Canada: its defences, condition, and resources. Being a second and concluding volume of "My diary, North and South."

Preface

I began to write this book by way of sequel to " My Diary North and South," with the intention of describing Canada as I saw it at the close of my visit to North America, but the subject grew upon me as I went on, and at last I discarded much personal detail, and set to work with the view of calling attention to the capabilities of the vast regions belonging to the British Crown on the American Continent, and of pointing out the magnificent heritage which is open to our redundant population. But the subject was too great for the compass of one volume, because connected with it, too intimately to be overlooked, were the questions of the defence and of the future of countries, which the establishment of a monarchical principle on an imperfect basis, and their dependence on the Crown, exposed to the hostility of a great republic. I was therefore obliged to contract my own experiences, small as they were, and to omit many topics included in the original scope of my writing. The book was nearly finished when suddenly, as it seemed, the whole of the Provinces, yielding to a common sentiment of danger, sent their delegates to consider the policy and possivi PREFACE.

bility of a great Confederation, which had been strongly recommended in the pages already written. The idea of such a Confederation was an old one ; but the prompt resolve to carry it into practical effect, and the words spoken and acts done in consequence, rendered it necessary to cancel the work of many hours, as much of what I had written would have been anticipated by what has been printed. There are many dangers inherent in the nature of the proposed Confederation ; there are many obstacles to its harmonious and successful working ; but on the whole some such scheme appears to be the only practical mode of saving the British Provinces from the aggression of the North American Republicans.

What is to become of the existing Governments of Provinces ? How regulate the contentions which may arise between Provincial Parliaments and Provincial Ministers and Provincial Governors by the action of the Federal Parliament and of the representative of the Crown at the seat of Government ? The difficulties we foresee may never come to pass, and others far greater, of which we have no foresight, may arise; but for all this the Confederation presents the only means now available, as far as we can perceive, for securing to the Provinces present independence and a future political life distinct from the turbulent existence of the United States. A glance at the map will reveal the extent of the Empire which rests upon the Lakes with one arm on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific, whilst its face is wrapped in a mantle of eternal snow ; but it tells us no more. No reasoning man can maintain that

PREFACE. Yli

the people whom a few years will behold as numerous as the inhabitants of these islands, will be eontent to live permanently under the system of the Colonial Office. That system is probably the only one our Constitution permits us to adopt ; but it is nevertheless the policy, if not the duty, of this State to foster the youth and early life of the colonies we have founded, and to protect them, as far as may be, from the evils which shall come upon them in consequence of their present connection with great Britain. Despised, neglected, and abandoned, the Provinces would feel less irritation against their conquerors than against their betrayers, and England might regret with unavailing sorrow the indifference which left her without a foot of land or a friend in the New World. Generosity not inconsistent with justice may yet lay the foundations of an enduring alliance where once there was only cold fealty and un sympathizing command. A powerful State may arise whose greatest citizens shall be proud to receive such honors as the Monarch of England can bestow, whose people shall vie with us in the friendly contests of commerce, and stand side by side with us in battle. And when the inevitable hour of separation comes, the parting will not then be in anger. A Constitutional Republic, in which Monarchy would have been possible but for the prudence of the mother-country, may exist without any hatred of Monarchy or of England ; and the people, born with equal rights to pursue liberty and happiness, would love the land from which flowed the sources of so many substantial blessings.

I hope that my apprehensions may prove illyiii PREFACE.

founded, and that the dangers to which our North American possessions now, and England herself and the peace of the world hereafter, are in my opinion exposed, may be forever averted.

WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL.

