CANADIAN LETTERS 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF A TOUR THRa THE PROVINCES OF 
 LOWER AND UPPER CANADA, IN THE COURSE 
 OF THE YEARS 1792 AND ^93 
 
 Reprinted from “THE CANADIAN ANTIQUARIAN AND NU- 
 MISMATIC JOURNAL,” Vol- IX, Third Series, 
 
 Nos. 3 and 4, Jnly-October, 1912, 
 
 FOR 
 
 THOMAS O'LEARY 
 
 C. A. MARCHAND 
 
 Printer to the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society 
 40 Jacques Cartier Square, Montreal 
 1913 
 
 $ 1.60 
 
CANADIAN LETTERS 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF A TOUR THRO' THE PROVINCES OF 
 LOWER AND UPPER CANADA, IN THE COURSE 
 OF THE YEARS 1792 AND '93 
 
 Reprinted from “THE CANADIAN ANTIQUARIAN AND NU- 
 MISMATIC JOURNAL,” Vol- IX, Third Series, 
 
 Nos. 3 and 4, July-October, 1912, 
 
 FOK 
 
 THOMAS O'LEARY 
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 HE MANUSCRIPTS bearing the fore- 
 going title and sub-title are evident- 
 ly drafts of a series of letters x>€nn- 
 ed by some English traveller, whose 
 name has not yet been ascertained, to an un- 
 named correspondent, some time after his re- 
 turn. The many erasures and emendations 
 evince the care taken to give the Letters the pol- 
 ished form they finally assumed, in which shape, 
 as here given, they, no doubt, reached the hands 
 of the' recipient for whom they were intended. 
 
 The writer is evidently a man of education, 
 position and distinction, in close touch with high 
 
official circles — civil and military. His stjle is 
 admirable and Ms technique finished ; his powers 
 of observation and description of a high order, 
 his reflections and comments on men, manners 
 and movements capable and pointed. 
 
 ■Concerning the Letters, Mr. Thomas O’Leary, 
 Assistant Librarian of the Chhteau de Ramezay, 
 their oumer, writes ; 
 
 «Tto manuscript of ‘Canadian Letters’ appearing in this 
 number of the Canadian Antiquarian was 
 
 brother, the late James M. O’Leary, of the P. M Os Dept., 
 Ottawa, some eighteen years ago. For many years he had m hm 
 possession a bound volume of manuscript letters descriptive of a 
 tour through Canada in 1792-93, which he valued very highly, and 
 it was only after great persuasion on my part that he tra^crib^ 
 them for L. H^, or where he obtained them I never learned 
 but possessing a strong yearning for antiquarmn retoarch, he 
 Svid all his leisure moments to useful delving into the musty 
 records of the past, and so may have come across these Letters 
 At the time of his death, ten years ago, the original came into 
 my possession/^ 
 
 Desiring some authoritative confirmation of 
 editorial judgment, and relying upon the high 
 literary standing and well-known courtesy o 
 Dr. A. G. Doughty, Deputy Minister and 
 Dominion Archivist, he was written to as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 < ' There lias come into onr hands a bundle of old MSS. which 
 we should like to use in the Antiquarmn, but we recoil at the 
 possibility of serving up a ‘twice-laid’ dish for the fr^h viands 
 we and our constituents delight in. We think it a find, and 
 while none of ns can connect the story with any of the Travels 
 
known to us, the fear of unwittingly putting out a ‘twice-told 
 taJe^ impels us to trouble you for an opinion as to its originality, 
 or whether your wide knowlerdge can identify it with anything 
 already extant/^ 
 
 That this confidence was well-founded, and 
 the pains taken to sift the matter very consider- 
 able, the following excerpt from Dr. Doughty’s 
 reply, printed with his permission, clearly 
 shows : 
 
 ‘ ‘ I have had an examination made of all the manuscripts we 
 have in the Archives relating to the Simcoe period, but I can find 
 no trace of documents such as you mention. I thought perhaps 
 that some clue might be obtained from the Journal of Mrs. 
 Simcoe who makes frequent notice of visitors to Government 
 House in 1793, but there is nothing that throws light on the 
 question. I think therefore you would be quite safe in publish- 
 ing the manuscript.’^ 
 
 The Letters, printed verhatim from Mr. J. M. 
 O’Leary’s admirable transcription, are their 
 own best interpreters. They are submitted with 
 disclaimer of responsibility for any of the im- 
 pressions, views and opinions therein expressed, 
 as a new page in the Nation’s story, without 
 bias or offense : — ^THE EDTTOE.. 
 
4 
 
 London, March 5th, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 You say that you would uot trouble me for an account of Can 
 ada if there were any modern publications on the subject, and that 
 it is only from the dearth of infonnation, that you are induced to 
 tiespass on my time. Believe me that no man is so wedeome as your- 
 self to whater^er portion of it, I shall appropriate to you for this 
 jHirpose. 
 
 How far I shaHl be successful in the attempt to amuse or instruct 
 you is unceitain. Of one point howeiver you may be persuaded, that 
 T shall not voluntarily mislead your judgment. 
 
 You, who are acquainted with my temper and disposition, will 
 naturally suppose that a projected voyage to Canada would be to me 
 a source of much satisfaction,— here the troops of Britain had enter- 
 prized with success,— here Woilfe had perished in the arms of victory, 
 and here the influence of a Johnson, devoted to the cause of his coun- 
 try, had impressed on the savage mind a bias hostile to the enemies 
 of England. To some men the scene o£ such transactions would be 
 uninteresting, not so with your friend, to traverse the plains of 
 Abraham would be, I felt, to move on modern classic ground. 
 
 I have ever admired the sentiment of Johnson in his Hebrides — 
 far froim me, and from my friends be that apathy, which can proceed 
 indifferent and unmoved, over any ground which has been distin- 
 guished by wisdom, bravery, or virtue. When this happens, I have 
 ever thought that such minds want tone. 
 
 The natural beauties of Canada, we have all been accustomed to 
 admire from report. From early youth, we have been in the habit 
 of giving it credit for extensive tracts of wood and water, diversified 
 in prospect and fashion, as though nature, everywhere else serious, 
 hod reserved this country to unbend herself in frolic, one while bind- 
 ing its waters in a continuilty of frost, and another, precipitating 
 whole seas from a cataract. 
 
 I sailed from Liverpool, on the 9th of August 1792 for Quebec, 
 and after experiencing some perils of water, we made the land of 
 Cape Breton. This island forms the southern entrance to the Gulf 
 of St. Lawrence, which is bounded to the north by part of New- 
 foundland. The intervening distance is about 60 miles. Navigators 
 
5 
 
 usually keep to the southern, as the coast of Newfoundland has many 
 ■dangerous rocks, and shoals. 
 
 About the middle of the Gulf, we sailed by the island of Anti- 
 costi. This land is uninhabited, unless at particular seasons, when 
 hunters come on account of the skins of animals, with which it 
 abounds. It extends about 30 imiles in length. Its breadth is incon- 
 siderable. In most places it is distant from the land either to the 
 north, or south about 35 miles. I was much struck with the idea 
 that this island would be a proper place for a settlement of convicts. 
 The distance from hon>e would equally pr-eclude escape, as by trans- 
 mitting them to Botany Bay. I communicated with some gentlemen 
 at Quebec, on this point, who were of the same opinion. After the 
 period of their exile was elapsed, those of them who had families 
 might accelerate the population of Canada, by receiving small grants 
 of land, and thus strengthen our colonial establishiment. The industry 
 of these persons, confined to a small tract, would soon exhibit a scene 
 of high eultication that would exonerate their country from the ex- 
 pense of supporting them. 
 
 The navigation of the Biver St. Lawrence is peculiarly danger- 
 ous, hence the necessity of taking a pilot on board, at a distance of 
 50 leagues from Quebec, at the Isle of Bic. To survey a chart of 
 this river, one would suppose that danger could rarely be escaped 
 from the number of sunken rocks, that are laid down in it. For- 
 tunately for us, our pilot was a man of ability, to whose skill we 
 were, I believe, indebte'd for our safety. Shortly after we had taken 
 him on boaird, it commenced a dreadful storm, accompanied with a 
 thick fog, in consequence of which we could ont see above a quarter 
 of a mile from any part of the vessel. This last circumstance is, of 
 all others, most to be apprehended, as it deprives the pilot of the 
 opportunity of ascertaining the course of the ship by land marks, and 
 reduces him to the necessity of relying merely on the lead. You 
 may suppose that I had some occasion for alarm, when the Captain 
 twice informed me, that he considered us as being in a most desperate 
 situation, the vessel at the time going with the wind, and current, 14 
 miles an hour. The storm however abated, and we landed in safety 
 on Sunday the 14th of October. 
 
 The St. Lawrence, as you approach the town, has an interesting 
 appearance, from the number of houses and villages which adorn its 
 banks. They are white on the outside, which aids the effect. 
 
6 
 
 The appearance of Quebec, to a stranger, is far from pleasing. 
 It is divided into an upper and lower town, the latter of which, in 
 wet weather, is one uniform scene of mud. The houses in both are, in 
 general, built of stone. On the whole, Quebec appears to be, which, 
 in fact it is, a French establishment, where cleanliness is seldom 
 attended to. The dress of the women, the woo*den shoes and their 
 cookery, all tend to aid the delusion, and induce you, occasionally, to 
 suppose yourself in a town of old France. 
 
 The lower town of Quebec could make but little resistance against 
 on enemy, who was superior by sea, but the upper one, from the na- 
 tural strength of its situation is capable of a considerable defence on 
 the western side. There are new works constructed on the land quarter, 
 wMch appear sufficient to repel any ordinary force that could he 
 brought against them, particularly when it is considered that an enemy 
 could derive but little support from artillery, which it would be im- 
 possible for them to draw up the heights, which surround the town, 
 in the face of a well appointed garrison. 
 
 The 7th, or British Fuzileers, commanded by Prince Edward, 
 together with a body of artillery, performed garrison duty, whilst I 
 was at Quebec. The appearance of the 7th, is highly military in point 
 of figure. The mutiny, which some tiime after took place among 
 them, has been attributed to various causes. The most probable is 
 to be traced to the manner in which the majority of the corps was 
 originally composed. His Royal Highness, with the natural ardour of 
 a youthful soldier, was desirous that his Regiment should be distin- 
 guished for its figure, and, in consequence applied, when at Gibraltar, 
 to some general officers, to accommodate him with men who would 
 answer that purpose. They, it is said, took occasion at the same time 
 to get quit of a number of troublesome fellows. Such persons being 
 brought together in one body, and at the sa/me time distant from home, 
 formed the desperate resolution of d-^erting, and going to the States 
 of America. Their plan was however defeated in the very moment 
 previous to its execution. His Highnesses subsequent conduct, to the 
 ringleaders of the delinquents, was such as to impress the minds of 
 the people of Canada, with the most favorable opinion of the clemency 
 of his temper. 
 
 The appearance of Quebec, from the river, is far from favorable, 
 but from the town, the view of the St. Lawrence and Isle d ^Orleans, 
 
aDd the ad,jiaceiit couaitry, with the distant prospoot of the falls of 
 Montmorency is one of the noblest (that) can be conceived. 
 
 Tlie Isle d ^Orleans is peculiarly noted for its fertility, and forms 
 a kind of mole to the harbour. 
 
 The falls of Montmorency is probably the highest in the world, 
 but the grandeur of its effect is diminished, from the scantiness of 
 the waters which descend. 
 
 I was particularly solicitous to see the Plains of Abraham, where 
 Wolfe, by defeating the French, annexed Canada to the British Em- 
 pire. The scene of action is distant about two miles from the town. 
 When we consider that the troops had to gain this eminence, which 
 is almost perpendicular from the side of the river, and then form on 
 its verge, we know not whether most to admire, the bravery which 
 executed, or the head which planned such a scheme, the completion of 
 which would, to ordinary minds, appear impracticable. It was a sin- 
 gular coincidence in the engagement of that day, that the first and 
 second in command on both sides were wounded in the course of the 
 action, the Commanders in Chief mortally. 
 
 When we reflect how much reputation and character depend on 
 circumstances, we have reason to think that the fate of Wolfe can- 
 not be deemed altogether unfortunate. The cavils of envy were dis- 
 armed by death — ^victory embalming his memory rendered it odori- 
 ferous, and life was closed with a sentiment. (1) How different the 
 fate of Montgomery who, with extraordinary talents for war, turned 
 liis sword against his country, sought fame in treason, and perished 
 rashly. Thus far we must give expression to merited reproach. The 
 report of private life, speaks him to have been a man generous and 
 brave, endowed with many virtues. When such men deviate, the liberal 
 mind is prone to extenuate offense, and transfer imputation from the 
 erring individual to human nature. 
 
 Montgomea-y met his fate at a place called the Potash, in the 
 environs of the lower tor\Ti of Quebec, in an expedition undertaken by 
 him and Arnold jointly, against this place. The approach was by a 
 narrow pass, the river on one baud, with an eminence composed of 
 stone quarry on the other. In this pass, not more than two men could 
 move abreast. To oppose the Americans, the British bad placed two 
 
 (i) I have always thought that General Wolfe had in contemplation, in his 
 last moments, the conduct of Eparainondas, the Theban, when mortally wound 
 cd in battle. 
 
8 
 
 smaU field pieces, in a house, eomimanding the passage. Thus en- 
 filaded, the enemy were mowed down by eannisiter shot as they ad- 
 vanced. This fire was too galling to be long sustained, when Mont- 
 gomery, finding his men going back, rushed forward to the van, to 
 animate them by example, and instantly fell. I saw the spot, and 
 tiaced out the ground where they deposited his remains. I sought 
 for stone, or other m.eanorial to teU the passing stranger ‘here lies 
 Montgomery.^ Governors, and Comimanders in Canada, this is not 
 vzell. Piq’ie should have been buried with him, and sentiment sug- 
 gested that a (lifeless hero is every soldier's brother. (1) 
 
 It appears rather paradoxical that furs should be dearer in Can- 
 ada, than in England, but the fact is, that I could purchase an ar- 
 ticle in this line, cheaper by one half in London than at Quebec. The 
 cause is that they do not dress any skins in that country. They are 
 sent over in the raw state to England, and froim thence return to 
 America, with the expense of two freights, and two merchants' profits 
 annexed to their original value. On leaving England I had meditated 
 something handsome, by tTansmitting presents of furs to some female 
 fi lends. I thought that being in the very land of skins, this might 
 be done at a trivial expense. The very first enquiry that I made on 
 the subject convinced me that all these generous resolutions must be 
 relinquished. 
 
 The temper of the French Canadian is peculiarly cheerful. He 
 laughs, sings, and dances, with almost as much gaiete du coeur, as 
 the European Frenchman was wont to do. 
 
 Winter is universally through Canada, the season of festivity. 
 Cut off from cotmmimication with the rest of the world, the good 
 people there find resources within themselves to mitigate the 
 severity of the climate. About the close of October, all the ships 
 have departed for Europe. Business is then at an end, and pleasure 
 becomes the general object. The common amusement of the morning 
 is what they call earrioling or driving a chaise, with one horse over 
 
 (x; I have lately heard a cause assigned for this neglect of Montyomery, that 
 aimng the siege he sent a letter to Lord Dorchester then Sir Guy Carleton, threat- 
 ening, in language unbecoming a gentleman, to make him personally responsible 
 forthesecurity of the stores. 
 
 It is usually suppoJsed that the cause of General Montgomery’s joiuiog the 
 Amencans, was his marriage with a lady of the Livingston family at New York. 
 
 It was remarked of him that in some conferences with British Officers, in the 
 course of the war, he never looked them steadily in the face, — he felt not the 
 sustaining pride of patriot honour. 
 
the i-ce or snow. This eairriag>e has no wihoels, but glid-es along on 
 hx)n bound shafts. Carriotling 'differs from what is called sleighing 
 in Upper Canada in this that in the former one horse is used, in the 
 latter -two. The velocity with which these carriages move is sur- 
 prising, and the exercase which they afford is, I am convinced highly 
 ■condu'ciive to health. The rapidity of the motion excites a glowing 
 satisfaction of the most grateful nature. The gallantry of the young 
 men is displayed in the fancy of the cariole, and the excellence of the 
 horse and his trappings, who is further distinguished by bells. Thus 
 appointed a Canadian cavalier dashes through the snows, and solicits 
 some fair dame to participate in the pleasure of the day. Eaces are 
 nin, and emulative happiness is everywhere visible. Ba;Us, ocncerts 
 and moderate plays occupy their evenings. Their entertainments are 
 furnished with a profusion of whatever constitutes good cheer, and 
 contributes to the pleasures of the table. This is the unvarying round, 
 and thus passes the Canadian 'winter, till the arrival of the first ship 
 from Europe awakes them to the active pursuit of business. 
 
 Nothing can ibe considered more exhilirating and bracing than the 
 air when the frost first sets in. Before its severity becomes intense, 
 it seems to confer elasticity both on mdnd and body, and to render 
 the animal machine capable of the greatest possible exertion. In the 
 country pa'^ts, the snow frequently lies from six to ten feet in depth, 
 i*or would it be possible to trace a road, but for the strictness of the 
 laws relative to the conduct of the overseers. 
 
 Ix)rd Dorchester, the Governor of these Provinces, was absent in 
 England, when I arrived. This nobleman was, I found, very popular, 
 particularly among the native Canadians. From the length of time 
 he has been anwng them, and the good offices he has rendered them, 
 he is regarded with filial affection. Lady Dorchester is a sister of the 
 late Lord Effingham. Through her influeuce, there is, I was in- 
 formed, much observance of etiquette and ceremony. Many of the 
 inhabitants thought that this representative of her Eoyal Highness 
 'VN'ould not have 'been a less exact 'resemblance, if she had occasionally 
 permitted a few traits of condescension to appear in her deportment. 
 
 General Clarke, the Lieutenant Governor, perform'ed the duties 
 of office, in the absence of Lord Dorchester. This gentleman is of a 
 pieposesslng manly figure, and generally spoken of with approbation. 
 He was formerly Governor of Jamaica. He had some difficulty at 
 
10 
 
 first in candliiating the minds of the Canadian Legislature, to the 
 wishes of Gcn^ernment, but was finajlly sueeessful. 
 
 Canada, by the capitulation of Quebec, was secured in the enjoy- 
 ment of its' religion and laws, but since that period, that part of it. 
 which is now distinguished by the name of Upper Canada, lying to- 
 the Southward of Montreal, became inhabited by a description of 
 persons, who were averse from that religion, and those laws, and 
 attached to -the religion and laws of England. These persons were 
 principally half pay officers, and soldiers, who had obtained grants, 
 of lands. To meet the washes of these people, and at the same time 
 to preserve the good faith of the Capitulation, our Government de- 
 termined to divide the province. It was impossible to draw a line of 
 diserimination, so as exactly to place every one agreeable to their 
 ideas of religion, aud law. In general howe\^er, and with but few 
 exceptions, the object has been attained. 
 
 Lower Canada comprehends the towns of Quebec, Trois-Kivieres,. 
 i.nd Montreal, which are the pnincipal ones. 
 
 Upper Canada, commencing a little distance from Montreal,, 
 comprehenids the town of Cataraqui, or Port Prontenac, or Kingston,, 
 (as it liias been called by the Indians, the Prench, and the English 
 as they respectively possessed the country), of NLagara, Detroit and 
 (word missing in 'manuscript). 
 
 The former province is governed by the laws of Prance, and 
 Popery is the established religion. 
 
 The latter by the laws of England, both in Church and State. 1 
 would not be understood to say that all the laws of England are in- 
 troduced into this province, but such as are suited to its circumstances. 
 Many of our laws would be to them tot ally useless and inapplicable,, 
 and the source of 'much confusion. To have proffered them such a 
 gift would have ben like placing the armour of a giant in the custody 
 of a dwarf. 
 
 Most of the settlers in Upper Canada, consist of disbanded of- 
 ficers and soldiers, and their families, together with those of Amer- 
 ican loyalists. To have adhered tenaciously to the constitution of 
 Quebec, and to have governed all Canada agreeable to its regulations^ 
 would have been folly in the extreme. England therefore wisely drew 
 a line, which infringing no subsisting interest, designated how far the 
 ancient laws of Prance should have force, reserving the remainder for 
 
11 
 
 -liat|r 
 
 iflselPi 
 P4 
 l)taiL9;: 
 the 3} 
 
 rOT® 
 
 dniii 
 
 fi!ii 
 
 Tiii-i 
 
 rooil’ 
 \«h 
 id ft; 
 '3.Dfc 
 
 f Fr# 
 
 laBjx 
 
 )B^'r 
 
 diii!?- 
 
 di!«' 
 
 isfeJ 
 
 :o!^ 
 
 irf*^ 
 
 reijji! 
 
 tb6 uDtradTictioii of her own. The nec-eseity for this measaire becomes 
 more evident, wheji we consider that the extent of our Empire in that 
 quarter is unknown, and that we cannot in idea, set any other geogra- 
 phical bound to it than the longitudinal distance of Nootka Sound on 
 the Pacific Ocean. Neither policy or philosopliy would permit the 
 idea of fostering rising settlements, and an extensive population, in 
 laws, usages, and a religion, adverse to our own. 
 
 The question is not now, whether England could retain, subject 
 to her Empire, so extensive a tract, if populated, but there is a middile 
 state of civilization, in which it may be irendered highly useful, and 
 the introduetion of our laws, usages and language, will, at all times 
 form a bond of union, that will secure us a preference in commercial 
 intercourse. 
 
 One step of a highly enlightened policy has been adopted by 
 England with respect to Lower Canada. Though England could not 
 abridge her franchises, she was authorized to enlarge them, which she 
 did by granting them Legislative Assemblies, the lower one composed 
 of representatiives of the people. The time probably is not far distant, 
 when, (prejudice subsiding), those bodies will call on England to 
 establish those laws, and that constitution in their country, against 
 which their ancestors protested. 
 
 The legal code which has hitherto determined most of the contro- 
 verted cases in Canada is that which is denominated the Coutume de 
 Paris. This system of laws is vague, diffuse, and intricate. Hence 
 fiequent appeals to England. Our judges, or the mem<bers of the 
 Council, unacquainted with the laws of France, were then obliged to 
 supply to the French Courts of justice to know what the law was on 
 these particular points, nor was it always that satisfactory, or accord- 
 ing opinions could be obtained from them. This mode of obtaining 
 justice was so circuitous, (for it cannot be practised at present), and 
 ettended with so much vexation, and expense, that it has long been 
 an object with reflecting men to fall on some plan, which, coinciding 
 uith the prejudices of the natives, might simplify the means of ob- 
 taining justice. 
 
 Attached as you are, with reason to the excellent institution, a 
 trial by jury, you will scarcely believe, which is however literally a 
 fact, that though the inhabitants of Lower Canada can, in certain 
 cases, recur to a jury, yet ds the privilege seldom resorted to. How 
 IS it that such infatuation can prevail? The decision of twelve men 
 
umsullj tempers Jaw with equity. Tue decisioL of one or two judges 
 is the language of a general statute on a particular ease, to which it 
 is not always strictly applicable. 
 
