The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-03 00:00:00

VENING EDITION.

muttered as it were between the teeth—(La tighter)—
i. and as they had not ears to hear the grass grow t hey were
unable to hear it ; they were to take it that the House of
Commons had given no opinion upon the point. If
any thing he had stated was laughable it was not his
fault. He had stated facts, and facts only ; and iet his
opinion it was a subject more liable to cause melancholy
thoughts than those of risibility. As the Bill had be en
carried in the other House by such miserable majorities',
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.ter, upon no other authority than that of his own person,
Instead of having the measure sanctioned by a majority
of the other branch of the Legislature. His Noble
Fries had adverted to the Emancipation Act of 1834,
and the Pei!ons' Act of 1838, as bearing upon the
present,question, which indeed they did, though some-
what remotely. It was 'aid that the conduct of
the House of Assembly in 1834, in refusing to per-
form their functions, and in 1838, on the occasion
of the Prisons Act, their abdicat.'ng their functions, was
a sufficient pretext for now interiscssing to suspend the
Constitution of Jamaica. He (Lorsi B.) would admit
everything that could be said against the Prisons Act
of 1834 of Jamaica, and everything that could be said
for the Prisons Act of 1838 of this country.
H to e
that be-
lieved that be stated his opinion across the table last
year, in presenting a petition on the questi en. His ob-
jection then was not to the Act generally, but
section of it which compelled the House of' Assembly
of Jamaica to raise money for certain purposes, and
upon that occasion he referred to the Act of. 1778.
Supposing that the necessity and expediency stated by
the Noble Lord existed to the full degree of the
alleged prevalence, still he (Lord Brougham) must
now say that the proposition they had heard
would not at all justify this House in suspending the
Jamaica Constitution. In order to justify the course
proposed to their Lordships it was resolved that they
should first prove that they were in the right and the
House of Lords in the wrong, and on this proposi-
tion, in reference to the question out of which this mea-
sure arose, being established, they need not insist upon
abolishing those legislative functions which the island of
Jamaica had so long enjoyed. They would only be
justified in going as far as they had gone on the occasion
of the Prisons Bill of 1838—namely, to do here what
the House of Assembly would not do there—( Hear,
hear)—if they would net perform their duty, to execute
it for them, and to appeal to the wisdom of the British
Parliament from the folly and violence of the Jamaica
Assembly. So a greater non sequitur could not follow than
to argue that bcause of the badness of the Jamaica
Prisons Act of 1834. and because of the goodness of
the English Imperial Prisons Act of 1838. that therefore
we ought to abolish the functions of the Legislative As-
sembly of Jamaica, and deliver their power into the hands.
of a Governor and Council sent out by the Ministry of
this country. It had been said that the House of As-
sembly had already, de facto, abdicated its functions, be•
cause it had refused to pass any law except one required ,
to keep faith with the public creditor. Here he (Lord
H.) would say that he was not inclined to deal in gene-
ral propositions, because they were unstatesman like,
and indiscreet ; they were traps and snares info which the
credulous and inexperienced were too likely to fall, So he
would not say that no refusal of the Assembly of Jamaica
or of any other local Asssembly to legislate should jus-
tify- their Lordships in providing a substitute for them,
to do the duty which they were bound to perform, but
had abandoned. He (Lord B.) would not support such
a general proposition. A case of inefficiency of mis-
conduct of unfaisance, of misfaisance, in their collective
capacity would justify such a proposition. But then
and in the present case Imperial Parliament should feel
itself bound not to proceed upon so extreme, so unjust,
so despotic a course, until the fact that the Jamaica
Assembly had abandoned its duty, and had refused to
perform it, had been so clearly established, that no man
of rational understanding could have the power to deny
it. He must again refer to the narrow majority by which
this Bill had been passed in the other House of Parliament.
If this were a case in which 600 rational men had not
only no doubt, but such a doubt, that the peculiarity of
it was to find out whether it inclined towards the nega-
tive or affirmative proposition—if the necessity were so
very doubtful—if the poize between the scales was so
even that you could not say upon which side was neces-
sity and upon which needlessness, the scale of needless-
ness was so nearly on a level with the scale of neces-
sity—if they found that of the 600 rational men not
more than a majority of ten, a sixtieth part of the whole
was in favour of the measure—how, then, could their
Lordships consider ? That such a clear case was now
made out as should justify them in resorting to
the extreme case of violently and despotically
suspending the Constitution of Jamaica ?—God forbid
—(Hear, hear.) Remember that those 600 men were
trustees for the people of England, that they were repre-
sentatives, that those men, it might be said, practi-
cally showed that there was no necessity for proceeding
in the present course. Remember that those were the
very men who on a former occasion had shown themselves
inclined to listen most readily and to act most harmo-
niously, when it was proposed to:suspend the Constitu-
tion of another colony, on the ground that its Legisla-
ture did not do its duty. If they found 300 of these
men readily listening and showing no zeal whatever on
behalf of colonial Constitutions and colonial rights, when
application was made by the Government for consent
to suspond the Constitution of Canada, could it new be
denied that the same House were now practically of
opinion that the House of Assembly of Jamaica, had
not mis-conduted itself to such an extent as to deserve
that its functions should he suspended.—(Hear, hear.)
