Through him you are in the possession of yesterday's glish, Irish, Scots, Germans, Americans, and their deevent, and through him you consult with the antediluvian scendants; of these, the Americans are now the most world. He is the author of history, the president of all numerous; the next the Scotch; until recently, the latscientific meetings and associations, and the universal ter have carried on all the exterior trade of Canada, they protector of life, death, immortality, and bliss. now divide it with the Irish, English, and Americans; J. R. P. instances are rare of the French descendants, who are almost exclusively called Canadians in the country, being engaged in the external trade, but they share largely in the internal and retail. DESCRIPTION OF CANADA. (Concluded.) The following statistical account of Lower Canada, exhibits the rapid improvement of the colony, since it has been in possession of the English: White in Bushels of Acres in grain sown Cattle. Sheep. Swine. Date. habitants. cultivation. yearly. Horses. 1765 76,275 764,604 194,757 13,757 50,329 97,064 28,976 1808 200,000 3,760,000 920,000 79,000 236,000 286,000 212,000 1783 113,012 1,569,818 383,349 30,096 98,591 84,666 70,466 ABOUT a month after the renewal of vegetation, the apple-trees are in blossom, and the verdure of the wheatfields waving in the wind. All sorts of grain are sown in the spring, the wheat first, and then peas and oats; the sort of wheat generally sown is ripe in four months from the time of sowing; there is, however, another species, a bearded wheat, which ripens in four months, the time oats require. Fair and foul weather were formerly more distinct than they are at present, cold and warm weather less intermixed, and the winds less variable; this altera tion is not considered, in Canada, as an improvement of the climate. All the vegetable productions which Horses, cows, oxen, sheep, &c. are all small; the thrive in Europe, (in the same latitudes) prosper in sheep have but little fleece, and that coarse; swine are Canada, wherever they have been introduced and culti-very numerous, but the breed bad; the poultry is good. vated with judgment and care. The excess of heat in summer makes up for the loss of time in winter. Melons are brought to maturity in the open air, without the aid of superficial heat. Wheat is the chief agricultural production of Lower Canada; it affords the principal vegetable food of its inhabitants; hitherto it has been cultivated more in that view than as an article of foreign trade. The many accidents to which this grain is fiable, require, that a quantity sufficient to afford a supply in the event of a bad year, be sown every year. When a good year happens, there is then a great surplus; and it is of the production of such years, that the most extensive exportations have been made. There is, besides, no certainty of an extensive foreign demand; Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies, are the most steady markets; the natural disadvantages Canada labours under, prevents her standing in competition, in these markets, with the United States. It must be observed, however, that the quantity of wheat sown by each farmer, is generally to the extent of his present means. These can only be increased by more enlarged views, which would lead to greater efforts, and judicious improvements in his system of cultivation. In 1802, the quantity of wheat exported, amounted to 1,010,033 bushels; there were besides exported, that year, 28,301 barrels of flour, and 22,051 cwt. of biscuit. An estimate of the value of the exportation from the St. Lawrence, in 1810, has been made by mercantile men, and amounts to 1,200,000l. sterling, including disbursements of ships employed in the trade, the number of which was 661, 6578 men, and 149,833 tons, and also the value of 5896 tons of new ships built in the province. A considerable portion of the produce of the United States, and all the furs obtained in the Indian countries, are, however, included in the general amount. The population of Canada, at the time of the conquest, was about 60,000 souls, including the whole of the settle ments to Detroit. In 1811, the population of Lower Canada only, was estimated at 400,000, about 7-8ths of which are of French descent, and profess the Roman Catholic religion; the other eighth is composed of En The number of domiciliated Indians in Canada, who were collected into villages, amounted, in 1758, to 16,000; in 1765, they had decreased to 7400; and in 1808, scarcely exceeded 2000. Bears, wolves, buffaloes, elks, &c. abound, but seldom come near the old settlements. Birds and fish are in great abundance. Snakes are extremely numerous in the upper province, particularly rattle-snakes. There are, as yet, no manufactories of any note in Canada; those of leather hats and paper, are, however, now introduced, and the clothing of the farmers is, in general, made