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EMIGRATION AND COLONIZATION

EMIGRATION and COLONIZATION;

EMBODYIKG THE RESULTS OF A

MISSION TO GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND,

DURING THE YEARS 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842;

INCLUDING A CORRESPONDENCE WITH MANY DISTINGUISHED NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN, SEVERAL OF THE GOVERNORS OF CANADA, ETC. ;

DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS OF VARIOUS PARTS OF THE BRITISH AMERICAN PROVINCES ; WITH OBSERVATIONS, STATISTICAL, POLITICAL, ETC. ;

BY

THOMAS ROLPH, Esq.,

LATE EMIGRATION AGENT FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA,

AUTHOR OF " A TOUR THROUGH THE WEST INDIES, UNITED STATES, ETC.;" " STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OP CANADA;" AND "THE EMIGRANT'S MANUAL."

" BE FRUITFUL, AND MULTIPLY— REPLENISH THE BARTB, AND SUBDUE IT."

LONDON :

JOHN MORTIMER, PUBLISHER, ADELAIDE STREET, TRAFALGAR SQUARE.

MDCCCXLIV. , o o > , > .

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 312513k

ASTOP; LENOX AND

TILJD£N FOUNDATIONS

^ 1937 L

J

" A work (the Colonization of North America) which we really consider to be for the glory of God and the honour of the nation, from the benefit that is likely to flow from the right prosecution of it." — King Charles First's Letter to the Baro7iets of Scotland, I5th Aug. 1632.

" I confess, that whatever apprehensions I have had with regard to Lower Canada, I fear much more disastrous consequences from what has occurred in the Upper Province. There are a great number of discontented spirits there; first, the settlers from the United States, who keep up a connexion with it, and whose views are always directed to a connexion with it ; and next there are men who have gone from this country with little character, and no means, and who have transferred to Canada the dangerous doctrines they had imbibed at home." — Lord Whamcliffe, Second Read- ing of Canada Bill.

" Every axe driven into a tree in British \orth America, sets in motion a shuttle in Manchester or Sheffield." — Lord Brougham.

" Extensive plans of pauper Emigration are not much better than penal Emigra- tion. We have no right to cast out among other nations, or on naked shores, either our poverty or our crime. This is not the way in which a great and wealthy people, A MOTHER OF NATIONS, ought to colouize." — Times, May 27, 1844.

" The appointed mission of this nation evidently is to people the boundless regions of America and Australia with a race of men professing the purest religion, inheriting the richest literature and proudest history, and endowed with the largest share of personal energy, perseverance, moral courage, self-command, habits of order and industry, and, in a word, professing the highest degree of aptitude for practical civilization, of any race which the world has yet seen." — Laing's Essay,

^ ^ W. LAKE, PRINTER, 170, FLBST STRSIT, LONDON.

DEDICATION.

To the Right Honourable Lord Stanley, M.P.,

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the

Colonies,

Sfc. <SfX. S^'c.

My Lord,

Having received a kind permission to dedicate this work to your Lordship, on the express condition that you were not to be regarded as sanctioning any views or opinions which it contains, I now respect- fully submit the reasons which have made me desirous of bringing out this compilation under the notice of a Minister of the Crown.

The systematic Colonization of British North America was commenced under the first Monarch of the House of Stuart, who proposed to make it " a royal work of his own." The proceedings, how- ever, for that great end, by which he hoped for ever " to promote the opulence, prosperity, and

a

iv DEDICATION.

peace of the Mother Country and the Colony," were suspended by those melancholy events which dark- ened the termination of his successor's reign ; and although, since that period. Colonization has pro- ceeded with more or less activity, and never been wholly interrupted, yet it is only within the last quarter of a century that it has become a consi- deration of general interest to the Legislature and People of this country.

In the present day, your Lordship is clearly designated, — no less by official position than by per- sonal experience, vigour of intellect, and purity of purpose, — as the person best qualified to promote and reduce into a system the principles of Colonization. If, therefore, I can throw any new light upon this great subject, or revive any neglected truths that bear upon it, and, having done so, can succeed in engaging the attention of your Lordship, I feel that my labour will not be altogether useless.

The British American Association was organized in 1841 and 1842, to give practical effect to the views and efforts of all, on both sides of the Atlantic, who consider systematic Emigration and Colonization to

DEDICATION.

be the most efficacious mode of extending the indus- try, increasing the wealth, and preserving the inte- grity, of the Empire. It sunk, however, beneath a series of casualties no less extraneous than deplor- able ; and I have felt it to be my duty, both on public and private grounds, to compile this volume, hoping that it may prove instrumental in the organizing of some public Association for the same great national ends.

Under the circumstances of extreme hardship set forth in a Petition recently presented to the House of Commons on behalf of the Executive Officers of the late British American Association, and now more amply detailed in this publication, allow me to ex- press my earnest hope, that your Lordship will deem it your duty to extend, on behalf of the Government, that encouragement and aid which would inspire confidence in an undertaking much more likely to promote public than private good, and therefore the more entitled to the fostering care of Her Majesty's Ministers and the Imperial Parliament.

I might, my Lord, dwell upon the severe losses which I myself have sustained in this cause, and the

Vi DEDICATION.

efforts which I have devoted to its advancement, as an apology for an appeal to your Lordships patriot- ism in this matter ; but that I may induce your Lord- ship to adopt a course of policy which would render your tenure of office alike memorable for the wisdom by which it was marked, and the Colonial, as well as national prosperity which flowed from it, I need only refer you to the concurrent opinions of the many enlightened witnesses in favour of the syste- matic Colonization of our North American posses- sions, both in this country and in Canada, whose testimony for the first time is brought together in the following pages.

I have the honour to remain, My Lord, With the highest respect,

Your most obedient servant,

THOMAS ROLPH.

Shefford, Bedfordshire, June 1, 1844.

CONTENTS.

Page

Introductory Observations, and INIe- raorial of the JNIercliants of Lon- don 1

Outbreak in Canada ; decrea.se of

Emigration 2

Address of the Irish Population to

the Queen 2

Letter to A. Manahan, Esq., M.P.P. S

1S30.

Leave Canada with Bishop Mac-

donell 5

Arrival in England in August 5

Reply to Mr. Hunt's Pamphlet. ... 5

Visit to Inverness 6

Letter to the Duke of Richmond. . . 6

Visit to Glasgow 8

Requisition of the Merchants to the

Lord Provost to call a Meeting. . 9

First Meeting in Glasgow 9

My Speech 9

Formation of the first Emigration

Society 14

Invitation from Cork, and visit to it. 14 Discussion with Roman Catholic

Bishops at Cove 15

Visit to Petworth 16

Letter of Rev. Dr. INI'Leod 16

Visit to the Earl of Gosford, in Ire- land 17

Letter to jNIr. Bermingham, of Ca-

ramana 1 ~

Ditto to Lord Cloncurry 18

Page

Letter from Rev. A. Douglas 18

First Meeting of the Central Agri- cultural Society of Great Britain

and Ireland 19

Amount of Year's Emigration to Canada » 19

1840.

Visit to Edinburgh 20

Great meeting at Hopetoun Rooms 20

Rev. Dr. IM'Leod's Speech 20

My Speech 21

Memorial of Highland Society .... 23 Formation of North American Co- lonial Committee 23

Second Letter of the Rev. Dr.

M'Leod 23

General Rleeting of the Central

Agricultural Society 26

My Speecli 26

Address to the Queen from tlie House of Assembly of Upper

Canada 31

First Meeting of North American

Colonial Committee 34

Memorial presented to Lord John

Russell 35

Address of North American Colonial

Committee 36

Resolutions of ditto 45

Letter of Colonel Sir A. D'Este. . . 45

Ditto of Earl Mountcashell 46

Ditto of Duke of Argyll 47

Third do. of Rev. Dr. M'Leod .... 48

Vlll

CONTENTS.

Page Public Dinner at Blackwall, pre- vious to departure from England . 49 Grand Banquet at Toronto on my arrival, Sj)eech, and Letter of Sir

G. Arthur, &c 60

Banquet at Hamilton 60

Banquet at Woodstock 66

Speech of Hon. P. B. de Blaquiere 67

Banquet at Goderich 67

Speech of Dr. Dunlop 68

Banquet at Erantford 70

Organization of Canadian Emigration

Association 74

Its Address 75

IMy Official Appointment from Lord

Sydenham 80

Official instructions from Lord Sy- denham 81

Meeting at Kingston, and my Ad- dress 82

Meeting at jMontreal, and Resolu- tions 85

Instructions from Emigration Asso- ciation 91

Meeting at Sherbrooke 91

Departure from Canada 91

Amount of Emigration to Canada. • 91

Departure for England, and arrival

there 92

First JMeeting of North American

Colonial Committee 92

Report of Sub-Committee 92

Memorial of Committee 98

Presentation of it to Lord J. Russell 106 Appointment of a Select Committee of the House of Commons to exa- mine into the Distress of Scotland,

&c 107

Witnesses 107

Second Meeting in Glasgow 107

First Report of Committee of House

of Commons 108

Second ditto 109

Abstract of Evidence 110

Page

Interview with Sir R. Peel 112

Petition to Parliament, and Address

to the Queen, unheeded 112

Intention to form a public Company

for Colonization ^ 113

Departure for Canada 115

Lord Sydenham's death 115

Visit to the Canadian Seigniories . . 115 Meeting at IMontreal, and my Ad- dress 116

Meeting at Toronto, and my Address 119

Speech of Dr. Dunlop 130

Ditto of Colonel Prince 133

Ditto of Sheriff of Home District . . 135

Letter to Mr. Hincks 136

Great increase in value of Property

in Canada 140

Amount of Emigration to Canada. . 140

IMeeting of District of Niagara. . . . 140

fleeting of District of Gore 148

My Official Appointment from Sir

Charles Bagot 151

Meeting at Quebec, and my Speech 151 Arrival in England, with Sir Allan

Macnab 156

Meeting of Nova Scotia Baronets. . 15G

flly presentation to the Queen 156

First Meeting of Consulting Council

of British American Association 157 Dinner given by Colonial Society to

Sir A. Macnab 157

Sir F. B. Head's Speech 153

]\Ir. Urquhart's ditto 159

]My own Speech 166

Effects of Hume's treasonable Letter 167 iMeeting of Consulting Council of

British American Association . . . 170

Deputation to Scotland 170

Levee at Holyrood House 170

IMeeting at Edinburgh 170

Speech of Dr. Alison 171

Ditto of Very Rev. Principal Rlac-

farlan 171

Ditto, my own 173

CONTENTS.

IX

Page

Marquis of Bute's Letter IT"*

Sir Allan Macnab's Speech 181

Rev. Dr. Aitoii's ditto 182

Sir R. Broun's ditto 183

Meeting at Glasgow 187

Speech of Sir James Campbell .... 188

Ditto of Sheriff Alison 188

Ditto of Rev. Dr. M'Leod 194

Ditto of Self 203

Resolutions of the Meeting 203

Letter to Scotch Reformers' Gazette 205 Third Meeting of Consulting Coun- cil of British American Associa- tion 208

Report of ditto 208

Professor Durin's Letter on Ireland 209 My Letter to Mr. Valentine, of Bel- fast 210

Farewell Dinner to Sir A. Macnab. 213

Sir A. Macnab's Speech 214

Sir. R. Broun's ditto 215

Mine ditto 222

Departure from England 228

Letters from Picton, Nova Scotia. . S28

Large IVIeeting in Toronto 231

Speech 231

Ditto of the Sheriff 237

Resolutions 238

Reception given to Sir A. Macnab

on his return 239

Arrival at Kingston 239

Debate in Canadian Parliament . . . 240 Official Instructions to Sir A. N.

Macnab 244

My arrival at Havre 249

Meeting of Consulting Council of

British American Association . . . 249 Appointment of Committee of In- quiry 2j1

Meeting at the City of London

Tavern 251

Report of Committee 252

Speech of Sir R. Broun 255

Ditto Self 265

Return of Ship ' Barbadoes,' and de- claration of Supercargo 269

Page

Visit to the Duke of Argyll 270

Increase in value of Canadian pro- perty, and amount of Emigration 271

Letter to the Duke of Argyll 271

Official Appointment by Sir H.

INFLeod 275

Dinner of Colonial Society to Sir

Charles INIetcalfe 275

My Speech 276

Letter of Mr. Crawford 277

Letter of Colonial Commissioner . . 278

]My reply to Mr. Crawford 280

Letter to Editor of Emigration Ga- zette 289

jNIeeting of Commercial Gentlemen 296 Letter from Sir R. Broun to Duke

of Argyll 296

Extract from my Letter to Lord

Cloncurry relative to New Zealand 297 Memorial of Merchants of London

to Sir Robert Peel 299

Memorial of Colonial Society to

Lord Stanley 300

Deputation to present it 300

C. Buller's Motion in House of Com- mons, and extract from his Speech 300 jMy review and objections to his

plan 304

Departure from England, on Ac- count of Trinidad 309

Coloured population of Canada. . . . 309

Large RIeetings of ditto 314

j\Iy Address 314

Refusal of Government to Counte- nance their removal 319

Decrease in the year's Emigration to Canada 320

The spirit of the Americans rela- tive to the Oregon Territory 3..'0

Embarrassment of the New Zealand Company • 327

CONTENTS.

Page Petition relative to British Ameri- can Association 328

Report of North American Colonial

Association of Ireland 328

Geographical Boundaries, and De- scription of Canada 329

Population of ditto 331

Commerce of ditto 332

First Purchase of the Island of IManhattan and Citj? of New York

from tlie Indians 332

JNIontreal 333

Bytown 334

Kingston 334

Cobourg 335

Peterborough 336

Toronto 336

Hamilton 338

Guelph 339

Goderich 339

London 339

Tolls on Macadamized Roads in

Canada 339

State of Maine 339

Population of Ohio 340

Foreign and Colonial Review 340

Page

Plan of Colonization 341

Successful Farming in New Hamp- shire 344

Earl of JMountcashell's Estate on

Amherst Island 345

Notice of Chinese Emigration 346

Communication from a Settler in

Canada 348

Canada Company's Report 355

British Ameiican Land Company's

ditto 356

Remittances from poor Settlers .... 356 Improvement in Canadian Agricul- ture 357

Advantages of Agriculture 359

Natural Productions of Canada. . . . 360

American Views of Canada 361

Canadian Governors favourable to

Emigration 365

Review of The Times on Colonization 370 Obstacles and discouragements to

its prosecution 371

Solemn Warning, from the Loss of

our former Colonies 374

Conclusion 376

SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION AND COLONIZATION.

The subject of systematic Emigration and Colonization having been brousrht last Session under the solemn attention of the First Minister of the Crown, by no less an influential body than 1,700 of the leading merchants, bankers, ship-owners, and others of the City of London, I need offer no apology, after devoting six years' deep and unremitting attention to this vital and interesting subject, for bringing my views upon it under public notice.

The Colonies of British North America with which I have been more immediately connected, are the nearest, most exten- sive, valuable, and important of our colonial possessions. They stretch through fifty degrees of longitude, and contain nu- merous and capacious harbours, extensive fisheries, a fertile soil, and a salubrious climate. Abundantly supplied, at the very verge of the ocean, with large fields of coal, and various mineral productions, — they display in their varied aspect, moun- tain, forest, and plain. They embosom several inland seas, in- tersected by noble and navigable rivers, innumerable streams possessing vast hydraulic powers, and great maritime capa- bilities. But the vast natural resources of this majestic out- lying province of the British Empire is even subordinate to the features which it presents when politically and commercially considered. From position and circumstances, it forms that portion of our dominions which must ever be the arx et domi- cilium of British Colonial power and enterprise. A vent to excess of population at home— a barrier against republican aggression

B

2 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

abroad — it presents a boundless outlet for centuries for our manufacturing productions ; and contains more abundantly the elements for undertaking and pursuing an extensive and pro- fitable colonization, than any portion of the globe belonging to the British Crown,

When the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada met the provincial parliament in 1834, after congratulating it on the great prosperity of the Colony, he announced the gratifying fact that its population had doubled during the preceding eight years. This unexampled, but gratifying progress, was, however, to receive a check.

1837. During the month of December, 1837, being resident in Upper Canada, then without a British soldier within its limits, I was called, in common with my other fellow-subjects, from my home, to assist in suppressing a rebellion which had then burst out. The political excitement which had preceded this outbreak, and the commotion consequent on it, caused the vigorous and perennial immigration to Canada to decline during the following year to the number of 3,26G.

1838. During this year, the provinces were exposed, both in summer and winter, to a series of violent assaults and aggres- sions from large and well-organized bands of marauders from the United States ; and such was the despondency and depres- sion caused by these dislieartening scenes, that lands were unsaleable, trade and commerce languished, the plough was at a stand, and the fertile provinces of Canada appeared, as Sir F. Head declared, " drooping like a girdled tree." Even in this gloom, the Irish settlers in Canada met and passed an Address to the Queen on the 4th of April. In this docu- ment, which was unanimously adopted, amongst much gra- tifying display of loyal and cordial unanimity, they say, " We most humbly thank your Majesty for the determination ex- pressed by your Majesty's ministers in j)arliament to protect and defend the loyal inhabitants in Canada in the possession of the many blessings they enjoy in this part of your Majesty's dominions. In this determination we see a new commence- ment of prosperity, an impregnable defence from anarchy.

AND COLONIZATION. 3

and a prospect of permanency to our institutions, which will not only restore confidence in these prov^inces, but will induce thousands of your Majesty's subjects to come amongst us, and partake of the rewards to industry and enterprise to which they are invited by our fertile but thinly populated country, and its extensive but untried resources. It renews in our minds the hope of yet seeing here millions of your Majesty's subjects, many of them from our native land, living in free- dom, peace, and plenty, under the protection of the British Empire and your Majesty's mild and beneficent sway."

At the latter end of 1838, the province required the defence of its inhabitants at every assailable point, and I was placed on the shores of Lake Erie, under the command of a most gal- lant officer, and highly esteemed friend. Colonel O'Connell J. Baldwin. The call made by Sir G.Arthur for the military organization and enrolment of the people, had been so cheer- fully and universally responded to, that the invasions into Canada soon ceased ; and whilst on my duty, the remedy for this state of things was so perpetually discussed, that on the 6tli of March, 1839, being then at Port Colborne, I addressed a public letter to a member of the Canadian House of Assembly, A. Manahan, Esq., on the subject of Emigration. In that letter I expressed myself as follows : — " My present duties prevented me from paying you a visit at Toronto, as I could have wished, but knowing how warmly interested you are in the promotion of British Emigration, I take up my pen again to address you on that all important subject. From the mo- ment British Emigration was diverted from Canada, by the agitation of those wretches who have since plunged the country into confusion, by stirring up rebellion and foreign invasion, I have not hesitated to urge, unceasingly, the incumbent duty of promoting Emigration, by every means in our power, both as a certain means of enriching Canada, as also of adding greatly to its defence. It is certain that these views were, and are still, warmly cherished by five-sixths of the present House of Assem- bly, but have been prevented from being acted upon by a com- bination and variety of circumstances over which they could

B 2

4 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

have no control. But as the future welfare of the colony is so essentially involved in this question, delay becomes more and more injurious; and it is self-evident that neither capital nor labour will again come to us from Great Britain, until the people at home become thoroughly acquainted with the state, condition, prospects, and capabilities of this province. The landholders of Great Britain are men on whom impressions can be made. They will listen to information, and hearken to any appeal ; so also will the great bulk of the British population, who now feel warmly interested and greatly excited on the subject of Canada. Our gracious Sovereign, Queen Victoria, calls upon the Imperial Parliament, recommending the state of the Canadas to their serious consideration, and thus ex- presses herself: — ' I rely upon you to support my determina- tion to maintain the authority of my Crown, and I trust that your wisdom will adopt such measures as will secure to those parts of my empire the benefit of internal tranquillity, and the full advantages of their own great natural resources." ' After expatiating at some length on the subject, adducing the state- ments of all the governors of Canada in defence of my views, I concluded in the following terms : — " Although the elements of the political horizon are still dark and troubled. Emigration would be one of the most powerful counteracting engines to prevent further attempts at encroachment on our soil, or the dismemberment of the empire. At no time would the people lend so willing an ear to anything connected with the Canadas, as now. The Earl of Durham advises Emigration — every go- vernor that we have had recommends Emigration — our beloved Sovereign calls on her people to aid her in adopting such mea- sures, as will ensure to these provinces ' the full advan- tages OF their own great natural resources.' Shall we not make an effort permanently to establish this, a truly British province, by a further infusion of British settlers, ' so that the reign of our lovely and youthful Queen, beaming with all her ancestral glory, shall burst forth and shine with more splendour and beauty by contrast with the dark cloud from which it will have emerged ; not like the meteor, flashing upon the gloomy

AND COLONIZATION.

heavens only to reveal to us the darkness, and bewilder us with its erratic glare, but like the more glorious luminary- rising in the morning, tinging the mountain-heights with bril- liancy and light, illuminating every hill and valley in our land, and smiling again over a happy, united, contented, loyal, and thriving people.' "

1839. My duties on the frontier ceasing in May, I shortly afterwards received a letter from my late beloved and most respected friend, Bishop Macdonell, urging me to accompany him to Britain ; and being further prompted by his generous aid, I did not hesitate one moment in crossing the Atlantic with him. Alas ! for the welfare of his adopted country, and the improvement of his native one, it was but to leave his venerable remains in the land that gave him birth. After travelling through the provinces together, we embarked at Quebec, accom- panied by a concourse of people who had assembled to witness our departure, and say. Farewell. We weighed anchor on the 23rd of June, and reached the Mersey on the 1st of August.

If Canada had to deplore the cessation of immigration from troubles within her borders, she had also to contend with hos- tility of another kind, equally injurious, and at that time, too common — the circulation, in the United Kingdom, of the most unwarrantable misstatements respecting her resources and capa- bilities. A pamphlet of this kind, soon after my arrival, from the pen of Mr. T. L. Hunt, was issued to the public. I lost not a moment in replying to it, although it prevented me from leaving London with Bishop Macdonell, who had then started for Scotland, to visit the very spot from whence he had pro- ceeded forty years before, at the head of a body of the clan Macdonell, to plant those sturdy and invaluable Highlanders in the unpeopled forests of Canada. At that period the bishop encountered the most formidable opposition from all classes in the state ; and it Avas a source of great delight to the venerable prelate, then at the close of his long and useful career, to review the exertions which he had made, and the signal victory with which they were crowned, by the conversion of a suffering and famishing population into a body of free and independent

6 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

landowners in the county of Glengarry in Canada. The same Christian patriotism and philanthropy which had urged him before, prompted him again ; and accordingly he wrote to me, requesting that I would postpone every other matter, and join him, without delay, at the great agricultural meeting then to he held at Inverness. I accordingly did so ; and hearing from every quarter that the distress existing in Scotland was greater and more ramified than when Bishop INIacdonell had first encouraged Emigration to Canada, I was urged hy him to address a public letter to His Grace the Duke of Richmond, then President of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland ; and on October 4th, I forwarded a very lengthened communication to that nobleman, which appeared at that time in all the principal news])apers in Scotland. In that letter, I drew a true but deplorable picture of the destitute condition of a large body of the inhabitants of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, many of whom were, at that time, restricted to one miserable meal in the twenty-four hours ; and pointed to Emi- gration to Canada as a sure and speedy way to independence and hajjpincss. I told his Grace that there was no mode in which a nobleman of his rank and influence could so efiectually serve his country as in promoting Emigration. By a generous act of this nature, his Grace would scatter no dragons' teeth, to spring up hereafter into armed men, but would elevate a wretched peasantry into a happy yeomanry, diffusing the bless- ings of genuine charity to a deserving people, who would add to the stability and maintain the integrity of the empire. I reminded his Grace, that national prosperity and honour; that agriculture, commerce, and manufactures ; that the employ- ment and the food of man ; that the elements of wealth and independence; were bound up in the question of Emigration. The power to set Emigration in motion was in the hands of British landlords, and if they exerted it effectually, their efforts must be speedily triumphant, and they would have tlie proud satisfaction of conferring a vast benefit on the people of whom they were the natural and legitimate guardians, as well as on the great colony that was most anxious to receive them. In

AND COLONIZATION. 7

ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the industrious and frugal labourer would become a freeholder and a capitalist in the colonies ; and two-thirds of the freeholders of Upper Canada, originally possessed no other capital than the axe. As it was, in less than half a century, nearly two millions of acres had been rescued from the wilderness, and were in the highest state of cultivation. Lord Seaton, a name gratefully embalmed in the hearts of every British subject in Canada, had assured me, that these provinces could profitably receive and employ a hundred thousand emigrants annually for the next ten years. I concluded as follows : — " In the soil of Upper Canada, my Lord Duke, lies the germ of future national greatness and pros- perity, and it wants but that the value of her natural resources should be properly appreciated, so that they may be used with success to provide in the country productive labour sufficient to employ nearly a thousand times the number of its present population. How much such a state of things would add to individual prosperity, and the revenue of the country, may be imagined. It is true that the able-bodied emigrant has been but too frequently bereft of means to enable him to proceed from the old and closely packed country to the comparatively empty land he would adopt, and to which he would cheerfully wend his way: but selfish indeed, my Lord Duke, must be the wealthy proprietors of the soil and the rich inhabitants of the parent state, — blind must be the government and the legislature,— dull must be the prophetic spirit of all, — reckless must be the proper and legally-constituted guardians of the poor, and in Scotland their natural guardians, — if the funds which are ever at hand to gratify ostentation, cannot also be supplied to give assistance to the industrious poor, to enable them to remove to a new and anijjle stage, where they will be enabled to act, and to reap the profits and honour of their exertions. Many patriotic and distinguished individuals have manifested great, laudable, and the most humane interest, in this important subject ; and I now fearlessly and publicly invite your Grace, as a peer of high and noble lineage, deeply alive to the national honour, warmly interested for the people^

8 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

untrammelled by party influence, — and, as you stated from the chair at the recent meeting, a warm friend to the labouring classes, — to lend the aid and co-operation of your name and in- fluence to rescue from destruction a large and interesting portion of Her Majesty's subjects, by enabling them to transplant them- selves to a colony, where they will become individually and generally happy, and add much to the stability, security, and integrity of this mighty empire.

' So many are

The sufferings which no human aid can reach,

It needs must be a duty doubly sweet

To heal the few we can.'"

Leaving Inverness, after having discussed with many leading members of the Highland Society the object of my visit to the United Kingdom, I proceeded on to Glasgow, and had the pleasure, en route, to form the valuable acquaintances of Sir John Orde, Bart., Kilmorey; Mr. Malcolm, of Poltalloch; and Mr. Stewart, of Baillhulish. On my arrival in Glasgow, I was visited by many of the leading merchants of that noble city, and the following requisition was sent, within a few days, to the Lord Provost :

*' To the Honourable Henry Dunlop, Lord Provost of the City

of Glasgow. " My Lord, — In furtherance of the resolutions adopted by the House of Assembly in Upper Canada, in 1836, viz : — ' That persons be sent to Great Britain, whose business it should be to endeavour to remove the erroneous impressions there enter- tained, in order that Emigration and capital might flow into the province as heretofore;' and which resolution, owing to the unsettled state of the country, caused by repeated and formid- able invasions from the United States, it has been impossible, until the present period, to carry into effect ; and as one of the gentlemen, then contemplated by the legislature, viz. Dr. Thos. Holph, of Ancaster, in company with the Bishop of Kingston, is now in this city, and for that express object, as well as to advocate the firm maintenance of our Colonial empire ; and as they have both been in communication with some of the High-

AND COLONIZATION.

land proprietors on the subject, we, the undersigned, request that your Lordship will call a public meeting as soon as possible, and that those gentlemen be invited to lay before it the state and condition of Canada, and the importance of a systematic colonization of it, from Great Britain and Ireland? with a view of strengthening that province against the designs of hostile neighbours, and as a means of preserving inviolate and entire our Colonial possessions in British North America, which if lost, must necessarily be folloAved by those of our other valuable dominions in the western hemisphere. We are, my Lord,

Your Lordship's obedient servants, " Pollock, Gilmour, &; Co. Stirling, Gordon, Sc Co. James Ewing & Co. A. G. Kidston,

Gilkison and Brown, Henry Monteith & Co.

R. Monteith, Carstairs, Richard Kidston, J. &; G. Pattison & Co. John Urie, Bell, Bogle, & Co. R. Rodger & Co.

Thos. Buchanan, Jr. Peter Buchanan & Co."

James Pinkerton, Sen.

" In compliance with the above requisition, and for the purpose therein stated, I hereby call a Public Meeting of the bankers, merchants, manufacturers, and shipowners, of this City, to be held in the Town Hall, on Friday, the 18th current, at one o'clock.

" Henry Dunlop, Provost.

" N.B. — The chair will be taken by the Honourable the Lord Provost at one o'clock precisely."

The meeting thus convened was very numerously attended ; the Lord Provost took the chair ; and before addressing the meeting, I read a letter from Dr. Macdonell, the Bishop of Kingston, expressive of his regret at being unable to attend.

Having thanked the Lord Provost for calling together a body of such wealth, intelligence, enterprise, and importance, as the bankers, merchants, ship-owners, and manufacturers of

10 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

that great and flourishing city, to receive from me an account of Canada, and the imperious necessity which exists for a syste- matic colonization of it, I proceeded to state, that that vast and fertile region had been heretofore so much a terra incognita to the great majority of the people of the United Kingdom, that it was hut little wonder a profound ignorance of almost everything relating to its internal condition and affairs generally should have prevailed in the mother country, at a period when, above all others, a correct and comprehensive knowledge of them was most necessary and desirable. Whatever might be the degree of interest positively felt for this remote colony, the manifestation of that interest was exclusively confined to those who were immediately connected, or had dealings with it. The many remembered it merely as the frequent battle-ground of hostile tribes of Indians, and of France and England, finally commemorated by Wolfe's exploits, or thought of with a shuddering at the descriptions given of its terrific winters; they pictured it to themselves as a desolate and dreary region, scarce fitted for the abode of man, and though inhabited, yet by a race withal as rude and inhospitable as its climate. On the other hand, the few Avere conscious, that if the winters were inclement, and monopolized a good portion of the year, there were furs and fuel in abundance to modify their rigour ; that if the country were desolate and dreary, it was susceptible of a very high degree of cultivation, and possessed immense natural resources, requiring but developement ; and lastly, that if its inhabitants were such as they were supposed or represented, the amelioration of their condition was readily to be effected by the gradual extension of their social relations with the mother country, the introduction of capital, and the promotion of Emigration.

After dwelling at great length, and denouncing those de- basing and treasonable sentiments which had been expressed in England relative to the abandonment of the Colonies, I pro- ceeded to prove, by a vast host of American authorities, the unquenchable desire felt by the citizens of the United States to seize the British possessions in North America, and annex them

AND COLONIZATION. 11

to their own ; and I concluded that portion of my address in the following- terms: — " Before I proceed, my Lord Provost, to speak of the means necessary to ensure the permanent pacifica- tion, improvement, and happiness of Canada, I must again revert to that pernicious idea relative to the abandonment of the Colonies. I say boldly. Great Britain cannot do it. We who have settled in that province, hold the preservation of British liberty as inalienably our right, as if we lived in Glasgow or in London ; and look with contemjjt on that description of political economists, who talk as coolly of the dismemberment of the empire, as if it were a circumstance as equally unimportant as the adjustment of a balance or the cast of a die. There is no more evident sign of decay of that national feeling which was once our boast, than the fact, that by a certain body the retention or abandonment of the North American Colonies is seldom regarded as any other than a question of mere expediency — one, the merits of which are to be tried by the rule of three. The honour of the British nation is pledged to every one who has adopted those countries as his own, that that home of his adoption shall not be ' lost or given away.' There is the same V irtual compact subsisting between the British Government and the people of Canada, as between it and the people of England, and it has no more right to make merchandize of Canada to the Americans, without the consent of its people, than it has to sell or cede England to the Czar of Russia. We hold our title as British subjects by no doubtful charter ; no conventional treaty with another party can annul or modify it, — no daysman can come between us and that crown to which our allegiance belongs. The altar of British freedom which has been erected in Canada may indeed be levelled in the dust ; but the dead bodies of half a million of Britons who will have scorned to participate in the dishonour brought on the name, will be the mound to mark where that altar stood. — But the national faith is not to be held as lightly as a ' dicer's oath ;' and once more I repeat. Great Britain cannot afford to repudiate us, and dares not incur the guilt — even if expediency required the sacrifice." I expatiated fully on the great and increasing value of our

12 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

colonial trade, demonstrating that the trade of the West Indies and the North American provinces could alone be retained and secured by our firm determination to hold our sway in that majestic outlet of America — the mighty St. Lawrence; and that although the time it was surrendered to Great Britain, Canada was, in a commercial point of view, of little value, it was, nevertheless, considered the most important conquest of the British arms during the glorious epoch of the seven years' war. Its population had increased from seventy thousand to more than a million of souls, consuming fabrics and manufactures of the United Kingdom to the amount of millions of pounds ; paying for them by the products of its fields and forests, and employing upwards of two thousand British ships and vessels in its commerce. The trade of the United Kingdom with the North American colonies, collectively, had been regularly on the increase for years, and the mercantile marine of the empire had been rateably increasing with it. The imports of British manufactures into the colonies had increased fifty per cent, in three years. The trade employed seven thousand British vessels, the tonnage of which, inwards and outwards, was about a million each way annually. All this immense mass of ship- ping was navigated by British seamen, and gave employment to British capital. Three-fourths of the whole produce so exported, and of the consequent freightage, were divided in the shape of labour-wages, both in the mother country and in the colonies.

After some further observations, I continued my address as follows : — " Great Britain must be prepared to maintain the integrity of her empire, and manifest her determination to retain her colonies, coute qui coute. Let her then steadily and systematically fill the country with the redundant population of this. Our domain is extensive, our climate agreeable and salubrious, our soil fertile, — almost inexhaustible. The present Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the debate on Canada, pledged himself that the goverment should take the subject up. The late most excellent Governor-in-Chief, Sir John Colborne, to whom both Great Britain and the British population already

AND COLONIZATION, 13

owe a vast debt of gratitude, since by the foresight, judgment, and skill displayed by that able and experienced officer — his timely measures of precaution, his right direction of the ener- gies of the people, and his subsequent unshrinking performance of a painful but imperious duty, Avhereby many of the evils wherewith the entire country was threatened were averted, and confidence and tranquillity restored, — informed Bishop Mac- donell and myself, that he could receive one hundred thousand emigrants from the United Kingdom annually, for the next ten years to come." In corroboration I also cited the authority of Sir George Arthur to the same effect, and concluded thus : — " The Highland proprietors, suffering from great redundancy of population, and inadequate means for their subsistence, are willing to spare us some of their faithful, and, to us, invaluable, settlers. I have the authority of the Rev. Dr. M'Leod, a name revered by the Highlanders in Canada, as it is deservedly here, that the people desire to go to Canada, and that they prefer it to any other colony : the British Government are then bound to give effect to their own principles, sentiments, and views. They tell us they are convinced of its necessity. You have now a right to demand of them, where is the obstacle? Every one who wishes well to the Colonies and the empire, should unite to establish a systematic British Colonization to Canada. It is the sine qua non without which every legislative measure would be unproductive of great benefit. We call on you for your co-ope- ration. Shall we forbid the wilderness to blossom like the rose? Shall we forbid the trees of the forest to fall before the axe of industry, and rise again transformed into the habitations of ease and elegance ? Shall we doom an immense region to perpetual desolation, that might resound with the voice of human gladness? Shall that mighty arm of this vast empire, with its exhaustless soil, which a beneficent God has destined to support innumerable multitudes, be condemned to everlast- ing barrenness, whilst within a day's journey of you thousands and thousands of your fellow subjects, good, orderly, valuable people, are restricted to one meal a day, and not even certain that that will be ensured them ? A systematic British Emigra- tion is equally desirable in a national, philanthropic, and

14 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION.

patriotic point of view ; and having pointed out the advantages which Canada offers in that respect, you will, by giving it a proper direction, confirm the words of our late beloved patriot King, ' that Canada must not be lost or given away.' "

At the conclusion of my address, I was thanked on behalf of the meeting by the Lord Provost ; and the result of my address, and previous letter to the Duke of Richmond, was, that at Glasgow a society was formed for the encouragement of Emigration to Canada, composed of the most influential and wealthy members of that community, and which, by its extended ramifications afterwards throughout Scotland, was attended with the best consequences, in a country where the population was so dense and fluctuating.

Whilst in Glasgow, my friend. Bishop Macdonell, received a letter from Cork, inviting us to the grand banquet about to be given to the assembled Roman Catholic Prelates in that city, by the merchants and others. Accordingly, we proceeded together from Greenock to Ireland ; and as illustrative of the feelings with which I paid my first visit to that country, I cannot forego the gratification of giving the following extract from a lengthened communication to my Canadian correspon- dent, dated November 14th, 18.39 :—

" I am really apprehensive that my letters are not so inter- esting as they should be, and the description of the country through which I have travelled, is too brief to excite attention; but really I am so entirely occupied with the subject of Emigra- tion, and the removal of the numerous obstacles to it which I find everywhere existing, in some shape or other, that I cannot pay that attention to passing scenery, which circumstances com- pel me to pay to passing events. You are aware, as all who know me must be, of the innate and enthusiastic affection I bear for the Irish people and their country ; it is a feeling so strong and deep, so riveted in my very nature, that it seems to have grown with my growth, and strengthened with my strength. You would therefore hold me inexcusable, if I did not devote one letter to that dear and lovely isle, and to its generous and noble people!"

It was remarkable, that at the period of my visit to Cork,

AND COLONIZATION. 15

two Roman Catholic Bishops from America, Bishop Purcell, from Cincinnati, and Bishop Clancey, from Charleston, had been carrying on a bitter controversy, as to which country Irish emigrants should proceed to ; the former highly commending the United States, the latter seriously warning them against that republic, and recommending most warmly the British American provinces. In the dilemma in which the Irish bishops were placed by these unseemly contradictions, I was invited to a conference with the bishops, at the house of that venerable and respected prelate, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Crotty, at Cove, and proceeded with my friend. Bishop Macdonell, thither for that purpose. A day was devoted to this discussion: the matter was fully, fairly, and keenly discussed.

I had fortified myself with an abundance of documentary and other evidence to show the state of Irish immigrant settlers in Canada. From Valcartier to Sandwich, I showed to the venerable prelates, that wherever Irishmen had settled down, — there were exceptions, of course, in all cases, — they had pro- vided themselves with a peaceful, comfortable home, and by their conduct had not only benefited themselves and their posterity, but were materially adding to the strength and wealth of the country, in whose defence, indeed, — in the hour of danger, — they had proved their loyalty by taking up arms and rushing as one man to the point where invasion or rebellion was threatened. Such was the state in which Irishmen were placed in Canada ; not, as was represented, ready to fly from it at the first opportunity, and seek a more congenial soil, — for they had found the means of maintaining themselves and families in comparative comfort ; and their conduct showed that they were not likely to be deprived of the advantages they had obtained by industry, frugality, and honesty. At the close of the discussion, the bishops delivered their opinions seriatim; and it was a source of great delight to me, that those opinions were unanimously in favour of Emigration to British North America ; and what was equally gratifying, there appeared to be a determination on the part of those prelates to encourage it by all the means in their power. Since that period, the

16 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

hostile feeling towards Canada gradually diminished, and, under the influence of truth, properly disseminated, is now rapidly disappearing.

I returned from Cork to London, to proceed to Petworth to meet the yeomanry of Sussex, at the audit dinner at Colonel Wyndham's. This meeting was highly interesting on two accounts : the chair was filled by Mr. Murray, the uncle to the mayor of Toronto, who was the instrument, under Providence, of saving that city from the rebels in December, 1837 ; and the presence of the Rev. Mr. Sockett, the Rector of Petworth, who had done more than any one individual in England to promote the Emigration of the suffering labouring classes to Canada. Under these circumstances, the meeting was ex- tremely interesting, and eminently useful ; and one of the provincial papers, commenting on the several addresses deli- vered on the occasion, remarked : — " Two years ago, the spring was anxiously looked for, in order to embark armed forces to put down the rebellion in Canada. The present year opens with better prospects. Thousands of persons are preparing to embark for that country, to pursue the vocations of peace. The clangor of war is over ; and no country presents fairer prospects to the industrious emigrants than does Canada. The St. Lawrence is the Rhine, and more than the Rhine, to our possessions in British America. It is a river destined to con- vey British talent, labour, and capital to a wilderness, and convert it into one of the finest empires on earth."

At this time, I also received a letter from the Rev. Dr. M'Leod, dated October 29, 1839, which it is highly important to introduce :

" Glasgow, October 29th, 1839.

" I have witnessed with extreme delight, the zeal, ability, and perseverance with which you are prosecuting a plan for an extensive Emigration to Canada; and I have listened with equal pleasure to the vast mass of interesting matter and information you have imparted relative to that noble Colony. I beg leave to send, for your perusal, a copy of a Memorial proposed to be forwarded to Her Majesty's Government, by the Destitution

AXD COLONIZATION. 17

Committee of Glasgow, in behalf of a scheme of general Emi- gration for the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. I request your attention to the facts therein stated. You may rely on their accuracy. The only point not sufficiently referred to, is the decided preference which the Highlanders have for removing to Canada. They are most anxious to follow their relations and countrymen to that Colony. — Necessity, dire necessity, can alone send them to the more distant Colonies. All disinclination to Emigration has now ceased in the Highlands. Poverty alone restrains multitudes from embarkino-. Let a scheme of Emi gration, under the protection of government, be once proposed to them — and I doubt not 50,000 noble fellows could be found to set out at a short notice for Canada, and thus relieve their father-land from the grievous burden of a starving population, and mightily promote the best interests of the ne^ world to which tliey remove. No other measure would, in my opinion, so greatly promote the diffusion of order, social happiness. Chris- tian knowledge, and steady, determined, invincible attachment to the British Constitution, as the removal of our poor, unem- ployed population in the Highlands to your part of the world."

The applications which I received to return to Ireland were so numerous, that I availed myself of the kind invitation of the Earl of Gosford, one of the former governors of Canada, and one of the most kind-hearted hospitable noblemen in the United Kingdom, to pass some time with him at Gosford Castle, Market Hill ; whilst there, I found that Mr. Bermingham, of Cararaana, was placed in a somewhat similar dilemma to that of the Irish Bishops, from the conflicting and contradictory statements he heard of the various Colonies, and their relative adaptation to the Irish emiarant. Colonel Torrens and Mr. Ward had been urging the claims of Australia and New Zealand, the remotest of our Colonies, and I therefore felt it my duty to address Mr. Bermingham. I received from him a cordial letter of thanks for my communication, which was afterwards printed in pam- phlet form, and widely disseminated by the Canada Company. On returning to Dublin, I met with a noble opponent in the

c

18 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

person of Lord Cloncurry, who, equally bewildered with the rest, by the mass of contradictions then in circulation, commenced a voluminous correspondence in the columns of the Dublin Evening Post, afterwards published in a pamphlet shape. To this correspondence I cannot further advert, than by stating that it afforded me an excellent opportunity for contrasting the United States with the Canadas as an asylum for emigrants, and of proving the vast superiority of the latter over the former in every point of view ; and I did not hesitate to avail myself of it. In doing so, I did not altogetlier rely on the facts embraced within the verge of my own personal observation, but intro- duced the writing and speeches of different citizens of the United States themselves, as the most conclusive evidence that could be adduced in a case so important to the best interests of Great Britain and her Colonics. I demonstrated from those documents, that though for a time the land speculators in the United States, and the means afforded to them by immense advances of bank paper, had given an extraordinary and asto- nishing impulse to settlements, yet the failure of returns, and the total derangement of the banks, had produced a most inauspicious reaction, — such results never having attended any similar operations in Canada.

That my correspondence with Lord Cloncurry was not without some good result, the following letter from the amiable and excellent Rector of Coote Hill, Rev. Mr. Douglas, whose accpiaintance I had the pleasure of forming when on a visit to Lord Cloncurry, at Lyons Castle, is quite demonstrative.

" I shall be delighted to distribute in every part round my neighbourhood, the interesting papers you furnished me in such abundance and variety about Upper Canada. Your exer- tions have produced a powerful impression generally through- out this country. Lord Cloncurry candidly admitted that you liad quite convinced him. Many of my own parishioners, small renters, are very anxious to emigrate, and have consulted me since you left Ireland on the subject; and I am so tho- roughly satisfied with your statements and information, that I have strongly advised Canada to all who asked my advice.

AND COLONIZATION. 19

The excellent and exemplary Roman Catholic Bishop, Dr. Browne, who generously assists and co-operates with me in all works of mercy, will, I know, aid my exertions in the wide distribution of your useful papers and pamphlets. We have determined on the republication of your series of excellent and convincing letters in the Dublin Evening Post, addressed to Lord Cloncurry, in the form of a pamphlet. They will circu- late with great effect and advantage here, where the feeling for Emigration much exists at present, and where the emissaries connected with New Zealand and Australia are most actively at work."

On returning to London, I saw the announcement of the anniversary meeting of " The Central Agricultural So- ciety OF Great Britain and Ireland, tor Protection AND Encouragement ;" a body which enrolled about eighty of the principal local agricultural associations in the United Kingdom. I attended both the meeting and the subsequent dinner of the Society, which took place on the 12th of Decem- ber. My health having been proposed in conjunction with " Prosperity to our Colonial Agriculture," I returned thanks, and availed myself of the favourable opportunity of demon- strating the inestimable value of our North American Colonies, when my name was added to the list of honorary members, with a request that I would act as corresponding member for British North America. The honorary secretaries of this influ- ential society were Sir Richard Broun, Mr. Montgomery Martin, and Colonel Le Couteur, with whom for the first time I became acquainted. The former gentleman was also the honorary secretary of the Baronets, the Scottish branch of which noble order was specially founded to promote the plantation and set- tlement of British North America.

The Emigration to Canada this year was 7,439.

1840. Such is a cursory outline of the leading features of my mission up to the commencement of the year 1840, when, by the special invitation of his grace the Duke of Argyll, I pro-

c 2

20 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

ceeded to Edinburgh, in order to be present at a great meeting of Highland noblemen and gentlemen, assembled for the pur- pose of petitioning Parliament for the establishment of abetter and more permanent system of Emigration from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. This meeting was held in the Hope- toun Rooms, on the 10th of January, and was very numerously attended by the proprietors, and other gentlemen interested in the welfare of the Highlands, amongst whom were the Duke of Argyll, who filled the chair ; the Earl of Dunmore, Lord Macdonald, Sir J. M. Riddell, Bart., Sir George Sinclair, Bart., M.P.,D. Davidson, Esq., of Tulloch, T.Mackenzie, Esq. M. P., of Applecross, R. Downie, Esq., of Appin, Rev. Dr. Norman M'Leod, John Bowie, Esq. W. S., kc. kc. After the object of the meeting had been stated by his Grace ; the Rev. Dr. M'Leod, of Glasgow, explained at great length, and in very affecting language, the deplorable condition of his countrymen in the Highlands and Islands, ajid went on to show that the condition of the great mass of that population was such as to render it quite impossible they could adequately support them- selves in their own country ; and that though no num living- more ardently loved those poor people than he did, or more sincerely deplored that a necessity should exist for their removal from their own native glens, to which they were so enthusiastically attached, still he felt himself compelled to declare it as his decided opinion, that the only and most effec- tual cure of the great evils under which the peo]>le were suf- fering, was a well organized system of Emigration ; and in that opinion, he stated, he was borne out by the sentiments of almost all the well-informed individuals in the country. Under these circumstances he implored the meeting to direct their attention to an Emigration to Canada, to which entire families could with facility be removed, and where at the present mo- ment the most beneficial effects would result from infusing among the population of that Colony a fresh accession of hardy, virtuous, and loyal people.

At the conclusion of Dr. M'Leod's speech, I addressed the meeting at great length, and was listened to with profound

AND COLONIZATION. 21

attention. I coiumencecl by describing the condition of High- land settlers in Upper Canada as every thing their countrymen at home could wish. They had everywhere prospered, and everywhere evinced the same sterling loyalty and patriotism. Upper Canada was a country which required but the hand of art to render every corner of it serviceable to human designs ; it had advantages bestowed upon it by nature, of which few other countries of equal extent could boast. From Lake Superior to Lake Ontario, there was a vast chain of waters, which would require but little exertion to render it the grandest channel of commerce on the surface of the globe. That chain was laid down at our feet, perfect in all its parts, with the exception of here and there a broken link, which, when connected together, would form a lasting source of wealth and prosperity. To this favoured region, where fertility of soil, salubrity of climate, readiness of access, and all the natural elements of greatness invited the hardy and industrious labourer, I recommended the meeting to send their surplus and redundant population. There was no Colony where they would be more cheei'fully welcomed, nor where those ties which bind the parent state and the Colony together, could be more strengthened by their settlement in it. By urging this measure on the attention of Government, and by earnestly co-operating with them in car- rying it into effect, the meeting would be promoting the noblest patriotism and most exalted benevolence. I felt proud in bearing my testimony to the w^orth and value of the Scotch settlers in Canada. Of all those who were called into the field of battle to defend British supremacy in North America, there were no hearts that stirred with more enthusiasm, or throbbed more ardently, than those Avhich beat beneath the Scottish plaid. There were no men who conducted themselves with more prudence and propriety than the Glengarry Highlanders, while in Lower Canada, after the breaking out of the first rebellion ; and in times of difficulty and danger, the reliance of Government was particularly placed on those gallant fellows. They joined with their English, Irish, and Canadian fellow- subjects, most cheerfully and promptly, to proclaim to the

22 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

world, to their beloved Queen, to their brethren in the United Kingdom, their fixed determination to maintain British con- nexion, to uphold British supremacy, to peril their lives, their property, their all, for these ; to live happily under their fos- tering influences, or nobly die in their defence. The increased value of property in those parts of Upper Canada -where Emi- grants from the United Kingdom had settled in numbers, was established to a demonstration ; and money to accomplish a judicious scheme of Emigration might be advanced by Go- vernment with the utmost safety and most perfect security. In Upper Canada, independence would necessarily follow in- dustrious exertion. And now, from the great and rapidly increasing facilities for travelling and inter-communication between distant lands, the interests of tlie Colonies and the mother country were becoming more and more identified ; and with the adoption of a just and proper policy, wc should be entirely assimilated in feeling and interest, so as to constitute one great political family, bound by indissoluble ties, and per- petuating the solid advantages of the British Constitution to the latest posterity as its richest legacy. In concluding my speech, I publicly pledged myself that I would never cease the agitation in which I was then engaged, until I should succeed in inducing the British Government and nation to do an act of justice to the impoverished and ill-requited classes of the United Kingdom, by assisting them to a sphere where they might achieve their own independence; particularly, as by the settlement of one of the most interesting, fertile, inviting, healthy, and nearest of the Colonies, they might ensure their own prosperity, and add greatly to the i^ermanence of British institutions, as well as the integrity of the Empire.

After Lords Macdonald and Dunmorc, and several other gentlemen had addressed the meeting, resolutions were jjassed in favour of petitions to both Houses of Parliament, for the pur- pose of adopting and carrying on an extensive and systematic plan of Emigration. A committee was aj)pointcd for carrying these resolutions into effect ; after whicli the thanks of the meeting were voted to the Rev. Dr. M'Lcod and myself, for

AND COLONIZATION. 23

the great trouble we had taken in coming to the meeting, and for the valuable information we had afibrded.

But this meeting was attended wdth other advantages to the cause of Emigration to the Canadas. Shortly after, a meeting of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland was held, at which the subject of Emigration to Canada was brought under notice, and special reference was made to the meeting of the proprietors held on the 10th of January, and a resolution unanimously passed, that all members of the Highland Society who were in Parliament, should be specially requested to sup- port the petitions of the Highland proprietors when presented. The Highland noblemen and gentlemen also formed themselves into a permanent Committee, with the object of promoting Emi- gration from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to Canada. The first meeting of this Committee was held in London on the 8th of February, when I was elected an honorary member of it.

The substance of the resolutions of the meeting on the 10th of January was also embodied in a memorial to the Colonial Minister, and was presented by a deputation consisting of the Duke of Argyll, Lord Macdonald, Sir A. D'Este, Colonel Wyndham, Camj)bell of Islay, myself and others. About the same period "The North American Colonial Committee" was formed, being a section of the Colonial Society. Its president was the Earl of Mountcashell, and I was requested to act as 'Honorary Secretary.

On the 13th of March, I received the following letter from Dr. Norman M'Leod. The extraordinary exertions of this eminent clergyman and exalted character, during the memo- rable years 1836 and 1837, in obtaining relief for 186,000 of his famishing fellow-countrymen in the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, were crowned with the signal success of raising a fund to the enormous amount of about £125,000, and will constitute a sufficient apology for the republication of this letter.

" Glasgow, 13th March, 1840.

" My dear Friend — The Highlanders are everywhere up for Emigration to Canada, on which place their affections are

24- SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

indelibly fixed. Tlie uhole parish of Croick, in the north, are ready to go — to a man ; and their clergyman has resigned his living, stipend, glebe, and manse, and will set off as soon as the necessary arrangements are entered into to provide a place for their reception and location. Thus the pastor and his whole flock will secure a home where they will not be exposed to a removal in the summary manner in which they have been warned to leave their present possessions. Tliere is something exceedingly interesting in this case. They have been urged to go to Cape Breton, where the people are so anxious to have them, as to have promised to make provision for their reception. A committee will first, however, come to you, to ascertain whe- ther the Government at home, or the Government of Upper Canada will make any arrangements to receive the Highland population. Out of 350 ready to start, not more than twenty have sufficient means to ensure their own passage. Our Desti- tution Committee voted them £250 last Tuesday, to aid them in their outfit. I have a letter this morning from the people of Razay, stating that the entire population of that island, seeing nothing but starvation before them, are most anxious to emi- grate. I bear cheerful testimony to their wonderful merits ; a more moral, respectful, courageous, sober, virtuous, loyal people, are not anywhere to be met with on earth, actually invaluable for peace or war, Canada ought not to lose them. They are poor, and cannot at their own expense remove. This is indeed a most interesting moment, — a most momentous crisis for the mother country and her Colonies. I do hope that there are some prospects of getting an arrangement made. I was pleased with the extract from the Kingston Chronicle: it would seem by that, that Mr. Thompson was fully sensible of the necessity of promoting Emigration, and had pledged himself to aid it by every means in his power. I hope he will do so ; it is cer- tainly most unaccountable that every governor of the Colony has admitted its necessity, and year after year has passed by, with increasing prejudices existing against the country (fortu- nately now removed), and yet no measure has been adopted. The second number of my Gaelic Magazine will be issued in

AND COLONIZATION.

25

the course of next week. The chief article is from your pen, entitled, " Upper Canada, the Poor Man's Country." I think it eminently calculated to nerve the new settler against indis- pensable difficulties and unavoidable privations, and to inspire him with fortitude and liojoe. I hope you will not leave us as soon as you propose; your presence and counsel we feel neces- sary to our success. If you fail, who can succeed ? — and if you do not succeed, I cannot anticipate — I dare not anticipate what the consequences may be. What an opportunity for our Govern- ment to erect a brazen wall around Upper Canada! We offer them a noble militia of 30,000 brave and gallant fellows. IVIy chief, M'Leod of M'Leod, went to London at the distance of 200 miles to see you, and converse with you about his people, and was greatly disappointed in finding you had gone down to Hertfordshire to attend some public meetings. I wish much that you had seen him. Before he obtains any relief he must send off from his estate at least 10,000 of his people. Surely a great meeting might be got up in London now you are there, to ngitate, agitate, agitate, on this subject. It is a most im- portant one in a national point of view. I rejoice to find that his grace the Duke of Argyll co-operates so warmly with you, and perseveres in his efibrts — I knew he would. There is enough of Scotch and Highland influence in London, which, if once concentrated and brought to bear on Her Majesty's Go- vernment, could not but tell on them. If the Dukes of Argyll, Sutherland, Richmond, Hamilton, Roxburgh, Buccleugh, and others connected with the Highlands would unite, we could storm the Colonial Office. Forgive me for troubling you so often ; I am really impatient to see your laudable efforts crowned with success ; and I wished to put you in possession of the fact that the Highlanders are now determined to cross the Atlantic, if they should swim !

" Believe me, my dear sir, with cordial regard and esteem, faithfully yours,

" Norman M'Leod." " Dr. Thomas Rolph."

26 SYSTEMATIC EM IG RATIO N

Nearly at the same time, I received a letter from Sir R. Broun, acquainting me that the Central Agricultural Society were to have a general Meeting on the 20th of INIarch, and that the Committee wished me to move a resolution to the effect, that the Society was of opinion that the partial abandonment of the ancient protection system of the country had been at- tended by the most ruinous consequences to all classes of our home producers ; that the designs of the Anti-Corn Law League to carry out the free-trade principle into universal ope- ration at a moment when the continental nations were all encou- raging native manufactures, and when Russia and the German States in particular had entered into one genei'al confederation for the promotion of their internal industry, and the exclusion of foreign manufactures, was of the most chimerical and dangerous character ; and that Great Britain can alone sustain her com- mercial, manufacturing, and trading greatness, by protecting and encouraging her agriculture, both domestic and colonial.

In pursuance of this request I attended the meeting, and addressed it at great length. I commenced by saying it was with great pleasure I embraced the opportunity this meeting- afforded me of returning thanks for the honour conferred on me by my election as honorary member of that valuable so- ciety, and to express my unbounded gratification that the Colonial agricvdtural interests of this great Empire Avere viewed at length with as much interest by this society as its domestic. In this age of theories and experiments, wiien all interests seemed in jeopardy, to satisfy the restlessness of a body of political economists who cared not how much they strengthened foreign interests, and discouraged domestic and colonial, pro- vided it sustained some fanciful vagary or problematic specu- lation, it was cheering to reflect that the vast value of our Colonial dominions, in connexion with our social condition at home, was attracting much of the attention of the sound and reflecting portion of the community, and that an increasing conviction was felt that our commercial prosperity, our mari- time supremacy, and our national independence, were inti-

AND COLONIZATION. 27

mately interwoven with the growth or our Colonies, and the encouragement afltbrded tlieni hy the parent state.

After proceeding to notice the several topics involved in the resolution, I stated that the Canadians protested against their interests being sacrificed to foreigners ; they gloried in being tlie subjects of a country which was an integral and component part of the British Empire, and tliey claimed full right and title to all the privileges which such a relationship should give them in their commercial intercourse with the British isles. British manufactures met with no competition in their markets ; and if the ministry were not absolutely callous to every feeling of humanity, — if they had not actually steeled their hearts against the daily supplications of the starving population of the United Kingdom, the unwearied petitionings of the Highland proprietors and the Irish landlords, and the earnest entreaties of the various Colonial legislatures to send them out the wil- ling but unemployed population of the mother country — then, indeed, by a judicious, well-considered, and well-organized Colonization, w^ould the resources of the provinces be unfolded, the people become larger consumers of British goods, and add yearly more and more to the British revenue. After adverting to the great value of our colonial trade w"itli Britisli America, I proceeded to show that, — In the Lumber Trade, on one only of its majestic rivers, the Ottawa, and some of its tributary streams, there w^ere employed yearly from 4,000 to 5,000 men, from 1,100 to 1,200 pairs of oxen and horses, consuming annu- ally more than 10,000 barrels of pork and fish, upw^ards of 15,000 barrels of flour, together with 3,500 tons of hay; and 110,000 bushels of produce of other descriptions. From this labour and consumption w ere produced 290,000 pieces of tim- ber every year. The people of Germany would not be influenced by the persuasions of Dr. Bowring ; they would not heed him, nor hearken to the voice of that political charmer, " charm he never so wisely;" but it was most desirable on all accounts that the people of the United Kingdom should be made fully sen- sible, that if the timber of the North of Europe were to be taken in preference to that of British North America, the trade of

28 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

the North American Colonies would decline. It was for the British nation to determine whether the trade of those near, extensive, and extending Colonies, and hy which, too, the trade of Great Britain was kept open with the United States, from the impossibility of the Northern States imposing a tariff, whilst the St. Lawrence was open to British manufactures; it was for the people of England to decide whether the commercial and maritime interests of Great Britain were not more likely to be promoted by protecting and fostering this branch of our commerce, than by allowing the timber and grain of Prussia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Russia to come in their ships into our ports on an ecpial footing with our own ? Notwith- standing Dr. Bowring's exertions, those countries have too great and too natural a jealousy of England to be very profit- able consumers or customers for her manufactures; and there was but little probability of much increase of trade with them. On the contrary, if a wise and judicious colonization of the British North American provinces took place, under the guidance of Government — and surely the Government Avould not be so criminal and almndoned as much longer to delay it? — the trade with them would increase rapidly, and then it would become the most flourishing and valuable of any that was carried on by England. The means and capital in British North America were too limited to admit of its mer- chants being extensively engaged for years to come, in the carrying or shipping trade ; and as far as they did engage in it, it was for the purpose of securing the trade and revenues to the country, as in tlie laudable instance of the Honourable Mr. Cunard, of Nova Scotia, by whose untiring and enterprising exertions the mails and passengers would be now conveyed by steamers to the British North American provinces, instead of passing through the United States as heretofore. All the capital in the British American provinces would find more useful and profitable employment in giving activity to her na- tive industry, which, looking at tlie condition and circumstances of the country in every point of view, was decidedly entitled to the preference. The Colonists felt an exultation in beholding

a:nd colonization. 29

the carrying- trade in the hands of Britain, proudly surmounted and shiekled by the Union Jack ; and for whicli Great Britain possessed such materials, by her ample capital, her numerous ships, her always open ports ; and for which the Colonists were and must remain for a long time unprepared, by reason of the vast regions they had yet to clear and cultivate. With the interests of Great Britain the Colonists felt their own to be inseparable ; with the people of England, they must, aye, and they would, stand or fall.

After expatiating at great length on the various theories of Dr. Bowring, combating and refuting them, I concluded my speech as follows: —

" The inhabitants of British North America have been long proverbial for the intensity of their affection for their fellow- subjects, and devotion to the British Crown. Emulating the example of their illustrious sires, who abandoned property, country, relatives, and friends, rather than their attachment to the British Empire, they entertained the most sincere and pro- found veneration for the government, laws, institutions, charac- ter, and moral grandeur of the parent state from which they sprang, and in which they glory; and viewing her as the foun- dation, centre, and bulwark of the most widely-extended and powerful empire the world has yet seen, they hold it essential to the general interests of mankind, that so glorious a structure should be maintained in all its integrity, and that neither its agriculture, commerce, or Colonies should be sacrificed to the rash, theorizing experimentalists of the day. The veneration thus felt and avowed, however, was no blind idolatry ; neither was it that natural and simple affection, merely, which children bear towards their parents ; nor was it the patriotism of men, who love their country only because induced to do so by their interest, or commanded by their allegiance ; — no, it Avas on account of the strength and beauty of her constitutional fabric ; the almost more than human wisdom of her laws and enact- ments ; the high national character of her people, for honour, integrity, bravery, generosity, charity, and all that dignifies and ennobles our species ; all which were daily and hourly

30 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

exemplified, not only in every part of her own particnlar domi- nions in Great Britain, by her numerous institutions for every purpose of human amelioration, and advancement in morals, art, science, literature, and knowledge, throughout all its various departments ; but in what tliis blessed country, circumscribed as it is by nature, comparatively within narrow limits, has been enabled, through the blessing of Divine Providence, to perform for other nations and communities on the great stage of the world. The Colonists had, however, recently witnessed with deep regret, too many symptoms of national decay, infringe- ment of our treaties, insults to our flag, surrender of rights, aggressions from without, concessions from within, invasions of our territories, princi])le abandoned for expediency, agricul- ture threatened, commerce languishing, trade declining, pau- perism extending, new forms of taxation devising ; national rights, interests, and honour, sacrificed to party ; and viewing all these symptoms of national decline with dismay, the Colo- nists desired to see those enei'gies and virtues aroused that were now either misdirected, or altogether prostrate and dor- mant, which accomplished so much for Great Bi-itain in days of yore, which were superior to tliose possessed by any former people — virtues and energies which, if again called into action, would save the country from impending ruin, preserve tlie integrity of the Empire, defeat hostile foreign combinations, vanquish the treasonable desigus of domestic enemies, secure the relief and independence of the famishing masses by judi- cious Emigration to the Colonies; sustain the honour and the majesty of our national flag ; retrieve the character of the State ; and make us hand down to posterity, with undiminished lustre and unshorn glory, that proud, great, and honourable name, which, instead of being the sport and scorn of foreign powers, has been, and may still continue to be, ' the envy of surrounding nations, and the admiration of the world.' "

An Act for the union of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada being contemplated by the Imperial Parliament, on the 8tli of February, this year, the House of Asseml»ly of Upper Canada, in anticipation of the dissolution wliich sub-

AND COLONIZATION. 31

sequently took place, unanimously adopted the following Ad- dress to Her Majesty on the subject of Emigration : —

Address of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada. To the Queens Most Excellent Majesty.

" Most Gracious Sovereign — We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons House of Assembly of Upper Canada, in provincial parliament assembled, humbly beg leave to represent to your Majesty that the period having nearly arrived, when, l)y the constitution of the province, the repre- sentative branch of the legislature must be dissolved, and con- sidering the probability that a Legislative Assembly for Upper Canada alone will never again be convened, they cannot sepa- rate without earnestly, and with a serious and anxious solicitude for the permanency of their connexion with your Majesty's Crown, and with a fervent wush that the prosperity of their country may be advanced and secured, imploring your Majesty to give your Royal sanction to such measures as your Majesty may in your wisdom deem most effectual for encouraging and directing Emigration from the United Kingdom to your Ma- jesty's North American Colonies,

" It cannot be necessary to state that by Increasing the popu- lation of Upper and Lower Canada by Emigration from Great Britain and Ireland, the ties which now bind your Majesty's loyal subjects in these provinces to your Majesty's Crown and Government will be strengthened, and, as we trust and hope, rendered indestructible ; neither will it be doubted that such of our fellow-subjects as may take up their abode among us, will be received here with a cheering aiid hospitable welcome, and that they will find that in Upper Canada, at least, they are not among strangers, but that they are among people of the same blood and lineage; that they are protected by the same laws and constitution that secure safety to the persons and property of the inhabitants of England, and that the exercise of political and religious freedom is unrestrained by any into- lerant, exclusive, or burdensome law. They will discover, moreover, that a bounteous Providence has blessed thi* pro-

32 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

vince with a liealtliful and invigorating climate, and a soil of unsurpassed fertility, yielding abundance and wealth to the industrious cultivator. The thousands of your Majesty's sub- jects, who, in Great Britain and Ireland, are unable to obtain employment from which they may clothe and feed themselves and families, will here find that they are in a situation not only to supply their daily wants, but gradually, and with certainty, to attain independence for themselves and children.

" We are well aware that it is not in the power of many of the class of persons to whom we have referred to make their way to this country without pecuniary assistance, and it is to this fact that we chiefly desire humbly to draw your Majesty's attention, and to implore your Majesty to remove the difliculty which from that cause prevents tens of thousands of your Ma- jesty's faithful subjects from raising themselves from poverty and misery to independence and happiness, and who, instead of remaining a burden on the nation, would be converted into the means of contributing to its wealth and power.

" In proof of this, we humbly crave permission to draw your Majesty's attention to the successful result of the system of Emigration which received the sanction of your Majesty's royal predecessors in the years 1823 and 1825. When the persons sent out by the bounty of the nation, at the time referred to, reached this province, they were poor, and needy, and discon- tented ; they had been taken from a land, where, though willing to labour, they could find no employment. They had been born, and had advanced to manhood, hopeless of any chance of being enabled, through life, to accomplish more than their maintenance by daily labour. That they should become the owners of some hundreds of acres of land ; that they should find themselves possessed of houses and barns, and horses and cattle, and Avell cultivated fields; and that they should see their children settled around them in the same state of prosperity, in all probability never entered into their imagination : yet such is their present condition, and they now form a happy and grateful community; and such, there is no reason to doubt, will be the state, after a few years' residence, of all those who may hereafter receive similar encouragement and temporary

AND COLONIZATION. 33

assistance. We readily admit that we can do little more, by way of assisting your Majesty in attaining the object we have in view, than to declare our readiness and desire to concur in such a disposal of the waste lands of the province as will con- tribute to its accomplishment, and to express our wish that such mode of their application may be suggested, as will tend to the encouragement and advancement of Emigration ge- nerally.

" We are aware that the late unhappy dissensions that have disturbed the peace of the provinces, have not only greatly retarded its general prosperity, but, in a more especial manner, indisposed many persons, otherwise desirous of emigrating to them, from taking up their abode among us : but we venture now to express our strong conviction, (and we feel it would be criminal in us to advance an insincere opinion upon a point so important,) that, while there is not the most distant ground for apprehending internal revolt, the inroads heretofore made from a foreign nation have experienced such signal defeats and severe punishment, and, through the fostering care of your Majesty, and the bravery and devotion of your Majesty's loyal subjects, the country is now so guarded that its future peace may be considered as effectually and permanently secured. That this feelino- has become universal is demonstrated not only by the absence of all attack from a foreign enemy for more than a year past, but by the return to a vigorous and peaceful pursuit of their ordinary employments by the yeomanry, mechanics, and other inhabitants of the province.

" Earnestly beseeching your Majesty to take the subject of this Address into your Majesty's favourable consideration, we conclude by assuring your Majesty of our humble but sincere prayers to the Author of all good for your Majesty's personal happiness, and that your Majesty may long live to reign over a united, happy, prosperous, and grateful people.

" Allan Napier MacNab, Speaker.

" Commons House of Assembly, Upper Canada, 8th February, 1840."

34 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

The members of the Colonial Society favourable to Colo- nization, formed themselves, about this period, into a select Committee for the promotion of the interests of British North America, their attention having been directed to this subject by a public address delivered by me at their rooms. The Earl of Mountcashell was named president, and I was requested to act as its Honorary Secretary. This body enrolled many influ- ential noblemen and gentlemen, amongst whom were the Duke of Argyll, the Earl of Devon, Lord Macdonald, Sir A. D'Este, and others. They met twice weekly during the session, and their objects will be sufficiently understood from the following Resolutions : —

" Moved by A. J. Robertson (of Inshes), Esq., seconded by Charles Franks, Esq., and

" Resolved, — That this Committee, viewing Emigration to the Colonies of British North America from the United King- dom as the only means of developing and drawing forth their vast and valuable resources, and believing that the surplus popula- tion of the United Kingdom may find in those Colonies advan- tages not held out to them by any other part of Her Majesty's Colonial dominions, and being strongly impressed with the importance of securing for their poor fellow-countrymen, the immense benefit of such an asylum, pledge themselves to direct their serious and assiduous attention to the best means of pro- moting Emigration to British North America, and more espe- cially to Canada.

" Moved by Lord Macdonald, seconded by Sir Augustus D'Este, and

^' JResolved, — That considering the urgent appeal made by the House of Assembly of Upper Canada to Her Majesty to appro- priate the waste lands belonging to the Crown in that province for the sole purpose of promoting Emigration to that near and fertile Colony, where so many thousands of British subjects have been raised from poverty to independence ; and also viewing the awful and appalling condition of the inhabitants of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, their vehement desire to remove to Canada, expressed in numerous petitions to both

AND COLONIZATION. 35

Houses of Parliament, and the earnest desire of the proprietors to save their people from destruction, by promoting- measures for their judicious removal, this Committee will confer and co-operate with those proprietors, or their agents, most inte- rested in the removal of their over-peopled lands, in order to carry into effect such measures as may secure this desirable purpose.

" Moved by his grace the Duke of Argyll, seconded by H. Baillie, Esq., M.P., and

" Resolved, — That this Committee do request a conference with the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in order to lay before him a communication on the subject."

Pursuant to these resolutions, the deputation named by the North American Colonial Committee, viz., the Earl of Mount- cashell, president ; the Duke of Argyll, Lord Macdonald, Sir Augustus D'Este, Sir D. Macdougall, W. S. O'Brien, Esq., M.P., H. Baillie, Esq., M.P., M'Leod of M'Leod, myself and others, waited on Lord John Russell at the Colonial Office on the 20th of May, and had a lengthened conference with his lordship to urge the Government to concur with them in pro- moting Emigration to North America. Minutes of a con- ference had been previously arranged by the Committee, and from the records of that body I make the following extract, as being of great importance in reference to the proceedings in which I afterwards embarked : — " Lord John Russell said, in regard to the money payable by the Canada Company, it was applied to various purposes in the Colony, from which it could not be diverted. In reply to which it was stated that the whole of this money was not needed for such Colonial pur- poses, and some part of it might be applied to the promotion of Emigration. Lord John Russell then stated. That it was the opinion of all parties that Emigration to British North America should be encouraged, and that Government would be glad to promote it if funds could be found for the purpose : but that Government had already determined that they could not pro- pose any grant to Parliament for this object, in the present state of the finances of the country.

p 2

36 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

On the 23rd of May following, the North American Co- lonial Committee again assembled, when the deputation re- ported the unsatisfactory issue of their interview with the Colonial minister, and when it was determined that an Address should be issued from the Committee to the nobility, clergy, and gentlemen of the United Kingdom, stating the objects of the Committee, and inviting their co-operation. This document was prepared by me as their Honorary Secretary, and unani- mously adopted ; and on the motion of the Duke of Argyll, a vote of thanks was passed to me for its preparation.

Address. " In many parts of the United Kingdom the redundancy of population has become a formidable, deeply-seated, and rapidly increasing evil, extending its withering influence through every portion of the community, assuming an aggravated character in numerous districts of Ireland, and reducing the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland to a state of destitution, from the contemplation of which the mind recoils with pain and horror. In the latter districts more especially, the existence of a large proportion of the population is barely sustained on the most scanty, precarious, and unwholesome diet; large masses are in danger of being swept away, and districts depo- pulated by famine and misery in their most appalling form ; whilst the moral and social evils resulting from the physical condition of the unhappy sufferers, are daily producing the most disastrous effects. These sufferings, and the demoraliza- tion which may be feared, as their consequence, are rapidly sinking this unhappy, but noble-minded peasantry, distin- guished for their independence, their provident, self-denying, and social virtues, to a state of unparalleled wretchedness ; and an immediate remedy is admitted to be indispensable alike by the divine, the statesman, and the philanthropist. The period has confessedly arrived when this remedy can be no longer delayed; the wide- spreading desolation must be arrested, the moral contagion stayed : and it becomes the grave and solemn duty of all who sympathize with human suf-

AND COLONIZATION. 37

fering, and are interested in the welfare of our fellow-subjects, but more especially of those immediately connected with the afflicted districts, to ponder earnestly on the means which Emigration holds out as a certain corrective, if not entire cure of an evil, which if allowed to operate longer uncounteracted, must exhaust the resources of the country, and at no distant period sink all classes to the level of that which is now the lowest. This duty becomes more imperatively incumbent on the nobility, clergy, proprietors, and others connected with the Highlands and Isles of Scotland, from the fearfully aggravated form which pauperism has there attained ; nor is the removal of this surplus population less their duty than their interest.

" Whilst this country is thus overburdened by a redundant suffering population, the resources of British North America remain undeveloped, and liedormant from the w^ant of labourers.

" The inhabitants of Great Britain have entertained most erroneous opinions of our Canadian provinces, which are grow- ing in population, and improving in cultivation more rapidly, perhaps, than any part of the United States, if we except Michigan, and must become, at no very distant period, a wealthy, powerful, and populous Colony.

" The climate of Canada is singularly healthy, and in salu- brity is unquestionably superior to the United States. The cold of winter is divested of more than half of its gloom by the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, and the heat of summer is attempered by beautiful breezes from the lakes. The higher lati- tude repels all the summer epidemics that ravage the United States. Even in the severity of its winters all that is injurious will yield to the thinning of the forests, the draining of the swamps, and the other labours of an accumulating population.

" If we look at the map, a truth, rarely adverted to when w^e speak of Canada, is apparent to the eye, that a large portion of the province, lying immediately northward of Lake Erie, is situated in a lower latitude than the greater part of Michigan —lower than all that fine and fertile region along the great canal in the State of TS'ew York, very little further north than the Pennsylvania line, and in the same parallel with the fertile,

38 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

productive, and Avealthy state of Massachusets. But it is known that the climate is much less severe between the same parallels as we approach the west ; thus Pittsburgh has a softer winter and a shorter one than Philadelphia, and Buffalo than Albany. So Upper Canada is far milder tlian Massachusets.

" It has been stated that ' the action of the climate upon agricultural productions in British North America is more favourable than in others which have the same mean tempera- ture. The intense heat of the short summer ripens corn and fruits, which will not thrive in regions where the same warmth is moi'e equally distributed throughout the year. Thus Quebec agrees in mean annual temperature with Christiana ; yet wheat, scarcely ever attempted in Norway, is the staple of Lower Canada. The upper province nearly coincides with the north of England, yet the grape, the peach, and the melon, come to as much perfection as in their native soil. Its winter, cold at the same time, enables it to combine the products of the northern with those of the southern temperate climates. By the side of the fruits above-mentioned flourish the strawberry, the cranberry, and the raspberry ; while the evergreen pines are copiously intermingled with the oak, the elm, and others of ampler foliage. The most populous portion of Russia is 20° to the north of the North American border of Upper Canada ; and the colonists crowding to that country are Britons — a race proverbially successful in all the tasks to be achieved by patient vigour and fearless adventure. These men require only room ; their native energies will do the rest. The forest will be cleared, the morass drained ; the prairie will be a corn-field ; the huge lakes, those Mediterraneans of the New World, will be covered with the products of the mineral and agricultural wealth of the country ; coal has already been discovered in great abundance ; iron and various metals are already worked ; tlie hills abound in every kind of limestone, up to the purest marble.' "

" A great portion of Upper Canada is delightfully situated for an agi-icultural country ; free from mountains, it is never- theless abundantly watered, and almost surrounded and inter-

AND COLONIZATION. 39

sected by navigable rivers and lakes, on which its produce is easily transported to various and extensive markets. It pos- sesses a soil, as well as climate, peculiarly favourable to the growth of wheat, and immense quantities are grown in it. The Welland canal connects the navigation of Lakes Erie and Ontario ; the Rideau and St. Lawrence canals, constructed round the obstructions in the St. Lawrence, open a free com- munication by water from the north-western extremity of Lake Huron to Montreal, and thence to the Atlantic; steam pro- pellers glide down the rapids of the St. Lawrence : and amongst other internal improvements, it is in contemplation to form a second line of communication by connecting Lakes Huron and Simcoe, with the long and extensive chain of lakes and rivers, throughout the Newcastle district; and lastly, by improving the navigation of the majestic Ottawa, connecting it with the remotest north, opening a vast field for agricultural and com- mercial enterprise. The advantages of the navigation of these canals and the St. Lawrence are as exclusively British, as the navigation of the Mississippi is American ; and the British Go- vernment, in order to augment and foster these important interests, admits Canadian produce into her ports, duty free.

