John Strachan: Documents and Opinions 9780773595217

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JOHN STRACHAN: DOCUMENTS AND

OPINIONS

JOHN STRACHAN: DOCUMENTS AND

OPINIONS A SELECTION EDITED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

J. L. H. HENDERSON

Th e Carleton Library No. 44 McClelland and Stewart Limited Toronto / M ontreal

THE CARLETON LIBRARY

A series of Canadian reprints and new collections of source material relating to Canada, issued under the editorial supervision of the Institute of Canadian Studies of Carleton University. Ottawa.. DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE

Pauline Jewett GENERAL EDITOR

Robert L. McDougall EDITORIAL BOARD

David M. L. Farr (History) Michael S. Whittington (Political Science) H. Edward English (Economics) Bruce A. McFarlane (Sociology) Gordon C. Merrill (Geography) Wilfrid Eggleston (Journalism) Robin S. Harris (Education)

© McCle//ond and Stewart Limited, 1969 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Canadian Publish ers McClell and and Stewart Limited 26 Hollinger Road, Toronto 374

PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA

BY T. H. BEST PRINTING COMPANY LIMITED

CONTENTS

INTRODlICTION,

vi

I: Scotland, 1778-1799, 1 2: Kingston, Upper Canada, 1800-1803,21 3: Cornwall, Upper Canada, 1803-1812,25 4: York, the War of 1812-1814, 32 5: Upper Canada: E migration Schemes and Colonisers, 55

,

6: Upper Canada: The National Church, 86 7: Upper Canada: Schools and Universities, 116 8: Upper Canada: Life and Politics, 128 9: The Canadas: Union or British North American Federation? 142 10: The Province of Canada: Politicians and Governors, 171

11: The Province of Canada: The University, 183

12: The Province of Canada: The Clergy Reserves, 200 13: The Diocese of Toronto, 1839-1853,228 14: The Diocese of Toronto, 1854-1 867,266 15: John Toronto, on Himself and Others, 277 CHRONOLOGY,

283

NOT E ON THE EDITOR, 285

lNDEX, 286

Introduction

Why should one read the letters and pamphlets, the documents and opinions of the man who used to sign himself "John Toronto," now over a hundred years dead? In brief, because they illustrate the political development, the forming society, and the educational and ecclesiastical history of the colony that was to become the Province of Ontario. John Strachan was the most continually conspicuous figure in Upper Canada from 1812 until the union of 1841. He touched the life of the colony at most points. He taugbt the York Grammar School and supervised primary and secondary education. He began the University. He was minister of the parish church in York, or Toronto as it became, and was successively archdeacon of the western two-thirds and then bishop of the colony. He was a member of the Legislative Council and of the Executive Council nnd attended regularly upon both until his retirement. Many of the other legislators and officers of government were his pupils, trained under him. His infiuence was pervasive and sometimes predominant. He had an aptitude for affairs, much industry, and an omnivorous interest in men and events. He maintained a voluminous and varied correspondence and deliberately kept copies of all his letters and papers. These were the formative years of the present Province of Ontario, when British institutions and ideas were being tested and modified by the needs of a mixed North American community. American influences were strong. The peculiar amalgam of the British and the American that became characteristic of Ontario was then being worked out. Strachan fought bard for a mixture of his own, for the English establishment as interpreted by a Scot, for British legislative and administrative procedures (wben tbey were being changed at home). for Scottish education, and in the end, for American-style church government for his denomination. He was not always successful in getting what he wanted, and no One would wish that he had

INTRODUCTION - vii

beeo, but he was constantly setting forth the alternatives, aod the evolution of ideas aod institutions in Upper Canada canoot be studied without reference to him. In 1839 he became bishop and his life changed. Upper Canada went into union with the predominantly French Lower Canada in 1841, and he had little political influence in the United Province. Except for the struggl es for the university and over the clergy reserves, he had to be content to play the part of an observer. Instead, he traveIled the roads of Canada West, visited every settlement and congregation. appointed and sustained the clergy, and guided his diocese into self-government. For the years from 1839 uotil his death in 1867, his coocerns were more narrowly ecclesiastical, but he was not the man to give up old friends or to forget old interests. The politics of Canada West he scrutinised with the knowledge of an old campaigner. aithough his comments might be only those of a private citizen. The Province of Canada was his to observe and to describe. Besides these public affairs extending over a period of fifty years. John Strachan was also concerned with the ongoing lives of countless individuals, with births. deaths and marriages, with emigrants and visitors and Indians, with travelling, taking up land and building houses, with plagues, accidents, fires and private calamities. The social history of the times is illustrated by his dealings with all who sought his help, and with those, like the cholera victims, who had it thrust upon them. Most of all he was a practical man who sought the sensible answers to the problems of life on the frontier, who knew that the essentials were health. warmth, credit. industry, safe chimneys, hospitality, and the company of friends. The flavour of that life comes out in his papers, the mingling of high policy with the needs of settlers in the bush or in the burgeoni.ng small towns of Ontario. John Strachan was the youngest surviving son of a foreman in the Aberdeen quarries. His elder brothers were apprenticed to trades. At his mother's urging, be was sent to the Aberdeen Grammar School to become a minister. He went on to King's College, Aberdeen, and was graduated M.A., the only degree given in course, in March of 1797. King's College was at its lowest ebb academically, but he developed a lively belief in education, and supported himself by teaching during the seven-

viii - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

month-long holidays. With the degree behind him, he enroUed in the divinity school of the University of St. Andrews as a "partial attender," graduation from which would have made him eligible to be ordained, if a parish of the Church of Scotland could be induced to extend him a call. Without patronage, such a call was unlikely. He had no unusual gifts save determination. He had no useful connections and no money. His father had died when he was sixteen. He ceased his partial attendance at St. Andrews, taught in successive parish schools, and then accepted an offer to go out to Upper Canada on a three-year contract to teach the children of Richard Cartwright and Robert Hamilton, merchants, at a salary of eighty pounds a year. He was twenty-two when he came into Kingston on Lake Ontario on the last day of the year 1799. Richard Cartwright became,his patro n and friend. When the three years were almost up, and Strachan was contemplating a return to Scotland, or conceivably employment in Montreal or New York, Cartwright arranged for the young man's appointment to one of the church livings in the gift of the lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, and Strachan was ordained by the Bishop of Quebec, 1acob Mountain, and licensed to the mission of Cornwall. He at once began the private school that was later adopted by government as the Eastern District Grammar School. After four years he married Ann Wood, the young widow of Andrew McGill of Montreal. Life in Cornwall was busy and pleasant. He wrote poetry, essays, pamphlets and sermons (and received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from King's College for two of the pamphlets). He served as missionary in Cornwall with summer visits up-river. Most of all, he developed a first-class grammar school or academy, combining classical and practical subjects, and receiving the sons of Upper Canada's infant governing class as his pupils. In 1812 he was induced by Major General Isaac Brock, administering the province, to transfer to York as missionary, as master of the Home District Grammar School and chaplain to the garrison. In consequence he was at the capital during the alarms of the War of 1812 and distinguished himself by his industry and his zeal for the defence of the colony. He emerged from the war a marked man. The government appointed him in tUfn to the Executive and Legislative Councils, and he became, in effect, the chief advisor to Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant-Governor from 1818 to 1828 .

INTRODUCTION - ill:

Upper Canada was a colony on the American frontier, but presum ably also a refuge for loyalists and a show-case for British institutions. The Constitutional Act of 1791 had provided for the "Protestant Clergy" by reserving one-seventh of the unappropriated lands as an endowment. Other clauses directed the lieutenant-governor to create and to appoint to parishes. Funds were provided from army extraordinaries and from a British parliamentary grant to pay clergy salaries until the endowments might become productive. The general assumption followed that the Church of England was the Es tablished Church in the colony, even though no act of the provincial legislature explicitly established it. John Strachan had never seen England, but as a Sco t he had grown up in the Scottish Establishment where the identity of chu rch and state was taken for granted. H e assumed that be bad conformed to the colonial vers ion of the Establishment when he accepted ordination from the Bishop of Quebec, and he adopted the ideas of the English church with a single-minded logic and much practical commonsense that was perhaps foreign to the church of his adoption. He wanted good grammar schools under the control of the church, a system of state-directed common schools agai n linked with the church, and above all, a uni versity, which like any British university of the time wou ld be directed and taught by clergymen. He wanted the church present in every community as in Scotland, each clergyman endowed by the state and independent. He believed in "subordination," Joyalty, the British constitution, the uti li ty of a national church, and the development of Upper Canada within the established pattern of British society. As a result he found himself in opposition to developments in Canada and in England. Protfstant Christianit y as it developed in Upper Canada felt little need of a govern ment connection. English politicians, always anxious about their salient on the American fron tier, had no generally sustained inten tion of supporting the state church at the cost of the British taxpayer against the wishes of the inhabitants. Strachan's. natural contentiousness brought the iss ues out into the open, notably in his sermon on the death of Bishop Mountain and in his Ecclesiastical Chart, and the battle for the Established Church was joined and lost. The years from 1827 to 1854 saw a prolonged rearguard ac tion with Strachan in the unenviable posi tion of being identified with the status quo. The engagements included the creation and defence of the University of

x - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

King's Coltege, the dispute on the Crown Rectories, and most of all, the implementation and defence of the Clergy Reserves. When the Reserves were secularized in 1854, tbe English church establishment was at an end. John Strachan was appointed Archdeacon of York in 1825, President of King's College in 1827, and first Bisbop of Toronto in 1839, all Crown appointments effected by the Colonial Secretary of the day. Wben the final separation of cburcb and state came, he set himself to create out of the wreck a self-governing denomination. He borrowed freely from American models, secured substantial Jay support, and in concert with the Bishops of Montreal and Quebec laid the foundations of the organization of the present Anglican Church of Canada. He turned his formal "Visitation," a triennial gathering of the clergy, into a synod or annual convention of clergy and lay representatives with voting powers, secured legislative approval for diocesan synods and for a provincial synod of Canada, and against English advice, obtained the right of diocesan synods to elect their own bishops. Working quickly, he raised the necessary endowments in the colony, conducted the elections, and divided his old diocese, comprising all of Canada West, into three. In 1867, at the age of eighty-eight, in SI. James' Cathedral, Toronto, he consecrated his successor, Alexander Neil Bethune, and retired to his palace to await death. The change from the English Establishment to the Canadian denomination had come in his lifetime. Bethune was his pupil, elected by the synod he had formed under canons of his devising, and consecrated in the church he had four times re-built. Strachan was constantly writing for publication: poetry, essays, a mathematics text-book, an emigrant's guide, a newspaper, sermons, a continuing stream of polemic in the interests of the church or the university, and the succession of charges, journals, pastorals and reports that the office of bishop required. Most have survived . The best collections are in the Toronto Public Library and the Public Archives of Canada, the General Synod Archives of the Anglican Church of Canada and Huron College Library. He also preserved his correspondence, the drafts of all letters sent, carefully preserved in letter-books, and all letters received. The bulk of them is now in the Ontario Department of Public Records and Archives. One letter-book from the Ontario Archives collection has been printed, the John

INTRODUCTION - xi

Strachan Letter-Book: 1812-1834 (roronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1946) edited by Dr. George Spragge. Sizable collections of his letters are in the Archives of the University of Trinity College, Toronto, and in the Toronto Public Library as the Scadding Papers. The. Archives of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, now the United Society, have his correspondence, both public and private, with the secretaries of that society. This volume of Strachan's writings has largely be'en compiled from material in the Ontario Department of Public Records and Archives, the Archives of Trinity College and the Toronto Public Library. The Archives of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Library of Queen's University, Kingston, have been used to a lesser extent. Most of the material reproduced is appearing in print for the first time since Strachan's day, although some selections have been taken from the Strachan L etter-Book edited by Dr. Spragge. To all libraries mentioned, to Dr. Spragge, and to others, my thanks are due and are tendered. This is a collection of some of Strachan's own words. It is meant to be representative, to show the man and his interests. There are the detailed plans and papers of an ardent polemicist, the careful letters of an ecclesiastical person, and the unconsidered comments and asides of an outspoken and forthright man. A decided preponderance is given to his political opinions and to the issues that agitated Canadian life until 1867. The assumption is that this is a collection for the undergraduate in history and for the general reader. No comments or opinions about Strachan are given. A companion volume could be made up giving the reactions of his contemporaries to John Strachan. He was the friend or the bogey-man to many in successive generations, "my dear and good kind bishop" and " the most dangerous and spiteful man in Upper Canada," to quote two governor s ~general. No judgment of him is attempted here save the judgment unavoidable in selecting and excerpting letters. The symbol '-' has been used throughout the text to indicate material interpolated by the editor. Strachan's punctuation, spelling, and capitalization have been sometimes extensively modernized. J. L. H. HENDERSON,

Huron College, University 0/ Western Ontario, Augllst, 1969.

The Carleton Library John Strachan: Documents and Opinions, is compiled from the printed works of John Strachan aDd from the following manuscript collections: Ontario Department of Public Records and Archives, Toronto, cited as SLB.

STRACHAN LETTER BOOKS,

Ontario Department of PubHc Records and Archives, Toronto, cited as SP.

STRACHAN PAPERS,

STRACHAN PAPERS, Trinity College, Toronto, cited as SPT. HENRY SCADDINO PAPERS, Toronto Public Library, cited as Scad-

ding Papers. SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL (now the UNITED SOCIETY), 15, Tufton Street, London, England, cited as SPO Archives. WILLIAM MORRIS PAPERS,

ston.

Library, Queen's University, King-

CHAPTER ONE

Scotland, 1778-1799

.-.. At the ripe age of twenty-two in Kingston, Upper Canada, John Strachan wrote his autobiography. His purpose was to capture his old Hfe in Scotland and to remember his friends. The recipient was presumably to be the closest of those friends, Thomas Duncan, for whom also the narrative of his journey to America was written. ,...,

I was born at Aberdeen, April 12th, 1778. My parents were not rich but respectable. There were six children of us, two girls and four boys. One of the boys died young. I am the youngest of the survivors. My father was employed in conducting a mine of granite, that stone being in great request at London for paving the streets and building wharfs. He sometimes carried on business for himself but, not having capital to extend bis trade, he found it more profitable to be the servant of another. His superior knowledge rendered him of great estimation as an overseer, and his steady integrity endeared him to his employers. Of my early infancy nothing is remarkable. My mother was desirous that one of her sons should have a Hberal education, as she wished much to make one of us a minister. She thought she observed that gravity in me which was necessary in such an office. My brothers, after receiving a tolerable education, were bound apprentices to different trades; but John the favourite must be made a gentleman. Having acquired a competent knowledge of the English tongue, a consultation was held. My mother declared that she hoped to hear me preach before she died. My father, whose penetration easily discovered the difficulties attending a learned profession, the expense of preparation, and the precariousness of success, was averse to the measure. Being in pretty easy circumstances, he said that he bad no objections to send me two or three years to the Latin, but, to give me a liberal education and make a minister of me was entirely against his inclination. My chance of a church was

2 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

small, and he knew no trade more unprofitable than that of a journeyman preacher. He was willing (he continued) to give me an education which would qualify me for any trade I might cboose. My oldest brother sagely observed (for everyone had liberty to speak on this important occasion) that it would be bad indeed if none of the family was liberaLly educated. You are able to give him the best instruction the country can afford. Therefore you should lose no time but instant1y begin him to tbe study of the Latin tongue. The rest were silent, nor indeed had they time to speak, for my mother was impatient to answer my father's remarks. There was, she observed, no doubt of my success. I had been as yet always fortunate. The day of my birth was accompanied with too many singularities not to portend something great. He was born, continued she, in the twelfth day of the month at the twelfth hour of the day. The sun and the moon were both full. It was high water at that instant, moreover it was Sunday and the Sacrament was dispensing in the city. She insisted that I should be made a parson and concluded by wishing that she might see me properly settled in a parish. This reasoning did not convince my father, but he consented to let me go to the Latin school two or three years. The difficulty I found \vhen I began to the rudiments incited my eagerness for becoming learned. I heartily wished to leave the school. I durst not mention this at home, for my father was a strict disciplinarian. My classfellows had begun six months before me, consequently I had great exertions to make that I might overtake th em, which I at last accomplished. One day, playing at marbles with one of my classfellows about a montb after my entrance into the school, we quarrelled. He said I was a dull feUow and asked me if I was not ashamed to remain so near the foot of the class. He was younger tban I and, though not a very good scholar. yet far above me. I was hurt. I applied with redoubled ardour and in a few weeks was advanced above my colleagues. How proud was I then. That day was one of the happiest of my life .. . . I became my master's favourite not so much from my superior diligence as on account of my readiness to oblige him. He was rather a man of fashion and his occasions for my assistance were more numerous tban I could have wished. I used to be sent often to the bank on money matters and sometimes on particular messages which required dispatch and fidelity . These

SCOTLAND, 1778·1799 - 3

however were onJy a kind of recreation and I was selected from my classfellows only because my conduct gave most satisfaction to my preceptor who had tried several before me. Among other companions I contracted an intimacy with Montagu Beattie, son of Dr. Beattie the philosopher; our friendship increased tiU his death. About this time my master introduced me to the particular notice of the rector of the school. Dr. Dun had begun to teach at the age of twenty and, after teaching with applause forty years, employed an assistant. When I had the honour of knowing him he was eighty-four. He was an exceptional classical scholar, understanding the Latin much better than the English tongue. I visited the Doctor frequently who was very kind, giving me sometimes an apple or two out of his garden which from him was a very particular favour. He had an orchard well stocked with fruit trees and flowers, which he used to cultivate partly himseJf. He was extremely frugal with his apples. I have seen nearly haJf of them rotten from too long keeping. He was afraid lest anyone should steal them and would allow none of his servants to come into the garden. As be could not climb the trees himself, he employed me. I was pleased with the office but he took care to be always present. My classfellows envied my part; he gave me a good many to eat but very few to carry off. I assisted the Doctor every year to pull his apples till I was removed to the university. After spending nearly five years studying the Latin language, I obtained a small benefice at tbe university by comparative trial. At Aberdeen there are two universities, Marischal College in New Aberdeen and King's CoUege in Old Aberdeen; they are distinct and independent of each other and have each the power of conferring degrees. It is customary every year when the classes commence, which happens at the beginning of November, for a trial to take place among the young men about to enter the college. There are at each of the universities ten or twelve small benefices or bursaries of £ 5- £ 6 val ue, which are given to the young men of greatest merit. This small pittance is continued four years, the usual course of attendance at college. It pays the fees and the remainder may purchase a book or two. A little is great where there was nothing before. As my father did not wish to send me to college, it became necessary fo r me to obtain one of these bursaries, the more so as he made this the test of the progress I had made in the Latin

4 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

tongue, of which he himself was ignorant. The necessity of my case induced me to go to King's CoUege, where I had a better chance of succeeding than at Marischal, tho' it was much marc inconvenience from its distance from my father. At Marischal College many of the bursaries are bequeathed by burghers enjoining a preference to burgher's children. The best scholar cannot therefore obtain these, if there happens to be a burgher's son of tolerable abilities. I was frightened at this idea for I wished much to go on with my studies and proceeded to the other college, where every person was equal and here I obtained the fifth prize. The session at King's College continues five months, begin~ ning with November and endi ng with March. It may seem strange to those unacquainted with the state of learning in Scot~ land that the vacation should exceed the time of business. This is found very convenient for the greater number of students who, being poor, are enabled to teach in summer and gain as much money as will with economy suffice for winter. I could not have prosecuted my studies had the term been longer. The first year is spent in learning the Greek language, in which I did not make great progress. I prepared my task for the class but I am not yet mucb acquainted with Grecian literature. Hav~ iog as yet made no progress in mathematics, I was about to enter school in the college recess that I might prepare myself for the second session where they are taught, but Dr. Beattie (to whom I had been already introduced by his son) informed me that he wished to send me to teach in a family for the summer, adding that I would have it in my power to prosecute my own studies at the same time. The opportunity I should have of seeing the best company, the love of novelty. and the rank of the family all concurred to fix my resolution. My father was averse to my going in any consideration. I was too young to go from home; I might neglect my education. As I was very desirous to pursue my studies. he made no opposition, yet he often exprest 'his doubts of my future success, My mother wished me also to remain at home. In the midst of these deliberations an accident happened which dissipated ~II doubt in the present case and changed the views and movements of my life. My father died. While he with another man was charging a rock, the explosion went suddenly off and he did not survive eight days. No loss could equal this. On him I depended for everything; in his death my hopes were buried, my prospects

SCOTLAND, 1778·1799 - 5

of finishing my education destroyed. Had this been all. I might have borne it more easily, but my mother had nothing left. I did not hesitate now about going to the family. My father being interred, I left our family drowned in sorrow and began my career of teaching at the age of fifteen. I have not been able yet to extricate myself from this employment, which after seven years trial I dislike as much as I did the first day. Lady Harriet Gordon, to whose family I was recommended, was sister to Lord Aberdeen and nearly allied to the Duke of Gordon. Her daughter had two children who formed my charge. Mrs. Baillie, Lady Harriet's daughter, had married a West Indian merchant; soon after her nuptials she accompanied ber husband to Grenada, where, after bringing him two children, she became infected with the falling sickness, whether from the yellow fever or the change of climate I know not. The frequency of ber convulsions by degrees disturbed her reason. Sbe became low spirited, her beauty faded, and you could just discern that she had once been extremely fair. She returned to Scotland and brought her children with her, thinking tbat her native climate might again restore ber health and spirits. Lady Harriet, when she found that there were no hopes of Mrs. Baillie's recovery, treated ber in a rather improper manner. This contributed, with her sorrows, to make ber still more wretched. She had the spirit sometimes to write to her husband, but he did not for some time seem to take notice of her complaints. As Mrs. Baillie was incapabJe of taking cbarge of her children, they were under the direction of her mother. My reception on tbe evening I arrived at her house did not give me much satisfaction. The old lady had heard of the death of my father and regarded me rather as an object of pity than as a young man able to work his own way in the world. My future behaviour altered her opinion. In the morning ber Ladyship asked whether I choose tea or porridge for breakfast; tea certainly, said I, when I wish for porridge I shall ask for it. ... Determined to be economical, I walked home with my summer earnings in my pocket amounting to £7.10s. My mother received me with joy. I had a bome. My time was again divided betwixt private teaching, class matters, and the Society. I visited Montagu Beattie almost every day. Our friendship increased and we felt new pleasure at each meeting. As he was at Marischal College and I at King's we could

6 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

only see each other in the evening. We had often conversed about the Literary Society at King's College and read some of tbe speeches I bad delivered tbere. This suggested to him the propriety of baving a si milar institution at Marischal College, which he accordingly promoted. He forced me to become a member contrary to my wishes, for my different avocations deprived me of time .... Towards the end of the session I began to look forward with anxiety for some summer employment, but in va in. Montagu Beattie fell sick, in five days he was no more. I had not seen him during bis illness. A brain fever rendered him insensible. Two nights I spent with his corpse and lamented with sincerity the loss of my friend. It may be proper here to mention some particulars concerning Dr. Beattie, my friend's father. The Doctor was born at Laurence Kirk in Kincardineshire, of which he was some time I think school-master. He made himself known by his poetry. When he came to Aberdeen, he was made one of the masters of the Grammar School. He soon after obtained a professor's chair in Marischal College. His publications are numerous; his essay on truth is the most celebrated but his poetical works have the greatest merit. ... My friendsh ip for Montag'll was pure. His death was the greatest shock I had ever felt. Gloomy prospects before me and the loss of my friend affected my spirits. I felt ill. I became consumptive for several weeks. I could scarcely walk to the lectures at college. A singular occurrence which happened to me, tho' otbenvise neither honourable nor prudent as it cured me of my distemper, deserves to be mentioned. Walking to the class one day after dinner with several other students (we had nearly one mile to walk) I observed two militia men meeting us. If you bappen to laugh as you go past these fellows, said one of the students, one of them will curse you and think you laugh at him. I paid no attention to this but the rest laugbed aloud as they passed the man. He threatened them and, taking up a stone, hurled it after us with great violence. The stone nearly struck my leg. I turned about greatly irritated as I had given bim no provocation, forgetting I was in bad, company. I pitched a stone at his head, which almost struck him. He threw bis musket on the ground and came runn ing to beat me. His companion followed bis example. As there were six of us, I was wondering at their temerity, but turnin g round, I perceived my friends all gone except one. I was unable to run and

SCOTLAND, 1778-1799 - 7

I was now too late. I exhorted my companion to stand firm but be slunk into an house, shutting the door behind him. By this time one of the men had come up, Dot the laugher, but bis neighbour. He did not stop to reason but aimed a blow at my face. This I parried and in return cut bis lips on his teeth. I felt new strength and pinned him up to the wall. Just as I was gaining a complete victory, his brother reached us and, coming behind me, struck me on the nose so violently that I staggered back several yards. I turned with fury on this new assailant and was some time successful, for his brother was unwilling to engage me a second time. A stream of blood issuing from my nose incommoded me greatly; and, just as they were attacking me together, a passenger stepped up, offering to be my second, and swore he never saw two greater cowards, two to fall on one and each of them bigger ana older was scandalous. I undertook to beat them the one after the other but this they declined, going off, murmuring and spitting blood. Having washed my face I reprehended the cowardice of the students for involving me in a quarrel and leaving me in the lurch. The ferment into which this affair put me and the pride of victory (for I was congratulated by all my class fellows) seemed to revive my spirits and I recovered from my distemper in a short time. The session being ended, I was employed teaching privately .... when I heard of a vacant school in the country for which I applied personally without delay. Previous to my departure I waited on Dr. Beattie to procure a recommendation, as he had taken particular notice of me during the life of his son and had recommended me already to Lady Harriet Gordon. He refused to give me a certificate on the plea that I was not at his college. I was stung to the heart at this refusal. I shall never forget my situation when I left him; I thought my head was turning round. I conquered my passion, but my regret for asking him was not easily banished from my mind. I have since learned to despise the meanness and injustice of the philosopher. I had plenty of friends willing to recommend me and, going forward , obtained the place. I now took up my abode at Denino, near St. Andrews, about eighty miles from Aberdeen. Dr. Brown, the minister of the parish, was pleased with my appearance. He shewed me my house and school. He payed me every attention. The benevolence and sympathy which marked all his actions endeared him to me. I revered him more than any person I had ever seen.

8 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

My love and respect increased with my acquaintance with Dr. Brown. I also found grace in his eyes. The parish of which I was now schoolmaster is not a place of much beauty. But the hospitality of my neighbours was preferable to fine walks or shady groves. A small rivulet containing plenty of trout ran past my door but I could never fish. My situation possessed several advantages from its vicinity to St. Andrews. I got books from the library and was able to attend the hall occasionally. Became schoolmaster of Denino May, 1796, being just eighteen years old. Unhappily for me Dr. Brown had been promoted to a professorship in Glasgow, for which place he was preparing to depart when I obtained his parish school. He gave me many proofs of his goodness while he stayed, which made me regret his departure the more. I was happy in opening a correspondence with him and being ranked among his friends . These privileges I hope I shall never forget. At this period Dr. Brown introduced me to Mr. Thos. Duncan, a student in the neighbourhood, of the most amiable dispositions and of great learning. I spent this summer with a great deal of satisfaction, nor did I weary so much as usual for the return of college. As I wished to retain my school, I did not go to Aberdeen till the session was pretty far advanced, my parishioners choosing to wait my return rather than to take another teacher .... After remaining at Aberdeen three months, I took my degree of A.M. and went back to Decino. Our class at the university was divided into two factions - highlanders and lowlanders. I was not the visible head of the one to which I belonged, but I had a great share in directing its operations. Our lillie quarrels produced a coolness among us, but seldom violence .... [At King's College], the advantages I reaped were few. I acquired some taste for study and collected a considerable mass of indigested knowledge. I could not boast of my proficiency in any of the branches taught, nor was I entirely ignorant of any. My degree made up all deficiencies, for how could a Master of Arts be destitute of learning? Bidding a final adieu to Alma Mater, I proceeded to Denino. When I reached St. Andrews I found the college still sitting. I enrolled my name among the students of Divinity, notbing more being required the first year from those who intend only to give partial attendance. Young men preparing for the ministry in Scotland may either attend the Divinity lectures of the

SCOTLAND. 1778·1799 - 9

professors fo ur complete sessions or only attend part of each but then this partial attendance must continue six years. Upon every former occasion I had felt great uneasiness on leaving Aberdeen. It may be reasonably supflosed that this uneasiness was greater now than ever, as the time of my abse nce was longer and as I had no prospect of ever return ing but for a visit. Indeed my feelings were uncommonly strong and my reflections on considering that I must continue in an cmployment I disliked embittered my departu re. As I took care always to seem pleased when in my motber's presence she was by degrees reconciled to my fate. My natura l vivacity, the flattering reception I met with from my employers. but above all the agreeable society of Dr. Brown and Mr. Duncan soon dissipated my gloom a nd I forgot my misfortunes. My motber received a letter from me every montb and I had leisure to go to see her every harvest. Another circumstance which I do not yet recollect without emotion rendered Denino still more agreeable to me. I feU in love. Lovers consider themselves more u nhappy than others, if their schemes be thwarted. yet in the midst of their misery there is no person wi th whom they would exchange situations. I am doubtful whether my passion even th en augmented my happi ness. Of this I am certain that it was productive of much permanent evil. I was lost to all employment. I had begun to study mathematics, the most ini mical of aU studies to love; but instead of investigating the theorems. I could not see them before me. Whe:l I sat down to read I understood nothing. my reason was swallowed up in my imagination and when I awakened from my dream 1 often found myself in the middle of the road looking towards the place where my charmer dwelt. If I took my diction ary in my hand. I forgot the word I was looking for. I could not command my attention a single moment. My head was turned. One idea engrossed all my faculties, my blood boiled in my veins. Such was my situation previous to my application for a return. At intervals when I could think with some coolness many reasons presented themselves to my mind, aU of them tending to dissuade me from my present desi res. My situation was by no means adapted to marriage. I shuddered at the thought of such a contract when my revenue could not support me si ngle. I was too young. where was my ambition, my love of fame, my desire of prosecuting my studies? All would be blasted by such an engagement. Shal l I be obliged to teach all my life even without

10 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

the hope of escaping. Forbid 0 Heaven. When in her presence I found that all these arguments were of no avail. They were forgotten. I endeavoured to banish myself from her family but this was impossible. Her brothers and her father were daily inviting me, and to have refused would have given umbrage and displeased my best friends. Being at a feast in the neighbourhood, I was obliged to walk home with my sweetheart. I was long silent. I resolved not to divulge my feelings but my resol ution was no sooner formed than broken. I spoke and found an agreeable reception. At th e cool moment of reflection this redoubled my fears. My danger became tbe more imminent. My conduct appeared not only rash and imprudent but highly unjust. I determined to stop in time. My resolutions were again broken; when we met I renewed my compliments and protestations. I dashed against the rock with my eyes open. At this time I was roused from my delirium by an imperious call which commanded obedience. The Parliament had enacted a law for embodying 6,000 Scotch militia men, to be all chosen by ballot from among the young men between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three. The schoolmasters were ordered to give in Hsts of the young men of that age in their respective parishes. The people were violently against this measure. The schoolmasters were in danger. I refused to give in the list and was threatened with imprisonment. I was summoned to several courts .... At last the farmers appointed constables for the parish, compromised the matter, and the young men came and gave in their names peaceably. The trouble and vexation I had experienced in th is business for upwards of six weeks, tho' it had not abated, had diverted my passion. I observed that, when I was in danger of being knocked in the head by the mob and of being thrown into prison, my lover was less concerned than I thought she should have been. This remark I only found useful at an after period, for at present I did not suffer myself to think it true. My reason was sometimes victorious when reflecting and at a distance but lost in ardour when in her presence. This conduct, however, I was convinced must be checked, but to remain so near the person I loved and check it was not in my power. At last I determined to take the first opportunity of leaving the place. In this more exertion was needed than I was first aware of. My place was agreeable, a secret enchantment enhanced its value daily more and more. I stood in suspence. The harvest came. I was to be

SCOTLAND, 1778-1799 - 11

absent a month. I was expected to write. This I neglected. My future prospects were uncertain. When I saw my mother, I remembered that she had the first claim to my assistance and protection. This is not a prudential reason, Jar I can never believe that the man can be a faithful lover who forgets his duty to his parents. I was blamed on my return; a quarrel ensued. Just at this instant, I was informed that the school at Kettle was vacant. A parish twenty miles from Denino. The emolu4 ments of this school were more than double those of Denino. A competition was held. I was preferred, rejected by some of the herilars because I bad refused to give in the militia list, called a democrat and unworthy of preferment whatever my abilities were. Mr. Inglis, to whose exertions I was indebted for Denino, had entered the lists with me for Kettle, he was next me in point of merit and got an offer of the school when I was rejected. This he was prevented from accepting by a liberal subscription raised by his former employers to induce him to stay. On Mr. Inglis refusing to go to Kettle, I was again solicited to accept what I had gained, which, after some altercation about some conditions, I took. They had by this time investi4 gated my character and found that my political principles, tho', perhaps too free for their comprehension, ,not so violent Or so irrational as they bad believed .. .. Convinced of the impropriety of my passion and alarmed at the thoughts of indigent matrimony in a state of war with my sweetheart - the assistance my mother claimed - add to all, the removal of Dr. Brown from Denino to Glasgow - strengthened my resolution to depart. I resigned my charge. My desire to finish my academical studies and my curiosity to see foreign parts were secondary motives to urge my sacrificing a giddy pas4 sian which could only be productive of ruin. I assumed coldness. I repented often and as often rejoiced, but my distance gave me opportunity for reflection and the impossibility of seeing ber secured my tri umph. It was not till now that I remembered that her mental qualifications were not equal to ber exterior charms. Yet I think with complacency and delight on my first attachment. . .. Notwithstanding the unlucky delirium into which my passion precipitated me, I acquired much at Denino. Hitherto I had rather read than thought; my ideas on religion and politics, on morals and science. if I had any. were confused or ill founded. I had possessed no opportunities of bearing learned conversa-

12 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

tion. When I read a book, I did not think it could ever be wrong and was lost in amazement when I found authors contradicting each other. At Denino I learned to think for myself. Dr. Brown corrected many of my false notions. He and Mr. Duncan taught me to use my reason and to use the small share of penetration I possess in distinguishing truth from error. I began to extend my thoughts to ·abstract and general ideas, to criticise what I read and to summon the author to the bar of reasdn. I learned to discriminate between hypothesis and facts and to separate the ebullitions of fancy from the deductions of reason. It is not to be supposed that I could or can do these things perfectly, but I began to apply my power; my skill is still increasing. Much as I did, had not my foolish love intervened, I might have done much more. The two years which I spent at Denino were perhaps as happy as any of my life, much more so than any time since. The r~st is in the womb of Providence. At Kettle my charge was much greater than at Denino. My scholars amounted to ninety, sometimes more. They were seldom fewer than eighty. Peter Barclay the Minister is a most lamentable preacher; trul y clerical, he was always very attentive to me and used me with very great respect. The village was large. My situation was not on the who le so agreeable as at Denino, but I was not liable to the same temptations. There were several people whom I remember with respect and with whom I passed some part of my time much to my satisfaction . . . . I have reason to think that I was not disagreeable to the good people of Kettl e and that I left it witb the good wisbes of my employers. The pleasant company of a neighbouring schoolmaster which I frequently enjoyed, rendered my life much more happy. Deprived of his company, I would have often felt a languor which nothing could cure but the sweet converse of a friend. His ideas and mine were for the most part in unison; in la nguages he was far my superior. In mathematical knowledge I had rather the advantage. As my love of novelty always inclines me to leave a place after being in it for some time, I began to think of looking out for a place even better than Kettle. I had made an attempt before in the school of Anstruther, but I found on enquiry that it was not so lucrative as the office I beld. At last in the montb of March, 1799, I engaged to go to Upper Canada to teach. The promises were great, I was advised by some of my friends. The prospect of an academy being established and of being made mathematical

SCOTLAND. 1778·1799 - 13

teacher were great incitements. My expectations are always too sanguine. They were in this as in my other tbings miserably disappointed when too late. My curiosity to see foreign parts, my ignorance of the country, the small appearance I then had of soon obtaining a church, with many other reasons still more frivolous, determined me to sign a missive engaging to go for the annual salary of £80 and to teach at most fifteen pupils. I resigned Kettle, delivered my farewell address to my scholars, many of whom went home crying, and departed for Aberdeen to see my mother. .•• When I reached Aberdeen, I found my mother averse to my going to America, but I no longer suffered myself to doubt. I had already fixed my resolution. I would not, howeve r, see her tender sorrows without concern. I even began to think the advantages held out were not so great as I thought them at first: A place of importance was just vacant at Aberdeen. I might have obtained it and lived with my mother in ease and mediocrity. The temptation was strong wben assisted by the tears of a parent. Declare, ye poets - who raise sympathy and unstring the heart, who rouse the soul to virtue and contemplate with satisfaction the struggles of the Good - declare what my feelings at this moment were. I remembered my word had been given. My courage rose, and my resolution was confidned. I regretted, however, tbat I had engaged more on my mother's account than on my own. My hopes supported me. I dreamed of riches and honour. My heart expanded and I condemned the prospects around me .... (Autobiography, 1800, SPT)

When you read this I am on the Atlantic. My departure is not embiltered by any patriotic feelings, yet tbo' I leave my country with the greatest indifference I leave my Friends with the most sincere regret. I go by way of New York which is perhaps of advantage as I shall endeavour to sec ure a retreat there in case my situation should prove disagreeable ... . My aim shall always be to preserve my independence . .. . (Strachan to Dr. James Brown, Greenock. 2S August 1799, sP)

New York, Nov[embe]r 13, 1799. Arrived here today, ran round the town, looked at the plans of the houses - they are chiefly built of brick, some of timber, very few of stone. Found difficulty in getting a boarding house. Slept at a Mr. King's, a

14 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

Scotchman from Ayr. Remained with KiDg all night, who lodged us in a garret, at which I was highly offended but was obliged to be satisfied for one night, it being too late to inquire for lodgings. Nov[ember] 14th. Went into the court; most of the causes respected swindling. The science of cheating seems to be very well understood in the States . ... We boarded with Dawson, an Irishman - a very curious fellow, a democrat, clever at his business, which is brokerage. Otherwise dull and stupid, will swear to a lie at the Custom House when he can thereby save a few dollars. His wife wears the breeches. Met here an old schoolfellow, Mr. Rbind, a very decent, sober young man, a clerk. He was a very bad scholar while at school, but I am mistaken if he doesn't turn out to be a very good man. Mr. Ainslie, another lodger, is an Irishman - free, generous-hearted, fellow, but of loose principles; despises religion without understanding it. Mr. Pa1mer, a third boarder from Huntl y, a sober lad and in a fair way of becoming a merchant soon. He is the chief clerk of ODe of the houses at N.Y.

