Post-Loyalist Settlement I (1814 - 1830)

Simcoe to Portland, January 22, 1795 (Regarding his opinion to Britain about renting Crown lands to Loyalist settlers, as opposed to selling them.)

Document Summary:

John Graves Simcoe, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, asks the British Crown to consider renting Crown lands to settlers in the province as opposed to selling them. This was so that the provincial government could count on a constant and uninterrupted source of revenue.

Simcoe seems to have felt that looking after the administration of the colony would take a great deal of "management" and "attention" (i.e. money) in order to ensure that colonial society operated peacefully and properly. If Crown lands were rented instead of sold, Simcoe argued, then the government of Upper Canada could ensure taxes within its counties would be kept to a minimum.

It also seems from this letter that Simcoe was afraid that higher taxation in Upper Canada would prevent Loyalist immigration to the province, as they would seek prosperity elsewhere. Simcoe also suggested that his recommendations would allow smaller, more compact settlements to arise in Upper Canada, which would have been more in line with British tradition.