The Sun. — London, England, 1840-06-13 00:00:00

EVEN ING EDITION. tented his opinion, for the people of Canada bad the same access to his delivered opinion as he had. They were unfit for self-government if it were possible that they could be persuaded to conceal their opinions and motives by any stranger going among them, however high his authority. His respect for them induced him to think that that re port contained their true sentiments. He certainly did not attacia much importance to the opinions of either Lord Durham or Mr. Thompson ; they were comparative strangers in the country—they had not sufficient expe rience to give weight: to their opinions. C nsidering the mission they were on in Canada, be looked upon them in the light of partisans ; but he did attach the utmost weight to the opinions of Lord Seaton. The respect he had for his character, his long public services, the eminent stations he bad filled in both Canadas, induced him to place confidence in his opinion. The language of Sir John Colborne said at once that that Noble Lord was favourable to the principle of the union. All the British inhabitants of the Lower Province, the majority of those in the Upper Province, were in favour of the onion, so that all these facts induced him to support the Bill. The same observations applied to Sir George Arthur. If these two eminent men really were against the principle of union, if there was any concealment of their opinions, the responsibility of the Government would be great indeed.— ( Cheers.) He did not believe there had been any—he believed that both were in favour of the Bill, not only in principle but also in detail. Upon the last ground, the opinion of the Governors, he gave his unhesitating assent to the third reading of the Bill. He deeply regretted that he was not present upon the committal of the Bill, Lnd he was sorry the Noble Lord had not consented to its recom- mittal ; but still the same reason that made him assent to the preamble of the Bill prevented his interfering with the de tails. lie trusted, however, the suggestions that had been thrown out would iaduce the Noble Lord to allow of some little delay between the third reading and passing of the Bill. He did not' think that the mercantile into rests were sufficiently represented in the Bill ; he thought it would have been well to have insured for the mercantile interests some share in the representation. He admitted there were parts of the Bill that were entitled to great weight and consideration ; the suggestion of no vote of public money without the recommendation of the Crown, was most important; it was also a most important provi sion that there should be a permanent Civil List provided for the expenses of the Government. They ought to (Us abuse the Canadians of any supposition that they had a wish to derive any benefit from them, and that when they in sisted upon a Civil List, it was only for the purpose of insuring good Government. In consideration of that Civil List arrangement, and a penal grant of 45,000/. and 30,0001., the territorial revenues of the Crown were to be made over for the use of the province for a certain period. Now, with respect to that, he thought it was desirable, when theviwere parting with the territorial revenues of the Crown, to be certain that they should not come into con- flict with the House of Assembly. The Noble Lord pro posed, the; after the union of the two provinces the duties and revenues of the province should form a consolidated fund; that the expenses of collection should form the first charge, and that the interest of the public debt of the pro vince should form the second charge, while the two items of the Civil List formed subsequent charges.— ( Hear, hear.) Now, if the Legisla ure wished to prevent the payment of these Civil Lists, they might take up a suni of money on loan, and supply the revenues with the payment of the interest of the:debt, to the exclusion of the Civil List. It appeared to him, therefore, that the guarantees they had were by no means satisfactory, and he would suggest that the expenses of the Civil List should form the second item of charge on the Consolidated Fund. —( hear.) The Noble Lord proposed to give up to the Assembly for Colonial purposes the land and territorial re venues of the province, but he disapproved of the plan of giving permanent possession of these revenues to the Assembly, because at the expiration of the present manage ment they could not take possession of them again. He hoped the Noble Lord would maturely consider the enact ment of the measure—that he would take every reasonable security and precaution that at the termination of the pre sent Civil List arrangement they would be as nearly as possible in their present position. If the Noble Lord was enabled to fulfil the three objects to which he had alluded, namely, to give some additional influence to the mercantile interest—to prevent the interest of any new debt being a charge on the Consolidated Fund—and to prevent the Go vernment, by the alienation of those lands, from drying up the sources of the present revenue, he thought the measure ought to receive the concurrence of that House. He felt that the subject was almost exhausted, and he should not, therefore, trespass further upon the time of the House. He thought, however, they bad a right to obtain all the secu rity they could in making the new compact, which he trusted would ultimately tend to the peace, prosperity, and tranquillity of the Canadas, and their permanent connexion with the mother country.—( Hear and cheers.) Sir R. INGLIS said the Right Hen. Baronet had sug gested three alternatives, but he had omitted a fourth, which was to leave Upper Canada in her present position, and g ive a new constitution to Lower Canada. He behaved that British influence, which should be the main considera tion with that House, would be materially injured by the present plan, and he should therefore give the motion his decided opposition. He thought the measure would strengthen the Anti-English and the Anti-Protestant party ' in the Colonies, and such a proposition would never receive any countenance or support from him. Mr. E .EL LICE regretted that the Right Hon. Bart. who had just sat down had not placed that confidence which he usually reposed in his political leader, and given his support to the measure. lie (Mr. Ellice) on behalf of the people of Canada, begged to express to the Right lion. Baronet the Member for Tarnw ortb, his warmest thanks for the manly and able manner in which he had conic forward to share the responsibility of the measure.— ( Hoar. ) He was aware of the value at which the Right Hon. Baronet's support would be estimated in Canada, and he therefore felt the more forcibly the advantage of his support. He confessed he felt considerable apprehen sien as to the issue, and be believed it would be difficult to bring the matter to a satisfactory settlement. They must, however, look to the recorded opinions of the inha bitants of the country for which they were about to legis late, and he was satisfied to abandon hie own opinions in such a case in deference to those expressed by the inhabitants of the province. On these grounds he had con eiderable hopes of its success. He believed the people were sick of the agitation that wae:going on, and were ready to accept of any settlement that offered a hope of the resto ration of peace and tranquillity, and that the improve ments which had been so long retarded, would be carried into effect. He was confirmed in the opinion by every thii g he had lately heard o n th e su bj ect , an d h e did not dcsfair of the French population receiving the measure as one whirs would promote good government and prosperity throughout the colony. It appeared to him that no insti tutions which they could form for the people of Canada, would give so much satisfaction as those institutions which they already enjoyed. The object in establishing the new Council was to place an additional power of taxation with in the control of the Government. But the result of the plan would be, that they would have two con flicting authorities in Canada, and that they would give to others, besides Parliament, a power of taxing the inhabitants of every district to any extent they might think proper. He could not conceive any expedient more mischievous than that, or one more likely to give rise to dissensions. Ile had never, lie should say, read a paper so full of vague theories and speculations as that report of Captain Pringle, the recom. mendations of which the House was then called on to adopt. He would readily admit on the other hand that Mr. Thompson had executed on the whole the difficult task which had been imposed on hint with the greatest ability, tact, and expedition. He thought, however, that that Right Hon. Gentleman might have proceeded with more caution as far as regarded the report of Captain Pringle. He might have consulted persons in Canada well acquainted with the subject, and if the Governor-General had done so he was persuaded that he would not be left ignorant of the many erroneous views it contained. It was proposed that the new Council should have the power of taxing to an amount which would lead to the confiscation of property in Canada. The proposal was not that they should give a certain power to the Legislature, but that they should give a power to the Governor of con stituting what was t called a Municipal Council by Charter, which would be allowed to tax land to an enormous extent. He thought that the House should be very cautious in sanctioning such a plan. He could conceive nothing so dangerous as the comparison which the people might make between the two Councils, the one of which would have the power of taxing to the amount of ono penny an acre only, while the other would have the power of taxing to the amount of threepence an acre, He was net, however, completely opposed to the principle of introducing new municipal institutions into Canada, but be thought those institutions should be introduced gra dually, and with great caution. So far was he from ap prehending that the English Provincial Legislature would be slow to introduce English laws and usages, that he thought the danger was that it would he too eager and precipitate. With respect to the purchase of land, it had been found by the poorer emigrant - more advantageous to buy land from the land-jobbers than ' from the Government, for even if the Government gave thelands for nothing, the trouble .and expense of obtaining u t d eir title-deeds would be greater than the amount required lohY the land-jobbers as purchase-money—th a t is, n acre. In an swer to the allusion which had been s made an to his Right Hon. Friend the Governor of Canada, hemust say that he thought it was the duty of his Right Hon. Friend, who proposed this measure to the Government, to stop in th e colony until he saw it carried into execution, It was of the utmost importance that there should not be frequent changes in the Governor of the colony.