HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1940-09-13, Page 611�
TUC.NY Va»EGMQND
!hi
Story of 1837 in Huron Cotnty.
By WILFRED' BRENTON KERR, M.A., Ph.D.
Aeaoclate Professor of History, University of Buffalo, N. Y., t940.
Chapter V
"VANEGMOND'S QUARREL WITH
THE' CANADA COMPANY
Van Egmond was still honorary ag-
•ent •of. the Company during the first
years of Jones' administration and
overlooked the loss he ,had suffered
in the 'matter of the school, which
was probably not serious. In 1835 he
ways writing a "book" or perhaps a
pamphlet, to send to Scotland and
England in the hope of attracting
migrants. This may not have been
published, as there is no reference
.. to it except in the Scott letter, but
- we may take it that he praised the
Tract. But the completion of tine
road in 1832 brought on a serit us dis-
pute. Van•Egiuond made a.claim for
-!payment of a. balance which the com-
pany, ie. Jones. . refused • to allow:
Whist the nature of the .claim was,
we are not sure. but it seems that
Jones found fault with the 'construc-
tion of a section of the ;road and
claimed that the contract `\4as not ful-
filled. The company would• db noth-
ing; Van Egmond 'threatened' to go
'to lay,- and m.ay have field an action.
In 1835, however. Jones consented to
• arbitrate the matter, first requiring
Van Egmond to deposit a bond of
£20,000 under a, rule of the court of
King's, Bench. • H.e did not mention
. one of his own: Van Egmond insist-
ed that he also should deposit one
and, Jones finally complied. 'Jones
now asked for the name „of Van Eg-
manes arbitrator. Van •Egmond sug-
gested James Ingersoll, or anyone
whom Ingersoll should name, and
Jones was ' satisfied,1 Now Van Eg-
mond enquired the name of Jones'
man, and Jones replied that he would
• have to trust ,to the, honor and char-
acter of the company. These were
not sufficient security for Van Eg-
mond, however, and` the matter was
at ' a stalemate for some days until
Jones`'promised Colonel William Chis-
holm. Van Egmopd was satisfied -with
the calx.nel and the terms of the arbi-
tration. were soon arranged. Van Eg-
mond went to see Ingersoll about it;
Ingersoll could not leave his home,
but after trying in vain to extract!
Van Egniond's opinion about pros-
pects. selected three responsible
neighbors. and "Van . Tginond pl'ed'ged
himself to let Jones pick one of the,
'three., He brought the three to the
place appointed .and found Jones with
three of his subordinates, who later
left- Goderich and wrote . in favor of
the company and against Van Eg-
mond. But there was no sign. of
Colonel Chisholm. Ia thie election of
1835, Lizars stated that Van Egmond
had tried to induce a gentleman to
perjure. h-imself in a e�.sce involving
Van Egm'ond's interest, and it may
be that our Dutchman %went to see
Chisholm, and. that Jones according-
ly abandoned 'him as arbitrator.
Van Egtoond did not break off the
conference, however. He stated that
the terms of the arbitration were too
Ion•§ and complicated ,and insisted on
getting them reduced and simplified.
by a professional gentleman, i.e., a
lawyer, which was• done. Then Jones
named one of his subordinates as his
a t bitrator. Van Egmond gave silent
consent in order not •to lose time.
1 he two arhtratars choose a third ;
they were to view the road in the
ntorning and make their decision.
