in absolute impunity, continually passing from one part of the country to another, on a broad and rapid river, where it is almost impossible to find them; and living in large bodies, it is impossible to distinguish the culprit among forty or fifty persons, all perhaps equally guilty; they cannot be made amenable to the laws. "A raftsman," say the Canadians, “is usually possessed, at the end of the summer, of a ruined constitution, spendthrift habits, a blue pair of trowsers, and an umbrella." Extraordinary gains are occasionally realized in the timber trade; and these lucky adventures of the fortunate are usually contemplated by the young speculator, who disregards the thousands who have been ruined by the same business. It is now pretty generally acknowledged, that the protection which is given to colonial timber by the mother country is injudicious. In the first place, it costs Britain not less than £1,000,000 per annum. In the second place, it compels us, as we have already seen, to use timber of an inferior quality; and thirdly, it is not true that the encouragement of this trade is a means of clearing the country. For pine and oak form only about one ten-thousandth part of a Canadian forest, and not one oak or pine in 500 is worth felling. Government.] Canada, when under the dominion of France, was governed by a viceroy appointed by the French king, and were subject to the laws, or customs of Paris,' as they were called. The political establishment of the colonies at present is similar in its great outlines to that of the other North American colonies before the revolution." Canada is governed by a lieutenant or governor appointed by the king, assisted by a legislative council and house of assembly; the former answering to the house of lords, the latter to the house of commons in the British constitution. The governor represents his majesty, and in that capacity gives or refuses his assent to bills originating either in the council or assembly. This assent or refusal must be signified within two years of the time when the bill is presented. The governor is obliged to transmit to the secretary of state copies of such bills as have been passed; and his majesty may confirm or annul them, within two years after the official information. If no notification is made, the bill is understood to be confirmed. The members of the legislative union, or upper house, are summoned by the governor under the king's authority. They are 22 in number, 7 for Upper, and 15 for Lower Canada. These members continue in office during life, unless their place is forfeited by four years continued absence, or swearing allegiance to a foreign power. The house of assembly, or lower house of parliament, consists of not less than 66 members; 16 for Upper, and 50 for Lower Canada; who are chosen by the freeholders in the towns and counties. In the counties, the 5 By these customs of Paris,' the lords, poor as they were, holding immediately of the crown, gave out portions of their seignories to other lords, who again gave out to others some of these lands, all which were subdivided into such small parts as not to be capable of further severance; and so these lands have descended ever since, so that now these subdivisions of property are a source of the greatest difficulty. One may read in a Canada newspaper an advertisement offering for sale 1-300th part of one of these lordships. It is quite a common thing to see and hear of a third of a seventh, or of a half of a sixth, and so on in such a way as makes it quite impossible for any one to know what suit, or service, or fines, he is to owe. Each possession owes various services as corn to be ground at such a person's mill, with numerous other rights, liabilities, and duties, all of a most vexatious description. The government of Canada was fixed by royal proclamations, by certain ordinances of the English governors, by 14 Geo. 111. c. 83, and at length by the celebrated Quebec bill, 31 Geo. III. c. 31. electors must be possessed of landed property yielding a revenue of 40 shillings or upwards; and, in the towns, must possess a dwelling-house and plot of ground, to the yearly value of £5 sterling; or must have paid, for one year at least, a rent of £10 sterling per annum. This, in Canada, includes nearly every active male. The legislative council and house of assembly must meet at least once every year; and the same assembly continues four years, unless sooner dissolved by the governor. The forms of business are nearly the same as in the British parliament: every matter is decided by a majority of votes. His majesty has power to authorize the governor to appoint the time and place of the meetings of the council and assembly, and to prorogue or dissolve them when he shall think proper. These are powers, however, which are seldom exerted. The governors of the particular provinces are only lieutenants, subject to the control of a governor-general, appointed to direct the affairs of British America. In the absence of the governor-general, the lieutenants are invested with all his powers in their respective provinces. The governor-general is commander-in-chief of all the British forces in these provinces. The governors of provinces, with certain members of the council nominated by the king, form a court of civil jurisdiction, for the determination of important causes and appeals. Their judgment, however, is not final, and an appeal may be made to their superiors in Britain. Disputes concerning property are determined by the laws of Canada: criminal matters are determined by the English laws. Revenue.] The ordinary revenue of Lower Canada amounts to about £35,000 sterling, which goes to defray the ordinary expense of the civil government. Nearly the same sum is yearly collected under temporary acts of the provincial legislature for various purposes, such as building courthouses, jails, &c. The military expense of the province is defrayed by the British government. The entire annual cost