—(Hear, hear.) A man had to learn his business when he went out there— ( Hear, hear)—and perhaps if his Right Hon. Friend had been six months longer in Canada, he would not hav e drawn up such a Report. However, he (Mr. Ellice) was resolved to stand by the Bill. If he divided alone, h e wold divide against the amendment. He felt that on this Canadian question be bad not always done his duty. He thought that if his advice had been taken for the last five years, Canada would not be in its present state. He had sacrificed too much to party and personal feelings; and even if he were now left alone by his lion, and Right lion, Friends around him, he would take the sense of the House.—(Hear, bear.) The lion. Member oppo site was apprehensive of religious dissensions terminating in the ascendancy of one sect. But there certainly was no ground for that apprehension—certainly there were no grounds for apprehension of the ascendancy of that sect of which the Hon. Baronet was most in fezr.—( Hear.) Indeed there were no men in the world less likely to en courage religious animosity for party objects than the Roman Catholic pastors of Canada.—( Hear.) Their in fluence had been exerted to allay dissensions and to pro mote peace and order, and lie believed the House and the country might rely on the continuanc e of that course of conduct on their part.—( Hear, hear.) In tak;nc , leave of this subject, at the same time that he must express his doubts as to some parts of the measure, he must also avow his hope that, as a whole, it would lead to the peace and quiet of Canada, and to the establishment of its permanent Hear, bear. ) prosperity.—( Lord STANLEY said it had been his intention to give a silent vote in favour of the Bill; but he now wished to make a few t:laserva tion 3 in consequence of what had fallen kcal his Right Hon. Friend who proposed the amend- ment. He was not insensible of the hazard and danger which accompanied any measure that could be taken by this country in respect to Canada ; but he thought that the hazard of doing nothing, and of leaving matters to ad just themselves, was not to be called hazard, but absolute ruin. —(Hear.) He not only hoped that this measure would pass the House, but that his Hon. Friend the Mem ber for Caithness would not give the House the trouble of dividing, or give the people of Canada reason to suppose that there was a difference of opinion on this subject in the British House of Commons.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Caithness said that there was good reason for the separation of the provinces in 1791, and that those reasons now weighed equally against their re onion. It was very difficult to put one's self in the posi tion of the persons who adopted that measure in179l ; but with all respect to the great man of that time, he thought the measure was one of very doubtful policy. But even admitting that it was wise then, he could not agree that the same reasons which had served at that time would weigh equally against the reunion of the pro vinces in their present state of maturity. The separation was from the first quite sure to lead to animosities between the two races, and embarrassment to the Governor. In fact it created the very cella which it was desired to prevent, and the time had now arrived when it was necessary to retrace the step.—( Hear.) If a measure had been propo se d which was more nearly balanced in expediency and fitness, against the measure of the Government, than any which had been seggested from that (the Opposition) side, h e should feel very reluctant to take it out of the hands of the Government, who must, as long as they remai ne d a Government, have the responsibility of carrying it into effect.—( Hear, hear.) It was a fearful risk for Members opposed to the Government to take upon themselves the responsibility of advising the steps that should be taken on such a question. The fact that the measure was sub mitted on the authority and responsibility of the Ministers of the Crown, would induce him to weigh well his own preference of any abstract plan, and of a measure at least equally advantageous to Canada. His Right Hon. Friend the Member for Oxford University sug gested that Upper Canada should retain the Constitution which it now had, and that the Lower Province should have anch a Constitution as was adapted to the circumstances of its population. How did his Right Hon. Friend think that would tend to protect British interests? Did he think that he could introduce a measure which would•at once maintain the authority of the Crown, and remove the stigma of despotic Government from Lower Canada?— (Hear, hear.) flow did the Right Hon. Baronet propose to provide fir tile interests of the British portion of the population in that province, who, what ever might be their internal differences, were faithfully attached to the connexion with England.— ( Hear, hear.) If he overlooked (as he was not disposed to do) the interests of the French Canadians, how long did his Right Hon. Friend think the British inhabitants of Lower Canada would be content with the state of inferiority in which such a measure would place them ?—( Hear, hear.) He would not enter into the details of the measure of the Government, but he hoped that they would hear from his Noble Friend the Secretary for the Colonies some satisfactory explanation as to the security which was taken for her Majesty in respect to the expenses of the adminis tration.—(Hear.) The 45th, 30th, and 60th clauses left the question of the Consolidated Fund in such a state that the House of Assembly would be able at any future time to throw the charge of the debt upon that fund.--( Hear.) He begged to:suggest, therefore, that after the third read ing had been agreed to, the passing of the Bill should be postponed, in order to afford time for a cairn consideration of this part of the subject. (Hear.) It was most important that it should be distinctly under stood, and i.e trusted the Noble Lord when he rose would inform the House what means were to be taken for main taining a free and constant stream of immigration. He admitted the great improvement made since he was con. nected with the Colonial Office in the mode of raising funds for promoting emigration to the Australian Colonies. It was proper that it should be understood that by the present Bill the Government had dispossessed themselves of all power of dealing with the Crown lands ; he trusted the Noble Lord would be able to inform the House that they had merely given up the control of the funds arising from them, and that the management of those lands was still wholly to be in the power of the Crown. He would consider it a most unfortunate thing for the colony were it otherwise. He perfectly concurred with his Right Hon. Friend ( Mr. Ellice) in lamenting those clauses appointing district councils, and thought their functions would have been better left with the United Legislature—the people of Canada best knowing their own wants. The Noble Lord read several extracts from the pamphlets of Lord Chief Justice Robinson, in order to prove that these local go vernments were already established in Upper Canada, and that for eighteen years that he had been a Member of the Legislature, no one individual had ever proposed the ex tension of the principle; that, on the contrary, when a small local board, with the powers of taxation, was tried in a new part of the country, the people almost unanimously petitioned against it and it was abolished. Yet by this Bill these institutions were to be forced upon an ap parently unwilling people.—( Hear. ') Sir John Colborne in one of his despatches, gave it as his opinion that the powers of taxation ought to be retained in the hands of the Legislature. He was perfectly aware of the waste of time occasioned by the system pursued in America, but, in his opinion, the people of Canada were better able to appreciate their own wants than the Imperial Legislature. Strongly sensible of the necessity of now legislating, and as strongly apprehensive of the danger of allowing the Session to pass over without legislation ; aware also of the deep responsibility attaching to any one man, or body of men, rejecting the Bill of the Government, he felt it to be his duty, notwithstanding his objections to some of the details, to give the proposition for the third reading of the Bill his cheerful and cordial assent. Mr. EL L ICE explained.--The Legislature of the United Provinces were the best judges of what and where local governments were necessary. Lord HO \VICK considered that the explanations of his Right Hon. Friend were a little at variance with his former arguments upon the same subject. He had for merly argued that such bodies would clash with the .I.c -gislature. From that opinion he (Lord Ho wick) entirely dissented. lie thought the clauses in question were almost essential to the success of the measure before them. He was persuaded, unless they created some means of local government, it would be impossible for the United Legislature to work well. He was perfectly aware that there would he found great practical difficulty in carrying on the government by one single Legislature for such an extended country.—(Hear, hear, from Mr. Pakington.) Ile was as well aware of it as the Hon. Member who cheered, and nothing but the impossibility of the present state of things continuing to exist,—nothing short of the present state of Canada would have reconciled him to the union of the two provinces. It was absolutely necessary for them to constitute some local bodies having the powers of taxation for local purposes and im provement—he thought they were the more necessary be cause of the clause which prevented the Legislature from granting any money not first recommended by the Go vernment. fle highly approved of the clause, but without the local boards no bridge, no road, no work or improve ment of any kind could be undertaken without the local authorities entering into correspondence with the Govern ment, and the consequence might be to create much job bing in the Legislature. Far better to follow the example of the United States, or o;* this country, is the matter of parish taxation. In the former country there were country budgets, county budgets, state budgets, and parish budgets, all independent of each other—the same was necessary in Canada. It was to be remembered that in Upper Canada these boards already existed, and the Bill only went to improve and extend them, and to subject them to the con. trot of the Government. In Lower Canada nothing of the kind existed, and it was absolutely essential that they should be created, so as to work in sympathy with the United Legislature, and that they should come into opera tion immediately, and therefore was the reason that he re joiced to see the clauses in the present Bill. The United Legislature would have matters of the utmost difficulty, and of the utmost importance under their consideration on their meeting, and it was the duty of that House to relieve them as far as possible. He could not agree in all the opinions in the report of Captain Pringle. He however considered that the scale of taxation upon wild land was a fair and proper scale. His Right Hon. Friend objected to that power being vested in the Colonial Legislature. He knew it was said that the tax would be laid upon absent proprie tors. The Bill only gave the power to those boards to impose such rates upon wild land as were necessary and reasonable. It was necessary for the future prosperity of the province that an increase of hurthen should be thrown on the wild lands.