 Believe m-e to be, 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 London, March 14, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 It may be made a question whether nations, liLe individuals, have 
 not thedr * ^ Ruling Passion. ^ ’ If so, I shall not hesitate to pronounce 
 the ruling passion of Canada to be a passion for clancing, but English 
 and Canadian •dancing are two -distinct things. In England, we dance 
 for amusement, but in Canada ’tis a very serious business. In Eng 
 land, balls are given principally for the purpose of bringing young 
 people together, but in Canada they are often iperverted to the purpose 
 of rendering O'ld ones ridiculons. I had the following aneodote from 
 an English lady of respectability. 
 
 During her stay at Qeubec, she had received many attentions, and 
 in consequence gave a ball in return. For this, the younger branches 
 of the families of her friends were invited, the conveniences of the 
 place not affording accommoidation for the whole. Some time after 
 the matron of one of these families changed her usual mode of de 
 portment so -much as to excite apprehension, that she had taken of 
 fence at some circurnstance. Inquiry was made through the mediimi 
 of a friend, when out came the unparMMed grievance, namely, that 
 the English lady had given an inviitation to her tw^o daughters, with 
 out asking herself, and that in a case of that kind, if any preference 
 was given, she thought it was -due to herself. The custom of England 
 which had occasioned the lady^s mistake was explained to her, and 
 luarmony at length restored. 
 
 There is, however, in defence of this attachment of veterans to 
 the service of -dancing, some excuse to be offered. The natives appear 
 to consider it rather in the light of an exercise, conducive to health 
 than as a sportive amusement. Probably also the severity of the dim 
 ate renders some ^ch -diversion useful as contributing to relax the too 
 
 *,ieat rigidity, which the fibres of the animal system might otherwise 
 acquire. * 
 
13 
 
 The conduct of the Quebec matron brought to recoeUection Lady 
 M. W. Montague acco-unt of the usages of the Court of Vienna in 
 her time, when a female, under forty, was considered as too much 
 of a chit to obtain notice, and when the haut ton consisted in that 
 ^ mellowness, and maturity of beauty, which half a century alone could 
 confer. What an elysium for ancient ladies, but as the fashion of the 
 Imperial Court may probably have changed since her ladyship ’s days, 
 it may be some consalation for those ladies whose charms are on the 
 ’ * wane, that there is still such a place as Quebec, where old age may 
 still languish in a cotillion, or excite admiration in the country dance, 
 by a display of agility so extraordinary at its years. 
 
 ^1** Wood is constantly used for fuel at Quebec. It is oat into small 
 
 pieces so as to fit the stoves which are in general use in this country. 
 This mode of warming a room is not usually acceptable to strangers 
 ^ from England, though habit reconciles to dt. Goal fires are, however, 
 I think preferable. There is something particularly exhilirating in 
 tlif.r viewing the blaze of a good fire so as to entitle it to rank among the 
 superior comforts of life. In our mode of warming rooms, two senses 
 are gratified, in the Canadian but one. There is this inconvenience 
 ffltioi also in the use of stoves, that the proportion of a good room loses of 
 jin! its effect, from the introduction of a funnel. 
 
 The people of Quebec are hospitable for strangers, though I have 
 tiffi: heard of some who have more than repayed them by the propogation 
 
 ode; of slanderous tales. I have known more than one instance in which 
 {jb do-mestic peace was successfully inivaded by *the arrow that flies in 
 leii the dark,* Against this, our sex have some protection. A high spirit- 
 jBiiT ed man will not suffer his character to be whispered away. He will 
 (ejji demand an instant explanation, but when the level is made at female 
 pgf fame, the sufferer droops without the means of resistance. In such a 
 Ejjj case it were almost a virtue to wish for an hour's possesaion of arbi- 
 ]jfr trary power to inflict summary justice on offenders. The vice of 
 scandal is, I believe to be found every where, but more particularly 
 ^ in confined situations. The inhabitants of such places are better ac- 
 quainted with each other. The preference which is given to eminent 
 merit is more impressedly felt by the environs, and the impossibility 
 of finding circles of society extensively various, in which inferiority 
 Tuight stand a chance to raise its head, is the inducement to circulate 
 jjbf suggestion's falsehood. The level whicb we cannot rise to may be 
 established by the depression of others. The sentiments which I have 
 
14 
 
 here expressed, flow from sympathy with merit, which I knew to be 
 maligned. 
 
 Jj&t me present yen with a mere graceful portrait. There is, 
 I am informed in the neighborhood of Quebec, a gentleman emphatic- 
 ally distinguished by the name of the Bon hoTUTne. His frank hos- 
 pitality I have heard much extolled. The passing stranger is invited 
 to his board, and almost made to forget that he is such. Party, coun- 
 try, or connection form neither barrier or inelosure to his intimacy. 
 He is universally diffused in acts of kirbdness. The name of this 
 American Man of Boss must not be concealed. Whilst the endearing 
 virtue of humanity is held in reverence, Quebec may boast of a Frazer. 
 
 The town is but indifferently furnished with hotels, or coffee 
 houses. On landing I was recommended to one in the Upper town 
 kept by a Jew. The accommodations were both dear and inconvenient. 
 All the others are in the Lower Town. After residing two days here, 
 I went into a boarding house, which was considered the best in 
 Quebec, and accommodated in the most satisfactory manner at the 
 moderate expense of a guinea a week. This house is kept by Madame 
 Marijeau, a Canadian gentlewoman, and her daughters. It is situated 
 in the Bue Couliard, in the Upper Town. 
 
 The markets of Quebec are cheap and abundantly furnished. I 
 never was in any place where there seemed to be so great a quantity 
 of good things at moderate rates. A turkey might be purchased for 
 15d sterling, and other articles of provision in proportion. Game is 
 brought in, in large quantities. The muttou is very small. I have 
 seen a maid servant returning from market carry a whole one in a 
 basket on her arm. 
 
 French is much spoken in this town, bnt by no means with purity, 
 to instance, m the words lait and beaucoup, they sound the t in the 
 former, and p in the latter. 
 
 The parade is in the Upper Town near the Chateau. It is in- 
 convenient on account of the irregularities of the ground. The Prince 
 was regular in attendance. 
 
 The chapel of the French EecoUets was used alternately by them, 
 and the English, for the purpose of Divine worship. The service of 
 OUT ChuTch was usually performed by a Swiss mmister. The military 
 composed a majority of the Oongregation. 
 
 Prince Edward has acquired much popularity in Oanada by his 
 affability. I was much impressed with the condescending attentions 
 
•which I one day saw him pay on the parade to an aged Freneh priest. 
 T^hat wias yet better, it appeared to be a natural emotion. 
 
 The public carnages here, cannot be paralleled for inconvenience. 
 They are small, wretched chairs into which two persons may, with dif- 
 ficulty, squeeze themselves. That kind of a cart, called a buggy, which 
 i? in use among the farmers in some English coun'ties, compared with 
 one of these, might be considered as a triumphal ear. If laughing 
 were a specific for any disorder, it could not fail of being excited by 
 attending to the harmony which results from the cracking of the 
 whip, the chiding of the driver, and the jingling of the horse ^s bells, 
 all blended in one grand unison. 
 
 The environs of Quebec are infested with prostitutes of the 
 lowest order, who solicit the attention of passengers at noon- day. It 
 will be evident that vice has made considerable progress, among the 
 lower ranks in this place, when I assure you that I have been informed 
 that these solicitations take place in the houses, and with the approba- 
 tion of the parents of these unfortunate women. What step can 
 human nature have to descend lower than this? 
 
 There are two vessels, the ‘^Indian Trader,^' and the '^Ewe- 
 retta,’^ which sail regularly between this port and London. They 
 were constructed for the exportation of furs, and built exactly the 
 same model. Their accommodation for passengers surpass anything 
 T had an idea of. In good weather, you might cross the Atlantic in 
 one of them, as much at your ease as if in a fashionable drawing- 
 room in London. The price of a passage from England to Quebec is 
 30 guineas, returning, the demand is reduced to 25. 
 
 I here first saw some of the ludians. In one, unaccustomed to 
 them, their appearance excites a sensation of horror, but this quickly 
 dissipates. In Europe, we have many prejudices on their (sic) sub- 
 ject. I had been taught to believe that they were men of extraor- 
 dinary strength. The fact is directly the reverse. A muscular Euro- 
 pean would manage three of them. It is an erroneous philosophy 
 which inculcates that men are strong in proportion to the hardships 
 they undergo. Hunger, cold, and watching will waste any human 
 frame, and they have made such an impression on that of the savage. 
 The man whose support depends on success in the chase^ will often 
 have occasion to practise abstinence, and when successful, it may be 
 questioned, whether the surfeit, which the craving of nature occa- 
 sions, will not equally tend to impair his constitution. The strength 
 
16 
 
 of the saY^ is rather passive, than active. He caoi hear much rather 
 than exert himself vigorously. This race of men are gradually wast- 
 ing way. Gircumscaribed in their hunting grounds, the means of 
 simport fail them. Above all, the intemparate use of strong liquors, 
 contributes to enervate and destroy them. The savage returning 
 from an expedition, benumbed with cold, and enfeebled with fatigiie, 
 would barter the world, (were it his), for a gallon of rum, nor give 
 over drinking this fascinating liquor till his senses were overborne by 
 the force of intoxication. It as needless to point out how unerringly 
 fatal such a course of life must prove to those who pursue it. Were 
 a cultivated European subjected to the same necessities, he would very 
 soon have recourse to the same 'mode of blunting the sense of them. I 
 have frequently thought hardly of the liberality of those, who, in 
 possession of ease and affluence, inveigh against the intemperance 
 of the poor, for occasionally deriving temporary comfort from the 
 use of apirituous liquors. The man, who dines off two courses, sees- 
 the w’ines of half a 'dozen countries sparkle on his board, treads on 
 Turkey carpets, may feel his spirits exhilirated by liquors, which 
 are not ardent, though the porter and other labourers, w'hose occupa- 
 tions expose them to the blast of winter, w^ould, in vain, endeavor to 
 excite a temporary warmth by any other than spirituous liquors. 
 
 Raynall, the French historian has fallen into an error in describ- 
 ing the Indians as a race of men who had no beards. They, I believe, 
 wish as much as possible, to eradicate hairs from all parts of the- 
 body except the chin, where probably, the effort would be ineffectual. 
 Their beards are, in general, much lighter, and less thickly set than 
 those of a civilized people, which, I suppose, proceeds from their 
 animal humors, being more attenuated than ours. 
 
 The perceptions of the savage are acute. The lowest sound arrests 
 his attention, and he traces the impression of footsteps through the 
 forest, which are invisible to the eye of an European. They are 
 peculiarly expert in the use of the bow, and the tomahawk. That in- 
 trepidity, which would expose itself to imminent danger, is, by do 
 means, in repute among savages. To have deceived -the enemy by 
 stratagem, to have surprised him by superior vigilance, these are the 
 boasts of an Indian warrior, and constitute the martial virtues, which 
 ore extolled. An Indian leader never voluntarily attacks without the 
 cf/nsciousness of a decidied su'periority. 
 
 Conduct is generally moulded into a vice, or a virtue, according; 
 
17 
 
 wl-l 
 
 laEj! 
 
 Dgij 
 
 rete 
 iifsi 
 , 18 , 
 (rlffi! 
 ur. 
 it I 
 rogil; 
 'tla 
 
 fi« 
 
 m 
 
 tieii 
 
 8 « 
 
 k: 
 
 KKl 
 
 Iltf 
 
 hi' 
 
 ,effK 
 
 « 1 J 
 
 ob: 
 
 X' 
 
 U- 
 
 0. 
 
 i!f' 
 
 3,8 
 
 1 h)B' 
 
 as it suits the policy of the particular society, which pronounces on it. 
 The O'M men of the Saivage tribes feel that their numbers diminish 
 insensibly, that many of the sa/vage youth perish in early infancy 
 from the severities attached to the situation of the female parent, 
 and therefore wisely prefer the stratagem which saves, to that temerity, 
 which, if oft repeated, would terminate in the extirpation of their 
 nation. 
 
 In one point, the savage is eminently deficient,— ‘he knows not 
 gratitude. I here would be understood as speaking relative to the 
 intercourse between him, and civilized man. It .probably would be 
 difficult to investigate how far it influences his conduct towards his 
 fellows. In requital of those little offices w’^hich a savage can perform 
 in a Canadian farm, though he were rewarded four fold, it would 
 fail to make impression. If the next moment he were required to 
 bring in a log of wood, or a pail of water, he looks for a fresh recom- 
 pense. His avidity is insatiable. Probably there may not be wanting, 
 modern Rousseaus who may consider gratitude as the weakness of a 
 mind enervated by education, and its absence as a virtue, and then 
 triumphantly point, in support of their doctrine to the conduct of the 
 American Indian, to the forked animal, pure unadulterated man 
 as nature's prototype. Reasoning which sends us to seek for the 
 perfection of human nature in the forest must be erroneous. Nature, 
 cultivated by education towards perfection, may dictate to destroy 
 another in self defence, but nature, thus cultivated, shrinks from 
 grasping the scalping knife. It recoils from the meal of the savage 
 who feasts on the flesh of his species. Such cannot be the dictate of 
 nature, or nature's lord. Shall not gratitude then be deemed a virtue 
 in defiance of the sophistry of misanthropes, — ^that it is agreeable to 
 our nature is evident from the kindly sensation, which accompanies 
 its emotion. Gratitude is certainly a tax on our self love, partially 
 on our indei>endence. He whose good offices contribute more or less 
 'to the promotion of our interests, and the consequent greater inde- 
 pendence of OUT will, has certainly a right, occasionally, to bias that 
 will, and suspend that independence in favour of his own views. The 
 cheerfully entering into the advancement of those views is gratitude. 
 How exquisitely attuned for social happiness must his feelings have 
 been, who pronounced that no prospect could be so grateful, as that of 
 koking in the eyes of one whom we have obliged. 
 
 Believe me to be, Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
London, March 22, 1795. 
 
 IS' 
 
 Bear Sir, 
 
 On leaving Quebec for Montreal, I determined to go by water. 
 This mode of eonveyance is usually preferred, as being in general 
 less expensive than posting, anid on account ef the picturesque scenes 
 which the banks of the river present. Nature appears here simple 
 though not uniform, and attracts admiration, by a 'display of spon- 
 taneous beauties. 
 
 Many vessels pass, to and fro, with freight and passengers, 
 whilst the river is open. The price of a passage is very inconsiderable, 
 being only two dollars. The passengers usually subscribe a small sum 
 previously for the purchase of accommodations — one is chosen to act 
 as provider, and the money deposited in his hands. This can easily 
 l>e effected as it is generally known some time previous to sailing, who 
 are to be of the party. 
 
 We set sail with every appearance of making a quick passage, but 
 the wind coming ahead, when we w^ere abreast of Trois-Eivieres, we 
 were obliged to come to an anchor. 
 
 Trois-Eivieres lies about half way between Quebec and Montreal. 
 Tt runs out in a straggling manner to some extent. There is nothing 
 here of that bustle, animation, and industry which is visible in other 
 towns. The inhabitants appear indolent and listless. 
 
 The gaol of this town is a handsome building, and worth atten- 
 tion. A party of us went to examine it. Persons were confined here 
 charged with various offences. The rooms in which they were impri- 
 soned were far from inconvenient, and their treatment on the whole 
 appeared to be liberal. 
 
 Cruel indeed is that policy which treats a suspected man, and a 
 convicted one in the same manner. I am persuaded that many inno- 
 cent men have suffered unjustly from the severe usage they have re- 
 ceived on being committed. Unaccustomed to the rigors of confine- 
 ment, they have sunk in despair, and neglected the attainment of that 
 evidence which was necessary for their acquital. Probably no system 
 of jurisprudence will ever do adequate justice in this respect. A man 
 is committed for an offence, lies three months in prison, is tried and 
 acquitted. What recompense is he to receive for the confinement he 
 his sustained? I am apprehensive that this is an imperfection in the 
 nature of things for which no remedy can be discovered, but that it is 
 a grievance is unquestionable. 
 
19 
 
 A Fr3Tich lady in Paris some years back was the first who caused 
 me to think attentively on this subject. ‘^Sir/^ said she to me one 
 day '^you «;ppear to be enthusiastically attached to the laws and Con- 
 stitution of England. Now said she, ''have been looking over the 
 memoirs of a .person of your country, in which the case of a poor man 
 IS mentioned, who, in order to oppress him, was imprisoned on an af- 
 fected suspicion of being guilty of a felony, by a country magistrate. 
 
 I interrupted her to say that she would find that ample justice took 
 place, when the cause came before a jury. She assented that the man 
 had been acquitted on trial, but desired to know what redress he was 
 to obtain for the imprisonment, previous to the trial. "In many 
 cases, she continued, "nothing more than imprisonment is inflicted 
 by your laws for very serious offences.'^ "How then, said she, 
 " do your boasted laws discriminate, (so as to hold out the pretext of 
 doing justice), between imprisonment, considered as a matter of 
 course, and imprisonment as a punishment for guilt, so as to induce 
 the person who has been confined, and acquitted to feel the justice of 
 the distinction. ^ ^ As I seldom continue an argument after I feel 
 conviction, I was silent. 
 
 It was the remark of an ingenious writer, that no system of laws 
 had ever yet been framed which brought a rich man, and a poor one, 
 cn equal terms into a court of justice: — So this imprisonment of an 
 innocent man, previous to trial, seems to be one of those cases where 
 laws, equal to all in general theory prove unequal in individual ex- 
 perience. The poor man alone suffers this previous imprisonment, 
 and this from inability to find bail. His poverty deprives him of 
 credit, though his acquittal proves him worthy of it. He who could 
 discover a remedy for this defect in jurisprudence, without enabling 
 aji offender to elude punishment, might arrogate to himself no incon- 
 siderable rank, amonk those who have been acknowledged as the 
 greatest legislators of Nations. 
 
 In the number of persons confined in the gaol of Trois-JRividres, 
 we discovered a Scotchman of the lower rank. He was of more than 
 ordinary stature, and of bold, manly proportion. His figure was alto- 
 gether interesting. Had we seen him in a prison in England, he 
 would have only shared our sympathy in common with his fellow 
 sufferers, but here, being the single native of Europe in this predi- 
 cament, he appropriated it all to himself. The situation of a stranger 
 in any circumstance ’ carries with it the idea of somewhat forlorn, but 
 
20 
 
 when poverty and imprisonment are annexed, it becomes j^culiarly 
 desolate It has been observed by a writer of great sensibility, that 
 whenever any figure presented itself before him, which, by its deport- 
 ment, seemed to say, behold, I am thy servant,^’ it always disarmed 
 him of that authority with which he was invested. So the appeal of 
 -behold, I am a stranger,- will be heard wherever even a lurking 
 spark of generosity can be addressed. The language of its plea is 
 simple. It says, -I am distant from home, relations, or friends. My 
 sojourn in the land, lo! it is short. Let me not be oppressed.- 
 
 We gathered round the Scotchman, and required his story. His 
 tale was short, and unvarnished. He had 'been committed for an as- 
 sault. Our Caledonian would have rebutted the charge, but was not 
 believed. Guilty or not guilty was not with us the question. “In 
 prison, and ye visited me. ^ ^ It was sufficient that he was there. The 
 little tide of contribution flowed in from aU parts, and we departed 
 ip peace. That man may have much of system in his benevolence, 
 who conld go' trotting round a town to discover w^hether another was 
 really guilty of a peccadillo, before he tendered him assistance, but 
 believe me, my friend, he wants humanity. 
 
 We were much struck with the conduct of the ■woman who showed 
 us the gaol. On tendering her a sm'all douceur for her trouble, she 
 declined accepting it, nor could we finally pre^^ail but on condition, 
 that she should receive it as a deposit to be expende»d for the benefit 
 of the 'Scotchman, —for, — said she, —he has none to help him,— but 
 he has though, for I HI be sworn thou hast done him an hundred good 
 offices before now. This condition was freely acceded to on our part. 
 I think it may be considered as great an act of injustice to deprive 
 a person of the grateful consciousness of -doing gooid, as of any other 
 part of their property. Never in the course of my life have I said 
 to . any one, ^ ^ do not give, — or — you give too much, — or, — he is an 
 imposter.— Heaven knows the current of charity runs low enough 
 without endeavouring to check its course. Let the motive be pure, 
 and the action will be registered. The best of us, on the great day of 
 retribution, will not, I believe, fare the worse for a few set oifs of this 
 kind. You, my friend, I well know, would feel highly indignant to see, 
 as I have, the assiduous parasite of a man of wealth arresting the 
 half extended hand of benevo-lenoe, by some sneering i*emark, and 
 afterwiards extolling the profusion of his table as an elegmit expense. 
 
 They offer you for sale at this town, a variety of articles made of 
 
21 
 
 bark, in the form of pocket books, scissor cases, little boots, etc. 
 These are curious in their constru-ction, but so high a price was set on 
 them as appeared to me to approach to imposition. 
 
 After the delay of a few hours, we returned to the vessel, which 
 lay abreast of the town. 
 
 On the fo>llowing day, there being no appearance of the wind 
 shifting in our favour, and as the frost was expected to set in, I de- 
 termined to post to Montreal. A young gentleman, who was going to 
 join his regiment in Upper Canada, offering to accompany me, dimin- 
 ished. the expense. 
 
 Posting is cheap here compared with Europe, and when the dif- 
 ference of convenience is considered, it ought to be so. The carriage 
 iS neither more nor less than a wretched cart, drawn by one horse. 
 The expense was, I think, at the rate of a shilling a league, but in 
 addition to this, there were two or three posts Royal, which, those 
 who have travelled in France, know, are always charged double. This 
 certainly is a heavy exaction, which it would be difficult to justify. 
 The only way in which I could ever reconcile this usage to common 
 s(;nse was by supposing that horses were kept at a greater expense in 
 large towns, than in the country, and that, in the country, they might 
 occasionally be emiployed in other labour, w'hen the demand for them 
 v/as slack. 
 
 The regulations of the road require the driver to convey his 
 passengers six miles within the hour, otherwise he is subject to censure. 
 If it is the winter season, passengers are usually furnished at the Post 
 House with large skins to secure their legs, and bodies from the 
 inclemency of the weather. Thus equipped, they may bid defiance to 
 the pelting of the storm. The roads are but indifferent. It is neces- 
 sary to pass over a number of little bridges, constructed of the trunks 
 of small trees placed parallel in a transverse direction. 
 
 The peasantry appeared to be cheerful and happy with a singular 
 vivacity of spirits. As the road runs, in general, near the river, trav- 
 ellers have occasional views of it, in the course of the journey. 
 
 We arrived at Montreal on the 1st of November. 
 