Nov[ember] 16th. SpeDt this day iD looking at the ports aDd shipping, in going down to the town and getting up my cloaks, and paying some demands the Captain made. Nov[embe]r 17. Bought two trunks and sold my chest, haviDg found it would be too heavy to carry through the country. I had called OD the 13th on Mr. BuchanaD to get the mODey I had credit for and I received it, but found myself under the necessity of borrowing fifteen dollars from Mr. Adamson in case I should need it on my journey. Nov[embe]r 18. Called OD Dr. Kemp and heard from him of Mr. Smith's wanting an assistant. Nov[embe]r 19. Got Mr. Campbell eDgaged as Smith's assistaDt. [Novemher] 20th. Put my trunks OD board a sloop for Albany, sailed in the evening, having previously called on all my friends . This morning I was introduced to Messrs. Robertsons, Aberdeen men, drawing masters in New York, and they kindly offered to forward my letters to me from Europe. [November] 21 st. This morning we got thirty miles up the river.

SCOTLAND,

1778 ~1799

- IS

My fellow passengers were Capt. Chess, Mr. Russell, an Irishman. and a merchant of Albany. Mr. Russell gave us an account of his being employed in the election to canvass for votes. He had small slips of paper with his candidate's Dame or designation written on it; the people gave their votes on similar papers. He read their vote; if it was favourable to his side, it passed; if not, he endeavoured to substitute one of his own papers in its stead. Above a thousand dollars are annuaUy spent at Albany alone. . [November] 22nd. Made no way today. [November] 23rd. Went on sbore in the forenoon. Looked at the Indian corn built up in a barn. the first I had seen. Viewed the remains of an old fort. In the afternoon we went on shore on the other side of the river and saw Stony Point. famous in the American war. Three parts of the headland are surround with water, and the fourth is divided from the continent by a marsh. Went to a house and bought a peck of apples for about 7'h sterling; having come aboard, we drifted up about ten miles with the tide. Monday, Nov[embe]r 24. We made but little way today. Anchored at Poughkeepsie and went before dinner to see some mills. intending in the afternoon to go and look at the town. But uncertain are the hopes and expectations of man; he always meets with disappointments. We had not seen the mills properly when a breeze sprang up and carried us just about two miles when it grew calm. having prevented us from seeing the village . . . . Went ashore in the afternoon, entered a cabin. They marry very young here. I saw two girls. The youngest seemed hardly fifteen and yet was married; the eldest was seventeen and was a year wedded to a second husband. Drifted up a little way with the tide. Capt. Chase getting a little more liquor than was good for him, began to curse God for giving his existence and wished earnestly for death. The Irishman advised him very earnestly to shoot himself or to jump into the river; and, if none of these plans would do, he himself (the Irishman) would blow his brains out, if he would make him his heir. Capt. Chess repented and another glass of brandy reconciled him to life. Notwithstanding all this he is superstitiously religious and a little democratic.

16 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

[November] 26th. This we sailed pretty faster. We got up to Hudson, a new town only fifteen years old; seemed very large in proportion to its age. The wind turning unfavourable, we went past and anchored five miles above it. I, therefore, did not see the town. [November] 27th. Sailed up to a poor village named Baltimore. [November] 28th. This morning we went ashore to see the village Baltimore. The Irishman and Russel set off on foot to Albany, we being now only fifteen miles from it. About twelve the wind became fair and , with the help of the tide, we reached Albany about six at night. Went ashore to Mr. Lewis. The city tavern had a line to him from Mr. Griffiths at New York. N[ovember] 29th. Hired a waggon to take us off to Skinsborough. Look round the town; nothing in it worth notice. Cows running in the streets with bells. A fall of snow stopped my journey. Sledge could not go; it was too soft and waggons would not go. For they might not eet back, how then shaUl get forward? I am afraid, if I stop long here, to be in want of money. I have stayed from dinner today on that account. Sed ego sum. [November] 30th. This day being a little frosty, I forced the sleigh to go north about twelve. I bad not gone a mile from town when I met a man straight from Canada, who told me I should never get througb, advising me to go back and wait for a fortnight at Albany. I hate these screech owls, but I found he was tolerable exact. Six mites from Albany I saw the falls of the Mohawk, nearly thirty feet perpendicular but lhe shelving declivity much bigher; the water was frozen in falling over the precipice. The sun shone; the colours of the rainbow were reflected from the ice. The beauty of the colours and the noise of the waters made the scene highly magnificent. Passed Lansingburgh on the other side of the river. After the Half Crown Point through which our road lay. 30th, of Nov[embe]r. We rode twenty-two miles, easy riding in a sleigh. A severe frost this evening. Stopped at Benjamin's. Asked for a room to myself; found difficulty in p.rocuring it; asked a fire to be put on in the chamber where I was to sleep.

SCOTLAND, 1778-1799 - 17

Mrs. Benjamin told me she was Mrs. Benjamin and did not trouble herself about fires. If I got a fire, quoth I, it signifies little who makes it. Mrs. Benjamin, having asserted her dignity and having sufficiently guarded against me taking her for a servant, put in the fire herself. Three merchants from N.Y. going home came in and supped; one of them a Mr. Cook, a very frank fellow. Dec[embe]r 1st. Rose by five in the morning; p assed Saratoga, famo us for being the place where Burgoyne surrendered to Gates. Some of the ditch es remained, and my drive r pointed out the spot where Burgoyne burnt his baggage. Stopped at Fitzsimmons' to let our borse breathe-a true Irishman. Breakfasted in Dumont's, where my sledge driver, a cross old Scotchman, strove with Dumont and would not pass the river at his ferry. Went up nine miles farthe r to Roger's, but the ice had choked it entirely up and the river frozen over. I was angry with my driver for not crossing at the former ferry. We are now nearly fifty miles from Albany and thirty from Skinsborough. My dri ver hired another man to take me the remaining thirty miles for th ree and a half dollars and, as I paid fifteen for the whole di stance, he had eleven and a half for fifty miles. Passed Port Edward, Sandy Hills, and got to Fort Anne to supper. Innkeeper very civil. Got to Skinsborough to breakfast. My driver offered to take me to Montreal fo r forty dollars. I refused but offered him thirty. No. D ee[ember] 3. Met some people going to Burlington about ninety miles further. Lake Champlain being frozen over, gave five dollars to be carried to Vergennes, fifty miles. Past through W~st Langdon Hill, Benson, Orrvill, remained for the ni ght. Dec[ember] 4. Vergennes was cheated of a dollar, the rest causing me to pay more tban my proportion. Baros to lodge. D ee[embe] r 5th. Burlington tQ breakfast. I thought I was now at rest, as I could hear of no way of getting further for some time. Met a little Jew, Simon Lazarus, goi ng to Montreal. He offered to take me with him for twelve doll ars, boasting that bis mare went sixty or seventy miles a day. I was happy at the thought of getting on so quickly and I had but six dollars left. I agreed at once, took only my small trunk, left the other to be

18 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINION S

forwarded from Burlington and set off with little Simon, rejoicing at the despatc,h we should make. I had soon cause to regret my not staying at Burlington. Before we had gone half a mile, I noticed that the shafts were too short for the mare, and she cut her hocks upon the crossbar. Her harness was not half complete and she broke it all to pieces. We tied it with difficulty, made the shafts longer by boring another hole in each; but still too short. She broke everything again. We got ten miles with great difficulty, after walking and stopping at houses, borrowing ropes and tbings, and at last we reached Capt. Cumstock's. Twelve o'clock the next day before we were ready, having lengthened the shaft still more and mended the harness. Took the wrong road to the ferry; got to it at last with great difficulty. The mare became unable to draw us, so that we were obliged to walk. The sledge made too low; it stuck on stumps of trees every twenty yards and we were obliged to lift it over them. Got across the lake and reaches Line three miles farther. All tbis road back from Burlington so tbat I have been two days going backwards. Lazarus still boasted of his mare .... December 7th. Left Line, came a mile pretty well; the road then became boggy and rough. The strong mare could hardly draw the empty sledge. We walked and lifted it over the stumps. Got to Wright's with great fatigue, only sixteen miles. Began to think it a little hard to give twelve dollars for walking to Montreal. I thought to be there in great baste but I am quite deceived. Wright's tavern is just opposite Burlington, so that we have not got a mile nearer our journey's end after travelling three days. Dec[embeJr 8, Saturday. My Hebrew would not move today. I protested against this delay as an useless accumulation of expense. Went to see them hunting; they dri ve the deer ioto the lake and follow her with canoes and shoot her. [DecemberJ 9tb. Came off early. Two and a half miles from Wright's is the River Sable. The bridge is ninety-six feet above the surface of the water. The length of the bridge hard ly forty feet. The banks of the river are composed of two rocks as smooth and perpendicular as a polished wall. You can hardly see the water running in the bottom of this cavern, wh ich is rendered dark and gloomy by trees hanging over it as well as

SCOTLAND, 1778·17 99 - 19

the narrowness of the banks. We stopped our sledge to look at it on the bridge. It continues the same about two miles - a tremendous abyss. Dined at Philsborough - set off for Domino's eight miles funher, a track to make the who le way. My Jew began to curse. I began to laugh, as I always do when another person is angry. T he Jew became angry at me. I retorted with fierceness; the Jew grew calm and blamed th e mare. Simon was spent; drunk a little spirits; we had always a bottle filled to carry with us. He fell several times. I walked stoutly, cut my boots, my feet cold - Lazarus repented of all his sins, his strength begun to fail- I whistled, which I sometimes do being angry. At last we got to Domino's, but he had no spirits, bad bread, and worse tea - nearly frozen in bed - slept little, a large rope stuck into my back, got up early. Domino bad drunk all the spirits left in our bottle. Washed my face in ladle; they had no dish. Got eight mi les farther to dinner with great difficulty; bad road. Passed River Chersee on the ice and our sledge shaft broke in the middle of a large wood; the snow was two feet deep. My little Hebrew lamented bitterly. He held up tbe broken sbaft in bis band and bemoaned his unhappy fate. I looked serious. I asked him if he had a flint to strike fire. The Jew was enraged at my coolness while he was praying and canting. I at last told him how it might be fastened with a rope till we should reach some houses. There was a young man with us who assisted us. We got to a house and got it mended. We came to Rouse's tavern, having marched sixteen miles. Dec[ember] lIth. Hired Rouse to fetch us along the ice which was not strong to St. John's, intending if he fell in (and he was a very fat fellow) to get off as fast as possible. We gave him four dollars. It was twelve before we left his house; travelled eighteen miles. Got lodging at a farm house; nearly roasted; Rouse lay on the floor. They had nothing to give us but bread. We had only tea and sugar belonging to Simon. They had only one cup and two saucers and fou r to drink from them. We had a lady with us, whom we honoured with the cup. My little Jew had one saucer and I another. Rouse got a mug. Got up early Dec[embelr 12. Breakfasted at St. John's, a sbabby boarding place. Gave my name at the guard house. Rode seven miles further. My Hebrew's famous mare was now quite done. She could proceed no further. He hired a sledge to Laprairie -

20 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

a grea t storm, nearly frozen but arrived safe - met with the Post; we could not get over the river . ... (Travel Diary, November·December 1799,

SPT)

Montreal did not meet my expectations, which being too sanguine are almost always disappointed . I formed in my imagination a city much larger as well as much more elegant. Every house looks like a prison, the window shutters and often the door being sheet iron, the roofs of the houses often covered with white iron . ... I met with much civility from such of my countrymen as I was introd uced to. Came off in a carriole . . .. I had not gone three miles when I found my driver was drunk. He tumbled out of the carriole, was hardly able to get back in. Again the machine fell over several times and I was thrown into the snow. At last he lay down dead drunk not able to move. In th is di lemma I took the reins and whip and with some difficulty reached Lachine, nine miles from Montreal, and stayed here at Mr. McDonald's all night. In the morning my Frenchman was fresh and able to go on. Went nine miles before dinner. Took breakfast and drove to the cyders, eighteen miles. Being Christianmass day sawall the Papists going to church. Took dinner aad rode to McIntyre's where I lodged all night - here there was a ball- obliged to dance and to drink half a glass of rum in spite of me. I complied to avoid more vexation .... Went on the most horrible road I ever saw - twelve miles through the woods with no bouse - mud holes - the ho rse barely got through to Frankli n's where we dined, and reached Kingsto n in the evening. Wrote a note to Mr. Cartwright that I was [here. He] came and I went to his house and supped and here I stay. This ends my travelling. (Travel Diary, quoted in T. A. Reed, "John Strachan's Journey from Montreal to Kingston in December, 1799,' Ontario History, XLlI , 4 [19501,215 -217)

CHAPTER TWO

Kingston, Upper Canada, 1800-1803

-- Strachan's contract called for him to teach up to twelve children for a three year period. He lived in the home of his employer. the Hon. Richard Cartwright. Member of the Legislative Council, merchant, and forwarder. The various proposals as to what he should do upon the expiration of that contract appear in his letters borne and in his verse. H e was essentially a teacher. He had an early CODtempt for politicians and for those who mingled politics and religion. But he had been destined for the church aod, under Cartwright's guidance, he sought an appointment either to the Presbyterian congregation in Montreal or to a church under government. -What tho' no columns, busts, or crumbling fanes

Exalt the pensive soul to classic strains; What tho' no N y mph o'er silvan scenes presides, No war'ry God the rapid river guides . .. H ere simple nature nobler thoughts inspires And views 0/ grandeur banish low desires. Attend, your country calls, delay no more To plant instruction on Ontario's shore. (Poetry Book, sP )

I am no friend to political harangues from the pulpit and I think it ill becomes a minister of the lowly Jesus to sound the trumpet of war.. .. But for a clergyman to undermine all the principles of that religion he is bound to support, there can be no excuse. (Notes to "A Dialogue," Poetry Book, sP)

Our provincial politics here are hardly worth notice. The little Parliament however do not seem unanimous; the servants of the Crown have used their opponents too imperiously, stigmati sing them with the opprobious name of D-ts, nor do they agree among themselves. At Kingston we are free from these

-, 22 - DOCUMENTS AND OP I NIONS

little cabals. ... 1 have applied a little to the French language . .. I have not attempted to speak. it, only a few people speak it here, it is general in the lower province .... (Strachan to Dr. James Brown, 31 March 1801, sP)

I find Young, your minister, here. Has he left you altogether or does he go to see the FaUs? If he leaves YOll, give me a good salary and I'll become your minister. (Strachan to Thomas Blackwood of Montreal, 20 August 1802. William Morris Papers, Queen's University)

When I mentioned in my last Mr. Young being here, I bad little intention of inquiring further, but understanding some days after from Mr. Forsyth that a great proportion of the most respectable people of Montreal were connected with the Presbyterian Church, or at any rate could be connected with it, were the clergymen agreeable, I desired Mr. Cartwright to enquire of his friends were there any person in the field and what encouragement might be expected. As he has not men~ tioned the subject since, his friends (Messrs. Todd and McGill) have not, I presume, answered his letter. Unless there be a strong probability of succeeding 1 should dislike to appear openly, otherwise I might have taken a jaunt to your city. I had also imagined the salary was greater than you mention. I am not licensed to preach, but that would not occasion more delay than taking orders, the latter of which cannot be obtained in Scotland before a settlement is procured .. .. If it should how~ ever appear improper to leave the church open so long, orders I suppose may be procured in this country in a shorter time. You will oblige me in communicating what of th is letter you think proper to the Committee should they fail in their present solicitation and it appears to you likely I will succeed . . .. (Strachan to Blackwood. 21 September 1802, William Morris Papers)

1 should consider myself very culpable did 1 not take the early opportunity of returning to you my thanks for the kindness you have shown me in the business of the church, which is certainly not the less'valuable that it has been unsuccessful. ... I now return to the pursuit of some other prospects from which I have been for some time diverted, and hope during winter to thank you personally for your favours. (Strachan to Blackwood, 13 October 1802, William Morris Papers)

KINGSTON, UPPER CANADA, 1800-1803 - 23

There is a possibility of a church becoming vacant by the time my engagement expires. worth about £ 200 currency or £ 180 sterling. If that bappen I shall accept of it. If not I shall first go to the lower provinces and learn to speak French - from Lower Canada I shall go to tbe States, where if I do not think I can easily succeed it is probable I shall recross the Atlantic. (Strachan to Brown. 23 October 1802. sP )

o Laura, may the coming year To you in happy robes appear, Effect the wish that's next your heart Before its numbered weeks depart, And if that dearest wish should prove The sweet completion of our love. A s such a wish has long been mine, Perhaps th' auspicious powers divine No longer on our hopes may frown But gram us soon bright Hymen's crown. (Strachan to Miss Margaret England, 25 December 1802. Poetry Book. sp)

- Miss England was in fact married during the following year, but not to John Strachan. The British Government provided half the salaries of four clergymen. When a vacancy d~veloped . the Lieutenant-Governor offered the appointment to Strachan through Richard Cartwrigbt on 23 December 1802. The following spring, at the hands of John Stuart. missionary in Kingston, John Strachan received the sacrament of the holy communion. It was the first time he had done so in any church.,..., A SONNET ON THE PROSPECT OF GOING TO CORNWALL, MARCH 26TH, 1803

Once more 1 changel What prospects of delight? Alas unequal to the task sublime Tho' taught to wish it in my native clime. For who can reach th' in tellectual height That firs to shew the bliss of sacred light? o little th ought I, leaving Scotia's shore. St. Andrew's gothic walls to see no more,

24 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

And dearest friends, the mourners of my flight. May Cornwall prove far more thall Kingston kind, Tho' Cartwright's smiles with truth and goodness fixed; Had they instead of coldness a/ten shin'd, My tedious days with joy could have inspired A joy congenial to my sanguine mind While pallgs from frustrate hopes in haste relir'd .

...... John Strachan was made deacon according to the rites of the Church of England in the cathedral at Quebec, 22 May, 1803, by Bishop Jacob Mountain, and was appointed a government missionary at Cornwall. A year later he was ordained priest by the same bishop. -

CHAPTER THREE

Cornwall, Upper Canada, 1803-1812

"""' The Reverend John Strachan moved into an abandoned log cabin in Cornwall in June, 1803, and built in succession a church, a school, and a parsonage. Besides his missionary duties in Cornwall, and tours up-river to Augusta Township, he began a school or "academy" lated adopted by government as tbe District Grammar School. In the meantime he continued his literary activities, producing verse, a weekly column in the Kingston Gazelle under the pseudonym ''The Reckoner," an arithmetic text book, and two pamphlets, The Christian R eligion R ecommended in a Leiter to his Pupils, and A Discourse on the Character 01 King George the Th ird. In 1811 King's College, Aberdeen, granted him a degree of D .O. He married a Cornwall girl, Ann Wood, widow of Andrew McGill (and sister-in-law of James McGill) in 1807, and three children were born in the parsonage in the next five years, James McGiI1. Elizabeth, and George Cartwright. ...... Every parish in this country is to be made; the people have little or no religion, and their minds are so prone to low cunning, that it will be difficult to make a nything of them.... My flock is not numerous. A great part of my parish belongs to the Lutheran persuas ion, a greater has no religion at all. A number of the people are Catholics, and plenty of Presbyterians with a few Methodists. You see I am in a pickle. (Strachan to Brown, Cornwall, 27 October 1803, s P)

The Methodists are making great progress amoDg us and filling the country with the most deplorable fanaticism. You can have almost no conception of their excesses. They will bawl twenty of them at once, tumble on the ground, laugb, sing, jump, and stamp, and this they call the working of the spirit. All this arises from the fewness of the regular clergy, there being only six of us in the upper province ... .

26 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

I have read six. vol umes of the Edinburgh Review - many of the papers, as you justly observe, are masterl y. But do yo u not think that it is in general too harsh, that the necessary respect is not always paid to an author's feelings? (Strachan to Brown, 13 July 1806, sp )

I had almost forgot to tell you that, seeing no prospect of my ever being able to return borne, I married last spring and find myself happy in the connexion. My wife has an annuity of three hundred a year during her life. She has a great share of beauty, in her twenty-second year, and as good an ed ucation as this country could afford, which by the way is not great. (Strachan to Brown, 20 October 1807, sP)

I can assure you that the praises bestowed upon the United States on your side of the water are very much misplaced . A few months residence in America would greatly chastise a mao's political notions. I have profited by my neighbourhood to democracy. In point of real happiness the British are far superior to lbe inhabitants of this celebrated republic . ... The frequency of their elections keeps lhem in a continual broil. To promote the interests of their factions they do not hesitate to fabricate the grossest falsehoods and most horrid slanders .. .. I am as friendly as ever to true liberty, but experience and observation teach me to modify my improvements. (Strachan to Brown, 21 October 1809, sP)

My dea r Doctor, Mrs. Strachan says she likes you better than any body, and it is not without some hesitation that she at length excepts your Humble Serva nt. Without being ill, she mends slowly on account of the heat, I suppose, which has been for some days very oppressive. The little youngster does very well. I hope the long detention you had here has not been prejudicial in your affairs at home .. . . (Strachan to Dr. Solomon Jones, 12 July 1808, in Lome Pierce, "Some Unpublished Leiters of John Strachan," Transactions 01 tIle Royal Society 01 Callada, Section 11 [1 9291,31)

My dear Sir, I had certainly intended to give you a jaunt ex officio to Cornwall, but we seem to get to be even worse arithmeticians than formerly. and the affair came upon us like a thief in the

CORNWALL, UPPER CANADA, 1803·1812 - 27

night or, to speak more magnificently, like the deluge on the inhabitants of the ancient world - the result is a fine strapping boy. We are in much confusion . . .. (Strachan to Dr. Jones, 14 J anua ry 1812, ibid., 32) TO THE PRINTER OF THE QUEBEC "GAZETTE," MONTREAL, MAY 26TH 1804

Sir, I shared in a conversation lately which lurned upon the projected monument for General Wolfe. The company agreed that it was impossible to say more than he deserves in his epitaph; but they wish'd it not to reflect on the nation he opposed . For it was observed, that this might not only hurt feelings, which it were better to conciliate, but detract from its elegance, since comparative praise is frequently disputable, and seldom sufficiently appropriate. The two following epitaphs avoid th is imperfection, and if they possess no other merit, they have that of being written in the country that immortalized their hero .... 1st Here modest Wolfe cut off in early bloom, Tho' crown'd with glory, waits the gen'ral doom: The shouts of vict'ry met his parting breath, He heard with joy, and smiling sunk in death. OJ brave el11ight'ned Youth, thy manners mild, 0/ hal/ its terrors horrid war beguil'd,' And sweet compassion purified the flame, That {lr'd thy breast to gaill a deathless lIame, For th ee thy country drops the gell'rous tear And mourlls thy conquests at a price so dear. 2nd Wol/illS, victoria anmmciala, ut Thebanus expiravil. (Quebec Gazelle, 7 June 1804)

N.N.

Among the most prominent vices arising from the want of principle in the present age, presumption takes the lead . . . . Men are daily found assuming professions for which they have never made a ny preparation. I speak not at present of selfordained preachers, who come round filling the heads of the ignorant with the most bateful superstition, because their ignorance and folly at length appear so conspicuous as even to shock

28 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

their own foIJowers, but I speak of a kindred profession in which the stupidity of the practitioner is not so easily detected .... The province is overrun with self-made physicians, who have no pretensions to knowledge of any kind ... . I was lately visiting a young woman ill of a fever, the doctor came in, felt her pulse with much gravity, pronounced her near the crisis She must take this dose, said the gentleman, pouring out as much calomel on a piece of paper as would have killed two ploughmen. Pray what is this, said I, Doclor? "A schrifudger." "Is it not calomel?" "Yes." "You mean to div ide this into several doses?" "Not at alL" - "But the patient is weak." - " No matter, I likes to scour well," "Do you not weigh carefully so powerful a medicine before you give it?" "No, sir, I know exactly." As the woman was evidently getting better, I threw the calomel out of the window after his departure, and sent her some bark and urine .... Many more cases might be stated, but every reader's memory will furnish him with plenty. Let the law check this growing evil and do justice to regular practitioners who have gone through a co urse of studies in order to qualify themselves fo r this arduous profession. At present they are elbowed out of their practice by men who can neither read nor write so as to be understood. ("The Reckoner," Kingston Gazelle, 3 March 1812)

The moment that we begin to suppose that mankind are composed of distinct species, that moment our most noble and sublime conception of the human race is extinguished, We no longer discover in every individual, whatever be his color or his language, a child of Adam; a brother, a perso n of the same feelings and of the same natural powers with ourselves, though differently modified by peculiar circumstances and habits, that grand and affecting idea which represents mankind as one family, one blood branching from one primitive stem, is lost .. . . As Christians then we must recognize the copper-colored Indian and the sable Negro ... for our brethren, ("The Reckoner," Kingston Gazelle, 22 January 1811)

""" War with the United States appeared to be imminent in 1809, and under cover of a fulsome tribute to George Ill's domestic virtues, Strachan appealed to the French Canadians and to the new American settlers in Upper Canada to observe a common loyalty. -

CORNWALL , UPPER CANA,DA, 1803-1812 - 29

DISCOURSE ON THE CHARACTER OF KING GEORGE

Our King supports and encourages the purest morals by his deportment as an affectiooate husband and tender parent; in these endearing rel ations, be presents an itlustrious examp le worthy of the strictest imitatioo. Convinced that marriage is a divine institution, tbat it is a union of hearts, affections, and interests, and therefore to be most religiously observed, he displayed the greatest wisdom in forming so important a connexion, a connexion on which his future happiness so much depended ... . Pious without hypocrisy, more attentive to the spirit of religion than to idle distinctions, yet careful to preserve those exterior ordinances which she retains as her outworks, but without parade or ostentation. Were we to model our lives by the conduct of our sovereign, corruption and venality would hide their heads, and all would be cheerfully obedient to the laws. Instead of pride, cruelty, and oppression, Christian charity would reign, each would embrace his fellow subject as a brother deserving of his confidence and friendship. As no vicious character ever had access to the King, such would be hunted from society and the irreligious, spurned as the corrupters of the public happiness. All wou ld be cdnvinced that he who is false to God would prove so to man; that hatred to religion proceeds from levity or ignorance, from a corrupted heart or a perverse understanding. The friend of man must be the friend of religion, for religion is the most fruitful source of our enjoyments.... Animated by that pure patriotic flame which is the noblest passion that can enter the breast, he is forever seeking his people's good, and always teaching them, by his illustrious example, how to procure it. Though far distant, we are no less the objects of his paternal care. To us as well as to the inhabitants around him, he is the faithful guardian and dispenser of all the benefits flowing from the most perfect form of government. Our Constitution, modelled after that of Great Britain, partakes of all the advantages which an experience of several centuries had accumulated. It is not, therefore, the work of a daYi it rests upon old and tried foundations, the more durable, because visionary empirics have not been allowed to touch them. No tine-spun theories of metaphysicians, which promise much and end in misery, have shared in its formation ; such men

30 - DOCUMENTS AND OP I N IONS

may destroy. but they can never build. All the privileges which Englisbmen possess are ours. In this respect, the British Empire is united; for with a generosi ty never before equalled these liberties were extended, witbout reserve, to the French inhabitants of Lower Canada. This portion of a once great and gallant nation, were received as fellow subjects; every mark of subjection was carefully removed; their very prejudices have been treated with respect, and they are left in the full exercise of th eir religion and of all their civil rights. Yes, Canadians, valuable are the advantages which you enjoy as British subjec ts; your ancient laws respecting property have been retained because you desired it, and the severity of the criminal code has been removed by the introduction of the milder administration of the law of England. Your very feelings have been consulted with a condescension and delicacy highly pleasing; your manners and customs have been cherished and protected, your language retained in the courts of justice, in parliament, and upon all public occasions. Our gracious Sovereign as well as his Parliament have manifested no other desire th an to extend your liberty and increase your happiness. You have received the power of correcting what shall appear wrong in your laws and institutions, and of framing such new regulations as the growing interest and prosperity of the province shall require. Enabled to change, modify, and improve the existing laws, and possessing all th at is beneficial in the British Constitution, what may be justly expected on your parts in return for gifts so precious? Surely that you will return that affection and love for our august Sovereign which he has manifested to you. That you will teach your children the value of the benefits which you have received, and inspire them with gratitude and loyalty. Behold, you will say, the generous' treatment which we have experienced from the British. Thrown into their hands by the fortunes of war, we found them friends instead of enemies. They relieved us from the numerous oppressions of our fo rm er governmen t, and most anx iously removed all traces of recent victory. We were enrolled among the num ber of British subjects, and all the rights, privileges, and immunities of that happy people were conferred upon us. And. my children, living under a King so genero us, so benevolent and just, a King whose greatest joy is to see his subjects happy and free, what cao we wish for that we do not possess? Behold comfort, wealth, and grandeur flowing in upon us, and our liberty giving

CORNWALL, UPPER CANADA, 180 3·1812 -

~l

our country the most solid charms, notwithstanding its freezing sky and procrastinated snows. To the freed man, labour loses its pain; he may be poor, but he feels himself independent, and he bows not to the proud and the haughty. tbe rich or the powerful, for they dare nol molest him. Other countries may enjoy a warmer climate, and may produce more delicious fruits, but are these an equivalent for anarchy, for despotism and oppression? Cultivate then, my dear children, your affection for the British King, Government, and laws, and for your British fellow sUbjects...• And you who have come into this country, voluntarily preferring it to your own, you will perceive the duty of being true to the oath of allegiance which you bave taken. You have been recognized as British subjects, you have been adopted into our family and received as children. Let then obedience and submission to the laws mark your conduct, and as you receive protection, our King has a just claim to your service. But in speaking to British subjects, to men conscious of enjoying liberty in its highest perfection, it may be superfluous to exhort to loyalty. They know that to rise in defence of the King and Constitution which nourisbes and protects us, bas, in all ages, been a mark of distinction. The greatest and best men recorded in history were eminent for their patriotism. Wbo can fight with more ardour for wealth, for property, for bonour, for family. for friends and for his country than he who arms himself to fight for his own property, for his own honour, for the safety of his friends, for bis own family, his own felicity, and the independence of his own country? In defending our venerable Sovereign and the Government over wbich he presides, we are defending our most precious interests, and discharging a debt of gratitude in a manner the most agreeable. For it is by affection and loyalty that we are enabled to sweeten the last days of our good King . ... (Sltllchan, A Discourse on the Character 01 King George rhe Third Addressed to the lnhabilanl$ 01 British America [Montreal: Nahum Mower, 1810])

CHAPTER FOUR

York, the War of 1812-1814

-- On 28 June 1812, President Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain. John Strachan moved up from Cornwall to be missionary at York, the seat of government, in the same week. He would have preferred to move to KingstoD, a living left vacant by the death of the Reverend John Stuart, because it appeared to be a more advantageous site for his school. Stuart's widow requested the appointment for her son, the Reverend George Okill Stuart, missionary at York. Strachan after first refusing it, was induced by Major-General Isaac Brock, administrator of the province, to take the vacant York and with it the mastership of the Home District Grammar

Scbool and the post of cbaplain to tbe garrison. In consequence of the death of Dr. Stuart which I mentioned in my letter of last year, Mr. George Stuart, his son, has been appointed Bishop's Official, and transferred to Kingston, and I have been removed from Cornwall to this place. The bustle and confusion occasioned by the war has given me little oppor- · tunity of ascertaining the state of the parish; most of the people are at the lines resisting invasion. You will have the goodness to tell the Treasurer that as the allowance from the Society to

York is £ 75 and to Cornwall only £50, I shall not draw upon bim till tbe beginning of January, wben I sball draw for Cornwall from May 25 to July 1st at the rate of £ 50 (baving drawn upon the Society up to May 25tb last) and from July 1st to January 1st at the rate of £75 the allowance given to this

parisb. The amount of tbe bill will be £42 - 6, viz for Cornwall, five weeks

For York, six montbs

£ 4 - 16 £37 - IO £42 -

6

And this will make my periods of drawing in future the same

YORK. THE WAR OF 1812-1 814 - 33

with Mr. Stuart's. We are daily expecting an attack from the enemy. On the 13th they attacked us at Queenstown, near the faUs of Niagara, by landing 1,500 men on our side of the river who were all killed or taken prison~rs. We had however the misfortune to lose our brave chief, General Brock. We trust in God and the justice of our cause. The province is wonderfully animated, and with a few more troops we have nothing to fear; but there is some reason to apprehend th at we shall be overpowered by numbers before any succours can reach us. Our situation is perilous and we have need of your prayers. (Strach:m to Dr. Morice of The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1 November 1812, SLB 1812-34, 59)

.- After the death of Sir Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights, Strachan was depressed by the apparently defensive policy pursued by the British commanders. He wrote his opinions to the influential Montreal merchants, John Richardson and James McGill, and did what he could in York by forming the Loyal and Patriotic Society to supply comforts to the militiamen serving on the frontier . .You and Mrs. Richardson will sympathize with us in the loss of our little girl who died last week of a severe worm fever. It was a sweet infant two and a half years old, exceedingly interesting. Mrs. Strachan finds relief in tears. We are not much pleased with the languid manner in which the war was carried on; forbearance will never answer with our prese nt enemy; it is founded upon a most fallacious idea of the American character, and tbe situation of parties in that country, and it will, should the war continue, be highl y detrimental to this province and perbaps prove its ruin. An active prosecution of tbe war along our line, now that we are well prepared, would produce many solid advantages, but acting merely on tbe defensive is exceedingly pernicious. I can very well conceive that defensive operations may suit your province better; but it is very different with this, where we come so frequently in contact and where the communications can be easily cut off. Among the advantages resulting from active war I note a few as they occur. 1. A successful attack, instead of irritating the federalists, will produce the contrary effect by furnishing th em with additional proofs of the incapacity of their presen t rulers. 2. As the forces of the enemy at present consist chiefly of

34 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

3. 4.

