The Sun.
London, England, 1839-06-11 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION

Mr. L ABOUCHERE referred • the Noble Lord to
the answer which he had just before given.
Sir R. PEEL said it was desirable they should have a
distinct understanding as to the course to be pursued on
Thursday, and the Noble Lord had said that
the proceedings of the Government as to a division
would depend upon the speech of his Noble
Friend. He had distinctly stated the ground of his op-
position—that if it was not intended to bring forward a
ligislative measure this year, he thought it would be
unwise to fetter the House by a statement of opinion
upon the abstract question. But it was not necessary
that a Bill should be preceded by resolutions. If the
Noble Lord would withdraw his resolutions and ask for
leave to bring in a Bill, it was not his intention to offer
opposition to such a course.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought there was a' di-
vision in that House, which would appear to the
people of Canada to be a question as to the expediency
or inexpediency of the union of the Provinces, whereas
the division was as to the expediency or inexpediency of
passing resolutions previous to bringing in a Bill. In con-
sequence of the objections of the Noble Lord and the
Right Hon. Baronet he would withdraw his resolution,
and ask for leave to bring in a Bill on Thursday.
Sir R. PEEL—WiII the Bill merely be brought in
to be laid on the table.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL would propose to read
the Bill a second time, mad take the discussion oa the
question then, hut he did not think it was necessary to
legislate this Session after the protest of the Assembly
of Upper Canada.
Mr. CHARLES BULLER said that as there were
two resolutions, he wished to know as the Noble Lord
had given up the first, whethor it was his intention to
pursue the same course with respect to the second.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he should take the
same course with regard to the second resolution, as
he had done with respect to the first, namely, move for
leave to bring in a Bill.
JAMAICA GOVERNMENT BILL.
The House then went into Committee on the Jamaica
Government Bill, Mr. BERN AL in the chair.
On the motion that clause one should stand part of
the Bill.

Sir ED WARD SUGDEN rose for the purpose of
moving the omission of section one, and in lieu thereof,
to give to the Governor and Council the power proposed
tobeconferred.upon them by section two, only in case the
Governor, Council, and Assembly should not before a
day to be named, have continued, revived, or re-enacted
the Acts therein referred to. In making the motion
he wished to call the attention of the House
to what the question before it was. He
apprehended that Hon. Members were under a de-
lusion upon this subject ; they thought that they had a
question to discuss, which they really had not. The
question was not a question between master and slave,
but it was a question that arose between the House of
Assembly and the Government of this country. He
should be able to show, without difficulty that the course
be had taken on a former occasion was entirely consistent
with the course he was now pursuing. He had been
actuated by a sincere desire to further the emancipation
of the negro, and to defend him from all oppression on
the part of the planter, and he would follow the same
course now if the same circumstances existed, and if
he saw any necessity for the interference of that House.
He would recall to the attention of the Committee
what the circumstances really were which, in
the opinion of her Majesty's Government, au-
thorised them to introduce the Bill for suspending
the Constitution of Jamaica. He was compelled to do
that in consequence of Honourable Gentlemen opposite
having declared that he still entertained the opinion he
had expressed on introducing the former Bill. In his
(Sir E. Sugden's) opinion, no circumstances existed which
either justified the present or the former measure. He
wished not to be understood as upholding the Assembly
of Jamaica in the protest they had made. The conduct
of that Assembly standing unexplained, was in many
respects indefensible, and he entertained no doubt,
whatever, that the Imperial Parliament had the power
to legislate for the Island of Jamaica ; but his difficulty
was, that he was not satisfied a case had arisen
which justified such interference. (Hear, hear.)
When the Government introduced the amendment of
the Abolition Act, it was not contemplated that the
Jamaica Constitution would be suspended. We could
not then anticipate that the Assembly would never put
a premature end to the apprenticeship system. This
they had however done ; what more could have been
expected from them ? They had done more than we
had a right to expect. They had subsequently declared
their hope that they would be suffered hereafter to ex-
ercise their just constitutional rights, which they were
prepared to do, for the best interests of the colony.
They had been afterwards prorogued—without anything
having transpired which could have induced them to
suppose that they would have their legislative rights
further interfered with. The Governor's conduct had
been such, as they had a right to complain of. During
the prorogation be had written a despatch to Lord Glenelg,
14th August, 1838, stating that the friends of the negro
were desirous that a measure which the Assembly had
passed, should be either disallowed, or repealed by the
Imperial Parliament. The reply was that it was too late
to disallow it. Was it consistent in a Governor to hold
umltuage to an Assembly which might lead them to be-
lieve that he was satisfied with their conduct, and then
to write home in such a manner as to excite distrust of
their intentions ; at a time too, when the Assembly had
u that those intentions were the fairest, by sacri-
ficing their own interests A stronger instance et bad
raith, he (SirSugden) never heard of. But in truth
the Governor had shown an utter ignorance of the state
of the Jamaica laws ; he had described laws as exist-
ing in Jamaica which had long ceased to operate
there, and had manifested a violence of feeling
and strength of prejudice which precluded him
from judging correctly. And the Secretary for the
Colonies had fallen into the same error ; he had taken
everything for granted which the Governor had stated,
and therefore had been impressed with utterly mistaken
ideas of the state of things in Jamaica. The Govern-
ment had received the news of the abolition of the ap-
prenticeship by the Assembly on the very day when
they introduced the Prisons Bill. This Bill had not
been introduced to punish Jamaica, but applied to the
whole of the West Indies. It was a wanton piece of
legislation. There was none of that overpowering ne-
cessity which alone could have justified it. Undoubtedly
there was a strong popular feeling which called for it.
But it was the duty of the Government to stand
between the Assembly and that popular outcry,
instead of bending needlessly to it, and making
it a pretext for oppressing the Assembly. Was
it not useless to have a legislative constitution, if
whenever the legislature agrees to a measure, the
Governor could interfere, or the Colonial Secretary inter-
pose, to procure its defeat or its repeal ? If the Go-
vernor had endeavoured to sooth the Assembly, or
suffered a short time to elapse for their passions to cool,
no one could have told what would be the result. But

