TAN AD A. 



839 



riiambly, and La Chine. The government is model- 

 led on the principles of the British constitution. The 

 executive power is vested in a governor, with a coun- 

 cil of ten members, all appointed by the king of Great 

 Britain. The legislature, or provincial parliament, 

 is composed of a council of twenty-eight members, ap- 

 pointed by the king, anda house of assembly of fifty mem- 

 bers, elected by the people. About nine-tenths of the. in 

 habitants are Catholics ; the majority of the remainder 

 are Episcopalians. There ore two bishops residing at 

 Quebec, one Catholic, the other of the church of Eng- 

 land. The number of Catholic clergymen, in IS II, 

 was 140; of Episcopal clergymen, in 1829, 25, and 

 of Presbyterian, 4. There are respectable seminaries 

 at Quebec and Montreal, but education is generally 

 neglected by the French Canadians, the most of whom 

 are unable to read and write. The descendants of 

 the ancient Canadian colonists retain the politeness, 

 sprightliness, and easy manners of the old French, 

 from whom they sprung. Their houses are built of 

 stone and plastered, seldom, except in the. towns, of 

 more than one story, and made extremely warm by 

 means of stoves. Their furniture is generally of their 

 own workmanship, and very simple. Their principal 

 article of food is pease soup, with a small quantity of 

 pork boiled in it, and a dish of thick, sour milk. The 

 women and children seldom make use of any other 

 drink than milk and water, but the men are passion- 

 ately fond of rum. During the six months of winter, 

 a great portion of the time is devoted to amusement, 

 of which the most prevalent is dancing. The climate 

 is healthy, but the extremes of heat and cold are very 

 great ; the thermometer sometimes rising, in summer, 

 to 100 Fahr., and sinking, in winter, to 40 below 0. 



The great river St Lawrence forms a striking feature 

 of Canada. The other principal rivers are the Ottawa 

 or Uttawas, Richelieu or Sorel, St Francis, Chandiere, 

 Saguenay, St Maurice, Black, Bustard, Betsiamites, 

 Harricanaw, and Rupert. The principal lakes are St 

 John's, St Peter's, Abbitibbe, Mistassin, and Mani- 

 couagan. Lower Canada is intersected by ridges of 

 mountains, which generally extend from the coast into 

 the interior, with intervening valleys of a fertile and 

 pleasant appearance. The valley through which the 

 St Lawrence flows is enclosed on each side by moun- 

 tains. It is mostly level, of- a very rich soil, and is 

 tliickly settled. The country lying upwards of fifty 

 miles north of the St Lawrence has been but little ex- 

 plored, and is only known to be covered with immense 

 forests. The productions are grass, wheat, pease, rye, 

 Indian corn, barley, and culinary vegetables. The 

 commerce has been progressively increasing since the 

 country came into the possession of Great Britain. 

 The exports, in 1769, amounted to only 163,000; 

 in 1808, to 1,156,000. These consist chiefly of lum- 

 ber, furs, grain, and pot and pearl ashes ; the imports, 

 of wines, rum, sugar, molasses, coftee, tobacco, salt, 

 coals, and British manufactures, amounting, in 1808, 

 to 610,000. Jn 1830, the value of imports had in- 

 creased to 1,77 1,345, and that of the exports to 

 nearly a million. 



Upper Canada is bounded E. and S. E. by Lower 

 Canada, S. by the United States, from which it is se- 

 parated by the St Lawrence and the chain of the great 

 Likes. New Britain lies on the north and west, but 

 the limits are not well denned, the regions on these 

 Iwrders being unsettled. Lon. 74 to about 98 W. ; 

 Jat. 42 to about 50 N. The population, in 1783, 

 was estimated at only 10,000; in 1814, at 95,000; 

 and, in 1 826, at 23 1 ,77 8. The. country has been set- 

 tled chiefly by emigrants from Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, and the United States. It is divided into eleven 

 districts, viz., Eastern, Johnstown, Midland, Newcas- 

 tle, Home, Niagara, London, Western, Gore, Bath- 

 urst, and Ultuwu. These are subdivided -uto counties 



and townships. The townships contain, on an aver- 

 age, about 61,600 acres each ; total, 9,694,400 acres. 

 Of these, about 3,000,000 acres are granted in free 

 and common soccage, 2,769,828 reserved for the 

 crown and clergy, and 3,924,572 still remain to be 

 granted. The country which, in 1818, had been laid 

 out and surveyed, extends about 570 miles along the 

 north shore of the river St Lawrence, lakes Ontario, 

 and Erie, up to lake St Clair, varying from forty to 

 fifty miles in breadth. The soil consists, generally, 

 of a fine dark loam, mixed with a rich vegetable 

 mould. The whole country presents a great degree 

 of sameness, an almost uniform level, rising only a 

 few feet above the banks of the St Lawrence, and 

 finely intersected, in every direction, by numerous 

 streams, some of which are navigable. The produc- 

 tions are grass, wheat, Indian corn, flax, hops, c. 

 The climate is healthy, and considerably milder than 

 in Lower Canada. Farther north, the country is co- 

 vered with immense forests, but is little known, ex- 

 cept to the Indians. The principal rivers are the St 

 Lawrence, Ottawa, Niagara, Trent, Ouse, Redstone, 

 and Thames. One-half of the lakes Ontario, Erie, 

 St Clair, Huron, Superior, and lake of the Woods, is 

 included in Upper Canada. There are, besides, lakes 

 Nipissing, Simcoe, St Joseph's, &c. The principal 

 towns are York, the capital, Kingston, Niagara, 

 Brockville, Queenstown, and Chippeway. The Me- 

 thodists are the most numerous religious denomination. 

 There are also Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, 

 Quakers, and Mennonists. Of the original natives, 

 there are the remnants of a few tribes, but they are 

 thinly scattered, and in a state of great wretchedness. 

 The following represents the co.stume of Canadian 

 aborigines : 



Some half breeds between them and European , art- 

 of very fierce dispositions and depraved habits. The 

 executive power is vested in a lieutenant governor 

 and a council of seven members, all appointed by the 

 king. The legislative power is vested in a council, 

 the members ot which are appointed by the king, and 

 a house of assembly, or provincial parliament, con- 

 sisting of upwards of forty members, returned from the 

 counties. 



History. The French appear to have availed 

 themselves of the information derived from Cabot's 

 voyage to North America, before any other nation. 

 We hear of their fishing for cod on the banks of 

 Newfoundland very early in the lu'tli century. About 

 1506, one Denys, a Frenchman, is said to have drawn 

 map of the gull ot St Lawrence, and, two years af- 



