Diary in America Volume II Part 24

To prove that I am not too severe upon the Americans in the above remarks, let me refer to their own printed doc.u.ments.

The reader must be informed that the Canadian rebels, with their American auxiliaries, made incursions into our territory near the boundary-line, burnt the houses, took away the cattle, and left dest.i.tute those parties who were considered as loyal and well affected, or, in fact, those who refused to arm and join the rebels. When pursued by the militia, or other forces, the rebel parties hastened over the boundary-line, where they were secure under the American protection.

This system of protection naturally irritated the loyal Canadians, who threatened to cross the boundary and attack the Americans in return. It was, however, only a _threat_, never being put in execution; but upon the strength of this threat, application was made to the Governor in the State of Vermont, requesting that the arms in the American a.r.s.enals might be supplied to the citizens for their protection. The Governor very properly refused, and issued a proclamation warning the citizens of Vermont not to interfere. This offended the _majority_, who forthwith called a meeting at St Albans, the results of which were ordered to be printed and circulated. I have a copy of these reports and resolutions, from which I shall now give some extracts. Let it be observed that these are not the resolutions of a few lawless and undisciplined people, bordering on the lakes, as the sympathisers are stated to have been.

The t.i.tle of Honorable denotes that the parties are either Members of the State or Federal Governments; and, indeed, the parties whose names appear on the committee, are all of the first respectability in the State.

"_Meeting of the Freemen at St Albans_.

"Agreeable to a notice circulated throughout the county, about forty-eight hours previous to the meeting, two thousand of the freemen from the different towns in the county a.s.sembled to take into consideration a recent proclamation of the Governor, and an extraordinary letter accompanying the same, and also to express their sentiments on Canadian affairs, especially such as have recently transpired in the neighbourhood of lat.i.tude forty-five degrees.

"Jeptha Bradley, Esquire, of St Albans, was called to the chair, and, agreeable to a resolve of the meeting, appointed the _Hon_. SS Brown, _Hon_. Timothy Foster, and GW Kendall, Esquire, a committee to nominate officers.

"The following gentlemen were nominated and appointed:--

"_Hon_. Austin Fuller, of Enosburgh, _President_.

"_Vice Presidents_."

+=======================+============+ Colonel SB Hazeltine, Bakersfield.

+-----------------------+------------+ HON. Horace Eaton, Enosburgh.

+-----------------------+------------+ Doctor IS Webster, Berkshire.

+-----------------------+------------+ William Green, Esquire,Sheldon.

+-----------------------+------------+ Martin Wires, Esquire, Cambridge.

+-----------------------+------------+ HON. Timothy Foster, Swanton.

_Secretaries_.

+===============+========+ JJ Beardsley, Sheldon.

+---------------+--------+ Zoroaster Fisk,Swanton.

"The following gentlemen were appointed a committee to prepare a report and resolutions for the meeting:--"

+========================+===========+ Henry Adams, Esquire, St Albans.

+------------------------+-----------+ NL Whittemore, Esquire, Swanton.

+------------------------+-----------+ RA Shattuck, Esquire, Sheldon.

+------------------------+-----------+ Bradley Barlow, Esquire,Fairfield.

+------------------------+-----------+ IB Bowdish, Esquire, Swanton.

"The letter of certain citizens of Burlington, and the proclamation of his Excellency, Silas H. Jennison, were then read by the Secretary, JJ Beardsley, Esquire After the reading of the letter and the proclamation the meeting was addressed by several gentlemen, in an eloquent and impressive manner, and their remarks severally called forth great applause.

"The committee, on resolutions by Henry Adams, Esquire, chairman, then presented the following report and resolutions, which were _unanimously adopted_."