That evening all assumed that the
arbitration would, go fgrward.,
But Van Egmond changed his mind
about Janes' arbitrator; and in the
morning, before the viewing of the
road, he made . observations' to this
man sufficiently pointed, as account
'goes, to induce any other than a com-
pany man or - an employee of "Jones,
to decline the arbitration. But .jt was
all in vain. The arbitrators, all three
of them, viewed the road and fell to
work on the award. It, ;was soon ap-
parent that this would favor Van, Eg-
mond. Then, says our account,
Jones' man 'Pell into a.. fit 4f severe
trembling, his tongue was cramped
and he jumped up to quit the room
and the other arbitrators. They pro count made "stout and bold repartee
have signed or .declineddthe 'award. "
tested, and at this 'o!rt .he should, count to these draughty remarks and resign -
But he said, "No, ,no, gentlemen; I 'ed his office as honorary agent to the.
cannot,, I dare not stay. I am in, Mr. oom0ny.3
Jones' employ and' I would lose my .But matters merely became worse.
bread if I did." Off he went, con- During 1833 -arrived a set •of men "al-
! tinuest
al-
tinuest our story. by muddy- roads, 'on ways too numerous indeed or every
a dark night to .another taverns•ev- part of this country,'who in Van Eg-
nal miles away. In his' absence the ' niiond's view completed the perversion
other two arbitrators declared the
c'ntraets faithfully fulfilled' by Van
Egmond' and gave him £1.000 "dam-
ages"' to boot Damages may not be
Brittain lanes, the, cons t5 ,r trhe prov-
Moe, and this, is What Van 1pgmopd
may have meant. As this was boo dilf-
ftou'1t for +krrm,' be had to pay the com-
pany its share of the expenses for
arbitration, and to postlroue the claim
of his own creditors who were very
lenient. His euppopter at-' a public
meeting claimed to have affidavits, to.
the 'truth of all thid2 .It is unfortun-
ate that we have no +hint of the Com-
pany's side of this dispute and can-
not reach a Conclusion about it. It
seems that Van Egmond Riad ca case
in equity if not in law against the
company and' that the oonipany, i.e,
.cones, took an unfair advantage of
hiin. Van Egmond thus, Post in ,three
ways from Jones' regime: in the mat-
ter of the school. land. in that or the
reelera. and in that of this road busi-
ness. For good measure lie had had
an intimate view of what Jones could
do in the way of duplicity, as the Col-
borne men had had.
Van Egmlor'd's financial grievances
were much 'heightened by personal
friction as the years went on. At first
he slot along fairly well with Jones,
as we have seen. and .Tones was one
of the party invitee' t'n the Van Eg-
m,ord's horn. to celebrate the first
h-aivest in Humon•. Jones had display-
ed affability and even good will as
we ,have described'. But in 1832 wh•"n
a large number of set'tiers had come
*" 1O'e Tract. Jones changed' his con -
duet for the worse ani talked insol-
ently "B'- the. numbers we 'have
nr'w." runs Var Egmond's renocrt of
bis i' marks•. "a11 difficulties will be
eorrerered and overcome and we be-
comr relieved of restraint: we can
and ,•-rtl bur power and. author-
ity. The 1'r -de of the manor and
ob'i•e-'arg•- landholders •in• Great Bri-
tain do it to their -subjects: why
shoul-1• we that own millions' of acre;
not do it here also7`' Yes, the thumb
on the throat and the whip on , the
necks of our damned subjects." •These
expressions kindled Van Egmond's
genuine Du•tehr s"1 -it and put it into
a blaze. GOO must say that it is very
unlikely that Jones used -such expres-
sions,•,but he may have taken less care
in his dealings with the,,people of the
Tract. Van Egmond by his own ac
-
of Jon -es' Character. We have al -ready
cited' Van Egmond's description of
thein as an example of his style of -
writing. and we, take the liberty of
the - right tt-ord here, as the is no i repeating it .now that we have reach -
suggestion that Jones had injured Van I e'd• its proper setting •in the story. Old
E•gxrond's property or reputation, and , parasites, he calls the newcomers-,
re doubt the term should ,,:have been' young idlers, half beggared wtowicdbe
compensation. But Jones refused to gettlem•en, half -pay and no -pay cash -
abide by tbe award and left•'Van
fared' officers, ex -West Indian negro
Eg-•;
mond to bear the less and pay the ; drivers. mushroom aristocrats, crea-
expen°es, £200, of the arbitration. I tures either half worn out or but half
I made, knowing nothing and capable
Van ..Egmond might now have pr'o- • of nothing and with- more than. ten
ceed'ed to law. but did not, believin•g,1 pounds.. of ,pride for every penny of
as he "says. that the -company were cash at their. command, brought bere
not amenable to thela�� of the prove by the expectation of getting the clip -
:nee and could be prosecuted only in ping of all whose fleece would be
Great Britain.. Tliere- is probably a worth• to be so. They' were n'o-.lis-
misunderstanding -here, for in 1835 a apliointed, but soon well provided,
nrereha.at erf -Terran*o. - illi`eut - Ber- extoept one .whose name ug' not given.