—( Hear.) There were many other observations of his Right Hon. Friend on this subject, in which he entirely concurred. Ho agreed with him that in many cases the cry against the land jobbers was an idle cry, and that there must be a mode of investing capital in land, which led to the advantageous settlement of the province ; but it was impossible not to be convinced that there were great abuses in the facility now afforded to persons who had got possession of large tracts of lend, to have them unimproved for a number of years. With those views he could not help expressing his anxiety that the clauses to which attention had been particularly drawn might not be omitted from the present Bill. If any amendment of those clauses could be made he would be happy to concur in that amendment. Mr. PAKINGTON felt so deeply the importance of this subject that be could not refrain from entering his pro test against the third reading of a Bill which he believed, as he declared on a former occasion, to be fraught with danger and evil. He had heard nothing in the course of the debate that evening to remove the alarm he then ven tured to express, and he still retained the opinion that there would be great danger in governing so gigantic a territory with one Legislative Assembly and one Executive Government. H e f urt h er b e li eve d i t wou ld b e i mpossible to govern th a t country b ene fi c i a ll y b y a L egislative Assem ?lx,rconstituted as th a t A ssem bl y was to b e un d er t h e Bi ll before forltle House. E ven t h e Ri g h t H on. B aronet, the Tamworth had stated, that he doubted whether the British majority would not be too narrow to continue th e connection wi t h t hi s countr y , t . ile (Mr. Pakingt on ) very much doubt e d wlietber t.h e first Legislative Assembly would contain a majority Bill in favour of B r i t i s h connect i on. He did not think the would prove so sa ti s f actory as w it as expected, or t h at meetstid a otehobsye Chiefevils complained of, and in th at opinionwgxydas sustained Justice Robinson, a man whose o pinions were deser v i ng o f proposed the greatest weight, and who h a d le eight alterati ves , every one of which he had stated u would be to tat fe be had the union. In conclusioe be beg ge d t o stat e expressed his sincere conviction, but he hoped the had expressed would p r o v e to be groundless, and thaartsthhee Bill would be satisfactory.—(Hear, hear.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought the suceesseofoattfle measure was not at all improbable , after the dispassionate, calm, and reasonable mode in which the propositions ma d e by the Government had been met. With respect to the general measure and the principle of the union h e h ad considered most carefully all the various propositions that bad been made. He would not venture to say he had gone through the eight alternatives of Chief Justice Robinson, but he had examined the chief of the propositions befor e he considered the measure of the union, with a view of seeing whether any one of them could be adopted with a prospect of safety and advantage to this country and Canada; but the result of that examination was that, on I THE SUN, _LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 1840. the whole, there was not one of those measures that would not be attended with greater objections, and that the measure of the union had a greater prospect of success, and was more likely to contribute to the mainte nance of that connection between Canada and this country. More than that it was unnecessary to say, because it was admitted on all hands that here was a question which was ' in its own nature very difficult, and which had been en compassed with internal dissensions—with agitation, lead ing to civil war—with prospects of foreign invasion, and with all the evils that accompany those various calamities ; and therefore no one could say that with all those evils this measure was not unattended with danger, but it was the best that could be proposed. He would allude as shortly as he was able to the various objections that had been taken to particular parts and provisions of the Bill, and first with regard to the objections that had been made to the Civil List, It was said the annual interest of any public debt that might be contracted was, by the Bill, first charged upon the consoli dated revenue, and t'Jerefore charged upon the consoli dated revenue previous to the Civil List. It might be said in answer to that objection that the Crown would re fuse any Act tending to increase the revenue. At the same time he must confess there was great force in the objections of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and that they were not altogether answered by saying the Crown might snake such refusal, because if it was supposed that such measure was for the general interest of the province, it would be at the best an ungracious act, and at the worst an act tend ing to promotion of great discontent, to refuse the Royal assent on the ground that the revenues of the Crown would be diminished. He wished, therefore, to state, that he would take a few days after the third reading, and before the passing of the Bill, to consider the Right Honourable Gentleman's proposition, which, undoubtedly, was of considerable importance. The Noble Lord (the Member for North Lancashire) had asked whether the management of the Crown lands would be vested in the Crown. He ( Lord J. Russell) conceived the management of the Crown lands would remain in the Crown, for there was no provision to transfer or take it away from the Officers or Ministers of the Crown. It would therefore remain in the Crown as it now rested, and as he conceived it ought to do. Another objection that had been raised was, that the Crown revenues, aril ing partly from a sale of land, would, after a course of years, be diminished. He could not conceive that any great loss to the Crown revenues would arise from that circumstance, because, although a part of the lands might be thus alienated, yet, if the province should continue, as he trusted it would, in the progress of wealth, the remaining parts of the land would become f ar more va l ua bl e , an d other parts of the Crown revenues would yield a considerably greater income than they had done of late years. Therefore, upon the whole, he was not disposed to think that the Crown revenues parted with by the Crown during the time the Civil List was granted, would be materially affected. But a further objection had been stated, which was, that the Assembly might be disposed to adopt a rapid sale of the lands ; he did not apprehend that there was much fear of that, because, if such an occurrence did take place, the Crown had a sufficient control over all its officers. He came now to theobjections taken by his Right Hon. Friend the Member for Ooventry, with respect to those parts of the Bill which affected the District Council. He thought he might first relieve the question from two of the objections that had been stated by his Right Hon. Friend. Those objections appeared to him to be rather more specious than real objections. One was that, somewhere in the Bill the word " Municipal" occurred, and the other was with respect to Captain Pringle's report. Now, with respect to the first, the word " Municipal" was not used in the Bill, and as to Captain Pringle's report, he thought that his Right Hon. Friend had paid more attention to that than to the more important papers that had been printed on the subject. He thought that his Right Hon. Friend had hardly given due weight to the re commendations of Captain Pringle. With respect to Mu nicipal Government, it appeared from the statements of the Governor that it was desired by the people, as it was likely to lead to prosperity. But the Governor might be mistaken in that ; and, supposing that to be so, what had the assem • bled Commons of Upper Canada stated ? Why, they had pre sented an address, in which they said they had no desire to interfere unnecessarily in questions of detail affecting the sis ter province, but they could not omit to state it to be their wish that the introduction of municipal institutions into Lower Canada on the same principle as in Upper Canada should be established.—( Ilear, hear.) What then became of all his friend's conflicting principles ? His Right Hon. Friend's ob jections would go, noti,. to the omission of the clauses, but to the alteration of them. His Right Hon. Friend might argue that this system might be introduced by the Local Legisla ture. Upon that point he admitted there might be consider able doubt, but he should be disposed to say, as a general question, before he heard the opinion of the authorities that it would be better that the Colonial Legislature should introduce that plan.— ( Hear, hear.) He admitted that there was nothing that ought to be introduced into the present Bill that was likely to be better effected by the Legislature of the United Provinces. If it were the opi nion of the House that there were no objections, either from jealousy of race or local circumstances, which would prevent the United Legislature from considering the subject, if that were the opinion of the House, then it would not be necessary for them to put the proposed clause into the Bill. His opinion was when he introduced the clause that it was better that it should be in the Bill, but he would say with respect to that part he should wish to have some short time to consider it.—(Hear, hear.) If he thought, as the Governor had stated, after that consideration that those clauses were necessary, he would fairly state it to the House, and leave it for them to decide whether they would adopt them or not. If he came to a contrary opi nion after that consideration, he should have no hesitation in avowing his concurrence with the proposition of his Right lion. Friend. —( Hear, hear.) With regard to the great weight given by the Hon. Gentleman who had spoken last with respect to the opinions of Chief Justice Robinson, he must confess, al though he admitted those opinions were stated with great acute ness, yet with regard to his general principles and views re specting the Government of Canada he felt bound entirely to dissent from them.