Temple, January, 1865

Chapter I. Page

Introductory. — Canada and the Mason and Slidell Case. — Threats of Annexation. — Defence of Canada. — Reasons for Visiting the British Provinces. — Illness at New York. — Hostility displayed there. — Monotony of New York. — Hotel Life. — " Birds of a Feather." — Nationality absorbed. — Start for Canada. — Bailway Companions. — Public Credulity. — A Victory in the Papers. History of "A Big Fight." — General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick . 1

Chapter II

To the Station. — Stars and Stripes. — Crowd at Station. — Train impeded by Snow. — Classic Ground. — " Manhattan." — " Yonkers." Fellow-Travellers and their Ways. — " Beauties of the Hudson." West Point : their Education, &c. — Large Towns on the Banks of the Hudson. — Arrive at East Albany. — Delavan House. — Beds, at a Premium. — Aspect of Albany not impressive. — Sights. The Legislature 15

Chapter III

Unpleasant Journey to Niagara. — Mr. Seward. — The Union and its Dangers. — Pass Buffalo. — Arrival at Niagara. — A " Touter." Bad Weather. — The Road. — Climate compared. — Desolate Appearance of Houses. — The St. Lawrence viewed from above. — One Hundred Years ago. — Canada the great Object of the Americans. — The Welland Canal. —Effect of the Falls from a Distance. Gradual Approach. — Less Volume of Water in Winter. — Different Effect and Dangers in Winter. — Icicles. — Behind the Cataract. — Photographs and Bazaar. — Visit the " Lions " generally. Brock. — American and Canadian Sides contrasted. — Goat Island. A Whisper heard. — Mills and Manufactories . . . .25

Chapter IV

Leave Niagara. — Suspension Bridge. — In British Territory. — Hamilton City. —Buildings, — Proceed Eastward. — Toronto. — Dine at Mess. — Pay Visits. — Public Edifices. — Sleighs. — Amusement of the Boys. — Camaraderie, in the Army. — Kindly Feeling dis- 1*

X CONTENTS.

PAGE

played. — Journey resumed towards Quebec. -»- Intense Cold. — Snow Landscape". — Morning in the Train. — Hunger and lesser Troubles. — Kingston, its Rise and military Position; Harbor, Dockyards; Its Connection with the Prince of Wales's Tour. — The upper St. Lawrence. — Canada as to Defence .... 47

CHAPTER Y.

Arrive at Cornwall. — The St. Lawrence. — Gossip on India. — Aspect of the Country. — Montreal. — The St. Lawrence Hall Hotel. Story of a Guardsman. — Burnside. — Dinner. — Refuse a Banquet. — Flags. — Climate. — Salon-a-manger. — Contrast of Americans and English. — Sleighs. — The " Driving Club." — The Victoria Bridge. — Uneasy Feeling. — Monument to Irish Emigrants. Irish Character. — Montreal and New York.*. — The Rink. — Sir F. Williams. — Influence of the Northerners . . . " . .62

CHAPTER YL

Visit the "Lions" of Montreal. — The 47th Regiment. — The City open to Attack. — Quays, Public Buildings. — French Colonization. — Rise of Montreal. — Stone. — A French-Anglicized City. Loyalty of Canadians. — Arrival of Troops. — Facings. — British and American Army compared. — Experience needed by Latter. — . Slavery 76

CHAPTER VII.

First View of Quebec. — Passage of the St. Lawrence. — Novel and rather alarming Situation. — Russell's Hotel. — The Falls of Montmorenci, and the " Cone." — Aspect of the City. — The Point. — " Tarboggining." — Description of the " Cone." — Audacity of one of my Companions. — A Canadian Dinner. — Call on the Governor. Visit the Citadel. — Its Position. — Capabilities for Defence. — View from Parapet. — The Armory. — Old Muskets. — Red-tape Thoughtfulness. — French and English Occupation of Quebec. — Strength of Quebec 88

CHAPTER VIII.

Lower Canada and Ancient France. — Soldiers in Garrison at Quebec. — Canadian Volunteers. — The Governor-General Viscount Monck. — Uniform in the United States. — A Sleighing Party. — Dinner and Calico Ball . . . . . . . . . 107

CHAPTER IX.

Canadian View of the American Struggle. — English Officers in the States. — My own Position in the States and in Canada. — The Ursulines in Quebec. — General Montcalm. — French Canadians. Imperial Honors. — Celts and Saxons. — Salmon Fishing. — Early Government of Canada. — Past and Future . . . . . 113

CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER X.

1»AGE

Canadian Hospitality. — Muffins. — Departure for the States. — Desertions. — Montreal again. — Southerners in Montreal. — Drill and Snow-Shoes. — Winter Campaigning. — Snow-Drifts. — Military Discontent .... * 131

CHAPTER XI.