Jones, says Van Egmond, found ,that
if he 'appoiiitted them to 'spam office
they would swell his court and prove
Egmrnd could not .have begun au ac- fit fools far intended mischief; but
ton in Upper Canada. No doulet it if hedid not, hunger would make
would tare been carried to Great them bark and yelp and by their noise'
i keep youlig
by using
Dr. Chase's
Nerve Food
XMO* .0'
he would be 'hindered . -from having
things all his own way. He there-
fore got them tieldged; made them
magistrates, ,commissioners• of the
court of repeats, coroners, registers,
clerks. This done. 'itis court was
swelled indeed., continues our Dutch-
man, and all gathered around him as
fires do around a lump of sugar. Eight
or ten of them would forme his horse -
guard •on his journeys through the
Tract, make chesterfield bowsto him
and act "quite, equal with the cour-
tiers of olden tines." When insult-
ed, nay, even kicked, they would
merely reply, "Thank you, sir," and
this went on "in grand style at Our
local headquarters." Now, asserts
Van Egmond, these gentry showed
the psople their chains, not gilded or
plated as heretofore, -btit in their hdd-
•eo•us nakedness and multiplied from
one to twenty -odd like the whippers -in
i.e. • these obnoxious n'ewoom,ers.
These, for .good;. pleasure, .he describes
as would-be gentlemen without any
moral. intellectual or pecuniary bot-
tom to : their pretensions.
Were no Canadians by birth or old
residents appointed to these emolu-
mented offices, -asks Van Egmond, and
replies, "Tut, mate!. With that your
question. No such inconsequence or
imprudence was committeedc here ;
why put into such office men cstamp-
ed with the indissoluble sin of. being
/horn, or old residents here; -men not
possessing the' qualifications or the
dispositions to make a fit tool for mcis=
chief." Natives . and oidc residents
were not fit to be gallant ,courtiers,
not supple enough of back to make
bows pleasing; they were. men sim-
ple enough to are at least Something
about justice, right and humanity,
men who would not barter- 'their old-
fashioned pri'iiniples for office. By way..
of consolation, he refers the Caee-
dians to the German quotation given
above, concerning hope only for the
next generation,. and we .have no
doubt that our Dutchman' himself.
'would have liked to be at least a J.P.
Here Van Egmond stops to say that
he does not mean to make aspersions
on the large number of local gentle -
,men. from Great Britain who had be-
. came useful inhabitants. of the. prov-
ince or .in any way to asperse their
conduct or character. Very few of
them had ventured ' into the back-
woods of the Tract, and these few
had tined on_,Pr:iex dlv^tettilh" Lith hila
until all that could do so, had aban-
doned the district. The persons por-
trayed in -his picture pretended to be-
long to the class of gentlemen but
did not really have the right. Or if
they did, the gentlemen; would, be en-
titled to defend themselves by saying
that every "caste" in _s,o:ciety has its
rabble. and to illustrate his point he
.recites .the story of the •Gascon and
that of th:e robber captains et Maihz,4
cob :..p dean 440.g 'r4c4,0$ii
colts� anelr --pa in theclaua
quests •f m lime to time,
hat working farmers, and no cour-
tiers. Nevertheiees Van Egmond must
.have meant some of them: andi probab-
ly Lizars !himself by reason of his at-
hitnde in the election, Of 1835, and it
appears that- he misunderstood their`
motives and actions,. with results
most unfortunate for 'himself and his
policies. Some of the persons on
whom be pours scorn xnust have been
subordinates of Prior and Longworth
whose names have -vanished or are
•ntto be Identified among the stray'
references to the employees 08 the
company which have comae down to
us.
