Simcoe's time. Upon his demission of
authority the direction of affairs devolved upon the Honourable Peter
Russell, as senior member of the Executive Council; and that gentleman
had not been long in authority before murmurs began to be heard about
the partial and defective administration of the important department of
Crown Lands. There were comparatively few men in the country possessed
of sufficient education and business experience to admit of their being
entrusted with the charge of public affairs; and where all the offices
were necessarily in the hands of a small number of persons, it was a
foregone conclusion that irregularities should creep in, and that
cliquishness and favouritism should prevail to a greater or less extent.
When Lieutenant-Governor Hunter arrived, in 1799, he found that certain
objectionable practices had become common, and that the foundation had
been laid of serious public evils. Greed and favouritism had obtained a
strong foothold, and scarcely any branch of the public service was
efficiently managed. The sin of covetousness was not confined to
subordinate officials, but included among its votaries some of the
highest dignitaries of the Province. It would seem that President
Russell himself had an itching palm, and that his individual interests
were carefully watched over during his temporary administration of
affairs. Everybody has heard how he made grants of public lands from
himself to himself,[24] thereby violating one of the most cherished
maxims of English jurisprudence. Lieutenant-Governor Hunter, in a letter
written to a friend in England soon after his arrival at York, refers to
P. R.--by whom Mr. Russell is clearly indicated--as "an avaricious one."
In a subsequent part of the same epistle he adds: "So far as depended
upon him [Mr. Russell] he would grant land to the de'il and all his
family as good Loyalists, if they would only pay the fees." During
Governor Hunter's own term of office, though there is no evidence of
corruption or double-dealing on his own part, abuses continued to exist,
and dishonesty too often stared honesty out of countenance. During the
_regime_ of his successor, Commodore Grant, these abuses grew steadily,
both in number and in bulk; and during Francis Gore's long though
interrupted administration, they reached a height which called aloud for
redress.

And here it is desirable to enquire into the specific nature of the
manifold evils which enriched a few at t