Extent of Canada. — The Lakes. —Canadian Wealth. — Early History. — Jacques Carder. — English and French Colonists. — Colonial and Acadian Troubles. — La Salle. — Border Conflicts. — Early Expeditions. — Invasions from New England. — Louisburg and Ticonderoga. — The Colonial Insurrection. — Partition of Canada, Progress of Upper Canada. — France and Canada. —The American Invasion. —Winter Campaign. — New Orleans and Plattsburg. Peace of Ghent. — Political Controversies. — Winter Communication. — Sentiments of Hon, Joseph Howe. — General View of Imperial and Colonial Kelations. , . . . * . . . 140

CHAPTER XII.

The Militia. — American Intentions. — Instability of the Volunteer Principle. — The Drilling of Militia. — The Commission of 1862. — The Duke of Newcastle's Views. — Militia Schemes. — Volunteer Force. — Apathy of the French Canadians. — The First Summons 177

CHAPTER XIII.

Possible Dangers. — The Future Danger. — Open to Attack. — Canals and Railways. — Probable Lines of Invasion. — Lines of Attack and Defence^ — London. — Toronto. — Defences of Kingston. — Defences of Quebec. . . . 197

CHAPTER XIV.

Rapid Increase of Population. — Mineral Wealth. — Cereals. — Imports and Exports. — Climate. — Agriculture. — A Settler's Life . . 213

CHAPTER XV.

Reciprocal Rights. — American Ideas of Reciprocity. — The Ad Valorem System. — Commercial Improvements. — Trade with America. — "The Ottawa Route. — The Saskatchewan. — Fertility of the Country. — Water Communication. — The Maritime Provinces. — Area and Population 229

CHAPTER XVI.

The "Ashburton Capitulation." '—Boundaries of Quebec. — Arbitration in 1831. — Lord Ashburton's Mission. — The Questions in Dispute. — " The Sea " v. " The Atlantic." — American Diplomatists. Franklin's Red Line. — Compromise. — » The Maps. — Maine. —

Xll CONTENTS.

PAGE

Damage to Canada. — Mr. Webster's Defence. — His Opinion of the Road. — Value of the Heights. — Our Share of Equivalents. — Value of Rouse's .Point. — Vermont. — New Hampshire . . 250

CHAPTER XVII.

The Acadian Confederation. — Union is Strength. — The Provinces. New Brunswick. — The Temperature. — Trade of St. John. — Climate and Agriculture of Nova Scotia. — Prince Edward Island. — Newfoundland. — The Red River District. — Assiniboia. — The Red River Valley. — Minnesota and the West. — The Hudson's Bay Company — Their Territory. — The Northwest Regions. — Climate of Winnipeg Basin — Its Area. — Finances of the Confederation. — Imports, Exports, and Tonnage. — Proposed Federal Constitution. — Lessons from the American Struggle. . . 274

ITS DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND RESOURCES.

Chapter I

Introductory. — Canada and the Mason and Slidell Case. — Threats of Annexation. — Defence of Canada. — Reasons for Visiting the British Provinces. — Illness at New York. — Hostility displayed there. — Monotony of New York. — Hotel Life. — " Birds of a Feather." — Nationality absorbed. — Start for Canada. — Railway Companions. — Public Credulity. —A Victory in the Papers. —History of " A Big Fight." — General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick.

I do not pretend to offer any new observations on the climate, soil, or capabilities of Canada, nor can I venture to call these pages a " work " on that great province. I have nothing novel to advance in the hope of attracting an immigration to its wide-spread territories, and any statistical facts and figures I may use are accessible to all interested in the commerce or in the past, present, and future of the land.

Nor do 1 write with any particular theory in view, or with any crotchet on the subject of colonies, outlying provinces, and dependencies, and their value or detriment to the dominant commercial and imperial power.

My actual acquaintance with the country and the people is only such as I acquired in a few weeks' travelling in the depth of winter; and such sort of knowledge as I gathered would certainly afford no great excuse in itself for intruding my remarks or opinions on the public when so many excellent books on Canada already exist.

