The Sun.
London, England, 1837-08-10 00:00:00

IMPORTANT MEETING AT MONTREAL.
The resolutions and speeches at the great and important
meeting held at Montreal, on Thursday, the 6th of July
will convey to the people of England some idea
()F tale
opinions entertained by a large portion of the inhabitants of
Lower Canada on the subject of Lord John Russell's reso-
lutions. It is hailed as a triumph by the loyal and
well-disposed party. The Monthly Courier, a Montreal
paper, states the number of persons at the meeting to be
at least 5,000. It was held on the Place d'Arnzee, under
an unfavourable state of the weather, as the rain fell during
a considerable portion of the time occupied by the pro-
ceedings.
A slight delay having occurred in the appearance of elat
portion of the meeting which came in from the Quebec and
St. Anne's suburbs, the meeting did not actually organize
till some minutes after one o'clock. The Hon. Gco. Mof-
fattwas called to the chair, and Wm. Badgeley And Leon
Gosselin, Esqrs., were appointed secretaries. The Chair-
man stated the objects of the meeting in a short speech in
the English language, after which the same duty was per-
formed by C. S. De Bleury, Esq., M.P.P., at somewhat
greater length in French. The following is abridged from
the repeat in the Morn* Courier of July 10 :
The CHAIRMAN said I feel highly gratified in being cal-
led to preside over this very numerous and respectable
meeting, and I thank you for your cordial reception or the
nomination. You arc already apprised, gentlemen, through
the medium of the requisition, which many have signed,
of the object for which the present meeting has been called
—namely, to take into consideration certain resolutions
adopted at public meetings recently held in.various parts of
the country. These meetings have been promoted and
chiefly managed by the leaders of the House of Assembly
—of that Assembly, which, after transmitting its petitions
to the Imperial Parliament, and praying its intervention,
and without waiting the result, plainly told that authority
and the people of this province in September last, that it
would not again proceed to business until its demands were
first conceded, and which, in other words, amounts to this,
that unless the Assembly is allowed to domineer over every
other authority in the province, it rill neither make any
legal appropriation for the regular and impartial adminis-
tration of justice, or the support of the civil government,
without which society itself cannot be long held together,
nor legislate for the wants of the province, however urgent
those wants may be. Under these circumstances the King's
Ministers have been reluctantly compelled to resort to the
Imperial Parliament, through which they have carried a
series of resolutions, intended for the most pressing neces-
sities of the case. lam far from thinking that the resolu-
tions meet the case as it should be met, but they go as for
as the Ministers think it necessary to go at present. It
could not be doubted that whenever the views of the As-
sembly should be brought fairly under the consideration of
the Imperial Parliament, its decision would be widely at
variance with the pretensions of the Assembly. The leaders
of the letter are, in consequence, highly displeased, and are
trying every means to produce discontent and disaffection
in the country, in the hope of thereby intimidating the Go-
vernment ; numerous meetings have been held for this pur-
pose, raid the resolutions thereof are of the roost seditious
and disorganising character, and in order that these may not
be taken to be the sense of the country, which Messrs.
Hurne and Roebuck would gladly find a pretext for assert-
ing, it becomes necessary that those who are opposed to
them should speak out, as I feel persuaded this meeting
will do, and distinctly disclaim any participation in a course
of proceeding as repugnant to their feelings as, if successful,
it would be destructive to their interests.
C. S. Da linEerny, Esq., M.P.P. then proceeded to dis-
charge the same duty, in a French address, of which the
following is a translation :—" Charged with the duty of ex-
plaining to you the object of this meeting, I undertake the
task with the greater pleasure, because it affords me the op-
portunity of pointing out to you the dangerous ,path into
which certain persons governed by jealousy and thirst of
power, and forgetful of your best interests would lead you.