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the. Church Establishment, Chief Justice Robinson had made suggestions that could not be safely carried into effect in any part of Canada. He thought no opinion could be more absurd than that which had been advanced, that at the time of James the First and Charles the First had they established in the colonies, which were originated by the Puritans, and which were now the United States of America, an Established Church, they would never have separated themselves from this country. Such an opinion as that he believed to be extremely unsouild. With respect to some of the observations of the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth, relative to the renewed Constitution of Canada, and binding that country to England by new legislative: enactments, he conceived with regard to any colony, it was the duty of the Government to keep togs ther every part of the colony it possessed. It was the duty of the Government, with regard to the men who, various times, at the end of the late war, and the civil war which was just ended-- with regard to the men who had shown their fidelity to the Bri tish Crown, and had suffered in person and property, and yet had maintained their fidelity to the British Crown—it was the duty of the mother country not to desert them, but to put forth the right arm of this country in order to avert any danger that might surround it; and it would be the utmost baseness, on the part of a Minister of the Crown, and a gross dereliction of the duty of that House if it did not sanction such protection. Mr. C. BULLER had already expressed his opinion on the general merits of the Bill, and it was not his intention at the present moment to trouble the House at any length. With respect to the formation of District Councils he thought the Noble Lord had done but right in taking time to consider the objections made to the clauses he had introduced into the Bill. He, however, hoped that no consideration would induce the Noble Lord to abandon those clauses.—(Hear, hear.) Sir G. SINCLAIR hoped he would not be considered dis respectful if he pressed his motion to a division, but, as no di vision had taken place in the earlier stages of the Bill, he was anxious to have the sense of the House on the subject. When the Bill became law, he hoped it would be attended with the• success that was anticipated. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House di vided, when there appeared— For the third reading For the amendment ... Majority —lso ',her ne Bill was then read a third time. Mr GL ADSTONE inquired when the despatches he had moved for with reference to British Guiana would be ready. Lord J. RUSSELL said they should be delivered as speedily as possible, but he was desirous of adding to them a despatch of Lord Aberdeen's. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. Mr. BERNAL brought up the Report of the Committee of Supply. On the vote for Australia being read, Mr. GOULBURN said, he thought that would be a con venient opportunity for submitting to the consideration of the House the claims and services of the officers who had rendered great services to the country by exploring that part of her Ma jesty's dominions. It appeared that Captain Mitchell and the other officers who had been thus bmployed, had received no compensation whatever for their services. It had been the prac tice to reward services of this description by grants of lands be longing to the Crown in the country so explored. The Govern. ment having now restricted nese grants was no ground for withholding reward from meritorious officers for the services they had performed, and if the Government could not reward them by a grant of land, he said they had a claim not to be dis puted to receive remuneration in some other way. There were a number of convicts employed in this expedition, all of whom had received a mitigation of their sentence. The inferior per sons employed had also been rewarded ; the officers alone had not received the slightest reward, the usual order of things being thus inverted. Captain Mitchell had served in the most distinguished manner in the Peninsula, but were he the humblest individual who had performed services, of this description, he would have a claim upon the Government and the country which it would be their imperative duty to discharge. After a few words from Mr. FRENCH respecting the great expense of the survey, Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that not having expected the introduction of the subject, he was unable to enter into the general question of the justice of remuneration. With regard however, to a grant of land, he should be unwilling to make any exception to the rule which hail been adopted even in a case of acknowledgment, lest it should be used as a precedent for one of a different description. Further than this he was unable to say, without referring to the particulars of the case. Sir T. ACLAND said the operation of the rule forbidding then grants of land had been ex post jitcto in Sir T. Mi tc h e ll' s case—his expedition was completed after that rule.-_( ( i r s Mr. WARD agreed in the propri e ty o f some remunera tion, but said a grant of money would be best, and T. Mitchell could, if he pleased, purchase land at the low price at which it was sold in the colony, On the first vote on the Irish Estimates, Mr. PLUMPTRE said he regretted he had not been there the other night, when these estimates passed. He wished to have objected to the vote for National Education in Ireland, which system, though nominally national, was really and practically exclusively Roman Catholic, as the Protestant pa rents would not send their children to schools where part on l y of the Bible was taught—a plea for w:hich he held there could be no justification. Lord MORPETH said that he could not agree in many of the statements made by the Hon. Member. The system of national education in Ireland had been approved of by sixty-two congregations of the Presbyterian pessausions. The principles of the Hon. Member would lead him to disapprove altogetLer of any grant of public money for the purpose of imparting in struction to Roman Catholics with the approbation of their clergy, or even of their laity. An education of such a nature in Ireland, would in no way deserve the name of national. Lord TEIGNMOUTH said that if the Synod of Ulster had sanctioned the present system, they had done so because all their demands had been granted by the Commissioners. The fact was, that the Roman Catholic priests, and the Presbyte rian ministers, looked on the Commissioners as mere Treasury agents, for the purpose of dispensing the public money. He would not then object to the vote, but he hoped it would hereafter become the subject of a complete inquiry. Mr. H. GRATTAN wished to know if the Noble Lord was a schoolmaster ?—( A laugh)—for he (Mr. Grattan) was a schoolmaster. k Laugh ter7) He was at pre . sent teaching the childr en o f the of Buckingham —( Great langhter)— and the c hild ren of Dr. Lefroy,—(Roar;of laughte r , )— an d he did not r ece i ve one fart hing gof pay from either of them.—( Great laughter.) in the county of Wicklow he had a school of Pro testant and Catholic children, and they were going on exceed ingly, well._( Hear.) The Protestant ministers could come into the schools and examine the children if they liked,—(Heati hear.) The schools would gn on very Well it the Hon. Mem ber for Kent, and the Hon. Member for Marylebone, would only let them a lo n e.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) The Noble Lord had said that the children ought not to be educated in the tenets which their parents professed, and congratulated himself that the Protestant clergy objected to the present system of na tional education. Would the Noble Lord go so fat' as to say that the Catholic children should be educated as Protestants?— (Hear, hear.) An attempt was made to take away the Pro testant children from his school, but the Protestant gentlemen in his neighbourhood wrote to him, requesting tha'L he would keep the children, and he did so. In doing so he had incurred great expense, and was put to very great but very agreeable trouble. It was true that he got sonic assistance in teaching those 500 children from these extravagant treasurers of whom the Noble Lord made such heavy complaints, but he could assure the No ble Lord that they were niggardly treasurers indeed. There were in Ireland 2,000 schools, and the whole number of chil dren educated in those, male and female, was 255,000. The treasurers gave no more than 101. to each of those schools, and the landlords had to make up the difference to 30/., he meant the landlords who took upon them the duties of schoolmasters. That was the liberality of which the Noble Lord complained. When the Noble Lord and other Gentlemen opposite interfered in Irish business, they ought at least to take the trouble of in forming themselves of the matter about which they were going to talk. But, in fact, they knew nothing of the country, and they took their evidence from sources which were net always reckoned the most pure.—(hear, hear, hear. ) On such evidence it was that Gentlemen opposite wished to put down the present system, and to leave th e c hild ren of t h e I r i s h poor depende n t u p o n something which wa s yet to be born—some illegitimate off s p r ing not yet in ex i stence—( A laugh)—which was to be got between the county of Kent and the parish of Marylebone.—( Roars of laughter.) He saw that the Hon. Baronet was meditating a speech,—(A laugh. ) Sir G. SINCL AIR—No, no, lam not indeed.._( Laughter. ) Mr. GRATTAN continued—The Protestant clergy in his county offered hint some opposition, but he kept his temper, and they lost theirs, FO that in the end he had the advantage.— ( Hear, hear.) And he would continue to teach the Pro testant children as well as the Roman Catholic. He believed that the education of those children would produce a revolution, and pot down not only ignorance but party, and the party of gentlemen opposite in particular.—( Ch eers. ) Children were in structed structed in the most important parts of po li t i ca l economy, but the whole Bible was certainly not given to them.—( Cheers. ) The Noble Lord cheered. Would the Noble Lord give the whole Bible to any of his sons or daughters to read ?—( Hear. ) Did he read it himself ?—( Cheers. ) The Bible was never given to children to turn over and read as they liked.—( Cheers. ) The great objection after all to this Society was that it was not a proselytizing Society.—( Hear.) When the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire was in the Ministry he sup petted the system—but he was not in his place now.—( A laugh.) The Gallant Sergeant also was not in his place.— ( Great laughter.) Yes, he said the Gallant Serjeant, be cause the Honourable and Learned Member for Bandon had been the champion of the proselytizing society, and had fought all their battles.--( Hear, hear, and laughter. ) He (Sir. Grattan) was never more surprised at any statement, much as he was accustomed to surprise at statements from the other side,—than when he heard it asserted that the national system had failed. What, did they call it a failure to educate 255,000 children on large and liberal principles at an expense to the Government of no more than 10/.