CANADA. 



349 



tierces. Do., 59 hi Is. Do. , 23 half-brls. Grain: 

 Wheat, 106,301 minots. Indian meal, 476 brls. 

 Oats, or Rye, 429 do. Flaxseed, 1345 min. 

 Oats, 6185 do. Do., 1882 bags. Pease, 1748 

 min. Hams and Sausages, 43 kegs. Do., 10,884 

 Ibs. Lard, 13,020 do. Pork, 10,118 brls. Do., 399 

 half-brls. Timber: Ash, 1394 tons. Birch and 

 Maple, 486 do. Elm, 11,528 do. Oak, 26,125 do. 

 Pine, 188,778 do. Broad planks, 4804 do. Bat- 

 tens, 89,478 pieces. Billets, 174 do. Deals, 

 2,083,302 do. Deal-ends, 69,865 do. Masts and 

 Bowsprits, 776 do. Spars, 3104 do. Knees, 230 

 do. Oars, 17,973 do. Hoops, 77,990 do. Tree- 

 nails, 23,756 do. Shingles, 37,100 do. Lath- 

 wood, 1946 cords. Staves, side and heading, 

 752,500 pieces Do., Pipe and Puncheon, 2,939,049 

 do. Do., Barrel, 848,819 do. Deal ends, 4574 

 do. Do., 6426 packs. Handspikes, 13,028 no. 

 Tobacco-leaf, 5890 Ibs. Furs : Beaver, 5490 skins. 

 Bear and Cub, 264 do. Fox, 684 do. Fisher, 

 47 do. Lanx, 385 do. Minx, 530 do. Martin, 

 4536 do. Musk-rat, 16,848 do. Otter, 729 do. 

 Racoons, 4 do. Wolverine, 16 do. Castorum, 

 169 Ibs. Seal skins., 30 packs. Buffalo, 31 

 skins. 



The maritime exports for the same year (1834,) 

 from Montreal, which first became a port of entry 

 in 1831, were as follows: 



Montreal. Ashes, Pot, Canada, 14,091 brls. 

 Ditto, United States, 1334 do. Do., Pearl, 

 Canada, 4436 do. Do., United States, 3740 do. 

 Apples, 107 do. Biscuits, 335 do. Bones, 2000 

 pieces. Butter, 103 kegs. Candles, 100 boxes. 

 Castorum, 260 Ibs. Furs and Skins : Beaver, 

 3811 no. Bears and Cubs, 537 do. Fishers, 249 

 do. Fox, 751 do. Lynx, 187 do. Martin, 8322 

 do. Minx, 2016 do. Musk-rat, 49,538 do. Ot- 

 ter, 1871 do. Racoon, 130 do. Flour, 32,218 

 brls. Grain : Wheat, 547,357 minots. Pease, 186 

 do. Hides, raw, 2510 no. Beef, 1441 brls. Pork, 

 1266 do. Oil Cake, 48,000 Ibs. Oars, ash, 1899 

 no. Staves, W. I. 218,433 do. Do., Standard, 

 98,671 do. Do., barrel, 15,644 do. Do., Foreign 

 7197 do. Timber: ash, 123 tons. Birch, 7 do. 

 do. Basswood, 3 do. Elm, 203 do. Oak, 719 

 do. Pine, 1092 do. Boards, 28, 171 pieces. Deals, 

 64,788 do. Deal-ends, 5853 do. Planks, 782. 

 Handspikes, 6020. Soap, 110 boxes. Tobacco- 

 leaf, 14,000 bs. 



Value of the exports from Quebec and Montreal, 

 in the year 1836 ; and also the corn entered at 

 Quebec : 



Exports to Great Britain, 620,087; Ireland, 

 143,893; B. N. A. Colonies, 159,413; B. W. 

 Indies, 38,886; Oporto, 1222; Jersey, 220; 

 United States, 1,913 : total, 965,635. Value 

 of exports from Montreal, in 1836, 249,674; 

 Barley entered at Quebec in 1836, 9,328 bushels ; 

 Wheat entered at Quebec in 1836, 364,544 do. 