But it happened that my visit took place at a veryremarkable period of Canadian and American history, and at a time, too, when certain doctrines, broached not for the first time, but urged with more than usual ability, as to the relations between what for convenience I call the mother-country and her colonies, were exciting great attention across the Atlantic.

When I left Washington in the winter, a great crisis had been peacefully but not willingly averted by a concession on the part of the Federal Government to what the sentiment of the American people considered an exhibition of brute force. The first year of the war had closed over the Federals in gloom. Their arms were not wielded with credit at home, — if credit ever can attach to arms wielded in a civil war, — and the foreign power which it had been their wont to treat with something as near akin to disrespect as diplomatic decency would permit, aroused by an act which outraged the laws of nations and provoked the censure of every European power with business on the waters, had made preparations which could only imply that she would have recourse to hostility if her demands for satisfaction were refused.

It was under these circumstances that England obtained the reparation for which she sought, and in the eyes of Americans filched a triumph over their flag and took an insolent advantage over their weakened power " to do as they pleased." General Mc- Clellan, playing the part of Fabius, perhaps because he knew not how to play any other part, had fallen sick and was nigh at death's door in the malarious winter at Washington. The great Union army, like a hybernating eel in the mud, lay motionless, between the Potomac and the clever imposture of the Confederate lines and wooden batteries at Manassas.

But haughty and hopeful as ever, in tone if not in heart, the Americans raved about vengeance for

RIDICULE OF THE AMERICAN PRESS. 6

their own just concessions. They boasted that the seizure of Canada would be one of the measures of retaliation to which they intended promptly to resort, as the indemnity to their injured vanity and as compensation for the surrender of Messrs. Mason and Slidell.

Meanwhile the small force of British troops stationed in Canada was reinforced by the speedy dispatch of some picked regiments from England, which did not raise it much beyond its regular strength, and tardy steps were taken to organize an efficient militia in the province. The volunteer movement had extended its influence across the ocean, and a commendable activity all over the British Colonies and Canada falsified the complacent statements of the American papers that the people were not loyal to the Crown nor careful of the connection, which, it was alleged, they would gladly substitute for the protection of the standard of the Northern Republic.

All these necessary precautions against the consequences of the refusal of the American Government to yield the passengers taken from under our flag, were watched angrily and jealously in the States. The British reinforcements were ridiculed ; their tedious passages, their cheerless marches, were jeeringly chronicled. Whole ships were reported to have gone down with living cargoes. Those who landed were represented as being borne on sleighs by sufferance routes, wbich would be impracticable in war. The Canadians were abused — and so were the Provincialists. The volunteers were assailed with the weapons which the American press knows so well how to use.

But that was false policy. It gave a stimulus to the loyal feeling of the subjects of the Crown. The Canadian press retorted, and, exulting in the triumph of the Home Government over the "Republican Administration, uttered the taunts which Americans least brook to hear.

It was assumed that the task of vengeance and conquest would be light. I received letters in which it was maintained that Canada could not be defended, and that she was not worth defending ; others merely urged that if the Canadians would not take a prominent part in aid of imperial measures for their protection, they must be handed over to the invading Americans ; that their country cost more than it was worth, and that it was a mistake to keep any connection with the wrong side of the ledger, no matter what the results of rupturing it might be.

Americans told me " General Scott declares the Canadian frontier is not capable of defence." True, Americans had told me some months ago that General Scott, now mis en retraite in New York, after a hasty return from Europe, — not, as was asserted, with diplomatic authority or with the view of invading Canada, but to save his pension in case of foreign war, — would be in Richmond about July 22d or 24th, 1861. I heard some views of the same kind from our own officers, who expressed doubts respecting the possibility of a successful resistance to American invasion.

Now if that were so, it struck me that the troops we had in the country could prove but of little use, and that at the same time the relative condition of strength between the United States and Great Britain had undergone a vital change in face of the very agencies which ought to have established more solidly the results obtained in the last trial of force and resources between them on Canadian ground. It was worth while trying to ascertain the truth and to resolve these questions.

