The Sun.
London, England, 1839-06-04 00:00:00

EVEN i_N G EDITION.

Noble Lord the Secretary for Ireland to the
sxtraord.inary
rise which had taken place in the price of provisions in the
West of Ireland. Potatoes had risen from 9d. r iod. to
55., and oatmeal from los. to 035., and it would .'"e
three
months before the new crops would be ready—he visneu.
to know if Government intended to bring forward aor
measure to meet the emer:l;encv.
Lord MORPETH said accounts had been received
from certain districts that there had been a considerable
rise in the price of potatoes, and that a deficiency was 81).
prehended before the next crop would be ready. Govern-
ment would take the circumstances into consideration as
they arose.

SLAVE TRADE.
Sir R. INGLIS said, seeing the Noble Lord the Se-
cretary for the Foreign Department in his place, be
wished to put a question to him relative to the slave trade.
The Noble Lord had formerly pledged himself to use all
the means in his power to surpress the foreign slave trade.
Now, all the accounts which he (Sir R. Inglis) had see°,
went to show that all the horrors of the slave trade
were proceeding to as great an extent as ever'
and he desired to know what measures the Government,
had adopted, or were about to adopt, for the purpose 01
suppressing these horrors.
Lord PALMERSTON said he was sorry to be corns
pelled to concur in the statement of the Hon. Baronet`as,
to the extent to which the foreign slave trade was ll
unfortunately carried on. He stated sometime ag°
that it was the intention of the Government to Prr
pose to Parliament a Bill, giving pows'ss
carriedas
that part of the slave trade which was
on under the Portuguese flag. That Bill was now re-
pared, and he only delayed the motion for leave to MO).
duce it until the correspondence which had taken Plactl
upon it was ready to be delivered to Members, as he wished
those papers to be before the House, prior to the introduc-
tion of the Bill.
Sir R. INGLIS said thousands were daily sufferiali
under this horrible traffic, and he hoped the Noble Lord
would lose no time.—( Hear, hear. )
CLERGY IN IRELAND.
In answer to a question from Mr. Sergeant JACKSON'
Lord MORPETH said the distribution of the Clergy
Arrears (Ireland) Fund had already commenced.
THE LATE DISTURBANCES.
Mr. ESTCOURT wished to know whether the Noble
Lord the Secretary for the Home Department would have
any objection to lay before the House a copy of the letter
he had addressed to certain Lords Lieutenant of coun-
ties, expressing his willingness to supply arms to the re-
spectable and loyal portion of the community. Also
copy of the letter addressed to Lord Clive, conveying his
Lordship's thanks to the Yeomanry for their conduct dur-
ing the late d sturbances.
Lord J. RUSSELL was understood to say that he had
no objection to the production of those papers.
Mr. ESTCOURT gave notice that he would move for
them to-morrow.
Mr. PAKINGTON asked if Government order*,
were to have precedence on Thursdays? He askre
this question because the further consideration of the
Sale of Beer Bill stood the first of the Orders of the Bait
for Thursday, and as his Lordship must be aware that it
was very desirable that Bill should be forwarded a stage, be
hoped he would permit him to hare precedence on that dal;
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he had propene.at
that plan because he thought it very expedient that
r"
should be adopted, intending to leave it as matter for filte
arrangement what Bills should take precedence ebno
Thursdays; but it was his wish, and he believed also tf,,r
wish of the Right Honourable Baronet the Mernberts:ll
Tamworth, that the Right Hon. Baronet's mi
relating to controverted elections should take precedencw.
on Thursday next.
DEAN OF EXETER'S APPOINTMENT B-
This Bill was then read a third time and passed.
CANADA. ad*
Her Majesty's Message relating to the affairs of Can
having been read,
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, it is now my duty,
Minister of the Crown, to call upon Parliament, to lay 'of
foundation for a permanent settlement of the affair!
Canada. I think that, upon general grounds, sufficiet°
evidence has been laid before Parliament at present, of
call on them to take some steps for the regulatiloe
these complicated and disastrous affairs. We lace
heard of various collisions that have taken lace
and have read various reports on the subject, and I Due.
that the abrupt termination of the mission of Lord-ith
ham makes it inexpedient to appoint any other persona to
similar authority to report again on the facts, an ed
state his views as to the best manner to be Plirestrd
to meet the difficulties of the case.—(Hear' h
But, Sir, there are other and special reasons
now
in my opinion, Parliament should be ready
ciple
to declare its opinion with regard to the Prillo he
upon which the legislation of Canada
is
t year,
in future carried on. When Parliament,
passed an Act which was agreed to by large
maj°rovide
both in this and the other House of Parliament, LOP A
nn Ose-
for the temporary government of Canada, it was 8--s
save as
that the powers granted by that Act were so extens.ws _
its opponents represented it, as to excite alarm from it doe:
potic nature, it was supposed that it would not be necessary
for the person representing the Crown in Canada to apply
to the Home Government for further powers to prescnce
last
rities,
peace. But at the end of the last Session, in eonsegtesis
of the ordinances passed by Lord Durham, lievr that
were stated with respect to the powers conferred
Act. Very learned authorities supported those s'le7.ord
not merely questioning the particular ordinances of Lee,
Durham, but disputing and doubting altogether the Oa,
sive nature of the powers which, in the opinion of thes the
vernment, fortified by that of the Lord Chancellor som
Attorney General, bad been confered on the GoverlWr
Canada. The consequence of that interference of Parliame"
—I am not now saying whether it was neoesssary_but the
consequence, in point of fact, of that interference
was that the tribunal of Lower Canada expressed on one
