 2,026 
 
 Denmark, . . . 
 
 159 
 
 90 
 
 229 
 
 15G 
 
 Italy, .. .. 
 
 602 
 
 475 
 
 6,18 
 
 353 
 
 Portugal, . . 
 
 287 
 
 55 
 
 26 
 
 29 
 
 Belgium, . . 
 
 118 
 
 230 
 
 475 
 
 82 
 
 West Indies, . . 
 
 449 
 
 554 
 
 675 
 
 265 
 
 Nova Scotia, . . 
 
 151 
 
 161 
 
 81 
 
 73 
 
 Sardinia, . . 
 
 172 
 
 165 
 
 96 
 
 69 
 
 South America, . 
 
 33 
 
 103 
 
 121 
 
 120 
 
 Canada, . . 
 
 59 
 
 61 
 
 50 
 
 4S 
 
 China, . . . 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 Sicily, . . . 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 11 
 
 42 
 
 Mexico, . . . 
 
 23 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 22 
 
 Russia, . . . 
 
 38 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 33 
 
 East Indies, . . 
 
 34 
 
 32 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 Turkey, . . 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 Greece, . . 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 Poland, 
 
 133 
 
 183 
 
 142 
 
 186 
 
 Arabia, . . 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 Total, . . 
 
 229,608 
 
 212,796 
 
 289,801 
 
 298,604 
 
 Number of passengers for thelast 13 yearswho landed in New York . 
 
 1841 . . . 57,337 
 
 1845 . . . 
 
 82,960 1 
 
 1849 . . . 
 
 221,799 
 
 1842 . . . 74,949 
 
 1846 . . . 
 
 115,230 | 
 
 1850 . . . 
 
 226,287 
 
 1843 .. . 46,302 
 
 1847 . . . 
 
 166,110 1 
 
 1851 . . . 
 
 209,081 
 
 1844 .. . 61,002 
 
 1848 . ... 
 
 191,909 | 
 
 1852 . . . 
 
 310, 335 
 
IN DEX 
 
 Page. 
 
 1 Letter from Robert McVicar, 1o the Honorable Colonel 
 
 Fraser, dated Montreal, 25th April, 1842 3 
 
 2 44 “ the Hon'ble Colonel Alexander Fraser in reply,. 
 
 dated Fraserfield, 30th April, 1842, 1 
 
 3 “ “ Kobert McVicar to the same, dated Montrc: 1, 
 
 9 th May, 1842 ft 
 
 4 “ 44 the Hon’ble Colonel Fraser to Robert McVicar, 
 
 dated Cornwall, llth May, 1842, 12 
 
 5 “ “ Robert McVicar to the Hon’ble Colonel Alex’r 
 
 Fraser, dated Montreal, 20th May, 1S42, 13 
 
 G “ “ Doctor Alex’r Scott to Robert McVii:a r , dated 
 
 Montreal, 30th May, 1842, 14 
 
 7 “ “ The Hon’ble Colonel Alexander Fraser* to R. 
 
 McVicar, dated Montreal, 22nd June, 1842, 15 
 
 '8 “ 44 Robert McVicar to Lewis T. Drummond, Esq, 
 
 dated Montreal, 23rd June, 1842 15 
 
 9 “ “ Robert McVicar to the Editor of the Montreal 
 
 Herald, dated Montreal, 25sh June, 3812, 17 
 
 10 “ “ Philanthrophy” to the Editor of the Monacal 
 
 Herald, dated Montreal, 1842, 91 
 
 31 A Letter to the Editor of the Montreal Herald, da'cd 
 
 Montreal, 2nd July, 1842 22 
 
 12 “ 44 The Hon’ble Colonel Alexander Fraser, to R. 
 