in their own families. The landholders in Lower Canada are mostly Canadians, or of Canadian extraction; very few of them hold upon lease; they are the owners of the soil, subject to an inconsiderable annual rent to the seigneur, or person holding immediately from the crown, and a fine of a twelfth on a change of proprie tor, by sale, or act equivalent to a sale; one-fourth of which twelfth is usually deducted upon steady payment. The other conditions are by no means burdensome; they consist chiefly in having their corn ground at the seigneurial mill, paying one-fourteenth for grinding, and in making and repairing the highways passing through their lands, and assisting in the bye-roads necessary for the use thereof. Lands held by Roman Catholics, are likewise subject to a tithe of a twenty-sixth part of all grain for the use of the curate, and to assessments for the buildings, and repairs of churches, and parsonage houses. The trades-people principally consist of Canadians, and, British settlers since the conquest, and their descendants; the mass of the population of the lower province may, however, be said to be agriculturists. There is not a happier people in the world; their labour affords them the necessaries of life, no part of it is taken from them but what they consider to be for their own use. Amongst them, ambition and vanity rarely create unreal wants; neither does envy sour real enjoyments. In the ordinary state of human happiness, they are cheerful and lively; and to evils beyond their control, they submit with resignation. Strongly attached to their religion, their country, laws, customs, and manners, they are utterly averse to all innovations. They partake of the French character, something in the same manner the New Englanders partake of that of Englishmen; both have been modified by circumstances, and now differ from their origin. Where there is plenty of land to cultivate, the man who lives by labour depends only on the Almighty and himself. In America, the independent spirit of Englishmen frequently degenerates to licentious coarseness, and the servility of Frenchmen disappears. The Canadian peasant acknowledges superiors; to them he is respectful, but he expects a corresponding attention in return; an omission in this respect, is not easily forgiven. To his equals he is polite and obliging; inferiors he knows of none; what he possesses he owes to his labour, and every well-disposed person enjoys the same means. If one of them serve the other, he is one of the family. The Canadian farmer is social to a vice; much of his time is sacrificed to this quality. In his person he is of the middle size, firmly made, and active; there are no people capable of bearing greater fatigue and privation; in these, the Canadian is singularly supported by the gaiety of his disposition; his mind is unimproved, his ideas confined, but his capacity excellent; in worldly concerns, he reasons and acts only from his own experience, his feelings, or some long received maxims. He is extremely distrustful of what he reads or hears, particularly when it does not come from one of his own class. In spiritual concerns, he is guided entirely by his curate, who, if he wishes to stand well with him, must meddle with nothing else. Quebec is the principal city in Canada; it is situated upon a very high point of land, on the north-west side of the river St. Lawrence, near four hundred miles from its month; the wide part of the river, immediately below the town, is called the basin, and is sufficiently deep and spacious to admit upwards of one hundred sail of the line. Quebec is the capital of the lower province, and is the residence of the governor. Montreal is also on the St. Lawrence, and one hundred and eighty miles from Quebec; the river is, here, two miles broad, and navigable for vessels of three hundred tons burden. Provisions are, in general, cheap in Lower Canada; but house rent, European goods, and servants' wages, are extremely high in Quebec. The climate of Upper Canada is more mild than that of the lower province, and is generally preferred by the emigrant; it is, by some, called the garden of America, subjected neither to the long winters of Lower Canada, nor the scorching summers of the more southern parts of the United States; the climate, however, upon the whole, is not near so healthy as that of the lower province. York, the capital of Upper Canada and the seat of government, is situated on the northern side of Lake Ontario, about one hundred miles from Kingston. Kingston, in Upper Canada, is situated at the mouth of a deep bay, at the north-eastern extremity of Lake Ontario. It is a place of considerable trade, and is, consequently, rapidly increasing in size. The sovereign legislative authority of the Canadas is in his majesty and the two houses of Parliament; this authority is again limited by the capitulations, and its own acts, the