Page 31 [31]
historian, Smith, we learn that at that time there was
a scarcity of the fair sex in the colony, and that, to
remedy this abnormal state of affairs, several hun¬
dred females were dispatched from France. They
were short, tall, lean, fat, old and young, but, ina
few days after their arrival, they were all disposed
of. ‘ The Governor-General then distributed to the
newly married, oxen, cows, hogs, fowls, salted beef,
and good advice.”
The grants of land by the French Government
consisted of seignories, which were subdivided into
parishes, the extent of which were defined in 1721.
The first person to whom a grant of land was
made in Upper Canada, was De la Salle, the dis¬
coverer of the Mississippi, who was granted Wolfe,
Gage, and Amherst Islands, together with four
leagues of land, which included the fort at Cata¬
raqui.
When the Revolutionary War closed, the British
Government adopted a policy of prudence and
liberality, by granting to the Loyalist refugees
large tracts of land, in partial recompense for the
losses sustained in adhering to the old flag. The
result has been to build up, to the north of the St.
Lawrence, a confederation, strong in British prin¬
ciples, and offering a bulwark against the spread of
republicanism in North America.
Not only were extensive grants of land made to
to every refugee. The scale of granting lands was:
To a field-officer, 5,000 acres ;
captain, 3,000 ; sub¬
altern, 2,000 ; private, 200.
Among the individuals of note who received
grants, was Benedict Arnold, the traitor, who drew
18,000 acres, besides having given to him, as a
reward for his treachery, $50,000. Several of the
blocks were in the United Counties, one lot being,
perhaps, the finest in Central Canada,
situated near Kilmarnock, now the property of
Joseph Ferguson, Esq.
farm
The lands were originally granted by drawing
lots. The number of each lot and concession was
written on separate pieces of paper ;
placed in a hat, and shaken.
all were then
Each person entitled
drawn for them, the number drawn corresponding
to the location. A printed location ticket was then
given.
At the time the lot was drawn, the surveyor in
charge had before him the map of the district, upon
which he marked the name of the party who had
secured it.
Previous to the arrival of the first settlers, in the
spring of 1784, partial surveys had been made of
the townships fronting on the St. Lawrence, Major
3
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Holland having charge of the same. In Lower
Canada, in 1781, General Clark, Military Com¬
mander, had caused a survey to be made, including
the limit between the Seigniory of New Longueil
and the Township of Lancaster, the first township
in Upper Canada. The Surveyor-General at first
laid out only a single range of lots, all of which
fronted on the river, and this was probably done
along the breadth of several townships. The front
line was first run, cutting off the broken part along
the bank of the river ; but, according to the report
of the Crown Lands Department, in some townships
no front line has been found, while the lines in the
second concession were distinctly marked.
The operations of the first surveyor only extended
to the western boundary of Elizabethtown, which,
at that time, was called the Eighth Township,
though in reality it was the zinth. ~The explanation
of this discrepancy is, that, for many years, Lan¬
caster was not counted, being known as the Sunken
Township, and considered of no value.
The following are the names of the townships,
commencing at the Lower Canada frontier: No. 1,
Lancaster; No. 2, Charlottenburg; No. 3, Corn¬
wall; No. 4, Osnabruck; No. 5, Williamsburg ;
No. 6, Matilda; No. 7, Edwardsburg; No. 8,
Augusta ; No. 9, Elizabethtown.
The base line having been established, a second
one, parallel thereto, was made at a distance of a
mile and a quarter. Each concession was divided
into lots of two hundred acres. At intervals
of two or three miles, a strip, forty feet wide, was
left for the side lines. The number of concessions
in a township depended upon circumstances, the
general intention, however, being to make each
municipality ten miles square. The object~ af
making the lots so narrow was to increase the
number having a river frontage, thus bringing the
settlers nearer together.
In addition to the grant to each United Empire
Loyalist, his wife and each of his children were
entitled to a like quantity of land. The U. E.
certificates of ownership became articles of barter,
Many of the parties who drew land never examined
it, and, if the location was in the rear townships, it
was considered almost worthless. It therefore
happened that lots were sold for a mere song, and,
in many instances given away. .Two hundred
acres, now comprised in one of the best farms in
the Township of Bastard, were offered for a pair of .
coarse boots, but the offer was refused. Store¬
keepers bought up the location tickets fora calico
dress, and resold the same lands to emigrants, at
from two to four dollars an acre.
The first operation of the new settler was to erect