The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-23 00:00:00

BALLOT.

Mr. GROTE presented a petition fron Earl Soharn, Suf-
folk in•favour of the Ballot.

AFFAIRS OF CANADA-ADJOURNMENT. OF THE
HOUSE.

Lord J. RUSSELL said—ln rising to move the Order
of the Day for going into a Committee of Supply, I have to
state in the first place that I do so thus early for the
purpose of giving the Honourable Gentleman the Mem-
ber for Westminster an opportunity of making any re-
marks that to him may seem necessary or expedient on
the subject of the affairs of Canada ; but lest the Hon. Gen-
tleman should have been misled by the intention declared by
me in this House, I wish now to state to the Hon. Gentleman
and to this House IN hat my intentions at present are with re-
spect to the adjournment of the House. It was intended. Pad I
thought I should have been enabled to move an adjournment to
the Ist of February, with a view to postpone the business of
the Mime to that period ; but, Sir, in considering the whole
question of the affairs of Canada, I shall not think that
I am discharging my duty, or that I am justified in pro-
posing so long an adjournment.—( Cries of Hear, hear.")
I do not mean to say that I think that any measures
that can be taken by Parliament with regard to the aff sirs of
Canada can have any immediate effect upon what is at present
passing there. The state of affairs is this—the Assembly of
the Province having been convened to consider the resolu-
lutions passed last Session by this House, the Assembly
was necessarily adjourned in consequerce of the refusal of
the House of Assembly to entertain the question of these
resolutions. Since that time it became evident from
dispatches and letters received by Lord Gosford, that
the intention was no longer to seek redress by means
of the Assembly, but to have recourse to arms, and
to oppose by force the authority of Her Majesty.—( Hear.)
I have already stated to the House that, according to the wish
which Lord Gosford had expressed, although his Lordship
declared his willingness to remain in Canada as
long as the necessities of the Government required it,
yet it was his Lordship's wish to resign his Government,
when he found that there was no longer a prospect of a con-
cilation being effected.—( Hear, hear.) According to that
wish I have informed the House that the Government
immediately relieved Lord Gosford from his duty, and
commmitted the temporary Government of Lower Ca-
nada to Sir John Colborne. But, Sir, as to the com-
munications of Lord Gosford. Accounts were received
which showed evidently a disposition to resist by force the exe-
cution of the law, and to compel those who are well disposed
and well principled to join the ranks of the des affected. And,
Sir, I am rather understating the reports of Lord Gosford
when I say, that they were of such a nature as to convince
the Government of the necessity of decisive measures. But
we thought it necessary, without going to extremes, to com-
municate to Sir John Colborne—when we entrusted him with

the temporary Government of the colony—that we had
the greatest-confidence in his steadiness and forbearance;
and that, whilst we trusted he sl ould carefully ab-
stain from resorting, except in the last extremity, to
the strongest measures, yet in the event of the abso-
lute necessity arising to proclaim martial law—her Ma-
jesty's Government would take on itself the responsibility—
(Loud cheering)—and that we should give him all the
support which her Majesty could afford, in enforcing and
maintaining the obedience of the Province to her Majesty.
—( Cheers.) Such was, in the opinion of her Majesty's Mi-
nisters, our duty to her Majesty and to this country. The
effect of that order was, from the accounts which we have
since received, to create a greater disposition to oppose the
laws than had Lithe, to been observed.—( Hear, hear, hear. )
With respect to the accounts which the newspapers of this
day profess to have received, I am unable to speak wilt cer-
tainty, as no official account has yet been received by ber Ma-
jesty's Government. But, from the manner in which the in-
formation seems to have come, and from our previous know-
ledge of circumstances in the colony, I have no doubt that
a collision has taken place between the troops of her
Majesty and an armed body assembled for the traitorous
and treasonable purpose of overturning- the authority of her
Majesty in the province of Lower Crinlda.—( Hear, hear.)
Such being the state of things, although I do not believe
that any remedy which might be applied by Parliament would
give a greater authority than has already been entrusted to
Sir John Colburne, yet, I do say, that I think we
should not be justified, when we have the means
of assembling Parliament in considerable numbers, to delay
that assemblinft of Parliament for any long period—that we
ought to bring Parliament together as soon as it can be dune
in any considerable number, in order that the course to be pur-
sued either in the respect to what has lately taken place,
or upon what may be the intelligence between this time and
the re-assembling of the House—the judgment of Par-
liament may be pronounced.—( Loud cries of " Hear, hear.")
That, Sir, appears to me to be the duty of the Ministers of
this country—acting as the Ministers of this country must do
in accordance with the opinion of Parliament, and only justi-
fied in taking measures of extreme precaution so long as the
opinion of Parliament supports them in these measures.
—(Hear, hear, and Cheers.) Therefore, Sir, I beg leave to