most remarkable of which is the act 18th Geo. III., which declares, that no taxes shall be imposed on the colonies, but for the regulation of trade; and that the proceeds of such taxes shall be applied to and for the use of the province, in such manner as shall be directed by any law or laws, which may be made by his majesty, his heirs or successors, by and with the advice and con The sent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the province. The Provincial Legislature, erected by the aforesaid act of 31 Geo. III, (in the year 1791,) consists of his majesty, acting by the governor, or person administering the government for his majesty; of a Legislative Council, of not less than fifteen members, appointed by his majesty for life, under some exceptions; of a House of Assembly, of not less than fifty members, elected for four years, by his majesty's subjects resident within the province, and possessed for their own use and benefit in the country, of real property of the annual value of 40s. sterling, in the towns, of the yearly value of 51., or paying rent to the amount of 101.; it is empowered to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of the province, such laws not being repugnant with the above act. governor, in his majesty's name, assembles, prorogues, and dissolves the two houses; but they must be called toge ther once in every twelve calendar months. All questions arising in either of the two houses, are decided by a majority of members present. The governor gives, withholds, and reserves for the further signification of his majesty's pleasure, the royal sanction to all bills proposed by the two houses; laws assented to by the governor may be disallowed by his majesty, within two years. His majesty cannot assent to any act or acts affecting the employment of the dues of the clergy of the church of Rome, or affecting the establishment of the church of England, or the provisions made for the same, or the exercise or enjoyment of any religious form of worship; or creating penalties, burdens, disabilities, or disqualifications on that account; or granting, or imposing any new duties in favour of any minister of any particular form of worship; or affecting the prerogative touching the granting of the waste lands of the crown, without such acts having been thirty days before both houses of the British Parliament, and neither of the houses having addressed his majesty not to sanction the same. The laws in force, are, 1st. the acts of the British Parliaments which extend to the colonies; 2nd. capitulations and treaties; 3d. the laws and customs of Canada, founded principally on the customs of Paris, the edicts of the French kings and their colonial authorities, and the Roman civil law; 4th, the criminal law of England, as it stood in 1774, and as explained by subsequent explanatory statutes; 5th, the ordinances of the governor and council, established by the act of that year; and 6th, the acts of the Provincial Legislature, since 1793. These laws are executed in his majesty's name, and in virtue of his commission and instructions by the governor, or person administering the government, by the means of a number of inferior officers, all of whom (with a few exceptions) he appoints during pleasure. The governor likewise possesses all those powers and prerogatives which his majesty may legally enjoy, and delegate to him. The judiciary consists of a chief-justice of the province, and three puisne justices, for the District of Quebec; a chief-justice and three puisne judges, for Montreal; a provincial judge for the Three Rivers, and one for Gaspar. The police is administered by justices' of the peace. DRAMATIC AUTHORS IN FRANCE. PREVIOUS to the revolution, a dramatic author, in France, was encouraged, in a degree and with a punctilious attention to his ease and interest, perfectly unknown in any other country. He had a right to one twenty-first part of the gross receiptsof his piece every night it was performed in every theatre in France, all his life, and his heirs for ten years after his death. The utmost care was taken both to protect his copyright in the piece, and, what might seem more difficult, to secure him his due share of the profits each night, in all the theatres of France, which far exceed a hundred in number. A particular office was established at Paris, in which the author needs only enter his name, and he has no further trouble to take. The office had its correspondents and cashiers all over the country, and accounted to the author for his full profits for a commission of 2 per cent. At the expiration of the two first years, the author of any popular piece might rely on having cleared near 17001. sterling. After that, the profits decreased, but if the author had produced two or three such pieces, he not only provided decently for himself, but his children a comfortable provision for ten years after his decease. Original Poetry. ..... ANSWER TO THE CHARADE*. Your first is mono,-one; Poly, your second,—many; And monopoly thousands of men has undone, And prosper'd but rarely with any. STANZAS Written in the Year 1818. The spirits of their fathers S ball start from every wave; The deck it was their field of fame, And the ocean was their grave.