It is in extraordinary circumstances like the present that
every citizen who is a friend to his country should be
prudent—should hear, examine, and maturely deliberate,
before deciding, either by his vote or his influence, to press
down either the balance scales in which the great inte-
rests of his country are weighed. If I were addressing
less intelligent men, or if I could for a moment believe
that there is in this great assembly an individual entertain-
ing the sentiments of Mr. Papineau and his alente upon the
subject of smuggling and resistance to the legal authorities,
I would make it a duty to demonstrate in what abhor-
rence and contempt all nations hold the crimes which they
propose to you, and what punishments these crimes entail ;
but I will abstain, because I address men who know their
duty, and who arc ready to acknowledge with me, that it
is only the poor ignorant or the professed smuggler who
nevertheless,
lend a
th
eless, essx.ipl ns
eg
teoar
ytoous inthe famouswchoi
cuini sel ;
these
must.,
have in view, in exciting the population of this province to
the crime of smuggling. I must point out to you some of
the lamentable effects which would thence result to the
country, and afterwards show you that if grievances exist,
and they do exist, the fault is to be attributed to the House
of Assembly. It is evident that the object of Mr. Papineau
and his satellites in proclaiming smuggling, is to dry up the
source of the revenue, to annihilate the revenue received
from imported merchandise and liquors, that revenue with;.
out which the march of Government is stopped, and by
means of which those laws which protect us and prevent
society from failing to pieces, are enforced. Be you care-
ful, you above all who fear taxation, and do not stiffer your-
selves to be deceived by these pretended patriots, who, to
impose upon your credulity, cease not to repeat in your
ears that grievances exist, and that the British Govern-
ment, for from wishing to redress them, menaces you with
coercion. These are false and lying assertions, as I will
now prove them to be. Without mounting to the source
of our political discussions, without even speaking of
events which we all know, I will at once commence with
1834. The country then suffered under numerous grievan-
ces,—s great majority of the House of Assembly perceived
the necessity of refusing appropriations, and of laying at the
foot of the throne vigorous resolutions which should demon-
, strate to the Imperial Government the necessity of taking
into its serious consideration the demanded ameliorations—
I than belonged to that important majority, and I do not
t repent it, for by seconding with all my power the demands
we made, I was assured that our appeal to the Imperial
Government would not be in s ain ; nor was I deceived in
iny expectations. The British Government, guided by
those sentiments of justice and liberality which are so pe-
culiarly her own, and which are exhibited in none other, re-
plied in 1835 in the most open and satisfactory manner to
all our demands. I will say more—she condescended to
offer to you the olive branch of peace, which our impolitic
and imprudent majority of the House of Assembly refused
to accept. In September, 1885, a Civil Governor-General
is sent to us, who upon his arrival expresses his readiness to
co-operate with the Legislature in redressing all the real
grievances which weigh upon the country ; moreover, he
labours to redress those which lie within his own reach, and
to form with the Legislature that good intelligence which
alone can assure the advance of public business, and, con-
sequently,
the public prosperity, But there exist blious •
minds which arc horrified with peace ; the Agitator of the
day immediately perceived that his co-operation would,
contrary to his wishes, effectually redress all our grievances,
put a stop to agitation, and restore` everything to order.
ir
Instead of seizing the most favourable opportunity to ob-
tain the Complete redress of our grievances, he loses sight
of them, to declare open war upon a Government apparently
men
knewtit!sdnae lt
disposed to be favourable to us upon all points. These
rmtptrloievelomsesnot,
of the
that E ducof c
at ioiniaßmiblli,vo(f.,;atnl7ll, and
many
Bills
e r others,at
io
n would
could b
restrain
rraei
ns result
eomf their
aimpoliticain course
nt°or cI
. They
on
d
the appropriations for the support of the Civil Govern-
ment, and they refused to proceed ie.th the public business ;
in other words, the Constitution a as suspended by their
actions. I have already said, that if the House of As-
sembly had been willing to co-operate with the Govern-
ment, all our grievances would have been redressed ; I must
prove my proposition, and show you how much those men,
who are rushing to their ruin and wish to drag you
into this abyss with themselves, deceive you when they tell
you that the evils of the country are to be attributed to
the Executive. (Here Mr. De Bleury read an extract
frF.m the Governor's speech expressive of his Excellency's
willingness to concur with either or both Houses of the
Provincial. Legislature in revising the exhorbitant fees
complained of, as well as in respect of the rules of prac-
tice
.of the courts of justice and the proceedings of all the
inferior tribunals throughout the province.) Where, then,
lies the fault, if these grievances continue to exist ? Is it
not in that impolitic majority of the House of Assembly,
who have refused to accept the gracious invitation of Go-
vernment, to co-operate -with it in redressing all these
grievances and all others which oppress the country. Two
opinions cannot exist upon this point. Yet in face of
such an authentic document, by which the British Govern,
ment has shown itself disposed to redress all the grievances
of which we complain, persons are. found who stilt daily