" The provincial legislature has petitioned for a further re- mission of the duties on tobacco, the western section of Canada having been discovered to be peculiarly favourable to its growth. It has been also ascertained that the climate and soil, especially that of the western section of the province, are admirably adapted for the growth of the white mulberry, to the cultivation of which the attention of the United States has long been earnestly directed. British North America possesses inexhaustible physical capabilities of greatness and of wealth ; she has a territory, which is spread out to an interminable extent, and fertile in almost every production conducive to the necessities and gratification of man : her navigable rivers, her capacious and convenient ports, and the broad blue bosom of the Atlantic INIain, which connects her with the mother country and its other Colonies, and with the kingdoms of Europe, all give to her the means and the facility of acquiring the most ample and the most permanent strength. Taxation

&

4D SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

can scarcely be said to exist in British North America. Ser- vants, and labourers, and mechanics of all descriptions, are certain of employment and ample remuneration, and instances are numerous of persons of this class having sent home money from their savings to assist in bringing out their indigent rela- tions. The public works in progress will furnish employment for many years to any number of labourers coming from Great Britain, and will continue to sustain good wages, which they receive for their work. In the possessions of the British Crown, on the Continent of America, an adequate and indus- trious population would cause agriculture and commerce to flourish to a boundless extent. In those fine provinces — so little known and so imperfectly appreciated by the parent State — the sources of productive industry are inexhaustible ; and every human being sent from the mother country, enjoying sound health, and having well-regulated habits, may find employment suited to all tlie gradations of strength, skill, and capacity.

" A country so prolific with respect to sources of human industry is at our very door — within four weeks' sail of our shores — brought into our arms by steam navigation. It requires but an extended well-directed Emigration to cause an immense and rapid increase of its individual prosperity and general welfai"e; whilst on the other hand, the overcrowded and famish- ing districts require but a transfer to these Colonies to effect a great diminution of national misery, pregnant with alarm as to its ultimate consequences. Nor is there any reason to fear that the demand for labour will be checked by the number of jier- sons from this country seeking emialoyment. Persons going at first as labourers are able to save money so quickly, and so soon to become independent, and able themselves to afibrd employ- ment to others, that it may safely be said that in proportion to the number of new settlers in the province will be the increased demand for additional labourers.

" That the present moment is most jiropitious for the estab- lishment of a scheme of Emigration, on a large and effective scale, cannot be doubted. Our felloAv subjects in Upper Canada, as may be seen by the loyal Address to Her Majesty the Queen from the House of Assembly, implore their Sovereign, in blended

AND COLONIZATION. 41

tones of loyalty, patriotism, and sympathy, which cannot be read without emotion, that a plan emanating from her councils may be established, which shall enable the surplus population of the United Kingdom to be happily transferred from their present dreadful position to the unpeopled and unsettled lands of that fertile and immense domain ; — a transfer which will materially strengthen and effectually preserve the British Colo- nial dependencies on that continent, and more lirmly rivet the bonds of affection and interest which attach them to the parent State. The Canada Company have also urged on the Government, as shown by a paper moved for by the Earl of Moui^tcashell, and laid on the table of the House of Lords, the justice of appropriating the money, amounting to £60,000, due from them in respect of their purchase of Crown lands, to establish a scheme to encourage, direct, and facilitate Emigra- tion to Canada. That the debt payable by the Canada Com- pany, together vvith the proceeds of the sale of the Crown revenue lands, should be applied to purposes of Emigration, is dictated equally by the interests and necessities of the British North American provinces, and by that impartial policy which should regulate the parent State in its relations with all its dependencies. It is too obvious to require statement, that the unlimited extent of fertile territory in British North America still remaining unoccupied must continue unpro- ductive, and valueless unless its resources are developed by the united operation of capital and industry; and it is equally evident that this can only result from Emigration on a large scale, to be accomplished by the expenditure of ample funds. The money which may be raised by the judicious and systematic sale, at a moderate rate, of the Crown reserve lands would materially aid in attaining this end, and it is difficult to justify the diversion from an object so legitimate, to purposes of ordinary state expenditure, of the large sums paid to Government by the Canada Company in respect of grants of lands. This diversion is open to further objection ; for while a boon so important has been denied to British North America, it has been conceded to other British

42 SYSTEMATIC EMlGRATIOxN

Colonies, in contravention of the most manifest principles of justice ; and the Australian dominions of the Crown have derived from the preference thus extended to them, advantages which cannot be overrated.

" A Committee has been formed of members of the Colonial Society, impressed with the importance of, and interested in, the Settlement of British North America; and to this object they are indefatigably and zealously devoting their attention, their experience, and their influence.

" A deputation from the Committee had a recent interview with the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and earnestly urged upon his consideration the great and manifold interests to be promoted by an extensive and well-directed Emigration. The urgency of immediately relieving both Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland from the pressure of their surplus popu- lation, and the irresistible necessity of strengthening the Nortli American Colonies by these means, was admitted. The Colo- nial Secretary is aware of the transcendant importance of the objects of the Committee; and it appeared quite obvious, from his declaration, that there was no indisposition on the part of the Government to entertain the subject, and give practical proof of such disposition, if its views were sanctioned and enforced by public opinion.

" With regard to the desires, more especially, of the suffer- ing people themselves in Scotland, and the hope which Emigra- tion affords them, no better or more substantial evidence need be adduced, than that the petitions signed by thousands of these ill-requited but most deserving men, have been presented to the Houses of Lords and Commons, breathing sentiments of patience and resignation, detailing the most harrowing accounts of their unexampled privations and overwhelming destitution, and beseeching that they might be aided in their desire to be transplanted to Canada, where so many of their countrymen were already happily settled, where a sphere for their usefulness exists, and where, by their industrious exertions, they could maintain their families in comfort, with the assurance of rapidly changing the condition of labourers for that of pro-

AND COLONIZATION. 43

prietors, and soon attaining honourable independence. They have uniformly and firmly declared their predilection and partiality for the Canadas, and the other British provinces in North America, as their future home ; and it is to those Colonies especially that the labours of the North American Colonial Committee would direct the current of Emigra- tion from the United Kingdom. Their contiguity to this country, and consequent facility of access and cheapness of transport, present advantages, as compared with more distant Colonies, too obvious to be overlooked. On this head, it needs only to be stated that the expense of the conveyance of a family of four to British North America does not amount to more than that of one person to those remoter regions. Thus neither the decrepitude of age, nor the helplessness of infancy, opposes obstacles to Emigration to British America ; on the contrary, manhood is there enabled to assuage the infirmities of the one, and enjoy the smiles of the other. The robust and vigorous will not alone be taken away to increase rather than to alleviate the anxieties and burdens of the proprietors. British North America also possesses no unimportant recommendation, as the sphere for Emigration, from the rapid and constant intercourse existing between it and this country, which must check, if not altogether prevent, false and interested misrepresentations, and enable the humblest individual to maintain a frequent corre- spondence with the relatives and friends whom he has quitted. " There is an anxious solicitude existing in the British North American provinces to co-operate with their fellow-subjects in the United Kingdom, in aiding and facilitating every practical eftbrt made for directing Emigration to those Colonies. The Address of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada already referred to, affords a conclusive proof of this ; and a similar anxiety has been exhibited in the other Colonies. That this feeling will be cordially and promptly responded to in this country, the North American Colonial Committee entertain a complete assurance. They call upon you to concur in realizing this assurance. They invite you to give them the benefit of your information and counsel, and the assistance of your con-

44 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

tributions, to diffuse among all classes a knowledge of the overwhelming necessity of affording a refuge to the unemployed poor and destitute, by opening outlets and facilities for Emi- gration, and to point out the peculiar advantages which recom- mend British North America as so especially eligible and desirable for that purpose. The Committee entreat you to promote petitions to the Crown and both Houses of Parliament, praying for the speedy adoption by the legislature of an ex- tended, judicious, and well-regulated system of Emigration to those provinces, and to impress on your representatives in the House of Commons that there is no duty more sacred and para- mount than that of giving effect to this prayer by their parlia- mentary advocacy, votes, and influence.

" It is clear that the moment has arrived when it has become necessary to diffuse all the information that can be obtained on this subject, and to fix the public attention on a matter so essentially important to the empire. Whatever course it may be thought right to take, it cannot be too strongly impressed on every one, that the occasion is urgent and critical, and the object to be contended for most momentous. It involves the fate of multitudes of our perishing fellow-subjects here, the prosperity of our Colonies, the integrity and substantial inte- rests of the Empire. For these hallowed purposes your co- operation is invited, and the Committee will be happy to enrol you amongst the promoters of objects so charitable, so patriotic, so national, so indispensable.

*' Thomas Rolph, Honorary Secretary.'"

Appended to this official document, was the Address of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada, already given, and which last valuable legacy of that faithful and loyal body ought to be indelibly impressed on the legislating and governing mind of the Empire.

At the close of this session, and prior to my departure for Canada, I had the gratification to receive the following testimo- nial and letters, which are selected from a great variety of others : —

AND COLONIZATION. 45

*' Moved by the Cliisholm ; seconded by Henry Baillie, Esq.,

M.P., and

'■^Resolved, — That m reference to the communication made by Dr. Rolph, of his approaching departure for Canada, and conse- quent resignation of the office of Secretary, this Committee do record its deep sense of the unremitting assiduity, earnest zeal, and eminent success with which that gentleman has devoted his talents and eloquence to diffusing throughout the United Kino;dom correct information and enliohtened views as to the position, resources, wants, and value of the British North American provinces, and to the advancing of their rights and claims on the fostering protection of the mother country.

" That the Cliairman do transmit to Dr. Rolph a copy of this resolution, accompanied by the expression of the high estimation in which his valuable exertions are held by this Com- mittee, and of its earnest hope that they may speedily be adopted by the public service, and thus rendered still more extensively available to the promotion of the important objects which have directed and animated them."

" 35, Upper Berkeley Street, Portman Square, '* June 29th, 1840.

*' My dear Dr. Rolph, — It is with great regret that I hear of your intended departure from this country.

" Was not the object of your voyage to these shores to bring- about an Emigration which was alike to benefit the mother country and her loveliest daughters — her American Colonies 1 Have you not been the means of collecting into a Committee many Highland chiefs, landed proprietors, and other interested and influential individuals ? Further, have you not drawn upon this important subject the attention of the public ? — Having so well commenced your work, is it right to leave it not com- pleted?— Upon your arrival in the fair provinces, it must strike the sound sense, which there is to be found, that He who has so successfully commenced the work, is He who should be sent back to perfect its accomplishment. I cannot doubt that in a few months I shall have the pleasure of seeing you again

46 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

resume your duties at our coramittee-room. Wishing you a pleasant voyage out, and an accelerated return, I beg to sub- scribe myself,

" My dear Dr. Rolph,

" Yours very sincerely,

" Augustus D'Este."

" Moore Park, June 5th, 1840. " My dear Sir, — Before you leave England to return home, I consider it a duty to call your serious attention once more to the great and important objects we have in London laboured to obtain ; you know my anxiety to direct the tide of Emigration to Upper Canada, and the success that promises to follow our exertions if we actively persevere. The influence of the Colonial Society, where the recently scattered powers of Colonial wealth and talent has been united into one focus, will, I have no hesi- tion in saying, add weight to our exertions. But it is to the zeal and activity of the North American Committee, which so often and so regularly held its meetings in St. James's Square, that I ascribe the progress we have made. The resolutions we there passed, and the deputation that waited on Lord John Russell have not been in vain. Tlie impression made on his Lordship's mind, as well as on the people of Great Britain and Ireland, must soon lead to the best results. You witnessed the interview at the Colonial Oifice, and you know the desire of thousands and tens of thousands to emigrate from Scotland and Ireland. We cannot, however, deny, that many obstacles interpose, but none, I believe, that are insurmountable. I need not enumerate them, because to you they are already known. What I now wish to impress on your mind, is the importance of establishing a Committee in Toronto, to aid and co-operate in the important objects we have in view. Such a committee Avill, I doubt not, receive the countenance of the Government, and by the assist- ance and encouragement it may aSbrd to emigrants arriving, it will greatly further our exertions here; whilst by proper ma- nagement, it can prevent vast numbers of new comers from passing over into the United States. To effect these beneficial

AND COLONIZATIOK. 47

objects, much will depend on the measures adopted in Upper Canada. Too much caution and judgment cannot be exercised in the selection of proper secretaries and agents ; and if the people of the Upper Province will take the matter in hand with that degree of energy it deserves, they ought not only to appoint an active secretary at Toronto, but also one in England to forward and receive all necessary communications, to afford the Committee here assistance and authentic information, to influence the mind of the public, and generally to co-operate with us in bringing about an annual Emigration upon a great scale. Having wit- nessed your ability, activity, and zeal, whilst you kindly acted as Honorary Secretary to our North American Committee, I must venture to express a hope that your friends in Canada may prevail on you to accept the office of Secretary, to be permanently stationed in London to attend to their interests ; and that the Upper Canadians will prove their approbation by raising amongst themselves (and this may be done by a very moderate subscription,) a salary adequate to the expense you must incur, and the importance of the situation you will fill. As the chairman of the North American Committee, I felt it a duty to W' atch over and to forward the interests of all our North American Colonies, but this in no way debars me from displaying peculiar anxiety for the welfare of that province with which I happen to be most intimately connected. I cannot conclude without expressing a hope, that should you visit Ireland previous to your crossing the Atlantic, you will favour me with your company at Moore Park as long as your arrangements may permit you. — By so doing you will cause much satisfaction to, " My dear Sir, yours very faithfully.

" MOUNTCASHELL.

" To Dr. Rolph, &c."

" 6, Belgrave Street, June 2nd, 1840.

" Dear Sir, — As I am deeply interested in the promotion

of Emigration of the superabundant population of many of the

Highland districts of Scotland, I think that the presence in this

country of a gentleman like yourself, well acquainted with the

48 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

Canadas, to which I wish the Emigration of the Highlanders to be chiefly directed, would he of the greatest use in forwarding our wishes, and in securing the certain reception, good treat- ment, and ample employment of our people, when they arrive in our North American Colonies. I should therefore hope that you may find it consistent with your other arrangements, to return to this country and give us the henefit of your knowledge and experience in promoting a regular and beneficial Emigra- tion from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to the Canadas, so long as they may require, and we be able to furnish, a supply of steady and respectable Emigrants to bring those extensive tracts into profitable cultivation,

" I remain, very sincerely, yours, &c.

" Argyll. " To Dr. Thomas Rolph, Secretary to the

Colonial Committee, St. James's Square."

" Glasgow, IGth June, 1840. " My dear Sir, — I have heard with pain that you intend soon to return to Canada : I do hope this is not the case ; if so, what is to become of my poor countrymen, and of the tens of thousands now eagerly crying out for Upper Canada? You have been the means of exciting an attention to the subject of Emigration in this kingdom, and especially in Scotland, quite unknown before. Your departure will destroy all our hopes, and damp all the exertions now making. I am quite persuaded, that if you could remain, or return to us immediately, you must succeed ultimately in your noble cause. Canada is most blind to their best interests if they allow your return ; and equally blind would we be at home, to part with you at such a crisis. No Government can stand out against the pressure from with- out that we shall soon bring to bear upon them, from the thousands and the tens of thousands of our unemployed, but virtuous and industrious population ; the great mass of the people are now learned on the subject; they must leave Scot- land : and if the Government do not aid in carrying them aAvay, they must build an Asylum and House of Refuge, and feed

AND COLONIZATION. 49

them. My own humble publication has been the means of awakening the poor Highlanders ; they are now crying out for Emigration to America, who could not be dispossessed last year by the bayonet. Is there no way in whicli you could be appointed to act in Britain for Canada? Your efforts have raised a spirit which, if kept alive, cannot fail to relieve us, and send a most valuable addition of settlers to Canada.

" Forgive me for writing to you thus freely. — It is an awfully important subject — much has been done in arousing public bodies, and proprietors, and people. Leave us, and, I fear, we shall fall asleep again. I at least Avill stop my pipe, and cease to hold out any prospect to the poor Highlanders ; but leave them at the mercy of any interested South Austra- lians to come and pick out the able, the strong, and labo- rious families, and leave us in misery. I write this in haste. I wish I was in Canada, and could lift my voice in the House of Legislature ; and I would say, ' Leave us Dr. Rolph, and be you manufacturing hatchets, we shall send you thousands upon thousands to use them.'

" I have sent a dozen copies of the Gaelic Magazine to Upper Canada, for distribution among some of my brethren. I wish I kncAv the names and addresses of some of the Catholic clergy there who understand Gaelic, and I would send a few to them. I am, my dear sir, with great respect and esteem, " Yours very faithfully,

'* Norman M'Leod, D.D. " To Dr. Rolph, &c."

After a farewell dinner, which was given to me at Blackwall by various members of public bodies, and others who appre- ciated my services in this interesting field of exertion, I sailed from London for Canada on the 10th of July, and reached Toronto in the beginning of September.

If I left England, after having zealously devoted my atten- tion to the objects of my mission, amidst the warmest demon- strations of personal regard to myself, and awakened interest in the Colonies whose cause I had advocated, my reception

£

60 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

on the other side of the Atlantic was not less cheering- and enthusiastic. I had left Canada eleven months before, dis- tracted from the effects of its internal commotions, and with Emigration at its loAvest ebb. On my return, instead of gloom and despondency everywhere prevalent when I left, I found a spirit of hope and exultation animating the mass of the inha- bitants from the awakened interest everywhere felt and ex- pressed in the United Kingdom for the prosperity of their fellow-subjects in British America. Immediately on my arrival at Toronto, I received a requisition, signed by 171 persons, including all the judges, executive councillors, the mayor, high sheriff, and indeed by the chief respectability and moral and political strength of the city, without the slightest reference to party, to partake of a sumptuous banquet in the City Hall, on the 15tli of September. Accordingly, the dinner took place on that day, and I give the following abstract of the report of it, which was given at full length in the Toronto Patriot of the 18th of that month.

" On Tuesday last a public dinner was given in the City Hall, to Dr. Thomas Rolph, as a proof of the estimation in which he is held by the citizens of Toronto, for the unremitting exertions used by him during his recent tour through the United Kingdom, to bring before the British public the re- sources and capabilities of this province.

*' The Hall was most tastefully decorated with oak boughs and evergreens, together with the flags and banners of the different societies in the city. A full-length portrait of the Queen was placed at the head of the room over the centre table. The tables were arranged in four divisions to accommodate the large party who attended on this occasion. The chair was occupied by his Honor the Vice Chancellor, and the vice chair by W. B. Jarvis Esq. Sheriff of the Home district. The Vice Presidents at the other tables were the IMayor of the city, the Honourable J. Elmsley, and Major Barwick.

" The band of the 32nd regiment, by the kind permission of its respected Colonel, attended, and played in admirable style

AND COLONIZATION. 51

during the evening many fine overtures, marches, &c. &c. — The stewards were— The Mayor, Dr. King, Aldermen Gurnett, Dixon, Monro, and Stotesbury, Messrs. Stennett, Browne, Atkinson, J. W. Gwynne, Mc Eldery, and Barber.

" The dinner was sumptuous, and served up in admirable style, the wines and dessert abundant and excellent, and the whole arrangements so complete as to reflect the highest credit on the Managers. After the cloth was removed, the Chairman rose, and said that custom no less than affection had consecrated and sanctioned that toast as the first at the festive and the social board, which was most near and dear to a Briton's heart, — their Sovereign ; and the present occupant of the throne being of the fairer and more engaging sex, chivalry and duty con- spired together to give an additional enthusiasm to its charac- ter. He would propose the health of

" Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, — three times three, and rapturous cheering. The band played God save the Queen, the whole company standing.

" 2. Queen Adelaide and the rest of the Royal Family, " 3. The Governor-General, and " 4. The Lieutenant-Governor.

"5. Our worthy and esteemed guest, Dr. Thomas Rolph, the able and eloquent advocate of Emigration from the British Isles to these Colonies.

" Dr. Rolph on rising to return thanks spoke as follows : — " Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen — My gratitude and exulta- tion at this overwhelming manifestation of your regard is so great, as to render it impossible for me to thank you as I desire. There is not a single individual amongst you, whose personal courtesy would not be received by me as a matter of great individual gratification ; but when that courtesy is combined by the union of you all, it comes upon me in an overflowing sense of your kindness, and of my own incapacity to thank you as I ought. But I confess I am glad of this grand meeting, this large and noble assemblage, upon other than personal grounds. There is an union here, to be seen and felt, which augurs well for the future welfare and prosperity of this noble Colony. We

E 2

52 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

contemplate with delight the general concurrence of all parties in the promotion of great national benefits ; we turn from a party to an empire ; and we readily combine and firmly unite in the hallowed and patriotic object of adding to the wealth, strength, and security of the country, by our conjoint endea- vours to introduce into these provinces the surplus population of the parent State. Our earliest, our irrevocable fealty to Great Britain makes us the earnest and untiring friends of British Emigration. We should regard with dismay and an- guish the arrival of that period, however remote, in which that great and glorious land should become a stake, for which the rival dominions of the world should play ; and the conviction has now become fixed and general, that the loss of the British North American provinces would be the loss to Great Britain of her supremacy on the seas, her commerce in peace, her nur- sery in war, and that it would be followed by the reflection on her waters in the British Channel of the stars of the new world, and the hovering and flapping of the heavy wings of the Northern Eagle over her city of palaces. But I turn from this consi- deration, to the happier omen offered by this day's enlivening spectacle. It was well known to most here present, that suc- cessive administrations have recommended, and diffierent legis- latures admitted, the immeasurable consequences to these provinces of encouraging hither British Emigration. I shall not weary your patience, or exhaust your time by drawing your attention to the repeated efforts made by them to create a public interest on this subject, but confine myself to the declared opi- nions of the late Earl Durham on this matter, he says, ' I am fully convinced of the importance of the objects contemplated by you, and indeed deeply impressed with the necessity, with a view to the ultimate success of my mission, of encouraging the Emigration of people from Britain to this part of Her Majesty's dominions, and the investment of British capital in colonial improvements ; so that the vast and naturally fertile territory intersected by the St. Lawrence and its tributaries may no longer present an unfavourable contrast with adjoining States, as respects production, advancement, and prosperity. I have

AND COLONIZATION. 63

issued a commission of inquiry for the purpose of framing a general measure, of which the whole aim, scope, and tenor, will be the promotion of British Emigration, and the improvement of these Colonies by attracting to them a portion of the super- abundant capital of Britain. I am satisfied that such a policy may be adopted with great benefit to the mother country, and infinite advantage to these Colonies.' Although these senti- ments were general, no efibrt was made to remove the great weight of prejudice and ignorance which existed in Great Britain, preventing that cordial co-operation on the part of the people on which alone the introduction of capital and encou- ragement to Emigration depended. An earnest request made to me by my late dear, beloved, and ever to be lamented friend. Bishop Macdonell, in the spring of 1839, to accompany him to Great Britain, to promote that patriotic object which he com- menced in early life, and for Avhich he felt the most intense solicitude, — the removal of his sufi"ering countrymen from hope- less poverty to independence, — induced me no longer to hesitate. His great weight, his high respectability, his personal worth, his extensive influence, his unbounded philanthropy, his endear- ing manners, were powerful inducements to engage in the labours which I then undertook. I was not insensible to the difficulties which opposed themselves to my exertions : want of means, powerful prejudices to overcome, nay, more, misre- presentations which even success itself too often causes * the man who makes a character, to make foes :' to all this I was indiff'erent ; and seeing a vast good to be accomplished, I was resolved not to allow

< I dare not, wait upon I would.*

I embarked at once with my venerated and venerable friend ; and your enthusiastic reception and overpowering welcome this day proves how generously you have appreciated and over- estimated my endeavour."

After dwelling upon the great importance of our trade to the manufacturing interests of England, as well as to the agri- culturists, I continued : —

54 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

•' The agricultural societies of the United Kingdom feel a deep interest in the agricultural prosperity of these provinces, they feel and know that their own interests are deeply inter- woven with those of the Colonies, from whence only would they wish Great Britain to derive her deficiency in the staff of life. It was at the great agricultural meeting in North Britain where I secured the earnest and enthusiastic band of chiefs and heritors who now feel so deep and abiding an interest in the welfare of this country. It was there that the Duke of Rich- mond's friendship was secured, and which is likely to prove as beneficial to Canada as that of his illustrious sire, who was one of its earliest governors, as he was unquestionably one of its most devoted friends. After traversing the Highlands, meeting everywhere the kindest attention and the warmest hospitality — securing influential, active, and zealous friends, I proceeded to Glasgow, a city renowned for the wealth, energy, enterprise, and intelligence of its inhabitants, and where I met with the most gratifying and enthusiastic reception, and the most efficient and useful co-operation. And here too I enlisted in our cause that great, that noble, that invaluable man, the Rev. Dr. M'Leod — a Christian apostle, a Highland patriot, a distin- guished scholar, an ardent philanthropist, a champion for the British North American provinces, and the true and abiding friend of this particular portion of the British dominions. It may not be amiss to observe, that at Glasgow the first com- mittee was formed to encourage Emigration to Canada. I men- tion this, because some persons were apprehensive that the course I felt constrained to adopt in that city was not calcu- lated to promote my object; but I assure you, gentlemen, there is no disinclination existing in any portion of the United Kingdom to settle in this country from apprehension of Ame- rican hostility whilst they feel assured of British protection and regard.

" From Glasgow I proceeded to Ireland, where amongst all classes of its generous, warm-hearted, and brave inhabitants, I found an increasing conviction of the importance of firmly securing the connexion between these Colonies and the parent

AND COLONIZATION. 55

State ; and not only a willingness, but an ardour to direct the stream of Emigration from Ireland to the British North Ameri- can provinces. Amongst the most influential converts to these patriotic doctrines, I may more particularly mention Lord Clon- curry,'and W. S. O'Brien, Esq., the member for Limerick. The latter most estimable and intelligent gentleman has recently ad- dressed his constituents in the county of Limerick, as follows : — " ' In adverting to Canada, and Canadian policy, I touch upon a subject which has become recently so peculiarly inte- resting to us all. Very many thousands of our countrymen have already settled in that counti-y, and many more are destined to And there a happy home. Few cherish more fer- vently than I do an attachment to the land of our fathers ; but I should not be deterred by a misplaced sensibility, from avow- ing my strong conviction that Emigration to the British North American Colonies is the best resource for persons of every class of life, who find a difficulty in employing their means, their strength, their talents, and their industry with profit at home. In those Colonies, under proper regulations, there is abundant room for all, and those who possess industry, enter- prise, and perseverance, are never known to fail. With such advantages as they possess, it seems nothing less than a dis- grace to the legislature that any portion of an active and industrious population should be allowed to suffer, the priva- tions to which they are periodically subject — frequently verging on absolute famine — whilst at a small expense they might be sent to and assisted in a land of abundance. I am therefore a warm advocate for Emigration to Canada, and since so much zeal has recently been evinced, I have most sanguine hopes that parliament in its next session will be induced to sanction the adoption on a permanent principle of a well-organized system of Colonization.'

" I cannot exaggerate the claims which the Earl of Mount- cashell has on our gratitude and aff"ection ; it is a subject I love to dwell upon, and which you will warmly cherish, when I inform you that it is his intention to visit this province himself,

56 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

and assist in the advancements of its interests. Nor must I forget to apprize you that Colonel Wyndham is nobly following up what his benevolent and princely father so munificently and patriotically commenced, and has declared his intention of contributing to the utmost of his power to bring smiling prosperity into our loved and beautiful province. Amongst our warm and efficient friends in Ireland, I must not overlook Mr. Bermingham, of Caramana, who is as anxious to promote Emigration to this country, to effect its settlement, and to aid in the completion of its public works, as if he were deeply and personally interested in their success. From Ireland I returned to England, to visit some of the rural districts, and attend some of the agricultural societies ; but being again strongly urged by many persons in Ireland to revisit the northern part of that lovely island, I did so, and I hope with manifest success. From thence I was called by a special and pressing invitation from the Duke of Argyll to attend the great meeting of Highland noblemen, chiefs, heritors, and others, which was held in Edinburgh, for the purpose of devising the best means of securing the future Emigration of the Highlanders to Canada. Mr. Bowie, our zealous, able, and indefatigable friend attended, and has continued his valuable and unremitting exertions ever since in our cause. Not to mention the Duke of Argyll would betray an indifference and ingratitude which I should blush to own. But how to speak of him as I ought, I know not; suf- fice it to say, that to the comfortable settlement of his admiring countrymen in Canada, from tlie highest and most exalted mo- tives, and to continue his endearing connexion with them here as at home, he is desirous of devoting his means, his influence, his exertions, and his time. His son, the Lord of Lorn, pos- sesses all his zeal and patriotism, with the additional advan- tages of youth, and glories in proclaiming his irrevocable attachment to these rising Colonies."

After detailing tlie origin and progress of the North Ame- rican Colonial Committee, already sufficiently adverted to by me in the previous part of this work, I continued : —

AND COLONIZATION. 57

" There is one more individual whom I have left to the last, on whose heart is inscribed the word ' Canada ;' whose noble and lofty lineage, whose gallant and chivalrous bearing, whose unquenchable philanthropy and exalted patriotism, whose concentration of every manly virtue, and every enno- bling emotion that can reflect honour on the prince, the soldier, and the gentleman, justly and fondly endears him to all who have the honour and the happiness of his friendship, — I mean the son of the Duke of Sussex, Sir Augustus D'Este, who is also a member of this committee, — from the inextin- guishable affection Avhich he alike bears to his countrymen and to these provinces, and his earnest hope to assist in that judicious transfer of the former that shall confer and ensure a lasting benefit on both.

" Gentlemen, you have no longer that hindrance and obsta- cle to Emigration here, which arose from ignorance, prejudice, or dislike at home. You have not hostility to encounter, but affection to cement and cherish ; you have not co-operation to seek, but to reciprocate : there is now no apathy upon the part of the British people ; they no longer hesitate to join you, as they are sure no receding on your part need be apprehended. They are willing to provide for and sustain for a period the hardy and affectionate people they are prepared to send amongst you. They only desire that you will receive them, and locate them. They want to hear of you, to talk of you, to act with you, and numbers of them to reside with you.

" They see and know that the strength of the British empire has been and will still be employed to maintain, lasting and unimpaired, the glorious and happy connexion existing between us. All are aware that if England could not retain her nearest and most valuable Colonies she would have no inducement to maintain her dominion over those that are remote ; and now that steam has asserted its supremacy over winds and waves, and brought our father-land so completely within our grasp, and the rate of postage so reduced, as to invite a perpetual communication with the loved kindred and friends that remain

58 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

behind, still further cementing the union between the land of our birth and the land of our adoption ; it is to be hoped that we shall unite together in this grand patriotic object of Colonial improvement and national strength."

After eulogising the Canada Company for their A^ery patriotic exertions in extending, throughout the United Kingdom, cor- rect knowledge regarding the resources and capabilities of Canada, and their liberality towards myself, I concluded in the following terms: —

" Under the fosterin"; exertions of this valuable Committee, a great increase must take place in our numbers. Capital will flow into the province, and be spent in the promotion of im- provement and the encouragement of industry; it will pass along our lines of commerce into the hands of farmers, mer- chants, and artisans; it will keep the hardy labourer employed ; it will find its way into the dwellings of the people ; it will cheer the inmates of the log cabin with substantial and nu- tritious food ; it will cause all the sweet and social charities of our nature to expand in the joyful contemplation of the hap- piness, the comfort, the contentment, and the prosperity of the people. We shall see the face of nature embellishing and im- proving, her asperities softened into verdant beauties, her hills thinned of her woods, and her valleys teeming with fertility, idleness and solitude banished, industry rewarded, and the remotest sections of the country benefited and advanced. I rejoice we can meet and unite on neutral — on hallowed ground. This is no party question, no party movement ; it is a great, a glorious national movement, disembarrassed of all political or sectarian feelings. It is a charitable co-operation with our affectionate fellow subjects at home, in a grand scheme of pa- triotism and philanthropy, by which a benefit will be conferred on suffering masses of industrious men, who will be rescued from periodical famines, by emigration to this country, whilst British North America will be raised to that eminence amongst England's dependencies to which she is entitled, and Britain herself, in extended commerce and unbroken dominion, will

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reap substantial benefit from the opulence and contentment which a sound colonization must produce in this mighty and valuable appendage of the British Crown."

" Loud, rapturous, and continued cheering followed this address.

" 6, The Army and Navy. — Col. Bullock returned thanks on behalf of the Army, and the Hon. Captain Elmsley for the Navy.

*' 7. The United Provinces of Canada, — may their recent Union perpetuate our connexion with the parent state, and promote the permanent welfare of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects.

" 8. The Sister Colonies, — may their connexion with the British Empire be equally permanent and advantageous.

" The Vice Chancellor, in consequence of indisposition, was obliged to retire, and Mr. Sheriff Jarvis was called to the chair, when he gave

"9. The health of our worthy President, the Vice Chan- cellor.

" 10. The Landed and Commercial Interests of Canada. — Mr. Perrin and Alderman Dennison returned thanks.

"11. The Memory of the late good Earl of Egremont, the munificent supporter of Emigration to Upper Canada.

" 12. The Earl of Mountcashell, President, Arthur John Robertson, of Inches, Esq., Vice-President, and the other members of that distinguished Association, the British North American Colonial Committee, — many thanks to them for their zealous and valuable support.

" The memory of the late Bishop Macdonell, prefaced by some very feeling observations of the Sheriff".

" The Duke of Wellington, by Mr. Hagarty — Lord Seaton —Sir F. B. Head, by Mr. Beard— Sir Robert Peel, by Captain Grundy — the Militia of Upper Canada, by the Chairman — Suc- cess to Emigration, by Mr. Nicoll — Dr. King and the Stewards.

" The Company broke up at a late hour, highly delighted with their entertainment."

60 _ SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

During the dinner, his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir George Arthur, transmitted to me the following letter : —

" Government House, " Toronto, 15th September, 1840. " Sir, — I cannot resist the opportunity which your return to this country affords me, of expressing the gratification with which I have noticed your zealous and able services, while in England, in advocating the cause of Emigration.

" Feeling most deeply impressed with the conviction, that the prosperity of this province must materially depend upon the acquisition of resources attendant upon the influx of respectable and industrious Emigrants from the mother country, I have watched with much solicitude every event which could have an effect upon so momentous a subject : it therefore afforded me much satisfaction to witness the strenuous exer- tions which you made, during your sojourn in Britain, to bring the advantages of this fine province to the notice of the British population, with the view of turning into it the stream of Emigration.

" I have the honour to remain, sir,

" Your most obedient servant,

" Geo. Arthur. " Doctor Rolph, &c. &c. &c."

This public entertainment at Toronto was followed by one of a similar character, a few weeks afterwards, at Hamilton, the capital of the Gore District. The sheriff, Alexander Macdonell, Esq., presided over a very large and influential meeting, comprising Sir Allan Macnab, Colonels Gourlay, Kerr, Chisholm, &c. Without fatiguing the reader by unne- cessary recapitulation, I cannot avoid giving some extracts from my speech on that occasion, as reflecting information bearing upon the state of the Colony not unworthy of preservation. After thanking the company for their overwhelming reception, I proceeded to say : —

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" At the period I left this province with my late dear friend Bishop Macdonell, Emigration from the British Isles was altogether directed either to the United States, or to the remoter portions of the British Empire. Every one witnessed and lamented it: the House of Assembly, even in its last session, addressed the Queen on the subject ; but no one seemed willing to make an effort to avert the evil, and bring back again to this country the very bone and sinew of its wealth, — the super- abundant population of the parent State.

" For years the defection had been increasing, enterprise was arrested, and confidence diminished, until the whole country became involved in one wide spread, all-pervading confusion, amounting nearly to despair. The population, strictly and properly an agricultural one, were called from their agricul- tural pursuits, to lay by their ploughshares for the musket, and their sickle for the sword. The sail of commerce was furled, the wheel of the manufacturer stopped, the blight of a depreciated value fell upon the product of our agriculture, holding back the arm of labour from its gainful stroke, and carrying into every quarter a deep and dreadful gloom. Scarcely had the province returned to its former state of peace and rest — commerce seeking her counting-house and her mer- chandize, agriculture returning to her ploughshare and sickle, and husbanding her stores, than at the earnest behest of my late venerable and venerated friend, I resolved to make an effort to bring back to the country the stream of Emigration from the British Isles, which had been diverted to other shores, and with it also the superabundant, unemployed capital of the parent State."

After citing many American authorities, proving to a demonstration the immense increase of capital attendant on Colonization, amongst other examples of its success in Canada, I alluded to " the beautiful and flourishing township of Cavan, so justly renowned for the devotion of its patriotic people in 1838, which had not had the benefit of the introduction of capital, but one person possessed of £500. having gone into it since its settlement. But look at its returns, its population, its cultiva-

62 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

tion, its mills, churches, schools, houses, farms, and assessed value, and then let any one say that people, industrious people, do not create capital. I might occupy your time for hours in selecting diflferent parts of the province where the same thing has occurred, under your own immediate observation, but I will allude to but one, so well known to you all, — the Jersey settlement. About forty years since the first settlers had to ride or walk through an Indian train to Niagara to procure their grist ; now behold it, one vast cultivated plain, noble farms, extensive barns, fine orchards, excellent habitations, with a wealthy body of proprietors. If these men who came originally to the country, without the means of purchasing, and who had to pay heavy fees, and encounter expensive jour- neys before they obtained their deeds, frequently amounting to a sum equal to a purchase, and have done so well, what a bright prospect for the future is held out, by the free settle- ment on our soil, of our frugal, brave, hardy, and industrious subjects from the British Isles. In this holy undertaking philanthropy unites with patriotism in calling out for the adop- tion of a systematic Emigration from Great Britain. Before the destruction of the kelp trade, the brave and hardy High- landers lived well and happily in the romantic glens of their lovely Isles : now their condition is so deplorable that it is difficult to determine whether we feel as much sympathy for their suffering, as wonder at their patience and resignation. The population of Rasay, belonging to the M'Leod, are pant- ing to come to Canada ; and hear the testimony of that exalted character. Dr. M'Leod, in their favour : —

" ' I bear cheerful testimony to their wonderful merits ; a more moral, respectful, courageous, enduring, sober, religious, virtuous, loyal people, are not any where to be met with on earth — actually invaluable for peace or war. Canada ought not to lose them.'

"Shall we be afraid of receiving such pauper emigrants? Shame on those paupers in spirit who would attempt to raise such a debasing howl. Then turn to Ireland, whose condition must excite a deep interest wherever the human heart beats

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with an impulse of sympathy for the sufferings of a wretched people. Never was there a nation, possessing so many noble and generous qualities, that has drunk so deeply of the cup of bitterness, or been so cruelly afflicted as the Irish. Brave, confiding, benevolent, witty, and vivacious, they deserved to be the heritors of all that intellect or courage could command ; but their doom has been one of misery and want, and their sufferings have almost surpassed human conception. And will Canada be the only British Colony that would refuse them a hearty wel- come? And then England, ' my own, my native land,' — I can assure my brethren there, as I have already proudly assured them — as this kind reception of an Englishman will enable me still more confidently to assure them — that Canada will always hail rapturously, and cordially welcome a portion of that genuine heart of oak which has made England's name glorious, and her annals bright ; and it is with great delight I inform you that many large and small capitalists from that country purpose settling in this; numbers intend visiting it from curiosity, pleasure, and information, and many from a desire to form an intimate acquaintance with a people who have mani- fested such devotion for an enduring connexion with the British realm, and to survey, with a Briton's manly pride, that majestic chain of lakes and rivers falling into the St. Lawrence, the possession of which enables us still to sing —

' Rule Britannia ! Britannia rule the waves, For Britons never, never will be slaves.'

Here, also, gentlemen, I may be permitted to observe, that great apprehensions were felt, and many ill-timed and ill-natured observations were made, as to the impropriety and impolicy of inducing emigrants to come out to the country without any provision being made for their reception here. But, gentlemen, such never was my object, nor my desire ; but it was my deter- mination to force on the attention of the British Government, the British nation, the provincial government, and the Cana- dian people, the folly, the impossibility of neglecting any longer a measure of Colonization, which every Governor of these Colonies had pronounced necessary for the happiness and

64 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

safety of the country, and which every day's delay rendered more difficult of accomplishment. What success has attended my exertions time will show. But, gentlemen, owing to the pressure from without, to the zeal and talent of the Honourable Mr. Sullivan, to the unremitting assiduity of Col. Chisholm, to the unwearied interest manifested in the cause of Emigration by Sir Allan Macnab, to the pledge and address to Her Ma- jesty of the House of Assembly during the last Session, to the excellent feeling of the Lieutenant-Governor, and to the power and inclination of the Governor-General, a large portion of the most beautiful, the most fertile, of the public domain, has been now assigned and appropriated for the settlement of our brethren from the United Kingdom. Blessed with a climate singularly agreeable and salubrious, a soil rich in the ex- treme ; possessing vast hydraulic powers ; on the margin of a splendid lake, abounding with the choicest fish ; having the advantage of a noble harbour, screened from every wind, easily accessible on the one end to the metropolis of the province, and on the other, immediately contiguous to its richest and most thriving settlements — it may be safely augured that this location, now offered to British enterprise and industry, will flourish and prove a happy home to tens of thousands of our fellow-countrymen from the parent State.

" The tract of land to which I refer extends from Garrafraxa on the south, to Owen's Bay on Lake Huron on the north. At its south extremity it will be connected with the fertile lands of the Canada Company, with the townships of Nicol, Woolwich, and Gueli)h ; and with Lake Ontario by a road through to Oakville. To the north an easy route is found from Toronto, by Yonge Street, to Lake Simcoe, and over the short Portage road to Lake Huron, Besides these manifest advan- tages, by a reference to the map you will see this land forms a portion of that noble tract between the lakes, the broadest and deepest surveyed lands in the country — surveyors are now occupied in its survey ; a large town plot has been reserved by Owen's Bay ; sites fixed for mills with 100 feet perpendicular fall of water; portions have been set apart for schools, religious

AXD COLONIZATIOX. 65

edifices, and public purposes, — the roads tlirouglioiit will )3e made good and effective, and a cliain in width. Agents will be stationed there with lists of locations, and to impart every description of information; forty-five bushels of excellent wheat have already been gathered from one acre of land in the town- ship of St. Vincent ; and to render the whole arrangement as judicious and perfect as possible, a wise admixture will take place between native Canadians and their fellow-subjects from the British isles, by which the kindest feelings will be recipro- cated, established, and cherished, — the latter looking for instruc- tion in their new occupation from the former well qualified to impart it; and thus by this happy interchange of kindness, the emigrant will equally cherish a love for the land of his adop- tion, as of his birth, and say —

' Yet be it still my pride, To love the land I live in now ; But ever bear in heart and brow ; That wliere our fathers died.'

Circumstances are again painfully forcing the attention of Great Britain to the paramount, imperative necessity of cherishing, fostering, sustaining, and strengthening her colonial domi- nions."

After proceeding at great length to point out the value of our colonial trade, and alluding to the gratifying increase of the shipping arrived at Quebec this year, I concluded my observations as follows : —

" Gentlemen, a smooth and beautiful prospect of future advancement is opened before us. The progress the province has made, and the enterprise manifested this year, furnish us with the most assured hopes of continued improvement ; and we indulge in the anticipation that the time is not far distant, when this lovely country will furnish no unfavourable contrast with those of older date and larger means ; but that it will be recognised, under the fostering guidance of Great Britain, as one of its nearest, most flourishing, and most attractive possessions, and that in its strength and prosperity will be found security for the perpetuity of the integrity of the British Empire, and

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66 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

the preservation of British supremacy on the seas. I beg to return my most sincere thanks for the enthusiasm you have evinced on this occasion. To make the proffer, in return, of co-operation with you in the hallowed cause wliich brought us together, — the promotion of Emigration, — would be superfluous. I made a solemn pledge, at the great Edinburgh meeting, last winter, to attach myself irrevocably to this noble pursuit ; it has been a source of unfeigned delight to me, to have aroused a feeling favourable to these Colonies amongst a class of indi- viduals in Great Britain, who can and will effectually serve them, and promote their best interests. I feel deeply inter- ested in the advancement and prosperity of this province : there is no toil, however severe, or labour however prolonged, that I would not cheerfully undergo, to render Canada the emporium of British commerce, the sanctuary of British indus- try, the field for British enterprise, the storehouse for British manufactures, the granary for Great Britain, — wherewith to supply the deficiencies of her agriculture, the favoured abode for her surplus population, and the investment of her capital, and her exact model in everything that is great, honourable, glorious, and good."

After many patriotic toasts and patriotic speeches from Sir Allan JVIacnab, Isaac Buchanan, Esq., and others, the meeting- separated at a late hour, highly gratified with the proceedings. At Woodstock, the capital of the Brock District, I had also the honour to be entertained at a public dinner, in November, by all the tUte of that beautiful district of Canada, — the Hon. P. B. de Blaquiere presiding. I feel that I have already trespassed too long by the quotations from my speeches above inserted, to notice those delivered by me at Woodstock and Goderich ; but I cannot refrain from giving the following ex- tract from the Chairman's speech on jiroposing my health, from the Woodstock Herald, which gave a full report of the proceedings at that dinner.

" The Chairman then called their attention to the toast of the evening, and requested a flowing bumper. He said, ' Gen- tlemen, it is necessary for me in directing your attention to

AND COLONIZATION. 67

the great merits, and invaluable services of our guest, briefly to allude to the state and condition of this province for the three preceding years, and compare it with the present. Dis- turbed within ; assailed from without ; enterprise arrested ; commerce checked ; Emigration stopped ; gloom and despon- dency prevailing ; trade languishing ; despair almost existing through the mass of the people. At this critical moment, one patriotic spirit was found, who, unmoved by difficulties, unde- terred by prudential calculations, unaided by the province or the people, nobly resolved, at his own cost and at all risks, to make an eflPort on belialf of this province, in the United Kingdom. Convinced himself that its present peace, its future wealth, its lasting prosperity, could only be secured by the refreshing and invigorating stream of British Emigration, he crossed the Atlantic, and kindled in the breasts of the people of England, Ireland, and Scotland, a fervid zeal in favour of this Colony, similar to that whicli pervaded his OAvn, From the knowledge which his friends possessed of his information and ability, they augured success from his exertions and appeal ; but no one throughout the country Avas prepared for the astounding success which attended his efforts, and for which he merhs the lasting gratitude of Canada. I firmly believe, that no individual has done more for the province, and deserves better of it ; and assured that you entertain a like feeling with me, I propose to you the health of our worthy guest, Dr. Thomas Rolph, the champion of British Emigration.' The toast was received with every demonstration of regard."

This dinner, as in all similar instances, Avas followed by the formation of an Association for the promotion of Emigration.

A like manifestation of affection awaited my arrival at Goderich, a new and most flourishing town, situated at the confluence of the beautiful river Maitland, on that majestic inland sea, Lake Huron. The assemblage was very numerous and respectable. And here I cannot resist the gratification of giving the speech of that eminent and distinguished individual, alike known and respected at home as in the Colony, who

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presided on the occasion of the dinner, — I mean Dr. Dunlop, member for the County of Huron. In proposing- my health, he spoke as follows : —

" Gentlemen, — When any person makes a discovery, or is the father of an invention that is beneficial to his country or the world at large, straightway there arises a gabbling or hissing, and a flapping of wings among all the geese in the pond, who unable themselves to do anything of use to anybody, set to woi'k to decry what the successful inventor or discoverer has brought to light. One party says, that the thing was so very simple that they could have done it themselves, only they did not happen to think of it. Another, that centuries before he was born, the thing was known to all tlie world ; while the learned dunce asserts that it was plainly alluded to in Homer and Hesiod, and even hinted at in the book of Job. But whe- ther all or any of these allegations be true or false, the person to whom the world is indebted for a discovery is he who makes it known to the ])ublic, and brings it into practical operation.

" It is said that the Marquis of Worcester, in the time of Charles the First, understood the steam engine, but it is to James Newcommen, the Devonshire blacksmith, that the Avorld owes the practical application of steam, and it is to James Watt, the Greenock watchmaker, that we are indebted for that improvement in that miraculous power, which has produced, and is producing the greatest changes in the world that any inven- tion, save that of printing, has ever achieved. In like manner the Gloucestershire milk-maids were long ago aware of the efficacy of an eruptive disease that they contracted from their horned charge in preventing small-pox ; yet it is Dr. Jenner alone whom the world has to thank for the application of that principle which has almost banished from the world the most fatal and loathsome disease that ever scourged humanity. So with the labours of our friend, whose health I am about to propose, numbers may have thought, and talked, and written, on the subject of Emigration, but the gratitude of tiie mother country and the Colony is solely due to him who, at his own

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risk, boldly threw himselt'on the undertaking, and by his zeal, his talent, and his indefatigable industry, brought it to a suc- cessful issue.

" The wealth of a nation does not consist in gold and silver ; these are but a small part of the wealth of those nations which possess them in the greatest abundance. In this country, all the bullion coined and uncoined is not equal in value to the log shanties that the law does not think worthy of taxation. What then constitutes the wealth of a nation ? — The number of hands that it can usefully and profitably employ. However rich the soil, however salubrious the climate, whatever minerals may exist in the bowels of the earth, or fish in its waters, it is the labour of man alone that must render these available to the wants of man ; and that country is the most wealthy which to these blessings adds an intelligent and industrious popula- tion, capable of deriving the greatest benefit from these natural advantages.

" Look at the land around you : from the flood till within a few years ago, it was in a state of nature, and afforded only a scanty and precarious subsistence for a few roving barbarians, amounting in all to not quite 200 : by the labour of a single family one farm can produce more food fit for the human race than the whole district did twelve years ago.

" What then is our obvious policy ? To place every acre of it in a way to be made productive, for the much greater part of it is just as little productive as so many acres of Lake Huron. This can only be done by Emigration ; and I am proud to have the honour of proposing to you the health of the man who has first set the stone rolling, which will make the wilderness of Canada blossom as the rose, which will make the desert yield grass for the cattle, and food for the use of man, which in short will change a weak thinly peopled country into a rich and powerful land — ' Dr. Rolph ; and success to his laudable endeavours to promote Emigration.' Given with the Huron fire, and loud and rapturous cheering, which was renewed again and ao;ain."

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Following this dinner, an Emigration Society for the district was also formed.

The last dinner which I shall notice, was given to me at Brant- ford, in the neighbourhood of my own residence, in the month of November, my engagements having compelled me to decline several invitations.

"At six o'clock Major Winniett took the chair. Amongst the company present were Doctors A. Digby, Marter, and Keith: Messrs. Bethune, BuckM-ell, Buchanan, Coleman, Curtis, D'Au- bigny, Goode, W. Lefferty, J. Lefferty, Murphy Morsora, Moyle, Richardson, A. K, Smith, J.Smitli, Suter, Thomas, Wilkes, &c., &c. (fee. The room was tastefully decorated with green boughs, a handsome Union Jack was placed at one end of it, and an excellent efficient amateur band attended and played during the evening. After the cloth was removed, the Chairman gave the following toasts in succession : —

" The Queen — Three times three.

*' His Royal Highness Prince Albert — Three times three.

*' The Governor-General — Three times three.

" The Lieutenant-Governor — Three times three.

" The Army and Navy — Three times three.

" The Chairman said,T]iat although he was quite unused to public speaking, and on that account must claim their indul- gence, he could not merely propose the next toast, as matter of form, or as an ordinary one, without remark. He could not but make an endeavour to give utterance to his feelings, when he witnessed so large and so highly respectable a company as- sembled to do honour to that gentleman who was to form the toast. We had all lamented the continued decrease of Emi- gration to this province, until it had actually dwindled to no- thing. It required a mighty effort to overcome the gloom and despondency which had generally prevailed. One individual appeared, who soon, by liis zeal, talent, and exertions, re- stored confidence in our resources, and Emigration to our shores. He should only re-echo the sentiments of the whole province

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71

in saying, that that gentleman deserved most richly the thanks, and gratitude, and support of it ; and he should propose, with great delight, 'The Health of their honoured and distinguished guest. Dr. Thomas Rolph, the champion of Emigration.' The whole company rose and continued cheering for some time ; which having subsided, Mr. D'Aubigny sang ' Hail ! to thee, England, blest Isle of the Ocean !'

" On rising to return thanks. Dr. Rolph was greeted again with renewed and rapturous applause. He spoke as follows : —

" ' Gentlemen of Brantford, — I have really been occupied so much of late in returning thanks for the overwhelming testi- monies of regard which have awaited my return in every part of the province, that I know not how to vary my language in this grateful task. I must be like Sterne, take a word at ran- dom, and trust to Providence for the next. I am, however, fully sensible of the kindness which has been manifested to- wards me this day, and especially for the more than ordinary compliments paid to me in the requisition which was sent by my friend Dr. Digby, who witnessed the efforts of the North American Colonial Committee in London, who attended seve- ral meetings, and who induced some of the influential mem- bers of his highly respectable family to become members of that Association ; and to his zeal and kindness I attribute the pre- sent numerous assemblage. Few places have profited more by Emigration than Brantford and its vicinity, and few places would probably be more benefited by the restoration of it, to its largest extent. Connected by a public road, partly macad- amized, with Lake Ontario, — by a navigable river, and canals with Lakes Erie and Ontario, — on the high road to Lake Huron, and surrounded by the richest agricultural district in the pro- vince, it combines many powerful natural advantages, only to be rendered useful to the i)eople, or the province, by the influx of numbers and wealth. Few people could believe a fact so dis- creditable to the province, that whilst nearly every Colony has some person to give information to inquiring settlers in the United Kingdom, Canada has none. In the city of Aberdeen alone, there are several societies for aiding settlement and pub-

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lie improvements in various parts of the United States: two Companies connected with Illinois, two with Wisconsin, one with Michigan, one with Galena, and one for the General States, called the North American Investment Company. Why is Canada neglected? Not from any want of affection on the part of Scotland towards her — of that I speak unhesitatingly — but solely from the indifference of the Colony to her own inter- ests, and the prosecution of party squabbles. I trust this lamentable state of things has passed away, and brighter pros- pects are unfolding to our gaze. Everywhere I have been I have met at the same table former antagonists, united on the subject of attracting Emigration from the i)arent State to this Colony. The wise and judicious system of making free grants of land to actual settlers, will prove an important assistance to the colonization of this country, and redound to the honour of the Governor-General and the Lieutenant-Governor of this jn-o- vince. It will afford unspeakable delight to the peoj)le through- out the country, that their Excellencies have encouraged the societies forming, and formed, for the purpose of promoting Emigration, and have promised to assist them by every means in their power. It is most gratifying to think, that the gentle- men requested to act as directors throughout the province, have all, but in one solitary instance, joyfully and zealously under- taken their respective offices, — affording conclusive assurance, that under such auspices, and by such efforts. Emigration will once more gladden our shores, quicken our industry, enhance our possessions, stimulate our enterprise, enlarge our commerce, facilitate our internal communications, and add permanently to the peace, prosperity, and Avelfare of this noble province. 1 have not attended a party like the present since my return to Canada, but I have met round the festive board either indivi- duals who met me in the parent State, or those whose friends most hospitably entertained me. Of Dr. Digby I have already made mention ; and I see a gentleman at this table whose imme- diate relatives, the most distinguished merchants in the city of Cork, known and honoured for their Avealth, intelligence, in- fluence, and probity, extended their great kindness to me. I

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wish to see the people of this province emulate the conduct of their fellow-subjects at home, in prosecuting the task of settling this country. I am rejoiced to find that Brantford is about to organize for this purpose.

" ' This undertaking should be pursued in a spirited and libe- ral manner. Its beneficial conserpiences to the province all admit ; and in proportion to the encouragement afforded our friends in the United Kingdom, by the small sacrifice we are called upon to make, will it be found, "There is that which scattereth and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."

" ' Some of those captious and querulous ol)jectors to every thing that does not emanate from themselves, and who take care seldom to do anything but find fault with others, shake their wise heads, and say it is impossible that single exertions can do much to promote Emigration ; it must be a combined move- ment ; when a combined movement takes place, then it must be a Government movement ; and when they find even a Go- vernment action takes place, then there is some excuse they offer for a continuance of their captious, miserable, and selfish opposition. But, gentlemen, it is only by each individual doing his utmost in the respective sphere of his exertions, without stopping to inquire in what degree others may be disposed to co-operate with him, that any great object or extensive good can be effected. The contagion of enthusiasm is such, that one example of determination and perseverance, amidst slander, misrepresentation, or indiff'erence, through evil report and good report, accomplishes much, and quietly and imperceptibly moulds the minds of others into a conformity of feeling, and a combination of purpose.

" ' If there were difficulties formerly to encounter, there are none now. Sharpe, the great philanthropist, when he almost stood alone in his beneficent career, said there are few difficul- ties that hold out against real attacks; they fly, like the visible horizon, before those who advance. A well directed zeal and perseverance can perform what appear impossibilities to the

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cold and indifferent. We should not allow ourselves to be dis- couraged by the apparent disproportion between the result of single efforts, and the magnitude of the obstacle to be encoun- tered. Nothing good or great is to be obtained without courage and industry. It is knowledge that is the Emigrant's hope, solace, and assurance ; for the world must have remained un- ornamented and unimproved, if men had nicely compared the effect of a single stroke of the chisel with the pyramid to be raised, or of a single impression of the spade with the moun- tain to be levelled, or of the solitary stroke of the axe with the forest to be subdued.

" ' Gentlemen, I am gratified beyond measure to find the cor- dial union which exists in Brantford, as elsewhere, on this inter- esting subject. It will do more to attract Emigration, restore confidence, and cause the investment of capital in the country, than can be well imagined ; and in the contemplation of the renewed exertion and enterprise that will be consequent on this happy union, we shall adopt tliat motto which has often led to victory, and is emblazoned on the flag of the British Isles, Quis separabit?' "

I hope the British public will not be led to think, in the circumstance of my giving these details, that self-glorification is my object. My life, for the hist six years, is identified with the movements of a great national question, and these dinners are manifestations of the general feeling and deep interest with which it is surrounded in the noblest portion of our Colonial empire. Neither were these entertainments, so honourable and gratifying to myself, mere matters of course, which passed away with the day : they bore practical fruit, by leading to the formation of a Central Association, in the city of Toronto, for Emigration, extending its ramifications over the whole of Canada. This body, styled " The Canada Emigration Associa- tion,'' was constituted on the 14th of October, 1840, at a large meeting of the Home District, convened by the high sheriff, on the requisition of 120 freeholders. Both the Governor-General

AND COLONIZATION. 75

of Canada, and the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, most highly approved of this step, and consented to become patrons of the society. At a meeting of the Association, on tlie r2th of November, it was

" Moved by Colonel FitzGibbon, and seconded by Sir Allan N. Macnab, and

" Resolved, — That in consequence of the universal confi- dence reposed in Dr. Rolph during his recent tour in the United Kingdom, by the influential bodies formed there for the pro- motion of Emigration to Canada, the respect entertained for him by the province in general, and the deep conviction felt by this Association in particular, of the value of his services in that cause, rendered at great pecuniary sacrifice to himself, means be forthwith raised to enable him to proceed to Eng- land, to meet the North American Colonial Committee, in order to act as agent of this Association in the furtherance of Emi- gration to Canada."

And on the 19th of the same month, the following Address was unanimously adopted : —

" The Directors of the Canada Emigration Association having this day assembled, pursuant to a resolution passed at the late general meeting of the friends of Emigration, deem it advisable to lay before the public the object of their union, and the mode in which they propose that it shall be effected.

" Their object is to promote the wealth and population of the province, by affording increased facilities to the settlement of persons emigrating from the British Isles; more especially by removing those obstacles which have hitherto so materially impeded the introduction into this province, and perverted into another channel, those valuable members of society upon whom our agricultural and commercial prosperity so essentially depends, — the labouring farmers and artizans, without whom it is vain to expect that the more wealthy class of settlers will bring hither their capital. It is confidently hoped that the society's exertions will effect a great increase of happiness to the persons intended to be primarily benefited, to be followed

76 SYSTEMATIC E:\tIGRATION

very soon by a proportionate advance in value of the posses- sions of those who, with a wise self-interest, shall contribute liberally to the cause.

" It is unnecessary now to set forth the importance of Colonization when judiciously directed. Its advantages are manifest; affording to the parent state a corrective to a redun- dant population, an extension of its commerce, and a market for its manufactures; to the man with capital, who finds in a country abounding with it a difficulty in securing a profitable investment, it affords opportunities of a rapid increase, without the risks of speculation ; while, to the Emigrant destitute of capital — or, rather, possessing only that best and safest of capi- tals,— industry and health, it has proved to thousands a blessed change from indigence to independence ; and will so continue to all who do not ensure their disappointment by the unreason- ableness of their expectations. Its advantages are equally obvious to the country which, by its vast resources and natural treasures, affords a field for the enterprise of the one class, and a reward for the industry of the other,

" The Association is cheered and supported by perceiving how rapidly this conviction has lately extended throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland; Avhere men, the highest in rank and in wealth, judging accurately from previous results, have benevolently united themselves in Societies to enable their poorer fellow-subjects to participate in the benefits of Coloni- zation : and it is mainly with a view to co-operate with those patriotic bodies, that the present Association has been formed — convinced as the members are, that, however active indivi- dual benevolence may be, its effects may be greatly increased by combination and unity of purpose. If any sanction were wanting to persons entertaining doubts of the practical good and the national importance of the subject, it will be found in the elaborate Report of the House of Commons, and in the several resolutions and earnest Addresses of our Provincial Legislature.

" There never was a period in the history of the jirovince, when the exertions of an Association like the present could

AND COLONIZATION. 77

promise such happy results. Great public works have been accomplished for the facilitating of social intercourse, and the transport of commodities — works which would be deemed great in any country upon earth — the Welland, the Rideau, and other artificial navigations, connecting our inland seas with each other and with the ocean ; macadamized roads are in- tersecting the province in every direction; other extensive Avorks of the same kind, together with railroads, are either in the course of construction or intended to be constructed ; the statistics of the country, and the inexhaustible capabilities of the land, are become thoroughly known ; and, above all, the country is at peace, within and without, and men, by common consent, are uniting, by a laudable attention to private good, to swell the aggregate of public prosperity.

" The Executive Government, too, is actively at work for the good of those under its protection, especially in the forming of roads and rendering some of tlie most fertile tracts in the country accessible for settlement. It is making preparations on a o-rand scale for those who choose to avail themselves of its paternal aid ; but great as is its power, and wise and bene- volent as they may be who wield it, there is still a vast amount of good connected with the Colonization of this country, which circumstances have rendered it impossible for the local Govern- ment to perform. It is precisely that deficiency which it is in the power of the Emigration Association to supply, if they be joined and sustained by the good sense and good feeling of the country: nay, even the self-interest of individuals will, if judiciously exercised, contribute to the common good.

" An evil attendant upon the Colonization of Canada, in times past, is industriously represented as still existing in its aggravated forms, by those who would deter settlers from se- lecting this province as their home. It is urged that nearly all the lands within the settled precincts of the province have passed into the hands of private individuals; and that the new Emigrant must necessarily go far into the depths of the forest, remote from the peopled settlements; where, whatever may be

78 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

the excellence of his land, he will be remote from markets, mills, or even roads or the means of procuring labour or sup- plies, during the first years of his residence.

" These difficulties have existed to a great and disheartening extent, sometimes so as to induce the settler to abandon his possessions. It is true also that a great proportion of the land, especially in the older surveyed townships, comprehending the choicest locations, in the neighbourhood of roads and navi- gable waters, now belongs to private individuals ; and it is this very fact that enables the Association to be of the most essen- tial service. These tracts are at present unproductive to the owner, and if retained in their wild state, with the view to their owners obtaining higher prices, would interpose such a serious obstacle to the settlement of the country, as might well justify the Legislature in imposing a tax upon lands kept unimproved from so selfish and narrow a policy. The Association are happy in knowing, — for many of such proprietors are among its most zealous members, — that such lands generally remain in their profitless fertility, only because the hand of man is wanting to turn them into productive cornfields and animated pastures; and that if their fellow-countrymen were here to make use of them, they would be happy in giving to them portions equal to their utmost wants without money and without price; — yes, and every other aid which could tend to their future advantage. And this, too, without any afiectation of generosity on the part of the members of the Association ; for they are well aware, that, by the settlement and cultivation of a portion of their lands, the adjoining part will become better worth the pur- chasing by future Emigrants, or by the settler himself when he shall have become prosperous.

" This system of free grants of portions of private properties scattered over the whole province, and therefore presenting endless choice of locality, in respect to previous settlement of friends, Sec, to such persons as have no money to pay, or having small means mi^ht more beneficially to themselves and the country apply them to accelerate the improvement of the

AND COLONIZATION. 79

land, forms the principal feature in the scale of the Association, by which they hope to be useful to their countrymen. But it is only one : there are cases, where not only the poor, but even the comparatively affluent settler, has had to encounter diffi- culties which might well dishearten him, and even drive him to abandon his enterprise. Many members of this Association have had practical knowledge of the evils which they are now intent upon averting from others, and are desirous of giving their experience without its price. The establishment of their Registry Office for the sale of lands not devoted to the above stated object, and for supplying accurate information, statistical and otherwise, will be found of great use to such as are beyond the necessity of receiving any other kind of assistance ; while in locating those who shall be disposed to accept of their land, they will carefully avoid the evil before mentioned, — of sending them where they will be isolated and solitary ; but under such an arrangement as will ensure to each the comforts of society, while he is engaged in the first, and in all cases the most dis- couraging task he has to encounter — subduing the forest.

" The practical object of the Association is to establish, in connexion with the societies in Great Britain and Ireland, an effectual system, as well as direct Colonization, as of aid and assistance to Emigrants generally, Avhether rich or poor — sup- plying information to the one, and permanent employment or locations in land to the other. To such emigrants with fami- lies as shall come out under the auspices or with the special recommendation of the societies at home, it is proposed to give fifty acres each, upon condition of actual settlement and clearing a space of ten acres of the front of their locations, erecting a dwelling-house, &c. for themselves, and clearing one-half of that portion of the road lying in front of the lot of which their grant forms a part. The use and possession of this land will be secured to them immediately ; and after three years' actual residence, and the performance of the conditions above specified, a deed in fee simple, without charge, will be given to them.

" For the convenience of emigrants generally, an office will be opened in Toronto for the registration of all lands possessed

80 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

by private individuals, with descriptions of the lots, concessions, townships, districts, &c., classifying the same under the several heads of ' lands for sale,' for ' lease,' or for ' free settlement' under the direction of this Association, — with every information con- nected therewith ; their local peculiarities, situation in relation to roads, mills, markets, &c. ; the nature of the adjacent set- tlements ; the countries from which the settlers therein came ; together with every matter, the previous knowledge of which may tend to save the applicant the labour and time of personal inspection. It is further proposed, that full abstracts of all the above matter should be placed in the hands of the different societies in Great Britain, in order that even there some reason- ably accurate information might be obtained before passing the Atlantic.

" Books and subscriptions will be opened in every town and township in the province. A contribution of 205. annually will constitute a member, qualified to vote for directors ; of £12 lOs., or a gift of land equivalent in value, will qualify such contributor to be elected a director.

" These books will remain open at the different places, and returns from time to time be made by the secretaries ; and the subscribers of land will be called, when necessary, to make the proper conveyances to the trustees for the purposes of the Association.

" Upon these principles, and with a view to such plan, the Association earnestly call upon inhabitants of this province to contribute in their degree to the cause of Colonization, whe- ther by gifts of land or otherwise, in the full confidence that in proportion to the good which they shall confer upon their country, will be the benefit re-acting upon their individual prosperity."

From the spirit generally evinced through the province, and also from desires earnestly expressed from highly influ- ential quarters in the mother country, in the end of November, I had the honour and gratification to receive the official appointment from Lord Sydenham, of Agent for the Govern-

AND COLONIZATION. 81

ment of Canada for Emigration. In the letter, bearing date Montreal, the 25th of November, communicating this appoint- ment, the private secretary of the Governor-General acquainted me as follows : —

*' His Excellency directs me to assure you that he highly estimates the very valuable services which you have rendered both to the Colony and the mother country, by your exertions in drawing public attention to the subject of Emigration, and that it will atford him sincere pleasure to assist you, so far as his means admit of his doing so, in the prosecution of your individual labours, or to avail himself of your abilities in the prosecution of this object on the public account."

After regretting the paucity of the funds placed at his disposal for the promotion of Emigration, and expressing a fervent hope that he might be enabled to obtain from the Crown revenues, previous to their transfer to the province on the Union coming into effect, additional means for this valuable object, his instructions proceeded : —

" The degree to which this last mentioned course can be adopted, must depend in a great measure upon the legislature of the province, by whom the extent of public works to be undertaken, as well as the distribution of public lands, must be regulated : but something may be done by the executive, and certainly by private individuals also, who being themselves proprietors of lands which are now almost valueless, have the strongest interest in promoting the settlement of parts of them, with the view of rendering the remainder of value ; and the Governor-General will do all in his power, both on the part of the executive, and in co-operation with those bodies and per- sons who have at last turned their attention to the subject, to perfect measures by which the objects which he has designated above may be attained.

" The best consideration which the Governor-General can give to the important subject of Emigration leads him to believe, that the best means of promoting it, under the circum- stances in which the Canadas are now placed, are, first, to encourage the voluntary Emigration of the natives of the

G

82 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

Briti8h Isles, by explaining- and enforcing at home the advan- tages which may reasonably be expected by those who will thus seek to establish themselves in this country, and by assist- ing, with advice and information, those persons there, who, from motives of benevolence, or with a desire to relieve their neighbourhood from a superabundant population, may be will- ing to combine, in order to afford the means of transporting poor labourers and their families to these shores. And next, to take such measures within the Colony as shall secure to the Emigrant on his arrival ready means of employment, either from private individuals, upon public works, or by settlement united with public works, as has been already done on the Garafraxa Road.

" With respect to the first course he has pointed out, his Excellency is of opinion that the employment of an Agent in England fairly falls within the intention of the parliamentary grant which has been placed at his disposal, and there is no one whose services in that situation can in his opinion be considered more valuable than your own ; especially as he has understood from you, that you are of opinion that arrangements might be made with various proprietors in Great Britain, by which not only Emigrants would be transported here with their families, but security given that they should be maintained during the first few months, which, as you are well aware, is, in the event of their settling without capital, indispensable. If, therefore, the pecuniary remuneration which it will be in his Excellency's power to afford for such a purpose can be arranged, he will have great pleasure in deputing you to England to pursue your labours there during the ensuing winter and spring, and if you can attend him at Montreal, when the matter may be discussed more fully, he will be happy to enter on it with you."

Having received this communication from his Excellency, 1 proceeded to Montreal with all diligence, and, en route, the Midland District Emigration Society convened a meeting in the Court House at Kingston, presided over by John S. Cart- wright, Esq., member for Lennox and Addington, on which occasion I addressed the meeting as follows : —

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" Gentlemen, — Previous to my departure from this province, in May 1839, I came down to Kingston to join the beloved friend at whose pressing instigation I undertook to bring before my fellow-subjects in the United Kingdom, the peculiar apti- tude of this province for the reception of Emigrants, the investment of capital, and the wide field it opened for British enterprise. One gentleman connected with the jDublic jiress, present at that meeting, was pleased to express his conviction that I was qualified for my undertaking ; and it is most grati- fying indeed to me to find that previous to my arrival here, that opinion was confirmed by a vote of the inhabitants of this town, for which I noAv return them my sincerest thanks.

" I have had occasion on so many recent instances to describe the existing feeling in the United Kingdom in favour of assisting the inhabitants of these provinces, in their patriotic exertions to secure the inestimable blessings of extended Colo- nization from the parent State, that I am afraid of being tedious and repeating an oft told tale; but as it is to produce practical results, I trust I shall stand acquitted for directing your atten- tion to this important matter. After visiting many parts of Ireland, Scotland, and England, forming societies for the fur- therance of Emigration to Canada, I was solicited by the Colonial Society in London to deliver a public address at their rooms on the subject, After having done so, the Earl of Mountcashell, and my zealous and patriotic friend. Dr. Ifill, pro- posed that we should form an association, under the auspices of the Colonial Society, consisting of such members of it as be- longed to British North America, and others who felt interested in the cause of Emigration to it. We did so, and found to our inconceivable gratification that we daily added to our numbers, until we had enrolled in this hallowed undertaking the most dignified, illustrious, influential, wealthy, independent, and patriotic individuals from the peerage, the senate, the gentry, the clergy, the bar, the commerce, the manufactures, and the agriculture of the United Kingdom. With this patriotic body I continued to act as Honorary Secretary, until they were in full activity, perfect organization, and permanent formation;

a 2

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and as they adjourned until January, I returned to give this gratifying information to this province, and to request on their behalf a simultaneous co-operation, a cordial assistance, and the necessary degree of intelligence, to enable them to serve this country effectually. This, gentlemen, they expect of you, and this I am convinced you are prepared to impart. Year after year the country in its length and breadth has expressed its entire conviction that Emigration and capital are indispen- sable auxiliaries to its prosperity and welfare. From the first moment Emigration declined, inquietude prevailed, strife increased, discontent extended, property deteriorated, public improvements were stayed, and gloom pervaded all classes. For a moment the attempt of the rebel and the assault of the invader united the country to resist the machinations of the one, and chastise the insolence of the other ; and no sooner had the province passed over the winter than I felt an assurance that not a moment was to be lost, in an endeavour to restore the tide of Emigration to our neglected, almost unknown, but noble country ; and I cannot sufficiently thank the people for the overwhelming kindness they have shown me, and the gene- rous confidence they have evinced towards me for my efforts. The greater proportion of the Emigrants of this season, amount- ing to between 20 and 30,000, have been absorbed in tlie vicinity of this district, and in the adjoining rich agricul- tural district of Prince Edward, whilst the commerce of this town has exhibited an increase alike gratifying and unparal- leled. I am quite anxious to see our majestic lakes and lovely rivers covered with vessels and merchandize, as well as our fertile fields with grain. Commerce and agriculture must go hand in hand ; we greatly promote the interest of the mother country by encouraging a commercial navy. She has immense Colonies to defend, and a large, almost incalculable body of commercial interests to foster. Our empire, — of which the parts widely separated by nature can be no otherwise kept in political or moral union, but by a force which links together the shores of opposite hemispheres as with a mooring-chain, and secures as by a floating bridge the peaceful and profitable

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intercourse of their respective inhabitants, — the British empire is maritime in its essence, and when no longer omnipotent on the ocean, is an empire no more. Nowhere is this sentiment more cherished, or its vahie more felt, than in British North America, whose united prayer is that Britannia may still rule the waves. Gentlemen, I am rejoiced that Kingston under- stands how much British supremacy depends on British Emi- gration. I am delighted at the formation of this influential association. Your friends in Great Britain solicited it ; in their name I thank you for acceding to their request. You can do them no greater favour than communicating with them constantly ; directing their exertions, imparting your expe- rience, making known to them your wishes. This delightful and necessary alliance opens a vista of coming years of pro- sperity and happiness, kindliness and affection : we shall behold agriculture flourishing, prosperity accumulating, capital increasing, commercial enterprise invigorating, our harbours crowded with vessels, our lakes with sails, rail-roads inter- secting the surface of the country, fields bearing golden crops, and above all, a contented, happy, generous, loyal, and indus- trious people."

On arriving at Montreal, a large and influential meeting of the merchants and citizens of that noble city took place at the Exchange, the account of which I extract from the Montreal Herald of the following day. The Hon. Mr. M'Gill presided. After various addresses, the following resolution, moved by J. Dougall, Esq., and seconded by J. Matthewson, Esq., was adopted.

" Resolved,— ThoX Dr. Rolph, by his able and unwearied ad- vocacy of a systematic plan of Immigration, has conferred a great benefit on the provinces, and that the thanks of this meet- ing, on that account, are due, and are hereby given to that gentleman. Carried unanimously.

" After the applause which succeeded the carrying of this re- solution, Dr. Holph rose and addressed the assembly as follows, and during its delivery was listened to throughout with marked attention, and frequently interrupted by bursts of applause ;—

8© SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

" Gentlemen, — I feel greatly obliged to you for your nume- rous attendance this day, for the purpose of adding the weight of your character, influence, and co-operation to that of your fellow-suhjects in the Upper Province, who have constituted themselves into an association for the promotion of a syste- matic Immigration from the United Kingdom.

" The benevolence and patriotism for which this noble city has been ever conspicuous, was a suflicient guarantee, that an object, alike demanded by a suffering population at home, and a wilderness to people here, could not be viewed with indiffe- rence by the inhabitants of Montreal ; and seeing that such deep interest has been evinced, an additional inducement will now be afforded to the Upper Province to pursue with untiring energy their patriotic resolves.

" I am proud to avail myself of this opitortunity of testify- ing to the zeal and alacrity with which his Excellency the Governor-General has afforded his powerful support and coun- tenance to the objects contemplated by Immigration Associa- tions, equally by the honour of his patronage, and the earnest- ness of his disposition to promote their views. I am grateful to his Excellency for having armed me with a power, and placed me under a responsibility, that will enable me to prosecute my future labours in a manner far more gratifying to my feelings than heretofore. My late venei'ated and beloved friend Bishop Macdonell, whose long and illustrious career, ennobled by every grace that could adorn the Christian and dignify the patriot, and who has left an imperishable monument in the hearts of the people, from the success which resulted from his early exertions in the cause of British Immigration, urged me to accompany him to Great Britain, to restore that confidence in the stability and tranquillity of Canada which events had almost destroyed. I did so on my own responsibility ; and although I have been called to account by none but those hostile to Immigration altogether, and to British Immigration in particular, I am far better pleased that I am now to be accountable for the informa- tion I impart, and the advice I give. The object of the Asso- ciation forming in England is to induce the Emigrating portion

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of the British community to direct their inquiries as to the apti- tude of Canada for their settlement, — to solicit this information from Canada, in order to impart it to their fellow-countrymen in the British Isles, — to collect means, and adopt measures, in con- junction either with the Government, or with bodies in Canada, whereby the suffering industrious masses may be settled, — to afford such means of subsistence as shall place them beyond the reach of want, at the same time carefully guarding against their fostering those habits of dependence which nurture indo- lence, and prevent that reliance on industry which is a warrant for its success, and generally, by every means in their power, to establish a system of Colonization, creditable to themselves, be- neficial to the Immigrant, advantageous to the Colony, honour- able to the empire, and calculated to augment that endearing affinity which it is to be hoped will ever continue between Ca- nada and Great Britain.

"In the admirable Report just read to you, it will be seen, that of the numbers who emigrated this year from the British Isles, there were less from Scotland, from whence most were expected, than from other portions of the United Kingdom. This arose from the humane anxiety of the proprietors, who, as they were willing to aid in the settlement of their tenantry, even by encumbering themselves, hesitated to do so, until they were assured that either from Government or private bodies locations of land could be obtained for them on which to reside. The vast territory now offered for settlement, on such judicious principles, by the Government, will remove the apprehension of the proprietors, and the funds which have been raised by private means in Scotland will enable many to take advantage of the settlements offered by the Association. Mr. Peter Buchanan, the brother of one of the most munificent and inde- fatigable of the Vice-Presidents of our Society at Toronto, will bear witness that I dissuaded many families from embarking from Glasgow last season, who were desirous of coming out, until I could satisfy them, that the ' reception and provision,' which have so much alarmed some persons, was really made.

" The objects of the Canadian Immigration Association are

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set forth in their Address ; but one of the great advantages which will inevitably result from this powerful and patriotic combination, will be to force into cultivation some of those fer- tile tracts of land which have been secured by possessors, many of whom do not even reside in the province, and who have only hitherto looked forward to obtain benefits arising from the toil and exertions of others.