-CAMPBELL.' To see their hapless children Deserted in their woe By those for whom they brav'd the tomb, The men whom earth's cold breast must pillow,- Is this reward for toil and danger? To those who sav'd thee; when the stranger Of cloud, and foes against thee stand. • See Literary Chronicle, vol. 1, p. 507.. P. Written on Windsor Terrace, in the Month of July. In Britain none can with thee vie- Kings well may leave the cares of state, Thy seat is NATURE'S MAJESTY !' May thy salubrious breezes ne'er Their soothing, cheering, influence cease To mitigate our Sov'reign's care, And tranquilize his mind to peace! Calm as the autumn's parting sun Sinks in the bosom of the west May 'GEORGE,' when he life's course has run, Strand, Dec. 20th, 1819. TIME. SWIFT as the meteor's fiery glance, Short as imagination's trance, J. PARRISH. Or, like youth's gay and giddy dance, Like as the lightning's vivid flash, Or like the eagle's rapid flight, As snow which quickly melts away, So Time flies! Fine Arts. EXHIBITION OF THE LATE MR. HARLOW'S I entered this exhibition with feelings which I cannot well describe. The first object which struck my eye was the wonderful copy of the Transfiguration,' by Raffaele, from the original in the Vatican at Rome, painted in eighteen days. It is of the size of the original, and is considered by those who have seen that picture, to be a very perfect copy, and the production excited very great astonishment at Rome, and led the painter to promotion and high reputation in that city. This is not a mere sketch, composed of a good correct outline fitted up with thick patches of colour, but a highly finished copy of one of the best works of Raffaele a very large picture, containing twenty-six figures, each figure exhibiting some powerful passion or extraordinary feeling of the mind. Those who knew Mr. Harlow's character will not doubt the fact of the shortness of the time in which he completed this copy, and those who were unacquainted with his industry and good qualities must believe the positive accounts and flattering testimonials of foreigners, residing in the city in which this was executed, since it is not very probable that the Italians would be ready to practise a deception of this kind, in favour of a foreigner. of Thomas Stothard, Esq., R. A.-No. 54 is a pencil drawing of the tomb of Michael Angelo, in the Church of Santa Croce, at Florence, mentioned in the critique on his works contained in a former number.-No. 60 is a good portrait of Francis the First, of France, the noble HARLOW, thou admirable painter! how art thou cut and distinguished patron of the fine arts.-No. 64, Saint off in the sunshine of thy career, at the time when thy Bruno re-animating a Child, is a bold subject.-No. 82 is country had learned duly to appreciate thy talents, and a full-length portrait of Miss J. E. Chambers; she is in was encircling thy brow with the honourable laurels of a a careless posture, and yet there is a comparative elegance well-earned fame. Alas, thou art fled as a passing breeze about her, not unpleasant.-No. 85 is a very interesting which purifies our land, and then leaves us to mourn at sketch of the presentation of the Cardinal's hat to Wolits departure! The painter sheds over thy tomb the tear sey, in Westminster Abbey. The painting itself was of unaffected sorrow. presented to the Academy of Design of Saint Luke, upon Mr. Harlow's being elected an honorary académician of merit in that great institution. CANOVA thus delivers his opinion of the painting and the painter, in a letter to Mr. Hamilton, under Secretary of State: This letter will be delivered to you by Mr. Harlow, who has painted a picture, with wonderful ability, entirely in the style and with the effect of Rubens, and he has thereby gained so much reputation amongst us, that he has been elected an honorary member of the Academy of Saint Luke. I assure you, I have been prodigiously surprized by the performance, and by his rare talents, as well as strongly attached to him by his amiable manners and his kind heart. It is with great pleasure that I say this of him, wishing to let you know what esteem and affection I have felt for him.-Canova.' No. 86 is a fine sketch of Prince Henry, as alluded to in act 4, scene 1, first part of King Henry the Fourth.-No. 88 is a portrait of James Northcote, Esq., R. A.-No. 89 is not a very spirited portrait of his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, to which Mr. Hobday's excellent portrait is very preferable. No. 108 is a clever portrait of Mr. Kean, not Mr. Bannister, as 'Jobson,' which it is stated to be in the catalogue.