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in
Scotland, the last question being "What, in your opinion, regards the improvement of your township in particular, or the province in general; and what would most contribute to the same?". This last question came to be viewed with great suspicion by the provincial authorities. The list of questions
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from 1809 to 1817. Gourlay's sympathies lay with the poor farmer, who he saw as being imprisoned by landlords and the system of government. In 1801, he was employed by the
British imperial government to make inquiries into the condition of the British poor. His report prompted a bill to be introduced
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in 1822. In 1836, the sentence of banishment was annulled, and
Gourlay's imprisonment was admitted to have been illegal. In 1842 he petitioned the house for compensation and was granted a pension of £50 a year, which he declined, as he claimed to be a creditor of the government. He was also the
159:, seeing Gourlay as a trouble-maker, attempted to prevent the return of responses to Gourlay's questions from the townships. In May and June 1818, Gourlay began holding meetings across the province, proposing a direct appeal to the government in
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swore out a complaint against
Gourlay under the Sedition Act of 1804, which Gourlay claimed did not apply to British citizens like himself. Gourlay was jailed when he refused to leave the province and wrote articles for the
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Although
Gourlay had been crushed by the colonial authorities, he had helped bring to the surface some concerns about the administration of Upper Canada. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the
197:. In August 1819 he was found guilty of this charge and banished from the province. It would not be until 1841 that a committee of the Province of Canada chaired by
139:, expecting to return by the fall. While there, he decided to gather some statistical information on Upper Canada. This list was based on the questions used by Sir
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in the north of the city. The grave is marked by an obelisk and stands on a diagonal path around 100m from the sealed eastern entrance.
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Records of Robert
Gourlay can be found in the "John Smith fonds" at the Archives of the Law Society of Upper Canada
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with representatives from 14 districts; it was decided to present a petition to the new
Lieutenant Governor Sir
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as a traitor. In 1856, he returned to his property in Canada and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in
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to pass legislation banning seditious meetings and he refused to accept the petition.
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The grave of Robert
Fleming Gourlay, Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh
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A General
Introduction to a Statistical Account of Upper Canada
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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Gourlay later questioned the decision of
Lieutenant Governor
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Muddy York Mud: Scandal & Scurrility in Upper Canada
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and was assaulted several times. Gourlay was accused of
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writer, political reform activist, and agriculturalist.
151:in banning the granting of land to people of the
79:Gourlay was born in Craigrothie in the Parish of
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16:British statistician and activist (1778 - 1863)
179:. However, Maitland was able to convince the
127:In 1817, his wife inherited some land in the
404:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
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144:was sent to all townships in the province.
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19:For other people named Robert Gourlay, see
119:in honour of his mother who died in 1827.
277:Mealing, Stanley R. (16 December 2013) .
367:Works by or about Robert Fleming Gourlay
308:. Toronto: Curiosity House. p. 52.
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107:and adopted, but it was rejected by the
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29:(March 24, 1778 – August 1, 1863) was a
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447:Alumni of the University of St Andrews
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205:Return to England and political career
59:In England - a living wage for workers
452:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
225:, he was loyal to Britain and viewed
209:He returned to England and published
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61:In Canada - fair land distribution"
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55:In Scotland - a vote for every man
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201:would hear Gourlay's grievances.
51:"Robert Gourlay championed reform
442:Canadian prisoners and detainees
398:"Gourlay, Robert Fleming"
94:and studied agriculture at the
83:, Scotland on 22 March 1778.
21:Robert Gourlay (disambiguation)
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214:author of numerous pamphlets.
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437:Canadian non-fiction writers
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135:and he travelled there via
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284:The Canadian Encyclopedia
92:University of St. Andrews
407:. New York: D. Appleton.
279:"Robert Fleming Gourlay"
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105:British House of Commons
75:Early life and education
57:who could read and write
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96:University of Edinburgh
302:Raible, Chris (1992).
227:William Lyon Mackenzie
223:Upper Canada Rebellion
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27:Robert Fleming Gourlay
88:Master of Arts degree
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199:William Tiger Dunlop
182:Legislative Assembly
41:Portrait located in
432:Canadian activists
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219:British Parliament
177:Peregrine Maitland
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53:ahead of his time.
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195:Niagara Spectator
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427:1863 deaths
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81:Ceres, Fife
416:Categories
264:References
393:Fiske, J.
324:cite book
247:Edinburgh
103:into the
90:from the
251:Scotland
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369:at the
161:England
117:Fleming
113:Britain
43:Toronto
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231:Oxford
241:Death
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310:ISBN
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