The Sun.
London, England, 1838-02-06 00:00:00

for their conduct as stewards of the people in their demand
for a Legislative_ Council, and for their conduct in
'aniere-
lug that demand by stopping the sepiatee for five, years-:.
and two years only—My Lords., I will teiVie to
show that they hese Inen faithful stewards to their
billy nissters in the 'relationt in which they stood
--tie people of Lower Canada. I must beg you,
My Lords, in the consideration of this twitter, to look
hack with me into the Colonial history of this country, in
is der that we may find out what is the real matter in dis-
bUte. Your Lordships, I have no doubt, perfectly under-
. wand the Colonial history of this country, and you IthiStl
therefore, know, that from the very beginning of that
history, there has been a differente and bickering
Which on many occasions has amounted to eluresi, open
quarrel between the mother country -sun the colonies. I
must entreat sour Lordshies
to excuse me if I take you
back to an almost
tory '3o+ -
ndefinee'd period of our colonial his-
(
" ' --, my Lords, for the purpose of perfectly
.."Sersfending this dispute, it is necessary that I
Itittid do so. My Lords, when the Canadas first
because connected with this country, it was set
flown as an indisputable right that they were to he an
independent people, subject only to the Crown, and bound
only not to make any laws repugnant to the laws of Eng- '
land. My Lords, so long as those countries remained noeS,
—so long as they were struggling for existence—so long as
they did not present a wide fief for for the patronage
of the Colonial Office, they 'sere left almost entirely to
themselves, but so sows as they had raised themselves into
importance—SO soon as that field was opened, when it
became at all a question of patronage—then, and
ittnnedi",tely then, the mother country began a quarrel.
'Dee quarrel took place on the extent which they as an in-
depereleet nation; could carry on peace and war, and could
traifel Wt.] commerce, without reference to the laws of the
Mother country. The mother country settled the dispute
quickly, because the most powerful party she made her
navigation laws, and subjected her American colonies to
those laws. But still, my Lords, at this time the gover-
nors, and all the official officers also, *ere elected by the
Colonists, and they had also theft' Commons House of
Parliament, which was elected by the people. Until
the reign of Queen Anne, these Governor's and all their
feteeittiw officers, and all their judicial officers, were paid
Y the toloniste, These were elected by the colonists in
the first place, but the Crown determined that it should no
longer be 80., and in the reign of King William the Co-
verlets-et were first chosen by the Crown, In the reign of
Qtkeen Anne they found the inconvenience of the Judges
Said Executive Officers being paid by the people ; and the
demand was first made which is now made, my Lords, of
the Canadian people. The quarrels first began between
the colonies and the mother country tespectitig the power
they should have over their official servants. The power de-
Mended was that they should have a permanent civil list for
the Executive officers-. This was refused, and if your Lord-
ships be curions in such history I would refer you to the dis-
pute batieeen Burnett, the Governor of Massachusetts, and
the V.epresentative Assembly of that colony, upon that point ;
and you will find an appeal from the Assembly, and one
from the Governor, in which the question of the Civil-list
i 4 18(It forth, and they claim it as one of the most important
privileges that they should pay their Governors and their
Judges. lip to the year 1728 they never were subjected to the
degradation of having officers appointed by the Crown, uns
paid by the Crown, who had to render service to the colony.
Soon afterwards the war broke out between America and
England, which ended in the subjugation of America
to England, and which, in 1763, was terminated by the
annexation of Canada to Great Britain. Up to this
period there had been constant bickerings between the
mother country and the colonies, in reference to their
Ceovernment ; and so soon as the war ended, the officials
bf that country, who disliked responsibility to the Assembly
of that country, endeavoured to make common cause with
the people of England to interest the Ministers for their
concurrence, and to give to them a pretext for interfering
sith the sub-Government of the Colonies. How did
they do this ? They told the Colonies they ought to main-
tain themselves, and to defend themselves, to which all
were agreed. But they further said, they ought to submit
to have their money taken from them, and by the Parlia-
ment in England. In an evil hour Mr. Granville listened
to those statements, and passed a famous enactment
which was expressly passed in order to provide for
the Civil Government of that country. The con-
sequence was, that our own purely English Colo-
nists,—no French Colonists,—but our own English
Colonists, determined to resist that law by force.
It was repealed in consequence, but it was repealed with a
pros iso that England should have civil power to legislate
for the Government of the colonies. Mr. Charles Towns-
hend soon after brought in his famous Bill, still for the
civil government of the colony, imposing certain duties
upon various commodities imported into that country.
The colonists agitated the question still, and their indig-
nation was raised, as your Lordships will find by all his-
torians, by the appropriation of the money—l wish your
Lordships to bear in mind this facts--(Hear, hear.)