The United States, dreading a foreign war which might interfere with their invasion of the Southern States, had ungraciously made a concession, in revenge for making which their press declared they would on the first convenient occasion make war on the Power they had offended, in a country which

FORTIFYING THE FRONTIER. 5

they had invaded with all their united power — when Great Britain, steam less and remote, was engaged in European conflicts and destitute of maritime allies — only to meet with defeat, or with success of a nature to prove their incompetency to conquer.

Was the power of this distracted republic, contending furiously with rebellious members, then, become so great ? If so, with what motive was Great Britain hurrying across the sea the elite of her troops — too few to save these vast domains, too many to lose, and far too many to return as paroled prisoners ? Why try to defend on such terms what was worthless and indefensible ? Canada, if not susceptible of defence, would be certainly unsuitable as a base for offensive operations against the States. Obviously the matter stood thus : that the military question depended on the temper and spirit of the people themselves.

The whole force of the Canadians, sustained by Great Britain, might, apparently, defy all the offensive power of the United States ; and I desired to ascertain in what condition were their temper and defences.

At this time British officers were endeavoring to prepare the possessions of the Crown against threatened invasion. The Americans on their side were busy fortifying some important points on the lakes.

General Totten, an officer of the United States Engineers, well known for his ability, was understood to be engaged on a very elaborate plan of works along the frontier. Colonel Gordon, whose name will be forever associated with the left attack at the siege of Sebastopol, aided by an experienced staff, was employed on our side, studying the capabilities of the frontier, and maturing a plan for the consideration of the government in case of an American war.

There were reasons, too, of a personal character for my visiting Canada. I had a fever, which was contracted at Washington and laid me prostrate at New York. It was of the low typhoid type, which proved fatal to so many in the Federal army at the same time, and its effects made me weaker for the time than I ever remember to have been. There was no promise whatever of military operations, and I read every day of the arrival of friends and acquaintances in Canada, whose faces it would be pleasant to see, after the endurance of so many hostile glances and such public exhibition of ill-will.

I do not wish to dwell on private annoyances, but as an instance of the feeling displayed towards me in New York I may mention one circumstance. On my arrival in 1861 I was elected an honorary member of the club which derives its name from the state or city, and was indebted to its members for many acts of courtesy and for more than one entertainment. Returning to the city from Washington early this year, I was invited to dine at the same club by one or two of my friends. Certain members, as I afterwards heard, took umbrage at my presence, and fastened a quarrel on my entertainers. A day or two subsequently the people of New York were called on, by the notorious journalist who had honored me with his animosity ever since I refused the dishonor of his acquaintance, to express their indignation at the conduct of the club ; and the members received a characteristic reprimand for their presumption in letting me into the club, from which they had kept their censor and his clientelle carefully out. My offence was rank; and public opinion — or what is called so — perhaps was in favor of the ostracism at that moment ; for, as far as I know, the people must have believed I was the sole cause of the Federal defeat and flight at Bull Run.

There was some novelty in the idea of starting for Canada in the midst of the bitter winter wind and the dazzling snow : but I would have gone to Nova Zembla at the time to have escaped the mo-

NEW YORK DEMOCRATS. It

notony of New York, which the effects of recent illness rendered more irksome.

New York is among cities, what one. of the lower order of molluscous animals, with a single intestinal canal, is to a creature of a higher development, with various organs, and full of veins and arteries. Up and down the Broadway passes the stream of life to and from the heart in Wall Street. In the narrow space from water to water on either side of this dry canal there is comparatively little animation, and nothing at all to reward the researches of a stranger.

Johnson's remark about Fleet Street would apply with truth to the gawky thoroughfare of the Atlantic Tyre. In the Broadway or its " west-end " extensions are to be found all the hotels, which are the ganglia of the feverish nervous system so incessantly agitated by the operations of the journalistic insects living in secret cysts nigh at hand. All day the great tideway is rolling in, headed by a noisy crest of little boys, with extras under their arms, and heralded by a confused surfy murmur of voices telling " lies " for cents, and enunciating " Another Great Union Victory ! " in one great bore ; or it is rushing out again with a dismal leaden current, laden with doubts and fears, as the news of some disaster breaks through the locks of government reservoirs and floods the press.

