COLONIAL POLICY. 30? 



in endeavouring to procure a more remunerating occupation, for 

 which purpose they would spread themselves into the interior, and 

 thereby leave room for those emigrants more recently arrived to be 

 employed. 



One of the greatest evils afflicting our colonies is the system the 

 settlers have of speculating upon credit, paying for the money bor- 

 rowed an enormous interest ; the facility afforded to the farmers 

 of obtaining goods at a long credit, induces these people to get 

 themselves unawares into pecuniary difficulties, and, once embarrassed 

 by the contraction of debts they are unable to discharge, they 

 become totally in the power of the merchants, who speculate upon ulti- 

 mately possessing themselves of their property. Considerable fortunes 

 have been made in this manner ; whether it be an honourable mode of 

 doing so, I will leave to the opinion of the reader. The circulating 

 medium being very scarce in the colonies, the creditor takes an oppor- 

 tunity to distrain. The property of the debtor being sold by auction 

 probably does not realize one quarter of its value, and is pur- 

 chased possibly by the creditor, or he may have a mortgage upon the 

 estate, amounting to a little more than a third of its value, the whole 

 of which he becomes quietly the proprietor, thus ruining the prospects 

 of the unfortunate farmer. 



The storekeeper, or merchant, makes use of the influence he thus 

 acquires over the farmers in debt to him, to control their votes in the 

 election of members for the House of Assembly, which is a sufficient 

 reason why the ballot should be substituted for open voting in the co- 

 lonies. In order to obviate these abuses and difficulties, I suggest the 

 abolition of imprisonment for debt ; also, that the property of the 

 debtor seized by the creditor be valued by two magistrates, and 

 according to that valuation be handed over to the creditor, in propor- 

 tion to the amount of the debt, for its acquittal. The debt should also 

 be satisfactorily proved to have been -actually contracted to its full 

 amount, otherwise speculators might be tempted, in order to insure a 

 loan, to give notes of hand for a larger sum than virtually received. 

 Consequently merchants would take care not to trust individuals upon 

 whose integrity they cannot rely ; therefore, honourable persons would 

 reap some benefit from the good reputation they may have acquired. 



I must say a few words upon the form of government, which in 

 many colonies might be advantageously altered. The form of 

 government in our North American provinces consists of a governor, 

 or lieutenant-governor, as his majesty's representative, assisted by an 

 executive er privy council, whose opinion he must ask in some cases ; 

 but he is not bound to act upon their decision ; a legislative council, 

 composed of persons appointed by his majesty for their lives, who 

 in a measure are supposed to correspond with the House of Peers 

 in England ; and a House of Assembly, the representatives of the 

 people, elected in most colonies for four years, but liable to be 

 dissolved at any moment by the king's representative, and the parlia- 

 ment must be assembled once a year. 



It is unnecessary to make any comment upon the appointment of 

 the king's representative, or upon the admirable arragement which 

 has given him the assistance of an executive or privy council, which 



