Chapter 5

Drummond Administrator-in-chief 313 The Roads--The Inhabitants 314 The French Canadian character 315 Parliament--Waterloo 316 "My Native City" 317 The Assembly Censured 318 Dissolution of Parliament 319 General Wilson Administrator 320 Information for the Colonial Secretary 321 Sir John Sherbrooke's Notions 322 The New Parliament 323 Suspension of Mr. Justice Foucher 324 The Chief Justice of Montreal 325 "Sub Rosa" Negociation 326 Management of the Commons 327 The Banks of Quebec and Montreal 328 York and Kingston 329 First Steamers on the Lakes 330 Government of Upper Canada 331 Persecutions for Opinion's sake 332 Joseph Wilcocks, M.P.P. 333 Acts of the Upper Canada Legislature 334 The Prorogation 336 Foreign Protestants--Prorogation 337 Durand's Parliamentary Libel 338 Durand Imprisoned--Wyatt _vs._ Gore 339 Lower Canada Civil List 340 The Instructions--Foucher 341 Adjudication of Impeachments 342 Mr. Ryland's Opinion 343 The Chambly Canal 344 The Estimates--St. Peter Street, Quebec 345 Disinterment of Montgomery--Richmond 346 His Grace the Duke of Richmond's Speech 347 Rejection of the Civil List--Lachine Canal 348 Additional Impeachments 349 Some Feeling evinced by the Legislative Council 350 A Paul, Strahan, and Bate's Case 351 A Testy Speech from the Throne 352 Rideau Canal--Population--Banks 353 Upper Canada--Mr. Gourlay 354 Mr. Gourlay's schemes 355 Gourlay arrested 356 Gourlay's ejectment--Parliament 357 Governor Maitland and the Convention 358 Death of the Duke of Richmond 359 Antagonism--Maitland and the L.C. Assembly 360 Arrival of Lord Dalhousie 361 Papineau's speech at Montreal 362 Dalhousie's opening parliamentary speech 363 Facilities for manufacturing in Lower Canada 364 Honorable John Neilson--Appearance and Character 365 Quarrel of the Houses about the Civil List 366 Mr. Andrew Stuart--The Supplies, &c. 367 The Lachine Canal--Sinecure Offices 368 Additions to the Executive Council 369 The Civil List--Antagonism 370 Mr. Marryatt, M.P.--Stoppage of the Supplies 371 The Honorable John Richardson 372 Message from the Governor 373 Despotic conduct of the Assembly 374 Effect of cutting off the supplies 375 The Prorogation--Ryland's Advice 376 Legislative Union of the Provinces 377 Agriculture and commerce in distress 378 The Union Bill 379 The Church--Political Rights 380 Antipathies--Increasing Difficulties 381 Parliament again in session 382 Sir F. Burton--District of St. Francis 383 The Civil List 384 "Times" Libel--Emptiness of the Public Chest 385 The Finances--the Receiver General 386 The Lachine and Chambly Canals 387 The prorogation--Union of the Provinces 388 The Public Accounts of Upper Canada 389 Gourlay's Enlightened Views 390 Construction of Ship Canals recommended 391 Realization of a Dream--Mr. Merritt 392 John Charlton Fisher, LL.D., King's Printer 393 Suspension of Mr. Caldwell 394 Lord Dalhousie's Explanation 395 The defalcation--Tea Smuggling 396 Free navigation of the St. Lawrence demanded 397 Pettishness of the Lower Canada Assembly 398 Occupations Taxed in Upper Canada 399 Drawbacks on Importations 400 The Clergy Reserves 401 Parliament Closed--Tyranny of Maitland 402 The Bidwells and Brodeurs of U.C. 403 W. L. Mackenzie--Appearance and Character 404 Mackenzie Persecuted 405 Press Muzzlings 406 Sir J. Robinson--Patience and Oppression 407 Recall of Sir P. Maitland 408 Matthews--Willis--Robinson 409 The Gentry of Canada 410 The Literary and Historical Society 411 Departure of Lord Dalhousie 412

PREFACE.