of maintaining Upper Canada is nearly £500,000. Religion. When under the dominion of France, the inhabitants of Canada universally professed the Roman Catholic religion, and the Jesuits were possessed of immense wealth in this country. In 1793, his Britannic Majesty erected the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada into a bishop's see; there are not, however, above 20 clergymen of the established church in both provinces. New settlers repairing to Canada are encouraged by government to take out with them ministers of whatever denomination they choose; and 100 acres of ground is appropriated by government for the support of every such minister, which is cultivated for him by his flock. In Lower Canada, the great majority of the inhabitants profess the Roman Catholic religion. The annual expense of the ecclesiastical establishments in Lower Canada is about £6,500. The bishop of Quebec has £2,000; the Catholic archbishop at Quebec, £1,000; the ministers of the Presbyterian churches at Quebec and Montreal, £50 each; and their brethren at Argentuil, £100. CHIEF TOWNS.] The capital of the lower province and of British America is Quebec, which stands upon the N.W. side of the river St Lawrence, about 400 miles from the sea. The town is divided into upper and lower. Quebec is built upon a rock of marble and slate. Its fortifications, though not regular, are strong; and it is defended by a fine regular citadel. The houses are of stone, and tolerably well-built. The river is here only about one mile wide; though, at a little distance, it widens to the extent of four or five leagues. It has a safe commodious harbour just opposite to the town, the general depth of which is about 5 fathoms. This harbour is defended by two bastions, 25 feet high, which is about the height of their highest tides. The number of inhabitants is said to be about 22,000. It sends four representatives to the assembly. From Quebec to Montreal, a distance, by the river, of 180 miles, captain Hall remarks, " may be called one long village. On either shore a stripe of land, seldom exceeding a mile in breadth, bordered by aboriginal forests, and thickly studded by low browed farm-houses, white washed from top to bottom, to which a long barn and stables are attached, and commonly a neat plot of garden-ground represents all that is inhabited of Lower Canada." Montreal.] Montreal is situated on an island of the same name in the river St Lawrence. This island is about 10 miles in length, and 4 in breadth; and has been brought into an excellent state of cultivation. On the south shore, about a mile and a half from the water, stands the city. It is regularly built, in the form of an oblong square, and must be allowed to be a handsome city. While in possession of the French, it was surrounded with fortifications, to defend it from incursions of the Indians, and the English, to which it was often liable; but of late the ramparts have been levelled, and the ground they occupied laid out in streets, and filled up with elegant buildings. Montreal is the centre of Canadian commerce, and the emporium of the North-west company. In the Montreal Gazette, we find the following comparative statement of arrivals, tonnage, and settlers, to the 24th of September, 1828, and the same date of 1829: About half-way between Quebec and Montreal stands Trois Rivieres, so called from being situated at the confluence of three rivers. By these rivers many Indians proceed to this town, and exchange their furs for such commodities as they want. The country here is fertile and well-inhabited. There are now steam boats which ply between Quebec and Montreal. Kingston.] Upper Canada has been lately divided into 10 districts, and nearly 300 townships. The chief town in the upper province is Kingston, situated at the mouth of a deep bay, at the north-eastern extremity of Lake Ontario; it contains a fort and barracks, is a place of considerable trade, and is augmenting rapidly in size. All the goods necessary for the support of the upper country are here put in store previously to being sent across the lakes, and here is the emporium for the fur-trade from the various ports on the nearer lakes. The principal merchants resident here, are partners of old established houses at Montreal and Quebec. Newark.] Niagara (now Newark) was formerly the capital of the upper province, since removed to York. It is situated on the banks of the river of the same name, about 50 yards from the water's edge; the quantity of furs collected here is considerable, and the neighbourhood being populous, a pretty brisk trade is carried on. The falls of Niagara are distant 18 miles from the town; on the road to the falls, about midway, is situated Queenstown, at the foot of the heights. On the right there is an unbroken succession of luxuriant orchards, corn fields, and farm houses. York.] York is situated on the northern side of the Lake Ontario, about 100 miles from Kingston, and being the seat of government for the upper province, is a place of considerable importance in the eyes of the inhabitants; to a stranger, however, it presents little more than 100 wooden houses, most of them well built, and one, or perhaps two, of brick. In noticing the principal cities or towns of Upper Canada, we cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of mentioning Perth and Lanark. The former, founded by settlers from Perthshire, stands about 40 miles to the north-east of Kingston, upon a tributary stream of the Utawa, named Tay, and is rapidly rising into importance, possessing, according to late accounts, 1000 inhabitants; the latter, founded by settlers from Lanarkshire, situated about 14 miles north by west of the former, is likewise built upon a fine stream, also a tributary of the Utawa, named Clyde. Lord Selkirk's Colony.] The earl of Selkirk's colony on the Red River, in Upper Canada, is now in a thriving condition. All the settlers are accommodated in houses situated on elevated and healthy