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between Franee and England in 1756, the Eng-
lish prepared to expel the French entirely from
the North American continent, in which they
completely succeeded in 1759. At this period,
the number of settlers in Canada amounted to
about 70,000. During the first fifteen years af-
ter its surrender to the English, it made but little
progress either in population or improvement, the
prejudices of some of the older settlers being in-
imical to the English laws introduced immediate-
ly after its surrender, led, in 1775, to a revision of
the civil code, more conformable to the usage
and prejudices of the inhabitants. The revolt
of the American States taking place about this
time, occasioned a considerable accession of pop-
ulation to Canada, which progressively increased
up to the period of 1792, when a further import-
ant arrangement took place in its Internal admin-
istration, the territory was divided into two parts,
denominated Upper and Lower Canada, with
separate jurisdictions, and a council, and As-
sembly of representatives established for each,
as more particularly elucidated under each of
their respective heads, viz.
Canada, Lower, although the least favoured in
climate of the two, is by far the most populous,
owing to its near contiguity to the sea, and earli-
er settlement. This division extends from the
United States Territory, in the lat. of 45. to that
of 52. N.; and W. from the 65th degree of long,
to an undefined boundary; the part, however,
which is inhabited and under cultivation, lies
within much narrower limits, comprising a tract
of territory about 70U miles in length, and 150 in
mean breadth, lying in a N. E. direction, from
the lat. of 45. N. and 74. 30. of AV. loDg.; the
geographical bearing of this territory has been
owing to the noble river St. Lawrence, which in-
tersects it in that direction its whole extent, fall-
ing into the gulf of St. Lawrence, at the N. E.
The settlements extend along both banks of the
river, and are intersected on both sides by
innumerable tributary streams and rivers, some
of them of great magnitude ; the most consider-
able of those on the south side of the St. Law-
rence, taking them in order from the west, are
1st the Chambly, which runs out of Lake Cham-
plain, falling inio the St. Lawrence about 60
miles below Montreal; 2nd the Tortue ; 3rd the
St. Francis; 4th the Nicolet; 5th the Becancour;
6th the Beaurivage; and 7th the Chaudiere,
which falls into the St. Lawrence, about 20 miles
below Quebec; east of the Chaudiere, the waters
chiefly flow to the south, or east into the gulf of
St. Lawrence : the north bank is intersected at
the distance of every 15 to 20 miles by rivers of
greater xe2x80xa2in less magnitude, the most considerable
is the Piekouagamls, which, after passing through
a lake of considerable extent is called the Segu-
enai and fails into the St. Lawrence about 150
miles below Quebec. At the new organization of
the gxc2xabr?nn-nt in 1762, this territory was divi-
ded into trie four districts of Montreal, Trois
Rivieres. Quebec, and Gaspe ; the three first ex-
tend on both sides of the river; the latter, which
is called the district and county of Gaspe, com-
prises all the S. EL part of the territory, south of
the St. Lawrone**. bounded on the east by the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and south by the Province
of New Brunswick, the three first districts were
further subdivided into 20 counties, 11 on the
south, and nine on the north side of the river,
as follows, beginning at the S. W. viz.xe2x80x94
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1 Huntingdon f 12 York
2 Bedford . 13 Effingham
3 Montreal ro 14 Leinster
4 Richelieu 15 Warwick
5 Surrey 'fj 16 St. Maurice
6 Kent xc2xb0(17 Hampshire
7 Buckingham xe2x80x9e 18 Orleans
8 Dorchester 5 19 Quebec
9 Hertford s 20 Northumberland
10 Devon ^
11 Cornwallis
Of these, the first eight, which all lie within or
south-west of the river Chaudiere, are the most
fertile, and afford the most favourable spots for
agricultural and commercial enterprize. The
counties of Cornwallis and Northumberland,
each extend from the latitude of about 47, the
former to the district of Gaspe, and the latter bor-
ders on Labrador, all of which at present may
be looked upon as one great wilderness. With
this subdivision of territory and new organization
of the government of Canada in 1792, a more
stedfast career of improvement seems to have
been pursued than in any former period.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics
of Lower Canada is its climate, in the intensity
of cold in the winter, and of heat in summer,
and the sudden transition from one to the other,
without producing any injurious affect upon the
constitutions either of the inhabitants or other
parts of the animal creation. The frosts begin
about the middle of October, the sun continuing
to render the days mild and agreeable for three
or four weeks, when the snow storms set in,
which continue for about a month, with varia-
ble winds and a hazy atmosphere, until about the
middle or end of December; by which time the
whole country is covered with an average depth
of snow of three to five feet. An invariable season
now commences ; an uninterruptedly clear sky
prevails for ahout 20 weeks, the thermometer rang-
ing the greater part of the time from 20 to 25 be-
low zero, sometimes descending more than 30
helow, when the frost suddenly breaks, and in
the course of a few days, about the end of April,
or middle of May, the snow as suddenly disap-
pears. All the energies of the husbandman are
now directed to prepare the earth for seed, and
in the short space of a month the most luxuriant
verdure and vegetation are spread over all Canada ;
the thermometer sometimes, in June, ranging as
high as 95 or 100, prevailing through the summer
from about 75 to 80. Although the severity of
the winter hinders the earth from yielding any
produce, yet it essentially facilitates the convey-
ance to market of its summer products ; a track
once beaten upon the snow, which is easily effect-
ed after the storms have ceased, enables a horse
to drag, on a sledge, a twofold weight, twice or
thrice the distance in a day, which he would be
able to draw in the best constructed carriage on
the best possible road. In any country this facili-
ty of conveyance would he a great advantage, but
in Canada especially, where the rapidity of vegeta-
tion, and the abundant produce of the summer,
claims all the attention and all the energy of the
population during that season, it more than coun-
terbalances the severe and long duration of the
winter, inasmuch as it supersedes the necessity
of cost and labour in the construction of bridges
and roads, and renders conveyance easy by routes
and over tracts that would otherwise be impassa-
ble ; thus so far from being deemed severe or in-
convenient, it is regarded by the Canadians as the |
