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

expressed an -opinion contrary to the resolution of this
House, with respect to the responsibility of the officers of
the Government. Lord Durham bad stated in the narra-
tive of a representative Constitution in this country, that as
soon as the Minister of the Crown had lost the confidence
of the House they ceased to be Ministers.—( Laughter
from the Opposition.) They did not go cn with
constant minorities—(Cheers from the. Ministerial benches)
—and be wished to apply that principle to the Govern-
ment of Canada. Since the passing of that resolution
nothing had occurred which had shaken the arguments by
which he then supported it. It did not appear to him that
they could subject the Executive of a colony to the re-
sponsibility demanded of the Executive in this country.
There was an obvious and complete difference between the
Executive in this country and in Canada. The Governor
might ask the Executive to propose a certain measure.
They might say they would not. How was he to proceed ?
One or the other must be set aside. Either the Execu-
tive in Canada must yield, or he must become a mere
cypher, and not carry into effect the measure which he was
required to do by the Home Government, who alone were
responsible. It was impossible that it could be, laid down
as a general principle, that as the Executive of this
country must have the confidence of the country, the Exe-
cutive, of that country must be responsible to
the inhabitants of each Province, end not to the
superintending authority of the Crown of these realms.
He would state here that it was proposed to repeal some
portion of the laws relating to clergy reserves; and that
the endowments to the Catholic Church in Lower Canada
should be guaranteed ; he thought that these questions,
affecting the religious instruction of the people of Canada,
should be left to the Legislature ofithe Province, the in-
habitants of which had always manifested the greatest
anxiety with regard to religious instruction ; and he thought
it would be better to have the opinion of the Province on
the question before proceeding to decide on it in the Im-
perial Legislature. It remained that he should state what
were the opinions which appeared to be entertained in Ca-
nada regarding the general manner of proceeding proposed.
It appeared that in Lower Canada there had long existed
a strong party anxious for this union, and several addresses
had been presented from different associations, particularly
from the district of Montreal, stating that the British in-
habitants of Lower Canada looked to the proposed re-
uniting of the two provinces for their future security. The
Legislature of Upper Canada in general adhered to the
proposition for re-union, while at the same time they asked
for terms which were not fit to be granted to that Pro-
vince. On the 23d of March the legislative Assembly of
Upper Canada had passed resolutions declaratory of the
evils which bad been the consequence of the se-
paration of the two Provinces, stating that the re-union
would be exceedingly desirable, deputing agents to
England to represent their feelings on the subject.
In the Legislative Council the proposal for reunion
had been rejected by a majority of two only.
Further accounts had that day been received of the pro-
ceedings of the Legislative Council and Assembly, conse-
quent upon their receipt of Lord Durham's Report. Both
stated that they considered themselves unjustly treated by
the Lord High Commissioner in his Report on the trans-
actions of Canada, and the Legislative Assembly had
determined not to send their two agents to England.
They had transmitted an Address to her Majesty, in which
they referred to the Report. The resolutions were dated
the 30th of April, 1839, and they went to the two most
important points of the Report, the one the Legislative
Union, and the other the responsibility of the official func-
tionaries to the local representative Government. To the
first point he had already expressed his assent, but he dis-
sented from the second as incompatible with the dependence
of the colonies oa the mother country. They concluded
the Address to the Queen by stating that they were much
concerned to find the House of Commons were about to
adopt those changes without consulting the opinion of those
who would be so deeply affected by them, and hoped her
Majesty would disallow every measure calculated to
weaken the ties by which they were united to the mother-
country. With these facts before them he thought they
might affirm the principle on which they would legislate,
but he did not think it would be just to proceed to enact
the details of any plan without having previously had the
opinions on this subject of the loyal people from whom this
address had emanated, and who were -firmly attached
to our monarchical institutions. His desire was
to draw the tics uniting the colony and the mother coun-
try still closer, and that no principles should be adopted
tending to the separation of subjects so devoted and loyal
to her Majesty's Crown, and so entitled to the strongest
sympathies of the people of this kingdom. This
was a question deeply affecting the empire at large, and
affecting still more deeply the welfare of two millions of
our fellow-subjects on the other side of the Atlantic ; for
although the proposed measure might not allude to Nova
Scotia or New Brunswick by name, yet those colonies
could not but be deeply affected by the measure. He had
now stated the principles of the proposed measure, and
he would repeat what he had said last session,
that he trusted this question would be discussed
now, as it had beets then, apart from party considerations,
and as affecting the most important interests of the Empire
at large. Her Majesty's Government, after the most
anxious consideration, had determined on the present plan,
and he committed it to the House in the full security that it
would be fully and fairly considered. The Noble Lord
then moved two resolutions, the first declaratory of the ne-
cessity of uniting the two Provinces of Canada, for the
purpose of forming such a representative Government as
might be most conducive to the happiness and prosperity
of the colony, and the second declaring it the opinion of
the House that the Act passed for the Government of
Lower Canada last Session should continue in force until
1842, with such alterations as may be deemed expedient.
On the question being put,
Lord JOHN RUSSELL intimated his desire that the
further consideration of the resolutions should be post-
poned to Monday next.
Mr. HUME felt himself placed in an awkward situa-
tion by the last proposition of the Noble Lord, because his
statements would go forth as if the House assented to his
opinions on the subject.—(No, no.) He deeply regretted
the course pursued by the Noble Lord, which was a con-
tinuance of the system which had been pursued for the last
twenty years, and to which the troubles of Canada were to
be attributed, while he dissented from giving them an
Executive responsible to their Representatives,which would
tend to lessen the existing evils._( Hear, hear, hear. )
The people of Lower Canada had never complained
of a grievance which was not fully acknowledged
to exist, and the Noble Member for North Lancashire had
admitted the necessity of anielective Legislative Council.
The Noble Lord also proposed to leave the present mode
of government until 1882—(A laugh)—if it were left unal-
tered until 1842 it would be so until 1882 ; and he also
proposed to give the Governor still more extensive powers,
although he was at a loss to know how he could have more
extensive powers than he already possessed. Everything
remained at the present moment a perfect despotism; and
so it would seem it was to remain until 1842. This was