spots, further back than they used to be from the river. The fisheries on the Manitoba and Winipeg are an inexhaustible and certain means of supply to the industrious colonists, who, even should their crops fail, are thus in no danger of starving. It would be good for the colony were the buffalo never to come near it for, hitherto, many of the colonies depending entirely on hunting for a livelihood, suffered severely when the buffalo kept far off in the plains. Tame black cattle now swarm at the colony, butter and cheese are made in abundance, and there are plenty of hogs and poultry. The Talbot Settlement.] The Talbot settlement lies parallel to the shore of Lake Erie, along two great roads which extend 70 or 80 miles, besides back-settlements. ; Canada Company Settlements.] We extract from the Gore Gazette-a paper of Upper Canada—the following information, relative to the progress and prospects of the Canada Land company. The tract of land in the Gore district, upon which the company's agents are at present employed, being 42,000 acres of crown reserves for the Six Nations, is now called the township of Guelph. The soil is a deep, black, and fertile sandy loam the timber is beech, maple, elm, ash, and cherry, with some pine, cedar, and hemlock. The surface is gently undulating, enough so to make it pleasing to the eye, without affecting its accessibility to cultivation. From this circumstance, also, the streams flow rapidly, and there are no marshes or pools of water to render it unhealthy to the settler, or to generate those diseases by which the inhabitants of new countries, during the process of clearing and draining, are often afflicted. The river Speed meanders through the township from north to south, and discharges itself into the Grand River, at the distance of 7 miles from the border of the said township. Its tributary streams flow into it in various directions, and distribute a plentiful supply of the purest spring water. The proposed town of Guelph, is situated on the river Speed, about 12 miles from its confluence with the Grand River; 5 from Waterloo; 14 from the village of Galt; about 30, by the present circuitous route, from Ancaster, and in a straight line, 25 from Burlington bay, the head of Ship Navigation on Lake Ontario. A road, 8 rods wide, connects the town with the bay. CHAP. III.-NOVA SCOTIA. Boundaries and Extent.] THE boundaries of the province of Nova Scotia Proper, or that portion of the continent known under that name, are the strait of Northumberland, which separates it from Prince Ed widens to the extent of four or five leagues. It has a safe commodious harbour just opposite to the town, the general depth of which is about 5 fathoms. This harbour is defended by two bastions, 25 feet high, which is about the height of their highest tides. The number of inhabitants is said to be about 22,000. It sends four representatives to the assembly. From Quebec to Montreal, a distance, by the river, of 180 miles, captain Hall remarks, “ may be called one long village. On either shore a stripe of land, seldom exceeding a mile in breadth, bordered by aboriginal forests, and thickly studded by low browed farm-houses, white washed from top to bottom, to which a long barn and stables are attached, and commonly a neat plot of garden-ground represents all that is inhabited of Lower Canada." Montreal.] Montreal is situated on an island of the same name in the river St Lawrence. This island is about 10 miles in length, and 4 in breadth; and has been brought into an excellent state of cultivation. On the south shore, about a mile and a half from the water, stands the city. It is regularly built, in the form of an oblong square, and must be allowed to be a handsome city. While in possession of the French, it was surrounded with fortifications, to defend it from incursions of the Indians, and the English, to which it was often liable; but of late the ramparts have been levelled, and the ground they occupied laid out in streets, and filled up with elegant buildings. Montreal is the centre of Canadian commerce, and the emporium of the North-west company. In the Montreal Gazette, we find the following comparative statement of arrivals, tonnage, and settlers, to the 24th of September, 1828, and the same date of 1829: About half-way between Quebec and Montreal stands Trois Rivieres, so called from being situated at the confluence of three rivers. By these rivers many Indians proceed to this town, and exchange their furs for such commodities as they want. The country here is fertile and well-inhabited. There are now steam boats which ply between Quebec and Montreal. Kingston.] Upper Canada has been lately divided into 10 districts, and nearly 300 townships. The chief town in the upper province is Kingston, situated at the mouth of a deep bay, at the north-eastern extremity of Lake Ontario; it contains a fort and barracks, is a place of considerable trade, and is augmenting rapidly in size. All the goods necessary for the support of the upper country are here put in store previously to being sent across the lakes, and here is the emporium for the fur-trade from the various ports on the nearer lakes. The principal merchants resident here, are partners of old established houses at Montreal and Quebec. Newark.] Niagara (now Newark) was formerly the capital of the upper province, since removed to York. It is situated on the banks of the river of the same name, about 50 yards from the water's edge; the quantity of furs collected here is considerable, and the neighbourhood being populous, a pretty brisk trade is carried on. The falls of Niagara are distant 18 miles from the town; on the road to the falls, about midway, is situated Queenstown, at the foot of the heights. On the right there is an unbroken succession of luxuriant orchards, corn fields, and farm houses. York.] York is situated on the northern side of the Lake Ontario, about 100 miles from Kingston, and being the seat of government for the |