instead of this only two months were suffered to elapse
between the promulgation of the Prisons Bill and the
prorogation of the House of Assembly. But instead
of endeavouring to soothe them the Governor appealed
to the Government at home, in hopes that they would
have recourse to the Imperial Parliament. He
was not surprised at the conduct of the House
of Assembly, they had been goaded into it, and he
thought that had milder measures been had recourse to
they would have been more successful, and the House
would have been spared these discussions. The present
Bill was founded on precisely the same grounds as the
preceding one. The question was, whether the House
of Assembly should have a locus pcni!cntice allowed it
before they went further, and it was a mere farce to say
that the present Bill allowed it. The preamble of the
present Bill stated the case differently from the last
one, but neither of them stated it correctly. The re-
solution of the House of Assembly was, that they
would refuse to legislate, except so far as related to the
public creditor, until her Majesty had stated whether
they should continue to exercise their constitutional
rights ; and he would ask why measures had not been
proposed that would enable the Assembly to do what
they bad stated they were willing to do? The present
Bill gave the Governor power of passing temporary
laws ; he understood frim the Right Hon. Gentleman
that in printing the certain words had slipped cut
of the second clause, limiting this power of the Go-
vernor to those cases in which the Assembly should
refuse to legislate, and the introduction of those
words would meet one of his amendments. He had no
objection to the clause if the Government were inclined
to limit the power of the Governor to the case of con-
tumacy on the part of the Assembly. But it would be
necessary to introduce alterations in case the Assembly
should address themselves bona fide to their duties, as
their best friends would advise them to do, and if they
did not do so then he would have them distinctly to un-
derstand that there was not a man in that House, or
in the country, who would not consent to give the
Government all the power they might require. The
clause giving the Governor the power of re-enacting
temporary laws must be limited, as some of those
Acts were Acts of Appropriation. As 'the clause now
stood, the Governor had the power, either through him-
self or through the executive or legislative councils,
who were appointed by him, of disallowing any of the
measures of the Assembly. Was that giving them a fair
option ? He would now go at once to the question, as
to whether or not. there was any necessity for
tins measure which the Right Honourable Gentleman
had introduced, and which he said could no longer be
delayed. He had put the case for this Act on the ne-
cessity that existed for protecting the negro population
against their former masters. He new proved that no
such necessity existed, and thus removed all pretext
for this unsound piece of legislation. The Right Hon.
Gentlemen had relied upon certain Acts of the Assembly
of Jamaica as showing the necessity for the measure.
One of these Acts was the 35th of Charles IL, which
allowed the flogging of negro women from place
to place if they committed acts of vagrancy.
The Right Honourable Gentleman had expressed
his disgust at such a law, and hag asked if such things
ought to be allowed to ecntinne. Now he (Sir E.
Sugden) would fearlessly assert that no such law ex-
sited, there was no such power, and if there bad been it