ear that this Government has been more
to blame than any other, for the same system seems to have been
pursued by all. They might indeed have adopted decisive measures
at an earlier period, and as soon as they found that the Assembly
was invincibly obstinate and deaf to the voice of reason, they
ought to have put an end to the humiliating contest by an
assertion of Imperial power. All that can be said is, that they
tried the conciliatory power too long.

[18] [Sir John Colborne was Lieutenant-Governor of Canada at
the time the insurrection broke out, and the
suppression of it was mainly due to the vigorous
measures taken by him on the spot. For these services
he was raised to the peerage by the title of Lord
Seaton. He died in 1863 at the age of eighty-four.]

Burghley, January 2nd, 1838 {p.035}

Among other changes of habit, it has occurred to me why should
not I begin the New Year by keeping a regular diary? What I do
write are merely fragments of memoirs with passing events briefly
alluded to, and the odds and ends collected from different
sources recorded and commented on. It is not the first time I
have had thoughts of keeping a more regular journal, in which not
only my doings should be noted down and my goings, but which
would also preserve some record of my thoughts and feelings, if
ever indeed I really do think and feel. The reason I have never
done anything of this sort is partly that I have been too idle,
and the result partly of modesty and partly of vanity. A journal
to be good, true, and interesting, should be written without the
slightest reference to publication, but without any fear of it;
it should be the transcript of a mind which can bear
transcribing. I do not in sincerity believe that my mind, or
thoughts, or actions, are of sufficient importance or interest to
make it worth while (for the sake of others) to take this
trouble. I always contemplate the possibility that hereafter my
journal will be read by the public, always greedy of such things,
and I regard with alarm and dislike the notion of its containing
a heap of twaddle and trash concerning matters appertaining to
myself which nobody else will care three straws about. If
therefore I discard these scruples and do what I meditate (and
very likely after all I shall not, or only for a very short
time), the next thing is, Why? It seems exceedingly ridiculous to
say that one strong sti