 This town is situated on an island, at the foot of a high moun- 
 tain, on the border of the St. Lawirence. It is not equal in size to 
 Quebec, but has considerably the advantage in point of cleanliness. 
 On the whole, Montreal has more the appearance of a middle sized 
 country town in England than any place I saw in America. The prin- 
 
cipal streets are flagged. The houses are built of stone, on the French 
 plan, with this exeeption that they are in general, m-uch lower, and 
 present a greater appearanee of neatness than French houses usually 
 do. 
 
 Montreal appears to me to have taken its name from the moun- 
 tain in its neighborhood, as the country is, in genei'al, level for a con- 
 siderable extent. 
 
 We stopped but one day at this place, as the last brigade of bat- 
 teaux for the season proceeded, the day after we arrived for Cataraqui. 
 Had we neglected this opportunity, we must have wintered at Mont- 
 real, but, as in the August following, on my return, I resided a fort- 
 night in this place, I shall bring forward, at present, for the sake of 
 method, the information I collected at the different perio.ds. 
 
 Monti-eal, considered as a place of strength, could make little, or 
 no resistance. Its fortifications are entirely out of repair. There is 
 a fort on a small eminence, as you enter the town from Quebec, but, 
 I believe, that few military men would hazard their reputation by 
 undertaking to defend it. This place was taken by General Montgo- 
 mery in the last war. Our Government probably are the more indif- 
 ferent as to its state of defence, from the consciousness that those 
 must always be the final possesors of Montreal, who are inasters of 
 Quebec, and have the command of the St. Lawrence. 
 
 The first battalion of the 60th, or Royal American regiment of 
 Foot was quartered in Montreal during my stay. It would be ungrate- 
 lul in me not to mention the very high sense I entertain of the 
 hospitality of that corps and the peculiar attention I received from 
 individuals. This regiment always remaihs in America, or the West 
 India islands. It consists of four battalions. Previous to the wfu 
 many ^ntlemen who were ambitious of rapid promotion used to pur- 
 chase in it, as vacancies more frequently occur than in others. It is 
 the largest regiment in our service. In the evenings of summer, their 
 band generally plays for a couple of hours on the parade, which is 
 the great public walk. The barracks, which are in the Notre Dame 
 st'’’eet, appear to be roomy and convenient. 
 
 The amusements of Montreal are exactly similar to those of 
 Que ec. In winter, all is dance and festivity. Spring ho-wever makes 
 its appearance at the former, a month earlier than at the latter, from 
 ffs more southern situation. 
 
Th«r€ are in Montreal but two bouses of general reception for 
 genteel strangers, — Dillon ^s hotel, and Sullivan’s Coffee house. The 
 former is in the square near the Notre Dame street, and the other is 
 adjacent to the market place. The latter house is most frequented, 
 as being the longest established, and the general resort of people in 
 business, but the former has a •decided advantage in situation and 
 ^superior accommodation. 
 
 The markets of Montreal are furnished abundantly, but provisions 
 in general are not to be purchased on such reasonable terms as at 
 Quebec. 
 
 Strangers, who intend making a delay in the town, would do 
 well to get themselves accommodated with board and lodging as early 
 9 ./? possible. In this, they will find their account, in the article of 
 expense as well of society. There are more establishments of this 
 nature at Montreal than at Quebec. Mrs. Warren’s in the St. Joseph 
 street is the best house of this kind, and generally frequented by per- 
 sons from England. Madame Maran ’s in Notre Dame street is also 
 conveniently situated. The prices in general are from four to six 
 dollars a week. 
 
 I have seen few places where a veteran officer of moderate in- 
 come might entrench himself for life better than at Montreal. He 
 c ul-d live well on moderate terms, and feel himself of consequence. 
 
 r 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 London, March 29, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 The question has often been mooted by politicians, whether the 
 provinces of Canada were an useful acquisition for Britain or not? 
 Just reason would, I believe, induce to pronounce in the negative, 
 did not the advantages arising from the possession of their Fur market 
 turn the scale to the side of the affirmative. This it is which renders 
 Canada valuable. Distant as its towns and population are from the 
 sf?a, and yielding only com, with which its neighbors are super- 
 abundantly furnished, it would be deficient in the means of obtaining 
 the manufactures of the parent-country did not this expensive com- 
 modity enable it to make returns for the conveniences and comforts 
 t^’ansmitted from England. 
 
24 
 
 Tlie American furs are bj no means equal to those of the north 
 of Europe, either in size or quality, their down yielding to those of 
 Eussia in silkiness of texture. These .defects are however compensated 
 by their cheapness. The great market for our American furs is China. 
 This country had previously been supplied by Eussia, but by no 
 means in adequate quantities, anid consequently at a rate which 
 caused them to be regarded as one of those superior luxuries which 
 could only be obtained by those who were in possession of ample 
 fortunes. 
 
 In this state of things our low priced American furs, being ex- 
 ported, were purchased with avidity, and as the extensive population 
 of China could only be supplied, after a series of years, the demand 
 for this article w^as kept up for a long time in its original spirit. 
 At length, it begins to languish, not so much from any caprice, or 
 change of fashion, as the nature of the merchandize. When a general 
 supply had once taken place, an annual addition comparatively small 
 would suffice to keep it up, and not being of a perishable nature, 
 ordinary care would render a suit of furs, a kind of hereditary posses- 
 sion in a family. The inhabitants of Canada however continue to 
 receive considerable returns by means of this article, though from 
 the 'Unexpected abatement in the demanid, many of the Montreal mer- 
 chants have latterly lost by their speculations. Formerly, when the 
 French first possessed this country, an annual fair was held at this 
 town, for the sale of furs, whither the Indians resorted from all parts. 
 At present the Fur trade is principally carried on by what is nomin- 
 ated the North-West Company. I do not believe that this body 
 possesses any exclusive privilege but what it has assumed, though it 
 does not hesitate to consider and designate as interlopers, those who, 
 urconnected with them, attempt to participate in the trade. Indeed 
 any enterprize of this nature is attenided with considerable danger, 
 .-S the clerks and servants of the Cornpany are stationed in so con- 
 nected a line of strong settlements in the Indian country, and -are at 
 the same time so jealous of their employers’ interest, that few single 
 traders are to be found sufficiently hardy to venture themselves among 
 a set of men, w'ho would not confine their resentmen!; to empty 
 menace. 
 
 With respect to the commercial intercourse between the savage 
 and the civilized man, it is, I believe, unnecessary for me to remark 
 that every transfer from whichsoever side it takes plaee, is most to 
 
the advantage of the latter. The former buys dear, and sells cheap. 
 This is the result of his situation. Competition is not permitted. His 
 wants can only be supplied from one quarter. The craving necessity 
 of his natune will not permit him to dispute the priee of his gratifica- 
 tion. 
 
 IIow vague, how capricious is the morality of commerce. Tt de- 
 votes the negro to slavery, because he is black. It presents the Amer- 
 ican savage with a bottle of rum, adulterated with water, in exchange 
 for a skin, two guineas in value, because he is copper coloured, and 
 for this, its agent is the white man who negociates the whole without 
 once blushing. 
 
 The members of the North-West Company are, in general, men 
 of opulent fortunes. They are almost exclusively admitted from the 
 body of their own clerks and servants, whose labors are thus recom- 
 pensed, and their industry stimulated. The general interest of the 
 Company too is thus best secured, as it will be impossible for con- 
 fidential dependants to elude the vigilance of interested experience or 
 refuse to practise that severe economy of which their superiors have 
 already set the example. 
 
 It was under the patronage of this society that an attempt was 
 made, about five years since, to traverse the American continent, and 
 ascertain its breadth in this part. It was suggested to the adventurer 
 to endeavour to make the Pacific ocean about the latitude of Nootka 
 Sound. Mr. McKenzie, a native of Scotland, a gentleman connected 
 with the Company, was the spirited individual who undertook this 
 enterprise. He had proceeded a considerable distance, with every 
 piospect of success, when the Indian, who had been prevailed on by 
 considerable- promises of reward to accompany him, and on whose 
 skill in archery he relied for support refused to advance any further, 
 being apprehensive of injury from the strange tribes of Indians they 
 had fallen in with. Nothing could change his resolntion, and Mr. Mc- 
 Kenzie was compelled to return at a period when success appeared 
 certain, having followed the course of a river for some time, which 
 there was every reason to expect would discharge its waters in the 
 ocean, near the destined latitude. McKenzie returned, but the ardor 
 tf genius us not easily repressed. He resumed his enterprize. After 
 having adopted all those precautions which human prudence could 
 suggest to facilitate his plan, then trusting much to what in great 
 undertakings much must be entrusted, namely, chance, he boldly pene- 
 
26 
 
 trated the gloom of a forest which human footsteps had hitherto* 
 found infinite. At the time I was at this place, he was absent on the- 
 second expedition. 
 
 Such are the men on whom history, anecdote, and memoir love to 
 dwell. How inferio-r the little race of conquerors, to men like Columbus- 
 and McKenzie. Whilst the former, with the loss of thousands of 
 human beings, scramble for the possession of a hill, or a plain, the 
 ’atter, at individual risk, discover the scheme of creation, and present 
 the discovery for the benefit of man. View McKenzie, facing the 
 desert, famine, cold, and the caprice of every savage who crossed his- 
 path, and if Fortitude deserve the laurel conjure up Caesars and 
 Alexanders to support the claim. 
 
 The history of Canada, previous to the conquest of it by Wolfe, 
 presents little interesting. It consists in a series of expeditions- 
 undertaken by unsuccessful adventurers, — in accounts of private inter- 
 ests superseding all sense of public advantage, — of the mistaken ze-aV 
 of missionaries rendering them useless victims in the cause of religion^ 
 and the equally mistaken policy of the first commanders, who took 
 part in the disputes of the natives, to the injury of the colony. 
 
 The following is a brief statement of different expeditions down 
 to the building of Quebec, which is brought forward rather for the 
 purpose of pointing out the foundation of the settlement, than as 
 conveying either .pleasure or instruction. 
 
 The name of the province, Canada, is thus derived. There is a 
 tradition that the crew of a Castilian ship, landing in the bay of 
 ChaJeurs, in quest of mines, and finding nothing of that kind ex- 
 claimed acqiii nada, ''here is nothing,'^ which being overheard by 
 the Indians they repeated it in an imperfect manner, so as to pro- 
 nounce the sound Canada, and adopted this as the name of their country. 
 
 In 1497, Sebastian Cabot discovered the continent of America. 
 He sailed hither by virtue of a commission from Henry the 7th of 
 England, but no settlement was made then. 
 
 Father Charlevoix says that John Denys, a native of Honfleur in 
 Normandy, drew a chart of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1506. 
 
 Thomas Aubert, a shipmaster of Dieppe, brought over to France 
 some Indians of Canada, in 1508. 
 
 Tne French Court did not bestow any attention on Canada, till 
 
 year 1523, when Francis the 1st equipped four vessels under the 
 mman of Vera.«Lani, a Florentine. The particulars of this voyage 
 
27 
 
 are not known. This man commandeid in two other expeditions, with- 
 out any intelligence resulting. It is supposed that he perished in 
 the Isat. 
 
 In the year 1600, Monsieur Chauvin, sailed to Canada, accom- 
 panied by Pontgrav4, a merchant of St. Malo. In a second expedition 
 he was accompanied by Samuel de Champlain, a gentleman of- St. 
 Onge, who had been a captain in the navy. 
 
 In 1608, Champlain began the settlement of Quebec, which is 
 distant 120 leagues from the sea. The name is derived from a word 
 in the Indian language, which signifies a straitening, the river here 
 narrowing on a sudden. 
 
 Montreal was an ancient Indian establishment, under the name 
 of Hochelaga. 
 
 Subsequent to the founding of Quebec there was a pious rage 
 in France to emigrate to Canada. The harvest was represented as 
 abundant and the laboui’ers but few. Missionaries of both sexes entered 
 on this new crusade, most of whom met with the fate of their prede- 
 cessors in Palestine I know not whether you would be grateful to 
 me for recounting to you the honors which were paid the holy sisters 
 cn landing, or the pains they took to merit them, by a cheerful sub- 
 mission to the duties which are connected with attendance on hospitals, 
 in fact they acted as physicians, both of soul and body. On the whole 
 this Colony was neglected or regarded in proportion as the dissensions 
 in France permitted, or the temper of those in power, induced them 
 to cultivate the arts of peace. 
 
 At the commencement of the present century, during the period 
 of the regency, the ^clat of the Mississippi scheme once more turned 
 the eyes of men with speculative attention on Canada, but it was only 
 to withdraw them with distaste, as not affording those advantages 
 which the romance of fancy could alone have suggested. 
 
 I shall now return to modem Canada. 
 
 There is at Montreal, as at Paris, a Hotel HieUy for the general 
 reception of indigent sick. I have always thought that the French 
 establishments of this kind are on a better footing than ours. In 
 England, it frequently takes so much time to make interest to get a 
 person into an hospital, that the soul of the patient fairly takes its 
 fiight in the interim. I was much pleased with the appearance of an 
 affected piety and simplicity in the good ladies who were in attend 
 UTice at this hospital, and was peculiarly struck with the neatness of 
 
everything in their apartments, which regarded as an agreeable pres- 
 age that the same was attended to in a quarter, where it is so indis- 
 pensably requisite. I aUude to the sick wards. I am firmly persuaded 
 that a pure air, and attention to cleanliness disarm any malady of 
 half of its virulence. Whatever I saw on this occasion would have 
 sustained tJie scrutinizing eye of even the philanthropic Howard. 
 
 Whether the gootd deeds of the original missionaries have been 
 visited on their successors, I will not pretend to say, but certain it is 
 that the Clergy of Lower Canada are at present in a situation of ease 
 and abundance that might be envied by all the other members of the 
 Galilean Church as the Angel of Affliction has certainly passed over 
 them. As it is usual with these religious bodies to offer up prayers, 
 cn stated days, for their benefactors, I would suggest the propriety, 
 on occasions of this kind, of inserting on the list, all those who had 
 any hand in drawing up ^^the capitulation of Quebec.^’ 
 
 The Bodies of Regular Clergy in this Province are, in general, 
 most amply endowed. Some of them are intrinsically opulent. Tho’ 
 there doubtless are many persons who think that a less affluent provi- 
 sion would suffice, yet it is generally agreed that their morals and 
 conduct are without stain, and without reproach. 
 
 The French Canadian is probably the most bigoted of human 
 beings. This however cannot be deemed the best tinne for paring off 
 the excressences of superstition, when the very body of religion seems 
 in danger of dissolution. For my own part, I have ever thought that 
 even superstition itself was an error on the best side. Some men 
 there are who are never satisfied, but when they are either what they 
 call, rising superior to prejudice in matters of religion, or instructing 
 those around them so to do. These never deem themselves clear of 
 the fence of superstition till they have dashed intrepidly into the 
 horrid void o’f Atheism. Whenever such men or their doctrines are 
 found useful to human society, I shall then grow indignant against 
 the weakness of superstition. 
 
 The seigneurs or noblesse of this country are, in general, indigent. 
 Probably this may have been brought on by an attempt to vie in 
 appearances with the active sons of commerce. This must ever be the 
 event of any contest between industry^ whose resources are hourly 
 increasing, and indolence, whose means are stationary. In these' 
 modern times, since the value of commerce has been properly under- 
 stood, there seems to be a kind of happy necessity imposd on most 
 
29 
 
 «8C;i: 
 
 kio: 
 
 ■pcs 
 
 maiij 
 
 Tonij 
 
 il3^ 
 
 iTtaii 
 
 OB^ 
 
 iei5: 
 
 assei 
 
 m 
 
 pwft 
 
 !i6 
 
 it! 
 
 ei;: 
 
 01^ 
 
 men of being in some respeet useful. Few indeed are they whose 
 fortunes are so very affluent as to eondemn them to languish in in- 
 activity. Men may eommence life on terms of equality, but those 
 who are listless and indiflTerent will soon feel the necessity of falling 
 off from the side of those who were the eompanions of their youth, 
 and have been stimulated by industry. In England, the pride of an- 
 cient wealth and nobility scarce restrains from participating of the 
 sweets of commerce. Would it not then almost cheat the face of 
 melaneho«ly herself into a smile before she was aware, to see t..e 
 colonial noble of a little province standing indignantly aloof from any 
 exertion of talent, as derogatory to his consequence, though he is at 
 the moment laboring under, what may be emphatically pronounced, 
 the aggregate of human misery, Domi inopia^ fords os alienum, pov- 
 erty within doors and creditors without. Could these gentlemen be 
 only persuaded how very unimportant their pretensions are in the 
 great scale of things, they might possibly be induced to barter a little 
 consequence for much comfort, — they would permit themselves to be 
 useful and to be happy. 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 ifii 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 m' 
 
 :!a;: 
 
 iia' 
 
 )ti 
 
 I In 
 
 3 j 
 
 ■mi 
 
 Ilf 
 
 London, April 7, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 It is usual for those who wish to proceed to the Upper Province 
 from Montreal to apply to Mr. Clarke, a Government Agent, who will 
 furnish them with an order to the leader of the batteaux to receive 
 them on board. Those who are in the service of Government have an 
 extra order to be furnished with certain rations of provisions. When 
 7 mention that these rations are composed of cakes of very coarse 
 bread, and pieces of pork, impregnated with brine, it will not be 
 necessary for me to point out to persons of condition to furnish them- 
 selves suitably, previous to embarking. 
 
 The batteaux are stationed at a village called Lachine, distant 
 about nine miles from Montreal. This distance may be considered as 
 the first check which the Euroi>ean commerce with the Upper Province 
 meets with. English goods, after being landed at Montreal, must be 
 conveyed in carts to Lachine, — then unloaded, and reembarked in bat- 
 teaux. The water runs so shallow from this village to Montreal, as 
 
not to be navigable, even bj these vesels. Batteaux are flat bottomed 
 boats in the form of canoes, peculiarly calculated for this navigation 
 as drawing not more than three or four feet of water. Five men are 
 .especially allotted to work each batteaux, — four row, sitting on the 
 benches, the fifth acts the part of a steersman, occasionally shifting 
 a short broad paddle, from side to side, which he uses as a helm to 
 direct her motion. 
 
 In passing from Lachine to Cataraqui, it is necessary to row the 
 whole way, as they proceed against the current. Their progress is 
 eonseqnently slow, not being more, on an average, than 18 miles a day, 
 so that in going to Upper Canada it takes ten -days to perform a navi- 
 gation, which, on the return, by aid of the current, may be accom- 
 plished in two. There are two or three portages, or carrying places 
 in the course of this passage, when the goods mu-st be unloaded, carted, 
 and relo-aded. 
 
 The batteaux generally proceed in, what they term, brigades, 
 each consisting of about ten or twelve in number. At evening, they 
 generally put ashore at some straggling house on the bank of the 
 river, or pass the night in the wood. All this was new to me, and, 
 such not unpleasing. You would be surprized at the quickness, an<l 
 dexterity with which the batteaux men cover in themselves, and the 
 passengers for the night. On landing, aU han.ds are employed. One 
 strikes a light. Another collects withered leaves to receive it, whilst 
 different parties bring in their collections of any wood, and instantly 
 you have a blaze in every direction, with various groups encircling 
 them. Poles are then suspended transversely from tree to tree, anl 
 over these are placed the bark of trees, coarse rugs, oil cloths, and 
 other coverings to keep out the weather. Some dry wood is thrown 
 under, and over this your blankets and mattrasses are deposited. This 
 ^ the employment of a part. The remainder are busied about supper. 
 The rations are produced, and soon dressed at such extensive fires. 
 
 res ment is then sought in sleep, and long ere the dawn, the active 
 are m motion. As it was winter, the fires were kept up. 
 
 v»r 1.+^+ ^ awakened the first night, and viewed the scene around, it 
 ^collection, Homer description of the Trojans en- 
 f in companies around their fires, 
 
 proaeh^oTJorn*’^”^ anxiously expecting the ap- 
 
 The village of Lachine, from where 
 
 the batteaux set out. is sail 
 
to have received its name from a peculiar circumstance. A foreigner 
 of distinction, many years "back, arrived at Montreal, where he gave 
 out that it was his intention to traverse the continent of America in 
 that direction, so as finally to arrive at China. 
 
 The road, at present, from Montreal to Lachine is remarkably 
 bad, but at that time it was much worse, so much so that our adven- 
 turous traveller in proceeding on his route, met so many difficulties in 
 these nine miles, that he fairly relinquished his pursuit, and returned 
 to Montreal. The satirical French Canadian, in memory of this event 
 gave the name T/a Chine or China to the place where the boasting 
 foreigner had terminated his tour. 
 
 There is an Indian village in the neighborhood of this place. 
 They have a Church, and have made some progress towards civilized 
 life. 
 
 When the batteaux proceed in brigades, they are under the direc- 
 tion of a person, who is termed the conductor. 
 
 I left Lachine on the 3rd of November, 1792, to go up the rapids 
 with the last brigade of the season, from which time, until spring, all 
 communication is cut off on account of the severity of the season. The 
 only intercourse that takes place in the interim is thro-ugh the medium 
 of a single express in winter, conveyed by Indians through the woods, 
 about the month of February. 
 
 Finding in the course of the first day, that my limbs were be- 
 numbed with cold, and that it was altogether an uncomfortable mode 
 of proceeding, I determined on attempting to get forward by land. 
 It was in vain that different persons endeavored to dissuade me by 
 pointing out the difficulties which would occur in a. journey through 
 the woods. I considered that this mode of traveling .would give me a 
 greater insight into the nature of the country and that the odds were 
 in my favor, on the whole that I should by this means meet with 
 greater conveniences. The event justified my expectations. There 
 was a man in one of the batteaux, going up the country in search of 
 employment, who, hearing of my intentions of going by land, offered 
 to accompany me, and carry a few articles, if I would bear his ex- 
 penses. To this proposal, I cheerfully acceded, and felt my hopes of 
 success in my expedition augmented. It appeared to me in the light 
 of one of those pleasing surprises which often happen to active dili- 
 gence, where many things difficult to design, prove easy of perform- 
 
32 
 
 an<je. ^ ' So, borrowing a fowling pioee from one of the passengers, I 
 quitted the batteaux the next 'morning at the Cascade. 
 
 The Cascade is distant about ten leagues from Montreal. The 
 waters run in a very strong rapid for some distanee, previous to their 
 arrival at the place that is peculiarly called the Cascade. Here they 
 narrow and precipitate themselves over shoals, rocks, and stones in 
 such a manner as, (owing to the conjoint form of the impediments) to 
 descend in the figure of an inclined plane. A pilot is very often taken 
 on for this very difficult navigation at the village of Johnston. It 
 requires considerable skill to keep the exact channel, in passing 
 which, the batteau of necessity goes within five or six inches of a 
 cavern formed by rocks, down w’hich a part of the waters are dis- 
 charged. Should any accident bring a batteau in contact with this, 
 no human po'w^r could avert destruction, from the passengers. So 
 much have the waters been agitated in arriving at this part, and by 
 collision with the stones, broken into their minutest particles, that 
 the batteau appears to float merely on their foam, without being im- 
 mersed in the body of the water. It may not be an improper caution 
 to -persons who think proper to descend the -Cascade to beware least 
 any sudden apprehension should induce them to start up in the bat- 
 teau, as the consequence would inevitably be fatal to all those who 
 were embarked. In general, however, strangers get out before they 
 arrive here, and reembark at so-me distance below. In passing to 
 Upper Canada, merchandise is unloaded here, and the empty batteaux 
 drawn up a small by-canal. 
 
