In the late 1830s the governments of Britain and Lower Canada, the Catholic Church, and a number of capitalist enterprises began to play a role in the settlement and exploitation of the economically marginal Upper St Francis district of Southern Quebec. British attempts to encourage immigration were largely unsuccessful but by mid-century the building of roads attracted a flood of French Canadians from the south-shore seigneuries.

Child came to Lower Canada from Massachussetts in 1812 and made his fortune as a smuggler during the War of 1812. He later became a merchant and druggist and then entered politics, serving as MLA for Stanstead County in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The letters provide the first detailed history of Eastern Township politics during the 1840s. They are also an excellent source of information for the social historian, reflecting the concerns of a nineteenth-century Canadian family who were not part of the small British-born elite. Issues discussed in the letters include religion and moral...