-No. 117 is a pleasing little portrait of the Honourable Miss A. Rodney.-No. 130 is a pretty-very pretty head of Juliet.-No. 132, Queen Elizabeth striking the Earl of Essex, is the first historical painting which Mr. Harlow exhibited at the Academy, where it was in 1807, when the painter was only nineteen years of age. Elizabeth, in front of her chair, is represented turning away her head after the impetuous affront offered by her to the Earl of Essex, who has one arm raised fully extended, and he lays one hand upon his sword. His countenance bears strong marks of insulted dignity, not unmixed with that affectionate loyalty which restrained, the violence naturally suggested by the gross personal affront which he had experienced. The attendants appear, of course, astonished and confounded at the extraordinary scene presented to their view. This is an excellent picture, for the production of so very young an artist.-No. 133 is the admirable picture of the Virtue of Faith:" And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and, falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people, for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace;'-Saint Luke, chap. 8. There is great piety and goodness in the countenance of Christ, together with a beauty strictly purified of the baser sensual qualities, and well worthy of the ambassador from heaven. He is in front of an arch, and his auburn locks flow in graceful curls. What gratitude, and piety, and faith, are exhibited in the woman's features and pos The following is a translated extract from a Roman journal: A copy of the celebrated painting of the Transfiguration," executed by Mr. George Harlow, an English gentleman, has excited universal admiration. This copy, which is of the same dimensions as the original, has been completed with astonishing perfection, in the space of eighteen days.' The colours of the painting are very bright, and every part is executed to a degree of perfection which renders the painting at least one of the best copies in the world. J No. 4 is an unfinished sketch of the Last Judgment, by Michael Angelo.-No. 11 is a portrait of Sir William Beechey, R. A. In the distance is represented his Majesty and the Prince reviewing the troops, which immediately reminded me of the well-known picture on that subject, painted by Beechey, from which this back scene is taken. No. 16 is an interesting small drawing from the statue of Persica, in the Cappella Sistina at Rome. -No. 19 is an excellent copy of the Madona and Child of Correggio.-No. 24 is the original sketch of the justly celebrated subject of the Proposal.' It possesses the gay spirit of the finished picture. The countenances show no impudent boldness of character,--no petty mean ness of intrigue, but that pure yet vivid sentiment of sympathetic feeling which glows in the female breast, and is the brightest ornament of the female character. There is in this small sketch none of that offensive levity which is observable in some of the copies of the excellent pic ture of the Proposal.-No. 31 is an effective drawing of a scene from Macbeth.-No. 38 is an excellent portrait ture. Her hands are clasped together, and she regards it by Mr. Garrick, who revived it with great success. The Christ with an air of fervent devotion and implicit confi- principal character is that of Peggy, formerly played by dence. She is still pale, although healed of her malady, Mrs. Jordan in a manner that left an indelible recollection because time and confirmed health alone restore floridity of its excellence. Miss Kelly was the Peggy of this to the once sick person's face. Behind this woman are evening, and the part could not have found a better re two intriguing Rabbis; one of them is artfully whisper-presentative: she blended archness with rustic simplicity, ing in the ear of the other. On the other side of Christ, and displayed with great humour that fertility of invena priest (as I imagine), eagerly directing his eyes towards tion, in cases of difficulty, which belongs peculiarly to the woman, and over his head appears the face of an inte- the female sex. Mr. Dowton's Moody was all nature, resting female figure, looking attentively at the same ob- and formed a striking contrast to the maudlin delineation ject. Behind Christ is his disciple, whose countenance which Mr. Russell gave of the coxcomb, Sparkish.—The has much piety and faith, forming a great contrast to the new pantomime continues attractive. apparent stupid incredulity of the persons behind the disCOVENT GARDEN.-An attempt has again been made ciple. Ia the bottom corner is an excellent bold figure at this house, to render Schiller's tragedy of Mary Stuart of a Mulatto cripple. The clothing of the woman and attractive, by alterations and curtailments, and by subthe gaudy gold lace of the eager priest have too much of stituting Miss Foote for Miss Macauley, in the character a lath and plaister covering about them, for a finished of the heroine of the play. The alterations are judicious, picture of this superior description.