After having in the report stated that threats have been made, they then attack the legality of the Governor's proclamation and conduct, as follows:--

"The committee have no evidence to show that the execution of the threats above-mentioned, or that any invasion of the rights of American citizens, would knowingly be permitted by the existing government in Canada, or approved of by a majority of the citizens in the Canadian townships; but when they bear in mind that civil law is suspended in Canada, and in its place are subst.i.tuted the summary proceedings of military courts and the capricious wills of petty military officers; when they consider the excited and embittered feelings which prevail along the frontier, and which some have studied to inflame, and also the character of a portion of the population which borders upon our territory, they deem it not improbable that acts of violence might be attempted, and even that a gang of marauders might be gathered together, and led to make some petty invasion into our territory, disturbing the public peace, and committing acts of outrage. If this be deemed improbable, still a state of suspense and doubt is not to be endured.

Every family on the frontier should live in a state of undisturbed repose. The ability not only to resist aggression, but to redress injuries with summary justice, furnishes a certain, if not the only guarantee of perfect quiet.

"With these views, at recent meetings of the people, a committee was appointed to wait upon the Governor and request the use of a part of the arms in the State a.r.s.enal. This request has been denied; and the reason a.s.signed by his Excellency is, that he has doubts whether by law he can loan out the arms of the State to be used by the people of the State for their own defence. Without commenting on the technicalities which so much embarra.s.s his Excellency, or inquiring into the wisdom of that construction of the law which infers, that because the State arms _are to be kept fit for use_, therefore _they are not to be used_, the committee would beg leave respectfully to suggest to the people that, inasmuch as they are to receive no aid from the State, it is their duty at once to arm themselves, and to rely upon themselves.

"While the governor has thus declined furnishing any aid for the security of the frontier, he has issued a proclamation enjoining upon the citizens of this State the observance of a strict neutrality between the hostile parties in Canada. The propriety of our Governor's issuing a proclamation on an occasion like the present, merely advisory, may well be questioned. It neither creates any new obligations, nor adds force to those already resting on our citizens. When it is considered that our relations with foreign powers are solely confided to the general government, and that if the people of this State should boldly break the obligations of neutrality, the governor of the State has no power to restrain at to punish. It must be admitted, that a proclamation of neutrality issuing from our State executive seems to be over-stepping the proprieties of the office, and should be exercised, if at all, only in case of a general and glaring violation of the laws of nations; and even then it may reasonably be questioned whether the ordinary process of law would not be sufficient, and whether gratuitous advice to the people on the one hand, and gratuitous interference with the exclusive functions of the general government on the other, would become pertinent by being stamped with the official Seal of State. We are not aware of any express authority in our const.i.tution or laws for the exercise of this novel mode of addressing the people; and it can only be justified on the ground, that the chief magistrate has something of fact or doctrine of importance to communicate, of which the people are supposed to be ignorant. In neither point of view is there any thing striking in this otherwise extraordinary doc.u.ment.

"No facts are set forth before unknown to the public, except that a representation has been made to his Excellency that '_hostile forces had been organised within this State_,' of which organisation our citizens are _profoundly ignorant_.

"To the doctrine of this proclamation,--that the declaration of martial law, by Lord Gosford, changes the relations between the United States and Canada, we cannot a.s.sent. Our relations with Great Britain and her colonies rest upon treaties, and the general law of nations, which, it is believed, her Majesty's Governor in Chief of Lower Canada can neither enlarge nor restrict.

"To a.s.sume that our citizens are ignorant of their rights and obligations as members of a neutral independent power, is to take for granted that they have forgotten the repeated infractions of those rights which have so often agitated our country since the adoption of Federal Const.i.tution, which led to the late war with Great Britain, and which have given rise to claims of indemnity that are still due from various powers of Europe. Every page of the history of our country portrays violations of her neutral rights by the despotic and haughty powers of Europe, among whom _England has ever been foremost_. Your committee do not deem it necessary to enlarge upon this subject."

After the report came the resolutions, a portion of which I subjoin:--

"Resolved--That the safety of the people is the supreme law, and we recommend to our citizens to arm themselves for the maintenance of this law.

"Resolved--That the proclamation of martial law in Canada, and placing arms in the hands of people unaccustomed to their use, hostile to our inst.i.tutions, and heated by intestine dissensions, have a direct tendency to disturb the peace of our citizens, and demands the immediate interference of the general government.

"Resolved--That our government ought to take immediate measures to obtain redress for the injuries and insults perpetrated on our citizens by the people of Canada.

