FROM VAN DIEMAN'S LAND, WRITTEN DURING FOUR YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR POLITICAL OFFENCES COMMITTED IN UPPER CANADA. BY BENJAMIN WAIT. "It is better to fail in striking for so noble a thing as LIBERTY, EMBODYING, ALSO, LETTERS DESCRIPTIVE OF PERSONAL APPEALS IN UNITED LEGISLATURE OF THE CANADAS. BY MRS. B. WAIT. BUFFALO: PRESS OF A. W. WILGUS. 184 3. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1843, by ALFRED W. WILGUS, in the Clerk's office of the Northern District of New-York. ©7-30-40 Barnes & Notle 7-27-42 46028 REMARKS FOR THE READER. As the author of these pages, I would respectfully intimate to the reader, that, at my commencing them, it was wholly foreign to the original plan, to embody any thing farther than the mere incidents attending the commutation of my primary sentence, the transportation to Van Dieman's Land, via England; an account of circumstances coming under my observation, during two years residence there, a description of the face of the country, and a brief history of its discovery, its settlement, the prominent features of its soil, its forests, and its climate; with the character of its government, its inhabitants, its prison discipline, and the treatment the Canadian political offenders have received; with a detail of circumstances in connexion with Mrs. Wait's arduous struggles, given by herself. But, by the repeated urgent requests of many gentlemen, kindly interested, I have been induced to give a brief detail of some of the leading causes of complaint which more directly led to immediate insurrection in Upper Canada. For this purpose I have not considered it necessary to go farther back than 1835; and to prevent the possibility of the application of "exparte" to the statements, (as has been usual, of late, to all publications of such a nature,) I have given nothing but what will be found on the records of the parliament, and in Lord Durham's able report upon Canadian matters. It is, indeed, true, there have many accurate details of our grievances gone forth to the public, that I am sorry to find, are "not generally disseminated," which has been, unhappily, the case with General McLeod's authentic his |