" Through the incitement given, and the means afforded by this Association, they will no longer now have either induce- ment or pretext to keep back their fertile possessions from more industrious hands, leaving them in the wilderness of na- ture to become eventually valuable by that very industry which they had heretofore counteracted and chilled. Men of small capital — a portion of that glorious yeomanry of England, that genuine heart of oak, which has made her name illustrious, and her annals renowned, and who have not now a full scope for their exertions in the overcrowded condition of the rural population — would feel it their interest, guided by guarded and faithful statements, to embark their small capital in a country, where, with common prudence and industry, and the advantages now offered by the Association, they will ensure in- dependent competence and comparative affluence to their pos- terity. In a commercial country like Great Britain, the capital carried from it to a Colony is not lost, but increased ; the market for their commodities, afforded by a flourishing and in- creasing Colony, is a source of wealth far exceeding what the same investment could have produced at home; and the judi- cious transfer of her population, and investment of her capital, will prove productive of solid advantages to both. The yeomanry of Great Britain, whilst they would become the best settlers in Canada, would also be the best customers of the mother country : robust in frame, frugal in habits, cheerful in their deportment, moderate in their desires, assiduous in their occupations, essentially British in their feelings and cus- toms, I know of no population more to be encouraged, or which would be more enthusiastically welcomed than them- selves. It is undeniable that gentlemen of good property,

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unaccustomed to agricultural pursuits, and the unavoidable difficulties of a new country, having embarked their whole means in their first outlay, have experienced much disappoint- ment. This class I would earnestly dissuade from exhausting their whole resources in their first outlay, and caution them to reserve a sufficiency from whence they can draw an annual income to supply those wants which they have been so accus- tomed on others to depend. The hardy and industrious yeoman has difficulties and hardships to encounter in the first subjuga- tion of the forest, — for these all ought to be prepared ; but these difficulties and hardships are all at the beginning of their course, and can be triumphantly surmounted by British arms, as the Huron and Newcastle Districts amply testify. Instead of looking forward to an increase of them, with an increasing family they diminish ; instead of regretting the past and dreading the future more and more, each succeeding year their prospects become brighter, and their resources more abundant. Year after year the forest recedes before the persevering culti- vator— fresh fields are clothed with corn or herbage — stock multiplies — increasing produce enables more improvements to be extended — the log hut is converted into a comfortable dwelling, and the unproductive thicket into a well stocked farm. Turning from individual to national views and interests, it is impossible for any statesman to undervalue the transcen- dant importance of Canada to the Crown of Great Britain, whether viewed as a commercial, military, or naval station ; or of feeling a deep conviction that, in other and in adverse hands, it would prove destructive of British supremacy. — The position of Montreal itself is almost demonstrative of that fact. Con- nected with Europe by the Ocean, with the larger portion of the Continent of America by the lakes, it is the natural halting place between the East and West, the highway and thorough- fare to both ; and its increased and increasing commerce arises from its being the emporium for the manufactures of Great Britain and the agricultural produce of America. This noble province has this great British recommendation, that it is well fitted to become the land of our children, the land of our

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affections. It is the noblest of England's Colonies, because the likest to England herself. With inexhaustible resources she possesses unequalled Avater communication to convey them to British markets ; and with every material advantage which prodigal nature could bestow, she requires but that transfer from the parent state which will assist her and us, to render her the most flourishing, as she is unquestionably the most attractive and nearest, of the British Colonies. These consider- ations will prompt the citizens of Montreal to combine with their fellow subjects in the Upper Province, and with their fellow subjects in the United Kingdom, to aid and facilitate the settlement of the country by their fellow countrymen from the British isles. The times are singularly propitious for making a powerful effort to accomplish this desirable end. Great value is now attached to Colonial possessions by the parent State, and an earnest anxiety evinced to render them contented, pros- perous, and happy. To promote this hallowed cause, there exists a combination of every interest, incited by patriotism, prompted by humanity, and justified by experience. The pro- prietary of the United Kingdom will find in Colonization an effective measure of relief for their crowded, suffering, but willing, hardy, and industrious peasantry : the Government will be powerfully strengthened, not by a people whose every effort, and whose utmost ingenuity, is racked to discover some means or course to embarrass and oppose it, nor by those who will prove indifferent or apathetic to its stability and se- curity, but by those who will — as those already settled from the United Kingdom have done — nobly, warmly, gratefully, gene- rously, and loyally sustain it against the rampant designs of fac- tion, let them be cloaked under what disguise they may. The landed interest of Great Britain will be eager to encourage and receive Canadian produce to satisfy and appease the call for cheap bread ; the manufacturer will be delighted to send the product of his skill in exchange ; the country will not be ex- hausted of her bullion by foreign powers ; whilst the adven- turous and honourable merchant, — the guardian of the British commercial navy, — will be equally prompted to extend his en-

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terprise, adding alike to the glory, strength, and importance of the maritime interests of the empire. Sustained in these exer- tions by the Government, impelled by self-interest, prompted by powerful combination and co-operation, the time has arrived when Canada must be settled, and the perpetuity of its con- nexion with the British realms secured."

Whilst at Montreal, and previous to my departure, I re- ceived my official instructions from the Vice Chancellor of the province, the President of " The Canada Emigration Associa- tion," from which I give the following short extract : —

*' Toronto,\^th Decemhe7\\^4Q. — Sir, — You will be pleased, on your arrival in England, to place yourself in communication with the North American Colonial Committee, and such other Societies or Associations as are or may be formed, for the pro- motion of Emigration from the British Isles to Canada."

With these plenary powers, I proceeded to England. The inhabitants of the eastern townships assembled at Sherbrooke,, on my arrival on the morning of Christmas Day, to deliver a congratulatory address to me, and to express the most cordial and entire concurrence in the views and objects of the various Associations formed in Western Canada, and their hearty desire to co-operate with them. On this occasion I also made an address, which was warmly received ; after which the following resolution, moved by H. Armour, Esq., and seconded by Col. Gordon, was unanimously adopted: —

"That the thanks of this meeting are due to Dr. Thomas Rolph, for his able address this day delivered, explanatory of his views on the subject of Emigration, and for his past exer- tions in bringing within the notice of the British public, the vast resources which these provinces present for the employ- ment of the superabundant capital and population of Britain."

Thus finished my labours for the year 1840. The Emigra- tion to Canada this year showed the gratifying amount of 22,234, being an increase of nearly 15,000 on the preceding- year.

1841. On the 1st of January, 1841, I sailed from Boston,

92 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

and arrived in England about the 15tli of that month. On the 30th, the first meeting of the North American Colonial Com- mittee took place at the rooms of the Colonial Society, St. James's Square, the Earl of Mountcashell in the chair. On this occasion I resumed my duties as Honorary Secretary, and gave a very lengthened narrative of the interesting proceedings which had taken place during ray visit to the Canadian pro- vinces, and of the universal joy which had been diffused through their length and breadth, by the information which I had had the pleasure to lay before them. After hearing the statements which I had to make, W. S. O'Brien, Esq., M.P., rose, and said it was quite unnecessary in him, after what they had heard to- day, and what they had witnessed last year, to preface the re- solution which he intended to propose by any lengthened observations ; but having been always a zealous friend to Emi- gration, and seeing now so good a prospect open to their exer- tions, mainly through the instrumentality of Dr. Rolph, he should propose : —

" That this Committee congratulate Dr. Rolph on his re- turn to this country, as the accredited agent of the Canadas, and to express their confidence in his ability, perseverance, and integrity."

Colonel Sir Duncan Macdougall, Knt., seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.

During the month following, at a meeting of the Commit- tee held on the 3rd, which was numerously attended, John Bowie, Esq., W.S., addressed the Committee at great length on the alarming condition of the Highlands, and Mr. Justice Hagerman, of Canada, on the policy of relieving it by exten- sive Immigration to North America. It was also resolved that a Sub-Committee should be appointed to report on the progress of Immigration to North America.

Accordingly, the following Report was drawn up and adopted, viz.: —

" The Sub-Committee appointed to report on the progress of Immigration to the British North American Colonies, are

AND COLONIZATION. 93

enabled to state with much satisfaction the following, as the result of their investigation :

" There was a large amount of Immigration from Great Britain to her North American Colonies during the past year, when upwards of 23,000 persons arrived at Quebec, and more than 7,000 at the port of St. John's, New Brunswick. Of the Immigrants who arrived at various outports and at Cape Breton, Prince Edward's Island, and Nova Scotia, no official returns have been made, but taking the aggregate number that landed in British North America during 1840, the numbers were very considerable.

" With regard to the Immigration of the last as compared with the preceding years, the result is also highly satisfactory. The British subjects who Immigrated to Canada in 1840, more than doubled in amount those who proceeded to the country during the years 1838 and 1839 taken together.

" In 1838 there were 2,938 who landed at Quebec.

1839 „ 7,439 do.

1840 „ 23,190 do.

At St. John's, New Brunswick, the only port besides Quebec from whence an official report is furnished, there arrived in 1838, 893; in 1839, 3,103; and in 1840, 7,777.*

" In the British North American provinces 6,000,000 acres of land have been surveyed for settlement, and about two- thirds of that quantity have been granted. A small proportion, not one-tenth part, of this granted land is as yet brought into cultivation ; and there is room for 20,000,000 of inhabitants, instead of about one million and a half who are at present scat- tered over the above expanse of territory.

" The Committee are gratified to learn that a powerful feel-

♦ " In furnishing the official reports of last year, his Excellency the Governor- General of British North America thus expresses himself: —

" ' The general result of these reports I consider as highly satisfactory. The Emigration during the past season, as I had anticipated, has greatly exceeded that of the last few years : tlie Emigrants appear to have been universally well con- ducted, and several of them are possessed of considerable property. The great bulk have settled in these provinces, and there is every reason to expect that they will do well."

94 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

ing still exists amongst various classes to avail themselves of the advantages these provinces hold out to persevering industry, by emigrating to them.

" The Immigrants who arrived in the provinces, last year, were greatly needed, and speedily employed ; and the vast increase in their numbers was hailed as a satisfactory and triumphant proof of the re-established confidence of the inhabitants of the British Isles in the stability and resources of British North America. But beneficial alike to the mother country and the Colonies as this exchange of population must prove, it falls far short of the individual and public benefit that would be gained, if some sound and comprehensive system were adopted, by which the good already effected may be continuously carried forward on a scale commensurate witli the vast field for indus- try, enterprise, and the investment of capital, which these provinces present.

" In the province of Upper Canada alone, of 17,000,000 acres of surveyed land, not more than 2,000,000 acres are cultivated, the great bulk being entirely neglected. Notwith- standing so much has been left undone, the province has still materially advanced in wealth and population during the last thirty years. In 1812, the population was but 70,000 ; in 1820, 105,000, — about three-and-half to a square mile. It is now 500,000, or eighteen to a square mile, an increase of nearly five times in twenty years, — a result very mainly attributable to British Immigration.

" With so much land unoccupied, a healthy climate, and a productive soil, the Committee hope to draw public attention to these unquestionable advantages, and to invite some portion of the superabundant capital and overflowing population of the British Isles to these favoured dependencies of the British Crown .

" During the past year, the commerce of Canada increased in a most encouraging degree. The tolls on the Welland Canal exceeded by one-third those of any preceding year, and trade and enterprise generally indicate a healthy return of commerce, and exhibit sufficient and satisfactory proof of entirely re-

AND COLONIZATION. 95

established confidence. The proportion of import duties paid to Upper Canada in 1839 amounted to £61,000, showing nearly £2,500,000 as the value of goods imported from Great Britain in one year. If the population of this one province, about 500,000, are now consuming British produce or manu- factures to that amount, what vast benefits may be expected to follow a copious Immigration from this country ! -Apply the same principle to the other provinces, and take £4 per head as probaljly the average amount of manufactures exported from Great Britain annually for each Colonist — how ought this to stimulate Her Majesty's Government to assist the desire of thousands to remove themselves and families to those countries where they would at once become contributors to the wealth of the parent State ; still more, employment would be afforded at home for many able-bodied men who are now a burden to themselves and to this country, because labour cannot be obtained. Although sixty millions of acres have been given as the amount of surveyed land in British North America now available for settlement, and as capable of maintaining a popu- lation of twenty millions as any country in the world of like extent, there is a vast territory beyond the above ready for occupation, whenever those districts or provinces most acces- sible to the Atlantic are disposed of.

" The Committee are in possession of authentic informa- tion, that so great was the demand for labour last year in Canada, that although numbers of Emigrants arrived there late in the season, having met with long passages at sea, their opportune arrival enabled the farmers to reap their abundant harvest, which could scarcely have been secured without addi- tional aid.

" The Immigrants were chiefly employed and retained be- tween Montreal and Toronto, few having gone further west, although the demand there for labour was very great, and remains still unsupplied.

" The Committee are further gratified in being able to cor- rect a mis-statement made without a proper knowledge of facts, -^that ' swarms of persons re-emigrate from Canada to the

96 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

United States.' Comparatively but few did so in 1840, and those were of that migratory kind that for a long time settle nowhere ; but during the last year, from tlie testimony of the Government Emigrant Agent at Kingston, Upper Canada, it aj)pears that a valuable addition was made to the population of Canada ; for although some British subjects proceeded to the States, a great number re-emigrated from that country to Canada, bringing with them the fruits of their industry, in order permanently to settle within the jurisdiction and under the authority of Great Britain. To this gratifying fact the Com- mittee are most desirous of drawing public attention.

" The Committee are of opinion that great good will arise from the recent and very general formation and establishment of Emigration Societies in Canada, of which the principal Asso- ciation is at Toronto, the different districts acting in conjunc- tion with it. Their object is to furnish correct information to every description of Emigrants upon their arrival in the country, and as far as possible to render assistance to such as may be in need. They will collect information respecting all properties and lands for sale, lease, or rental, with the terms ; and statements, and descriptions of those lands held by individuals, who, in order to bring them into market, and enhance their value, have surrendered parts of their lots on condition of building, clear- ing, and cultivating a portion.

" Many large allotments of this sort have been made to the Emigration Societies in Canada for the objects specified. By the exertions of the respective Branch Associations, a vast fund of information will be collected, before the opening of the navi- gation, of the highest importance and value to the stranger Emigrant. Those wishing to purchase, lease, or rent farms or lands, or those who wish to procure employment, will know, the instant they arrive, to Avhom to apply for the necessary and authentic information.

" The healthy and industrious agricultural labourer, with l^rudence, temperance, and perseverance, may be sure that in a few years he will be in comparative affluence. Agriculture is the principal occupation of the country, as may be seen by the

AND COLONIZATION. 97

following extracts from a recent Address from Upper Canada to the Queen : —

" ' The cultivation of wheat is undouhtedly the object to which, more than any other, your Majesty's subjects inhabiting this fertile region are destined to devote their exertions. The climate and the soil are alike favourable to its growth ; the labour which it requires, furnishes ready employment of the most desirable kind to the multitudes which emigrate annually from the British Islands ; and while, in each year, it converts thousands of acres of barren wilderness into fertile fields, it supplies to a numerous, intelligent, and loyal people that oc- cupation which is of all others the most favourable to virtue and happiness, and to that manly independence of character which is necessary to the ]>reservation of rational freedom. Whenever a period occurs in which the farmer obtains a fair price for this commodity, prosperity is everywhere visible ; he is encouraged to extend the sphere of his industry by reclaim- ing larger tracts from the wilderness ; the lands of the \n-o- vince immediately rise in value; our fellow-sultjects from Europe are led to employ their capital in a pursuit which yields them an adequate profit; an increased consumption of British goods produces a revival of trade beneficial alike to the parent state and to the Colony ; an augmented revenue affords us the means of prosecuting those improvements in our roads and inland navigation, to which the inhabitants of Upper Canada are so much tempted by the national advantages held up by a kind Providence to their view, as any people that can l-e named.'

" Powerful inducements to men of moderate fortune to settle in Canada, exist in every township and district. Small improved farms are to be met with at moderate prices, and favourable investments of capital can be made with the secu- rity of certain enhanced value.

" A fresh impetus has of late been given both to public and private improvement, through all the British North American provinces, by the happy establishment of a safe, frequent, and short communication by ?team with the parent :4ate. la

H

98 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

Canada this energy has been particularly manifest. Contem- plated works on a large scale, under the sanction of the Exe- cutive Government, will create a great demand for labour ; while it may reasonably be expected that in the United Legis- lature of the two provinces, hereafter to be known under the former name of Canada, there will be a concentration and con- currence of resources, and many great improvements will no longer be delayed by sectional difficulties or dissensions.

" The Committee think these encouraging prospects are quite sufficient to justify a continuance of their exertions ; and with the favourable disposition already evinced by Her Majesty's Secretary of State for tlie Colonies, and several members of the Imperial Parliament, towards the objects and purposes of this Association, and Emigration in general ; and with the prepara- tions making liy the Colonists themselves for the reception of Emigrants ; and, above all, from the enlightened and active policy of his Excellency the Governor-General of British North America, they think they may safely congratulate the Associa- tion on the cheering prospects that invite them to a renewal of their valuable labours."

This document was presented, together with the following- Memorial, to Lord John Russell, Principal Secretary for the Colonies : —

The Memorial of the North American Colonial Com- mittee OF London.

*' Sheweth, — That the North American Colonial Committee, consisting of gentlemen associated for the purpose of promoting the Colonization of the British provinces in America, have re- solved, after mature consideration, to submit to your Lordship the following statement of their views with respect to this im- portant object.

" We assume, that in the Highlands and Islands, as well as in some of the manufacturing to^^ns of Scotland, that in par- ticular employments and particular districts of England, that throughout almost every part of Ireland, many thousands of

AND COLONIZATION.

99

our fellow-couiili'yinen are not only unable to obtain through- out the year such wages as will afford tliein those means of comfortable subsistence which every industi-ious man may fairly expect in exchange for his labour, but are often reduced to the extreme privations of the most afflicting destitution.

" We assume further, that in the British provinces of Ame- rica there exists a demand for labour which has not yet been fully satisiied; that the industi-ious labourer can there ol)tain ffood wao-es and the means of comfortable subsistence ; that there being many millions of acres of the most fertile land still uncultivated, land is so cheap tliat the exercise of industry and frugality enables the labourer to purchase a small estate in fee after a short residence in these provinces, and thus to become an employer of labour, so that tlie demand for additional hands, instead of decreasing with the supply, undergoes a constant augmentation.

" Proceeding upon these two assumptions, which cannot be controverted, we respectfully submit, tliat it is the duty of the statesmen of Great Britain to afford to the Mother Country and to the Colonies the aid which they respectively require, by transferring the superabundant population of the United Kingdom to those Colonies in which they will be wel- comed as producers of wealth, instead of being repelled as a burden upon the community, and in which their labour will be adequately rewarded.

" We are quite sensible that such an undertaking must be conducted with the utmost caution ; that if a greater number of Emigrants should be conveyed in any one year to the Colo- nies than can be there beneficially employed, the result will be most disastrous to the individuals emigrating ; most burdensome to the Colonial community, as throwing upon their charity a population dependent upon them for relief; and most dis- couraging to future Emigration, in the re-action produced at home by accounts of the misery and suffering which would have been in such case endured. We are also sensible, that it is not sufficient to convey the Emigrants to the nearest port in the Colonies, and there to leave them unaided by further guidance

p2

9i2r5l9A

100 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

or assistance ; that the result of such a proceeding would be to throw into sea-port towns a mass of persons for whom no ade- quate employment could be there provided, and who would con- sequently be exposed to the combined evils of hunger, disease, and idleness ; whilst in the case of Emigration to Canada, the greater part of the more enterprising Emigrants would, under such circumstances, make their way into the United States, as the nearest point at which tliey could find employment. We are therefore of opinion, that in any system of Emigration con- ducted by the State, it is of the utmost importance that the Emigrants yearly sent out should not exceed such a number as can obtain certain employment on their arrival, and that they should be conveyed at once to those parts of the provinces in which their labour is required.

*' We have taken pains to ascertain what number of Emi- grants cannot be received Avithoiit inconvenience by the pro- vinces of British North America during the present year, and we could estimate the number at less than G0,000 at the lowest computation. Exclusive of the emigration to the other provinces of British North America, about 23,000 Emigrants landed in Lower Canada during last year. Of these a small number went to the United States, but more than an equal number went from the United States to settle in Canada. From all the accounts which have been received, it appears that these Emigrants have experienced no disappointment. Though a large proportion were of that class who were dependent upon labour for their support, we have not heard that the supply of labour exceeded the demand ; but on the contrary, there is rea- son to believe that a mucli larger number migbt have found employment. The success of the Emigration of last year will probably induce many persons to emigrate during the jiresent year who are able to defray tlieir own expenses ; but as the in- terposition of State assistance may possibly induce some persons to seek such assistance who would otherwise have been enabled to emigrate by the contributions of their friends, we may esti- mate the number of Emigrants Avho will go out upon their own resources at not more than •25;00() persons, leaving 35,000 as

AND COLONIZATION. 101

the number which could be absorbed by the provinces of British America, for whom provision will require to be made in the manner hereinafter suggested.

" The present is a moment peculiarly favourable to an ex- tensive Emigration. The harvest of last year was most abun- dant in North America, and consequently provisions are, at the present moment, both cheap and ])lentiful. The advantage of Emigration has never been so strongly felt by the intelligent inhabitants of these Colonies. In several districts, particularly in Upper Canada, Associations have been formed for the pur- pose of facilitating the reception of Emigi-ants from the United Kingdom. With a view to encourage the settlement of Emi- grants in Canada, several landed proprietors have signified their willingness to place at the disposal of these Associations extensive tracts of laud. They have also deputed Dr. Rolph as their agent to this country for the purpose of stimulating Emi- gration, and in this appointment the Colonial Executive has concurred. The last act of the legislature of Upper Canada, pre- vious to its final dissolution, was the adoption of an Address to the Crown, praying that measures might be taken for promoting Emigration upon a large scale to the Canadian provinces. Under all these circumstances, we are justified in believing, that when the Canadian legislature shall assemble, there Avill be no indisposition to entertain favourably any propositions for the encouragement of Emigration, which shall be founded upon an equitable basis, and guarded by a prudent caution.

" We respectfully submit, that the time has now come when such a proposition may be made with advantage by the Execu- tive Government ; and as we are assured that your Lordshij) cannot be indifferent to the opinion of a body of gentlemen who are much interested in the Colonization of British America, we beg to suggest, as the basis of such a proposition, the fol- lowing apportionment of the expenses of Emigration between the different parties interested :—

" 1. That the Emigrant should find the means of conveyance to the port of embarkation, his outfit and provisions for the voyage.

102 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

" 2. That the Government should provide a free passage.

" 3. That the Colony should take charge of the labourer on his arrival, and undertake his conveyance to the district in which he is to be employed.

" Such a division of the expenses would appear to be most natural, as well as best suited to the means of the respective parties, and j>robably it would be found in the result that each would thus incur about an equal portion of the total cost.

" This suggestion is founded ujion the supposition that several distinct interests are concerned in the Emigration of the unemployed poor of the United Kingdom.

" 1. In the first place it is a matter of concern to the British nation at large, that an individual, who is compelled by circum- stances over which he has no control to remain idle at home, should be transferred to a field in which his active vigour and productive industry become elements of the political and com- mercial greatness of the British empire. In reference to the peculiar circumstances of Canada, your Lordship will feel that there are considerations of political expediency, involving, per- haps, the very connexion of these Colonics with the parent State, which make it advisable to promote the immediate settle- ment in those provinces of a population warmly attached to the institutions and interests of Great Britain. These considera- tions alone would justify the application of a j)ortion of the general revenue to the promotion of Emigration to British North America.

" 2. It is not necessary to point out the benefit which would result to the Emigrant himself, from his transfer to the Colonies, because the whole of our reasoning is based upon the assumption that this change of home would greatly improve his condition. There is no member of our Association who would advocate Emigration upon any other supposition. When we suggest that the Emigrant should be called upon to con- tribute some portion of the expenses of the Emigration of his family, we are fully aware that, in many cases, the labourer would be unable to contribute out of his own funds such pro- portion ; but we think that few cases exist in which he would

AM) COLONIZATION. 103

find himself unable to make up this amount by the aid of his friends, employers, or landlord ; and in such ease it would be competent for the guardians of any union to make the required contribution out of the poor-rates. The advantage which would result to the district to which an unemployed family belongs, from their removal, is obvious and immediate, because so long as they are unable to earn their own sub- sistence, they must be relieved either by public or by private charity.

" .3. The Colony to which the labourer emigrates is also deeply interested in this transfer of our unemployed population, and ought, therefore, to contribute its share of the expense. To say that land is of no value without labour, is only to repeat a truism which no one will contradict. We think it unneces- sary, therefore, to expatiate upon this topic. We are satisfied that the provincial legislature will gladly contribute tlie pro- portion of the expense of Emigration which ought to be borne i3y the Colonies. The funds available for this purpose have frequently been pointed out in the discussions which have taken place on the subject of Colonization, and their appropriation to this object has received the sanction of those who would be contributors to these funds.

" In the first place, it is desired that in British North Ame- rica the whole of the proceeds arising from the public lands shall be applied to the promotion of Emigration. We do not think it necessary to state the arguments by which this principle of Colonization is sustained. We confine ourselves to the simple assertion that the same considerations Avhich have con- vinced your Lordship that the land fund of the other Colonies should be appropriated to the conveyance thither of labour, apply with equal force to the case of the North American Co- lonies of Great Britain.

" Another fund available for the purpose of promoting public works, and an accompanying Emigration, would arise from the imposition of a tax upon land,— payable either in land or money. If such a tax be paid in land, it will place at tlie disposal of the Executive, sections of land in various parts of the

104 SYSTtMAtiC EMIGRATION

provinces, which will become a])i)licable to the settlement of Emigrants, and a gradual surrender of such sections of land on the part of those who do not think it their interest to pay even a ti'iiliijg assessment upon them, will tend to diminish the evils which have been found to arise from profuse and improvident grants of large tracts of territory to individuals who have pos- sessed ]jeither the means nor inclinatio)i to briny; them under cultivation. If, on the other hand, the tax be generally paid in money, it will be seen that even a tritling assessment will at once create a fund available for the i)romotion of public works and Emigration.

" A tax of one halfpenny per acre levied upon all the lands of British North America which have been already granted, would produce upwards of £80,000 per annum ; and this fund would continually increase, in proportion as the public land now undisposed of should be appro})riatcd by individuals.

" Upon this revenue above a million sterling could be at once raised, or such lesser sum as may from time to tiuie be rcipiired for the improvement and settlement of the districts from which the tax may be levied. We have reason to believe that if the provincial legislature should consent to the impo- sition of such a land-tax, there will be no difficulty in raising, among the capitalists in the city of London who are connected with the i)rovinces whatever amount may l)e required, pro- portionate io the security so afforded, — on the strict condition that this fund shall be applied to the purposes above specified.

" In urging your Lordship to recommend to the provincial legislatures some such pro])osal as that which we have ventured to suggest, it has given us great satisfaction to observe that this proposition much resembles that which has been already submitted by the Commissioners of Land and Emigration. In their report, dated the 25th of April, 1840, we find that they advised that £50,000 should be applied, out of the general revenue, in aid of Emigration to British North America.

" They recommend that half the expense of the passage of the Emigrants should be defrayed by the Government, the other half being borne by the Emigrants themselves, or by the

AND COLOMZAtlOK. 105

parties locally interested in their removal, whether landed pro- prietors or poor-hiw unions ; that the Emigrants siiould make their way to the port of embarkation at their own cost ; and that, upon tiieir landing in the Colony, they shoukl be imme- diately placed under the guidance of the Colonial Emigration Agents, whose duty it would l)c to convey them to those parts of the Colony in which certain employment awaits them.

" We do not concur witli the Commissioners in thinkinc:

o

that the Emigrant should be called upon to contribute any por- tion of the passage money, because many Emigrants would be found unable to ])rovide such contribution ; and we deem it of the utmost importance that Emigrants should have at their disposal, on landing in the Colon}^ any funds which they may be able to command, — but we think that the expenses of outfit, provisions, and conveyance to the port of embarkation may fairly be thrown upon the Emigrant. In other respects, we are hap})y to find that the views of the Commissionei's are almost entirely in accordance with those of our Committee.

" It ought to be observed, that, by placing the stream of Emigration under the superintendence of a responsible board, much of the suffei'ing and danger to which the Emigrant is now exposed from the designing practices of some of the ship- owners and masters engaged in tlie conveyance of Emigrants, as well as from the employment of unsafe vessels, would be obviated, and thus the Emigrant would be })laced under a pro- tecting care from the port of embarkation to the place of his ultimate location.

" We have only to add in conclusion, that, in soliciting assistance on the part of the State in aid of Emigration to Bri- tish North America, it is very far from our wish to deprecate similar assistance towards promoting the settlement of the other Colonies of Great Britain. We regret to be compelled to believe that there are in the United Kingdom, a number of industrious men of good character unable to find employment at home sufficient to supply the utmost demand for labour that can for several years exist in the various Colonies of Great Britain. We therefore claim no })artiality for British North

106 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

America; but in viewing this subject with reference to the interests of the Mother Country, it cannot be forgotten, that, in consequence of the nearer vicinity of the American Colonies, a contribution on the part of the State, which woukl only facili- tate the conveyance of hundreds of the unemployed poor to more distant settlements, would aid the Emigration of thou- sands to British North America.

" We have now laid before your Lordship, in as brief a form as we could adopt, without omitting particulars which we deem it important to mention, a distinct proposal for the con- duct of Emigration to British North America. It has not been adopted hastily, but is the result of much consideration ; and we leave it in your Lordship's hands with a feeling of perfect confidence, that, as a British statesman, you are deeply sensible of the value of Colonization as a means of increasing the power and resources of the great empire whose colonial interests have been intrusted to your charge.

" MouNTCASHELL, President.

" Argyll. C. Franks.

Dunmore. G. B. Robinson.

Blayney. J. McLean. Jos. De C. Laffan, Bart. L. Robinson.

G. P. Scroi)e, M.P. R. P. Crooks.

W. S. O'Brien, M.P. A. Head.

A. D'Este. W. Hagerman. The Chisholm. W. Ifill.

D. McDougall. J. Hughes.

N. Mc Leod. Geo. Wyndham.

B. Mc Leod.

" Thomas Rolph, Hon. Secretunj."

Upon the same day that these documents were presented to the Colonial Minister, I formed also one of a Deputation, con- sisting of the leading Members of all the various Land Com- panies connected with British America, praying for such a disposition of the Crown Revenues of the various Colonies as

AND COLONIZATION. 107

would enable public improvements to be carried on, and their settlement promoted.

The memorials and petitions of 1840 having had no prac- tical issue, on the 1 1th of Fe])ruary, H. Baillie, Esq., M.P. for Inverness-shire, and one of the active members of the North American Colonial Committee, made a motion in the House of Commons for " the appointment of a Select Committee to en- quire into the condition of tiie Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, with a view to aflbrding; relief by means of Emi- gration," which was granted. This Committee was composed of the following members : — •

Mr. H. Baillie. Mr. Tufnell.

Mr. Robert Stewart. Lord Teignmouth.

Mr. Edward Ellice. Mr. Robert Pigot.

Mr. Thomas Mackenzie. Mr. Colquhoun.

Mr. Cumming Bruce. Mr. Ward.

Mr. William Mackenzie. Mr. W. S. O'Brien.

Mr. Ewart. Mr. Dunbar.

Mr. Protheroe. They assembled for business on the 26tli of February, and the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 10th of March, on wdiich several days the following witnesses were examined, viz. — Mr. BoAvie, W. S., Robert Graham, Esq., Mr. Charles Robert Baird, Rev. D. Norman M'Leod, D.D., tlie Rev. John M'Leod, Mr. Evander MTver, and myself.

A day or two after my examination I proceeded to Scotland, at the earnest desire of upwards of sixty Emigration Societies that w^ere enrolled for the purposes of mutually assisting each other to remove to Canada. On the 16th, I attended a large meeting of delegates from the said Societies in the Town Hall of Glasgow, and addressed them at great length. The Lord Provost filled the chair. The Rev. Dr. Mc Leod, and various other gentlemen delivered their sentiments on this occasion. It was then unanimously resolved to prosecute sedulously any plan that Avould have for it? object the safe removal of the redundant population of the British Isles. Whilst at Glasgow,

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I received an invitation from Neill Malcolm, Esq., of Poltal- loch, to proceed to Kilmartin, to address such of his tenantry as felt desirous of removing. It is needless to say with what pleasure I acceded to the request of this most benevolent and excellent gentleman, whose warm-hearted philanthropy is equally to be witnessed in the great improvement of his exten- sive estates in Argylcshire as in the comfortable settleinent and acquired independence of the numerous individuals he so munificently assisted to remove to Western Canada. During this visit to Scotland, 1 also attended and addressed a meeting at Paisley.

The Committee of the House of Commons on Emigration continued their sittings on the 11th, 16th, 17th, and 19th of March, on which days Mr. Andrew Scott, Mr. Alexander Kenneth Mackinnon, the Hon. Christopher Alexander Hager- man (one of the Judges of Canada), Mr. Alexander Macdonald, Mr. Thomas Knox, the Rev. Robert Mc Pherson, and Mr. Duncan Shaw, were examined. The Committee made their First Report to the House of Commons on the 2Gtli of IVIarch, which was ordered the same day to ))e printed with the minutes of the evidence taken. The folloM-ing is a copy of the Re- port:— "Although your Committee have not yet collected sufficient evidence to justify them in reporting finally upon the several points to which their attention has been directed, they have considered that they shall best discharge their duty by submitting to the House that portion of the evidence which has already been received, and which (imperfect in some respects as it necessarily is) may have the effect of showing the great importance of the subject tliey have endeavoured to investi- gate,— the urgency of the distress that periodically prevails in the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, arising mainly from the excessive population, — and also of calling the serious attention of the House to the necessity of considering some efficient remedies to alleviate the existing evils ; amongst which, that which appears, from the evidence, to be of primary importance, is a well-arranged system of Emigration, in order

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to relieve the present state of destitution, and as preparatory to any measure calculated to prevent a recurrence of similar distress."

After a tour through several agricultural districts, I re- turned to London. On the 10th, 1.3th, and 18th of May, the Select Committee sat, when Charles Franks, Esq., Samuel Cunard, Esq., Mr. Murdo Mackenzie, the Duke of Argyll, and myself, were examined. And on the 24th of May the Committee made their Second Report, which, together with the minutes of evidence, was ordered by tlie House to be printed.

In the valuable Report with which they concluded their labours, they stated : —

" Your Committee have already reported to the House their opinion, that a well-arranged system of Emigration, in order to relieve the present state of destitution, and as prepa- ratory to any measures calculated to prevent a return of similar distress, woidd be of primary importance ; and they now beg leave to add, tliat it seems to them impossible to carry such a system, upon so extensive a scale as would be necessary, into eflfect, without aid and assistance from the Government, accom- panied by such regulations as Parliament may impose, to pre- vent a recurrence of similar evils. It has been stated to the Committee, that the province of Upper Canada alone, and without reference to other portions of our North American Colonies, might annually absorb 10,000 labourers, implying an Emigration of 50,000 souls ; that .30,000 actually ai-rived in Canada last year, at least one-half of which number were absolutely destitute, and although no extraordinary means were taken, they have all found employment. It was furtlier stated to be to the advantage of Emigrants, even with small capital, to be employed for the first two years as labourers, rather than at once to be located upon land. It has appeared in evidence, that the people, being fully aware of the impos- sibility of finding adequate subsistence at home, ai'e now most anxious to emigrate; and your Committee have considei'ed it to be their duty to call the attention of Govermnont tu the rub-

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ject, from the concurrent testimony of all the witnesses leading them to believe that the country is not only liable to a return of such a visitation as that wliich occurred in the years 1836 and 1837, but that, in the nature of things, it must recur ; that the population is still rapidly increasing, in spite of any check which the landlords can oppose, and without any corresponding increase in the natural productiveness and resources of the country."

The Minutes of Evidence contain a mass of published testi- mony concerning the nature and extent of destitution in Scot- land, which ought to be in the hands of every person taking an interest in the social state of that kingdom. Here it is impos- sible for me to do more than refer, in the most cursory way, to the details recorded. From Mr. Bowie's evidence, it appears that there are upwards of 500 unassessed parishes in Scotland ; that many of the Highlanders would rather starve than receive public relief; and that an assessment is anxiously avoided, for fear of demoralising them. Mr. Baird, Honorary Secretary to the Glasgow Relief Committee, in 1837, stated that the Com- mittee had come to the unanimous conclusion that Emigration was the best thing for the Highlanders ; that it would be very difficult to introduce poor-laws into some of the islands ; and that there is a great want of capital both amongst the landlords and tenants. Mr. Franks showed that 337 persons or families who had gone out, under the auspices of the Canada Land Company, with no capital, have now upon an average £334 each, most of them being employed as labourers. The Hon. Mr. Hagerman, one of the Justices of the Queen's Bench in Upper Canada, spoke as to the success of the Emigrants who had s:one out from Ireland — considered that an extensive set- tlement in Canada of able-bodied people from this country would reduce the necessity of sending out troops — bore testi- mony to the good character of the Highland settlers who had gone to Canada, in respect of industry and general conduct — and gave some valuable statistical details as to the Colony. Mr. Knox, Chamberlain of Lewis, considered thej'e would be an advantage in removing 6,000 or 7,000 souls from that island,

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and would recoiuinend the proprietors making an annual sacri- fice to the extent of one-third of the expense. Mr. Mackinnon showed that distress was very great in Skye in the years 1836 and 1837, a large mass of the population being in a state of utter destitution, and that the people there are very much inclined to emio-rate to North Amei-ica. The Rev. Dr. M'Leod mentioned that the rental of the island of Tyree was £3,000 a-year during the thne of the kelp trade, and is now nearly nominal ; that 400 families pay no rent, and others only 20*', or 40s. a-year. He spoke of the successful results of Emigration from the island of Rum, and stated his conviction that similar results might be anticipated in other places. Further, he stated that the population of the Western Highlands had doubled since 1745. He considered a compulsory assessment for the poor, on the English system, would ruin the landlords, and cause the immediate ejectment of the people. And finally, being questioned as to whether he apprehended a recurrence of the visitation of 1836 and 1837, he answered — " I have an awful terror of its return, for a failure in the potato crop of any given year must produce it." Finally, from the evidence of the Duke of Argyll, it appears " that the estates of several of the landed proprietors in the West of Scotland were very much encumbered ; that Emigration would most undoubtedly tend to relieve the landlords from part of their embarrassments ; that Emigration, if well managed, would be the most advan- tageous mode of relieving the population ; that upon the prin- ciple of self-interest, he had the greatest reason to suppose that other landed proprietors would in general promote Emi- gration to the utmost of their power ; that from his estates in the island of Tyree, he considered 2000 souls ought to be removed, if a comfortable situation could be assured to them, and 1000 souls from another of his estates in the island of Mull ; that he was willing to contribute at the rate of 305. per head, but not in one year, to aid the removal of the said 3000 souls ; and tliat supposing the landlords were to furnish one- third of the expense of clearing their estates, he considered it would be to their advantage, because they would sooner get

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into a proper arrangement with regard to the size of the farms, and receive the return of a good rent for land for wliich they have no rent."

During this period the North American Colonial Committee were sedulously pursuing their exertions in furtherance of the objects for which they were organized. At a meeting on the 20th of June, Arthur J. Robertson, Esq., of Inches, presiding, the Chairman stated " That he had addressed a letter to Sir Robert Peel, requesting permission for a deputation of the Committee to wait upon him, in compliance with the sugges- tion of the Duke of Argyll ; that Sir Robert having appointed an hour to receive the Chairman, he had waited on him, and that the following was the result of the interview : — Sir Robert, although unfavourable to the principle of legislative grants for ]>urposes of Emigration, was inclined to believe that an excep- tion might be made in reference to the immediate objects of the Committee, on account of the destitution which was repre- sented to exist in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, conse- quent on the reduction of the duty on barilla, and the import- ance of contributing to the maintenance of the integrity of British North Ameiica, by encouraging extensive Immigra- tion from the United Kingdom : he suggested that petitions to both Houses of Parliament, dwelling prominently on these topics, and praying for a legislative grant, should be presented from the principal proprietors of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland ; that the Connnittee should endeavour to prevail with the Goverment to give effect to the prayer of the petition; and Sir Robert encouraged the hope that it might receive his sup- port."

In compliance with this suggestion, petitions were, in the month of July, presented to both branches of the legislature, but no practical result followed.

Notwithstanding the Report and Petition just referred to, the Address to Her Majesty of the Commons' House of Assem- bly of Upper Canada, in Eebruary, 1840, urging some Govern- ment plan for the encouragement and direction of Emigiatiou from the United Kingdom to the I3riti^h American Colonies,

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and tlie representation made to the Colonial Minister in the spring of that year, by the deputation of Highland proprietors and others, who placed in his hands the Memorial of the in- fluential meeting held in the Hopetoun Rooms, Edinburgh, already given, that Session passed over without any effective measure having been propounded on the subject. This fact, combined with the urgency of the wide-spreading distress, sug- gested the necessity for an organized association of a commer- cial nature, which should form a permanent bond of union and co-operation for all those on either side of the Atlantic inter- ested in Emigration and Colonization. Two years previous to my introduction to Sir R. Broun, in December, 1839, that gentleman, in conjunction with various influential parties, had matured a plan for an institution of this description, whereby the rights and objects of the Scottish Baronetage should be revived. But the outbreak in Canada, the death of King Wil- liam IV., and the unsettled state of the Melbourne ministry, had severally intervened to suspend proceedings for this im- portant end. From the period, however, of my return to Eng- land, as the accredited Agent of the Government of Canada for Emigration, the subject of forming a Public Company en- gaged our mutual and earnest attention. Being invited by Sir R. Broun to join him in laying the foundations of an institu- tion which would give permanency and effect to our isolated exertions, and unite the large and influential connexions for which we severally had the honour to act, I entered cordially into an agreement for that purpose. At the period of my first acquaintance with that gentleman, I was not, indeed, clothed wuth the oflUcial appointment which two Governors-General of Canada subsequently reposed in me, but from the preceding narrative it will be seen that my mission was considered a public one by the whole British population of Canada. On the other hand, few men held in England a more prominent posi- tion than Sir Richard Broun. As Hon. Secretary to the Ba- ronets, he was connected with the most numerous class of the old hereditary nobility of the three kingdoms, an Order ex- pressly erected to promote the Colonization of British North

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.America ; but, besides this, he was one of the Hon. Secretaries of the Central Agricultural Society of Great Britain and Ire- land, a body he had mainly founded, and which enrolled about eighty of the principal local agricultural associations, and many hundreds of the most talented and influential members of the landed interest. Of Sir R. Broun's qualifications it is unne- cessary for me to speak; and yet recent events will excuse my glancing at them. Few individuals have devoted more atten- tion to that important range of subjects which aggregately form the Home Condition Question, or laboured more assiduously to concentrate upon it public thought. Strongly attached to Bri- tish principles, the protection of home and colonial industry, and the purity and maintenance of the monarchical institutions of the State, his services in those causes have gained for him a consideration which will long survive those passing clouds of caluuniy which the fall of the British American Association created, and which have only suspended for a time the prose- cution of views which eminently concern the happiness and welfare of the stricken and prostrate peasantry of the British Isles. These concurrent circumstances led to the formation of the British American Association; the objects of that body being the Settlement and Colonization of the waste lands of our North American provinces by the suffering redundant population of the United Kingdom. Had this Society been successfully esta- blished, it would have combined the elements of utility to all. To the landlords of the United Kingdom it would have proved beneficial in clearing their estates — to the landowners of Ca- nada, by peopling and settling them — to the capitalists, who, joined with the Canadian proprietors, a certain and profitable investment of their capital — to the Colonists, as planting an invaluable yeomanry within their borders — and to the mer- chants, mariners, and manufacturers of Great Britain, the ine- vitable benefit of extended trade and commerce. The whole, therefore, of this season was devoted by myself, in conjunction with Sir R. Broun and others, to form a public Company for these combined purposes. Rei)eated meetings had been held — a Constitution matured — a prospectus drawn up — the Duke of

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Argyll had consented to be President — arrangements had been made that a deputation should proceed to Ireland and Scot- land, to announce the formation and obtain the concurrence of the people of those countries, when I received a letter from Lord Sydenham, requesting my immediate attendance in Canada. In the month of August I left England, and, on my arrival in America, heard, to my inexpressible regret, the melancholy news of his Excellency's death, which took place at Kingston, Canada, on the 19th of September, the day I arrived at New York.

After attending the funeral of this lamented Statesman, whose premature loss had spread a deep gloom throughout the provinces that had become united under his administration, I proceeded to visit the beautiful seignories lying on the north shores of the St. Lawrence, which I earnestly hoped would have become the scene of the first operations of the Association whose foundation I had just assisted to establish. Their aug- mented value since that period, from the transfer of the seat of Government to Montreal, renders it doubly mortifying that any check should have occurred to interrupt this enlarged and de- sirable institution.

After leaving the seignories to proceed to the west, I found on my arrival at Montreal, that a meeting of its citizens had been convened to present me a congratulatory address on my return. A very numerous assemblage of the merchants took place at the Exchange, when the address was presented to me by the mayor of the city, the Hon. P. M'Gill, on which occa- sion, amongst other topics, I alluded to the arrival of the Islanders of Lewis, and expressed my hope that the dread of "pauper" Emigration would not chill their zeal, or render them less energetic in attracting as many as possible of the British race to settle in the province, and proceeded : " Can any one traverse the eastern townships, and behold its thriving and industrious population, their neat homesteads, and their im- proving condition, and remain doubtful as to the beneficial eifects of industry, even unaided by capital ? Every portion, however, of the American continent bears ample testimony to

i2

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the incalculable benefit and blessings accruing from the esta- blishment and introduction of an industrious population ; and no estimate, however extravagant, can be formed of its immea- surable advantages to this province in particular. But this year it has not been a ' pauper ' population only that has found its way into Canada ; I am quite convinced that more capital has been introduced into this country, during the pre- sent year, than in any one year since 1834, and that it is but the prelude to still further investments from the enterprising portion of the people of Great Britain. When it is considered, that at the commencement of the spring a general apprehen- sion was entertained that hostilities with our neisfhbours was inevitable, and that the Great Western had, in anticipation of such an event, advertised an alteration of her route from New York to Halifax, — when it is further remembered that it was but the first legislative year of United Canada, — that alterations were in contemplation affecting its commerce, — and, above all, when more serious embarrassments were felt in the monetary community in Great Britain than for many preceding years, I confess that I see great and sincere cause for congratulation at the progress which, under such circumstances, has been made this season. I wish not to be misunderstood relative to pauper Emigration : I am quite certain that great good resulted from the wide circulation given in Great Britain to your valuable Report of last year, and that it tended in no small degree to correct many evils which it forcibly pointed out. Shortly after ray arrival in England, I received requests from the several Emigration Committees of Glasgow and Paisley, to meet them in Scotland. Instantly, and unhesitatingly, I complied with their desire ; and to convince you how unwilling I was, that, by any efforts of mine, your shores should l)e crowded with destitute emigrants, I implored all that had not sufficient means to convey themselves into the interior of the province, or maintain themselves for some time after their arrival, to re- main behind. At Glasgow, Paisley, and in tlie Highlands of Scotland this was my fervent advice to them ; and immediately previous to my departure from England, they again renewed

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their correspondence with me, informing me of the eftbrts they were still making for the ensuing year, enabling me again to renew my exhortations, and affording me the opportunity of reading them a portion of an admirable letter which I had just then received from Mr. Buchanan, of Quebec, well calculated to prove, as I trust it will prove, of great service to them. I regret that there should be any instance of departure from the essential requisite to successful Emigration ; but I am bound in candour to declare, that I have read some letters recently from the eastern townships, announcing the arrival of 229 poor Scotch people from the Island of Lewis, in a state of great des- titution, and without any provision being made for them by their landlords.

" The valuable settlers in the eastern townships have long complained that the whole tide of Emigration has been directed to the west, leaving neglected their splendid and extensive domain. At a recent meeting of the American Land Company in England, the Deputy-Governor declared that ' all that was required was to obtain settlers on the land.' It is therefore to be hoped, that this healthy, industrious people, will still prove, as anticipated, successful good settlers in that interesting portion of this province. The unparalleled sufferings of these unfor- tunate people in their native isles, renders them eager to em- brace any opportunity to exchange their present fate, and trans- port themselves to those parts where their fellow-men have suc- ceeded. But it is needless for me to expatiate on the earnest- ness with which their landlords seek to render the change as little onerous as possible to the community amongst Avhom they wish them to settle ; as any one who reads the evidence of the Duke of Argyll before a Select Committee of the House of Commons, will be fully convinced of the great sacrifice his Grace is prepared to make to secure the comfortable transfer of the surplus population of his estates from Scotland to Canada. But if these Highlanders recently arrived in the eastern town- ships, and who cannot, it appears, speak a word of English, require some temporary assistance this season, I am sure there are not

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wanting hearts to render them assistance, and retain thera in the country.

" One other subject, certainly, excited a dee-p and thrilling- interest in England, on which it was impossible to remain pas- sive— one on which I dare not now trust myself to speak — the case of our fellow-subject M'Leod. I felt as a British subject, and hope that I spoke and acted like one. I did no more ; nothing- should have prevented me from doing less. Before concluding, I cannot but revert to the signal loss this province has recently sustained by the death of the Governor-General. When on a visit to his brother, in Wiltshire, I had an oppor- tunity of hearing a portion of his correspondence read to me, which abundantly proved the deep solicitude he felt for the welfare of this province, and his conviction that the Union would be productive of the greatest good. He was delighted at the progress of the first year's legislation under the Union, and at the appearance of harmony between the eastern and western sections of the province, which seemed springing up. And really, when contemplating the boundless resources of this noble country, the vast reciprocal blessings which may arise from our happy union with the parent state, the benefits which a well regulated transfer of the people may mutually impart, when a thorough confidence shall be felt in the stability of our institutions, inducing a free investment of British capital, we must all hope that the old principle of 'divide and conquer' will for ever be discarded, by the lasting establishment, under the new order of things, of ' unite and be happy.' "

I concluded by expressing my grateful acknowledgments to the meeting for the kind and attentive manner in which my observations had been listened to ; and by assuring the meeting and the inhabitants of Montreal in general, that I had infinite pleasure in having so early an opportunity in first communi- cating to them the results of my late successful mission to the mother country, in relation to a subject in which the whole Empire was so deeply interested.

On my return to the city of Toronto, a very numerous meet-

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ing of its inhabitants, presided over hj the sheriff, assembled to welcome me on my return, and receive from me my annual report. From the published account of the proceedings given in the Canadian journals, I extract the following portions of my address delivered on that occasion : —

" Gentlemen, — It would have been indeed most gratifying to me, after nearly a twelve months' absence, to have congra- tulated this province on the success of the Emigration Asso- ciation had it proved a sgreat, as I had fondly anticipated, and to have found that but one feeling existed as to its obvious utility ; — for although, to the transfer of the seat of Govern- ment, and the consequent dispersion of many of the members who were present, and took an active part in its organization, I am disposed to attribute its declension ; yet it is to be deeply deplored that an Association which commenced so well, which was honoured by the distinguished patronage of the late Go- vernor-General, and which promised to have been so valuable, should not have received more countenance, encouragement, and support, throughout the province, than it has done. The prospectus and address of the Association was widely dissemi- nated at home, excited much interest, and gave such satisfac- tion, that it was copied into many of the principal newspapers and journals throughout the United Kingdom.

" It was a source of deep regret to me to learn, soon after my arrival in England, that the Association had been deprived of the valuable support of a gentleman, one of the members of this city, whose munificence and zeal had been always con- spicuous in the promotion of Emigration, and whose concur- rence in the views and objects of the Association could not but inspire the utmost confidence in the minds of his fellow- countrymen, who were contemplating a removal from their native homes to Canada. I cannot but indulge the hope that his secession was but temporary, and that the cause of British Immigration will be long promoted by his generous and efiicient aid ; and that a measure, which has been alike viewed by every governor of this province as essential to its happiness, and indispensable to its prosperity, may be earnestly promoted

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by all the inhabitants of the country without reference to other questions on which they may conscientiously entertain different opinions.

" You will perceive by the vast mass of correspondence which I lay before you, that 1 have not been without applica- tions from all parts of the United Kingdom for information as to this province. This desire is steadily on the increase, and it would prove highly detrimental to the province if it could not be satisfied. At the commencement of the year, the various societies, interested in the settlement of the North American provinces, held a meeting for the purj)0se of submitting their views, as to the best means of accomplishing that object, to the Colonial Secretary and to the Governor-General. I was invited to take part in their deliberations, and to concur in the Memo- rial which they proposed submitting to the Government. In their general views I warmly participated, and succeeded in convincing them that many statements contained in the docu- ment first submitted to consideration, introducing disparaging comparisons between Canada and the United States, were unfounded and injurious, and was happy to obtain their con- currence in their omission. This Memorial, together with one adopted by the North American Colonial Committee, were presented, by most influential deputations, to Lord John Russell, and obtained from him that attentive consideration which every measure connected with the welfare and advancement of the Colonies invariably received at his hands. I am proud to have the opportunity, now that his Lordship holds no longer the seals of ofiice, of bearing my willing though humble testi- mony to the extraordinary zeal and assiduity with which he directed his commanding talents to the benefit of the Colonies entrusted to his charge, and to the attention which he paid to all who submitted to him any measure coimected Avith tlieir advantage and prosperity.

" At the commencenient of the season great apprehension was felt, tliat the harmony which had existed unbroken for many years, between Great Britain and the United States, was about to receive an intei-ruption from the capture and detention

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of a British subject, for a supposed participation in an act approved of by his sovereign. This alarm was calculated to deter peaceful individuals from settling in a country likely to be exposed to the ravages of war. I hope these fears may now be set at rest ; for although I know that in such an unhaf)py state of things, it would be far better for British subjects to be fighting under the protecting flag of the mother country, than to be found fighting in the ranks of her enemies, and exposed to the taunts and insults inseparable from such a position, in a state of war, — the inevitable consequence of settling in the United States : yet, peace is an invaluable blessing, indispen- sable to the prosperity of the country, and most earnestly to be desired by every true friend to its happiness. In many parts of Great Britain, Emigration societies have been formed, some- what on the principle of benefit or mutual assurance societies. Tb" members of these meritorious associations reserve a portion of their wages, and obtain the contributions of the wealthy, to send out, annually, a certain number of their society, who can proceed without fear, and with some comfort, to a Colony where tlieir industry would meet with its reward. I was requested by the leading members of some of these associations, to visit them in Scotland, and proceed to Glasgow, Paisley, and other parts of the country, to aid them in the laudable efforts they were making to remove in a judicious and provident manner. I did not hesitate to comply with tlieir request, as it enabled me to caution them against leaving their native country without carrying Avith them sufficient means to ensure them from want on their arrival in Canada. I need cite no other authorities, than the persons who attended these various meetings through- out Scotland, to vindicate me from the charo:e of encourajrino- ' pauper'' Emigration. Notwithstanding the alarm felt by some at the desire of the poor to remove to Canada, I shall ever feel the value of Lord Durham's remark : — ' I can scarcely imagine any obligation which it is more incumbent on Government to fulfil, than securing to poor persons disposed to emigrate every possible facility.'

" Far, however, from encouraging Emigrants who were

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completely unprovided, I have urged invariably and most strongly the indispensable necessity and propriety, both on the parts of the landlords and parishes, to see that those who are sent out by them should not be left destitute or abandoned until they can have labour or settlement procured for them. In connexion with this gratifying subject, I am delighted to state that the Rev. Mr. M'Coll, recently appointed minister to a body of Emigrants, has arrived in this country, to look for a location for 500 families from the vicinity of Oban and Lismore, who are desirous of settling as a community, and who are bringing with them on an average from £100 to £1000 per family, besides their habits of industry, frugality, and agricul- tural knowledge.

" A few years since, we were met by the cry, that the settle- ment and prosperity of the country was materially retarded, because the people could not obtain land ; we were constantly referred to the States, where it could be procured at 6s. 3d. per acre, and where it was stated that of our fellow-countrymen numbers were availing themselves of the ])rivilege. Now that settlements are opened to British industry and enterprise, we are told that British labourers are unable and are unaccus- tomed to clear the woods, by those who have previously com- plained that they Avend their way in numbers to the United States for no other object. I affirm that British labourers are capable, ay, fully as capable as any labourers in the world, of clearing the woods, and I can point to every district in the province for ample proof of my assertion ; astonishing as it may appear, some of the best stone houses now in progress of erection, on some of the best cultivated farms in the province, have been the unaided results of persevering, industrious, hardy, British labourers. Who first settled the State of Maine in 1630? — The English. Who first settled New Hampshire in 162-3? — The English. Who first settled Massachusets in 1620?— The English. Who first settled Vermont in 1749?— The English. Who first settled Rhode Island in 1636 ?— The English, Who first settled Connecticut in 1633? — The English. Who first settled Pennsylvania in 1632? — The

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English. Who first settled Maryland in 1636?— The English. Who first settled Virginia in 1607?— The English. Who first settled North Carolina in 1650?— The English. Who first settled South Carolina in 1689 ?— The English. Who first settled Georgia in 1733?— The English. Who first settled Tennesee in 1765? The English. Who first settled Ohio in 1788? — The English. Yes; it was Englishmen that first felled the woods in the East, West, North, and South : and I repel the foul imputation with contempt, that they are less willing or able to do so now, than then. It is not capitalists only that will clear woods, make roads, build houses, construct harbours, or plough the fields ; their means, doubtless, are a great, almost indispensable auxiliary ; but labour is indispensable, indeed, the creation of capital, the stimulus of its investment, the surety of its increase, and the security for its employment. We shall find that as the public roads are improved, education supplied to the province, and opportunities for public worship extended, careful and industrious farmers witli capital will be quite ready to embark their fortunes in this country, for the sake of their families. I am gratified to find here a contradiction of the too-often repeated assertion, that farming was unprofitable in Canada. How many instances of successful farming are to be met with in every long-settled district? how many persons take farms on shares, faithfully perform their contract, and find it a source of profit to them ? I know many instances of highly profitable farming; and although labour is high, and the winters are long, rendering the maintenance of stock expensive, yet I can mention a case within my own knowledge of a small farmer, in the township of Ancaster, having less than seventy acres of land cultivated, and after providing for his own stock, sell the surplus of his hay alone for upwards of £60. I attri- bute this report about unprofitable farming to the disadvantage of being conducted on a small scale, with insufiicient capital, and by inexperienced persons ; and that those who antici- pate living like gentlemen, on the produce of £300 or £400 capital expended on a house, furniture, living, and the culti- vation of twenty or thirty acres of land, must expect to be

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disappointed. It would be preposterous to suppose that such a class of farmers as the yeomanry of England would not suc- ceed in Canada, yes, at a much greater ratio, and with a smaller expenditure of means ; whilst the gentleman farmer would not succeed, unless he derived a certain income beyond that of a small farm. If any one can doubt the profits of farming, all other methods failing, I recommend him to attend one of the agricultural dinners at the city of Toronto, and make what enquiries he pleases as to the wealth of the farmers he will meet at the agricultural table. The matter is easy of proof. There has never been an effort yet made, commensurate with the advantages which might accrue from the settlement of a large number of Emigrants on the public domain ; I hope that the Owen's Sound settlement, and the Megantic territory will yet afford the inducement, and realise the advantage.

' Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing the attempt.'

'* I am indebted to the Monthly Review for the information that during nine years, excluding that of cholera, 1832, the ex- penses occasioned by Emigrants amounted to a little over £3,000 per annum ; during six of these years, viz., from 1835 to 1840 inclusive, 97,271 Immigrants arrived in Canada, by the Quebec route, and taking the average annual expense at £3,000 (although from the small numbers that came in the years 1838 and 1839, the expense was much diminished), it would not amount to 4s. per head, an expense by no means commensurate with the blessing of so augmented a population .

" I have so often alluded to the powerful testimonies fur- nished by every Governor of Canada, as to the immense im- portance of promoting, by every means in our power, Immigra- tion to this Colony, that I feel it unnecessary to cite them again ; but I cannot but refer to the testimonies of two of the judges of this province, given during their visit in England, that of Chief Justice Robinson, warmly espousing the adoption of a systematic and extended Immigration, and that of Mr. Justice

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Hagerman, contained in the admirable evidence which he delivered before the Select Committee of the House of Com- mons ; — hut there is another testimony which I am desirous of citing, which has appended to it the names of Hagerman, Prince, Sherwood, Powell, Robinson, Chisholm, and Hunter, a report of the House of Assembly, which says, ' If there be one matter more than another that they feel a deep interest in, and desire to promote, it is Emigration from the British islands. They are aware of the immense advantage the country has derived from this source, in general wealth, as well as in their social and political relations ; and it is universally considered that the check it has experienced from the recent difficulties in the two provinces, is among the most serious, if not tlie very greatest, of the evils that have resulted from them.' It is therefore delightful to know that the present year's Emigration has exceeded that of the last, by upwards of 6,000 persons, amounting by the Quebec route alone, to nearly 30,000. Of this amount I know of many possessed of ample means ; numbers have been scattered, distributed, settled, and employed through- out the country ; and many former evils of great magnitude, intemperance, disease, idleness, and destitution, have been ma- terially lessened. The most discouraging occurrence was that of the poor islanders of Lewis, who came out at an advanced season of the year, in considerable numbers, speaking an almost unknown tongue, and being in a state of unusual destitution. This of course caused difficulty, inconvenience, and embarrass- ment to the community among whom they settled ; and Avhilst, I cannot but lament the improvidence, and condemn it, I must say that I was not surprised at it. Year after year these suf- fering people have felt the stings of famine, the consequence of arrested toil — the future has been without a ray or glimmering of hope, or a prospect of relief. Consternation has seized their families, and although they have felt a horrible combat in their wretchedness between religion and nature, they have never been led by their miseries to substitute active resistance to passive endurance. To add to the multifarious evils con- nected with the over-population of the Highlands and Islands of

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Scotland, where the population is most dense, and has most rapidly increased, the means of subsistence have been most pre- carious and scarce. Letters from their friends arrive, render- ing the weight of their burdens still more oppressive, by informing them that plenty is smiling on them, and rewarding their industry in British North America. They grasp with avidity these glad tidings, and in the language of that venerable and exalted patriot, Dr. M'Leod, ' they resolve to cross the Atlantic, even should they swim.'

" I cannot but indulge the fond anticipation, that this vir- tuous, suffering people, may be settled in the country ; they are, as the authority I have before cited says of them, ' invaluable for peace or war.' The depressing influence of poverty, its anxieties and cares, has more or less broke the spirit of self- dependence in a great number, and where it has not produced a total dependence on gratuitous support, has yet relaxed, to a certain extent, industrious exertions which, desultory and at intervals though they were, sustained not less the mind than the body above the level of abject destitution. It is surely worth an effort to save these men, especially as they can be made serviceable to us. They are pre-eminently distinguished for their simple virtues ; notwithstanding successive years of want, almost famine, not a moment's real interruption has been experienced to internal order and tranquillity ; fond of a pas- toral and agricultural life, and of their native associations, they may realize, in this country, the picture that could have been drawn of them, at home, in happier days : —

' Far from the maddening crowd's ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learnt to stray; Along tlie cool sequestered vale of life, They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.'

" Many influential noblemen and gentlemen have traversed the country during the year, and have expressed their hearty concurrence in the sentiments of the late Governor-General, beautifully and felicitously conveyed to Lord John Russell : —

" ' I should do injustice to my own feelings if I were not to state to your Lordship the impression which has been left on

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my mind by the inspection which I have made of the Upper Province. It is really impossible to say too much of the ad- vantages which nature has bestowed upon it, especially that part of the country which lies between the three lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron. If these great advantages be properly used, I foresee that, in the course of a very few years, Upper Canada must become one of the most valuable possessions of the Bri- tish Empire. Its population may be trebled, and its products increased in an immense ratio ; while, if properly governed, its inhabitants will, when satisfied, become the most loyal, intelli- gent, and industrious subjects which Her Majesty can number.' " My exertions were confined this year very mainly to Eng- land, and from England a much larger proportion of Immi- grants have arrived in this province, than for many years past. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for the countenance I received from its nobility, clergy, and gentry, in prosecuting my efforts through the country, nor the deep mortification I felt at leaving Devonshire on the eve of a more promising and en- couraging tour than any I had previously made. In the county of Wiltshire, I met numbers anxiously seeking information con- cerning Canada ; and since my arrival here I have received a letter from an influential gentleman of that county, informing me that many industrious yeomen were preparing to remove to this province in the ensuing spring. I received many pressing invitations to proceed to Ireland, to form a Central Emigration Society in Dublin; and I deplore that it was not in my power to perform the promise, and realize the expectation which I held out, of visiting that city for such purpose this autumn. I had the pleasure, however, of maintaining an uninterrupted corre- spondence with many in that noble country, who were most anxious to encourage and promote Emigration to this. Amongst the most persevering, enlightened, and influential, I may men- tion the worthy member for Limerick, W. S. O'Brien, Esq., and D. Henchy, Esq., of Dublin. I have expressed my regret that I was not favoured with more of the correspondence of the various Emigration Societies, Bytown, however, formed an exception ; and I confess that I am much gratified to learn that

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many valuable settlers have fixed their abode in that interesting* section of the province. I have been requested by the Earl of Mountcashell to convey his best thanks to the gentlemen of tlie Ottawa district, for liaving intrusted to him several petitions, and furnished him with mucli matter, of great importance to the Colony and the furtherance of Emigration. As I abstained from interfering in politics at home, I am not about engaging in its entangling discussions and perplexities here ; but I can- not refrain from urging on the agricultural classes of this pro- vince, the continued prosecution of their efforts to obtain the admission of their produce into England on the same terms as if it were grown in Ireland. Although tlic last election, and the recent change of Ministry, have demonstrated how power- ful the friends of agricultural protection are in Great Britain, yet I do not consider the friends to British protection unfavour- able to Colonial protection. It is admitted by all that Great Britain must receive an annual supply of bread stuffs from other countries ; it has been seen with what reluctance she will re- ceive that supply from foreign powers ; and when it is remem- bered that it was to protect both Home and Colonial produce, that the recent conflict in Great Britain was carried on, it is only reasonable to suppose that the North American Colonies will have the preference given to them, and be stimulated in their agriculture by receiving full permission to introduce their produce into the mother country duty free.

" From repeated conversations with some of the warmest advocates of the corn-laws, I am quite satisfied that they are anxious to allay the excitement existing on the subject, by yielding to the public wish the untrammelled introduction of Canadian produce into British ports ; and with that boon, small as it may apjiear, there will be no longer any complaints of consequence made, about unprofitable farming in these fer- tile regions.

" There was to have been a meeting of the large landed proprietors of the United Kingdom, last month, in London, to consider the means which they could adopt to render a system of Emigration from their respective estates to Canada, useful

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to the Colony, advantageous to themselves, and beneficial to the Emigrants. I hope the province will encourage and pro- mote the wishes of the landlords to the utmost of its power. Mr. Hunt, in the little work called ' Canada versus Australia,' has said, ' Its people have been said to be the strength of a country ; and in regard to new countries, there can be no question of the fact.' In this position, I entirely acquiesce. I cannot but believe that Emigration Associations, if properly conducted and vigorously carried on, would prove a powerful incentive to Immigration, and a most useful adjunct in its suc- cessful prosecution. Those gentlemen who are so sensitive about 'pauper' Emigration, and who are so solicitous to encourage Emigrants of capital, would do well to exert their energies to accomplish this purpose.

" Since Emigration has attracted so much notice, and so many Colonies have put forth their respective claims, nothing- can be more clear than that the contiguity of Canada, and the readiness of reaching it, give it a great superiority over re- moter regions.

" It is now two years and a half since I accompanied my late beloved and venerable friend Bishop Macdonell to Great Britain, to draw the attention of the British nation to these noble and magnificent Colonies of the British Crown. Entirely according -svith the views of Mr. Justice Hagerman, given to the House of Commons, that ' the increase of the population of a new country is an object of primary importance,' and be- lieving with him also, that ' to reduce its waste and wild lands to a state of cultivation, to develope its resources, and to aug- ment its wealth, can only be accomplished by this means ; and therefore extensive Emigration is earnestly desired by the inhabitants of Canada' — and entertaining the same conclusion, that ' nothing is so certain to conduce to the preservation of Canada, in peace and prosperity to the British Crown, as an extensive and well conducted Emigration to it from Great Britain, and that in no part of Her Majesty's dominions is an honest and industrious man less likely to be disappointed in the attainment of independence and comfort than in Canada" — I

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did not hesitate to bring before the British people the value and resources of the country, and endeavour to restore to Canada that fertilizing- stream of Immigration, which, in 1838, had declined to 2,938, and restore it to its present renovated condition, which during this year amounts to nearly 30,000 by the port of Quebec alone. If, without the prosecution of the public works, we have received at least 30,000 this year, and find that they have been principally retained and settled in the province, what an important auxiliary will be furnished next year, for an augmented importation, by the extent of the public works then intended to be carried on.

" I feel that I can confidently appeal to the friends of the Colonies in Great Britain as to my undivided labours in this great cause, to the mass of correspondence which I have now presented to you, to the zealous advocates of Canada amongst the nobility, gentry, and clergy at home, to the augmented Immigration of the last two years, to the diminution of many evils connected with Emigration complained of formerly, to the awakened interest on the subject in the Colony itself, to the gratifying prospects before us ; and I think it is not too much to ask that the pledges which were made to me should be sustained, to enable me to fulfil obligations formed on the conviction of their realization.

" The future is big with hope ; and by the unwearied pro- secution of this patriotic measure, divested of party and poli- tical feeling, we may fairly indulge the hope of seeing our forests turned into corn-fields, our villages into cities, com- merce extending its lines through the entire length and breadth of our inland seas, our fellow-subjects at home relieved of their depression and distress, and the mutual welfare, consequence, and happiness of the mother country and Canada promoted by the zealous encouragement given to British Immigration.

" Dr. Dunlop, in proposing the first resolution, said that he wished there were a dozen Dr. Rolphs sent to England instead of one ; all the other Colonies that wanted settlers had active agents at home, well informed as to tlie capabilities and resources of the Colony which employed them ; and the people

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of the United States were so well convinced of the necessity of this course of action, that in every land speculation undertaken, sending agents to Europe was a regular part of their calcu- lating expenditure. It had been objected that paupers alone would be sent to this country. Who was a pauper ? — A man who could not by his labour maintain himself. But the sober, industrious man, with a stout heart and strong arm, who came to this country as a pauper from England, ceased to be so, and became a useful and valuable member of society, the moment he placed his foot on the soil of this province. What produced the strength and wealth of a people ? Adam Smith had an- swered the question with his usual sagacity, — it was the num- ber of hands that a nation could maintain, and which it could profitably employ. There were more hands in Great Britain and Ireland than could be profitably employed, and here we had profitable employment for all and for more than all they could spare. A friend of his, now deceased, a man of great shrewdness and much information, had assured him that on an examination of the books of six Paisley manufacturers, and taking the average of three years, he found that the wages of a workman that worked fourteen hours a-day, only amounted to six shillings per week, while in his own (the Huron) district, the wages of a common labourer was thirteen dollars a month, with board, lodging, &c. It was only necessary, therefore, to make known these facts to the labouring poor of Great Britain, and they certainly would never submit to starvation and hard labour, when with less labour, by emigrating to this province, they could obtain all the necessaries and some of the luxuries of life. There was one gentleman to whom this province was indeed deeply indebted, — the Rev. Mr. Sockett, the agent to the vene- rable and philanthropic Earl of Egremont. He had published a pamphlet containing letters from Lord Egremont's settlers, prov- ing how much their condition had been bettered by coming to Canada. He (Dr. Dunlop) had written to the Rev. gentleman, telling him that he considered that matter beyond debate ; but what was of more importance at that time, was to prove to the landed gentlemen of England the advantage that must accrue to

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themselves, by zealously assisting in Emigration : he accordingly, in a small pamphlet addressed to a member of Parliament, gave an account of what had occurred in his own and neighbouring parishes, where the Petworth Committee, at the head of which was Lord Egremont, had exerted themselves in encouraging Emigration, and proved by authentic documents that the poor- rates of each parish had diminished £6 per annum for every family sent to Canada. A friend of his (Mr. D.) the member for Ipswich, to whom he shewed this statement, said he had been long of that opinion, and immediately set about assisting his people to emigrate ; he said that it was a mere rule-of- three question : a certain number of people the law had given a lie7i for an annuity on his estate ; the question then with him was, was it worth while at three years' purchase to buy up not only this annuity, but that of all their descendants. Another objec- tion had been started, that the people of the old country could not clear land : this was alike nonsensical and false ; any mechanical trade, even that of making watches, could be acquired in three months ; and a man who was in the habit of using arms in one way, could in half that time learn to use them in another. While he (Dr. D.) was settling the township of Guelph, three men — two of them English, and one Irish — chal- lenged any three Americans or Canadians to chop against them, and, after many trials, they always came off victorious : this was enough to prove their capacity at any rate. Another objection too had been raised, — that farming was an unprofitable employment for a gentleman who could not labour with his own hands, and who invested in it £500, or £1,000. It was unprofitable ; but in what other way would such a capital, if vested without the owner's personal labour, be sufficient for the support of himself and family in the same style as at home ? To the hard-handed and laborious man, however, farming was, in Canada, a highly profitable occupation, as any one might know, not only from the high wages that labour produced here, but from the solid comfort enjoyed by those who culti- vated the land. He (Dr. D.) had as much experience in set- tling land as any man in America, and he could point out lain-

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dreds of instances where men had come out nearly penniless, — at all events with so little money as to be unable to pay the first instalment from £7 to £10 on their purchase, — who in six or eight years had their farms quite free of debt, 100 acres of them cleared, a good stock of cattle, comfortable house and out-buildings, all the necessary implements of husbandry, and were in the enjoyment of all the comforts and conveniences of agricultural life. All that was wanted at home was an ex- tended knowledge of these facts, which were here undeniable ; and most wofuUy ignorant the people of Great Britain had been of everything relating to Canada. It was, therefore, both our interest and duty, — our interest to add to the value of our property here, and our duty to relieve the distressed at home, — to give the people that information ; and no way had ever been devised, or could be devised, for that legitimate purpose, and this he knew full well from his own personal experience, than that so energetically and ably adopted by Dr. Rolph. He would therefore conclude by moving that ' The thanks of this meeting be given to Dr. Rolph for his laudable and efficient efforts to promote the best interests of our own and our adopted country.'

" Colonel Prince said, Mr. Sheriff and Gentlemen, I never, in my life, rose to second a resolution with more gratification than I do the present, as I feel fully convinced that the exer- tions of Dr. Rolph in Great Britain have been of the greatest benefit to Canada. Nothing can be more certain than that a vast addition to our population is indispensably necessary to our prosperity ; and it is equally evident that the ardent zeal exhibited by Dr. Rolph in his extended intercourse with the most influential people in the United Kingdom, has been attended with the most beneficial results. I have been always a warm advocate for the promotion of Emigration, particularly that of the sturdy yeomanry of England ; that description of population adds greatly to the wealth and stability of a country. I have been opposed to what may be fairly termed a pauper population, that is, the helpless, infirm, aged, and totally indi- gent ; but I quite agree with my friend Dr. Dunlop, that an

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able-bodied labourer, one willing and competent to work, can- not be termed a pauper Emigrant, but is an acquisition to the province, and an auxiliary to its wealth. It has been lament- able to see the indifference manifested on this great and vital question, which had never yet received the warm support it deserved, and which formed a strong and melancholy contrast to the exertions made by every other Colony in the Empire. The Government had not done all that it might ; but it was very evident that the late Lord Sydenham had done more than any other Governor in aid of Immigration, and he (Colonel Prince) earnestly hoped that his successor would have the means af- forded him of doing much more. He was greatly gratified in having heard the just and well-deserved eulogium paid by Dr. Rolph to Lord John Russell, whose zeal in the promotion of the welfare of the Colonies, had earned him the admiration even of those who were his political opponents. The necessity of having active and intelligent agents in Great Britain, to furnish information to all who sought it at their hands, was verified in his own person. When he first contemplated leaving England, it was not his intention to have come to Canada ; indeed it had not even occurred to him : but meeting with his friend Dr. Dunlop at the Canada Company's Ofiice, in London, and. finding from him that Canada was not the region of ice and snow that he had, in common with the majority of the English people, imagined, he had made up his mind to listen to his recommendation, and to adopt his advice ; and speaking of the climate, he must express his conviction that it was supe- rior in many respects to that of Great Britain. It was there- fore his firm persuasion and earnest desire that agents should be employed at home to impart all the information possible to persons desirous of proceeding to Canada ; and he wished it to go forth through the province, that every constituency should instruct their members to bring before the House of Assembly at its next session the important measure of Emigration, and make provision for the employment of agents, at least in London, Dublin, Liverpool, and Glasgow. Canada must no longer remain suphie in a matter so essential to its welfare ; and he

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earnestly longed to see the desire of Lord Sydenham accom- plished,— that our population would be trebled, and that from the best source, the honest and industrious yeomanry of Great Britain. It was not a matter of doubt or problem, that we had had a very valuable addition to the province this year, and that large as had been the numbers that came, they had not been found too many. There had been a great impulse imparted to the province, and much private enterprise had been carried on ; the town and country had been greatly benefited and improved. He was always anxious that more should not come out than could be profitably or conveniently employed ; and it was there- fore a great pleasure to him to know, that the various District Councils in the province could proceed in the work of improve- ment in their respective townships, and that the vigour thus imparted, together with the public works which were to be proceeded with, would set at rest all uneasiness as to the num- bers that might arrive, and that we might contemplate, with the utmost satisfaction, the successful result of such labours as they were called upon now to acknowledge. He concluded by seconding the motion, and sat down amid loud cheering.

" The Sheriff, in putting the question to the meeting, said that he had been much pleased with the Report just submitted to them ; and he felt it right to say, that many gentlemen who had come to settle in Canada this year, and whose means were very ample, had expressed to him how much benefited they had been by their interviews with Dr. Rolph in England. He hoj)ed and believed that the Association Avould not be aban- doned, but that it would yet prove of great use in the further- ance of Emigration. It was his intention to convene a meeting of Directors very speedily, to adopt measures at once ; in the meantime, he had great pleasure in submitting the resolution to the meeting, in which he most heartily concurred. The reso- lution was then put and carried, amid the acclamations of the meeting. Dr. Rolph returned thanks. A vote of thanks was passed to the Sheriff, who said he would give timely notice for a meeting of the Directors of the Association. The meeting then adjourned."

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After this large meeting, I was invited to others of a similar character in different parts of the province, but into the details of which I need not enter ; I shall therefore close the narrative of this year's transactions, by some extracts from a letter which I addressed to a Member of the Provincial Parliament, on the interesting subject of the admission of Canadian agricultural produce into British ports, duty free : —

"Toronto, November 27, 1841.

" Sir, — Having remained in this city for the express pur- pose of attending the meeting of the agriculturists of the Home District, to consider the propriety of i)etitioning the Imperial Parliament for a remission of the duties now levied on Canadian produce on its introduction into British ports, and heartily con- curring with you as to the best mode by which this boon may be obtained, I take the liberty of sending my views on the ques- tion, being unable to attend the adjourned meeting to be held on this interesting subject. It seems to me exceedingly de- sirable, that the agriculturists of the province should unite cordially together in obtaining that assistance and encourage- ment from the mother country which is loudly called for by the relative wants, as well as for the mutual advantages, of Canada and Great Britain.

