but the principal barracks are calculated to contain a much larger
number; they stand in the market place, not far distant from the square
in which the chateau is situated, but more in the heart of the town.
The market of Quebec is extremely well supplied with provisions every
kind, which may be purchased at a much more moderate price than in any
town I visited in the United States. It is a matter of curiosity to a
stranger to see the number of dogs yoked in little carts, that are
brought into this market by the people who attend it. The Canadian dogs
are found extremely useful in drawing burthens, and there is scarcely a
family in Quebec or Montreal, that does not keep one or more of them for
that purpose. They are somewhat similar to the Newfoundland breed, but
broader across the loins, and have shorter and thicker legs; in general
they are handsome, and wonderfully docile and sagacious; their strength
is prodigious; I have seen a single dog, in more than one instance, draw
a man for a considerable distance that could not weigh less than ten
stone. People, during the winter season, frequently perform long
journeys on the snow with half a dozen or more of these animals yoked in
a cariole or sledge.
[Sidenote: SUBLIME VIEWS.]
I must not conclude this letter without making mention of the scenery
that is exhibited to the view, from various parts of the upper town of
Quebec, which, for its grandeur, its beauty, and its diversity,
surpasses all that I have hitherto seen in America, or indeed in any
other part of the globe. In the variegated expanse that is laid open
before you, stupendous rocks, immense rivers, trackless forests and
cultivated plains, mountains, lakes, towns, and villages, in turn strike
the attention, and the senses are almost bewildered in contemplating the
vastness of the scene. Nature is here seen on the grandest scale; and it
is scarcely possible for the imagination to paint to itself any thing
more sublime than are the several prospects presented to the sight of
the delighted spectator. From Cape Diamond, situated one thousand feet
above the level of the river, and the loftiest part of the rock on which
the city is built, the prospect is considered by many as superior to
that from any other spot. A greater extent of country opens upon you,
and the eye is here enabled to take in more at once, than at any other
place; but to me it appears, that the view from the cape is by no means
so fine as that, for instance, from the battery; for in surveying the
different objects below you from such a stupendous height, their
magnitude is in a great measure lost, and it seems as if you were
looking at a draft of the country more than at the country itself. It is
the upper battery that I allude to, facing the bason, and is about three
hundred feet above the level of the water. Here, if you stand but a few
yards from the edge of the precipice, you may look down at once upon the
river, the vessels upon which, as they sail up to the wharfs before the
lower town, appear as if they were coming under your very feet. The
river itself, which is between five and six miles wide, and visible as
far as the distant end of the island of Orleans, where it loses itself
amidst the mountains that bound it on each side, is one of the most
beautiful objects in nature, and on a fine still summer’s evening it
often wears the appearance of a vast mirror, where the varied rich tints
of the sky, as well as the images of the different objects on the banks,
are seen reflected with inconceivable lustre. The southern bank of the
river, indented fancifully with bays and promontories, remains nearly in
a state of nature, clothed with lofty trees; but the opposite shore is
thickly covered with houses, extending as along other parts of the river
already mentioned, in one uninterrupted village, seemingly, as far as
the eye can reach. On this side the prospect is terminated by an
extensive range of mountains, the flat lands situated between and the
villages on the banks not being visible to a spectator at Quebec, it
seems as if the mountains rose directly out of the water, and the houses
were built on their steep and rugged sides.
[Sidenote: BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.]
Beautiful as the environs of the city appear when seen at a distance,
they do not appear less so on a more close inspection; and in passing
through them the eye is entertained with a most pleasing variety of fine
landscapes, whilst the mind is equally gratified with the appearance of
content and happiness that reigns in the countenances of the
inhabitants. Indeed, if a country as fruitful as it is picturesque, a
genial and healthy climate, and a tolerable share of civil and religious
liberty, can make people happy, none ought to appear more so than the
Canadians, during this delightful season of the year.
Before I dismiss this subject entirely, I must give you a brief account
of two scenes in the vicinity of Quebec, more particularly deserving of
attention than any others. The one is the Fall of the River Montmorenci;
the other, that of the Chaudiere. The former stream runs into the St.
Lawrence, about seven miles below Quebec; the latter joins the same
river nearly at an equal distance above the city.
The Montmorenci River runs in a very irregular course, through a wild
and thickly wooded country, over a bed of broken rocks, till it comes to
the brink of a precipice, down which it descends in one uninterrupted
and nearly perpendicular fall of two hundred and forty feet. The stream
of water in this river, except at the time of floods, is but scanty, but
being broken into foam by rushing with such rapidity as it does over the
rocks at the top of the precipice, it is thereby much dilated, and in
its fall appears to be a sheet of water of no inconsiderable magnitude.