5.

6.

7. 8.

9.

10. 11.

three-month men, raw, undisciplined, and dismayed by the success which hath already crowned His Majesty's arms and weak from bad nutriment, they are much more disposed to run than to fight. These wiIJ soon be replaced by militiamen who have been regularly drilled since the commencement of the war and they will be sent in greater numbers. A successful attack will dispirit the democrats and ruin their whole plan of operations, for they have allotted the militia volunteers for the conquest of Upper Canada, reserving the regulars for Lower Canada, where they expect the greater resistance. Another defeat will cut up entirely the volunteer system. The taking of Niagara would produce more determined opposition among the militia; their fears would act with the more force, because they might be concealed under the cloak of the unpopularity of the war. Because, after taking Niagara and clearing the coast to Black Rock opposite Fort Erie, it will be easy to scour the line down to Ogdensburgh, to take every ship and boat, and thus to secure the command of the waters during the whole war. A general attack of the coast will convince the enemy of the impossibility of conquering Canada, and inspire the inhabitants of this country with invincible courage. Because this province will suffer greatly unless the free navigation of the waters be opened soon, as the usual supplies have not arrived nor are likely to be sent in the present state of the navigation. Because this forbearance is infinitely more advantageous to the enemy than to us. They are hourly augmenting their force, and ours is as great as we can expect it to be this season. Because this defensive plan of warfare discourages our own troops and elevates the enemy and smells too much of the half-measures adopted in the American War. Because, before the opening of the navigation, it will be in the power of the enemy to send in such reinforcements as shall give them the command of the waters, especially when the inexperience of our naval officers is taken into consideration, for ordinance &c. of all kinds can be easily transported during the winter.

YORK, THE WAR OF

1 812~ 1 814

- 35

12. Because a successful attack at present wou ld dep rive the enemy of the power of becoming formidable on the lines, for nearl y twelve months to come. 13. Because a longer forebearance will enable them to cut off our communication with th e lower province about or below Ogdensburgb, and how in that eve nt will yo ur troops in Lower Canada be supplied with provisions, flour, pease, ' pork, &c. 14. Because a successful attack would leave a disposable force afterwards, by which we might attack the enemy in the rear should they be able to penetrate into Lower Canada. 15. Because nothing but blows wili ever bring our enemy to terms; they call our forbearance cowardice, and as we concede they rise in their demands. We are told that some wiseacres find faul t with General Brock for employing the Indians; but if he had not done so, he and all his men must have perished - besides if we do not employ these people they wi ll employ themselves - they have been at war with the United States for some years and by attending us, many of their excesses have been restrained. I look for yo ur determination respecting Thomas by the next mail. Mrs. Strachan joins me in kind respect to you, Mrs. and Miss Richardson. (Strachan to John Richardson of Montreal, 30 September 1812, 1812-34, 34)

SLB

My letter to our friend Mr. Richardso n pointing out the great impolicy of our defensive plan of operations was written rather in haste, but the evils predicated are gathering thick around us - indeed our situation, now somewhat cri ti cal, has been long anticipated by the best informed and thoughtful of our inhabitants. We have been long convinced that very different causes than the Orders in Council, and the Right of Search &c. induced our enemies to declare war. Upper and not Lower Canada is their great object, and the policy which our Commander in Chief has adopted, bas given them all the advantages which they could have possibly desired. We can easily suppose th at the ministers at horne would recommend forbearance to the General of the Forces, but this advice was given under the persuas ion that the Commercial Orders were the great point of dispute, and not from the conviction which this General ought long since to have felt, th at the conquest of

36 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

Upper Canada was determined upon by the United States. Nor can it be concealed that the importance of this country to them is incalculable - the possession of it would give them the complete command of the Indians who must either subm it or starve within two years, and thus leave all the western frontier clear and unmolested. The Americans are systematically employed in exterminating the savages, but they can never succeed while we keep possession of this country. This, my dear Sir, is the true case of the war; and so long as there is any prospect of conquering us, the war will continue. We have been told that the fear of incurring expense has prevented the adoption of vigorous measures, but this is impossible because energy instead of our miserable defensive system would have saved thousands to the public. At the commencement of the war, we might have take n every ship the enemy possessed, and destroyed all their offensive preparations along the line. Had this been done half the militia now in arms might have been sent home - behold, then, how much better vigorous measures would have agreed with th e system of economy. After General Brock's return from Detroit, had it not been for the impolitic and indeed ridiculous armistice entered into with General Dearborn, we might have still taken everything on the enemy's coast capable of annoying us. Even after all this, wben it was evident from the manner of rejecting the armistice tbat longer forbearance was most disgraceful, and without excuse, we might have destroyed the armed vessels of tbe foe on our waters had we not been most assiduously prevented. But everything that has tbe appearance of active hostility has not only been discouraged but actually prevented. and forbearance recommended repeatedly, and even commanded in terms not always decorous. In fine more pains, infinitely more pains, has been taken to compel the inhabitants of Upper Canada to be quiet till the enemy had prepared everything for their subjugation than would have served to conquer them. Of this forbearance we are now reaping the fr uits. To it we owe the death of OUf beloved General Brock, who wo uld have been alive today, and this province free from aU apprehension, bad he been allowed to make use of his own judgment, and not been placed under the direction of ignorance and imbecility. Our orders not to molest OUf foes discourage our brave defenders. and make the enemy valiant; already have they taken the command of the waters, attacked our harbours,

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812-1814 - 37

and captured our vessels. Half the expense incurred in equipping the militia and Indians would have been sufficient to have swept our foes from Black Rock to Ogdensburgh. General Prevost has not certainly so high an opinion of the value of this province as our enemies; he thinks, perhaps, that they cannot keep it as long as he remains in possession of Quebec. But has oat the greater part of this provioce an easy outlet by Oswego and the Mohawk to New York? Besides, Great Britain would soon find that Lower Canada, without this country, would not be worth keeping. But our enemies do not covet the lower province because they would be forced to give it up to the French who are ready to demand it. And even should Great Britain refuse to make any peace till this country was restored, still a couple of years' possession would answer the policy of our enemies; in that time they would alienate from us all the Indians and reduce them to a state of subjection, and they would oppress and destroy all the Loyalists. At first I thought that General Prevost acted by virtue of express orders from home, but mature consideration has altered this opinion. The ministers may indeed have advised him to act with forbearance, and oat to give any unnecessary causes of irritation, but this was subject to his discretion. He was sent out to defend us, and not to lose the Canadas - it is inexcusable for him to be blind because ministers have been deceived. No orders from England can justify General Prevost in preventing us from anticipating the attacks which our enemies were preparing - we wanted nothing from him; we only wanted liberty to act according to the discretion of our brave General whom we were always willing to follow. What can justify the Commander of the Forces for insulting General Brock, in not sending Capt. Glegg to England with the account of the famous victory at Detroit? Some indeed pretend to say that his partiality for his own family prevailed, but it cannot be. It is impossible that a commander in chief would have insulted a brave general who had just saved the Province, and done so great injustice to a deserving officer merely for the purpose of promoting a favorite. No the General in Chief must have been sensible that his forbearance had been carried too far. He was afraid that Capt. Glegg would open the eyes of the ministry to the true situation of the province and how much it had been neglected. He therefore sends an officer who had not been within 800 miles of the scene of action, who could say nothing about the

38 - DOCU1fENTS AND OPINIONS

province, and who saw only with the eyes of his own master. General Prevost did not wish it to be told to the ministry, that this province, without assistance of men or arms, repelled its invaders, slew or took them all prisoners, and captured the greater part of the very arms by which it was defended. He was unwilling to have it told th at he himself never made an hostile movement towards the enemy in order to distract their attention, but allowed them without fear or molestation to send as many of their regulars as they pleased against this. province. He was unwilling Ihat it should be said th at he had abandoned the Loyalists to be bound hand and foot to their fale, men who had been the peculiar care and most deservedly the care of the British Government. The people of Upper Canada have wept at the infatuation of the Commander in Chief - they have wept to find that he who was sent to protect them bas proved their greatest foe, and that their victories have been received with a chilling coldness, and apologies made to the enemy for conquering them. England expects every man to do his duty - but what will she say when sbe discovers that our Commander in Chief has ordered us not to do our duty, and censured us when we have done it. If the province be lost, tbe blame is entirely in Gen. P. There was a' time, and not a short one, when we could without the loss of a man have disabled the enemy so that they durst not have come within sLx miles of the lakes or river, but the time is past. We do not despair - vigour and spirit judiciously exerted might yet retrieve our affairs, but Our measures must be taken immediately. An expedition against Sackett's H arbour is now indispensable, if we mean to keep the country. Could this expedition have been sent this fall we might have carried off all their vessels and naval stores, and particularly the large frigate which they are just finishing, but we are too late. The expedition must take place in the winter, and if well-conducted it must succeed, and we could then burn their vessels, and destroy all their military and naval stores, but if the expedition be delayed till the spring it will fail of accomplishing its object for the enemy will have all their vessels fit for sea long before we can be prepared and in case of danger they could leave the harbour and go to Oswego or Ogdensburgh or keep the lake longer th an we durst remain in Sackett's harbour - as to our navy it is worse than not.bing - the officers are the greatest cowards that have

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812-1814 - 39

ever lived, and wou ld fly from a single batteau. I have written you a long letter, and it contains the sentiments of the best informed, I believe. We have no confidence in your Chief, but if you could get him to attack Sackett's H arbour in February we might think more favourably of him, but if this be not done we are lost. (Strachan to James McGill of Montreal, November 1812, 1812-34, 67)

SLB

The bearer will deliver you one hundred and eighty-four shirts to be distributed among the York Militia. The three flank companies at Brown's Point to be first served, which we are told do not exceed 150 men. After each of these have received one shirt, there will be a surplus of thirty-four shirts to be given to the company belonging to the first battalion of York Militia commanded, I am told, by a Capt. Chinln and stationed at Niagara. Some discretion must be used in the distribution: if any of the men are well clothed and able to furnish themselves with necessaries, it may not be expedient to give any such part of our bounty which is meant for the destitute chiefly. Should you not require 150 shirts for your three companies you will add the overplus to the thirty-four destined for Captain Chinin's company tiB each have one shirt. And should any still remain (as those on the spot only are deemed entitled to the bounty) you and Captain Heward and Captain Selby will dispose of them in the most eligible manner to others in want. We send leather to make seventy or eighty pairs of shoes - two pairs of shoes - and four pair of stockings and four pair of socks and two pair of mittens. It is also our intention to replace the money necessary for procuring a pair of stockings for each man entitled to one of the shirts from the Quarter Master General as soon as you can state the exact amount. The distribution of the shoes must be left to your discretion. I have assumed the leather which you purchased from Ketchum. I hope you are not the worse for your jaunt across. The weather was indeed dreadful. You will furnish the bearer with a receipt of the safe delivery, which he must produce before we pay him. And you will afterwards furnish me with certificates from the several captains that the articles have been delivered to the men. (Strachan to Capt. Cameron, 7 December 1812,

SLD

1812-34,70)

-- The American fleet captured York in April of 1813 and again

40 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

at the end of July, the object being to destroy the ship-of-war building in the harbour and to pick up military stores. Only a limited defence was attempted on the first occasion, none on the second. Strachan describes both occupations, and concludes th~t command of the lakes is necessary to hold the province. ".., April, Tuesday 28th. Got up at four. Tbe enemy in sight. Mount my horse and ride up to the garrison. The ships, fourteen in number, approach the shore, about two miles above the garrison - proceed towards them, discover them anchoringrcturn to the garrison -look through a glass, find the vessels thickly covered with troops - from which I infer that they are come prepared to land in great force. The troops already in their boats .... About seven meet the wounded corning towards tbe bospital, belp some of them along. Attend at the hospitalperceive our troops retreating . .. . Went again to the upper battery, nothing doing, return to the hospital and while there heard a violent shock. I go to town to look after the ladies, and soon after I reach town a tremendous explosion takes place. I consider allover as it must be the grand magazine. On going borne find that Mrs. Stracban bas been terrified by the explosion and run with the children to one of the neighbours. Send her to a friend's a little out of town. Go up towards the garrison, which we had by this time abandoned, find the General and his troops in a ravine, the militia scattering. The General determines to retreat to Kingston with the regulars and desires them to make the best conditions they could with the enemy for the town - Offer my services to assist them. Go to Mr. Crookshank's bouse, meet Major King and Col. Mitchell on the part of the enemy. Our Attorney Gencral, Mr. Robinson, also went with us and assisted us to discuss the points of capitulation. Difficulty arose from a ship and naval store having been set on fire during our negotiation, this considered very dishonourable. At length a capitulation is agrced upon, subject to the ratification of their commanding officer - broken - Major Allan, tho' under the protection of a flag of truce is made prisoner and deprived of his sword - I accompany him to town in the middle of the enemy's column. The militia on our side ground their arms. The enemy return to the garrison except the rifle corps, which is Jeft under the pretence of protecting the town. Wednesday, April 28. Meet Major King at the Hon'ble Mr.

YORK. THE WAR OF 1812 -1814 - 41

Selby's, complain of the indignity offered Major Allan - complain that capitulation had not been ratified, .and a copy so ratified returned in a few minutes according to his promise, and decl ared that the whole appeared deception. Major King was sorry, would do everything that laid in his power, desired us to go to the garrison and everything should be amicably adjusted. Went to the garrison. The Commanding Officer Col. Pierce can do nothing - The militia had been detained in the blockhouse without victuals a nd the wounded without medicine or nourishment. Complain to Col. Pierce who orders rations for the prisoners. Meet a deputation from Gen'l Dearborn to rediscuss the articles of capitulation; find that tbey cannot parole the militia officers and men. Demand an officer to take me on board the principal ship, where Dearborn was. Meet him coming on shore, prese nt him with the articles of capitulation - he read them without deigning an answer - request to know when he would parole the officers and men and demand leave to take away our sick and wounded. He treats me with great harshness, tells me that we had given a false return of officers, told me to keep off - not to follow him as he had business of much more importance to attend to - Complain of this treatment to Commodore Chauncey, the commander of th e flotilla - Declare that if the capitulation was not immediately signed, that we would not receive it , that the delay was a deception calculated to give the riflemen time to plunder, and after the town had been robbed they would then perhaps sign the capitulation and tell us they respected private property; but we were determined that this should not be the case .... Soon after General Dearborn came to the room where his deputation were sitting and having been told wbat I bad said settled the whole amicably. The officers and men were released on their paro le and we began to move the sick and wounded. [Thursday, April] 29th. Spent the whole of this day in removing the sick and wounded and getting comforts for them. [Friday, April] 30th . The gOY!. buildings on fire, contrary to the articles of capitulation. The church robbed. Call a meeting of the judges and magistrates. I r3:n up a short note stating our grievances, wait upon General Dearborn with it. H e is greatly embarrassed, promises everything - visit the hospital- get a poor soldier buried. May 1st. Go to visit Mrs. Givins, whose house had been pillaged - in great danger of being shot by the rascal who was

42 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

pillaging. Accompany Mrs. Givins to Gen'l. Dearborn, state the insults and injuries she had received. He confesses that he is not ab le to protect any family connected with the Indians. Embark towards evening. May 2d. All on board except some stragglers, who arc taken up by one of tbeir officers scnt on shore on purpose. After this departure we bad some difficulty with our own disaffected, of which we have too many .. .. (Strachan to Brown, 2S April 1813, sP)

We were looking for aD attack when you r affecting letter of 2nd December arrived for, owing to the mismanagement of our little navy, we lost the command of the la ke last summer and shall not regain it till we procure good officers from E ng~ land. Those we have are without experience and have never seen service. I had just received from my friend Mr. Cartwright his will and other valuable papers under seal not to be opened till after his death should I survive him. He had just lost his eldest daughter, aged nineteen, the most amiable and beautiful young woman that I ever saw and a particular favour~ ite of minc. She died of the same disease, a rapid consumption, which carried off her two excellent brothers last summerwhose deaths I mentioned in a former letter. They were my most favourite pupils, from whom I anticipated much credit and much delight. These things and the death of my little daughter altbo' they did not depress rendered me thoughtful. ... I have received a letter from my brother sealed with black. In a former one be mentioned that my mother was in bad health. She is no more. I have thus lost a most worthy parent and ha ve now no motive to return but to see you. When I thought of visiting Scotland, I used to say to myself I have only two motives for going: to see my mother and to see my dear friend Dr. Brown. I was always afraid that I should never see my parent, but I must not be deprived of seeing my friend. My mind is strong to bear misfortune; it never gives way, tho' it sometimes recoils upon itself; and my beart would break before a mere spectator knew that I was much affected. I always think that I can bear calamity better than others and bave frequently administered to relief of persons who were less affected than myself, because I thought that they were less able to bear up against it. I have my mother's warmest blessing which I consider the most valuable of legacies and I have the consolation

YORK , THE WAR OF 181 2·1 814 - 43

of having maintained her most comfortably during the last twelve years of her life. (Strachan

10

Brown, May 1813,

SLB

1812-34,78)

We beg leave to state for the information of his Excellency the Commander of the Forces that about eleven o'clock on Saturday morning the enemy's fleet, consisting of twelve sail, were seen standing for this harbour. Almost all the gentlemen of the town having retired, we proceeded to the garrison about two o'clock and waited till half past three when the Pyke, the Madison and Oneida came to anchor in the offing, and the schooners continued to press up the harbor, with their sweeps, as the wind bad become light - three coming to abreast of the town, the remainder near the garrison. About four, boats full of troops landed at the garrison and we (having a white flag) desired the first officer we met to conduct us to Commodore Chauncey. We mentioned to the Commodore that the inhabitants of York, consisting chiefly of women and children. were alarmed at the approach of his fleet and that we had corne to know his intentions respecting the town; that if it was to be pillaged or destroyed we might take such measures as were still in our power for tbeir removal and protection. We added that the town was totally defenceless (the militia being still on parole) and that the gentlemen had left it having heard that the principal inhabitants of Ni agara had been carried away captive, a severity unusual in war. Commodore Chauncey replied that it was far from his intention to molest the inhabitants of York, in person or property, and that he was sorry any of the gentlemen had thought it necessary to retire. That he did not know of any gentlemen taken from Niagara of the description mentioned. Col. Scott the commander of the troops said that a few persons had certainly been taken away but it was for corresponding with the British army. The Commodore told us that his coming to York was a sort of retaliation for the visits our fleet bad made on tbe other side of the lake and to possess himself of the public stores and destroy the fortifications, but that he would burn no houses. He then mentioned something of Sodus and the necessity of retaliation should such measure be taken in future. He expressed much regret at the destruction of our public library on the 27th April, [and] informed us th at he had made a strict search through his fleet for the books, man y of which had been found and wh ich be

44 - DOCUMENTS AND OPI N ION S

would send back by tbe first flag of truce. He next asked what public stores were here, a question which we could not answer. On parting both the Commodore and Colonel Scott pledged their honor that our persons and property should be protected and that even the town should not be entered much less any gentleman's house. As we were quieting the minds of the inhabitants, the troops took possession of the town, opened the jail and liberated the prisoners, taking three soldiers who were felons along with them; visited the hospitals and paroled the few men that had been left; entered the stores of Major Allan and Mr. St. George and seized the contents consisting chiefly of flour. Observing this we we nt to Col. Scott and informed him that he was taking private property. He replied that a great deal of officers' baggage had been found in Major Allan's store and, altho' private property was to be respected, provisions of all sorts were lawful prize because they were the subsistence of armies. That, if we prevailed in the contest, the British Govt. would make up the loss and, if they were successful, their Govt. would willingly reimburse the sufferers. He concluded by declaring he would seize upon all the pro· visions he could find. The enemy's fieet, from what we could learn, consists of fourteen armed vessels, one of which is said to remain in Sackett's Harbour. The troops which were landed act as marines and appear to be all they had on board, not certainly above 240 men. The three schooners which had anchored abreast of the town towed out between eleven and twelve o'clock Saturday night. We supposed that the fleet would have sailed immediately but, informed by traitors that some valuable stores had been sent up the DOD, two schooners came up the harbour. Yesterday morning the troops were again landed and three armed boats went in search of the stores. I have learned since that, through the meritorious exertions of two young men of the name of Platter, they were disappointed. every thing having been conveyed away before they reached the place and the boats sunk. Two or three boats containing some trifling articles which had been hid in the marsh below the town were discovered and taken . As soon as the amled boats returned, the troops went on board and by sunset both sailors and soldiers had evacuated the town. The barracks, the woodyard, and the storehouses at Gibraltar Point were then set on fire. And this morning, at daylight, the fleet sailed. It is but justice to Commodore Chauncey and Col. Scott to state that

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812-1814 - 4S

th e men, while on shore, behaved themselves, and no private house was entered or disturbed. (Strachan to Captain Freer, 2 August 1813,

SLB

1812-34, 83)

I could not with prop riety give a definitive answer to your note requesting the use of my church for the wounded from the navy should an engagement take place till I had ascertai ned whether a temporary place could be procured for the performance of public worship which ought on no account to be omitted. Such a place has been found as may suit for a short time, and I am now enabled to say th at in case of necessity the church will be at the service of the wounded. Of this necessity you are the proper judge, and also of its continuance, th at it be not longer than the urge ncy of the case may require. (Strachan to Dr. Thorn, 9 August 1813,

SLB

1812-34,84)

The ene"ffiy's fleet appear studiously to avoid an engagement, in order to protract the war and with the hope, perhaps, of bringing his forces to bear upon one point at a season when your Excellency may find it impossible 10 concentrate. The report from Amberstburg is alarming: our ships, it is said, are all captured and General Proctor preparing to retreat - and, wbat is worse, th at our fleet was absolutely forced out, contrary to the opinion of the Commodore, by a direct order or from want of provisions. I am sorry to say that, if the facts be true, which I daily hea r, your Excellency and the country will be more injured by the bad arrangements and absurd conduct of the head of the Commissariat in this province than by the enemy. General Boyd bas boasted tbat, what with sickness and desertion, our army will soon be reduced to nothing. I had taken a few notes in order to give a sketch of the war as conducted in these provinces since its commencement which] was just going to put in order; but the result of this campaign will, I fear, make it a painful subject. My inten tion was to bave it publisbed abou t the meeting of Parli ament. My leading ideas are that the conquest of the Canadas, particularly Upper Canada, is with th e enemy the true cause of the wa r, in order to di ssolve our connection with the Indians; that the other causes alleged are mere popular baits; that the forbearance persisted in by us in these provinces, and especiall y on th e seacoast has been and continues to be most pernicious; th at if these provinces or the upper province be lost, it arises in a great degree from the neglect of the lakes by the Admiralty; and that

46 - DO CUMEN TS AND OP I NIONS

the proper method' of defending the country is to seod such a force to the Governor General as shall enable him to carry the war into the enemy's territory. My object is to rouse the ministry, for I think. they have neglected this country; I shall be extremely sorry if, from my ignorance of the causes, I am led to disapprove any of the measures that have been pursued; and, in order to prevent it, I have taken the liberty of making this communication. (Strachan

(0

General de Rottenburg, September 1813,

5 LH

1812·34,87)

I am without a single letter this year from any of my friends. I wrote you a loog epistle in Mayor June last (I forget the date). giving you some account of the capture of this place. You would see from my description of the policy adopted by the Commander in Chief that little good was to be expected. Before aUf little navy was in a situation to take the lake, the enemy had the command nearly two months, in wh ich time he succeeded in capturing this place and Fort George, and might with a little more vigour have taken the whole province. After driving our troops from Fort George, he followed tbem with a large force by land and water about forty miles - where he encamped, intending to attack next day as our people were distant only ten miles. The force of the enemy amounted to six thousand; ours, to 1,500 effective men. General Vincent, who com: maDded, had little hope of saving himself should he wait to be attacked; and there was much reason to suppose that his retreat would be cut off as the enemy, by means of tbeir boats, could land in advance of his line of march. In this extremity, the only vigorous resolution was adopted which has been taken this season: it was determined to attack tbe enemy's encampment in the night; and, altho' done with some disorder and owing to the darkness which unh appily made our troops to fire at times upon one another with considerable loss, it was decisive. Two of the enemy's generals were taken, a considerable number killed and made prisoners, and the remainder, panic-struck, retreated in great confusion to Fort George. Had General Vincent pursued this advantage in a proper manner, the enemy's whole arm y would have been taken or destroyed, for our fleet made its appearance in the moment of their retreat, which added greatly to their fears. But the first success was so unexpected that the General thought it dangerous to pursue it further. Since that time notbing has been done. Large rein-

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812-1814 - 47

forcements were indeed pushed forward to General Vincent, which enabled him to enable him to [sic] keep lhe enemy within Fort George but, not baving battering cannon, he was not able to take it, or rather he as well as tbe other generals bad no enterprise. The consequence however has been fatal; our troops, exposed to tbe beat of the sun and in low grounds, became sickly so that one-quarter the army was ill and the remainder so dispirited with their situation and so hopeless of success that they might have been easily beaten. On the lakes we have also met with mortification and disappointment. On the arrival of Sir James Lucas Yeo in May, we expected everything; his character stands very high and I believe deservedly, but at first be found [hlis squadron in bad order and some time elapsed before he durst venture ou t, and even then he was not well armed. A joint expedition was undertaken by him and the Commander of the Forces, Sir Geo. Prevost, upon Sackett's Harbour the principal port of the enemy on tbe lake, which failed in a shameful manner on account of the imbecility of the Commander of tbe Forces. This, it is thought, disgusted the Commodore Yeo and made bim at once despair of saving the country. When bis squadron got armed, he sailed up the lake and was of great use to General Vincent, the enemy leaving [bim] in full possession of it, tbo' much stronger, till they had launched a new vessel equal to one of our largest frigates. Wben this ship was nearly ready, Sir Jas. returned to Kingston and fitted up a merchant vessel and got a small brig finished in order to match the enemy's new ship; but, before all this could be done, the American squadron came and paid us another visit here and destroyed a great deal of public property which had been collected since their former attack. When Sir Jas. got his two small vessels finished, he came out, tho' much inferior in real strength, and we expected a decisive action immediately. But the enemy avoided a close aclion and Sir Jas. was unwilling to engage except when the wind was in his favour. Many manoeuvres were played off. Several skirmishes took place but no decided superiority was obtained. In the mean time, on Lake Erie, the enemy were exerting themselves to gain th e superiority which was of more importance, in my opinion, to them than even Lake Ontario, as it would give them the most, fruitful portion of Upper Canada and cut off in a great degree our communication with the Indians. Only 450 sailors had, been sent out - which were not sufficient for Lake

48 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

Ontario. Lieut. Barclay, who was appointed to the command of the squadron on Lake Erie, had only forty seamen among all his ships; his best ship had no guns but wbat he took from the fort, which were of different calibre and extremely unwieldly. Yet notwithstanding, he kept possession of the lake till the end of August, when the enemy, having completed their preparations, appeared in tbe lake wi th eleven vessels well manned and appointed in every respect. Mr. Barclay having only six vessels badly armed and manned with landsmen, and of these not the usual complement, thought it prudent to retire into harbou r and wait for Seamen which had been repeated ly demanded in vain. While he rem ained in harbour, the army, under General Proctor (who commanded in that part of the country), together with a large body of Indians, became, owing to the negligence of the General and tbe misconduct of the Commissariat, badly supplied with provisions. There was abundance in the country, but the proper means were not adopted to collect it and General Prevost was, it is said, made to believe that the troops were in a state of actual starvation. This information it is said induced him to send a peremptory order to Lieut. Barclay to put to sea in order to bring provisions from the lower end of the lake where supplies had been stored by the Commissary .... Never was a country lost so shamefully as this has been, and will be - not the smallest vigour displayed - no plan of the campaign - everything left to chance and all our movements directed by those of the enemy. Our generals appear not only ignorant of the art of war but destitute of common sense. The inferior officers are many of them good, and the Iuen equal to anything if properly conducted . ... (Strachan to Brown, 30 October 18 13, s P)

-.. N iagara was burned at Christmas, 1813, and the war apM peared to be increasing in ferocity. Strachan, despairing of the west, sent his wife to live in Cornwall, wh ich ironically was shortly after over-cun by a n American army. Hjs letters to his absentee Lieutenant-Governor, Francis Gore, to the ChaplainGeneral, and to Dugald Stewart, Scotl and's most eminent philosopher, describe the conditions.-" The war has now assumed a more terrific aspect since the system of burning commenced - It was begun by the enemy at

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812-1814 - 49

Niagara with circumstances of peculiar atrocity. Should they be able to make us a third visit, every bouse will be in flames and we shall say of York as was said of Troy, Fllimlls. The enemy was defeated at Chrysler's twenty miles above Cornwall on his way to Montreal, driven to his own shore with great loss and his intended expedition completely frustrated. On the 11th of December, Fort George was re-occupied by our troops. On the 19th Col. Murray, at the bead of 500 men, took Fort Niagara by storm, in which various stores to a prodigious amount have been found . At daylight on tbe 30tb, General Rial defeated the enemy at Black Rock, drove them from Buffalo, which he destroyed in retaliation for the destruction of the town of Niagara. Five armed ships belonging to the enemy were burnt, four at Buffalo and one at Black Rock. The enemy's frontier is laid waste along the Niagara line. We look for more energy from Generals Drummond and Rial than we have been accustomed to since the death of Gen~ eral Brock. All our losses and disasters have arisen' from for~ bearance: whenever we attack, we succeed; when we act upon the defensive, we are always beaten. I had once some thoughts of addressing a public letter to you on the conduct of the war in Canada; but I was afraid of hurting the cause which I am anxious to assist, for I should have been compelled to censure many of the measures adopted dur~ ing the two campaigns. But my pamphlet would bave fully justified the ministry. I know that great complaints have been made that we have been neglected by the administration, and perhaps troops and sailors might have been sent in greater numbers and somewhat sooner; but the means at the disposal of the Governor General were sufficient if vigorously and judiciously employed, not only to defend the Canadas but to carry the war into the enemy's territory - and this General Drummond has actually done. His army. while I write this, is at Buffalo and American Niagara is to be strongly garrisoned. Whcn I consider the vast objects which ministers have had to engage their attention since the dcclaration of war by the United States, I wonder that they have been so attentive to our wants. If the war in Europe continue favourable, they will be able in the spring to send us such a force as shall enable us to carry the war beyond our borders and feed upon the enemy; but, if our Admiral on the coast and our Governor in Chief persist in their defensive system, they will unquestionably lose

so -

DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

ground, and surely it is unfair to blame ministers for their blunders. Our General in Chief appears to be an excellent man and a very superior private character; and strong arguments are not wanting to justify the system of forbe arance, which he has hitherto pursued. But he seems to be destitute of that military fire and vigour of decision, which the principal commander in this country must possess in order to preserve it at any moderate expense. My ignorance whether sentiments like these are agreeable to you prevented me from putting my design in execution. I need not trouble you with an account of the captu re of tbis place as you must have had many letters on that subject. I shan only say that we ought to have heen successful. (Strachan to Francis Gore, 1 January 1814, SLD 1812·34, 96) .•. So great was the Dumber of sick, for some time upwards of 400, that I was obliged to give up the church for their reception, a step which could only be justified by the most imperious necessity. There was in truth no other place. as all the public buildings had been destroyed by the enemy. I visit the hospitals regularly twice a week, and oftener when necessary. While the enemy were present, I was there nearly the whole time. I meet with great ignorance and indifference. hut I am sometimes gratified with proofs of better things and have experienced on several occasions the truth of your observations. My regular days of visiting are Wednesdays and Sundays. On Wednesday, I content myself with kindly inquiring into the state of their health, dropping something concerning their spiritual welfare, as I find it useful, and their minds properly disposed. Besides doing this on Sunday, I read some prayers and give an exhortation, the whole taking up from fifteen to twenty minutes. For some time I had five such exhortations to make every Sabbath, then four and, at present, three. It seemed to me that those exhortations have more effect when delivered on Sunday than on any other day, altho' the exertion added to my regular duty becomes severe, especially during the warm weather, as the hospitals were at a distance from each other, and I had service twice in church. It is now less fatiguing as I have public service only once, as the weather is cool. At present my habit in the hospital is this: after pronouncing as many prayers selected from the Common Prayer Book as I judge proper, I read either the gospel or Epistle of the day or

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812-1814 -

~1

of the preceding Sunday, and comment upon it or make a short discourse from one of the most striking passages. I trust for words to the time of delivery - I change the subject in each ward, because convalescents frequently follow and it would lessen the effect did they suppose that I was obliged to repeat the same to all. I have kept my health well through the blessing of God - and notwithstanding the labour, I have had much satisfaction this summer, having been tbe instrument of much comfort to the temporal and, I hope in God, to tbe spiritual wants of many. I am badly off for books for the hospital, those I had were pillaged or burnt. I have purchased a few at my own expense, but they are not now to be had, and I have been forced to refuse several applications for prayer-books with much sorrow. (Strachan to Dr. Owen, Chaplain-General, 1 January 1814, 1812-34,98)

SLB

Soon after the declaration of war by the United States, their whole military force was directed against this province, of which they expected to make a rapid and easy conquest. And with reason, for there was little more than one regiment in Upper Canada and all would have been lost but for the astonishing exertions of the militia. Their services have been continued fOf the last two campaigns to a much greater degree than could have been anticipated. Nearly one balf were embodied during th-e first and one third during the greater part of the second, performing their military duties under circumstances of the most severe privation and distress. Some have fallen by tbe sword of the enemy, some are disabled, and a large proportion have died from diseases contracted in tbe field . Nor is tbis all: while the men were absent, the distresses of their families at home were exceedingly great. To alleviate these calamities a Society was instituted in the beginning of 1813 at this place, to which all those whose age and profession did not permit them to take an active part in the war, and those who bad an interest in the country, subscribed as liberally as their means admitted. But, being few in number, we soo n found that the claims were far beyond any funds that we could collect. We therefore applied to our fellow subjects in Lower Canada, who have contributed generously, and we requested our friends in London to exert themselves in our favour. It has been suggested that something m~ght be done for OUf sufferers in

52 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIO N S

Edinburgh, and being Treasurer of the Society and Minister of York, it becomes my duty to make the necessary application. Your reputation as tbe first prose writer of the age and whose character your writings have taught me to admire point you out as a most proper person to form one of a committee for promoting our charity. We have joined with you the excellent Lord Robinson, the friend of our amiable Chief Justice; The Hon'ble Thos. Scott; and Mr. Constable, the bookseller whose talents and activity are well known. We send the rules of the Society and a copy of our appeal to the British nation. There is another subject in which I want your aid, and I sha1l be grateful for your opinion. A college or univers ity bas long been a desideratum among the friends of the Canadas, to which the French as well as English youth might have free access with perfect freedom as to religion. In such a place, the arts and sciences might be taught with effect; and, the young men both French and English mixing together, a greater cordiality would be promoted between the two nations; the language of the conquerors would gradually obtain the ascendency and the country become what alone can render it reany valuable to the Crown - an English Colony. Many other advantages would result from such an establishment, of the greatest importance to the happiness and prosperity of the country. Nor would it be thought necessary, as it too often was before the war, to send our youth to complete their educaton in the States, where they learn very little more than anarchy in politics and infidelity in religion. The French have three colleges in Lower Canada, but they are chiefly confined to perfecting young men in the church and are more than a century behind in their systems 'of education. The English have hardl y a good school in the whole country. A friend of mine has left a considerable legacy to found a colJege in Lower Canada and dovt. may be induced to assist in fulfilling his intentions. Have tbe goodness to give me your thoughts on the subject that I may be enabled to draw up a rational and useful scheme for a literary establishment should my assistance be asked, as it may happen to be since I am a party to my friend's will and a trustee to the legacy... . The wants and situation of the co untry, and the narrow field open to genius and enterprise, will not escape your notice in answering these questions. Such a college might soon be made superior to any in the United States and would be most valuable

YORK, THE WAR OF 1812·1814 - 53

not. only in softening and melting our population into ODe but in separating us from the contagious and profligate example of our present enemies. For presenting you with an opportunity of exerting your benevolence I make no apology; but I must be permitted to mention the pleasure I feel in being introduced to the notice of the first prose writer of the age whose profound and elegant works, and especially his affectionate biographical sketches of his illustrious friends, excited at a very early period my warmest esteem; a pleasure this, which alleviates the griefs and dangers with which I am surrounded. (Strachan to Dugald Stewart, "Winter of 1814."