The beauty of a book, as of a picture, consists in the grouping of images and in the arrangement of details. Not only has attitude and grouping to be attended to by the painter, and by the narrator of events, but attention must be paid to light and shade; and the same subject is susceptible of being treated in many ways. When the idea occurred to me of offering to the public of Canada a history of the province, I was not ignorant of the existence of other histories. Smith, Christie, Garneau, Gourlay, Martin and Murray, the narratives of the Jesuit Fathers, Charlevoix, the Journals of Knox, and many other histories and books, were more or less familiar to me; but there was then no history, of _all_ Canada from the earliest period to the present day so concisely written, and the various events and personages, of which it is composed, so grouped together, as to present an attractive and striking picture to the mind of every reader. It was that want which I determined to supply, and with some degree of earnestness the self-imposed task was undertaken. My plan was _faintly_ to imitate the simple narrative style, the conciseness, the picturesqueness, the eloquence, the poetry, and the philosophic spirit of a history, the most remarkable of any extant--that of the world. As Moses graphically and philosophically has sketched the peopling of the earth; painted the beauties of dawning nature; shown the origin of agriculture and the arts; described the social advancement of families, tribes and nations; exhibited the short-comings and the excellencies of patriarchal and of monarchical forms of government; exposed the warrings and bickerings among men; told of the manner in which a people escaped from bondage and raised themselves on the wreck of thrones, principalities, and powers, to greatness; published the laws by which that most chosen people were governed; and dwelt upon the perversity of human nature; and as other men, divinely inspired, have sublimely represented the highest stages of Jewish civilisation, so did I propose to myself to exhibit the rise of Canada from a primitive condition to its present state of advancement. My first great difficulty was to obtain a publisher. There could only be a very few persons who would run the risk of publishing a mere history of Canada, even with all these fanciful excellencies, produced by one unknown to fame. But "where there is a will, there is a way," and about the middle of the month of June last, I had succeeded in disposing of a book, then scarcely begun, to Mr. Peter Sinclair, Bookseller, John Street, in the City of Quebec. That gentleman, with characteristic spirit and liberality, agreed to become my publisher, and until the 17th day of September, I read and wrote diligently, having written, in round numbers, about a thousand pages of foolscap and brought to a conclusion the first rebellion. Then the work of printing was begun, and the correction of all the proofs together with the editorial management of a newspaper, have since afforded me sufficient occupation. Mr. McMullen, of Brockville, has, however, produced a history of this country from its discovery to the present time, almost as if he had been influenced by motives similar to those which have influenced me. His pictures, however, are not my pictures, nor his sentiments my sentiments. The books--although the facts are the same and necessarily derived from the same sources--are essentially different. He is most elaborate in the beginning, I become more and more particular with regard to details towards the close--I expand with the expansion of the country. In the first chapter of this first volume, the history of the province while under French rule is rapidly traced, and the history of the New England Colonies dipped into, with the view of showing the progressional resemblance between that country which is now the United States and our own; in the second chapter the reader obtains only a glance, as it were, at the American war of independence, when he is carried again into Canada and made acquainted with the many difficulties in spite of which Upper and Lower Canada continued to advance in wealth and civilisation; in the third chapter a history of the war between England and the United States is given with considerable minuteness; and the fourth chapter brings the reader up to the termination of that extraordinary period of mis-government, subsequent to the American war, which continued until the Rebellion, and has not even yet been altogether got rid of. There are without doubt, errors, exceptions, and omissions enough to be found--an island may have been inadvertently placed in a wrong lake, a date or figure may be incorrect, words may have been misprinted, and, in some parts, the sense a little interfered with--but I have set down nothing in malice, having had a strict regard for truth. I have creamed Gourlay, Christie, Murray, Alison, Wells, and Henry, and taken whatever I deemed essential from a history of the United States, without a title page, and from Jared Sparks and other authors; but for the history of Lower Canada my chief reliance has been upon the valuable volumes, compiled with so much care, by Mr. Christie, and I have put the essence of his sixth volume of revelations in its fitting place.

For valuable assistance in the way of information, I am indebted to Mr. Christie personally, to the Honble. Henry Black, to the Librarians of the Legislative Assembly--the Reverend Dr. Adamson and Dr. Winder--and to Daniel Wilkie, Esquire, one of the teachers of the High School of Quebec.

C. ROGER.

Quebec, 31st December, 1855.

THE RISE OF CANADA FROM BARBARISM TO CIVILISATION.