-,-. But although the henchmen have
many faults, Jones himself is the - root
and origin of the evil, in Van Eg-
mond's opinion of 1837., .He has en-
acted more than a thousand and one
official follies a,ndt„even more "ignor-
ant, arrogant and malevolent deeds."
id ` con- mond papers, telling tbe St tot 0 t}0
of re- Carter. Carter had lost jilt f
ey were to '' pay 'hip 'preylston biU, gg bong: t
another lot of wilds land on the Lon-
don ,goad, and whten it was not ft+ly
paid Por, he sold it for £200 more
than the amount still due to the con
pony.-.'11ha,m �ednts Sefus�rI t z 6 taking the sale, kir*d. (meter into taking
£ 100 from th'emm - far it, and *Told It to
Carter' -s ptirebaser on own ac-
count for £200. What became of the
difference, £100? It doesn't require
the skill of a Yankee to guess right
on this point, concludes the speaker.
As for the empioy'xinenrt' on the roads -
like all "made work" it creates lazi-
ness, •• drunkenness, and immorality,
says the printed manifesto of Novem-
ber, 1837, eomewhlat peevishly.
' In his papers Vent Egmond writes
at great alength to slhow how little the
company have given the tract out of
the £48,000 whdrih they were bound
to spend in public works: Of can-
als, they bad built none; of bridges,
I -le is hostile to immigration
yin, was actually at law with the
cerrrany over some accounts for pro-
vis!or.s -and it is not clear that Van
EMERGENCY CALL!
From the' shores of our Motherland comes an appeal for help which
no true Canadian can fail to heed. • While we live in comfort, "death
drops on that embattled island. The need for Red Cross assistance
is urgent. Our sons and brothers are over there. On land, at sea,
in the air, they face death daily. We must be prepared to help them
when they are sick or wounded.
Red Cross help is needed on behalf of soldier and civilian alike.
Hospitals and hospital equipment, surgical supplies and. dressings, .
ambulances and X -Ray equipment will. be needed: Overnight the
need may become 8o urgent that lives may be sacrificed if help
cannot be sent at once.
Never before has there been so great a need for Red Cross assistance.
This 'challenge to . humanity must be answered. Give to the Red
Cross. Give to the utmost )TOW ! • •
tMERGENCY CAI) FOiR $5,000,1000 -COMMENCES SEPT. 23
iN-RED CROS
-Jo we-teriyozawave
•
„
into the only• thiole absolutely required' on the
province in general land the Tract in main.,, roads and the lack of others
particular, and Van Egmond has made had - caused, inconvenience, loss of
uninterrupted iopposition to his "fol; property, loss of cattle end even of
lies, tyrannies and oppressions." human lives, he says, especially in
Jones, with `an empty head,,, empty Colborne. Of wharves the company
heart, empty purse, came in Galt's had indeed built some at Goderich_
stead on the express condition of do- and a sort of pier also. These were
ing nothing without the written order supposed to be for the use' of the
of the court 'of directors of the cam-. settlers, but the company tried to
parry, and .it was said, reports our place tolls on imports and exports in
Dutchman that he had to enter a se- true Canadian fashion, (a la Canadie'n
curity bond with Edward Elliee---as eo- •-true Canadian fashion (a la Cana -
signer for strict obedience.a He could d'fenne) and finally d'icd succeed in do -
not say a word without -risking the i•ng 'so.• Of churches and 'school-hous-
loss of his job. He found good em- es they had built not one, , but this
ployees ;left by, Galt, but seine he statement he must mean outside of.