StB

1812-34, 102)

Tho' cruel war has made us part Our thoughts shall often join; My Anna's image round my heart Shalllenderly entwine. Tho' distant far, my blood rUIlS warm At mention 0/ thy name; A lid time embellishes each charm And brightens hymens flame. The darling pledges oj our loves Call for th new joys and ties; And seven short years' endearment proves The wisdom 0/ my choice. (Strachan to Ann Strachan, Cornwall,12 April 1814, SLB 1812-34, 103)

The war, during the last campaign, still continued in our neighbourhood, and our hospitals were crowded wth wounded. UpwarQs of four hundred men, many of them sadly mangled, required my attention. Many died, for the mortality owing to the severity of their wounds was much greater than in the preceding summer when sickness chiefly prevailed. The different battles fought by our army were uncommonly bloody. and the killed and wounded exceedingly numerous when compared to the number engaged. I had sometimes six or eight to bury in a day. The duty was very severe from July to Decembersince tbat time it has become easy. We have reason to suppose that the next campaign wilt be still more destructive. I wish that those who are so re ady stirring up wars would traverse the

54 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

field of batlle after an engagement or visit the hospitals next day - and they would receive a lesson that might be very beneficial to them in future. I have never received any books for tbe use of the troops nor do I know where to apply. I pursue the same plan in visiting the hospitals that I mentioned in a former letter and am convinced that my exhortations have had. on several occasions. the happiest effects. I had eight exhortations to make for some time. and for several months. seven. Besides, I preached for the troops in the open air several times, when they were too numerous to attend the regular service in the church. I have been blessed with good health and experienced great satisfaction in my exertions to comfort and relieve ... . (Stracban to Owen, 24 February 1815,

SLB

1812-34, 112)

CHAPTER FIVE

Upper Canada: Emigration Schemes and Colonisers

..... The war being over, emigratioD, settlement, and land sales became matters of prime impo rtance to Upper Canadians. Strachan wrote a trave l guide of bis own which he caused to be printed under his brother's name, and a pamphlet on emi gration addressed to the Under-Secretary at the Colonial Office. He was involved in controversy with two other Scots in the field, Robert Gourlay and Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk. Col. Thomas Talbot, the coloniser of the Lake Erie front, was too useful an Upper Canadian institution to be much criticised, although his methods and emoluments were as open to objection as Selkirk's. It will be observed that all Britons used the word "emigration" rather than "immigratioD."'I have just received from our friend the priest Lord Selkirk's Prospectus, and have some wish to write him a public letter on the subject, as I conceive the who le to be a gross imposition on the nation and calculated to divert the stream of emigration from the Canadas and to cover those who go to the Red River wth disappointment and misery. There are, howeve r, some things which it is necessary for me to know before I proceed. Namely how far the proposed settlement is from Montrealthe nature of the water communication - whether it can be reached by the Lakes - bow many carrying places or if any.

&c., &c. Then the nature of the communication between it and Hudson's Bay and the distance - how long Nelson's River is navigable during the seaso n - whether there be carrying places in that direct ion and how many? - what markets can be opened for the produce of the settlement - what kind of soil - how long the winter - the latitude and lon gitude of the settlement. Perhaps some other local circumstances worth mentioning

56 - DOCUMENTS AND OP I NIONS

may occur - whether the settlement does not immediately interfere with the Indian hunting grounds; and whether they are pleased or displeased with it - what measures have been adopted by his Lordship's agents, whether conciliatory towards the nati ves or no and what right he can give the settlers to the soil. As a public letter from a person in my situat ion might injure the settlement, it is necessary to weigh things with care. I have no notion for writing it but the public good and my hatred for all imposition, of which I th ink [this] is clearly one. If you could procure me authentic information on the above particulars, that I might safely quote and produce if called in question, I sball prepare the letter. Perhaps our friend Mr. Richardson could furni sh you with some particulars on the subj ect. You will excuse me for applyi ng to you on this occasion. I know no person so likely to be acqua inted with all the circumstances or so well acquainted with the local situation of the settlement - or perhaps his Lordship's secret motives for its establishment . ... (Strllchan to William McGillivray, 2 May 1813.

SLB

1812-34, 212)

"""" McGillivray was in the fur trade out of Montreal. There is no evide nce that he supplied the information asked for. Instead Strachan used Sir Alexander Mackenzie's narrative of his travels in the north-west to attack Selkirk's scheme. Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, was promoting a vast proprietary colony at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers to be populated by Scottish emigrants. The Earl's motives were presum ably humanitarian, but his Prospec lus read li ke one more land-speculator's dream. The colony ran afou l of the Canadian fur trade. Strachan contended that on humane co nsiderations the Scots should have been brought to the Canadas . ....., I read, with some pleasure, many years ago, your book on emigration, and, although I could not subscribe to several dogmas of political economy which you endeavoured in that work to establish. or be persuaded, from your reasoning, that a salutary check to emigration from the highlands of Scot land, by means of interior improvement. was altogether hopeless, I was deli ghted to find a Scotch peer writin g with so much intelligence, and felicity of style. In the interesting accoun t of you r settlement on Prince Edward's Island. the difficulties which emi-

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLONISERS - S7

grants have to surmount, before establishi1ng themselves in a new country, are detailed with much truth and perspicuity, and this forms a portion of your work, which may be still read with much advantage by those who are preparing to remove to America. But the goodness of the style, and truth of delineation, could not secure the general plan of this settlement from my severest reprobation. Your Lordship makes a merit of bringing settlers from Scotland, and not from the United States, which those who are ignorant of the· manner of establishing new settlements, and of selling unculti vated land, might be disposed to admit; but this merit vanished the moment I read the terms given to these unfortunate settlers, which, though held up as generous, to the reader, were such, as your Lordship well knows, native Americans would never accept. The quantity of land assigned to each family, of fifty, or even one hundred acres, was too small. In a very few years, the farmer, if industrious, must have sold out, or purchased the adjacent lands, at your own price. Had farms, even large farms, been given to the first settlers for nothing, and the means of cultivating .for the first year, the advantage would have been yours. It is the settlers that give value to the surrounding soil. Nothing is more common in the United States, than for the proprietors of large tracts giving extensive farms gratis, to the few that first encounter the difficulty of settling .... The conditions offered by your Lordship to settlers, in your second attempt at colonization, deserve greater censure than those already noticed. It is, indeed, impossible to behold with complacency a British peer turning a land speculator, at a moment when his country was in imminent danger, and, instead of flying to her assistance, and disdaining to survive her fall, anticipating that melancholy event, by anxiously preparing an asylum in a distant corner of the earth. For every seltier brought into Upper Canada by your Lordship, you received 200 acres of land, of which you were bound to grant him fifty, making a net profit of 150 acres on each settler. This portion of fifty acres being too small for a farm, must, in a few years, be sold at a trifle, or the possessor compelled to purchase at any price, as soon as he was ab le (if that could ever happen on so small a farm) , the adjoining lands. This is a way of accumulating property not the most honourable to the peerage, and attended with the most pernicious conse-

58 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

quences to the colony, and its administration. Such settlers consider themselves dupes; they become discontented with their situation, and with the governmen t which permits such transactions. And it must be allowed, th at it would be much better for the King to grant, at once, any quantity of land that he chooses, to a person whom he wished to serve, than to give it in this manner. I am ready to acquit your Lordship of any profit, as yet, in either of these speculatio ns; grasping at too much, nothing has been obtained; and, though marked with more than the precaution of an American 1land-jobber, they have been singularly unsuccessful. Taking these things into consideration, I was disposed to pass over in silence your Lordship's land specul ations in Prince Edward's Island, and in Upper Canada. You might have been deceived, and reall y supposed, that the conditions offered on both occasions were extremely liberal; but, after the experience which they must have given you, and your visit to America, it will not be so easy to excuse you fo r offering worse conditi ons to emigrants, going to an infinitely worse..situation, where they can only meet with disappointment and mise ry. Your projected settlement at the Red River, or third attempt at colonization, appears to me, not only more extravagant than either of the forme r, but one of the most gross impositions that ever was attempted on the British public, and must be attended with the most baneful consequences to all those unfortunate men, who, deluded by the false promises held out to them, shall leave their barnes for such a dreary wi ldern ess. To prove this, I have only to examine the assertions and encouragements in their order, as published in your Prospectus to induce subscribers and settlers to come forwa rd - a task which I shall perform with all plainness, choosing rather to hazard being thought dry and tedious, th an to raise a suspicion of exagge ration, by using a declamatory, or even an embellisbed style. The Prospectus for the Red River settlement is as follows: A tract oj land, consisting oj some millions oj acres, and in point oj soil,' and climate injerior to none oj equal extefll in Brilish America, is now to be disposed oj; and will be sold extremely cheap, on account of its situation, which is remote from the present settlements. If a tract oj the same extefll and

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLONISERS - 59

jerIili[y were offered jor sale in Lower Canada, or Nova Scotia, purchasers would be eager /0 obtain i[ at one hundred, perhaps two hundred thousand guineas, alld, at that price, would make all ample profit, ill the course of some years, by retailing it , in small lots, at an advanced price, to actual settlers. The lands in questioll, no ways different in advafltages, may be purchased for about £10,000 sterling.

In this portion of the Prospectus, I particularly call the reader's attention to the very sligbt manner of noticing the remoteness of the projected colony. A stranger would naturally suppose, that, as Upper Canada is carefully omitted in comparing the lands of the Red River with the other colonies, they formed part of that extensive province, more especially since they are declared to be equal, in soil or climate, to any in British America. As respects the value of the land, situation is everything. The most fruitful valley in the world is worth nothing, if surrounded with impassable mountains. The assertion, therefore, that these lands are DO ways different in advantages from those of Lower Canada aod Nova Scotia is false, unless their situation be equally favourable. The proprietors may be ignorant, but you know, My Lord, that situation is the true criterion of the value of lands, and the principal cause of retarding, or accelerating, their settlement. That a similar tract in the maritime colonies would sell at this sum may be freely admilled; for, if we suppose it to consist of four millions of acres, one hundred thousand guineas will be little more than sixpence per acre, and yet the lands on the Red River may not be worth a farthing. The maritime colonies are getting populous. The wants of emigrants can be supplied by their neighbours at a reasonable expense, and the communication is easy and expeditious; but, at the Red River, everything is the reverse - no popUlation, no comforts, no communications. If, indeed, this projected colony did possess as many advantages as those of Lower Canada, or Nova Scotia, I agree with your Lordship, that the purchase money is exceedingly reasonable, and that the profits of the proprietors would be immense; but, as it possesses no real advantages, it will be found sufficiently dear .... The Prospectus proceeds to mention the produce that may be raised, with advantage, on the banks of the Red River.

60 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

As the inland situation of the settlement will preclude the settler from some oj the sources oj profit which are enjoyed in maritime situations, it becomes necessary to provide substitutes. The cultivation oj hemp is peculiarly calculated jor inlan d situations, as that article is so valuable, in proportion to its weight, that it can bear the expense of a considerable inland navigation. This cultivation is also a javourite national object, and the setllement will derive benefit jrom the public encouragement which is held out jor promoting it. A still more beneficial object 01 attention is th e growth of fine wool, all article so valuable, that it could bear any expense oj inland conveyance, and one for which the country is peculiarly adapted. In the vicinity 0/ the proposed settlement there are immense open plains, without wood, fine dry glass land, much of it capable of immediate cultivation, and all well filled jor pasturage, particularly for sheep. This is an advantage which no other part 0/ British America possesses by nature, and /0 which the colollists oj the maritime provinces call110I attain, wilholl! the laborious and expensive operation oj clearing. Ij to this advantage the proprietors add that oj a good breed oj Spanish Merino sheep, tile settlers can never meet with any difficulty in paying the price or relit oj Iheir lands. The fleeces oj ten or twelve sheep will pay the rent of 100 acres, and with the produce oj a very srnall stock, the price oj a lot oj land rnay be paid 00 in three or four years . . . .

Your Lo rdship cannot conceal the utter impossibility of raising any bulky commodities for exportation to advantage (such as grain, beef, pork, &c.), and your list is confined to two, as at all likely to succeed. 1. Hemp - Of this article it may be sufficient to remark, that it cannot be raised profitably even in the Canadas, although a premium has been offered by the legislature. Labour is still too dear, and mills, with other facili ties for making up the raw material, too scarce, to enable the cultivator to sell at a reasonable price .... 2. Wool- Your Lordship contends that this article may be raised to great advantage. In 1811, the staplers paid 2s. a pound for the best English wool. Spanish, of the best quality sold for 55. or 6s. The former would Dot, therefore, pay cost and charges; bu t Merinoes from Spain might produce wool that might bear the cost of transportation, and still yield a profit, if the

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLONISERS -

6~

soil and climate prove favourable. The facilities for sbeep (your Lordship says) are very great, particularly tbe large plains, covered with grass and totally clear of woods, on which immense flocks may be daily fed. The advantages of these plains for sheep-walks may be justl y questioned. The grass is extreme· ly coarse, the bottom not close and foggy like English pastures: it will tend, therefore, in all probability, to alter the naturar qualities of th e sheep. Such plains are frequently unhealthy,. and the wolves are innumerable. In Spain, the fineness of thewool depends upon the variation of climate which the Merinoes. enjoy in going from one part of the kingdom to the oth er, as tbe· seasons change; nor is it probable, that a climate infinitely moresevere, and coarser food, without the advantage of changing,. will make no alteration in the fleece of these valuable animals. But let us suppose that the wool grows in full perfection, it is the only article which your colonists can raise with an y prospect of advantage. How slender any hopes founded upon this solitary production must be, will appear evident from the bare inspection of the routes by York Factory and Canada. Is it not clear,. my Lord, that they cannot be used even for transporting valuable articles in great qu antities, unless it were practicable to· settle them through the whole extent, which we have shewn to be impossible? The number of men required for the small boats. and canoes, the smallness of their burden, a considerable part of which must be taken up with provisions necessary for thevoyage, are impediments which time and enterprise cannot remedy .... \

Having gone through the Prospectus, let us pause for a: moment and look at the result. We have shewn, THAT the title is insecure; THAT th e settlement can receive neither protection nor assistancefrom the British colonies; THAT the communications by Canada and Hudson's Bay are im·· practicable for the purposes of commerce; THAT there is DO market for grain or provisions of any sort; THAT only one article, viz. wool, can be pointed out capable of paying transport; THAT this article may not succeed, on account of the wolves, the· soil, and climate; THAT the difficulty of communications will prevent the colonists. from receiving any supplies, unless at an enormous expense;

62 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS THAT th e price of the land to settlers is a shameful imposition. and supported by statements that are false; THAT the foundation for serious contention is laid. in not having satisfied the claims of the natives before the settlement was attempted; THAT there is the strongest probab ility that the first colonists will be massacred by the Indians; THAT all the promises urged in the Prospectus to leave Great Britain are false and delusive; THAT the colony, if it succeed. must, of necessity, from its frontier, become dependent on the United States, and, at length, an American colony; THAT to encourage emigration to the Red River, is to sacrifice the superfluous population of Great Britain, and to injure her American colonies . .. •

The interference of Government will very soon be necessary, on account of the animosity which already exists in the country near the Red River, between the fur traders from Canada and those fro m Hudson's Bay. This animosity is extending to the few settlers that have already arrived, and unless speedily checked, must soon produce melancholy events. The settlers being more immediately connected with the Company from Hudson's Bay, consider themselves parties to its monopoly. and the opponents of the Canada merchants. This is natural enough; but as it will engender serious contentions in a place so remote without the shadow of law or justice, it requires the speedy consideration of His Majesty's Government. And now, my Lord, allow me to ask you how yo u could promise so many advan tages to settlers on the Red River? No man leaves his native country but with the view of bettering his situation. The difficulties are great when every effort is made in favour of the emigrants. They are particularly exposed, from the very nature of their employment, to the diseases of the country in which they settle, by which man y of those advanced in life are sure to be cut off, and some of the youth greatly debilitated. Indeed so many discomforts, disappointments, and painfu l recollections, crowd upon them, th at nothing less than the prospect of an independence, such as he never could obtain in his native land, can possibly support him. But to speak to your settlers of such an independence would be to trifle with their misery. Without any market for their

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLQN IS ERS - 63

produce - any security of title - any expectation of ever becoming comfortable - deprived of the civi l advantages possessed by all the British colonies - of the protection of the laws, the consolations of religion, and instruction to the ir child ren; they have nothing to compensate these sacrifices a nd privations but false promises, which they know, the moment after they arrive, can never be realized! Before concluding thi s letter, I would offer a very short advice to those of my countrymen in Great Britain and Ireland who arc thinking of leaving their native country fo r America. 1. I would s.t rcnuously advise th ose who can li ve comfortably, to remain where they are; for the greates t success will not be an equivalent for the miseries they must suffer before this success is realized. Even then they will be di ssatisfied, and they wiJI look back with regret on the comforts they have left. 2. I would even advise such as are able to rub along and preserve their independence, to remain at home. 3. To such as are determined to emigrate, 1 present, for their inspection, the encouragement offered by Government, should they come to the Can ad as, co ntrasted with the conditions offered by your Lordship to such as emigrate to the Red River. The British Gove rnmen t gives to those emi grants who come out und er their protection to the Canadas, One or two hundred acres of excellent land - for nothing; Farming utensils - for nothing; Provisions for one year - for nothing; They are under the protection of the laws, and enjoy all the privileges of Bri tish subjects; They have access to religious instruction, The means of educating their children; The best medical aid; They are in no da nger from the Indians; They have a good market for their produce; Their supplies of cloalhing and other necessaries can be obtained at a moderate expense. If they shall prefer go ing to the Red River, your Lordship gives them One hun dred acres of land - for £50; Farming utensils - for their full value; Provisions - for their full value; The settlers are at the mercy of age nts;

64 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

They are not under the protection of the law; Have no access to religious instruction; In continual dread from the Indians; No market for their produce; Their supplies dearl!l-&c. &c. It appears from this statement, that your settler must either possess a considerable sum of money, or get deeply into your Lordship's debt. The price of his lands, his farming utensils, his provisions for the first and perhaps the second year, must embarrass him greatly. and palsy his future exertions. Let those of my fellow subjects who are determined to brace a foreign climate in quest of an independency. for the sake of their children, proceed to the Can ad as, under the protection of the Government, and avoid land-jobbers as their greatest enemies. In these colonies they will have fewer difficulties to combat, and fairer prospects to support them; and they will have the pleasure of feeling that they are still Britons. ... (Strachan, A Leifer 10 tile RighI Honorable Ille Earl 01 Selkirk 011 his settlement at Ihe Red River near Hudsoll's Bay [London: Longman's, 1816])

- The struggle between Selkirk and the Montrealers quickly degenerated into violence and suits at law. Strachan bad no further part in the matter, but it is clear that Dr. Brown thought he had chosen tbe wrong side. ,..... It was not altogether procrastin ation that preven ted me from answering most welcome favour dated Jan uary. I was anxious to wait tbe issue of some trials be tween Lord Selkirk and bis opponents, the issue of which and the evidence produced would establish the guilt or innocence of the contending parties. The arts made use of by his Lordship to obst ruct and contaminate the course of justice and to turn the proceedings of the law into an engine of oppression have exhibited wonderful talent and resource whi ch in a better cause might have produced much good; but as you are on fri endly terms with his relations, I wiJi not dwell upon the subject farther than saying that all the miseries that have bappened in the interior of this continent and the death of Governor Semple and his followe rs were most clea rly proved to have originated with his Lordship - that his instructions were even more violen t than the ir exec ution. His Lordship finding all his arts discovered and that he must soon

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLONISERS - 65

be called to give an account of his conduct where no subterfuge could avail him, has fled hastily to England. I must, however, remark that my controversy wi th his Lordship respected his colony only, and the deceptions he was practising on the poor people in Scotland. My motive was entirely disinterested and bad nothing to do with the rivalship with the North West Company or the propriety of the fur trade. In tbis contest I was neutral taking no step on either side, tho' I knew th at his Lordship throughout was the aggressor. My pampbJet was sent to my brotber in Aberdeen with a Dote to send it to you for your perusal and remarks, but he disobeyed my order and it was printed without that benefit. The facts however can be proved incontestibly, and much more than I thought it necessary to advance. My object was to give an opportunity to my poor countrymen of deciding after hearing both sides of the question. In this point of view, it has done SOme good and thus consoles me for his Lordship[,sl implacable hatred and incessant calumnies, which I value not. The pamphlet was sent borne before I became a public character; otherwise I should not have meddled with it, because I knew the quarrels which had then begun would excite disputes of a still more serious nature which must'sooner or later arrest the attention of government. I could say mu ch on this subject and fee l confident that, if the matter was explained, you wo uld be with me in every particular; but I have no desire to disturb your tranquillity. The narrative and documents sent you I have likewise seen. They are full of the grossest misrepresentations and every fact suppressed that made against the writer. I can li kewise assure you that his Lordship was not abandoned by the government till he abandoned justice and humanity. I am willing to believe, that, when his Lordship commenced this undertaking, he had 00 intention of doing many things which he has since donej but fro m the first I believe it was a dark-laid sc heme to ruin the trade of the North West Company. But enough of this. Let it not, I beseech you, disturb ,your harmony. Let Mr. HaLkett and I remain your dea r friends as before . ... (Strachan to James Brown, 1 December 1818.

SLB

1812-34,217)

,.". Colonel Thomas Talbot was building up a considerable personal es tate along the Lake Erie front in a manner that Strachan believed open to question.,.".

66 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

Col. Talbot was dissatisfied with the measure taken respecting him before your departure. I advised him to go home at once and get the- matter settled, if he considered himself aggrieved. It will be better for Government to give him a tract of land at once and not continue the pernicious system of giving him 200 acres for every settler to whom he assigns fifty. This mode of settling makes the Government odious and the inhabitants dissatisfied. I like the Col. very much and wish him as much success as he desires, provided it be not the continuance of that imperium in imperio which he has so long exercised. It is only justice to remark that he has settled Talbot Road most rapidly, and I believe with great justice. 'Vere he to devote more of his time to public business, he would be of great benefit to the province and become still more deserving of favours. He gives me hopes on his return to mend in this respect. Matters, I believe, proceed smoothly - but, except attend ing at Council on land days, I know little or nothing of what is going forward. Things since your departure seem wrapt in mystery. This gives me no uneasiness as I am anxious to avoid every appearance of collision or jealousy. My objects are principally two, the promotion of religion and education . ... (Strachan to Francis Gore, 15 November 1817,

Sl.B

18t2-34, 18l)

,..., Robert Gourlay, land-agent and Scot, came to Canada in 1817 to investigate his wife's land-holdings. He was soon an object of contention."'" The mention of Mr. Gourlay suggests the propriety of gi~ing you a short history of his proceedings, the more especially as I cut a conspicllous figure in his publications. In October last, this gentleman came to York with letters of introduction from Me. Clarke and Mr. Dickson, two of the members of the Legislative Council, recommending him to Colonel Smith as a most valuable settler and a man of ability. In fine a person of that description as to be a great acquisition to the province could he be prevailed upon to remain. Col. Smith paid him every attention in consequence of these letters and was, I believe, more free in his communications than was necessary to a ny stranger. Mr. Gourlay obtained leave to insert his first address in the provincial gazette and, as he says himself, access to the different offices, and promises of particular papers to enable him to compile a topographical account of the prov-

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLONISERS - 67

ince. The Chief Justice saw him at this time and did not disapprove of his address nor of its insertion in the government paper. While the printer was preparing his address I happened to go into the office and he handed me the proof of, I believe, the first column. I cast my eye upon it and, disapproving exceedingly of the sentiments and general tone and spiri t of the whole, I advised the printer to be on his guard for that such a paper was highly improper for his gazette. He replied that the Administrator approved of it, and likewise the Chief Justice. I mentioned to Col. Smith my opinion of this paper when I had seen the whole, and my opinion that the man was a dangerous incendiary and his scheme of a topographical wo rk, a mere pretence to conceal his real views. My opinions were treated with ridicule by the Chief Justice and therefore made no impression on the Administrator. I interfered nO farther. The address was published and from its appearing in the government gazette it acquired a degree of importance which it never could have otherwise obtained. Me. Gourlay left York highly pleased with his reception and exceedingly enraged against me, as my opinions bad by some strange breach of confidence been communicated to him. This man began soon to show himself by some impertinent letters which he wrote to the Administrator, and his favomers were somewhat uneasy. As to me, I continued in the same sentiments and, had the matter been officially referred, I should have protested against giving publicity to his first address. While I was absent in winter at Kingston, he applied for land as an emigrant, but in terms so arrogant, and without declaring his determination to settle, that his prayer could not be granted. This refusal he attributed to me. So far he was right, for I sho uld not, if present, have acceded to his request; but, being absent, I have in this no merit. He next applied for the official information which he said had been promised him and which was now likewise declined. This he likewise attributed to me. Finding himself thwarted, he began to write in the newspapers; and, giving me credit for all his disappointments, I became the particular object of his 1 attack. His abuse and ravings I little regarded, but, as I could not descend to a newspaper altercation, I determined to prosecute him for libel, but found so little sympathy on the part of one of my colleagues that I have delayed it till the ordinary circuit when a judge on whom I have more dependence for

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impartiality will preside. I bave directed tbe Attorney General to look over his papers, and if an action can be brought with hope of success it will be done. After having abused me enough as he thought to frighten me, he began to attack the Administration generally, and also the Legislature, then to call public meetings and to collect money. With some difficulty we procured instructions to be given to the Crown Officers to watch his proceedings, and as they are both very able young men we are in this respect fortunate. It was supposed better to allow Mr. Gourlay to proceed without molestation in his own way till there could be no question of his conviction. Accordingly he was silently observed till the 13th when be was arrested at Kingston and bound over on £ 500 to take his trial at the next assizes. So great is the freedom of subjects under our constitution that much delicacy was necessary; and it was thought proper to rely entirely upon the Attorney General on the subject of the presecution. Many of the persons who have attended his meetings have been deluded - nor can such meetings be prevented without passing a law for that special purpose. I should not, however, have trusted to any good being done at a meeting of the Legislature under Col. Smith after the miserable session of last winter. There were indeed faults on all sides but more on the side of the Legislative Council than any other and, had there been one man of sense and energy like Mr. Cartwright in that Council, the session would have passed smoothly. and the disputes would have been avoided .... (Strachan to Col. Harvey, 22 June 1818, SLB 1812-34, 197)

The Convention, as it was called, disappointed the incendiaries. After much intemperate speaking, almost entirely by Mr. Gourlay (who directed them like children). the Petition to the PriDce Regent was given up chiefly from want of money, and a very impudent one proposed to Sir Peregrine and the Duke of Richmond requiring the Parliament to be dissolved and containing several violent attacks on the Royal Prerogative which will be received no doubt as it deserves. The meetings were watched so that Dothing serious could have happened without prompt measure for we insisted upon being awake. Mr. Gourlay's violent attacks upon me roused my pupils

EMIGRATION SCHEMES AND COLONISERS - 69

and friends, of whom I believe I have many in the province, and produced in the eastern district especially and in the John~ ston and Midland districts, a violent opposition which destroyed his hopes of raising a commotion by giving him a check which he could not recover.... (Strachan to H arvey, 27 JuJy 1818,

SLB

1812-34,205)

Sir Peregrine is a most a miable and pious man and comes out most anxious to do aU the good that he possibly can. He arrived here with some ideas respecting the Executive Govern~ ment not founded on sufficient evidence, but he now sees things more clearly. He is a man of great talents and great sim plicity of manners and habi ts; at the same time he is firm and resolute. Those who presumed upon his favo ur beca use they had taken umbrage at you are totally mistaken. On that ground he is very high. Indeed, he is quite the gentleman and speaks of you, when occasion introduces your name, with great respect. We are at no pains to conceal our attachments and he has too much good sense to be offended; on the contrary, he prizes us the more. This gentlema nly trait of character endears him to this family. Accustomed to the promptness of military command, be has been somewhat a little too hasty in taking steps which had been usuall y the result of consultation; but from ioadvertance en~ tirely. and not from any desire to assume extraordinary power. He is yet new in civil matters, but his diligence is incessant and t in a short time he wiII be completely master of it. His great anxiety to look into everything injures his health, which is extremely delicate. He keeps entirely to himself and bas 00 particul ar advisor, inquires and thinks and decides for himself. He has been so very short a period here that it is yet impos. sible to draw certain conclusions; but, as far as I can perceive from many conversations, he will grow upon acquaintance and beget stronger and stronger attachment. In all this I may be mistaken, more partic ularly as I cannot pretend to any parti~ cul ar intimacy but hope that I judge correctly.... In regard to Mr. Gourlay, he has taken that line of conduct which I had urged ou r feeble Administrator in vain to adopt and the ma n is sin king fast into insignificance. He denounced him and his foolish adherents in the Speech from the Throne. An Act was passed declaring conventions illegal. He conducted

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the session with skill and vigour; procured a reco nciliation between the two Houses by cancelling aU the foolish resolutions of last session. The North West Company have had their trials and were all honourably acquitted. It appeared most decidedly that Lor[dl Selkirk's people were the first aggressors, and that poor Semple went out with the avowed purpose of attacking the party by whom he and his people were slain. The Governor during the session intimated indi rectly to the House that he wo uld give up the £2,500 on their assuming the charges already upon it. This I considered imprudent, altho' it was qualified by his retai ning the Crown Revenue. The H ouse, however, would not take it, after exam[in]ing the charges observing that it was not worth having as the charges nearly exhausted it. Col. Talbot remains )TI uch the same as before, only that he has got five years more to settle his own lands whi ch are virtually recognized to be the half of Aldborough and Dunnage; and such is the increase of emigration that all these lands will be covered in a year more and the Col. will have a· princely dom ain and a princely fortune. (Strachan to Francis Gore, 8 December 1818,

SLU

1812-34,2 15)

There has been here for a year past a Mr. Gou rlay from Fifeshire trying to set us by the ears. He has done a great deal of mischief in tbe colony by seditious publications exciting discontent among the people. I saw through him at once and opposed him with my usual vi gour, upon which the press groaned with his abuse of me. By this he destroyed much of bis influence. AU my pupils, now the leading characters in many parts of the province, opposed him sternly. A character like Mr. Gourlay in a quiet colony like this, where there is little or no spirit of inquiry and very little knowled ge, may do much harm and, notwithstanding the check he has rece[i]ved, he has done harm by exciting uneasiness, irritations, and exciting unreasonab le hopes. I tried to infuse some energy into the Administration but it was too feebJe till General Maitland came out. Things are now falling back to their peaceful state and, as we have in truth no grievances, the people are beginning to discover that it is so . ... (Strachan to Brown, 1 December 1818,

SLB

1812-34,217)

.- John Strachan had long been working on the manuscript of a guide-book for emigrants. When his brother James came out

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for a visit they devised a family joke. A Visit to the Province of Upper Callada in 1819 was written by John but published by James in Aberdeen under James' name.,.... HOW IS LAND CLEARED?

