gesticulations of his host, who, as he passed slowly onward, assumed a thousand ridiculous attitudes, and employed an equal variety of the most laughable expressions. He resolved, therefore, to make as near an approach to him as he could without being espied, that he might be ready, if occasion required, to prevent the commission of any rash act which, from the increasing violence of the symptoms, he thought he had substantial reasons to apprehend. After some time he succeeded in hiding himself behind a hay-stack, where he could distinctly hear the oration of this modern Demosthenes, who, when he had gained a sufficient eminence to enable him to overlook the heads of his numerous and respectable audience, began with most stupendous eloquence to address the stumps. In language peculiarly adapted to the subject, he commenced his oration, by entreating them to divest themselves of all prejudices, and to think only of electing from the various candidates an honest, independent patriot to represent them in the House of Assembly. He alluded in terms the most pathetic to the lamented death of their late glorious, pious and immortal sovereign; which mournful event had given them once more an opportunity of exercising their elective franchise; and was in the act of telling them how necessary it was for them, in the sober exercise of this their distinguished privilege, to lay aside the rancour of party-feeling and all corrupt views, when his guest, no longer able to suppress a hearty laugh, rushed from behind the

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hay-stack, and declared to the astonished tavernkeeper and orator, that the lifeless stumps had heard him with fixed attention, and had not raised a single dissentient voice. "Judging, therefore," he said, "according to the rule, that silence gives consent, you may rest satisfied that, from the maple to the poplar, all the trees of the wood "entertain a very high sense of your fitness to be "their representative, and will certainly support 66 you to the utmost of their power.”—The effect which this unexpected intrusion had upon the diligent candidate, may be easily imagined: No doubt, it answered all the purposes of an elecr ic shock, and effectually cured him of his Parliamentary mania.

The Parliament of Upper Canada is, however, much more respectable now, than it was twenty or even ten years ago: But much is still wanting to render a seat in it an enviable distinction. Each of the members receives two dollars per diem during his attendance in the House,-beside a certain allowance for travelling expences, amounting, I believe, to ten shillings for every twenty miles. This expence is defrayed by direct taxation; and though it does not amount to more than sixpence from each freeholder, it is accounted by many a grievance of no small magnitude. But it is in some sort unavoidable; for if there were no such allowance, I am inclined to think there could not be a dozen persons found in the Province, who would undertake the duties of a representative.

The people are all too actively employed in ordinary life, to spend both their time and money in legislating for their neighbours, without receiving an equivalent. Indeed, if they were not allowed this little pittance, many of the members would not be able to muster cash enough for the purchase of a sufficient quantity of Day and Martin, for the polish of their boots during the shortest session.

Until 1820, the debates were not published; but since that period, two Irishmen, Carey and Collins, who are excellent stenographers, have been employed at an annual salary, to report, revise, correct, and publish the speeches. When they are thus skilfully got up and prepared, a man of a gentle, patient, and long-suffering disposition, if he were anxious for information on any of the subjects of debate, might perhaps peruse them without doing any great violence to his feelings: But to be doomed to listen to the delivery of them during a whole session, would be a much severer punishment, to a man of good taste and cultivated mind, than seven years' transportation to Van Dieman's Land.

For the administration of civil justice in Upper Canada, there is a Court of King's Bench, with a Chief Justice and two puisne Judges, an Attorney and Solicitor-General, a District Court with a Judge for every District, and a Court of Requests over which the Magistrates preside unassisted by any professional characters.

The DISTRICT COURT is held quarterly in the

Assize Town of each District; and the COURT OF REQUESTS, in the different divisions, once a fortnight. The District Judges are appointed under the Great Seal of the Province, and are generally selected from among the magistrates. They are authorised to hold plea in all matters of CONTRACT from 40 shillings to £15; and, when the amount is liquidated or ascertained, either by the act of the parties or the nature of the transaction, to forty pounds; also in all matters of tort respecting personal chattels, when the damages to be recovered do not exceed £50, and the title to the lands is not thereby brought into question. The Judges, who are very rarely lawyers, are always assisted by a jury. Their decisions are, however, generally not the most unexceptionable; and though there is an appeal from this Court to that of the King's Bench, justice is not unfrequently defrauded of her rights. The District Judges, unfavourable as public opinion is to their integrity, possess, I dare say, as much honesty as their most conscientious neighbours, are equally intelligent, and just as deeply read in British Jurisprudence. Many of them in fact, to use plain language, are as ignorant of the laws of the country as they are of the Code of Napoleon; and the Jurors, who are not the most enlightened men in the world, are said not to be overburthened with scrupulous consciences. But they are remarkable for a noble independence, which causes them to pay

as little attention to the charge of a Judge, as to the evidence of a witness: The former, they are confident, knows little more than themselves; and as to the latter, he might as well tell his tale to the midnight breeze, for they generally enter the box determined respecting the decision which they intend to give. Predilection for a friend, or malice against an enemy, too often influences them in their verdicts. Indeed, they seem to know little, and to care less, about the moral obligation of an oath; and an honest, unprejudiced decision, the result of mature deliberation and calm conviction, is seldom to be witnessed. The cost of a judgment even in this petty Court, is, I believe, without a precedent in the records of civil law. If I mistake not, the sum of £15 may be recovered in a similar Court, that of an Irish Quarter Sessions, without increasing the debt more than 11s. 10d.; 6s. 6d. of which are for stamps: And yet, in Canada, the paltry sum of forty shillings is frequently increased to the shameful amount of £10 2s. 6d.; and for this, an unfortunate debtor, though not worth sixpence, may rot in prison, unpitied and without redress. So much for laws enacted, and justice administered, by Blacksmiths and Brandy-venders! In the COURT OF REQUESTS, over which the Magistrates preside, petty causes are determined. All sums below £5 fall under the cognizance of this Court, from whose decision there is

+ There is no Insolvent Act in Canada.