The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1841-08-13

We discover that consdcra excitement pre-
walls in the eastern cities, relative to the Amer-
cans now held prisoners by the British Co
yenment an Van Dicman's Land, for particpa-
ting III the late Canadian troubles.
Their condition and treatment is represented
as being Of the most deplorabc and wrctchcd ma
ture, rs the following extract of letter from one
of the prisoners to his brother in New York wilt
show The letter is dated " Convict Station.
Van Dieman's Land Jan 3, 1871"
After speaking of their treatment aboard the
ship on their passage out he says; Upon our
arrival we were put into Kind of barracks, COM
posed of small huts, and called Convict Sta
ton" Here we are associated with the most vile
creatures which were ever classcd with human
beings-thc essence of British paupcrism, distil-
led in Ncwgatc aud however much disposed we
may be to conduct ourselves obedicntly to the rules
under which we are placed, mot for the purpose
OF preserving order but to make us endure suffer
ing these wrctchcs will not allow us, and we are
often punished for being in bad company, which
was none OF our choosing" 'Our employment is
upon the roads, digging trenches, breaking stone,
cutting timber, saving blocks for pavcmcnts. and
dragging timber and stone like brutes, for we have
no teams, and have to do all the carting ourselves
At this kind of work we are made to labor for five
and halt days in the week. We are taken out
at q O'Clock in the morning and brought in At
> o'clock in the afternoon and when we 90 any
distance from the station, we are strung ON TO n
chain. Saturday afternoons we are allowed tn
wash and mend our shirt; for it is but one that
we have at a time. Not the smallest part of our
suiterIngs result from the want of necessary clo-
thing. Our food consists of Cruel, brown bread
and the oilals OF mutton, not unofen tainted; and
OF such we get only about half enough to satisfy
the requirements OF nature. 1t is but a common
thing to observe coaUict Gas we are called at
tempting to appcase his hunger by dcvouring the
young bark from trees. Such is a sketch of Brit
ish humanity, which has made real to us what
we had read of the Jersey prison ship.
" 1t Is not our present suffering alone of which
we have to complain, but the inequality of the
treatment which has been bestowed upon those
who were called offenders. The very men who
cajolcd me and others, and induced us to ioin the
expedition, when taken prisoners, were released
and sent home, because they had riM and il, R,,e,.
hdl friends while we have been kept to suffer
and on our arrival here, we, who are called Anna.
rlcans, were put upon the public roads, while the
Canadians were separated from us and sen, to
Sidney, where they have been treated as gentle
men; some being placed in tho public Offices, as
clerks, and others receiving their tickets of hqre
Immediately upon their arrival. That we mr.,
treated worse than rebels suppose is, because we
are Yankees; but believe that if the British 90
vcrnmcnt understood our case, it would be other.
wise. They think that we went into Canada
only to rob; yet how could that be so, when the
most OF us, II we were not rich, had good homes
IN our own country, and plenty of profitable en-
poymcnt, aud however much any one might hive
been disposed to plumber, there was nothing to he
got in Canada, Why do not those people who
urged us oil, and in fact hired us to 60, do some.
thing for our relief! Something might be done,
| am sure, five had any friends to do it.
NJ, MONROE"
0JWhat can be done 10, their relief! We hone
something may BIZ done by our government bu,
to produce this, says the n. \. New Era, there
must be ilrs, action on the par, Of the people!