The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-22 00:00:00

Canada and

Le Canadians.

(From the Times' Correspondent.)
QUEBEC, Oct. 2.
The inveterate jealousy of England entertained
in the Northern States of America, the progress
and probable results of the Civil War, together with
the insolent threats of leading American statesmen
and journalists that the conquest or annexation of
Canada will sooner or later be attempted, in re.
taliation for real or supposed injuries on the part
of Great Britain, or simply as a counterpoise for
the loss of the Southern States, have naturally
excited the attention, if not the alarm, of the
Canadians. It is not the first time that they have
asked themselves the question whether they were
earnestly loyal to the British Crown, or whether,
all things considered, it would not be to their ad-
vantage either to declare their independence or to
seek peaceable incorporation with the great Repub.
lie upon their border; but it is the first time that
they have answered it with emphatic unanimity,
and that all classes have come to the conclusion that
their liberty, prosperity, and happiness will be best
secured by the continuance of their connection with
Great Britain ; that if this connection should un•
fortunately be severed their duty would be to esta•
blish their independence in union, if possible, with
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward's
Island, and Newfoundland; and that under no cir•
cumstances short of absolute subjugation they
would consent to incorporation with the Federal
Republic. Daring a journey of upwards of twelve
hundred miles through the towns and cities of
Upper and Lower Canada I have made it my busi-
ness to converse on this subject with all descrip-
tions of people. I have interchanged ideas with
farmers and mechanics, with clerks and shopkeep-
ers, with hack drivers and boatmen, with merchants,
lawyers, and physicians ; with members of the Le•
gislature of every political party ; with actual or
former members of the Government ; with French
Canadians and with Canadians of Anglo• Saxon or
Irish descent, and with new comers of all classes.
In all this intercourse I did not meet with cne per.
eon, however prejudiced or ignorant he might be on
other matters, who did not estimate the British con-
nexion at its full value, and express repugnance at
the idea of annexation to the Federal States.
There was a time not very remote when a different
feeling prevailed in Upper Canada; but the teach.

ings of the American Civil War have wrought a
change, and produced throughout that province an
attachment to the old flag which may be equalled
but cannot be excelled in England or Scotland. In
the Lower Province the loyalty to Great Britain is
nut so fervent; but if the French fall short of the
Anglo-Canadians in this respect they entertain
towards the Yankees—or as they sometimes call
them, the Bostonais—a far greater aversion than is
felt or expressed by any portion of the English
speaking population. If they love England little,
they hate Federal America much, and are fully
aware of, and resolved to preserve, the benefits of
British protection.
The people of the mother country will be better
enabled to understand the genuineness of the
loyalty of these noble provinces, and how the

diverse interests of the several races who inhabit
them all converge into this one sentiment, if they
will call to mind the leading incidents of Canadian
history, and separate into its constituent parts the