particular occasion strong doubts as to the validity of the
Act to enable the Governor of Canada to detain persons
suspected of high treason. Two of the Judges
concurred in an opinion that persons wbo had been
so detained were entitled to a writ of habeas corpus'
That Governor, by the exercise of an authority very sudden
and very arbitrary, but, I am disposed to say, extremely ne-
cessary, refused to allow this writ to be executed, which ins;
tified the officer wbo refused to produce the person who bad
been imprisoned, and suspended the Judges who had gip.:
an opinion contrary to his ordinances. I say, that:in the c.i t,
cumstances in which Canada was placed with an intend!"
rebellion, • with resistance in certain portions of the Pr°.;
vince, if he had done otherwise his timidity and 5%1_
tation might have been the cause of great bl°Oed
shed, and a great struggle, even if it had not ri9 tat
the province altogether. At the same time, I say ttbo
Act of Parliament should not be left in that state that ns
Governor should be obliged to resort to such extreme to }ante
as suspending Judges acting conscientiously ; and taking litad
view the opinions given in this country by Lords whO hat
filled high offices in the State—for, as I understand it, t ,e
was the chief ground of their proceeding—l sly that the
was the chief ground of their proceeding—l sly tbacb
law should not be left in that state which required stie „
extreme measures as would almost render them inopr.
rative, and place the safety of the State in !Iniliech
It may be said that the simple and single remedy for es-
a state of things should be to call for fresh powers, t° er!' ed
con
plain in more definite terms those which were
by the Act of last year, and to take care that that Aset
bee/.•
should be sufficient to arm Sir John Colborne, or, ;ss
rid un-
may be the Governor of the province, with legal
doubted powers to preserve its peace and "a"' d to
But viewing the state of Canada with regarb is
subject,
the inquiries generally, the information wilic with
before
ed
t o this Government
ladndo
not
tbetfhoirnek
thatSP hatrlioament,
not
r Govern— for
would be justified in coming to Parliament and asking
sme
farther and more definite powers, without they at the s•• „
wtirlieehasakefdottubraet
frseoemeGopereinrncmipelentshoofultdhebe
cesatnaatidliasshectuueldj.
be secured utrheedn,,
are
ehetnhe tgleriosuntdesmpuopreanrywhpioewherl shall ceasse
time is come when Parliament should be callseadyntphoatn tfiser.
an opinion as to the principle at least of the future Noble
merit of the Canadas.—( Hear, hear, hear.) The ,N,
the
Lord then proceeded to say, that he would ca"
attention of the House to the Act which was now to be C°
in
sidered, to the series of transactions which took placesde
consequence of that Act, and the recommendations rel`d,
by Lord Durham, as High Commissioner. The gt°lll;se
of tha Act of 1791 appeared to him, from d
speeches delivered by Mr. Pitt in this House, and
Grenville in the other House, to have been prineira
two. One was, that there being an influx of British oral
grants into Canada, and with them of British industry'
British habits, and British institutions, it was conceived,, "1;
Mr. Pitt and Lord Grenville, that by dividing
.tlbt
Province into two, the French emigrants Il'its
remain in Lower Canada, while British etni rn
glree
would have free scope for their industry, and the d
•
power of establishing their institutions in Upper CaAnati:e
There was another reason upon which he conceiveu„ bust
Bill was founded, although it did not appear se cleat'
teat
Government
e F,re
nehinhabitants
taatnpt
se roi
fo dit
Lowerwas tCanada,houg
it seemed to him to follow from the views taken by .a.
who had bheeetr
at once very loyal to the Crown, and very iimPle much
habits and institutions, to which they were
verY
retain-
attached—it was deemed advisable to take meal's
ing those institutions, and so reward them for their for
f their
duct, and give them security for the future stability who
institutions. Speaking with great respect for these
oa.
introduced the Act of 1791, and readily allowing I t
notthere b
be
iegehnt, ahtetsbaawt timen or e
ab
seon reasonsfor
condemningw i chahtt apdrtcvhsi secanbatul eTbtutideeni.
of the measure, but upon both grounds he considered
Act as a mistaken act of policy, It appeared to him
the
it was quite impossible to so contrive the division of the
two races as to keep the British in Upper Canada distinct
from the French in the Lower Province. The consequence
was sure to follow that the French would seek to
deprive the institutions of Upper Canada of those advar'''
tages incident to a communication by the river St. Law-
rence to the Sea. He did not approve that conduct t°
the French—on the contrary, he thought that
the policy ought to have been rather to b
given the greatest power to the emigrants from this country'
and have amalgamated the institutions and brought them
as near those of England as possible.—( Hear, bear')
The House had now an opportunity of seeing t""
very serious—he would say the very injurious consequenel
which had arisen from that Act. For many years indegh
the inhabitants of Lower Canada, ben).- chiefly Fren,s
simple habits, made no einposition to t
aGnodveronf mentat home; but, as was
up
natural, in the
course of time there grew up in Lower Canad b
a considerable population of the British race, wit
_ r
itish habits, British feelings, and with great
_C•cab-
pitsoilal, anxious to possess themselves of the
which their :capital would make bene6cis
The result was, that opposition was made by the Assertible
of Lower Canada to the views of the Crown. And for sera
years it became a practice justl reprobated, to make a° as
propriation of supplies for the service of Lower Cel,b
which had never been voted by the Assembly, a method we.'n'd
indeed was adopted, in order to prevent the Governince'el„
the servants of the Crown in the province from being entire
overwhelmed by the opposition of the Assembly ;. sati
became the practice also to compose the Lego"
Council principally of persons of British connection--Ke
sons of different views and parties; and of totally oPia'tl