The breadth of the river at top, from bank to bank, is about fifty feet
only. In its fall, the water has the exact appearance of snow, as when
thrown in heaps from the roof of a house, and it seemingly descends with
a very slow motion. The spray at the bottom is considerable, and when
the sun happens to shine bright in the middle of the day, the prismatic
colours are exhibited in it in all their variety and lustre. At the
bottom of the precipice the water is confined in a sort of bason, as it
were, by a mass of rock, extending nearly across the fall, and out of
this it flows with a gentle current to the St. Lawrence, which is about
three hundred yards distant. The banks of the Montmorenci, below the
precipice, are nearly perpendicular on one side, and on both
inaccessible, so that if a person be desirous of getting to the bottom
of the fall, he must descend down the banks of the St. Lawrence, and
walk along the margin of that river till he comes to the chasm through
which the Montmorenci flows. To a person sailing along the St. Lawrence,
past the mouth of the chasm, the fall appears in great beauty.
[Sidenote: GRAND FALLS.]
General Haldimand, formerly governor of Canada, was so much delighted
with this cataract, that he built a dwelling house close to it, from the
parlour windows of which it is seen in a very advantageous point of
view. In front of the house is a neat lawn, that runs down the whole way
to the St. Lawrence, and in various parts of it little summer-houses
have been erected, each of which commands a view of the fall. There is
also a summer-house, situated nearly at the top of the fall, hanging
directly over the precipice, so that if a bullet were dropped from the
window, it would descend in a perpendicular line at least two hundred
feet. This house is supported by large beams of timber, fixed into the
sides of the chasm, and in order to get to it you have to pass over
several flights of steps, and one or two wooden galleries, which are
supported in the same manner. The view from hence is tremendously grand.
It is said, that the beams whereon this little edifice is erected are in
a state of decay, and many persons are fearful of entering into it, lest
they should give way; but being ignorant of the danger, if indeed there
was any, our whole party ventured into it at once, and staid there a
considerable time, notwithstanding its tremulous motion at every step we
trod. That the beams cannot last for ever is certain; it would be a wise
measure, therefore, to have them removed or repaired in proper time, for
as long as they remain standing, persons will be found that will venture
into the unsteady fabrick they support, and should they give way at a
moment when any persons are in it, the catastrophe must inevitably be
fatal.
The fall in the River Chaudiere is not half the height of that of the
Montmorenci, but then it is no less than two hundred and fifty feet in
breadth. The scenery round this cataract is much superior in every
respect to that in the neighbourhood of the Montmorenci. Contiguous to
the latter there are few trees of any great magnitude, and nothing is
near it to relieve the eye; you have the fall, and nought but the fall,
to contemplate. The banks of La Chaudiere, on the contrary, are covered
with trees of the largest growth, and amidst the piles of broken rocks,
which lie scattered about the place, you have some of the wildest and
most romantic views imaginable. As for the fall itself, its grandeur
varies with the season. When the river is full, a body of water comes
rushing over the rocks of the precipice that astonishes the beholder;
but in dry weather, and indeed during the greater part of the summer, we
may say, the quantity of water is but trifling. At this season there are
few but what would prefer the falls of the Montmorenci River, and I am
tempted to imagine that, upon the whole, the generality of people would
give it the preference at all times.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
+LETTER + XXV.
_Of the Constitution, Government, Laws, and Religion of the Provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada.—Estimate of the Expenses of the Civil List, of
the Military Establishment, and the Presents to the Indians.—Salaries
of certain Officers of the Crown.—Imports and Exports.—Taxes._
Quebec.
FROM the time that Canada was ceded to Great Britain until the year
1774, the internal affairs of the province were regulated by the
ordinance of the governor alone. In pursuance of the Quebec Bill, which
was then passed, a legislative council was appointed by his Majesty in
the country; the number of members was limited to twenty-three. This
council had full power to make all such ordinances and regulations as
were thought expedient for the welfare of the province; but it was
prohibited from levying any taxes, except for the purpose of making
roads, repairing public buildings, or the like. Every ordinance was to
be laid before the governor, for his Majesty’s approbation, within six
months from the time it was passed, and no ordinance, imposing a greater
punishment on any person or persons than a fine, or imprisonment for
three months, was valid without his Majesty’s assent, signified to the
council by the governor.
Thus were the affairs of the province regulated until the year 1791,
when an act was passed in the British parliament, repealing so much of
the Quebec Bill as related to the appointment of a council, and to the
powers that had been granted to it; and which established the present
form of government.
The country, at the same time, was divided into two distinct provinces;
the province of Lower Canada, and the province of Upper Canada. The
former is the eastern part of the old province of Canada; the latter,
the western part, situated on the northern sides of the great lakes and
rivers through which the boundary line runs that separates the British
territories from those of the United States. The two provinces are
divided from each other by a line, which runs north, 24° west,
commencing at Point au Baudet, in that part of the river St. Lawrence
called Lake Francis, and continuing on from thence to the Utawas or
Grand River. The city of Quebec is the capital of the lower province, as
the town of Niagara is of the upper one.