Recent Political Events The government of 

 Canada, when it was in possession of the French, 

 was a pure despotism, being neither checked by 

 council nor parliament. When the province was 

 conquered by the arms of Britain, in 1759, no con- 

 quered people could be more liberally treated than 

 were the French colonists of Canada. Their es- 

 tates were untouched, and not only was their reli- 

 gion (the Roman Catholic) tolerated, but the large 

 property with which it had been invested was pre- 

 served to it entire. In 1774, an act was passed, 

 vesting the authority in a governor, aided by a 

 council of not less than seventeen persons, and not 



exceeding twenty-three in number, who had power 

 to frame ordinances, but not to levy taxes, except 

 for making public roads and erecting a few local 

 structures. By this act, the French law, which 

 had been temporarily superseded, was restored. 

 In 1791, a constitution, devised by Lord Grenville, 

 and introduced by Mr P-'tt, was granted to Canada. 

 By this constitution, it was intended to assimilate 

 the form of government in Canada to that of Eng- 

 land. The governor stood for the king ; a legisla- 

 tive council, appointed by the crown, for the house 

 of lords; and a legislative assembly, elected by the 

 people, for the house of commons. The qualifica- 

 tion of an elector for the assembly was fixed at 

 forty shillings in land in the county districts, and 

 owning a house of five pounds rental, or renting 

 one of ten pounds, in the towns. The division 

 into representative districts was left to the gover- 

 nor. One important branch of the measure was 

 the separation of the provinces of Upper and Lower 

 Canada. Lower Canada was for the most part in- 

 habited by descendants of the French, who were 

 Roman Catholics, and had their own French laws, 

 including very peculiar laws affecting the tenure of 

 land. Upper Canada was peopled by emigrants 

 from the former British provinces, now composing 

 the United States, and by English settlers, chiefly 

 if not entirely Protestants, and attached to the 

 laws and customs of England. With the wish to 

 give the English in Canada the advantages, which, 

 as they alleged, they lost by the act of 1774, there 

 was also a desire to secure to the French Canadians 

 their religion and customs ; and this liberal po- 

 licy, it was thought, would be most effectually 

 realized by separating them from the rest of the 

 colony. A distinct constitution was therefore ap- 

 pointed for each. 



The endeavour to assimilate the constitution of 

 Lower Canada to that of Britain was perhaps un- 

 fortunate, inasmuch as the position of a dependent 

 colony, formed of aliens, is different from that of an 

 independent country. The constitution of Britain 

 provides a supreme power, whereas it was not 

 contemplated to give supreme power to Canada; 

 and however liberally the colony might be governed, 

 there must always be questions to be decided by 

 the parliament of Britain, without reference to the 

 wishes or even the interests of the colony, such as 

 questions of peace or war, of trade with other co- 

 lonies, with foreign countries, &c. It is now, also, 

 a recognised principle in the working of the British 

 constitution, that the ministry should command a 

 majority in the house of commons. The sovereign, 

 though able to name or dismiss his advisers at plea- 

 sure, is obliged to appoint those only who are 

 acceptable to a majority of that house, otherwise 

 the business of the public could not be long pro- 

 secuted with advantage. In Lower Canada, on the 

 other hand, the executive was entirely indepen- 

 dent of the house of assembly ; the one brancli of 

 legislature was almost solely British, the other 

 French ; and for a long series of years the parties 

 in the assembly who commanded large majorities 

 were, on that special ground, excluded from every 

 ministerial office. Lord Durham has given it as 

 his opinion that much of the cause of Canadian dis- 

 turbances lay in national antipathy ; but this na- 

 tional hostility is only of recent growth, for during 

 the war of independence with America, and the 

 war of 1813, the French Canadians displayed every 

 feeling of attachment to the British government, 

 and rejected all invitations of fellowship from the 