The first thing is, to cut down the under-wood, or, as it is commonl y called, brush, as close to the ground as possible. The trees are then cut down, as much as can be done in one direction, and they are chopped up into lengths of eight or ten feet, to enable them to be drawn together in order to be burnt. Soon after, and sometimes immediately, the brush and trees are collected into masses, which, being set on fire, the tops and limbs are commonly burnt, leaving the togs. When the fire is completely extinguished, the settler goes with his oxen, and draws all the remaining logs together, a second time, in heaps; they are again set on fire, and this second burning almost 'always consumes them, When the timber is cut down, and read y for burning, it is often called fallow in this country. The togs are piled during the day. and towards evening they are set on fire, and are generally suffered to burn, unattended, in the night; at which time, the burning masses, through a large extent of country, present a brilliant spectacl ~ : aod when it is considered that these are the first steps towards reducing a wilderness into a fruitful country, the scenery becomes powerfully interesting. The poor settlers are often found fault with for the little taste which they shew in clearing land, They make no reservation or selection of grove, to serve hereafter as a shelter from the sun for both man and beast: the woods are indiscriminately hewn down, and cast into the fire; and it is left to another generation to find out the inconvenience of this general destruction of timber. But it may be remarked, that trees left solitary, or even in small patches or groves, are soon blown down; for the roots are commonly near the surface, and do not enter deep into the ground. There is little chance of any, except very young trees, living; and they require more attention than the poor farmer, who is exerting himself for a subsistence, can well spare. Those farmers who go upon their lands fuUhanded, may attend to the preservation of the beautiful and the picturesque; but even they will, at first, be put to serious inconvenience by

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DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

such patches. Tbey are a barbour for vermin of various kinds; and especiall y for birds, wbich destroy tbe fruit of the orchards, and devour the grain as soon as sown. To have clearing done in this manner, which is the most expensive, will cost, with fencing, from twelve to twenty dollars per acre, according as the timber is thick and heavy. But even tbis expense, together with all others, of seed, sowing, harvesting, &c. is often repa id by the first crop, which is raised through all this province, for the first time, without the trouble of plowing: the grain is merely sown on the newly cleared land, and harrowed in. A stranger is fi lled with surprise to see ground, full of roots and stumps, producing such crops; but the fact is so. Many of the settlers, instead of clearing the ground entirely, leave tbe heavier trees standing, baving first girdled them, as it is termed, or cut a deep Dotch round the tree, four or five feet from the ground; this forming a circle round the trees, the ascent of the sap is prevented, and they die in one or two years: the under-wood and smaller timber is burnt up as before, and the ground sown and harrowed. The crop is not, however, so good, as the shade of the standing trees impedes vegetation. This mode of cleari ng is, on the whole, more profitable, but not so elegant as the fo rmer; but, as it may be done at half the expense, and the settler is anxious to raise provisions for his family, it is frequently adopted . ... ROADS

It seemed desirable to have one good road, from one end of

the province to the other, and great exertions have been made to accomp lish it; but t ~ legislature has not as yet been ab le to give sufficient aid for completing it, and most of the statute labour has been laid out on the crossroads. A law which has lately passed will operate favourably in tbis respect, as it taxes aU lands, and provides, that the monies so raised shall be laid out in the township where the lanos are situated. In winter, for several months, all roads are good; and in summer they are not yet much travelled, especiall y since the in troduct ion of steamboats, which renders journeying by water so easy and expeditious. There are, however, several tolerably good roads in the province, though a good road in this country is very different from a good road in England.

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TYTHES

No tythes are collected. nor are they or any other aid from the people necessary to the regular establishment of the church ; for one-seventh of the whole lands of the province is set apart by the king to support a Protestant clergy, which, though not yet sufficiently productive, will, in time. become so. Some persons, who cannot bear religion under any form, and others, who envy establishments, have said, tbat the appropriation was too much, and th at it impeded the settlement; but I apprehend that these remarks are incorrect. The quantity of land is not so much as the tythe in England; and as to impeding settlements, the reverse is actually tbe truth; for the Clergy Reserves are, in most instances, preferable to a grant of one hundred acres: consisting always of two hundred, a settler, who has got his grant adjacent, may, at the expense of seven dollars per annum, have a farm of three hun dred acres. In the old settlements, reserves are now sougbt after with great avidity .... (James Strachan. A Visit to the Province oj Upper Canada in 1819 [Aberdeen : Strachan. 18201. 75-77. 180)

"'""" Strachan's most reasoned contribution to the cause of emigration was his R emarks on Emigration produced at the request of R. Wilmot Horton, parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Colonial Office. A Select Committee on Emigration of the H ouse of Commons had taken evidence from some colonials, inCl ud ing William B. Fellon of the Eastern Townships and H enry John Boulton of York. The Remarks give Strachan's view of the state and prospects of the Canadas and of the need for emigrants. "'""" REMARKS ON EM IGRATION

Sir, The Report from the Select Committee of the House of Commons, upon the subject of emigration, of which you were Chairman, contains so much important and various information, that every means should be adopted for promoting its circulation. But as the copies printed are limited in number, and its appearance not of the most attractive form, it is within the reach of very few readers, and still fewer are disposed to wade through the mass of evidence which it contains. Indeed, a voluminous statement, consisting of nearly four hundred folio

74 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINION S

pages, is too formidable for most readers; and, however valuable the information to be obtained, or deserving of immediate consideration, it can never be expected to be even partially read. A summary. therefore, of the Report, condensing the more important parts of the evidence, and shewing the principal facts which it clearly proves, may not be a barren service .... The co untry denominated Upper Canada, in its most limited extent, to which many circumstances give the lead in th is inquiry, is about five hundred and sixty miles long, and one hundred miles broad, presenting a surface which, allowing for water and rocky land, may be taken at tbi rty-two mi llions of acres. Of th is quantity about sixteen millions are already granted, leaving the otber half at the disposition of Government. Now, when it is recollected tbat England and Wales contain only 34,631,680 acres, of which 7,889,037 are waste, leaving 26,742,643 fit for cultivation; and that Scotland, containing 16,384,000, has scarcely 2,166,000 capable of tillage, we shall find that Upper Canada embraces as much good land as the who le island of Great Britain, without going to tbe nortb banks of Lakes Huron and Superior. The whole of this extensive and beautiful country is a continuation of the most ferti.le soil. The climate is fine, the conveniences of its local communications astonishi ng, and its capacity of contain ing many millions of inhabitants unquestionable. The gene ral character of its surface affords very little variety in appearance, as it is for the most part flat , rising only in gen tle undula tions, and exhibiting few or no hills or mountains. The soil, indeed, admits of variety; but that which is most prevalent consists of a mixture of blue clay with a friable ea rth, which in all cou ntries rewards most abundantly the labours of the husbandman. Nature has, indeed, done more for Upper Canada than for most other countries of equal extent; yet such is the delusion which many still labour under with respect to its character, that they compare it to the deserts of Siberia. But its real advantages begin now to be known, and its fine climate to be understood. Instead of being disagreeable, its winter cold is found to be exhilarating: fo r, being clear and pure, persons even of feeb le constitutions can, if well clothed, take exercise in the open air, uninterrupted by fogs or rain; and though, for some days in the summer, the heat may be fo und inconvenient, it is seldom oppressive.

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/

Till 1784, Upper Canada was one continued forest. In that year the first settlers arri ved, and have gradually extended their improvements along the great rivers and lakes; but the country has still very much the appearance of a forest. The population scarcely amounts to 200,000, and yet the settlements are so judiciously scattered, aod the water communications so convenient, that emigrants going to any part of the colony will suffer nothing like the privations of the first settlers. Indeed, those that now go will experience litlle or no privation. A few years' labour will place them in easy circumstances, and afford them an opportunity of educating and providing for their children. The present state of education consists of parish schools throughout the province, of which there are already established about three hundred and forty: at these, many thousand children are daily instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Prayers are offered morning and evening; the scriptures are read, and religious instruction given at proper and convenient seasons: but, at such times, the children of Roman Catholics have leave to retire, or remain in their seats; and the parents, finding that their children are not molested about their religion, are as ready to send them to school as their Protestant neighbours. The province is divided into eleven districts, in each of which there is an excellent grammar-school, under the direction of a respectable teacher, with a salary from the province of ninety pounds sterling per annum. At these schools there are upwards of three hundred young men acquiring classical and mathematical knowledge. Ten scholars of the greatest merit, selected under certain conditions from the parish schools, have a right to be educated at the grammar-schools gratis; so that ten of the most promising children from among the common people, thus instructed free of expense, may open their way to professional rank and distinction. The same rule, with regard to religion, applies to the grammar as to the common schools; consequently the children of all denominations attend them; so that, in this respect, the greatest harmony prevails. It is rumoured that His Majesty's Government has ~t in contemplation to establish a university in Upper Canada, at which the youth may have an opportunity of finishing their education. Such an establishment only is wanting to complete a regular

76 - DOCUM ENTS AND OPINIONS

system of education, and enable tbis flourisbing colony to boast a connected plan of public instruction, rarely equalled and not surpassed by any in the world. In regard to religion, all denominations are free; and there is no political distinction, nor is there any particul ar p'awer conferred upon the Established Church. Presbyterians, Calvinists, Lutherans, and Roman Catholics, are allowed to marry, and perfor m the rites of thei r several persuasions, without let or molestation; and though the Methodists are not permitted to marry, because their preachers are not stationary, they are very act ive, and have made considerable progress. In fine, no man need hesitate in coming to Upper Canada on account of his religious opinions: if of the Established Church, he has the same privileges as at home; and if of a different denomination, he has the same li berty. Lower Canada extends from east to west, upwards of 700 miles, and from north to south nearl y 500; but this includes a large qu antity of land totally unfit for cultivation. Indeed, the interior of the province below Quebec, on the north side, and perhaps through its whole extent, is too little known to eoable any correct estimate to be made. However, the whole colony may be taken to contain forty millions of acres, wh ich may be brought into cultivation, but interspersed with rocks, lakes, and mountains. The lands granted in seigneury are said to exceed twelve millions of acres, and those granted in free or common soccage, three millions; and the portion within the known boundaries still to be granted in free and common soccage, four millions. It is not easy to ascertain the lands fit for cultivation in the rear of these, but they will doubtless be fo und to amount to as much . as the whole of the present inhabited part of the province put together. Heat and cold are found in the extremes - th e thermometer in summer often ascending to ninety-eight, and in the winter freezing. The climate is notwithstanding healthy, and few countries in the world can produce so many aged people. The face of the country round Quebec is mountainous and romantic; but, as you proceed to Montreal, it becomes more level. The settlements are, as in Upper Canada, confined chiefly to the banks of the river, the inhabitants not being yet sufficiently numerot;s to extend themselves into the interior. This colony offers much excellent land to the emigrant on very easy terms, and has the advantage of being near the sea;

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yet, perhaps, there are objections which, until softened or removed, will prevent its having a preference with persons emigrating from the United Kingdom. The country is governed in all civil matters by the French law by which, in most cases, the British subject is deprived of the tri al by jury. It is, indeed, contended that this law ought to be confined to the lands granted by the French King previous to the conquest, which are still held by feudal tenure; but, in practice, it is applied to the whole province. This is the more to be lamented, because the land which has been granted since the province became an appendage to the British Crown in free and common soccage, is separated by a well-defined line from the French lordships, or seigneuries. The prevalence of the French law, by rendering property insecure, prevents the investment of capital in the purchase and cultivation of the soil ; and therefore British settlers, possessing capital and agricultural knowledge, are not inclined to locate themselves in the province. In all criminal cases the law of England prevails. The difference of language and religion present other obstaCles in the way of English settlers, and give them a distaste to Lower Canada. Of these and other difficulties, some may be lessened, or entirely removed, so that they will operate less strongly in future; and when the British language and population gain the ascendency, they will be entirely done away. The produce of Lower Canada is much the same with that of the Upper Province. The grain is indeed not quite so good; but that is in a great measure the fault of the cultivators. Some parts of the evidence apply equally to both provinces. The majority of testimony, for example, is much against the existence of Crown and Clergy Reserves, as throwing a great obstacle in the way of settlements. But whatever weight this might have had, and it seems to have been greatly exaggerated, it is now almost entirely done away. The Crown Reserves are disposed of to the Canada Land Company, and a portion of the Clergy Reserves will, in all probability, be sold at no very distant period. • Much of the evidence respected the commerce of the Canadas, in their connexion with the West Indies; and certainly a ready and safe market for their produce would render them a much more eligible asylum for the redundant population. Previous to 1822, all agricultural productions of the countries bordering upon the St. Lawrence were permitted to be shipped

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from Quebec, and exported to the British colonies, as Canadian produce. The co nsequence of this liberty was, that Amercian flour was brought to Quebec, and shipped as Canadian fl our to Halifax, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and the West Indies. The Act of 1822 imposed a duty on American flour coming into the province, which destroyed almost entirely tb e trade between the Canadas and the West Indies. A mOdification, indeed, of the law took place in 1825; but nothing can restore things to their former footing, except a total repeal. The whole of the evidence appears to point out the prop riety of uniting more closely together the British North American possessions which we have been describing. In a commercial point of view, this can be done with great facility. We have only to cut a canal between the St. Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy a distance of a few miles; by which the city of St. John, in New Brunswick, would become as much a seaport for Canada as Quebec. And jf another canal were cut from the Bay of Fundy to Halifax for coasting-vessels, it might likewise become an entrepot between the Canadas and the West Indies. These harbours are accessible at all times of the year; and as small craft can pass through the canal till very late in the season, the disadvantage of the Canadian winter, in freezing the St. Lawrence, would be in a great measure removed. Mr. Felton said, that for a long time little or no surplus produce would be exported, should emigration continue on a great scale; but he thought it would be good policy to render the St. Lawrence the channel of export for the productions of all the extensive territories, of which that river is the natural out1et. This observation, taken in connection with what another witness testified of the WeIland Canal, now in progress, and of which he furnished the first Report of the Directors, thou gh it does not appear in the Appendix, induced an inspection of the map of North America, to ascertain what extent of territory depended. or might depend, upon the St. Lawrence. This magnificent river affords a ready communication from the sea to Montreal, 200 miles above Quebec, for merchant-ships of 500 tons burthen. From Montreal to Prescott, a distance of 160 miles. it is navigated by boats of from three to twenty tons; but so large is the stream, and so few the impediments, that it might, at no great expense, be made navigable for steam-boats. From Prescott to tbe head of Lake Ontario, two hundred miles, the navigation is fine for the largest ships in the British Navy; and

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steam-boats pass and re-pass along this distance with ease and regularity. Between Lakes Ontario and Erie we have the falls of the Niagara, occasioning a portage of ten miles; an obstruction which will soon be removed by the WelJand Canal. The navigation, after entering Lake Erie, continues uninterrupted through Lakes Erie, St. Clair, Michigan, and Huron, emb racing nearly 3,000 miles of coast. Between Lakes Huron and Superior, the navigation is interrupted by a short rapid, whi ch may be locked at a very triflin g expense; and thus 1,500 miles of coast may be obtained. In short, the navigation will be opened between Lake Superior and the Ocean.... The Canadas admit of an accession of inhabitants to any amount. Mr. Felton states that Lower Canada is capable of containing six millions of wheat-consumers; and Mr. Boulton, that six or seven millions would not be an over-population for Upper Canada: numbers which far exceed any emigration which can be carried on, but which do not seem too great for the country, when we reflect upon th e vast commerce whieh must in time flow into it from the western regions to which we have adverted. But, eligible as these vast countries are for the purpose of settlement, it would seem that casual ~migra nt s generally prefer going to the United States .. . . Lands can be obtained with great facility in the British provinces, and on the most advant ageous terms, while in the United States they are dear, and the title uncertain. So sensible are emigrants of the greater eligibility of our colonies, that hundreds of those who have landed at New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, find their way into the Canadas. Nor are the advantages offered by these fine provinces of a temporary nature, but will continue for hundreds of years. For it is impossible to contemplate the map of America without being struck with the magnitude and value of the possessions which Great Britain still retains in that quarter of the world. Indeed, many are of the opinion that the most important section of North America still forms part of her dominions; embracing all the best fisheries, and the most commodious harbours, which, from their particular position, in conjunction with our West Indian colonies, give her the complete command of the Atlantic Ocean, and all the coast and harbours of the United States. The British North American territories extend across the whole continent, and exceed one million of square miles - a surface, doubtless, including many extensive lakes and rivers; much land, totally

80 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

incapable of cultivation, and scarcely containing 800,000 inhabitan ts, but certainly capable of subsisting fifty millions, and forming, from its aclvaotageous position, the key to the northwestern world. Of these advantages British statesmen are daily beco ming more sensible; and (as is observed in a quotation in tbe Report of the Emigration Committee) should the tide of emigration be directed towards them, "millions" will soon be "added to those who speak the Englisb language, and carry with th em the liberty, the laws, and the sympathies, of their nati ve country." "The defence of these colonial possessions would in a short time be supplied within themselves, and their increasing prosperity would sooo relieve the mother country from pecuniary demands that are now indispensable, and their prosperity in its reaction would augment the wealth and resources of the mother country itself." Moreover, our North American colonies have peculiar claims to the affection of the British nation. Nova Scotia, including New Brunswick, stood faithfu l when surrounded with rebellion. The Canadas are a proud memorial of fo rmer times a standing record of ancient glory : for they were torn from the most gallan t nation of Europe, the rivals an d opponents of English greatness; and after the American Revolution, they became the asylum of those brave men, who risked their lives, and sacrificed their property, to maintain the unity of the British Empire .. .. Such are the fine countries which the Committee recommend as the seats of emigration, not wild and barren regions, far removed from civilised life, but possessing many of the advantages and accompaniments of cultivated society. In going to these colonies, the emigra nts meet with countrymen and friends; they are exposed to no great privation, and are very soo n put in the way of providing comfortably for themselves and their families. The Committee state, th at wbile tbe English, Scotch, and Irish evidence eslablish[es] the fact, th at this redundant population is practically found to repress the industry, and even sometimes to endanger the peace of the mother country, the colonial evide nce uniformly concurs in opinion, that the industry and safety of the colonies will be materially encouraged and preserved by its reception. That a redunda nt population embitters and degrades the condition of the labourer has been already sufficiently shown; nor does the cbeapness of provisions

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remedy the evil; on the contrary, distress is often the greatest when agricultural produce is at the lowest price. If a labourer offering his strength and energy can find no employment, what is it to him that provisions are cheap? He has no wages to purchase them, low as they are, and therefore suffers aU the horrors of famine in the midst of plenty. Left without relief, his mind is paralyzed, and he si nks into despair, or, becoming fearl ess and hardened, he joins in tumult and insurrection; bloodshed follows, and thousands who, but for that unhappy situation which they could not remedy, might have been honest and peaceable members of society, are given up of necessity to niilitary execution. What but th e Poor Laws, and the active benevolence of the public, have prevented convulsions during the recent stagnation of trade and manufactures? and, if the redundant population continue to increase, and no vent be found for its removal, no exertions ~a n prevent the most frightful consequences - consequences wh ich cannot be contemplated at a distance without horror and dismay. The facts, therefore, established by this evidence, proclaim aloud approaching danger. In England and Scotland patience may endure some time longer, because there is some little hope th at the evils which the labourer so poignantly feels may ye t pass away; but in Ireland insurrection is at hand. If, therefore, the working classes continue to increase, and the improvements in macbinery to supersede manual labour shall advance more rapidly than new channels of industry can be discovered, th e day is not distant, if legislative redress be not granted, when general anarchy through the United Kingdom will ensue. It is no longer a matter of choice, much less of delay, but an immediate and pressing duty, which tbe Parliament, if . they wis h to save the country, have to perform. They must set themselves to the discovery and adoption of some effectual remedy for removing the distress of the labou ring and manufacturing poor; and that there is no remedy more effectual than an extensive emigration, conducted on liberal and wise principles, the colonial evidence triumphantly proves. The emigrant, on arriving in a colony, clearly perceives th at he has only to be industrious to render himself comfortable; independent, and happy. The first appearance is the worst, and may be somewhat depressing; but he soon becomes reconciled to his new place of abode, and although he may ha ve many difficulties to encounter, they are not of that heartrending sort

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which he felt in his native land. He has left behind all fear of poverty, or of pot providing for his family; nor is he ,terrified lest he should be unable for a single day to attend to his labours, or lest employment sbould fail. He feels that all depends upon himself and his famil y; he, therefore, trains up his children to habits of industry, occupies them in labour conducive to their health, and consistent with their age. His time is now at his own disposal; no task-master to goad him, or to reproach an d threaten him, should he be a minute behind his hour of commencing his labour. Secure of abundance of food for himself and his children, he can time his employment according to his convenience. But the advantages of emigration will be most forcibly il1ustrated by the facts recorded in the evidence .... This account of the casual em igra tions, and the experiments made by His Majesty's Government, leaves no room to doubt the certainty of the success that must attend any number that may be transported to the North American colonies. These colonies want population, and the want of it prevents their resources from corning in to play; and, if their interest be considered, as it ought to be, the interest of the empire, any expense incurred, in removing the redundant population, cannot be considered but in a national point of view; for you not only remove a sta rving population, who are troublesome, and may be dangerous, but change them into good settlers, and by increasing the wealth of the provinces to which they are remo ved, reproduce much more th an the sum spent in sending them out. Emigration, on a large scale, to the colonies, has a twofold operation; it not only renders the situation of the labourers left behind more comfortable, but it increases the demand for labour, by the supplies which the emigrants soon requi re, and for which their industry enables them to pay. On every ground. therefore, the Committee are justified in recom~ mend ing, to the serious deliberations of the house. the subject of emigration, as an obvious and immediate measure for correcting, in so me degree, th e redundancy of population, and for removing, or at least mitigating, the evils, which appear to res ult from its existence. But although it is evident, that this excess of population may not only be made comfortable, and, instead of continuing wretched themselves, and spreading misery around them. contribute to the wealth and strength of the empire, and th at the benefits accruing to the mother country, and the colonies, would more than remunerate the expense

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incurred: so that even in a financial point of view, there would be gain, and not loss . ... In Ireland, the effects of redundant population are so dreadful, that it is matter of astonishment to see the doubts expressed in the evidence, whether the proprietors and others could be persuaded to contribute towards the expense of emigration. Can any reasonable contribution be at all equal to what they are already losing? Does not a large portion of this population live upon lands for which they pay no rent, and from which the proprietors dare not remove them? Would not, therefore, a small annual payment become a profit, by enabling them to get quit of these paupers, and to enlarge their farms without exciting outrage and murder? The Bishop of Limerick advises a small assessment upon land, and thinks if it were left voluntary to adopt it or not, that parisbes would very soon perceive their advantage in assuming it, that they might have the privilege of sending out their paupers. "The farmers would be yet more desirous," says his Lordship, "because the mischief comes home to them; their Jwuses are liable to attack, their cattle are destroyed, their lives frequently become a sacrifice." With such facts daily increasing in number and atrocity, it is impossible to believe that the landed proprietors in Ireland can long stand out against giving their assistance to remedy so great evils. But as these evils are extending beyond Ireland, and the paupers of that division of the empire are spreading themselves over England and Scotland, and depressing, wherever they go, the character of the labouring class, it becomes necessary for the legislature to take the question of emigration up, on public grounds; and, as Ireland will profit more by any extended plan of emigration which may be adopted than any other portion of the empire, sbe ougbt to be compelled to give her full sbare of the contribution. It is evident that emigration, to be useful, must be on a great scale; and yet, perhaps, not so great as many rnay be disposed to imagine.... For let it be remembered, that those who are to be sent out are at this moment a burthen on the community, and are supported either by the poor-rates, subscriptions, or private charity, without any prospect of bettering their situation, or of obtaining effectual relief. Now, this scheme not only repays the money laid out, and prevents future demand, but actually compounds a perpetual annual charge for the simple interest of that

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cbarge during a sbort period. A pauper family, Mr. Hodges says, wi ll cost a parish at least 201. per annum ; but by this arrangement, instead of 201. for ever, you have only to pay 41. 7s. 6d. for seven years. Add to this,. that tbe wealtb and commerce of the colonies wiJI be trebled, and a corresponding increase take place in the navigation and manufactures of the . mother country. It may also be shown from the Report, that the Legislature, by passing the law against sub-letting, bas identified itself with the measures adopted by tbe landholders in Ireland, for clearing their estates from the surplus population. Now it is evident that this population has a claim for subsistence somewhere, either from their former landlords, or the Government, unless it be contended, in a Christian country, that they ought to be classed with verm in, and either put to death, or allowed to perish. If the in terest of the landbolders and the State (as appears to be the case from their joining in the same measure) requires the removal of this redundant population, justice demands that an integral part of the measure should be the regular supply of their wan ts, and not an increase of their wretchedness. Were, indeed, the Irish landowners to provide for the tenants they dismiss, as tbe Marquis of Stafford, Mr. Campbell, and others have done, their misery would be greatl y alleviated, and legislative interference might be the less necessary. But to thrust them out of bouse and home, without provision or shelter, resource or hope, is to plunge them in despair, and to invite to insurrection and rebellion. If it be asked wby there is such a clamour against emigration as a national measure, I answer, that it is a question which has never yet been carefully examined ; its philosophy has not even been touched, nor its consequences, as a measure of state policy, unfolded. It, nevertheless. offers an untrodden field for the political economist who will take common sense along with him well deserving bis most serious attention; but, omitting the consideration of these interesting topics, for the present, I hastcn to a conclusion. Allow me then, Sir, to hope that these remarks may induce those, who have the means, to assist you in giving effect to the wise and practicable scheme of emigration, to the consideration of whi ch you have for so many years directed your zealous and unremitted attention. It is a scheme founded on principles incontrovertible, combining the relief of the misery which the

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red undant population are at present suffering, with the permanent benefit of the empire. It is a noble measure of state policy. which must succeed, and repay those who promote it for all the labour which may have heen incufJ;ed in its establishment. (John Strachan, R emarks on Emigration !!rom the United K ingdom Addressed to Robert Wilmol H orlon [London: John Murray, 18271)

"""' The following may serve as a final comment upon the problems of emigration and settlement.-Tho' I have been forty-three years a resident of this country, I have never ad vised anyone to emigrate, for do what we can to soften matters, emigration never fails to be attended with many sacrifices and privations and maoy longings after the home of our childhood and yearnings of the heart towards them we left behind. (Strachan to S. D. Ardagb, 21 March 1842,

SLB

to the Society, 79)

I

CHAPTER SIX

Upper Canada: The National Church

- That the Church of England was and ought to be the established church of the colonies was the firm belief of Jacob Mountain and Charles James Stewart, first and second bishops of Quebec. John Strachan had come to share the same opinions, and fought to make them acknowledged and practicable in Upper Canada. England be bad never seen, nor was be to do so until 1825, but to the idea of an English national establishment be could add the usual Scottish assumption of the unity of church and state, and Scotch tenacity of purpose. The Clergy Reserves and other endowments were to be the means for making the idea work. The first letter quoted shows Strachan soliciting instructions from Bishop Mountain to guide him in his dealings with the Upper Ca nadian government. Bishop Mountai n died in June of 1825, and Strachan used the occasion to state his view of the establishment, and incidentally to deplore the actions of the "uneducated itinerant preachers." The offended Methodists found thei r champion in Egerton Ryerson. who answered Strachan in a series of widely-reprinted letters ...... It is pleasing to inform your Lordship that Governor Gore manifests every disposition to second your views in placing the Church Establishment on a respectable footing. One great difficulty has been the tythes which are said. contrary to my opinion. to fo llow induction as one-seventh of the lands of the province is evidently given as in full equ ivalent. The words "Protestant Clergy" used in the 31 st of the K ing have been likewise made a subject of controversy as comprehending all denominations tolerated in Great Britain but certainly without reason. These words are used in contradistinction to the Roman Catholic Clergy and refer exclusively to the Clergy of tbe Cb urcb of England. I was bappy to find your Lordsbip giving so decided an

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opinion on the first of these difficulties. Such an opinion (or a more formal one, if thought necessary) from the first Bishop of the Diocese ought to have settled the matter. But, since it has been said that no declaration or opinion either from the bishop or minister of state can take away a right or prevent it from being asserted if it really exist, I consented rather than contend, that a short declaratory act be passed the Legislature stating that the clergy in this province have no right of tythes. This is giving up nothing and sets the question at rest for ever; and it became the more expedient, for till it was settled we could not proceed a single step. If your Lordship will have the condescension to furnish me with a detailed statement of what you want done towards the establishing of the Church, I will give my zealous co-operation and be able to smooth difficulties and remove objections before your Lordship arrives at this place. At present I am unwilling to suggest anything to the Governor (who is exceedingly well disposed) for fear of its not corresponding exactly with the wished-for arrangements. Any little influence I may have possessed has been uniformly exerted in favour of the Church, and on that important subject I have not fail ed to address, as opportunities offered, every person at the head of this Government. During this session of Parliament I have been instrumental in preparing two bills on education which arc now before the Legislature. The first is for establishing common schools, and tho' several material alterations have been made in my draft of it, yet much tbat is exceUent remains. We shall obtain the power of directing tbe books to be used and directing the qualifications of the masters. The second bill contains a clause appropriating a certain sum of money for assisting students in Divinity to prosecute their studies, but I am doubtful of its success.... (Strachan to Bishop Jacob Mountain, 19 March 1816, Scadding Papers)

On dividing tbe Province of Quebec into two distinct Governments, our late venerable Sovereign signified to Parliament his intention of making provision for a Protestant clergy, according to the Church of England, by wbich tbe people might enjoy all the benefits of religious instruction - rightly judging that the establishment of an enlightened clergy in the colony would contribute morc than any otber measure to its happiness

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and prosperity. To follow up this pious and benevolent measure, and to meet the wants of the rising Church with more ease and convenience, by rendering it necessary fo r young men, desirous of entering her ministry, to proceed to England for Holy Orders, as well as to perform those episcopal fun ctions, which are necessary to her very existence, a bishop was appointed, retaining the fo rm er name of the colony, that both provinces might be included in the Diocese. For this arduous charge Dr. Mountain, then a dignitary in the Church of England, was most judicio usly selected. This gentleman had taken his degrees at the university, with great distinction, and from his elegance of taste, extensive literary acquirem ents, and private worth, had been rapidly preferred. T he friend of the great Mr. Pitt, and of the present Bishop of Winchester so justl y revered as the champion of the true faith, the brightest prospects were opened to his view, and when it appeared expedient to cons titute an Ecclesiastical Establishment in the Province of Quebec, he was nominated Bishop, and consecrated in 1793. This appointment, or rather the Ecclesiastical Establishment of which the late Bishop was the head, is remarkable, not only in the history of this province, but in that of the British Empire, as being the first step ever taken by the Imperi al Legislature, towards a recognition of th at obvious, but still un acknowledged principle, that the colonies of a country have as good a right to receive moral and reli gious instruction from the parent state, as her laws and government. What are the great objects of colonization but to provide fo r the redundancies of pop ulation, to afford to meritorious en terprize and industry the means and opportunity of successful exertion, to recognize and improve the unheeded and uncultivated bounties of nature, to fo rm at intermediate points links of connection between the mother country and the remotest lands to which her commerce can be extended, and in addition, to direct to beneficial purposes, the talents and labours of those, whom the offended Jaws have banished from their native land? Now, these objects, so hi ghly beneficial to the parent state, produce settlements in the most di stant regions, notwithstanding the perils of unhealthy climates, and unexplored seas. And shall the various descriptio ns of em igrants, of which they are composed, encounter all the privati ons and dangers, incident to the form ation of such settlements, for the advantage of their native land, and be in the meantime deprived of their most precious rights and privileges?