It bears strongly on the present question—their
indignation was raised by the appropriation of the money,
the appropriation being for the providing a permanent
Civil List for the Governor, the Executive Officers, and the
Judges of the Colonies. My Lords, that Bill also
i'as repealed, with one exception ; 3d. per lb.
was retained still on tea, and that Act the
English Government endeavoured to enforce. As your
Lordships all know, the consequence was that tea
was thrown overboard at Boston. The Boston Port Bill
was passed ; and, by an ominous coincidence, a Bill
was brought in for the better regulating the Go-
vernment of Massachussetts. Whet did that Bill
provide ? It provided a Legislative Council to be chosen
by the Crown, in place of an Elective one by the Bill.
It provided the Governor should have certain power, and
should be paid by the Crown—that the judges and
the sheriffs should be ` also chosen by the Crown.
What was the conduct, my Lords, of America on this
occasion ? Revolt, rebellion, revolution !—successful revo-
lution-aLtho dismemberment of the empire—the disgrace
fif the Ministry who brought in this Bill, and the liti-
Miliation of England. And why, my Lords, do I
Mention to you these painful facts ? Why, but
that you may learn something fi oni experience—
that you should take something from the pket, and apply it
to the future. My Lords, compare the conduct of the
forbearing, patient Assembly of Lower Canada with
the heated, enthusiastic Assembly of Massachusetts—
English were the latter—French the former.—(Hear,
hear.) But the latter declared rather than bear the
Constitution which you have given to the Canadians as a
Precious boon, which they have borne for half a century
with patience unexampled in the annals of a free peo-
People—compare, my Lords, the conduct of one with
the forbearance of the other, and tell me now
'whether you are obeying the dictates c' prudence in not
Liking a lesson from experience, when you know that the
Bill for Massachussetts lost you fourteen united provinces,
such as you will never have again, for an object,
precisely such as that you are now endeavouring to
carry out ?—and I ask you, my Lords, to determine
with me, whether the punishment you are about to inflict on
my clients is at all commensurate with that which your fore-
fathers endeavoured to inflict on the rebellious colony of Mas-
sachusetts, which led to the dismemberment of the empire 4
and now may have the same fatal Consequences ? My Lords,s
I ask this question of you ? Did not the people of Mas-1
sachusetts rebel, because you wanted to create a Legisla-
tive Council to be chosen by the Crown—because you i
wanted to have a Governor chosen and elected by the
Crown, and Judges chosen in the same way ; and I want
any man to ;holy me—in the conduct of the As-
sembly of Lower Canada—any one act which amounts
to any such conduct as that of Massachusetts,
Which amounts to any thing but a use of the Constitutional
Power which you gave them—which amounts to any thing
but forbearance
and a ju,t
proceeding. Let history, my
Lords, answer the question. I will relate that history in
as few words as possible, and then I will ask your Lordships
nether the punishment you are about to inflict, careless
of the experience of the past, is at all commensurate with
H'';ly supposed deviation of propriety en the part of the'
ouse of Assembly, and whether you are not guilty of
,lus i
Justice before any impropriety has been committed ? My
Lords, it s well known that before 1791 a Constitution
e
Z_il'een given to Canada. In 1794 all the revenues were
liege up by the people—there was no real suppression of
thisrerievenues on the part of the Assembly till 1816 ; for
Vsi_sansson, the Civil Government was provided fdr by'
into the
and the House of Assembly, whet?, it inquired
t
e expenditure, was answered taus : You on
pay
.the expenditure, but England does. You have
thatlune to do with how the money is expended, all
4frir You have to do with is with reference to the internal
8 of the country". The Assembly of 1810, knowing
th4t the rover paid by the Canadian people,
asked
.ues were
eXpenseill
o that year to be allowed to pay the civil
that s f their own country. In 1816, my Lords,.,
I ',Was granted, and then the old disputes wham
aisp't,`":e described as existing commenced afresh—those
Ass s were between the officials on the one hand and the
for littnitilY on the other—the officials demanding great pay
valentlt° service, and the Assembly requiring service equi-
th, Ato the remuneration vvilich it gave. No sooner was
;Ilse thsse4), bly allowed to pay the expenses of its officials
Man '3' begin every species of mystification end subterfuge.
of arl,Petitions were presented to Parliament complaining
the Le
ttr:aly
gosernment in consequence of the conduct of
I,,eisiaetgcstative Council, which entirely suspended all useful
'-eeri, 'ln. And in 1828, a Committee of the House of
/3°ttse°" was appointed, which I beg to recall as a mos
Itialed „ePeeli in the history of Lower Canada. The Committee
sser4,4t of, the grievances complained of by the House of
• at the Y, the following were the most important :—First,
ith tii ''''!'eislative Council having no interest in common
interests of the people, and deciding upon all