—( Hear, hear hear, and Cheers.) lie would not say that he was peculiarly religious, and he hoped to steer through life with his 500 children withcut giving scandal either to Marylebone or Kent.—(Cheers, and laughter.) If the Noble Lord or the Hon. Member would take the trouble of going to Ireland, they :might visit the schools, and they would see that their fears wore unfounded, and they would join him, not in taxing the people of England, but in educating the un protected sons and daughters of the poor peasantry of Ireland. Sir ROBERT BATESON said that he had always viewed the system called national education as a failure. It was in tended to embrace the education of all sects, but it was equally disapproved of by Dr. APHale and the Catholic clergy on the one hand, and by the Protestant clergy on the other. The children of Protestants did not go to these schools in that part of the country in which he resided, but the Kildare -street Society system, when in operation, gave satisfaction. He ob jected to the vote in the lumping manner in which it was brought forward. The House ought to have been furnished with particulars, because he believed a great sum of money had been wasted in useless ornamental buildings. He hoped that next session a change would be effected in the present system, which would give greater satisfaction to the people of England. Sir. CUAIMING BRUCE opposed the vote. The General Assembly of Scotland hart declared itself opposed to the existing system of education in Ireland. Mr. R EDING TON, believing the measure had fully achieved the objects for which it was proposed to support the vote. Mr. Sergeant JACKSON, on behalf of the Protestants of Ireland, begged to state that this was a grant from which they de:iyed no benefit. There were not less than two millions of Protestants in Ireland, and it behoved the House when called upon to vote so large a sum for what was called national educa tion, to see that it was applied to a national purpose. But Protestants would not send their children to schools in which the only book prohibited was the sacred Word of God, and the Presbytery of the Synod of Ulster were excluded.—( Hear, hear.) The system now adopt ed was a departure from the original system proposed by the Noble Lord, the Member for North Lancashire, and no body could pretend that this present system of education was entitled to be called a system of National Education. On the part of t t ehset n Protestant ts population o f I re l an d, h e earnestly entreated that House to give some p or ti on to t h e h um b le classes of Pi o a if 60,0001. was to be given annually for such purposes. No man had more anxious wishes for the welfare of his Roman Catholic fellow -countrymen, but he trusted that justice would be done to all parties. Colonel RAWDON was anxious to see the Government plan encouraged, because the Synod of Ulster had lately given in its adherence to the National System of Education. He was most anxious also to see the youth of Ireland educated together and forgetting their sectarian difference s , which had prod uce d so much virulence and a n i mos ity f or a long period.—(Chcers.) The present was the first step towards conciliating the people of Ireland. Whatever was the amount of the grant, it should have his cordial support, because he saw in it the first germs of nationality for his country.--(Loud cheers.) Mr. GISBORNE said grants had been given for the pur poses of education for all the colonies, and not a word had been said by way of objection, but the moment a grant was made for the people of Ireland, up started the lion. .nd Learned Sergeant and objected to it.—(hear and cheers.) Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, upon which Ser geant Jackson, Lord Teignmouth, and many other Conservative Members left the House, amid loud cheering from the Minis terial Benches. The House, however, did not divide. On our return to the gallery, Mr. GL ADSTONE was saying lie should support the vote, because though there were many differences in detail, and many objections to particulars capable of amendment, yet he consi dered it a vote analogous in principle to that which had re ceived the unanimous consent of the House for many years past for the purpose of education in Ireland. Mr. COLQUIIOUN was sorry to differ from his Hon. Friend who spoke last. The present system was in every respect different from that which was introduced by the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire ; and it was a shameful and frau dulent attempt that had been made to impose on the Synod of Ulster, by representing that the present system was the same as that which was established in 1835 and 1836. Hon. Gentlemen were constantly accusing the Noble Lord ( Stanley) on all other subjects of being the enemy of Ireland, but on the question of education they were ready enough to come under his wing.— ( Hear, hear.) But the authority of his Noble Friend was not in favour of the present system of education or of any semblance to it, as when the question came properly before the House he should be prepared to show. Lord MORPETH said he felt it absolutely necessary to no tice the ambiguous charge made by the Hon Gentleman (Mr. Colquhoun) either against the Board of Education or her Ma jesty's Government, of a fraudulent attempt to entrap the Synod of Ulster. Whatever participation he (Lord Morpeth) might have in it he was perfectly able to bear ; but with respect to this subject he begged to state that everything relating to that negotiation and the terms which had been acceded to by the Synod of Ulster were matters of record, being in print, so that every person on persotuhe u might be hear. ) e t._ able ne t a ofor e mfor themselves a correct opinion Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, when Sergeant Jackson arid other Members who had returned to their seats, again left the Howse. The House divided, when there appeared— For the grant Against it 23 Majority for the grant —l24 On the motion that 8,9381. be granted for the College of Slaynooth, Sir R. BATESON had opposed the grant for the last ten years, and if any Hon. Member moved for its rejection, he would support that motion. Lord MORPETH said that as the Hon. Member for Kent had given notice that he would bring the subject before the House in a specific motion, and as Hon. Gentlemen did not wish to stop the grant fgt. the current year, he would put it to both sides of the House whether it was not better to postpone the discussion until the question came fully before the House? Mr. BAGGE assured the Noble Lord that if no one else moved the rejection of the grant he would.—( Hear.) Lord TEIGNMOUTH said that, as a Protestant, he could not support the grant. Mr. BAGGE moved that the vote be rejected. After a few words from Lord TEIGNMOUTH and Lord WORSLEY, the House divided, when there appeared— For the vote —.121 Against it 32 Majority The vote was then agreed to. On the motion for the payment of 25,100/. for the Chief Secretary's department in Ireland, Col. SIBTHORP moved the reduction of the salary of the Chief secretary for Ireland to 4,0001. per annum instead of : t i h ' . r e j ' loffi l e e 3 O i altogether. a amount of his salary t o th e d ec i s i o n of the House, Gallant leave the he would the ould future ßpE Lord u lva occasion s he would mo v e the abolition of perfectly content e to a ea ci l the question of its t o t a l ext i nct i on whenever tb Colo nel brought it forward.—(A laugh.) . U em E a ß ini a n nsi v iN e l te r. s Cl T lE he g t without a division. After a few words from the CHANCELLOR of the EX. : The Railways Bill was read a second time. . motion to. was negatived (Scot land) Bill was read a th;rd time, and ordered to be committed on Thursday next. On the motion of Alr. FOX MAULE, the Prisons S w A er l\ e 'F then ßD a ' gr t e i c 'e d I don ay. The other O r d ers o f t h e d ay we re then disposed of, and the House a dj ourne d at a Q uarter pas t O ne o'Clock till 3 of them alarming enouh, -- DISTRESS IN THE T OWNS SCARCITY.--We have rec eive d severa l commun i cat i ons f rom the country, some have m a d e inquiries in s the proper q uarter as to the extent of the s carc it y , an d there is no doubt that i t i s se verely felt in some countie s ; b ut t h e i ntens i ty o f t h e su ff er ing has been miti and all comlaining of distress. WI! gated—the provisions, potatoes principally, and oatmeal, which in som e place s were abundant, have been distributed in the suffering districts, or are in the course of distribution. 'We shall, however, continue to hear complaints for ano ther month, until the new food comes in; but we may state generally, that the privations this year are not greater than usual at this time of the y ear , except in some of the s ou th ern counties. There is another kind of distress, how ever, which is beginning to prevail to an alarming degree. The shop-keepers in the country towns, and perhaps we should not far wrong in speaking similarly of the cities, are labouring underwhile great difficulties in consequence of the want of business, in the of all kinds are looking up—beef, for instance, It 1 Dublin market being so high as ninepence per pound. bien jo h u i b t i h ei :U r : .I : :ii g ing e p y o e s a t t: for the landlords, even with the short crops and th - e oo 't of provender. But all trans actions, except for the mere necessaries of life, seem to be sus e n i cl a e s d MR* THE HON. MRS. NORTON'S NEW WORK.