I have no doubt but it is very desirable that the country should get rid of such subjects, who are mostly unfit for any military purpose whatever; but why, at a great expense, burden the army with them? Would it not be much better to allow the worthy Yankees to have many of them at once, as emigrants or soldiers; and if sufficient authority were given to our Police Magistrates, they could very soon, by only threatening such fellows, with what a certain Colonel once upon a time practised in Ireland with so much success, make volunteers in plenty, and thus save our sympathizing friends the trouble and expence of enticing them to desert from their corps in the Canadas. I am well acquainted with their proceedings in this way, and can therefore speak from experience, having been for some time employed upon the staff of the army stationed in that part of the world. I certainly had at that time no trifling task assigned me to make arrangements, so as to have a good look-out kept all along the extensive frontier of the lower Province, to prevent desertions, to which our soldiers were much addicted, and encouraged by promises of both money and land, but which were seldom intended to be fulfilled; indeed, most of those who got off had nothing else left for it, in order to keep themselves from starving, but to become once more soldiers, and to fight against their old comrades. It was supposed by some officers, that shooting a number of them (I saw six shot in one day at Chambly), who were caught in attempting to cross the boundary line, would have put a stop to this disgrace to our army, but it had no effect whatever; indeed nothing we could devise produced any change in this respect, until it was made the duty of commanding officers to give me immediate information whenever a man was missed from his corps. Small detachments of dragoons were posted at certain points to convey to me at St. Johns the necessary intelligence. Upon receiving it, the out-posts were instantly informed of the circumstance. At the same time parties of Indian warriors were sent out in all directions in search of him, and a reward was held out to them for bringing him in. These arrangements being made known to the several corps, and the deceptions of our kind neighbours being pointed out to them, a complete stop was thus put for the time to desertions. But are men who would so readily desert, those Great Britain should have in her armies? I ought here however to mention, to the honour of my old friends, the 88th, or Connaught Rangers, that they were exempted, by Sir Thomas Brisbane, from witnessing executions for this crime, as not a man of that corps had deserted to the United States.