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Surely if they are entitled to all the comforts of a moral and religious education, by remaining at home, much more ought such comforts to accompany J or as soon as possible foll ow them to the remote settlements, which they are employed in establishing. And if any colony can have a paramount claim over ano ther to a privilege, which is the common right of all, it is Canada, more particularly Upper Canada, which was settled by men driven from their homes by theen~mies oftheircountry. many of whom had sacrificed to principle the means whicb would have enabled them to have procured fo r themselves and children the benefits of moral and religious instruction. When the late Bishop was appointed, about thirty-two years ago, to diffuse the light of the Gospel through this extensive portion of His Majesty's dominions, it was even a grea ter spiritual, th an a natural wilderness. Only five Protestant congregations were to be found within the whole Diocese; where now, upwards of fifty are established. In so long a period, this may appear a small increase; but great and many were the obstacles which the Church had to encounter, some of which could only be removed by time, and over others, the Bishop bad no control. In as far as depended upon his exertions, no labour was spared in promoting those measures, which he judged most likely to extend the Ecclesiastical Establishment, and after many years of disappointment and delay, he had the happiness to behold, before his departure, a fair foundation laid for the diffusion of Christianity, through the whole D iocese. In this age of affected liberality and abhorrence of restraint, our venerable Church has peculiar difficuJties to surmount, in estab lishing herself in a new country like thi s, which those societies, that adopt no form of church government und er the pretext that forms are not sanctioned by the primiti ve times, never can experience. But in proportion to the difficu lties, which she has to overcome at ber commencement, is the permanence of her establishment, and certainly of her extension, for while the members of other denominations connected by no bond of union, no common principles of order. and DO subordin ation, are soon scauered, or divided, our Church proceeds, with all the advantages, which union, discipline, and order can produce . . . . On arriving in his Diocese, the Bishop found many things combining to blight the prospects of the rising chu rch. The majority of the inhabitants of Lower Canada, where his Lord-

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sbip determined to reside, belonged to the Roman Ca tholic persuasio n and looked upon him as the head of 3. ri val ecclesiastical establishment. The Protestant di ssenters, who composed a considerab le number of the remainder, envied and opposed him, because the Church over which he presided, was the religion of the State, and was therefore more immedi ately under its protection. To soften the asperi ty of the opposition of these two classes and the undisguised hatred of inferior sects, and to shew them the real excellence of the Church of England, happily placed in the true medium between extravagant and dan gerou s extremes, could only be the work of time. His Lordship had also the mortifica tio n to find that many of the Protestant inhabitants, imbibing the levelling opinions of the times, declaimed against the appointment of a bishop and against 311 reli gious establishments, as inconsistent with the spirit of true religion and the peace of society. Had not Christi anity been revealed, then had mankind been left to fo llow their own imagi nations, as they did before the coming of Ch rist, but as the Supreme Being bas been pleased to communicate His will, it is the duty of every Christian government, to support such 3. religious establishment, as may best secure the benefits of this revel ation to all their subjects. Now, as this di vine rcvelation is intended to promote among all men true morali ty and purity of life, to become the mother of good works, our cordial in afflictio n, and our comfort in death, to bring us daily into the presence of God and our Saviour that we may believe in his holy name, love him with all our hearts, and by making him the object of our imitation and the founda tion of our fa ith, resemble him aD earth, a nd follow him to heaven; an establishment which produces these excellent effects ought to be cherished by every good government, in its own defence, as the guardian and nourisher of the purest social, and domestic virtues. Indeed the very appo intment of parochial instructors of the people, in the duties of morality and the doctrines of revelation, is so eminently wise an d beneficial, that it may not only be adduced as a collater31 evidence of the divine origin of Christianity, but of the necess ity of a public establishment, to render it truly efficacious. Accordingly the most eminent friends of the Gospel have considered an ecclesiastical establishment, so necessary to the moral and religious improvement of the people, and so essenti al to give perm anent effect to the most pure and sublime principles that can direct the understanding,

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and influence the heart, that they have declared a regul ar clergy, and those autborities which appo int and superintend them, important branches of the Church of Christ. Experience has justified this declaration. The religious establishments of England and Scotland have, under the divine blessing, been the great promoters of all that is great and good, in those happy countries. The mass of tbe population are taught thei r duty to God and man - to attend to a law, not to be obtained in books, nor to be engraven on tablets of brass - a law which always subsists, which is every moment forcing itse lf into notice, and which condemns every species of wrong. Hence the British nation is the most intell ec tual, and moral in E urope-the world's centre of arts, commerce, and civilization. H ere the li ght of freedom burns with the brigb tes t radiance, a nd the ri ghts and liberties of man are the best understood and most abund antly enjoyed; and here a lo fty sense of independence is of universal growth. From this nation, the cherisher and supporter of religious establishments, have come alm ost all the lights that exalt modern times. She takes the lead in tbose mi ghty efforts, which are changing the face of the world. To the able administration of her excellent laws, and the wisdom of her political institutions, all nations turn their eyes not only to admire, but to imitate. She stands aloft like the sun in the heavens, dispensing her charities wherever distress is to be found, without regard to difference of langu age, climate, o r complexion. Not satisfied with shewin g the way, she compels, by entreaties and donations, other nations to pursue her virtuous course. It is to religion that she owes her pre·eminence - it is thi s that throws a holy splendour round her head, makes her the hope of every land, and urges her to achieve the evangelization of mankind. Never without a religious establishment could she have soared so high above other nations - it is thi s th at diffuses through her whole population, the most sublime and disinterested principles, which. refining ,the sen timents and elevating the affec tions, enable them to subdue selfish passions and appetites, and to pant after the felicity of doing good. Indeed a Christian nation without a religious establishment is a contradiction, and notwithstanding the praiseworthy exertions of a few denominations in the neighbouring States, more especially the Episcopal Church, Cijristianity, except in a few large towns, is found to languish, and seldom in the country pervades the mass of the people. Let the candid opponents of ecclesiastical establishments,

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if any such there be, compare the people who have no standing ministry, not merely in towns, where a spark of Christianity may exist, but through the country, with a people possessing this inestimable advantage, and they will acknowledge th at no country can be called Christian, which does Dot give public support to Christianity, and th at no other religion but that of Jesus could have suggested an idea so grand and affecting as that of placing a Public Teacher of Righteousness in every small society throughout the world. In the scattered settlements of tbis Diocese, schools and churches are of necessity for many years few in number, and multitudes of both sexes are growing up in great ignorance. In regard to education, something has been done by the Provincial Legislature; but to build churches, and to place clergymen is a work of greater difficulty. Even when churches are erected, the persons who give regular attend ance are so few as greatly to discourage the minister, and his influence is frequently broken or injured by numbers of uneducated itinerant preachers, who, leaving their steady employment, betake themselves to preaching the Gospel from idleness, or a zeal without knowledge, by which they are induced without any preparation, to teach what they do not know, and which, from their pride, they disdain to learn. Under such circumstances, the minister placed in the first church, or settlement where in all probability he will have several churches to attend, has many difficulties to encounter - his people live scattered on their farm s, cut off from that daily intercourse, which softens and polishes the manners. Confined to farniJy circles, their ideas become selfish and contracted, and they are little disposed to trouble themselves about any other thing than what contributes immediately to their own comfort. Among such a population, social intercourse is very rare, and they seldom meet unless to bargain and traffic .... Should the future historian feel inclined to find fault with the little that has been done by the first Protestant Bishop of Quebec, 1 request him to pause before pronouncing judgment, in order to examine the many obstacles in his Lordship's way during the whole of his Episcopacy, and how little his efforts were seconded by those who were able to command success, and indeed how little disposition the people of Great Britain manifested, till lately, towards the religious instructi on of their colonies. That extensive settlements, composed of British subjects whose loyalty has stood the most bitter trials, and whose

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unaffected devotedness to the constitution of the mother couotry is above all praise, should be left comparatively destitute of religious instruction, and without an efficient ecclesiastical establishmen t to watch over their spiritual interests, is al together incomprehensible. Can anything attach colonies to the parent state so strongl y as a community of religious feeling? How then comes it that Great Britain, conspicuous among the nations for her high moral and intelJectual qualities, and deriving much of her power, wealth, and political importance from her foreign possessions, should be so culpably deficient in what should be the first care of a Christian nation? Is it not evident that the Canadas, as well as the other colonies, have been left in a great measure to grope their way as ,they could through the darkness which surrounds them, almost totally unaided by the parent state? Does not the greater part of the population of tbis Diocese, notwithstanding the meritorious exertions of the late Bishop, his scattered clergy, and many individuals, rem ain unimproved, and sadly destitute of religious instruction? What can fifty-three clergymen do, scattered over a country of greater extent than Great Britain? Is it to be wondered at that under such circumstances, the religious benefits of the Ecclesiastical Establishment of England are little known or felt, and that sectaries of all descriptions are increasing on every side? And when it is considered that the religious teachers of the other denominations of Christians, a very few respectable ministers of the Church of Scotland excepted, come almost universally from the republican states of America, where they gather their knowledge and form their sentiments, it is quite evident, th at if the Imperial Government does nqt immediately step forward with efficient help, the mass of the population will be nurtured and instructed in hostility to our parent church, nor will it be long till they imbibe opinions anything but favourable to the political institutions of England. Convinced that the attachment of colonies to the Metropolis, depends infinitely more upon moral and religious feeling, than political arrangement, or even commercial advantage, I cannot but lament that more is not done to instil it into the minds of the people. The expense of supporting the Civil and Military Establishments of Canada, is said to cost Great Britain annually 700,0001. while only 96601. is paid for the support and extension of the religion of the parent state, of which the Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts supplies one half.

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Can anyone doubt for a moment of the impolicy of this arrangement - that the Government should scarcely allow five thousand pounds to promote the religious a nd moral sentiments and feelings, which are the rea l bonds of attachment, whi le she pays 700,0001. witho ut prod ucing a ny attachment, or any disposition towards the parent sta te, wh ich did not previously exist? Is it not ev ident that forty thousand pounds pe r annum (w hich is scarcely the expense of a single regimen t) spent in the support of a zealous clergy, at a moderate sala ry, would do more in prOducing good fee ling and loyal attach ment to the religious and political Constitutions of England, than the whole of the above expenditure? It is by reason ing, by early instruction and example, that the unity of the Empire is to be main tained - all other methods will be found in va in. The Church Establishment mu st be made efficient, and commensurate with the wants of the people - it must no longer be thought a maHer of ind ifference in colonial policy, nor even of secondary consideration. It must take the lead of all others, if their preservation be of importancej and can it be doubted , that it is only through the Ch urch and its institutio ns, tha t a truly English character and feeling can be given to, or preserved among the popUlation of any foreign possession? It is indeed mortifying to-think that when our late venerable Sovereign gave the means, which will in future times become sufficient to support a religious establishment in this country, he went so far beyond the spirit of the age in which he li ved, that after a period of thirty-five years it has not been sufficiently appreciated, and the Christi an spirit has made so little progress that no effectual assistance has yet been supplied to give body to the Church, and keep it substantia lly alive til l the bounty of the King becomes available. Now it must be evident to all sincere followers of the C ross, that whi le, out of the many millions of public expenditure, it shall be considered a prodigy to devote a few hundred thousand pounds to support and dissem inate religion in the colonies, wh ich no man has the hardih ood to advocate in the British Legislature, Christianity bas not produced even in the most favourable situatio n the effect wh ich she ought to have done .. . . (Strach an, A S ermon Preached at York, Upper Canada, Third 0/ l Illy 1825, 011 the D ealh 0/ the Late Lord Bishop 0/ Quebec {Kingston : Macfarlane, 1826]) ,-oJ

In the spring of 1827, the Colonial Office introd uced into

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the House of Commons a bill to permit the sale of a portion of the C lergy Reserve lands in the two Canadas. T he measure eventually passed, but not before the claims of the Church of Scotland to a portio n of the proceeds had been ra ised in the House. Strachan, in England on the business of the un iversi ty, was asked for his counsel. The Observations oj the Provision Made lor the Maintenance oj a Protestall l Clergy (London: 1827), with its appended "Ecclesiastical Chart," is the resull. Desig ned to minimize the claims of the Scotch Church, it caused the members of that church in Upper Canada to join with the Methodists in their attack upon the English establishment. The first section of the chart, listing clergy of the "Established Chu rch" and their stati ons, is omitted . ...... The prospect of ob taining a respectable clergyman unites neighbourhoods together, and when he is once placed, and is of a m ild, conciliating disposition, he is sure to make a congregation. For though differing in their religious views or remembering that their parents were attached to different principles, some may for a time keep aloof, yet the presence of a clergy man who merits their esteem, who had baptized the children of those he has married, prepa red th eir you th for confi rmation, and buried their dead, and who in ki ndness answers their doubts and removes their sc ruples, gradually wins them over, and all being done with affection and without the smallest appearance of authority, th e settlers become acc ustomed to our form of worship. and collecting around him, consider themselves his flock. It is true this is the work of time, and is attended with much labour and difficulty, for the minister is frequentl y much discouraged in commencing his duties by the thinness of the attenda nce, nor is it merely by preachin g that his congregation is increased, he must vis it the people at the ir homes, converse with them, and explain to them the necessit y of turning their hearts to God. He has commonly several churches to attend ; his people live scattered on their farms, cut off from that daily intercourse which polishes and softens the manners; confined to family circles, their ideas become selfi sh and contracted, and they are little disposed to trouble themselves about any other thing than what contributes immediately to their comfort. In such circums tances, the social affectio ns sleep or expire, their deportment becomes rough and forbidding, at one time forward or impudent, at another time awkward and sheep-

96 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

MINISTERS OF THE INDEPENDENT OR PRESBYTERIAN ORDER,

And assuming the Appellation 0/ (h e Presbytery 0/ th e Calladas, PLACES OF RESIDENCE

CLERGYMEN

Osnaburgh - Eastern District

The Rev. J. Johnston

Brockville - Johnston District

The Rev. Wm. Smart

Perth - Bathurst District

The Rev. Wm. Bell

Bay of Quinty -

Midland District The Rev. Rt. M'Duall

York - Home District

The Rev. James Harris

Markham - Home District

The Rev. Wm. Jenkins

MrNlSTERS IN COMMUN ION W ITH THE KIRK OF SCOTLAND PLACES OF RESIDENCE

CLERGYMEN

Williamstown - Eastern District

The Rev. John M'Kensie

District

Cornwall- Eastern District

Kingston - Midland District

The Rev. John M'Laurie

Vacant Vacant

As the Methodists have no settled clergymen, it has been found difficult to ascertain the number of itinerants employed, but it is presumed to be considerable, perhaps from twenty to thirty in the whole province; one f rom England, settled at Kingston, appears to be a very superior person. The other denominations have very few tcachers, and those seemingly

THE NATIONAL C HURC H - 97

but having

110

connection with the Kirk oj Scotland.

Educated principally at G lasgow, ordained in Ireland by the Synod of Ulster, preaches at Cornwall and Osnaburgh, Eastern District. Sent out to this country as a Missionary by some Society in London, settled at Brockville, Johnston District, said to be an excellent young man. Educated in Scotland, ordained among the Dissenters from the Established Kirk, settled at Perth, in Bathurst District. Ordained in the United States, settled in the Bay of Quinty, Midland District, has resided in the Province many years. Educated principally at Glasgow, admitted a Licentiate by the Synod of Ulster. Ordained in the United States for the purpose of residing among the Indians, came lately into tbe Provinces and settled in Markham.

Has been about eight years in the Province, and is settled at Williamstown as Minister of a part of the late Rev. John Bethune's congregation. Has been about seven years in the Province and is situated at Lochiel, is Minister of another part of the late Rev. J. Bethune's congregation.

very ignorant; one of the two remain ing clergymen in communion with the Church of Scotland has applied to be admitted into the Established Church. (Strachan, Observation 01 the Provision Made lor the Maintenance of a Protestant Clergy in tile Provinces 0/ Upper and Lower Canada [London: R Gilbert, 1827])

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ish. From all which, the first clergyman finds himself not only eogaged to preach the Gospel, but to preach civilizatio~ . Yet little encouraging as the prospect appears, it is really astonishing bow soon, through the blessing of God, a kind minister makes an impression, and how quickly, under his guidance, a change is effected in the settlement. Should any still feel inclined to find fault with the little progress which the Church has yet made, we answer, that considering the difficulties which she has had to encounter, her advance has been far greater than could have been reasonably expected; and that though her churches are as yet only thinly scattered over a vast country, like th e congregations of the Primitive Christians, in the days of the Apostles, it is confidently hoped that jf allowed to remain at peace, and jf no rivalships are cherished, the intervening spaces will soon be adorned with new congregations, till the whole population shall become united in one communion. Let it be remembered, that the Church in Canada was for many years entirely supported out of the very limited and fluctuating revenue of the venerable the Society for Promoting the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which did its utmost to increase the number of the clergy, but its means were not adequate to its wishes and at length it was obliged to solicit the aid of Government to continue and extend its efforts: accord ingly a sum in aid of its funds has, si nce 1815, heen annually voted by the Imperial Parliament. How inadequate this aid is to the necessity of the case, and indeed how little disposition the people of Great Britain have manifested towards the religious instruction of their colonies is too well known .. .. The Church of England has no peculi ar privileges in Upper Canada, except the prospect of future support from the Reserves. All denominations are equally free, and none have any political power or advantage over the other. The policy of depriving our Church of this single future advantage may be well questioned, when it is considered that her clergy are the only religious teachers over whom the Government has any control. Indeed the teachers of all other denominations, With. the exception of the two ministers of the Church of Scotland, four Congregationalists, and a very respectable English missionary who presides over a congregation of Wesleyan Methodists at Kingston, are for the most part from the United States. This is notoriously the case with the Methodist teachers who,

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next to the Established Church, are decidedly the most numerous, and who are subject to the orders of the Conference in the United States of America . . .. ,.., Charles James Stewart, Bishop of Quebec (and still the sole bishop for the two Canadas), recommended the drawing up of petitions in favour of the church's claim to all the proceeds of the Reserves, to be signed by each congregation. Strachan doubted the wisdom of such a method and asked, through George Mountain, the bishop's commissary, that the policy be reconsidered. In a subsequent letter to Bishop Stewart, he proposed the holding of diocesan conventions 00 the model of the Episcopal Church in the United States. ~ I write this in answer to your favour of the 220d inst. with much regret because I feel myself under the necessity of dissenting with the greatest respect from the measure which you have adopted, doubtless with the very best intentions, "That our congregations should petition to be heard by counsel in maintenance of Qur exclusive right to the Reserves." I shall nevertheless adopt the suggestions which you are pleased to give me respecting the circulation of the Bishop's excellent letter as sooo as the corrected copy shall arrive; but lowe it to myself aod the interests of the Church to state that I consider the petitioning on the part of the people exceedingly dangerous and as calculated to weakeo our cause. My opinion may be singular as I have not seen His Excellency's, but it rests upon the following among other reasons. 1st Most of our congregations are yet patch-work - containing few staunch Churchmen; and altho' our proselytes prefer us, they are not prepared to fight for us. 2nd If, therefore. these petitions are to be represen ted as being signed by all our people, they will do us harm. because they will not exhibit half our number. I 3rd This is not the ground upon which the question should be made to rest - but on our vested rights. The exertions of the King's Prerogative - Acts of Parliament - Acts of the Provincial Legislature. 4th It will tend to divide our congregation by prOducing an odious distinction between those who sign and those who do not sign. 5th It will prevent our spreading so fast - because it offers a new and invidious barrier.

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6 The general opinion of friends and foes, who have not examined the question minutely, is rather against giving us so much as one-seventh [of the population]. 7 If this be the opinion of many of the well informed, how can we expect the lower orders, who cannot understand the question, to petition in our favour? 8th General petitions (in favour of things as they are) are not considered liberal- are apt to be treated with contempt and consequently have no weight. 9th Our opponents will easily outnumber us, for if they cannot get they can make signatures - notice their finding two thousand Presbyterians in the New Castle District, when there are scarcely any. 10th OUf argument is not what we are, but what we shall soon be if left unmolested. lIth The result will furnish our opponents with the strongest argument that tbey could possibly have against us - the proof that many of our own people are unfavourable. 12th The measure tends to give an undue weight to the congregation and to that portion of it who have least prudence or forethought - and trenches on the independence of the Clergy. 13 I hold all such references to the people dangerous in principle because hostile to established order. I write in haste. but a little consideration will suggest many more Objections - such as its democratic aspect - and the very awkward situation it places the minister [in], in regard to those who refuse to sign. I am quite satisfied that, in this province, the plan of petitioning by the people will be followed by many evils. I sball indeed rejoice to find myself mistaken; and, however I may deplore the measure, I shall think it my duty to obey when it receives the sanction of the Lord Bishop. and to do all I can to make it effectual. (Strachan to Archdeacon George Mountain, Bishop'S Official, 31 December 1827, SL8 1827-34, 9-10)

... I mentioned to your Lordship as a matter worthy of consideration whether annual meetings of the Clergy such as are held by our communion in Scotland and in the dioceses of the United States are not become necessary in the Canadas .... The times seem to require something of the kind, and my late friend Bishop Hobart has often declared to me that but for these

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meetings the Episcopal Church would not have increased with

half the rapidity or taken such hold of the affections of the people ... I am quite aware that in the present state of the

English Church Establishment this may appear a novelty; but it is nevertheless in perfect accordance with primitive times. And had the Churcb of England annual meetings, it wou ld bave retained much stronger hold of the population than it has at present . ... Your'Lordship is fuUy aware of the vast advantages which accrue to the Church of Scotland in power and stabil ity

from tbe General Assembly - and bow much more the applications of that Assembly are attended to by the Government than those of individuals - Bishops or even the two great Church Societies. The former appears the request or demand of a nation; the other of one or of a small colIection of private individuals. On this important subject your Lordship will have an opportunity of obtaining the best advice while you remain

in England - and as the Bisbop of Nova Scotia and perbaps one of the West India bishops may be in London, their experience united to your Lordsbjp's will suggest the proper Hmitations and powers which such assemblies ought to exercise - but it is sufficient for me to suggest what I consider a measure that would be of great importance in promoting the prosperity of the Church in this colony. As to the maDner of digesting it and carrying into force your Lordship would be far more competent

to judge.... (Strachan to Bishop Stewart, 21 May 1831,

SLB

1827-34, 189)

,...; Strachan's most reasoned defence of the establishment was worked out in his Letter to rhe Righ t Honorable Thomas Frankland Lewis (York: 1830). He argued for the practical utility of the Reserves, both to the settlers and to the church , and again

outlined the claim of the Church of England to the whole revenue. ,...; A LETTER TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THOMAS FRANKLAND LEWIS, M.P . YORK, UPPER CANADA, 1ST FEB[RUAR]Y, 1830

Sir, It is with great reluctance that I thus publicly address you 00 the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons

102 - DOCUMENTS AND OP I NIONS

on the Civil Government of Canada, of which you were Chairman. But the opinions expressed in that important document respecting the provision made for the religious instruc tion of the Protestant Inhabitants in these colonies, appear to me so much at variance with justice, sound policy, and the principles of the British Constitution, as to call fo r the most se rious observation. Having already been actively engaged in the protection of this property, it will not, I hope, be deemed inconsistent with my duty, thus openly to record my protest against the adoption of the measures recommended, and to exert myself to the utmost of my power in defending the unity of the Church and State in the Canadas, which is the brightest ornament of the British Co nstitu tion, and ought to be the glory of every Christian government. .. . Moreover, a por tion of our inhabi tants, by no mea ns inconsiderable, are emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, who came into the province at a very early period, and they ca me in the confidence, that in removing to Upper Canada they were merely changing their places of abode, but neither their laws, Ii bert i es~ nor religion. Such was the population, when the Constitutional Act of 1791 was passed, - a population of the most decided loyalty, and sincerely attac hed to Great Britain, and such it continued I may say even without exception up to 1798. It is true that thousands have found it in their interest to come into the province, since that time, who have no attachment to our civil and reli gious institutions; but they were never invited, nor was there ever any feeling in their favour manifested by the Government. . . . Of American citizens coming individua lly, and purchasing lands and settling upon them at their own peril , the local government could take no notice, unless upon regu lar co mplaint, wh ich was not likely to be made, while they remained quiet and peacea ble, and while the intercourse between the two nat ions continued friendly . But since all tbose, who are not American Loyalists, or strongly attacbed to the parent state, have come into the province with a full knowledge, that we \Vere living under the British Constitut ion, and that our Establishm ents, Civil a nd Re ligious, are modelled upon that adm irab le fabric, it is reaso nable to assume th at they were prepared to acquiesce in these institu-

THE NATIONAL CHURCH -103

tions, and entertained no design of overturning them. If the first, which we are disposed to admit as the most probable, then they have no claim to have any of our institutions changed, because they may prefer others, which are not congenial to our form of government. StUI Jess are they entitled to attention, if they came into this province with the secret determination to overturn our Constitution, both in Church and State. It is not however to be concealed that many of those persons whatever their intention may have been, when they first removed into this province, are now desirous of destroying it as a British colony, and of annexing it to the United States; and unfortunately they have acquired no liule strength, both in talents and numbers, from emigrants from the British dominions of Europe, since the general peace in 1815. Still the number of discontented is compara tively insignificant, thougb like all minorities they are exceedingly clamorous and bustling, and to strangers may at first appear to be very formidable. But there are hundreds to one of them, who are honestl y attached to Great Britain, and who feel themselves entitled to all the privileges of British birth-right, and who came here in the full confidence of enjoying them. They did not, nor could they, suppose, that when they fled from rebellion, or left the shores of Great Britain, they left their birth-right behind them, or that in passing to a British colony, they were depriving themselves of the privileges of the British Constitution. - Now these are the settlers who deserve the kind consideration of the Imperial Government; and indeed it must be confessed that till lately it was the policy of Great Britain to strengthen the political attachment of her colonis,ts, on constitutional principles, and on no other. For it was justly considered that the colonist who does not think himself identified, as it were, with the inhabitants of the parent state, and to possess the same rights and privileges, ought to emigrate to some other country... . It must indeed, Sir, be confessed, that the want of religious instruction is in some measure an evil incidental to new settlements - but no efforts ought to be spared to supply a remedy for an evil, which is pregnant with the most serious mischief. The parent stale should not hesitate to provide an adequate number of clergymen and churches for all ber colonies. This ought to be one of the first objects of every Christian government, for if men have Dot the same means of being good Christians, how can it be expected that they will be good sub-

104 - DOCUMENTS AND O PI NIONS

jects? There is something both incongruous and revolting in expecting men to perform their duty to their King, when a perfect indifference is shewn to the performance of their duty to God .. .. Indeed in the course of thirty years so little was the obstacle of the Reserves appreciated, that till clamors were raised against the church, Dot a murmur was heard against them, nor wo~ld they have been noticed now but for the purpose of pulling down the Establishment. There are advantages attending these reserved allotments which much more th an overbalance any temporary inconvenience that they may occasion. 1st The benefit which an industrious family enjoys in having Reserves in the neighbourhood on which their children may be settled, without removing far from the parent stock. 2nd The very easy rents paid for these Reserves where lands are no longer granted by Government, and where they become dear as in populous settlements. 3rd The facility which they offer to emigrants of settling in the midst of populous lownships, without being exposed to the hardships and privations of the wilderness. 4th Their convenience to many actual settlers who wish to extend their labours beyond their first allotment, to which their small means at first confined them. For such the Reserves are admirably placed to enable them to enlarge the field of their exertions. 5th The benefit of religious instruction to the rising generalion - a benefit not confined to the Established Ch urch, for it will provoke other denominations to greater exertions, and diffuse decency and order through the whole community. These advantages will be fo und, on examination, to be of great value. When a township, for example, is surveyed, of twelve miles by nine, the whole is granted to settlers, except the Reserves, in parcels of from 100 to 1,200 acres, according to the means, character, and rank of the applicants. Suppose the township to be taken up in a few weeks, or even days, which is frequently the case, and that the following year, or within a few months, the relations and friends of many of th e settlers come to join them - there is not a foot of land in the township that has not been granted, and perh aps none vacant for many miles. They are unwilling to be separated - for to join their friends and relatives was perhaps their chief inducement for

THE NATIONAL CHURCH - lOS

leaving home. In this dilemma the Reserves offer a remedy,many of them are still unoccupied, and upon them they settle, at a rate nearly as easy as if they had procured a grant from the Crown. Aga in, suppose many of the settlers to have rising families, it is natural for them to wish to settle their children on lands so near that they may be able to assist them. Much of this assistance consists in labor, provisions, and little services, which cannot be performed at a distance, but which are Dot the less valuable and necessary. Tbe eldest son takes a Reserve - his father and brothers assist bim with their labor at all spare times - they return borne perhaps every night - nor does the occupier of the Reserve leave his fatber's family till be has a good clearing, some stock, and a good bouse, and means of providing for a family of his own. The same process takes place with the next son, or sons-in-law, till all the children are provided for. How much more wise and judicious this easy method of providing a fund for the general benefit, than charging the inhabitants with quit rents, which was the case in the old colonies, and were a burthen on the lands forever. These Reserves are condemned as if they were peculiar to the Canadas, but they are very common in the United States. In some of the provinces 1136 of all lands are reserved for education alone, and various tracts for other public purposes, amounting in some to nearly as much as the Reserves in Upper Canada, but not so judiciously selected, - yet instead of being a subject of complaint in that country, they are a lasting theme of commendation. It must be acknowledged that no part of them are set apart for religious purposes, because there is no established religion, and if that be an advantage we must yield them its fruits in full . ... Indeed the enactments in the 31st Geo. 3rd, Chap. 31, making provision for a Protestant Clergy are aU descriptive of the Church of England, and no other church, and from the evident care of continuing the phrase "a Protestant Clergy," from the Reformation to the present time, it is manifest, that it is used in contradistinction to the Roman Catholic Clergy. The article "a," was preserved in the Royal Instructions, and in the 14th and 31st Geo. 3rd, because it is distinctive, and places the Protestant and Roman Catholic Clergy in contrast - because it confines the meaning to one body, and one only - and because there was at that time no Protestant Clergy in either province.

106 - DOC U M EN TS AND OP I N IONS

For these reasons th e article "the" could not with propriety be mad e use of. A provision for a Protestant Clergy was to be made, and then a Protestant Clergy was to be int rod uced; and of what church the phraseo logy of Sections 38, 39, aDd 40 of th e 31 st Geo. 3rd, Chap. 3 1, clea rly points out. They were to be of the Church of England, and no other ch urch. Jt appears almost impossible to read the clauses fo r the regulation, support, and endowment of the church, according to the Establishment of the Church of England, and the powers which they confer upon the Kin g's representative without being convinced that that Church only could be meant. If, there fo re, the clergy of th e Kirk of Scotland be let in, there is no reason why any other denomination of Dissenters should not also be admitted, and then the words "a Protestant Clergy" must be taken, to mean Protestant ministers or teachers, which appears altogether absurd. After passing the Church of England, where shall the meanin g terminate - Congregati onalists, Seceders, Irish Presbyterians, Quakers, Baptists, Methodists, Moravin ns, Universalists, Menonists, T unkers, &c. will undoubtedly prefer their claims - and as many of them are more numerous than the Presbyterians in communion with the Church of Scotland, they will consider themselves aggrieved should their claims be rejected - claims of which they never would have dreamed, had not so small a portion of the population of this flourishing province as belongs to the Kirk succeeded in obtaining the same object. In con.firmation of the opinion given by the Crown Officers in favour of the Clergy of the Church o f Sco tl and coming in, to a limited extent, under the 37th Section of the 31st Geo. 3rd, Chap. 31, the Committee heard James Stephen, Jun. Esquire, Counsel to the Colonial Department. This gentleman's sentimen ts are stated with grea t clearness and ability, and afford ODe of the best specimens of nice distinctions, and legal ingenuity, that 1 have ever seen, but they carry no conviction to my mindand one single remark, incidental ly introd uced, appears to me to overturn all his previous reasoning, acute and subtile as it certai nly is. Mr. Stephen admits that "the Acts of Uni on prevent th e legal establishment of the Church of Scotland in any part of the United Ki ngdom except Scotland ." ... The ri ghts of the Church of England, therefore, in these provinces rest not for their support on appeals to national feelings or prejudices, they are clearly and explicitly recognized by

THE NATIONAL CH U RCH - 107

the law. She depends not upon implication or forced construction of its provisions for that recognition, but on the specific and direct application which it contains to her Establishment, her Ministers, her Rites and Ceremonies; for the correctness of this opinion I appeal again to the clauses of the statute, and as long as words have meaning, and these words remain on the statute book unrepealed, 1 shall be unwilling to concede the right claimed by any other. This opinion I shall be at all times ready to support in a temperate and moderate manner; and as a con trast to this opinion, 1 will frankly add , that if the same specific and direct application had been made in the law of the Church of Scotland, without any mention whatever hav ing been made of the Church of England. jf the words. Church of Scotland, had been inserted in the law, and that whose ministers alone were to be presented to every parish from their synods, or presbyteries, to be supported out of the appropri ation, I should then have most cheerfully joined in acknowledging, th at to ber, and none other, did that appropriation belong. The reverse of all this being the case, with no unfriendly feeling to th at highly respectable church, I must express it as my decided opinion, that the law gives her no right whatever to a participation in the Clergy Reserves . . . . This provision will, therefore, be at no time ample for the support of a Protestant Clergy sufficient for the wants of the population of the Canadas when fully settled. And here it may be remarked, that whether the provision be adequate or Dot, it is evident" th at on it the Church of England in these coloni es must ever depend. The voluntary con~ributions of the people, as the experience of the various dissenting denominations sufficiently proves, being a source too precarious, and a dependence upon it at variance with the nature of an establishmentinconsistent with the respectability and independence of the clergy, and likely to disturb the harmony which ought to exist between them and their flocks . . . . Still the inconvenience recurs, of the Church being unable to meet the wants of the province during the greater part of this period - an inconvenience which ought to be removed, even at a great sacrifice. On the whole, Sir, the causes which have hitherto rendered the appropriation of the lands for the support of a Protestant Clergy inoperative, arc rapidly passing away. Only twenty-seven years have elapsed since any attempt was made to render them

108 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

productive, and notwithstanding the many obstacles in the way, more has been done than could have, under such untoward circumstances, been reasonably expected, and quite enough to convince the most desponding, that in a comparatively short period a very considerable revenue, with judicious management, may be procured from their lease and sale. And notwithstanding the objections made against them by the ignorant and interested - by the enemies of order and religion, I contend, that it is impossible to conceive a provision for the support of a religious establishment so unexceptionable. It asks nothing from any man - five-sevenths of the province have been granted by His Majesty almost gratuitously, to various applicants - oneseventh has been sold to a respectable company of merchants, for the purpose of raising a fund to defray the current expenses of the Civil Government, and the administration of justiceand one-seventh has been reserved to form a support for a pious and learned Clergy, to dispense religious instruction among the people in the holy services of our Church - for our late Sovereign rightly judged, that the establishment of an enlightened Clergy in the colony would contribute more than any other measure to its happiness and prosperity. Was th is more than a wise and reasonable measure towards advancing the future happiness of those who were yet to become inhabitants of the province? And did not all those that went there go with hte knowledge, that provision was made for supporting the National Ch urch, by means which could take nothing from their substance, nor interfere with any plans which they might devise for maintaining any priesLhood which they might li ke better? If this provision, which has been shewn to be far from excessive, were withdrawn, the Church of England, as an establishment, is destroyed: but let it be confirmed, and placed beyond the power of envy and the reach of malice, now that the question has been agitated, and before thirty years elapse, the Church will desire no better defenders than the representatives of the people. Two things are evident from these remarks: 1st That there was peace and tranquillity in the province, and the greatest harmony among aU denominations of Christians, while the Reserves were supposed to belong exclusively to the Church of England, a period of nearly thirty years. 2nd That since a hope was entertained that they might be divided, much agitation has prevailed.

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And from these two facts, I am entitled to infer, that if the language of Government had been decisively in favour of the '

Church of England, as from law and policy it ought to bave been, tranquillity and harmony would have been restored. Let it not, however, be inferred from this, that I am opposed to Government assisting other denominations. I should be sorry

to stand between any of tbem and the bounty whicb His Majesty may be graciously pleased to grant them. I pleaded tbe cause of tbe Presbyterian Churcb in 1826, as well as tbe propriety of providing for the religious instruction of the Roman Catholics.

All I contend for is, that sucb aid sball not be taken out of the provision allotted to the Church of England, till the Reserves produce more than that Church requires for a decent maintenance - then it will be proper for the Government to consider

wbat ougbt to be done witb the overplus. As an extraordinary contrast to the policy of taking the

patrimony of the Cburcb of England, and dividing it among all Protestant denominations, I would desire to call attention to what is said respecting the patrimony of the Church of Rome"The Committee cannot too strongly express their opinion, that the Canadians, of French extraction, should in no degree be disturbed in the peaceful enjoyment of their religion, laws and privileges, as secured to them by the British Acts of Parliament." With the same breath. Sir, your Committee blows justice

and robbery; the rights of the members of the Church of England are secured by the very same acts which secure those of the French Roman Catholics of Lower Canada, and ought to

be held equally sacred .... To the majority of the best informed inhabitants of the Canadas, the whole Report, with much of the evidence, suggest the most melancholy reflections. When they fled from the rebellious colonies during the American Revolution, or since that period, left the shores of Great Britain, to settle in the Canadas, th!y did not believe that they were flying from the British Constitution: yet they find that, in as far as religion is CODcerned, they are in danger of losing their birth-right, and that the British Constitution, in Church and State, which used to be the glory of our ancestors, and which was conferred upon the Canadas in 1791, is now to be broken down, and all affection and reverence for its benefits and excellence to be classed among antiquated prejudices. In regard to Christianity, it may be remarked, that the spon-

110 - DOCUMENTS AND OPINIONS

taneous demand of human beings for a knowledge of its truths, . is far short of the actu al interest which they have in th em. This is not so wi th food and raiment, or any article wh ich ministers to the necessities of our physical nature. The more destitute we ~ re of sllch articles, the greater our desire to possess them. But the case is widely different in rega rd to religious instruction. The less we have of it the less we desire 10 have of it. For it is Dot with the aliment of the body as it is wi th the aliment of the soul. The former will be sought after, the latter must be offered to a people whose spiritual appetite is in a state of dormancy, and with whom it is just as necessary to create a hunger as it is to minister a positive supply. Now if there do exist a great moral incapacity on the part of ollr species, in virtue of which, if the lessons of Christianity be not constantly obtruded upon them, they are sure to decline in taste and in desire for the lessons of Christianity; and if an establishment be a good device for overcoming this evil tendency of our nature, it ougbt, unquestionably, to be put in action. Nature docs not go forth in search of Christianity, but Cbristi anity goes forth to knock at the door of nature, and, if possible, to awaken her out of her sluggishness. This was th e way of it at its first promulgation. It is the way of it in every missionary enterprize, and seeing that the disinclination of the human heart to entertain the overtures of tbe Gospel, is the mightiest obstacle to its reception among men, a series of measures in its behalf ought to be carried on from age to age, in every clime and possession belonging to a Christian nation. To wait till tbe people shall stir so effectually as that places of worship shall be built by them, and the maintenance of teachers shall be provided by them, and th at abundantly enough for all the moral and spiritual necessities of a nation, is very like a reversal of the principle on which Christi anity was first introduced among us, and on which Christianity must still be upheld. ]t is therefore wise in every Christi an government, to meet the people with the full means of religiolls education. With an establishment, a church is built, and a teacher is provided in every little district of th e land. Without it we should have no other security for the rearin g of such means, th an the native desire and demand of tbe people for Christianity from one generation to another. In tbis state of things, Christian cultivation would be found just as it is in this province, in rare and occasional spots; and instead of th at uniform distri but ion of

THE NATIONAL C HURCH - 111

the \vord and ordinances which it is the tendency of an establishment to secure, there would be, as we find , over all North America, dreary, unprovided blanks, where no regul ar supply of instruction was to be had, and where there was no desire after it on the part of an untaught and neglected population. But let us see what obstacles would stand in the way of a zealous and discreet clergyman, placed in any of our settlements. It is quite obvious that a large portion of the population wherever he goes are disposed to profit by his ministrations. I do not pretend to say that clergymen of some other denominations mi ght not be as well received, had they the means of settling in these destitute spots without calling upon the inhabitants for support. But in speaki ng of an establishment some one denomin ation must be selected, and a provision for its clergy assigned. This provision having been ass igned to us, I am persuaded that, if it were made available to place a clergyman in each of the two hundred townships, whose population requires religious instruction, there would be no doubt of their success. Let such a religious teacher, with a conscience alive to his duty, and an understanding strongly convinced of the truths of the Gospel, be placed in any settlement in Upper Canada, and with these as his only recommendations, let him go forth among the people, diffe ring among themselves as to points of doctrine, and very much alive to take offence; let many of these be prepared to disturb him with all the senseless folly which dark and narrow bigotry can produce, yet if he, with a spirit of forbearance, exalted above these petty annoyances, proceeds with zeal and determination to acquit himself of cardinal obligation, and labours among them in the spirit of devo tedn ess, it will soon be seen th at the general good will of the neighbourhood will follow him. Such a clergyman will soon win those, who were at first the most opposed to him, over to his views; he will be able to remove their prejudices, to inform their ignorance, and to infuse into their minds the spirit of the Gospel. With the pure doctrine of the Bible for hi s pulpit, and an overflowing charity in his heart for household ministrations, his progress will be irresistible; such worth and such affection on the week days, from one who preaches the truths 01' Scripture on the Sundays, will obtain from all the truc reward of moral worth - influence among the people, at baptisms, at marriages, in sickness, in misfortunes and at funerals; in protecting the

tI2 - DOCUMENTS AND OPI N IONS

orphan, the fatherless and the widow, we may safely conclude that such clergymen as do not acquire this influence are them· selves to blame. A parish priest is an integral part of God's visible Church on earth, and essential to the spreading of moral and religious truth and feeling. and to the support and permanent effect of Christiani ty; and all the blessings.which the fa int picture which we have given of a pious clergyman, residing in one of our townsbips, are reaped in thousands of the parishes of the United Kingdom. And can we doubt, Sir, but that from the peculiar nature and circumstances of the population, a resident clergy would be at least of equal importance here! And yet, Sir, this is the blessing of which you desire to deprive us. You seek to destroy that Religious Establishment which Mr. Pitt designed for the Canadas, and which is calculated to confer so many precious advantages. An Establishment which interferes with no other denomin ation, and possesses no other right than the support of its Clergy, and can, therefore, give them no reason· able cause of offence. An Establishment which is a branch of the United Church of Engl and and Ireland, and the existence of which, in this province, is essential to the completion of the Constitution conferred upon us by the Imperial Government. J.S.