In my hotel, where I was fain to seclude myself in my illness, and to follow the very un-American practice of living in a suite of private rooms, there was but little conflict of opinion on any great event, real or fictitious, which turned up from day to day. The guests and visitors were wellnigh all of one way of thinking. They were of the old conservative party, so oddly denominated Democrats, who believed in States Rights : in the right of states to create and maintain their domestic institutions — to secede, if they pleased, from the Union — to resist the attempts of the General Government of the other states to coerce them by force of arms.

Some of these gentlemen were satisfied the South would not be coerced ; some hoped the South would resist successfully. None, I fear, were " loyal " to President Lincoln and Mr. Seward, and I am sure none would have said so much for either of them or their friends as I would.

. The majority principle forces people who hold similar views to meet together, and to select the same hotels to live in. This is unfortunate for a stranger who desires to hear the views of both sides. In the " New York," from the highly artistic and skilful operator who flashed out cocktails at the bar, up to the. highest authority, there was no man who would like to say that he was on good terms with Mr. Sumner, or that he did not think Mr. Seward the representative of evil principles. The rule was proved by the exceptions : two I suspect there were — stout Irish waiters, who did not approve of the attempts to destroy " our glorious Union," but who did not find the atmosphere of the place quite favorable to the free expression of the opinion they mildly hinted at to myself.

The sameness of ideas, of expressions, of faces, became unbearable. I could tell quite well by the look of men's faces what news they had heard, and what they were saying or going to say about it. Here were crafty politicals and practical men of business, and persons of a philosophical and reflective temperament, as well as the foolish, the mere pleasure-hunters, and the unthinking mass of an hotel world, all looking forward to a near to-morrow to 3nd the woes of the state, always waiting for a 1 decisive " battle or " an indignant uprising of the people " to drive the Republicans out of power and office.

Not one of them could or would see that the contest, when terminated, would give birth to others —

AMERICAN" CONTEMPT FOR CANADA. 9

that the vast bodies of divers interests, prejudices, hatreds, and wrongs set in motion by war over so enormous a surface, where they had been kept suspended and inert by the powers of compromise, could never be reconsolidated and restored to the same state as before, and that it would be the work of time, the labor of many years, ere they could settle to rest in any shape whatever.

I am told respectable Americans do not use the word " Britisher," but I am bound to say I heard Americans who looked very respectable using the word at the time of which I speak, when there was still irritation on both sides in consequence of the surrender of Mason and Slidell : in the minds of the friends of the South, because they were balked in their anticipation of a foreign war ; in the Federal mind, because, after much threatening and menaces, they had «een the captives surrendered to the British by the President, or, more properly speaking, by Mr. Seward.

Hence it was, perhaps, that Canada was always mentioned in such a tone of contempt, as though the speakers sought to relieve their feelings by abuse of a British dependency.

" Goin' to Canada!" exclaimed the faithful Milesian who had been my attendant — in fact, my substitute for a nurse. " Lord help us ! ThaVs a poor place, anyhow. I thought you 'd be contint wid the snow we've got here. It's plinty, anyhow. .But Canada ! " The man had never been there in his life, but he spoke as if it were beyond the bounds of civilization. He had served in a British .regiment for many years ; many of his brothers had been, I think he told me, in the service, but now they were all in the States, and to his notion thriving like himself.

In no country on earth is an old nationality so soon absorbed as in America. I am inclined to think the regard professed for England by American literary men is sentimental, and is produced by education and study rather than by any feeling transmitted in families or by society.

The emigrant, it is remarked, speedily forgets — in the hurry of his new life the ways of the old slip out of his memory. One day I said to my man, as a regiment of volunteers was marching down Broadway, " Those fellows are not quite as well set up as the 41st, Pat." — "Well, indeed, and that's thrue ; but they 'd fight as well, I b'lieve, and better maybe, if they 'd the officers, poor craychures ! Anyhow," continued he with great gravity, " they can't be flogged for nothin' or for anything." — " Were you ever flogged? " — " No, sirir — not a lash ever touched my back, but I 've known fine sogers spiled by it." It is likely enough that he had never thought on the subject till he came to the States — a short time before and he would have resented deeply the idea that any regiment on earth could stand before Her Majesty's 41st.