[Sidenote: CONSTITUTION OF CANADA.]
The executive power in each province is vested in the governor, who has
for his advice an executive council appointed by his Majesty. The
legislative power of each province is vested in the governor, a
legislative council, and an assembly of the representatives of the
people. Their acts, however, are subject to the controul of his Majesty,
and in some particular cases to the controul of the British parliament.
Bills are passed in the council and in the assembly in a form somewhat
similar to that in which bills are carried through the British houses of
parliament; they are then laid before the governor, who gives or
withholds his assent, or reserves them for his Majesty’s pleasure.
Such bills as he assents to are put in force immediately; but he is
bound to transmit a true copy of them to the King, who in council may
declare his disallowance of them within two years from the time of their
being received, in which case they become void.
Such as are reserved for his Majesty’s assent are not to be put in force
until that is received.
Moreover, every act of the assembly and council, which goes to repeal or
vary the laws or regulations that were in existence at the time the
present constitution was established in the country respecting tithes;
the appropriation of land for the support of a protestant clergy; the
constituting and endowing of parsonages or rectories; the right of
presentation to the same, and the manner in which the incumbents shall
hold them; the enjoyment and exercise of any form or mode of worship;
the imposing of any burdens and disqualifications on account of the
same; the rights of the clergy to recover their accustomed dues; the
imposing or granting of any farther dues or emoluments to any
ecclesiastics; the establishment and discipline of the church of
England; the King’s prerogative, touching the granting of waste lands of
the crown within the province; every such act, before it receives the
royal assent, must be laid before both houses of parliament in Great
Britain, and the King must not give his assent thereto until thirty days
after the same has been laid before parliament; and in case either house
of parliament presents an address to the King to withhold his assent to
any such act or acts, it cannot be given.
By an act passed in the eighteenth year of his present Majesty’s reign,
the British parliament has also the power of making any regulations
which may be found expedient, respecting the commerce and navigation of
the province, and also of imposing import and export duties; but all
such duties are to be applied solely to the use of the province, and in
such a manner only as the laws made in the council and assembly direct.
[Sidenote: LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.]
The legislative council of Lower Canada consists of fifteen members;
that of Upper Canada of seven. The number of the members in each
province must never be less than this; but it may be increased whenever
his Majesty thinks fit.
The counsellors are appointed for life, by an instrument under the great
seal of the province, signed by the governor, who is invested with
powers for that purpose by the King. No person can be a counsellor who
is not twenty-one years of age, nor any one who is not a natural born
subject, or who has not been naturalized according to act of parliament.
Whenever his Majesty thinks proper, he may confer on any persons
hereditary titles of honour, with a right annexed to them of being
summoned to sit in this council, which right the heir may claim at the
age of twenty-one; the right, however, cannot be acknowledged if the
heir has been absent from the province without leave of his Majesty,
signified to the council by the governor, for four years together,
between the time of his succeeding to the right and the time of his
demanding it. The right is forfeited also, if the heir takes an oath of
allegiance to any foreign power before he demands it, unless his
Majesty, by an instrument under the great seal of the province, should
decree to the contrary.
If a counsellor, after having taken his seat, absent himself from the
province for two years successively, without leave from his Majesty,
signified to the council by the governor, his seat is also thereby
vacated.
All hereditary rights, however, of sitting in council, so forfeited, are
only to be suspended during the life of the defaulters, and on their
death they descend with the titles to the next heirs[32].
Footnote 32:
No hereditary titles, with this right annexed, have yet been conferred
on any persons in Canada by his Britannic Majesty.
In cases of treason, both the title and right of sitting in the council
are extinguished.
All questions concerning the right of being summoned to the council are
to be determined by the council; but an appeal may be had from their
decision to his Majesty in his parliament of Great Britain.
The governor has the power of appointing and removing the speaker of the
council.
The assembly of Lower Canada consists of fifty members, and that of
Upper Canada of sixteen; neither assembly is ever to consist of a less
number.
[Sidenote: THE ASSEMBLY.]
The members for districts, circles, or counties, are chosen by a
majority of the votes of such persons as are possessed of lands or
tenements in freehold, in fief, in boture, or by certificate derived
under the authority of the governor and council of Quebec, of the yearly
value of forty shillings, clear of all rents, charges, &c. The members
for towns or townships are chosen by a majority of the votes of such
persons as possess houses and lands for their own use, of the yearly
value of five pounds sterling, or as have resided in the town or
township for one year, and paid a rent for a house during the time, at
the rate of ten pounds yearly.
No person is eligible to serve as a member of the assembly, who is a
member of the legislative council, or a minister, priest, ecclesiastic,
or religious personage of the church of England, Rome, or of any other
church.