" Perhaps there never was a period when any application could be made for the removal of the duty on Canadian produce with more certainty of success than at the present time. It is now somewhat more than two years since, that the Agricultural Protection Society in England, anticipating the feeling which Avould spring up amongst the labouring classes in Great Britain on the subject of the corn laws, and wisely and patriotically resolving to join common interest with the Colonies on this matter, taking advantage of my presence in England at tliat time, honoured me by constituting me Corresponding Secretary for their institution on behalf of the British North American Colonies. In order to enlist the affections and secure the regard of so powerful an interest united on behalf of these provinces, I mingled much with the potential members of that valuable

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Association, and I have no hesitation in expressing my confident conviction that the agricultural body of Canada have not their hostility to dread, but their co-operation to invite. No class feels greater interest in the rising prosperity of this province than the landed interest of Great Britain. Agriculture can alone secure the lasting foundation of the wealth and prospe- rity of this country. There never was a country whose farmers were prosperous, where there was not also abundance of pros- perous merchants, tradesmen, and mechanics. The farmers of Great Britain, and the Colonies of Great Britain, are not only the best, but almost the only customers now left to or to be de- pended upon by the manufacturers of Great Britain ; for it is a well ascertained fact, that during the last year that Great Britain was compelled to draw the greater portion of her bread stuffs from the Continent of Europe, the British manufacturers de- rived no corresponding benefit by an increased demand for their articles : the corn of Europe was paid for by the gold of England. It was the opinion of Lord John Russell, ' That it was impossible that high wages and a low price for produce could go together either on farms or looms :' encouragement and just and adequate protection to agriculture was felt to be of primary importance to the stability and advancement of a country, particularly by those who have ever gloried in the motto of ' the plough and the sail.' Adequate protection to agri- cultural produce was considered indispensable to agricultural prosperity by the most intelligent statesmen in the eastern and western hemispheres. It has been my unceasing desire, as well as my unremitting effort, to introduce into this province an industrious and healthy population. The late Lord Sydenham was particularly anxious to encourage the rural population of the United Kingdom to settle here. We require our mighty- forests to be felled, and the produce of our prolific and virgin soil to be wafted across the Atlantic in British ships. I wish to see not only the manufacturers of barrels, but the growers of wheat in a flourishing and prosperous condition. It had been both British capital and British industry that had cleared the wilds of the United States ; that had planted on their

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forests an industrious and enterprising people, built up popu- lous and wealthy towns in their interior recesses and on the margin of their numerous streams ; and it was high time that Canada should receive equal if not greater aid at her hands. Filling our boundless forests with hardy and industrious people, who would raise countless quantities of grain, and become con- sumers of immense quantities of British manufactured goods, and also obtaining a just and efficient protection, as well as stimulus to our agriculture, far from injuring our commerce, would very greatly extend and promote it; as in addition to the vast augmentation from our own supplies, the noble natural highways through our province, from the western states to the ocean, could never be overlooked by the population inhabiting that territory. It is well known that the western district has a very sparse population ; that its fertile soil and soft climate has not been hitherto as attractive as it should be : but during the present year, from the port of Chatham alone, there has been exported 70,000 bushels of wheat, and 1 ,000 hogsheads of tobacco, grown in that immediate vicinity, of as fine quality as that grown in Virginia. There can be no doubt but that we should have, and there is as little doubt but that we shall have, a just preference in the British market, if our farmers arc but active and united in their efforts to procure a remission of the present duty levied on their produce. Whilst all other property is fleeting and uncertain, land alone is stable and permanent ; — a property which can neither be swept away nor destroyed. Its interests are therefore of the highest consequence to the community. It is surely a painful and melancholy consideration, that whilst a large portion of our industrious fellow-subjects in the British Isles are in danger of perishing from dear or inadequate provisions ; that from the fluctuating character of the climate, the whole crop of potatoes in that fertile country, Ireland, is seriously jeopardized ; whilst we find that pork is obtaining 20 dollars per barrel throughout Great Britain, and other necessaries of life in the same propor- tion, we have but to go into the well supplied markets of this city, and find pork selling at 2 dollars 3 per lOOlbs., three

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half pence a pound, and beef and mutton that would not dis- grace Leadenhall market but a trifle dearer. This question, therefore, was one of vital moment to this country and Great Britain. The commerce of England, the agriculture of Ca- nada, the settlement of the country, the incentives to Immi- gration, would all be mightily enhanced by the remission of the duty on Canadian produce levied in British ports, and the clamour existing on the corn laws in Great Britain be promptly and effectually appeased. The capability of raising the very finest wheat in this province is undeniable. Mr. Hawke kindly gave me, last year, a small bag of wheat that had been grown on the new settlement near Owen's Bay, on Lake Huron. It was not a picked sample, but taken promiscuously from a quantity that had been raised. It was considered by the farmers of England of so superior a quality, that at the market tables in Bedfordshire it was grasped with avidity to plant for seed. It is, therefore, highly desirable that this question should be pur- sued vigorously, and be untrammelleled and unencumbered with any other request. It is one on which all parties can unite ; and I am so deeply impressed with the conviction that the warmest friends of agricultural protection in Great Britain will entertain the proposition with favour, and promote its adoption with all their power, that I would strongly recommend that the petition to the House of Lords should be entrusted to his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, and that in the House of Commons to Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bart.

" With our noble province, and its numerous highways to the ocean ; with our small and scattered population, compared with our agricultural capabilities ; with the redundant and suf- fering population of Great Britain, and their inadequate supply of the staff of life; it should be our pleasure, as it is obviously our duty and our interest, discarding all minor matters, to pro- secute sedulously and zealously our undivided efforts to render the relative wants of Great Britain and Canada of mutual ad- vantage to each other ; and if, as it is more than probable, by a vigorous and united effort we should succeed in ob- taining a remission of duty on Canadian agricultural produce, we shall be abundantly repaid in beholding our farmers en-

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riched by successful industry, our merchants flourishing from lucrative commerce, our tradesmen enjoying the profits of ex- tending trade, and the whole province participating in the blessings of general prosperity and welfare. *' I have the honour to be, sir,

" Your most obedient servant,

" Thomas Rolph." " Francis Hincks, Esq., M.P.P."

The following statement, made in a leading Canadian jour- nal, contrasting the then state of the province with its condition in 1839, is very conclusive as to the vast advantage derived by the increased Emigration of this year : —

" What is now the state of Canada? Land has risen 50 per cent, in value ; our banking abuses are tottering to their fall; commerce, in spite of every obstacle, is rapidly increasing ; our shipping is fully employed, and every port resounds with the sound of our ship-builders and engine-makers' hammers ; indus- trious and sober tradesmen are solicited to work at the highest wages, provisions are plentiful and cheap, and the farmer realiz- ing cash and property."

The Emigration to Canada, of 1841, amounted to 28,086.

1842. Previous to the arrival of Sir Charles Bagot in Canada, I received several invitations to attend different district meetings in the provinces, but was enabled only to comply with the request made to me from those of the districts of Niagara and Gore. On the 5th of January, by the summons of the High Sheriff, W. Kingsmill, Esq., who presided, one of the most respectable and largest meetings ever witnessed in Niagara was held in the Court House, on the subject of Emigration. On that occasion, I spoke as follows : —

" Gentlemen, — I am delighted to have an opportunity of meeting such a numerous and highly respectable assemblage in the district of Niagara ; for although it is a district that has been less directly benefited by Emigration than almost every other in the province, it has certainly accorded a more generous support, and entered more energetically into measures for its

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promotion, tlian many others. I have great pleasure in thank- ing its inhabitants for tlieir assistance, and assuring them of my sincere gratitude for the warm expressions of their appro- bation of my conduct, and of their confidence in my disposition to serve them. I have no hesitation in avowing that to the appeal made to me by the Niagara press in 1839, I was more induced to enter on my career in the United Kingdom in the summer of that year, than to any other circumstance ; and it is really most gratifying to me to find that my efforts in Great Britain have received your heartiest concurrence and most welcome support. It has been long quite evident to me that Emigration to this province, so loudly called for by its wants, so warmly recommended by every Governor that has presided over its destinies, so urged and desired by every successive legislature in each succeeding year, so demanded for its de- velopment and progress, could never be effectively promoted but by agency at home ; and the numerous and unceasing applications made to me, from all parts of the United Kingdom, for information about Canada, and the extent of correspondence which I carried on in Great Britain, has thoroughly convinced me, that what I before deemed desirable, is really indispen- sable. Shortly after my arrival in England last year, I received a letter from Edinburgh, from those indefatigable contributors to the literature of the day, the Messrs. Chambers, congratula- ting me on the appointment which I had just then received from the late Lord Sydenham, and stating that it was within their own knowledge that numbers of valuable Emigrants had been deterred from proceeding to Canada, from their inability to obtain any information concerning it, previous to their quit- ting home. From Dublin I received similar information. It was very evident that a want of this knowledge in England had been very detrimental to Emigration to Canada. Indeed, the existing disposition to profit by this information, and to render it available to the promotion of Emigration to Canada, could not be more clearly evinced than by the formation of the North American Colonial Committee, composed of noblemen and gentlemen, disinterestedly confederated together, devoting

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their time, their means, their talent, and their experience, to the prosecution of this patriotic and meritorious undertaking. This Committee have continued their sittings and exertions during two seasons, and they have invited the co-operation of the people of this province. If they have not received it, the fault is not with them ; they have seen Governor after Gover- nor recommending Emigration as a measure indispensably connected with the welfare of the province ; they have beheld committee after committee in the different sessions of the legis- lature reporting most warmly in favour of it ; they have wit- nessed an earnest desire, expressed by a vast majority of the inhabitants of the province, to promote a comprehensive and systematic plan for its encouragement. These considerations have urged them to lend their powerful aid to a measure im- periously demanded by the suffering unemployed masses in Great Britain, and the want of labourers here ; by the excess of population there, by the paucity of population here ; by the advantageous interchange that could be effected by our produce for their manufactures, and by the impulse which a judicious transfer of population would give to agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and trade. The awakened interest in the success of Emigration has given an impulse and an energy to the enter- prise of Canada that promises the happiest results. Gentlemen, when I left Upper Canada in May 1839, a spirit of alarm existed through the land ; the spirit of improvement had fled ; all energy seemed to have forsaken the people ; the bayonet and the sword were the weapons substituted for the plough and the axe. Emigration, the life's blood of the province, had declined, had dwindled down to less than 3,000 in one year, and many inhabitants seriously meditated the abandonment of the country. Whilst these distressing scenes were witnessed in the province, the feeling existing in Great Britain was most unfavourable to Canada. That villainous anti-national faction that Avere opposed to the connexion of these provinces with Great Britain, were exclaiming loudly against the expense of their protection ; they were decrying the utility of Colonies ; they were prepared for the dismemberment of the empire, and

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were ready to dissever that endearing- affinity wliicli constitutes equally the hope and the pride of Canada. On returning from Inverness, in the autumn of that year, I met in the steam-boat a Member of the Imperial Parliament, who gave utterance to these sentiments. I appealed to the chivalry, honour, and fidelity of the noble Highlanders on board to protect themselves against the imputation of such debasing doctrines ; and my appeal was not only nobly responded to, but has led to the for- mation of a lasting friendship with them, the fruition of which was witnessed during the last year, by the noble advance which one of those gentlemen made to his tenantry, to assist them in their settlement in Canada : I allude to Niell Malcolm, Esq., of Poltalloch. I trust this party — the separation party — will never regain any ascendancy over the public mind. The as- surances of Lord John Russell, in his memorable despatch to Lord Sydenham, must convince the people of this continent that the Government will afford no countenance to such disor- ganizing and dangerous dogmas ; but that ' it must be taken for granted, that Her Majesty persists in the determination to maintain at all hazards her royal authority in Canada. Neither the honour of Her Majesty's Crown, nor the support due to her loyal subjects in British North America, nor the provident care of the interests of the empire at large, would permit any

deviation from this fixed principle of British policy

We have only to consider the means of binding Canada more firmly to this country, of developing her resources, of strength- ening her British population, of defending her territory, and of supporting and encouraging the loyal spirit of her people. . With a legislature in Canada disposed to co-operate with the Queen and the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in developing her vast and unexplored resources, tliere is every hope that we shall behold the prosperity of that noble province augmented every year, and add more to the strength and sta- bility of the empire.' These lofty, patriotic, and enlightened sentiments of Lord John Russell will be re-echoed by every good man in the province, and frustrate the machination of any separatists existing on either side of the Atlantic.

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" In January, 1840, I received a letter from the Duke of Aro-yll, inviting me to meet the noblemen, heritors, and chiefs of Scotland in Edinburgh, to consider the best means to be adopted to promote a systematic plan of Emigration to Canada. That meeting was numerously attended ; and a resolution was passed, pledging themselves to unite and use their heartiest endeavours to remove their surplus population to Canada ; and I am now using my utmost exertions to effect the settlement of the township of Moulton, and for that purpose carrying on a correspondence with a wealthy and influential nobleman, de- sirous of removing his tenantry to this province. I have sub- mitted Mr. Boulton's proposition to him, and I am awaiting with anxiety the result. I was not insensible, also, to the value of Emigration from Ireland ; in the splendid encomium passed on tlie Irish labourers by the Chief Justice of this province, I heartily concurred. To their zeal, patience, toil, endurance, activity, and industry, nearly all the great works in this hemisphere may be ascribed. Canals, railroads, bridges, public roads, harbours, aqueducts, and indeed all the public works, are the results of their unwearied application. In their hands the subjugation of the forest is an easy task, and their vivacity, good temper, and habitual disregard of difficulties, has rendered them most successful pioneers in that arduous enterprise. I found Lord Cloncurry, a nobleman to whom the Irish look with confidence as to his opinions and advice, engaged in correspondence with Colonel Torrens about Australia, and recommending his coun- trymen to emigrate to the United States. I did not hesitate one instant in grappling with his Lordship on the subject ; and it was a source of unbounded gratification to me to win over that noble lord to be a zealous champion for the furtherance of Emigration to Canada; and I have reason to believe that Canada is the Colony to which the greater portion of the landed proprietors of Ireland are desirous that their surplus population should remove. In England that valuable yeomanry which has long constituted its ornament and defence, look to Canada as the land of promise ; and the agricultural interest seem desirous of increasing the bonds of union and afl'ection

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with this province, in order that in any alteration which may be made in the corn laws, Great Britain shall derive from this, her natural source, that supply which the wants of her people demand. From Wiltshire, Essex, Dorsetshire, and Norfolk, I have received most flattering and encouraging accounts of the promised Emigration for this present year. This leads me, Gentlemen, to the more immediate subject of the meeting, — the inducements the province offers for their retention. Of the multifarious evils which formerly existed, as to the unworthiness of ships, want of food and water, irregularities of sailing, frauds and deceptions practised upon Emigrants, all have been mitigated, and many removed. The attention of the Govern- ment, the Emisration Commissioners, and the friends of Colo- nization, have been earnestly directed to this important matter; and certainly the most masterly despatch I have ever read, was that from the late Governor-General to Lord John Russell, comprehending the whole of these important topics, and offer- ing the most judicious suggestions for their correction. If so much zeal and philanthropy has been displayed l)y the autho- rities both here and at home for remedying all defects that heretofore existed to retard and injure Emigration, it is no less incumbent on the province, who are so immeasurably benefited by Emigration, to take every means in their power to facilitate and expedite the settlement of their fellow-subjects who come from the British isles to take up their abode in Canada. The noble and patriotic inhabitants of Montreal, to their lasting- honour and credit, have made great exertions to render the strangers as they arrive happy and comfortable. I cannot express the delight I felt in inspecting their spacious, well ven- tilated rooms fitted up for the reception of Emigrants, their large and well conducted hospital for the sick, and indeed the whole of the arrangements made for the preservation and restoration of health, and for the cleanliness and comfort of their fellow- subjects as they arrive. No people have done more for this great cause than those of Montreal, and their example is well worthy of extended imitation. The inhabitants of the Ottawa district have warmly taken up the question of Emigration, and

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what they liave done for its promotion should be generally fol- lowed by all the districts in the province.

"There is every prospect of the public works being proceeded with during the present year ; and the scarcity of labourers at present is so severely felt, that I have the authority of Mr. Merritt in stating that one thousand able-bodied labourers are at this very moment urgently required on the Welland Canal ; of the 30,000 who came in 1841, many inquired how they could be absorbed and disposed of. Gentlemen, with great pride I point to the vast extent of improvement that has been carried on in this province during the year last past. 1 am delighted to think that I resisted, and successfully resisted, the introduc- tion of disparaging comparisons between this province and the United States, in the Memorial presented to Lord John Russell. I care not what the country may be, — I defy contradiction to this statement, — no country with so few inhabitants, recovering so recently from such enormous and complicated difficulties, and without receiving support and means from other countries, ever made such triumphant, solid, and satisfactory progress as Canada has made during the last year. Yes, Gentlemen, and this too without the stoppage of her banks, the destruction of her credit, or the repudiation of her debts. (Loud and continued cheers). Look at Montreal, her crowded harbours, her splendid wharves, her noble mansions, her well-filled stores, her excellent roads, the intelligence, activity, and enterprise of her inhabitants, and what a contrast the vivifying and inviting- aspect of 1841 presents to the gloom and dejection of 1838. Proceeding westward, Kingston arrests the attention ; the large, spacious, elegant edifices recently erected are gratifying and astonishing evidences of public enterprise and spirit. Along the margin of the majestic lake, new harbours and ports have been erected, and in the townships immediately on its border, many valuable settlers have fixed their abode during the pre- sent season. At Toronto the amazing improvements to be witnessed excite our admiration and astonishment ; the exten- sive range of new buildings, the addition to the wharves, the introduction of gas, are extraordinary and gratifying proofs of

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the indispiitaLle progress of the province. At Hamilton the same cheering indications of awakened energy are to be met with ; and through many portions of the western sections of Canada an advancement has been made redounding to the honour of the people, and a cause of warm congratulation to those who delight in its prosperity : nor is it likely to droop. At Toronto and Hamilton I know that apprehensions are felt, on account of the numerous contracts made for new buildings this year, that some difficulty will be experienced in procuring labourers : I trust without foundation ; thousands of our coun- trymen suffering at home will receive this intelligence as glad tidings of great joy ; and, Gentlemen, it will only be for you and for otliers in this magnificent province to turn their weeping into joy, their misery into wealth. Amidst all the improve- ments that I have spoken of, I cannot but congratulate you on the establishment of your Harbour and Dock Company, the works of which have alike excited my wonder and admiration. During the last year from this dock three noble steamers have been furnished to the lake, and the beautiful launch of another this day, and the sight of several more upon the stocks, are convincing demonstrations of increasing commerce, and entire confidence as to the progress of the province.

" Canada is yet a giant in its cradle, capable of receiving an addition to, and also of benefiting five times its present population. With its agreeable and salubrious climate, and its fertile soil — with but a fifteenth portion of its surveyed lands in a state of cultivation — with its unequalled geographical position, the highway between the country on, and beyond the lakes to the Atlantic, there is abundant room for the indus- trious, unemployed population of the mother country ; with our unrivalled form of government, our matchless and glorious constitution, we should stand proud and unassailable in the western hemisphere. We are destined to have wealth and strength, and it is all important that we should have the intel- ligence, virtue, feeling, refinement, spirit, language, and man- ners, constantly imported from that noble empire to which we belong. Armed with the invulnerable panoply of her valour,

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her justice, and lier laws, industry, and arts, and enterprise, will make their ahodes among us. Millions will derive their subsistence from this prolific soil : now is the time to unite and make a vigorous effort to promote these objects. Peace reigns within our borders, tranquillity and contentment in our land ; and, gratefully thanking that mighty Providence that has safely conducted and guided us through so many perils, shielded us from danger, and showered his choicest blessings on us, let us each, in our respective capacities, take for our motto, in the promotion of this great and glorious cause, that of the Prince of Wales, ' Ich dien,' I serve."

On the 8th of January, the District of Gore was convened at the Court House in Hamilton, A. Macdonell, Esq. High Sheriff, presiding ; and from a very lengthened statement on the subject of Emigration, I make the following extracts : —

" Gentlemen, as his Excellency the Governor-General, in his answer to the address of the District of Gore, — in conformity with the admirable principles laid down by Lord John Russell in his despatch to the late lamented Governor-General of this province, that ' We have only to consider the means of bind- ing Canada more firmly to this country, of developing her resources, of strengthening her British population, of defending her territory, and of supporting and encouraging the loyal spirit of her people, and in developing her vast and unexplored resources,' — has stated to us, that it will be an object of his early and anxious solicitude, to promote Emigration, and carry on the public improvements in the country ; and as his Excel- lency was further pleased to state to me, that it was exceed- ingly desirable that Emigration should be earnestly promoted by every means in our power ; and not having had any pre- vious opportunity, since my return from Great Britain, of addressing the District of Gore on this vital subject, I trust I shall stand excused for making a few observations with regard to it at this time.

" Of the Emigration of 1841, the increase of Emigrants who arrived at Quebec as compared witii the preceding year, was 6,215, — whilst the decrease at New York, compared with the

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preceding year, was 3,769 ; and tliis difference is still more extraordinary and gratifying, when I assure you that more Emigrants came by the New York route for Canada in 1841, than during many years past. Of the Emigrants who arrived, I have on a former occasion given an account of those settled in the Ottawa and Bathnrst districts ; it is equally gratifying and satisfactory to be enabled now to speak of those settled in the Home and Newcastle districts. During my recent journey to Kingston, I purposely went by short stages through the interesting and flourishing country along the lake, to institute inquiries about the settlers of 1841 ; and it must be a great pleasure for you to hear, that the townships of Scarborough, Pickering, Darlington, Whitby, and Clarke, have liad a very considerable addition to their population, and that those who have settled in those districts are perfectly happy and con- tented. The new and flourishing village of Osliawa, crowded with produce from the country round the Scngog lake, the enterprise displayed at Bond Head, the number of improved and excellent habitations along tlie whole route, attest the improved and flourishing condition of the country. Whilst we are thus inspired by the awakened energy and enterprise of the people, — whilst we are stimulated to renewed exertions by the promised co-operation of the mother country — whilst we are emboldened to hope and persevere in our improvements, from the increased interest manifested in our welfare, and the greater regard exhibited for our prosperity, by our fellow- subjects, — whilst the capitalists of Great Britain are seeking to invest their surplus capital in this provhice, — and, above all, when the Government seems resolved to afibrd its utmost assistance in the settlement of the country, and the completion of its improvement, it is not surely the time for the people them- selves to relax. Our climate, our soil, our extraordinary natural resources, all call upon us to proceed in the career of improvement. The Governor of the State of New York, in making a similar appeal to the people of that State, has called upon them to unite with him in carrying out undertakings wUicli he deems necessarv, — ' to retain the trade of Lake

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Ontario, and to counteract the efforts of tlie Canadian Go- vernment to guide the travel and trade of these countries, and of the far west, down the valley of the St. Lawrence. The delay of the undertaking exhibits a presumptuous confidence in our ability to retain, without effort, advantages which it should be remembered are altogether acquired.'

" He further expresses his great anxiety for their co-opera- tion, as he says — ' We compete with Canadian effort, not only under the disadvantage of an increased distance from Lake Erie, by the way of our canal, to European markets, but also under the effect of discriminating privileges in English ports to colonial shipments, exceeding what we could offer by even a free navigation of that channel.'

" ' The Canadian authorities, having already made a shij) canal around the falls of Niagara, and thus overcome the chief obstacle of the northern outlet of western trade, are pressing onward with energies derived from a re-organization of their political institutions, and sustained by the favour of the Im- perial Government.'

" And in his efforts to arouse the people to the necessity of renewed exertions, he bewails the existing apathy, and asserts that ' the country is falling from a career of high enterprise ; and the energies not of one, or of several, but of the States, must be aroused again to regain the course.'

" The town of Hamilton, so admirably fitted by nature as the emporium of the commerce of the west, — its noble bay, the recipient of a hundred rills, traversing the rich agricultural country in its rear, — not only owes its present prosperity to Im- migration, but its future greatness can only be established by it. Of what avail will the short and easy passage from lake to lake be, without a population to bring the products of their industry to market, and use it as the highway for their com- merce 1

" No one could look about this province without seeing that during the last two years, more especially daring the last, a new impulse had been given to private enterprise and public improvement. The object of his Excellency is ' peace to men

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of good will ;' and if he succeeds in the noble purposes which, in his answer to this district, he says will occupy his imme- diate and anxious attention, they will prove the precursor to this noble province of improved agriculture, of multiplied and diversified arts, and of extended commerce and navigation. It is one of the happiest characteristics in the principle of improve- ment, that the success of one great enterprise prompts to the execution of another ; and I cannot conclude without express- ing my fervent hope that the union of the two lakes by the new road from Hamilton, will unite, by closer ties of amity and interest, the inhabitants on the magnificent estuary of the St. Lawrence, of the margins of the lakes, and of the rapidly peopling forests in the interior."

On the 16tli of February, whilst at Kingston, I had the honour of receiving a communication from the Secretary of Sir Charles Bagot, stating, " I am commanded by the Governor- General to inform you, that his Excellency has decided, after full consideration, to renew your appointment as Emigration Agent in the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Government of this province. His Excellency has directed that this appoint- ment should be notified in the next Gazette." On the follow^ ing day, accompanied by my friend Sir Allan Napier Macnab, I left Kingston, but, owing to the deep snow, did not reach Quebec until the 23rd. On the morning of the 24th, a meet- ing of its inhabitants took place, in the spacious hall of the Exchange, suddenly called, as I was compelled to proceed on my journey that evening, but it was thronged to excess.

The Hon. W. Walker, being appointed Chairman, called the meeting to order, and said that he had great pleasure in intro- ducing me to the meeting.

After thanking the meeting for the enthusiastic welcome with which it had received me, I said, " That it was a source of great gratification to meet in this noble city, long the seat of government, as it must ever be that of magnificence and power, so numerous, respectable, and influential a concourse of my fellow-subjects, willing to unite together in that hallowed and interesting cause, the promotion of Emigration from the British

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Isles. It was the first opportunity that had been offered me, and amply compensated for a journey of 800 miles over Her Majesty's undisputed territory, at this season of the year, and the prospect of a few hundred miles further, through a territory between this and the ocean unfortunately still in dispute. I hailed this meeting as a presage and an earnest that the future history of this province would exhibit the gratifying spectacle of an united people, devoting their best energies to the improve- ment of the country, the development of its resources, the advancement of its agriculture, the extension of its commerce, and the promotion of its general prosperity. And what was more likely to conduce to these desirable results, than the establishment of a proper system of Emigration, by which a hardy and industrious population, now struggling against all the evils of poverty, might be placed in a position to render themselves independent in a few years — as far as independ- ence can be attained in this world, — and see that family for whose very existence I had often trembled in the land of my birth, comfortably provided for in this the land of my adoption ? This subject had at length forced itself upon the serious atten- tion of the Government in England, who it was generally be- lieved had a vast and maturely considered jjlan under delibera- tion for submission to Parliament at its next session. It was gratifying to learn that the subject had thus been taken up in the proper quarter ; and the feeling that had of late grown up in the old country in favour of Emigration, and the general in- terest taken in the discussion of the question, was the more gratifying, as it contrasted so strongly with the apathy that for- merly existed, both on the part of the people and the Govern- ment. I was confident that it would afford satisfaction to the meeting to learn, that his Excellency the Governor-General had honoured me with a similar commission to that which I liad received from the late Lord Sydenham, and had authorised me to jjroceed to England as Emigrant Agent on behalf of Canada, and in the United Kingdom to renew those exertions which had met with the too kind and generous approbation of the inhabi- tants of this country. I felt under deep obligation to his Ex-

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cellency for this mark of confidence, conferred, as it was, in a manner the most gratifying- to my feelings ; and I could assure the gentlemen then present, that it would be neither from want of exertion or unwearied application, that a continuance and increase of success should fail to attend my efforts to ensure the attention, and obtain the co-operation and assistance of the British people, to promote the lasting- interests of this valuable, interesting-, and important appendage of tlie British Crown, When I went to Great Britain in 18.39, it was at the request of my beloved and deeply lamented friend the late Bishop Mac- donell, who saw that something- M^as required to counteract the evil influences that had been brought into force against Emi- gration to Canada. The Emigration to Canada of the pre- ceding* year had dwindled down to about 3,000 persons ; and the reason was obvious. At public meetings, and through the press, was Emigration to Canada decried ; distrust existed among- the people to a great extent ; these, but, above all, want of correct information, deterred the British people from care- fully investigating the advantages which Canada held out over the United States, and led them to believe the interested state- ments made with regard to the latter country. The unex- ampled success of last year's Emigration, which was the most numerous since that of 1832, would rejoice all the real friends of this portion of the British Empire, and ojien out bright pros- pects for the future. It behoved them all, however, to be vigi- lant, and unceasing- in their exertions ; for notwithstanding the undeniable fact that tranquillity, peace, contentment, and hope prevailed throughout the province, there were not wanting evil and discontented persons who would fain retard its prosperity and welfare by the propagation of unfounded statements calcu- lated to excite gloom and distrust. The Leeds Times, an Eng- lish pa23er, in an article having such objects in view, says— ' Look to Canada, our chief Emigration field, and see whether this be a place to which, under present circumstances, the people ought to allow themselves to be transported ? Canada is kept quiet at the present time only by means of armed physical force ; fifteen thousand of the best and bravest of

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British troops are at this moment required to repress the smoul- dering flame of rebellion in that Colony.' I wondered that the Times had not followed up this statement with the equally tenable one made by the Colonial Gazette ^ ' that as many militia-men were employed to prevent the regulars from run- ning away.' The article alluded to, in the Leeds Times, pro- ceeded in a strain similar to that of the sentence which I had quoted, and, after much odious misrepresentation, said — ' A state of dreadful insecurity exists ; credit is unsound, trade languishing, and the Canadians are leaving their own country by thousands, and crossing over the lines, carrying with them their all into the United States.' It was really unnecessary for me to bring these statements before that meeting for the jjur- pose of refutation : their falsehood here was so palpable, that they excited no feeling beyond that of contempt. It might be different, however, elsewhere, where the truth was not so well known; and I was happy to be able to say, that I had in my possession authentic information, from Avhich it appeared, that nearly the whole of last year's immigration had remained in the Colony, and that the Emigrants were in a state that pro- mised future peace and comfort ; and that so far from the asser- tion in the Leeds paper being true, that the people were leaving the province in thousands, numbers had returned from the United States, whither they had proceeded with the impression that the country was more suitable to their views. They had discovered their error, and were now endeavouring, successfully in most instances, to regain in this Colony what they had lost by their trip over the lines. Many who had originally pro- ceeded to the United States for settlement, during the last season, had come to Canada, and the comj^arison between the two countries was so favourable to the latter as to induce them to remain in it. These were most cheering and gratifying facts, and being facts would go the further to expose the mali- cious statements of the Leeds Times and some other journals. One more statement only would I take the trouble to refute. A most wanton attack was made on the citizens of Montreal in the following manner ; — ' And if such be the condition of the

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Canadian people themselves, how truly deplorable must be the fate of the poorer class of Emigrants, whom the Government may inveigle out to that Colony, in order to relieve the land- lord-made " surplus population" at home. The Montreal papers, recently arrived, inform us of British Emigrants landing on their quays, perfectly destitute, and starving of hunger. One journal states — " At the present time, there are at St. Francis, Lower Canada, two hundred Emigrants from the Highlands of Scotland, in a most wretched and destitute situation, and ac- tually on the point of starving." Relief has been asked from the Montreal St. Andrew's Society, but in vain ; and the poor creatures are thrown upon the cold charities of an unfeeling world for the bare means of subsistence ; failing which, to famish, to sicken, and to die in a land of strangers, far from the silver streams, the green valleys, and wild mountains of their fatherland.' — Now, how plain a tale would invalidate this somewhat poetical statement. The Emigrants alluded to arrived very late in the season, and I certainly could not but condemn the singular improvidence of these poor people, arriving here without means so late as they did; but what would be thought of the heartlessness of this writer when it became known that they were nobly, generously, and promptly assisted by the inhabitants of Montreal, whose zeal and muni- ficence in promoting Emigration deserved the highest com- mendation? The Emigrants were eventually settled among their friends in the eastern townships, and were likely to prove a valuable, thriving, respectable, contented, and industrious body of settlers, instead of perishing of hunger and disease in a land of strangers. No British subject is a stranger in Canada. It must prove a source of pleasure to every one to learn that more persons, immigrant settlers in Canada, have sent home means to assist their poorer friends, to take passage and come out in the spring this season, than were ever before known to do so : this was one of the most, if not the most convincing proofs that could be adduced in favour of this country. It was cheering, as indicating the prosperity of those who have settled here already, and the strong, abiding^ enduring affection they

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entertain for the government, laws, institutions, customs, and usages in this country. No portion of Canada can be more deeply affected by Emigration than Quebec : to see its noble river tilled with vessels bringing an industrious population into the country, which will again send back those vessels freighted with the products of their industry, must be the ardent desire of all who wish well to the maritime and com- mercial greatness of Canada. The prosecution of the public works, the promotion of Emigration, the settlement of the public domain, and, above all, the cultivation of a good under- standing between all classes of the community, were the objects of the Government ; and really, Avhen viewing this city, the scene of early enterprise and national valour, and contemplat- ing its people as the descendants of two illustrious nations, renowned for their chivalry and honour, I must say, Jungamus dexteras, Let us join right hands, and mutually glorying in rest- ing under the protection of that meteor flag that has braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze, and that floats trium- phant over tliis lofty and imjjregnable citadel, consider it to be alike our ennobling distinction, as our highest privilege, to be classed among the most faithful, united, and prosperous sub- jects of the British Crown. With these remarks I would con- clude : when I again meet the inhabitants of Quebec, I hope to have much more glowing accounts to give them of the spread and success of Emigration ; and before that time, I should, no doubt, have the means of communicating to them a variety of gratifying information."

On the 23rd of March Ave arrived at Liverpool, and a few days afterwards pi'oceeded to London, On the 4th and 12th of April, meetings of the Nova Scotia Baronets took j)lacc at the Thatched House Tavern, at both of Avhich I attended. On the latter occasion, the Marf|uis of Downshire presided. On the 13th of April, I was presented to Her Majesty at the levee, by Lord Stanley, on my appointment as Emigration Agent for the Government of Canada, and, in conjunction with my friend Sir Allan Macnab, delivered addresses entrusted to us for presentation. On the 21st, the North American Colonial

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Committee re-assembled to commence their labours for tlie season ; and on the day following the Consulting- Council of the British American Association held their first meeting-, which was presided over by the Duke of Argyll, as President. On this occasion, the minutes of a meeting of the Baronets of Scotland, held on the 17th of March, were read; letters Avere produced from about fifty Peers and Baronets of Scotland, (proprietors of upwards of 800,000 acres of land in Nova Scotia,) consenting to join the Association as Vice-Presidents or Members of the Council ; the constitution of the Association, or regulations for its management, as matured at a series of meetings, commencing on the 9th of January, 1841, and con- tinued from time to time to the 14tli of April, 1842, was laid upon the table ; a report was read from the Board of Executive Commissioners, setting forth that arrangements had been en- tered into for the purchase of several extensive seignories on the north bank of the river St. Lawrence, which, from geogra- phical position, were admirably adapted to be the centre of the operations of tlie Association, and that, also, with a special view to providing for such settlers as had (like his Grace's tenantry of Tyree and Mull) been accustomed to fishing pur- suits, negotiations had been entered into for an extensive tract of land in Prince Edward's Island ; the prospectus of the Company, preparatory to its being issued to the public, was revised ; Sir Allan Macnab and myself severally addressed the meeting, and expressed our opinion in reference to the value of the lands contracted for, and the great advantages which would attend the operations of the Association ; and a resolu- tion was moved and unanimously adopted, " That the objects of the Association should be immediately proceeded with ; the meeting regarding the question of Emigration and Colonization to be one of paramount importance to the Colonies in British North America, as well as to the people of the United King- dom,"

On the 27th of April, the Colonial Society gave a grand public dinner at the Thatched House Tavern to Sir Allan Macnab. The Earl of Mountcashell filled the chair, I having

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tlie honour to act as croupier. A large and distinguished com- pany attended. The proceedings were fully reported in the leading journals of the day ; and here I shall only give the addresses made hy Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., Mr. Urqu- hart, and myself: —

Sir Francis, on returning thanks, spoke as follows : — " Gen- tlemen, I rise to return you my hest thanks for the honour you have done me in drinking my health. With respect to my own services, to which your noble chairman has just been pleased to refer, I beg leave to sum them up in one word. I did all I could, I did the best I could ; and having said this, I dismiss the subject. I now turn to a subject infinitely more interesting to you all ; to your gallant and distinguished guest, in honour of whom you have assembled, and whom I am so ha2:>py to see present. The generous welcome he has met with in this coun- try, has afforded me pleasure which I will not attempt to describe. From persons of the highest rank, and of both political parties, he has received the most gratifying marks of their approbation of his conduct. I have pleasure in an- nouncing to you, that at a public meeting of the members of the Senior United Service Club, especially convened for the purpose, Colonel Sir Allan Napier Macnab was this morning- elected by acclamation an honorary member of that institution ; an unprecedented honour, which could only be conferred upon him by dispensing with a standing rule of the club ; and I have now only to look around me, to explain to you the high compli- ment which he is this evening enjoying by the presence of so many talented individuals, distinguished for their disinterested affection for our North American Colonies. Gentlemen, I be- lieve no one present more cordially congratulates your honour- able and gallant guest on the facts I have just stated than I do. At the same time I must confess, that Avhat gives me most plea- sure, and what, during the whole evening, has been uppermost in my mind, is to reflect how proud and gratified the noble fel- lows who inhabit our splendid Colonies will be when they hear of the honour which has been conferred in their beloved mother country upon their leader in the senate as well as in the field ;

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and without detracting from the merits of my gallant friend, I must repeat that I can think of nothing else but of the pleasure which his reception in this country will give to the inhabitants of our North American Colonies in general, and of Upper Ca- nada in particular — God bless them !"

Mr. Urquhart, who rose amid loud cheers, said : — " We are met here this evening to thank one of our fellow-citizens for rendering to us a great and an important service. The service is great in a twofold manner; first, because it was well done ; secondly, because it was an imjDortant interest that he was called upon to protect. I am commissioned to propose to you, as a toast, the commemoration of that country which is so largely indebted to the services of Sir Allan Macnab for its tran- quillity at this moment, and for the possession of which Eng- land is so deeply indebted to him. I have to propose to you the toast of ' Our North American Colonies, and Sir Charles Bagot.' I have been selected to fulfil this duty, not from any interest of any kind in those Colonies — not even from having had the advantage or the gratification of visiting them — but rather for this, that I know them not ; rather for this, that my interest in them arises out of my knowledge of the interests of England in other regions, — regions the most remote from these ; and perhaps it is from that remoter, that further point, that a better view, and a more distinct perception of the value of our western possessions can be obtained, than within the limit of our own frontiers, or even from the centre of the metropolis itself. We have met here to thank Sir Allan Macnab for these services ; and by that fact we have a second obligation to thank him for. He has furnished to us the occasion, for the first time, of meeting in this country for the purpose of expressing feelings of gratitude to a Colonist, for calling forth responsive cheers of affection from those provinces which I will not call Colonies, but from those ' integral portions of the British Em- pire.'

" At a moment when clouds are gathering around and storms bursting upon us — when forebodings rise in the hearts of men, and danger springs even from the remotest corners of the

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earth — a British Parliament is occupied in the pettiest and most insignificant of internal interests, and a nation is agitated with jiarish affairs! Questions involving the rights, security, integrity, and honour of the nation itself, can inspire neither 13arliament nor people with thought or care.

" Look at the map, and ask yourselves Avliere on the face of the earth do you find anything to he compared to the position of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton ? Where do you find elsewhere, throughout the glohe, anything equal to its harbours, mines, facility of transport, and everything that has furnished the rich- ness of England — its fisheries, its navigation, its maritime greatness, the means of constructing ships, and of forming the men by which they are to be navigated '? Cape Breton and Nova Scotia are the very sources of maritime power ; it is there that the trident has sprung. England has held that trident only since she has possessed them ; when she loses them, it will have fallen from her grasp, if it has not been already shattered in her hand. We stand, and have stood, in war invulnerable, not merely because we are an island, but because our island is constructed in a peculiar manner. It has the advantages of at- tack, without being liable to the injuries of assault. We have harbours looking upon and threatening the shores of France and Germany, whilst they have no corresponding fastnesses and keeps. Further, we are to windward and they are to leeward; we can send forth fleets to their coasts, favoured by the winds by which they are oppressed. This controlling power jDossessed by England over the Continent, is exercised by North America over Europe. As England, with respect to the coasts of the Northern Ocean and to France, so does Nova Scotia stand with respect to Europe and to England herself. Westerly winds blow during two-thirds of the year ; and from Nova Scotia's thousand harbours, fleets may reach the Mediterranean sooner than from Plymouth or the Downs. Look at this position, and look then at the fortune you hold out to otlicr powers, the mo- ment you are regardless of the value of your own possessions. In these Colonies reside manufacturing means equal to those that England possesses; there is the same happy juxtaposition

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of iron and coal ; there are fisheries equal, and superior totho^G of England ; there are to be found coasts, and harbours, and extensive means of water communication, still greater than even the wonderful natural advantages of England can rival ; there resides the maritime power which must command Europe, both by its timber and its naval position. Put beside these things the spirit and the tendencies of the United States. If you see, then, that there are those in the world who are ready to take advantage wherever there is Aveakness, and wherever there is wealth, be assured that the wealth and the riches you possess will not be long- yours, unless there be such a change effected in your mind as sliall make it equal to your fortunes and your difficulties. Recall the past! reflect on what we have lost — what perpetrated in America ! We have there a position now, only because we had won the aftection of a population of French origin. They were faithful when those of our own race were rebellious ; and they have defended us when we were heedless of them. How is it that there is a British race in America not subject to the British Crown? Only through the injustice of our fathers— yet fathers worthier than their sons. This great blow, because the first step in our decline, was an act of injus- tice. By this we degraded our fellow-citizens across the At- lantic from their allegiance, rent asunder their affections, and drove them into revolt. Thence are they a separate, and now, from similar causes, are they rapidly becoming a hostile people. Now, then, take a lesson from the danger, and there is no dan- ger for England, save from herself. In that French population you find loyalty and affection ; and even in the English popu- lation of the Canadas, mismanagement and corruption have not yet altogether extinguished loyalty; and, believe me, the time is come for us to reckon our means, and to secure strength and confidence against the evil day — the evil day of our own bring- ing. These Colonies have received from you no support, no favouring rights, no protection ; there has been in moments of danger, and in positions of menace, neither interest in the pub- lic nor Parliament. Your recent acts as a nation are such as to invite from their neighbours aggression ; such as to lead

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every state in the world at once to hate and despise you ; con- verting the position of* a British Colonist from one of security and honour, to one of danger and disgrace : but of these things you are unconscious; and, I fear, will not believe them, until your belief has become of no further use.

" I Avill now beg you to go back with me, for a moment, to some past incidents in the most remarkable period, perhaps, of our history, as elucidating the importance of our North American possessions ; not merely for their value, but for the aid they have lent towards the achievementof our Indian dominion. Our posi- tion in America becomes of importance from the beginning of the eighteenth century. It was first secured by theTreaty of Utrecht, when, by the possession of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, we reaped the chief advantages, not merely of our maritime success, but of our victories on land. In the war that broke out in 1744, France, feeling the full importance of these possessions, made the most energetic maritime efforts known in her history to re- conquer them : a splendid fleet of seventy sail, with a large army on board, was destroyed by storms. These were fatal only because England was in possession of the harbours. In the following year she sent another fleet, which was defeated. The first dis- aster was entirely owing to the possession of Louisbourg and Annapolis by the English, Halifax not having been then created. At the close of the war, England remained in entire i)ossession of Cape Breton, St. John's, Nova Scotia, the forts of Annapolis and Louisbourg. Great was the astonishment, and deep was the mortification of our American interests, when, by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Ca])e Breton was again surrendered to France. But this surrender was made to obtain for England an equivalent elsewhere. By this surrender we regained Madras; and thus Avas a portion of our conquests in America employed to prepare the way for the dominion of England in India. So important was a then unsettled district of these pro- vinces in the eyes of England — so important in the eyes of France ! The war in 1755 was commenced in India ; it decided in favour of England, and against France, the supremacy of India. England succeeded solely by hei- supremacy at sea.

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dependent upon tlie possession, during- the peace, of North America. Tlie war opened with the most formidable prepara- tions of France and England, for nmtual attack anl defence in America and in India ; their trium])h or defeat in those re- mote regions being felt by each to be the most effective means of injuring the other. France's efforts Avere directed to recover these Colonies, holding already Canada and Cape Breton. England directed her efforts to the conquest of Louis])ourg and Canada, and a powerful fleet and army were sent out for that purpose. This armament, taken in a storm off the coast of Cape Breton, was disabled. Cape Breton being then in the possession of the French, it had to seek refuge across the At- lantic, in the ports of Britain.

" The depression produced by this great and unparalleled calamity in England, v.as such as to destroy the hope of re- conquering America, and the spirit of attempting it. Naval and military commanders alike considered the case desperate ; and the resignation of North America to France must have put an end to the maritime and commercial greatness of England, and raised the power of France to such a pitch as to leave no- thing to cope Avith her in the Old World or the New. These consequences were averted by an extraordinary event — the jDresence at that moment, and for a moment only, of the o-reatest of modern Enolishmen at the head of the councils of this empire. Chatham was then tlie minister of England. To use his own words, ' If Great Britain did not succeed in con- quering Cape Breton and Canada, France must expel her from America, and then the sun of England Avould l)e obscured l)y the extinction of her colonial dominions, and the loss of lier trade in the East and in the West.' When the general ap- pointed to the command reiterated his difficulties and objec- tions, Chatham, who was then confined with the gout, sent to him to say, that ' he had to deal with a minister avIio knew difficulties only by treading upon them.' In a memorandum, which has been preserved amongst the papers of Chatham re- specting the conduct of the war with France, there are these remarkable words : — ' It is earnestly recommended that the

m2

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war mny endure until the enemy be entirely subdued in Ame- rica, and so really disabled there as to cease to be dangerous to this kingdom in future times.' Europe was astonished with the measures that followed. A most formidable armament was prepared in an incredibly small space of time ; Louisbourg- fell, Cape Breton Avas occupied ; soon followed the battle of Abra- ham's Heights, the jiossession of Quebec and the Canadas ; the power of England permanently established in America ; and at the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, she was in undisputed possession of the whole region from Florida to the Pole. On the other hand, so proportionately reduced was not only the power of France, but of the Continent of Europe, as against the mari- time balance of England, that Chatham himself, when contem- plating the possibility of the union of the Bourbon dynasties against England, pointed to our ships, to our American posses- sions, and to the two millions of British by Avhicli they were inhabited, as a power equal to cope with and to overawe the union of the crowns of Spain and France.

" We now come to the measure of Pitt, in 1791. This is the annus mirahilis of England. Mr, Pitt had then upon his mind a war the most threatening in India, with the most power- ful of the native sovereigns in connexion with France — war the most threatening in Europe, Russia and Austria combined, and the doAvnfall of the Ottoman empire the consequence of their success — a war again re-threatening in America, as an eifect of the state of Europe and France in all the incipient throes of a volcanic irruption. At the same period a Governor of India is under impeachment for his life, and commotions for internal change agitate England. It is under the excitement and the distractions of these various necessities, that the mind of Pitt was given to the framing of that Constitution of the Canadas by which the affections of the French Canadians were secured to England, and that stronghold given her over her possessions in America that kept tranquil and neutral the United States in the war that ensued, and in preserving its maritime resources for England, enabled her to employ them in Europe and in Asia, and to give to those regions her undivided strengtli and

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her -wliole attention. But as in the events of men it is the human mind that is important, so in the events of states it is the genius of individuals that makes them of value, and that renders them memorable ; and it is a link more remarkably attaching- the destinies of Canada to the greatness of England, tliat it was in the debate on the Canada Bill that were brought first into direct collision the great spirits of that age, — Fox, Burke, and Pitt. Pitt's bill was made the subject of discussing the question of the French Revolution, and of adjusting parties for the struggle that was to follow. I look upon Pitt's bill of 1791 as one of the greatest monuments of his ability, and the greatest of the services that he rendered to his country. Had a bill of an opposite tendency been at the time introduced, as it was proposed by his antagonists, the Canadian population would have been disgusted, our power in America shaken, the United States proba])ly again led into conflict, the French power would have obtained a footing in America, and in that arduous struggle, where every muscle was stretched to the ex- treme, and barely was life and success attained at the end, defeat must have been our portion had Canada been a weight in the opposing scale.

" Pitt's object was to place the French population between the St. Lawrence and the frontier of the United States, to allow them to spread in and entirely to occupy that region, where, by their military spirit and their local affections, they should be a barrier and a protection for England, so as to maintain her position in America without expense, so as to curtail and arrest the expansive tendencies of the United States. His object was not to make them British in name, but British in affection ; and that was to be done by preserving, not destroying, their laws, religion, language, and customs. ' It is in the French spirit,' he said, ' of the Canadians that the strength of England in America depends.' Such, then, is the fortune you hold in the tenure of your North American Colonies ; such the debt of gratitude you owe to the affections of your Canadian fellow- subjects. A fatal day will it be for England when she despises the one or chills the other.

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" But if Canada were of no value ; if Nova Scotia had no for- tresses, harbours, or jnines, Cape Breton no fisheries ; if there were no westerly winds ; if there were no trans-Atlantic or Euro- pean enemy to be restrained ; if there were no necessity to nurture force for our defence, — still would it be a bounden duty for the English nation to maintain the rights and independence of its own country, and wliile one Canadian remained attaclied to us, and claimed our protection, that man's head ought to come to the block Avho could speak of separation. You have heard this night that these men have been told that they ought to repudiate their allegiance to this country ; and the man who has told them so is an Englishman, and he lives — he walks the public streets unen- dangered and undenounced, he enters your very senate, and sits there the counsellor of the nation he betrays : and he is not one, there are many such. And what may not be done with a nation Avhere sucli men live, where such men are honoured ?

" England was no longer England when she drove the children that had issued from her loins into revolt ; and having driven them into revolt by her acts, the next thing is to justify sedition. To speak of the separation of the Colonies from the mother country, is to destroy allegiance on the one hand, and protection on the other ; it is to justify mismanagement, and all misgovernment : and for these crimes tlie masks are taken of doctrine and of opinion — the colours are assumed of philan- thropy and liberality. .....

It having devolved upon me to ]n'opose as a toast " The cause of Emigration," 1 did so in the following terms : —

" My Lords and Gentlemen, 1 return you my warmest thanks for requesting me to propose a toast connected Avith the cause of Emigration, which is now attracting general attention, and to which I have always been devotedly attached. On my iirst visit to tliose fertile and extensive regions on the American continent, over Mhich the British flag holds sway, I found all the elements of wealth and happiness in full o])eration, from the annual influx of thousands of our fellow-countrymen, whose industrious exertions were sure to be followed there by com- plete success. The first serious defection in the Emigration to

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Canada occurred in 1835, the year following the letter of Mr. Hume, so severely and justly condemned by my friend Sir Allan Macnab ; so serious was the injury inflicted on the province by that production, that the decrease in one season amounted to 15,000 })ersons. Scarcely had the province recovered from this shock than it was doomed to a still severer blow. The fatal effects of 1837 reduced Emigration the following year to less than 3,000, a fearful contrast with that of 1832, which was nearly 52,000. In 1839, at the instigation of many friends in Canada, I resolved to cross the Atlantic, and use my exertions to restore the fertilizing stream of Emigration, then diverted to all other channels, to that country, where it was so sure to reward the efforts of the industrious and prudent settler. On my arrival in this country, I found the most erroneous impres- sions generally prevailing relative to Canada. In all those particulars, in which it should stand at least as well in the esti- mation of the British ])ublic as the United States — geograjjhical position, soil, climate, &;c., it was unjustly decried and depre- ciated— and in other respects, in vvhicli it stands immeasurably superior, government, laws, institutions, probity, natural re- sources, gradual and satisfactory development, the most erro- neous opinions prevailed. The consequences were, a disincli- nation on the part of Emigrants to proceed to Canada, a dis- trust on the part of capitalists to invest their means, and an effort, on the part of some political economists, from their peculiar opinions, to render the government of the Colonies so difficult and expensive as to induce the parent State to fling them off. These were the difficulties with which Canada had to contend ; and great credit is due to the noble Chairman, and to this Society, for their unwearied and persevering efforts to disseminate more correct opinions, promote Emigration, restore confidence, and forward the general interests of our Colo- nial Empire. It must be most satisfactory to this meeting to hear that a steady annual increase to the population of our North American Colonies has taken place since 1838, the num- bers arriving at Canada alone, last year, being nearly 29,000. Although there is still a party to be met with who would sacri-

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fice the Colunies to their own theories, and who never rejoice more than when giving circulation to reports injurious to our North American possessions, hy the institution of unfair com- parisons, by their declarations that thousands leave Canada for the States, forgetting always to inform the people of the thousands who leave the States for Canada; notwithstanding this disposition, and these drawbacks, the peace, prosperity, and advance of Canada, during the last year, has been, and will be, the best antidote to these pernicious efforts. I remember when the most active means were employed to impress on the minds of the people that there was no land left for settlement. This Avas followed by a statement that it was far dearer than in the States ; and when the public domain was freely given to the industrious settler, on certain conditions, then, forsooth, the best mode to settle a country was to put a high price on its lands. Happily, both for Canada and Great Britain, there is not only public domain for settlement, but public works to afford abundance of profitable employment : and the energy, activity, improvement, enterprise, and hope, everywhere to be witnessed in Canada at this time, is a presage and an earnest that its future career will be unchecked by the pestiferous theories of political economists, or the circulation of unjust and unfounded statements. No document from the Colonial Office ever diffused more joy amongst a people, than the despatch of Lord John Russell to the late Governor-General, containing, amongst otlier interesting pledges, — ' In any measures that may be adopted, it must be taken for granted that Her Majesty persists in the determination to maintain at all hazards her royal authority in Canada. Neither the honour of Her Ma- jesty's Crown, nor the support due to her loyal subjects in British North America, nor the provident care of the interests of the empire at large, would permit any deviation from this fixed principle of British policy.' What more encouraging incentive, what greater inducement to the patriotic capitalists than this, freely to invest their means in possessions thus strongly guaranteed ? ' We have no alternative; we have only to cousidei' the means of bindin"- Canada nioi'c fii'iiilv to this

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country, of dcveloj)iiig- lier resources, of strengthening lier British population, of defending her territory, and of support- ing and encouraging the loyal spirit of her people.' When, then, my Lords and Gentlemen, you consider tlie relative situa- tion of Great Britain and her North American possessions, and reflect that they stand the most in need of what you have the most to spare — a vigorous population and an unemployed capital, — that that population will supply this country with the necessary addition to its food, and take from it in exchange its manufactured goods, now excluded from other countries, ex- cept paid for in bullion, — and, above all, that this important traffic and interchange will be carried on by our own ships, increasing the strength of our commercial marine, it will be obvious that the warm promotion of Emigration is of conse- quence to the mariner, the merchant, the farmer, the colonist, and the statesman. In the encouragement given to it, I only ask justice for Canada. Its admirable position, its vast domain, its great salubrity, its unbounded fertility, its mineral wealth, its extensive fisheries, its ready access, the cheapness of its land, the vastness of its waters, the magnitude of its bays, the num- ber of its harbours, but, above all, its wholesome laws, its matchless constitution, its unequalled government; this felici- tous combination of circumstances renders this favoured and happy Colony one of the most attractive, as it is one of the nearest, most improving, and most valuable possessions of the British Crown. I hope, my Lords and Gentlemen, that, recog- nised as an integral part of the empire, Canada, under the fostering, sustaining, and protecting power of Great Britain, will realise the expectations of the Colonial Minister, ' that with a legislature in Canada disposed to co-operate with the Queen and the Parliament of the United Kingdom in develop- ing her vast and unexplored resources, there is every hope that w^e shall behold the prosperity of that noble province augment every year, and add more and more to the strength and stability of the empire.' With these remarks, I beg to propose ' Suc- cess to the cause of Emigration to British North America.'" On the "iOth of April, the Consulting Council of the British

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American Association again asseml^led. The INIarquess of Down- shire, one of the Vice Presidents, filled the chair. On this occasion I read a report from the Executive Board of Commis- sioners, setting forth the considerations which might naturally be expected to secure for the Association the support of the monied public, and of all interested in the Avelfare of the mother country and the Colonies ; a deputation from the Board of Commissioners was appointed to proceed to Scotland in fur- therance of the objects of the Association; and the proceedings were ordered to be printed and communicated to such absent peers and baronets as were members, which was accordingly done.

In the month of May, pursuant to the authority from the Council, a deputation from the Board of Commissioners, con- sisting of Sir Allan Macnab, Sir Richard Broun, and myself, proceeded to Scotland. On the 17th of 3Iay, during the pre- valence of most alarming distress in the City of Edinburgh, I was introduced by the Lord Provost to the Council then assem- bled, and at their request addressed tliem on the subject of tlie success which had resulted to the Scotch settlers in Canada.

I attended the levee at Holyrood House, held on the 21st, when Her Majesty's Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland then sitting received me most graciously, and consented to become one of the Vice Pre- sidents of the Association, wliose meritorious objects he most cordially approved of.

On the 24th, a numei'ous and highly influential public meet- ing took place, the Right Hon. Sir James Forrest, Bart., Lord Provost, in the chair. There were present various baronets, a considerable i)ortion of the civic authorities, and a large attendance of clergy, and the chief inhabitants of the city. The proceedings were commenced by the Lord Provost, who stated his hearty concurrence in the objects for which the British American Association had been organized, labouring as the whole United Kingdom was, under the evils of a redundant, unemployed population. Dr. Alison, whose great exertions in the cause of humanity, and the improvement of the condition

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of the poor, has acquired for him a very distinguished position in the public regard, moved the first resolution ; and in the course of Iiis long and eloquent exposition of the grievous dis- tress existing throughout the country, stated that, " In Edin- burgh eigiitcen per cent, of the population were living on charity, and that the average duration of life was lessening, and that of crime extendinq- and increasino;." At the conclusion of his speech, lie expressed his solemn conviction that, " It was not to be expected that the favour of heaven could dwell upon a land that made no etibrt to remedy an evil of such magni- tude."

He was confirmed in his views by the Very Rev. Principal MacFarlane, who, in following him, said — " He felt himself Avanting in preparation for the duty imposed on him, and per- haps of inability to do it justice under any circumstances, but he hoped the meeting would accept his hearty good will to the cause, as a substitute for whatever might be wanting either in ability or preparation. He was much gratified to hear the preceding speakers connecting the two important objects, Emi- gration and Colonization ; these ought never to be separated. In an old country, with our peculiarities of climate, and soil, and occupation, there had always occurred, and he feared would still occur, an occasional redundancy of population, pressing on the means of subsistence. It would never do in these circumstances, merely to remove from the country those who instead of contributing to its strength and prosperity, were felt to have become an incumbrance and source of weakness. It was the duty of those who were to profit by their removal, to provide for their future comfort and prosperity, and, if pos- sible, to place them in those situations where as Colonists they might contribute to the population and strength of both the general empire and the locality in which they were settled. He was well aware of the extensive provision which had been made both in the inland and maritime North American British Colonies for the reception and favourable settlement of Emi- grants from this country, and, as had been justly observed, in so doing they consulted their own interest and advantage.

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It was not surprising that they should cordially invite into their unoccupied territory the hardy and indomitable Highlander, the ingenious artizan in wood and iron, and the everlasting- digger from Ireland, whose spade realized the moral of the fable, and in cultivating the earth seldom failed to turn up a mine of subsistence and wealth. But he must be permitted to plead for, he feared, a less favourite class of Colonists, — the suffering weavers and other manufacturers of the towns and villages of the West of Scotland. Without undervaluing the importance of those branches of industry in which they were habitually engaged, the fluctuations of demand for articles of manufacture, and the increasing use of machinery, exposed them to periodical want of employment, and consequent dis- tress, increasing in severity at each successive return. At the present moment it was severe to the last degree, and there were hundreds, nay, even thousands of them, who had no resource left but Emigration, These men certainly did not possess the powerful muscle, the practising out-door labour, or the capacity of overcoming the immediate difficulties attendant on a new country, which were to be found in those who removed from other districts ; but he could attest, from ample experience, that no class of men could surpass them in patient endurance of poverty and suftering, or in ])ersevering industry in those branches to which they had been accustomed. They possessed further recommendations ; most of them would carry with them numerous families, rejoicing to be delivered from the smoke, and confinement, and demoralizing influences of great towns and manufacturing villages ; the development of whose stamina in the open air and healthy employment of agricultural labour, must render them in a few years a valuable acquisition to the districts in which they had settled, and the probable parents of a race inheriting the language, and moral feelings, and patriotism, of their ancestors. He could further assure the meeting that they would carry with them an earnest desire for the benefits of religious instruction and moral educa- tion to themselves and to their children. It had been most erroneously supposed that they were habitually inditterent to

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these objects ; if their attendance in public worship had been irregular, it arose from the national pride of Scotchmen, shrink- ing from mixing with their fellow-worshippers with a shabby and degraded exterior ; and if they did not avail themselves of the advantages of education for their children, it was partly because the moderate cost of obtaining it pressed heavily on their means of subsistence, and partly because the demand for juvenile labour rendered the earnings of even the youngest an important element in the support of their famih^ He could assure the meeting that such men possessed all the feeling of parents, and children, and brothers, and sisters ; that they desired, and in more favourable circumstances would eagerly grasp, at every opportunity of improving their own religious character, and of obtaining a moral and religious education for their offspring. He was delighted to know that such advan- tages became every day more and more aljundant in the British Colonies of North America. He M'as gratified to find that those young men, not a few of M'hom he had known, in every condition of life, repairing to the mother country for educa- tion, were now enabled to procure it, in every degree, from the elementary school up to the newly established college in the land to which they properly belonged, and their patriotic attachment to which, its association with the early cultivation of their minds, and their gradual attainments in knowledge, could not but gradually increase. It must be the desire of tlie present meeting, that such establishments should be mul- tiplied, and become more prosperous, and under this impres- sion he begged to move the resolution, in the full confidence that it Avould meet with their unanimous and most cordial approbation."

The second resolution having been committed to my charge, I rose and said : —

" My Lord Provost, and Gentlemen, — I have been requested by the Most Noble the Marcpiis of Bute, Her Majesty's High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scot- land, to state, that the necessary presence of his Grace, at the General Assembly, alone prevented him from personally ex-

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pressing to this meeting- his full ajDprobation and concurrence in the objects of the Association, requesting, at the same time, that his name might be enrolled as one of its Vice-Presidents."

I then read a letter from his Grace to that eft'ect, and said it was also a greatpleasure to me to know that four gentlemen from the House of Assembly of Canada Avere then present, to support with all their power, a consolidation of interests intended to relieve the overpeopled districts of Great Britain by the Colonization of British North America, and that the Attorney-General from Eastern Canada, and my esteemed friends Sir Allan iNIacnab and Mr. Buchanan, were, although politically opposed, warmly united in this great undertaking. I then continued —

" My Lord, and Gentlemen, — The painful narration which you have listened to, from the two preceding speakers, as to the melancholy state and condition of the labouring classes in Scot- land, is, I fear, not limited to Scotland alone, but extends over many other portions of the United Kingdom. It is, however, with Scotland that we have now to deal ; and really the har- rowing statements as to this deep and general distress, would be calculated to fill the public mind with alarm and dismay, but that a remedy, at once national and desirable, is presented to our notice, in the extensive, fertile, and thinly peopled re- gions belonging to the British Crown in North America.

" This destitution, though not so immediately threatening as that which existed in the Highlands in 1836 and 1837, is still fearful, extensive, increasing, and menacing ; and it must be obvious, that if the munificence which was then displayed, to arrest a temporary, though ])ressing emergency, had been exercised in the removal of the population, a recurrence of the calamity would have been altogether prevented. For many years prior to 1838, a very large voluntary Emigration had been going on annually to the British provinces in North Ame- rica, and to Canada in particular. In the two years of 1831 and 1832, upwards of 100,000 Emigrants landed at Quebec : the events which subsecpiently occurred in Canada led to a vast diminution in this perennial su})ply. In 1838, there were not much above 2,000 Emigrants that season ; and in 1839, urged

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by many friends in the province, I came to Scotland, visiting- Inverness, Glasgow, and other places, with the hope of re- storing that confidence in Canada, without whicli it was vain to hope the tide of Emigration could be restored. In 1840, I received a pressing invitation from his Grace the Duke of Argyll to attend a meeting in this city, in order to co-operate with him, and the other large proprietors whose estates were over- peo])led, in promoting Emigration to Canada. A Committee was then formed, and the question has not sluuil^ered since. The absence of his Grace the Duke of Argyll, on this occasion, permits me to say, that his earnest solicitude to secure the hap- piness of the people who shall proceed to Canada from his estates, is every way worthy of his exalted name and character; and that the deep interest he has manifested in the prosecution of this question, has caused an equally warm feeling in Canada to co-operate and assist in any great measure of Colonization. On my return to Canada in 1840, a large association Avas formed in the city of Toronto, with branches in other portions of the province. This association met with the concurrence, and re- ceived the approbation of the late lamented Governor-General of British North America, who consented to become its patron. In the prospectus issued by that association, there is ample proof of the earnest desire of the proprietors in Canada to unite their eftbrts with those of their fellow-subjects in this hemi- sphere, to promote a large, beneficial, and comprehensive scheme of Colonization. They say ' the statistics of the coun- try, and the inexhaustible capabilities of the land, are becoming thoroughly known ; and, above all, the country is at peace, witliin and without, and men, by common consent, are uniting by a laudable attention to private good, to swell the aggregate of public prosperity. The Executive Government, too, is ac- tively at work for the good of those under its protection, espe- cially in the forming of roads, and rendering some of the most fertile tracts in the country accessible for settlement. It is making preparations on a grand scale for those who choose to avail themselves of its paternal aid. But great as is its power, and wise and benevolent as they may be who wield it, there is

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still a vast amount of good connected with the Colonization of this country which circumstances have rendered it impossible for the local government to perform. It is precisely that defi- ciency which it is in the power of the Emigration Association to supply. An evil attendant upon the Colonization of Canada in times past is industriously represented as still existing in its aggravated forms, by those who would deter settlers from selecting this province as their home. It is urged that nearly all the lands within the settled precincts of the province have passed into the hands of private individuals ; and that the new Emigrant must necessarily go far into the depths of the forest, remote from the peopled settlements, where, whatever may he the excellence of this land, he will l)e remote from markets, mills, or even roads, or the means of procuring labour or sup- plies, during the first years of his residence. These difficulties have existed to a great and disheartening extent, sometimes so as to induce the settler to abandon his possessions. It is true, also, that a great proportion of the land, especially in the older surveyed townships, comprehending the choicest locations, in the neighbourhood of roads and navigable waters, now belongs to private individuals — and it is this very fact that enables the Association to be of the most essential service. These tracts are at present unproductive to the owner.

'"The Association are happy in knowing, for many of such proprietors arc among its most zealous members, that such lands generally remain in their present profitless fertility, only because the hand of man is wanting to turn them into pro- ductive corn-fields and animated pastures ; and that if their fellow-countrymen Avere here to make use of them, they would be happy to give them every aid which could tend to their future advantage ; they are well aware that by a settlement and cultivation of a portion of their lands, the adjoining portions Avill become better worth the purchasing by future Emigrants, or by the settler himself when he shall become prosperous.' My object in reading this part of the prospectus, is to show that there is an earnest desire, and fixed intention amongst the landed proprietors in Canada to unite together with their fel-

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low-subjects here in the settlement of their ample and attractive domain. The inexhaustible resources of British North America are now lying- dormant and profitless, comparatively speaking, for want of that main element of wealth , an active and abun- dant population. The cities of Edinburgh, and Glasgow, with the manufacturing toAvn of Paisley alone, comprehend more inhabitants than the entire portion of Western Canada, including the city of Toronto, the towns of Kingston, Brock- ville, Cobourg, Hamilton, Niagara, many other towns, and an extent of country of several hundred miles. Thus, while the dense population of the United Kingdom is a source of perpe- tual inquietude and anxiety, the scanty population of Canada is a great drawback to its advancement. Whilst here, they must be objects of constant solicitude ; there, with the wide field for their exertions, they can not only ensure their own success, but become profitable customers to the manufacturers of this king- dom. All the industrious classes have succeeded well in Canada, and none more than those from Scotland. Large sums have been remitted by those who went there penniless, to aid in the removal of their destitute relatives in this country. During the last eight years, through one channel alone, £15,000 have been thus remitted in average sums of £8. In the city of Toronto, a Savings' Bank has been established, the deposits of which, during the last half-year, amounted to £2,377. The sales of land have materially increased of late; and from my own knowledge, there was a larger subjugation of the forest in the Home District, and generally through Western Canada, last year, than for many years past — perhaps greater than during any preceding year. Admirably adapted for Britons by the salubrity of its climate, the fertility of its soil, its proximity to Britain, the constant intercourse main- tained by steam, the moderate price of land, the abundant reward for labour, the immense extent of internal water com- munication, the friendship of all classes of the people, its government, constitution, laws, all tend to recommend a scheme of Colonization to every patriot and philanthropist in the king- dom. The present enlightened Governor of British North

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America, animated by the example of his predecessors, is de- sirous of encouraging Emigration to the utmost of his power. In general, the demand for unskilled labour has been very small, mechanics and agricultural labourers being most in requisition ; but his Excellency, in his despatch to the noble Lord, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, states, ' during the approaching season so many public works will, 1 trust, be in operation, that there can be no fear of a want of employment for all who are able to work.' Since I have been in Scotland, I have been asked by many persons. Do not all the Emigrants go over to the States? I am happy to give the Governor- General's reply to this interrogatory: — ' The Emigration during the past year from this province to the United States has been comparatively small ; and there seems reason to believe that it has been balanced by the Immigration from the United States. Those who went from this were principally persons whose rela- tions were settled in the United States, and who, coming out to join them, had taken the route of the St. Lawrence, on account of its superior cheapness.' The late Lord Sydenham, in a despatch also to the former Colonial Secretary, when for- warding the returns made by the Emigrant agents in the pro- vince, says, ' These returns afford the most conclusive answer to statements which have been circulated, for mischievous pur- poses, through the public press, and which may, perhaps, have been repeated in England, that Emigrants were leaving this province in great numbers for the United States, and that great distress prevailed among those who remained here. Your Lordship will perceive that these statements are not only not consistent with truth, but are the very reverse of it.' I have felt it my duty, my Lord, earnestly to direct your attention, and that of the people of this country, to this portion of the subject ; because, although I feel myself on this point invulnerable, yet I cannot disguise from myself that a very mischievous influ- ence has been exerted over the public mind by a late author, who, however much he may have immortalized himself by the subdued mode of travel he practised in England some years since, took advantage of travelling by steam in Canada, and

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having only seen its waters, took upon himself to pronounce upon the character of its land. I have disposed of his crudities in a letter which I have puhlicly addressed to him ; but I here unhesitatingly affirm, that in the whole length and breadth of our Sovereign's dominions are not to be found ail the elements of domestic wealth, social happiness, agricultural prosperity, and commercial greatness, more highly concentrated and tho- roughly available than on the continent of British North America. Large and fertile domains, mines and fisheries, capacious harbours and hydraulic privileges, cities, towns, vil- lages ; and above all, the increasing means and opportunities for public worship and education.

" In reading the account, for some months past, of the arrivals from the western hemisphere, I have been much struck and gratified, that whilst columns of the public journals have been devoted to the accounts from the United States, the intel- ligence from Canada has been summed up in the very signi- ficant expression, ' There is no news from Canada ; all is quiet.' Long may it so continue, distinguished for its love of order, probity, laws, and government, and its proud and happy con- nexion with Great Britain. Last year a highly respectable clergyman of the Church of Scotland, the Rev. Dr. Liddell, Avas sent from this city to preside over an university formed for the express benefit of the Scotch population in Canada. This year, the present Governor-General has just laid, in the greatest pomp, the foundation-stone of a kindred institution in the city of Toronto. The people of Scotland have ever felt a deep soli- citude for the education of their people ; and the establishment of universities, schools, and churches, will be most satisfactory to them. I have previously said that tlie Scotch are amongst the best and most thriving settlers in Canada; — they are so ; in some districts the languao;e of Ossian and Finoal js the com- mon language, and the tartan is still the favourite garb of kind women and brave men. All industrious men succeed in Cana- da; the miner from Cornwall, the fisherman from the Orkneys, the ploughman from the Lothians, the hardy spadesman from Connaught, form together a united and prosperous people.

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These are some of the grounds on which I invite your co-ope- ration and assistance in the removal of your too numerous population to settle on the ample field thrown open for them in the possessions of Her Majesty in North America."

After some other observations, I concluded my address as follows : —

" Before I conclude, there is one subject on which I would say a few words : I allude to the revival of the claims of the Baronets of Nova Scotia. Of the rights or the expediency of advancing the claims of the Baronets, it is unnecessary for me even to express an opinion ; but I can have no hesitation in stating my conviction, that their present patriotic combination, irrespective of those claims, founded on considerations of the loftiest philanthropy, as well as on the principles for which that Order was founded, is highly meritorious, and must prove emi- nently beneficial. Nothing, I am persuaded, will more gratify the subjects of the British Crown residing in the transatlantic possessions of our Sovereign, than the knowledge that a power- ful, illustrious, ancient branch of the British nobility are inte- rested in their welfare, united together to watch over their pro- gress, and promote their success. Such a confederation, zea- lously co-operating with the people in the provinces, will greatly tend to preserve their tranquillity, extend their settlement, and enlarge their prosperity. British North America, by her rapid Colonization, under such auspicious influence, will cause addi- tional employment to the sail and loom, by her extended com- merce, flourishing agriculture, and prosperous population ; whilst our maritime greatness and manufacturing interests will be wonderfully promoted, and the parent state and the Colonies thus united together in the indissoluble bonds of interest and affection, the motto of Scotland will be equally that of the Em- pire, ' Nemo me impune lacessit .'' "

I concluded by moving the following resolution : — " That Her Majesty's possessions in North America present an inexhaustible outlet for the redundant population of the United Kingdom ; whilst it is matter of national importance that their great resources should be speedily developed,"

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Sir Allan Macnab then rose to second the motion, and was received with deafening cheers, which lasted several minutes. When the plaudits of the auditory ceased, the gallant and patriotic chieftain said —

" Although I have been in the metropolis of the land of my fathers but a few hours, I rejoice that ray first visit is on so auspi- cious an occasion as the present, and to support so important a subject as that now occupying your attention. I can speak, from long experience, as to tlie great capabilities of the country where I was born, to receive the whole overflowing population of this country ; and I can refer with great pride to every vote of mine on this subject during several successive parliaments in Canada, as an earnest of my desire to promote the settlement of that pro- vince, by the inhabitants of the British isles. It does seem to me extraordinary, that considering I could be at my own residence, many hundred miles in the interior of Western Canada, with less than one mile of laud-carriage, and in eighteen days from this city, that so valuable, and important, and interesting an appen- dage of the British Crown should be so little known, and less appreciated. But I believe better days are dawning upon it, and the existing misery and distress in Scotland, I am certain, may subserve the best interests of British North America. I think such an union and co-operation of the Nova Scotia Ba- ronets as the present, will prove an eminently useful material in the Colonization of British North America. I can answer, that the people of Canada will be proud to act with so useful, influential, and numerous a body ; and their confederation, at this time, for the purpose of promoting the Colonization of the British provinces in North America, independently of their as- sertion of their own claims on the British Government, will very greatly promote a sound and beneficial Emigration to Canada. I think with many of the speakers who have addressed this meeting, that the time has now arrived when this question must be fairly met, and the evils complained of effectually remedied. The sufferings of the people of Great Britain, and the need of an augmented population in Canada, must no longer remain in such anomalous apposition. With these feelings, it is as the son of

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a Scotchman, born in Canada, and not one whit tlie less a Scotchman for that, that I am anxious to support and promote a large Immigration. I have seen many of the most popu- lous portions of Canada, where hundreds of Scotchmen are now living in independence, a huge forest — before even it was surveyed for settlement — I can, therefore, encourage this Association to prosecute their meritorious labours, and I shall be most happy to give them, or any one asking it, any informa- tion in my power relative to Canada, the much-loved land of my birth."

The Rev. Dr. Alton, of Dolphinton, in supporting the views of the preceding speakers, said. He was extremely gratified to find that the Britisli American Association was not unmindful of that essential adjunctto successful Colonization, — the religious and moral cultivation of the settlers who should go out under their care. With regard to the revival of the rights of the Nova Scotia Baronets, he was confident nothing could prove more beneficial, or was more desirable. He knew that in many parts of his own neighbourhood, numerous families possessing means of settling themselves in Canada, and who were very desirous of going there, were only restrained from doing so, from a fear that all the existing affinities which had long been the characteristics of Scotland, would be severed by a trans- atlantic voyage, but who would be at once inspired with cou- rage and confidence to proceed thither, when assured of the patronage and protection of this ancient and noble body. He looked upon this as the most auspicious element in any system of Colonization that he had seen propounded, knowing the high and honourable character of those who were to form the Consulting Council to regulate the proceedings of this Associa- tion. It was gratifying to hear, that Her Majesty's posses- sions in British America present an inexhaustible outlet for the redundant population of the United Kingdom, and that it was a matter of national importance that their great resources should be made available. Sir Allan Macnab had expressed his pleasure at finding himself in the land of his forefathers, and surrounded with so many influential men who united in sup-

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porting the objects proposed by the British American Asso- ciation ; and that although born in Canada, he felt not less a Scotchman than any present, and nothing could afford him greater pleasure, or his fellow-subjects residing in Canada, than to promote the removal of the mass of destitution unhap- pily prevailing everywhere in the kingdom, to such a boundless field for the acquisition of future independence as the fertile provinces presented from whence he came. The facility of i-eaching that rising region of agriculture and commerce was so improved, that an Emigrant could reach Lake Ontario without any further land travel than from the sjiot from which he Avas addressing them to the port of Leith.

The meeting was also severally addressed by Sir William Napier, Bart., Sir John Campbell, Bart., Sir William Dunbar, Bart., Sir William Drysdale, Isaac Buchanan, Esq., and others ; but I shall conclude the account of this important meeting with the speech of Sir Richard Broun, bearing as it does on that question on which he has devoted so much labour and time, — the revival of the rights of the Baronets of Scotland and Nova Scotia, and the policy of rendering those rights subser- vient to the removal of the national distress.