spoiled and some he induced to quit Goderich. Here •he relates his uneor-
their jobs, for decent men will always tu'nats -experience with the school at,
refuse to serve mere bladders filled Ross and the loss of 200 or 400 acres.
topful with pride and `arrogance. In The company, he declares, were too:
their room he chose underlings. from prudent to build ,schools, being 'aware
the low and darkly spotted charac- that "well -kept and high-spirited hors-
ters, fit to do mischief and torture es are apt sometimes:to kick, to rein
their fellowmen and - betters. He ac- - high., up their heads and to throw
tually preferred such persons because their merciless riders." "They always
he,was jealous of anyone else of any have been and are yet very attentive
prominence in the Tract. When the in keeping tis down, poor, lean and in
talents tor good intentions of any such ignorance besides." As for . roads,
individual are mentioned, Jones has they paid little 'attention to Lord
often said, even in public, "Yes, but Bathurst's instructions in their Char-
lie eclipses us; he has all the merits . ter, and laid out large sums on 'such
while we .:have none," .and this, of as would promote their own& inter-
course, shows his petty Mind. The "ests, neglecting the need of side and
treader, we may interject, will think concession road's as well as of local
it quite incredible that Jones said bridges, churches and schools, and
these things in this way, but Van Eg- again be complains of the system of
•
mond pursues the object of his ani- payment for the Huron road, one-
'mosity, careless of the imcpmessiton he third only ini cash, two-thirds in land
.may make. Jones is ignorant of the credits and, of the lowness of the pay
conditions of farming.; he is like Dr. at that, 7/6 to 15s. an acre "a mere
Gillett • wh+o claimed that one sowing song." Would it 'be ,possible 'bo coma -
of a field with wheat or rye would pel the company to disgorge -the two -
suffice for harvests for nine' years, • thirds in cash', he: asks, and replies,
and -tried to prover his thesis. "Far- "We poor and deluded bondsmen to
mers of Waterloo," calls Van Eg- the Canada Company" could not do
mond, "you all remember that great it, and were hoping only to pay hon -
farmer, and illustrious' mean Gillet." est debts, get shoes and be off. He
Whether he copied) Mee or Jones speculated w+he'tber the legislative as -
copied him, Van Egmond cannot un- sembly might compel the company to
d'ertalte to say.lo At any rate, Jones give better terms, and mourned his
dropped Galt's plan of settlement and failure to ' get elected to it, In all
tried to• scatter the newcomers over tthis, no doubt, there is the custom
the Tract as far from one another as ary exaggeration, .annd certainly there
P'ossi'ble, Jones knew nb more of the was no hope that the company wbuld
requisites for settling wild lands than revise at contract finished in- 1832 to
the man• in the moon', concludes our suit him in 1837. We mut-t remem-
authority. s bee, too, that these papers were mere
• drafts and that often a person puts
Other criticisms of Jones appear in down in a, draft accusations which he
the papers attributed to unnamed removes before the final•! version. At
ahem at the--meetings=of the. - .. ' nate Van-Egmgnc3 utas."tryi.ng to
on Union Society', but doubtless quite show that the Company was failing
to Van Egmond's taste. Jones posted to serve the' peocple of the Tract with
in every tavern in. Goderich -a notice public worke.12
forbidding anylo'ne. to make contracts Here he and his friends were at one
with his agents without his permis- with the men of Colborne in. 'their
sign. Any man wwi�th confidence in
his emrpioyees• wofxl'd not 'have done
this, and the-aotion was an insult to
the test officer the company "ever
had (presumably, Galt).4.1 Jones ma-
liciously insults his betters, •like' "our
worthy Dr. Dunlop." Janes was lib-
eral with .-promises: of public works
and very slow in fulfilment, and in
this charge we hear more about the
bridge over the Maitland. In 1830, to
induce Michael Fisher to buy five or
six thousand acres in. Colborne; he.