No person is qualified to vote or serve, who is not twenty-one years of
age; nor any person, not a natural born subject, or who has not been
naturalized, either by law or conquest; nor any one who has been
attainted of treason in any court in his Majesty’s dominions, or who has
been disqualified by an act of assembly and council.
Every voter, if called upon, must take an oath, either in French or
English, that he is of age; that he is qualified to vote according to
law; and that he has not voted before at that election.
The governor has the power of appointing the place of session, and of
calling together, of proroguing, and of dissolving the assembly.
The assembly is not to last longer than four years, but it may be
dissolved sooner. The governor is bound to call it at least once in each
year.
The oath of a member, on taking his seat, is comprised in a few words:
he promises to bear true allegiance to the King, as lawful sovereign of
Great Britain, and the province of Canada dependant upon it; to defend
him against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts against his person;
and to make known to him all such conspiracies and attempts, which he
may at any time be acquainted with; all which he promises without mental
evasion, reservation, or equivocation, at the same time renouncing all
pardons and dispensations from any person or power whatsoever.
The governors of the two provinces are totally independent of each other
in their civil capacity: in military affairs, the governor of the lower
province takes precedence, as he is usually created captain general of
his Majesty’s forces in North America.
[Sidenote: QUEBEC BILL.]
The present system of judicature in each province was established by the
Quebec bill of 1774. By this bill it was enacted, that all persons in
the country should be entitled to hold their lands or possessions in the
same manner as before the conquest, according to the laws and usages
then existing in Canada; and that all controversies relative to property
or civil rights should also be determined by the same laws and usages.
These old laws and usages, however, were not to extend to the lands
which might thereafter be granted by his Britannic Majesty in free and
common socage: here English laws were to be in full force; so that the
English inhabitants[33], who have settled for the most part on new
lands, are not subject to the controul of these old French laws, that
were existing in Canada when the country was conquered, except a dispute
concerning property or civil rights should arise between any of them and
the French inhabitants, in which case the matter is to be determined by
the French laws. Every friend to civil liberty would wish to see these
laws abolished, for they weigh very unequally in favour of the rich and
of the poor; but as long as the French inhabitants remain so wedded as
they are at present to old customs, and so very ignorant, there is
little hope of seeing any alteration of this nature take place. At the
same time that the French laws were suffered by the Quebec bill to
exist, in order to conciliate the affections of the French inhabitants,
who were attached to them, the criminal law of England was established
throughout every part of the country; “and this was one of the happiest
circumstances,” as the Abbé Raynal observes, “that Canada could
experience; as deliberate, rational, public trials took place of the
impenetrable mysterious transactions of a cruel inquisition; and as a
tribunal, that had theretofore been dreadful and sanguinary, was filled
with humane judges, more disposed to acknowledge innocence than to
suppose criminality.”
Footnote 33:
I must observe here once for all that by English inhabitants I mean
all those whose native language is English, in contradistinction to
the Canadians of French extraction, who universally speak the French
language, and no other.
The governor, the lieutenant governor, or the person administering the
government, the members of the executive council, the chief justices of
the province, and the judges of the court of king’s bench, or any five
of them, form a court of appeal, the judges however excepted of that
district from whence the appeal is made. From the decision of this court
an appeal may be had in certain cases to the King in council.
[Sidenote: TOLERATION.]
Every religion is tolerated, in the fullest extent of the word, in both
provinces; and no disqualifications are imposed on any persons on
account of their religious opinions. The Roman Catholic religion is that
of a great majority of the inhabitants; and by the Quebec bill of 1774,
the ecclesiastics of that persuasion are empowered by law to recover all
the dues which, previous to that period, they were accustomed to
receive, as well as tithes, that is, from the Roman Catholic
inhabitants; but they cannot exact any dues or tithes from Protestants,
or off lands held by Protestants, although formerly such lands might
have been subjected to dues and tithes for the support of the Roman
Catholic church. The dues and tithes from off these lands are still,
however, to be paid; but they are to be paid to persons appointed by the
governor, and the amount of them is to be reserved, in the hands of his
Majesty’s receiver general, for the support of the Protestant clergy
actually residing in the province.
By the act of the year 1791, also, it was ordained, that the governor
should allot out of all lands belonging to the crown, which, should be
granted after that period, one-seventh for the benefit of a Protestant
clergy, to be solely applicable to their use; and all such allotments
must be particularly specified in every grant of waste lands, otherwise
the grant is void.
With the advice of the executive council, the governor is authorized to
constitute or erect parsonages or rectories, and to endow them out of
these appropriations, and to present incumbents to them, ordained
according to the rites of the church of England; which incumbents are to
perform the same duties, and to hold their parsonages or rectories in
the same manner as incumbents of the church of England do in that
country.