2nd August 1847

Good morrow Connor ,

I am writing this letter from the province of Canada. I decided to move here because I wanted to get
as far away from Ireland as possible. I was tired of the anti-Catholicism going on in the country.
The government would religiously discriminate against me. The penal laws were unfair for Catholics
like me in the country. Even after the Catholic Relief Act, they did their best to reduce our political
power. Our electorate was reduced from 216 000 voters to just 37 000. Also, I had difficulty working
around other Irish officials. They did their best to restrict my power. Suddenly, I hit my breaking
point when the government accused me of conspiring against the state. I lost everything—my job, my
friends, and my house. I had no choice but to move to Canada.

Furthermore, I had enough money to get a first-class ticket. I was very well treated by the ship's
crew. I had a private cabin. We were fed and always provided with drinking water. Our resting areas
were spacious and sanitary. It wasn't exactly luxury, but I was significantly more comfortable than
the lower classes. They weren't treated properly by the crew. They were rarely allowed to go outside,
and they weren't given food or water. Also, I noticed that their areas were filthy. For example, there
was garbage everywhere and rats running all over the place. There were cholera outbreaks because of
the unsanitary conditions. I even saw a few corpses being thrown off the boat.

After about a month and a half of sailing, we finally arrived. Our first stop was a quarantine station
called Grosse Île. They checked if we had any viruses. We all took a shower to get rid of diseases. A
few of the passengers that I was traveling with were supposedly sick. They disappeared; apparently,
they were put in the hospital for showing signs of illness. Afterwards, I was sent to Quebec. I looked
extensively for a law firm to work for, but I was told that the civil laws are very different here. And I
will need to go back to school. In the meantime, I found a steady job working in a small factory. I
often get called names because the local community isn't happy about the surplus in immigration.
However, it’s still a major improvement from all the hate I would suffer in Ireland.
Salutations,