Whatever might be his (Lord B's.) own opinion, taking
the late majority as a test, it appeared to be
the strongest conceivable argument against the exis-
tence of the alleged extreme necessity. He (Lord B.)
could see nothing in the conduct of the House of As-
sembly of Jamaica, which deserved respect, and he
knew that in former times, their conduct was any
thing but such as to entitle them to respect.
—(Hear:) He would not say that he approved
of all of their conduct, even on the present
occasion. He would not mention that it had
acted with wisdom or discretion—far from it—but
there was a great difference between such an admission
and saying that they had so entirely abdicated their func-
tions—that they were so inflexibly resolved on a sui-
cidal act, as to make it unavoidable that their Lordships
should interfere—should take them at their word—
should deprive them of their legislative power, and give
it to be administered by an officer of the Crown. This
would be indeed quite a different proposition. We
should remember of what a nature the House of As-
sembly was composed. From the nature of that com-
position it was impossible for its membees to hold those
enlarged, enlightened, calm, temperate views which
guided our Assembly, different in its origin, mad different
in its Constitntion. That man would he indes'd a most
romantic thinker, a most speculative politician—he
would be a most unreasonable judge of human conduct,
who, considering the extreme difference between the
circumstances of a Colonial Assembly and an Assem My
of the Imperial .structure of the mother country, we.'e
to expect from the former any thing like the consistency,
the temperance, and the enlarged wisdom which he
would have a right to expect at home. And yet, even
at home, we were not without some examples of incon-
sistency amongst those Legislators from whom more err
larged views were to be expected.— (Laughter.) But
in the case of a Colonial Legislature you must expeo,t
many inconsistencies—you must overlook temporary
ebullitions of local and provincial violence—(Hear,,
hear, hear)—you must make allowance for the 1
parish vestry views, for the insular politics which actuate'.
them, when you come to consider the difference be—
tween the deliberation and the results of the proceed-
ings of an Assembly composed of 600—of 658 Repre-
sentatives of the Commons of England, and those of as
Assembly of 28 to 30 planters or agents of planters.—
( Hear, hear.) They should also remember the wise
lesson which the Parliament of England had received
from the matured, the experienced, enlarged, compre-
hensive, sagacious mind of the first Lord Chatham, who
gave advice which, if it had been acted upon by Parlia-
ment, would have saved us from the evils of the Arne..
rican War, and the separation of the British Empire.
Be to their faults a little blind,
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of those feelings he thought his Noble Friend should
proceed as long as possible in a conciliatory course.
From one act, one resolution, one modification, the
result of one supposed slight, their Lordships now
were asked to obliterate the House of Assembly.—
(Hear, hear.) Had the House of Assembly refused to
legislate altogether ? No such thing. Had it refused
to pass a law which the public creditor required ? By no
means. The refusal of the House of Assembly was
was only temporary and provisionary. Were they to be
visited with a general obstruction of their functions
for this ?—(Hear, hear.) Had their Lordships a right to
suppose that if the present Bill were withdrawn
as the former was, when the majority for it was only
five or half the present, that the Assembly would refuse
to go back to its duties, after reflection, after feeling the
kindness, the support, and the conciliation of this House?
--(Hear, hear.) They would remember that bespoke
in a similar manner last year, but with much less energy
thath had a
and effect than his Noble-Friend (Lord Lyndhurst)
had spoken that night. And he (Lord B.) could
see why there should last year have been such facility
i othere
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stohoe,Coooonsftrietuetinnina:! Canada, which
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see whic
was so much reluctance in taking away the Constitution
from 30,000 white free men of Jamaica. For the life
of him he could not see this.—(Laughter and Hear,
hear.) He could not see why his Noble and Learned
Friend was so indifferent on the former occasion, and so
enthusiastic on the present.
Lord D HURST—I was absent on the former
occasion.
n. LYN
Lord BROUGHAM regretted it. He remembered