Promised a road to it and a bridge
over the river. Later in 1833 and
1834 he -promised other bridges, but
none were ever built, and property,
livestock and even .live* were lost, I
though there, no doubt we have
the characteristic exaggerations. More
serious was the affair of therailroad.
In 1832 ...one -was projected parallel th
the,Huron Road and the settlers were
induced to subscribe largely to it on
the assurance that it would' pass their
doors. Jones 'tried to bring the rail-
road from Hamilton to London by the
town line between Zomra and Nice
souri, and thence to Goderich. This
would leave the settlers of the Huron,
Road stranded and • at great expense
if they wanted „to use the railway, 10
to 40 'miles•. away •from their homes.
He had -said he would pledge half bf
the company's £50,000, its public
works fund. But when asked to' da
so in writing by a oommi+ttee of the
assembly, he said he wasn't authoriz-
ed to .pledge anything, and so exhib-
ited hims-elf as a liar and cheat.
Jones' policy of raising the price of
land in the Tract, of Course, came in
for condemnation; be had planned,
our speaker 'sai'd, to raise the lands
on the railroad line to -£2 -1s., or'
£ 3 an acre and other lands 'in pro-
portion to their nearinless to the line.
Jon -es had `aided in erecting a Chin-
ese wall aroufid"th•e province against
immigration and he was the Master
hand in putting one about the Tract.
Jones, in• brief, is responsible for
many ills'.
Prom hostility to Jones to hostility
to thq Canada Company was an easy
step, though not a necessary or even
an adv'i'sable one,- and Van Egmond
became a virulent critic of the, com-
pany in all• its,. works and. ways. A
speaker of tb'e Huron Union Society
would 'eat give the company credit
even for its isanes of. provisibns and
its •empioym!erdt -of the settler` on the
rpadb: The provisions, were supplied
only in Goderich town and township,
he 'says, at prices three times the
Goat and enhanced further by charg-
es
harges for excess, weight and items not
purchased at all, and so small were
the quantities that the poom buyerd
overpaid them by travelling to, and
fro to get them, Then the company
got rid ,ef tbe clerk that kept the pro -
vigor, accounts and the ,poor men•
remonstrating in vain, had to pay in
full, i.e.; -all over again. - If they did
not, the Company's agerlits soled' their
improved. lots to others, especially to
their favorites and made a good t pee-
ulateon out- of it. Here the speaker
• Having' made • his exceptions, Van
'Egmond. resumes 'his discussion of
Jones' associates. What irritated him
more than anything else was .their
•habit, and Jones' habit too if he is
correct,If calling 'thle farmers of Up-
per Canada "peasants." Every"one of
Jones' und•erlin•gs, he continues, has
on the very • tip of his tongue -these
arrogant - expressions•, "damn ye,
mean dirty , look at the roads
.the company.. ,has made for you and
your cursed set; you ought to take
off your hats whenever you ''hear but
the name of -one of these agents men-
tioned." "Age. to be sure we ought,"
responds Van Egmond in this imagin-
ary conversation, ;`to pray the devils
not to do them yet more harm is a
religious tenet with some nations ;
why should we tint profess it Here 'al-
so"? and"" - be 'declares that nothing
whatever will satisfy their, - canine
hunger for pelf, "their craving thirst
far olur sweat and blood," "'their hell-
ish pride, arrogance and insolence."