(Strachan, A letter to tIle Right H01l. Thomas Fran kland L ewis (York : R. Stanton, 183 0])

- In the fall of 1832, Bishop Stewart held a visitation of the clergy of Upper Canada in York. Strachan, in preaching the sermon, urged agai n the adoption of synods or conventions as in the American Episcopal Church, and of itinerants in the tradition of Canadian Methodism. He also used the occasion .to praise Methodists, Rom an Catholics, and others, for it was a moment of relative calm in the political and religious disputes of the province . .-..J

ON SYNODS OR CONVOCATIONS IN THE C HURCH

.. • There may be many difficulties in the way of restoring this salutary authority to the parent church though it is much to be des ired .... But here it is comparatively easy; and we, like the ancient Episcopal Church in Scotland, and that of the

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neighbouring States, in which the clergy retain their proper share of power and honour and have their regular councils to deliberate for the welfare of their respective communions, may with the greatest advantage return to primitive usage .... The period is rapidly approaching when sometbing of the kind will be found necessary in this province, if we really desire the prosperity of our Apostolic Church, and to carry her affectionate and beautiful ministrations into every cottage of our people . ... And with a bishop of the primitive age, whose active exertions and anxiety for the extension of Christ's Kingdom neither slumber nor sleep. A bishop, familiar with almost every foot of this extensive Diocese, and which he has traversed in its length and breadth many a time. A bishop wbo identifies himself witb tbe country in which he has spent the greater portion of his life, and is surrounded by an affec tionate clergy, eager to second and even to anticipate his wishes, what may not be effected under the divine blessing . ... Much, my Brethren, may be done to build up the church in the affections of the people. Even now something more than usual may be accomplished. By itinerating where we were unable to open permanent mis-sions - by occasional visits where more is not allowed, the scattered sheep may be collected, and the sacred flame kept burning in almost every township, for the man of Macedonia is . every where crying out, come over and help me. All who are truly interested in the glory of God will rejoice in the dissemination of the Gospel through the province, and although other denominations may naturally desire to be the instruments employed in this good work, yet I verily believe, that next to themselves, they wish it may be done through the pure channel of our Establishment, and this more especially for the guidance and consolation of the minds of our friends who are daily emigrating from England and Ireland, ano settling in the wilderness - that they may retain their love of religion unimpaired, and possess the sweet blessing of its ministrations, as in their fatherland . And to the accomplishment of this, we are greatly encouraged by the well known fact, that there has always prevailed, with very trifling exceptions, the greatest harmony among the various denomin ations of Christians in Upper Canada. Widely as we differ from the Rdman Catholics, in many religious points of the greatest importance. we have always lived

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with them in the kindest intercourse and in the cordial exchanges of the charities of social life. The worthy Prelate, by whom they are at present spiritually governed, has been my friend for nearly thirty years. With the members of the Church of Scotland we associate in the same manDer. Only one minister of that communion resided in the province for many years after my arrival from Great Britain, with whom I lived in the most friendly terms .... Unfortunately as the number increased, a subj ec t of controversy arose, which has had the effect of producing something of a temporary estrangement, but it is now passing away. And why, should it not: The merits of our Sister Church cannot be unknown to you, my brethren. To me they are famiJiar, and connected with many of my cherished and early associations. In the exemplary discharge of their duties, and in the modest simplicity of their lives, the Presbyterian ministers of this province are entitled to much commendation.... Of that popular and increasing class of Christians who call themselves a branch of our Church, both at home and abroad, I would also speak with praise, notwithstanding their departure from the Apostolic ordinance, and the hostility long manifested against us by some of their leading members. This hostility was the more to be deplored, as their fo under was a regularly ordained minister of the Church of England, who never departed from her communion or allowed his followers to separate. Simple and disinterested in his views, of great learning, intelligence and sagacity, he was also adorned with some of the brightest graces of the Christian character. Henceforth it is expected that the piety and zeal of his followers in this colony will be directed by his spirit, and that having assumed his mantle and unfurled his banner, they will cherish the same friend ly disposition towards our Establishmen t which their brethren do in England. Now this social harmony among the different denominations of Christians sufficiently proves, that there is no particular impediment to the extension of our Church in this magnificent province, if we are only active in the performance of our duty. (Strachan, Church Fellowship. A Sermon at the Visitation 01 the Lord Bishop 01 Quebec [York: R. Stanton, 1832])

- The claim of the Church of England to all the proceeds of

THE NATIONAL CHURCH - liS

the Reserves melted away under constant attack in the eighteenthirties. A division of the funds among the Churches of Eng. land and Scotland, the Roman Catholics, and others appeared inevitable. Strachan retained his belief in the principle of estab· lishment even though the e~dowmen ts must be shared. ,..... I am not so anxious about the quantum of property retained for the Church as I am for the principle that we are the Established Church of the colonies as well as of the mother country. (Strachan to A. M. Campbell, Secretary of the s.P.G., 22 May, 1840, 1839-43, 58)

SLB

CHAPTER SEVEN

Upper Canada: Schools and Universities

~ John Strachan was first a schoolteacher. He ended twentyeight years of active teaching in 1823 when he resigned as Master of the Home District Grammar School to become President of the Board for the General Superintendence of Educa.. tion. His opinions on education were Scottish opinions, that it should be both classical aDd practical, and that it should be

closely allied at all levels with the State Church. His desire to found universities was stronger still. McGill's College was his

child although others brought it to life. King's College, York, received its charter in 1827 by his labours, and thereafter he strove to bring it into operation. In 1818, he was still only the Master of the Home District Grammar School but was pressing his bishop to forward the negotiations for McGill College. I should not have troubled your Lordship at' this time had it DOt been whispered that you were about to be promoted to the Bench in England, an event which I shouJd hail with joy, tho' not without a measure of regret that the interests of this Diocese and your own had not been compatible till we were placed on a more respectable footing. There are a few things which I wish to see accompli shed by your Lordship before you cease to be Bishop of Quebec, not only because they would commemorate the first Bishop but because they have already occupied much of your Lordship's time and attention. 1st Placing the Clergy Reserves under such a commission, or such regulations as would render them productive and insure the revenues arising from them to the support and promotion of our Church. 2nd Placing the school appropriations in a similar commission to promote the objects for which they have been reserved. 3rd To urge the Government respecting Mr. McGill's legacy. I shall ever be mortified if the ten years are allowed to

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elapse and the legacy to fall, as I was the person who advised Mr. McGill to make the donation. Five years are passed away and Government have done nothing. The school here is flourishing. I have hired two assistants, by which we are enabled to extend our system of education. At present I lose all my labour, as the provincial salary and the fees hardly suffice to pay my ushers who are both respectable young men. But were government to give us the same advantage as they give to Kingston, Montreal, and Quebec - namely two hundred per annum - I should procure a third teacher and wait patiently for a reasonable reward for my labours when the school lands come in play. I am just commencing a course of lectures on natural philosophy to be delivered in the evening, twice each week - the proceeds to be laid out in painting and completing the schoolhouse. (Strachan to Bishop Mountain, 10 February 1818, Scadding Papers)

-- Strachan bad recapitulated, for the benefit of the S .P .G., the story of James McGill's legacy. His early and detailed plans for a university in Montreal appear in his proposals of 1815 to John Richardson.l In February, 1811, my latc intimate friend the Honorable Jas. McGill of Montreal made me a visit at Cornwall, Upper Canada .. . and remained with me about a week. The CODversation frequently turned upon the want of an English seminary of education ... Mr. McGill feeling the infirmities of old age fast approaching, the conversation at times took a serious turn and comprised remarks upon the disposition of his property. which was very considerable for he had neither children nor any ncar relations. These confidential communications encouraged me to suggest the propriety of giving, by will, some assistance for the future education of youth. It would be doing something to the glory of God and hand down his name with praise to posterity. Mr. McGill relished the hint so well th at he was continually dweUing upon it; he wished the matter put in some sort of form, and expressed a determination to establish a college in his lifetime on condition th at I would remove to Montreal, become principal, and take upon me the superintendence . . . . On his return Mr. McGill made his will leaving £ 10,000 and a house and farm worth about £6,000 for the purpose of building and establishing a college to be called McGill College,

11 8 - DOC U M EN TS AND OPINI O NS

provided that His Majesty's Govern ment would within ten years establish a university and contribute to its support. Nothing however was done until October, 18 18, when His Majesty was graciously pleased to erect a corporation und er the name of the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning .... (Strach an to Ernest Hawkins, 17 April 1824,

S. P.G.

Archives )

Enclosed I send you a scheme for two schools and a college. The plan is as economical as it can well be, to render it respectable and useful. The number of students will not be great for some years, nor will it ever be such as to make the professorships lucrative. Even the principal will hardl y ever be able to reacb one thousand pounds per annum - a remuneration sufficiently moderate, for th e accumul ated duties which he will have to perform. If the Provincial Parli ament waits for somcthing to be done by the King from home, ail will be lost, for the Government have too many thjngs to call their attention. But when the mattcr is once set on foot, an address from th e House can at any time procure assistance from his Majes ty's ministers. Yet six thousand pounds appears to me really a trifle considerin g tbe increased opulence of the country. It is DOt probable that the Catholics will object to such aD arrangement - they have already three seminaries well endowed. But if any of them be poor, the Legislature ought to grant pecuniary relief. I say nothing respecting religion, but in the chapel of the university lectures on theology may be given to Protestant students, which Catholics shall not be required to attend. There are many particular regulations which I do not mention . I just furnish an outline. You are to recoll ect that if nothing be done, you will soon lose Mr. McGill's donation. The time will never be again so propitious. You and the two Mr. Stuarts are under so many obliga ti ons to literature, th at sbe has a right to expect your most strenuous exerlions in her fa vour. I say nothing about the nomination of professors; men of some talents must be selected, and of great zeal for th e promotion of sciences. The first principal will have many difficulties to encounter and may not live to see the seminary in a very flour ishing condition, but it will ultimately exceed the most sanguine expectations.

SCHOOLS A N D UNIVERSITIES - 11 9

I prefer the form of the Scotch and German universiti es to the English - or rather a mixture of both plans, because much more may be done at one fourth of the expense. 10 the English universities, the public professors seldom lecture more than once a week - many of them not at all - the whole system of teaching is conducted by tutors, and emulation and a love of study is kept up among the young men, by premiums, honors, fellowships, and livings. The great opulence of Cambridge and Oxford is far beyond our reach, and altho' I should be sorry ever to see them lose a shilling (for I think them wisel y adapted to so rich and populous and learned a country as England), I think them unfit for this country. Our professors must each during the session give two, three, or even four courses of lectures, till the funds afford the means of increasing their numbers. I must further add on the subject of finding professors, that gentlemen newly from England and accustomed to the wealthy universities of that country may not always possess the qualities necessary to make them useful in this projected seminary. Learning they may have in abundance, but the industry, the labour (1 may say drudgery), and accommodation to circumstances cannot be expected from them. There are several gentlemen in the country qu alified for the first race of professors; and after the seminary is once set a-going, there will be no risk in electing Englishmen to fill vacant chairs because, the rules and statutes being established, all must submit. I have only mentioned one restriction - The principal to be of the Church of England. This I think necessary on many accounts, the seminary must and ought to have a distinct religious character, and this simple regulation will confer it without circumscribing its liberality and openness to all persuasions. I think also the principal's department should be moral philosophy, logic, and rhetoric and, when necessary, theology. I am, &c. J. STRACHAN

EDUCATION IN LOWER CANADA

That the necessity of sending young men ,out of the province to finish their education which has hitherto existed has been found both dangerous and inconvenient. That reason and policy equally dem and that our youth be

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educated in the province or in England if we wish them to become friendly to our different Establishments and attached to the parent state. That few can defray the expense of sending their children to England and, if they could, the distance from parental authority is dangerous to their morals. That there is at present no seminary at which English youth can obtain a liberal education. To remedy Jhese evils iJ is proposed

1st To establish two grammar schools, one at Quebec and one at Montreal, under a rector or head master and three assistants at which the following branches of education may be taught: The Latin, French, and English languages - writing - arithmetic, geography, and practical mathematics. These schools to be appendages to and nurseries for an university to be established on the model of the Scotch or German universities, in the neighbourhood of Montreal, on the property bequeathed for that purpose by the late Hon'ble Jas. McGill, and to be named, as he desires in his will, McGill's College or University. That the following branches of academical education be taught in the said University: 1st Greek and Latin 2 natural history and botany 3 mathematics and astronomy 4 natural philosophy and chemistry 5 moral philosophy, logic, and rhetoric 6 surgery and anatomy 7 civil and public law That the Professors of Surgery and Anatomy and of Civil and Public Law shall not be required to reside within the College; That a house be provided within the College for a principal and four professors; That the session continue nine months, to give the professors time to deliver their different courses of lectures; That the members of the University be constituted a corporation capable of suing and being sued or receiving donations of money or lands &c. for the benefit of the institution;

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That the Principal be always a clergym an of the Church of England; That young men of all denominations of Christians be admitted freely to the different lectures; That new professorsbips be established as soon as the funds will admit; That the University be represented in the House of Assembly by two members; That no degree be conferred upon a student who has Dot resid ed three years; That an attendance of three years at the University shall entitle a student to be called to the bar one year earlier than any other, provided he be of age; . That a report of the state of the University be annually laid before Parliament; That there be frequent visitations by the Bishop, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the House of Assembly &c., appointed a Committee for the purpose; That there be two examinations every year. Estimated Expense oj the Necessary Buildings Two Grammar Schools, containing a residence for . the Head Master - each four thousaod pounds £ 8,000 The sum of ten thousand pounds has been left by the Hon'ble Jas. McGill for erecting buildings for the College, together with an excellent site and a house extremely commodious for the Principal or one of the Professors. In addition the buildings will require £ 10,000 Total expense of building to the public 18,000 Annual Expenses for The Grammar Schools Two head masters, £ 300 per annum each 600 Two second masters, £ 200 per annum each 400 Four under masters, at £ 100 per an. each 400 Servants, repairs, premiums, &c., each, £. 300 per an. 600 Total annual expense of the Grammar Schools 2,000

This will render them liberal and, together with a moderate fee payable by each scholar to his respective teacher, will make them desirable to men of taIents.

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The University £ One principal to be also a professor per annum The senior professor The three next professors, £400 per an. each The Professor of Surgery and Anatomy The Professor of Civil and Public Law Each professor to enjoy a moderate fee from the students attending his lectures. For the purchase of books annually to form a library To form a philosophical and chemical apparatus aonually To purcbase plants for a botanical garden To a librarian, per annum To a gardener, per annum To servants and contingencies £ Total annual expense of the College

750 500 1,200 200 200

300 250 100 100 100

300 4,000

The reason for giving smaller salaries to the Professors of Surgery and. Law is this: that they will be professional men not expected to reside within the college or to be exclusively confined to its duties, but attending at the same time to their private practice. The reasons for preferring Montreal to Quebec for the college: I st Its marc centrical position 2nd Its being better adapted to a botanical garden 3rd There being already a large sum of mane}' and a most beautiful estate given for the express purpose. Thus it appears that, for an appropriation of £ 18,000 and six thousand per annum, an establishment may be formed of incalculable importance in a religious moral and political light. The Legislature might in a few years be relieved from the burden by procuring from the Crown the Jesuit estates, to be given for the support of the institution and grants of land capable of becoming productive. The allowance for a philosophical and chemical apparatus will in a few years become too great. The surplus may then assist the library. This report sent with the preceding letter to Mr. Sherwood, the two Mr. Stuarts, and the Hon'ble John Richardson. (Stracbnn 10 Richardson. 14 Februnry 1815,

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1812·34. 109-111)

SCHOOLS AND UNIV E RSITIES - 12J

,..... ]n 1827, the British government granted a charter to the Universi ty of King's College, York, and allowed for an exchange of school reserves to provide fo r an immediate endowment. The charter named the Bishop of Quebec as visitor, the LieutcnantGovernor as chancellor, and John Strachan, as Archdeacon of York, president. No religious tests were to be req uired of students save those in divinity. The college council would be members of the Church of England. Protests were at once made in the colony at the "sectarian basis" of the proposed university, and Sir John Colborne, as Lieutenant-Governor and Chancellor, delayed the opening. Meanwhile the College Co uncil under Strachan bought the site, the present Queen's Park in Toronto, aDd began landscaping the property. Some alteration is meditated in the College Cha rter, but it would not have been possible for us to have made any progress as yet, as our endowment consists of land which is gradually becoming prod uctive. We have procured plans - purchased a good site of 350 acres for the building, garden, and pleasure grounds three qu arters of a mile from my house; and we are fencin g, clearing, and planting and shall next summer, I think, commence to put up a portion of the general design. About four thousand pounds have been expended in all these objects and we are continuing to improve and beautify the grounds.. .. The business of teaching will not commence for about two years. (Slrachan to Brown, 20 OClOber 1829, s P)

,..... Instruction was not in fact to start until 1843, after the charter had been amended in 1836 and Upper Ca nada had come to an end. The letter to John McLaurin, a Church of Scotland minister, is given as representative of Strachan's attempts to force the issue in the thirties, although this plan was more devious than most. ,..... My dear Sir, You are aware tbat great opposition has been made to the full establishment of the University of Kio g's College; and uofortunately your people, either from not understanding the Charter or from the fury they get into about the Reserves (a question which ought never to have been agitated in this connection) joined the Methodists and others (whose object is to

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destroy every institution not under their control and separate us from the mother country) in the cry against it. This unjust opposition suspends our operations and al tho' I am confident that we shall ultimately succeed, yet if something is not done immediately we remain in statu quo for some years. In the meantime, the American Methodists are getting up one seminary and the Presbyterians not in your comm union are getting up another. Should they accomplish their objects, we shall be left behind and, after we begin, have many difficulties to overcome before we can acquire that influence in the province which we should obtai n at once could our University be put in active operation before their seminar ies commence. Now it has been always my opinion th at your people have as much interest in the success of King's College as we have; but altho' I have been more useful to them th an any other man could or ever can be, such has been their foUy and ingratitude that you are the only one among their clergy with whom I can at present bold confidential communication. In my proposal to Government for a charter to establish the University of King's College, I merely stipulated that the President or Principal should be a clergyman of the Church of England fo r the purpose of giving it a religious character, and that in everything else it should be free. And altho' a few years only have passed, England was not then as it is now, and my proposition was rej ected as far too liberal. The Charter as it now stands was the freest which I could obtain after a spirited negotiation of many months. It cost me more trouble th an I can well express to get the students freed fTom a ny test, and still more to get the professors relieved from signing the Standards. I will not, however, conceal from you my private opinion whi ch is that tbe Charter wi th its present provisions is better fitted to produce good than my first plan, or lhan it wi ll be under new modifications; but I do not stop to discuss this matter, as it would render my letter far too long. The Charter provides, 1. That the President or Principal shall be of the Church of England; . 2. That the ColJege Co uncil co nsisting of seven members be all of the Church of England and sign the thirty-nine art icles; 3. The professors are subject to no test, an d may be of any denomination;

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4. The students may be of any denomination, the classes being open to all; 5. Degrees are conferred upon all who have gone through the necessary examinations, except degrees in Divinity, which can only be conferred upon persons belonging to the Church of England. In regard to the first of these provisions, I could not in conscience give it up because I abhor all establishments for education which have not a religious character; and it is not unreasonable th at the head of the institution should be of the same religion with the Sovereign who endows it. The second provision not being in my original plan and having been forced upon me, I am disposed to give it up and I consented to a bill last session to abrogate all tests within the colony, which in this case would have opened the Council to all denominations. The bill was lost in the Assembly, but will pass this year if brought forward. The third and fourth provisions are as open as possible. I had indeed spoken of getting some of the professors from Scotland, and Dr. Chalmers promised his assistance. t I should consent to a modification of the fifth provision so as to confer degrees upon all who believed in the Apostles' creed - thus leaving out the general professions and standards of differen t churches. I need not tell you that the Charter at present is fa r more liberal than any of the Scotch or EngJish or, I believe, any of the colleges in the United States. But what is my object in al l this I will tell yo u. The modifications I propose will make the institution free as air; and if you arc strenuously with me in the matter, you may become an instrument of good in bringing it sooner into operation than present appearances indicate. Plan of proceeding suggested to tbe Rev. Mr. McLaurin: At your next Presbytery, propose tb at a letter written in its name to the President of the University of King's College of Upper Canada be drawn up by the Presbytery and signed by the Moderator, comprisin g the following six queries - and others if deemed necessary - to ascertain how far it is open to the youth of different denominations. 1. Whether there is any prospect of the Co uncil being made ' more open? 2. Whether any provision is likely to be made for the religious instruction of Presbyterians belonging to the Church of Scotland under one of their own clergymen?

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3. Whether the professors are obliged to take any tests? 4. Whether it is the intention of the faculty to make all the students attend the religious exercises in the College Chapel? 5. What modification might be anticipated respecting degrees? 6. That these inquiries are made in order to have a full understanding officially how far the Presbyterians in communion with the Church of Scotland can possibly avail themselves of the advantages offered by the University of King's College to the youth of the province? My answers to these questions would be favourable, and such as to remove every objection to the College on the part of all true friends of the country. Your next step would, if my answers were deemed satisfactory, be to move the Presbytery to resolve upon these grounds to give their countenance and support to the University of King's College - and, on carrying such a resolution, to bring the matter before the Synod in order to obtain the countenance and appreciation of that body in favour of a seminary which may by our cordial union in its support become the nursery of clergymen to both our churches and confer upon us both an evident superiority in this respect over all other denominations. It is quite evident that, if th is course be pursued to such a successful issue, you might li ve to see a great majority of the professors Scotchmen of great literary reputation, and a Scotch Chair of Divinity established by the side of the English one. The utmost secrecy is necessary in every stage of the proceedings as to its origin, and the bringing of it before the Presbytery must appear throughout entirely your own. It will be requisi te to introduce it with much address and such is human nature that the following grounds appear to me the most likely to prove effectual: 1. That such an inquiry will annoy and disturb the Archdeacon of York exceedingly - fo rce him to come to some explanation as he dare not refuse to answer the official organ of so respectable (aJ body as the Presbytery of Glengarry; 2. That if the Archdeacon's answer be evasive or unsatisfactory, it will afford ground for claiming a separate endowment for the Scotch Presbyterians; 3. That, if satisfactory, the university will be open with its splendid endowment upon the most liberal terms and afford the most complete instruction in th e sciences and the best possible preparation for the professions to your youth - while the chairs

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will present a fair object of ambition to our most eminent clergy; 4. That the presbytery in either case will have the honor of having first brought forward this important matter and setting it at roest. These four topics ought to be the substance of your speech in proposing the measure to the presbytery - and the inquiry should consist of the six questions noticed above with such others as may be suggested by other members, for it may be wise to allow any of your brethren to add such question of inquiry as they may deem expedient. You must take special care not to permit a ny person whatever to discover th at you anticipate my answer or have the faintest conception what it may be. On the contrary, it will be more prudent to enlarge upon the embarrassment and difficulty to which the measure will expose me, and the advantages which the enquiry will produce, as well as the character and rep utation which it will confer on th e Presbytery as tbe first mover. If th e consequence should be a cordial co~operatioD of the two churches and the forcing of the Un iversity into operation some years before it otherwise would the benefit to the country would be very great. At the same time it is a course which you can in my opinion most conscientiously pursue. Its success, however, I again repeat depends upon the most profound secrecy till the whole is accomplished. I have it in contemplation to publish an account of my application for the Charter - the propositions I made, the impediments thrown in my way, and the character of the provisions obtained &c. &c. But this will have nothing to do with your part of the drama, which I wish you to push with as much expedition as possible, for the Methodists &c. are indefatigable and we have no time to lose. I beg, in conclusion, to request that you send me with all convenient speed your determination. If from any cause you decline pursuing the course which I have pointed at, it is material to me to know without loss of time, as I have another plan which depends entirely on myself which I will immediately set in operation, for the University must sleep no lon ger. If you concur, I still require to know, th at I may shape my course accordingly. (Strachan to John McLaurin, 3 October 183 1 ,

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1827·34, 163·5)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Upper Canada: Life and Politics

,..., The following selections might be labelled "miscellaneous." Fire and plague were among the vicissitudes of the colonist's life. The travel diaries show the farther reaches of the colony as well as the man who chose to visit them in his double capacity of Archdeacon of York and President of the Board for tbe Superintendence of Education. And in the late twenties and thirties there is always political uproar. Reformers and radicals sought and sometimes obtained control of the Legislative As~ sembly, and found th at its power was largely illusory. Tbe witness before the Assembly'S Select Committee on Grievances under WiJliam Lyon Mackenzie is Strachan at his most conservative. His letter to James Stephen, Permanent Under-secretary in the Colonial Office, sketches the cbanges Strachan would recommend in the manner of conducting the administration, and introduces one more conception of "responsible government." No account by Strachan of tbe Rebellion of 1837 is given, since none is available.-My Lord, We are much gratified by your Lordship's kind inquiries. Mrs. Strachan exhibited great presence of mind on the breaking out of the fixe. She removed the children and, after making every exertion to save the house, directed the removal of the furniture. But the house soon got filled witb people who paid no attention to ber directions; and after greater destruction from their madness than from the flames, she retired to Major Allan's, where the children had been sent. I got home a little before the roof fell in. Almost everything was out of the house except a bedstead and a stove; but it seemed to be of little consequence for, notwithstanding the exertions of my particular friends and many respectable gentlemen, looking glasses, set[t]les, chairs, beauveaus - particularly those of the second storey - were thrown out of the window and dashed

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to pieces. Our cloaths were chiefly pillaged. Mrs. Strachan's tri[nlkcts, a purse of gold (in case of need), &c. are lost. My books were thrown out the windows in the mud; their looks are lamented, but the number lost is not so great as was expected. My papers and manuscripts were in drawers. I had just been putting them in order to make them up in bundles. They were taken out carelessly and being loose, they were scattered by the wind and blew furiously. A great number of sermons are gone, and many schemes of works for which I was gradually collecting materials. Perhaps none of them would have been ever brought to maturity, but they were a source of rational and innocent amusement. We are again beginning to get comfortable, and have been blessed with excellent health during all our difficulties, tho' much more exposed to privations of different kinds. We console ourselves that the disaster did Dot happen in the night, as it arose from some internal defect in the chimney. It was purely accidental and, if it had been at night, it might have been attended with consequences dreadful to conceive. Mrs. Strachan joins me in kind respects to Mrs. Mountain and in returning thanks for your Lordship's attention . (Sr.rachan to Bishop Mountain, Apri11 815,

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1812-34, 121)

-- The Strachans were twice burned out in rented wooden houses. In 18 19 he built a two-storey brick residence of his own, on Front Street, at the west end of town facing the bay, and lived in it for the rest of his life. -We are just beginning to breathe from the cholera. Next to Quebec and Montreal, this place suffered most; some indeed say that it has been more fata l here, than in any other place on the continent. The stream of emigration has been very great this season; upwards of 50,000 have already landed at Quebec; and four-fifths of this number direct their cou rse to Upper Canada - the majority of them reaching this place. The journey from Quebec (600 miles) is so long and tedious, th at it exhausts the little pittance they had on landing; so th at a great portion of them arrive here penniless. The terrible disease attacked them as tbey journeyed hither; many died on the way; others were landed in various stages of the disease; and many were seized after they came among us. In short, York became onc general hospital. We had a large building fitted up comfortably for the

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reception of the cholera patients; but the cases were so numerous that many could not be conveyed to it, and remained at their own houses, or lodgings. It is computed that one in four of the adults of this town were attacked, and that one-twelfth of the whole population died. Our duty. as you will understa nd, throws us, clergymen, into the very midst of such calamities; as at no time, more than during such contagious sickness, do people require the consolations of religion .... (Stracho.n to a person unnamed, 22 September 1832, quoted in A. N. Bethune, Memoir of the RI. Rev. John Strachall [Toronto : 1870], 136)

"""" The Asiatic Cholera was the worst of the diseases arriving with the emigrants in the thirlies, its victims usually dy ing within twenty-four hours. The account of the epidemic in the summer of 1834 was written by Strachan in the third person for inclusion in a history of the diocese. """" The first case occurred at Toronto early in August and filled the city with great aJarm. Next day several appeared, and for nearly a month the increase continued; nor WilS there any certain diminution till towards the middle of September, when the cases rapidly decreased and proved less virulent; and, before the end of the month, the pestilence bad nearly disappeared .. . . [Two days in 1834] The Archdeacon having been out aU day visiting the cholera hospital and such private individuals as bad been attacked, and burying tbe dead, returned borne about nine o'clock. It being Saturday evening, and after taking some refreshment, threw himself on a sofa to take some repose. In a few minutes a call was made for his immediate assistance in a distant quarter of the city .... On his way home, tbe Archdeacon was so frequently intercepted by ooe call after ano ther th at it was past five o'clock when he got to his own door. Here be found his light wagon ready to take him to bury a respectable lady about fou r miles in the country, the funeral to take place at six o'clock A.M. On his return be had several visits to pay and about eight reached his house, swallowed a little breakfast, and hastened to the garrison two miles to hold service for the troops, for they were not permitted to attend the parish church during the continuance of the cholera. The service ended, he visited the military hospital and then drove to the parish burial ground and interred nine bodies. This was scarcely done when the church clock struck eleven, the hour of morning service.

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After the service, the Archdeacon visited the jail, read prayers, and addressed the prisoners; hence he went to the general hospital and performed similar duty. It was now three o'clock P.M., and he hastened back to the parish church for the afternoon service. On his way home be visited several of the sick and, making a hasty dinn er, proceeded to the cholera cemetery and buried eight bodies. Called again at the general hospital and reached bome abo ut eight o'clock.... ("A Narrative of the Cholera," Stracban to E. H awkins, 16 July 1847, S.P.G.

Archi ves)

-- In 1828 Strachan toured Upper Canada in his dual capacity as Archdeacon of York and President of the Board for the Superintendence of Education. Tbe excerpts given are representative. Thomas Morl ey was missionary at Chath am . Colonel John By, R. E., was directing the building of the Rid eau Ca nal.-Sunday. 31st. - I found a decent co untry congregation at Chatham. They appeared very attentive and devout. All seemed glad at Mr. Morley's return, and received hi m with much cordiality. The situation of the church is picturesque, in the midst of a thin grove of trees. The borses tied to the branches, and ,..the group of waggons and carts in different places pointed out the religious edifice. Preaching in a wilderness, to a congregation collected from a great extent of country, which, on a cursory view, seems al most uninh abited, arri vi ng by one, two, or three, from all sides, through paths almost undiscernible, ca nnot fail of producing solem n reHection ; and when we see th em tbus assembled to worship God through the merits of a crucified Redeemer, we become sensible of the power of the Gospel. Several persons of colour composed part of the congregation. Monday, 1st September. - About eight o'clock, the weather, which had heen rainy. cleared uP. and we set out for Talbot Street, to' the com mencement of which it was only sixteen miles across the country from Chatham. We had not proceeded far before we found the sloughs frightful. Every moment we expected to stick fast or break down. A th under-storm came on, and the rain feU in such torrents as greatly to increase the difficulty. After labouring nine hours, we stuck fast about five o'clock, when within half a mile of Talbot Road. At length, taking out the horses, we left the waggon, with the baggage, in order to go to the nearest house for the ni ght, distant nine miles.