 On leaving the Cascade, we walked on about seven miles, when 
 we arrived at Johnstowm. This is a decent village for this country, 
 and where tolerable accommodation may be obtained. Its principal 
 claim however to remark is, that it is the last to be found in this di- 
 rection till you arrive at Cabaraqui. 
 
 After passing Johnstown, the traveller must commit himself to 
 the chance of meeting a public house, hospitality and such accommoda- 
 tion as he can obtain, in the straggling cottage of the peasant. 
 
 Two branches of the river must be passed in canoes. 
 
 The day after I left Johnstown, I heard by accident that there 
 was a house which had belonged to the celebrated Sir William Johnson, 
 some di^ance from the road. I had always admired the eccentricity 
 0. Sir William’s character, who certainly was not a man of modern 
 mould, and could not determine to lose an opportunity of examining 
 
his rural arrangeni'ents. I therefore struck out of my course some 
 two or three miles to the River Raisin. On my arrival, I was in- 
 formed that Captain Byrne, a gentleman in the neighborhood would, 
 as it was not doubted, gratify me with a sight of the house. I waited 
 on this gentleman, who told: me that I had been deceived by those 
 who informed me that the house had been Sir William Johnson's, as 
 it was a modern eo^ection of his son, the present Sir John Johnson, 
 who was then absent. Captain Byrne, with much politeness, insisted 
 on sending his son to shew it to me. It is a small country lodge, 
 neat, but as the grounds are only beginning to be cleared, there was 
 nothing of interest. On our return, the Captain pressed me with so 
 much frank hospitality not to proceed till the following day that it 
 was impossible to decline. It was early in the evening. It is with 
 pleasure I recollect the attentions I received, which I shall not quickly 
 forget. Some gentlemen of the neighborhood came in, and time passed 
 imperceptibly in conversation, that "was supported with spirit and in- 
 telligence. 
 
 Captain Byrne bore his comimission in a corps raised by Sir John 
 Johnson, in the American war. Every opinion, which I afterwards 
 heard of him, confirmed the favorable one with which I had been ori- 
 ginally impressed. 
 
 It was thought by many -persons in this country that Sir John 
 Johnson would have been created Governor of the Upper Province, at 
 the time the present one was appointed. His ovm, and his father's 
 services, his hereditary ascendency over the Indians, and his connec- 
 tions in the country were reason, which it was supposed, would have 
 caused him to have been selected. Possibly the latter of them, namely, 
 his connections in the country were the single impediment. It has 
 been the general policy of English ministers not to apx>oint a man to 
 the Government of that coxmtry where his connections are settled. Of 
 this gentleman, who was then absent in England, I know nothing more 
 than what general report spoke, and that report was favorable. 
 
 There was in circulation numerous anecdotes of the late Sir Wil- 
 liam. You will probably not deem the following unworthy of atten- 
 tion. 
 
 The ascendency of Sir William over the Indians was kept up by 
 frequent intercourse. At an entertainment given by him to the chiefs, 
 the principal one, in the course of it, informed him that he had had 
 a dream. The other desired him to relate it. He said he dreamed 
 
3i 
 
 that Sir William had made him a present of the fire arms, which were 
 arranged in the room, in which they sat. The baron w^as rather dis- 
 concerted by this dream, as he well knew that it would cause a rup- 
 ture with the chief, whose infiuenee was considerable, if he did not 
 take the earliest opportunity of fulfilling his dream. On the other 
 hand, fire arms were the kind of presents he could least spare, and 
 that which could be much used to his prejudice. A prompt decision 
 was, however, requisite, and he immediately ordered the arms to be 
 delivered to the Indian, who retired highly gratified. Shortly after, 
 S?T William was present at an entertainment given by the Indian 
 leaders, in the course of which he told the former chief that he had 
 had a dream. He was desired to relate it. He said he dreamed that 
 this Chief had made him a present of a particular tract of country, 
 which he described. (This tract he well knew was much valued by the 
 Indians as being a remarkable hunting ground). The Chief was sen- 
 sible that a refusal would be attended with the loss of the friendship 
 of the English. He therefore caused the land to be made over, agree- 
 able to the Indian forms. After the ceremony was finished, he ad- 
 \anced to Sir William, and told him privately that it was not his in- 
 tention to dream any more. 
 
 From the river Raisin, I proceeded in my journey, for some time, 
 without meeting anything material. The roads through the woods are 
 every where difficult, and would be in many places impassable, were 
 it not for trunks of trees, which, at bad steps, afford firm footing. 
 After two or three days travelling, bad weather drove me into a cot- 
 tage for shelter. A gentleman in the neighborhood, (Captain Frazer), 
 being informed by the proprietor o-f the cireumstance, invited me to 
 Ills house, where I continued till the next day. I had some conversa- 
 t’.on with this gentleman, on the state of the country. He informed 
 7ne that he had discovered lead mines on his estate. The samples be 
 produced seemed pregnant with ore, but as the doctrine of minerals 
 wss a subject in which neither of us affected to be conversant, we 
 could not determine whether it was of the white or black kind. The 
 opinions of others had induced Captain Frazer to suppose it to be 
 the latter. Black lead is much more rare and valuable than white. In 
 Englan-d, I believe, it is principally discovered in the county of West- 
 moreland. 
 
 I took charge of some samples which I delivered to the Governor, 
 who had expressed a desire to have them transmitted to him. No doubt 
 
35 
 
 >8,fflL2 
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 eaua;: 
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 Oltk 
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 e a®' 
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 ralod: 
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 tefria 
 ewer, I 
 isheif 
 isBolii 
 
 firm k 
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 taiaF:! 
 
 nieoiP 
 
 esaci 
 
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 Dvefa-' 
 
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 oseii: 
 
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 ^G(*f 
 
 erery attention has been paid to discover how far the ore was valuable, 
 and the mine of an extent to render it worth working. Nothing, it is 
 t«) be presumed, has been neglected, in case of approval, which could 
 render it generally useful to the country, and beneficial to the prop- 
 rietor. 
 
 It is to be remarked of this part of the country, to some extent, 
 that scarce a twig was cut in it, till the year 1784. To a philosophical 
 mind, no prospect can be so grateful, as the progress of culture. A 
 small patch of waving grain, — a little eddy of smoke, scarce surmount- 
 ing the tops of the trees, and announcing a human habitation, — the 
 cheerful crowing of a cock, — all gratify, when unexpectedly encount- 
 ered. They bear testimony that man is gaining on the desert, and 
 that the blessing of existence is about to be extended to a greater 
 number of rational beings, from the increase of their support. The 
 man who could pass through a country like this, and occasionally see 
 a new and more commodious habitation, arising by the side of one 
 hastily constructed, and inconvenient, without feeling strong emotions, 
 may be good for an hundred purposes. He might have all that fine 
 feeling which renders men exquisitely alive to self-love, but he knows 
 nothing of the social. 
 
 Almost all the persons who reside in this part have been in the 
 army, and at the peace, received grants of lands, and the officers half 
 pay. At the time I passed through, the lower orders were killing 
 their hogs, to lay up as store for winter provision. In so infant a 
 settlement, it would have been irrational to expect that abundance 
 which bursts the granaries, and lows in the stalls of more cultivated 
 countries. There was, however, that kind of appearance which indi- 
 cated that with economy and industry, there would be enough. 
 
 I was advised here to return to the batteau, as it would be im- 
 pofisiibJe to proceed much further by land, on account of some im- 
 passable swamps. One soon after appearing in view, I embarked, and 
 arrived in about three days, without anything material occurring at 
 Cataraqui. 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
London, April 15, 1795. 
 
 Ik?ar Sir, 
 
 At the extremity of the rapids, and the entrance on the lake On- 
 tario, is situated the towm of Oataraqui. This place is, like every other 
 in Canada, to the southward of Montreal, very inconsiderable, con- 
 sisting, principally, of one street, in the nature of a quay, extending 
 elong the border of the river. 
 
 There is a small fort in here, in which a company of the 60th regi- 
 ment performed duty. Of this regiment, which is named the Eoyal 
 American regiment, it is to be remarked, that it is the largest in His 
 Majesty’s service, consisting of four battalions. Another peculiarity 
 is, that it is almost constantly stationed in America, or the Islands. 
 Military men, however, frequently purchase, by preference, into this 
 corps, as exiperience has evinced, that promotion in it was more than 
 usually rapid. 
 
 When I was last at Oataraqui, Captain Porter was commanding 
 officer. This gentleman unites, to very pleasing manners, an extensive 
 knowledge of the world, and a portion of literary acquirements, not 
 ujsually found among gentlemen of the sword. This latter qualification 
 piobably was the cause of his being selected to act as Judge Advocate 
 at Quebec, on the trial of the mutineers of Prince Edward ’s regiment, 
 on which occasion his conduct was stamped with general approbation. 
 A mind well informed is highly estunable even in Europe. It becomes 
 invaluable, when encountered in the wilds of Canada. 
 
 The situation of Oataraqui is, on the whole, one of the most de- 
 sirable, I met with in Upper Canada. The walks and rides in the 
 vicinity of this place are highly picturesque. 
 
 As it was known to be the intention of the G overnmen't, to erect a 
 town as the Capital of Upper Canada, and seat o-f Government, opin- 
 ions were necessarily various as to the propriety of its situation. Some 
 decided for Niagara, others for Oataraqui. The Governor adopted a 
 third opinion in favor of an establishment at the river La Trenche, 
 situated about 50 miles to the South-west of Niagara. Toronto on 
 lake Ontario, distant about 35 miles North-east from Niagara Tvas 
 afterwards s^^cted as being a more convenient situation, biassed most 
 of the inhabitants to decide for their own settlements. 
 
 Unconnected with the country, I will assign to you the reason why 
 T would suggest Cataraqui, as the most eligible site. The advantages, 
 
requisite to be conibined in such a situation, are those of security and 
 a commodious depot for commerce. With respect to the former, Cata- 
 raqui has a natural barrier to the North in the difficulty of approach 
 by the rapids, — to the southward, in the ascendency of the British 
 marine on the Lake, and more immediately from its conti^ity to 
 Carleton island, the possession of which must ever confer security on 
 this place, but, in a commercial point of view, its advantages are be- 
 yond all competition. 
 
 It must ever be deemed the first point of wisdom in the founder 
 of a city, to pay attention to local circumstances. Nature must not 
 bo forced, nor the progress of culture overlooked. A Peter the Great, 
 ^tis true, and a few others have erred successfully against all rule. 
 The shaking morass has been converted into firm foundation. The 
 desert has, on a sudden, bloomed with culture and population, but it 
 has been at the expense of humanity. In fact, such men are not models 
 for modern subordinate projectors. The question is not now what a 
 tyrant may do to excite admiration, but in what manner a >delegated 
 authority may be most usefully employed for the advantage of a great 
 commercial nation. Now it appears to me, that the advantages of 
 Cataraqui have not been sufficiently attended to. The country, in its 
 neighborhood, is already in a comparative state of forwardness, with 
 lespect to population, and culture. The farms on the Bay of Quinte 
 are the most flourishing, and the transport of their produce, the most 
 convenient of any in the whole extent of Upper Canada. This alone, 
 ceteris paribus^ ought to suffice to obtain it a preference, but when 
 to the advantages already enumerated is annexed its central situation, 
 we, in vain, look for the motive, which could induce a preference else- 
 where. 
 
 The advantages of a central situation are obvious. It tends to 
 consolidate the strength of the colony. In place of a few straggling 
 farms on the banks of a river, culture will make some progress, with 
 the interior. Villages will arise in the centre of plantations, with the 
 grounds of the inhabitants, diverging in every direction around. This 
 will give a settlement, a compactness more beneficial to the individuals 
 who compose it, and the government who protect it. Should Catara- 
 qui be overlooked, and the establishment formed at Toronto, Niagara, 
 or the river La Trenche, there will then be a distance of near 400 miles 
 from Niagara to Montreal without a single town of strength, and 
 without a single inducement to increase its present scanty population; 
 
38 
 
 indeed so mucli is the reverse to be apprehended, that the probability 
 is, that it will continually decrease by the inhabitants migrating to 
 the neighborhood of the Capital, as the best means of rendering their 
 industry valuable. 
 
 To those who are in authority, I would say, follow nature. By 
 making your first grand establishment at Cataraqui, you insure a popu- 
 lation that will be rapidly progressive in a country, from Montreal to 
 that place of 180 miles in extent. If you do not, but select one of the 
 anove mentioned situations, you will leave behind you a tract of near 
 400 miles, which will every day become more desolate. You wiU have 
 created a desert chasm, betw’een the two provinces, when, for mutual 
 advantages, there ought to have been a close connected population. The 
 price of merchandize is already sufficiently dear to the consumer in 
 consequence of two different freightages. Why annex to it the ex- 
 pense of a third to the inhabitants of the Capital, and its neighbor- 
 hood before the increased resources of the country will enable them to 
 sustain it. By making Cataraqui, the site of the capital, you take the 
 only effectual step to improve the present difficult navigation of the 
 rapids. From the increase of population in that neighborhood, so 
 many will find an interest in its improvement, that canals will be cut 
 near places of danger, to facilitate the intercourse by water between 
 the two provinces. When this plan is accomplished, the colonials of 
 Upper Canada will be on a level with their neighbors of the Lower 
 province, in the ability of exporting their superfluous grain, and till 
 it is accom.plished Upper Canada must continue an establishment 
 burthensome to the British Empire. 
 
 It may be gratifying to human vanity to say, ^ ^ this have I done,- 
 where now you see this good city arise, I did not find one stone laid 
 upon another. Where you behold these fields of waving grain, the sun 
 could not penetrate for shady woods. Yet all this may be a matter 
 of reproach, if it be a forced, and unnatural production, if it is a 
 partial good obtained by the sacrifice of general interest. The ruler, 
 who promotes agriculture, certainly contributes to the feeding of those 
 w 0 ^are under his government, but he wbo enables them to carry their 
 surpms prodiwie to a foreign market, does more, for he assists in cloth- 
 ing. raise is doubtless due to the founders of cities, and the leaders 
 ot armies, but superior reputation awaits those who, by laying open 
 enable mankind to obtain, with faeility, the 
 comforts, and conveniences of life. This reputation will await him, 
 
Y/ho renders the navigation, between Cataraqui and Montreal, con- 
 venient for the transport of corn and flour. 
 
 At a distance of about 40 miles to the South-east of this place, 
 on the lake Ontario, is the fort of Oswego. This is one of the Western 
 ports, which, by treaty, we are to deliver up to the Americans. The 
 number of men stationed here is very trifling, indeed its only use ap- 
 pears to be that it is a connecting link in the chain of those Posts, 
 which it has been thought necessary to erect for the protection of the 
 fur trade. Vessels pass frequently between those places whilst the 
 lake is open. 
 
 In the summer of 1792, two large transports arrived from Eng- 
 land at Quebec. They had been taken up by government principally 
 for the purpose of conveying American Loyalists to Canada, to estab- 
 lish themselves as colonists. Many of them, I was informed, had 
 lands assigned them in the neighborhood of Cataraqui. The lower 
 class of those emigrants, whom government protected, are provided 
 for in the following manner: a certain portion of land being assigned 
 them, they are furnished with some necessary implements of husbandry, 
 a certain quantity of rations of pork, flour, and peas, which provisions 
 are renewed to them, from time to time, for the space of two or three 
 years, and thus furnished, they are what is there termed, sent into 
 the bush, where they may cover themselves in, as fast as they please, 
 and will find sufficient scope for the exertion of active industry. I 
 was informed that, at the end of 3 or 4 years, many of these families 
 are established in a very comfortable manner, though, at the com- 
 mencement, it is certain, they must encounter many inconveniences. 
 
 It is an old adage, that a man^s children are his riches, though 
 the truth of this might well be controverted in England and some 
 other countries, yet it certainly holds good throughout America. In 
 the case of the poor man, it is particularly applicable. Such a person 
 cannot have his quiver too well assorted with them. Their use, how- 
 ever, is not according to the Psalmist to enable him ^‘to meet his 
 enemies in the gate, but to cut down trees in the wood. In fact, 
 as soon as a child can walk, he becomes useful in some shape or other. 
 Personal labor is so dear, that every exertion of it becomes valuable. 
 It might be thought that in a country like Canada, abounding in wood, 
 fuel would be obtained at a small expense. That is far from being 
 the case, as is experienced by those families, who are unconnected with 
 farming, and therefore under the necessity of purchasing it. The 
 
Ir^bor of felling the timber, eutting it to convenient lengths, splitting 
 it into rude pieces, and finally conveying it to the ho-use of the pur- 
 chaser, renders it an article of considerable expense, nor is this all, 
 for when thus brought home the pieces are only reduced to a size fit 
 to be U'sed in the kitchen. That which is intended for the other apart- 
 ments, and the consumption of the stoves must still be divided, and 
 subdivided into small lengths calculated for that purpose, a process 
 which is performed with a handsaw by laborers hired for the purpose, 
 who, at task work, can, by this means, earn above a dollar a day. The 
 extreme cold which prevails in this country in winter and the want of 
 coals render a proper provision of this article well worthy attention 
 during the season of autumn. 
 
 The man who resides in these parts of America, without being 
 engaged in some active pursuit, will quickly find his existence a 
 dreamy void. There are no scenes for loungers. There is no regular 
 supply of daily papers for perusal. In Europe, a man will, in general, 
 find .people as idle as himself, with whotm he can communicate, but 
 here, unless in the depth of winter, every moment is valuable. The 
 exigencies of such infant establishments require unremitting exertion. 
 An instance of this kind fell under my notice at this place. A gentle- 
 man from England had, a short time before, been appointed to a place 
 under government, which did not adequately fill up his time. Un- 
 acquainted with tillage, he knew not how to employ himself. He ap- 
 peared to labor under the pressure of inactivity, without the means of 
 redress. He was a person of much gooid sense, and a competent share 
 of information, but he could not meet with persons, snfficiently dis- 
 engaged from necessary avocations to communicate with him. I 
 would therefore seriously recommend to every person who purposes 
 to emigrate to America to put -this question pointedly to himself, ‘'am 
 T qualified for, and can I attach myself to trade or agriculture?^’ 
 nd this ^f examination is more .particularly necessary for those 
 who could ive independent of either, as it is on such that the irksome- 
 ^ heavy. In the towns and cities of 
 
 g an , e e of the crowid in which a man moves, offers disguises 
 or him that he is doing nothing, and the relief of an evening ckh, 
 
 carries him throngh the day, bnt where these are wanting, real bLiness 
 must be substituted. 
 
 The best houses of 
 
 accommodation for strangers at Oataraqui, 
 
41 
 
 '4 those of Barley and Robbins, th^ former an Edglisbman, the latter 
 ^ ^ an American. 
 
 Those who want to proceed to Niagara, seldom want the oppor- 
 timity of a passage, across the lake Ontario, about two or three days 
 during the summer season as vessels are eontantly passing and re- 
 passing, unless a contrary wind intervenes. All intercourse, however, 
 i? by water, doses «from the latter end of November, till some time in 
 Aprd by which time the ice, that accumulates in winter, is dispersed. 
 Most of the vessels, which navigate the lake are in the King^s service, 
 others in the merchants. The price for cabin passengers is two 
 J.*? guineas, and one for a servant. For this, they undertake to furnish 
 
 necessaries. It will, however, be a very proper caution to make an 
 jjj extra provision, as the artides are seldom either abundant in quantity, 
 
 or superior in quality. The distance, between the two places, is about 
 ~ 170 calculated miles. This inland voyage is performed in about 30 
 
 ^ hours. It is however often extended, with unfavorable winds to three 
 
 ^ or four days. Persons accustomed to our fresh water lakes will think 
 
 it extraordinary, that sickness is more likely to take place in traversing 
 one of these inland seas, than in crossing the Atlantic. I have seen 
 those who have repeatedly passed the Western ocean, without being 
 I affected, violently agitated on lake Ontario, during boisterous weather. 
 
 The reason is that on the latter, in the case of a brisk gale, the waves 
 ,, break into a quick short ^a, the rapid variation of whose motion 
 agitates the bowels severely, whilst in the former, long sea, is generally 
 encountered whose motion is more equable. 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 IjONDON, April 24, 1795. 
 
 Bear Sir, 
 
 Niagara is the present seat of Governme'nt in Upper Cana<ia. 
 The prospect of it to a stranger is far from gratifying. It neitto 
 presents him with the regnJarity of ancient establishments, nor 
 with the elegant simplicity of rural eultuxe. The foTTner ^ ® 
 
 be dispensed with, but the mind of man prone to anticipate, and com- 
 bine images it deems analagons, does not so cheerfully acquiesce in 
 the want of the latter. It knows the necessity of tillage to such 
 
42 
 
 establishments, and regrets when it cannot discover the footsteps of 
 the power of cultivation. 
 
 This settlement may be divided into Niagara, properly so-called, 
 and the village of Newark. The former comprehends the fort, and 
 a few houses erected at the bottom of the eminence on which the fort 
 is situated. On the other side of the river Niagara, is Newark, where 
 the Governor, and principal persons in office reside. This is a poor 
 wretched straggling village, with a few scattered cottages erected here 
 and there as chance, convenience, or caprice dictated. The Governor’s 
 house is distinguished by the name of Navy Hall. A family accus- 
 tomed to the convenineces of England, must have found this a most, 
 uncomfortable abode. At present, however, additions and improve- 
 ments have been made, so as to render it (words missing in ms.) 
 
 Its situation lying in a low bottom bordering on the river, with 
 ffwampy patches in its neighborhood must be highly injurious to 
 health, as the Governor, and part of his family, I was informed, ex- 
 perienced soon after their arrival. 
 
 The river of Niagara, in that part where the ferry is established,, 
 fronting the fort, is abo-ut a third of a mile in breadth. It is of con- 
 siderable depth, previous to its disemboguing itself into the lake, 
 which probably proceeds from its being the outlet of communicating 
 lakes, whose accumulated waters, being here suddenly narrowed, have- 
 excavated a passage for themselves, more than ordinarily deep. 
 
 Colonel Simcoe, lately promoted to the rank of General, was 
 Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, w-hen I arrived there in Nov- 
 ember, 1792, and, I believe, still continues. I have already mentioned 
 that Lord Dorchester is supreme Governor over both provinces, though 
 it IS supposed that he seldom interferes with the regulations of the 
 Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 The creation of places and sinecures for the attainment of pa- 
 tronage have been not unfrequently objected to our Governors, but I 
 th:nk the most republican mind would acknowledge that there is 
 not mg superfluous, either in the incomes or number of places in the 
 UpiKir Canada ^tablishment. Ewrything has been pared down to 
 the very qmek of economy. With the exception of half a dozen em- 
 p.o^ents I do not know of any that are ratod at more than one hun- 
 
 nmn/oT l' "f"’ When I consider the 
 
 TthP settlements are indebted 
 
 to the mother country, and the high prices which the merchants are 
 
obliged to dispose of thorn at, I have no difficulty in declaring that I 
 think £60 a year in England, would go as far as £100 in Upper Canada. 
 
