capital of New France subdued by the arms of England, just one hundred and thirty years before its final conquest by the celebrated Wolfe.-It did not however remain long in the hands of the English; for at the treaty of St. Germains in 1632, not only Canada, but also Acadia and Cape Breton were resigned to the French King, by his royal brother-in-law King Charles the First.

In 1633, the company of New France was reinstated in all its rights, and Champlain again assumed the reins of government. He met with much difficulty, in carrying many of his plans into éxecution; in consequence of the opposition of some tribes of Indians, which arose from his imprudent alliances against the Iroquois. In 1635 Champlain died at Quebec, a city of which he might justly be called the father, as he was the founder; and whose inhabitants mourned for his loss with a truly filial affection. He is called by the French Historian Charlevoix, "a true and faithful historian, an observant traveller, a judicious writer, an excellent geometrician, and a skilful mariner." Champlain was succeeded in the government of New France by M. De Montmagny.

In 1639, Madame De la Peltrie, a pious Catholic lady of fortune, went to Quebec, accompanied by three Ursulines and la Jeune Superieure of the Jesuit mission into Canada. This good lady founded the Ursuline Convent at Quebec, and is said to have had such a zeal for the comfort and conversion of the native Canadians, that she actu

ally cultivated the earth with her own hands, to increase her means of doing good.

In 1640, Maisonneuve, a gentleman of Champaigne, brought over several families to Montreal, the French King having vested the property of the whole island in thirty-five associates, of whom Maisonneuve was the chief. No event of any importance, relative to the settlement of Canada, took place from 1640 to 1685, at which period the whole white population of the country amounted only to 17,000 souls.

In 1709, a plan was formed by Lord Sunderland, then Secretary of State, for the subversion of the French power in Canada, Acadia, and Newfoundland, but it either did not succeed, or was not carried into effect. In the following year, Colonel Schugler sailed from New York to England, with a view to impress, on the minds of the British ministry, the necessity of adopting some vigorous measures for reducing Canada to the crown of Great Britain. He was accompanied by five Indian Chiefs, who gave assurances of their fidelity to Queen Anne, and earnestly solicited her assistance against their common enemies, the French.

In 1759, the gallant Wolfe effected the conquest of Quebec; but it was not until the close of 1760, that Canada became entirely subject to the British arms.

In 1763, a proclamation was issued by the King of Great Britain, declaring and describing the

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boundaries of the Province of Quebec; and, immediately after, "in testimony of the royal sense and approbation of the conduct and bravery of the officers and soldiers of the army, and to reward the same," the Governors were empowered to grant lands, without fee or reward, to such reduced officers and disbanded soldiers as had served in America during the late war.

On the subjugation of Canada, the whole population amounted to 60,000 souls.

In 1763, only four years after the reduction of Quebec, the exports from Great Britain to Canada amounted to £8,623 15s. 11d.

In 1775, Montgomery and Arnold, the American Generals, made their unsuccessful attack upon Quebec.

In 1783, the year in which the Revolutionary War terminated, Lower Canada contained population of 113,000 souls, and Upper Canada 10,000.

LETTER XXII.

LAWS AND CONSTITUTION OF THE TWO PROVINCES

GOVERNOR, LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS, AND HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY IN LOWER CANADA ---- COURT OF APPEAL-DESCRIPTION OF THE BARRISTERS COMPLICATED NATURE OF THE LAWS OF THE LOWER PROVINCE THE VARIOUS TENURES BY WHICH LANDS ARE HELD IN CANADA-MANNER IN WHICH THE COUNTRY WAS FIRST SETTLED, AND THE CONDITIONS OF THE GRANTS-BAIL AMPHITEOTIQUE, OR LONG LEASE-CENSIVE-LODS ET VENTES, OR FINES OF ALIENATION QUINT ET RELIEF-COM

- FIEFS

MUNITE DE BIEN, OR CO-PARTNERSHIP IN MARRIAGE.

PREVIOUS to the year 1660, although more than half a century had then elapsed since the settlement of Canada, the influence of law was entirely unknown in the country. The military authority was all which at that time existed, and even this was administered by the French governor or his lieutenant. The power of trying and condemning all persons, whatever their rank or condition in life might be, was his; and his decisions, as might be expected, were not always favourable to the innocent, nor merciful to the guilty. His most arbitrary and extravagant commands were obeyed, without any question of their expediency, validity, or justice. In this deplorable situation of affairs,

individuals were frequently imprisoned without even a shadow of delinquency, and were sentenced to some ignominious punishment without being permitted to rebut the accusations of their enemies.

In 1660, a tribunal was appointed for the trial of all civil actions, and the costume de Paris formed the code by which its judgments were to be directed. This tribunal was in existence in 1759, when the country fell into the hands of the English. From that period until 1774, the English laws, both in civil and criminal cases, were the only ones that were administered by the new government. It was, however, a cause of great dissatisfaction to the people, that they were governed by laws with which they were utterly unacquainted; and no wonder, for they were administered by men as familiar with English jurisprudence as the Canadians themselves! At Quebec and Three Rivers, officers of the army, whose education and previous habits had made them much more intimate with Champagne and Burgundy, than with Coke and Blackstone, were appointed judges both in civil and in criminal affairs. Montreal, the judges were selected from among the most respectable of the British population,—a race of men whom general Murray, in a letter to the Lords of Trade and Plantation, describes as "of mean education, who, having their fortunes to make, were not over solicitous about the means, so the end might be secured; in a word, as the most

In