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By this time it was six o'clock. The horses, almost killed with straining and pulling, could hardly walk. Another storm of thunder and lightning came on, and the narrow path, overhung with branches, became suddenly dark. The rain fell in vast quantities, and at length we could see no path, but were striking against the trees and each other. We continued to wander till nine o'clock, when we were forced to halt, completely drenched with the continued rain. Unfortun ately, we had no means of lighting a fire, notwithstanding the cold and wet; and expecting to get to a house, we had nothing to eat or drink. There was no remedy but to sit quietly under the trees till morning. Although there was something gloomy, and, from the high wind which arose in the morning, dangerous, in being in the midst of a vast forest without light or shelter, there was likewise something pleasing, or at least soothing, to the soul. I was led naturally to serious thoughts, and the Gospel promises arose before me in unextinguishable light. There was something different in the conceptions which I formed of heaven and eternity than when in the midst of society. The truths appeared, if I may so express myself, more palpable. There was darkness without, and light within. Till I fell into a serious train of thought, the time seemed very long; but after I became absorbed in meditation, time flew rapidly, and the cold was forgotten! At four A.M., convinced that we had passed the house, we retraced our steps, and found it about a mile from our dreary encampment. We had passed it in the dark; but tbere being no window towards the road, and the family having no dog, a thing very unusual in this country. we plunged on from one slough to another. without knowing that we were near a human habitation. (Quoted in Ernest Hawkins, A"nals 01 th e Diocese 01 T oronto [London: Society fo r the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, 1848], 11 4- 116 )

3 October [1 828] Reached By Town about twelve o'clockLodged at Mr. Firth's in the neighbourhood of the town - Went to look at the bridges, building under the direction of Colonel By over the Ottawa at the Chaudiere Falls - They are magnificent, especially the hanging bridges over the principal opening of the locks through which the river is precipitated - The work is quite natural in its appearance and reflects great credit on the engineer. I proceeded to the outlet of the Rideau Canal. Again Colonel By has displayed great skill and judgment-

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Noth ing can be finer than the descent of the canal into the Ottawa . .. . Col. By invited me to accompany him and the General [Sir Peregrine Maitland] up the canal. ... 8 Oct[ober]. - Today we stopped for breakfast at a house which might have been made comfortable had the inhabitants understood anyth ing about comfort. An old soldier came and requested me to baptise his child. He belonged to our church. There were no clergymen nearer than thirty-five miles, and the roads were exceedingly bad. I consented and ~ brought with him another child - The inn-keeper also produced two and a married daughter one. The Lt. Governor and aU the company being present, Col. By stood for one of the children whom they called Horatio Nelson .... (Strachan, "Journal of a Tour, 1828," sp)

I

..... The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, during one of the periods when it was dominated by reformers, set up a committee on grievances under the cbairmanship of William Lyon Mackenzie. Strachan was cited as a witness, and though the questions are confusing, Strachan's answers indicate his opinions and his demeanour ......

538. [Witness is shewn the Official Return of bills from the Assembly lost in, or lost by amendments, from the Legislative Council, and asked] What change would you propose in the Legislative Council, so that it might better harmonize with the House of Assembly? - I cannot answer that question, for I do not understand it, unless it imply a change in tbe constitution to which no loyal subject can conscnt. 539. Are there not, in your opinion, too many dependent persons and holders of office in the Legislative Council? - Certainly not. 540. What check would you propose against sudden, ilIadvised, and injurious legislation in the Imperial Parliament, on matters effecting the trade and commerce, and through them, the agricultural and general intcrests, of the province? -I do not feel competent to give any opinion on that subject. But this I know, that the parent state is ever ready to confer every benefit in her power upon her colonies, consistent with the general interests of the empire, and no colony can with justice expect more .. . .

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542. When you were absent in England twenty-two months, did your salaries, emoluments, and advantages from office continue to be paid the same as when you were at home doing the duty? - The duties were performed at my own expense. 543. Does not a vast annual additional expense fall upon the province, owing to the continual rejection of bills of a general character, sent up by the House of Assembly, rejected in the Legislative Council, and again introduced, debated. and scot up by the House of Assembly? -1 beg leave to state tbatthe Legislative Council reject no bills without good reasons, and that body bas always appeared to me to bave made tbe good of tbe province much more its study than the House of Assembly, and need fear no comparison in true patriotism, wisdom, and ability. 544. In wbat way can tbe popular branch of the Legislature influence the government so as to secure the appo intment of proper persons as arbitrators, to decide on the proportions of revenue coming to Upper Canada from duties levied at the port of Quebec? - I do not answer that question, not understanding why one branch of the Legsilature should have more influence than either of the other two; but experience proves that the arbitrators of this province have always conducted the busi ness witb success and ability. What more can be wished? 545. Would not tbe British constitutional system by which the head of the government is obliged to choose his councillors and principal officers from among men possessing the confidence of the popular branch of the Legislature, be more suitable to the wants and wishes of the country. if adopted in Upper Canada, th an the present irresponsible mode of government? I do not believe the government is an irresponsible one; the rest of the question is too vague to admit of a definite answer. 546. In wbat way is tbe government of this colony responsible to public opinion, as expressed by the representatives of the people in Parliament? -1 could not answer that question otherwise than by saying, that the government is quite as responsible as any other government. 547. [The witness is shewn the Post Office Return, and asked] What mode would you recommend for the better government of the Post Office, and for allowing the control thereof to the Colony? - I have not given the subject consideration. 548. In case public officers prove remiss in the performance of their dUlies, how or by what tribunal can they be tried? - I am not aware of any, but I think a court of impeachment, under

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proper regulations, would be of great use - I think the Legislative Council would be a proper tribunal for that purpose. 549. Do you not consider the custom of pensioning the judges to a large annual amount, by orders from the Colonial Office, out of the Upper Canada revenue, and without reference to the Provincial Legislature, destructive of the independence of the bench in a great measure? - The judges are rendered independent by law; but the law is deficient, in as much as it does not provide for a retiring allowance to tbe judges, if therefore there be aoy fault it is in the House of Assembly. 550. Do you think Lieutenant Governors, of themselves, possess a sufficient knowledge of the inhabitants of the several districts to enable them to select judicious persons as justices of the peace? - Certainly I do, for they have the best so urces of information, and are quite independent. 551. It is complained to His Majesty that sheriffs hold their offices in abject dependence on the wiH of a government irresponsible to public opinion; that they choose the grand and petit jurors without reference to their fitness, but often from political considerations. What remedy would you provide so as to secure to the subject a fair trial by jury? - 1 cannot answer that question, owing to its assumptions, wh ich I do not admit. 552. Have not the resident settlers, by the improvements they have made, and the House of Assembly. by its liberal grants for roads and bridges, and in aid of inland navigation, given to the public lands their greatly increased value as compared with 1792? - It is an incidental advantage which gives them no particular claim. 553. Ought not the revenue arising from these lands to have been applied to the liquidation of the War Loss claims, instead of increasing the public debt and duties on imports for that purpose? - I would not answer that question, for 1 do not admit its correctness, as the Government have given large sums for that very purpose. 554. Ought not the whole public revenue to be paid in the gross into the exchequer or treasury of the Colony, and the proceeds applied only according to law? - I do not answer that question. 555. Does not the immense patronage of the local and general Government, uncontrolled as it appears to be by the House of Assembly. render nugatory in a great degree the efforts of the representative body to assert and maintain its constitutional

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independence? - Certainly not, for the members of the House of Assembly bave been tbe chief office holders and the chief office expectants for the last thirty years. 556. The vote by ballot in elections is prayed for in many petitions both to the Assembly and to His Majesty; what is your opinion of this mode of voting? - Nobody would ask for the vote by ballot put from gross ignorance; it is the most corrupt way of using the franchise. 557. Is it just to the Baptists, Quakers, Menonists, Tunkards, Independents, Seceders, and other classes of Christians, whose spiritUal teachers receive no share of the public revenue for their religious services, th at tbe Clergy of the Kirk of Scotland, the Catholic Bishop and Clergy, and the Methodist Ministers should, without the sanction of the Legislature, have a bounty paid for the performance of their religious duties?That question is not put in a way in which I could answer ii. 557. The undue advantages and excl usive religious privileges granted to certain religious denominations are much complained of; would it not tend to strengthen a good government if they were altogether abolished? - There shou ld be in every Christian country an established religion, otherwise it is not a Christian but an Infidel country. 559. The government of Upper Canada docs not confine itself t.o maintaining one form of the Christian religion; it selects four particular denominations; and within the last two years appears to have paid them about £ 35,000, while the other sects received no part of the public monies. Do you think this was a just course? - The Government does so l ittle in support of the Christian religion. that I am thankful they do this much. 560. Do you consider the Clergy Corporation legal? - Certainly I do. 56 1. Are yo u aware that the Legislative Councillors receive a far larger proportion of the taxes than they and thei r families contribute? - I have not the means of answering that question, for I am Dot aware of their receiving any share of the taxes whatever. 562. Do you think the local knowledge possessed by the Lieutenant Governors of this Colony generally. sufficient to enable them to nominate independent meo, otherwise well qualified, to the office of Legislative Councillor? -1 think the information is very open to them. 563. Has not the present irresponsible system of government

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in Upper Canada, a tendency to discourage the emigration of the more wealthy and enterprising class of emigrants into the Province? - Certainly not; the executive government does every thing to encourage emigration, but the slanderous newspapers make people at a distance believe that there are difficulties in the province, and produce a contrary effect. 564. In your letter of the 3rd of March, to Colonel Rowan, in explanation of a payment of £500 or £524 sterling, made to you in London from the Canada Company's fund, you state that it was to defray charges respecting King's College; we are desirous to ascertain for the information of the House, the way in which this money was expended, and the particular items of expense incurred by you, for which this was your remuneration? - I have no further explanation to give than what my letter contains. The Colonial Department, under whose direction it was expounded, was satisfied, and no part of the £ 500 remained with me. 565. On referring to public documents within our reach, we find that £324, and £524 sterling, and £712 16s. 2d., and £ 678 6s. 8d., and 2,000 acres of land in the Gore of Toronto, were given or paid to you when in London or since, on account of your journey to England, or on matters therewith connected. It also appears that since the 1st day of January, 1826, you have received £ 2,250 as President of the Board of Education, up to January 1833; £2,700 as Archdeacon of York, and £ 1,000 as an Executive Councillor; besideS sums "for dilapidations on your living"; for the gaol ground; for the "small strip rents," Toronto; for the acre, formerly the Hospital Square, with other sums. For the information of this Committee, and in order to prevent misrepresentation and misapprehension we are desirous that you wou ld furnish the Committee with a statement of all monies or grants, as payments made to you, for any purpose whatsoever, since 1st of January, 1826, whether from Colonial Revenue, Crown Lands, the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, His Majesty's Government, rents of reserves, clergy grounds, glebe rents or uses, or from any other public source whatsoever, either here or in England? - For a complete explanation of the various matters contained in this question, I beg leave to refer to two letters addressed to Lieutenant Colonel Royan; one bearing date the 31st January, the other the 3rd February; both are I believe in the possession of the Com-

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mittee. In these will be found answers quite satisfactor y to every honorable mind. 1 must at the same time enter my protest aga inst the manner of putting this question, which is evidently calculated to mislead the careless and ignorant, though I am wiU ing to believe that such could not be the object of the Committee. Various sums are mentioned, which were paid at different times, for great and important services, and items of annual income are mUltiplied by ten, as if 1 had received suc h large sums at once; whereas they are spread over the space of ten years, and ought, in common decency as well as in justice, to have been specified according to their annual amount. or one tcnth part of that which the qucstion makes them . (The Wim ess withdrew.) (Upper Canada. House of Assembly. The Seventll Report from the Select Committee 0/ the House 0/ Assembly 0/ Upper Canada 011 Grievallces . .. W . L. Mackenzie, Chairman [Toronto: M. Reynolds. 1835], 84-87 , [Evidence of Hon. and Yeo. John Strachan])

-- J ames Stephen, permanent counsel in the Colonial Office and later Undersecretary for the Colonies, had drawn up the charter of the University of King's College and was of continuing importance in the shaping of colonial policies. Strachan seeks to continue the acquaintance and puts forward his own version of "responsible government." --

My dear Stephen, I do not often write because you are very busy and I am not idle, but an occasional letter will keep us in kind remembrance and when I pray for my friends and benefactors - which I do twice every day - your dear family never fail to flit across my vision. At other times, you are frequently before me - indeed your friendship was well worth my journey to England. Tho' I do not like Wbiggery, I dearly like some Whi gs and I believe in a short time we Tories shall not know where to find one another or which of our principles are left. You have now got yo ur heart's desire, in this Cabinet, and to say the truth I am not sorry for the last was a Government. as it appeared to me, of expediency without any steady principle, and you can no more rule a nation by exped iency than a private family. Either the Constitution is something or nothing; if it be really a substance and not a shadow it must have some pillars or landmarks; these ought to be preserved whatever new regul ations

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may be introduced into the details. There is one principle of the Whig policy (I speak of Lord Grey of Granville's former administration) which I admired at the time and which with a little addition would go further to heal the discontent so prevalent in the colonies than all the measures which I have beard prepared. They determined to supersede military and to appoint civil governors over all the colonies. If this be still their policy (which I consider for maoy reasons wise), I would humbly suggest that two additional steps ought to be taken to make it effectual: 1st That it be imperativ~ on the Governor of a colony to consult on all occasions with his Executive Council; 2[nd) That the members of the Executive Council be like the King's mioisters responsible for their advice; and on the retirement of every governor that the said Council report fully on his administration. In the present state of thin gs the Governor of a colony has little more check than th e Emperor of Morocco. He explains or acts contrary to his orders from home and who dare bring bim to account? He commonly begins with undoing all that his predecessor has done and adopts measure after measure without information and to the great detriment of the country, without the knowledge of the Executive Councilor any reference whatever to them. But the country, supposing that they are consulted, blame them and not the Governor. Were it otherwise, the Governor, being obliged to refer everythi ng beyond the common routine, would have the most complete knowledge which could be obtained on the subject; and the members, being aware that they might be called to account, would be more careful in the advice they offered. At present the councils are frequently obsequious to a culpable degree, because they feel it a sort of compliment to be consulted at all; and, as they are not responsible, they are apt to advise according to the Governor's wish or inclination. Moreover, military men are seldom the most fit to transact civil business or to treat with civilians; they are in ge neral arrogant, self-sufficient and supercilious, unaccustomed to the details of business, and little regarding of the rank and feelings of those with whom they are obliged to have daily intercourse. In truth, military Governors are apt to prefer the lowest officer from the army to the hi ghest civil functionary in the colony, and they are by no means scrupulous in respec t to civil rights. To all this there may be exceptions.

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I could name one or two, but not more, in all my experience. Civil Governors with responsible Executive Councils would do more for the colonies than aU your other measures put together. (Strachan to James Stephen, 18 January 1831,

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1827-34, 129-130)

,..., A civilian Lieutenant-Governor was appointed to Upper Canada in 1836 in the person of Sir Francis Bond Head, but rebellion broke out in both colonies in the following year and morc far-reaching changes were clearly necessary. Strachan feared the "obvious cure." ....... The fo lly of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada bas been for a long time such as to produce apprehension of fo rcing some modifications of the constitution and to a partial view the more obvious cure and the one most likely to suggest itself is the union of the two provinces, but it would essentially fai l or embroil for many years to come the whole co untry in contention and perhaps civil war. The majority in the House of Assembly in Lower Canada and ou r minority wou ld form the majority of the United House of Assembly, and if that assembl y were held at Quebec it would be impossible for the best members from this province to attend - radicals and evil disposed persons would be always ready for mischief .. . . The great remedy would be a general union of the British North American provinces with a viceroy at its head and exercising such powers as the Congress of the Un ited States do, leaving the provincial legislatures for local improvements. (Strachan to C. Hagennan, 29 January 1834.

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1827-39, 239 )

,..., John George Lambton. Earl of Durham, was sent out in 1838 as Governor-General and High Commissioner to propose new solutions. His interim action in banishing some of the rebels was repudiated by the home government at the instance of Henry Brougham, and Durham resigned. Sir Francis Bond Head joined in the paper war that followed and Strachan fo und himself supporting both Head and Durham."'" We were highl y gratified by your letters to Lord Brougham. If he can fee l an yth ing he must have winced under their application. This polilical mountebank has been lately more successful in doing mischief than usual by his attack on Lord Durham. The ordinances thought so tyrann ical and illegal were generally condemned here as far too lenient but we knew that in the

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present state of the jury law in Lower Canada no convictions could be obtained for political crimes however aggravated and that while the jails were full of prisoners great excitement would be continued under aU the circumstances of the case, therefore I thought Lord Durham right in issuing the ordinances and the proclamation. If not strictly legal they ought to have been made so by the Imperial Parliament. When the legislature of the United Kingdom found it necessary to adopt the violent step of suspending the constitution of Lower Canada it could not be reasonably expected that the consequences could be followed up without other severe and perhaps irregular measures. Lord Durham's bands ought to have been strengthened instead of beiog insulted with acts of indemnity. It is said that his Lordship is going home directl y. This I lament both on Lord Durham's account and tbe country's. The nobler course for his Lordship is to complete his mission in spite of every opposition. His return at present leaves the country unsettled and without confidence in the administration. Loyalists are discouraged and traitors are become more impudent. It may be considered matter of diversion among British statesmen to make the treatment of the Canadas a game of party politics, but it is death to us . .. . (Strachan to Sir Francis Bond Hend, 8 October 1838, 51 -2 )

I

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182741,

CHAPTER NINE

The Canadas: Union or British North American Federation

....., Strachan was convinced that a union of Upper and Lower Canada would not work. At the request of the Colonial Office, he wrote in London in 1824 his Observations on a Bill jor Uniting the Legislative Councils and Assemblies. At the same time he drew up a proposal for British North American union as a more desirable measure. The project was dropped until the Lower Canadian rebellions made a cbange necessary, but the union of the Canadas, when it came and while it lasted, fulfilled his worst expecta tions. ....., OBSERVATIONS ON A BILL FOR UNITING THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS AND ASSEMBLIES OF THE PROVINCE OF LOWER CANADA AND UPPER CANADA IN ONE LEGTSLATION 1 AND TO MAKE FURTHER PROVISIONS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SAID PROVINCES

The great object of the measure must be to foster the national principle which ought to connect the people of both the provinces with the parent state, and which will become more simple a nd intimate, by their junction. For, considering themselves the members of one state, though scattered over an immense country, and looking to one centre of Government for protection and relief, they will in time feel the necessity of assimilating themselves more and more to one another. That prominent feature in the character of all nations, by which we experience a friendship and attachment inclining us to associate with subjects of the same government, will, by degrees, acquire among tbem its proper ascendency, and, instead of looking upon each other as springing from different nations, they will acknowledge themselves members of the same community, hav ing the same views and interests; and they will feel, that it is incumbent upon

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them not onJy to avoid heats and jealousies, but to cultivate the habits of social and friendly intercourse. These good effects will DO doubt be some time in manifesting themselves to any extent, but that they will be gradually engendered, may be reasonably inferred from the experience of other unions. It is indeed agreeable to the nature of things, that those who live at the extremities of an extensive empire or province, finding it necessary to keep up a connexion with those who live at the seat of Government for protection, justice, or favour, and to request their assistance and support, should become attached to their benefactors; and where a regul ar intercourse of dependence is establ ished, a un ion of measures, of views, and feelings must soon follow. Deeply sensible of the great importance of these and other advantages which will in lime flow from a union of the Canadas, if wisely managed, my sale object has been to suggest such amendments as would, in my humble opinion, secure its success. In doing this, I propose no alteration which would tend to raise discontent, un less it produces by its adoption a decided and essential advantage; while, on the other hand, I reject no provision, because it may excite clamour, if it appear necessary to render the union successful and complete. Taking the printed amended bill as the foundation of our deliberations, it was proposed to drop the sixteenth clause, which makes it lawful for the Governor in Chief, &c., if at any time he shall deem it expedient, to summon and authorize by an instrument under his hand and seal, two members of the Executive Council of each province, to sit in every Assembly, with power of debating therein; and with all other powers, privileges, and immunities of the members thereof, except that of voting. . T his provision was no doubt suggested by the difficulty of communicating to the House of Assembly the sentiments and views of the colonial Government, respecting the different measures that come under deliberation, and the reasons which render it useful and expedient to reject or adopt them. At present, the local Government has no way of informing the House of Assembly of its opinions and views for recommending any course to its consideration, except by written documents, and these seldom give satisfactory explanations or prevent misrepresentation. But neither. it is humbly believed, would tbis provision remedy the evil. Executive Counsellors so placed

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would excite only jealousy and suspicion, instead of being listened to, they would be held up to ridicule and score; and it is in truth to be apprehended, tb at no persons of capacity would be found willing to expose themselves in such a situation to become the laughing-stocks of the represen tati ves of the people, fo r baving no vote, they could not by any talents or caution acquire influcnce. As, therefore, this clause would be found a useless deviation from the principles and practice of the British Constitution, it becomes the less necessary. Besides, the duties expected from these Counsellors can be more effectually performed by mcmbers placed in the House by the legitimate influence of the local Government. It is true. only two can be thus nominated, one for the Uni versity of Upper Canada, which has the power by law, when established, to send a representative; and another for the borough of William Henry. Now, although these can never exercise any paramount influence over the decisions of the house. th ey ca n give the explanations for which the Executive Counsellors were deemed necessary, and with much greater effect, as they would have the power of voting. At the same time, there is nothing to prevent executive counsellors from being elected members of the House of Assembly, if tbey can make themselves agreeable to the electors. The 18th clause of the printed bill, which extends the duration of Parliament from four to five years, has been generall y objected to in both provinces. In the draft, the period is Jeft blank, for it is humbly conceived that an addition of one year only is hardly an equivalent for the clamour which it may excite; but were the alteration from four to seven years, tbe benefit would be incalculably great. The business to come before the united parliament, will be more important, various, and complex, than th at which comes before the separate Legislatures. To acquire a knowledge of it, and the multiplied in terests which it involves, seems to demand more time than the present period affords; heats and prejudices will die away or be removed, a facility in transacting business will be acquired, and mutual confidence between the different branches of the Legislature promoted. It is therefore humbly submitted, that the term of tbe continuance of the Assembly, if changed, be made seven years instead of four, for this latter period is so short as frequently to produce the most serious inconvenience. To extend the duration of Parliament

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would greatly increase the power and inOuence of the Executive Government; for it has been found, that the last sessions proceed more harmoniously and usefull y than the first, because a short time proves that Government can have no other view than the general good. But tbis fact is scarcely established in the minds of the members, before they are obliged to study the prejudices of their constituents, in order to succeed at the next election, and thus the expected good is often lost. The extended period would afford longer time for the ripening of this good impression, wh ich, while it influenced the conduct of members usefully, would have a beneficial effect on their elections. It may be said, in opposition, that such a change wo uld excite clamour, and afford fewer opportunities to the people of testifying their opinion of ·their representatives. But it must be obvious that one steady weU-concerted policy will be necessary to consolidate the provinces; and this can only be effectually pursued by a deliberative body, uninterrupted by popular changes and prejudices. Such an amendment would strengthen the bands of the colonial Government, which will require more power and patronage than ever should the union take place. The twenty-third c1ause, respecting the rights, privileges, immunities, and ad vantages, of members, is omitted in the draft. The Legislatures of Lower and Upper Canada have enjoyed similar privileges with the Parliament in England, since their first establishment, and tbeir exercise has beeD so very unfreque nt, that it has never been complained of. In truth when du ly considered, it will be found that the provincial Parliament could not protect itself from the most serious insult were these privileges denied it; and that they are essential to its very existence, and only such as the lowest courts of justice daily exercise. It is therefore proposed to drop the clause, leaving the matter in its present state, since the enjoyment of certain privileges is indispensable to the exercise of its functions; for if the two Houses are deprived of the power of committing for contempts, they become totally incapable of maintaining their authority. Twenty~fourth Clause. The latter part of the twenty~fou r th clause respecting language is altered in the draft. It is deemed sufficient that the written proceedings and records in the Legislature, and in all courts of justice, be in the E nglish language. Thus far, the clause, if so amended, is most reasonable and expedient, and will, in a very short time prod uce

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the desired effect, while the omission of the second part does away with that galling insult which it appears to imply. It is natural for all men to speak the language of their parents, for it is connected with all our dearest and earliest associations .... These comprise the principal alte rations which we have by agreement proposed to make in the printed bill ; but to render the measure successful and complete, I most humb ly conceive that it becomes necessary to introduce several other important provisions. In order to perceive their necessity, I beg to be indulged in examining the practical effects with which the printed bill or draft, with the alterations proposed wou ld, in all probabitity be attended. The number of members of the united Assembly will, in a very few years, amount to 120: now it does appear to me that the Governor in Chief will find it extremely difficult to manage so great a multitude, more especially if we consider the materials of which it is composed. Of these 120 members, the Executive Government ca n never return more than two, and its patronage is very limited and trifling. Many appointments are made in England, and if they happen to be made injudiciously, they have a direct tendency to dim inish the influence of the Governors, on whom every officer ought to put his dependence, and with whom he ought to co-operate. The ancient French seigniors, with whom the King's Government might be supposed to have some weight, _ have, ~y the operation of the present constitution lost all influence among their tenantry, and can seldom procure a single vote even for themselves. In Lower Canada, the representation is almost entirely in the hands of the notaries and demagogues, who are at pains to flatter the passions and prejudices of the people. The peasantry are in general so ignoran t as to have no distinct notion of a free government, few of them can either read or write, and no care is taken to rescue them from this abject state of ignorance. Indeed their leaders are anxious to prevent any assimilation to the English character, as they fear that by adopting our opinions they would cease to be Frenchmen: hence tbey continue in the same state from year to year, opposing with the most inflexible obstinacy all modern improvements in the most common arts and employments, and standing in trenched behind a difference of manners, language, and condition, lest the Canadian or French character should be lost. The nota ries, a very numerous body, appear the most active

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in continuing the present system of misgovernment, and of opposing every sort of improvement. They have a continued and intimate intercourse with the common people. It is their business to make all contracts, marriage settlements, and wills. They direct the distribution of property among successors, and perform almost every act which requires to be committed to writing. In the discharge of these duties, the notaries obtain an ascendency over the common people, which supersedes every other. They reach the height of their consequence when they are commissioned by the Government, and would not be known beyond the precincts of their respective parishes, were it not for the facility wh ich the House of Assembly affords them of uniting with other demagogues, and forming a party against the Government. Under their management, French feelings, principles, and views of policy have hitherto regulated the Assembly of Lower Canada. It was not their wish to assimilate the country or its institutions to the parent stat e, nor to promote British settlements, nor to improve agriculture and commerce, but to counteract, as far as possible, these beneficial purposes, and to extend and perpetuate the French language, laws, and Roman Catholic institutions with the national feeli ngs connected with them. If such be the character of the persons who at present enj oy a decided preponderance in the Legislature of Lower Canada, and the principles of their policy, we have reason to infer that in as far as they are concerned they will pursue the same policy in the united Legislature, and will continue to obstruct all rational improvements and fos ter national prejudices. Although the number of members will, by lhe proposed bill, ultimately reach 120, yet the first Parliament will hardl y exceed one hundred, and by the law as it now stands, the notaries and their friends can return fifty. This much is admitted on all sides, that the English part of the population cannot send a single represe ntative. It is true a few Englishmen are always found in the House; this was at first necessary, in order to put in motion the new system of government, till the French Canadian members became familiar with constitutional forms, when they assumed to themselves the exclusive management of the public concerns of the country, and have since regulated the elections for the assembly at their pleasure. Some Englishmen are indeed still found in the Assembly, but they are such as meet the views of the party, and have fo r man y years been the most violent

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opponents of the government; tbey know tbat their election depends upon the good-will of a few Canadian leaders, and therefore their conduct must be such as to conciliate their patrons. The fifty members returned by the Canadians, will in aU probability constitute a majority in the united House of Assembly, because the upper province wi ll not return more than forty-four members, and the new townships in Lower Canada ten. Were all these to attend, the English would have fifty-four to fi fty, or a majority of four, but when it is considered that the members from Upper Canada, should the meeting of the Legislature be at Montreal or Quebec, will not all attend, as some will have upwards of 600 miles to travel, and that if they should generally take their seats, they are not bound together by such strong ties as the Roman Catholics are, and further that the greater number will meet utter strangers to oDe another, and therefore witho ut having agreed in any system of policy, they will be disjointed and separated. It is not too much to suppose, that the present party, which commands the Assembly of Lower Canada, will for a time, should no additional provisions be made, command the united Assembly. The first aDd most effectual remedy for this evil would be to divide the country anew, and wbile a decided majority was given to the Englisb, the whole number of representatives should not exceed seventy-five. Tbis number would be amply sufficient to conduct public affairs, and might be regulated, for it appears a desperate case to attempt to manage nearly double the Dumber. But as this plan may be considered a violent innovation on the Constitution, and may be deemed impracticable, the next best step is to confine the elective franchise to persons possessing a freehold of five pou nds per annum, instead of forty shillings, in the country; and in the town, of 10/. yearly value, or having resided one year in a house paying a rent of 201. per annum. The first effect of tbis would be, that in Lower Canada. the most ignorant class would be excluded from voting, and thus the election would be conducted by men over whom the influence of the Dotaries is Dot so great, so that tbe French seigniors or their children would sometimes be chosen. Secondly, in the towns of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, which return ten members, the English could return at least six, or perhaps eight, as they are chiefly in possession of the property of these towns. Such an addition to the English mem-

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bers would be of the greatest benefit, and contribute very much to the ultimate success of the measure. Should this alteration be deemed objectionable, I have only to remark that unl ess the \ union be founded upon principles which will ensure its success, some other measure had better be adopted. It may be proper however to observe th at when the 31st of Geo. TIl chap. 31, was brought into Parliament, the freehold qualification was fixed at 5/. The truth is, it becomes safer to extend privileges of this kind to society, as it gets more improved, because intelligence, prudence, and good feeling, are calculated to coun teract the wildness which naturaUy prevails in assemblies purel y democratic. If we consider the Union as in operation on the principles adopted in the printed bill, or the assented draft, there are three general heads of policy On wh ich the parties likely to compose the Legislature will diffe r, and two on which they will in all probability agree. First, in the distribution of the revenue. On tbis subject it is reasonable to anticipate great difference of opi nion between the two provinces. In Lower Canada the Legislature bas been in tbe habit of paying for lbe building of court houses and gaols, out of provincial treasury; and when the public funds were deficient, a special tax has been imposed on commerce, to defray these local charges. In this province there are no districts or county rates, and all charges are made on the general treasury. In Upper Canada these matters are conducted differently; each district, and there are eleven in the pro vince, is assessed one penny in the pound, on all property personal and real, and this will soon yield 20,0001. per annum, and its proceeds will yearly increase as lands continue to be granted and brought into cultivation, and the population increases. Besides th is, there is also a general tax of one eighth of a penny per acre, on all lands for the purpose of maki ng ro ads; and this exclusive of the Common Road Law, which is of itself a severe tax. This one eighth of a penny per acre, when regularly collected, which it will now be, from arrangements adopted las t winter, will yield a revenue of 10,0001. per annum, which will likewise increase as lands are granted, making an aggregate of nearly 30,0001. To tbis may li kewise be added the expense of supporting the distri ct courts and the quarter sessions, four times in each year, when juries are called together, and the district judges and magistrates attend to try causes and

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offences against tbe peace. These district courts are at present supported by certain fees paid by tbe litigants, and exercise a jurisdiction to the extent of 401. in simple contract debts, and 151. in trespass. These sums comprehend nine·tenths of the causes, and, consequently, the courts are of great advantage. Nevertheless the expense of supporting these institutions, in· eluding the loss of time and attendance, cannot be less than 10,0001. per ann um, making an aggregate for local institutions of not less than 40,0001. Now as there are no such institutions in Lower Canada, but the same services are performed in a different manner, at the expense of the provincial treasury, a ground of difference is apparent. For the inhabitants of Upper Canada may with justice contend, that the different counties and districts of Lower Canada should pay their local institu· tions, and so relieve a large portion of the revenue for the purpose of general improvements. Nor is it unworthy of remark, that the adoption of similar institutions in Lower Canada would be high ly politic, as they would introduce English feeling, by familiarizing to the minds of the French population E nglish laws and customs. If matters remain as they now are after the union, one of two things must follow; either that these local expenses now paid by the districts of Upper Canada will be charged against the provincial revenue, which is impossible, as it is hardly able to meet the present charge; or the united province must exhibit the anoma ly of one part pay ing by local assessment, a very large sum a nnually, while another part defrays the sa me tfrom the general revenue. There cannot be the slightest reason for expecting that local assessments will be imposed in Lower Canada, so long as the majority of the members are French; indeed, on this point, there is reason to believe that all the representatives of Lower Canada, both French and English, would agree. The second po int on which the representatives of the two provinces would disagree is commerce. For more than twelve years, the Legislat ure of Lower Canada has been a scene of bitter conflicts and increasing dissen· sions, between the French and English parts of the population. The sessions, instead of being occupied in discuss ing measures of public utility, have been wasted in disputes respecting their respective powers and privileges, or in vehement and systematic attacks upon the judges and other local authorities. In the mea ntime, the publi c interests have been totally neglec ted, and no

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steps have been taken to increase the commerce of the country, or to develop its resources. The upper province has been treated as an alien, her exports have been subj ected to taxation, and even her imports were at one time subject to a hi gher duty than those of Lower Canada. There is no reason to expect that a body so constituted as the members fo r Lower Canada are at present, will in the united Legislature adopt a more liberal comm ercial policy. The custom of Paris and the code civil, as has been generally remarked, would require a notary public at the merchant's elbow. Now the beauty of the English com mercial system which prevails in Upper Canada, is that it proceeds chiefly from the judgments of the courts, grounded on approved and established customs, for the British Legislature has been at all times sensible of the difficulty and danger of shackling commerce, and therefore merchants have been left to follow their own custom s, and to ascertain them in the courts of justice in case of di spute. Now the commerce of Canada must conti nue to labour under all its present disadvantages while the Legislature is so constituted; and there can be no hopes of introd ucing the English commercial system of laws into tbe lower erovince, till there be not only a decided English majority, but a predominance of English feeling, which will be greatly accelerated by changing, as already noticed, the electi ve franc hise. The introduction of the English commercial laws by a clause of the proposed bill, could indeed give no umbrage to the French, because the trade and commerce of the country are principally in the hands of the E nglish, and since it is only from its trade th at the province can be useful or of importance to Great Britain, it is on that acco unt the more necessa ry to in troduce the commercial code of the mother country. Now to show that a mere English majority is not sufficien t to do this without a predominance of E nglish feeling, it is to be observed, th at the English members have been ofte n as bad and sometimes worse than the French, as is manifested by their conduct in respect of the La Chine Canal. the general utility of which was by their exerLions sacrificed fo r the benefit of Montreal. They likewise acquiesced in refusing to connect the roads between the provinces, and in retaining the money levied for im proving the navigation of the St. Lawrence. It is nevertheless hoped, that in obtaining the general adoption of

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the commercial code of Great Britain, they will join their efforts to those of the members from Upper Canada. The third great point on which there will be a difference of opinion, regards the laws generally of Lower Canada. The laws of Lower Canada consist of the custom of Paris, general laws of France, the Rom an law, edicts of the French King, ordinances of the Governor in CouDcil, and statutes of the provi nce, fo rming altogetber an heterogeneous mass, and producing great uncertainty in the decisions of the courts. So contrad ictory are the Jaws, and so little applica ble to parti cular cases, that the judges sometimes resort to English law, and even to equity; consequently, it is not possible for a man to know by what law, or all what principles his cause has been decided . This confusion renders titl es to property doubtful, clogs trade, and interrupts that good fa ith which ought to subsist among the people. The laws. by a mixture of French and English. often produce this, among other inconveniences, th at persons clai m the right of both, and take advantage of that which best suits their purpose. In this manner the payment of debts is evaded and property rendered insecure. It is evident tbat Lower Canada can never become a fit habitat ion for British subjects, till these laws are regul ated; and, therefo re, every means should be used to provide for the gradu al introduction of the common and statute law of England