"Resolved--That as friends of human liberty and human rights, we cannot restrain the expression of our sympathy, when we behold an _oppressed and heroic people unfurl the banner of freedom_.

"Resolved--That we hope that time will soon come when the bayonet shall fail to sustain the _last relic of royalty_ which now lingers on the western continent.

"Resolved--That we concur in the opinions which have been fully and freely expressed in the British parliament by eminent _English statesmen_; that 'in the ordinary course of things, Canada must soon be separated from the mother country.'

"Resolved--That it is the duty of every independent American to aid in every possible manner, consistent with our laws, the exertions of the patriots in Lower Canada, against the _tyranny, oppression, and misrule of a despotic government_."

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER TWO.

THE CANADAS, CONTINUED.

The next question to be considered is, whether, independent of their being important to us as an outpost to defend our transatlantic possessions, the Canadas are likely to be useful to us, as a colony, in a commercial point of view. This requires much consideration.

It must be admitted that, up to the present, we may consider the Canadas to have been a heavy burden to this country. From what I am now going to state, there are many, who agreeing with me in most other points, will be likely to dissent. That I cannot help; I may be in error, but, at all events, I shall not be in error from a too hasty decision.

That it is wise and proper for a mother country to a.s.sist and support her colonies in their infancy is undoubted. In so doing, the mother country taxes herself for the advantages to be hereafter derived from the colony; but it may occur that the tax imposed upon the people of the another country may be too onerous, at the same time that no advantages at all commensurate are derived from the colony. When such is the case, the tax is not fair; and the colony for whose benefit that tax has been imposed, is looked upon with ill-will. This is the precise situation of the Canadas, and this is the cause why there is so strong an outcry against our retaining possession of these provinces.

The bonus of forty-five shillings on a load of timber, which is given to the Canadas by our present duties, is much too great; and has pressed too heavily on the people of the mother country. It has, in fact, created a monopoly; and when it is considered how important and necessary an article timber is in this country,--how this enormous bonus on Canadian timber affects the shipping, house-building, and agricultural interests--it is no wonder that people wish to get rid of the Canadas and the tax at one and the same time. It is also injurious to us in our commercial relations with the northern countries, who refuse our manufactures because we have laid so heavy a duty upon their produce. This tax for the benefit of the Canadian produce was put on during the war, without any intention that it should remain permanent: and I think I shall be able satisfactorily to establish, that, not only is it unjust towards our own people, but that, instead of benefiting, it will be, now that the Canadas are fast increasing in population, an injury to the Canadas themselves.

Up to the present period, timber has been the only article of export from Canada: we certainly have had the advantage of a large carrying trade, and the employment of many thousand tons of shipping; but, with this exception, the timber trade has been injurious, not only to the mother country, but to the colony itself, as it has prevented her real prosperity, which must ever depend upon the culture of the land and the increase of population. The first point to which the attention of a colony should be directed, is its own support, the competence and supply of all the necessaries of life to its inhabitants; it is not until after this object has been obtained, that it must direct its attention to the gain which may accrue from any surplus produce. In what way has the timber trade benefited the Canadas? Has it thrown any wealth into the provinces? most certainly not; the timber has been cut down, either by those Canadians who would have been much better employed in tilling the land, for every acre cleared is real wealth; or by Americans who have come over to cut down the timber and have returned to their own country to spend the money. That the profits of the timber trade have been great is certain; but have these profits remained in the Canadas?--have the sums realised been expended there?--no; they have been realised in, or brought over to England, shared among a few persons of influence who have, to a certain degree, obtained a monopoly by the bonus granted, but the Canadas have benefited little or none, and the mother-country has received serious injury. That the parties connected with the Canada timber trade will deny this, and endeavour to ridicule my arguments, I am aware; and that they are an influential party I well know; but I trust before I have concluded, to prove to every disinterested person, that I am correct in my view of the case, and that the prosperity of the Canadas is a very different question from the prosperity of the Canadian timber merchants, or even the proprietors on the Ottawa.

