632 



fence and the lakes, and combining these cir-i 

 cumstances with the ardent desire shewn and 

 openly avowed by the American government 

 of obtaining possession of Upper Canada, we 

 shall not be misled by a belief that the present 

 means of defence are adequate to its preserva- 

 tion, in the event of another rupture between 

 the two powers. A war, undertaken for the ex-^ 

 press purpose of dismembering these provinces 

 from the British dominion, has been recently 

 terminated, in which the invader was over- 

 whelmed with disgrace, and beaten back from 

 the territory he attempted to subjugate, by a 

 force that, reckoning its numerical strength 

 only, was never competent to stand before 

 Jiim. This success may be attributed to two 

 causes ; in the first place, to the patient forti- 

 tude and invincible bravery of our troops ; in 

 the next, and certainly more adventitious one, 

 to the want of disciphne and military talent 

 in their enemies. Upon the former we may 

 always rely with the most unshaken confi* 

 dence, but not so with the latter; for even 

 defeats following quick upon each other have 

 before now taught the conquered to become in 

 their turn the victors. At the time the Ame- 

 rican declaration of war w^as known in Upper 

 Canada, and which reached Amherstburgh on 

 the afternoon of July 2d, 1812, there were not 

 more than 2000 British troops distributed all 