-No. 134, a good but the tragedy is in itself so dull and heavy-so grossly portrait of Dr. Milner, Dean of Carlisle, is the last sub-violates the historical fact-and is, on the whole, so perject of the collection. In an adjoining room, are exhi- fectly unsuited to the English taste, that nothing will rebited two very fine casts of the Apollo Belvidere and the deem it. Miss Foote looked the character of Mary exDiscobulus selected by Canova for Mr. Harlow. tremely well, and, so far as personal accomplishments would go, was an excellent representative of the beautiful but unfortunate queen: our praise cannot extend further, for, in every other respect, Miss Foote was much inferior to Miss Macauley.-The Comedy of Errors continues to be performed with great success. The very industrious habits and rigid application of the late Mr. Harlow are strongly evidenced by the many sketches (taken in the course of his travels), exhibited in this room, bearing the different dates and places at which they were performed. Many of them were executed in December, 1818. COBURG THEATRE.-On Monday, was brought for The Transfiguration,' and almost all the other pro-ward at this theatre, a new classical melo-drama (as it is ductions in this collection, are for sale, so that the liberal minded patrons of the fine arts in this country (and there are not a few of them) have an opportunity of testifying their munificence, by making handsome purchases of the pictures, for the benefit of the painter's family. And even the humble visitor, in addition to the pleasure derived from the sight, may indulge the gratifying reflection, that the mite which he throws into the treasury box, will be distributed amongst the bereaved relatives of this able, young, and much lamented artist. called), founded on the well-known story of the Horatii and Curiatii. It scarcely deviates from the letter of history, except in the introduction of an under-plot, in which the wife (Honoria) of Publius Horatius, afterwards the victor, is carried off by one of the Curiatian brothers, and her restoration at the conclusion preserves the melodramatic character of the piece. Notwithstanding our faith in the annals of the olden time,' we must applaud the judiciousness of sacrificing the truth of history to the truth of nature, by making Horatia fall by her own hand rather than by that of her brother. Mr. Booth performed the part of Horatius, the father of the Roman brothers; we do not think the part very well adapted to his talents, still less to his person: the tragedy of Brutus seems to have been too much in the eye of both author and actor; The engraving of the beautiful picture of the Congratulation,' by Mr. Harlow, is affixed to the door of the exhibition-room. One of the heads much resembles the middle head in the Proposal; but, in my opinion, (acknowledging the innocent archness strikingly displayed in that picture,) the Congratulation' has more dignity-nevertheless, Mr. Booth supported his former high cha anore grace-more refinement-more elegance-greater accomplishment-and more winning sweetness, than are to be found in the Proposal.' In taking leave of this exhibition, we may be permitted to express a hope, that the copy of the Transfiguration' will be purchased for the purpose of being deposited in some church or chapel, there to remain for the contemplation and admiration of after ages, and as the best monument to the memory of Mr. Harlow, The Drama. •. T. DRURY LANE.-Wycherley's comedy of the Country Girl was performed at this theatre on Tuesday night. This comedy, written in a licentious age, was very popular when first produced; but, in adapting it to the more refined taste of the present age, much of its wit and strength has been swept away, in purging it from its grossness. The form in which the comedy now appears was given to racter, and especially in his scene with King Tullius, when ignorant of his son's victory, which was a very fine piece of acting. Mr. H. Kemble played better than usual; in a scene exciting his brother to martial ardour, he called forth reiterated bursts of applause. Mrs. Stenley is a good actress, notwithstanding natural disadvantages; but she is too fond of expressing passion by seeming to suppress it.-The piece met with great and merited appro bation. Literary and Scientific Entelligence. tions of Food and Culinary Poisons; exhibiting the frauduMr. Accum has, in the press, a Treatise on the Adulteralent sophistications of bread, wine, beer, tea, coffee, cream, spirituous liquors, cheese, mustard, pickles, confectionery, and other articles employed in domestic economy, with the methods of detecting them. Pompeii.-In prosecuting the excavations at Pompeii, they |