378 CANADIAN LOCAL HISTORY: 



legitimate. Witness the United States and Mrs. TroUope. At the same time critics of infant 

 society should he themselves sufficiently wide-minded not to expect in infant society the 

 perfection of society well-developed, and to word their strictures accordingly. In the preface 

 to his pamphlet, which is a well-written production, Mr. Jackson gives the following accoun 

 of his first connection with Canada and his early experience there : " Having by right of inherit- 

 ance," he says, "a claim to a large and very ^'aluable tract of land in the Province of Quebec, 

 I was induced to visit Lower Canada for the purpose of investigating my title ; and being 

 desirous to view the immense lakes and falls in Upper Canada, where I had purchased som 

 lands previous to my leaving England, I extended my travels to that country, with which I was 

 so much pleased, that I resolved to settle on one of my estates, and expended a considerable 

 sum on its improvement [the allusion is probably to Springfield Park] ; but considering neither 

 my person nor property secure, under the system pursued there, I have been obliged to 

 relinquish the hope of its enjoyment." The concluding sentences of his Appeal vvUl give an 

 idea of the biirden of his complaint. To his mind the colony was being governed exactly 

 in the way that leads finally to revolt in colonies. The principles of the constitution 

 guaranteed by the mother country were violated. One of his grievances was — not that 

 a seventh of the public land had been set apart for an established Church, but — that 

 "in seventeen years not one acre had been turned to any beneficial account; not a 

 clergyman, except such as England pays or the Missionary Society sends (only five in 

 number), without glebe, perquisite or parsonage house ; and still fewer churches than 

 ministers of the established religion." He concludes thus: "I call upon you to examine 

 the Journals of the House of Assembly and Legislative Council ; to look at the distribution 

 and use made of the Crown Lands ; the despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor [GoreJ ; the 

 memorials from the Provincial Secretary, Receiver-General and Surveyor-General ; the remon- 

 strances of the Six Nations of Indians ; and the letters from Mr. Thorpe [Judge Thorpe], myself 

 and others, on the state of the Colony, either to the Lords of the Treasury or to the Secretary 

 of State. Summon and examine all the evidence that can be procured here [England], and, 

 more should appear necessary, send a commission to ascertain the real state of the Province. 

 Then you will be confirmed in the truth of evei-y representation I hava made, and much more, 

 which, for the safety of individuals, I am constrained to withhold. Then you will be enabled 

 to relieve England from a great burden, render the Colony truly valuable to the mother country, 

 and save one of the most luxuriant ramifications of the Empire. You will perform the promi 

 of the Crown ; you will establish the law and liberty directed by the [British] Parliament ; and 

 diffuse the Gospel of Christ to the utmost extremity of the West. You will do that which is 

 honourable to the nation, beneficial to the most deserving subjects, and lovely in the sight of 

 God." This pamphlet is of interest as an early link (its date is 1S09) in the catena of protests 

 on the subject of Canadian affairs, from Whiggish and other quarters, culminating at last in 

 Lord Durham's Report. Nevertheless, what the old French trader said of Africa — " Toujours 

 en maudissant ee vilain pays, on y revieus toujours " — proved true in respect to Canada in the 

 case of Mr. Jackson, as in the case likewise of several other severe critics of Canadian public 

 affairs in later times. He returned and dwelt in the land after all, settling with his family on 

 Lake Simcoe, where Jackson's Point and Jackson's Landmg retain his name, and where descen- 

 dants of his still remain. Mr. Jackson had possessions likewise in the West Indies, and made 

 frequent visits thither, as also to England, where at length he died in 1836. Up to about that 

 date, we observe his name in the Commission of the Peace. In the Loyalist of May 24, 1828, a 

 Biblical work by Mr. Jackson is advertised for sale at York. Thus runs the notice : — "Just 

 received from England, and for sale at the book stores of Messrs. Meighan and Lesslie & Sons, 

 York, a few volumes of ' The History from the Creation of the World to the death of Joshua, 

 authenticated from the best authorities, with Notes, Critical, Philosophical, Moral and Expla- 

 natory ; by John Mills Jackson, Esq., formerly Gentleman Commoner of Ball. Coll. in the 

 University of Oxford.' " (Then follow laudatory notices of the work from private sources.) 



(To be contmued.) 