the case as to Lower Canada. Now as to Upper Canada.
The Assembly of that Province were not the real
representatives of the people. When they ought
to have been dissolved, at the decease of his late
Majesty, the Government sanctioned the Assembly
in constituting themselves to remain in power four years
longer, well knowing that their measures were not in
accordance with the feelings of the great body of the
people. He (Mr. Hume) would tell the Noble Lord
plainly, as he had told him of the resolutions of 1837,
that this was not the way to promote peace in the Canadas.
They must have the means of governing themselves. The
British party, however respectable, must not be allowed to
exercise an unjust preponderance over the other party, and
some method must be devised for causing the Assembly and
the Council to act in harmony. The Noble Lord smiled
doubtless at the idea of a Government in a minority in
that /-!,use, and at the hardship and degradation of a Go-
vernment not being able to carry its measures in that
House. Did not her Majesty state to a Noble Duke, to
whom she had sent, that she was sorry to part with her
Ministers, but that the House of Commons were against
them, and that they having lost the confidence of that
House sbe yielded to the necessity of the House being in
accordance with the Ministers of the Crown ? Was

O'CONNELL'S ADDRESS TO
THE CHARTISTS OF BIRMINGHAM.

" There is but one magic in politics, and that is to be
right."--JuNIUS.

BrioTura REFORMERS—There are many points of
the greatest importance upon which we agree. In truth,
upon the great principles of Reform we scarcely differ
at all. Our difference consists chiefly in this—that you
deem one mode of action the most conducive to attain
your objects ; and that I consider another mode more
likely to obtain all that is desirable towards the amelio-
ration of our political institutions. But the difference
in this respect is very extensive ; because I have con-
vinced myself that your mode of action does not assist,
but, on the contrary, powerfully impedes the progress
of Reform. lam convinced that, instead of advancing
that cause, you are retarding it by increasing the num-
ber of its enemies, diminishing the number of its friends,
engendering a spirit of suspicion of your motives, and
creating a rational apprehension for the security of the
social state and of individual property. It seems to
me that, although you intended to serve our cause, you
have placed yourselves, practically, amidst its worst
enemies ; and that the near approach to the extension
of the franchise, to the protection of the voter, to the
equalization of representation, and to the shortening of
Parliaments, has, for the present, been stopped by the
unwise (and, in many instances, criminal) manner in
which the Chartists have conducted themselves in va-
rious parts of the country.
Brother Reformers--I do not address the violent
and unthinking portion of your body. It would be in
vain to argue with them. But Ido address the many
—for there must be very many—of the rational and
sober-thinking portion of the Chartists. I ask them
to weigh the advice which I give them—not with a view
to obtain any attention on the score of my authority—
but in the hope that they may soberly consider the
arguments I adduce, and give their reason and judg-
ment fair play in deciding upon those arguments.
In the first place, then, I ask you to consider whether
you have not adopted an exceedingly bad principle—
that of " exclusiveness;" whether you do not exclude
from any co-operation with you, all other classes of the
nation except yourselves? You exclude—
First,—The aristocracy ; amongst whom, it is true,
are to be found that oligarchy which has plundered and
oppressed you, and which desires to continue that plun-
der and oppression. But still there are amongst that
aristocracy several honest friends of peaceful reform ;
who, though they do not go the whole way with you,
yet are ready to be the enemies of your enemies ; and
to be friendly, to a certain extent, to your exertions.
But all these your orators peremptorily exclude ; nay,
they go so far as to denounce them all ; and thus they
necessarily augment the number of those hostile to
reform.