After adverting to the alarming character and extent of the destitution prevalent throughout Scotland, as illustrated by the extremities to which 186,000 inhabitants of the Western Highlands and Islands were reduced in 1836 and 1837, the afflicting details made public by the reports of the Association for obtaining an official inquiry into the pauperizing of Scot- land, and the facts brought to light by the benevolent investi- gations of Dr. Alison, showing that in Edinburgh alone, during the course of the year previous no less a number than 27,000 of the inhabitants required assistance, he proceeded to say, That the task had been committed to him, as one of the deputa- tion from the British American Association, to state briefly the objects for which it had been founded, and to propose a reso- lution, and take the sense of the meeting in regard to the same. Referring to the prospectus, copies of which were on the table, they would find it set forth that the Company had

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been organized to promote the Colonization of our North Ame- rican possessions, by a transfer of the surplus population of the United Kingdom, upon a national scale, and by such an infusion of capital into them as should lead to an immediate and wide development of their inexhaustible resources. These objects he thought could not but approve themselves to every humane, every reflecting, every patriotic mind ; concentrated as public attention had now for years been upon the question of syste- matic Emigration and Colonization, by the proceedings of public meetings on both sides of the Atlantic, by addresses to the Sovereign, memorials to the Government, and petitions to the legislature. The British American Association had not been formed without the most mature deliberation, nor until the conviction had become apparent to a most numerous con- nexion in the parent State, and in the Colony, that an orga- nized commercial confederation was the best and most effica- cious mode of uniting the exertions and the influence of all interested in this great cause. He felt confident that through- out all parts of the United Kingdom the formation of the Asso- ciation would be hailed with satisfaction, considering that it was about to occupy that field of political and commercial action by which alone the amelioration of the condition of the industrious classes, now pressing upon the immediate attention of all ranks and degrees of the community, would be effectually and permanently accomplished. But there were considerations peculiar to Scotland, apart from those that the preceding speakers had chiefly dwelt upon, which he considered could not fail to secure for the British American Association a dis- tinguished place in the public regard of all Scotchmen. He referred more especially to the fact that its objects were iden- tical with those for which a noble hereditary Order — the Ba- ronetage OF Scotland and Nova Scotia — had been erected upwards of two centuries ago. That institution was not one of an honorary kind, but had been expressly founded to promote " the opulence, prosperity, and peace" of Scotland, and of that extensive portion of British North America now forming the whole of our possessions south of the St. Lawrence. In it

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were united great privileges and paramount duties. Under the auspices of the Baronets, the plantation of British America had been successfully begun so early as 1630, when a fleet of fourteen ships had sailed from Scotland for Nova Scotia, laden with men, women, and children, and all things necessary to commence the plantation ; and when Port Royal was built. But the operations of the Order and its associates had been suspended by the breaking out of the great civil wars. It was never, however, too late to revive a work which contemplated the happiness and the welfare of the nation ; and, through the instrumentality of the British American Association, he fondly hoped that the great moral and social ends proposed by the Ba- ronetage would be wrought out. Nothing could be more erro- neous than to suppose that the revival of the rights and objects of the Scottish Baronetage was a matter of importance merely to the 150 families which composed its members. The grants made to the Order, exceeding two millions and a half acres of land, with plenary power to settle the same, were bestowed by the Crown, that " the Baronets in particular, and the whole nation generally, might thereby have honour and profit." He viewed, therefore, the revival of these rights as a matter which alike touched the interest and consideration of all ranks and classes of the Scottish people ; and accordingly for several years he had devoted himself to the task of raising this question, as being one not second in importance to any that had been mooted since the period of the Union. Already the British American Association enrolled in the ranks of its mem- bers, one of the Co-Heirs of that illustrious Scottish family to whom was given the Hereditary Lieutenancy of Ncav Scotland, with nearly one-half of the members of the Baronetage, one of whom was then representing Her Majesty in the highest office Avhich a subject could discharge in their native land — presiding over the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland — and another had just laid down the no less distinguished honour of Governor-General of Canada. But he trusted the day was not remote when every Baronet would consider it to be his duty to join an institution which would again give utility to his

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Order, aggrandize his country, aud restore comfort and prospe- rity to his fellow-subjects. The necessity that existed for the instant adoption of remedial measures for the removal of that distress which had been gradually accumulating from the period of the general peace, was too apparent to require a single observation. Unless adequate remedies were applied, the whole frame-Avork of society would assuredly, at no distant date, be driven to pieces. The Emigration Committee had recorded that the concurrent testimony of all the witnesses examined by it, led to the belief that the recurrence of distress in the late afflicted districts was not merely pro1)able, but from the nature of things absolutely certain ; whilst Dr. Macleod had declared that he lived in an awful horror of its return, for a failure in the potato crop of any given year would produce it. Such a state of society on moral grounds was not to be endured, nor was the jiolicy for strengthening British influence in our North American dominions a matter to be disregarded. The recent outbreaks in Canada demonstrated the paramount importance of introducing into that Colony a sound British population on an extensive scale, whilst the points at issue between Great Britain and the United States made it wisdom to increase in British America monarcliical institutions, and to consolidate that union of interest and feeling Avhich constitute the most lasting bulwark against foreign aggression and do- mestic broils. On the resources of our North American posses- sions, and the vast field they present tor the profitable invest- ment of capital, and the absorption of labour, after the lucid expositions made by Dr. llolph and Sir Allan Macnab, he felt it superfluous to dwell. Their value would be sufUciently appreciated when it was kept in view, that the retention of the Colonies was essential to the permanence of Britain's supre- macy in every region of the globe, and to the maintenance of her position as mistress of the seas. Apart from all considera- tions of a commercial nature, Nova Scotia, as comprehended in its ancient limits, — and in which the Scottish nation had so deep a patrimonial stake, — from geographical situation, mineral wealth, and water facilities, would ever be the stronghold of

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British power and enterprise in the western worhl. And under the various necessities of the mother country, the hostile ten- dencies in the United States, and the troubled aspect of affairs in every portion of the Empire, it was political wisdom, and the bounden duty of all having the means, to support an Asso- ciation formed to drain off our redundant population, to em- ploy beneficially surplus capital, and to develop by all possible ways the dormant resources of our North American possessions, thereby making them instrumental to the relief of those exi- gencies, Avhether of a moral or physical nature, which concern the prosperity and the peace of the nation at large. Sir Richard, after some further remai-ks, concluded by proposing the following resolution, wliich was seconded by the Hon. Sir John Campbell, Bart., and unanimously carried, viz. — " That the British American Association for Emigration and Coloniza- tion is entitled to public confidence and support, as an insti- tution calculated materially to advance the opulence, prosperity, and peace of the mother country and the Colony."

The Deputation, after leaving Edinburgh, proceeded to Glasgow, where it was introduced to the Hon. Sir James Campbell, the Lord Provost of that city, and other influential persons connected with its trade and manufactures, when the Lord Provost at once acceded to the wish conveyed to him, that he should convene and preside at a public meeting, to take the objects of the British American Association into considera- tion. Accordingly, on the 27th, a public meeting took place in the Town Hall, at which deputations from all the Glasgow and neighbouring county Emigration societies, amounting to about sixty in number, attended.

A numerous and influential meeting was held on Fri- day afternoon, (27tli May), in the Town Hall, for the pur- pose of developing the nature and objects of the British Ame- rican Association for Emigration and Colonization. The Hon. Sir James Campbell, Lord Provost, in the chair. Amongst those present were the Hon. Sir John C. Fairlie, Bart., the Hon. Sir William Maxwell, Bart., Sir Allan Napier Macnab, Dr. M'Leod, Mr. Sheriff Alison, myself, Sir R. Broun, Master

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of Colstoun, W. Houstouu, Esq., Captain Gordon, Isaac Buchanan, Esq., Dr. Perry, William Murray, Esq., D. Greig, Esq., D. Hope, Esq., &c. &c.

Sir James Campbell, on taking tlie chair, said, They were all aware that the meeting had been convened in pursuance of the objects of an Association lately formed in London of INoble- men and Gentlemen interested in the welfare and prosperity of our Canadian provinces, for the purpose of affording facilities to Emigration to those most important and valuable Colonies. They were all aware from experience, as well as other circum- stances, that from the frequent revulsions in trade in this coun- try, there was often a redundancy of labourers connected with particular branches of industry, and they were likewise aware that this redundancy uniformly produced a pressure upon society, which it was very desirable to remove, if a suitable plan could be put into operation by which that purpose could be effected ; and he believed there had been nothing found out of so wholesome a nature as Emigration, in particular where there was such a field as Canada to absorb their surplus labour- ers; where population was so much wanted, and where the field of labour was so immense, that a few hundreds, or even thou- sands, could be thrown in amongst them at any time to great advantage. That meeting then had been called for the purpose of affording them information on the subject.

Sheriff Alison said, " The community of this great city owed a debt of gratitude to the Lord Provost of Glasgow for the prompt manner in which he had called this meeting, to afford the distinguished stranger near him — the gallant and ac- complished Sir Allan Macnab — an opportunity of informing them of the great and growing capabilities of the country of Canada, with which he was more immediately connected, and of giving to the community itself an opportunity of laying be- fore the country and the Government the absolute, the para- mount necessity, of some great system of Emigration being- adopted, to relieve the parent state of that superabundance of population which depressed its energies, but which would be a source of wealth to the Colonies, and an immense advantage to

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the labourers themselves who might emigrate. The present period was one peculiarly adapted for entertaining a question of this kind. They were standing in the midst of a community pre-eminent in this country for the rapid progress it had made in science, in industrial pursuits, in wealth, and in population ; but notwithstanding this, amongst a vast mass of that commu- nity at the present time, destitution, want, and suffering pre- vailed to a fearful extent. He needed not to say, in such a meeting, that distress surrounded them : it was everywhere to be encountered, and no one could have failed to observe it. They could not walk the streets without meeting at every turn some one whose haggard countenance, andtaleof woe, too well attested the sufferings he was enduring. But this was not all. From official documents, it appeared that there were in the county of Renfrew 13,000 individuals who were receiving rations daily from the munificence of Government, while in Glasgow there were half that number receiving daily supplies of food from the resources of private charity. That was a state of things which it well became all lovers of their country to reflect upon, existing, as it did, amidst all the long arrears and concomitants of public prosperity. It was admitted univer- sally, that there existed some deep-rooted evils in this country, wdiich all the philanthropic and patriotic efforts Avhich had been made had failed to remove. But what were those evils? He apprehended, indeed he entertained no doubt on the sub- ject, that they proceeded from a superabundance of population. Wherever they looked, wherever the demand for labour was great, the number of people was still greater ; and if, by any possibility, the number should chance not to be sufficient, those coming in from the sister island in search of employment, soon changed the aspect of affairs. The question came to be, what would they do in such circumstances? Many advices were given. Some proposed that the waste lands of this country should be cultivated and improved ; and others proposed to improve the poor laws, and introduce a better system of grant- ing relief. These were all praiseworthy propositions ; but they could not shut their eyes to the fact, that they would all prove

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ineffectual, unless accompanied with an extensive system of Emigration. The evils which they laboured under arose from the nature of the pursuits in which they were engaged. Much of the prosperity of this country depended upon its manufac- tures, and other nations, therefore, would do their utmost to exclude the goods manufactured here from their markets. They looked to England, and saw it prosperous; — they looked to England, and saw it had become great and powerful, and they asked what had made it so powerful, so great, and so prospe- rous ? The answer to such an inquiry was this — It was just its manufactures, and the protective system by which these manu- factures had been fostered, which had done so ; and the irresis- tible inference was, that they would become as great if they adopted the same restrictive system. The very fact of the greatness of this country had created a jealousy which had multiplied restrictions for the purpose of banishing British ma- nufactures from all the countries in Europe. It was the nature of man to be envious, and it was natural, likewise, that others should follow in the steps which had led them to greatness. Where, then, were they to find outlets for their superabundant manufactures, and a remedy for this evil, but in the growth, riches, and prosperity of their own Colonies, which would be- come, with an extensive and well regulated system of Emigra- tion, a perennial source of wealth, to which no limits could be assigned. Although there was great jealousy of Britain In Russia, although there was great jealousy of their manufac- turing and mercantile enterprise in all the countries of Europe, there was no jealousy of them in Canada, or in the various Colonies of the British Empire, and these took otf as much of their manufactures as all the rest of the world put together. To enable the Colonies to be nmch more servicealjle to the mother country, it was only necessary that they should support them by their wealth, and superHuous numbers. The object of the present meeting, however, he begged to remind them, was immediately and solely connected with Emigration to Canada; and he was not aware that any language of his could depict the boundless capacities of that country. Dr. Rolph could correct

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him if lie was wrong, when he stated that that country contained forty millions of acres of land, an extent of tei-ritory more than four times that of the whole British Islands. Such was the capacity of the land on the other side of the Atlantic, and such had been the growth of the human race of late years in that quarter of the world, that the account seemed almost incre- dible. To the westward of the Alleghany mountains, including the valley of the Mississippi, when the first census of the popu- lation was taken in 1791, it was under 100,000, but since then the increase had proceeded at such an astonishing rate, that at the present time there were nearly 5,000,000 inhabitants in the same district of country. They boasted of the increase of Glas- gow, and they had a right to do so. Since 1791 , the population of that city had increased five-fold ; but the country westward of the Alleghany mountains, had in the same time increased fifty- fold ; yet, such was the wealth of the soil, such was the unbounded prodigality of nature, that the produce of the soil was absolutely allowed to rot in their barns for want of a market. This was the state of matters in Canada ; and the question came to be this, whether they would permit this immense field for human in- dustry to remain uncultivated, or adopt such a system as would enable them to send forth their starving multitudes to people and bless it. The people here had another reason for feeling peculiarly interested in Canada. The inhabitants of the United States were a hostile people. It was no un- common thing for them to talk of war, and exhibit angry feelings towards this country. This was the natural result of their position as rivals. But they had no rivalry, and emulation, and jealousy with the people of Canada. These were bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh. They would not, when the people of this country lent them money to form their canals, and construct other public works, meet them with the perfidious doctrine of repudiation. Would English wealth not be better expended, therefore, in Canada, amongst a loyal people who were faithful to their engagements, than amongst those who in some respects regarded them as enemies? If there was any doubt of the loyalty and good faith of the Canadians,

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he had only to refer to the stand which they made in 1812, and again, on a more recent occasion, under their gallant and noble friend Sir Allan Macnab, now before them, for the support of Her Majesty's authority and their own rights as British sub- jects, to set that doubt at rest. When they considered then the extent and extensive fertility of Canada, when they looked to the prodigious number of the community here who were suffer- ing want, the question would naturally arise, How has Emigra- tion not been tried as a remedy 1 That something of the kind should be tried, he believed they were all prepared to admit. Hitherto Emigration had been left to the voluntary principle, to the unaided efforts of individuals. He gladly bore testimony to the value of these efforts ; and the immense stream of Emi- gration which was annually poured across the Atlantic, attested the extent of the service thus rendered to the country. But still this was not enough ; for notwithstanding all who had gone to both Canada and Australia, little relief had been felt. None could emigrate but those who could afford to pay for their passage ; and consequently in uo perceptible manner was destitution and misery around them abridged. What they wanted was the means of sending away those who could not afford to go of their own accord. The voluntary system M-as good as far as it went. It Avas generally an advantage to the Emigrant, and a benefit to the Colony. But what were its effects here? It took away the small capitalists, who pre- viously assisted in supplying the labourer with work, while there remained those only who were fixed to the soil, sur- rounded by an indigent and suffering population. It was a necessary element of any great system of Emigration, to carry off a portion of the middle classes, but it was not enough to carry off those alone. What they wanted was a system to carry off the destitute who could not get employment, along with those who had the means of employing them — the honest and industrious (not the affluent) who did not possess the means of transporting themselves to the other side of the Atlantic. Lord Stanley, as a proof of the efficiency of the voluntary prin- ciple, had stated that there were 16,000 persons emigrated last

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year, and he did not see the necessity of Government inter- fering ; but if Lord Stanley had knovrn as much as they did, the fact of 16,000 persons having emigrated of their own accord would have appeared just a reason why another 16,000 should he sent out at the expense of Government. Every one who went away at his own expense, took with him so much of the capital of the country, a portion of the means of employing those left behind. This, therefore, made it the more necessary that Government should come forward and supply their place, either by providing labour, or by sending them where labour was to be found. They would be told that labourers were not wanted in Canada, that the land was not productive, and that there were no markets for their produce. But still it could not be denied that food was abundant, and that there was plenty of employment, for there were Government works alone in operation which would absorb any given amount of human labour. What they wanted in Canada was hands ; that which was wanted here was the means of getting quit of some of their superabundant labourers. It was most extraordinary that there should be 27,000,000 men suffering from a superabundance of their numbers, and that there should be lands in the same do- minions absolutely deserts for want of hands, yet no system devised to lessen to a vast extent the superfluous labour here, and neutralise the want of hands on the other side of the Atlantic. He apprehended if this were kej)t in view, that the great thing to be accomplished would be to make the superfluous labour in this country subservient to the different state of mat- ters in Canada ; then all the evils complained of would be removed ; the condition of the working classes would be greatly ameliorated ; trifling fluctuations in trade would not throw them out of employment, and their market would be in- definitely increased, — such was the desire for their manufactures in the British Colonies. As a proof of this, he might state, that Russia with its 150,000,000 of inhabitants, did not take off so much of their manufactures as the small Colony of Australia, with only 230,000 inhaljitants. The Russians con- sumed about 'M. a-head, while the Australian Colonists con-

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sumed £11 a-head. This proved that the Colonies took off the pounds, and the European nations only the pennies ; if they considered the matter right, therefore, he thought they would support those who took off the pounds, and pay less attention to those who took off the pennies ; for, under these circum- stances, if they did not support the Colonies, they would be carrying out the old saying of" Penny wise and pound foolish." He would not detain them longer in speaking on a subject with which they must all be familiar, particularly as the prac- tical details of the scheme of Emigration which they had in view, would be laid before the meeting by Dr. Rolph, and the other respectable individuals who were to address them. The resolution which he had to propose was the following: — " That the destitution of Glasgow, the manufacturing districts of the West of Scotland, and the Highlands generally, has reached an appalling character and extent, and cannot, in the opinion of this meeting, be effectually remedied by any measure short of Emigration on a national scale."

Dr. Norman M'Leod had the honour, he said, of seconding the resolution proposed by Mr. Sheriff Alison, and he was sure there was not an individual present who was not deeply indebted to the learned gentleman for the eloquent and admirable state- ments now made by him. He repeated, they were all under deep obligations to him for being ready at all times to come forward on such occasions ; and there was no man in the com- munity better qualified to do so, both from his knowledge of the condition of the working classes, and the deep interest which he took in their welfare. He was delighted to have the honour of seconding the motion now made ; but he was afraid that any attempt of his to make a few observations on the sub- ject, might weaken the impression which had been effected upon their minds by the eloquent address of the learned Sheriff; and he was aware, likewise, of the anxiety which they must all feel, to hear with as little delay as possible what the illustrious strangers had to say. They had frequently heard his voice before ; they were acquainted with his opinions, and they knew well that he had no novelty to present to them. The motion

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confined them to the existing* distress, and the way of removing it. Now what could he say of the existing distress to which Sheriff Alison had not so ably directed their attention. It was exceedingly painful to be called upon to speak on the platform of tlie Avant and destitution, nakedness and starvation, of their fellow-citizens, — he must be anything but a good man who was not acquainted with at least a portion of the distress which so extensively prevailed ; and he pitied the man who did not liear the burden of such a state of things, continually, upon his mind. They were told that they were not to judge of the extent of the destitution by what tliey saw in the streets, and by the numbers of tlie unemployed who appeared in processions, as some had been found taking this means of obtaining aid and charity from the public, who might have provided more honourably for their own maintenance. This might be so ; there was nothing which was not liable to be abused : but he felt persuaded that if the condition of the working classes at the present moment were sufficiently known, it would be found that for every man who went about asking relief, and who was not an object of charity, there were hundreds whose sufferings were of a very peculiar kind, and who were ashamed to lay before the public the extent of their privations. Very much was often said regarding the extravagance of the working poor. He had heard tales of their extravagance, which if true, he must admit were bad enough ; but at the same time he ventured to assert, that of all the extraordinary things which had come in his way, it was the frugality of the working classes. He had often wondered how a family having only ten, or twelve, or fourteen shillings per week, could surround themselves with so many com- forts as he had witnessed them in the enjoyment of, — how they could go to church, pay from five to ten pounds a-year house- rent, pay for seats in the church over and above, and provide education for their children, out of such a small sum. Yet in the city of Glasgow thousands of persons could be found with wages not above sixteen shillings a-week, who kept themselves comfortable and respectable; and this was to him the most won- derful thing connected with the history of the poor. He was

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aware that there were improvident people, who spent their money foolishly, in all classes of society ; but it was totally untrue that the industrious poor, as a body, were chargeable with anything of the kind. The destitution at the present moment was of a very deep and appalling description ; and even if the present mercantile crisis were to pass away, he was afraid that a crisis of a similar nature would not be far distant. He believed that at the present moment a greater quantity of food was produced than could be consumed under existing cir- cumstances ; that there was a glut of their manufactures found in all parts of the world. The truth was this, that manufac- tures were carried to too great an extent in this country. He believed that the steam of the great boiler of this manufacturing nation was getting up to such a degree, that unless a large safety valve was opened, they could not forbear looking for- ward to the bursting of that boiler with very great fear as to the results. There was no person had thrown more light upon the efforts of the increase of manufactures than Sheriff Alison, and the proportional amount of pauperism with which such an increase was always accompanied. In 1831 the population of the United Kingdom amounted only to 24,000,000, whereas it was now nearly 27,000,000, and in a very short time it would be 30,000,000. The population was increasing at the rate of 800,000 annually, and it was perfectly well known that manu- factures were not increasing in nearly the same ratio, — at least those branches of industry which required the application of manual labour, — but the reverse Avas the case, for machinery was in a great number of instances superseding the necessity of employing human labour. This must come to something. They lieard much said about the repeal of the corn laws, and other measures ; but although tliese laws were repealed to- morrow,— although they had bridges built over, and tunnels erected under the sea to all jjarts of the world, that the cattle on the thousand hills of South America, and other places, might be brought to them without diminution of weiglit, and in the condition most suited for consumption, — it would but increase the population still more, unless an outlet were opened ; and they

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would then be left as much at a loss as ever to know what all this was to come to. He had no hesitation, therefore, in saying that resources must be found for the surplus population of the British islands in their own Colonies, and this without refe- rence to any other measures which miglit be adopted for the amelioration of their condition. The population of Glasgow had increased in the space of fifty years from 80,000 to 280,000; and what was now the condition of a great number of that population ? Let any man take the statistics of Captain Miller Avith regard to this question, and let him peruse them carefully, and he was quite convinced that any one who did so would feel perfectly overwhelmed with shame and sorrow, that such a state of things should exist, and that so little had been done to provide an effectual remedy. There was something so awful in the details contained in these statistics, that he pitied the man who could read them with a serene countenance and a calm mind. Sir Walter Scott had written many works which showed that he was possessed of the most prolific and brilliant imagination ; but if the history of the pawn-shops in GlasgoAV could be written, if the clothes which were sent there could speak, they could unfold such tales of misery as the warmest imagination and the most poetical fancy never dreamed of. Seven hundred pawn-shops in the city of Glasgow ! carried on with a capital of about half a million of money ! ! lent out not at ten per cent., or twenty per cent., or a hundred per cent,, but at the awful interest of four hundred per cent. ! ! ! There was something altogether in this which it was not possible to think of without great alarm and anxiety. He at no great distance of time had heard tales of destitution which had forced tears to his eyes ; that not of beggars, but of industrious men who were willing to work, but who could not get work to per- form. He trusted he had impressed upon the meeting an idea of the fearful state of matters amongst the manufacturing population at the present time, and the necessity of something being done for their permanent relief. With regard to the Highlands : if he once set out to that land they would not get him back for a month; the state of the Highlands and

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Islands of Scotland having been already brought before the public, it was not his intention to say much. They would all recollect that about six years ago, nearly £110,000 was col- lected by subscription throughout the kingdom, to alleviate the then existing distress in those parts of the British Islands. That money he was bound to admit had done much good. It had preserved thousands from actual starvation ; but if it had been applied as many wished, — in sending those to Canada whom they only temporarily relieved, — it would have done ten times more good than it did. But they would be amazed to learn that £2,000 of this fund was yet in the hands of the Com- mittee, who insisted that it was entrusted to them for the purpose of being expended in feeding the poor people at home, while they Avere prohibited from allowing it to be applied to sending them out of the country, to a place where they would have the power of procuring food for themselves. But we got the better of this prohibition by an honest sort of trick, as we had sent them meal to be used on board of ship, instead of on shore, as John Bull intended. Some attributed all the evils endured by the labouring classes in the Highlands to the destruction of the kelp manufacture ; but it was not that alone which they had to complain of, although it had led originally to the distress, and gave them a strong claim upon Govern- ment for relief. It was not true, however, what was fre- quently alleged, that it was in consef|uence of the improve- ments of chemical science, that the manufacture of kelp was made no longer a profitable employment ; but it was because the protective duties on an article of foreign produce, which could be applied to the same purposes, had been repealed. The king of Sardinia had been made rich, that the king of Morven might remain poor ; and the people of Sardinia reaped all the advantages of the change, while the poor people in the Highlands were sent to starvation just in the same proportion. It was not a new claim which they were making upon the Government, and it was not the first time that claim had been allowed. They had received £10,000 at one time, and if a persevering application was kept up, he had little doubt but

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they would likewise be assisted in this emergency. The destruction of the kelp manufacture had been productive of a great deal of misery amongst a portion of the population of the Highlands, as whole districts had thereby been deprived of their principal means of support ; but still there were other causes which had operated materially in producing the same result; — there was the climate, the uncertainty of the fisheries, and above all, the endless division of land in the Highlands as in Ireland, which had reduced the labouring class to their present deplorable condition. They were told that the voluntary system of Emigration was a remedy for such a state of things ; but what had it done for the Highlands ? Just this. Every man who had from £10 to £30 started off for America. The con- sequence was, that the whole of that class — the small capitalists, as they might be called — who had been labouring to acquire from £10 to £30, had left the country; and it was the mere squatters who remained behind, who could not get to Ca- nada unless they were to swim across the Atlantic; and that was rather too much even for a Highlander. What they wanted was, that the Government should come forward, and that the Highland lairds should come forward, to assist in an extensive system of Emigration ; and if the latter did not come forward to assist in emigrating the people upon their lands to a place where they could obtain a livelihood, they were bound to come forward and support them at home. There should be a poor law which would reach them. If the agricul- tural improvements which they are introducing made a portion of their tenantry beggars, they should remove their beggars ; and if they did not do so, he was persuaded something would be done by the nation to make them feel that there was a con- nexion between one class of the population and another. The history of poor cotters in the Highlands was frequently painful in the extreme. Unable to obtain the means of subsistence in the place of their birth, they set out for the Lowlands of Scot- land, and many of them arrived at the Broomielaw in a very destitute condition ; employment was not always to be found, and from the want of food, and other causes, they became the

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victims oF contagious diseases ; dnd the next word that was heard of them was, that they were laid up in the infirmary. So much was this the case, that out of every hundred sent to that institu- tion attacked w ith small pox, and other infectious complaints, seventy were from the Highlands of Scotland. They had heard how much had been done in sending Emigrants from the High- lands ; but even the little which had been done had been per- formed on a wrong principle. The Emigration to Australia, for instance, was a cruel thing, although it was well meant; for had that system gone on, every able-bodied man would have been separated from his father and mother, whom he was bound to assist, the whole strength of the country would have been taken away, and none would have been left resident there but lairds and ministers, great farmers, the aged, and the infirm. It appeared quite evident, that a great system of Emigration was necessary to be put into operation, and that this must be done by legislative enactment, as local arrangements would not do. There was not in the world a more benevolent commu- nity than that of Glasgow ; they were doing all they could to alleviate the condition of those out of employment; but if no permanent scheme of relief were devised, they might be placed in a still more fearful position than at present, when some- thing more might be required than they could do. He would just conclude by saying, what signified it to be erecting public works, and to be buikling great brick stalks here and there, except they sent persons to people their rising Colonies, and provide a market for their surplus manufactures ? and no where else could this be done to the same advantage as in Canada. They got wool from Australia ; they got sugar from the West Indies; they got cotton from India, — and they still expected to increase their supply of this article from Her Majesty's domi- nions in that quarter of the world ; but all this would avail them little, unless they raised up consumers of their manufac- tured productions. By sending a portion of the population to Canada, they would thus convert the idle consumer into a pro- ducer. For every one carried away, they relieved the country, and made him a i)roductive member of the state to which he

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was sent. There were about three millions of people now out of employment in this country. These, thank God! were not left to die. But what did it cost to maintain this vast number? From the statistics of the Glasgow Bridewell, it appeared that a man could not be supported, at the very least, under £5 a year. They could not send a family to Canada, at an average, below £15. By expending only the £5, the recipient of their charity was left as much dependent upon them as before ; whereas, by expending the £15, they got permanently quit of the burden, relieved this country, and conferred a benefit upon their rising Colony. Such a system would be " twice blessed;" it would be a blessing to the place from whence he was sent, and a blessing to the country to which he emigrated. He heard a great deal of nonsense sometimes about the improving of waste lands. He had met strangers in steam-boats, who, looking to the bleak mountains in the west, expressed their astonishment, that in a country where the people were so poor, and employ- ment so scarce, they were not set to the cultivation of these hills — would nothing grow upon them ? He had felt himself turning away at this from those philanthropic travellers, for fear he would say something unbecoming a Highlander, or at least a Minister of the Gospel. But granting that all the island was cultivated, their rapidly increasing population would soon outgrow its greatest capacity of production. And what then"? Could they beat out Great Britain to any imaginable extent, like goldleaf, with a hammer? Unless they could do this, although they were to cultivate every acre in the kingdom, it would just come to this at lust, that an outlet would have to be provided for their surplus population. This could be found no where better than in Canada and Nova Scotia, where they pos- sessed a territory of 130,000 square miles in extent, capable of maintaining a population far greater than that of the United Kino-dom. A Minister of the Crown had told them that these provinces were an integral part of Her Majesty's dominions. They are so ; and we rejoiced in the announcement. I trust that great man, whose true greatness, and high reasoning mind, we all know, like Sir Robert Peel, will act upon the prin-

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ciple. Canada is already almost independent of British sol- diers : with its 80,000 militia it defies the United States. If the sum of money spent in carrying troops there, had been laid out in carrying Emigrants, what an additional security would it have given to our possessions? It is not yet too late. The Highlands and Isles of Scotland are suffering under a pres- sure of 40,000 to 50,000 people, who are anxious to be re- moved, and who are now a dead weight upon the land. Surely, surely, something may be done — nay, something must be done, to effect their removal. Need I dwell on the peculiar claims which the Highlanders have upon the benevolence — might I not say the gratitude — of the nation ? Need I remind you of what you all know, and amply acknowledge, that tlie Highlands and Isles have been a nursery for your armies ; that from these heath-covered mountains multitudes of gallant men have sprung; men who have surely taken their own share in the never-to-be-forgotten struggle that has ended in the peace of Europe ; men who, in every field, and in every climate, have covered themselves with glory ? Look to the privations of that portion of your countrymen. Their descendants are ready when called upon, as were their fathers before them, to die for their country. Many are the fine young fellows at present grow- ing up in this land under circumstances of extreme destitution, who, if removed to the interesting Colony of which we have been speaking, would prove in the hour of its danger its most gallant defenders — many a young Sir Allan Macnab, now run- ning naked and half-starved in the land from Avliich tlie father of that gallant man had gone — the man whom even a Queen of Britain has been delighted to honour !

" I beg the pardon of this meeting for detaining it so long. I beg leave, with all my heart, to second the motion now made by Sheriff Alison ; and, in conclusion, I must be jiermitted to say, that I hope some great meeting may be held in London on this subject, in the belief that an impression may be made on the minds of the British public on a matter of such transcen- dant importance both to the United Kingdom and to her North American possessions."

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The resolution proposed by Sheriff Alison was then adopted unanimously.

In following Dr. M'Leod, and descanting on nearly the same topics as at Edinburgh, I could not but notice the remarkable contrast to the melancholy spectacle then seen in Glasgow, with the scene probably to be witnessed in Montreal, and I alluded to it thus : —

" Nothing could be a greater blot on humanity, or a greater stain on our patriotism, than the monstrous anomaly existing at present; whilst the walls of these cities were placarded, ' Per- formance at the theatre for the benefit of the unemployed ;' ' Tulip-show at the City-hall for the benefit of the unemployed ;' * Steam-boat excursion up the Clyde for the benefit of the un- employed ;' the walls in Canada, during last winter, were pla- carded, ' Two thousand labourers wanted for the Welland Canal.' These are the discrepancies we hope to obviate; and in this hope only have I consented to aid an Association which promises such happy results."

It was moved by Sir Allan Macnab, and seconded by myself, — " 2. That the resources of our British American provinces, if drawn out by an extensive infusion into them of capital and population, will afford an immediate and effectual remedy for the distress prevalent in the United Kingdom from redundant labour."

3rd. Moved by W. Andrews, Esq., and seconded by the Hon. Sir John Cunniughame Fairlie, Bart., — " That the British American Association, which has been formed for these com- bined objects, is entitled to the support of all persons in the kingdom desirous of advancing the moral and general welfare of the labouring classes."

4th. Moved by Sir R. Broun, Master of Colstoun, and se- conded by W. Murray, Esq., — "That the Rev. Dr. Norman M'Leod, whose great exertions in the cause of his suffering fellow-countrymen in the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, in the year 1837, was so instrumental in raising a sum of upwards of £100,000 sterling to rescue them from star^

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vation, and Mr. Sheriff Alison, whose warmest exertions have long been conspicuously directed to the relief of distress in Great Britain, and the advancement of her Colonial interests, be requested to allow their names to be added to the Consulting Council of the Association."

5th. Moved by the Hon. Sir W. A. Maxwell, Bart., and seconded by William Houston, Esq., of Johnstone Castle, — " That the Lord Provost be requested to allow his name to be added to the Consulting Council, and to accept the best thanks of the meeting for presiding thereat."

Whereupon Dr. M'Leod, Mr. Sheriff Alison, and the Lord Provost, severally stated their willingness to act on the Consult- ing Council, and to give the Association every aid in carrying out its objects.

On the evening of the same day, I accompanied Mr. An- drews to a meeting at the town of Paisley, convened to take into consideration the state of the industrial classes, which, in consequence of the great number congregated, was adjourned from the Council Chamber to the Town Hall. The Provost pre- sided at the meeting, supported by many of the leading clergy- men and manufacturers of the district ; and after the objects and plans of the Association had been fully discussed and con- sidered, a variety of resolutions, approving of them, and pledg- ing the persons present to support the undertaking, were pro- posed and unanimously adopted.

The Montreal Gazette, in recording these meetings, and speaking of the British American Association, did so in the fol- lowing manner : —

" It is quite unnecessary for us to say one word in commen- dation of so important a Company, for it must recommend itself to every one interested in its truly national objects. We fully rely upon a decided and unanimous support being given throughout British North America, to an Association founded on national principles of beneficence, and calculated, in every point of view, to enhance our importance as a member of the great Colonial dependencies of the Empire."

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These sentiments were reiterated by the whole press of Bri- tish North America favourable to the connexion with the mother country, and, to ray knowledge, embodied the feeling of the vast mass of its inhabitants, whether of Native or European descent.

Whilst in Glasgow, my attention was directed to the case of a body of Highlanders who had gone out to Canada, and who were represented generally to be in a state of the most awful destitution. This led to the following correspondence :

" To the Editor of the ' Scotch Reformers Gazette.'

" Liverpool, May 30, 1842.

" Sir, — I take this opportunity of returning you my sincere thanks for giving circulation, in your interesting and widely disseminated journal, to my vindication of the noble inhabi- tants of the cities of Montreal and Quebec, against the unjust aspersions of a portion of the British press, arising out of the arrival of 279 most destitute Highlanders, at an advanced period of the season last year, at the port of Quebec. At the recent large meetings, which 1 have had the pleasure of ad- dressing in Edinburgh, GlasgOAV, Paisley, (fee, I have endea- voured strongly to impress on the minds of the people how essential to their own happiness and success it is, to avoid the improvidence of which these jioor Highlanders were guilty. The enervating influence of a sea voyage, greatly increased by insufficient and improper food, and arrival at a season when labour was not in demand, rendered the condition of those emigrants one of imminent risk. It was really too bad that the prompt munificence of their fellow-subjects in Canada should have been withheld from the people of the United Kingdom, and unjust representations circulated to their dis- advantage. The following interesting letter from the Hon. Mr. Morris, of Perth, a gentleman alike distinguished for his knowledge, liberality, and devotion to Emigration, will amply repay for its perusal, and allay any apprehensions felt by the

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people of Scotland, as to their reception on the shores of Canada.

" Your insertion of this communication will much oblige, " Your very obedient servant,

" Thomas Rolph."

*' Lennoxville, Eastern Townships, " 14th March, 1842.

<< Sir, — Allow me, though a stranger, to use the freedom of addressing a few lines to you as Secretary of the Tourist, in my capacity as President of the Emigration Association of the district of St. Francis.

" By recent letters to the last Lewes emigrants in Bury and Lingwick, from their friends in the Hebrides, I find that your Gaelic newspaper has a wide circulation, and a great influence in the Highlands of Scotland, and that owing to some notices or paragraphs, either original, or more probably copied and translated from other newspapers, they have got a general and very deplorable impression of the wretched and destitute state of these strangers.

" It is not my wish to induce more of them here ; far less is it my intention to encourage the landlords and government at home to permit such poor people to embark from their shores without some such moderate provision for their location and primary subsistence as humanity would dictate. But with a gentleman of your experience, I need not advert to the often recklessness of the public press as to truth, or personal feelings, in their own anxiety to treat their readers with exciting, in- teresting, strongly written paragraphs ; and that, however harmless it may be to copy their adulations, a respectable, con- scientious editor requires to be very cautious and discriminating in giving further currency to what may be unjust to the hu- manity of a district, or injurious to Colonial interest, without other evidence than tlie anonymous paragraphs of a newspaper.

" The truth in this case is, that though these two arrivals of

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destitute people late in last autumn seemed a serious charge on this district, yet the appeal on their behalf has been so handsomely responded to in this neighbourhood, and from the cities of Montreal and Quebec, that they have been brought through the winter in health, and with the prospect, which they would not exchange for any worldly advantages they ever had in their fatherland. They are placed in a fine fertile tract of land in Bury and Lingwick, along township roads, and near the Salmon River and small lakes, abounding in fish. They have built log-houses, and are clearing their land for crops, and exchanging their ashes for potatoes, and other necessaries. The subscriptions being judiciously converted into oatmeal and axes have furnished them with winter rations in proportion to their numbers, and at present a surplus balance, sent near them, to supply when the winter roads fail, and before the summer road is easily passable. They are exceedingly grateful for all the humanity and kindness extended to them on every side, in this fine healthy part of the country. They have generally preferred to occupy about seventy acres each family; more, of course, where there are grown-up young people. In Scotland, such an aid would leave them next year as poor and helpless as ever ; while here, the one effort on our part, and on theirs, places them at once in circumstances of progressive comfort and independence for all the rest of their lives ; and they seem to lament that any unfavourable representations to their hope- lessly indigent countrymen in the Highlands, should deter them from adventuring on that movement which, with all its difliculty, is the best alternative for permanently relieving the country and the poor.

" I have the honour to be, sir,

" Your faithful, humble servant,

" W. Morris, President. " A. Macnab, Esq., Kingston."

On the return of the Deputation to London, the 8th of June was appointed for the third meeting of the Consulting

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Council of the Association. Accordingly on that day the meeting took place, his Grace the Duke of Argyll in the chair. A report from the executive board was read, detailing the pro- ceedings of the Deputation to Scotland; setting forth that the whole arrangements which necessarily precede the announce- ment of a great public undertaking had been matured ; that the purchase of four seignories in Canada East, containing about 200,000 acres, and estates in Prince Edward's Island, amounting to 74,000 acres, had been decided ; that the pecu- niary arrangements connected with the purchases made had been entered into with a due regard to the nature of the pro- perty, and the interests of the Association ; and that the Board was anxious to send out a body of Emigrants to Prince Edward's Island before the close of the season, and to carry out their operations upon an extensive scale, in the spring and summer of the ensuing year.

This Report further set forth, that, having immediate refe- rence to the completion of the purchases already made ; the advances which might be rendered necessary to promote Emi- gration to the properties of the Association, and their improve- ment and colonization; as likewise to carry out pending ar- rangements in Western Canada, — the Commissioners proposed that the sum of £50,000 should be raised by debentures.

This proposition having been discussed by the Council, it was considered more advisable to raise the sum wanted by an issue of 10,000 shares in the capital stock; and the Report having been amended, on the motion of Sir James Cockburn, Bart., it was resolved, " That the amended Report should be adopted and acted upon, and that a subscription should be im- mediately opened for shares."

The Report, read and adopted by the Council on the 8th of June, was immediately tliereafter printed and widely distri- buted; and shortly afterwards a subscription for shares was opened, when the Duke of Argyll, Sir W. Ogilvie, Bart., Sir James Cockburn, Bart., Sir R. Broun, myself, and various others, headed the list, by each signing for an amount of stock

AND COLONIZATION. 209

placed opposite to their respective names, it being a stipulation that no call for money should be made upon the shareholders until the sum of £50,000 had been subscribed.

Immediately thereafter, the Association was advertised in the newspapers ; the prospectus issued to the puldic ; the stock placed on the market ; and the pending arrangements above referred to completed, whereby lands in Canada, Prince Ed- ward's Island, and Gaspc', to the extent of 443,594 acres in all, were acquired for the Association upon most advantageous terms, and under agreements mutually binding upon the buyers and sellers.

During the whole course of this season I continued to receive applications from all parts of Ireland, from bodies of Emigrants that were preparing to leave that island for Canada. The rea- son which conduced to this general and vehement desire on the part of such large masses of the Irish population to remove, may be inferred from the following extract of a letter from the celebrated American Professor Durin to Dr. Sewell : —

" No country has interested me more than Ireland. She is a problem in society yet to be solved. With a general destitu- tion that has no parallel in Europe, she has increased in popu- lation much faster than any other European country ; while, at the same time, she has parted with millions of her children by enlistments in the army and navy, and by Emigration to the Co- lonies and foreign states. This fact of the rapid increase of her population, with the general absence of the comfortable means of subsistence and residence, is directly at variance with what has been considered a settled law in political economy — that the increase of population is in proportion to the means of subsis- tence. I passed through the length of the island, and made a little volume of notes and reasonings, and finally came to this conclusion — that the early marriages (girls generally marry at from fourteen to seventeen,) were owing, not to a natural im- providence of the Irish, but to the utter hopelessness of im- proving their condition preparatory to marriage. Hence they follow the first sudden impulse of youthful passion, in order to •secure the longer continuance of pleasures which cannot be im-

V

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proved by delay. If the inquiry be, Why cannot they improve their condition ? the answer is, the land is held mostly in large tracts by absentee proprietors, and the demand for it is so great, owing to the density of the population, and the rent is so high (much higher in proportion than in England), that the family can scarcely meet its payment, while they live on potatoes. Of these last I believe they have a sufficiency ; and I was strongly inclined to jump to the conclusion, that potato diet is favour- able to the production, as well as the sustenance, of a numerous population.

" I satisfied myself that the miseries of Ireland do not arise from misgovernment by the mother country, but from an over- grown population; from large landed estates, divided up into tenures of from half to ten or twenty acres, at exorbitant rents ; from the absence of proprietors in England, to whom the rent is sent to be sjient in London, or in travelling on the Conti- nent. To remove, therefore, the ills of Ireland, would require an exertion of the Government in the violation of vested rights, by compelling the division of large landed estates, and the common right of citizenship, by compelling the proprietors to reside in the country, and improve it by the products of their estates."

This is another forcible demonstration, that evils of this gigantic nature, and continued augmentation, can only be re- lieved by extensive and regulated Emigration. Fifteen hundred poor persons being desirous of leaving Belfast, in the month of June, they requested their indefatigable and i>atriotic friend, Mr. Valentine, to place himself in communication with me on the subject ; and at a large meeting held in Belfast, over which the Marquess of Donegal presided, the following letter, ad- dressed by me to Mr. Valentine, was publicly read, and oc- casioned the postponement of this body of Emigrants quitting Ireland until the ensuing year : —

"June 24, 1842. " Dear Sir, — In conformity with your desire, I proceed to give you the information which the Emigiants intending to

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proceed from Belfast to Canada have requested. As a general principle, the labouring classes who go to Canada, should leave as early in the season as possible : the passage is shorter; their labour is in greater demand ; they are enabled to provide for the ensuing winter ; and they acquire a more perfect knowledge of the seasons, and their adaptation to the purposes of hus- bandry. Had the period of departure generally been a matter of indifference, it is one of the greatest consequence at the pre- sent period. A combination of circumstances during the exist- ing season renders it very desirable that the labouring classes, who are destitute, should not proceed to Canada until the fol- lowing spring. A large number of persons engaged in the lumbering business on the shores of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, and in the adjoining province of New Brunswick, have been thrown out of employment from the alteration in the tim- ber duties ; a vast number of persons also have left the United States, and proceeded to Canada. Now, although I do hope that the knowledge which these people have acquired by their occupation in the forest will induce them to become settlers, I am still apprehensive that many will be seeking that employ- ment which has always been absorbed by the Emigrants from the United Kingdom.

" As there has been a very large Emigration this year from the United Kingdom, I am not anxious farther to provoke or encourage it, lest it might entail a heavy burden on the pro- vince, and prove unsatisfactory to those who hoped to find pro- fitable employment and a comfortable home therein.

" Secondly, I strongly recommend all Emigrants to be fur- nished with a small sum of money on landing, as they may have to proceed some distance in the country l)efore obtaining em- ployment.

" Thirdly, I advise them to take the first employment offered ; it is of vital consequence to them to commence hus- banding their means immediately. Much foolish prejudice has existed against Eastern Canada, and the current of Emigration has been generally directed to the West. Without denying that the climate is somewhat more severe in Eastern than in

p2

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Western Canada, I am far from thinking it more disagreeable or less desirable from that circumstance. It is decidedly more uniform, less interruption to sleighing in the winter, and there- fore has its use ; whilst unquestionably the greater contiguity to market, and the higher price of produce, render the advan- tages between Eastern and Western Canada nearly equal. No persons have succeeded better in British America than the Irish settlers in the vicinity of Quebec ; and there is not a more in- dustrious, worthy, wholesome population, than the Anglo- American population in tlie Eastern Townships. No portion of the American continent is better cleared than the lands on the St. Lawrence and the Richelieu : this was tlie work of the French population ; and will the Irish shrink from encoun- tering a work successfully performed by the French? The canals, the railroads, the public roads, the aqueducts, the via- ducts, the bridges, the harbours, the villages, the towns and cities in America, are principally the result of Irish industry ; and a moment's reflection must convince any one, that they would subjugate the forest fully as well as the French habitan; and, I am quite persuaded, would cultivate the land with far more diligence, neatness, and success. It is then a matter of great moment, that they should take the first occupation of- fered on their arrival in Quebec, and have no dithcidty in set- tling in Eastern Canada. The Government have given great assistance in forwarding Emigrants to the western portions of the province; but Emigrants have no right to expect this aid, if profitable employment is offiered to them in Eastern Canada. It has come, not unfrequently, to my knowledge, that Emigrants who neglected to avail themselves of the excellent advice of the indefatigable agent, A. C. Buchanan, Esq., Quebec, after tra- velling about, losing the best jiortion of the season, were com- pelled to take less wages than what they formerly refused, and repented bitterly the folly of wliich they had been guilty. You are so well acquainted with all the essentials relative to voyage, that it would be presumptuous in me saying anything on that subject. My advice to the Emigrant is to go early in the sea- son ; to take the first work that offers ; to husband all the wages

AND COLOISIZATIOK. 213

possible for tlie first winter; and then there is evei'y reason to hope that a man blessed with health, industriously following; his occupation, observing temperance, frugality, probity, and perseverance, will become a successful settler, and a valuable addition to the population of Canada. It is my intention to visit Ireland, and it m ill afford me great pleasure to communicate freely with the people proposing to settle in Canada ; for it is jierfectly undeniable, that the Irisli population in British North America are amongst the most faithful, devoted, loyal, improving, and valuable subjects of the Queen in that hemisphere. If I have not furnished you with such information as you recpiire, I would suggest that you put interrogatories to me for my answer.

" I am, dear sir, your obedient servant,

" Thomas Rolph." " W. Valentine, Esq."

After the meeting of the Council of the 8tli of June, the task tliat more immediately devolved upon Sir Allan Macnab and myself, was to evoke the co-operation of the Canadian legislature, and landed pro])rietary of Canada, to sustain the Association equally by their legislation, and their territory, in the important objects contemplated by the influential sup- porters of this nascent institution. Previous to the departure of Sir A. N. Macnab, the Association gave him a farewell ban- quet on his leaving England, in his official capacity, as their Chief Commissioner in Canada. His Grace the Duke of Rich- mond, K.G. presided, Sir Richard Broun and myself acting as croupiers. Amongst the distinguished company met to pay him this compliment, were Lords Aylmer, Winterton, Dun- boyne; Sirs F. Burdett, M.P., W. Ogilvic, J. Osborn, R. Barclay, F. B. Head, George Murray, P. Maitlaud, D. Mac- dougall, George Jackson, J. Duke, M.P., &c. ; J. Masterman, Esq., M.P., W. O. Gore, Esq., M.P., C. B. Baldwin, Esq., M.P,, George Dodd, Esq., M.P., General Alexander, John Walter, Esq., M.P. , J. Holford, Esq., W. HnghesHughes,Esq., C. R. Ogden, Esq., Attorney-General for Eastern Canada,

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Captain Drew, R.N., W. Mortimer, Esq., C. Sheriff, Esq., A. J. Robertson, Esq., L. Murray, Esq., F. D. Archibald, Esq., J. Tulloch, Esq., D. Urquhart, Esq., C. Ross, Esq., Doctors Bell, Itill, Mortimer, Chisholni, the Rev. Dr. Worthing, Cap- tain Randolph, R.N., Captain Moorson, and many other in- fluential individuals.

Letters Avere announced from the Marquis of Huntly, the Marquis of Bute, the Earl of Gosford, Lords Macdonald, Prud- lioe, and Seaton, Governor Gore, Sir G. Cockburn, Sir Howard Douglas, Sir John Macdonell, Sir James Kempt, Sir Archibald Maclaine, and others, expressing their deep regret that absence from town, or previous engagements, prevented them from being present.

After the various usual toasts, the Duke of Richmond pro- posed the health of Sir Allan Macnab, because he felt that this country owed Sir Allan a deep debt of gratitude for his services at a moment of difficulty and danger. On the occa- sion of that unfortunate outbreak — for outbreak he must be allowed to call it — Sir Allan Macnab came forward, and gave all the weight of his influence and character, which fortunately led to the alleviation of hostilities. Sir Allan Macnab, who was leaving the shores of this country, would carry with him the assurance that the people of England looked upon the Cana- dians with the feeling of brotherhood, and would support them against all aggression, and unite to keep uplifted that flag under which Nelson triumphed, and AV^ellington conquered.

Sir Allan in returning thanks, after adverting to a great variety of topics, concluded his eloquent speech in the following- terms : —

" Canada was a country that required nothing but a healthy and industrious population to make it one of the finest coun- tries in the world. Canada was the natural inheritance of the people of England, Ireland, and Scotland. That population "which in this country was a source of evil, in Canada became the means of wealth. While glancing at this subject, it was with great pleasure he found on his arrival in England that there was an Association ripening into maturity which had for

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its object the affording means of Emigration into Canada on a national scale, and for promoting Colonization on an organised and efficient principle. His services bad been asked, and by him freely given, convinced that by so doing he was furthering the interests of the mother country, and advancing those of the Colony ; at the same time, that a highly remunerative return would be insured to those who should promote such important objects by the investment of their capital. If that Emigration was fairly carried out, the best results would inevitably follow to the people of both countries. It would be not more his duty than his pleasure, in returning to Canada, to state the estima- tion in which that country was held by the people of England. He could never forget the hospitality and sterling kindness he had met with during the short stay he had made in the land of his forefathers ; and he would conclude by thanking them most gratefully, and fervently hoping that the land of his birth might long continue a source of strength, forming, to the end of all time, a i^ermanent portion of their glorious Empire."

Sir Richard Broun, having called for a bumper toast, gave the " Health of his Grace the Duke of Richmond and Lennox." *' In doing so he felt that the toast which he bad the honour to propose required no prefatory remarks to ensure for it the warmest reception from all present. The noble and gallant Duke in the chair was the son of a deeply-lamented benefactor of Canada, who had died in the discharge of the highest official duties of the province, and who had left behind him a memory which would long be held in revered recollection. His Grace enjoyed ducal rank in three of the noblest European monarchies ; and their fellow-countrymen in British America, whether of English, French, or Scottish extraction, could not but be pleased and gratified that a Peer associated with so many lofty ances- tral recollections should have presided on this occasion. His Grace had served in the field and shed his blood, as the gallant General who had responded to the toast of the ' Army and the Navy' had elorpiently referred to, — had filled a high office in the government of the country, — and whether in public or private life, was held in great and deserved estimation. Had

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the Dinner been one simply of coujpliinent to Sir Allan Macnab, as an expression of the sense entertained of his eminent services during the late troubles in Canada, even in that case the honour done by his Grace's filling the chair would have been warmly felt and appreciated. This Dinner was not, hoAvever, to be regarded simply as a mark of respect to their guest, on his leaving the home-seat of a mighty nation, to whom he had done good and faithful service, but as one given on his entering upon duties wliich would tend to strengthen British connexion in North America, and to promote indefinitely the happiness and welfare of the mother country and the Colony. In this point of view, and considering the general distress, it would be matter of rejoicing to multitudes in all parts of the United Kingdom, that his Grace had presided at a meeting from which a powerful impulse would be given to Emigration and Colo- nization upon more enlightened principles than any which had heretofore engaged public attention. The noble Duke had just returned from Bristol, where he had been assisting in the pro- ceedings at the anniversary festival of the Royal Agricultural Society of England ; and whilst no one was more ready and willing than himself to allow the great public utility and im- portance of that noble institution, nevertheless he could not but lament that the soil, and things earthy of every description, were cultivated and improved rather than man. The British American Association had been formed partly to extend the generous dominion of the plough over the magnificent regions in British America, which had lately been the sphere of those loyal and patriotic exertions which had won for their guest the gratitude and respect of every right-licartcd liegeman of the British Crown, and partly to consolidate the social interests, the political power, and the moral greatness of the races which there constitute the germ of a future mighty })Opulation, The effective carrying out of these high designs would alike bless our home, and our transatlantic fellow-sul)iects ; and he there- fore confidently trusted tliat they would l)e deemed worthy of the support of the noble Duke in the chair, and of the great landed proprietors in the United Kingdom . In that expectf^-

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tion, and without further coiimient, he had the honour to pro- pose the health of the Duke of Richmond, and begged at the same time, on behalf of the Association, to offer their united thanks for the favour which he had conferred by presiding on the occasion."

It having been drunk Avith all the honours, the noble Chairman rose and said, "he felt deeply grateful for the manner in which they had received the toast. He felt, when ^ requested to fill the chair, that if there was any advantage in having in that situation one connected with the British peerage, that the services his gallant friend Sir Allan Macnab had rendered to the country demanded at least that from his hands. He could not forget that his revered parent had been Governor-General of Canada, and had been received in that country by all classes of the people with consideration and affection. It had always been a principle with him, that at all cost England must preserve and maintain her Colonies. The men who emigrate to the most distant parts of Canada live under the British Constitution, and it is the duty of the mother country to defend them from insult and aggression. Although far removed from the shores of their native land, they still recognized and would protect them as British citizens. Canada liad won respect at their hands; and it was the principle, as it was the duty, of Englishmen to give honour where honour was due."

Sir Allan Macnab, in a short and impressive address, pro- posed the healths of the ex-Governors-General of Canada who were present, Lord Aylmer, Sir George Murray, Sir Peregrine Maitland, and Sir F. B. Head, who severally returned thanks.

His Grace next proposed from the chair — "The Duke of Argyll, and prosperity to the British American Association." In doing so, he referred especially to the distress which existed in various districts in the Highlands of Scotland, and expressed his best wishes in favour of an institution which would prove beneficial in many important respects ; and he felt confident that an institution having his noble friend at its head could not fail of being well conducted.

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Sir Richard Broun, in the absence of the noble President, returned thanks on behalf of the British American Association, for the honour done to it by the noble Duke in the chair, and by the numerous influential and distinguished individuals pre- sent, who had so cordially testified their desire for its success. " He regretted that the task of responding to the toast had not fallen into the hands of some one of his colleajjues better able than himself to express their appreciation of so high a com- pliment. But having been called ui)on oflicially to discharge the vice duties of the chair upon an occasion alike agreeable to his own feelings, and honourable to their Chief Commissioner for Canada, he begged to assure all jiresent that no efforts would be wanting on the part of himself and the other execu- tive officers of the institution, to realise the ends for which it had been founded. Adverting to the Association, he would not occupy the time of the company by entering into any lengthened exposition of its objects. These, in a single sen- tence, were to promote Emigration to, and Colonization in, our North American Provinces upon a comprehensive and syste- matic plan. The formation and designs of the Association had already been developed at large public meetings held in Edin- burgh and Glasgow, presided over respectively by the Chief Magistrates of those cities, and had been declared by the unanimous voice of those present to be entitled to the con- fidence and support of all persons in the United Kingdom desirous of advancing the moral and social welfare of the la- bouring classes. The i3residency of the Association had been accepted by a noble Duke, endeared to Scotland, not less by a long line of illustrious ancestors, who had ever been foremost in every good work which concerned the religion, the liberty, the w^eal, the glory of that kingdom, than by his own jtersonal worth and domestic virtues, and who, that his connexion with the Association might not merely be nominal, had been the first to enter himself in its list of shareholders. Its Consulting Council enrolled men high in station, powerful in influence, great in intellect, wise in experience, and unimpeachable in honour, avIio joined it as a means, created by national need, to

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promote the loftiest aims of benevolence, patriotism, and social virtue. Such being the case, what occasion had he to dwell further upon its merits? He could not, however, sit down without adverting to the necessity out of which arose the British American Association for Emigration and Colonization, viz. the alarming distress which prevailed in the country. That distress was alarming, not only on account of its exigency and extent, but also from the fact that it had gradually been accu- mulating from the period of the peace. For twenty-seven years the nation had enjoyed freedom from hostile aggression, fruitful seasons, unremitting industry; and, notwithstanding- all the appliances of science and of art to make a contented and prosperous people. Great Britain was yearly declining from her ancient landmarks, until pauperism threatened to engulph the whole industrial and middle classes of society. What then was to be done? Was want to be allowed to achieve within our walls that which Eurojie, armed and at our gates, would be unable to accomplish ? A variety of expedients had been already tried, and others were contemplated. Parliament had been reformed, national expenditure lessened, the tithes com- muted, the poor-laws amended, and now the corn-laws had been modified, an income-tax passed, and a new tariff adjusted. Still, he felt satisfied that all these measures would be found as drops in the bucket. At the close of the war, the country had been let down from high prices, high wages, high profits, into a state of monied atrophy ; and the distress produced by that circumstance had been perpetuated and increased by the aggre- gation of wealth in the hands of individuals, by machinery displacing manual labour, by a departure from the ancient Ijrotective principle, by an unjust exercise of the competitive system, and by an utter inattention to the laws which are essential to the due adjustment of production and consumption. The evils which have resulted from a long combined course of vicious social policy were too widely ramified and deeply seated to be remedied) except by making the new world the field of a mighty national operation for the effectual and permanent ame- lioration of the old. Was this impossible? It was calculated

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that there were in the United Kingdom at least four million able-bodied ])crsons willing to work, but without employment. There were millions of cajiital seeking an honest, just, and safe investment; and there were millions of acres of land in British America, rich in the various necessaries of life, requiring cul- tivation. Here, then, were all the essentials for at once form- ing a great, a wealthy, and a prosperous community. Canning, from his place in Parliament, had said that he looked to the West, and boasted that he had called into existence a few distant, abortive, and alien States. But he hoped that the time had arrived when the wise and the good of the United Kingdom, whether in Parliament or out of Parliament, would concen- trate their attention upon British North America, and make her instrumental to ends whicli concerned the welfare of the state, the safety of the crown, and the ascendency of the mo- narchy. The Secretary of State for the Home Department in one of his pamphlets, had remarked — ' Whenever this country presents the spectacle of millions supplicating for bread, then will the people sweep away titles, pensions, and honors.' That spectacle was now daily presenting itself, and premonitory symptoms of a completion of the })ro})hecy everywhere appeared. Still he considered we were not necessarily a doomed people. A few years antecedent to the development of those evils whicli afterwards produced the great Civil Wars, the pacific monarch who first extended the sceptre of the House of Stuart over those majestic realms which now constitute the British Empire, erected a new Order of hereditary nobility to efiectends similar to those which the British American Association proposes to accomplish. Had the paternal views of James the First, for the honour and credit, the opulence, prosperity, and peace of his subjects been realised, the reign of his son would not have closed in his bloodshed, or succeeding generations have gone down broken-hearted to the tomb amidst social desolation, anarchy, and strife. Let us, then, be warned in time, and learn wisdom from the historic lessons of the past. After a multiplicity of changes and experiments, we are driven back to the conclusion, that Destitution must be remedied by other

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means than by legislative provision, or private benevolence. Since the passing of the Poor-law Amendment Act, tlie number of actual paupers in England and Wales have enor- mously increased ; and within these bounds the position laid down by Lord Brougham has been verified to the letter, viz., that 'every permanent fund set apart for the support of the poor, from whomsoever proceeding and by whomsoever administered, must needs multiply the evils it is intended to remedy.' Well, then, let us al)andon the Egyptian policy of recpiiring our industrial orders to make bricks without giving them straw. Let us adopt and accelerate the wiser, juster, and nobler policy, which would put corn and money into every labourer's sack. What we desiderate is, the extirpation of pauperism — not its maintenance. Having redeemed slavery, is it impossible by such combinations of labour, land, and capi- tal, as will be involved in the operations of the British Ame- rican Association to emancipate the country from that bondage to want, hunger, nakedness, cold, physical deprivations, and moral anguish, which now lays a burden upon millions of our fellow-subjects, which God and nature never intended them to bear? Hitherto the plantation of our North American depen- dencies has never engaged the due attention of a nation of which they form part and parcel as integral portions. Emi- gration has been left to take its own unaided and unguided course, whilst Colonization exists but as a name, without any scientific or systematic realities. He hoped, however, under the special and anxious superintendence of the influential peers, baronets, and gentlemen forming the Consulting Council of the Association, that these highly national objects would hence- forth be carried out on enlightened principles, with practical utility to the mother country and the Colony, and high remune- rative advantage to those who should invest ca2:)ital in its stock. He was nevertheless fully aware, that in the progress of their operations there were both dangers to be apprehended, and dif- ficulties to be overcome. Still he entertained no fears for the result. Confiding upon the integrity of their proceedings, the purity of their views, and the utility of their public aims, he

222 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

felt assured that the Association would be sustained in its prac- tical workings by the noble, the good, the loyal, and patriotic, both of the mother country and the Colony. The jDolicy of a Government true to the interests of the British Crown, could not but appreciate and aid exertions which would immensely tend to consolidate British influence in North America. The Colonial Legislature would facilitate objects which would give a mighty impulse to their social aggrandisement, and render their connexion with the parent State secure and indissoluble. The clergy of the United Kingdom, as a body, would co-operate in measures essential, not only for parochial relief, but for the continuance of all that most immediately concerns the moral, spiritual, and physical welfare of the people committed to their charge. Vast multitudes in England, Scotland, and Ireland, ready to perish, would second their efforts, and avail themselves of the advantages now first brought within their reach ; whilst throuc'liout their boundless transatlantic domains a brother- hood, sprung from the loins of the fairest and bravest European monarchies, were ready to aid us with outstretched arms. Thus supported, the British American Association could not fail to accomplish the great objects which it has been called into ex- istence to subserve : and he therefore confidently trusted through future years, that under its auspices the germ of popu- lation in British America would rapidly expand itself into a mighty and illustrious monarchical nation. With this hope and belief his colleagues and himself would go forward hand in hand to extend the foundations of a growing community, to obliterate the jarring recollections of the past, and to accelerate whatever should best promote the glory and the power of that bulwark of religion, liberty, and peace — the British Throne."

At a later period of the evening, the noble Duke in the chair was pleased to propose my health, and to couple it with many kind and complimentary encomiums as to the efficient services rendered both to the Colony and the cause entrusted to my advocacy, proposing " Dr. Rolph, and success to his mission, — tlio furtherance of Emigration to Canada."

In speaking to the toast, I said " I felt deeply indebted to his

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Grace for the very flattering manner in which he had been pleased to pi'opose my health, and to the company for the re- sponsive enthusiasm with which it had been received. My first success, and subsequent influence, I could not forget, had arisen from my attendance at the great agricultural meeting at Inver- ness, in 1839, at Avhicli his Grace had presided Avith his usual effiect. It was, indeed, a most gratifying circumstance to me, that my gallant friend, Sir Allan Macnab, whom, for years past, , I had earnestly urged to visit Great Britain, had been received with so much respect on his arrival, and with such warm demon- strations of regard on his departure. On my return to Canada on each successive occasion, during the last three years, I earnestly endeavoured to convince the warm-hearted inhabitants of that splendid Colony, that the great bulk of the people of the United Kingdom felt the deepest interest in their welfare and prospe- rity. It Avas true, and much to be deplored, that at the period when, under misguided impulses, an attempt was made to bring about a separation from Great Britain, there were not wanting individuals in this country to justify that insane and treasonable effort, who even wished the British soldiery defeated, and anti- cipated, Avith delight, the dismemberment of the Empire. Hap- pily they were but fcAv in number, insignificant in character, and contemptible in influence. The great body of the British people felt, that if England lost her Colonies, or Avas prepared to abandon them, she Avould be, Avhat she Avould then certainly deserve to be, but a Colony herself. Better prospects, hoAvever, had since daAvned on Canada ; she had come out of a severe and trying ordeal, not only unscathed, but triumphant. So cheering, indeed, had her altered prospects become, that not only did those of her fellow-countrymen who noAv left the shores of Great Britain for the American continent give Canada the preference, but those who had taken up their abode in the United States Avere returning, by thousands, to the peaceful sway of their beloved Monarch, again to Ha^c under the pro- tecting influence of the British flag. During the present year it had come to my personal knowledge, that larger numljers of Avealthy settlers, and a greater amount of British capital, had

224 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

proceeded to Canada, than during any year since the standard of Okl England had been planted on the heights of Abraham by the gallant and immortal Wolfe. The present compliment, so justly due, and so handsomely conferred on their guest, Sir Allan Macnab, would prove most grateful and agreeable to the inhabitants of Canada generally. They would view it, as indeed it should be viewed, as a marked compliment paid to them- selves. They would consider it as a guarantee that the defence of Canada was highly acceptable to the British people, and an earnest that they generally desired to see it an incorporated in- tegral portion of the British Empire. Another excellent result would follow from this gratifying scene. A just discrimination would henceforth be made between that portion of the Ameri- can continent, under the British sway, which had always honourably maintained its faith, performed all its obligations, preserved its credit, established its probity, and sustained its character, from those portions of the same continent where the dishonest doctrines of re])udiation had been boldly proclaimed. Every loan hitherto raised in Great Britain, for whatever part of America, had been confounded under the common name of American security ; and Canada had not only just cause of com- plaint for this mistake, but had suffered most severely from the delinquencies of others, and from a supposed participation in the principles of repudiation, which she utterly denounces and abhors. It was, therefore, fervently to be hoped, that as the current of Emigration had been fully restored to Canada, the free investment of British caj)ital would as certainly follow. Indeed, from the increasing correspondence which I was carry- ing on with all ])arts of the United Kingdom, I felt fully con- vinced that that desirable adjunct and auxiliary to the rapid advancement of Canada would be no longer Avanting. The excel- lent Governor of New Brunswick, in one of his able despatches, said, in reference to that valuable Colony, ' I cannot but hope, also, that English capital, — the application of which, in public Avorks in the United States has hitherto atlbrded so much em- ployment to Emigrants, — will henceforth be directed to these provinces; and that, by the settlement of the wilderness, they

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may be secured as British possessions.' That such were also the hopes and anticipations of the Canadians themselves, the comment of the ablest writer and most upright politician in that province, on the former dinner given to Sir A. Macnab, would demonstrate. Chief Justice Robinson said, ' An inter- change of such friendly visits to and from the mother country must be attended with the most beneficial consequences to all parties. They would greatly tend to elucidate the views of British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic, to explain their principles of action on certain points of Colonial policy, to pe- netrate alike into the immediate and more remote interests, in bonds of closer and more enduring intimacy. Above all, they would serve to convince capitalists and other men of property in the mother country, that there now happily exists a field for the investment of capital in this country, which, for security and ordinary profit, is not surpassed elsewhere. Our laws are enforced with integrity ; our banks and public institutions are sound in foundation, and active, prudent, and successful in their operations ; our commercial enterprise is great, but not less great than just and honourable ; the navigation of our lakes and rivers is increasing daily in importance and profit, — the terms, in this point of view at least, being nearly synonymous ; our public M'orks, such as canals, roads, and harbours, are, some of them, in full operation, if we may so express it, while others are in rapid progress towards completion; — thus affording ample remuneration to industrious labour, as well as to the invest- ment of capital, not only under the guarantee of the Provin- cial, but the Imperial Government; and, to sum up our short, but important catalogue, our soil and timber are nearly as inex- haustible as ever, affording to both the farmer and merchant of capital a never-ending, and, we hope, a never-failing source of prosperity and profit. Now, let us be permitted to inquire whether these, one and all of them, are not subjects worthy of serious consideration among persons of capital, property, and enterprise in the mother country? They are assuredly : and it is with satisfaction we perceive that a better and more conge- nial spirit seems to pervade those classes, undoubtedly in con-

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22b' SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

sequence of a more intimate acquaintance with the resources of these provinces, which they derive from a personal intercourse with colonists of information sojourning- occasionally amongst them, and imbuing their minds with more liberal sentiments respecting the capabilities and resources of the Colonies them- selves. These are the beneficial results of the gratifying recep- tion which has been more recently given in the mother country to such men as Sir Allan Macnab, who have been accustomed from early life to identify the interests of Colonial parent and offspring; and who can have no motive in deceiving, because, if there existed reasons for so doing, to deceive one party would be tlie utter ruin of the other.' The special object of my mis- sion to England was the promotion of Emigration to the mag- nificent province of Canada. It was certainly a source of un- bounded gratification to know that I had secured the support and co-operation of so large a portion of the British nobility and people to aid in this great undertaking. It had always appeared to me, and it had been greatly deplored in Canada, that hitherto Emigration had been voluntary and unaided Emigration, and that no scheme of Colonization had ever been attempted. A combination, comprehending the extensive land- owners in Canada, — those deeply interested in the removal of the surplus population from their densely-peopled estates in this kingdom, — with the aid of a portion of the unemployed capital of the mercantile and commercial classes, — would supply a very great and most important desideratum. In the hope that such a combination could be advantageously effected, it had afforded me much pleasure to find, that a powerful Association was formed on these principles, and contemplating these ob- jects; and, trusting that their well-directed exertions might prove serviceable to the mother country and the Colony, I looked with intense anxiety to its success. The Noble Lord the Secre- tary of the Colonies, in one of his usual lucid and powerful despatches to the Governor of New Brunswick — one equally applicable to Canada as New Brunswick — had thus happily expressed himself: — ' Fully agreeing with you, that the establish- ment of a class of landowners possessed of capital, applicable

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to the cultivation of the land, and to the employment of labour, would conduce to the rapid growth, and to the solid prosperity of the Colony, I yet think, that the object is one not likely to be effected by the direct interference of Her Majesty's Govern- ment. All which, it appears to me, that the Government can do towards promoting the Colonization of New Brunswick, is by placing a moderate price upon the public lands, and render- ing their acquisition easy ; by circulating also correct informa- tion concerning the Colony, so that parties may judge of the means which it affords for the profitable employment of capital ; and as regards the lower orders, by regulating their conveyance to the Colony without the undue enhancement of its cost. The rest must be left to the inducements which the natural resources and advantages of the Colony may present ; in short, to the operation of private interest.' On these just and natural prin- ciples, it does appear to me, that an extensive scheme of Colo- nization can be effectively and most profitably carried out. And in this belief I said it was most delightful to see such an array of rank, such a combination of wealth and honour, met together to compliment a distinguished Colonist, and to prove to the world that the memorable monition of their late patriot sailor King had sunk deep into the hearts of his subjects, that ' Canada should not be lost or given away ;' but that, under auspices like the present, and exertions of such magnitude, the ancient prophecy would be realised —

* Westward the tide of Empire holds its sway ; The first four acts already passed, The fifth sliall close the drama and the day ; Time's noblest ofTspring is his last.' "

This dinner, graced as it was by a Cabinet Minister, five of the former Governors of Canada, many Members of both branches of the Imperial Legislature, several Aldermen of the City of London, and a large array of wealth, respectability, and talent, excited boundless enthusiasm, and general observation ; and by its extensive notice from both the metropolitan and provincial press, was sufficiently demonstrative of the prevailing interest

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felt in the promotion of Emigration and Colonization. This feel- ing was also warmly reciprocated on the other side of the At- lantic, by the general concurrence of the whole press, in hailing it as one of the first fruits resulting from the efforts made to revive the attachment to the Colonies which had formerly dis- tino-uished the inhabitants of the British Isles, before " the baneful domination of the mother country" party had sprung into existence.

On the 4th of August, I accompanied Sir Allan Macnab to Liverpool, to witness his departure, and followed him in the succeeding packet.

On reaching Pictou, T found that very exaggerated state- ments had been forwarded to England respecting the condition of the body of Highland Emigrants before alluded to. Whilst there, I forwarded the following letters, on this important sub- ject, to correspondents in England, which were both published in the journals of the day.

I. " Whilst waiting here the arrival of the steamer ' Unicorn' to convey me to Quebec, I cannot better employ my time than in writing a few lines to you, to prevent the mischief likely to accrue in Great Britain to the cause of Emigration, from the publication of the accounts, uncontradicted or unexplained, of the Highlanders in the eastern townships of Lingwick and Gould, in Canada, described as l)eing in a state of absolute starvation. The facts relative to these Emigrants are as follow : —

" They came to Canada at a very late period of the year, last season, just indeed at the commencement of the winter, without means of any description, either money, apparel, or any requisites for the security of new settlers. The entire la- bour of the season was at an end ; tliey would not separate ; they could not converse in English : they insisted on proceeding to the townships, where many of their former friends and com- panions had settled, and they were altogether in the most des- titute, unprovided, and deplorable condition. The people of Quebec and Montreal assisted them generously ; sent them to

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the townships where they were distributed. By the manufac- ture and sale of ashes, and the contributions raised in their favour, they passed through the winter well ; but, as might naturally be expected, until the crops of the present season could be gathered in, a recurrence of the distress would take place. In their vicinity, neither public works were in progress nor was agricultural labour in demand ; they preferred settling in a wilderness country, distant from those places where their labour might have become productive and beneficial, — and' thus the distress under which they have been labouring. From accounts, however, just received from Sherbrooke, Mr. Fraser, the humane agent of the British American Land Company, has fui-nished them with a supply of oatmeal ; and the potato crop, which is just now ready for their use, and described as abun- dant, will relieve any anxiety for tlie future. Whilst I would fain hope that this lesson Avill not be forgotten, and that it will induce Emigrants to come out early in the season, not to refuse labour where offered, and to avoid altogether the difficulties into which these Highlanders have been placed, I hope the accounts which the enemies to Emigration are ever ready to circulate will not deter provident, judicious, and well-conducted Emigrants from proceeding to Canada."

II. " Having just seen the rumour respecting the distressed condition of a body of Emigrants which have recently arrived in this country, permit me to avail myself of your columns, as a medium of explaining the affair. At a very advanced stage of last season, 279 Highlanders arrived at Quebec from the Island of Lewis, in a state of the greatest destitution, badly clad, in bad condition, from a long voyage, and insufficient food, without money, unable to speak a word of English, and landed in the province in the most squalid, abject, and pitiable condition. They came at a season when the agricultural labour of the province was finished, and were forwarded to some of the townships in Eastern Canada, where some of their former poor neighbours had settled and were doing well. The people of Quebec and Montreal munificently assisted them ; they were

230 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

placed on land, distributed, victualled, and commenced the manufacture of ashes, and the clearance of small patches of land to plant with potatoes this spring. By tliese means they went through the winter tolerably well ; and there was a pros- pect of the forthcoming crops enabling them to encounter the approaching winter better. They went into those townships, remote from the old settlements, amongst those only who had settled in a state little better than themselves, so that they had not the opportunity of liiring themselves during hay-time and hai'vest, to any flourishing and prosperous farmers of old stand- ing, which would have enabled them to obtain wages and sustenance for the ensuing winter. But with all these dis- advantages they would have struggled and succeeded, but 139 more of their countrymen arrived this season, equally destitute, unprovided, and helpless ; would not be separated ; obstinately refused work oftered them ; and forced themselves on their suffering fellow-countrymen for their support and sustenance. Under these circumstances, you can readily imagine that much distress ensued ; this is undeniable, but it has been much ex- aggerated. I hope, however, it will restrain such improvidence for the future. There has also been some rioting amongst the Irish labourers at St. Catherine's, on the Welland Canal ; and this too will be much magnified. Three causes produced it : the first was, the extraordinary influx of Irish labourers from the United States ; 2nd, The breaking out of an old and deadly feud between the Cork and Connaught men ; and 3dly, From some delay in the prosecution of the Welland Canal. The riots have been suppressed, the rioters imprisoned, and, I trust, will be punished ; and peace now reigns in that neighbourhood. These, with some cruelties practised by ship-owners and cap- tains, before the operation of the Colonial Passengers' Bill, have been the drawback to the Emigration of this year. Now, however, for the bright side of the picture. Numbers of steady, wealthy, respectable Emigrants have settled in the jorovince ; the good class of labourers have been promptly absorbed, and that, too, without going on the public works ; and the ap- pearance, character, and condition of the Colony, were never so

And colonization. 231

cheering and satisfactory as at the present time. Mr. Buchanan, of Quebec, informs me, that it is really marvellous how they have been distributed and employed, considering how few have been employed on the public works. The harvest is concluded, and the crops in general have been good. The Emigration from the United Kingdom up to this time amounts to 42,000 ; the number from the States not yet ascertained. The country is healthy, and the improvements in Montreal and everywhere astonishing."

On reaching the city of Toronto, a large public meeting was convened by the Mayor on the 23rd of September, and held in the City Hall, presided over by the High Sheriff of the district, W. B. Jarvis, Esq. It was one of the most numerous and respectable ever held in that flourishing city. After being introduced to the meeting by the Sheriff, and receiving an overflowing demonstration of feeling, I addressed those assem- bled as follows : —

" Gentlemen, — I feel exceedingly indebted to you for this enthusiastic welcome, and for again affording me an oppor- tunity, so immediately after my arrival from Great Britain, to render you some account of my labours during the past year. Whilst in England, I had the pleasure of forming the acquaint- ance of one of the earliest Governors of this province, one w ho still takes a deep interest in its welfare, — Colonel Gore ; and Avhen it is remembered that he governed this province with fewer inhabitants in its w^hole extent than now reside in this noble city alone, such a fact is the best refutation of the oft- reiterated slander, that Canada has not made rapid advances in population and prosperity. In coming from Quebec upwards this season, I have been delighted and amazed to witness the extent and nature of the improvements throughout the coun- try. At Montreal, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Cobourg, — at every cove along the lake, — solid, substantial build- ings have been erected, piers constructed, harbours formed, and an activity evident that is cheering in the extreme, and an indication of the rapid advancement of the whole province.