 The principal offices of the Government are those of Governor, 
 Qilef Justice, Attorney General, Receiver General, and Secretary of 
 tie Province, situations which are respectively filled by General Simcoe, 
 and Messrs Osgood, White, Russell, and Jarvis. 
 
 Mr. Osgood, the Chief Justice has, I have been informed, been 
 latterly promoted to the Chief Justiceship of Quebec, vacant by the 
 death of Mr. Smith. 
 
 Nothing can be conceived more dreary than the united view of 
 Niagara and Newark in the depth of winter — the river and mouth of 
 the lake, choked up, — all communication frequently cut off between the 
 two places by the drifting ice, wood on one side and the extensive 
 water on the other. Such is the winter scene Niagara presents. 
 
 Provisions are particularly dear, and scarce at this season, as the 
 farms are small, and the farmers are unwilling to break in on their 
 small stocks, which they wish to preserve for breeding. Most of the 
 large cattle which are killed are brought in from the States. Many 
 of the inhabitants on the Newark side are furnished with bread by 
 the baker, who resides in the Fort, so that when the ferry is pre- 
 vented from plying longer than usual by the severity of the weather, 
 the lending half a loaf confers no small obligation. The King^s provi- 
 sions, however, which some of the inhabitants are entitled to receive, 
 contribute to render the scarcity less felt, than it otherwise would be. 
 
 Another great resource to all ranks here, is the quantity of fish taken 
 by the seine in Niagara river. That which is most abundant is a 
 species denominated the white fish. It is generally superior in size 
 to a large mackerel. In point of flavor this fish can boast but little 
 merit. It is too soft and oHy, but then it is fresh, which is a very 
 considerable recommendation. Detachments from the garrison were 
 often engaged in this very useful employment. I have been informed 
 that many hundreds were frequently taken at a single haul. Sturgeon 
 are also caught in this river. If I recollect right, it is o-f the roe of 
 this fish, that the dish called caviare is composed. In this case, it 
 should seem that the common people here are pretty much of the same 
 opinion with those in Denmark, in Hamlet ^s time, who, shaking ot 
 somewhat not generally relished, described it as being caviare to 
 multitude.” Sturgeon is held in very slight estimation at Niagara, 
 though in my opinion, it possesses that firmness which seems o 
 
44 
 
 gr-eat criterion of excellence in fish. In England it is deemed a luxury. 
 
 Another resource offers itself in the beginning of summer. At 
 this perio-d, vast flights of wild pigeons pass over this part of the 
 country. They appear to migrate from the States of America, and, 
 in general, fly very low, so that they are brought dowm in great num- 
 bers by the sportsmen of the country ; and the Indians. It is said, the 
 soldiers have occasionally knocked them down with sticks. It will re- 
 quire a considerable exercise of faith in a man, who has never travelled 
 out of England, to believe, that these flights, in the course of a morn- 
 ing, if connected, would measure four or flve miles in extent. Such 
 however is the fact. The best time for meeting these birds in large 
 quantities, is from about the time of sunrise till eight or nine o^clock. 
 A small species of the wild duck is occasionally met with in this river, 
 and its neighborhood, but it is of a fishy flavor. The Indians some- 
 times bring in venison. It has however little of that ferine taste for 
 which it is admired in England. It has seldom any fat. The usual 
 mode of dressing it, is to cut it into steaks which are fried. Now and 
 then partridges are to be met with, but they are scarce. The only re- 
 maining game, if I may call them such, are squirels. Large black 
 ones are found about this place in great plenty. It is a difficult matter 
 ti) get within shot of them, from their great agility. The best mode 
 is for the sportsman to give a shout, in which case the squirrel gen- 
 erally takes to a tree, and becomes an easy mark. Squirrels are fre- 
 quently served up at dinner, and, if well dressed, it must be con- 
 fessed that they compose a dish which prejudice alone could induce 
 one to reject. 
 
 In speaking of the bay of Quinte, I omitted mentioning a species 
 of fish which is found there in great plenty, namely the black bass. 
 They are generally abont two pounds in weight, and for firmness, 
 and flavor are only inferior to the turbot. 
 
 Such are the .supplies which nature presents, for the support of 
 a man in these districts.’ Eor the rest, he must be indebted to his 
 own industry in rearing them to maturity. 
 
 The houses, in general, through this Province are made of wood, 
 and never exceed two stories, .but, usually are of one. It might be 
 supposed that such being the materials, they were liable to freqeunt 
 accidents from fire. This, however, seldo-m happens. Many of the 
 houses have a balcony or piazza of wood, erected in front, covered, 
 and floored with the same material. This, the inhabitants term a 
 
45 
 
 stoop. In such a country, it proves very convenient, afiording in 
 summer, shade from the sun, and in winter shelter from the storm, 
 mid contributes to health, by holding out an inducement to exercise. 
 
 in every season. 
 
 At Niagara, as in all parts of Canada, they are much attached 
 to dancing. During winter, there are balls once a fortnight. These 
 entertainments are not like many English Assemblies, mere bread 
 and butter billets, where nothing is to be met with but coH tea and 
 vapid negus, but parties at which the exhausted dancers may recruit 
 with a substantial supper, and extend their diversion beyond the 
 tame limits of eleven, and twelve o’clock, hours at which a company 
 only bgins to enter into the spirit of the amusement. 
 
 On my first entering the assembly at Newark, I felt much sur- 
 prised at the gay appearance which presented itself. Feathers, 
 trinkets, and aU the paraphernalia, which distinguish the haughty 
 dames of Britain, were here visible. Not expecting such a sc^e 
 from the appearance of the country, I could not avoid silently mter- 
 rogating myseH, can I .be at the extremity of the lake Ontario. The 
 appearance of the military gentlemen, and of the ladies of the i^r^ 
 ried ones, contributes much to euliven the scene, nor are the na i 
 ladies deficient in emulation and display. Many of them are very 
 pretty women, and, after having figured at a ball, return home with 
 renewed cheerfulness to the performance of those domestic dut , 
 which are so peculiarly necessary in a colonial life. 
 
 The inhabitants of this country are very hospitable, ^oon 
 the entrance of a visitor, spirituous liquors, and 
 always introduced. Usages of this kind appear to Bi«o 
 
 neans. They are however founded in reason. Among a people, 
 where the cold is extreme a considerable part 
 covered carriages — « 
 
 houses of aeconnnodatioTi, it may oe p • oTnrtlnv anv 
 
 X 1.1 if there is occasion to employ any 
 
 cannot be unacceptable. Indeed, it without the 
 
 ,h. I.W., .».« >. toCi ll.. 
 
 L. „ ..p.*, .. .1- r.. .. 
 
 Madeira, or a wine so eaUed, x- As the former, 
 
 these provinces. Port wine is of waTsurprised to meet with 
 
 in England, is deemed an expensive one, I was surpr. 
 
u 
 
 46 
 
 it, among a description of persons, who, in the old country, woiiM 
 think themselves sufficiently regaled with a horn of home brewed. 
 Many of these, are, however, connaisseurs in their palates, pronounce 
 on the merits of madeira with a smack, and check it down with as 
 much sang-froid as if it were their native beverage. 
 
 At the time I left the country, the Governor had taken some 
 steps towards the establishment of a brewery, in the hope that the 
 use of a wholesome malt-liquor might be substituted by the lower 
 classes, in the place of ardent spirits. In this hope, he will, I am 
 apprehensive, be, in a great measure disappointed. In manufacturing 
 countries, malt liquors prove excellent refreshment for the sheltered 
 artisan, who works under cover, in a moderate climate, but among a 
 people, whose employments are in the open air, in a severe climate, 
 recourse will be had to some liquor, that will act as a greater stimu- 
 lus to the animal spirits, and excite immediately the temporary glow, 
 it would no doubt be a most 'desirable circumstance, that this substi- 
 tution could be brought about, as tending to the improvement of 
 morals, by cutting off so fruitful a resource of delirious excess, as 
 the intemperate use of drams. 
 
 The introduction of malt liquors, into general use, would have 
 other good effects, by its encouragement of husbandry, as opening a 
 market to the farmers, for the sale of barley, and further, by retain- 
 ing those sums of money in the country, which must be annually dis- 
 bursed for the purchase of a foreign article. It is, however, to be 
 regretted that these advantages are encountered by an obstacle, too 
 deeply founded, and it may easily be foreseen, that the nature of the 
 climate, will render the plan abortive. Approbation, however, is due 
 to the attempt. 
 
 xt was a 
 
 me, not omy m uanada, out 
 
 other parts of America, that spruce beer was not in more genera] us 
 It seems not to be in esteem, nor is it in that degree of perfecti( 
 as in England. I had formed a previous idea that this was the coi 
 nion rink of the country, from the facility with which it could 1 
 obtained, and that the Americans would have piqued themselves, < 
 Tinging o its utmost degree of excellence, a liquor, which for son 
 of peculiars of their country. Tafe 
 T ^ alterative, the medicinal uses of this liquor, ar 
 
 eenerll certainly is a powerful antiscorbutic, and, i 
 
 general, may be deemed highly efficacious, in all maladies which pn 
 
47 
 
 ceed from a languid circulation of the blood, or a costive habit of the 
 body, qualities for which it is indebted to the fixed air it contains, 
 which communicates its active influence through the human frame. 
 
 . Dean Swift has somewhere said, that the man, who caused a 
 . bJade of grass to grow where one had not been before, was of more 
 itaisj use to mankind, than many heroes and philosophers. In like man- 
 ner, it might be said with respect to this country, that he who could 
 invent some machine for the levelling of trees, ought deservedly to 
 iK" ' obtain a high rank, among the benefactors of men. I have been led 
 aiic!|} into this reflection by considering the great quantity of moist grounds 
 and swamps, that are everywhere to be found in this country, which, 
 Kiie corrupting the air, tend to render the days of man brief ard lan- 
 perti guishing. The trees are in many places so thick, that the sun cannot 
 penetrate the shady gloom. Even in the middle of summer, I hav'^ 
 travelled through roads, where, at almost every step, the horse sunk 
 above his fetlocks, in many places to his belly. Hence, the ague, 
 with slow but certain progress, undermines the life of the husband 
 sja) man, unstrings his nerves, prostrates him on the couch of sickn''Sf<?, 
 His wife, his children are debilitated by the tainted breeze. The 
 wvif scng of rural cheerfulness is exchanged for the small, slender voice 
 5#' of sympathetic wailing. All labor is suspended, and tlie little sav- 
 iugs of industrious exertion, exultingly laid by to increase the stock 
 of the farm, waste away, by the frequent necessity of purchasing 
 expensive remedies, to check the progress of disease. Let the hus- 
 bandman of Britain, who occasionally bends beneath the weight of 
 ijjj, his country's taxation, cast an eye on the husbandman of America, 
 quite sunk under the taxation of nature. If he meditates a change 
 of situation, let him figure to himself the wan cheek, and sallow com- 
 1 L plexion of the American group, whilst health glows on the cheeks, 
 and sparkles in the eyes of his children. Labor, to him, bring® 
 strength, not disease, and he inhales vigor from the gate 
 
 islii!' Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
48 
 
 London, May 2, 1795. 
 
 D^ar Sir, 
 
 Scenes, sueh as I have described in my last, I have frequently 
 met with in this Province. Indeed, few of any rank, escape this, 
 disorder, though the attacks are less frequent on those of superior 
 condition, from their greater ability to use a preventive regimen. 
 The seaso.ns, when this disorder is most prevalent, are the periods of 
 spring and autumn. The use of the bark, and a strong generous 
 v/ine are among the best specifies that have yet been discovered. 
 
 I have often thought what an awkward circumstance it must 
 prove to a military man, to be affected by this disorder at a period 
 of hostilities. A nigh spirited character would unwillingly give way 
 to the impression of a malady, whose attacks are intermitting, so as 
 to decline an engagement, and yet what solicitude must he experience, 
 least an unseasonable return of his complaint, should irresistibly 
 impress on his limbs, that tremulous motion, which is deemed the 
 usual concomitant of fear. IIow easy, at so cruel a eoincidenee, for 
 envy, jealousy, or false friendship to wdiisper away a well earned re- 
 putation. I have conceived such a case, and felt for the sufferer. 
 
 As this malady proceeds from the country not being sufficiently 
 cleared, and exiposed to the genial rays of the sun, which would exhale 
 its superfluous moisture, every encouragement ought to be held out 
 to the skilful in mechanics, to direct their attention towards the in- 
 vention of some machine, to expedite human labor in this particular. 
 Sir William Johnson, whose memory is still dear to the inhabitants 
 of this co'iintry, produced one, but it proved inadequate on trial. 
 This, however, ought not to excite idespondency. It must be, after 
 numerous repulses that true genius will relinquish the path of science,, 
 and confound difficulty with impossibility, nor will the mathemati- 
 cicn forget the boast of Archimedes, that, with ground to stand on,, 
 and an extensive lever, he would undertake to move the world. 
 
 Though there is little to interest in the prospect of Niagara, 
 nothing can be more romantic than a road which leads from it, to a 
 place, called ^^The Landing,^’ about 9 miles distant. Its windings 
 correspond with the course of the river, which is almost everywhere 
 visible. In the summer evenings, it is the usual resort of those who 
 3<ek air and exercise, and aided by the mild radiance of a setting 
 sun, takes in at every open, land-scape worthy the pencil of a Claude.. 
 This is the direct road to the Falls. 
 
49 
 
 The landing receives its name, from the necessity of unloading 
 nil goods which have passed the lake, and are intended for the np.per 
 country, at this place, the river of Niagara, not being navigable fur- 
 ther. There is no regular town or village. Two or three scattered 
 dwellings, with a few storehouses, and the ELing^s wharf constitute, 
 what is called, ^ ^ The Landing. ’ ^ A temporary addition was made to 
 this, a short time before I arrived in the country, by the erection of a 
 connected chain of huts, on the bank of the river, in the nature of a 
 barracks, for the accommodation of the Queen’s Rangers, a corps of 
 which the Governor is colonel. The situation was well sheltered by 
 surrounding emmences, and convenient, but the probable effects of a 
 stagnant pool in its neighborhood, were, I fancy, overlooked. To this 
 it was attributed that sp extraordinary mortality took place among 
 them, in the course of the winter and spring. It was reported that 
 deaths were so frequent that a man was induced to dig half a dozen 
 graves, on speculation, and was buried in the last of them himself. 
 Whether this anecdote was an unseasonable pleasantry, or founded in 
 truth, certain it is, that numbers perished, before the approach of 
 summer enabled them to remove to a more healthy encampment on 
 a neighboring hiR. 
 
 Not far distant from Niagara, is the Genesee country, belonging 
 to the State of New York. 
 
 Mr. Poulteney has, it is said, purchased lands there on specula- 
 tion, to a considerable amount, keeping an English agent to superin- 
 tend his interests. When we consider the purchases of various kinds 
 which this gentleman has made, both at home and abroad, he appears 
 to have a peculiar attachment to terra fir may and whatever can be 
 erected thereon. No man can object to him the auri sacra fames, for 
 he always appears desirous of getting rid of it, on good security. 
 
 The fort of Niagara is one of the Western posts which, by 
 treaty, we have agreed to surrender to the Americans, on the per- 
 formance of cetrain conditions, which, I think, were. 
 
 lo. The restoring certain friends of the British government to 
 
 ■f Vi AIT aqVqVaq 
 
 2o-. The leaving their Courts of Justice open to the recovery of 
 debts due to British subjects previous to the war. 
 
 How far the business has been arranged by the late treaty, in- 
 cluded on the part of America, by Mr. Jay, I um not 
 Americans have, for some time, claimed the delivery o e or , 
 
having fulfilled the conditions. The English have refused on the 
 ground that the conditions Tvere not fulfilled. 
 
 There was little stress laid on the first condition, but with 
 respect to the second, the English agreed thus: — true, it is said, they, 
 our merchants certainly could bring actions in your Courts, but it 
 was nearly impossible to meet with a jury that would give a verdict 
 in their favor. So that, with respect to this eon-dition, the English 
 deny that it has been virtually fulfilled, and on this point, the two 
 nations have been at issue without proceeding to extremities on either 
 part. To me, it appears that the Americans have the best of the 
 argument. 
 
 As, the English have been more .peculiarly tenacious of the good 
 faith of treaties than any other nation, I am unwilling that they 
 should forfeit any part of that character by per t inane Ity, on a point 
 that will not bear it. If the English have sustained any loss, the 
 blame, in my apprehension, ought to be imputed to those ministers 
 who drew up the condition incautiously. The American administra- 
 tion did not, by that condition, undertake to guarantee the payment 
 of the debts, but simply to put the British creditor on the same foot- 
 ing with the creditor of their own nation. It would have been a 
 political solecism, in them to have said, ‘‘we undertake to force the 
 consciences of men, who are sworn to determine, according to truth 
 and justice. This we could not have said, but this we say, you have 
 acknowledged the propriety of our tribunals, and submitted your 
 interests to their decisions, by the terms of the treaty, and yet no 
 sooner do you find those decisions unfavorable to yo.u, than you re- 
 tract from stipulations solemnly acceded to the American I^egisla- 
 ture, which, contracted with you has performed all that it was bound 
 to perform. It threw no obstacle in the way of the recovery of those 
 debts, nor permitted the period of confusion and hostility between 
 the two countries, in point of lapse of time, so as to constitute a 
 bar of limitation against the claim of the British creditor. This 
 reasoning is, I think, conclusive. 
 
 Oswego, Niagara, and Detroit are in the number of the contest- 
 ed .posts. The great advantage to be derived from the possession of 
 them is, that it secures an ascendency in the fur teade, but if the 
 securing advantages were a plea for breach of treaties, what treaty 
 would ever be fulfilled. 
 
61 
 
 The 5th regiment of foot was in garrison at the Fort, during 
 the time I continued at this place. The present Duke of Northum- 
 berlan-d, then Lord Percy, was colonel of this regiment in the Am- 
 erican war. Hostilities were, I believe, first commenced by this corps 
 in that contest when ordered out to Lexington. 
 
 Major Smith, lately promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel 
 vas commanding officer at the Port. 
 
 This military body has a very martial appearance. An unfor- 
 tunate accident took place in July, 1793, which evinces that they will 
 not be caught napping. An officer on guard, at midnight, directed 
 a sergeant to pass over a palisade, which surrounds the fort, to dis- 
 cover whether a particular sentinel was attentive to his duty. Whilst 
 the man was clambering over, he was challenged by the guard, and 
 not answering, from an unwillingness to discover himself, he was 
 immediately brought down by a shot from the sentinel, who gave 
 this fatal proof of his attention to his duty. The ball had entered 
 the sergeant ^s thigh. Every assistance was given, but after lan- 
 guishing a few days, the poor man expired. 
 
 The fort of Niagara may be considered as a place of strength, 
 when compared with the means, which it is likely in such a country 
 could be brought to reduce it. There is an dbhatis, on the land side, 
 which could not be passed without considerable carnage. 
 
 The Indians, in this part of Oauada, are less reclaimed than 
 those in the Lower Province. Much of the ascendency, which Sir 
 William Johnson formerly possessed over the people, seems, at pre- 
 sent to be transferred to Colonel Butler. This gentleman command- 
 ed a corps in the late w’ar, under the title of Butler Rangers. He 
 is at the head of the Indian department. There is much trouble con- 
 nected with this situation. To be always open to the visits of these 
 people, to conform to their prejudices, and to rectify their mis-appre- 
 hensions, these are cares and difficulties which entitle a man to no 
 ordinary recompense. As the Colonel is advanced in life, should age 
 OT infirmities deprive government of his services, they will find an 
 able substitute in his son, Mr. Johnson Butler. After being educated 
 for some time in England, this gentleman has resided latterly entire y 
 in Canada. Accustomed to the language, usages and custoins ^ ® 
 
 Indians from early life, these people will scarce be sensi ® ® ^ 
 
 change in transferring their regard from father to son. lave no 
 difficulty in saying that I have seldom met so much manly good 
 
 
sense, unassuming manner and decided intrepidity in any character. 
 
 The Governor’s regiment, (the Queen’s Rangers) lay at the 
 Landing, or in its neighborhoed. This corps has little to boast of 
 in point of appearance. The privates, in general, were small, feeble, 
 illmade men, pro'bably the less pains was taken in selecting them as 
 it does not seem to have been intended that they should be confined 
 to militia men. A part of them were hired out as servants through 
 the country at the rate of about five dollars a month, the person who 
 hired, at the same time receiving an intimation from the Adjutant 
 to reserve one York shilling, or 7^d sterling per day, for the use 
 cf the corps, who understood trades, as carpenters. Shoemakers re- 
 ceived much higher wages, and the reserve was in preportion. This 
 plan, which under most other circumstances, I would have disapproved 
 of as being unusual, tending to degrade the dignity of the service, 
 was certainly suitable under the existing circumstances. In a country 
 where personal labor was so very valuable, it would have been absurd 
 to retain such a quantum of potential industry inactive. Whether it 
 was to be exercised in the field, or in mechanics, the wants of the 
 colony were, in both respects urgent. The Governor, therefore, with 
 much propriety, permitted an arrangement which gave such a useful 
 accession of strength to agriculture, and the necessary arts. You 
 wiU be enabled to form some idea of the value of labor in this place, 
 when I mention that the price of an ordinary pair of gentleman’s 
 shoes was one York pound or 12-6d sterling, and that a journeyman 
 carpenter usually received two dollars per day. 
 
 It was natural to enquire in what manner this reserved money 
 was employed for the benefit of the corps. I was -informed from a 
 quarter that ought to be deemed authority, that the greater part of 
 it was expended in the purchase of wine for the use of the sick. As 
 I was sensible that no remedy equally efficacious with a good strong 
 wine for the general disorder, (the ague), could bave been prescribed, 
 this answer could not but prove satisfactory. Probably to this 
 generous supply, it was owing that the corps had not been annihilated, 
 when we consider the number which, notwithstanding, could not he 
 rescued from the grave by this liberal regimen. It would be re- 
 flecting on the skill that presided to say that any died of intemper- 
 ance. This was not once suggested. 
 
 Taxation is but little known in Tipper Ganada, indeed it could 
 not well be borne by the bulk of the people. Hitherto the colony has 
 
 
 lifiiliewi: 
 
 ' ijSSBl pin 
 t -asippor 
 
 ■\ ittitlie: 
 / glkliid. 
 
 ktlie St 
 ‘J simSiat 
 
 : KieMigW 
 ife of 
 
 of r 
 JSfflieBtt 
 
 ■•'.tototei 
 
 .J:«piopc 
 
 toi 
 
53 
 
 been most kindly fositered, and cherished by the British nation at its 
 own expense. This, however, eannot be looked to as an arrangement 
 which either can, or ought to be permanent. No commercial country, 
 
 CT indeed any country, can be supposed to support a colony, merely 
 for the pleasure of doing so. 
 