— We are requested to state that Mr. Colburn, of Great Marlbo rough-street, h as thi s d published " The Dream , and other Poems," by th e Hon. Mrs. of Sutherland, in 1 vol, gvo , with a fine Portrait of the Author, after a d raw i ng by E. . Landseer, IL A., price 12s. bound, which can now be had of all booksellers. Mr. Col burn has also this day published the new novel entitled " The Banker Lord," in 3 vols. post Bvo. THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. The first meeting of the Convention for the Extinc tion of Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout the World took place yesterday, in the Great Hall of the Freemasons' Tavern. Among those present we noticed Thomas Clarkson, Esq., the venerable and consistent advocate of the total extinction of slavery ; George Thompson, Esq. ; the Rev. J. A. James, of Birming ham ; Mr. Sturge ; Mr. Blair, of Bath ; the Rev. John Burnett, of Camberwell ; Mr. W. D. Crewdson ; the Rev. Mr. Knibb, and several other persons of note in the cause of emancipation. Mr. Beata, the late Member for Bath, before the the proceedings commenced, stated that Mr. Clarkson had arrived ; but upon his entering the meeting he thought, instead of expressing the feelings they enter tained towards that venerable man by any cheer;ng, they should show their respect by receiving him standing. This recommendation was adopted to the letter, and the venerable Father of the Society for the Extinction of Shivery was introduced by Mr. Joseph Sturge and Mr. W. Allen, one of its oldest advocates, the whole com pany standing. Mr. ZSTURGE, on moving that Mr. Clarkson should take the Chair, stated that he was accompanied by the lady of his son, and her child, a youth of great promise, who had been trained up in the foot. steps of his grand father, and of whose future life the greatest expectations were entertained by the friends of the extinction of slavery. Mr. BURNEY, of New York, seconde I the moticn, which was carried unanimously. Mr. CLARKSON, upon taking the Chair, proceeded to address the meeting, but, from the weakness of his voice, and the situation in which we .were placed, it was almost impossible to hear a word that he said. We, however, understood him to say that he was the only surviving member of the Committee which was formed in the year 1787. The great object they had in view was the total extirpation of slavery from the face of the globe. Their most formidable opponents seemed to be the cotton interests in the southern parts of the United States, who held, he wile sorry to say, upwards of two millions of slaves in the most cruel bondage. The only way in which they could hope to operate upon the feelings of those men, was to affect their temporal interests. They must endeavour to introduce free labour, as that was the only way to succeed. Mr. W. D. CREWDSON read a letter from Lord Brougham, who had been solicited to attend the meet ing, lamenting that the state of his health would not permit him to comply with the request, and stating his cordial co-operation in the object they had in view. Upon a motion for that purpose, it was unanimously agreed that Mr. Blair, Mr. Joseph Sturge, Mr. Burney, and Mr. Greville, should be requested to become Vice- Chairmen of the meeting. The Rev. Mr. KNIBB presented, on behalf of 300,000 emancipated slaves in Jamaica, the only tribute they had to give to Mr. Clarkson—the certificate of the pro priety of their conduct since they had been made free. The Report of the Committee was then read by Mr. TREDGOLD, the Secretary of the Society. Mr. GEORGE STACEY said he had been unexpec tedly called upon to move a resolution, which was that Mr. Scobell, Mr. Staunton, Mr. Scales, Mr. B'evill, and Mr. Phillips should be Secretaries. The Rev. J. BURNETT, of Camberwell, seconded the resolution. It was of great importance that they should have efficient and devoted Secretaries ; no So ciety could get on without them, and he would venture to say the individuals proposed would do honour to the meeting, for they had already proved by their accounts their competency to the work which would he placed in their hands. He was very much pleased at the manner in which they had appointed one as their Cliarman who had ever shown himself as the great friend of the slave, and who had now cane forward to show his devotedness still to so holy a cause. He was sure that those gentlemen who were now proposed would act with the cool deliberation of men, and yet display the ardour of individuals whose feelings were enlisted in the great cause.—(Cheers.) He trusted that the man ner in which they had begun the proceedings of that Convention would be adhered to it to its close. The Rev. Gentleman concluded by seconding the resolu tion, which was carried unanimously. The Rev. 'F. SCALES, of Leeds, said that the office which the meeting had been pleased to confer upon them was one not only of great labour but of great responsi bility. He was sorry to say that one of the number was an invalid, and he was sure that the meeting would re gret to learn that Mr. Scobell was prevented by indis position from being with them that day ; though he was not corporeally present, he was sure that his spirit was with them in the great cause upon which they had met. Of the secretaries they had appointed, two were from America, Mr. Staunton and Mr. Phillips, the former of whom was the Secretary of a great Society acting there in favour of the great cause they had met to advocate. He trusted that the secretaries they had chosen would perform the' important duties they had committed to them with benefit to the Society and credit to themselves. Mr. THOMAS MOTT moved the next resolution, which was that Mr. Holmes,i, Mr. Tredgold, Mr. J. Cooper, and Mr. Henry Petty, be appointed a Committee to superintend the publication of their proceedings. The Rev. J. A. JAMES, of Birmingham, seconded the motion. Fhe Rev. J. ANGEL JAMES seconded the resolution. The resolution was put and carried. G. THOMPSON, Esq., rose to propose the next reso lution. He felt, that however anxious he might be to express his sentiments on the great objects of the meeting, in the presence of those champions of human rights then around him, on whom the eyes of many of them bad that day gazed for the first time, he did not think that was the stage of their proceedings at which it would be consistent with good taste to trespass on the time of the Convention.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Their proceedings were then only preliminary, and had merely a reference to the means of affording them hereafter the opportunity of fully expressing their views on all those topics con nected with the interests of the cause in which they were embarked. .He might, however, be allowed to express his gratification at find ing himself in the presence of those who had la boured in the cause of the abolition of slavery, both in this country and •on the other side of the Atlantic. They had then among them not only the tried and trusted friends of freedom on this side of the Atlantic, but those also who had laboured and suffered more than language could express in the same cause in the western hemisphere of our world. He was anxious that the Chairman should know that bra advice and encouragement were appreciated by those who had been permitted that day to behold him for the first time. He trusted, too, that the example which he had set would be imitated by those who had that day seen him. The Hon. Gentleman then moved a series of resolutions to the effect that the Convention shall meet twice a-day, at ten in the morning, and at four in the afternoon ; that all resolutions should be submitted to the Secretary the day before they were proposed ; that the business which would come before the meeting should be announced the day before ; that a Committee should be appointed to prepare reso lutions, &c. ; that any Member of the Convention who wished to speak, should previously send in his card to the Chairman, and that each Member should not speak for more titan twenty minutes at a time. Mr. O'CONNELL here ,entered, but in consequence of a resolution of the Convention, as stated by Mr. Thomson, his entrance was not hailed with cheers. The Rev. NATHANIEL CALVER seconded the reso lution. Mr. J. CANNING FULLER, of New York, objected to the necessity which it was proposed to impose on speakers of sending in their cards beforehand. The SECRETARY said that that resolution would be a source of great convenience. Mr. FULLER could not approve of the resolution. He had belonged to a Convention in America, and he liked short speeches. He had not come a distance of 3,000 miles to listen to long addresses. Mr. JAMES thought it would be inconvenient if in _ _ the discussion of any subject the speaker should be tied down to twenty minutes. He would therefore suggest, that after the words " twenty minutes," the words ex cept by permission of the Chairman," should be intro troduccd. Many persons might have information of the utmost importance to communicate, which they might not be able to do in twenty minutes. Mr. STITRGE moved that every gentleman, on rising to address the meeting, should announce his name. This was inconformity with the general practice in pubic assemblies of this description. The motion having been seconded, Mr. G. THOMPSON suggested that the resolution should be alter e d i n con f orm i ty w i t h Mr. Sturge ' s motion in the following manner—that each gentleman desirous of addressing the meeting should either send up his card to the Chairman, or announce his name. Dr. liowitiNG thought that experience had shown that the Parliamentary practice was the best—that those who caught the ear of the Chairman should he con sidered as in possession of the meeting. If the practice of sending up cards to the Chairman were adopted, they might have 50 or 100 persons sending up their cards, and 411 desi rous of speaking to one subject. He should suggest the propriety of omitting that resolution al. together. ar. G. THOMPSON thought it would be better to put the resolutions seriatim, and then they could be ac cepted or rejected, sub silentio. The first resolution rehting to the sitting of the Convention was then put ana carried. The second, third, and fourth, were alto put and carried without discussion. 0 n the fourth resolution being put, which proposed that persons intending to address the Convention on any subject, should previously send their cards to the chairman, Al:r. J. C. FULLER moved that it be omitted. The Rev. J. BURNETT seconded Mr. Fuller's amend ment, which was put and carried, and the resolution conse fluently was omitted. The next "resolution proposed was to the effect that no rtreaker should occupy more than twenty minutes in addressing the meeting, except the opener of a pro position, who might be allowed ten minutes more. Mr. JA7aEs would move that the words " except by special permission of the Chairman," be added to the resolution. The Rev. J. BURNETT objected to the proposition, as throwing too great responsibility on the Chairman ; and he thought no speaker would be called on to close his remarks when the 20 minutes had elapsed. After a few words from Mr. Wnsos, of Nottingham, Mr. BRADBURN, a Member of the Legislature of Massachusets, said that he could not see why the pro poser of a resolution to the meeting should have addi tional time allowed him, or why he should have two speeches while others were allowed but one. Dr. BOWRING hoped the resolution would not be persisted in, as he was convinced the less they fettered their resolution the better. The amendment, was then put and negatived, and it was understood that the original resolution was with- drawn. Mr. O'CONNELL said that it was an exceedingly con venient practice, after the amendment had been put and negatived, to put also the original resolution, as other persons might have amendments to propose. [Such we understood to be the purport of what fell from the Hon. and Learned Gent:eman, who spoke in a low tone, and was close to the Chairman. The table appropriated to the Reporters is most inconveniently si tuated, being placed at the opposite side of the room to the Chairman, and every gentleman who rises to address the Chair consequently stands with his back to the Re porters' table, so that it is utterly impossible in many instances to catch even the purport of his observations.] The other resolutions proposed by Mr. Thompson were then put and carried. Dr. Cox rose to propose one resolution more. It had been agreed that they should hold two meetings in the course of the day, a morning meeting to com mence at ten, and an afternoon meeting at four ; but it was not stated at what hour they should adjourn. He would therefore move that at the morning meeting no new business be entered upon after two o'clock. The motion having been seconded, Mr. JAMES said he doubted if they would get an effective evening meeting. Mr. JOSEPH PEASE supported the motion. A MEMBER said that new business might be intro duced at a quarter to two perhaps, which might last a considerable time. He would suggest the propriety of always adjourning at half-past two. After a great deal of explanation and discussion pro and con, Mr. BURNET said the resolution before the meeting was, that the Convention should close its proceedings in the morning at an hour not later than two.