It will 'be seen that what Van. Eg-
mond has. to say of Jon's,' circle is,
much like what Lizars .says of Prior
and Longworth-'; If we allow* Dor Van
Egmond's exaggeration, we find an
identical condition at the bottom of
both cam'plaints. A person who ,sign-
ed •himeelf "Agricola?' wrote to a To-
ronto paper in 1835 complaining of
the agents, magistrates, commiiseio'n-
ers of the court of requests, -all crea-
tures of .:the Canada Company's com-
missioners, "who look down upon us
as if we b.el•onged to the brute crea-
tion." This letter in not in Van Egr
mend's style, but likely came from a
friend of his, and increases our im-
pression, of the disoourbesies of J'one's'
circle„e
We enquire at once what individu-
als are meant by this indictment. But
we are d•i•sapplointed, because with all
his .wealth of eatiric phrases, .Van'
Egmond names not one. Prlior's con-
duct was bad in his Istat• years of
office, but as an, original appointee,
he was do newcomer 'in 1$33 and. can-
not be of this misbehaving set. Long-
worth fits the requ:ireMenbs, but it is
difficult to place him in any one of
the categories mteutloned, officers,
negro drivers, mushroom,. aristocrats.
and others, . Tb,e !only possible negro
driver is T. W. Luard, who had lived
in the Wiest Indees. He led the op-
liositico'xf' to Van Egmond+ in the selec-
tion of 1835 and certainljr earned the
Dutchman's hostility, but so; little ol.
a courti'ee was he that he first made
complaint to the governmient about
Jones' condu'ot, in 1836.7 Captain, R.
G. Dundee, brother of the doctor and
immigrant of 1832 ,ore 1823, was'a half -
pay officer and might be meant, and
indeed he, Prior and Jolla Webster
were mentioned with disparagement
in Van Egnvo'hd's evidence beforti the
Gnlvanee Committee in 1835.8 The.
Colborne Clique would' plat e'eern to went On to `make one of the Ealy
qualify for the deunucilatioa; for, 5-liecffic allegations 111 tlhe Vain Eg- haft airy mentioned.
complaints. Other grievances were paid agents and clerks. It shoNdt.
also xramman. The Van Egmond abolish fixed salaries, adopt the meth -
group do not .mention Prior's misde- ods ofland companies in the United
States and •pay for all services' by a
percentage of the money received for
the sale of land. It,should divide its
land into two parts. The first should
consist of the crown reserves,. east of
a line from the Grand River. to the
Ouse. . These should be looked after
by one commissioner and a clerk, at
salaries of £125 ea • 150 a year, which
could 'be raised from a charge of ..3
per ,cent. on the .sales price of the
land, .'F." :M. 'Jones would be able to
• (Continued on Page 7)
The apparent negligence of -the (;o1n-
pany in respect of imanignation was
not an impersonal matter for Van
meat in the Tract meant the defeat
of :his hopes -and efforts and .the, loss
of the money, which he had expend-
ed so freely in the country of his
choice. To this disappointment he
could add the positive losses incurred
over the school, the cholera and the
rdad. "I have been wronged out of
thousands of. pounds," he writes. in
1837, "teased and tantalized -in every
manner till now."ls' Thanks only to
God and his lenient creditors, 'he was
not ruined. Again, writing on behalf
of his neighbor Verral, • he says: "I1
I- hadn't been: hurt by the Canada
Company's nnedghteousnests financially
I would have backed him," and talks
of himself as with; property of large
amount, but very lame on the dol
• lars' feat and harassed for want of
ready money. It is hard to deny that
he had Chad unfortunate experiences
lit the , T abt grid thadr - .exReri en --a ..
lack of consideration at th,ei bands of
Jones, Prior and probably Longworth.
He came to believe that the com-
pany't system/ was fundamentally
wrong. „ It had time many and too welt
meanors, but one of their speakers
declared that there were many frauds
in the_,,,eale of town Pots in Goderich.