 The Houses of Assembly met for their second session in the 
 month of June, 1793, at Niagara. Ordinances were then enacted for 
 making rates for the erection of Churches and gaols. They were, 
 however, very moderate, and such as would be but little felt. With 
 the rising prosperity of the Colony, greater ones must be submitted 
 to so as to provide for all matters of internal police If I were to 
 suggest an idea on the subject of taxation from a knowledge of the 
 state of the country, it would be, that government, for a few joars, 
 should authorize its officers to receive the assessed taxes in rations 
 of provisions. The adoption of this mode would prove a stimulus to 
 industry, prevent the scanty capital of the colonist from being dimi- 
 nished, and prove, equally, if not more, beneficial to the state, which, 
 at present, purchases victualUng supplies to a considerable amount 
 for the support of indigent emigrants and others. Thus would taxa- 
 tion, and the increasing prosperity of the country by population go 
 
 hand in hand. , . a /. 
 
 In the snramer of 1793, great numbers emigrated, from the 
 
 Northern States of America, to Upper Canada, with the prospect of 
 obtaining lands. They were principally from Vermont, Ma^aehusetts, 
 and the neighborhood of the Mohawk river. In general, the farms m 
 the States of America have three sets of proprietors,-the ongmal 
 colonist, who fells the timber, a second, who builds an indi eren 
 house, and introduces some degree of culture, and fina y, e opu 
 farmer whose capital enables him to give it that iniproyernent t s 
 capable of receiving. A proclamation of the ® people 
 
 irducement to come in. It cannot be supposed that all P ? 
 
 wre satisfied with the proffers that were ,^^33 
 
 discontented. The Governor was aware that had e 
 ir. the proportion required, it would have rendered 
 settlers, but mere land jobbers, a description o me 
 properly took every opportunity of reprobating. i 
 
 of ^erica may be considered in the same f ^ew, as^those 
 
 Tibo make a trade of them in their rela- 
 
 this opinion, I nrast be understood as speaKing 
 
u 
 
 54 
 
 tion to the general welfare. The mdividual may be amiable as a 
 private character, but his public conduct has a tendency injurious to 
 the common utility. The good effects of this guarded policy will be 
 felt materially. It will give Upper Canada resident inhabitants, and 
 rot nominal speculating proprietors enjoying the luxuries of great 
 cities, without any other knowledge of the country, than what they 
 derive from the charts of their estates. To such men, applying for 
 lands, it would be always fair to quote the genuine agricultural 
 maxim: Praise a large farm, but cultivate a small one. 
 
 An institution of a nature .perfectly suitable to such a country 
 was established at Niagara, namely, an agricultural society. They 
 had monthly meetings at Newark at a house called Freemasons^ 
 Hall,^^ where they dined together. It is not supposed that in such 
 an infant settlement, many essays would be produced on the theory 
 of farming, or that much time would be taken up with deep delibera- 
 tion. Every good purpose was answered by the opportunity it af- 
 forded of chatting in parties after dinner on the state of crop, tillage, 
 etc. Two stewards were in rotation for each meeting, who regulated 
 for the day. The table was abundantly supplied with the produce 
 of their farms, and plantations. Many of the merchants and others, 
 unconnected with country business were also members of this society. 
 All had permission to introduce a visitor. The Gr'ovemor directed 
 ttTi guineas to be presented to this body for the purchase of books,— 
 a countenance honourable to himself, and to the Society. 
 
 A weekly .paper has also been established at Niagara, the ex- 
 pense of which is defrayed partly by subscription, and partly by 
 Government. A Londoner, who enjoys daily the means of intelli- 
 gence, even to satiety, can form no idea what a luxury a packet of 
 papers from England is, at Niagara, when at the beginning of spring, 
 the communication is opened. The buzz of confused rumor and re- 
 port bears analogy to that which Swift informs us took place in 
 some Northern region, where men^s words freezing at the commence- 
 ment of a frost were thawed at its dissolution, into sounds, tumul- 
 tuous and indistinct. 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
55 
 
 London, May 9, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 General Simeoe, tlie Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, com- 
 manded a corps of partizans in the late war, denominated the 
 Queen Eangers.^^ He married a niece of Lord Graves, then ad- 
 miral. With this lady he received a handsome fortune. Colonel 
 Simeoe was considered as an officer of merit, and served with reputa- 
 tion, hut whether the Government was intended as a recompense for 
 his services, or its attainment is to be referred to the interest of Mrs. 
 Simeoe ^s relations, opinions are various. The Governor appears in 
 age to be verging to fifty. In figure tall, strong rather than elegantly 
 formed, an open countenance, and an eye not void of intelligence. 
 This gentleman is plain and unaffected in his manners. The opinion, 
 however, impressed in general by his appearance was that he was a 
 man of apathy. 
 
 Mrs. Simeoe is a lady of manners, highly interesting, equally 
 distant from hauteur or levity. Accustomed to fashionable life, she 
 submits with cheerfulness to the inevitable inconvenience of an infant 
 colony. Her conduct is perfectly exemplary, and admirably conform- 
 ed to that correct model, which ought to be placed before a peop e, 
 whom a high pattern of dissipation would mislead, of extravagance 
 
 would ruin. x + 
 
 The Governor’s table is always weU furnished, without any at- 
 tempt at redundancy. In the pleasures of it, he is extremely tem^ 
 rate. His aids sit at top and bottom. His own place is m the 
 centre of one side. I have always thought this the ^ 
 
 for a public character at his own board, it being t a 
 his guests in the nearest possible manner within ^ 
 
 tion At table, no person is permitted to think ^ 
 
 looked. Some opportunity is taken by His Excellency o p 
 notice, and this notwithstanding a general appearance of the most 
 
 But methinks you grow impatient, and ^j^e”rs 
 
 pages from my friend, and not a tittle reWe to the letters 
 
 in the country, the progress of ^ that Constitution to 
 
 advantages arising from tbe introdu 
 
 which I know him to be attached. . Vtters am I not 
 
 Patience good, my friend. As “ 
 
 writing of Niagara. However, we shal ge on 
 
u 
 
 56 
 
 It would be absurd to suppose that this be a laud, where learned 
 men were abundant. I never met with more than three persons, whose 
 claims to the character of a scholar would be acknowledged in Eu- 
 rope. At the head of these is to be placed the Eeverend Mr. Addi- 
 son, the English minister at Niagara, — ^next to him, Mr. Osgooide, 
 the Chief Justice, and in the third place, the Governor. You will 
 readily perceive from this arrangement that I am as tenacious as 
 formerly of forming my estimate of talent by desert, and not in the 
 common mode of (drawing out a courtly rule to measure how many 
 inches of station. How satirically just was Pope^s idea 
 
 ''Wise if a bishop, etc.'’ 
 
 Mr. Addison ranks high as a classical scholar. His conception 
 is quick, and his imagination vivid. His reading is extensive. The 
 slightest allusion leads him into the path of your ideas, and his eyes 
 tell you that he has not lost you. 
 
 As a scholar, Mr. Osgoode has much merit. It is evident that 
 the labours of an active profession have not induced forgetfulness of 
 University pursuits. He says good things, and is not insensible to 
 those of others. 
 
 The Governor is a man of some reading, and a tolerable classical 
 scholar. For a man of the world, he appears to be governed too much 
 by maxims. This kind of knowledge, which borrows the brow and 
 voice of wisdom, without being indebted to her for discrimination, 
 ought to be relinquished to the inactive recluse, when he cannot by 
 individual experience. To me, it appears that His Excellency has 
 proposed to himself, as a model, one of Plutarch's chieftains. It 
 ought, however, to be recollected, that not one of Plutarch's heroes 
 w’as the governor of a modern British province. 
 
 There are other gentlemen, through the settlement, whose early 
 destination to commerce, took up that period, which is usually de- 
 voted to what is termed, a regular education. Among these, Mr. 
 Hamilton of The Banding, in the neighborhood of Niagara, and Mr. 
 Cartwright of Cataraqui, take a decided lead. These are men w^ho 
 are both eminent as merchants, judges of their respective courts, 
 members of the .Superior Assembly, and qualified by strong natural 
 parts, and some study to fill their stations, with credit to themselves, 
 and advantages to the country. 
 
 The principal merchants at Niagara, are. Messieurs Forsyth, 
 Dickson, Crooks, and McKay. 
 
57 
 
 Th« house of Forsyth is one of those most extensively established 
 Canada. Three brothers earry on business at Niagara, Cataraqui, 
 and Montreal respectively. They are coimeetea, hy family, with one 
 of the first mercantile firms in Lonaon. 
 
 Mr Dickson is a young man of strong natural abilities, with a 
 competent knowledge of law, and the constitution. Annexed to these, 
 is a disposition indefatigably active. I know few men, of whose 
 talents, an attentive government would be more desirous of availmg 
 itself to perform the duties of a magistrate. 
 
 The Houses of Assembly meet at Niagara. The Upper one con- 
 sists of seven or eight members. The Lower one of sixteen. The^ 
 are to be increased by the Governor, for the time bemg, with the 
 increasing population of the country. The Chief Jimtiee is the 
 Speaker of the Upper House, and a Mr. McDonnell of the Lower. 
 As many of the members come a considerable distance, and are, in 
 general, far from being in affluent circumstances, an ordmance w^ 
 passed which grants to each member, a daily stipend, during t 
 Lion, and for the expenses of the journey. This regulation is per- 
 fectly proper, and suited to the estate of the country. 
 
 I Lralready observed that yon are not to consider all the laws 
 of England as having been rendered law in Upper CMada. 
 transfer would have been useless, and inapplicable. e w o ^ 
 minal code is however adopted. The general f ^ 
 
 smn of evidence are also comprised, and the tria^ 
 local ordinances qualify the English law in some instanees, and 
 
 lect it in others. . 
 
 You will be amused, as I was, at the fo f’’! . gauntry 
 
 As trial by jnry had heeu but lately establish^ “ al 
 
 it would not be supposed that f J Lir own pLers 
 
 qnainted with their functions, or judgment seat, a 
 
 and consequence. They brought, howe teasHhey should 
 
 steady attention, and eonseieinces tha 
 
 «... 15ngl.ni «( ~~ “t"!’ 
 
 .«ii ,1 .hi. «i«i. >'«” 
 
 means of influence. Thinking it pro j verdict against his 
 
 the circumstances that the jury would bring ^ 
 
 client, he insinuated that, in such a ca^, e feudal 
 
 attaint against them. A writ of attain 
 
u 
 
 58 
 
 system still prevail? or do we live in an age of chivalry. You may 
 well suppose w^hat a fearful doctrine this would have been to establish 
 in such a country. Despotism itself could not have found a more 
 ready instrument than juries acting under such influence. What a 
 hair suspended sword over the heads of these unfortunate colonists^ 
 must this have proved. You know the judgment in such a case ^^to 
 have their meadows ploughed up, etc., etc. See Blackstone, Vol. 2, 
 page 403. 
 
 A writ of attaint at the close of the 18th century! Think you, 
 my friend, that there is any Bench in Westminster Hall, whose 
 gravity would not have been shaken by this, and the risible emotion 
 felt through the extremest ranks of the Bar. 
 
 Previous to the arrival of Mr. Addison, the English clergyman at 
 Niagara, marriages were contracted in presence of a magistrate 
 who read the ceremony. This was the usage last century during the 
 Protectorate of Cromwell, when marriage was considered as a mere 
 civil contract, and took place at Niagara of necessity from the want 
 of a person ecclesiastically qualified. 
 
 Divine sericve is performed on Sundays at the Newark side of 
 Niagara, in the house called Freemason ^s Hall, which T have already 
 mentioned. In good weather it is well attended and everything 
 conducted with suitable decorum. 
 
 Freemason’s Hall must not pass unnoticed. It is a neat compact 
 building of wood and plaster. The avocations of Scrub in the play, 
 numerous as they were, were nothing in number to the uses Free- 
 mason’s HaU is converted to. A chapel, a Court of Justice, a Mason’s 
 lodge, an agricultural meeting room, a ball room, an Indian Council 
 room, such are a part of the purposes for which this very useful 
 building is applied. 
 
 Apropos of Courts of Justice. To one of these coincidences so 
 rare, and therefore so valuable, it was owing, that I w’as at Niagara, 
 when Mr. Peter Eussell, judge. Receiver General, and an Englshman, 
 delivered his maiden charge to a jury. Never did I more regret, the 
 being unacquainted with the art of stenography. Posterity would 
 not then have had to regret it as a desideratum. 
 
 In England, a charge is a cool business, in Canada, it occasionally 
 rises to peculiar animation. 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
59 
 
 London, May 17, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Having hitherto bestowed that degree of approbation on men 
 and measures to which I thought them entitled, I am now to bring 
 forward some transactions of a public nature in which I conceive the 
 irterest of the colony of Upper Canada has been misunderstood, and 
 tie Lieutenant Governor improperly advised. 
 
 The first measure I shall comment on was the plan projected for 
 the manumission of negroes. The reasoning I shaU now adopt was 
 that which I delivered in the colony, an opinion which (the nature of 
 the subject considered), did not receive much time in the formation 
 from one unacquainted with public business. Those persons m Eng- 
 land, to whose judgments I submitted the ease, have only been sur- 
 prised how the question could ever have been started. 
 
 In January, 1793, some gentlemen of the settlement informed me 
 that it was the intention of the Governor to liberate the negroes, 
 they knew that I had been in the habit of studying the laws and con- 
 stitution of England, they were desirous of having 
 subject. They said, that, the Governor contended that, by tl^e intro 
 
 taction of the English Constitution, slavery was n^ssard^^^^ 
 
 away in the colony, as it could not subsist in .ng • 
 
 of L kind, coming from an authority that could enforce ^^ou _^y 
 
 well suppose, excited both surprise and eonstematio . ^ , 
 
 said, we^t into the States to dispose of their “ 
 
 dentures of theirs, securing their services for a 
 
 y<‘aT 9 , without being aw-ar© that if those slav^ were ^ 
 
 to fr;edom, these indentures would be considered ^ havmg b^nj^^^ 
 
 tained by improper coercion, or “ ^^n^ing the business by 
 
 declared invalid. A third ^suit the result of which, if even 
 
 law, but dreaded the expense of a ^ them 
 
 favorable to them in the first apprehended the 
 
 in an appeal to the Governor in Coun i , to an appeal, in 
 
 question might have been already this case, receive addi- 
 
 tbe last resort, to England, expense wo^ 
 
 tional force, besides three fourths of Rested, amounting in 
 
 might be ruined, without the .pro^r y 
 value to that sum (£500) which wou 
 cause into England. 
 
u 
 
 60 
 
 I believe yau are sensible that no man existing execrates a traffic 
 in the human species more than myself, but the question was not now 
 relative to the general rights of humanity but how far the introduc- 
 tion of a new system of laws could affect the rights to pro.perty le- 
 gally acquired, previous to the introduction of that system. This was 
 the state of the question when it was first proposed to me. On the 
 first blush of the business, nothing could appear more plain and simple 
 than the solution, namely that there was nothing incompatible in the 
 coexistence of a constitution, similar to that of England, and slavery 
 in one, and the same place. The proof in reference was easy. It 
 was only pointing to our West Indian islands, where, as much of the 
 constitution of England was extended to Upper Canada. It has 
 ever been acknowledged by every man well acquainted with either 
 law or the Constitution to who-m I have spoken, that the ipso facto 
 manumission from slavery was a grand peculiar solely attached to 
 the British soil, and not extended to its settlements. Reasoning of 
 this kind would be conclusive here, but these colonists wished to have 
 some arguments drawn more immediately from their own ordinances. 
 I had not far to seek for one that produced instant conviction, and 
 added others drawn from the absurdity that would follow, if such a 
 doctrine was established. In the last section of the very first act of 
 their assembly, it is expressly stated that the validity of any late 
 purchase or contract, made previous to the introduction of English 
 law, shall not be affected by such introduction. Disgraceful, as it is, 
 to human nature, it must be acknowledged, that by late purchase 
 and contract a property in negroes is acquired, and that the words of 
 this section expressly rivet their chains. This was the very argument 
 that was wished for. The colonist could carry the act in his pocket, 
 and show page, line, and word, in defense of his property. The argu- 
 ments, ex absurds, were, to this effect,— that up to the introduction 
 of English law in Upper Canada, property acquired agreeable to the 
 fcrms of French law, was secured by virtue of the Capitulation of 
 Quebec, universally through all Canada. If the English law, anid 
 constitution, by their introduction, ipso facto, emancipated the ne- 
 gi oes, what was the contrasted state of the inhabitants of the two 
 provinces? The contrasted state was, that, in Lower Canada, all 
 property was inviolably secured to those who were for the most part 
 strangers to our laws, our language, and our religion, and, in general 
 averse from them, and that, in Upper Canada, the inhabitants, who 
 
61 
 
 «ie attaoli«d to the English laws and constitution, found themselves, 
 
 It their introduction, deprived of a considerable portion of their 
 pioperty. Could it have been the object of the British parliament, 
 ta place the inhabitants of Upper Canada, in a worse situation, than 
 those of Lower Canada, by depriving them of part of their property, 
 it the very moment, when the British government took merit to itself, 
 for having obtained, for the colonists of that Province, so valuable an 
 acquisition. Again. Many of the inhabitants of Upper Canada are 
 American Loyalists. Of these, a part had negroes in their possession, 
 nhen they obtained grants of land in Upper Canada. Others expend- 
 tl part of the indemnification they received from the British govern- 
 ment, in the purchase of negroes, well knowing the value of bodily 
 labor in the country, in which they were about to settle. Was it the 
 cbiect of the British parliament to ruin these men by the insidious 
 piesent of a constitution? It was left to the election of 
 itsn Loyalists whether they would have grants of lands ® 
 hlands, or m Upper Canada. Many of these have ^ 
 
 idands, by means of their negroes. Would any have 
 Canada had they suposed that that preference would J 
 
 property in fine, as it was known some time 
 tion of the English Constitution, that such an event would tah® 
 
 If it had been, within the scope of reason 
 
 sense or the advice of friends either in England or Can da to 
 
 for such a consequence from that introduction, wou n 
 
 tors of negroes have hastened to dispose of f 
 
 Canada, or%he States, previous to its taking t 
 
 be caUod on to establish points that are 
 
 a Province like this, the inhabitants, m ^ . 
 
 tions to be expert at refuting those speculative 
 
 (jrences, that may be dra^ from *®^2td Ms feudal system, the 
 When William the Conqueror established t,pneral conve- 
 
 «garf«J U at «rat, aa a almpte ragolatioa, 
 
 ail. tL, a.. of ^ 
 
 lawyers deduced from its reception. _ ntnnressive. In the 
 
 m pronouncing those consequences tyranni ally JP^JS- 
 present instance, the consequences are simpy tenable. There- 
 
 It was soon perceived that -this groun wa^ introduced, 
 
 fore, on the ensuing meeting of the negroes, but declaring 
 
 not for the immediate emancipation o* 
 
u 
 
 62 
 
 them free, after a certain number of years of servitude. This passed 
 into an Act. I>o you suppose that this was a voluntary measure on 
 the part of the Assemblies? Certainly it was not, but, appr<^hensive 
 3S they were that the emancipation would take place in full force, with 
 cr without their concurrence, from what they were taught to believe 
 of its necessary connexion with the English constitution, it was con- 
 sidered as a saving measure, to adopt a qualifying plan, which at all 
 events gained time, and, at the worst was preferable to a total loss. 
 What then was the plain translation of the Governor's conduct on 
 this occasion. It was precisely saying, ''my good friends, you would 
 not permit me to throw away your whole property, but I insist upon 
 reducing it to half its value. Now I expressly assert that, conform- 
 able to his duty as a British ruler. Lieutenant Governor Simcoe had 
 no right, either to alienate the whole property in the first instance, 
 or reduce its value in the second. My reasons are these. The Gov- 
 ernor must have known, with what guarded care, and caution, the 
 British parliament had discussed the question, on the Slave trade, — • 
 how apprehensive they were of appearing to infringe the rights of 
 private property, — of abridging the means of ameliorating that prop- 
 erty. They were sensible also how intimately the security of those 
 rights was connected with the general interests of the Empire. When 
 at length, it was discovered, after abortive trials, during many ses- 
 sions, that the subject might be treated experimentally with safety, 
 what was the result? Was it that immediate emancipation should 
 take place? Was it that it should take place after a lapse of years? 
 Bid it in fine,' bear any one trait of resemblance to the plan adopted 
 by Governor Simcoe? The result spoke no such language. It bore 
 no such trait of resemblance. There was not a member, in the Brit- 
 ish House of Commons, who talked of emanicpation. There was not 
 ten who thought of it, and those ten would not have gained attention 
 had they atempted to influence. The result was, that the slave trade 
 should be given up, but, on the amendment of Mr, Bundas it was de- 
 termined that this event should be postponed for the term of five 
 years, during which, it was wisely supposed, that the Planters, In the 
 West Indies, might lay in such a stock, as would prevent any incon- 
 venience from being felt, by the sudden stoppage of the trade, in- 
 jurious to so numerous a body of individuals and, by consequence, 
 prejudicial to the Empire. It was also foreseen, that the great, and 
 only object in view, namely, the better treatment of the Slaves, would 
 
63 
 
 i.e equally advanced by this suspended measure, as in case of an im- 
 mediate abandonment, because it would instantly be perceived by the 
 Plauters that native population would henceforth be their single re- 
 source, which would only be kept up by kind usage, and attention to 
 tlie situation of their slaves. The bill, they amended, passed the 
 Commons, but the question was .deemed of so great magnitude, by the 
 Peers, that, from delays, occasioned by examination of witnesses, il 
 was lost by a prorogation. 
 