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The progress of this city, iu parlicular, is without a parallel, even on this continent : blocks of elegant buildings, the labour of this season, are to be seen in every direction, whilst the mag- nificent elevation of the University, proudly rising above them all, warrants the belief that the higher branches of education will now be liberally provided for the rising youth of this inter- esting country. To what is this to be attributed, but to an industrious and thriving and augmenting population ? I have no hesitation in declaring, that the Emigration of the present year has been the best that Canada has ever had ; that more capital and a better class and description of settlers have found their way into this province, during this season, than at any period of its history ; and it is not a little remarkable that twice the number of the whole Emigration of 1838 arrived during one single day this year at Quebec; and that double the num- ber of that year's Emigration have settled in this fine agricul- tural district alone. From the United Kingdom we have received an addition to our population of between forty and fifty thousand souls ; and will any one venture to say that, com- pared with the disturbances which took place at St. Catherine's, and which were totally unconnected with the Emigration from the United Kingdom, the lasting, una])preciable, immeasurable advantages of this augmented population are for one moment to be lost sight of, or even named? Every Governor of this province, every legislature, every friend to its prosperity, have emphatically declared, on various occasions, the necessity of an addition to its people ; and at least this year, that valuable por- tion of the British nation, its sturdy yeomanry, have come in numbers to Canada, unwilling to descend lower, and yet unable to sustain their former station and position in Great Britain : they come to this province, bringing with them their means, to- gether w^itli their willingness and ability to maintain themselves by the exercise of that sterling industry of which they have never been ashamed. It is to this most useful, healthy, and valuable class of settlers, that I have endeavoured to impart such information as would prove serviceable on their arrival, and ensure their settlement in the countrv. Far from de-

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233

siring to inundate the country with indigent Emigrants, parti- cularly those from the manufacturing districts, I hav^e exerted myself during this year to restrain that indiscriminate and improvident Emigration which might prove hurtful; and, by my advice, 1,500 people from Belfast postponed their intention of leaving Ireland for Canada, until the ensuing spring ; and, previous to leaving England, I put to press an Emigrant's Manual, for the guidance and direction of the industrial classes. There has not, however, been a redundancy even of the labour- ing classes ; for, although many of the public works were not proceeded with, by which they might all have been provided with work, yet, coming up the country, I have found in many places complaints that the farmers were not better supplied. In this district, even, great as are the numbers that have been employed and settled in it, Mr. Skea, of Oshawa, assures me that great inconvenience was felt in the rear townships of that vicinity for the want of agricultural labourers. The Colonial Passengers' Act will, however, prove the best corrective, and the most wholesome restraint on improvident Emigration, and may calm all apprehension of inundation of destitute Emigrants. I felt naturally most anxious about the public loan to this pro- vince, for the completion of its improvements ; and I am sure it will not displease Lord Mountcashell by stating to you that I urged him most importunately to put the question which he did, on that subject, in the House of Peers. Divine Providence has blessed this land with a mild, and genial and healthy cli- mate, has intersected it all throughout with magnificent rivers and majestic lakes, given it all the appurtenances to agricul- tural, commercial, and maritime wealth — the only requisite to their full development being an augmentation to its population and capital, united with internal tranquillity. A new country cannot at once accomplish all that may be requisite or desir- able; its progressive improvement must be the result of aug- mented population, accumulated wealth, additional capital, and the employment of the necessary skill and ability to carry on such internal improvements as will be most valuable to its remotest settlers. Of the vast capabilities of this province,

234 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

there is now no doubt entertained, although efforts have been made to deprive it of those means only by which those capa- bilities could be developed. Every year some hostile publica- tion has been levelled against Canada, and always more or less with some success. On my arrival in England, this year, I found that a doughty pedestrian, — whose heels were always more renowned than his head, and who had taken rather a Pegasus flight through a small portion of the country, and having skimmed the surface only of its waters, dogmatically pro- nounced on the character of its lands, — had given to tlie world his lucubrations, the result of twelve days' travel in Canada, six of w^hich were passed in Toronto and Hamilton, and two of the remaining six on the lake. Finding, however, that this gentleman's work was doing a great deal of harm, I ventured to tilt a lance with him ; and I told him that, although he had been so justly celebrated for having walked a thousand miles in a thousand hours, he might have become still more so by his publication, had he employed one-tenth of that time in walking over one-tenth of that distance in this province, before he had ventured to pronounce so dogmatically and unjustly regarding it. I told him that Lord Prudhoe, who had travelled in Ca- nada twelve weeks instead of days, and who possessed at least as much refinement and taste, had come to very dilierent conclu- sions. I am happy to add that another great, invaluable autho- rity,— the amiable and highly-gifted nobleman who has recently quitted this country, and who to the highest intellectual endow- ments adds every grace and virtue which can adorn and dig- nify mankind, — I mean Lord Morpeth, — has left Canada with impressions of the most favourable kind, which never can be effaced.

" It is at times, and on occasions like these, when we can all meet, whatever our religious or political opinions may be, when we can all join, and burying for a time all other consi- derations in oblivion, unite heart and hand in promoting the settlement and advancement of the country. That there is an improved tone in the public feeling in the United Kingdom, likely to lead to such fortunate and desirable results, is unde-

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niable. Far different, indeed, to that generally cherished both before and immediately after the melancholy occnrrences of 1837. Indifference, and even hostility, to this Colony existed to a melancholy extent ; but this year that body of noblemen and gentlemen belonging to the Colonial Society, and who have been formed into a Committee for promoting the interests of Canada, which Committee I have assisted as Honorary Secretary the three last seasons, have sent, through the Canada Company, petitions to both branches of the Canadian legislature, whicli have been presented by their respective and talented advocates, the honourable Mr. De Blaquiere and Mr. Merritt. I cannot con- clude without reverting again to the disturbances which took place at St. Catherine's ; not only because they were the source of great annoyance and apprehension, but also because of the injurious effect likely to be produced in Great Britain by the indiscreet manner in which they have been noticed here. From all that I have been able to ascertain, sedulous efforts were made in the Western States, by unauthorised persons, to induce the Irish population there, in large numbers, to proceed to the Welland Canal, where it was stated their labour was in great demand. Unable to ascertain the truth, they rushed in shoals to the spot, where they were not then Avanted ; and great con- fusion, disappointment, disturbance, and rioting took place. I have ever been, as I am still, the warm admirer and zealous friend of the Irish population who have come to Canada. From Quebec to Sandwich they are to be met with everywhere, an industrious, active, thriving, improving people ; and the fine township of Cavan, entirely settled by them, is not one w^hit inferior to the townships of Dumfries and Waterloo, settled by the Scotch, and Dutch. They have been extolled on many occasions by Chief Justice Robinson, Bishop Strachan, Mr. Justice Hagerman, and indeed by every one who has taken an interest in the prosperity of Canada. Whilst, therefore, I feel proud to add my feeble testimony to these gentlemen, I am so truly a lover of order, subordination, authority, and obedience, that I fervently hope, if any attempt is made to introduce into this province savage feuds, lawless habits, and party strife,

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which we had such reason to deplore and reprobate at St. Ca- therine's, the parties concerned in these disgraceful scenes should be made to know and feel that this is a country where laws are made to be obeyed, and that turbulence, rioting, and violence must be stayed, restrained, and punished. This is neither the time nor the opportunity for going into detail as to my movements or operations in the United Kingdom ; but I may briefly mention that I carried on an extensive and labo- rious correspondence with individuals in every portion of it, relative to this country, and the best adaptation of their means in settling in it ; that at the special invitation of persons inter- ested in obtaining information of Canada, (and who would neither visit it, nor invest their means in it, without first pro- curing information from some one authorised and responsible for it.) I visited the counties of Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge- shire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Sussex, Wiltshire, Surrey, Middlesex, and Devonshire, in England, — Glasgow, Paisley, and Edinburgh, in Scotland, — holding public meetings, receiv- ing individuals who were solicitous of making inquiries about Canada ; and was reluctantly compelled to decline invitations from many other places, from want of time and opportunity. What I failed to accomplish from not possessing the attribute of ubiquity, I compensated for, to the utmost of my power, through the instrumentality of the public press, to the con- ductors of which I gratefully acknowledge myself under pecu- liar obligations. I have submitted to his Excellency the Go- vernor-General a Report of my proceedings,] and 1 hope the results will prove annually more and more advantageous to the province. I feel greatly obliged to this meeting for their indulgence and approbation ; it is, I confess, an earnest and unquenchable desire 1 feel to see this jirovincc filled with valu- able settlers from the British isles, bringing the habits, customs, feelings, and affections of the British race ; —

' There lives not form nor feeling in my soul Unborrowed from my country ;' — and knowing that there is a growing feeling throughout Great Britain of warm attachment to this Colony, it should be our

AND COLONIZATION. 237

inclination, as it is obviously our interest and our duty, to cherish and reciprocate it."

The Chairman made a few remarks, to the effect that he could, from his own experience, confirm, so far as the Home District was concerned, the facts which I had stated in my ad- dress. He (the Chairman) had as good opportunities as per- haps any person in the district, of knowing the real character of the Emigration of this year ; and he had no hesitation in saying, that, as regards both the amount of capital brouglit into this province, and the description of persons emigrating, the Emigration of 1842 was far superior to that of any preceding season. He hoped that my services would be secured by the Government, not only for the next year, but as many succeeding years as possible : for he was convinced tliat to my efforts the province was much indebted, for affording to the population in all parts of Great Britain valuable information upon the solid inducements which Canada offered to the intending Emigrants, whereby not only was a correct knowledge circulated regarding its advantages, but the misrepresentations of ignorant or pre- judiced writers were completely refuted. Colonies far more re- mote, and infinitely less valuable, had not only their Emigration agent, but dozens of them ; and the rural population of Britain were continually being appealed to by means of lectures, pam- phlets, and hand-bills, in favour of penal settlements as fit places for Colonization ! New Zealand, and its native barbarians, had busy agents at work to tempt the industrial labour of Britain to settle among cannibals ; Van Diemen's Land, with its con- vict population, found active and zealous supporters ; South Australia was not a whit beliind its neighbours ; and if the efforts of mere private speculators — if the zeal of personal cupidity — could provide the means to pay so many agents and so large an outlay as was being annually made, was it to be contemplated for a moment that Canada — essentially and in- tegrally a British Colony, enjoying a fertile soil and a healthy climate — should be without her agent to represent her in- terests in Great Britain ? He thought not; and sincerely trusted to see Emigration to Canada permanently advocated by my-

238 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

self, who had proved so strenuous and untiring in so good a cause.

It was then moved by the Hon. J. S. Macaulay, and seconded by Mr. Alderman Burnside, that it be Resolved —

" That from the Report just made to this meeting by Dr. Rolph, of his proceedings in his late mission to Great Britain, on the subject of Emigration, and from our knowledge of the important services which he has rendered, both to the mother country and to these Colonies, in disseminating a correct know- ledge of the character and relative advantages of this couutry and the United States, instrumental as they have been in caus- ing Emigration to this country of a superior class of persons, and in checking the removal of a class of jiersons to whom such a step would, at present, be alike undesirable to themselves and to these Provinces ; this meeting feels that Dr. Rolph is justly entitled to its thanks, for the eminent services which he has rendered to the mother country as well as to these Colonies, in the dissemination of correct information on the subject of Emigration ; and this meeting cannot but express an ardent hope, that the highly valuable services of Dr. Rolph may con- tinue to be engaged by the Government."

This was carried by general acclamation.

I returned thanks. It being then moved that the Sheriff do leave the chair, Mr. Alderman Dixon was called thereto, when the following resolution, moved by Mr. Alderman Gur- nett, seconded by Lieut. -Colonel O'Brien, was also carried by acclamation : —

" Resolved, — That the thanks of this meeting be presented to W. B. Jarvis, Esq., Sheriff, Home District, for his services in the chair this day; and also for the warm support and effi- cient services which he (a native Canadian) has ever rendered to the cause of British Emigration to his native country."

After which the meeting separated.

In the course of the proceedings an interesting conversation came up, in which the Chairman, Hon. J. S. Macaulay, Colonel O'Brien, and Alderman Gurnett, took part, relative to the pro- priety of encouraging or checking what is commonly termed

AND COLONIZATION. 239

"pauper emigration;" — (although how that man can be con- sidered a " pauper," or feared as likely to become a burden, who possesses habits of industry and a stout pair of arms prac- tised to hard labour, has always been past my comprehension ;) and various opinions were expressed. It was mentioned by Hon. Mr. Macaulay, that, under the present system of letting out the public works by contract, there was but little depend- ence to be placed on securing employment for the Emigrant on his arrival here ; for the contractor (who as likely as not might be a Yankee) could not wait till these Emigrants arrived, but would send to " the United States " for Avorkmen and labourers : which drew from the Sheriff the remark, that it then became doubly imperative upon us to urge forward the cause of Emi- gration ; and by continuing to circulate useful information throughout the length and breadth of the mother countiy, by means of such services as I was qualified to perform, — to bring to this country British hearts and hands able and will- ing to take Government contracts offered in a British province, as well as to give employment upon them to British workmen and British labourers, — a patriotic sentiment, which was enthu- siastically welcomed.

The rapturous welcome which I received on this as on other occasions, was somewhat similar to the grand and magnificent display which greeted Sir Allan Macnab on his return to the home of his beloved family, and his fond and affectionate fellow-subjects in the District of Gore. Perhaps on no occa- sion was the return of a Colonist from a visit to his fatherland, ever attended with such lively and overpowering demonstra- tions of attachment and regard as in this instance.

On arriving at Kingston, where the parliament had just as- sembled, I was most kindly received by the late estimable and most accomplished Governor-General, Sir Charles Bagot, who transmitted to the House of Assembly a special message, recom- mending that House to accord to me a grant, in consideration of my public services.

As illustrative of the feeling entertained by the Canadian House of Assembly of my services during this memorable sea-

240 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

son, I give the following abstract from the Canadian journals of the debate which took place on the subject in that House, on the 4th of October, with this one only comment on the matter, — that on a future occasion, and before a proper tribunal, I shall notice the observations which were made by Mr. Baldwin, the late — and I hope, for the honour of the British Empire for the last time — Attorney-General for Western Canada, and the apo- logy which he made for the omission of the important subject of Emigration in the first speech of the present incomparable Governor-General of Canada, at the meeting of the late Parlia- ment.

The Hon. F. Hincks, in proposing the resolution relative to Dr. Rolph, recommended by the Governor-General, begged leave to state that he had been always opposed to the employ- ment of an Emigrant Agent in the United Kingdom ; but that as Dr. Rolph had received such an appointmeut, both from Lord Sydenham, and subsequently from Sir Charles Bagot, previous to his joining the Council, he considered the Govern- ment bound to make him some compensation for his services. He admitted that Dr. Rolph had displayed great zeal, energy, and ability in the performance of his duty ; and as the Govern- ment did not now intend to renew his appointment, he thought the House should support this grant. The best means of at- tracting Emigrants was responsible government and good laws, and not by any infiuence to be made by an agent in Great Britain.

" Dr. Dunlop would not permit, for one single moment, such valuable services as Dr. Rolph had rendered Canada, to be passed over in that manner, nor sufter the ' damning by faint praise ' such meritorious and long continued exertions, by the Gentlemen of the Treasury bench, without recording his solemn and indignant protest against it. With all due defe- rence, he begged to inform the House, that he knew more about Emigration than all of them put together. Yes, he boldly and fearlessly repeated that he knew more upon that subject than all of them together; and it was from that knowledge he was fully prepared to assert that Dr. Rolph had rendered in-

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calculable services to Canada. It had come particularly to his knoAvledge, from frequent, almost daily conversations with persons who had come out and settled in this country, that they had derived the greatest services from the practical know- ledg-e, and extensive and varied information, possessed by Dr. Rolph. That gentleman had traversed tlie United Kingdom through its length and breadth, enlightening the public mind with respect to this province, and had secured the warm regard of the most eminent of all parties in its favour. He would read to them a testimony they would scarcely venture to dis- pute. ' I have l)een induced to avail myself of Dr. Rolph's services, from the great success which has already attended his efforts in this cause, both in Great Britain and in Canada. I am quite sensible that the Land and Emigration Board in Lon- don, furnished as they are, or sliortly will be, with considerable information relating to these Colonies, afford a great facility to persons desirous of emigrating ; but I believe that they will derive very valuable assistance from Dr. Rolph, upon many most important points of detail peculiar to this country ; and valuable as their services may be, it is necessary to employ some more active agency to stimulate those to whom Emigra- tion would be in every way advantageous, but whose attention would not, under ordinary circumstances, ])e draAvn to it. It is highly desirable that some person should be enabled to travel through different sections of Great Britain, to explain to the people, viva voce, the advantages which a new country like Canada holds out to the industrious and well conducted, the facility with which they may reach it, and the arrangements which, if they should decide to emigrate, w^ould be most bene- ficial to them. . . . This is the task which I propose to confide to Dr. Rolph, and for which his intimate acquaintance with every part of Upper Canada, his untiring energy, and devotion to the cause, particularly fit him.' These were the sentiments of the late Lord Sydenham, conveyed in a public despatch to Lord John Russell. Dr. Rolph had travelled through every section of Great Britain, liad crossed the Atlantic Ocean six several times on this mission, had received no pay-

R

242 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

ment from the Provincial Government; and the paltry and contemptible economy of the Government, which had been squandering away its thousands on useless and unnecessary matters, was to be displayed in offering so valuable a servant as Dr. Rolph a sum that he (Dr. Dunlop) would be ashamed to offer his ploughman. He would now distinctly assure the House that he would only vote for this sum as an instalment ; but that he would then give a most distinct pledge to bring the subject of Dr. Rolph's remuneration, as well as his ex- penses, under the consideration of the House next session.

" Mr. Thompson differed from the honourable gentleman about the utility of an agent, but would not oppose the resolu- tion.

" Sir Allan Napier Macnab apprehended that this resolu- tion had been matured by the Cabinet, and introduced under the system of responsible government, which sufficiently ac- counted for the cold and indifferent manner in M'hich such services as those rendered to this province by Dr. Rolph had been alluded to by the honourable gentlemen on the treasury benches. For his own part, he begged to assure the House that, insufficient as the vote was, it should receive his warmest support. From having travelled through a considerable part of the United Kingdom in company with his friend Dr. Rolph, he could bear testimony to the able and satisfactory manner in which he had discharged the important duties entrusted to him. He bad been constantly assured, by the most distinguished noblemen and gentlemen in the United Kingdom, that those ser- vices were highly a])preciated and deemed inestimable. It was well known that Dr. Rolpli possessed, in a pre-eminent degree, the power of ac(juiring information, and, both as a ready writer and able speaker, was well calculated to impart it to others. It was a duty he owed Great Britain, it was a duty he owed to Canada, and, above all, it was a duty peculiarly incumbent on liimself, to notice the zeal, ability, and perseverance whicli Dr. Rolph had displayed in his praiseworthy efforts to promote the settlement of this country, — the rightful inheritance of the British race ; and he should be, at all times, by his vote and

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influence, prepared to sustain that gentleman in Lis laudable undertaking-.

" The Honourable Mr. Moftatt was astonished that the honourable gentleman wlio introduced the resolution should have accompanied it with the observations whicli he did. It was perfectly known in the country, that no individual had opposed Dr. Rolph more by liis writings and his speeches than that honourable gentleman. He came forward now, as the organ of Government, to propose a remuneration for him ; and although he was prepared to vote in his favour, his speech was evidently directed against him. In this inconsistency the House did not concur ; they would support the vote from considera- tion of Dr. Rolph's services.

'* The Honourable S. B. Harrison would not have addressed the House on this matter, but for the observations which had fallen from the honourable member. It was true that Dr. Rolph had been appointed agent by Lord Sydenham, but that Avas more under the authority of the Imperial than the Provin- cial Government, and from that source Lord Sydenham pro- posed to aid him. Since then, Sir Charles Bagot had conferred the same office on that gentleman, and the Government felt pledged to make this application to the House. He admitted that Dr. Rolph had been zealous in his undertaking, and that the sum proposed was very moderate.

" Mr. Parent was glad of the opportunity which this reso- lution afforded to the French members, of rebutting the charge of liostility to British Emigration. They would prove by their unanimous vote on this question, that such an accusation was unfounded, and that both for that cause, and its able advocate, they were prepared to support tlie recommendation of the Governor-General.

" Mr. Durand said a few words; when the question was put, nearly the whole House rising at the same moment to sup- port it."

Another motive which has induced me to give this debate, is to satisfy tlie British public of the spirit of the Canadian Legislature on the subject of Emigration. Prior to Sir Allan

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Macnab and myself leaving England, the heads of a Bill to be submitted to the Canadian Legislature, to facilitate the opera- tions of the British American Association, and to remove any obstacle to the subscription of appraised lands, as portion of its capital stock, had been discussed and agreed upon. Had the draft of this bill arrived in Canada previous to the adjourn- ment of this short session, I feel a strong conviction that the standing rules of the House would have been suspended to have given it the sanction of law. The House, however, did not remain in session more than fifteen or sixteen days, and on its rising I proceeded with all despatch to England, to resume my duties as one of the Commissioners of the British American Association.

During the month of October, the draft of the bill referred to was forwarded ])y the executive committee of the Association to Mr. Boulton, the member for Niagara, whose official services were to have been retained ; and during the same period, a public letter of official instructions was despatched to Sir Allan Macnal), as the Chief Resident Commissioner in Canada, and which appeared at the time in some of the daily journals.

The following extracts, which embody the principles whicli the Association projiosed to pursue in their plan of Colonization, 1 consider worthy of public attention: —

" The Association has been formed, not only for the purpose of ' purchasing, holding, improving, clearing, settling, and dis- posing of waste and other lands, and for making advances of capital to settlers on such lands, for the opening, making, im- proving, and maintaining roads, and other communications for the benefit thereof,' but for the important purpose of remedy- ing the evils attendant upon the existing and desultory state of Emigration, and of establishing an efficient system for its pro- motion and extension, having reference to the social and moral condition of the Emigrant, and for the effectual Colonization and settlement of the lands which shall be acquired for the undertaking.

"The Association intends to accelerate and extend its other operations as a great Land Company by remedying existing

AND COLOMIZATION. 245

evils ; and, among other means by which to do so, by the Board of Commissioners here acting in concert with agencies to be appointed in Canada, or by the formation of a Corresponding Committee there ; an union of purpose being secured by express regulations framed by the Association. The important duty undertaken here will be, to promote and facilitate the Emigra- tion of the most suitable classes from the United Kingdom, and to superintend the arrangements for their embarkation and passage, and for their being landed in good health and s])irits in Canada : and the duty devolved upon the agencies in the Colony Avill be a careful, considerate, and kind reception tbere of the Emigrants sent out under the auspices of the Association ; their immediate conveyance, in accordance with the engage- ments entered into with them, to its various estates ; and their direct employment, settlement, and location, in order that con- tentment, if not happiness, may How from the arrangements adopted for the common good ; and especially from a system which, admirably calculated for the advancement of the inter- ests of Emigrants of every class, must have a tendency to pro- mote the culture and improvement of the estates of the Associa- tion, and to augment the pecuniary interests of the capitalists who shall embark in it.

" The Board is fully impressed with the strict necessity of selecting persons of industrious and sober habits to settle U])on the estates of the Association ; and all fitting precautions will be resorted to here, in selecting from the candidates for Emi- gration. There will be cases in which bodies, connected by ties of affinity and previous association in business, will be sent out, accompanied by their clergyman or pastor, to be settled upon some given tract or parcel of land ; the object being to encou- rage the direct spiritual instruction of the Emigrant, combined with the education of the rising generation, as well as to attach the individuals to the locality, and give them a permanent in- terest in the soil, dependent only upon the honest application of their time and labour to its cultivation and improvement.

" It is deemed essential to the best interests of the Associa- tion, that an ample grant of land should be acquired from Go^

246 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION'

vemment ; and as the waste and other unlocated lands in Canada arc now placed at the disposal of the Colonial Legis- latnre, you are requested to select such a tract or tracts as in your judgment shall be Lest calculated to form the basis of an extensive Settlement, and in such locality, — the means of inter- communication and tlie proximity to the existing roads and harbours being considered, — as shall be fitted for the formation of a central establishment, from which the other settlements of the Association may radiate. I advert to the price of land, and to the terms of payment, as consequent upon the negotiation with which you are immediately charged, merely to urge upon your attention the necessity for obtaining the grant at a mini- mum rate per acre, regard being had to the ])Osition, capabili- ties, and quality of the land ac(piired ; and the importance of having the terms of payment regulated by the number of set- tlers which shall from time to time be colonized upon the lands obtained, and thus spread over a period of years. In these particulars the Board defers to your judgment and experience, and confidently relies upon your obtaining the best terms that can, with propriety, be stipulated with the Government.

" The Board, however, does not wish to confine the acquisi- tion of land by the Association to a grant or grants from the Legislature of Canada ; it seeks to take a deeper root in the Colony, and to identify itself with the interests of the individual proprietors ; and with these views you are especially charged to enter into negotiations with such gentlemen as you shall, upon your arrival in the Colony, find favourably disposed to the Association, and desirous to promote its operations for the advancement of the Colonial interests, and tlie improvement of their own, for the purchase of such tracts, blocks, or parcels of land, as you shall find fitted for agricultural pursuits, for the formation of towns, and calculated for immediate and bene- ficial settlement by the Emigrants to be deported by the Asso- ciation.

*' Fully impressed with the value of the opinions you have expressed upon the subject of the lands to be obtained from individuals, and with the mutual advantages which Avould flow

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to the Association, and to the landed proprietors in Canada, from its operations, and the settlement and culture of the lands which it shall acquire by such acquisition, the Board, acting- upon your recommendation, wish that the |)urchase-money, in all such cases, should be met by shares in the capital stock of the Association.

" It is essential that I should direct your attention to one point, which has had the most careful consideration at the Board — the legal means by which the interests of the share- holders are protected, and by which their liability is limited. These particulars have been matured. By the Articles of Agree- ment upon which the Association has been founded, express provision is made, that the liability of every shareholder shall be limited to the amount of his subscription, and that every agreement or other contract entered into on behalf of the Asso- ciation shall contain a clause recognizing the principle and restricting the liability. Upon reference to the copy of the Articles of Agreement accompanying these instructions, you will find the protective provisoes alluded to. This instrument regulates the incipient stages of the Association ; and in order to act upon it to the letter, all the contracts and agreements are made in the names of three of the Commissionei's, who thereby become liable as individuals, but who spread the advan- tages of each contract over the Association, and give the benefit of all purchases to the general body, by executing declarations of trust, in which they declare that they hold the properties vested in them upon trust for themselves, and for all other the shareholders in the capital stock of the Association, according to their respective shares, rights, and interests therein.

" It has been determined to apply for a Charter of Incor- poration in the ensuing session of Parliament, for which the formal notices have been given, and the terms of which will be settled during the recess ; consequently, every apprehension as to liability, all fear as to responsibility (if any could be enter- tained,) will be removed.

" I have entered into the preceding explanation that you may be guided in your purchases from individuals, (the nego-

248 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

tiation with the Canadian Govcrnnient stands upon a different ground,) by two principles : one for the immediate acquire- ment of land, when the agreement for the purchase shall be finally arranged, upon the delivery of the amount of the pur- hase money in paid-up shares in the capital stock, against the execution of the conveyance and the possession of the estate ; the other by your entering into agreements for the jturchase of properties by payments in shares in the capital stock, condi- tioned upon a charter being granted, either by tlie Colonial Legislature, or by Her Majesty, under the authority of an act of the Imperial Parliament.

" There is, however, one point of absorbing interest, in which your eminent position, as an influential member of the Colonial Legislature, is calculated to strengthen and sustain the Association, to connect it closely with Canadian interests, and make it that which the Commissioners especially desire it should become, one of the great links by which British connexion shall be strengthened and secured, and by which Canada shall form, that which it ought ever to be considered, an important portion of a great Emjiire, united under one common Sovereign, governing for the benefit of all.

" I have already intimated the intention of the Board to apply to the Imperial Parliament in the ensuing session for an act to incorporate the Association. These acts are commonly passed as of course, subject to the approbation of the Minister of the Crown as to the poAvers to be conferred. But it is desired, in this instance, not to rest satisfied with the ordinary means by which such legal sanctions are generally procured : it is anxiously wished that this Association should be identified with Canada; that it should be essentially Canadian, without derogating from the value of its connexion with the mother country, or with its British origin and management ; and with these views you are requested to obtain the recognition of the Association by the Canadian Legislature, either by an express legislative enactment embodying the powers and authorities of a charter, or by an address from the Legislative Assembly to Her Majesty, expressive of the importance of the Association,

AND COLONIZATION. 249

and of the prosecution of its objects to the Colony, and of the extent to which they will tend to promote the general prospe- rity of Canada ; or in such other manner as, upon conference with the local authorities there, and with your colleagues in the Legislative Assembly, you shall find most conducive to the end desired to be attained.

"In conclusion, I have to inform you that the Commis- sioners attach due importance to a colonial charter, and have instructed mc to prepare the requisite data to enable' you to apply for one, and to facilitate and relieve your labours by cor- responding with Mr. Boulton on legal points connected with the application which may require your especial consideration."

After encountering a very stormy passage, I landed at Havre on the 14tli of November, and on reaching Paris, which I took this opportunity of visiting, I discovered to my inex- pressible mortification and regret, that the Association which I had left in such flourishing circumstances had been deprived of the assistance of the Duke of Argyll, and was then beset with difficulties, and encountering the most vehement denunciations of the public press. On the 7th of December, I attended a meeting of the Consulting Council, presided over by the Hon. Sir J. C. Meredith, Bart., in order to demand a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the extraordinary charges which had been preferred, during my absence, against the Association; on that occasion I addressed the Council, and extract the fol- lowing portions of my appeal to it : —

" On my return to England, a few days since, I was deeply mortified on learning that this Association, which had com- menced so auspiciously, had been so nobly sustained, and which promised such beneficial results, both to the North American provinces and the United Kingdom, had been subject to the severe animadversions of the public press. I had read, with the greatest care and attention, all the attacks which had been made upon it, and all the charges preferred against it, and my mind had hecn materially relieved in finding them of a vague and . indefinite character. But, notwithstanding the feeling

250 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

which existed in my own mind, as to the honour and integrity of the gentlemen entrusted witli the management of the Asso- ciation, yet, considering tliat I was absent from the kingdom during the wliole period when these transactions occurred, and from the peculiar relation in which I stood to Canada, I felt that it was essential to the character of this Association and to its future efficiency, that a Committee of Inquiry should at once be instituted, composed of persons of acknowledged worth and respectability, who should fully investigate this matter, and after having made the most searching, rigid, and scrutinising inquiry, report whether the allegations were well founded or otherwise. Until such report was made I felt it incumbent to stand aloof, nothing doubting but that the report, when made, would furnish me an opportunity, which I desired, of demon- strating the vast advantages which would result from a judi- cious and well-conducted system of Colonization. Whilst, from a combination of adverse circumstances, — all, I hoped, fully capable of explanation and vindication, — the Association had suf- fered severely in public opinion here, it was with great pleasure I assured the meeting that on the other side of the Atlantic the people were most anxious to accord their warmest support, and Avaited with ardent anxiety to see it in successful operation. Before quitting the subject, I would take the first opportunity afforded me by this meeting of very briefly alluding to the Emigration to Canada of the present year. By the route of the St. Lawrence alone, nearly 45,000 British Emigrants had proceeded to Canada; whilst by the United States, and from the United States, of such British settlers who preferred return- ing to their Sovereign's dominions, there had been, at the lowest computation, at least 15,000 ; making a total of 60,000 during the current season. Notwithstanding this large addition to the population of that rising and noble Colony, — with the exception of a little difficulty that had arisen from the too sudden influx of a large party of labourers from the United States, to work on the Welland Canal, before their services were needed ; and the unfortunate and improvident addition from the Highlands of Scotland to the poor islanders from Lewis, who went to Canada

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at a very late period of the season last jear, in a very destitute state, and who were distributed and settled in the eastern town- ships,— no inconvenience was felt, the Emigrants as they arrived being quickly dispersed and readily employed. The success of this year's Emigration had fully established all that I had advanced for years past, as to the w^onderful adaptation of Canada for the reception of the redundant population of the British isles. As a further corroboration, I might mention that one of the district councillors, Mr. Shea, of Oshawa, in the Home district, had complained of the paucity of Emigrants in his vicinity, yet he resided in the very centre of a district that had received and retained within it 12,000 Emigrants dur- ing the present year. In the eastern section of the province, Mr. Forbes, the member for Carillon, had assured me that numbers more might have found profitable employment be- tween Montreal and Bytown ; and Major Lachlan, one of the most intelligent, enterprising, and useful British settlers in that garden of British America, the western district of Canada, had w^ritten to me to express his deep regret that not more than fifty Emigrants had reached that portion of the province, where soil, climate, and every inducement existed for occuj^ation and settlement. Without dwelling further, at this time, on this interesting subject, I would nevertheless say, that if Emigra- tion to Canada had been desirable before, it was indispensable now ; indispensable to its agricultural improvement, its com- mercial advancement, its internal repose, the perpetuity of its institutions, and its continued connexion with the British Crown."

A Committee of Inquiry having been appointed, in con- formity with my desire, met on the 9th of December, and continued its sittings until the 22nd. On the day following, a special meeting of the Consulting Councilj of a public nature, and very numerously attended, took place in the City of London Tavern, the Hon. Sir W. Ogilvie, Bart, presiding ; when the following Report, which had been adopted after most earnest investigation and mature deliberation, w^as read : —

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" Your Committee assembled for the purpose of proceeding with the investigation confided to their charge hy the last meeting of the Consulting Council, on the Oth instant, at the House of the Association, when, upon the suggestion of the Commissioners, a resolution was adopted, inviting Sir John Pirie, Bart., John Walter, Esq., M.P., and several other gen- tlemen, to join the Committee of Inquiry. Since that period, the Committee have met from day to day, and have had before them the whole of the books, documents, papers, and accounts, connected with the formation and objects of the Association ; and your Committee have submitted the whole of the executive officers of the establishment to a strict viva voce examination ; and, from a full revision of the whole facts and circumstances brought out in evidence u])on such examination, they have arrived at the following conclusions, which they have more amply set forth in a detailed Report, which will shortly be laid, with the minutes of evidence and sundry resolutions, upon your table : —

" 1st. That the most satisfactory proof has been adduced to show that the names of no parties have been placed upon the printed })rospectus of the Association "without their due authority for that proceeding ; and that the objects of the Association, as set forth in the various documents issued by the Commissioners, are such as justly entitle it to the hearty support and full confidence of the British public.

" 2nd. That the rules and regulations, forming the constitu- tion of the Association, have been matured with great judg- ment, and, with some modifications and additions, will comprise the most complete and efficient provisions for guiding the practical workings of a great establishment.

" 3rd. That the whole of the charges which have been brought against the Association, founded on some recent pro- ceedings at the Mansion-house, were unfounded in truth, and wholly unsustained by evidence ; and that the conduct of the Alderman, then the chief magistrate of the City of London, in writing the letter to the Duke of Argyll, which has led to the

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withdrawal of his Grace and other influential noblemen, for the present, from the list of the friends and supporters of the Asso- ciation, was entirely premature, unauthorized, and unjustifiable.

" 4th. That your Committee have instituted the most searching- inquiry into every circumstance and matter connected, with the deportation of the Emigrants in the brig ' Barbadoes ' to Prince Edward's Island ; and whilst they fully and entirely exonerate the Association from every charge preferred against it, in connexion with that vessel, at the Mansion-houSe, and more particularly by the press ; whilst they note the strong testimony before them of the Government Agent on Emigra- tion and others, to the thorough state of repair and sea-worthi- ness of the ship, the completeness of its equipment, the superior quality of its stores, &c., and the fact that the single Emigrant family who went out as passengers, shipped by the Association itself, voluntarily preferred to sail by the * Barbadoes ' when apprised of the delay to which they must be thereby subjected, to proceeding in the ' Lady Wood,' which was despatched some weeks before ; nevertheless, your Committee, at the same time, are decidedly op opinion that the lateness of the depar- ture of the ' Barbadoes ' is not only to be regretted, but, as A precedent, condemned.

" 5th. That it is, however, the gratifying duty of the Com- mittee to state that the ' Barbadoes ' finally sailed, under the command of a most able and experienced Master, Captain Edward Fretwell, who had already made nine voyages to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and who expressed the utmost confidence of safely accomplishing his destination on this occasion, re- marking that he had seen the waters open and free from ice so late as new year's day ; that they have before them the most conclusive evidence, in the certificate of the Government Agent, Lieut. Lean, of the interior equipment and stores of the ' Barbadoes' on this voyage, and a letter from Capt. Fretwell, dated at a distance of 700 miles on his voyage, in which he states that, out of his stores, he had been able to supply the wants of the ship ' Caroline,' bound to Liverpool, and that all

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the Emigrants under his care were well and happy, and pro- gressing safely and rapidly to their place of destination .

" 6th. That the various properties which have been acquired for the Association, considered in reference to its joint objects of Emigration and Colonization, have been selected with the most judicious care, and are unquestionably such as to afford every possible prospect of certain and abundant annual returns upon the capital to be invested.

" 7th. That having fully investigated the accounts of the Association, it appears to your Committee that its ailairs have been administered with economy, and that none of the principal officers of the Association have received, hitherto, any remune- ration for their valuable services.

" 8th. That the financial plan to complete the various pur- chases already alluded to, and for carrying out the general operations of the Association, has been judiciously matured, and merits the careful attention of parties seeking eligible channels for the investment of surplus caj)ital ; the prospects of the Association, derived from the productive character and position of their lands, the highly advantageous terms on which they have been procured, and the sound and enlightened principles which govern the whole system of its operations, offering the very strongest assurances of highly remunerative returns.

** 9th. That the Association not hitherto having claimed any money from the public on its subscribed shares, the Execu- tive Commissioners appear to your Committee to be entitled to the best thanks of the Association, and the unlimited confidence of the public ; the arrangements made by them in their official capacity having been in every respect influenced by a spirit of the purest disinterestedness, and feelings of strict integrity, probity, and honour, although circumstances of an injurious ciiaracter, and wholly beyond their control, such as have caused this inquiry, have unfortunately arisen to impede, unexpectedly and mischievously, the prosperous action of the Association.

" 10th. Your Committee, having inquired into all the main objects comprehended within the scope of their investigation,

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conclude, on a review of the whole matter confided to their investigation, with the following; recommendations : —

" That the steps adopted towards procuring- a charter be persevered in, and advanced to completion.

" That the full number of Commissioners provided by the constitution be immediately made up and established in office.

" That an enlarged prospectus be issued, detailing the pro- perties acquired, and setting forth more fully the sums required to be provided, with estimates of the probable returns-on the capital invested.

" That a subscription for shares on the terms of a remodelled prospectus, be forthwith opened.

" Signed by order and on behalf of the Committee of Inquiry,

Charles Sherriff, Chairman.

A. Leslie.

J. W. H. Barrow.

Thos. Rolph.

J. Warly Smith."

The Report having been read and laid on the table, to- gether with the minutes of evidence, and other documents therein referred to,

Sir R. Broun rose and said — " INoble Sir, when at the last meeting of Council I had the honour to move for the appoint- ment of the Committee, whose Report has just been read, I stated that, until the charges raised against this Association had been investigated, I should reserve such explanations as a sense of duty to my colleagues and myself might require me to offer. I rejoice that the hour has at length arrived, when, on their part and my own, I can stand erect in the face of the public of this great nation, and propose, with satisfaction to my own feelings and to theirs, that the finding of the Committee shall be re- corded in the journals of this Association, as a witness to the present and future times, that our conduct has been clear and without reproach, in all that has been alleged to our discredit. In rising to discharge myself of tlris grateful task, and at the same time to tender to the Committee our deep and heartfelt

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thanks for the laborious attention which they have given to the responsible charge confided to them, I feel that I must claim some indulgence for the trespass which I must make on your time and attention. Sir, this is a solemn occasion, and stand- ing before the noblest commercial auditory in the world, with the reporters around me of that mighty engine which shall shortly convey my words to the most distant corners of our Colonial Empire, I am duly sensible how unequal I am to ac- quit myself as I ought, in reviewing proceedings which more immediately concern myself and a few individuals, but which involve issues for good or for evil, that not remotely shall affect the condition of the present generation, and the happiness and welfare of those which are to succeed.

" With reference to the "Report made by the Committee of Inquiry, I do not mean to oifer a single observation upon it. It would be unbecoming if I did : it is the result of a calm, a full, and an impartial inquiry, made by a body of honourable and unj)rejudiced men ; and as such I leave it to the public, in entire confidence that it Avill satisfy all whose good opinion we need in any way be solicitous to obtain. Neither is it my intention to no- tice all, or even many, of the charges which have been raised against this Association. With general reference to the police reports, newsjmper articles, published letters, and paragrajjhs, that have appeared inveighing against this Association and its managing officers, I declare them to be of as unjust a character as ever degraded the public press of this realm. This I say, sir, without meaning to give offence to any one of the talented gentlemen who conduct the leading journals of the day; be- lieving that they were misled to do that which they considered justifiable, from what occurred at the Mansion-house of Lon- don. Sir, that this Association has sustained in public estima- tion a great blow and heavy discouragement, is alone to be attributed to the unauthorized conduct of the late chief magi- strate of this city ; and could I for a moment allow, that Sir John Pirie was actuated by any feeling in reference to this Associa- tion, except what he mistakenly considered to fall within the scope of his official duty, there is no language which I could

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use that could sufficiently characterise the culpability of his his conduct. But being morally satisfied that the declaration made by Sir John Pirie from the bench, upon the occasion when he laid before the public his letter to the Duke of Argyll, and his Grace's answer, viz. that ' he should very deeply regret if anything he had uttered had doneinjury to any well-intentioned persons, or was calculated to misrepresent their objects and motives,' was indeed the genuine language of his heart, I de- sire to acquit Sir John Pirie of all sinister motives in this affair; and, on the strength of the Report now before me, I call upon him to come forward and to make that public reparation for the wrong unintentionally done us, which, as a man of candour, honour, and probity, he cannot shrink from. And what, Sir, is the reparation that would be satisfactory to us to receive, and creditable for Sir John Pirie to give ? It is this, that having written that incautious letter to the Duke of Argyll, which shook his Grace's confidence in the managing officers of this Association, and has led him to retire for the present from the office of President, Sir John Pirie shall now address another letter to the Duke, to acquaint his Grace, in reference to the statements made in his former epistle, that the complaint pre- ferred before him as chief magistrate by ' several Emigrants about to proceed to Prince Edward's Island for this Associa- tion,' was a complete error, no complaint ever having been urged before the Lord Mayor of any such description. Next, that the circumstances connected with the agreement of the complaining parties, which appeared to Sir John Pirie ' to look very suspicious,' were circumstances, whatever complexion they might assume, to which the term ' suspicious' was not applic- able as regards Mr. Haldon ; seeing that the agreement itself was as clear, fair, honest, circumstantial, and correct a document as ever was signed by contracting parties. And, lastly, I want Sir John Pirie to confess, that by taking the liberty to inquire whether the Duke of Argyll considered himself liable for the pecuniary transactions of this Association, he greatly overstep- ped the limits of his magisterial functions ; inasmuch as no charge was ever brought before him, from which he was entitled

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to presume that the financial resources of the Association were not sufficient to sustain its operations. I know that Sir John Pirie may have great reluctance to do tliat which he may fancy will impugn his magisterial sagacity, and afford some scope for thinking that he has been made the dupe of a vile conspiracy, even under the roof of the Mansion-house itself. But, Sir, I demand of Sir John Pirie this act of retributive justice ; and I demand it too upon public grounds. If Sir John Pirie either refuses or hesitates so to do, I shall consider his expressions of deep regret, already quoted, as approaching to something like mere pretence, and that he is a man more ready to lend him- self to the designs of a party of knaves, who merited at the hands of justice that sort of sympathy whicli ends in the tread- mill, than he is to forward the aims of a noble institution, created to effect as beneficent purposes as ever engaged the attention of mankind.

" The next subject to which I have to advert is one that I approach with pain and mortification. It is to the countenance given to the calumnies which have been heaped upon us by the retirement from office of the Duke of Argyll. I did. Sir, ven- ture to hope that his Grace would not have been surprised into a step of this kind upon the bare receipt of a letter which ought never to have been addressed to him, and which deserved no reply. For myself and my colleagues, I can justly say that we never invited the noble Duke to place him- self at the head of our body, from any wish or intention to clothe him with liabilities ; nor can I for a moment suppose that an Association, called into existence at an hour of national need, to combine the higliest objects of commerce and of pa- triotism, can fail to obtain that support from the monied public of the United Kingdom which will carry into effect all its opera- tions. Sir, this is not a question alone of pounds, shillings, and pence, but also of humanity, philanthropy, and social duty. Amongst the various inducing reasons why the Duke of Argyll was asked to place himself at the head of this institution were these: — that the excess of population which exists, beyond that for which the country can afford the means of subsistence, or

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furnish adequate employment, in the islands and western coast of the counties of Arg-yll, Inverness, and Ross, is estimated at from fifty to eighty thousand souls; that in 1836 and 1837, the famine and destitution in those districts were so extensive, that many thousands would have died of starvation, but for the assistance, amounting- to upwards of £100,000, which they re- ceived from the Government and the public ; and that ' the con- current testimony of all the witnesses examined by the Emi- gration Committee of last year lead to the belief that the recur- rence of similar distress is not merely probable, but, from the nature of things, absolutely certain ; because the population is rapidly increasing, without any corresponding increase in the natural productiveness and resources of the country.' Nor, Sir, were these reasons all, though they are all conclusive. These apply but to the Duke of Argyll's own district of the kingdom ; but Scotland labours, throughout all her bounds, under misery and distress. From the exposition made by Dr. Alison relative to the destitution which prevails amongst the poor generally of Scotland, at a public meeting in Edinburgh, in 1840, it was found and declared, that the meeting had reason to believe that ' the poor in some parts of Scotland, and espe- cially in the large towns, and in the Highlands, are subject to a greater degree of misery and want than is to be found in Eng- land, or in most other civilized countries ;' whilst, from the Report on Pauperism, adopted by the Synod of Lothian and Tweeddale, it appears, ' That Scotland is fast falling in the scale of morality. Crime, disease, and pauperism are increas- ing more rapidly in this than in any other state in Europe. From the evidence laid before the Combination Committees of Parliament, in 1839, it appears, that while the committals for crime have been tripled within the preceding twenty-four years in England, they have been increased more than thirty-fold in Scotland. Disease and poverty have been nearly tripled in Edinburgh and Glasgow during the last twenty-five years, while the population has not increased more than fifty per cent. During the last sixteen years, in Glasgow, population has ad- vanced about seventy per cent., while crime has increased five

s2

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hundred per cent. It is obvious, from this alarming- state of matters, that unless adequate remedies are immediately applied, the whole frame-work of society will be driven to pieces.' These appalling facts were reiterated at those influential meetings held in Edinburgh and Glasgow in May last, when the objects and formation of this Association were approved of by many of the best and wisest men in Scotland, and were hailed with satisfac- tion by the entire community. Is it then. Sir, from the presi- dent's chair of such an Association, — one supported by an array of influence, talent, and moral worth, such as never before united to accomplish a great national purpose, — that the Duke of Argyll can retire, because we have been dragged unworthily before the public in consequence of a police squabble, originat- ing in a magisterial mistake, and terminating in the plunder of the party unjustly Complained against? It is. Sir, impossible to conceive that his Grace can adopt such a line of conduct. He owes it to himself; he owes it to that noble youth his son, who already concentrates the respect and esteem of all who are faithful to the Church of Scotland ; he owes it to his country, not to withdraw himself from a cause, the desertion of which would tarnish the lustre of his princely house, and abate the ve- neration which the Scottish nation feels for a race who have never bent nor bowed to any adverse circumstance that concerned the weal, the independence, or the jDcace of their fellow-subjects.

" Amongst the papers now before you is the printed report of a meeting, held on the 2nd of February, presided over by the noble Baronet who represents the house of Hamilton in Scotland, and the published copy of a letter addressed by Lord Elibank to Sir John Pirie. Upon these documents I must make some observations. The first, Sir, contains an account of the organization of this Association, the peculiar features it combines, and the provisions made for its efiective administra- tion ; it also contains a series of resolutions, expressive of the opinion of the meeting that the Association was well adapted to relieve Scotland of her surplus population, to strengthen British interests in North America, and to effect the combined objects of establishing the rights, and making available the

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properties in British America, of such Baronets as shall join it. The same meeting resolved that the names of such Baronets of Scotland being peers as had concurred in the steps previously taken, should be added to the list of Vice-Presidents. Now, Sir, in terms of the resolutions then passed. Lord Elibank had a copy of the proceedings of that meeting, with a letter acquainting him that his name as one of the concurring Baro- nets had been placed on the list of Vice-Presidents; and yet his Lordship has the effrontery to come forward and address a public letter to the Lord Mayor, stating that he was at a loss to understand how the object of recovering lands, said to belong to the Baronets of Scotland, had been made to slide into this Association ; and that he had been applied to, to become a Vice- President, but had never replied. I here deny that Lord Eli- bank ever was written to, to ask his permission to add his name to the Vice-Presidents. He had the fact communicated to him that his name was added to the list; and under the peculiar circumstances of the case, I consider it was his Lordship's duty to himself, as a man of honour, and to his brother Baronets, to have written in reply, if he did not intend that his silence should be taken for assent. Sir, I wish to impute no mean motives to any man connected with the proud Baronetage of Scotland ; but I cannot help thinking that if, instead of the calumnies issued from the Mansion-house, it had been pro- claimed that we had opened a demi-official correspondence with the authorities in New Brunswick ; that the claims of the Ba- ronets had been discussed in the legislative council there, and that they were favourably inclined ; we should have had no letter disclaiming his connexion ! But, Sir, it is a proud boast, under the aspersions that have been cast upon us, that Lord Elibank alone, of all the noble and generous supporters of this cause, has mixed himself up with these Mansion-house doings. Sir, I find in his Lordship's letter, that he has had the hardihood to say of this Association, which several influential meetings in Scotland (presided over by the highest civic dignitaries of that realm, and concurred in by men whose character, whose capa- city, whose moral grandeur adorn the age in which they live,)

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have found and declared to be ' entitled to public confidence and supjjort, as an institution calculated materially to advance the opulence, prosperity, and peace of the mother country and the Colony,' that, had its objects been clear and intelligible, and likely to be of any advantage to the public, he would not have considered it necessary to have objected to his name hav- ing been used ! But why dwell longer on this paltry topic? 1 regret, Sir, that a man should be found in my native land, wearing the riband and the jewel of Nova Scotia, who appears to have no due perception of the ends for which his family honours were bestowed, or any personal desire in his own day and generation to advance the royal and munificent work for which his Order was created.

" Sir, I feel that I have already too long obtruded upon the attention of the meeting; and yet I hoj)e to be excused, if, under the imputations cast upon the immediate officers of this Association, I may be allowed to speak somewhat of myself. It is charged against me that I have long been labouring to revive the decayed Order of the Baronets of Nova Scotia ; but, Sir, in the face of this meeting, and of the universal public of these realms, I repudiate the accusation. The Baronetage of Scotland and Nova Scotia are, as a body, the most wealthy, the most powerful, the most ancient, the most influential portion of the nobility of my native kingdom ; and 1 spurn, with indigna- tion, the reproach that the exclusive aggrandisement of the families comprised within its ranks have ever occupied for a moment my time or attention. I have, indeed, laboured to revive the decayed spirit of the Order. I have watched for years Scotland gradually declining from all the land-marks of her ancient position ; and I have endeavoured to concentrate the attention of the only class of her privileged subjects, who have rights to revive, upon matters which concern the peace, the happiness, the industry, the wealth, the greatness, and the glory of the Scottish nation to the end of time. But I have never urged these claims upon the plea that the Scottish Ba- ronets were alone to be benefited. The Order was erected not only that ' those individuals admitted into it in particular, but

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that the whole nation generally should thereby have honour and profit.' It is, then, upon public grounds that I have raised this cpiestion of the revival of the rights of the Baronets in British America ; and on public grounds I will continue to advocate that question, and urge it on to a successful termina- tion. Referring to these matters which have more imme- diately led to the calling of this Council to-day, I have only to say, that, on my return from Scotland, on the 15th of September last, after a few weeks' absence, I had not a single care upon my mind in regard to the progress of this institution. Had the brig ' Barbadoes' sailed on the day for which she was char- tered, and had the operation been carried into effect on the terms and stipulations contracted for, the Association Avould not have experienced that hurricane which would have ship- wrecked any other public Company less stably founded in prin- ciple, or nobly supported. We have not, indeed, escaped unscathed from the storm ; but, like the oak, we will strike our roots the deeper for its having passed over us. I thank God tliat in this cause I am free from self-reproach, and that I am still surrounded by men of lofty principle, of mighty talent, and untiring energy. I cannot. Sir, bring myself to suppose that the few noble persons who have retired from our banner will not return to it ; but however that may be, we will not perish ! We will fall back upon the generous sympathies of the country at large, upon the necessity that exists for an Asso- ciation of this character, upon the great and enduring objects we propose, and upon the wants and wishes of those suffering classes of our fellow-subjects whose relief we contemplate.

" And now. Sir, with one or two general remarks, I shall leave to my colleagues the task touching upon those various other points which require notice. Adverting to the Report, I again express my grateful thanks to the gentlemen forming the Committee of Inquiry, and assure them that the Commissioners will lose no time in carrying into effect the several recommen- dations with which it concludes. Those points, but for the attack made on the Association, would before now have claimed the attention of the Board ; and they are such, I hope, as the

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proceedings of this day will sliortly enable us to realise. I have now before me statistical data establishing the fact, that about twelve years ago two bands of Emigrants went out to Canada, the one consisting of 640 persons, who possessed collectively the sum of £28,402 17s. 7c?.; the other of 724 persons, who possessed £34,517 125. 6d. Upon this capital, in all £62,920 lOs. Id., they have realised in twelve years £547,777 13s. 6c?., being on the average upwards of 70 per cent, per annum. Of the above persons, 647 (nearly the one-half of the whole) carried out with them no capital whatsoever, and yet by their industry alone they have made £212,015 9s. 6c?. Again, of the number, 202 carried with them less than £20 each, and their united gains reach £74,860 3s. These results, which have been attained under the desultory system of Colonization hitherto pursued, and notwithstanding the drawbacks occasioned by the late troubles in Canada, demonstratively show the great returns which must necessarily accrue upon the investments of the British American Association. Contrast this, on the other hand, with the fact that since 1818, and within the limit of eight years, upwards of fifty-five millions sterling of British capital have been sunk in foreign loans, of which about one- half pays no dividends whatsoever, and the other would be annihilated, both as regards principal and interest, by an Euro- pean war. Need I, then, dwell for a moment on the great public duty of vesting funds in our Colonial dominions, when private gain, and the wants of multitudes ready to perish, alike conspire to urge its policy and importance? Consider the pa- ramount objects which the Association contemplate. They are, the conversion of pauperism here into independence in British America; the perpetuation of British connexion with that rising country ; the extension of British trade and commerce ; the advancement of British happiness and peace ! It is impos- sible, then, to conceive that an Association formed for such lofty ends can fail to prosper ; and in that hope and expectation, I shall now move that the Report be received, and recorded in the minutes of this Council, together with a vote of thanks to the members of the Committee of Inquiry, expressive of the

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deep and grateful sense entertained of the manner in which they have discharged the laborious and responsible investiga- tion confided to their charge."

The resolution was seconded by SirJ. D. Hamilton Hay, Bart,, and unanimously adopted.

As a member of the Committee and Association, I then ad- dressed the meeting as follows : — " I have looked forward, with the deepest anxiety, to this day, when a Committee of Inquiry should present to the public a Report which would either -exone- rate an Association, the objects of which it must ever be my most earnest desire to promote, from undeserved reproach, or seal its condemnation for ever. It is, therefore, highly grati- fying to me to find that, after the most elaborate and searching investigation, — the most careful, severe, and lengthened exami- nation,— that the Committee have declared the Association free from MOST OF the allegations and charges so lavishly preferred against it. I rejoice at the opportunity which is now afforded me by the unanimous resolution of the Committee, of explain- ing the objects, and vindicating the principles on which the Association is founded.

" In taking my seat, at the earnest request of the other members of the Committee, at their board, I consented to par- ticipate in their labours with a firm determination to condemn wherever condemnation was deserved ; and to declare the ex- ecutive officers free from imputation, if, after the most diligent investigation, I should find them free from blame. I must also return my acknowledgments to the Executive Committee for having endured a storm of obloquy and reproach, causing the withdrawal of some of the most illustrious supporters of the Association, in awaiting my return from Canada, in order that I might hear all that had been said against them, before I heard what they had to say in their defence.

" The most novel feature of this Association, the one which contradistinguishes it from that of any other society, is the pro- ject of Colonization. The acquisition of land in the respective Colonies, by public companies, has always received the sanc- tion of the local governments, and been encouraged by the

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Imperial. Private enterprise could never accomplish what public comhination could ; and hence the anxiety felt in new countries to avail themselves of the capital and exertion of those whose interest would stimulate them to promote their settle- ment. Amidst a mass of similar testimony, approving of such combination, I avail myself only of some portions of the de- spatches from Sir W. Colebrooke to Lord Stanley, together with his replies :

" ' In the progressive settlement of anew and fertile country, although the application of capital and labour, in clearing and cultivating the land, forbids the prospect of any return beyond the subsistence of the labourer and his family for several years, yet the augmented value of land assures the ultimate compen- sation of the landholder ; and if gentlemen possessing more or less capital should engage, with permanent views, in such under- takings, tliey would introduce a superior class of settlers who would bring to the Colonics the morals and industry, the arts and intelligence, which characterise the British yeomanry of England.

" ' From such elements the best means would be acquired of establishing the principles of the constitution in the Colonies, and by encouraging a constant influx of new settlers the con- nexion would be perpetuated. The preservation of a bond with the parent state must depend on a continued influx of new settlers.

" ' In affording encouragement to capitalists to acquire lands, I am disposed to consider that the settlement of the Emigrant peasantry in villages is likely to be the most effectual means of promoting their own welfare and the advantage of the country. The social benefits thus acquired supersede the ignorant desire to extend their acquisition beyond their means ; and the pos- session OF fifty acres in such a settlement will be

FOUND MORE VALUABLE THAN AN INSULATED GRANT OF FAR GREATER EXTENT IN THE WILDERNESS.

*' ' That the acxpiisition of land by capitalists, with a view to hereditary possession, would be compatible with such a system of village settlement, there is every reason to conclude ; and

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the views of such a cLass should be directed to those liberal pursuits, connected with the government and the improvement of the country, which would insure their own ascendancy.

" Lord Stanley — ' All which it appears to me that the Govern- ment can do towards promoting the Colonization of New Bruns- wick, is by placing a moderate price upon the public lands, and rendering their acquisition easy ; by circulating also correct infor- mation concerning the Colony, so that parties may judge of the means which it affords for the profitable employment of capital ; and as regards the lower orders, by regulating their conveyance to the Colony Avithout the undue enhancement of its cost. The rest must be left to the inducements which the natural resources and advantages of the Colony may present ; — IN SHORT, TO THE OPERATION OF PRIVATE INTEREST.'

" Sir W. M. G. Colebrooke — ' The organization of parties, who after due inquiry should form settlements upon waste lands, has been proved by exjierience to afford many advantages to settlers where the lands acquired by them are not too ex- tensive.

" ' By this arrangement their co-operative industry becomes more effective, and their labour is rendered available in the prosecution of undertakings which depend on the ai^plication of capital.

" ' As the subsistence of settlers, while engaged in reclaim- ing new lands, must either be derived from their own resources or from employment in useful works, and as the absorption of their private funds must prevent them from improving their farms, a plan of settlement by which those funds may be re- served to them, and they may be induced to afford their labour on reasonable terms, is alike favourable to their own views and to the public improvement.

" 'The improvement of their farms tends to augment the security for their bonds, which so long as the interest is paid, and the lands are improved, there can be no inducement to enforce against them.'

" The Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, in re-

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ference to a letter of my own, also expressed themselves favour- able to one of the principles adopted by the Association :

" 'We cannot but think, that if the same facilities existed for purchasing in this country the wastelands of Canada, which have been afforded in the case of the Australian Colonies, and of nominating Emigrants for a free passage in proportion to the purchase-money deposited, the Colonization of Canada would be greatly facilitated. The same sum of money would purchase more land in Canada than in Australia, while it would provide the means of conveying nearly four times as many Emigrants.'

" There is, at the present time, upwards of fifty Emigrant Societies in different parts of the United Kingdom in constant correspondence with this Association ; they are looking with intense solicitude to the verdict wliich the Committee of In- quiry will pronounce this day, on an establishment which they desire to sustain to the utmost of their power, from a deep conviction that patriotism and philanthropy are quite as much the objects of its promoters, as the less worthy one of self- interest.

" The various parties forming these societies are far too in- telligent to be the dupes of any association, and furnish the very best elements of extended and successful Colonization. By following the recommendation of the Committee ; by prose- cuting vigorously the application for a charter ; by immediately enlarging, and extending, and strengthening the direction, and by persevering exertion, I believe this Association is destined to confer incalculable blessings on Canada and this country, to convert a suffering population in the United Kingdom into a valuable yeomanry in British North America; strengthening British power, and developing British American resources ; tending more than anything to allay political disturbance; and uniting for ever in bonds of lasting amity, interest, and affec- tion, the Canadian provinces with the British Crown."

I concluded, after some further observations, by moving that the Commissioners be advised to act on the recommenda-

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tions set forth in the Report, and that a subscription for shares in the capital stock be now opened, and tliat books ])e deposited at the bankers, Messrs. Glyn & Co. ; and also for the election of a Board of Commissioners. This was seconded by J. Bourdillon, Esq., and carried unanimously. A vote of thanks was also passed to the Committee of Inquiry, and acknowledged by Mr. Barrow.

On the evening- of the day following this meeting, — which was amply reported by all the leading journals, without one single unfavourable comment, and which created an impression in the City highly favourable to the Association, — information was received by the Board of the return of the ship ' Barbadoes' to Cork. On the 26th, the supercargo appeared before the Lord Mayor, Alderman Humphery, and made the following declaration : —

" I, Edward Light, of Penton-street, Pentonville, master mariner, do solemnly and [sincerely declare, that I sailed as supercargo in the brig ' Barbadoes,' on the 1st day of Novem- ber last from Gravesend ; that, on the evening of the 22nd day of December instant, the brig ' Barbadoes' put back, per stress of weather, into the Cove of Cork, out from London fifty-two days, after having run on her outward-bound voyage to Prince Edward's Island, within 190 miles of the banks of Newfoundland, in which latitude, owing to the continual pre- valence of tremendous gales from the N.N.W. to N.W., and the loss of spars, sails, and rigging, the sea making a clear breach over the brig, sweeping away bulwarks, staunchions, &:c. Upon consultation between the captain and this declarant, it was deemed indispensable to the preservation of the brig and safety of all on board, and the benefit of all parties interested, to veer her before the wind, and seek such shelter as wind and weather would permit. And this declarant also saith, that the said brig ' Barbadoes ' was in every respect fully equipped and provisioned, with her stores on board, and all stores also neces- sary for the accommodation of the Emigrants on board, ready

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for sea, and could have sailed upon her voyage on the 22nd day of October last, on which day the brig was then at Graves- end ready for sea ; but that, in consequence of complaints pre- ferred on that day against Mr. Haldon, by whom the Emigrants had been engaged, and adjourned by the then Lord Mayor to the 24th, and the subsequent proceedings which resulted from the course adopted by the then Lord Mayor in respect of such complaints, the vessel was unfortunately, beyond the control of the charterers, delayed until the said 1st of November, when she finally left Gravesend. And the declarant further says, that his solemn belief is, that had no such delay as that which intervened between the 22nd October and 1st November been thus interposed by the proceedings at the Mansion-house, and the procedure of the then Lord Mayor thereon, the brig ' Bar- badoes' would have accomplished, in all human probability, her intended voyage to Prince Edward's Island, with tlie same success as the other vessels which sailed just one week pre- viously to the ' Barbadoes,' for that part of the coast of North America, did actually accomplish theirs ; and this said decla- rant left the Emigrants at Cork all well, contented with the treatment they had received, and intending to proceed to their original destination at the earliest opportunity next season."

On the 30th of December, I was deputed by the Consulting- Council to proceed to Inverary Castle, to place in the hands of His Grace the Duke of Argyll, the Report of the Committee of Inquiry, and to express their earnest hope that he would, after its perusal, again accord to the Association that support, without which it was impossible for the Executive Board to sustain it.

At the close of this year terminated my emj^loyment by the Canadian Government ; but I had the proud satisfaction of re- cording also, at the close of that year, that the Emigration direct from the United Kingdom ainounted to 44,374, — a strik- ing and gratif^'ing contrast to that of the year preceding my labours — 3,266 ; and as a thorough confirmation of all that

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I had advanced, as to the rise of property, concurrently with the progress of population, the leading Canadian journal thus adverts to the advance made in 1842 : —

" The value of lands is one-third higher than last year, and I hear from good authority, that agents for individuals, or families, or companies in different parts of the United Kingdom are traversing the province in every direction. But, the most convincing proof of our gradual improvement, is the daily arrival of respectable families and skilful artisans from the neighbouring states, having first sold their properties there for what they would bring, to enable them to make this their per- manent and happy home. In most cases, these persons sent an agent to report upon the province, previously to their disposing of their establishments in the States. The preference to Canada has consequently been given after mature calculation and re- flection."

1843. On the 3rd of January I arrived at Inverary, when I lost no time in acquainting the Duke of my arrival, and re- questing his Grace to name an hour when it would suit his con- venience to receive me. The reply brought me a kind invita- tion to make the Castle my abode during my stay, adding, that his Grace, the day following, would discuss with me the matters which I was commissioned to lay before him.

This note was accompanied by a copy of the Report of the Committee of Inquiry, and also by a letter from the Chairman of the Executive Committee, stating that the Board had deemed it their duty, both to his Grace and themselves, to depute me to wait upon him, to lay the Report before him, together with such explanations as might be necessary to put him into full possession of every particular connected with the proceedings and position of the Association.

From a copy of this letter, now before me, I make the fol lowing extracts : —

" I have considered it my duty, my Lord Duke, to address to you several letters since the Association fell into unjust ob- loquy; and on every occasion I have been supported by the

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consciousness that I could do so as a man of honour and honesty. But, in this instance, I write with more freedom and satisfac- tion, having my own conscious feelings of integrity and recti- tude borne out and confirmed by the result of the Inquiry, which, as your Grace will perceive, absolves myself and my coadjutors from every imputation affecting either our discretion or characters.

" Every means were studiously taken to render the investi- gation a full and a searching one, as your Grace cannot fail to perceive, from the fact that Sir John Pirie and John Walter, Esq., M.P., were invited to join, and act upon the Committee. I therefore confidently trust, that the Report will be satisfactory to your Grace, as it unquestionably has been to the public at large.

*' Upon that presumption, I ventured at the public meeting at the City of London Tavern, to express a hope, which was warmly concurred in, that your Grace would yet, upon being assured that the Association had done nothing to render them- selves unworthy of your support, feel it to be a duty which you owed to yourself and the country, as also to the parties who had been so unjustly traduced, to return to the President's chair.

" My Lord Duke, I have already taken occasion to urge upon your Grace the importance of your resuming your posi- tion in the Association. You can now do so with perfect pro- priety and consistency ; as your reason for wishing to withdraw from us was the allegations which you had heard to our preju- dice. Having now satisfactory evidence at length placed before you, by tlie Report of the honourable gentlemen who have acted on the Committee of Inquiry, that these allegations were wholly groundless, there can be no difliiculty in the way of your retaining your place at our head. Indeed, it might perhaps be said, with justice, that there is something like a moral obliga- tion imposed upon your Grace to do so, as a reparation for the obloquy to which we have been exposed. Bat I waive this view of the subject, and limit my anxieties on the point to the in- terests of the Association, and to what I believe most decidedly to be your Grace's own interest.

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" With regard to the Association, there can be no question but that, with the very eligible properties acquired, the facili- ties that we possess of rapidly colonizing them, the favour of the Colonial authorities, and the support of eminent and influ- ential men in British North America, it is calculated to bo pro- ductive of unspeakable good both to this country and to those Colonies, Neither can there be a doubt that your Grace has it in your power to ensure the success of the undertaking. All that it would be necessary for your Grace to do, to accomplish that end, would be to announce publicly, that having found, upon due inquiry, that the surmises to the prejudice of the As- sociation were without foundation, you again returned to the office of its President, and would give your aid to bring it fully ■ into operation.

" If such an announcement were now made, after the noto- riety which the Association has obtained, the moneyed and com- mercial interests of the country would at once rally round it, and render its prospects sure and permanent.

" My Lord Duke, upon the whole, it appears to me clear, that by adhering to the Association, you may be instrumental in ameliorating the condition of thousands of our fellow- creatures, in extending the resources of our country, and pro- moting the well-being of our Colonial Empire — not only with- out loss to yourself, but great benefit to your own noble inhe- ritance : but I believe it is no less certain, that you cannot recede from the Association without destroying it, and thereby clothing yourself and a few other individuals Avith demands and litigations which, from all that I have heard, I feel convinced must lead to immense pecuniary sacrifices.

" [ shall now, my Lord Duke, conclude this solemn dis- charge of an official duty, by leaving it to Dr. Rolph personally to impress emphatically on your Grace the urgent necessity for enabling us to carry the recommendations with which the Re- port of the Committee of Inquiry terminates, into prompt effect. It would be unjust to conceal, that whilst we urge this as a favour to us, we urge it also as a matter of safety to your- self. There appears to this Board no alternative between

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carrying out the Association, and a series of legal proceedings, which must involve your Grace, and all immediately concerned, in the most grievous, vexatious, and injurious consequences. We believe that the Association has been brought into its pre- sent position of peril mainly by the fact of the withdrawal of your Grace ; and we now intrcat your return to office by every consideration, public and private, which ought deeply to weigh with a high, a generous, and enlightened mind."

This letter, which his Grace deemed " an extraordinary one," and the Report of the Committee of Inrpiiry, produced no favourable result. After spending several days at Inverary Castle, and making use of every argument which 1 could think of to prevail on his Grace to resume his connexion with the Association, I came back to London empowered to report that he declined for the present to return to the office of President ; l)ut that, should the recommendations of the Committee of In- quiry be carried out, and a bill introduced into Parliament for the incorporation of the Association, he would give it his sup- port.

On my return to London, no time was lost in using every means to comply with the recommendations in the Report. Further steps towards procuring a charter were taken ; nego- tiations were opened with several influential parties, with a view to the enlargement of the managing Board ; and an amended prospectus, detailing the properties acquired, was drawn up.

No money having been received from the public on the shares which had been taken up to the end of January, a letter was addressed to the Duke of Argyll, acq\iainting liim with the progress made towards rectifying the damage which the Asso- ciation had received, and setting forth the necessity for a tem- porary adv.ance of £500, to meet the current office expenses. This sum (the amount of his Grace's subscription for shares) w^as asked in the shape of a loan, in order that ho might incur no liability by giving it. At the same time, his Grace was made aware, that arrangements were progressing by which the " Barbadoes " would be enabled to proceed on her voyage in

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the month of March ; and he was further apprised, on behalf of Sir R. Broun and myself, that " we were usinp; every per- sonal effort, and devoting our entire time, not only to sustain the Association, hut also to protect his Grace against any of its liabilities ; and that if, from not receiving any kind of succour, or procuring aid from his Grace, Ave should fail to accomplish this, our most earnest and most anxious desire, we at least should have consolation in the reflection that we bad done our duty, and should stand exonerated by the public."

To this request, which would never have been needed had his Grace not retired from office, and thereby destroyed public confidence in the Association, he declined to accede.

During the early part of February, the Canadian press con- tained full reports of the public meeting of the Consulting- Council on the 23rd of December ; and, as embodying their general sentiments, I may here introduce the leading remarks on the subject, of the Montreal Herald : — " After all the op- probrium which has been heaped on the British American Association for Emigration and Colonization, by such interested and unprincipled speculators in New Zealand, and other Land Companies, as Sir John Pirie, the late Lord Mayor of London, and others have proved themselves to be, it is gratifying to read the proceedings of the Association in our first page, which most triumphantly refute every charge or calumny brought against its Directors."

Towards the close of the month of February, I received from Sir Henry Macleod, the Governor of Trinidad, then in Eng- land, the appointment of agent for the removal of the coloured population in Canada to that island ; but my departure to com- mence the duties connected with that mission was delayed, I)}' the painful position in which I was placed through the difficul- ties of the British American Association.

On the 27th of February, the Colonial Society gave a mag- nificent dinner, at their rooms, to Sir Charles Metcalfe, pre- vious to his embarkation from England as Governor-General of Canada. The chair was occupied by Sir A. D'Este. It is needless to speak of the enthusiasm which prevailed, the high

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hopes excited, on this interesting occasion : it is much more tlelightful to reflect how abundantly they have been realised, by the commanding- intellect, indomitable firmness, and stern justice since displayed by the distinguished individual in whose honour the feast was given. On this occasion, Sir A. D'Este, in proposing as a toast " Prosperity to Emigration," most kindly alluded to me, and coupled my name with that cause in the most complimentary manner.

In returning thanks for this compliment, " I trusted that I should stand excused, if travelling out of the record, I first re- turned, on behalf of the Colony with which I was connected, my most grateful thanks to the Colonial Society for having twice, during the year, paid such a marked compliment to it — on a former occasion by the dinner given to my gallant friend Sir Allan Macnab ; and on this occasion, for their joining in the universal gratulation, on account of the appointment of Sir Charles Metcalfe as Governor of Canada — an appointment as honourable to the Government that made it, as to the distin- guished individual that had accepted it, and which could not but prove as serviceable to the empire, as it Avould assuredly be most acceptable to the Colonists. With more immediate reference to the toast, I Avas admonished by the lateness of the hour not to expatiate on its necessities and advantages ; but I might be permitted to say, that wliilst it was too hallowed a subject to be desecrated by party dissensions, it had never sufficiently received the attention of any party in the state. In the mutual relation between the parent state and the Colonies, a judicious transfer of the population might prove serviceable to both — blessing that wliich gives, as well as that which takes — converting idleness into industry, weeping into gladness, solitude into activity, and barrenness into life. It would not be like sowing serpents' teeth, hereafter to rise up into armed men ; but converting a destitute unemployed population into a prosperous yeomanry, that would become the most profitable customers to the manufacturers of Great Britain. On the very same grounds, it was highly desiralde to give an incentive to the numerous coloured population in Canada to remove to the

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West Indies, where, more secure and better rewarded, they Avoidd prove equally as successful as those of our indigent fel- low-subjects of the British Isles, who had obtained competence and independence in Canada. I hoped this momentous subject would receive the most earnest attention of the Government."

On the following day, Sir Charles Metcalfe received a de- putation from the British American Association, and expressed his strong- desire that it might surmount its difficulties, stating, at the same time, that, during his administration in Canada, he should ever be most ready and willing to give to the cause of Emigration and Colonization his utmost support.

In consequence of the ardent desire felt by the thousands in the county of Renfrewshire to remove to Canada, who had been, during the greater portion of the preceding year, out of employment, and depending for their subsistence upon private alms, I received the following communication from Mr. Craw- ford, of Paisley, a gentleman who had been directing his ener- gies for many years to the promotion of Emigration :

" London, 25th January, 1843. " Sir, — As from your official situation as Government Emi- gration Agent for Canada, and your being practically acquainted with the wants of that Colony, and the results of Emigration of the labouring classes and artisans from this country thereto, you are competent to pronounce an opinion as to the soundness of the views and wisdom of the policy recommended in the Report of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, herewith enclosed, on which Her Majesty's Government have felt themselves justified in refusing (in the meantime only I hope) the application of my unemployed and suffering fellow- townsmen at Paisley for the aid of Government to emigrate to that Colony, with the view of earning an independent sub- sistence there by their own industry, instead of being supported in the abject and degrading condition of paupers at home. I respectfully request your opinion on tlie said Report, for the purpose of being laid before Her Majesty's Government, with a

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renewed application for their efticieiit aid, which in every view of the case, as a Christian Government, 1 humbly maintain they are bound to grant.

" I am, Sir, your very obedient servant,

" John Crawford.'

" Colonial Land and Emigration Office, " 9, Park Street, Westminster, January 4.

" Sir, — We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 31st December last, forwarding to us a com- munication from the Home Department, relative to Emigration from Paisley, and directing us to report any observations we may have to offer upon the resolutions passed at a meeting of unemployed operatives in that town.

" The object of the meeting was to renew the request which has been so frecpiently made from Paisley, that aid should be afforded by the British Government to persons who are in dis- tress, to enable them to emigrate; and the adoption of some public measure was apparently conteni}»lated by the meeting, Avhereby the unemployed of Paisley, and all who are willing to emigrate, Avill obtain free passages, and be ensured employ- ment on arrival in the Colonies. Upon a resolution being moved, expressing the willingness of the meeting to emigrate to the Australian Colonies and the Cape of Good Hope, as well as to North America, an amendment was carried, by a lurge majority, to the effect that the meeting confined its views to Canada, and that the other Colonies should be excluded from the resolutions.

" As Lord Stanley is aware, no portion of the revenue raised in Canada is applicable to defraying the expenses of Emigra- tion ; the object of the Paisley meeting, therefore, can only be effected by means of the public funds of this country, if Par- liament should think proper to make provision for the pur])ose. But it is our duty to state that, even then it would be doubtful Avhether, with regard to the interests of Canada, it would be prudent to send thither any number of labourers at the public

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expense. The large and annually increasing Emigration \Yhicli is carried on by private funds, appears to be amply sufficient for the wants of the Colony; but should the supply of labour be forced into excess as regards the capital for employing it, the same evils must, we conceive, arise as those from which the unemployed operatives of Paisley are now seeking to remove themselves. It is obviously, we think, impossible and out of the question tluit Government should take upon itself to pro- vide em])loyment for the Emigrants after their arrival in the Colony : in reference to this latter point, it may perhaps be worthy of remark, that the different Emigration Agents in Canada, in their last year's rejiorts, whilst lamenting the dis- ti'ess into which the operatives from Glasgow and Paisley had fallen, in consequence of their want of fitness for the labour required in the Colony, state that it was impossible to remove from the minds of those persons the impression, that the Go- vernment, having induced them to emigrate, was responsible for their maintenance. It is probable that this impression had only arisen from the fact of an agent from the Government of Canada having been em^'loyed in Scotland in setting forth the advantages which, in a general way, were ottered in the Co- lony to useful labourers who could find their way there ; but it is obvious that it would, in future instances, be greatly con- firmed if the British Government had actually furnished them with the means of conveyance to the Colony, and they found themselves unable to obtain enqjloyment there : much disap- pointment and suffering might possibly result from the misap- prehension.

" With reference to these several considerations, we have the honour to report, that Ave know of no measures which it would aj)pear desirable that Her Majesty's Government should take, witli a view to giving effect to the desire of the unemployed operatives of Paisley, that they should be provided with free passage, to Canada, and be insured employment on their arrival. (Signed) " Edward E. Villiers,

" John George Shaav Lefevre. "James Stephen, Esq., (&c."