Some .settlers, .he -says, were too in-
timidated to demand: receipts and lost
toe' amounts they htad paid. others
had receipts 'but Jones repudiated,,
them on the ground ;that the amounts
were• not entered in. 'the company's
books, and, he oblige -d- •the' people to,
pay again: This appears to be a ;re-
ference to Prior's irregularities. But
the . eon/pany's policies on. immigra-
tion and sale of land drew most. fire
from both the Van.-Egmond circle and
the Colborne Clique.: A member of
the Huron :Union Society complained
of, raises in the pride of land in 1832
and in 1233 when the- steamboat was
launched; declared that when.' the
railroad had been projected, Jones-
- was planning another large increase,
and predicted. that when the pier and
wharves at •Goderich should. be finish-
ed the price would rise steeply
•again. Hence, continued the speaker,
immigration into the Tract began to
decline in 1833 and all wh-o could
leave did sees Van Egmond com-
plained of land' prices before the
Grievance Committee in 1835, and,
with his friends, • in: their prinked'
manifesto in 1837.14 The company ap-
pears to have hem charging too high
a rate oto permit rapid settlement, and
by this policy, it incurred the charge
Of monopoly of land which is echoed
from newspaper to newspaper 'and
book to book of the 1830's and 1840'e
in Upper Canada. .
Van
Egmond had a deal more to
say about this aspect of Company
rule before the Grievance Committee
in 1835. Only in .the frest year (1829)
had , the ,company encouraged settle-
ment, he d'ecih.red•, not since. In 183•i
the officials at Qodenich irad engaged
a steamboat to bring settlers from
Detroit to Goderich, then had taken
it for pleasure trips up the lake for
weeks at a time, and - through one of
these jaunts the 'settlement had lost
sixty Scots families. Van Egmond
thought /that altogether 250 to 350
families had • been lost :to Michigan
and other States th¢wugh the negli-
gence.' of the Company's, agents. In.
bis ,papers be 'states that the immi-
grants whom, the company did bring
in were of the wrong sort, white-col-
lar men in the place of laborers-, far-
mers and mechanics. Nor was the
company even' trying to keep what
few people it had. It drove settlers
off half-dntlprorved lands and 'allowed
them net six'penee for the many years
of • their lifetime lost. •'' By this dis-
couragement of newcomers' and in-
habitants, it lead created a bad repu-
tation for itself it Great Britain and
other trans-Atlantic countries, and
Van Ego n,d predicted that the Tract
would! remain/ untenanted' nted ' beyiad the
lifetime of hie) generation. Like the
men of Catboat*, 310 came to believe
that the company was aetnialily oppos-
ed to immigration, hadbuilt a "worse
than Chinese wall" against it, as we
LONDON and WINGHAM
NORTH. -
A.M.
Exeter ' • ' . 10.34
Hensall 10.46
Kipper 10.52
BruoeSeld 11.00
Clinton 11.49
Londesboro - 12.01
Blyth • 12.16
Belgrave 12.27
Wingham 12.45
SOUTH'
P.M.
Wdngham 1.50
B-elgrave 2.06
Blyth 2.17
Londesboro 2.26
Clinton 3.08
Brucefield 3.28
Ki'ppen 3.38 '
Hensel] • 3,45
Exeter 3.58
C.N.R. TIME TABLE ‘,
EAST - -
Goderich
Holmeseille
Clinton
Seaforth
St. Columban
Dublin
Mitchell
WEST
Mitchell - ....
)]trblim ...........•....
Seatomeh ,•....
Clinton
G6derich
A.M.
6.15
6.81
6.43
6.59
7.05
7.12
7.24
11.06
11.14
11.30
11,45
12.05
P.M.
2.30
2.48
3.00
3.16
3.22
3.29
3.41'
9.28
9.36
9.47
10.03
10.25
C.P.R. TIME TABLE
EAST
Goderich
Menset
MeGaw
Auburn
Blyth
Walton,
McNaught
Toronto
Toronto
McNaught
*Walton
Myth'
Auburn
Motlaw
Menset
Godeaieh
..r
WEST
P.N.
420
4.24
4.32
4.42
4.52
5.05
5.15
9.00
A.M.
8.30
12.03
12.12
12.23•
12.32
12.40
12.46
1155