 I am thus minute on this head, in order to give, to the contrasts 
 I draw, the most impressive eifect. I contrast a stoppage of trade, 
 to take i^ace in futuro, on one part, with alienation of property on 
 the other. I contrast the slow deliberative wisdom of the British 
 parliament, with the too prompt decision of a magistrate, scarcely 
 seated in his government. I do not wish to give expression to infer- 
 ences. They will be felt. Will any man, at all acquainted with the 
 nature of public business pretend to say, that, in the relative sitna- 
 tiou of this Governor, it was not his bounden duty, to have awaited 
 the decision of the British parliament on the subject, and to have 
 rendered that decision the guide of his conduct. Is property only 
 dear to the inhabitants of the West India islands, or does the poverty 
 of the colonists of Upper Canada invite an exertion of influence, that 
 v'culd el^where be constitutionally resisted? If the Assem les o 
 Upper Canada, with Lieutenant Governor Simcoe at their head, can 
 decide on such a question, why do not other Governors bring i or 
 ward in their Colonia;! Assemblies? Does the Governor of Upi^ir 
 Canada alone feel for the unhappy African? I certainly am of opin- 
 ion, that there are other men, of equal feeling, in an then y. o. 
 they think it improper to publish their humanity in an Act o t 
 semWy, when it is to be exercised a,t the expense of others, th®”- g 
 sense at the same time suggesting that such a question was o 
 for the decisiou of an inferior depeudeuce. If, 
 act may be repealed, certainly it may, but is it no heart 
 
 colony to have brought forward a business which ^ 
 
 burnings, however it is determined? Say, was ^^em 
 
 to agitate the feelings of the unhappy negroes by ^ 
 
 with a prospect of freedom, which they may ^l^n obSl 
 
 number of negroes in Upper Canada do be 
 
 of apprehension, but are their ho^ ^ tbe loss of the pro- 
 
 sported with? If this business, independent of the los. 
 
u 
 
 64 
 
 prietors, holds out nothing of a serious consequence in Upper Can- 
 ada, is it likely that it will be inconsequential with respect to our- 
 West India possessions? When the rCiport of this measure has been 
 disseminated through the Islands, it will render the negroes dissatis- 
 fied with the intended regulations of the British parliament, which, 
 when carried into effect will secure them better treatment, and con- 
 tent will subside. They will examine the question anew. They will' 
 probably say, ^^what do they talk to us about the good intentions of 
 the parliament of England, — they be the good friends of the negroes 
 in Africa, — ^they prevent them from coming here, but what is that to 
 us, we still be slaves? No that Massa Skneoe in Canada he be the 
 blackman^s friend. He set the negro free. Certain it is that most 
 things derive their value from comparison. That what would be 
 deemed a positive benefit, may be considered as an act of injustice, 
 if that which is of greater value, be, at the same time injudiciously 
 conferred on equal desert. A measure which may naturally be sup- 
 posed to affect the negroes of the West Indies in the manner I have 
 described, must, at any time, be deemed imprudent. In the present 
 state of things, in those countries, when so much depends on the 
 minds of these people being well conciliated to Government, it be- 
 comes seriously alarming. 
 
 In vain is it that I have endeavored -to trace out what cause may 
 have given rise to so anomalous a display of the temporary powers 
 of a governor. The judgment which guided his conduct in many other 
 particulars is certainly not discoverable in this. In the number of 
 reports in circulation that which obtained most credit was a motive, 
 which I unwillingly bring forward. It was said that the Governor 
 not being on terms the most amicable with one of the members for 
 Liverpool, from a professional variance, the same discontent accom- 
 panied them into the House of Commons, in which assembly General 
 Simcoe was a member for St. Ives, Cornwall, — ^that the member for 
 Liverpool, supporting the interest of that town on the question of the 
 slave trade, was opposed, though unsuccessfully, by the member for 
 St. Ives, who, soon after being appointed to the government of Upper 
 Canada, was determined to obtain a partial victory, manifest the 
 controversy in his province, by the emancipation of the negroes. Such 
 was the report. Weighty consequences are often derived from trivial 
 cause, but no this cannot be. The classical Governor of Upper Can- 
 
65 
 
 ida could not lay a foundation on whi'Ch to erect an arch in memory 
 of the triumph of pique, over judgment. 
 
 The next public measure, I bring forward for comment, is the 
 admission of goods, duty free, from the States of America in May, 
 1793, I consider this concession as injurious to the British Empire. 
 
 The principal advantage of a colony to every Commercial country 
 imist be that it accords a vent for the commodities of the present 
 State. England has never been peculiarly jealous on this head. 
 
 In the month of May, 1793, a large boat, belonging to an Amer- 
 ican Captain, I think his name was Welton, arrived from the States 
 of America. Having sailed up the Mohawk river into the Lake On- 
 tario, he landed his goods on the Newark side of Niagara, under cover 
 of a tent pitched on the beach. The goods were exposed to sale, and 
 the Captain, being enabled to dispose of them at prices inferior to 
 the current ones at Niagara, purchasers crowded from all parts. The 
 merchants of Niagara, alarmed at the circumstance, inquired why the 
 goods had not been seized, on being exposed to sale, but they in- 
 quired in vain. No answer could be obtained. Boats arriving with 
 emigrants from the States were allowed to import a certain quantity 
 of goods, not as articles for sale, but under the head of necessaries. 
 That a merchant, importing goods duty free, should sell them cheaper 
 than merchants who paid legal duties, is matter of no surprise, but 
 this was not the only point of advantage. If an English and an 
 American vessel were to start together, from any port in England, 
 freighted with the same merchandise, purchased at the same price, 
 tie one for Quebec, the other for New York, goods of the latter could 
 be offered at the Niagara market, subjected to the payment of equal 
 duties, at a price inferior to those of the former. To prove this, it 
 is in the first place to be considered that American vessels carry goods 
 for less freight, than English ones, to equal distances. This disad- 
 vantage is increased in the present instance, by its requiring one-third 
 more time, on an average, to perform a voyage to Quebec, than to 
 New York. I will then suppose these goo-ds destined for the Niagara 
 river. They are conveyed along the Mohawk river, which joins the 
 Hudson, and arrive after a passage of about 16 days. The goo , 
 landed at Quebec, destined for the Niagara market, must be reload- 
 ed, and again, after a passage, probably of 4 days landed agam a 
 Montreal. Hence they must be carried 9 miles in carts to ac , 
 
at a considierable expense. Here they axe loaded in the batteaux 
 for Cataraqui, a distance of about 170 or 180 miles, in which interval, 
 there are some carrying places, when the goods must be unloaded, 
 conveyed a certain distance by land, reloaded. Arrived at Cataraqui, 
 they are there shipped in vessels, navigating the lake Ontario, in which 
 they are finally transported to Niagara. A -slight comparison will 
 shew under what different degrees of difficulty, the goods arrive at 
 market, from Quebec, and New York. A stranger, arriving at Nia- 
 gara, will be struck with surprise at the prices which many articles are 
 rated at. He is, at first, induced to consider it as the result of im- 
 position. He compares those prices with those of London, or even 
 of Quebec, and they appear high compared with either. He becomes 
 acquainted with the nature of the country, the difficulties ani less 
 under which their market is supplied, and the extraordinary ceases to 
 appear extraordinary. You have already observe 1, from this reason- 
 ing that goods must arrive at Quebec, dearer than at New York, but 
 this difference weighs lightly in the scale, w <en compared with that 
 under which the respective inland navigations afterwards labor. It 
 is at Montreal that this superior difficulty commences on the side of 
 the British merchant. The difficnlties in the dfferent loadings and 
 unloadngs I have already enumerated, but the loss is that which 
 compels the Upper Country merchant to impose an extraordinary 
 price, as Upper Canada is entirely dependent on England for every 
 article of manufacture. Those of a brittle and perishable nature are 
 liable to continued loss and damage in their conveyance by land and 
 water, during a carriage of 180 mO.es, from bad roads, change from 
 one mode of transport to the other, and the taking in water. It is 
 needless to remark to the commercial man that all these losses must 
 be made good by the consumer so that, in fact, the excess of the 
 price of goods at Cataraqui or Niagara, beyond the price at Quebec 
 or Montreal is rather to be considered as so much additional principal 
 inevitably expended, than as an exorbitant profit wantonly imposed. 
 These losses and damages are for the most part made good by raising 
 the price of the smaller, and less expensive articles rather than those 
 of higher value. It is principally to be observed in the purchase of 
 knives, buttons, etc., and much less so in that of clothes, and other 
 valuable commodities. I have pursued this explanation for the pur- 
 pose of showing under what different circumstances, the British and 
 American merchants came to the Niagara market. 
 
67 
 
 I have already observed that the Niagara merchants were startled 
 at this unexpected intrusion. They determined to purchase the re- 
 maining part of the American cargo, at his own prices. The compe- 
 tition thus quashed for the present, it became necessary to take im- 
 mediate steps to ascertain on what ground they stood. It was not 
 doubted, but the report of this quick sale would bring in more Am- 
 erican traders, and it was equally certain in that case, for them to 
 transmit any more orders to Montreal or England, for home commo- 
 dities must eventually be ruinous to them. At a meeting of mer- 
 chants, it was determined to take the opinion of the only lawyer in 
 the country, namely, the Attorney General. Queries were transmitted 
 to him how far he deemed it legal that the goods of an alien nation 
 should be imported, free of duty, for sale. I did not see his answer, 
 but was informed that the tenor of it was, that the Governor held a 
 dispensing power that authorized it. The question now narrows itself 
 considerably. With what I have premised, full in recollection, there 
 will, I think be little difficuty in deciding this issuable point. Was 
 this diapensng power exercised with discretion? I am here giving 
 full credit to the existence of this power, though previously unknown, 
 tor wish to start any difficulty on that head. I will suppose it in 
 e:?istence. I will suppose it legal. With respect to dispensing 
 powers, (if I form a right judgment), they are ever to be used with 
 the utmost precaution. If, in a period of extreme dearth, a Governor 
 were to open the ports of his 'Province to the importation of flour, or 
 other articles of extreme necessity, even contrary to law, such a 
 measure would carry along its own acquittal. Such measures have, 
 I believe, been occasionally adopted in the West Indies and yet 
 piudent ministers in England, when they themselves have thus strain- 
 ed authority, though for the public good, have thought it judicious 
 to take shelter, under an act of indemnity. If reasons thus 
 con be adduced, against establishing a competition, between an 
 and a British merchant in the Niagara market, in a case w ic sup 
 poses the imported merchandize, in both cases, to be ng is 
 factures how much will the argument be strengthene , w 
 ticn, that much the greater, and most valauble part ® ® Amer- 
 
 esrgo aUuded to, consisted of East India goods, m w i 
 
 icans have an original trade, and be enabled to 
 
 state of taxation in their states they mu British 
 
 tasmit to Upper Canada, with every advantage over the Br.tmh 
 
u 
 
 68 
 
 trader. Is it to establish such a competition, and in favor of such a 
 traffic, that a dispensing power ought to have been exerted? Had a 
 measure of this kind been adopted, in order to break the spirit of 
 grinding monopoly, I would have been the first to applaud it ,but it 
 must be obvious to you from what I have stated, that the necessity 
 of imposing those extraordinary prices, arises from the nature of the 
 irland navigation, and that those prices are injurious to the mer- 
 chant by preventing that more liberal consumption which would 
 otherwise take place, and which would enable them to convert a part 
 of that excess, which they must now expend, as a dead principal, into 
 a moderate live profit. I have already shewn that the extraordinary 
 piices is to be considered as indemnification and not gain. It is 
 seldom that any public measure passes without comment, or, indeed 
 let its complexion be what it may, without some species of defence. 
 The defence, which was made on this occasion by one connected with 
 the administration of the country, is peculiar in its kind. It was 
 said, that the Governor had been intimate with the Captain of the 
 boat, and received services from him in the course of the American 
 v/ar. An injudicious friend is the worst enemy. The wisdom of 
 nations, as expressed in aphorisms, and maxims, bears testimony to 
 this truth. ‘^This man,’^ says an American sage, speaking of such 
 a friend, ^Hhis man has in the warmth of his zeal to serve me done 
 that which the greatest of my enemies in the excess of his enmity 
 could not have devised.'^ The apologist, on this occasion, did not 
 seem to be aware that good offices done to the colonel of a corps were 
 not to be recompensed at the expense of the mercantile interests of 
 Great Britain. It is evident that the good offices alluded to must 
 have been considered as of a public nature. Insanity itself could not 
 have suggested that private obligations were to be thus repaid. It is 
 equally clear that if those public services were rendered, the Captain 
 ought to have looked for remuneration to another quarter. From 
 what I have mentioned, at length, of the different terms on which the 
 American and English merchant came to the Niagara market it must 
 bp obvious to you that I lay little stress on the defence of the apolo- 
 gist. I, at the same time assure you that it was the only one I heard 
 brought forward. A prudent friend would have relied on the high 
 price of commodities being the cause of the adoption of this measure. 
 The only question would then have been, was it the general interest 
 of the Empire that aliens should come to the market of Upper Can- 
 
69 
 
 ada, on terms of advantage that must obtain a decidod preference. If 
 the defence was whispered on one side complaints assumed a some- 
 T\lat higher tone on the other. It was said that remonstrances to the 
 British government would be made by the wholesale merchants of 
 Montreal, who were, in most instances, the importers from England. 
 The defence, however, appeared well calculated to eounteract any 
 step of this kind implying that it was a concession in favor of the 
 iiidividual, and not a regulation, that was to assume the permanent 
 form of a system, — the single exertion was of little moment, — it was 
 culy formidable when regarded in the light of a precedent. 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 London, May 28, 1795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 The celebrated cataract of Niagara is justly ranked among the 
 Latural wonders of the world. It is distant about 18 miles from the 
 town of Niagara, and is about half way from that place to the en- 
 trance on lake Erie. In that country it is emphatically distinguished 
 by the name of The Ealls. As you proceed from Niagara, you do 
 not discover them till you approach near. The noise of the descending 
 waters is, however, to be heard at some distance, and their situation 
 icrceived at a considerable one, as there is always a cloud impen mg 
 perpendicularly over them, formed from the mist of the spray, an^ 
 which is distinguishable, even from that part of lake Ontario, w c 
 i^i adjacent to Niagara. The Erench missionaries and others, wno 
 first published accounts of this cataract, brought forwar sue 
 were highly erroneous. They, I believe, mistook feet for 
 estimation of its height? With every degree of dmunished ex^ 
 t'on, however, which the most philosophic indifference cou 
 it wm never be beheld, for the first time, without nr-«t ^wM 
 surprise. Its height is usually estimated at a ru e c a cu a 
 150 feet. More accurate mensuration, they say, re uces 
 I believe it will not be necessary for me to ^ ^ 
 
 must take both these calculations on the ere i o ixistru- 
 
 them. Foot rules, compasses, and quadrants of altitude are mstru 
 
ments, to the use of which, Heaven knows I envy not those who are 
 curious in the application of them. 
 
 The cataract is -divided into two islands, on either side of which 
 the waters precipitate themselves over table rocks. Where they fall, 
 may be considered as the commencement of the river Niagara, which 
 however is only navigable to and from The Landing. The body of 
 waters, which falls on the Newark side of the islands, is greater 
 than that which descends on the side of Fort Slautzer, which is oppo- 
 site. The figure of the rocks on the former side, bears a strong re- 
 semblance to the section of an ellipse, cut off transversely, near to the 
 upper cone. In the latter, it is rectilinear. It is difficult to con- 
 ceive the impetuosity with which waters, which have beng pursuing 
 their course from remote lakes, for several hundred miles, must at a 
 sudden narrow, where they are unusually compressed, precipitate 
 themselves into an abyss of 144 feet in -depth, to the level of the 
 river. The force with which they arrive here is so great, that they 
 curve in such a manner, as to leave an intervening space between 
 them, and the rocks, in which persons beneath may walk dry, and 
 with safety. The next time I saw this cataract, I proposed to a 
 cottager in the neighborhood, to accompany me in the descent, in 
 order to guide me to this place, but he declined. The blended attack, 
 on various senses, in such a promenade, must have been peculiarly 
 grand. It was then the winter season. When I afterwards visited 
 it, at the commencement of summer, I had no inclination to make 
 the experiment as, in the interim, I had been informed that, in sum- 
 mer, rattlesnakes are frequently met in the path which you must 
 descend. It argues some -degree of sagacity in those reptiles to 
 select a situation for basking, in which it is not likely that they will 
 be often dLsturbed. 
 
 Pieces of .petrified spray are found at the bottom of the Falls, 
 which strangers preserve as curiosities. They are white in color, and 
 porous, and of light weight. 
 
 When a stranger first approaches the edge of the neighboring 
 bank, in order to view the cataract, and the abyss, he generally 
 catches, as it were, though in perfect safety, at some twig or shrub 
 for security. Even the ground he -treads on, appears to hav^e ac- 
 quired somewhat of a tremulous motion. The view of the waters, 
 ccntinuing their course after the descent, in a sheet of foam, here 
 and there broken by impediments, is one of the mos-t picturesque can 
 
71 
 
 bf conceived. If the nymph Lodona, when pursnod by the god Pan, 
 as Mr. Pope describes, had happened to arrive here, and plunged into 
 this stream, which as a water nymph she could have done with safety. 
 I’ll answer for it that Pan would never have thought of following 
 her. I would recommend to any stranger, whose leisure will only 
 permit him to pay one visit to this .place, rather to view the cataract 
 from the side of Fort Slautzer, than that of Newark, as he may from 
 thence see the greater fall to most advantage. The waters run in a 
 strong rapid for some distance, before their arrival at the Table 
 rock, but shallow. When a tree, occasionally, gets within the vortex 
 ef this current, it is either snapped in two, or sent up in shreds ac- 
 cording as it presents itself end foremost, or in a transverse direc- 
 tion on its arrival at the Fall. 
 
 Many are the accidents that are reported to have happened here. 
 The most singular is that of an Indian, who paddling in his canoe, 
 got engulphed in the rapid. His efforts, to gain 
 Lk, were in vain. Finding exertion ineffectual, and that he w^ 
 hurrying precipitately to the fall, he was seen to take up a ^ 
 
 mm, from the bottom of the canoe, and empty its contends, 
 very composedly laying him^lf down at 
 eaiact, was never heard of more. .Stories, similar to this 
 of other falls, besides that of Niagara, nor are they, on , 
 
 to he rejected as fabulous. Many of them may ^ 
 where cataracts are not uncommon, .people, muc o 
 depends on fishing, must, in the course of years have 
 elTmilar dangers. Intemperance, in the use of rm, 
 their vigUance'and it was natural in - Jn^ian, when he 
 inevitable to make his favorite liquor the means of producing 
 
 sibility to the terrors of it. has been so 
 
 Mr. Birch, a gentleman who lives near 
 
 much affected by the noise of it, as .to ^ it must prove a 
 
 An occasional visit to it is highly gratifying, but it must p 
 
 most troublesome neighbor. ^ machinery. 
 
 At Mr. Birch’s, I first saw that very u^fnl , 
 
 a saw miU wxirked by water. ^ ^^gtimable. They are 
 
 machme, whieh saves so irmeh bodily f 
 
 common in the States of America. .^^Uect than two or three 
 
 Mr. Birch’s mill has not more, U a ’ 
 
 saws, but, in the States, I have been informed, that .they 
 
72 
 
 ereotions, extended to the number of 14. I cannot describe to you 
 the satisfavction I have experienced in viewing its effects. To be- 
 hold the facility with which it furnishes man with the means of 
 fencing himself in from the beast of the desert, and the inclemency 
 of the elements, gives rise to the most grateful sensations. The 
 same train of thought associates with this, his progress in laws, reli- 
 gion, and cultivated society. Nothing of the nature of timber can 
 resist the force of this instrument. The hardest knot gives way with 
 the same ease, as that the grain of which is the most simple. The 
 most gnarled oak could not hold out the impediment of a second of 
 time. 
 
 You may suppose that in a country like this, where the houses 
 are almost all of wood, that there can be no want of employment for 
 these mills. The continual demand for articles of furniture, by new 
 settlers, and others, renders the employment of carpenters, consi- 
 dered as a mechanical one, very beneficial. 
 
 It has often been disputed whether machines, for expediting 
 labor, are, on the whole useful or not. Such questions may be started 
 in old countries, but they are soon decided, if America is taken into 
 the scale of consideration. In the old countries, there is generally 
 an excess of population, for which employment cannot be obtained. 
 If such machines were generally encouraged, this evil might be in- 
 creased to an alarming extent sp as to deprive numbers of the means 
 of obtaining subsistence. It certainly is to be preferred, that manu- 
 factures should be purchased at a dearer rate, and even a less degree 
 of j^rfection, when, in that state, they afford bread to thousands 
 rather than by having them somewhat cheaper and more refined re- 
 duce those thousands to hundreds. 
 
 The true -distinction appears to be between manufactures, which 
 may be considered as staples, or of extensive foreign sale, and those 
 which are more confined to the home market. In the former instance, 
 as in the case of broad cloths and cottons, every abridgment of labor 
 and expense which may enable us, by selling cheap to secure a prefer- 
 ence in foreign markets, ought to be encouraged. In the latter, in 
 many cases, it should be otherwise. In England, the erection of saw 
 mills would render much useful industry inactive. In America, the 
 same cause leaves an additional portion of industry free for the most 
 requisite purposes, for felling of timber, agriculture, and the rude 
 manufactures. 
 
73 
 
 Of the pla^ees beyond the Cataract, I must write from report. 
 Eighteen miles from thence, you arrive at the entrance of lake Erie, 
 which is navigable, by large vessels, in like manner, as the lake On- 
 tario. The goods, which supply Detroit, which is situated at the 
 distant extremity of it, must pass this sea. 
 
 Detroit is said to be distant upwards of 300 miles from Niagara. 
 The climate, in its neighborhood, has many advantages over the parts 
 of Canada I have -described, from its greater mildness. Fruits are 
 pecnliarly abundant. This settlement is almost entirely inhabited by 
 persons of French extraction, is in point of regnlarity of buildings, 
 superior to the neighboring one of Niagara, for in this country two 
 or three hundred miles, where there is a water communication, is con- 
 sidered as no great interruption of neighborhood. I was informed, 
 upon good authority that there are 2 or 3 hosues at Detroit, which 
 hcve brass knockers to their doors. If this be so, I am apprehensive 
 that the seat of Government (Niagara), must acknowledge the pro- 
 gress of its neighbor towards refinement, be greater than its own. 
 Minute, as a circumstance of this kind may appear, that mind must 
 have a small bias reflection, that would not deduce consequence from 
 it. It might not be a just consequence -to infer that such a town 
 was more opulent than one not furnished in the same manner, but a 
 stranger, who would, from thence, conclude that society was mo^ 
 improved, and conversation on a better footing, would bid fair to 
 
 There is always a military body stationed at Detroit. The 24th 
 regiment, under the command of Colonel England, was on u y 
 
 1793. 
 
 The next regular settlement in U.pP«r Canada is that of MichUa^ 
 machinac. It is 300 miles distant from Detroit. T is 
 military post. Its principal claim to mention os that it is the 
 
 place of any note in the province. 
 
 In the month of February, 1793, Governor S.^eoe m^e a^p^o^ 
 
 gress from Niagara to Detroit, attended ® \ ^s far 
 
 of the gentlemen of the settlement attended ® j 
 
 a, the Trand River, where there is an Indian 
 
 tant, about 70 miles, from Niagara. Here 
 
 Captain Brandt, the principal of party of 
 
 tinned their course thro.ugh the ^ hear what 
 
 detached by this chief, serving as guide . 
 
u 
 
 U 
 
 was the precise object of this expedition, but suppose it to have been , ^|j 
 the formation of some colonial arrangements in that quarter, which' j 
 
 required the G-overnor^s presence, and which it was foreseen that the ^ 
 pressure of public business, the ensuing summer, would not then 
 permit to be personaillj attended to. 
 