—(Hear.) Dr. BOWRING said it would be better to leave it to the general sense of the meeting, or the arrangement of the chair.--( Hear.) Mr. G. THOMPSON said tile experiment had succeeded in the United States of having a fixed hour for adjourn ment in the morning, but indefinite in the afternoon. Ultimately it was settled that as the original resolution had been carried, it decided the question. The CHAIRMAN then called upon Mr. O'CONNELL, who said, in obedience to so sacred a command, he would venture, however unworthy, to address this great Convention. One idea was first impressed upon his mind and understanding. Now, much had been done by Great Britain on behalf of our coloured fellow men. Emancipation was a great and majestic act, and most valuable even in itself was the extinction in all parts of the British dominions, except, indeed, the East Indies, of slavery, Still there had been left a terrible blot on the escutcheon of human nature. The Slave Trade was left behind.—( Hear.) This was a Convention the most important that ever assembled.—( Hear.) To it came men from hundreds and thousands of miles dis tance—no man with even a selfish motive—not even alone for the pride and pleasure of participating in the great and ennobling work—hut from sincere philan thropy to the human race—(hear)—and it included delegates from all parts of the world, even from America —certainly from all parts of the British empire—and none ought to be exempt from co-operation.—( Hear.) And in the Chair he was happy to see the Patriarch of liberty.—(Hear, hear.) He was glad that the vene rable gentleman had lived to see the brightening of a day, the dawn of which the fervour of his youth could scarcely have hoped to sec.—(Hear, hear.) His was the purest of all fame, that of doing good.—(Hear, hear.) They were not met here only to talk, or dis play talent—that would be insufficient ; they must direct their minds to some practical movement ; Forward must be the word.—(Hear. hear.) They must speedily adopt practical means for establishing corresponding and co-operating societies all over the world.—( Hear, hear.) Lt was a gratifying thing to hear that Massa chussetts had declared the first clause of American in dependence to be utterly inconsistent with slavery, and on that ground alone it should be abolished.—(Hear, hear.) At present it was only in the East Indies that slavery, under the British rule, existed. There not only the labourers were slaves, but the great mass of the population were serfs, completely under the sway of the East India Company, to be ground down by the " land rent" exactions at its hear.) There should be a glorious combination of anti-slavery socie ties all over the world, and no motives s h ou ld b e allowed to mar the disinterested sincerity of their efforts. He was rejoiced to see their Chairman among them. He was happy to find himself in a Convention, to the members of which no selfish motives could by any pos sibility be attributed. Let them persevere in their efforts, and they would raise the entire of the human race from a state of slavery and degradation to that liberty which was the best preparative for receiving the truths of Christianity and the blessings of civilization. Mr. J. C. FULLER wished to make an appeal to the Hon. Gentleman who had just addressed the Conven tion, and he hoped he would be excused for doing so. There was a charm in the name of Daniel O'Connell all over the uuiverse, and he believed that Mr. O'Con nell could do more for the suppression of slavery in the United States than any other man could do. Some of their Irish brethren were among the princi pal supporters of slavery in America, and he was persuaded that if Mr. O'Connell issued an address to the Irish there in favour of the abolition of slavery, such an address would lead to the best results. Mr. O'CONNELL would assure the Hon. Gentleman that he wanted no additional system to carry into effect a purpose which he had already in contemplation. Before the Convention broke up, he would show that gentleman such an address as he had suggested, and which he trusted would be found satisfactory. Mr. BRADISURNE,: of the Massachussets Legislature, next addressed the Convention. The state of Massa chussets had declared it to be the duty of Congress to abolish slavery in the American States. She had also expressed her sense of the unconstitutionality of a law existing in the slave states, by which a black citizen when going into them even on business was seized, and if he could not prove his being a freeman, was sold into per petual slavery. The Legislature of Massachussets had strongly protested against the illegality of such a system. He congratulated England on her being free from that sanctioning of slavery which he felt as a dishonour to his own country. The Rev. T. SCALES then read a report of the Society as follows : " It is of the utmost importance, in the very outset of our proceedings as a Convention, that we should virtually un derstand each other, and be agreed upon the ground we oc cupy, and the object which in our united capacity we pro pose to act together to accomplish. " This is necessary, that our proceedings may be uniform and consistent, and that no topics of a foreign and irrele vant character may be introduced to divide our attention, or to divert us from the one great end we all have in common. " That evils in abundance, and in a vast and frightful variety, exist throughout our world, we must all feelingly deplore, and the sooner remedies for these evils are devised and applied, so that they may be meliorated and effectually cured, we all shall readily acknowledge to be most desir able. But our attention is now called to one monstrous evil, of a character sufficiently marked and distinctive to bear a special designation ; and for the eradication and de struction of this evil we, in our office as Delegates and members of this Convention, are summoned and have come hither at the special invitation of the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti- Slavery Society, that we may confirm one another in our hatred of that great wrong—in our purpose and resolutions to oppose it ; and that by our calm, solemn, and enlightened deliberations we may devise such methods of future co-operation as may, by the guid ance and blessing of the Most High God, the fountain of all wisdom and goodness, and the common Father of our whole race, the more speedily conduct to its utter final over throw in very part of our habitable world. That evil is SLAVERY—direct, unequivocal, absolute Slavers—not other evils of a kindred character, or which in the opinion of some may be of equal, or even greater magnitude, or which may be gassed by some philosophical philanthro pists under the same head, and called by the same name; but, if we may so speak, slavery proper in its own distinct and essential attributes. " It has been truly observed by an eloquent writer, that a great variety of human conditions, relations, and tenures, and some of them not only innocent in themselves, but indispensable to the social state, arc often confounded with slavery.' This confusion of things which differ has been the occasion of much mischief—has tended to weaken the convictions entertained by many of the enormity of slavery —t o confirm its upholders in their adherence to the system, and has supplied them with a plea in its justifica tion, and an additional pretext fur its continuance. " Political disabilities have been denounced as slavery, and tvery restriction which either civil or ecclesiastical legislation in any country has imposed upon the enjoyment of perfect liberty of conscience and of worship, has been represented as only another of its forms ; but in whatever light we may regard it, and by whatever terms of repre hension we may feel ourselves moved, or deem ourselves warranted to condemn such pernicious infringements of human rights, it is only by a figure of speech that they are designated slavery ; since they may exist, in their worst forms, and exert their fatal influence, in counties and communities where slavery, properly so called, is en tirely unknown. The same may be predicted of many other forms of evil, of injustice and oppression, which are utterly inconsistent with the law of God and the happiness of men, but which, though they may some ti mes b e ca ll e d: s l aver y, m ust by distinguished from it, since they want its essential attri butes and feat ures . Sl avery , t h en , i s a co ndition in which man presumes to claim property in his fellow man—wrests from another the right he has to himself, and assumes to be his masts and owner, which reduces man, moral, re- EVENING EDITION__,. sponsible, immortal man, who was made in tue image of God, to the state of a mindless and irresponsible brute, whom his proprietor is at liberty to use according to his own pleasure, to buy or sell, and work as any other portio n of his cattle or chattels. So that it is not merely a fa ct, but it is the very letter of the law in many slave cowl tries that " the slave is one who is bought or sold, and held as property." The" slaves," meaning human beings, the sons of God, of the very same flesh and blood with these legislators, " shall be deemed, taken, reputed, and adjudged to be chattels personal in the hands of their ni,steis, and Fossessions to all intents and purposes what,oevir," and some also a: " real estate." That this is a cruel usurpation, an outrage on huma nity, an insult to the God who made us, and who h as made of one blood all the nations of men who dwell e e all the face of the earth, is a proposition which merely to state is to prove, and which no process of reasoning eau make more evident and convincing than its mere announce ment to parties who are not warped by the influence o f the evil itself, or involved in its guilt, and enriched by its gains. It is not only to reverse such unrighteou s decrees, but also, and even more, to rescue the unhappy victims of them, in every clime and of every colour, that we thus . confederate. This is our high enter prise. We come not here to arbitrate the conflicting rights of freemen—to balance or adjust the real or sup' posed inequalities of rank, and order of precedence or subordination, as they exist in different countries and com munities, and have been introduced and