When the protecting duty was first imposed, there was no idea of its being a permanent duty: it was intended as an encouragement for ships to go to Canada for timber, when it could not be got in the Baltic. It was, in fact, a war measure, which should have been removed upon the return to peace. The reason why it was not, is, the plea brought forward, that the taking off the protecting duty would be a serious loss to the emigrant settler, who would have no means of disposing of his timber after he had felled it, and that the emigrant looked to his timber as his first profits; moreover, that it gave employment to the emigrant in the long winters. That those who have never been in the country were led away by this a.s.sertion I can easily imagine, but I must say that a more barefaced falsehood was never uttered. There are varieties of emigrants, and those with capital speculate in timber as well as other articles; but let us examine into the proceedings of the emigrant settler, that is, the man who purchases an allotment and commences as a farmer--for this is the party to whom the supposed philanthropy was to extend. He builds his cottage and clears two or three acres, that is, he fells the trees; as soon as he has done this, if the weather permit, he burns them where they lie, the branches and smaller limbs being collected round the trunks as fuel to consume them.

This he is compelled to do, for the land having been so long smothered by the want of air and sunshine, arising from the denseness of the forest, has a degree of _acidity_ in it, which the alkali of the wood and ashes are required to correct, previous to his obtaining a crop. I do not believe that a settler ever sold a tree when he was clearing, although if water-carriage was convenient, he may afterwards, when he was in competent circ.u.mstances, have done so. Having raised his crop from the first year's clearing, what is his employment during the winter,--cutting down timber on the Ottawa for the English market? no; cutting down timber on his own property as fast as he can, so as to have it ready for burning in the early spring, and having a crop off this, his second clearing. And so he continues, with full employment on his own farm, until he has cleared sufficient for the growing of his corn and the pasture for his cattle. When he has become independent and comfortable, and has a few thousand dollars to spare, then he will erect a saw-mill, and work up his own trees into lumber for sale, but by that time he must be considered as a rich man for a settler. The _timber_ trade, therefore, is hurtful to the Canadas, in so much as it prevents them from clearing land and becoming independent people, who by other means would become so. The timber which is cut down for exportation, is chiefly from the forests on or near the Ottawa river, and the emigrant settler has neither interest or concern in it.

It may be argued that, as settlers do, as soon as they are in better circ.u.mstances, erect saw-mills, and work up their trees into _lumber_, that it would be unfair to deprive them of that advantage. I will grant that; but the fact is, that you will not do so; for of the quant.i.ty of timber and lumber exported from the Canadas, it is only one-half which is sent to the British market, the other half is divided between the West Indies, the United States, and their own consumption; and the demand of the United States will so rapidly increase, that, in a few years, the Canadians will care little for sending their timber to England, even if the present duty were kept on. I consider that this bounty upon cutting timber is very injurious to the American provinces, as it distracts their attention from the real source of wealth, which must consist in clearing the country; for, to show how great a difference this makes to them, it must be observed, that a farm which was only worth two dollars an acre when the settler first came to it, will, as soon as others have cleared around him, rise to twenty or thirty dollars per acre. Every man, therefore, who settles and clears land, not only benefits himself, but increases the value of the property of those all around him; while the feller of timber on the Ottawa only puts a few dollars into his own pocket, and does no good to the province, as the timber-dealers in England reap all the harvest.

It would appear very strange that the ship-owners should have joined the Canadian timber merchants in persuading the government to continue these duties, were it not from the fact that the ship owners appear, invariably, to oppose any measure advantageous to their own interests.

That the carrying trade to the Canadas is of importance is certain; but of how much more importance to the ship owner is the reduction of expense in building his ship, which must ensue if the timber duties were reduced. The ship owner complains that he cannot sail his ship at as low a rate as foreigners; that he must be protected, or that he cannot compete with them in any way; and yet he opposes the very measure which would materially a.s.sist him in so doing. But the fact is, that, as I shall eventually show, the carrying trade with Canada would not be lost, though the cargo would not be the same; and there is every reason to suppose that the employment of the shipping would very soon amount to the same tonnage as at present.