 Believe me to be. . _ 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 jstlslli 
 
 ;;.is«ei 
 
 ■iiaes 
 
 London, Jime 3rd, J795. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Almost all business is transacted at Cataraqui, Niagara, and 
 Detroit, though the medium of paper money. This money consists of 
 small squares of paper or card, on which are printed promissory notes 
 for various sums. These notes are made payable once a year, gener- 
 ally about the latter end of September at Montreal. The name of 
 the merchant or firm is subscribed. These notes are seldom struck ofT ixasla: 
 for a greater value than £5, York currency, and thence downwards for ifffrjp 
 
 all the intermediate integral sums of six pence York, inclusive. The zVh 
 
 use made of paper money in Upper Canada appears to be a matter .srje 
 of necessity from the want of a sufficient, quantity of circulating 
 specie, a want to which most new establishments are liable. It, at s{flsc 
 the same time, contributes to give vigor to the activity of industry, 
 by enabling men of good character, and small means to trade on more iafo; 
 extensive capitals. To prevent, however, the danger which might 
 result from too general an adoption of this plan, no paper money will 
 be received, but such as the merchants agree to take in payment for 353 ^ 
 
 goods, in which they are necessarily determined by the credit and ^ 
 
 responsibility of the issuer. 
 
 One peculiar advantage arises to the merchants, from the use of ; 
 this medium, which is, that a large quantity of it wears out, and is ; 
 lest, and not being presented for payment, the amount is clear gain. 
 
 An Indian, also, in pursuit of his game would make little difficulty 
 of wadding his fowling piece, if no other materials were at hand, 
 with these notes. Prom all these causes no inconsiderable annual ■ 
 
 profit results. The use of this kind of money tends also to encourage . ^ 
 
 a more extensive consumption of commodities. Many persons will f... 
 
 
75 
 
 part freely witli paper money for the purchase of articles which are 
 lot necessaries, who, if the payment were to have been made in hard 
 cash, would have declined the expense. 
 
 The specie which circulates, consists of half -joes, some guineas, 
 dollars, quarter dollars, English shillings. As to copper money, it is 
 seldom seen. 
 
 A half -joe is a Spanish golden coin. Its value, when undiminish- 
 eJ is about 40 shillings. In this country, however, it only passes ac- 
 cording to its weight, which is generally marked on it. The value of 
 a guinea is the same as in England. A dollar passes for five shillings 
 York, and a quarter dollar, for 15d sterling, or two shillings York. 
 Accounts are kept agreeable to the New York currency, one York 
 pound is equal to twelve shillings and six pence sterling. 
 
 The new village of Newark at Niagara, increased in size, during 
 the time I centinued in the country. Its being the residence of the 
 Gk)vemor was the probable cause of this improvement. As wooden 
 houses are easily constructed, any accidental cause of this kind, secures 
 to the particular district, a preference for the purposes of culture. 
 There is every probability that Newark wiU continue to rise into no- 
 tice, even If that advantage ceased, as some persons of 
 tended to settle in the villgae and its vicinity. At the head of these 
 may be placed Colonel Smith of the 5th regiment, and his J 
 E a few persons of equal respectability were to form permau 
 estaWishmente, Upper Canada would soon assume a new appear^M. 
 Tbe influence of example would determine many, who are, 
 uudecided. The property whieh now yields a scanty 
 is expended idly as an annexed income, would then 
 improvements, useful to the country, and the dese^ ore nrin- 
 
 prietor. Persons of education, and a certain ran m i 
 cipally deterred from such pusuits by the »PP'^'**”®‘‘’ , ,3 
 
 Jtable society. A few examples such. 
 
 away this objection. At the same rvho^e 
 
 that such establishments are most ® ^Msoned to its 
 
 previously acquainted With eoun^ y- acquainted with 
 
 usages, and reconciled to its habits, and everything 
 
 l, amount, without the aid of ..badren wiH pereeiee 
 
 difficulties in navigation are surmounted, thei 
 
76 
 
 that their fathers have, after years well spent in the service of their 
 country exchanged an iron sword for a golden plough-share. 
 
 In the summer of 1793, certain commissioners from the States of 
 America arrived at Newark, with the view of accommodating the 
 difference of their nation with the Indians, under the mediation of 
 Uovernor Simcoe. They consisted of General Lincoln, Messrs. Ran- 
 dolph and Pickering. After some time, they proceeded to the Miamis 
 village in the Western Country, as the scene of negociation. It was 
 expected that everything would have been there arranged. IIow- 
 ever to the great surprise of the country, all parties returned to 
 Newark. It was said that the American commissioners, on being in- 
 terrogated by the Indian chiefs, whether they were vested with pleni- 
 potentiary powers, and replying in the negative, became objects of 
 distrust to the Indians. They suspected that peace was not their 
 object. In consequence of this, they refused to enter on business, 
 unless in the immediate presence of Governor Simcoe, the representa- 
 tive of the great King. It was generally believed that this proposi- 
 tion was far from being disagreeable to the Commissioners, as in 
 the irritated state of mind of the savages, they could not altogether 
 divest themselves of the apprehension of personal danger against 
 which the presence and influence of the Governor was a certain se- 
 curity. 
 
 On their return, three councils were held, at which the Governor 
 presided as mediator. These assemblies convened in Freemason 
 ITall in the beginning of July. Attention was paid to every circum- 
 stance that could render them solemn and impressive. A detachment 
 of troops lined the avenue of approach to the Hall, through which the 
 Governor, attended by the principal officers of administration, and 
 his suite, passed to CouncH. Here he presided, seated at the head of 
 the room with his retinue on one hand, and the American Commis- 
 sioners on the other. At some distance fro-m these, wooden forms 
 had been placed, parallel to each other, on which the Indian deputies 
 were seated. I cannot be accurate as to their number but there seem- 
 ed -to be about fifty. In the rear, and on the sides of these, such of 
 the inhabitants, as curiosity attracted, had taken their station. In 
 the midst, was placed a table on which were deposited strings and 
 belts of wampum, articles which the Indian ceremonies render indis- 
 pensible on such occasions. Near this stood the interpreter. Every- 
 thing proceeded with much order and deliberation. 
 
11 
 
 I did not oberve any of the animated gesture er articulation, 
 which some historians have represented, as so essential a part of In- 
 dian oratory. Kayne and others appear to me not to have been suf- 
 ficiently accurate in their inquiries. That figurative language, which 
 is 80 frequently attributed to them. Is no doubt, much indebted for 
 its point and polish to the pen of the European. The latter wished 
 to surprise, surprising indeed it would be, if the fancy of the savage, 
 chilled with penury, could present effusions worthy of absolute 
 
 euloguim. It is among the difficult tasks of a mature judgment, im- 
 proved by education, to bring forth a continued allegory, just in all 
 its parts. Abortive effervescences of fancy, no doubt occasionally 
 arise in the Savage mind, but a knowledge of rhetoric alone can 
 mould the antithesis. The savage may declare his inclination for 
 peace by talking of ‘‘burying the hatchet. He may menace hostil- 
 ities, on the contrary by expressing his design of “digging up the 
 hatchet. Such figurative expressions are within the attainment of 
 the savage conception. They are obvious, and terminate in a single 
 idea. Beyond these, and such like repoo-ts of the allusive oratory of 
 the Indians should be received with caution. 
 
 When I mentioned that Indian eloquence did not rise in these 
 councils to the degree of animation books would have taught me to 
 expect, it is by no means conclusive that such is the uniform tem^r, 
 with which the sentiments are delivered. In conferences with those 
 who understand their language where no medium of communication is 
 requisite, strong sensibility may be displayed, but where an in erp 
 of necessity intervenes, oratory, of course, assumes a Iwn- 
 
 Bible as the orator must be that matter only, and no ® 
 tion will he transmitted. Possibly also the prud^w o ^ 
 
 had caused it to be previously intimated to the s, 
 sat as mediator, respect to him required a guar e o trended to 
 
 The Indiaiis ^e many ceremonies which a- 
 in the course of these assemblies. When they wish, ^ 
 
 to adjourn they say that it is “tune to cover up e t)rospect of 
 Nothing dLisive resulted from these counci s. 
 peace, between the contending parties, remaine 
 Wta. I ,i.M Ita SUt.. . 
 
 the Americans, with whom I conversed, a n u think had, un- 
 
 of differences to Governor Simcoe, who, they seeme , ^ opposed 
 
 derhand, fomented the dissension. This opinion I sedulously pp 
 
78 
 
 fjom a persuasion that it was unfounded, and that should it become 
 prevalent, it might, in the then critical situation of affairs, give an 
 undue ascendency to those who favored the French interest, and 
 wished to promote a rupture with England. Indeed, so unreason- 
 able was this surmise, that I can assure you with sincerity, I never 
 heard such an opinian once started at Niagara. From the numbers 
 who were at that time present, such a rumor, had there been any 
 basis for it, would not have wanted circulation. Whatever bias to 
 the Indian interest the English have since manifested, has every ap- 
 pearance of originating subsequent to that period. 
 
 The novelty of an Indian Council is a circumstance that renders 
 it as a sight interesting to a stranger. The dress and appearance of 
 the deputies were peculiarly fantastic. Their faces, in general, were 
 rubbed over with some stuff that in colour bore a resemblance to 
 birck dust, and with this they were rouged^ more or less according to 
 fancy. Feathers ornamented their heads. Their vests were of 
 various materials, and indeed so singularly decorated as to baffle 
 description. Many of them had circles of tin, or plated metal on 
 their arms. Their effect was rather pleasing. In general, the lower 
 parts of the body were dressed, in what are called in that coimtry 
 ligonSf or overalls of cloth, which cover both the legs and thighs. 
 
 Captain Brandt, who was at the head of this deputation, is the 
 principal of the Indian chiefs. I have met him at different times in 
 private companies, and found him shrewd, sensible, and intelligent. 
 He speaks English well, and with fluency. His opportunities, in life, 
 however, have been so peculiar, as to give him considerable advan- 
 tages over his countrymen. Among them, the one most to be noted, 
 is his having in the early part of his life, been educated for some 
 time in an American college. During the American war, this chief 
 was much countenanced by men of rank in the British army. They 
 invited him to England. During his residence here he was presented 
 to his Majesty, and honorably noticed. He returned to Canada after 
 receiving presents from his great friends. Such distinguished favor 
 obtained him a marked pre-eminence among his country-men, and 
 confirmed it. He appears to dwell with pleasure on his reception 
 in England, and will, occasionally, repeat parts of conversations he 
 had held with some of our most illustrious characters. His deport- 
 ment, at table is perfectly that of a gentleman, and I have seen many 
 instances, where his manners and address, from their correctness 
 
79 
 
 iind suavity, were entitled to peculiar regard. It appears to me to be 
 ^air to object to him a few excesses into which he was on the 
 point of entering, when inebriated with wine. Those who expect 
 that human nature can be thus easily changed, ought themselves to 
 bo models of perfection. The true point of prudence in my opinion 
 would have substituted other convivial pleasures, before the seat of 
 leason was disturbed by intemperance. 
 
 Captain Brandt is a man of the middle size, and appears, in 
 age, to be bordering on fifty, but hale, vigorous and active. His 
 countenance is far from prepossessing. It may, however, be a trait 
 in high repute among his tribe, that it is calculated to strike terror 
 
 into his enemies. 
 
 I once slept in the same room with him, at the house of a gentle- 
 man at The Landing. It was on his return from the Miamis, pre- 
 vious to holding the councils at Niagara. We had much conversa- 
 tion in the early part of the night, which confirmed the opinion I 
 had previously entertained, of the strength of his mind, and the 
 culture of his understanding. 
 
 Captain Brandt had a sister at Cataraqui, who was known by 
 the name of Miss MoUy. Sir William Johnson left some children 
 by this squaw, with whom he cohabited for many years. They are, I 
 believe with the exception of one son, all daughters. Sir Wilham 
 bequeathed handsome fortunes bo the whole family. The iss 
 Johnsons are married respectably in the country. It is with 
 I have heard, since my return to England, of the death of the eldest, 
 Mrs. Kerr, the lady of doctor Kerr, for many minute attentions, 
 which, in colonial life, are highly valuable to the passing, or un- 
 settled stranger, I have now to lament that, from this even , 
 
 ever remain indebted. , • i j 
 
 In the winter season, nothing is more ardently wis e , 
 rung persons of both sexes, in Upper Canada than 
 the frost, aecompanied by a fall of snow. T en i is, 
 commene;s her r^gn. The sleighs are drawn ont. Visits are 
 
 and retnrned, in directions. Neither -W-.f r ’aJ obsS^ 
 
 ef roads prove any impediment. The sleighs glide f 
 
 It wonldLite surprise in a ‘ A 
 
 Governor’s House on a levee morning, fill -Rnnd street whose 
 
 sleigh wotf d not probably make any great figure m > 
 
 silkL sons and daughters would probably mistake it for a P 
 
u 
 
 80 
 
 cart, but in the Canadas, it is the means of pleasure, and glowing 
 healthful exercise. An overturn is nothing. It -contributes subject 
 matter for conversation at the next house that is visited, when a 
 pleasant raillerj often arises on the derangement of dress, which the 
 ladies have sustained, and the more than usiaal display of graces, 
 which the tumble has occasioned. 
 
 The sleigh, I believe, is a carriage in general use, in most of 
 the northern parts of Europe, where the winters are long and severe. 
 
 The winter of 1792-93 was considered as unusually mild in Can- 
 ada. The Indians said that they remembered but few that had been 
 so mild. We had, however, some nipping days. What a proper spe- 
 cimen of a Canadian winter may be, I know not, but of this I can 
 assure you that notwithstanding, I never permitted my fire to be out 
 day or night. I have found things, in the room, which got wet by 
 accident, frozen in the morning. 
 
 The persons of greatest weight, in the Canadas, are the mer- 
 chants, or storekeepers. Among these, the gentlemen from Scotland 
 take a decided lead. I have been informed that they have the same 
 ascendency in the West Indies. They are sent out at any early 
 period of life from Scotland, and, by the time they arrive at man- 
 hood, are perfectly conversant in a knowledge of the country. If 
 superior industry and activity are grounds of pretension to affluence,. 
 I know no men whose claims are equal to those of the Scotch. Some 
 comparative experience authorizes me to say this much. Many of 
 them distinguished themselves by a frank hospitality, in accepting 
 which you did not find conversation the -least desirable part of the 
 entertainment. Its ingredients were strong, natural, good sense,, 
 seasoned with some literary resource. 
 
 Believe me -to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 (No date). 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I left Niagara in the close of July, 1793. The weather was then,, 
 as it had been through the summer, intensely hot. 
 
 The great number of midges which abound, at this season, prove 
 a very serious grievance. It is scarcely possible to exclude them even 
 from your bed. On rising in a morning, I have frequently found my 
 
81 
 
 legs covered with great bumps from the sting of these insects. They 
 arc particularly troublesome in the wootds, and where there is under- 
 wood near standing water. 
 
 Nothing particular occurred in repassing the Lake Ontario to 
 Cataraqui, where we arrived, after a passage of 40 hours in the 
 Sophia gunboat. The same evening, accompanied by a gentleman 
 from Niagara, and two others from Detroit, I embarked in a batteau 
 for Montreal. Nothing can be conceived more picturesque than the 
 views which occur on this passage. All that ever novel or romance 
 hsve described is here realized. The eye, at length, grows sated with 
 prospect. The wish strongly recurs of arriving at the place of desti- 
 nation. However, nature in her most wanton mood may vary the 
 form of wood and water, it is society, and good society alone, which 
 can afford permanent pleasure. 
 
 Having already written relative to this navigation, I have little 
 to add. The rapid, called the Long Sault, is, next to the Cascades 
 which I have already described, that which is best worth attention. 
 It is a narrow pass, where the waters are suddenly contracted, and 
 issue through with most extraordinary noise and violence, boiling 
 up, and agitated the waves appear ready to break in on every part 
 of the batteau. The rapidity of the motion is inconceivable. When 
 we were on the point of entering this rapid, a passenger, from De- 
 troit, seized with a sudden apprehension, sprung up in the batteau, 
 cffering a reward to the men to put him ashore, at the same time dis- 
 troying the trim of the boat by putting his foot on the gunwale. A 
 general outcry ensued, accompanied with menaces, calling on this 
 man to sit down. In our situation, such a step might have cost us 
 our lives. It must be an intrepid heart that could pass through 
 this strait, for the first time, without some degree of terror, parti- 
 cularly if there is anything like a pointed antipathy to that mode of 
 ^eath, called drowning in the case. 
 
 The batteau men were French Canadians returning from Detroit 
 to Montreal. They had been absent, at the former place for some 
 years, and though accustomed to the navigation of this water, had, 
 from absence, forgotten it. In the course of the following night,, 
 our escape was, indeed, most providential. Arriving at that part o 
 the river where 90 men, in batteaux, under the command of Lord 
 Amherst were lost, the war before last, the current was carrying us 
 with velocity to the entrance of a rapid. We were all exten e oiu 
 
u 
 
 82 
 
 irattrasses, covered up with blankets for the night, when fortunately 
 Mr. McKay, the Niagara merchant, happening to raise himself in 
 the batteau, thought, on leoking round, that the pilot was taking a 
 TVTong direction. On arrival at this part an island intervenes, on 
 either side of which the waters pass and join again at the further 
 extremity. On the left hand, the passage can be made with safety, 
 but, on the right, it is obstructed with so many rocks, that destruc- 
 tion would be inevitable. When Mr. McKay remonstrated with the 
 pilot, he was guiding us straight into the latter. He insisted that 
 he knew the way, and was certain of being in the pro«per track. Mr. 
 McKay was, every instant, more confirmed in his opinion, and the 
 pilot, with that petulent obstinacy which is so peculiar to the lower 
 class of the French, was equally tenacious of his. Boused by the 
 dispute, the other passengers got up, and relying on Mr. McKay ^s 
 judgment, insisted on the pilot ^s obeying his (Mr. McK^s) instruc- 
 tions. After pulling hard against the current, we gained a bank, and 
 fastening the batteau securely to a tree, we reposed till mom. The 
 first light of day presented us with a prospect that convinced us of 
 the danger w^e had escaped, the Frenchman of his obstinacy, and all 
 in general how much we were indebted to the knowledge and resolu- 
 tion of Mr. McKay. 
 
 Wo arrived the same day in safety at Montreal. 
 
 Nothing particular had occurred, since my leaving this the 
 November before, except the arrival of the spring fl.eet from Eng- 
 land which was detained longer than usual from the necessity of 
 waiting for convoy. 
 
 Those who wish to return immediately to Europe generally sail 
 from this place or Quebec. Those who intend, for the United States 
 cf America, pass the river from Montreal to Laprairie, which is here 
 a few miles over. 
 
 From Laprairie, it is necessary to proceed by land to St. Johns, 
 where boats may be hired to cross Lake Champlain, at the extremity 
 of which is Skeensboro. 
 
 After leaving St. Johns there is a British post at the Isle-aux- 
 Noix, wkere there is a small party of our men. Proceeding onward 
 to the lake, boats are, at some distance from thence, brought to by 
 a British armed vessel, in order to examine their cargos and destina- 
 tion. The line of demarcation betw'oen the British and American 
 
83 
 
 possessions is drawn at this plac«. Proceeding forward, the traveller 
 is to consider himself as being within the boundaries of the State of 
 Vermont. 
 
 The man, who leaves the seat of the British Empire to settle in 
 a province or appendage to which its constitution is extended, will 
 be disappointed, if he looks for the same security of rights, or free- 
 dom from oppression, as in the Mother Country. This probably is a 
 defect inherent in the nature of things, but a defect it certainly is 
 and this defect becomes aggravated in proportion to the smallness 
 of the society, the want of affluence in the inhabitants, and the dis- 
 tance from the Mother country. Where there is a small number of 
 inhabitants there is the greatest inducement to overstrain autliority, 
 and the least ability to resist it. It is iu union only that men feel 
 their strength, and the most constitutional union may be overborne, 
 when it is very limited, and therefore feeble. Want of affluence in 
 hke manner renders the best laws frequently useless. It is to be re- 
 gretted that those who are poor are often obliged in civil cases to 
 relinquish the best founded right from inability to assert them, and 
 distance from home will often be found a strong shield of defence. 
 
 to those who have abused authority. 
 
 Independent of these causes, there is another to he assigned, 
 namely the difficulty of meeting with juries that can come perfectly 
 indifferent to the judgment seat. The members, who compose a jury 
 may be men of strict integrity, but, in very limited societies, it is 
 next to impossible that they should not have some bias on their 
 minds, even unknown to themselves, and, in many instances, t a 
 they should not have formed prejudgments on the merits of a cause. 
 
 Men of sense acquainted with the world, will not expec on, 
 in a new colony, the same regularlity in the administration o jus 
 at home. He will allow that many rights must remain , 
 
 and indefinite for a period, and that time must 
 things can mould themselves into form. He wi no oo 
 learning of an English judge in a Canadian one, u e w ^ 
 
 pense with the want of his integrity. He win 
 
 know the depths of special pleadiug J"* ^ ’f^pected that no 
 
 impartiality in a charge to a jury. It is not ascen- 
 
 influence wUl be sought after, but that which 
 deucy of political virtue, but it might be 
 
 of a jud^would not be degraded by descending to check the 
 
rent of private opinion, on the merits of a judicial case, by personal 
 reproof. It might be expected in Canada, as in England, that, in 
 judicial cases, a judge should have neither eye, ear, nor voice beyond 
 the limits of his courts. Finally, it might be expected that where 
 laws were so plain and simple that he who runs might read, — they 
 should not be twisted into perplexity. 
 
 The Canadas are not countries of whose cabinets or muses you 
 can expect to hear. Attached as we both are to the charms of paint- 
 ing and sculpture, I cannot give, nor you receive, accounts of things 
 which are not in existence. Man, himself, is here but roughly hewn 
 from the block, and it will be a long period before this country can 
 produce excellence in arts, which are only of modem cultivation 
 at home. 
 
 The Canadas may long be rendered useful to England, but let a 
 British administration beware of carrying into effect a measure 
 which the law for the regulation of the province has provided for. 
 I mean the establishment of an order of nobility. Such a step would 
 only accelerate an event which must one day take place, — the separa- 
 tion of the Canadas from England. The sagacity of future minis- 
 ters, (may they live at a distant period), will be usefully engaged in 
 estimating that iportion of population, which, uniting with the proxi- 
 mity of such neighbours as the Americans, will render it requisite 
 for the Canadians to be permitted to set up for themselves. When- 
 ever this event takes place, instructed as we have been by the past, 
 sound policy will dictate to separate with a good grace. A dam of 
 paste-board would prove as effectual a barrier against a mountain 
 torrent, as the influence of nobility in such a country to impede this 
 necessary consequence. 
 
 Such, my friend, is my account of the Canadas. In the course 
 of a century, the -Upper Province may become a fruitful source of 
 history. In its present state of population, should you wander a 
 mile from a settlement, the face of man can hardly be viewel without 
 an emotion of surprise, and every cultivated patch of ground is to be 
 regarded as a trophy of his triumph over the desert. 
 
 Believe me -to be. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 THE ENT).