established by the course of events and by the usages and customs or preju dices of mankind—all these we leave untouched, they form no part of our business here ; as the Delegates of this Convention, I presume, we are not called to discuss and settle the wrongs and grievances of the free, but, free' men ourselves, and jealous of our rights, ive meet in be half of the despised and degraded victims of thraldom, that we may raise them from the dust, and lift them to the rank of manhood—that we may break their galling fette r ' and bring them into the glorious liberty which is their birthright, arid thus roll away from religion and from the respective countries to which we belong, and which ice: come hither to represent, the stain and reproach by which they have been so long dishonoured. Early in the last year the project of forming a society for the abolition of slavery and the slave-trade occupied the attention of some of those friends of the negro race, whose exertions, under the blessing of God, had so mate rially contributed to achieve the great work of ernancl pution in our own colonies. In the month of March an invitation was sent to all the Delegates who had us; sembled in London in the years 1833, 1837, a nd 1838, to meet at Exeter Hall, on Wednesdelr April 17th, for the purpose of considering t h e pro priety of the formation of a Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave Trade throughout the world, by moral, religious, and other influences, no sanction being given to the employment of an armed force. Great care was taken to make this invitation as extensive as possible, so that it might embrace the great c onstitu Oil - 4 ency who had been so active in the previous struggle. the day appointed a considerable body of gentlemen as sembled in Exeter hall, almost the whole of them having come up from the country, prepared to express not 00 1 1 their own feelings but those of tie friends of the eauso A generally with whom they had held consultation. T he meeting was attended by the Right Hon. Dr. Lushingtonr Sir George Strickland, Sir Eardley Wilmbt, and Mr. Turner, Members of Parliament, and was especially in' debted to the first of these gentlemen for the sedulous attention which he paid to the business of the day, and the facilities he afforded for the settlement of some difficulti e . s which arose. The general grounds and objects of the movement were set torth by 11r. Sturge, to whom it 15 not out of place or at all invidious in me here to s tate, which I do most fervently and cordially, and from my o wn knowledge, that our great cause, and the cause of humaniti itself, owes a large debt, and whom both hemispheres may delight to hail and to honour. The Society was then con stituted, and the following resolutions, as its basis, and for its future government, were adopted on the succeeding day " I. That the name of this Society be, The British and Foreign Anti. Slavery Society. cal " 11. That the objects of the Societe be the unisex. extinction of Slavery and the Slave-trade, and the pror tion of the rights and interests of the enfranchised poP 4118 ,1" • tion in the British possessions, and of all persons cap tuYe as slaves. " 111. That the following be the fundamental prinei plea of the Society—that so long as slavery exists there is no reasonable prospect of the annihilation of the Sia ' re trade, and of extinguishing the sale and barter of huma beings ; that the extinction of slavery and the Sky e : trade will be attained most effectually by the empinYurit of those means which are of a moral, religious, an d p ac 7 character ; and that no measures be resorted t o by this Society in the prosecution of these objects but such as Ar e in entire accordance with these principles. be " IV. That the following be among the means t o employed by this Society : infOrrnaltionTooncirculate,the both enormities at ofhome tthe and sia ve. tabroad,rade a ccur at e ti c c d u rl e t very ; to furnish evidence to the inhabitants of tbet the holding countries not only of the practicabiiity, but i o bcot io pecuniary advantage of free labour ; to diffuse intelligence respecting the results of emancipation o orres o P t u li e e; the British Colonies, and elsewhere; to open a dente with Abolitionists in America, France, and • o f countries, and to encourage them in the prosecutlO.P lea their objects, by all methods consistent with the p rincip of this Society. " 2. To recommend tho use of free-grown produce. r as far as practicable, in preference to slave-grown, and to ' promote the adoption of fiscal regulations in favour of free labour. " ' 2. To obtain the unequivocal recognition of the principle, that the slave, of whatever clime or colour, en tering any portion of the British Dominions, shall be free , the same as upon the shores of the United Kingdom, a nd to carry this principle into full and complete effect. , " 4. To recommend that every suitable opportu nit y be embraced for evincing, in our intercourse with slave holders and their apologists, our abhorrence of the system which they uphold, and our sense of its utter incompatibi lity with the spirit of the Christian religion." ' " Almost coeval with the formation of the Society, was - the consideration of a proposal for holding a Gene ral Co ? vention on the 31st May, 1839. The attention of the Committee was called to this object in a communiction: from the Birmingham Anti-Slavery Society, quoting fro an article in the New York Emancipator of March 21sti 1838. A Sub-Committee was at once appointed t o pre pare a circular, which was adopted at a subsequent [nee ing, and ordered to be extensively issued in the Engllol2 language, and also to be translated into other langusges, This circular contained the fundamental principles of the society, and concluded in these words—' The Brit ish and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,' &c. " Thus cordially invited, the friends of humanity and of the slave have as cordially responded, and have coma from the East and West, the North and South, to unite with those who have called them together in this hallowed Convention—to discuss a question of the deepest interest to the whole human family—and to devise means sot bringing to a speedy termination all those forms of slavery, and that revolting traffic in slaves, which has done 0 ° much to blight and desolate some of the largest and fairest portions of our globe. Most fervently do I wish and pray —and do I presume in indulging and expressing my Con viction that this august assembly has already in spirit dc voutly breathed the aspiration to Him from whom all boll desires, all good councils, and all just works do proce ed —that he may inspire our hearts with love, and our coun cils with wisdom, and deign to employ and bless our efforts to the triumphs of righteousness, mercy, and the w orld's deliverance. " The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society , i n thus announcing itself to the friends of the slave of e ver y nation, strongly urges it upon them, wherever it mar be practicable, to associate themselves and unitedly, as w e ll as individually, to labour for the extinction of slavery ; 3 system which, whether regarded in a political, moral , or religious point of view, is alike inimical to the prospe rit y of nations, corrupting and demoralizing to every comm a ' nity in which it exists, and utterly at variance with 0 7 spirit and precepts of Christianity. For the purpos e promoting this great and truly Christian object, the So ciety has concluded to hold a General Conference in London, to commence on the 12th of June, 1840, in order to deliberate on the best means of promoting the interests of the slave—of obtaining his immediate and unconditional freedom—and, by every pacific measure, to hasten the utter extinction of the slave trade. To this Conference they earnestly invite the friends of the slave of every n ation and of every clime." E. BAINES, Esq., NI. P., rose to propose the next reso lution. The Hon. Gentleman commenced by expres sin g the pleasure which he felt in once more meeting his old and venerable friend Thomas Clarkson, for whom he en: • tcrtained those feelings of veneration and graeitude tha t were entertained towards him by the friends ,of liber t y throughout the world. He was happy also to meet a ° great a number of influential men of almo s t all countries and all climes, who had come hither to promote this greet and godlike work, and he trusted they would feel that en' joyment and that reward which alone they ssought ' namely, the accomplishment of th e i r o bj ec t. H e trus ted that they would unite with them all the lovers of liberty' and that they would conti nuz t h e exerc i se o f t he sp i r it o' e benevolence, and as his /lon. and Learned Friend, M r ' O'Connell, had well said that they would make a move meat in advance, and nev er cease t ill t h ey h a d o btained the civil and religious liberty of all mankind —(N ear ' hear.) That this would ultimately b e accom pli s hed "- had no doubt, though not perhaps in our 0 0 ' Who would have expected at that period, when his van e : rable friend first commenced his philanthropic labour, th s ' so much would have been so soon accomplished? would then have expected, first, that the slave trade, and secondly, slavery itself (so far as England was concave- I ,i' would have been so soon abolished ? Above all, 112e1"°., would have expected that all the great and i n fl uen tial " 1 " of the nation would, as they had lately done, have asserts' bled together, either animated by their own feelings e" urged by those of others, to come forward and declare themselves the friends of liberty and of that civilization in Africa which he trusted would very shortly be there esta l " lished ? He had seen a; ith great surprise and gra tification (he did not inquire into their motive s) the prelates of the land step forward and declare what they conceived to be our duty with regard to ou r less favoured fellow-men. If, on that occasion, any in sult were offered to any person, it was t o one who had not deserved it, and on whom it ought not to have been inflicted. That great mind, however, rose superior to it. It was not in the plaudits of popular assemblies, but in the silent workings of his own heart,—that heart in which were implanted the seeds of liberty and of universal love to the whole human race,—that he sought for and obtained his just reward. But it was with great regret lie (Mr. Baines) had witnessed the attempt,—not so much, in deed, for the individual most interested in it, as that there should be found persons professing Christian and enlight ened principles who were capable of acting in such a man :ser. He wou ld not detain the Society with any f urt h e r observations, but at once conclude by moving the reso lution.—( Hear, hear.) great plea sure , as a friend to universal freedom, The Rev. J. H. J OHNSON said it was w i t h f ee li ng s of he rose to second the motion. He did so with pleasure, not wily from the unanimity of feeling w hi c h p r evailed amongst