 McVicar, dated Fraserfield, 7th July, 1812, 26 
 
 13 “ “ The Hon’ble John Davidson, Commissioner of 
 
 Crown Lands, to the Hon’ble Colonel Fraser, dated 
 Crown Lands Department, 4th July. 1812, . *27 
 
 14 “ Robert McVicar. to Lewis T. Drummond, dated 
 
 Montreal, 10th July, 1812, 27 
 
 15 “ “ A Settler to the Editor of the Montreal Herald, 
 
 dated Montreal, llth July, 1842, 28 
 
 16 “ 44 Robert McVicar to Lewis T. Drummond, Esq., 
 
 dated Montreal, 19th July, 1842 30 
 
 17 “ 44 Josiah Tirnmis to Robert McVicar, dated King. 
 
 ston, 7th December*. 1812, 33 
 
 18 “ 44 The -same to the same, dated Kingston, loth 
 
 December, 1842, 34 
 
 19 “ “ The same to the same, dated Kingston, 30th 
 
 December, 1842, 36 
 
 20 44 44 The same to the same, dated Kingston,. 5th 
 
 January, 1843, 
 
 33 
 
119 
 
 f.VDtl 
 
 SI “ “ Robert McVicar to the Hon’ble A. N. Morin, 
 
 dated Kingston, 15th January, 1843, 
 
 22 “ “ The same to the same, dated Kingston, 22nd 
 
 January, 1843 41 
 
 23 “ “ Captain Bagot, Private Secretary, to Thomas 
 
 Hammond, Esq., dared Kingston, 6th March, 1843,... 43 
 
 24 “ “ 'Phe Tourist of the Woods, to Robert McVicar, 
 
 dated Kingston, 15th March, 1813, 44 
 
 25 “ “ The same to the same, dated Kingston, 21st 
 
 Mar.h, 1843, 49 
 
 26 “ “ The Tourist of the Woods to 1 obert McVicar 
 
 dated Kingston, 6ih A phi, 1843, 56 
 
 27 “ 44 Arborieus” to the Editor of the British Whig, 
 
 dated Kingston, ; h April, 1843, 60 
 
 28 A Memorial of Robert McVicar. to His Excellency The 
 
 Right Honorable Sir Charles Theophotes Metcalf, 
 Governor General, &c., &c., &c, dated Kingston, 16th 
 April, 1843, 62 
 
 29 Note From Captain Higginson, Private Secretary, to Rob’t 
 
 McVicar, dated Kingston, 15th April, 1843, 68 
 
 30 Letter from the Tourist of the Woods to Robert McVicar, 
 
 dated Kingston, 18th April, 1843, 68 
 
 31 “ “ Robert McVicar to Captain Higginson, Private 
 
 Secretary, containing an improved system for locating 
 Emigrants on the Waste Lands of the Province, &.C., 72 
 
 32 Note from R. McVicar to Captain Higginson, accompa- 
 
 nying the above Communication, 96 
 
 33 Letter from Captain Higginson to Robert McVicar, dated 
 
 Private Secretary’s Office, 2nd May, 1843, 97 
 
 34 “ “ Robert McVicar to the Hon’ble A. N. Mojin, 
 
 C. 0. L., dated Norval, 24th August, 1343, 98 
 
 35 “ “ The same to the same, dated Norval, 12th Sep 
 
 tember 1843, 100 
 
 36 *• “ The same to the same, dated Norval, 5th Oct., 
 
 1843, 101 
 
 37 44 41 Robert McVicar to the McNabof McNab, dated 
 
 Norval, 9th November, 1843 
 
 33 “ “ Thus. Bouthillier, Esquire, Acting Commissioner 102 
 
 of C. L. to R. McVicar, 21st March, 1844, 104 
 
 39 “ “ Robert McVicar in reply to the same dated Nor- 
 
 val, 25th March, 1844, 105 
 
 40 “ “ Robert McVicar to Thomas Hammond, Esq., 
 
 dated Harwich* 23rd July, 1844, 10® 
 
 41 “ 41 Robert McVicar to his Son John R. McVicar, 
 
 dated Township of Zoon, 1847 
 
 Ill