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To this coninmnication of Mr. Crawfoi'J's, with its accom- panying document, I made the following reply : —

" Colonial Society, St. James's Square, " January 26th, 1843. " Dear Sir, — In reply to your communication of yesterday, directing my attention to the recent application from the people of Paisley for assistance to emigrate to Canada, and the Report of the Colonial Land Emigration Commissioners, and soliciting my views thereon, I assure you tliat I have been long fully sensible of the earnest wishes of the persons you represent on that subject. The desire I have felt to serve them has indeed induced me to give my whole time and attention to the forma- tion of a Society, having for its object the relief of the unem- ployed population of the British isles, by the Colonization of British North America ; and although many obstacles have most unexpectedly and most unfortunately occurred to inter- ruj)t my exertions, I hope, ere long, to surmount them all. No measure of Emigration, except on this principle, can be useful to the sufferino; masses. The annual Emi^-ration to Canada has been highly advantageous to that province, and vastly be- neficial to those who have settled there ; but hitherto it has been rather a partial or individual advantage than a national relief. No American Land Company has yet adopted the prin- ciple of Colonization, although it is an undoubted well-esta- blished fact, that it is population alone that gives value to land. When the Canadian Government formerly submitted the waste lands of the Crown every year to public auction, the upset price was always regulated by the population and settlement of the respective townships ; thus whilst in some townshijDS the price was fixed at 55. per acre, in others it was determined at 25s. In the township in Canada where I reside, uncultivated land, that was with difficulty sold in 1832 at lO*'. an acre, in 1842 met with ready purchasers at £3; this rise solely owing to the increasing population, the progress of settlement, and the consequent demand for landed possession. During the period when the late lamented Sir Robert Wilmot Horton belonged

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to the Government, Mr. Peter Robinson came from Canada to procure settlers for the Newcastle district, then a dense wil- derness, selecting- his settlers from the most destitute portions of Ireland. It was not labourers either for the public works or for resident settlers that he came, but to procure persons to settle on the public domain. At that period all the expenses connected with Emigration greatly exceeded what the same extent of Emigration would amount to at this time. But mark the result ; the Government undertook the partial Colonization of the Newcastle district, at that time, at great expense : but not only are the townships then peopled amongst the best cul- tivated in Canada, but the people are the most thriving, pros- perous, happy, contented, loyal yeomanry to be met with in British North America. In a moment of imminent peril, at the call of Sir Francis Head, and during a Canadian winter, they left their homes, performing a long and laborious march to defend the Government, then attacked by internal rebellion and foreign assault. In the assessed value of these townships is to be found the incontrovertible proof, that private enterprise and private gain might be enlisted most successfully in the promotion of large Colonization. Every township in Canada furnishes proof of augmented value from increasing population. It is no experiment ; the townships of Cavan, Wilmot, and many others have been settled by poor industrious labourers, whose labour has created capital. For the sake of argument, I assume that the Emigration from the United Kingdom of 1842, by every channel, amounted to 60,000. The population of Western Canada amounts nearly to 500,000. Of this ])opu- lation the home district contains by far the largest proportion, viz., nearly 80,000. It is an important fact, that this beautiful district retained nearly a fourth of the Emigrant population that arrived and were distributed through it during the last year, and that there were some portions of the same district where the demand for labour was not satisfied.

" I will now, with your permission, proceed to examine the letter addressed to Baillie Murray by the Colonial Commis- sioners, making such observations as may, I trust, be serviceable

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to the great cause of Emigration, and not without Lenefit to those lor whom you are more immediately interested, the dis- tressed inhabitants of Paisley and its vicinity. ' It is unques- tionably true,' the Commissioners state in their Report, ' that the large and annually increasing Emigration, Avliich is carried on by private funds, appears to be amply sufficient for the wants of the Colony ;' it is unquestionably true that this Emi- gration so carried on may supply the demand for labourers on the public works of the province ; that it may, in some degree, but in a very small one, supply farm labourei's for that portion of the province near its great arteries of communication ; it may even happen that, for a short period, a sudden influx of Emigrants may occur, all of whom may not instantly find employment ; more especially if, as has fre([uently been the case, they confine themselves to one or two localities, instead of spreading over the province. It has ha])[)ened, and it may again happen, that some temporary distress may be occasioned from this cause ; but it has hitherto speedily ])assed away, and is not to be compared with tlie deep and enduring distress from want of employment pervading the greater ])ortiou of the United Kingdom. But even on this a])j)earance of supply for ' the wants of the Colony,' the very iniportant question arises, what are the wants of the Colony? The Colony possesses vast tracts, almost illimitable in extent, of the most fertile land, easily accessible, and by the cultivation of which its resources would be developed to an extent of which our statesmen, whether in Park-street or at the Colonial Office, seem little aware. This is its nujst pressing want : it wants w^ell-directed labour. With this material it is equal (with its sister Colonies) to the supj)ly of whatever quantity of grain or provisions the United Kingdom may re([uirc; in return, it Avould take a vast «{uantity of the manul'actures of its parent — thus conferring and receiving benefit at the same time. Can it be said that this want is yet, even in appearance, supjdied to the extent of one-twentieth j)art ? It will not be so stated by any one who is the least acquainted with our North American Colonies. At the same time, it is not a mere deportation of destitute and

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ignorant men that can be expected to produce the most favour- able results ; though, even in such cases, there are many in- stances of the complete success of men under these adverse circumstances. I allude to the case of 279 Highlanders, who, late in the autumn of 1841, arrived, destitute and penniless, at Quebec, having emigrated from the Island of Lewis in the most helpless condition . They were without money or the common necessaries of life ; the period of their arrival was most ill- timed, — the commencement of a Canadian winter, wlren they were precluded from agricultural employment, and could only be occupied in tasks (the felling of timber, and tlie manufacture of ashes) to which they Avere unaccustomed. To add to these difficulties, they spoke no other language than the Gaelic. They would not separate, and they were resolved to cast their lot with some of their brethren who had preceded them, and who had fixed their abode in the Switzerland of America — the eastern townships. Through the humanity of the citizens of Quebec and Montreal, funds were obtained to send them to the townships, and provision them for the winter. They set to work, and, by the manufacture and sale of ashes, they passed through the difficulties of the first season very Avell. Imme- diately before their potatoe crop Avas ready in the last summer, 1-39 Emigrants, from the same portion of Scotland, arrived, and forced themselves upon these ncAv settlers. For a time, the most appalling misery recurred, the inevitable result of this extreme improvidence. Through the timely aid of Mr. Frazer, of Slierbrooke, the threatened famine was averted ; and I feel perfectly sure, that even this, the very Avorst case of improvident Emigration on record, has been attended with this result, that not one of the settlers in the townships of Bury and Lingwick Avould exchange their present for their former situation on any consideration whatever.

" If it Avere necessary to multiply instances, I could refer to the Emigrants sent out by Lord Bathurst, in the years 1817 and 1818, and again in 1824, the Avhole of whom had no reason to regret the exchange, and avIio have proved themselves most useful Colonists. These men Avere Paisley Weavers: but not

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one of tliem has returned to Paisley to again encounter the evils he had there experienced in preference to those of his new abode ; but many of them have sent home money to their poor relations, to enable them to join them. In fact, the result of this Emigration Avas most satisfactory.

" But the great desideratum for tlie benefit of Canada is the establishment of a fixed well-regulated system of Emigration and Colonization, by which the Emigrants should not only be conveyed cheaply, and with due regard to health and comfort to their future abode, but should be located there by those whose judgment and experience enable them to jjrevent the evils that sometimes have resulted from the unaided efibrts of the distressed and ignorant. This was the plan pursued in the townships to Avhich I before alluded ; and thus it is that the wants of the Colony will be supplied, not only in the cultivation of lier lands, but in those other most important wants which every loyal Canadian will agree with me call earnestly for at- tention. Canada and the other provinces want well-directed labour to cultivate their lands ; they want a British population to defend their frontier, and to repress rebellion, should any unfortunate circumstances call the loyalty of the province into action. And here I can, with pride and heartfelt satisfaction, advert to the way in which those Emigrants who had been gra- tuitously carried out, met the call of their country ; grateful for the benefits they enjoyed, they eagerly rallied round their Governor, and repaid the expense of their location by military service, at a time when it was most urgently required. To these brave men, and to the spirit shown by the Canadian Bri- tons in general, does Her Majesty owe the retention of that most valuable portion of her dominions ; and to them do the merchants of Great Britain owe the preservation of that exten- sive and increasing outlet for their manufactures. The Colo- nial Commissioners remind Lord Stanley that recourse must be had to the Imperial Government for sucli a purpose ; and to what source should we look for funds to effect a ureat and last- ing good to the Empire at large? The application of capital to such objects, and to the su])ply of the several wants of these

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Colonies to which I have alluded, and wliich, in spite of the appearances to the eyes of the Colonial Commissioners, are still very far from being- satisfied, would do more to secure regular supplies of British corn raised by British industry, to rivet British influence, to increase British commerce, and relieve the distress of the poor of the United Kingdom, than all the corn laws, poor laws, and tariffs of the collective wisdom of the great contending factions of the state have yet been able to devise.

" The Commissioners proceed, ' Should the supply of labour be forced into excess, as regards the capital for employment, the same evils must, we conceive, arise as those from which the unemployed operatives of Paisley are now seeking to remove themselves.' When bodies of Emigrants return from Canada, as they have lately done from the United States, without em- ployment or support ; when all the waste lands of Canada are cultivated and her farmers no longer anxiously look out for assistance to extend the dominion of the plough ; when the many millions of acres yet affording sustenance only to a few strag- gling hunters, shall possess an ample population, and be con- verted into meadows and corn-fields, then may we look for such a state of things as is here anticipated. But I fear that Park- street will be doomed to change its occupants many times, and even the Colonial Office will have become the seat of many con- tending parties in succession, before such a state of things will exist in a country possessing the vast field for employment, and the easy means of access to it in almost every direction which is afforded by British North America.

" Meantime the hypothesis of a supply of labour in excess of capital for employment is wholly inapplicable and absurd. The poor man's labour is his capital; if he is unable, either by his own means, or the assistance afforded him by others, to set- tle on a few acres of his own, he puts that capital out to interest, by working for his more wealthy neighbour till he can obtain the few articles he wants, to set up on his own account. This has been the case Avith thousands in Canada, and will, it is to be hoped, long continue. The Emigrants from Paisley would not, when once settled under a wise and })rudent system, be-

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come subject to ' the same evils from which they are seeking to remove themselves.' They would not there be subject to the starvation and misery they are enduring at home.

" But the Commissioners think that it will be impossible for Government to provide the Emigrants with employment on their arrival in the Colony. How can this proposition be pre- dicated of a country where such magnificent Avorks are still in progress, and for which the Government have already made provision by their guaranteed loan? — while the Welland and St. Lawrence Canals, and the many other great works now commenced or contemplated, are unfinished, a demand for labour must arise, independent of that required by private per- sons, and by the operations of the public companies that have been formed for the Colonization and settlement of Canada. The judicious employment of the capital of a large and ])ower- ful Association in the location of Emigrants from the United Kingdom cannot fail to yield a due return for the investment, while the dema)id for labour thus created will employ in a man- ner most advantageous for themselves, and for their country, vast numbers of those who are now useless to the community, and scarcely able to obtain a miserable existence for themselves. When I am told by such high authority, that it is impossible for the Government to find employment for the Emigrants on their arrival in Canada, I do not presume to contend that one single Association can cfi^ect what the Imperial Government deems im- possible ; but I fearlessly assert, that such an Association, well conducted, and well supported by those who ought to take an interest in improving tlie condition of their fellow-creatures, and, above all, by the strenuous exertions of the labouring classes themselves, may do much to the supply of the wants of thousands, who are now alike useless to the nation and to them- selves, Avho are now pining in hopeless misery, or looking with anxiety to a Government which they have been taught to be- lieve will extend its protection and aid even to the lowest of its snl)jects.

" But as to this alleged impossibility, let us examine what has already been done. There are three great companies already

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established, having for tlieir oliject the improvement of the waste lands of Canada. Two of them, supported by a respect- able proprietary, and managed by directors of undoubted talent, have confined their views to Emigration alone ; but their opera- tions have not been attended with the success which every such undertaking riclily deserves. But the Canada Company, adopting plans which ])artake more of the nature of Coloniza- tion than either of the others, has been crowned with eminent success; its shares are at a premium, and its shareholders are dividing their profits at the rate of six per cent, per annum. This is a proof of the advantage to arise from a conjoined sys- tem of Emigration and Colonization ; and the more care and attention bestowed on the Emigrant after his location, the more certain and speedy will be the return to the capitalist who shall undertake the task.

*' I should, however, like to ascertain wliat is meant by impossible. It is not impossible to introduce poor-laws, to ex- pend large sums of public money in the erection of work-houses, or to pass severe and stringent laws for the collection of the rates and the management of the poor. Would it not be equally possible for a wise and provident system of Emigration to be established? or for sucli encouragement to be afforded to capitalists, whether as individuals or companies, to adopt and carry on such a system, and to extend the benefit of their plans to the very poorest classes ?

" The Commissioners have done me the honour to allude to my exertions in Scotland on belialf of tlie Colony of Canada, as though I had misled the Emigrants ' in setting forth the ad- vantages which, in a general way, were offered to useful la- bourers who could find their way there.' I have used every endeavour to lay before my fellow-countrymen the advantages they might reasonably hope and confidently expect to reap from their Emigration to Canada; but I never yet stated directly or indirectly, nor to the best of my knowledge have I ever used any expressions tending to create an impression, either that funds or employment would in any event be supplied to them by the Government. I do not, however, enter into the reason-

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ing of the Commissioners, that from some possible misappre- hension on tliis head, much disappointment and suffering would possibly result. If these gentlemen were acquainted with the Colony in question, they would know that the disappointment would be but partial, and the suffering but temporary.

" The Commissioners have spoken of the ' wants' of the Colony, but there are other ' wants' which, though perhaps not in their department, equally merit the attention of the Govern- ment; I mean the 'wants' of the unemployed poor in this country — of your own fellow-townsmen at Paisley, and of the many thousands who are unemployed and starving in so many districts of the empii-e. They want emidoyment and food ; the North American Colonies can supply both, but there is no bridge by which they can pass over. Let Government build the bridge, or let them give encouragement to individuals to do so, exacting or authorising the payment of a toll. In other words, if they will not take up the great question of Emigra- tion themselves, let them give such powers to those who will, as may, under proper regulations, not only secure a proper and legitimate return for the expenditure, but also ensure the last- ing benefit to those who may be glad to avail themselves of such a resource. By this means the wants of the Colonies and the wants of the wretched poor at home will alike be satisfied, markets for our trade will be extended, the connexion of the distant portions of the empire will be riveted, and the Govern- ment will obtain the thanks and blessings of thousands who are now read}^ to perish.

" I have the honour to subscribe myself,

" Dear Sir, your obedient servant,

" Thomas Rolph."

Notwithstanding the disinclination of the Duke of Argyll to resume the ofiice of President, his Grace readily admitted that the necessity for the removal of his surplus population was so pressing and urgent, that he would join any Association that might be established for this purpose, and that if the British American Association could be restored to public favour

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and confidencej be would use liis utmost exertions to procure a charter for it, and obtain it the support of his friends. To effect the restoration of public confidence, I left nothing un- tried, or undone. I had organised a valuable Provisional Com- mittee, and had every prospect of succeeding, when the ship " Barbadoes" was brought back to London, and some of the creditors of the Association singled me out for their attack. I took the most public opportunity, after the Report of the Com- mittee of Inquiry had been made, and sanctioned by, a-jDublic meeting, of sending the following letter to the Editor of the Emigration Gazette; and I feel perfectly persuaded, that had I received the least aid in my exertions from those members whose duty it was to support it, it would have been at this time one of the most useful and flourishing institutions in the British realms.

" 29, New Bridge Street, Blackfriars, " February 22, 1843. " Sir, — The Committee of Inquiry appointed to investigate the various charges which had been lavishly preferred by a large portion of the public press, during ray absence in Canada, against the British American Association, having only just now terminated their arduous and protracted labours; and feeling more than ever thoroughly convinced of the vast utility, prac- ticability, and profit, to be derived by the working and esta- blishment of a powerful Company, having for its object the promotion of Emigration and Colonization in British North America, as a measure of national relief, as well as Colonial benefit; and further, having discovered, by this rigid and searching investigation, the causes which led to the difficulties, deficiencies, embarrassments, and limited operations of the Association, I not only, Sir, avow my determination, in the most public manner, still to adhere to it, but I have also re- solved to invite around it again, in conformity with the special recommendation of that Committee, all its original supporters, patrons, and friends, and confidently trust to see it, under en- larged and improved direction, proper and efficient manage-

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ment, and zealous and well-directed exertions, brought into immediate and extended operation. I am, Sir, emboldened to adopt this course, alike from a conviction of its necessity, as well as from having found a strong disposition, recently evinced, by many who have the ability, power, and the means to join me in this effort ; and with the view of strengthening them in their resolve, I propose to lay before your readers and the public, some facts connected with the progress of settlement in America, and its advancement in prosperity consequent thereon. " The whole history of America is an existing visible proof that it is population which gives value to land ; and that even land of very inferior quality is of far greater value with a popu- lation, than land of very suj)erior quality without. Precisely in the ratio in which population increases does the value of land also augment. Within the memory of the present gene- ration, two hundred acres of land could have been purchased on Long Island, in fee simple, for a less sum than is now ob- tained from the annual rental of one single acre. In the States of Vermont, Ncav Hampshire, and Maine, the land bordering on the Canadian frontier readily sells for as many pounds per acre, as superior land in Canada, immediately contiguous to it, is with difficulty sold for at as many dollars. The Canada Company, hitherto the only successful Land Company esta- blished in British North America, for the acquisition and sale of lands, purchased numerous blocks of land, scattered through the various districts of the province, called Crown reserves. In addition to these purchases, they procured a very extensive territory in the western districts of Canada, called the Huron district, in one huge block; but the latter land, though unsur- passed in intrinsic excellence by any land on that continent, bore no proportion whatever to the much larger price obtained by them in those spots where neither soil nor climate equalled that of the Huron tract, but where there was already a considerable population planted, inducing others to join, and demanded by the rising families of those settled. Even in those townships in the Huron district where the quality of the land is inferior, the land obtaining the highest price, and most generally sought

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for, is that where an existing population is to be found. That Colonization contains within itself every element of wealth, is clearly to be deduced from the rapid increase in the value of those lands that have been long- settled, and well peopled. Some portion of the Bathurst district was first peopled by the distressed inhabitants of Scotland ; the townships where they were distributed had many local disadvantages, detracting from their value ; indeed they might be said to have been, when un- peopled, nearly valueless. They abounded in swamp ;- they were in many parts densely and heavily wooded ; there were no roads nor bridges, and great labour was required to be expended on them before they could be brought under the dominion of the plough ; above all, they were remote from market, they were distant from inland navigation : and therefore the early settlers laboured under ^reat and severe disadvantages. Still these men, from Highland districts, not skilled in agriculture, but possessing strength, good-will, and perseverance, succeeded in obtaining independence, and have cheerfully assisted in their contributions to the relief of their suffering brethren in Scot- land. Zorra, a township abounding in Scotch settlers, is ano- ther striking instance of the immense increase in value de- pendent on an increase of population. It is remote from market, and has only received much addition to its jDopulation within these last few years ; yet that increase has raised the value of its uncultivated lands from two to six and eight dollars per acre. The township of Eramosa is another most successful example. These are the results of partial, unaided Emigration from Scotland. Another instance, well deserving of notice, is to be met with in the Newcastle district, in those townships which were settled by the people from Ireland, that were con- veyed to Canada by Mr. Robinson. The result of this Emigra- tion was not only most gratifying in the townships, but led to the establishment of two flourishing and important towns, Peterborough on the River Otanabee, above the Rice Lake, and Port Hope, on Lake Ontario. Churches, mills, stores, and a large and thriving population, attest the value and importance of these towns, the result of a partial Emigration of but a few

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years. The township of Adelaide, peopled within a very few years, principally by Irish, who had to contend with many and most serious difficulties, is now in a most flourishing and satis- factory condition, and its still waste lands greatly enhanced in value. The beautiful vicinity of Woodstock, settled by English- men principally, now surrounded by elegant mansions and well- cultivated farms, contains many individual properties of some thousand pounds value. The rich township of Dumfries, which, little more than twenty years ago, contained only twenty fami- lies, is another most striking instance of successful settlement. At that time its lands were selling by the Honourable Mr. Dickson and Mr. Shade, at 175.6^. per acre; a high price under such circumstances, but which arose from their peculiar excellence and advantageous locality. This tOAvnship now con- tains 6,000 inhabitants ; and leaving out of the calculation the very valuable properties in Gait and the other villages, its wild lands, favourably situated, readily obtain twenty dollars an acre. An influx of 6,000 inhabitants has given, in twenty years, an increase of value to the surrounding undisposed-of land, in about ten-fold proportion ; to that, in cultivation, an increase much more extraordinary. But suppose the whole 6,000 had been located by the exertions and enterprise of any public- spirited proprietor in one or two years, what a rich harvest would he have reaped for his labours? The increase of value arising from increase of population may almost be reduced to arithmetical calculation.

*' Sir Allan Macnab, in a recent communication to me, informs me, that the splendid tract of land bordering on the Grand River, and belonging to the Six Nation Indians, abound- ing in the finest timber and richest soil, and a locality un- equalled in Canada, amounting to 150,000 acres, is at the disposal of the Association, on the most favourable and advan- tageous terms, payable in ten yearly equal instalments. An enormous profit may be made in such a district, possessing the most fertile soil, salubrious and agreeable climate, and enjoying one of the best water communications in the province, long- before the ten years would expire, from the judicious planting

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293

of many thousancl Emigrants each year, while each hand would add greatly to the value of the lands near which they would he located. It must not be forgotten, that the remission of duty which has lately taken place on many of the Canadian articles of produce, the still further indulgence with regard to flour, contemplated by the present Ministry, and the imposition of a protective duty on corn and flour sent from the United States into Canada, has already added very greatly to the value of Colonial lands. The alarm consequent upon the first alteration of the timber duties having subsided, it has been found that the white pine, at any rate, still commands the English market ; and that in the other descriptions, the competition with the Baltic is not so hopeless as was imagined. My attention has hitherto been confined to the remote, though fertile districts of Western Canada. Let me now take up the question, in regard to the scarcely less productive tracts in the eastern division of the province, where the Association has secured some extensive seigniories, which possess the imjiortant advantage of water- carriage, and a very short distance from the great and valuable shipping ports of Montreal and Quebec. I will adduce the noble seigniories of Carufel and Lanaudicre, on the north side of the St. Lawrence, and on the banks of that beautiful stream, the River Maskinonge, a river which science would easily render navigable, and would thereby open a vast communication with the extensive lake of the same name, and Avitli an enormous extent of land only requiring population to acquire value. In- deed its very impediments, giving great hydraulic powers, afford mill seats which would, by their sale or rental, defray the cost of the necessary improvements. The pine of the north would, for years, afford ample employment to any num- ber of saw-mills erected on this valuable stream, and the rich lands around the lake, and its many fine tributaries, would keep at work a number of grist-mills well calculated to afford an ample revenue to the owners. The same arguments apply to the valuable seignories of D'Aillebout and De Ramsay, situate on the banks of a river already navigable to within four miles of their limits, and flowing directly to the St. Lawrence.

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They offer a fine field for the British agriculturist who purposes to forward his produce to the English market, while the timber, from tlie various streams and lakes intersecting the properties in evei'y direction, can be easily floated down to the place of export. In both these districts the judicious formation of villages or small market-towns would add ten-fold to the value of the remainder of the property. The careful selection and wise encouragement of the first band of settlers on these noble pro- perties, would ensure the well-being of those who might follow; and the rapid demand for the land, consequent on the safe and certain market for its produce, would operate in a geometrical ratio to the speedy settlement of the whole of these important and valuable seigniories, and on the most advantageous terms. Nor is precedent wanting to demonstrate that these prospects are neither speculative nor visionary. The now wealthy and prosperous settlers in the Johnstown, Newcastle, Home, Prince Edward, Gore, and London districts, more especially in the townships of Edwardsburg, Cavan, Wilmot, Waterloo, &:c., bear ample witness to the great advantage to be derived from judicious assistance to industrious settlers; and I am fully borne out in boldly asserting, that had the assistance which was afforded by the British Government to many of the settlers in the Newcastle district, been merely loaned to them, instead of being freely given, the present great and improving value of their flourishing farms and happy homesteads, would have enabled their now independent proprietors, formerly destitute labourers, easily to have discharged their debt.

" It would be difficult, indeed, to overrate the present advan- tages and the prospective value of the estates acquired by the Association on the most eligible and accessible portion of the coast of Gaspe. Indeed, this territory offers such signal, such peculiar facilities for the settlement of industrious Emigrants, the profitable and permanent occupation of wood-cutters, miners, or coal- workers, fishermen, Szc, that, in my present letter, I can only glance at some of the more prominent features, which recommend it to them for occupation, and to capitalists for investment. And in reference to these points, it may be suffi-

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cient to remark, that it possesses, in the first place, the best harbour, Port Daniel, in a coast line of 150 miles ; that within the limits of the bay, by which it is indented, one of the most productive fisheries to be found in those latitudes offers a sure and annual liarvest of abundant profit to all who, encouraged by the lucrative exjjerience of the American adventurers, who have hitherto almost exclusively engrossed the benefit of the fishing, may choose to embark in it. That immediately adjacent to this port, and included within the limits of this magni^cent property, a rich coal-field, of 3,500 acres, occurs in the precise locality where it can be most advantageously worked for the supply of that fuel, the consumption of which will be limited only by the increasing demands of the growing steam-naviga- tion, Avhich, year after year, is connecting the remoter, and multiplying the intermediate points of communication along the vast sea-board of British America. On how advantageous terms this Gaspe property has been acquired, a single fact may perhaps demonstrate ; nearly four times the amount of the entire purchase-money to be paid by the Association for the whole territory, was ofi^ered for a portion of it, only six years ago, by a company of intelligent American capitalists, resident in the United States, and who, from the vicinity of their position, must be presumed to have been well qualified to appreciate its value. It has been also demonstrated, in the prospectus now being issued by the Association, that the quantity of timber ne- cessary to furnish the large saw-mills, the annual profit in the produce of which is estimated at many thousand pounds ster- ling, can be supplied off this property for sixty years to come.

" The conclusion is obvious and irresistible, and the course of the Association capable of demonstration. Its funds are invested on lands — on land which must improve, more or less rapidly, according to the measures pursued, and the success in obtaining good settlers ; the success will depend on the encou- ragement held out, which it has been determined shall be so regulated as to afford to perseverance and industry the certainty of the full reward which they so Avell deserve ; and to those individuals who may be impelled by entei-prise, patriotism.

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legitimate profit, and warm philanthropy, to embark their capital — a safe investment, and highly remunerative return. " I am, Sir, your most olDcdient servant,

" Thomas Rolph."

On the 10th of March, a meeting of commercial gentlemen took place at the House of the Association, W. Richardson, Esq., in the chair, when after considering the arrangements for land, and discussing the principles of operation, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : — "That this meeting con- siders the Reports made, and the statements submitted, to be highly satisfactory, and such as to afford a well-founded gua- rantee for entertaining the opinion, that the Association, upon its original principles, should be steadily carried out ; there apjiearing to this meeting to be no valid room for apprehend- ing that the Association, under an extended and efficient management, can fail to be attended with the most eminent success, whether considered with reference to the interests of the shareholders, or the benefit of those classes who intend to emigrate."

The Duke of Argyll having arrived in town on the 20tli of March, the day following, a letter was addressed by Sir R. Broun to his Grace, acquainting him, that since my return from Inverary, every possible exertion had been used by us to com- ply with those suggestions which had been thrown out in the conferences which I had then had with him ; that the circum- stance, however, of his Grace's declining to return to the office of President, and refusing any pecuniary aid, had hitherto pre- sented an insuperable barrier to making the progress which otherwise would have been successfully realised ; that the sum of £193,000, (as shown by the prospectus then ready to be issued), would not only cover all the past expenses, but place the shareholders in the possession of properties amounting to 443,594 acres, estimated to be worth not less than £400,000, taking into account the joint objects cf the Association ; that his Grace had it still in his power, by his personal co-operation, to fill up the vacancies in the managing Board with men of

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sufficient influence and wealth to carry out the Association on its original principles; that we tendered our aid to his Grace and the other shareholders for that purpose ; but that should he, however, decline the overture made on our part, we had then no other alternative left but to relinquish any further efforts to sustain the Association ; that his Grace was aware, from the beginning of these troubles, that we had looked upon this matter as one less of money than of reputation ; that the whole loss that would eventually accrue to the shareholders, if the Association could be sustained, could not exceed one or two thousand pounds ; that if an Association called for by the urgent distress of multitudes of our suffering fellow-countrymen, and which contemplated the highest aims of philanthropy and commercial enterprise, should be allowed to go down, it must be upon his Grace's responsibility; and that, in such a case, we should have to accuse ourselves of no laches in this matter, and had now no other alternative left, than to convey to him these our joint conclusions.

Even at this eleventh hour, £500 would have saved the Association; but, acting under the most fatuous advice, his Grace took no notice of this letter, and shortly afterwards the establishment was completely broken up. Upon this event it is unnecessary for me to pronounce any opinion; but consider- ing that, within a twelvemonth from this date, the New Zealand Company has suspended its operations, after an expenditure of £500,000, it is to be hoped that the Sir John Piries — and their name was Legion — who discovered a mote in the vision of the British American Association, will sooner or later discern the beam in their own. On this subject I shall not further dwell ; but it is some satisfaction that the close of my long corre- spondence with Lord Cloncurry, in 1839, contained the fol- lowing monition :

" Having now, my Lord, trespassed greatly on your patience, respecting the state and condition of the western hemisphere, permit me to say a few words respecting South Australia and New Zealand. Of the former, it being a Colony of the British Crown, I cannot but wish it prosperity ; but surely the melan-

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clioly accounts received this summer, and the utter impossibi- lity of its requiring much labour, from its naturally sterile soil, will induce reflecting persons to pause before they make up their minds to proceed to our Antipodes. Of New Zealand, 1 must say, that its connexion with Great Britain is disputed, and will continue to be disputed ; that the title to property is alto- getlier defective ; that its distance is extreme : but, leaving all these disadvantages out of the question, the following account of the natives, from disinterested authority, would prove suflS- cient to quell the mania which has existed about emigrating to it.

" In Mr. Murray's admirable descriptive geography, written as recently as 1834, and speaking of New Zealand, he says, ' The natives are of a different race from those of New Holland, belonging ratlier to that Malay race which predominates in the South Sea Islands. They are tall and well formed, with large black eyes ; they are intelligent, have made some progress in the arts of life, and are united in a certain form of political so- ciety. These circumstances, however, have only tended to develope, in a still more frightful degree, those furious passions which agitate the breast of the savage. Each little society is actuated by the deepest enmity against all their neighbours ; their daily and nightly thought is to exterminate them ; and when they have gained the guilty triumph, it is followed by the dire consummation of devouring their victims. Among the many projects wliich have been lately floating through the minds of our countrymen, one has been to form a settlement in this country, for the purposes of Emigration ; but surely, till every other sphere is exhausted, no wise man would venture into a situation where the colonists would soon find themselves in a hostile position w ith regard to the natives, and would be every moment in danger of being attacked, killed, and eaten by these furious savages.' — Pages 1506 and 7, Encyclojiadia of Geography, edited hy Hugh Murray, Esq., F.R.S., Edinburgh. " Extract from Mr. Marsden's letter to Mr. Bickersteth,Se2)t. 25, 1831 : — ' What the New Zealanders are indignant against the Europeans for is, their joining either party in their wars.

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This conduct they will resent, unless those in authority take measures to prevent it. Many desperate characters, who either are or have been convicts, escape to New Zealand, and mix up with the natives, and are capable of committing any crime.'

" ' Mr. Marshall was asked. Do you conceive that it is in the power of the natives to destroy all those European resi- dents, whenever they should feel an inclination so to do? — I think it is almost always in their power. The exceptions are, when there are a number of whalers laying in the Bay of Islands, and all those whalers are generally armed ; and when His Majesty's vessels arc there, which are, of course, armed vessels ; then they would fear a retaliation.

" ' These New Zealanders were formerly represented as a most ferocious race ; according to your statement, they must be very much improved of late. To what do you ascribe the amelioration of manners? — There, again, I must distinguish between two sets of New Zealanders, the one body consisting of the natives that have been brought under the influence of your Christian Missionaries ; and by frequent intercourse with your European settlers of the better class, have, in some mea- sure, become moulded into the character of the men with whom they have associated. Another body of natives, those, for in- stance, among whom we were dealing, have never been visited by missionaries ; they have never felt the influence of a more civilized society in their midst : and whether they are more or less ferocious than they formerly were, I have no means of say- ing, or whether that ferocity ever was what it is generally stated to have been, I cannot say.' "

On the 28th of March, the following memorial was pre- sented to the Prime Minister, by 1865 leading merchants, bankers, shipowners, and others of the City of London, show- ing—

" That the memorialists are of opinion, that Colonization, conducted on a large scale and sound principles, offers a safe and effectual means of augmenting trade, affording employment for various classes, and removing some of the causes of general distress ; and that, impressed with the necessity of doing

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sometliing for improving the state of the country, they earnestly hope that Her Majesty's Government will take the subject of systematic Colonization into their immediate and serious con- sideration, with a view of ascertaining in what manner the best practical results may be attained.

*' That the memorialists address themselves to the head of Her Majesty's Government, because they conceive that, in the present condition of the country, the subject of systematic Colonization is rather of great national importance, than one in which the Colonies have a particular interest."

About the same period a special meeting of the Colonial Society was held, the Earl of Mountcashell presiding, when the two following resolutions were carried unanimously : —

*' That in the opinion of this Society, extended Emigration would materially conduce to the welfare of the whole British Empire, and that the state of the whole British Empire is emi- nently deserving of the serious and immediate attention of Her Majesty's Government.

" That this Society, identified as it is with the >vell-being of the Colonies, considers it to be its duty, at the present period, to submit to her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, its earnest hope that his Lordship will use his power- ful influence to promote and extend Colonization, as a measure of great relief and importance to the Parent State, as well as one in which the Colonics have an immediate and vital interest."

These resolutions were embodied in a memorial, and pre- sented by the Earl of Mountcashell, Colonel Taylor, Mr. M. Martin, and myself, to Lord Stanley, as a deputation from the Society.

On the 6th of April, Mr. Charles BuUer brought forward the general subject of Colonization, in the House of Commons, in a speech of great ability. In the general views of that gen- tleman I concur, but certainly not in those relative to Canada ; and that portion of his speech I extract, in order to state my objections to it : —

" A plan for this object has been suggested, of which I will briefly state the outline, for the purpose of its being fully con-

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sidered, both liere and in Canada. The Government might at once determine to take into its own hands the whole of the wild lands in Canada, compensating the proprietors for the present value of them. For this purpose a general valuation of all the appropriated wild lands of the province would be the first step necessary ; a process, doubtless, requiring some time and ex- pense, but nothing like what the mention of a general valuation suggests to us in this country. For it would be wrong, as it would be impossible, in Canada, to fix a special value on each acre. The value of an estate there is mainly determined by considerations of position and general character, which apply to vast extents of territory, and every valuation, therefore, must be framed on a large scale. The present value of all those lands might easily be ascertained ; for though, if all brought into the market now, they would probably not sell at all, still there is, in every district of Canada, a price which it is calcu- lated that a purchaser wishing to buy any particular lot would give for it, and below which the proprietors would generally entertain no offer of purchase. This would be the value ; but it should be provided, as I think is just in all cases of compul- sory appropriation for public purposes, that the compensation should always equal any sum actually paid for the land by the present proprietor. The value might be as much higher as the valuers might think that altered circumstances had rendered just ; but the price actually paid by the existing proprietor should always be the minimum of the value placed on his estate. The proportional interest of each proprietor of wild lands being thus ascertained, I do not propose that the Government, on taking the land, should compensate him by actual payment of the estimated purchase-money. For recollect what the actual value of the land to those proprietors is. It is totally unpro- ductive ; it brings no rent ; no money can be raised on it, even by way of mortgage. It has a kind of fancied value in the market ; but even this value is a deferred one. At the present rate of settlement, the jiroprietor cannot count on getting any- thing from his land for many long years. In taking the wild land, therefore, we may fairly say that the Government takes

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that wliicli brings in no present income, and cannot at present be sold. If the Government, in taking the land, ensures to the proprietor a payment of its value at as early a period as he would get it in if left m his own possession, he is no loser; if the Government, having got possession of his wilderness, can, by means of a sound and vigorous system of Colonization, sell the land faster than he could, he is a gainer. I should propose, therefore, to pay the proprietor by debentures in a land stock, of which the total amount should consist of as many pounds as there would be in the total estimated value of the property resumed, and of which each proprietor's share should be of the amount at which his own lands were estimated. On these de- bentures I would pay no interest, because I see no justice in a claim for interest where the property taken brings in no income. But as the Government sold the land, it should pay each pur- chaser a dividend, until the whole stock was paid off. Thus, suppose there to be 14,000 000 of acres of surveyed and appro- priated, but wild land, in Upper Canada ; and that the value of this were to be taken at four millions — I have really no reason for fixing this value, but take it quite arbitrarily, because I must take some number — I would create a stock of four millions, Suppose one proprietor has 10,000 acres, valued at £1 a piece; another, also 10,000 acres, estimated at 25. a piece. The first should have £1,000. Neither should receive interest; but, supposing £100,000 to be got in the year by land sales, over and above prior charges on the proceeds, I would apply this sum to pay off the stock, which I should thus reduce 2 1-2 per cent., and the first proprietor would get £250, and the latter £25. If the land sales produced an applicable fund of £1,000,000, a quarter of the whole stock would be paid off", and the first proprietor would get £2,500 and the second £250. My argument to recommend this to the proprietors would be very simple. I should say to them, that by this arrangement they would get as much as they can ever expect under the pre- sent system to get for their estates ; that in the hands of the Government, vigorously employing itself to give a value to those lands by a sound system of disposing of them, and by a

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large measure of Colonization, the whole price would be much sooner got than it could be realised by the absentee proprietors; and that whereas they now get no annual return, each proprietor would, in proportion to the Government sales, and without any exertion on his own part, get an annual instalment of greater or less amount. I should further remind them, that, at any rate, by this arrangement they would secure themselves the original purchase-money of their land, and something more, if the pre- sent value was greater than the original cost; and tluit, if things are left as they are, they will infallibly, according to the general practice of North America, and the received notions of public justice current there, be subjected to a wild land tax, imposed either by general or by municipal authority, which will more or less rapidly take their estates from them, without any compensation at all. The arrangement, therefore, is one which must be advantageous to them. The advantage to the public would be, that the Government would thus get the whole of the granted wild lands into its hands, and might establish a plan for giving an increased value to them and its other lands, by a sound system of disposing of them, subject to no obstruction from private competition, and by applying the surplus proceeds to promote extensive Colonization.

" Of course it cannot be supposed that I mean any extensive improvement of the country to be effected merely by the actual produce of the land sales in the first years of applying this system. I contemplate, as was proposed in my Report, antici- pating that produce by a loan. The payment of the interest, and then of the principal of that loan, would be the first charges on the purchase-money of the land. But I should propose that this House should guarantee the payment of the interest; and this, not because I believe that it would ever be called upon actually to pay, but because such a guarantee would admit of the money being raised at a very low rate of interest. Sir, even if this country should actually have to take the debt upon itself, and pay the interest for ever, I would not scruple, con- sidering the object to be attained, to propose our taking the burden upon ourselves. Suppose that a loan of two millions

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should be raised at four per cent., which would amount to an annual charge of £80,000, and that by means of the system thus established, we could, as I feel very confident we should, double the present annual amount of Emigration to Canada. Who would refuse to pay £80,000 a-year, in order to enable ■40,000 more of our countrymen to emigrate every year? It would be carrying on Emigration at the rate, after all, of £2 a-head. And if these 40,000 Emigrants were landed in Canada, and, from paupers fed by our bounty, became customers de- manding and paying for our goods, the cost incurred on their account would be paid over and over again, by the mere addi- tion to our revenue which would result from the increase in our trade which they must create. But I lay this down merely as a position, which I should not scruple to defend, if driven to it. I have not the slightest fear of the produce of the land sales proving insufficient for the discharge of every claim upon it."

To these propositions of Mr. Buller, I offer the following objections :

The proposition that Government should resume the owner- ship of the lands, is perfectly untenable. These lands, now held by individuals, are a source of public revenue to the country, that is to each district, and taking Mr. Buller's esti- mate, of 14,000,000 of acres, the various districts would lose a revenue a])plicable to local purposes only, of about £20,000 annually. Of course the moment the lands now held by indi- viduals sliould pass to the Crown, that moment this local tax would terminate, and a direct tax would then have to be levied, to meet the purposes provided for by the present tax upon wild lands.

Mr. Buller contends tliat it would be wrong " to fix a spe- cial value on each acre," and therefore steps must be taken to obtain a general valuation. By the recommendation of this step, he manifests great want of knowledge of the country that he proposes to colonize. He would not value each acre separately, but he must value the lots as they are laid off, as they are patented ; and it frequently occurs, that one lot may

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be worth 20s. an acre, wliile the adjoining lot is almost value- less; and Mr. Biiller would find, that in purchasing from the present proprietors, he would receive no small quantity of this latter quality, and, except by compulsion, not a great deal of the former. A large quantity of the wild lands of Canada are held by substantial farmers, who have families growing up, and who have invested a large amount of their savings in procuring this domain, for settling their children as they grow up. Is it reasonable or right that these men should be deprived of their investments, that when their children become of a suitable age to clear the forest, and commence the world for themselves, that then, and only then, the parent is to look out for lands upon which to settle them ; and this because the parent state has taken from him his individual property for her redun- dant population? The idea is not to be entertained for one moment ; and it is only surprising how Mr. Buller could have conceived this notion of despoiling the honest yeomen of the country.

With regard to the possessions of large quantities of land, which Mr. Buller calls estates, and speaks of them in a manner as though these 10,000 acres were in a block and formed but one estate, as regards these individuals, they are for the most part involuntary possessors of the same. The Montreal and Quebec merchants have taken these lands in payment from the country merchants who became possessed of them in the course of business. Is it right then to say to these gentlemen, — the Government want your lands, and you must give them at such a price as we think they are worth ? You have paid 20^. an acre, have paid taxes on them for several years, until the lands have become more valuable ; but you must forego all these, and yield up your claim to us? It is true, that the interest of the investment, together with the tax, will have doubled the amount of your original purchase; yet, if you paid £5,000 at the time, and now by these means they stand you in £8,000, you must charge the £3,000 to profit and loss ; for we cannot, and will not, pay you more than you paid for the land fifteen or twenty years ago? — Could this be called justice?

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If tbe full value of tlie land is to be paid, what necessity is tliere to re-convey to the Government, more especially if land fairly appraised was to be allowed to form a portion of the capital stock of a voluntary Association for Colonization. In 1840 many proprietors were Avilling to make free grants, how far more ready Avould they be to unite their lands Avith British capital, to render them useful and productive. Indi- viduals are just as capable of effecting sales as Government agents; and generally those Emigrants who purchased from individuals, are more successful in their labours than those who purchase from the Government. Few, very few Government sales are punctually closed; and this being known, the Emi- grant seldom exerts himself to comply with the terms of his purchase.

It is then said that the land is entirely unproductive, as it now remains, in the hands of the proprietors ; and for this reason, the Government should not pay interest on the amount of purchase. Tiiis is not the case. The country is constantly settling, and of course the more it settles the more valuable the lands become. But Mr. Buller would not only take the lands at a set valuation, instead of a fair appraisement by those wdio were willing to unite their lands with the British capi- talists, but, after having done this, would deprive the pro- prietors of the right of drawing interest on the amount of sales effected with the Government ; when it is well known that in all such transactions Government, as well as individuals, in- variably charge interest from the day of sale, and it is certain, if Colonization was carried on by means of their lands and British money, they would receive the same dividend as the individual investing capital.

Mr. Buller states, " that at the present rate of settlement, the proprietor cannot count on getting anything from his land for many long years." This also is incorrect. Take any of the counties in the eastern districts for example : lands, the pro- perty of individuals and of the Canada Company are settling- fast, while Government lands are comparatively seldom pur- chased ; and even in those cases where Government lands are

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becoming patented to individuals, it arises from individual enterprise, and is frequently more of a private arrangement than a transaction with the Government.

But in alluding to " the present rate of settlement," Mr. Buller does this in contradistinction to his proposed measure, and would lead to the inference that his Colonization scheme would settle it rapidly. Mr. Buller, however, has to learn a few facts connected with any forced system of Emigration. The Emigrants whom he calls pauper Emigrants, who are to he shipped to Canada at a cost of £2 a-liead, are not generally the Emigrants who will turn to woods and forests, and aid in bringing the land under cultivation, Avithout lands were pre- pared for them, habitations erected, and every inducement held out to them to persevere in their new toil. Then indeed they might and would flourish.

Mr. Buller is wrong, when he speaks of the present rate of settling the country ; he is wrong when he says the lands held by individuals cannot be sold; and he is wrong Avhen he says that they do not increase in value as they now are : but he is perfectly correct in saying that all that is still comparatively profitless, would be immediately valuable and productive, and add value to all around, if any sound system of Colonization was established, whether it was by the Government or by pri- vate combination.

After alluding to the scheme of issuing debentures, he then says, "supposing £100,000 to be got by land sales!!!" How does ho expect to obtain this £100,000? By sales of lands to Emigrants, who cannot afford to pay their passage, but who are sent out by the Government at £2 a-head. Does he intend to exact the full payment down, when this needy Emigrant goes on the land? If so, where is it to come from? All who know what a Canadian bush-life is, are aware that this is impossible ; — nay more, unless such Emigrants have ad- ditional aid to the amount of £10, £15, or £20 for the first year or two, it will be a hard matter for them to get along at all. With this aid, only to be procured by conjoining the means of the capitalist with the voluntary subscription in capital

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Stock, of the tracts of land retained by the land-owner, and this fairly appraised, can Colonization be rendered mutually bene- ficial and available to all parties, — landowners, capitalists, and Emigrants.

Mr. Buller then says that "his argument to recommend this to the proprietors would be very simple." I think he is inistaken if he supposes these proprietors would give up their "estates" for half their cost: although I do not doubt that Government would use its energies to give a value to those lands, when they belonged to it, and by which means the pre- sent proprietors would soon receive their pay. Of course this additional value, after parting with property, must be a great consideration ; and to receive half the value of property in a short time, when the proprietors could afford to wait a longer period, and obtain the full value, is, to say the least of it, a very feeble argument, — that Government would take their "estates," and give them an acknowledgment for them; and when Government sold these estates, they would pay them 2.^ per cent. : and to render this transfer the more valuable, they would receive this 2| per cent, on the capital, without having anything to do or say in the matter. He would then tell them " that if things are left as they are, they will infallibly, accord- ing to the general practice in North America, and the received notions of public justice current there," be subjected to a wild land tax, which will ultimately take their land without any compensation.

The tax upon wild land must be in proportion to the taxes upon other property, and there is no fear in Canada of any " notions of justice" depriving people of their lands without paying for them. But mark the injustice in this matter. — As soon as Government obtains the possession of those lands, and they are no longer opposed by individuals, they will give an increased value to the lands, and this by individual sacrifice. This is surely not a characteristic of British Justice.

I certainly agree with Mr. Buller, that the mother country should pay the expense of Emigration. The relief afforded to the Empire is of infinitely greater value than the benefit con-

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ferred on the Colonies ; and if an annual appropriation were made, and properly expended, some good might be done. If there is an inclination to pay for Emigration, many plans have been suggested, by which Emigrants might be induced to take to the tilling of the soil, and by which they might be prepared to endure the hardships of a forest life. Were this done, not only the 40,000 Emigrants spoken of by Mr. Buller, but 1,000,000 might indeed be converted from so many paupers into so many consumers of British manufactures, who 'would increase England's trade and Canada's exjiorts : but if Mr, Buller's plan were to be adopted, and these 40,000 Emigrants were not to be provided for for the first year of their residence in the Colony, they would only be so many paupers sent from England, without benefit to themselves, to Canada, to the mother country, or to any class of the community. The only legitimate scheme for Colonization is to render the consideration of land, equitably appraised, an equal equivalent to money, combining it in subscription as the capital stock for such an Association ; and in the proper selection, judicious distribution, and comfortable location of Emigrant families, it would then become a valuable arrangement and profitable investment.

On the 5th of August I left Liverpool, and arrived at Boston on the 19th, and proceeded to Canada, to make all the necessary arrangements for the removal of such of its coloured jjopulation who might desire to accompany me to Trinidad.

The same motives which had led me to espouse the Emi- gration of the unemployed labouring classes from the United Kingdom to Canada, induced me to advocate, still more strongly, the voluntary removal of the coloured population from Canada to the West Indies. Sir Henry Macleod, after several conferences with me on the subject, appointed me the agent for that purpose in Canada, on behalf of Trinidad.

The present anomalous condition of the coloured peojde in British North America, and of Canada in particular, the cer- tainty of the serious declension of West India property, and diminution of West India produce, without a very large' addi- tion to tlie labourers in those Colonies, equally conspire to ren^

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tier this Emigration one of great national interest and import- ance. Their numbers in Canada, at the present time, scarcely fall short of 20,000, and they are annually increased by the successful escape of many fugitive slaves from the United States. They abound principally in the Western District, where a strong and unconquerable aversion on the part of the white inhabi- tants is felt to them on many grounds. In making their escape from slavery they encounter incredible hardships, great priva- tions, and run the most imminent risk of capture. They have to travel through many hundred miles of hostile territory, sleeping in morasses, caverns, or in trees, during the day, and pursuing their journey in the night. But few females accom- pany them ; thus amalgamation, and sometimes outrage, has heightened the prejudice with which they are viewed by the white people. Further, they occu])y that field in the Western District of Canada, which its inhabitants have always desired to reserve for their poor and industrious fellow-subjects from the Biitish Isles. I am far from disputing their full right to equal countenance with the labourers from the United King- dom ; but I am stating an undeniable fact. They are looked upon with disfavour ; they are excluded from the public schools; they are appointed to no public situations ; they have great difficulty in obtaining land ; they seldom advance, from their less ability to cope with the climate than Europeans ; they con- sume their summer's earnings by their winter's necessities; and they therefore present an unfavourable contrast with the hardy white labourer, who soon becomes acclimated, and by his phy- sical energies exchanges poverty for independence. But whilst the negro in Canada is rarely seen greatly to improve his con- dition as a settler in the woods, many instances have been seen of their extraordinary progress in those more genial climates, the West India Islands ; and some who went to Jamaica from Canada, through the first generous assistance, in that be- nevolent cause, of Niell Malcolm, Esq., are amongst the grati- fying proofs of this success. Mr. Hiram Wilson, a person from the United States, who has devoted himself for years past to the improvement of the coloured population in Canada, gave

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the following answers, in 1839, to a series of interrogatories forwarded to him from Andover, in the United States : —

4. " Do tliey settle promiscuously among white inhabitants, or in villages by themselves t — They ai-e located in settlements by themselves in many parts of the province, and are also scat- tered among the white inhabitants. The most jiopulous settle- ments are in the Western District, near the head of Lake Erie. In that part of Canada which is the most southerly point, they are very numerous, and rajjidly increasing. In the London District there are two settlements, besides a considerable num- ber in and around the village of London. One of these settle- ments is called the Wilberforce colony. It is situated sixteen miles west by north of London, Though much has been said about the Wilberforce colony, it has never flourished, and is now inferior to several other settlements. The population is not over 100. Immense sums of money have been collected for the benefit of that colony ; but unfortunately it has fallen into perfidious hands, and is worse than lost. Large numbers are scattered abroad in the Niagara and Gore Districts, partly in settlements, partly in villages, and partly interspersed through the country. In the Home District they are quite numerous, particularly in and around Toronto. There is quite a large set- tlement of them in the county of Simcoe, seventy miles from here, where the Government granted them lands of the best quality for one shilling per acre. Large numbers have enlisted in the military service. Queen Victoria has a regiment in the province divided into companies, and stationed at different military posts, for the protection and defence of the country.

5. " Is there much prejudice among the inhabitants; if so, in what forms is it exhibited? — In some parts of the province, particularly along the frontiers, the coloured people are con- siderably annoyed by the same inhuman prejudice which is most shamefully prevalent in the States. Where ' old country people ' have the ascendancy, and consequently the moulding of customs and manners, there is not the same prejudice to dis- turb them. Prejudice against colour exhibits itself on this side, much as it does in the United States ; but even where it

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is the strongest, the coloured people have the satisfaction of knowing that the laws are equal and impartial, and that they stand upon the same broad platform of natural and constitu- tional rights with those of the florid hue. Prejudice in this country, as in the States, obtains rather among the ignorant and vicious than among the intelligent and respectable. It is evidently unnatural, of slaveholding affinity, hellish in origin, and ought to be rebuked and dismissed from the human breast, and sent down to its proper place.

6. " How does the climate agree with them, and do they look upon Canada as their permanent residence? — The cli- mate agrees wath them. They are generally a vigorous, atldetic, and healthy people, except in cases where their constitutions have been impaired previously to their entering the country. Generally they do not regard this country as their PERMANENT HOME, uulcss slavcry should be perpetuated in the southern States. Should a general emancipation, for which they long and pray, take place, the majority would soon speed their way back to the embrace of their brethren and kindred at the south. It is to be remembered that this aftlicted people have, in most cases, broken away from cruel oppression, and at the same time sundered the dearest ties that bind human beings together ; hence it is natural to suppose, that if their grievances and civil disabilities were removed, and they could enjoy un- molested what the American Declaration declares to be the inalienable right of all men, ' life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' with rare exceptions, we should see them making, if possible, greater speed to the south than they ever have northward. I have long been familiar among these self-exiled ones, and do not doubt their readiness to return to their kin- dred and country, as soon as their safety and the restoration of their rights would permit.

7. " In what business do they chiefly engage? — They have generally been bred up to industrious habits, and are ready to turn their hands to any employment by which they can gain an honest livelihood. Considerable numbers are engaged in me- chanical pursuits. Th(!y find constant employment, and many

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of them are doing good business. Some are carpenters, some house-joiners, masons, white-washers, painters, blacksmiths, shoe-makers, tailors, &c. &c. Many are engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. In some instances coloured men have been very successful cultivators of the soil, and many more would be, but for the fact that they have not the means of purchasing land. Numbers of them are engaged as small traders, jobbers, day labourers, barbers, cooks, waiters. Sec, in public houses, and on steam-boats and schooners. Unless broken dovm by misfortune, old age, or infirmities, as is sometimes the case, they all take care of themselves."

Being myself an ardent friend of the coloured race, and agreeing in the main with the substance of Mr. Wilson's replies, I am bound to state, that the magistrates of the western dis- trict, who form a very different estimate, in 1840 addressed a powerful appeal to the Government, in which document, after stating the grounds of their objection to their extension in that district, prayed " some legislative check might be placed upon the rapid importation of this unfortunate race, such as have of late inundated this devoted section of the province, to the great detriment of the claims of the poor Emigrant from the mother country upon our consideration. We deem it desirable, that the increase of the coloured population in the various town- ships, during the last five years, should if possible be ascer- tained from the public documents of the district, and that the different assessors should be requested henceforward either to enter them separately in their rolls, or to distinguish them by some j^articular mark opposite their names, so that their num- ber and date of arrival may be readily ascertained.

" In the mean time, most happy shall we be if the publicity given to our too well founded deliberate opinion on this lament- able subject shall not only have such an effect upon the more respectable coloured settlers as a body, as to induce them to institute among themselves some reciprocal wholesome watch- ful check upon each other's moral conduct, but lead to so vigilant an observance, on the part of all magistrates and other public officers, of the character of all new comers in their

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neighbourhood, as shall tend to discourage any further impor- tation of this unfortunate race."

Thus, whilst the white inhabitants of Canada are instituting measures to keep the coloured population from settling within their limits, the proprietors in the West Indies are calliug out for their labour. In pursuance of my duties, I met the co- loured population of the Western District at Colchester, Sand- wich, and Amherstburg, on the 5th, Gtli, and 9th of October. They assembled in throngs to listen to me, and I addressed them as follows : —

" My Friends, — I thank you for your very numerous atten- dance this day, as well as for tlie cordial congratulation I have met with from you on my return to this province. In the year 1834, I had the honour of being elected unanimously your agent ; and, since that period, it luis atibrded me the greatest gratification to have represented you in the two large conven- tions, held in the British metropolis in 1840, and during the present year. You will not, therefore, readily believe that I would accept of any situation, proffer you any advice, furiiish you with any information, that I did not conscientiously believe was for your j)ermanent improvement, advancement, and pros- perity.

" You are well aware that, since the year 1839, I have been entirely devoted to the promotion of Emigration from the parent state to this province ; and, during a great portion of that time, in the public service, Avith the sanction and by the authority of Government. It was no desire on my part to see my fellow-countrymen and subjects leave their mother country, that induced me to undertake the arduous and responsible duty of imparting that information and knowledge which they sought for previous to their embarkation ; but a sincere wish that their occupation and settlement, on their arrival here, when they had voluntarily determined on removal, might be facilitated, and that they should not wander through the province without some previous acquaintance as to those localities where they were required, and might be profitably employed. Of the thousands of my fellow-countrymen, — whether the peasantry

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from England, the labourers from Ireland, the fishermen and yeomen from Scotland, or the miners from Wales, — who have settled in this province, I can lay my hand on my heart and boldly declare, that never have I received, from any one amongst them, one word of upbraiding or reproach, but that uniformly I have received their warmest and most grateful thanks for the information which I afforded them before they left their native shores.

" I have no desire to see you remove from Canada, nor'any intention of advising you to do so ; but when I compare your present situation with what it might be, with the same amount of industry employed in a more genial clime, and under far more favourable auspices, I could not refuse the situation offered me by the Governor of Trinidad, during his visit to England in the early part of the present year, of agent in this province, to afford such of you as desire to remove to the West Indies every information that you might possibly require. For

NO OTHER PURPOSE, AND WITH NO OTHER OBJECT, HAVE I AGAIN

CROSSED THE ATLANTIC OcEAN ; and after hearing, at the con- vention held in London during this year, the numerous instances of the successful advancement of the coloured population in the West India Islands, I should not have done my duty to you in declining an appointment that might prove advantageous to you, beneficial to Trinidad, and gratifying to the people of this province. I, therefore, crave your earnest attention to what I have to advance on this subject. You know, and sen- sibly feel, the extent of prejudice which has been imported from the United States into this province ; how effectually it has debarred every individual of your colour from holding any situations in the Church, at the Bar, in the Magistracy, in the Senate ; how frequently it has excluded you from the public schools, exposed you to popular violence, led to the surrender of some of your body, claimed by the adjoining republic, and interposed every obstacle to the admission and enjoyment of those social and political privileges on which your welfare es- sentially depends. Frequently driven from the public con- veyances both by water and by land ; separated from the white

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community, equally in places of public worship and public amusement ; there appears no possibility of your making any advancement in this province, or removing the universal pre- judice against yourselves. During the unhappy disturbances which agitated this Colony in 1838, a young coloured friend of my OAvn, the son of a wealthy planter in the West Indies, who had been well educated, and had acquired considerable distinc- tion for eminent services he had rendered during an awful hurricane in Barbadoes by his great nautical talent, shouldered his firelock, and stood a voluntary sentry, to preserve the country from the devastation of civil war, and the incursions of a foreign banditti. He would receive no remuneration for his services ; they were the impulse of his brave and loyal spirit : but when a regular naval force was to be raised for the defence of the province, and to be stationed on the lakes, I did write to some of the authorities, asking, as a personal favour, as well as a reward to the valour of this young man, that he might receive an appointment as a commissioned officer, or its rank, without its pay ; but this was refused, and solely on ac- count of his colour. His merits were admitted, his services acknowledged — but his request denied, I will not multiply instances, but I may tell you that in the West Indies these anomalies do not exist ; that a coloured gentleman represents the largest and most wealthy constituency in Barbadoes ; and, in Trinidad, one gentleman of the council, and another a sti- pendiary magistrate, are coloured gentlemen. I have been informed this day, by one of the most intelligent of your body, that you hope to overcome all these difficulties and disadvan- tages, by a considerable accession to your numbers from tlie United States; permit me, my friends, without offence, to point out to you the utter fallacy of any such expectation, and this I can do by reference to undeniable facts. It is only since your numbers have so greatly augmented, in this beautiful section of Canada, that all the farmers in the adjoining township of Gosfield have united together in firm resolve never again to give employment to a coloured man ; it is only since your numbers have so increased, that Nelson Hacket was secreted

AND COLONIZATION. 317

in a dungeon to be given over to his master, and that Mr. Gallego was thmist out of a public steam-boat, a public stage coach, and a public tavern, whilst travelling on the public ser- vice, and as an accredited agent of the Government of Jamaica. But to come to a more perfect comparison of numbers. In the western half of Canada, there are upwards of half a million of white inhabitants — there are less than 20,000 coloured. The number that escape from United States' slavery, and arrive safely in this province, does not amount to 2,000 yearly; whilst the Emigration from the United Kingdom, during the past year of 1842, amounted to 50,000 souls. You will further remember, that it is only in the Niagara district, in the vicinity of St. Catherine's, and in this western section of the province, where your numbers abound, that such fearful extent of preju- dice exists ; and, therefore, when these facts are considered, in conjunction with the abundant and ample testimony furnished by the Anti-Slavery Society in England, as to the wonderful improvement to be witnessed in the West India islands by per- sons of similar colour, it is only just that you should be in full possession of these facts, in order that you may best judge for yourselves which is most to your advantage, — your continued residence in Canada, or your voluntary removal to the West Indies. The island of Trinidad, of which I am commissioned to speak, is large, fertile, healthy, and, to a great extent, uncul- tivated. The Government offer to you nothing more than your passage thither, and employment on your arrival. You will not be debarred from any political privileges, nor your children excluded from the public schools. The public domain is given to no one ; industry and idleness are not placed on the same level. The industrious man can soon, by his own efforts, obtain means to purchase and possess it ; the idler deserves to go without. It is my intention to accompany those of you who resolve to go to Trinidad, if the lateness of the season and the defective ordinance of Trinidad does not oppose an obstacle. Should it do so, however — and after my correspondence with the merchants of Quebec I fear it may — I purpose visiting that island, in order to report to you on my return, by the period

318 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

when the navigation of the St. Lawrence will permit those of you who desire to remove to it, the opportunities which its soil and agricultural occupation offer for your consideration. One of your friends, William Augustus, — whom you will remember, and whom I can never forget, as he was one of the deputation who presented me with the valuable token I received from your body, — wrote to his friends here that he had succeeded beyond all expectation in Trinidad, and that it is his firm opinion that its rich savannahs and profitable employment hold out extraordinary inducements to those of you he has left behind. With all the advantages of this section of Canada, its richer soil, and its softer clime, you have to labour seven months for your maintenance during the remaining five, closed against you by the climate; whilst in the West Indies there is no impediment on the score of climate to your constant, un- interrupted, and profitable occupation.* After all that I have said to you, it is for yourselves to determine whether you remain or remove ; but I should alike fail in my duty to you, to my own conscience, and to the Government that has honoured me by constituting me its agent, did I not further tell you that it is after all on yourselves only that your success depends.

" Almighty God has declared, by a decree as immutalde as himself, that * by the sweat of his brow man must earn his bread ;' and do not suppose that without the exercise of that industry^ even in your removal to a country more adapted to your constitutions, possessing more fertile soil, and genial climate, you can either secure his blessing, your own advance- ment, the respect of your fellow-subjects, or the furtherance of that holy and righteous cause — the emancipation of your fellow-creatures, millions of whom are still held in cruel bond- age in the adjacent republic of the United States."

The favourable opportunity, afforded by the disposition of vast numbers of these people, who met me at this convention, and who were most desirous of proceeding to Trinidad, was

* William Augustus, in his letter, lias stated tliat an industrious black labourer can save more in one year in the West Indies, than he could by any pos- sibility in Canada in xci'cw.

AND COLONIZATION. 319

then lost by the inefficiency of the ordinance of that Colony to furnish the sufficient amount required to bring them through the chain of lakes to Quebec ; and this year, the obstacle to their removal is in the Home Government, which considers their removal of " doubtful advantage."

This official ambiguity, which, in saying nothing, intimates a great deal, is in entire variance with the opinion of the whole white population of Canada—in direct contradiction to the testimony adduced of the prosperity of the coloured population in the West Indies, at the two great conventions held in the City of London — and is viewed by the West India proprietors as an act of hostility to their interests. The coloured popula- tion, both of the British provinces and the United States, are not reluctant to quit those countries for the West Indies ; they are well aware that the slavery which did exist in the British Colonies was far different from that now existing in the United States ; that instances of purchased manumission were very frequent ; that by the restriction on the sale of them from one island to another, they were domiciled and settled ; and that the transition from slavery to freedom, by the wisdom of the previous preparation and wise precaution, became so natural and imperceptible, that the blessed boon was unstained by tumult, violence, or excess, indeed was celebrated by grateful thanksgiving, and prayer, and praise. The lateness of the season, and the inefficiency of the provision for their removal, compelled me to postpone my operations until the present season, when they were altogether stayed by the determination of the Colonial department not to place on the estimates for Trinidad the allowance for an agent in British North America. I left Canada in the month of November, with the intention of proceeding to Trinidad, having made an application to the Government of Canada for a pecuniary advance to enable me to do so, but on receiving a communication from Sir Charles Metcalfe, regretting there were no public funds at his disposal for that purpose, but most generously proffering his individual assistance, on personal grounds, which I did not feel wari*anted in accepting, I resolved to visit England, en route to Trinidad,

320 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

and left New York for that purj30se, and arrived in tins country at tlie close of the year.

The Emigration to Canada, at the close of 1843, amounted to 21,727; exhibiting-, as contrasted with the preceding year, a decrease exceeding 100 per cent.

1844. In the early part of this year, that aggrandizing spirit which was so actively evinced by the American republic during those disturbances in Canada, which immediately pre- ceded my mission to this country, and to which I shall have to advert in the sequel, was exhibited in reference to the Oregon Territory, or North Western Boundary of America. As a general extract upon this most important national subject, em- bodying as it does the views of the whole American people, I shall confine myself to the following speech of an eminent senator, delivered in the Congress of the United States on the 12th of March :

'* Mr. Buchanan referred to the negociations that had already taken place between the two countries, the treaty by which the joint occupancy was agreed upon, and the renewal of this treaty in 1824. The question now is, ' Shall we now, by passing this resolution before the Senate, advise the Presi- dent to annul this treaty?' If it is annulled, both parties will be restored to their original rights. The boundary of Mexico is limited to 42 degrees north ; Russia 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude ; and the country in dispute lies between these two points. And to every part of this territory our title is a clear and conclusive title ; and when the bill for forming a territorial government for Oregon comes up, I intend to present such a chain of evidence, as to our title to the whole of it, to this Senate, as cannot be gainsayed by any power on earth. The question is, ought we to give this notice to Great Britain, — that the joint occupancy of Oregon cease. I say, that if we are to make a treaty at all with that power, it is indispensable that we should give this notice. The statu in quo is too favourable to England for her to give up what she has got. She has had exclusive possession for twenty-five years. She has leased it

AND COLONIZATION, 321

out to the Hudson Bay Company, and they boast that they have expelled the Americans from Oregon ; and it is certain that they have murdered 400 or 500 Americans, either them- selves, or througli the agency of Indians employed by them. But why should England wish to divide this territory with us? She has full possession of the whole of it. And no doubt if we could go into the cabinet of Mr. Pakenham, we should find that his instructions are. Delay the question as long as you can ; delay it indefinitely if possible : we have the entire hunting and trapping over the whole of it ; and if you can keep back tlie settlement for twenty years, so much the better. And my life for it, there will be no treaty at all if this resolution is laid on the table, as I have no doubt it will be. Let the motion to lay on the table prevail, and there will be no treaty at all, whatever may be the instructions of Mr. Pakenham. We owe it to our- selves to make this a serious matter, to show a determined front in this business ; not to use threats, because threats will have no effect on that powerful nation. But when she sees that we are in earnest on this matter, then, and not till then, will she show a disposition to settle the matter. For it is not by conciliating her that we shall ever obtain justice. And if we do give Great Britain this notice, we shall then have a whole year to settle the matter in. But if, because a minister has arrived from England (not a special minister,) we arrest all our six years' proceedings on this subject, and lay this whole sub- ject on the table, then a treaty will be impossible. And to arrest all our legislative action merely on this account, would be to show a miserably tame spirit, that would induce England to believe that she could obtain all that she desires. I hope this will not be done by an American Senate.

" If after we ground our arms merely on the arrival of an ordinary minister from England, why we deserve to lose the territory. But we are told that the giving this twelve months' notice might give offence to Great Britain. How can it give offence, when by so doing we shall only act in obedience to the provisions of the treaty ; and if the British Government chooses to take offence when none is intended, in heaven's name let

322 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

them be offended. But we are to do nothing- ; not to take any steps for assisting our people to occupy that country, for fear of giving offence ; whilst they are going on, hunting for furs, building mills, opening the country for agricultural purposes, enjoying all the trade with Eastern Asia; whilst we are told to let her alone for twenty-five years more, till our people go on there with the ploughshare, and then, like Ossian's ghost, all these English settlers will quietly roll them- selves off to the deserts of the north, and leave our men with the ploughshare in quiet possession of this beautiful country. This is elegant lano-uao-e of the tjentleman from Massachusetts; but it is poetry, and nothing but poetry. The gentleman says our people can go into Oregon prudently and quietly, and fill up tlie country without giving oftence to the Hudson Bay Com- pany. Sir, this is the true ostrich policy, that deceives no one but the simple bird himself — to steal into Oregon, take posses- sion of it quietly with the ploughshare and pruning-hook, and then this great blood-stained corporation will roll itself off into the deserts of the north, without making any resistance ; back out, I suppose, with its face to the settlements of the Ameri- cans. Why, sir, it would be the most magnanimous corpora- tion the world ever contained, if it should do this. But the contrary is the case. Never has Great Britain evinced such a determination to keep possession of any country as she has of this. Already she affects to talk of her right to all north of Columbia. And from the time of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, who explored the country, down to this day, her conduct has been the same, asserting the same unqualified claim to the whole of it. Under the treaty of Ghent, she made a solemn protest that she had a title to this country. When our minister proposed the 49th degree of north latitude, they said they would not at that time settle on any definite boundary, but that the Columbia river was the most convenient of any. They then [proposed to run the 49th parallel till it struck the river, and theu down the river to its mouth ; and from all that has transpired, we must not expect Great Britain to depart from this claim witliout some struggle. In the negotiations pre-

AND COLONIZATION. 323

ceding the Treaty of 1827, they repeated the same claim to it, and their determination that they would never abandon that claim. But our protest was also entered on the protocols at that time, witlidrawing the former propositions, so that Ave are no longer bound by the past ; we are free to claim the whole teri'itory, and we will assert our right to it. It lias been said that Lord Asliburton had the 49th parallel of north latitude offered to him again ; but it appears that it was found so impossible to conclude any negotiation about the Oregon, that this was abandoned. And yet it was said that he came here to settle all the questions in dispute between us — the Creole Case, the Right of Search, the Oregon — and yet he left without set- tling any save one. What was done by him and Mr. Webster about Oregon never will be known, unless Lord Aberdeen's dispatches shall be published ; for the negotiations left not race of their doings on that subject, except such as Avere marked in the sand, which the returning tide Avashed aAvay for ever. But in the speech of the senator from Massachusetts, Ave have this declaration, that the assertion that Mr. Webster had offered a boundary line for Oregon, south of 49 degrees, AA^as totally un- founded, and that such a thing was never meditated. I would ask the honourable Senator if I am right in supposing that 49 degrees Avas offered to Lord Asliburton.

" But there is another part of the honourable member's speech that deserves comment. He says that Great Britain has no more idea of colonizing Oregon than she has of colo- nizing the dome of St. Paul's. Why, sir, she cannot colonize Oregon. By a charter of December 5th, 1821, she leased Oregon for ten years to the Hudson Bay Company ; and in May, 1838, they obtained a lease for tAventy-one years longer. And, in the correspondence between Lord Glenelg and the Go- vernor of the Hudson Bay Company, tlie latter tells the former that the Company have done much for the title of England to the Oregon territory. He boasts that they have expelled all the Americans from that region ; that they have settled all the decayed servants of the Company in that territory ; that they have twenty-tAVO establishments there ; several stockade forts :

y2

324 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

six armed vessels — one a vessel of war ; and that they are already carrying on a large trade with Eastern Asia, and that it is all imjjortant they should have a renewal of the charter. And in a letter of Mr. Simpson, the agent of this Company, dated February 1, 1837, he says the country between the northern bank of the Columbia, and 49 degrees of north latitude, is remarkable for the salubrity of the climate, fine soil, and the finest harbours in the world. That on the banks of the Co- lumbia they have already directed their attention to agricul- ture on a large scale ; and they hope soon to create a large market for the cotton and woollen goods of England, her iron wares, tobacco, &c. ; and that nothing could exceed the beauty of the country, and the excellence of the soil and climate. Mr. Simpson also adds emphatically, ' We are forming tlie nucleus of a Colony for Great Britain, settling our retired servants in various parts of the territory, strengthening the claim of Great Britain thereto, and increasing the India trade therefrom, &:c.' In answer to this, Lord Glenelg says, ' We cannot grant you a renewal of the charter without reserving to ourselves the pri- vilege of colonizing this territory at some future time.' And yet the senator said she did not desire to colonize. What, England not colonize? Why, Colonization is the indispensable law of her existence. She is forced into it. The Zollverein, the German Free Trade League, have imposed a tariff on her manufactures, and it seems as if the whole world almost had adopted the continental policy of Napoleon towards England, and taxed her manufactures, because she never traded with any nation on terms of reciprocity. And wherever she can plant a man upon the face of the earth, to consume her wool, her cotton, or her iron manufactures, there she plants that man. And to suppose that she will willingly give up this, already a Colony and a government, is to suppose a marvel. Does Eng- land admit that her possession weakens her claim to it ? Quite the reverse. And she falls back on the treaty of Nootka Sound, and says that we are bound by the same stipulations as Spain ; and that the whole of the north-west coast is open to all for the purposes of Colonization, and that under that she has the right

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to colonize. Aud does her colonizing give her no right or claim to this j3lace? Look at the result. When Adams and Monroe proposed to establish a fort at the mouth of the Co- lumbia River, it was objected that it might give offence to Great Britain ; although she has uijwards of thirty forts there : do we propose to establish live military posts to facilitate the passage of our jDcople through the passes of the Rocky Moun- tains,— it will give offence to Great Britain, and must not be done. In short, whatever we propose to do, is always said to be a violation of the treaty. Last year it was said we could not do anything until we had given Great Britain the twelve months' notice : now we must not give the notice, because it would give offence to her ; and because it is our policy to let her remain in undisturbed possession of the country ; and now she speaks of her actual rights derived from ' use, occupancy, and settlement.' She claims the right to colonize, and under that right she has colonized, and now claims the country itself. Prior to 1827 she insisted on her qualified rights to the whole country ; to navigate all the waters, and to travel, and hunt, and trap, and settle over the whole country. She admits that the United States have the same rights, but that, except in one instance, they have never been exercised; and since 1815 they have never been exercised at all. And now they speak of the valuable British interests that have sprung up there, and which must be preserved. And in the face of all these things, I wonder that the Treaty of 1827 was ever made at all. The senator from Massachusetts contends, that if we give Great Britain this notice, war is inevitable ; that we ought to be pre- paring our army ; and thinks that England has already ten can- non at the Sandwich Islands, ready to take possession of the mouth of the Columbia river. I believe that war may result from a different course ; war may be forced on us by our own timidity. Send not your lawless citizens by tens of thousands over the Rocky Mountains to assert and redress their own wrongs ; but send laws, and a government, and the means to protect them. The first crack of a rifle used lawlessly in Oregon, may produce a war that shall involve all Europe in a

326 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

blaze. And nothii)j>- but adopting the course I have pointed out, — giving this notice, and showing a firm front, — can possibly avert a war. And that is wliy I am so earnest to see this reso- hition passed, as it is the only road to secure the peace, safety, and honour of the nation. It is said that we already have ter- ritory enough ; that we should cease to emigrate. Sir, I believe that God has designed a great mission for this nation to perform ; the Almighty has decreed that we shall spread the blessings of Christianity, of liberty, and of law, over the Avhole of North America ! In fifty years there will be 100,000,000 of free Christian republicans in this land ; and what a blessed spectacle will that be to see them spreading the blessings they enjoy over the whole of this great continent. How proud will be the inhabitants of such a splendid republic ? All obedient to law and order. And for this purpose I believe that the Author of the Universe has implanted the desire to roam in the American heart. And you might as well attempt to arrest the stars in their course, or to stay the torrent of Niagara, as to attempt to confine the American people to the limits of the Sabine and the Rocky Mountains. We have a high and holy mission to perform, and the ([uestion is, shall we surrender our rights for fear of offending Great Britain ? It is said Oregon can never be a State of this Union. I do not pretend to see so far into futurity. But I know that we are all mutually de- pendent on each other, and that even now our internal com- merce is worth ten times as much as all our foreign commerce. But whether she becomes a State or not, I know that if we adhere to our rights with manly firmness, we will establish there the blessings of a republican government ; and have there a government that will not, as now, stir up the Indians on our frontier. And as to war with Great Britain, rely on it she will not go to war with us for Oregon ! Her position with regard to Ireland — a great powder magazine, which at any moment may light up a civil war — her troubles abroad — all would pre- vent this. She cannot do without our products ; she cannot do without us for purchasers ; we are the best market she has in the world ; she cannot supply the great market she has opened

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327

ill China without our cotton ; she will not go to war with us on any subject in this, the nineteenth century, unless it be on a subject affecting her national honour. Now, therefore, is the propitious time to settle this. I admit that there are some very dangerous symptoms between the two counties, and I am sorry for it. For the last two or three years her abuse of us, in every way, shape, and manner, through her public press, that most powerful engine, has exceeded all bounds. Her magazines have abused our literature, her press our -insti- tutions ; and all in a way that I never remember anything like it. And although our large cities may contain many frieiuUy to England, and although at a dinner there the President may be drunk in silence, and Queen Victoria with loud cheers, yet the great mass of the American people Avill remember the wrongs they have suffered, and be ready to avenge them. And the senators may amuse themselves by the endearing names of ' mother' and 'daughter,' yet she has always been a cruel step-mother to this country. And the American people still feel that there is one calamity worse than war, — and that is, national dishonour. Therefore, I am for asserting our rights in a manly manner, and not yield one inch, nor postpone for an hour, but give this notice at once, and send our citizens out to this territory under the protection of the laws of the land."

During the course of this same month, the embarrassments of the New Zealand Company, and their unsuccessful negotia- tion with the Government, led to an abrupt suspension of their proceedings. Since that ^^eriod they have issued a report, ac- companied with a very voluminous appendix, and have ob- tained a select Committee of the House of Commons to examine into the causes which have produced this suspension of their operations. The public will no doubt be made fully acquainted with the circumstances which have induced so powerful and wealthy a Company to adopt this course ; and, in the meantime, I have no hesitation in expressing my thorough conviction that the cause of systematic Emigration and Colonization will be in

328 SYSTEMATIC JiMIGRAlION

no measure damaged by any of the casualties that have occurred in connexion with that Company.

On the 24th of April, the attention of the House of Com- mons was called to the facts connected with the rise, progress, and fall of the British American Association, by a petition on belialf of the Executive Board, which was presented by Mr. Maclean the Member for Oxford, and which has since been printed with the votes of the House.

During the last month, the attention of the public has been further powerfully directed to the subject of Emigration and Colonization, by the facts which have recently transpired rela- tive to the proceedings of the North American Colonial Asso- ciation of Ireland. From the report of the Directors, made to a special meeting on the 23rd of May, it appears that a vast expenditure of money has taken place, but that no act of Colo- nization, during the ten years of the Company's existence, has been carried on.

The general annual report of the Colonial Land and Emi- gration Commissioners, presented to parliament, and ordered to be printed in April, has just issued from the press ; and after adverting to the very serious declension of Emigration to Canada, as contrasted with the preceding year, (the decrease amounting to 22,647,) they state that there had been a marked diminution in the mortality among the Emigrant, — a fact which speaks loudly as to the beneficial restrictions and regu- lations of the new passengers' act.

