General Introduction To Statistical Account Of Upper Canada - Softcover

Robert Gourlay

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0461351935 ISBN 13: 9780461351934

Publisher: HardPress, 2020

Synopsis

General Introduction To Statistical Account Of Upper Canada by Robert Gourlay. The work is a polemical, documentary tract from the early 19th century that advocates large-scale emigration from Britain to Upper Canada as a remedy for poverty and a vehicle for reform of English Poor Laws. It outlines a plan to publish a comprehensive statistical account of Upper Canada to inform policy and attract settlers, and it critiques existing emigration writings (notably James Strachan) while detailing Gourlay’s health crises, imprisonments, and perseverance. The text includes petitions to Parliament and correspondence with colonial authorities (Bathurst and Goulburn) about emigration terms and land grants, and situates these arguments within British parliamentary debates on Poor Laws (May–June 1821). A key focus is land-grant policy and the costs and terms of emigration, as well as proposals for infrastructural development (roads and canals) to support settlement. The tone is persuasive, combative, and documentary, combining advocacy with personal narrative and a critique of imperial governance to advance colonial reform.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461351935
• ISBN 13: 9780461351934
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 562