Since my last return to England, my time and attention has been entirely devoted to the abridgment and compilation of the great mass of matter in my possession, bearing on this vital and interesting national subject, and which I now present to the public in the shape of this volume.

It now remains for me to conclude, by exhibiting proofs as to tlie perfect practicability of the system of Colonization I have advocated, and a corroboration of my views of the im- mense importance of the firm retention of our North Ame- rican Colonies, from the statement of eminent authorities in

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the United States, and of the various Governors who have pre- sided over the British provinces.

Ah'eady I have shown, by numerous authorities well de- serving- of attention and respect, the necessity of Emigration for the relief of the home population ; I have equally set forth the earnest desire which exists in the Colony to receive it, and instanced, as the most conclusive evidence of this desire, the willingness of the proprietary to devote portions of their terri- tory in free grants to actual settlers. I now proceed to show that the combination of land, capital, and surplus population might be rendered mutually serviceable and available, in car- rying on a large, creditable, and profitable Colonization. Al- though in the adduction of these proofs, I shall confine myself to Canada, I am by no means insensible of the great value of our other possessions in Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward's Island, — all these Colonies having vast and singular advantages attached to them in territorial extent, soil, climate, fisheries, mines, and every element for individual prosperity and national greatness. For the present, however, I restrict my observations to Canada, giving for necessary eluci- dation a faint outline of its geographical extent. It is bounded on the east by the Gulf of the St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean ; on the north, by the Hudson's Bay territory ; on the west, by the Pacific Ocean ; and on the south, by the United States of America. It lies between 41° and 53° north latitude, and between 64° and 143° west longitude. It is usually con- sidered, however, that the western extremity of the province is Goose Lake, near Fort William, on Lake Superior, in 90° 20" west longitude. The length of Canada, thus limited, from east to west, is about 1,000 miles ; and its average breadth, from north to south, 300 miles ; so that its area is 300,000 square miles, or two and a half times that of Great Britain and Ireland.

It is not yet a century since the English rule commenced ; at that time, there were but about 70,000 inhabitants in all Canada. Quebec was founded in 1608. Wolfe fought on the Plains of Abraham in 1752, and the province was confirmed to

330 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

the English by the treaty of 1763; making a period of one hundred and fifty years from its first settlement that the French government prevailed, excepting the short i^eriod the English had possession of Quebec in 1629. During this time there was more than one unsuccessful attempt made by the English and provincials to conrjuer the country. The troops employed in these expeditions were generally from JNew England, and a prejudice still prevails against Bostonians. Quebec is 450 miles from the sea, 180 miles from Montreal, 380 miles from Kingston, and 540 miles from Toronto. Casting a glance at the map, it will be seen that a line due south from Quebec passes very near to Boston ; a line due west passes through the centre of Lake Superior and the head waters of the Mississippi. Standing upon the dome of the House of Assembly at Quebec, and looking north, the eye takes in all the extent of cultivation between Cape Diamond and the North Pole ; looking south- east, you can almost see the State of Maine, and are within less than 300 miles of its sea coast. A line on the map due south from Montreal passes near tlie city of New York ; a line due east, from the same point, j)asses through the middle of the State of Maine ; a line due south from Kingston in Upper Canada ]>asses near to Harrisburg — a line due south from To- ronto passes near to Pittsburg; a line due east from the same point passes not far from Whitehall, at the head of Lake Chap- lain, and still nearer to Portsmouth, in New Hampshire ; while Maiden comes down to as low a parallel of latitude as the northern line of Pennsylvania, and of Connecticut. Canada is the immediate and intimate neighbour of the United States from Michigan to Maine inclusive, to say nothing of the north- west. The New York frontier alone upon Canada is five hun- dred miles; separated, however, through this whole extent, with the exception of the distance from Lake Chaplain to the St. Lawrence, by the river St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario, the Niagara river and Lake Erie. Of this boundary the St. Lawrence con- stitutes about one hundred miles.

Connected with the majestic estuary of the St. Lawrence is

AND COLONIZATION. 331

a magnificent chain of lakes, whose bordering territory, from the character of the soil and its various resources, is already the most agricultural section of British America ; and the ex- pansive field of commerce spread out hy these noble waters, is in all respects proportioned to the magnitude and fertility of the domain which they adorn. The numerous ports by which they are indented are not only depots of trade, but important points of shi])ment, and must become, as the country settles, and communications are made to their banks, the sole outlets for the products of the interior of the bordering territory. Thus the rapid commercial growth of Kingston, Cobourg, Toronto, and Hamilton, on Lake Ontario, will be followed by a similar advance at Port Stanley and Amherstburg, on Lake Erie ; as well as on Lake Huron, at Goderich, and Owen's Bay, the most spacious and beautiful basin in America : and as Emigration presses upon the vast lands in the vicinity of these lakes, laying open broad tracts of cultivated fields upon the ruins of the wilderness, prosperous villages and cities will spring up on the most prominent points of their shores, amply repaying the enterprise embarked in the successful prosecution of this object. When Jacques Cartier penetrated the interior of Canada, as early as 1535, he found fields of Indian corn along its shores ; and to view the boundless tracts of rich and fertile laud still unsettled, after a lapse of three centuries, it could scarcely be believed that this huge domain, so easily accessible, was an integral part and portion of a country, the great mass of whose population were in a state of alarming destitution, unemployed, and rapidly augmenting.

In 1806 the population of Upper and Lower

Canada amounted to 270,718

1816 333,550

1834 580,450

From 1831 to 1836, the number of Emigrants from the United Kingdom who landed at Quebec and Montreal, was 194,936. The increase in the districts of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, between 1831 and 1836, was 70,789. The population

332 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

of the whole of Lower Canada, in the latter year, was sup- posed to exceed 600,000.

The population of Upper Canada, in 1831, had reached 296,544 ; making the numbers in the entire province, in that year, 797,982. In 1836 they were hut little, if at all below a million. In 1842 the Canadians probably increased to 1,250,000, being about equal to the population of Denmark, exclusive of the Duchies of Sledwick Holstein ; and it is suj)- posed from the best calculation, that the population of the United Province is, at this time, but little short of one million and a half of inhabitants. With this progressive increase of population there has been also a progressive rise in the value of property, and vast extension of its commerce.

The commerce of England with the United States is not so great as the commerce of the United States carried on with Canada on the Lakes. Thus :

Tonnage entered from England 496,773

Ditto ditto Canada 535,464

The island of jNlanhattan, on which stands the noble city of New York, was purchased two hundred and seventeen years ago, by the Dutch from the Indians, for the sum of sixty guilders, or twenty-four dollars ; the tract conveyed for this trifling sum containing 13,920 acres, as the following commu- nication testifies : —

" Amsterdam, 5 Nov, 1626. " Hooge Moghende Heeren, — Hier is ghister ' t schip' Wafen van Amsterdam sengekomen, en is den 23 September uvt Nieu Nederlandt gezylt uy t de rivier Mauritius. Rapporteren dat ons volk daer kloec is en vreedigh leven, hare vrouweu hebben roc kinderen aldaer gebaert ; hebben 't eylandt Manhattes van de Wilde gekocht voor de waerde van 60 guilden ; is groot 11,000 morgen. Hebben der alle koren half Mey gezeyt en half Augusto gemayd. Daervan zeyndeu de munsterkins van Zomer Koren, als terrew, rogge, garst, haver, boucweyt, knarizaet, boontjens en vlas.

*' P. SCHAGHEN."

AND COLONIZATION. 333

[Translation.']

" Amsterdam, 5th Nov. 1626. *' High and Mighty Lords, — Yesterday arrived the ship ' The Arms of Amsterdam ;' she sailed from the River Mauri- tius [Hudson] in the New Netherlands, on the 23rd September. They report that our folk there are prosperous, and live in peace ; their women have borne children there already ; they have purchased from the Indians, for the sum of sixty guilders, the island of Manhattan, which is 11,000 morgen large. They liave already sowed grain by the middle of May, and. reapt by the middle of August; samples of summer crops have come, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, canary seed, beans, and flax.

" P. SCHAGHEN."

In 1840, when the census was taken, the population of the state of New York amounted to 2,382,571 ; and the city of New York contained at the same time 312,2-34 inhabitants. This state was settled in 1614 by the Dutch. This city, scarcely inferior to London and Paris, — vastly superior to the latter, in a commercial point of view, since its splendid ships traverse every ocean, and are seen in every port, the admiration of every mariner, and the astonishment of the world, — has produced this startling result in two centuries, by capital and population, con- joined to its natural unsurpassed position. One century before this, the enterprising Frenchman who ascended the St. Law- rence discovered an Indian settlement, Hochelaga, now the city of Montreal. This, the most populous city of British Ame- rica, is situated on the north-west side of the St. Lawrence, at the head of ship navigation, and 180 miles southward from Quebec. It stands on the southernmost point of an island the same name, and about thirty miles long, its surface being level, with the exception of a fine mountain in the rear of the town, from which there is a view of the city, the river, and the surrounding country. The city plot consists of streets running parallel with the river, crossed by others at right angles ; the

334 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

houses and stores are mostly built in a very substantial manner, of a greyish stone, resembling- granite, and the roofs are covered with tin. Most of the public buildings are fine structures. Its population, in 1831, was 27,297. At present it exceeds 40,000, and is rapidly increasing. The wharves exceed anything of the kind in America, consisting of a range of massive and solid masonry extending along the river for more than a mile.

It is but within these few years that Montreal has made these rapid advances : what it might have been, being one cen- tury older, had it been fostered as the city of New York has been, it is not possible to calculate; but as some proof of its advancement, before even it was determined on as the seat of Government, two years since, at a public auction, the sale of building and villa lots in the St. Mary's suburbs went off with great spirit, the buyers being principally mechanics. The prices of lots varied Irom £18 10s. to £300 each, and the acre and villa lots from £125 to £150 per acre. Of 192 acres pur- chased four months before for £6,000, forty were sold for £9,000, leaving 152 remaining unsold : a rise in property that has sel- dom been equalled within such a short period.

On the Ottawa River, the beautiful spot on which the town of By town is now built, was purchased by Mr. Sparkes in 1822 for £80 : the lot consisted of 200 acres. Since that period one- fifth of an acre has been sold for £200.

Proceeding to the lakes, after quitting the river, the first harbour and city is Kingston, one of the oldest towns in Western Canada. Its admirable location, at the head of the finest bay on the lake, and at the confluence of the lake and the St. Law- rence, early pointed it out to the French traders as an important position for a trading post. About the year KiOO, they com- menced a small settlement, which was at first called by the In- dian name of Cataraqui, but afterwards Frontenac.

During the last war with the States, Kingston was the naval depot of the British ujion the lakes ; but the remains of an hundred-gun ship, and the rotten timl>ers of a few small brigs, are all that is left of the things Avhich were. Kingston is now the rendezvous of the Government steamers on the lakes, and

AND COLONIZATION. 335

is defended by Fort Henry, which is built in the modern style, and is considered the best constructed fortress in Canada. Kingston itself, being- principally built of dark freestone, has an imposing appearance.

My friend Bishop Macdonell bought 11 acres, in 1816, for £600, and in 1840, before it had the advantage of the seat of Government, some of the front portion were formed into lots of a fifth of an acre and sold at various prices, ranging from £160 to £250 per lot, and averaged £1,000 per acre; these same lots, in August, 1841, might have obtained purchasers readily at £400 per lot. The Rev. Mr. Herchimer held 200 acres, valued, in 1816, at £1,000; 188 of which were purchased by the Government, in 1841, for £30,000, Mr. H. reserving the 12 acres fronting the lake. In 1 809, the estate known as the Murney Property, called 100 acres, was purchased from the original grantee from the Crown, for £500; and, in 1840, the Govern- ment purchased 32 acres of this property, for Avhich they paid £19,000. During the period since the seat of Government has been established at Kingston, 700 houses have been built, at an expenditure of £400,000.

On the union of the provinces, Kingston was made the seat of Government, and the immense rise in the value of property since cannot be fairly adduced as a result of its own advantages, although the previous facts are convincing proofs of the advances occasioned by its augmented population. It has the noblest market-place in America ; and I hope that, from its position and surrounding country, it will, like Toronto, remain unscathed from the loss of the seat of Government. Its population is 12,500.

Almost central on the lake, is Cobourg, in which town also rapid improvements are being made. Several excellent houses have been luiilt ; the corporation is busy in laying down side-walks ; the Harbour Company have in their employment numbers of labourers, perfecting the laying out of cribs to complete the harbour.

Property, during the last five years, has risen, on the ave- rage, 35 per cent. The Irish settlers, adverted to in the Address

336 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

of tlie House of Assembly, were planted in the Newcastle dis- trict ; and the extent and beauty of their cultivated farms, would satisfy the vilest grumbler of the wisdom and humanity of the national expenditure that produced such results.

The town of Peterborough, the capital of the district, stands at the foot of a series of rapids formed by the scattered inland lakes and tributary streams, springing from an unsettled and almost unexplored wilderness, the main artery flowing in a cir- cuitous route from the margin of Lake Simcoe, and that lake again throwing off its superfluous waters into the Huron; but between Lake Huron and the town there are natural impedi- ments to navigation. As the Colony becomes wealthier, and the waste lands in the Newcastle district absorb settlers, the inducements offered by nature will not be neglected ; on the contrary, the work of civilization and improvement will move forward step by step, until the interest of the residents be realized by uniting the waters of Lakes Huron and Ontario, opening a fine field for settlement and colonization. The Port Hojje Gazette states, that there were last winter more 'than 100,000 bushels of wheat stored in that town, and that one- third more, raised in the rear townships, was to come in ; that there was in Windsor, 60,000 ; in Oshawa, 80,000 ; in Bowman- ville, Newcastle, and Bond Head, as much as would make 500,000 ; and that, taken with the produce of Cavan and Mo- naghan, would amount to between 700,000 and 800,000 bushels of wheat for market.

The splendid English city of Toronto demands more than a passing remark. There are persons now in Canada who remem- ber this city Avith but three houses in it — one tavern and two log houses ; and its earliest Governor, still living, remembers it when its first streets were scarcely passable at certain periods of the year.

In a statistical work of Upper Canada, written in 1817, the writer, in describing what was then Little York (now the city of Toronto), says : " Its population is 1200 souls ; for five miles round the capital of Upper Canada, scarcely one improved farm can be seen in contact with another. Tlie only connected

AND COLONIZATION. 337

settlement Is about five miles to the north of Yonge-street ; in other directions, so far as the district goes, you might travel to its utmost limits, and not find more than one farm-house for every three miles." Such was Little York till about 1835. In 1817, it had no brick houses, no tinned roofs, no planked side- walks ; the stumps remained in the streets, and nothing was more common than to see teams mired in them, requiring all the aid which could be obtained to liberate them : what is now the market was a bog, and the fish-market the resort of wild fowls — unhealthy, liable to fever and agues, and all the dis- tressing catalogue of intermittents. No banks; no markets; a very mean building for a church ; no common sewers ; scarcely a schooner belonging to it, and few frequenting it ; no wharf; not a single importer of British goods ; a few, and very few, insignificant stores, and a few taverns, offering the worst accommodations. Such was Little York in 1817, now the celebrated City of Toronto. Behold noAv its 20,000 inhabitants ; its rows of splendid brick-built tin-covered houses ; its mag- nificent churches, and number of places of worship; its banks; its floating palaces, its beautiful schooners ; its magnificent stores, some of them rivalling those of the first city of the world, with their plate glass windows, their spacious areas, and their splendid contents ; its hundreds of thousands of annually imported goods ; its merchants ; its public reading- rooms ; its Mechanics' Institute ; its Board of Trade ; its pub- lic baths ; its splendid avenue leading to a noble University ; its common sewers ; its macadamized streets ; its planked side-walks, above a mile, or nearer two, from its magnificent Market and City Hall, in every street, and leading to almost every house. View its export trade, its wharfs loaded with produce, and crowded with steam-boats and schooners, the daily conveyance of the riches of the neighbourhood. Behold its gas-lighted streets at night ; and now that greatest of all luxuries — an abundant supply of pure and wholesome water conveyed to every house. Around it and about it, in all direc- tions, fine houses, farms, orchards, villas, roads. At a very low estimate, the fixed and floating property of Toronto cannot

z

338 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

be of a less value than from four to five millions of pounds currency. From whence has it been obtained ? It is indebted to its augmented and active population, to its surrounding agriculture, to its extensive back country, and to the facilities which have been obtained and afforded by improved approaches to the city and improved lines of communication, promoted and effected by a few active and enterprising master minds. Its population has doubled itself within the last ten years ; the number of inhabitants in June 1842, according to the census, was 17,805; and, from the great increase since then, it is cal- culated that in the same month of the present year, the number will amount to 20,000. The revenue of the port, for the year ending 5th January, 1844, was upwards of £18,000, of which fully two-thirds arose on goods imported from the United States. The total exports, during the same period, amounted to £105,000, of which not more than £2,500 were sent to the United States. Lastly, with reference to the vast increase in the value of property of the towns on this Lake, and as confir- matory of my views, I will conclude with that of Hamilton, which, from its very advantageous natural position, placed at the head of Lake Ontario, having excellent roads diverging from it in all directions, and extensive fertile country, hardy and industrious farmers, and skilful artisans, enlightened and enterprising merchants, must in a few years become one of the largest in Western Canada, and also one of the most pros- perous. Among not the least causes to accomplish this end will be the enlargement of Burlington Canal, which is now in progress, and which is the natural outlet for the rich agricul- tural districts in its rear. From the 5th of April to the Gth of July, 1841, the revenue was about £880; the amount for the corresponding rpiarter in 1842, was £3,430, an increase of 425 per cent. In 1842, the receipt of customs amounted to £7,604, which was considered to be a large sum, when compared with Toronto, which for the same period produced only £8,300. During the last year, it will be seen tliat the customs amounted to £12,190, being an excess over the previous year of £4,586. The canal tolls have also increased to £1,986, which, added to

AND COLONIZATION. 339

the customs, makes the very large sum of £14,176. The sum may be added to duty on articles in bond, £2,750 ; so that the whole amount of customs and toll for the year is £16,92G.

In connexion with this gratifying- statement I may add, that a friend of my own was offered forty acres near this town, in 1833, for the sum of £000 ; one acre of which, in 1839, sold by public auction for £1,250, Proceeding Avestward, the same increase in the value of property is every where to be seen. In 1827, the first ti'ee was felled in the District , town of Guelph, then a dense untrodden wilderness, now the centre of one of the richest agricultural countries in America ; then village lots might be procured for the enterprise of building and settling; now they can command, as town lots, from £100 to £300 per acre. On the margin of Lake Huron, still more recently settled, the rising district town of Goderich presents the same results. London, on the forks of the Thames, a spot selected as a future town by Governor Simcoe, when he first explored that country by the aid of the Indians, is now rapidly rising into wealth and importance. The town plot of this flourishing place was surveyed only in 1826, and in 1842 its inhabitants amounted to 2,660. There are now 700 houses, a court-house, spacious barracks, several places of public wor- ship, large market place, schools, public libraries, hotels, and many excellent merchants' stores. From the original sale of town lots at £10 per acre, the frontage in the main street is selling at £50 to £100 one-fifth of an acre. The tolls on the macadamized roads in Canada amounted, in 1839, to £1,638 Us. 5d., and in 1841 to £6,829 75. 9cL Nor is this improvement and increase confined to the western sections of the province of Canada. The State of Maine, bordering on Eastern Canada, first settled by the English in 1630, contained in 1840, a population only of 500,433, and from the severity of its climate produced that year but 848,166 bushels of wheat, although its crops of corn, buckwheat, barley, oats, rye, pota- toes, and hay, were considerable ; in 1835, among the private sales of land at Bangor, a township, owned by Mr. Brown of Vassal borough, containing 22,040 acres, was sold for ten dollars

z2

340 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

an acre, cash, amounting to 220,400 dollars. Mr. Brown, jun., bought the township, in 1829, for 6,400 dollars ; and after his father had sold it at Bangor for ten dollars an acre, a company from Albany, within one week, bought it for twelve dollars an acre, amounting to 264,480 dollars, or about £53,000 sterling; a greater sum by more than 100,000 dollars, or £25,000 sterling, than was asked by Massachusetts, at the time of separation, for her half of the whole undivided public lands of Maine.* Is it possible to doubt, with facts like these, that systematic Colo- nization can be made to defray its expenses out of the increased value which it creates ? I cordially agree with the writer in the Foreign and Colonial Review, " On the Causes of Distress, and on systematic Colonization as a means of preventing future Distress," — " that human industry works its greatest miracles only when the skill and capital of an improved society are brought to bear upon the superior lands of a new country. Under these circumstances, wealth increases at the most rapid rate ; and labour, producing much more than it consumes in the production, the largest disposable surplus is created. This large disposable surplus supplies the source from which the expense of extended Colonization may be replaced. Land, capable of yielding a quantity of produce greater than the quantity expended in cultivating it, acquires marketable value, even while in an unreclaimed and forest state, as labour and capital approach. Were the Government to advance, in the first instance, the means of preparing the colonial wastes for settlement, it would be able to sell, at constantly advancing prices, not only the lands on which it might plant an indus- trious population, but the districts adjacent to the locations and townships it established. Under the arrangements for pro- moting the safe and facile transference of labour and capital which we have ventured to suggest, the sales of crown lands in the Colonies would yield a revenue greater beyond estimate

* In 1800 the whole population of the entire state of Ohio, containing 38,850 square miles, amounted to 45,365 souls; in 1840, Cincinnati, one of its cities, contained a population of 46,382 ; and in the same year this state yielded sixteen millions and a half bushels of wheat.

AND COLONIZATION.

341

than that which the colonial land sales have hitherto supplied. Who would undertake to calculate the amount to which this revenue might be raised? Who would venture to name the sum which might be received for unoccupied and now valueless wastes, as the tide of population and capital flowed from the Canadian lakes to the Northern Pacific, and as the immea- surable plains of Australia, the fertile valleys of New Zealand, and the depopulated regions of Eastern Africa, became the seats of British nations ? "

And what is to prevent private combinations from achiev- ing what the Government might do, but will not do, especially when the result would be equally honourable and lucrative to those who engaged in such an enterprise? Amongst various plans for such purposes, the system of leasing first successfully adopted by the Earl of Mountcashell, and since partially pur- sued by the Canada Company, is worthy of great consideration, as I shall proceed to demonstrate.

If an Association founded for Colonization were to receive the appraised lands of jaroprietors willing to join their lands, with money, in a capital stock, then amj)le funds would be provided for the deportation of Emigrants in families, and their comfortable settlement on prepared locations ; but even if a company w^ere compelled to purchase a block of land of 12,200 acres, I will demonstrate how, by proper subdivision and settlement, it might be made a most advantageous investment.

12,200 acres of land, divided thus : —

80 farms, of 100 acres each 8,000 acres

20 ditto of 200 ditto 4,000

Reserve for mills, villages, &c 200

12,200 acres.

80 farms, at £12 10s £1,000

20 ditto, at 25 Os 500

£1,500

Interest on capital 1,233

Leaving for expenses of management, besides

the rent of mills, &c £267

342 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

Cost :— 12,200 acres, at lOs. per acre £6,100

100 log-houses, at £12 10s. each 1 ,250

100 acres, cleared and fenced, at £3 per acre 300 100 acres planted potatoes and corn, at

£1 IOj?. per acre 150

Grist and saw-mill, dams, &c 1,500

Expenses of purchase, surveying, &c 350

Clearing roads, building school-house, and

houses for necessary mechanics 350

£10,000 I have formed the above estimate with the calculations all on the safe side, every item being put down higher than it would actually cost. I have supposed the land divided into one hundred farms, on each of which a house should be built, and an acre of land cleared, fenced, and planted with potatoes and corn. I propose that each family should have the farm rent free for ten years, on condition of clearing five acres per 100 every year; and for the second ten years the rent should be £12 lOs. for each 100 acres, the first lease being for twenty years, and giving the right of iire-emption at its expiration. The amount of £10,000 in ten years, at six per cent, compound

interest £17,915

Salary to a Manager, £200 per annum, 10 yeais com- pound interest 2,G37

The interest on whicli, i. e. £1,233, to be paid by the

rents as above £20,552

At the expiration of that period, the property would be worth, at the lowest estimate, £50,000. The rent of tlio mills, whicli except savv-mill, need not be built until second summer, and which for the first few years would not be very much required, unless it happened to be in the neighbourhood of an older settlement, might be appropriated to the support of a clergyman and schoolmaster, as well as the rent of the me- chanics' houses, and lots of five acres, which should pay rent from the beginning, or after the first year. Such a settlement as this would be particularly adapted for small farmers who

AND COLONIZATION. 343

could coiumand, on reaching' their destination, from £30 to £50, to support them for the first year, and procuj'e stock and implements — and for the 200 acre farms, from £50 to £100. Such a body of settlers would require to be in the prime of life, or if advanced, to have families capable of working ; and if in some families there were three, or four, or five grown up sons, less capital would be required, as some might go into service. They should all be of one religious denomination, — if from England, Episcopalians ; from Ireland, either alLRoman Catholics or all Protestants ; and from Scotland, Presbyte- rians ; so that one clergyman and one teacher, or one with an assistant might serve. The terms of settlement should all be explained fully, and entered into before they leave home. They could draw their forms by lot, and on coming to Ca- nada, would have nothing to do but to proceed direct to their locations, and commence o2)erations without the loss of a day. If they arrived as early as the 1st of June, they would commence planting potatoes, corn, and pumpkins ; if not until the end of June, " slaying the forest," and each family could have easily five acres cleared and leady for seed by the middle or end of September ; and as they would have nothing to do through the winter, they might by the next fall have at least ten more ready for seed, instead of the five contemplated in the lease. The stock each would require would be a cow and a pig, logging-chain, iron wedges and rings for a mallet (a drag- harrow and yoke of oxen between each two families) a spade, two hoes, two axes, and seed wheat. This, with what they would require for sustenance for fifteen months, aided by their crop of potatoes, would start them most advantageously ; for in August they would have wheat, at least 100 bushels each, which would l>e fifty at least ia spare, and which would procure them additional stock and other necessaries ; and in the year fol- lowing, besides abundance of hay for the keep of their stock, which could be very well carried through the first winter on browse, they would have at least 150 bushels of wheat for the market, and perhaps some pork to spare over an ample supply

344 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

for their own use. In short, with steadiness, exertion, and economy, they would be in every respect much more comfort- able and independent than in any portion of the United King- dom, and by the time they had to pay rent, would have from fifty to seventy-five acres of arable land at less than 55. per acre, — from 35. to 5s. according to their extent of clearance. To show that I have made all the calculations on the safe side for an Association, and given every item of expense fully higher than that for which it could actually be done, I shall give the result of Lord Mountcashell's very successful experiment, the parti- culars of which have been most obligingly furnished me by his Lordship, premising it only by the following successful instance of a farmer in the neighbourhood of Amherst, N. H., who com- menced in the world as a day labourer, and who, notwithstand- ing he has at various times sustained heavy pecuniary losses in the investment of his funds, is now worth at least one hundred thousand dollars.

" This man, when thirty years of age, by the avails of his industry added to a small legacy, was enabled to purchase and pay, in part, for a farm of one hundred and thirty acres of land, one hundred of which was under cultivation, but in a very low state. The farm is altogether upland, Avith a soil composed of loam, clay, and sand, in the chief of which the last preponde- rates, the former being least considerable. When he com- menced farming, he adopted a particular system of rotation, to which he has implicitly adhered from that time to the present, which is forty years, and his success is the best comment on the worth of the experiment. His mode was as follows : having divided his farm into eight fields of equal size, as near as pos- sible, three of those fields were sowed with wheat each year, one with rye, one planted with corn, two in clover, and one an open fallow, on which corn had been raised the year previous. One of the two clover fields is kept for mowing, the other for pasture, both of which are ploughed as soon after the harvest as possible, and prepared for wheat in the fall. All the manure which is made on the farm for one year is hauled in the spring

AND COLONIZATION. 345

on the field intended for open fallow, which is then ploughed, and, after one or two cross-ploughings through the summer, is also sowed with wheat in the fall. The field on which the rye is sown is that from which a crop of wheat has been taken the same year, and which had yielded three crops. Corn is planted on the field from which rye had been taken the year previous, the stubbles of which are ploughed down in the fall. Clover seed is sown early in the spring on two of the wheat fields, those which have been most recently manured. By this method each field yields three crops of wheat, two of clover, one of rye, and one of corn, every eight years. Each field, in the meantime, has lain an open fallow, and received a heavy dressing of ma- nure, perhaps at an average of fifteen four-horse loads per acre. His crop of wheat is seldom less than fifteen hundred bushels, but often much more. His average rye crop is about four hun- dred and fifty bushels, and his corn crop annually about five hundred bushels. All which grain, at the present low prices, would amount to more than two thousand dollars annually, and at former prices to double that amount ; and his farm is withal very highly improved."

Three-fourths of Amherst Island, situate in the Bay of Quinte, consisting of 16,500 acres, was purchased in 1836 by the Earl of Mountcashell from Mrs. General Bowes, for £10,000, being about £1, Halifax currency, per acre. But for the excellence of the land, and its advantageous locality, it would have been considered a high price. His Lordship adopted the principle of leasing, and the following are the results: — In 1836 the population of the island was 700; in 1844 it is 2,100. Sir John Colborne congratulated the pro- vince in 1835, that its population had doubled in eight years. The population in Amherst Island has trebled during the same space of time, whilst its value has increased from £10,000 to £80,000, — a price his Lordship would find no difficulty in ob- taining for it. Here is a threefold increase of population, and an eightfold increase of capital in eight years. The land was in a wilderness state ; Lord Mountcashell selected poor but

346 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

industrious families to settle on it, giving them a lease of fifteen years, at almost a nominal rent, and requiring annually certain portions to be cleared. Before the expiration of five years, a wealthier class of settlers made application to Lord Mount- cashell for these lands ; but as he had granted leases of fifteen years, it was not in his power to comply with the request. Most of the leases have been since purchased from the original settlers, who are enabled, with their acquired capital and com- petent knowledge, to purchase land in fee simple in other dis- tricts ; and on all other farms in Amherst Island, the rude log- hut of the original settler has now disappeared before the comfortable dwellings of the new purchasers. His Lordship improved the roads, erected two piers to secure and make ser- viceable two excellent natural harbours ; he introduced a clergyman, for whom he provided a good glebe-house, and gave 150 acres of land for a glebe ; he sent out a surgeon, for whom also he built a house ; he built a house for an active agent ; he built and furnished an excellent general store : with these adjuncts, causing but a very small outlay, ho has 110 families, leaseholders, on this fine estate, some of whose farms are now paying him 35. per acre for their 200 acre lots. The steamers to the head of the Bay of Quinte now regularly touch at the island, affording the inlial>itants every 02)portunity for intercourse with all parts of the province, and the disjx)sal of their produce at the best markets. Lord Mountcashell has re- served IjOOO acres in the centre for timber, which is becoming now extremely valuable. The best proof of the great value in the advance of this property is to be found in the fact tliat Lord Mountcashell himself, who gave, in 1830, £10,000 for 12,000 acres, in 1841, purchased from a Mr. M'Leod, a proprietor in that portion of the island not owned by his Lordship, 200 aci'es for £1,000.

Other plans of Ck)lonization have had their advocates, and have proved successful. Advances by loans, properly secured, have long been in practice amongst the Chinese in their Emigra- tion from China, to Manilla, Borneo, Java, and Prince of Wales

AND COLONIZATION. 347

Island ; and although our present intercourse is not yet suffi- ciently intimate to enable Europeans to ascertain their exact arrangements in transactions of this kind, being extremely tenacious upon such points, more especially as Emigration is not sanctioned by the Government, yet from all that has been learnt, and from the extensive manner in which it has been con- ducted, it is evident that it has been through the instrumentality of joint stock companies, who make the advances, the capital required and employed being far too great for individuals.

Their system is a small advance for outfit, and the Emi- grant's free passage, for which amount they grant a bond, pay- able by instalments, after their arrival at their destination, in services as a labourer or mechanic ; and the relatives and friends of the Emigrant become responsible to the party, previous to his embarkation in China. A gentleman, recently from that country, has assured me, that he saw a vessel at the moudi of the Yan-Sea-Kean (or Yellow River) bound to Batavia, with upwards of 2,000 Emigrants on board, and that there were many junks similarly employed from the other provinces. In addition to this system amongst the Chinese, the Portuguese at Macao have also adopted it for employing their vessels to the eastern archipelago, and they take Emigrants at £5 sterling, payable in a similar manner, on the arrival of the Emigrants at their destination. The Portuguese, however, did not find it answer so well, from the difficulty they experienced in obtain- ing security against the Emigrant absconding, which occa- sionally happened, and which, unless Emigration took i)lace in families, a mixture of age and youth, would be dreaded in Canada, from its proximity to the United States. But there were annually Portuguese vessels despatched from Macao, to Siam, JVIanilla, and Amboyna, Borneo, and Batavia, Singapore, Malacca, and Prince of Wales Island, each conveying from one to four hundred poor Chinese Emigrants, thousands of whom, by their extraordinary industry and perseverance, have become very wealthy and important, by the facilities afforded them by the guarded and judicious advances made them in the first in- stance. As bearing directly on this interesting subject, I give

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portions of a communication made to me, by a very intelligent settler in Canada, who has directed his attention for a long period to this matter : —

" The difficulties -which attend Immigrants on arrival here, arise altogether from ' the family,' which, although subse- quently a source of revenue and prosperity, at first prove only a burthen and a hindrance to the anticipated success. Employ- ment for any number of single men can readily be found ; but the man with a family has much to struggle with, and the family have much discomfort, and even misery, to undergo for a time.

" To you, who know at how very small cost a primitive Canadian log-hut is put up, it may be matter of surprise that so few farmers (comparatively) are jirovided with dwellings for labourers' families. Appeal has been made to them on the subject, and, I dare say, with effect; but thousands more are wanting, as well for the relief and comfort of the Immigrant as to benefit the farmer, and, consequently, advance the general prosperity. A little agitation on this subject may, perhaps, open the eyes of the farmers, and induce them to give the sub- ject a due consideration, as one in which their interests are deeply involved.

" Employment at public works can very little benefit the Immigrant with a wife and family on his first arrival ; as, sup- posing the most favourable circumstances, early embarkation, quick passage, immediate employment, fine season, uninter- rupted health, and the highest wages, the whole amount which could possibly be saved from the earnings of the whole season, would not be more than sufficient to support the family through the long season, when very little, if any, profitable labour can be obtained by a newly-arrived Immigrant. The present win- ter is an exception to this, a considerable number having been continued at the public works at 2s. a-day. Employment at the public works is beneficial to the poor settler who has once fixed his family on a piece of land (say in a labourer's cottage on a farm), where he can, if necessary, leave them, after having put in a crop of potatoes, &c., and having a place he can call

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a home to return to, where every species of economy can be practised, which cannot be in precarious lodgings while em- ployed in public works. A few dollars cash, earned at public works or elsewhere, is a help to a man in such a case, to buy a cow, to give him a start in life, and becomes a nucleus of that capital and the germ of that independence for which he has ex- patriated himself, and subsequently suffered so much and severe inconvenience. The advantages of labourers' houses on farms would be great indeed, both to the farmer and the labourer : the farmer could always command a ready supply of labour at fair wages ; the labourer could afford to pay a small rent to his landlord, and had better earn seven or eight dollars a-month, and be at home, than ten, and be away from his family. Occa- sionally, when labour on the farm grew slack, he would then betake him to the public works, and reap the benefit as above described. I consider that every labourer's cottage on a farm would be really better to the farmer than a protective duty of five per cent, on agricultural produce, inasmuch as, in bad times, when produce is low, the farmer could thus improve his land cheaply to prepare for better times, raising only sufticient for the supply of his own household, and the additional con- sumers,— the inhabitants of the cottages ; and in good times, he would be ready to take advantage of the market, by having the labour at hand to raise that abundance required for the supply. An agricultural protective duty will never be well relished here, where the middling and poorer classes must be the sufferers from such a tax. Until some well-established and judicious plan of Colonization is in operation, the Government works must be looked to for relief, as well to the Immigrant as to the public ; otherwise the country would be overrun with paupers, and worse ; for they will come, whether the circum- stances of the country are such as to invite them or not.

** You have noticed in your letter to Mr. Crawford the case of the Scotch settlers from the Island of Lewis ; I am happy to state, that late reports from Bury and Lingwick give a favour- able account of the progress of these people ; and I beg to mention, that a party often families, from the same place, who

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came out in 1838, and settled in the same neighbourhood, are in a prosperous state. This party, when they came out, were as poor as those first mentioned, and were relieved and assisted, during their first winter, by the benevolence of the Commis- sioner of the British American Land Company. Some mention of these people will be found in the ' Memorandum of a Settler,' in the Mei^cury of the IGtli February of last year, chapter 25. The assistance afibrded to these persons was by way of loan, not gift. They have repaid tlie amount thus lent them ; and I propose calling tlie attention of tlie several National Societies to the great advantage this mode of relief has over that of a charitable donation.

" Much may be effected by small beginnings : even penny weekly societies might, so soon as they collect some £40 or £50, send out one family, who, in course of two, three, and four years, would be able to pay the entire loan by a supply of provisions to a second party, who would, under these circum- stances, require only an amount sufficient to ])ay the passage out, and to carry them to the neighbourhood of their prede- cessor; the sums so advanced on loan, of course bearing in- terest, would be continually increasing from this source, as well as by the continued su])scriptions at home ; and, admitting some losses, by the defection of some and deaths of others, it might fairly be expected that, from the honourable and grateful feelings of others, who might be more than ordinarily success- ful, voluntary trilmte (in produce) would more than make up for deficiencies.

" If the Paisley societies, in like manner, would send out only so many as their funds will enable them to settle and carry through the winter, these, with the similar moderate require- ments and industry as the parties from Lewis, would be enabled, by their crops of the second year, to repay some portion of the loan advanced to them, by a supply of part of their produce to the sustenation, through the first winter, of a second party from Paisley. This second part}^ would, in like manner, be able to repay the loan with whicli they had been assisted, by a supply to a third party, which might, by this time, be con-

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siderably increased in numbers, as passage-money only would by this time be required. Should this system be carried into effect, and found to work well, as I am confident it may, the people first sent out will soon be able and willing, beside re- paying their loans, to offer assistance to their friends and neighbours left behind, by a supply of a part of their crops, on loan direct from themselves, and thus increase the means for augmenting the numbers of Immigrants ; bat there will be plenty of time to mature further arrangements during tlie pro- gress of establishment of the first two or three parties.

'* I also take the liberty to suggest, for the North American Association, that it would be a great encouragement to a similar hardy race of Emigrants to those from Lewis, as well as others, if the first party sent to each newly unsettled part of the coun- try should be permitted to make the whole of their payments (for land as well as for the necessary assistance which may be afforded them) in produce and labour, supplied for the assis- tance of the second and third parties : the second party to be allowed to pay four-fifths of their debt in like manner, the third three-fifths, and so on; and, further, that in all cases, where practicable by sufficient funds, it will in the end be found the best economy that a place be prepared beforehand for the reception of tlie Immigrants, a shanty erected, and three acres cleared, two of which to be sown with oats, the other to be planted with potatoes by the Immigrants, if here by the middle of June. The cost of clearing the three acres and the shanty would not be more than the cost of maintenance through the winter, and till the crop of the second year can be obtained from the ground, and the return of oats and pota- toes will be of greater value. The place thus proposed to be provided, not to be the lots Avhereon tlie Immigrants are to be located as their future home, but on one or two lots contiguous, where the people could be in close proximity, ready to help each other in case of need, and where none could have more than ten acres, from which they should remove to the lots chosen by themselves in due time for the reception of the next party."

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In continuation of this subject, I received a second letter from this gentleman, from which communication I also subjoin the following extracts, by which it will be seen that there was much force in the despatch of Sir Charles Bagot to Lord Stan- ley.— " It may be truly said, that in Canada, much has here- tofore been done to promote immigration — nothing to promote settlement" Colonization is now, however, occupying much of the attention of the people.

" Independently of the fact, that no real benefit can pos- sibly result to the Immigrant, beyond the temporary provision he may receive by being promptly employed at the public works on his first arrival, even supposing the public works to be sufficiently extensive to receive all who desire employ- ment thereat, it cannot be expected that this sufficiency will continue ; for, as soon as the Grand St. Lawrence Canal shall be completed, tliere does not appear much probability of any other extensive public works being undertaken, for the per- formance of which a large number of labourers would be required ; it certainly is not known that any are under imme- diate consideration, and as the munificent loan from the Home Government has been already wholly appropriated, it is not at all clear where further funds are to be found for any public works of magnitude, however urgently the necessity for them may be demonstrated: therefore, in contemplating the prospect of a continued Emigration to this country, we must look to Colonization alone, as the only sure mode by which any considerable number of Immigrants can be provided for. The successful settlement of any number of Immigrants, although expensive, is an affair very easily managed, if the money, neces- sary for so important a purpose, can be obtained : but here is the difficulty, and the only one ; it might, however, be very easily overcome by a very small sacrifice on the part of the people of England, who would receive a rich return for a very small outlay, by the removal of so many consumers, who must now be provided for (whether they can find employment or not,) at a very heavy, continued, and increasing expense.

" In mentioning the removal of so many persons, I would

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not be misunderstood as intending to refer to the cost of their removal only : to send them from Britain, and land them here penniless, would only be shifting the burthen of their support upon us, who are so immeasurably less able to bear it ; it would be an act of inhumanity (which is too often practised) to the unfortunate exiles, and of great cruelty to the people of this country. It would be necessary that people so removed from Britain should be furnished with the means of j^roceeding to the place of settlement previously provided for thefn, and with subsistence, until they could raise a supply of food by their own labour.

" Any schemes, plans, or proposals now brought forward, can be acted on but to a very limited extent, if at all, during the present season ; yet it seems that while the subject is directly and tangibly interesting by the activity every where through- out Britain, people preparing for and actually leaving home by so many thousands, it is the proper time to agitate and sug- gest plans for facilitating Emigration hereafter, so that due consideration may be given to the subject, that the plans pro- posed may be thoroughly examined, modified, amended, and improved, and arrangements made in conformity therewith, for the benefit of those persons who purpose to Emigrate in the spring of the following year.

" It is useless to suggest schemes for Emigration, unless accompanied with the highly necessary information, where the sources are to be found, and from whence the funds are to be derived to carry the same into effect. That the funds cannot be expected to be abstracted from the national revenue, under present circumstances, is too evident ; that they might be ob- tained by a small additional impost, levied especially for this purpose, is equally evident; and from the incalculable national benefit that would arise therefrom, there can be no doubt it would be most cheerfully paid.

*' But funds in abundance may be procured from other sources : permit me to allude to one which I have hinted at in my last, namely, the formation of Mutual Emigration So- cieties, which your influence and popularity in England and

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Scotland might doubtlessly set going : weekly payments might he received, from one penny upwards, according to the circum- stances of the several parties who might be influenced by a desire to avail themselves of the advantages to be derived from the result of this combination of numerous small subscriptions, or for the benefit of relatives or friends ; besides, receipts from those, who, independently of any selfish views, but urged by noble and generous motives, might make donations in aid of the important object : if once commenced, an impetus might possibly be given to popular feeling in favour of the establish- ment of such societies, as to lead to results which would throw all former national impulses into the shade.

'• The several Loan Societies, in different parts of the king- dotrij might also be extensively serviceable in furthering the great design, by affording assistance to persons who might be able to procure security for repavment of loans at distant periods, although unable readily to raise the amount necessary to enable them to effect their laudable purpose.

" Much detail would be required to perfect and carry into effect any plan of Emigration and Colonization, which it is needless to enter into previously to the necessary funds being forthcoming. I will, however, by way of a simple illustration, describe an hypothetical case : suppose £25,000 to be collected all over the island in the course of the present year, (a very mere trifle, if the measure should receive the favouralde con- currence of the public;) £60 would be found aderpuite for the conveyance, settlement, and maintenance, for one year, of a family of five persons ; consequently, upwards of 400 families, comprising, at least, 2,000 persons, might be sent out next year, as the precursors of the hundreds of thousands to follow under the fostering aid of • The Grand National Mutual Emi- gration Society;' for a continuance of the numerous, petty, weekly subscriptions, by which the £25,000 would be annually supplied — (just as easy ten times the sum, under the sunshine of popular favour)— this, continually applied to the original purpose, and repaid by the individuals, assisted in the esta- blishment of their independence ; together with our legal in-

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terest of six per cent, would (at simple interest alone,) in ten years, amount to tlie sum of £332,000 ; which sum would become an annually recurring capital, l)y which 5,540 families, or 27,700 individuals, may be certified of independence. The compound interest, and difference of exchange, would more than suffice to keep the whole machinery in good working- order, and cover losses. This capital, witliout further addi- tional subscriptions, would of itself fructify to an increase of nearly £20,000 a year; thus enabling the Society to add at least 2,000 more persons to their annual export. This will serve as a sample of what may be effected from small beginnings.

" Our agricultural population, in common with all others, is at present in a very depressed state ; but this less affects the humble farmer, who does his own work, than any other class of society whatever ; proving most emphatically that Canada is the poor man's country to thrive in.

" The extremely handsome and favourable terms on which the Canada Company have announced their readiness to receive and locate respectable Immigrants, (and , I doubt not, the Bri- tish American Land Company, and other Companies, will be equally liberally disposed,) makes settlement in Canada an easy matter indeed."

I shall quit the further discussion of this subject, by the following proofs of the increasing value of the public lands, and the increasing prosperity of those who were indigent settlers. At the annual meeting of the Canada Company, the Governor, after stating the operations of the Company for the year 1843, and that 174,256 acres of land in all had been either sold or settled by tenants, under leases from the Company, at annual rents, proceeded to say, that the land so disposed of or settled exceeded the nimiber of acres, in the year 1842, by 64,111 acres; and also that, since the 1st of January, 1844, there had been sold 2,300 acres, and leased 41,722 acres ; and that the monies collected in the province between the 1st of January and the 19th of February, to which date the latest account had been received, amounted to £5,665 ; and that both the lands settled and the money collected were considerably in excess of

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those of the corresponding period of the year 1843. That of the money collected, £1,106 were received for rents of lands ; and that they continued to come in rapidly, from which it might be concluded that the new system of leasing worked favoui'ably, and would answer the expectations of the Company of its success.

In further illustration of my assertion — that inferior land in the vicinity of settlement obtains a higher price than vastly superior land in remote districts, the average sale of the Crown lands in the scattered districts amounted to 13s. 7c?. per acre, and 12,838 were sold. In the Huron district, land of match- less quality sold on tlie average at 125. Id. per acre, and 8,705 acres only were sold. This district is of recent settlement. There were leased by the Company during the year, 88,805 acres, and sold during the same period 194,225 acres. The sales of land by tlie British American Land Company amounted during the year to 34,860 acres, an excess over the preceding- year of 25,547 acres ; the receipts of 1843 amounted to £17,032, — an increase over that of 1842 of £12,243. The Commissioner of the Canada Company suggested, some years since, that as there were many cases of poor industrious persons on their lands who were desirous, out of their savings, to send small sums home to their friends or relations, and to whom certainty and despatch in making these remittances, and exemption from any expense in the business, would be an important boon, the Company should undertake the agency for them : it was done accordingly. During the last year no less a sum than £2,990 13s. 4d. was sent home in this manner through the liands of the Company, chiefly to all parts of the United King- dom, but in some cases to Germany, and consisted of 329 sums in all, of an average amount of £9 each ; and up to March, 1844, £600 more was also remitted.

If, almost by unaided Emigration, such results have been produced ; if by aided Emigration the wretched peasantry, who were removed from rags, filth, discontent, and despair in Ire- land, during the time a Christian statesman and philanthropist, — the late Sir R. W. Horton, — was in the Colonial Office, and

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have become most wealthy and prosperous freeholders in Ca- nada,— if by aided Emigration the starving weavers who left Paisley to settle in the Bathurst District, could contribute in 1842 to the starving weavers then breathing in Paisley, — if by a totally unaided and a most improvident Emigration, the dejected and heartbroken islanders of Lewis could sustain themselves, and settle in the townships of Lingwick and Bury, — what results might not rationally be anticipated from a well- matured, judicious, and provident Colonization ? I have briefly adverted to the progressive settlement of Canada since the first Frenchman, who planted the cross on its majestic streams three centuries ago, to the present period. A century after- wards the enterprising Charlevoix, in making a very extended exploration of the vast country, still belonging to France, in passing through the lakes in 1720, and describing the lands bordering on the district, remarks : — " They are not equally proper for every sort of grain, but most of them are of a won- derful fertility, and I have known some produce good wheat for eighteen years running, without any manure ; and besides, all of them are proper for some particular use."

During my ten years' residence in Canada, I have personally witnessed the most surprising improvements in husbandry, horticulture, and floriculture. I have seen agricultural socie- ties forming in every district, wisely stimulating, by the rewards offered, the collection of seeds and plants from every region, and adopting such as have been found most congenial to the climate and soil ; new branches of culture and mechanical industry in- troduced; excellent selections from domestic and foreign stock of the animals which propagate most rapidly, with the least ex- pense of subsistence, and yield the largest returns to the hus- bandman's care ; and every inducement held out to stimulate invention to the discovery of new systems or principles of tillage, machines, and implements, for increasing the fertility of the soil, and the productiveness of human labour.

Previously, agricultural improvement had been last, though it should always be first. By agriculture nations exist; it

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supports and clotlies mankind ; it furnislies the resources for protection and defence, and the means of even moral improve- ment and intellectual cultivation. Portions of a community, cities, and even states, may exist by exercising the mechanic arts, or by going down to the sea in ships; but there must, never- theless, be somewhere some larger agricultural community to furnish the productions and fabrics indispensable even in such forms of society. The necessary minerals, iron, lead, copper, and others, are beneficial only because they are employed in aid of agriculture, or in preparing its productions for our use ; and even the metals, which by consent of mankind are called pre- cious, have no value except as representatives of the fruits of industry. Other interests may rise and fall, and other masses may combine, dissolve, and recombine, and the agricultural mass be scarcely afiected, but the whole body politic sympathise Avhen this interest is depressed and tliis class suffers.

In England the cost of land fit for tillage is ten times greater than in Canada ; the price of labour in America is double that in Europe. The land generally in Canada is therefore cultivated imperfectly, and its productions are seldom equal to one half its capacity. Thus one of its great advantages is coun- terbalanced by a deficiency of physical force. Notwithstanding its population augments with great rapidity, by domestic in- crease and immigration, yet such is the demand for labour and service in commercial towns, and in the improvement of roads and rivers, and so attractive are its new settlements in the West, that the deficiency of labour continues the same, and its value, under ordinary circumstances, constantly increases. Immigra- tion, therefore, is an auxiliary to agriculture. The masses in Great Britain increase in disproportion to their territory and subsistence.

Agricultui'e can never flourish where its rewards are preca- rious, or inferior in value to those obtained in other depart- ments of industry. Perpetual care is necessary to diminish the burthens to which it may be subjected : hence the utility of improving those inland communications, which serve for the

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conveyance of agricultural productions to places of exchange and consumption, and of such commercial regulations as secure ad- vantageous markets either at home or abroad.

The recent remission of duty on tlie introduction of Cana- dian produce into British ports, simultaneously with the impo- sition of a duty on American agricultural produce passing into Canadian ports, will give a stimulus to Canadian agriculture, and greatly facilitate any measure of Colonization.

The citizens of the United States, since the period of the re- volutionary war, have sedulously devoted themselves to agricul- tural pursuits. Washington, when retiring to his estate at Mount Vernon, said : " The task of working improvement on the earth was much more delightful than all the vain glory which could be acquired by ravaging it with the most uninterrupted career of conquests."

Coleman, another great authority, has declared that " The great business of our country is agriculture. Because it feeds us, and furnishes the materials for our clothing ; it gives em- ployment to five-sixths of our population ; it is the primary source of national and individual wealth ; it is the nursing mother of manufactures and commerce ; it is essential to na- tional independence. Agriculture, manufactures, commerce, stand together ; but they stand together like pillars in a cluster, the largest in the centre, and that largest is agriculture. We live in a country of small farms ; a country in which men cul- tivate with their own hands their own fee-simple acres ; draw- ing not only their subsistence, but also their spirit of indepen- dence and manly freedom from tlie ground they plough. They are at once its owners, its cultivators, and its defenders. And whatever else may be undervalued or overlooked, let us never forget, that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labour of man. Man, without the cultivation of the earth, is, in all countries, a savage. When tillage begins, other arts fol- low. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civi- lization. If there lives the man who may eat his bread with a conscience at peace, it is the man who has brought that bread out of the earth by his own honest industry. The profession of

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agriculture brings with it none of those agitating passions which are fatal to peace, or to the enjoyment even of the common blessings of life : it presents few temptations to vicious indul- gence ; it is favourable to health and to long life, to habits of industry and frugality, to temperance and self-government, to the cultivation of the domestic virtues, and to the calm and delicious enjoyments of domestic pleasures in all their purity and fulness."

And the Rev. Orville Dewey, in speaking on the same sub- ject, stated, that " All these improvements which may adorn or benefit our farms are recommended to us, not only by our own individual interests, but by the higher sentiment of our duty to the country. This is essentially a nation of farmers. Nowhere else is so large a portion of the community engaged in farming ; nowhere else are the cultivators of the earth more independent or so powerful. One would think that in Europe the great business of life was to put each other to death ; for so large a proportion of men are drawn from the walks of produc- tive industry and trained to no other occupation except to shoot foreigners always, and their own countrymen occasionally ; while here, the whole energy of the nation is directed with in- tense force upon peaceful labour."

The native fruits of Canada are evidences of its natural pro- ductiveness : they consist chiefly of the wild strawberry, rasp- berry, cherry, plum, crab-apple, cranberry, gooseberry, black- berry, currant, and the grapes luxuriantly tangling their clus- tering vines around the branches of the forest. Every descrip- tion of fruit grown in England has been introduced successfully into Canada ; and in the old French settlements in Western Canada, fine peach orchards, large pear-trees, and the common growth of the melon are to be seen in all directions. The agricultural produce of Canada consists of wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, peas, hops, potatoes, buckwheat, turnips, mangel wurtzel, all the roots and grasses of England, tobacco, beef, pork, hams, tallow, hides, butter, cheese, sugar, apples, ashes, timber, &:c. &c.

Nearly the same productions are common to Nova Scotia,

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New Brunswick, and Prince Edward's Island ; and the inex- haustible fisheries round their coasts, in the lakes, and in the rivers, furnish every requisite for immediate, successful, and ex- tensive Colonization.

The value of the British American provinces may not only be inferred from the following testimonies from eminent authori- ties in the United States, but may prove a useful monition to the heedlessness of those Englishmen who think lightly of them, and check the wickedness of those who would criminally and ignominiously abandon them. During the disturbances in Canada, a leading senator of the United States assigned the following reasons for the annexation of Canada to that re- public : —

" 1st. An eternal fence from European attacks in the rear and flank of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

" 2nd. A settling, without trouble, of the North-eastern boundary question.

" 3rd. The free navigation of the St. Lawrence (almost as important to the Northern States, as the Mississippi is to the Southern and Western) ; and then, the free navigation of the St. John's is of the highest imjoortance to Maine.

" 4th. The fisheries — free and equal privileges in them, a strengthening of our marine, and crippling of the British marine.

" 6th. The end of the British monopoly of the fur trade, and the settlement of many disputes we must, sooner or later, have about this trade in the Missouri territory, and on the Co- lumbia river ; — for, with the loss of the Canadas, British Empire is lost in America.

" 6th. The addition of thousands of miles of a new interior to the city of New York; the union, by canal, of New York harbour with the St. Lawrence river. Our own city, our own wharfs, our own ships, our own merchants, our own labourers made the channels and the agents of all the trade of the im- mense British possessions in the interior of North America."

The New York Daily Advertiser, speaking of Canada, says,

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" We look upon the possession and control of the mighty St. Lawrence — the outlet of the mightiest inland seas upon earth, the natural highway of all the regions of the north and west, — as being of immense, of incalculable importance to every man now residing within two hundred miles of these waters, from the sources of the Connecticut to the sources of the Missis- sippi. Whatever be the improvement of canals and railroads, the bulky agricultural produce of the west can find its way to the ocean by no channel so cheaply as by the natural channel of the St. Lawrence. It is the straightest and shortest line to any port in Europe, north of Cape Finisterre ; it is the cheapest and safest route for carrying the pork and flour, the produce of the west, to supply the necessary outfit for the fishermen on the banks of Newfoundland ; and the cheapest route for trans- porting the produce of the fisheries into the centre of this con- tinent, and distributing it, at a reasonable price, among the inhabitants. Look on the map ; and see how easily logs, and boards, and staves, can be transported across. What a facility is afforded by Lake Nipissing, and its two outlets, for carrying the forest on the north of the Ottawa to the western countries, to be exchanged for the pork, the flour, and the merchandize that the hardy northern lumber man requires!"

Another Journal : — " The United States does not want Ca- nada upon European considerations, — of population or territory ; but they want it on American considerations, — for convenience and extension of trade, and security against bad neighbours. They want the pine forests of Canada to supjjly countries becom- ing year by year dispossessed of their most valuable of all timber, and they must and will have a free access from the pro- ducers of flour and pork, to the fisheries of Newfoundland and the ocean." One of their leading men spoke as follows ; — " The conductors of the revolutionary war attempted the con- quest of Canada almost before they began to defend themselves — conscious that their perils were past, their designs secured, when the enemy, dislodged from the rear, could only attack them from the broad and dangerous face of the boisterous ocean. The legislators of the first Confederation were equally impressed

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with the necessity of making Canada a part of the great family of independent sovereignties, when they ordained, by the 11th Article, which still remains bound up with our written consti- tutions, that Canada, according to this Confederation, and joining in the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into and entitled to all the advantages of the Union; but no other Colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such ad- mission be agreed to by nine states. Our forefathers could distinguish between the straggling outlines of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, incapable of defence, and the compact terri- tory of Canada. This article was signed on the 9th of July, 1778, by men who, in the spirit of the times, Avere endowed with a preternatural vision, that foresaw the tendency of all the acts, and provided remedies for every contingency that might endanger the working of their new formed design for the per- fect government of man. Their wisdom and their foresight have been constantly exemplified in the bursting forth of ques- tions unlooked for, upon points unheeded, until they appeared ; and rest assured, that though the necessity of the provisions regarding Canada may not be now apparent to the thoughtless, the time is at hand when they will stand in bold relief, as ano- ther evidence of the superhuman intelligence of those to whom the western \vorld is indebted for all the greatness of pure de- mocracy." Another member of one of the States' legislatures spoke to the same effect; he said: " I can never look on the map of that dark territory in the north, commencing at the sources of the St. John's, and after indenting downwards to the 42nd degree of latitude at Detroit, bearing off again to the 45th degree, from whence it stretches across to the Pacific, hanging over the brighter climes of the United States like a gloomy cloud above the sunshine beauty of a summer's day, without earnestly dwelling on the vast importance of that dreary waste and its straggling population to these southern regions." Another senator, in the same debate, said : " Though the sea- board line of the United States is of enormous length, and can- not be fortified, we have nothing to fear from Europe on that side, though all the powers were combined against us. They

364 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

might command the seas, but no armament, however powerful, could ever cross an ocean of 3,000 miles, and make a perma- nent lodging upon our coast. The vaunted power of England could not effect it, when the thirteen original States were but a ribbon along the Atlantic, offering nearly the same profile to attack we now possess. Our danger is in the rear. We can never be prepared for war, for which it is our motto ever to be prepared, or peace, so long as a foreign power commands the mighty discharge of all the waters of the north, the grand highway from the ocean to the sources of the Mississippi. Look at the map; and you will at once perceive that Canada must be the theatre of warfare and intrigue whenever England trifles with America. At present, our position is quite unsafe. The St. Lawrence is the great and only inlet to the continent. A dam across the river at Quebec would be a certain defence against all foreign aggression. One million of soldiers along our pre- sent frontier would not be. Extension of dominion usually brings with it extension of frontier ; but it should be ever borne in mind by us, that the acquisition of Canada would reduce ours on the north from a thousand leagues to a mile and a half." I cannot refrain from giving an extract from a letter of an American of intelligence, dated Jefferson County, State of New York, November 3, 1838, and which was published in the principal newspapers at that time. He observes : " This frontier will soon be a theatre towards which the attention, not only of the whole nation, but of the whole world, will be anxiously directed. For fifty to a hundred miles from the lines, from Maine to Detroit, a large portion of the men, and among them per- sons of the highest standing and intelligence, gentlemen of princely fortunes, and of every profession of life, are leagued with the patriots ; secret associations are formed in every town and neighbourhood ; immense sums of money are raised for the cause ; squads of men are moving from different points and places to a common rendezvous known only to themselves. It is estimated that they number 10,000 in this county, and that there are 40,000 men within one hundred miles of this place. Be assured, hostilities on a formidable scale will soon

AND COLONIZATION. 365

commence." In a few days afterwards the invasion took place at Prescott, cheered on by thousands of spectators ; happily, the valiant yeomanry of Upper Canada crushed this daring- aggression in its bud .

I condude these extracts, from a vast mass of a similar character, with the followins: :

In 1830, an American senator, taking an active part in the agitation then existing in the Canadas, wrote thus: — " Will the countless thousands now thronging Avestward in continuous removal, like the eruptions that overran the states of antiquity, but with more beautiful designs of Providence in their hands, — for the old world barbarian was the harbinger of destruction and death, the American democrat of prosperity and life, — will they long permit the presence of a foreign deputy at Quebec ? I answer for them — they will not permit it. The present frothy Governor of Upper Canada said, in allusion to Americans, in one of his feeble addresses last summer, ' Let them come if they dare !' The threat will not soon be forgotten. When the people of Michigan and Wisconsin are ready, — and should their rifles be pointed eastward, nothing can withstand the tor- rent of American determination, — it needs but to will, and to seize opportunities that must occur, and Monarchy, like Ma- sonry, must be swept from a hemisphere in which it has no inheritance."

To retain, improve, enrich these valuable possessions. Emi- gration has been considered indispensable by every Governor, who has been sent to preside over the Colony by either of the parties in the State.

In 1805, his Excellency Sir John Colborne thus addressed the two houses of legislature in the province : — " The exertion, perseverance, and spirit of enterprise so conspicuoTis in each district, and the independency and comfort which the more industrious portion of your population has speedily attained, are obviously the early advantages resulting from the flow of Emigration to the province, and from the useful public works which liave been accomplished under the direction of the parent state, and of the legislature of this country." In his

366 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

answer to the Address of the House of Assembly, in the same year, he says : — "The difficulties Avhich the province encounters, from a small population being dispersed over an extensive territory, may, I am persuaded, be gradually removed by your exertions. The foundation of a vast agricultural community is laid, and will be speedily raised up, if the flow of Emigration from the parent State be diligently encouraged."

In 1836, his Excellency again, in his earnest and patriotic solicitude to make this a thoroughly British 2)rovince, brings the subject before the legislature. He then stated : — " The direct Emigration from the mother country to this Colony last season has scarcely exceeded the proportion of one- third as compared with some former years. So far as this diminution may have been caused ])y a more general employment at home of manufacturers and agricultural labourers, it will not be viewed with regret. The other causes that have tended to reduce the number of Emigrants, we may be confident, will not long operate ; in the meantime, I am convinced that you will not relax in your efforts to give Emigration every possible encouragement, and to render this country a secure and con- venient asylum for such of our countrymen as desire to resort to it. By improving your system of constructing highways, and giving facilities to commerce, connected as it must be with your agricultural pi'ospects, by making the means of education general and easily available, and by attending to the condition of a people peaceably and })rudently exercising the privileges of a free Government, and firmly attached to the principles of the British Constitution, you will hold forth the strongest inducements to your fellow-subjects of the British Empire to unite their fortunes with yours, and to contribute by their wealth, intelligence, and industry, to raise this province, at no distant period, to the first rank in the colonial possessions of the Crown."

In November, 1836, Sir F. B. Head, in his reply to the House of Assembly, stated : — " This House roaponably hopes, as it will earnestly endeavour, to attract the redundant enterprise, capital, and population of the empire." Again, " The Lieu-

AND COLONIZAtlOI*. 367

tenant-Governor of this province had better look steadily for- ward to its future prosperity and improvement ; that he had better attract into Upper Canada the superabundant population and capital of the mother country." At the close of the session he thus expressed himself: — " I will use my utmost endeavours to explain to this province, that they want only wealth and population to become one of the finest and noblest people on the globe ; that the redundant wealth of the mother country will irrigate their land, and that her population will convert the wilderness which surrounds them into green fields." At the termination of the first session of the present House of Assembly, he concluded thus : — " The important alterations you have recommended in the Land Granting Department will, I am confident, produce a feeling of general satisfaction throughout the province ; and I shall exert the new authority proposed to be invested in me — to grant lands to actual settlers on terms more advantageous than the market price, and con- secpiently contrary to your own private interests, solely for the encouragement of Emigration."

From the tenor of all his addresses, it was very clear that he considered the future greatness of this province as altogether dependent on the influx of British Emigrants ; and that, " In- stead of shutting up this country, destined yet to support many millions, I wish a policy that will attract to it such a large de- gree of Immigration, capital, and enterprise from the mother country, as shall very greatly tend to promote the happiness and prosperity of all interests, whether Colonial or national."

Nor is the present enlightened Governor of Canada less sensible of the vast importance of this momentous subject. In his replies to tlie various addresses presented to him, he con- stantly alludes to it.

In that to the county of Frontenac : — '* It is a great comfort to me to receive the assurance of your fervent love for the British Constitution, and of your determination to maintain and per- petuate your connexion with the mother country ; for on such feelings and dispositions the happiness of Canada appears to me to depend. Under the auspices of this connexion the popu-

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lation of Canada has increased with a rapidity scarcely known in any other region : by this connexion, the superabundant capital and population of the mother country will bring- wealth, strength, and prosperity to Canada ; while the millions who inhabit this province, consuming the manufactures of the United Kingdom, will return the same benefits to the maternal bosom from whence they have emanated."

To the inhabitants of Belleville : — " I will cherish the hope that the due care of the prerogative of the Crown and the rights of the people, equal affection to all well-disposed mem- bers of the community, equal justice and equal administration of benefit to all races, classes, and degrees, will in time reconcile all parties, and produce that state of harmony which may be expected to unite internal happiness and universal attachment to the parent state, with the prosperity and wealth that we have abundant reason to anticipate from the peculiar advantages enjoyed by this country in splendid natural means, and in the powerful protection of a mighty Empire."

To the freeholders and inhabitants of the Eastern District of Upper Canada : — " The assurance, gentlemen, which you con- vey to me, of your devoted and unalterable attachment to the person and government of our most gracious Queen, of your earnest desire to uphold inviolate the prerogatives of her Crown, and of your determination to maintain and perpetuate the happy connexion of this Colony with the parent state, afford unqualified satisfaction, and demand my grateful acknowledg- ments.

" Her Majesty relies with confidence on the love and loyalty of her Canadian subjects, of which abundant proofs have been afforded in times past, and are likewise manifested in the numerous addresses which late events in this province have elicited.

*' My warmest thanks are due to you for the affectionate sentiments and wishes which you have expressed towards me. My constant aim will be to merit such feelings by showing in every act of my administration, that I have at heai't the welfare and happiness of this country. Long may it be one of the most

AND COLONIZATION. 3()9

splendid gems of the British Crown ; long may it flourish a land of liberty, loyalty, industry, and enterprise, increasing daily in population and wealth, a place of refuge and comfort for a large portion of the superabundant numbers which tlie genius of Britain sends forth to fertilize and civilize the untenanted re- gions of the earth. Long may the happy connexion of the United Kingdom and this Colony, in the voluntary bonds of nmtual affection, be an unfailing source of benefit and prosperity to both ; and long may Canada rejoice in aiding and upholding the grandeur, might, and integrity of the British Empire."

I could have multiplied these authorities to a great extent, but these will amply suffice. I cannot, however, but recom- mend those who feel an interest in this subject, to peruse with deep and serious attention the admirable despatches of Sir W. M'^.B. Colebrooke, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, in which the whole subject of Colonization has been "ably dis- cussed.

In the foregoing narrative I have fully demonstrated, that—

1 . The Unremunerative Capital of England ;

2. The Unemployed Population of the United Kingdom ;

3. The Unprodttctive Lands of British America —

are the three elements to combine and carry on a most useful and most profitable scheme of Colonization. It is in their wise conjunction only where the difficulty lies.

An extremely dense population, existing under great inequa- lity of condition, a few very rich and the many wretched poor, on a restricted surface, insufiicient to support them, without assistance from ourselves, is not a state of things other than ca- lamitous. If it were possible to expand this productive surface to some two or three times the present extent in the British isles, can there be a doubt of the relief it would give? Now this very thing is virtually done for England in her vast and valuable Colonies. And that the incremental portions are separated from the mother land by seas and oceans, and are found in various climes, is very far from a disadvantage. All

B B

370 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

the nations are uniting, as effectually as if in a common cause, ao-ainst the commercial and manufacturino- interests of Britain, Great and wonderful as have been the efforts of England in former times, it was chiefly by her monopoly of manufactures that she was enabled to make and maintain them. Wiiere her artisans used to manufacture for all the world, all the world are manufacturing for themselves, and for any others that will liuy. The seat of Samson's strength is at length discovered, it will be for him to prevent its translation to other localities. This will be by diminishing the proportion of manufacturers, and increasing that of the agriculturists. It is certain England has become by her long monopoly the richest nation in the world ; if she would retain that wealth she must see she does not buy her food of those who will take nothing but cash, but must raise it for herself in her own Colonies. To any extent she desires she can do so, in her fertile provinces in British Ame- rica, by the instrumentality of just government and wise Colonization. To effect these ends, hopes, and objects, was the " British American Association" founded; and notwithstand- ing its dissolution, I feel a solemn conviction that some kindred institution will yet rise phoenix like from its ashes, called for by the urgent necessities of every interest in the State.

The leading journal of the empire in its recent animadver- sions on the " North American Colonization Association of Ire- land," has extended its criticisms most unjustly and severely against all who promote the cause of Colonization from the impulse of self-interest. I shall not enter into an elaborate argument on this subject, but confine myself to the following remarks. Has not a large mass of most destitute individuals from the United Kingdom been vastly benefited by Emigration ? Are there not a vast number left behind who might be similarly blessed ? Could those whose condition has been thus converted from poverty to independence by any possibility have derived the same advancement and advantage in this country? And if those who would unite their unoccupied lands and their unemployed capital to produce these desirable transformations expect also

AND COLONIZATION. 371

to be rewarded by the industry of those they serve, is there anything in such an arrangement to justify the denuncia- tions of the press, or excite the suspicions of the public? Firmly, indelibly impressed with the conviction alike of the practicability and advantage of such a combination, I did exert myself to establish an Association founded on those principles, and it will require something more than mere declamation, however eloquent it may be, to prove that there is in such an effort anything opposed to the tenderest humanity, or the most scrupulous integrity.

I was perfectly aware that in making this effort, and estab- lishing this Association, I should encounter difficulties and dis- couragements ; I should be opposed by companies who had not made Colonization a portion of their plan, and who had forgotten that any measure to promote it must ultimately prove beneficial to themselves as landowners. A check to my exertions I also anticipated, from that supine spirit which regards every improvement as innovation, and which perpe- tually, though falsely, complains that mankind degenerate, without making an effort to check the progress of error. I foresaw that I should be regarded as visionary and enthusiastic, by those w^io consider skill in acquiring, and success in retain- ing, wealth as the perfection of human w isdom ; but I did not forget that such as these seldom bestow their countenance upon ardent philanthropists or the benefactors of mankind. I was quite conscious that it is not always those who sow that reap ; and that instances w^ere too numerous, both in Europe and America, of the sufferings, the privations, the scorn, the scof- fings, and the contumely which many pioneers in a good cause have had to endure.

The celebrated Robert Morris, the financier of the American revolution, died a bankrupt. Christopher Colles, the earliest, most enterprising, and most efficient advocate of the inland navigation of the huge waters of the Western World, was interred by private charity in the strangers' burying-ground. The splendid essays of Jesse Hawley, which convinced the

372 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

American people of the feasibility and importance of a conti- nuous canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, were sent forth from a debtor's prison. De Witt Clinton, who perfected that glorious enterprise, and whose name is written upon the capital of every column of the social edifice in America, was indebted to private hospitality for a resting-place.

The crowning barbarity and ingratitude remains yet to be told. Fulton, the immortal Fulton, whilst building, at New York, the first steam-boat, " The Clermont," we are told, was treated as an idle projector, whose schemes would be useless to the world, and ruinous to himself. The labours and difficulties he had to encounter and overcome were unvalued and uncheered. The language of the idle groups, whom curiosity attracted to see the new vessel, was uniformly that of scorn and disparage- ment. The loud laugh often rose at his expense, the dry jest, the wise calculations of losses and expenditures, the dull but endless repetition of " The Fulton Folli/." " Never," says that martyr of ingratitude, "did a single encouraging remark, a bright hope, a warm wish, cross my path. Silence itself was but politeness veiling its doubts, and hiding its reproaches." Even when the day of trial came — that day so brilliant in the scientific records of the West, when the stately steam ship threw ofi^" the dominion of the winds of heaven, and walked the waters like a thing of life — in which the illustrious inventor should have reaped the first-fruits of the well-earned harvest of his imperishable fame, — amongst the friends whom he had invited to witness the experiment all was silent and moody distrust. " I read in their looks nothing but disaster, and almost I repented me of iny efforts." To the silence upon the first movement succeeded, upon a short and trifling interruption to their progress, murmurs of discontent, agitations, shrugs, and whispers. " I told you how it would be." — " It is a foolish scheme." — " I wish we were Avell out of it." — These were the observations which entei'tained the projector upon this interesting, and to him trying occasion. Even when the vessel

AND COLONIZATION. 373

was finally got in motion — when she continued ^to move for- ward— all were incredulous. " We left the fair City of New York far behind us ; we passed through the romantic and ever- varying scenery of the majestic Hudson ; we descried at length the clustering houses of Albany ; we reached its distant shores — and then, even then, when all seemed achieved, I was the victim of disappointment. Imagination superseded the influ- ence of fact. It was doubted if it could be done again„ Or if done, it was doubted if it could be made of any great value."

Notwithstanding, however, the temporary shock caused by the failure of "The British American Association," I am still sustained by the conviction, that though individuals may suffer, and combinations fail, truth is triumphant, and principles sur- vive. " It is true," as one of the most gifted and distinguished writers of the age, Dr. Chalmers, remarks, " that a society may be thrown into discredit by the failure of one or two of its under- takings, and this will be enough to entail suspicion and ridicule upon all its future operations. A system may be thrown into dis- credit by the fanaticism and folly of some of its advocates ; and it may be long before it emerges from the contempt of a pre- cipitate and unthinking public, ever ready to follow the impulse of her former recollections ; it may be long before it is reclaimed from obscurity by the eloquence of future defenders ; and there may be the struggle and the perseverance of many years before the existing association, with all its train of obloquies, and dis- gusts, and prejudices, shall be overthrown. A loA^er of truth is thus placed on the right field for the exercise of his principles. It is the field of his faith and of his patience, and in which he is called to a manly encounter with the enemies of his cause. He may have much to bear, and little but the mere force of prin- ciple to uphold him. But what a noble exhibition of mind, when this force is enough for it ; Avhen, though unsupported by the sympathy of other minds, it can rest on the truth and righteousness of its own principle ; when it can select its ob- jects from the thousand entanglements of error, and keep by it amidst all the clamours of hostility and contempt ; when all the terrors of disgrace cannot alarm it ; when all the levities of

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374 SYSTEMATIC EMIGRATION

ridicule cannot shame it ; when all the scowl of opposition can- not overwhelm it."

The loss of the United Colonies was a deep dishonour, whilst it was a grave misfortune ; and the deepest part of the misfor- tune is, that it is not considered as a dishonour. It is by learn- ing that it was a dishonour, because our fault, that the same, though reiterated disgrace, and a similar, but far greater dan- ger may be prevented, the loss of our still remaining possessions in North America. These possessions are not more difficult to keep, nor more easy to lose, than the former. I pray God that- England may be instructed by the results of her own conduct in 1770, and that it may not be the task of history to place the present Administration on a parallel with tluit of Lord North. It is to prevent this calamity I give utterance to the expression of alarm which I cannot exclude, but which will cease when the latlgn has shared it.

That British North America should long remain connected with this country, indeed indissolubly united, until monarchi- cal institutions have taken firm root in the soil, and have attained a growth not to be checked or overshadowed by the surrounding democracy, is a result which every true lover of England must desire to see accomplished. At a period when communication between the old and new world was counted by weeks, and not, as now, by days, the shock of the American revolt was felt over the whole continent of Europe, and its contagious influence exhibited itself in the bloodshed, and horrors, and protracted wars of the French Revolution. England, though she surmounted, did not escape the convulsion of nations, and there were seasons during that tumultuous and memorable era, when every one of her institutions, civil and religious, was menaced with destruction. Let the patriot and statesman of the present day contemplate the flood of conse- quences that would burst over this country from the loss of the North American Colonies. A few days would convey the tidings across the Atlantic, and disseminate them throughout the ports of Europe. The example would not be throAvn away upon the democratic agitator, upon the fomentcr of agricultural incen-

AND COLONIZATION. 375

diarism, and tlie enemy of everything connected with the wel- fare, exaltation, and hononr of the country. If monarchical institutions be declared, in Canada, to be no longer conducive to the happiness and prosperity of a free people, would not this assertion, when reduced into practice, awaken a loud and fearful echo in the parent isles, if not in the other kingdoms of Europe 1 Would not the loss of our remaining empire in North America be succeeded, as in a former like case, by change, convulsion, or dismemberment in every part of the world, now brought by steam into a state of connexion and relationship so intimate as almost to justify our regarding its different divisions as mem- bers of one great body, of which none suffer without a sympathy running through all ? If Canada, the leader and the greatest of our North American Colonies, be "lost or given away," the strongest outwork of the British monarchy will have fallen, and the Crown have received a dangerous shock, if not the fore# warning of a greater evil to come. The American Republic would then occupy the rank so long held by England in the scale of nations, and the conquests of the East would but little repair or atone for moral defeat and expulsion in the West.

I do not deem, for a moment, that Colonial dominion is to be retained at the point of the bayonet, or beyond that time when the Colonists shall have ceased to regard it as a blessing, and have begun to complain of it as a yoke or a curse. But I do fearlessly assert, that the North American Colonies, as a whole, are still devotedly attached to England, and feel most keenly the disregard too frequently displayed by those who should have exhibited a reciprocal affection ; that their very proximity to the United States aggravates and perpetuates their aversion to republicanism ; and that nothing but a continuation of unwise concessions to England's enemies, and a neglect of those advantages which I have endeavoured to show are within our reach, can alienate the great mass of the North American Royalists from the mother country. This I do maintain ; and this, if truly maintained, justifies me in regarding Colonization as a political, no less than an economical and philanthropic

376 SYSTEMATIC EMTG RATION.

instrument. The reflection that every band of Emigrants pro- ceeding to the backwoods of Canada is about to become an- other advanced guard of the British Eni])ire, besides a benefit to that portion of the parent state which it has left, as well as that distant extremity which it is about to occupy, — this reflec- tion, I say, so gratifying to the honest national pride, and the social feelings of every true-hearted British subject, is one that has long found an abiding place in my mind, and cheered me under many a disappointment and delay, when endeavouring to turn the attention of my fellow-countrymen to the vast and noble subject of British North American Colonization.

W. Lakk, Printer, 170, Fleet-streei.

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